diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.test.tsx
index 4b7cc7bbf0..9f6aebbea3 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.test.tsx
@@ -1153,11 +1153,11 @@ describe('useGatewayBoot remote reconnect loop (real hook, fake socket)', () =>
 
     expect($desktopBoot.get().error).toBeNull()
 
-    // Advance past the internal reconnect-attempt timeout (20s) — the
+    // Advance past the shared backend-boot budget (45s) — the
     // stalled await must reject on its own so boot()'s catch runs instead of
     // waiting indefinitely on main.
     await act(async () => {
-      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(20_000)
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(45_000)
     })
 
     expect($desktopBoot.get().error).toBeTruthy()
@@ -1191,11 +1191,11 @@ describe('useGatewayBoot remote reconnect loop (real hook, fake socket)', () =>
 
     expect($gatewaySwitching.get()).toBe(true)
 
-    // Advance past the internal reconnect-attempt timeout (20s) — the
+    // Advance past the shared backend-boot budget (45s) — the
     // stalled await must reject so the `finally` clears $gatewaySwitching
     // instead of latching the switch UI frozen forever.
     await act(async () => {
-      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(20_000)
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(45_000)
     })
 
     expect($gatewaySwitching.get()).toBe(false)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.ts
index 1a7aa6edfc..a2a4cf133a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { HermesGateway } from '@/hermes'
 import { translateNow } from '@/i18n'
 import { desktopDefaultCwd } from '@/lib/desktop-fs'
 import { reconnectBackoffDelayMs } from '@/lib/reconnect-backoff'
-import { withTimeout } from '@/lib/with-timeout'
+import { withTimeout, BACKEND_BOOT_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS } from '@/lib/with-timeout'
 import {
   $desktopBoot,
   applyDesktopBootProgress,
@@ -542,10 +542,12 @@ export function useGatewayBoot({
         // on its pinned profile's backend across a soft switch.
         // Bounded for the same reason as attemptReconnect() (#93454): a wedged
         // main-process round-trip must not latch $gatewaySwitching stuck —
-        // the `finally` below only runs once this promise settles.
+        // the `finally` below only runs once this promise settles. Uses the
+        // shared backend-boot budget rather than the reconnect budget because
+        // ensureBackend may cold-spawn a pooled helper backend here.
         const conn = await withTimeout(
           desktop.getConnection(windowProfileOverride() ?? undefined),
-          RECONNECT_ATTEMPT_TIMEOUT_MS,
+          BACKEND_BOOT_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS,
           'Timed out reconnecting to Hermes backend'
         )
 
@@ -895,10 +897,12 @@ export function useGatewayBoot({
         // backend directly — ensureBackend spawns/reuses it from the pool.
         // Everything else keeps dialing the primary.
         // Bounded like the reconnect path (#93454): a wedged main-process
-        // round-trip must not hang "Starting Hermes…" forever.
+        // round-trip must not hang "Starting Hermes…" forever. Initial boot
+        // rides out a full backend cold spawn, so it gets the shared 45s
+        // backend-boot budget, not the 20s reconnect budget.
         const conn = await withTimeout(
           desktop.getConnection(windowProfileOverride() ?? undefined),
-          RECONNECT_ATTEMPT_TIMEOUT_MS,
+          BACKEND_BOOT_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS,
           'Timed out connecting to Hermes backend'
         )
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/lib/with-timeout.ts b/apps/desktop/src/lib/with-timeout.ts
index fda453503b..f0b1433d13 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/lib/with-timeout.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/lib/with-timeout.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
+/** Shared budget for any renderer await that rides out a primary backend
+ * cold boot (initial getConnection(), the registry restore's descriptor
+ * wait). Matches the main-process spawn budget
+ * (DEFAULT_BACKEND_READY_TIMEOUT_MS in electron/backend-health.ts): a
+ * healthy cold boot publishes well within this; anything longer means the
+ * backend is not coming and the caller should fail instead of hanging.
+ * Reconnect-class awaits against an already-spawned backend use the shorter
+ * RECONNECT_ATTEMPT_TIMEOUT_MS (use-gateway-boot.ts) instead. */
+export const BACKEND_BOOT_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS = 45_000
+
 /** Rejection raised by withTimeout. The bounded work is NOT cancelled — the
  * caller decides what a straggler that settles later means. */
 export class TimeoutError extends Error {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/connections.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/connections.ts
index 5fe24eaa35..af4baa05f4 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/connections.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/connections.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { atom, computed } from 'nanostores'
 
 import type { DesktopConnectionsRegistry } from '@/global'
 import { persistStringRecord, storedStringRecord } from '@/lib/storage'
-import { isTimeoutError, withTimeout } from '@/lib/with-timeout'
+import { isTimeoutError, withTimeout, BACKEND_BOOT_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS } from '@/lib/with-timeout'
 import { $connectionsRegistry } from '@/store/connection-registry-state'
 import {
   beginGatewaySwitch,
@@ -34,8 +34,9 @@ const SWITCH_COMMIT_TIMEOUT_MS = 20_000
 const SWITCH_REMEMBER_TIMEOUT_MS = 5_000
 // Matches the primary spawn budget: a healthy cold boot publishes well within
 // this; anything longer means the primary is not coming and the registry
-// restore should stop waiting for it.
-const BOOT_DESCRIPTOR_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS = 45_000
+// restore should stop waiting for it. Shared constant so the boot-class
+// budgets can't drift apart (see with-timeout.ts).
+const BOOT_DESCRIPTOR_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS = BACKEND_BOOT_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS
 
 export { $connectionsRegistry } from '@/store/connection-registry-state'