diff --git a/delphi-backend/PMServer.dpr b/delphi-backend/PMServer.dpr
index d664fd3..31d61bf 100644
--- a/delphi-backend/PMServer.dpr
+++ b/delphi-backend/PMServer.dpr
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-program PMServer;
+program PMServer;
 
 uses
   System.SysUtils,          // FindCmdLineSwitch
diff --git a/delphi-backend/PMServer.dproj b/delphi-backend/PMServer.dproj
index 6a73c1a..fc63078 100644
--- a/delphi-backend/PMServer.dproj
+++ b/delphi-backend/PMServer.dproj
@@ -204,6 +204,7 @@ $(PreBuildEvent)]]></PreBuildEvent>
         <Icon_MainIcon>PMServer_Icon1.ico</Icon_MainIcon>
         <UWP_DelphiLogo44>app.png</UWP_DelphiLogo44>
         <UWP_DelphiLogo150>app.png</UWP_DelphiLogo150>
+        <Debugger_RunParams>-tray</Debugger_RunParams>
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
         <DelphiCompile Include="$(MainSource)">
diff --git a/delphi-backend/UMainForm.fmx b/delphi-backend/UMainForm.fmx
index 80800bc..e92c557 100644
--- a/delphi-backend/UMainForm.fmx
+++ b/delphi-backend/UMainForm.fmx
@@ -127,10 +127,4 @@ object MainForm: TMainForm
     Left = 424
     Top = 240
   end
-  object Timer1: TTimer
-    Interval = 1
-    OnTimer = Timer1Timer
-    Left = 568
-    Top = 184
-  end
 end
diff --git a/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas b/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
index 072db7e..0319ba2 100644
--- a/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
+++ b/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ type
     Memo: TMemo;
     Splitter: TSplitter;
     PopupMenu1: TPopupMenu;
-    Timer1: TTimer;
     procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
     procedure FormDestroy(Sender: TObject);
     procedure FormCloseQuery(Sender: TObject; var CanClose: Boolean);
@@ -72,7 +71,6 @@ type
     procedure btnStopClick(Sender: TObject);
     procedure btnToggleLogClick(Sender: TObject);
     procedure btnReloadClick(Sender: TObject);
-    procedure Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
   private
     // Windows minimising the window from the outside (Win+D / Show desktop /
     // taskbar) makes FMX forget it was maximised: the window comes back
@@ -86,11 +84,6 @@ type
     // restore's resize is indistinguishable from a user gesture by placement
     // flags or foreground ownership — both were measured and rejected).
     FWinEventHook: THandle;
-    // --tray only: catches EVENT_OBJECT_SHOW so any top-level window of ours
-    // is hidden the instant Windows shows it. The FMX taskbar proxy is created
-    // partway through FormCreate — it does not exist at the first hide points
-    // and was therefore visible for the best part of a second.
-    FShowEventHook: THandle;
     // True from "minimise starts" until just after the restore settles, so the
     // resizes FMX fires while restoring are not recorded as user intent.
     FIgnoreResizes: Boolean;
@@ -180,10 +173,6 @@ type
     // stuck raised (see the implementation).
     // One-shot: hides the window the first time FMX shows it on a --tray
     // launch, then unhooks itself.
-    // Hides the form AND the FMX taskbar proxy right now, logging whether the
-    // window was actually visible — that is what pins down when FMX shows it.
-    procedure TrayHideNow(const ATag: string);
-    procedure TrayStartupHideOnce(Sender: TObject);
     procedure RestoreWindowFromTray;
     procedure WinStateMinimizeStart;
     procedure WinStateMinimizeEnd;
@@ -210,11 +199,6 @@ function MaskAccessToken(const AUrl: string): string; forward;
 
 // ---- WinEvent hook plumbing (see the maximised-state block further down) --
 const
-  EVENT_OBJECT_SHOW          = $8002;
-  // Synchronous delivery, in our own process. OUTOFCONTEXT would queue the
-  // callback until the thread pumps messages — which does not happen during
-  // FormCreate, exactly when we need to react.
-  WINEVENT_INCONTEXT         = $0004;
   EVENT_SYSTEM_MINIMIZESTART = $0016;
   EVENT_SYSTEM_MINIMIZEEND   = $0017;
   WINEVENT_OUTOFCONTEXT      = $0000;
@@ -226,66 +210,39 @@ function SetWinEventHook(eventMin, eventMax: DWORD; hmodWinEventProc: HMODULE;
 function UnhookWinEvent(hWinEventHook: THandle): BOOL;
   stdcall; external 'user32.dll' name 'UnhookWinEvent';
 
-// Defined lower down, next to the window-state logic it serves.
-// Unit-level, NOT a form field: Application.CreateForm only assigns MainForm
-// after the constructor returns, so during FormCreate the global is still nil
-// and the callback could not reach the form at all.
-var
-  GTrayStartupPending: Boolean = False;
-
 procedure WinStateEventProc(hWinEventHook: THandle; AEvent: DWORD; AWnd: HWND;
   idObject, idChild: LongInt; idEventThread, dwmsEventTime: DWORD); stdcall; forward;
-procedure TrayShowEventProc(hWinEventHook: THandle; AEvent: DWORD; AWnd: HWND;
-  idObject, idChild: LongInt; idEventThread, dwmsEventTime: DWORD); stdcall; forward;
-function FindOurFMXAppWindow: HWND; forward;
 
 procedure StartTrayProxyHider;
 begin
-  GTrayStartupPending := True;
-  TThread.CreateAnonymousThread(
-    procedure
-    var
-      LWnd: HWND;
-      LTicks: Integer;
-    begin
-      LTicks := 0;
-      // 5 ms cadence, 20 s ceiling. Stops as soon as the tray startup marks
-      // itself done, so a user restoring from the tray is never fought.
-      while GTrayStartupPending and (LTicks < 4000) do
-      begin
-        LWnd := FindOurFMXAppWindow;
-        if LWnd <> 0 then
-          ShowWindow(LWnd, SW_HIDE);   // unconditional: the button can be up
-        Sleep(5);                      // before WS_VISIBLE reads as set
-        Inc(LTicks);
-      end;
-    end).Start;
+  // ApplicationHWND (FMX.Platform.Win) IS the taskbar proxy — no hunting for a
+  // TFMAppClass window, and it is valid this early, before the form exists.
+  ShowWindow(ApplicationHWND, SW_HIDE);
+  // Hiding alone does not reliably drop the button: the taskbar had already
+  // drawn it. Clearing WS_EX_APPWINDOW and setting WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW does —
+  // a tool window is never listed. Undone by TrayProxyShowInTaskbar before any
+  // restore, otherwise the app would come back with no taskbar button at all.
+  SetWindowLong(ApplicationHWND, GWL_EXSTYLE,
+    (GetWindowLong(ApplicationHWND, GWL_EXSTYLE) and (not WS_EX_APPWINDOW))
+      or WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW);
+end;
+
+// Give the proxy its normal styles back. Takes effect on the next show, which
+// is exactly what RestoreFromTray does right after.
+procedure TrayProxyShowInTaskbar;
+begin
+  SetWindowLong(ApplicationHWND, GWL_EXSTYLE,
+    (GetWindowLong(ApplicationHWND, GWL_EXSTYLE) and (not WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW))
+      or WS_EX_APPWINDOW);
 end;
 
 procedure TMainForm.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
 begin
-  // --tray ("Start with Windows"): get the window off screen as early as
-  // possible. Visible := False alone is not enough — FMX re-shows the main
-  // form after the constructor returns — so OnActivate hides it again the
-  // instant it appears. That fires on the very first show, long before the
-  // deferred MinimizeToTray below, which only runs once the message loop is
-  // free (i.e. after the DB open, the server start and the WebView2 init:
-  // the second the window used to sit on screen during the Windows logon).
+  // --tray ("Start with Windows"): the taskbar proxy was already dealt with in
+  // the .dpr (StartTrayProxyHider) — it is shown before FormCreate is even
+  // reached. This just keeps the form itself off screen.
   if FindCmdLineSwitch('tray', True) then
-  begin
-    Visible    := False;
-    OnActivate := TrayStartupHideOnce;
-    GTrayStartupPending := True;
-    FShowEventHook := SetWinEventHook(
-      EVENT_OBJECT_SHOW, EVENT_OBJECT_SHOW, 0,
-      @TrayShowEventProc, GetCurrentProcessId, 0, WINEVENT_INCONTEXT);
-    LogLine('[tray] FormCreate begin at ' + FormatDateTime('hh:nn:ss.zzz', Now) +
-            ' show-hook=' + BoolToStr(FShowEventHook <> 0, True));
-    // The proxy watcher is NOT started here: FMX shows the taskbar proxy
-    // before FormCreate is even reached, so it is launched from the .dpr
-    // (StartTrayProxyHider) right after Application.Initialize.
-    TrayHideNow('hide#1 top-of-FormCreate');
-  end;
+    Visible := False;
 
   // The .fmx ships WindowState = wsMaximized, so that is the starting intent.
   // Wired here (not in the .fmx) to keep the designer file untouched.
@@ -325,9 +282,6 @@ begin
   {$ENDIF}
   WebBrowser.Parent := Self;
   WebBrowser.Align  := TAlignLayout.Client;
-  // Parenting forces the form's window handle to exist, and that is the point
-  // FMX may show it — hide again right away.
-  if FindCmdLineSwitch('tray', True) then TrayHideNow('hide#2 after-browser-parent');
 
   FServer := TPMHTTPServer.Create;
   FServer.OnLog := LogLine;
@@ -404,21 +358,13 @@ begin
     // it's noise when Windows itself put us in the tray (the user
     // didn't actively minimise). Manual launches still see it once.
     FBridge.BalloonShown := True;
-    TrayHideNow('hide#3 end-of-FormCreate');
     TThread.ForceQueue(nil,
       procedure
       begin
         FBridge.MinimizeToTray;
         // Hidden now — safe to pay the startup cost.
         btnStartClick(Nil);
-        GTrayStartupPending := False;
-        if FShowEventHook <> 0 then
-        begin
-          UnhookWinEvent(FShowEventHook);
-          FShowEventHook := 0;
-        end;
-        LogLine('[tray] deferred MinimizeToTray ran at ' +
-                FormatDateTime('hh:nn:ss.zzz', Now));
+        LogLine('Launched with --tray, started hidden (balloon suppressed)');
       end);
   end;
 end;
@@ -430,11 +376,6 @@ begin
     UnhookWinEvent(FWinEventHook);
     FWinEventHook := 0;
   end;
-  if FShowEventHook <> 0 then
-  begin
-    UnhookWinEvent(FShowEventHook);
-    FShowEventHook := 0;
-  end;
   if Assigned(FFileSaveChunks) then
   begin
     for var LSB in FFileSaveChunks.Values do LSB.Free;
@@ -1692,69 +1633,6 @@ begin
   else if AEvent = EVENT_SYSTEM_MINIMIZEEND then MainForm.WinStateMinimizeEnd;
 end;
 
-// While a --tray launch is still starting up, every top-level window our
-// process shows gets hidden again immediately. Scoped to our process by the
-// hook itself; WebView2 runs in separate processes so its windows never reach
-// here. Torn down as soon as startup finishes.
-// Our FMX taskbar proxy (TFMAppClass), found by class name and filtered on our
-// own process id — the same lookup TPMBridge does, duplicated here because it
-// must work from a worker thread before FBridge even exists.
-function FindOurFMXAppWindow: HWND;
-var
-  LPid: DWORD;
-begin
-  Result := FindWindowEx(0, 0, 'TFMAppClass', nil);
-  while Result <> 0 do
-  begin
-    LPid := 0;
-    GetWindowThreadProcessId(Result, LPid);
-    if LPid = GetCurrentProcessId then Exit;
-    Result := FindWindowEx(0, Result, 'TFMAppClass', nil);
-  end;
-end;
-
-procedure TrayShowEventProc(hWinEventHook: THandle; AEvent: DWORD; AWnd: HWND;
-  idObject, idChild: LongInt; idEventThread, dwmsEventTime: DWORD); stdcall;
-begin
-  if not GTrayStartupPending then Exit;
-  if (idObject <> OBJID_WINDOW) or (AWnd = 0) then Exit;
-  if GetParent(AWnd) <> 0 then Exit;          // top-level windows only
-  ShowWindow(AWnd, SW_HIDE);
-end;
-
-pprocedure TMainForm.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
-begin
-
-end;
-
-rocedure TMainForm.TrayHideNow(const ATag: string);
-var
-  LHwnd, LAppHwnd: HWND;
-  LWasVisible: Boolean;
-begin
-  LHwnd := WindowHandleToPlatform(Self.Handle).Wnd;
-  LWasVisible := (LHwnd <> 0) and IsWindowVisible(LHwnd);
-  if LHwnd <> 0 then ShowWindow(LHwnd, SW_HIDE);
-  LAppHwnd := 0;
-  if Assigned(FBridge) then LAppHwnd := FBridge.FindFMXAppWindow;
-  if LAppHwnd <> 0 then ShowWindow(LAppHwnd, SW_HIDE);
-  LogLine(Format('[tray] %s at %s — form_visible_was=%s hwnd=%d app=%d',
-    [ATag, FormatDateTime('hh:nn:ss.zzz', Now),
-     BoolToStr(LWasVisible, True), LHwnd, LAppHwnd]));
-end;
-
-procedure TMainForm.TrayStartupHideOnce(Sender: TObject);
-begin
-  OnActivate := nil;          // one shot — never fight the user afterwards
-  Visible := False;
-  TrayHideNow('hide#4 on-activate');
-
-  var AppHandle := ApplicationHWND;
-  ShowWindow(AppHandle, SW_HIDE);
-  SetWindowLong(AppHandle, GWL_EXSTYLE,
-  GetWindowLong(AppHandle, GWL_EXSTYLE) and (not WS_EX_APPWINDOW) or WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW);
-end;
-
 // Single entry point for every tray restore. ExecuteAutofill really minimises
 // the window (SW_MINIMIZE) before typing, which raises the guard; if the window
 // is then HIDDEN to the tray instead of being un-minimised, MINIMIZEEND may
@@ -1764,6 +1642,9 @@ end;
 procedure TMainForm.RestoreWindowFromTray;
 begin
   FIgnoreResizes := False;
+  // A --tray launch turned the proxy into a tool window to keep it off the
+  // taskbar during startup; put it back before showing anything.
+  TrayProxyShowInTaskbar;
   FBridge.RestoreFromTray;
 end;