diff --git a/pkg6depotd/src/http/handlers/ui.rs b/pkg6depotd/src/http/handlers/ui.rs
index 72c9b2a..7200bed 100644
--- a/pkg6depotd/src/http/handlers/ui.rs
+++ b/pkg6depotd/src/http/handlers/ui.rs
@@ -524,3 +524,34 @@ pub async fn ui_p5i_generate(
     )
         .into_response())
 }
+
+// ===========================================================================
+// Embedded static assets
+// ===========================================================================
+
+static CSS_CONTENT: &str = include_str!("../../../static/css/style.css");
+static HTMX_JS_CONTENT: &str = include_str!("../../../static/js/htmx.min.js");
+
+/// GET /ui/static/css/style.css
+pub async fn static_css() -> Response {
+    (
+        [
+            (header::CONTENT_TYPE, "text/css; charset=utf-8"),
+            (header::CACHE_CONTROL, "public, max-age=3600"),
+        ],
+        CSS_CONTENT,
+    )
+        .into_response()
+}
+
+/// GET /ui/static/js/htmx.min.js
+pub async fn static_htmx_js() -> Response {
+    (
+        [
+            (header::CONTENT_TYPE, "application/javascript; charset=utf-8"),
+            (header::CACHE_CONTROL, "public, max-age=86400"),
+        ],
+        HTMX_JS_CONTENT,
+    )
+        .into_response()
+}
diff --git a/pkg6depotd/src/http/routes.rs b/pkg6depotd/src/http/routes.rs
index 2b7ed04..d34921d 100644
--- a/pkg6depotd/src/http/routes.rs
+++ b/pkg6depotd/src/http/routes.rs
@@ -7,15 +7,9 @@ use axum::{
     routing::{get, post},
 };
 use std::sync::Arc;
-use tower_http::services::ServeDir;
 use tower_http::trace::TraceLayer;
 
 pub fn app_router(state: Arc<DepotRepo>) -> Router {
-    // Static file serving for the web UI
-    let static_dir = ServeDir::new(
-        std::path::Path::new(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR")).join("static"),
-    );
-
     Router::new()
         .route("/", get(|| async { Redirect::permanent("/ui/") }))
         .route("/versions/0", get(versions::get_versions))
@@ -79,7 +73,9 @@ pub fn app_router(state: Arc<DepotRepo>) -> Router {
         .route("/ui/search/results", get(ui::ui_search_results))
         .route("/ui/package/{publisher}/{*fmri}", get(ui::ui_package_detail))
         .route("/ui/p5i", get(ui::ui_p5i_generate))
-        .nest_service("/ui/static", static_dir)
+        // Embedded static assets
+        .route("/ui/static/css/style.css", get(ui::static_css))
+        .route("/ui/static/js/htmx.min.js", get(ui::static_htmx_js))
         .layer(TraceLayer::new_for_http())
         .with_state(state)
 }
diff --git a/pkg6depotd/static/css/style.css b/pkg6depotd/static/css/style.css
index 8442d30..b519307 100644
--- a/pkg6depotd/static/css/style.css
+++ b/pkg6depotd/static/css/style.css
@@ -3,8 +3,7 @@
    Full custom stylesheet — no framework dependencies
    ========================================================================== */
 
-/* --- Fonts --- */
-@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=JetBrains+Mono:wght@400;500;600;700&family=Source+Sans+3:ital,wght@0,300;0,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;1,400&display=swap');
+/* Fonts loaded via <link> in base.html for non-blocking load */
 
 /* --- Design tokens --- */
 :root {
diff --git a/pkg6depotd/templates/base.html b/pkg6depotd/templates/base.html
index cb7607a..30bc191 100644
--- a/pkg6depotd/templates/base.html
+++ b/pkg6depotd/templates/base.html
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@
     <meta charset="utf-8">
     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
     <title>{% block title %}Package Repository{% endblock %}</title>
+    <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
+    <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
+    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=JetBrains+Mono:wght@400;500;600;700&family=Source+Sans+3:wght@300;400;500;600;700&display=swap">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="/ui/static/css/style.css">
     <script src="/ui/static/js/htmx.min.js"></script>
 </head>