diff --git a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js
index 9f61814..e64cc82 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js
+++ b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { destinationFor, moshpitConfig, parseRegistryName } from './moshpit.js';
+import { destinationFor, moshpitBypassHosts, moshpitConfig, parseRegistryName } from './moshpit.js';
 
 // Open the AI side panel when the toolbar action is clicked.
 chrome.sidePanel
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ async function stopTorViaHelper() {
   } catch (_) { /* helper not running — nothing to stop */ }
 }
 
-function torProxyConfig(port) {
+function torProxyConfig(port, pitHosts = []) {
   return {
     mode: 'fixed_servers',
     rules: {
@@ -177,7 +177,13 @@ function torProxyConfig(port) {
       singleProxy: { scheme: 'socks5', host: '127.0.0.1', port },
       // Loopback must bypass Tor: the SOCKS port + the control helper are on
       // 127.0.0.1, and Tor refuses to proxy private addresses anyway.
-      bypassList: ['localhost', '127.0.0.1', '[::1]'],
+      //
+      // The pit's own hosts bypass too. Resolution asks the registry a question
+      // before a Moshpit navigation can complete, and a cold Tor circuit does
+      // not answer inside the lookup budget — so routing them through Tor made
+      // every Moshpit name fall back to clearnet, which looks exactly like the
+      // namespace not existing. See moshpitBypassHosts for the privacy trade.
+      bypassList: ['localhost', '127.0.0.1', '[::1]', ...pitHosts],
     },
   };
 }
@@ -191,7 +197,11 @@ async function setTorBadge(on) {
 }
 
 async function enableTor() {
-  await chrome.proxy.settings.set({ value: torProxyConfig(TOR_SOCKS_PORT), scope: 'regular' });
+  // Read at enable time rather than cached: the options page can repoint the
+  // registry at a self-hosted pit between one toggle and the next.
+  let pitHosts = [];
+  try { pitHosts = moshpitBypassHosts(await moshpitConfig()); } catch (_) { /* defaults are enough */ }
+  await chrome.proxy.settings.set({ value: torProxyConfig(TOR_SOCKS_PORT, pitHosts), scope: 'regular' });
   // Stop WebRTC from leaking the real IP via non-proxied UDP.
   try {
     await chrome.privacy.network.webRTCIPHandlingPolicy.set({ value: 'disable_non_proxied_udp' });
diff --git a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.js b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.js
index 6532cf7..fda93cf 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.js
+++ b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.js
@@ -27,6 +27,46 @@ export function parkingUrlFor(name, parkingBase = DEFAULT_PARKING_BASE) {
   return `${parkingBase.replace(/\/+$/, '')}/parking?name=${encodeURIComponent(name)}`;
 }
 
+/**
+ * How long a registry lookup may take before navigation gives up on it.
+ *
+ * This sits in front of navigation, so it is a budget rather than a guess at
+ * the worst case: exceeding it falls back to clearnet, which is the right
+ * answer for a registry that is down but the wrong one for a registry that was
+ * merely slow. 4s was tight for a phone on a bad connection and hopeless for
+ * anything routed through Tor.
+ */
+export const DEFAULT_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS = 8000;
+
+/**
+ * The hosts that must not be routed through Tor.
+ *
+ * Resolution asks the registry a question before every Moshpit navigation, and
+ * a cold Tor circuit does not answer inside the lookup budget — so with Tor on
+ * and no bypass, real Moshpit names quietly resolve as ordinary clearnet ones
+ * and the namespace appears not to work.
+ *
+ * The trade is deliberate and worth stating: bypassing means the network path
+ * sees which Moshpit names are being looked up, and the registry sees the real
+ * IP. Neither was hidden before — the registry is told the name either way, and
+ * the console is where the account is signed in — so what Tor protected on this
+ * leg was close to nothing, at the cost of the feature working at all.
+ *
+ * Built from the configured bases rather than hardcoded, so a self-hosted pit
+ * gets the same treatment as the public one.
+ */
+export function moshpitBypassHosts(config) {
+  const hosts = [];
+  for (const base of [config?.registryBase, config?.consoleBase, config?.parkingBase]) {
+    if (!base) continue;
+    try {
+      const { hostname } = new URL(base);
+      if (hostname && !hosts.includes(hostname)) hosts.push(hostname);
+    } catch { /* an unparseable base is simply not bypassed */ }
+  }
+  return hosts;
+}
+
 /** Read the settings the options page writes. */
 export async function moshpitConfig() {
   const { moshpitConfig: cfg } = await chrome.storage.local.get('moshpitConfig');
@@ -72,7 +112,7 @@ export function gatewayUrlFor(resolved, registryBase = DEFAULT_REGISTRY_BASE) {
  * resolution sits in front of every navigation, so a registry that is slow,
  * down, or serving nonsense must degrade to "clearnet as usual".
  */
-export async function lookupMoshpit(hostname, { registryBase, timeoutMs = 4000 } = {}) {
+export async function lookupMoshpit(hostname, { registryBase, timeoutMs = DEFAULT_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS } = {}) {
   const parsed = parseRegistryName(hostname);
   if (!parsed) return null;
   const base = (registryBase || DEFAULT_REGISTRY_BASE).replace(/\/+$/, '');
diff --git a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.test.js b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.test.js
index 7819b47..1aa3c09 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.test.js
+++ b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.test.js
@@ -186,3 +186,49 @@ describe('lookupMoshpit — the registry payload as it really is', () => {
     expect((await js.lookupMoshpit('x.eggs')).target).toBe('203.0.113.7');
   });
 });
+
+describe('hosts that bypass Tor', () => {
+  it('lifts the hostname out of each configured base', () => {
+    expect(js.moshpitBypassHosts({
+      registryBase: 'https://pit.moshcode.sh',
+      consoleBase: 'https://app.moshcode.sh',
+      parkingBase: 'https://app.moshcode.sh',
+    })).toEqual(['pit.moshcode.sh', 'app.moshcode.sh']);
+  });
+
+  it('follows a self-hosted pit rather than hardcoding the public one', () => {
+    // The whole reason this is computed: someone pointing at their own pit
+    // needs the same bypass, or Tor breaks resolution for them and not for us.
+    expect(js.moshpitBypassHosts({ registryBase: 'https://my.pit:8443' }))
+      .toEqual(['my.pit']);
+  });
+
+  it('drops a port, since a proxy bypass entry matches on host', () => {
+    expect(js.moshpitBypassHosts({ registryBase: 'https://pit.example:9443' }))
+      .toEqual(['pit.example']);
+  });
+
+  it('survives missing or unparseable bases instead of throwing', () => {
+    // Called while enabling Tor; throwing here would leave the proxy unset and
+    // the browser routing in the clear while the badge says TOR.
+    expect(js.moshpitBypassHosts({})).toEqual([]);
+    expect(js.moshpitBypassHosts(undefined)).toEqual([]);
+    expect(js.moshpitBypassHosts({ registryBase: 'not a url' })).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('never routes loopback through Tor by accident', () => {
+    expect(js.moshpitBypassHosts({ registryBase: 'http://127.0.0.1:8787' }))
+      .toEqual(['127.0.0.1']);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('the lookup budget', () => {
+  it('is the same in both ports', () => {
+    expect(js.DEFAULT_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS).toBe(ts.DEFAULT_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS);
+  });
+
+  it('leaves room for a slow network without stalling navigation', () => {
+    expect(js.DEFAULT_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS).toBeGreaterThan(4000);
+    expect(js.DEFAULT_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS).toBeLessThanOrEqual(10000);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/moshpit-resolve.ts b/apps/desktop/src/moshpit-resolve.ts
index e07f287..6768994 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/moshpit-resolve.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/moshpit-resolve.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,15 @@ export type ResolveMode = 'clearnet' | 'moshpit';
 
 export const DEFAULT_RESOLVE_MODE: ResolveMode = 'clearnet';
 
+/**
+ * How long a registry lookup may take before navigation gives up on it.
+ *
+ * A budget, not a worst case: this sits in front of navigation, and exceeding
+ * it falls back to clearnet. Kept in step with the extension port in
+ * extensions/ai-sidebar/moshpit.js.
+ */
+export const DEFAULT_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS = 8000;
+
 /** The public registry. Overridable so a self-hosted pit can be pointed at. */
 export const DEFAULT_REGISTRY_BASE = 'https://pit.moshcode.sh';
 
@@ -255,7 +264,7 @@ export async function lookupMoshpit(
   const base = (options.registryBase ?? DEFAULT_REGISTRY_BASE).replace(/\/+$/, '');
   const fetchImpl = options.fetchImpl ?? fetch;
   const controller = new AbortController();
-  const timer = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), options.timeoutMs ?? 4000);
+  const timer = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), options.timeoutMs ?? DEFAULT_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_MS);
   try {
     const url = `${base}/api/moshpit/resolve?name=${encodeURIComponent(`${parsed.label}.${parsed.tld}`)}`;
     const res = await fetchImpl(url, { signal: controller.signal });