diff --git a/Commons/I18n.qml b/Commons/I18n.qml
index f05ccb59b..fd8d9095f 100644
--- a/Commons/I18n.qml
+++ b/Commons/I18n.qml
@@ -39,7 +39,9 @@ Singleton {
         Logger.e("I18n", `Failed to scan translation directory`);
         // Fallback to default languages
         availableLanguages = ["en"];
-        detectLanguage();
+        if (!root.isLoaded) {
+          detectLanguage();
+        }
       }
     }
   }
@@ -64,8 +66,19 @@ Singleton {
       }
     }
     onLoadFailed: function (error) {
-      setLanguage("en");
-      Logger.e("I18n", `Failed to load translation file: ${error}`);
+      if (root.langCode !== "en") {
+        // Fast-path language file not found, fall back to English directly
+        Logger.w("I18n", `Translation file for "${root.langCode}" not found, falling back to English`);
+        root.langCode = "en";
+        root.fullLocaleCode = "en";
+        root.locale = Qt.locale("en");
+        loadTranslations();
+      } else {
+        Logger.e("I18n", `Failed to load English translation file: ${error}`);
+        // English also failed - still emit signal to unblock startup
+        root.isLoaded = true;
+        root.translationsLoaded();
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -90,9 +103,47 @@ Singleton {
 
   Component.onCompleted: {
     Logger.i("I18n", "Service started");
+
+    // Fast path: immediately determine language and start loading translations
+    // without waiting for the directory scan
+    var lang = determineFastLanguage();
+    langCode = lang.code;
+    fullLocaleCode = lang.fullLocale;
+    locale = Qt.locale(lang.fullLocale);
+    systemDetectedLangCode = lang.code;
+    Logger.i("I18n", `Fast path: loading "${lang.code}" (locale: "${lang.fullLocale}")`);
+    loadTranslations();
+
+    // Scan available languages in background (needed for settings UI language picker)
     scanAvailableLanguages();
   }
 
+  // Determine the most likely language without waiting for directory scan
+  function determineFastLanguage() {
+    // Try user preference from Settings (defaults to "" if not yet loaded from disk)
+    var userLang = Settings.data.general.language;
+    if (userLang !== "") {
+      return {
+        code: userLang,
+        fullLocale: userLang
+      };
+    }
+
+    // Fall back to system locale
+    for (var i = 0; i < Qt.locale().uiLanguages.length; i++) {
+      var fullLang = Qt.locale().uiLanguages[i];
+      var shortLang = fullLang.substring(0, 2);
+      return {
+        code: shortLang,
+        fullLocale: fullLang
+      };
+    }
+    return {
+      code: "en",
+      fullLocale: "en"
+    };
+  }
+
   // -------------------------------------------
   function scanAvailableLanguages() {
     Logger.d("I18n", "Scanning for available translation files...");
@@ -107,7 +158,9 @@ Singleton {
       if (!output || output.trim() === "") {
         Logger.w("I18n", "Empty directory listing output");
         availableLanguages = ["en"];
-        detectLanguage();
+        if (!root.isLoaded) {
+          detectLanguage();
+        }
         return;
       }
 
@@ -141,13 +194,25 @@ Singleton {
       availableLanguages = languages;
       Logger.d("I18n", `Found ${languages.length} available languages: ${languages.join(', ')}`);
 
-      // Detect language after scanning
+      // If translations already loaded via fast path, only correct if user preference differs
+      if (root.isLoaded) {
+        var userLang = Settings.data.general.language;
+        if (userLang !== "" && userLang !== root.langCode && availableLanguages.includes(userLang)) {
+          Logger.i("I18n", `Correcting fast-path: switching to user preference "${userLang}"`);
+          setLanguage(userLang);
+        }
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // Detect language after scanning (fallback if fast path hasn't completed yet)
       detectLanguage();
     } catch (e) {
       Logger.e("I18n", `Failed to parse directory listing: ${e}`);
       // Fallback to default languages
       availableLanguages = ["en"];
-      detectLanguage();
+      if (!root.isLoaded) {
+        detectLanguage();
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -228,8 +293,8 @@ Singleton {
     isLoaded = false;
     Logger.d("I18n", `Loading translations: ${langCode}`);
 
-    // Only load fallback translations if we are not using english and english is available
-    if (langCode !== "en" && availableLanguages.includes("en")) {
+    // Load English fallback for non-English languages (English is always bundled)
+    if (langCode !== "en") {
       fallbackFileView.path = `file://${Quickshell.shellDir}/Assets/Translations/en.json`;
     }
   }
diff --git a/Services/Noctalia/PluginRegistry.qml b/Services/Noctalia/PluginRegistry.qml
index 36b25ebee..81a19478e 100644
--- a/Services/Noctalia/PluginRegistry.qml
+++ b/Services/Noctalia/PluginRegistry.qml
@@ -249,45 +249,62 @@ Singleton {
     checkProcess.running = true;
   }
 
-  // Scan plugin folder to discover installed plugins
+  // Scan plugin folder to discover installed plugins (single process reads all manifests)
   function scanPluginFolder() {
     Logger.i("PluginRegistry", "Scanning plugin folder:", root.pluginsDir);
 
-    var lsProcess = Qt.createQmlObject(`
+    var scanProcess = Qt.createQmlObject(`
       import QtQuick
       import Quickshell.Io
       Process {
-        command: ["sh", "-c", "ls -1 '${root.pluginsDir}' 2>/dev/null || true"]
+        command: ["sh", "-c", "for d in '${root.pluginsDir}'/*/; do [ -d \\"$d\\" ] || continue; [ -f \\"$d/manifest.json\\" ] || continue; echo \\"@@PLUGIN@@$(basename \\"$d\\")\\" ; cat \\"$d/manifest.json\\" ; done"]
         stdout: StdioCollector {}
         running: true
       }
-    `, root, "ScanPlugins");
+    `, root, "ScanAllPlugins");
 
-    lsProcess.exited.connect(function (exitCode) {
-      var output = String(lsProcess.stdout.text || "");
-      var pluginDirs = output.trim().split('\n').filter(function (dir) {
-        return dir.length > 0;
-      });
+    scanProcess.exited.connect(function (exitCode) {
+      var output = String(scanProcess.stdout.text || "");
+      var sections = output.split("@@PLUGIN@@");
+      var loadedCount = 0;
 
-      Logger.i("PluginRegistry", "Found", pluginDirs.length, "potential plugin directories");
+      for (var i = 1; i < sections.length; i++) {
+        var section = sections[i];
+        var newlineIdx = section.indexOf('\n');
+        if (newlineIdx === -1)
+          continue;
 
-      if (pluginDirs.length === 0) {
-        // No plugins to load, emit signal immediately
-        root.pluginsChanged();
-        lsProcess.destroy();
-        return;
+        var pluginId = section.substring(0, newlineIdx).trim();
+        var manifestJson = section.substring(newlineIdx + 1).trim();
+
+        if (!pluginId || !manifestJson)
+          continue;
+
+        try {
+          var manifest = JSON.parse(manifestJson);
+          var validation = validateManifest(manifest);
+
+          if (validation.valid) {
+            root.installedPlugins[pluginId] = manifest;
+            Logger.i("PluginRegistry", "Loaded plugin:", pluginId, "-", manifest.name);
+
+            if (!root.pluginStates[pluginId]) {
+              root.pluginStates[pluginId] = {
+                enabled: false
+              };
+            }
+            loadedCount++;
+          } else {
+            Logger.e("PluginRegistry", "Invalid manifest for", pluginId + ":", validation.error);
+          }
+        } catch (e) {
+          Logger.e("PluginRegistry", "Failed to parse manifest for", pluginId + ":", e.toString());
+        }
       }
 
-      // Track how many manifests we're loading
-      root.pendingManifests = pluginDirs.length;
-      Logger.i("PluginRegistry", "Starting to load", root.pendingManifests, "manifests");
-
-      // Load each manifest
-      for (var i = 0; i < pluginDirs.length; i++) {
-        loadPluginManifest(pluginDirs[i]);
-      }
-
-      lsProcess.destroy();
+      Logger.i("PluginRegistry", "All plugin manifests loaded. Total plugins:", loadedCount);
+      root.pluginsChanged();
+      scanProcess.destroy();
     });
   }
 
diff --git a/shell.qml b/shell.qml
index 0a8441216..d09bed161 100644
--- a/shell.qml
+++ b/shell.qml
@@ -89,20 +89,26 @@ ShellRoot {
     sourceComponent: Item {
       Component.onCompleted: {
         Logger.i("Shell", "---------------------------");
+
+        // Critical services needed for initial UI rendering
         WallpaperService.init();
         ImageCacheService.init();
         AppThemeService.init();
         ColorSchemeService.init();
-        LocationService.init();
-        NightLightService.apply();
         DarkModeService.init();
-        HooksService.init();
-        BluetoothService.init();
-        IdleInhibitorService.init();
-        PowerProfileService.init();
-        HostService.init();
-        GitHubService.init();
-        SupporterService.init();
+
+        // Defer non-critical services to unblock first frame
+        Qt.callLater(function () {
+          LocationService.init();
+          NightLightService.apply();
+          HooksService.init();
+          BluetoothService.init();
+          IdleInhibitorService.init();
+          PowerProfileService.init();
+          HostService.init();
+          GitHubService.init();
+          SupporterService.init();
+        });
 
         delayedInitTimer.running = true;
       }