diff --git a/app/src/utils/tauriCommands/core.test.ts b/app/src/utils/tauriCommands/core.test.ts
index 30b1c8002..cef018ffa 100644
--- a/app/src/utils/tauriCommands/core.test.ts
+++ b/app/src/utils/tauriCommands/core.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { invoke, isTauri } from '@tauri-apps/api/core';
-import { beforeEach, describe, expect, type Mock, test, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, type Mock, test, vi } from 'vitest';
 
 vi.mock('@tauri-apps/api/core', () => ({ invoke: vi.fn(), isTauri: vi.fn() }));
 vi.mock('../../services/coreRpcClient', () => ({ callCoreRpc: vi.fn() }));
@@ -19,6 +19,30 @@ describe('tauriCommands/core', () => {
   });
 
   describe('restartApp', () => {
+    // window.location.reload is non-configurable on jsdom's default location;
+    // swap in a mocked location object for the dev-mode tests and restore after.
+    let originalLocation: Location;
+    let reloadSpy: Mock;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      originalLocation = window.location;
+      reloadSpy = vi.fn();
+      Object.defineProperty(window, 'location', {
+        value: { ...originalLocation, reload: reloadSpy },
+        configurable: true,
+        writable: true,
+      });
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      Object.defineProperty(window, 'location', {
+        value: originalLocation,
+        configurable: true,
+        writable: true,
+      });
+      vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+    });
+
     test('no-ops when not in Tauri', async () => {
       mockIsTauri.mockReturnValue(false);
       const debug = vi.spyOn(console, 'debug').mockImplementation(() => {});
@@ -26,15 +50,45 @@ describe('tauriCommands/core', () => {
       await restartApp();
 
       expect(mockInvoke).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(reloadSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
       expect(debug).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
         expect.stringContaining('restartApp: skipped — not running in Tauri')
       );
       debug.mockRestore();
     });
 
-    test('invokes restart_app when in Tauri', async () => {
+    test('reloads webview in dev mode (#1068 — avoid orphaning vite)', async () => {
+      // setup.ts seeds DEV=true globally; the binding imported above already
+      // captured that value, so we just need to invoke the dev-mode branch.
+      const debug = vi.spyOn(console, 'debug').mockImplementation(() => {});
+
       await restartApp();
+
+      expect(reloadSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(mockInvoke).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(debug).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.stringContaining('restartApp: dev mode → window.location.reload()')
+      );
+      debug.mockRestore();
+    });
+
+    test('invokes restart_app in production mode (IS_DEV=false)', async () => {
+      // setup.ts globally mocks ../config with IS_DEV: true. Override with
+      // doMock + resetModules so a fresh import of ./core sees IS_DEV=false
+      // and runs the production branch (#1068 dev workaround should be inert).
+      vi.doMock('../config', () => ({
+        IS_DEV: false,
+        // Re-export anything else core.ts might end up using; today just IS_DEV.
+      }));
+      vi.resetModules();
+      const prodCore = await import('./core');
+
+      await prodCore.restartApp();
+
       expect(mockInvoke).toHaveBeenCalledWith('restart_app');
+      expect(reloadSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+      vi.doUnmock('../config');
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/app/src/utils/tauriCommands/core.ts b/app/src/utils/tauriCommands/core.ts
index b19e8c2be..c268b7f35 100644
--- a/app/src/utils/tauriCommands/core.ts
+++ b/app/src/utils/tauriCommands/core.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import { invoke } from '@tauri-apps/api/core';
 
 import { callCoreRpc } from '../../services/coreRpcClient';
+import { IS_DEV } from '../config';
 import { CommandResponse, isTauri } from './common';
 
 export interface CoreUpdateStatus {
@@ -61,12 +62,28 @@ export async function restartCoreProcess(): Promise<void> {
 
 /**
  * Restart the desktop shell so CEF relaunches with updated profile paths.
+ *
+ * In `pnpm dev:app` the launcher graph is:
+ *   `pnpm tauri dev` → `cargo run` → `tauri-cef` CLI → `vite` (child).
+ * Tauri's `app.restart()` exits the cargo parent, which orphans/kills the
+ * vite child and tears down the entire dev session (#1068). Use a webview
+ * reload in dev mode instead — module init re-runs, so localStorage seeds
+ * (e.g. `OPENHUMAN_ACTIVE_USER_ID`, set by `setActiveUserId` before the
+ * caller invokes us) are read fresh and redux-persist re-hydrates from
+ * the active user's namespace, all without touching the cargo / vite
+ * processes. Packaged builds keep the original `app.restart()` path —
+ * there is no vite child to orphan there.
  */
 export async function restartApp(): Promise<void> {
   if (!isTauri()) {
     console.debug('[app] restartApp: skipped — not running in Tauri');
     return;
   }
+  if (IS_DEV) {
+    console.debug('[app] restartApp: dev mode → window.location.reload()');
+    window.location.reload();
+    return;
+  }
   console.debug('[app] restartApp: invoking restart_app');
   await invoke<void>('restart_app');
 }