diff --git a/frontend/src/composables/__tests__/useNostr.test.ts b/frontend/src/composables/__tests__/useNostr.test.ts
index ca2bf69..d64b4eb 100644
--- a/frontend/src/composables/__tests__/useNostr.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/composables/__tests__/useNostr.test.ts
@@ -128,4 +128,34 @@ describe('useNostr', () => {
     expect(result).toBe(false)
     vi.useRealTimers()
   })
+
+  it('BUG-F7: autoRestoreRan survives module re-import (HMR)', async () => {
+    // Set up conditions that trigger auto-restore: pubkey stored, no bot, valid JWT
+    localStorage.setItem('bf_pubkey', JSON.stringify('a'.repeat(64)))
+    mockGetToken.mockReturnValue('valid-jwt')
+    mockIsTokenExpired.mockReturnValue(false)
+    mockAuthFetch.mockResolvedValue({ json: () => Promise.resolve({ exists: true, bot: { id: 'b1', name: 'Bot' } }) })
+
+    // Clear globalThis flag
+    delete (globalThis as any).__bf_autoRestoreRan
+
+    // First import triggers auto-restore
+    vi.resetModules()
+    await import('../useNostr')
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 0)) // flush microtasks
+    expect(mockAuthFetch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+
+    // globalThis flag should be set
+    expect((globalThis as any).__bf_autoRestoreRan).toBe(true)
+
+    // Second import (simulating HMR) should NOT trigger auto-restore again
+    vi.resetModules()
+    mockAuthFetch.mockClear()
+    await import('../useNostr')
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 0))
+    expect(mockAuthFetch).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+
+    // Clean up
+    delete (globalThis as any).__bf_autoRestoreRan
+  })
 })
diff --git a/frontend/src/composables/useNostr.ts b/frontend/src/composables/useNostr.ts
index 167b77e..a060568 100644
--- a/frontend/src/composables/useNostr.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/composables/useNostr.ts
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ const bot = ref<BotData | null>(loadStored('bf_bot'))
 const profilePicUrl = ref<string | null>(loadStored('bf_pic'))
 const isLoading = ref(false)
 
-// Guard: only auto-restore once across all component mounts
-let autoRestoreRan = false
+// Guard: only auto-restore once — survives Vite HMR module re-evaluation
+let autoRestoreRan = (globalThis as any).__bf_autoRestoreRan ?? false
 // Flag: skip relay pic fetch for freshly generated keys (no profile exists)
 let freshlyGenerated = false
 // In-memory nsec for current session (never auto-persisted to localStorage)
@@ -116,7 +116,8 @@ if (typeof document !== 'undefined') {
 
 // Auto-restore session from JWT on first load
 if (!autoRestoreRan && pubkey.value && !bot.value && getToken() && !isTokenExpired()) {
-  autoRestoreRan = true
+  autoRestoreRan = true;
+  (globalThis as any).__bf_autoRestoreRan = true
   authFetch('/api/auth/login', {
     method: 'POST',
     headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
@@ -129,7 +130,8 @@ if (!autoRestoreRan && pubkey.value && !bot.value && getToken() && !isTokenExpir
   }).catch(err => console.warn('[Nostr] auto-restore failed:', err))
 } else if (!autoRestoreRan && pubkey.value && !getToken()) {
   // No JWT — clear stale pubkey from before the JWT migration
-  autoRestoreRan = true
+  autoRestoreRan = true;
+  (globalThis as any).__bf_autoRestoreRan = true
   pubkey.value = null
   store('bf_pubkey', null)
 }