diff --git a/server/src/__tests__/app-vite-dev-routing.test.ts b/server/src/__tests__/app-vite-dev-routing.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cc13ec837e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/__tests__/app-vite-dev-routing.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import type { Request } from "express";
+import { shouldServeViteDevHtml } from "../app.js";
+
+function createRequest(path: string, acceptsResult: string | false): Request {
+  return {
+    path,
+    accepts: () => acceptsResult,
+  } as unknown as Request;
+}
+
+describe("shouldServeViteDevHtml", () => {
+  it("serves HTML shell for document requests", () => {
+    expect(shouldServeViteDevHtml(createRequest("/", "html"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(shouldServeViteDevHtml(createRequest("/issues/abc", "html"))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("skips public assets even when the client accepts */*", () => {
+    expect(shouldServeViteDevHtml(createRequest("/sw.js", "html"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(shouldServeViteDevHtml(createRequest("/site.webmanifest", "html"))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("skips vite asset requests", () => {
+    expect(shouldServeViteDevHtml(createRequest("/@vite/client", "html"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(shouldServeViteDevHtml(createRequest("/src/main.tsx", "html"))).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/server/src/__tests__/http-log-policy.test.ts b/server/src/__tests__/http-log-policy.test.ts
index 5f21836adea..ec140c3e878 100644
--- a/server/src/__tests__/http-log-policy.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/__tests__/http-log-policy.test.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ describe("shouldSilenceHttpSuccessLog", () => {
     expect(shouldSilenceHttpSuccessLog("GET", "/@fs/Users/dotta/paperclip/ui/src/main.tsx", 200)).toBe(true);
     expect(shouldSilenceHttpSuccessLog("GET", "/src/App.tsx?t=123", 200)).toBe(true);
     expect(shouldSilenceHttpSuccessLog("GET", "/site.webmanifest", 200)).toBe(true);
+    expect(shouldSilenceHttpSuccessLog("GET", "/sw.js", 200)).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it("keeps normal successful application requests", () => {
diff --git a/server/src/app.ts b/server/src/app.ts
index 317b87993d0..4153760ff42 100644
--- a/server/src/app.ts
+++ b/server/src/app.ts
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ const VITE_DEV_STATIC_PATHS = new Set([
   "/favicon.ico",
   "/favicon.svg",
   "/site.webmanifest",
+  "/sw.js",
 ]);
 
 export function resolveViteHmrPort(serverPort: number): number {
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ export function resolveViteHmrPort(serverPort: number): number {
   return Math.max(1_024, serverPort - 10_000);
 }
 
-function shouldServeViteDevHtml(req: ExpressRequest): boolean {
+export function shouldServeViteDevHtml(req: ExpressRequest): boolean {
   const pathname = req.path;
   if (VITE_DEV_STATIC_PATHS.has(pathname)) return false;
   if (VITE_DEV_ASSET_PREFIXES.some((prefix) => pathname.startsWith(prefix))) return false;
@@ -310,6 +311,7 @@ export async function createApp(
 
   if (opts.uiMode === "vite-dev") {
     const uiRoot = path.resolve(__dirname, "../../ui");
+    const publicUiRoot = path.resolve(uiRoot, "public");
     const hmrPort = resolveViteHmrPort(opts.serverPort);
     const { createServer: createViteServer } = await import("vite");
     const vite = await createViteServer({
@@ -332,6 +334,9 @@ export async function createApp(
     });
     const renderViteHtml = viteHtmlRenderer;
 
+    if (fs.existsSync(publicUiRoot)) {
+      app.use(express.static(publicUiRoot, { index: false }));
+    }
     app.get(/.*/, async (req, res, next) => {
       if (!shouldServeViteDevHtml(req)) {
         next();
diff --git a/server/src/middleware/http-log-policy.ts b/server/src/middleware/http-log-policy.ts
index fee44fee1af..d652ee38d09 100644
--- a/server/src/middleware/http-log-policy.ts
+++ b/server/src/middleware/http-log-policy.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ const SILENCED_SUCCESS_STATIC_PREFIXES = [
 const SILENCED_SUCCESS_STATIC_PATHS = new Set([
   "/favicon.ico",
   "/site.webmanifest",
+  "/sw.js",
 ]);
 
 function normalizePath(url: string): string {