diff --git a/custom_components/bahmcloud_store/core.py b/custom_components/bahmcloud_store/core.py
index 2a9a491..82258db 100644
--- a/custom_components/bahmcloud_store/core.py
+++ b/custom_components/bahmcloud_store/core.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import hashlib
 import json
 import logging
 import time
@@ -14,8 +15,6 @@ from homeassistant.helpers.aiohttp_client import async_get_clientsession
 from homeassistant.util import yaml as ha_yaml
 
 from .storage import BCSStorage, CustomRepo
-from .views import StaticAssetsView, BCSApiView, BCSReadmeView
-from .custom_repo_view import BCSCustomRepoView
 from .providers import fetch_repo_info, detect_provider, RepoInfo, fetch_readme_markdown
 from .metadata import fetch_repo_metadata, RepoMetadata
 
@@ -67,16 +66,30 @@ class BCSCore:
         self.repos: dict[str, RepoItem] = {}
         self._listeners: list[callable] = []
 
-        self.version: str = self._read_manifest_version()
+        # Will be loaded asynchronously (no blocking IO in event loop)
+        self.version: str = "unknown"
 
-    def _read_manifest_version(self) -> str:
-        try:
-            manifest_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "manifest.json"
-            data = json.loads(manifest_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
-            v = data.get("version")
-            return str(v) if v else "unknown"
-        except Exception:
-            return "unknown"
+        # Diagnostics (helps verify refresh behavior)
+        self.last_index_url: str | None = None
+        self.last_index_bytes: int | None = None
+        self.last_index_hash: str | None = None
+        self.last_index_loaded_at: float | None = None
+
+    async def async_initialize(self) -> None:
+        """Async initialization that avoids blocking file IO."""
+        self.version = await self._read_manifest_version_async()
+
+    async def _read_manifest_version_async(self) -> str:
+        def _read() -> str:
+            try:
+                manifest_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "manifest.json"
+                data = json.loads(manifest_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+                v = data.get("version")
+                return str(v) if v else "unknown"
+            except Exception:
+                return "unknown"
+
+        return await self.hass.async_add_executor_job(_read)
 
     def add_listener(self, cb) -> None:
         self._listeners.append(cb)
@@ -89,21 +102,11 @@ class BCSCore:
                 pass
 
     async def full_refresh(self, source: str = "manual") -> None:
-        """Run a full store refresh and notify listeners.
-
-        This is the single entry-point used by both the periodic timer and
-        the manual refresh button.
-        """
+        """Single refresh entry-point used by both timer and manual button."""
         _LOGGER.info("BCS full refresh triggered (source=%s)", source)
         await self.refresh()
         self.signal_updated()
 
-    async def register_http_views(self) -> None:
-        self.hass.http.register_view(StaticAssetsView())
-        self.hass.http.register_view(BCSApiView(self))
-        self.hass.http.register_view(BCSReadmeView(self))
-        self.hass.http.register_view(BCSCustomRepoView(self))
-
     def get_repo(self, repo_id: str) -> RepoItem | None:
         return self.repos.get(repo_id)
 
@@ -132,6 +135,13 @@ class BCSCore:
         await self._enrich_and_resolve(merged)
         self.repos = merged
 
+        _LOGGER.info(
+            "BCS refresh complete: repos=%s (index=%s, custom=%s)",
+            len(self.repos),
+            len([r for r in self.repos.values() if r.source == "index"]),
+            len([r for r in self.repos.values() if r.source == "custom"]),
+        )
+
     async def _enrich_and_resolve(self, merged: dict[str, RepoItem]) -> None:
         sem = asyncio.Semaphore(6)
 
@@ -191,7 +201,7 @@ class BCSCore:
             "Expires": "0",
         }
 
-        async with session.get(url, timeout=20, headers=headers) as resp:
+        async with session.get(url, timeout=30, headers=headers) as resp:
             if resp.status != 200:
                 raise BCSError(f"store_url returned {resp.status}")
             return await resp.text()
@@ -206,15 +216,32 @@ class BCSCore:
         try:
             raw = await self._fetch_store_text(url)
 
+            # If we fetched a HTML page (wrong endpoint), attempt raw conversion.
             if "<html" in raw.lower() or "<!doctype html" in raw.lower():
                 fallback = self._add_cache_buster(self._gitea_src_to_raw(store_url))
                 if fallback != url:
-                    _LOGGER.debug("BCS store index looked like HTML, retrying raw URL")
+                    _LOGGER.warning("BCS store index looked like HTML, retrying raw URL")
                     raw = await self._fetch_store_text(fallback)
+                    url = fallback
 
         except Exception as e:
             raise BCSError(f"Failed fetching store index: {e}") from e
 
+        # Diagnostics
+        b = raw.encode("utf-8", errors="replace")
+        h = hashlib.sha256(b).hexdigest()[:12]
+        self.last_index_url = url
+        self.last_index_bytes = len(b)
+        self.last_index_hash = h
+        self.last_index_loaded_at = time.time()
+
+        _LOGGER.info(
+            "BCS index loaded: url=%s bytes=%s sha=%s",
+            self.last_index_url,
+            self.last_index_bytes,
+            self.last_index_hash,
+        )
+
         try:
             data = ha_yaml.parse_yaml(raw)
             if not isinstance(data, dict):
@@ -243,6 +270,7 @@ class BCSCore:
                     )
                 )
 
+            _LOGGER.info("BCS index parsed: repos=%s refresh_seconds=%s", len(items), refresh_seconds)
             return items, refresh_seconds
         except Exception as e:
             raise BCSError(f"Invalid store.yaml: {e}") from e
@@ -253,14 +281,12 @@ class BCSCore:
             raise BCSError("Missing url")
 
         c = await self.storage.add_custom_repo(url, name)
-        await self.refresh()
-        self.signal_updated()
+        await self.full_refresh(source="custom_repo_add")
         return c
 
     async def remove_custom_repo(self, repo_id: str) -> None:
         await self.storage.remove_custom_repo(repo_id)
-        await self.refresh()
-        self.signal_updated()
+        await self.full_refresh(source="custom_repo_remove")
 
     async def list_custom_repos(self) -> list[CustomRepo]:
         return await self.storage.list_custom_repos()