diff --git a/apps/mana/apps/web/src/lib/modules/chat/services/completion.ts b/apps/mana/apps/web/src/lib/modules/chat/services/completion.ts
index 5d4be0a76..399119788 100644
--- a/apps/mana/apps/web/src/lib/modules/chat/services/completion.ts
+++ b/apps/mana/apps/web/src/lib/modules/chat/services/completion.ts
@@ -5,15 +5,19 @@
  * Handles the full send → stream → persist cycle:
  *   1. Add user message to IndexedDB
  *   2. Auto-title conversation from first message
- *   3. Create empty assistant message placeholder
- *   4. POST to /api/v1/chat/completions/stream (SSE)
- *   5. Append streamed chunks to the assistant message
+ *   3. Resolve template system prompt (if conversation has templateId)
+ *   4. Create empty assistant message placeholder
+ *   5. POST to /api/v1/chat/completions/stream (SSE) with auth
+ *   6. Append streamed chunks to the assistant message (debounced persist)
  */
 
 import { getManaApiUrl } from '$lib/api/config';
+import { authStore } from '$lib/stores/auth.svelte';
+import { db } from '$lib/data/database';
+import { decryptRecords } from '$lib/data/crypto';
 import { messagesStore } from '../stores/messages.svelte';
 import { conversationsStore } from '../stores/conversations.svelte';
-import type { Message } from '../types';
+import type { LocalTemplate, Message } from '../types';
 
 export interface SendOptions {
 	conversationId: string;
@@ -22,6 +26,8 @@ export interface SendOptions {
 	history: Array<{ sender: string; messageText: string }>;
 	/** Current conversation title — used to decide whether to auto-title. */
 	currentTitle?: string;
+	/** Template ID — if set, its systemPrompt is prepended to the LLM messages. */
+	templateId?: string;
 	/** Model override (default: server picks gemma3:4b). */
 	model?: string;
 }
@@ -31,6 +37,31 @@ export interface SendResult {
 	assistantMessage: Message;
 }
 
+/** Debounce interval for persisting streaming text to IndexedDB. */
+const PERSIST_INTERVAL_MS = 250;
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the system prompt for a template. Returns null if the template
+ * doesn't exist or has no system prompt. Decrypts the template fields
+ * since systemPrompt is encrypted at rest.
+ */
+async function resolveSystemPrompt(templateId: string | undefined): Promise<string | null> {
+	if (!templateId) return null;
+	const local = await db.table<LocalTemplate>('chatTemplates').get(templateId);
+	if (!local || local.deletedAt) return null;
+	const [decrypted] = await decryptRecords('chatTemplates', [local]);
+	return decrypted?.systemPrompt?.trim() || null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build the Authorization header from the current session token.
+ * Returns an empty object when no token is available (guest mode).
+ */
+async function authHeader(): Promise<Record<string, string>> {
+	const token = await authStore.getAccessToken();
+	return token ? { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` } : {};
+}
+
 /**
  * Send a user message and stream the assistant response.
  *
@@ -43,7 +74,7 @@ export async function sendAndStream(
 	opts: SendOptions,
 	onChunk?: (accumulated: string) => void
 ): Promise<SendResult> {
-	const { conversationId, text, history, currentTitle, model } = opts;
+	const { conversationId, text, history, currentTitle, templateId, model } = opts;
 
 	// 1. Persist user message
 	const userMessage = await messagesStore.addUserMessage(conversationId, text);
@@ -54,23 +85,33 @@ export async function sendAndStream(
 		await conversationsStore.updateTitle(conversationId, title);
 	}
 
-	// 3. Build LLM messages array
-	const llmMessages = [
+	// 3. Build LLM messages array — prepend system prompt if template is set
+	const systemPrompt = await resolveSystemPrompt(templateId);
+	const llmMessages: Array<{ role: string; content: string }> = [];
+
+	if (systemPrompt) {
+		llmMessages.push({ role: 'system', content: systemPrompt });
+	}
+
+	llmMessages.push(
 		...history.map((m) => ({
-			role: m.sender === 'user' ? 'user' : 'assistant',
+			role: m.sender === 'user' ? 'user' : m.sender === 'system' ? 'system' : 'assistant',
 			content: m.messageText,
 		})),
-		{ role: 'user' as const, content: text },
-	];
+		{ role: 'user', content: text }
+	);
 
 	// 4. Create assistant placeholder
 	const assistantMessage = await messagesStore.addAssistantMessage(conversationId, '');
 
-	// 5. Stream from mana-api
+	// 5. Stream from mana-api (with auth)
 	const apiUrl = getManaApiUrl();
 	const response = await fetch(`${apiUrl}/api/v1/chat/completions/stream`, {
 		method: 'POST',
-		headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+		headers: {
+			'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+			...(await authHeader()),
+		},
 		body: JSON.stringify({
 			messages: llmMessages,
 			model: model ?? undefined,
@@ -85,7 +126,7 @@ export async function sendAndStream(
 		return { userMessage, assistantMessage: { ...assistantMessage, messageText: fallback } };
 	}
 
-	// 6. Read SSE stream
+	// 6. Read SSE stream with debounced persist
 	let accumulated = '';
 	const reader = response.body?.getReader();
 	if (!reader) {
@@ -98,6 +139,25 @@ export async function sendAndStream(
 
 	const decoder = new TextDecoder();
 	let buffer = '';
+	let lastPersist = 0;
+	let persistTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
+
+	function schedulePersist() {
+		const now = Date.now();
+		if (now - lastPersist >= PERSIST_INTERVAL_MS) {
+			lastPersist = now;
+			void messagesStore.updateText(assistantMessage.id, accumulated);
+		} else if (!persistTimer) {
+			persistTimer = setTimeout(
+				() => {
+					persistTimer = null;
+					lastPersist = Date.now();
+					void messagesStore.updateText(assistantMessage.id, accumulated);
+				},
+				PERSIST_INTERVAL_MS - (now - lastPersist)
+			);
+		}
+	}
 
 	while (true) {
 		const { done, value } = await reader.read();
@@ -114,23 +174,25 @@ export async function sendAndStream(
 
 			try {
 				const parsed = JSON.parse(payload);
-				// OpenAI-compatible chunk format
 				const delta = parsed.choices?.[0]?.delta?.content;
 				if (delta) {
 					accumulated += delta;
 					onChunk?.(accumulated);
+					schedulePersist();
 				}
 			} catch {
-				// Non-JSON payload (e.g. error string) — append as-is
 				if (payload && payload !== '[DONE]') {
 					accumulated += payload;
 					onChunk?.(accumulated);
+					schedulePersist();
 				}
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
-	// 7. Final persist
+	// 7. Final persist (cancel any pending debounce)
+	if (persistTimer) clearTimeout(persistTimer);
+
 	if (accumulated) {
 		await messagesStore.updateText(assistantMessage.id, accumulated);
 	} else {
diff --git a/apps/mana/apps/web/src/lib/modules/chat/views/DetailView.svelte b/apps/mana/apps/web/src/lib/modules/chat/views/DetailView.svelte
index 54a447d74..669205304 100644
--- a/apps/mana/apps/web/src/lib/modules/chat/views/DetailView.svelte
+++ b/apps/mana/apps/web/src/lib/modules/chat/views/DetailView.svelte
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@
 					text,
 					history: messages,
 					currentTitle: conversation?.title,
+					templateId: conversation?.templateId,
+					model: conversation?.modelId || undefined,
 				},
 				(accumulated) => {
 					streamingText = accumulated;
diff --git a/apps/mana/apps/web/src/routes/(app)/chat/[id]/+page.svelte b/apps/mana/apps/web/src/routes/(app)/chat/[id]/+page.svelte
index 9555e47ae..36556c3ca 100644
--- a/apps/mana/apps/web/src/routes/(app)/chat/[id]/+page.svelte
+++ b/apps/mana/apps/web/src/routes/(app)/chat/[id]/+page.svelte
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@
 					text,
 					history: messages,
 					currentTitle: conversation?.title,
+					templateId: conversation?.templateId,
+					model: conversation?.modelId || undefined,
 				},
 				(accumulated) => {
 					streamingText = accumulated;