diff --git a/templates/clips/desktop/src-tauri/src/recording_indicator.rs b/templates/clips/desktop/src-tauri/src/recording_indicator.rs
index 175d7416cd..3aef26e2ba 100644
--- a/templates/clips/desktop/src-tauri/src/recording_indicator.rs
+++ b/templates/clips/desktop/src-tauri/src/recording_indicator.rs
@@ -49,6 +49,12 @@ const PILL_LABEL: &str = "recording-pill";
 /// it through every command.
 static PILL_DETACHED: AtomicBool = AtomicBool::new(false);
 static PILL_RIGHT_SIDE: AtomicBool = AtomicBool::new(false);
+/// Mirrors the renderer's `expanded` React state so a re-show of an already
+/// open pill (e.g. after the tray icon toggles the popover) resizes the
+/// native window to match what's actually rendered instead of snapping it
+/// back to the collapsed size while the webview still renders the expanded
+/// layout.
+static PILL_EXPANDED: AtomicBool = AtomicBool::new(false);
 
 /// Hover-tracking loop control. macOS only feeds mouse-moved / hover events to
 /// the *key* window, so the background pill's CSS `:hover` never fires while
@@ -360,7 +366,8 @@ pub async fn recording_pill_show(
             (Some(p), Some(s)) => Some((p.x, p.y, s.width, s.height)),
             _ => None,
         };
-        let (w, h, x, y) = anchored_rect(&app, false, previous);
+        let expanded = PILL_EXPANDED.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+        let (w, h, x, y) = anchored_rect(&app, expanded, previous);
         let _ = existing.set_size(tauri::Size::Physical(PhysicalSize::new(w, h)));
         let _ = existing.set_position(PhysicalPosition::new(x, y));
         use tauri::Emitter;
@@ -377,6 +384,7 @@ pub async fn recording_pill_show(
         return Ok(());
     }
 
+    PILL_EXPANDED.store(false, Ordering::SeqCst);
     let (w, h, x, y) = anchored_rect(&app, false, None);
 
     let url = build_overlay_url("recording-pill");
@@ -465,6 +473,7 @@ fn stop_pill_hover_tracking() {
 
 #[tauri::command]
 pub async fn recording_pill_expand(app: AppHandle, expanded: bool) -> Result<(), String> {
+    PILL_EXPANDED.store(expanded, Ordering::SeqCst);
     let Some(window) = app.get_webview_window(PILL_LABEL) else {
         return Ok(());
     };
@@ -534,6 +543,7 @@ pub async fn recording_pill_set_detached(app: AppHandle, detached: bool) -> Resu
         // by the time we hit `anchored_rect` below, the new flag has
         // already taken effect and we get the right size + position for
         // the destination mode. (The atomic was flipped above.)
+        PILL_EXPANDED.store(false, Ordering::SeqCst);
         let (w, h, x, y) = anchored_rect(&app, false, None);
         let _ = window.set_size(tauri::Size::Physical(PhysicalSize::new(w, h)));
         let _ = window.set_position(PhysicalPosition::new(x, y));
diff --git a/templates/clips/desktop/src-tauri/src/whisper_speech.rs b/templates/clips/desktop/src-tauri/src/whisper_speech.rs
index ecb2b37f0d..714f9dd3ac 100644
--- a/templates/clips/desktop/src-tauri/src/whisper_speech.rs
+++ b/templates/clips/desktop/src-tauri/src/whisper_speech.rs
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ mod macos {
         language: Option<&str>,
     ) -> Vec<(i64, i64, String)> {
         let mut params = FullParams::new(SamplingStrategy::Greedy { best_of: 1 });
-        params.set_n_threads(4);
+        params.set_n_threads(2);
         params.set_language(language);
         params.set_translate(false);
         params.set_no_context(true);
diff --git a/templates/clips/desktop/src/overlays/recording-pill.tsx b/templates/clips/desktop/src/overlays/recording-pill.tsx
index 91f2c7a6df..eac8a0d2a6 100644
--- a/templates/clips/desktop/src/overlays/recording-pill.tsx
+++ b/templates/clips/desktop/src/overlays/recording-pill.tsx
@@ -108,8 +108,18 @@ export function RecordingPill() {
           meetingId: ev.payload?.meetingId ?? null,
           mode: ev.payload?.mode ?? "clip",
         };
+        const prev = ctxRef.current;
+        const isSameSession =
+          prev.meetingId === next.meetingId && prev.mode === next.mode;
         ctxRef.current = next;
         setCtx(next);
+        // The Rust side re-shows (and re-emits this event for) the same pill
+        // window whenever the tray icon re-triggers `recording_pill_show`
+        // (e.g. toggling the popover) while a meeting is already in progress.
+        // Only reset session state below when the meeting/mode actually
+        // changed — otherwise an in-progress meeting's timer, transcript, and
+        // notes would wipe out on every tray click.
+        if (isSameSession) return;
         // Reset timer on new context.
         startedAtRef.current = Date.now();
         setElapsed(0);