diff --git a/src/central/gui/__init__.py b/src/central/gui/__init__.py
index 87f1269..20d79aa 100644
--- a/src/central/gui/__init__.py
+++ b/src/central/gui/__init__.py
@@ -136,6 +136,50 @@ def _create_app() -> FastAPI:
     # Include routes
     app.include_router(router)
 
+    # CSRF exception handler - return friendly error instead of 500
+    from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import CsrfProtectError
+    from fastapi.responses import RedirectResponse
+
+    @app.exception_handler(CsrfProtectError)
+    async def csrf_exception_handler(request, exc: CsrfProtectError):
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect import CsrfProtect
+        
+        csrf_protect = CsrfProtect()
+        csrf_token, signed_token = csrf_protect.generate_csrf_tokens()
+        
+        if request.url.path == "/login":
+            response = templates.TemplateResponse(
+                request=request,
+                name="login.html",
+                context={"csrf_token": csrf_token, "error": "Your session expired. Please try again."},
+            )
+            csrf_protect.set_csrf_cookie(signed_token, response)
+            return response
+        elif request.url.path == "/setup":
+            response = templates.TemplateResponse(
+                request=request,
+                name="setup.html",
+                context={"csrf_token": csrf_token, "error": "Your session expired. Please try again."},
+            )
+            csrf_protect.set_csrf_cookie(signed_token, response)
+            return response
+        elif request.url.path == "/logout":
+            return RedirectResponse("/login", status_code=302)
+        elif request.url.path == "/change-password":
+            response = templates.TemplateResponse(
+                request=request,
+                name="change_password.html",
+                context={"csrf_token": csrf_token, "error": "Your session expired. Please try again."},
+            )
+            csrf_protect.set_csrf_cookie(signed_token, response)
+            return response
+        elif request.url.path.startswith("/adapters/"):
+            # Redirect back to adapters list
+            return RedirectResponse("/adapters", status_code=302)
+        else:
+            # Fallback: redirect to login
+            return RedirectResponse("/login", status_code=302)
+
     return app
 
 
diff --git a/src/central/gui/routes.py b/src/central/gui/routes.py
index 755cb80..73543c1 100644
--- a/src/central/gui/routes.py
+++ b/src/central/gui/routes.py
@@ -182,6 +182,7 @@ async def dashboard_streams(request: Request) -> HTMLResponse:
 async def dashboard_polls(request: Request) -> HTMLResponse:
     """Get last poll times for each adapter."""
     from central.gui.nats import get_js
+    from nats.js.errors import NotFoundError
 
     templates = _get_templates()
     pool = get_pool()
@@ -210,43 +211,31 @@ async def dashboard_polls(request: Request) -> HTMLResponse:
     else:
         for name in adapter_names:
             try:
-                # Get last message from CENTRAL_META for this adapter
-                sub = await js.pull_subscribe(
-                    f"central.meta.{name}.status",
-                    durable=f"dashboard-poll-{name}",
-                    stream="CENTRAL_META",
+                msg = await js.get_last_msg(
+                    "CENTRAL_META",
+                    f"central.meta.adapter.{name}.status",
                 )
-                try:
-                    msgs = await sub.fetch(1, timeout=1.0)
-                    if msgs:
-                        data = json.loads(msgs[0].data.decode())
-                        last_poll = data.get("data", {}).get("time", "—")
-                        adapters.append({
-                            "name": name,
-                            "last_poll": last_poll,
-                            "status": "✓",
-                            "error": None,
-                        })
-                    else:
-                        adapters.append({
-                            "name": name,
-                            "last_poll": None,
-                            "status": None,
-                            "error": None,
-                        })
-                except Exception:
-                    adapters.append({
-                        "name": name,
-                        "last_poll": None,
-                        "status": None,
-                        "error": None,
-                    })
-            except Exception:
+                data = json.loads(msg.data.decode())
+                adapters.append({
+                    "name": name,
+                    "last_poll": data.get("ts"),
+                    "status": "✓" if data.get("ok") else "✗",
+                    "error": data.get("error") if not data.get("ok") else None,
+                })
+            except NotFoundError:
+                # No status message for this adapter yet
                 adapters.append({
                     "name": name,
                     "last_poll": None,
                     "status": None,
-                    "error": "unavailable",
+                    "error": None,
+                })
+            except Exception as e:
+                adapters.append({
+                    "name": name,
+                    "last_poll": None,
+                    "status": "?",
+                    "error": str(e),
                 })
 
     return templates.TemplateResponse(
diff --git a/src/central/gui/templates/change_password.html b/src/central/gui/templates/change_password.html
index c353c60..ad91796 100644
--- a/src/central/gui/templates/change_password.html
+++ b/src/central/gui/templates/change_password.html
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@
         <h1>Change Password</h1>
     </header>
     
+    {% if error %}
+    <p style="color: var(--pico-color-red-500);">{{ error }}</p>
+    {% endif %}
+    
     <form action="/change-password" method="post">
         <input type="hidden" name="csrf_token" value="{{ csrf_token }}">
         
diff --git a/src/central/gui/templates/login.html b/src/central/gui/templates/login.html
index 3510bf8..60fc942 100644
--- a/src/central/gui/templates/login.html
+++ b/src/central/gui/templates/login.html
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@
         <h1>Login</h1>
     </header>
     
+    {% if error %}
+    <p style="color: var(--pico-color-red-500);">{{ error }}</p>
+    {% endif %}
+    
     <form action="/login" method="post">
         <input type="hidden" name="csrf_token" value="{{ csrf_token }}">
         
diff --git a/src/central/gui/templates/setup.html b/src/central/gui/templates/setup.html
index 7b72249..d290d1d 100644
--- a/src/central/gui/templates/setup.html
+++ b/src/central/gui/templates/setup.html
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@
         <p>Create the initial operator account to get started.</p>
     </header>
     
+    {% if error %}
+    <p style="color: var(--pico-color-red-500);">{{ error }}</p>
+    {% endif %}
+    
     <form action="/setup" method="post">
         <input type="hidden" name="csrf_token" value="{{ csrf_token }}">
         
diff --git a/tests/test_csrf_handler.py b/tests/test_csrf_handler.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58456e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_csrf_handler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+"""Tests for CSRF exception handler."""
+
+import os
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, AsyncMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+os.environ.setdefault("CENTRAL_DB_DSN", "postgresql://test:test@localhost/test")
+os.environ.setdefault("CENTRAL_CSRF_SECRET", "testsecret12345678901234567890ab")
+os.environ.setdefault("CENTRAL_NATS_URL", "nats://localhost:4222")
+
+
+class TestCsrfExceptionHandlerRegistered:
+    """Verify CSRF exception handler is properly registered."""
+
+    def test_csrf_exception_handler_is_registered(self):
+        """The app has a CsrfProtectError exception handler registered."""
+        from central.gui import app
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import CsrfProtectError
+
+        assert CsrfProtectError in app.exception_handlers, \
+            "CsrfProtectError handler should be registered"
+
+    def test_csrf_subclasses_are_caught(self):
+        """MissingTokenError and TokenValidationError inherit from CsrfProtectError."""
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import (
+            CsrfProtectError,
+            MissingTokenError,
+            TokenValidationError,
+        )
+
+        assert issubclass(MissingTokenError, CsrfProtectError)
+        assert issubclass(TokenValidationError, CsrfProtectError)
+
+
+class TestCsrfExceptionHandlerBehavior:
+    """Test the CSRF exception handler behavior."""
+
+    def test_login_csrf_error_handler_checks_path(self):
+        """CSRF handler checks request path for /login."""
+        import inspect
+        from central.gui import _create_app
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import CsrfProtectError
+
+        app = _create_app()
+        handler = app.exception_handlers.get(CsrfProtectError)
+
+        # Verify handler source contains /login path check
+        source = inspect.getsource(handler)
+        assert "/login" in source
+        assert "session expired" in source.lower()
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_logout_csrf_error_redirects_to_login(self):
+        """CSRF error on /logout should redirect to /login."""
+        from central.gui import _create_app
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import TokenValidationError
+        from fastapi.responses import RedirectResponse
+
+        app = _create_app()
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import CsrfProtectError
+        handler = app.exception_handlers.get(CsrfProtectError)
+
+        mock_request = MagicMock()
+        mock_request.url.path = "/logout"
+
+        exc = TokenValidationError("Invalid token")
+
+        result = await handler(mock_request, exc)
+
+        assert isinstance(result, RedirectResponse)
+        assert result.status_code == 302
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_adapters_csrf_error_redirects_to_adapters(self):
+        """CSRF error on /adapters/{name} should redirect to /adapters."""
+        from central.gui import _create_app
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import TokenValidationError
+        from fastapi.responses import RedirectResponse
+
+        app = _create_app()
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import CsrfProtectError
+        handler = app.exception_handlers.get(CsrfProtectError)
+
+        mock_request = MagicMock()
+        mock_request.url.path = "/adapters/nws"
+
+        exc = TokenValidationError("Invalid token")
+
+        result = await handler(mock_request, exc)
+
+        assert isinstance(result, RedirectResponse)
+        assert result.status_code == 302
+
+
+class TestCsrfHandlerNoTraceback:
+    """Verify exception handler doesn't expose Python internals."""
+
+    def test_handler_exists_and_is_async(self):
+        """The CSRF handler should be an async function."""
+        import inspect
+        from central.gui import _create_app
+        from fastapi_csrf_protect.exceptions import CsrfProtectError
+
+        app = _create_app()
+        handler = app.exception_handlers.get(CsrfProtectError)
+
+        assert handler is not None
+        assert inspect.iscoroutinefunction(handler)
diff --git a/tests/test_dashboard.py b/tests/test_dashboard.py
index 6572903..f03f9ac 100644
--- a/tests/test_dashboard.py
+++ b/tests/test_dashboard.py
@@ -1,47 +1,36 @@
 """Tests for dashboard routes."""
 
+import json
 import os
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, AsyncMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
-# Set required env vars before importing central modules
 os.environ.setdefault("CENTRAL_DB_DSN", "postgresql://test:test@localhost/test")
 os.environ.setdefault("CENTRAL_CSRF_SECRET", "testsecret12345678901234567890ab")
 os.environ.setdefault("CENTRAL_NATS_URL", "nats://localhost:4222")
 
 
 class TestFormatBytes:
-    """Test _format_bytes helper."""
-
     def test_format_bytes_bytes(self):
-        """Bytes are shown as B."""
         from central.gui.routes import _format_bytes
         assert _format_bytes(100) == "100 B"
 
     def test_format_bytes_kilobytes(self):
-        """KB formatting."""
         from central.gui.routes import _format_bytes
         assert _format_bytes(1024) == "1.0 KB"
 
     def test_format_bytes_megabytes(self):
-        """MB formatting."""
         from central.gui.routes import _format_bytes
         assert _format_bytes(1048576) == "1.0 MB"
 
     def test_format_bytes_gigabytes(self):
-        """GB formatting."""
         from central.gui.routes import _format_bytes
         assert _format_bytes(1073741824) == "1.0 GB"
 
 
 class TestDashboardEventsSQL:
-    """Test events query construction."""
-
     def test_events_query_has_24h_filter(self):
-        """Events query filters by received > NOW() - 24h."""
-        # We can't easily test the full route without mocking,
-        # but we can verify the query logic by inspecting the source
         import inspect
         from central.gui.routes import dashboard_events
         source = inspect.getsource(dashboard_events)
@@ -50,25 +39,17 @@ class TestDashboardEventsSQL:
 
 
 class TestDashboardStreamsGracefulDegradation:
-    """Test streams endpoint graceful degradation."""
-
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_nats_unavailable_returns_error_message(self):
-        """When NATS is unavailable, streams returns error message not 500."""
         from central.gui.routes import dashboard_streams
-
         mock_request = MagicMock()
         mock_request.state.operator = MagicMock()
-
         mock_templates = MagicMock()
         mock_response = MagicMock()
         mock_templates.TemplateResponse.return_value = mock_response
-
         with patch("central.gui.routes._get_templates", return_value=mock_templates):
             with patch("central.gui.nats.get_js", return_value=None):
                 result = await dashboard_streams(mock_request)
-
-        # Should call template with error context
         call_args = mock_templates.TemplateResponse.call_args
         context = call_args.kwargs.get("context", call_args[1].get("context"))
         assert context["error"] == "NATS unavailable"
@@ -76,32 +57,23 @@ class TestDashboardStreamsGracefulDegradation:
 
 
 class TestDashboardPollsGracefulDegradation:
-    """Test polls endpoint graceful degradation."""
-
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_nats_unavailable_shows_all_adapters_with_error(self):
-        """When NATS is unavailable, polls shows adapters with error message."""
         from central.gui.routes import dashboard_polls
-
         mock_request = MagicMock()
         mock_request.state.operator = MagicMock()
-
         mock_conn = AsyncMock()
         mock_conn.fetch.return_value = [{"name": "nws"}, {"name": "firms"}]
-
         mock_pool = MagicMock()
         mock_pool.acquire.return_value.__aenter__ = AsyncMock(return_value=mock_conn)
         mock_pool.acquire.return_value.__aexit__ = AsyncMock(return_value=None)
-
         mock_templates = MagicMock()
         mock_response = MagicMock()
         mock_templates.TemplateResponse.return_value = mock_response
-
         with patch("central.gui.routes._get_templates", return_value=mock_templates):
             with patch("central.gui.routes.get_pool", return_value=mock_pool):
                 with patch("central.gui.nats.get_js", return_value=None):
                     result = await dashboard_polls(mock_request)
-
         call_args = mock_templates.TemplateResponse.call_args
         context = call_args.kwargs.get("context", call_args[1].get("context"))
         assert context["error"] == "NATS unavailable"
@@ -109,14 +81,106 @@ class TestDashboardPollsGracefulDegradation:
         assert context["adapters"][0]["error"] == "NATS unavailable"
 
 
-class TestDashboardStreamsIsolation:
-    """Test stream failure isolation."""
+class TestDashboardPollsGetLastMsg:
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_polls_returns_timestamp_from_status_message(self):
+        from central.gui.routes import dashboard_polls
+        mock_request = MagicMock()
+        mock_request.state.operator = MagicMock()
+        mock_conn = AsyncMock()
+        mock_conn.fetch.return_value = [{"name": "nws"}]
+        mock_pool = MagicMock()
+        mock_pool.acquire.return_value.__aenter__ = AsyncMock(return_value=mock_conn)
+        mock_pool.acquire.return_value.__aexit__ = AsyncMock(return_value=None)
+        mock_msg = MagicMock()
+        mock_msg.data = json.dumps({"ok": True, "ts": "2026-05-17T12:34:56Z"}).encode()
+        mock_js = AsyncMock()
+        mock_js.get_last_msg = AsyncMock(return_value=mock_msg)
+        mock_templates = MagicMock()
+        mock_response = MagicMock()
+        mock_templates.TemplateResponse.return_value = mock_response
+        with patch("central.gui.routes._get_templates", return_value=mock_templates):
+            with patch("central.gui.routes.get_pool", return_value=mock_pool):
+                with patch("central.gui.nats.get_js", return_value=mock_js):
+                    result = await dashboard_polls(mock_request)
+        call_args = mock_templates.TemplateResponse.call_args
+        context = call_args.kwargs.get("context", call_args[1].get("context"))
+        assert len(context["adapters"]) == 1
+        adapter = context["adapters"][0]
+        assert adapter["name"] == "nws"
+        assert adapter["last_poll"] == "2026-05-17T12:34:56Z"
+        assert adapter["status"] == "\u2713"
+        assert adapter["error"] is None
 
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
-    async def test_single_stream_failure_doesnt_crash_card(self):
-        """A single stream failure shows error for that stream only."""
-        from central.gui.routes import dashboard_streams
+    async def test_polls_handles_not_found_error_gracefully(self):
+        from central.gui.routes import dashboard_polls
+        from nats.js.errors import NotFoundError
+        mock_request = MagicMock()
+        mock_request.state.operator = MagicMock()
+        mock_conn = AsyncMock()
+        mock_conn.fetch.return_value = [{"name": "nws"}]
+        mock_pool = MagicMock()
+        mock_pool.acquire.return_value.__aenter__ = AsyncMock(return_value=mock_conn)
+        mock_pool.acquire.return_value.__aexit__ = AsyncMock(return_value=None)
+        mock_js = AsyncMock()
+        mock_js.get_last_msg = AsyncMock(side_effect=NotFoundError())
+        mock_templates = MagicMock()
+        mock_response = MagicMock()
+        mock_templates.TemplateResponse.return_value = mock_response
+        with patch("central.gui.routes._get_templates", return_value=mock_templates):
+            with patch("central.gui.routes.get_pool", return_value=mock_pool):
+                with patch("central.gui.nats.get_js", return_value=mock_js):
+                    result = await dashboard_polls(mock_request)
+        call_args = mock_templates.TemplateResponse.call_args
+        context = call_args.kwargs.get("context", call_args[1].get("context"))
+        adapter = context["adapters"][0]
+        assert adapter["last_poll"] is None
+        assert adapter["status"] is None
+        assert adapter["error"] is None
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_polls_shows_failure_status_when_ok_is_false(self):
+        from central.gui.routes import dashboard_polls
+        mock_request = MagicMock()
+        mock_request.state.operator = MagicMock()
+        mock_conn = AsyncMock()
+        mock_conn.fetch.return_value = [{"name": "nws"}]
+        mock_pool = MagicMock()
+        mock_pool.acquire.return_value.__aenter__ = AsyncMock(return_value=mock_conn)
+        mock_pool.acquire.return_value.__aexit__ = AsyncMock(return_value=None)
+        mock_msg = MagicMock()
+        mock_msg.data = json.dumps({"ok": False, "ts": "2026-05-17T12:34:56Z", "error": "Connection timeout"}).encode()
+        mock_js = AsyncMock()
+        mock_js.get_last_msg = AsyncMock(return_value=mock_msg)
+        mock_templates = MagicMock()
+        mock_response = MagicMock()
+        mock_templates.TemplateResponse.return_value = mock_response
+        with patch("central.gui.routes._get_templates", return_value=mock_templates):
+            with patch("central.gui.routes.get_pool", return_value=mock_pool):
+                with patch("central.gui.nats.get_js", return_value=mock_js):
+                    result = await dashboard_polls(mock_request)
+        call_args = mock_templates.TemplateResponse.call_args
+        context = call_args.kwargs.get("context", call_args[1].get("context"))
+        adapter = context["adapters"][0]
+        assert adapter["status"] == "\u2717"
+        assert adapter["error"] == "Connection timeout"
+
+
+class TestDashboardPollsNoSubscribe:
+    def test_polls_does_not_use_pull_subscribe(self):
+        import inspect
+        from central.gui.routes import dashboard_polls
+        source = inspect.getsource(dashboard_polls)
+        assert "pull_subscribe" not in source
+        assert "get_last_msg" in source
+        assert "central.meta.adapter." in source
+
+
+class TestDashboardStreamsIsolation:
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_single_stream_failure_doesnt_crash_card(self):
+        from central.gui.routes import dashboard_streams
         mock_request = MagicMock()
         mock_request.state.operator = MagicMock()
 
@@ -132,27 +196,18 @@ class TestDashboardStreamsIsolation:
 
         mock_js = AsyncMock()
         mock_js.stream_info.side_effect = mock_stream_info
-
         mock_templates = MagicMock()
         mock_response = MagicMock()
         mock_templates.TemplateResponse.return_value = mock_response
-
         with patch("central.gui.routes._get_templates", return_value=mock_templates):
             with patch("central.gui.nats.get_js", return_value=mock_js):
                 result = await dashboard_streams(mock_request)
-
         call_args = mock_templates.TemplateResponse.call_args
         context = call_args.kwargs.get("context", call_args[1].get("context"))
-
         streams = context["streams"]
-        # Should have 4 streams
         assert len(streams) == 4
-
-        # CENTRAL_FIRE should have error
         fire_stream = next(s for s in streams if s["name"] == "CENTRAL_FIRE")
         assert fire_stream.get("error") == "unavailable"
-
-        # CENTRAL_WX should be fine
         wx_stream = next(s for s in streams if s["name"] == "CENTRAL_WX")
         assert wx_stream.get("error") is None
         assert wx_stream["messages"] == 100