diff --git a/abx_plugins/plugins/gallerydl/on_Snapshot__03_gallerydl.finite.bg.py b/abx_plugins/plugins/gallerydl/on_Snapshot__03_gallerydl.finite.bg.py
index 0e522821..b00808f4 100755
--- a/abx_plugins/plugins/gallerydl/on_Snapshot__03_gallerydl.finite.bg.py
+++ b/abx_plugins/plugins/gallerydl/on_Snapshot__03_gallerydl.finite.bg.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 BIN_NAME = "gallery-dl"
 BIN_PROVIDERS = "env,pip"
 PLUGIN_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.name
-CONFIG = load_config()
+CONFIG = load_config(hydrate_binaries=False)
 SNAP_DIR = Path(CONFIG.SNAP_DIR or ".").resolve()
 OUTPUT_DIR = SNAP_DIR / PLUGIN_DIR
 OUTPUT_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ def save_gallery(url: str, binary: str) -> tuple[bool, str | None, str]:
     Returns: (success, output_path, error_message)
     """
     # Load config from config.json (auto-resolves x-aliases and x-fallback from env)
-    config = load_config()
+    config = load_config(hydrate_binaries=False)
     timeout = config.GALLERYDL_TIMEOUT
     check_ssl = config.GALLERYDL_CHECK_SSL_VALIDITY
     gallerydl_args = config.GALLERYDL_ARGS
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ def main(url: str):
     error = ""
 
     try:
-        config = load_config()
+        config = load_config(hydrate_binaries=False)
 
         # Check if gallery-dl is enabled
         if not config.GALLERYDL_ENABLED:
@@ -241,8 +241,9 @@ def main(url: str):
             emit_archive_result_record("succeeded", "staticfile already handled")
             sys.exit(0)
 
-        # Get binary from environment
-        binary = config.GALLERYDL_BINARY
+        # Hydrate the binary only after cheap skip checks have passed.
+        hydrated_config = load_config()
+        binary = hydrated_config.GALLERYDL_BINARY
 
         # Run extraction
         success, output, error = save_gallery(url, binary)
diff --git a/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/templates/card.html b/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/templates/card.html
index 6fe32098..9238b877 100644
--- a/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/templates/card.html
+++ b/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/templates/card.html
@@ -1,13 +1,61 @@
 <!-- YT-DLP output list -->
 {% if media_files %}
-    <div class="loose-items" style="pointer-events: auto;">
+    <div class="ytdlp-media-card" style="pointer-events: auto;">
         {% for file in media_files %}
-            <a href="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}" target="preview"
-               title="{{ file.name }}">
-                📄 {{ file.name }}
-            </a>
+            {% if file.is_browser_playable %}
+                <div class="ytdlp-media-item" style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
+                    <button
+                        type="button"
+                        class="ytdlp-load-player"
+                        data-src="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}"
+                        data-media-type="{{ file.media_type }}"
+                        data-name="{{ file.name }}"
+                        style="cursor: pointer; width: 100%; text-align: left; border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius: 4px; background: #f8f8f8; padding: 6px 8px;"
+                    >
+                        {% if file.is_video %}🎬{% else %}🎧{% endif %} Play {{ file.name }}
+                    </button>
+                    <a href="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}" target="preview" title="{{ file.name }}">
+                        Download file
+                    </a>
+                </div>
+            {% else %}
+                <div class="loose-items" style="pointer-events: auto;">
+                    <a href="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}" target="preview" title="{{ file.name }}">
+                        {% if file.is_video %}🎬{% elif file.is_audio %}🎧{% else %}📄{% endif %} {{ file.name }}
+                    </a>
+                </div>
+            {% endif %}
         {% endfor %}
     </div>
+    <script>
+        (function () {
+            if (window.__archiveboxYtdlpCardLoader) return;
+            window.__archiveboxYtdlpCardLoader = true;
+
+            document.addEventListener("click", function (event) {
+                var button = event.target.closest && event.target.closest(".ytdlp-load-player");
+                if (!button) return;
+
+                var src = button.getAttribute("data-src");
+                var mediaType = button.getAttribute("data-media-type");
+                var name = button.getAttribute("data-name") || "archived media";
+                if (!src) return;
+
+                var media = document.createElement(mediaType === "audio" ? "audio" : "video");
+                media.setAttribute("controls", "controls");
+                media.setAttribute("preload", "none");
+                media.setAttribute("data-no-preview", "1");
+                media.setAttribute("aria-label", name);
+                media.src = src;
+                media.style.width = "100%";
+                media.style.maxHeight = mediaType === "audio" ? "" : "220px";
+                media.style.background = "#000";
+                media.style.display = "block";
+
+                button.replaceWith(media);
+            });
+        }());
+    </script>
 {% else %}
     <div class="thumbnail-compact" data-plugin="ytdlp" data-compact="1">
         <span class="thumbnail-compact-icon">🎬</span>
diff --git a/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp.py b/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp.py
index c3d516a4..e7254ccd 100755
--- a/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp.py
+++ b/abx_plugins/plugins/ytdlp/tests/test_ytdlp.py
@@ -119,6 +119,27 @@ def test_hook_script_exists():
     assert YTDLP_HOOK.exists(), f"Hook not found: {YTDLP_HOOK}"
 
 
+def test_card_template_loads_browser_media_on_click():
+    """Card template should not fetch archived media until the user asks to play it."""
+    template = (PLUGIN_DIR / "templates" / "card.html").read_text()
+
+    assert "ytdlp-load-player" in template
+    assert 'data-src="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}"' in template
+    assert "media.src = src" in template
+    assert "<video" not in template
+    assert "<audio" not in template
+
+
+def test_card_template_links_non_browser_media_without_player():
+    """Non-browser-playable yt-dlp outputs should stay as regular file links."""
+    template = (PLUGIN_DIR / "templates" / "card.html").read_text()
+
+    assert "{% if file.is_browser_playable %}" in template
+    assert "{% else %}" in template
+    assert "Download file" in template
+    assert 'href="{{ file.url|default:file.path|urlencode }}"' in template
+
+
 def test_verify_deps_with_abxpkg():
     """Verify yt-dlp resolves through the real dependency preflight."""
     binary_path = require_ytdlp_binary()