diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 62cc622..3e23e56 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.2.53
+1.2.54
diff --git a/cmd/edgeguard-api/main.go b/cmd/edgeguard-api/main.go
index f692b3c..9827613 100644
--- a/cmd/edgeguard-api/main.go
+++ b/cmd/edgeguard-api/main.go
@@ -586,10 +586,18 @@ func mountUI(r *gin.Engine) {
 			return
 		}
 		if info, err := os.Stat(full); err == nil && !info.IsDir() {
+			// Vite hashed assets are immutable — cache them forever.
+			// index.html must never be cached so updates take effect.
+			if strings.HasPrefix(clean, "/assets/") {
+				c.Header("Cache-Control", "public, max-age=31536000, immutable")
+			} else {
+				c.Header("Cache-Control", "no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate")
+			}
 			c.File(full)
 			return
 		}
 		// SPA fallback — React Router renders the right page.
+		c.Header("Cache-Control", "no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate")
 		c.File(indexPath)
 	})
 }
diff --git a/management-ui/src/App.tsx b/management-ui/src/App.tsx
index cad1378..c7f8930 100644
--- a/management-ui/src/App.tsx
+++ b/management-ui/src/App.tsx
@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ const antdTheme = {
       itemHoverColor: '#0F172A',
       itemSelectedColor: '#0EA5E9',
       inkBarColor: '#0EA5E9',
+      cardBg: '#F1F5F9',
       titleFontSize: 13,
-      horizontalItemPadding: '10px 18px',
     },
   },
 }
diff --git a/management-ui/src/pages/Firewall/index.tsx b/management-ui/src/pages/Firewall/index.tsx
index 8b9b484..7cb5c9b 100644
--- a/management-ui/src/pages/Firewall/index.tsx
+++ b/management-ui/src/pages/Firewall/index.tsx
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ export default function FirewallPage() {
         )}
       />
       <FirewallKPIStrip nftablesActive={nftables?.active} />
-      <Tabs items={tabs} defaultActiveKey="rules" />
+      <Tabs items={tabs} defaultActiveKey="rules" type="card" />
     </div>
   )
 }