diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 180c0bc..b1c9f5b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# pikl-menu
+# pikl
 
 Pipe stuff in, pick stuff out.
 
diff --git a/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/debounce.rs b/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/debounce.rs
index 3dd8620..4828e90 100644
--- a/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/debounce.rs
+++ b/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/debounce.rs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ pub enum DebounceMode {
 /// behavior. Each event kind can have its own mode.
 pub struct DebouncedDispatcher {
     handler: Arc<dyn HookHandler>,
-    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+    _action_tx: mpsc::Sender<Action>,
     modes: HashMap<HookEventKind, DebounceMode>,
     in_flight: HashMap<HookEventKind, JoinHandle<()>>,
 }
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ impl DebouncedDispatcher {
     ) -> Self {
         Self {
             handler,
-            action_tx,
+            _action_tx: action_tx,
             modes: HashMap::new(),
             in_flight: HashMap::new(),
         }
@@ -95,17 +95,9 @@ impl DebouncedDispatcher {
 
     fn fire_now(&self, event: HookEvent) {
         let handler = Arc::clone(&self.handler);
-        let action_tx = self.action_tx.clone();
         tokio::spawn(async move {
-            match handler.handle(event) {
-                Ok(responses) => {
-                    for resp in responses {
-                        let _ = action_tx.send(Action::ProcessHookResponse(resp)).await;
-                    }
-                }
-                Err(e) => {
-                    tracing::warn!(error = %e, "hook handler error");
-                }
+            if let Err(e) = handler.handle(event) {
+                tracing::warn!(error = %e, "hook handler error");
             }
         });
     }
@@ -117,18 +109,10 @@ impl DebouncedDispatcher {
         }
 
         let handler = Arc::clone(&self.handler);
-        let action_tx = self.action_tx.clone();
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move {
             tokio::time::sleep(delay).await;
-            match handler.handle(event) {
-                Ok(responses) => {
-                    for resp in responses {
-                        let _ = action_tx.send(Action::ProcessHookResponse(resp)).await;
-                    }
-                }
-                Err(e) => {
-                    tracing::warn!(error = %e, "hook handler error");
-                }
+            if let Err(e) = handler.handle(event) {
+                tracing::warn!(error = %e, "hook handler error");
             }
         });
 
@@ -165,11 +149,11 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     impl HookHandler for RecordingHandler {
-        fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<Vec<HookResponse>, PiklError> {
+        fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<(), PiklError> {
             if let Ok(mut events) = self.events.lock() {
                 events.push(event.kind());
             }
-            Ok(vec![])
+            Ok(())
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/hook.rs b/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/hook.rs
index 7ad4007..03a75f3 100644
--- a/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/hook.rs
+++ b/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/hook.rs
@@ -65,16 +65,15 @@ pub enum HookResponse {
 }
 
 /// Handler trait for lifecycle hooks. Implementations
-/// receive events and optionally return responses.
-/// Exec hooks return empty vecs. Handler hooks send
-/// responses back through the action channel asynchronously
-/// and also return empty vecs.
+/// receive events and may produce side effects (spawning
+/// processes, sending to channels). Responses flow through
+/// the action channel, not the return value.
 ///
 /// This is deliberately synchronous for dyn-compatibility.
 /// Implementations that need async work (spawning processes,
 /// writing to channels) should use `tokio::spawn` internally.
 pub trait HookHandler: Send + Sync {
-    fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<Vec<HookResponse>, PiklError>;
+    fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<(), PiklError>;
 }
 
 /// Parse a single line of JSON as a [`HookResponse`].
diff --git a/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/menu.rs b/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/menu.rs
index e27058b..e5ee1f8 100644
--- a/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/menu.rs
+++ b/crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/menu.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ use crate::debounce::{hook_response_to_action, DebouncedDispatcher};
 use crate::error::PiklError;
 use crate::event::{Action, MenuEvent, MenuResult, Mode, ViewState, VisibleItem};
 use crate::hook::{HookEvent, HookHandler};
-use crate::model::traits::Menu;
+use crate::model::traits::MutableMenu;
 use crate::navigation::Viewport;
 use serde_json::Value;
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ pub enum ActionOutcome {
 /// drives it with an action/event channel loop. Create one,
 /// grab the action sender and event subscriber, then call
 /// [`MenuRunner::run`] to start the event loop.
-pub struct MenuRunner<M: Menu> {
+pub struct MenuRunner<M: MutableMenu> {
     menu: M,
     viewport: Viewport,
     filter_text: Arc<str>,
@@ -46,9 +46,10 @@ pub struct MenuRunner<M: Menu> {
     event_tx: broadcast::Sender<MenuEvent>,
     dispatcher: Option<DebouncedDispatcher>,
     previous_cursor: Option<usize>,
+    generation: u64,
 }
 
-impl<M: Menu> MenuRunner<M> {
+impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
     /// Create a menu runner wrapping the given menu backend.
     /// Returns the runner and an action sender. Call
     /// [`subscribe`](Self::subscribe) to get an event handle,
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@ impl<M: Menu> MenuRunner<M> {
             event_tx,
             dispatcher: None,
             previous_cursor: None,
+            generation: 0,
         };
         (runner, action_tx)
     }
@@ -105,7 +107,8 @@ impl<M: Menu> MenuRunner<M> {
 
     /// Build a [`ViewState`] snapshot from the current filter
     /// results and viewport position.
-    fn build_view_state(&self) -> ViewState {
+    fn build_view_state(&mut self) -> ViewState {
+        self.generation += 1;
         let range = self.viewport.visible_range();
         let visible_items: Vec<VisibleItem> = range
             .clone()
@@ -134,14 +137,14 @@ impl<M: Menu> MenuRunner<M> {
             total_items: self.menu.total(),
             total_filtered: self.menu.filtered_count(),
             mode: self.mode,
+            generation: self.generation,
         }
     }
 
     /// Send the current view state to all subscribers.
-    fn broadcast_state(&self) {
-        let _ = self
-            .event_tx
-            .send(MenuEvent::StateChanged(self.build_view_state()));
+    fn broadcast_state(&mut self) {
+        let vs = self.build_view_state();
+        let _ = self.event_tx.send(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs));
     }
 
     /// Emit a hook event through the dispatcher, if one is set.
@@ -390,6 +393,7 @@ mod tests {
     use super::*;
     use crate::event::MenuEvent;
     use crate::item::Item;
+    use crate::model::traits::Menu;
     use crate::runtime::json_menu::JsonMenu;
 
     fn test_menu() -> (MenuRunner<JsonMenu>, mpsc::Sender<Action>) {
@@ -1099,16 +1103,16 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn hook_events_fire_on_lifecycle() {
-        use crate::hook::{HookEvent, HookEventKind, HookHandler, HookResponse};
+        use crate::hook::{HookEvent, HookEventKind, HookHandler};
         use std::sync::Mutex;
 
         struct Recorder(Mutex<Vec<HookEventKind>>);
         impl HookHandler for Recorder {
-            fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<Vec<HookResponse>, PiklError> {
+            fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<(), PiklError> {
                 if let Ok(mut v) = self.0.lock() {
                     v.push(event.kind());
                 }
-                Ok(vec![])
+                Ok(())
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/crates/pikl/src/handler.rs b/crates/pikl/src/handler.rs
index 806a916..4c912e3 100644
--- a/crates/pikl/src/handler.rs
+++ b/crates/pikl/src/handler.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use tokio::sync::mpsc;
 use pikl_core::error::PiklError;
 use pikl_core::event::Action;
 use pikl_core::hook::{
-    parse_hook_response, HookEvent, HookEventKind, HookHandler, HookResponse,
+    parse_hook_response, HookEvent, HookEventKind, HookHandler,
 };
 
 /// A persistent handler hook process. Spawns a child process,
@@ -77,13 +77,13 @@ impl ShellHandlerHook {
 }
 
 impl HookHandler for ShellHandlerHook {
-    fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<Vec<HookResponse>, PiklError> {
+    fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<(), PiklError> {
         let kind = event.kind();
         if let Some(tx) = self.event_txs.get(&kind) {
             // Non-blocking send. If the channel is full, drop the event.
             let _ = tx.try_send(event);
         }
-        Ok(vec![])
+        Ok(())
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/pikl/src/hook.rs b/crates/pikl/src/hook.rs
index fce3748..ea26390 100644
--- a/crates/pikl/src/hook.rs
+++ b/crates/pikl/src/hook.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use tokio::io::AsyncWriteExt;
 use tokio::process::Command;
 
 use pikl_core::error::PiklError;
-use pikl_core::hook::{HookEvent, HookEventKind, HookHandler, HookResponse};
+use pikl_core::hook::{HookEvent, HookEventKind, HookHandler};
 
 /// Duplicate stderr as a [`Stdio`] handle for use as a
 /// child process's stdout. Keeps hook output on stderr
@@ -18,8 +18,12 @@ fn stderr_as_stdio() -> std::process::Stdio {
     #[cfg(unix)]
     {
         use std::os::unix::io::FromRawFd;
+        // SAFETY: STDERR_FILENO is a valid open fd in any running process.
+        // dup() returns a new fd or -1, which we check below.
         let fd = unsafe { libc::dup(libc::STDERR_FILENO) };
         if fd >= 0 {
+            // SAFETY: fd is valid (checked >= 0 above) and we take exclusive
+            // ownership here (no aliasing). The File will close it on drop.
             return unsafe { std::process::Stdio::from(std::fs::File::from_raw_fd(fd)) };
         }
     }
@@ -112,7 +116,7 @@ impl ShellExecHandler {
 }
 
 impl HookHandler for ShellExecHandler {
-    fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<Vec<HookResponse>, PiklError> {
+    fn handle(&self, event: HookEvent) -> Result<(), PiklError> {
         let kind = event.kind();
         if let Some(cmd) = self.commands.get(&kind) {
             let cmd = cmd.clone();
@@ -125,7 +129,7 @@ impl HookHandler for ShellExecHandler {
                 }
             });
         }
-        Ok(vec![])
+        Ok(())
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/pikl/src/main.rs b/crates/pikl/src/main.rs
index 2f324a0..5f5ac1c 100644
--- a/crates/pikl/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/pikl/src/main.rs
@@ -310,14 +310,14 @@ impl HookHandler for CompositeHookHandler {
     fn handle(
         &self,
         event: pikl_core::hook::HookEvent,
-    ) -> Result<Vec<pikl_core::hook::HookResponse>, PiklError> {
+    ) -> Result<(), PiklError> {
         // Both fire. Exec is fire-and-forget, handler may
         // send responses through action_tx.
         let _ = self.exec.handle(event.clone());
         if let Some(ref h) = self.handler {
             h.handle(event)?;
         }
-        Ok(vec![])
+        Ok(())
     }
 }