diff --git a/src-tauri/Cargo.lock b/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
index 4bc9fb46..b52ee90e 100644
--- a/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
+++ b/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
@@ -3564,6 +3564,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "discord-rich-presence",
  "futures-util",
  "id3",
+ "libc",
  "lofty",
  "md5",
  "reqwest 0.12.28",
diff --git a/src-tauri/Cargo.toml b/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
index 040a9985..8ba6694f 100644
--- a/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@ thread-priority = "1"
 lofty = "0.22"
 id3 = "1.16.4"
 
+[target.'cfg(unix)'.dependencies]
+libc = "0.2"
+
 [target.'cfg(windows)'.dependencies]
 windows = { version = "0.58", features = [
     "Win32_Foundation",
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/audio.rs b/src-tauri/src/audio.rs
index 17135f3a..f121d508 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/audio.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/audio.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ use std::io::{Cursor, Read, Seek, SeekFrom};
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicU32, AtomicU64, Ordering};
 use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+#[cfg(unix)]
+use libc;
 
 use ringbuf::{HeapConsumer, HeapProducer, HeapRb};
 
@@ -2896,9 +2898,29 @@ pub async fn audio_play_radio(
 }
 
 /// Returns the names of all available audio output devices on the current host.
+/// On Linux, ALSA probes unavailable backends (JACK, OSS, dmix) and prints errors to
+/// stderr. We suppress fd 2 for the duration of enumeration to keep the terminal clean.
 #[tauri::command]
 pub fn audio_list_devices() -> Vec<String> {
     use rodio::cpal::traits::{DeviceTrait, HostTrait};
+
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    let _guard = {
+        struct StderrGuard(i32);
+        impl Drop for StderrGuard {
+            fn drop(&mut self) {
+                unsafe { libc::dup2(self.0, 2); libc::close(self.0); }
+            }
+        }
+        unsafe {
+            let saved = libc::dup(2);
+            let devnull = libc::open(b"/dev/null\0".as_ptr() as *const libc::c_char, libc::O_WRONLY);
+            libc::dup2(devnull, 2);
+            libc::close(devnull);
+            StderrGuard(saved)
+        }
+    };
+
     let host = rodio::cpal::default_host();
     host.output_devices()
         .map(|iter| iter.filter_map(|d| d.name().ok()).collect())
@@ -2975,8 +2997,21 @@ pub fn start_device_watcher(engine: &AudioEngine, app: tauri::AppHandle) {
             tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(3)).await;
 
             // Enumerate all available output devices and the current default.
+            // Suppress stderr on Unix to avoid ALSA probing noise (JACK, OSS, dmix).
             let (current_default, available) = tauri::async_runtime::spawn_blocking(|| {
                 use rodio::cpal::traits::{DeviceTrait, HostTrait};
+                #[cfg(unix)]
+                let _guard = unsafe {
+                    struct StderrGuard(i32);
+                    impl Drop for StderrGuard {
+                        fn drop(&mut self) { unsafe { libc::dup2(self.0, 2); libc::close(self.0); } }
+                    }
+                    let saved = libc::dup(2);
+                    let devnull = libc::open(b"/dev/null\0".as_ptr() as *const libc::c_char, libc::O_WRONLY);
+                    libc::dup2(devnull, 2);
+                    libc::close(devnull);
+                    StderrGuard(saved)
+                };
                 let host = rodio::cpal::default_host();
                 let default = host.default_output_device().and_then(|d| d.name().ok());
                 let available: Vec<String> = host
diff --git a/src/pages/Settings.tsx b/src/pages/Settings.tsx
index 514cba70..475ffc24 100644
--- a/src/pages/Settings.tsx
+++ b/src/pages/Settings.tsx
@@ -221,6 +221,10 @@ function snapHotCacheMb(v: number): number {
   return Math.round((x - 32) / 32) * 32 + 32;
 }
 
+// Module-level cache — device enumeration triggers ALSA probing on Linux (stderr noise),
+// so we only enumerate once per app session.
+let _audioDevicesCache: string[] | null = null;
+
 export default function Settings() {
   const auth = useAuthStore();
   const theme = useThemeStore();
@@ -278,10 +282,15 @@ export default function Settings() {
     invoke<number>('get_hot_cache_size', { customDir: auth.hotCacheDownloadDir || null }).then(setHotCacheBytes).catch(() => setHotCacheBytes(0));
   }, [activeTab, auth.offlineDownloadDir, auth.hotCacheDownloadDir]);
 
-  // Load available audio output devices when Audio tab is open.
+  // Load available audio output devices when Audio tab is first opened.
+  // Uses a module-level cache so ALSA enumeration (noisy on Linux) only happens once per session.
   useEffect(() => {
     if (activeTab !== 'audio') return;
-    invoke<string[]>('audio_list_devices').then(setAudioDevices).catch(() => {});
+    if (_audioDevicesCache) { setAudioDevices(_audioDevicesCache); return; }
+    invoke<string[]>('audio_list_devices').then(devices => {
+      _audioDevicesCache = devices;
+      setAudioDevices(devices);
+    }).catch(() => {});
   }, [activeTab]);
 
   /** Live disk usage for hot cache while Audio settings are open (interval + refresh when index changes). */