diff --git a/templates/default.phtml b/templates/default.phtml
index b176158..a64c83c 100644
--- a/templates/default.phtml
+++ b/templates/default.phtml
@@ -337,6 +337,7 @@ $componentPageConfig['moduleRuntimeComponents'] = $moduleRuntimeComponents;
 
   <script src="<?php e(assetVersion('vendor/fslightbox/fslightbox.js')); ?>"></script>
   <?php require __DIR__ . '/partials/app-confirm-dialog.phtml'; ?>
+  <?php require __DIR__ . '/partials/app-toast-stack.phtml'; ?>
   <?php if ($isLoggedIn): ?>
   <?php require __DIR__ . '/partials/app-search-dialog.phtml'; ?>
   <?php require __DIR__ . '/partials/app-session-warning-dialog.phtml'; ?>
diff --git a/templates/partials/app-toast-stack.phtml b/templates/partials/app-toast-stack.phtml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef12a9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/templates/partials/app-toast-stack.phtml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * Async toast stack — global container for JS-triggered notifications.
+ *
+ * Mounted once at the bottom of the shell so any page can fire toasts via
+ * showAsyncFlash() without the JS having to lazy-create the container.
+ * Empty by default; toasts are appended/removed by web/js/components/app-async-flash.js.
+ */
+
+?>
+<div class="app-toast-stack" aria-live="polite"></div>
diff --git a/web/js/components/app-async-flash.js b/web/js/components/app-async-flash.js
index dbfc178..180545b 100644
--- a/web/js/components/app-async-flash.js
+++ b/web/js/components/app-async-flash.js
@@ -2,8 +2,12 @@ import { warnOnce } from '../core/app-dom.js';
 
 /**
  * Async Flash Messages & Loading State
- * Renders flash messages into the .app-toast-stack for JS-triggered notifications.
- * Creates the stack container on demand if it doesn't exist yet.
+ *
+ * Renders flash messages into the .app-toast-stack for JS-triggered
+ * notifications. The stack container is rendered server-side by
+ * templates/partials/app-toast-stack.phtml (mounted once in default.phtml);
+ * this module only appends/removes toasts inside it.
+ *
  * Provides loading cursor state management.
  */
 
@@ -43,18 +47,13 @@ const defaultTimeouts = {
 const MAX_VISIBLE_TOASTS = 5;
 
 /**
- * Get or create the toast stack container.
- * @returns {HTMLElement}
+ * Resolve the server-rendered toast stack container.
+ * Returns null if the partial is missing — callers must handle that case.
+ * @returns {HTMLElement|null}
  */
 function getToastStack() {
-  let stack = document.querySelector('.app-toast-stack');
-  if (!stack) {
-    stack = document.createElement('div');
-    stack.className = 'app-toast-stack';
-    stack.setAttribute('aria-live', 'polite');
-    document.body.appendChild(stack);
-  }
-  return stack;
+  const stack = document.querySelector('.app-toast-stack');
+  return stack instanceof HTMLElement ? stack : null;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -95,6 +94,12 @@ function enforceMaxVisible(stack) {
  */
 export function showAsyncFlash(type, message, timeout) {
   const stack = getToastStack();
+  if (!stack) {
+    warnOnce('UI_EL_MISSING', 'Missing .app-toast-stack — partial not mounted?', {
+      module: 'async-flash',
+    });
+    return null;
+  }
 
   const effectiveTimeout = timeout ?? defaultTimeouts[type] ?? 5000;