diff --git a/panel/api/endpoints/system.php b/panel/api/endpoints/system.php
index 07c5077..def395a 100644
--- a/panel/api/endpoints/system.php
+++ b/panel/api/endpoints/system.php
@@ -102,6 +102,17 @@ match ($action) {
     // ── Check OS updates ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
     'check-os-update' => (function() use ($db) {
         Auth::getInstance()->require('admin');
+        $force  = !empty($_GET['force']);
+        $cached = $db->fetchOne("SELECT value, updated_at FROM settings WHERE `key`='update_cache_os'");
+        $age    = $cached ? (time() - strtotime($cached['updated_at'])) : PHP_INT_MAX;
+
+        if (!$force && $cached && $age < 43200) {
+            $data = json_decode($cached['value'], true) ?: [];
+            $data['cached'] = true;
+            $data['cached_at'] = $cached['updated_at'];
+            Response::success($data);
+        }
+
         shell_exec('apt-get update -qq 2>/dev/null');
         $out = shell_exec('apt-get -s upgrade 2>/dev/null | grep "^Inst " | head -50') ?: '';
         $packages = array_values(array_filter(array_map(function($line) {
@@ -114,12 +125,14 @@ match ($action) {
         }, explode("\n", trim($out)))));
         $security = array_filter($packages, fn($p) => str_contains($p['name'] ?? '', 'security') ||
             (bool)shell_exec("apt-get -s upgrade 2>/dev/null | grep -c \"^Inst {$p['name']}.*security\" 2>/dev/null"));
-        Response::success([
+        $result = [
             'upgradable'       => count($packages),
             'security_updates' => count($security),
             'packages'         => $packages,
             'last_checked'     => date('Y-m-d H:i:s'),
-        ]);
+        ];
+        $db->execute("INSERT INTO settings(`key`,value,updated_at) VALUES('update_cache_os',?,datetime('now')) ON CONFLICT(`key`) DO UPDATE SET value=excluded.value,updated_at=excluded.updated_at", [json_encode($result)]);
+        Response::success($result);
     })(),
 
     // ── Start OS update (background job) ─────────────────────────────────────
@@ -194,21 +207,27 @@ BASH;
     // ── Check NovaCPX update ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
     'check-novacpx-update' => (function() use ($db) {
         Auth::getInstance()->require('admin');
+        $force  = !empty($_GET['force']);
+        $cached = $db->fetchOne("SELECT value, updated_at FROM settings WHERE `key`='update_cache_novacpx'");
+        $age    = $cached ? (time() - strtotime($cached['updated_at'])) : PHP_INT_MAX;
+
+        if (!$force && $cached && $age < 43200) {
+            $data = json_decode($cached['value'], true) ?: [];
+            $data['cached'] = true;
+            $data['cached_at'] = $cached['updated_at'];
+            Response::success($data);
+        }
+
         $srcDir = '/opt/novacpx-src';
         if (!is_dir($srcDir)) Response::error('Source repo not found at /opt/novacpx-src');
-        // Use sudo git so www-data can access root-owned repo
-        $fetchOut = shell_exec("sudo git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " fetch origin 2>&1");
-        $logOut   = shell_exec("sudo git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " log HEAD..origin/main --oneline 2>/dev/null") ?: '';
-        $updates  = array_values(array_filter(explode("\n", trim($logOut))));
-        $branch   = trim(shell_exec("sudo git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " branch --show-current 2>/dev/null") ?: 'main');
-        $commit   = trim(shell_exec("sudo git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null") ?: '');
-        Response::success([
-            'updates_available' => count($updates),
-            'current_commit'    => $commit,
-            'branch'            => $branch,
-            'commits'           => $updates,
-            'fetch_output'      => trim($fetchOut ?: ''),
-        ]);
+        shell_exec("sudo git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " fetch origin 2>/dev/null");
+        $logOut  = shell_exec("sudo git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " log HEAD..origin/main --oneline 2>/dev/null") ?: '';
+        $updates = array_values(array_filter(explode("\n", trim($logOut))));
+        $branch  = trim(shell_exec("sudo git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " branch --show-current 2>/dev/null") ?: 'main');
+        $commit  = trim(shell_exec("sudo git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null") ?: '');
+        $result  = ['updates_available' => count($updates), 'current_commit' => $commit, 'branch' => $branch, 'commits' => $updates];
+        $db->execute("INSERT INTO settings(`key`,value,updated_at) VALUES('update_cache_novacpx',?,datetime('now')) ON CONFLICT(`key`) DO UPDATE SET value=excluded.value,updated_at=excluded.updated_at", [json_encode($result)]);
+        Response::success($result);
     })(),
 
     // ── Apply NovaCPX update ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/panel/bin/cache-update-check.php b/panel/bin/cache-update-check.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..158bff4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/panel/bin/cache-update-check.php
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env php
+<?php
+/**
+ * NovaCPX nightly update cache warmer.
+ * Runs as root via cron — populates update_cache_novacpx and update_cache_os
+ * in the panel settings table so the Updates page loads instantly.
+ */
+$cfgFile = '/etc/novacpx/config.ini';
+$cfg     = @parse_ini_file($cfgFile, true) ?: [];
+$dbPath  = $cfg['database']['path'] ?? '/var/lib/novacpx/panel.db';
+$srcDir  = '/opt/novacpx-src';
+
+try {
+    $pdo = new PDO("sqlite:{$dbPath}", null, null, [PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION]);
+} catch (Exception $e) {
+    fwrite(STDERR, "DB open failed: {$e->getMessage()}\n");
+    exit(1);
+}
+
+function cache(PDO $pdo, string $key, array $data): void {
+    $json = json_encode($data);
+    $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO settings(`key`,value,updated_at) VALUES(?,?,datetime('now'))
+                   ON CONFLICT(`key`) DO UPDATE SET value=excluded.value, updated_at=excluded.updated_at")
+        ->execute([$key, $json]);
+}
+
+// ── NovaCPX panel update check ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "[novacpx] Fetching remote commits…\n";
+if (is_dir($srcDir . '/.git')) {
+    shell_exec("git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " fetch origin 2>/dev/null");
+    $logOut  = shell_exec("git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " log HEAD..origin/main --oneline 2>/dev/null") ?: '';
+    $updates = array_values(array_filter(explode("\n", trim($logOut))));
+    $branch  = trim(shell_exec("git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " branch --show-current 2>/dev/null") ?: 'main');
+    $commit  = trim(shell_exec("git -C " . escapeshellarg($srcDir) . " rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null") ?: '');
+    cache($pdo, 'update_cache_novacpx', [
+        'updates_available' => count($updates),
+        'current_commit'    => $commit,
+        'branch'            => $branch,
+        'commits'           => $updates,
+    ]);
+    echo "[novacpx] Done — " . count($updates) . " commit(s) available.\n";
+} else {
+    echo "[novacpx] Skipped — source repo not found at {$srcDir}.\n";
+}
+
+// ── OS package update check ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "[os] Running apt-get update…\n";
+shell_exec('apt-get update -qq 2>/dev/null');
+$out      = shell_exec('apt-get -s upgrade 2>/dev/null | grep "^Inst " | head -50') ?: '';
+$packages = array_values(array_filter(array_map(function ($line) {
+    if (preg_match('/^Inst (\S+).*\[(\S+)\].*\((\S+)/', $line, $m)) return ['name' => $m[1], 'from' => $m[2], 'to' => $m[3]];
+    if (preg_match('/^Inst (\S+)\s+\((\S+)/',           $line, $m)) return ['name' => $m[1], 'from' => '',     'to' => $m[2]];
+    return null;
+}, explode("\n", trim($out)))));
+$security = count(array_filter($packages, fn($p) => str_contains($p['name'] ?? '', 'security')));
+cache($pdo, 'update_cache_os', [
+    'upgradable'       => count($packages),
+    'security_updates' => $security,
+    'packages'         => $packages,
+    'last_checked'     => date('Y-m-d H:i:s'),
+]);
+echo "[os] Done — " . count($packages) . " package(s) upgradable.\n";
diff --git a/panel/public/assets/js/admin.js b/panel/public/assets/js/admin.js
index a4ced3a..7bf78d2 100644
--- a/panel/public/assets/js/admin.js
+++ b/panel/public/assets/js/admin.js
@@ -263,11 +263,12 @@
   }
 
   // ── Updates ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-  async function updates() {
+  async function updates(force = false) {
+    const qp = force ? { force: 1 } : {};
     const [ver, ncpxCheck, osCheck] = await Promise.all([
       Nova.api('system', 'version'),
-      Nova.api('system', 'check-novacpx-update'),
-      Nova.api('system', 'check-os-update'),
+      Nova.api('system', 'check-novacpx-update', { params: qp }),
+      Nova.api('system', 'check-os-update', { params: qp }),
     ]);
     const v     = ver?.data || {};
     const ncpx  = ncpxCheck?.data || {};
@@ -278,7 +279,10 @@
     const html = `
 <div class="page-header mb-3">
   <h2 class="page-title">Updates</h2>
-  <p class="text-muted text-sm">Manage NovaCPX panel updates and OS package upgrades.</p>
+  <div style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:1rem;margin-left:auto">
+    ${(ncpx.cached || os.cached) ? `<span class="text-muted text-sm">Cached · last checked ${Nova.relTime(ncpx.cached_at || os.cached_at)}</span>` : ''}
+    <button class="btn btn-ghost btn-sm" onclick="forceRefreshUpdates()">↻ Refresh now</button>
+  </div>
 </div>
 
 <!-- NovaCPX Panel Updates -->
@@ -368,6 +372,13 @@
     return html;
   }
 
+  window.forceRefreshUpdates = () => {
+    const content = document.getElementById('page-content');
+    if (!content) return;
+    content.innerHTML = '<div style="padding:2rem;color:var(--text-muted);text-align:center">Checking for updates…</div>';
+    updates(true).then(html => { if (html) content.innerHTML = html; });
+  };
+
   window.loadServiceVersions = async () => {
     const body = document.getElementById('svc-versions-body');
     if (!body) return;