diff --git a/frontend/src/app/DocumentsRoute.tsx b/frontend/src/app/DocumentsRoute.tsx
index da77b65..ff777f8 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/DocumentsRoute.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/DocumentsRoute.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo } from 'react';
 import type { ReactNode, ComponentProps } from 'react';
-import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
+import { useNavigate, useParams } from 'react-router-dom';
 import {
   DocumentsFilterProvider,
 } from '../documents/context/DocumentsFilterContext';
@@ -12,12 +12,14 @@ import { SidebarProvider, useSidebarContext } from '../sidebar/SidebarContext';
 import { PanelManagerProvider, usePanelManager } from './PanelManagerContext';
 import Sidebar from '../sidebar/Sidebar';
 import useDocumentsShell from './useDocumentsShell';
+import useFolderData from '../documents/data/useFolderData';
 
 const DocumentsInner: React.FC<{
   sidebarProps: ComponentProps<typeof Sidebar> | null;
   surfaceConfig: any;
+  folderData: any;
   onNavigate: (documentId: string) => void;
-}> = ({ sidebarProps, surfaceConfig, onNavigate }) => {
+}> = ({ sidebarProps, surfaceConfig, folderData, onNavigate }) => {
   const { openPreview } = usePreviewContext();
   const { collapsed: sidebarCollapsed } = useSidebarContext();
   const {
@@ -46,9 +48,16 @@ const DocumentsInner: React.FC<{
 
   const documentsTablePropsWithNav = useMemo(() => (
     surfaceConfig.documentsTableProps
-      ? { ...surfaceConfig.documentsTableProps, onBreadcrumbNavigate: handleBreadcrumbNavigate }
+      ? {
+        ...surfaceConfig.documentsTableProps,
+        onBreadcrumbNavigate: handleBreadcrumbNavigate,
+        documents: folderData.documents,
+        subfolders: folderData.subfolders,
+        currentFolderName: folderData.folder?.name,
+        isSearchLoading: folderData.loading,
+      }
       : null
-  ), [surfaceConfig.documentsTableProps, handleBreadcrumbNavigate]);
+  ), [surfaceConfig.documentsTableProps, handleBreadcrumbNavigate, folderData]);
 
   const { surface } = useWorkspaceSurface({
     sidebarHidden,
@@ -98,8 +107,13 @@ const DocumentsRouteContent: React.FC = () => {
     sidebarProps,
     surfaceConfig,
     documentsFilter,
+    documentsManager,
+    foldersManager,
   } = useDocumentsShell();
   const navigate = useNavigate();
+  const params = useParams();
+  const folderId = params.folderId || 'root';
+  const folderData = useFolderData(folderId, documentsManager, foldersManager);
 
   const handleDocumentNavigate = useCallback((documentId: string) => {
     navigate(`/documents/${documentId}`);
@@ -113,6 +127,7 @@ const DocumentsRouteContent: React.FC = () => {
         <DocumentsInner
           sidebarProps={sidebarProps}
           surfaceConfig={surfaceConfig}
+          folderData={folderData}
           onNavigate={handleDocumentNavigate}
         />
       </PreviewProvider>
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/useDocumentsShell.ts b/frontend/src/app/useDocumentsShell.ts
index ee0577b..7760cd2 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/useDocumentsShell.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/useDocumentsShell.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ interface DocumentsShellView {
   sidebarProps: ComponentProps<typeof Sidebar> | null;
   surfaceConfig: WorkspaceSurfaceConfig;
   documentsFilter: DocumentsFilterValue;
+  documentsManager: any;
+  foldersManager: any; // Using any to avoid circular dependency
 }
 
 const useDocumentsShell = (): DocumentsShellView => {
@@ -49,6 +51,8 @@ const useDocumentsShell = (): DocumentsShellView => {
       sidebarProps: sidebarWithActions,
       surfaceConfig,
       documentsFilter: shell.documentsFilter as DocumentsFilterValue,
+      documentsManager: shell.documentsManager,
+      foldersManager: shell.foldersManager,
     };
   }, [shell]);
 };
diff --git a/frontend/src/documents/FoldersManager.ts b/frontend/src/documents/FoldersManager.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fdfc1c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/documents/FoldersManager.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+import { shallowEqual } from 'react-redux';
+import type { FolderNodeId } from '../types/identifiers';
+import type { Folder } from '../types/documents';
+
+type ManagedFolder = Folder;
+
+type FetchFolder = (id: FolderNodeId) => Promise<unknown>;
+
+class FoldersManager<T extends ManagedFolder = ManagedFolder> {
+    private byId: Map<FolderNodeId, T>;
+    private fetcher?: FetchFolder;
+    private inflight: Map<FolderNodeId, Promise<T | null>>;
+    private listeners: Set<() => void>;
+    private emitScheduled: boolean;
+
+    constructor(
+        fetchFolder?: FetchFolder,
+    ) {
+        this.byId = new Map();
+        this.fetcher = fetchFolder;
+        this.inflight = new Map();
+        this.listeners = new Set();
+        this.emitScheduled = false;
+    }
+
+    private emit() {
+        if (this.emitScheduled) {
+            return;
+        }
+        this.emitScheduled = true;
+        setTimeout(() => {
+            this.emitScheduled = false;
+            this.listeners.forEach((fn) => fn());
+        }, 0);
+    }
+
+    subscribe(listener: () => void) {
+        this.listeners.add(listener);
+        return () => this.listeners.delete(listener);
+    }
+
+    setFetcher(fetchFolder?: FetchFolder) {
+        this.fetcher = fetchFolder;
+    }
+
+    ingest(rawFolders: unknown[] = []): { canonical: T[]; changed: boolean } {
+        const folders = rawFolders.map((f) => f as T).filter(Boolean);
+        let changed = false;
+        let nextById = this.byId;
+        const canonical: T[] = [];
+
+        folders.forEach((folder) => {
+            const id = folder?.id;
+            if (id == null) {
+                canonical.push(folder);
+                return;
+            }
+
+            const existing = nextById.get(id as FolderNodeId);
+            const merged = existing ? ({ ...existing, ...folder } as T) : ({ ...(folder as T) } as T);
+            const useExisting = existing && shallowEqual(existing, merged);
+            const nextFolder = useExisting ? (existing as T) : merged;
+
+            if (!useExisting) {
+                if (!changed) {
+                    nextById = new Map(this.byId);
+                }
+                nextById.set(id as FolderNodeId, nextFolder);
+                changed = true;
+            }
+            canonical.push(nextFolder);
+        });
+
+        if (changed) {
+            this.byId = nextById;
+            this.emit();
+        }
+
+        return { canonical, changed };
+    }
+
+    async ensure(id: FolderNodeId, fetcherOverride?: FetchFolder): Promise<T | null> {
+        if (id == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        const cached = this.byId.get(id);
+        if (cached) {
+            return cached;
+        }
+
+        const fetcher = fetcherOverride || this.fetcher;
+        if (!fetcher) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        const inflight = this.inflight.get(id);
+        if (inflight) {
+            return inflight;
+        }
+
+        const request = (async () => {
+            try {
+                const fetched = await fetcher(id);
+                const { canonical } = this.ingest([fetched as unknown]);
+                return canonical[0] ?? null;
+            } finally {
+                this.inflight.delete(id);
+            }
+        })();
+
+        this.inflight.set(id, request);
+        return request;
+    }
+
+    map(mapper: (folder: T) => T | undefined): boolean {
+        if (!this.byId.size) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        let changed = false;
+        const next = new Map<FolderNodeId, T>();
+        this.byId.forEach((folder, key) => {
+            const updated = mapper(folder);
+            const nextFolder = updated === undefined ? folder : updated;
+            if (nextFolder !== folder) {
+                changed = true;
+            }
+            next.set(key, nextFolder ?? folder);
+        });
+
+        if (changed) {
+            this.byId = next;
+            this.emit();
+        }
+
+        return changed;
+    }
+
+    remove(ids: Array<FolderNodeId>): boolean {
+        if (!Array.isArray(ids) || ids.length === 0) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        let changed = false;
+        let next = this.byId;
+        ids.forEach((id) => {
+            if (next.has(id)) {
+                if (!changed) {
+                    next = new Map(this.byId);
+                }
+                next.delete(id);
+                changed = true;
+            }
+        });
+        if (changed) {
+            this.byId = next;
+            this.emit();
+        }
+        return changed;
+    }
+
+    getById(id: FolderNodeId): T | null {
+        return this.byId.get(id) ?? null;
+    }
+
+    getMany(ids: Array<FolderNodeId> = []): T[] {
+        return ids
+            .map((id) => this.byId.get(id) || null)
+            .filter((folder): folder is T => Boolean(folder));
+    }
+
+    getSnapshot(): Map<FolderNodeId, T> {
+        return this.byId;
+    }
+}
+
+export default FoldersManager;
diff --git a/frontend/src/documents/data/useDocumentsWorkspace.ts b/frontend/src/documents/data/useDocumentsWorkspace.ts
index f219f42..1414572 100644
--- a/frontend/src/documents/data/useDocumentsWorkspace.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/documents/data/useDocumentsWorkspace.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ import { useStatusToast, type ToastVariant } from '../../lib/context/StatusToast
 import useAuthManager from './useAuthManager';
 import useTenantManager from './useTenantManager';
 import useDocuments from './useDocuments';
+import FoldersManager from '../FoldersManager';
 import { fetchDocument } from '../../lib/api/apiClient';
 import useFolderTree from '../features/folders/useFolderTree';
 import useFolderTreeActions from '../features/folders/useFolderTreeActions';
@@ -315,6 +316,12 @@ const useDocumentsWorkspace = ({
     fetchDocumentById,
   });
 
+  const foldersManagerRef = useRef<FoldersManager | null>(null);
+  if (!foldersManagerRef.current) {
+    foldersManagerRef.current = new FoldersManager();
+  }
+  const foldersManager = foldersManagerRef.current;
+
   const documentLookup = useSyncExternalStore(
     (onStoreChange) => documentsManager.subscribe(onStoreChange),
     () => documentsManager.getSnapshot(),
@@ -1301,6 +1308,8 @@ const useDocumentsWorkspace = ({
     uploadQueue,
     clearUploadQueue,
     documentsFilter,
+    documentsManager,
+    foldersManager,
   };
 
   // hook callers handle rendering / routing
diff --git a/frontend/src/documents/data/useFolderData.ts b/frontend/src/documents/data/useFolderData.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13b6646
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/documents/data/useFolderData.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+import { useState, useEffect, useCallback, useMemo, useSyncExternalStore } from 'react';
+import { listFolderContents } from '../../lib/api/apiClient';
+import type { Document, Folder, FolderContents } from '../../types/documents';
+import type { Identifier, DocumentId, FolderNodeId } from '../../types/identifiers';
+import type DocumentsManager from '../DocumentsManager';
+import type FoldersManager from '../FoldersManager';
+
+interface UseFolderDataResult {
+    folder: Folder | null;
+    documents: Document[];
+    subfolders: Folder[];
+    loading: boolean;
+    error: Error | null;
+    refresh: () => Promise<void>;
+}
+
+export const useFolderData = (
+    folderId: Identifier | 'root' = 'root',
+    documentsManager?: DocumentsManager<Document>,
+    foldersManager?: FoldersManager<Folder>
+): UseFolderDataResult => {
+    const [data, setData] = useState<FolderContents>({
+        folder: null,
+        documents: [],
+        subfolders: [],
+    });
+    const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
+    const [error, setError] = useState<Error | null>(null);
+
+    const fetchData = useCallback(async () => {
+        setLoading(true);
+        setError(null);
+        try {
+            const path = folderId === 'root' ? 'root' : folderId;
+            const result = await listFolderContents<FolderContents>(path, {
+                include_documents: true,
+            });
+
+            if (documentsManager && result.documents) {
+                documentsManager.ingest(result.documents);
+            }
+
+            if (foldersManager) {
+                const foldersToIngest: Folder[] = [];
+                if (result.folder) foldersToIngest.push(result.folder);
+                if (result.subfolders) foldersToIngest.push(...result.subfolders);
+                if (foldersToIngest.length > 0) {
+                    foldersManager.ingest(foldersToIngest);
+                }
+            }
+
+            setData({
+                folder: result.folder || null,
+                documents: result.documents || [],
+                subfolders: result.subfolders || [],
+            });
+        } catch (err) {
+            console.error('Failed to fetch folder data:', err);
+            setError(err instanceof Error ? err : new Error('Unknown error'));
+        } finally {
+            setLoading(false);
+        }
+    }, [folderId, documentsManager, foldersManager]);
+
+    useEffect(() => {
+        fetchData();
+    }, [fetchData]);
+
+    const subscribeToDocs = useCallback((onStoreChange: () => void) => {
+        if (!documentsManager) return () => { };
+        return documentsManager.subscribe(onStoreChange);
+    }, [documentsManager]);
+
+    const getDocSnapshot = useCallback(() => {
+        if (!documentsManager) return null;
+        return documentsManager.getSnapshot();
+    }, [documentsManager]);
+
+    const docSnapshot = useSyncExternalStore(subscribeToDocs, getDocSnapshot, getDocSnapshot);
+
+    const reactiveDocuments = useMemo(() => {
+        if (!documentsManager || !docSnapshot) {
+            return data.documents;
+        }
+        const ids = data.documents.map(d => d.id as DocumentId).filter(Boolean);
+        return documentsManager.getMany(ids);
+    }, [data.documents, documentsManager, docSnapshot]);
+
+    const subscribeToFolders = useCallback((onStoreChange: () => void) => {
+        if (!foldersManager) return () => { };
+        return foldersManager.subscribe(onStoreChange);
+    }, [foldersManager]);
+
+    const getFolderSnapshot = useCallback(() => {
+        if (!foldersManager) return null;
+        return foldersManager.getSnapshot();
+    }, [foldersManager]);
+
+    const folderSnapshot = useSyncExternalStore(subscribeToFolders, getFolderSnapshot, getFolderSnapshot);
+
+    const reactiveFolder = useMemo(() => {
+        if (!foldersManager || !folderSnapshot || !data.folder) {
+            return data.folder;
+        }
+        return foldersManager.getById(data.folder.id as FolderNodeId) || data.folder;
+    }, [data.folder, foldersManager, folderSnapshot]);
+
+    const reactiveSubfolders = useMemo(() => {
+        if (!foldersManager || !folderSnapshot) {
+            return data.subfolders;
+        }
+        const ids = data.subfolders.map(f => f.id as FolderNodeId).filter(Boolean);
+        return foldersManager.getMany(ids);
+    }, [data.subfolders, foldersManager, folderSnapshot]);
+
+    return {
+        ...data,
+        folder: reactiveFolder,
+        documents: reactiveDocuments,
+        subfolders: reactiveSubfolders,
+        loading,
+        error,
+        refresh: fetchData,
+    };
+};
+
+export default useFolderData;
diff --git a/frontend/src/documents/features/folders/useFolderTree.ts b/frontend/src/documents/features/folders/useFolderTree.ts
index 6ee38c5..37eaffb 100644
--- a/frontend/src/documents/features/folders/useFolderTree.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/documents/features/folders/useFolderTree.ts
@@ -9,37 +9,23 @@ import {
   createDocumentEntryKey,
   createFolderEntryKey,
 } from '../../../app/entryKey';
-import type { FolderId, FolderNodeId, Identifier } from '../../../types/identifiers';
-import type { Document } from '../../../types/documents';
+import type { FolderNodeId, Identifier, FolderId } from '../../../types/identifiers';
+import type { Document, Folder, FolderContents } from '../../../types/documents';
 
-interface FolderSummary {
-  id?: FolderNodeId;
-  name?: string;
-  parent_id?: FolderNodeId | null;
-  parentId?: FolderNodeId | null;
-  children?: FolderNodeId[];
-  subfolders?: FolderSummary[];
-  has_children?: boolean;
-  hasChildren?: boolean;
-  [key: string]: unknown;
-}
-
-interface FolderContentsEntry {
-  folder?: FolderSummary | null;
-  documents?: Document[];
-  subfolders?: FolderSummary[];
+interface FolderContentsEntry extends FolderContents {
   __includesDocuments?: boolean;
   __sortField?: string | null;
   __sortDirection?: string | null;
   [key: string]: unknown;
 }
 
-interface FolderTreeNode extends FolderSummary {
+interface FolderTreeNode extends Folder {
   id: FolderNodeId;
   children: FolderNodeId[];
   expanded?: boolean;
   loaded?: boolean;
   hasChildren?: boolean;
+  parentId?: FolderNodeId;
 }
 
 interface SelectionHelpers {
@@ -129,8 +115,8 @@ const useFolderTree = ({
   }, []);
 
   const [selectedFolder, setSelectedFolder] = useState<FolderNodeId>(initialSelectedFolder || 'root');
-  const [currentFolder, setCurrentFolder] = useState<FolderSummary | null>(null);
-  const [currentSubfolders, setCurrentSubfolders] = useState<FolderSummary[]>([]);
+  const [currentFolder, setCurrentFolder] = useState<Folder | null>(null);
+  const [currentSubfolders, setCurrentSubfolders] = useState<Folder[]>([]);
 
   const {
     focusedDocumentId,
diff --git a/frontend/src/documents/features/selection/SelectionFloatingActions.tsx b/frontend/src/documents/features/selection/SelectionFloatingActions.tsx
index 9521865..acf0c08 100644
--- a/frontend/src/documents/features/selection/SelectionFloatingActions.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/documents/features/selection/SelectionFloatingActions.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import SelectionSummary from './SelectionSummary';
 import { useAppState } from '../../../lib/store/appState';
 import { useWorkspaceSelectionContext } from '../../../app/WorkspaceSelectionContext';
 import type { DocumentId } from '../../../types/identifiers';
-import type { FolderTreeNode } from '../../../lib/api/apiTypes';
+import type { FolderTreeNode, FolderTreeResponseItem } from '../../../lib/api/apiTypes';
 
 type NullableDocumentId = DocumentId | null;
 
@@ -251,31 +251,14 @@ const SelectionFloatingActions: React.FC<SelectionFloatingActionsProps> = ({
       try {
         const data = await getFolderTree();
 
-        // Convert flat list to tree
-        const nodeMap = new Map<string, FolderTreeNode>();
-        data.forEach((item) => {
-          nodeMap.set(item.id, {
+        const traverse = (items: FolderTreeResponseItem[]): FolderTreeNode[] => {
+          return items.map(item => ({
             ...item,
-            children: [],
-          } as FolderTreeNode);
-        });
-
-        const roots: FolderTreeNode[] = [];
-        data.forEach((item) => {
-          const node = nodeMap.get(item.id);
-          if (!node) return;
-
-          if (item.children && item.children.length > 0) {
-            node.children = item.children
-              .map((id) => nodeMap.get(id))
-              .filter((n): n is FolderTreeNode => Boolean(n));
-          }
-
-          if (!item.parent_id) {
-            roots.push(node);
-          }
-        });
+            children: item.children ? traverse(item.children) : [],
+          }));
+        };
 
+        const roots = traverse(data);
         setRemoteFolderTree(roots);
         return roots;
       } catch (error) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/types/documents.ts b/frontend/src/types/documents.ts
index 5094997..e4623bc 100644
--- a/frontend/src/types/documents.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/types/documents.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,13 @@ export interface DocumentCorrespondent {
     count?: number;
 }
 
+export interface FolderContents {
+    folder: Folder | null;
+    documents: Document[];
+    subfolders: Folder[];
+    [key: string]: unknown;
+}
+
 /**
  * A tag entity as returned by the API (includes usage_count).
  * Use DocumentTag for the embedded version on documents.
@@ -76,8 +83,12 @@ export interface Document {
 }
 
 export interface Folder {
-    id?: Identifier | 'root';
-    name?: string;
+    id: Identifier | 'root';
+    name: string;
+    parent_id?: Identifier | 'root' | null;
+    created_at?: string;
+    updated_at?: string;
+    [key: string]: unknown;
 }
 
 type FolderEntry = {