diff --git a/src/routes/hooks/poll-imap.ts b/src/routes/hooks/poll-imap.ts
index ce15c03..664a95d 100644
--- a/src/routes/hooks/poll-imap.ts
+++ b/src/routes/hooks/poll-imap.ts
@@ -55,29 +55,44 @@ export const Route = createFileRoute("/hooks/poll-imap")({
               const sinceUid = (settings.last_uid ?? 0) + 1;
               const range = `${sinceUid}:*`;
 
-              // First pass: fetch lightweight envelopes only to learn the
-              // size of each message. Then fetch full source one-by-one,
-              // skipping anything over the size cap.
-              const candidates: Array<{ uid: number; size: number }> = [];
-              for await (const meta of client.fetch(
-                range,
-                { uid: true, size: true },
+              // First pass: collect just UIDs via search (no FETCH stream).
+              // This avoids any large per-message data crossing the socket
+              // before we know which messages to skip.
+              const uidList = await client.search(
+                { uid: range },
                 { uid: true },
-              )) {
-                if (meta.uid <= (settings.last_uid ?? 0)) continue;
-                candidates.push({ uid: meta.uid, size: meta.size ?? 0 });
-                if (candidates.length >= MAX_MESSAGES_PER_RUN * 4) break;
-              }
+              );
+              const candidateUids = (uidList ?? [])
+                .filter((u) => u > (settings.last_uid ?? 0))
+                .sort((a, b) => a - b)
+                .slice(0, MAX_MESSAGES_PER_RUN * 4);
 
-              for (const cand of candidates) {
+              for (const uid of candidateUids) {
                 if (imported >= MAX_MESSAGES_PER_RUN) break;
 
                 // Always advance highestUid so we don't re-attempt skipped messages.
-                if (cand.uid > highestUid) highestUid = cand.uid;
+                if (uid > highestUid) highestUid = uid;
 
-                if (cand.size > MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE_BYTES) {
+                // Per-message size probe so we can skip oversize messages
+                // before downloading the full source.
+                let probedSize = 0;
+                try {
+                  for await (const meta of client.fetch(
+                    String(uid),
+                    { uid: true, size: true },
+                    { uid: true },
+                  )) {
+                    probedSize = meta.size ?? 0;
+                    break;
+                  }
+                } catch (e) {
+                  console.error("Size probe failed uid", uid, e);
+                  continue;
+                }
+
+                if (probedSize > MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE_BYTES) {
                   console.warn(
-                    `Skipping IMAP uid ${cand.uid} (${cand.size} bytes > ${MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE_BYTES})`,
+                    `Skipping IMAP uid ${uid} (${probedSize} bytes > ${MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE_BYTES})`,
                   );
                   continue;
                 }
@@ -85,7 +100,7 @@ export const Route = createFileRoute("/hooks/poll-imap")({
                 let msg: { uid: number; source: Buffer; size?: number } | null = null;
                 try {
                   for await (const m of client.fetch(
-                    String(cand.uid),
+                    String(uid),
                     { uid: true, source: true, size: true },
                     { uid: true },
                   )) {
@@ -93,7 +108,7 @@ export const Route = createFileRoute("/hooks/poll-imap")({
                     break;
                   }
                 } catch (e) {
-                  console.error("Per-message fetch failed uid", cand.uid, e);
+                  console.error("Per-message fetch failed uid", uid, e);
                   continue;
                 }
                 if (!msg) continue;