diff --git a/web/client/src/api/standards.js b/web/client/src/api/standards.js
index c0876c0..232e374 100644
--- a/web/client/src/api/standards.js
+++ b/web/client/src/api/standards.js
@@ -1,14 +1,21 @@
 const BASE = "/api";
 
-// Safe fetch: always reads body as text first, then parses JSON.
-// If the server returns HTML (e.g. 404 from a stale process or proxy miss),
-// this surfaces a clear error instead of "Unexpected token '<'".
+/**
+ * Safely fetches JSON from the server, handling edge cases where the server
+ * may return HTML/plain text (e.g., proxy errors, stale process 404s).
+ * @param {string} url - The endpoint URL.
+ * @param {RequestInit} [options={}] - Fetch options.
+ * @returns {Promise<Object>} Parsed JSON response.
+ * @throws {Error} On network failure or non-OK responses.
+ */
 async function safeFetch(url, options = {}) {
   let res;
   try {
     res = await fetch(url, options);
   } catch (networkErr) {
-    throw new Error(`Network error — is the server running? (${networkErr.message})`);
+    const err = new Error(`Network error — is the server running? (${networkErr.message})`);
+    err.cause = networkErr;
+    throw err;
   }
 
   const text = await res.text();
@@ -33,23 +40,52 @@ async function safeFetch(url, options = {}) {
   return data;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Fetches a paginated list of standards with optional filtering.
+ * @param {Object} [params={}] - Query parameters.
+ * @param {string} [params.q=""] - Search query.
+ * @param {string} [params.category=""] - Category filter.
+ * @param {number} [params.page=1] - Page number.
+ * @param {number} [params.limit=18] - Results per page.
+ * @returns {{data: Object[], meta: {total: number, page: number, limit: number, totalPages: number}}}
+ */
 export async function fetchStandards({ q = "", category = "", page = 1, limit = 18 } = {}) {
   const params = new URLSearchParams({ q, category, page, limit });
   return safeFetch(`${BASE}/standards?${params}`);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Fetches a single standard by its IS identifier.
+ * @param {string} id - The standard IS ID (e.g., "IS 269").
+ * @returns {Promise<Object>} The standard object.
+ */
 export async function fetchStandard(id) {
   return safeFetch(`${BASE}/standards/${encodeURIComponent(id)}`);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Fetches all material categories.
+ * @returns {Promise<Array<{name: string, count: number}>>}
+ */
 export async function fetchCategories() {
   return safeFetch(`${BASE}/categories`);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Fetches portal statistics.
+ * @returns {{totalStandards: number, totalCategories: number, totalChunks: number}}
+ */
 export async function fetchStats() {
   return safeFetch(`${BASE}/stats`);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Asks a conversational question about a specific standard.
+ * @param {Object} params - Parameters.
+ * @param {string} params.standard_id - The standard IS ID.
+ * @param {string} params.question - The question.
+ * @returns {{answer: string}}
+ */
 export async function askQuestion({ standard_id, question }) {
   return safeFetch(`${BASE}/chat`, {
     method: "POST",
@@ -58,7 +94,15 @@ export async function askQuestion({ standard_id, question }) {
   });
 }
 
-// POST /api/recommend — hybrid retrieval + LLM explanations
+/**
+ * Hybrid retrieval with AI explanations.
+ * Uses FAISS + BM25 for retrieval, then Groq LLM for explanations.
+ * @param {Object} [params={}] - Query parameters.
+ * @param {string} params.query - Natural language query.
+ * @param {number} [params.top_n=5] - Number of results.
+ * @param {boolean} [params.rewrite=false] - Whether to rewrite the query with AI.
+ * @returns {{query: string, standards: Object[], latency: {retrieval_ms: number, llm_ms: number, total_ms: number}}}
+ */
 export async function recommend({ query, top_n = 5, rewrite = false } = {}) {
   return safeFetch(`${BASE}/recommend`, {
     method: "POST",
@@ -67,7 +111,13 @@ export async function recommend({ query, top_n = 5, rewrite = false } = {}) {
   });
 }
 
-// POST /api/ask — chunk-grounded QA for a specific standard
+/**
+ * Chunk-grounded QA for a specific standard.
+ * @param {Object} [params={}] - Parameters.
+ * @param {string} params.standard_id - The standard IS ID.
+ * @param {string} params.question - The question.
+ * @returns {{answer: string, source: {standard_id: string, section: string, chunk_id: string}, latency: {llm_ms: number, total_ms: number}}}
+ */
 export async function askGrounded({ standard_id, question } = {}) {
   return safeFetch(`${BASE}/ask`, {
     method: "POST",
diff --git a/web/client/src/pages/Standards.jsx b/web/client/src/pages/Standards.jsx
index 86cf1f2..f169adc 100644
--- a/web/client/src/pages/Standards.jsx
+++ b/web/client/src/pages/Standards.jsx
@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
 import { useEffect, useState, useCallback } from "react";
 import { useSearchParams } from "react-router-dom";
 import { fetchStandards, fetchCategories } from "../api/standards";
-import { useDebounce } from "../hooks/useDebounce";
 import StandardCard from "../components/StandardCard";
 import StandardModal from "../components/StandardModal";
 import "./Standards.css";
 
 const PAGE_SIZE = 18;
 
+/**
+ * Standards search page with pagination.
+ * Uses URL search params for query/category state.
+ * Loads standards on mount and handles user interactions.
+ */
 export default function Standards() {
   const [searchParams, setSearchParams] = useSearchParams();
 
@@ -22,12 +26,6 @@ export default function Standards() {
   const [error, setError] = useState(null);
   const [selected, setSelected] = useState(null);
 
-  const debouncedQuery = useDebounce(query, 300);
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    fetchCategories().then(setCategories).catch(() => {});
-  }, []);
-
   const load = useCallback(async (q, cat, pg) => {
     setLoading(true);
     setError(null);
@@ -35,6 +33,7 @@ export default function Standards() {
       const data = await fetchStandards({ q, category: cat, page: pg, limit: PAGE_SIZE });
       setResults(data.data);
       setMeta(data.meta);
+      setPage(pg);
     } catch {
       setError("Could not load standards. Is the server running?");
     } finally {
@@ -43,20 +42,34 @@ export default function Standards() {
   }, []);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    setPage(1);
+    fetchCategories().then(setCategories).catch(() => {});
+    load(query, category, 1);
+    // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
+  }, []);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
     const params = {};
-    if (debouncedQuery) params.q = debouncedQuery;
+    if (query) params.q = query;
     if (category) params.category = category;
     setSearchParams(params, { replace: true });
-    load(debouncedQuery, category, 1);
-  }, [debouncedQuery, category, load, setSearchParams]);
+  }, [query, category, setSearchParams]);
+
+  const handleCategoryChange = (value) => {
+    setCategory(value);
+    load(query, value, 1);
+  };
 
   const handlePageChange = (pg) => {
-    setPage(pg);
-    load(debouncedQuery, category, pg);
+    load(query, category, pg);
     window.scrollTo({ top: 0, behavior: "smooth" });
   };
 
+  const handleClearSearch = () => {
+    setQuery("");
+    setCategory("");
+    load("", "", 1);
+  };
+
   return (
     <main className="standards-page">
       <section className="tile tile-parchment search-tile" aria-labelledby="search-heading">
@@ -64,11 +77,7 @@ export default function Standards() {
           <h1 className="display-lg" id="search-heading">Find an IS Standard</h1>
           <p className="lead-sub">Search by standard number, title, material, or keyword.</p>
 
-          <form
-            className="search-form"
-            role="search"
-            onSubmit={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
-          >
+          <form className="search-form" role="search" onSubmit={(e) => e.preventDefault()}>
             <div className="search-wrap">
               <SearchIcon />
               <input
@@ -83,7 +92,7 @@ export default function Standards() {
                 <button
                   className="search-clear"
                   type="button"
-                  onClick={() => setQuery("")}
+                  onClick={handleClearSearch}
                   aria-label="Clear search"
                 >
                   ✕
@@ -94,7 +103,7 @@ export default function Standards() {
               <select
                 className="category-filter"
                 value={category}
-                onChange={(e) => setCategory(e.target.value)}
+                onChange={(e) => handleCategoryChange(e.target.value)}
                 aria-label="Filter by category"
               >
                 <option value="">All Categories</option>
@@ -213,4 +222,4 @@ function SearchIcon() {
       <path d="M14 14l4 4" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="1.6" strokeLinecap="round" />
     </svg>
   );
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file