diff --git a/docs/app/dashboard/page.tsx b/docs/app/dashboard/page.tsx
index 949b51e..71e3b19 100644
--- a/docs/app/dashboard/page.tsx
+++ b/docs/app/dashboard/page.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 "use client";
 
 import { useState, useCallback, useEffect } from "react";
+import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "framer-motion";
 import { useGitHubStatsCache } from "../hooks/useGitHubStatsCache";
 import CloudBackground from "../components/CloudBackground";
 import RainOverlay from "../components/RainOverlay";
@@ -49,16 +50,14 @@ function formatCountdown(targetMs: number): string {
  *
  * Data is cached in localStorage for 5 minutes. Page reloads within that window
  * serve cached data without hitting the GitHub API. A background timer
- * auto-refreshes every 5 minutes. A manual force-refresh button is available
- * with a 60-second cooldown. Rate limit is displayed in the footer.
+ * auto-refreshes every 5 minutes. An animated refresh icon appears during loading.
  */
 export default function DashboardPage() {
   const {
-    forceRefresh,
     lastFetchedAt,
     nextRefreshAt,
-    canForceRefresh,
     isFromCache,
+    isRefreshing,
     ...stats
   } = useGitHubStatsCache();
 
@@ -91,16 +90,6 @@ export default function DashboardPage() {
   const toggleStargazers = useCallback(() => setShowStargazers((prev) => !prev), []);
   const closeStargazers = useCallback(() => setShowStargazers(false), []);
 
-  // Compute cooldown remaining for the button tooltip
-  const cooldownRemaining = lastFetchedAt !== null
-    ? Math.max(0, Math.ceil((60_000 - (Date.now() - lastFetchedAt)) / 1000))
-    : 0;
-
-  const refreshButtonDisabled = stats.loading || !canForceRefresh;
-  const refreshButtonTitle = !canForceRefresh && cooldownRemaining > 0
-    ? `Available in ${cooldownRemaining}s`
-    : "Refresh data";
-
   return (
     <div className="relative min-h-screen">
       <CloudBackground />
@@ -119,7 +108,7 @@ export default function DashboardPage() {
         <SiteNav activePage="dashboard" />
 
         <main id="main-content" tabIndex={-1} className="mx-auto w-full max-w-6xl flex-1 px-6 pt-28 pb-20">
-          {/* Header with refresh */}
+          {/* Header with loading indicator */}
           <div className="mb-10 flex items-center justify-between">
             <div>
               <h1 className="text-4xl font-bold text-foreground">Project Dashboard</h1>
@@ -127,27 +116,30 @@ export default function DashboardPage() {
                 Live metrics · <a href="https://github.com/phranck/TUIkit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" className="text-accent transition-colors hover:text-foreground">phranck/TUIkit</a>
               </p>
             </div>
-            <button
-              onClick={forceRefresh}
-              disabled={refreshButtonDisabled}
-              title={refreshButtonTitle}
-              className="flex cursor-pointer items-center gap-2 rounded-full border border-border px-5 py-2 text-base font-medium text-foreground transition-all hover:border-accent/40 hover:bg-white/5 disabled:cursor-not-allowed disabled:opacity-50"
-              aria-label={refreshButtonTitle}
-            >
-              <span className={stats.loading ? "animate-spin-slow" : ""}>
-                <Icon name="refresh" size={16} />
-              </span>
-              Refresh
-            </button>
+            {/* Animated refresh icon — fades in while refreshing, spins, then fades out */}
+            <AnimatePresence>
+              {isRefreshing && (
+                <motion.div
+                  initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.8 }}
+                  animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1 }}
+                  exit={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.8 }}
+                  transition={{ duration: 0.2 }}
+                  className="flex items-center justify-center"
+                  aria-label="Refreshing data"
+                >
+                  <span className="animate-spin-slow text-muted">
+                    <Icon name="refresh" size={20} />
+                  </span>
+                </motion.div>
+              )}
+            </AnimatePresence>
           </div>
 
           {/* Error state */}
           {stats.error && (
             <div className="mb-8 rounded-xl border border-red-500/30 bg-red-500/10 p-4 text-base text-red-400">
               <strong>Error:</strong> {stats.error}
-              <button onClick={forceRefresh} className="ml-3 text-accent underline transition-colors hover:text-foreground">
-                Retry
-              </button>
+              <span className="ml-3 text-muted/60">Will retry automatically</span>
             </div>
           )}
 
diff --git a/docs/app/hooks/useGitHubStatsCache.ts b/docs/app/hooks/useGitHubStatsCache.ts
index b529ae6..8257c41 100644
--- a/docs/app/hooks/useGitHubStatsCache.ts
+++ b/docs/app/hooks/useGitHubStatsCache.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ export interface UseGitHubStatsCacheReturn extends GitHubStats {
   canForceRefresh: boolean;
   /** Whether the currently displayed data was served from localStorage cache. */
   isFromCache: boolean;
+  /** Whether a background refresh is in progress (for showing a subtle indicator). */
+  isRefreshing: boolean;
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -88,29 +90,35 @@ export function useGitHubStatsCache(): UseGitHubStatsCacheReturn {
   const [lastFetchedAt, setLastFetchedAt] = useState<number | null>(null);
   const [nextRefreshAt, setNextRefreshAt] = useState<number | null>(null);
   const [isFromCache, setIsFromCache] = useState(false);
+  const [isRefreshing, setIsRefreshing] = useState(false);
 
   const intervalRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null>(null);
   const initializedRef = useRef(false);
 
   // The stats to expose — override (cached) data takes priority while it's set
+  // Force loading: false when we have data, so components don't show skeletons during background refresh
   const activeStats = overrideStats ?? rawStats;
+  const hasData = lastFetchedAt !== null;
 
   // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
   // Core fetch + cache-write logic
   // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
   const doFetchAndCache = useCallback(async () => {
+    setIsRefreshing(true);
     try {
       const freshData = await fetchData();
       const timestamp = writeCache(freshData);
       setLastFetchedAt(timestamp);
       setNextRefreshAt(timestamp + REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS);
       setIsFromCache(false);
-      // Clear override so the live rawStats (now updated by useGitHubStats) show through
-      setOverrideStats(null);
+      // Store the fresh data as override with loading: false to prevent skeleton flash
+      setOverrideStats({ ...freshData, loading: false });
     } catch {
-      // Errors are already reflected in rawStats.error via useGitHubStats
-      setOverrideStats(null);
+      // On error, keep showing previous data (overrideStats stays as-is)
+      // Errors are also reflected in rawStats.error via useGitHubStats if needed
+    } finally {
+      setIsRefreshing(false);
     }
   }, [fetchData]);
 
@@ -169,12 +177,18 @@ export function useGitHubStatsCache(): UseGitHubStatsCacheReturn {
     }, REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS);
   }, [lastFetchedAt, doFetchAndCache]);
 
+  // Override loading to false if we already have data — prevents skeleton flash during background refresh
+  const statsWithLoadingOverride = hasData
+    ? { ...activeStats, loading: false }
+    : activeStats;
+
   return {
-    ...activeStats,
+    ...statsWithLoadingOverride,
     forceRefresh,
     lastFetchedAt,
     nextRefreshAt,
     canForceRefresh,
     isFromCache,
+    isRefreshing,
   };
 }