diff --git a/examples/chat/README.md b/examples/chat/README.md
index a140acf5e..56acaf44e 100644
--- a/examples/chat/README.md
+++ b/examples/chat/README.md
@@ -110,14 +110,9 @@ again by itself, and it sends one only when its HTML has changed. The thread
 is cut along the line that matters: the finished messages are one piece, the
 reply being written is another. A token re-sends the reply and nothing else.
 
-Two things to know when writing markup the server re-sends:
-
-- **Test locals, not properties, in a condition.** `{message.usage && …}`
-  renders once and then never updates; `const { usage } = message` and
-  `{usage && …}` works. The compiler wraps a condition it cannot see through
-  in a memo, and a read the server re-runs cannot create one.
-- **One source per render, read at the top.** A watcher created per message,
-  inside the list, never settles: each retry of the render makes a new one.
+One thing to know when writing markup the server re-sends: **one source per
+render, read at the top.** A watcher created per message, inside the list,
+never settles: each retry of the render makes a new one.
 
 ## What the browser owns
 
diff --git a/examples/chat/server.js b/examples/chat/server.js
index a528340dc..0af66ea1c 100644
--- a/examples/chat/server.js
+++ b/examples/chat/server.js
@@ -46,13 +46,14 @@ function encoder(req, res) {
 // Static assets compress once at a higher quality — they're cached, not streamed.
 const staticBrotli = new Map();
 
-function webRequest(req) {
+function webRequest(req, signal) {
   const url = new URL(req.url || "/", `http://${req.headers.host || `localhost:${PORT}`}`);
   const method = req.method || "GET";
   const body = method === "GET" || method === "HEAD" ? undefined : Readable.toWeb(req);
   return new Request(url, {
     method,
     headers: req.headers,
+    signal,
     body,
     ...(body ? { duplex: "half" } : {})
   });
@@ -87,8 +88,11 @@ createServer(async (req, res) => {
     }
   }
 
+  // A tab that closes must end its render, so the thread's watcher stops.
+  const gone = new AbortController();
+  res.on("close", () => gone.abort());
   try {
-    const response = await handleRequest(webRequest(req));
+    const response = await handleRequest(webRequest(req, gone.signal));
     const cookies = response.headers.getSetCookie?.();
     response.headers.forEach((value, key) => {
       if (key !== "set-cookie") res.setHeader(key, value);
@@ -97,13 +101,19 @@ createServer(async (req, res) => {
     res.statusCode = response.status;
     const out = encoder(req, res) ?? res;
     if (response.body) {
-      for await (const chunk of response.body) {
-        out.write(chunk);
+      const reader = response.body.getReader();
+      gone.signal.addEventListener("abort", () => reader.cancel().catch(() => {}), { once: true });
+      for (;;) {
+        const { done, value } = await reader.read();
+        if (done) break;
+        out.write(value);
         if (out !== res) out.flush();
       }
     }
     out.end();
   } catch (e) {
+    // The tab went away mid-response: nothing to report.
+    if (gone.signal.aborted) return res.destroy();
     console.error(e);
     res.statusCode = 500;
     res.end(e.message);
diff --git a/examples/chat/src/routes/thread.tsx b/examples/chat/src/routes/thread.tsx
index 6951a5f68..d31bc68ee 100644
--- a/examples/chat/src/routes/thread.tsx
+++ b/examples/chat/src/routes/thread.tsx
@@ -145,12 +145,8 @@ function messagesMarkup(messages: Message[], writing: boolean, block: { onCopy:
 // One message as markup. A plain function, not a component: the server
 // re-runs the read that called it and sends the result, and there is nothing
 // here to keep between runs.
-//
-// Every condition below tests a local, not a property. The compiler wraps a
-// condition it cannot see through (`message.usage && …`) in a memo, and a
-// read the server re-runs cannot create one.
 function messageMarkup(message: Message, block: { onCopy: CopyHandler }) {
-  const { id, text, reasoning, error, usage } = message;
+  const { id, text } = message;
   if (message.role === "user") {
     return (
       <li class="message user" data-id={id}>
@@ -167,10 +163,10 @@ function messageMarkup(message: Message, block: { onCopy: CopyHandler }) {
   const again = !generating && (failed ? "Retry" : "Regenerate");
   return (
     <li class={`message assistant ${message.status}`} data-id={id}>
-      {reasoning && (
+      {message.reasoning && (
         <details class="reasoning">
           <summary>Reasoning</summary>
-          <p>{reasoning}</p>
+          <p>{message.reasoning}</p>
         </details>
       )}
       <div class="md">
@@ -197,10 +193,10 @@ function messageMarkup(message: Message, block: { onCopy: CopyHandler }) {
           </form>
         )}
         {stopped && <span class="muted">Stopped</span>}
-        {failed && <span class="error">{error}</span>}
-        {usage && (
+        {failed && <span class="error">{message.error}</span>}
+        {message.usage && (
           <span class="muted">
-            {usage.tokens} tokens · {usage.seconds}s
+            {message.usage.tokens} tokens · {message.usage.seconds}s
           </span>
         )}
         {again && (
diff --git a/examples/server-dbmon/server.js b/examples/server-dbmon/server.js
index 244c1a278..e228086a7 100644
--- a/examples/server-dbmon/server.js
+++ b/examples/server-dbmon/server.js
@@ -113,6 +113,8 @@ createServer(async (req, res) => {
     }
     out.end();
   } catch (e) {
+    // The tab went away mid-response: nothing to report.
+    if (gone.signal.aborted) return res.destroy();
     console.error(e);
     res.statusCode = 500;
     res.end(e.message);