diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index cc722c2..2fd9aed 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -32,3 +32,8 @@ docker/agents/bin/
 # Generated docker-compose.yml (run 'bin/disinto init' to regenerate)
 # Note: This file is now committed to track volume mount configuration
 # docker-compose.yml
+
+# Python bytecode
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
diff --git a/docker/chat/Dockerfile b/docker/chat/Dockerfile
index f83f093..194cee4 100644
--- a/docker/chat/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/chat/Dockerfile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-# disinto-chat — minimal HTTP+WebSocket backend for Claude chat UI
+# disinto-chat — minimal HTTP backend for Claude chat UI
 #
-# Small Debian slim base with Python runtime and websockets library.
-# Chosen for simplicity and small image size (~100MB vs ~150MB for Go).
+# Small Debian slim base with Python runtime.
+# Chosen for simplicity and small image size (~100MB).
 #
 # Image size: ~100MB (well under the 200MB ceiling)
 #
@@ -10,11 +10,9 @@
 
 FROM debian:bookworm-slim
 
-# Install Python and websockets (no build-time network access needed)
+# Install Python (no build-time network access needed)
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     python3 \
-    python3-pip \
-    && pip3 install --break-system-packages websockets \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Non-root user
diff --git a/docker/chat/__pycache__/server.cpython-311.pyc b/docker/chat/__pycache__/server.cpython-311.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 54e1b44..0000000
Binary files a/docker/chat/__pycache__/server.cpython-311.pyc and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/docker/chat/server.py b/docker/chat/server.py
index dbb6514..485fce9 100644
--- a/docker/chat/server.py
+++ b/docker/chat/server.py
@@ -165,35 +165,21 @@ class ChatHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             return
 
         try:
-            # Spawn claude --print with streaming output
-            # Using stream-json format for structured parsing capability
+            # Spawn claude --print with text output format
             proc = subprocess.Popen(
-                [CLAUDE_BIN, "--print", message, "--output-format", "stream-json"],
+                [CLAUDE_BIN, "--print", message],
                 stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
                 stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
-                text=False,
-                bufsize=0,  # Unbuffered for streaming
+                text=True,
             )
 
-            # Read and stream response
-            response_parts = []
-            error_parts = []
-
-            # Read stdout in chunks
-            while True:
-                chunk = proc.stdout.read(4096)
-                if not chunk:
-                    break
-                try:
-                    response_parts.append(chunk.decode("utf-8"))
-                except UnicodeDecodeError:
-                    response_parts.append(chunk.decode("utf-8", errors="replace"))
+            # Read response as text (Claude outputs plain text when not using stream-json)
+            response = proc.stdout.read()
 
             # Read stderr (should be minimal, mostly for debugging)
-            if proc.stderr:
-                error_output = proc.stderr.read()
-                if error_output:
-                    error_parts.append(error_output.decode("utf-8", errors="replace"))
+            error_output = proc.stderr.read()
+            if error_output:
+                print(f"Claude stderr: {error_output}", file=sys.stderr)
 
             # Wait for process to complete
             proc.wait()
@@ -202,12 +188,6 @@ class ChatHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             if proc.returncode != 0:
                 self.send_error(500, f"Claude CLI failed with exit code {proc.returncode}")
                 return
-
-            # Combine response parts
-            response = "".join(response_parts)
-
-            # If using stream-json, we could parse and reformat here.
-            # For now, return as-is (HTMX will display it in the UI).
             self.send_response(200)
             self.send_header("Content-Type", "text/plain; charset=utf-8")
             self.send_header("Content-Length", len(response.encode("utf-8")))
diff --git a/docker/chat/ui/index.html b/docker/chat/ui/index.html
index 35bcc12..d3851ce 100644
--- a/docker/chat/ui/index.html
+++ b/docker/chat/ui/index.html
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@
                 <div class="content">Welcome to disinto-chat. Type a message to start chatting with Claude.</div>
             </div>
         </div>
-        <form class="input-area" hx-post="/chat" hx-swap="none" hx-target="#messages">
+        <form class="input-area">
             <textarea name="message" placeholder="Type your message..." required></textarea>
             <button type="submit" id="send-btn">Send</button>
         </form>
@@ -161,13 +161,6 @@
             return div.innerHTML.replace(/\n/g, '<br>');
         }
 
-        // Handle HTMX swap for streaming responses
-        document.body.addEventListener('htmx:afterSwap', function(event) {
-            const newContent = event.detail.xhr.responseText;
-            // HTMX will handle the swap; we just need to scroll to bottom
-            messagesDiv.scrollTop = messagesDiv.scrollHeight;
-        });
-
         // Send message handler
         sendBtn.addEventListener('click', async () => {
             const message = textarea.value.trim();
@@ -183,13 +176,16 @@
             textarea.value = '';
 
             try {
-                // Use fetch for better control over streaming
-                const formData = new FormData();
-                formData.append('message', message);
+                // Use fetch with URLSearchParams for application/x-www-form-urlencoded
+                const params = new URLSearchParams();
+                params.append('message', message);
 
                 const response = await fetch('/chat', {
                     method: 'POST',
-                    body: formData
+                    headers: {
+                        'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
+                    },
+                    body: params
                 });
 
                 if (!response.ok) {