diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fec64cb..5c1eb46 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -22,7 +22,16 @@ the Github Actions Nightly workflow. It can only be run against `develop`.
 
 ## Synthetic mock daemons (UI development)
 
-To run the UI without native client daemons, start the HTTP mock servers in [`synthetic-daemons/`](synthetic-daemons/) and launch Electros with `--no-daemons`. See [synthetic-daemons/README.md](synthetic-daemons/README.md) for ports, fixtures, and verification steps.
+To run the UI with HTTP mock servers instead of native client daemons, use `--synthetic-daemons` so Electros starts [`synthetic-daemons/`](synthetic-daemons/) via `npm start` alongside the GUI. See [synthetic-daemons/README.md](synthetic-daemons/README.md) for ports, fixtures, and verification steps.
+
+```bash
+cd synthetic-daemons && npm install   # once
+cd electros-electron && npm start -- --synthetic-daemons
+```
+
+From the **Developer** menu you can switch at runtime between **Use Native Daemons** (`CmdOrCtrl+Shift+Alt+N`) and **Use Synthetic Daemons** (`CmdOrCtrl+Shift+Alt+S`) in unpackaged builds or when `--enable-devtools` is set.
+
+To run mocks in a separate terminal instead:
 
 ```bash
 cd synthetic-daemons && npm install && npm start
@@ -34,7 +43,8 @@ cd electros-electron && npm start -- --no-daemons
 Electros has a set of custom command line switches other than the Electron switches:
 
 - `--enable-devtools` enables the devtools for the application
-- `--no-daemons` disables the execution of the embedded daemons (use with synthetic-daemons above)
+- `--synthetic-daemons` launches [`synthetic-daemons/`](synthetic-daemons/) via `npm start` instead of the native client daemons (unpackaged/dev only)
+- `--no-daemons` disables the execution of the embedded daemons (use when running synthetic-daemons yourself)
 
 > [!NOTE]
 > On macOS, to add a CLI switch, you'll have to append them directly onto the executable:
diff --git a/electros-electron/common/Daemons.js b/electros-electron/common/Daemons.js
index 9d0a360..5d886ac 100644
--- a/electros-electron/common/Daemons.js
+++ b/electros-electron/common/Daemons.js
@@ -12,34 +12,154 @@ export class DaemonsNotEnabledError extends Error {
 export class Daemons {
     static _Process = null;
     static _Ports = {};
+    static _IsSynthetic = false;
+    static _ElectronDir = null;
+    static _Platform = null;
+    static _SwitchSettleMs = 750;
 
     static _DaemonsLogArray = [];
     static BUFFER_SIZE = 2000;
 
     static DataUpdateCriticalHook = null;
 
-    static Launch(platform, __dirname) {
-        if (app.commandLine.hasSwitch("no-daemons")) {
+    /**
+     * @param {object} platform
+     * @param {string} __dirname
+     * @param {{ synthetic?: boolean }} [options]
+     */
+    static Launch(platform, __dirname, options = {}) {
+        Daemons._ElectronDir = __dirname;
+        Daemons._Platform = platform;
+
+        if (app.commandLine.hasSwitch("no-daemons") && !options.synthetic) {
             console.log("Daemons have been disabled by `--no-daemons`");
             Terminal.Write("[INFO] Elemento Client Daemons have been disabled by `--no-daemons`.");
             throw new DaemonsNotEnabledError();
         }
 
+        const useSynthetic = options.synthetic === true
+            || app.commandLine.hasSwitch("synthetic-daemons");
+
+        if (useSynthetic) {
+            Daemons._LaunchSynthetic(__dirname);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        Daemons._LaunchNative(platform, __dirname);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Switch to synthetic-daemons via `npm start` (Developer menu).
+     * Terminates any existing daemon process first.
+     * @param {string} [electronDir]
+     */
+    static async LaunchSynthetic(electronDir) {
+        const dir = electronDir || Daemons._ElectronDir;
+        if (!dir) {
+            throw new Error("LaunchSynthetic requires electronDir (call Daemons.Launch first, or pass __dirname)");
+        }
+        await Daemons._SwitchTo(() => Daemons._LaunchSynthetic(dir));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Switch to native client daemons (Developer menu).
+     * Terminates any existing daemon process first; ignores --no-daemons / --synthetic-daemons.
+     * @param {object} [platform]
+     * @param {string} [electronDir]
+     */
+    static async LaunchNative(platform, electronDir) {
+        const dir = electronDir || Daemons._ElectronDir;
+        const plat = platform || Daemons._Platform;
+        if (!dir || !plat) {
+            throw new Error("LaunchNative requires platform and electronDir (call Daemons.Launch first)");
+        }
+        await Daemons._SwitchTo(() => Daemons._LaunchNative(plat, dir));
+    }
+
+    static IsSynthetic() {
+        return Daemons._IsSynthetic;
+    }
+
+    static IsRunning() {
+        return Daemons._Process !== null && !Daemons._Process.killed;
+    }
+
+    static async _SwitchTo(launchFn) {
+        Daemons.Terminate();
+        // Allow ports to be released before binding the other daemon set
+        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, Daemons._SwitchSettleMs));
+        launchFn();
+    }
+
+    static _LaunchNative(platform, __dirname) {
         if (!app.isPackaged) {
             Terminal.Write("[WARN] Electros is not packaged. Daemons might have to be manually started.");
             console.warn("Electros is not packaged. Daemons might have to be manually started.");
         }
 
         const execPath = Daemons._GetCommand(platform, __dirname);
+        if (!execPath) {
+            const msg = "[ERROR] Native daemon binary not found for this platform.";
+            console.error(msg);
+            Terminal.Write(msg);
+            throw new Error(msg);
+        }
+
+        Terminal.Write(`[INFO] Starting native client daemons (${execPath})`);
+        console.log("Launching native daemons from", execPath);
         console.trace(execPath);
 
-        Daemons._Process = spawn(
-          execPath, [], {
-              env: {...process.env, GUI_APP: '1'},
-              stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
-              detached: false
-          }
-        );
+        Daemons._ElectronDir = __dirname;
+        Daemons._Platform = platform;
+        Daemons._IsSynthetic = false;
+        Daemons._SpawnProcess(execPath, [], {
+            env: {...process.env, GUI_APP: '1'},
+            stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+            detached: false
+        });
+    }
+
+    static _LaunchSynthetic(__dirname) {
+        if (app.isPackaged) {
+            const msg = "[ERROR] Synthetic daemons are only available in unpackaged (dev) builds.";
+            console.error(msg);
+            Terminal.Write(msg);
+            throw new Error("Synthetic daemons unavailable in packaged builds");
+        }
+
+        const syntheticRoot = Daemons._GetSyntheticPath(__dirname);
+        const packageJson = path.join(syntheticRoot, 'package.json');
+        if (!fs.existsSync(packageJson)) {
+            const msg = `[ERROR] synthetic-daemons not found at ${syntheticRoot}`;
+            console.error(msg);
+            Terminal.Write(msg);
+            throw new Error(msg);
+        }
+
+        Terminal.Write(`[INFO] Starting synthetic-daemons via npm start (${syntheticRoot})`);
+        console.log("Launching synthetic-daemons from", syntheticRoot);
+
+        const isWin = process.platform === 'win32';
+        const npmCmd = isWin ? 'npm.cmd' : 'npm';
+
+        Daemons._ElectronDir = __dirname;
+        Daemons._IsSynthetic = true;
+        Daemons._SpawnProcess(npmCmd, ['start'], {
+            cwd: syntheticRoot,
+            env: {...process.env, GUI_APP: '1'},
+            stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+            shell: isWin,
+            // New process group on Unix so Terminate can kill npm + node children
+            detached: !isWin,
+        });
+    }
+
+    static _GetSyntheticPath(electronDir) {
+        return path.join(electronDir, '..', 'synthetic-daemons');
+    }
+
+    static _SpawnProcess(command, args, spawnOptions) {
+        Daemons._Process = spawn(command, args, spawnOptions);
 
         Daemons._Process.stdout.on("data", (data) => {
             this._DaemonsLogArray.push(data);
@@ -75,12 +195,22 @@ export class Daemons {
                         execSync(`taskkill /pid ${Daemons._Process.pid} /T /F`);
                     } catch (e) {
                         console.error("Failed to kill process with taskkill:", e);
+                        r = false;
+                    }
+                } else if (Daemons._IsSynthetic && Daemons._Process.pid) {
+                    // Kill the whole process group (npm + node dist/index.js)
+                    try {
+                        process.kill(-Daemons._Process.pid, 'SIGTERM');
+                    } catch (e) {
+                        console.error("Failed to kill synthetic-daemons process group:", e);
+                        r = Daemons._Process.kill();
                     }
                 } else {
                     r = Daemons._Process.kill();
                 }
             }
             Daemons._Process = null;
+            Daemons._IsSynthetic = false;
         }
 
         return r;
@@ -153,4 +283,3 @@ export class Daemons {
         return daemonsCmd;
     }
 }
-
diff --git a/electros-electron/common/MenuBar.js b/electros-electron/common/MenuBar.js
index 859eca6..11b6cde 100644
--- a/electros-electron/common/MenuBar.js
+++ b/electros-electron/common/MenuBar.js
@@ -3,6 +3,14 @@ import { Terminal } from "../windows/Terminal.js";
 import {app, Notification} from "electron";
 
 
+function notify(title, body, urgency = 'low') {
+    if (!Notification.isSupported()) {
+        return;
+    }
+    new Notification({title, body, silent: true, urgency}).show();
+}
+
+
 export function BuildMenuTemplate() {
     const baseMenu = [
         {
@@ -75,31 +83,46 @@ export function BuildMenuTemplate() {
         baseMenu.push({
             label: 'Developer',
             submenu:[
+                {
+                    label: 'Use Native Daemons',
+                    accelerator: 'CmdOrCtrl+Shift+Alt+N',
+                    click: async () => {
+                        console.log("switch to native daemons triggered");
+                        try {
+                            await Daemons.LaunchNative();
+                            notify("Native Daemons Started", "Switched to native client daemons.");
+                        } catch (e) {
+                            console.error("Failed to launch native daemons:", e);
+                            notify("Failed to Launch Native Daemons", e?.message || "Could not start native daemons.", 'normal');
+                        }
+                    }
+                },
+                {
+                    label: 'Use Synthetic Daemons',
+                    accelerator: 'CmdOrCtrl+Shift+Alt+S',
+                    click: async () => {
+                        console.log("switch to synthetic daemons triggered");
+                        try {
+                            await Daemons.LaunchSynthetic();
+                            notify("Synthetic Daemons Started", "Switched to synthetic-daemons (npm start).");
+                        } catch (e) {
+                            console.error("Failed to launch synthetic daemons:", e);
+                            notify("Failed to Launch Synthetic Daemons", e?.message || "Could not start synthetic-daemons.", 'normal');
+                        }
+                    }
+                },
                 {
                     label: 'Terminate Daemons',
                     click: async () => {
                         console.log("manual daemon termination triggered");
-                        if(Daemons.Terminate()) {
-                            if(Notification.isSupported()) {
-                                new Notification({
-                                    title: "Daemons Terminated",
-                                    body: "Electros Client Daemons successfully terminated.",
-                                    silent: true,
-                                    urgency: 'low'
-                                }).show();
-                            }
+                        if (Daemons.Terminate()) {
+                            notify("Daemons Terminated", "Electros Client Daemons successfully terminated.");
                         } else {
-                            if(Notification.isSupported()) {
-                                new Notification({
-                                    title: "Failed to Terminate Daemons",
-                                    body: "Electros Client Daemons were not terminated.",
-                                    silent: true,
-                                    urgency: 'low'
-                                }).show();
-                            }
+                            notify("Failed to Terminate Daemons", "Electros Client Daemons were not terminated.", 'low');
                         }
                     }
                 },
+                {type: 'separator'},
                 {label: 'Toggle DevTools', role: 'toggleDevTools'},
                 {label: 'Toggle Fullscreen', role: 'toggleFullScreen'},
             ]
diff --git a/electros-electron/main.js b/electros-electron/main.js
index d143c6c..c099d46 100644
--- a/electros-electron/main.js
+++ b/electros-electron/main.js
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ function createMainWindow() {
     }
 
     // Inject custom titlebar after the page loads
-    win.webContents.once('did-finish-load', () => {
+    win.webContents.on('did-finish-load', () => {
         try {
             const safeJS = typeof PreloadedContent.Js.Titlebar === 'string'
               ? PreloadedContent.Js.Titlebar
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ ipcMain.handle('create-popup', async (event, options = {}) => {
     try {
         // Inject custom titlebar CSS and HTML before loading the URL
         if (!options.defaultTitlebar) {
-            popup.webContents.once('did-finish-load', () => {
+            popup.webContents.on('did-finish-load', () => {
                 const popupTitlebarJS = PreloadedContent.Js.Titlebar.replace(
                   'titleElement.textContent = document.title;',
                   `titleElement.textContent = ${JSON.stringify(options.title)};`
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ ipcMain.handle('open-ssh', async (event, connectionDetails) => {
 
         event.sender.ssh_port = ssh_port;
 
-        sshWindow.webContents.once('did-finish-load', () => {
+        sshWindow.webContents.on('did-finish-load', () => {
             const sshTitlebarJS = PreloadedContent.Js.Titlebar.replace(
               'titleElement.textContent = document.title;',
               `titleElement.textContent = "SSH connection to ${connectionDetails.vmName}";`
diff --git a/electros-electron/package.json b/electros-electron/package.json
index e0c3173..1a02e85 100644
--- a/electros-electron/package.json
+++ b/electros-electron/package.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
     },
     "scripts": {
         "synthetic-daemons": "npm run start --prefix ../synthetic-daemons",
-        "start": "concurrently --kill-others --names \"vite,electron\" -c \"green,yellow\" -l 10 --pad-prefix \"vite\" \"electron . --trace-warnings --v=1\"",
+        "start": "concurrently --kill-others --names \"vite,electron\" -c \"green,yellow\" -l 10 --pad-prefix -P \"vite\" \"electron . --trace-warnings --v=1 {@}\" --",
         "dev": "vite",
         "build": "node build.mjs",
         "build:nosign": "node build.mjs --config.mac.identity=null",
diff --git a/elemento-gui-new b/elemento-gui-new
index 7084abd..44beff0 160000
--- a/elemento-gui-new
+++ b/elemento-gui-new
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 7084abd3ee6cc1f4fa34ce1f40e020242972ae25
+Subproject commit 44beff0e585265544213f2b90783a463da567d25
diff --git a/synthetic-daemons/README.md b/synthetic-daemons/README.md
index d364aab..ea9baa7 100644
--- a/synthetic-daemons/README.md
+++ b/synthetic-daemons/README.md
@@ -4,6 +4,18 @@ Standalone mock servers that emulate Elemento **client daemons** on the ECD loca
 
 ## Quick start
 
+One-command demo (Electros spawns this package via `npm start`):
+
+```bash
+cd synthetic-daemons && npm install   # once
+cd ../electros-electron
+npm start -- --synthetic-daemons
+```
+
+Or from the Electros **Developer** menu: **Use Synthetic Daemons** (`CmdOrCtrl+Shift+Alt+S`) / **Use Native Daemons** (`CmdOrCtrl+Shift+Alt+N`) to switch at runtime.
+
+### Manual (two terminals)
+
 ```bash
 cd synthetic-daemons
 npm install
@@ -130,5 +142,6 @@ npm run build        # compile only
 From `electros-electron`:
 
 ```bash
-npm run synthetic-daemons
+npm start -- --synthetic-daemons   # GUI + mocks together
+npm run synthetic-daemons          # mocks only
 ```