diff --git a/ui/package.json b/ui/package.json
index 2608c00..af3305b 100644
--- a/ui/package.json
+++ b/ui/package.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     "ng": "ng",
     "start": "ng serve",
     "build": "ng build",
-    "build:watch": "ng build --watch",
+    "build:watch": "ng build --watch --configuration development",
     "test": "ng test",
     "lint": "ng lint"
   },
diff --git a/ui/src/app/app.html b/ui/src/app/app.html
index 847a628..0b6f7fb 100644
--- a/ui/src/app/app.html
+++ b/ui/src/app/app.html
@@ -279,13 +279,12 @@
           </div>
           <div class="col-12 col-md-6 col-lg-3">
             <div class="input-group">
-              <span class="input-group-text">Format</span>
+              <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Subtitle output format for captions mode." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Format</span>
               <select class="form-select"
                 name="format"
                 [(ngModel)]="format"
                 (change)="formatChanged()"
-                [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                ngbTooltip="Subtitle output format for captions mode">
+                [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                 @for (f of formatOptions; track f.id) {
                   <option [ngValue]="f.id">{{ f.text }}</option>
                 }
@@ -294,7 +293,7 @@
           </div>
           <div class="col-12 col-md-6 col-lg-3">
             <div class="input-group">
-              <span class="input-group-text">Language</span>
+              <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Subtitle language (you can type any language code)." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Language</span>
               <input class="form-control"
                 type="text"
                 list="subtitleLanguageOptions"
@@ -302,8 +301,7 @@
                 [(ngModel)]="subtitleLanguage"
                 (change)="subtitleLanguageChanged()"
                 [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                placeholder="e.g. en, es, zh-Hans"
-                ngbTooltip="Subtitle language (you can type any language code)">
+                placeholder="e.g. en, es, zh-Hans">
               <datalist id="subtitleLanguageOptions">
                 @for (lang of subtitleLanguages; track lang.id) {
                   <option [value]="lang.id">{{ lang.text }}</option>
@@ -313,13 +311,12 @@
           </div>
           <div class="col-12 col-md-6 col-lg-3">
             <div class="input-group">
-              <span class="input-group-text">Subtitle Source</span>
+              <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Choose manual, auto, or fallback preference for captions mode." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Subtitle Source</span>
               <select class="form-select"
                 name="subtitleMode"
                 [(ngModel)]="subtitleMode"
                 (change)="subtitleModeChanged()"
-                [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                ngbTooltip="Choose manual, auto, or fallback preference for captions mode">
+                [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                 @for (mode of subtitleModes; track mode.id) {
                   <option [ngValue]="mode.id">{{ mode.text }}</option>
                 }
@@ -375,34 +372,29 @@
               <div class="row g-3">
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Download Folder</span>
-                    @if (customDirs$ | async; as customDirs) {
-                    <ng-select [items]="customDirs"
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Type to filter existing folders, or enter a new folder name." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Download Folder</span>
+                    <input type="text"
+                      class="form-control"
                       placeholder="Default"
-                      [addTag]="allowCustomDir.bind(this)"
-                      addTagText="Create directory"
-                      bindLabel="folder"
+                      name="folder"
                       [(ngModel)]="folder"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      [virtualScroll]="true"
-                      [clearable]="true"
-                      [loading]="downloads.loading"
-                      [searchable]="true"
-                      [closeOnSelect]="true"
-                      ngbTooltip="Choose where to save downloads. Type to create a new folder." />
-                  }
+                      [ngbTypeahead]="searchFolder"
+                      [editable]="!!downloads.configuration['CREATE_CUSTOM_DIRS']"
+                      (focus)="folderFocus$.next($any($event.target).value)"
+                      (click)="folderClick$.next($any($event.target).value)"
+                      #folderTypeahead="ngbTypeahead"
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Custom Name Prefix</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Add a prefix to downloaded filenames." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Custom Name Prefix</span>
                     <input type="text"
                       class="form-control"
                       placeholder="Default"
                       name="customNamePrefix"
                       [(ngModel)]="customNamePrefix"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="Add a prefix to downloaded filenames">
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-12">
@@ -411,18 +403,16 @@
                       <div class="form-check form-switch">
                         <input class="form-check-input" type="checkbox" role="switch" id="checkbox-split-chapters"
                           name="splitByChapters" [(ngModel)]="splitByChapters" (change)="splitByChaptersChanged()"
-                          [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                          ngbTooltip="Split video into separate files by chapters">
+                          [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                         <label class="form-check-label" for="checkbox-split-chapters">Split by chapters</label>
                       </div>
                     </div>
                     @if (splitByChapters) {
                     <div class="col">
                       <div class="input-group">
-                        <span class="input-group-text">Template</span>
+                        <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Output template for chapter files." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Template</span>
                         <input type="text" class="form-control" name="chapterTemplate" [(ngModel)]="chapterTemplate"
-                          (change)="chapterTemplateChanged()" [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                          ngbTooltip="Output template for chapter files">
+                          (change)="chapterTemplateChanged()" [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                       </div>
                     </div>
                     }
@@ -431,28 +421,26 @@
                 @if (downloadType === 'video' || downloadType === 'audio') {
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Clip start</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Optional start time (seconds, M:SS, or H:MM:SS). Blank = from start or YouTube &t= in URL." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Clip start</span>
                     <input type="text"
                       class="form-control"
                       name="clipStart"
                       [(ngModel)]="clipStart"
                       (change)="clipStartChanged()"
                       placeholder="e.g. 2:26"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="Optional start time (seconds, M:SS, or H:MM:SS). Blank = from start or YouTube &t= in URL.">
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Clip end</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Optional end time. Blank = until end of media." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Clip end</span>
                     <input type="text"
                       class="form-control"
                       name="clipEnd"
                       [(ngModel)]="clipEnd"
                       (change)="clipEndChanged()"
                       placeholder="e.g. 3:24"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="Optional end time. Blank = until end of media.">
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 }
@@ -463,13 +451,12 @@
               <div class="row g-3">
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Auto Start</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Automatically start downloads when added." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Auto Start</span>
                     <select class="form-select"
                       name="autoStart"
                       [(ngModel)]="autoStart"
                       (change)="autoStartChanged()"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="Automatically start downloads when added">
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                       <option [ngValue]="true">Yes</option>
                       <option [ngValue]="false">No</option>
                     </select>
@@ -477,7 +464,7 @@
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Items Limit</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Maximum number of items to download from a playlist or channel (0 = no limit)." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Items Limit</span>
                     <input type="number"
                       min="0"
                       class="form-control"
@@ -485,13 +472,12 @@
                       name="playlistItemLimit"
                       (keydown)="isNumber($event)"
                       [(ngModel)]="playlistItemLimit"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="Maximum number of items to download from a playlist or channel (0 = no limit)">
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Subscription Check (min)</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="How often to poll subscriptions for new videos." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Subscription Check (min)</span>
                     <input type="number"
                       min="1"
                       class="form-control"
@@ -499,29 +485,33 @@
                       (keydown)="isNumber($event)"
                       [(ngModel)]="checkIntervalMinutes"
                       (ngModelChange)="checkIntervalChanged()"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="How often to poll subscriptions for new videos">
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Subscription Title Filter</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="In subscriptions, only titles matching this Python-style regex are queued. Empty = all. Case-sensitive; use (?i) in the pattern for case-insensitive." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Subscription Title Filter</span>
                     <input type="text"
                       class="form-control"
                       name="titleRegex"
                       [(ngModel)]="titleRegex"
                       [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      placeholder="Optional regex"
-                      ngbTooltip="In subscriptions, only titles matching this Python-style regex are queued. Empty = all. Case-sensitive; use (?i) in the pattern for case-insensitive.">
+                      placeholder="Optional regex">
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-12">
                   <div class="form-check form-switch">
                     <input class="form-check-input" type="checkbox" role="switch" id="checkbox-skip-subscriber-only"
                       name="skipSubscriberOnly" [(ngModel)]="skipSubscriberOnly"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="When enabled, subscription checks skip videos marked members-only by yt-dlp (channel Join). Ignored for one-off downloads." />
-                    <label class="form-check-label" for="checkbox-skip-subscriber-only">Skip members-only subscription videos</label>
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading" />
+                    <label class="form-check-label" for="checkbox-skip-subscriber-only">
+                      <span class="help-title" tabindex="0" role="button"
+                        ngbPopover="When enabled, subscription checks skip videos marked members-only by yt-dlp (channel Join). Ignored for one-off downloads."
+                        triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body"
+                        (click)="$event.preventDefault(); $event.stopPropagation()"
+                        (keydown.enter)="$event.preventDefault(); $event.stopPropagation()"
+                        (keydown.space)="$event.preventDefault(); $event.stopPropagation()">Skip members-only subscription videos</span>
+                    </label>
                   </div>
                 </div>
               </div>
@@ -531,7 +521,7 @@
               <div class="row g-3">
                 <div class="col-12" [class.col-md-6]="allowYtdlOptionsOverrides()">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Option Presets</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Choose one or more yt-dlp option presets configured on the server (applied in order)." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Option Presets</span>
                     <ng-select
                       class="flex-grow-1"
                       name="ytdlOptionsPresets"
@@ -541,22 +531,20 @@
                       placeholder="Default"
                       [(ngModel)]="ytdlOptionsPresets"
                       (ngModelChange)="ytdlOptionsPresetsChanged()"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="Choose one or more yt-dlp option presets configured on the server (applied in order)" />
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading" />
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 @if (allowYtdlOptionsOverrides()) {
                 <div class="col-md-6">
                   <div class="input-group">
-                    <span class="input-group-text">Custom yt-dlp Options</span>
+                    <span class="input-group-text help-title" ngbPopover="Optional per-download yt-dlp overrides as a JSON object." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Custom yt-dlp Options</span>
                     <input type="text"
                       class="form-control"
                       placeholder='e.g. {"writesubtitles": true}'
                       name="ytdlOptionsOverrides"
                       [(ngModel)]="ytdlOptionsOverrides"
                       (change)="ytdlOptionsOverridesChanged()"
-                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading"
-                      ngbTooltip="Optional per-download yt-dlp overrides as a JSON object">
+                      [disabled]="addInProgress || subscribeInProgress || downloads.loading">
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 }
@@ -566,7 +554,7 @@
               <div class="settings-section-label">Tools</div>
               <div class="row g-3">
                 <div class="col-md-4">
-                  <div class="action-group-label">Cookies</div>
+                  <div class="action-group-label help-title" ngbPopover="Upload a cookies.txt file from your browser to authenticate restricted or private downloads." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Cookies</div>
                   <input type="file" id="cookie-upload" class="d-none" accept=".txt"
                     (change)="onCookieFileSelect($event)"
                     [disabled]="cookieUploadInProgress || addInProgress">
@@ -574,8 +562,7 @@
                     <label class="btn mb-0"
                       [class]="hasCookies ? 'btn cookie-active-btn mb-0' : 'btn cookie-btn mb-0'"
                       [class.disabled]="cookieUploadInProgress || addInProgress"
-                      for="cookie-upload"
-                      ngbTooltip="Upload a cookies.txt file for authenticated downloads">
+                      for="cookie-upload">
                       @if (cookieUploadInProgress) {
                         <span class="spinner-border spinner-border-sm me-2" role="status"></span>
                       } @else {
@@ -939,8 +926,7 @@
           </th>
           <th scope="col">Name</th>
           <th scope="col">URL</th>
-          <th scope="col" class="text-nowrap"
-            ngbTooltip="Subscriptions only — which new video titles to queue when this feed is checked. Does not affect manual downloads.">Sub. title filter</th>
+          <th scope="col" class="text-nowrap"><span class="help-title" ngbPopover="Subscriptions only — which new video titles to queue when this feed is checked. Does not affect manual downloads." triggers="click" autoClose="outside" container="body">Sub. title filter</span></th>
           <th scope="col" class="text-nowrap">Interval (min)</th>
           <th scope="col" class="text-nowrap">Last checked</th>
           <th scope="col">Status</th>
diff --git a/ui/src/app/app.sass b/ui/src/app/app.sass
index 7232aaf..c84d122 100644
--- a/ui/src/app/app.sass
+++ b/ui/src/app/app.sass
@@ -201,6 +201,14 @@ main
   color: var(--bs-secondary-color)
   margin-bottom: 0.4rem
 
+.help-title
+  text-decoration: underline dotted
+  text-underline-offset: 0.2em
+  cursor: help
+
+  &:focus
+    outline: none
+
 .cookie-status
   font-size: 0.8rem
   margin-top: 0.35rem
diff --git a/ui/src/app/app.ts b/ui/src/app/app.ts
index d539070..f1a2edb 100644
--- a/ui/src/app/app.ts
+++ b/ui/src/app/app.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
-import { AsyncPipe, DatePipe, KeyValuePipe, NgTemplateOutlet } from '@angular/common';
+import { DatePipe, KeyValuePipe, NgTemplateOutlet } from '@angular/common';
 import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http';
 import { AfterViewInit, ChangeDetectionStrategy, ChangeDetectorRef, Component, DestroyRef, ElementRef, viewChild, inject, OnDestroy, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
-import { Observable, Subject, Subscription, from, map, distinctUntilChanged, finalize, mergeMap, takeUntil, tap } from 'rxjs';
+import { Observable, OperatorFunction, Subject, Subscription, from, map, merge, debounceTime, distinctUntilChanged, filter, finalize, mergeMap, takeUntil, tap } from 'rxjs';
 import { FormsModule } from '@angular/forms';
 import { takeUntilDestroyed } from '@angular/core/rxjs-interop';
 import { FontAwesomeModule } from '@fortawesome/angular-fontawesome';
-import { NgbModule } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
-import { NgSelectModule } from '@ng-select/ng-select';  
+import { NgbModule, NgbTypeahead } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
+import { NgSelectModule } from '@ng-select/ng-select';
 import { faTrashAlt, faCheckCircle, faTimesCircle, faRedoAlt, faSun, faMoon, faCheck, faCircleHalfStroke, faDownload, faExternalLinkAlt, faFileImport, faFileExport, faCopy, faClock, faTachometerAlt, faSortAmountDown, faSortAmountUp, faChevronRight, faChevronDown, faUpload, faPause, faPlay, faShareNodes } from '@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons';
 import { faGithub } from '@fortawesome/free-brands-svg-icons';
 import { CookieService } from 'ngx-cookie-service';
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ import { SelectAllCheckboxComponent, ItemCheckboxComponent } from './components/
         FormsModule,
         NgTemplateOutlet,
         KeyValuePipe,
-        AsyncPipe,
         DatePipe,
         FontAwesomeModule,
         NgbModule,
@@ -105,8 +104,10 @@ export class App implements AfterViewInit, OnInit, OnDestroy {
   cookieUploadInProgress = false;
   themes: Theme[] = Themes;
   activeTheme: Theme | undefined;
-  customDirs$!: Observable<string[]>;
-  showBatchPanel = false; 
+  readonly folderTypeahead = viewChild<NgbTypeahead>('folderTypeahead');
+  folderFocus$ = new Subject<string>();
+  folderClick$ = new Subject<string>();
+  showBatchPanel = false;
   batchImportModalOpen = false;
   batchImportText = '';
   batchImportStatus = '';
@@ -309,7 +310,6 @@ export class App implements AfterViewInit, OnInit, OnDestroy {
     this.getConfiguration();
     this.getYtdlOptionsUpdateTime();
     this.getYtdlOptionPresets();
-    this.customDirs$ = this.getMatchingCustomDir();
     this.setTheme(this.activeTheme!);
 
     this.colorSchemeMediaQuery.addEventListener('change', this.onColorSchemeChanged);
@@ -337,9 +337,9 @@ export class App implements AfterViewInit, OnInit, OnDestroy {
 
   // workaround to allow fetching of Map values in the order they were inserted
   //  https://github.com/angular/angular/issues/31420
-    
-   
-      
+
+
+
   asIsOrder() {
     return 1;
   }
@@ -376,34 +376,26 @@ export class App implements AfterViewInit, OnInit, OnDestroy {
     return this.downloads.configuration['ALLOW_YTDL_OPTIONS_OVERRIDES'] === true;
   }
 
-  allowCustomDir(tag: string) {
-    if (this.downloads.configuration['CREATE_CUSTOM_DIRS']) {
-      return tag;
-    }
-    return false;
-  }
+  searchFolder: OperatorFunction<string, readonly string[]> = (text$: Observable<string>) => {
+    const debouncedText$ = text$.pipe(debounceTime(150), distinctUntilChanged());
+    const clicksWithClosedPopup$ = this.folderClick$.pipe(
+      filter(() => !this.folderTypeahead()?.isPopupOpen()),
+    );
+    return merge(debouncedText$, this.folderFocus$, clicksWithClosedPopup$).pipe(
+      map(term => {
+        const dirs = this.isAudioType()
+          ? (this.downloads.customDirs?.['audio_download_dir'] ?? [])
+          : (this.downloads.customDirs?.['download_dir'] ?? []);
+        const t = (term ?? '').toLowerCase();
+        return (t === '' ? dirs : dirs.filter(d => d.toLowerCase().includes(t))).slice(0, 10);
+      }),
+    );
+  };
 
   isAudioType() {
     return this.downloadType === 'audio';
   }
 
-  getMatchingCustomDir() : Observable<string[]> {
-    return this.downloads.customDirsChanged.asObservable().pipe(
-       // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
-      map((output: any) => {
-        // Keep logic consistent with app/ytdl.py
-        if (this.isAudioType()) {
-          console.debug("Showing audio-specific download directories");
-          return output["audio_download_dir"];
-        } else {
-          console.debug("Showing default download directories");
-          return output["download_dir"];
-        }
-      }),
-      distinctUntilChanged((prev, curr) => JSON.stringify(prev) === JSON.stringify(curr))
-    );
-  }
-
   getYtdlOptionsUpdateTime() {
     this.downloads.ytdlOptionsChanged.pipe(takeUntilDestroyed(this.destroyRef)).subscribe({
        // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
@@ -1471,7 +1463,7 @@ export class App implements AfterViewInit, OnInit, OnDestroy {
   }
 
   fetchVersionInfo(): void {
-    // eslint-disable-next-line no-useless-escape    
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-useless-escape
     const baseUrl = `${window.location.origin}${window.location.pathname.replace(/\/[^\/]*$/, '/')}`;
     const versionUrl = `${baseUrl}version`;
     this.http.get<{ 'yt-dlp': string, version: string }>(versionUrl)