diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/service.py b/backend/app/downloads/service.py
index a446cc2..ad2f6bd 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/service.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/service.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app.downloads import formats, quota
-from app.models import DownloadJob, MediaAsset
+from app.models import Channel, DownloadJob, MediaAsset, Video
 
 
 def source_url(source_kind: str, source_ref: str) -> str:
@@ -54,6 +54,27 @@ def get_or_create_asset(
     return asset
 
 
+def populate_from_catalog(db: Session, asset: MediaAsset) -> bool:
+    """Fill an asset's display metadata (title/uploader/thumbnail/date/duration) from our own
+    catalog when the source is a known YouTube video — so a queued/downloading row shows the
+    real title + thumbnail immediately instead of the bare id. 0 network cost. Returns True if
+    it found a catalog match."""
+    if asset.source_kind != "youtube" or asset.title:
+        return False
+    video = db.get(Video, asset.source_ref)
+    if video is None:
+        return False
+    asset.title = video.title
+    asset.thumbnail_url = video.thumbnail_url
+    asset.duration_s = video.duration_seconds
+    if video.published_at:
+        asset.upload_date = video.published_at.date()
+    channel = db.get(Channel, video.channel_id)
+    if channel is not None:
+        asset.uploader = channel.title
+    return True
+
+
 def _next_queue_pos(db: Session) -> int:
     return (db.execute(select(func.coalesce(func.max(DownloadJob.queue_pos), 0))).scalar() or 0) + 1
 
@@ -74,6 +95,8 @@ def enqueue(
     spec = formats.normalize(spec)
     sig = formats.format_sig(spec)
     asset = get_or_create_asset(db, source_kind, source_ref, sig)
+    # Show a real title + thumbnail the moment it's queued (feed downloads are catalog videos).
+    populate_from_catalog(db, asset)
 
     job = DownloadJob(
         user_id=user_id,
diff --git a/backend/app/worker.py b/backend/app/worker.py
index b3a81ee..f54b719 100644
--- a/backend/app/worker.py
+++ b/backend/app/worker.py
@@ -182,8 +182,24 @@ def _finish_from_cache(job_id: int, asset_id: int) -> None:
         db.commit()
 
 
-def _make_progress_hook(job_id: int):
-    state = {"last_db": 0.0, "last_check": 0.0}
+def _fill_asset_meta_early(asset_id: int, info: dict) -> None:
+    """Populate an asset's display metadata from yt-dlp's info_dict the first time it's seen
+    (only if not already filled at enqueue from our catalog) — so an ad-hoc URL's row shows a
+    real title + thumbnail while it downloads, not just the URL. Zero extra network cost."""
+    with SessionLocal() as db:
+        asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
+        if asset is None or asset.title:
+            return
+        asset.title = info.get("title")
+        asset.uploader = info.get("uploader") or info.get("channel")
+        asset.thumbnail_url = info.get("thumbnail")
+        asset.duration_s = int(info["duration"]) if info.get("duration") else None
+        asset.upload_date = _parse_upload_date(info.get("upload_date"))
+        db.commit()
+
+
+def _make_progress_hook(job_id: int, asset_id: int):
+    state = {"last_db": 0.0, "last_check": 0.0, "meta_done": False}
 
     def hook(d: dict) -> None:
         now = time.monotonic()
@@ -192,6 +208,12 @@ def _make_progress_hook(job_id: int):
             state["last_check"] = now
             if _job_status(job_id) not in ("running", None):
                 raise _Aborted
+        if not state["meta_done"] and d.get("info_dict"):
+            state["meta_done"] = True
+            try:
+                _fill_asset_meta_early(asset_id, d["info_dict"])
+            except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — metadata is best-effort, never fail a download
+                pass
         if d.get("status") != "downloading":
             return
         if now - state["last_db"] < 1.0:
@@ -230,7 +252,7 @@ def _download(job_id: int, asset_id: int, source_kind: str, source_ref: str, spe
         staging.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
         outtmpl = str(staging / "%(id)s.%(ext)s")
-        opts = formats.build_ydl_opts(spec, outtmpl, _make_progress_hook(job_id))
+        opts = formats.build_ydl_opts(spec, outtmpl, _make_progress_hook(job_id, asset_id))
         url = service.source_url(source_kind, source_ref)
 
         _set_job(job_id, phase="downloading", progress=0)