diff --git a/src/app/nebula_controller.cpp b/src/app/nebula_controller.cpp
index fa2d99f..da7c373 100644
--- a/src/app/nebula_controller.cpp
+++ b/src/app/nebula_controller.cpp
@@ -40,6 +40,12 @@ CefWindowInfo ChildWindowInfo(HWND parent, const RECT& rect) {
     return info;
 }
 
+CefBrowserSettings BrowserSettings() {
+    CefBrowserSettings settings;
+    settings.webgl = STATE_ENABLED;
+    return settings;
+}
+
 int ParseTabId(const std::string& value) {
     int tab_id = 0;
     const auto result = std::from_chars(value.data(), value.data() + value.size(), tab_id);
@@ -388,7 +394,7 @@ void NebulaController::CreateChromeBrowser() {
     }
 
     const auto layout = window_->CurrentLayout();
-    CefBrowserSettings browser_settings;
+    CefBrowserSettings browser_settings = BrowserSettings();
     chrome_client_ = new nebula::cef::NebulaBrowserClient(nebula::cef::BrowserRole::Chrome, this);
     CefWindowInfo window_info = ChildWindowInfo(window_->hwnd(), layout.chrome);
     CefBrowserHost::CreateBrowser(
@@ -403,7 +409,7 @@ void NebulaController::CreateContentBrowser() {
     const auto* tab = tabs_.ActiveTab();
     const std::string url = tab && !tab->url.empty() ? tab->url : nebula::ui::GetHomeUrl();
     const auto layout = window_->CurrentLayout();
-    CefBrowserSettings browser_settings;
+    CefBrowserSettings browser_settings = BrowserSettings();
     content_client_ = new nebula::cef::NebulaBrowserClient(nebula::cef::BrowserRole::Content, this);
     CefWindowInfo window_info = ChildWindowInfo(window_->hwnd(), layout.content);
     CefBrowserHost::CreateBrowser(
@@ -431,7 +437,7 @@ void NebulaController::CreateMenuPopupBrowser() {
     }
 
     const auto layout = window_->CurrentLayout();
-    CefBrowserSettings browser_settings;
+    CefBrowserSettings browser_settings = BrowserSettings();
     menu_popup_client_ = new nebula::cef::NebulaBrowserClient(nebula::cef::BrowserRole::MenuPopup, this);
     CefWindowInfo window_info = ChildWindowInfo(window_->hwnd(), MenuPopupRect(window_->hwnd(), layout));
     CefBrowserHost::CreateBrowser(
diff --git a/src/app/run.cpp b/src/app/run.cpp
index 07af574..31df932 100644
--- a/src/app/run.cpp
+++ b/src/app/run.cpp
@@ -29,6 +29,19 @@ int RunNebula(HINSTANCE instance, int show_command) {
     CefSettings settings;
     settings.no_sandbox = true;
 
+    // A persistent profile is required for the GPU shader cache and several
+    // hardware acceleration features. Without these Chromium silently falls
+    // back to software rendering, which causes choppy video and disables
+    // WebGL/WebGL2 in the GPU diagnostics page.
+    const std::wstring user_data_dir = nebula::ui::GetUserDataDirectory().wstring();
+    const std::wstring cache_dir = nebula::ui::GetCacheDirectory().wstring();
+    if (!user_data_dir.empty()) {
+        CefString(&settings.root_cache_path).FromWString(user_data_dir);
+    }
+    if (!cache_dir.empty()) {
+        CefString(&settings.cache_path).FromWString(cache_dir);
+    }
+
     if (!CefInitialize(main_args, settings, app, nullptr)) {
         return CefGetExitCode();
     }
diff --git a/src/cef/nebula_app.cpp b/src/cef/nebula_app.cpp
index 1cc2c43..975d294 100644
--- a/src/cef/nebula_app.cpp
+++ b/src/cef/nebula_app.cpp
@@ -58,6 +58,26 @@ void NebulaApp::OnBeforeCommandLineProcessing(const CefString& process_type,
 
     // The bundled UI is loaded from file:// and uses ES modules.
     command_line->AppendSwitch("allow-file-access-from-files");
+
+    // CefSettings.no_sandbox disables the browser-level sandbox, but Chromium
+    // still attempts to bring up a separate GPU sandbox inside the GPU process.
+    // Without the host-side sandbox plumbing this fails with STATUS_BREAKPOINT
+    // (-2147483645) immediately on startup, which is exactly what the GPU
+    // diagnostics page was showing - the GPU process crashed three times and
+    // Chromium then fell back to software rendering. Disabling the GPU sandbox
+    // matches the rest of our no_sandbox configuration and lets the GPU
+    // process initialize.
+    command_line->AppendSwitch("no-sandbox");
+    command_line->AppendSwitch("disable-gpu-sandbox");
+    command_line->AppendSwitch("in-process-gpu");
+
+    // Avoid Chromium's conservative GPU blocklist, but let Chromium choose the
+    // safest graphics backend for this machine. Forcing raster/zero-copy paths
+    // can prevent WebGL shared contexts from initializing on some drivers.
+    command_line->AppendSwitch("ignore-gpu-blocklist");
+    command_line->AppendSwitch("enable-accelerated-video-decode");
+    command_line->AppendSwitchWithValue("use-gl", "angle");
+    command_line->AppendSwitchWithValue("use-angle", "d3d11");
 }
 
 void NebulaApp::OnContextCreated(CefRefPtr<CefBrowser> browser,
diff --git a/src/ui/paths.cpp b/src/ui/paths.cpp
index 8ef4b23..f9b9102 100644
--- a/src/ui/paths.cpp
+++ b/src/ui/paths.cpp
@@ -136,6 +136,44 @@ std::filesystem::path GetExecutableDirectory() {
     return std::filesystem::path(exe_path).parent_path();
 }
 
+std::filesystem::path GetUserDataDirectory() {
+    std::filesystem::path root;
+
+    wchar_t buffer[MAX_PATH] = {};
+    // Prefer %LOCALAPPDATA% so the profile follows Chromium conventions and
+    // survives executable relocation.
+    const DWORD length =
+        GetEnvironmentVariableW(L"LOCALAPPDATA", buffer, MAX_PATH);
+    if (length > 0 && length < MAX_PATH) {
+        root = std::filesystem::path(buffer);
+    } else {
+        // Fall back to a directory next to the executable so a portable
+        // install still gets a writable profile.
+        root = GetExecutableDirectory();
+    }
+
+    if (root.empty()) {
+        return {};
+    }
+
+    std::filesystem::path user_data = root / L"Nebula" / L"User Data";
+    std::error_code ec;
+    std::filesystem::create_directories(user_data, ec);
+    return user_data;
+}
+
+std::filesystem::path GetCacheDirectory() {
+    auto user_data = GetUserDataDirectory();
+    if (user_data.empty()) {
+        return {};
+    }
+
+    std::filesystem::path cache = user_data / L"Cache";
+    std::error_code ec;
+    std::filesystem::create_directories(cache, ec);
+    return cache;
+}
+
 std::filesystem::path GetUiPagePath(const std::wstring& page_name) {
     const auto exe_dir = GetExecutableDirectory();
     if (exe_dir.empty()) {
diff --git a/src/ui/paths.h b/src/ui/paths.h
index caebd74..16e0cfa 100644
--- a/src/ui/paths.h
+++ b/src/ui/paths.h
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 namespace nebula::ui {
 
 std::filesystem::path GetExecutableDirectory();
+std::filesystem::path GetUserDataDirectory();
+std::filesystem::path GetCacheDirectory();
 std::filesystem::path GetUiPagePath(const std::wstring& page_name);
 std::string FilePathToUrl(std::filesystem::path path);
 std::string GetChromeUrl();