fix: contacts fetch error degrades partially, not full panel blank

Contacts 5xx no longer early-returns from fetchFor, leaving the entire
right panel blank. A new contactsError ref surfaces the failure message
in the Email tab only; JD tab, Cover Letter tab, and match score all
render normally. Adds test asserting partial degradation behavior.

web/src/stores/prep.test.ts

@@ -151,6 +151,36 @@ describe('usePrepStore', () => {
 
     expect(store.research).toBeNull()
     expect(store.contacts).toEqual([])
+    expect(store.contactsError).toBeNull()
     expect(store.currentJobId).toBeNull()
   })
+
+  it('fetchFor sets contactsError and leaves other data intact when contacts fetch fails', async () => {
+    const mockApiFetch = vi.mocked(useApiFetch)
+    mockApiFetch
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ data: { company_brief: 'Acme', ceo_brief: null, talking_points: null,
+        tech_brief: null, funding_brief: null, red_flags: null, accessibility_brief: null,
+        generated_at: '2026-03-20T12:00:00' }, error: null })  // research OK
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ data: null, error: { kind: 'http', status: 500, detail: 'DB error' } }) // contacts fail
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ data: { status: 'none', stage: null, message: null }, error: null })    // task OK
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ data: { id: 1, title: 'Engineer', company: 'Acme', url: null,
+        description: 'Build things.', cover_letter: null, match_score: 80,
+        keyword_gaps: null }, error: null })                                                           // fullJob OK
+
+    const store = usePrepStore()
+    await store.fetchFor(1)
+
+    // Contacts error shown in Email tab only
+    expect(store.contactsError).toBe('Could not load email history.')
+    expect(store.contacts).toEqual([])
+
+    // Everything else still renders
+    expect(store.research?.company_brief).toBe('Acme')
+    expect(store.fullJob?.description).toBe('Build things.')
+    expect(store.fullJob?.match_score).toBe(80)
+    expect(store.taskStatus.status).toBe('none')
+
+    // Top-level error stays null (no full-panel blank-out)
+    expect(store.error).toBeNull()
+  })
 })

web/src/stores/prep.ts

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ export interface FullJobDetail {
 export const usePrepStore = defineStore('prep', () => {
   const research = ref<ResearchBrief | null>(null)
   const contacts = ref<Contact[]>([])
+  const contactsError = ref<string | null>(null)
   const taskStatus = ref<TaskStatus>({ status: null, stage: null, message: null })
   const fullJob = ref<FullJobDetail | null>(null)
   const loading = ref(false)
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ export const usePrepStore = defineStore('prep', () => {
       _clearInterval()
       research.value = null
       contacts.value = []
+      contactsError.value = null
       taskStatus.value = { status: null, stage: null, message: null }
       fullJob.value = null
       error.value = null
@@ -82,17 +84,22 @@ export const usePrepStore = defineStore('prep', () => {
         error.value = 'Failed to load research data'
         return
       }
-      if (contactsResult.error) {
-        error.value = 'Failed to load contacts'
-        return
-      }
       if (jobResult.error) {
         error.value = 'Failed to load job details'
         return
       }
 
       research.value = researchResult.data ?? null
+
+      // Contacts failure is non-fatal — degrade the Email tab only
+      if (contactsResult.error) {
+        contactsError.value = 'Could not load email history.'
+        contacts.value = []
+      } else {
         contacts.value = contactsResult.data ?? []
+        contactsError.value = null
+      }
+
       taskStatus.value = taskResult.data ?? { status: null, stage: null, message: null }
       fullJob.value = jobResult.data ?? null
 
@@ -141,6 +148,7 @@ export const usePrepStore = defineStore('prep', () => {
     _clearInterval()
     research.value = null
     contacts.value = []
+    contactsError.value = null
     taskStatus.value = { status: null, stage: null, message: null }
     fullJob.value = null
     loading.value = false
@@ -151,6 +159,7 @@ export const usePrepStore = defineStore('prep', () => {
   return {
     research,
     contacts,
+    contactsError,
     taskStatus,
     fullJob,
     loading,

web/src/views/InterviewPrepView.vue

@@ -395,7 +395,10 @@ async function onGenerate() {
             role="tabpanel"
             aria-labelledby="tab-email"
           >
-            <template v-if="prepStore.contacts.length">
+            <div v-if="prepStore.contactsError" class="error-state" role="alert">
+              {{ prepStore.contactsError }}
+            </div>
+            <template v-else-if="prepStore.contacts.length">
               <div
                 v-for="contact in prepStore.contacts"
                 :key="contact.id"
@@ -710,6 +713,16 @@ async function onGenerate() {
   font-size: var(--text-sm);
 }
 
+/* Inline error state for tab panels (e.g. contacts fetch failure) */
+.error-state {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-error) 8%, var(--color-surface));
+  color: var(--color-error);
+  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-error) 25%, transparent);
+  border-radius: var(--radius-md);
+  padding: var(--space-3) var(--space-4);
+  font-size: var(--text-sm);
+}
+
 /* ── Research sections ───────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 .research-sections {
   display: flex;