diff --git a/tests/ui/COVERAGE.md b/tests/ui/COVERAGE.md
index f27e7fb6..a0e1d74a 100644
--- a/tests/ui/COVERAGE.md
+++ b/tests/ui/COVERAGE.md
@@ -40,6 +40,15 @@ Gate: every line below executes for BOTH personas unless marked
 - Row 23 chains by page navigation — assert the URL becomes the next
   episode's reader and progress carries over.
 
+## 2026-11-02 — promise-API confirm probe
+
+`promise_confirm_probe.spec.ts` (no env gating): the confirmDialog()
+promise path (purge archived, remove account, …) must wire the global
+modal's buttons even when no hx-confirm element fired first — the
+Purge All Archived dialog opened with dead Cancel/Confirm otherwise
+(user report; confirm.ts now wires at init + on every confirmDialog).
+The probe intercepts the purge POST, so nothing is deleted.
+
 ## 2026-10-30 — round-3 regression probes (live-server, env-gated)
 
 Two specs added against a RUNNING dev server (skip unless
diff --git a/tests/ui/promise_confirm_probe.spec.ts b/tests/ui/promise_confirm_probe.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d6b7413a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ui/promise_confirm_probe.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+// Regression probe (2026-11-02): the CONFIRM PROMISE API path must wire
+// the global modal's buttons too. purgeArchivedItems() (admin archived
+// page) opens confirmDialog() directly — no hx-confirm element fires —
+// and both buttons were dead whenever no hx-confirm had been clicked
+// first: the modal opened and Cancel/Confirm did nothing (user report).
+// The purge request itself is INTERCEPTED here — nothing is deleted.
+import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
+
+const BASE = process.env.BH_BASE ?? "http://localhost:8765";
+
+test("confirmDialog promise path wires Cancel/Confirm", async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.addInitScript(() => {
+    const t = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get("token");
+    if (t) localStorage.setItem("token", t);
+  });
+  // testuser login via endpoint, then seed cookie+localStorage like the
+  // other probes (rls_sweep pattern, kept inline to stay one file).
+  const res = await page.request.post(`${BASE}/api/auth/login`, {
+    data: { login: "testuser", password: "Test@Pass123!" },
+  });
+  const { access_token: token } = (await res.json()) as { access_token?: string };
+  expect(token).toBeTruthy();
+  await page.context().addCookies([{ name: "token", value: token!, url: BASE }]);
+  await page.addInitScript((t) => localStorage.setItem("token", t), token!);
+
+  // The purge POST is intercepted: Cancel/Confirm behavior is asserted
+  // without ever deleting the dev data.
+  let purgeRequested = false;
+  await page.route("**/api/media-items/purge-archived", (route) => {
+    purgeRequested = true;
+    route.fulfill({ status: 200, contentType: "application/json", body: '{"purged":0}' });
+  });
+
+  await page.goto(`${BASE}/admin/archived`);
+  await expect(page.locator("#confirm-modal")).toBeAttached();
+
+  // Fresh page: no hx-confirm has fired, so pre-fix the buttons were
+  // unwired (data-wired absent) and Cancel did nothing.
+  await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Purge All Archived" }).click();
+  const modal = page.locator("#confirm-modal");
+  await expect(modal).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.locator("#confirm-modal-cancel")).toHaveAttribute("data-wired", "1");
+
+  await page.locator("#confirm-modal-cancel").click();
+  await expect(modal).toBeHidden();
+
+  // Confirm path: modal closes AND the guarded request issues.
+  await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Purge All Archived" }).click();
+  await expect(modal).toBeVisible();
+  await page.locator("#confirm-modal-accept").click();
+  await expect(modal).toBeHidden();
+  expect(purgeRequested).toBe(true);
+});
diff --git a/web/src/confirm.ts b/web/src/confirm.ts
index 58dda364..9f6149e6 100644
--- a/web/src/confirm.ts
+++ b/web/src/confirm.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ function hide(ok: boolean): void {
  * Safe to call from any module (import this instead of window.confirm).
  */
 export function confirmDialog(message: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  wireButtons();
   const { overlay, message: messageEl } = modalElements();
   if (!overlay || !messageEl) {
     // Header missing (bare layouts): degrade to the native dialog
@@ -38,7 +39,13 @@ export function confirmDialog(message: string): Promise<boolean> {
   });
 }
 
-// Wire the static buttons once.
+// Wire the static buttons once. Called at module init AND from both
+// entry paths below (idempotent via data-wired): the htmx:confirm
+// interceptor and the confirmDialog promise API. Wiring only on the
+// htmx path left the promise path (purge archived, remove account, ...)
+// with dead Cancel/Confirm buttons whenever no hx-confirm element had
+// been clicked first — the modal opened and nothing could close it
+// (user report: Purge Archived, 2026-11-02).
 function wireButtons(): void {
   const { overlay } = modalElements();
   const accept = document.getElementById("confirm-modal-accept");
@@ -60,6 +67,10 @@ function wireButtons(): void {
   }
 }
 
+// The header (and its confirm modal) render before deferred modules run,
+// so the elements are present at import time.
+wireButtons();
+
 // htmx:confirm interceptor: every element with hx-confirm gets the
 // modal instead of the browser dialog; confirming issues the request.
 // (Canonical htmx pattern — see htmx docs, "confirming with a modal".)