feat(frontend): dedupe /public/settings via shared usePublicSettings hook (#325)

Pre-dedup: 7 calls to /api/public/settings on a single /admin/login page
load — 4 from raw-fetch consumers + 3 from React Query consumers using
inconsistent queryKeys. Captured live in Chrome DevTools.

Post-dedup: 1 call. Verified by tests/e2e/public-settings-dedup.spec.ts.

Adds:
- frontend/src/hooks/usePublicSettings.ts — single React Query hook,
  60s staleTime, queryKey ['public-settings']. Vitest with mocked api
  proves multi-mount dedup.
- Extended PublicSettings interface with seo_meta_* fields used by
  RobotsMetaTags and branding_logo_* fields used by GalleryView/AdminHeader.

Migrates 19 call sites across 4 risk-ordered rounds:
- Round A (high fan-in): GlobalThemeProvider, MaintenanceContext (with
  refetchInterval to preserve maintenance polling), MaintenanceWrapper
  (drops the now-redundant per-route ping; axios interceptor already
  handles 503), AdminHeader.
- Round B (gallery/login): GalleryView, GalleryPage, ClientAccessPage,
  AdminLoginPage, MaintenanceMode.
- Round C (decorative): RobotsMetaTags, DynamicFavicon, CMSContentBlock,
  ReCaptcha, useWatermarkSettings (rips out raw fetch + local state),
  LegalPage.
- Round D (queryKey alignment): useLocalizedDate, UserPhotoUpload,
  CreateEventPage. EventDetailsPage Round D ships in the follow-up
  commit that adds presigned-download UI on the same page.

App.tsx (AnalyticsBootstrap) and EventDetailsPage are deferred to
later commits — both files mix #325 changes with backend feature work.

frontend/src/components/GlobalThemeProvider.tsx

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import { useTheme } from '../contexts/ThemeContext';
-import { api } from '../config/api';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 
 interface GlobalThemeProviderProps {
   children: React.ReactNode;
@@ -10,16 +9,7 @@ interface GlobalThemeProviderProps {
 export const GlobalThemeProvider: React.FC<GlobalThemeProviderProps> = ({ children }) => {
   const { setTheme } = useTheme();
   const themeAppliedRef = useRef(false);
-
-  // Fetch public settings including theme config
-  const { data: settingsData } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['global-theme-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-      return response.data;
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // Cache for 5 minutes
-  });
+  const { data: settingsData } = usePublicSettings();
 
   // Apply global theme when settings are loaded (but not on gallery pages)
   useEffect(() => {

frontend/src/components/MaintenanceMode.tsx

@@ -1,38 +1,13 @@
 import React, { useEffect } from 'react';
 import { AlertTriangle } from 'lucide-react';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
-import { api } from '../config/api';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import { buildResourceUrl } from '../utils/url';
 
-interface BrandingSettings {
-  branding_company_name?: string;
-  branding_company_tagline?: string;
-  branding_support_email?: string;
-  branding_footer_text?: string;
-  branding_favicon_url?: string;
-  branding_logo_url?: string;
-  default_language?: string;
-}
-
 export const MaintenanceMode: React.FC = () => {
   const { t, i18n } = useTranslation();
 
-  // Fetch branding settings
-  const { data: settings } = useQuery<BrandingSettings>({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings-maintenance'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      try {
-        const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-        return response.data;
-      } catch {
-        // Return empty object if settings can't be fetched
-        return {};
-      }
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // Cache for 5 minutes
-    retry: false, // Don't retry on failure
-  });
+  const { data: settings } = usePublicSettings({ retry: false });
 
   // Set language based on system settings
   useEffect(() => {

frontend/src/components/MaintenanceWrapper.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
 import { useLocation } from 'react-router-dom';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import { MaintenanceMode } from './MaintenanceMode';
 import { useMaintenanceMode } from '../contexts/MaintenanceContext';
 import { setMaintenanceModeCallback, api } from '../config/api';
@@ -9,12 +8,16 @@ interface MaintenanceWrapperProps {
   children: React.ReactNode;
 }
 
+// Maintenance detection now lives in two places:
+//   1. The axios interceptor in config/api.ts flips the flag on any 503 response.
+//   2. MaintenanceContext polls /public/settings every 30s and reads the explicit
+//      maintenance_mode field (via the shared usePublicSettings hook).
+// This wrapper only needs to gate the rendered tree on the resulting state.
 export const MaintenanceWrapper: React.FC<MaintenanceWrapperProps> = ({ children }) => {
   const location = useLocation();
   const { isMaintenanceMode, setMaintenanceMode } = useMaintenanceMode();
   const [hasAdminSession, setHasAdminSession] = useState(false);
 
-  // Check if current route is admin route
   const isAdminRoute = location.pathname.startsWith('/admin');
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -45,40 +48,12 @@ export const MaintenanceWrapper: React.FC<MaintenanceWrapperProps> = ({ children
     };
   }, [isAdminRoute]);
 
-  // Register the maintenance mode callback
   useEffect(() => {
     setMaintenanceModeCallback((enabled: boolean) => {
       setMaintenanceMode(enabled);
     });
   }, [setMaintenanceMode]);
 
-  // Check maintenance mode on mount and when location changes
-  useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['maintenance-check', location.pathname],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      try {
-        // Make a lightweight request to check maintenance status
-        await api.get('/public/settings');
-        // If successful, maintenance mode is off
-        setMaintenanceMode(false);
-        return { maintenance: false };
-      } catch (error: any) {
-        if (error.response?.status === 503) {
-          // Only set maintenance mode for non-admin routes or unauthenticated admin routes
-          if (!isAdminRoute || !hasAdminSession) {
-            setMaintenanceMode(true);
-            return { maintenance: true };
-          }
-        }
-        return { maintenance: false };
-      }
-    },
-    staleTime: 30000, // Check every 30 seconds
-    retry: false, // Don't retry on failure
-    enabled: (!isAdminRoute || !hasAdminSession) && !isMaintenanceMode, // Don't check if already in maintenance
-  });
-
-  // Show maintenance page if in maintenance mode and not on admin route with auth
   if (isMaintenanceMode && (!isAdminRoute || !hasAdminSession)) {
     return <MaintenanceMode />;
   }

frontend/src/components/admin/AdminHeader.tsx

@@ -9,11 +9,12 @@ import { useQuery, useMutation, useQueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import { useAdminAuth } from '../../contexts';
 import { useAdminDarkMode } from '../../contexts/AdminDarkModeContext';
 import { useOnClickOutside } from '../../hooks/useOnClickOutside';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import { PasswordChangeModal } from './PasswordChangeModal';
 import { LanguageSelector } from '../common';
 import { notificationsService } from '../../services/notifications.service';
 import { toast } from 'react-toastify';
-import { buildResourceUrl, getApiBaseUrl } from '../../utils/url';
+import { buildResourceUrl } from '../../utils/url';
 
 interface AdminHeaderProps {
   onMenuClick: () => void;
@@ -31,16 +32,7 @@ export const AdminHeader: React.FC<AdminHeaderProps> = ({ onMenuClick }) => {
   const [showPasswordModal, setShowPasswordModal] = useState(false);
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
   
-  // Fetch branding settings
-  const { data: brandingSettings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['admin-settings', 'branding'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await fetch(`${getApiBaseUrl()}/public/settings`);
-      if (response.ok) return response.json();
-      return null;
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000,
-  });
+  const { data: brandingSettings } = usePublicSettings();
 
   const companyName = brandingSettings?.branding_company_name?.trim() || 'PicPeak';
   const logoUrl = brandingSettings?.branding_logo_url?.trim();

frontend/src/components/common/CMSContentBlock.tsx

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';
 import { Card } from './Card';
 import { Loading } from './Loading';
 import { cmsService } from '../../services/cms.service';
-import { api } from '../../config/api';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import { buildResourceUrl } from '../../utils/url';
 import '../../styles/prose-overrides.css';
 
@@ -33,14 +33,7 @@ const ALLOWED_ATTR = ['href', 'target', 'rel', 'class', 'style', 'src', 'alt', '
 export const CMSContentBlock: React.FC<CMSContentBlockProps> = ({ slug, fallback }) => {
   const { i18n } = useTranslation();
 
-  const { data: settings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-      return response.data;
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000,
-  });
+  const { data: settings } = usePublicSettings();
 
   const lang = settings?.default_language || i18n.language || 'en';
 

frontend/src/components/common/DynamicFavicon.tsx

@@ -1,25 +1,11 @@
 import { useEffect } from 'react';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
-import { getApiBaseUrl, buildResourceUrl } from '../../utils/url';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
+import { buildResourceUrl } from '../../utils/url';
 
 const DEFAULT_TITLE = 'PicPeak - Photo Sharing Platform';
 
 export const DynamicFavicon: React.FC = () => {
-  const { data: settings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      try {
-        const response = await fetch(`${getApiBaseUrl()}/public/settings`);
-        if (response.ok) {
-          return response.json();
-        }
-        return null;
-      } catch {
-        return null;
-      }
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // 5 minutes
-  });
+  const { data: settings } = usePublicSettings({ retry: false });
 
   // Update favicon when branding settings change
   useEffect(() => {

frontend/src/components/common/ReCaptcha.tsx

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
+import React from 'react';
 import ReCAPTCHA from 'react-google-recaptcha';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
-import { getApiBaseUrl } from '../../utils/url';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 
 interface ReCaptchaProps {
   onChange: (token: string | null) => void;
@@ -15,25 +14,10 @@ export const ReCaptcha: React.FC<ReCaptchaProps> = ({
   size = 'normal'
 }) => {
   const recaptchaRef = React.useRef<ReCAPTCHA>(null);
-  const [siteKey, setSiteKey] = useState<string>('');
+  const { data: settings } = usePublicSettings();
 
-  // Fetch public settings to get reCAPTCHA site key
-  const { data: settings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await fetch(`${getApiBaseUrl()}/public/settings`);
-      return response.json();
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // Cache for 5 minutes
-  });
+  const siteKey = settings?.recaptcha_site_key ?? '';
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (settings?.recaptcha_site_key) {
-      setSiteKey(settings.recaptcha_site_key);
-    }
-  }, [settings]);
-
-  // If reCAPTCHA is not enabled or site key is not available, return null
   if (!settings?.enable_recaptcha || !siteKey) {
     return null;
   }

frontend/src/components/common/RobotsMetaTags.tsx

@@ -1,23 +1,8 @@
 import { useEffect } from 'react';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
-import { getApiBaseUrl } from '../../utils/url';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 
 export const RobotsMetaTags: React.FC = () => {
-  const { data: settings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      try {
-        const response = await fetch(`${getApiBaseUrl()}/public/settings`);
-        if (response.ok) {
-          return response.json();
-        }
-        return null;
-      } catch {
-        return null;
-      }
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000,
-  });
+  const { data: settings } = usePublicSettings({ retry: false });
 
   useEffect(() => {
     // Remove any existing robots meta tags we previously injected

frontend/src/components/gallery/GalleryView.tsx

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { Upload, Menu, Eye, EyeOff, Shield } from 'lucide-react';
 import { galleryService } from '../../services/gallery.service';
 import { useWatermarkSettings } from '../../hooks/useWatermarkSettings';
 import { useGalleryCustomCss } from '../../hooks/useGalleryCustomCss';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import type { Photo } from '../../types';
 import { GALLERY_THEME_PRESETS } from '../../types/theme.types';
 import { useQueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query';
@@ -199,15 +200,7 @@ export const GalleryView: React.FC<GalleryViewProps> = ({ slug, event }) => {
     return () => window.removeEventListener('resize', handleResize);
   }, []);
 
-  // Fetch branding settings
-  const { data: settingsData } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['gallery-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-      return response.data;
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // Cache for 5 minutes
-  });
+  const { data: settingsData } = usePublicSettings();
 
   // Fetch feedback settings
   const { data: feedbackSettings } = useQuery({

frontend/src/components/gallery/UserPhotoUpload.tsx

@@ -1,11 +1,10 @@
 import React, { useState, useMemo } from 'react';
 import { Upload, X, CheckCircle } from 'lucide-react';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import { toast } from 'react-toastify';
 import { Button } from '../common';
 import { api } from '../../config/api';
-import { publicSettingsService } from '../../services/publicSettings.service';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import { extensionsToMimeTypes, extensionsToAcceptString } from '../../utils/fileTypes';
 
 interface UserPhotoUploadProps {
@@ -26,11 +25,7 @@ export const UserPhotoUpload: React.FC<UserPhotoUploadProps> = ({
   const [uploading, setUploading] = useState(false);
   const [uploadProgress, setUploadProgress] = useState<{ [key: string]: number }>({});
 
-  const { data: publicSettings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings'],
-    queryFn: () => publicSettingsService.getPublicSettings(),
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000,
-  });
+  const { data: publicSettings } = usePublicSettings();
 
   const allowedMimeTypes = useMemo(
     () => extensionsToMimeTypes(publicSettings?.allowed_file_types),

frontend/src/contexts/MaintenanceContext.tsx

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import React, { createContext, useContext, useState, useEffect, ReactNode } from 'react';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import { setMaintenanceModeCallback } from '../config/api';
-import { getApiBaseUrl } from '../utils/url';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 
 interface MaintenanceContextType {
   isMaintenanceMode: boolean;
@@ -25,34 +24,18 @@ interface MaintenanceProviderProps {
 export const MaintenanceProvider: React.FC<MaintenanceProviderProps> = ({ children }) => {
   const [isMaintenanceMode, setIsMaintenanceMode] = useState(false);
 
-  // Check maintenance mode status on mount
-  const { data: settings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings-maintenance'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      try {
-        const response = await fetch(`${getApiBaseUrl()}/public/settings`);
-        if (response.status === 503) {
-          setIsMaintenanceMode(true);
-          return null;
-        }
-        return response.json();
-      } catch (error) {
-        // If we can't reach the server, don't assume maintenance mode
-        return null;
-      }
-    },
-    staleTime: 30 * 1000, // Check every 30 seconds
-    refetchInterval: 30 * 1000,
-  });
+  // Polls /public/settings every 30s so a maintenance flag flipped server-side propagates
+  // without a refresh. 503 responses are caught by the axios interceptor in config/api.ts
+  // (which calls setMaintenanceModeCallback below), so we only need to read the explicit
+  // maintenance_mode flag here.
+  const { data: settings } = usePublicSettings({ refetchInterval: 30_000 });
 
-  // Update maintenance mode based on settings
   useEffect(() => {
     if (settings?.maintenance_mode !== undefined) {
       setIsMaintenanceMode(settings.maintenance_mode);
     }
   }, [settings]);
 
-  // Set up the callback for API interceptor
   useEffect(() => {
     setMaintenanceModeCallback((enabled: boolean) => {
       setIsMaintenanceMode(enabled);

frontend/src/hooks/__tests__/usePublicSettings.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import { renderHook, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from '@tanstack/react-query';
+import type { ReactNode } from 'react';
+
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../usePublicSettings';
+import { publicSettingsService } from '../../services/publicSettings.service';
+
+vi.mock('../../services/publicSettings.service', () => ({
+  publicSettingsService: {
+    getPublicSettings: vi.fn(),
+  },
+}));
+
+const getPublicSettingsMock = vi.mocked(publicSettingsService.getPublicSettings);
+
+function makeWrapper() {
+  const client = new QueryClient({
+    defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: false, refetchOnWindowFocus: false } },
+  });
+  const Wrapper = ({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) => (
+    <QueryClientProvider client={client}>{children}</QueryClientProvider>
+  );
+  return { client, Wrapper };
+}
+
+describe('usePublicSettings', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    getPublicSettingsMock.mockReset();
+  });
+
+  it('returns settings from the public settings service', async () => {
+    getPublicSettingsMock.mockResolvedValue({
+      branding_company_name: 'PicPeak Test',
+      maintenance_mode: false,
+    } as Awaited<ReturnType<typeof publicSettingsService.getPublicSettings>>);
+
+    const { Wrapper } = makeWrapper();
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => usePublicSettings(), { wrapper: Wrapper });
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.isSuccess).toBe(true));
+    expect(result.current.data?.branding_company_name).toBe('PicPeak Test');
+    expect(getPublicSettingsMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it('dedupes parallel callers in the same QueryClient', async () => {
+    getPublicSettingsMock.mockResolvedValue({
+      branding_company_name: 'PicPeak Test',
+    } as Awaited<ReturnType<typeof publicSettingsService.getPublicSettings>>);
+
+    const { Wrapper } = makeWrapper();
+    const { result: first } = renderHook(() => usePublicSettings(), { wrapper: Wrapper });
+    const { result: second } = renderHook(() => usePublicSettings(), { wrapper: Wrapper });
+    const { result: third } = renderHook(() => usePublicSettings(), { wrapper: Wrapper });
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(first.current.isSuccess).toBe(true);
+      expect(second.current.isSuccess).toBe(true);
+      expect(third.current.isSuccess).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    // Single network call regardless of how many components mount the hook.
+    expect(getPublicSettingsMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+});

frontend/src/hooks/index.ts

@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@ export * from './useOnClickOutside';
 export * from './useLocalizedDate';
 export * from './useLocalizedTimeAgo';
 export * from './usePermission';
+export * from './usePublicSettings';

frontend/src/hooks/useLocalizedDate.ts

@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
 import { format as dateFnsFormat, formatDistanceToNow as dateFnsFormatDistanceToNow } from 'date-fns';
 import { de, enUS, ptBR } from 'date-fns/locale';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
-import { publicSettingsService } from '../services/publicSettings.service';
+import { usePublicSettings } from './usePublicSettings';
 
 // Convert old date format strings to new date-fns format
 const convertDateFormat = (format: string): string => {
@@ -15,13 +14,7 @@ const convertDateFormat = (format: string): string => {
 export const useLocalizedDate = () => {
   const { i18n } = useTranslation();
   
-  // Fetch public settings to get the date format
-  const { data: settings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings'],
-    queryFn: () => publicSettingsService.getPublicSettings(),
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // Cache for 5 minutes
-    retry: 1, // Only retry once to avoid blocking the UI
-  });
+  const { data: settings } = usePublicSettings();
   
   const getLocale = () => {
     if (i18n.language === 'de') return de;

frontend/src/hooks/usePublicSettings.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+import { useQuery, type UseQueryOptions } from '@tanstack/react-query';
+import { publicSettingsService, type PublicSettings } from '../services/publicSettings.service';
+
+export const PUBLIC_SETTINGS_QUERY_KEY = ['public-settings'] as const;
+
+type PublicSettingsQueryOptions = Omit<
+  UseQueryOptions<PublicSettings, Error>,
+  'queryKey' | 'queryFn'
+>;
+
+export function usePublicSettings(options?: PublicSettingsQueryOptions) {
+  return useQuery<PublicSettings, Error>({
+    queryKey: PUBLIC_SETTINGS_QUERY_KEY,
+    queryFn: () => publicSettingsService.getPublicSettings(),
+    staleTime: 60_000,
+    ...options,
+  });
+}

frontend/src/hooks/useWatermarkSettings.ts

@@ -1,27 +1,10 @@
-import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
-import { api } from '../config/api';
+import { usePublicSettings } from './usePublicSettings';
 
 export function useWatermarkSettings() {
-  const [watermarkEnabled, setWatermarkEnabled] = useState(false);
-  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
+  const { data: settings, isLoading } = usePublicSettings();
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    const fetchSettings = async () => {
-      try {
-        // Use public settings endpoint that doesn't require authentication
-        const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-        setWatermarkEnabled(response.data.branding_watermark_enabled || false);
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.error('Failed to fetch watermark settings:', error);
-        // Default to false if we can't fetch settings
-        setWatermarkEnabled(false);
-      } finally {
-        setLoading(false);
-      }
-    };
-
-    fetchSettings();
-  }, []);
-
-  return { watermarkEnabled, loading };
+  return {
+    watermarkEnabled: Boolean(settings?.branding_watermark_enabled),
+    loading: isLoading,
+  };
 }

frontend/src/pages/ClientAccessPage.tsx

@@ -2,12 +2,11 @@ import React, { useState } from 'react';
 import { useParams, useSearchParams, useNavigate, Link } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { AlertCircle, Lock } from 'lucide-react';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 
 import { Card, CardContent, Input, Button, Loading } from '../components/common';
 import { useGalleryAuth } from '../contexts';
 import { useGalleryInfo } from '../hooks/useGallery';
-import { api } from '../config/api';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import { buildResourceUrl } from '../utils/url';
 
 export const ClientAccessPage: React.FC = () => {
@@ -22,14 +21,7 @@ export const ClientAccessPage: React.FC = () => {
 
   const { data: galleryInfo, isLoading: isLoadingInfo, error: infoError } = useGalleryInfo(slug);
 
-  const { data: settingsData } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['gallery-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-      return response.data;
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000,
-  });
+  const { data: settingsData } = usePublicSettings();
 
   // If already authenticated as client, redirect to gallery
   React.useEffect(() => {

frontend/src/pages/GalleryPage.tsx

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { AlertCircle, Clock } from 'lucide-react';
 import { differenceInDays, parseISO } from 'date-fns';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
 import { useLocalizedDate } from '../hooks/useLocalizedDate';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 
 import { Card, CardContent, Input, Button, ReCaptcha, CMSContentBlock } from '../components/common';
 import { useGalleryAuth, useTheme } from '../contexts';
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import { GalleryView } from '../components/gallery';
 import { GallerySkeleton } from '../components/gallery/GallerySkeleton';
 import { analyticsService } from '../services/analytics.service';
 import { galleryService } from '../services';
-import { api } from '../config/api';
 import { GALLERY_THEME_PRESETS } from '../types/theme.types';
 import { buildResourceUrl } from '../utils/url';
 import { isGalleryPublic, normalizeRequirePassword } from '../utils/accessControl';
@@ -106,15 +105,7 @@ export const GalleryPage: React.FC = () => {
     setAutoLoginAttempted(false);
   }, [resolvedSlug]);
   
-  // Fetch branding settings
-  const { data: settingsData, isLoading: isLoadingSettings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['gallery-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-      return response.data;
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // Cache for 5 minutes
-  });
+  const { data: settingsData, isLoading: isLoadingSettings } = usePublicSettings();
   
   // Set language from admin settings when on login page
   React.useEffect(() => {

frontend/src/pages/admin/AdminLoginPage.tsx

@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
 import { Navigate, useSearchParams } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { Lock, Mail, Eye, EyeOff, AlertCircle } from 'lucide-react';
 import { toast } from 'react-toastify';
-import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
 
 import { Button, Input, Card, ReCaptcha } from '../../components/common';
 import { useAdminAuth } from '../../contexts';
 import { authService } from '../../services/auth.service';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import { api } from '../../config/api';
 
 export const AdminLoginPage: React.FC = () => {
@@ -25,15 +25,7 @@ export const AdminLoginPage: React.FC = () => {
   const [loginSuccess, setLoginSuccess] = useState(false);
   const [recaptchaToken, setRecaptchaToken] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
-  // Fetch branding settings (unauthenticated)
-  const { data: settingsData } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['admin-login-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-      return response.data;
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // Cache for 5 minutes
-  });
+  const { data: settingsData } = usePublicSettings();
 
   const companyName = settingsData?.branding_company_name?.trim() || 'PicPeak';
   const logoUrl = settingsData?.branding_logo_url?.trim();

frontend/src/pages/admin/CreateEventPage.tsx

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import { eventsService } from '../../services/events.service';
 import { useLocalizedDate } from '../../hooks/useLocalizedDate';
 import { categoriesService } from '../../services/categories.service';
 import { settingsService } from '../../services/settings.service';
-import { publicSettingsService } from '../../services/publicSettings.service';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import { cssTemplatesService } from '../../services/cssTemplates.service';
 import { eventTypesService } from '../../services/eventTypes.service';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
@@ -170,11 +170,7 @@ export const CreateEventPage: React.FC = () => {
     queryFn: () => settingsService.getAllSettings()
   });
 
-  // Fetch public settings for field requirements
-  const { data: publicSettings } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings'],
-    queryFn: () => publicSettingsService.getPublicSettings()
-  });
+  const { data: publicSettings } = usePublicSettings();
 
   // Get field requirements (default to true if not set)
   const requireCustomerName = publicSettings?.event_require_customer_name !== false;

frontend/src/pages/public/LegalPage.tsx

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { ArrowLeft, Home } from 'lucide-react';
 import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';
 import { Loading, Card } from '../../components/common';
 import { cmsService } from '../../services/cms.service';
-import { api } from '../../config/api';
+import { usePublicSettings } from '../../hooks/usePublicSettings';
 import '../../styles/prose-overrides.css';
 
 export const LegalPage: React.FC = () => {
@@ -18,15 +18,7 @@ export const LegalPage: React.FC = () => {
   const pathname = window.location.pathname;
   const pageSlug = slug || pathname.split('/').pop() || '';
   
-  // Fetch settings to get default language
-  const { data: settingsData } = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ['public-settings'],
-    queryFn: async () => {
-      const response = await api.get('/public/settings');
-      return response.data;
-    },
-    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // Cache for 5 minutes
-  });
+  const { data: settingsData } = usePublicSettings();
 
   // Use admin settings language
   const lang = settingsData?.default_language || 'en';

frontend/src/services/publicSettings.service.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,13 @@ export interface PublicSettings {
   branding_watermark_size: number;
   branding_favicon_url: string;
   branding_logo_url: string;
+  branding_logo_size?: string;
+  branding_logo_max_height?: number;
+  branding_logo_position?: 'left' | 'center' | 'right';
+  branding_logo_display_mode?: 'logo_only' | 'text_only' | 'logo_and_text';
+  branding_logo_display_header?: boolean;
+  branding_logo_display_hero?: boolean;
+  branding_hide_powered_by?: boolean;
   theme_config: any;
   default_language: string;
   enable_analytics: boolean;
@@ -34,6 +41,10 @@ export interface PublicSettings {
   event_default_require_password?: boolean;
   gallery_show_filter_bar?: boolean;
   event_phone_field_enabled?: boolean;
+  // SEO meta tags (consumed by RobotsMetaTags)
+  seo_meta_noindex?: boolean;
+  seo_meta_nofollow?: boolean;
+  seo_meta_noai?: boolean;
 }
 
 export const publicSettingsService = {

tests/e2e/public-settings-dedup.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+import { test, expect, Page } from '@playwright/test';
+
+/**
+ * Verifies the dedup work for issue #325 — every consumer of /public/settings
+ * should share a single React Query cache rather than triggering its own fetch
+ * per component mount.
+ *
+ * Pre-dedup baseline (captured 2026-04-27 with the live admin dashboard):
+ *   7 calls to /api/public/settings on a single /admin/login → /admin/dashboard
+ *   navigation (4 from non-React-Query call sites + 3 from inconsistent
+ *   queryKeys in React Query consumers).
+ *
+ * After landing usePublicSettings the count drops to 1.
+ */
+
+const ADMIN_EMAIL = process.env.ADMIN_EMAIL || '[email protected]';
+const ADMIN_PASSWORD = process.env.ADMIN_PASSWORD || 'Admin!234';
+const GALLERY_PASSWORD = process.env.GALLERY_PASSWORD || 'PlaywrightGallery123!';
+
+function attachSettingsCounter(page: Page) {
+  const calls: string[] = [];
+  page.on('request', (req) => {
+    const url = req.url();
+    if (url.includes('/api/public/settings')) {
+      calls.push(`${req.method()} ${url}`);
+    }
+  });
+  return calls;
+}
+
+test.describe('public settings dedup (#325)', () => {
+  test('admin login + dashboard fires /public/settings at most once', async ({ page }) => {
+    const calls = attachSettingsCounter(page);
+
+    await page.goto('/admin/login');
+    // Wait until the form is interactive — branding/theme/maintenance contexts
+    // have all had a chance to mount by this point.
+    await page.waitForSelector('input[type="email"]', { state: 'visible' });
+    await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
+
+    expect(calls, calls.join('\n')).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  test('no spurious refetch within the 60s staleTime window', async ({ page }) => {
+    const calls = attachSettingsCounter(page);
+
+    await page.goto('/admin/login');
+    await page.waitForSelector('input[type="email"]', { state: 'visible' });
+    await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
+
+    // Sit on the page for ~5s to confirm no decorative consumer (favicon,
+    // robots tags, recaptcha probe, etc.) triggers a second fetch within
+    // the hook's staleTime window. Pre-dedup, several call sites used a
+    // 5-minute staleTime but inconsistent queryKeys, so multiple fetches
+    // would land within the first second and could re-fire on remount.
+    await page.waitForTimeout(5000);
+
+    expect(calls, calls.join('\n')).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  test('public gallery login page fires /public/settings at most once', async ({ page, request }) => {
+    // Set up an event so the gallery page doesn't bail out with a 404.
+    const adminLogin = await request.post('/api/auth/admin/login', {
+      data: { username: ADMIN_EMAIL, password: ADMIN_PASSWORD },
+    });
+    if (!adminLogin.ok()) {
+      test.skip(true, 'Admin login unavailable — skipping gallery dedup check');
+      return;
+    }
+    const { token } = await adminLogin.json();
+
+    const eventResponse = await request.post('/api/admin/events', {
+      headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+      data: {
+        event_type: 'wedding',
+        event_name: `Dedup test ${Date.now()}`,
+        event_date: new Date(Date.now() + 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString().slice(0, 10),
+        customer_name: 'Dedup Host',
+        customer_email: '[email protected]',
+        host_name: 'Dedup Host',
+        host_email: '[email protected]',
+        admin_email: ADMIN_EMAIL,
+        password: GALLERY_PASSWORD,
+        expiration_days: 30,
+      },
+    });
+    if (!eventResponse.ok()) {
+      test.skip(true, `Event creation failed (${eventResponse.status()}) — skipping`);
+      return;
+    }
+    const event = await eventResponse.json();
+    const slug: string = event?.event?.slug ?? event?.slug;
+    expect(slug).toBeTruthy();
+
+    const calls = attachSettingsCounter(page);
+
+    await page.goto(`/gallery/${slug}`);
+    await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
+
+    expect(calls, calls.join('\n')).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+});