diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 78bafd2955..69d71f73d4 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1046,7 +1046,7 @@ dependencies = [
 name = "cap-api"
 version = "0.0.0"
 dependencies = [
- "reqwest 0.12.23",
+ "reqwest 0.12.24",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1221,7 +1221,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "posthog-rs",
  "rand 0.8.5",
  "relative-path",
- "reqwest 0.12.23",
+ "reqwest 0.12.24",
  "rodio",
  "scap",
  "scap-direct3d",
@@ -3944,12 +3944,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "foldhash",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "hashbrown"
-version = "0.16.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5419bdc4f6a9207fbeba6d11b604d481addf78ecd10c11ad51e76c2f6482748d"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "heck"
 version = "0.4.1"
@@ -4204,7 +4198,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
  "percent-encoding",
  "pin-project-lite",
- "socket2 0.6.0",
+ "socket2 0.5.10",
  "system-configuration 0.6.1",
  "tokio",
  "tower-service",
@@ -4460,7 +4454,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "4b0f83760fb341a774ed326568e19f5a863af4a952def8c39f9ab92fd95b88e5"
 dependencies = [
  "equivalent",
- "hashbrown 0.16.0",
+ "hashbrown 0.15.5",
  "serde",
  "serde_core",
 ]
@@ -4900,7 +4894,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "07033963ba89ebaf1584d767badaa2e8fcec21aedea6b8c0346d487d49c28667"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
- "windows-targets 0.53.3",
+ "windows-targets 0.48.5",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -6203,7 +6197,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "http 1.3.1",
  "opentelemetry",
- "reqwest 0.12.23",
+ "reqwest 0.12.24",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -6218,7 +6212,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "opentelemetry-proto",
  "opentelemetry_sdk",
  "prost",
- "reqwest 0.12.23",
+ "reqwest 0.12.24",
  "thiserror 2.0.16",
  "tracing",
 ]
@@ -6993,7 +6987,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "quinn-udp",
  "rustc-hash 2.1.1",
  "rustls 0.23.31",
- "socket2 0.6.0",
+ "socket2 0.5.10",
  "thiserror 2.0.16",
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
@@ -7030,7 +7024,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "cfg_aliases 0.2.1",
  "libc",
  "once_cell",
- "socket2 0.6.0",
+ "socket2 0.5.10",
  "tracing",
  "windows-sys 0.60.2",
 ]
@@ -7448,9 +7442,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "reqwest"
-version = "0.12.23"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "d429f34c8092b2d42c7c93cec323bb4adeb7c67698f70839adec842ec10c7ceb"
+version = "0.12.24"
+source = "git+https://github.com/CapSoftware/reqwest?rev=9b5ecbd5210a9510fde766015cabb724c1e70d2e#9b5ecbd5210a9510fde766015cabb724c1e70d2e"
 dependencies = [
  "base64 0.22.1",
  "bytes",
@@ -8076,7 +8069,7 @@ checksum = "989425268ab5c011e06400187eed6c298272f8ef913e49fcadc3fda788b45030"
 dependencies = [
  "httpdate",
  "native-tls",
- "reqwest 0.12.23",
+ "reqwest 0.12.24",
  "sentry-actix",
  "sentry-anyhow",
  "sentry-backtrace",
@@ -9142,7 +9135,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "percent-encoding",
  "plist",
  "raw-window-handle",
- "reqwest 0.12.23",
+ "reqwest 0.12.24",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_repr",
@@ -9363,7 +9356,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "data-url",
  "http 1.3.1",
  "regex",
- "reqwest 0.12.23",
+ "reqwest 0.12.24",
  "schemars 0.8.22",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
@@ -9559,7 +9552,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "minisign-verify",
  "osakit",
  "percent-encoding",
- "reqwest 0.12.23",
+ "reqwest 0.12.24",
  "semver",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
@@ -11276,7 +11269,7 @@ version = "0.1.11"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "c2a7b1c03c876122aa43f3020e6c3c3ee5c05081c9a00739faf7503aeba10d22"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-sys 0.61.0",
+ "windows-sys 0.48.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 3f3b7f77e7..d351d3b289 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -86,3 +86,6 @@ cidre = { git = "https://github.com/CapSoftware/cidre", rev = "bf84b67079a8" }
 
 # https://github.com/CapSoftware/posthog-rs/commit/c7e9712be2f9a9122b1df685d5a067afa5415288
 posthog-rs = { git = "https://github.com/CapSoftware/posthog-rs", rev = "c7e9712be2f9a9122b1df685d5a067afa5415288" }
+
+# https://github.com/CapSoftware/reqwest/commit/9b5ecbd5210a9510fde766015cabb724c1e70d2e
+reqwest = { git = "https://github.com/CapSoftware/reqwest", rev = "9b5ecbd5210a9510fde766015cabb724c1e70d2e" }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
index 2903d10e98..8dbaa58034 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ rodio = "0.19.0"
 png = "0.17.13"
 device_query = "4.0.1"
 base64 = "0.22.1"
-reqwest = { version = "0.12.7", features = ["json", "stream", "multipart"] }
+reqwest = { version = "0.12.24", features = ["json", "stream", "multipart"] }
 dotenvy_macro = "0.15.7"
 global-hotkey = "0.7.0"
 rand = "0.8.5"
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/captions.rs b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/captions.rs
index 88e4ec457c..05678af591 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/captions.rs
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/captions.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ use ffmpeg::{
     format::{self as avformat},
     software::resampling,
 };
-use reqwest::Client;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use specta::Type;
 use std::fs::File;
@@ -22,6 +21,8 @@ use whisper_rs::{FullParams, SamplingStrategy, WhisperContext, WhisperContextPar
 // Re-export caption types from cap_project
 pub use cap_project::{CaptionSegment, CaptionSettings};
 
+use crate::http_client;
+
 // Convert the project type's float precision from f32 to f64 for compatibility
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, Type, Clone)]
 pub struct CaptionData {
@@ -1051,6 +1052,7 @@ impl DownloadProgress {
 #[specta::specta]
 #[instrument(skip(window))]
 pub async fn download_whisper_model(
+    app: AppHandle,
     window: Window,
     model_name: String,
     output_path: String,
@@ -1067,8 +1069,8 @@ pub async fn download_whisper_model(
     };
 
     // Create the client and download the model
-    let client = Client::new();
-    let response = client
+    let response = app
+        .state::<http_client::HttpClient>()
         .get(model_url)
         .send()
         .await
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/http_client.rs b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/http_client.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..47774eead0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/http_client.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+//! We reuse clients so we get connection pooling and also so the retry policy can handle backing off across requests.
+
+use std::ops::Deref;
+
+use reqwest::StatusCode;
+
+pub struct HttpClient(reqwest::Client);
+
+impl Default for HttpClient {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self(reqwest::Client::new())
+    }
+}
+
+impl Deref for HttpClient {
+    type Target = reqwest::Client;
+
+    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
+        &self.0
+    }
+}
+
+pub struct RetryableHttpClient(reqwest::Result<reqwest::Client>);
+
+impl Default for RetryableHttpClient {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self(
+            reqwest::Client::builder()
+                .retry(
+                    reqwest::retry::always()
+                        .classify_fn(|req_rep| {
+                            match req_rep.status() {
+                                // Server errors
+                                Some(s)
+                                    if s.is_server_error()
+                                        || s == StatusCode::TOO_MANY_REQUESTS =>
+                                {
+                                    req_rep.retryable()
+                                }
+                                // Network errors
+                                None => req_rep.retryable(),
+                                _ => req_rep.success(),
+                            }
+                        })
+                        .max_retries_per_request(5)
+                        .max_extra_load(5.0),
+                )
+                .build(),
+        )
+    }
+}
+
+impl Deref for RetryableHttpClient {
+    type Target = reqwest::Result<reqwest::Client>;
+
+    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
+        &self.0
+    }
+}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index ea9baef021..1880247974 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ mod flags;
 mod frame_ws;
 mod general_settings;
 mod hotkeys;
+mod http_client;
 mod logging;
 mod notifications;
 mod permissions;
@@ -2193,6 +2194,8 @@ pub async fn run(recording_logging_handle: LoggingHandle, logs_dir: PathBuf) {
             app.manage(EditorWindowIds::default());
             #[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
             app.manage(crate::platform::ScreenCapturePrewarmer::default());
+            app.manage(http_client::HttpClient::default());
+            app.manage(http_client::RetryableHttpClient::default());
 
             tokio::spawn({
                 let camera_feed = camera_feed.clone();
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/upload.rs b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/upload.rs
index d27d1246bc..cc8a8c0d4d 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/upload.rs
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/upload.rs
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
 use crate::{
     UploadProgress, VideoUploadInfo,
     api::{self, PresignedS3PutRequest, PresignedS3PutRequestMethod, S3VideoMeta, UploadedPart},
+    http_client::RetryableHttpClient,
     posthog::{PostHogEvent, async_capture_event},
     web_api::{AuthedApiError, ManagerExt},
 };
 use async_stream::{stream, try_stream};
-use axum::http::Uri;
 use bytes::Bytes;
 use cap_project::{RecordingMeta, S3UploadMeta, UploadMeta};
 use cap_utils::spawn_actor;
@@ -24,11 +24,10 @@ use std::{
     io,
     path::{Path, PathBuf},
     pin::pin,
-    str::FromStr,
     sync::{Arc, Mutex, PoisonError},
     time::Duration,
 };
-use tauri::{AppHandle, ipc::Channel};
+use tauri::{AppHandle, Manager, ipc::Channel};
 use tauri_plugin_clipboard_manager::ClipboardExt;
 use tauri_specta::Event;
 use tokio::{
@@ -596,25 +595,6 @@ pub fn from_pending_file_to_chunks(
     .instrument(Span::current())
 }
 
-fn retryable_client(host: String) -> reqwest::ClientBuilder {
-    reqwest::Client::builder().retry(
-        reqwest::retry::for_host(host)
-            .classify_fn(|req_rep| {
-                match req_rep.status() {
-                    // Server errors
-                    Some(s) if s.is_server_error() || s == StatusCode::TOO_MANY_REQUESTS => {
-                        req_rep.retryable()
-                    }
-                    // Network errors
-                    None => req_rep.retryable(),
-                    _ => req_rep.success(),
-                }
-            })
-            .max_retries_per_request(5)
-            .max_extra_load(5.0),
-    )
-}
-
 /// Takes an incoming stream of bytes and individually uploads them to S3.
 ///
 /// Note: It's on the caller to ensure the chunks are sized correctly within S3 limits.
@@ -726,19 +706,16 @@ fn multipart_uploader(
                             }
 
                             let size = chunk.len();
-                            let url = Uri::from_str(&presigned_url).map_err(|err| {
-                                format!("uploader/part/{part_number}/invalid_url: {err:?}")
-                            })?;
-                            let mut req =
-                                retryable_client(url.host().unwrap_or("<unknown>").to_string())
-                                    .build()
-                                    .map_err(|err| {
-                                        format!("uploader/part/{part_number}/client: {err:?}")
-                                    })?
-                                    .put(&presigned_url)
-                                    .header("Content-Length", chunk.len())
-                                    .timeout(Duration::from_secs(5 * 60))
-                                    .body(chunk);
+                            let mut req = app
+                                .state::<RetryableHttpClient>()
+                                .as_ref()
+                                .map_err(|err| {
+                                    format!("uploader/part/{part_number}/client: {err:?}")
+                                })?
+                                .put(&presigned_url)
+                                .header("Content-Length", chunk.len())
+                                .timeout(Duration::from_secs(5 * 60))
+                                .body(chunk);
 
                             if let Some(md5_sum) = &md5_sum {
                                 req = req.header("Content-MD5", md5_sum);
@@ -811,10 +788,9 @@ pub async fn singlepart_uploader(
 ) -> Result<(), AuthedApiError> {
     let presigned_url = api::upload_signed(&app, request).await?;
 
-    let url = Uri::from_str(&presigned_url)
-        .map_err(|err| format!("singlepart_uploader/invalid_url: {err:?}"))?;
-    let resp = retryable_client(url.host().unwrap_or("<unknown>").to_string())
-        .build()
+    let resp = app
+        .state::<RetryableHttpClient>()
+        .as_ref()
         .map_err(|err| format!("singlepart_uploader/client: {err:?}"))?
         .put(&presigned_url)
         .header("Content-Length", total_size)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/web_api.rs b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/web_api.rs
index bdc6b405b4..a8fdf1fd6f 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/web_api.rs
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/web_api.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use tracing::{error, warn};
 use crate::{
     ArcLock,
     auth::{AuthSecret, AuthStore},
+    http_client,
 };
 
 #[derive(Error, Debug)]
@@ -58,12 +59,11 @@ fn apply_env_headers(req: reqwest::RequestBuilder) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder {
 }
 
 async fn do_authed_request(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
     auth: &AuthStore,
-    build: impl FnOnce(reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
+    build: impl FnOnce(&reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
     url: String,
 ) -> Result<reqwest::Response, reqwest::Error> {
-    let client = reqwest::Client::new();
-
     let req = build(client, url).header(
         "Authorization",
         format!(
@@ -82,13 +82,13 @@ pub trait ManagerExt<R: Runtime>: Manager<R> {
     async fn authed_api_request(
         &self,
         path: impl Into<String>,
-        build: impl FnOnce(reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
+        build: impl FnOnce(&reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
     ) -> Result<reqwest::Response, AuthedApiError>;
 
     async fn api_request(
         &self,
         path: impl Into<String>,
-        build: impl FnOnce(reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
+        build: impl FnOnce(&reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
     ) -> Result<reqwest::Response, reqwest::Error>;
 
     async fn make_app_url(&self, pathname: impl AsRef<str>) -> String;
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ impl<T: Manager<R> + Emitter<R>, R: Runtime> ManagerExt<R> for T {
     async fn authed_api_request(
         &self,
         path: impl Into<String>,
-        build: impl FnOnce(reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
+        build: impl FnOnce(&reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
     ) -> Result<reqwest::Response, AuthedApiError> {
         let Some(auth) = AuthStore::get(self.app_handle()).map_err(AuthedApiError::AuthStore)?
         else {
@@ -109,7 +109,8 @@ impl<T: Manager<R> + Emitter<R>, R: Runtime> ManagerExt<R> for T {
         };
 
         let url = self.make_app_url(path.into()).await;
-        let response = do_authed_request(&auth, build, url).await?;
+        let response =
+            do_authed_request(&self.state::<http_client::HttpClient>(), &auth, build, url).await?;
 
         if response.status() == StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED {
             error!("Authentication expired. Please log in again.");
@@ -122,12 +123,13 @@ impl<T: Manager<R> + Emitter<R>, R: Runtime> ManagerExt<R> for T {
     async fn api_request(
         &self,
         path: impl Into<String>,
-        build: impl FnOnce(reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
+        build: impl FnOnce(&reqwest::Client, String) -> reqwest::RequestBuilder,
     ) -> Result<reqwest::Response, reqwest::Error> {
         let url = self.make_app_url(path.into()).await;
-        let client = reqwest::Client::new();
 
-        apply_env_headers(build(client, url)).send().await
+        apply_env_headers(build(&self.state::<http_client::HttpClient>(), url))
+            .send()
+            .await
     }
 
     async fn make_app_url(&self, pathname: impl AsRef<str>) -> String {
diff --git a/crates/api/Cargo.toml b/crates/api/Cargo.toml
index 531e155bea..6545b383b8 100644
--- a/crates/api/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/api/Cargo.toml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ edition = "2024"
 publish = false
 
 [dependencies]
-reqwest = "0.12.23"
+reqwest = "0.12.24"
 
 [lints]
 workspace = true