diff --git a/internal/disk/sync.go b/internal/disk/sync.go
index 1409100..e05e853 100644
--- a/internal/disk/sync.go
+++ b/internal/disk/sync.go
@@ -164,8 +164,11 @@ func syncFrontMatter(path, identifier string) error {
 	})
 }
 
+// UpdateMetadataFunc is a function that updates metadata for a note
+type UpdateMetadataFunc func(identifier, title, keywords, signature string) error
+
 // GetAll reloads all notes from disk to 9P (discards uncommitted 9P changes)
-func GetAll() error {
+func GetAll(updateFunc UpdateMetadataFunc) error {
 	return p9client.With9P(func(f *client.Fsys) error {
 		// Read index to get all identifiers
 		indexFid, err := f.Open("index", 0)
@@ -247,15 +250,27 @@ func GetAll() error {
 				}
 			}
 
-			// Route to appropriate get function based on file type
+			// OPTIMIZATION: Circumvent 9P write operation overhead by directly manipulating in-memory data.
+			var title, keywords, signature string
 			if SupportsFrontMatter(path) {
-				if err := getDenoteFile(f, path, identifier); err != nil {
-					log.Printf("get: failed to get denote file %s: %v", identifier, err)
+				fm, _, err := ExtractFrontMatter(path)
+				if err != nil {
+					log.Printf("get: failed to extract front matter for %s: %v", identifier, err)
+					continue
 				}
+				title = fm.Title
+				keywords = strings.Join(fm.Tags, ",")
+				signature = fm.Signature
 			} else {
-				if err := getNonDenoteFile(f, path, identifier); err != nil {
-					log.Printf("get: failed to get non-denote file %s: %v", identifier, err)
-				}
+				meta := metadata.ParseFilename(path)
+				title = meta.Title
+				keywords = strings.Join(meta.Tags, ",")
+				signature = meta.Signature
+			}
+
+			// Update in-memory metadata directly
+			if err := updateFunc(identifier, title, keywords, signature); err != nil {
+				log.Printf("get: failed to update metadata for %s: %v", identifier, err)
 			}
 		}
 
diff --git a/internal/p9/server/server.go b/internal/p9/server/server.go
index c13d097..f923f3e 100644
--- a/internal/p9/server/server.go
+++ b/internal/p9/server/server.go
@@ -114,6 +114,35 @@ func findNote(identifier string) (*metadata.Metadata, error) {
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("note not found: %s", identifier)
 }
 
+// UpdateMetadataFromDisk updates note metadata directly from disk without
+// triggering callbacks or 9P protocol overhead. Used by GetAll() for bulk sync.
+func UpdateMetadataFromDisk(identifier, title, keywords, signature string) error {
+	if srv == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("server not running")
+	}
+
+	note, err := findNote(identifier)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// Parse keywords into tags
+	var tags []string
+	if keywords != "" {
+		tags = strings.Split(keywords, ",")
+		for i := range tags {
+			tags[i] = strings.TrimSpace(tags[i])
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Update fields directly (note is a pointer, so this modifies the original)
+	note.Title = title
+	note.Tags = tags
+	note.Signature = signature
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // Getdir returns the denote directory
 // StartServer starts the 9P fileserver in the background with pre-loaded metadata.
 // initialData should contain all notes to be served - typically loaded by sync.LoadAll().
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 50f16c4..188b53d 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ func main() {
 				w.Ctl("dot=addr")
 				w.Ctl("show")
 			case "Get":
-				if err := disk.GetAll(); err != nil {
+				if err := disk.GetAll(p9server.UpdateMetadataFromDisk); err != nil {
 					log.Printf("get error: %v", err)
 				}
 				refreshWindowWithDefaults(w)