diff --git a/src/app/components/editor/Editor.tsx b/src/app/components/editor/Editor.tsx
index ddab1cd81..e72605001 100644
--- a/src/app/components/editor/Editor.tsx
+++ b/src/app/components/editor/Editor.tsx
@@ -23,7 +23,13 @@ import { CustomElement } from './slate';
 import * as css from './Editor.css';
 import { toggleKeyboardShortcut } from './keyboard';
 
-const initialValue: CustomElement[] = [
+// One FRESH value per editor instance. slate-react keys its node→path weak
+// maps by node object identity, so a module-level constant shared by every
+// <Slate> (main composer + thread composer + message editor) makes the second
+// mount hijack the first editor's nodes and the first editor throws "Unable to
+// find the path for Slate node" on its next render — the app-wide crash when
+// opening a thread on a pristine composer (Gitea #165 / #184).
+const createInitialValue = (): CustomElement[] => [
   {
     type: BlockType.Paragraph,
     children: [{ text: '' }],
@@ -92,6 +98,7 @@ export const CustomEditor = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, CustomEditorProps>(
     },
     ref,
   ) => {
+    const [initialValue] = useState(createInitialValue);
     const renderElement = useCallback(
       (props: RenderElementProps) => <RenderElement {...props} />,
       [],