diff --git a/ui/src/components/OperationPanel.jsx b/ui/src/components/OperationPanel.jsx
index af453fe..f6e9193 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/OperationPanel.jsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/OperationPanel.jsx
@@ -99,11 +99,15 @@ function Segmented({ options, value, onChange }) {
   )
 }
 
-function Submit({ onClick, children, disabled }) {
+function Submit({ onClick, children, disabled, busy }) {
   return (
-    <button onClick={onClick} disabled={disabled}
+    <button onClick={onClick} disabled={disabled || busy}
       className="self-start px-4 py-1.5 rounded text-xs font-medium bg-blue-600 text-white hover:bg-blue-700
-                 disabled:bg-gray-200 disabled:text-gray-600 disabled:cursor-not-allowed whitespace-nowrap">
+                 disabled:bg-gray-200 disabled:text-gray-600 disabled:cursor-not-allowed whitespace-nowrap
+                 inline-flex items-center gap-2">
+      {busy && (
+        <span className="inline-block w-3 h-3 rounded-full border-2 border-white/40 border-t-white animate-spin" />
+      )}
       {children}
     </button>
   )
@@ -887,6 +891,7 @@ export default function OperationPanel({
   dock,
   slices, setSlices, distinctSlices,
   viewScope = [],
+  opBusy = null,
   applyMode, setApplyMode,
   currentTotals,
   activeOp, setActiveOp,
@@ -912,6 +917,7 @@ export default function OperationPanel({
   const shifting = !!cloneOffset && cloneOffset.trim() !== '' && cloneOffset.trim() !== '0 days'
   const setNote = activeOp === 'scale' ? setScaleNote : activeOp === 'recode' ? setRecodeNote : setCloneNote
   const OP_LABEL = { scale: 'Apply Scale', recode: 'Apply Recode', clone: 'Apply Clone' }
+  const OP_BUSY_LABEL = { scale: 'Applying…', recode: 'Recoding…', clone: 'Cloning…' }
 
   return (
     <div className={horizontal ? 'flex flex-row items-start p-3 gap-5 min-w-0' : 'flex flex-col p-3 gap-3 min-w-0'}>
@@ -1084,8 +1090,15 @@ export default function OperationPanel({
                      placeholder="optional" className={`${TEXT} w-48`} />
             </Field>
 
-            <div className="pt-1">
-              <Submit onClick={() => submitOp(activeOp)}>{OP_LABEL[activeOp]}</Submit>
+            <div className="pt-1 flex items-center gap-3">
+              <Submit onClick={() => submitOp(activeOp)} busy={!!opBusy}>
+                {opBusy ? OP_BUSY_LABEL[opBusy] : OP_LABEL[activeOp]}
+              </Submit>
+              {opBusy && (
+                <span className="text-gray-500 leading-snug">
+                  Writing rows — the pivot updates when it finishes.
+                </span>
+              )}
             </div>
             <RequestPreview payload={buildPayload(activeOp)} />
           </div>
diff --git a/ui/src/views/Forecast.jsx b/ui/src/views/Forecast.jsx
index 8f9fa72..ce2416a 100644
--- a/ui/src/views/Forecast.jsx
+++ b/ui/src/views/Forecast.jsx
@@ -81,6 +81,8 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
   // the same filter, for display: the panel has to show the scope it is acting
   // inside or the slice it prints is not the slice that gets written
   const [viewScope,    setViewScope]    = useState([])
+  // which operation is in flight, so the panel can say so and refuse a second click
+  const [opBusy,       setOpBusy]       = useState(null)
   const [msg,          setMsg]          = useState(null)
 
   // layouts
@@ -1462,6 +1464,11 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
       }
     }
 
+    // A large scale writes a row per coordinate and can run for a while, and
+    // until now the button stayed live and said nothing -- so the only feedback
+    // that anything was happening was the absence of feedback, and clicking
+    // twice would apply it twice.
+    setOpBusy(op)
     try {
       const res  = await fetch(`/api/versions/${versionId}/${op}`, {
         method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, body: JSON.stringify(body)
@@ -1483,7 +1490,11 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
       if (op === 'scale')  { setScaleInputs({}); setScaleNote(''); fetchCurrentTotals(slices) }
       if (op === 'recode') { setRecodeNote('') }
       if (op === 'clone')  { setCloneNote(''); setCloneScale('1') }
-    } catch (err) { flash(err.message, 'error') }
+    } catch (err) {
+      flash(err.message, 'error')
+    } finally {
+      setOpBusy(null)
+    }
   }
 
   async function lookupDerivedCols(col, value, setter) {
@@ -1728,6 +1739,7 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
     dock,
     slices, setSlices,
     viewScope,
+    opBusy,
     applyMode, setApplyMode,
     currentTotals,
     activeOp, setActiveOp,