diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/spec-view.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/views/spec-view.tsx
index 1a2d24ca..189e0f9a 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/views/spec-view.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/spec-view.tsx
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ export function SpecView() {
   const { currentProject, appSpec } = useAppStore();
 
   // Loading state
-  const { isLoading, specExists, loadSpec } = useSpecLoading();
+  const { isLoading, specExists, isGenerationRunning, loadSpec } = useSpecLoading();
 
   // Save state
   const { isSaving, hasChanges, saveSpec, handleChange, setHasChanges } = useSpecSave();
@@ -82,15 +82,20 @@ export function SpecView() {
     );
   }
 
-  // Empty state - no spec exists
-  if (!specExists) {
+  // Empty state - no spec exists or generation is running
+  // When generation is running, we skip loading the spec to avoid 500 errors,
+  // so we show the empty state with generation indicator
+  if (!specExists || isGenerationRunning) {
+    // If generation is running (from loading hook check), ensure we show the generating UI
+    const showAsGenerating = isCreating || isGenerationRunning;
+
     return (
       <>
         <SpecEmptyState
           projectPath={currentProject.path}
-          isCreating={isCreating}
-          isRegenerating={isRegenerating}
-          currentPhase={currentPhase}
+          isCreating={showAsGenerating}
+          isRegenerating={isRegenerating || isGenerationRunning}
+          currentPhase={currentPhase || (isGenerationRunning ? 'initialization' : '')}
           errorMessage={errorMessage}
           onCreateClick={() => setShowCreateDialog(true)}
         />
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/spec-view/hooks/use-spec-loading.ts b/apps/ui/src/components/views/spec-view/hooks/use-spec-loading.ts
index 01abbfbe..52826020 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/views/spec-view/hooks/use-spec-loading.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/spec-view/hooks/use-spec-loading.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ export function useSpecLoading() {
   const { currentProject, setAppSpec } = useAppStore();
   const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);
   const [specExists, setSpecExists] = useState(true);
+  const [isGenerationRunning, setIsGenerationRunning] = useState(false);
 
   const loadSpec = useCallback(async () => {
     if (!currentProject) return;
@@ -16,6 +17,21 @@ export function useSpecLoading() {
     setIsLoading(true);
     try {
       const api = getElectronAPI();
+
+      // Check if spec generation is running before trying to load
+      // This prevents showing "No App Specification Found" during generation
+      if (api.specRegeneration) {
+        const status = await api.specRegeneration.status();
+        if (status.success && status.isRunning) {
+          logger.debug('Spec generation is running, skipping load');
+          setIsGenerationRunning(true);
+          setIsLoading(false);
+          return;
+        }
+      }
+      // Always reset when generation is not running (handles edge case where api.specRegeneration might not be available)
+      setIsGenerationRunning(false);
+
       const result = await api.readFile(`${currentProject.path}/.automaker/app_spec.txt`);
 
       if (result.success && result.content) {
@@ -42,6 +58,7 @@ export function useSpecLoading() {
     isLoading,
     specExists,
     setSpecExists,
+    isGenerationRunning,
     loadSpec,
   };
 }