diff --git a/internal/api/api_test.go b/internal/api/api_test.go
index 1002bd2..3c55cd1 100644
--- a/internal/api/api_test.go
+++ b/internal/api/api_test.go
@@ -136,3 +136,20 @@ func TestApplyBadUUID(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("expected 400 for bad uuid, got %d", w.Code)
 	}
 }
+
+// TestChangesetResponseEmptyMarshalsToArrays guards the белый-экран bug: an
+// empty changeset (zone matches its template exactly, e.g. right after a
+// snapshot) must marshal updates/prunes/readOnly as [] not null — a nil slice
+// becomes JSON null and crashes the client's .length/.map calls.
+func TestChangesetResponseEmptyMarshalsToArrays(t *testing.T) {
+	b, err := json.Marshal(toChangesetResponse(diff.Changeset{}))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	s := string(b)
+	for _, want := range []string{`"updates":[]`, `"prunes":[]`, `"readOnly":[]`} {
+		if !strings.Contains(s, want) {
+			t.Fatalf("expected %s in %s", want, s)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/api/dto.go b/internal/api/dto.go
index b127976..ddef2dd 100644
--- a/internal/api/dto.go
+++ b/internal/api/dto.go
@@ -72,7 +72,15 @@ func toRecordView(d diff.RecordDiff) recordView {
 }
 
 func toChangesetResponse(cs diff.Changeset) changesetResponse {
-	resp := changesetResponse{}
+	// Initialise the slices so an empty changeset (e.g. a zone that exactly
+	// matches its template right after a snapshot) marshals to [] rather than
+	// null — a nil slice becomes JSON null, which crashes clients that call
+	// .length/.map on the field.
+	resp := changesetResponse{
+		Updates:  []recordView{},
+		Prunes:   []recordView{},
+		ReadOnly: []recordView{},
+	}
 	for _, d := range cs.Updates() {
 		resp.Updates = append(resp.Updates, toRecordView(d))
 	}
diff --git a/web/src/components/DiffView.test.tsx b/web/src/components/DiffView.test.tsx
index 50bba97..6d58953 100644
--- a/web/src/components/DiffView.test.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/DiffView.test.tsx
@@ -26,3 +26,17 @@ test("marks read-only records", () => {
   render(<DiffView changeset={cs} />)
   expect(screen.getByText(/NS/)).toBeInTheDocument()
 })
+
+test("does not crash when changeset fields are null", () => {
+  // An empty changeset from an older/edge backend can arrive with null slices
+  // instead of []. DiffView must normalise them, not blow up on .length/.map.
+  const nullish = {
+    updates: null,
+    prunes: null,
+    readOnly: null,
+    inSyncCount: 5,
+  } as unknown as ChangesetResponse
+  render(<DiffView changeset={nullish} />)
+  expect(screen.getByText(/5/)).toBeInTheDocument()
+  expect(screen.getByText(/in sync/)).toBeInTheDocument()
+})
diff --git a/web/src/components/DiffView.tsx b/web/src/components/DiffView.tsx
index 6d2983a..813170f 100644
--- a/web/src/components/DiffView.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/DiffView.tsx
@@ -137,11 +137,13 @@ export function DiffView({
   changeset: ChangesetResponse
   footerExtra?: ReactNode
 }) {
+  // Defensive: a field may arrive as null (e.g. a nil slice from an older
+  // backend) — normalise to [] so Section never calls .length/.map on null.
   return (
     <div className="flex flex-col gap-6">
-      <Section tone="update" records={changeset.updates} />
-      <Section tone="delete" records={changeset.prunes} />
-      <Section tone="readonly" records={changeset.readOnly} />
+      <Section tone="update" records={changeset.updates ?? []} />
+      <Section tone="delete" records={changeset.prunes ?? []} />
+      <Section tone="readonly" records={changeset.readOnly ?? []} />
 
       <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-3 border-t border-border pt-4">
         <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
diff --git a/web/src/pages/DomainDiffPage.tsx b/web/src/pages/DomainDiffPage.tsx
index 6c179b2..9bc49ff 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/DomainDiffPage.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/DomainDiffPage.tsx
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ export function DomainDiffPage() {
   const pruneCheckboxId = useId()
 
   const changeset = check.data
-  const hasPrunes = (changeset?.prunes.length ?? 0) > 0
-  const hasUpdates = (changeset?.updates.length ?? 0) > 0
+  const hasPrunes = (changeset?.prunes?.length ?? 0) > 0
+  const hasUpdates = (changeset?.updates?.length ?? 0) > 0
   const pruneWarning = applyPrunes && hasPrunes
   const recordList = zoneRecords.data ?? []