diff --git a/src/bot/commands.ts b/src/bot/commands.ts
index 8282d1b..5a9efeb 100644
--- a/src/bot/commands.ts
+++ b/src/bot/commands.ts
@@ -13,10 +13,11 @@ import {
   trackTitle,
 } from "./format.js";
 
-/** What we need back from a sent message to hang reactions on it. */
+/** What we need back from a sent message to work with it afterwards. */
 export interface SentMessage {
   id: string;
   react(emoji: string): Promise<void>;
+  edit(content: string): Promise<void>;
 }
 
 export interface CommandContext {
@@ -170,18 +171,27 @@ export const commands: Command[] = [
     description: "Найти треки и выбрать реакцией",
     async run(ctx) {
       if (!ctx.rest) throw new UserFacingError("Укажите поисковый запрос");
+      // Searching several sources can take tens of seconds through a proxy, and
+      // the command message is already deleted by then — without a placeholder
+      // the chat sits silent and the bot looks broken.
+      const placeholder = await ctx.reply(`🔎 Ищу **${ctx.rest}**…`);
+
       const tracks = (await ctx.manager.search(ctx.rest, ctx.actor, CHAT_SEARCH_LIMIT)).slice(
         0,
         CHAT_SEARCH_LIMIT,
       );
       if (tracks.length === 0) {
-        await ctx.reply(`🔎 ${NOTHING_FOUND}`);
+        const missing = `🔎 ${NOTHING_FOUND}`;
+        if (placeholder) await placeholder.edit(missing);
+        else await ctx.reply(missing);
         return;
       }
 
       const lines = tracks.map((track, index) => trackLine(track, { index: index + 1 }));
-      const sent = await ctx.reply(`🔎 **${ctx.rest}**\n${lines.join("\n")}`);
+      const text = `🔎 **${ctx.rest}**\n${lines.join("\n")}`;
+      const sent = placeholder ?? (await ctx.reply(text));
       if (!sent) return;
+      if (placeholder) await placeholder.edit(text);
 
       rememberSearch(ctx, sent.id, tracks);
       for (const emoji of CHOICE_EMOJI.slice(0, tracks.length)) {
diff --git a/src/bot/index.ts b/src/bot/index.ts
index 332d33f..09fd01c 100644
--- a/src/bot/index.ts
+++ b/src/bot/index.ts
@@ -82,7 +82,17 @@ async function handleMessage(manager: MusicManager, message: Message): Promise<v
   if (!message.authorId || message.author?.bot) return;
 
   const serverId = message.server?.id;
-  const reply = async (text: string) => message.channel?.sendMessage(text);
+  const reply = async (text: string) => {
+    const sent = await message.channel?.sendMessage(text);
+    if (!sent) return undefined;
+    return {
+      id: sent.id,
+      react: (emoji: string) => sent.react(emoji),
+      edit: async (content: string) => {
+        await sent.edit({ content });
+      },
+    };
+  };
 
   if (!serverId) {
     await reply("Команды работают только внутри сервера.");
diff --git a/src/sources/index.ts b/src/sources/index.ts
index 083e521..7201a93 100644
--- a/src/sources/index.ts
+++ b/src/sources/index.ts
@@ -135,13 +135,32 @@ export async function searchTracks(
   }
 
   const [youtube, soundcloud, localHits] = await Promise.all([
-    ytdlp.search(text, "youtube", limit, requestedBy).catch(() => []),
-    ytdlp.search(text, "soundcloud", limit, requestedBy).catch(() => []),
+    withDeadline(ytdlp.search(text, "youtube", limit, requestedBy), "youtube"),
+    withDeadline(ytdlp.search(text, "soundcloud", limit, requestedBy), "soundcloud"),
     local.isEnabled() ? local.search(text, 3, requestedBy).catch(() => []) : Promise.resolve([]),
   ]);
   return [...localHits, ...interleave(youtube, soundcloud)].slice(0, limit);
 }
 
+/**
+ * One slow source should not hold up the whole answer: searching several at once
+ * means waiting for the slowest, and behind a proxy that can be tens of seconds.
+ */
+const SOURCE_DEADLINE_MS = 12_000;
+
+async function withDeadline(search: Promise<Track[]>, source: string): Promise<Track[]> {
+  let timer: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined;
+  const deadline = new Promise<Track[]>((resolve) => {
+    timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      log.warn({ source }, "search took too long, answering without it");
+      resolve([]);
+    }, SOURCE_DEADLINE_MS);
+  });
+  const tracks = await Promise.race([search.catch(() => []), deadline]);
+  if (timer) clearTimeout(timer);
+  return tracks;
+}
+
 /**
  * YouTube silently returns nothing for queries its restricted mode dislikes —
  * same query, same words, results in a browser but an empty list over the API.