diff --git a/moxie/web/routes.py b/moxie/web/routes.py
index fec98d0..223c0c1 100644
--- a/moxie/web/routes.py
+++ b/moxie/web/routes.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Optional, List
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Request, Response, Cookie, Form, UploadFile, File, HTTPException
 from fastapi.responses import HTMLResponse, JSONResponse, StreamingResponse
-from fastapi.templating import Jinja2Templates
+from jinja2 import Environment, FileSystemLoader
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 from loguru import logger
 
@@ -20,15 +20,18 @@ from core.orchestrator import Orchestrator
 
 router = APIRouter()
 
-# Templates - use string path for better compatibility
-# Disable cache to avoid hashing issues with Pydantic objects
-from jinja2 import Environment, FileSystemLoader
-template_env = Environment(
-    loader=FileSystemLoader(str(Path(__file__).parent / "templates")),
+# Templates - use Jinja2 directly without Starlette wrapper
+TEMPLATES_DIR = Path(__file__).parent / "templates"
+jinja_env = Environment(
+    loader=FileSystemLoader(str(TEMPLATES_DIR)),
     autoescape=True,
-    cache_size=0,  # Disable cache
 )
-templates = Jinja2Templates(env=template_env)
+
+
+def render_template(name: str, context: dict) -> str:
+    """Render a template with the given context."""
+    template = jinja_env.get_template(name)
+    return template.render(**context)
 
 
 def get_template_settings():
@@ -90,28 +93,30 @@ async def landing_page(request: Request):
                 headers={"Location": "/chat"}
             )
     
-    return templates.TemplateResponse(
-        "landing.html",
-        {"request": request, "settings": get_template_settings()}
-    )
+    html = render_template("landing.html", {
+        "settings": get_template_settings()
+    })
+    return HTMLResponse(content=html)
 
 
 @router.get("/login", response_class=HTMLResponse)
 async def login_page(request: Request, error: Optional[str] = None):
     """Login page."""
-    return templates.TemplateResponse(
-        "login.html",
-        {"request": request, "settings": get_template_settings(), "error": error}
-    )
+    html = render_template("login.html", {
+        "settings": get_template_settings(),
+        "error": error
+    })
+    return HTMLResponse(content=html)
 
 
 @router.get("/signup", response_class=HTMLResponse)
 async def signup_page(request: Request, error: Optional[str] = None):
     """Signup page."""
-    return templates.TemplateResponse(
-        "signup.html",
-        {"request": request, "settings": get_template_settings(), "error": error}
-    )
+    html = render_template("signup.html", {
+        "settings": get_template_settings(),
+        "error": error
+    })
+    return HTMLResponse(content=html)
 
 
 @router.post("/login")
@@ -125,11 +130,11 @@ async def login_submit(
     user = auth.authenticate(username, password)
     
     if not user:
-        return templates.TemplateResponse(
-            "login.html",
-            {"request": request, "settings": get_template_settings(), "error": "Invalid username or password"},
-            status_code=401
-        )
+        html = render_template("login.html", {
+            "settings": get_template_settings(),
+            "error": "Invalid username or password"
+        })
+        return HTMLResponse(content=html, status_code=401)
     
     # Create session
     token = auth.create_session(user.id)
@@ -157,28 +162,28 @@ async def signup_submit(
 ):
     """Process signup form."""
     if password != confirm_password:
-        return templates.TemplateResponse(
-            "signup.html",
-            {"request": request, "settings": get_template_settings(), "error": "Passwords do not match"},
-            status_code=400
-        )
+        html = render_template("signup.html", {
+            "settings": get_template_settings(),
+            "error": "Passwords do not match"
+        })
+        return HTMLResponse(content=html, status_code=400)
     
     if len(password) < 6:
-        return templates.TemplateResponse(
-            "signup.html",
-            {"request": request, "settings": get_template_settings(), "error": "Password must be at least 6 characters"},
-            status_code=400
-        )
+        html = render_template("signup.html", {
+            "settings": get_template_settings(),
+            "error": "Password must be at least 6 characters"
+        })
+        return HTMLResponse(content=html, status_code=400)
     
     auth = get_auth_manager()
     user = auth.create_user(username, email, password)
     
     if not user:
-        return templates.TemplateResponse(
-            "signup.html",
-            {"request": request, "settings": get_template_settings(), "error": "Username or email already exists"},
-            status_code=400
-        )
+        html = render_template("signup.html", {
+            "settings": get_template_settings(),
+            "error": "Username or email already exists"
+        })
+        return HTMLResponse(content=html, status_code=400)
     
     # Create session
     token = auth.create_session(user.id)
@@ -225,15 +230,12 @@ async def chat_page(request: Request, session_token: Optional[str] = Cookie(None
     
     rate_info = auth.check_rate_limit(user.id)
     
-    return templates.TemplateResponse(
-        "chat.html",
-        {
-            "request": request,
-            "settings": get_template_settings(),
-            "user": user,
-            "rate_info": rate_info
-        }
-    )
+    html = render_template("chat.html", {
+        "settings": get_template_settings(),
+        "user": user,
+        "rate_info": rate_info
+    })
+    return HTMLResponse(content=html)
 
 
 @router.get("/profile", response_class=HTMLResponse)
@@ -254,16 +256,13 @@ async def profile_page(request: Request, session_token: Optional[str] = Cookie(N
     documents = auth.get_user_documents(user.id)
     rate_info = auth.check_rate_limit(user.id)
     
-    return templates.TemplateResponse(
-        "profile.html",
-        {
-            "request": request,
-            "settings": get_template_settings(),
-            "user": user,
-            "documents": documents,
-            "rate_info": rate_info
-        }
-    )
+    html = render_template("profile.html", {
+        "settings": get_template_settings(),
+        "user": user,
+        "documents": documents,
+        "rate_info": rate_info
+    })
+    return HTMLResponse(content=html)
 
 
 # ============================================================================