diff --git a/.jules/bolt.md b/.jules/bolt.md
index babd2024..3703d2bf 100644
--- a/.jules/bolt.md
+++ b/.jules/bolt.md
@@ -5,3 +5,7 @@
 ## 2026-03-20 - Non-blocking I/O in Deezer client
 **Learning:** `streamrip/client/deezer.py` uses the synchronous `deezer-python` library. Direct calls like `client.gw.get_track()` and `client.get_track_url()` block the entire `asyncio` event loop. While the metadata fetching methods (`get_track`, `get_album`, etc.) correctly wrapped these calls in `await asyncio.to_thread(...)`, `get_downloadable` missed this, causing heavy blocking during concurrent downloads.
 **Action:** Ensure all synchronous third-party API calls in async methods are wrapped with `await asyncio.to_thread(...)`.
+
+## 2024-03-31 - Network Requests early exit via as_completed
+**Learning:** Using `asyncio.gather` for checking API secrets sequentially blocked execution until the slowest request finished (or failed), even if a valid secret was found instantly. Task cancellation combined with `asyncio.as_completed` prevents slow-tail latency and leakage of background tasks.
+**Action:** When validating a list of items where only the first success matters, always use `asyncio.as_completed` and cancel remaining tasks within a `finally` block instead of waiting for all with `asyncio.gather`.
diff --git a/streamrip/client/qobuz.py b/streamrip/client/qobuz.py
index 734e2b82..0ebf32ab 100644
--- a/streamrip/client/qobuz.py
+++ b/streamrip/client/qobuz.py
@@ -409,14 +409,19 @@ async def _test_secret(self, secret: str) -> Optional[str]:
         return None
 
     async def _get_valid_secret(self, secrets: list[str]) -> str:
-        results = await asyncio.gather(
-            *[self._test_secret(secret) for secret in secrets],
-        )
-        working_secrets = [r for r in results if r is not None]
-        if len(working_secrets) == 0:
+        # ⚡ Bolt: Use as_completed to early exit as soon as a working secret is found
+        tasks = [asyncio.create_task(self._test_secret(secret)) for secret in secrets]
+        try:
+            for coro in asyncio.as_completed(tasks):
+                result = await coro
+                if result is not None:
+                    return result
             raise InvalidAppSecretError(secrets)
-
-        return working_secrets[0]
+        finally:
+            # Cancel any remaining tasks to save network requests and prevent slow-tail latency
+            for task in tasks:
+                if not task.done():
+                    task.cancel()
 
     async def _request_file_url(
         self,