diff --git a/init.lua b/init.lua
index a229294..2668acf 100644
--- a/init.lua
+++ b/init.lua
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ local depf  = require("lib-management.dep-fetcher")
 -- resolves declared lib-deps, so multi-file modules use dofile +
 -- engine.module.dir_of.
 local MODULE_DIR = engine.module.dir_of("lib-management.launcher")
-local fsm   = dofile(MODULE_DIR .. "/fsm.lua")
+local fsm           = dofile(MODULE_DIR .. "/fsm.lua")
+local manifest_loader = dofile(MODULE_DIR .. "/manifest_loader.lua")
 
 local function require_panel(name)
     return dofile(MODULE_DIR .. "/panels/" .. name .. ".lua")
@@ -199,6 +200,15 @@ function init(ctx)
         }
     end
 
+    -- L.3: load + cache manifest.launcher.md for each module. Missing
+    -- files degrade gracefully (meta._missing=true) so the list-panel
+    -- falls back to name/id.
+    for _, entry in ipairs(ctx_panels.module_entries) do
+        local meta, blocks = manifest_loader.load_for(entry.id)
+        ctx_panels.manifest_cache[entry.id] = { meta = meta, blocks = blocks }
+        entry.summary = meta.summary
+    end
+
     local wy, hy = engine.render.measure_text(YES_LABEL, FONT_BUTTON)
     local wn, hn = engine.render.measure_text(NO_LABEL,  FONT_BUTTON)
     local qbtn_w = math.max(wy, wn) + 2 * PAD_X
diff --git a/manifest_loader.lua b/manifest_loader.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f552796
--- /dev/null
+++ b/manifest_loader.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+local M = {}
+
+local fm
+
+local function ensure_deps()
+    if not fm then
+        fm = dofile(engine.module.dir_of("lib-management.launcher") .. "/frontmatter.lua")
+    end
+end
+
+-- Returns:
+--   meta = { summary, description_md, author, tags, teaser_images,
+--            carousel_interval_seconds, ... }
+--   body_blocks = output of markdown.parse(body) — pre-parsed for cache reuse
+-- On any failure (file missing, parse error): meta = {}, body_blocks = {}.
+function M.load_for(module_id)
+    ensure_deps()
+    local content, err = engine.module.read_file(module_id, "manifest.launcher.md")
+    if not content then
+        return { _missing = true, _err = err }, {}
+    end
+    local meta, body, perr = fm.parse(content)
+    if not meta then
+        return { _missing = false, _err = perr }, {}
+    end
+    local md = dofile(engine.module.dir_of("lib-management.launcher") .. "/markdown.lua")
+    local blocks = md.parse(body)
+    return meta, blocks
+end
+
+return M