diff --git a/frontend.html b/frontend.html
index 49fc0c8..93f48a5 100644
--- a/frontend.html
+++ b/frontend.html
@@ -105,7 +105,10 @@
                     window.location.href = buildUrl(params.hash, newOrder, params.delay);
                 }
             } else if (e.key.toLowerCase() === 'n') {
-                document.getElementById('toggle-link').click();
+                var link = document.getElementById('toggle-link');
+                if (link && link.getAttribute('href') !== '#') {
+                    link.click();
+                }
             }
         });
     </script>
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index c66eb90..5b4b483 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ app = FastAPI()
 file_mapping: dict[str, str] = {}
 indexers = []
 sorted_hashes: list[str] = []
+navigate_enabled = False
 
 
 class FileIndexer:
@@ -165,7 +166,8 @@ INDEXER_MAP = {".zip": ZipFileIndexer}
 
 def initialize_server(args: argparse.Namespace):
     """Initialize the server with directory or glob indexing"""
-    global file_mapping, indexers, sorted_hashes
+    global file_mapping, indexers, sorted_hashes, navigate_enabled
+    navigate_enabled = args.navigate
 
     src_path = Path(args.source)
 
@@ -373,18 +375,21 @@ def _render_page(
 
     # Build the toggle URL (alternate view mode)
     file_path = navigation_data.get("filename", "")
-    if use_navigate_urls:
-        toggle_url = _build_url(
-            navigation_data["file_hash"],
-            order=current_order,
-            delay=current_delay,
-        )
+    if navigate_enabled:
+        if use_navigate_urls:
+            toggle_url = _build_url(
+                navigation_data["file_hash"],
+                order=current_order,
+                delay=current_delay,
+            )
+        else:
+            toggle_url = _build_navigate_url(
+                file_path,
+                order=current_order,
+                delay=current_delay,
+            )
     else:
-        toggle_url = _build_navigate_url(
-            file_path,
-            order=current_order,
-            delay=current_delay,
-        )
+        toggle_url = "#"
 
     content = template.substitute(
         img_url="/api/{file_hash}/data".format(file_hash=navigation_data["file_hash"]),
@@ -393,7 +398,7 @@ def _render_page(
         prev_url=prev_url,
         filename=navigation_data["filename"],
         file_hash=navigation_data["file_hash"],
-        file_path=file_path,
+        file_path=file_path if navigate_enabled else "",
         toggle_url=toggle_url,
         extra_meta=extra_meta,
         play_button=play_button,
@@ -646,6 +651,9 @@ async def navigate_page(
         order: Navigation order - 'next' for sequential, 'random' for random.
         delay: Delay in seconds before auto-navigating to next file.
     """
+    if not navigate_enabled:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="File not found")
+
     if order is not None and order not in ("next", "random"):
         raise HTTPException(
             status_code=400, detail="Invalid order. Must be 'next' or 'random'"
@@ -723,6 +731,11 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
     parser.add_argument(
         "--salt", type=str, default=None, help="Salt for hashing file paths"
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--navigate",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Enable path-based navigation (/navigate/{path})",
+    )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     initialize_server(args)
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 5d2d8b9..1335adb 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ def _reset_state() -> None:
     main.file_mapping.clear()
     main.indexers.clear()
     main.sorted_hashes.clear()
+    main.navigate_enabled = False
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
@@ -84,6 +85,7 @@ def args_directory(sample_files: dict[str, Path], tmp_path: Path) -> argparse.Na
         host="127.0.0.1",
         port=0,
         salt="test-salt",
+        navigate=False,
     )
 
 
@@ -95,6 +97,21 @@ def args_zip(sample_zip: dict[str, Path], tmp_path: Path) -> argparse.Namespace:
         host="127.0.0.1",
         port=0,
         salt="test-salt",
+        navigate=False,
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def args_zip_navigate(
+    sample_zip: dict[str, Path], tmp_path: Path
+) -> argparse.Namespace:
+    """Argparse namespace pointing at the sample zip with navigate enabled."""
+    return argparse.Namespace(
+        source=str(tmp_path / "test_archive.zip"),
+        host="127.0.0.1",
+        port=0,
+        salt="test-salt",
+        navigate=True,
     )
 
 
@@ -126,6 +143,22 @@ async def client_zip(initialized_zip: None) -> Generator[AsyncClient]:
         yield ac
 
 
+@pytest.fixture
+def initialized_zip_navigate(args_zip_navigate: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
+    """Initialize the server with sample zip files and navigate enabled."""
+    main.initialize_server(args_zip_navigate)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+async def client_zip_navigate(
+    initialized_zip_navigate: None,
+) -> Generator[AsyncClient]:
+    """Async HTTP client against the app initialized with zip + navigate."""
+    transport = ASGITransport(app=main.app)
+    async with AsyncClient(transport=transport, base_url="http://test") as ac:
+        yield ac
+
+
 @pytest.fixture
 def sample_encrypted_zip(tmp_path: Path) -> tuple[Path, dict[str, str], str]:
     """Copy the pre-existing testfile.zip to a temp location.
@@ -156,6 +189,7 @@ def args_encrypted_zip(
         host="127.0.0.1",
         port=0,
         salt="test-salt",
+        navigate=False,
     )
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_endpoints.py b/tests/test_endpoints.py
index 7cc7018..056a4e3 100644
--- a/tests/test_endpoints.py
+++ b/tests/test_endpoints.py
@@ -161,13 +161,13 @@ class TestHashPage:
         assert response.status_code == 404
 
     async def test_toggle_url_points_to_navigate_mode(
-        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
         """Hash page toggle URL points to navigate-based URL."""
         import re
 
         file_hash = list(main.file_mapping.keys())[0]
-        response = await client_zip.get(f"/{file_hash}")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get(f"/{file_hash}")
         match = re.search(r'id="toggle-link" href="(/[^"]*?)"', response.text)
         assert match is not None
         toggle_href = match.group(1)
diff --git a/tests/test_navigate.py b/tests/test_navigate.py
index a01e63a..d72b04e 100644
--- a/tests/test_navigate.py
+++ b/tests/test_navigate.py
@@ -8,56 +8,62 @@ import main
 class TestNavigatePage:
     """Tests for GET /navigate/{path}."""
 
-    async def test_returns_html_page(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_returns_html_page(self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient) -> None:
         """Returns an HTML page for a valid internal ZIP path."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/top.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/top.txt")
         assert response.status_code == 200
         assert "text/html" in response.headers["content-type"]
 
-    async def test_page_contains_image_url(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_page_contains_image_url(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
         """HTML page contains the image URL using hash-based /api endpoint."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/top.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/top.txt")
         # The image URL should use the hash-based /api endpoint
         assert "/api/" in response.text
         assert "/data" in response.text
 
     async def test_page_contains_navigate_nav_links(
-        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
         """HTML page contains /navigate/ URLs for prev and next navigation."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/top.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/top.txt")
         assert "/navigate/" in response.text
 
     async def test_page_contains_prev_next_buttons(
-        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
         """HTML page contains prev and next navigation buttons."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/top.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/top.txt")
         assert 'class="chevron left"' in response.text
         assert 'class="chevron right"' in response.text
 
-    async def test_page_contains_play_button(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_page_contains_play_button(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
         """HTML page contains play button with /navigate query param URL."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/top.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/top.txt")
         assert "/navigate/" in response.text
         assert "?order=next&delay=5" in response.text
 
-    async def test_subdirectory_path(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_subdirectory_path(self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient) -> None:
         """Paths with subdirectories work correctly."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/folder/deep.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/folder/deep.txt")
         assert response.status_code == 200
         assert "text/html" in response.headers["content-type"]
 
-    async def test_returns_404_for_invalid_path(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_returns_404_for_invalid_path(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
         """Returns 404 for a path that doesn't exist in the zip."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/nonexistent.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/nonexistent.txt")
         assert response.status_code == 404
 
     async def test_returns_404_for_directory_path(
-        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
         """Returns 404 for a directory path (not a file)."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/folder/")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/folder/")
         assert response.status_code == 404
 
     async def test_returns_404_on_directory_indexer(
@@ -67,35 +73,46 @@ class TestNavigatePage:
         response = await client_dir.get("/navigate/some/path.txt")
         assert response.status_code == 404
 
-    async def test_page_has_data_hash_attribute(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
-        """HTML page has data-hash attribute on image for toggle support."""
+    async def test_returns_404_when_navigate_disabled(
+        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
+        """Returns 404 when navigate flag is not enabled."""
         response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/top.txt")
+        assert response.status_code == 404
+
+    async def test_page_has_data_hash_attribute(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
+        """HTML page has data-hash attribute on image for toggle support."""
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/top.txt")
         assert "data-hash=" in response.text
 
-    async def test_page_has_data_path_attribute(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_page_has_data_path_attribute(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
         """HTML page has data-path attribute on image for toggle support."""
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/top.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/top.txt")
         assert 'data-path="top.txt"' in response.text
 
     async def test_toggle_url_points_to_hash_mode(
-        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
         """Navigate page toggle URL points to hash-based URL."""
         import re
 
-        response = await client_zip.get("/navigate/top.txt")
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get("/navigate/top.txt")
         match = re.search(r'id="toggle-link" href="(/[^/][^"]*?)"', response.text)
         assert match is not None
         toggle_href = match.group(1)
         assert not toggle_href.startswith("/navigate/")
 
     async def test_toggle_url_preserves_query_params(
-        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
         """Navigate page toggle URL preserves order/delay query params."""
         import re
 
-        response = await client_zip.get(
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get(
             "/navigate/top.txt", params={"order": "next", "delay": 5}
         )
         match = re.search(r'id="toggle-link" href="(/[^"]*?)"', response.text)
@@ -108,41 +125,49 @@ class TestNavigatePage:
 class TestNavigatePageWithRefresh:
     """Tests for GET /navigate/{path}?order=...&delay=... (auto-refresh mode)."""
 
-    async def test_next_order_returns_html(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_next_order_returns_html(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
         """Next order returns HTML with refresh meta tag."""
-        response = await client_zip.get(
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get(
             "/navigate/top.txt", params={"order": "next", "delay": 5}
         )
         assert response.status_code == 200
         assert 'http-equiv="refresh"' in response.text
 
-    async def test_random_order_returns_html(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_random_order_returns_html(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
         """Random order returns HTML with refresh meta tag."""
-        response = await client_zip.get(
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get(
             "/navigate/top.txt", params={"order": "random", "delay": 3}
         )
         assert response.status_code == 200
         assert 'http-equiv="refresh"' in response.text
 
-    async def test_invalid_order_returns_400(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_invalid_order_returns_400(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
         """Invalid order parameter returns 400."""
-        response = await client_zip.get(
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get(
             "/navigate/top.txt", params={"order": "shuffle", "delay": 5}
         )
         assert response.status_code == 400
 
-    async def test_returns_404_for_invalid_path(self, client_zip: AsyncClient) -> None:
+    async def test_returns_404_for_invalid_path(
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
         """Returns 404 for a path that doesn't exist."""
-        response = await client_zip.get(
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get(
             "/navigate/nonexistent.txt", params={"order": "next", "delay": 5}
         )
         assert response.status_code == 404
 
     async def test_refresh_url_uses_navigate_path(
-        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
         """Refresh meta tag uses /navigate/ URLs with paths."""
-        response = await client_zip.get(
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get(
             "/navigate/top.txt", params={"order": "next", "delay": 5}
         )
         assert "/navigate/" in response.text
@@ -150,10 +175,10 @@ class TestNavigatePageWithRefresh:
         assert "delay=5" in response.text
 
     async def test_pause_button_uses_navigate_url(
-        self, client_zip: AsyncClient
+        self, client_zip_navigate: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
         """Pause button links to /navigate/{path} without query params."""
-        response = await client_zip.get(
+        response = await client_zip_navigate.get(
             "/navigate/top.txt", params={"order": "next", "delay": 5}
         )
         assert '/navigate/top.txt" class="play-btn"' in response.text
diff --git a/tests/test_navigation.py b/tests/test_navigation.py
index c2e6ece..af98f11 100644
--- a/tests/test_navigation.py
+++ b/tests/test_navigation.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ def seeded_indexers(sample_files: dict[str, Path], tmp_path: Path) -> None:
         host="127.0.0.1",
         port=0,
         salt="nav-test-salt",
+        navigate=False,
     )
     main.initialize_server(args)