diff --git a/src/cmdforge/registry/app.py b/src/cmdforge/registry/app.py
index 637ad1e..ab2ff5e 100644
--- a/src/cmdforge/registry/app.py
+++ b/src/cmdforge/registry/app.py
@@ -850,17 +850,26 @@ def create_app() -> Flask:
             categories_yaml = get_repo_dir() / "categories" / "categories.yaml"
             if categories_yaml.exists():
                 categories_payload = yaml.safe_load(categories_yaml.read_text(encoding="utf-8")) or {}
-        categories = (categories_payload or {}).get("categories", [])
+        predefined_categories = (categories_payload or {}).get("categories", [])
+
+        # Get counts for all categories in the database
         counts = query_all(
             g.db,
             "SELECT category, COUNT(DISTINCT owner || '/' || name) AS total FROM tools GROUP BY category",
         )
         count_map = {row["category"]: row["total"] for row in counts}
+
+        # Calculate total tools across all categories
+        total_tools = sum(row["total"] for row in counts)
+
+        # Build data from predefined categories
+        predefined_names = set()
         data = []
-        for cat in categories:
+        for cat in predefined_categories:
             name = cat.get("name")
             if not name:
                 continue
+            predefined_names.add(name)
             data.append({
                 "name": name,
                 "description": cat.get("description"),
@@ -868,6 +877,18 @@ def create_app() -> Flask:
                 "tool_count": count_map.get(name, 0),
             })
 
+        # Add any categories from database that aren't in predefined list
+        for category_name, count in count_map.items():
+            if category_name and category_name not in predefined_names:
+                # Auto-generate display info for dynamic categories
+                display_name = category_name.replace("-", " ").title()
+                data.append({
+                    "name": category_name,
+                    "description": f"Tools in the {display_name} category",
+                    "icon": None,
+                    "tool_count": count,
+                })
+
         reverse = order == "desc"
         if sort == "tool_count":
             data.sort(key=lambda item: item["tool_count"], reverse=reverse)
@@ -879,7 +900,10 @@ def create_app() -> Flask:
         end = start + per_page
         sliced = data[start:end]
 
-        response = jsonify({"data": sliced, "meta": paginate(page, per_page, total)})
+        meta = paginate(page, per_page, total)
+        meta["total_tools"] = total_tools  # Add total tools count to meta
+
+        response = jsonify({"data": sliced, "meta": meta})
         response.headers["Cache-Control"] = "max-age=3600"
         return response
 
diff --git a/src/cmdforge/web/routes.py b/src/cmdforge/web/routes.py
index 0c4f7d4..66245ec 100644
--- a/src/cmdforge/web/routes.py
+++ b/src/cmdforge/web/routes.py
@@ -65,10 +65,11 @@ def _render_readme(readme: Optional[str]) -> str:
     return Markup("<pre class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap\">") + escaped + Markup("</pre>")
 
 
-def _load_categories() -> List[SimpleNamespace]:
+def _load_categories() -> Tuple[List[SimpleNamespace], int]:
+    """Load categories with their tool counts. Returns (categories, total_tools)."""
     status, payload = _api_get("/api/v1/categories", params={"per_page": 100})
     if status != 200:
-        return []
+        return [], 0
     categories = []
     for item in payload.get("data", []):
         name = item.get("name")
@@ -81,7 +82,9 @@ def _load_categories() -> List[SimpleNamespace]:
             description=item.get("description"),
             icon=item.get("icon"),
         ))
-    return categories
+    # Get total tools from meta (includes all categories, even dynamic ones)
+    total_tools = payload.get("meta", {}).get("total_tools", sum(c.count for c in categories))
+    return categories, total_tools
 
 
 def _load_publisher(slug: str) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
@@ -233,9 +236,7 @@ def _render_tools(category_override: Optional[str] = None):
         return render_template("errors/500.html"), 500
 
     meta = payload.get("meta", {})
-    categories = _load_categories()
-    # Sum all category counts for the "All Tools" total
-    all_tools_total = sum(c.count for c in categories)
+    categories, all_tools_total = _load_categories()
     return render_template(
         "pages/tools.html",
         tools=payload.get("data", []),
@@ -320,13 +321,14 @@ def search():
             active_min_downloads=min_downloads,
         )
 
-    categories = sorted(_load_categories(), key=lambda c: c.count, reverse=True)[:8]
+    categories, _ = _load_categories()
+    popular_categories = sorted(categories, key=lambda c: c.count, reverse=True)[:8]
     return render_template(
         "pages/search.html",
         query="",
         results=[],
         pagination=None,
-        popular_categories=categories,
+        popular_categories=popular_categories,
         facets={},
         active_categories=[],
         active_tags=[],