diff --git a/python/fi/prompt/cache.py b/python/fi/prompt/cache.py
index 295c4b0..58da235 100644
--- a/python/fi/prompt/cache.py
+++ b/python/fi/prompt/cache.py
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-import atexit
 import logging
 import threading
 import time
-from queue import Empty, Queue
-from typing import Callable, Dict, Optional, Tuple
+from typing import Dict, Optional
 
 # We deliberately import via string to avoid circular import at runtime
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
@@ -19,7 +17,6 @@
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 DEFAULT_TTL_SEC = 60 * 5  # 5 minutes
-DEFAULT_REFRESH_WORKERS = 2
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("fi.prompt.cache")
 
@@ -42,71 +39,6 @@ def is_stale(self) -> bool:
         return time.time() >= self.expiry
 
 
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Background refresh infra (Queue + workers)
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-class _RefreshWorker(threading.Thread):
-    """Continuously processes refresh callables from the shared queue."""
-
-    def __init__(self, q: "Queue[Callable[[], None]]", identifier: int):
-        super().__init__(daemon=True, name=f"PromptCacheWorker-{identifier}")
-        self._queue = q
-        self._running = True
-
-    def run(self) -> None:  # noqa: D401 – imperative mood fine
-        while self._running:
-            try:
-                task = self._queue.get(timeout=1)
-            except Empty:
-                continue  # check _running flag again
-
-            try:
-                task()
-            except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover – log + continue
-                logger.warning("Prompt cache refresh task failed: %s", exc, exc_info=True)
-            finally:
-                self._queue.task_done()
-
-    def stop(self) -> None:
-        self._running = False
-
-
-class _TaskManager:
-    """Manages background refresh workers and graceful shutdown."""
-
-    def __init__(self, num_workers: int):
-        self._queue: "Queue[Callable[[], None]]" = Queue()
-        self._workers = [_RefreshWorker(self._queue, i) for i in range(num_workers)]
-        for w in self._workers:
-            w.start()
-
-        atexit.register(self._shutdown)
-
-    # Public API -----------------------------------------------------------
-
-    def submit(self, task: Callable[[], None]):
-        self._queue.put(task)
-
-    # Private --------------------------------------------------------------
-
-    def _shutdown(self):
-        logger.debug("Shutting down PromptCache workers …")
-        for w in self._workers:
-            w.stop()
-        # Drain queue quickly
-        while not self._queue.empty():
-            try:
-                self._queue.get_nowait()
-                self._queue.task_done()
-            except Empty:
-                break
-        for w in self._workers:
-            w.join(timeout=1)
-        logger.debug("PromptCache workers shut down.")
-
-
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Public cache API
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -115,12 +47,10 @@ def _shutdown(self):
 class PromptCache:
     """Thread-safe, stale-while-revalidate cache for `PromptTemplate` objects."""
 
-    def __init__(self, ttl_sec: int = DEFAULT_TTL_SEC, max_workers: int = DEFAULT_REFRESH_WORKERS):
+    def __init__(self, ttl_sec: int = DEFAULT_TTL_SEC):
         self._ttl_sec = ttl_sec
         self._store: Dict[str, _CacheItem] = {}
         self._lock = threading.Lock()  # protects _store mutations
-        self._refreshing_keys: set[str] = set()
-        self._tm = _TaskManager(max_workers)
 
     # ------------------------------- helpers ----------------------------
 
@@ -161,26 +91,7 @@ def invalidate(self, key_prefix: str):
             for k in to_delete:
                 del self._store[k]
 
-    # -------------------------- refresh management ---------------------
-
-    def refresh_async(self, key: str, fetch_fn: Callable[[], "PromptTemplate"]):
-        """Schedule a refresh if one is not already in-flight."""
-        with self._lock:
-            if key in self._refreshing_keys:
-                return
-            self._refreshing_keys.add(key)
-
-        def _task():
-            try:
-                tpl = fetch_fn()
-                self.set(key, tpl)
-            finally:
-                with self._lock:
-                    self._refreshing_keys.discard(key)
-
-        self._tm.submit(_task)
-
 
 # Global singleton --------------------------------------------------------
 
-prompt_cache = PromptCache() 
\ No newline at end of file
+prompt_cache = PromptCache()
diff --git a/python/tests/test_prompt_cache.py b/python/tests/test_prompt_cache.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..efbb322
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/tests/test_prompt_cache.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+"""Tests for fi.prompt.cache."""
+
+import subprocess
+import sys
+
+
+def test_importing_fi_prompt_spawns_no_threads():
+    code = "import threading, fi.prompt; print([t.name for t in threading.enumerate()])"
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        [sys.executable, "-c", code],
+        capture_output=True, text=True, check=True,
+    )
+    assert "PromptCacheWorker" not in result.stdout