diff --git a/classes/search/search-manager.ts b/classes/search/search-manager.ts
index 01884b32..23dd85a1 100644
--- a/classes/search/search-manager.ts
+++ b/classes/search/search-manager.ts
@@ -49,19 +49,20 @@ export class SonicSearchManager {
     /**
      * Connect to Sonic
      */
-    async connect(): Promise<void> {
+    async connect(silent = false): Promise<void> {
         if (!this.config.sonic.enabled) {
-            this.logger.info`Sonic search is disabled`;
+            !silent && this.logger.info`Sonic search is disabled`;
             return;
         }
 
-        this.logger.info`Connecting to Sonic...`;
+        !silent && this.logger.info`Connecting to Sonic...`;
 
         // Connect to Sonic
         await new Promise<boolean>((resolve, reject) => {
             this.searchChannel.connect({
                 connected: () => {
-                    this.logger.info`Connected to Sonic Search Channel`;
+                    !silent &&
+                        this.logger.info`Connected to Sonic Search Channel`;
                     resolve(true);
                 },
                 disconnected: () =>
@@ -84,7 +85,8 @@ export class SonicSearchManager {
         await new Promise<boolean>((resolve, reject) => {
             this.ingestChannel.connect({
                 connected: () => {
-                    this.logger.info`Connected to Sonic Ingest Channel`;
+                    !silent &&
+                        this.logger.info`Connected to Sonic Ingest Channel`;
                     resolve(true);
                 },
                 disconnected: () =>
@@ -108,7 +110,7 @@ export class SonicSearchManager {
                 this.searchChannel.ping(),
                 this.ingestChannel.ping(),
             ]);
-            this.logger.info`Connected to Sonic`;
+            !silent && this.logger.info`Connected to Sonic`;
         } catch (error) {
             this.logger.fatal`Error while connecting to Sonic: ${error}`;
             throw error;
diff --git a/cli/base.ts b/cli/base.ts
index 063aa075..288fefd1 100644
--- a/cli/base.ts
+++ b/cli/base.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { Command } from "@oclif/core";
+import { searchManager } from "~/classes/search/search-manager";
 import { setupDatabase } from "~/drizzle/db";
 
 export abstract class BaseCommand<_T extends typeof Command> extends Command {
@@ -6,5 +7,6 @@ export abstract class BaseCommand<_T extends typeof Command> extends Command {
         await super.init();
 
         await setupDatabase(false);
+        await searchManager.connect(true);
     }
 }
diff --git a/cli/commands/index/rebuild.ts b/cli/commands/index/rebuild.ts
index 00feed3d..dff65fea 100644
--- a/cli/commands/index/rebuild.ts
+++ b/cli/commands/index/rebuild.ts
@@ -33,8 +33,6 @@ export default class IndexRebuild extends BaseCommand<typeof IndexRebuild> {
             this.exit(1);
         }
 
-        await searchManager.connect();
-
         const spinner = ora("Rebuilding search indexes").start();
 
         switch (args.type) {
diff --git a/cli/commands/user/refetch.ts b/cli/commands/user/refetch.ts
index 8ece0f30..8e44f79f 100644
--- a/cli/commands/user/refetch.ts
+++ b/cli/commands/user/refetch.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import confirm from "@inquirer/confirm";
 import { Flags } from "@oclif/core";
 import chalk from "chalk";
+import ora from "ora";
 import { UserFinderCommand } from "~/cli/classes";
 import { formatArray } from "~/cli/utils/format";
 
@@ -78,8 +79,11 @@ export default class UserRefetch extends UserFinderCommand<typeof UserRefetch> {
             }
         }
 
+        const spinner = ora("Refetching users").start();
+
         for (const user of users) {
             try {
+                spinner.text = `Refetching user ${user.data.username}`;
                 await user.updateFromRemote();
             } catch (error) {
                 this.log(
@@ -93,6 +97,8 @@ export default class UserRefetch extends UserFinderCommand<typeof UserRefetch> {
             }
         }
 
+        spinner.succeed("Refetched users");
+
         this.exit(0);
     }
 }
diff --git a/packages/database-interface/user.ts b/packages/database-interface/user.ts
index d4af2767..aa10b036 100644
--- a/packages/database-interface/user.ts
+++ b/packages/database-interface/user.ts
@@ -576,18 +576,19 @@ export class User extends BaseInterface<typeof Users, UserWithRelations> {
 
         // If something important is updated, federate it
         if (
-            newUser.username ||
-            newUser.displayName ||
-            newUser.note ||
-            newUser.avatar ||
-            newUser.header ||
-            newUser.fields ||
-            newUser.publicKey ||
-            newUser.isAdmin ||
-            newUser.isBot ||
-            newUser.isLocked ||
-            newUser.endpoints ||
-            newUser.isDiscoverable
+            this.isLocal() &&
+            (newUser.username ||
+                newUser.displayName ||
+                newUser.note ||
+                newUser.avatar ||
+                newUser.header ||
+                newUser.fields ||
+                newUser.publicKey ||
+                newUser.isAdmin ||
+                newUser.isBot ||
+                newUser.isLocked ||
+                newUser.endpoints ||
+                newUser.isDiscoverable)
         ) {
             await this.federateToFollowers(this.toLysand());
         }