diff --git a/tests/test_traitlets.py b/tests/test_traitlets.py
index 2e7b8459..5daab4bb 100644
--- a/tests/test_traitlets.py
+++ b/tests/test_traitlets.py
@@ -937,6 +937,42 @@ class A(HasTraits):
         traits = a.traits(config_key=lambda v: True)
         self.assertEqual(traits, dict(i=A.i, f=A.f, j=A.j))
 
+    def test_traits_metadata_filter_caching(self):
+        # metadata-filtered class_traits()/traits() results are memoized per
+        # class; make sure the cache preserves the "fresh dict" contract and is
+        # invalidated when metadata is mutated after class creation.
+        class A(HasTraits):
+            i = Int().tag(config=True)
+            j = Int()
+
+        # returned dict is a fresh copy the caller may mutate freely
+        first = A.class_traits(config=True)
+        self.assertEqual(first, dict(i=A.i))
+        first["injected"] = "oops"
+        self.assertEqual(A.class_traits(config=True), dict(i=A.i))
+
+        # tagging a trait after the result was cached must be reflected
+        A.j.tag(config=True)
+        self.assertEqual(A.class_traits(config=True), dict(i=A.i, j=A.j))
+        self.assertEqual(A().traits(config=True), dict(i=A.i, j=A.j))
+
+        # a subclass has its own cache and does not pollute the parent's
+        class B(A):
+            k = Int().tag(config=True)
+
+        self.assertEqual(B.class_traits(config=True), dict(i=A.i, j=A.j, k=B.k))
+        self.assertEqual(A.class_traits(config=True), dict(i=A.i, j=A.j))
+
+        # filters with non-hashable or callable values bypass the cache without
+        # error and still filter correctly
+        self.assertEqual(A.class_traits(config=[1, 2]), {})  # unhashable -> uncached
+        self.assertEqual(A.class_traits(config=lambda v: v is True), dict(i=A.i, j=A.j))
+
+        # set_metadata() (deprecated) also invalidates the cache
+        with expected_warnings([r"Deprecated in traitlets 4.1"]):
+            A.j.set_metadata("config", False)
+        self.assertEqual(A.class_traits(config=True), dict(i=A.i))
+
     def test_traits_metadata_deprecated(self):
         with expected_warnings([r"metadata should be set using the \.tag\(\) method"] * 2):
 
diff --git a/traitlets/config/argcomplete_config.py b/traitlets/config/argcomplete_config.py
index 1a411cec..7444a765 100644
--- a/traitlets/config/argcomplete_config.py
+++ b/traitlets/config/argcomplete_config.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def get_argcomplete_cwords() -> list[str] | None:
             _cword_suffix,
             comp_words,
             _last_wordbreak_pos,
-        ) = argcomplete.split_line(comp_line, comp_point)  # type:ignore[attr-defined,no-untyped-call]
+        ) = argcomplete.split_line(comp_line, comp_point)  # type:ignore[attr-defined]
     except ModuleNotFoundError:
         return None
 
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ def increment_argcomplete_index() -> None:
         os.environ["_ARGCOMPLETE"] = str(int(os.environ["_ARGCOMPLETE"]) + 1)
     except Exception:
         try:
-            argcomplete.debug("Unable to increment $_ARGCOMPLETE", os.environ["_ARGCOMPLETE"])  # type:ignore[attr-defined,no-untyped-call]
+            argcomplete.debug("Unable to increment $_ARGCOMPLETE", os.environ["_ARGCOMPLETE"])  # type:ignore[attr-defined]
         except (KeyError, ModuleNotFoundError):
             pass
 
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ def _get_completions(self, comp_words: list[str], cword_prefix: str, *args: t.An
         # Instead, check if comp_words only consists of the script,
         # if so check if any subcommands start with cword_prefix.
         if self.subcommands and len(comp_words) == 1:
-            argcomplete.debug("Adding subcommands for", cword_prefix)  # type:ignore[attr-defined,no-untyped-call]
+            argcomplete.debug("Adding subcommands for", cword_prefix)  # type:ignore[attr-defined]
             completions.extend(subc for subc in self.subcommands if subc.startswith(cword_prefix))
 
         return completions
diff --git a/traitlets/config/loader.py b/traitlets/config/loader.py
index 876f1186..379cd479 100644
--- a/traitlets/config/loader.py
+++ b/traitlets/config/loader.py
@@ -1133,7 +1133,7 @@ def _argcomplete(self, classes: list[t.Any], subcommands: SubcommandsDict | None
 
         from . import argcomplete_config
 
-        finder = argcomplete_config.ExtendedCompletionFinder()  # type:ignore[no-untyped-call]
+        finder = argcomplete_config.ExtendedCompletionFinder()
         finder.config_classes = classes
         finder.subcommands = list(subcommands or [])
         # for ease of testing, pass through self._argcomplete_kwargs if set
diff --git a/traitlets/traitlets.py b/traitlets/traitlets.py
index 0989ea98..0fc3ae8a 100644
--- a/traitlets/traitlets.py
+++ b/traitlets/traitlets.py
@@ -59,6 +59,12 @@
 
 SequenceTypes = (list, tuple, set, frozenset)
 
+# Bumped whenever trait metadata is mutated after class creation (via
+# TraitType.tag()/set_metadata()). Used to invalidate the per-class cache of
+# metadata-filtered traits kept by HasTraits._traits_matching_metadata. Kept in
+# a one-element list so it can be mutated without a module-level `global`.
+_trait_metadata_generation = [0]
+
 if t.TYPE_CHECKING:
     import pathlib
 
@@ -871,6 +877,7 @@ def set_metadata(self, key: str, value: t.Any) -> None:
         else:
             msg = "use the instance .metadata dictionary directly, like x.metadata[key] = value"
         warn("Deprecated in traitlets 4.1, " + msg, DeprecationWarning, stacklevel=2)
+        _trait_metadata_generation[0] += 1
         self.metadata[key] = value
 
     def tag(self, **metadata: t.Any) -> Self:
@@ -894,6 +901,7 @@ def tag(self, **metadata: t.Any) -> Self:
                 stacklevel=2,
             )
 
+        _trait_metadata_generation[0] += 1
         self.metadata.update(metadata)
         return self
 
@@ -994,12 +1002,18 @@ def __init__(
         super().__init__(name, bases, classdict, **kwds)
         cls.setup_class(classdict)
 
-    def setup_class(cls: MetaHasDescriptors, classdict: dict[str, t.Any]) -> None:
+    def setup_class(
+        cls: MetaHasDescriptors, classdict: dict[str, t.Any]
+    ) -> list[tuple[str, t.Any]]:
         """Setup descriptor instance on the class
 
         This sets the :attr:`this_class` and :attr:`name` attributes of each
         BaseDescriptor in the class dict of the newly created ``cls`` before
         calling their :attr:`class_init` method.
+
+        Returns the ``getmembers(cls)`` result so that subclass metaclasses
+        (e.g. :class:`MetaHasTraits`) can reuse it instead of walking the
+        class namespace a second time.
         """
         cls._descriptors = []
         cls._instance_inits: list[t.Any] = []
@@ -1007,35 +1021,34 @@ def setup_class(cls: MetaHasDescriptors, classdict: dict[str, t.Any]) -> None:
             if isinstance(v, BaseDescriptor):
                 v.class_init(cls, k)  # type:ignore[arg-type]
 
-        for _, v in getmembers(cls):
+        members = getmembers(cls)
+        for _, v in members:
             if isinstance(v, BaseDescriptor):
                 v.subclass_init(cls)  # type:ignore[arg-type]
                 cls._descriptors.append(v)
+        return members
 
 
 class MetaHasTraits(MetaHasDescriptors):
     """A metaclass for HasTraits."""
 
-    def setup_class(cls: MetaHasTraits, classdict: dict[str, t.Any]) -> None:
+    def setup_class(cls: MetaHasTraits, classdict: dict[str, t.Any]) -> list[tuple[str, t.Any]]:
         # for only the current class
         cls._trait_default_generators: dict[str, t.Any] = {}
         # also looking at base classes
         cls._all_trait_default_generators = {}
         cls._traits = {}
+        # per-class cache for metadata-filtered class_traits()/traits() results
+        cls._traits_metadata_cache: dict[t.Any, tuple[int, dict[str, t.Any]]] = {}
         cls._static_immutable_initial_values = {}
 
-        super().setup_class(classdict)
+        # Reuse the members collected by the parent metaclass rather than
+        # walking the whole class namespace (dir(cls) + getattr) a second time.
+        members = super().setup_class(classdict)
 
         mro = cls.mro()
 
-        for name in dir(cls):
-            # Some descriptors raise AttributeError like zope.interface's
-            # __provides__ attributes even though they exist.  This causes
-            # AttributeErrors even though they are listed in dir(cls).
-            try:
-                value = getattr(cls, name)
-            except AttributeError:
-                continue
+        for name, value in members:
             if isinstance(value, TraitType):
                 cls._traits[name] = value
                 trait = value
@@ -1101,6 +1114,8 @@ def setup_class(cls: MetaHasTraits, classdict: dict[str, t.Any]) -> None:
                     # and then the instance may not have all the _static_immutable_initial_values
                     cls._all_trait_default_generators[name] = trait.default
 
+        return members
+
 
 def observe(*names: Sentinel | str, type: str = "change") -> ObserveHandler:
     """A decorator which can be used to observe Traits on a class.
@@ -1334,6 +1349,7 @@ class HasTraits(HasDescriptors, metaclass=MetaHasTraits):
     _trait_validators: dict[str | Sentinel, t.Any]
     _cross_validation_lock: bool
     _traits: dict[str, t.Any]
+    _traits_metadata_cache: dict[t.Any, tuple[int, dict[str, TraitType[t.Any, t.Any]]]]
     _all_trait_default_generators: dict[str, t.Any]
 
     def setup_instance(self, /, *args: t.Any, **kwargs: t.Any) -> None:
@@ -1378,9 +1394,19 @@ def ignore(change: Bunch) -> None:
             # notify and cross validate all trait changes that were set in kwargs
             changed = set(kwargs) & set(self._traits)
             for key in changed:
-                value = self._traits[key]._cross_validate(self, getattr(self, key))
-                self.set_trait(key, value)
-                changes[key]["new"] = value
+                # The fast loop above already ran validate() and stored each
+                # kwarg. The second pass is only needed for traits with a
+                # cross-validator: _cross_validate may change the value, which
+                # set_trait then persists and notifies. Without one,
+                # _cross_validate is a passthrough and set_trait would just run
+                # validate() a second time on the unchanged value for nothing,
+                # so record the already-stored value and skip that work.
+                if key in self._trait_validators or hasattr(self, f"_{key}_validate"):
+                    value = self._traits[key]._cross_validate(self, getattr(self, key))
+                    self.set_trait(key, value)
+                    changes[key]["new"] = value
+                else:
+                    changes[key]["new"] = getattr(self, key)
             self._cross_validation_lock = False
             # Restore method retrieval from class
             del self.notify_change
@@ -1797,21 +1823,64 @@ def class_traits(cls: type[HasTraits], **metadata: t.Any) -> dict[str, TraitType
         the output.  If a metadata key doesn't exist, None will be passed
         to the function.
         """
-        traits = cls._traits.copy()
-
         if len(metadata) == 0:
-            return traits
+            return cls._traits.copy()
+
+        # Return a copy so callers can freely mutate the result; the underlying
+        # (cached) dict must not escape by reference.
+        return cls._traits_matching_metadata(metadata).copy()
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _traits_matching_metadata(
+        cls: type[HasTraits], metadata: dict[str, t.Any]
+    ) -> dict[str, TraitType[t.Any, t.Any]]:
+        """Return the subset of ``cls._traits`` matching a metadata filter.
 
-        result = {}
-        for name, trait in traits.items():
-            for meta_name, meta_eval in metadata.items():
-                if not callable(meta_eval):
-                    meta_eval = _SimpleTest(meta_eval)
+        The result is shared, not copied — callers (``class_traits``/``traits``)
+        are responsible for copying before returning it to user code.
+
+        For filters whose values are all non-callable and hashable (the hot
+        path, e.g. ``config=True``), the result is memoized per class. Because
+        ``cls._traits`` is frozen after class creation, the only way the answer
+        can change is a post-hoc metadata mutation via ``tag()``/``set_metadata()``,
+        which bump ``_trait_metadata_generation``; cache entries older than the
+        current generation are recomputed.
+        """
+        # Build a cache key only for constant (non-callable) filters; callable
+        # predicates are the cold path and are never cached.
+        key: t.Any = None
+        if not any(callable(v) for v in metadata.values()):
+            try:
+                key = tuple(sorted(metadata.items()))
+                hash(key)  # ensure the values are hashable before use as a key
+            except TypeError:
+                key = None
+
+        generation = _trait_metadata_generation[0]
+        cache: dict[t.Any, tuple[int, dict[str, TraitType[t.Any, t.Any]]]] | None = (
+            cls.__dict__.get("_traits_metadata_cache")
+        )
+        if key is not None and cache is not None:
+            entry = cache.get(key)
+            if entry is not None and entry[0] == generation:
+                return entry[1]
+
+        # Normalize the metadata filters once, rather than rebuilding a
+        # _SimpleTest for every trait on every call.
+        checks = [
+            (meta_name, meta_eval if callable(meta_eval) else _SimpleTest(meta_eval))
+            for meta_name, meta_eval in metadata.items()
+        ]
+        result: dict[str, TraitType[t.Any, t.Any]] = {}
+        for name, trait in cls._traits.items():
+            for meta_name, meta_eval in checks:
                 if not meta_eval(trait.metadata.get(meta_name, None)):
                     break
             else:
                 result[name] = trait
 
+        if key is not None and cache is not None:
+            cache[key] = (generation, result)
         return result
 
     @classmethod
@@ -1930,22 +1999,12 @@ def traits(self, **metadata: t.Any) -> dict[str, TraitType[t.Any, t.Any]]:
         the output.  If a metadata key doesn't exist, None will be passed
         to the function.
         """
-        traits = self._traits.copy()
-
         if len(metadata) == 0:
-            return traits
+            return self._traits.copy()
 
-        result = {}
-        for name, trait in traits.items():
-            for meta_name, meta_eval in metadata.items():
-                if not callable(meta_eval):
-                    meta_eval = _SimpleTest(meta_eval)
-                if not meta_eval(trait.metadata.get(meta_name, None)):
-                    break
-            else:
-                result[name] = trait
-
-        return result
+        # Delegates to the (cached) class-level implementation; self._traits is
+        # always type(self)._traits. Return a copy so callers can mutate freely.
+        return type(self)._traits_matching_metadata(metadata).copy()
 
     def trait_metadata(self, traitname: str, key: str, default: t.Any = None) -> t.Any:
         """Get metadata values for trait by key."""