diff --git a/server/shell.ts b/server/shell.ts
index efc741b..4b7c7bc 100644
--- a/server/shell.ts
+++ b/server/shell.ts
@@ -333,12 +333,18 @@ export function renderShell(opts: ShellOptions): string {
       } catch(e) { tabCache = null; }
 
       // ── Tab events ──
+      // Set active on tab bar ONLY after switchTo() confirms the pane is ready.
+      // This prevents the visual desync where the tab highlights before content loads.
       tabBar.addEventListener('layer-switch', (e) => {
-        const { moduleId } = e.detail;
+        const { layerId, moduleId } = e.detail;
         saveTabs();
         if (tabCache) {
           tabCache.switchTo(moduleId).then(ok => {
-            if (!ok) window.location.href = window.__rspaceNavUrl(spaceSlug, moduleId);
+            if (ok) {
+              tabBar.setAttribute('active', layerId);
+            } else {
+              window.location.href = window.__rspaceNavUrl(spaceSlug, moduleId);
+            }
           });
         } else {
           window.location.href = window.__rspaceNavUrl(spaceSlug, moduleId);
@@ -353,7 +359,11 @@ export function renderShell(opts: ShellOptions): string {
         saveTabs();
         if (tabCache) {
           tabCache.switchTo(moduleId).then(ok => {
-            if (!ok) window.location.href = window.__rspaceNavUrl(spaceSlug, moduleId);
+            if (ok) {
+              tabBar.setAttribute('active', 'layer-' + moduleId);
+            } else {
+              window.location.href = window.__rspaceNavUrl(spaceSlug, moduleId);
+            }
           });
         } else {
           window.location.href = window.__rspaceNavUrl(spaceSlug, moduleId);
diff --git a/shared/components/rstack-tab-bar.ts b/shared/components/rstack-tab-bar.ts
index 81a1933..43b7ff8 100644
--- a/shared/components/rstack-tab-bar.ts
+++ b/shared/components/rstack-tab-bar.ts
@@ -794,14 +794,14 @@ export class RStackTabBar extends HTMLElement {
 		// Clean up previous document-level listeners to prevent leak
 		if (this.#docCleanup) { this.#docCleanup(); this.#docCleanup = null; }
 
-		// Tab clicks
+		// Tab clicks — dispatch event but do NOT set active yet.
+		// The shell's event handler calls switchTo() and sets active only after success.
 		this.#shadow.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>(".tab").forEach(tab => {
 			tab.addEventListener("click", (e) => {
 				const target = e.target as HTMLElement;
 				if (target.classList.contains("tab-close")) return;
 				const layerId = tab.dataset.layerId!;
 				const moduleId = tab.dataset.moduleId!;
-				this.active = layerId;
 				this.trackRecent(moduleId);
 				this.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("layer-switch", {
 					detail: { layerId, moduleId },
@@ -929,12 +929,11 @@ export class RStackTabBar extends HTMLElement {
 		this.#shadow.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>(".layer-plane").forEach(plane => {
 			const layerId = plane.dataset.layerId!;
 
-			// Click to switch layer
+			// Click to switch layer — do NOT set active here, let shell handler confirm
 			plane.addEventListener("click", (e) => {
 				if (this.#flowDragSource || this.#orbitDragging) return;
 				const layer = this.#layers.find(l => l.id === layerId);
 				if (layer) {
-					this.active = layerId;
 					this.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("layer-switch", {
 						detail: { layerId, moduleId: layer.moduleId },
 						bubbles: true,