diff --git a/web/src/attach.ts b/web/src/attach.ts
index 0dc1492..3886680 100644
--- a/web/src/attach.ts
+++ b/web/src/attach.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ export interface AttachConnection {
   onUnmount(): void;
   /** Put the keyboard back into this terminal — what leaving the sidebar does. */
   focusTerminal(): void;
+  /** Type raw bytes straight into the PTY, bypassing the terminal's own key
+   *  handling — the leader's literal Ctrl-K escape hatch
+   *  (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md). */
+  sendInput(data: string): void;
   /** Fully disconnect: close the WS, dispose the terminal, remove the element. */
   dispose(): void;
 }
@@ -506,6 +510,9 @@ export function createAttachConnection(
     focusTerminal() {
       term.focus();
     },
+    // The closure above: the same bytes-out path keystrokes and the mobile key
+    // bar already take.
+    sendInput,
     dispose() {
       if (disposed) return;
       disposed = true;
diff --git a/web/src/commandBar.test.ts b/web/src/commandBar.test.ts
index bb2cc6a..bf4ebd4 100644
--- a/web/src/commandBar.test.ts
+++ b/web/src/commandBar.test.ts
@@ -507,3 +507,38 @@ describe("the sigils in the overlay", () => {
     expect(seen).toEqual(["/home/me/dev/api"]);
   });
 });
+
+describe("the focus round-trip over a pane (#152)", () => {
+  function terminalTextarea(): HTMLTextAreaElement {
+    const ta = document.createElement("textarea");
+    ta.className = "xterm-helper-textarea";
+    document.body.appendChild(ta);
+    return ta;
+  }
+
+  it("hands the keyboard back to the terminal that had it", () => {
+    const ta = terminalTextarea();
+    ta.focus();
+    openCommandBar({ sessions: [], commands: [] });
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(document.querySelector(".cmdbar-input"));
+    press("Escape");
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(ta);
+  });
+
+  it("reports no focus change to the daemon, opening or closing", () => {
+    const fetchMock = vi.fn(() => Promise.resolve(new Response(null, { status: 204 })));
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+    try {
+      const ta = terminalTextarea();
+      ta.focus();
+      openCommandBar({ sessions: [], commands: [] });
+      press("Escape");
+      const focusCalls = fetchMock.mock.calls.filter(([url]: unknown[]) =>
+        String(url).includes("/focus"),
+      );
+      expect(focusCalls).toEqual([]);
+    } finally {
+      vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/web/src/commands.test.ts b/web/src/commands.test.ts
index 4bb658c..5202ab5 100644
--- a/web/src/commands.test.ts
+++ b/web/src/commands.test.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import {
   DEFAULT_LEADER,
   canonicalizeKey,
   defineCommands,
+  isBarTypingTarget,
+  isTerminalTextarea,
   isTypingTarget,
   keyCaps,
   publishedCommands,
@@ -234,3 +236,74 @@ describe("isTypingTarget", () => {
     expect(isTypingTarget(null)).toBe(false);
   });
 });
+
+describe("isTerminalTextarea", () => {
+  it("recognises xterm's offscreen textarea, and nothing else", () => {
+    expect(isTerminalTextarea(el('<textarea class="xterm-helper-textarea"></textarea>'))).toBe(true);
+    expect(isTerminalTextarea(el("<textarea></textarea>"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isTerminalTextarea(el("<input>"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isTerminalTextarea(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("isBarTypingTarget", () => {
+  it("holds the bar's keys out of real form fields", () => {
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(el("<input>"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(el("<textarea></textarea>"))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("does not count the terminal's textarea, so ctrl-k reaches the bar there", () => {
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(el('<textarea class="xterm-helper-textarea"></textarea>'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(el("<button></button>"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isBarTypingTarget(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("ctrl-k over a focused pane (#152)", () => {
+  const terminal = () => el('<textarea class="xterm-helper-textarea"></textarea>');
+
+  /** The global listener's routing: the bar's set only sees a key that is not
+   *  aimed at a real form field. */
+  function route(set: CommandSet, target: HTMLElement, k: string, init?: KeyboardEventInit) {
+    if (isBarTypingTarget(target)) return false;
+    return pressOn(set, target, k, init);
+  }
+
+  it("opens the bar when the terminal has the keyboard", () => {
+    const open = vi.fn();
+    const set = new CommandSet(defineCommands({ "bar.open": open }));
+    expect(route(set, terminal(), "k", { ctrlKey: true })).toBe(true);
+    expect(open).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("leaves the spawn form's inputs their own Ctrl-K", () => {
+    const open = vi.fn();
+    const set = new CommandSet(defineCommands({ "bar.open": open }));
+    expect(route(set, el("<input>"), "k", { ctrlKey: true })).toBe(false);
+    expect(open).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("sends the literal 0x0B after the leader, without opening the bar", () => {
+    const open = vi.fn();
+    const literal = vi.fn();
+    const bar = new CommandSet(defineCommands({ "bar.open": open }));
+    const set = new CommandSet(defineCommands({ "pane.literalCtrlK": literal }), {
+      leader: DEFAULT_LEADER,
+    });
+    const target = terminal();
+    expect(pressOn(set, target, "a", { ctrlKey: true })).toBe(true);
+    const e = key("k", { ctrlKey: true });
+    Object.defineProperty(e, "target", { value: target });
+    expect(set.handle(e)).toBe(true);
+    expect(literal).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    // The leader's set consumed the key, so the bar's set never sees it.
+    expect(open).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(bar.handle(e)).toBe(true); // sanity: it would have opened otherwise
+    expect(open).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("binds the escape hatch behind the default leader", () => {
+    const spec = COMMAND_SPECS.find((s) => s.id === "pane.literalCtrlK");
+    expect(spec?.keys).toEqual([`${DEFAULT_LEADER} ctrl-k`]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/web/src/commands.ts b/web/src/commands.ts
index 72a409d..1d8ff61 100644
--- a/web/src/commands.ts
+++ b/web/src/commands.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ export interface Command extends CommandSpec {
   run: () => void;
 }
 
+/** Default leader, mirroring the TUI's `[tui].leader`. `ctrl-a` is select-all
+ *  in a browser, so a set that owns the leader `preventDefault`s it. */
+export const DEFAULT_LEADER = "ctrl-a";
+
 /** Every command the web client has. The single list this issue exists to
  *  create: labels, chords and grouping live here and nowhere else. */
 export const COMMAND_SPECS: readonly CommandSpec[] = [
@@ -56,6 +60,13 @@ export const COMMAND_SPECS: readonly CommandSpec[] = [
     keys: ["ctrl-k"],
     scope: "global",
   },
+  {
+    id: "pane.literalCtrlK",
+    label: "Send a literal Ctrl-K to the pane",
+    group: "Pane",
+    keys: [`${DEFAULT_LEADER} ctrl-k`],
+    scope: "global",
+  },
   {
     id: "focus.toggle",
     label: "Move the keyboard between the session list and the pane",
@@ -241,11 +252,19 @@ export function isTypingTarget(target: EventTarget | null): boolean {
 /** xterm's offscreen textarea. It is a typing target like any other, but it is
  *  also where the leader has to work — a pane is exactly where the operator
  *  needs the escape hatch (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md). */
-function isTerminalTextarea(target: EventTarget | null): boolean {
+export function isTerminalTextarea(target: EventTarget | null): boolean {
   const el = target as HTMLElement | null;
   return !!el && typeof el.className === "string" && el.classList?.contains("xterm-helper-textarea");
 }
 
+/** True where the command bar's own keys must stay out of the way: a real form
+ *  field, and not the pane. `ctrl-k` is intercepted ahead of xterm
+ *  (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md, "Opening"), so a focused terminal opens the bar, while
+ *  the spawn form's inputs keep their own Ctrl-K. */
+export function isBarTypingTarget(target: EventTarget | null): boolean {
+  return isTypingTarget(target) && !isTerminalTextarea(target);
+}
+
 // ---- display ----
 
 const CAPS: Record<string, string> = {
@@ -292,10 +311,6 @@ export function keyCaps(chord: string): string[] {
 
 // ---- dispatch ----
 
-/** Default leader, mirroring the TUI's `[tui].leader`. `ctrl-a` is select-all
- *  in a browser, so a set that owns the leader `preventDefault`s it. */
-export const DEFAULT_LEADER = "ctrl-a";
-
 /** How long a partial chord waits for its next key — the TUI's
  *  `chord_timeout_ms` default. */
 export const DEFAULT_CHORD_TIMEOUT_MS = 1000;
diff --git a/web/src/connections.test.ts b/web/src/connections.test.ts
index 27622de..9464504 100644
--- a/web/src/connections.test.ts
+++ b/web/src/connections.test.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,23 @@ import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
 import { ConnectionPool } from "./connections.js";
 
+// The pane's own bytes-out path, stubbed: the escape hatch only needs to know
+// the pool reaches the focused connection with them.
+const sent: { id: string; data: string }[] = [];
+vi.mock("./attach.js", () => ({
+  createAttachConnection: (id: string) => ({
+    sessionId: id,
+    el: document.createElement("div"),
+    onMount() {},
+    onUnmount() {},
+    focusTerminal() {},
+    sendInput(data: string) {
+      sent.push({ id, data });
+    },
+    dispose() {},
+  }),
+}));
+
 afterEach(() => {
   vi.unstubAllGlobals();
 });
@@ -85,3 +102,26 @@ describe("ConnectionPool.setFocus", () => {
     await Promise.resolve();
   });
 });
+
+describe("ConnectionPool.sendToFocused", () => {
+  it("types the bytes into the focused session's PTY", () => {
+    mockFetch();
+    sent.length = 0;
+    const pool = new ConnectionPool();
+    const pane = document.createElement("div");
+    pool.mount(A, pane);
+    pool.setFocus(A);
+
+    expect(pool.sendToFocused("\x0b")).toBe(true);
+    expect(sent).toEqual([{ id: A, data: "\x0b" }]);
+  });
+
+  it("is a no-op with nothing focused", () => {
+    mockFetch();
+    sent.length = 0;
+    const pool = new ConnectionPool();
+
+    expect(pool.sendToFocused("\x0b")).toBe(false);
+    expect(sent).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/web/src/connections.ts b/web/src/connections.ts
index 53b7082..1f17afe 100644
--- a/web/src/connections.ts
+++ b/web/src/connections.ts
@@ -159,6 +159,18 @@ export class ConnectionPool {
     this.cache.get(this.focusedId)?.focusTerminal();
   }
 
+  /** Type raw bytes into the focused session's PTY. Returns false when there is
+   *  nothing focused, or its connection is gone — the leader's literal Ctrl-K
+   *  is a no-op over the welcome pane rather than an error
+   *  (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md). */
+  sendToFocused(data: string): boolean {
+    if (this.focusedId === null) return false;
+    const conn = this.cache.get(this.focusedId);
+    if (!conn) return false;
+    conn.sendInput(data);
+    return true;
+  }
+
   /** Fully disconnect + forget a session. */
   close(id: Uuid): void {
     const conn = this.cache.get(id);
diff --git a/web/src/main.ts b/web/src/main.ts
index fa1c46a..6811186 100644
--- a/web/src/main.ts
+++ b/web/src/main.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { ConnectionPool } from "./connections.js";
 import { installDrawer, installDrawerSwipe, requestToggleDrawer } from "./drawer.js";
 import { installHudKeybind } from "./debug.js";
 import { installHelpKeybind, isHelpOpen } from "./help.js";
-import { CommandSet, DEFAULT_LEADER, defineCommands, isTypingTarget } from "./commands.js";
+import { CommandSet, DEFAULT_LEADER, defineCommands, isBarTypingTarget } from "./commands.js";
 import { isCommandBarOpen, openCommandBar, SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT } from "./commandBar.js";
 import { DaemonLink } from "./daemonLink.js";
 import { CatalogStore } from "./events.js";
@@ -424,7 +424,7 @@ document.addEventListener(SPAWN_DIRECTORY_EVENT, (ev) => {
 // attached terminal must never be able to trap the focus keys.
 //
 // `n` opens the spawn modal, `N` fast-forwards a spawn (#67). Both are plain
-// keys, so `isTypingTarget` keeps them out of form fields and the terminal's
+// keys, so `isTypingTarget` inside the set keeps them out of form fields and the terminal's
 // hidden textarea.
 const spawnKeys = new CommandSet(
   defineCommands({
@@ -451,6 +451,11 @@ const focusKeys = new CommandSet(
         sidebar.focusList();
       }
     },
+    // The escape hatch: binding ctrl-k takes readline's kill-to-end-of-line
+    // away from every pane, and leader ctrl-k gives it back as the literal
+    // 0x0B byte (docs/COMMAND-BAR.md). It resolves in this set, ahead of the
+    // bar's, so the chord never opens the bar.
+    "pane.literalCtrlK": () => pool.sendToFocused("\x0b"),
   }),
   { leader: DEFAULT_LEADER },
 );
@@ -479,9 +484,10 @@ window.addEventListener(
     if (focusKeys.handle(e)) return;
     // The help overlay owns the keyboard while it is up.
     if (isHelpOpen()) return;
-    // Opening the bar over a focused terminal is #152; until then the pane's
-    // hidden textarea keeps its Ctrl+K, like any other typing target.
-    if (!isTypingTarget(e.target) && barKeys.handle(e)) return;
+    // The pane's hidden textarea is not a typing target for the bar: ctrl-k is
+    // seen ahead of xterm and opens the bar (#152). A real form field — the
+    // spawn form's inputs — keeps its own Ctrl+K.
+    if (!isBarTypingTarget(e.target) && barKeys.handle(e)) return;
     spawnKeys.handle(e);
   },
   true,