diff --git a/crates/maestro-tui/src/config.rs b/crates/maestro-tui/src/config.rs
index db75b8c..b031068 100644
--- a/crates/maestro-tui/src/config.rs
+++ b/crates/maestro-tui/src/config.rs
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ const DEFAULT_NORMAL: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
     ("c", "ToggleSidebarGroup"),
     // Catalog actions
     ("enter", "AttachHighlighted"),
+    // Tab focuses the highlighted pane, mirroring the web keybind — bare
+    // because Normal mode only exists while the sidebar is focused, so
+    // nothing forwards it to a pty.
+    ("tab", "AttachHighlighted"),
     ("s", "OpenSpawnModal"),
     // Fast-forward spawn (#67): the spawn key's neighbour does the same
     // thing with every default resolved and no form.
@@ -63,14 +67,17 @@ const DEFAULT_NORMAL: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
     ("ctrl-w b", "ToggleSidebar"),
     ("?", "ShowHelp"),
     ("ctrl-w q", "Quit"),
+    // Bare quit, AoE-style: only reachable from the sidebar (Normal mode
+    // never forwards keys to a pty), same reasoning as bare `tab` above.
+    ("q", "Quit"),
     // Mouse
     ("mouse:dblclick(sidebar-row)", "AttachHighlighted"),
 ];
 
-/// Default Insert-mode bindings. Empty by default — the only Insert binding
-/// is the leader, which is inserted dynamically by [`TuiConfig::load`] so
-/// rebinding the leader rebinds its Insert escape automatically.
-const DEFAULT_INSERT: &[(&str, &str)] = &[];
+/// Default Insert-mode bindings. The leader (`LeaveInsert`) is inserted
+/// dynamically by [`TuiConfig::load`] so rebinding it rebinds its Insert
+/// escape automatically; `esc` is a second, fixed way back to the sidebar.
+const DEFAULT_INSERT: &[(&str, &str)] = &[("esc", "LeaveInsert")];
 
 impl TuiConfig {
     /// Build a runtime config from a [`TuiSection`] (typically the `tui`
@@ -222,6 +229,23 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    /// AoE-style defaults (#shortcuts): `q` and `tab` are bare because Normal
+    /// mode only exists while the sidebar is focused, so neither can leak
+    /// into a pty; `esc` is a second way out of Insert alongside the leader.
+    #[test]
+    fn aoe_style_defaults_are_bound() {
+        let cfg = TuiConfig::load(&TuiSection::default()).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(cfg.keymap.resolve(Mode::Normal, "q"), Some(Action::Quit));
+        assert_eq!(
+            cfg.keymap.resolve(Mode::Normal, "tab"),
+            Some(Action::AttachHighlighted),
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            cfg.keymap.resolve(Mode::Insert, "esc"),
+            Some(Action::LeaveInsert),
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn default_leader_is_ctrl_a_and_escapes_insert() {
         let cfg = TuiConfig::load(&TuiSection::default()).unwrap();
diff --git a/web/src/attach.ts b/web/src/attach.ts
index ec7d236..6ce6de1 100644
--- a/web/src/attach.ts
+++ b/web/src/attach.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { Terminal } from "@xterm/xterm";
 import "@xterm/xterm/css/xterm.css";
 
 import { attachWsUrl } from "./routes.js";
+import { FOCUS_SIDEBAR_EVENT } from "./catalog.js";
 import { escapeHtml } from "./html.js";
 import { INITIAL_RECONNECT_MS, MAX_RECONNECT_MS } from "./reconnect.js";
 import { applyModsToChar, cursorSeq, tildeSeq } from "./keys.js";
@@ -134,6 +135,15 @@ export function createAttachConnection(
   term.loadAddon(fit);
   term.open(body);
 
+  // Plain Escape hands the keyboard back to the session list instead of the
+  // shell/app. `false` tells xterm to skip its own handling of this event.
+  term.attachCustomKeyEventHandler((e) => {
+    if (e.type !== "keydown" || e.key !== "Escape") return true;
+    if (e.ctrlKey || e.altKey || e.metaKey || e.shiftKey) return true;
+    document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(FOCUS_SIDEBAR_EVENT));
+    return false;
+  });
+
   // Touch scrolling: xterm's built-in touch handling is jittery (drags crawl a
   // line at a time and stall), so map finger drags ourselves. Two routes:
   //   • normal buffer  → term.scrollLines walks the scrollback.
diff --git a/web/src/catalog.ts b/web/src/catalog.ts
index 106a161..7256ca7 100644
--- a/web/src/catalog.ts
+++ b/web/src/catalog.ts
@@ -36,10 +36,14 @@ export function requestOpenSpawn(): void {
 }
 
 /** Ask the shell to hand the keyboard back to the focused pane's terminal —
- *  what Escape in the sidebar list does. Handled in main.ts, which owns the
+ *  what Tab in the sidebar list does. Handled in main.ts, which owns the
  *  connection pool. */
 export const FOCUS_PANE_EVENT = "catalog-focus-pane";
 
+/** Ask the shell to hand the keyboard back to the session list — what Escape
+ *  does when the pane's terminal is focused. Handled in main.ts. */
+export const FOCUS_SIDEBAR_EVENT = "catalog-focus-sidebar";
+
 /** Ask the shell to open the spawn modal seeded from an existing session
  *  ("Spawn similar"). Detail is the session being cloned. */
 export const SPAWN_SIMILAR_EVENT = "catalog-spawn-similar";
@@ -568,7 +572,7 @@ export function renderSidebar(store: CatalogStore, opts: SidebarOptions = {}): S
     if (e.key === "j" || e.key === "ArrowDown") moveNav(1);
     else if (e.key === "k" || e.key === "ArrowUp") moveNav(-1);
     else if (e.key === "Enter") activateNav();
-    else if (e.key === "Escape") document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(FOCUS_PANE_EVENT));
+    else if (e.key === "Tab") document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(FOCUS_PANE_EVENT));
     else return;
     e.preventDefault();
   });
diff --git a/web/src/help.ts b/web/src/help.ts
index e6a0565..6b38721 100644
--- a/web/src/help.ts
+++ b/web/src/help.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@ export const SHORTCUTS: ShortcutGroup[] = [
       { keys: ["j"], description: "Highlight the next session" },
       { keys: ["k"], description: "Highlight the previous session" },
       { keys: ["Enter"], description: "Open the highlighted session, or expand a folder" },
-      { keys: ["Esc"], description: "Hand the keyboard back to the pane" },
+      { keys: ["Tab"], description: "Send the keyboard to the pane" },
+      { keys: ["Esc"], description: "Hand the keyboard back to the session list, from the pane" },
     ],
   },
   {
diff --git a/web/src/main.ts b/web/src/main.ts
index d9c6f3a..f635094 100644
--- a/web/src/main.ts
+++ b/web/src/main.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import { createMultiView, type MultiView } from "./multiview.js";
 import { loadLayout, saveLayout } from "./persistence.js";
 import {
   FOCUS_PANE_EVENT,
+  FOCUS_SIDEBAR_EVENT,
   OPEN_SPAWN_EVENT,
   SESSION_SELECT_EVENT,
   SPAWN_SIMILAR_EVENT,
@@ -372,8 +373,13 @@ window.addEventListener("keydown", (e) => {
   }
 });
 
-// Escape in the session list hands the keyboard back to the pane.
+// Tab in the session list hands the keyboard to the pane; Escape in the pane
+// hands it back — the pair the TUI gets from `tab` and `esc`.
 document.addEventListener(FOCUS_PANE_EVENT, () => pool.focusTerminal());
+document.addEventListener(FOCUS_SIDEBAR_EVENT, () => {
+  drawer.open(); // no-op on desktop; on mobile the list is off-canvas
+  sidebar.focusList();
+});
 
 /** Open/focus a session and reflect it in the shell chrome. Shared by the
  *  hash router and the sidebar's click-driven path (#133), which can't rely
diff --git a/web/src/sidebarNav.test.ts b/web/src/sidebarNav.test.ts
index 32464bf..ccbe9da 100644
--- a/web/src/sidebarNav.test.ts
+++ b/web/src/sidebarNav.test.ts
@@ -109,11 +109,11 @@ describe("sidebar keyboard navigation", () => {
     expect(handle.hasListFocus()).toBe(true);
   });
 
-  it("Escape asks the shell for the pane back", () => {
+  it("Tab asks the shell for the pane back", () => {
     const { el } = twoFolders();
     let asked = 0;
     document.addEventListener(FOCUS_PANE_EVENT, () => (asked += 1));
-    press(tree(el), "Escape");
+    press(tree(el), "Tab");
     expect(asked).toBe(1);
   });