diff --git a/.changeset/d3c38a94.md b/.changeset/d3c38a94.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b767bf14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/d3c38a94.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+"aicodeman": patch
+---
+
+fix(tabs): let a wrapped desktop tab strip grow the header instead of clipping itself
+
+The wrapped tab strip carried fixed height caps (120px for the manual two-row layout,
+96px for measured auto-wrap) that were row counts in disguise. A third row of tabs was
+clipped into a roughly 4px scroller, so the tab being looked for sat off-screen inside a
+container nothing invites you to scroll, while the header had the whole page below it to
+grow into. The header is `min-height` plus `flex-shrink: 0`, and terminal-ui's
+ResizeObserver refits the terminal on its own, so growing it costs nothing.
+
+Both wrapped layouts now share one rule capped at `var(--tab-strip-max-height, 40vh)`.
+That cap is a safety net for an absurd session count rather than a row limit: past it the
+scroller comes back, which still beats a header that swallows the terminal. Nothing sets
+`--tab-strip-max-height` yet, so today it is the 40vh fallback plus a hook for a future
+control.
+
+Desktop only in effect. `tabs-auto-wrap` is applied by `updateTabOverflowMode()`, which
+returns early for anything that is not a desktop viewport, and below 1024px `mobile.css`
+pins the header to `max-height: 48px` so it cannot grow at all. The two rules are
+comma-grouped rather than wrapped in `:is()`, so each arm keeps its own (0,2,0)
+specificity and `mobile.css`'s matching overrides still win on source order.
diff --git a/src/web/public/styles.css b/src/web/public/styles.css
index 012c8598..49b26810 100644
--- a/src/web/public/styles.css
+++ b/src/web/public/styles.css
@@ -545,18 +545,21 @@ body {
   contain: layout;
 }
 
-.session-tabs.tabs-two-rows {
-  flex-wrap: wrap;
-  overflow-x: hidden;
-  overflow-y: auto;
-  max-height: 120px;
-}
-
+/* A wrapped strip GROWS the header instead of scrolling inside it. The old
+   fixed caps (120px tall-tabs / 96px auto-wrap) were row counts in disguise:
+   a third row of tabs was clipped into a 4px scroller, so the tabs you were
+   looking for were off-screen in a container nothing tells you to scroll —
+   while the header had the whole page below it to grow into (it is
+   `min-height` + `flex-shrink: 0`, and terminal-ui's ResizeObserver refits
+   the terminal on its own). `--tab-strip-max-height` is a safety net for an
+   absurd session count, not a row limit: past it the scroller comes back,
+   which beats a header that swallows the terminal. */
+.session-tabs.tabs-two-rows,
 .session-tabs.tabs-auto-wrap {
   flex-wrap: wrap;
   overflow-x: hidden;
   overflow-y: auto;
-  max-height: 96px;
+  max-height: var(--tab-strip-max-height, 40vh);
 }
 
 .session-tabs::-webkit-scrollbar {