diff --git a/src/web/public/app.js b/src/web/public/app.js
index 6c8104ff..a61c9217 100644
--- a/src/web/public/app.js
+++ b/src/web/public/app.js
@@ -827,7 +827,7 @@ class CodemanApp {
     this.applyLocalization();
     this.applyTabWrapSettings();
     this.applyMonitorVisibility();
-    this._setupTabHoverSlide();
+    this._setupTabMiddleClickClose();
     // Must run before the first session:created can arrive: markSessionTabEntering()
     // ignores ids until this sets up its state, which is what keeps the tabs
     // restored on page load from animating.
@@ -3549,59 +3549,23 @@ class CodemanApp {
     container.classList.toggle('tabs-auto-wrap', shouldWrap);
   }
 
-  // Tab hover reveal (hover-capable devices): the tab keeps its width — the
-  // .tab-actions overlay slides in over the right edge while the title (and any
-  // badges) slide left just far enough to clear it, clipped at the LEFT edge of
-  // .tab-info so the name's tail stays readable. CSS owns the reveal itself
-  // (:hover/:focus-within in styles.css); JS only computes the per-tab slide
-  // distance (--tab-slide), because text width is unknowable in CSS and short
-  // names should barely move.
-  _setupTabHoverSlide() {
+  // Middle-click closes a tab, mirroring browser tab strips. Session tabs go
+  // through requestCloseSession (the same confirm modal as the x button), web
+  // tabs through closeWebviewTab (same as theirs). Delegated on the container:
+  // tabs are re-rendered wholesale, the container is stable.
+  _setupTabMiddleClickClose() {
     const container = this.$('sessionTabs');
-    if (!container || this._tabHoverSlideBound) return;
-    this._tabHoverSlideBound = true;
-    const enter = (e) => {
+    if (!container || this._tabAuxClickBound) return;
+    this._tabAuxClickBound = true;
+    container.addEventListener('auxclick', (e) => {
+      if (e.button !== 1) return;
       const tab = e.target.closest?.('.session-tab');
-      if (!tab || !container.contains(tab)) return;
-      // Moving within the tab: skip unless the slide was cleared mid-hover
-      // (focusout can clear it while the pointer never left).
-      if (e.relatedTarget && tab.contains(e.relatedTarget) && tab.style.getPropertyValue('--tab-slide')) return;
-      this._applyTabHoverSlide(tab);
-    };
-    const leave = (e) => {
-      const tab = e.target.closest?.('.session-tab');
-      if (!tab || (e.relatedTarget && tab.contains(e.relatedTarget))) return;
-      if (e.type === 'focusout' && tab.matches(':hover')) return; // pointer still owns the reveal
-      tab.style.removeProperty('--tab-slide');
-    };
-    container.addEventListener('pointerover', enter);
-    container.addEventListener('pointerout', leave);
-    // Keyboard path: tabbing onto an icon reveals the overlay via
-    // .tab-actions:has(:focus-visible). Clicking a tab also focuses it
-    // (tabindex=0), so only focus INSIDE the actions wrapper may trigger the
-    // slide — else every click would slide the title with no icons showing.
-    container.addEventListener('focusin', (e) => {
-      if (e.target.closest?.('.tab-actions')) enter(e);
+      if (!tab) return;
+      e.preventDefault();
+      e.stopPropagation();
+      if (tab.dataset.id) this.requestCloseSession(tab.dataset.id);
+      else if (tab.dataset.webviewId) this.closeWebviewTab?.(tab.dataset.webviewId);
     });
-    container.addEventListener('focusout', leave);
-  }
-
-  _applyTabHoverSlide(tab) {
-    const actions = tab.querySelector('.tab-actions');
-    // Zero width = overlay inactive (touch layout keeps icons in-flow) or no icons.
-    if (!actions || !actions.offsetWidth) return;
-    // offsetLeft/offsetWidth are pre-transform layout values, and offsetParent is
-    // the tab itself (position: relative), so both sides share the same origin.
-    let contentRight = 0;
-    for (const child of tab.children) {
-      if (child === actions) continue;
-      const cl = child.classList;
-      if (cl.contains('tab-number') || cl.contains('tab-status') || cl.contains('tab-load-spinner') || cl.contains('tab-web-icon')) continue;
-      contentRight = Math.max(contentRight, child.offsetLeft + child.offsetWidth);
-    }
-    const shift = Math.min(Math.max(0, contentRight + 4 - actions.offsetLeft), actions.offsetWidth + 12);
-    if (shift > 0) tab.style.setProperty('--tab-slide', shift + 'px');
-    else tab.style.removeProperty('--tab-slide');
   }
 
   _fullRenderSessionTabs() {
@@ -3686,12 +3650,6 @@ class CodemanApp {
     // Set up keyboard navigation for tabs
     this.setupTabKeyboardNavigation(container);
 
-    // A rebuild replaces a hovered tab mid-hover (SSE-driven renders): the fresh
-    // element matches :hover immediately but its inline --tab-slide is gone, so
-    // re-derive it or the title stops clearing the action icons.
-    const hoveredTab = container.querySelector('.session-tab:hover');
-    if (hoveredTab) this._applyTabHoverSlide(hoveredTab);
-
     // Update connection lines after tabs change (positions may have shifted)
     this.updateConnectionLines();
 
diff --git a/src/web/public/settings-ui.js b/src/web/public/settings-ui.js
index d74025b1..8a66f097 100644
--- a/src/web/public/settings-ui.js
+++ b/src/web/public/settings-ui.js
@@ -2003,7 +2003,7 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
     const settings = this.loadAppSettingsFromStorage();
     const defaults = this.getDefaultSettings();
 
-    // Tab pop-out (open-in-new-window) button — opt-in (App Settings → Tab Bar,
+    // Tab pop-out (open-in-new-window) button: opt-in (App Settings → Tab Bar,
     // default OFF, per-device). Mirrored as a class on <html>: styles.css hides
     // .tab-detach without it (a tab that is already detached keeps its icon as
     // the re-focus affordance for the popped-out window).
diff --git a/src/web/public/styles.css b/src/web/public/styles.css
index 6d99eecf..10c9a7cf 100644
--- a/src/web/public/styles.css
+++ b/src/web/public/styles.css
@@ -1421,16 +1421,14 @@ html[data-line-anim="packet"] .connection-line.line-enter {
   transition: opacity 0.05s ease-out, width 0.05s ease-out, padding 0.05s ease-out;
 }
 
-/* Touch-only devices wider than mobile.css's breakpoint (e.g. iPad Pro
-   landscape) keep the legacy tap-reveal: tap sets sticky :hover, icons gain
-   width, the tab grows. Hover-capable devices instead use the fixed-width
-   .tab-actions overlay defined after the detach section. */
-@media (hover: none) {
-  .session-tab:hover .tab-close {
-    opacity: 1;
-    width: auto;
-    padding: 0.15rem 0.35rem;
-  }
+/* Icons expand on the ACTIVE tab only (in flow): selection is a deliberate
+   click, so the width change never happens while aiming at a tab, background
+   tabs keep their full title on hover, and a stray click can only switch.
+   Middle-click closes any tab (_setupTabMiddleClickClose in app.js). */
+.session-tab.active .tab-close {
+  opacity: 1;
+  width: auto;
+  padding: 0.15rem 0.35rem;
 }
 
 .session-tab .tab-close:hover {
@@ -1989,12 +1987,10 @@ html[data-line-anim="packet"] .connection-line.line-enter {
   transition: opacity 0.15s, width 0.15s, padding 0.15s, transform 0.2s;
 }
 
-@media (hover: none) {
-  .session-tab:hover .tab-gear {
-    opacity: 1;
-    width: auto;
-    padding: 0 0.3rem;
-  }
+.session-tab.active .tab-gear {
+  opacity: 1;
+  width: auto;
+  padding: 0 0.3rem;
 }
 
 .session-tab .tab-gear:hover {
@@ -2016,12 +2012,10 @@ html[data-line-anim="packet"] .connection-line.line-enter {
   overflow: hidden;
   transition: opacity 0.15s, width 0.15s, padding 0.15s;
 }
-@media (hover: none) {
-  .session-tab:hover .tab-detach {
-    opacity: 1;
-    width: auto;
-    padding: 0 0.3rem;
-  }
+.session-tab.active .tab-detach {
+  opacity: 1;
+  width: auto;
+  padding: 0 0.3rem;
 }
 .session-tab .tab-detach:hover {
   color: var(--accent-hover);
@@ -2057,16 +2051,15 @@ html[data-line-anim="packet"] .connection-line.line-enter {
   display: inline-flex;
 }
 
-/* ===== Fixed-width tab hover: icons overlay, title slides ================
-   All three per-tab icons live in a .tab-actions wrapper. In flow it adds no
-   width (children keep the width:0 collapse above), so the touch paths in
-   mobile.css behave exactly as before. On hover-capable devices the wrapper
-   is lifted out of flow instead: the tab NEVER changes width on hover — the
-   icons slide in over the right edge while the title row (and any badges)
-   slide left by --tab-slide, set per-tab by _applyTabHoverSlide() in app.js
-   (text width is unknowable in CSS; short names should barely move). The
-   sliding title clips at the LEFT edge of .tab-info (overflow: hidden), so
-   the readable tail — the :comment suffix — stays visible. */
+/* ===== Tab action icons: active tab only =================================
+   All three per-tab icons live in a .tab-actions wrapper (in flow; it adds
+   no width of its own while the children keep the width:0 collapse above).
+   They expand only on the ACTIVE tab: selection is a deliberate click, so
+   the tab-strip geometry never shifts while the pointer is aiming, hovering
+   a background tab changes nothing (full title stays readable), and a stray
+   click can only switch sessions. Middle-click closes any tab. The phone
+   layout in mobile.css follows the same active-only pattern with its own
+   sizing; the tablet touch fallback there keeps icons always visible. */
 
 .session-tab .tab-actions {
   display: flex;
@@ -2075,78 +2068,12 @@ html[data-line-anim="packet"] .connection-line.line-enter {
 
 /* Pop-out button is opt-in (App Settings → Tab Bar, default off; per-device).
    settings-ui.js mirrors the setting as the tabs-show-detach class on <html>.
-   A tab that is ALREADY detached keeps its icon regardless — it is the
+   A tab that is ALREADY detached keeps its icon regardless: it is the
    re-focus affordance for the popped-out window. */
 html:not(.tabs-show-detach) .session-tab:not(.detached) .tab-detach {
   display: none;
 }
 
-@media (hover: hover) {
-  .session-tab .tab-actions {
-    position: absolute;
-    top: 50%;
-    right: 3px;
-    padding: 0 1px;
-    opacity: 0;
-    pointer-events: none;
-    transform: translateY(-50%) translateX(10px);
-    transition: transform 0.16s ease-out, opacity 0.16s ease-out;
-  }
-  /* Reveal on hover, or on KEYBOARD focus of an icon (:focus-visible, so a
-     mouse click on the gear does not pin the overlay open after the pointer
-     leaves — spans with tabindex keep focus after a click). */
-  .session-tab:hover .tab-actions,
-  .session-tab .tab-actions:has(:focus-visible) {
-    opacity: 1;
-    pointer-events: auto;
-    transform: translateY(-50%) translateX(0);
-  }
-  /* Un-collapse the icons: the wrapper overlays instead of growing the tab. */
-  .session-tab .tab-actions .tab-gear,
-  .session-tab .tab-actions .tab-detach,
-  .session-tab .tab-actions .tab-close {
-    opacity: 1;
-    width: auto;
-    overflow: visible;
-    padding: 0.1rem 0.25rem;
-  }
-  /* Title and badges slide left to clear the incoming icons. Badges keep
-     their own (shorter) transition so background hovers stay intact, and
-     their scale-on-hover must COMPOSE with the slide (transform is a single
-     property — a bare scale() would snap the badge back right). */
-  .session-tab .tab-name-row,
-  .session-tab .tab-folder {
-    transform: translateX(calc(-1 * var(--tab-slide, 0px)));
-    transition: transform 0.16s ease-out;
-  }
-  .session-tab > .tab-badge {
-    transition: transform 0.16s ease-out;
-  }
-  .session-tab > .tab-badge,
-  .session-tab > .tab-subagent-badge,
-  .session-tab > .tab-ultracode-badge {
-    transform: translateX(calc(-1 * var(--tab-slide, 0px)));
-  }
-  .session-tab > .tab-subagent-badge:hover,
-  .session-tab > .tab-ultracode-badge:hover {
-    transform: translateX(calc(-1 * var(--tab-slide, 0px))) scale(1.05);
-  }
-  /* Detached tab: the pop-out icon stays visible at rest as the re-focus
-     affordance; reserve its footprint so it never covers the title. */
-  .session-tab.detached {
-    padding-right: 26px;
-  }
-  .session-tab.detached .tab-actions {
-    opacity: 1;
-    pointer-events: auto;
-    transform: translateY(-50%);
-  }
-  .session-tab.detached:not(:hover) .tab-actions:not(:has(:focus-visible)) .tab-gear,
-  .session-tab.detached:not(:hover) .tab-actions:not(:has(:focus-visible)) .tab-close {
-    display: none;
-  }
-}
-
 /* ===== Solo (detached single-session) window chrome ===================== */
 body.solo-mode .session-tabs,
 body.solo-mode .header-system-stats,