diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/preview-error-close.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/preview-error-close.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..04894189f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/preview-error-close.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import { act, cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { afterEach, beforeAll, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import { registry } from '@/contrib/registry'
+import { $previewTabs, closeRightRail, openPreview, previewTabId } from '@/store/preview'
+import { $connection } from '@/store/session'
+
+import { watchPreviewTiles } from './preview-tile'
+
+vi.mock('./right-rail/real-profile-consent-dialog', () => ({
+  RealProfileConsentDialog: () => null
+}))
+
+// #87411: a persisted preview tab pointing at a deleted file rendered
+// "Preview unavailable" with nothing to click. The body's Close must be the
+// tab's own Close — the same verb the strip's ✕ and ⌘W run.
+
+const target = {
+  kind: 'file' as const,
+  label: 'report.csv',
+  path: '/tmp/gone/report.csv',
+  previewKind: 'text' as const,
+  source: '/tmp/gone/report.csv',
+  url: 'file:///tmp/gone/report.csv'
+}
+
+const desktopWindow = window as unknown as { hermesDesktop?: Window['hermesDesktop'] }
+
+beforeAll(() => {
+  watchPreviewTiles()
+})
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  $connection.set({ mode: 'local' } as never)
+  desktopWindow.hermesDesktop = {
+    readFileText: vi.fn(async () => {
+      throw new Error('Text preview failed: file does not exist.')
+    })
+  } as unknown as Window['hermesDesktop']
+  vi.stubGlobal('requestAnimationFrame', (callback: FrameRequestCallback) =>
+    window.setTimeout(() => callback(Date.now()), 0)
+  )
+  vi.stubGlobal('cancelAnimationFrame', (id: number) => window.clearTimeout(id))
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  cleanup()
+  closeRightRail()
+  $connection.set(null)
+  delete desktopWindow.hermesDesktop
+  vi.unstubAllGlobals()
+})
+
+describe('a preview whose file is gone', () => {
+  it('offers Close in the error state, and it closes the tab', async () => {
+    openPreview(target)
+
+    const tabId = previewTabId(target)
+    const pane = registry.getArea('panes').find(contribution => contribution.id === `preview-tile:${tabId}`)
+
+    expect(pane?.render).toBeTypeOf('function')
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      render(<>{pane!.render!()}</>)
+    })
+
+    expect(await screen.findByText('Preview unavailable')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect($previewTabs.get().map(tab => tab.id)).toEqual([tabId])
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Close' }))
+
+    expect($previewTabs.get()).toEqual([])
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/preview-tile.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/preview-tile.tsx
index 154c529d86..534ac881f1 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/preview-tile.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/preview-tile.tsx
@@ -13,7 +13,13 @@
 import { useStore } from '@nanostores/react'
 
 import { findGroup } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/model'
-import { $activeTreeGroup, $layoutTree, revealTreePane, treePanesWithPrefix } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
+import {
+  $activeTreeGroup,
+  $layoutTree,
+  closeTabPane,
+  revealTreePane,
+  treePanesWithPrefix
+} from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
 import { type MenuKit, renderActionItem } from '@/components/ui/actions-menu'
 import { FileTypeIcon } from '@/components/ui/file-type-icon'
 import { ToolIcon } from '@/components/ui/tool-icon'
@@ -282,7 +288,8 @@ const watchPreviewTileMirror = paneMirror<{ id: string }>({
 
     return target?.kind === 'url' || target?.previewKind === 'html'
   },
-  render: tabId => <PreviewTilePane tabId={tabId} />,
+  // The body's own Close (an error state's way out) is the tab's ✕, verbatim.
+  render: tabId => <PreviewTilePane onClose={() => closeTabPane(previewPaneId(tabId))} tabId={tabId} />,
   close: tabId => {
     forgetBrowserPage(tabId)
     forgetPreviewConsole(tabId)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-artifact.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-artifact.test.tsx
index 5b1a84e209..8c8aff2047 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-artifact.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-artifact.test.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-import { act, cleanup, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
-import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { act, cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
 import { $artifactRegistry, $artifactVersionSelection, artifactPreviewTarget, upsertArtifact } from '@/store/artifacts'
 
@@ -109,4 +109,21 @@ describe('ArtifactPreview', () => {
 
     expect(screen.queryByTitle('Dashboard')).toBeNull()
   })
+
+  it('gives the missing-artifact state a Close that closes its tab', async () => {
+    const { artifactId } = register('Dashboard', 'html', '<h1>gone</h1>')
+    const record = $artifactRegistry.get()['session-1']!.find(item => item.id === artifactId)!
+    const target = artifactPreviewTarget(record)
+    const onClose = vi.fn()
+
+    $artifactRegistry.set({})
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      render(<ArtifactPreview onClose={onClose} target={target} />)
+    })
+
+    expect(screen.getByText('Artifact unavailable')).toBeTruthy()
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Close' }))
+    expect(onClose).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+  })
 })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-artifact.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-artifact.tsx
index 07d60393a8..4322a98596 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-artifact.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-artifact.tsx
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ function VersionStepper({
  * The target only carries the artifact id — content is read live from the
  * registry, so an open tab picks up new versions as the model iterates.
  */
-export function ArtifactPreview({ target }: { target: PreviewTarget }) {
+export function ArtifactPreview({ onClose, target }: { onClose?: () => void; target: PreviewTarget }) {
   const { t } = useI18n()
   const copy = t.artifactPreview
   const artifactId = target.url
@@ -188,7 +188,13 @@ export function ArtifactPreview({ target }: { target: PreviewTarget }) {
   const record = useMemo(() => findArtifact(registry, artifactId), [artifactId, registry])
 
   if (!record) {
-    return <PreviewEmptyState body={copy.missingBody} title={copy.missingTitle} />
+    return (
+      <PreviewEmptyState
+        body={copy.missingBody}
+        primaryAction={onClose ? { label: t.common.close, onClick: onClose } : undefined}
+        title={copy.missingTitle}
+      />
+    )
   }
 
   const renderable = record.kind === 'html' || record.kind === 'svg'
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-file.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-file.tsx
index 1fbb6b7ac2..c1fd8689a2 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-file.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-file.tsx
@@ -729,10 +729,13 @@ export function SourceView({ filePath, language, text }: { filePath?: string; la
 export type PreviewViewMode = 'diff' | 'rendered' | 'source'
 
 export function LocalFilePreview({
+  onClose,
   onSelectRendered,
   reloadKey,
   target
 }: {
+  /** Closes the preview's tab; offered when the file can't be shown. */
+  onClose?: () => void
   /** Present when the pane can render this file live (HTML). Adds the
    *  `rendered` mode to the switcher and routes its selection to the pane. */
   onSelectRendered?: () => void
@@ -1095,12 +1098,16 @@ export function LocalFilePreview({
     return <PageLoader label={t.preview.loading} />
   }
 
+  // A preview that can't load (the file was moved or deleted) is a dead end,
+  // so it carries its own way out rather than leaving it to the tab strip.
+  const closeAction = onClose ? { label: t.common.close, onClick: onClose } : undefined
+
   if (state.error) {
-    return <PreviewEmptyState body={state.error} title={t.preview.unavailable} />
+    return <PreviewEmptyState body={state.error} primaryAction={closeAction} title={t.preview.unavailable} />
   }
 
   if (pdfError) {
-    return <PreviewEmptyState body={pdfError} title={t.preview.unavailable} />
+    return <PreviewEmptyState body={pdfError} primaryAction={closeAction} title={t.preview.unavailable} />
   }
 
   if (
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-pane.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-pane.tsx
index b93e06fa8f..958e9cc1b9 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-pane.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview-pane.tsx
@@ -135,6 +135,9 @@ interface GuestContextMenuParams {
 
 interface PreviewPaneProps {
   embedded?: boolean
+  /** Closes this preview's tab. Offered by body states that are a dead end
+   *  (a file that no longer exists) so the way out is not only the strip. */
+  onClose?: () => void
   onRestartServer?: (url: string, context?: string) => Promise<string>
   reloadRequest?: number
   /** The preview tab this pane renders. Keys the per-tab console store the
@@ -237,7 +240,14 @@ function PreviewLoadError({
   )
 }
 
-export function PreviewPane({ embedded = false, onRestartServer, reloadRequest = 0, tabId, target }: PreviewPaneProps) {
+export function PreviewPane({
+  embedded = false,
+  onClose,
+  onRestartServer,
+  reloadRequest = 0,
+  tabId,
+  target
+}: PreviewPaneProps) {
   const { t } = useI18n()
   const copy = t.preview.web
   // The console store belongs to the TAB, not this render: the toggles live on
@@ -1391,9 +1401,10 @@ export function PreviewPane({ embedded = false, onRestartServer, reloadRequest =
           )}
           {!isWebPreview &&
             (target.kind === 'artifact' ? (
-              <ArtifactPreview target={target} />
+              <ArtifactPreview onClose={onClose} target={target} />
             ) : (
               <LocalFilePreview
+                onClose={onClose}
                 onSelectRendered={canRenderHtmlFile ? () => selectRenderMode('preview') : undefined}
                 reloadKey={localReloadKey}
                 target={target}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview.tsx
index 625bae8ea4..d831bcbb84 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/right-rail/preview.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import { $previewReloadRequest, $previewTabs } from '@/store/preview'
 import { PreviewPane } from './preview-pane'
 
 interface PreviewTilePaneProps {
+  /** The tab's own Close, for body states that offer one (a failed load). */
+  onClose?: () => void
   /** The `$previewTabs` id this pane renders. */
   tabId: string
 }
@@ -20,7 +22,7 @@ interface PreviewTilePaneProps {
  * bridge the old rail wrapper used, since the mirror renders this pane with no
  * props to thread.
  */
-export function PreviewTilePane({ tabId }: PreviewTilePaneProps) {
+export function PreviewTilePane({ onClose, tabId }: PreviewTilePaneProps) {
   const previewReloadRequest = useStore($previewReloadRequest)
   const previewTabs = useStore($previewTabs)
   const restartPreviewServer = useStore($restartPreviewServer)
@@ -35,6 +37,7 @@ export function PreviewTilePane({ tabId }: PreviewTilePaneProps) {
   return (
     <PreviewPane
       embedded
+      onClose={onClose}
       onRestartServer={target.kind === 'url' ? (restartPreviewServer ?? undefined) : undefined}
       reloadRequest={previewReloadRequest}
       tabId={tabId}