diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/controller.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/controller.tsx
index 7243f7dc90..b9dc972c15 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/controller.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/controller.tsx
@@ -13,21 +13,20 @@ import { LayoutTreeRoot } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/renderer'
 import type { DoubleTapContext } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/renderer/drag-session'
 import {
   $layoutTree,
+  bindPaneVisibility,
   bindToolPaneCollapse,
   bindTreeSideVisibility,
   declareDefaultTree,
   dismissTreePane,
   dockPaneBeside,
-  isToolPaneVisible,
+  isPaneVisible,
   mirrorLayoutTree,
   paneRootSide,
   registerLayoutResetHandler,
   registerPaneCloser,
-  registerPaneOpener,
   resetLayoutTree,
   revealTreePane,
-  setTreePaneHidden,
-  toggleToolPane,
+  togglePaneVisible,
   watchContributedPanes
 } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
 import { SidebarProvider } from '@/components/ui/sidebar'
@@ -55,7 +54,7 @@ import {
   SIDEBAR_MAX_WIDTH
 } from '@/store/layout'
 import { $previewOpenRequest, $previewTabs, closeRightRail } from '@/store/preview'
-import { $reviewOpen, closeReview, REVIEW_PANE_ID } from '@/store/review'
+import { $reviewOpen, closeReview, openReview, REVIEW_PANE_ID } from '@/store/review'
 import { $currentCwd, $selectedStoredSessionId, $sessions, $yoloActive, sessionMatchesStoredId } from '@/store/session'
 import { watchSessionPins } from '@/store/session-pin-sync'
 import { $statusbarVisible } from '@/store/statusbar-prefs'
@@ -472,27 +471,9 @@ registerLayoutResetHandler(stackSessionTilesIntoMain)
 // toggle mirrors the root row.
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-function bindPaneVisibility(
-  paneId: string,
-  $open: { get(): boolean; listen(fn: (open: boolean) => void): void },
-  close?: () => void,
-  open?: () => void
-) {
-  setTreePaneHidden(paneId, !$open.get())
-  $open.listen(isOpen => setTreePaneHidden(paneId, !isOpen))
-
-  // The tab menu's Close routes through the owning store (never dismissal),
-  // so the pane's toggle buttons stay truthful.
-  if (close) {
-    registerPaneCloser(paneId, close)
-  }
-
-  // The opener is the mirror: preset application (revealOnPreset) shows the
-  // pane through the same store, so the toggle stays truthful.
-  if (open) {
-    registerPaneOpener(paneId, open)
-  }
-}
+// HIDE-STYLE PANES (files, review, preview): the binding lives in the tree
+// store — bindPaneVisibility — alongside bindToolPaneCollapse, so both are
+// testable against the real function instead of a copy.
 
 // TOOL PANELS (terminal, logs): the binding lives in the tree store —
 // bindToolPaneCollapse — so the boot rule it encodes is testable against the
@@ -549,15 +530,25 @@ const $hasWorkspace = computed($currentCwd, cwd => Boolean(cwd.trim()))
 // The tree pane's own presence tracks ⌘J directly, not just the column's
 // collapse — otherwise revealing a preview (which opens that shared column)
 // would drag the tree along with it. See revealPreview.
+//
+// Both get a CLOSER and an OPENER. The closer keeps ⌘J/⌘G truthful when the
+// pane is closed from the tab menu; the opener is its mirror, so bringing the
+// pane back through the tree (the toggle's reveal path, the rail, a preset)
+// writes the store too. Without the opener the boolean went stale the moment
+// anything but the toggle showed the pane — the divergence this whole change
+// is about.
 bindPaneVisibility(
   'files',
-  computed([$hasWorkspace, $fileBrowserOpen], (workspace, open) => workspace && open)
+  computed([$hasWorkspace, $fileBrowserOpen], (workspace, open) => workspace && open),
+  () => setFileBrowserOpen(false),
+  () => setFileBrowserOpen(true)
 )
 // ⌘G — the review sidebar appears/disappears (and comes to the front).
 bindPaneVisibility(
   'review',
   computed([$reviewOpen, $hasWorkspace], (open, workspace) => open && workspace),
-  closeReview
+  closeReview,
+  openReview
 )
 // ⌃` / statusbar toggle — the terminal COLLAPSES to a rail (tab stays), not
 // hides; PTYs stay alive while collapsed (see PersistentTerminal).
@@ -593,8 +584,8 @@ registry.register(
     keywords: ['logs', 'agent log', 'tail', 'debug'],
     // On-screen, not the store's boolean: logs stacks with the terminal, and
     // behind its sibling's tab `$logsOpen` stays true while nothing is visible.
-    get: () => isToolPaneVisible('logs'),
-    set: () => toggleToolPane('logs')
+    get: () => isPaneVisible('logs'),
+    set: () => togglePaneVisible('logs')
   })
 )
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/hooks/use-keybinds.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/hooks/use-keybinds.ts
index 3b3677815c..32d9caaba2 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/hooks/use-keybinds.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/hooks/use-keybinds.ts
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ import { closeActiveTerminal, createTerminal, cycleTerminal } from '@/app/right-
 import {
   activateTreeTabSlot,
   cycleTreeTabInFocusedZone,
-  isToolPaneVisible,
+  isPaneVisible,
   layoutHasRootSide,
-  toggleToolPane
+  togglePaneVisible
 } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
 import { onReleaseTypingFocus } from '@/components/ui/keyboard-first'
 import { findBarClaimsCombo } from '@/lib/find-in-page'
@@ -190,11 +190,11 @@ export function useKeybinds(deps: KeybindRuntimeDeps): void {
     // terminal-on-bottom) would leave it a dead key, so it falls back to the
     // terminal there. The single "secondary panel" toggle.
     'view.toggleRightSidebar': () =>
-      layoutHasRootSide('right') ? toggleFileBrowserOpen() : toggleToolPane('terminal'),
+      layoutHasRootSide('right') ? toggleFileBrowserOpen() : togglePaneVisible('terminal'),
     'view.toggleReview': toggleReview,
     'view.toggleStatusbar': toggleStatusbarVisible,
     'view.showFiles': showFiles,
-    'view.showTerminal': () => toggleToolPane('terminal'),
+    'view.showTerminal': () => togglePaneVisible('terminal'),
     // Create first so the pane's open-effect ensure sees a non-empty set and
     // doesn't also spawn one — net effect is exactly one fresh terminal.
     'view.newTerminal': () => {
@@ -204,9 +204,9 @@ export function useKeybinds(deps: KeybindRuntimeDeps): void {
     // Switch / close only act while the terminal is actually ON SCREEN — ask
     // the tree, not the toggle store (which stays true behind a stacked
     // sibling tab or a minimized zone).
-    'view.nextTerminal': () => isToolPaneVisible('terminal') && cycleTerminal(1),
-    'view.prevTerminal': () => isToolPaneVisible('terminal') && cycleTerminal(-1),
-    'view.closeTerminal': () => isToolPaneVisible('terminal') && closeActiveTerminal(),
+    'view.nextTerminal': () => isPaneVisible('terminal') && cycleTerminal(1),
+    'view.prevTerminal': () => isPaneVisible('terminal') && cycleTerminal(-1),
+    'view.closeTerminal': () => isPaneVisible('terminal') && closeActiveTerminal(),
     'view.flipPanes': togglePanesFlipped,
     // ⌘W: close the focused tab (terminal / preview target / zone tree tab).
     // On the main tab with session tabs stacked, it shifts the next one in —
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx
index fa81c227ad..adedab3fa5 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import type { CommandCenterSection } from '@/app/command-center'
 import { useApprovalModeStatusbarItem } from '@/app/shell/approval-mode-menu'
 import { ContextUsagePanel } from '@/app/shell/context-usage-panel'
 import { GatewayMenuPanel } from '@/app/shell/gateway-menu-panel'
-import { $toolPaneVisible, toggleToolPane } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
+import { $paneVisible, togglePaneVisible } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
 import { Codicon } from '@/components/ui/codicon'
 import { GlyphSpinner } from '@/components/ui/glyph-spinner'
 import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ export function useStatusbarItems({
   // What the button paints and flips is whether the terminal is ON SCREEN —
   // the takeover store alone stays true behind a stacked sibling tab or a
   // minimized zone, which lit the button for a pane the user couldn't see.
-  const terminalShowing = useStore($toolPaneVisible('terminal'))
+  const terminalShowing = useStore($paneVisible('terminal'))
   const primaryBusy = useStore($busy)
   const currentCwd = useStore($currentCwd)
   // Derive the workspace's project name from the already-cached project tree
@@ -513,7 +513,7 @@ export function useStatusbarItems({
         hidden: !chatOpen,
         icon: <Terminal className="size-3.5" />,
         id: 'terminal',
-        onSelect: () => toggleToolPane('terminal'),
+        onSelect: () => togglePaneVisible('terminal'),
         title: terminalShowing ? copy.hideTerminal : copy.showTerminal,
         toggleLabel: copy.toggleTerminal,
         variant: 'action'
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/pane-toggle-visibility.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/pane-toggle-visibility.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1f57ed0158
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/pane-toggle-visibility.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+import { atom } from 'nanostores'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import { registry } from '@/contrib/registry'
+
+import { group, split } from './model'
+import {
+  $dismissedPanes,
+  $hiddenTreePanes,
+  $layoutTree,
+  bindPaneVisibility,
+  isPaneVisible,
+  setTreeGroupMinimized,
+  togglePaneVisible
+} from './store'
+
+// The bug class, across EVERY pane kind — not just the terminal she reported.
+//
+// A toggle that flips its own boolean diverges from the tree the moment
+// anything else moves the pane: stacked behind a sibling tab, folded into a
+// minimized zone, closed with ⌘W. The store then says "open" while nothing is
+// on screen, the press re-asserts a value it already held, and the key reads
+// as dead. Same shape for the COLLAPSE-style tool panels (terminal, logs) and
+// the HIDE-style panes (files, review) — proven here with one table.
+
+const disposers: (() => void)[] = []
+
+/** Bind through the REAL production function, with the closer/opener pair the
+ *  controller gives it. */
+function bindVisibility(paneId: string, $open: ReturnType<typeof atom<boolean>>) {
+  bindPaneVisibility(
+    paneId,
+    $open,
+    () => $open.set(false),
+    () => $open.set(true)
+  )
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  window.localStorage.clear()
+  $dismissedPanes.set(new Set())
+  $hiddenTreePanes.set(new Set())
+
+  for (const [id, data] of [
+    ['workspace', { placement: 'main', uncloseable: true }],
+    ['files', { placement: 'right' }],
+    ['review', { placement: 'right' }]
+  ] as const) {
+    disposers.push(registry.register({ area: 'panes', data, id, render: () => null, title: id }))
+  }
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  disposers.splice(0).forEach(dispose => dispose())
+})
+
+describe('a hide-style pane stacked behind a sibling tab', () => {
+  it('comes forward on the first press instead of swallowing it', () => {
+    $layoutTree.set(
+      split('row', [
+        group(['workspace'], { active: 'workspace', id: 'g-main' }),
+        group(['files', 'review'], { active: 'files', id: 'g-right' })
+      ])
+    )
+
+    const $review = atom(true)
+    bindVisibility('review', $review)
+
+    // The column is open but showing FILES, so the diff is not on screen —
+    // and $reviewOpen is true, which is what made ⌘G a no-op.
+    expect(isPaneVisible('review')).toBe(false)
+
+    togglePaneVisible('review')
+
+    expect(isPaneVisible('review')).toBe(true)
+  })
+})
+
+describe('a hide-style pane inside a minimized zone', () => {
+  it('un-minimizes on the first press', () => {
+    $layoutTree.set(
+      split('row', [
+        group(['workspace'], { active: 'workspace', id: 'g-main' }),
+        group(['files'], { active: 'files', id: 'g-files' })
+      ])
+    )
+
+    const $files = atom(true)
+    bindVisibility('files', $files)
+    setTreeGroupMinimized('g-files', true)
+
+    expect(isPaneVisible('files')).toBe(false)
+
+    togglePaneVisible('files')
+
+    expect(isPaneVisible('files')).toBe(true)
+  })
+})
+
+describe('the toggle round-trip', () => {
+  it('closes a visible hide-style pane through its own store', () => {
+    $layoutTree.set(
+      split('row', [
+        group(['workspace'], { active: 'workspace', id: 'g-main' }),
+        group(['files'], { active: 'files', id: 'g-files' })
+      ])
+    )
+
+    const $files = atom(true)
+    bindVisibility('files', $files)
+
+    expect(isPaneVisible('files')).toBe(true)
+
+    togglePaneVisible('files')
+
+    // Close routes through the registered closer, so the pane's own toggle
+    // store stays truthful rather than being bypassed by a tree edit.
+    expect($files.get()).toBe(false)
+    expect(isPaneVisible('files')).toBe(false)
+
+    togglePaneVisible('files')
+
+    expect($files.get()).toBe(true)
+    expect(isPaneVisible('files')).toBe(true)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/store.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/store.ts
index 9c9be382ba..bf5be6e17b 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/store.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/store.ts
@@ -1340,9 +1340,10 @@ export function restoreTreePane(paneId: string) {
   revealTreePane(paneId)
 }
 
-/** Is a tool pane actually ON SCREEN? In the tree, not dismissed or chrome
- *  hidden, its zone un-minimized, and holding its stack's active slot. */
-export function isToolPaneVisible(paneId: string): boolean {
+/** Is a pane actually ON SCREEN? In the tree, not dismissed, not chrome
+ *  hidden, its zone un-minimized, and holding its stack's active slot.
+ *  True for every pane class — tool panels and hide-style panes alike. */
+export function isPaneVisible(paneId: string): boolean {
   if ($dismissedPanes.get().has(paneId) || $hiddenTreePanes.get().has(paneId)) {
     return false
   }
@@ -1352,22 +1353,54 @@ export function isToolPaneVisible(paneId: string): boolean {
   return Boolean(group && !group.minimized && group.active === paneId)
 }
 
-const toolPaneVisibleCache = new Map<string, ReadableAtom<boolean>>()
+const paneVisibleCache = new Map<string, ReadableAtom<boolean>>()
 
-/** Reactive `isToolPaneVisible` for chrome that renders an on/off affordance
+/** Reactive `isPaneVisible` for chrome that renders an on/off affordance
  *  (the statusbar's terminal button). Memoized per pane id so `useStore`
  *  subscriptions stay referentially stable across renders. */
-export function $toolPaneVisible(paneId: string): ReadableAtom<boolean> {
-  let cached = toolPaneVisibleCache.get(paneId)
+export function $paneVisible(paneId: string): ReadableAtom<boolean> {
+  let cached = paneVisibleCache.get(paneId)
 
   if (!cached) {
-    cached = computed([$layoutTree, $dismissedPanes, $hiddenTreePanes], () => isToolPaneVisible(paneId))
-    toolPaneVisibleCache.set(paneId, cached)
+    cached = computed([$layoutTree, $dismissedPanes, $hiddenTreePanes], () => isPaneVisible(paneId))
+    paneVisibleCache.set(paneId, cached)
   }
 
   return cached
 }
 
+/**
+ * HIDE-STYLE PANES (files, review, preview): bind a pane's visibility STORE to
+ * the tree so its toggle HIDES the pane — its zone collapses while the content
+ * stays mounted — as opposed to the tool panels, which collapse to a rail and
+ * keep their tab.
+ *
+ * `close` and `open` are a PAIR, and passing only one is the bug this exists to
+ * prevent. The closer keeps the toggle truthful when the pane is closed from
+ * the tab menu; the opener is its mirror, so anything that shows the pane
+ * through the tree — a reveal, a preset, the toggle's own un-hide path — writes
+ * the store too. With a closer and no opener the boolean goes stale the moment
+ * something other than the toggle reveals the pane, and the next press spends
+ * itself re-asserting a value it already held.
+ */
+export function bindPaneVisibility(
+  paneId: string,
+  $open: { get(): boolean; listen(fn: (open: boolean) => void): void },
+  close?: () => void,
+  open?: () => void
+) {
+  setTreePaneHidden(paneId, !$open.get())
+  $open.listen(isOpen => setTreePaneHidden(paneId, !isOpen))
+
+  if (close) {
+    registerPaneCloser(paneId, close)
+  }
+
+  if (open) {
+    registerPaneOpener(paneId, open)
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * TOOL PANELS (terminal, logs): bind a pane's visibility STORE to the tree so
  * its toggle COLLAPSES the zone to a persistent rail (the tab stays) instead of
@@ -1407,8 +1440,8 @@ export function bindToolPaneCollapse(
 }
 
 /**
- * ⌃` / the statusbar button / ⌘J's terminal fallback: ONE resolver for "flip
- * this tool panel", derived from what is on screen rather than from the
+ * EVERY pane toggle: ⌃`, ⌘G, the statusbar button, the ⌘K rows. ONE resolver
+ * for "flip this pane", derived from what is on screen rather than from the
  * toggle's own boolean.
  *
  * A free-floating `!$open.get()` diverges from the tree the moment anything
@@ -1416,10 +1449,21 @@ export function bindToolPaneCollapse(
  * menu, closed with ⌘W — and then the toggle spends its press re-asserting a
  * value the store already held, which reads as a dead key. Asking the tree
  * instead means the first press always does the visible thing.
+ *
+ * This is not a tool-panel quirk. The hide-style panes (files, review) had it
+ * too: `setTreePaneHidden(id, false)` deliberately does NOT front or
+ * un-minimize, because reactive unhides (a cwd arriving) must not clobber what
+ * the user is looking at. Correct for a reactive change, useless for a
+ * keypress — so user intent routes here and reactive bindings keep the quiet
+ * path.
+ *
+ * Close goes through `closeTreePane` so each pane keeps its own semantics: a
+ * tool panel collapses to its rail, files/review close through their store,
+ * anything else is dismissed.
  */
-export function toggleToolPane(paneId: string) {
-  if (isToolPaneVisible(paneId)) {
-    collapseTreePane(paneId)
+export function togglePaneVisible(paneId: string) {
+  if (isPaneVisible(paneId)) {
+    closeTreePane(paneId)
   } else {
     restoreTreePane(paneId)
   }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/tool-pane-toggle.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/tool-pane-toggle.test.ts
index 8031fd6bab..6e24300d6d 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/tool-pane-toggle.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/pane-shell/tree/tool-pane-toggle.test.ts
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ import {
   $layoutTree,
   bindToolPaneCollapse,
   closeToolPane,
-  isToolPaneVisible,
+  isPaneVisible,
   setTreeGroupHeaderHidden,
-  toggleToolPane
+  togglePaneVisible
 } from './store'
 
 // Ground truth for "toggle terminal broke — ⌘J/⌘B work fine, but once I move
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ describe('binding a tool panel on boot', () => {
     $terminal.set(false)
 
     expect(toolZone()?.minimized).toBe(true)
-    expect(isToolPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(false)
+    expect(isPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(false)
   })
 
   it('still collapses a tool panel whose store says it is off', () => {
@@ -132,11 +132,11 @@ describe('toggling the terminal while it is stacked with logs', () => {
     bindPaneCollapse('terminal', atom(true))
     bindPaneCollapse('logs', atom(true))
 
-    toggleToolPane('terminal')
-    expect(isToolPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(false)
+    togglePaneVisible('terminal')
+    expect(isPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(false)
 
-    toggleToolPane('terminal')
-    expect(isToolPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(true)
+    togglePaneVisible('terminal')
+    expect(isPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(true)
   })
 
   it('brings the terminal forward when logs holds the active tab', () => {
@@ -146,11 +146,11 @@ describe('toggling the terminal while it is stacked with logs', () => {
 
     // The zone is open but showing LOGS, so the terminal is not on screen —
     // the first press must reveal it rather than collapse the whole zone.
-    expect(isToolPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(false)
+    expect(isPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(false)
 
-    toggleToolPane('terminal')
+    togglePaneVisible('terminal')
 
-    expect(isToolPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(true)
+    expect(isPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(true)
     expect(toolZone()?.minimized).toBeFalsy()
   })
 
@@ -163,10 +163,10 @@ describe('toggling the terminal while it is stacked with logs', () => {
     closeToolPane('terminal')
     expect(allPaneIds($layoutTree.get()!)).not.toContain('terminal')
 
-    toggleToolPane('terminal')
+    togglePaneVisible('terminal')
 
     expect(allPaneIds($layoutTree.get()!)).toContain('terminal')
-    expect(isToolPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(true)
+    expect(isPaneVisible('terminal')).toBe(true)
   })
 })
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/layout.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/layout.ts
index ba9a078920..c2debd8a72 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/layout.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/layout.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { atom, computed, type ReadableAtom, type WritableAtom } from 'nanostores
 
 import { SIDEBAR_COLLAPSE_MEDIA_QUERY } from '@/app/layout-constants'
 import { PANE_TOGGLE_REVEAL_EVENT } from '@/components/pane-shell'
+import { isPaneVisible, revealTreePane } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
 import { matchesQuery } from '@/hooks/use-media-query'
 import { Codecs, persistentAtom } from '@/lib/persisted'
 import { arraysEqual, insertUniqueId, readKey } from '@/lib/storage'
@@ -37,6 +38,9 @@ const RIGHT_RAIL_ACTIVE_TAB_STORAGE_KEY = 'hermes.desktop.rightRailActiveTab'
 
 export const CHAT_SIDEBAR_PANE_ID = 'chat-sidebar'
 export const FILE_BROWSER_PANE_ID = 'file-browser'
+/** The file tree's id in the LAYOUT TREE — distinct from the pane-state id
+ *  above, which keys its open/width record. Toggles need both. */
+export const FILES_PANE_ID = 'files'
 export const PREVIEW_PANE_ID = 'preview'
 
 /** Every rail tab is a preview of something, namespaced by what backs it: a
@@ -287,9 +291,23 @@ export function toggleSidebarOpen() {
 }
 
 export function toggleFileBrowserOpen() {
-  if (!revealNarrowPane(FILE_BROWSER_PANE_ID, 'toggle')) {
-    togglePane(FILE_BROWSER_PANE_ID)
+  if (revealNarrowPane(FILE_BROWSER_PANE_ID, 'toggle')) {
+    return
   }
+
+  // Ask the TREE, not the pane's boolean. `$fileBrowserOpen` stays true while
+  // the tree pane sits behind a sibling tab in the shared right column (the
+  // preview rail, the diff) or inside a minimized zone, so ⌘J spent its press
+  // re-asserting a value it already held and read as a dead key. Only fold the
+  // side when the tree is genuinely the thing on screen; otherwise bring it
+  // forward through the reveal path, which fronts and un-minimizes.
+  if (!isPaneVisible(FILES_PANE_ID) && $fileBrowserOpen.get()) {
+    revealTreePane(FILES_PANE_ID)
+
+    return
+  }
+
+  togglePane(FILE_BROWSER_PANE_ID)
 }
 
 export function setFileBrowserOpen(open: boolean) {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/review.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/review.ts
index 91474682f8..c25c044b17 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/review.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/review.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { atom, computed } from 'nanostores'
 
 import { SIDEBAR_COLLAPSE_MEDIA_QUERY } from '@/app/layout-constants'
 import { PANE_TOGGLE_REVEAL_EVENT } from '@/components/pane-shell'
-import { revealTreePane } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
+import { isPaneVisible, revealTreePane } from '@/components/pane-shell/tree/store'
 import type { HermesReviewFile, HermesReviewShipInfo } from '@/global'
 import { matchesQuery } from '@/hooks/use-media-query'
 import { desktopGit } from '@/lib/desktop-git'
@@ -285,7 +285,12 @@ export function toggleReview(scopeCwd: null | string = null): void {
     return
   }
 
-  if ($reviewOpen.get()) {
+  // Ask the TREE, not `$reviewOpen`. The store stays true while the pane sits
+  // behind a sibling tab in the right column or inside a minimized zone, so a
+  // boolean flip spent the press re-asserting a value it already held and ⌘G
+  // read as a dead key. `revealReview` fronts and un-minimizes; only close when
+  // the diff is genuinely the thing on screen.
+  if (isPaneVisible(REVIEW_PANE_ID)) {
     closeReview()
   } else {
     revealReview(scopeCwd)