diff --git a/backend/app/debugsession.py b/backend/app/debugsession.py
index b7dabaff..3f114733 100644
--- a/backend/app/debugsession.py
+++ b/backend/app/debugsession.py
@@ -32,6 +32,12 @@ HEADER = "x-debug-session"
 MAX_MINUTES = diagnostics.SESSION_MINUTES
 SCREENSHOT_MAX_BYTES = 10 * 1024 * 1024
 SCREENSHOTS_MAX = 8
+# What one user may keep in screenshots across ALL their sessions (until retention takes them): the
+# per-session cap alone would let Start → 8 images → Stop repeat without end.
+SCREENSHOT_USER_MAX_BYTES = 100 * 1024 * 1024
+# The screenshot types kept, and the extension each is exported and sent under — one table, so an
+# accepted type always has a name.
+IMAGE_TYPES = {"image/png": "png", "image/jpeg": "jpg", "image/webp": "webp"}
 # Rows an issue can carry. A 60-minute session at Teljes is a few thousand rows; past this the
 # bundle says how many it left out rather than growing without bound.
 BUNDLE_MAX = 5_000
@@ -48,15 +54,16 @@ class EndReason(StrEnum):
     EXPIRED = "expired"
 
 
-def _is_live(session: DebugSession, now: datetime) -> bool:
-    return session.ended_at is None and session.until > now
+def is_live(session: DebugSession, now: datetime | None = None) -> bool:
+    """Open and within its cap — THE liveness rule: an open session past its cap is over."""
+    return session.ended_at is None and session.until > (now or datetime.now(timezone.utc))
 
 
 def open_session(db: Session, user: User) -> DebugSession | None:
     """The user's live session, or None. Read-only: one past its cap is over and reads as None;
     `start` and the hourly sweep are what close it."""
     session = _unclosed(db, user)
-    if session is None or not _is_live(session, datetime.now(timezone.utc)):
+    if session is None or not is_live(session, datetime.now(timezone.utc)):
         return None
     return session
 
@@ -71,11 +78,11 @@ def start(db: Session, user: User, level: SessionLevel) -> DebugSession:
     """Open a session, or return the live one — a second tab pressing Start joins the recording
     rather than ending it. One past its cap is closed first: the one-open-per-user index would
     refuse the new row beside it. Flushes; the caller commits. Two concurrent Starts can still both
-    get here: the index refuses the second, and the caller retries once."""
+    get here: the index refuses the second, and the caller joins the one that won."""
     now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
     current = _unclosed(db, user)
     if current is not None:
-        if _is_live(current, now):
+        if is_live(current, now):
             return current
         end(current, EndReason.EXPIRED)
         db.flush()
@@ -91,6 +98,12 @@ def start(db: Session, user: User, level: SessionLevel) -> DebugSession:
     return session
 
 
+def stop(session: DebugSession) -> None:
+    """The user's Stop. Past its cap the session had already ended on its own, and a late Stop must
+    not rename that."""
+    end(session, EndReason.STOPPED if is_live(session) else EndReason.EXPIRED)
+
+
 def end(session: DebugSession, reason: EndReason) -> None:
     """Close a session. An expired one is dated at its cap, not at whenever it was noticed."""
     if session.ended_at is not None:
@@ -111,7 +124,7 @@ def from_header(db: Session, user: User, value: str | None) -> DebugSession | No
     if (
         session is None
         or session.user_id != user.id
-        or not _is_live(session, datetime.now(timezone.utc))
+        or not is_live(session, datetime.now(timezone.utc))
     ):
         return None
     return session
@@ -127,11 +140,37 @@ def level_for(user: User, session: DebugSession | None) -> tuple[str, datetime |
     return session.level, session.until
 
 
+def lock(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> None:
+    """Re-read the session under a row lock, held until the caller commits. Everything that changes
+    what an issue is made of — the draft, the screenshots, the send itself — takes it first: a send
+    in flight sees none of them change under it, and each of them sees a send that committed."""
+    db.refresh(session, with_for_update=True)
+
+
 def save_draft(session: DebugSession, draft: dict) -> None:
-    """Keep the composer's draft (the caller validated and commits). Shape: `title`, `body` (the
-    rendered markdown an export or an issue carries), `excluded` (log row ids taken out of the
-    evidence) and `form` (the composer's own fields, to reopen it as it was)."""
-    session.draft = draft
+    """Keep the composer's draft (the caller validated, locked and commits). Shape: `title`, `body`
+    (the rendered markdown an export or an issue carries), `excluded` (log row ids taken out of the
+    evidence) and `form` (the composer's own fields, to reopen it as it was). A delivery's progress
+    is not the composer's to replace, and is kept."""
+    progress = (session.draft or {}).get("delivery")
+    session.draft = {**draft, "delivery": progress} if progress else draft
+
+
+# --- a delivery's progress -----------------------------------------------------------------
+# Written by app/issues/gitea.py into the draft; read HERE, so the send's decision and what the
+# composer shows are one reading of it.
+def delivery(session: DebugSession) -> dict:
+    return dict((session.draft or {}).get("delivery") or {})
+
+
+def unfinished(session: DebugSession) -> list[str]:
+    """What a send that stopped half-way still owes its issue: the files not yet uploaded, and the
+    screenshots uploaded but not yet shown in its body (the edit that shows them failed)."""
+    state = delivery(session)
+    missing = list(state.get("pending") or [])
+    if not state.get("images_shown"):
+        missing += [n for n in state.get("links") or {} if n.startswith("screenshot-")]
+    return missing
 
 
 def serialize(session: DebugSession | None, screenshots: int = 0) -> dict | None:
@@ -145,13 +184,18 @@ def serialize(session: DebugSession | None, screenshots: int = 0) -> dict | None
         "ended_at": session.ended_at.isoformat() if session.ended_at else None,
         "ended_reason": session.ended_reason,
         "issue_url": session.issue_url,
-        # A send that stopped half-way (app/issues/gitea.py): the files still to go.
-        "pending_files": ((session.draft or {}).get("delivery") or {}).get("pending") or [],
+        # A send that stopped half-way: what it still owes.
+        "pending_files": unfinished(session),
         "screenshots": screenshots,
         "draft": session.draft,
     }
 
 
+def view(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> dict:
+    """The session as the API serves it — one shape wherever it is served."""
+    return serialize(session, screenshot_count(db, session)) or {}
+
+
 def screenshot_count(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> int:
     return (
         db.scalar(
@@ -172,7 +216,7 @@ _SIGNATURES = (
 
 
 def sniff(data: bytes) -> str | None:
-    """The image type `data` really is — PNG, JPEG or WebP — or None."""
+    """The image type `data` really is — one of IMAGE_TYPES — or None."""
     for magic, mime in _SIGNATURES:
         if data.startswith(magic):
             return mime
@@ -181,6 +225,17 @@ def sniff(data: bytes) -> str | None:
     return None
 
 
+def stored_screenshot_bytes(db: Session, user_id: int) -> int:
+    return (
+        db.scalar(
+            select(func.coalesce(func.sum(DebugScreenshot.size), 0))
+            .join(DebugSession, DebugSession.id == DebugScreenshot.session_id)
+            .where(DebugSession.user_id == user_id)
+        )
+        or 0
+    )
+
+
 class ScreenshotRefused(Exception):
     """A screenshot that cannot be kept; `code` is the refusal's machine word."""
 
@@ -190,17 +245,23 @@ class ScreenshotRefused(Exception):
 
 
 def add_screenshot(db: Session, session: DebugSession, data: bytes) -> DebugScreenshot:
-    """Keep one screenshot. Flushes; the caller commits. Refused once the issue was sent (it can no
-    longer carry it), past the per-session count, or when it is not an image we can show."""
-    if session.issue_url is not None:
-        raise ScreenshotRefused("already_sent")
+    """Keep one screenshot. Locks the session and flushes; the caller commits. Refused once the
+    issue was sent (it can no longer carry it), past the per-session count or the user's storage,
+    or when it is not an image we can show."""
     if not data:
         raise ScreenshotRefused("empty")
     mime = sniff(data)
     if mime is None:
         raise ScreenshotRefused("not_an_image")
+    # Under the lock: a send in flight is waited for (and then refuses this), and two uploads at
+    # once cannot both pass the count.
+    lock(db, session)
+    if session.issue_url is not None:
+        raise ScreenshotRefused("already_sent")
     if screenshot_count(db, session) >= SCREENSHOTS_MAX:
         raise ScreenshotRefused("too_many")
+    if stored_screenshot_bytes(db, session.user_id) + len(data) > SCREENSHOT_USER_MAX_BYTES:
+        raise ScreenshotRefused("storage_full")
     shot = DebugScreenshot(
         session_id=session.id,
         created_at=datetime.now(timezone.utc),
@@ -213,6 +274,16 @@ def add_screenshot(db: Session, session: DebugSession, data: bytes) -> DebugScre
     return shot
 
 
+def remove_screenshot(db: Session, session: DebugSession, shot: DebugScreenshot) -> None:
+    """Delete one screenshot, under the lock. Refused once the issue was sent: it carries this one
+    already, and a delivery names the screenshots by their order. The caller commits."""
+    lock(db, session)
+    if session.issue_url is not None:
+        raise ScreenshotRefused("already_sent")
+    db.delete(shot)
+    db.flush()
+
+
 def screenshots(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> list[DebugScreenshot]:
     """The session's screenshots, oldest first, WITHOUT their bytes loaded."""
     return list(
diff --git a/backend/app/issues/bundle.py b/backend/app/issues/bundle.py
index 07d02a7d..3484f3ef 100644
--- a/backend/app/issues/bundle.py
+++ b/backend/app/issues/bundle.py
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 from app import debugsession, logsink
 from app.models import DebugScreenshot, DebugSession
 
-_EXT = {"image/png": "png", "image/jpeg": "jpg", "image/webp": "webp"}
-
 
 @dataclass(frozen=True)
 class IssueFile:
@@ -65,7 +63,8 @@ def files(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> list[IssueFile]:
         .order_by(DebugScreenshot.id)
     )
     for n, shot in enumerate(shots, start=1):
-        out.append(IssueFile(f"screenshot-{n}.{_EXT.get(shot.mime, 'bin')}", shot.data, shot.mime))
+        ext = debugsession.IMAGE_TYPES[shot.mime]
+        out.append(IssueFile(f"screenshot-{n}.{ext}", shot.data, shot.mime))
     return out
 
 
@@ -73,5 +72,7 @@ def zipped(items: list[IssueFile]) -> bytes:
     buf = io.BytesIO()
     with zipfile.ZipFile(buf, "w", zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as z:
         for item in items:
-            z.writestr(item.name, item.data)
+            # The images are compressed already: deflating them again costs time and wins nothing.
+            method = zipfile.ZIP_STORED if item.mime.startswith("image/") else zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED
+            z.writestr(item.name, item.data, compress_type=method)
     return buf.getvalue()
diff --git a/backend/app/issues/gitea.py b/backend/app/issues/gitea.py
index ea0da7af..62de2c62 100644
--- a/backend/app/issues/gitea.py
+++ b/backend/app/issues/gitea.py
@@ -17,19 +17,20 @@ A private repository's attachment answers 404 to a browser not signed in to Gite
 composer's own preview shows our copies, never these links.
 
 Delivery keeps its progress in the session's draft (`delivery`: the issue number, the files still to
-upload, the links of those uploaded), so a failure half-way keeps the issue that exists and a retry
-sends only what is missing — never a second issue. Every step flushes; the caller commits, also
-when a step fails, so what did happen is kept.
+upload, the links of those uploaded, whether the body shows the screenshots yet), so a failure
+half-way keeps the issue that exists and a retry does only what is missing — never a second issue.
+Every step flushes; the caller holds the session's lock throughout (`debugsession.lock`) and commits,
+also when a step fails, so what did happen is kept. `debugsession.unfinished` reads that progress.
 """
 
-from collections.abc import Iterator
+from collections.abc import Callable, Iterator
 from contextlib import contextmanager
-from typing import Literal
+from typing import Any, Literal
 
 import httpx
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
-from app import logs, sysconfig
+from app import debugsession, logs, sysconfig
 from app.issues import bundle
 from app.models import DebugSession
 
@@ -44,7 +45,8 @@ Reason = Literal[
     "repo_not_found",  # 404 on the repository
     "public_repo",  # the repository is public — an issue would publish the reporter's log
     "issues_disabled",  # the repository has its issue tracker switched off
-    "rejected",  # any other 4xx (a file type the instance does not allow, …)
+    "rejected",  # any other 4xx (a file type the instance does not allow, …), or an answer that is
+    # not the API's (a redirect — an http:// address behind https —, a page that is not JSON)
 ]
 
 
@@ -91,7 +93,7 @@ def _call(client: httpx.Client, method: str, path: str, **kwargs) -> httpx.Respo
             extra=logs.event("issues.gitea.unreachable", path=path, error=type(exc).__name__),
         )
         raise GiteaError("unreachable") from None
-    if r.status_code < 400:
+    if r.status_code < 300:
         return r
     # The status only: Gitea's message can quote back what was sent — the user's own title.
     log.warning(
@@ -107,8 +109,25 @@ def _call(client: httpx.Client, method: str, path: str, **kwargs) -> httpx.Respo
     raise GiteaError("rejected")
 
 
+def _json(r: httpx.Response, *keys: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """The answer as the API's JSON, holding `keys` — anything else is refused, not a crash: a
+    crash after the issue was created would lose the record that it was."""
+    try:
+        data = r.json()
+    # silent-ok: not JSON is one of the answers refused (and logged) just below.
+    except ValueError:
+        data = None
+    if not isinstance(data, dict) or any(k not in data for k in keys):
+        log.warning(
+            "the issue tracker answered something that is not its API",
+            extra=logs.event("issues.gitea.unexpected", status=r.status_code),
+        )
+        raise GiteaError("rejected")
+    return data
+
+
 def _private_repo(client: httpx.Client, repo: str) -> dict:
-    data = _call(client, "GET", f"/repos/{repo}").json()
+    data = _json(_call(client, "GET", f"/repos/{repo}"))
     if not data.get("private"):
         raise GiteaError("public_repo")
     if not data.get("has_issues"):
@@ -135,20 +154,30 @@ def _save(session: DebugSession, state: dict) -> None:
     session.draft = {**(session.draft or {}), "delivery": state}
 
 
-def deliver(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> str:
-    """Send the session's issue, or finish sending it; returns its URL. Flushes after every step."""
-    state = dict((session.draft or {}).get("delivery") or {})
+def deliver(
+    db: Session, session: DebugSession, *, before_create: Callable[[], None] | None = None
+) -> str:
+    """Send the session's issue, or finish sending it; returns its URL. Flushes after every step.
+    `before_create` runs right before a NEW issue is opened — after every check that could refuse
+    it — and may raise to stop it (the caller's pace on new issues)."""
+    state = debugsession.delivery(session)
     files = bundle.files(db, session)
     attachments = [f for f in files if f.name != "issue.md"]
     with _client(db) as (client, repo):
         _private_repo(client, repo)
         if "number" not in state:
-            created = _call(
-                client,
-                "POST",
-                f"/repos/{repo}/issues",
-                json={"title": bundle.title_of(session), "body": bundle.body_of(session)},
-            ).json()
+            if before_create is not None:
+                before_create()
+            created = _json(
+                _call(
+                    client,
+                    "POST",
+                    f"/repos/{repo}/issues",
+                    json={"title": bundle.title_of(session), "body": bundle.body_of(session)},
+                ),
+                "number",
+                "html_url",
+            )
             state = {
                 "number": created["number"],
                 "pending": [f.name for f in attachments],
@@ -165,13 +194,16 @@ def deliver(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> str:
         for item in attachments:
             if item.name not in state["pending"]:
                 continue
-            asset = _call(
-                client,
-                "POST",
-                f"/repos/{repo}/issues/{number}/assets",
-                params={"name": item.name},
-                files={"attachment": (item.name, item.data, item.mime)},
-            ).json()
+            asset = _json(
+                _call(
+                    client,
+                    "POST",
+                    f"/repos/{repo}/issues/{number}/assets",
+                    params={"name": item.name},
+                    files={"attachment": (item.name, item.data, item.mime)},
+                ),
+                "browser_download_url",
+            )
             state = {
                 **state,
                 "pending": [n for n in state["pending"] if n != item.name],
@@ -187,8 +219,3 @@ def deliver(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> str:
             _save(session, {**state, "images_shown": True})
             db.flush()
     return session.issue_url or ""
-
-
-def pending(session: DebugSession) -> list[str]:
-    """The files a half-finished delivery still has to send."""
-    return list(((session.draft or {}).get("delivery") or {}).get("pending") or [])
diff --git a/backend/app/logs.py b/backend/app/logs.py
index 61c2dcc6..ce42b3dd 100644
--- a/backend/app/logs.py
+++ b/backend/app/logs.py
@@ -127,7 +127,11 @@ def set_user(
     from the request middleware, which runs OUTSIDE the session middleware.
 
     `debug_session` tags every line with the user's open debug session (E16). The caller has
-    already checked it is theirs and open; a session's level arrives here as `level`/`until`."""
+    already checked it is theirs and open; a session's level arrives here as `level`/`until`.
+
+    The root logger's floor is tracked per elevation: a request without the session's header (an
+    `<img>`, a `<video>` — the browser sends those itself) carries only the user's own level, and
+    must not lower the floor a concurrent request of the session still needs."""
     _user_id.set(user_id)
     scope = _scope.get()
     if scope is None:  # outside log_requests (a script, a unit test): this context only
@@ -138,7 +142,8 @@ def set_user(
     scope.debug_session_id = debug_session
     scope.level = resolve_level(level) if elevated else None
     if user_id is not None:
-        _track_elevation(user_id, scope.level, until)
+        key = user_id if debug_session is None else (user_id, debug_session)
+        _track_elevation(key, scope.level, until)
 
 
 def set_job(job_id: int | None) -> None:
@@ -562,18 +567,21 @@ def current_level() -> str:
 # The base level (`LOG_LEVEL`, then the admin knob). NOTSET until configure_logging runs — a unit
 # test, a script — so the gate lets everything through there, as it did before the gate existed.
 _base_level = logging.NOTSET
-# user id → (level number, expiry) for every elevation this process has seen and not yet expired.
-_elevations: dict[int, tuple[int, datetime]] = {}
+# → (level number, expiry) for every elevation this process has seen and not yet expired: a user's
+# own, by user id, and a debug session's (E16), by (user id, session id) — its requests alone carry
+# its level, so it is tracked apart from the user's own requests.
+_ElevationKey = int | tuple[int, str]
+_elevations: dict[_ElevationKey, tuple[int, datetime]] = {}
 _elevations_lock = threading.Lock()
 _root_applied: int | None = None
 
 
-def _track_elevation(user_id: int, level: int | None, until: datetime | None) -> None:
+def _track_elevation(key: _ElevationKey, level: int | None, until: datetime | None) -> None:
     with _elevations_lock:
         if level is None or until is None:
-            _elevations.pop(user_id, None)
+            _elevations.pop(key, None)
         else:
-            _elevations[user_id] = (level, until)
+            _elevations[key] = (level, until)
         active = bool(_elevations)
     if active or _root_applied != _base_level:
         _apply_root_level()
@@ -590,8 +598,8 @@ def _apply_root_level(force: bool = False) -> None:
     # different answer would otherwise apply them in either order, and the older one could win —
     # the root back at the base while an elevation is still active.
     with _elevations_lock:
-        for user_id in [u for u, (_, until) in _elevations.items() if until <= now]:
-            del _elevations[user_id]
+        for key in [k for k, (_, until) in _elevations.items() if until <= now]:
+            del _elevations[key]
         lowest = min([_base_level, *(lvl for lvl, _ in _elevations.values())])
         if force or lowest != _root_applied:
             logging.getLogger().setLevel(lowest)
@@ -628,13 +636,24 @@ def forget_user(user_id: int) -> None:
             del _erased[stale]
         _erased[user_id] = now
     with _elevations_lock:
-        _elevations.pop(user_id, None)
+        for key in [
+            k for k in _elevations if k == user_id or (isinstance(k, tuple) and k[0] == user_id)
+        ]:
+            del _elevations[key]
     # That pop can have removed the lowest elevation, and the root level is the lowest of the base
     # and every unexpired one. Recomputed here rather than left to whichever later request happens
     # to call `_track_elevation` — the invariant `_apply_root_level` documents holds at every pop.
     _apply_root_level()
 
 
+def end_session_elevation(session_id: str) -> None:
+    """A debug session was stopped: its elevation ends now, not at its cap."""
+    with _elevations_lock:
+        for key in [k for k in _elevations if isinstance(k, tuple) and k[1] == session_id]:
+            del _elevations[key]
+    _apply_root_level()
+
+
 def is_erased(user_id: int | None) -> bool:
     if user_id is None:
         return False
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/debug_sessions.py b/backend/app/routes/debug_sessions.py
index 413f8862..f6c7bc46 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/debug_sessions.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/debug_sessions.py
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ those types, whatever the Content-Type claimed.
 """
 
 import json
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from typing import Any
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Request, Response
@@ -42,8 +41,11 @@ class StartIn(BaseModel):
     level: debugsession.SessionLevel
 
 
-def _view(db: Session, session: DebugSession) -> dict:
-    return debugsession.serialize(session, debugsession.screenshot_count(db, session)) or {}
+_view = debugsession.view
+
+# New sessions a user may open per hour (joining the running one is not counted): a session is a
+# place to keep screenshots, and this — with the per-user storage cap — bounds how many there are.
+_new_sessions = RateLimiter(max_events=20, window_seconds=3600)
 
 
 @router.post("")
@@ -53,6 +55,9 @@ def start_session(
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     """Start recording, or join the recording already running (another tab started it)."""
+    joining = debugsession.open_session(db, user) is not None
+    if not joining and not _new_sessions.allow(str(user.id)):
+        raise refused(429, "debug_session_rate_limited", limit=_new_sessions.max_events)
     try:
         session = debugsession.start(db, user, body.level)
         db.commit()
@@ -81,11 +86,9 @@ def stop_session(
         # Logged BEFORE the session closes, while this request still carries its tag: the last line
         # of the evidence is the Stop itself.
         log.info("debug session stopped", extra=logs.event("debug.session.stopped"))
-        # Past its cap it had already ended on its own; a late Stop must not rename that.
-        live = session.until > datetime.now(timezone.utc)
-        reason = debugsession.EndReason.STOPPED if live else debugsession.EndReason.EXPIRED
-        debugsession.end(session, reason)
+        debugsession.stop(session)
         db.commit()
+        logs.end_session_elevation(session.id)
     return {"ok": True, "session": _view(db, session)}
 
 
@@ -121,6 +124,8 @@ def session_events(
 # The composer's own fields (steps, description…) are its business, kept whole so it reopens as it
 # was — bounded here so a draft cannot become a place to store anything else.
 FORM_MAX_BYTES = 64 * 1024
+# Zips a user may build per minute: each holds every screenshot in memory while it is built.
+_exports = RateLimiter(max_events=6, window_seconds=60)
 
 
 class DraftIn(BaseModel):
@@ -140,11 +145,14 @@ def save_draft(
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
+    if len(json.dumps(body.form, ensure_ascii=False).encode()) > FORM_MAX_BYTES:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=413, detail={"code": "too_large"})
+    # Under the lock: a save that arrives while the issue is being sent waits for the send, and then
+    # sees it — the draft of a sent issue cannot change after it.
+    debugsession.lock(db, session)
     if session.issue_url is not None:
         # Sent: the issue is on the tracker now, and a draft edited after it would say otherwise.
         raise refused(409, "issue_already_sent")
-    if len(json.dumps(body.form, ensure_ascii=False).encode()) > FORM_MAX_BYTES:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=413, detail={"code": "too_large"})
     debugsession.save_draft(session, body.model_dump())
     db.commit()
     return {"ok": True, "session": _view(db, session)}
@@ -158,6 +166,8 @@ def export_session(
     issue tracker, or for sending it by hand. Built from the SAVED draft: what the composer shows is
     what it saved."""
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
+    if not _exports.allow(str(user.id)):
+        raise refused(429, "export_rate_limited")
     data = bundle.zipped(bundle.files(db, session))
     name = f"siftlode-debug-{session.started_at:%Y%m%d-%H%M}-{session.id[:6]}.zip"
     return Response(
@@ -171,11 +181,16 @@ def export_session(
 
 
 # --- the issue tracker (S4) -----------------------------------------------------------------
-# Issues a user may OPEN per hour — finishing a half-sent one is not counted. The composer sends one
-# at a time; this is room for a bad afternoon, not a pace anything legitimate keeps up.
+# Issues a user may OPEN per hour — finishing a half-sent one, or an attempt refused before the issue
+# was opened, is not counted. The composer sends one at a time; this is room for a bad afternoon, not
+# a pace anything legitimate keeps up.
 _new_issues = RateLimiter(max_events=5, window_seconds=3600)
 
 
+def _issues_rate_limited() -> HTTPException:
+    return refused(429, "issues_rate_limited", limit=_new_issues.max_events)
+
+
 @router.post("/{sid}/issue")
 def send_issue(
     sid: str, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
@@ -183,22 +198,40 @@ def send_issue(
     """Send the session's issue to the tracker — from the SAVED draft, as the export is built — or
     finish a send that stopped half-way (the issue exists; only what is missing is sent)."""
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
+    # Held to the end: a second send (another tab, a retry after a timeout) waits for this one and
+    # then finds the issue it opened, instead of opening another; an autosave or a screenshot waits
+    # too, and then finds the issue sent.
+    debugsession.lock(db, session)
     new = session.issue_url is None
-    if not new and not gitea.pending(session):
+    if not new and not debugsession.unfinished(session):
         return {"ok": True, "session": _view(db, session)}
+    key = str(user.id)
     if new:
         if not ((session.draft or {}).get("title") or "").strip():
             raise refused(422, "issue_title_required")
-        if not _new_issues.allow(str(user.id)):
-            raise refused(429, "issues_rate_limited")
+        if _new_issues.exhausted(key):
+            raise _issues_rate_limited()
+
+    def count_new_issue() -> None:
+        if not _new_issues.allow(key):
+            raise _issues_rate_limited()
+
     try:
-        gitea.deliver(db, session)
+        gitea.deliver(db, session, before_create=count_new_issue)
     except gitea.GiteaError as exc:
         # Keep what did happen: an issue created before an upload failed stays linked, and the
-        # retry sends only the files still missing.
+        # retry does only what is still missing.
         _record_created(db, user, session, new)
         db.commit()
         raise issue_refused(exc) from None
+    except HTTPException:
+        raise  # the pace, refused before anything was opened
+    except Exception:
+        # Anything else after the issue was opened must not lose the record that it was: a retry
+        # would open a second one.
+        _record_created(db, user, session, new)
+        db.commit()
+        raise
     _record_created(db, user, session, new)
     db.commit()
     return {"ok": True, "session": _view(db, session)}
@@ -282,13 +315,21 @@ def _screenshot_refused(code: str) -> HTTPException:
         return refused(409, "screenshot_already_sent")
     if code == "too_many":
         return refused(422, "screenshot_too_many", limit=debugsession.SCREENSHOTS_MAX)
+    if code == "storage_full":
+        mb = debugsession.SCREENSHOT_USER_MAX_BYTES // (1024 * 1024)
+        return refused(422, "screenshot_storage_full", limit=mb)
     if code == "empty":
         return refused(422, "screenshot_empty")
     return refused(422, "screenshot_not_an_image")
 
 
 def _session_screenshot(db: Session, sid: str, shot_id: int, user: User) -> DebugScreenshot:
-    session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
+    return _screenshot_of(
+        db, owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session"), shot_id
+    )
+
+
+def _screenshot_of(db: Session, session: DebugSession, shot_id: int) -> DebugScreenshot:
     shot = db.get(DebugScreenshot, shot_id)
     if shot is None or shot.session_id != session.id:
         raise not_found("screenshot")
@@ -312,7 +353,11 @@ def get_screenshot(
 def delete_screenshot(
     sid: str, shot_id: int, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> dict:
-    shot = _session_screenshot(db, sid, shot_id, user)
-    db.delete(shot)
+    session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
+    shot = _screenshot_of(db, session, shot_id)
+    try:
+        debugsession.remove_screenshot(db, session, shot)
+    except debugsession.ScreenshotRefused as exc:
+        raise _screenshot_refused(exc.code) from None
     db.commit()
     return {"ok": True, "deleted": shot_id}
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/me.py b/backend/app/routes/me.py
index 4a211d32..935c3331 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/me.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/me.py
@@ -168,9 +168,7 @@ def get_me(
 
 def _live_session(db: Session, user: User) -> dict | None:
     session = debugsession.open_session(db, user)
-    if session is None:
-        return None
-    return debugsession.serialize(session, debugsession.screenshot_count(db, session))
+    return None if session is None else debugsession.view(db, session)
 
 
 @router.delete("/account")
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_debug_sessions.py b/backend/tests/test_debug_sessions.py
index 2c3c9911..f1ce0f0f 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_debug_sessions.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_debug_sessions.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ Four parts:
   * screenshots: judged by their bytes, capped in size and count, served back only to their owner.
 """
 
+import contextvars
 import json
 import logging
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
@@ -274,6 +275,31 @@ def test_a_header_naming_anything_else_is_ignored_not_refused(gated, db, client,
         assert getattr(line, "elevated", False) is False, value
 
 
+def test_a_header_naming_the_own_session_past_its_cap_is_ignored(gated, db, client, make_user):
+    _signed_in(client, make_user)
+    sid = _start(client)["id"]
+    _expire(db, sid)  # past its cap, not yet swept: still open in the table
+    gated.records.clear()
+    client.get("/api/debug-sessions", headers={"x-debug-session": sid})
+    (line,) = _request_lines(gated)
+    assert getattr(line, "debug_session_id", None) is None
+    assert getattr(line, "elevated", False) is False
+
+
+def test_a_request_without_the_header_keeps_the_sessions_floor(gated):
+    """The browser's own requests (an <img>, a <video>) carry no header: they must not lower the
+    root level a concurrent request of the session still needs."""
+    root = logging.getLogger()
+    until = datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(minutes=30)
+    request = contextvars.copy_context()  # set_user writes the context: keep it this test's own
+    request.run(logs.set_user, 5, "TRACE", until, "a" * 16)
+    assert root.level == logs.resolve_level("TRACE")
+    request.run(logs.set_user, 5, "INFO", None, None)  # the same user, a request without the header
+    assert root.level == logs.resolve_level("TRACE")
+    logs.end_session_elevation("a" * 16)  # Stop
+    assert root.level == logging.INFO
+
+
 def test_a_session_never_lowers_the_users_own_level():
     now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
     user = User(diagnostics_level="TRACE", diagnostics_until=now + timedelta(hours=3))
@@ -454,6 +480,75 @@ def test_a_screenshot_can_be_removed_and_is_then_gone(recording):
     assert r.status_code == 404 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "screenshot"
 
 
+def test_a_sent_session_keeps_its_screenshots(db, recording):
+    client, sid = recording
+    shot = _upload(client, sid, _PNG).json()["screenshot"]["id"]
+    db.get(DebugSession, sid).issue_url = "https://git.example/o/r/issues/1"
+    db.commit()
+    # The issue carries it already, and a half-sent one names its screenshots by their order.
+    r = client.delete(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/screenshots/{shot}")
+    assert r.status_code == 409 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "screenshot_already_sent"
+
+
+def test_a_users_screenshots_are_capped_across_their_sessions(recording, monkeypatch):
+    client, sid = recording
+    monkeypatch.setattr(debugsession, "SCREENSHOT_USER_MAX_BYTES", len(_PNG) * 2)
+    assert _upload(client, sid, _PNG).status_code == 200
+    client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/stop")
+    other = _start(client)["id"]
+    assert _upload(client, other, _PNG).status_code == 200
+    r = _upload(client, other, _PNG)
+    assert r.status_code == 422 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "screenshot_storage_full"
+
+
+def test_new_sessions_are_paced_but_joining_one_is_not(db, make_user, as_user, monkeypatch):
+    from app.ratelimit import RateLimiter
+    from app.routes import debug_sessions as routes
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(routes, "_new_sessions", RateLimiter(max_events=1, window_seconds=3600))
+    client = as_user(make_user())
+    sid = _start(client)["id"]
+    assert _start(client)["id"] == sid  # another tab joining
+    client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/stop")
+    r = client.post("/api/debug-sessions", json={"level": "DEBUG"})
+    assert r.status_code == 429 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "debug_session_rate_limited"
+
+
+def test_two_starts_at_once_join_the_one_that_won(db, make_user, as_user, monkeypatch):
+    user = make_user()
+    client = as_user(user)
+    won = _start(client)["id"]
+
+    def raced(db_, user_, level):
+        # The loser of the race: past the "is one open?" read, its insert meets the index.
+        db_.add(
+            DebugSession(
+                id="0" * 16,
+                user_id=user_.id,
+                level=level,
+                started_at=datetime.now(timezone.utc),
+                until=datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(minutes=5),
+            )
+        )
+        db_.flush()
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(debugsession, "start", raced)
+    r = client.post("/api/debug-sessions", json={"level": "DEBUG"})
+    assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+    assert r.json()["session"]["id"] == won
+
+
+def test_the_export_is_paced(recording, monkeypatch):
+    from app.ratelimit import RateLimiter
+    from app.routes import debug_sessions as routes
+
+    client, sid = recording
+    monkeypatch.setattr(routes, "_exports", RateLimiter(max_events=1, window_seconds=60))
+    assert client.get(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/export").status_code == 200
+    r = client.get(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/export")
+    assert r.status_code == 429 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "export_rate_limited"
+
+
 def test_the_upload_path_left_out_of_the_evidence_is_the_real_one():
     assert debugsession.INGEST_PATH in {r.path for r in diagnostics_routes.router.routes}
 
@@ -565,6 +660,9 @@ class FakeGitea:
         self.has_issues = True
         self.token_ok = True
         self.fail_asset: str | None = None
+        self.fail_patch = False
+        self.redirect = False  # an http:// address behind a proxy that sends it to https
+        self.garbage_asset = False  # a 2xx that is not the API's answer (a proxy's page)
         self.patched_body: str | None = None
 
     def handler(self, request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
@@ -572,6 +670,8 @@ class FakeGitea:
         self.calls.append((request.method, path))
         if request.headers.get("authorization") != "token t0ken" or not self.token_ok:
             return httpx.Response(401, json={"message": "invalid username, password or token"})
+        if self.redirect:
+            return httpx.Response(301, headers={"location": "https://git.example/"}, text="moved")
         if request.method == "GET" and path == "/repos/o/r":
             return httpx.Response(
                 200,
@@ -591,10 +691,16 @@ class FakeGitea:
             if name == self.fail_asset:
                 self.fail_asset = None
                 return httpx.Response(500, json={"message": "boom"})
+            if self.garbage_asset:
+                self.garbage_asset = False
+                return httpx.Response(200, text="<html>sign in</html>")
             return httpx.Response(
                 201, json={"name": name, "browser_download_url": f"https://git.example/a/{name}"}
             )
         if request.method == "PATCH" and path == "/repos/o/r/issues/7":
+            if self.fail_patch:
+                self.fail_patch = False
+                return httpx.Response(502, json={"message": "bad gateway"})
             self.patched_body = json.loads(request.content)["body"]
             return httpx.Response(201, json={"number": 7})
         if request.method == "POST" and path == "/markdown":
@@ -698,6 +804,53 @@ def test_a_send_that_stops_half_way_keeps_the_issue_and_the_retry_finishes_it(
     assert len(gitea_fake.uploads()) == 3  # client.log, the failed server.log, then server.log
 
 
+def test_a_failed_edit_that_shows_the_screenshots_is_finished_by_the_retry(
+    gitea_fake, db, client, make_user
+):
+    gitea_fake.fail_patch = True
+    _signed_in(client, make_user)
+    sid = _start(client)["id"]
+    _upload(client, sid, _PNG)
+    _ready(client, sid)
+    r = client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/issue")
+    assert r.status_code == 422 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "issues_unreachable"
+    # Every file is up, but the body does not show the screenshot yet: the send is not finished.
+    assert client.get(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}").json()["pending_files"] == ["screenshot-1.png"]
+    r = client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/issue")
+    assert r.status_code == 200 and r.json()["session"]["pending_files"] == []
+    assert "![screenshot-1.png](https://git.example/a/screenshot-1.png)" in gitea_fake.patched_body
+    assert len(gitea_fake.uploads()) == 3  # nothing uploaded twice
+
+
+def test_an_answer_that_is_not_the_api_is_refused_and_the_issue_stays_linked(
+    gitea_fake, db, client, make_user
+):
+    gitea_fake.garbage_asset = True
+    _signed_in(client, make_user)
+    sid = _start(client)["id"]
+    _ready(client, sid)
+    r = client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/issue")
+    assert r.status_code == 422 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "issues_rejected"
+    assert client.get(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}").json()["issue_url"] is not None
+    assert client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/issue").status_code == 200
+    # Still the one issue.
+    assert [m for m, p in gitea_fake.calls if p == "/repos/o/r/issues"] == ["POST"]
+
+
+def test_a_redirecting_tracker_is_refused_not_a_crash(gitea_fake, db, make_user, as_user):
+    gitea_fake.redirect = True
+    admin = as_user(make_user(role="admin"))
+    r = admin.post("/api/admin/config/test-issues")
+    assert r.status_code == 422 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "issues_rejected"
+
+
+def test_the_delivery_survives_a_save_of_the_draft():
+    session = DebugSession(draft={"title": "t", "delivery": {"number": 7, "pending": ["a.log"]}})
+    debugsession.save_draft(session, {"title": "t2", "body": "b", "excluded": [], "form": {}})
+    assert session.draft["title"] == "t2"
+    assert debugsession.unfinished(session) == ["a.log"]
+
+
 def test_a_report_needs_a_title_and_a_wrong_token_says_so(gitea_fake, db, client, make_user):
     _signed_in(client, make_user)
     sid = _start(client)["id"]
@@ -723,7 +876,27 @@ def test_new_issues_are_paced_per_user(gitea_fake, db, make_user, as_user, monke
     second = _start(client)["id"]
     _ready(client, second)
     r = client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{second}/issue")
-    assert r.status_code == 429 and r.json()["detail"]["reason"] == "issues_rate_limited"
+    assert r.status_code == 429 and r.json()["detail"] == {
+        "code": "refused",
+        "reason": "issues_rate_limited",
+        "limit": 1,
+    }
+
+
+def test_an_attempt_refused_before_the_issue_opened_is_not_counted(
+    gitea_fake, db, make_user, as_user, monkeypatch
+):
+    from app.ratelimit import RateLimiter
+    from app.routes import debug_sessions as routes
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(routes, "_new_issues", RateLimiter(max_events=1, window_seconds=3600))
+    client = as_user(make_user())
+    sid = _start(client)["id"]
+    _ready(client, sid)
+    gitea_fake.token_ok = False
+    assert client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/issue").status_code == 422
+    gitea_fake.token_ok = True
+    assert client.post(f"/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/issue").status_code == 200
 
 
 def test_the_preview_is_the_trackers_own_rendering(gitea_fake, db, make_user, as_user):
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/AppCommandPalette.tsx b/frontend/src/components/AppCommandPalette.tsx
index 5283d117..e855c6dc 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/AppCommandPalette.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/AppCommandPalette.tsx
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ export default function AppCommandPalette() {
   const { setSelectedId } = usePlaylistsActions();
   const { theme, setTheme } = usePrefs();
   const savedViews = useSavedViews();
-  const recording = useDebugRecording();
+  const { session: recordingSession, stop: stopRecording, markStep } = useDebugRecording();
+  const stopMutate = stopRecording.mutate;
 
   // Only fetch the lists while the palette is actually open — it is a rarely-opened surface and
   // these are otherwise the feed's and the playlist rail's own queries, shared through the cache.
@@ -155,19 +156,19 @@ export default function AppCommandPalette() {
         // player or a dialog where the pill's buttons are a long Tab away.
         ...(me?.is_demo
           ? []
-          : recording.session
+          : recordingSession
             ? [
                 {
                   id: "action:recorder:step",
                   label: t("recorder.palette.step"),
                   icon: <Flag className="w-4 h-4" />,
-                  run: () => recording.markStep(""),
+                  run: () => markStep(""),
                 },
                 {
                   id: "action:recorder:stop",
                   label: t("recorder.palette.stop"),
                   icon: <Square className="w-4 h-4" />,
-                  run: () => recording.stop.mutate(recording.session!.id),
+                  run: () => stopMutate(recordingSession.id),
                 },
               ]
             : [
@@ -197,7 +198,9 @@ export default function AppCommandPalette() {
     savedViews,
     theme,
     setTheme,
-    recording,
+    recordingSession,
+    markStep,
+    stopMutate,
     setPage,
     openChannel,
     setSelectedId,
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/DebugRecorder.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/DebugRecorder.dom.test.tsx
index c9704a5b..b19e7025 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/DebugRecorder.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/DebugRecorder.dom.test.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 // dialog the pill sits in. i18n is a key-passthrough with its params; the API is stubbed and `me`
 // lives in a real query cache, as in the app.
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { useState } from "react";
 import { act, cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor, within } from "@testing-library/react";
 import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 
@@ -24,7 +25,9 @@ vi.mock("react-i18next", async (importOriginal) => {
   };
 });
 
-const { order, session, startDebugSession, stopDebugSession } = vi.hoisted(() => {
+const { order, session, startDebugSession, stopDebugSession, hold } = vi.hoisted(() => {
+  // A Stop held open until released, when a test needs it in flight.
+  const hold = { stop: null as Promise<void> | null };
   const order: string[] = [];
   const session = (over: Partial<DebugSession> = {}): DebugSession => ({
     id: "0123456789abcdef",
@@ -42,14 +45,15 @@ const { order, session, startDebugSession, stopDebugSession } = vi.hoisted(() =>
   const startDebugSession = vi.fn((level: "DEBUG" | "TRACE") =>
     Promise.resolve({ ok: true as const, session: session({ level }) }),
   );
-  const stopDebugSession = vi.fn((id: string) => {
+  const stopDebugSession = vi.fn(async (id: string) => {
     order.push("stop");
-    return Promise.resolve({
+    if (hold.stop) await hold.stop;
+    return {
       ok: true as const,
       session: session({ id, ended_at: new Date().toISOString(), ended_reason: "stopped" }),
-    });
+    };
   });
-  return { order, session, startDebugSession, stopDebugSession };
+  return { order, session, startDebugSession, stopDebugSession, hold };
 });
 vi.mock("../lib/api", async (importOriginal) => {
   const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("../lib/api")>();
@@ -69,16 +73,23 @@ vi.mock("../lib/diagnostics", async (importOriginal) => {
 import DebugRecorder from "./DebugRecorder";
 import Modal from "./ui/Modal";
 import Toaster from "./ui/Toaster";
-import { closeComposer, openRecorderStart, useComposerSession } from "../lib/debugRecorder";
+import {
+  closeComposer,
+  openRecorderStart,
+  setStepPrompt,
+  useComposerSession,
+} from "../lib/debugRecorder";
 import { events } from "../lib/log";
 
 beforeEach(() => {
   order.length = 0;
+  hold.stop = null;
   sessionStorage.clear();
 });
 afterEach(() => {
   cleanup();
   closeComposer();
+  setStepPrompt(null);
   vi.clearAllMocks();
   vi.useRealTimers();
 });
@@ -112,6 +123,21 @@ function mount(me: Partial<Me>, extra: React.ReactNode = null) {
 
 const pill = () => screen.queryByRole("group", { name: "recorder.pill.label" });
 
+/** A dialog the test opens and closes while the pill is up: the pill moves into its toast host. */
+function DialogToggle() {
+  const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
+  return (
+    <>
+      <button onClick={() => setOpen((v) => !v)}>toggle dialog</button>
+      {open && (
+        <Modal title="dialog" onClose={() => setOpen(false)}>
+          <p>inside</p>
+        </Modal>
+      )}
+    </>
+  );
+}
+
 describe("the recorder pill", () => {
   it("shows while a session records, under the toasts and outside their live region", () => {
     mount({ debug_session: session() });
@@ -173,6 +199,57 @@ describe("the recorder pill", () => {
     expect(marked()).toBe(before);
   });
 
+  it("Tab from the step prompt stays inside the dialog the pill sits in", () => {
+    mount(
+      { debug_session: session() },
+      <Modal title="dialog" onClose={() => {}}>
+        <p>inside</p>
+      </Modal>,
+    );
+    fireEvent.click(within(pill()!).getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.pill.step" }));
+    const mark = screen.getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.pill.mark" });
+    mark.focus();
+    // The dialog's trap takes the Tab (jsdom has no layout, so it can only be seen taking it — the
+    // browser would otherwise walk out of the dialog into the page behind its scrim).
+    const unhandled = fireEvent.keyDown(mark, { key: "Tab" });
+    expect(unhandled).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("the step prompt keeps what was typed when the pill moves to a dialog and back", () => {
+    mount({ debug_session: session() }, <DialogToggle />);
+    fireEvent.click(within(pill()!).getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.pill.step" }));
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByLabelText(/recorder.pill.stepPrompt/), {
+      target: { value: "opened the player" },
+    });
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("toggle dialog"));
+    expect(pill()!.closest('[role="dialog"]')).not.toBeNull(); // moved: a new pill
+    expect((screen.getByLabelText(/recorder.pill.stepPrompt/) as HTMLInputElement).value).toBe(
+      "opened the player",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("a Stop still running keeps its button busy after the pill moves", async () => {
+    let release = () => {};
+    hold.stop = new Promise((r) => (release = r));
+    mount({ debug_session: session() }, <DialogToggle />);
+    fireEvent.click(within(pill()!).getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.pill.stop" }));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(order).toContain("stop"));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("toggle dialog"));
+    const stop = within(pill()!).getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.pill.stop" });
+    expect(stop.getAttribute("aria-busy")).toBe("true");
+    release();
+    await waitFor(() => expect(pill()).toBeNull());
+  });
+
+  it("a Start or a Stop in another tab makes this one ask the server again", async () => {
+    const qc = mount({ debug_session: session() });
+    const invalidate = vi.spyOn(qc, "invalidateQueries");
+    const otherTab = new BroadcastChannel("siftlode.debugSession");
+    otherTab.postMessage("changed");
+    await waitFor(() => expect(invalidate).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ queryKey: qk.me() }));
+    otherTab.close();
+  });
+
   it("offers a screenshot only where the browser can capture a tab", () => {
     mount({ debug_session: session() });
     // jsdom has no Screen Capture API — like iOS Safari.
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/DebugRecorder.tsx b/frontend/src/components/DebugRecorder.tsx
index 31073588..784ea066 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/DebugRecorder.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/DebugRecorder.tsx
@@ -7,12 +7,16 @@ import { api, type DebugSessionLevel } from "../lib/api";
 import { canCaptureTab } from "../lib/captureTab";
 import {
   closeRecorderStart,
+  onSessionChangeElsewhere,
   openComposer,
   openRecorderStart,
+  setStepPrompt,
   useComposerSession,
   useRecorderStartOpen,
   useStepCount,
+  useStepPrompt,
 } from "../lib/debugRecorder";
+import { formatDuration } from "../lib/format";
 import { useLayer } from "../lib/layerStack";
 import { notify } from "../lib/notifications";
 import { qk } from "../lib/queryKeys";
@@ -33,15 +37,14 @@ import { useDebugRecording } from "./useDebugRecording";
 // bug is being reproduced, above a player's control band rather than on it. Mounted once, in the
 // app shell, for a signed-in account other than the demo.
 
-/** `m:ss` since `since`, re-rendered every second. */
+/** The time since `since`, as the app's other clocks show it, re-rendered every second. */
 function useElapsed(since: string): string {
   const [, tick] = useState(0);
   useEffect(() => {
     const id = window.setInterval(() => tick((n) => n + 1), 1000);
     return () => window.clearInterval(id);
   }, []);
-  const s = Math.max(0, Math.floor((Date.now() - Date.parse(since)) / 1000));
-  return `${Math.floor(s / 60)}:${String(s % 60).padStart(2, "0")}`;
+  return formatDuration(Math.max(0, Math.floor((Date.now() - Date.parse(since)) / 1000)));
 }
 
 export default function DebugRecorder() {
@@ -54,6 +57,11 @@ export default function DebugRecorder() {
   const id = session?.id;
 
   useEffect(() => (id ? dockUnderToasts(RecorderPill) : undefined), [id]);
+  // Started or stopped in another tab: this one asks the server what is in force now.
+  useEffect(
+    () => onSessionChangeElsewhere(() => void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.me() })),
+    [qc],
+  );
 
   // The cap: the server ends the session at `until` whether or not anyone stops it. This tab says
   // so, and opens the composer for it — the recording is as useful as one stopped by hand.
@@ -133,9 +141,9 @@ function StartDialog() {
 /** The pill: how long it has been recording, and the three things to do while it does. */
 function RecorderPill() {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const { session, stop, shoot, markStep, screenshot } = useDebugRecording();
+  const { session, stop, stopping, shooting, markStep, screenshot } = useDebugRecording();
   const [hidden, setHidden] = useState(false);
-  const [stepOpen, setStepOpen] = useState(false);
+  const stepOpen = useStepPrompt() !== null;
   const stepButton = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);
   const steps = useStepCount(session?.id ?? "");
   if (!session) return null;
@@ -164,7 +172,7 @@ function RecorderPill() {
         icon={<Flag className="w-4 h-4" />}
         label={t("recorder.pill.step")}
         aria-expanded={stepOpen}
-        onClick={() => setStepOpen((v) => !v)}
+        onClick={() => setStepPrompt(stepOpen ? null : "")}
       >
         <span className="hidden sm:inline tabular-nums">
           {t("recorder.pill.step")}
@@ -178,7 +186,7 @@ function RecorderPill() {
           className="rounded-full"
           icon={<Camera className="w-4 h-4" />}
           label={t("recorder.pill.screenshot")}
-          loading={shoot.isPending}
+          loading={shooting}
           onClick={() => void screenshot(setHidden)}
         >
           <span className="hidden sm:inline tabular-nums">
@@ -193,7 +201,7 @@ function RecorderPill() {
         className="rounded-full"
         icon={<Square className="w-3.5 h-3.5 fill-current" />}
         label={t("recorder.pill.stop")}
-        loading={stop.isPending}
+        loading={stopping}
         onClick={() => stop.mutate(session.id)}
       >
         <span className="hidden sm:inline">{t("recorder.pill.stop")}</span>
@@ -203,7 +211,7 @@ function RecorderPill() {
           id={session.id}
           onDone={(label) => {
             if (label !== null) markStep(label);
-            setStepOpen(false);
+            setStepPrompt(null);
             stepButton.current?.focus();
           }}
         />
@@ -237,7 +245,7 @@ export function RecorderSettings() {
 
 function RecorderControl() {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const { session, stop } = useDebugRecording();
+  const { session, stop, stopping } = useDebugRecording();
   if (!session)
     return (
       <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-between gap-3">
@@ -260,7 +268,7 @@ function RecorderControl() {
       <Button
         variant="danger-soft"
         size="sm"
-        loading={stop.isPending}
+        loading={stopping}
         onClick={() => stop.mutate(session.id)}
       >
         {t("recorder.settings.stop")}
@@ -279,10 +287,13 @@ function SettingsElapsed({ since }: { since: string }) {
 function StepPrompt({ id, onDone }: { id: string; onDone: (label: string | null) => void }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const n = useStepCount(id) + 1;
-  const [label, setLabel] = useState("");
+  const label = useStepPrompt() ?? "";
   // A layer of its own, so Escape closes only the prompt — not the dialog or the player the pill may
   // be sitting in: the topmost layer takes Escape (lib/layerStack), and this one opened last.
-  useLayer(true, () => onDone(null));
+  // Passive: it takes Escape, not the Tab — the dialog under it keeps its focus trap, which spans
+  // its toast host and so this prompt too; a blocking layer would switch that trap off and let Tab
+  // walk out of the dialog into the page behind its scrim.
+  useLayer(true, () => onDone(null), { passive: true });
   const onKeyDown = (e: ReactKeyboardEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
     if (e.key === "Enter") {
       e.preventDefault();
@@ -298,7 +309,7 @@ function StepPrompt({ id, onDone }: { id: string; onDone: (label: string | null)
         id="debug-step-label"
         autoFocus
         value={label}
-        onChange={(e) => setLabel(e.target.value)}
+        onChange={(e) => setStepPrompt(e.target.value)}
         onKeyDown={onKeyDown}
         maxLength={200}
         className={`${inputCls} w-full`}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/IssueComposer.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/IssueComposer.dom.test.tsx
index b0a9466f..c0363bb6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/IssueComposer.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/IssueComposer.dom.test.tsx
@@ -29,8 +29,12 @@ const api = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   saved: [] as DebugDraft[],
   uploaded: [] as Blob[],
   failSession: false,
+  failShots: false,
   sent: 0,
   previewed: [] as string[],
+  // What happened, in order: a save is "save" when asked and "saved" when it answered.
+  order: [] as string[],
+  holdSend: null as Promise<void> | null,
 }));
 vi.mock("../lib/api", async (importOriginal) => {
   const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("../lib/api")>();
@@ -41,10 +45,18 @@ vi.mock("../lib/api", async (importOriginal) => {
       debugSession: () =>
         api.failSession ? Promise.reject(new Error("down")) : Promise.resolve(api.session),
       debugSessionEvents: () => Promise.resolve({ items: api.rows, total: api.rows.length }),
-      debugScreenshots: () => Promise.resolve({ items: [] }),
+      debugScreenshots: () =>
+        api.failShots ? Promise.reject(new Error("down")) : Promise.resolve({ items: [] }),
       saveDebugDraft: (_id: string, draft: DebugDraft) => {
         api.saved.push(draft);
-        return Promise.resolve({ ok: true, session: { ...api.session, draft } });
+        api.order.push("save");
+        // Answers a task later, so a caller that does not wait for it is seen not waiting.
+        return new Promise((resolve) =>
+          setTimeout(() => {
+            api.order.push("saved");
+            resolve({ ok: true, session: { ...api.session, draft } });
+          }, 0),
+        );
       },
       addDebugScreenshot: (_id: string, image: Blob) => {
         api.uploaded.push(image);
@@ -54,14 +66,16 @@ vi.mock("../lib/api", async (importOriginal) => {
         });
       },
       debugExportUrl: () => "/api/debug-sessions/0123456789abcdef/export",
-      sendDebugIssue: () => {
+      sendDebugIssue: async () => {
+        api.order.push("send");
+        if (api.holdSend) await api.holdSend;
         api.sent += 1;
         api.session = {
           ...api.session,
           issue_url: "https://git.example/o/r/issues/7",
           pending_files: [],
         };
-        return Promise.resolve({ ok: true, session: api.session });
+        return { ok: true as const, session: api.session };
       },
       previewDebugIssue: (_id: string, text: string) => {
         api.previewed.push(text);
@@ -116,6 +130,9 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   api.saved = [];
   api.uploaded = [];
   api.failSession = false;
+  api.failShots = false;
+  api.order = [];
+  api.holdSend = null;
   api.sent = 0;
   api.previewed = [];
   tracker = null;
@@ -138,6 +155,13 @@ function mount() {
 }
 
 const lastSaved = () => api.saved[api.saved.length - 1]!;
+const title = () => screen.getByLabelText("recorder.composer.fieldTitle") as HTMLInputElement;
+/** A button once it can be pressed: the export and the send wait for the screenshots. */
+async function ready(name: string): Promise<HTMLButtonElement> {
+  const button = (await screen.findByRole("button", { name })) as HTMLButtonElement;
+  await waitFor(() => expect(button.disabled).toBe(false));
+  return button;
+}
 
 describe("the issue composer", () => {
   it("drafts the steps from the session and saves the rendered text after a pause", async () => {
@@ -212,6 +236,64 @@ describe("the issue composer", () => {
     expect(api.uploaded[0]!.type).toBe("image/png");
   });
 
+  it("takes an image pasted while typing, anywhere in the composer", async () => {
+    mount();
+    await screen.findByText("recorder.composer.attachments");
+    const png = new File([new Uint8Array([137, 80, 78, 71])], "shot.png", { type: "image/png" });
+    fireEvent.paste(title(), { clipboardData: { files: [png] } });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(api.uploaded).toHaveLength(1));
+  });
+
+  it("saves an edit still waiting when it is closed", async () => {
+    mount();
+    await ready("recorder.composer.export");
+    fireEvent.change(title(), { target: { value: "Typed and closed" } });
+    cleanup(); // closed well inside the pause
+    await waitFor(() => expect(api.saved).toHaveLength(1));
+    expect(lastSaved().title).toBe("Typed and closed");
+  });
+
+  it("does not call a newer edit saved", async () => {
+    mount();
+    await ready("recorder.composer.export");
+    fireEvent.change(title(), { target: { value: "one" } });
+    expect(
+      await screen.findByText("recorder.composer.saved", {}, { timeout: 2000 }),
+    ).not.toBeNull();
+    fireEvent.change(title(), { target: { value: "two" } });
+    expect(screen.queryByText("recorder.composer.saved")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("says so when the screenshots cannot be read, and saves nothing that would miscount them", async () => {
+    api.failShots = true;
+    mount();
+    expect(await screen.findByText("recorder.composer.shotsFailed")).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(
+      (screen.getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.composer.export" }) as HTMLButtonElement)
+        .disabled,
+    ).toBe(true);
+    fireEvent.change(title(), { target: { value: "x" } });
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1000));
+    expect(api.saved).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("moves the focus to what stays when a control goes", async () => {
+    mount();
+    fireEvent.click(
+      (await screen.findAllByRole("button", { name: "recorder.composer.review" }))[0]!,
+    );
+    const done = screen.getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.composer.reviewDone" });
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(done);
+    fireEvent.click(done);
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(
+      screen.getAllByRole("button", { name: "recorder.composer.review" })[0],
+    );
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.composer.removeStep:1" }));
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(
+      screen.getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.composer.addStep" }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("leaves a paste without an image to the field it was typed into", async () => {
     mount();
     const zone = (await screen.findByText("recorder.composer.attachments")).parentElement!;
@@ -222,10 +304,11 @@ describe("the issue composer", () => {
 
   it("saves before it downloads the zip", async () => {
     const click = vi.spyOn(HTMLAnchorElement.prototype, "click").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    click.mockImplementation(() => void api.order.push("click"));
     mount();
-    fireEvent.click(await screen.findByRole("button", { name: "recorder.composer.export" }));
+    fireEvent.click(await ready("recorder.composer.export"));
     await waitFor(() => expect(click).toHaveBeenCalled());
-    expect(api.saved).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(api.order).toEqual(["save", "saved", "click"]);
     click.mockRestore();
   });
 
@@ -255,12 +338,27 @@ describe("the issue composer", () => {
     tracker = { repo: "o/r" };
     mount();
     expect(await screen.findByText("recorder.composer.target:o/r")).not.toBeNull();
-    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "recorder.composer.send" }));
+    fireEvent.click(await ready("recorder.composer.send"));
     await waitFor(() => expect(api.sent).toBe(1));
-    expect(api.saved).toHaveLength(1); // saved first: the issue is built from what was saved
+    // Saved, and answered, first: the issue is built from what was saved.
+    expect(api.order).toEqual(["save", "saved", "send"]);
     expect(await screen.findByRole("link", { name: /recorder.composer.openIssue/ })).not.toBeNull();
   });
 
+  it("holds the draft while it is being sent", async () => {
+    tracker = { repo: "o/r" };
+    let release = () => {};
+    api.holdSend = new Promise((r) => (release = r));
+    mount();
+    fireEvent.click(await ready("recorder.composer.send"));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(api.order).toContain("send"));
+    // What is typed now would not reach the issue: the fields do not take it.
+    expect(title().readOnly).toBe(true);
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("button", { name: /recorder.composer.addStep/ })).toBeNull();
+    release();
+    await waitFor(() => expect(api.sent).toBe(1));
+  });
+
   it("finishes a send that stopped half-way, and says what is missing", async () => {
     tracker = { repo: "o/r" };
     api.session = baseSession({
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/IssueComposer.tsx b/frontend/src/components/IssueComposer.tsx
index d6e1a3b1..27e2550d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/IssueComposer.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/IssueComposer.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState, type ClipboardEvent, type DragEvent } from "react";
+import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState, type DragEvent, type MutableRefObject } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { useMutation, useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { ExternalLink, FileText, Plus, Server, X } from "lucide-react";
 
 import { api, type DebugScreenshot, type DebugSession, type ServerLogRow } from "../lib/api";
 import { closeComposer } from "../lib/debugRecorder";
+import { formatBytes } from "../lib/format";
 import { notify } from "../lib/notifications";
 import { useMe } from "../lib/useMe";
 import {
@@ -28,8 +29,9 @@ import { inputCls } from "./ui/form";
 // The issue composer (E16 S3, D4 A): one dialog — the draft on the left (title, description, the
 // steps drafted from the session, the environment), what goes with it on the right (the two logs,
 // each reviewable line by line, and the screenshots, removable one by one, with paste / drop / pick
-// to add more). It saves as it goes, so closing it loses nothing: Settings → Diagnosztika reopens
-// any past session. The export and (S4) the issue are built from what it SAVED.
+// to add more — an image pasted anywhere in it is taken). It saves as it goes, and what is still
+// waiting to be saved when it closes is saved then, so closing it loses nothing: Settings →
+// Diagnosztika reopens any past session. The export and (S4) the issue are built from what it SAVED.
 
 const SAVE_DELAY_MS = 800;
 type Source = "web" | "server";
@@ -43,6 +45,18 @@ export default function IssueComposer({ id }: { id: string }) {
     queryFn: () => api.debugSessionEvents(id),
   });
   const failed = sessionQ.isError || eventsQ.isError;
+  // Closed after a Stop, the focus has nowhere to go back to — the Stop button went with the pill —
+  // and would be left on <body>. The page the user is on is the next best place. After the dialog's
+  // own restore (a timeout: its cleanup runs after this one), and only when that had nothing.
+  useEffect(
+    () => () => {
+      window.setTimeout(() => {
+        if (document.activeElement === document.body)
+          document.querySelector<HTMLElement>('nav [aria-current="page"]')?.focus();
+      }, 0);
+    },
+    [],
+  );
   return (
     <Modal title={t("recorder.composer.title")} onClose={closeComposer} maxWidth="max-w-5xl">
       {failed && !(sessionQ.data && eventsQ.data) ? (
@@ -106,12 +120,17 @@ function ComposerBody({
       },
   );
   const [reviewing, setReviewing] = useState<Source | null>(null);
+  // The log whose review just closed: its Review button takes the focus back.
+  const reviewed = useRef<Source | null>(null);
   const sent = session.issue_url !== null;
 
   const shotsQ = useQuery({
     queryKey: qk.debugScreenshots(session.id),
     queryFn: () => api.debugScreenshots(session.id),
   });
+  // Until the screenshots are known, the body cannot say how many there are: nothing is saved or
+  // sent from it before then (a failed read must not become "no screenshots" in the issue).
+  const shotsReady = shotsQ.data !== undefined;
   const shots = shotsQ.data?.items ?? [];
 
   const excluded = useMemo(() => new Set(form.excluded), [form.excluded]);
@@ -140,36 +159,37 @@ function ComposerBody({
     text,
   );
 
-  // Saves as it goes — after the typing pauses, not on every key.
+  // Saves as it goes — after the typing pauses, not on every key. `edits` counts the edits, so a
+  // save that finishes after a newer edit does not call that one saved.
+  const edits = useRef(0);
+  const [unsaved, setUnsaved] = useState(false);
   const save = useMutation({
-    mutationFn: () =>
-      api.saveDebugDraft(session.id, {
+    mutationFn: async () => {
+      const upTo = edits.current;
+      const r = await api.saveDebugDraft(session.id, {
         title: form.title.trim(),
         body,
         excluded: form.excluded,
         form: form as unknown as Record<string, unknown>,
-      }),
+      });
+      return { ...r, upTo };
+    },
     meta: { failTitle: "recorder.composer.saveFailed" },
     onSuccess: (r) => {
       qc.setQueryData(qk.debugSession(session.id), r.session);
       void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugSessions(), exact: true });
+      if (r.upTo === edits.current) setUnsaved(false);
     },
   });
-  const dirty = useRef(false);
-  const saveRef = useRef(save.mutate);
-  saveRef.current = save.mutate;
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (sent || !dirty.current) return;
-    const timer = window.setTimeout(() => saveRef.current(), SAVE_DELAY_MS);
-    return () => window.clearTimeout(timer);
-  }, [body, form.title, sent]);
   const edit = (next: (f: DraftForm) => DraftForm) => {
-    dirty.current = true;
+    edits.current += 1;
+    setUnsaved(true);
     setForm(next);
   };
 
   // The issue (S4), like the export, is built from the SAVED draft: save what is on screen first.
-  // A send that stopped half-way is finished by the same call, which sends only what is missing.
+  // A send that stopped half-way is finished by the same call, which does only what is missing.
+  // While it runs the draft is held as it was saved: nothing typed then would reach the issue.
   const target = useMe()?.issues ?? null;
   const pending = session.pending_files;
   const send = useMutation({
@@ -183,13 +203,59 @@ function ComposerBody({
       notify({ level: "success", message: t("recorder.composer.sentOk") });
     },
     // A failure half-way still created the issue: show what the server now has.
-    onSettled: () => void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugSessions() }),
+    onSettled: () => {
+      void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugSessions(), exact: true });
+      void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugSession(session.id), exact: true });
+    },
   });
+  const locked = sent || send.isPending;
+
+  const saveRef = useRef(save.mutate);
+  saveRef.current = save.mutate;
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (locked || !unsaved || !shotsReady) return;
+    const timer = window.setTimeout(() => saveRef.current(), SAVE_DELAY_MS);
+    return () => window.clearTimeout(timer);
+  }, [body, form.title, locked, unsaved, shotsReady]);
+  // Closed before the typing paused: save what is still waiting, now.
+  const flushRef = useRef(() => {});
+  flushRef.current = () => {
+    if (unsaved && !locked && shotsReady) save.mutate();
+  };
+  useEffect(() => () => flushRef.current(), []);
+
+  // Screenshots are added here, not in the attachments column: an image pasted ANYWHERE in the
+  // composer is taken — while typing the description is exactly when one is pasted.
+  const addShot = useMutation({
+    mutationFn: (image: Blob) => api.addDebugScreenshot(session.id, image),
+    meta: { failTitle: "recorder.pill.shotFailed" },
+    onSuccess: () => refreshShots(qc, session.id),
+  });
+  const addRef = useRef(addShot.mutate);
+  addRef.current = addShot.mutate;
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (locked) return;
+    // Only an image paste is taken over: text pasted into the title or a step goes where it was typed.
+    const onPaste = (e: ClipboardEvent) => {
+      const images = [...(e.clipboardData?.files ?? [])].filter(isImage);
+      if (!images.length) return;
+      e.preventDefault();
+      for (const image of images) addRef.current(image);
+    };
+    document.addEventListener("paste", onPaste);
+    return () => document.removeEventListener("paste", onPaste);
+  }, [locked]);
   const [mode, setMode] = useState<"edit" | "preview">("edit");
 
   // The export is built from the SAVED draft: save what is on screen first.
   const exportZip = async () => {
-    if (!sent) await save.mutateAsync();
+    if (!sent) {
+      try {
+        await save.mutateAsync();
+      } catch {
+        return; // the save's own message says why
+      }
+    }
     const a = document.createElement("a");
     a.href = api.debugExportUrl(session.id);
     a.download = "";
@@ -266,7 +332,7 @@ function ComposerBody({
             reviewing === "web" ? "recorder.composer.clientLog" : "recorder.composer.serverLog",
           )}
           excluded={excluded}
-          readOnly={sent}
+          readOnly={locked}
           onToggle={(rowId) =>
             edit((f) => ({
               ...f,
@@ -275,20 +341,28 @@ function ComposerBody({
                 : [...f.excluded, rowId],
             }))
           }
-          onDone={() => setReviewing(null)}
+          onDone={() => {
+            reviewed.current = reviewing;
+            setReviewing(null);
+          }}
         />
       ) : (
         <div className="grid grid-cols-1 gap-5 md:grid-cols-[minmax(0,1.45fr)_minmax(0,1fr)]">
-          <DraftFields form={form} edit={edit} env={env} readOnly={sent} />
+          <DraftFields form={form} edit={edit} env={env} readOnly={locked} />
           <Attachments
             session={session}
-            shots={shots}
+            shotsQ={shotsQ}
             counts={{
               web: [kept("web"), rows.filter((r) => sourceOf(r) === "web").length],
               server: [kept("server"), rows.filter((r) => sourceOf(r) === "server").length],
             }}
-            readOnly={sent}
+            readOnly={locked}
+            adding={addShot.isPending}
+            onAdd={(files) => {
+              for (const file of files) if (isImage(file)) addShot.mutate(file);
+            }}
             onReview={setReviewing}
+            reviewed={reviewed}
           />
         </div>
       )}
@@ -300,7 +374,7 @@ function ComposerBody({
               ? t("recorder.composer.sending")
               : save.isPending
                 ? t("recorder.composer.saving")
-                : save.isSuccess
+                : save.isSuccess && !unsaved
                   ? t("recorder.composer.saved")
                   : ""}
           </span>
@@ -308,11 +382,21 @@ function ComposerBody({
         <Button variant="ghost" onClick={closeComposer}>
           {t("recorder.composer.close")}
         </Button>
-        <Button variant="outline" loading={save.isPending} onClick={() => void exportZip()}>
+        <Button
+          variant="outline"
+          loading={save.isPending}
+          disabled={!shotsReady || send.isPending}
+          onClick={() => void exportZip()}
+        >
           {t("recorder.composer.export")}
         </Button>
         {target && !sent && (
-          <Button variant="primary" loading={send.isPending} onClick={() => send.mutate()}>
+          <Button
+            variant="primary"
+            loading={send.isPending}
+            disabled={!shotsReady}
+            onClick={() => send.mutate()}
+          >
             {t("recorder.composer.send")}
           </Button>
         )}
@@ -333,6 +417,8 @@ function DraftFields({
   readOnly: boolean;
 }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
+  // A removed step's ✕ goes with it: the focus moves to "add a step", which stays.
+  const addStep = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);
   const setStep = (i: number, patch: Partial<DraftStep>) =>
     edit((f) => ({ ...f, steps: f.steps.map((s, j) => (j === i ? { ...s, ...patch } : s)) }));
   return (
@@ -395,7 +481,10 @@ function DraftFields({
                   iconOnly
                   icon={<X className="w-4 h-4" />}
                   label={t("recorder.composer.removeStep", { n: i + 1 })}
-                  onClick={() => edit((f) => ({ ...f, steps: f.steps.filter((_, j) => j !== i) }))}
+                  onClick={() => {
+                    edit((f) => ({ ...f, steps: f.steps.filter((_, j) => j !== i) }));
+                    addStep.current?.focus();
+                  }}
                 />
               )}
             </li>
@@ -403,6 +492,7 @@ function DraftFields({
         </ol>
         {!readOnly && (
           <Button
+            ref={addStep}
             variant="link"
             className="self-start"
             icon={<Plus className="w-4 h-4" />}
@@ -432,50 +522,57 @@ function DraftFields({
   );
 }
 
+// The types the server keeps (backend debugsession.IMAGE_TYPES) — offered by the picker, and the
+// only ones a paste or a drop hands over.
 const IMAGE_TYPES = ["image/png", "image/jpeg", "image/webp"];
+const isImage = (file: File) => IMAGE_TYPES.includes(file.type);
+
+/** What changes with a screenshot: its list, and the session's count — not the session's events,
+ *  which share the session's key prefix and are thousands of rows. */
+function refreshShots(qc: ReturnType<typeof useQueryClient>, id: string) {
+  void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugScreenshots(id) });
+  void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugSession(id), exact: true });
+}
 
 function Attachments({
   session,
-  shots,
+  shotsQ,
   counts,
   readOnly,
+  adding,
+  onAdd,
   onReview,
+  reviewed,
 }: {
   session: DebugSession;
-  shots: DebugScreenshot[];
+  shotsQ: { data?: { items: DebugScreenshot[] }; isError: boolean; refetch: () => unknown };
   counts: Record<Source, [kept: number, total: number]>;
   readOnly: boolean;
+  adding: boolean;
+  onAdd: (files: Iterable<File>) => void;
   onReview: (source: Source) => void;
+  reviewed: MutableRefObject<Source | null>;
 }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const qc = useQueryClient();
-  const refresh = () => {
-    void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugScreenshots(session.id) });
-    void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugSession(session.id) });
-  };
-  const add = useMutation({
-    mutationFn: (image: Blob) => api.addDebugScreenshot(session.id, image),
-    meta: { failTitle: "recorder.pill.shotFailed" },
-    onSuccess: refresh,
-  });
+  const shots = shotsQ.data?.items ?? [];
+  // A removed screenshot's ✕ goes with it: the focus moves to the file picker, which stays.
+  const pick = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
+  const reviewButtons = useRef<Partial<Record<Source, HTMLButtonElement | null>>>({});
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const source = reviewed.current;
+    if (!source) return;
+    reviewed.current = null;
+    reviewButtons.current[source]?.focus();
+  }, [reviewed]);
   const remove = useMutation({
     mutationFn: (shotId: number) => api.removeDebugScreenshot(session.id, shotId),
-    meta: { failTitle: "recorder.pill.shotFailed" },
-    onSuccess: refresh,
+    meta: { failTitle: "recorder.composer.removeShotFailed" },
+    onSuccess: () => refreshShots(qc, session.id),
   });
-  const addFiles = (files: Iterable<File>) => {
-    for (const file of files) if (IMAGE_TYPES.includes(file.type)) add.mutate(file);
-  };
-  // Only an image paste is taken over: text pasted into the title or a step goes where it was typed.
-  const onPaste = (e: ClipboardEvent) => {
-    const images = [...e.clipboardData.files].filter((f) => IMAGE_TYPES.includes(f.type));
-    if (!images.length) return;
-    e.preventDefault();
-    for (const image of images) add.mutate(image);
-  };
   const onDrop = (e: DragEvent) => {
     e.preventDefault();
-    addFiles(e.dataTransfer.files);
+    onAdd(e.dataTransfer.files);
   };
 
   const logRow = (source: Source, icon: React.ReactNode) => {
@@ -495,7 +592,14 @@ function Attachments({
           </span>
         </div>
         {total > 0 && (
-          <Button variant="outline" size="sm" onClick={() => onReview(source)}>
+          <Button
+            ref={(el) => {
+              reviewButtons.current[source] = el;
+            }}
+            variant="outline"
+            size="sm"
+            onClick={() => onReview(source)}
+          >
             {t("recorder.composer.review")}
           </Button>
         )}
@@ -504,13 +608,15 @@ function Attachments({
   };
 
   return (
-    <div
-      className="flex flex-col gap-3 min-w-0 rounded-xl bg-surface/40 p-3 md:p-4"
-      onPaste={readOnly ? undefined : onPaste}
-    >
+    <div className="flex flex-col gap-3 min-w-0 rounded-xl bg-surface/40 p-3 md:p-4">
       <div className="text-sm text-muted">{t("recorder.composer.attachments")}</div>
       {logRow("web", <FileText className="w-4.5 h-4.5 shrink-0 text-muted" aria-hidden />)}
       {logRow("server", <Server className="w-4.5 h-4.5 shrink-0 text-muted" aria-hidden />)}
+      {shotsQ.isError && !shotsQ.data && (
+        <StateMessage tone="error" compact onRetry={() => void shotsQ.refetch()}>
+          {t("recorder.composer.shotsFailed")}
+        </StateMessage>
+      )}
       {shots.map((shot, i) => (
         <div
           key={shot.id}
@@ -523,9 +629,7 @@ function Attachments({
           />
           <div className="flex min-w-0 flex-1 flex-col">
             <span className="text-sm">{t("recorder.composer.screenshot", { n: i + 1 })}</span>
-            <span className="text-xs text-muted tabular-nums">
-              {Math.round(shot.size / 1024)} KB
-            </span>
+            <span className="text-xs text-muted tabular-nums">{formatBytes(shot.size)}</span>
           </div>
           {!readOnly && (
             <Button
@@ -535,27 +639,32 @@ function Attachments({
               icon={<X className="w-4 h-4" />}
               label={t("recorder.composer.removeShot", { n: i + 1 })}
               loading={remove.isPending && remove.variables === shot.id}
-              onClick={() => remove.mutate(shot.id)}
+              onClick={() => {
+                remove.mutate(shot.id);
+                pick.current?.focus();
+              }}
             />
           )}
         </div>
       ))}
-      {!readOnly && (
+      {!readOnly && shotsQ.data && (
         <div
           onDragOver={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
           onDrop={onDrop}
+          aria-busy={adding}
           className="rounded-xl border border-dashed border-border px-3 py-4 text-center text-sm text-muted"
         >
           {t("recorder.composer.drop")}{" "}
-          <label className="cursor-pointer font-semibold text-accent hover:underline">
+          <label className="cursor-pointer rounded font-semibold text-accent hover:underline focus-within:underline focus-within:ring-2 focus-within:ring-accent/60">
             {t("recorder.composer.pick")}
             <input
+              ref={pick}
               type="file"
               accept={IMAGE_TYPES.join(",")}
               multiple
               className="sr-only"
               onChange={(e) => {
-                addFiles(e.target.files ?? []);
+                onAdd(e.target.files ?? []);
                 e.target.value = "";
               }}
             />
@@ -583,6 +692,9 @@ function ReviewList({
   onDone: () => void;
 }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
+  // Opened from its Review button, which is gone now: the focus comes here.
+  const done = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);
+  useEffect(() => done.current?.focus(), []);
   return (
     <div className="flex flex-col gap-3">
       <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-between gap-2">
@@ -590,7 +702,7 @@ function ReviewList({
           <div className="font-semibold">{t("recorder.composer.reviewTitle", { name })}</div>
           <div className="text-xs text-muted">{t("recorder.composer.reviewHint")}</div>
         </div>
-        <Button variant="primary" size="sm" onClick={onDone}>
+        <Button ref={done} variant="primary" size="sm" onClick={onDone}>
           {t("recorder.composer.reviewDone")}
         </Button>
       </div>
@@ -642,7 +754,7 @@ function IssuePreview({
 }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const q = useQuery({
-    queryKey: [...qk.debugSession(sessionId), "preview", text],
+    queryKey: qk.debugSessionPreview(sessionId, text),
     queryFn: () => api.previewDebugIssue(sessionId, text),
     enabled: viaTracker,
   });
@@ -666,10 +778,13 @@ function IssuePreview({
   if (!q.data) return <LoadingState />;
   const css = getComputedStyle(document.documentElement);
   const color = (name: string, fallback: string) => css.getPropertyValue(name).trim() || fallback;
+  // The frame is a document of its own: the app's text size (the root font, which the text-size
+  // setting drives) is handed to it, and everything in it is sized off that.
   const doc = `<!doctype html><html><head><meta charset="utf-8"><base target="_blank"><style>
-body{margin:0;padding:12px 14px;font:14px/1.55 system-ui,sans-serif;color:${color("--fg", "#e6e9f0")};background:${color("--card", "#161f38")}}
-a{color:${color("--accent", "#6d8cff")}}table{border-collapse:collapse}td,th{border:1px solid ${color("--border", "#243049")};padding:4px 8px}
-code{font-family:ui-monospace,Consolas,monospace;font-size:12px}h1,h2,h3{line-height:1.25}
+html{font-size:${css.fontSize}}
+body{margin:0;padding:.75rem .875rem;font:.875rem/1.55 system-ui,sans-serif;color:${color("--fg", "#e6e9f0")};background:${color("--card", "#161f38")}}
+a{color:${color("--accent", "#6d8cff")}}table{border-collapse:collapse}td,th{border:1px solid ${color("--border", "#243049")};padding:.25rem .5rem}
+code{font-family:ui-monospace,Consolas,monospace;font-size:.75rem}h1,h2,h3{line-height:1.25}
 </style></head><body>${q.data.html}</body></html>`;
   return (
     <iframe
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/Toaster.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/Toaster.dom.test.tsx
index 3188b412..d97a93a7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/Toaster.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/Toaster.dom.test.tsx
@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@ describe("Toaster — one host shows the toasts", () => {
     app.unmount();
   });
 
+  it("lets a click through wherever there is no toast and nothing docked, in every host", () => {
+    render(<Toaster />);
+    const region = document.querySelector<HTMLElement>("[data-toast-region]")!;
+    // The empty part of the region (beside and above a docked control) must not swallow the page's
+    // clicks; the cards and the dock opt back in.
+    expect(region.className).toContain("pointer-events-none");
+  });
+
   it("does not let a click on a toast reach the overlay's backdrop", () => {
     const backdrop = vi.fn();
     render(
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/Toaster.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/Toaster.tsx
index b3e4b4fb..5f52dedf 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/Toaster.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/Toaster.tsx
@@ -122,8 +122,11 @@ export default function Toaster({
       // lib/listNav: focus on a toast's Undo — or on the docked control — is not the reader leaving
       // the list the toast is about.
       data-toast-region=""
-      className={`absolute left-4 z-overlay flex flex-col gap-2 max-w-[calc(100%-2rem)] ${
-        overlay ? "bottom-24 pointer-events-none" : "bottom-4"
+      // Click-through in every host: the region is as wide as its (always present) list and as tall
+      // as the docked pill, and without this the empty part beside and above the pill swallowed the
+      // page's clicks. The cards and the dock opt back in.
+      className={`absolute left-4 z-overlay flex flex-col gap-2 max-w-[calc(100%-2rem)] pointer-events-none ${
+        overlay ? "bottom-24" : "bottom-4"
       }`}
       // Inside an overlay, a click on a toast is not a click on the overlay's backdrop.
       onClick={overlay ? (e) => e.stopPropagation() : undefined}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/useDebugRecording.ts b/frontend/src/components/useDebugRecording.ts
index d61a93b8..b5b39269 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/useDebugRecording.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/components/useDebugRecording.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,17 @@
-import { useMutation, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { useCallback } from "react";
+import { useIsMutating, useMutation, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 
 import { api, type DebugSession, type DebugSessionLevel } from "../lib/api";
 import { notifyActionError } from "../lib/actionErrors";
 import { captureTab } from "../lib/captureTab";
-import { closeRecorderStart, nextStep, openComposer } from "../lib/debugRecorder";
+import {
+  announceSessionChange,
+  closeRecorderStart,
+  nextStep,
+  openComposer,
+  setStepPrompt,
+} from "../lib/debugRecorder";
 import { flushNow, liveSession } from "../lib/diagnostics";
 import { log } from "../lib/log";
 import { notify } from "../lib/notifications";
@@ -21,7 +28,9 @@ export function useDebugRecording() {
   const session = liveSession(me?.debug_session);
   const setSession = (next: DebugSession | null) => {
     updateMeCache(qc, (prev) => ({ ...prev, debug_session: next }));
-    void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugSessions() });
+    void qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.debugSessions(), exact: true });
+    announceSessionChange();
+    setStepPrompt(null); // a prompt left open belongs to the session that ended
   };
 
   const start = useMutation({
@@ -34,6 +43,7 @@ export function useDebugRecording() {
   });
 
   const stop = useMutation({
+    mutationKey: STOP_KEY,
     mutationFn: async (id: string) => {
       log.info("debug.stop", "recording stopped by the user");
       // The events of the last seconds before Stop are the ones closest to what went wrong. Sent
@@ -50,6 +60,7 @@ export function useDebugRecording() {
   });
 
   const shoot = useMutation({
+    mutationKey: SHOOT_KEY,
     mutationFn: async ({ id, image }: { id: string; image: Blob }) =>
       api.addDebugScreenshot(id, image),
     meta: { failTitle: "recorder.pill.shotFailed" },
@@ -71,14 +82,23 @@ export function useDebugRecording() {
     },
   });
 
+  // In flight anywhere, not only through this hook's own observer: the pill remounts when it moves
+  // to another toast host, and a Stop still running must keep its button busy there.
+  const stopping = useIsMutating({ mutationKey: STOP_KEY }) > 0;
+  const shooting = useIsMutating({ mutationKey: SHOOT_KEY }) > 0;
+
   /** Mark the next step; `label` is what the user says they just did (may be empty). */
-  const markStep = (label: string) => {
-    if (!session) return;
-    const n = nextStep(session.id);
-    const text = label.trim();
-    log.info("debug.step", text || `step ${n}`, { n, ...(text ? { label: text } : {}) });
-    notify({ level: "info", message: t("recorder.pill.stepMarked", { n }) });
-  };
+  const sessionId = session?.id;
+  const markStep = useCallback(
+    (label: string) => {
+      if (!sessionId) return;
+      const n = nextStep(sessionId);
+      const text = label.trim();
+      log.info("debug.step", text || `step ${n}`, { n, ...(text ? { label: text } : {}) });
+      notify({ level: "info", message: t("recorder.pill.stepMarked", { n }) });
+    },
+    [sessionId, t],
+  );
 
   /** Capture this tab and attach it. `hide` runs around the capture so the pill is not in the
    *  frame. Nothing happens when the user cancels the browser's picker. */
@@ -98,5 +118,8 @@ export function useDebugRecording() {
     if (image) shoot.mutate({ id: session.id, image });
   };
 
-  return { session, start, stop, shoot, markStep, screenshot };
+  return { session, start, stop, stopping, shoot, shooting, markStep, screenshot };
 }
+
+const STOP_KEY = ["debug-session", "stop"];
+const SHOOT_KEY = ["debug-session", "screenshot"];
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
index ac7f94f2..b5cd0c16 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
@@ -222,6 +222,9 @@
     "issues_public_repo": "The issue repository is public. Because of the log, reports go only to a private one.",
     "issues_disabled": "The issue repository has its issue tracker switched off.",
     "issues_rejected": "The issue tracker refused the request.",
-    "issues_rate_limited": "You can send at most 5 reports an hour. Try again later."
+    "issues_rate_limited": "You can send at most {{limit}} reports an hour. Try again later.",
+    "debug_session_rate_limited": "You can start at most {{limit}} new recordings an hour. Try again later.",
+    "export_rate_limited": "Too many downloads in a row. Wait a minute.",
+    "screenshot_storage_full": "You've reached the {{limit}} MB screenshot allowance. Remove images from older sessions, or wait until they expire."
   }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/recorder.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/recorder.json
index ef9dd293..04825399 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/recorder.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/recorder.json
@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@
     "preview": "Preview",
     "previewFailed": "Couldn't load the preview",
     "previewTitle": "Preview of the report",
-    "previewLocal": "Without an issue tracker, this is the zip's issue.md."
+    "previewLocal": "Without an issue tracker, this is the zip's issue.md.",
+    "shotsFailed": "Couldn't load the screenshots",
+    "removeShotFailed": "Couldn't remove the screenshot"
   },
   "issue": {
     "steps": "Steps",
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
index 87b2e4c3..290337a6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
@@ -222,6 +222,9 @@
     "issues_public_repo": "A hibajegy-tárhely nyilvános. A napló miatt csak privát tárhelyre küldünk.",
     "issues_disabled": "A hibajegy-tárhelyen ki van kapcsolva a hibajegy-kezelés.",
     "issues_rejected": "A hibajegy-kezelő visszautasította a kérést.",
-    "issues_rate_limited": "Óránként legfeljebb 5 hibajegyet küldhetsz. Próbáld újra később."
+    "issues_rate_limited": "Óránként legfeljebb {{limit}} hibajegyet küldhetsz. Próbáld újra később.",
+    "debug_session_rate_limited": "Óránként legfeljebb {{limit}} új rögzítést indíthatsz. Próbáld újra később.",
+    "export_rate_limited": "Túl sok letöltés egymás után. Várj egy percet.",
+    "screenshot_storage_full": "Elérted a képernyőképek {{limit}} MB-os keretét. Törölj régebbi munkamenetekből képeket, vagy várd meg, amíg lejárnak."
   }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/recorder.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/recorder.json
index 05141d17..871d1ae6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/recorder.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/recorder.json
@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@
     "preview": "Előnézet",
     "previewFailed": "Nem sikerült betölteni az előnézetet",
     "previewTitle": "A hibajegy előnézete",
-    "previewLocal": "Hibajegy-kezelő nélkül ez a zip issue.md fájlja."
+    "previewLocal": "Hibajegy-kezelő nélkül ez a zip issue.md fájlja.",
+    "shotsFailed": "Nem sikerült betölteni a képernyőképeket",
+    "removeShotFailed": "Nem sikerült törölni a képernyőképet"
   },
   "issue": {
     "steps": "Lépések",
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/captureTab.dom.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/captureTab.dom.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3b751d76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/captureTab.dom.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+//
+// E16: one screenshot of this tab. The browser's picker is stubbed (jsdom has no Screen Capture API):
+// a cancelled or refused picker is the user saying no (null, no error); anything else is an error;
+// a tab that was shared but gave no frame is an error too, not a silent nothing; and the capture is
+// stopped whatever happened — nothing keeps sharing the tab after one frame.
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import { captureTab } from "./captureTab";
+
+function stubPicker(result: () => Promise<MediaStream>) {
+  Object.defineProperty(navigator, "mediaDevices", {
+    configurable: true,
+    value: { getDisplayMedia: vi.fn(result) },
+  });
+}
+
+function fakeStream() {
+  const track = { stop: vi.fn() };
+  return { stream: { getTracks: () => [track] } as unknown as MediaStream, track };
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  Reflect.deleteProperty(navigator, "mediaDevices");
+});
+
+describe("captureTab", () => {
+  it.each(["NotAllowedError", "AbortError"])(
+    "a %s from the picker is the user saying no",
+    async (name) => {
+      stubPicker(() => Promise.reject(new DOMException("no", name)));
+      await expect(captureTab()).resolves.toBeNull();
+    },
+  );
+
+  it("any other failure of the picker is an error", async () => {
+    stubPicker(() => Promise.reject(new DOMException("broken", "NotReadableError")));
+    await expect(captureTab()).rejects.toMatchObject({ name: "NotReadableError" });
+  });
+
+  it("a shared tab that gives no frame is an error, and the capture is stopped", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const { stream, track } = fakeStream();
+    stubPicker(() => Promise.resolve(stream));
+    vi.spyOn(HTMLMediaElement.prototype, "play").mockResolvedValue();
+    // jsdom's video never has a size: no frame arrives.
+    const result = captureTab();
+    const settled = expect(result).rejects.toMatchObject({ name: "NoFrameError" });
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2_000);
+    await settled;
+    expect(track.stop).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/captureTab.ts b/frontend/src/lib/captureTab.ts
index bb93866f..69c8220f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/captureTab.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/captureTab.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
 //
 // A cancelled or refused picker is `null`, not an error: it is the user saying no. Measured in the
 // desktop app's Chromium (2026-09-19): refused capture rejects with `NotAllowedError` — the same
-// name Chrome gives a cancelled picker.
+// name Chrome gives a cancelled picker. A tab that WAS shared but gave no frame is an error, though:
+// the user said yes, and a silent nothing would read as a screenshot taken.
 //
 // The frame is read through a <video> and a canvas rather than `ImageCapture.grabFrame`, which
 // Firefox and Safari lack.
@@ -16,7 +17,8 @@ export function canCaptureTab(): boolean {
   return typeof navigator !== "undefined" && !!navigator.mediaDevices?.getDisplayMedia;
 }
 
-/** Ask for this tab and return one PNG frame of it, or null when the user did not share. */
+/** Ask for this tab and return one PNG frame of it, or null when the user did not share. Throws
+ *  `NoFrameError` when the shared tab gave no frame. */
 export async function captureTab(): Promise<Blob | null> {
   let stream: MediaStream;
   try {
@@ -44,7 +46,14 @@ export async function captureTab(): Promise<Blob | null> {
   }
 }
 
-async function firstFrame(stream: MediaStream): Promise<Blob | null> {
+class NoFrameError extends Error {
+  constructor() {
+    super("the shared tab gave no frame");
+    this.name = "NoFrameError";
+  }
+}
+
+async function firstFrame(stream: MediaStream): Promise<Blob> {
   const video = document.createElement("video");
   video.muted = true;
   video.playsInline = true;
@@ -52,11 +61,13 @@ async function firstFrame(stream: MediaStream): Promise<Blob | null> {
   await video.play();
   // The first frame can arrive a beat after `play` resolves; wait until it has a size.
   for (let i = 0; i < 20 && !video.videoWidth; i++) await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 50));
-  if (!video.videoWidth) return null;
+  if (!video.videoWidth) throw new NoFrameError();
   const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
   canvas.width = video.videoWidth;
   canvas.height = video.videoHeight;
   canvas.getContext("2d")?.drawImage(video, 0, 0);
   video.srcObject = null;
-  return new Promise((resolve) => canvas.toBlob(resolve, "image/png"));
+  const blob = await new Promise<Blob | null>((resolve) => canvas.toBlob(resolve, "image/png"));
+  if (!blob) throw new NoFrameError();
+  return blob;
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/debugRecorder.ts b/frontend/src/lib/debugRecorder.ts
index b69b5fb8..e8e266a7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/debugRecorder.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/debugRecorder.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,34 @@ export const openRecorderStart = (): void => startOpen.set(true);
 export const closeRecorderStart = (): void => startOpen.set(false);
 export const useRecorderStartOpen = (): boolean => startOpen.use();
 
+// The pill's step prompt — open, and what is typed in it — held here, not in the pill: the pill
+// rides the topmost toast host, and a dialog or the player opening or closing moves it to another
+// one (a remount). The prompt must come along with what was typed.
+const stepPrompt = createStore<string | null>(null);
+/** The step prompt's text while it is open, else null. */
+export const useStepPrompt = (): string | null => stepPrompt.use();
+export const setStepPrompt = (text: string | null): void => stepPrompt.set(text);
+
+// Other tabs of this browser: a Start or a Stop in one is news to the rest, which otherwise learn of
+// it only at their next `me` poll — and meanwhile record into a session that has ended.
+const CHANNEL = "siftlode.debugSession";
+let channel: BroadcastChannel | null | undefined;
+function tabs(): BroadcastChannel | null {
+  if (channel === undefined)
+    channel = typeof BroadcastChannel === "undefined" ? null : new BroadcastChannel(CHANNEL);
+  return channel;
+}
+/** Tell the other tabs the recording started or stopped. */
+export const announceSessionChange = (): void => tabs()?.postMessage("changed");
+/** Run `fn` when another tab started or stopped a recording. */
+export function onSessionChangeElsewhere(fn: () => void): () => void {
+  const c = tabs();
+  if (!c) return () => {};
+  const handler = () => fn();
+  c.addEventListener("message", handler);
+  return () => c.removeEventListener("message", handler);
+}
+
 const composing = createStore<string | null>(null);
 /** Open the issue composer for session `id` — after Stop, when the cap ends it, from Settings. */
 export const openComposer = (id: string): void => composing.set(id);
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/diagnostics.session.dom.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/diagnostics.session.dom.test.ts
index 37e4b908..f96e06aa 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/diagnostics.session.dom.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/diagnostics.session.dom.test.ts
@@ -131,6 +131,16 @@ describe("a debug session applied to the tab", () => {
     expect(codes).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining(["ui.before", "ui.after"]));
   });
 
+  it("its last seconds are sent before its cap, while the server still tags them", async () => {
+    const d = await fresh();
+    d.applyDiagnostics(BASE, recording("DEBUG", 1), () => {});
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(57_000); // the regular flushes ran; the next is past the cap
+    d.log.info("debug.step", "the last step");
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2_000); // 59 s: the cap is still a second away
+    const step = flat().find((e) => e.event === "debug.step");
+    expect(step?.debug_session_id).toBe("0123456789abcdef");
+  });
+
   it("flushNow sends what is waiting at once — before Stop closes the session", async () => {
     const d = await fresh();
     d.applyDiagnostics(BASE, recording("DEBUG"), () => {});
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/diagnostics.ts b/frontend/src/lib/diagnostics.ts
index 12a89e2a..dae32b72 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/diagnostics.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/diagnostics.ts
@@ -52,6 +52,10 @@ const DETAIL = { INFO: 0, DEBUG: 1, TRACE: 2 } as const;
 
 let applied: string | null = null;
 let lapseTimer: number | null = null;
+// A recording's last seconds are sent BEFORE its cap: at the cap the server stops tagging (or, at the
+// base level, taking) them, and the regular flush could be up to FLUSH_MS behind.
+const CAP_FLUSH_LEAD_MS = 1_500;
+let capFlushTimer: number | null = null;
 let onLapsed: (() => void) | null = null;
 let lastState: DiagnosticsState | null | undefined = null;
 let lastSession: DebugSession | null | undefined = null;
@@ -79,6 +83,8 @@ export function applyDiagnostics(
   applied = key;
   if (lapseTimer !== null) window.clearTimeout(lapseTimer);
   lapseTimer = null;
+  if (capFlushTimer !== null) window.clearTimeout(capFlushTimer);
+  capFlushTimer = null;
   if (level === "INFO") {
     stopStreaming();
     setLevel("INFO");
@@ -99,6 +105,10 @@ export function applyDiagnostics(
   const ends = [until, live?.until].filter((t): t is string => !!t).map((t) => Date.parse(t));
   const wait = Math.min(Math.min(...ends) - Date.now(), 2 ** 31 - 1);
   lapseTimer = window.setTimeout(lapse, wait);
+  if (live) {
+    const lead = Date.parse(live.until) - CAP_FLUSH_LEAD_MS - Date.now();
+    if (lead > 0 && lead < wait) capFlushTimer = window.setTimeout(() => void flush(), lead);
+  }
 }
 
 /** Something in force ran out: apply what is left of it (the clock decides), then let `me` catch up. */
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts b/frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
index 5ab83d57..fff877ee 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,9 @@ export const qk = {
   debugSession: (id: string) => ["debug-sessions", id] as const,
   debugSessionEvents: (id: string) => ["debug-sessions", id, "events"] as const,
   debugScreenshots: (id: string) => ["debug-sessions", id, "screenshots"] as const,
+  // The tracker's rendering of a body: the text is the key (typing pauses, then it renders again).
+  debugSessionPreview: (id: string, text: string) =>
+    ["debug-sessions", id, "preview", text] as const,
   adminDownloads: () => ["admin-downloads"] as const,
   adminQuota: (days: number) => ["admin-quota", days] as const,
   demoWhitelist: () => ["demo-whitelist"] as const,