diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/preview.py b/backend/app/downloads/preview.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9a8cb593
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/preview.py
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+"""What a library file previews as — the single home of the preview allow-list.
+
+A generic file (`media_kind == "file"`; video and audio have their players) previews by its stored
+`container`, the upload's cleaned extension, and ONLY through this table: an image is shown as an
+image, a PDF in the browser's own viewer, and a text format as plain text. Anything else has no
+preview. The served Content-Type comes from here too, never from a guess on the name, and HTML / SVG
+sit in the TEXT list on purpose: rendered on this origin, an uploaded page would run with the
+reader's session. The route adds `CSP: sandbox` on top, so even a mislabelled file (a "png" that is
+really a page) gets no script and no origin.
+
+The serializer hands the kind to the client (`asset.preview`), so the library and the server can
+never disagree on which files open a preview.
+"""
+
+import codecs
+from typing import Literal
+
+from app.downloads import mediakind
+
+PreviewKind = Literal["image", "pdf", "text"]
+
+IMAGE_TYPES: dict[str, str] = {
+    "png": "image/png",
+    "jpg": "image/jpeg",
+    "jpeg": "image/jpeg",
+    "gif": "image/gif",
+    "webp": "image/webp",
+    "avif": "image/avif",
+    "bmp": "image/bmp",
+}
+
+PDF_TYPE = "application/pdf"
+
+# Read as text: notes, data, subtitles, config and source. HTML and SVG belong here (see above).
+TEXT_EXTS: frozenset[str] = frozenset(
+    {
+        "txt", "text", "md", "markdown", "log", "csv", "tsv", "json", "jsonl", "ndjson", "xml",
+        "yaml", "yml", "toml", "ini", "conf", "cfg", "properties", "env", "srt", "vtt", "ass", "ssa",
+        "sub", "nfo", "cue", "m3u", "m3u8", "html", "htm", "xhtml", "svg", "css", "scss", "less",
+        "js", "mjs", "cjs", "ts", "tsx", "jsx", "py", "rb", "php", "pl", "lua", "go", "rs", "java",
+        "kt", "kts", "swift", "c", "h", "cc", "cpp", "hpp", "cs", "sh", "bash", "zsh", "fish", "ps1",
+        "bat", "cmd", "sql", "r", "dart", "diff", "patch", "tex", "rst", "adoc", "gradle", "dockerfile",
+    }
+)  # fmt: skip
+
+TEXT_TYPE = "text/plain; charset=utf-8"
+
+# A text preview is the file's head: enough to read, never a whole log loaded into a tab.
+TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES = 1 << 20
+# A NUL byte in the first this-many bytes means the "text" is not text.
+BINARY_SNIFF_BYTES = 8192
+
+
+def kind(media_kind: str | None, container: str | None) -> PreviewKind | None:
+    """The preview a library file gets, or None (a media file plays instead; others download)."""
+    if media_kind != mediakind.FILE:
+        return None
+    ext = (container or "").lower()
+    if ext in IMAGE_TYPES:
+        return "image"
+    if ext == "pdf":
+        return "pdf"
+    if ext in TEXT_EXTS:
+        return "text"
+    return None
+
+
+def media_type(preview: PreviewKind, container: str | None) -> str:
+    """The Content-Type a preview is served with: from this table, never guessed from the name."""
+    if preview == "image":
+        return IMAGE_TYPES[(container or "").lower()]
+    if preview == "pdf":
+        return PDF_TYPE
+    return TEXT_TYPE
+
+
+# A text that is not UTF-8 is read as Central European Windows: what an old Hungarian subtitle or
+# note is written in (its ő and ű are not in Latin-1).
+FALLBACK_ENCODING = "cp1250"
+_BOMS = (
+    (codecs.BOM_UTF8, "utf-8-sig"),
+    (codecs.BOM_UTF16_LE, "utf-16"),
+    (codecs.BOM_UTF16_BE, "utf-16"),
+)
+
+
+def looks_binary(head: bytes) -> bool:
+    """Whether the start of a "text" file is binary after all (a NUL in it)."""
+    return b"\x00" in head[:BINARY_SNIFF_BYTES]
+
+
+def text_utf8(head: bytes) -> bytes | None:
+    """A text file's head as UTF-8, the one charset the preview is served in; None when it is not text.
+    A byte-order mark names its encoding (UTF-16 is full of NULs, so it is read before the binary
+    check); else UTF-8 is kept as it is — a character cut at the size cap included, the reader shows
+    that one as a replacement mark — and anything else is read as `FALLBACK_ENCODING`."""
+    for bom, encoding in _BOMS:
+        if head.startswith(bom):
+            return head.decode(encoding, errors="replace").encode()
+    if looks_binary(head):
+        return None
+    try:
+        head.decode("utf-8")
+    except UnicodeDecodeError as e:  # silent-ok: not UTF-8 is an answer — read it as the fallback
+        if not (e.reason == "unexpected end of data" and e.end == len(head)):
+            return head.decode(FALLBACK_ENCODING, errors="replace").encode()
+    return head
diff --git a/backend/app/main.py b/backend/app/main.py
index 33bbf9ca..0da3d6c2 100644
--- a/backend/app/main.py
+++ b/backend/app/main.py
@@ -268,7 +268,8 @@ async def static_cache_headers(request, call_next):
 # Baseline security response headers (SEC-1). A minimal, safe set that needs no per-route tuning:
 # nosniff stops MIME-confusion, the Referrer-Policy keeps the (private) app URL from leaking to
 # external sites the user follows, `frame-ancestors 'none'` blocks click-jacking by refusing to be
-# iframed anywhere (we never embed our own pages; we embed OTHERS, which this does not affect), and
+# iframed anywhere (we embed OTHERS, which this does not affect; the one own answer the app frames, a
+# library file's preview, sets its own `frame-ancestors 'self'` — these are defaults, `setdefault`), and
 # Permissions-Policy turns off powerful features the app never uses. `X-Frame-Options: DENY` duplicates
 # the frame-ancestors intent for legacy engines that never implemented CSP frame-ancestors (belt and
 # suspenders — modern browsers use the CSP directive and ignore the header). A full Content-Security-Policy
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/files.py b/backend/app/routes/files.py
index 0e3d8d1e..45ee6e20 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/files.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/files.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ from typing import BinaryIO, Literal
 from urllib.parse import unquote, urlparse
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Query, Request
-from fastapi.responses import FileResponse
+from fastapi.responses import FileResponse, Response
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 from sqlalchemy import func, or_, select
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ from app.auth import current_user
 from app.collation import collated
 from app.config import settings
 from app.db import get_db, release_read_connection
-from app.downloads import folders, quota, service, storage
+from app.downloads import folders, preview, quota, service, storage
 from app.downloads import upload as uploadmod
 from app.downloads.status import JobStatus
 from app.mailtext import lang_for_user
@@ -117,6 +117,8 @@ def serialize(job: DownloadJob, asset: MediaAsset | None) -> dict:
             "media_kind": asset.media_kind,
             "uploader_url": asset.uploader_url,
             "thumbnail_url": asset.thumbnail_url,
+            # "image" | "pdf" | "text" | null — what `/preview` shows (`downloads/preview.py`).
+            "preview": preview.kind(asset.media_kind, asset.container),
         },
     }
 
@@ -784,6 +786,56 @@ def get_file(job_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depe
     return response
 
 
+# A preview's own headers. `sandbox` leaves the answer no script and an opaque origin, whatever the
+# file turns out to hold; `frame-ancestors 'self'` lets the app's viewer frame a PDF (every other
+# answer keeps the app-wide 'none', main.py), with X-Frame-Options saying the same for old engines.
+PREVIEW_HEADERS = {
+    "Content-Security-Policy": "sandbox; frame-ancestors 'self'",
+    "X-Frame-Options": "SAMEORIGIN",
+}
+# Set on a text preview cut at `preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES`, so the viewer can say it shows the start.
+TRUNCATED_HEADER = "X-Preview-Truncated"
+
+
+@router.get("/{job_id}/preview")
+def preview_file(
+    job_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+) -> Response:
+    """The file shown in the library's viewer: an image or a PDF inline, a text format as plain text
+    (its first `TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES`). The type comes from `downloads/preview.py`'s allow-list, so
+    an HTML or SVG upload arrives as text, never as a page. Anything else: 415 `file_no_preview`."""
+    job = accessible_job(db, user, job_id)
+    asset, path = _ready_file(db, job)
+    kind = preview.kind(asset.media_kind, asset.container)
+    if kind is None:
+        raise refused(415, "file_no_preview")
+    headers = dict(PREVIEW_HEADERS)
+    if kind == "text":
+        with path.open("rb") as f:
+            head = f.read(preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES + 1)
+        if len(head) > preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES:
+            head = head[: preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES]
+            headers[TRUNCATED_HEADER] = "1"
+        text = preview.text_utf8(head)
+        if text is None:
+            raise refused(415, "file_no_preview")
+        asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+        db.commit()
+        return Response(text, media_type=preview.media_type(kind, asset.container), headers=headers)
+    filename = storage.download_filename(
+        job.display_name or asset.title or asset.source_ref, asset.container, path
+    )
+    asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+    db.commit()
+    return FileResponse(
+        path,
+        filename=filename,
+        media_type=preview.media_type(kind, asset.container),
+        content_disposition_type="inline",
+        headers=headers,
+    )
+
+
 @router.get("/{job_id}/sha256")
 def get_sha256(
     job_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_files_preview.py b/backend/tests/test_files_preview.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..904ede98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_files_preview.py
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+"""A library file's preview (`GET /api/files/{id}/preview`, `downloads/preview.py`), DB-lane.
+
+What it may show is an allow-list on the stored extension: an image or a PDF inline, a text format
+(HTML and SVG among them) as plain text, its head only. Every answer is sandboxed and may be framed
+by the app alone; anything else, a binary "text" included, has no preview.
+"""
+
+import pytest
+from sqlalchemy import select
+
+from app.config import settings
+from app.downloads import folders, preview, service
+from app.downloads.status import JobStatus
+from app.models import DownloadJob, DownloadShare, MediaAsset
+from app.routes.files import TRUNCATED_HEADER
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def _root(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(settings, "files_root", str(tmp_path))
+    return tmp_path
+
+
+def _upload(db, root, user_id, ext, body, *, media_kind="file", title="notes"):
+    """A done uploaded file named `title.ext` holding `body`."""
+    n = len(db.execute(select(MediaAsset.id)).all())
+    rel = f"up{n}.{ext}" if ext else f"up{n}"
+    (root / rel).write_bytes(body)
+    asset = MediaAsset(
+        source_kind="upload",
+        source_ref=f"up{n}",
+        format_sig=f"sig-up{n}",
+        status="ready",
+        rel_path=rel,
+        size_bytes=len(body),
+        ref_count=0,
+        title=title,
+        media_kind=media_kind,
+        container=ext,
+    )
+    db.add(asset)
+    db.flush()
+    job = DownloadJob(
+        user_id=user_id,
+        asset_id=asset.id,
+        source_kind="upload",
+        source_ref=f"up{n}",
+        profile_snapshot={},
+        status=JobStatus.DONE,
+    )
+    db.add(job)
+    db.flush()
+    folders.place(db, job)
+    service.incr_ref_count(db, asset.id)
+    db.commit()
+    return job
+
+
+def _assert_sandboxed(r):
+    assert r.headers["content-security-policy"] == "sandbox; frame-ancestors 'self'"
+    assert r.headers["x-frame-options"] == "SAMEORIGIN"
+    assert r.headers["x-content-type-options"] == "nosniff"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "ext,ctype",
+    [
+        ("png", "image/png"),
+        ("JPG", "image/jpeg"),
+        ("webp", "image/webp"),
+        ("pdf", "application/pdf"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_an_image_or_a_pdf_is_shown_inline_with_its_listed_type_in_a_sandbox(
+    db, make_user, as_user, _root, ext, ctype
+):
+    alice = make_user()
+    job = _upload(db, _root, alice.id, ext, b"bytes of it")
+    r = as_user(alice).get(f"/api/files/{job.id}/preview")
+    assert r.status_code == 200 and r.content == b"bytes of it"
+    assert r.headers["content-type"] == ctype
+    assert r.headers["content-disposition"].startswith("inline;")
+    assert f'filename="notes.{ext}"' in r.headers["content-disposition"]
+    _assert_sandboxed(r)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("ext", ["html", "svg", "txt", "py"])
+def test_html_svg_and_code_arrive_as_plain_text_never_as_a_page(db, make_user, as_user, _root, ext):
+    alice = make_user()
+    body = b"<svg onload=x><script>y</script></svg>"
+    job = _upload(db, _root, alice.id, ext, body)
+    r = as_user(alice).get(f"/api/files/{job.id}/preview")
+    assert r.status_code == 200 and r.content == body
+    assert r.headers["content-type"] == "text/plain; charset=utf-8"
+    assert TRUNCATED_HEADER.lower() not in r.headers
+    _assert_sandboxed(r)
+
+
+def test_a_long_text_is_cut_to_its_head_and_says_so(db, make_user, as_user, _root):
+    alice = make_user()
+    body = b"a" * preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES + b"tail"
+    job = _upload(db, _root, alice.id, "log", body)
+    r = as_user(alice).get(f"/api/files/{job.id}/preview")
+    assert r.status_code == 200 and len(r.content) == preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES
+    assert r.headers[TRUNCATED_HEADER] == "1"
+    exact = _upload(db, _root, alice.id, "log", b"a" * preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES)
+    whole = as_user(alice).get(f"/api/files/{exact.id}/preview")
+    assert len(whole.content) == preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES
+    assert TRUNCATED_HEADER.lower() not in whole.headers
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "ext,body,media_kind",
+    [
+        ("zip", b"PK\x03\x04", "file"),  # not on the list
+        ("docx", b"PK\x03\x04", "file"),
+        (None, b"plain", "file"),  # no extension
+        ("txt", b"text\x00with a nul", "file"),  # a "text" that is binary
+        ("mp4", b"video", "video"),  # media plays in the player instead
+        ("png", b"png", "video"),  # an extension alone never makes media a preview
+    ],
+)
+def test_anything_else_has_no_preview(db, make_user, as_user, _root, ext, body, media_kind):
+    alice = make_user()
+    job = _upload(db, _root, alice.id, ext, body, media_kind=media_kind)
+    r = as_user(alice).get(f"/api/files/{job.id}/preview")
+    assert r.status_code == 415
+    assert r.json()["detail"] == {"code": "refused", "reason": "file_no_preview"}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "body",
+    [
+        "Árvíztűrő tükörfúrógép".encode("cp1250"),  # an old Hungarian subtitle
+        "Árvíztűrő tükörfúrógép".encode("utf-8-sig"),
+        "Árvíztűrő tükörfúrógép".encode("utf-16"),  # a BOM, then NULs: text all the same
+        "Árvíztűrő tükörfúrógép".encode("utf-8"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_a_text_arrives_as_utf8_whatever_it_was_written_in(db, make_user, as_user, _root, body):
+    alice = make_user()
+    job = _upload(db, _root, alice.id, "srt", body)
+    r = as_user(alice).get(f"/api/files/{job.id}/preview")
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    assert r.content.decode("utf-8") == "Árvíztűrő tükörfúrógép"
+
+
+def test_a_character_cut_at_the_cap_keeps_the_text_utf8(db, make_user, as_user, _root):
+    alice = make_user()
+    body = b"a" * (preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES - 1) + "ő".encode()  # its 2nd byte past the cap
+    job = _upload(db, _root, alice.id, "txt", body)
+    r = as_user(alice).get(f"/api/files/{job.id}/preview")
+    assert r.content == body[: preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES]  # not read as cp1250
+
+
+def test_the_list_says_which_preview_each_file_gets(db, make_user, as_user, _root):
+    alice = make_user()
+    for ext in ["png", "pdf", "html", "zip"]:
+        _upload(db, _root, alice.id, ext, b"x", title=ext)
+    _upload(db, _root, alice.id, "mp4", b"x", media_kind="video", title="mp4")
+    got = {
+        f["asset"]["container"]: f["asset"]["preview"]
+        for f in as_user(alice).get("/api/files").json()
+    }
+    assert got == {"png": "image", "pdf": "pdf", "html": "text", "zip": None, "mp4": None}
+
+
+def test_a_preview_is_the_holders_or_a_friends_it_was_shared_with(db, make_user, as_user, _root):
+    alice, friend = make_user(), make_user()
+    job = _upload(db, _root, alice.id, "png", b"img")
+    assert as_user(make_user()).get(f"/api/files/{job.id}/preview").status_code == 404
+    db.add(DownloadShare(job_id=job.id, from_user_id=alice.id, to_user_id=friend.id))
+    db.commit()
+    assert as_user(friend).get(f"/api/files/{job.id}/preview").status_code == 200
diff --git a/docs/DESIGN.md b/docs/DESIGN.md
index c53d7873..37de8148 100644
--- a/docs/DESIGN.md
+++ b/docs/DESIGN.md
@@ -779,3 +779,4 @@ of a full-width panel and nothing on the right.
 | 2026-10-11 | Running downloads                                | An app-wide tray, bottom right, shown only while something runs or failed (reason + retry), foldable to a pill                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | A rail icon with a count and a popover                                                                                                                                                                 | Downloading became an action you start anywhere; a running one must be visible without going to look                                                                                                                         |
 | 2026-10-11 | Download done                                    | The notification says whether it plays on a phone and carries Link másolása + Megnyitás (the folder, the item focused); never an automatic jump                                                                                                                                                                                     | A plain "ready" notice; auto-navigation to the item                                                                                                                                                    | The daily path is paste → done → copy the link; a jump would pull the user out of what they were doing                                                                                                                       |
 | 2026-10-11 | Library row quick icons (owner A)                | On a wide list only the ⋯ holds a place; Copy link, Share and Save come up over the date while the row is hovered or holds the keyboard; a card (phone) keeps them in its own line; Keeps narrower                                                                                                                                  | Three icons always in sight (the name kept ~150px at 1200); dropping Added below 64rem                                                                                                                 | Owner: the name is what a row is read by; every action stays in the ⋯ and the right-click menu                                                                                                                               |
+| 2026-10-12 | Files preview (owner ★)                          | A file that is not media opens from its name in the dialog shell, wide: an image, a PDF in the browser's own viewer, text as numbered plain text (HTML and SVG too) with a wrap toggle, else a no-preview card with Save; ← / → page the list's such files in its order; an image under 8 MB is its own thumbnail                   | A side panel beside the list; a new browser tab; pdf.js; syntax highlighting; a click that saves a file without a preview                                                                              | Owner: one way to open anything, paged like the list; the browser's PDF viewer is free and isolated; a page is never rendered on our origin                                                                                  |
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/FileCard.tsx b/frontend/src/components/FileCard.tsx
index 230e8688..aaceae90 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/FileCard.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/FileCard.tsx
@@ -18,15 +18,16 @@ import {
 import { MoreButton } from "./ui/MoreButton";
 import { Pressable } from "./ui/Pressable";
 
-// A library file in the Files grid: the one media card (ui/MediaCard) — its picture plays it, the
-// title under it, then where it came from and what needs saying about it (kept, leaving soon). The
+// A library file in the Files grid: the one media card (ui/MediaCard) — its picture plays it (a file
+// that is not media: opens it in the viewer), the title under it, then where it came from and what
+// needs saying about it (kept, leaving soon). The
 // right click, the long press and the "…" open the same menu as its table row (DESIGN.md "Files page":
 // the grid is the list's other paint, a toggle remembered per folder).
 
 export function FileCard({
   file,
   index,
-  onPlay,
+  onOpen,
   menuProps,
   moreProps,
   menuOpen,
@@ -35,8 +36,8 @@ export function FileCard({
   file: LibraryFile;
   /** Its place on the page, for the keyboard walk. */
   index: number;
-  /** Null: nothing to play (a plain file, a shared one its owner keeps from me). */
-  onPlay: (() => void) | null;
+  /** Plays it, or opens it in the viewer. Null: a shared file its owner keeps from me. */
+  onOpen: (() => void) | null;
   menuProps: Record<string, unknown>;
   moreProps: Record<string, unknown>;
   menuOpen: boolean;
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ export function FileCard({
   const title = jobTitle(file);
   const channel = file.display_uploader || file.asset?.uploader || null;
   const clip = file.job_kind === "edit" || file.job_kind === "clip";
+  const media = file.asset?.media_kind !== "file";
   const thumb = <JobThumb job={file} box="h-full w-full" />;
   return (
     <MediaCard
@@ -55,17 +57,19 @@ export function FileCard({
       className={clsx(arrived && "ring-2 ring-accent/60")}
       picture={
         <div className={mediaPictureBox("wide")}>
-          {onPlay ? (
+          {onOpen ? (
             <Pressable
-              onClick={onPlay}
-              aria-label={t("downloads.actions.play")}
+              onClick={onOpen}
+              aria-label={t(media ? "downloads.actions.play" : "files.actions.view")}
               data-nav-open=""
               className={MEDIA_PICTURE}
             >
               {thumb}
-              <div className={MEDIA_HOVER_LAYER}>
-                <MediaPlayGlyph small />
-              </div>
+              {media && (
+                <div className={MEDIA_HOVER_LAYER}>
+                  <MediaPlayGlyph small />
+                </div>
+              )}
             </Pressable>
           ) : (
             <div className={clsx(MEDIA_PICTURE, "cursor-default")}>{thumb}</div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/FilePreview.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/FilePreview.dom.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7d41591f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/FilePreview.dom.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+//
+// The Files viewer: what each kind of file shows (an image, a PDF in a frame, text as text — HTML too,
+// never a page — or the "no preview" card), ← / → through the files it was given in their order,
+// and closing when the file it shows leaves the list. i18n is key-passthrough.
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { act, cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { api, HttpError, type LibraryFile } from "../lib/api";
+
+vi.mock("react-i18next", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("react-i18next")>();
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    useTranslation: () => ({
+      i18n: { language: "en" },
+      t: (key: string, o?: Record<string, unknown>) =>
+        o && "n" in o ? `${key}:${String(o.n)}/${String(o.total)}` : key,
+    }),
+  };
+});
+
+import FilePreview from "./FilePreview";
+
+const file = (id: number, preview: string | null, extra: Record<string, unknown> = {}) =>
+  ({
+    id,
+    status: "done",
+    display_name: `File ${id}`,
+    can_download: true,
+    job_kind: "upload",
+    shared: false,
+    source_key: "upload",
+    asset: { media_kind: "file", preview, container: "x", size_bytes: 4096, ...extra },
+  }) as unknown as LibraryFile;
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  cleanup();
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+});
+
+function mount(files: LibraryFile[], fileId: number, onClose = vi.fn()) {
+  const onFileChange = vi.fn();
+  const view = (list: LibraryFile[], id: number) => (
+    <QueryClientProvider client={new QueryClient()}>
+      <FilePreview
+        files={list}
+        fileId={id}
+        onFileChange={onFileChange}
+        onClose={onClose}
+        menuItems={() => []}
+      />
+    </QueryClientProvider>
+  );
+  const r = render(view(files, fileId));
+  return {
+    onFileChange,
+    onClose,
+    rerender: (l: LibraryFile[], id: number) => r.rerender(view(l, id)),
+  };
+}
+
+describe("FilePreview · what it shows", () => {
+  it("an image as an image, from the sandboxed preview", () => {
+    mount([file(1, "image")], 1);
+    const img = screen.getByRole("img", { name: "File 1" });
+    expect(img.getAttribute("src")).toBe(api.previewUrl(1));
+  });
+
+  it("a PDF in a frame of the preview, the browser's own viewer", () => {
+    mount([file(2, "pdf")], 2);
+    const frame = document.querySelector("iframe")!;
+    expect(frame.getAttribute("src")).toBe(api.previewUrl(2));
+    expect(frame.title).toBe("File 2");
+  });
+
+  it("a page's source as text, line by line — never as a page", async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(api, "previewText").mockResolvedValue({
+      text: "<h1 id=x>hi</h1>\n<script>boom()</script>",
+      truncated: false,
+    });
+    mount([file(3, "text")], 3);
+    await screen.findByText("<h1 id=x>hi</h1>");
+    expect(screen.getByText("<script>boom()</script>")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(document.getElementById("x")).toBeNull();
+    expect(document.querySelector("script")).toBeNull();
+    expect(screen.getByText("files.preview.asText")).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("numbers a file's lines, the newline that ends it making no line of its own", async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(api, "previewText").mockResolvedValue({ text: "one\r\ntwo\n", truncated: false });
+    mount([file(8, "text")], 8);
+    await screen.findByText("one");
+    expect([...document.querySelectorAll("li")].map((li) => li.textContent)).toEqual([
+      "1one",
+      "2two",
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("says when it shows only the start of a long text", async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(api, "previewText").mockResolvedValue({ text: "a", truncated: true });
+    mount([file(4, "text")], 4);
+    expect(await screen.findByText("files.preview.truncated")).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("a text the server refuses (binary after all) gets the no-preview card, not an error", async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(api, "previewText").mockRejectedValue(new HttpError(415, "x", {}));
+    mount([file(5, "text")], 5);
+    expect(await screen.findByText("files.preview.none")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("alert")).toBeNull();
+    // A new tab would only show the refusal.
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("link", { name: "files.preview.openInTab" })).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("a text that fails to load says so, with a retry", async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(api, "previewText").mockRejectedValue(new HttpError(500, "x", {}));
+    mount([file(6, "text")], 6);
+    expect(await screen.findByRole("alert", {}, { timeout: 3000 })).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "common.retry" })).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("anything else: the card that offers the file itself", () => {
+    mount([file(7, null)], 7);
+    expect(screen.getByText("files.preview.none")).toBeTruthy();
+    const save = screen.getAllByRole("link", { name: "downloads.actions.download" });
+    expect(save.every((a) => a.getAttribute("href") === api.fileUrl(7))).toBe(true);
+    // Nothing to open in a tab: the preview would refuse it.
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("link", { name: "files.preview.openInTab" })).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("FilePreview · stepping", () => {
+  const list = [file(1, "image"), file(2, "pdf"), file(3, null)];
+
+  it("← / → go to the files beside it, in the order given", () => {
+    const { onFileChange } = mount(list, 2);
+    expect(screen.getByText("files.preview.position:2/3")).toBeTruthy();
+    fireEvent.keyDown(window, { key: "ArrowRight" });
+    expect(onFileChange).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(3);
+    fireEvent.keyDown(window, { key: "ArrowLeft" });
+    expect(onFileChange).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(1);
+  });
+
+  it("stops at either end", () => {
+    const { onFileChange } = mount(list, 1);
+    fireEvent.keyDown(window, { key: "ArrowLeft" });
+    expect(onFileChange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByRole("button", { name: "files.preview.prev" }).hasAttribute("disabled"),
+    ).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("closes when the file it shows leaves the list", async () => {
+    const { onClose, rerender } = mount(list, 2);
+    expect(onClose).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    act(() => rerender([list[0]!, list[2]!], 2));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(onClose).toHaveBeenCalled());
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/FilePreview.tsx b/frontend/src/components/FilePreview.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6c37e261
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/FilePreview.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,287 @@
+import { useEffect, useEffectEvent, useState } from "react";
+import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
+import {
+  ChevronLeft,
+  ChevronRight,
+  Download,
+  ExternalLink,
+  FileQuestion,
+  WrapText,
+} from "lucide-react";
+import { api, HttpError, type FilePreviewKind, type LibraryFile } from "../lib/api";
+import { formatBytes } from "../lib/format";
+import { dispatch, useKeyScope } from "../lib/keymap";
+import { qk } from "../lib/queryKeys";
+import { jobTitle } from "./downloadTitle";
+import { type ActionMenuItem } from "./ui/ActionMenu";
+import { ContextMenu } from "./ui/ContextMenu";
+import { IconButton } from "./ui/IconButton";
+import { IconLink, LinkButton } from "./ui/LinkButton";
+import Modal from "./ui/Modal";
+import { MoreButton } from "./ui/MoreButton";
+import { LoadingState, StateMessage } from "./ui/QueryState";
+import { useContextMenu } from "./ui/useContextMenu";
+
+// The Files viewer (DESIGN.md "Files preview"): the library's files that are not media, one at a time,
+// in the shared dialog shell. What a file shows is the server's call (`asset.preview`,
+// backend downloads/preview.py): an image as an image, a PDF in the browser's own viewer, a text
+// format as plain text — HTML and SVG too, never rendered: on this origin a page would run with the
+// reader's session. The rest gets a card that offers the file itself. ← / → step through `files`, the
+// list's own order, so the viewer pages the way the list reads.
+//
+// Every kind fills the same stage, so a step never resizes the dialog: its ‹ › stay under the pointer.
+const STAGE = "h-[min(75dvh,56rem)] w-full";
+
+/** A text file's head (one read, shared by the viewer's header and its stage). */
+function useTextPreview(id: number, enabled: boolean) {
+  return useQuery({
+    queryKey: qk.filePreview(id),
+    queryFn: () => api.previewText(id),
+    enabled,
+    // A refusal (the "text" turned out binary) is an answer, not a blip to retry.
+    retry: (n, e) => !(e instanceof HttpError && e.status < 500) && n < 1,
+  });
+}
+/** The server's "no preview" for a file it listed as text: it was binary after all. */
+const refused = (e: unknown) => e instanceof HttpError && e.status === 415;
+
+export default function FilePreview({
+  files,
+  fileId,
+  onFileChange,
+  onClose,
+  menuItems,
+}: {
+  /** The files the viewer steps through, in the list's order. */
+  files: readonly LibraryFile[];
+  fileId: number;
+  onFileChange: (id: number) => void;
+  onClose: () => void;
+  /** The file's row menu, behind the viewer's "…". */
+  menuItems: (file: LibraryFile) => ActionMenuItem[];
+}) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation();
+  const at = files.findIndex((f) => f.id === fileId);
+  const file = at >= 0 ? files[at] : undefined;
+  // Gone from the list under the viewer (deleted from its menu, or by another tab): nothing to show.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!file) onClose();
+  }, [file, onClose]);
+
+  const step = (by: number) => {
+    const next = files[at + by];
+    if (next) onFileChange(next.id);
+  };
+  useKeyScope("fileViewer");
+  const onKey = useEffectEvent((e: KeyboardEvent) => {
+    dispatch(e, "fileViewer", {
+      prevFile: (ev) => {
+        ev.preventDefault();
+        step(-1);
+      },
+      nextFile: (ev) => {
+        ev.preventDefault();
+        step(1);
+      },
+    });
+  });
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const handler = (e: KeyboardEvent) => onKey(e);
+    window.addEventListener("keydown", handler);
+    return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", handler);
+  }, []);
+
+  const menu = useContextMenu<LibraryFile>({ keyOf: (f) => String(f.id) });
+  const text = useTextPreview(fileId, file?.asset?.preview === "text");
+  if (!file) return null;
+  const kind = file.asset?.preview ?? null;
+  // A new tab would only show the refusal.
+  const openable = kind !== null && !refused(text.error);
+  const title = jobTitle(file);
+
+  return (
+    <Modal
+      initialFocus="close"
+      title={<span className="block truncate">{title}</span>}
+      onClose={onClose}
+      maxWidth="max-w-6xl"
+      headerActions={
+        <>
+          <IconButton
+            variant="ghost"
+            label={t("files.preview.prev")}
+            disabled={at <= 0}
+            onClick={() => step(-1)}
+          >
+            <ChevronLeft />
+          </IconButton>
+          <span className="text-xs tabular-nums text-muted">
+            {t("files.preview.position", { n: at + 1, total: files.length })}
+          </span>
+          <IconButton
+            variant="ghost"
+            label={t("files.preview.next")}
+            disabled={at >= files.length - 1}
+            onClick={() => step(1)}
+          >
+            <ChevronRight />
+          </IconButton>
+          {openable ? (
+            <IconLink
+              href={api.previewUrl(file.id)}
+              target="_blank"
+              rel="noopener"
+              label={t("files.preview.openInTab")}
+            >
+              <ExternalLink />
+            </IconLink>
+          ) : (
+            // Its place kept, so the icons after it do not shift from one file to the next.
+            <span className="size-7 shrink-0" aria-hidden />
+          )}
+          <IconLink href={api.fileUrl(file.id)} label={t("downloads.actions.download")}>
+            <Download />
+          </IconLink>
+          <MoreButton
+            label={t("files.rowMenu")}
+            expanded={menu.open && menu.target?.id === file.id}
+            menuProps={menu.buttonProps(file)}
+          />
+          <ContextMenu
+            menu={menu}
+            ariaLabel={t("files.rowMenu")}
+            items={menu.target ? menuItems(menu.target) : []}
+          />
+        </>
+      }
+    >
+      {/* Keyed by file: a step starts the next one's own load, never a frame of the last one. */}
+      <Stage key={file.id} file={file} kind={kind} title={title} />
+    </Modal>
+  );
+}
+
+function Stage({
+  file,
+  kind,
+  title,
+}: {
+  file: LibraryFile;
+  kind: FilePreviewKind | null;
+  title: string;
+}) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation();
+  const [failed, setFailed] = useState(false);
+  if (kind === "image")
+    return failed ? (
+      <StateMessage tone="error" className={`${STAGE} justify-center`}>
+        {t("common.loadError")}
+      </StateMessage>
+    ) : (
+      <div className={`${STAGE} flex items-center justify-center`}>
+        <img
+          src={api.previewUrl(file.id)}
+          alt={title}
+          onError={() => setFailed(true)}
+          className="max-h-full max-w-full rounded-md object-contain"
+        />
+      </div>
+    );
+  if (kind === "pdf")
+    return (
+      <iframe
+        src={api.previewUrl(file.id)}
+        title={title}
+        className={`${STAGE} rounded-md border border-border bg-white`}
+      />
+    );
+  if (kind === "text") return <TextStage file={file} />;
+  return <NoPreview file={file} />;
+}
+
+function TextStage({ file }: { file: LibraryFile }) {
+  const { t, i18n } = useTranslation();
+  const [wrap, setWrap] = useState(true);
+  const q = useTextPreview(file.id, true);
+  if (q.isError)
+    return refused(q.error) ? (
+      <NoPreview file={file} />
+    ) : (
+      <StateMessage
+        tone="error"
+        onRetry={() => void q.refetch()}
+        className={`${STAGE} justify-center`}
+      >
+        {t("common.loadError")}
+      </StateMessage>
+    );
+  if (!q.data) return <LoadingState className={`${STAGE} justify-center`} />;
+  // A file's last line ends in a newline; that is no line of its own.
+  const lines = q.data.text.replace(/\r?\n$/, "").split(/\r?\n/);
+  return (
+    <div className={`${STAGE} flex flex-col gap-2`}>
+      <div className="flex items-center gap-2 text-xs text-muted">
+        <span className="min-w-0 flex-1 truncate">
+          {q.data.truncated
+            ? t("files.preview.truncated", {
+                size: formatBytes(file.asset?.size_bytes, i18n.language),
+              })
+            : t("files.preview.asText")}
+        </span>
+        <IconButton
+          variant="ghost"
+          label={t("files.preview.wrap")}
+          pressed={wrap}
+          onClick={() => setWrap(!wrap)}
+        >
+          <WrapText />
+        </IconButton>
+      </div>
+      <div
+        // Scrolls by keyboard too: a focusable region with a name.
+        tabIndex={0}
+        role="region"
+        aria-label={jobTitle(file)}
+        className="min-h-0 flex-1 overflow-auto rounded-md border border-border bg-bg font-mono text-xs leading-relaxed"
+      >
+        <ol className="m-0 list-none p-0">
+          {lines.map((line, i) => (
+            <li key={i} className="flex">
+              <span
+                aria-hidden
+                className="sticky left-0 w-12 shrink-0 select-none bg-bg pr-3 text-right text-muted"
+              >
+                {i + 1}
+              </span>
+              <span
+                className={wrap ? "min-w-0 whitespace-pre-wrap wrap-anywhere" : "whitespace-pre"}
+              >
+                {line || " "}
+              </span>
+            </li>
+          ))}
+        </ol>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+function NoPreview({ file }: { file: LibraryFile }) {
+  const { t, i18n } = useTranslation();
+  const size = file.asset?.size_bytes;
+  return (
+    <div className={`${STAGE} flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-3 text-sm text-muted`}>
+      <FileQuestion className="size-10" aria-hidden />
+      <span className="text-center">
+        {jobTitle(file)}
+        {file.asset?.container ? ` · ${file.asset.container.toUpperCase()}` : ""}
+        {size ? ` · ${formatBytes(size, i18n.language)}` : ""}
+      </span>
+      <span>{t("files.preview.none")}</span>
+      <LinkButton href={api.fileUrl(file.id)} icon={<Download className="size-4" />}>
+        {t("downloads.actions.download")}
+      </LinkButton>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Files.menu.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Files.menu.dom.test.tsx
index be473235..27c642c1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Files.menu.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Files.menu.dom.test.tsx
@@ -402,6 +402,62 @@ describe("Files · a shared file's row", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("Files · the viewer", () => {
+  const doc = (id: number, preview: string | null = "pdf") =>
+    file(id, {
+      job_kind: "upload",
+      display_name: `Doc ${id}`,
+      asset: { media_kind: "file", preview, container: "pdf", size_bytes: 10 },
+    } as never);
+  const viewer = () => screen.findByRole("dialog");
+
+  it("opens a file that is not media from its name, in the sandboxed preview", async () => {
+    mocks.files = [file(1), doc(2)];
+    mocks.folders = [YT];
+    mount();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Doc 2"));
+    const dialog = await viewer();
+    expect(dialog.querySelector("iframe")!.getAttribute("src")).toBe(api.previewUrl(2));
+  });
+
+  it("puts Preview first in such a file's menu, and it opens the viewer", async () => {
+    mocks.files = [doc(2, null)];
+    mocks.folders = [YT];
+    mount();
+    await openMenu(() => fireEvent.contextMenu(rowOf("Doc 2")));
+    expect(menuRows()[0]).toBe("files.actions.view");
+    fireEvent.click(menuItem("files.actions.view"));
+    expect(await viewer()).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.getByText("files.preview.none")).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("steps through the list's files that are not media, in the list's order", async () => {
+    mocks.files = [doc(2), file(1), doc(3)];
+    mocks.folders = [YT];
+    mount();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Doc 2"));
+    const dialog = await viewer();
+    fireEvent.keyDown(window, { key: "ArrowRight" });
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(dialog.querySelector("iframe")!.getAttribute("src")).toBe(api.previewUrl(3)),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("leaves Preview and Rename out of the viewer's own menu", async () => {
+    mocks.files = [doc(2)];
+    mocks.folders = [YT, OWN];
+    mount();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Doc 2"));
+    const dialog = await viewer();
+    await openMenu(() =>
+      fireEvent.click(dialog.querySelector<HTMLElement>('button[aria-label="files.rowMenu"]')!),
+    );
+    expect(menuRows()).not.toContain("files.actions.view");
+    expect(menuRows()).not.toContain("files.actions.rename");
+    expect(menuRows()).toContain("files.actions.move");
+  });
+});
+
 describe("Files · the view", () => {
   it("starts the list at the scroller's top, so its sticky header does not jump on the first scroll", () => {
     mocks.files = [file(2)];
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Files.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Files.tsx
index 6af75454..3474b836 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Files.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Files.tsx
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ import { useContextMenu } from "./ui/useContextMenu";
 const UploadDialog = lazy(() => import("./UploadDialog"));
 const ShareDialog = lazy(() => import("./ShareDialog"));
 const LibraryPlayer = lazy(() => import("./LibraryPlayer"));
+const FilePreview = lazy(() => import("./FilePreview"));
 const VideoEditor = lazy(() => import("./VideoEditor"));
 
 // The Files library: every done file of mine, the ones shared with me, or one folder's (the rail
@@ -110,12 +111,12 @@ function uploadFolder(view: FilesView, folders: readonly FileFolder[]): number |
 function NameCell({
   file,
   renaming,
-  onPlay,
+  onOpen,
   onRenamed,
 }: {
   file: LibraryFile;
   renaming: boolean;
-  onPlay: (() => void) | null;
+  onOpen: (() => void) | null;
   onRenamed: (name: string | null, byKey: boolean) => void;
 }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
@@ -128,11 +129,11 @@ function NameCell({
   const title = <span className="block truncate text-sm font-medium">{jobTitle(file)}</span>;
   return (
     <div className="flex min-w-0 flex-col">
-      {onPlay ? (
+      {onOpen ? (
         <Pressable
           selectable
           data-nav-open=""
-          onClick={onPlay}
+          onClick={onOpen}
           title={jobTitle(file)}
           className="min-w-0 rounded-sm hover:text-accent"
         >
@@ -194,10 +195,13 @@ export default function Files() {
   const [editFile, setEditFile] = useState<LibraryFile | null>(null);
   const [playing, setPlaying] = useState<{ file: LibraryFile; fromStart: boolean } | null>(null);
   const play = (file: LibraryFile, fromStart = false) => setPlaying({ file, fromStart });
+  // The file open in the viewer (one that is not media), by id: the list under it keeps re-reading.
+  const [viewing, setViewing] = useState<number | null>(null);
 
   const actions = useFileActions({
     folders,
     onPlay: play,
+    onView: (f) => setViewing(f.id),
     onEdit: setEditFile,
     onRename: (f) => setRenamingId(f.id),
     onEditDetails: setMetaFile,
@@ -309,8 +313,11 @@ export default function Files() {
   }, []);
 
   const iconSlot = <span className="size-9 shrink-0" aria-hidden />;
-  const playOf = (f: LibraryFile) =>
-    (f.shared ? sharedRowActions(f) : libraryRowActions(f)).play ? () => play(f) : null;
+  // What a row's name or a card's picture does: plays it, or opens it in the viewer.
+  const openOf = (f: LibraryFile) => {
+    const a = f.shared ? sharedRowActions(f) : libraryRowActions(f);
+    return a.play ? () => play(f) : a.view ? () => setViewing(f.id) : null;
+  };
   const columns: Column<LibraryFile>[] = [
     {
       key: "thumb",
@@ -338,7 +345,7 @@ export default function Files() {
           key={renamingId === f.id ? "renaming" : "shown"}
           file={f}
           renaming={renamingId === f.id}
-          onPlay={playOf(f)}
+          onOpen={openOf(f)}
           onRenamed={(name, byKey) => {
             if (byKey) refocusFile.current = f.id;
             setRenamingId(null);
@@ -504,7 +511,7 @@ export default function Files() {
               key={f.id}
               file={f}
               index={i}
-              onPlay={playOf(f)}
+              onOpen={openOf(f)}
               menuProps={rowMenu.triggerProps(f)}
               moreProps={rowMenu.buttonProps(f)}
               menuOpen={rowMenu.open && rowMenu.target?.id === f.id}
@@ -655,6 +662,18 @@ export default function Files() {
             />
           )}
           {editFile && <VideoEditor job={editFile} onClose={() => setEditFile(null)} />}
+          {viewing !== null && (
+            <FilePreview
+              // The viewer pages the list as it reads (its sort), through the files it can open.
+              files={sortRows(rows, columns, sort, lang).filter(
+                (f) => (f.shared ? sharedRowActions(f) : libraryRowActions(f)).view,
+              )}
+              fileId={viewing}
+              onFileChange={setViewing}
+              onClose={() => setViewing(null)}
+              menuItems={(f) => actions.items(f, true)}
+            />
+          )}
         </Suspense>
       </div>
       {dragging && (
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/downloadRow.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/downloadRow.dom.test.tsx
index f92cc770..f7b17dec 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/downloadRow.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/downloadRow.dom.test.tsx
@@ -105,3 +105,33 @@ describe("JobThumb · no picture", () => {
     expect(container.querySelector("svg.lucide-film")).not.toBeNull();
   });
 });
+
+// A file that is not media: an image is its own picture (its sandboxed preview), unless it is too big
+// for a thumbnail or fails; anything else draws the file glyph.
+describe("JobThumb · a file", () => {
+  const image = (over: Partial<NonNullable<DownloadJob["asset"]>> = {}) =>
+    withAsset("png", { media_kind: "file", preview: "image", size_bytes: 200_000, ...over });
+
+  it("shows an image through its preview", () => {
+    const { container } = render(<JobThumb job={image()} />);
+    expect(new URL(container.querySelector("img")!.src).pathname).toBe("/api/files/1/preview");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the glyph for an image too big to be a thumbnail, and for other files", () => {
+    const { container, unmount } = render(<JobThumb job={image({ size_bytes: 50_000_000 })} />);
+    expect(container.querySelector("img")).toBeNull();
+    expect(container.querySelector("svg.lucide-file")).not.toBeNull();
+    unmount();
+    const { container: pdf } = render(
+      <JobThumb job={withAsset("pdf", { media_kind: "file", preview: "pdf" })} />,
+    );
+    expect(pdf.querySelector("img")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to the glyph when the image fails", () => {
+    const { container } = render(<JobThumb job={image()} />);
+    fireEvent.error(container.querySelector("img")!);
+    expect(container.querySelector("img")).toBeNull();
+    expect(container.querySelector("svg.lucide-file")).not.toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/downloadRow.tsx b/frontend/src/components/downloadRow.tsx
index f734b8e6..18d36340 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/downloadRow.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/downloadRow.tsx
@@ -58,6 +58,18 @@ const THUMB_BOX =
 
 /** A job's picture: its poster, else the source's thumbnail, else a glyph of what it is. `box` sizes
  *  it (the Files list draws a smaller one). */
+// An image larger than this keeps the file glyph: a row's thumbnail is the whole file, and a page of
+// camera originals would pull hundreds of megabytes for pictures a few rem wide.
+const IMAGE_THUMB_MAX_BYTES = 8 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+/** An image file's own picture for its thumbnail, or null (not an image, not readable, too big). */
+function imageThumbOf(job: DownloadJob): string | null {
+  const a = job.asset;
+  if (a?.preview !== "image" || !job.can_download) return null;
+  if ((a.size_bytes ?? Infinity) > IMAGE_THUMB_MAX_BYTES) return null;
+  return api.previewUrl(job.id);
+}
+
 export function JobThumb({ job, box = THUMB_BOX }: { job: DownloadJob; box?: string }) {
   // Prefer OUR self-hosted poster: it's always present on disk, never expires, and is same-origin, so
   // a source-CDN signature expiry (Facebook's fbcdn URLs expire within days) or an ad-blocker/Shields
@@ -83,14 +95,29 @@ export function JobThumb({ job, box = THUMB_BOX }: { job: DownloadJob; box?: str
   // way, so the row falls to the glyph below instead of the browser's broken-image mark.
   const [failedRemote, setFailedRemote] = useState<string | null>(null);
   if (failedRemote !== null && failedRemote !== remote) setFailedRemote(null);
+  // An image file's own picture failed (gone since, or not an image after all): the glyph instead.
+  const [failedPicture, setFailedPicture] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const candidate = failedPrimary && failedPrimary === primary ? remote : primary;
   const src = candidate && candidate === failedRemote ? null : candidate;
   // A generic uploaded file (media_kind='file') has no video frame to poster — it's a document/
-  // archive, not playable media. Show a neutral file glyph instead of an (always-empty) thumbnail.
+  // archive, not playable media. An image is its own picture (its sandboxed preview); the rest show
+  // a neutral file glyph instead of an (always-empty) thumbnail.
   if (job.asset?.media_kind === "file") {
+    const picture = imageThumbOf(job);
     return (
       <div className={`${box} flex items-center justify-center text-muted`}>
-        <File className="w-8 h-8" aria-hidden="true" />
+        {picture && picture !== failedPicture ? (
+          <img
+            src={picture}
+            alt=""
+            loading="lazy"
+            decoding="async"
+            className="h-full w-full object-cover"
+            onError={() => setFailedPicture(picture)}
+          />
+        ) : (
+          <File className="w-8 h-8" aria-hidden="true" />
+        )}
       </div>
     );
   }
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/useFileActions.tsx b/frontend/src/components/useFileActions.tsx
index aded44a6..3ffff9aa 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/useFileActions.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/useFileActions.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { useMutation, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import {
   Download,
+  Eye,
   FolderInput,
   Info,
   Link,
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ const patchFail = (p: Patch) =>
 export function useFileActions({
   folders,
   onPlay,
+  onView,
   onEdit,
   onRename,
   onEditDetails,
@@ -62,6 +64,8 @@ export function useFileActions({
   /** The caller's folders — the Move submenu's places. */
   folders: readonly FileFolder[];
   onPlay: (file: LibraryFile, fromStart?: boolean) => void;
+  /** Open a file that is not media in the Files viewer. */
+  onView: (file: LibraryFile) => void;
   onEdit: (file: LibraryFile) => void;
   onRename: (file: LibraryFile) => void;
   onEditDetails: (file: LibraryFile) => void;
@@ -126,6 +130,12 @@ export function useFileActions({
         : []),
     ];
   };
+  const view = (file: LibraryFile): ActionMenuItem => ({
+    id: "view",
+    label: t("files.actions.view"),
+    icon: icon(Eye),
+    onSelect: () => onView(file),
+  });
   const save = (file: LibraryFile): ActionMenuItem => ({
     id: "save",
     label: t("downloads.actions.download"),
@@ -184,12 +194,13 @@ export function useFileActions({
     return { id: "move", label: t("files.actions.move"), icon: icon(FolderInput), items };
   };
 
-  function mineItems(file: LibraryFile): ActionMenuItem[] {
+  function mineItems(file: LibraryFile, inViewer: boolean): ActionMenuItem[] {
     const a = libraryRowActions(file);
     return menuGroups(
       // The row's icons first, in the row's order.
       [
         ...(a.play ? play(file) : []),
+        ...(a.view && !inViewer ? [view(file)] : []),
         ...(a.play ? [copyLink(file)] : []),
         {
           id: "share",
@@ -201,12 +212,17 @@ export function useFileActions({
       ],
       [
         ...(a.edit ? [edit(file)] : []),
-        {
-          id: "rename",
-          label: t("files.actions.rename"),
-          icon: icon(Pencil),
-          onSelect: () => onRename(file),
-        },
+        // Renamed in place, in its row: not from the viewer that covers the row.
+        ...(inViewer
+          ? []
+          : [
+              {
+                id: "rename",
+                label: t("files.actions.rename"),
+                icon: icon(Pencil),
+                onSelect: () => onRename(file),
+              },
+            ]),
         moveTo(file),
         {
           id: "keep",
@@ -261,10 +277,14 @@ export function useFileActions({
     );
   }
 
-  function sharedItems(file: LibraryFile): ActionMenuItem[] {
+  function sharedItems(file: LibraryFile, inViewer: boolean): ActionMenuItem[] {
     const a = sharedRowActions(file);
     return menuGroups(
-      [...(a.play ? play(file) : []), ...(a.save ? [save(file)] : [])],
+      [
+        ...(a.play ? play(file) : []),
+        ...(a.view && !inViewer ? [view(file)] : []),
+        ...(a.save ? [save(file)] : []),
+      ],
       a.edit ? [edit(file)] : [],
       copies(file),
       [
@@ -285,9 +305,10 @@ export function useFileActions({
     );
   }
 
-  /** The file's menu rows. */
-  const items = (file: LibraryFile): ActionMenuItem[] =>
-    file.shared ? sharedItems(file) : mineItems(file);
+  /** The file's menu rows; `inViewer`: the viewer's "…", which leaves out what the viewer is or
+   *  what needs the row it covers. */
+  const items = (file: LibraryFile, inViewer = false): ActionMenuItem[] =>
+    file.shared ? sharedItems(file, inViewer) : mineItems(file, inViewer);
 
   /** The row's Copy-link icon: the menu's row, one click. */
   const share = (file: LibraryFile) => void quickShare(file);
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
index e9d0a5b7..075e833e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/errors.json
@@ -237,6 +237,7 @@
     "file_folder_name_taken": "You already have a folder with that name",
     "file_folder_not_own": "Only a folder you made can be renamed or deleted",
     "file_folder_gone": "That folder no longer exists",
-    "file_folder_not_its_source": "A file can only go into one of your own folders or back to the folder it came from"
+    "file_folder_not_its_source": "A file can only go into one of your own folders or back to the folder it came from",
+    "file_no_preview": "There is no preview for this file"
   }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/files.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/files.json
index 5ca1c087..5ca47796 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/files.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/files.json
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@
     "keep": "Keep",
     "unkeep": "Stop keeping",
     "details": "Details…",
-    "upload": "Upload"
+    "upload": "Upload",
+    "view": "Preview"
   },
   "folder": {
     "menu": "Folder actions",
@@ -91,5 +92,15 @@
     "label": "A link to download",
     "placeholder": "Paste a link and I'll download it (YouTube, TikTok, Facebook…)",
     "download": "Download"
+  },
+  "preview": {
+    "prev": "Previous file",
+    "next": "Next file",
+    "position": "{{n}} / {{total}}",
+    "openInTab": "Open in a new tab",
+    "none": "There is no preview for this file",
+    "asText": "Shown as plain text",
+    "truncated": "Showing the start of this {{size}} file",
+    "wrap": "Wrap long lines"
   }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/keys.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/keys.json
index 40e630af..d6a07500 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/keys.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/keys.json
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
   "fineSeek": "Fine seek",
   "episode": "Previous / next episode",
   "video": "Previous / next video",
+  "file": "Previous / next file",
   "volume": "Volume up / down",
   "mute": "Mute",
   "audio": "Cycle audio track",
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
index 3464db2b..2e2ce05e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/errors.json
@@ -237,6 +237,7 @@
     "file_folder_name_taken": "Már van ilyen nevű mappád",
     "file_folder_not_own": "Csak a saját mappádat nevezheted át vagy törölheted",
     "file_folder_gone": "Ez a mappa már nem létezik",
-    "file_folder_not_its_source": "Egy fájl csak a saját mappáidba vagy vissza az eredeti mappájába kerülhet"
+    "file_folder_not_its_source": "Egy fájl csak a saját mappáidba vagy vissza az eredeti mappájába kerülhet",
+    "file_no_preview": "Ehhez a fájlhoz nincs előnézet"
   }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/files.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/files.json
index 95b5aa27..4305a494 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/files.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/files.json
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@
     "keep": "Megtartom",
     "unkeep": "Megtartás visszavonása",
     "details": "Részletek…",
-    "upload": "Feltöltés"
+    "upload": "Feltöltés",
+    "view": "Előnézet"
   },
   "folder": {
     "menu": "Mappa műveletei",
@@ -91,5 +92,15 @@
     "label": "Letöltendő link",
     "placeholder": "Illessz be egy linket, és letöltöm (YouTube, TikTok, Facebook…)",
     "download": "Letöltés"
+  },
+  "preview": {
+    "prev": "Előző fájl",
+    "next": "Következő fájl",
+    "position": "{{n}} / {{total}}",
+    "openInTab": "Megnyitás új lapon",
+    "none": "Ehhez a fájlhoz nincs előnézet",
+    "asText": "Egyszerű szövegként",
+    "truncated": "A {{size}} méretű fájl eleje látszik",
+    "wrap": "Hosszú sorok tördelése"
   }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/keys.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/keys.json
index d6282014..c575170f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/keys.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/keys.json
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
   "seek5": "Tekerés 5 másodperc",
   "fineSeek": "Finom léptetés",
   "episode": "Előző / következő rész",
+  "file": "Előző / következő fájl",
   "video": "Előző / következő videó",
   "volume": "Hangerő fel / le",
   "mute": "Némítás",
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.contract.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.contract.test.ts
index 6bb585a0..8110bcdb 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.contract.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.contract.test.ts
@@ -36,3 +36,33 @@ describe("display-name bound", () => {
     for (const m of declared) expect(m[1]).toBe("DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX");
   });
 });
+
+// The viewer reads what the server decides (backend downloads/preview.py): the preview kinds it may
+// be told and the header that says a text was cut. Each side names them in its own language, so the
+// gate reads both: a kind the server adds that the viewer does not know would fall to "no preview".
+describe("file preview", () => {
+  it("knows the kinds the server hands out", () => {
+    const backend = src("../../../../backend/app/downloads/preview.py").match(
+      /^PreviewKind = Literal\[(.*)\]$/m,
+    );
+    const frontend = src("./downloads.ts").match(/^export type FilePreviewKind = (.*);$/m);
+    expect(backend, "downloads/preview.py no longer defines PreviewKind").toBeTruthy();
+    expect(frontend, "lib/api/downloads.ts no longer exports FilePreviewKind").toBeTruthy();
+    const kinds = (s: string, sep: string) =>
+      s
+        .split(sep)
+        .map((k) => k.trim().replace(/"/g, ""))
+        .sort();
+    expect(kinds(frontend![1]!, "|")).toEqual(kinds(backend![1]!, ","));
+  });
+
+  it("reads the header the server cuts a text with", () => {
+    const backend = src("../../../../backend/app/routes/files.py").match(
+      /^TRUNCATED_HEADER = "(.*)"$/m,
+    );
+    const frontend = src("./files.ts").match(/^const PREVIEW_TRUNCATED_HEADER = "(.*)";$/m);
+    expect(backend, "routes/files.py no longer defines TRUNCATED_HEADER").toBeTruthy();
+    expect(frontend, "lib/api/files.ts no longer defines PREVIEW_TRUNCATED_HEADER").toBeTruthy();
+    expect(frontend![1]).toBe(backend![1]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts
index da3aeaee..7c426f1e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts
@@ -39,9 +39,14 @@ interface DownloadAsset {
   // (video/audio) gets play/edit; a generic uploaded file is download+share only, no player. Null
   // while still in flight (set at finalize). See backend downloads/mediakind.py.
   media_kind: "video" | "audio" | "file" | null;
+  // What the library's viewer shows of a generic file (backend downloads/preview.py): an image, a PDF
+  // in the browser's own viewer, plain text; null = no preview (media plays instead).
+  preview?: FilePreviewKind | null;
   thumbnail_url: string | null;
 }
 
+export type FilePreviewKind = "image" | "pdf" | "text";
+
 export type DownloadStatus = "queued" | "running" | "paused" | "done" | "error" | "canceled";
 // "download" (default), "edit" (a per-user trim/crop derivative cut from another job), "upload"
 // (a locally-uploaded file) or "clip" (a marked range of a YouTube video or a Plex item, cut straight
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api/files.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api/files.ts
index 0ea1e88b..d697a776 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api/files.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api/files.ts
@@ -37,6 +37,14 @@ export interface LibraryFile extends DownloadJob {
   source_key: string;
 }
 
+// Set by the server on a text preview cut at its size cap (`routes/files.py` TRUNCATED_HEADER).
+const PREVIEW_TRUNCATED_HEADER = "X-Preview-Truncated";
+
+export interface FilePreviewText {
+  text: string;
+  truncated: boolean;
+}
+
 // What a PATCH may change. Presence decides: a null / "" text falls back to the system value.
 export interface FilePatch {
   name?: string | null;
@@ -133,4 +141,15 @@ export const filesApi = {
     const a = getActiveAccount();
     return a != null ? `/api/files/${id}/file?account=${a}` : `/api/files/${id}/file`;
   },
+  // The viewer's copy of an image or a PDF (`/preview`, sandboxed): an <img> / <iframe> source, so it
+  // carries the account the same way.
+  previewUrl: (id: number): string => {
+    const a = getActiveAccount();
+    return a != null ? `/api/files/${id}/preview?account=${a}` : `/api/files/${id}/preview`;
+  },
+  // A text file's head as text, and whether the server cut it there. Quiet: the viewer says why.
+  previewText: async (id: number): Promise<FilePreviewText> => {
+    const r = await req<Response>(`/api/files/${id}/preview`, {}, { raw: true, quiet: true });
+    return { text: await r.text(), truncated: r.headers.get(PREVIEW_TRUNCATED_HEADER) === "1" };
+  },
 };
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/downloadActions.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/downloadActions.test.ts
index 2abe0a60..2843bc12 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/downloadActions.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/downloadActions.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-// The Library/Shared row-action gate. A generic uploaded file (media_kind='file') is
-// download+share only (no Play/Edit/Details); an edit clip and an upload can't be re-downloaded.
+// The Library/Shared row-action gate. A generic uploaded file (media_kind='file') opens in the viewer
+// instead of a player (no Play/Edit/Details); an edit clip and an upload can't be re-downloaded.
 // These pin the gate so a regression that shows Play/Edit on a file, or re-download on an upload,
 // is caught (the affordance itself, not just the backend guard behind it).
 import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
@@ -31,14 +31,16 @@ describe("libraryRowActions", () => {
   it("a media (video) item gets play, edit, details, redownload", () => {
     expect(libraryRowActions(job({}, {}))).toEqual({
       play: true,
+      view: false,
       edit: true,
       editDetails: true,
       redownload: true,
     });
   });
 
-  it("a generic file gets NO play/edit/details (download+share only)", () => {
+  it("a generic file opens in the viewer and gets NO play/edit/details", () => {
     const a = libraryRowActions(job({}, { media_kind: "file", duration_s: null }));
+    expect(a.view).toBe(true);
     expect(a.play).toBe(false);
     expect(a.edit).toBe(false);
     expect(a.editDetails).toBe(false);
@@ -62,19 +64,30 @@ describe("libraryRowActions", () => {
 
 describe("sharedRowActions", () => {
   it("a downloadable media item gets play, save, edit", () => {
-    expect(sharedRowActions(job({}, {}))).toEqual({ play: true, save: true, edit: true });
+    expect(sharedRowActions(job({}, {}))).toEqual({
+      play: true,
+      view: false,
+      save: true,
+      edit: true,
+    });
   });
 
   it("nothing is offered when the owner disabled download", () => {
     expect(sharedRowActions(job({ can_download: false }, {}))).toEqual({
       play: false,
+      view: false,
       save: false,
       edit: false,
     });
   });
 
-  it("a shared generic file gets only save (no player/trim)", () => {
+  it("a shared generic file opens in the viewer and saves (no player/trim)", () => {
     const a = sharedRowActions(job({}, { media_kind: "file", duration_s: null }));
-    expect(a).toEqual({ play: false, save: true, edit: false });
+    expect(a).toEqual({ play: false, view: true, save: true, edit: false });
+  });
+
+  it("a shared generic file its owner keeps from me does not open either", () => {
+    const a = sharedRowActions(job({ can_download: false }, { media_kind: "file" }));
+    expect(a.view).toBe(false);
   });
 });
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/downloadActions.ts b/frontend/src/lib/downloadActions.ts
index 022b37eb..9a3b6c0f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/downloadActions.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/downloadActions.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import type { DownloadJob } from "./api";
 
 // Which row actions apply to a completed library / shared item — gated on the stored media_kind and
-// job_kind. A generic uploaded file (media_kind='file') is download + share only: no player,
-// no trim, no details edit. Re-download needs a re-fetchable source, which an edit clip and an upload
+// job_kind. A generic uploaded file (media_kind='file') opens in the Files viewer instead of a player,
+// and has no trim and no details edit. Re-download needs a re-fetchable source, which an edit clip and an upload
 // both lack (the backend 409s both). A single source for the gate the Library + Shared rows render,
 // so it's unit-testable instead of buried in JSX conditionals — and the two tabs can't drift apart.
 
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ const hasDuration = (job: DownloadJob): boolean => (job.asset?.duration_s ?? 0)
 
 export interface LibraryRowActions {
   play: boolean;
+  /** Opens in the Files viewer: a file that is not media (its preview, or the "no preview" card). */
+  view: boolean;
   edit: boolean;
   editDetails: boolean;
   redownload: boolean;
@@ -20,6 +22,7 @@ export function libraryRowActions(job: DownloadJob): LibraryRowActions {
   const media = isMediaKind(job);
   return {
     play: media,
+    view: !media && job.can_download,
     edit: media && job.can_download && hasDuration(job),
     editDetails: media,
     redownload: !job.job_kind || job.job_kind === "download",
@@ -28,6 +31,7 @@ export function libraryRowActions(job: DownloadJob): LibraryRowActions {
 
 export interface SharedRowActions {
   play: boolean;
+  view: boolean;
   save: boolean;
   edit: boolean;
 }
@@ -37,6 +41,7 @@ export function sharedRowActions(job: DownloadJob): SharedRowActions {
   // The owner's `can_download` gates save/play/edit on a shared item (it reflects their link ACL).
   return {
     play: media && job.can_download,
+    view: !media && job.can_download,
     save: job.can_download,
     edit: media && job.can_download && hasDuration(job),
   };
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/keymap.ts b/frontend/src/lib/keymap.ts
index 22409639..ca7ad049 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/keymap.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/keymap.ts
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ export type KeyScope =
   | "ytPlayer"
   | "plexPlayer"
   | "mediaPlayer"
+  | "fileViewer"
   | "plexBrowse";
 
 const PAGE_LEVEL: ReadonlySet<KeyScope> = new Set<KeyScope>([
@@ -234,6 +235,10 @@ export const SHORTCUTS = [
   },
   { id: "mute", scope: "mediaPlayer", keys: ["m"], labelKey: "keys.mute" },
 
+  // --- the Files viewer: through the list's files that are not media ---------------------------
+  { id: "prevFile", scope: "fileViewer", keys: ["ArrowLeft"], labelKey: "keys.file" },
+  { id: "nextFile", scope: "fileViewer", keys: ["ArrowRight"], labelKey: "keys.file" },
+
   // --- the Plex browser (drill-down) ----------------------------------------------------------
   { id: "back", scope: "plexBrowse", keys: ["Backspace"], labelKey: "keys.browseBack" },
 ] as const satisfies readonly Shortcut[];
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts b/frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
index 144bc358..709b1ad2 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ export const qk = {
   // Every listing's key starts with "files", so one invalidation reaches each folder, search and sort.
   files: (p?: FileListParams) => (p ? (["files", p] as const) : (["files"] as const)),
   fileFolders: () => ["file-folders"] as const,
+  filePreview: (id: number) => ["file-preview", id] as const,
   storageUsage: () => ["storage-usage"] as const,
   // --- downloads ---
   downloads: () => ["downloads"] as const,