diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/shell/chrome/chrome.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/shell/chrome/chrome.tsx
index fd742bdc..4c855bd8 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/shell/chrome/chrome.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/shell/chrome/chrome.tsx
@@ -522,7 +522,9 @@ function MainChromeTitle({
       <span className="mr-1 flex shrink-0 items-center">
         {icon ?? <FileTextIcon className="size-4 text-foreground" />}
       </span>
-      <span className="min-w-0 flex-1 truncate font-semibold text-sm">{header.title}</span>
+      <span className="min-w-0 flex-1 truncate font-semibold text-sm" data-conversation-title="">
+        {header.title}
+      </span>
       {chip}
       <ShellIconButton label="More" disabled>
         <EllipsisIcon className="size-4" />
diff --git a/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/__tests__/session-switch-transition.test.ts b/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/__tests__/session-switch-transition.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cc5c7745
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/__tests__/session-switch-transition.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+
+import type { SessionId } from '@linkcode/schema';
+import { wait } from 'foxts/wait';
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { applySessionSwitchTransition } from '../session-switch-transition';
+
+// The real store transitively imports the whole @linkcode/ui barrel (dnd-kit needs
+// ResizeObserver); the transition only reads `reduceMotion`, so stub exactly that.
+const prefs = vi.hoisted(() => ({ reduceMotion: false }));
+vi.mock('../../settings/appearance-store', () => ({
+  useAppearancePrefsStore: { getState: () => prefs },
+}));
+
+const SESSION = 'session-1' as SessionId;
+
+function installVt(impl: (update: () => void) => { finished: Promise<void> }): void {
+  document.startViewTransition = impl as unknown as typeof document.startViewTransition;
+}
+
+function mountPair(): { row: HTMLElement; header: HTMLElement } {
+  const row = document.createElement('span');
+  row.dataset.threadTitle = SESSION;
+  const header = document.createElement('div');
+  header.dataset.conversationTitle = '';
+  document.body.append(row, header);
+  return { row, header };
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  document.body.innerHTML = '';
+  Reflect.deleteProperty(document, 'startViewTransition');
+  prefs.reduceMotion = false;
+});
+
+describe('applySessionSwitchTransition', () => {
+  it('applies plainly when the API is missing', () => {
+    mountPair();
+    const apply = vi.fn();
+    applySessionSwitchTransition(SESSION, apply);
+    expect(apply).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it('applies plainly under reduce-motion even with the API present', () => {
+    mountPair();
+    const startViewTransition = vi.fn();
+    installVt(startViewTransition);
+    prefs.reduceMotion = true;
+    const apply = vi.fn();
+    applySessionSwitchTransition(SESSION, apply);
+    expect(apply).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(startViewTransition).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('applies plainly when the clicked row is not in the DOM', () => {
+    const startViewTransition = vi.fn();
+    installVt(startViewTransition);
+    const apply = vi.fn();
+    applySessionSwitchTransition(SESSION, apply);
+    expect(apply).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(startViewTransition).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('pairs the row and header names around the switch, then clears them', async () => {
+    const { row, header } = mountPair();
+    let rowNameDuringCapture = '';
+    let headerNameAfterUpdate = '';
+    installVt((update) => {
+      rowNameDuringCapture = row.style.getPropertyValue('view-transition-name');
+      update();
+      headerNameAfterUpdate = header.style.getPropertyValue('view-transition-name');
+      return { finished: Promise.resolve() };
+    });
+    const apply = vi.fn();
+    applySessionSwitchTransition(SESSION, apply);
+    expect(apply).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(rowNameDuringCapture).toBe('thread-title');
+    expect(headerNameAfterUpdate).toBe('thread-title');
+    expect(row.style.getPropertyValue('view-transition-name')).toBe('');
+    // The cleanup sits behind finished → catch → finally; a macrotask flushes all of them.
+    await wait(0);
+    expect(header.style.getPropertyValue('view-transition-name')).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('clears a stale header name even when the transition is interrupted', async () => {
+    const { header } = mountPair();
+    installVt((update) => {
+      update();
+      return { finished: Promise.reject(new Error('skipped')) };
+    });
+    applySessionSwitchTransition(SESSION, vi.fn());
+    await wait(0);
+    expect(header.style.getPropertyValue('view-transition-name')).toBe('');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/session-switch-transition.ts b/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/session-switch-transition.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8e03d8b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/session-switch-transition.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import type { SessionId } from '@linkcode/schema';
+import { noop } from 'foxts/noop';
+import { flushSync } from 'react-dom';
+import { useAppearancePrefsStore } from '../settings/appearance-store';
+
+/** The matched-geometry pair for a session switch: the clicked thread row's title
+ * (`data-thread-title`) travels to the conversation header title (`data-conversation-title`). */
+const PAIR_NAME = 'thread-title';
+
+function headerTitle(): HTMLElement | null {
+  return document.querySelector<HTMLElement>('[data-conversation-title]');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Wrap a session switch in a View Transition. Falls back to a plain apply without the API,
+ * under reduce-motion, or when the clicked row is not in the DOM. Only the switching pair may
+ * carry the transition name: a duplicate name in either snapshot makes the browser skip the
+ * whole transition, so the header's name is cleared on entry and after every run.
+ */
+export function applySessionSwitchTransition(id: SessionId, apply: () => void): void {
+  // Session ids are daemon-generated identifiers (no quotes/backslashes) — safe to interpolate.
+  const source = document.querySelector<HTMLElement>(`[data-thread-title="${id}"]`);
+  if (
+    !source ||
+    typeof document.startViewTransition !== 'function' ||
+    useAppearancePrefsStore.getState().reduceMotion
+  ) {
+    apply();
+    return;
+  }
+  headerTitle()?.style.removeProperty('view-transition-name');
+  source.style.setProperty('view-transition-name', PAIR_NAME);
+  const transition = document.startViewTransition(() => {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line @eslint-react/dom-no-flush-sync -- the browser captures the new snapshot when this callback returns, so the React commit must land synchronously
+    flushSync(apply);
+    source.style.removeProperty('view-transition-name');
+    headerTitle()?.style.setProperty('view-transition-name', PAIR_NAME);
+  });
+  // `finished` rejects when a newer transition interrupts this one; cleanup runs either way.
+  transition.finished
+    .catch(noop)
+    .finally(() => headerTitle()?.style.removeProperty('view-transition-name'));
+}
diff --git a/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/shell.tsx b/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/shell.tsx
index 95915536..ddeca8cd 100644
--- a/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/shell.tsx
+++ b/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/shell.tsx
@@ -68,7 +68,9 @@ function DefaultTitleStrip({
   return (
     <TitleStrip className="border-border border-b">
       <div className="min-w-0">
-        <div className="truncate font-medium text-sm">{header.title}</div>
+        <div className="truncate font-medium text-sm" data-conversation-title="">
+          {header.title}
+        </div>
         {header.subtitle && (
           <div className="truncate text-muted-foreground text-xs">{header.subtitle}</div>
         )}
diff --git a/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/use-workbench-sessions.ts b/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/use-workbench-sessions.ts
index f14e6236..560a9f6d 100644
--- a/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/use-workbench-sessions.ts
+++ b/packages/client/workbench/src/surface/use-workbench-sessions.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { useNavigationHistoryStore } from '../navigation/store';
 import { useData, useMutation } from '../runtime/tayori';
 import type { WorkbenchSessionDraft } from './selection-store';
 import { useSessionSelectionStore } from './selection-store';
+import { applySessionSwitchTransition } from './session-switch-transition';
 
 export interface WorkbenchSessions {
   sessions: SessionInfo[];
@@ -142,7 +143,8 @@ export function useWorkbenchSessions(onError: (err: unknown) => void): Workbench
 
   function select(id: SessionId): void {
     recordNavigation(currentLocation, { surface: 'thread', sessionId: id });
-    applySelection(id);
+    // Matched geometry: the clicked row's title travels to the conversation header.
+    applySessionSwitchTransition(id, () => applySelection(id));
   }
 
   function startDraft(workspaceId?: WorkspaceId): void {
diff --git a/packages/presentation/ui/src/shell/sidebar/thread-row.tsx b/packages/presentation/ui/src/shell/sidebar/thread-row.tsx
index 02735a25..7c73287d 100644
--- a/packages/presentation/ui/src/shell/sidebar/thread-row.tsx
+++ b/packages/presentation/ui/src/shell/sidebar/thread-row.tsx
@@ -94,7 +94,9 @@ export function ThreadRow({
               )}
             />
           </span>
-          <span className="min-w-0 flex-1 truncate">{title}</span>
+          <span className="min-w-0 flex-1 truncate" data-thread-title={session.sessionId}>
+            {title}
+          </span>
         </PreviewCardTrigger>
         <SidebarPreviewCardPopup>
           <div className="flex min-w-0 flex-1 flex-col gap-2">
diff --git a/packages/presentation/ui/src/styles.css b/packages/presentation/ui/src/styles.css
index 6eb1a7b7..16876e8f 100644
--- a/packages/presentation/ui/src/styles.css
+++ b/packages/presentation/ui/src/styles.css
@@ -144,6 +144,15 @@
   }
 }
 
+/* Matched-geometry session switch (thread row title → conversation header): pace the paired
+   element and the root crossfade on the motion scale. Reduce-motion never starts a transition
+   (gated where the switch is applied), so no override is needed here. */
+::view-transition-group(thread-title),
+::view-transition-old(root),
+::view-transition-new(root) {
+  animation-duration: var(--motion-normal);
+}
+
 @layer components {
   /* Read-only chat terminals mirror LiveTerminal's auto pair: GitHub Light Default / Dark+.
      Scope the palette so ANSI class names from other libraries cannot inherit it accidentally. */