diff --git a/assets/js/shell.js b/assets/js/shell.js
index 59f39e1..9824bdd 100644
--- a/assets/js/shell.js
+++ b/assets/js/shell.js
@@ -15,6 +15,25 @@
   // right so the left (older) part clips off terminal-style instead of wrapping.
   function keepEnd() { if (promptEl) promptEl.scrollLeft = promptEl.scrollWidth; }
 
+  // hard guarantee: the prompt is ALWAYS one line. CSS (nowrap + overflow:hidden)
+  // is normally enough, but a long ghost command (long path + filename) can still
+  // force the line to wrap on some viewports/browsers, which then bugs out the
+  // layout below it. so on top of the CSS, actually shorten the text in the DOM:
+  // clip from the FRONT (oldest part, same side as the terminal-scroll above) and
+  // mark the cut with "…" — the leading verb ("cat "/"cd ") is allowed to go first.
+  function fitOneLine(text) {
+    if (!promptEl) return text;
+    promptEl.scrollLeft = 0;                 // measure from a clean, unscrolled state
+    input.textContent = text;
+    if (promptEl.scrollWidth <= promptEl.clientWidth) return text;
+    var shown = text;
+    while (shown.length > 1 && promptEl.scrollWidth > promptEl.clientWidth) {
+      shown = shown.slice(1);
+      input.textContent = "…" + shown;
+    }
+    return input.textContent;
+  }
+
   var home = bar.getAttribute("data-home") || "/";
 
   // command → url: the always-open menu, plus any context routes (e.g. the
@@ -45,7 +64,7 @@
   var ghostActive = false;
   function setGhost(text) {
     if (!ghostActive && input.textContent) return;   // never clobber a real command in progress
-    input.textContent = text;
+    fitOneLine(text);
     ghostActive = true;
     input.classList.add("is-ghost");
     caretToEnd();