diff --git a/app/globals.css b/app/globals.css
index ac65329..e17e287 100644
--- a/app/globals.css
+++ b/app/globals.css
@@ -389,6 +389,30 @@ body {
 	}
 }
 
+/* Settings dialog pop (settings-app wave, 2026-09-20): a short fade +
+   2% settle-scale — understated by design, the app's motion taste
+   (200ms sidebar, 150ms here); honors reduced-motion by appearing. */
+@keyframes settings-pop {
+	from {
+		opacity: 0;
+		scale: 0.98;
+	}
+	to {
+		opacity: 1;
+		scale: 1;
+	}
+}
+
+.settings-dialog-pop {
+	animation: settings-pop 150ms ease-out;
+}
+
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+	.settings-dialog-pop {
+		animation: none;
+	}
+}
+
 /* ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
    Electron merged chrome (owner, 2026-09-17). The system title bar is
    hidden (titleBarStyle: "hiddenInset" in electron/main.cjs); the app's
diff --git a/app/settings/page.tsx b/app/settings/page.tsx
index 35ba7f4..1b68fa9 100644
--- a/app/settings/page.tsx
+++ b/app/settings/page.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
-/** The settings route (thin settings wave): server shell over the client
- *  page — same shape as the chat routes (AppShell wraps via the root
- *  layout, so the sidebar + its Settings entry come along). */
-import { SettingsPage } from "@/components/settings/settings-page.tsx";
+import { redirect } from "next/navigation";
 
-export default function Page() {
-	return <SettingsPage />;
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+/**
+ * The settings surface graduated into a centered dialog over the app
+ * (settings-app wave, 2026-09-20 — owner decision: modal-only, no page).
+ * The URL stays routed but redirects: nothing should land on a dead
+ * page; the dialog opens via the sidebar row or mod+,.
+ */
+export default function SettingsPage() {
+	redirect("/chat/new");
+}
diff --git a/components/keyboard-shortcuts.tsx b/components/keyboard-shortcuts.tsx
index 5bbce11..2bcffb2 100644
--- a/components/keyboard-shortcuts.tsx
+++ b/components/keyboard-shortcuts.tsx
@@ -34,18 +34,21 @@ import {
 	KEYBOARD_ACTIONS,
 } from "@/src/core";
 import { isDictationActive } from "@/components/dictation";
+import { useSettingsDialog } from "@/components/settings/settings-dialog.tsx";
 
 export function KeyboardShortcuts() {
 	const router = useRouter();
 	const [cheatOpen, setCheatOpen] = useState(false);
+	const { open: openSettings } = useSettingsDialog();
 
-	// Router + cheat state inside a ref so the keydown listener (attached
-	// once) never goes stale.
+	// Router + cheat + settings state inside a ref so the keydown listener
+	// (attached once) never goes stale.
 	const handlersRef = useRef<{
 		router: ReturnType<typeof useRouter>;
 		setCheatOpen: (v: boolean) => void;
-	}>({ router, setCheatOpen });
-	handlersRef.current = { router, setCheatOpen };
+		openSettings: () => void;
+	}>({ router, setCheatOpen, openSettings });
+	handlersRef.current = { router, setCheatOpen, openSettings };
 
 	useEffect(() => {
 		const onKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
@@ -95,7 +98,9 @@ export function KeyboardShortcuts() {
 					handlersRef.current.router.push("/chat/new");
 					break;
 				case "open-settings":
-					handlersRef.current.router.push("/settings");
+					// Settings-app wave: the dialog is the surface, the URL is
+					// gone — /settings redirects to the draft shell.
+					handlersRef.current.openSettings();
 					break;
 				case "jump-graph":
 					handlersRef.current.router.push("/");
diff --git a/components/sidebar.tsx b/components/sidebar.tsx
index 89d05f6..6e1702a 100644
--- a/components/sidebar.tsx
+++ b/components/sidebar.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { ActivitySection } from "@/components/activity-dock";
 import { LhMark } from "@/components/lh-mark";
 import { BrailleSpinner } from "@/components/braille-spinner";
 import { KeyboardShortcuts } from "@/components/keyboard-shortcuts";
+import { SettingsDialogProvider, useSettingsDialog } from "@/components/settings/settings-dialog.tsx";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
@@ -265,6 +266,7 @@ function SessionsSidebar() {
 	const [query, setQuery] = useState("");
 	const pathname = usePathname();
 	const router = useRouter();
+	const { open: openSettings } = useSettingsDialog();
 
 	/* New session (owner, 2026-09-13): NO POST — the button opens the
 	   sessionless draft view; the session is created only when the first
@@ -483,18 +485,19 @@ function SessionsSidebar() {
 					    learner opted out (no ambient signal, user decision). */}
 					<ActivitySection />
 
-					{/* Settings entry (thin settings wave): the same row language
-					    as New session — quiet, bottom-pinned, one chord away is
-					    mod+, (the keyboard registry's open-settings action). */}
+					{/* Settings entry (settings-app wave): same row language as
+					    New session — quiet, bottom-pinned, opens the centered
+					    dialog (also mod+, in the keyboard registry). */}
 					<div className="px-3 pb-3 pt-1">
-						<Link
-							href="/settings"
+						<button
+							type="button"
+							onClick={openSettings}
 							data-testid="settings-entry"
 							className="flex items-center gap-1.5 rounded-md px-2 py-1.5 text-xs uppercase tracking-wider text-muted-foreground transition-colors hover:bg-accent hover:text-foreground"
 						>
 							<SettingsIcon className="size-3" />
 							Settings
-						</Link>
+						</button>
 					</div>
 				</div>
 			</aside>
@@ -504,13 +507,13 @@ function SessionsSidebar() {
 /** The app frame: sidebar inline + content. Rendered once in the root layout. */
 export function AppShell({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
 	return (
-		<>
+		<SettingsDialogProvider>
 			<SessionsSidebar />
 			<main className="min-w-0 flex-1">{children}</main>
 			{/* The single document-level keydown listener (keyboard wave A) —
 			    after the content in the tree, but it's window-level so order only
 			    matters for the events it dispatches, never for DOM priority. */}
 			<KeyboardShortcuts />
-		</>
+		</SettingsDialogProvider>
 	);
 }