keyboard: the one-Esc law — a surfaced layer claims at the document level (keyboard 4 of 4)

Owner ruling (keyboard round 2026-10-06): Esc (or any key) does ONE
action, on the topmost active layer. The plan-open-while-dictating
double-act was the symptom: the plan popup listened at WINDOW level
with no claim, and same-node window listeners all fire — the global
chain (registered first) cancelled the dictation while the plan's own
listener closed the plan. One Esc, two actions.

The law (now the house pattern, documented at the chain):
- field-level handlers claim at their element (focus in a field: the
  field's action) — unchanged, already correct
- every SURFACED layer claims at the DOCUMENT level with preventDefault
  + stopPropagation — document fires before the window chain, so the
  chain stays silent under any surface
- the window chain is the bottom-up fallback: dictation (a live capture,
  NOT a surface — it survives the Esc that closes a plan or overlay),
  then abort (escAbortTarget layers its own targets)

Converted to the claim: plan popup, session overlay, chain table,
settings dialog, setup dialog, the delete/abort dialogs (window-level
stopPropagation was never enough — same-node listeners all fire), and
the stats popover. Popovers (popover-dismiss), menus, model picker, and
the sidebar context menu already claimed correctly.

1427 tests, tsc, lint, build green.

components/abort-turn-dialog.tsx

@@ -124,12 +124,16 @@ export function AbortTurnDialog({
 		if (mode === null) return;
 		const onKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
 			if (e.key === "Escape") {
+				// THE ONE-ESC LAW (keyboard round 2026-10-06): claim at the
+				// document level — a window-level stopPropagation cannot stop
+				// the earlier-registered global window listener.
+				e.preventDefault();
 				e.stopPropagation();
 				onClose();
 			}
 		};
-		window.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
-		return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
+		return () => document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
 	}, [mode, onClose]);
 
 	if (mode === null || typeof document === "undefined") return null;

components/chain-table.tsx

@@ -640,10 +640,17 @@ export function ChainTableOverlay({
 	useEffect(() => {
 		if (!open || deleteOpen) return;
 		const onKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
-			if (e.key === "Escape") onClose();
+			if (e.key === "Escape") {
+				// THE ONE-ESC LAW (owner, keyboard round 2026-10-06): claim
+				// at the document level — the window chain (dictation →
+				// abort) must not also act. One Esc, one action.
+				e.preventDefault();
+				e.stopPropagation();
+				onClose();
+			}
 		};
-		window.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
-		return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
+		return () => document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
 	}, [open, deleteOpen, onClose]);
 
 	if (!open) return null;

components/delete-node-dialog.tsx

@@ -158,12 +158,16 @@ export function DeleteNodeDialog({
 		if (!nodes || nodes.length === 0) return;
 		const onKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
 			if (e.key === "Escape") {
+				// THE ONE-ESC LAW (keyboard round 2026-10-06): claim at the
+				// document level — a window-level stopPropagation cannot stop
+				// the earlier-registered global window listener.
+				e.preventDefault();
 				e.stopPropagation();
 				onClose();
 			}
 		};
-		window.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
-		return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
+		return () => document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
 	}, [nodes, onClose]);
 
 	// Sequential full deaths — never parallel (the store's revision

components/delete-session-dialog.tsx

@@ -68,12 +68,16 @@ export function DeleteSessionDialog({
 		if (!chat) return;
 		const onKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
 			if (e.key === "Escape") {
+				// THE ONE-ESC LAW (keyboard round 2026-10-06): claim at the
+				// document level — a window-level stopPropagation cannot stop
+				// the earlier-registered global window listener.
+				e.preventDefault();
 				e.stopPropagation();
 				onClose();
 			}
 		};
-		window.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
-		return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
+		return () => document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);
 	}, [chat, onClose]);
 
 	const run = async () => {

components/keyboard-shortcuts.tsx

@@ -82,10 +82,18 @@ export function KeyboardShortcuts() {
 					e.preventDefault();
 					return;
 				}
-				// Popovers stopPropagation on their own Esc, so reaching here
+				// THE ONE-ESC LAW (owner, keyboard round 2026-10-06): one
-				// means none was open. Dictation first, then abort the turn
+				// Esc, one action, on the topmost active layer. Field-level
-				// (a server-side turn has no client request to abort — the
+				// handlers claim at their element (focus in a field: the
-				// abort seam in Chat decides what's honestly stoppable).
+				// field's action); every SURFACED layer (popovers, plan,
+				// overlays, dialogs) claims at the DOCUMENT level, which
+				// fires before this window listener — so reaching here means
+				// NOTHING is surfaced and no field is focused. This chain is
+				// the fallback, bottom-up: dictation (a live capture, not a
+				// surface — it survives Esc that closes a plan or overlay),
+				// then abort the turn (a server-side turn has no client
+				// request to abort — the abort seam in Chat decides what's
+				// honestly stoppable, layered by escAbortTarget).
 				if (isDictationActive()) {
 					e.preventDefault();
 					window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("lh:kbd-cancel-dictation"));

components/plan-block.tsx

@@ -639,13 +639,23 @@ export function PlanPopup({ messages, onClose }: { messages: readonly PopupMessa
 	);
 	const statusOf = (id: string): PlanNodeStatus => (statuses ? derivedNodeStatus(statuses, id) : "upcoming");
 
-	// Esc closes.
+	// Esc closes — claimed at the DOCUMENT level (THE ONE-ESC LAW, owner
+	// keyboard round 2026-10-06): a surfaced layer's Esc is exactly one
+	// action. The window-level chain (dictation cancel → abort) is the
+	// fallback for when NOTHING is surfaced; a window listener here could
+	// never stop it — same-node listeners all fire — which was the
+	// plan-open-while-dictating double-act (Esc closed the plan AND
+	// cancelled the dictation).
 	useEffect(() => {
 		const onKey = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
-			if (e.key === "Escape") onClose();
+			if (e.key === "Escape") {
+				e.preventDefault();
+				e.stopPropagation();
+				onClose();
+			}
 		};
-		window.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
-		return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+		return () => document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
 	}, [onClose]);
 
 	// ── pan/zoom viewport (harvested semantics: fit floor = the default) ──

components/session-overlay.tsx

@@ -74,13 +74,19 @@ export function MermaidOverlay({ chart, onClose }: { chart: string; onClose: ()
 		};
 	}, [chart, attempt]);
 
-	// Esc closes.
+	// Esc closes — claimed at the document level (THE ONE-ESC LAW, owner
+	// keyboard round 2026-10-06): one Esc, one action; the window chain
+	// (dictation → abort) never fires under a surfaced layer.
 	useEffect(() => {
 		const onKey = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
-			if (e.key === "Escape") onClose();
+			if (e.key === "Escape") {
+				e.preventDefault();
+				e.stopPropagation();
+				onClose();
+			}
 		};
-		window.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
-		return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+		return () => document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
 	}, [onClose]);
 
 	// ── pan/zoom viewport (same wiring as the plan popup) ──

components/settings/settings-dialog.tsx

@@ -206,10 +206,17 @@ export function SettingsDialogBody({
 	// dialog's outer layer).
 	useEffect(() => {
 		const onKey = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
-			if (e.key === "Escape") onClose();
+			if (e.key === "Escape") {
+				// THE ONE-ESC LAW (owner, keyboard round 2026-10-06): claim
+				// at the document level — the window chain (dictation →
+				// abort) must not also act. One Esc, one action.
+				e.preventDefault();
+				e.stopPropagation();
+				onClose();
+			}
 		};
-		window.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
-		return () => window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+		return () => document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
 	}, [onClose]);
 
 	/** ONE writer for the whole dialog: PUT the whole section, keep the

components/setup-dialog.tsx

@@ -304,6 +304,12 @@ export function SetupDialog({
 		if (!open) return;
 		const onKey = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
 			if (e.key !== "Escape") return;
+			// THE ONE-ESC LAW (owner, keyboard round 2026-10-06): claim at
+			// the document level before the layered dismissal — every branch
+			// below acts, so the window chain (dictation → abort) must
+			// never also fire. One Esc, one action.
+			e.preventDefault();
+			e.stopPropagation();
 			if (keyMenuOpen) {
 				setKeyMenuOpen(false);
 				return;
@@ -319,10 +325,10 @@ export function SetupDialog({
 			if (t.closest("[data-lh-menu]") || t.closest(`[data-testid="${triggerTestid}"]`)) return;
 			setOpenMenu(null);
 		};
-		window.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
 		document.addEventListener("pointerdown", onPointerDown);
 		return () => {
-			window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+			document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
 			document.removeEventListener("pointerdown", onPointerDown);
 		};
 	}, [open, onClose, openMenu, keyMenuOpen]);

components/stats-bar.tsx

@@ -58,7 +58,13 @@ export function StatsBar({
 			if (barRef.current && !barRef.current.contains(e.target as Node)) setOpen(false);
 		};
 		const onKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
-			if (e.key === "Escape") setOpen(false);
+			if (e.key === "Escape") {
+				// THE ONE-ESC LAW (keyboard round 2026-10-06): claim — the
+				// window chain must not also act under this popover.
+				e.preventDefault();
+				e.stopPropagation();
+				setOpen(false);
+			}
 		};
 		document.addEventListener("pointerdown", onPointerDown);
 		document.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown);