diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/settings/FontFamilyRow.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/settings/FontFamilyRow.tsx
index 824ed8d52..51122d3c9 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/settings/FontFamilyRow.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/settings/FontFamilyRow.tsx
@@ -26,8 +26,10 @@ import { IconCheck, IconChevronDown, IconSearch } from "../icons";
  * Global UI font picker (Settings → Basics → Appearance). Offers the
  * system default, bundled open-licensed families, and installed system
  * families; the selected stack is persisted as `AppSettings.fontFamily`
- * and applied to `--font-sans` by App. Selecting System default persists an
- * empty stack, which every consumer treats as the built-in token stack.
+ * and applied to `--font-sans` by App. Selecting the localized system-default
+ * option persists an empty stack, which every consumer treats as the built-in
+ * token stack. The closed trigger and search haystack use `settings.fontSystemDefault`
+ * so the English catalog label in `fonts.ts` never reaches the UI.
  */
 export function FontFamilyRow({
   settings,
@@ -153,17 +155,24 @@ export function FontFamilyRow({
   const selectedValue = settings.fontFamily ?? "";
   const selectedOption =
     options.find((option) => option.value === selectedValue) ?? null;
+  const defaultLabel = t("settings.fontSystemDefault");
   const selectedLabel =
-    selectedOption?.label ?? readableFontFamily(settings.fontFamily ?? "");
+    selectedOption?.group === "default" || selectedValue === ""
+      ? defaultLabel
+      : selectedOption?.label ?? readableFontFamily(settings.fontFamily ?? "");
   const selectedFamily = selectedOption?.family ?? readableFontFamily(selectedValue);
 
   const filtered = useMemo(() => {
     const needle = query.trim().toLowerCase();
     if (!needle) return options;
-    return options.filter((option) =>
-      option.label.toLowerCase().includes(needle),
-    );
-  }, [options, query]);
+    return options.filter((option) => {
+      const localized =
+        option.group === "default" ? defaultLabel.toLowerCase() : option.label.toLowerCase();
+      return (
+        localized.includes(needle) || option.label.toLowerCase().includes(needle)
+      );
+    });
+  }, [defaultLabel, options, query]);
 
   const groupLabel = useCallback((group: string) => {
     if (group === "bundled") return t("settings.fontBundled");
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/styles/settings.css b/apps/desktop/src/styles/settings.css
index 4d8f196ce..be03522c9 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/styles/settings.css
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/styles/settings.css
@@ -760,21 +760,26 @@
   font-size: var(--text-sm-plus);
 }
 
-/* Global UI font picker (Appearance card). Pill trigger mirrors the
-   shared settings select; the menu portals to document.body as a fixed
-   floating layer so the settings card's overflow cannot clip it. */
+/* Global UI font picker (Appearance card). Pill trigger mirrors language /
+   theme: hug the current label, capped by the settings control column. The
+   menu portals to document.body as a fixed floating layer so the settings
+   card's overflow cannot clip it. */
 .settings-font {
   position: relative;
+  width: max-content;
+  max-width: 100%;
+  min-width: 0;
 }
 
 .settings-font-trigger {
-  display: flex;
+  display: inline-flex;
   align-items: center;
   gap: 8px;
-  min-width: 200px;
-  max-width: 280px;
+  width: max-content;
+  max-width: 100%;
+  min-width: 0;
   height: 30px;
-  padding: 0 12px;
+  padding: 0 10px 0 12px;
   border-radius: var(--radius-full);
   background: var(--ds-raised);
   box-shadow: var(--ds-raised-shadow);
@@ -788,7 +793,7 @@
 
 .settings-font-trigger-label {
   min-width: 0;
-  flex: 1;
+  flex: 0 1 auto;
   overflow: hidden;
   text-overflow: ellipsis;
   white-space: nowrap;
diff --git a/apps/desktop/test/settings-font-picker.test.mjs b/apps/desktop/test/settings-font-picker.test.mjs
index d86bfcb91..ccd8f0e49 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/test/settings-font-picker.test.mjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/test/settings-font-picker.test.mjs
@@ -25,6 +25,22 @@ test("selecting System default persists an empty stack so the override clears",
   assert.doesNotMatch(rowSource, /fontFamily: undefined/);
 });
 
+test("the closed trigger and search use the localized system-default label", () => {
+  assert.match(rowSource, /const defaultLabel = t\("settings\.fontSystemDefault"\)/);
+  assert.match(
+    rowSource,
+    /selectedOption\?\.group === "default" \|\| selectedValue === ""/,
+  );
+  assert.match(rowSource, /option\.group === "default" \? defaultLabel\.toLowerCase\(\)/);
+});
+
+test("the font trigger hugs the current label like language and theme", () => {
+  assert.match(styles, /\.settings-font\s*\{[^}]*width:\s*max-content;/s);
+  assert.match(styles, /\.settings-font-trigger\s*\{[^}]*width:\s*max-content;/s);
+  assert.match(styles, /\.settings-font-trigger-label\s*\{[^}]*flex:\s*0 1 auto;/s);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(styles, /\.settings-font-trigger\s*\{[^}]*min-width:\s*200px;/s);
+});
+
 test("font list windows the rows so only the visible slice is in the DOM", () => {
   assert.match(rowSource, /visibleRowRange\(layout, scrollTop/);
   assert.match(rowSource, /layout\.rows\.slice\(start, end\)/);