diff --git a/packages/web/src/components/chat/SpaceInviteCard.tsx b/packages/web/src/components/chat/SpaceInviteCard.tsx
index fc858f2f..5e4d298c 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/components/chat/SpaceInviteCard.tsx
+++ b/packages/web/src/components/chat/SpaceInviteCard.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { Avatar } from '../ui/Avatar';
 import { getApiForOrigin } from '../../stores/spaceStore';
 import { useSpaceStore } from '../../stores/spaceStore';
+import { useUIStore } from '../../stores/uiStore';
 import type { SpaceInviteSystemPayload } from '@backspace/shared';
 
 type LiveState =
@@ -45,6 +46,22 @@ export function SpaceInviteCard({ payload, senderName }: Props) {
   const memberCount = live.kind === 'confirmed' ? live.memberCount : payload.snapshot.memberCount;
   const isRevoked = live.kind === 'revoked';
 
+  // Land the user at the space's channel sidebar after a successful join.
+  // On mobile this means switching to the Spaces tab (which clears the chat
+  // screen stack the invite was tapped from); on desktop it's just a route
+  // change since AppLayout's auto-channel-redirect handles the rest. The
+  // `setCurrentSpace` call seeds spaceStore synchronously so MobileSpacesScreen
+  // mounts with the right space already selected, before AppLayout's URL effect
+  // catches up.
+  const landOnSpace = (spaceId: string) => {
+    const ui = useUIStore.getState();
+    if (ui.isMobile) {
+      useSpaceStore.getState().setCurrentSpace(spaceId);
+      ui.setMobileTab('spaces');
+    }
+    navigate(`/channels/${spaceId}`);
+  };
+
   const onJoin = async () => {
     if (joining || isRevoked) return;
     setJoining(true);
@@ -54,14 +71,14 @@ export function SpaceInviteCard({ payload, senderName }: Props) {
       // the DM transport origin nor window.location.origin. Empty string maps
       // to undefined so joinByCode follows its local-instance branch.
       const space = await joinByCode(payload.inviteCode, payload.spaceInstanceOrigin || undefined);
-      navigate(`/channels/${space.id}`);
+      landOnSpace(space.id);
     } catch (err) {
       const msg = (err as Error)?.message ?? '';
       if (msg.toLowerCase().includes('already a member')) {
         // Already a member is a successful state — just navigate to the space.
         // Look up the space in the store by id; if not found (rare race), stay
         // silent rather than block the user with a noisy error.
-        navigate(`/channels/${payload.spaceId}`);
+        landOnSpace(payload.spaceId);
         return;
       }
       setJoinError(msg || 'Failed to join');
diff --git a/packages/web/src/components/layout/AppLayout.tsx b/packages/web/src/components/layout/AppLayout.tsx
index 4c498af6..55cc302b 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/components/layout/AppLayout.tsx
+++ b/packages/web/src/components/layout/AppLayout.tsx
@@ -295,8 +295,13 @@ export function AppLayout() {
     }
   }, [channelId, spaceId, setCurrentChannel, loadMessages]);
 
-  // Auto-select last visited (or first) channel when opening a server without a channelId
+  // Auto-select last visited (or first) channel when opening a server without a channelId.
+  // Desktop-only: on mobile, `/channels/<spaceId>` should leave the user at the channel
+  // sidebar overview (MobileSpacesScreen), not auto-jump into a text channel — otherwise
+  // joining a space via SpaceInviteCard or tapping the Spaces bottom-nav tab catapults the
+  // user past the sidebar straight into a chat screen, with no clean back path.
   useEffect(() => {
+    if (useUIStore.getState().isMobile) return;
     if (!spaceId || spaceId === '@me' || channelId) return;
     if (channels.length === 0) return;
 
diff --git a/packages/web/src/components/layout/MobileSpacesScreen.tsx b/packages/web/src/components/layout/MobileSpacesScreen.tsx
index 0233ba14..a61b55e2 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/components/layout/MobileSpacesScreen.tsx
+++ b/packages/web/src/components/layout/MobileSpacesScreen.tsx
@@ -83,6 +83,16 @@ export function MobileSpacesScreen() {
     }
   }, [selectedSpaceId, setCurrentSpace, loadSpaceDetail]);
 
+  // Sync local selection from store when external code changes the current
+  // space (e.g. SpaceInviteCard's join handler seeding currentSpaceId before
+  // routing to the Spaces tab). Without this, useState(currentSpaceId) is only
+  // captured on mount and the strip stays on the previously-selected space.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (currentSpaceId && currentSpaceId !== selectedSpaceId) {
+      setSelectedSpaceId(currentSpaceId);
+    }
+  }, [currentSpaceId, selectedSpaceId]);
+
   // Auto-select first space if none selected
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!selectedSpaceId && spaces.length > 0 && spaces[0]) {