diff --git a/src/HotkeySettings.tsx b/src/HotkeySettings.tsx
index c8df730..959e490 100644
--- a/src/HotkeySettings.tsx
+++ b/src/HotkeySettings.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
-import { captureHotkeyFromEvent, type StoredHotkey } from "./hotkey/captureHotkey";
+import { captureHotkeyFromEvent, isCaptureCancelKey, type StoredHotkey } from "./hotkey/captureHotkey";
 import { formatHotkey } from "./hotkey/keycodeMap";
 
-export const SHORTCUT_CAPTURE_PROMPT = "Press Option, Command, Control, Fn, Caps Lock, or F1–F19…";
+export const SHORTCUT_CAPTURE_PROMPT = "Press Option, Command, Control, Fn, Caps Lock, or F1–F19… (Esc to cancel)";
 export const SHORTCUT_GUIDANCE =
   "F1–F12 require the top row to be in function-key mode. F13–F19 depend on keyboard support. Choose one standalone key: Option, Command, Control, Fn, or Caps Lock. OpenStream cannot reliably detect whether macOS or another app also uses a key. Fn and Caps Lock may not produce a usable event on every keyboard.";
 
@@ -48,7 +48,25 @@ export default function HotkeySettings() {
         .finally(() => setShortcutChangePending(false));
     }
 
+    // #435: the only way out of capture mode besides successfully picking a
+    // hotkey - Escape, Tab, or the whole app losing focus (see the blur
+    // listener below). Leaves the shortcut untouched, unlike applyShortcut.
+    function cancelCapture() {
+      if (!captureOpen) return;
+      captureOpen = false;
+      stopNativeCapture();
+      setError(null);
+      setRecording(false);
+    }
+
     function onKeyDown(event: KeyboardEvent) {
+      if (isCaptureCancelKey(event)) {
+        // Tab keeps its normal job - moving focus - Escape has no default
+        // action worth preserving here.
+        if (event.code !== "Tab") event.preventDefault();
+        cancelCapture();
+        return;
+      }
       event.preventDefault();
       const result = captureHotkeyFromEvent(event);
       if (!result.ok) {
@@ -62,11 +80,17 @@ export default function HotkeySettings() {
     // than a reliable DOM keydown, so the main process captures it separately.
     const unsubscribe = window.openstream.settings.onShortcutCaptured(applyShortcut);
     window.addEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown, true);
+    // #435: Cmd-Tabbing away (or any other way the window loses focus)
+    // while capturing shouldn't leave capture mode armed for when it comes
+    // back - the key that was about to be pressed was almost certainly
+    // meant for whatever the user switched to.
+    window.addEventListener("blur", cancelCapture);
     void window.openstream.settings.startShortcutCapture().catch(() => {});
 
     return () => {
       captureOpen = false;
       window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKeyDown, true);
+      window.removeEventListener("blur", cancelCapture);
       unsubscribe();
       stopNativeCapture();
     };
diff --git a/src/hotkey/captureHotkey.test.ts b/src/hotkey/captureHotkey.test.ts
index 12f70f8..5eae99b 100644
--- a/src/hotkey/captureHotkey.test.ts
+++ b/src/hotkey/captureHotkey.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { captureHotkeyFromEvent, type CapturedKeyEvent } from "./captureHotkey";
+import { captureHotkeyFromEvent, isCaptureCancelKey, type CapturedKeyEvent } from "./captureHotkey";
 import {
   STANDALONE_CAPS_LOCK_KEY_CODE,
   STANDALONE_COMMAND_KEY_CODE,
@@ -80,3 +80,29 @@ describe("captureHotkeyFromEvent", () => {
     expect(captureHotkeyFromEvent(keyEvent(event))).toEqual({ ok: false, reason: "Unsupported key" });
   });
 });
+
+// #435: without this, a keyboard-only user who opens capture mode has no
+// way out of it - Escape and Tab were both just "Unsupported key" like any
+// other rejected candidate, and the component preventDefaults every
+// keydown while recording, so Tab's own default (moving focus) never ran
+// either. A real keyboard trap, not a hypothetical one.
+describe("isCaptureCancelKey", () => {
+  it.each(["Escape", "Tab"])("treats %s as a cancel, not a candidate hotkey", (code) => {
+    expect(isCaptureCancelKey({ code })).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    "AltLeft",
+    "MetaLeft",
+    "ControlLeft",
+    "Fn",
+    "CapsLock",
+    "F1",
+    "KeyD",
+    "ArrowUp",
+    "ShiftLeft",
+    "Space",
+  ])("does not treat %s as a cancel", (code) => {
+    expect(isCaptureCancelKey({ code })).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/hotkey/captureHotkey.ts b/src/hotkey/captureHotkey.ts
index aaf049c..2da8dca 100644
--- a/src/hotkey/captureHotkey.ts
+++ b/src/hotkey/captureHotkey.ts
@@ -40,3 +40,16 @@ export function captureHotkeyFromEvent(event: CapturedKeyEvent): CaptureResult {
 
   return { ok: true, hotkey: { keyCode, modifiers: [] } };
 }
+
+// #435: neither Escape nor Tab is a candidate hotkey - captureHotkeyFromEvent
+// already says so via UNSUPPORTED_KEY - but before this, "unsupported" just
+// meant "keep waiting for a real one", with no way out. A keyboard-only user
+// who opened capture mode had no way out of it at all: Tab doesn't move
+// focus (the component preventDefaults every keydown while recording) and
+// Escape doesn't cancel - a WCAG "no keyboard trap" violation, not a
+// hypothetical one. The two keys need to close capture mode instead, a
+// different question from which key makes a valid hotkey, so it's checked
+// separately rather than folded into captureHotkeyFromEvent's result shape.
+export function isCaptureCancelKey(event: Pick<CapturedKeyEvent, "code">): boolean {
+  return event.code === "Escape" || event.code === "Tab";
+}