diff --git a/src/platform/clientSettings.ts b/src/platform/clientSettings.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..77f50437
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/platform/clientSettings.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+/** Settings model ownership: these UI preferences belong to the client, including their descendants.
+ * Mixed sections deliberately list individual keys so project/tooling settings stay on the host.
+ * Keep this module dependency-free: the transport also consumes this metadata.
+ */
+export const CLIENT_SETTINGS_KEYS = [
+  "keymap",
+  "keymapOverrides",
+  "customKeymaps",
+  "appearance",
+  "notifications",
+  "general.reopenLastProject",
+  "general.confirmExit",
+  "general.openProjectIn",
+  "general.dateFormat",
+  "editor.fontFamily",
+  "editor.fontSize",
+  "editor.lineHeight",
+  "editor.ligatures",
+  "editor.fallbackFont",
+  "editor.fontWeight",
+  "editor.boldFontWeight",
+  "editor.colorScheme",
+  "editor.colorOverrides",
+  "editor.semanticHighlighting",
+  "editor.rainbowBrackets",
+  "editor.softWrap",
+  "editor.showWhitespace",
+  "editor.inlayHints",
+  "editor.stickyScroll",
+  "editor.appearance",
+  "editor.breadcrumbs",
+  "editor.folding",
+  "editor.tabs",
+  "editor.codeEditing",
+  "editor.inlay",
+  "editor.gutterIconsDisabled",
+  "editor.showGutterIcons",
+  "editor.general.wheelZoom",
+  "editor.general.dragAndDrop",
+  "editor.general.caretScroll",
+  "editor.general.softWrapFiles",
+  "editor.general.softWrapIndent",
+  "editor.general.scrollPastEnd",
+  "editor.general.richTextCopy",
+  "editor.codeStyle.visualGuides",
+  "terminal.tabName",
+  "terminal.audibleBell",
+  "terminal.closeOnExit",
+  "terminal.mouseReporting",
+  "terminal.copyOnSelection",
+  "terminal.pasteOnMiddleClick",
+  "terminal.overrideIdeShortcuts",
+  "terminal.highlightHyperlinks",
+  "terminal.optionAsMeta",
+  "terminal.escapeToEditor",
+  "terminal.cursorShape",
+  "terminal.cursorBlink",
+  "terminal.useEditorFont",
+  "terminal.fontFamily",
+  "terminal.fontSize",
+  "terminal.lineHeight",
+  "terminal.fallbackFontFamily",
+  "terminal.columnWidth",
+  "console.softWrap",
+  "console.foldPatterns",
+  "debugger.showOnBreakpoint",
+  "debugger.focusAppOnBreakpoint",
+  "debugger.hideOnTermination",
+  "debugger.runToCursorInlay",
+  "debugger.inlineValues",
+  "debugger.sortValues",
+  "debugger.valueTooltip",
+  "debugger.valueTooltipOnSelection",
+  "debugger.valueTooltipDelay",
+  "run.confirmRerun",
+  "run.confirmTerminate",
+  "run.showOnStart",
+  "vcs.showDirtyDirectories",
+  "vcs.git.showPushDialog",
+  "vcs.git.pushDialogOnlyProtected",
+  "vcs.git.combineStashAndShelf",
+  "vcs.commit.nonModal",
+  "vcs.commit.showRightMargin",
+] as const;
+
+export function isClientSetting(key: string): boolean {
+  return CLIENT_SETTINGS_KEYS.some((root) => key === root || key.startsWith(`${root}.`));
+}
+
+/** Overlay from local globals, never from the local window's project layer. Missing client keys
+ * also replace remote values, so older local settings fall back to client defaults.
+ */
+export function overlayClientSettings<T>(remote: T, local: unknown): T {
+  const object = (value: unknown): Record<string, unknown> =>
+    value && typeof value === "object" ? (value as Record<string, unknown>) : {};
+  const copy = (target: unknown, source: unknown, path: string[]): unknown => {
+    const [head, ...tail] = path;
+    const value = object(source)[head!];
+    return { ...object(target), [head!]: tail.length ? copy(object(target)[head!], value, tail) : value };
+  };
+  return CLIENT_SETTINGS_KEYS.reduce((settings, key) => copy(settings, local, key.split(".")) as T, remote);
+}
diff --git a/src/platform/remote.ts b/src/platform/remote.ts
index 348d030d..7d62446f 100644
--- a/src/platform/remote.ts
+++ b/src/platform/remote.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import { Channel, type InvokeArgs, type InvokeOptions } from "@tauri-apps/api/co
 import { invokeLocal, setInvokeRoute, type InvokeRoute } from "./tauriCore";
 import { create } from "zustand";
 import { call, commands, isTauri, type ChannelFrame, type RemoteProgress, type RemoteSession } from "./ipc";
+import { isClientSetting, overlayClientSettings } from "./clientSettings";
+import type { Settings } from "./ipc";
 import { useProject } from "./project";
 
 interface RemoteState {
@@ -51,25 +53,46 @@ async function remoteInvoke(cmd: string, args?: InvokeArgs, options?: InvokeOpti
 /**
  * Where a command of a remote window runs. Local always: opening a project (a
  * local folder; leaving the remote one) and closing it (that drops the
- * connection, which ends the server's session). Both: a global setting, which
+ * connection, which ends the server's session). Client UI settings stay local.
+ * Both: a global tooling setting, which
  * the server's language servers and the local windows read.
  */
 export function remoteRouting(cmd: string, args: InvokeArgs | undefined, served: ReadonlySet<string>) {
-  if (cmd === "system_font_families") return "local";
+  if (cmd === "system_font_families" || cmd === "settings_get_global") return "local";
+  if (cmd === "settings_set" && isClientSetting((args as { key?: string } | undefined)?.key ?? "")) return "local";
   if (!served.has(cmd) || cmd === "open_project" || cmd === "close_project") return "local";
   if (cmd === "settings_set" && (args as { scope?: string } | undefined)?.scope === "global") return "both";
   return "remote";
 }
 
+/** All effective settings responses use the same client overlay, including writes and project snapshots. */
+async function clientSettings<T extends Settings>(settings: T): Promise<T> {
+  return overlayClientSettings(settings, await invokeLocal<Settings>("settings_get_global"));
+}
+
 const route: InvokeRoute = (cmd, args, options) => {
-  switch (remoteRouting(cmd, args, routed)) {
-    case "local":
-      return null;
-    case "remote":
-      return remoteInvoke(cmd, args, options);
-    case "both":
-      return invokeLocal(cmd, args, options).then(() => remoteInvoke(cmd, args, options));
+  const destination = remoteRouting(cmd, args, routed);
+  if (cmd === "settings_set") {
+    const setting = args as { scope: string; key: string; value: string };
+    return (async () => {
+      if (isClientSetting(setting.key)) {
+        await invokeLocal(cmd, { ...setting, scope: "global" }, options);
+        return clientSettings((await remoteInvoke("settings_get")) as Settings);
+      }
+      if (destination === "local") return invokeLocal(cmd, args, options);
+      if (destination === "both") await invokeLocal(cmd, args, options);
+      return clientSettings((await remoteInvoke(cmd, args, options)) as Settings);
+    })();
   }
+  if (destination === "local") return null;
+  return remoteInvoke(cmd, args, options).then(async (result) => {
+    if (cmd === "settings_get") return clientSettings(result as Settings);
+    if (cmd === "project_current" && result) {
+      const project = result as { settings: Settings };
+      return { ...project, settings: await clientSettings(project.settings) };
+    }
+    return result;
+  });
 };
 
 /** Routes the commands the server answers (`session.commands`) to it from now on. */
@@ -115,6 +138,7 @@ export async function connectRemote(sshConfig: string, path: string) {
   try {
     const r = await call(commands.remoteConnect(sshConfig, path, onProgress));
     enableRemote({ sshConfig: r.sshConfig, root: r.root, host: r.host, commands: r.commands });
+    r.project.settings = await clientSettings(r.project.settings);
     useProject.setState({ project: r.project, settings: r.project.settings });
     rememberRemote({
       sshConfig: r.sshConfig,
diff --git a/src/platform/remoteSettings.test.ts b/src/platform/remoteSettings.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1de70988
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/platform/remoteSettings.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { CLIENT_SETTINGS_KEYS } from "./clientSettings";
+import { commands, call, type Settings } from "./ipc";
+import { loadSettings, useProject } from "./project";
+import { connectRemote, disableRemote, enableRemote, remoteRouting } from "./remote";
+
+const handlers = vi.hoisted(() => new Map<string, () => void>());
+vi.mock("./ipc", async (original) => ({
+  ...(await original<typeof import("./ipc")>()),
+  onIdeEvent: (event: string, handler: () => void) => {
+    handlers.set(event, handler);
+    return () => handlers.delete(event);
+  },
+}));
+import { trackRuntimeSettings } from "@/features/settings/runtime";
+
+const local = {
+  keymap: "my-map",
+  keymapOverrides: { "editor.copy": ["Meta+J"] },
+  customKeymaps: {
+    "my-map": { name: "Mine", parent: "vscode-macos", overrides: { "editor.paste": ["Meta+K"] } },
+  },
+  appearance: { theme: "dark" },
+  editor: { fontSize: 19, tabSize: 8 },
+  terminal: { fontSize: 18, shellPath: "/local" },
+};
+const remote = {
+  keymap: "intellij-linux",
+  keymapOverrides: {},
+  customKeymaps: {},
+  appearance: { theme: "light" },
+  editor: { fontSize: 13, tabSize: 2 },
+  terminal: { fontSize: 13, shellPath: "/remote" },
+};
+const served = new Set(["settings_get", "settings_set", "project_current"]);
+let invoke: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  useProject.setState({ opening: true });
+  invoke = vi.fn(async (cmd: string, _args?: unknown, _options?: unknown) =>
+    cmd === "remote_invoke" ? JSON.stringify(remote) : local,
+  );
+  Object.assign(window, { __TAURI_INTERNALS__: { invoke, transformCallback: () => 1 } });
+  enableRemote({ sshConfig: "test", root: "/remote", host: "test", commands: [...served] });
+});
+afterEach(() => {
+  disableRemote();
+  useProject.setState({ opening: false, settings: null });
+});
+
+describe("remote client settings", () => {
+  it.each([...CLIENT_SETTINGS_KEYS, "customKeymaps.mine", "keymapOverrides.editor.copy", "appearance.theme"])(
+    "keeps %s writes local in either scope",
+    (key) => {
+      for (const scope of ["global", "project"])
+        expect(remoteRouting("settings_set", { scope, key, value: "null" }, served)).toBe("local");
+    },
+  );
+  it.each([
+    "editor.tabSize",
+    "editor.formatOnSave",
+    "editor.codeStyle.languages",
+    "terminal.shellPath",
+    "terminal.env",
+    "tools.node",
+    "languages.python.interpreter",
+    "keymapExtra",
+  ])("preserves routing for host setting %s", (key) => {
+    expect(remoteRouting("settings_set", { scope: "project", key }, served)).toBe("remote");
+    expect(remoteRouting("settings_set", { scope: "global", key }, served)).toBe("both");
+  });
+  it("merges settings before publishing a newly connected project", async () => {
+    disableRemote();
+    invoke.mockImplementation(async (cmd: string) =>
+      cmd === "remote_connect"
+        ? {
+            sshConfig: "test",
+            root: "/remote",
+            host: "test",
+            commands: [...served],
+            project: { root: "/remote", name: "remote", settings: remote },
+          }
+        : local,
+    );
+    await connectRemote("test", "/remote");
+    expect(useProject.getState().settings).toMatchObject({ keymap: "my-map", editor: { tabSize: 2, fontSize: 19 } });
+  });
+  it("overlays the project snapshot used by the settings window", async () => {
+    invoke.mockImplementation(async (cmd: string) =>
+      cmd === "remote_invoke" ? JSON.stringify({ root: "/remote", settings: remote }) : local,
+    );
+    expect((await commands.projectCurrent())?.settings).toMatchObject({
+      keymap: "my-map",
+      editor: { tabSize: 2, fontSize: 19 },
+    });
+  });
+  it("keeps client preferences after a remote tooling write", async () => {
+    expect(await call(commands.settingsSet("project", "editor.tabSize", "2"))).toMatchObject({
+      keymap: "my-map",
+      editor: { fontSize: 19, tabSize: 2 },
+    });
+    expect(invoke.mock.calls.some(([cmd]) => cmd === "settings_set")).toBe(false);
+  });
+  it("keeps local overrides through a settingsChanged runtime reload", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    await loadSettings();
+    const stop = trackRuntimeSettings();
+    try {
+      handlers.get("settingsChanged")!();
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(40);
+      expect(useProject.getState().settings?.keymapOverrides).toEqual(local.keymapOverrides);
+      expect(useProject.getState().settings?.keymap).toBe("my-map");
+    } finally {
+      stop();
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+  it("reloads local preferences instead of retaining stale or remote overrides", async () => {
+    await loadSettings();
+    invoke.mockImplementation(async (cmd: string) =>
+      cmd === "remote_invoke" ? JSON.stringify(remote) : { ...local, keymapOverrides: {} },
+    );
+    await loadSettings();
+    expect(useProject.getState().settings?.keymapOverrides).toEqual({});
+  });
+  it("does not inherit remote UI values when a local field is absent", async () => {
+    invoke.mockImplementation(async (cmd: string) => (cmd === "remote_invoke" ? JSON.stringify(remote) : {}));
+    await loadSettings();
+    expect(useProject.getState().settings?.keymap).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(useProject.getState().settings?.editor?.tabSize).toBe(2);
+  });
+  it("leaves local windows unchanged", async () => {
+    disableRemote();
+    await loadSettings();
+    expect(useProject.getState().settings).toEqual(local);
+    expect(invoke).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+  it("preserves client keymaps and UI settings when loading remote settings", async () => {
+    await loadSettings();
+    const settings = useProject.getState().settings as Settings;
+    expect(settings).toMatchObject({
+      ...local,
+      editor: { fontSize: 19, tabSize: 2 },
+      terminal: { fontSize: 18, shellPath: "/remote" },
+    });
+    expect(invoke).toHaveBeenCalledWith("settings_get_global", {}, undefined);
+  });
+  it("shows client preferences in the global settings dialog snapshot", async () => {
+    expect(await commands.settingsGetGlobal()).toMatchObject({
+      keymap: "my-map",
+      editor: { fontSize: 19, tabSize: 8 },
+    });
+  });
+  it("writes a client preference only to local global settings and returns merged settings", async () => {
+    const settings = await call(commands.settingsSet("project", "editor.fontSize", "19"));
+    expect(invoke).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "settings_set",
+      { scope: "global", key: "editor.fontSize", value: "19" },
+      undefined,
+    );
+    expect(
+      invoke.mock.calls.filter(
+        ([cmd, args]) => cmd === "remote_invoke" && (args as { cmd?: string })?.cmd === "settings_set",
+      ),
+    ).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(settings).toMatchObject({ keymap: "my-map", editor: { fontSize: 19, tabSize: 2 } });
+  });
+});