diff --git a/client/scripts/atlas_standalone.gd b/client/scripts/atlas_standalone.gd
index 4c6940b77..5c241c75d 100644
--- a/client/scripts/atlas_standalone.gd
+++ b/client/scripts/atlas_standalone.gd
@@ -105,7 +105,13 @@ func _exit_tree() -> void:
 ## else to show). atlas_app.gd is never modified.
 func _on_hud_app_changed(app_path: String, mode: int) -> void:
 	if app_path == FRONT_APP and mode == HudGroups.Mode.GAMEPLAY:
-		HudGroups.open_app(FRONT_APP)
+		# Deferred, never synchronous: this handler runs INSIDE close_app()'s
+		# app_changed emit, and close_app() continues after the emit and resets
+		# _active_app to "" — a synchronous open_app() here gets clobbered,
+		# leaving the Atlas visible (open_app already raised its z) but
+		# is_app_active() false, which kills atlas_app's input guard: a
+		# keyboard soft-lock (PR #183 review, Tyre).
+		HudGroups.open_app.call_deferred(FRONT_APP)
 
 
 func _boot() -> void:
diff --git a/client/tests/test_atlas_standalone.gd b/client/tests/test_atlas_standalone.gd
index d8323e308..acfb6a670 100644
--- a/client/tests/test_atlas_standalone.gd
+++ b/client/tests/test_atlas_standalone.gd
@@ -12,11 +12,14 @@ extends GdUnitTestSuite
 ## Deliberately NOT covered here (would require a live server / real window,
 ## per the ticket's "VERIFY LIVE once" instruction rather than an automated
 ## suite): the full _boot() sequence, the attach-then-fallback-to-spawn
-## control flow, the HudGroups close-interception behavior, and the
-## orphan-on-exit server lifecycle. Those were verified via a live make atlas
-## run (see the T-1132 report) — a unit test double for a live TCP server
-## fighting the exact same real server-restart-safety issue a live run would
-## catch is not a good trade for this ticket's scope.
+## control flow, and the orphan-on-exit server lifecycle. Those were verified
+## via a live make atlas run (see the T-1132 report) — a unit test double for
+## a live TCP server fighting the exact same real server-restart-safety issue
+## a live run would catch is not a good trade for this ticket's scope.
+## The close-interception CONTRACT (deferred re-open, PR #183 review) IS
+## pinned below at the HudGroups level — it needs no server, and the sync
+## variant's soft-lock is exactly the kind of bug a live smoke plausibly
+## misses.
 ##
 ## Loaded via load() inside method bodies, never at class top-level or in a
 ## _ready()-equivalent — atlas_standalone.gd's own _ready() references the
@@ -29,6 +32,9 @@ extends GdUnitTestSuite
 ## not just for autoload scripts themselves.
 const SCRIPT_PATH := "res://scripts/atlas_standalone.gd"
 
+# The companion's front app (see the close-interception contract tests below).
+const FRONT := "implant/map"
+
 
 func _script():
 	return load(SCRIPT_PATH)
@@ -136,3 +142,50 @@ func test_parse_listening_line_unrelated_log_line_returns_negative_one() -> void
 	assert_that(
 		s._parse_listening_line("Waiting for client connection on port 9876")
 	).is_equal(-1)
+
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Close-interception contract (PR #183 review, Tyre) — the companion's re-open
+# of the front app MUST be deferred out of the app_changed emit frame.
+# close_app() continues past its emit and resets _active_app to ""; a
+# synchronous open_app() from the handler is silently clobbered, leaving the
+# app visible (its z was already raised) but is_app_active() false — which
+# kills the app's input guard: a keyboard soft-lock. Pinned here at the
+# HudGroups level (no server, no window) so the deferred call in
+# atlas_standalone._on_hud_app_changed can't be "simplified" back to sync.
+# =============================================================================
+
+
+func _sync_reopen(app_path: String, mode: int) -> void:
+	if app_path == FRONT and mode == HudGroups.Mode.GAMEPLAY:
+		HudGroups.open_app(FRONT)
+
+
+func _deferred_reopen(app_path: String, mode: int) -> void:
+	if app_path == FRONT and mode == HudGroups.Mode.GAMEPLAY:
+		HudGroups.open_app.call_deferred(FRONT)
+
+
+func test_synchronous_reopen_from_close_emit_is_clobbered() -> void:
+	# Documents the bug class: this is the OLD interceptor shape, and it must
+	# keep failing to keep the app active — if HudGroups semantics ever change
+	# so sync re-open works, both this test and the deferred one below flag
+	# the contract shift for a deliberate look.
+	HudGroups.open_app(FRONT)
+	HudGroups.app_changed.connect(_sync_reopen)
+	HudGroups.close_app()
+	HudGroups.app_changed.disconnect(_sync_reopen)
+	assert_bool(HudGroups.is_app_active(FRONT)).is_false()
+	HudGroups.close_app()  # restore clean autoload state for the next test
+
+
+func test_deferred_reopen_survives_close_emit() -> void:
+	# The shipped interceptor shape (atlas_standalone.gd:_on_hud_app_changed).
+	HudGroups.open_app(FRONT)
+	HudGroups.app_changed.connect(_deferred_reopen)
+	HudGroups.close_app()
+	HudGroups.app_changed.disconnect(_deferred_reopen)
+	assert_bool(HudGroups.is_app_active(FRONT)).is_false()  # not yet — deferred
+	await get_tree().process_frame
+	assert_bool(HudGroups.is_app_active(FRONT)).is_true()
+	HudGroups.close_app()  # restore clean autoload state