diff --git a/src/core/completions.js b/src/core/completions.js
index ef0dbf6..1e64c12 100644
--- a/src/core/completions.js
+++ b/src/core/completions.js
@@ -11,6 +11,22 @@ import { SQL_KEYWORDS, SQL_FUNCS } from './sql-highlight.js';
 const BUILTIN_KEYWORDS = [...SQL_KEYWORDS];
 const BUILTIN_FUNCS = [...SQL_FUNCS];
 
+// Common ClickHouse output formats — the fallback for FORMAT-clause completion
+// when system.formats isn't available (offline / old server / denied). The live
+// set (all is_output formats) replaces this once a connection loads.
+const BUILTIN_FORMATS = [
+  'CSV', 'CSVWithNames', 'JSON', 'JSONCompact', 'JSONEachRow', 'Markdown', 'Null',
+  'Parquet', 'Pretty', 'PrettyCompact', 'TabSeparated', 'TabSeparatedWithNames',
+  'TSV', 'TSVWithNames', 'Values', 'Vertical', 'XML',
+];
+
+// Clause keywords that share a name with an obscure function — typing the prefix
+// almost always means the clause, so let the keyword win that tie once the user
+// has typed enough to mean it. Deliberately tiny: most keyword/function name
+// clashes (min, max, replace, left, in, like, …) should keep favoring the
+// function, so only FORMAT (clause vs the rarely-used format() function) is here.
+const PREFER_KEYWORD = new Set(['FORMAT']);
+
 // Built-in hover docs for a few ClickHouse-specific keywords (#27). There's no
 // server table for keyword docs, so this static set covers the high-value ones;
 // function docs come from system.functions (loaded per connection).
@@ -27,10 +43,12 @@ const KEYWORD_DOCS = {
  * Turn a loaded reference payload (or null) into the editor's in-memory shape:
  *   { keywords: string[],            // completion candidates
  *     functions: { name: {kind,sig,ret,desc} },
+ *     formats: string[],             // output formats for FORMAT-clause completion
+ *     keywordDocs: { KW: doc },      // static hover docs
  *     keywordSet: Set<UPPER>,        // tokenizer highlight lookup
  *     funcSet: Set<name> }           // tokenizer highlight lookup
  * Missing pieces fall back to the built-in sets so highlighting + keyword/
- * function completion still work offline / on older ClickHouse.
+ * function/format completion still work offline / on older ClickHouse.
  */
 export function assembleReferenceData(loaded) {
   const keywords = loaded && loaded.keywords && loaded.keywords.length
@@ -39,9 +57,11 @@ export function assembleReferenceData(loaded) {
   const functions = loaded && loaded.functions && Object.keys(loaded.functions).length
     ? loaded.functions
     : Object.fromEntries(BUILTIN_FUNCS.map((name) => [name, { kind: 'fn', sig: name + '()', ret: '', desc: '' }]));
+  const formats = loaded && loaded.formats && loaded.formats.length ? loaded.formats : BUILTIN_FORMATS;
   return {
     keywords,
     functions,
+    formats,
     keywordDocs: KEYWORD_DOCS, // for hover docs (#27); static built-in set
     keywordSet: new Set(keywords.map((k) => k.toUpperCase())),
     funcSet: new Set(Object.keys(functions)),
@@ -65,7 +85,12 @@ export function buildCompletions(ref, schema) {
     // the parenthesised params — `(s, offset[, …])`, not `substring(s, …)` (#26).
     const sig = m.sig || name + '()';
     const paren = sig.indexOf('(');
-    items.push({ label: name, kind, insert: name + '(', detail: paren >= 0 ? sig.slice(paren) : sig, doc: m.desc || '', ret: m.ret || '' });
+    // Insert `name()` and (via caretBack) leave the caret between the parens — a
+    // matched pair like typing `(` gives, so accepting never strands a lone `(`.
+    items.push({ label: name, kind, insert: name + '()', caretBack: 1, detail: paren >= 0 ? sig.slice(paren) : sig, doc: m.desc || '', ret: m.ret || '' });
+  }
+  for (const name of ref.formats || []) {
+    items.push({ label: name, kind: 'format', insert: name, detail: 'format' });
   }
   for (const db of schema || []) {
     items.push({ label: db.db, kind: 'db', insert: db.db, detail: 'database' });
@@ -82,13 +107,22 @@ export function buildCompletions(ref, schema) {
 }
 
 /**
- * The word being typed at the caret, and whether it is qualified (after a dot —
- * `table.` → that table's columns). Returns {word, from, to, qualified, parent}.
+ * The word being typed at the caret, whether it is qualified (after a dot —
+ * `table.` → that table's columns), and whether it sits inside a FORMAT clause
+ * (`afterFormat` — the preceding token is FORMAT → complete output-format names).
+ * Returns {word, from, to, qualified, parent, afterFormat}.
  */
 export function completionContext(value, pos) {
   let s = pos;
   while (s > 0 && /[A-Za-z0-9_]/.test(value[s - 1])) s--;
   const word = value.slice(s, pos);
+  // Inside a FORMAT clause? (the identifier just before the word is `FORMAT`) →
+  // complete output-format names instead of the general candidate set.
+  let b = s;
+  while (b > 0 && /\s/.test(value[b - 1])) b--;
+  let pf = b;
+  while (pf > 0 && /[A-Za-z0-9_]/.test(value[pf - 1])) pf--;
+  const afterFormat = value.slice(pf, b).toUpperCase() === 'FORMAT';
   let qualified = false;
   let parent = null;
   if (value[s - 1] === '.') {
@@ -100,7 +134,7 @@ export function completionContext(value, pos) {
     // and an empty dropdown — fall back to normal completion instead (#4 review).
     if (name) { qualified = true; parent = name; }
   }
-  return { word, from: s, to: pos, qualified, parent };
+  return { word, from: s, to: pos, qualified, parent, afterFormat };
 }
 
 /**
@@ -115,17 +149,29 @@ export function rankCompletions(items, ctx) {
     const cols = items.filter((it) => it.kind === 'column' && it.parent === ctx.parent);
     return (w ? cols.filter((c) => c.label.toLowerCase().includes(w)) : cols).slice(0, 50);
   }
+  if (ctx.afterFormat) {
+    // FORMAT clause: only output-format names, prefix matches first.
+    const fmts = items.filter((it) => it.kind === 'format' && (!w || it.label.toLowerCase().includes(w)));
+    if (w) fmts.sort((a, b) => a.label.toLowerCase().indexOf(w) - b.label.toLowerCase().indexOf(w) || a.label.localeCompare(b.label));
+    return fmts.slice(0, 50);
+  }
   if (!w) {
     return items.filter((it) => it.kind === 'keyword' || it.kind === 'table').slice(0, 40);
   }
   const scored = [];
   for (const it of items) {
+    if (it.kind === 'format') continue; // formats only inside a FORMAT clause
     const l = it.label.toLowerCase();
     const idx = l.indexOf(w);
     if (idx === -1) continue;
     let score = idx === 0 ? 0 : 100 + idx;              // prefix beats substring
     if (it.kind === 'column' || it.kind === 'table') score -= 10; // boost schema
-    if (it.kind === 'keyword') score += 5;
+    if (it.kind === 'keyword') {
+      // A clause keyword sharing a name with an obscure function wins the tie
+      // once enough of it is typed (≥3 chars, prefix) — e.g. `for` → FORMAT, not
+      // the format() function or formatDateTime; shorter prefixes stay neutral.
+      score += (idx === 0 && w.length >= 3 && PREFER_KEYWORD.has(it.label.toUpperCase())) ? -50 : 5;
+    }
     score += (l.length - w.length) * 0.1;               // prefer closer length
     scored.push({ it, score });
   }
diff --git a/src/core/format.js b/src/core/format.js
index 5b36283..0ca05f6 100644
--- a/src/core/format.js
+++ b/src/core/format.js
@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ export function detectSqlFormat(sql) {
   return m ? m[1] : null;
 }
 
+/** True if the statement is an EXPLAIN (leading keyword). EXPLAIN output is plan
+ *  text, so the caller renders it raw unless the user gave an explicit FORMAT. Pure. */
+export function isExplain(sql) {
+  return /^\s*EXPLAIN\b/i.test(String(sql || ''));
+}
+
 /**
  * Derive a short display name for a saved query: "Query · <table>" when a
  * FROM clause is present, else the first 48 chars of the collapsed SQL.
diff --git a/src/net/ch-client.js b/src/net/ch-client.js
index 9353afb..f1ddb88 100644
--- a/src/net/ch-client.js
+++ b/src/net/ch-client.js
@@ -174,7 +174,8 @@ function firstLine(s) {
  * (loadEntityDoc, #27). Each source is best-effort; a missing/denied system
  * table yields null for that piece and the caller (assembleReferenceData) falls
  * back to the built-in set.
- * Returns { keywords: string[]|null, functions: {name:{kind,sig,ret,desc}}|null }.
+ * Returns { keywords, functions, formats } — each null when its source is
+ * missing/denied (the caller falls back to a built-in set).
  */
 export async function loadReferenceData(ctx) {
   const kw = await tryQueryData(ctx, 'SELECT keyword FROM system.keywords FORMAT JSON');
@@ -196,7 +197,11 @@ export async function loadReferenceData(ctx) {
       };
     }
   }
-  return { keywords, functions };
+  // Output format names for FORMAT-clause completion (system.formats); a separate
+  // catalog from keywords/functions, so it needs its own fetch.
+  const fmts = await tryQueryData(ctx, 'SELECT name FROM system.formats WHERE is_output ORDER BY name FORMAT JSON');
+  const formats = fmts ? fmts.map((r) => r.name) : null;
+  return { keywords, functions, formats };
 }
 
 /**
@@ -231,11 +236,14 @@ export async function loadEntityDoc(ctx, name, sqlString) {
 export async function runQuery(ctx, sql, o = {}) {
   const fmt = o.format || 'Table';
   const isStreaming = fmt === 'Table';
+  // Streaming gets the progress-bearing JSON; raw mode sends the requested format
+  // verbatim as default_format (a real ClickHouse format name from a FORMAT clause
+  // or an implicit EXPLAIN). 'TSV' keeps its with-names-and-types expansion.
   const fmtParam = isStreaming
     ? 'JSONStringsEachRowWithProgress'
     : fmt === 'TSV'
       ? 'TabSeparatedWithNamesAndTypes'
-      : 'JSONCompact';
+      : fmt;
   const url = chUrl(ctx.origin, {
     format: fmtParam,
     // wait_end_of_query buffers the whole response server-side so the HTTP
diff --git a/src/ui/app.js b/src/ui/app.js
index 7035cb4..de41cc7 100644
--- a/src/ui/app.js
+++ b/src/ui/app.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import {
 } from '../state.js';
 import { saveJSON, saveStr } from '../core/storage.js';
 import { decodeJwtPayload, isTokenExpired } from '../core/jwt.js';
-import { sqlString, inferQueryName, shortVersion, userShortName, withStatementBreak, detectSqlFormat } from '../core/format.js';
+import { sqlString, inferQueryName, shortVersion, userShortName, withStatementBreak, detectSqlFormat, isExplain } from '../core/format.js';
 import { resolveTarget } from '../core/target.js';
 import { toTSV, toCSV } from '../core/export.js';
 import { newResult, applyStreamLine } from '../core/stream.js';
@@ -378,9 +378,10 @@ export function createApp(env = {}) {
     await ensureConfig();
     if (!(await getToken())) { chCtx.onSignedOut(); return; }
 
-    // Default to structured streaming (Table); if the user ends their SQL with a
-    // FORMAT clause, run raw and show ClickHouse's response verbatim (#format).
-    const fmt = detectSqlFormat(tab.sql) || 'Table';
+    // Default to structured streaming (Table); an explicit FORMAT clause runs raw
+    // and shows ClickHouse's response verbatim, and so does EXPLAIN (its plan text
+    // reads far better raw than as a one-column table) unless a FORMAT was given.
+    const fmt = detectSqlFormat(tab.sql) || (isExplain(tab.sql) ? 'TabSeparated' : 'Table');
     const t0 = now();
     tab.result = newResult(fmt);
     app.state.resultSort = { col: null, dir: 'asc' };
diff --git a/src/ui/editor-complete.js b/src/ui/editor-complete.js
index 598e82b..8c80bc0 100644
--- a/src/ui/editor-complete.js
+++ b/src/ui/editor-complete.js
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@
 // host = {
 //   textarea,
 //   getCompletions(),                 // () => candidate list (or [])
-//   replaceRange(from, to, text),     // undoable edit that fires 'input'
+//   replaceRange(from, to, text, caretBack?), // undoable edit; caretBack pulls
+//                                              // the caret left from the end
 //   caretAnchor(),                    // () => {x, y, lineHeight} in screen px
 //   appendPopover(el),                // mount the dropdown
 //   suppressed(),                     // () => true to stay hidden (e.g. find open)
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ const KIND_META = {
   table: { glyph: '▦', color: 'var(--accent)' },
   column: { glyph: '▪', color: '#92E1D8' },
   db: { glyph: '◈', color: '#A0A0A8' },
+  format: { glyph: '≡', color: '#A0A0A8' },
 };
 
 export function createComplete(host) {
@@ -76,7 +78,7 @@ export function createComplete(host) {
 
   const accept = (item) => {
     accepting = true; // the resulting 'input' must not re-trigger the dropdown
-    host.replaceRange(state.ctx.from, state.ctx.to, item.insert);
+    host.replaceRange(state.ctx.from, state.ctx.to, item.insert, item.caretBack || 0);
     accepting = false;
     hide();
   };
diff --git a/src/ui/editor.js b/src/ui/editor.js
index ff8ad1a..0f3983b 100644
--- a/src/ui/editor.js
+++ b/src/ui/editor.js
@@ -148,11 +148,14 @@ export function mountEditor(app, container) {
     gutter.scrollTop = ta.scrollTop;
   };
   // Set the textarea selection to a range and replace it (undoable, fires input).
-  const replaceRange = (start, end, text) => {
+  // `caretBack` pulls the caret left from the end of the inserted text — used by
+  // function completion to land it between the just-inserted `()`.
+  const replaceRange = (start, end, text, caretBack = 0) => {
     ta.focus();
     ta.selectionStart = start;
     ta.selectionEnd = end;
     applyEdit(ta, text);
+    if (caretBack) ta.selectionStart = ta.selectionEnd = start + text.length - caretBack;
   };
   // Apply a structural bracket edit (#24) while PRESERVING the native undo stack.
   // A direct `ta.value = …` assignment wipes ⌘Z, so instead express the edit as a
diff --git a/tests/unit/app.test.js b/tests/unit/app.test.js
index dd058c4..b310bc7 100644
--- a/tests/unit/app.test.js
+++ b/tests/unit/app.test.js
@@ -349,6 +349,23 @@ describe('query run', () => {
     expect(app.activeTab().result.rawText).toBe('a\tb');
     expect(app.activeTab().result.rawFormat).toBe('TabSeparatedWithNames'); // label for the raw tab
   });
+  it('runs EXPLAIN raw (plan text) when no explicit FORMAT is given', async () => {
+    const { app } = appForRun([
+      [(u, sql) => /EXPLAIN/.test(sql), resp({ text: 'Expression\n  ReadFromTable' })],
+    ]);
+    app.activeTab().sql = 'EXPLAIN SELECT 1';
+    await app.actions.run();
+    expect(app.activeTab().result.rawText).toBe('Expression\n  ReadFromTable');
+    expect(app.activeTab().result.rawFormat).toBe('TabSeparated'); // plain TS → no header noise
+  });
+  it('an explicit FORMAT on an EXPLAIN still wins over the raw default', async () => {
+    const { app } = appForRun([
+      [(u, sql) => /EXPLAIN/.test(sql), resp({ text: '{"plan":[]}' })],
+    ]);
+    app.activeTab().sql = 'EXPLAIN SELECT 1 FORMAT JSON';
+    await app.actions.run();
+    expect(app.activeTab().result.rawFormat).toBe('JSON'); // FORMAT clause, not the EXPLAIN default
+  });
 });
 
 describe('formatQuery', () => {
diff --git a/tests/unit/ch-client.test.js b/tests/unit/ch-client.test.js
index d5eabea..1b513ee 100644
--- a/tests/unit/ch-client.test.js
+++ b/tests/unit/ch-client.test.js
@@ -200,11 +200,11 @@ describe('loadReferenceData', () => {
   });
   it('returns null pieces when a system table is missing/denied (best-effort)', async () => {
     const ctx = ctxWith(async () => textResp('Code: 60. DB::Exception: Unknown table', false, 500));
-    expect(await loadReferenceData(ctx)).toEqual({ keywords: null, functions: null });
+    expect(await loadReferenceData(ctx)).toEqual({ keywords: null, functions: null, formats: null });
   });
   it('tolerates an empty data shape', async () => {
     const ctx = ctxWith(async () => jsonResp({}));
-    expect(await loadReferenceData(ctx)).toEqual({ keywords: [], functions: {} });
+    expect(await loadReferenceData(ctx)).toEqual({ keywords: [], functions: {}, formats: [] });
   });
   it('uses the syntax column for signatures; descriptions are NOT bulk-loaded (lazy, #27)', async () => {
     const ctx = ctxWith(async (url, o) => (
diff --git a/tests/unit/completions.test.js b/tests/unit/completions.test.js
index 97d83a5..1ccab32 100644
--- a/tests/unit/completions.test.js
+++ b/tests/unit/completions.test.js
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ describe('buildCompletions', () => {
     const items = buildCompletions(ref, schema);
     expect(items.find((i) => i.label === 'SELECT')).toMatchObject({ kind: 'keyword', insert: 'SELECT' });
     // detail shows only the params (the label already shows the name) — #26
-    expect(items.find((i) => i.label === 'count')).toMatchObject({ kind: 'agg', insert: 'count(', detail: '([x])', ret: 'UInt64' });
+    expect(items.find((i) => i.label === 'count')).toMatchObject({ kind: 'agg', insert: 'count()', caretBack: 1, detail: '([x])', ret: 'UInt64' });
     expect(items.find((i) => i.label === 'toDate')).toMatchObject({ kind: 'cast', detail: '(x)' });
     expect(items.find((i) => i.label === 'lower')).toMatchObject({ kind: 'fn', detail: '()' }); // sig fallback → just ()
     expect(items.find((i) => i.label === 'plus')).toMatchObject({ kind: 'fn', detail: 'a + b' }); // no '(' → sig kept as-is
@@ -100,13 +100,13 @@ describe('buildCompletions', () => {
 
 describe('completionContext', () => {
   it('reads the word at the caret', () => {
-    expect(completionContext('SELECT cou', 10)).toEqual({ word: 'cou', from: 7, to: 10, qualified: false, parent: null });
+    expect(completionContext('SELECT cou', 10)).toEqual({ word: 'cou', from: 7, to: 10, qualified: false, parent: null, afterFormat: false });
   });
   it('detects a qualified word after a dot and its parent', () => {
-    expect(completionContext('ontime.Ye', 9)).toEqual({ word: 'Ye', from: 7, to: 9, qualified: true, parent: 'ontime' });
+    expect(completionContext('ontime.Ye', 9)).toEqual({ word: 'Ye', from: 7, to: 9, qualified: true, parent: 'ontime', afterFormat: false });
   });
   it('qualified with empty word right after the dot', () => {
-    expect(completionContext('ontime.', 7)).toEqual({ word: '', from: 7, to: 7, qualified: true, parent: 'ontime' });
+    expect(completionContext('ontime.', 7)).toEqual({ word: '', from: 7, to: 7, qualified: true, parent: 'ontime', afterFormat: false });
   });
   it('word at the very start', () => {
     expect(completionContext('SEL', 3)).toMatchObject({ word: 'SEL', from: 0, qualified: false });
@@ -151,3 +151,49 @@ describe('rankCompletions', () => {
     expect(r).not.toContainEqual(expect.objectContaining({ label: 'SELECT' }));
   });
 });
+
+describe('FORMAT-clause completion', () => {
+  it('assembleReferenceData uses loaded formats, falling back to a built-in set', () => {
+    expect(assembleReferenceData({ formats: ['Vertical', 'CSV'] }).formats).toEqual(['Vertical', 'CSV']);
+    const fb = assembleReferenceData(null).formats;
+    expect(fb).toContain('JSONEachRow');
+    expect(fb).toContain('Vertical');
+    expect(assembleReferenceData({ formats: [] }).formats).toEqual(fb); // empty → fallback
+  });
+  it('buildCompletions includes format candidates', () => {
+    const ref = assembleReferenceData({ keywords: ['SELECT'], formats: ['Vertical', 'TSV'] });
+    const fmts = buildCompletions(ref, []).filter((it) => it.kind === 'format');
+    expect(fmts.map((f) => f.label)).toEqual(['Vertical', 'TSV']);
+    expect(fmts[0]).toMatchObject({ insert: 'Vertical', detail: 'format' });
+  });
+  it('completionContext flags a word inside a FORMAT clause', () => {
+    expect(completionContext('SELECT 1 FORMAT Ver', 19).afterFormat).toBe(true);
+    expect(completionContext('SELECT 1 FORMAT ', 16).afterFormat).toBe(true); // empty word after FORMAT
+    expect(completionContext('SELECT format', 13).afterFormat).toBe(false);   // FORMAT is the word being typed
+    expect(completionContext('SELECT 1 FROM t', 15).afterFormat).toBe(false);
+  });
+  it('rankCompletions: a FORMAT clause shows only formats (prefix first); excluded elsewhere', () => {
+    const items = buildCompletions(assembleReferenceData({ keywords: ['SELECT', 'FORMAT'], formats: ['JSONEachRow', 'JSONCompact', 'Vertical'] }), []);
+    // empty word inside FORMAT → every format, source order
+    expect(rankCompletions(items, { word: '', qualified: false, afterFormat: true }).map((i) => i.label))
+      .toEqual(['JSONEachRow', 'JSONCompact', 'Vertical']);
+    // typed word → filtered; both prefix-match, so alpha order
+    expect(rankCompletions(items, { word: 'json', qualified: false, afterFormat: true }).map((i) => i.label))
+      .toEqual(['JSONCompact', 'JSONEachRow']);
+    // general completion never surfaces formats
+    expect(rankCompletions(items, { word: 'json', qualified: false, afterFormat: false }).some((i) => i.kind === 'format')).toBe(false);
+  });
+  it('prefers the FORMAT clause keyword over format()/formatDateTime once ≥3 chars are typed', () => {
+    const ref = assembleReferenceData({
+      keywords: ['FORMAT', 'FROM'],
+      functions: { format: { kind: 'fn', sig: 'format(p, …)' }, formatDateTime: { kind: 'fn', sig: 'formatDateTime(t)' } },
+    });
+    const items = buildCompletions(ref, []);
+    // 'for' → the keyword wins
+    const top = rankCompletions(items, { word: 'for', qualified: false, afterFormat: false });
+    expect(top[0]).toMatchObject({ label: 'FORMAT', kind: 'keyword' });
+    // too short to disambiguate → keyword is not specially boosted (function leads)
+    const short = rankCompletions(items, { word: 'fo', qualified: false, afterFormat: false });
+    expect(short[0].kind).not.toBe('keyword');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/editor.test.js b/tests/unit/editor.test.js
index 8e91763..b6020a0 100644
--- a/tests/unit/editor.test.js
+++ b/tests/unit/editor.test.js
@@ -487,8 +487,8 @@ describe('bracket matching + auto-close (#24)', () => {
 describe('autocomplete dropdown (#26)', () => {
   const CANDIDATES = [
     { label: 'SELECT', kind: 'keyword', insert: 'SELECT', detail: 'keyword' },
-    { label: 'count', kind: 'agg', insert: 'count(', detail: 'count([x])', ret: 'UInt64', doc: 'Counts rows.' },
-    { label: 'concat', kind: 'fn', insert: 'concat(', detail: 'concat(s, …)', ret: 'String' }, // sig, no doc
+    { label: 'count', kind: 'agg', insert: 'count()', caretBack: 1, detail: 'count([x])', ret: 'UInt64', doc: 'Counts rows.' },
+    { label: 'concat', kind: 'fn', insert: 'concat()', caretBack: 1, detail: 'concat(s, …)', ret: 'String' }, // sig, no doc
     { label: 'cobalt', kind: 'mystery', insert: 'cobalt', detail: '?' }, // unknown kind → glyph fallback
     { label: 'ontime', kind: 'table', insert: 'ontime', detail: 'table', parent: 'airline' },
     { label: 'Year', kind: 'column', insert: 'Year', detail: 'UInt16', parent: 'ontime' },
@@ -540,7 +540,7 @@ describe('autocomplete dropdown (#26)', () => {
     typeAt(ta, 'ontime.', 7);
     expect(labels(container).sort()).toEqual(['Month', 'Year']);
   });
-  it('arrows move the active row (wrapping); Enter accepts and a function inserts name(', () => {
+  it('arrows move the active row (wrapping); Enter accepts a function as name() with the caret inside', () => {
     const { app, container, ta } = mounted();
     expect(app.dom.editorComplete.isOpen()).toBe(false);
     typeAt(ta, 'co', 2);
@@ -554,7 +554,9 @@ describe('autocomplete dropdown (#26)', () => {
     press(ta, 'Enter');
     expect(app.dom.editorComplete.isOpen()).toBe(false);
     expect(dropdown(container)).toBeNull();
-    expect(ta.value).toContain(accepted + '('); // count/concat → name(
+    expect(ta.value).toContain(accepted + '()');        // function → matched name()
+    expect(ta.value[ta.selectionStart - 1]).toBe('(');  // caret left between the parens
+    expect(ta.value[ta.selectionStart]).toBe(')');
   });
   it('Tab accepts a column as-is; Escape dismisses', () => {
     const { container, ta } = mounted();
diff --git a/tests/unit/format.test.js b/tests/unit/format.test.js
index 5094f06..621c8d1 100644
--- a/tests/unit/format.test.js
+++ b/tests/unit/format.test.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
 import {
-  clamp, formatRows, formatBytes, timeAgo, sqlString, inferQueryName, isNumericType, shortVersion, userShortName, withStatementBreak, detectSqlFormat,
+  clamp, formatRows, formatBytes, timeAgo, sqlString, inferQueryName, isNumericType, shortVersion, userShortName, withStatementBreak, detectSqlFormat, isExplain,
 } from '../../src/core/format.js';
 
 describe('clamp', () => {
@@ -101,6 +101,20 @@ describe('detectSqlFormat', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('isExplain', () => {
+  it('detects a leading EXPLAIN (any variant), ignoring leading whitespace/case', () => {
+    expect(isExplain('EXPLAIN SELECT 1')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isExplain('  explain pipeline SELECT 1')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isExplain('EXPLAIN AST SELECT 1')).toBe(true);
+  });
+  it('is false for non-EXPLAIN statements', () => {
+    expect(isExplain('SELECT 1')).toBe(false);
+    expect(isExplain('SELECT explain FROM t')).toBe(false); // EXPLAIN not the leading keyword
+    expect(isExplain('')).toBe(false);
+    expect(isExplain(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('inferQueryName', () => {
   it('uses FROM table when present', () => {
     expect(inferQueryName('SELECT * FROM system.tables')).toBe('Query · system.tables');