diff --git a/apps/differ/src/app.css b/apps/differ/src/app.css
index edb09ea33..47dedda79 100644
--- a/apps/differ/src/app.css
+++ b/apps/differ/src/app.css
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@
   --diff-range-border: #524d58;
   --diff-comment-highlight: rgba(88, 166, 255, 0.5);
 
-  --search-match-bg: rgba(250, 200, 50, 0.35);
-  --search-current-match-bg: rgba(255, 150, 50, 0.5);
+  --search-match-accent: #f2c744;
+  --search-current-match-bg: rgba(242, 199, 68, 0.3);
 
   --annotation-overlay-bg: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);
   --annotation-border: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
diff --git a/apps/staged/src/app.css b/apps/staged/src/app.css
index 9a69fb83d..15de5de59 100644
--- a/apps/staged/src/app.css
+++ b/apps/staged/src/app.css
@@ -92,8 +92,8 @@
   --diff-comment-border: rgba(167, 139, 250, 0.56);
   --diff-comment-accent: #a78bfa;
 
-  --search-match-bg: rgba(250, 200, 50, 0.35);
-  --search-current-match-bg: rgba(255, 150, 50, 0.5);
+  --search-match-accent: #f2c744;
+  --search-current-match-bg: rgba(242, 199, 68, 0.3);
 
   --annotation-overlay-bg: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);
   --annotation-border: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
@@ -269,15 +269,41 @@ svg.lucide:not(.animate-spin),
   transform: translateZ(0);
 }
 
-/* ── In-content search highlights ── */
+/* ── Search match highlights ── */
+/* Longhands on purpose: WebKit before Safari 26.2 rejects a thickness inside
+   the `text-decoration` shorthand, and a rejected `var()` declaration drops
+   the whole underline, not just its thickness. */
+mark.search-match,
+mark.label-match {
+  background-color: transparent;
+  text-decoration-line: underline;
+  text-decoration-color: var(--search-match-accent);
+  text-decoration-skip-ink: none;
+}
+
+/* In-content find: notes and session chat. */
 mark.search-match {
-  background-color: rgba(255, 235, 59, 0.4);
-  border-radius: 2px;
   color: inherit;
+  text-decoration-thickness: 2px;
+  text-underline-offset: 3px;
 }
 
+/* A match inside a one-line label: project search rows and the command
+   palette. No fill, the match in the primary text colour over a warm line,
+   which lifts it out of muted text. The offset keeps the line inside the
+   label's line box, which clips. */
+mark.label-match {
+  color: var(--text-primary);
+  text-decoration-thickness: 1.5px;
+  text-underline-offset: 1.5px;
+}
+
+/* The wash alone is faint in the light theme; the ring keeps the current
+   match obvious on every surface. */
 mark.search-match-current {
-  background-color: rgba(255, 152, 0, 0.6);
+  background-color: var(--search-current-match-bg);
+  border-radius: 2px;
+  box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px var(--search-match-accent);
 }
 
 /* ── Hashtag badges (shared across all badge contexts) ── */
diff --git a/apps/staged/src/lib/features/commandPalette/CommandPalette.component.test.ts b/apps/staged/src/lib/features/commandPalette/CommandPalette.component.test.ts
index f72886532..eefb2c00a 100644
--- a/apps/staged/src/lib/features/commandPalette/CommandPalette.component.test.ts
+++ b/apps/staged/src/lib/features/commandPalette/CommandPalette.component.test.ts
@@ -872,7 +872,7 @@ describe('CommandPalette filtering', () => {
     await type('beta');
 
     expect(optionNames()).toEqual(['Beta tools']);
-    expect(options()[0].querySelector('.row-name mark')?.textContent).toBe('Beta');
+    expect(options()[0].querySelector('.row-name mark.label-match')?.textContent).toBe('Beta');
   });
 
   it('returns the highlight to the first result when the query changes', async () => {
@@ -934,11 +934,15 @@ describe('CommandPalette filtering', () => {
     await type('payments');
     expect(optionIds()).toEqual(['beta']);
     expect(optionFor('beta').querySelector('.row-repo')?.textContent).toBe('org/payments');
-    expect(optionFor('beta').querySelector('.row-repo mark')?.textContent).toBe('payments');
+    expect(optionFor('beta').querySelector('.row-repo mark.label-match')?.textContent).toBe(
+      'payments'
+    );
 
     await type('storefront');
     expect(optionIds()).toEqual(['gamma']);
-    expect(optionFor('gamma').querySelector('.row-alias mark')?.textContent).toBe('storefront');
+    expect(optionFor('gamma').querySelector('.row-alias mark.label-match')?.textContent).toBe(
+      'storefront'
+    );
     expect(optionFor('gamma').querySelector('.row-repo')?.textContent).toBe('org/web/apps/site');
   });
 });
diff --git a/apps/staged/src/lib/features/commandPalette/CommandPaletteRow.svelte b/apps/staged/src/lib/features/commandPalette/CommandPaletteRow.svelte
index 5618bae0c..7592177ce 100644
--- a/apps/staged/src/lib/features/commandPalette/CommandPaletteRow.svelte
+++ b/apps/staged/src/lib/features/commandPalette/CommandPaletteRow.svelte
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
 </script>
 
 {#snippet highlighted(segments: readonly HighlightSegment[])}
-  {#each segments as segment}{#if segment.match}<mark>{segment.text}</mark
+  {#each segments as segment}{#if segment.match}<mark class="label-match">{segment.text}</mark
       >{:else}{segment.text}{/if}{/each}
 {/snippet}
 
@@ -240,12 +240,11 @@
     min-width: 0;
   }
 
-  .row-name mark,
-  .row-alias mark,
-  .row-repo mark {
-    background-color: var(--search-match-bg);
-    border-radius: 2px;
-    color: inherit;
+  /* Matches use the global `label-match` rule, shared with ProjectMatchReason,
+     which draws the reason beside these. The pill's border sits right under
+     the text; pull the line up off it. */
+  .row-alias mark {
+    text-underline-offset: 0.5px;
   }
 
   .row-badges {
diff --git a/apps/staged/src/lib/features/projects/ProjectMatchReason.svelte b/apps/staged/src/lib/features/projects/ProjectMatchReason.svelte
index b68900a87..4eb5a2c4a 100644
--- a/apps/staged/src/lib/features/projects/ProjectMatchReason.svelte
+++ b/apps/staged/src/lib/features/projects/ProjectMatchReason.svelte
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
   <Icon size={iconSize} />
   <span class="sr-only">{KIND_NAMES[reason.kind]}:</span>
   <span class="match-label"
-    >{#each segments as segment}{#if segment.match}<mark>{segment.text}</mark
+    >{#each segments as segment}{#if segment.match}<mark class="label-match">{segment.text}</mark
         >{:else}{segment.text}{/if}{/each}</span
   >
   {#if reason.more > 0}
@@ -84,12 +84,6 @@
     text-overflow: ellipsis;
   }
 
-  .match-label mark {
-    background-color: var(--search-match-bg);
-    border-radius: 2px;
-    color: inherit;
-  }
-
   .match-more {
     flex-shrink: 0;
     color: var(--text-faint);
diff --git a/apps/staged/src/lib/theme.ts b/apps/staged/src/lib/theme.ts
index 34ca8f3bc..51c97a8da 100644
--- a/apps/staged/src/lib/theme.ts
+++ b/apps/staged/src/lib/theme.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ export interface Theme {
 
   // Search highlight colors
   search: {
-    matchBg: string; // Background for search matches
+    matchAccent: string; // Line under a search match
     currentMatchBg: string; // Background for current/focused match
   };
 
@@ -510,13 +510,11 @@ export function createAdaptiveTheme(
     },
 
     search: {
-      // Search yellow derived from foreground warmth — mix fg toward warm tone
-      matchBg: overlay(mix(syntaxFg, isDark ? '#fac832' : '#e8b000', 0.7), isDark ? 0.35 : 0.5),
-      // Current match: warmer/more saturated variant of above
-      currentMatchBg: overlay(
-        mix(syntaxFg, isDark ? '#ff9632' : '#d07000', 0.7),
-        isDark ? 0.5 : 0.6
-      ),
+      // A match keeps its surface and gains a warm line beneath it. Solid, so
+      // it reads the same on plain, hovered and selected rows.
+      matchAccent: isDark ? '#f2c744' : '#a87400',
+      // Only the current match is filled, in a wash of the same amber.
+      currentMatchBg: overlay(isDark ? '#f2c744' : '#f2b600', isDark ? 0.3 : 0.35),
     },
 
     annotation: {
@@ -632,7 +630,7 @@ export function themeToVarMap(t: Theme): Record<string, string> {
     '--diff-comment-border': t.diff.commentBorder,
     '--diff-comment-accent': t.diff.commentAccent,
 
-    '--search-match-bg': t.search.matchBg,
+    '--search-match-accent': t.search.matchAccent,
     '--search-current-match-bg': t.search.currentMatchBg,
 
     '--annotation-overlay-bg': t.annotation.overlayBg,
diff --git a/packages/diff-viewer/src/lib/components/DiffViewer.svelte b/packages/diff-viewer/src/lib/components/DiffViewer.svelte
index a8c5928fa..4b61efb59 100644
--- a/packages/diff-viewer/src/lib/components/DiffViewer.svelte
+++ b/packages/diff-viewer/src/lib/components/DiffViewer.svelte
@@ -3352,23 +3352,24 @@
   }
 
   /* Search result highlighting */
-  .search-match {
-    background-color: rgba(250, 200, 50, 0.35);
-    border-radius: 2px;
+  /* Longhands on purpose: WebKit before Safari 26.2 rejects a thickness inside
+     the shorthand and would drop the whole underline. The `em` offset keeps
+     the line inside the row at any `--code-font-size`. */
+  .search-match,
+  .search-current {
+    text-decoration-line: underline;
+    text-decoration-thickness: 2px;
+    text-decoration-color: var(--search-match-accent, #f2c744);
+    text-underline-offset: 0.2em;
+    text-decoration-skip-ink: none;
   }
 
+  /* On a modified line the wash is nearly the same colour as the
+     changed-character tint it replaces; the ring is what keeps the current
+     match visible there. */
   .search-current {
-    background-color: rgba(255, 150, 50, 0.5);
+    background-color: var(--search-current-match-bg, rgba(242, 199, 68, 0.3));
     border-radius: 2px;
-  }
-
-  @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
-    .search-match {
-      background-color: rgba(250, 200, 50, 0.5);
-    }
-
-    .search-current {
-      background-color: rgba(255, 150, 50, 0.6);
-    }
+    box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px var(--search-match-accent, #f2c744);
   }
 </style>