diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 39d3024..7267b16 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -555,12 +555,26 @@ nobody had reason to open. Fixtures are never live values; there is no case wher
 ## Settings export/import
 
 `commands::settings_export_commands`, `storage::settings_crypto`, `models::settings_export`
-(triple-c#35). Exports the *host* environment — global `AppSettings` (already the non-secret
-shape persisted to `settings.json`) plus the global secrets that live in the OS keychain instead:
-the shared Claude Code OAuth login and the model gateway's two keys. Per-project settings,
-per-project secrets, and anything in a project's Docker volumes are deliberately out of scope —
-this is not a project backup.
+(triple-c#35). Exports the *host* environment — global `AppSettings` plus the global secrets that
+live in the OS keychain instead: the shared Claude Code OAuth login and the model gateway's two
+keys. Per-project settings, per-project secrets, and anything in a project's Docker volumes are
+deliberately out of scope — this is not a project backup.
 
+- **`AppSettings` is not entirely the non-secret shape it looks like, and a review of this feature
+  caught the one place that isn't.** `WebTerminalSettings::access_token` is a live bearer
+  credential for a server that binds every interface — exporting `AppSettings` wholesale would
+  have carried it along as if it were as inert as a port number, and importing it would have
+  applied `web_terminal.enabled` and the token together with no more warning than any other
+  setting, letting a crafted export silently stand up a LAN-listening terminal on the next launch.
+  `export_settings`/`apply_settings_import` carve this one field out into `ExportedSecrets`
+  instead, with the same "only overwrite what the import actually has" treatment as the other
+  three secrets — except "leave it alone" has to be done by hand in `apply_settings_import`, since
+  unlike the keychain secrets this one lives inside the `AppSettings` blob that gets replaced
+  wholesale. `SettingsImportPreview::enables_web_terminal` also exists because of this: `enabled`
+  and the token are independent fields, and "this turns on a listening service" must not hide
+  inside a generic "settings replaced" summary. Read this as the standing example of the class of
+  thing to keep checking for in this feature, not a one-off fixed bug — any other field that looks
+  like config but is actually a live credential would have the same problem.
 - **Encrypted because it can carry live credentials, not for appearance's sake.** Argon2id derives
   a 256-bit key from the user's password (memory-hard — meaningfully resistant to GPU/ASIC
   brute-forcing, unlike PBKDF2 at any reasonable iteration count), AES-256-GCM does the actual
@@ -584,7 +598,22 @@ this is not a project backup.
   field-by-field merge. Secrets are different on purpose: an absent secret in the export means
   "the source machine never had this configured," not "delete this on import" — a user who wants
   to clear a secret already has dedicated UI for that (signing out of shared auth, clearing the
-  gateway key).
+  gateway key). Secrets are restored *before* the settings replace runs, not after — replacing
+  settings is what triggers `reconcile_gateway`, and restoring the other way round leaves a real
+  window where a gateway recreation happens against the destination's old keys.
+- **`read_and_decrypt` checks `format_version` before attempting to parse the full payload, not
+  after.** A version bump that isn't deserialize-compatible is exactly the case that check exists
+  for, and parsing the full struct first would fail on the shape mismatch before the version check
+  ever ran. Neither error path interpolates what `serde_json` actually says into the message
+  shown to the user — its type-mismatch errors quote the offending value inline, and the plaintext
+  here can hold a live credential.
+- **The 8-character password minimum is enforced in `export_settings` itself, not only in the
+  export modal.** The frontend minimum is a UX nudge; the Rust command is the actual boundary a
+  weak password has to cross, and Argon2id's memory-hardness buys little against an attacker who
+  can just try a short password directly. The derived key and the decrypted plaintext are both
+  wrapped in `zeroize::Zeroizing` for the same reason every other secret in this codebase gets
+  handled carefully — cheap insurance (`zeroize` is already pulled in transitively via `aes-gcm`)
+  for material that exists only to hold or produce live credentials.
 
 ## Testing
 
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/Cargo.lock b/app/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
index b5b92bd..d663f61 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
+++ b/app/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
@@ -5307,6 +5307,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tokio",
  "tower-http",
  "uuid",
+ "zeroize",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/Cargo.toml b/app/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
index 88bad73..ebc9648 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
+++ b/app/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ rand = "0.9"
 local-ip-address = "0.6"
 argon2 = "0.5"
 aes-gcm = "0.10"
+zeroize = "1"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 # `test-util` (not part of tokio's `full`) lets the auto-start retry tests run
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/commands/settings_export_commands.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/commands/settings_export_commands.rs
index ebebc81..dc5c3e3 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/commands/settings_export_commands.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/commands/settings_export_commands.rs
@@ -20,20 +20,35 @@
 //! The password is re-entered (not cached) between preview and apply, so
 //! that nothing here holds decrypted plaintext — export/import secrets
 //! included — in memory for longer than one command's execution.
+//!
+//! **This is new attack surface**: a settings export is a file one person
+//! can hand another and ask them to import, together with a password, and
+//! `apply_settings_import` applies whatever `AppSettings` it decrypts to
+//! wholesale — see the module doc on `models::settings_export` for the
+//! `web_terminal.access_token` carve-out a review of this feature found,
+//! and treat that as the standing example of the class of thing to keep
+//! checking for here, not a one-off fixed bug.
 
-use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use tauri::State;
 use tauri_plugin_dialog::DialogExt;
 
 use crate::models::{
-    ExportedSecrets, SettingsExportPayload, SettingsImportPreview, SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION,
+    AppSettings, ExportedSecrets, SettingsExportPayload, SettingsImportPreview,
+    SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION,
 };
 use crate::storage::{secure, settings_crypto};
 use crate::AppState;
 
 const FILE_EXTENSION: &str = "triplec";
 
+/// Enforced here, not only in the export modal: the frontend's minimum is a
+/// UX nudge, but `export_settings` is the actual boundary a weak password
+/// has to cross, and Argon2id's memory-hardness buys little against an
+/// attacker who can just try a three-character password directly.
+const MIN_PASSWORD_LEN: usize = 8;
+
 fn suggested_export_name() -> String {
     // Timestamped so exporting more than once doesn't silently overwrite an
     // earlier file just because the save dialog defaults to the same name.
@@ -73,17 +88,28 @@ async fn pick_import_open_path(window: &tauri::Window) -> Option<PathBuf> {
     rx.await.ok().flatten().and_then(|p| p.into_path().ok())
 }
 
-/// Gather the current global secrets. A missing secret reads as `None` — a
-/// keychain read failure is treated as "nothing to export" for that one
-/// entry rather than aborting the whole export, matching how the rest of
-/// this app degrades a keychain error to "absent" (`has_claude_oauth_token`,
-/// `has_gateway_api_key`) rather than surfacing it as a hard failure.
-fn gather_secrets() -> ExportedSecrets {
-    ExportedSecrets {
+/// Gather the current global secrets, and hand back the `AppSettings` to
+/// export with the web-terminal token blanked out of it — see the module
+/// doc comment on `models::settings_export` for why that field cannot
+/// travel through `settings` like the rest of this struct.
+///
+/// A missing keychain secret reads as `None` — a keychain read failure is
+/// treated as "nothing to export" for that one entry rather than aborting
+/// the whole export, matching how the rest of this app degrades a keychain
+/// error to "absent" (`has_claude_oauth_token`, `has_gateway_api_key`)
+/// rather than surfacing it as a hard failure.
+fn split_settings_and_secrets(current: AppSettings) -> (AppSettings, ExportedSecrets) {
+    let mut settings = current;
+    let web_terminal_access_token = settings.web_terminal.access_token.take();
+
+    let secrets = ExportedSecrets {
         claude_oauth_token: secure::get_claude_oauth_token().unwrap_or_default(),
         gateway_api_key: secure::get_gateway_api_key().unwrap_or_default(),
         gateway_master_key: secure::get_gateway_master_key().unwrap_or_default(),
-    }
+        web_terminal_access_token,
+    };
+
+    (settings, secrets)
 }
 
 /// Export the current global settings and secrets to a password-encrypted
@@ -96,15 +122,18 @@ pub async fn export_settings(
     window: tauri::Window,
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
 ) -> Result<bool, String> {
-    if password.is_empty() {
-        return Err("A password is required to export settings.".to_string());
+    if password.len() < MIN_PASSWORD_LEN {
+        return Err(format!(
+            "Use a password of at least {} characters.",
+            MIN_PASSWORD_LEN
+        ));
     }
 
     let Some(dest) = pick_export_save_path(&window, &suggested_export_name()).await else {
         return Ok(false);
     };
 
-    let secrets = gather_secrets();
+    let (settings, secrets) = split_settings_and_secrets(state.settings_store.get());
     if secrets.is_empty() {
         log::info!("Exporting settings with no global secrets configured on this machine");
     }
@@ -113,7 +142,7 @@ pub async fn export_settings(
         format_version: SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION,
         exported_at: chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339(),
         app_version: env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION").to_string(),
-        settings: state.settings_store.get(),
+        settings,
         secrets,
     };
 
@@ -121,7 +150,7 @@ pub async fn export_settings(
         .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to prepare settings for export: {}", e))?;
     let encrypted = settings_crypto::encrypt(&plaintext, &password)?;
 
-    std::fs::write(&dest, encrypted).map_err(|e| format!("Failed to write export file: {}", e))?;
+    std::fs::write(&dest, &encrypted).map_err(|e| format!("Failed to write export file: {}", e))?;
 
     Ok(true)
 }
@@ -170,11 +199,24 @@ pub async fn preview_settings_import(
 /// means "the source machine never had this configured," not "delete this
 /// on import." A user who wants to clear a secret already has dedicated UI
 /// for that (signing out of shared auth, clearing the gateway key).
+///
+/// Order matters here: secrets are restored **before** the settings replace
+/// runs (which is what triggers `reconcile_gateway`), so a gateway
+/// recreation that replace provokes sees the final key material rather than
+/// racing it — restoring the other way round left a real window where the
+/// running gateway and the keychain briefly disagreed.
+///
+/// The pending path is only cleared on success. A failure here (a rejected
+/// host path, a keychain write failure surfaced some other way) leaves the
+/// import pending so the frontend can let the user retry `apply` without
+/// making them pick the file and re-enter the password again — the
+/// preview's job was confirming *what* to import, not spending the one
+/// attempt at applying it.
 #[tauri::command]
 pub async fn apply_settings_import(
     password: String,
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
-) -> Result<crate::models::AppSettings, String> {
+) -> Result<AppSettings, String> {
     if password.is_empty() {
         return Err("A password is required to import settings.".to_string());
     }
@@ -183,13 +225,11 @@ pub async fn apply_settings_import(
         .pending_settings_import
         .lock()
         .await
-        .take()
+        .clone()
         .ok_or_else(|| "No import is pending — choose a file first.".to_string())?;
 
     let payload = read_and_decrypt(&path, &password)?;
 
-    let saved = crate::commands::settings_commands::update_settings(payload.settings, state).await?;
-
     if let Some(token) = non_blank(payload.secrets.claude_oauth_token) {
         if let Err(e) = secure::store_claude_oauth_token(&token) {
             log::warn!("Settings import: could not restore the shared Claude login: {}", e);
@@ -206,6 +246,20 @@ pub async fn apply_settings_import(
         }
     }
 
+    // The web-terminal token lives inside `AppSettings` itself rather than
+    // the keychain, so "leave an absent secret alone" has to be done by
+    // hand here: carry the destination's current token forward when the
+    // import doesn't have one, instead of letting the wholesale replace
+    // below blank it (every export writes `None` there — see
+    // `split_settings_and_secrets`).
+    let mut settings = payload.settings;
+    settings.web_terminal.access_token = non_blank(payload.secrets.web_terminal_access_token)
+        .or_else(|| state.settings_store.get().web_terminal.access_token);
+
+    let saved = crate::commands::settings_commands::update_settings(settings, state.clone()).await?;
+
+    state.pending_settings_import.lock().await.take();
+
     Ok(saved)
 }
 
@@ -213,20 +267,150 @@ fn non_blank(value: Option<String>) -> Option<String> {
     value.filter(|v| !v.trim().is_empty())
 }
 
-fn read_and_decrypt(path: &std::path::Path, password: &str) -> Result<SettingsExportPayload, String> {
+/// Only the field `read_and_decrypt` needs before deciding whether the rest
+/// of the payload is even worth attempting to parse.
+#[derive(serde::Deserialize)]
+struct FormatVersionProbe {
+    format_version: u32,
+}
+
+/// Decrypt and parse an export file, checking the format version **before**
+/// attempting to deserialize the full payload.
+///
+/// That ordering is not just tidiness: a version bump that isn't
+/// deserialize-compatible (a field's type changes, not just a new
+/// `#[serde(default)]`-covered one) is exactly the case this check exists
+/// for, and parsing the full struct first would fail on the shape mismatch
+/// before the version check ever ran, surfacing a raw parse error instead
+/// of "update Triple-C" — and, more seriously, `serde_json`'s type-mismatch
+/// errors quote the offending value inline. This file is not attacker
+/// content in the usual sense (it must still decrypt under the right
+/// password), but the plaintext it decrypts to can hold a live credential,
+/// so neither error path below ever interpolates what `serde_json`
+/// actually says — only a fixed, generic message.
+fn read_and_decrypt(path: &Path, password: &str) -> Result<SettingsExportPayload, String> {
     let encrypted = std::fs::read(path).map_err(|e| format!("Failed to read export file: {}", e))?;
     let plaintext = settings_crypto::decrypt(&encrypted, password)?;
 
-    let payload: SettingsExportPayload = serde_json::from_slice(&plaintext)
-        .map_err(|e| format!("This file doesn't look like a valid settings export: {}", e))?;
-
-    if payload.format_version > SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION {
+    let probe: FormatVersionProbe = serde_json::from_slice(&plaintext)
+        .map_err(|_| "This file doesn't look like a valid settings export.".to_string())?;
+    if probe.format_version > SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION {
         return Err(format!(
             "This export was made by a newer version of Triple-C (format {}, this app supports up to {}). \
              Update Triple-C before importing it.",
-            payload.format_version, SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION
+            probe.format_version, SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION
         ));
     }
 
-    Ok(payload)
+    serde_json::from_slice(&plaintext)
+        .map_err(|_| "This file doesn't look like a valid settings export (unexpected shape).".to_string())
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn non_blank_treats_whitespace_only_as_absent() {
+        assert_eq!(non_blank(Some("   ".to_string())), None);
+        assert_eq!(non_blank(Some("".to_string())), None);
+        assert_eq!(non_blank(None), None);
+        assert_eq!(non_blank(Some(" a ".to_string())), Some(" a ".to_string()));
+    }
+
+    fn write_export(dir: &std::path::Path, name: &str, payload: &SettingsExportPayload, password: &str) -> PathBuf {
+        let plaintext = serde_json::to_vec(payload).unwrap();
+        let encrypted = settings_crypto::encrypt(&plaintext, password).unwrap();
+        let path = dir.join(name);
+        std::fs::write(&path, &encrypted).unwrap();
+        path
+    }
+
+    fn sample_payload(format_version: u32) -> SettingsExportPayload {
+        SettingsExportPayload {
+            format_version,
+            exported_at: "2026-08-27T00:00:00Z".to_string(),
+            app_version: "0.4.14".to_string(),
+            settings: AppSettings::default(),
+            secrets: ExportedSecrets::default(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn temp_dir(name: &str) -> PathBuf {
+        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
+            "triple-c-settings-export-test-{}-{}",
+            name,
+            uuid::Uuid::new_v4().simple()
+        ));
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
+        dir
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_file_from_a_newer_format_is_refused_before_the_full_shape_is_parsed() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("newer-format");
+        let path = write_export(
+            &dir,
+            "export.triplec",
+            &sample_payload(SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION + 1),
+            "correct password",
+        );
+
+        let err = read_and_decrypt(&path, "correct password").unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.contains("newer version"), "unexpected message: {}", err);
+        assert!(err.contains("Update Triple-C"));
+
+        std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_file_at_the_current_format_is_accepted() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("current-format");
+        let path = write_export(
+            &dir,
+            "export.triplec",
+            &sample_payload(SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION),
+            "correct password",
+        );
+
+        let payload = read_and_decrypt(&path, "correct password").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(payload.format_version, SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION);
+
+        std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_malformed_payload_produces_a_generic_error_not_a_raw_serde_message() {
+        // Encrypt something that decrypts fine but isn't a valid payload
+        // shape at all — this must not happen in practice (only this app
+        // ever writes these files), but the error path must still never
+        // echo back plaintext content, generic malformed-shape or not.
+        let dir = temp_dir("malformed");
+        let plaintext = b"{\"not\": \"a real export\"}".to_vec();
+        let encrypted = settings_crypto::encrypt(&plaintext, "correct password").unwrap();
+        let path = dir.join("export.triplec");
+        std::fs::write(&path, &encrypted).unwrap();
+
+        let err = read_and_decrypt(&path, "correct password").unwrap_err();
+        assert!(!err.contains("not a real export"), "leaked plaintext into the error: {}", err);
+        assert!(err.contains("doesn't look like a valid settings export"));
+
+        std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_wrong_password_is_reported_without_a_version_check_ever_running() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("wrong-password");
+        let path = write_export(
+            &dir,
+            "export.triplec",
+            &sample_payload(SETTINGS_EXPORT_FORMAT_VERSION),
+            "correct password",
+        );
+
+        let err = read_and_decrypt(&path, "wrong password").unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.contains("Wrong password"), "unexpected message: {}", err);
+
+        std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/models/settings_export.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/models/settings_export.rs
index 0e71df8..acf33bc 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/models/settings_export.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/models/settings_export.rs
@@ -2,12 +2,28 @@
 //!
 //! `SettingsExportPayload` is the whole plaintext export before encryption
 //! and after decryption (see `storage::settings_crypto`). It bundles
-//! `AppSettings` (already the non-secret shape persisted to `settings.json`)
-//! with the global secrets that live in the OS keychain instead — the shared
-//! Claude Code OAuth login and the model gateway's two keys. Per-project
-//! settings, per-project secrets, and anything living in a project's Docker
-//! volumes are deliberately out of scope: this exports the *host*
-//! environment, not any one project's.
+//! `AppSettings` — with one field carved out, see below — with the global
+//! secrets that live in the OS keychain instead: the shared Claude Code
+//! OAuth login and the model gateway's two keys. Per-project settings,
+//! per-project secrets, and anything living in a project's Docker volumes
+//! are deliberately out of scope: this exports the *host* environment, not
+//! any one project's.
+//!
+//! **`AppSettings` is not entirely the non-secret shape it looks like.**
+//! `WebTerminalSettings::access_token` is a live bearer credential for a
+//! server that binds every interface, stored as a plain field on the
+//! struct that is otherwise safe to treat as config. A review of this
+//! feature caught it: exporting `AppSettings` wholesale would have carried
+//! that token along as if it were as inert as a port number, and — worse —
+//! importing it would apply `web_terminal.enabled` and the token together
+//! with no more warning than any other setting, letting a crafted export
+//! silently stand up a LAN-listening terminal server with an
+//! attacker-known token on the next launch. `export_settings` /
+//! `apply_settings_import` blank this field out of the `settings` they
+//! read from and write to, and it travels only through
+//! [`ExportedSecrets::web_terminal_access_token`] instead, with the same
+//! "only overwrite what the import actually has" treatment as the other
+//! three secrets.
 
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
@@ -34,6 +50,12 @@ pub struct ExportedSecrets {
     pub gateway_api_key: Option<String>,
     #[serde(default)]
     pub gateway_master_key: Option<String>,
+    /// See the module doc comment — this is `AppSettings::web_terminal
+    /// .access_token`, carved out because it is a live bearer credential,
+    /// not config, despite living on a struct that is otherwise safe to
+    /// export wholesale.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub web_terminal_access_token: Option<String>,
 }
 
 impl ExportedSecrets {
@@ -41,6 +63,7 @@ impl ExportedSecrets {
         self.claude_oauth_token.is_none()
             && self.gateway_api_key.is_none()
             && self.gateway_master_key.is_none()
+            && self.web_terminal_access_token.is_none()
     }
 }
 
@@ -78,31 +101,31 @@ pub struct SettingsImportPreview {
     pub has_claude_oauth_token: bool,
     pub has_gateway_api_key: bool,
     pub has_gateway_master_key: bool,
+    pub has_web_terminal_access_token: bool,
+    /// Whether the imported settings turn the web terminal on. Named
+    /// separately from the token above: `enabled` and the token are two
+    /// different fields, either can be true without the other, and
+    /// "this import turns on a service that listens on your network" is
+    /// exactly the kind of change a wholesale settings replace must not
+    /// bury in a generic "settings replaced" line — see the module doc
+    /// comment on why this field exists at all.
+    pub enables_web_terminal: bool,
 }
 
 impl SettingsImportPreview {
     pub fn from_payload(payload: &SettingsExportPayload) -> Self {
+        let non_blank = |s: &Option<String>| s.as_deref().is_some_and(|v| !v.trim().is_empty());
         Self {
             exported_at: payload.exported_at.clone(),
             app_version: payload.app_version.clone(),
             custom_env_var_count: payload.settings.global_custom_env_vars.len(),
             gateway_model_count: payload.settings.gateway.models.len(),
             has_claude_code_settings: payload.settings.global_claude_code_settings.is_some(),
-            has_claude_oauth_token: payload
-                .secrets
-                .claude_oauth_token
-                .as_deref()
-                .is_some_and(|t| !t.trim().is_empty()),
-            has_gateway_api_key: payload
-                .secrets
-                .gateway_api_key
-                .as_deref()
-                .is_some_and(|k| !k.trim().is_empty()),
-            has_gateway_master_key: payload
-                .secrets
-                .gateway_master_key
-                .as_deref()
-                .is_some_and(|k| !k.trim().is_empty()),
+            has_claude_oauth_token: non_blank(&payload.secrets.claude_oauth_token),
+            has_gateway_api_key: non_blank(&payload.secrets.gateway_api_key),
+            has_gateway_master_key: non_blank(&payload.secrets.gateway_master_key),
+            has_web_terminal_access_token: non_blank(&payload.secrets.web_terminal_access_token),
+            enables_web_terminal: payload.settings.web_terminal.enabled,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -133,6 +156,7 @@ mod tests {
             claude_oauth_token: Some("sk-super-secret-token".to_string()),
             gateway_api_key: Some("sk-another-secret".to_string()),
             gateway_master_key: Some("sk-triple-c-yet-another".to_string()),
+            web_terminal_access_token: Some("wt-super-secret-token".to_string()),
         });
         let preview = SettingsImportPreview::from_payload(&payload);
         let serialized = serde_json::to_string(&preview).unwrap();
@@ -140,9 +164,11 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(!serialized.contains("sk-super-secret-token"));
         assert!(!serialized.contains("sk-another-secret"));
         assert!(!serialized.contains("sk-triple-c-yet-another"));
+        assert!(!serialized.contains("wt-super-secret-token"));
         assert!(preview.has_claude_oauth_token);
         assert!(preview.has_gateway_api_key);
         assert!(preview.has_gateway_master_key);
+        assert!(preview.has_web_terminal_access_token);
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -154,11 +180,27 @@ mod tests {
             claude_oauth_token: Some("   ".to_string()),
             gateway_api_key: None,
             gateway_master_key: None,
+            web_terminal_access_token: Some("   ".to_string()),
         });
         let preview = SettingsImportPreview::from_payload(&payload);
         assert!(!preview.has_claude_oauth_token);
         assert!(!preview.has_gateway_api_key);
         assert!(!preview.has_gateway_master_key);
+        assert!(!preview.has_web_terminal_access_token);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn enabling_the_web_terminal_is_surfaced_regardless_of_whether_a_token_came_with_it() {
+        // `enabled` and the token are independent fields — a crafted export
+        // could set one without the other, and both are worth a user's
+        // attention: this is the field that exists specifically so "this
+        // import turns on a service that listens on your network" cannot
+        // hide inside a generic "settings replaced" summary.
+        let mut payload = payload_with(ExportedSecrets::default());
+        payload.settings.web_terminal.enabled = true;
+        let preview = SettingsImportPreview::from_payload(&payload);
+        assert!(preview.enables_web_terminal);
+        assert!(!preview.has_web_terminal_access_token);
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/storage/settings_crypto.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/storage/settings_crypto.rs
index 499e7d4..37d40df 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/storage/settings_crypto.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/storage/settings_crypto.rs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ use aes_gcm::aead::{Aead, KeyInit};
 use aes_gcm::{Aes256Gcm, Nonce};
 use argon2::{Algorithm, Argon2, Params, Version};
 use rand::RngCore;
+use zeroize::Zeroizing;
 
 /// Identifies the file as a Triple-C settings export and pins the format —
 /// a change to the salt/nonce lengths or the KDF/cipher choice below needs a
@@ -44,11 +45,16 @@ fn argon2_params() -> Params {
     Params::new(19 * 1024, 2, 1, Some(KEY_LEN)).expect("hardcoded Argon2 params are valid")
 }
 
-fn derive_key(password: &str, salt: &[u8]) -> Result<[u8; KEY_LEN], String> {
+/// The derived key is wrapped in `Zeroizing` so it is overwritten with zeros
+/// when it drops rather than left in freed memory for whatever reuses that
+/// stack slot next — cheap insurance (`zeroize` is already in the dependency
+/// tree via `aes-gcm`) for material that exists only to decrypt live
+/// credentials.
+fn derive_key(password: &str, salt: &[u8]) -> Result<Zeroizing<[u8; KEY_LEN]>, String> {
     let argon2 = Argon2::new(Algorithm::Argon2id, Version::V0x13, argon2_params());
-    let mut key = [0u8; KEY_LEN];
+    let mut key = Zeroizing::new([0u8; KEY_LEN]);
     argon2
-        .hash_password_into(password.as_bytes(), salt, &mut key)
+        .hash_password_into(password.as_bytes(), salt, &mut *key)
         .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to derive encryption key: {}", e))?;
     Ok(key)
 }
@@ -64,7 +70,7 @@ pub fn encrypt(plaintext: &[u8], password: &str) -> Result<Vec<u8>, String> {
     rand::rng().fill_bytes(&mut nonce_bytes);
     let nonce = Nonce::from_slice(&nonce_bytes);
 
-    let cipher = Aes256Gcm::new_from_slice(&key)
+    let cipher = Aes256Gcm::new_from_slice(&*key)
         .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to initialize cipher: {}", e))?;
     let ciphertext = cipher
         .encrypt(nonce, plaintext)
@@ -84,7 +90,12 @@ pub fn encrypt(plaintext: &[u8], password: &str) -> Result<Vec<u8>, String> {
 /// fails to verify for the wrong key on essentially any ciphertext, so there
 /// is no reliable way to tell "wrong password" from "corrupted file" apart,
 /// and guessing would be worse than saying so.
-pub fn decrypt(data: &[u8], password: &str) -> Result<Vec<u8>, String> {
+///
+/// Returns `Zeroizing<Vec<u8>>` rather than a plain `Vec<u8>` — the plaintext
+/// this recovers is the whole settings-plus-secrets payload, so it gets the
+/// same "wipe it when it drops" treatment as the derived key in
+/// [`derive_key`].
+pub fn decrypt(data: &[u8], password: &str) -> Result<Zeroizing<Vec<u8>>, String> {
     if data.len() < HEADER_LEN {
         return Err("This does not look like a Triple-C settings export (file too short).".to_string());
     }
@@ -96,11 +107,12 @@ pub fn decrypt(data: &[u8], password: &str) -> Result<Vec<u8>, String> {
     let ciphertext = &data[HEADER_LEN..];
 
     let key = derive_key(password, salt)?;
-    let cipher = Aes256Gcm::new_from_slice(&key)
+    let cipher = Aes256Gcm::new_from_slice(&*key)
         .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to initialize cipher: {}", e))?;
     let nonce = Nonce::from_slice(nonce_bytes);
     cipher
         .decrypt(nonce, ciphertext)
+        .map(Zeroizing::new)
         .map_err(|_| "Wrong password, or the file is corrupted.".to_string())
 }
 
@@ -113,7 +125,7 @@ mod tests {
         let plaintext = b"{\"settings\": \"whatever\"}";
         let encrypted = encrypt(plaintext, "correct horse battery staple").unwrap();
         let decrypted = decrypt(&encrypted, "correct horse battery staple").unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(decrypted, plaintext);
+        assert_eq!(&*decrypted, plaintext);
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/app/src/components/settings/ImportSettingsModal.test.tsx b/app/src/components/settings/ImportSettingsModal.test.tsx
index 345d916..be8bc0e 100644
--- a/app/src/components/settings/ImportSettingsModal.test.tsx
+++ b/app/src/components/settings/ImportSettingsModal.test.tsx
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ const samplePreview: SettingsImportPreview = {
   has_claude_oauth_token: true,
   has_gateway_api_key: false,
   has_gateway_master_key: false,
+  has_web_terminal_access_token: false,
+  enables_web_terminal: false,
 };
 
 describe("ImportSettingsModal", () => {
@@ -54,6 +56,16 @@ describe("ImportSettingsModal", () => {
     expect(await screen.findByText(/settings imported/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
+  it("shows a distinct warning when the import would enable the web terminal", async () => {
+    previewSettingsImport.mockResolvedValue({ ...samplePreview, enables_web_terminal: true });
+    render(<ImportSettingsModal onClose={vi.fn()} onImported={vi.fn()} />);
+
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByLabelText("Password"), { target: { value: "hunter2" } });
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /choose file/i }));
+
+    expect(await screen.findByText(/enables the remote web terminal/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
   it("closes quietly when the file picker is dismissed", async () => {
     previewSettingsImport.mockResolvedValue(null);
     const onClose = vi.fn();
diff --git a/app/src/components/settings/ImportSettingsModal.tsx b/app/src/components/settings/ImportSettingsModal.tsx
index c8abb8d..c0b79f4 100644
--- a/app/src/components/settings/ImportSettingsModal.tsx
+++ b/app/src/components/settings/ImportSettingsModal.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import Modal from "../ui/Modal";
 import Button from "../ui/Button";
 import Field, { inputClass } from "../ui/Field";
 import { applySettingsImport, previewSettingsImport } from "../../lib/tauri-commands";
-import { describeImport } from "../../lib/settingsImportPreview";
+import { describeImport, describeImportWarnings } from "../../lib/settingsImportPreview";
 import type { AppSettings, SettingsImportPreview } from "../../lib/types";
 
 interface Props {
@@ -114,6 +114,14 @@ export default function ImportSettingsModal({ onClose, onImported }: Props) {
               ))}
             </ul>
           </div>
+          {describeImportWarnings(preview).map((warning) => (
+            <p
+              key={warning}
+              className="px-2.5 py-2 text-xs text-[var(--warning)] bg-[var(--warning-muted)] border border-[var(--warning)]/40 rounded-[var(--radius-control)] leading-snug"
+            >
+              {warning}
+            </p>
+          ))}
           {error && <p className="text-xs text-[var(--error)]">{error}</p>}
         </div>
       ) : (
diff --git a/app/src/lib/settingsImportPreview.test.ts b/app/src/lib/settingsImportPreview.test.ts
index 4173f42..cad7b81 100644
--- a/app/src/lib/settingsImportPreview.test.ts
+++ b/app/src/lib/settingsImportPreview.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
-import { describeImport } from "./settingsImportPreview";
+import { describeImport, describeImportWarnings } from "./settingsImportPreview";
 import type { SettingsImportPreview } from "./types";
 
 function preview(overrides: Partial<SettingsImportPreview> = {}): SettingsImportPreview {
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ function preview(overrides: Partial<SettingsImportPreview> = {}): SettingsImport
     has_claude_oauth_token: false,
     has_gateway_api_key: false,
     has_gateway_master_key: false,
+    has_web_terminal_access_token: false,
+    enables_web_terminal: false,
     ...overrides,
   };
 }
@@ -52,4 +54,32 @@ describe("describeImport", () => {
     expect(items.some((i) => i.includes("env var"))).toBe(false);
     expect(items.some((i) => i.includes("gateway model"))).toBe(false);
   });
+
+  it("names the web terminal access token like any other present secret", () => {
+    const items = describeImport(preview({ has_web_terminal_access_token: true }));
+    expect(items).toContain("The web terminal access token");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("describeImportWarnings", () => {
+  it("is empty when nothing about the import needs extra attention", () => {
+    expect(describeImportWarnings(preview())).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("warns when the import enables the web terminal, regardless of the token", () => {
+    // `enabled` and the token are independent — the warning is about the
+    // service turning on, whether or not a token came with it.
+    expect(describeImportWarnings(preview({ enables_web_terminal: true }))).toEqual([
+      "Enables the remote web terminal, which listens on your network.",
+    ]);
+    expect(
+      describeImportWarnings(
+        preview({ enables_web_terminal: true, has_web_terminal_access_token: true }),
+      ),
+    ).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  it("does not warn just because a web terminal token is present but the terminal is off", () => {
+    expect(describeImportWarnings(preview({ has_web_terminal_access_token: true }))).toEqual([]);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/app/src/lib/settingsImportPreview.ts b/app/src/lib/settingsImportPreview.ts
index dde8d46..0b34db1 100644
--- a/app/src/lib/settingsImportPreview.ts
+++ b/app/src/lib/settingsImportPreview.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import type { SettingsImportPreview } from "./types";
 
 /** Named things a `SettingsImportPreview` says an import will change, for
- *  `ImportSettingsModal`'s confirmation list. */
+ *  `ImportSettingsModal`'s confirmation list. Does not include anything
+ *  `describeImportWarnings` covers — those get their own, more visible
+ *  treatment rather than blending into this list. */
 export function describeImport(preview: SettingsImportPreview): string[] {
   const items: string[] = ["Your global settings (all of them — this replaces what's here now)"];
   if (preview.custom_env_var_count > 0) {
@@ -16,5 +18,22 @@ export function describeImport(preview: SettingsImportPreview): string[] {
   if (preview.has_claude_oauth_token) items.push("Your shared Claude login");
   if (preview.has_gateway_api_key) items.push("The gateway provider API key");
   if (preview.has_gateway_master_key) items.push("The gateway master key");
+  if (preview.has_web_terminal_access_token) items.push("The web terminal access token");
   return items;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Things about an import that deserve more attention than a bullet in a
+ * long list — currently just the one, but deliberately its own function
+ * rather than a flag inside `describeImport`: a setting that turns on a
+ * network-listening service is exactly the kind of change a "your settings
+ * were replaced" summary is bad at surfacing, on purpose or (if the file
+ * came from someone else) not.
+ */
+export function describeImportWarnings(preview: SettingsImportPreview): string[] {
+  const warnings: string[] = [];
+  if (preview.enables_web_terminal) {
+    warnings.push("Enables the remote web terminal, which listens on your network.");
+  }
+  return warnings;
+}
diff --git a/app/src/lib/types.ts b/app/src/lib/types.ts
index baadc0b..bca46dc 100644
--- a/app/src/lib/types.ts
+++ b/app/src/lib/types.ts
@@ -304,6 +304,12 @@ export interface SettingsImportPreview {
   has_claude_oauth_token: boolean;
   has_gateway_api_key: boolean;
   has_gateway_master_key: boolean;
+  has_web_terminal_access_token: boolean;
+  /** Whether the import turns the web terminal on — surfaced separately
+   *  from the token above since either can be true without the other, and
+   *  "this enables a service that listens on your network" must not hide
+   *  inside a generic "settings replaced" summary. */
+  enables_web_terminal: boolean;
 }
 
 /** What `inspect_ca_cert_path` reports about a corporate CA path. Errors ride