diff --git a/meshterm/tools/advert.py b/meshterm/tools/advert.py
index a044697..0385472 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/advert.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/advert.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ class SendAdvertTool(Tool):
 
     name = "advert"
     title = "Send advert"
+    icon = "📡"
     help = "Announce this node to the mesh — zero-hop, flood, or share as QR"
     category = "Device"
     order = 10  # right after Device actions, before Device info
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/base.py b/meshterm/tools/base.py
index 6984932..1d6446f 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/base.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/base.py
@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@ class Tool(ABC):
             window. Capitalized, and kept identical to the screen the item opens so the
             menu never promises one name and delivers another. Falls back to ``name``.
         help: One-line description shown in the menu and ``--help`` (no trailing period).
+        icon: Emoji drawn before the title in the interactive menu (and only there — the
+            result window keeps the plain title). Single-codepoint, emoji-presentation
+            glyphs only, so the two-cell width holds across terminals (see
+            :mod:`meshterm.ui.tui.emoji_width`).
         category: Grouping label used to organize the interactive menu.
         order: Sort key within a category (lower sorts first).
         menu_visible: Whether the tool appears in the interactive menu. Set ``False`` for
@@ -52,6 +56,7 @@ class Tool(ABC):
     name: str = ""
     title: str = ""
     help: str = ""
+    icon: str = ""
     category: str = "General"
     order: int = 100
     menu_visible: bool = True
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/channels.py b/meshterm/tools/channels.py
index ca99990..6fb6ecc 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/channels.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/channels.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ class ChannelsTool(Tool):
 
     name = "channels"
     title = "Channels"
+    icon = "📻"
     help = "Create, join, and share mesh channels (with QR codes)"
     category = "Messaging"
     order = 20
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/chat.py b/meshterm/tools/chat.py
index 054aaf6..eab2625 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/chat.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/chat.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ class ChatTool(Tool):
 
     name = "chat"
     title = "Chat"
+    icon = "💬"
     help = "Channel and direct messaging — live chat, with stored history"
     category = "Messaging"
     order = 10
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/config.py b/meshterm/tools/config.py
index c016044..784a93d 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/config.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/config.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ class ConfigTool(Tool):
 
     name = "config"
     title = "Device configuration"
+    icon = "🔧"
     help = "View and change device settings — identity, radio, tuning, …"
     category = "Device"
     order = 8
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/device_actions.py b/meshterm/tools/device_actions.py
index a07158b..7fa05de 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/device_actions.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/device_actions.py
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ class DeviceActionsTool(Tool):
 
     name = "device-actions"
     title = "Device actions"
+    icon = "🔨"
     help = "Act on the device itself — advert, backup, identity key, reboot, reset"
     category = "Device"
     order = 9
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/info.py b/meshterm/tools/info.py
index bda8d31..a72fbcd 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/info.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/info.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ class InfoTool(Tool):
 
     name = "info"
     title = "Device info"
+    icon = "📋"
     help = "Show device status, identity, and radio config"
     category = "Device"
     order = 11  # after Send advert (10), which slots in behind Device actions
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/map.py b/meshterm/tools/map.py
index a90914f..267e7d0 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/map.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/map.py
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ class MapTool(Tool):
 
     name = "map"
     title = "Map"
+    icon = "🌍"
     help = "Show mesh nodes on a street map (pannable; repeaters highlighted)"
     category = "Messaging"
     order = 30
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/monitor.py b/meshterm/tools/monitor.py
index aed4fc6..06eb44c 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/monitor.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/monitor.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ class MonitorTool(Tool):
 
     name = "monitor"
     title = "Monitor"
+    icon = "🎧"
     help = "Capture overheard packets live for a while and summarize them"
     category = "Diagnostics"
     order = 20
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/nodes.py b/meshterm/tools/nodes.py
index 53dfacf..abc3e65 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/nodes.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/nodes.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ class NodesTool(Tool):
 
     name = "nodes"
     title = "Nodes"
+    icon = "👥"
     help = "List this node and known contacts (last heard, packets, type, key)"
     category = "Device"
     order = 12
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/trace.py b/meshterm/tools/trace.py
index a974d5f..aae6a04 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/trace.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/trace.py
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ class TraceTool(Tool):
 
     name = "trace"
     title = "Trace target"
+    icon = "🎯"
     help = "Trace a target over a mirrored route and watch per-hop SNR"
     category = "Diagnostics"
     order = 10
@@ -222,6 +223,7 @@ class TracePathTool(Tool):
 
     name = "trace-path"
     title = "Trace path"
+    icon = "👣"
     help = "Walk a hand-composed route — out and back your way"
     category = "Diagnostics"
     order = 11
diff --git a/meshterm/tools/tx_optimize.py b/meshterm/tools/tx_optimize.py
index e3321b3..c3fc683 100644
--- a/meshterm/tools/tx_optimize.py
+++ b/meshterm/tools/tx_optimize.py
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ class TxOptimizeTool(Tool):
 
     name = "tx-optimize"
     title = "TX optimize"
+    icon = "📶"
     help = "Tune a remote node's TX power for the best signal at a target"
     category = "Diagnostics"
     order = 15  # right after Trace, its measurement sibling
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/menu.py b/meshterm/ui/menu.py
index 5a991ed..b6f39f7 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/menu.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/menu.py
@@ -322,20 +322,25 @@ async def _menu_loop(ctx: AppContext, session: TuiSession) -> None:
         # Two aligned columns — tool name, then its muted description — with no header
         # line: these are commands, not tabular data, so the alignment alone carries it.
         tools = [tool for tool in all_tools() if tool.menu_visible]
-        name_w = max((cell_len(tool.title or tool.name) for tool in tools), default=0)
+
+        def _label(tool) -> str:  # noqa: ANN001 - registry Tool; typed at the source
+            title = tool.title or tool.name
+            return f"{tool.icon} {title}" if tool.icon else title
+
+        name_w = max((cell_len(_label(tool)) for tool in tools), default=0)
         items: list = []
         current_category: str | None = None
         for tool in tools:
             if tool.category != current_category:
                 current_category = tool.category
                 items.append(Separator(f"── {current_category} ──", style="accent"))
-            label = tool.title or tool.name
+            label = _label(tool)
             row = Text(label)
             row.append(" " * (name_w - cell_len(label) + 2))
             row.append(tool.help, style="muted")
             items.append(Choice(title=row, value=tool.name))
         items.append(Separator(" "))
-        items.append(Choice(title="Quit", value="__quit__"))
+        items.append(Choice(title="🚪 Quit", value="__quit__"))
 
         # Drive the menu list ourselves (rather than via session.select) so it stays on the
         # stack while the quit dialog floats over it: the confirm is drawn as a centered box