diff --git a/meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py b/meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py
index 292eaf0..dedb7d8 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ from ..services.records import first_repeated_edge
 from ..services.topology import render_forced_spec
 from .braillechart import meter
 from .menus import back_rows, section_heading
-from .theme import snr_style
+from .theme import glyph, snr_style
 from .tui.render import render_lines, render_to_ansi
 from .tui.screen import ListWindow, Screen
 from .tui.spinner import Spinner, spinner_interval
@@ -149,6 +149,35 @@ _ROUTE_LANE = "route  "
 #: spec starts, and hangs, in the same column as the numbers above it.
 _PATH_LANE = "path            "
 
+#: Every mark the action rows lead with, in row order. The list exists to *measure*
+#: the icon column: ``⚡`` is an emoji, two cells where the rest are one, so a hard
+#: ``"icon "`` prefix would start Explore's label a column right of every other
+#: action's. See :func:`_icon_lane`.
+_ACTION_ICONS = ("✎", "⇄", "⚡", "⚙", "#", "▶")
+
+
+def _icon_lane() -> int:
+    """The action rows' icon column, in cells: the widest mark on this platform.
+
+    Measured rather than hard-coded because the marks themselves change width with
+    the platform: on PicoCalc every icon funnels through :func:`~meshterm.ui.theme.glyph`
+    to a single console-font character (``⚡`` → ``!``), so the column tightens to one
+    cell and the labels move left with it — the same alignment rule at the console's
+    own resolution.
+    """
+    return max(cell_len(glyph(icon)) for icon in _ACTION_ICONS)
+
+
+def _icon(text: Text, icon: str, style: str) -> None:
+    """Append an action row's mark in the icon column, its trailing space included.
+
+    A one-cell mark pads out to :func:`_icon_lane` so every label — narrow mark or
+    wide emoji — starts in the same column.
+    """
+    mark = glyph(icon)
+    text.append(mark, style=style)
+    text.append(" " * (_icon_lane() - cell_len(mark) + 1))
+
 
 def _lane_lines(label: str, value: list[Text], width: int) -> list[str]:
     """Render a labelled lane whose value hangs, already broken, under its own column.
@@ -842,27 +871,27 @@ class TraceScreen(Screen):
         """One action row: pointer, glyph, and label (current value inlined)."""
         text = Text("❯ " if selected else "  ", style="brand" if selected else "")
         if key == "compose":
-            text.append("✎ ", style="brand")
+            _icon(text, "✎", "brand")
             text.append("Compose path")
         elif key == "reverse":
-            text.append("⇄ ", style="accent")
+            _icon(text, "⇄", "accent")
             if self._effective_spec()[0]:
                 text.append("Reverse path — trace it the other way")
             else:
                 text.append("Reverse path — compose a path first", style="muted")
         elif key == "explore":
-            text.append("⚡ ", style="warn")
+            _icon(text, "⚡", "warn")
             text.append("Explore paths")
         elif key == "width":
             w = self._width_bytes()
-            text.append("⚙ ", style="accent")
+            _icon(text, "⚙", "accent")
             text.append(f"Path width — {w} byte{'s' if w != 1 else ''} per hop")
         elif key == "samples":
             n = self._sample_count()
-            text.append("# ", style="accent")
+            _icon(text, "#", "accent")
             text.append(f"Sample count — {n} trace{'s' if n != 1 else ''}")
         elif key == "trace":
-            text.append("▶ ", style="ok")
+            _icon(text, "▶", "ok")
             if self._mode == "path" and not self._effective_spec()[0]:
                 text.append("Trace — compose a path first", style="muted")
             else:
diff --git a/tests/test_live_screens.py b/tests/test_live_screens.py
index 3fc3a93..87882da 100644
--- a/tests/test_live_screens.py
+++ b/tests/test_live_screens.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import asyncio
 from datetime import timedelta
 
 import pytest
+from rich.cells import cell_len
 
 from meshterm.core.models import Contact, Hop, TraceResult, TraceStats, TxLevelResult, \
     TxOptResult, utcnow
@@ -419,6 +420,22 @@ async def test_trace_screen_explore_adopts_a_scenario_path() -> None:
     assert screen._path_spec == "3d63,f2c2"  # None leaves the spec untouched
 
 
+async def test_trace_screen_action_labels_share_one_column() -> None:
+    """Every action's label starts in the same column, wide mark or narrow.
+
+    ``⚡`` is an emoji — two cells where ``✎``/``⚙``/``#``/``▶`` are one — so a fixed
+    ``"icon "`` prefix would start Explore's label a column right of the rest.
+    """
+    screen, _ = _trace_screen()
+    labels = ["Compose path", "Explore paths", "Path width", "Sample count", "Trace —"]
+    columns = set()
+    for row in _plain(screen.render_body(100)).splitlines():
+        for label in labels:
+            if label in row:
+                columns.add(cell_len(row[: row.index(label)]))
+    assert len(columns) == 1, columns
+
+
 async def test_trace_screen_action_cursor_commits_the_selected_row() -> None:
     """↑↓ move over the action rows; Enter commits the one under the cursor."""
     opened: list[str] = []