diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 93ba988..546ddf9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - The "Next Iteration" eyebrow on the Home hero now uses the primary text
   colour (white in Dark theme) instead of the muted secondary grey.
 
+### Fixed
+- Title-bar contents (hamburger, app icon and name, search box, CLI switcher)
+  and the system caption buttons now share one vertical midline — the caption
+  buttons previously hugged the top of the bar.
+
 ## [0.1.0] - 2026-06-01
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/src/Snipdeck.App/MainWindow.xaml b/src/Snipdeck.App/MainWindow.xaml
index 6bb6411..e7c2282 100644
--- a/src/Snipdeck.App/MainWindow.xaml
+++ b/src/Snipdeck.App/MainWindow.xaml
@@ -36,18 +36,25 @@
                         BorderThickness="0"
                         Width="40"
                         Height="40"
+                        VerticalAlignment="Center"
                         ToolTipService.ToolTip="Toggle navigation">
                     <FontIcon Glyph="&#xE700;" FontSize="16" />
                 </Button>
+                <!-- Both carry a 1px upward optical nudge: the glyph's drop
+                     shadow and the font's above-cap diacritic space put their
+                     visible mass below the layout centre, so dead-centre boxes
+                     read slightly low. -->
                 <Image Source="ms-appx:///Assets/TitleBarGlyph.png"
                        Height="16"
                        VerticalAlignment="Center"
-                       Margin="4,0,0,0" />
+                       Margin="4,0,0,0"
+                       Translation="0,-1,0" />
                 <TextBlock x:Name="AppTitleTextBlock"
                            Text="Snipdeck"
                            Style="{StaticResource CaptionTextBlockStyle}"
                            VerticalAlignment="Center"
-                           Margin="4,0,0,0" />
+                           Margin="4,0,0,0"
+                           Translation="0,-1,0" />
             </StackPanel>
 
             <!-- Search and switcher, centred as a group in the bar. The bar is the
diff --git a/src/Snipdeck.App/MainWindow.xaml.cs b/src/Snipdeck.App/MainWindow.xaml.cs
index 464202a..9e18779 100644
--- a/src/Snipdeck.App/MainWindow.xaml.cs
+++ b/src/Snipdeck.App/MainWindow.xaml.cs
@@ -34,6 +34,11 @@ public MainWindow(AppConfig config, ShellPage shellPage)
             AppWindow.SetTaskbarIcon(appIconPath);
 
             ExtendsContentIntoTitleBar = true;
+            // The custom bar is 48px with its content centred on y=24; the
+            // system caption buttons default to Standard (32px, hugging the
+            // top), which makes the whole row read as misaligned. Tall makes
+            // them 48px so their glyphs share the same midline.
+            AppWindow.TitleBar.PreferredHeightOption = Microsoft.UI.Windowing.TitleBarHeightOption.Tall;
             // The whole bar is the drag region. WinUI does NOT auto-exclude interactive
             // children, so the centred search/switcher group is registered as a
             // passthrough region instead (recomputed when the bar or group resizes).