diff --git a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/MinimalHoverButtons.tsx b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/MinimalHoverButtons.tsx
index 6cca34cbb4..b80e3f94fe 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/MinimalHoverButtons.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/MinimalHoverButtons.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ import { useState, useMemo } from 'react';
 import { Button, Clipboard, CheckMark, TooltipAnchor } from '@librechat/client';
 import type { TMessage, SearchResultData } from 'librechat-data-provider';
 import { useLocalize, useCopyToClipboard, hasCopyableText } from '~/hooks';
+import { revealOnRowHoverClasses } from './styles';
+import { cn } from '~/utils';
 
 type THoverButtons = {
   message: TMessage;
@@ -36,7 +38,12 @@ export default function MinimalHoverButtons({ message, searchResults }: THoverBu
                 ? localize('com_ui_copied_to_clipboard')
                 : localize('com_ui_copy_to_clipboard')
             }
-            className="ml-0 flex size-auto items-center gap-1.5 rounded-lg p-1.5 text-xs text-text-secondary-alt transition-colors duration-200 hover:bg-surface-hover hover:text-text-primary focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-text-primary group-focus-within:opacity-100 group-hover:opacity-100 [@media(hover:hover)]:opacity-0"
+            className={cn(
+              'ml-0 flex size-auto items-center gap-1.5 rounded-lg p-1.5 text-xs text-text-secondary-alt',
+              'hover:bg-surface-hover hover:text-text-primary',
+              'focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-text-primary',
+              revealOnRowHoverClasses,
+            )}
             disabled={!canCopy}
             onClick={() => copyToClipboard(setIsCopied)}
           >
diff --git a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/SiblingSwitch.tsx b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/SiblingSwitch.tsx
index 4e566fb1c5..c647346b78 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/SiblingSwitch.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/SiblingSwitch.tsx
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ export default function SiblingSwitch({
   const buttonStyle = cn(
     'hover-button h-auto rounded-lg p-1.5 text-text-secondary-alt',
     'hover:text-text-primary hover:bg-surface-hover',
-    'group-hover:visible group-focus-within:visible group-[.final-completion]:visible',
+    'group-hover:visible group-focus-visible:visible group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:visible group-[.final-completion]:visible',
     'focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-text-primary focus-visible:outline-none',
   );
 
diff --git a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/__tests__/styles.spec.ts b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/__tests__/styles.spec.ts
index 87653176d0..922761539c 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/__tests__/styles.spec.ts
+++ b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/__tests__/styles.spec.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,70 @@
-import { hoverButtonClasses, messageFooterClasses } from '../styles';
+import { hoverButtonClasses, messageFooterClasses, revealOnRowHoverClasses } from '../styles';
 
 const FADE = '[@media(hover:hover)]:opacity-0';
 
+/** The row-wide keyboard-focus condition, as two variants. It cannot be one
+ *  `group-[&:is(...)]`: that form makes Tailwind emit a bare `.group$` rule
+ *  that lightningcss rejects, which fails the production CSS build. */
+const FOCUS_SELF = 'group-focus-visible';
+const FOCUS_DESCENDANT = 'group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]';
+
+describe('revealOnRowHoverClasses', () => {
+  it('reveals on row hover and on keyboard focus', () => {
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain(FADE);
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain('group-hover:opacity-100');
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain(`${FOCUS_DESCENDANT}:opacity-100`);
+  });
+
+  /* Clicking a tool card in the message body parks focus there. `:focus-within`
+     would hold the footer open with the pointer nowhere near the row. */
+  it('does not reveal on plain focus-within', () => {
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).not.toContain('group-focus-within:');
+  });
+
+  /* MessageNav moves the reader by focusing the row itself through
+     tabindex="-1", and :has() never matches its own subject. */
+  it('reveals when the row element itself is focus-visible', () => {
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain(`${FOCUS_SELF}:opacity-100`);
+  });
+
+  /* Text-entry controls match :focus-visible even on a mouse click, and
+     ToolApproval and AskUserQuestion both render textareas inside a row. */
+  it('ignores focus that landed in a text-entry control', () => {
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain(':not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))');
+  });
+
+  /* A bare `.group$` rule in the emitted CSS fails the lightningcss minify
+     step, so the variant form itself is worth pinning. */
+  it('does not use a group-[&:...] variant', () => {
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).not.toContain('group-[&');
+  });
+
+  it('fades on the shared motion role rather than snapping', () => {
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain('duration-theme-normal');
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain('ease-out');
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain('motion-reduce:transition-none');
+  });
+
+  /* `cn` merges the whole `transition-*` group, so a bare `transition-opacity`
+     would replace the `transition-colors` a `Button` contributes and the hover
+     tint would snap. The colour properties have to ride along explicitly. */
+  it('names the colour properties alongside opacity', () => {
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).toContain('transition-[opacity,color,background-color]');
+    expect(revealOnRowHoverClasses).not.toContain('transition-opacity');
+  });
+});
+
 describe('hoverButtonClasses', () => {
   it('fades an idle action out until the row is hovered', () => {
     expect(hoverButtonClasses()).toContain(FADE);
     expect(hoverButtonClasses()).toContain('group-hover:opacity-100');
   });
 
+  it('reveals an idle action on keyboard focus, not on a click parking focus in the row', () => {
+    expect(hoverButtonClasses()).toContain(`${FOCUS_DESCENDANT}:opacity-100`);
+    expect(hoverButtonClasses()).not.toContain('group-focus-within:');
+  });
+
   it('marks an active action so the toolbar can key off it', () => {
     expect(hoverButtonClasses({ isActive: true })).toContain('hover-button-active');
     expect(hoverButtonClasses({ isActive: true })).toContain('active');
diff --git a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/styles.ts b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/styles.ts
index 4ed8962b39..e51efff1c9 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/styles.ts
+++ b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/styles.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,40 @@ import { cn } from '~/utils';
 /**
  * Reveal-on-hover for a control that shares the message footer with the hover actions.
  *
- * Pointer devices fade it out until the row is hovered or something inside it takes
- * focus. Touch devices, which cannot hover, keep it visible.
+ * Pointer devices fade it out until the row is hovered or keyboard focus lands inside
+ * it. Touch devices, which cannot hover, keep it visible.
+ *
+ * The focus half is `:focus-visible`, not `:focus-within`: clicking a tool card or an
+ * expand toggle in the message body leaves focus parked there, and `:focus-within`
+ * would hold the whole footer open with the pointer nowhere near the row. An action
+ * that opens a surface keeps the toolbar up through `hover-button-active` instead.
+ *
+ * That focus half reads
+ * `:is(:focus-visible, :has(:focus-visible:not(:is(input, textarea, [contenteditable]))))`
+ * on the row, and both halves earn their keep:
+ *
+ * - The row itself has to be tested, not only its descendants. `MessageNav` moves the
+ *   reader by setting `tabindex="-1"` on the row and focusing it, and `:has()` never
+ *   matches its own subject, so a plain `:has(:focus-visible)` leaves a focused row
+ *   showing its focus ring with its metadata and its actions still hidden.
+ * - Text-entry controls are excluded from the descendant half, because they match
+ *   `:focus-visible` even when a mouse clicks them. `ToolApproval` and
+ *   `AskUserQuestion` both render textareas inside a row, and without the exclusion
+ *   clicking one pins the row open with the pointer somewhere else entirely. Every
+ *   toolbar action is a button, so a keyboard user still never focuses a hidden one.
+ *
+ * The two halves stay two variants on purpose. Folding them into a single
+ * `group-[&:is(...)]` makes Tailwind emit a bare `.group$ { opacity: 1 }` rule, which
+ * lightningcss rejects and which fails the production CSS build while leaving `jest`
+ * and `tsc` perfectly green.
+ *
+ * The transition names `color` and `background-color` alongside `opacity` rather than
+ * naming opacity alone: `cn` merges the whole `transition-*` group, so a bare
+ * `transition-opacity` here would replace the `transition-colors` a `Button` brings and
+ * the hover tint would snap instead of fading.
  */
 export const revealOnRowHoverClasses =
-  'group-focus-within:opacity-100 group-hover:opacity-100 [@media(hover:hover)]:opacity-0';
+  'transition-[opacity,color,background-color] duration-theme-normal ease-out group-hover:opacity-100 group-focus-visible:opacity-100 group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:opacity-100 motion-reduce:transition-none [@media(hover:hover)]:opacity-0';
 
 /**
  * The message footer, holding the height of its action row.
@@ -48,7 +77,7 @@ export const hoverButtonClasses = ({
   cn(
     'hover-button size-auto rounded-lg p-1.5 text-text-secondary-alt',
     'hover:text-text-primary hover:bg-surface-hover',
-    'group-hover:visible group-focus-within:visible group-[.final-completion]:visible',
+    'group-hover:visible group-focus-visible:visible group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:visible group-[.final-completion]:visible',
     !isLast && revealOnRowHoverClasses,
     'group-has-[.hover-button-active]:visible group-has-[.hover-button-active]:opacity-100',
     'focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-text-primary focus-visible:outline-none',
diff --git a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/HeaderLabel.tsx b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/HeaderLabel.tsx
index ed9c59ecbe..60a9bc550a 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/HeaderLabel.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/HeaderLabel.tsx
@@ -24,15 +24,24 @@ export function getHeaderModelName(
 }
 
 /** Both names occupy one grid cell so the slot is sized by the longer of the
- *  two and neither reflows the header as they cross over. */
+ *  two and neither reflows the header as they cross over.
+ *
+ *  Timed off the same motion role as the timestamp and the footer actions, so a
+ *  keyboard focus that reveals all three lands them together instead of staggering
+ *  across the card-resize spring this used to borrow. */
 const labelSlot =
-  '[grid-area:1/1] truncate transition-[opacity,transform,filter] [transition-duration:var(--resize-dur)] [transition-timing-function:var(--resize-ease)] motion-reduce:transition-none motion-reduce:transform-none motion-reduce:blur-none';
+  '[grid-area:1/1] truncate transition-[opacity,transform,filter] duration-theme-normal ease-out motion-reduce:transition-none motion-reduce:transform-none motion-reduce:blur-none';
 
 /** Provider name that crossfades to the model name. A pointer swaps it on the
- *  label itself; focusing anything in the message row swaps it too, so a
+ *  label itself; keyboard focus landing on the message row swaps it too, so a
  *  sighted keyboard user reaches the model the same way they reach the
  *  timestamp. The model is additionally carried in text that never hides, for
- *  screen readers that never move the visual focus at all. */
+ *  screen readers that never move the visual focus at all.
+ *
+ *  The focus condition is the row-wide one documented on
+ *  `revealOnRowHoverClasses` in `../styles`: the row itself or a descendant
+ *  that is not a text-entry control. Both halves matter here for the same
+ *  reasons they matter to the timestamp and the footer actions. */
 export default function HeaderLabel({ label, hoverLabel }: HeaderLabelProps) {
   const localize = useLocalize();
 
@@ -46,7 +55,9 @@ export default function HeaderLabel({ label, hoverLabel }: HeaderLabelProps) {
         className={cn(
           labelSlot,
           'group-hover/label:-translate-y-1 group-hover/label:opacity-0 group-hover/label:blur-[2px]',
-          'group-focus-within:-translate-y-1 group-focus-within:opacity-0 group-focus-within:blur-[2px]',
+          'group-focus-visible:-translate-y-1 group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:-translate-y-1',
+          'group-focus-visible:opacity-0 group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:opacity-0',
+          'group-focus-visible:blur-[2px] group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:blur-[2px]',
         )}
       >
         {label}
@@ -57,7 +68,9 @@ export default function HeaderLabel({ label, hoverLabel }: HeaderLabelProps) {
           labelSlot,
           'translate-y-1 opacity-0 blur-[2px]',
           'group-hover/label:translate-y-0 group-hover/label:opacity-100 group-hover/label:blur-0',
-          'group-focus-within:translate-y-0 group-focus-within:opacity-100 group-focus-within:blur-0',
+          'group-focus-visible:translate-y-0 group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:translate-y-0',
+          'group-focus-visible:opacity-100 group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:opacity-100',
+          'group-focus-visible:blur-0 group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]:blur-0',
         )}
       >
         {hoverLabel}
diff --git a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/MessageTimestamp.tsx b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/MessageTimestamp.tsx
index 8be7ad4b2c..54679046e9 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/MessageTimestamp.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/MessageTimestamp.tsx
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ function TimestampText({
       title={timestamp.isRecent ? timestamp.absolute : undefined}
       className={cn(
         'message-timestamp text-xs font-normal text-text-secondary',
-        revealOnHover && 'ml-2 transition-opacity duration-200',
+        revealOnHover &&
+          'ml-2 transition-opacity duration-theme-normal ease-out motion-reduce:transition-none',
         className,
       )}
     >
diff --git a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/__tests__/HeaderLabel.spec.tsx b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/__tests__/HeaderLabel.spec.tsx
index 27f2112d12..2af04d85ab 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/__tests__/HeaderLabel.spec.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/Chat/Messages/ui/__tests__/HeaderLabel.spec.tsx
@@ -38,11 +38,28 @@ describe('HeaderLabel', () => {
 
   /* A pointer swap alone would strand a sighted keyboard user, who reaches the
      row by focus. `.message-render` carries the `group` this keys off. */
-  it('also swaps the model in when the message row takes focus', () => {
+  it('also swaps the model in when the message row takes keyboard focus', () => {
     render(<HeaderLabel label="Ollama" hoverLabel="gemma4:12b-it-qat" />);
 
-    expect(screen.getByText('Ollama')).toHaveClass('group-focus-within:opacity-0');
-    expect(screen.getByText('gemma4:12b-it-qat')).toHaveClass('group-focus-within:opacity-100');
+    const self = 'group-focus-visible';
+    const descendant = 'group-has-[:focus-visible:not(:is(input,textarea,[contenteditable]))]';
+
+    const provider = screen.getByText('Ollama').className;
+    const model = screen.getByText('gemma4:12b-it-qat').className;
+
+    expect(provider).toContain(`${self}:opacity-0`);
+    expect(provider).toContain(`${descendant}:opacity-0`);
+    expect(model).toContain(`${self}:opacity-100`);
+    expect(model).toContain(`${descendant}:opacity-100`);
+  });
+
+  /* Clicking a tool card inside the row leaves focus on it. `:focus-within`
+     would hold the model in place with the pointer nowhere near the row. */
+  it('does not key the swap off plain focus-within', () => {
+    render(<HeaderLabel label="Ollama" hoverLabel="gemma4:12b-it-qat" />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByText('Ollama').className).not.toContain('group-focus-within:');
+    expect(screen.getByText('gemma4:12b-it-qat').className).not.toContain('group-focus-within:');
   });
 
   /* Screen readers never move the visual focus, so the model also has to reach
diff --git a/client/src/style.css b/client/src/style.css
index 842d795243..909bfa1f79 100644
--- a/client/src/style.css
+++ b/client/src/style.css
@@ -582,14 +582,27 @@ pre {
 }
 
 /* Show the message time when the row is hovered. Tailwind group-hover
-   loses to `[@media(hover:hover)]:opacity-0` (same specificity, :where()). */
+   loses to `[@media(hover:hover)]:opacity-0` (same specificity, :where()).
+
+   Keyboard focus reveals it too, but only `:focus-visible`: a pointer that
+   clicks a tool card or an expand toggle inside the row leaves focus sitting
+   there, and plain `:focus-within` would pin the time open long after the
+   pointer moved away.
+
+   The condition matches the row itself as well as its descendants, because
+   `MessageNav` focuses the row through `tabindex="-1"` and `:has()` never
+   matches its own subject. Text-entry controls are excluded, because they
+   match `:focus-visible` on a plain mouse click. See `revealOnRowHoverClasses`
+   in `components/Chat/Messages/styles.ts` for the full reasoning. */
 @media (hover: hover) {
   .message-render .message-timestamp {
     opacity: 0;
   }
 
   .message-render:hover .message-timestamp,
-  .message-render:focus-within .message-timestamp {
+  .message-render:focus-visible .message-timestamp,
+  .message-render:has(:focus-visible:not(:is(input, textarea, [contenteditable])))
+    .message-timestamp {
     opacity: 1;
   }
 }