diff --git a/src/servers/api/tasks/task-files.test.ts b/src/servers/api/tasks/task-files.test.ts
index badc95cb..6bb4e115 100644
--- a/src/servers/api/tasks/task-files.test.ts
+++ b/src/servers/api/tasks/task-files.test.ts
@@ -98,3 +98,48 @@ describe('tasks across sources', () => {
     }
   });
 });
+
+/**
+ * `inputs` is a LIST in TASK.md and a map everywhere else.
+ *
+ * The app's own task-creation guide teaches the list form, so agents write it; every consumer reads the
+ * map. A list reached the runner as `Object.entries(array)` — key "0" — so the input rendered nameless,
+ * never matched what the file browser auto-fills, and ran empty. That is exactly what the transcribe
+ * plugin's task did the first time it was clicked.
+ */
+describe('input normalisation', () => {
+  const withInputs = (yaml: string) => `---\nname: T\nmode: script\n${yaml}---\n\nbody\n`;
+
+  test('the list form becomes a map keyed by name', async () => {
+    const owner = seed({
+      't/TASK.md': withInputs('inputs:\n  - name: file_path\n    description: the file\n    required: true\n'),
+    });
+    try {
+      const task = await getTaskByDirName('t', [{ dir: owner, plugin: null }]);
+      expect(task?.inputs).toEqual({ file_path: { description: 'the file', required: true } });
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(owner, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('the map form passes through untouched', async () => {
+    const owner = seed({ 't/TASK.md': withInputs('inputs:\n  file_path:\n    description: the file\n') });
+    try {
+      const task = await getTaskByDirName('t', [{ dir: owner, plugin: null }]);
+      expect(task?.inputs).toEqual({ file_path: { description: 'the file' } });
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(owner, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  // No name means no INPUT_<NAME> env var and no form key — there is nothing to call it.
+  test('an entry with no name is dropped', async () => {
+    const owner = seed({ 't/TASK.md': withInputs('inputs:\n  - description: nameless\n') });
+    try {
+      const task = await getTaskByDirName('t', [{ dir: owner, plugin: null }]);
+      expect(task?.inputs).toBeNull();
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(owner, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/servers/api/tasks/task-files.ts b/src/servers/api/tasks/task-files.ts
index 2f6dbf24..89e463ce 100644
--- a/src/servers/api/tasks/task-files.ts
+++ b/src/servers/api/tasks/task-files.ts
@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@ export type TaskSummary = {
   version: number;
   trigger: unknown;
   plugin: string | null;
+  /** Normalised to a map keyed by input name. Carried in the list so a caller can tell, without a second
+   * request, whether running this task needs anything from the user. */
+  inputs: unknown;
 };
 
 // Frontmatter keys, in write order. These mirror the old `tasks` table columns 1:1.
@@ -104,6 +107,32 @@ const taskFile = (dirName: string) => join(taskDir(dirName), 'TASK.md');
 
 const asArray = (v: unknown): string[] | null => (Array.isArray(v) ? v.map(String) : null);
 
+/**
+ * `inputs` in TASK.md is a LIST of `{ name, … }`. Everything downstream wants a map keyed by name.
+ *
+ * Both shapes are in the wild because the app's own task-creation guide teaches the list form while
+ * every consumer — the runner modal, the agent runner, `execute-script`'s `INPUT_<NAME>` env vars —
+ * reads the map. A list reached the form as `Object.entries(array)`, so the key was "0": the input
+ * rendered with no name, was never matched against what the file browser auto-fills, and ran with an
+ * empty value. Normalising here fixes every consumer at once, and the map form still passes through.
+ */
+function normalizeInputs(raw: unknown): Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> | null {
+  if (!raw) return null;
+
+  if (Array.isArray(raw)) {
+    const map: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> = {};
+    for (const entry of raw) {
+      if (!entry || typeof entry !== 'object') continue;
+      const { name, ...rest } = entry as Record<string, unknown>;
+      if (typeof name !== 'string' || !name) continue; // no name, no way to pass it to the script
+      map[name] = rest;
+    }
+    return Object.keys(map).length ? map : null;
+  }
+
+  return typeof raw === 'object' ? (raw as Record<string, Record<string, unknown>>) : null;
+}
+
 export const slugify = (name: string) =>
   name
     .trim()
@@ -141,7 +170,7 @@ function parseTaskMd(raw: string): { fm: TaskFrontmatter; body: string } {
       tags: asArray(parsed.tags),
       tools: asArray(parsed.tools),
       skills: asArray(parsed.skills),
-      inputs: parsed.inputs ?? null,
+      inputs: normalizeInputs(parsed.inputs),
       outputs: parsed.outputs ?? null,
       dependencies: parsed.dependencies ?? null,
       config: parsed.config ?? null,
@@ -224,6 +253,7 @@ export async function listTasks(sources?: CapabilitySource[]): Promise<TaskSumma
         version: fm.version,
         trigger: fm.trigger ?? [],
         plugin: source.plugin,
+        inputs: fm.inputs,
       });
     }
   }
@@ -282,6 +312,7 @@ export async function createTask(input: CreateTaskInput): Promise<TaskSummary &
     version: 1,
     trigger: [],
     plugin: null,
+    inputs: null,
     filePath: taskFile(dirName),
   };
 }
diff --git a/src/servers/api/tasks/tasks.ts b/src/servers/api/tasks/tasks.ts
index b2376027..1538a8ef 100644
--- a/src/servers/api/tasks/tasks.ts
+++ b/src/servers/api/tasks/tasks.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ tasksRouter.get('/', async (ctx) => {
     triggers: (row.trigger as TriggerConfig[]) ?? [],
     mode: row.mode ?? 'agentic',
     plugin: row.plugin,
+    inline: row.inline,
+    inputs: row.inputs,
   }));
 
   return ctx.json(tasks);
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/useFileBrowserApp.ts b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/useFileBrowserApp.ts
index 5d06f769..6355d2ef 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/useFileBrowserApp.ts
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/useFileBrowserApp.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ import { EDITOR_FILE_PARAM } from '../../CodeEditor/useEditorState';
 import { getFileType } from '../../FileViewer';
 import { usePanelMemory, useWorkspace } from '../../../components/Workspace';
 import { folderFromPathname, folderHref, relativeToFolder, withoutViewerParams } from './files-route';
-import { useTasks, type TaskSummary } from '../useTasks';
+import { useTasks, runsWithoutPrompting, type TaskSummary } from '../useTasks';
 import { useAgents, type AgentSummary } from '../useAgents';
 import { useUserState } from 'state/useUserState';
 import { useAuth } from 'hooks/useAuth';
+import { useClient } from 'hooks/useClient';
 import { useFilesRefresh } from '../../../channels';
 import { useNewDashboardDraft } from '../../Dashboards/useNewDashboardDraft';
 import { copyToClipboard, canReadClipboard } from 'helpers/clipboard';
@@ -157,6 +158,7 @@ export const useFileBrowserApp = (basePath: string, rootOverride?: string, urlPa
   const fileScrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
   const viewPath = searchParams.get('view');
   const files = useFilesAPI(rootOverride ?? homeRoot);
+  const client = useClient();
   const filesRef = useRef(files);
   filesRef.current = files;
   const currentPathRef = useRef(currentPath);
@@ -576,6 +578,37 @@ export const useFileBrowserApp = (basePath: string, rootOverride?: string, urlPa
     }
   };
 
+  /**
+   * Run a task straight from the context menu, with no modal.
+   *
+   * Taken when `runsWithoutPrompting` says there is nothing to ask — see the rule in `useTasks.ts`. The
+   * inputs and cwd are computed exactly as `TaskRunnerModal` computes them, because this is the same run
+   * by a shorter route: `file_path` is the clicked entry (the parent folder for a multi-selection, scoped
+   * by `include`), and a directory trigger descends into the entry.
+   */
+  const runTaskDirectly = async (task: TaskSummary, entry: DirEntry, names: string[]) => {
+    const multi = names.length > 1;
+    const entryAbs = absPath(entryPath(entry.name));
+    const base = currentPath.replace(/^\//, '');
+
+    const inputs: Record<string, string> = { file_path: multi ? entryAbs.replace(/\/[^/]+$/, '') : entryAbs };
+    if (multi) inputs.include = names.join('\n');
+
+    try {
+      const { jobId } = await client.post<{ jobId: string }>('/jobs', {
+        taskDirName: task.dirName,
+        inputs,
+        cwd: entry.type === 'directory' ? (base ? `${base}/${entry.name}` : entry.name) : base || undefined,
+        action: 'start',
+      });
+      toast.success(t('taskRunner.jobStarted', { name: task.name }), {
+        action: { label: t('taskRunner.viewInJobs'), onClick: () => navigate(`/jobs/${jobId}`) },
+      });
+    } catch {
+      toast.error(t('taskRunner.jobStartFailed', { name: task.name }));
+    }
+  };
+
   const handleRunTask = (task: TaskSummary, entry: DirEntry) => {
     // When several items are selected and the task is run on one of them, run it on the whole
     // selection (scoped via INPUT_INCLUDE — files match by path, folders by prefix).
@@ -583,6 +616,12 @@ export const useFileBrowserApp = (basePath: string, rootOverride?: string, urlPa
       selected.size > 1 && selected.has(entry.name)
         ? visibleEntries.filter((e) => selected.has(e.name)).map((e) => e.name)
         : [];
+
+    if (runsWithoutPrompting(task)) {
+      void runTaskDirectly(task, entry, names);
+      return;
+    }
+
     setRunningTask({ task, entry, selectedNames: names.length > 1 ? names : undefined });
   };
 
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/useTasks.test.ts b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/useTasks.test.ts
index 6a5bad7c..f5fe53c8 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/useTasks.test.ts
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/useTasks.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { test, expect } from 'bun:test';
-import { groupTasksByCategory, type TaskSummary } from './useTasks';
+import { groupTasksByCategory, runsWithoutPrompting, type TaskSummary } from './useTasks';
 
 const task = (name: string, category: string | null): TaskSummary => ({
   id: 0,
@@ -55,3 +55,51 @@ test('tasks within a group are sorted by display name', () => {
   const tasks = [task('Zebra', 'Video'), task('Alpha', 'Video')];
   expect(groupTasksByCategory(tasks, ['Video'])[0]!.tasks.map((t) => t.name)).toEqual(['Alpha', 'Zebra']);
 });
+
+// ── Whether a context-menu run needs the modal ──
+//
+// The rule is derived rather than declared: a task that takes real options has to ask, a task that is one
+// command over the clicked entry has nothing to ask. These pin both sides of that, and the three kinds
+// that always ask whatever their inputs say.
+
+const scriptTask = (over: Partial<TaskSummary> = {}): TaskSummary => ({
+  ...task('Some Task', 'Media'),
+  inline: false,
+  inputs: null,
+  ...over,
+});
+
+test('a task whose only input is the clicked file runs with no modal', () => {
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask({ inputs: { file_path: { required: true } } }))).toBe(true);
+});
+
+test('a task with no inputs at all runs with no modal', () => {
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask())).toBe(true);
+});
+
+test('an input the browser fills by autofill counts as filled', () => {
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask({ inputs: { target: { autofill: 'entry_path' } } }))).toBe(true);
+});
+
+test('a real option takes the modal', () => {
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask({ inputs: { format: { type: 'select', options: ['mp4'] } } }))).toBe(false);
+});
+
+// A default is a suggestion, not an answer — the user has to see it to change it.
+test('an input with a default still takes the modal', () => {
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask({ inputs: { bitrate: { default: '192' } } }))).toBe(false);
+});
+
+test("'ask' takes the modal, because the choice is itself the question", () => {
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask({ inline: 'ask' }))).toBe(false);
+});
+
+// The modal is where an ephemeral run's output goes. There is nowhere else to put it.
+test('an inline task takes the modal', () => {
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask({ inline: true }))).toBe(false);
+});
+
+test('agentic and pipeline always take the modal', () => {
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask({ mode: 'agentic' }))).toBe(false);
+  expect(runsWithoutPrompting(scriptTask({ mode: 'pipeline' }))).toBe(false);
+});
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/useTasks.ts b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/useTasks.ts
index fa4aca48..cbb0a193 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/useTasks.ts
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/useTasks.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,15 @@ import { usePermissions } from 'hooks/usePermissions';
 
 export type TriggerConfig = { type: 'file'; extensions: string[] } | { type: 'directory' };
 
+/** One declared input, as the task frontmatter gives it (normalised server-side to a map by name). */
+export type TaskInputSpec = {
+  type?: string;
+  default?: string;
+  autofill?: string;
+  required?: boolean;
+  options?: unknown;
+};
+
 export type TaskSummary = {
   id: number;
   dirName: string;
@@ -16,6 +25,40 @@ export type TaskSummary = {
   userId: number | null;
   /** The plugin that ships it, or null when it is the owner's own. */
   plugin?: string | null;
+  /** false = background job, true = runs ephemerally in the modal, 'ask' = the modal offers the choice. */
+  inline?: boolean | 'ask';
+  inputs?: Record<string, TaskInputSpec> | null;
+};
+
+/*
+  ── Whether a context-menu run needs the runner modal at all ──
+
+  Derived, not declared. A task that takes real options — which audio tracks to keep, what format to
+  convert to — has to ask, and that is what the modal is for. A task that is one command over the clicked
+  file or folder has nothing to ask, and putting a form in front of it with a single pre-filled field and
+  a Run button is a click that decides nothing.
+
+  So the question is simply whether anything is left over once the file browser has filled in what it
+  knows. It fills two things and only two: `file_path`, by name, with the clicked entry's absolute path;
+  and any input declaring `autofill: entry_name` / `entry_path`. Everything else is a question.
+
+  A default does NOT count as filled — a default is a suggestion, and the user has to see it to change it.
+
+  Three things always take the modal, whatever their inputs:
+  - `agentic`, which takes a prompt and a model;
+  - `pipeline`, which takes a model and a starting step;
+  - `inline: 'ask'` or `true` — 'ask' because the choice IS a question, `true` because the modal is where
+    an ephemeral run's output goes and there is nowhere else to put it.
+*/
+const BROWSER_AUTOFILL = new Set(['entry_name', 'entry_path']);
+
+const isFilledByBrowser = (key: string, spec: TaskInputSpec): boolean =>
+  key === 'file_path' || (!!spec.autofill && BROWSER_AUTOFILL.has(spec.autofill));
+
+export const runsWithoutPrompting = (task: TaskSummary): boolean => {
+  if (task.mode !== 'script') return false;
+  if (task.inline === true || task.inline === 'ask') return false;
+  return Object.entries(task.inputs ?? {}).every(([key, spec]) => isFilledByBrowser(key, spec ?? {}));
 };
 
 export type TaskGroup = { category: string; tasks: TaskSummary[] };
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/de-DE.json b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/de-DE.json
index 696ce99c..ccf9eb7e 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/de-DE.json
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/de-DE.json
@@ -557,6 +557,8 @@
     "pipelineFailed": "Pipeline fehlgeschlagen",
     "pipelineComplete": "Pipeline abgeschlossen",
     "viewInJobs": "In Jobs anzeigen",
+    "jobStarted": "{{name}} gestartet",
+    "jobStartFailed": "{{name}} konnte nicht gestartet werden",
     "copyOutput": "Ausgabe kopieren",
     "track": "Spur {{n}}",
     "runFromStep": "Ab Schritt {{n}} ausführen"
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/en-GB.json b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/en-GB.json
index 085016b4..7e1717b0 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/en-GB.json
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/en-GB.json
@@ -557,6 +557,8 @@
     "pipelineFailed": "Pipeline failed",
     "pipelineComplete": "Pipeline complete",
     "viewInJobs": "View in Jobs",
+    "jobStarted": "{{name}} started",
+    "jobStartFailed": "Could not start {{name}}",
     "copyOutput": "Copy output",
     "track": "Track {{n}}",
     "runFromStep": "Run from step {{n}}"
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/es-ES.json b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/es-ES.json
index af8401f1..1e65ab25 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/es-ES.json
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/es-ES.json
@@ -557,6 +557,8 @@
     "pipelineFailed": "El pipeline falló",
     "pipelineComplete": "Pipeline completado",
     "viewInJobs": "Ver en Trabajos",
+    "jobStarted": "{{name}} iniciada",
+    "jobStartFailed": "No se ha podido iniciar {{name}}",
     "copyOutput": "Copiar salida",
     "track": "Pista {{n}}",
     "runFromStep": "Ejecutar desde el paso {{n}}"
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/fr-FR.json b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/fr-FR.json
index 36e1d684..3555c67b 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/fr-FR.json
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/fr-FR.json
@@ -557,6 +557,8 @@
     "pipelineFailed": "Le pipeline a échoué",
     "pipelineComplete": "Pipeline terminé",
     "viewInJobs": "Voir dans les Jobs",
+    "jobStarted": "{{name}} lancée",
+    "jobStartFailed": "Impossible de lancer {{name}}",
     "copyOutput": "Copier la sortie",
     "track": "Piste {{n}}",
     "runFromStep": "Exécuter à partir de l'étape {{n}}"
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/pt-PT.json b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/pt-PT.json
index f4fa131b..3c7cea64 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/pt-PT.json
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/pt-PT.json
@@ -557,6 +557,8 @@
     "pipelineFailed": "O pipeline falhou",
     "pipelineComplete": "Pipeline concluído",
     "viewInJobs": "Ver nos trabalhos",
+    "jobStarted": "{{name}} iniciada",
+    "jobStartFailed": "Não foi possível iniciar {{name}}",
     "copyOutput": "Copiar a saída",
     "track": "Faixa {{n}}",
     "runFromStep": "Executar a partir do passo {{n}}"
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/sv-SE.json b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/sv-SE.json
index b121de16..a297d7c4 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/sv-SE.json
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/locales/sv-SE.json
@@ -557,6 +557,8 @@
     "pipelineFailed": "Pipeline misslyckades",
     "pipelineComplete": "Pipeline klar",
     "viewInJobs": "Visa i Jobb",
+    "jobStarted": "{{name}} har startat",
+    "jobStartFailed": "Det gick inte att starta {{name}}",
     "copyOutput": "Kopiera utdata",
     "track": "Spår {{n}}",
     "runFromStep": "Kör från steg {{n}}"