diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/FileBrowserApp.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/FileBrowserApp.tsx
index d84356c7..e4392a25 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/FileBrowserApp.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/FileBrowserApp.tsx
@@ -13,6 +13,13 @@ type FileBrowserAppProps = {
   rootOverride?: string;
   /** What the root crumb is called. Defaults to the base folder's own name. */
   rootLabel?: string;
+  /**
+   * Keep the current folder in this query param, on the route you are already on.
+   *
+   * For an embedded browser that wants a reloadable, shareable location. NOT `urlPath`, which owns the
+   * pathname and navigates to `/files` — passing that from a panel takes the whole app with it.
+   */
+  pathParam?: string;
   /** Put the current folder in `?path=`. Opt-in — only the /files screen is guaranteed one browser. */
   urlPath?: boolean;
   /**
@@ -22,8 +29,15 @@ type FileBrowserAppProps = {
   panelId?: string;
 };
 
-export const FileBrowserApp = ({ basePath = '/', rootOverride, rootLabel, urlPath, panelId }: FileBrowserAppProps) => {
-  const fileBrowserManager = useFileBrowserApp(basePath, rootOverride, urlPath, panelId);
+export const FileBrowserApp = ({
+  basePath = '/',
+  rootOverride,
+  rootLabel,
+  urlPath,
+  panelId,
+  pathParam,
+}: FileBrowserAppProps) => {
+  const fileBrowserManager = useFileBrowserApp(basePath, rootOverride, urlPath, panelId, pathParam);
   const { handleNavigate } = fileBrowserManager;
 
   return (
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/useFileBrowserApp.ts b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/useFileBrowserApp.ts
index b209a597..616bb5a6 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/useFileBrowserApp.ts
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/FileBrowser/FileBrowserApp/useFileBrowserApp.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,25 @@ import { useTranslation } from '../../../locales';
  */
 export const FILES_PATH_PARAM = 'path';
 
-export const useFileBrowserApp = (basePath: string, rootOverride?: string, urlPath = false, panelId?: string) => {
+/**
+ * `pathParam` — keep the current folder in a QUERY PARAM, on whatever route we are already on.
+ *
+ * This is not `urlPath` and must not be confused with it. `urlPath` owns the URL's PATHNAME: it reads
+ * the folder out of `location.pathname` and navigates to `/files/<folder>`. That is correct for the
+ * Files screen, which IS that route, and catastrophic inside a panel — a plugin passing `urlPath`
+ * navigated the whole app to /files the moment anybody opened a folder.
+ *
+ * So an embedder gets its own mechanism: a named search param, written with `replace` so browsing does
+ * not fill the back stack, and no pathname involved at all. A reload lands where you were and the link
+ * can be sent to somebody, which is what was actually wanted.
+ */
+export const useFileBrowserApp = (
+  basePath: string,
+  rootOverride?: string,
+  urlPath = false,
+  panelId?: string,
+  pathParam?: string,
+) => {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const { user } = useAuth();
   const navigate = useNavigate();