diff --git a/src/apps/officer-web/Screens/Dashboard/Email/EmailList.tsx b/src/apps/officer-web/Screens/Dashboard/Email/EmailList.tsx
index 5e83815b..faf30bc5 100644
--- a/src/apps/officer-web/Screens/Dashboard/Email/EmailList.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/officer-web/Screens/Dashboard/Email/EmailList.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { Link, useNavigate } from 'react-router';
+import { Link, useNavigate, useSearchParams } from 'react-router';
 import { useQuery, useQueryClient, keepPreviousData } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import {
   ChevronLeft,
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ import {
 import { toast } from 'sonner';
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
 import { useClient } from 'hooks/useClient';
-import { useGlobal } from 'hooks/useGlobal';
 import type { EmailSummary } from 'types';
 import { useComposer } from './Compose';
 import { emailPath, useSelectedEmailId } from './shared';
@@ -57,7 +56,13 @@ export const EmailList = () => {
   const [, openCompose] = useComposer();
   const navigate = useNavigate();
   const selectedId = useSelectedEmailId();
-  const [folder, setFolder] = useGlobal<string>('EMAIL_FOLDER', 'inbox');
+  // Which folder you are reading is addressable state, so it is a query param rather than a global.
+  // It stays a *param* and not a path segment because the path already spells which email is open:
+  // `/email/:emailId` is the thing, the folder is the view you found it through, and switching folders
+  // with a message open should not close it.
+  const [searchParams, setSearchParams] = useSearchParams();
+  const folder = searchParams.get('folder') ?? 'inbox';
+  const qs = searchParams.toString() ? `?${searchParams}` : '';
   const [page, setPage] = useState(1);
   const [search, setSearch] = useState('');
   const [debouncedSearch, setDebouncedSearch] = useState('');
@@ -66,9 +71,11 @@ export const EmailList = () => {
     const t = setTimeout(() => setDebouncedSearch(search.trim()), 300);
     return () => clearTimeout(t);
   }, [search]);
+  // Page 1 on a new search *or* a new folder. The folder half used to live in the click handler; it
+  // cannot any more, because the folder pills are links and nobody handles their click.
   useEffect(() => {
     setPage(1);
-  }, [debouncedSearch]);
+  }, [debouncedSearch, folder]);
 
   const { data: emailAccounts = [], refetch: refetchAccounts } = useQuery({
     queryKey: ['email-accounts'],
@@ -102,9 +109,18 @@ export const EmailList = () => {
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!isSearching && folder === 'inbox' && data?.total === 0 && allCount && allCount.total > 0) {
-      setFolder('all');
+      // `replace`: this is the app correcting its own default, not a place you chose to be, so Back
+      // should leave /email rather than bounce you between inbox and all.
+      setSearchParams(
+        (prev) => {
+          const next = new URLSearchParams(prev);
+          next.set('folder', 'all');
+          return next;
+        },
+        { replace: true },
+      );
     }
-  }, [isSearching, folder, data?.total, allCount]);
+  }, [isSearching, folder, data?.total, allCount, setSearchParams]);
 
   // Live updates: while /email is open, listen for new-mail pushes (IMAP IDLE → SSE) and refetch.
   // The EventSource closes automatically when this component unmounts (i.e. when you leave /email).
@@ -126,11 +142,6 @@ export const EmailList = () => {
     return () => es.close();
   }, [queryClient]);
 
-  const handleFolderChange = (newFolder: string) => {
-    setFolder(newFolder);
-    setPage(1);
-  };
-
   const [syncing, setSyncing] = useState(false);
 
   const handleSync = async () => {
@@ -191,13 +202,13 @@ export const EmailList = () => {
         // `replace` on purpose: sweeping down a folder with the arrow keys would otherwise stack one
         // history entry per row, and Back would then walk the sweep instead of leaving the mailbox.
         // A click is a real link and does push.
-        navigate(emailPath(nextId), { replace: true });
+        navigate(emailPath(nextId, qs), { replace: true });
         document.querySelector(`[data-email-id="${nextId}"]`)?.scrollIntoView({ block: 'nearest' });
       }
     };
     window.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
     return () => window.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
-  }, [messages, selectedId, navigate]);
+  }, [messages, selectedId, navigate, qs]);
 
   if (isLoading) {
     return <div className="flex h-full items-center justify-center text-sm opacity-50">Loading emails...</div>;
@@ -247,18 +258,24 @@ export const EmailList = () => {
           {FOLDERS.map((f) => {
             const Icon = f.icon;
             const isActive = folder === f.key;
+            // Search-only `to`, so react-router keeps the current pathname — the open email survives a
+            // folder switch. Built from the live params rather than written flat, so anything else in
+            // the query string comes along.
+            const next = new URLSearchParams(searchParams);
+            next.set('folder', f.key);
             return (
-              <button
+              <Link
                 key={f.key}
-                onClick={() => handleFolderChange(f.key)}
+                to={{ search: `?${next}` }}
                 className={`flex items-center gap-1 rounded px-2 py-1 text-xs transition-colors cursor-pointer ${
                   isActive ? 'bg-accent font-medium' : 'opacity-60 hover:opacity-100 hover:bg-accent/50'
                 }`}
                 title={f.label}
+                aria-current={isActive ? 'true' : undefined}
               >
                 <Icon className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />
                 <span className="hidden sm:inline">{f.label}</span>
-              </button>
+              </Link>
             );
           })}
         </div>
@@ -340,7 +357,7 @@ export const EmailList = () => {
             return (
               <Link
                 key={msg.id}
-                to={emailPath(msg.id)}
+                to={emailPath(msg.id, qs)}
                 data-email-id={msg.id}
                 className={`flex flex-col gap-0.5 px-3 py-2.5 text-left transition-colors cursor-pointer shrink-0 ${
                   selectedId === msg.id ? 'bg-accent' : 'hover:bg-accent/50'
diff --git a/src/apps/officer-web/Screens/Dashboard/Email/shared.ts b/src/apps/officer-web/Screens/Dashboard/Email/shared.ts
index 8012e51c..d154d4a2 100644
--- a/src/apps/officer-web/Screens/Dashboard/Email/shared.ts
+++ b/src/apps/officer-web/Screens/Dashboard/Email/shared.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ import { useParams } from 'react-router';
 // no cmd-click, no middle-click — and it meant Back raced the effect that had just written the URL
 // with `replace`. The param is the state now; there is nothing to keep in sync.
 
-export const emailPath = (id: string) => `/email/${encodeURIComponent(id)}`;
+/** `search` carries the folder you are reading in (`?folder=sent`), which a bare pathname would drop. */
+export const emailPath = (id: string, search = '') => `/email/${encodeURIComponent(id)}${search}`;
 
 /** The open email, or null on the bare `/email` route — which is a real state, not one to redirect away. */
 export const useSelectedEmailId = (): string | null => useParams<{ emailId?: string }>().emailId ?? null;