diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 353df69c..f5f1f5f4 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -349,9 +349,11 @@ Worked examples: `/soulseek`, `/music`, `/chat`.
   (`{ key, name, icon, component, availableOnPanel: false }`) and registered in `AppRegistry.tsx`.
   The Workspace/Panel framework is orthogonal to routing — it contains no route navigation, and panels
   live inside the Route element tree, so they can call `useParams`/`useSearchParams` directly.
-- **Page title by route.** Add a rule to `RULES` in `src/apps/officer-web/state/usePageTitle.ts`
-  (`{ match: (p) => p.startsWith('/<name>'), title: '<Name>' }`, most-specific first);
-  `usePageTitleSync` does the rest. `startsWith` means nested routes are covered.
+- **Page title by route.** Automatic — no rule to add. `titleForPath` in
+  `src/apps/officer-web/state/usePageTitle.ts` takes the URL's first path segment, turns `kebab-case`
+  into `Title Case`, and that's the tab title; `usePageTitleSync` does the rest. A screen that wants to
+  say more than its route does (a chat's own name, not just "Chat") publishes an override instead —
+  `usePublishPageTitle` in `officerdev`.
 
 ### The URL is the source of truth for selection
 
diff --git a/src/apps/officer-web/state/usePageTitle.ts b/src/apps/officer-web/state/usePageTitle.ts
index 8abd43f4..bcdc415c 100644
--- a/src/apps/officer-web/state/usePageTitle.ts
+++ b/src/apps/officer-web/state/usePageTitle.ts
@@ -5,41 +5,21 @@ import { usePageTitleOverride } from 'officerdev';
 import { useSessionState, writeSessionValue } from 'hooks/useSessionState';
 import { randomId } from 'helpers/random-id';
 
-type TitleRule = { match: (p: string) => boolean; title: string };
-
-// Default page title per route — most specific first.
-const RULES: TitleRule[] = [
-  { match: (p) => p === '/', title: 'Home' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/settings/ai'), title: 'AI Settings' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/settings/profile'), title: 'Profile' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/settings/integrations'), title: 'Integrations' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/settings/user-management'), title: 'User Management' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/settings/system'), title: 'System' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/settings'), title: 'Settings' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/chat'), title: 'Chat' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/files'), title: 'Files' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/calendar'), title: 'Calendar' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/contacts'), title: 'Contacts' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/app-store'), title: 'App store' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/marketplace'), title: 'Marketplace' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/plugins'), title: 'Marketplace' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/command-hq'), title: 'Command HQ' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/system-monitor'), title: 'System Monitor' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/qr-transfer'), title: 'QR Transfer' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/activity'), title: 'Activity' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/code-editor'), title: 'Code Editor' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/tasks'), title: 'Tasks' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/jobs'), title: 'Jobs' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/skills'), title: 'Skills' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/processes'), title: 'Processes' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/dashboards'), title: 'Dashboards' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/terminal'), title: 'Terminal' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/browser'), title: 'Browser' },
-  { match: (p) => p.startsWith('/desktop'), title: 'Desktop' },
-];
-
+// Default page title per route — derived from the path itself rather than a hand-maintained table, so
+// a new route (including one an installed plugin brings in at runtime) gets a sane tab title for free
+// instead of silently falling through to 'Officer' until somebody remembers to add a rule.
+//
+// Only the first segment counts — `/settings/ai` and `/settings/profile` both say 'Settings' — because
+// that segment is the one every route conventionally owns (see "Frontend route conventions" in the root
+// CLAUDE.md). A screen that wants to say more than its route does publishes an override instead; see
+// `usePageTitleOverride` below.
 export function titleForPath(pathname: string): string {
-  return RULES.find((r) => r.match(pathname))?.title ?? 'Officer';
+  const [first] = pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean);
+  if (!first) return 'Home';
+  return first
+    .split('-')
+    .map((word) => word.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + word.slice(1))
+    .join(' ');
 }
 
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