diff --git a/packages/app/src/pages/session/composer/session-question-dock.tsx b/packages/app/src/pages/session/composer/session-question-dock.tsx
index f5cdfa8fe6..6eda5f0bc5 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/pages/session/composer/session-question-dock.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/pages/session/composer/session-question-dock.tsx
@@ -169,6 +169,9 @@ export const SessionQuestionDock: Component<{ request: QuestionRequest; onSubmit
   }
 
   const focus = (i: number) => {
+    // Text-card: the textarea is the only focusable element; focusCustom
+    // handles it via the ref callback — skip option routing entirely.
+    if (text()) return
     const next = clamp(i)
     setStore("focus", next)
     if (store.editing) return
@@ -431,6 +434,10 @@ export const SessionQuestionDock: Component<{ request: QuestionRequest; onSubmit
     setTimeout(() => {
       el.focus()
       resizeInput(el)
+      // Sync the container measurement after the textarea has its final height
+      if (optionsRef) {
+        setStore("optionsHeight", (h) => Math.max(h, optionsRef!.scrollHeight))
+      }
     }, 0)
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/session-ui/src/components/message-part.css b/packages/session-ui/src/components/message-part.css
index 36d6058c57..6a04faecdb 100644
--- a/packages/session-ui/src/components/message-part.css
+++ b/packages/session-ui/src/components/message-part.css
@@ -1141,6 +1141,26 @@
     }
   }
 
+  /* Text-card (kind: "text") — the textarea is the ONLY affordance, so it
+     needs visible chrome (border + background) unlike the choice-card's
+     secondary custom-input which is borderless/transparent. */
+  [data-slot="question-text-form"] {
+    padding: 4px 8px;
+  }
+
+  [data-slot="question-text-form"] > [data-slot="question-custom-input"] {
+    border: 1px solid var(--v2-border-border-base);
+    border-radius: var(--radius-md);
+    padding: 8px 12px;
+    background: var(--v2-background-bg-layer-02);
+    min-height: 36px;
+
+    &:focus-visible {
+      border-color: var(--v2-border-border-focus);
+      outline: none;
+    }
+  }
+
   [data-slot="question-footer"] {
     display: flex;
     align-items: center;
@@ -1589,6 +1609,16 @@ body:not([data-new-layout]) {
         outline: 1px solid var(--border-interactive-base);
       }
     }
+
+    [data-slot="question-text-form"] > [data-slot="question-custom-input"] {
+      border-color: var(--border-weak-base);
+      background: var(--surface-weak);
+
+      &:focus-visible {
+        border-color: var(--border-interactive-base);
+        outline: none;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   [data-component="question-answers"] {