diff --git a/pkg/tui/list.go b/pkg/tui/list.go
index 2a27cffe..043cba39 100644
--- a/pkg/tui/list.go
+++ b/pkg/tui/list.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ type listModel struct {
 
 func newListModel(items []string) listModel {
 	ti := textinput.New()
-	ti.Placeholder = "type to filter..."
+	ti.Placeholder = ""
 	ti.Focus()
 	ti.Prompt = "> "
 	s := ti.Styles()
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ func (m listModel) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Delegate all other messages to textinput (handles ctrl+v paste, bracketed paste, chars)
 	var cmd tea.Cmd
 	m.input, cmd = m.input.Update(msg)
 	if v := m.input.Value(); v != m.query {
@@ -152,7 +153,11 @@ func (m listModel) View() tea.View {
 
 	sep := styleBorder.Render(strings.Repeat("─", m.width))
 	countStr := styleCount.Render(fmt.Sprintf("%d/%d", len(m.filtered), len(m.items)))
-	inputLine := m.input.View() + "  " + countStr
+	inputView := m.input.View()
+	if m.query == "" {
+		inputView += styleDim.Render("type to filter...")
+	}
+	inputLine := inputView + "  " + countStr
 
 	content := strings.Join(rows, "\n") + "\n" + sep + "\n" + inputLine
 	v := tea.NewView(content)
diff --git a/pkg/tui/model.go b/pkg/tui/model.go
index d4ef89ac..8f760d3d 100644
--- a/pkg/tui/model.go
+++ b/pkg/tui/model.go
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ var (
 // NewModel creates an initial TUI model.
 func NewModel(stores map[string]storetypes.KubeconfigStore, showPreview bool) Model {
 	ti := textinput.New()
-	ti.Placeholder = "type to filter..."
+	ti.Placeholder = ""
 	ti.Focus()
 	ti.Prompt = "> "
 	s := ti.Styles()
@@ -165,6 +165,17 @@ func (m Model) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 		m = m.applyExpandResult(msg)
 		return m, m.fetchPreviewCmd()
 
+	case tea.PasteMsg:
+		var cmd tea.Cmd
+		m.input, cmd = m.input.Update(msg)
+		newQuery := m.input.Value()
+		if newQuery != m.query {
+			m.query = newQuery
+			m.refilter()
+			return m, tea.Batch(cmd, m.fetchPreviewCmd())
+		}
+		return m, cmd
+
 	case tea.KeyPressMsg:
 		// Navigation keys take priority over textinput
 		switch msg.String() {
@@ -365,7 +376,11 @@ func (m Model) renderLeft(width int) string {
 	if m.loading {
 		loadStr = styleLoading.Render(" …")
 	}
-	inputLine := m.input.View() + "  " + countStr + loadStr
+	inputView := m.input.View()
+	if m.query == "" {
+		inputView += styleDim.Render("type to filter...")
+	}
+	inputLine := inputView + "  " + countStr + loadStr
 
 	return strings.Join(rows, "\n") + "\n" + sep + "\n" + inputLine
 }
diff --git a/pkg/tui/model_test.go b/pkg/tui/model_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..91203146
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/tui/model_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,225 @@
+// Copyright 2026 The Kswitch authors
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package tui
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	tea "charm.land/bubbletea/v2"
+)
+
+// newTestModel returns a Model pre-sized so View() does not return a blank screen.
+func newTestModel(items ...string) Model {
+	m := NewModel(nil, false)
+	m.width = 80
+	m.height = 24
+	for _, name := range items {
+		m.allItems = append(m.allItems, item{displayName: name, contextName: name})
+	}
+	m.filtered = filterItems("", m.allItems)
+	return m
+}
+
+// sendKey is a convenience helper that feeds a synthetic KeyPressMsg into the
+// model and returns the updated model.
+func sendKey(t *testing.T, m Model, keyStr string) Model {
+	t.Helper()
+	// Build a KeyPressMsg whose String() returns keyStr.
+	// For printable single-character keys we set Code + Text; for everything
+	// else (multi-rune names like "ctrl+v") String() looks at Code+Mod but
+	// the simplest approach is to use a rune code that matches the string.
+	msg := tea.KeyPressMsg{}
+	switch keyStr {
+	case "ctrl+u":
+		msg.Code = 'u'
+		msg.Mod = tea.ModCtrl
+	case "ctrl+v":
+		msg.Code = 'v'
+		msg.Mod = tea.ModCtrl
+	case "ctrl+w":
+		msg.Code = 'w'
+		msg.Mod = tea.ModCtrl
+	case "enter":
+		msg.Code = tea.KeyEnter
+	case "esc":
+		msg.Code = tea.KeyEsc
+	default:
+		// single printable character
+		r := []rune(keyStr)
+		if len(r) == 1 {
+			msg.Code = r[0]
+			msg.Text = keyStr
+		}
+	}
+	updated, _ := m.Update(msg)
+	m2, ok := updated.(Model)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("Update returned unexpected type %T", updated)
+	}
+	return m2
+}
+
+// ----- stray-"t" fix: placeholder must not appear in View output ------------
+
+// TestNoStrayT_EmptyQuery checks that when the search expression is empty the
+// rendered input line does NOT show "t" as the first visible character of the
+// cursor/placeholder (the old bug: bubbles rendered the first rune of the
+// placeholder text as a cursor character that appeared as a literal "t" in
+// some terminals).
+func TestNoStrayT_EmptyQuery(t *testing.T) {
+	m := newTestModel("prod", "staging", "dev")
+	view := m.renderLeft(80)
+
+	// The input line is the last line of renderLeft's output.
+	lines := strings.Split(view, "\n")
+	inputLine := lines[len(lines)-1]
+
+	// The input line should start with the styled prompt ("> "), NOT with "t".
+	// Strip ANSI escapes for a clean check.
+	plain := stripANSI(inputLine)
+	if strings.HasPrefix(plain, "t") {
+		t.Errorf("input line starts with 't' (stray placeholder char): %q", plain)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestHintTextAppended verifies that when the query is empty the hint
+// "type to filter..." appears in the input line (rendered as dim text, not as
+// the textinput placeholder).
+func TestHintTextAppended_EmptyQuery(t *testing.T) {
+	m := newTestModel("prod")
+	view := m.renderLeft(80)
+	if !strings.Contains(stripANSI(view), "type to filter...") {
+		t.Error("expected 'type to filter...' hint in view when query is empty")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestHintTextGone_NonEmptyQuery verifies the hint disappears once the user
+// types something (to avoid cluttering the line with both typed text and the hint).
+func TestHintTextGone_NonEmptyQuery(t *testing.T) {
+	m := newTestModel("prod", "staging")
+	m = sendKey(t, m, "p")
+	view := m.renderLeft(80)
+	if strings.Contains(stripANSI(view), "type to filter...") {
+		t.Error("hint 'type to filter...' should not appear after user has typed")
+	}
+}
+
+// ----- paste fix: tea.PasteMsg must reach the textinput ---------------------
+
+// TestPasteMsg_UpdatesQuery verifies that a tea.PasteMsg (terminal
+// bracketed-paste event, e.g. CMD+V on macOS) inserts its content into the
+// search query and triggers re-filtering.
+func TestPasteMsg_UpdatesQuery(t *testing.T) {
+	m := newTestModel("production", "staging", "dev")
+
+	pasteText := "prod"
+	updated, _ := m.Update(tea.PasteMsg{Content: pasteText})
+	m2, ok := updated.(Model)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("Update returned unexpected type %T", updated)
+	}
+	m = m2
+
+	if m.query != pasteText {
+		t.Errorf("query after paste: got %q, want %q", m.query, pasteText)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPasteMsg_TriggersRefilter verifies that after a bracketed paste the
+// filtered list reflects the new query.
+func TestPasteMsg_TriggersRefilter(t *testing.T) {
+	m := newTestModel("production", "staging", "dev")
+
+	updated, _ := m.Update(tea.PasteMsg{Content: "prod"})
+	m2, ok := updated.(Model)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("Update returned unexpected type %T", updated)
+	}
+	m = m2
+
+	for _, it := range m.filtered {
+		if !strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(it.displayName), "prod") {
+			// fuzzy match — just ensure "staging" alone (no "prod") is absent
+			if it.displayName == "staging" {
+				t.Errorf("'staging' should not match query 'prod', filtered list: %+v", m.filtered)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if len(m.filtered) == 0 {
+		t.Error("expected at least one match after pasting 'prod'")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPasteMsg_EmptyContent is a no-op guard: pasting an empty string must
+// not crash and must leave the query unchanged.
+func TestPasteMsg_EmptyContent(t *testing.T) {
+	m := newTestModel("prod")
+	updated, _ := m.Update(tea.PasteMsg{Content: ""})
+	m2, ok := updated.(Model)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("Update returned unexpected type %T", updated)
+	}
+	m = m2
+	if m.query != "" {
+		t.Errorf("empty paste should not change query, got %q", m.query)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPasteMsg_AppendsToExistingQuery verifies that pasting while there is
+// already typed text appends to it (the textinput handles the concatenation).
+func TestPasteMsg_AppendsToExistingQuery(t *testing.T) {
+	m := newTestModel("production", "staging")
+	// First type "pro" manually
+	m = sendKey(t, m, "p")
+	m = sendKey(t, m, "r")
+	m = sendKey(t, m, "o")
+	// Then paste "d"
+	updated, _ := m.Update(tea.PasteMsg{Content: "d"})
+	m2, ok := updated.(Model)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("Update returned unexpected type %T", updated)
+	}
+	m = m2
+
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(m.query, "pro") {
+		t.Errorf("expected query to start with 'pro' after typing then pasting, got %q", m.query)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(m.query, "d") {
+		t.Errorf("expected pasted 'd' in query, got %q", m.query)
+	}
+}
+
+// stripANSI removes ANSI escape sequences from s so test assertions are
+// independent of terminal colour codes.
+func stripANSI(s string) string {
+	var out strings.Builder
+	inEscape := false
+	for i := 0; i < len(s); i++ {
+		if s[i] == '\x1b' {
+			inEscape = true
+			continue
+		}
+		if inEscape {
+			// ESC sequences end at a letter in the range 0x40–0x7E
+			if s[i] >= 0x40 && s[i] <= 0x7E {
+				inEscape = false
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+		out.WriteByte(s[i])
+	}
+	return out.String()
+}