diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d6e09c9..c3038c5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ A Windows desktop app for running and arranging many WSL terminals at once. Buil
 | Key | Action |
 |---|---|
 | `Right-click pane toolbar → Move to new window` | Pop the active pane into a fresh tiletopia window (PTY survives the move; scrollback ring replays) |
+| `Drag pane toolbar past the window edge` | Same as the right-click action — release the drag well outside the window to detach into a new window |
 
 **Navigation**
 
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ A Windows desktop app for running and arranging many WSL terminals at once. Buil
 - **SSH host manager** — Titlebar 🔑 SSH hosts opens the manager. Add hostname / user / port / identity file / jump host / extra ssh args. Saved hosts appear in every pane's dropdown.
 - **Saved passwords** — Optionally save a host's password — stored in Windows Credential Manager (DPAPI-encrypted), never written to hosts.json. When ssh prompts on connect it's typed automatically. Hosts with a saved password show 🔒 in the list.
 - **Clickable links** — http and https URLs in terminal output get underlined and open in your default browser on click.
-- **Drag pane headers to swap** — Grab a pane's title bar and drag it onto another pane to swap their tree positions. Useful for reorganizing without keyboard.
+- **Drag pane headers to swap or detach** — Grab a pane's title bar and drag onto another pane to swap their tree positions. Drag well outside the window edge (more than ~60px past) and release to detach the pane into a new window — same mechanism as the right-click 'Move to new window' action, PTY stays alive.
 - **Workspace persistence** — Layout, labels, distro choices, and SSH hosts auto-save to %APPDATA%/com.megaproxy.tiletopia (debounced 500ms). Closed panes don't come back — only the structure is restored, shells spawn fresh on next launch.
 - **Tabs (workspaces)** — Each tab is an independent tile layout — useful for keeping one tab per project. PTYs in non-active tabs keep running (a Claude session in tab A keeps going while you work in tab B). New tab starts with one default-shell pane; close confirms when the tab has live panes. Tabs auto-save to the same workspace.json.
 - **MCP server (let Claude drive the workspace)** — Titlebar 🤖 opens the MCP control panel. Start the server, then for Claude Desktop click 'Download .mcpb' and drag the file into Settings → Extensions — zero-config because the bundle reads your bearer token from %APPDATA% at launch (no copy-paste, survives token rotation). For Claude Code (terminal CLI) use the fallback snippet in the panel: it wires npx mcp-remote as a stdio shim because Claude Code's HTTP-MCP client ignores static bearer auth and tries OAuth instead. URL + token persist across restarts; Regenerate the token in the panel if it leaks. Default-deny per pane: toggle 🤖 on each pane's toolbar to expose it to MCP.
diff --git a/src/lib/layout/LeafPane.tsx b/src/lib/layout/LeafPane.tsx
index ef1f8c2..7fd9ee7 100644
--- a/src/lib/layout/LeafPane.tsx
+++ b/src/lib/layout/LeafPane.tsx
@@ -268,6 +268,12 @@ export default function LeafPane({ leaf }: { leaf: LeafNode }) {
     [orch.beginHeaderDrag, orch.setHeaderDragOver, leaf.id],
   );
 
+  /** How far past a viewport edge the cursor must travel before a release
+   *  is treated as "drag pane out of window" instead of "drop on empty
+   *  space inside this window". Picked so an accidental release on the OS
+   *  titlebar (~30px tall) stays inside the threshold. */
+  const PANE_DRAG_OUT_MARGIN = 60;
+
   const onToolbarPointerUp = useCallback(
     (e: ReactPointerEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
       const st = dragStartRef.current;
@@ -275,12 +281,26 @@ export default function LeafPane({ leaf }: { leaf: LeafNode }) {
       (e.currentTarget as HTMLElement).releasePointerCapture(e.pointerId);
       const wasDragging = st.dragging;
       dragStartRef.current = null;
-      if (wasDragging) {
-        document.body.style.cursor = "";
+      if (!wasDragging) return;
+      document.body.style.cursor = "";
+
+      const releasedFarOutside =
+        e.clientX < -PANE_DRAG_OUT_MARGIN ||
+        e.clientX > window.innerWidth + PANE_DRAG_OUT_MARGIN ||
+        e.clientY < -PANE_DRAG_OUT_MARGIN ||
+        e.clientY > window.innerHeight + PANE_DRAG_OUT_MARGIN;
+
+      if (releasedFarOutside) {
+        // Cancel any in-flight swap state without committing, then pop
+        // this pane into a fresh window. moveToNewWindow handles the
+        // PTY-handoff + closeLeaf in the source.
+        orch.endHeaderDrag(false);
+        orch.moveToNewWindow(leaf.id);
+      } else {
         orch.endHeaderDrag(true);
       }
     },
-    [orch.endHeaderDrag],
+    [orch.endHeaderDrag, orch.moveToNewWindow, leaf.id],
   );
 
   const onToolbarPointerCancel = useCallback(
diff --git a/src/lib/shortcuts.ts b/src/lib/shortcuts.ts
index 0222f14..5b1b789 100644
--- a/src/lib/shortcuts.ts
+++ b/src/lib/shortcuts.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,11 @@ export const SHORTCUT_SECTIONS: ShortcutSection[] = [
         description:
           "Pop the active pane into a fresh tiletopia window (PTY survives the move; scrollback ring replays)",
       },
+      {
+        keys: "Drag pane toolbar past the window edge",
+        description:
+          "Same as the right-click action — release the drag well outside the window to detach into a new window",
+      },
     ],
   },
   {
@@ -126,8 +131,8 @@ export const TIPS: TipSpec[] = [
     body: "http and https URLs in terminal output get underlined and open in your default browser on click.",
   },
   {
-    title: "Drag pane headers to swap",
-    body: "Grab a pane's title bar and drag it onto another pane to swap their tree positions. Useful for reorganizing without keyboard.",
+    title: "Drag pane headers to swap or detach",
+    body: "Grab a pane's title bar and drag onto another pane to swap their tree positions. Drag well outside the window edge (more than ~60px past) and release to detach the pane into a new window — same mechanism as the right-click 'Move to new window' action, PTY stays alive.",
   },
   {
     title: "Workspace persistence",