diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6045ddc0..2f3a1962 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,16 @@
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 ### Added
+- **Pin up to three shortcuts to the timeline toolbar.** Settings is a window with a sidebar,
+  and its useful places — a specific node's page, one Engine category — are several clicks
+  deep: fine to walk once, tedious while dialling something in. `📌 Pin to a button` in the
+  Settings header puts whatever is open into one of three slots, chosen from a dialog that
+  shows what each slot currently holds and asks before replacing one. Pinning while a node
+  is open pins the NODE, not the section it lives in. Slot 1 is always the leftmost button
+  and slot 3 the one nearest Assets; an empty slot closes up and the remaining buttons keep
+  their own numbers, so a shortcut's position never moves. Hovering says where it leads.
+  Pins ride with the project, like the other editor preferences.
+
 - **Reverse a clip**, audio included, in `+ Add → Effects`. Unlike the other clip effects
   there is no preview-side equivalent, so the monitor switches that clip to a server-rendered
   segment — what you watch is the reversed encode, not a forward one standing in for it.
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/index.html b/movie_editor/frontend/index.html
index 994da04e..f4032a3f 100644
--- a/movie_editor/frontend/index.html
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/index.html
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@
         <div class="transport-actions" id="transport-actions" aria-label="Generate and render"></div>
         <div class="zone-head-right">
           <span id="timeline-meta"></span>
+          <nav class="dock-tabs pinned-tabs" id="pinned-tabs" aria-label="Pinned shortcuts"></nav>
           <nav class="dock-tabs" id="dock-tabs" aria-label="Workspace panels"></nav>
           <button class="composer-btn" id="composer-btn" type="button" title="Open the Composer — global prompt, shortcuts, split markers">
             <span class="composer-dot">◆</span> Composer
@@ -130,6 +131,7 @@
   <script src="menubar.js"></script>
   <script src="actionbar.js"></script>
   <script src="layout.js"></script>
+  <script src="pinned_buttons.js"></script>
   <script src="mediabrowser.js"></script>
   <script src="log.js"></script>
   <script src="player.js"></script>
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/models.js b/movie_editor/frontend/models.js
index 8b6f57a4..67d5d15a 100644
--- a/movie_editor/frontend/models.js
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/models.js
@@ -2619,6 +2619,10 @@
     if (dirty) { try { await persist(); } catch (_) {} }
   }
 
+  // A pinned button can ask for a node before the section has ever mounted, and the slots
+  // only exist after loadAll(). Held here and applied once they do.
+  let _openNodeOnMount = null;
+
   function mount(body, ctx) {
     container = el("div", "models-mount");
     container.append(el("div", "pj-meta models-loading", "Loading models & pipeline…"));
@@ -2633,7 +2637,19 @@
     refresh.onclick = refreshList;
     ctx.setActions([imp, refresh]);
     loadAll()
-      .then(() => { if (container && container.isConnected) render(); })
+      .then(() => {
+        if (!container || !container.isConnected) return;
+        const pending = _openNodeOnMount; _openNodeOnMount = null;
+        if (pending && slotById(pending)) { _setView("node:" + pending); return; }
+        render();
+        if (pending) {
+          // Landing on the pipeline instead, without saying why, would look like the
+          // button simply did the wrong thing.
+          alert("That node is not in this project's pipeline.\n\n"
+                + "The pinned button still points at it — open the node you want and use "
+                + "Pin to a button to repoint the slot.");
+        }
+      })
       .catch(() => {
         if (container && container.isConnected) {
           clear(container);
@@ -2654,10 +2670,30 @@
     iconBg: "linear-gradient(180deg,#b18cff,#7a4fd0)",
     icon: '<svg viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="13" height="13" fill="none" stroke="#fff" stroke-width="1.4" stroke-linejoin="round"><path d="M8 1.8 14 5v6l-6 3.2L2 11V5l6-3.2z"/><path d="M2 5l6 3 6-3M8 8v6.2"/></svg>',
     mount,
+    // Pinning while a node is open should pin THAT node, not the section it lives in —
+    // the node page is the thing that takes several clicks to reach.
+    pinTarget: () => {
+      if (!view.startsWith("node:")) return null;
+      const slot = slotById(view.slice(5));
+      if (!slot) return null;
+      return { kind: "node", id: slot.id, label: slotDisplayLabel(slot) };
+    },
   });
 
   window.ModelsModal = {
     open: () => window.SettingsWindow.open("models"),
+    // Open Models & Pipeline showing ONE node. Used by pinned buttons; safe to call
+    // whether or not the section has been mounted before.
+    openNode: (slotId) => {
+      if (!slotId) return;
+      if (container && container.isConnected && slotById(slotId)) {
+        window.SettingsWindow.open("models");
+        setView("node:" + slotId);
+        return;
+      }
+      _openNodeOnMount = slotId;
+      window.SettingsWindow.open("models");
+    },
     refresh: async () => {
       await ensureRoles().catch(() => {});
       await doFullRefresh().catch(() => {});
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/pinned_buttons.js b/movie_editor/frontend/pinned_buttons.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5a0ed7b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/pinned_buttons.js
@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+// Up to three user-chosen shortcuts, sitting left of the workspace toggles.
+//
+// Settings is a window with a sidebar, and the useful places inside it — a specific node's
+// page, one Engine category — are several clicks deep. That is fine to walk once and
+// tedious to walk twenty times while dialling something in. A pin puts any of them one
+// click away.
+//
+// Slot number is the address: slot 1 is always the leftmost button, slot 3 always the one
+// nearest Assets, whether or not the slots between them are filled. So the position of a
+// shortcut never moves as others come and go, and muscle memory survives.
+(function () {
+  const SLOTS = 3;
+  const KEY = "pinnedButtons";           // stored in editor settings: travels with the project
+
+  // ── slot rules (pure — the part with actual rules in it) ──────────────────────
+  /** Exactly SLOTS entries, so slot N is index N-1 and a hole stays a hole.
+   *  Anything malformed becomes an empty slot rather than a button that cannot work. */
+  function normalizePins(raw) {
+    const out = Array.isArray(raw) ? raw.slice(0, SLOTS) : [];
+    while (out.length < SLOTS) out.push(null);
+    return out.map((p) => (p && typeof p === "object" && p.kind && p.id ? p : null));
+  }
+
+  /** Buttons to draw, left to right: holes close up, but each surviving button keeps the
+   *  NUMBER of the slot it occupies. Slots 1+3 filled draws "Custom 1, Custom 3" — so a
+   *  shortcut's position never shifts because a neighbour came or went. */
+  function visibleSlots(list) {
+    return normalizePins(list)
+      .map((target, i) => ({ slotNo: i + 1, target }))
+      .filter((e) => e.target);
+  }
+
+  /** The same destination twice is a wasted slot. Placing it in `index` clears any other
+   *  slot pointing at the same thing. */
+  function placePin(list, index, target) {
+    const next = normalizePins(list);
+    next.forEach((p, j) => {
+      if (p && j !== index && p.kind === target.kind && p.id === target.id) next[j] = null;
+    });
+    next[index] = target;
+    return next;
+  }
+
+  if (typeof module !== "undefined" && module.exports) {
+    module.exports = { SLOTS, normalizePins, visibleSlots, placePin };
+  }
+  if (typeof window === "undefined" || !window.dom || !window.Store) return;
+
+  const { el, clear } = window.dom;
+  const S = window.Store;
+  const host = document.getElementById("pinned-tabs");
+  if (!host) return;
+
+  function pins() {
+    return normalizePins(S.getEditorSetting ? S.getEditorSetting(KEY) : null);
+  }
+
+  function setPins(list) {
+    const next = normalizePins(list);
+    // Node ids are project-scoped, so this belongs with the project's own settings rather
+    // than in the browser alone — the same mirror that carries the rest of the editor
+    // preferences onto a freshly rented machine.
+    S.setEditorSetting(KEY, next);
+    render();
+  }
+
+  // ── describing a target ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  function describe(t) {
+    if (!t) return "";
+    if (t.kind === "node") return t.label || "a node";
+    return t.label || t.id || "a settings page";
+  }
+
+  function tooltip(t, slotNo) {
+    if (!t) return `Custom ${slotNo} — nothing pinned yet`;
+    return `Opens up ${describe(t)}`;
+  }
+
+  // ── opening ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  function openTarget(t) {
+    if (!t) return;
+    if (t.kind === "node") {
+      // ModelsModal handles the "not in this pipeline any more" case, including the wait
+      // for the section to load before it can know.
+      window.ModelsModal?.openNode?.(t.id);
+      return;
+    }
+    if (!window.SettingsWindow?.hasSection?.(t.id)) {
+      alert(`"${describe(t)}" is not available in this build any more.\n\n`
+            + "Pin something else to that slot to replace it.");
+      return;
+    }
+    window.SettingsWindow.open(t.id);
+  }
+
+  // ── the toolbar ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  function render() {
+    if (!host) return;
+    clear(host);
+    visibleSlots(pins()).forEach(({ slotNo, target }) => {
+      // Deliberately NOT .on: that state means "this panel is showing", and a shortcut is
+      // not a toggle. .pinned-tab carries its own look.
+      const btn = el("button", "dock-tab pinned-tab", `Custom ${slotNo}`);
+      btn.type = "button";
+      btn.title = tooltip(target, slotNo);
+      btn.onclick = () => openTarget(target);
+      host.append(btn);
+    });
+    host.hidden = !host.children.length;
+  }
+
+  // ── the pin dialog ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  let dialog = null;
+
+  function closeDialog() { dialog?.remove(); dialog = null; }
+
+  function slotRow(i, target, current) {
+    const occupied = pins()[i];
+    const row = el("button", "pin-slot" + (occupied ? " occupied" : ""));
+    row.type = "button";
+    const left = el("div", "pin-slot-text");
+    left.append(el("div", "pin-slot-name", `Custom ${i + 1}`));
+    left.append(el("div", "pin-slot-sub", occupied ? `Opens up ${describe(occupied)}` : "Empty"));
+    row.append(left);
+    row.append(el("span", "pin-slot-pos", i === 0 ? "leftmost" : i === SLOTS - 1 ? "nearest Assets" : "middle"));
+    row.onclick = () => {
+      // Overwriting is the one destructive thing this dialog does, so it is the one thing
+      // it asks about.
+      if (occupied && !confirm(
+        `Custom ${i + 1} already opens ${describe(occupied)}.\n\n`
+        + `Replace it with ${describe(current)}?`
+      )) return;
+      setPins(placePin(pins(), i, current));
+      closeDialog();
+    };
+    return row;
+  }
+
+  function pinCurrent() {
+    const current = window.SettingsWindow?.currentTarget?.();
+    if (!current) {
+      alert("Open the page or node you want to pin first.");
+      return;
+    }
+    openDialog(current);
+  }
+
+  function openDialog(current) {
+    closeDialog();
+    dialog = el("div", "modal-overlay pin-overlay");
+    const box = el("div", "modal pin-modal");
+
+    const head = el("div", "modal-head");
+    head.append(el("div", "modal-title", "Pin to a button"));
+    const closeBtn = el("button", "btn ghost tiny", "✕");
+    closeBtn.type = "button";
+    closeBtn.onclick = closeDialog;
+    const hr = el("div", "modal-head-right");
+    hr.append(closeBtn);
+    head.append(hr);
+    box.append(head);
+
+    const content = el("div", "modal-content");
+    content.append(el("div", "pin-lead", `Put ${describe(current)} on the timeline toolbar.`));
+    content.append(el("div", "pin-hint",
+      "Slot 1 is the leftmost button and slot 3 the one nearest Assets — an empty slot "
+      + "closes up, and the buttons that remain keep their own numbers and places."));
+
+    const list = el("div", "pin-slots");
+    for (let i = 0; i < SLOTS; i++) list.append(slotRow(i, current, current));
+    content.append(list);
+
+    // Clearing has to live somewhere, and this is the only screen that shows the slots.
+    const filled = pins().filter(Boolean).length;
+    if (filled) {
+      const clearRow = el("div", "pin-clear-row");
+      pins().forEach((p, i) => {
+        if (!p) return;
+        const b = el("button", "btn ghost tiny", `Clear Custom ${i + 1}`);
+        b.type = "button";
+        b.onclick = () => {
+          const l = pins(); l[i] = null; setPins(l);
+          closeDialog();
+        };
+        clearRow.append(b);
+      });
+      content.append(clearRow);
+    }
+
+    box.append(content);
+    dialog.append(box);
+    dialog.addEventListener("click", (e) => { if (e.target === dialog) closeDialog(); });
+    document.body.append(dialog);
+  }
+
+  // Pins live in editor settings, which a project restores on open — so the toolbar has to
+  // follow the store rather than being built once at load.
+  let _last = "";
+  function syncFromStore() {
+    const now = JSON.stringify(pins());
+    if (now === _last) return;
+    _last = now;
+    render();
+  }
+  S.subscribe(syncFromStore);
+
+  render();
+  _last = JSON.stringify(pins());
+
+  window.PinnedButtons = { pinCurrent, render, openDialog };
+})();
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/pinned_buttons.test.js b/movie_editor/frontend/pinned_buttons.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f2ee736a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/pinned_buttons.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+const test = require("node:test");
+const assert = require("node:assert");
+const { SLOTS, normalizePins, visibleSlots, placePin } = require("./pinned_buttons.js");
+
+const A = { kind: "section", id: "engine", label: "Engine" };
+const B = { kind: "node", id: "fp_lora", label: "FunPack LoRA Loader" };
+const C = { kind: "section", id: "models", label: "Models & Pipeline" };
+
+test("slots are always exactly three, so slot N is index N-1", () => {
+  assert.strictEqual(SLOTS, 3);
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(normalizePins(null), [null, null, null]);
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(normalizePins([A]), [A, null, null]);
+  assert.strictEqual(normalizePins([A, B, C, A]).length, 3);
+});
+
+test("a malformed entry becomes an empty slot, not a broken button", () => {
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(normalizePins([{ kind: "section" }, "junk", { id: "x" }]),
+    [null, null, null]);
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(normalizePins("not an array"), [null, null, null]);
+});
+
+test("holes close up but the buttons keep their own numbers", () => {
+  // The user's spec: slots 1 and 3 filled draws slot 1 then slot 3, with no gap and no
+  // renumbering — position is the address, so it must not shift when a neighbour goes.
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(visibleSlots([A, null, C]).map((e) => e.slotNo), [1, 3]);
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(visibleSlots([null, B, null]).map((e) => e.slotNo), [2]);
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(visibleSlots([A, B, C]).map((e) => e.slotNo), [1, 2, 3]);
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(visibleSlots([null, null, null]), []);
+});
+
+test("visible order is left to right by slot number", () => {
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(visibleSlots([A, null, C]).map((e) => e.target), [A, C]);
+});
+
+test("placing a pin fills the slot asked for", () => {
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(placePin([null, null, null], 1, B), [null, B, null]);
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(placePin([A, null, null], 0, B), [B, null, null]);
+});
+
+test("the same destination never occupies two slots", () => {
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(placePin([A, null, null], 2, A), [null, null, A]);
+  // Matching is by kind AND id: a node and a section could share an id string.
+  const nodeEngine = { kind: "node", id: "engine", label: "a node called engine" };
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(placePin([A, null, null], 2, nodeEngine), [A, null, nodeEngine]);
+});
+
+test("placing does not mutate the list it was given", () => {
+  const before = [A, null, null];
+  placePin(before, 1, B);
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(before, [A, null, null]);
+});
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/settings_window.js b/movie_editor/frontend/settings_window.js
index 5a28e543..7854bee3 100644
--- a/movie_editor/frontend/settings_window.js
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/settings_window.js
@@ -119,9 +119,14 @@
     subEl = el("div", "sw-head-sub");
     ht.append(titleEl, subEl);
     actionsEl = el("div", "sw-head-actions");
+    const pin = el("button", "btn ghost tiny sw-pin", "📌 Pin to a button");
+    pin.type = "button";
+    pin.title = "Put a shortcut to whatever is open here on the timeline toolbar";
+    pin.onclick = () => window.PinnedButtons?.pinCurrent();
     const x = el("button", "btn ghost tiny sw-close", "✕");
     x.onclick = close;
-    head.append(ht, actionsEl, x);
+    head.append(ht, actionsEl, pin, x);
+    if (!window.PinnedButtons) pin.hidden = true;
     bodyEl = el("div", "sw-body");
     main.append(head, bodyEl);
 
@@ -171,7 +176,27 @@
 
   function hasSection(id) { return registry.some((s) => s.id === id); }
 
-  window.SettingsWindow = { open, close, register, navItem, mountSection, hasSection };
+  /** What a pinned button should reopen to get back to what is on screen now.
+   *
+   * A section can override this (Models points at the open NODE rather than at itself),
+   * which is the whole value of the feature: the deep places are the slow ones to reach.
+   */
+  function currentTarget() {
+    const spec = registry.find((s) => s.id === activeId);
+    if (!spec) return null;
+    let custom = null;
+    try { custom = typeof spec.pinTarget === "function" ? spec.pinTarget() : null; } catch (_) {}
+    return custom || { kind: "section", id: spec.id, label: spec.title };
+  }
+
+  /** Every section, for the pin dialog's "somewhere else" list. */
+  function sectionList() {
+    return orderedSections().map((s) => ({ id: s.id, title: s.title, group: s.group || "" }));
+  }
+
+  window.SettingsWindow = {
+    open, close, register, navItem, mountSection, hasSection, currentTarget, sectionList,
+  };
 
   // ── shared row builders for settings panels ────────────────────────────
   function actionRow(title, hint, btnLabel, onClick, opts = {}) {
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/store.js b/movie_editor/frontend/store.js
index 590be185..124d3348 100644
--- a/movie_editor/frontend/store.js
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/store.js
@@ -52,6 +52,10 @@
     // cycle. Carried here purely so the project can put it back on a new instance;
     // the server copy stays the single source of truth while the app is running.
     revolver: null,   // {enabled, random} | null = never recorded
+    // Up to three toolbar shortcuts: [slot1, slot2, slot3], each null or
+    // {kind:"section"|"node", id, label}. Node ids are project-scoped, which is why these
+    // ride with the project rather than living in the browser alone.
+    pinnedButtons: null,
   };
   function _loadEditorSettings() {
     try {
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/styles.css b/movie_editor/frontend/styles.css
index 1ebdca9a..d3c7b67d 100644
--- a/movie_editor/frontend/styles.css
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/styles.css
@@ -445,6 +445,35 @@ a.brand:hover .brand-sub { color: var(--accent-hi); }
 .dock-tab.on { background: var(--accent-soft); color: var(--accent-hi); border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 45%, var(--line)); }
 .dock-tab:only-child { cursor: default; }
 
+/* Pinned shortcuts: same chip shape as the panel toggles so the row reads as one strip,
+   with a leading dot marking them as "goes somewhere" rather than "shows a panel". */
+.pinned-tabs { margin-left: 0; margin-right: 4px; }
+.pinned-tab { color: var(--muted); border-style: dashed; cursor: pointer; }
+.pinned-tab::before { content: "◆"; margin-right: 5px; color: var(--accent); font-size: 9px; }
+.pinned-tab:hover { color: var(--text); border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 55%, var(--line)); }
+/* A lone pin is still a button — the panel-toggle rule that disables the last visible
+   panel must not reach into this nav. */
+.pinned-tab:only-child { cursor: pointer; }
+
+.pin-modal { max-width: 460px; }
+.pin-lead { font-size: 13px; color: var(--text); margin-bottom: 4px; }
+.pin-hint { font-size: 11px; color: var(--faint); line-height: 1.45; margin-bottom: 10px; }
+.pin-slots { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 6px; }
+.pin-slot {
+  display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-between; gap: 10px;
+  width: 100%; text-align: left; cursor: pointer;
+  padding: 9px 11px; border-radius: 8px;
+  background: var(--ink-2); border: 1px solid var(--line);
+  transition: border-color .12s, background .12s;
+}
+.pin-slot:hover { border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 55%, var(--line)); background: var(--ink-3); }
+.pin-slot.occupied { border-style: solid; border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 30%, var(--line)); }
+.pin-slot-name { font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600; color: var(--text); }
+.pin-slot-sub { font-size: 11px; color: var(--faint); margin-top: 2px; }
+.pin-slot-pos { font-size: 10px; color: var(--faint); font-family: var(--font-mono); flex-shrink: 0; }
+.pin-clear-row { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 6px; margin-top: 12px;
+  padding-top: 10px; border-top: 1px solid var(--line); }
+
 .zone-head {
   /* min-height, not height: the right-hand status block wraps when the zone is narrow,
      and a fixed height let it spill over the zone above AND the toolbar below. */