diff --git a/site/src/components/starlight/Header.astro b/site/src/components/starlight/Header.astro
index c0af7737..968c194a 100644
--- a/site/src/components/starlight/Header.astro
+++ b/site/src/components/starlight/Header.astro
@@ -59,7 +59,9 @@ const isActive = (href: string) => {
 
 <script>
   import { initDocsHeader } from '../../scripts/docs-header';
+  import { initDocsSearchKeys } from '../../scripts/docs-search-keys';
   initDocsHeader();
+  initDocsSearchKeys();
 </script>
 
 <style>
diff --git a/site/src/scripts/docs-search-keys.ts b/site/src/scripts/docs-search-keys.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b08859fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/site/src/scripts/docs-search-keys.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+import { onDispose } from './docs-header-disposal';
+
+/**
+ * Arrow-key navigation for the docs search results.
+ *
+ * Pagefind's default UI leaves focus in the input and does nothing with
+ * ArrowDown/ArrowUp, so the results were reachable only by tabbing. Tab and
+ * Enter did work — search was usable — but the down arrow is the key almost
+ * everyone reaches for first, and pressing it appeared to do nothing at all.
+ *
+ * This moves real DOM focus rather than painting a highlight and tracking
+ * `aria-activedescendant`. The results are anchors, so focus gets Enter,
+ * middle-click and screen-reader announcement for free, and there is no
+ * second notion of "selected" to keep in sync with the rendered list.
+ *
+ * Results are queried on every keypress. Pagefind re-renders the list as the
+ * query changes, so any cached node reference would be stale by the next
+ * keystroke.
+ */
+const RESULT_SELECTOR = '.pagefind-ui__result-link';
+const INPUT_SELECTOR = '.pagefind-ui__search-input';
+
+export function initDocsSearchKeys(): void {
+  function handleKeyDown(event: KeyboardEvent) {
+    if (event.key !== 'ArrowDown' && event.key !== 'ArrowUp') return;
+
+    const dialog = document.querySelector<HTMLDialogElement>('site-search dialog[open]');
+    if (!dialog) return;
+
+    const target = event.target;
+    if (!(target instanceof HTMLElement) || !dialog.contains(target)) return;
+
+    const input = dialog.querySelector<HTMLInputElement>(INPUT_SELECTOR);
+    const results = [...dialog.querySelectorAll<HTMLAnchorElement>(RESULT_SELECTOR)];
+    if (results.length === 0) return;
+
+    const index = results.indexOf(target.closest<HTMLAnchorElement>(RESULT_SELECTOR) as HTMLAnchorElement);
+    const onInput = target === input;
+
+    // Only act from the input or from a result. Anything else in the dialog
+    // (the close button, filters) keeps its native behaviour.
+    if (!onInput && index === -1) return;
+
+    let next: HTMLElement | null = null;
+    if (event.key === 'ArrowDown') {
+      next = onInput ? results[0] : (results[index + 1] ?? results[0]);
+    } else if (onInput) {
+      // Up from the input wraps to the last result, matching how most
+      // command palettes behave.
+      next = results[results.length - 1];
+    } else {
+      // Up from the first result returns to the input, so the query is
+      // always one keypress away rather than needing Shift+Tab.
+      next = index === 0 ? input : (results[index - 1] ?? input);
+    }
+
+    if (!next) return;
+    event.preventDefault();
+    next.focus();
+    if (next !== input) next.scrollIntoView({ block: 'nearest' });
+  }
+
+  document.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
+  onDispose(() => document.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown));
+}
diff --git a/site/src/styles/starlight/20-docs-shell-closeout.css b/site/src/styles/starlight/20-docs-shell-closeout.css
index 1f7317ad..46a71a5d 100644
--- a/site/src/styles/starlight/20-docs-shell-closeout.css
+++ b/site/src/styles/starlight/20-docs-shell-closeout.css
@@ -207,9 +207,21 @@ html[data-theme='light'] .right-sidebar-panel :where(a[aria-current='location'])
     padding: 0 !important;
     border: 1px solid rgba(140, 149, 166, 0.22) !important;
     border-radius: 8px !important;
+    /* Opaque, and theme-aware.
+     *
+     * This was a hard-coded `rgba(27, 32, 40, 0.96)`, which failed twice
+     * over. The 4% let the page read straight through the open menu -- the
+     * page heading and body text crossing the menu labels. And because the
+     * colour was hard-coded rather than tokenised, the panel stayed dark in
+     * light theme, so a dark drawer sat over a #fbfbfb page with white
+     * bleeding through it.
+     *
+     * `--sl-color-bg-sidebar` is #111 in dark and #fbfbfb in light, so the
+     * panel now follows the theme and hides what is behind it. The green
+     * wash stays; it is decorative and reads on both. */
     background:
       linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(10, 174, 122, 0.04), transparent 11rem),
-      rgba(27, 32, 40, 0.96) !important;
+      var(--sl-color-bg-sidebar) !important;
     box-shadow: 18px 0 46px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.36) !important;
     overflow: auto !important;
     overscroll-behavior: contain !important;