diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index d58e6d5..97d77a5 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1421,6 +1421,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "windows-sys 0.61.2",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "nucleo-matcher"
+version = "0.3.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "bf33f538733d1a5a3494b836ba913207f14d9d4a1d3cd67030c5061bdd2cac85"
+dependencies = [
+ "memchr",
+ "unicode-segmentation",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "num-conv"
 version = "0.2.1"
@@ -2913,6 +2923,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "insta",
  "keymap",
  "libc",
+ "nucleo-matcher",
  "portable-pty",
  "ratatui",
  "ratatui-image",
@@ -2922,6 +2933,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "toml",
  "tracing",
  "tracing-subscriber",
+ "unicode-segmentation",
  "unicode-width",
  "upmd-parser",
  "upmd-pty",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 4668bcd..4899711 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -55,12 +55,14 @@ ratatui-image = { version = "11.0.6", default-features = false, features = ["cro
 image = { version = "0.25", default-features = false, features = ["png", "jpeg", "gif", "webp"] }
 syntect = "5.3.0"
 unicode-width = { version = "0.2.2", features = ["cjk"] }
+unicode-segmentation = "1.13.2"
 vt100 = "0.16.2"
 
 # Platform and utilities
 arboard = "3.6.1"
 ignore = "0.4"
 tempfile = "3.27"
+nucleo-matcher = "0.3.1"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 insta = "1.47.2"
diff --git a/src/apps/cli/app.rs b/src/apps/cli/app.rs
index f35f3b0..2ac45d8 100644
--- a/src/apps/cli/app.rs
+++ b/src/apps/cli/app.rs
@@ -662,6 +662,7 @@ impl App {
         let reset = "\x1b[0m";
         let muted = ansi_fg(self.theme.muted);
         let active = ansi_fg(self.theme.active);
+        let match_color = ansi_fg(self.theme.accent);
         let inactive = ansi_fg(self.theme.info_background);
         let foreground = ansi_fg(self.theme.foreground);
         let mut lines: u16 = 0;
@@ -689,17 +690,14 @@ impl App {
         } else {
             for (i, &file_idx) in picker.matches.iter().enumerate() {
                 let is_sel = i == picker.selected;
-                let file = &picker.files[file_idx];
-                if is_sel {
-                    write!(
-                        out,
-                        "{active}\u{25b8} {}  {}{reset}\r\n",
-                        i + 1,
-                        file.display
-                    )?;
-                } else {
-                    write!(out, "{foreground}  {}  {}{reset}\r\n", i + 1, file.display)?;
+                let prefix_color = if is_sel { &active } else { &foreground };
+                let prefix = if is_sel { "\u{25b8} " } else { "  " };
+                write!(out, "{prefix_color}{prefix}{}  ", i + 1)?;
+                for (text, matched) in picker.highlight_parts(file_idx) {
+                    let color = if matched { &match_color } else { &foreground };
+                    write!(out, "{color}{text}")?;
                 }
+                write!(out, "{reset}\r\n")?;
                 lines += 1;
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/apps/picker.rs b/src/apps/picker.rs
index f6d3b27..7a13cce 100644
--- a/src/apps/picker.rs
+++ b/src/apps/picker.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 use keymap::KeyMap;
+use nucleo_matcher::pattern::{Atom, AtomKind, CaseMatching, Normalization};
+use nucleo_matcher::{Config, Matcher, Utf32Str};
+use unicode_segmentation::UnicodeSegmentation;
 
 /// Actions shared by the TUI and CLI file pickers.
 ///
@@ -27,18 +30,20 @@ pub enum PickerAction {
     Input(char),
 }
 
-/// Shared state for file pickers: the file list, filter query, filtered
-/// matches, and current selection index.
-///
-/// Both the TUI [`FilePicker`](crate::apps::tui::file_picker::FilePicker) and
-/// CLI [`CliPicker`](crate::apps::cli::picker::CliPicker) embed this struct and
-/// delegate navigation logic to [`PickerState::handle_navigation`], ensuring
-/// consistent filter and selection behavior across frontends.
+/// Shared file-picker state: files, query, ranked matches, highlight ranges,
+/// and selection.
 pub struct PickerState {
     pub files: Vec<crate::markdown_files::MarkdownFile>,
     pub matches: Vec<usize>,
     pub query: String,
     pub selected: usize,
+    matcher: Matcher,
+    /// Reused UTF-32 buffer for matching display paths.
+    scratch: Vec<char>,
+    /// Reused match index buffer, cleared per file.
+    indices: Vec<u32>,
+    /// Matched byte ranges in each file's display path, keyed by file index.
+    highlights: Vec<Vec<(usize, usize)>>,
 }
 
 impl PickerState {
@@ -48,29 +53,80 @@ impl PickerState {
             matches: Vec::new(),
             query: String::new(),
             selected: 0,
+            matcher: Matcher::new(Config::DEFAULT.match_paths()),
+            scratch: Vec::new(),
+            indices: Vec::new(),
+            highlights: Vec::new(),
         };
         state.rebuild();
         state
     }
 
-    /// Recomputes `matches` from `query` and clamps `selected`.
+    /// Rebuilds ranked matches and highlight ranges from `query`, resetting the
+    /// selection. An empty query keeps discovery order; no matches leave nothing
+    /// selected.
     pub fn rebuild(&mut self) {
-        self.matches = self.build_matches();
-        self.selected = self.selected.min(self.matches.len().saturating_sub(1));
+        self.selected = 0;
+        self.highlights.clear();
+        self.highlights.resize(self.files.len(), Vec::new());
+
+        if self.query.is_empty() {
+            self.matches = (0..self.files.len()).collect();
+            return;
+        }
+
+        let atom = Atom::new(
+            &self.query,
+            CaseMatching::Ignore,
+            Normalization::Smart,
+            AtomKind::Fuzzy,
+            false,
+        );
+        let mut scored = Vec::new();
+        for (idx, file) in self.files.iter().enumerate() {
+            self.scratch.clear();
+            self.scratch
+                .extend(nucleo_matcher::chars::graphemes(&file.display));
+            let haystack = Utf32Str::Unicode(&self.scratch);
+
+            self.indices.clear();
+            if let Some(score) = atom.indices(haystack, &mut self.matcher, &mut self.indices) {
+                self.highlights[idx] = matched_ranges(&file.display, &self.indices);
+                scored.push((idx, score));
+            }
+        }
+
+        scored.sort_by(|&(a_idx, a_score), &(b_idx, b_score)| {
+            b_score
+                .cmp(&a_score)
+                .then_with(|| self.files[a_idx].display.cmp(&self.files[b_idx].display))
+                .then_with(|| a_idx.cmp(&b_idx))
+        });
+        self.matches = scored.into_iter().map(|(idx, _)| idx).collect();
     }
 
-    /// Returns indices into `files` whose display path contains `query`
-    /// (case-insensitive).  An empty query matches everything.
-    pub fn build_matches(&self) -> Vec<usize> {
-        let query = self.query.to_lowercase();
-        self.files
-            .iter()
-            .enumerate()
-            .filter(|(_, file)| {
-                self.query.is_empty() || file.display.to_lowercase().contains(&query)
-            })
-            .map(|(idx, _)| idx)
-            .collect()
+    /// Splits a file's display path into unmatched and matcher-selected parts.
+    pub fn highlight_parts(&self, file_idx: usize) -> Vec<(&str, bool)> {
+        let file = &self.files[file_idx];
+        let ranges = &self.highlights[file_idx];
+
+        // Pre-allocate capacity: up to 2 parts per range + 1 for trailing text
+        let mut parts = Vec::with_capacity(ranges.len() * 2 + 1);
+        let mut start = 0;
+
+        for &(range_start, range_end) in ranges {
+            if start < range_start {
+                parts.push((&file.display[start..range_start], false));
+            }
+            parts.push((&file.display[range_start..range_end], true));
+            start = range_end;
+        }
+
+        if start < file.display.len() {
+            parts.push((&file.display[start..], false));
+        }
+
+        parts
     }
 
     /// Returns the index into `files` of the currently selected match, or
@@ -93,8 +149,9 @@ impl PickerState {
                 true
             }
             PickerAction::Delete => {
-                self.query.pop();
-                self.rebuild();
+                if self.query.pop().is_some() {
+                    self.rebuild();
+                }
                 true
             }
             PickerAction::Next => {
@@ -111,3 +168,22 @@ impl PickerState {
         }
     }
 }
+
+/// Converts increasing matcher grapheme indices to byte ranges in `display`,
+/// merging adjacent matches.
+fn matched_ranges(display: &str, indices: &[u32]) -> Vec<(usize, usize)> {
+    let graphemes: Vec<(usize, usize)> = display
+        .grapheme_indices(true)
+        .map(|(start, grapheme)| (start, start + grapheme.len()))
+        .collect();
+
+    let mut matched: Vec<(usize, usize)> = Vec::with_capacity(indices.len());
+    for &idx in indices {
+        let range = graphemes[idx as usize];
+        match matched.last_mut() {
+            Some(last) if last.1 == range.0 => last.1 = range.1, // Merge contiguous ranges
+            _ => matched.push(range),
+        }
+    }
+    matched
+}
diff --git a/src/apps/tui/file_picker.rs b/src/apps/tui/file_picker.rs
index 2034181..13d99d5 100644
--- a/src/apps/tui/file_picker.rs
+++ b/src/apps/tui/file_picker.rs
@@ -208,25 +208,33 @@ impl FilePicker {
     }
 
     /// Builds styled list rows for the visible match window.
-    fn visible_match_items(&self, height: u16) -> Vec<ratatui::widgets::ListItem<'static>> {
+    fn visible_match_lines(&self, height: u16) -> Vec<Line<'static>> {
         let range = self.visible_match_range(height);
-        self.state.matches[range.clone()]
-            .iter()
-            .enumerate()
-            .filter_map(|(offset, file_idx)| {
-                let abs = range.start + offset;
+        let path_color = self.theme.foreground;
+        let match_color = self.theme.accent;
+
+        range
+            .clone()
+            .zip(self.state.matches[range].iter())
+            .map(|(abs, file_idx)| {
                 let is_selected = abs == self.state.selected;
-                let file = self.state.files.get(*file_idx)?;
                 let prefix = if is_selected { "▸ " } else { "  " };
-                let fg = if is_selected {
+                let prefix_color = if is_selected {
                     self.theme.active
                 } else {
-                    self.theme.foreground
+                    path_color
                 };
-                Some(ratatui::widgets::ListItem::new(Line::from(Span::styled(
-                    format!("{prefix}{}", file.display),
-                    Style::default().fg(fg),
-                ))))
+
+                let mut spans = vec![Span::styled(prefix, Style::default().fg(prefix_color))];
+
+                spans.extend(self.state.highlight_parts(*file_idx).into_iter().map(
+                    |(text, matched)| {
+                        let color = if matched { match_color } else { path_color };
+                        Span::styled(text.to_string(), Style::default().fg(color))
+                    },
+                ));
+
+                Line::from(spans)
             })
             .collect()
     }
@@ -361,7 +369,7 @@ impl Output for FilePicker {
         };
 
         frame.render_widget(
-            List::new(self.visible_match_items(list_area.height)),
+            List::new(self.visible_match_lines(list_area.height)),
             list_area,
         );
 
@@ -396,10 +404,15 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn filters_by_display_path() {
+    fn filters_paths_correctly() {
         let mut picker = picker();
-        let _ = picker.update(Action::Input('i'));
-        let _ = picker.update(Action::Input('n'));
+        let _ = picker.update(Action::Input('d'));
+        assert_eq!(picker.state.matches, vec![1, 0]);
+
+        for ch in "inst".chars() {
+            let _ = picker.update(Action::Input(ch));
+        }
+
         assert_eq!(picker.state.matches.len(), 1);
         assert_eq!(
             picker.selected_path().unwrap(),
@@ -407,6 +420,30 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn highlights_graphemes_and_clears() {
+        let mut picker = picker();
+        picker.state.files[0].display = "ca\tfe\u{301}.md".into();
+        picker.state.query = "ce".into();
+        picker.state.rebuild();
+        assert_eq!(
+            picker.state.highlight_parts(0),
+            [
+                ("c", true),
+                ("a\tf", false),
+                ("e\u{301}", true),
+                (".md", false)
+            ]
+        );
+
+        let _ = picker.update(Action::Delete);
+        let _ = picker.update(Action::Delete);
+        assert_eq!(
+            picker.state.highlight_parts(0),
+            [("ca\tfe\u{301}.md", false)]
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn preview_prefix_reads_only_top_lines() {
         let tmp = tempfile::NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
@@ -447,6 +484,7 @@ mod tests {
         let _ = picker.update(Action::Input('z'));
         assert!(picker.state.matches.is_empty());
         assert_eq!(picker.selected_path(), None);
+        assert!(picker.update(Action::Select).is_none());
 
         let _ = picker.update(Action::Delete);
         assert_eq!(picker.state.matches.len(), 2);
@@ -465,6 +503,11 @@ mod tests {
             picker.selected_path().unwrap(),
             Path::new("/repo/docs/install.md")
         );
+        let _ = picker.update(Action::Delete);
+        assert_eq!(
+            picker.selected_path().unwrap(),
+            Path::new("/repo/docs/install.md")
+        );
         let _ = picker.update(Action::Prev);
         assert_eq!(
             picker.selected_path().unwrap(),