diff --git a/Sources/KeyPathAppKit/Infrastructure/Config/ConfigurationService.swift b/Sources/KeyPathAppKit/Infrastructure/Config/ConfigurationService.swift
index 771285df0..89a0eadd9 100644
--- a/Sources/KeyPathAppKit/Infrastructure/Config/ConfigurationService.swift
+++ b/Sources/KeyPathAppKit/Infrastructure/Config/ConfigurationService.swift
@@ -1784,11 +1784,13 @@ public enum KanataKeyConverter {
             return ""
         }
 
-        // Multiple whitespace-separated tokens (e.g., "cmd space") → chord/sequence
+        // Multiple whitespace-separated tokens are a sequence to type in order
+        // (a chord arrives as one token with modifier prefixes, "M-S-C-4"). A
+        // bare list "(mute M-S-C-4)" is not Kanata; a macro is.
         if tokens.count > 1 {
             // Use convertToKanataKeyForMacro to preserve uppercase modifier prefixes
             let kanataKeys = tokens.map { convertToKanataKeyForMacro($0) }
-            return "(\(kanataKeys.joined(separator: " ")))"
+            return "(macro \(kanataKeys.joined(separator: " ")))"
         }
 
         // Single token - check if it's a text sequence to type (e.g., "123", "hello")
diff --git a/Sources/KeyPathAppKit/UI/Mapper/MapperViewModel+CaptureManagement.swift b/Sources/KeyPathAppKit/UI/Mapper/MapperViewModel+CaptureManagement.swift
index cf8604e69..4661ade0a 100644
--- a/Sources/KeyPathAppKit/UI/Mapper/MapperViewModel+CaptureManagement.swift
+++ b/Sources/KeyPathAppKit/UI/Mapper/MapperViewModel+CaptureManagement.swift
@@ -316,8 +316,7 @@ extension MapperViewModel {
                     viewModel.shiftedOutputSequence = sequence
                     viewModel.shiftedOutputLabel = sequence.displayString
                 } else {
-                    viewModel.outputSequence = sequence
-                    viewModel.outputLabel = sequence.displayString
+                    viewModel.applyCapturedOutput(sequence)
                 }
 
                 // Reset finalize timer - wait for more keys
@@ -423,6 +422,22 @@ extension MapperViewModel {
         }
     }
 
+    /// A captured output. A lone media key (volume, brightness, play/pause…)
+    /// is the system action it names, so the tile shows that action's symbol
+    /// from the first moment and the save goes the system-action way; any
+    /// other capture is a key sequence.
+    func applyCapturedOutput(_ sequence: KeySequence) {
+        if sequence.keys.count == 1, let press = sequence.keys.first, press.keyCode >= 1000,
+           let action = SystemActionInfo.find(byOutput: KeyMappingFormatter.toKanataFormat(sequence)),
+           action.isSupportedInDriverlessSession
+        {
+            selectSystemAction(action)
+            return
+        }
+        outputSequence = sequence
+        outputLabel = sequence.displayString
+    }
+
     func finalizeCapture() {
         finalizeTimer?.invalidate()
         finalizeTimer = nil
diff --git a/Tests/KeyPathTests/KeyPathTests.swift b/Tests/KeyPathTests/KeyPathTests.swift
index 63d06cd89..ab4af3958 100644
--- a/Tests/KeyPathTests/KeyPathTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/KeyPathTests/KeyPathTests.swift
@@ -72,6 +72,9 @@ final class KeyPathTests: KeyPathTestCase {
 
         // Test sequences
         XCTAssertEqual(manager.convertToKanataSequence("hello"), "(macro h e l l o)")
+        // A captured sequence (space-separated tokens) is a macro, never a bare list.
+        XCTAssertEqual(manager.convertToKanataSequence("mute M-S-C-4"), "(macro mute M-S-C-4)")
+        XCTAssertEqual(manager.convertToKanataSequence("escape a"), "(macro esc a)")
         XCTAssertEqual(manager.convertToKanataSequence("abc"), "(macro a b c)")
     }
 
diff --git a/Tests/KeyPathTests/UI/MediaKeyCaptureToSaveTests.swift b/Tests/KeyPathTests/UI/MediaKeyCaptureToSaveTests.swift
index 756c05148..67d61d308 100644
--- a/Tests/KeyPathTests/UI/MediaKeyCaptureToSaveTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/KeyPathTests/UI/MediaKeyCaptureToSaveTests.swift
@@ -69,4 +69,35 @@ final class MediaKeyCaptureToSaveTests: KeyPathTestCase {
             XCTAssertFalse(config.contains("(macro"), "a media key must never be typed as letters")
         }
     }
+
+    /// A media key followed by a chord (the 2026-10-20 edge case: Mute then
+    /// ⌃⇧⌘4) is a sequence, rendered as a macro Kanata accepts.
+    func testMediaKeyThenChordSavesAsAMacro() async throws {
+        let mute = try XCTUnwrap(KeyboardCapture.mediaKeyPress(from: mediaEvent(nxKeyType: 7, down: true)))
+        let chord = KeyPress(baseKey: "4", modifiers: [.control, .shift, .command], keyCode: 21)
+        let vm = MapperViewModel()
+        vm.configure(kanataManager: coordinator)
+        vm.inputSequence = KeySequence(keys: [KeyPress(baseKey: "grave", modifiers: [], keyCode: 50)], captureMode: .single)
+        vm.outputSequence = KeySequence(keys: [mute, chord], captureMode: .sequence)
+        await vm.save(kanataManager: coordinator)
+        XCTAssertFalse(vm.statusIsError, vm.statusMessage ?? "")
+        let config = try String(contentsOfFile: service.configurationPath, encoding: .utf8)
+        XCTAssertTrue(config.contains("(macro mute M-S-C-4)"), config)
+    }
+
+    /// A lone captured media key becomes the system action it names, so the
+    /// Mapper shows one symbol throughout and saves through the action path.
+    func testLoneMediaKeyCaptureBecomesTheSystemAction() throws {
+        let vm = MapperViewModel()
+        vm.configure(kanataManager: coordinator)
+        let mute = try XCTUnwrap(KeyboardCapture.mediaKeyPress(from: mediaEvent(nxKeyType: 7, down: true)))
+        vm.applyCapturedOutput(KeySequence(keys: [mute], captureMode: .single))
+        XCTAssertEqual(vm.selectedSystemAction?.id, "mute")
+        XCTAssertNil(vm.outputSequence)
+        XCTAssertEqual(vm.outputLabel, "Mute")
+        // A sequence stays a sequence.
+        let chord = KeyPress(baseKey: "4", modifiers: [.control, .shift, .command], keyCode: 21)
+        vm.applyCapturedOutput(KeySequence(keys: [mute, chord], captureMode: .sequence))
+        XCTAssertNotNil(vm.outputSequence)
+    }
 }
diff --git a/docs/architecture/rules-admission-review.md b/docs/architecture/rules-admission-review.md
index 5659570f1..d1ca13c6f 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/rules-admission-review.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/rules-admission-review.md
@@ -539,6 +539,11 @@ So the session emits media keys as Kanata's ordinary outputs:
   of macOS Function Keys and the eight media system actions became available with no
   Swift change; the former hard-coded refusals survive only as the no-bridge fallback
   (`fallbackConsumerKeys`), and the tests now pin both answers.
+- **Found on hardware the same day:** a captured sequence (Mute then ⌃⇧⌘4) was rendered
+  by the generator as a bare list `(mute M-S-C-4)`, which Kanata cannot parse; multi-token
+  outputs are now always a `(macro …)`. And a lone captured media key is treated as the
+  system action it names (`MapperViewModel.applyCapturedOutput`), so the Mapper shows
+  one symbol throughout and saves through the action path.
 - **Known limits** (from the spike): a posted brightness event drives the built-in
   panel only (Studio Display unchanged); per-device media rules are impossible
   (system-defined events carry no source device); keyboard backlight (21–23) is in