diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index a494a8b..d21079d 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -145,7 +145,8 @@ func (m model) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 		if m.listHeight < 3 {
 			m.listHeight = 3
 		}
-		return m, nil
+		// Clear so a shrink doesn't leave wider stale rows behind.
+		return m, tea.ClearScreen
 
 	case tea.MouseMsg:
 		// Determine if mouse is in preview area (below list + separator)
@@ -260,8 +261,8 @@ func (m model) View() string {
 
 	var b strings.Builder
 
-	// Table width: 2 + 16 + 2 + 22 + 2 + 34 + 2 + 5 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 6 = 99
-	tableWidth := 99
+	// The list spans the full terminal width; TOPIC flexes to fill it.
+	tableWidth := m.width
 
 	// Title line with help right-aligned
 	title := fmt.Sprintf("ccs · claude code search · %s", version)
@@ -309,7 +310,8 @@ func (m model) View() string {
 	previewHeight := m.height - listHeight - 6 // 6 for title + search + blank + header + borders
 
 	// Column headers
-	b.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("  \033[90m%-16s  %-22s  %-34s  %5s  %4s  %6s\033[0m\n", "DATE", "PROJECT", "TOPIC", "MSGS", "HITS", "SIZE"))
+	b.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("  \033[90m%-*s  %-*s  %-*s  %*s  %*s  %*s\033[0m\n",
+		colDate, "DATE", colProject, "PROJECT", m.topicColWidth(), "TOPIC", colMsgs, "MSGS", colHits, "HITS", colSize, "SIZE"))
 	b.WriteString(strings.Repeat("─", m.width))
 	b.WriteString("\n")
 
@@ -351,16 +353,35 @@ func (m model) View() string {
 	return b.String()
 }
 
+// Fixed list column widths. TOPIC is the flex column - it absorbs the rest of
+// the terminal width (see topicColWidth).
+const (
+	colDate    = 16
+	colProject = 22
+	colMsgs    = 5
+	colHits    = 4
+	colSize    = 6
+	colGap     = 2 // spaces between columns
+	listIndent = 2 // leading "  " / "> " on each row
+	numGaps    = 5
+)
+
+// topicColWidth flexes the TOPIC column to fill the terminal width.
+func (m model) topicColWidth() int {
+	used := listIndent + colDate + colProject + colMsgs + colHits + colSize + numGaps*colGap
+	if w := m.width - used; w > 10 {
+		return w
+	}
+	return 10
+}
+
 func (m model) formatListItem(item listItem, selected bool) string {
 	ts := formatTimestamp(item.conv.LastTimestamp)
 	project := item.conv.Cwd
 	if idx := strings.LastIndex(project, "/"); idx >= 0 {
 		project = project[idx+1:]
 	}
-	// Truncate project name to fit column
-	if len(project) > 22 {
-		project = project[:19] + "..."
-	}
+	project = truncate(project, colProject)
 
 	// Mark only user-set custom titles. Claude auto-generates an ai-title for
 	// almost every session, so marking any title would flag nearly every row;
@@ -371,7 +392,8 @@ func (m model) formatListItem(item listItem, selected bool) string {
 	if item.conv.IsCustomTitle {
 		topic = "✎ " + topic
 	}
-	topic = truncate(topic, 34)
+	tw := m.topicColWidth()
+	topic = truncate(topic, tw)
 
 	// Message count
 	msgs := len(item.conv.Messages)
@@ -392,10 +414,11 @@ func (m model) formatListItem(item listItem, selected bool) string {
 
 	// Format: date | project | topic | msgs | hits | size (aligned columns)
 	if selected {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%-16s  %-22s  %-34s  %5d  %4d  %6s", ts, project, topic, msgs, hits, size)
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%-*s  %-*s  %-*s  %*d  %*d  %*s",
+			colDate, ts, colProject, project, tw, topic, colMsgs, msgs, colHits, hits, colSize, size)
 	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("\033[90m%-16s\033[0m  \033[1;33m%-22s\033[0m  %-34s  %5d  \033[36m%4d\033[0m  \033[35m%6s\033[0m",
-		ts, project, topic, msgs, hits, size)
+	return fmt.Sprintf("\033[90m%-*s\033[0m  \033[1;33m%-*s\033[0m  %-*s  %*d  \033[36m%*d\033[0m  \033[35m%*s\033[0m",
+		colDate, ts, colProject, project, tw, topic, colMsgs, msgs, colHits, hits, colSize, size)
 }
 
 // buildPreviewLines builds the scrollable message lines of a conversation
diff --git a/main_test.go b/main_test.go
index 4606a33..e8d3e12 100644
--- a/main_test.go
+++ b/main_test.go
@@ -784,6 +784,7 @@ func TestFormatListItemNamedSessionMarker(t *testing.T) {
 		Messages:      []Message{{Role: "user", Text: "just a first message"}},
 	}}
 	m := initialModel([]listItem{custom, aiTitled, fallback}, "", nil)
+	m.width = 120 // give TOPIC room so the title isn't truncated
 
 	if got := m.formatListItem(custom, false); !strings.Contains(got, "✎ Refactor auth flow") {
 		t.Errorf("user-set custom title should show the marker, got %q", got)
@@ -796,6 +797,38 @@ func TestFormatListItemNamedSessionMarker(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestTopicColWidthFlexes(t *testing.T) {
+	fixed := listIndent + colDate + colProject + colMsgs + colHits + colSize + numGaps*colGap
+	for _, w := range []int{80, 120, 200} {
+		m := model{width: w}
+		if got, want := m.topicColWidth(), w-fixed; got != want {
+			t.Errorf("topicColWidth(width=%d) = %d, want %d", w, got, want)
+		}
+	}
+	// Tiny terminal clamps to a minimum rather than going negative.
+	if got := (model{width: 20}).topicColWidth(); got != 10 {
+		t.Errorf("topicColWidth(width=20) = %d, want 10 (min)", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFormatListItemFillsWidth(t *testing.T) {
+	item := listItem{conv: Conversation{
+		SessionID:     "s",
+		LastTimestamp: "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
+		Size:          1 << 20,
+		Messages:      []Message{{Role: "user", Text: "hi"}},
+	}}
+	for _, w := range []int{80, 120, 200} {
+		m := initialModel([]listItem{item}, "", nil)
+		m.width = w
+		// Selected row has no ANSI codes; its width + the 2-char row prefix
+		// added by View should fill the terminal exactly.
+		if got := len(m.formatListItem(item, true)); got != w-listIndent {
+			t.Errorf("width=%d: row length = %d, want %d", w, got, w-listIndent)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestUpdateKeyboardNavigation(t *testing.T) {
 	items := []listItem{
 		{conv: Conversation{SessionID: "test-1"}, searchText: "first"},