diff --git a/sidepanel/sidepanel.html b/sidepanel/sidepanel.html
index 50cc37b..1d887fe 100644
--- a/sidepanel/sidepanel.html
+++ b/sidepanel/sidepanel.html
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
     <button id="open-list" title="View all notes" aria-label="View all notes">☰</button>
   </div>
 
-  <textarea id="editor" placeholder="Write your note…" spellcheck="true"></textarea>
+  <textarea id="editor" placeholder="Write your note…" spellcheck="true" autofocus></textarea>
 
   <div id="find-bar" hidden>
     <input type="search" id="find-input" placeholder="Find in note…">
diff --git a/sidepanel/sidepanel.js b/sidepanel/sidepanel.js
index 753f808..1f507c7 100644
--- a/sidepanel/sidepanel.js
+++ b/sidepanel/sidepanel.js
@@ -497,10 +497,31 @@ document.getElementById('open-list').addEventListener('click', () => {
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Init
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// Chrome does not always grant focus to the panel document the moment it
+// opens (notably via the keyboard shortcut), so the focus() call in
+// loadNoteForTab can silently fail.  Retry briefly after init, stopping as
+// soon as the editor has focus or the user interacts with anything else.
+function retryEditorFocus() {
+  let attempts = 0;
+  const timer = setInterval(() => {
+    attempts++;
+    if (document.activeElement === editor || attempts > 10) {
+      clearInterval(timer);
+      return;
+    }
+    editor.focus();
+  }, 100);
+  const stop = () => clearInterval(timer);
+  window.addEventListener('pointerdown', stop, { capture: true, once: true });
+  window.addEventListener('keydown', stop, { capture: true, once: true });
+}
+
 (async function init() {
   const tabId = await resolveHostTab();
   if (tabId != null) {
     await loadNoteForTab(tabId);
+    retryEditorFocus();
   } else {
     pageTitleEl.textContent = 'Side Notes';
     updateStatus('Could not detect active tab');