diff --git a/packages/viewer/e2e/keyboard.e2e.mjs b/packages/viewer/e2e/keyboard.e2e.mjs
index 2014c7c..33904d4 100644
--- a/packages/viewer/e2e/keyboard.e2e.mjs
+++ b/packages/viewer/e2e/keyboard.e2e.mjs
@@ -139,6 +139,38 @@ try {
     skip("modal focus-trap (no clear-all in this environment)");
   }
 
+  // --- Pages stepper: arrow-key nav + nested isolation -----------------------------------------
+  await push("pager", "component", JSON.stringify({
+    type: "Pages",
+    props: { pages: [
+      { title: "One", node: { type: "Pages", props: { pages: [
+        { title: "i1", node: { type: "Text", children: ["inner 1"] } },
+        { title: "i2", node: { type: "Text", children: ["inner 2"] } },
+      ] } } },
+      { title: "Two", node: { type: "Text", children: ["outer two"] } },
+      { title: "Three", node: { type: "Text", children: ["outer three"] } },
+    ] },
+  }));
+  await p.evaluate(() => { location.hash = "#kbd%2Fpager"; });
+  await p.waitForSelector(".tc-pages .tc-pages", { timeout: 8000 });
+  const bodyHas = (s) => p.evaluate((t) => (document.body.textContent || "").includes(t), s);
+
+  await p.evaluate(() => document.querySelector('.tc-pages > .tc-pages-bar [aria-label="next page"]')?.focus());
+  await p.keyboard.press("ArrowRight");
+  ok("ArrowRight steps the focused pager forward", await bodyHas("outer two"));
+  await p.keyboard.press("ArrowLeft");
+  ok("ArrowLeft steps it back", await bodyHas("inner 1"));
+
+  await p.evaluate(() => document.querySelector('.tc-pages .tc-pages [aria-label="next page"]')?.focus());
+  await p.keyboard.press("ArrowRight");
+  ok("nested pager arrows step the inner pager only", (await bodyHas("inner 2")) && !(await bodyHas("outer two")));
+
+  await p.evaluate(() => document.querySelector('.tc-pages > .tc-pages-bar [aria-label="next page"]')?.focus());
+  await p.keyboard.press("End");
+  ok("End jumps the pager to the last page", await bodyHas("outer three"));
+  await p.keyboard.press("Home");
+  ok("Home jumps back to the first page", await bodyHas("inner 1"));
+
   // --- Regression: Escape with nothing open is harmless ---------------------------------------
   await p.keyboard.press("Escape");
   ok("Escape with no overlay does not throw", true);
diff --git a/packages/viewer/src/client/renderers/pages.tsx b/packages/viewer/src/client/renderers/pages.tsx
index b86c4c8..99a9e70 100644
--- a/packages/viewer/src/client/renderers/pages.tsx
+++ b/packages/viewer/src/client/renderers/pages.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-import { Group, Pagination, Text } from "@mantine/core";
-import { useState } from "react";
+import { Button, Text } from "@mantine/core";
+import { createContext, useContext, useState } from "react";
+import { injectStyle } from "./inject-style.js";
 import { resolve } from "./component-resolver.js";
 
 /**
  * `Pages` — top-level board pagination: one page rendered at a
- * time with a Pagination control above and below the content.
+ * time with a stepper control above and below the content.
  * Off-page trees are never resolved, so their images are never
  * fetched — a 400-node board pays only for the page in view.
  *
@@ -16,38 +17,195 @@ import { resolve } from "./component-resolver.js";
  * `pages` is a plain-data prop (the MapDetail.items convention),
  * so the resolver leaves the trees raw and this component
  * resolves only the active one via `resolve()`.
+ *
+ * The control is built for step-through use (algorithm debuggers
+ * arrow through stages, often with a Pages nested inside a page):
+ * labeled Prev/Next with end-disabled states, the current title
+ * shown prominently, arrow-key navigation while the bar has
+ * focus, and a progress affordance that scales — clickable dots
+ * up to 16 pages, a slim bar plus a jump-by-title select beyond.
+ * Nested pagers read a depth context and render smaller + inset
+ * so outer/inner controls are visually distinct.
  */
 export interface PageEntry {
   title?: string;
   node?: unknown;
 }
 
+/** Dot-per-page stops scaling past this; switch to progress bar + jump select. */
+const DOTS_MAX = 16;
+
+const PagesDepth = createContext(0);
+
+const CSS = `
+.tc-pages-bar { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 8px; margin: 10px 0; }
+.tc-pages-mid { flex: 1 1 0; min-width: 0; display: flex; align-items: baseline; gap: 8px; }
+.tc-pages-dots { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 5px; flex-wrap: wrap; margin: 4px 0 8px; }
+.tc-pages-dot { width: 8px; height: 8px; border-radius: 4px; border: none; padding: 0; cursor: pointer;
+  background: var(--mantine-color-default-border, #adb5bd);
+  transition: width 120ms ease, background-color 120ms ease; }
+.tc-pages-dot:hover { background: var(--mantine-color-dimmed, #868e96); }
+.tc-pages-dot[aria-current="page"] { width: 22px; background: var(--mantine-primary-color-filled, #228be6); }
+.tc-pages-dot:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid var(--mantine-primary-color-filled, #228be6); outline-offset: 2px; }
+.tc-pages-track { height: 4px; border-radius: 2px; margin: 4px 0 8px;
+  background: var(--mantine-color-default-border, #dee2e6); overflow: hidden; }
+.tc-pages-fill { height: 100%; border-radius: 2px; background: var(--mantine-primary-color-filled, #228be6);
+  transition: width 160ms ease; }
+.tc-pages-jump { flex: 0 1 auto; min-width: 0; font: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-size: 13px;
+  color: inherit; background: transparent; cursor: pointer;
+  border: 1px solid var(--mantine-color-default-border, #ced4da); border-radius: 6px; padding: 2px 6px; }
+.tc-pages-jump:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid var(--mantine-primary-color-filled, #228be6); outline-offset: 1px; }
+.tc-pages-page { animation: tc-pages-in 160ms ease-out; }
+@keyframes tc-pages-in { from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(4px); } to { opacity: 1; transform: none; } }
+/* nested pagers are subordinate: inset with a rule, tighter bars, smaller dots */
+.tc-pages .tc-pages { padding-left: 10px; border-left: 2px solid var(--mantine-color-default-border, #dee2e6); }
+.tc-pages .tc-pages .tc-pages-bar { margin: 6px 0; }
+.tc-pages .tc-pages .tc-pages-dot { width: 6px; height: 6px; }
+.tc-pages .tc-pages .tc-pages-dot[aria-current="page"] { width: 18px; }
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+  .tc-pages-page { animation: none; }
+  .tc-pages-dot, .tc-pages-fill { transition: none; }
+}
+`;
+
 export function Pages(props: { pages?: PageEntry[] }) {
   const pages = Array.isArray(props.pages) ? props.pages : [];
+  const depth = useContext(PagesDepth);
   const [page, setPage] = useState(1);
   if (pages.length === 0) return null;
-  const idx = Math.min(Math.max(page, 1), pages.length) - 1;
+  injectStyle("tc-pages", CSS);
+
+  const total = pages.length;
+  const idx = Math.min(Math.max(page, 1), total) - 1; // clamp: live patches may shrink `pages`
   const entry = pages[idx] ?? {};
-  const title = String(entry.title ?? `Page ${idx + 1}`);
-  const control = (where: string) => (
-    <Group gap="md" my="sm" wrap="wrap" key={where}>
-      <Pagination
-        total={pages.length}
-        value={idx + 1}
-        onChange={setPage}
-        size="sm"
-        siblings={2}
-      />
-      <Text size="sm" c="dimmed">
-        {idx + 1}/{pages.length} · {title}
-      </Text>
-    </Group>
+  const titleOf = (i: number) => String(pages[i]?.title ?? `Page ${i + 1}`);
+  const title = titleOf(idx);
+  const go = (n: number) => setPage(Math.min(Math.max(n, 1), total));
+
+  const nested = depth > 0;
+  const btnSize = nested ? "compact-xs" : "compact-sm";
+  const txtSize = nested ? "xs" : "sm";
+
+  const content = (
+    <PagesDepth.Provider value={depth + 1}>
+      <div key={idx} className="tc-pages-page">
+        {resolve(entry.node)}
+      </div>
+    </PagesDepth.Provider>
   );
+
+  if (total === 1) {
+    return (
+      <div className="tc-pages">
+        <Text size={txtSize} fw={600} my="xs" title={title}>
+          {title}
+        </Text>
+        {content}
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Arrow-step while focus is anywhere in a bar. stopPropagation keeps a nested
+  // pager's keys from also driving the outer one (and board-level handlers).
+  const onKeyDown = (e: React.KeyboardEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
+    if (e.ctrlKey || e.metaKey || e.altKey) return;
+    if ((e.target as HTMLElement).tagName === "SELECT") return; // jump select owns its keys
+    const next =
+      e.key === "ArrowLeft" ? idx : e.key === "ArrowRight" ? idx + 2 : e.key === "Home" ? 1 : e.key === "End" ? total : 0;
+    if (next === 0) return;
+    e.preventDefault();
+    e.stopPropagation();
+    go(next);
+  };
+
+  const bar = (where: "top" | "bottom") => (
+    <div
+      key={where}
+      className="tc-pages-bar"
+      role="group"
+      aria-label={`pager, page ${idx + 1} of ${total}`}
+      onKeyDown={onKeyDown}
+    >
+      {/* data-disabled (not disabled) keeps the button focusable at the ends,
+          so arrow-key stepping survives reaching page 1 / page N */}
+      <Button
+        variant="default"
+        size={btnSize}
+        data-disabled={idx === 0 || undefined}
+        aria-disabled={idx === 0 || undefined}
+        onClick={idx === 0 ? (e) => e.preventDefault() : () => go(idx)}
+        title={idx > 0 ? titleOf(idx - 1) : undefined}
+        aria-label="previous page"
+      >
+        ‹ Prev
+      </Button>
+      {/* polite live region (top bar only) so a step change is announced once */}
+      <div className="tc-pages-mid" aria-live={where === "top" ? "polite" : undefined}>
+        {total > DOTS_MAX ? (
+          <select
+            className="tc-pages-jump"
+            value={idx}
+            onChange={(e) => go(Number(e.currentTarget.value) + 1)}
+            aria-label="jump to page"
+          >
+            {pages.map((_, i) => (
+              <option key={i} value={i}>
+                {`${i + 1}/${total} · ${titleOf(i)}`}
+              </option>
+            ))}
+          </select>
+        ) : (
+          <>
+            <Text size={txtSize} fw={600} truncate style={{ minWidth: 0 }} title={title}>
+              {title}
+            </Text>
+            <Text size="xs" c="dimmed" style={{ whiteSpace: "nowrap" }}>
+              {idx + 1} of {total}
+            </Text>
+          </>
+        )}
+      </div>
+      <Button
+        variant="default"
+        size={btnSize}
+        data-disabled={idx === total - 1 || undefined}
+        aria-disabled={idx === total - 1 || undefined}
+        onClick={idx === total - 1 ? (e) => e.preventDefault() : () => go(idx + 2)}
+        title={idx < total - 1 ? titleOf(idx + 1) : undefined}
+        aria-label="next page"
+      >
+        Next ›
+      </Button>
+    </div>
+  );
+
+  const rail =
+    total > DOTS_MAX ? (
+      <div className="tc-pages-track" aria-hidden="true">
+        <div className="tc-pages-fill" style={{ width: `${((idx + 1) / total) * 100}%` }} />
+      </div>
+    ) : (
+      <div className="tc-pages-dots" role="group" aria-label="pages">
+        {pages.map((_, i) => (
+          <button
+            key={i}
+            type="button"
+            className="tc-pages-dot"
+            aria-current={i === idx ? "page" : undefined}
+            aria-label={`page ${i + 1}: ${titleOf(i)}`}
+            title={titleOf(i)}
+            onClick={() => go(i + 1)}
+          />
+        ))}
+      </div>
+    );
+
   return (
     <div className="tc-pages">
-      {control("top")}
-      <div key={idx}>{resolve(entry.node)}</div>
-      {control("bottom")}
+      {bar("top")}
+      {rail}
+      {content}
+      {bar("bottom")}
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/packages/viewer/test/pages.test.tsx b/packages/viewer/test/pages.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0861173
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/viewer/test/pages.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+// @vitest-environment happy-dom
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { createElement } from "react";
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
+import { MantineProvider } from "@mantine/core";
+import { resolve, componentNames } from "../src/client/renderers/component-resolver.js";
+
+const wrap = (node: unknown) =>
+  renderToStaticMarkup(createElement(MantineProvider, { defaultColorScheme: "dark" }, resolve(node) as never));
+
+const mkPages = (n: number, prefix = "Step") => ({
+  type: "Pages",
+  props: {
+    pages: Array.from({ length: n }, (_, i) => ({
+      title: `${prefix} ${i + 1}`,
+      node: { type: "Text", children: [`content of page ${i + 1}`] },
+    })),
+  },
+});
+
+describe("Pages", () => {
+  it("is registered and renders labeled prev/next, current title, count, and a dot per page", () => {
+    expect(componentNames()).toContain("Pages");
+    const html = wrap(mkPages(5));
+    expect(html).toContain("‹ Prev");
+    expect(html).toContain("Next ›");
+    expect(html).toContain("Step 1"); // current title, prominent
+    expect(html).toContain("1 of 5");
+    expect((html.match(/class="tc-pages-dot"/g) || []).length).toBe(5);
+    expect(html).toContain('aria-current="page"');
+    expect(html).toContain('aria-label="previous page"');
+    expect(html).toContain('aria-label="next page"');
+  });
+
+  it("renders only the active page's tree (off-page content stays unresolved)", () => {
+    const html = wrap(mkPages(5));
+    expect(html).toContain("content of page 1");
+    expect(html).not.toContain("content of page 2");
+  });
+
+  it("marks Prev disabled-but-focusable on the first page (arrow nav must survive the ends)", () => {
+    const html = wrap(mkPages(3));
+    const prev = html.slice(html.indexOf("previous page") - 400, html.indexOf("previous page") + 40);
+    expect(prev).toContain('data-disabled="true"');
+    expect(prev).toContain('aria-disabled="true"');
+    expect(prev).not.toContain(" disabled="); // real `disabled` would drop keyboard focus
+  });
+
+  it("swaps dots for a progress bar + jump-by-title select past 16 pages", () => {
+    const html = wrap(mkPages(20));
+    expect(html).not.toContain("tc-pages-dot\"");
+    expect(html).toContain("tc-pages-track");
+    expect(html).toContain("tc-pages-fill");
+    expect(html).toContain("tc-pages-jump");
+    expect(html).toContain("3/20 · Step 3"); // options carry position + title
+  });
+
+  it("renders a single page with its title but no stepper chrome", () => {
+    const html = wrap(mkPages(1, "Only"));
+    expect(html).toContain("Only 1");
+    expect(html).toContain("content of page 1");
+    expect(html).not.toContain("Next ›");
+    expect(html).not.toContain("tc-pages-dot");
+  });
+
+  it("renders nothing for an empty pages array and falls back titles for untitled pages", () => {
+    expect(wrap({ type: "Pages", props: { pages: [] } })).not.toContain("tc-pages");
+    const html = wrap({
+      type: "Pages",
+      props: { pages: [{ node: { type: "Text", children: ["a"] } }, { node: { type: "Text", children: ["b"] } }] },
+    });
+    expect(html).toContain("Page 1");
+  });
+});