diff --git a/src/hooks/useScreenRecorder.ts b/src/hooks/useScreenRecorder.ts
index a8246d6b..bd06d4bb 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useScreenRecorder.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useScreenRecorder.ts
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ export function useScreenRecorder(): UseScreenRecorderReturn {
       }
     }
 
-    await window.electronAPI.switchToEditor();
+    await window.electronAPI.notifyRecordingFinalized();
   }, []);
 
   const stopWebcamRecorder = useCallback(async () => {
@@ -375,6 +375,8 @@ export function useScreenRecorder(): UseScreenRecorderReturn {
       return null;
     }
 
+    // Open editor early so it shows "Finalizing recording..." while we finalize
+    await window.electronAPI.openEditorEarly?.();
     const webcamPath = await stopWebcamRecorder();
     await finalizeRecordingSession(result.path, webcamPath);
     return result.path;
@@ -531,6 +533,11 @@ export function useScreenRecorder(): UseScreenRecorderReturn {
 
         let finalPath = result.path;
 
+        // Open the editor window immediately so the user sees a
+        // "Finalizing recording…" screen instead of staring at the
+        // recorder UI while mux/IO completes.
+        await window.electronAPI.openEditorEarly();
+
         if (isNativeWindows) {
           const muxResult = await window.electronAPI.muxNativeWindowsRecording(pauseSegments);
           if (!muxResult?.success) {
@@ -982,6 +989,9 @@ export function useScreenRecorder(): UseScreenRecorderReturn {
         cleanupCapturedMedia();
         if (chunks.current.length === 0) return;
 
+        // Open editor window immediately while we process the recording
+        await window.electronAPI.openEditorEarly?.();
+
         const duration = getRecordingDurationMs(Date.now());
         const recordedChunks = chunks.current;
         const buggyBlob = new Blob(recordedChunks, { type: mimeType });