diff --git a/Sources/EdgeControl/App/EdgeControlApp.swift b/Sources/EdgeControl/App/EdgeControlApp.swift
index 2af62ed..6a62362 100644
--- a/Sources/EdgeControl/App/EdgeControlApp.swift
+++ b/Sources/EdgeControl/App/EdgeControlApp.swift
@@ -45,14 +45,22 @@ final class DashboardWindowController {
             )
         }
 
-        WindowPlacement.configure(
+        let placed = WindowPlacement.configure(
             dashboardWindow,
             display: model.selectedDisplay,
-            kioskMode: layoutEngine.document.globalSettings.kioskMode
+            kioskMode: layoutEngine.document.globalSettings.kioskMode,
+            strictMonitorAffinity: layoutEngine.document.globalSettings.strictMonitorAffinity
         )
 
-        dashboardWindow.orderFrontRegardless()
-        dashboardWindow.makeKeyAndOrderFront(nil)
+        if placed {
+            dashboardWindow.orderFrontRegardless()
+            dashboardWindow.makeKeyAndOrderFront(nil)
+        } else {
+            // strictMonitorAffinity is on AND no eligible non-main screen
+            // exists — keep the window parked off-screen rather than
+            // surfacing it on the main display.
+            dashboardWindow.orderOut(nil)
+        }
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/Sources/EdgeControl/App/WindowPlacement.swift b/Sources/EdgeControl/App/WindowPlacement.swift
index fa211e5..d6846e9 100644
--- a/Sources/EdgeControl/App/WindowPlacement.swift
+++ b/Sources/EdgeControl/App/WindowPlacement.swift
@@ -2,34 +2,65 @@ import AppKit
 import SwiftUI
 
 public enum WindowPlacement {
-    @MainActor public static func configure(
+    /// Place a window per the kiosk-mode / display configuration.
+    ///
+    /// Returns true if a target screen was found and the window was
+    /// placed; false if no eligible target exists (caller can decide
+    /// whether to hide the window or accept the no-op).
+    ///
+    /// `strictMonitorAffinity` (default false → preserves existing
+    /// behavior): when true and kiosk mode is on, the placement
+    /// pipeline NEVER falls back to NSScreen.main and only accepts a
+    /// non-main screen. If a target display is named, it must match a
+    /// non-main screen exactly; if no name is set, the first non-main
+    /// screen wins. If neither yields a hit (the configured target is
+    /// asleep / unplugged, or the system is single-monitor), this
+    /// returns false WITHOUT touching the window — useful when the
+    /// caller wants to keep the window parked off-screen rather than
+    /// surfacing it on the main display.
+    @MainActor
+    @discardableResult
+    public static func configure(
         _ window: NSWindow?,
         display: DisplayDescriptor?,
-        kioskMode: Bool
-    ) {
-        guard let window else { return }
+        kioskMode: Bool,
+        strictMonitorAffinity: Bool = false
+    ) -> Bool {
+        guard let window else { return false }
 
         if !kioskMode {
-            // Window mode: standard resizable window
+            // Window mode: standard resizable window, no screen affinity.
             window.styleMask = [.titled, .closable, .miniaturizable, .resizable]
             window.level = .normal
             window.collectionBehavior = []
-            return
+            return true
         }
 
-        // Kiosk mode: full-screen borderless on selected display
-        let targetScreen = NSScreen.screens.first { screen in
-            guard let displayName = display?.name else { return false }
-            return screen.localizedName == displayName
-        } ?? NSScreen.screens.first { $0 != NSScreen.main } ?? NSScreen.main
+        let targetScreen: NSScreen? = {
+            if strictMonitorAffinity {
+                // Strict: only non-main screens are eligible, full stop.
+                // No silent fallback to main.
+                let nonMain = NSScreen.screens.filter { $0 != NSScreen.main }
+                if let displayName = display?.name {
+                    return nonMain.first { $0.localizedName == displayName }
+                }
+                return nonMain.first
+            }
+            // Non-strict (default): named match → first non-main → main.
+            return NSScreen.screens.first { screen in
+                guard let displayName = display?.name else { return false }
+                return screen.localizedName == displayName
+            } ?? NSScreen.screens.first { $0 != NSScreen.main } ?? NSScreen.main
+        }()
 
-        guard let screen = targetScreen else { return }
+        guard let screen = targetScreen else { return false }
 
         window.styleMask = [.borderless]
         window.level = .statusBar
         window.collectionBehavior = [.canJoinAllSpaces, .stationary]
         window.setFrame(screen.frame, display: true)
         window.orderFrontRegardless()
+        return true
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/Sources/EdgeControl/Models/LayoutConfig.swift b/Sources/EdgeControl/Models/LayoutConfig.swift
index a3c7ef4..947f0d0 100644
--- a/Sources/EdgeControl/Models/LayoutConfig.swift
+++ b/Sources/EdgeControl/Models/LayoutConfig.swift
@@ -119,6 +119,14 @@ public struct GlobalSettings: Codable, Sendable {
     public var kioskMode: Bool
     public var launchAtLogin: Bool
     public var debugMode: Bool
+    /// When true, the kiosk window NEVER falls back to NSScreen.main if
+    /// the configured selectedDisplayName isn't currently enumerated
+    /// (e.g. the secondary display is asleep, unplugged, or still
+    /// re-handshaking after wake). Instead the window stays parked
+    /// off-screen until the target reappears. Default false preserves
+    /// the existing fallback-to-non-main-then-main chain in
+    /// WindowPlacement.configure.
+    public var strictMonitorAffinity: Bool
     public var theme: ThemeSettings
 
     public init(
@@ -126,12 +134,43 @@ public struct GlobalSettings: Codable, Sendable {
         kioskMode: Bool = true,
         launchAtLogin: Bool = false,
         debugMode: Bool = false,
+        strictMonitorAffinity: Bool = false,
         theme: ThemeSettings = ThemeSettings()
     ) {
         self.selectedDisplayName = selectedDisplayName
         self.kioskMode = kioskMode
         self.launchAtLogin = launchAtLogin
         self.debugMode = debugMode
+        self.strictMonitorAffinity = strictMonitorAffinity
         self.theme = theme
     }
+
+    enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
+        case selectedDisplayName, kioskMode, launchAtLogin, debugMode
+        case strictMonitorAffinity, theme
+    }
+
+    // Custom Decodable so existing layout.json files (which don't carry
+    // strictMonitorAffinity) keep decoding. Synthesized Decodable would
+    // throw on a missing key even with a struct-field default. Other
+    // fields keep their normal decoding behavior.
+    public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
+        let c = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
+        selectedDisplayName = try c.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .selectedDisplayName)
+        kioskMode = try c.decodeIfPresent(Bool.self, forKey: .kioskMode) ?? true
+        launchAtLogin = try c.decodeIfPresent(Bool.self, forKey: .launchAtLogin) ?? false
+        debugMode = try c.decodeIfPresent(Bool.self, forKey: .debugMode) ?? false
+        strictMonitorAffinity = try c.decodeIfPresent(Bool.self, forKey: .strictMonitorAffinity) ?? false
+        theme = try c.decodeIfPresent(ThemeSettings.self, forKey: .theme) ?? ThemeSettings()
+    }
+
+    public func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
+        var c = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
+        try c.encodeIfPresent(selectedDisplayName, forKey: .selectedDisplayName)
+        try c.encode(kioskMode, forKey: .kioskMode)
+        try c.encode(launchAtLogin, forKey: .launchAtLogin)
+        try c.encode(debugMode, forKey: .debugMode)
+        try c.encode(strictMonitorAffinity, forKey: .strictMonitorAffinity)
+        try c.encode(theme, forKey: .theme)
+    }
 }