diff --git a/desktopenvs/hyprlua/hypr/hyprland.lua b/desktopenvs/hyprlua/hypr/hyprland.lua
index f3f6161..b585f1d 100644
--- a/desktopenvs/hyprlua/hypr/hyprland.lua
+++ b/desktopenvs/hyprlua/hypr/hyprland.lua
@@ -219,5 +219,9 @@ hl.device({
 -- default. Switching a workspace's layout at runtime is done from the astal-menu
 -- popup via `hyprctl eval 'layouts.set(ws, name, dir)'`.
 require("layouts.init")
-layouts.set_default("scrolling")
+layouts.set_default("columns")
+-- special:magic defaults to a downward scrolling layout instead of the session
+-- default; layouts.restore() below still wins if the user has since picked
+-- something else for it via the astal-menu.
+layouts.set("special:magic", "scrolling", "down")
 layouts.restore()   -- re-apply per-workspace layout choices so a reload doesn't drop them