diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/view/batch-operations-toolbar.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/view/batch-operations-toolbar.svelte
index 4b2438b..b74760e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/view/batch-operations-toolbar.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/view/batch-operations-toolbar.svelte
@@ -242,7 +242,16 @@
 		<MergeBooks
 			books={mergingBooks}
 			libraryId={libraryState.activeLibrary!.id}
-			open={true}
+			bind:open={
+				() => mergingBooks !== null,
+				(value) => {
+					// Bound, not passed as a bare `true`: the dialog closes itself on an
+					// outside click or Escape, and if that never reaches `mergingBooks`
+					// the snapshot stays set — the button then re-assigns the same
+					// selection, nothing changes, and the dialog never reopens.
+					if (!value) mergingBooks = null;
+				}
+			}
 			onmerged={(_survivor, folded) => {
 				// Only the folded records are gone; the survivor is still in the library.
 				libraryState.activeLibrary!.total! -= folded.length;
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/settings/libraries/[libraryId]/duplicates/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/settings/libraries/[libraryId]/duplicates/+page.svelte
index 4ca82e2..7e0f2b7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/settings/libraries/[libraryId]/duplicates/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/settings/libraries/[libraryId]/duplicates/+page.svelte
@@ -190,7 +190,16 @@
 		<MergeBooks
 			books={recordsFor(merging)}
 			libraryId={page.params.libraryId!}
-			open={true}
+			bind:open={
+				() => merging !== null,
+				(value) => {
+					// Bound, not passed as a bare `true`: the dialog closes itself on an
+					// outside click or Escape, and if that never reaches `merging` the
+					// group stays set — the button then re-assigns the same group,
+					// nothing changes, and the workbench never reopens.
+					if (!value) merging = null;
+				}
+			}
 			onmerged={() => (merging = null)}
 		/>
 	{/key}