diff --git a/context/test-evidence/core.md b/context/test-evidence/core.md
index e553a469..55543e64 100644
--- a/context/test-evidence/core.md
+++ b/context/test-evidence/core.md
@@ -2115,3 +2115,10 @@ The TUI item row. Not separately injected: its draw path is the one line the
 
 Rival: the column header uses `col_label` (the key). The exact output pins the
 corner cell `Kind (Who=Alicia)`, the column header and the row label.
+
+### view::layout::tests::a_page_axis_with_ragged_displays_is_refused
+
+From Copilot's finding on #336: `item_displays` is a parallel list on a wire type
+that derives `Deserialize`. The control parses a well-formed axis first; then a
+shorter list and an absent one beside `items: Some(..)` are each refused with the
+"item displays" message. Without the `try_from` the same JSON parses.
diff --git a/crates/improvise-core/src/view/layout.rs b/crates/improvise-core/src/view/layout.rs
index df9e0387..37a0c133 100644
--- a/crates/improvise-core/src/view/layout.rs
+++ b/crates/improvise-core/src/view/layout.rs
@@ -490,6 +490,7 @@ fn innermost_group(items: &[AxisEntry], idx: usize) -> Option<(String, String)>
 /// One category constraining which records are visible: what it is fixed to,
 /// and — when the user may page it — what `[`/`]` cycle. core.md §7.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+#[serde(try_from = "UncheckedPageAxis")]
 pub struct PageAxis {
     pub cat: String,
     /// What the bar shows for `cat`; the key stays what a command names (core.md §21).
@@ -505,6 +506,41 @@ pub struct PageAxis {
     pub item_displays: Option<Vec<String>>,
 }
 
+/// A [`PageAxis`] as the wire delivers it, before `item_displays` is checked
+/// against `items`: a parallel list a client must not see ragged.
+#[derive(serde::Deserialize)]
+struct UncheckedPageAxis {
+    cat: String,
+    cat_display: String,
+    selected: String,
+    selected_display: String,
+    items: Option<Vec<String>>,
+    item_displays: Option<Vec<String>>,
+}
+
+impl TryFrom<UncheckedPageAxis> for PageAxis {
+    type Error = String;
+
+    fn try_from(raw: UncheckedPageAxis) -> Result<Self, String> {
+        let keys = raw.items.as_ref().map(Vec::len);
+        let shown = raw.item_displays.as_ref().map(Vec::len);
+        match keys == shown {
+            true => Ok(Self {
+                cat: raw.cat,
+                cat_display: raw.cat_display,
+                selected: raw.selected,
+                selected_display: raw.selected_display,
+                items: raw.items,
+                item_displays: raw.item_displays,
+            }),
+            false => Err(format!(
+                "page axis {}: {keys:?} items but {shown:?} item displays",
+                raw.cat
+            )),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// The page axes as the plain coordinate pairs `matching_cells` and
 /// `CellKey::new` take.
 pub fn page_constraints(axes: &[PageAxis]) -> Vec<(String, String)> {
@@ -1192,7 +1228,7 @@ impl GridEval<'_> {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::{
-        AxisEntry, GridLayout, NEW_CATEGORY_COL, NEW_MEASURE_COL, RecordCol, data_items,
+        AxisEntry, GridLayout, NEW_CATEGORY_COL, NEW_MEASURE_COL, PageAxis, RecordCol, data_items,
         prune_axis_items, synthetic_record_info,
     };
     use crate::model::Aggregation;
@@ -1736,6 +1772,22 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn a_page_axis_with_ragged_displays_is_refused() {
+        let good = PageAxis::plain("Q", "Q1", Some(vec!["Q1".into(), "Q2".into()]));
+        let wire = serde_json::to_value(&good).expect("a page axis serializes");
+        assert_eq!(
+            serde_json::from_value::<PageAxis>(wire.clone()).unwrap(),
+            good
+        );
+        for bad in [serde_json::json!(["Only one"]), serde_json::json!(null)] {
+            let mut ragged = wire.clone();
+            ragged["item_displays"] = bad;
+            let err = serde_json::from_value::<PageAxis>(ragged).unwrap_err();
+            assert!(err.to_string().contains("item displays"), "{err}");
+        }
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn a_folded_group_is_shown_under_the_groups_display_and_keyed_by_its_name() {
         let mut wb = shown_otherwise();