diff --git a/.mise/tasks/list b/.mise/tasks/list
index becae19..5ccfef9 100755
--- a/.mise/tasks/list
+++ b/.mise/tasks/list
@@ -67,13 +67,19 @@ elif not rows:
     else:
         print("No notes found.")
 else:
+    def _sanitize(val: str) -> str:
+        return str(val).replace("\t", " ").replace("\n", "⏎")
+
     table = "Title\tType\tStatus\tTags\tUpdated\n" + "\n".join(
-        f"{row['title']}\t{row['type']}\t{row['status']}\t{', '.join(row['tags'])}\t{row['date']}" for row in rows
-    )
-    subprocess.run(
-        ["gum", "table", "--print", "--separator", "\t"],
-        input=table,
-        text=True,
-        check=True,
+        f"{_sanitize(row['title'])}\t{_sanitize(row['type'])}\t{_sanitize(row['status'])}\t{_sanitize(', '.join(row['tags']))}\t{_sanitize(row['date'])}" for row in rows
     )
+    try:
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["gum", "table", "--print", "--separator", "\t"],
+            input=table,
+            text=True,
+            check=True,
+        )
+    except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, FileNotFoundError):
+        print(table)
 PY
diff --git a/.mise/tasks/search b/.mise/tasks/search
index eb4b2ac..9521344 100755
--- a/.mise/tasks/search
+++ b/.mise/tasks/search
@@ -94,13 +94,19 @@ elif not rows:
     suffix = f" with {' '.join(filters)}" if filters else ""
     print(f"No notes found matching: {query}{suffix}")
 else:
+    def _sanitize(val: str) -> str:
+        return str(val).replace("\t", " ").replace("\n", "⏎")
+
     table = "Title\tType\tStatus\tUpdated\tMatches\n" + "\n".join(
-        f"{row['title']}\t{row['type']}\t{row['status']}\t{row['date']}\t{' | '.join(row['matches'][:2])}" for row in rows
-    )
-    subprocess.run(
-        ["gum", "table", "--print", "--separator", "\t"],
-        input=table,
-        text=True,
-        check=True,
+        f"{_sanitize(row['title'])}\t{_sanitize(row['type'])}\t{_sanitize(row['status'])}\t{_sanitize(row['date'])}\t{_sanitize(' | '.join(row['matches'][:2]))}" for row in rows
     )
+    try:
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["gum", "table", "--print", "--separator", "\t"],
+            input=table,
+            text=True,
+            check=True,
+        )
+    except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, FileNotFoundError):
+        print(table)
 PY
diff --git a/test/search.bats b/test/search.bats
index 3190a17..053a320 100755
--- a/test/search.bats
+++ b/test/search.bats
@@ -84,3 +84,33 @@ EOF
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
   [[ "$output" == *"No notes found matching: absent"* ]]
 }
+
+@test "search falls back to TSV when gum table rejects unusual characters" {
+  # Write a note with a literal tab in the title — this breaks gum table's TSV parser
+  python3 << 'PYEND'
+import os
+path = os.path.join(os.environ['NOTES_CALLER_PWD'], 'notes', 'unusual.md')
+content = (
+    '---\n'
+    'title: "Tab\tTitle"\n'
+    'type: note\n'
+    'status: active\n'
+    'tags: [test]\n'
+    'created: 2026-01-01\n'
+    'updated: 2026-01-02\n'
+    '---\n'
+    '\n'
+    '# Tab\tTitle\n'
+    'Body with\ta\ttab\ttoo.\n'
+)
+with open(path, 'w') as f:
+    f.write(content)
+PYEND
+
+  run notes search Tab
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  # Should get sanitized output (tabs → spaces), not a crash
+  echo "$output" | grep -q "Tab Title"
+  # Body match snippet found (matches[:2] limits display, but first body line is enough)
+  echo "$output" | grep -q "# Tab Title"
+}