diff --git a/config/sway/conf.d/10-appearance.conf b/config/sway/conf.d/10-appearance.conf
index 2cb9536..4c00a21 100644
--- a/config/sway/conf.d/10-appearance.conf
+++ b/config/sway/conf.d/10-appearance.conf
@@ -16,11 +16,15 @@ output * bg ~/.config/sway/wallpapers/blue-horizon.svg fill
 # Desktop-only dual-monitor arrangement: DP-3 is the centered primary
 # display, DP-2 sits immediately to its left. Sway silently ignores
 # `output` directives for names that don't exist, so this is a no-op on
-# the single-monitor laptop (its internal panel, e.g. eDP-1, is untouched
-# and simply gets everything). Workspace-to-output routing is not pinned
-# here; scripts/select-workspace.sh assigns workspaces to whichever
-# outputs are actually connected, in left-to-right order, so it adapts
-# automatically on both machines without any per-host config.
+# the laptop, where scripts/apply-outputs.sh instead positions whatever
+# external display gets plugged in dynamically (see that script and
+# scripts/lib-outputs.sh for the shared laptop/desktop detection logic).
+#
+# Workspace-to-output routing isn't pinned here either way:
+# scripts/select-workspace.sh (shared with apply-outputs.sh) assigns
+# workspaces 1-10/11-20/... to whichever outputs are connected, ranked
+# primary-first, so both keybinds and monitor placement always agree on
+# which output is "first" without any per-host config.
 output DP-3 position 0 0
 output DP-2 position -2560 0
 
diff --git a/config/sway/conf.d/40-autostart.conf b/config/sway/conf.d/40-autostart.conf
index 57da1de..dc96c75 100644
--- a/config/sway/conf.d/40-autostart.conf
+++ b/config/sway/conf.d/40-autostart.conf
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 exec_always --no-startup-id sh -c 'pkill waybar; exec waybar'
+exec_always --no-startup-id sh -c 'pkill -f apply-outputs.sh; exec ~/.config/sway/scripts/apply-outputs.sh'
 exec --no-startup-id mako
 exec --no-startup-id nm-applet --indicator
 exec --no-startup-id /usr/lib/polkit-gnome/polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1
diff --git a/config/sway/scripts/apply-outputs.sh b/config/sway/scripts/apply-outputs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..a473a5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/sway/scripts/apply-outputs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Laptop-only dynamic monitor placement: whenever a display is plugged or
+# unplugged, arrange active outputs left-to-right in output_order() order
+# (external display(s) first, internal panel last), so a newly connected
+# external monitor gets a sensible position automatically without any
+# manual config. On the desktop this exits immediately — that monitor
+# pair has a fixed physical arrangement set statically in
+# conf.d/10-appearance.conf.
+set -Eeuo pipefail
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$SCRIPT_DIR/lib-outputs.sh"
+
+is_laptop || exit 0
+
+apply_layout() {
+  local outputs_json x=0 name width
+  outputs_json=$(swaymsg -t get_outputs -r)
+  mapfile -t ordered < <(output_order)
+  for name in "${ordered[@]}"; do
+    width=$(jq -r --arg n "$name" '.[] | select(.name==$n) | .rect.width' <<<"$outputs_json")
+    swaymsg output "$name" position "$x" 0 >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    x=$((x + width))
+  done
+}
+
+apply_layout
+swaymsg -t subscribe -m '["output"]' | while read -r _; do
+  apply_layout
+done
diff --git a/config/sway/scripts/lib-outputs.sh b/config/sway/scripts/lib-outputs.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..779ab01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/sway/scripts/lib-outputs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+# Shared helpers for arranging outputs and routing workspaces across both
+# machines: the laptop (whatever external display happens to be plugged
+# in, if any) and the desktop (a fixed DP-3/DP-2 pair). Sourced by
+# apply-outputs.sh and select-workspace.sh so both always agree on which
+# output is "primary" and in what order the rest follow.
+
+is_laptop() {
+  local supply
+  for supply in /sys/class/power_supply/*/; do
+    [[ -r "${supply}type" ]] || continue
+    [[ "$(<"${supply}type")" == Battery ]] && return 0
+  done
+  return 1
+}
+
+is_internal_panel() {
+  case "$1" in
+    eDP-*|LVDS-*|DSI-*) return 0 ;;
+    *) return 1 ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+# Prints the names of currently active outputs, one per line, ordered
+# primary-first:
+#   - laptop:  any external display(s), in the order sway reports them,
+#              then the internal panel last (so a docked external is
+#              always primary; undocked, the panel is the only entry).
+#   - desktop: DP-3, then DP-2, then anything else alphabetically as a
+#              fallback for an unexpected output.
+output_order() {
+  local outputs_json name
+  outputs_json=$(swaymsg -t get_outputs -r)
+  mapfile -t active < <(jq -r '.[] | select(.active) | .name' <<<"$outputs_json")
+
+  local ordered=()
+  if is_laptop; then
+    local externals=() internals=()
+    for name in "${active[@]}"; do
+      if is_internal_panel "$name"; then internals+=("$name"); else externals+=("$name"); fi
+    done
+    ordered=("${externals[@]}" "${internals[@]}")
+  else
+    local preferred=(DP-3 DP-2) p seen
+    for p in "${preferred[@]}"; do
+      for name in "${active[@]}"; do [[ "$name" == "$p" ]] && ordered+=("$name"); done
+    done
+    for name in "${active[@]}"; do
+      seen=false
+      local o
+      for o in "${ordered[@]}"; do [[ "$o" == "$name" ]] && seen=true; done
+      "$seen" || ordered+=("$name")
+    done
+  fi
+  printf '%s\n' "${ordered[@]}"
+}
diff --git a/config/sway/scripts/select-workspace.sh b/config/sway/scripts/select-workspace.sh
index c57c808..ea012aa 100755
--- a/config/sway/scripts/select-workspace.sh
+++ b/config/sway/scripts/select-workspace.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -Eeuo pipefail
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$SCRIPT_DIR/lib-outputs.sh"
 
 slot=${1:-}
 action=${2:-select}
@@ -9,15 +11,18 @@ if [[ ! "$slot" =~ ^([1-9]|10)$ ]]; then
   exit 2
 fi
 
-# Outputs are ordered left-to-right by position, not by name, so this works
-# unmodified whether there is one output (laptop) or several (desktop):
-# the focused output's rank in that order selects its block of 10 workspaces.
-outputs=$(swaymsg -t get_outputs -r | jq -c 'sort_by(.rect.x)')
-index=$(jq -r '[.[] | .focused] | index(true)' <<<"$outputs")
-if [[ "$index" == null ]]; then
-  printf 'No focused output found\n' >&2
+mapfile -t ordered < <(output_order)
+focused=$(swaymsg -t get_outputs -r | jq -r '.[] | select(.focused) | .name')
+
+index=-1
+for i in "${!ordered[@]}"; do
+  [[ "${ordered[$i]}" == "$focused" ]] && index=$i && break
+done
+if ((index < 0)); then
+  printf 'Focused output %s is not currently tracked\n' "$focused" >&2
   exit 1
 fi
+
 workspace=$((slot + index * 10))
 
 case "$action" in