diff --git a/apps/cli/src/commands/profiles.ts b/apps/cli/src/commands/profiles.ts
index e611deb..3381c4a 100644
--- a/apps/cli/src/commands/profiles.ts
+++ b/apps/cli/src/commands/profiles.ts
@@ -89,6 +89,9 @@ async function saveProfile(parsed: ParsedArgv, store: DiskPushStore, output: Out
     destination: parseEndpoint(destination),
     preset: presetFlag ? PresetNameSchema.parse(presetFlag) : 'fast-sync',
     options: optionsFromFlags(parsed),
+    // A profile made here has no panes. 'left' is what the app will use when
+    // it opens one: source on the left, the way you read it.
+    sourcePane: 'left',
     // Never inherited from the command line: unattended mirroring has to be
     // turned on deliberately, in one place, after the fact.
     trustDeletes: false,
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/main/services/transfers.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/main/services/transfers.ts
index c662ed1..6c1163d 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/main/services/transfers.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/main/services/transfers.ts
@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ export async function saveProfile(input: {
   source: EndpointRef
   destination: EndpointRef
   options: TransferOptions
+  sourcePane: 'left' | 'right'
 }) {
   const source = await resolveEndpoint(input.source)
   const destination = await resolveEndpoint(input.destination)
@@ -247,6 +248,7 @@ export async function saveProfile(input: {
     destination: destination.endpoint,
     preset: 'fast-sync',
     options: optionsFrom(input.options),
+    sourcePane: input.sourcePane,
     // Never set from the app. Unattended mirroring is the one way a delete
     // list runs without a human looking at it, and it stays a deliberate,
     // out-of-band choice.
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/shared/contract.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/shared/contract.ts
index a4675d3..1088086 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/shared/contract.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/shared/contract.ts
@@ -145,6 +145,8 @@ export const ProfileSaveSchema = z.object({
   source: EndpointRefSchema,
   destination: EndpointRefSchema,
   options: TransferOptionsSchema,
+  /** Which pane the source was on, so loading puts both back where they were. */
+  sourcePane: z.enum(['left', 'right']).default('left'),
 })
 
 export const RemotePathRequestSchema = z.object({
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/page.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/page.tsx
index edeac6d..76606e7 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/page.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/page.tsx
@@ -250,9 +250,23 @@ export default function Workspace() {
           : { kind: 'ssh', connectionId: endpoint.connectionId }
 
       setError(null)
-      setLeft(blankPane(toPane(profile.source), profile.source.path))
-      setRight(blankPane(toPane(profile.destination), profile.destination.path))
-      setDirection('ltr')
+
+      /*
+       * Put each pane back where it was, not where the transfer's direction
+       * happens to imply.
+       *
+       * `source` and `destination` carry the transfer's meaning, so with the
+       * arrow pointing right-to-left the source IS the right pane. Loading
+       * source into the left pane unconditionally mirrored the whole window,
+       * and forcing the arrow back to left-to-right lost the direction too.
+       */
+      const sourceOnLeft = (profile.sourcePane ?? 'left') === 'left'
+      const forLeft = sourceOnLeft ? profile.source : profile.destination
+      const forRight = sourceOnLeft ? profile.destination : profile.source
+
+      setLeft(blankPane(toPane(forLeft), forLeft.path))
+      setRight(blankPane(toPane(forRight), forRight.path))
+      setDirection(sourceOnLeft ? 'ltr' : 'rtl')
       setMirror(profile.options?.deleteMode !== undefined && profile.options.deleteMode !== 'off')
     },
     [],
@@ -268,6 +282,9 @@ export default function Workspace() {
             source: request.source,
             destination: request.destination,
             options: request.options,
+            // Which pane the source was on. Without it, loading cannot tell a
+            // right-to-left arrangement from a mirrored left-to-right one.
+            sourcePane: direction === 'ltr' ? 'left' : 'right',
           }),
         )
         setProfiles(await unwrap(api()?.profiles.list()))
@@ -275,7 +292,7 @@ export default function Workspace() {
         setError(caught instanceof Error ? caught.message : String(caught))
       }
     },
-    [request],
+    [request, direction],
   )
 
   const removeProfile = useCallback(async (id: string) => {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/lib/api.ts b/apps/desktop/src/lib/api.ts
index 5ec81a2..ba04f42 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ export type SyncProfile = {
   source: { type: 'local'; path: string } | { type: 'ssh'; connectionId?: string; host: string; path: string }
   destination: { type: 'local'; path: string } | { type: 'ssh'; connectionId?: string; host: string; path: string }
   options: { deleteMode: 'off' | 'delay' | 'during' | 'after' | 'before' }
+  /** Which pane the source was on when saved. Older rows default to 'left'. */
+  sourcePane?: 'left' | 'right'
 }
 
 export type StartedJob = { jobId: string; command: string; control: string | null; warnings: string[] }
@@ -231,6 +233,7 @@ type Api = {
       source: unknown
       destination: unknown
       options: { deleteMode: 'off' | 'delay' }
+      sourcePane: 'left' | 'right'
     }): Promise<IpcResult<SyncProfile>>
     remove(id: string): Promise<IpcResult<boolean>>
   }
diff --git a/docs/profiles.md b/docs/profiles.md
index db74d23..0f9244f 100644
--- a/docs/profiles.md
+++ b/docs/profiles.md
@@ -34,6 +34,13 @@ A profile whose delete mode is on carries a red **mirror** mark, because
 loading a profile that turns Mirror on is not something to discover from the
 footer afterwards.
 
+A profile restores **both panes where you left them**, and the arrow with
+them. `source` and `destination` carry the transfer's meaning — that is what
+`diskpush profile run` acts on, and it must not depend on how a window was
+arranged — so the arrangement is recorded separately. Without that, a profile
+saved while the arrow pointed right-to-left came back mirrored, because the
+source was the *right* pane and loading put it on the left.
+
 Loading a profile sets Mirror to whatever the profile stored, rather than
 leaving it as it found it — a profile that did something different depending
 on what you had toggled last would not be a profile.
diff --git a/packages/database/src/migrations.ts b/packages/database/src/migrations.ts
index 85251bc..37d3a09 100644
--- a/packages/database/src/migrations.ts
+++ b/packages/database/src/migrations.ts
@@ -189,4 +189,18 @@ export const MIGRATIONS: Migration[] = [
       `ALTER TABLE fleet_commands ADD COLUMN on_failure TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'continue'`,
     ],
   },
+  {
+    name: '005-profile-source-pane',
+    statements: [
+      /*
+       * Which pane the source was on.
+       *
+       * A profile stored source and destination, which is the transfer's
+       * meaning, and the app restored source into the LEFT pane always. Saved
+       * with the arrow pointing right-to-left, the panes came back mirrored.
+       * Defaults to 'left', which is what every existing row was assumed to be.
+       */
+      `ALTER TABLE sync_profiles ADD COLUMN source_pane TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'left'`,
+    ],
+  },
 ]
diff --git a/packages/database/src/store.ts b/packages/database/src/store.ts
index 59fbb65..a4a2d1e 100644
--- a/packages/database/src/store.ts
+++ b/packages/database/src/store.ts
@@ -165,12 +165,13 @@ export class DiskPushStore {
     await this.client.execute({
       sql: `INSERT INTO sync_profiles (
               id, name, source_json, destination_json, preset, options_json, trust_deletes,
-              schedule_json, watch_json, notify_on_success, notify_on_failure, created_at, updated_at
-            ) VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)
+              source_pane, schedule_json, watch_json, notify_on_success, notify_on_failure, created_at, updated_at
+            ) VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?)
             ON CONFLICT(id) DO UPDATE SET
               name=excluded.name, source_json=excluded.source_json,
               destination_json=excluded.destination_json, preset=excluded.preset,
               options_json=excluded.options_json, trust_deletes=excluded.trust_deletes,
+              source_pane=excluded.source_pane,
               schedule_json=excluded.schedule_json, watch_json=excluded.watch_json,
               notify_on_success=excluded.notify_on_success, notify_on_failure=excluded.notify_on_failure,
               updated_at=excluded.updated_at`,
@@ -182,6 +183,7 @@ export class DiskPushStore {
         profile.preset,
         JSON.stringify(profile.options),
         profile.trustDeletes ? 1 : 0,
+        profile.sourcePane,
         JSON.stringify(profile.schedule),
         JSON.stringify(profile.watch),
         profile.notifyOnSuccess ? 1 : 0,
@@ -572,6 +574,7 @@ function rowToProfile(row: Row): SyncProfile {
     preset: String(row.preset),
     options: JSON.parse(String(row.options_json)),
     trustDeletes: Number(row.trust_deletes) === 1,
+    sourcePane: String(row.source_pane),
     schedule: JSON.parse(String(row.schedule_json)),
     watch: JSON.parse(String(row.watch_json)),
     notifyOnSuccess: Number(row.notify_on_success) === 1,
diff --git a/packages/schemas/src/profile.ts b/packages/schemas/src/profile.ts
index 4a452bb..dc82bf4 100644
--- a/packages/schemas/src/profile.ts
+++ b/packages/schemas/src/profile.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,16 @@ export const SyncProfileSchema = z.object({
    * Off by default and deliberately awkward to turn on: it is the only way a
    * mirror runs without a human looking at the delete list first.
    */
+  /**
+   * Which pane the source was on when this was saved.
+   *
+   * `source` and `destination` carry the transfer's meaning and always will —
+   * that is what `diskpush profile run` acts on, and it must not depend on how
+   * a window happened to be arranged. This records the arrangement separately,
+   * so loading a profile in the app puts each pane back where you left it
+   * instead of mirroring them whenever the arrow pointed right-to-left.
+   */
+  sourcePane: z.enum(['left', 'right']).default('left'),
   trustDeletes: z.boolean().default(false),
   schedule: ScheduleSchema.default({}),
   watch: WatchSchema.default({}),