diff --git a/plugins/notes/frontend/src/index.js b/plugins/notes/frontend/src/index.js
index 3d2172a..a934a1b 100644
--- a/plugins/notes/frontend/src/index.js
+++ b/plugins/notes/frontend/src/index.js
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     '.notes-btn.primary:hover{background:#2a4a3a}',
     '.notes-filter,.notes-sort{font-size:.78rem;padding:.32rem .5rem;border:1px solid #333;border-radius:4px;background:#0d0d1a;color:#e0e0e0;outline:none}',
     '.notes-filter{width:11rem}',
-    '.notes-sort{width:8rem}',
+    '.notes-sort{width:8rem;appearance:none;background-color:#0d0d1a;background-image:linear-gradient(45deg,transparent 50%,#8b8ba8 50%),linear-gradient(135deg,#8b8ba8 50%,transparent 50%);background-position:calc(100% - 14px) 50%,calc(100% - 9px) 50%;background-size:5px 5px,5px 5px;background-repeat:no-repeat;padding-right:1.6rem}',
     '.notes-filter:focus,.notes-sort:focus{border-color:#4ecca3}',
     '.notes-list{flex:1;overflow:auto;min-height:0}',
     '.notes-item{display:flex;align-items:center;gap:.5rem;padding:.45rem .75rem;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(22,33,62,.55);cursor:pointer;font-size:.85rem}',
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-notes-plugin.js b/scripts/smoke-notes-plugin.js
index 96c19ea..44e8337 100755
--- a/scripts/smoke-notes-plugin.js
+++ b/scripts/smoke-notes-plugin.js
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ const root = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
 const sourcePath = path.join(root, 'plugins', 'notes', 'frontend', 'src', 'index.js');
 const source = fs.readFileSync(sourcePath, 'utf8');
 
+if (!source.includes('.notes-sort{width:8rem;appearance:none;')) {
+  throw new Error('notes sort select must use the shared custom dropdown style');
+}
+
 class FakeNode {
   constructor(tagName) {
     this.tagName = String(tagName || '').toUpperCase();