diff --git a/apps/macos/Sources/Clawdis/AppState.swift b/apps/macos/Sources/Clawdis/AppState.swift
index e13f82bf3..95b27917b 100644
--- a/apps/macos/Sources/Clawdis/AppState.swift
+++ b/apps/macos/Sources/Clawdis/AppState.swift
@@ -35,10 +35,10 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
 
     @Published var swabbleTriggerWords: [String] {
         didSet {
+            // Trim user input but keep empty placeholders so the UI can show newly added rows.
             let cleaned = self.swabbleTriggerWords.map { $0.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines) }
-                .filter { !$0.isEmpty }
             UserDefaults.standard.set(cleaned, forKey: swabbleTriggersKey)
-            if cleaned.count != self.swabbleTriggerWords.count {
+            if cleaned != self.swabbleTriggerWords {
                 self.swabbleTriggerWords = cleaned
                 return
             }