diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d2db5f58..4c30e2d5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ pins — there the chips are in the tab order, so Tab to one and press Enter or
 leaving the keyboard.
 
 - **Multi-token URLs** — drop values into any link, e.g. `https://tool.com/{ip}/{email}`
+- **Web links only** — the resolved link must be `http` or `https`, so a template starts with `http://`, `https://` or the `{url}` token; the editor warns when it does not and offers a one-click fix
 - **Open in bulk** — pin several values; the tray states how many tabs it will open before you click
 - **Only what fits** — a tool is offered only when every token in its URL has a pinned value
 - **Templates & sharing** — ready templates copy their filled-in text to the clipboard, and configs export / import for your team
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 9e669a2d..52da64c5 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "clipless",
-  "version": "2.2.3",
+  "version": "2.3.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "clipless",
-      "version": "2.2.3",
+      "version": "2.3.0",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index c856dffc..709a917a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "clipless",
-  "version": "2.2.3",
+  "version": "2.3.0",
   "description": "A Clipboard manager for busy people",
   "main": "./out/main/index.js",
   "author": "Daniel Essig",
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/tools/ToolEditor.test.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/tools/ToolEditor.test.tsx
index c4c90ad4..ba1fee80 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/tools/ToolEditor.test.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/tools/ToolEditor.test.tsx
@@ -127,6 +127,51 @@ describe('ToolEditor', () => {
     expect(screen.getByTestId('readiness')).toHaveTextContent('no tokens');
     expect(screen.getByTestId('tool-preview-caption')).toHaveTextContent('Would open 1 tab');
   });
+
+  it('warns beneath the URL field when the template has no http or https scheme and prefixes https:// on click', async () => {
+    await renderTools(
+      <ToolEditor
+        initial={{ name: 'Lookup', url: 'example.com/{email}' }}
+        onSave={onSave}
+        onCancel={onCancel}
+      />
+    );
+    const warning = screen.getByTestId('tool-url-scheme');
+    expect(warning).toHaveTextContent('only http and https links can open');
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('tool-preview-caption')).toHaveTextContent('Would open 1 tab');
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByTestId('tool-url-scheme-fix'));
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('tool-url')).toHaveValue('https://example.com/{email}');
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId('tool-url-scheme')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByTestId('tool-url'), { target: { value: 'ftp://x/{email}' } });
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('tool-url-scheme')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByTestId('tool-url'), { target: { value: 'HTTP://x/{email}' } });
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId('tool-url-scheme')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByTestId('tool-url'), { target: { value: '' } });
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId('tool-url-scheme')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('does not warn when the template leads with the url token, which supplies its own scheme', async () => {
+    await renderTools(
+      <ToolEditor initial={{ name: 'Open', url: '{url}' }} onSave={onSave} onCancel={onCancel} />
+    );
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId('tool-url-scheme')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId('tool-url-scheme-fix')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('the https:// fix strips leading whitespace and leaves the caret after the prefix', async () => {
+    await renderTools(
+      <ToolEditor
+        initial={{ name: 'x', url: '  vt.example/{ip}' }}
+        onSave={onSave}
+        onCancel={onCancel}
+      />
+    );
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByTestId('tool-url-scheme-fix'));
+    const url = screen.getByTestId('tool-url') as HTMLInputElement;
+    expect(url).toHaveValue('https://vt.example/{ip}');
+    expect(url.selectionStart).toBe('https://'.length);
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(url);
+  });
 });
 
 describe('TemplateEditor', () => {
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/tools/ToolEditor.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/tools/ToolEditor.tsx
index 4874f398..cf6ccc24 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/tools/ToolEditor.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/tools/ToolEditor.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import classNames from 'classnames';
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { buildToolUrls } from '../../../../../shared/tools';
+import { buildToolUrls, needsWebScheme, withWebScheme } from '../../../../../shared/tools';
 import { Readiness } from './Readiness';
 import { TokenPicker, insertAtCaret } from './TokenPicker';
 import { TokenText } from './TokenText';
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ export function ToolEditor({ initial, onSave, onCancel }: ToolEditorProps) {
   const count = buildToolUrls({ url }, values).length;
   const resolved = resolveToolUrls(url, values);
   const needed = groupsNeeded({ url });
+  const schemeless = needsWebScheme(url);
 
   const save = async () => {
     setSaving(true);
@@ -79,6 +80,11 @@ export function ToolEditor({ initial, onSave, onCancel }: ToolEditorProps) {
     setCaret(next.caret);
   };
 
+  const addScheme = () => {
+    setUrl(withWebScheme(url));
+    setCaret('https://'.length);
+  };
+
   return (
     <div className={styles.editor} onKeyDown={trapTab} data-testid="tool-editor">
       <label className={w.field} htmlFor="tool-name">
@@ -107,6 +113,21 @@ export function ToolEditor({ initial, onSave, onCancel }: ToolEditorProps) {
         onChange={(e) => setUrl(e.target.value)}
         data-testid="tool-url"
       />
+      {schemeless && (
+        <div className={styles.meta}>
+          <span className={classNames(w.msg, w.msgWarn)} data-testid="tool-url-scheme">
+            only http and https links can open; this template starts with neither
+          </span>
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            className={w.link}
+            onClick={addScheme}
+            data-testid="tool-url-scheme-fix"
+          >
+            add https://
+          </button>
+        </div>
+      )}
       <TokenPicker onInsert={insert} />
       <div className={styles.meta}>
         <Readiness item={{ url }} terms={config.terms} scan={scan} />
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/tray/Tray.test.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/tray/Tray.test.tsx
index 2732eb53..d6e5ab62 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/tray/Tray.test.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/tray/Tray.test.tsx
@@ -175,6 +175,27 @@ describe('openTabs', () => {
     errSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
+  it('names the cause when fewer tabs opened than were offered', async () => {
+    const toast = vi.fn();
+    const mock = window.api.openExternalUrls as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
+    mock.mockResolvedValue(2);
+    await openTabs(['https://a', 'example.com/b', 'https://c'], toast);
+    expect(toast).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Opened 2 of 3 tabs; only http and https links can open', [
+      'https://a',
+      'example.com/b',
+      'https://c',
+    ]);
+    mock.mockResolvedValue(0);
+    await openTabs(['example.com/b'], toast);
+    expect(toast).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(
+      'Opened 0 of 1 tab; only http and https links can open',
+      ['example.com/b']
+    );
+    mock.mockResolvedValue(1);
+    await openTabs(['https://a'], toast);
+    expect(toast).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith('Opened 1 tab', ['https://a']);
+  });
+
   it('tabCount pluralises', () => {
     expect(tabCount(1)).toBe('1 tab');
     expect(tabCount(0)).toBe('0 tabs');
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/tray/Tray.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/tray/Tray.tsx
index cb3c1fa3..24477c5c 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/tray/Tray.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/tray/Tray.tsx
@@ -11,13 +11,22 @@ import styles from './Tray.module.css';
 
 /**
  * Open the tabs a tool or the tray produces through the main process, which accepts http
- * and https only. Every control states its count before it is clicked (spec 6).
+ * and https only. Every control states its count before it is clicked (spec 6). When the
+ * main process dropped some, the toast says how many of the offered count opened and why,
+ * rather than reporting the smaller number as a plain success.
  */
 export async function openTabs(urls: string[], toast: ToastFn): Promise<void> {
   if (urls.length === 0) return;
   try {
     const opened = await window.api.openExternalUrls(urls);
-    toast(`Opened ${opened} ${opened === 1 ? 'tab' : 'tabs'}`, urls);
+    if (opened < urls.length) {
+      toast(
+        `Opened ${opened} of ${tabCount(urls.length)}; only http and https links can open`,
+        urls
+      );
+    } else {
+      toast(`Opened ${tabCount(opened)}`, urls);
+    }
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('Failed to open tabs:', error);
     toast('Could not open the tabs', String(error));
diff --git a/src/shared/tools.test.ts b/src/shared/tools.test.ts
index a32f7cc1..a62bd6be 100644
--- a/src/shared/tools.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/tools.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
-import { toolTokens, toolReady, buildToolUrls } from './tools';
+import {
+  toolTokens,
+  toolReady,
+  buildToolUrls,
+  hasWebScheme,
+  needsWebScheme,
+  withWebScheme,
+} from './tools';
 
 const tool = (url: string) => ({ url });
 
@@ -174,3 +181,69 @@ describe('buildToolUrls', () => {
     expect(urls).toHaveLength(2);
   });
 });
+
+describe('hasWebScheme', () => {
+  it('accepts http and https in any case, ignoring surrounding whitespace', () => {
+    expect(hasWebScheme('https://example.com/{email}')).toBe(true);
+    expect(hasWebScheme('http://example.com')).toBe(true);
+    expect(hasWebScheme('  HTTPS://example.com ')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a schemeless template and every other scheme', () => {
+    expect(hasWebScheme('example.com/{email}')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasWebScheme('www.example.com')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasWebScheme('ftp://example.com')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasWebScheme('file:///etc/hosts')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasWebScheme('javascript:alert(1)')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasWebScheme('https:/example.com')).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasWebScheme('')).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('needsWebScheme', () => {
+  it.each([
+    ['example.com/{email}'],
+    ['www.example.com'],
+    ['ftp://example.com'],
+    ['https:/example.com'],
+    ['{url|domain}'],
+    ['{ip}/{url}'],
+    ['x/{url}'],
+    ['{URL}'],
+  ])('warns on %s', (input) => {
+    expect(needsWebScheme(input)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    [''],
+    ['   '],
+    ['https://example.com/{email}'],
+    ['  HTTP://example.com'],
+    ['{url}'],
+    [' { url }/extra'],
+    ['{url|}'],
+    ['{|url}'],
+    ['{url|url}'],
+  ])(
+    'does not warn on %s, which toolTokens reads as a leading url-only token or a web link',
+    (input) => {
+      expect(needsWebScheme(input)).toBe(false);
+    }
+  );
+});
+
+describe('withWebScheme', () => {
+  it.each([
+    ['example.com/{email}', 'https://example.com/{email}'],
+    ['  vt.example/{ip}', 'https://vt.example/{ip}'],
+    ['ftp://vt.internal/{ip}', 'https://vt.internal/{ip}'],
+    ['mailto:a@b.com', 'https://a@b.com'],
+    ['file:///x/{ip}', 'https://x/{ip}'],
+    ['https:/example.com/{ip}', 'https://example.com/{ip}'],
+    ['HTTP://example.com', 'https://example.com'],
+    ['localhost:3000/{ip}', 'https://localhost:3000/{ip}'],
+  ])('%s -> %s', (input, expected) => {
+    expect(withWebScheme(input)).toBe(expected);
+    expect(hasWebScheme(withWebScheme(input))).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/shared/tools.ts b/src/shared/tools.ts
index c7086905..482327ae 100644
--- a/src/shared/tools.ts
+++ b/src/shared/tools.ts
@@ -87,3 +87,48 @@ export function buildToolUrls(tool: { url: string }, pins: PinsByGroup): string[
 
   return urls.filter((url, index) => urls.indexOf(url) === index);
 }
+
+const WEB_SCHEME = /^https?:\/\//i;
+
+/**
+ * Whether a tool URL template starts with http:// or https://. The main process opens
+ * nothing else (open-external.ts), so the tray explains when fewer tabs opened than it
+ * offered. The editor's warning is needsWebScheme, which also exempts a leading url token.
+ */
+export function hasWebScheme(url: string): boolean {
+  return WEB_SCHEME.test(url.trim());
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether the editor should warn that this template will not open as a web link. A template
+ * that leads with a url-only token takes its scheme from the captured value (the built-in
+ * url pattern captures http:// or https://), which buildToolUrls substitutes unencoded, so
+ * it opens without a literal prefix. The token is read through toolTokens so {url|} and
+ * { url } count the same way there as here. An empty template gets no warning.
+ */
+export function needsWebScheme(url: string): boolean {
+  const trimmed = url.trim();
+  if (trimmed.length === 0 || hasWebScheme(trimmed)) return false;
+  const first = toolTokens(trimmed)[0];
+  const leadsWithUrl =
+    first !== undefined &&
+    trimmed.startsWith(first.token) &&
+    first.groups.length > 0 &&
+    first.groups.every((group) => group === 'url');
+  return !leadsWithUrl;
+}
+
+/**
+ * A leading scheme to drop before prefixing https://. The digit lookahead keeps a
+ * schemeless host:port ("localhost:3000/{ip}") intact, since no scheme is followed by a digit.
+ */
+const LEADING_SCHEME = /^[a-z][a-z0-9+.-]*:(?!\d)\/*/i;
+
+/**
+ * The template rewritten to start with https://, replacing any leading scheme (ftp://,
+ * mailto:, file:///, the https:/ typo) and dropping leading whitespace. Kept beside
+ * hasWebScheme so the editor's one-click fix always produces something it accepts.
+ */
+export function withWebScheme(url: string): string {
+  return 'https://' + url.trimStart().replace(LEADING_SCHEME, '');
+}