diff --git a/main.lua b/main.lua
index 2f954cb..eae864c 100644
--- a/main.lua
+++ b/main.lua
@@ -73,6 +73,11 @@ function IrcChatView:init()
     self:initHistory()
     -- default to server console target
     self:switchTarget("*")
+    -- Restore last active target if available
+    local last = self:loadLastTarget()
+    if last and last ~= "" then
+        self:switchTarget(last)
+    end
     self:updateTitle()
     TextViewer.init(self)
     -- Start connection after UI init so we can show logs
@@ -117,6 +122,24 @@ function IrcChatView:writeHistory(target, line)
     end
 end
 
+function IrcChatView:saveLastTarget(target)
+    local path = string.format("%s/.last", self._history_server_dir)
+    local f = io.open(path, "w")
+    if f then
+        f:write(target or "")
+        f:close()
+    end
+end
+
+function IrcChatView:loadLastTarget()
+    local path = string.format("%s/.last", self._history_server_dir)
+    local f = io.open(path, "r")
+    if not f then return nil end
+    local s = f:read("*l")
+    f:close()
+    return s
+end
+
 function IrcChatView:readLastLines(path, max_lines)
     local f = io.open(path, "r")
     if not f then return nil end
@@ -192,6 +215,8 @@ function IrcChatView:switchTarget(target)
     end
     -- reset unread counter when focusing this target
     self._unread[target] = 0
+    -- persist last active target for this server
+    self:saveLastTarget(target)
 end
 
 function IrcChatView:appendLine(line, target)
@@ -447,7 +472,8 @@ function IrcChatView:handleLine(line)
                 self:appendLine(string.format("* %s joined %s", nick, ch), ch)
                 if nick == self._nick then
                     self:ensureBuffer(ch)
-                    if not self._current_target then
+                    -- Auto-switch to first joined channel if we're still on console
+                    if self._current_target == "*" then
                         self:switchTarget(ch)
                     end
                 end