diff --git a/static/js/components/shared/ModelTags.js b/static/js/components/shared/ModelTags.js
index 8cabefe0..922af248 100644
--- a/static/js/components/shared/ModelTags.js
+++ b/static/js/components/shared/ModelTags.js
@@ -274,7 +274,17 @@ async function saveTags() {
     
     const filePath = editBtn.dataset.filePath;
     const tagElements = document.querySelectorAll('.metadata-item');
-    const tags = Array.from(tagElements).map(tag => tag.dataset.tag);
+    let tags = Array.from(tagElements).map(tag => tag.dataset.tag);
+    
+    // Flush uncommitted input as a tag so it's not silently lost on save
+    const tagInput = document.querySelector('.metadata-input');
+    if (tagInput) {
+        const pendingTag = tagInput.value.trim().toLowerCase();
+        if (pendingTag && !tags.includes(pendingTag)) {
+            tags.push(pendingTag);
+        }
+        tagInput.value = '';
+    }
 
     // Get original tags to compare
     const originalTagElements = document.querySelectorAll('.tooltip-tag');
@@ -465,6 +475,7 @@ function setupTagInput() {
     const tagInput = document.querySelector('.metadata-input');
     
     if (tagInput) {
+        tagInput.focus();
         tagInput.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
             if (e.key === 'Enter') {
                 e.preventDefault();
diff --git a/static/js/managers/BulkManager.js b/static/js/managers/BulkManager.js
index 52e95524..5b63d58e 100644
--- a/static/js/managers/BulkManager.js
+++ b/static/js/managers/BulkManager.js
@@ -785,6 +785,7 @@ export class BulkManager {
         // Setup tag input behavior
         const tagInput = document.querySelector('.bulk-metadata-input');
         if (tagInput) {
+            tagInput.focus();
             tagInput.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
                 if (e.key === 'Enter') {
                     e.preventDefault();
@@ -1008,7 +1009,17 @@ export class BulkManager {
 
     async saveBulkTags(mode = 'append') {
         const tagElements = document.querySelectorAll('#bulkTagsItems .metadata-item');
-        const tags = Array.from(tagElements).map(tag => tag.dataset.tag);
+        let tags = Array.from(tagElements).map(tag => tag.dataset.tag);
+
+        // Flush uncommitted input as a tag so it's not silently lost on save
+        const tagInput = document.querySelector('.bulk-metadata-input');
+        if (tagInput) {
+            const pendingTag = tagInput.value.trim().toLowerCase();
+            if (pendingTag && !tags.includes(pendingTag)) {
+                tags.push(pendingTag);
+            }
+            tagInput.value = '';
+        }
 
         if (tags.length === 0) {
             showToast('toast.models.noTagsToAdd', {}, 'warning');