diff --git a/crates/keymap/src/scope.rs b/crates/keymap/src/scope.rs
index 287413c9..26b94e49 100644
--- a/crates/keymap/src/scope.rs
+++ b/crates/keymap/src/scope.rs
@@ -9,17 +9,21 @@ pub const MAX_SCOPE_NAME: usize = 64;
 
 const APP: &str = "Application";
 
-/// The name of a scope. Never empty, at most [`MAX_SCOPE_NAME`] bytes, without `:`.
+/// The name of a scope. Never empty, at most [`MAX_SCOPE_NAME`] bytes, without `:` or outer
+/// whitespace.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Hash, PartialOrd, Ord, Serialize)]
 #[serde(transparent)]
 pub struct Scope(String);
 
 impl Scope {
-    /// `None` for an empty name, one over [`MAX_SCOPE_NAME`] bytes, or one with `:` or a control
-    /// character.
+    /// `None` for an empty name, one over [`MAX_SCOPE_NAME`] bytes, one with `:` or a control
+    /// character, or one with whitespace at either end, which binding text would lose.
     pub fn new(name: impl Into<String>) -> Option<Scope> {
         let name = name.into();
-        let ok = !name.is_empty() && name.len() <= MAX_SCOPE_NAME && !name.chars().any(|c| c == ':' || c.is_control());
+        let ok = !name.is_empty()
+            && name.len() <= MAX_SCOPE_NAME
+            && name.trim() == name
+            && !name.chars().any(|c| c == ':' || c.is_control());
         ok.then_some(Scope(name))
     }
 
diff --git a/crates/keymap/tests/keymap.rs b/crates/keymap/tests/keymap.rs
index 3a8a2483..74ba8d6e 100644
--- a/crates/keymap/tests/keymap.rs
+++ b/crates/keymap/tests/keymap.rs
@@ -375,6 +375,15 @@ fn binding_text_round_trips_for_every_key() {
     assert_eq!(Binding::parse(": :"), Ok(Binding::new(Trigger::double(Chord::plain(Key::Colon)))));
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn scope_names_with_outer_whitespace_are_refused() {
+    for name in [" Timeline", "Timeline ", "\u{a0}Timeline", ""] {
+        assert_eq!(Scope::new(name), None, "{name:?}");
+    }
+    assert_eq!(Scope::new("Time line").map(|s| s.to_string()).as_deref(), Some("Time line"));
+    assert_eq!(Binding::parse(" Timeline :  K").map(|b| b.scope), Ok(Some(scope("Timeline"))));
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn edits_are_refused_when_the_overrides_are_full() {
     let catalog = vec![app("edit.copy", &["Cmd+C"]), app("edit.duplicate", &["Cmd+D"]), app("edit.cut", &[])];