diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c918cf4..598622d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ Backend server + browser interface for MeshCore mesh radio networks. Connect you
 * Run multiple Python bots that can analyze messages and respond to DMs and channels
 * Monitor unlimited contacts and channels (radio limits don't apply -- packets are decrypted server-side)
 * Access your radio remotely over your network or VPN
-* Search for hashtag room names for channels you don't have keys for yet
+* Search for hashtag channel names for channels you don't have keys for yet
 * Forward packets to MQTT, LetsMesh, MeshRank, SQS, Apprise, etc.
 * Use the more recent 1.14 firmwares which support multibyte pathing
 * Visualize the mesh as a map or node set, view repeater stats, and more!
diff --git a/README_ADVANCED.md b/README_ADVANCED.md
index f061324..64aba19 100644
--- a/README_ADVANCED.md
+++ b/README_ADVANCED.md
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ If the audit finds a mismatch, you'll see an error in the application UI and you
 
 ## HTTPS
 
-WebGPU room-finding requires a secure context when you are not on `localhost`.
+WebGPU channel-finding requires a secure context when you are not on `localhost`.
 
 Generate a local cert and start the backend with TLS:
 
diff --git a/app/AGENTS.md b/app/AGENTS.md
index f87c8a8..105fe7f 100644
--- a/app/AGENTS.md
+++ b/app/AGENTS.md
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ app/
 - Packet `path_len` values are hop counts, not byte counts.
 - Hop width comes from the packet or radio `path_hash_mode`: `0` = 1-byte, `1` = 2-byte, `2` = 3-byte.
 - Channel slot count comes from firmware-reported `DEVICE_INFO.max_channels`; do not hardcode `40` when scanning/offloading channel slots.
-- Channel sends use a session-local LRU slot cache after startup channel offload clears the radio. Repeated sends to the same room reuse the loaded slot; new rooms fill free slots up to the discovered channel capacity, then evict the least recently used cached room.
+- Channel sends use a session-local LRU slot cache after startup channel offload clears the radio. Repeated sends to the same channel reuse the loaded slot; new channels fill free slots up to the discovered channel capacity, then evict the least recently used cached channel.
 - TCP radios do not reuse cached slot contents. For TCP, channel sends still force `set_channel(...)` before every send because this backend does not have exclusive device access.
 - `MESHCORE_FORCE_CHANNEL_SLOT_RECONFIGURE=true` disables slot reuse on all transports and forces the old always-`set_channel(...)` behavior before every channel send.
 - Contacts persist canonical direct-route fields (`direct_path`, `direct_path_len`, `direct_path_hash_mode`) so contact sync and outbound DM routing reuse the exact stored hop width instead of inferring from path bytes.
diff --git a/app/models.py b/app/models.py
index 214d884..cf91209 100644
--- a/app/models.py
+++ b/app/models.py
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ class ContactNameHistory(BaseModel):
 
 
 class ContactActiveRoom(BaseModel):
-    """A channel/room where a contact has been active."""
+    """A channel where a contact has been active."""
 
     channel_key: str
     channel_name: str
diff --git a/app/routers/channels.py b/app/routers/channels.py
index ca4de07..fb3f94f 100644
--- a/app/routers/channels.py
+++ b/app/routers/channels.py
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ async def create_channel(request: CreateChannelRequest) -> Channel:
     requested_name = request.name
     is_hashtag = requested_name.startswith("#")
 
-    # Reserve the canonical Public room so it cannot drift to another key,
+    # Reserve the canonical Public channel so it cannot drift to another key,
     # and the well-known Public key cannot be renamed to something else.
     if is_public_channel_name(requested_name):
         if request.key:
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ChannelFloodScopeOverrideModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ChannelFloodScopeOverrideModal.tsx
index be8b097..11dbf71 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ChannelFloodScopeOverrideModal.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ChannelFloodScopeOverrideModal.tsx
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ export function ChannelFloodScopeOverrideModal({
         <DialogHeader>
           <DialogTitle>Regional Override</DialogTitle>
           <DialogDescription>
-            Room-level regional routing temporarily changes the radio flood scope before send and
-            restores it after. This can noticeably slow room sends.
+            Channel-level regional routing temporarily changes the radio flood scope before send and
+            restores it after. This can noticeably slow channel sends.
           </DialogDescription>
         </DialogHeader>
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ChatHeader.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ChatHeader.tsx
index e9642b4..d92c4b3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ChatHeader.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ChatHeader.tsx
@@ -201,7 +201,9 @@ export function ChatHeader({
                     e.stopPropagation();
                     navigator.clipboard.writeText(conversation.id);
                     toast.success(
-                      conversation.type === 'channel' ? 'Room key copied!' : 'Contact key copied!'
+                      conversation.type === 'channel'
+                        ? 'Channel key copied!'
+                        : 'Contact key copied!'
                     );
                   }}
                   title="Click to copy"
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ContactInfoPane.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ContactInfoPane.tsx
index f9abe0b..1daea1d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ContactInfoPane.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ContactInfoPane.tsx
@@ -242,8 +242,8 @@ export function ContactInfoPane({
 
             <ActivityChartsSection analytics={analytics} />
 
-            <MostActiveRoomsSection
-              rooms={analytics?.most_active_rooms ?? []}
+            <MostActiveChannelsSection
+              channels={analytics?.most_active_rooms ?? []}
               onNavigateToChannel={onNavigateToChannel}
             />
           </div>
@@ -515,8 +515,8 @@ export function ContactInfoPane({
 
             <ActivityChartsSection analytics={analytics} />
 
-            <MostActiveRoomsSection
-              rooms={analytics?.most_active_rooms ?? []}
+            <MostActiveChannelsSection
+              channels={analytics?.most_active_rooms ?? []}
               onNavigateToChannel={onNavigateToChannel}
             />
           </div>
@@ -588,23 +588,23 @@ function MessageStatsSection({
   );
 }
 
-function MostActiveRoomsSection({
-  rooms,
+function MostActiveChannelsSection({
+  channels,
   onNavigateToChannel,
 }: {
-  rooms: ContactActiveRoom[];
+  channels: ContactActiveRoom[];
   onNavigateToChannel?: (channelKey: string) => void;
 }) {
-  if (rooms.length === 0) {
+  if (channels.length === 0) {
     return null;
   }
 
   return (
     <div className="px-5 py-3 border-b border-border">
-      <SectionLabel>Most Active Rooms</SectionLabel>
+      <SectionLabel>Most Active Channels</SectionLabel>
       <div className="space-y-1">
-        {rooms.map((room) => (
-          <div key={room.channel_key} className="flex justify-between items-center text-sm">
+        {channels.map((channel) => (
+          <div key={channel.channel_key} className="flex justify-between items-center text-sm">
             <span
               className={
                 onNavigateToChannel
@@ -614,15 +614,15 @@ function MostActiveRoomsSection({
               role={onNavigateToChannel ? 'button' : undefined}
               tabIndex={onNavigateToChannel ? 0 : undefined}
               onKeyDown={onNavigateToChannel ? handleKeyboardActivate : undefined}
-              onClick={() => onNavigateToChannel?.(room.channel_key)}
+              onClick={() => onNavigateToChannel?.(channel.channel_key)}
             >
-              {room.channel_name.startsWith('#') || isPublicChannelKey(room.channel_key)
-                ? room.channel_name
-                : `#${room.channel_name}`}
+              {channel.channel_name.startsWith('#') || isPublicChannelKey(channel.channel_key)
+                ? channel.channel_name
+                : `#${channel.channel_name}`}
             </span>
             <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground flex-shrink-0 ml-2">
-              {room.message_count.toLocaleString()} msg
-              {room.message_count !== 1 ? 's' : ''}
+              {channel.message_count.toLocaleString()} msg
+              {channel.message_count !== 1 ? 's' : ''}
             </span>
           </div>
         ))}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/CrackerPanel.tsx b/frontend/src/components/CrackerPanel.tsx
index b3c1c68..d965906 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/CrackerPanel.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/CrackerPanel.tsx
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ import { toast } from './ui/sonner';
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
 import { extractPacketPayloadHex } from '../utils/pathUtils';
 
-interface CrackedRoom {
-  roomName: string;
+interface CrackedChannel {
+  channelName: string;
   key: string;
   packetId: number;
   message: string;
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ export function CrackerPanel({
   const [twoWordMode, setTwoWordMode] = useState(false);
   const [progress, setProgress] = useState<ProgressReport | null>(null);
   const [queue, setQueue] = useState<Map<number, QueueItem>>(new Map());
-  const [crackedRooms, setCrackedRooms] = useState<CrackedRoom[]>([]);
+  const [crackedChannels, setCrackedChannels] = useState<CrackedChannel[]>([]);
   const [wordlistLoaded, setWordlistLoaded] = useState(false);
   const [gpuAvailable, setGpuAvailable] = useState<boolean | null>(null);
   const [undecryptedPacketCount, setUndecryptedPacketCount] = useState<number | null>(null);
@@ -325,14 +325,14 @@ export function CrackerPanel({
           return updated;
         });
 
-        const newRoom: CrackedRoom = {
-          roomName: result.roomName,
+        const newCracked: CrackedChannel = {
+          channelName: result.roomName,
           key: result.key,
           packetId: nextId!,
           message: result.decryptedMessage || '',
           crackedAt: Date.now(),
         };
-        setCrackedRooms((prev) => [...prev, newRoom]);
+        setCrackedChannels((prev) => [...prev, newCracked]);
 
         // Auto-add channel if not already exists
         const keyUpper = result.key.toUpperCase();
@@ -580,20 +580,20 @@ export function CrackerPanel({
         </div>
       )}
 
-      {/* Cracked rooms list */}
-      {crackedRooms.length > 0 && (
+      {/* Cracked channels list */}
+      {crackedChannels.length > 0 && (
         <div>
-          <div className="text-xs text-muted-foreground mb-1">Cracked Rooms:</div>
+          <div className="text-xs text-muted-foreground mb-1">Cracked Channels:</div>
           <div className="space-y-1">
-            {crackedRooms.map((room, i) => (
+            {crackedChannels.map((channel, i) => (
               <div
                 key={i}
                 className="text-sm bg-success/10 border border-success/20 rounded px-2 py-1"
               >
-                <span className="text-success font-medium">#{room.roomName}</span>
+                <span className="text-success font-medium">#{channel.channelName}</span>
                 <span className="text-muted-foreground ml-2 text-xs">
-                  "{room.message.slice(0, 50)}
-                  {room.message.length > 50 ? '...' : ''}"
+                  "{channel.message.slice(0, 50)}
+                  {channel.message.length > 50 ? '...' : ''}"
                 </span>
               </div>
             ))}
@@ -604,8 +604,8 @@ export function CrackerPanel({
       <hr className="border-border" />
       <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground leading-relaxed">
         For unknown-keyed GroupText packets, this will attempt to dictionary attack, then brute
-        force payloads as they arrive, testing room names up to the specified length to discover
-        active rooms on the local mesh (GroupText packets may not be hashtag messages; we have no
+        force payloads as they arrive, testing channel names up to the specified length to discover
+        active channels on the local mesh (GroupText packets may not be hashtag messages; we have no
         way of knowing but try as if they are).
         <strong> Retry failed at n+1</strong> will let the cracker return to the failed queue and
         pick up messages it couldn't crack, attempting them at one longer length.
@@ -613,8 +613,8 @@ export function CrackerPanel({
         concatenated together (e.g. "hello" + "world" = "#helloworld") after the single-word
         dictionary pass; this can substantially increase search time and also result in
         false-positives.
-        <strong> Decrypt historical</strong> will run an async job on any room name it finds to see
-        if any historically captured packets will decrypt with that key.
+        <strong> Decrypt historical</strong> will run an async job on any channel name it finds to
+        see if any historically captured packets will decrypt with that key.
         <strong> Turbo mode</strong> will push your GPU to the max (target dispatch time of 10s) and
         may allow accelerated cracking and/or system instability.
       </p>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/NewMessageModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/NewMessageModal.tsx
index d44b282..bb2d91a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/NewMessageModal.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/NewMessageModal.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import { Checkbox } from './ui/checkbox';
 import { Button } from './ui/button';
 import { toast } from './ui/sonner';
 
-type Tab = 'new-contact' | 'new-room' | 'hashtag';
+type Tab = 'new-contact' | 'new-channel' | 'hashtag';
 
 interface NewMessageModalProps {
   open: boolean;
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ export function NewMessageModal({
   const [tab, setTab] = useState<Tab>('new-contact');
   const [name, setName] = useState('');
   const [contactKey, setContactKey] = useState('');
-  const [roomKey, setRoomKey] = useState('');
+  const [channelKey, setChannelKey] = useState('');
   const [tryHistorical, setTryHistorical] = useState(false);
   const [permitCapitals, setPermitCapitals] = useState(false);
   const [error, setError] = useState('');
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ export function NewMessageModal({
   const resetForm = () => {
     setName('');
     setContactKey('');
-    setRoomKey('');
+    setChannelKey('');
     setTryHistorical(false);
     setPermitCapitals(false);
     setError('');
@@ -65,12 +65,12 @@ export function NewMessageModal({
         }
         // handleCreateContact sets activeConversation with the backend-normalized key
         await onCreateContact(name.trim(), contactKey.trim(), tryHistorical);
-      } else if (tab === 'new-room') {
-        if (!name.trim() || !roomKey.trim()) {
-          setError('Room name and key are required');
+      } else if (tab === 'new-channel') {
+        if (!name.trim() || !channelKey.trim()) {
+          setError('Channel name and key are required');
           return;
         }
-        await onCreateChannel(name.trim(), roomKey.trim(), tryHistorical);
+        await onCreateChannel(name.trim(), channelKey.trim(), tryHistorical);
       } else if (tab === 'hashtag') {
         const channelName = name.trim();
         const validationError = validateHashtagName(channelName);
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ export function NewMessageModal({
           <DialogTitle>New Conversation</DialogTitle>
           <DialogDescription className="sr-only">
             {tab === 'new-contact' && 'Add a new contact by entering their name and public key'}
-            {tab === 'new-room' && 'Create a private room with a shared encryption key'}
+            {tab === 'new-channel' && 'Create a private channel with a shared encryption key'}
             {tab === 'hashtag' && 'Join a public hashtag channel'}
           </DialogDescription>
         </DialogHeader>
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ export function NewMessageModal({
         >
           <TabsList className="grid w-full grid-cols-3">
             <TabsTrigger value="new-contact">Contact</TabsTrigger>
-            <TabsTrigger value="new-room">Private Channel</TabsTrigger>
+            <TabsTrigger value="new-channel">Private Channel</TabsTrigger>
             <TabsTrigger value="hashtag">Hashtag Channel</TabsTrigger>
           </TabsList>
 
@@ -187,23 +187,23 @@ export function NewMessageModal({
             </div>
           </TabsContent>
 
-          <TabsContent value="new-room" className="mt-4 space-y-4">
+          <TabsContent value="new-channel" className="mt-4 space-y-4">
             <div className="space-y-2">
-              <Label htmlFor="room-name">Room Name</Label>
+              <Label htmlFor="channel-name">Channel Name</Label>
               <Input
-                id="room-name"
+                id="channel-name"
                 value={name}
                 onChange={(e) => setName(e.target.value)}
-                placeholder="Room name"
+                placeholder="Channel name"
               />
             </div>
             <div className="space-y-2">
-              <Label htmlFor="room-key">Room Key</Label>
+              <Label htmlFor="channel-key">Channel Key</Label>
               <div className="flex gap-2">
                 <Input
-                  id="room-key"
-                  value={roomKey}
-                  onChange={(e) => setRoomKey(e.target.value)}
+                  id="channel-key"
+                  value={channelKey}
+                  onChange={(e) => setChannelKey(e.target.value)}
                   placeholder="Pre-shared key (hex)"
                   className="flex-1"
                 />
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ export function NewMessageModal({
                     const hex = Array.from(bytes)
                       .map((b) => b.toString(16).padStart(2, '0'))
                       .join('');
-                    setRoomKey(hex);
+                    setChannelKey(hex);
                   }}
                   title="Generate random key"
                   aria-label="Generate random key"
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ export function NewMessageModal({
                   onChange={(e) => setPermitCapitals(e.target.checked)}
                   className="w-4 h-4 rounded border-input accent-primary"
                 />
-                <span className="text-sm">Permit capitals in room key derivation</span>
+                <span className="text-sm">Permit capitals in channel key derivation</span>
               </label>
               <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground pl-7">
                 Not recommended; most companions normalize to lowercase
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/RawPacketDetailModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/RawPacketDetailModal.tsx
index 73c633f..cc33a0d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/RawPacketDetailModal.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/RawPacketDetailModal.tsx
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ function buildGroupTextResolutionCandidates(channels: Channel[]): GroupTextResol
   }));
 }
 
-function resolveGroupTextRoomName(
+function resolveGroupTextChannelName(
   payload: {
     channelHash?: string;
     cipherMac?: string;
@@ -211,15 +211,15 @@ function getPacketContext(
   groupTextCandidates: GroupTextResolutionCandidate[]
 ) {
   const fallbackSender = packet.decrypted_info?.sender ?? null;
-  const fallbackRoom = packet.decrypted_info?.channel_name ?? null;
+  const fallbackChannel = packet.decrypted_info?.channel_name ?? null;
 
   if (!inspection.decoded?.payload.decoded) {
-    if (!fallbackSender && !fallbackRoom) {
+    if (!fallbackSender && !fallbackChannel) {
       return null;
     }
     return {
-      title: fallbackRoom ? 'Room' : 'Context',
-      primary: fallbackRoom ?? 'Sender metadata available',
+      title: fallbackChannel ? 'Channel' : 'Context',
+      primary: fallbackChannel ?? 'Sender metadata available',
       secondary: fallbackSender ? `Sender: ${fallbackSender}` : null,
     };
   }
@@ -231,11 +231,12 @@ function getPacketContext(
       ciphertext?: string;
       decrypted?: { sender?: string; message?: string };
     };
-    const roomName = fallbackRoom ?? resolveGroupTextRoomName(payload, groupTextCandidates);
+    const channelName =
+      fallbackChannel ?? resolveGroupTextChannelName(payload, groupTextCandidates);
     return {
-      title: roomName ? 'Room' : 'Channel',
+      title: 'Channel',
       primary:
-        roomName ?? (payload.channelHash ? `Channel hash ${payload.channelHash}` : 'GroupText'),
+        channelName ?? (payload.channelHash ? `Channel hash ${payload.channelHash}` : 'GroupText'),
       secondary: payload.decrypted?.sender
         ? `Sender: ${payload.decrypted.sender}`
         : fallbackSender
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
index d6b7bae..178937e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
@@ -748,7 +748,7 @@ export function Sidebar({
           icon: <LockOpen className="h-4 w-4" />,
           label: (
             <>
-              {showCracker ? 'Hide' : 'Show'} Room Finder
+              {showCracker ? 'Hide' : 'Show'} Channel Finder
               <span
                 className={cn(
                   'ml-1 text-[11px]',
diff --git a/frontend/src/test/contactInfoPane.test.tsx b/frontend/src/test/contactInfoPane.test.tsx
index 615daa9..e518694 100644
--- a/frontend/src/test/contactInfoPane.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/test/contactInfoPane.test.tsx
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ describe('ContactInfoPane', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it('loads name-only channel stats and most active rooms', async () => {
+  it('loads name-only channel stats and most active channels', async () => {
     getContactAnalytics.mockResolvedValue(
       createAnalytics(null, {
         lookup_type: 'name',
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ describe('ContactInfoPane', () => {
       expect(screen.getByText('Name First In Use')).toBeInTheDocument();
       expect(screen.getByText('Messages Per Hour')).toBeInTheDocument();
       expect(screen.getByText('Messages Per Week')).toBeInTheDocument();
-      expect(screen.getByText('Most Active Rooms')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(screen.getByText('Most Active Channels')).toBeInTheDocument();
       expect(screen.getByText('#ops')).toBeInTheDocument();
       expect(
         screen.getByText(/Name-only analytics include channel messages only/i)
diff --git a/frontend/src/test/newMessageModal.test.tsx b/frontend/src/test/newMessageModal.test.tsx
index 7dc013a..d8c8d2e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/test/newMessageModal.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/test/newMessageModal.test.tsx
@@ -105,13 +105,13 @@ describe('NewMessageModal form reset', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  describe('new-room tab', () => {
+  describe('new-channel tab', () => {
     it('clears name and key after successful Create', async () => {
       const user = userEvent.setup();
       renderModal();
       await switchToTab(user, 'Private Channel');
 
-      await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Room name'), 'MyRoom');
+      await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Channel name'), 'MyRoom');
       await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Pre-shared key (hex)'), 'cc'.repeat(16));
 
       await user.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Create' }));
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ describe('NewMessageModal form reset', () => {
       renderModal();
       await switchToTab(user, 'Private Channel');
 
-      await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Room name'), 'MyRoom');
+      await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Channel name'), 'MyRoom');
       await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Pre-shared key (hex)'), 'cc'.repeat(16));
       await user.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Create' }));
 
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ describe('NewMessageModal form reset', () => {
   });
 
   describe('tab switching resets form', () => {
-    it('clears contact fields when switching to room tab', async () => {
+    it('clears contact fields when switching to channel tab', async () => {
       const user = userEvent.setup();
       renderModal();
       await switchToTab(user, 'Contact');
@@ -153,18 +153,18 @@ describe('NewMessageModal form reset', () => {
       // Switch to Private Channel tab — fields should reset
       await switchToTab(user, 'Private Channel');
 
-      expect((screen.getByPlaceholderText('Room name') as HTMLInputElement).value).toBe('');
+      expect((screen.getByPlaceholderText('Channel name') as HTMLInputElement).value).toBe('');
       expect((screen.getByPlaceholderText('Pre-shared key (hex)') as HTMLInputElement).value).toBe(
         ''
       );
     });
 
-    it('clears room fields when switching to hashtag tab', async () => {
+    it('clears channel fields when switching to hashtag tab', async () => {
       const user = userEvent.setup();
       renderModal();
       await switchToTab(user, 'Private Channel');
 
-      await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Room name'), 'SecretRoom');
+      await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Channel name'), 'SecretRoom');
       await user.type(screen.getByPlaceholderText('Pre-shared key (hex)'), 'ff'.repeat(16));
 
       await switchToTab(user, 'Hashtag Channel');
diff --git a/frontend/src/test/rawPacketFeedView.test.tsx b/frontend/src/test/rawPacketFeedView.test.tsx
index b116a04..434ad2e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/test/rawPacketFeedView.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/test/rawPacketFeedView.test.tsx
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ describe('RawPacketFeedView', () => {
     expect(screen.queryByText('Identity not resolvable')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it('opens a packet detail modal from the raw feed and decrypts room messages when a key is loaded', () => {
+  it('opens a packet detail modal from the raw feed and decrypts channel messages when a key is loaded', () => {
     renderView({
       packets: [
         {
@@ -392,7 +392,7 @@ describe('RawPacketFeedView', () => {
     ).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it('does not guess a room name when multiple loaded channels collide on the group hash', () => {
+  it('does not guess a channel name when multiple loaded channels collide on the group hash', () => {
     renderView({
       packets: [
         {
diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/rawPacketInspector.ts b/frontend/src/utils/rawPacketInspector.ts
index e7ff3fb..73409a4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/utils/rawPacketInspector.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/rawPacketInspector.ts
@@ -67,8 +67,8 @@ export function describeCiphertextStructure(
     case PayloadType.GroupText:
       return `Encrypted message content (${byteLength} bytes). Contains encrypted plaintext with this structure:
 • Timestamp (4 bytes) - send time as unix timestamp
-• Flags (1 byte) - room-message flags byte
-• Message (remaining bytes) - UTF-8 room message text`;
+• Flags (1 byte) - channel-message flags byte
+• Message (remaining bytes) - UTF-8 channel message text`;
     case PayloadType.TextMessage:
       return `Encrypted message data (${byteLength} bytes). Contains encrypted plaintext with this structure:
 • Timestamp (4 bytes) - send time as unix timestamp
diff --git a/tests/e2e/specs/incoming-message.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/specs/incoming-message.spec.ts
index 4be02bc..9dc9d64 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/specs/incoming-message.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/specs/incoming-message.spec.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { createChannel, getChannels, getMessages } from '../helpers/api';
  * Timeout is 3 minutes to allow for intermittent traffic.
  */
 
-const ROOMS = [
+const CHANNELS = [
   '#flightless', '#bot', '#snoco', '#skagit', '#edmonds', '#bachelorette',
   '#emergency', '#furry', '#public', '#puppy', '#foobar', '#capitolhill',
   '#hamradio', '#icewatch', '#saucefamily', '#scvsar', '#startrek', '#metalmusic',
@@ -39,14 +39,14 @@ test.describe('Incoming mesh messages', () => {
   test.setTimeout(180_000);
 
   test.beforeAll(async () => {
-    // Ensure all rooms exist — create any that are missing
+    // Ensure all channels exist — create any that are missing
     const existing = await getChannels();
     const existingNames = new Set(existing.map((c) => c.name));
 
-    for (const room of ROOMS) {
-      if (!existingNames.has(room)) {
+    for (const channel of CHANNELS) {
+      if (!existingNames.has(channel)) {
         try {
-          await createChannel(room);
+          await createChannel(channel);
         } catch {
           // May already exist from a concurrent creation, ignore
         }
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ test.describe('Incoming mesh messages', () => {
     }
   });
 
-  test('receive an incoming message in any room', { tag: '@mesh-traffic' }, async ({ page }) => {
+  test('receive an incoming message in any channel', { tag: '@mesh-traffic' }, async ({ page }) => {
     // Nudge echo bot on #flightless — may generate an incoming packet quickly
     await nudgeEchoBot();