diff --git a/bitchat/Services/AutocompleteService.swift b/bitchat/Services/AutocompleteService.swift
index 6c55f34e..3e739e74 100644
--- a/bitchat/Services/AutocompleteService.swift
+++ b/bitchat/Services/AutocompleteService.swift
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // AutocompleteService.swift
 // bitchat
 //
-// Handles autocomplete suggestions for mentions and commands
+// Handles autocomplete suggestions for mentions
 // This is free and unencumbered software released into the public domain.
 //
 
@@ -10,49 +10,47 @@ import Foundation
 
 /// Manages autocomplete functionality for chat
 final class AutocompleteService {
-    private let mentionRegex = try? NSRegularExpression(pattern: "@([\\p{L}0-9_]*)$", options: [])
+    private typealias Patterns = MessageFormattingEngine.Patterns
 
     /// Get autocomplete suggestions for current text
     func getSuggestions(for text: String, peers: [String], cursorPosition: Int) -> (suggestions: [String], range: NSRange?) {
         let textToPosition = String(text.prefix(cursorPosition))
-        
-        // Check for mention autocomplete
+
+        // Mentions only — slash-command suggestions are owned by
+        // `CommandSuggestionsView` / the composer, not this service.
         if let (mentionSuggestions, mentionRange) = getMentionSuggestions(textToPosition, peers: peers) {
             return (mentionSuggestions, mentionRange)
         }
-        
-        // Don't handle command autocomplete here - ContentView handles it with better UI
-        // if let (commandSuggestions, commandRange) = getCommandSuggestions(textToPosition) {
-        //     return (commandSuggestions, commandRange)
-        // }
-        
+
         return ([], nil)
     }
-    
+
     /// Apply selected suggestion to text
     func applySuggestion(_ suggestion: String, to text: String, range: NSRange) -> String {
         guard let textRange = Range(range, in: text) else { return text }
-        
+
         var replacement = suggestion
-        
+
         // Add space after command if it takes arguments
         if suggestion.hasPrefix("/") && needsArgument(command: suggestion) {
             replacement += " "
         }
-        
+
         return text.replacingCharacters(in: textRange, with: replacement)
     }
-    
+
     // MARK: - Private Methods
-    
+
     private func getMentionSuggestions(_ text: String, peers: [String]) -> ([String], NSRange)? {
-        guard let regex = mentionRegex else { return nil }
-        
         let nsText = text as NSString
-        let matches = regex.matches(in: text, options: [], range: NSRange(location: 0, length: nsText.length))
-        
+        let matches = Patterns.mentionAutocomplete.matches(
+            in: text,
+            options: [],
+            range: NSRange(location: 0, length: nsText.length)
+        )
+
         guard let match = matches.last else { return nil }
-        
+
         let fullRange = match.range(at: 0)
         let captureRange = match.range(at: 1)
         let prefix = nsText.substring(with: captureRange).normalizedNickname.lowercased()
@@ -62,10 +60,10 @@ final class AutocompleteService {
             .sorted()
             .prefix(5)
             .map { "@\($0)" }
-        
+
         return suggestions.isEmpty ? nil : (Array(suggestions), fullRange)
     }
-    
+
     private func needsArgument(command: String) -> Bool {
         switch command {
         case "/who", "/clear":
diff --git a/bitchat/Services/MessageFormattingEngine.swift b/bitchat/Services/MessageFormattingEngine.swift
index 88a32e3c..1578f16b 100644
--- a/bitchat/Services/MessageFormattingEngine.swift
+++ b/bitchat/Services/MessageFormattingEngine.swift
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ final class MessageFormattingEngine {
 
         static let mention = SafeRegex.compile("@([\\p{L}0-9_]+(?:#[a-fA-F0-9]{4})?)")
 
+        /// Trailing partial `@nickname` at the composer cursor — autocomplete only.
+        static let mentionAutocomplete = SafeRegex.compile("@([\\p{L}0-9_]*)$")
+
         static let cashu = SafeRegex.compile("\\bcashu[AB][A-Za-z0-9._-]{40,}\\b")
 
         static let bolt11 = SafeRegex.compile("(?i)\\bln(bc|tb|bcrt)[0-9][a-z0-9]{50,}\\b")