diff --git a/src/main/columnPattern.ts b/src/main/columnPattern.ts
index b570da7..851afbf 100644
--- a/src/main/columnPattern.ts
+++ b/src/main/columnPattern.ts
@@ -217,6 +217,32 @@ function compileRawRegex(pattern: string, flags: string): CompiledColumnPattern
   return { regex: pattern, flags, fields: ['match'], named: false };
 }
 
+export interface DetectedSpan { start: number; end: number; name: string }
+
+// Auto-detect column spans in a sample line: split on whitespace at bracket/quote depth 0,
+// keeping [..], (..), {..}, <..>, "..", '..' groups whole. Each token becomes a column
+// (col1, col2…). Simple + solid — the caller feeds these to compilePaint, which TYPES each
+// token (date/int/word…); the user then names/tweaks in the Column Layout panel.
+export function autoDetectSpans(line: string): DetectedSpan[] {
+  const spans: DetectedSpan[] = [];
+  const closerFor: Record<string, string> = { '[': ']', '(': ')', '{': '}', '<': '>' };
+  let start = -1;
+  let quote = '';
+  const stack: string[] = [];
+  const flush = (i: number) => { if (start >= 0) { spans.push({ start, end: i, name: `col${spans.length + 1}` }); start = -1; } };
+  for (let i = 0; i < line.length; i++) {
+    const ch = line[i];
+    if (quote) { if (ch === quote) quote = ''; continue; }              // inside a quote → keep going
+    if (ch === '"' || ch === "'") { if (start < 0) start = i; quote = ch; continue; }
+    if (closerFor[ch]) { if (start < 0) start = i; stack.push(closerFor[ch]); continue; }
+    if (stack.length && ch === stack[stack.length - 1]) { if (start < 0) start = i; stack.pop(); continue; }
+    if (/\s/.test(ch) && stack.length === 0) { flush(i); continue; }    // whitespace at depth 0 → split
+    if (start < 0) start = i;
+  }
+  flush(line.length);
+  return spans;
+}
+
 /** Compile any spec to a single named/numbered-capture regex + ordered fields. */
 export function compileColumnPattern(spec: ColumnPatternSpec): CompiledColumnPattern {
   const flags = spec.flags || '';
diff --git a/src/renderer/index.html b/src/renderer/index.html
index 8c81655..29bcbd7 100644
--- a/src/renderer/index.html
+++ b/src/renderer/index.html
@@ -486,6 +486,7 @@ <h2>LOGAN</h2>
               <button class="patcol-mode-btn" data-patcol-mode="regex">Regex</button>
             </div>
             <button id="btn-patcol-sample" class="secondary-btn small" title="Pull the current / selected line as the sample">↻ Sample</button>
+            <button id="btn-patcol-autodetect" class="secondary-btn small" title="Auto-analyse the sample line into typed columns — then rename/tweak">🔍 Auto-detect columns</button>
             <button id="btn-patcol-copy" class="secondary-btn small" title="Copy the compiled regex to the clipboard">⧉ Copy regex</button>
             <button id="btn-patcol-save" class="secondary-btn small" title="Save this pattern for reuse across files">💾 Save…</button>
             <button id="btn-patcol-apply" class="secondary-btn small" title="Render these columns in the viewer, and open them in the Columns window for show/hide">▸ Use as columns</button>
diff --git a/src/renderer/renderer.ts b/src/renderer/renderer.ts
index f1791b5..f505064 100644
--- a/src/renderer/renderer.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/renderer.ts
@@ -15652,6 +15652,44 @@ async function patcolPullSample(): Promise<void> {
   } catch { /* ignore */ }
 }
 
+// MIRROR of autoDetectSpans() in src/main/columnPattern.ts (tested there) — keep in sync.
+function autoDetectSpansLocal(line: string): PatcolSpan[] {
+  const spans: PatcolSpan[] = [];
+  const closerFor: Record<string, string> = { '[': ']', '(': ')', '{': '}', '<': '>' };
+  let start = -1, quote = '';
+  const stack: string[] = [];
+  const flush = (i: number) => { if (start >= 0) { spans.push({ start, end: i, name: `col${spans.length + 1}` }); start = -1; } };
+  for (let i = 0; i < line.length; i++) {
+    const ch = line[i];
+    if (quote) { if (ch === quote) quote = ''; continue; }
+    if (ch === '"' || ch === "'") { if (start < 0) start = i; quote = ch; continue; }
+    if (closerFor[ch]) { if (start < 0) start = i; stack.push(closerFor[ch]); continue; }
+    if (stack.length && ch === stack[stack.length - 1]) { if (start < 0) start = i; stack.pop(); continue; }
+    if (/\s/.test(ch) && stack.length === 0) { flush(i); continue; }
+    if (start < 0) start = i;
+  }
+  flush(line.length);
+  return spans;
+}
+
+// "🔍 Auto-detect columns": analyse a sample line → paint spans (one per token), which the
+// tested compilePaint then TYPES (date/int/word…). The draft lands in the panel to name/tweak.
+async function patcolAutoDetect(): Promise<void> {
+  const sampleInput = document.getElementById('patcol-sample-input') as HTMLInputElement | null;
+  if (!sampleInput || !state.filePath) return;
+  if (!sampleInput.value.trim()) {
+    const ln = state.selectedLine != null ? state.selectedLine : (state.visibleStartLine ?? 0);
+    try { const r = await window.api.getLines(ln, 1); const t = r?.lines?.[0]?.text || ''; if (t) sampleInput.value = t; } catch { /* ignore */ }
+  }
+  const line = sampleInput.value;
+  if (!line.trim()) { showToast('No sample line to analyze — put the cursor on a line first'); return; }
+  patcolSetMode('paint');
+  patcolSpans = autoDetectSpansLocal(line);
+  patcolRenderPaint();
+  patcolPreviewSoon();
+  showToast(`Auto-detected ${patcolSpans.length} columns — rename/adjust, then Use as columns`);
+}
+
 function patcolSetMode(mode: PatcolMode): void {
   patcolMode = mode;
   document.querySelectorAll('.patcol-mode-btn').forEach((b) => {
@@ -23249,6 +23287,7 @@ function init(): void {
     if (mode) patcolSetMode(mode);
   }));
   document.getElementById('btn-patcol-sample')?.addEventListener('click', patcolPullSample);
+  document.getElementById('btn-patcol-autodetect')?.addEventListener('click', () => { void patcolAutoDetect(); });
   document.getElementById('btn-patcol-copy')?.addEventListener('click', patcolCopyRegex);
   document.getElementById('btn-patcol-save')?.addEventListener('click', patcolSavePattern);
   document.getElementById('btn-patcol-apply')?.addEventListener('click', () => patcolUseAsColumns());
diff --git a/src/tests/columnPattern.test.ts b/src/tests/columnPattern.test.ts
index 46d42e0..5fcba91 100644
--- a/src/tests/columnPattern.test.ts
+++ b/src/tests/columnPattern.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
-import { compileColumnPattern, makeColumnExtractor, refinePaintPattern, ColumnPatternSpec } from '../main/columnPattern';
+import { compileColumnPattern, makeColumnExtractor, refinePaintPattern, autoDetectSpans, ColumnPatternSpec } from '../main/columnPattern';
 
 function extract(spec: ColumnPatternSpec, line: string): string[] | null {
   return makeColumnExtractor(compileColumnPattern(spec))(line);
@@ -142,3 +142,27 @@ describe('refinePaintPattern — refine from data (peel constant wrappers)', ()
     expect(makeColumnExtractor(c)('foo -> ok')).toEqual(['foo']);   // 1 space also matches (\\s+)
   });
 });
+
+describe('autoDetectSpans — tokenise a line into column spans', () => {
+  const toks = (line: string) => autoDetectSpans(line).map(s => line.slice(s.start, s.end));
+
+  it('splits on whitespace and keeps [..] and quotes whole', () => {
+    expect(toks('2024-01-02 INFO [Auth Service] user=bob'))
+      .toEqual(['2024-01-02', 'INFO', '[Auth Service]', 'user=bob']);
+    expect(toks('a "hello world" b')).toEqual(['a', '"hello world"', 'b']);
+  });
+
+  it('names columns col1..colN and the spans feed compilePaint (typed)', () => {
+    const line = '2024-01-02 42';
+    const spans = autoDetectSpans(line);
+    expect(spans.map(s => s.name)).toEqual(['col1', 'col2']);
+    const c = compileColumnPattern({ mode: 'paint', sample: line, spans });
+    expect(c.regex).toContain('\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}'); // date typed
+    expect(c.regex).toContain('-?\\d+');               // int typed
+  });
+
+  it('handles empty / whitespace-only lines', () => {
+    expect(autoDetectSpans('')).toEqual([]);
+    expect(autoDetectSpans('   ')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});