diff --git a/src/app/control/entities.rs b/src/app/control/entities.rs
index 8e6ce324d..7eb5acd64 100644
--- a/src/app/control/entities.rs
+++ b/src/app/control/entities.rs
@@ -334,9 +334,24 @@ impl OpenCADStudio {
         req: &Value,
     ) -> Result<Task<Message>, Value> {
         let handles = hex_handles(req, "handles")?;
-        let action = req["action"].as_str().unwrap_or("move").to_ascii_lowercase();
+        let action = req["action"]
+            .as_str()
+            .unwrap_or("move")
+            .trim()
+            .to_ascii_lowercase();
         let i = self.active_tab;
         require_existing(&self.tabs[i].scene.document, &handles)?;
+        if !matches!(
+            action.as_str(),
+            "move" | "copy" | "rotate" | "scale" | "mirror" | "array"
+        ) {
+            return Err(failure(
+                "invalid_action",
+                format!(
+                    "Unknown transform action '{action}'. Use move, copy, rotate, scale, mirror or array"
+                ),
+            ));
+        }
 
         let transform = |req: &Value| -> Parsed<EntityTransform> {
             Ok(match action.as_str() {
@@ -473,7 +488,14 @@ impl OpenCADStudio {
                 }
                 affected = handles.len();
             }
-            _ => unreachable!("validated by transform()"),
+            other => {
+                return Err(failure(
+                    "invalid_action",
+                    format!(
+                        "Unknown transform action '{other}'. Use move, copy, rotate, scale, mirror or array"
+                    ),
+                ))
+            }
         }
         self.post_ref_op(i);
         self.set_control_result(json!({
diff --git a/src/app/control/mod.rs b/src/app/control/mod.rs
index f2af51592..9fb65a887 100644
--- a/src/app/control/mod.rs
+++ b/src/app/control/mod.rs
@@ -2271,4 +2271,44 @@ mod tests {
         let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&pdf);
         let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&plain);
     }
+
+    /// An unknown `entities_transform` action must come back as a clean
+    /// validation error. Pre-fix it reached
+    /// `unreachable!("validated by transform()")` (entities.rs:476) and
+    /// killed the whole process — over REST, MCP and `--serve` alike —
+    /// because validation lived inside the `transform` closure, which the
+    /// dispatch match only invokes from some of its arms.
+    #[test]
+    fn entities_transform_rejects_unknown_actions_without_panicking() {
+        let mut app = OpenCADStudio::new_for_test();
+        request(&mut app, json!({"op":"new"}));
+        request(&mut app, json!({"op":"run","cmd":"LINE 0,0 10,0"}));
+        let lines = app.control_request(json!({"op":"query","type":"Line"})).0;
+        let handle = lines["entities"][0]["handle"].as_str().unwrap().to_string();
+
+        // Not one of the six whitelisted actions.
+        let rejected = request(&mut app, json!({
+            "op":"entities_transform",
+            "handles":[handle],
+            "action":"explode"
+        }));
+        assert_eq!(rejected["code"], "invalid_action", "{rejected}");
+
+        // Whitespace-only is unknown too — not a panic.
+        let blank = request(&mut app, json!({
+            "op":"entities_transform",
+            "handles":[handle],
+            "action":"   "
+        }));
+        assert_eq!(blank["code"], "invalid_action", "{blank}");
+
+        // A valid action is matched case- and whitespace-insensitively.
+        let moved = request(&mut app, json!({
+            "op":"entities_transform",
+            "handles":[handle],
+            "action":" move ",
+            "vector":[5,0,0]
+        }));
+        assert_eq!(moved["ok"], true, "{moved}");
+    }
 }