diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 06072a7..e2afc18 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,33 @@ All notable changes to `@codebar-ag/storybook`.
 The format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/) and
 this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## v1.19.1
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **`Combobox` opens on focus even when its options have not arrived yet.**
+  The focus handler was `open = filtered.length > 0`, so a click into the
+  field opened the list only if options were already present — and nothing
+  reopened it when they arrived later. For a static list that is invisible;
+  for the remote-search shape, where a consumer replaces `options` with each
+  debounced response, it is a race between the click and the first response.
+  The user who loses it clicks into the field, sees nothing, and only typing
+  or ArrowDown recovers.
+
+  Found the expensive way: the consuming app's impersonation picker passed
+  its browser test locally on every run (the response wins by milliseconds)
+  and failed all three CI retries (the runner is slow enough that the click
+  wins). Focus now sets the open flag unconditionally; the listbox itself is
+  still gated on having options or an `empty-message` to show, so an open
+  flag over a truly empty list renders nothing. The `RemoteOptions` story
+  pins the sequence — focus first, options later, no typing — and fails on
+  the previous handler.
+
+  One visible behavior change besides the fix: a combobox whose options are
+  present now also shows an `empty-message` on focus when the typed text
+  filters everything out, where before that message only appeared after
+  typing. No call site in the consuming app depended on the old behavior.
+
 ## v1.19.0
 
 Four findings from the app that adopted 1.18.0, three of them acted on and one
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index ef37047..fac5a2d 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@codebar-ag/storybook",
-  "version": "1.19.0",
+  "version": "1.19.1",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "@codebar-ag/storybook",
-      "version": "1.19.0",
+      "version": "1.19.1",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "@fontsource/jetbrains-mono": "^5.3.0",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index d818b05..f110541 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@codebar-ag/storybook",
-  "version": "1.19.0",
+  "version": "1.19.1",
   "description": "codebar-ag DocuHub — shared Vue 3 + Tailwind v4 design-system atoms and tokens, documented in Storybook.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "author": "codebar Solutions AG",
diff --git a/src/components/molecules/Combobox.stories.ts b/src/components/molecules/Combobox.stories.ts
index 5360bea..6b1ad69 100644
--- a/src/components/molecules/Combobox.stories.ts
+++ b/src/components/molecules/Combobox.stories.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { Meta, StoryObj } from '@storybook/vue3-vite';
 import { expect, userEvent, waitFor, within } from 'storybook/test';
-import { ref } from 'vue';
+import { onMounted, ref } from 'vue';
 import Combobox from './Combobox.vue';
 import Field from './Field.vue';
 
@@ -55,3 +55,59 @@ export const Default: Story = {
         await expect(input).toHaveValue('e_brand_new');
     },
 };
+
+/**
+ * Options that arrive AFTER the field is focused — the remote-search shape,
+ * where a consumer replaces `options` with each debounced response.
+ *
+ * This pins the focus handler opening unconditionally. With the previous
+ * `open = filtered.length > 0` on focus, a click that landed before the first
+ * response found an empty list, left the dropdown closed, and nothing ever
+ * reopened it when the options arrived — the user saw a combobox that showed
+ * nothing until they typed. Locally the response tends to win that race, which
+ * is exactly why it shipped: the failure needed a slow network or a loaded CI
+ * runner to show itself.
+ */
+export const RemoteOptions: Story = {
+    render: () => ({
+        components: { Combobox, Field },
+        setup: () => {
+            const value = ref('');
+            const options = ref<{ value: string; label: string }[]>([]);
+
+            // Long enough that the play function's click below reliably beats
+            // it — the point is focus-before-options, not a realistic latency.
+            onMounted(() => {
+                setTimeout(() => {
+                    options.value = cabinets;
+                }, 600);
+            });
+
+            return { value, options };
+        },
+        template: `
+            <div class="w-80 pb-48">
+                <Field label="File cabinet" name="cabinet" hint="Options load remotely.">
+                    <Combobox v-model="value" name="cabinet" :options="options" placeholder="e_invoices" />
+                </Field>
+            </div>`,
+    }),
+    play: async ({ canvasElement }) => {
+        const canvas = within(canvasElement);
+        const input = canvas.getByRole('combobox');
+
+        // Focus while the list is still empty: no options, no empty-message,
+        // so nothing may render yet — an open flag alone must not paint a box.
+        await userEvent.click(input);
+        await expect(canvas.queryByRole('listbox')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+
+        // The options land ~600ms later. No typing, no ArrowDown, no second
+        // click — the already-focused field must show them on its own.
+        const listbox = await canvas.findByRole('listbox', {}, { timeout: 3000 });
+        await expect(within(listbox).getAllByRole('option')).toHaveLength(cabinets.length);
+
+        // And the late-arriving list is live, not just visible.
+        await userEvent.keyboard('{ArrowDown}{Enter}');
+        await expect(input).toHaveValue('e_invoices');
+    },
+};
diff --git a/src/components/molecules/Combobox.vue b/src/components/molecules/Combobox.vue
index dc807d8..967a632 100644
--- a/src/components/molecules/Combobox.vue
+++ b/src/components/molecules/Combobox.vue
@@ -45,6 +45,17 @@ const emit = defineEmits<{
 const { describedBy } = useFieldA11y(props);
 
 const root = ref<HTMLElement | null>(null);
+
+// Focus opens UNCONDITIONALLY (`@focus="open = true"` below), not only when
+// options are already present. The list itself stays gated on having something
+// to show (see the `v-if` on the listbox), so an open flag over an empty,
+// message-less list renders nothing — but it is what lets options that arrive
+// AFTER focus appear at all. With `open = filtered.length > 0` on focus, a
+// consumer feeding options from a remote search lost that race whenever the
+// response landed after the click, and the closed list never reopened: the
+// user clicked into the field, saw nothing, and only typing or ArrowDown
+// would recover. Measured in the consuming app's CI, where the runner is slow
+// enough that the click reliably beat the response.
 const open = ref(false);
 const listId = `${props.name ?? 'combobox'}-listbox`;
 
@@ -125,7 +136,7 @@ useClickOutside(root, close, open);
       :class="classes"
       @input="onInput"
       @keydown="onKeydown"
-      @focus="open = filtered.length > 0"
+      @focus="open = true"
     >
 
     <ul