diff --git a/gui/config_tab.py b/gui/config_tab.py
index 757819f..6c791e5 100644
--- a/gui/config_tab.py
+++ b/gui/config_tab.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from PyQt5.QtWidgets import (
 )
 from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt, pyqtSignal, QTimer, QThread
 from PyQt5.QtGui import QIcon
+from gui.platform_glyph import platform_glyph
 from dotenv import load_dotenv, set_key, dotenv_values
 
 from gui.rpgmaker_tab import RPGMakerTab
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@ class ModelFetchThread(QThread):
 
 def create_section_header(title):
     """Create a clean section header without boxes."""
-    label = QLabel(title)
+    label = QLabel(platform_glyph(title))
     label.setStyleSheet("""
         QLabel {
             font-size: 13px;
@@ -247,29 +248,13 @@ class ConfigTab(QWidget):
     
     def create_nav_button(self, icon_text, tooltip):
         """Create a navigation button for the top bar."""
+        from gui.platform_glyph import configure_nav_toolbutton
+
         btn = QToolButton()
-        btn.setText(icon_text)
         btn.setToolTip(tooltip)
         btn.setFixedSize(50, 50)
         btn.setCheckable(True)
-        btn.setStyleSheet("""
-            QToolButton {
-                background-color: transparent;
-                border: none;
-                border-bottom: 3px solid transparent;
-                color: #cccccc;
-                font-size: 24px;
-                padding: 5px;
-            }
-            QToolButton:hover {
-                background-color: #3e3e42;
-            }
-            QToolButton:checked {
-                background-color: #37373d;
-                border-bottom: 3px solid #007acc;
-                color: #ffffff;
-            }
-        """)
+        configure_nav_toolbutton(btn, icon_text, horizontal=True)
         return btn
     
     def switch_page(self, index):
@@ -611,7 +596,7 @@ class ConfigTab(QWidget):
         button_layout = QHBoxLayout()
         button_layout.setSpacing(10)
         
-        reset_button = QPushButton("🔄 Reset to Defaults")
+        reset_button = QPushButton(platform_glyph("🔄 Reset to Defaults"))
         reset_button.clicked.connect(self.reset_to_defaults_with_save)
         reset_button.setMinimumHeight(32)
 
diff --git a/gui/csv_tab.py b/gui/csv_tab.py
index cbb1188..a173583 100644
--- a/gui/csv_tab.py
+++ b/gui/csv_tab.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from PyQt5.QtWidgets import (
     QPushButton, QLabel, QMessageBox, QSpinBox, QFrame, QComboBox
 )
 from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt, pyqtSignal
+from gui.platform_glyph import platform_glyph
 
 try:
     from .config_integration import ConfigIntegration
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ except ImportError:
 
 def create_section_label(text):
     """Create a section label for grouping settings."""
-    label = QLabel(text)
+    label = QLabel(platform_glyph(text))
     label.setStyleSheet("""
         QLabel {
             font-size: 12px;
@@ -247,7 +248,7 @@ class CSVTab(QWidget):
         button_layout = QHBoxLayout()
         button_layout.setSpacing(10)
         
-        self.reset_button = QPushButton("🔄 Reset to Defaults")
+        self.reset_button = QPushButton(platform_glyph("🔄 Reset to Defaults"))
         self.reset_button.clicked.connect(self.reset_to_defaults_with_message)
         self.reset_button.setMaximumWidth(180)
         self.reset_button.setMinimumHeight(32)
diff --git a/gui/log_viewer.py b/gui/log_viewer.py
index e4b9dc8..78d5c23 100644
--- a/gui/log_viewer.py
+++ b/gui/log_viewer.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ from PyQt5.QtWidgets import (
 )
 from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt, pyqtSignal, QTimer
 from PyQt5.QtGui import QTextCursor, QFont, QTextCharFormat
+from gui.platform_glyph import platform_glyph
 from pathlib import Path
 import datetime
 import html
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ class LogViewer(QWidget):
         layout.setContentsMargins(0, 0, 0, 0)
 
         # Simple header to match left-side styling (use same look as create_section_header)
-        header = QLabel("📝 Translation Log")
+        header = QLabel(platform_glyph("📝 Translation Log"))
         header.setStyleSheet("""
             QLabel {
                 font-size: 13px;
diff --git a/gui/main.py b/gui/main.py
index 62bb8dd..5b52402 100644
--- a/gui/main.py
+++ b/gui/main.py
@@ -455,29 +455,13 @@ class DazedMTLGUI(QMainWindow):
     
     def create_nav_button(self, icon_text, tooltip):
         """Create a navigation button for the sidebar."""
+        from gui.platform_glyph import configure_nav_toolbutton
+
         btn = QToolButton()
-        btn.setText(icon_text)
         btn.setToolTip(tooltip)
         btn.setFixedSize(60, 50)
         btn.setCheckable(True)
-        btn.setStyleSheet("""
-            QToolButton {
-                background-color: transparent;
-                border: none;
-                border-left: 3px solid transparent;
-                color: #cccccc;
-                font-size: 24px;
-                padding: 5px;
-            }
-            QToolButton:hover {
-                background-color: #3e3e42;
-            }
-            QToolButton:checked {
-                background-color: #37373d;
-                border-left: 3px solid #007acc;
-                color: #ffffff;
-            }
-        """)
+        configure_nav_toolbutton(btn, icon_text, horizontal=False)
         return btn
     
     def switch_page(self, index):
diff --git a/gui/platform_glyph.py b/gui/platform_glyph.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59e8d5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gui/platform_glyph.py
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+"""Linux fallbacks for emoji that PyQt5 often cannot render (tofu boxes).
+
+Only replaces glyphs known to fail on typical Linux font stacks.
+Windows/macOS get the original strings unchanged.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+import sys
+
+from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt, QSize
+from PyQt5.QtGui import QColor, QFont, QIcon, QPainter, QPixmap
+
+# Toolbar buttons, section headers, mixed labels
+_LINUX_EMOJI_FALLBACKS: dict[str, str] = {
+    "\U00002795": "+",       # ➕ add
+    "\U0001F4C1": "\u2302",  # 📁 folder → ⌂
+    "\U0001F4C2": "\u2302",  # 📂 open folder
+    "\U0001F504": "\u21bb",  # 🔄 refresh → ↻
+    "\U0001F4DD": "",        # 📝 memo (section headers)
+    "\U0001F6D1": "\u25a0",  # 🛑 stop → ■
+    "\U0001F4E5": "\u2193",  # 📥 inbox tray → ↓
+    "\U0001F527": "\u2699",  # 🔧 wrench → ⚙
+    "\U0001F511": "",        # 🔑 key (section headers)
+    "\U0001F310": "",        # 🌐 globe (section headers)
+    "\U0001F5A5": "",        # 🖥 desktop (section headers)
+    "\U00002699\uFE0F": "\u2699",  # ⚙️ → ⚙
+    "\U0000270F\uFE0F": "\u270E",  # ✏️ → ✎
+}
+
+# Icon-only nav tabs — never empty; BMP symbols so metrics match across the bar
+_LINUX_NAV_FALLBACKS: dict[str, str] = {
+    "\U0001F310": "\u25ce",  # 🌐 Translation → ◎
+    "\U0001F527": "\u2699",  # 🔧 General → ⚙
+    "\U0001F3AE": "\u25c6",  # 🎮 MV/MZ → ◆
+    "\U0001F43A": "\u25c8",  # 🐺 Wolf → ◈
+    "\U0001F4C4": "\u2630",  # 📄 CSV → ☰
+    "\U00002694\uFE0F": "\u2694",  # ⚔️ SRPG → ⚔
+    "\U00002694": "\u2694",
+    "\U0001F504": "\u21bb",  # 🔄 Update → ↻
+    "\U00002699\uFE0F": "\u2699",  # ⚙️ Config → ⚙
+    "\U0000270F\uFE0F": "\u270E",  # ✏️ Rewrite → ✎
+    "\U000026A1": "\u26a1",  # ⚡ Workflow
+}
+
+
+def _apply_fallbacks(text: str, mapping: dict[str, str]) -> str:
+    out = text
+    for emoji, replacement in mapping.items():
+        out = out.replace(emoji, replacement)
+    out = re.sub(r"  +", " ", out)
+    return out.strip()
+
+
+def platform_glyph(text: str) -> str:
+    """Return UI text with unsupported emoji swapped on Linux only."""
+    if not sys.platform.startswith("linux") or not text:
+        return text
+    return _apply_fallbacks(text, _LINUX_EMOJI_FALLBACKS)
+
+
+def platform_nav_glyph(icon: str) -> str:
+    """Linux fallback for icon-only nav tabs (never returns empty)."""
+    if not sys.platform.startswith("linux") or not icon:
+        return icon
+
+    out = _apply_fallbacks(icon, _LINUX_NAV_FALLBACKS)
+    if not out:
+        out = _apply_fallbacks(icon, _LINUX_EMOJI_FALLBACKS)
+    return out or icon
+
+
+def _linux_nav_pixmap(glyph: str, *, size: int, font_px: int, color: QColor) -> QPixmap:
+    pixmap = QPixmap(size, size)
+    pixmap.fill(Qt.transparent)
+
+    painter = QPainter(pixmap)
+    font = QFont("DejaVu Sans")
+    font.setPixelSize(font_px)
+    painter.setFont(font)
+    painter.setPen(color)
+    painter.drawText(pixmap.rect(), Qt.AlignCenter, glyph)
+    painter.end()
+    return pixmap
+
+
+def _linux_nav_icon(icon_text: str, *, size: int, font_px: int) -> QIcon:
+    """Render a nav glyph into a fixed-size pixmap so every tab aligns the same."""
+    glyph = platform_nav_glyph(icon_text)
+    icon = QIcon()
+    gray = _linux_nav_pixmap(glyph, size=size, font_px=font_px, color=QColor("#cccccc"))
+    white = _linux_nav_pixmap(glyph, size=size, font_px=font_px, color=QColor("#ffffff"))
+    icon.addPixmap(gray, QIcon.Normal, QIcon.Off)
+    icon.addPixmap(gray, QIcon.Disabled, QIcon.Off)
+    icon.addPixmap(white, QIcon.Active, QIcon.Off)
+    icon.addPixmap(white, QIcon.Selected, QIcon.Off)
+    return icon
+
+
+def _nav_toolbutton_stylesheet(*, horizontal: bool, icon_only: bool) -> str:
+    border_prop = "border-bottom" if horizontal else "border-left"
+    if icon_only:
+        return f"""
+            QToolButton {{
+                background-color: transparent;
+                border: none;
+                {border_prop}: 3px solid transparent;
+                color: #cccccc;
+                padding: 0px;
+                margin: 0px;
+            }}
+            QToolButton:hover {{
+                background-color: #3e3e42;
+            }}
+            QToolButton:checked {{
+                background-color: #37373d;
+                {border_prop}: 3px solid #007acc;
+                color: #ffffff;
+            }}
+        """
+
+    font_size = "18px" if sys.platform.startswith("linux") else "24px"
+    return f"""
+        QToolButton {{
+            background-color: transparent;
+            border: none;
+            {border_prop}: 3px solid transparent;
+            color: #cccccc;
+            font-size: {font_size};
+            font-family: 'DejaVu Sans Mono', monospace;
+            padding: 0px;
+            margin: 0px;
+        }}
+        QToolButton:hover {{
+            background-color: #3e3e42;
+        }}
+        QToolButton:checked {{
+            background-color: #37373d;
+            {border_prop}: 3px solid #007acc;
+            color: #ffffff;
+        }}
+    """
+
+
+def configure_nav_toolbutton(btn, icon_text: str, *, horizontal: bool = False) -> None:
+    """Apply nav icon — on Linux render BMP symbols into fixed pixmaps for alignment."""
+    if sys.platform.startswith("linux"):
+        # Scale to the button cell (leave room for the 3px active border).
+        icon_dim = max(28, min(btn.width(), btn.height()) - 8)
+        font_px = max(22, int(icon_dim * 0.78))
+        btn.setIcon(_linux_nav_icon(icon_text, size=icon_dim, font_px=font_px))
+        btn.setIconSize(QSize(icon_dim, icon_dim))
+        btn.setText("")
+        btn.setToolButtonStyle(Qt.ToolButtonIconOnly)
+        btn.setStyleSheet(_nav_toolbutton_stylesheet(horizontal=horizontal, icon_only=True))
+        return
+
+    btn.setIcon(QIcon())
+    btn.setText(icon_text)
+    btn.setToolButtonStyle(Qt.ToolButtonTextOnly)
+    btn.setStyleSheet(_nav_toolbutton_stylesheet(horizontal=horizontal, icon_only=False))
diff --git a/gui/rpgmaker_tab.py b/gui/rpgmaker_tab.py
index ba92bc5..ef7c86b 100644
--- a/gui/rpgmaker_tab.py
+++ b/gui/rpgmaker_tab.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from PyQt5.QtWidgets import (
     QTextEdit, QSpinBox, QFrame, QGridLayout
 )
 from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt, pyqtSignal
+from gui.platform_glyph import platform_glyph
 
 try:
     from .config_integration import ConfigIntegration
@@ -25,8 +26,8 @@ except Exception:
 
 
 def create_section_label(text):
-    """Create a section label for grouping checkboxes."""
-    label = QLabel(text)
+    """Create a section label for grouping settings."""
+    label = QLabel(platform_glyph(text))
     label.setStyleSheet("""
         QLabel {
             font-size: 13px;
@@ -456,7 +457,7 @@ class RPGMakerTab(QWidget):
         
         # Reset button
         button_layout = QHBoxLayout()
-        self.reset_button = QPushButton("🔄 Reset to Defaults")
+        self.reset_button = QPushButton(platform_glyph("🔄 Reset to Defaults"))
         self.reset_button.clicked.connect(self.reset_to_defaults_with_message)
         self.reset_button.setMinimumHeight(32)
         self.reset_button.setMaximumWidth(160)
diff --git a/gui/srpg_tab.py b/gui/srpg_tab.py
index 36061a2..43f0262 100644
--- a/gui/srpg_tab.py
+++ b/gui/srpg_tab.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from PyQt5.QtWidgets import (
 )
 from PyQt5.QtCore import pyqtSignal
 import re
+from gui.platform_glyph import platform_glyph
 
 try:
     import set_defaults
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ except Exception:
 
 def create_section_label(text):
     """Create a styled section header label."""
-    label = QLabel(text)
+    label = QLabel(platform_glyph(text))
     label.setStyleSheet("font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; color: #007acc; padding: 2px 0px;")
     return label
 
@@ -83,7 +84,7 @@ class SRPGTab(QWidget):
         button_layout = QHBoxLayout()
         button_layout.setSpacing(10)
 
-        self.reset_btn = QPushButton("🔄 Reset to Defaults")
+        self.reset_btn = QPushButton(platform_glyph("🔄 Reset to Defaults"))
         self.reset_btn.clicked.connect(self.reset_to_defaults_with_message)
         self.reset_btn.setMaximumWidth(180)
         self.reset_btn.setMinimumHeight(32)
diff --git a/gui/translation_tab.py b/gui/translation_tab.py
index 3dda224..3264b64 100644
--- a/gui/translation_tab.py
+++ b/gui/translation_tab.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QSizePolicy
 from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt, QTimer, pyqtSignal, QThread, QMutex, QProcess, QEvent, QRect, QSettings
 from PyQt5.QtGui import QFont
 from gui.log_viewer import LogViewer
+from gui.platform_glyph import platform_glyph
 
 
 def _strip_ansi(text):
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ def _strip_ansi(text):
 
 def create_section_header(title):
     """Create a clean section header without boxes."""
-    label = QLabel(title)
+    label = QLabel(platform_glyph(title))
     label.setStyleSheet("""
         QLabel {
             font-size: 13px;
@@ -849,7 +850,7 @@ class TranslationTab(QWidget):
         deselect_all_btn.setStyleSheet(icon_button_style)
         file_buttons.addWidget(deselect_all_btn)
         
-        add_files_btn = QPushButton("➕")
+        add_files_btn = QPushButton(platform_glyph("➕"))
         add_files_btn.setToolTip("Add files to translate")
         add_files_btn.clicked.connect(self.add_input_files)
         add_files_btn.setStyleSheet(icon_button_style)
@@ -861,13 +862,13 @@ class TranslationTab(QWidget):
         remove_files_btn.setStyleSheet(icon_button_style)
         file_buttons.addWidget(remove_files_btn)
         
-        open_folder_btn = QPushButton("📁")
+        open_folder_btn = QPushButton(platform_glyph("📁"))
         open_folder_btn.setToolTip("Open files folder in explorer")
         open_folder_btn.clicked.connect(self.open_input_folder)
         open_folder_btn.setStyleSheet(icon_button_style)
         file_buttons.addWidget(open_folder_btn)
         
-        refresh_btn = QPushButton("🔄")
+        refresh_btn = QPushButton(platform_glyph("🔄"))
         refresh_btn.setToolTip("Refresh file list")
         refresh_btn.clicked.connect(self.refresh_file_lists)
         refresh_btn.setStyleSheet(icon_button_style)
@@ -1120,12 +1121,12 @@ class TranslationTab(QWidget):
         self.reset_view_button.clicked.connect(self.reset_to_file_view)
         self.reset_view_button.setVisible(False)
         # Button to open the translations (translated) folder - icon-only
-        self.open_translations_button = QPushButton("📂")
+        self.open_translations_button = QPushButton(platform_glyph("📂"))
         self.open_translations_button.setToolTip("Open the translated files folder")
         self.open_translations_button.clicked.connect(self.open_output_folder)
         self.open_translations_button.setVisible(False)
         # Sync translated/ → files/ (RPG Maker only)
-        self.sync_translated_button = QPushButton("🔄")
+        self.sync_translated_button = QPushButton(platform_glyph("🔄"))
         self.sync_translated_button.setToolTip("Sync translated/ → files/\nCopy translated files back into files/ so the next phase starts from the latest state")
         self.sync_translated_button.clicked.connect(self._sync_translated_to_files)
         self.sync_translated_button.setVisible(False)
@@ -1195,7 +1196,7 @@ class TranslationTab(QWidget):
 
         # Use a clear stop-sign emoji so the glyph is rendered as a stop icon
         # and not as a colored square on some platforms.
-        self.stop_button = QPushButton("🛑")
+        self.stop_button = QPushButton(platform_glyph("🛑"))
         self.stop_button.setToolTip("Stop Translation")
         self.stop_button.clicked.connect(self.stop_translation)
         self.stop_button.setStyleSheet(stop_button_style)
diff --git a/gui/wolf_tab.py b/gui/wolf_tab.py
index a773e11..cc507e1 100644
--- a/gui/wolf_tab.py
+++ b/gui/wolf_tab.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from PyQt5.QtWidgets import (
 )
 from PyQt5.QtCore import pyqtSignal
 import re
+from gui.platform_glyph import platform_glyph
 try:
     import set_defaults
     CANONICAL_DEFAULTS = getattr(set_defaults, 'DEFAULTS', None)
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ except Exception:
 
 def create_section_label(text):
     """Create a styled section header label."""
-    label = QLabel(text)
+    label = QLabel(platform_glyph(text))
     label.setStyleSheet("font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; color: #007acc; padding: 2px 0px;")
     return label
 
@@ -171,7 +172,7 @@ class WolfTab(QWidget):
         button_layout = QHBoxLayout()
         button_layout.setSpacing(10)
         
-        self.reset_btn = QPushButton("🔄 Reset to Defaults")
+        self.reset_btn = QPushButton(platform_glyph("🔄 Reset to Defaults"))
         self.reset_btn.clicked.connect(self.reset_to_defaults_with_message)
         self.reset_btn.setMaximumWidth(180)
         self.reset_btn.setMinimumHeight(32)
diff --git a/gui/workflow_tab.py b/gui/workflow_tab.py
index 1a2f433..ada3d4f 100644
--- a/gui/workflow_tab.py
+++ b/gui/workflow_tab.py
@@ -444,7 +444,9 @@ def _make_btn(text: str, color: str = "#007acc") -> QPushButton:
 
 def _make_icon_btn(icon_text: str, tooltip: str = "") -> QPushButton:
     """Compact icon-only button matching the Translation tab action buttons."""
-    btn = QPushButton(icon_text)
+    from gui.platform_glyph import platform_glyph
+
+    btn = QPushButton(platform_glyph(icon_text))
     btn.setToolTip(tooltip)
     btn.setFont(QFont("Segoe UI", 12))
     btn.setFixedSize(40, 36)