diff --git a/modules/assets/mc/mc.ext.ini b/modules/assets/mc/mc.ext.ini
index fade80a..5fa6235 100644
--- a/modules/assets/mc/mc.ext.ini
+++ b/modules/assets/mc/mc.ext.ini
@@ -76,6 +76,11 @@ Open=%cd %p/patchfs://
 # orphaned app opens as its own tile instead of swallowing mc (zathura, imv, ...).
 # %f MUST stay unquoted: mc already backslash-escapes the path, so quoting turns
 # those backslashes literal and breaks filenames with spaces.
+# Redirect stdout/stderr to /dev/null: `&` backgrounds but leaves the app's fds on
+# mc's terminal, so a chatty app paints over the mc pane and looks like a broken
+# swallow. Tradeoff: this also discards any real diagnostics when an app fails to
+# open a file. To keep a breadcrumb, swap /dev/null for a log file, e.g.
+# `>>$XDG_STATE_HOME/mc-open.log 2>&1`.
 
 [Default]
-Open=xdg-open %f &
+Open=xdg-open %f >/dev/null 2>&1 &