diff --git a/packages/studio/src/player/components/timelineMultiDragPreview.test.ts b/packages/studio/src/player/components/timelineMultiDragPreview.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6d7791991e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/studio/src/player/components/timelineMultiDragPreview.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import {
+  clampGroupMoveDelta,
+  isMultiDragActive,
+  isMultiDragPassenger,
+  multiDragDeltaSeconds,
+  multiDragPassengerOffsetPx,
+  type MultiDragPreviewInput,
+} from "./timelineMultiDragPreview";
+
+const base = (over: Partial<MultiDragPreviewInput> = {}): MultiDragPreviewInput => ({
+  dragStarted: true,
+  draggedKey: "a",
+  draggedOriginStart: 2,
+  draggedPreviewStart: 5,
+  selectedKeys: new Set(["a", "b", "c"]),
+  ...over,
+});
+
+describe("isMultiDragActive", () => {
+  it("is active when a started drag's clip is part of a 2+ selection", () => {
+    expect(isMultiDragActive(base())).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("is inactive before the drag starts", () => {
+    expect(isMultiDragActive(base({ dragStarted: false }))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("is inactive for a single-clip selection (single-drag behavior)", () => {
+    expect(isMultiDragActive(base({ selectedKeys: new Set(["a"]) }))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("is inactive when the dragged clip is not itself selected", () => {
+    expect(isMultiDragActive(base({ draggedKey: "z" }))).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("multiDragDeltaSeconds (the one formation delta)", () => {
+  it("is the grabbed clip's preview − origin start when active", () => {
+    // The preview start is already group-clamped upstream, so this delta is the
+    // clamped delta every member (ghost + passengers) moves by.
+    expect(multiDragDeltaSeconds(base())).toBe(3);
+  });
+
+  it("supports a leftward (negative) delta", () => {
+    expect(multiDragDeltaSeconds(base({ draggedPreviewStart: 0.5 }))).toBeCloseTo(-1.5);
+  });
+
+  it("is zero when no multi-drag is active", () => {
+    expect(multiDragDeltaSeconds(base({ selectedKeys: new Set(["a"]) }))).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("isMultiDragPassenger", () => {
+  it("marks a selected non-dragged clip as a passenger", () => {
+    expect(isMultiDragPassenger("b", base())).toBe(true);
+    expect(isMultiDragPassenger("c", base())).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("never marks the dragged clip itself (it is the free ghost)", () => {
+    expect(isMultiDragPassenger("a", base())).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("never marks an unselected clip", () => {
+    expect(isMultiDragPassenger("d", base())).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("marks nothing when the drag is a single-drag", () => {
+    const single = base({ selectedKeys: new Set(["a"]) });
+    expect(isMultiDragPassenger("b", single)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("multiDragPassengerOffsetPx (rigid: every passenger shares the delta)", () => {
+  it("converts the one formation delta to pixels for every passenger", () => {
+    // Both passengers move by the SAME 3s × 100pps = 300px — spacing locked.
+    expect(multiDragPassengerOffsetPx("b", 100, base())).toBe(300);
+    expect(multiDragPassengerOffsetPx("c", 100, base())).toBe(300);
+  });
+
+  it("is zero for the dragged clip and for non-passengers", () => {
+    expect(multiDragPassengerOffsetPx("a", 100, base())).toBe(0);
+    expect(multiDragPassengerOffsetPx("d", 100, base())).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("is zero for a non-finite pps", () => {
+    expect(multiDragPassengerOffsetPx("b", Number.NaN, base())).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("follows a leftward delta", () => {
+    expect(multiDragPassengerOffsetPx("c", 50, base({ draggedPreviewStart: 0 }))).toBe(-100);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("clampGroupMoveDelta (rigid group move)", () => {
+  it("passes a rightward delta through unchanged (no right wall)", () => {
+    expect(clampGroupMoveDelta(3, [2, 5, 9])).toBe(3);
+    expect(clampGroupMoveDelta(1000, [0, 4])).toBe(1000);
+  });
+
+  it("passes a leftward delta through when no member would cross 0", () => {
+    // Leftmost member at 5, moving left by 3 → 2 ≥ 0, so unclamped.
+    expect(clampGroupMoveDelta(-3, [5, 8, 12])).toBe(-3);
+  });
+
+  it("clamps a leftward delta so the leftmost member stops exactly at 0", () => {
+    // Leftmost at 2 → the furthest left the group can move is -2 (that member → 0).
+    // A pointer asking for -5 is clamped to -2: the grabbed clip stops with the
+    // formation instead of out-running it.
+    expect(clampGroupMoveDelta(-5, [2, 6, 10])).toBe(-2);
+  });
+
+  it("is bounded by the MOST-constrained (leftmost) member, not the grabbed one", () => {
+    // Grabbed clip is at 10; a passenger at 1 is the constraint. Max left = -1.
+    expect(clampGroupMoveDelta(-8, [10, 1, 4])).toBe(-1);
+  });
+
+  it("already-at-0 member forbids any leftward move", () => {
+    expect(clampGroupMoveDelta(-4, [0, 3, 7])).toBe(0);
+    // rightward still allowed
+    expect(clampGroupMoveDelta(2, [0, 3, 7])).toBe(2);
+  });
+
+  it("returns the raw delta for an empty formation", () => {
+    expect(clampGroupMoveDelta(-9, [])).toBe(-9);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/studio/src/player/components/timelineMultiDragPreview.ts b/packages/studio/src/player/components/timelineMultiDragPreview.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6b85466322
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/studio/src/player/components/timelineMultiDragPreview.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+/**
+ * Pure geometry for the LIVE multi-selection drag preview.
+ *
+ * Visual model (matches main): while a selected clip is dragged, ALL selected
+ * clips move together LIVE as one rigid formation following the cursor. The
+ * GRABBED clip is drawn as the free-floating ghost; every OTHER selected member
+ * ("passenger") slides by the SAME time delta via a cheap compositor
+ * `translateX` (no re-layout). Passengers do NOT stay still, and they do NOT lag
+ * behind individually — the whole formation moves by one delta, spacing locked.
+ *
+ * That single delta is the GRABBED clip's `draggedPreviewStart − draggedOriginStart`.
+ * The preview start is ALREADY group-clamped upstream (updateDraggedClipPreview
+ * runs clampGroupMoveDelta before setting it), so this delta is the clamped delta:
+ * the instant any member would cross 0 the grabbed clip stops and every passenger
+ * stops with it — the formation never deforms. On DROP the commit shifts every
+ * selected clip by this same delta (see timelineClipDragCommit / useTimelineClipDrag).
+ *
+ * Track changes apply to the grabbed clip only (mirroring the commit); passengers
+ * keep their lanes, so only their x moves.
+ */
+
+export interface MultiDragPreviewInput {
+  /** The drag is live (past the movement threshold). */
+  dragStarted: boolean;
+  /** Key of the clip under the pointer. */
+  draggedKey: string;
+  /** The dragged clip's committed start (pre-drag). */
+  draggedOriginStart: number;
+  /** The dragged clip's live preview start (already group-clamped upstream). */
+  draggedPreviewStart: number;
+  /** The current multi-selection (store.selectedElementIds). */
+  selectedKeys: ReadonlySet<string>;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether a live multi-selection drag is in effect: the drag started, and the
+ * dragged clip is itself part of a 2+ multi-selection. Below this, single-drag
+ * behavior is unchanged and there are no passengers.
+ */
+export function isMultiDragActive(input: MultiDragPreviewInput): boolean {
+  return (
+    input.dragStarted && input.selectedKeys.size > 1 && input.selectedKeys.has(input.draggedKey)
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * The single time delta the WHOLE formation shifts by — the grabbed clip's
+ * preview start minus its origin start. Because the preview start is already
+ * group-clamped, this is the clamped delta every member (ghost + passengers)
+ * moves by. Zero when the clip hasn't moved (or no multi-drag).
+ */
+export function multiDragDeltaSeconds(input: MultiDragPreviewInput): number {
+  if (!isMultiDragActive(input)) return 0;
+  return input.draggedPreviewStart - input.draggedOriginStart;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether a specific rendered clip is a passenger — a selected clip that is NOT
+ * the dragged clip and NOT the same clip key. Passengers get the translateX
+ * treatment; the dragged clip is drawn as the free-floating ghost instead.
+ */
+export function isMultiDragPassenger(clipKey: string, input: MultiDragPreviewInput): boolean {
+  return (
+    isMultiDragActive(input) && clipKey !== input.draggedKey && input.selectedKeys.has(clipKey)
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * The passenger's rendered x offset in PIXELS (delta seconds × pixels/second),
+ * to apply as `transform: translateX(...px)`. Every passenger uses the SAME
+ * formation delta, so the group moves rigidly. Returns 0 for non-passengers so
+ * callers can compute unconditionally and only branch on the elevated styling.
+ */
+export function multiDragPassengerOffsetPx(
+  clipKey: string,
+  pixelsPerSecond: number,
+  input: MultiDragPreviewInput,
+): number {
+  if (!isMultiDragPassenger(clipKey, input)) return 0;
+  const pps = Number.isFinite(pixelsPerSecond) ? pixelsPerSecond : 0;
+  return multiDragDeltaSeconds(input) * pps;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Clamp a group move so the WHOLE selection moves as ONE rigid formation.
+ *
+ * The grabbed clip proposes a raw delta (its desired preview start minus its
+ * origin start, after its own snapping). Applied naively, a passenger could be
+ * pushed below 0 (or past any other member bound), and the commit's per-clip
+ * `Math.max(0, …)` would then deform the formation — the grabbed clip out-runs
+ * the group while a passenger sticks at the wall. This ports main's model
+ * (useTimelineClipGroupDrag / clampTimelineGroupMoveDelta): the applied delta is
+ * bounded by the MOST-CONSTRAINED member, so the grabbed clip STOPS the instant
+ * any member hits 0 and the formation never deforms.
+ *
+ * `memberStarts` are the pre-drag starts of every selected clip (the grabbed clip
+ * included). Only the lower bound (start ≥ 0) constrains a move; the timeline has
+ * no fixed right wall (the composition grows on commit).
+ */
+export function clampGroupMoveDelta(rawDelta: number, memberStarts: readonly number[]): number {
+  if (memberStarts.length === 0) return rawDelta;
+  // Leftmost member sets the floor: delta ≥ -min(start) keeps every start ≥ 0.
+  const minStart = Math.min(...memberStarts);
+  const minDelta = minStart === 0 ? 0 : -minStart; // avoid -0
+  return rawDelta < minDelta ? minDelta : rawDelta;
+}