diff --git a/gerbil-manager-web/e2e/mock-api.ts b/gerbil-manager-web/e2e/mock-api.ts
index ea19acb..6219a76 100644
--- a/gerbil-manager-web/e2e/mock-api.ts
+++ b/gerbil-manager-web/e2e/mock-api.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@ function matchesFilter(row: Row, filter: string | null): boolean {
   if (!filter) return true
   return filter.split(',').every((andPart) =>
     andPart.split('|').some((cond) => {
-      let m = cond.match(/^(\w+)=\*(.*)\*(\/i)?$/)
+      // Gridify "contains": `field=*value` — value runs to the end (optionally /i).
+      // Mirror the REAL backend: no trailing `*` (the old `=\*(.*)\*` regex hid the
+      // SQL-LIKE `name=*a*` bug that returned 0 rows against real Gridify).
+      let m = cond.match(/^(\w+)=\*(.*?)(\/i)?$/)
       if (m) {
         return String(row[m[1]] ?? '')
           .toLowerCase()
diff --git a/gerbil-manager-web/src/api/gridify.ts b/gerbil-manager-web/src/api/gridify.ts
index cce4f66..cbb1c0c 100644
--- a/gerbil-manager-web/src/api/gridify.ts
+++ b/gerbil-manager-web/src/api/gridify.ts
@@ -43,9 +43,12 @@ export interface FilterCondition {
 export function condition(c: FilterCondition): string {
   const escaped = escapeGridifyValue(String(c.value))
   if (c.op === 'contains') {
-    // Gridify "contains" operator is =* ; default to case-insensitive.
+    // Gridify's "contains" operator is `=*` — the value follows directly and is
+    // matched as a substring. Do NOT wrap the value in asterisks (SQL-LIKE habit):
+    // a trailing `*` is a literal character to Gridify, so `name=*a*` searches for
+    // the literal "a*" and matches nothing. Correct form: `name=*a`.
     const suffix = c.caseInsensitive === false ? '' : '/i'
-    return `${c.field}=*${escaped}*${suffix}`
+    return `${c.field}=*${escaped}${suffix}`
   }
   // Gridify's equals operator is a single '='; callers use '==' semantically.
   const op = c.op === '==' ? '=' : c.op