diff --git a/app/playground/[id]/page.tsx b/app/playground/[id]/page.tsx
index 09be742d..614cfe8d 100644
--- a/app/playground/[id]/page.tsx
+++ b/app/playground/[id]/page.tsx
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import { useWebContainer } from "@/modules/webcontainers/hooks/useWebContainer";
 import { useFileExplorer } from "@/modules/playground/hooks/useFileExplorer";
 import { usePlaygroundActions } from "@/modules/playground/hooks/usePlaygroundActions";
 import { usePlaygroundUI } from "@/modules/playground/hooks/usePlaygroundUI";
+import { useUnsavedChangesWarning } from "@/modules/playground/hooks/useUnsavedChangesWarning";
 
 // New modular UI components
 import { PlaygroundSidebar } from "@/modules/playground/components/playground-sidebar";
@@ -42,6 +43,8 @@ const PlaygroundPageContent = () => {
   const setIsPreviewVisible = usePlaygroundUI((s) => s.setIsPreviewVisible);
   const setIsCommandPaletteOpen = usePlaygroundUI((s) => s.setIsCommandPaletteOpen);
   const resetUI = usePlaygroundUI((s) => s.resetUI);
+  const hasUnsavedChanges = openFiles.some((file) => file.hasUnsavedChanges);
+  const { confirmNavigation } = useUnsavedChangesWarning(hasUnsavedChanges);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (isSuccess && templateData) {
@@ -151,6 +154,7 @@ const PlaygroundPageContent = () => {
               handleSave={handleSave}
               handleSaveAll={handleSaveAll}
               handleDownloadZip={handleDownloadZip}
+              confirmNavigation={confirmNavigation}
             />
             
             <EditorArea handleDownloadZip={handleDownloadZip} />
diff --git a/modules/playground/components/playground-header.tsx b/modules/playground/components/playground-header.tsx
index 8151dc25..63b50537 100644
--- a/modules/playground/components/playground-header.tsx
+++ b/modules/playground/components/playground-header.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import React from "react";
+import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { Tooltip, TooltipTrigger, TooltipContent } from "@/components/ui/tooltip";
 import { DropdownMenu, DropdownMenuTrigger, DropdownMenuContent, DropdownMenuItem, DropdownMenuSeparator, DropdownMenuShortcut } from "@/components/ui/dropdown-menu";
@@ -29,13 +30,16 @@ interface PlaygroundHeaderProps {
     handleSave: () => void;
     handleSaveAll: () => void;
     handleDownloadZip: () => void;
+    confirmNavigation?: () => boolean;
 }
 
 export const PlaygroundHeader = ({
     handleSave,
     handleSaveAll,
     handleDownloadZip,
+    confirmNavigation,
 }: PlaygroundHeaderProps) => {
+    const router = useRouter();
     const { id, playgroundData } = usePlaygroundContext();
     const {
         isPreviewVisible,
@@ -61,7 +65,10 @@ export const PlaygroundHeader = ({
                             size="icon"
                             variant="ghost"
                             className="h-7 w-7 text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground"
-                            onClick={() => window.location.href = '/dashboard'}
+                            onClick={() => {
+                                if (confirmNavigation?.() === false) return;
+                                router.push('/dashboard');
+                            }}
                             aria-label="Back to Dashboard"
                         >
                             <ArrowLeft className="h-4 w-4" />
diff --git a/modules/playground/hooks/useUnsavedChangesWarning.test.ts b/modules/playground/hooks/useUnsavedChangesWarning.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..52c8a8f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/playground/hooks/useUnsavedChangesWarning.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/**
+ * @vitest-environment jsdom
+ */
+
+import { renderHook } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { useUnsavedChangesWarning } from "./useUnsavedChangesWarning";
+
+describe("useUnsavedChangesWarning", () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+    document.body.innerHTML = "";
+  });
+
+  it("does not block unload when there are no unsaved changes", () => {
+    renderHook(() => useUnsavedChangesWarning(false));
+
+    const event = new Event("beforeunload", { cancelable: true });
+
+    expect(window.dispatchEvent(event)).toBe(true);
+    expect(event.defaultPrevented).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("blocks unload when there are unsaved changes", () => {
+    renderHook(() => useUnsavedChangesWarning(true));
+
+    const event = new Event("beforeunload", { cancelable: true });
+
+    expect(window.dispatchEvent(event)).toBe(false);
+    expect(event.defaultPrevented).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("prevents guarded navigation when the user cancels", () => {
+    const confirmSpy = vi.spyOn(window, "confirm").mockReturnValue(false);
+    renderHook(() => useUnsavedChangesWarning(true));
+
+    const link = document.createElement("a");
+    link.href = "/dashboard";
+    document.body.appendChild(link);
+
+    const event = new MouseEvent("click", {
+      bubbles: true,
+      cancelable: true,
+      button: 0,
+    });
+
+    expect(link.dispatchEvent(event)).toBe(false);
+    expect(event.defaultPrevented).toBe(true);
+    expect(confirmSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("returns a confirmNavigation helper for imperative exits", () => {
+    const confirmSpy = vi.spyOn(window, "confirm").mockReturnValue(false);
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useUnsavedChangesWarning(true));
+
+    expect(result.current.confirmNavigation()).toBe(false);
+    expect(confirmSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("allows imperative exits when the user confirms", () => {
+    const confirmSpy = vi.spyOn(window, "confirm").mockReturnValue(true);
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useUnsavedChangesWarning(true));
+
+    expect(result.current.confirmNavigation()).toBe(true);
+    expect(confirmSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/modules/playground/hooks/useUnsavedChangesWarning.ts b/modules/playground/hooks/useUnsavedChangesWarning.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8bdd5d24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/playground/hooks/useUnsavedChangesWarning.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { useCallback, useEffect } from "react";
+
+const UNSAVED_CHANGES_MESSAGE =
+  "You have unsaved changes. Are you sure you want to leave the playground?";
+
+export function useUnsavedChangesWarning(hasUnsavedChanges: boolean) {
+  const confirmNavigation = useCallback(() => {
+    if (!hasUnsavedChanges) return true;
+    return window.confirm(UNSAVED_CHANGES_MESSAGE);
+  }, [hasUnsavedChanges]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!hasUnsavedChanges) return;
+
+    const handleBeforeUnload = (event: BeforeUnloadEvent) => {
+      event.preventDefault();
+      event.returnValue = UNSAVED_CHANGES_MESSAGE;
+      return UNSAVED_CHANGES_MESSAGE;
+    };
+
+    window.addEventListener("beforeunload", handleBeforeUnload);
+    return () => window.removeEventListener("beforeunload", handleBeforeUnload);
+  }, [hasUnsavedChanges]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!hasUnsavedChanges) return;
+
+    const handleDocumentClick = (event: MouseEvent) => {
+      if (
+        event.defaultPrevented ||
+        event.button !== 0 ||
+        event.metaKey ||
+        event.ctrlKey ||
+        event.shiftKey ||
+        event.altKey
+      ) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const target = event.target instanceof Element ? event.target : null;
+      const anchor = target?.closest<HTMLAnchorElement>("a[href]");
+
+      if (
+        !anchor ||
+        anchor.target === "_blank" ||
+        anchor.hasAttribute("download")
+      ) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const rawHref = anchor.getAttribute("href");
+      if (
+        !rawHref ||
+        rawHref.startsWith("#") ||
+        rawHref.startsWith("mailto:") ||
+        rawHref.startsWith("tel:")
+      ) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const nextUrl = new URL(anchor.href, window.location.href);
+      const currentUrl = new URL(window.location.href);
+
+      if (nextUrl.href === currentUrl.href || confirmNavigation()) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      event.preventDefault();
+      event.stopImmediatePropagation();
+    };
+
+    document.addEventListener("click", handleDocumentClick, true);
+    return () => document.removeEventListener("click", handleDocumentClick, true);
+  }, [confirmNavigation, hasUnsavedChanges]);
+
+  return { confirmNavigation };
+}
+