Give the dock its own compact notes layout

The dock was showing `NotesPanel`, which is a master/detail layout: a column
of titles beside an editor. The previous commit made that survive dock width;
it did not make it right. At 352px the layout still spends roughly 356px of
height on chrome — dock header, panel header, title strip, a button row that
wraps, and a paragraph of help — before the body gets a pixel.

So the dock now shows one note. The title field names what is open and the
chevron beside it switches; New and Delete move into the overflow menu; the
help text goes. Chrome drops to about 112px and the body takes the rest.

The two surfaces are now different components, which contradicts a docstring
I wrote — "shared so the two cannot drift into different behaviour". That
claim was about behaviour, and behaviour was never in the layout: it is in
`useNotes` for the cache and its write ordering, and now in `useNoteDraft`,
extracted here so when a keystroke becomes a save is defined in exactly one
place. Only the layout diverges. `NotesPanel.shared.test.tsx` gets stronger
for it — it now mounts the dock panel and the tab panel together, which is
what the app actually does, instead of the same component twice.

`NoteSwitcher` is not `OverflowMenu` despite the shape being close: that keys
items by label, and notes are addressed by id, so two untitled notes — the
ordinary case — would collapse into one row. It is also not a `combobox`; an
input plus a listbox button is two honest controls, where the role would owe
active-descendant tracking and filtering that nothing here needs.

`SendToAgentButton` picks up `useUnavailable` from #49, which is what its
`disabled` plus explanatory `title` was already asking for. Four tests moved
from `toBeDisabled()` to the new contract, and one of them — "does nothing for
an empty note" — turned out never to have asserted that it does nothing. It
does now, for click and for Enter, which is the guard the swap needs.

It also gains `dropUp`, and that is load-bearing rather than cosmetic: the
dock clips its own overflow, so a session menu opening downward from a button
on the bottom edge is drawn outside the panel and never seen.

744 tests pass, 62 files. As before, jsdom has no layout engine: that the dock
now reads as compact is not something the suite can tell you.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_011YPqHpjV4EL6RNEwrRKqQm

app/src/components/layout/NotesDock.test.tsx

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { render, screen, fireEvent } from "@testing-library/react";
 import NotesDock from "./NotesDock";
 import type { Project, TerminalSession } from "../../lib/types";
 
-vi.mock("../notes/NotesPanel", () => ({
+vi.mock("../notes/NotesDockPanel", () => ({
   default: ({ projectId }: { projectId: string }) => (
     <div data-testid="panel">{`panel:${projectId}`}</div>
   ),

app/src/components/layout/NotesDock.tsx

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import {
   NOTES_DOCK_MIN_WIDTH,
   NOTES_DOCK_MAX_WIDTH,
 } from "../../store/appState";
-import NotesPanel from "../notes/NotesPanel";
+import NotesDockPanel from "../notes/NotesDockPanel";
 import Button from "../ui/Button";
 
 /**
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ export default function NotesDock() {
       </div>
       <div className="flex-1 min-h-0">
         {projectId ? (
-          <NotesPanel projectId={projectId} />
+          <NotesDockPanel projectId={projectId} />
         ) : (
           <p className="p-4 text-[13px] text-[var(--text-secondary)]">
             Open a project or a terminal to see its notes.

app/src/components/notes/NoteSwitcher.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
+import { render, screen, fireEvent } from "@testing-library/react";
+import NoteSwitcher from "./NoteSwitcher";
+import type { Note } from "../../lib/types";
+
+const onTitleChange = vi.fn();
+const onCommit = vi.fn();
+const onSelect = vi.fn();
+
+const note = (over: Partial<Note> = {}): Note => ({
+  id: "n1",
+  title: "Deploy steps",
+  body: "",
+  pinned: false,
+  created_at: "2026-09-01T00:00:00Z",
+  updated_at: "2026-09-01T00:00:00Z",
+  ...over,
+});
+
+const setup = (notes: Note[], selectedId = notes[0]?.id ?? "", title = notes[0]?.title ?? "") =>
+  render(
+    <NoteSwitcher
+      notes={notes}
+      selectedId={selectedId}
+      title={title}
+      onTitleChange={onTitleChange}
+      onCommit={onCommit}
+      onSelect={onSelect}
+    />,
+  );
+
+beforeEach(() => vi.clearAllMocks());
+
+describe("NoteSwitcher", () => {
+  it("edits the title in place, committing on blur", () => {
+    setup([note()]);
+    const field = screen.getByLabelText("Note title");
+    expect(field).toHaveValue("Deploy steps");
+
+    fireEvent.change(field, { target: { value: "Deploy steps v2" } });
+    expect(onTitleChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Deploy steps v2");
+    expect(onCommit).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+    fireEvent.blur(field);
+    expect(onCommit).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the other notes out of the way until asked for", () => {
+    setup([note(), note({ id: "n2", title: "Gotchas" })]);
+    expect(screen.queryByText("Gotchas")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i }));
+    expect(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Gotchas" })).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("reports whether the list is open", () => {
+    setup([note()]);
+    const trigger = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i });
+    expect(trigger).toHaveAttribute("aria-expanded", "false");
+
+    fireEvent.click(trigger);
+    expect(trigger).toHaveAttribute("aria-expanded", "true");
+  });
+
+  it("marks the current note as the selected option", () => {
+    setup([note(), note({ id: "n2", title: "Gotchas" })], "n2", "Gotchas");
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i }));
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Gotchas" })).toHaveAttribute(
+      "aria-selected",
+      "true",
+    );
+    expect(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Deploy steps" })).toHaveAttribute(
+      "aria-selected",
+      "false",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("selects a note and closes", () => {
+    setup([note(), note({ id: "n2", title: "Gotchas" })]);
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i }));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Gotchas" }));
+
+    expect(onSelect).toHaveBeenCalledWith("n2");
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("listbox")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("names an untitled note rather than showing an empty row", () => {
+    setup([note({ title: "   " })]);
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i }));
+    expect(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Untitled note" })).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  // Notes are addressed by id, never by title. Two untitled notes are the
+  // ordinary case, and a title-keyed list would collapse them into one row.
+  it("lists two notes that share a title as two options", () => {
+    setup([note({ id: "n1", title: "" }), note({ id: "n2", title: "" })]);
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i }));
+
+    const options = screen.getAllByRole("option", { name: "Untitled note" });
+    expect(options).toHaveLength(2);
+
+    fireEvent.click(options[1]);
+    expect(onSelect).toHaveBeenCalledWith("n2");
+  });
+
+  it("closes on Escape without selecting anything", () => {
+    setup([note(), note({ id: "n2", title: "Gotchas" })]);
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i }));
+    fireEvent.keyDown(document, { key: "Escape" });
+
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("listbox")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(onSelect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});

app/src/components/notes/NoteSwitcher.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import type { Note } from "../../lib/types";
+
+export const UNTITLED = "Untitled note";
+
+interface Props {
+  notes: Note[];
+  selectedId: string;
+  title: string;
+  onTitleChange: (value: string) => void;
+  onCommit: () => void;
+  onSelect: (id: string) => void;
+}
+
+/**
+ * One row that both names the current note and switches to another.
+ *
+ * The dock has no room for a permanent list of titles, so the title field
+ * doubles as the label of what is open and the chevron beside it holds the
+ * rest. Renaming therefore needs no separate affordance.
+ *
+ * Two honest controls rather than one `role="combobox"`: a text field and a
+ * button that opens a listbox. A real combobox owes its listbox keyboard
+ * navigation, active-descendant tracking and an input that filters — none of
+ * which this needs, and half of which is worse than not claiming the role.
+ *
+ * `OverflowMenu` is deliberately not reused here despite the shape being
+ * close. It keys its items by label, and notes are addressed by id: two
+ * untitled notes are the ordinary case and would collapse into one row.
+ */
+export default function NoteSwitcher({
+  notes,
+  selectedId,
+  title,
+  onTitleChange,
+  onCommit,
+  onSelect,
+}: Props) {
+  const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
+  const rootRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
+
+  // Same dismissal contract as `OverflowMenu`, so the two feel identical.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!open) return;
+    const onDocClick = (e: MouseEvent) => {
+      if (!rootRef.current?.contains(e.target as Node)) setOpen(false);
+    };
+    const onKey = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
+      if (e.key === "Escape") setOpen(false);
+    };
+    document.addEventListener("mousedown", onDocClick);
+    document.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+    return () => {
+      document.removeEventListener("mousedown", onDocClick);
+      document.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+    };
+  }, [open]);
+
+  return (
+    <div ref={rootRef} className="relative flex items-center gap-1 min-w-0">
+      <input
+        value={title}
+        onChange={(e) => onTitleChange(e.target.value)}
+        onBlur={onCommit}
+        placeholder="Note title"
+        aria-label="Note title"
+        className="flex-1 min-w-0 px-2 h-7 bg-[var(--bg-primary)] border border-[var(--border-color)] rounded-[var(--radius-control)] text-[13px] text-[var(--text-primary)] focus:border-[var(--accent)] transition-colors"
+      />
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        aria-label="Switch note"
+        aria-haspopup="listbox"
+        aria-expanded={open}
+        onClick={() => setOpen((o) => !o)}
+        className="inline-flex items-center justify-center h-7 w-6 flex-shrink-0 rounded-[var(--radius-control)] border border-[var(--border-color)] bg-[var(--bg-tertiary)] text-[var(--text-secondary)] hover:text-[var(--text-primary)] hover:bg-[var(--border-color)] transition-colors"
+      >
+        <span aria-hidden="true" className="leading-none text-[10px]">▾</span>
+      </button>
+      {open && (
+        <div
+          role="listbox"
+          aria-label="Notes"
+          className="absolute right-0 top-full mt-1 z-40 w-full max-h-64 overflow-y-auto py-1 bg-[var(--bg-overlay)] border border-[var(--border-color)] rounded-[var(--radius-panel)]"
+          style={{ boxShadow: "var(--shadow-overlay)" }}
+        >
+          {/* Buttons directly inside the listbox: wrapping each in an `<li>`
+              would put an implicit `listitem` between the listbox and its
+              options, which is not a child role a listbox owns. */}
+          {notes.map((n) => (
+            <button
+              key={n.id}
+              type="button"
+              role="option"
+              aria-selected={n.id === selectedId}
+              onClick={() => {
+                onSelect(n.id);
+                setOpen(false);
+              }}
+              className={`block w-full text-left px-3 py-1.5 text-xs truncate transition-colors hover:bg-[var(--bg-tertiary)] ${
+                n.id === selectedId
+                  ? "text-[var(--text-primary)] bg-[var(--bg-tertiary)]"
+                  : "text-[var(--text-secondary)]"
+              }`}
+            >
+              {n.title.trim() || UNTITLED}
+            </button>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+}

app/src/components/notes/NotesDockPanel.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
+import { render, screen, fireEvent, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import NotesDockPanel from "./NotesDockPanel";
+import type { Note } from "../../lib/types";
+
+const saveNote = vi.fn(async () => true);
+const deleteNote = vi.fn(async () => true);
+const createNote = vi.fn();
+let notes: Note[] = [];
+let loading = false;
+
+vi.mock("../../hooks/useNotes", () => ({
+  useNotes: () => ({
+    notes,
+    loading,
+    saveState: { status: "idle", error: null },
+    createNote,
+    saveNote,
+    deleteNote,
+  }),
+}));
+
+const sendProps: Record<string, unknown>[] = [];
+vi.mock("./SendToAgentButton", () => ({
+  default: (props: Record<string, unknown>) => {
+    sendProps.push(props);
+    return <button type="button">Send to agent</button>;
+  },
+}));
+
+const note = (over: Partial<Note> = {}): Note => ({
+  id: "n1",
+  title: "Deploy steps",
+  body: "one\ntwo",
+  pinned: false,
+  created_at: "2026-09-01T00:00:00Z",
+  updated_at: "2026-09-01T00:00:00Z",
+  ...over,
+});
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  vi.clearAllMocks();
+  sendProps.length = 0;
+  notes = [];
+  loading = false;
+});
+
+describe("NotesDockPanel", () => {
+  it("says it is loading rather than flashing an empty state", () => {
+    loading = true;
+    render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+    expect(screen.getByText(/loading notes/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("offers a first note when the project has none", async () => {
+    render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /new note/i }));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(createNote).toHaveBeenCalled());
+  });
+
+  // The point of the redesign: the dock spends its height on the note being
+  // written, not on a permanent list of the ones that are not.
+  it("shows one note at a time, the rest behind the switcher", () => {
+    notes = [note(), note({ id: "n2", title: "Gotchas" })];
+    render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByLabelText("Note title")).toHaveValue("Deploy steps");
+    expect(screen.queryByText("Gotchas")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i }));
+    expect(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Gotchas" })).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("switches to the note picked from the list", () => {
+    notes = [note(), note({ id: "n2", title: "Gotchas", body: "careful" })];
+    render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /switch note/i }));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Gotchas" }));
+
+    expect(screen.getByLabelText("Note title")).toHaveValue("Gotchas");
+    expect(screen.getByLabelText("Note body")).toHaveValue("careful");
+  });
+
+  it("saves the body when it loses focus, and not before", () => {
+    notes = [note()];
+    render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+    const body = screen.getByLabelText("Note body");
+
+    fireEvent.change(body, { target: { value: "one\ntwo\nthree" } });
+    expect(saveNote).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+    fireEvent.blur(body);
+    expect(saveNote).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ id: "n1", body: "one\ntwo\nthree" }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("keeps New and Delete in the overflow menu, out of the writing area", async () => {
+    notes = [note()];
+    render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /note actions/i }));
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("menuitem", { name: /delete note/i }));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(deleteNote).toHaveBeenCalledWith("n1"));
+  });
+
+  it("opens the note it just created", async () => {
+    notes = [note()];
+    createNote.mockResolvedValueOnce(note({ id: "n9", title: "" }));
+    const view = render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /note actions/i }));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("menuitem", { name: /new note/i }));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(createNote).toHaveBeenCalled());
+
+    notes = [note(), note({ id: "n9", title: "" })];
+    view.rerender(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(screen.getByLabelText("Note title")).toHaveValue(""),
+    );
+  });
+
+  // The send bar sits on the dock's bottom edge, inside an `overflow-hidden`
+  // panel, so both of these are load-bearing rather than cosmetic.
+  it("sends from a full-width bar whose menu opens upward", () => {
+    notes = [note()];
+    render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(sendProps.at(-1)).toMatchObject({ fullWidth: true, dropUp: true });
+  });
+
+  it("sends what is on screen, not what was last saved", () => {
+    notes = [note()];
+    render(<NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />);
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByLabelText("Note body"), {
+      target: { value: "edited but not blurred" },
+    });
+
+    expect(sendProps.at(-1)).toMatchObject({ body: "edited but not blurred" });
+  });
+});

app/src/components/notes/NotesDockPanel.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+import { useMemo, useState } from "react";
+import { useNotes } from "../../hooks/useNotes";
+import { useNoteDraft } from "./useNoteDraft";
+import NoteSwitcher from "./NoteSwitcher";
+import SendToAgentButton from "./SendToAgentButton";
+import Button from "../ui/Button";
+import OverflowMenu from "../ui/OverflowMenu";
+import SaveIndicator from "../ui/SaveIndicator";
+
+interface Props {
+  projectId: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Notes at dock width.
+ *
+ * Deliberately not `NotesPanel` in a narrower box. The tab can afford a column
+ * of titles beside the editor; the dock cannot, and shrinking that layout
+ * spends its height on chrome — a title strip, a wrapped button row and a
+ * paragraph of help — for a body that ends up a few words wide.
+ *
+ * So the dock shows exactly one note. The title row names it and switches to
+ * another, the actions that are not writing live in the overflow menu, and
+ * everything left over is the body. Roughly 240px of height comes back.
+ *
+ * What the two surfaces share is the part that must not drift: `useNotes` for
+ * the cache and its write ordering, and `useNoteDraft` for when a keystroke
+ * becomes a save. Only the layout is different.
+ */
+export default function NotesDockPanel({ projectId }: Props) {
+  const { notes, loading, saveState, createNote, saveNote, deleteNote } =
+    useNotes(projectId);
+  const [selectedId, setSelectedId] = useState<string | null>(null);
+
+  const selected = useMemo(
+    () => notes.find((n) => n.id === selectedId) ?? notes[0] ?? null,
+    [notes, selectedId],
+  );
+
+  const { title, body, setTitle, setBody, commit } = useNoteDraft(
+    selected,
+    saveNote,
+  );
+
+  const onCreate = async () => {
+    const note = await createNote();
+    if (note) setSelectedId(note.id);
+  };
+
+  if (loading) {
+    return (
+      <p className="p-4 text-xs text-[var(--text-secondary)]">Loading notes…</p>
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (!selected) {
+    return (
+      <div className="flex-1 flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-3 p-4">
+        <p className="text-[13px] text-[var(--text-secondary)] text-center">
+          Keep reminders here, and send any of them straight to a running Claude
+          session.
+        </p>
+        <Button variant="primary" onClick={onCreate}>
+          New note
+        </Button>
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <div className="flex flex-col h-full min-h-0">
+      <div className="flex items-center gap-1 px-2 py-1.5 flex-shrink-0 border-b border-[var(--border-color)]">
+        <div className="flex-1 min-w-0">
+          <NoteSwitcher
+            notes={notes}
+            selectedId={selected.id}
+            title={title}
+            onTitleChange={setTitle}
+            onCommit={commit}
+            onSelect={setSelectedId}
+          />
+        </div>
+        {/* Renders nothing while idle, so it costs no width until it matters. */}
+        <SaveIndicator state={saveState} />
+        <OverflowMenu
+          label="Note actions"
+          items={[
+            { label: "New note", onSelect: () => void onCreate() },
+            {
+              label: "Delete note",
+              danger: true,
+              onSelect: () => void deleteNote(selected.id),
+            },
+          ]}
+        />
+      </div>
+
+      <textarea
+        value={body}
+        onChange={(e) => setBody(e.target.value)}
+        onBlur={commit}
+        placeholder="Reminders, gotchas, a prompt worth keeping…"
+        aria-label="Note body"
+        className="flex-1 min-h-0 w-full px-3 py-2 bg-transparent text-[13px] text-[var(--text-primary)] resize-none font-mono"
+      />
+
+      <div className="px-2 py-2 flex-shrink-0 border-t border-[var(--border-color)]">
+        {/* The live draft, not `selected.body` — what is on screen is what gets
+            sent. `dropUp` because the dock clips its own overflow. */}
+        <SendToAgentButton
+          projectId={projectId}
+          body={body}
+          fullWidth
+          dropUp
+        />
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}

app/src/components/notes/NotesPanel.shared.test.tsx

@@ -1,19 +1,24 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
 import { render, screen, within, fireEvent, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
 import NotesPanel from "./NotesPanel";
+import NotesDockPanel from "./NotesDockPanel";
 import { useAppState } from "../../store/appState";
 import type { Note } from "../../lib/types";
 
 /**
  * Two panels, one project — the configuration the app actually runs in.
  *
- * `NotesTab` and `NotesDock` both mount a `NotesPanel`, and the dock follows
+ * `NotesTab` mounts a `NotesPanel` and `NotesDock` mounts a `NotesDockPanel`,
- * the active tab's project, so opening the dock over a Project Home tab mounts
+ * and the dock follows the active tab's project, so opening the dock over a
- * two panels for the *same* project. Every other notes test mounts exactly
+ * Project Home tab mounts both for the *same* project. Every other notes test
- * one, which is precisely the configuration in which a per-panel cache looks
+ * mounts exactly one, which is precisely the configuration in which a
- * correct: it is only with two that an edit made in one is seen — or lost — by
+ * per-panel cache looks correct: it is only with two that an edit made in one
- * the other. `useNotes` is deliberately **not** mocked here; the cache is what
+ * is seen — or lost — by the other. `useNotes` is deliberately **not** mocked
- * is under test.
+ * here; the cache is what is under test.
+ *
+ * The two are different components on purpose, which is exactly why this test
+ * pairs them rather than mounting the same one twice: the layouts diverged,
+ * and the cache and draft rules they share are what must not.
  */
 
 const files: Record<string, Note[]> = {};
@@ -54,7 +59,7 @@ function renderBothSurfaces() {
         <NotesPanel projectId="p1" />
       </div>
       <div data-testid="dock">
-        <NotesPanel projectId="p1" />
+        <NotesDockPanel projectId="p1" />
       </div>
     </>,
   );
@@ -70,7 +75,7 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   useAppState.setState({ notesByProject: {}, notesLoading: {}, toasts: [] });
 });
 
-describe("NotesPanel with the tab and the dock both open", () => {
+describe("the tab and the dock both open on one project", () => {
   it("shows an edit made in one surface in the other", async () => {
     const { tab, dock } = renderBothSurfaces();
     await waitFor(() => expect(tab().getByLabelText("Note body")).toHaveValue("one"));
@@ -157,7 +162,10 @@ describe("NotesPanel with the tab and the dock both open", () => {
     const { tab, dock } = renderBothSurfaces();
     await waitFor(() => expect(tab().getByLabelText("Note body")).toHaveValue("one"));
 
-    fireEvent.click(dock().getByRole("button", { name: /new note/i }));
+    // The dock keeps New behind its overflow menu — its height belongs to the
+    // note being written, not to a button row.
+    fireEvent.click(dock().getByRole("button", { name: /note actions/i }));
+    fireEvent.click(dock().getByRole("menuitem", { name: /new note/i }));
 
     await waitFor(() =>
       expect(tab().getAllByRole("button", { name: /untitled note/i })).toHaveLength(1),

app/src/components/notes/NotesPanel.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import { useMemo, useState } from "react";
 import { useNotes } from "../../hooks/useNotes";
+import { useNoteDraft } from "./useNoteDraft";
 import NoteEditor from "./NoteEditor";
 import Button from "../ui/Button";
 import SaveIndicator from "../ui/SaveIndicator";
@@ -34,54 +35,16 @@ export default function NotesPanel({ projectId }: Props) {
   const { notes, loading, saveState, createNote, saveNote, deleteNote } =
     useNotes(projectId);
   const [selectedId, setSelectedId] = useState<string | null>(null);
-  const [title, setTitle] = useState("");
-  const [body, setBody] = useState("");
 
   const selected = useMemo(
     () => notes.find((n) => n.id === selectedId) ?? notes[0] ?? null,
     [notes, selectedId],
   );
 
-  // What was last copied out of the store into the draft fields. The draft is
+  const { title, body, setTitle, setBody, commit } = useNoteDraft(
-  // "untouched" exactly while it still matches this, which is how an edit made
+    selected,
-  // somewhere else can be shown without ever discarding something half-typed.
+    saveNote,
-  const seeded = useRef<{ id: string | null; title: string; body: string }>({
+  );
-    id: null,
-    title: "",
-    body: "",
-  });
-
-  // Load the selected note's stored text into the draft — on a change of note,
-  // and on a change to the *stored* text of the note already selected. The
-  // second case is the dock and the tab showing one project at once: an edit
-  // committed in one surface has to reach the other's editor, not just its
-  // list. It never overwrites text the user is part-way through typing; that
-  // blurs into a last-writer-wins save, as any blur-commit editor does.
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (!selected) {
-      seeded.current = { id: null, title: "", body: "" };
-      setTitle("");
-      setBody("");
-      return;
-    }
-    const untouched =
-      title === seeded.current.title && body === seeded.current.body;
-    if (seeded.current.id !== selected.id || untouched) {
-      seeded.current = { id: selected.id, title: selected.title, body: selected.body };
-      setTitle(selected.title);
-      setBody(selected.body);
-    }
-  }, [selected?.id, selected?.title, selected?.body]); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
-
-  const commit = () => {
-    if (!selected) return;
-    // Reading is not editing: clicking through notes must not rewrite the file.
-    if (title === selected.title && body === selected.body) return;
-    // Mark the draft as matching what was just committed, so the store update
-    // this save produces reads as "no change" rather than as a stale re-seed.
-    seeded.current = { id: selected.id, title, body };
-    void saveNote({ ...selected, title, body });
-  };
 
   const onCreate = async () => {
     const note = await createNote();

app/src/components/notes/SendToAgentButton.test.tsx

@@ -39,23 +39,55 @@ beforeEach(() => {
 });
 
 describe("SendToAgentButton", () => {
-  it("is disabled when the project has no running session", () => {
+  // Unavailable, not `disabled`: the reason a note cannot be sent is the whole
+  // content of these states, and native `disabled` announces it to nobody.
+  it("says why it cannot send when the project has no running session", () => {
     render(<SendToAgentButton projectId="p1" body="hello" />);
-    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i })).toBeDisabled();
+    const button = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i });
+    expect(button).toHaveAttribute("aria-disabled", "true");
+    expect(button).toHaveAccessibleDescription(
+      "No running Claude session for this project",
+    );
   });
 
-  it("is disabled when the only session belongs to another project", () => {
+  it("says why it cannot send an empty note", () => {
+    sessions = [session()];
+    render(<SendToAgentButton projectId="p1" body="   " />);
+    expect(
+      screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i }),
+    ).toHaveAccessibleDescription("Nothing to send — this note is empty");
+  });
+
+  it("is unavailable when the only session belongs to another project", () => {
     sessions = [session({ projectId: "other" })];
     render(<SendToAgentButton projectId="p1" body="hello" />);
-    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i })).toBeDisabled();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i }),
+    ).toHaveAttribute("aria-disabled", "true");
   });
 
-  it("is disabled when the only session is a bash tab", () => {
+  it("is unavailable when the only session is a bash tab", () => {
     // `bash -l`'s readline has no binding for ESC+CR and just bells, so a
     // shell is never a target.
     sessions = [session({ sessionType: "bash" })];
     render(<SendToAgentButton projectId="p1" body="hello" />);
-    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i })).toBeDisabled();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i }),
+    ).toHaveAttribute("aria-disabled", "true");
+  });
+
+  // `aria-disabled` is advisory — it blocks nothing on its own. Without the
+  // guard this swap would turn a greyed-out button into a live one.
+  it("sends nothing when activated while unavailable", () => {
+    render(<SendToAgentButton projectId="p1" body="hello" />);
+    const button = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i });
+
+    fireEvent.click(button);
+    fireEvent.keyDown(button, { key: "Enter" });
+    fireEvent.keyDown(button, { key: " " });
+
+    expect(sendInput).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("menu")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
   it("sends straight to the one session, with newlines converted and no terminator", async () => {
@@ -100,6 +132,21 @@ describe("SendToAgentButton", () => {
   it("does nothing for an empty note", () => {
     sessions = [session()];
     render(<SendToAgentButton projectId="p1" body="   " />);
-    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i })).toBeDisabled();
+    const button = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i });
+    expect(button).toHaveAttribute("aria-disabled", "true");
+
+    fireEvent.click(button);
+    fireEvent.keyDown(button, { key: "Enter" });
+    expect(sendInput).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("opens the session menu upward when it sits at the foot of the dock", async () => {
+    sessions = [session({ id: "s1" }), session({ id: "s2" })];
+    render(<SendToAgentButton projectId="p1" body="hello" dropUp />);
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /send to agent/i }));
+
+    // Anchored to the button's top edge, not below it: the dock clips its own
+    // overflow, so a downward menu at the bottom edge is invisible.
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByRole("menu")).toHaveClass("bottom-full"));
   });
 });

app/src/components/notes/SendToAgentButton.tsx

@@ -9,6 +9,14 @@ import Button from "../ui/Button";
 interface Props {
   projectId: string;
   body: string;
+  /**
+   * Open the session menu above the button instead of below. The dock puts
+   * this at its foot, and the dock clips its own overflow, so a downward menu
+   * there is drawn outside the panel and never seen.
+   */
+  dropUp?: boolean;
+  /** Fill the row. The dock's send bar is the width of the dock. */
+  fullWidth?: boolean;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -21,7 +29,12 @@ interface Props {
  * Only `claude` sessions are offered. A bash tab would receive ESC+CR as an
  * unbound readline key and answer with a bell (see `lib/claudeInput.ts`).
  */
-export default function SendToAgentButton({ projectId, body }: Props) {
+export default function SendToAgentButton({
+  projectId,
+  body,
+  dropUp = false,
+  fullWidth = false,
+}: Props) {
   const { sessions, sendInput } = useTerminal();
   const { projects, setActiveTabKey, pushToast } = useAppState(
     useShallow((s) => ({
@@ -43,7 +56,7 @@ export default function SendToAgentButton({ projectId, body }: Props) {
 
   const project = projects.find((p) => p.id === projectId);
   const hasBody = body.trim().length > 0;
-  const disabled = targets.length === 0 || !hasBody;
+  const unavailable = targets.length === 0 || !hasBody;
 
   // Same dismissal contract as `ui/OverflowMenu` and the tab context menu.
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -102,10 +115,19 @@ export default function SendToAgentButton({ projectId, body }: Props) {
       : "Put this note into the agent's prompt (you press Enter)";
 
   return (
-    <div ref={rootRef} className="relative inline-block">
+    <div
+      ref={rootRef}
+      className={`relative ${fullWidth ? "block w-full" : "inline-block"}`}
+    >
       <Button
         variant="secondary"
-        disabled={disabled}
+        size={fullWidth ? "md" : "sm"}
+        className={fullWidth ? "w-full" : ""}
+        // Not `disabled`: every one of these reasons is information, and
+        // `disabled` takes the button — reason and all — out of the
+        // accessibility tree. `Button` guards the click for us.
+        unavailable={unavailable}
+        unavailableReason={title}
         onClick={onClick}
         aria-haspopup={targets.length > 1 ? "menu" : undefined}
         aria-expanded={targets.length > 1 ? menuOpen : undefined}
@@ -116,7 +138,9 @@ export default function SendToAgentButton({ projectId, body }: Props) {
       {menuOpen && targets.length > 1 && (
         <div
           role="menu"
-          className="absolute right-0 z-40 mt-1 min-w-[12rem] py-1 bg-[var(--bg-overlay)] border border-[var(--border-color)] rounded-[var(--radius-panel)] text-xs"
+          className={`absolute right-0 z-40 min-w-[12rem] py-1 bg-[var(--bg-overlay)] border border-[var(--border-color)] rounded-[var(--radius-panel)] text-xs ${
+            dropUp ? "bottom-full mb-1" : "mt-1"
+          }`}
           style={{ boxShadow: "var(--shadow-overlay)" }}
         >
           {targets.map((s) => (

app/src/components/notes/useNoteDraft.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import type { Note } from "../../lib/types";
+
+/**
+ * Draft text for the note being edited, committed when a field loses focus.
+ *
+ * This is the half the dock and the tab must never disagree on, so it lives
+ * here rather than in either layout. The two surfaces differ in how they show
+ * notes; they must not differ in when a keystroke becomes a save.
+ *
+ * The draft is "untouched" exactly while it still matches what was last copied
+ * out of the store, which is what lets an edit made on the *other* surface
+ * reach this one's editor without ever discarding half-typed text.
+ */
+export function useNoteDraft(
+  selected: Note | null,
+  saveNote: (note: Note) => Promise<unknown>,
+) {
+  const [title, setTitle] = useState("");
+  const [body, setBody] = useState("");
+  const seeded = useRef<{ id: string | null; title: string; body: string }>({
+    id: null,
+    title: "",
+    body: "",
+  });
+
+  // Re-seed on a change of note, and on a change to the *stored* text of the
+  // note already open — the second case is the dock and the tab showing one
+  // project at once.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!selected) {
+      seeded.current = { id: null, title: "", body: "" };
+      setTitle("");
+      setBody("");
+      return;
+    }
+    const untouched =
+      title === seeded.current.title && body === seeded.current.body;
+    if (seeded.current.id !== selected.id || untouched) {
+      seeded.current = {
+        id: selected.id,
+        title: selected.title,
+        body: selected.body,
+      };
+      setTitle(selected.title);
+      setBody(selected.body);
+    }
+  }, [selected?.id, selected?.title, selected?.body]); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
+
+  const commit = () => {
+    if (!selected) return;
+    // Reading is not editing: clicking through notes must not rewrite the file.
+    if (title === selected.title && body === selected.body) return;
+    // Mark the draft as matching what was just committed, so the store update
+    // this save produces reads as "no change" rather than as a stale re-seed.
+    seeded.current = { id: selected.id, title, body };
+    void saveNote({ ...selected, title, body });
+  };
+
+  return { title, body, setTitle, setBody, commit };
+}