feat(auth): opt-in local auto-login for single-user deployments

Skips the login form and lands on the dashboard. It performs a REAL backend
login — the API still issues and can revoke the session — so this does not
weaken auth; it only removes a form for a deployment with exactly one operator.

Gated on BOTH LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN_EMAIL and LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN_PASSWORD, and refuses
outright in clerk mode. Prod sets neither, so the route 404s there. Two
conditions rather than one flag: a single misread value should not be able to
hand a session to an anonymous visitor.

The route emits a RELATIVE Location — inside the container request.url is the
0.0.0.0:3000 bind, so NextResponse.redirect would send the browser to a host
that only exists in Docker — and the cookie's secure flag keys on
x-forwarded-proto rather than NODE_ENV.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <[email protected]>

crates/cm-api/src/mission_fs.rs

@@ -249,12 +249,27 @@ fn host_repo(mission_id: uuid::Uuid) -> std::path::PathBuf {
 
 /// Push the host checkout into the container before a phase runs.
 ///
-/// No-op when the mission has no repo — research-only missions have no
-/// checkout, and that must not fail a phase launch.
+/// A repo-less mission has no checkout to push, but it still needs
+/// `/mission/repo` to EXIST inside the container: the phase prompt tells the
+/// agent that is its working directory, `mission_orchestrator` pins every
+/// claw's `workspace.path` to it, and `mission_outputs` copies it back out to
+/// register artifacts. This used to return early instead, so none of those three
+/// were true — the pin resolved to nothing, ZeroClaw fell back to each agent's
+/// own sandbox, and the agents (correctly) reported they had no such directory
+/// and refused to work. Creating it empty is what the microVM tier already does,
+/// for the same reason: see `microvm_executor::inject` ("the guest needs the
+/// workspace to exist before the agent writes into it").
+///
+/// Creating it host-side rather than `mkdir`-ing in the container keeps the copy
+/// cycle symmetric — `sync_out` unpacks over this same path, so work written by
+/// one phase survives into the next instead of being wiped by the next
+/// `sync_in`.
 pub async fn sync_in(container: &str, mission_id: uuid::Uuid) -> Result<(), String> {
     let repo = host_repo(mission_id);
     if !repo.is_dir() {
-        return Ok(());
+        tokio::fs::create_dir_all(&repo)
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| format!("create empty workspace {}: {e}", repo.display()))?;
     }
     let docker = crate::container_exec::connect()?;
     copy_in(&docker, container, &repo, "repo").await

crates/cm-api/src/mission_outputs.rs

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use sqlx::{PgPool, Row};
+use time::{Duration, OffsetDateTime};
 use uuid::Uuid;
 
 /// Directories never worth capturing, whatever an agent leaves behind.
@@ -56,6 +57,14 @@ const SKIP_DIRS: &[&str] = &[
 /// How many phases to capture per tick, matching `CAPTURE_BATCH`.
 const BATCH: i64 = 5;
 
+/// How long a phase's outputs may stay uncollectable before the sweep stops
+/// retrying and calls it empty.
+///
+/// Generous on purpose: the container is torn down asynchronously after a
+/// phase, so an early tick can legitimately fail. What must NOT happen is
+/// retrying forever — that is the state this constant exists to end.
+const COLLECT_GRACE: Duration = Duration::minutes(10);
+
 /// The artifact kind this path registers. Also the idempotency key: a phase with
 /// one of these has already been captured.
 pub const OUTPUT_KIND: &str = "document";
@@ -66,7 +75,7 @@ const EMPTY_MARKER: &str = "NO-OUTPUT.md";
 /// Capture the outputs of finished phases on missions that have no repo.
 pub async fn capture_repo_less_phases(pool: &PgPool) -> Result<(), String> {
     let rows = sqlx::query(
-        "SELECT mp.id, mp.mission_id, mp.kind, mp.config, m.runtime_kind
+        "SELECT mp.id, mp.mission_id, mp.kind, mp.config, mp.completed_at, m.runtime_kind
            FROM mission_phases mp
            JOIN missions m ON m.id = mp.mission_id
           WHERE mp.status IN ('completed', 'failed')
@@ -97,21 +106,41 @@ pub async fn capture_repo_less_phases(pool: &PgPool) -> Result<(), String> {
         let mission_id: Uuid = row.get("mission_id");
         let kind: String = row.get("kind");
         let config: serde_json::Value = row.get("config");
+        let completed_at: Option<OffsetDateTime> = row.get("completed_at");
         let runtime_kind: String = row.get("runtime_kind");
 
         let dest = outputs_dir(mission_id, phase_id);
         let captured = match collect_into(mission_id, &dest, &runtime_kind).await {
             Ok(files) => files,
             Err(e) => {
-                // Loud and retryable, never silently "captured nothing": the
-                // whole defect this module exists for is work disappearing
-                // without a word. The next tick tries again; if the container is
-                // already gone the phase is failed below on the next pass.
+                // Retryable, but BOUNDED. A bare `continue` here is how a phase
+                // whose collect can never succeed stayed `completed` with zero
+                // artifacts forever: the fail-empty rule and the NO-OUTPUT
+                // marker both live below this point, so neither was ever
+                // reached, and the phase was re-attempted on every tick for the
+                // life of the deployment.
+                //
+                // The grace window exists because the container may legitimately
+                // not be ready on the first tick after a phase finishes. Past
+                // that, "cannot collect" and "collected nothing" are the same
+                // fact for the operator, so we fall through and let the rules
+                // below fail the phase and leave a marker explaining why.
+                let settled = completed_at
+                    .map(|t| OffsetDateTime::now_utc() - t > COLLECT_GRACE)
+                    .unwrap_or(true);
+                if !settled {
+                    eprintln!(
+                        "mission_outputs: could NOT collect outputs for phase {phase_id} \
+                         of mission {mission_id} (will retry): {e}"
+                    );
+                    continue;
+                }
                 eprintln!(
-                    "mission_outputs: could NOT collect outputs for phase {phase_id} \
-                     of mission {mission_id}: {e}"
+                    "mission_outputs: giving up collecting phase {phase_id} of mission \
+                     {mission_id} after {}s: {e} — treating it as having produced nothing",
+                    COLLECT_GRACE.whole_seconds()
                 );
-                continue;
+                Vec::new()
             }
         };
 

crates/cm-api/src/mission_runtime.rs

@@ -897,8 +897,20 @@ impl MissionRuntimeProvisioner {
             .map(|c| crate::runtime_provision::claw_alias(c.as_uuid()))
             .collect();
         let (edited, pinned) = stamp_workspace_paths(&raw, &aliases, workspace_path)?;
+        // Pinning NOTHING is a failure, not a no-op. Returning Ok here meant the
+        // caller's deliberately-fatal guard could not fire, so a mission whose
+        // aliases were missing from the config launched anyway with every agent
+        // writing into its own sandbox and delivering nothing — the outcome that
+        // guard's error message already describes. Name the aliases: the only
+        // way this happens is a config/alias mismatch, and the aliases are the
+        // evidence needed to find it.
         if pinned == 0 {
-            return Ok(());
+            return Err(format!(
+                "pinned 0 of {} agent workspace(s) to {workspace_path} — none of these \
+                 aliases exist in {CONFIG_PATH}: {}",
+                aliases.len(),
+                aliases.join(", ")
+            ));
         }
 
         // Upload rather than exec. This used to base64 the whole config into a

crates/cm-api/src/phase_runner.rs

@@ -250,9 +250,38 @@ mod repo_less_text_tests {
     fn both_variants_still_demand_files_on_disk() {
         for has_repo in [true, false] {
             let t = phase_task_text("research", "T", None, None, has_repo);
-            assert!(t.contains("REAL files with file_edit"), "has_repo={has_repo}: {t}");
+            assert!(t.contains("REAL files with Write/Edit"), "has_repo={has_repo}: {t}");
         }
     }
+
+    /// The prompt must advertise the tools the agent actually has.
+    ///
+    /// Every executor ends in `claude -p`, so the names are Claude Code's.
+    /// Advertising ZeroClaw's names instead (`file_edit`, `content_search`) —
+    /// and denying Bash — is what made five agents stop and ask what environment
+    /// they were in rather than do the work.
+    #[test]
+    fn the_prompt_names_the_tools_the_agent_actually_has() {
+        let t = phase_task_text("coding", "T", None, None, true);
+        for real in ["Read", "Edit", "Write", "Bash", "Glob", "Grep"] {
+            assert!(t.contains(real), "missing {real}: {t}");
+        }
+        for absent in ["file_edit", "content_search", "glob_search", "git_operations"] {
+            assert!(
+                !t.contains(absent),
+                "{absent} does not exist under claude_cli — advertising it is the bug: {t}"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// A repo-less agent must be told the workspace EXISTS. It is created by
+    /// `mission_fs::sync_in`; saying so is what stops the agent concluding the
+    /// environment is broken and refusing.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_repo_less_workspace_is_promised_to_exist() {
+        let t = phase_task_text("research", "T", None, None, false);
+        assert!(t.contains("EXISTS and is writable"), "{t}");
+    }
 }
 
 /// Record the baseline for benchmark phases that have finished and have none.
@@ -1387,31 +1416,36 @@ fn phase_task_text(
     has_repo: bool,
 ) -> String {
     let base = description.unwrap_or("").trim();
-    // The prior template-derived system prompts trained agents to look
-    // for `file_read`/`file_write` — tools that no longer exist under
-    // ZeroClaw v0.8+. The current toolset uses `file_edit` (create /
-    // overwrite / patch) plus `content_search`/`glob_search`. Injecting
-    // the real tool inventory + concrete workspace path stops the agent
-    // from hallucinating "I only have file_read" and dumping the entire
-    // implementation into the context window instead of onto disk.
+    // These are Claude Code's OWN tool names, because every executor that runs a
+    // mission turn ends in `claude -p`: the microVM passes
+    // `--allowedTools Read Edit Write Bash Agent`
+    // (`microvm_executor::LEAD_TOOLS`), the direct path passes
+    // `Read Edit Write Bash` (`session_executor::ALLOWED_TOOLS`), and the
+    // container tier binds every claw to `claude_cli.default`
+    // (`runtime_provision::provider_alias_for`), whose subprocess gets Claude
+    // Code's native toolset — ZeroClaw's own tool gating "never reaches the
+    // subprocess" (see the note above `direct_mode`).
+    //
+    // This block previously advertised ZeroClaw tool names (`file_edit`,
+    // `content_search`, …) and explicitly told the agent that `bash` did NOT
+    // exist. On every tier in service that was backwards: those tools were the
+    // ones absent, and Bash was one of the ones present. Agents answered by
+    // describing the mismatch and asking what to do — five of them, on one
+    // mission, for 7.4k tokens and zero artifacts.
     let tool_preamble = format!("\
-        TOOLS AVAILABLE (use these exact names — do NOT assume older tool names like file_read / file_write / bash exist):\n\
-        - file_edit         — create, overwrite, or patch files in your workspace\n\
-        - content_search    — grep across your workspace (regex on file contents)\n\
-        - glob_search       — find files by path glob\n\
-        - git_operations    — git status / add / commit / diff / log\n\
-        - git_forge         — Gitea PR / branch / issue operations\n\
-        - web_search_tool / web_fetch — external references (research-tier profiles only)\n\
-        - spawn_subagent    — hand off a subtask to another claw\n\
-        - delegate          — call a peer role by name\n\
-        - memory_store / memory_recall — durable per-agent notes\n\
+        TOOLS AVAILABLE (Claude Code's standard tools — use these exact names):\n\
+        - Read   — read a file\n\
+        - Edit   — modify an existing file\n\
+        - Write  — create or overwrite a file\n\
+        - Bash   — run a shell command\n\
+        - Glob   — find files by path glob\n\
+        - Grep   — search file contents\n\
         \n\
         {workspace}\n\
-        All file_edit / content_search / glob_search\n\
-        operations resolve there. To read a file: file_edit with mode='read'\n\
-        or content_search first, then file_edit to patch. Write your outputs\n\
-        as REAL files with file_edit — do NOT paste code blocks in your reply\n\
-        expecting the platform to save them; nothing else writes files for you.\n",
+        All file operations resolve there — use absolute paths under it, or cd\n\
+        there first. Write your outputs as REAL files with Write/Edit — do NOT\n\
+        paste code blocks in your reply expecting the platform to save them;\n\
+        nothing else writes files for you.\n",
         workspace = if has_repo {
             "WORKSPACE: Your working directory is /mission/repo. That path is the\n\
              mission's git checkout."
@@ -1421,11 +1455,11 @@ fn phase_task_text(
             // found no repo, wrote the files anyway, and nothing collected them.
             // Now `mission_outputs` DOES collect them, and the agent is told so
             // — an instruction the platform can actually keep.
-            "WORKSPACE: Your working directory is /mission/repo. This mission has\n\
-             NO git repository — that path is a scratch workspace, so git_operations\n\
-             and git_forge have nothing to act on. Every file you leave there is\n\
-             collected when the phase ends and published as a mission artifact, so\n\
-             write your output as files exactly as you would in a repo."
+            "WORKSPACE: Your working directory is /mission/repo. It EXISTS and is writable.\n\
+             This mission has NO git repository — that path is a scratch workspace, so\n\
+             there is nothing to commit or push. Every file you leave there is collected\n\
+             when the phase ends and published as a mission artifact, so write your\n\
+             output as files exactly as you would in a repo."
         }
     );
     // The INT-XX markers are a machine contract, not a style preference:
@@ -1456,14 +1490,14 @@ fn phase_task_text(
              Investigate the topic, gather sources, and produce a \
              sectioned Markdown brief the coding phase can implement \
              directly. Save findings under /mission/repo/research/ \
-             using file_edit — one Markdown file per topic. Emit INT-XX \
+             using Write — one Markdown file per topic. Emit INT-XX \
              task markers in the last file for concrete follow-ups."
         }
         "coding" => {
             "Your team is running the CODING phase of this mission. \
              Implement the mission's acceptance criteria against the \
-             /mission/repo checkout using file_edit for every source \
-             file, then git_operations to commit small focused changes \
+             /mission/repo checkout using Write/Edit for every source \
+             file, then git via Bash to commit small focused changes \
              with test coverage. Emit COMPLETED: <INT-id> markers as you \
              close research-produced tasks. Do NOT respond with source \
              code in text — write it as files."
@@ -1471,7 +1505,7 @@ fn phase_task_text(
         "benchmark" => {
             "Your team is running the BENCHMARK phase of this mission. \
              Author or extend benchmarks under /mission/repo/benches or \
-             the crate's bench harness using file_edit. Baseline the \
+             the crate's bench harness using Write/Edit. Baseline the \
              pre-change performance, apply the change (or use the \
              mission's committed diff), then measure after."
         }

frontend/src/app/auth/autologin/route.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+// LOCAL-ONLY auto-login. Mints a real session for a fixed operator so a
+// single-user local stack lands on the dashboard instead of the login form.
+//
+// This is a genuine login against the Rust backend — the same call
+// /auth/session makes — not an auth bypass in the server. The backend still
+// issues (and can revoke) the session, so nothing here weakens API auth.
+//
+// OFF unless LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN_EMAIL *and* LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN_PASSWORD are both
+// set. Prod (Clerk) never sets them, and `authMode() === "clerk"` refuses
+// outright, so this route 404s everywhere but the local box. It is deliberately
+// two conditions: a single misread flag should not be able to hand a session to
+// an anonymous visitor.
+
+import { NextResponse, type NextRequest } from "next/server";
+
+import { apiOrigin, TOKEN_COOKIE } from "@/lib/api/http";
+import { authMode } from "@/lib/auth/mode";
+
+const SESSION_MAX_AGE_SECONDS = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60;
+
+// A RELATIVE Location, deliberately. NextResponse.redirect() needs an absolute
+// URL, and inside the container `request.url` is the 0.0.0.0:3000 bind — so
+// behind `tailscale serve` it would redirect the browser to a host that only
+// exists inside Docker. A relative Location (RFC 7231 §7.1.2) lets the browser
+// resolve against whatever origin it actually asked for.
+function redirectTo(location: string): NextResponse {
+  return new NextResponse(null, { status: 307, headers: { location } });
+}
+
+export async function GET(request: NextRequest) {
+  const email = process.env.LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN_EMAIL;
+  const password = process.env.LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN_PASSWORD;
+  if (authMode() === "clerk" || !email || !password) {
+    return new NextResponse(null, { status: 404 });
+  }
+
+  const upstream = await fetch(`${apiOrigin()}/api/auth/login`, {
+    method: "POST",
+    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+    body: JSON.stringify({ email, password }),
+  });
+  if (!upstream.ok) {
+    // Land on the real login form rather than a redirect loop back through the
+    // middleware — a wrong password here must be visibly a login problem.
+    return redirectTo("/login?autologin=failed");
+  }
+  const { token } = (await upstream.json()) as { token: string };
+
+  // `next` is same-origin-checked: an open redirect here would be a way to
+  // bounce a freshly-minted session cookie off this host.
+  const requested = request.nextUrl.searchParams.get("next") ?? "/";
+  const target = requested.startsWith("/") && !requested.startsWith("//") ? requested : "/";
+
+  const response = redirectTo(target);
+  response.cookies.set({
+    name: TOKEN_COOKIE,
+    value: token,
+    httpOnly: true,
+    sameSite: "lax",
+    // Mirrors /auth/session. Behind `tailscale serve` the browser hop is HTTPS,
+    // so a Secure cookie is correct there; over plain http://localhost it would
+    // never be sent back, hence keying on the forwarded scheme.
+    secure: request.headers.get("x-forwarded-proto") === "https",
+    path: "/",
+    maxAge: SESSION_MAX_AGE_SECONDS,
+  });
+  return response;
+}

frontend/src/components/dashboard/ClawCommandCenter.tsx

@@ -7,10 +7,7 @@
 
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
-import { Activity, Brain, Camera, Sparkles } from "lucide-react";
-
-import { proposeForAgent } from "@/lib/api/level-up";
-import { LevelUpDrawer } from "./LevelUpDrawer";
+import { Activity, Brain, Camera } from "lucide-react";
 
 import type { DemoAgent } from "@/lib/dashboard-demo";
 import { useAgentTelemetry, useLiveEvent } from "@/lib/live/useClawmatesLive";
@@ -208,21 +205,8 @@ export function ClawCommandCenter({
   const tele = useAgentTelemetry(agent.id);
   const doors = tele?.doorsPending ?? 0;
 
-  const [levelUpBusy, setLevelUpBusy] = useState(false);
-  const [levelUpOpenId, setLevelUpOpenId] = useState<string | null>(null);
-  const [levelUpError, setLevelUpError] = useState<string | null>(null);
-  const proposeLevelUp = async () => {
-    setLevelUpBusy(true);
-    setLevelUpError(null);
-    try {
-      const { proposal_id } = await proposeForAgent(agent.id);
-      setLevelUpOpenId(proposal_id);
-    } catch (e) {
-      setLevelUpError(e instanceof Error ? e.message : "level-up failed");
-    } finally {
-      setLevelUpBusy(false);
-    }
-  };
+  // Level up now lives at the bottom of the Agents sidebar (Dashboard), where
+  // it sits next to the agent you picked rather than in this header.
 
   return (
     <div style={{ position: "absolute", inset: 0, display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", background: "#08080a" }}>
@@ -239,41 +223,7 @@ export function ClawCommandCenter({
           <div style={{ fontFamily: mono, fontSize: 11.5, letterSpacing: ".06em", color: "#ff8a7a", marginTop: 2 }}>{agent.role}<span style={{ color: "#5a5a62" }}> · part of {teamName}</span></div>
         </div>
         <span style={{ flex: 1 }} />
-        <button
-          type="button"
-          onClick={proposeLevelUp}
-          disabled={levelUpBusy}
-          title="Ask the proposer to suggest improvements to this claw's identity, skills, and brain"
-          style={{
-            padding: "6px 12px",
-            borderRadius: 8,
-            border: "1px solid rgba(201,160,255,.45)",
-            background: "rgba(201,160,255,.1)",
-            color: "#c9a0ff",
-            fontFamily: mono,
-            fontSize: 11,
-            letterSpacing: ".08em",
-            textTransform: "uppercase",
-            cursor: "pointer",
-            display: "inline-flex",
-            alignItems: "center",
-            gap: 6,
-            opacity: levelUpBusy ? 0.5 : 1,
-          }}
-        >
-          <Sparkles size={12} />
-          {levelUpBusy ? "Proposing…" : "Level up"}
-        </button>
       </div>
-      {levelUpError && (
-        <div style={{ padding: "6px 22px", color: "#ff8a7a", fontSize: 11 }}>{levelUpError}</div>
-      )}
-      {levelUpOpenId && (
-        <LevelUpDrawer
-          proposalId={levelUpOpenId}
-          onClose={() => setLevelUpOpenId(null)}
-        />
-      )}
 
       {/* Metric grid — 2-column, wraps to 3 rows for the 5 tiles.
           Activity now lives here (top-of-fold quick-glance); the beefier

frontend/src/components/dashboard/Dashboard.tsx

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import { useEffect, useRef, useState, useSyncExternalStore, type CSSProperties }
 import Link from "next/link";
 import { useRouter, useSearchParams } from "next/navigation";
 import { useQueryStates } from "nuqs";
-import { Bot, Brain, History, MessageSquare, Monitor, PanelLeftClose, PanelLeftOpen, PanelRight, Trash2, Users, Wrench, X } from "lucide-react";
+import { Bot, Brain, History, MessageSquare, Monitor, PanelLeftClose, PanelLeftOpen, PanelRight, Sparkles, Trash2, Users, Wrench, X } from "lucide-react";
 
 import type { DemoAgent, DemoCompany, DemoOrg, DemoTeam } from "@/lib/dashboard-demo";
 import type { Agent } from "@/lib/api/schemas";
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ import { StructureTree, orgNode, type TreeItem, clawNode } from "./StructureTree
 import { MissionsList } from "./MissionsList";
 import { MissionWizard } from "./MissionWizard";
 import { LevelUpInbox } from "./LevelUpInbox";
+import { LevelUpDrawer } from "./LevelUpDrawer";
+import { proposeForAgent } from "@/lib/api/level-up";
 import { MissionCanvas } from "./MissionCanvas";
 import { RepoList } from "./RepoList";
 import { RepoCanvas } from "./RepoCanvas";
@@ -387,6 +389,26 @@ export function Dashboard({ user, orgs, claws }: { user?: { display_name?: strin
     (agent ? agentById.get(agent.id) : undefined) ??
     (agent ? { id: agent.id, workspace_id: "", name: agent.name, job_title: agent.role, system_prompt: agent.systemPrompt, avatar: "", accent: "#ff6f61", wallpaper: "", managed_by: "", status: "online" } : undefined);
 
+  // Level up — moved here from the ClawCommandCenter header so it sits at the
+  // bottom of the Agents sidebar, next to the agent you picked. Keyed off
+  // `clawAgent`, so the control simply is not rendered until one is selected.
+  const [levelUpBusy, setLevelUpBusy] = useState(false);
+  const [levelUpOpenId, setLevelUpOpenId] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const [levelUpError, setLevelUpError] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const proposeLevelUp = async () => {
+    if (!clawAgent) return;
+    setLevelUpBusy(true);
+    setLevelUpError(null);
+    try {
+      const { proposal_id } = await proposeForAgent(clawAgent.id);
+      setLevelUpOpenId(proposal_id);
+    } catch (e) {
+      setLevelUpError(e instanceof Error ? e.message : "level-up failed");
+    } finally {
+      setLevelUpBusy(false);
+    }
+  };
+
   // Computer panel state (size + open app), shared with DevicePanel via nuqs.
   const [{ app, device }, setParams] = useQueryStates(panelParsers, { shallow: true });
   // Custom computer width (px) from dragging the panel's left edge; null = use the
@@ -1046,6 +1068,26 @@ export function Dashboard({ user, orgs, claws }: { user?: { display_name?: strin
               router.refresh();
             }}
           />
+          {/* Level up — pinned to the bottom of the Agents sidebar, and only
+              once an agent is actually selected. Hidden during select mode so
+              the reap bar below is the single footer action in that flow. */}
+          {isClaw && clawAgent && !selectMode ? (
+            <div style={{ flex: "none", borderTop: "1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.08)", padding: "10px 12px", display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", gap: 6 }}>
+              <button
+                type="button"
+                onClick={proposeLevelUp}
+                disabled={levelUpBusy}
+                title={`Ask the proposer to suggest improvements to ${clawAgent.name}'s identity, skills, and brain`}
+                style={{ width: "100%", display: "inline-flex", alignItems: "center", justifyContent: "center", gap: 7, padding: "9px 0", borderRadius: 9, border: "1px solid rgba(201,160,255,.45)", background: "rgba(201,160,255,.1)", color: "#c9a0ff", fontFamily: mono, fontSize: 11, letterSpacing: ".08em", textTransform: "uppercase", cursor: levelUpBusy ? "default" : "pointer", opacity: levelUpBusy ? 0.5 : 1 }}
+              >
+                <Sparkles aria-hidden size={13} />
+                {levelUpBusy ? "Proposing…" : `Level up ${clawAgent.name}`}
+              </button>
+              {levelUpError ? (
+                <div style={{ color: "#ff8a7a", fontSize: 11 }}>{levelUpError}</div>
+              ) : null}
+            </div>
+          ) : null}
           {selectMode ? (
             <div style={{ flex: "none", borderTop: "1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.08)", padding: "10px 12px", display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", gap: 8 }}>
               <div style={{ fontFamily: mono, fontSize: 11, color: selectedItems.length ? "#ff8a7a" : "#6a6a72" }}>{selectedItems.length} selected{selectedItems.length ? ` · ${reapKind}` : ""}</div>
@@ -1352,6 +1394,9 @@ export function Dashboard({ user, orgs, claws }: { user?: { display_name?: strin
       {historyOpen && clawAgent ? <BrainHistoryModal clawId={clawAgent.id} clawName={clawAgent.name} onClose={() => setHistoryOpen(false)} onRolledBack={() => setEnrichBump((b) => b + 1)} /> : null}
       {(() => { const sel = allNodes.find((n) => n.id === worldSel); return runsOpen && sel?.level === "team" ? <TeamRunsModal teamId={sel.id} teamName={sel.label} onClose={() => setRunsOpen(false)} /> : null; })()}
       {reapOpen ? <ReapProgressModal items={selectedItems} kind={reapKind} onClose={() => setReapOpen(false)} onDone={() => { setReapOpen(false); setSelectMode(false); setSelectedAgents(new Set()); router.refresh(); }} /> : null}
+      {/* Level-up review drawer. Mounted here rather than inside the sidebar
+          footer so it is not clipped by the sidebar's own bounds. */}
+      {levelUpOpenId ? <LevelUpDrawer proposalId={levelUpOpenId} onClose={() => setLevelUpOpenId(null)} /> : null}
 
       {/* Group existing claws into a new named team, then land on its team page. */}
 

frontend/src/components/dashboard/MissionArtifacts.tsx

@@ -197,13 +197,13 @@ export function MissionArtifacts({
             </div>
             {isOpen && (
               <div
+                // No maxHeight — this body is only rendered because the operator
+                // opened it to read it. The tab scroller handles the length.
                 style={{
                   border: "1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.06)",
                   borderRadius: 8,
                   background: "#0a0a0d",
                   padding: 16,
-                  maxHeight: 640,
-                  overflowY: "auto",
                 }}
               >
                 {loading ? (

frontend/src/components/dashboard/MissionCanvas.tsx

@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@
 
 import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
 import {
-  ChevronDown,
-  ChevronUp,
   Pencil,
   Play,
   Plus,
@@ -41,6 +39,7 @@ import {
 } from "@/lib/api/missions";
 import { EditMissionModal } from "./EditMissionModal";
 import { MarkdownBlock } from "./MarkdownBlock";
+import { MissionTabScroller } from "./MissionTabScroller";
 import { MissionArtifacts } from "./MissionArtifacts";
 import { MissionLiveEvents } from "./MissionLiveEvents";
 import { MissionLivePane } from "./MissionLivePane";
@@ -141,22 +140,6 @@ export function MissionCanvas({
   const [deleteBusy, setDeleteBusy] = useState(false);
   const [runs, setRuns] = useState<MissionRunSummary[]>([]);
   const [lastLoadedAt, setLastLoadedAt] = useState<Date | null>(null);
-  // Persist the collapsed state across mission switches so the operator
-  // can keep the header hidden once they've read it.
-  const [headerCollapsed, setHeaderCollapsed] = useState<boolean>(() => {
-    if (typeof window === "undefined") return false;
-    return window.localStorage.getItem("cm.mission.headerCollapsed") === "1";
-  });
-  const toggleHeader = useCallback(() => {
-    setHeaderCollapsed((v) => {
-      const next = !v;
-      if (typeof window !== "undefined") {
-        window.localStorage.setItem("cm.mission.headerCollapsed", next ? "1" : "0");
-      }
-      return next;
-    });
-  }, []);
-
   const load = useCallback(async () => {
     if (!selectedId) {
       setMission(null);
@@ -320,7 +303,7 @@ export function MissionCanvas({
     return (
       <div
         style={{
-          flex: 1,
+          position: "absolute", inset: 0,
           display: "flex",
           alignItems: "center",
           justifyContent: "center",
@@ -336,20 +319,22 @@ export function MissionCanvas({
   }
   if (loading && !mission) {
     return (
-      <div style={{ padding: 20, fontFamily: mono, color: "#5ec8d8" }}>
+      <div style={{ position: "absolute", inset: 0, padding: 20, fontFamily: mono, color: "#5ec8d8" }}>
         Loading…
       </div>
     );
   }
   if (error) {
     return (
-      <div style={{ padding: 20, color: "#ff8a7a", fontSize: 12 }}>{error}</div>
+      <div style={{ position: "absolute", inset: 0, padding: 20, color: "#ff8a7a", fontSize: 12 }}>{error}</div>
     );
   }
   if (!mission) return null;
 
   return (
-    <div style={{ flex: 1, display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", minWidth: 0 }}>
+    // absolute-inset, NOT flex:1 — the canvas host is a position:relative BLOCK,
+    // so flex:1 is inert here and collapses this root (and its scroller) to zero.
+    <div style={{ position: "absolute", inset: 0, display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", minWidth: 0 }}>
       <div
         style={{
           flex: "none",
@@ -531,44 +516,15 @@ export function MissionCanvas({
             })()}
           </div>
         </div>
+        {/* Title only. The description peek that used to live here was ~92px of
+            permanently-pinned chrome showing a masked, unreadable fragment of
+            text that renders in full a click away in Setup → Overview. Deleting
+            it gives that space to the results and removes one collapsible. */}
         <div style={{ display: "flex", alignItems: "center", gap: 8 }}>
           <h1 style={{ margin: 0, fontSize: 20, color: "#f3f3f5", flex: 1, minWidth: 0 }}>
             {mission.title}
           </h1>
-          {mission.description && (
-            <button
-              type="button"
-              onClick={toggleHeader}
-              title={headerCollapsed ? "Expand description" : "Collapse description"}
-              aria-label={headerCollapsed ? "Expand description" : "Collapse description"}
-              style={{
-                ...iconBtn,
-                flex: "none",
-              }}
-            >
-              {headerCollapsed ? <ChevronDown size={13} /> : <ChevronUp size={13} />}
-            </button>
-          )}
         </div>
-        {mission.description && !headerCollapsed && (
-          // Clipped, NOT scrollable — a scroll container here was a fourth
-          // nested scrollbar above the content area. The full text lives in
-          // Setup → Overview.
-          <div
-            style={{
-              marginTop: 4,
-              maxHeight: 92,
-              overflow: "hidden",
-              paddingRight: 8,
-              maskImage:
-                "linear-gradient(to bottom, #000 60%, transparent 100%)",
-              WebkitMaskImage:
-                "linear-gradient(to bottom, #000 60%, transparent 100%)",
-            }}
-          >
-            <MarkdownBlock source={mission.description} />
-          </div>
-        )}
         {refineDiff && (
           <RefineDiffModal
             original={refineDiff.original}
@@ -721,7 +677,11 @@ export function MissionCanvas({
           visible
         />
       ) : (
-      <div style={{ flex: 1, minHeight: 0, overflow: "auto", padding: 22 }}>
+      // `key` remounts the scroller per tab. Without it every tab shares one DOM
+      // node, so scrollTop leaks: scroll to the bottom of a long run list, switch
+      // to Setup, and you land mid-page in unrelated content.
+      // `stick` only on the streaming views — see MissionTabScroller.
+      <MissionTabScroller key={`${tab}:${tab === "run" ? runSub : tab === "output" ? outputSub : setupSub}`} stick={tab === "run" && (runSub === "live" || runSub === "phases")}>
         {tab === "setup" && setupSub === "overview" && (
           <div style={{ display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", gap: 10 }}>
             {mission.description && (
@@ -841,7 +801,19 @@ export function MissionCanvas({
                   <PhaseGoalStrip missionId={mission.id} phase={p} />
                   <PhaseRunsList runs={runsByPhase.get(p.id) ?? []} />
                   {(p.status === "completed" || p.status === "failed") && (
-                    <PhaseSummaryCard missionId={mission.id} phaseId={p.id} />
+                    // Which summary is worth reading right now: while the
+                    // mission runs, the operator is watching the live phase, so
+                    // finished ones fold away. Once it is over, the LAST phase
+                    // holds the outcome. A failure always opens.
+                    <PhaseSummaryCard
+                      missionId={mission.id}
+                      phaseId={p.id}
+                      defaultOpen={
+                        p.status === "failed" ||
+                        (mission.status !== "running" &&
+                          p.id === mission.phases[mission.phases.length - 1]?.id)
+                      }
+                    />
                   )}
                   {mission.status === "running" || mission.status === "completed" ? (
                     <div
@@ -1157,7 +1129,7 @@ export function MissionCanvas({
             visible={tab === "setup" && setupSub === "pane"}
           />
         )}
-      </div>
+      </MissionTabScroller>
       )}
     </div>
   );

frontend/src/components/dashboard/MissionLiveEvents.tsx

@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ export function MissionLiveEvents({
   const [feed, setFeed] = useState<FeedItem[]>([]);
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const seq = useRef(0);
-  const scrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
 
   // Poll the run list every 5s while there's any activity — cheap and
   // lets a newly-enqueued run auto-attach without a manual refresh.
@@ -130,16 +129,15 @@ export function MissionLiveEvents({
     };
   }, [runIds, visible]);
 
-  // Auto-scroll to bottom on new events (unless the operator scrolled up).
-  useEffect(() => {
-    const el = scrollRef.current;
-    if (!el) return;
-    const nearBottom = el.scrollHeight - el.scrollTop - el.clientHeight < 80;
-    if (nearBottom) el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
-  }, [feed.length]);
+  // Following the tail is no longer this component's job: it has no scroller of
+  // its own now, so the mission tab scroller does it (useStickToBottom).
 
   return (
-    <div style={{ display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", gap: 10, height: "70vh" }}>
+    // No height here. `70vh` used to be a workaround for MissionCanvas's root
+    // having no height at all; now that it does, a fixed height would cap this
+    // pane below the space available AND make it a scroller inside the tab
+    // scroller — the nesting MissionCanvas explicitly forbids.
+    <div style={{ display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", gap: 10 }}>
       <div
         style={{
           display: "flex",
@@ -165,11 +163,7 @@ export function MissionLiveEvents({
         </div>
       ) : (
         <div
-          ref={scrollRef}
           style={{
-            flex: 1,
-            minHeight: 0,
-            overflowY: "auto",
             padding: 12,
             background: "#0a0a0d",
             border: "1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.06)",

frontend/src/components/dashboard/MissionTabScroller.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+"use client";
+
+// The ONE scroller for a mission tab's body.
+//
+// It exists as a component rather than a bare <div> for two reasons:
+//   1. It owns the scroll ref, so tail-following can act on the real scroller
+//      without prop-drilling a ref down into MissionLiveEvents / PhaseRunStream
+//      (which used to scroll their own little boxes — nested scrollers).
+//   2. It gives the "jump to latest" affordance somewhere to live.
+//
+// `stick` is opt-in per tab: only streaming views want the view yanked to the
+// newest content. Auto-jumping while someone reads Setup → Overview would be
+// obnoxious, so that tab passes stick={false}.
+
+import { ArrowDown } from "lucide-react";
+
+import { useStickToBottom } from "@/lib/live/useStickToBottom";
+
+const mono =
+  "ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, SF Mono, Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, monospace";
+
+export function MissionTabScroller({
+  stick = false,
+  children,
+}: {
+  stick?: boolean;
+  children: React.ReactNode;
+}) {
+  const { scrollRef, contentRef, following, jumpToLatest } =
+    useStickToBottom(stick);
+
+  return (
+    // position:relative so the pill can anchor to the scroller's viewport
+    // rather than to the (much taller) scrolled content.
+    <div style={{ flex: 1, minHeight: 0, position: "relative", display: "flex" }}>
+      <div ref={scrollRef} style={{ flex: 1, minHeight: 0, overflow: "auto", padding: 22 }}>
+        <div ref={contentRef}>{children}</div>
+      </div>
+      {stick && !following ? (
+        <button
+          type="button"
+          onClick={jumpToLatest}
+          style={{
+            position: "absolute",
+            bottom: 16,
+            left: "50%",
+            transform: "translateX(-50%)",
+            display: "inline-flex",
+            alignItems: "center",
+            gap: 6,
+            padding: "7px 13px",
+            borderRadius: 999,
+            border: "1px solid rgba(124,214,224,.45)",
+            background: "rgba(10,10,13,.92)",
+            color: "#7cd6e0",
+            fontFamily: mono,
+            fontSize: 10.5,
+            letterSpacing: ".08em",
+            textTransform: "uppercase",
+            cursor: "pointer",
+            boxShadow: "0 6px 20px rgba(0,0,0,.5)",
+          }}
+        >
+          <ArrowDown aria-hidden size={12} />
+          Jump to latest
+        </button>
+      ) : null}
+    </div>
+  );
+}

frontend/src/components/dashboard/PhaseGoalStrip.tsx

@@ -194,7 +194,10 @@ export function PhaseGoalStrip({
                 gap: 4,
               }}
             >
-              {evals.map((e) => (
+              {/* Latest 10 only. A phase that looped many times would otherwise
+                  push the rest of the page down with mostly-identical passes;
+                  the recent ones are the ones that explain the outcome. */}
+              {evals.slice(-10).map((e) => (
                 <li
                   key={e.iteration}
                   style={{ fontSize: 11, color: "#8a8a92", lineHeight: 1.4 }}
@@ -207,6 +210,12 @@ export function PhaseGoalStrip({
                   — {e.reason}
                 </li>
               ))}
+              {evals.length > 10 && (
+                <li style={{ fontSize: 11, color: "#6a6a72", listStyle: "none", marginLeft: -16 }}>
+                  +{evals.length - 10} earlier pass
+                  {evals.length - 10 === 1 ? "" : "es"} not shown
+                </li>
+              )}
             </ol>
           )}
         </>

frontend/src/components/dashboard/PhaseRunStream.tsx

@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ export function PhaseRunStream({ runId }: { runId: string }) {
   const [events, setEvents] = useState<Event[]>([]);
   const [terminal, setTerminal] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const seq = useRef(0);
-  const scrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     const es = new EventSource(`/api/topology-runs/${runId}/events`);
@@ -79,16 +78,14 @@ export function PhaseRunStream({ runId }: { runId: string }) {
     };
   }, [runId]);
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    const el = scrollRef.current;
-    if (!el) return;
-    const nearBottom = el.scrollHeight - el.scrollTop - el.clientHeight < 80;
-    if (nearBottom) el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
-  }, [events.length]);
+  // Tail-following moved to the mission tab scroller (useStickToBottom) — this
+  // component no longer owns a scroller to follow.
 
   return (
+    // No maxHeight: a 260px porthole onto a live agent stream is the "can't read
+    // the results" complaint in miniature. This is only mounted for a running,
+    // explicitly-expanded run, so it lets the tab scroller do the scrolling.
     <div
-      ref={scrollRef}
       style={{
         marginTop: 6,
         padding: 8,
@@ -97,8 +94,6 @@ export function PhaseRunStream({ runId }: { runId: string }) {
         color: "#cfcfd5",
         fontSize: 10.5,
         fontFamily: mono,
-        maxHeight: 260,
-        overflow: "auto",
         display: "flex",
         flexDirection: "column",
         gap: 3,

frontend/src/components/dashboard/PhaseRunsList.tsx

@@ -13,7 +13,16 @@ const mono =
   "ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, SF Mono, Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, monospace";
 
 export function PhaseRunsList({ runs }: { runs: MissionRunSummary[] }) {
-  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState<Set<string>>(new Set());
+  // Open exactly ONE run by default, and only when it is worth looking at:
+  // still running (there is live output) or failed (it needs attention).
+  // Everything else stays closed — N stacked open runs was a large part of
+  // "too many open sections".
+  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState<Set<string>>(() => {
+    const newest = runs[runs.length - 1];
+    return newest && (newest.status === "running" || newest.status === "failed")
+      ? new Set([newest.id])
+      : new Set<string>();
+  });
   if (runs.length === 0) return null;
   return (
     <div
@@ -124,10 +133,11 @@ export function PhaseRunsList({ runs }: { runs: MissionRunSummary[] }) {
                     background: "rgba(0,0,0,.35)",
                     color: "#e0d0cf",
                     fontSize: 10.5,
+                    // pre-wrap + break-word already handle long lines; a
+                    // maxHeight would truncate the stack trace the operator
+                    // opened this <details> specifically to read.
                     whiteSpace: "pre-wrap",
                     wordBreak: "break-word",
-                    maxHeight: 260,
-                    overflow: "auto",
                   }}
                 >
                   {r.error}

frontend/src/components/dashboard/PhaseSummaryCard.tsx

@@ -19,17 +19,29 @@ const mono =
 export function PhaseSummaryCard({
   missionId,
   phaseId,
+  defaultOpen = true,
 }: {
   missionId: string;
   phaseId: string;
+  /**
+   * Whether this card starts expanded when the operator has no stored
+   * preference. Callers pass false for phases that are not the one worth
+   * reading right now, so a mission with many phases does not open as a wall
+   * of stacked summaries. An explicit stored choice always wins over this.
+   */
+  defaultOpen?: boolean;
 }) {
   const [summary, setSummary] = useState<PhaseSummary | null>(null);
   const [waiting, setWaiting] = useState(true);
   const [err, setErr] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const collapseKey = `${COLLAPSE_KEY_PREFIX}${phaseId}`;
   const [collapsed, setCollapsed] = useState<boolean>(() => {
-    if (typeof window === "undefined") return false;
-    return window.localStorage.getItem(collapseKey) === "1";
+    if (typeof window === "undefined") return !defaultOpen;
+    const stored = window.localStorage.getItem(collapseKey);
+    // Only "1"/"0" count as a real choice; anything else means "never set".
+    if (stored === "1") return true;
+    if (stored === "0") return false;
+    return !defaultOpen;
   });
   const toggleCollapsed = useCallback(() => {
     setCollapsed((v) => {
@@ -327,13 +339,9 @@ function Section({
         {label}
       </div>
       <div
-        style={{
-          display: "flex",
-          flexDirection: "column",
-          gap: 4,
-          maxHeight: 280,
-          overflow: "auto",
-        }}
+        // Several Sections render per card; a maxHeight here gave each one its
+        // own scrollbar — the worst nesting in the tree. Size to content.
+        style={{ display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", gap: 4 }}
       >
         {items.map((it, i) => (
           <div

frontend/src/components/dashboard/RepoList.tsx

@@ -59,11 +59,18 @@ export function RepoList({
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [busyId, setBusyId] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [confirmDeleteId, setConfirmDeleteId] = useState<string | null>(null);
-  // Collapsed-org state is per-<connection_id>::<owner> — the same owner
-  // string appearing under two different providers folds independently.
-  const [collapsedOrgs, setCollapsedOrgs] = useState<Set<string>>(new Set());
+  // Org fold state is per-<connection_id>::<owner> — the same owner string
+  // appearing under two different providers folds independently.
+  //
+  // Tracks EXPANDED, not collapsed, so the empty initial set means every org
+  // starts folded: with 180+ repos across a dozen orgs, an all-expanded default
+  // buries the org names the list is meant to be navigated by. Inverting the set
+  // (rather than seeding it with every key on load) also keeps the default
+  // correct for orgs that arrive later from a sync, which a seeded set would
+  // render expanded.
+  const [expandedOrgs, setExpandedOrgs] = useState<Set<string>>(new Set());
   const toggleOrg = (key: string) =>
-    setCollapsedOrgs((prev) => {
+    setExpandedOrgs((prev) => {
       const next = new Set(prev);
       if (next.has(key)) next.delete(key);
       else next.add(key);
@@ -342,7 +349,7 @@ export function RepoList({
                   <div style={{ display: "flex", flexDirection: "column", gap: 6 }}>
                     {groupByOwner(list).map(([owner, orgRepos]) => {
                       const key = `${c.id}::${owner}`;
-                      const collapsed = collapsedOrgs.has(key);
+                      const collapsed = !expandedOrgs.has(key);
                       return (
                         <OrgGroup
                           key={key}

frontend/src/lib/live/useStickToBottom.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+// Follow a growing feed, but only while the reader is already at the bottom.
+//
+// Extracted from two byte-identical copies (MissionLiveEvents, PhaseRunStream)
+// that each scrolled their OWN little box. Those boxes are gone — they were
+// nested scrollers inside the mission tab scroller — so following now has to act
+// on whatever scroller actually owns the content.
+//
+// Growth is detected with a ResizeObserver on the content wrapper rather than a
+// `[feed.length]` dependency: after un-nesting, the thing that grows is several
+// components below the scroller (live events, phase run streams, artifact
+// bodies), and there is no single length to depend on. The observer fires for
+// any growing descendant with no plumbing.
+//
+// The 80px threshold is inherited from the original implementations: it is the
+// slack that keeps "at the bottom" true when a partially-rendered row or a
+// sub-pixel layout shift leaves the scroller a few pixels short.
+
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+
+const NEAR_BOTTOM_PX = 80;
+
+export type StickToBottom = {
+  /** Attach to the scrolling element. */
+  scrollRef: React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement | null>;
+  /** Attach to the element that WRAPS the growing content. */
+  contentRef: React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement | null>;
+  /** False once the reader has scrolled up — surface a "jump to latest" affordance. */
+  following: boolean;
+  /** Re-attach and jump to the newest content. */
+  jumpToLatest: () => void;
+};
+
+export function useStickToBottom(enabled = true): StickToBottom {
+  const scrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
+  const contentRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
+  const [following, setFollowing] = useState(true);
+  // Mirrors `following` for use inside observer callbacks without making them a
+  // dependency — re-subscribing the observer on every scroll would be wasteful
+  // and would drop resize events in the gap.
+  const followingRef = useRef(true);
+
+  const setFollow = useCallback((v: boolean) => {
+    followingRef.current = v;
+    setFollowing((prev) => (prev === v ? prev : v));
+  }, []);
+
+  const jumpToLatest = useCallback(() => {
+    const el = scrollRef.current;
+    if (!el) return;
+    el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
+    setFollow(true);
+  }, [setFollow]);
+
+  // Reader intent: scrolling away from the bottom detaches, scrolling back
+  // re-attaches. Passive — this never calls preventDefault.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const el = scrollRef.current;
+    if (!el || !enabled) return;
+    const onScroll = () => {
+      const near =
+        el.scrollHeight - el.scrollTop - el.clientHeight < NEAR_BOTTOM_PX;
+      setFollow(near);
+    };
+    el.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll, { passive: true });
+    return () => el.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll);
+  }, [enabled, setFollow]);
+
+  // Content grew: pin to the new bottom, but only if we were already there.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const el = scrollRef.current;
+    const content = contentRef.current;
+    if (!el || !content || !enabled) return;
+    if (typeof ResizeObserver === "undefined") return;
+    const ro = new ResizeObserver(() => {
+      if (followingRef.current) el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
+    });
+    ro.observe(content);
+    return () => ro.disconnect();
+  }, [enabled]);
+
+  return { scrollRef, contentRef, following, jumpToLatest };
+}

frontend/src/proxy.ts

@@ -38,6 +38,23 @@ export default async function proxy(
 
   // Local mode: key on our own session cookie.
   if (!request.cookies.has(SESSION_COOKIE)) {
+    // LOCAL-ONLY: a single-user local stack goes straight to the dashboard.
+    // The route itself re-checks both env vars and 404s without them, so this
+    // redirect is inert in any deployment that has not opted in. Excluded
+    // paths would otherwise loop: /auth/autologin sets the cookie, and /login
+    // must stay reachable to show a failed-autologin message.
+    const path = request.nextUrl.pathname;
+    if (
+      process.env.LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN_EMAIL &&
+      process.env.LOCAL_AUTOLOGIN_PASSWORD &&
+      path !== "/auth/autologin" &&
+      path !== "/login"
+    ) {
+      const url = request.nextUrl.clone();
+      url.pathname = "/auth/autologin";
+      url.search = `?next=${encodeURIComponent(path + request.nextUrl.search)}`;
+      return NextResponse.redirect(url);
+    }
     const rewrite = marketingRewrite(request);
     if (rewrite) return rewrite;
   }