diff --git a/Plugin/unraid/include/ai_chat.php b/Plugin/unraid/include/ai_chat.php
index 75b8d44..cb880c3 100644
--- a/Plugin/unraid/include/ai_chat.php
+++ b/Plugin/unraid/include/ai_chat.php
@@ -2550,7 +2550,7 @@ function vv_ai_chat_markup(string $prefix, array $o = []): void {
     </div>
   </div>
   </div><?php /* close -pane-ai */ ?>
-<?php if (!empty($o['mesh']) && function_exists('vv_nc_pane_markup')) vv_nc_pane_markup($p, !empty($o['meshDefault'])); ?>
+<?php if (!empty($o['mesh']) && function_exists('vv_nc_pane_markup')) vv_nc_pane_markup($p, !empty($o['meshDefault']), $height); ?>
 </div>
     <?php
 }
diff --git a/Plugin/unraid/include/node_chat.php b/Plugin/unraid/include/node_chat.php
index 7bedb64..c433c59 100644
--- a/Plugin/unraid/include/node_chat.php
+++ b/Plugin/unraid/include/node_chat.php
@@ -236,39 +236,40 @@ function vv_nc_flush_spool(): int {
 // conversation surface and a switch, not two boxes competing for the same corner of the screen.
 // Emitted once per page: there is one mesh store, so a second instance would be two views of the
 // same thing fighting over the same element ids.
-function vv_nc_pane_markup(string $prefix, bool $meshDefault = false): void {
+function vv_nc_pane_markup(string $prefix, bool $meshDefault = false, string $height = '300px'): void {
     static $done = false;
     if ($done) return;
     $done = true;
     ?>
-<div id="<?= htmlspecialchars($prefix, ENT_QUOTES) ?>-pane-mesh" hidden>
+<div id="<?= htmlspecialchars($prefix, ENT_QUOTES) ?>-pane-mesh" hidden
+     style="--vv-nc-h:<?= htmlspecialchars($height, ENT_QUOTES) ?>;">
     <div style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;flex-wrap:wrap;margin-bottom:8px;">
       <select id="vv-nc-ch" class="vv-cf-sel" style="max-width:200px;font-size:11px;padding:3px 8px;"
               onchange="vvNcSelect(this.value)"></select>
+      <!-- Three, in the same three positions the assistant uses: what to render, what to show,
+           whether to follow. Switching mode should move the eye no further than the labels.
+           Hostnames is a view preference too, but it is not one of the three and lives in the
+           Aa drawer rather than making this row a different length from the assistant's. -->
       <label class="vv-ai-cb" style="font-size:10px;"
-             title="Show only what has arrived since you last looked. Unticked shows the whole conversation.">
-        <input type="checkbox" id="vv-nc-unread" onchange="vvNcRender()"> <span>Unread only</span>
+             title="Render colours, fonts and sizes as sent. Unticked shows every message as plain text.">
+        <input type="checkbox" id="vv-nc-fmt-on" checked onchange="vvNcPref('fmtOn');vvNcRender()"> <span>Formatting</span>
       </label>
       <label class="vv-ai-cb" style="font-size:10px;"
-             title="Show the machine's hostname instead of its slot — unRAID-Jayred36 rather than HOST2.">
-        <input type="checkbox" id="vv-nc-names" onchange="vvNcPref('names');vvNcRender()"> <span>Hostnames</span>
+             title="Show only what has arrived since you last looked. Unticked shows the whole conversation.">
+        <input type="checkbox" id="vv-nc-unread" onchange="vvNcRender()"> <span>Only New</span>
       </label>
       <label class="vv-ai-cb" style="font-size:10px;"
              title="Follow the newest message. Unticks when you scroll up, re-ticks at the bottom.">
         <input type="checkbox" id="vv-nc-follow" checked onchange="vvNcPref('follow')"> <span>Auto Scroll</span>
       </label>
-      <!-- Reader's choice, not the sender's. Someone else's purple italic large is their idea of
-           emphasis, and on a wall-mounted dashboard it is just noise — this turns every message
-           back into plain text here without changing what they sent or what anyone else sees. -->
-      <label class="vv-ai-cb" style="font-size:10px;"
-             title="Render colours, fonts and bold as sent. Unticked shows every message as plain text.">
-        <input type="checkbox" id="vv-nc-fmt-on" checked onchange="vvNcPref('fmtOn');vvNcRender()"> <span>Formatting</span>
-      </label>
       <span id="vv-nc-status" style="margin-left:auto;font-size:9px;color:#3a3a3a;"></span>
     </div>
 
+    <!-- Fixed height, not max-height. The assistant's transcript is a fixed box, so a mesh log
+         that grew with its content made the card jump size every time the mode was switched or a
+         message arrived — and on a dashboard a card that resizes shifts everything under it. -->
     <div id="vv-nc-log"
-         style="max-height:260px;overflow-y:auto;padding:6px 2px;font-size:12px;">
+         style="height:var(--vv-nc-h,300px);overflow-y:auto;padding:6px 2px;font-size:12px;">
       <div style="color:#444;font-size:11px;">Loading…</div>
     </div>
 
@@ -278,23 +279,29 @@ function vv_nc_pane_markup(string $prefix, bool $meshDefault = false): void {
                 style="flex:1 1 260px;min-width:0;background:#0d0d0d;border:1px solid #2a2a2a;
                        color:#ddd;border-radius:4px;padding:6px 8px;font-family:inherit;
                        font-size:12px;resize:vertical;"></textarea>
-      <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;gap:5px;">
-        <div style="display:flex;gap:5px;align-items:center;">
-          <!-- One button opens the formatting row, so the common case — type and send — is not
-               fronted by six controls nobody changes most of the time. -->
-          <button class="vv-pt-action-btn info" id="vv-nc-fmt-btn" style="font-size:10px;"
-                  title="Text formatting" onclick="vvNcToggleFmt()">Aa ▸</button>
-          <select id="vv-nc-emoji" class="vv-cf-sel" style="font-size:12px;padding:2px 6px;"
-                  title="Insert an emoji" onchange="vvNcEmoji(this)">
-            <option value="">🙂</option>
-            <option value="👍">👍</option><option value="👋">👋</option><option value="✅">✅</option>
-            <option value="⚠️">⚠️</option><option value="🔥">🔥</option><option value="🎉">🎉</option>
-            <option value="🛠️">🛠️</option><option value="💾">💾</option><option value="🔑">🔑</option>
-            <option value="😀">😀</option><option value="😅">😅</option><option value="🤔">🤔</option>
-          </select>
-          <button class="vv-pt-action-btn run" style="font-size:11px;" onclick="vvNcSend()">Send</button>
-        </div>
-      </div>
+    </div>
+
+    <!-- Under the input and centred, the way the assistant's controls sit. Same three-group
+         layout: equal-flex sides with the actions taking only what they need, so the middle is
+         centred against the input above rather than against whatever the left group measures. -->
+    <div class="vv-ai-ctrls" style="margin-top:7px;">
+      <span class="vv-ai-side"></span>
+      <span class="vv-ai-actions">
+        <!-- One button opens the formatting row, so the common case — type and send — is not
+             fronted by six controls nobody changes most of the time. -->
+        <button class="vv-pt-action-btn info" id="vv-nc-fmt-btn" style="font-size:10px;"
+                title="Text formatting and view options" onclick="vvNcToggleFmt()">Aa ▸</button>
+        <select id="vv-nc-emoji" class="vv-cf-sel" style="font-size:12px;padding:2px 6px;"
+                title="Insert an emoji" onchange="vvNcEmoji(this)">
+          <option value="">🙂</option>
+          <option value="👍">👍</option><option value="👋">👋</option><option value="✅">✅</option>
+          <option value="⚠️">⚠️</option><option value="🔥">🔥</option><option value="🎉">🎉</option>
+          <option value="🛠️">🛠️</option><option value="💾">💾</option><option value="🔑">🔑</option>
+          <option value="😀">😀</option><option value="😅">😅</option><option value="🤔">🤔</option>
+        </select>
+        <button class="vv-pt-action-btn run" style="font-size:11px;" onclick="vvNcSend()">Send</button>
+      </span>
+      <span class="vv-ai-side vv-ai-tail"></span>
     </div>
 
     <!-- Formatting row, hidden until asked for. Choices persist per browser so a house style
@@ -330,6 +337,11 @@ function vv_nc_pane_markup(string $prefix, bool $meshDefault = false): void {
       <button class="vv-btn-sm" id="vv-nc-underline" onclick="vvNcTog('underline')"
               style="text-decoration:underline;min-width:26px;">U</button>
       <span id="vv-nc-preview" style="margin-left:6px;font-size:11px;color:#444;">preview</span>
+      <span style="width:1px;height:16px;background:#262626;margin:0 4px;"></span>
+      <label class="vv-ai-cb" style="font-size:10px;"
+             title="Show the machine's hostname instead of its slot — unRAID-Jayred36 rather than HOST2.">
+        <input type="checkbox" id="vv-nc-names" onchange="vvNcPref('names');vvNcRender()"> <span>Hostnames</span>
+      </label>
     </div>
     <div style="margin-top:5px;font-size:9px;color:#3a3a3a;line-height:1.5;">
       Encrypted over Tailscale between mesh nodes only — but stored as plain text on every