diff --git a/pi-slate/README.md b/pi-slate/README.md
index b607625..98e77cd 100644
--- a/pi-slate/README.md
+++ b/pi-slate/README.md
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ These work when `editor` is selected. No terminal configuration.
 | Session dashboard | `/slate session [mcp\|skills\|commands\|tasks\|image]` | Inspect facts, expand/collapse resources, insert commands, or manage the image shelf. |
 | Message length | `/slate message-length [default\|all\|<count>]` | How many chat messages stay on screen. `default` is 100. |
 | Density | `/slate density [comfortable\|compact]` | Comfortable shows a › prompt in the composer; compact is tighter. |
-| Composer metadata | `/slate footer [standard\|minimal]` | Legacy command alias: standard shows model and thinking on the composer; minimal hides them. Not footer-slot ownership. |
+| Composer metadata | `/slate footer [standard\|minimal]` | Legacy command alias: standard shows model and thinking on the composer; minimal hides them. When the dashboard is hidden, thinking follows context/MCP on the top edge and the model stays below. Not footer-slot ownership. |
 | Header logo | `/logo [original\|minimal]` | Toggle the stock brand mark and the white monochrome mark, or set a style explicitly. |
 | Theme | `/theme` (or `/slate theme`) | Opens the Light/Dark picker: Latte and Frappé under Light, Macchiato, Mocha, Tokyo Night, and Black Metal under Dark. 15 palettes per Catppuccin flavor, live preview, no arguments. |
 | Bugs | `/slate bug [file\|open]` | Copy a bug report, or open the npm package page. |
diff --git a/pi-slate/extensions/pi-slate/composer.ts b/pi-slate/extensions/pi-slate/composer.ts
index 6b972be..1f823b9 100644
--- a/pi-slate/extensions/pi-slate/composer.ts
+++ b/pi-slate/extensions/pi-slate/composer.ts
@@ -462,11 +462,13 @@ export class ComposerEditor extends CustomEditor {
         }
       : undefined;
     const pidLabel = src.showPid === true ? src.theme.fg("dim", `PID-${AGENT_PID}`) : "";
-    const resources = src.context
-      ? src.context.resources.split(" · ")
-          .map((part) => src.theme.fg("dim", part))
-          .join(metadataSeparator(src.theme, "dim"))
-      : "";
+    const resourceParts = src.context ? src.context.resources.split(" · ") : [];
+    if (src.dashboardVisible === false && src.context && src.footer === "standard" && src.thinking) {
+      resourceParts.push(src.thinking);
+    }
+    const resources = resourceParts
+      .map((part) => src.theme.fg("dim", part))
+      .join(metadataSeparator(src.theme, "dim"));
     return composerStatusContextEdge(
       resources,
       width,
@@ -497,7 +499,6 @@ export class ComposerEditor extends CustomEditor {
       const rightParts: string[] = [];
       if (src.footer === "standard" && width >= 66) {
         rightParts.push(modelStatusLabel(src.model, src.modelDisplay));
-        if (width >= 80 && src.thinking) rightParts.push(src.thinking);
       }
       const right = rightParts.length
         ? ` ${rightParts.map((part) => src.theme.fg("muted", part)).join(metadataSeparator(src.theme))} `
diff --git a/pi-slate/extensions/pi-slate/diff-renderer.ts b/pi-slate/extensions/pi-slate/diff-renderer.ts
index fa4c0df..9e7a077 100644
--- a/pi-slate/extensions/pi-slate/diff-renderer.ts
+++ b/pi-slate/extensions/pi-slate/diff-renderer.ts
@@ -142,7 +142,10 @@ export class DiffView implements Component {
   }
 
   private fit(text: string, width: number, bg = this.config.colors.contextBg): string {
-    const clipped = truncateToWidth(text, width, "…");
+    // Truncation resets SGR before the ellipsis; repaint it rather than exposing
+    // the host tool/terminal background at the edge of a clipped code cell.
+    const ellipsis = ansiColor(bg, true) + ansiColor(this.config.colors.fg) + "…";
+    const clipped = truncateToWidth(text, width, ellipsis);
     return ansiColor(bg, true) + clipped + RESET + ansiColor(bg, true)
       + " ".repeat(Math.max(0, width - visibleWidth(clipped))) + RESET;
   }
@@ -204,7 +207,8 @@ export class DiffView implements Component {
     if (split) {
       const leftWidth = Math.floor((width - 3) / 2);
       const rightWidth = width - leftWidth - 3;
-      const border = ansiColor(this.config.colors.borderFg) + " │ " + RESET;
+      const border = ansiColor(this.config.colors.contextBg, true)
+        + ansiColor(this.config.colors.borderFg) + " │ " + RESET;
       output.push(this.fit(ansiColor(this.config.colors.lineNumberFg) + "Before", leftWidth) + border
         + this.fit(ansiColor(this.config.colors.lineNumberFg) + "After", rightWidth));
       const pairs = pairRows(this.rows);
diff --git a/pi-slate/tests/composer.test.ts b/pi-slate/tests/composer.test.ts
index f061271..ef2b74c 100644
--- a/pi-slate/tests/composer.test.ts
+++ b/pi-slate/tests/composer.test.ts
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ test("composer metadata separators match the surrounding metadata tone", () => {
   assert.doesNotMatch(labels.right, /\[borderMuted\]/);
 });
 
-test("focused composer bottom edge drops ctx and uses readable separators", () => {
+test("focused composer puts thinking after MCP on the top edge, leaving the model below", () => {
   const editor = new ComposerEditor(
     { terminal: { rows: 24, columns: 100 }, requestRender() {} } as TUI,
     { borderColor: (text) => text } as EditorTheme,
@@ -187,14 +187,41 @@ test("focused composer bottom edge drops ctx and uses readable separators", () =
     }),
   );
   const lines = editor.render(100);
-  assert.match(lines[0]!, /\[dim\]ctx 10%\[dim\] · \[dim\]2 mcp/);
+  assert.match(lines[0]!, /\[dim\]ctx 10%\[dim\] · \[dim\]2 mcp\[dim\] · \[dim\]medium/);
   const bottom = lines.at(-1)!;
-  assert.doesNotMatch(bottom, /ctx 10%/);
-  assert.match(bottom, /\[muted\] · /);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(bottom, /ctx 10%|medium| · /);
   assert.match(bottom, /sample/);
   assert.doesNotMatch(bottom, /borderMuted/);
 });
 
+test("top-edge thinking respects minimal metadata, narrow widths, and missing levels", () => {
+  for (const footer of ["standard", "minimal"] as const) {
+    for (const thinking of [undefined, "medium"]) {
+      for (const width of [12, 20, 32, 40, 65, 79, 80, 100]) {
+        const editor = new ComposerEditor(
+          { terminal: { rows: 24, columns: width }, requestRender() {} } as TUI,
+          { borderColor: (text) => text } as EditorTheme,
+          new KeybindingsManager(),
+          () => ({
+            project: "slate", branch: null, model: { id: "sample" }, thinking, footer, theme,
+            dashboardVisible: false,
+            context: { tokens: "10%/100k tokens", resources: "ctx 10% · 1 mcp" },
+          }),
+        );
+        const lines = editor.render(width).map(stripVTControlCharacters);
+        assert.ok(lines.every(line => visibleWidth(line) <= width));
+        if (footer === "standard" && thinking) {
+          if (width >= 32) assert.match(lines[0]!, /ctx 10% · 1 mcp · medium/);
+        } else {
+          assert.doesNotMatch(lines[0]!, /medium/);
+        }
+        assert.doesNotMatch(lines[0]!, /undefined/);
+        assert.doesNotMatch(lines.at(-1)!, /medium/);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+});
+
 const labelTheme = {
   fg: (name: string, text: string) => `[${name}]${text}`,
   italic: (text: string) => `{i}${text}`,
diff --git a/pi-slate/tests/diff.test.ts b/pi-slate/tests/diff.test.ts
index 460b556..8b298a7 100644
--- a/pi-slate/tests/diff.test.ts
+++ b/pi-slate/tests/diff.test.ts
@@ -94,6 +94,36 @@ test("Shiki colors are composited with diff and character backgrounds", async (t
   for (const token of added.tokens ?? []) if (token.color) assert.ok(output.includes(ansiColor(token.color)));
 });
 
+test("diff paints every visible cell, including split dividers and clipped ellipses", async (t) => {
+  const diff = view(t, "unchanged\n\n" + "old ".repeat(80) + "\nremoved\n", "unchanged\n\n" + "new ".repeat(80) + "\n");
+  const assertPainted = () => {
+    for (const width of [1, 2, 20, 80, 100, 101, 120]) {
+      for (const line of diff.render(width)) {
+        let background: string | undefined;
+        for (const match of line.matchAll(/\x1b\[([\d;]*)m|([^\x1b]+)/g)) {
+          if (match[1] !== undefined) {
+            const codes = match[1].split(";").map(Number);
+            for (let i = 0; i < codes.length; i++) {
+              if (codes[i] === 0 || codes[i] === 49) background = undefined;
+              if (codes[i] === 38 || codes[i] === 48) {
+                if (codes[i + 1] === 2) {
+                  if (codes[i] === 48) background = codes.slice(i + 2, i + 5).join(",");
+                  i += 4;
+                }
+              }
+            }
+          } else {
+            assert.ok(background, `unpainted ${JSON.stringify(match[2])} at width ${width}`);
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  };
+  assertPainted();
+  await diff.ready;
+  assertPainted();
+});
+
 test("edit is responsive to actual pane width; write is always unified", async (t) => {
   const edit = view(t, "old\n", "new\n");
   const write = view(t, "old\n", "new\n", { kind: "write" });
diff --git a/pi-slate/tests/quiet-workbench.test.ts b/pi-slate/tests/quiet-workbench.test.ts
index d3b81dd..49e6c58 100644
--- a/pi-slate/tests/quiet-workbench.test.ts
+++ b/pi-slate/tests/quiet-workbench.test.ts
@@ -148,5 +148,8 @@ test("quiet editor avoids duplicate identity/model and restores compact facts wi
     }
   }
   assert.equal(editor.getText(), "Preserve this draft");
-  assert.match(editor.render(100).map(stripVTControlCharacters).join("\n"), /sample-model · medium/);
+  const focused = editor.render(100).map(stripVTControlCharacters);
+  assert.match(focused[0]!, /ctx 11% · 2 mcp · medium/);
+  assert.match(focused.at(-1)!, /sample-model/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(focused.at(-1)!, /medium/);
 });