diff --git a/src/bar/workspaces.rs b/src/bar/workspaces.rs
index f91ad67..86d8268 100644
--- a/src/bar/workspaces.rs
+++ b/src/bar/workspaces.rs
@@ -142,7 +142,13 @@ pub fn make_button(
     btn.set_halign(gtk4::Align::Center);
     btn.set_vexpand(false);
     btn.set_hexpand(false);
-    btn.set_size_request(-1, crate::theme::shell_theme().tokens().chip_height() as i32);
+    // `crate::theme::approved_chip_height`, not `tokens().chip_height()`:
+    // the latter is the stale pre-demo `breadbar::CHIP_HEIGHT` token (32
+    // for this Trail/Pill style's theme) and, as a hard `set_size_request`
+    // minimum, would out-rank the CSS `min-height` the demo actually wants
+    // (26px Trail / 22px Pill) — see that function's doc comment.
+    let style = crate::theme::shell_theme().modules().workspaces.style;
+    btn.set_size_request(-1, crate::theme::approved_chip_height(style) as i32);
     if let Some(child) = btn.child() {
         child.set_halign(gtk4::Align::Center);
         child.set_valign(gtk4::Align::Center);
@@ -156,21 +162,27 @@ pub fn make_button(
 }
 
 /// `style = "dots"` (theme 04/spotlight): a label-less pill whose WIDTH
-/// encodes `windows` (0/1/2/3-or-more open) via `dot_widths` — see
-/// `bread_theme::shell::WorkspacesModule::dot_widths`. Distinct from
-/// [`make_button`] (Trail/Pill) rather than a variant of it because dots
-/// carry no text at all (`04-spotlight.html`'s `.dots button` has no label);
-/// reusing `Button::with_label("")` would still measure/lay out an empty
-/// label box that a genuinely childless button doesn't. Width is a hard
+/// encodes `windows` (0/1/2/3-or-more open). Distinct from [`make_button`]
+/// (Trail/Pill) rather than a variant of it because dots carry no text at
+/// all (`04-spotlight.html`'s `.dots button` has no label); reusing
+/// `Button::with_label("")` would still measure/lay out an empty label box
+/// that a genuinely childless button doesn't. Width is a hard
 /// `set_size_request` snap, not animated — GTK CSS min-width transitions
 /// don't participate in a directly-set size request the way an opacity/
 /// background-color transition does, and the plan only calls out the
 /// capsule's own expand/collapse as worth the `anim::spring_to` treatment.
+///
+/// `_dot_widths` (the manifest's `modules.workspaces.dot_widths`) is
+/// accepted but deliberately unused — see `APPROVED_DOT_WIDTHS` below,
+/// which overrides it with the approved Option B numbers the manifest's
+/// own value predates. Kept in the signature rather than dropped so the
+/// call site still documents where a real per-theme width would flow from
+/// once `theme.toml` catches up.
 pub fn make_dot_button(
     id: WorkspaceId,
     active: WorkspaceId,
     windows: i32,
-    dot_widths: bread_theme::shell::DotWidths,
+    _dot_widths: bread_theme::shell::DotWidths,
 ) -> gtk4::Button {
     let btn = gtk4::Button::new();
     btn.add_css_class("workspace-dot");
@@ -186,17 +198,26 @@ pub fn make_dot_button(
     btn.set_hexpand(false);
     // Height is a deliberate departure from `04-spotlight.html`'s own 6px
     // (see the demo's `.dots button { height: 6px }`): reported as "too
-    // small and hard to click" — the click-target enlargement is a
-    // separate, non-visual fix elsewhere, but 6px is also genuinely hard
-    // to *see* on a real display, not just hard to hit. 9px keeps the
-    // dots reading as slim pills rather than growing into little chips
-    // (which would fight the capsule's minimal, text-first look), while
-    // being clearly perceptible against the 36px-tall bar. Widths are left
-    // exactly as `dot_widths` (the manifest's own per-occupancy encoding,
-    // e.g. `[6, 10, 14, 18]`) specifies — only the height, which has no
-    // manifest token of its own, is breadbar's call to make.
-    const DOT_HEIGHT: i32 = 9;
-    btn.set_size_request(dot_widths[dot_width_index(windows)], DOT_HEIGHT);
+    // small and hard to click", and also genuinely hard to *see* on a real
+    // display, not just hard to hit. Option B (approved): 10px tall — up
+    // from an earlier 9px pass that undershot the approved number by 1px.
+    // Keeps the dots reading as slim pills rather than growing into little
+    // chips (which would fight the capsule's minimal, text-first look),
+    // while being clearly perceptible against the 36px-tall bar.
+    const DOT_HEIGHT: i32 = 10;
+    // Option B widths (approved): 8/13/17/22px for 0/1/2/3-or-more open
+    // windows — `[8, 13, 17, 22]`, not the `dot_widths` parameter's own
+    // manifest value. `theme.toml`'s `modules.workspaces.dot_widths =
+    // [6, 10, 14, 18]` predates this pass and was never updated to match;
+    // hardcoded here (ignoring the passed-in `dot_widths`) rather than
+    // edited upstream, since bread-ecosystem is a sibling agent's repo
+    // this pass. Flagged in the task report — `dot_widths` should become
+    // `[8, 13, 17, 22]` in `assets/shell/spotlight/theme.toml`.
+    const APPROVED_DOT_WIDTHS: bread_theme::shell::DotWidths = [8, 13, 17, 22];
+    btn.set_size_request(
+        APPROVED_DOT_WIDTHS[dot_width_index(windows)],
+        DOT_HEIGHT,
+    );
     btn.connect_clicked(move |_| {
         relm4::spawn(async move {
             switch_workspace(id).await;
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 3a8618f..23ae426 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -1995,6 +1995,13 @@ impl App {
         self.workspace_trail.cancel();
         let prev: std::collections::HashSet<WorkspaceId> =
             self.button_map.keys().copied().collect();
+        // `button_map` only starts empty once — the very first call this
+        // App instance ever makes, before any workspace has ever been
+        // synced from Hyprland. A fully-emptied bar never happens after
+        // that (the active workspace's own row is always kept), so this
+        // doubles as a clean "is this the initial paint" signal without a
+        // dedicated flag — see its one use below.
+        let is_first_build = prev.is_empty();
         while let Some(child) = self.workspace_box.first_child() {
             self.workspace_box.remove(&child);
         }
@@ -2038,7 +2045,20 @@ impl App {
                     bar::workspaces::make_button(ws.id, &ws.name, self.active_ws, ws.windows > 0)
                 }
             };
-            if !prev.contains(&ws.id) {
+            // Never on the very first build (bug: "the [Trail] row sits
+            // ~5px low on first paint and only corrects after the first
+            // switch"). Root cause: `ws-in`'s `row-in` keyframe animates
+            // `margin-top` 8px → 0 over 320ms; `WorkspaceTrail::place`
+            // (called once, synchronously-ish, right after this loop for
+            // the initial row) samples each button's geometry via a
+            // single-shot tick callback that can fire while that margin
+            // is still mid-animation, freezing the trail pill a few px
+            // low until the next `place`/`stretch` call (the first real
+            // workspace switch) re-samples the by-then-settled layout.
+            // The demo itself never animates the initial row in at all
+            // (`OCC.forEach` builds plainly, only `place(0)` runs) — only
+            // *subsequently added* workspaces should ever play this.
+            if !is_first_build && !prev.contains(&ws.id) {
                 play_once(&btn, "ws-in", 360);
             }
             self.workspace_box.append(&btn);
diff --git a/src/theme.rs b/src/theme.rs
index f19dd57..a9731db 100644
--- a/src/theme.rs
+++ b/src/theme.rs
@@ -35,6 +35,21 @@ pub fn set_shell_theme(theme: ShellTheme) {
     SHELL_THEME.with(|cell| *cell.borrow_mut() = Rc::new(theme));
 }
 
+/// The one bar-chip height every chip in the row shares (vol/wifi/battery/
+/// menu/media, and the workspace pills for Trail/Pill styles) — see the
+/// `chip_h` local in `load_css` for why this is a hardcoded per-`
+/// WorkspaceStyle` override rather than `Tokens::chip_height()`. Used both
+/// by that CSS and by `bar::workspaces::make_button`'s `set_size_request`,
+/// which otherwise still forces the stale token value as a hard GTK
+/// minimum that a CSS `min-height` alone cannot out-rank.
+pub fn approved_chip_height(style: bread_theme::shell::WorkspaceStyle) -> i64 {
+    use bread_theme::shell::WorkspaceStyle::*;
+    match style {
+        Trail => 26,
+        Pill | Dots => 22,
+    }
+}
+
 fn load_css() -> String {
     // breadbar-specific rules only — fonts, base colours, and generic widgets
     // come from the shared ecosystem stylesheet (applied first in `apply()`).
@@ -118,6 +133,24 @@ fn load_css() -> String {
         _ => radius_sm.clone(),
     };
 
+    // ONE chip highlight height per bar, vertically centred — every chip
+    // (vol/wifi/battery/menu/media, icon-only and labelled alike) shares
+    // it so their fills align, instead of each sizing to its own content
+    // box (reported: battery sits high, wifi/menu are taller than their
+    // neighbours). Liquid Motion 26px / Glass Workbench 22px / Spotlight
+    // 22px, per the approved demo spec.
+    //
+    // HARDCODED, not `tokens.chip_height()`: that token is `breadbar::
+    // CHIP_HEIGHT` (32) carried over from before this design pass and was
+    // never updated for the three builtin `theme.toml`s (32/20/36) — it
+    // predates and disagrees with the demo numbers above. bread-ecosystem
+    // is owned by a sibling agent this pass, so this stays a local
+    // override (same `WorkspaceStyle` this file already keys `chip_radius`
+    // off) rather than an edit to that repo's schema/manifests. Flagged in
+    // the task report: `chip_height` should become 26/22/22 upstream.
+    let chip_h = approved_chip_height(theme.modules().workspaces.style);
+    let chip_height_px = format!("{chip_h}px");
+
     // `modules.workspaces.style` (plan §11 Phase 5): "trail" (default,
     // liquid-motion) is exactly today's CSS, unchanged byte-for-byte —
     // dimmed/translucent buttons with the gradient trail overlay supplying
@@ -140,7 +173,7 @@ fn load_css() -> String {
                  background-color: @accent; border-radius: {radius_sm}; }}\
              .workspace-btn {{ background: transparent; opacity: 0.36; color: @on-bg;\
                  border-radius: {radius_sm}; border: none; outline: none; box-shadow: none;\
-                 min-width: 28px; min-height: 26px; margin: 0; padding: 0 7px;\
+                 min-width: 28px; min-height: {chip_height_px}; margin: 0; padding: 0 7px;\
                  font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;\
                  transition: opacity 0.22s {spring_settle},\
                      background-color 0.22s {spring_settle}; }}\
@@ -155,7 +188,7 @@ fn load_css() -> String {
             format!(
                 ".workspace-btn {{ background: transparent; opacity: 1; color: alpha(@on-bg, 0.4);\
                      border-radius: {radius_sm}; border: none; outline: none; box-shadow: none;\
-                     min-width: 22px; min-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding: 0 6px;\
+                     min-width: 22px; min-height: {chip_height_px}; margin: 0; padding: 0 6px;\
                      font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\
                      transition: background-color 0.22s {spring_settle},\
                          color 0.22s {spring_settle}, opacity 0.22s {spring_settle}; }}\
@@ -253,7 +286,13 @@ fn load_css() -> String {
             radius_pill for spotlight, so every theme's stat chips round\
             the way that theme's *other* rounded chrome already does,\
             instead of all three sharing one borrowed hardcoded number. */\
-         .stat-pair {{ margin: 0; border-radius: {chip_radius}; padding: 5px 9px; min-height: 0;\
+         /* min-height (not the old `min-height: 0`): decision #1 — ONE\
+            chip highlight height per bar, vertically centred, shared by\
+            every chip so their fills align instead of each sizing to its\
+            own content box (reported: battery sat high, wifi/menu were\
+            taller than their neighbours). See `chip_height_px` above. */\
+         .stat-pair {{ margin: 0; border-radius: {chip_radius}; padding: 5px 9px;\
+             min-height: {chip_height_px};\
              transition: background-color 0.22s {spring_settle},\
                  opacity 0.18s ease; }}\
          .stat-pair:hover {{ background: alpha(@on-bg, 0.12); }}\
@@ -271,7 +310,7 @@ fn load_css() -> String {
             out (spotlight has no icon-only chip today, but would get the\
             same pill radius as its one `.stat-pair` sibling if it ever did). */\
          .stat-pair.icon-only {{ padding: 4px;\
-             min-width: 32px; min-height: 32px; }}\
+             min-width: {chip_height_px}; min-height: {chip_height_px}; }}\
          .stat-icon {{ margin-right: 6px; }}\
          .stat-pair.icon-only .stat-icon {{ margin: 0; }}\
          .bt-icon {{ margin-right: 8px; }}
@@ -368,7 +407,10 @@ fn load_css() -> String {
              border-bottom: 1px solid alpha(@on-bg, 0.10); box-shadow: none; }}\
          .confirm-button {{ background-color: @accent; color: @on-accent; }}\
          .confirm-button:hover {{ background-color: alpha(@accent, 0.85); }}\
-         .media-widget {{ border-radius: 10px; padding: 4px 8px; min-height: 0;\
+         /* min-height: decision #1 — the media chip is a bar chip like\
+            any other, so it shares the same row height instead of sizing\
+            to its own eq-bar/label content. */\
+         .media-widget {{ border-radius: 10px; padding: 4px 8px; min-height: {chip_height_px};\
              transition: background-color 0.22s {spring_settle}; }}\
          .media-widget:hover {{ background: alpha(@on-bg, 0.08); }}\
          .media-widget.media-in {{ animation: row-in 0.4s {spring} both; }}\
@@ -385,8 +427,20 @@ fn load_css() -> String {
          .media-btn {{ min-width: 32px; padding: 4px 8px; border-radius: {radius_sm};\
              transition: background-color 0.18s ease; }}\
          .media-btn:hover {{ background: alpha(@on-bg, 0.10); }}\
-         .control-panel-btn {{ padding: 5px 8px; margin: 0; border-radius: 10px;\
-             opacity: 0.92; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1; min-width: 0; min-height: 0;\
+         /* No padding/border-radius/min-width/min-height here (was\
+            `padding: 5px 8px; border-radius: 10px; min-width: 0;\
+            min-height: 0`): the hamburger is the only button carrying both\
+            `.stat-pair.icon-only` AND `.control-panel-btn`, and because\
+            this rule sits later in the cascade its hardcoded 10px radius\
+            and 0 min-size were silently winning over `.stat-pair`'s own\
+            `chip_radius`/`chip_height_px` — the exact hamburger-corner-\
+            mismatch bug decision #2 describes, and a second copy of\
+            decision #1's height bug, both reintroduced by\
+            this one class alone. Dropping the four properties lets\
+            `.stat-pair`/`.stat-pair.icon-only` cascade through unchanged,\
+            same fix shape as the icon-only border-radius removal above. */\
+         .control-panel-btn {{ margin: 0;\
+             opacity: 0.92; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1;\
              background: transparent; border: none; outline: none; box-shadow: none;\
              transition: background-color 0.22s {spring_settle},\
                  opacity 0.18s ease; }}\
@@ -508,6 +562,7 @@ fn load_css() -> String {
         radius_sm = radius_sm,
         radius_pill = radius_pill,
         chip_radius = chip_radius,
+        chip_height_px = chip_height_px,
         pad = pad,
         spring = spring,
         spring_settle = spring_settle,