diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift
index 09f7aa9..57c5b5e 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift
@@ -192,58 +192,70 @@ struct SessionDetailView: View {
         }
     }
 
+    /// The floating action layer: one Liquid Glass bar carrying the queued pills, the working
+    /// indicator, the session controls, and the composer — or the approval card when a gate is
+    /// pending. Content scrolls beneath it; nothing renders when there's nothing to act on.
     @ViewBuilder
     private var actionArea: some View {
-        Divider()
-        if let approval = store.openApprovals.first {
-            ApprovalCardView(approval: approval)
-                .padding()
-        } else if let status = summary?.status {
-            let running = status == .running
-            let canCompose = running || status == .awaitingInput || status.isTerminal
-            VStack(spacing: 8) {
-                // Follow-ups submitted mid-turn, held by the host to send when the current turn
-                // finishes. Each is shown as its own pill (with its attachments) and — at control
-                // scope — can be cancelled individually, matching the Mac composer. (They still
-                // send as one combined turn.)
-                if let queued = summary?.queuedMessages, !queued.isEmpty {
-                    VStack(spacing: 6) {
-                        ForEach(queued) { message in
-                            queuedMessageRow(message)
+        Group {
+            if let approval = store.openApprovals.first {
+                ApprovalCardView(approval: approval)
+            } else if let status = summary?.status {
+                let running = status == .running
+                let canCompose = running || status == .awaitingInput || status.isTerminal
+                let queued = summary?.queuedMessages ?? []
+                if canCompose || store.canControl || !queued.isEmpty {
+                    VStack(spacing: 10) {
+                        // Follow-ups submitted mid-turn, held by the host to send when the current
+                        // turn finishes. Each is shown as its own pill (with its attachments) and —
+                        // at control scope — can be cancelled individually, matching the Mac
+                        // composer. (They still send as one combined turn.)
+                        if !queued.isEmpty {
+                            VStack(spacing: 6) {
+                                ForEach(queued) { message in
+                                    queuedMessageRow(message)
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                        if running {
+                            HStack(spacing: 8) {
+                                ProgressView().controlSize(.small)
+                                Text("Agent is working…").font(.footnote).foregroundStyle(.secondary)
+                                Spacer()
+                            }
+                            .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .leading)
+                        }
+                        if store.canControl, let summary { controlRow(summary) }
+                        if canCompose {
+                            HStack(alignment: .bottom, spacing: 8) {
+                                TextField(running ? "Queue a follow-up…" : "Send a follow-up…",
+                                          text: $draft, axis: .vertical)
+                                    .textFieldStyle(.plain)
+                                    .lineLimit(1...4)
+                                    .keyboardDismissable()
+                                    .padding(.vertical, 3)
+                                Button {
+                                    store.sendInput(draft, to: sessionID)
+                                    draft = ""
+                                } label: {
+                                    Image(systemName: running ? "clock.arrow.circlepath" : "arrow.up.circle.fill")
+                                        .font(.title2)
+                                }
+                                .disabled(draft.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespaces).isEmpty || !store.connectivity.isLive)
+                                // Hardware-keyboard send (Magic Keyboard on iPad), mirroring the
+                                // Mac — plain Return stays newline in the multiline field.
+                                .keyboardShortcut(.return, modifiers: .command)
+                            }
                         }
                     }
-                }
-                if running {
-                    HStack(spacing: 8) {
-                        ProgressView().controlSize(.small)
-                        Text("Agent is working…").font(.footnote).foregroundStyle(.secondary)
-                        Spacer()
-                    }
-                    .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .leading)
-                }
-                if canCompose {
-                    HStack(spacing: 8) {
-                        TextField(running ? "Queue a follow-up…" : "Send a follow-up…",
-                                  text: $draft, axis: .vertical)
-                            .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder)
-                            .lineLimit(1...4)
-                            .keyboardDismissable()
-                        Button {
-                            store.sendInput(draft, to: sessionID)
-                            draft = ""
-                        } label: {
-                            Image(systemName: running ? "clock.arrow.circlepath" : "arrow.up.circle.fill")
-                                .font(.title2)
-                        }
-                        .disabled(draft.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespaces).isEmpty || !store.connectivity.isLive)
-                        // Hardware-keyboard send (Magic Keyboard on iPad), mirroring the Mac —
-                        // plain Return stays newline in the multiline field.
-                        .keyboardShortcut(.return, modifiers: .command)
-                    }
+                    .padding(.horizontal, 14)
+                    .padding(.vertical, 12)
+                    .glassSurface(cornerRadius: 26)
                 }
             }
-            .padding()
         }
+        .padding(.horizontal, 12)
+        .padding(.bottom, 8)
     }
 
     /// A queued follow-up shown above the composer: its text (or attachment names) with the