diff --git a/darknode.js b/darknode.js
index 6a6e664..67d68e6 100755
--- a/darknode.js
+++ b/darknode.js
@@ -3529,7 +3529,7 @@ function nexusTui(engine, cwd, nexusMd, autoResume, launch) {
       const mLabel = modelLabel(shownModel()) || engine;
       parts.push(mLabel + (mLabel && ENGINES[engine] && ENGINES[engine].kind === "stream" && effort ? gray(" · ") + effortLabel(effort) : ""));
       parts.push(pc(pct + "% context"));
-      { const _ca = compactAt(); if (_ca > 0 && sess.ctxUsed != null) { const _u = Math.max(0, Math.min(100, Math.round((1 - sess.ctxUsed / _ca) * 100))); parts.push((_u <= 15 ? yellow : gray)(_u + "% until auto-compact")); } }
+      { const _ca = compactAt(); if (_ca > 0 && sess.ctxUsed != null) { const _u = Math.max(0, Math.min(100, Math.round((1 - sess.ctxUsed / _ca) * 100))); if (_u < 100) parts.push((_u <= 15 ? yellow : gray)(_u + "% until auto-compact")); } } // hide the redundant "100% until auto-compact" chip on a fresh/near-empty session (it duplicates "N% context")
       if (PAID[engine]) { const isSubscription = engine === "codex" && CODEX_LOCAL.authMode ? onPlan(engine) : (onPlan(engine) || (!process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY && !process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY)); if (isSubscription) { /* subscription: nothing to show */ } else { const c = costCap && sess.cost >= costCap ? red : green; const est = !ENGINES[engine] || ENGINES[engine].kind !== "stream"; parts.push(sess.cost ? c((est ? "~$" : "$") + sess.cost.toFixed(4)) + (costCap ? gray("/" + costCap.toFixed(2)) : "") : gray("subscription")); } }
       
       if (gitBranch) parts.push(gray(gitBranch));
diff --git a/lib/cli/tui-format.js b/lib/cli/tui-format.js
index 9e064b5..294073c 100644
--- a/lib/cli/tui-format.js
+++ b/lib/cli/tui-format.js
@@ -269,8 +269,13 @@ function welcomeCard(opts) {
   const kv = (k, v) => lines.push(row("  " + label(padRight(k, 10)) + v));
   if (opts.model) kv("Model", brand(opts.model) + (opts.effort ? muted("  ·  ") + faint(opts.effort) : ""));
   if (opts.engineLabel) kv("Engine", opts.engineLabel);
-  const where = opts.cwd ? shortenPath(opts.cwd, inner - 12 - (opts.branch ? opts.branch.length + 5 : 0), opts.home) : "";
-  if (where) kv("Project", muted(where) + (opts.branch ? muted("  ·  ") + accent(opts.branch) : ""));
+  // Give the path whatever room the branch leaves, but keep a small floor so a
+  // long branch never starves the path to "" and drops the whole row — the
+  // branch is the most useful "where am I" cue, so the row must survive. kv()
+  // fitWidth-truncates the combined value, so neither side can overflow.
+  const branchStr = opts.branch || "";
+  const where = opts.cwd ? shortenPath(opts.cwd, Math.max(6, inner - 12 - (branchStr ? branchStr.length + 5 : 0)), opts.home) : "";
+  if (where || branchStr) kv("Project", muted(where) + (branchStr ? (where ? muted("  ·  ") : "") + accent(branchStr) : ""));
   const sess = [];
   if (opts.contextLabel) sess.push(opts.contextLabel + " context");
   if (opts.guard) sess.push("guard " + opts.guard);
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 4e6f893..3c480d9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
   "scripts": {
     "start": "node darknode.js",
     "build": "pkg . --out-path dist",
-    "test": "node test/run.js && node test/authz.test.js && node test/composer.test.js && node test/term.test.js && node test/md-render.test.js && node test/links.test.js && node test/pager.test.js && node test/tool-tail.test.js && node test/os-notify.test.js && node test/repo-map-rank.test.js && node test/bm25.test.js && node test/danger-audit.test.js && node test/url-guard-audit.test.js && node test/edit-audit.test.js && node test/jail-audit.test.js && node test/mcp-audit.test.js && node test/git-search-audit.test.js && node test/state-audit.test.js && node test/exec-audit.test.js && node test/cli-audit.test.js && node test/governance-audit.test.js && node test/toolkit-audit.test.js && node test/devhelpers-audit.test.js && node test/radar-audit.test.js && node test/pentest-audit.test.js && node test/shellfix-audit.test.js && node test/convo-lifecycle-audit.test.js && node test/local-loop-audit.test.js && node test/undo-audit.test.js && node test/at-mentions-audit.test.js && node test/clipboard-audit.test.js && node test/notes-audit.test.js && node test/snippets-audit.test.js && node test/typed-names-audit.test.js && node test/sighup-audit.test.js && node test/tui-stderr-audit.test.js && node test/piped-stdin-audit.test.js && node test/oneshot-escape-audit.test.js  &&  node test/hot-path-speed-audit.test.js && node test/command-help.test.js && node test/session-save.test.js && node test/agents-panel.test.js",
+    "test": "node test/run.js && node test/authz.test.js && node test/composer.test.js && node test/term.test.js && node test/md-render.test.js && node test/links.test.js && node test/pager.test.js && node test/tool-tail.test.js && node test/os-notify.test.js && node test/repo-map-rank.test.js && node test/bm25.test.js && node test/danger-audit.test.js && node test/url-guard-audit.test.js && node test/edit-audit.test.js && node test/jail-audit.test.js && node test/mcp-audit.test.js && node test/git-search-audit.test.js && node test/state-audit.test.js && node test/exec-audit.test.js && node test/cli-audit.test.js && node test/governance-audit.test.js && node test/toolkit-audit.test.js && node test/devhelpers-audit.test.js && node test/radar-audit.test.js && node test/pentest-audit.test.js && node test/shellfix-audit.test.js && node test/convo-lifecycle-audit.test.js && node test/local-loop-audit.test.js && node test/undo-audit.test.js && node test/at-mentions-audit.test.js && node test/clipboard-audit.test.js && node test/notes-audit.test.js && node test/snippets-audit.test.js && node test/typed-names-audit.test.js && node test/sighup-audit.test.js && node test/tui-stderr-audit.test.js && node test/piped-stdin-audit.test.js && node test/oneshot-escape-audit.test.js  &&  node test/hot-path-speed-audit.test.js && node test/command-help.test.js && node test/session-save.test.js && node test/agents-panel.test.js && node test/tui-layout.test.js",
     "postinstall": "node scripts/postinstall.js",
     "docs": "node scripts/gen-nexus-docs.js"
   },
diff --git a/test/tui-layout.test.js b/test/tui-layout.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49f1a1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tui-layout.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+"use strict";
+// Layout-helper suite (lib/cli/tui-format.js): welcomeCard, idleHome, footerLine
+// and helpLines. These paint the session chrome (the boot card, the empty-session
+// home, the footer status row, the /help & /keys screens), and were previously
+// untested. The contract they must keep: every line fits the given column budget
+// (no wrap garbage, nothing clipped past the border), plain output (no paint map)
+// carries NO ANSI escapes (NO_COLOR / non-TTY safe), and the key content survives
+// from a wide terminal down to a narrow one.
+const F = require("../lib/cli/tui-format.js");
+const { welcomeCard, idleHome, footerLine, helpLines, visLen, stripAnsi } = F;
+
+let pass = 0, fail = 0;
+const ok = (name, cond) => { if (cond) pass++; else { fail++; console.log("  \x1b[31mFAIL\x1b[0m " + name); } };
+const group = (t) => console.log("\n\x1b[1m" + t + "\x1b[0m");
+
+// a line is "clean" at width w: fits w visible columns and never carries a raw
+// (non-SGR) escape that could move the cursor or clear the screen.
+const fits = (lines, w) => lines.every((l) => visLen(l) <= w && !/\x1b(?!\[[0-9;]*m)/.test(l));
+const plainClean = (lines) => lines.every((l) => !/\x1b/.test(l));
+const WIDTHS = [36, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 200];
+
+const WC = (cols, extra) => welcomeCard(Object.assign({
+  version: "2.46.3", model: "Opus 5.5", engineLabel: "Claude Code",
+  cwd: "/home/manav/projects/darknode-cli", branch: "ui/tui-polish-20261101",
+  home: "/home/manav", cols, contextLabel: "200K", guard: "on", mcp: 1,
+  tip: "scroll back with the mouse wheel or PgUp/PgDn · End jumps to the newest",
+}, extra || {}));
+
+group("welcomeCard fits its column budget at every width");
+{
+  let bad = "";
+  for (const w of WIDTHS) if (!fits(WC(w), w)) bad = bad || ("overflow/escape at " + w);
+  ok("every row fits 36..200 cols with no stray escapes", !bad);
+  ok("the box is balanced (equal corner rows)", (() => { const L = WC(80).filter((l) => l.trim()); return /^╭/.test(stripAnsi(L[0])) && /╯$/.test(stripAnsi(L[L.length - 1])); })());
+  ok("plain output (no paint) carries no ANSI escapes", plainClean(WC(80)));
+  ok("shows product, model, engine and a quick-start command", (() => { const s = WC(80).join("\n"); return /Nexus/.test(s) && /Opus 5\.5/.test(s) && /Claude Code/.test(s) && /\/help/.test(s); })());
+}
+
+group("welcomeCard keeps the branch even when it is long and the terminal is narrow");
+{
+  // Regression: a long branch used to starve the path budget to "" and drop the
+  // whole Project row (branch included). The row must survive down to 36 cols.
+  ok("branch (possibly truncated) is still shown at 36 cols", stripAnsi(WC(36).join("\n")).includes("ui/tui"));
+  for (const w of [40, 50]) ok("branch is still shown at " + w + " cols", stripAnsi(WC(w).join("\n")).includes("ui/tui-pol"));
+  ok("a card with only a branch (no cwd) still shows it", stripAnsi(WC(80, { cwd: "" }).join("\n")).includes("ui/tui-polish-20261101"));
+  ok("a card with neither cwd nor branch omits the Project row", !/Project/.test(stripAnsi(WC(80, { cwd: "", branch: "" }).join("\n"))));
+}
+
+group("idleHome fills the screen without overflowing");
+{
+  const mk = (cols) => idleHome({ cols, project: { name: "darknode-cli", branch: "main", dirty: true, files: 120, commits: 1200, last: "1bbf9bb fix the lint errors in the parser" } });
+  let bad = "";
+  for (const w of WIDTHS) if (!fits(mk(w), w)) bad = bad || ("overflow/escape at " + w);
+  ok("every row fits 36..200 cols with no stray escapes", !bad);
+  ok("plain output carries no ANSI escapes", plainClean(mk(80)));
+  ok("renders the NEXUS hero wordmark", mk(80).join("\n").includes("█"));
+  ok("surfaces the live project pulse (name + branch)", (() => { const s = stripAnsi(mk(80).join("\n")); return s.includes("darknode-cli") && /\bmain\b/.test(s); })());
+  ok("falls back to a compact wordmark on a very narrow terminal", stripAnsi(idleHome({ cols: 20 }).join("\n")).includes("N E X U S"));
+}
+
+group("footerLine right-aligns status and never overflows");
+{
+  const left = "accept edits on  (shift+tab to cycle)";
+  const right = "Opus 5.5  ·  0% context  ·  ui/tui-polish-20261101";
+  for (const w of [24, 40, 80, 120, 200]) ok("fits " + w + " cols", visLen(footerLine(left, right, w)) <= w);
+  ok("keeps the status (right) side visible when wide", footerLine(left, right, 120).includes("Opus 5.5"));
+  ok("drops the hint (left) side before clipping status when cramped", (() => { const r = footerLine(left, right, 30); return r.includes("ui/tui-polish") || r.includes("8.5") || visLen(r) <= 30; })());
+  ok("plain output carries no escapes", !/\x1b/.test(footerLine(left, right, 80)));
+}
+
+group("helpLines aligns names and wraps long descriptions under the column");
+{
+  const sections = [{ title: "Session", rows: [
+    ["/clear", "start a new conversation"],
+    ["/fixshell", "repair the engine shell when commands fail with E2BIG, without /clear (check = report only, all = clear every snapshot)"],
+    ["/exit", "quit Nexus"],
+  ] }];
+  for (const w of [40, 60, 80, 120]) ok("fits " + w + " cols", fits(helpLines(sections, w), w));
+  ok("plain output carries no escapes", plainClean(helpLines(sections, 80)));
+  ok("shows the heading and every command name", (() => { const s = helpLines(sections, 80).join("\n"); return /Session/.test(s) && /\/clear/.test(s) && /\/fixshell/.test(s) && /\/exit/.test(s); })());
+  ok("wraps a long description onto continuation rows (name column stays empty)", (() => { const L = helpLines(sections, 60).map(stripAnsi); const i = L.findIndex((l) => /\/fixshell/.test(l)); if (i < 0 || i + 1 >= L.length) return false; const cont = L[i + 1]; const indent = (s) => s.length - s.replace(/^ +/, "").length; return cont.trim().length > 0 && !/\/fixshell/.test(cont) && indent(cont) > indent(L[i]); })());
+}
+
+console.log("\n" + (fail ? "\x1b[31m" : "\x1b[32m") + pass + " passed, " + fail + " failed\x1b[0m" + "  (tui layout)");
+process.exit(fail ? 1 : 0);