Stop notification updates from re-laying out an unchanged title

evidence/dm-initial-publication-20261008/README.md

@@ -907,3 +907,31 @@ This removes48 widget lifetimes, not a broad performance pass. Raw checks and
 negatives: /home/ts/.cache/agent-scratch/dm-native-caption-20261008/.
 New-launch delivery uses the original reviewed frontend owner; existing user
 windows are not restarted.
+
+## Remaining layout cost and completed paint traversal
+
+Native124,6e625590a, removes traversal below foreground widgets after all
+requested damage cuts have been painted, using original pending-row bookkeeping.
+Reviewed exact decrement/None ownership and affected native paint/held damage
+control; actual installed driver workload completes and publishes for new
+launches with unchanged Toad21f87a/Core09a. This is not a frame-time pass.
+
+Direct UI-thread CPU spans identify the remaining cost: original full reflow
+31calls/479ms total/worst33.7ms and visible reflow71/208ms/worst16.3ms.
+Toad prepared-line draw75calls/2.16ms total/worst0.12ms; viewport preparation
+326calls/41ms total/worst0.29ms. New native workload has frame p95~103ms,
+paint worst5.02ms and full reflow worst38.7ms; single-run variance prevents a
+causal latency claim. Raw owner-cpu-complete and native-cuts-wheel are alongside
+earlier scratch results. Next work concerns layout admission and invalidation.
+
+Even ordinary Python3.14 cProfile produced impossible own/cumulative timings
+and worker-thread calls under UI runcall. Reject timer-attribution pstats;
+direct gated thread_time spans above remain distinct valid observations.
+The first expanded span recorder touched an absent startup screen; original
+failure is retained, the recorder now requires an actual screen stack.
+
+Four unused runtimes were removed after fresh privileged279-process census
+without gaps/references and checking default executable symlinks:282680401bytes.
+Current, immediate rollback and backend runtimes remain; source, wheels, proof,
+publication and raw results are retained. Cleanup original evidence:
+disk-cleanup-owner-20261002/Parent-caption-superseded-runtimes-retired-20261008.json.

src/toad/widgets/message_notifications.py

@@ -67,7 +67,9 @@ def show_result(self, notifications: tuple[MessageNotification, ...]) -> None:
         summary = " · ".join(f"{state} ({counts[state]})" for state in states[:3])
         if len(states) > 3:
             summary += f" · {sum(counts[state] for state in states[3:])} others"
-        self.title = Content(summary or "No recorded notification result")
+        title = Content(summary or "No recorded notification result")
+        if not title.is_same(Content.from_text(self.title)):
+            self.title = title
         if not self.collapsed:
             _ = self.details
         self.set_class(any(item.busy for item in notifications), "-working")
@@ -78,7 +80,9 @@ def show_error(self, error: Exception) -> None:
         if self._error == detail:
             return
         self._notifications, self._error = None, detail
-        self.title = Content("Notification status unavailable")
+        title = Content("Notification status unavailable")
+        if not title.is_same(Content.from_text(self.title)):
+            self.title = title
         if not self.collapsed:
             _ = self.details
         self.remove_class("-working")

tests/message_notifications_pilot.py

@@ -141,5 +141,48 @@ async def observe():
         print("PASS: mounted IRC/Markdown, expanded details, live states without new messages, priority, batch/off-thread/visible bounds, errors/recovery, hidden/inflight guards, native Ready override, no fabricated ACP turn")
 
 
+async def title_publication():
+    """Detail changes retain the original title's native layout admission."""
+    from dataclasses import replace
+    from agent_comms.audience_manifest import FrozenRecipient
+    from textual.app import App
+
+    class NotificationApp(App):
+        def compose(self):
+            yield MessageNotifications()
+
+    app = NotificationApp()
+    async with app.run_test(size=(90, 20)) as pilot:
+        feedback = app.query_one(MessageNotifications)
+        original = MessageNotification(FrozenRecipient("peer", "peer"),
+                                       "Responding", "Original outcome", 1, True)
+        feedback.show_result((original,))
+        await pilot.pause()
+        title = feedback.query_one("CollapsibleTitle")
+        await pilot.click(title)
+        await pilot.pause()
+        assert not feedback.collapsed
+        before = title._layout_updates
+        feedback.show_result((replace(original, detail="Updated outcome"),))
+        await pilot.pause()
+        assert title._layout_updates == before
+        assert "Updated outcome" in str(feedback.details.render())
+        assert "Responding (1)" in str(feedback.title) and feedback.has_class("-working")
+        feedback.show_result((replace(original, state="Responded", busy=False),))
+        await pilot.pause()
+        assert "Responded (1)" in str(feedback.title) and not feedback.has_class("-working")
+        feedback.show_error(OSError("Original read error"))
+        await pilot.pause()
+        before = title._layout_updates
+        feedback.show_error(OSError("Changed read error"))
+        await pilot.pause()
+        assert title._layout_updates == before
+        assert "Changed read error" in str(feedback.details.render())
+        assert feedback.has_class("-unavailable")
+        assert app._exception is None
+    print("PASS: changed details/errors retain title layout; changed summary/activity still publish")
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    asyncio.run(main())
+    import sys
+    asyncio.run(title_publication() if "--title-publication" in sys.argv else main())