diff --git a/apps/desktop/e2e/browser-chrome.spec.ts b/apps/desktop/e2e/browser-chrome.spec.ts
index a6917acf763..c5857f80ea0 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/e2e/browser-chrome.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/e2e/browser-chrome.spec.ts
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ mountBrowserChromeFixture(useBrowserPanelOcclusion);`,
         response.end(
           path.endsWith('.js')
             ? bundle.outputFiles.find((file) => file.path.endsWith('.js'))?.text
-            : css.css
+            : `${css.css}\n${bundle.outputFiles.find((file) => file.path.endsWith('.css'))?.text ?? ''}`
         )
         return
       }
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ mountBrowserChromeFixture(useBrowserPanelOcclusion);`,
       response.end(
         path === '/page'
           ? '<!doctype html><html><body style="background:#192b40;color:white;font:24px system-ui;padding:25px"><h1>Browser fixture</h1><p>A live page behind the application chrome.</p><button>Page action</button></body></html>'
-          : '<!doctype html><html class="dark"><head><link rel="stylesheet" href="/fixture.css"></head><body style="margin:0;background:#191919;color:#eee"><div id="root"></div><script src="/fixture.js"></script></body></html>'
+          : '<!doctype html><html class="dark"><head><link rel="stylesheet" href="/fixture.css"></head><body style="margin:0;background:var(--bg);color:var(--text-primary)"><div id="root"></div><script src="/fixture.js"></script></body></html>'
       )
     })
     await new Promise<void>((resolve) => server?.listen(0, resolve))
@@ -116,31 +116,150 @@ mountBrowserChromeFixture(useBrowserPanelOcclusion);`,
           return { width: bounds.width, right: bounds.right }
         })
       )
-      expect(geometry.every((tab) => tab.width >= 64 && tab.width < 160)).toBe(true)
+      expect(geometry.every((tab) => tab.width < 160)).toBe(true)
       expect(geometry.at(-1)?.right).toBeLessThan(1070)
       await page.screenshot({ path: testInfo.outputPath('tabs.png') })
     })
-    await test.step('Short labels keep their compact intrinsic width', async () => {
-      await page.locator('#short-tabs').click()
-      const widths = await page
-        .locator('[data-tab-strip-item]')
-        .evaluateAll((tabs) => tabs.map((tab) => tab.getBoundingClientRect().width))
-      expect(widths.every((width) => width >= 64 && width < 96)).toBe(true)
-      await page.locator('#eight-tabs').click()
-    })
-    await test.step('Crowded tabs preserve controls and scroll', async () => {
+    await test.step('Crowded tabs keep readable labels when selected, hovered, and focused', async () => {
       await page.locator('#many-tabs').click()
       await expect(page.locator('[data-tab-strip-item]')).toHaveCount(18)
       const overflow = await page
         .locator('[data-tab-strip-item]')
         .first()
         .evaluate((tab) => ({
-          width: tab.getBoundingClientRect().width,
           scrollWidth: tab.parentElement?.scrollWidth ?? 0,
           clientWidth: tab.parentElement?.clientWidth ?? 0,
         }))
-      expect(overflow.width).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(64)
       expect(overflow.scrollWidth).toBeGreaterThan(overflow.clientWidth)
+      const active = page.getByRole('tab', { selected: true })
+      const label = active.locator('[data-overflow-text]')
+      await expect
+        .poll(() => label.evaluate((element) => element.getBoundingClientRect().width))
+        .toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(48)
+      const neighbor = page.getByRole('tab').nth(2)
+      const beforeHover = await neighbor.evaluate((element: HTMLElement) => ({
+        left: element.offsetLeft,
+        width: element.offsetWidth,
+      }))
+      await neighbor.hover()
+      await expect
+        .poll(() =>
+          neighbor
+            .locator('[data-overflow-text]')
+            .evaluate((element) => element.getBoundingClientRect().width)
+        )
+        .toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(48)
+      expect(
+        await neighbor.evaluate((element: HTMLElement) => ({
+          left: element.offsetLeft,
+          width: element.offsetWidth,
+        }))
+      ).toEqual(beforeHover)
+      await neighbor.click()
+      await expect(neighbor).toHaveAttribute('aria-selected', 'true')
+      await page.keyboard.press('End')
+      const last = page.getByRole('tab').last()
+      await expect(last).toBeFocused()
+      await expect(last).toHaveAttribute('aria-selected', 'true')
+      await expect(last).toBeInViewport({ ratio: 1 })
+      await expect
+        .poll(() => label.evaluate((element) => element.getBoundingClientRect().width))
+        .toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(48)
+      await page.mouse.move(200, 180)
+      await page.screenshot({
+        path: testInfo.outputPath('crowded-tabs.png'),
+        animations: 'disabled',
+      })
+      await page.evaluate(() => document.documentElement.classList.remove('dark'))
+      await page.screenshot({
+        path: testInfo.outputPath('crowded-tabs-light.png'),
+        animations: 'disabled',
+      })
+      await page.evaluate(() => document.documentElement.classList.add('dark'))
+      await page.keyboard.press('Home')
+      await expect(page.getByRole('tab').first()).toBeInViewport({ ratio: 1 })
+      await page.locator('#eight-tabs').click()
+    })
+    await test.step('Touch tabs leave room for both attention and close controls', async () => {
+      const session = await page.context().newCDPSession(page)
+      try {
+        await session.send('Emulation.setTouchEmulationEnabled', { enabled: true })
+        expect(await page.evaluate(() => matchMedia('(any-pointer: coarse)').matches)).toBe(true)
+        await page.locator('#many-tabs').click()
+        const attention = page.getByRole('tab').nth(1)
+        await expect
+          .poll(() =>
+            attention
+              .locator('[data-overflow-text]')
+              .evaluate((element) => element.getBoundingClientRect().width)
+          )
+          .toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(48)
+        const attentionItem = page.locator('[data-tab-strip-item="tab-1"]')
+        const indicator = attentionItem.locator('[data-row-action-indicator]')
+        const controls = attentionItem.locator('[data-row-action-controls]')
+        await expect(indicator).toBeVisible()
+        await expect(indicator).toHaveCSS('opacity', '1')
+        await expect(controls).toHaveCSS('opacity', '1')
+        await attentionItem.getByRole('button', { name: /^Close / }).click({ trial: true })
+        expect(
+          await attentionItem.evaluate((element) => {
+            const title = element.querySelector('[data-overflow-text]')?.getBoundingClientRect()
+            const indicator = element
+              .querySelector('[data-row-action-indicator]')
+              ?.getBoundingClientRect()
+            const close = element.querySelector('[aria-label^="Close "]')?.getBoundingClientRect()
+            return (
+              title &&
+              indicator &&
+              close &&
+              title.right <= indicator.left &&
+              indicator.right <= close.left &&
+              close.right <= element.getBoundingClientRect().right
+            )
+          })
+        ).toBe(true)
+        await page.screenshot({ path: testInfo.outputPath('crowded-tabs-touch.png') })
+        const beforeSelection = await attention.evaluate(
+          (element: HTMLElement) => element.offsetWidth
+        )
+        await attention.click()
+        await expect(attention).toHaveAttribute('aria-selected', 'true')
+        expect(await attention.evaluate((element: HTMLElement) => element.offsetWidth)).toBe(
+          beforeSelection
+        )
+        await page.locator('#toggle-activity').click()
+        expect(await attention.evaluate((element: HTMLElement) => element.offsetWidth)).toBe(
+          beforeSelection
+        )
+        await page.locator('#toggle-activity').click()
+        await page.locator('#medium-tabs').click()
+        await page.getByRole('tab').first().click()
+        const intrinsicWidth = await attention.evaluate(
+          (element: HTMLElement) => element.offsetWidth
+        )
+        expect(intrinsicWidth).toBeGreaterThan(144)
+        expect(intrinsicWidth).toBeLessThan(200)
+        await attention.click()
+        expect(await attention.evaluate((element: HTMLElement) => element.offsetWidth)).toBe(
+          intrinsicWidth
+        )
+        await page.locator('#toggle-activity').click()
+        expect(await attention.evaluate((element: HTMLElement) => element.offsetWidth)).toBe(
+          intrinsicWidth
+        )
+        await page.locator('#toggle-activity').click()
+      } finally {
+        await session.send('Emulation.setTouchEmulationEnabled', { enabled: false })
+        await session.detach()
+      }
+      await page.locator('#eight-tabs').click()
+    })
+    await test.step('Short labels stay below the maximum tab width', async () => {
+      await page.locator('#short-tabs').click()
+      const widths = await page
+        .locator('[data-tab-strip-item]')
+        .evaluateAll((tabs) => tabs.map((tab) => tab.getBoundingClientRect().width))
+      expect(widths.every((width) => width < 120)).toBe(true)
       await page.locator('#eight-tabs').click()
     })
     await test.step('An open menu recovers when no native page was available for its initial capture', async () => {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/e2e/fixtures/browser-chrome.tsx b/apps/desktop/e2e/fixtures/browser-chrome.tsx
index 1e1ae4e5e53..0fa62c97561 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/e2e/fixtures/browser-chrome.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/e2e/fixtures/browser-chrome.tsx
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ function BrowserChromeFixture({ useOcclusion }: BrowserChromeFixtureProps) {
   const [activeTabId, setActiveTabId] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const [selected, setSelected] = useState('tab-0')
   const [tabCount, setTabCount] = useState(8)
-  const [shortTitles, setShortTitles] = useState(false)
+  const [titleLength, setTitleLength] = useState<'short' | 'medium' | 'long'>('long')
+  const [attention, setAttention] = useState(true)
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const api = (globalThis as typeof globalThis & { simDesktop: SimDesktopApi }).simDesktop
   const { snapshot, snapshotLayer, onSnapshotError } = useOcclusion(
@@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ function BrowserChromeFixture({ useOcclusion }: BrowserChromeFixtureProps) {
           id='eight-tabs'
           onClick={() => {
             setTabCount(8)
-            setShortTitles(false)
+            setTitleLength('long')
           }}
         >
           Eight tabs
@@ -101,17 +102,35 @@ function BrowserChromeFixture({ useOcclusion }: BrowserChromeFixtureProps) {
         <Button id='many-tabs' onClick={() => setTabCount(18)}>
           Many tabs
         </Button>
-        <Button id='short-tabs' onClick={() => setShortTitles(true)}>
+        <Button id='short-tabs' onClick={() => setTitleLength('short')}>
           Short titles
         </Button>
+        <Button
+          id='medium-tabs'
+          onClick={() => {
+            setTitleLength('medium')
+            setTabCount(4)
+          }}
+        >
+          Medium titles
+        </Button>
+        <Button id='toggle-activity' onClick={() => setAttention((value) => !value)}>
+          Toggle activity
+        </Button>
       </div>
       {error && <p role='alert'>{error}</p>}
       <TabStrip
         tabs={Array.from({ length: tabCount }, (_, index) => ({
           id: `tab-${index}`,
-          title: shortTitles ? 'A' : `Example resource ${index + 1} with a descriptive title`,
+          title:
+            titleLength === 'short'
+              ? 'A'
+              : titleLength === 'medium'
+                ? 'Medium title'
+                : `Example resource ${index + 1} with a descriptive title`,
           icon: <File className='size-[16px] shrink-0' />,
           active: selected === `tab-${index}`,
+          attention: attention && index === 1,
         }))}
         variant='floating'
         onSelect={setSelected}
diff --git a/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.tsx b/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.tsx
index 438b7b8d7bf..baef5cd3202 100644
--- a/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.tsx
+++ b/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.tsx
@@ -14,7 +14,14 @@ import {
   useRef,
   useState,
 } from 'react'
-import { OverflowText, RowActions, rowActionsGroupClass } from '@sim/emcn'
+import {
+  OverflowText,
+  RowActions,
+  rowActionsGroupClass,
+  SCROLL_FADE_BAND_PX,
+  scrollFadeAttributes,
+  scrollFadeXClass,
+} from '@sim/emcn'
 import { AnimatePresence, motion, useReducedMotion } from 'framer-motion'
 import { Plus, X } from '../../icons'
 import { cn } from '../../lib/cn'
@@ -24,36 +31,6 @@ import { TabStripAction } from './tab-strip-action'
 
 const DRAG_EDGE_ZONE = 40
 const DRAG_SCROLL_SPEED = 8
-/**
- * Width of the scroll-edge fades, and so the margin a tab has to clear to be
- * genuinely visible. Keep in step with the `w-4` on the gradients below: a tab
- * revealed flush against the container edge lands under its gradient and reads
- * as half-faded, which is indistinguishable from "there is more to scroll".
- */
-const EDGE_FADE_PX = 24
-
-/**
- * Edge fades, as a mask rather than a tinted gradient laid over the tabs.
- *
- * Tabs paint their own fills, and an overlay tinted with the surface colour
- * washes a pill's edge toward that colour instead of dissolving it — and it is
- * only correct while whatever sits behind the strip is exactly that colour. A
- * mask fades pill and label together to real transparency, over any background.
- * This is how the command palette fades its results, and how every other
- * horizontal fade in the app is drawn.
- *
- * The four combinations are spelled out because Tailwind scans for literal class
- * strings; a template built at runtime would never be generated. Keep the 24px
- * stops in step with {@link EDGE_FADE_PX}, which is how far `revealActiveTab`
- * insets a tab so it lands clear of the fade rather than under it.
- */
-const SCROLL_FADE = {
-  none: '',
-  start:
-    '[-webkit-mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,transparent_0px,black_24px)] [mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,transparent_0px,black_24px)]',
-  end: '[-webkit-mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,black_calc(100%_-_24px),transparent_100%)] [mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,black_calc(100%_-_24px),transparent_100%)]',
-  both: '[-webkit-mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,transparent_0px,black_24px,black_calc(100%_-_24px),transparent_100%)] [mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,transparent_0px,black_24px,black_calc(100%_-_24px),transparent_100%)]',
-} as const
 const TAB_TRANSITION = { duration: 0.1, ease: [0.2, 0, 0, 1] as const }
 
 /**
@@ -62,13 +39,16 @@ const TAB_TRANSITION = { duration: 0.1, ease: [0.2, 0, 0, 1] as const }
  * the basis and left every tab sized by its own title.
  *
  * Floating tabs start at their content width, capped at 200px, then shrink with
- * the available space. Floating tabs stop at a 64px control footprint; attached
- * tabs retain their 96px label minimum. Crowded rows then scroll, and clipped
- * titles remain available through tooltips.
+ * the available space. Their 112px minimum leaves 50px for the title beside a
+ * 16px icon and visible close button, including OverflowText's fade. Keep the
+ * same minimum in every interaction state so revealing actions never shifts
+ * tabs beneath the pointer. Touch layouts reserve both action slots even when
+ * no activity indicator is present, so activity changes cannot resize tabs.
+ * Crowded rows then scroll.
  */
 const TAB_WIDTH: Record<TabStripVariant, string> = {
   attached: 'w-[156px] min-w-[96px] shrink',
-  floating: 'min-w-[64px] max-w-[var(--tab-strip-max-tab-width,200px)] shrink',
+  floating: 'min-w-28 max-w-[var(--tab-strip-max-tab-width,200px)] shrink',
 }
 
 /** The resting shape of a tab that is not the active one. */
@@ -378,8 +358,7 @@ const Tab = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, TabProps>(function Tab(
         tab.pinned ? 'justify-center px-0' : 'justify-start gap-1.5 px-2',
         closeable && 'pr-8',
         closeable &&
-          tab.attention &&
-          !tab.active &&
+          (variant === 'floating' || (tab.attention && !tab.active)) &&
           '[@media(any-pointer:coarse)]:pr-[62px] [@media(hover:none)]:pr-[62px]',
         TAB_SHAPE[variant],
         tab.selected && !tab.active && TAB_SELECTED[variant],
@@ -427,9 +406,10 @@ const Tab = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, TabProps>(function Tab(
       className={cn(
         'group relative select-none',
         rowActionsGroupClass,
-        // `shrink` lets a crowded strip squeeze tabs to their floor before it
-        // starts scrolling.
         tab.pinned ? 'w-[34px] min-w-[34px] max-w-[34px] flex-none' : TAB_WIDTH[variant],
+        variant === 'floating' &&
+          closeable &&
+          '[@media(any-pointer:coarse)]:min-w-36 [@media(hover:none)]:min-w-36',
         dragging && 'opacity-30'
       )}
       data-tab-strip-item={tab.id}
@@ -584,16 +564,15 @@ export function TabStrip({
     const nodeRect = node.getBoundingClientRect()
     const tabLeft = tabRect.left - nodeRect.left + node.scrollLeft
     const tabRight = tabLeft + tabRect.width
-    // Inset by the fade on both sides so the tab comes to rest clear of the
-    // gradient rather than beneath it.
-    const viewLeft = node.scrollLeft + EDGE_FADE_PX
-    const viewRight = node.scrollLeft + node.clientWidth - EDGE_FADE_PX
+    /** Keep the active tab clear of the canonical scroll fade. */
+    const viewLeft = node.scrollLeft + SCROLL_FADE_BAND_PX
+    const viewRight = node.scrollLeft + node.clientWidth - SCROLL_FADE_BAND_PX
     const maxScrollLeft = Math.max(0, node.scrollWidth - node.clientWidth)
     const target =
       tabLeft < viewLeft
-        ? tabLeft - EDGE_FADE_PX
+        ? tabLeft - SCROLL_FADE_BAND_PX
         : tabRight > viewRight
-          ? tabRight - node.clientWidth + EDGE_FADE_PX
+          ? tabRight - node.clientWidth + SCROLL_FADE_BAND_PX
           : null
     if (target === null) return
     // The clamp is what lets the first and last tabs sit flush: there is no
@@ -926,18 +905,11 @@ export function TabStrip({
         <div className='flex min-w-0 shrink'>
           <div
             ref={scrollNodeRef}
+            {...scrollFadeAttributes({ left: canScrollLeft, right: canScrollRight })}
             className={cn(
               'flex min-w-0 shrink select-none gap-0.5 overflow-x-auto [scrollbar-width:none] [&::-webkit-scrollbar]:hidden',
               variant === 'attached' ? 'items-end' : 'items-center gap-2',
-              SCROLL_FADE[
-                canScrollLeft
-                  ? canScrollRight
-                    ? 'both'
-                    : 'start'
-                  : canScrollRight
-                    ? 'end'
-                    : 'none'
-              ]
+              scrollFadeXClass
             )}
           >
             <AnimatePresence initial={false} mode='popLayout'>