nvrsion: Add: Fix chat chevron button sticking, improve transcript bottom jump logic, ensure live activity launches consistently, address separate push-to-start gating for live activity launch, fix live activity launch consistency, and audit interface stability.

Nucleic-Promote: 1
Co-authored-by: Nucleic <[email protected]>

NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/LiveActivityManager.swift

@@ -148,22 +148,15 @@ final class LiveActivityManager {
     /// totals on every transcript edit but no status) doesn't spend ActivityKit's update budget. The
     /// fresh churn still rides along on the next status-driven push.
     private func push(_ state: NucleicSessionAttributes.ContentState, hostName: String) {
-        // Apply immediately when the attention signature shifts (start/finish/approval/input — the
+        guard activity != nil else {
-        // alert-worthy changes). Otherwise the only difference is mid-turn churn (diff totals); let
+            // No Activity yet — recover one that survived an app relaunch, or start a fresh one. The
-        // that refresh on a slow cadence so it stays roughly current without spending ActivityKit's
+            // dedup gate below only guards *updates* to a live Activity; creation must never sit
-        // budget on every delta. Elapsed-time gate, not a sleeping timer — a status change is never
+            // behind it. ActivityKit refuses a start unless the app has a foreground/background-
-        // held behind it.
+            // assertion window, and committing the dedup state *before* the request meant a refused
-        let signatureChanged = state.attentionSignature != lastState?.attentionSignature
+            // start left `lastState` matching the aggregate — so the next `sync` deduped the glance
-        let churnRefreshDue = lastPushAt.map {
+            // away and it never activated until the session's state changed. Record the pushed state
-            Date().timeIntervalSince($0) >= Self.churnRefreshInterval
+            // only once an Activity actually exists; a refused start leaves `lastState` untouched so
-        } ?? true
+            // the next sync simply retries creation.
-        guard signatureChanged || (state != lastState && churnRefreshDue) else { return }
-        lastState = state
-        lastPushAt = Date()
-
-        guard let activity else {
-            // Recover an Activity that survived an app relaunch before starting a new one; the
-            // recovered one still needs the fresh state, so fall through to the update pipeline.
             if let existing = Activity<NucleicSessionAttributes>.activities.first {
                 activity = existing
                 observePushToken(existing)
@@ -173,19 +166,35 @@ final class LiveActivityManager {
                 // expanding reveals the fresh one, and `end()` on completion would leave it lingering
                 // on the last "needs attention" glance. Keep exactly one.
                 endStrays(keeping: existing.id)
+                lastState = state
+                lastPushAt = Date()
                 enqueue(state)
-            } else {
+            } else if let started = try? Activity.request(
                 // `pushType: .token` opts the activity into APNs updates — the Macs push new
                 // content-state to the token so the glance stays fresh while the phone is locked.
-                let started = try? Activity.request(
                 attributes: NucleicSessionAttributes(hostName: hostName),
                 content: ActivityContent(state: state, staleDate: nil),
-                    pushType: .token)
+                pushType: .token) {
                 activity = started
-                if let started { observePushToken(started) }
+                observePushToken(started)
+                lastState = state
+                lastPushAt = Date()
             }
             return
         }
+
+        // A live Activity exists — spend ActivityKit's update budget only when the glance actually
+        // moved: immediately when the attention signature shifts (start/finish/approval/input — the
+        // alert-worthy changes), otherwise on a slow cadence for mid-turn churn (diff totals ticking
+        // on every transcript delta). Elapsed-time gate, not a sleeping timer — a status change is
+        // never held behind it.
+        let signatureChanged = state.attentionSignature != lastState?.attentionSignature
+        let churnRefreshDue = lastPushAt.map {
+            Date().timeIntervalSince($0) >= Self.churnRefreshInterval
+        } ?? true
+        guard signatureChanged || (state != lastState && churnRefreshDue) else { return }
+        lastState = state
+        lastPushAt = Date()
         enqueue(state)
     }
 

NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/HostConnection.swift

@@ -61,6 +61,15 @@ final class HostConnection {
     private var transcriptFetchRequestID: String?
     private var didStartFullFetch = false
 
+    /// The in-flight *background* transcript prefetch (one at a time): its request id, target
+    /// session, and accumulated chunks. Independent of the open-session fetch above — replies
+    /// are matched on this id, so the two flows never mix, and prefetching keeps working while a
+    /// different session is open on screen. Driven by RemoteStore, which warms the offline cache
+    /// with the result so a never-before-opened session still opens at its end instantly.
+    private var prefetchRequestID: String?
+    private var prefetchSessionID: SessionID?
+    private var prefetchEvents: [AgentEvent] = []
+
     // MARK: Callbacks up to RemoteStore (aggregate concerns)
 
     /// How a `HostConnection` talks back to `RemoteStore`. All fire on the main actor.
@@ -74,6 +83,10 @@ final class HostConnection {
         /// Backfilled history for the open session (the full-transcript fetch). Merged into the
         /// transcript by seq, not appended — these events precede the tail already on screen.
         var openBackfill: (EventBatch) -> Void = { _ in }
+        /// A background transcript prefetch finished — everything it fetched (empty when the
+        /// host had nothing / the fetch died with the connection). RemoteStore merges it into
+        /// the offline cache and starts the next queued prefetch either way.
+        var transcriptPrefetched: (SessionID, [AgentEvent]) -> Void = { _, _ in }
         /// The open session's full diff arrived.
         var openDiff: (WireSessionDiff) -> Void = { _ in }
         /// An approval was requested (with the resolved session title) — post the notification and,
@@ -571,6 +584,12 @@ final class HostConnection {
             // Session-transfer replies (mesh P5) only reach a *source* Mac; a phone is never one.
             break
         case .transcriptChunk(let chunk):
+            // A slice of a *background prefetch*: accumulate it whole — it never touches the
+            // open transcript's cursor/dedup state, which belongs to the on-screen session.
+            if chunk.requestID == prefetchRequestID {
+                if chunk.sessionID == prefetchSessionID { prefetchEvents.append(contentsOf: chunk.events) }
+                break
+            }
             // One ordered slice of the full-history fetch we started on open. Match on request id so
             // a stale batch from a previous open (session switched underneath us) is ignored.
             guard chunk.requestID == transcriptFetchRequestID, chunk.sessionID == openSessionID else { break }
@@ -582,10 +601,12 @@ final class HostConnection {
             if let maxSeq = chunk.events.map(\.seq).max() { openMaxSeq = max(openMaxSeq ?? 0, maxSeq) }
             if !fresh.isEmpty { callbacks.openBackfill(EventBatch(sessionID: chunk.sessionID, events: fresh)) }
         case .transcriptFetchComplete(let done):
+            if done.requestID == prefetchRequestID { finishPrefetch(delivering: true); break }
             // Terminal success — every batch shipped. Clear the in-flight id; the cursor/dedup state
             // is already advanced by the chunks above.
             if done.requestID == transcriptFetchRequestID { transcriptFetchRequestID = nil }
         case .transcriptUnavailable(let un):
+            if un.requestID == prefetchRequestID { finishPrefetch(delivering: false); break }
             // The host holds no transcript for this session (or can't serve the format). The cold tail
             // still shows; there's just no deeper history to add. Clear the in-flight id.
             if un.requestID == transcriptFetchRequestID { transcriptFetchRequestID = nil }
@@ -671,6 +692,39 @@ final class HostConnection {
         send(.fetchTranscript(TranscriptFetch(requestID: requestID, sessionID: sessionID, afterSeq: 0)))
     }
 
+    /// Whether a background transcript prefetch can start now: live, the host can serve
+    /// transcript fetches, and no prefetch is already in flight (they run one at a time).
+    var canPrefetchTranscript: Bool {
+        connectivity.isLive && capabilities.canSyncTranscripts && client != nil && prefetchRequestID == nil
+    }
+
+    /// Fetch a session's transcript in the background — no subscribe, no open — so the offline
+    /// cache is warm before the user ever opens the session. `afterSeq` bounds the pull to what
+    /// the cache is missing. The result (all chunks, merged) arrives via
+    /// `callbacks.transcriptPrefetched`; returns false when it can't start (caller retries on a
+    /// later session-list update).
+    @discardableResult
+    func prefetchTranscript(_ sessionID: SessionID, afterSeq: UInt64) -> Bool {
+        guard canPrefetchTranscript else { return false }
+        let requestID = UUID().uuidString
+        prefetchRequestID = requestID
+        prefetchSessionID = sessionID
+        prefetchEvents = []
+        send(.fetchTranscript(TranscriptFetch(requestID: requestID, sessionID: sessionID, afterSeq: afterSeq)))
+        return true
+    }
+
+    /// Settle the in-flight prefetch: hand what arrived to RemoteStore (nothing on
+    /// unavailable/disconnect) and clear the slot so the next queued prefetch can start.
+    private func finishPrefetch(delivering: Bool) {
+        guard let sessionID = prefetchSessionID else { return }
+        let events = delivering ? prefetchEvents : []
+        prefetchRequestID = nil
+        prefetchSessionID = nil
+        prefetchEvents = []
+        callbacks.transcriptPrefetched(sessionID, events)
+    }
+
     /// The device's network path changed (Wi-Fi ⇄ cellular, joined/left a network). React now rather
     /// than waiting for a zombie LAN socket to time out or the reconnect backoff to elapse — this is
     /// what makes the transport switch feel immediate. Only reconnect-managed hosts (a pinned host)
@@ -818,6 +872,9 @@ final class HostConnection {
         eventTask?.cancel(); eventTask = nil
         if let client { Task { await client.disconnect() } }
         client = nil
+        // A dropped connection loses the in-flight prefetch's remaining chunks — settle it empty
+        // so RemoteStore's queue isn't left waiting on a completion that will never arrive.
+        finishPrefetch(delivering: false)
     }
 }
 

NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/RemoteStore.swift

@@ -359,6 +359,10 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
     func onForeground() {
         endBackgroundHold()
         guard !demoMode, isPaired else { return }
+        // Foreground again: the app self-creates its own Live Activity now, so tell the hosts to stop
+        // push-to-starting it (UX_IOS §5.3). Sent to already-live hosts; ones still reconnecting get
+        // it via `didUpdate` once live.
+        setForegroundState(true)
         pathMonitor.refresh()
         // Ensure a connection exists for every paired host (and drop unpaired); this re-dials the
         // ones already known to be offline.
@@ -379,6 +383,10 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
     /// suspends us and the socket dies, which the next `onForeground` revalidation reconnects fast.
     func onBackground() {
         guard !demoMode else { return }
+        // Heading to the background: the app can't reliably start a Live Activity anymore, so tell the
+        // hosts to push-to-start the glance themselves when work begins (UX_IOS §5.3). Sent now while
+        // the socket-hold below still keeps the connection live for a beat.
+        setForegroundState(false)
         #if canImport(UIKit)
         endBackgroundHold()
         backgroundTask = UIApplication.shared.beginBackgroundTask(withName: "nucleic.sync.hold") {
@@ -406,6 +414,10 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
     /// state until the app next runs.
     func handleLiveActivityAdoptWake(completion: @escaping () -> Void) {
         guard !demoMode, isPaired else { completion(); return }
+        // A silent adopt wake means we're background (possibly cold-launched with no scene, where
+        // `isForeground`'s default would otherwise read stale-true) — record that so the reconnect
+        // below reports background and the host keeps owning the glance via push-to-start (§5.3).
+        setForegroundState(false)
         setupLiveActivityBridge()   // starts the push-to-start + adoption observers if not already
         startNetworkingIfNeeded()
         #if canImport(UIKit)
@@ -634,6 +646,9 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
             // the glance cold when work starts before the app is opened.
             self.syncLiveActivityRegistration()
             self.syncPushToStartRegistration()
+            // …and the current foreground state, so it push-to-starts the glance itself when the app
+            // is backgrounded rather than waiting on a self-create that can't happen (UX_IOS §5.3).
+            self.syncForegroundState()
         }
         cb.openSnapshot = { [weak self] snap in
             guard let self, hostID == self.openSessionHostID, snap.summary.sessionID == self.openSessionID else { return }
@@ -659,6 +674,19 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
             self.openEvents = Self.mergedEvents(self.openEvents, batch.events)
             self.persistOpenTranscript()
         }
+        cb.transcriptPrefetched = { [weak self] sessionID, events in
+            guard let self else { return }
+            self.prefetchInFlight = nil
+            if !events.isEmpty {
+                // Merge into whatever the cache already holds (the fetch pulled only the gap);
+                // `saveEvents` re-caps to the tail window on write.
+                Task {
+                    let cached = await SessionCache.loadEvents(sessionID)
+                    await SessionCache.saveEvents(Self.mergedEvents(cached, events), for: sessionID)
+                }
+            }
+            self.pumpTranscriptPrefetch()
+        }
         cb.openDiff = { [weak self] diff in
             guard let self, hostID == self.openSessionHostID, diff.sessionID == self.openSessionID else { return }
             self.openDiff = diff
@@ -736,6 +764,9 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
                 sessions = live
                 cachedSummaries = live
                 persistSummaries(live)
+                // The list moved — new or advanced sessions may need their transcript cache
+                // warmed so a first open starts at the end like a revisit does.
+                scheduleTranscriptPrefetch()
             }
         } else if connections.values.contains(where: { $0.connectivity.isLive }) {
             // Connected, but the host genuinely has no sessions — reflect that honestly.
@@ -812,6 +843,69 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
         }
     }
 
+    // MARK: - Background transcript prefetch
+
+    /// Warm the offline transcript cache for recent sessions *before* they're ever opened. A
+    /// fresh open otherwise starts from an empty transcript and waits on the host's snapshot, so
+    /// the view renders at the top and visibly drops to the end as history lands; a session
+    /// opened before seeds instantly from `SessionCache` and opens at its end. Prefetching runs
+    /// the same `fetchTranscript` flow the open path uses — one session at a time, newest first,
+    /// pulling only what the cache is missing — so every recent session opens like a warm one.
+    private var prefetchQueue: [SessionID] = []
+    private var prefetchInFlight: SessionID?
+    /// The summary `lastSeq` each session was last prefetched (or attempted) at, so a session is
+    /// re-queued only after it has moved on — not on every aggregate rebuild.
+    private var prefetchedSeq: [SessionID: UInt64] = [:]
+
+    /// Rebuild the prefetch queue from the freshest summaries. Called when the session list
+    /// actually changes (connect, session churn); cheap when nothing needs pulling.
+    private func scheduleTranscriptPrefetch() {
+        guard !demoMode else { return }
+        prefetchQueue = sessions
+            .filter { !$0.archived && $0.sessionID != openSessionID && $0.sessionID != prefetchInFlight }
+            .sorted { $0.updatedAt > $1.updatedAt }
+            .prefix(8)
+            .filter { $0.lastSeq > (prefetchedSeq[$0.sessionID] ?? 0) }
+            .map(\.sessionID)
+        pumpTranscriptPrefetch()
+    }
+
+    /// Start the next queued prefetch if none is in flight. Serial on purpose — background work
+    /// must trickle behind the live stream, not contend with it.
+    private func pumpTranscriptPrefetch() {
+        guard prefetchInFlight == nil, !prefetchQueue.isEmpty else { return }
+        let id = prefetchQueue.removeFirst()
+        guard let summary = sessions.first(where: { $0.sessionID == id }),
+              let conn = connection(owningSession: id), conn.canPrefetchTranscript
+        else {
+            // Gone / connection busy or incapable — skip; a later list update re-queues it.
+            pumpTranscriptPrefetch()
+            return
+        }
+        prefetchInFlight = id
+        // Mark the attempt at this watermark now, so an empty/unavailable result doesn't
+        // re-queue in a loop; the session re-qualifies once its lastSeq advances.
+        prefetchedSeq[id] = summary.lastSeq
+        Task { [weak self] in
+            // Pull only the gap beyond what's cached; a cold session is bounded to the same
+            // tail window the cache would keep anyway.
+            let cachedLast = await SessionCache.loadEvents(id).last?.seq ?? 0
+            guard let self else { return }
+            if cachedLast >= summary.lastSeq {
+                self.prefetchInFlight = nil  // cache already current
+                self.pumpTranscriptPrefetch()
+                return
+            }
+            let coldFloor = summary.lastSeq > UInt64(SessionCache.eventLimit)
+                ? summary.lastSeq - UInt64(SessionCache.eventLimit) : 0
+            let afterSeq = cachedLast > 0 ? cachedLast : coldFloor
+            if !conn.prefetchTranscript(id, afterSeq: afterSeq) {
+                self.prefetchInFlight = nil  // couldn't start (connection changed) — move on
+                self.pumpTranscriptPrefetch()
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     // MARK: - Streaming delta coalescing
 
     /// Streaming transcript deltas arrive one wire frame at a time — often dozens per second
@@ -1409,7 +1503,7 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
         // `requestPairingCode`/`cancelPairingCode` are sent straight to the chosen host by
         // `requestPairingCode()`/`cancelPairingCode()`, not through this owner-routing switch.
         case .hello, .ping, .listPeers, .addressUpdate, .meshRoster,
-             .registerLiveActivity, .endLiveActivity, .registerPushToStartToken,
+             .registerLiveActivity, .endLiveActivity, .registerPushToStartToken, .setForeground,
              .transferOffer, .transferChunk, .transferCommit, .transferCancel, .fetchTranscript,
              .requestPairingCode, .cancelPairingCode, .respondMacPair:
             break
@@ -1432,6 +1526,14 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
     private var pushToStartToken: String?
     /// Host ids that already have the current push-to-start token (mirrors `liveActivitySentTo`).
     private var pushToStartSentTo: Set<String> = []
+    /// Whether the app is currently foreground. Reported to capable Macs (`ClientMsg.setForeground`)
+    /// so they know whether to defer to the phone's own Live Activity creation (foreground) or
+    /// push-to-start the glance themselves (backgrounded — the phone can't reliably start one). Starts
+    /// `true`: `onAppear` runs in the foreground; the background adopt-wake flips it first (§5.3).
+    private var isForeground = true
+    /// Host ids already told the *current* `isForeground` value — cleared whenever it flips so the
+    /// next sync re-notifies every host (mirrors `pushToStartSentTo`).
+    private var foregroundSentTo: Set<String> = []
 
     /// Guards `setupLiveActivityBridge` — it's called from both `onAppear` and the background adopt
     /// wake, and installing the callbacks / observers once is enough.
@@ -1497,6 +1599,32 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Tell every capable, live host the current foreground state so it can pick the Live Activity
+    /// path: defer to the phone's own creation while foreground, or push-to-start the glance while
+    /// backgrounded (UX_IOS §5.3). De-duped per host against the value already sent; the set is
+    /// cleared by `setForegroundState` when the value flips, and a host that dropped re-learns it when
+    /// it returns (via the `didUpdate` re-sync). Gated on the dedicated capability bit — an older host
+    /// (even one advertising push-to-start) throws on the unknown `setForeground` tag.
+    private func syncForegroundState() {
+        foregroundSentTo = foregroundSentTo.filter { connections[$0]?.connectivity.isLive == true }
+        for (id, conn) in connections {
+            guard conn.connectivity.isLive, conn.capabilities.canReceiveForegroundState,
+                  !foregroundSentTo.contains(id) else { continue }
+            conn.send(.setForeground(isForeground))
+            foregroundSentTo.insert(id)
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Record a foreground/background transition and push it to the hosts. No-op when unchanged so an
+    /// `inactive`↔`active` flutter (or a repeat call) doesn't re-notify; on a real flip it clears the
+    /// per-host dedup so `syncForegroundState` re-sends to everyone.
+    private func setForegroundState(_ foreground: Bool) {
+        guard isForeground != foreground else { return }
+        isForeground = foreground
+        foregroundSentTo.removeAll()
+        syncForegroundState()
+    }
+
     // MARK: - Demo simulator (offline, interactive)
     //
     // In demo mode there's no host, so writes can't go over the wire. Instead they mutate the
@@ -1554,7 +1682,7 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
              .addressUpdate, .meshRoster,
              // Live Activity push registration is a real-connection concern (there's no host to
              // push in demo), so it's inert here.
-             .registerLiveActivity, .endLiveActivity, .registerPushToStartToken,
+             .registerLiveActivity, .endLiveActivity, .registerPushToStartToken, .setForeground,
              // Session transfer (mesh P5) is a Mac↔Mac flow — the phone never originates these,
              // and demo has no peer Macs, so they're inert here.
              .transferOffer, .transferChunk, .transferCommit, .transferCancel,

NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/SessionCache.swift

@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@ enum SessionCache {
     /// files) are pruned on every save so the cache stays bounded.
     private static let sessionLimit = 50
     /// Keep the newest N events per session — the tail is what a returning reader wants, and it
-    /// bounds a long-running session's file.
+    /// bounds a long-running session's file. Internal (not private) so the background transcript
-    private static let eventLimit = 1500
+    /// prefetch can bound a cold session's pull to the same window this cache would keep anyway.
+    static let eventLimit = 1500
 
     // MARK: - Paths
 

NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift

@@ -600,16 +600,33 @@ struct TranscriptList: View {
     /// The band is wider than any bar-height delta, so only a deliberate scroll crosses it.
     private let bottomUnfollowThreshold: CGFloat = 64
 
-    /// The live scroll phase, used to tell *user* scrolling (finger down / flick decelerating)
+    /// The live scroll phase, used to tell *user* scrolling (an active drag / flick decelerating)
     /// from programmatic motion (autoscroll animations, anchor re-pins, inset changes). Only a
     /// user-driven phase may disengage bottom-following — a programmatic perturbation can only
     /// ever re-engage it — which structurally breaks every geometry→state→geometry feedback
     /// cycle: no chain of layout reactions can take the gate false and sustain itself.
+    ///
+    /// `.tracking` (finger down, no displacement yet) deliberately does NOT count: a finger
+    /// resting on the transcript scrolls nothing, but touching down *stops a live deceleration*,
+    /// and that stop emits a final far-from-bottom geometry reading under `.tracking`. Tapping
+    /// the chevron mid-deceleration raced exactly that emission against the tap's "follow again"
+    /// — when the stop reading landed after it, following disengaged right back and the chevron
+    /// stuck until a second tap. Real scroll-aways always pass through `.interacting`.
     @State private var scrollPhase: ScrollPhase = .idle
     private var isUserScrolling: Bool {
-        scrollPhase == .tracking || scrollPhase == .interacting || scrollPhase == .decelerating
+        scrollPhase == .interacting || scrollPhase == .decelerating
     }
 
+    /// True from an explicit jump (chevron / send) until the scroll actually reaches the bottom.
+    /// While set, the unfollow branch is suppressed entirely: phase changes and geometry
+    /// emissions are delivered on separate callbacks with no ordering guarantee, so a stopping
+    /// fling could emit one last far-from-bottom reading whose *recorded* phase was still
+    /// user-driven (`.decelerating`) — landing after the tap's "follow again" and disengaging it,
+    /// which left the chevron up until a second tap. The latch outlives any stale emission and
+    /// clears on arrival at the bottom, or the moment the user genuinely grabs the transcript
+    /// again (`.interacting`), so a mid-jump scroll-away still works.
+    @State private var jumpingToBottom = false
+
     var body: some View {
         ScrollViewReader { proxy in
             ScrollView {
@@ -647,7 +664,12 @@ struct TranscriptList: View {
             // they scroll away, which lets new content land off-screen below instead of dragging
             // the viewport, and restore `.bottom` once they're back at the end.
             .defaultScrollAnchor(isScrolledToBottom ? .bottom : nil)
-            .onScrollPhaseChange { _, newPhase in scrollPhase = newPhase }
+            .onScrollPhaseChange { _, newPhase in
+                scrollPhase = newPhase
+                // A real grab (drag displacement, not a mere touch-down) takes over from an
+                // in-flight programmatic jump: the user may scroll away again immediately.
+                if newPhase == .interacting { jumpingToBottom = false }
+            }
             // Track the live scroll position straight from the scroll view's geometry: how much
             // content still sits below the viewport bottom. Parked within the follow threshold
             // means live output keeps following; a *user* scroll past the (wider) unfollow
@@ -663,7 +685,9 @@ struct TranscriptList: View {
             } action: { _, distance in
                 if distance <= bottomFollowThreshold {
                     isScrolledToBottom = true
-                } else if !transcriptSettling, distance > bottomUnfollowThreshold, isUserScrolling {
+                    jumpingToBottom = false  // arrived — the jump is complete
+                } else if !transcriptSettling, distance > bottomUnfollowThreshold, isUserScrolling,
+                          !jumpingToBottom {
                     // While the chat is opening the layout grows over a few passes and the offset
                     // lags each growth by a frame — those frames read "not at bottom" even though
                     // `.defaultScrollAnchor(.bottom)` is about to re-pin, so settling accepts
@@ -700,11 +724,15 @@ struct TranscriptList: View {
             // user is already parked there. Scrolling up to read history is never yanked down,
             // and a finger actively on the transcript is never fought mid-drag (the drag that
             // takes them past the unfollow threshold flips the gate; until then the native
-            // bottom anchor alone keeps content pinned, without an animated scroll grabbing the
+            // bottom anchor alone keeps content pinned, without a scroll grabbing the viewport
-            // viewport back out of their hand).
+            // back out of their hand). Never animated: while pinned, the bottom anchor provides
+            // the visual continuity and this call only closes the last few points — but a
+            // session still *opening* keeps receiving history merges (cached transcript,
+            // reconnect backfill) after the settle window closes, and animating those rode the
+            // viewport visibly down through the whole transcript instead of landing at the end.
             .onChange(of: events.count) {
                 if isScrolledToBottom, !isUserScrolling {
-                    scrollToEnd(proxy, animated: !transcriptSettling)
+                    scrollToEnd(proxy, animated: false)
                 }
             }
             // An explicit jump — the chevron or sending a message — always wins, and it *is* the
@@ -717,6 +745,7 @@ struct TranscriptList: View {
             // disengages it as usual.
             .onChange(of: scrollToBottomRequest) {
                 isScrolledToBottom = true
+                jumpingToBottom = true
                 scrollToEnd(proxy)
             }
             // Warm the Markdown parse caches off the main thread whenever the row set grows —