diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/chat/disclosure-row.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/chat/disclosure-row.tsx
index 56cd6d9a3dd..fc81ea867c7 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/chat/disclosure-row.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/chat/disclosure-row.tsx
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ export function DisclosureRow({
               'flex h-(--conversation-line-height) shrink-0 items-center justify-center transition-opacity duration-150',
               open
                 ? 'opacity-80'
-                : 'opacity-0 group-hover/disclosure-row:opacity-80 group-focus-within/disclosure-row:opacity-80'
+                : 'opacity-(--disclosure-caret-rest) group-hover/disclosure-row:opacity-80 group-focus-within/disclosure-row:opacity-80'
             )}
           >
             <DisclosureCaret open={open} />
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/styles.css b/apps/desktop/src/styles.css
index 7fa197d9a46..e411f451df0 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/styles.css
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/styles.css
@@ -410,9 +410,16 @@
     /* Gap between top-level turn blocks (prose ↔ tools ↔ thinking) — enough air
        that scaffolding reads as separate from the reply, not crammed into it. */
     --turn-block-gap: 0.75rem;
+    /* Between adjacent scaffolding, though: a back-to-back run of thinking
+       headers and tool rows is one sequence, not blocks to hold apart. Derived
+       so retuning the block gap carries it along. */
+    --scaffold-block-gap: calc(var(--turn-block-gap) / 3);
     /* Tight gap between tool rows inside a single action group, so a back-to-back
        run still reads as one cohesive sequence. */
     --tool-row-gap: 0.375rem;
+    /* Resting opacity of a disclosure caret — invisible until hover, except
+       where a surface opts into a faint hint of the affordance. */
+    --disclosure-caret-rest: 0;
     /* Paragraph spacing — vertical gap between prose paragraphs, both inside a
        markdown block and between consecutive prose parts. Single knob; tweak
        freely. */
@@ -1526,6 +1533,36 @@ text-* variant utilities. */ .btn-arc {
   margin-top: var(--paragraph-gap);
 }
 
+/* And except scaffolding ↔ scaffolding: the full gap is the space between the
+   reply and the work around it, so a back-to-back run of thinking headers,
+   tool rows and status lines spent it between every line and read as stacked
+   cards. Same list as the rule above minus prose — `data-conversation-scaffold`
+   is the wrong hook here: it's absent on a multi-call tool GROUP, which is most
+   of a real run, and present on rows nested inside one. */
+[data-slot='aui_assistant-message-content']
+  > :is([data-slot='tool-block'], [data-slot='aui_thinking-disclosure'], [data-slot='aui_stream-stall'])
+  + :is([data-slot='tool-block'], [data-slot='aui_thinking-disclosure'], [data-slot='aui_stream-stall']) {
+  margin-top: var(--scaffold-block-gap);
+}
+
+/* Except a file edit, which is the deliverable rather than another line in the
+   run — a diff you read like a PR, so it keeps the full block gap on both
+   sides while the scaffolding around it stays tight. `data-file-edit` is only
+   on the row while it's open, so a collapsed edit rejoins the run. Margins on
+   the block itself, not adjacency pairs: it needs the clearance whatever sits
+   next to it, and adjacent margins collapse rather than stacking. */
+[data-slot='aui_assistant-message-content'] > [data-tool-row][data-file-edit] {
+  margin-block: var(--turn-block-gap);
+}
+
+/* Thinking headers carry a faint resting caret. A run of them is the one place
+   the affordance isn't otherwise discoverable — every other disclosure sits in
+   a row you're already reaching for. The scaffold fade multiplies this, so the
+   painted value lands well under the number here. */
+[data-slot='aui_thinking-disclosure'] {
+  --disclosure-caret-rest: 0.4;
+}
+
 /* A streaming turn is sealed into several assistant bubbles as it goes
    (`message.interim`) and rehydrates into fewer, so the same two blocks are
    sometimes siblings inside one bubble and sometimes split across two. The
@@ -1536,6 +1573,23 @@ text-* variant utilities. */ .btn-arc {
   margin-top: calc(var(--turn-block-gap) - var(--conversation-turn-gap));
 }
 
+/* Unless the blocks either side of that seal are both scaffolding, in which
+   case the scaffold gap is the target and the flex gap already overshoots it.
+   Topping up to the full block gap here is what made a live run relax between
+   rows and then tighten once it rehydrated into one bubble. A bubble carrying
+   an open diff is excluded — it keeps the full gap, same as in-flow. */
+[data-slot='aui_turn-pair']
+  > [data-slot='aui_assistant-message-root']:has(
+      > [data-slot='aui_assistant-message-content']
+        > :is([data-slot='tool-block'], [data-slot='aui_thinking-disclosure'], [data-slot='aui_stream-stall']):last-child
+    ):not(:has([data-file-edit]))
+  + [data-slot='aui_assistant-message-root']:has(
+      > [data-slot='aui_assistant-message-content']
+        > :is([data-slot='tool-block'], [data-slot='aui_thinking-disclosure'], [data-slot='aui_stream-stall']):first-child
+    ):not(:has([data-file-edit])) {
+  margin-top: calc(var(--scaffold-block-gap) - var(--conversation-turn-gap));
+}
+
 /* Message action bars — flat icon hits with default dim; only the hovered/focused control is full-strength. */
 [data-slot='aui_msg-actions'] button {
   border: 0;