diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/notifications.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/notifications.tsx
index ec6051843cd..465e501f54c 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/notifications.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/notifications.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useStore } from '@nanostores/react'
-import { type ReactNode, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import { type CSSProperties, type ReactNode, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import { createPortal } from 'react-dom'
 
 import { Alert, AlertDescription, AlertTitle } from '@/components/ui/alert'
@@ -162,6 +162,30 @@ function BottomRightStack({
   )
 }
 
+// Emphasize only the leading money figure ("$16.00" — the amount used) with the
+// accent color (semibold), leaving the rest of the line in its default muted
+// tone. No accent, or no figure in the message → render the text untouched.
+function renderMessage(message: string, accent?: string): ReactNode {
+  const match = accent ? /\$\d+(?:\.\d{2})?/.exec(message) : null
+
+  if (!match) {
+    return message
+  }
+
+  const start = match.index
+  const end = start + match[0].length
+
+  return (
+    <>
+      {message.slice(0, start)}
+      <span className="font-semibold" style={{ color: accent }}>
+        {match[0]}
+      </span>
+      {message.slice(end)}
+    </>
+  )
+}
+
 function NotificationItem({ notification }: { notification: AppNotification }) {
   const styles = tone[notification.kind]
   const Icon = styles.icon
@@ -169,6 +193,12 @@ function NotificationItem({ notification }: { notification: AppNotification }) {
   const { t } = useI18n()
   const copy = t.notifications
 
+  // Nudge the icon down to sit on the first text line, in `ch` so it tracks the
+  // toast's font size instead of a fixed rem. `accentColor` (when set) tints the
+  // icon + message as a severity ramp, overriding the kind's default color.
+  const accent = notification.accentColor
+  const iconStyle: CSSProperties = { marginTop: '0.42ch', ...(accent ? { color: accent } : {}) }
+
   return (
     <Alert
       aria-live={notification.kind === 'error' ? 'assertive' : 'polite'}
@@ -177,14 +207,17 @@ function NotificationItem({ notification }: { notification: AppNotification }) {
       variant={styles.variant}
     >
       {notification.icon ? (
-        <Codicon className={styles.iconClass} name={notification.icon} size="1rem" />
+        <Codicon className={styles.iconClass} name={notification.icon} size="1rem" style={iconStyle} />
       ) : (
-        <Icon className={styles.iconClass} />
+        <Icon className={styles.iconClass} style={iconStyle} />
       )}
       <div className="col-start-2 min-w-0">
         {notification.title && <AlertTitle className="col-start-auto">{notification.title}</AlertTitle>}
         <AlertDescription className="col-start-auto">
-          <p className="m-0">{notification.message}</p>
+          <p className="m-0">{renderMessage(notification.message, accent)}</p>
+          {notification.meta && (
+            <p className="m-0 text-xs text-muted-foreground tabular-nums">{notification.meta}</p>
+          )}
           {hasDetail && <NotificationDetail detail={notification.detail || ''} />}
           {notification.action && (
             <Button
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/agent-notices.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/agent-notices.test.ts
index a4028176ed1..b683eb802ee 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/agent-notices.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/agent-notices.test.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,12 @@ import {
   type AgentNoticePayload,
   clearAgentNotice,
   nativeNoticeInput,
+  noticeAccent,
   noticeToToast,
-  showAgentNotice
+  showAgentNotice,
+  splitMeta,
+  stripGlyph,
+  usageFraction
 } from './agent-notices'
 import { $notifications, clearNotifications } from './notifications'
 
@@ -14,7 +18,7 @@ function usage(overrides: Partial<AgentNoticePayload> = {}): AgentNoticePayload
     key: 'credits.usage',
     kind: 'sticky',
     level: 'info',
-    text: '• Credits 50% used · $220.00 cap',
+    text: "• You've used $110.00 of your $220.00 cap",
     ...overrides
   }
 }
@@ -62,8 +66,76 @@ test('the notice key is the toast id, falling back to id', () => {
   expect(noticeToToast({ text: 'x', id: 'n1', key: undefined })?.id).toBe('n1')
 })
 
-test('the glyph-bearing text passes through verbatim as the message', () => {
-  expect(noticeToToast(usage())?.message).toBe('• Credits 50% used · $220.00 cap')
+test('the leading severity glyph is stripped from the toast message', () => {
+  // The toast renders a kind icon, so the message must not double up on a glyph.
+  expect(noticeToToast(usage())?.message).toBe("You've used $110.00 of your $220.00 cap")
+  expect(noticeToToast(usage({ level: 'error', text: '✕ Credit access paused' }))?.message).toBe('Credit access paused')
+  expect(noticeToToast(usage({ level: 'success', text: '✓ Credit access restored' }))?.message).toBe(
+    'Credit access restored'
+  )
+})
+
+test('the trailing "· detail" is split off as a secondary meta line, not inlined', () => {
+  // grant_spent still carries a `· detail` tail.
+  const grant = noticeToToast({ key: 'credits.grant_spent', level: 'info', text: '• Grant spent · $12.00 top-up left' })
+  expect(grant?.message).toBe('Grant spent')
+  expect(grant?.meta).toBe('$12.00 top-up left')
+
+  // The usage line has no middot → whole line is the message, no meta.
+  const plain = noticeToToast(usage())
+  expect(plain?.message).toBe("You've used $110.00 of your $220.00 cap")
+  expect(plain?.meta).toBeUndefined()
+})
+
+test('splitMeta splits on the first space-middot-space only', () => {
+  expect(splitMeta('Grant spent · $12.00 top-up left')).toEqual(['Grant spent', '$12.00 top-up left'])
+  expect(splitMeta('Credit access restored')).toEqual(['Credit access restored', undefined])
+  // Interior middots after the first split stay in the meta.
+  expect(splitMeta('a · b · c')).toEqual(['a', 'b · c'])
+})
+
+test('stripGlyph removes only a single leading severity glyph', () => {
+  expect(stripGlyph('• Credits 50% used')).toBe('Credits 50% used')
+  expect(stripGlyph('⚠ warn')).toBe('warn')
+  expect(stripGlyph('✕ paused')).toBe('paused')
+  expect(stripGlyph('✓ ok')).toBe('ok')
+  // No leading glyph → unchanged; interior glyphs are preserved.
+  expect(stripGlyph('Credits 50% used')).toBe('Credits 50% used')
+  expect(stripGlyph('spent · $12.00 • top-up left')).toBe('spent · $12.00 • top-up left')
+})
+
+// ── noticeAccent: severity color ramp keyed off $used / $cap ─────────────────
+
+test('usageFraction derives $used / $cap from the notice text', () => {
+  expect(usageFraction("You've used $15.00 of your $20.00 cap")).toBeCloseTo(0.75)
+  expect(usageFraction("You've used $198.00 of your $220.00 cap")).toBeCloseTo(0.9)
+  // Fewer than two amounts, or a zero cap → no fraction.
+  expect(usageFraction('Grant spent')).toBeNull()
+  expect(usageFraction("You've used $5.00 of your $0.00 cap")).toBeNull()
+  expect(usageFraction(undefined)).toBeNull()
+})
+
+test('usage accent stays muted below 75%, then ramps orange → red', () => {
+  expect(noticeAccent(usage({ text: "• You've used $10.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))).toBeUndefined() // 50%
+  expect(noticeAccent(usage({ text: "• You've used $14.80 of your $20.00 cap" }))).toBeUndefined() // 74%
+  expect(noticeAccent(usage({ level: 'warn', text: "⚠ You've used $15.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))).toBe('var(--ui-orange)') // 75%
+  expect(noticeAccent(usage({ level: 'warn', text: "⚠ You've used $17.80 of your $20.00 cap" }))).toBe('var(--ui-orange)') // 89%
+  expect(noticeAccent(usage({ level: 'warn', text: "⚠ You've used $18.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))).toBe('var(--ui-red)') // 90%
+  expect(noticeAccent(usage({ level: 'warn', text: "⚠ You've used $20.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))).toBe('var(--ui-red)') // 100%
+})
+
+test('terminal credit states carry their own accent; others stay default', () => {
+  expect(noticeAccent({ key: 'credits.depleted', text: '✕ paused' })).toBe('var(--ui-red)')
+  expect(noticeAccent({ key: 'credits.restored', text: '✓ restored' })).toBe('var(--ui-green)')
+  expect(noticeAccent({ key: 'credits.grant_spent', text: '• Grant spent' })).toBeUndefined()
+  expect(noticeAccent(undefined)).toBeUndefined()
+})
+
+test('noticeToToast attaches the band accent to the toast', () => {
+  expect(noticeToToast(usage({ level: 'warn', text: "⚠ You've used $15.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))?.accentColor).toBe(
+    'var(--ui-orange)'
+  )
+  expect(noticeToToast(usage({ text: "• You've used $10.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))?.accentColor).toBeUndefined()
 })
 
 // ── show / clear: rendered through the notifications store ────────────────────
@@ -78,13 +150,13 @@ test('showAgentNotice renders a toast; empty text is a no-op', () => {
 })
 
 test('re-emitting the same key replaces the toast instead of stacking (50→75→90)', () => {
-  showAgentNotice(usage({ level: 'info', text: '• Credits 50% used' }))
-  showAgentNotice(usage({ level: 'warn', text: '• Credits 75% used' }))
-  showAgentNotice(usage({ level: 'warn', text: '• Credits 90% used' }))
+  showAgentNotice(usage({ level: 'info', text: "• You've used $10.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))
+  showAgentNotice(usage({ level: 'warn', text: "⚠ You've used $15.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))
+  showAgentNotice(usage({ level: 'warn', text: "⚠ You've used $18.00 of your $20.00 cap" }))
 
   const toasts = $notifications.get().filter(item => item.id === 'credits.usage')
   expect(toasts).toHaveLength(1)
-  expect(toasts[0]?.message).toBe('• Credits 90% used')
+  expect(toasts[0]?.message).toBe("You've used $18.00 of your $20.00 cap")
   expect(toasts[0]?.kind).toBe('warning')
 })
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/agent-notices.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/agent-notices.ts
index c076ee9854e..683855428ee 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/agent-notices.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/agent-notices.ts
@@ -4,9 +4,14 @@ import { dismissNotification, type NotificationInput, type NotificationKind, not
 /**
  * Wire shape of a `notification.show` payload — the driver-agnostic
  * `AgentNotice` spine (`agent/credits_tracker.py`) as forwarded by
- * `tui_gateway/server.py`. Snake_case to match the wire; the `text` already
- * carries its own leading glyph (• ⚠ ✕ ✓) from the Python policy, so a toast
- * NEVER adds another icon on top.
+ * `tui_gateway/server.py`. Snake_case to match the wire.
+ *
+ * The `text` carries its own leading severity glyph (• ⚠ ✕ ✓) from the Python
+ * policy — that's how the CLI/TUI render it (glyph in a status line, no separate
+ * icon). The desktop toast is different: every toast renders a kind icon, so we
+ * strip the leading glyph and let that icon carry severity (see `stripGlyph`),
+ * otherwise the toast shows two markers. The native OS notification keeps the
+ * glyph (it has no icon of ours).
  *
  * - `level` is severity: info | warn | error | success.
  * - `kind` is lifetime: `sticky` (stays until an explicit clear) or `ttl`
@@ -28,6 +33,70 @@ const LEVEL_TO_TOAST_KIND: Record<string, NotificationKind> = {
   warn: 'warning'
 }
 
+// The severity glyphs the Python notice policy prefixes (`•` `⚠` `✕`/`✗` `✓`),
+// optionally with a variation selector, plus trailing space. Stripped for the
+// desktop toast because the toast already renders a kind icon.
+const LEADING_GLYPH = /^[•⚠✕✗✓]\uFE0F?\s*/u
+
+/** Drop a single leading severity glyph so the toast doesn't double up on it. */
+export function stripGlyph(text: string): string {
+  return text.replace(LEADING_GLYPH, '')
+}
+
+/** A `$12.34` money token, as the Nous notice policy formats amounts. */
+const MONEY = /\$(\d+(?:\.\d{2})?)/g
+
+/**
+ * Used fraction of the cap derived from a "You've used $X of your $Y cap" notice
+ * — the first two money tokens are (used, cap). Returns a value in [0, 1], or
+ * `null` when the line has no usable pair.
+ */
+export function usageFraction(text: string | undefined): null | number {
+  const amounts = [...(text ?? '').matchAll(MONEY)].map(m => Number(m[1]))
+
+  if (amounts.length < 2 || !(amounts[1] > 0)) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  return amounts[0] / amounts[1]
+}
+
+/**
+ * Accent color for a credit notice, as a range/severity ramp. The usage gauge
+ * keys off how much of the cap is spent ($used / $cap): it stays on the toast's
+ * default muted color under 75%, then escalates to orange, then red, as the cap
+ * nears. `credits.depleted` is red (paused) and `credits.restored` green.
+ *
+ * Returns a CSS color token or `undefined` (= keep the default muted color).
+ * These reuse the app's existing usage palette (`--ui-*`; see the
+ * `--context-usage-*` block in styles.css) — no new colors are introduced.
+ */
+export function noticeAccent(payload: AgentNoticePayload | undefined): string | undefined {
+  if (payload?.key === 'credits.depleted') {
+    return 'var(--ui-red)'
+  }
+
+  if (payload?.key === 'credits.restored') {
+    return 'var(--ui-green)'
+  }
+
+  const frac = usageFraction(payload?.text)
+
+  if (frac === null) {
+    return undefined
+  }
+
+  if (frac >= 0.9) {
+    return 'var(--ui-red)'
+  }
+
+  if (frac >= 0.75) {
+    return 'var(--ui-orange)'
+  }
+
+  return undefined
+}
+
 /**
  * Map an agent notice to a toast input, or `null` when it carries no text.
  *
@@ -47,18 +116,44 @@ export function noticeToToast(payload: AgentNoticePayload | undefined): Notifica
   }
 
   const isTtl = payload?.kind === 'ttl'
-  const ttl = isTtl && typeof payload?.ttl_ms === 'number' && payload.ttl_ms > 0 ? payload.ttl_ms : undefined
+  const ttl = typeof payload?.ttl_ms === 'number' && payload.ttl_ms > 0 ? payload.ttl_ms : undefined
+
+  // The Python notice text packs a trailing detail after a middot
+  // (`… used · $220.00 cap`, `Grant spent · $12.00 top-up left`). On one CLI/TUI
+  // status line that reads fine, but the toast follows the title-plus-description
+  // convention (Sonner/shadcn): the primary status is the message and the detail
+  // drops to a muted second line, instead of inlining a `·` separator.
+  const [primary, meta] = splitMeta(stripGlyph(text))
 
   return {
+    // Icon + text tint by usage band (muted → orange → red); undefined keeps
+    // the default muted color.
+    accentColor: noticeAccent(payload),
     // sticky → 0 (never auto-dismiss); ttl with a ttl_ms → that value; a ttl
     // without a usable ttl_ms falls back to notify()'s per-kind default.
     durationMs: isTtl ? ttl : 0,
     id: payload?.key || payload?.id,
     kind: LEVEL_TO_TOAST_KIND[payload?.level ?? 'info'] ?? 'info',
-    message: text
+    message: primary,
+    meta
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Split a notice line into its primary status and a trailing detail on the first
+ * ` · ` (space-middot-space). No middot → the whole line is the primary and
+ * there's no meta.
+ */
+export function splitMeta(text: string): [primary: string, meta: string | undefined] {
+  const at = text.indexOf(' · ')
+
+  if (at === -1) {
+    return [text, undefined]
+  }
+
+  return [text.slice(0, at), text.slice(at + 3) || undefined]
+}
+
 /** Render a `notification.show` notice as a toast (no-op when it has no text). */
 export function showAgentNotice(payload: AgentNoticePayload | undefined): void {
   const toast = noticeToToast(payload)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/notifications.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/notifications.ts
index 5393d4a2623..92f41163506 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/notifications.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/notifications.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ export interface AppNotification {
   kind: NotificationKind
   /** When set, renders this codicon instead of the default kind icon. */
   icon?: string
+  /** When set, tints the icon and message with this CSS color (severity ramp). */
+  accentColor?: string
+  /** Secondary detail line rendered below the message, muted (e.g. "$220.00 cap"). */
+  meta?: string
   title?: string
   message: string
   detail?: string
@@ -29,6 +33,8 @@ export interface NotificationInput {
   id?: string
   kind?: NotificationKind
   icon?: string
+  accentColor?: string
+  meta?: string
   title?: string
   message: string
   detail?: string
@@ -130,6 +136,8 @@ export function notify(input: NotificationInput): string {
     id,
     kind,
     icon: input.icon,
+    accentColor: input.accentColor,
+    meta: input.meta,
     title: input.title,
     message: input.message,
     detail: input.detail,