diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ab2df3ce0..f8f2132a6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,21 @@
 Notable API additions and breaking changes. For the full commit log, see
 [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/mirrorstack-ai/web-ui-kit/releases).
 
+## 0.6.0
+
+- **Fix: `NotchGrid` no longer lets distinct panels overlap or render flush at
+  `gap=0`.** Two unrelated components (different keys, no shared `groupKey`,
+  different themes) placed on touching cells used to render with their
+  outlines overlapping by `2·panelBleed` px — the later-painted panel visually
+  cutting up into the one above it — because `panelBleed` dilates every
+  outline outward and `gap=0` applies no counter-erosion. `NotchGrid` now
+  nudges each component's rendered POSITION apart from a touching distinct
+  neighbour by enough to cancel that dilation plus a guaranteed
+  quarter-cell seam, along whichever axis the pair is touching on. Every
+  component's own outline shape (`gap`/`panelBleed`) is left exactly as
+  configured — nothing about how an individual panel renders changes, only
+  where it sits. Components with room to spare are unaffected.
+
 ## 0.5.16
 
 - **New `ServiceLogcat` dev component.** A service log console (promoted from
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 52d9c55cd..32494ece2 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "@mirrorstack-ai/web-ui-kit",
   "packageManager": "pnpm@10.29.3",
-  "version": "0.5.16",
+  "version": "0.6.0",
   "main": "./dist/index.js",
   "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
   "exports": {
diff --git a/src/components/layout/app-shell/AppShell.tsx b/src/components/layout/app-shell/AppShell.tsx
index 56f1c2c7b..b8343f68d 100644
--- a/src/components/layout/app-shell/AppShell.tsx
+++ b/src/components/layout/app-shell/AppShell.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
-import { useState, useRef, useEffect, type ReactNode } from "react";
+import {
+  useState,
+  useRef,
+  useEffect,
+  useLayoutEffect,
+  type ReactNode,
+} from "react";
 import { cn } from "@/utils/cn";
 import type { ComponentMeta } from "@/types/component-meta";
 import { IconButton } from "@/components/ui/actions/icon-button/IconButton";
@@ -331,9 +337,21 @@ function AppShellInner({
   // the single window shape always matches it through opens, drag-resize, and
   // viewport changes. Re-runs when the sidebar mounts/unmounts (isOpen) so the
   // observer attaches once the body element exists.
-  useEffect(() => {
+  //
+  // `useLayoutEffect` + a synchronous `getBoundingClientRect()` seed — NOT
+  // `useEffect` relying on the observer's own first callback — because
+  // ResizeObserver callbacks are spec'd to fire asynchronously even for the
+  // very first observation. That left a real (if usually brief) window on
+  // every open where `agentBodyH` was still its initial 0, `windowBodyHeight`
+  // was omitted below, and the transparent body — which depends entirely on
+  // AgentSidebarHeader's single-shape fill reaching down over it — rendered
+  // with NO background at all until the async callback finally landed.
+  // Seeding synchronously before paint closes that gap; the observer still
+  // owns every SUBSEQUENT resize (drag, viewport changes, content growth).
+  useLayoutEffect(() => {
     const el = agentBodyRef.current;
     if (!el) return;
+    setAgentBodyH(el.getBoundingClientRect().height);
     if (typeof ResizeObserver === "undefined") return;
     const observer = new ResizeObserver((entries) => {
       setAgentBodyH(entries[0].contentRect.height);
diff --git a/src/components/ui/surfaces/notch-grid/NotchGrid.test.tsx b/src/components/ui/surfaces/notch-grid/NotchGrid.test.tsx
index b29627e1c..90f39f1bc 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/surfaces/notch-grid/NotchGrid.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/surfaces/notch-grid/NotchGrid.test.tsx
@@ -161,6 +161,86 @@ describe("NotchGrid", () => {
     expect(container.querySelectorAll("svg")).toHaveLength(1);
   });
 
+  it("keeps two distinct, differently-themed panels from overlapping when stacked flush (gap=0 + panelBleed)", () => {
+    // Regression: two UNRELATED panels (different keys, no shared groupKey,
+    // different themes) stacked vertically with NO empty cell between them.
+    // With gap=0 + panelBleed>0 the later panel's outline used to dilate up into
+    // the earlier one (Manage's top cutting into Summary's bottom). They must
+    // (a) stay TWO separate chromes and (b) not overlap — a seam between them.
+    const items: NotchGridItem[] = [
+      {
+        key: "summary",
+        desire: { position: [0, 0], shape: M(4, 2) },
+        theme: { type: "filled", variant: "secondary" },
+        subItems: [
+          { desire: { position: [0, 0], shape: M(4, 2) }, ui: { type: "X" } },
+        ],
+      },
+      {
+        key: "manage",
+        // Directly below summary (rows 0-1) — touching at the row1/row2 seam.
+        desire: { position: [0, 2], shape: M(4, 1) },
+        theme: { type: "filled", variant: "tertiary" },
+        subItems: [
+          { desire: { position: [0, 0], shape: M(4, 1) }, ui: { type: "X" } },
+        ],
+      },
+    ];
+    const { container } = render(
+      <NotchGrid items={items} cols={4} blockMin={24} gap={0} panelBleed={4} />,
+    );
+
+    // (a) Two DISTINCT chromes — the panels are never merged into one shape.
+    const svgs = Array.from(container.querySelectorAll("svg"));
+    expect(svgs).toHaveLength(2);
+
+    // (b) Their outlines must not overlap. Each path's Y coords are local to its
+    // component wrapper (positioned at `minRow * block + nudge` via style.top,
+    // where the nudge pushes a touching component apart from its neighbour
+    // WITHOUT touching either one's own outline shape); convert to absolute and
+    // check the earlier panel's bottom sits above the later's top.
+    const absYExtent = (svg: Element) => {
+      const wrapper = svg.parentElement!.parentElement as HTMLElement;
+      const top = parseFloat(wrapper.style.top) || 0;
+      const d = svg.querySelector("path")!.getAttribute("d")!;
+      const ys: number[] = [];
+      const re = /(-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?),(-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?)/g;
+      let m: RegExpExecArray | null;
+      while ((m = re.exec(d))) ys.push(Number(m[2]) + top);
+      return { top: Math.min(...ys), bottom: Math.max(...ys) };
+    };
+    const [a, b] = svgs.map(absYExtent);
+    const [upper, lower] = a.top <= b.top ? [a, b] : [b, a];
+    // The seam must be a REAL, visible quarter-cell gap (block=24 here, so
+    // >= 6px) — not just "non-negative". A token 1-2px seam would pass a
+    // >= 0 check but still read as touching at a glance.
+    const MIN_COMPONENT_SEP_FRACTION = 0.25;
+    const block = 24;
+    expect(lower.top - upper.bottom).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(
+      MIN_COMPONENT_SEP_FRACTION * block,
+    );
+
+    // (c) The fix must be POSITION-only: each panel's own outline (svg
+    // width/height, driven by its shape + the full panelBleed=4) is unchanged
+    // — no per-component shrinking of bleed to make room for the seam.
+    // summary's mask is 4x2 cells, manage's is 4x1; svg dims = mask*block +
+    // 2*panelBleed on each axis.
+    const dims = svgs.map((svg) => ({
+      w: Number(svg.getAttribute("width")),
+      h: Number(svg.getAttribute("height")),
+    }));
+    const expected = [
+      { w: 4 * 24 + 2 * 4, h: 2 * 24 + 2 * 4 }, // summary: 4x2
+      { w: 4 * 24 + 2 * 4, h: 1 * 24 + 2 * 4 }, // manage: 4x1
+    ];
+    for (let i = 0; i < dims.length; i++) {
+      const match = expected.some(
+        (e) => e.w === dims[i].w && e.h === dims[i].h,
+      );
+      expect(match).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
   it("applies inline color from resolved theme (variant=primary)", () => {
     const items: NotchGridItem[] = [
       {
diff --git a/src/components/ui/surfaces/notch-grid/NotchGrid.tsx b/src/components/ui/surfaces/notch-grid/NotchGrid.tsx
index bc8fdbf1a..b6142af0a 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/surfaces/notch-grid/NotchGrid.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/surfaces/notch-grid/NotchGrid.tsx
@@ -138,6 +138,16 @@ export interface NotchGridProps {
 /** Content inset inside a tile / sub-cell (8px sides, 16px top/bottom). Matches BlockShape's default. */
 const DEFAULT_CONTENT_PAD = "16px 8px";
 
+/** Minimum seam the kit guarantees between two DISTINCT components, as a
+ *  FRACTION OF ONE CELL — so it scales with `block` (the grid's live cell
+ *  size, which callers resize responsively) instead of a fixed pixel value.
+ *  `0.25` matches a quarter-cell gap, the same unit callers already use for
+ *  their own panel spacing. Enforced by NUDGING each component's rendered
+ *  POSITION apart from a touching neighbour (see `computeComponentNudges`) —
+ *  every component's own outline shape (`gap`/`panelBleed`) stays exactly as
+ *  the caller configured it; only where it sits shifts. */
+const MIN_COMPONENT_SEP_FRACTION = 0.25;
+
 /** Pointer capture, tolerant of test envs (jsdom) that lack the API. */
 function safePointerCapture(el: Element, pointerId: number): void {
   try {
@@ -352,6 +362,103 @@ export function findConnectedComponents<T>(
   return out;
 }
 
+/** A component's outer bounding box, in cell units (half-open: `maxCol`/`maxRow`
+ *  are one past the last occupied cell — matching `NotchComponent`'s own bbox
+ *  math). */
+interface ComponentBBox {
+  minCol: number;
+  minRow: number;
+  maxCol: number;
+  maxRow: number;
+}
+
+function componentBBox(
+  members: ReadonlyArray<Placement<NotchGridItem>>,
+): ComponentBBox {
+  let minCol = Infinity;
+  let minRow = Infinity;
+  let maxCol = 0;
+  let maxRow = 0;
+  for (const m of members) {
+    minCol = Math.min(minCol, m.col);
+    minRow = Math.min(minRow, m.row);
+    maxCol = Math.max(maxCol, m.col + m.cols);
+    maxRow = Math.max(maxRow, m.row + m.rows);
+  }
+  return { minCol, minRow, maxCol, maxRow };
+}
+
+/** Per-component pixel nudge (`[dx, dy]`) that keeps distinct components from
+ *  rendering flush/overlapping, WITHOUT touching either component's own
+ *  outline shape (`gap`/`panelBleed` stay exactly as the caller configured —
+ *  see the module doc for `MIN_COMPONENT_SEP_FRACTION`).
+ *
+ *  `panelBleed` dilates each component's outline OUTWARD by a KNOWN, constant
+ *  amount, and `gap=0` applies no counter-erosion, so two distinct components
+ *  on touching (0-cell-gap) cells overlap by `2·panelBleed` px. Rather than
+ *  shrink either component's bleed to compensate (a "shape" fix — the frame
+ *  itself would look thinner near a neighbour than elsewhere), this shifts
+ *  each component's rendered POSITION apart by enough to (a) cancel out its
+ *  own share of that dilation and (b) add the `MIN_COMPONENT_SEP_FRACTION`
+ *  seam on top — `panelBleed` is READ here only to compute how far to move,
+ *  never changed. Nudges along whichever axis the pair is touching on
+ *  (vertically stacked ↔ nudge Y; horizontally adjacent ↔ nudge X). Handles
+ *  the common axis-aligned touching case (the reported bug: two panels
+ *  stacked with zero empty cells between them); a component touching
+ *  multiple neighbours on the SAME axis (a middle panel sandwiched between
+ *  two others) may net out with a smaller total nudge than a from-scratch
+ *  solve would give — a real limitation, not silently wrong, and not the
+ *  scenario this fixes. */
+function computeComponentNudges(
+  components: ReadonlyArray<ReadonlyArray<Placement<NotchGridItem>>>,
+  block: number,
+  gap: number,
+  panelBleed: number,
+): ReadonlyArray<readonly [number, number]> {
+  const boxes = components.map(componentBBox);
+  const minSep = MIN_COMPONENT_SEP_FRACTION * block;
+  // Net outward dilation per side, mirroring BlockShape's own erosion formula
+  // (`erosion = min(gap, cell-2)/2 - bleed`): `gap`'s own counter-erosion
+  // already claws back some of `bleed`'s outward reach, so only the leftover
+  // (floored at 0 — a caller-configured gap can already fully cover it) needs
+  // a nudge, plus half the desired seam on top.
+  const netDilation = Math.max(0, panelBleed - Math.min(gap, block - 2) / 2);
+  const perSide = netDilation + minSep / 2;
+  const nudgeX = new Array<number>(components.length).fill(0);
+  const nudgeY = new Array<number>(components.length).fill(0);
+  for (let i = 0; i < boxes.length; i++) {
+    for (let j = i + 1; j < boxes.length; j++) {
+      const a = boxes[i];
+      const b = boxes[j];
+      const colsOverlap = a.minCol < b.maxCol && b.minCol < a.maxCol;
+      const rowsOverlap = a.minRow < b.maxRow && b.minRow < a.maxRow;
+      // Vertically stacked & touching: share some column range, rows meet
+      // edge-to-edge (0 empty cells between them).
+      if (colsOverlap) {
+        if (a.maxRow === b.minRow) {
+          nudgeY[i] -= perSide;
+          nudgeY[j] += perSide;
+        } else if (b.maxRow === a.minRow) {
+          nudgeY[j] -= perSide;
+          nudgeY[i] += perSide;
+        }
+      }
+      // Horizontally adjacent & touching: share some row range, columns meet
+      // edge-to-edge.
+      if (rowsOverlap) {
+        if (a.maxCol === b.minCol) {
+          nudgeX[i] -= perSide;
+          nudgeX[j] += perSide;
+        } else if (b.maxCol === a.minCol) {
+          nudgeX[j] -= perSide;
+          nudgeX[i] += perSide;
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return components.map((_, i) => [nudgeX[i], nudgeY[i]] as const);
+}
+
 /** Bucket placements by their effective group (from `groupOf`, keyed by item
  *  key), then split each bucket into 8-connected components. Items without a
  *  group are singleton buckets so they never merge with anything. */
@@ -776,6 +883,16 @@ export function NotchGrid({
     };
   }, [keyedItems, resolvedCols, nest, overrides, promoted]);
 
+  // Per-component position nudge (pushes a component apart from a touching
+  // distinct neighbour — see `computeComponentNudges`) — memoised separately
+  // from the solve so it only recomputes on resize (block change), not on
+  // every drag tick. Each component's own outline (`gap`/`panelBleed`) is
+  // untouched; only where it renders shifts.
+  const componentNudges = useMemo(
+    () => computeComponentNudges(components, block, gap, panelBleed),
+    [components, block, gap, panelBleed],
+  );
+
   const unfitKey = layout?.unfit.join(",") ?? "";
   useEffect(() => {
     if (isDev && layout && layout.unfit.length > 0) {
@@ -796,8 +913,12 @@ export function NotchGrid({
         ...style,
       }}
     >
-      {components.map((members) => {
+      {components.map((members, compIndex) => {
         const compKey = members.map((m) => m.key).join("|");
+        // Static position nudge — pushes this component away from a touching
+        // distinct neighbour. Its own outline shape (gap/panelBleed, passed
+        // through unchanged below) never varies by neighbour.
+        const nudge = componentNudges[compIndex] ?? ([0, 0] as const);
         // Outer-drag offset, if a member of this component is being dragged.
         const dragMember = drag ? members.find((m) => m.key === drag.key) : undefined;
         const dragOffset: readonly [number, number] | undefined =
@@ -815,6 +936,7 @@ export function NotchGrid({
             members={members}
             block={block}
             gap={gap}
+            nudge={nudge}
             contentPad={contentPad}
             panelBleed={panelBleed}
             primitives={primitives}
@@ -931,6 +1053,10 @@ interface NotchComponentProps {
   members: Placement<NotchGridItem>[];
   block: number;
   gap: number;
+  /** Static [dx, dy] px offset (see `computeComponentNudges`) that pushes this
+   *  component away from a touching distinct neighbour. Applied to its
+   *  rendered position only — never affects `gap`/`panelBleed`. */
+  nudge?: readonly [number, number];
   contentPad: number | string;
   panelBleed: number;
   primitives?: PrimitiveRegistry;
@@ -971,6 +1097,7 @@ const NotchComponent = memo(function NotchComponent({
   members,
   block,
   gap,
+  nudge,
   contentPad,
   panelBleed,
   primitives,
@@ -1080,8 +1207,8 @@ const NotchComponent = memo(function NotchComponent({
 
   const wrapperStyle: CSSProperties = {
     position: "absolute",
-    left: minCol * block,
-    top: minRow * block,
+    left: minCol * block + (nudge?.[0] ?? 0),
+    top: minRow * block + (nudge?.[1] ?? 0),
     color: resolved.color,
   };
   if (wrapperMoves && dragOffset) {