diff --git a/zddc/cmd/zddc-server/main.go b/zddc/cmd/zddc-server/main.go
index 770d0c6..84389c6 100644
--- a/zddc/cmd/zddc-server/main.go
+++ b/zddc/cmd/zddc-server/main.go
@@ -1160,9 +1160,23 @@ func dispatch(cfg config.Config, idx *archive.Index, ring *handler.LogRing, apps
 					requestDir := filepath.Join(cfg.Root, filepath.FromSlash(requestDirRel))
 					if apps.AppAvailableAt(cfg.Root, requestDir, app) {
 						chain, _ := zddc.EffectivePolicy(cfg.Root, requestDir)
-						if allowed, _ := policy.AllowFromChainP(r.Context(), handler.DeciderFromContext(r), chain, handler.PrincipalFromContext(r), urlPath); !allowed {
-							http.Error(w, "Forbidden", http.StatusForbidden)
-							return
+						// Root-path tool shells are public, mirroring the
+						// landing page + ServeDirectory's root bypass: the
+						// shell is a static app that carries no data, and the
+						// tool's own per-project/per-dir fetches are
+						// independently ACL-gated (fs.ListDirectory filters
+						// per entry). Gating the shell here would block the
+						// root-level multi-project archive/browse views for
+						// any caller without a root-level read grant — which
+						// no normal (per-project-scoped) user has. Non-root
+						// tool paths (e.g. /<project>/archive.html) keep the
+						// read gate so a project you can't read won't serve
+						// its tool there.
+						if requestDir != cfg.Root {
+							if allowed, _ := policy.AllowFromChainP(r.Context(), handler.DeciderFromContext(r), chain, handler.PrincipalFromContext(r), urlPath); !allowed {
+								http.Error(w, "Forbidden", http.StatusForbidden)
+								return
+							}
 						}
 						appsSrv.Serve(w, r, app, chain, requestDir)
 						return
diff --git a/zddc/cmd/zddc-server/main_test.go b/zddc/cmd/zddc-server/main_test.go
index c7bf475..dcd067d 100644
--- a/zddc/cmd/zddc-server/main_test.go
+++ b/zddc/cmd/zddc-server/main_test.go
@@ -216,6 +216,58 @@ func TestDispatchAppsResolution(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestDispatchRootAppShellPublicButDataGated locks in the root-path tool-shell
+// bypass: a non-root, un-elevated user (no read grant anywhere at/under root)
+// can GET /archive.html — the shell is a static app, served like the landing
+// page — but the underlying data stays ACL-gated, so the same user is still
+// Forbidden from reading a project directory they have no grant on. This is
+// what makes the root-level multi-project archive (/archive.html?projects=A,B)
+// usable by per-project-scoped users without admin elevation.
+func TestDispatchRootAppShellPublicButDataGated(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+
+	// Root grants only alice; eve has no read grant at root or anywhere under it.
+	zf := zddc.ZddcFile{
+		ACL: zddc.ACLRules{Permissions: map[string]string{"alice@example.com": "rwcd"}},
+	}
+	if err := zddc.WriteFile(root, zf); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteFile: %v", err)
+	}
+	mustMkdir(t, filepath.Join(root, "Project-A"))
+
+	idx, err := archive.BuildIndex(root)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("BuildIndex: %v", err)
+	}
+	cfg := config.Config{Root: root, IndexPath: ".archive", EmailHeader: "X-Auth-Request-Email"}
+	ring := handler.NewLogRing(10)
+	appsSrv, err := setupApps(cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("setupApps: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// eve: no grant anywhere, NOT elevated (ElevatedKey unset → false).
+	eveReq := func(method, path string) *http.Request {
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(method, path, nil)
+		return req.WithContext(context.WithValue(req.Context(), handler.EmailKey, "eve@example.com"))
+	}
+
+	// The shell at root is served regardless of a root read grant.
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	dispatch(cfg, idx, ring, appsSrv, nil, rec, eveReq(http.MethodGet, "/archive.html"))
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("GET /archive.html as non-root user: status=%d, want 200 (root tool shell is public); body=%s",
+			rec.Code, rec.Body.String())
+	}
+
+	// ...but data is still ACL-gated: eve cannot read a project she has no grant on.
+	rec2 := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	dispatch(cfg, idx, ring, appsSrv, nil, rec2, eveReq(http.MethodGet, "/Project-A/"))
+	if rec2.Code != http.StatusForbidden {
+		t.Errorf("GET /Project-A/ as non-root user: status=%d, want 403 (data stays ACL-gated)", rec2.Code)
+	}
+}
+
 // silence "imported and not used" if apps not referenced elsewhere — keep
 // import even when we trim test cases later.
 var _ = apps.DefaultUpstream