browse/css/base.css

@@ -26,6 +26,21 @@ body {
 
 /* .hidden lives in shared/base.css; no per-tool override needed. */
 
+/* Status bar — shows transient errors/info */
+.status-bar {
+    padding: 0.4rem 1rem;
+    background: var(--bg-secondary);
+    border-top: 1px solid var(--border);
+    font-size: 0.85rem;
+    color: var(--text-muted);
+    min-height: 1.6rem;
+    line-height: 1.6rem;
+    flex-shrink: 0;
+}
+
+.status-bar--error { color: #b00020; }
+.status-bar--info  { color: var(--primary); }
+
 /* Read-only banner for the YAML editor — surfaced by preview-yaml.js
    when the listing's `writable` bit was false. CodeMirror's readOnly
    mode has no built-in visual signal beyond the disabled caret, so a

browse/css/tree.css

@@ -244,11 +244,6 @@ body {
 
 .preview-pane__body {
     flex: 1;
-    min-height: 0;          /* critical: lets the flex child shrink to fit
-                               the viewport instead of growing to its
-                               content's natural size (which clips the
-                               YAML editor's bottom when there are many
-                               lines, even with the editor's own scroll) */
     overflow: auto;
     display: flex;
     flex-direction: column;
@@ -580,6 +575,21 @@ body {
     color: var(--text-muted);
 }
 
+/* ── Status bar ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+.status-bar {
+    padding: 0.4rem 1rem;
+    background: var(--bg-secondary);
+    border-top: 1px solid var(--border);
+    font-size: 0.8rem;
+    color: var(--text-muted);
+    min-height: 1.6rem;
+    flex-shrink: 0;
+}
+
+.status-bar.is-error { color: var(--danger); }
+.status-bar.is-info  { color: var(--text); }
+
 /* ── Markdown plugin (right-pane internals when a .md is selected) ──────── */
 /* CSS-Grid shell mirroring mdedit's layout: sidebar on the LEFT
    (front matter top + TOC bottom), content on the RIGHT (informational

browse/js/events.js

@@ -10,21 +10,18 @@
     // call time, not at IIFE-eval time.
     function previewMod() { return window.app.modules.preview; }
 
-    // Notifications route through the shared toast helper (shared/
-    // toast.js) — there's no persistent footer strip in browse. Same
-    // signatures as before so the 70+ existing call sites work
-    // unchanged; statusClear is a no-op (toasts fade on their own and
-    // single-toast policy guarantees only the latest is visible).
     function status(msg, kind) {
-        if (!msg) return;
-        if (!window.zddc || typeof window.zddc.toast !== 'function') return;
-        var level = kind === 'error' ? 'error' : 'info';
-        window.zddc.toast(msg, level);
+        var el = document.getElementById('statusBar');
+        if (!el) return;
+        el.textContent = msg || '';
+        el.classList.remove('status-bar--error', 'status-bar--info');
+        if (kind === 'error') el.classList.add('status-bar--error');
+        if (kind === 'info')  el.classList.add('status-bar--info');
     }
 
     function statusError(msg) { status(msg, 'error'); }
     function statusInfo(msg)  { status(msg, 'info'); }
-    function statusClear()    { /* no-op — toasts fade on their own */ }
+    function statusClear()    { status('', null); }
 
     async function pickLocalDir() {
         if (typeof window.showDirectoryPicker !== 'function') {

browse/js/plan-review.js

@@ -32,17 +32,19 @@
     var REVIEW_OFFSET_DAYS = 7;
     var RESPONSE_OFFSET_DAYS = 14;
 
-    // Notifications go through the shared toast helper — there's no
-    // persistent footer strip in browse anymore.
     function statusInfo(msg) {
-        if (msg && window.zddc && typeof window.zddc.toast === 'function') {
-            window.zddc.toast(msg, 'info');
-        }
+        var el = document.getElementById('statusBar');
+        if (!el) return;
+        el.textContent = msg || '';
+        el.classList.remove('status-bar--error');
+        el.classList.add('status-bar--info');
     }
     function statusError(msg) {
-        if (msg && window.zddc && typeof window.zddc.toast === 'function') {
-            window.zddc.toast(msg, 'error');
-        }
+        var el = document.getElementById('statusBar');
+        if (!el) return;
+        el.textContent = msg || '';
+        el.classList.remove('status-bar--info');
+        el.classList.add('status-bar--error');
     }
 
     // Compute today + N days as a YYYY-MM-DD string.

browse/template.html

@@ -98,6 +98,8 @@
         </div>
     </main>
 
+    <div id="statusBar" class="status-bar"></div>
+
     <!-- Help Panel -->
     <aside id="help-panel" class="help-panel" hidden aria-labelledby="help-panel-title">
         <div class="help-panel__header">