diff --git a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/ExplorerPage.dom.test.tsx b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/ExplorerPage.dom.test.tsx
index c9ea4b7842..bde8758569 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/ExplorerPage.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/ExplorerPage.dom.test.tsx
@@ -329,9 +329,10 @@ describe('ExplorerPage independent lane lifecycle', () => {
     expect(knowledge.queryByText('0')).toBeNull();
     expect(knowledge.getByText('UNAVAILABLE')).toBeTruthy();
 
-    // The ready lanes carry their own counts and grade, untouched.
+    // The ready lanes carry their own counts, grade and freshness, untouched.
     expect(within(lane('Code')).getByText('1')).toBeTruthy();
     expect(within(lane('Code')).getByText('EXACT')).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(lane('Code').querySelector('[data-lane-freshness="unknown"]')).toBeTruthy();
     expect(within(lane('Sessions')).getByText('2')).toBeTruthy();
 
     // The summary counts only lanes that answered.
@@ -439,6 +440,10 @@ describe('ExplorerPage scope truth', () => {
       within(lane('Code')).getAllByText(/Other project is not the active project/).length,
     ).toBeGreaterThan(0);
     expect(within(lane('Code')).getByText('Read-only scope')).toBeTruthy();
+    // The run register carries the same refusal rather than a pending admission.
+    const register = document.querySelector('[data-run-register]');
+    expect(register?.getAttribute('data-run-state')).toBe('locked');
+    expect(within(register as HTMLElement).getByText(/no run created/)).toBeTruthy();
     expect(
       fetchImpl.mock.calls.some(([input]) => String(input).includes('/api/explorer/queries')),
     ).toBe(false);
diff --git a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/ExplorerPage.tsx b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/ExplorerPage.tsx
index fe3d94a401..1f3e9a8667 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/ExplorerPage.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/ExplorerPage.tsx
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ export function ExplorerPage() {
             <RunRegister
               result={explorer.runResult}
               run={explorer.run}
+              writability={explorer.writability}
               progress={explorer.runProgress}
               cancelling={explorer.cancelling}
               onCancel={explorer.cancel}
@@ -159,7 +160,8 @@ export function ExplorerPage() {
             return (
               <FilterSelect
                 key={laneId}
-                label={`${spec.label} ${spec.facetLabel}`}
+                label={spec.facetLabel}
+                name={`${spec.label} ${spec.facetLabel}`}
                 value={explorer.facet?.lane === laneId ? explorer.facet.value : ''}
                 onChange={(value) =>
                   explorer.setFacet(value === '' ? null : { lane: laneId, value })
@@ -245,25 +247,34 @@ function asLaneId(value: string): LaneId | null {
 }
 
 /** A native select behind an engraved legend, so every filter is one control
- * with one accessible name and the platform's own keyboard behaviour. */
+ * with one accessible name and the platform's own keyboard behaviour.
+ *
+ * `name` widens the accessible name past the visible legend when the legend
+ * alone would be ambiguous (three lanes each have a facet); the visible text
+ * stays inside the name, so label-in-name holds. The select is capped rather
+ * than sized to its widest option, which at 320px pushed the whole register
+ * past the aperture's edge. */
 function FilterSelect({
   label,
+  name,
   value,
   onChange,
   options,
 }: {
   label: string;
+  name?: string;
   value: string;
   onChange: (value: string) => void;
   options: readonly { value: string; label: ReactNode }[];
 }) {
   return (
-    <label className="flex min-h-[var(--touch-target-min)] items-center gap-2 border border-edge-subtle bg-surface-0 pl-2 pr-1 focus-within:border-accent">
+    <label className="flex min-h-[var(--touch-target-min)] min-w-0 max-w-full items-center gap-2 border border-edge-subtle bg-surface-0 pl-2 pr-1 focus-within:border-accent">
       <span className="td-legend">{label}</span>
       <select
         value={value}
+        aria-label={name}
         onChange={(event) => onChange(event.target.value)}
-        className="min-h-[calc(var(--touch-target-min)-2px)] bg-transparent pr-1 text-xs text-text-primary outline-none"
+        className="min-h-[calc(var(--touch-target-min)-2px)] min-w-0 max-w-[10rem] bg-transparent pr-1 text-xs text-text-primary outline-none"
       >
         {options.map((option) => (
           <option key={option.value} value={option.value}>
diff --git a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/Lane.tsx b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/Lane.tsx
index ca1fa061b8..60cb2137e3 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/Lane.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/Lane.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
  * worked. Nothing in a lane is computed from another lane.
  */
 import { type KeyboardEvent, type ReactNode } from 'react';
+import { EvidencePattern } from '../../ui/EvidencePattern.tsx';
 import { StateChip } from '../../ui/StateChip';
 import { VirtualList } from '../../ui/VirtualList.tsx';
 import { Highlight } from '../../ui/search/Highlight.tsx';
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@ import { compactRelativeAge } from '../../ui/time.ts';
 import { laneGrade } from './evidence.ts';
 import { LANE_BY_ID, LANE_ICON } from './laneChrome.ts';
 import {
+  laneEvidence,
   laneHits,
   laneStateDetail,
   laneStateKind,
@@ -27,6 +29,12 @@ import type { Hit } from './model.ts';
 /** Fixed row height shared with the virtualizer: title, location, meta. */
 export const LANE_ROW_HEIGHT = 60;
 
+/** A code-graph generation watermark is a long dotted digest; the footer
+ * shows enough to tell two apart and carries the whole value as a title. */
+function clipWatermark(watermark: string): string {
+  return watermark.length <= 28 ? watermark : `${watermark.slice(0, 27)}…`;
+}
+
 /** Marks each lane's row region so the grid can traverse lanes with the
  * horizontal arrows without knowing how a lane lays itself out. */
 export const LANE_LIST_ATTR = 'data-lane-list';
@@ -69,12 +77,21 @@ export function Lane({
       className="relative flex min-h-[var(--pane-min-height)] min-w-0 flex-col border border-edge-subtle bg-surface-1"
     >
       <Corners tone={read.state === 'ready' ? 'signal' : 'edge'} />
-      <header className="flex min-h-9 shrink-0 flex-wrap items-center gap-x-2 gap-y-1 border-b border-edge-subtle px-2.5 py-1.5">
-        <span aria-hidden className={cn('h-3 w-[3px] shrink-0', spec.railClass)} />
-        <h2 className="td-title text-text-primary">{spec.label}</h2>
-        <StateChip kind={kind} detail={laneStateDetail(read)} className="max-w-full" />
-        <span aria-hidden className="td-rule" />
-        <Icon aria-hidden size={14} className={cn('shrink-0', spec.textClass)} />
+      {/* Name over state, so four headers align whatever length a state's
+        * detail runs to. The chip truncates its detail; the body repeats the
+        * full sentence for any lane that has no rows to show instead. */}
+      <header className="flex shrink-0 flex-col gap-1 border-b border-edge-subtle px-2.5 py-1.5">
+        <span className="flex h-5 items-center gap-2">
+          <span aria-hidden className={cn('h-3 w-[3px] shrink-0', spec.railClass)} />
+          <h2 className="td-title text-text-primary">{spec.label}</h2>
+          <span aria-hidden className="td-rule" />
+          <Icon aria-hidden size={14} className={cn('shrink-0', spec.textClass)} />
+        </span>
+        <StateChip
+          kind={kind}
+          detail={laneStateDetail(read)}
+          className="w-fit max-w-full [&>span:last-child]:truncate"
+        />
       </header>
 
       {/* The headline count, or the absence of one. A lane that did not
@@ -88,16 +105,24 @@ export function Lane({
           </span>
         </div>
         <span className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2 text-3xs text-text-muted">
-          <span className="truncate">
-            {answered
-              ? read.state === 'partial'
-                ? 'loaded from an incomplete read; records were omitted'
-                : total != null
-                  ? `loaded of ${total.toLocaleString()} matching reported`
-                  : searching
-                    ? 'loaded; no source total reported'
-                    : 'shown from the overview endpoint'
-              : 'no count reported'}
+          <span className="flex min-w-0 items-center gap-1.5">
+            {/* How well the count is known, on the shared pattern axis: solid
+              * when the source reported a real denominator, hatched when rows
+              * arrived without one. Distinct from the record grade beside it. */}
+            {answered ? (
+              <EvidencePattern quality={laneEvidence(read)} className="shrink-0 text-3xs" />
+            ) : null}
+            <span className="truncate">
+              {answered
+                ? read.state === 'partial'
+                  ? 'loaded from an incomplete read; records were omitted'
+                  : total != null
+                    ? `loaded of ${total.toLocaleString()} matching reported`
+                    : searching
+                      ? 'loaded; no source total reported'
+                      : 'shown from the overview endpoint'
+                : 'no count reported'}
+            </span>
           </span>
           {grade !== null ? (
             <span
@@ -132,8 +157,24 @@ export function Lane({
         <span className="td-value text-3xs text-text-muted">
           {answered ? `${rows.length.toLocaleString()} shown` : '—'}
           {answered && read.hasMore === true ? ' · more rows remain past this page' : ''}
+          {/* The source's own freshness word and watermark, so a served page
+            * says how current it is rather than looking current by default. */}
+          {answered ? (
+            <span data-lane-freshness={read.freshness} title={read.watermark ?? undefined}>
+              {` · ${read.freshness}`}
+              {read.watermark !== null ? ` @ ${clipWatermark(read.watermark)}` : ''}
+            </span>
+          ) : null}
+        </span>
+        <span>
+          {answered
+            ? 'source order · no cross-lane rank'
+            : read.state === 'pending'
+              ? 'reading'
+              : searching
+                ? 'not served'
+                : 'no rows'}
         </span>
-        <span>{answered ? 'source order · no cross-lane rank' : searching ? 'not served' : 'no rows'}</span>
       </footer>
     </section>
   );
@@ -343,9 +384,11 @@ function LaneRow({
       className={cn(
         'relative flex w-full flex-col justify-center gap-0.5 border-b border-edge-subtle pl-3.5 pr-2.5 text-left',
         'transition-[opacity,background-color,box-shadow] duration-[var(--dur-state)] ease-[var(--ease-standard)] motion-reduce:transition-none',
-        // Hover raises the face one plane; selection is the gutter, not a wash,
-        // so the two never read as the same thing.
-        'hover:bg-raised hover:shadow-[var(--shadow-raised)] focus-visible:bg-surface-2',
+        // Hover raises the face one plane and draws one restrained halo;
+        // selection is the gutter, not a wash, so the two never read as the
+        // same thing. Keyboard focus keeps the shell's 2px outline.
+        'hover:bg-raised hover:shadow-[var(--shadow-raised)] hover:outline hover:outline-1 hover:-outline-offset-1 hover:outline-accent/40',
+        'focus-visible:bg-surface-2 focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-1 focus-visible:outline-accent',
         selected && 'bg-surface-2',
       )}
     >
@@ -468,7 +511,16 @@ export function LaneGrid({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
       role="group"
       aria-label="Result lanes"
       onKeyDown={onKeyDown}
-      className="td-stagger grid min-h-0 flex-1 auto-rows-fr gap-2 p-2 [grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(15rem,1fr))]"
+      className={cn(
+        'td-stagger grid gap-2 p-2 [grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(15rem,1fr))]',
+        // One row at `lg` and above: the grid takes the aperture's height and
+        // each lane scrolls its own rows. Where the lanes wrap — narrow
+        // viewports, 200% zoom — every row is a fixed lane height instead of
+        // a share of a height too small to hold them, so wrapped lanes stack
+        // and the page scrolls rather than the rows overlapping.
+        'lg:min-h-0 lg:flex-1 lg:auto-rows-fr',
+        'max-lg:flex-none max-lg:auto-rows-[28rem]',
+      )}
     >
       {children}
     </div>
diff --git a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/controller.ts b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/controller.ts
index bda0d7415a..ba637217f0 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/controller.ts
+++ b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/controller.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import {
   scopedUrl,
   useScope,
   type DashboardScope,
+  type ScopeWritability,
 } from '../../data/scope/store.ts';
 import { queryTerms } from '../../ui/search/terms.ts';
 import { absenceVerdict, type AbsenceVerdict } from './absence.ts';
@@ -170,6 +171,9 @@ export interface ExplorerController {
   readonly submitted: string;
   readonly searching: boolean;
   readonly terms: readonly string[];
+  /** Whether the current scope accepts a query run, from the scope authority.
+   * Anything but `writable` means no run was, or will be, dispatched. */
+  readonly writability: ScopeWritability;
   /** One read model per lane, in `LANES` order — four, including semantic. */
   readonly lanes: readonly ExplorerLaneReadModel[];
   /** The lanes the current lane filter admits. */
@@ -428,6 +432,7 @@ export function useExplorerController(): ExplorerController {
     submitted,
     searching,
     terms,
+    writability,
     lanes,
     visibleLanes,
     laneRows,
diff --git a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/evidence.test.ts b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/evidence.test.ts
index 150b1f120c..14efdd3543 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/evidence.test.ts
+++ b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/evidence.test.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ describe('laneGrade', () => {
       reportedTotal: 0,
       unreadableRows: 0,
       hasMore: false,
+      freshness: 'fresh',
+      watermark: null,
     };
     const stale: ExplorerLaneReadModel = { state: 'stale', lane: 'code', errorCode: null, detail: null };
     const pending: ExplorerLaneReadModel = { state: 'pending', lane: 'code', phase: 'reading' };
diff --git a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/laneModel.test.ts b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/laneModel.test.ts
index 82d786ca5f..d1eb3f9269 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/laneModel.test.ts
+++ b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/laneModel.test.ts
@@ -191,6 +191,8 @@ describe('laneFromSourceProgress', () => {
       reportedTotal: 0,
       unreadableRows: 0,
       hasMore: false,
+      freshness: 'unknown',
+      watermark: null,
     });
     expect(new Set([...states, readyEmpty.state]).size).toBe(4);
   });
@@ -248,9 +250,20 @@ describe('laneFromSourceProgress', () => {
       reportedTotal: null,
       unreadableRows: 0,
       hasMore: null,
+      freshness: 'unknown',
+      watermark: null,
     });
   });
 
+  it('carries the source\u2019s own freshness word and watermark verbatim', () => {
+    const fresh = laneFromSourceProgress(
+      'code',
+      progress({ freshness: 'fresh', watermark: 'g-42' }),
+      [],
+    );
+    expect(fresh).toMatchObject({ state: 'ready', freshness: 'fresh', watermark: 'g-42' });
+  });
+
   it('reports rows it could not read instead of silently returning fewer', () => {
     const read = laneFromSourceProgress(
       'code',
diff --git a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/laneModel.ts b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/laneModel.ts
index fa4a2e7067..cbd6e50137 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/laneModel.ts
+++ b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/laneModel.ts
@@ -92,6 +92,10 @@ export type ExplorerLaneReadModel =
       /** Whether the source said rows remain past this page; `null` when the
        * read carries no pagination at all (the browse overviews). */
       readonly hasMore: boolean | null;
+      /** The source's own freshness word (`fresh`, `unknown`, …) and the
+       * watermark it answered from, verbatim. Never inferred. */
+      readonly freshness: string;
+      readonly watermark: string | null;
     }
   /** The source answered with real rows but its own read reported omitted
    * records: what is shown is genuine and less than what exists. */
@@ -102,6 +106,8 @@ export type ExplorerLaneReadModel =
       readonly reportedTotal: number | null;
       readonly unreadableRows: number;
       readonly hasMore: boolean | null;
+      readonly freshness: string;
+      readonly watermark: string | null;
       readonly errorCode: string | null;
       readonly detail: string | null;
     }
@@ -302,6 +308,8 @@ export function laneFromSourceProgress(
           reportedTotal: null,
           unreadableRows: 0,
           hasMore: null,
+          freshness: source.freshness,
+          watermark: source.watermark,
         };
       }
       const hits = hitsForLane(lane, narrowPageRows(page), terms);
@@ -312,6 +320,8 @@ export function laneFromSourceProgress(
         reportedTotal: page.total,
         unreadableRows: page.rows.length - hits.length,
         hasMore: page.next_offset !== null,
+        freshness: source.freshness,
+        watermark: source.watermark,
       };
     }
     case 'partial': {
@@ -324,6 +334,8 @@ export function laneFromSourceProgress(
         reportedTotal: page?.total ?? null,
         unreadableRows: page === null ? 0 : page.rows.length - hits.length,
         hasMore: page === null ? null : page.next_offset !== null,
+        freshness: source.freshness,
+        watermark: source.watermark,
         errorCode: source.error_code,
         detail: source.message,
       };
@@ -450,6 +462,9 @@ export function browseLane<T>(
   }
   const rows = rowsOf(result.envelope.payload);
   const hits = hitsForLane(lane, rows, terms);
+  // The overview carries no per-source freshness; the envelope's own
+  // freshness reading is the daemon's statement about this read.
+  const freshness = result.envelope.freshness;
   return {
     state: 'ready',
     lane,
@@ -457,6 +472,8 @@ export function browseLane<T>(
     reportedTotal: null,
     unreadableRows: rows.length - hits.length,
     hasMore: null,
+    freshness: freshness.state,
+    watermark: freshness.watermark,
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/panels.tsx b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/panels.tsx
index c17ef289de..842ccce11a 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/panels.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/workspaces/explorer/panels.tsx
@@ -1,14 +1,38 @@
 /** Explorer's query register chrome: the coordinator run's own state, drawn
  * beside the query it answers, with the one explicit cancel control. Every
  * value is the run's; the lanes below render each source's condition. */
-import { StateChip } from '../../ui/StateChip';
+import { StateChip, type DomainStateKind } from '../../ui/StateChip';
 import { cn } from '../../ui/cn';
 import { Meter } from '../../ui/instrument.tsx';
 import type { ExplorerQueryRunV1 } from '../../contracts/generated.ts';
 import type { EnvelopeResult } from '../../data/query/envelope.ts';
+import type { ScopeWritability } from '../../data/scope/store.ts';
 import type { RunProgress } from './controller.ts';
 import { runStateKind } from './laneModel.ts';
 
+/** What the register says while no run exists: the scope's refusal when the
+ * scope authority declined to dispatch one, otherwise the plan being admitted
+ * or the transport failure that answered instead. */
+function noRunReading(
+  writability: ScopeWritability,
+  result: EnvelopeResult<ExplorerQueryRunV1> | undefined,
+): { kind: DomainStateKind; detail: string } {
+  switch (writability.state) {
+    case 'read_only':
+      return { kind: 'locked', detail: 'no run created: the scope is read-only' };
+    case 'unknown':
+      return { kind: 'unknown', detail: 'no run created until the scope is checked' };
+    case 'writable':
+      return result?.outcome === 'transport'
+        ? { kind: result.state, detail: result.detail ?? 'coordinator response unavailable' }
+        : { kind: 'loading', detail: 'admitting the source plan' };
+    default: {
+      const exhaustive: never = writability;
+      return exhaustive;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * The run readout. Progress is counted in sources concluded, because that is
  * the only figure with a real denominator: sources report incommensurable
@@ -21,6 +45,7 @@ import { runStateKind } from './laneModel.ts';
 export function RunRegister({
   result,
   run,
+  writability,
   progress,
   cancelling,
   onCancel,
@@ -28,23 +53,20 @@ export function RunRegister({
 }: {
   result: EnvelopeResult<ExplorerQueryRunV1> | undefined;
   run: ExplorerQueryRunV1 | undefined;
+  writability: ScopeWritability;
   progress: RunProgress | null;
   cancelling: boolean;
   onCancel: (() => void) | undefined;
   className?: string;
 }) {
   if (!run) {
-    // One reading of the result, not two: a transport failure is rendered
-    // from its state and detail; anything else is the plan being admitted.
-    const blocked =
-      result?.outcome === 'transport'
-        ? { kind: result.state, detail: result.detail ?? 'coordinator response unavailable' }
-        : { kind: 'loading' as const, detail: 'admitting the source plan' };
+    const blocked = noRunReading(writability, result);
     return (
       <div
         className={cn('flex min-w-0 flex-wrap items-center gap-x-3 gap-y-1', className)}
         aria-live="polite"
         data-run-register
+        data-run-state={blocked.kind}
       >
         <span className="td-legend">Run</span>
         <StateChip kind={blocked.kind} detail={blocked.detail} />
diff --git a/docs/lookbook-prove/explorer/explorer_browse_four_lanes_1440.png b/docs/lookbook-prove/explorer/explorer_browse_four_lanes_1440.png
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diff --git a/docs/lookbook-prove/explorer/explorer_live_daemon_followup_query.png b/docs/lookbook-prove/explorer/explorer_live_daemon_followup_query.png
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diff --git a/docs/lookbook-prove/explorer/explorer_live_daemon_real_code_rows_selected.png b/docs/lookbook-prove/explorer/explorer_live_daemon_real_code_rows_selected.png
new file mode 100644
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