From f35e273977c787c569f30f8182e7b9b938dc5546 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Paul Lizer <paullizer@microsoft.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2026 15:53:33 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] V2: scroll the chat rail as one panel and pop workflow
 alerts from the bell

On the chat page the rail kept its full height for the navigation and the
link groups, and the conversation list scrolled in what was left: two rows
in a 720px window with two external links. Everything between New chat and
the footer now scrolls as one panel, as the classic sidebar does. Reading
down the list carries the navigation out of view and holds Search chats
(and the bulk bar) right under New chat. The collapsed strip and other
pages are unchanged.

- ConversationRail has no scroller of its own; its header is sticky and
  marked data-stuck while held (solid backing and edge only then).
- Paging and the stuck marker observe the rail's region, so the 120px
  look-ahead now applies.
- The section keeps the region's height while searching, so narrowing
  results cannot drag the search box out from under the cursor.
- Keyboard focus on a row under the held search is moved clear of it
  (WCAG 2.4.11); mouse clicks are left alone.
- The workflow alert notice now hangs from the bell instead of My
  Workspace, which the rail can scroll away: below the bell like its
  panel when expanded, beside it when collapsed or on a phone.

Version 0.261.235. Fixes #1642.

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 application/single_app/config.py              |   2 +-
 .../src/components/chat/ConversationRail.tsx  | 125 +++-
 .../components/layout/NotificationBell.tsx    |  16 +-
 .../v2_ui/src/components/layout/Sidebar.tsx   | 100 ++--
 .../notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.css     |   4 +-
 .../notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx     |  35 +-
 docs/explanation/features/REACT_V2_UI.md      |  16 +
 .../features/V2_WORKFLOW_ALERT_NOTICES.md     |  34 +-
 .../V2_SIDEBAR_CONVERSATION_SCROLL_FIX.md     | 176 ++++++
 docs/guides/manage-notifications.md           |  17 +-
 docs/reference/chat-controls.md               |  18 +-
 .../test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py    | 298 ++++++++++
 .../test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py    | 547 ++++++++++++++++++
 ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py    | 114 +++-
 14 files changed, 1392 insertions(+), 110 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 docs/explanation/fixes/V2_SIDEBAR_CONVERSATION_SCROLL_FIX.md
 create mode 100644 functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py
 create mode 100644 ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py

diff --git a/application/single_app/config.py b/application/single_app/config.py
index cbd13de68..822816685 100644
--- a/application/single_app/config.py
+++ b/application/single_app/config.py
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@
 EXECUTOR_TYPE = 'thread'
 EXECUTOR_MAX_WORKERS = 30
 SESSION_TYPE = 'filesystem'
-VERSION = "0.261.234"
+VERSION = "0.261.235"
 IS_DEVELOPMENT = is_development_env_enabled()
 
 # Opt-out for deployments where App Service Easy Auth is active but the platform
diff --git a/application/v2_ui/src/components/chat/ConversationRail.tsx b/application/v2_ui/src/components/chat/ConversationRail.tsx
index e243062a3..81bcd19d0 100644
--- a/application/v2_ui/src/components/chat/ConversationRail.tsx
+++ b/application/v2_ui/src/components/chat/ConversationRail.tsx
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@
 //
 // The bulk bar appears only while something is selected, in the slot the old "Select" button
 // used to occupy permanently.
+//
+// The list has no scrollbar of its own. It scrolls with the rail around it, so reading down
+// it carries the navigation above out of view, and the search (with the bulk bar under it)
+// is held at the top of the rail's scroll region instead of scrolling away.
 
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { clsx } from 'clsx';
@@ -49,9 +53,12 @@ import {
 import { ConfirmDialog } from '../ui/ConfirmDialog';
 import { Skeleton } from '../ui/primitives';
 import { ConversationExportDialog } from './ConversationExportDialog';
-import type { ReactNode } from 'react';
+import type { FocusEvent, ReactNode, RefObject } from 'react';
 import type { Conversation } from '../../lib/types';
 
+/** Space left between the held search and a row control focus has been moved out from under it. */
+const FOCUS_CLEARANCE_PX = 8;
+
 /**
  * Tag colours, matching the badges shown beside an open conversation's title so the list
  * and the header describe a conversation the same way.
@@ -451,7 +458,12 @@ function BulkAction({
     );
 }
 
-export function ConversationRail() {
+export function ConversationRail({
+    scrollRootRef,
+}: {
+    /** The rail's scroll region, which this list scrolls with rather than on its own. */
+    scrollRootRef: RefObject<HTMLElement>;
+}) {
     const {
         conversations,
         conversationsLoading,
@@ -472,6 +484,8 @@ export function ConversationRail() {
 
     const sentinelRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
     const selectAllRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
+    const headerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
+    const stuckMarkerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
 
     /**
      * The export in flight, or null.
@@ -534,7 +548,10 @@ export function ConversationRail() {
     }, []);
 
     // Paging is driven by an IntersectionObserver rather than a scroll handler so it does
-    // not fire on every scroll frame.
+    // not fire on every scroll frame. It watches the rail's scroll region rather than the
+    // viewport: measured against the viewport, the region's edge clipped the end of the list
+    // before the look-ahead margin could reach it, so the next page waited until the last
+    // row was already on screen.
     useEffect(() => {
         const sentinel = sentinelRef.current;
         if (!sentinel || !hasMore) {
@@ -547,12 +564,74 @@ export function ConversationRail() {
                     void loadMore();
                 }
             },
-            { rootMargin: '120px' },
+            { root: scrollRootRef.current, rootMargin: '120px' },
         );
 
         observer.observe(sentinel);
         return () => observer.disconnect();
-    }, [hasMore, loadMore]);
+    }, [hasMore, loadMore, scrollRootRef]);
+
+    /**
+     * Mark the search header while it is stuck to the top of the rail.
+     *
+     * Stuck, the header needs a solid backing so rows passing beneath it do not show through
+     * the glass, and an edge where the list starts. At rest it stays transparent, so the rail
+     * looks as it always has. The marker is written to the node rather than held in state:
+     * state would re-render every row each time the header crossed the threshold.
+     *
+     * "Stuck" rather than "pinned", which in this list means a pinned conversation.
+     */
+    useEffect(() => {
+        const marker = stuckMarkerRef.current;
+        const header = headerRef.current;
+        const root = scrollRootRef.current;
+        if (!marker || !header || !root) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        const observer = new IntersectionObserver(
+            (entries) => {
+                const entry = entries[0];
+                if (!entry) {
+                    return;
+                }
+                const rootTop = entry.rootBounds?.top ?? root.getBoundingClientRect().top;
+                // Out of view because it scrolled up past the region's top, not because the
+                // whole list sits below a short rail.
+                const stuck = !entry.isIntersecting && entry.boundingClientRect.top < rootTop;
+                header.toggleAttribute('data-stuck', stuck);
+            },
+            { root },
+        );
+
+        observer.observe(marker);
+        return () => observer.disconnect();
+    }, [scrollRootRef]);
+
+    /**
+     * Keep keyboard focus clear of the held header (WCAG 2.4.11).
+     *
+     * A row control reached with Tab or Shift+Tab that sits under the held search is moved
+     * just below it. CSS cannot do this here: Chromium ignores a control's scroll-margin when
+     * the control is already inside the scroll region, and scroll-padding on the region also
+     * applies to the held search box, so focusing the search threw the list hundreds of pixels.
+     *
+     * Only keyboard focus is moved. A click lands on the part of the row the reader can see,
+     * and scrolling the row out from under the pointer between press and release would leave
+     * the release on another row and swallow the click.
+     */
+    const keepFocusClearOfHeader = (event: FocusEvent<HTMLElement>) => {
+        const header = headerRef.current;
+        const root = scrollRootRef.current;
+        const target = event.target;
+        if (!header || !root || !(target instanceof HTMLElement) || !target.matches(':focus-visible')) {
+            return;
+        }
+        const covered = header.getBoundingClientRect().bottom - target.getBoundingClientRect().top;
+        if (covered > 0) {
+            root.scrollTop -= covered + FOCUS_CLEARANCE_PX;
+        }
+    };
 
     const confirmRemoval = () => {
         if (!pendingRemoval) {
@@ -578,7 +657,14 @@ export function ConversationRail() {
 
     return (
         <div
-            className="flex h-full min-h-0 flex-col"
+            className={clsx(
+                'relative mt-4 border-t border-edge',
+                // While a search is narrowing the list, the section keeps at least the rail's
+                // height. Otherwise a short result list would shrink the scroll range, drag the
+                // navigation back into view and pull the search box out from under the
+                // reader's cursor as they type.
+                searchTerm && 'min-h-full',
+            )}
             onKeyDown={(event) => {
                 // A dialog opened from the rail portals out of it, but focus stays on the
                 // control that opened it — so without this guard, Escape would dismiss the
@@ -603,7 +689,24 @@ export function ConversationRail() {
                 }
             }}
         >
-            <div className="px-3 pb-2">
+            {/* Where the header sits at rest. Once this has scrolled up past the top of the
+                rail, the header is being held there. */}
+            <div
+                ref={stuckMarkerRef}
+                aria-hidden="true"
+                className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-x-0 top-0 h-px"
+            />
+
+            {/* Holds to the top of the rail's scroll region, right under New chat, so search
+                and the bulk bar stay in reach however far down the list the reader is. */}
+            <div
+                ref={headerRef}
+                data-conversation-rail-header=""
+                className={clsx(
+                    'sticky top-0 z-10 px-3 pt-3 pb-2',
+                    'data-stuck:bg-surface-solid data-stuck:shadow-[0_1px_0_var(--edge-strong)]',
+                )}
+            >
                 <div className="relative">
                     <Search
                         size={14}
@@ -698,7 +801,7 @@ export function ConversationRail() {
                 </span>
             </div>
 
-            <div className="min-h-0 flex-1 overflow-y-auto px-3 pb-2">
+            <div className="px-3 pb-2">
                 {conversationsError && (
                     <p className="px-1 py-2 text-xs text-danger">{conversationsError}</p>
                 )}
@@ -717,7 +820,11 @@ export function ConversationRail() {
                     </p>
                 )}
 
-                <ul className="space-y-0.5">
+                {/* Each row control is a stop in the tab order, and the browser only brings one
+                    into view when it lies outside the rail's scroll region. A row just under the
+                    held search lies inside it, so Shift+Tab can otherwise land on a control the
+                    header covers (WCAG 2.4.11). */}
+                <ul className="space-y-0.5" onFocus={keepFocusClearOfHeader}>
                     {conversations.map((conversation) => (
                         <ConversationRow
                             key={conversation.id}
diff --git a/application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/NotificationBell.tsx b/application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/NotificationBell.tsx
index dc2a01b99..0433aa25b 100644
--- a/application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/NotificationBell.tsx
+++ b/application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/NotificationBell.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 // V2 has no top bar, so the bell sits in the rail's header beside the brand mark. Expanded,
 // it shows how many notices are unread; collapsed to the icon strip there is no room for a
 // number, so a dot says there is something to read and the accessible name says how much.
+//
+// A workflow alert that pops up hangs from the bell as well, so it arrives where every notice
+// can be found again and tucks back into the thing it came out of. The bell's wrapper is the
+// notice's positioning anchor, and the notice follows the bell in the tab order.
 
 import { useCallback, useId, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { clsx } from 'clsx';
@@ -12,9 +16,15 @@ import { formatNotificationCount } from '../../lib/notifications';
 import { useReducedMotion } from '../../lib/workflowAlertMotion';
 import { useNotificationStore } from '../../stores/notificationStore';
 import { useWorkflowAlertStore } from '../../stores/workflowAlertStore';
+import { WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot } from '../notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice';
 import { NotificationPanel } from './NotificationPanel';
 import '../notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.css';
 
+/**
+ * `className` lays out the bell's wrapper in the rail. The workflow alert notice is positioned
+ * from that wrapper, so in the collapsed strip it spans the strip's inner width: the notice
+ * then flies out from the strip's edge rather than from inside it.
+ */
 export function NotificationBell({ collapsed, className }: { collapsed: boolean; className?: string }) {
     const count = useNotificationStore((state) => state.count);
     // Bumped when a workflow alert's notice tucks in here; the bell swings once in answer.
@@ -37,7 +47,7 @@ export function NotificationBell({ collapsed, className }: { collapsed: boolean;
     }, []);
 
     return (
-        <>
+        <div className={clsx('relative flex shrink-0', className)}>
             <button
                 ref={buttonRef}
                 type="button"
@@ -52,7 +62,6 @@ export function NotificationBell({ collapsed, className }: { collapsed: boolean;
                 className={clsx(
                     'relative shrink-0 rounded-lg p-1.5 text-text-3 transition-colors hover:bg-surface-2 hover:text-text-1',
                     open && 'bg-surface-2 text-text-1',
-                    className,
                 )}
             >
                 <span
@@ -80,7 +89,8 @@ export function NotificationBell({ collapsed, className }: { collapsed: boolean;
                     </span>
                 )}
             </button>
+            <WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot collapsed={collapsed} />
             {open && <NotificationPanel id={panelId} anchorRef={buttonRef} onClose={close} />}
-        </>
+        </div>
     );
 }
diff --git a/application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/Sidebar.tsx b/application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/Sidebar.tsx
index 64c726a54..01b7ea220 100644
--- a/application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/Sidebar.tsx
+++ b/application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/Sidebar.tsx
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ import { ConversationRail } from '../chat/ConversationRail';
 import { NavExtras } from './NavExtras';
 import { NotificationBell } from './NotificationBell';
 import { UserAvatar } from './UserAvatar';
-import { WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot, useWorkflowAlertCalloutShown } from '../notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice';
+import { useWorkflowAlertCalloutShown } from '../notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice';
 
 interface NavItem {
     to: string;
@@ -282,10 +282,13 @@ export function Sidebar({ mobile = false }: { mobile?: boolean }) {
     const location = useLocation();
     const expandRef = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);
     const collapseRef = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);
+    const railScrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
     const alertCalloutShown = useWorkflowAlertCalloutShown();
 
     const onChatPage = location.pathname.startsWith('/chat');
     const collapsed = mobile ? !mobileNavOpen : railCollapsed;
+    // The conversation list is drawn only on the chat page, and only in the full rail.
+    const showConversations = onChatPage && !collapsed;
     const toggleNavigation = () => mobile ? setMobileNavOpen(!mobileNavOpen) : toggleRail();
 
     useEffect(() => {
@@ -349,7 +352,7 @@ export function Sidebar({ mobile = false }: { mobile?: boolean }) {
                 collapsed ? 'w-[68px]' : 'w-[280px]',
                 mobile && 'absolute inset-y-0 left-0 z-50 max-w-full',
                 mobile && mobileNavOpen && 'glass-modal',
-                // A workflow alert's callout flies out past the collapsed strip, over the page.
+                // A workflow alert's notice hangs from the bell past the rail's edge, over the page.
                 !mobile && alertCalloutShown && 'z-40',
             )}
         >
@@ -382,8 +385,10 @@ export function Sidebar({ mobile = false }: { mobile?: boolean }) {
             {collapsed && (
                 <>
                     {/* The collapsed strip has no room beside the brand, so the bell takes the
-                        row under it and shows a dot instead of a number. */}
-                    <NotificationBell collapsed className="mx-auto mb-1" />
+                        row under it and shows a dot instead of a number. Its wrapper spans the
+                        strip's inner width, so a workflow alert flying out from the bell starts
+                        at the strip's edge. */}
+                    <NotificationBell collapsed className="mx-3 mb-1 justify-center" />
                     <button
                         type="button"
                         ref={expandRef}
@@ -422,49 +427,54 @@ export function Sidebar({ mobile = false }: { mobile?: boolean }) {
                 </div>
             )}
 
-            <ul className={clsx('space-y-0.5 px-3', onChatPage && 'mt-3')}>
-                {NAV_ITEMS.map((item) => (
-                    <li key={item.to} className={item.to === '/workspace' ? 'relative' : undefined}>
-                        {(() => {
-                            const label = item.to === '/public' ? publicLabels.plural : item.label;
-                            return (
-                        <NavLink
-                            to={item.to}
-                            onClick={item.to === '/chat' ? startNewChatOnArrival : undefined}
-                            title={collapsed ? label : item.hint}
-                            className={({ isActive }) =>
-                                clsx(
-                                    'flex items-center gap-2.5 rounded-xl px-3 py-2 text-sm transition-colors',
-                                    collapsed && 'justify-center px-0',
-                                    isActive
-                                        ? 'bg-accent-soft font-medium text-accent'
-                                        : 'text-text-2 hover:bg-surface-2 hover:text-text-1',
-                                )
-                            }
-                        >
-                            <item.icon size={17} className="shrink-0" />
-                            {!collapsed && <span className="truncate">{label}</span>}
-                        </NavLink>
-                            );
-                        })()}
-                        {/* Workflows live in My Workspace, so a workflow's alert appears here. */}
-                        {item.to === '/workspace' && <WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot collapsed={collapsed} />}
-                    </li>
-                ))}
-            </ul>
+            {/* On the chat page, everything between New chat and the footer scrolls as one
+                panel, as the classic sidebar does. Reading down the conversation list carries
+                the navigation up out of view and pins the list's search right under New chat,
+                so the list gets nearly the whole rail rather than whatever the navigation
+                leaves it. Everywhere else, and in the collapsed strip, nothing here scrolls: the
+                region only fills the height the footer leaves, as the spacer it replaced did. */}
+            <div
+                ref={railScrollRef}
+                data-rail-scroll-region=""
+                className={clsx('flex-1', showConversations && 'min-h-0 overflow-y-auto')}
+            >
+                <ul className={clsx('space-y-0.5 px-3', onChatPage && 'mt-3')}>
+                    {NAV_ITEMS.map((item) => (
+                        <li key={item.to}>
+                            {(() => {
+                                const label = item.to === '/public' ? publicLabels.plural : item.label;
+                                return (
+                            <NavLink
+                                to={item.to}
+                                onClick={item.to === '/chat' ? startNewChatOnArrival : undefined}
+                                title={collapsed ? label : item.hint}
+                                className={({ isActive }) =>
+                                    clsx(
+                                        'flex items-center gap-2.5 rounded-xl px-3 py-2 text-sm transition-colors',
+                                        collapsed && 'justify-center px-0',
+                                        isActive
+                                            ? 'bg-accent-soft font-medium text-accent'
+                                            : 'text-text-2 hover:bg-surface-2 hover:text-text-1',
+                                    )
+                                }
+                            >
+                                <item.icon size={17} className="shrink-0" />
+                                {!collapsed && <span className="truncate">{label}</span>}
+                            </NavLink>
+                                );
+                            })()}
+                        </li>
+                    ))}
+                </ul>
 
-            {/* Custom pages and external links an administrator configured. Renders
-                nothing when neither is enabled, which is the default. */}
-            <NavExtras collapsed={collapsed} />
+                {/* Custom pages and external links an administrator configured. Renders
+                    nothing when neither is enabled, which is the default. */}
+                <NavExtras collapsed={collapsed} />
 
-            {/* The conversation list only belongs in the rail while the chat page is open,
-                so other pages get the full rail height for their own navigation. */}
-            {onChatPage && !collapsed && (
-                <div className="mt-4 min-h-0 flex-1 border-t border-edge pt-3">
-                    <ConversationRail />
-                </div>
-            )}
-            {(!onChatPage || collapsed) && <div className="flex-1" />}
+                {/* The conversation list only belongs in the rail while the chat page is open,
+                    so other pages get the full rail height for their own navigation. */}
+                {showConversations && <ConversationRail scrollRootRef={railScrollRef} />}
+            </div>
 
             <div className="shrink-0 space-y-1 border-t border-edge p-3">
                 <button
diff --git a/application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.css b/application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.css
index 42704b7d7..f51a5add2 100644
--- a/application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.css
+++ b/application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.css
@@ -90,7 +90,9 @@
     transform-origin: 50% 12%;
 }
 
-/* The callout's pointer at My Workspace, drawn in the notice's own surface and edge. */
+/* The callout's pointer at the bell, drawn in the notice's own surface and edge. Its offsets
+ * are what WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot lines the notice up by: 18px in below the bell, 16px down
+ * beside it. */
 .wf-alert-notch {
     position: absolute;
     width: 12px;
diff --git a/application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx b/application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx
index 75f69c1b5..572367497 100644
--- a/application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx
+++ b/application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,17 @@
 // WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx
 // The small notice a workflow alert first appears as, before it is opened into the card.
 //
-// It is a callout from the My Workspace item in the rail, where workflows live, with a notch
-// pointing at the item. In the full rail it drops down below the item and overlays the items
-// under it rather than pushing them, so the conversation list never jumps. With the rail
-// collapsed to its icon strip, including mobile's, it flies out to the right of the icon
-// instead. (A top-centre pill was also built and compared in the alert lab; the callout was
+// It is a callout from the bell in the rail, the place every notice can be found again, with a
+// notch pointing at the bell. In the full rail it drops down from the bell the way the bell's
+// own panel does, hanging past the rail's edge over the page. It overlays what is under it
+// rather than pushing it, so the conversation list never jumps, and most of New chat stays
+// clickable beside it. With the rail collapsed to its icon strip, including mobile's, it flies
+// out to the right of the bell instead.
+//
+// It used to hang from My Workspace, where workflows live. It moved to the bell (0.261.235)
+// because the chat page's rail scrolls its navigation out of view as the conversation list is
+// read, which could carry the item, and the notice with it, off screen; the bell never
+// scrolls. (A top-centre pill was also built and compared in the alert lab; the callout was
 // chosen because the pill covered the page's own header and actions on a phone.)
 //
 // It shows one entry at a time, the loudest waiting, and says how many more are behind it. It
@@ -125,8 +131,8 @@ function NoticeBody({
         () => void tuck(),
     );
 
-    // The notice overlays the rail items below My Workspace, or the page beside the strip, so
-    // tabbing on from it lands on something it covers. Focus must never sit hidden under it
+    // The notice overlays the rail items under the bell, or the page beside the rail, so
+    // tabbing on from it can land on something it covers. Focus must never sit hidden under it
     // (WCAG 2.2, 2.4.11), so it tucks into the bell and leaves focus where it went. The alert
     // stays unread there, like any other tuck.
     useEffect(() => {
@@ -299,8 +305,13 @@ export function WorkflowAlertNotice({ placement }: { placement: WorkflowAlertNot
 }
 
 /**
- * The notice's anchor, inside the My Workspace item. Below the item in the full rail; beside
- * its icon when the rail is a strip, capped so a phone's narrow screen still fits it.
+ * The notice's anchor, inside the bell's wrapper.
+ *
+ * In the full rail it drops from the bell as the bell's panel does, eight pixels below it, and
+ * is shifted left so its notch (18px in, 12px wide, so centred 24px in) sits under the bell's
+ * centre. In the collapsed strip, including a phone's, it flies out from the strip's edge with
+ * its notch (16px down, centred 22px down) level with the bell, capped so a phone's narrow
+ * screen still fits it.
  */
 export function WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot({ collapsed }: { collapsed: boolean }) {
     const shown = useNoticeShown();
@@ -311,10 +322,10 @@ export function WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot({ collapsed }: { collapsed: boolean })
         <div
             data-workflow-alert-slot="callout"
             className={clsx(
-                'absolute z-50',
+                'absolute z-50 w-72',
                 collapsed
-                    ? 'top-0 left-full ml-3 w-72 max-w-[calc(100vw_-_68px_-_1rem)]'
-                    : 'top-full right-0 left-0 mt-2',
+                    ? 'top-[calc(50%_-_22px)] left-full ml-3 max-w-[calc(100vw_-_68px_-_1rem)]'
+                    : 'top-full left-[calc(50%_-_24px)] mt-2',
             )}
         >
             <WorkflowAlertNotice placement={collapsed ? 'flyout' : 'below'} />
diff --git a/docs/explanation/features/REACT_V2_UI.md b/docs/explanation/features/REACT_V2_UI.md
index 612871989..41d67f5b4 100644
--- a/docs/explanation/features/REACT_V2_UI.md
+++ b/docs/explanation/features/REACT_V2_UI.md
@@ -280,6 +280,20 @@ and the conversation list sit beneath, and the theme toggle and user menu are pi
 bottom. The rail collapses to a 68px icon strip, and the collapse state is persisted. All
 content lives in the right-hand pane.
 
+On the chat page, with the rail expanded, everything between **New chat** and the footer
+scrolls as one panel, as the classic sidebar does. Reading down the conversation list
+carries the navigation and the administrator's link groups up out of view. The list's
+**Search chats** box, with the selection bar under it when conversations are selected, is
+held right under **New chat**, so the list gets nearly the whole rail rather than whatever
+the navigation leaves it. Scrolling back up brings the navigation back.
+
+The held search gets a solid backing and an edge line only while it is held, so the resting
+rail looks as it always did. While a search is narrowing the list, the panel keeps its scroll
+range, so the search box doesn't jump as results shrink. Keyboard focus moved onto a row
+under the held search is brought out from under it. The collapsed strip and every other page
+don't scroll. See the [V2 Sidebar Conversation Scroll Fix](../fixes/V2_SIDEBAR_CONVERSATION_SCROLL_FIX.md)
+(0.261.235, #1642).
+
 The brand mark is the link to the home page; there is no separate **Home** navigation item,
 because the logo is where a reader looks for that destination anyway. What it draws depends
 on what is configured and how much room there is:
@@ -1175,6 +1189,8 @@ this entirely and is the recommended layout.
 | `functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_account_menu.py` | Admin Settings has left the primary navigation for the account menu and is gated on the admin flag, the menu is not gated on the rail being expanded and dismisses on Escape and an outside click, the nav groups collapse with no entry-count threshold, `sidebarMenuState` is writable in both the client key list and the route whitelist and uses the same key names as the classic interface, and the profile photo reaches both the rail and the settings page header |
 | `functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_menu_state_logic.mjs` | Executes the shared menu-state helpers: the whitelist matching the classic interface, boolean and legacy string forms, unknown keys and unusable values dropped, an untouched group defaulting to open, and a write carrying the whole object so a V2 toggle cannot reset the classic interface's own menus |
 | `functional_tests/test_v2_brand_mark_home_link.py` | The **Home** nav item, its icon import and the exact-match field it needed all removed; the brand mark carrying the home destination with the exact matching that keeps it off every other route; the link naming itself for the collapsed rail; and the letter square gated on the title being absent rather than on the logo being absent |
+| `functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py` | One scroll region holding the navigation, the link groups and the conversation list between **New chat** and the footer, scrolling only on the chat page with the rail expanded; no scroller in the list itself; the search header held and marked without React state; paging and the marker rooted on the region; the search section keeping the region's height while searching; keyboard-only focus clearance under the held header; and the workflow alert notice rendered by the bell rather than by **My Workspace** |
+| `ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py` | The production rail at 1280×720 and on a 360px phone: an unchanged resting layout; the navigation scrolling away and the search held right under **New chat** with at least ten rows showing; one scrollbar; the next page requested before the end is on screen; Shift+Tab never landing under the held search; a click on a partly covered row still opening it; a narrowing search not moving the search box; no scroller in the collapsed rail or on the home page; and the held backing in both themes |
 | `functional_tests/test_csrf_state_changing_route_guard.py` | Cross-site mutations require an explicitly trusted origin; CORS preflights answered before authentication and never wildcarded |
 | `functional_tests/route_tests/` | Blueprint policy classification for `frontend_v2`, `backend_v2`, `backend_v2_admin` |
 
diff --git a/docs/explanation/features/V2_WORKFLOW_ALERT_NOTICES.md b/docs/explanation/features/V2_WORKFLOW_ALERT_NOTICES.md
index 0a525555c..8cd2a07c9 100644
--- a/docs/explanation/features/V2_WORKFLOW_ALERT_NOTICES.md
+++ b/docs/explanation/features/V2_WORKFLOW_ALERT_NOTICES.md
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 A workflow alert that needs attention now pops up in V2. Until this release, V2 only
 counted workflow alerts in the bell (added in 0.261.195), so a critical alert
 waited there until someone happened to open the panel. Classic has always popped
-these alerts up as a modal. V2 shows a small notice instead, anchored to
-**My Workspace** in the navigation rail. The notice doesn't take focus, so it never
+these alerts up as a modal. V2 shows a small notice instead, hanging from the
+notification bell in the navigation rail. The notice doesn't take focus, so it never
 interrupts typing. Opening it grows it into the full alert card, and closing it
 tucks it into the bell, where the alert stays unread.
 
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ Implemented in version: **0.261.199**, tracked in
 
 Open and Dismiss up front, with everything else under Show more, since version: **0.261.228** (#1624).
 
+Hanging from the bell rather than **My Workspace** since version: **0.261.235** (#1642).
+
 Dependencies:
 
 - The V2 bell ([V2 Notification Bell and Desktop Notifications](V2_NOTIFICATIONS_BELL.md)).
@@ -103,14 +105,17 @@ doesn't flash up on return.
 
 ## The notice
 
-The notice is a callout from **My Workspace**, where workflows live, with a notch
-pointing at the item.
+The notice is a callout from the notification bell, the place every notice can be found
+again, with a notch pointing at the bell. It used to hang from **My Workspace**, where
+workflows live. Since 0.261.235 the chat page's rail scrolls its navigation out of view as
+the conversation list is read, which could carry that item, and the notice with it, off
+screen. The bell never scrolls.
 
 | Rail | Placement |
 |---|---|
-| Expanded | Drops down below My Workspace and overlays the items under it rather than pushing them, so the conversation list never jumps |
-| Collapsed to the icon strip | Flies out to the right of the icon |
-| Mobile | Flies out from the strip's icon, as when collapsed, and waits while the navigation drawer is open |
+| Expanded | Drops 8 px below the bell, as the bell's own panel does, with its notch under the bell. It hangs past the rail's edge over the top of the page, so most of **New chat** stays clickable, and it overlays what is under it rather than pushing it, so the conversation list never jumps |
+| Collapsed to the icon strip | Flies out to the right of the strip, level with the bell |
+| Mobile | Flies out from the strip's bell, as when collapsed, and waits while the navigation drawer is open |
 
 It shows one entry at a time: the loudest waiting, and then the newest. Each entry
 shows:
@@ -137,9 +142,10 @@ stays unread in the bell and, having been claimed, doesn't pop up again.
 ### Focus and announcements
 
 - The notice never takes focus, so typing is never interrupted.
-- It sits in the tab order right after **My Workspace**, the item it hangs from.
-- Moving focus onto something the notice covers, such as the rail items under it,
-  tucks the notice, so it never hides what has focus.
+- It sits in the tab order right after the bell, the control it hangs from.
+- Moving focus onto something the notice covers, such as the rail items under the bell
+  or the top of the page beside the rail, tucks the notice, so it never hides what has
+  focus.
 - Each new notice is announced once through a live region. The announcement is
   polite, or assertive when the loudest alert is critical. For example:
   "Critical priority workflow alert: Ledger totals do not match, from Payments
@@ -266,8 +272,8 @@ medium one. The card keeps the entry it is showing.
 
 ## Motion
 
-- **Entrance.** CSS keyframes: `wf-alert-drop` below the item, `wf-alert-flyout`
-  beside the icon (220 ms).
+- **Entrance.** CSS keyframes: `wf-alert-drop` below the bell, `wf-alert-flyout`
+  beside it (220 ms).
 - **The bell's swing.** `wf-bell-swing` (720 ms), on the notice's icon as it arrives
   and on the bell when a notice tucks into it.
 - **Grow and tuck.** Web Animations, because they run between boxes only script can
@@ -395,7 +401,7 @@ as Flask does in production. Before, it answered those with Vite's "did you mean
 | `application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertLiveRegion.tsx` | New: the announcements |
 | `application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/workflowAlertTone.ts` | New: priority colors and icons |
 | `application/v2_ui/src/components/ui/Modal.tsx` | A header that replaces the title row, for the card's band |
-| `application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/Sidebar.tsx`, `AppShell.tsx`, `NotificationBell.tsx` | The notice's slot under My Workspace, the card and live region, the bell's swing |
+| `application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/Sidebar.tsx`, `AppShell.tsx`, `NotificationBell.tsx` | The card and live region, the bell's swing, and (since 0.261.235) the notice's slot beside the bell |
 | `application/v2_ui/src/App.tsx` | Mounts the runtime, and loads the lab route lazily in development only |
 | `application/v2_ui/src/dev/AlertLabPage.tsx`, `alertLabSamples.ts` | New: the alert lab |
 | `application/v2_ui/src/pages/workspace/WorkflowsSection.tsx` | Acts on each navigation that names a workflow once, read from the router, so Open workflow works while the list is open |
@@ -427,7 +433,7 @@ as Flask does in production. Before, it answered those with Vite's "did you mean
 | `functional_tests/route_tests/test_workflow_alert_since_hours_policy.py` | 8 functions | The route keeps its Blueprint, Swagger and authentication policy; classic's request is unchanged; V2's window is validated and passed through; out-of-range limits fall back as before; invalid windows are refused without reading; a reader failure keeps the existing error shape; through the real reader with a failing Cosmos query, V2's read answers `500` and classic's still answers an empty list |
 | `functional_tests/test_v2_alert_lab_excluded_from_build.py` | 4 | The lab's markers exist only in lab code; the reference scanner recognizes every import form; the only reference to the lab is App.tsx's lazy import inside the `import.meta.env.DEV` branch; an existing production build has no file named for the lab and no lab marker (skipped without a build) |
 | `functional_tests/test_workflow_priority_alerts.py` | Existing | Classic's workflow alert contract, with the new signature |
-| `ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py` | 29 | Pop-up versus notify-only and the 24-hour window against a server that leaves both filters out; one claim across two tabs of one browser, and a tab opened later; waiting behind a dialog, the bell's panel and a hidden tab; only a successful read retiring an alert, through a failed read on return and a zero count whose confirming read fails; a rise on return read behind a read already on its way; the eight-second tuck, its hover and focus pause, and high and critical staying; storm grouping; every card action; only Close, Show more, Dismiss and the green Open shown up front, with Open going to the created conversation and settling every alert of the entry, and the detail, chips and other actions under Show more; keyboard focus, Escape and the tuck on covering focus; motion with and without reduced motion, including the Web Animations' properties and every `wf-*` keyframe; the rail expanded, collapsed and on a 360 px phone in both themes; text contrast for every priority and category in both themes, with and without reduced transparency; hostile text rendered as text; refused off-site links; and Open workflow's personal, group and unplaceable cases |
+| `ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py` | 30 | Pop-up versus notify-only and the 24-hour window against a server that leaves both filters out; one claim across two tabs of one browser, and a tab opened later; waiting behind a dialog, the bell's panel and a hidden tab; only a successful read retiring an alert, through a failed read on return and a zero count whose confirming read fails; a rise on return read behind a read already on its way; the eight-second tuck, its hover and focus pause, and high and critical staying; storm grouping; every card action; only Close, Show more, Dismiss and the green Open shown up front, with Open going to the created conversation and settling every alert of the entry, and the detail, chips and other actions under Show more; keyboard focus right after the bell, Escape and the tuck on covering focus; motion with and without reduced motion, including the Web Animations' properties and every `wf-*` keyframe; the rail expanded, collapsed and on a 360 px phone in both themes, with the notch pointing at the bell in each; the notice staying under the bell while the chat rail is scrolled; text contrast for every priority and category in both themes, with and without reduced transparency; hostile text rendered as text; refused off-site links; and Open workflow's personal, group and unplaceable cases |
 | `ui_tests/test_v2_document_provenance.py` | 6 added | Against the real workflows section, personal and group: Open workflow while the list is open expands the run; a second Open workflow for the same run opens it again; running another workflow afterwards doesn't reopen it; a workflow created after the list was read is found with exactly one more list read, which opens its run; a workflow missing from that read too costs one list read per navigation and no more, opens nothing, shows no error and leaves the list usable |
 
 The UI suite mounts the real V2 frame in a harness build, following
diff --git a/docs/explanation/fixes/V2_SIDEBAR_CONVERSATION_SCROLL_FIX.md b/docs/explanation/fixes/V2_SIDEBAR_CONVERSATION_SCROLL_FIX.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e5b56f798
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/explanation/fixes/V2_SIDEBAR_CONVERSATION_SCROLL_FIX.md
@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+# V2 Sidebar Conversation Scroll Fix
+
+## Issue
+
+On the V2 chat page, the navigation rail kept its full height for the primary navigation
+(**Chats** through **Content review**) and the administrator's link groups (**External
+Links**, **Custom Pages**). The conversation list scrolled in whatever height was left.
+With two external links configured, a 720-pixel-tall window showed two conversations at a
+time. Anyone with more than a handful of conversations spent their time scrolling a strip
+two rows tall, while most of the rail held navigation they had already passed.
+
+The classic interface has avoided this since 0.250.002
+([Whole Sidebar Scroll Fix](WHOLE_SIDEBAR_SCROLL_FIX.md), #1098). Its whole sidebar body
+scrolls as one panel, and the **Conversations** heading stays pinned.
+
+Tracked in #1642.
+
+**Fixed in version:** 0.261.235
+
+## Root cause
+
+`Sidebar.tsx` laid the rail out as one flex column: brand row, **New chat**, the
+navigation list, `NavExtras`, then `ConversationRail` in a `min-h-0 flex-1` wrapper.
+`ConversationRail` gave its list its own `overflow-y-auto`. The navigation items were flex
+items that could not shrink below their content, so they kept their full height, and the
+list was handed only the remainder. Nothing above the list could ever scroll out of the
+way.
+
+A second problem came from the first. The workflow alert notice
+([V2 Workflow Alert Notices](../features/V2_WORKFLOW_ALERT_NOTICES.md)) hung from the
+**My Workspace** item. Once the navigation can scroll away, the notice can be carried off
+screen with it.
+
+## Technical details
+
+### Files modified
+
+| File | Change |
+|---|---|
+| `application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/Sidebar.tsx` | One scroll region wraps the navigation list, `NavExtras` and `ConversationRail`. It scrolls only on the chat page with the rail expanded. The old flex wrapper and spacer are gone, and the alert slot and its `relative` are removed from **My Workspace**. |
+| `application/v2_ui/src/components/chat/ConversationRail.tsx` | No scroller of its own. The search header is `sticky` and marked `data-stuck` while held. Paging watches the rail's region. The section keeps the region's height while a search is active, and keyboard focus is kept clear of the held header. |
+| `application/v2_ui/src/components/layout/NotificationBell.tsx` | The bell's wrapper takes the layout classes and renders the workflow alert notice's slot right after the bell. |
+| `application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx` | The slot positions the notice from the bell: dropping from it when the rail is expanded, flying out beside it when collapsed. |
+| `application/v2_ui/src/components/notifications/WorkflowAlertNotice.css` | The notch comment names its new target and the offsets the slot relies on. |
+| `application/single_app/config.py` | Version to 0.261.235. |
+| `functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py` | New source-level test. |
+| `ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py` | New browser test. |
+| `ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py` | Updated for the bell anchor, plus a scrolled-rail regression. |
+
+### Code changes
+
+**One scroll region.** Everything between **New chat** and the theme and account footer
+now sits in a single `div` that is `flex-1 min-h-0 overflow-y-auto` while the conversation
+list is shown. Reading down the list carries the navigation and the link groups up out of
+view. Scrolling back up brings them back. The brand row, **New chat** and the footer are
+outside the region and never move.
+
+Elsewhere, meaning other pages and the collapsed strip, the region is only `flex-1`. That
+fills the height the footer leaves exactly as the old spacer did, so those layouts are
+unchanged.
+
+**Search held under New chat.** The list's search header is `sticky top-0` inside the
+region, so it stops right under **New chat**. When rows are selected, the bulk-selection
+bar is part of the same header and is held too. The header's `pt-3` is the old wrapper's
+top padding moved inside it, so the resting layout is identical. While held, the header gets
+a solid `--surface-solid` backing and a 1px `--edge-strong` shadow, so rows passing beneath
+don't show through the glass. At rest it stays transparent.
+
+An IntersectionObserver, rooted on the region, watches a 1-pixel marker at the section's
+top and toggles `data-stuck` on the header. The marker is written to the DOM node rather
+than kept in React state, because state would re-render every row each time the header
+crossed the threshold.
+
+**Paging look-ahead.** The paging observer now uses the region as its `root`. Measured
+against the viewport, the region's edge clipped the `120px` look-ahead margin, so the next
+page waited until the last row was already on screen. The same clipping applied to the old
+nested scroller.
+
+**A search that doesn't jump.** While a search term is set, the conversation section keeps
+at least the region's height (`min-h-full`). Without it, typing a search while the header
+is held shrinks the list and the scroll range. The navigation then scrolls back into view,
+pulling the search box down from under the reader's cursor.
+
+**Keyboard focus never hidden (WCAG 2.4.11).** The browser only scrolls a focused control
+into view when the control lies outside the scroll region. A row control just under the
+held search lies inside it, so Shift+Tab could land on a control the header covers.
+
+CSS couldn't fix this here:
+
+- Chromium ignored `scroll-margin-top` on the row controls. The computed value was applied,
+  but `focus()` didn't scroll.
+- `scroll-padding-top` on the region was honored, but it also applied to the held search
+  box itself. Focusing the search scrolled the list 516 pixels.
+
+Instead, an `onFocus` handler on the list moves a covered control just below the header.
+It acts only on `:focus-visible` focus. A mouse click lands on the part of the row the
+reader can see, and moving the row out from under the pointer between press and release
+would swallow the click.
+
+**Workflow alert notice moved to the bell.** The bell never scrolls, so the notice now hangs
+from it:
+
+- Expanded rail: the notice drops 8 pixels below the bell, as the bell's own panel does.
+  It's shifted so its notch points at the bell's centre, and it hangs past the rail's edge,
+  so most of **New chat** stays clickable.
+- Collapsed rail or phone: it flies out from the strip's edge, level with the bell.
+
+The notice follows the bell in the tab order. Its timers, claims, tuck, card and live
+region are unchanged.
+
+### Testing approach
+
+- Source-level assertions guard the structure, observer roots, the focus handler and the
+  alert anchor. These match the convention for V2 rail changes.
+- Real-component browser tests run the production `AppShell`, `Sidebar`, `ConversationRail`,
+  `ChatPage` and stores with production CSS, through the orchestration harness. Only HTTP is
+  stubbed.
+- The workflow alert suite runs the real rail, bell, notice, card and both notification
+  runtimes.
+
+### Impact
+
+- Chat page, expanded rail on desktop and in the phone drawer: the list gets nearly the
+  whole rail once you scroll.
+- Collapsed rail and other pages: no layout change.
+- Workflow alert notices appear beside the bell rather than under **My Workspace**. With
+  the rail expanded, the notice now overlaps the top of the page next to the rail while it
+  shows. As before, moving focus onto anything it covers tucks it into the bell.
+
+## Validation
+
+### Test results
+
+| Command | Result |
+|---|---|
+| `python functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py` | 7/7 passed |
+| `python -m pytest ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py` | 9 passed |
+| `python -m pytest ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py` | 30 passed |
+| `npm --prefix application/v2_ui run typecheck` | Passed |
+
+The rail browser test measures the panel at 1280×720 with 75 conversations and two external
+links:
+
+- At rest, the panel is laid out exactly as before.
+- After scrolling, New chat and the footer haven't moved, the navigation is out of view and
+  the search is held right under New chat.
+- At least ten rows are visible, against two before.
+- There is one scrollbar.
+- Page 2 is requested while the end of the list is still 60 pixels below the region's edge.
+- Shift+Tab never lands under the held search, with or without the bulk bar.
+- A mouse click on a row the header partly covers still opens that row.
+- Typing a search while the header is held leaves the search box in place.
+- The collapsed rail and the home page have no scroller.
+- The phone drawer holds the search under New chat.
+- The held backing matches `--surface-solid` in both themes.
+
+### Before and after
+
+| Situation (1280×720, two external links) | Before | After |
+|---|---|---|
+| Conversation rows visible at rest | 2 | 2, laid out exactly as before |
+| Conversation rows visible after scrolling the list | 2, in an 86-pixel scroller | 12, in a 507-pixel region |
+| Search box after scrolling the list | Stays mid-rail | Held right under **New chat** |
+| Navigation and External Links after scrolling | Fixed in place | Scrolled out of view, back on scrolling up |
+| Next page of conversations | Requested once the end is on screen | Requested 120 pixels before the end |
+| Workflow alert notice with the rail scrolled | Would scroll away with **My Workspace** | Hangs from the bell, always on screen |
+| Collapsed rail, other pages | Unchanged | Unchanged |
+
+## Related
+
+- Classic counterpart: [Whole Sidebar Scroll Fix](WHOLE_SIDEBAR_SCROLL_FIX.md)
+- Feature documentation: [React V2 UI](../features/REACT_V2_UI.md),
+  [V2 Workflow Alert Notices](../features/V2_WORKFLOW_ALERT_NOTICES.md)
+- Tests: `functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py`,
+  `ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py`,
+  `ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py`
diff --git a/docs/guides/manage-notifications.md b/docs/guides/manage-notifications.md
index 47b179a13..3a0cde96a 100644
--- a/docs/guides/manage-notifications.md
+++ b/docs/guides/manage-notifications.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ audience: user
 
 The Notifications page lists app notifications, filters read and unread items, searches the list, and opens notification details. You can mark everything read or follow a link when one is provided.
 
-In the V2 interface, a bell in the navigation rail shows how many notifications are unread and opens the same notifications in a panel, where you can follow, read, and dismiss them without leaving the page you are on. Workflow alerts that need attention now also pop up in V2, beside **My Workspace**.
+In the V2 interface, a bell in the navigation rail shows how many notifications are unread and opens the same notifications in a panel, where you can follow, read, and dismiss them without leaving the page you are on. Workflow alerts that need attention now also pop up in V2, from the bell.
 
 {% include media.html type="video"
                       title="Manage notifications walkthrough"
@@ -79,10 +79,11 @@ conversation.
 ## Workflow alerts that pop up in V2
 
 Since **0.261.199**, a workflow alert that needs attention pops up in V2 as a
-small notice hanging from **My Workspace**, where your workflows live. When the rail
-is collapsed to icons, or on a phone, the notice flies out beside the **My Workspace**
-icon instead. It never moves the cursor away from what you are typing, so you can
-finish your sentence before you look.
+small notice. Since **0.261.235** it hangs from the notification bell, where you can
+always find it again. With the rail expanded, it drops down from the bell the way the
+bell's panel does. When the rail is collapsed to icons, or on a phone, it flies out
+beside the bell instead. It never moves the cursor away from what you are typing, so
+you can finish your sentence before you look.
 
 An alert pops up only when all of these are true:
 
@@ -110,9 +111,9 @@ notices stay until you open or close them. Closing a notice with **×** or Escap
 tucks it into the bell, where it stays unread; it doesn't pop up again.
 
 {% include media.html src="guides/manage-notifications-v2-alert-notice.png"
-                      alt="The V2 navigation rail with a high priority workflow alert notice hanging below My Workspace, showing its priority tag, the alert's title, the workflow's name, a Failed 3 times line, and a close button."
+                      alt="The V2 navigation rail with a high priority workflow alert notice hanging below the notification bell, showing its priority tag, the alert's title, the workflow's name, a Failed 3 times line, and a close button."
                       title="V2 workflow alert notice"
-                      capture="Capture the V2 rail with a high priority workflow alert notice under My Workspace, using realistic sample alerts. Redact workflow and conversation names." %}
+                      capture="Capture the V2 rail with a high priority workflow alert notice under the notification bell, using realistic sample alerts. Redact workflow and conversation names." %}
 
 Select the notice to open the full alert. It says why you are seeing it and which
 rules matched, the summary, and what went wrong for a failed run. From there you
@@ -137,7 +138,7 @@ can:
 Closing the full alert without choosing anything leaves its alerts unread in the
 bell.
 
-With a keyboard, the notice comes right after **My Workspace** in the tab order.
+With a keyboard, the notice comes right after the bell in the tab order.
 Press Enter on it to open the full alert. Focus moves into the alert, and returns to
 where you were when it closes. Screen readers announce each notice once, after what
 they are reading; a critical alert is announced straight away.
diff --git a/docs/reference/chat-controls.md b/docs/reference/chat-controls.md
index 2e19f4fce..b419d4b02 100644
--- a/docs/reference/chat-controls.md
+++ b/docs/reference/chat-controls.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ title: "Chat interface controls"
 description: "Reference for every documented control in the SimpleChat chat interface."
 section: "Reference"
 audience: user
-version: "0.261.217"
+version: "0.261.235"
 ---
 
 ## How to use this reference
@@ -42,14 +42,26 @@ Conversation drawers overlay the chat below the wide-desktop breakpoint rather
 than leaving the message pane too narrow to read. **Close panel** returns to the
 chat; wide result tables keep their scrolling inside the table.
 
+### React V2 conversation list scrolling
+
+Since **0.261.235**, the V2 navigation rail on the chat page scrolls as one panel
+between **New chat** and the theme and account controls. As you read down the
+conversation list, the navigation and any **External Links** or **Custom Pages**
+groups move up out of view. **Search chats** stays right under **New chat**, along
+with the selection actions when conversations are selected. The list gets nearly
+the whole rail, which matters most on shorter screens or with several links
+configured. Scroll back up to reach the navigation again. The collapsed icon strip
+and other pages don't scroll this way.
+
 ### React V2 notification bell
 
 Since **0.261.195**, the V2 navigation rail has a notification bell beside the
 application's name. It shows the unread count, or a dot when the rail is collapsed,
 and opens a panel where you can follow, mark read, or dismiss notifications without
 leaving the chat. On narrow screens the bell is on the collapsed strip and in the
-open navigation, and Escape closes the panel before the navigation. See
-[Manage notifications]({{ '/guides/manage-notifications/' | relative_url }}).
+open navigation, and Escape closes the panel before the navigation. Since
+**0.261.235**, a workflow alert that needs attention pops up from the bell as well.
+See [Manage notifications]({{ '/guides/manage-notifications/' | relative_url }}).
 
 ### Foundry sign-in requests
 
diff --git a/functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py b/functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2b6bf1b7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/functional_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py
@@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+# test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py
+"""
+Functional test for the V2 chat rail scrolling as one panel, and the workflow alert notice
+hanging from the bell.
+Version: 0.261.235
+Implemented in: 0.261.235
+
+On the V2 chat page the rail used to keep its whole height for the navigation and the
+administrator's link groups, and the conversation list scrolled in whatever was left. With a
+couple of external links configured, a 720px-tall window showed two conversations (#1642).
+The classic sidebar has scrolled as one panel since 0.250.002 (#1098).
+
+This test ensures that:
+  - on the chat page, with the rail expanded, one scroll region holds the navigation, the
+    link groups and the conversation list, with New chat above it and the footer below it;
+  - the region scrolls nowhere else, so the collapsed strip and other pages lay out as before;
+  - the conversation list has no scroller of its own, its search is held to the top of the
+    region, and a short search result cannot pull the held search box out from under the
+    reader;
+  - paging and the held-header marker watch the region rather than the viewport;
+  - keyboard focus on a row is moved out from under the held header, so it is never hidden;
+  - the workflow alert notice hangs from the bell rather than from My Workspace, which the
+    region can now scroll out of view.
+
+These are source-level assertions, the convention for the V2 rail, so they run without a
+build. ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py drives the rendered rail.
+"""
+
+import os
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+sys.path.append(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+
+from test_support.versioning import assert_app_version_at_least  # noqa: E402
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+V2_SRC = REPO_ROOT / "application" / "v2_ui" / "src"
+SIDEBAR_TSX = V2_SRC / "components" / "layout" / "Sidebar.tsx"
+RAIL_TSX = V2_SRC / "components" / "chat" / "ConversationRail.tsx"
+BELL_TSX = V2_SRC / "components" / "layout" / "NotificationBell.tsx"
+NOTICE_TSX = V2_SRC / "components" / "notifications" / "WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx"
+NOTICE_CSS = V2_SRC / "components" / "notifications" / "WorkflowAlertNotice.css"
+
+
+def _read(path):
+    return path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+
+def _sidebar_component():
+    """The body of the exported Sidebar component, without its helper components."""
+    match = re.search(r"export function Sidebar\((.|\n)*", _read(SIDEBAR_TSX))
+    assert match, "Sidebar should export a Sidebar component"
+    return match.group(0)
+
+
+def _scroll_region(body):
+    """The rail's scroll region, from its opening tag to the footer that follows it."""
+    start = body.find("ref={railScrollRef}")
+    footer = body.find('<div className="shrink-0 space-y-1 border-t border-edge p-3">')
+    assert start != -1, "The rail must have a scroll region bound to railScrollRef"
+    assert footer != -1, "The rail's footer could not be located"
+    assert start < footer, "The scroll region must come before the footer"
+    return start, footer, body[start:footer]
+
+
+def test_the_chat_rail_scrolls_as_one_panel():
+    """Navigation, link groups and conversations share one region between New chat and the footer."""
+    print("Testing the rail's scroll region...")
+
+    body = _sidebar_component()
+    assert "const showConversations = onChatPage && !collapsed;" in body, (
+        "The region scrolls exactly when the conversation list is drawn: the chat page, full rail"
+    )
+    assert "className={clsx('flex-1', showConversations && 'min-h-0 overflow-y-auto')}" in body, (
+        "The region must fill the rail and scroll only while the conversation list is shown"
+    )
+
+    start, footer, region = _scroll_region(body)
+    nav_list = region.find("{NAV_ITEMS.map((item) => (")
+    extras = region.find("<NavExtras collapsed={collapsed} />")
+    rail = region.find("{showConversations && <ConversationRail scrollRootRef={railScrollRef} />}")
+    assert -1 not in (nav_list, extras, rail), (
+        "The navigation list, the link groups and the conversation list must all be inside the region"
+    )
+    assert nav_list < extras < rail, "The region keeps the rail's order: navigation, groups, conversations"
+
+    new_chat = body.find('title="Start a new chat"')
+    assert new_chat != -1 and new_chat < start, (
+        "New chat stays above the region, so the held search settles right under it"
+    )
+    assert body.find("onClick={toggleTheme}") > footer, "The theme toggle stays in the fixed footer"
+    assert body.find("<UserMenu collapsed={collapsed} />") > footer, "The account menu stays in the fixed footer"
+
+    # The pieces the region replaced must not linger and split the height again.
+    assert "mt-4 min-h-0 flex-1 border-t border-edge pt-3" not in body, (
+        "The list's own flexing wrapper must be gone; it is what squeezed the list"
+    )
+    assert "(!onChatPage || collapsed) && <div className=\"flex-1\" />" not in body, (
+        "The region fills the leftover height itself, so the old spacer must be gone"
+    )
+    # New chat's spacing still follows the button (test_v2_new_chat_scoping.py).
+    assert "clsx('space-y-0.5 px-3', onChatPage && 'mt-3')" in region
+
+    print("Rail scroll region test passed!")
+    return True
+
+
+def test_the_conversation_list_has_no_scroller_of_its_own():
+    """One scrollbar for the whole panel, with the search held at its top."""
+    print("Testing the conversation list layout...")
+
+    rail = _read(RAIL_TSX)
+    assert "overflow-y-auto" not in rail, (
+        "The list must scroll with the rail; a scroller of its own is what kept it two rows tall"
+    )
+    assert "flex h-full min-h-0 flex-col" not in rail, "The list no longer sizes itself to a flex slot"
+
+    assert "'relative mt-4 border-t border-edge'" in rail, (
+        "The section carries the divider the Sidebar's wrapper used to draw"
+    )
+    assert "'sticky top-0 z-10 px-3 pt-3 pb-2'" in rail, (
+        "The search header must be held to the top of the rail's region, keeping the old top spacing"
+    )
+    assert "searchTerm && 'min-h-full'" in rail, (
+        "While a search narrows the list, the section must keep the region's height, so a short "
+        "result cannot shrink the scroll range and drag the search box out from under the reader"
+    )
+
+    print("Conversation list layout test passed!")
+    return True
+
+
+def test_the_held_header_is_marked_without_rerendering_the_list():
+    """Solid backing and an edge only while held; at rest the rail looks as it did."""
+    print("Testing the held-header marker...")
+
+    rail = _read(RAIL_TSX)
+    assert "data-stuck:bg-surface-solid" in rail, "Held, the header needs a solid backing"
+    assert "data-stuck:shadow-[0_1px_0_var(--edge-strong)]" in rail, (
+        "Held, the header needs an edge where the list starts; light --edge is a white highlight "
+        "that would vanish on the solid backing"
+    )
+    assert "header.toggleAttribute('data-stuck', stuck);" in rail, (
+        "The marker is written to the node: state would re-render every row at the threshold"
+    )
+    assert re.search(r"ref=\{stuckMarkerRef\}\s*aria-hidden=\"true\"", rail), (
+        "The marker the observer watches is decorative and hidden from assistive technology"
+    )
+
+    print("Held-header marker test passed!")
+    return True
+
+
+def test_paging_and_the_marker_watch_the_rail_region():
+    """Both observers measure against the region the list now scrolls in."""
+    print("Testing the observers' root...")
+
+    rail = _read(RAIL_TSX)
+    assert "scrollRootRef: RefObject<HTMLElement>;" in rail, "The rail's region must be passed in"
+    assert "{ root: scrollRootRef.current, rootMargin: '120px' }" in rail, (
+        "Paging must watch the region, or the region's edge clips the look-ahead margin and the "
+        "next page waits until the last row is already on screen"
+    )
+    assert "}, [hasMore, loadMore, scrollRootRef]);" in rail
+    assert "const root = scrollRootRef.current;" in rail and "{ root }," in rail, (
+        "The held-header marker must be measured against the region's top, not the viewport's"
+    )
+
+    print("Observer root test passed!")
+    return True
+
+
+def test_rows_keep_clear_of_the_held_header():
+    """Keyboard focus is moved out from under the held search, never under it (WCAG 2.4.11)."""
+    print("Testing focus clearance...")
+
+    rail = _read(RAIL_TSX)
+    assert '<ul className="space-y-0.5" onFocus={keepFocusClearOfHeader}>' in rail, (
+        "Row controls reached from the keyboard must be kept clear of the held search: the "
+        "browser only scrolls a focused control into view when it lies outside the region"
+    )
+    handler = re.search(r"const keepFocusClearOfHeader = \((.|\n)*?\n    \};", rail)
+    assert handler, "keepFocusClearOfHeader should be defined in the rail"
+    body = handler.group(0)
+    assert "target.matches(':focus-visible')" in body, (
+        "Only keyboard focus may move the list: scrolling a clicked row out from under the "
+        "pointer before the release would swallow the click"
+    )
+    assert "header.getBoundingClientRect().bottom - target.getBoundingClientRect().top" in body
+    assert "root.scrollTop -= covered + FOCUS_CLEARANCE_PX;" in body
+
+    # Neither CSS mechanism does the job here, and one of them actively harms.
+    assert "scroll-mt-" not in rail, (
+        "Chromium ignores a control's scroll-margin when the control is already in the region"
+    )
+    _, _, region = _scroll_region(_sidebar_component())
+    assert "scroll-pt" not in region and "scroll-padding" not in region, (
+        "Region scroll padding also applies to the held search box, so focusing it would throw "
+        "the list hundreds of pixels"
+    )
+
+    print("Focus clearance test passed!")
+    return True
+
+
+def test_the_workflow_alert_notice_hangs_from_the_bell():
+    """My Workspace can scroll out of view now; the bell cannot."""
+    print("Testing the alert notice anchor...")
+
+    sidebar = _read(SIDEBAR_TSX)
+    assert "WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot" not in sidebar, (
+        "The notice must no longer hang from My Workspace, which the rail can scroll away"
+    )
+    assert "item.to === '/workspace' ? 'relative'" not in sidebar, (
+        "My Workspace no longer anchors anything, so it needs no positioning context"
+    )
+    assert "!mobile && alertCalloutShown && 'z-40'" in sidebar, (
+        "The rail must still lift itself above the page while the notice hangs past its edge"
+    )
+    assert '<NotificationBell collapsed className="mx-3 mb-1 justify-center" />' in sidebar, (
+        "Collapsed, the bell's wrapper spans the strip's inner width so the notice flies out "
+        "from the strip's edge, and the bell stays centred over the expand button"
+    )
+
+    bell = _read(BELL_TSX)
+    assert "<div className={clsx('relative flex shrink-0', className)}>" in bell, (
+        "The bell's wrapper is the notice's positioning anchor and takes the layout classes"
+    )
+    button = bell.find('data-notification-bell=""')
+    slot = bell.find("<WorkflowAlertCalloutSlot collapsed={collapsed} />")
+    panel = bell.find("<NotificationPanel ")
+    assert -1 not in (button, slot, panel), "The bell must render the notice's slot"
+    assert button < slot < panel, (
+        "The notice must follow the bell in the tab order, the item it hangs from"
+    )
+
+    notice = _read(NOTICE_TSX)
+    assert "'top-full left-[calc(50%_-_24px)] mt-2'" in notice, (
+        "Expanded, the notice drops from the bell as the bell's panel does, notch under the bell"
+    )
+    assert "'top-[calc(50%_-_22px)] left-full ml-3 max-w-[calc(100vw_-_68px_-_1rem)]'" in notice, (
+        "Collapsed or on a phone, it flies out from the strip's edge, notch level with the bell"
+    )
+    assert "My Workspace item" not in notice, "The notice's own description must match its anchor"
+
+    # The slot's offsets line the notch up; they only hold while the notch stays where it is.
+    css = _read(NOTICE_CSS)
+    below = re.search(r"\[data-placement='below'\] > \.wf-alert-notch \{(.*?)\}", css, re.DOTALL)
+    flyout = re.search(r"\[data-placement='flyout'\] > \.wf-alert-notch \{(.*?)\}", css, re.DOTALL)
+    assert below and "left: 18px;" in below.group(1), "Below the bell, the notch sits 18px in"
+    assert flyout and "top: 16px;" in flyout.group(1), "Beside the bell, the notch sits 16px down"
+    assert re.search(r"\.wf-alert-notch \{[^}]*width: 12px;[^}]*height: 12px;", css, re.DOTALL), (
+        "The notch is 12px square, which is what centres it 24px in and 22px down"
+    )
+
+    print("Alert notice anchor test passed!")
+    return True
+
+
+def test_version_is_at_least_the_implementation_version():
+    """The application carries at least the version this behaviour arrived in."""
+    print("Testing version...")
+    assert_app_version_at_least(
+        "0.261.235",
+        reason="The V2 rail scroll region and the bell-anchored alert notice landed in 0.261.235.",
+    )
+    print("Version test passed!")
+    return True
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    tests = [
+        test_the_chat_rail_scrolls_as_one_panel,
+        test_the_conversation_list_has_no_scroller_of_its_own,
+        test_the_held_header_is_marked_without_rerendering_the_list,
+        test_paging_and_the_marker_watch_the_rail_region,
+        test_rows_keep_clear_of_the_held_header,
+        test_the_workflow_alert_notice_hangs_from_the_bell,
+        test_version_is_at_least_the_implementation_version,
+    ]
+
+    results = []
+    for test in tests:
+        print(f"\nRunning {test.__name__}...")
+        try:
+            results.append(bool(test()))
+        except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 - surface any failure with a traceback
+            print(f"Test failed: {exc}")
+            import traceback
+
+            traceback.print_exc()
+            results.append(False)
+
+    print(f"\nResults: {sum(results)}/{len(results)} tests passed")
+    sys.exit(0 if all(results) else 1)
diff --git a/ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py b/ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f85c1e99b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui_tests/test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py
@@ -0,0 +1,547 @@
+# test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py
+"""
+Browser regressions for the V2 chat rail scrolling as one panel.
+Version: 0.261.235
+Implemented in: 0.261.235
+
+On the chat page, the rail kept its whole height for the navigation and the administrator's
+link groups, and the conversation list scrolled in what was left: two rows in a 720px-tall
+window with two external links configured (#1642). Now everything between New chat and the
+footer scrolls as one panel, as the classic sidebar does. Reading down the list carries the
+navigation out of view, and the search is held right under New chat.
+
+The production AppShell, Sidebar, NavExtras, ConversationRail, ChatPage, HomePage and stores
+run in Chromium with production CSS, through the orchestration harness. Only HTTP is stubbed:
+a conversation feed of 75 conversations served 30 at a time, with its search, and user
+settings. No live model, deployment or workspace content is used. Screenshots of the held
+search in both themes are written to ui_tests/artifacts/sidebar-conversation-scroll/.
+
+Local Chromium is the default; the shared connect_options fixture supports Azure Playwright.
+
+Build CSS with the existing V2 build, keeping outputs in UI test artifacts:
+npm --prefix .\\application\\v2_ui run build -- --outDir ..\\..\\ui_tests\\artifacts\\orchestration-plan-editor
+Run: python -m pytest .\\ui_tests\\test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py -q
+"""
+
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+from urllib.parse import parse_qs, unquote, urlsplit
+
+import pytest
+from playwright.sync_api import expect
+
+import test_v2_orchestration_plan_editor as editor_tests
+from test_v2_orchestration_plan_editor import (  # noqa: F401
+    connect_options,
+    editor_assets,
+    editor_browser,
+)
+
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.ui
+ARTIFACTS = Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "artifacts" / "sidebar-conversation-scroll"
+DESKTOP = {"width": 1280, "height": 720}
+PHONE = {"width": 360, "height": 740}
+TOTAL = 75
+PAGE_SIZE = 30
+# --surface-solid, the backing the held search is drawn on, in each theme.
+HELD_BACKING = {"light": "rgb(255, 255, 255)", "dark": "rgb(16, 23, 40)"}
+
+# The rail's geometry, read in one pass so every value describes the same frame.
+GEOMETRY = r"""
+() => {
+    const nav = document.getElementById('primary-navigation');
+    const region = nav.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]');
+    const header = nav.querySelector('[data-conversation-rail-header]');
+    const box = (element) => {
+        if (!element) return null;
+        const rect = element.getBoundingClientRect();
+        return {top: rect.top, bottom: rect.bottom, left: rect.left, right: rect.right, height: rect.height};
+    };
+    const link = (name) => [...nav.querySelectorAll('a')].find((item) => item.textContent.trim() === name);
+    const rows = [...nav.querySelectorAll('li.group\\/row')];
+    const regionBox = region.getBoundingClientRect();
+    const floor = header ? header.getBoundingClientRect().bottom : regionBox.top;
+    const visible = rows.filter((row) => {
+        const rect = row.getBoundingClientRect();
+        return rect.top >= floor - 0.5 && rect.bottom <= regionBox.bottom + 0.5;
+    }).length;
+    const scrollers = [...nav.querySelectorAll('*')].filter((element) => {
+        const style = getComputedStyle(element);
+        return /(auto|scroll)/.test(style.overflowY) && element.scrollHeight > element.clientHeight;
+    });
+    return {
+        region: {
+            ...box(region), overflowY: getComputedStyle(region).overflowY,
+            scrollTop: region.scrollTop, scrollHeight: region.scrollHeight, clientHeight: region.clientHeight,
+        },
+        newChat: box(nav.querySelector('[title="Start a new chat"]')),
+        chats: box(link('Chats')),
+        lastLink: box(link('Simple Chat Videos')),
+        search: box(nav.querySelector('input[aria-label="Search conversations"]')),
+        header: header && {
+            ...box(header),
+            stuck: header.hasAttribute('data-stuck'),
+            background: getComputedStyle(header).backgroundColor,
+        },
+        footer: box(nav.querySelector('button[aria-label^="Switch to"]')),
+        rows: rows.length,
+        visible,
+        scrollers: scrollers.length,
+        regionScrolls: scrollers.length === 1 && scrollers[0] === region,
+    };
+}
+"""
+
+# Resolves once the region has stopped moving: a wheel scroll is animated.
+SETTLE = r"""
+() => new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const region = document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]');
+    let last = region.scrollTop;
+    let still = 0;
+    const tick = () => {
+        if (region.scrollTop === last) {
+            still += 1;
+            if (still > 6) {
+                resolve(region.scrollTop);
+                return;
+            }
+        } else {
+            still = 0;
+            last = region.scrollTop;
+        }
+        requestAnimationFrame(tick);
+    };
+    requestAnimationFrame(tick);
+})
+"""
+
+# Where the focused element sits against the held header, or null when focus is not in a row.
+FOCUS_CLEARANCE = r"""
+() => {
+    const active = document.activeElement;
+    if (!active || !active.closest('li.group\\/row')) return null;
+    const header = document.querySelector('[data-conversation-rail-header]');
+    return {
+        label: active.getAttribute('aria-label') || active.textContent.trim(),
+        top: active.getBoundingClientRect().top,
+        headerBottom: header.getBoundingClientRect().bottom,
+    };
+}
+"""
+
+
+def conversation(index):
+    return {
+        "id": f"conv-{index:02d}",
+        "title": f"Conversation {index:02d}",
+        "chat_type": "personal_single_user",
+        "context": [],
+        "is_pinned": index < 2,
+        "is_hidden": False,
+        "has_unread_assistant_response": False,
+        "last_updated": f"2026-10-01T10:{index % 60:02d}:00Z",
+    }
+
+
+class RailApi:
+    """Serves the harness and answers the rail's reads; anything else fails the test."""
+
+    def __init__(self, assets):
+        self.assets = assets
+        self.conversations = [conversation(index) for index in range(TOTAL)]
+        self.feed_queries = []
+        self.errors = []
+        self.unexpected = []
+
+    def handle(self, route):
+        request = route.request
+        url = urlsplit(request.url)
+        path = url.path
+        if request.method == "GET" and path in self.assets:
+            route.fulfill(path=str(self.assets[path]))
+            return
+        if path == "/favicon.ico":
+            route.fulfill(status=204)
+            return
+        if request.method == "GET" and path == "/api/conversations/feed":
+            self.answer_feed(route, {key: values[-1] for key, values in parse_qs(url.query).items()})
+            return
+        if path == "/api/user/settings":
+            if request.method == "GET":
+                route.fulfill(json={"settings": {}})
+            else:
+                route.fulfill(json={"message": "User settings updated successfully"})
+            return
+        if self.answer_open(route, request.method, path):
+            return
+        self.unexpected.append(f"{request.method} {path}")
+        route.fulfill(status=404, json={"error": "Unexpected test request."})
+
+    def answer_open(self, route, method, path):
+        """The reads a conversation makes as it opens, answered for an empty personal thread."""
+        if method == "GET" and path == "/api/get_messages":
+            route.fulfill(json={"messages": []})
+        elif method == "GET" and (match := re.fullmatch(r"/api/conversations/([^/]+)/metadata", path)):
+            conversation_id = unquote(match.group(1))
+            title = next((item["title"] for item in self.conversations if item["id"] == conversation_id), "")
+            route.fulfill(json={"conversation_id": conversation_id, "title": title})
+        elif method == "GET" and (match := re.fullmatch(r"/api/conversations/([^/]+)/kind", path)):
+            route.fulfill(json={"conversation_id": unquote(match.group(1)), "kind": "personal"})
+        elif method == "POST" and re.fullmatch(r"/api/conversations/[^/]+/mark-read", path):
+            route.fulfill(json={"success": True})
+        elif method == "GET" and re.fullmatch(r"/api/chat/stream/status/[^/]+", path):
+            route.fulfill(json={"active": False, "pending": False, "reattachable": False})
+        elif method == "GET" and path == "/api/v2/orchestration/runs":
+            route.fulfill(json={"runs": []})
+        elif method == "GET" and path == "/api/collaboration/file-approvals":
+            route.fulfill(json={"approvals": []})
+        elif method == "GET" and path == "/api/user/collaboration-suggestions":
+            route.fulfill(json={"results": []})
+        else:
+            return False
+        return True
+
+    def answer_feed(self, route, query):
+        """The feed route's paging: page_size rows from an opaque cursor, filtered by title."""
+        self.feed_queries.append(query)
+        term = query.get("search", "").lower()
+        matching = [item for item in self.conversations if term in item["title"].lower()]
+        start = int(query.get("cursor") or 0)
+        size = int(query.get("page_size") or PAGE_SIZE)
+        more = start + size < len(matching)
+        route.fulfill(json={
+            "success": True,
+            "conversations": matching[start:start + size],
+            "has_more": more,
+            "next_cursor": str(start + size) if more else None,
+        })
+
+    def cursors(self):
+        return [query.get("cursor") for query in self.feed_queries if not query.get("search")]
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def open_page(editor_browser, editor_assets):
+    """A fresh page per call, each with its own stub API, checked for stray requests and errors."""
+    opened = []
+
+    def make(viewport=DESKTOP):
+        context = editor_browser.new_context(viewport=viewport)
+        page = context.new_page()
+        api = RailApi(editor_assets)
+        page.route("**/*", api.handle)
+        page.on("pageerror", lambda error: api.errors.append(str(error)))
+        page.on("console", lambda message: api.errors.append(message.text) if message.type == "error" else None)
+        opened.append((context, api))
+        return page, api
+
+    yield make
+    for context, api in opened:
+        context.close()
+        assert not api.unexpected, f"Unexpected browser requests: {api.unexpected}"
+        assert not api.errors, f"Unexpected browser errors: {api.errors}"
+
+
+def mount(page, api, *, experience="ChatExperience", entry="/chat", rows=PAGE_SIZE):
+    page.goto(editor_tests.ORIGIN + editor_tests.HARNESS)
+    page.wait_for_function("() => Boolean(window.OrchHarness)")
+    for url in api.assets:
+        if url.endswith(".css"):
+            page.add_style_tag(url=editor_tests.ORIGIN + url)
+    page.evaluate(
+        """(spec) => {
+            const H = window.OrchHarness;
+            H.reset();
+            H.stores.bootstrap.useBootstrapStore.setState({data: {
+                features: {}, settings: {},
+                user: {id: 'tester', display_name: 'Riley Chen'},
+                branding: {app_title: 'Simple Chat'},
+                catalogs: {models: [], agents: [], prompts: []},
+                scope: {groups: [], public_workspaces: []},
+                orchestration: {enabled: false, capabilities: []},
+                navigation: {external_links: {
+                    enabled: true, menu_name: 'External Links', force_menu: false,
+                    items: [
+                        {label: 'Acceptable Use Policy', url: '/external/acceptable-use'},
+                        {label: 'Simple Chat Videos', url: '/external/videos'},
+                    ],
+                }},
+            }});
+            H.mount('mount-a', spec.experience, {}, {initialEntries: [spec.entry]});
+        }""",
+        {"experience": experience, "entry": entry},
+    )
+    if rows:
+        expect(row_items(page)).to_have_count(rows)
+
+
+def row_items(page):
+    return page.locator("#primary-navigation li.group\\/row")
+
+
+def header(page):
+    return page.locator("[data-conversation-rail-header]")
+
+
+def search_box(page):
+    return page.get_by_role("searchbox", name="Search conversations")
+
+
+def geometry(page):
+    return page.evaluate(GEOMETRY)
+
+
+def wheel_rail(page, delta):
+    """Scroll with the wheel over the conversation list, the way a reader does."""
+    box = header(page).bounding_box()
+    page.mouse.move(box["x"] + 80, box["y"] + box["height"] + 40)
+    page.mouse.wheel(0, delta)
+    page.evaluate(SETTLE)
+
+
+def opaque(color):
+    return color.startswith("rgb(") or color.endswith(", 1)")
+
+
+def held_under_new_chat(found):
+    """The search's header is held at the region's top, which is New chat's bottom edge."""
+    return (
+        abs(found["header"]["top"] - found["newChat"]["bottom"]) < 1
+        and abs(found["search"]["top"] - (found["newChat"]["bottom"] + 12)) < 1
+    )
+
+
+def test_reading_down_the_list_scrolls_the_navigation_away_and_holds_search(open_page):
+    page, api = open_page()
+    mount(page, api)
+    rest = geometry(page)
+
+    # At rest the rail is laid out as it always was: navigation, the link group, then the list.
+    assert rest["region"]["overflowY"] == "auto" and rest["region"]["scrollTop"] == 0, rest["region"]
+    assert rest["chats"]["bottom"] <= rest["lastLink"]["top"] < rest["search"]["top"], rest
+    assert not rest["header"]["stuck"], rest["header"]
+    assert rest["header"]["background"] == "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)", "At rest the search must sit on the rail's glass."
+    assert rest["visible"] <= 3, f"The fixture should squeeze the list at rest: {rest['visible']} rows."
+
+    wheel_rail(page, 900)
+    expect(header(page)).to_have_attribute("data-stuck", "")
+    held = geometry(page)
+
+    assert held["regionScrolls"], "One scrollbar for the whole panel: the list must not scroll on its own."
+    assert held["region"]["scrollTop"] > 600, held["region"]
+    assert held["newChat"] == rest["newChat"], "New chat must not move."
+    assert held["footer"] == rest["footer"], "The footer must not move."
+    assert held["chats"]["bottom"] <= held["region"]["top"], "The navigation must scroll out of view."
+    assert held_under_new_chat(held), f"The search must be held right under New chat: {held}"
+    assert opaque(held["header"]["background"]), f"Held, the search needs a solid backing: {held['header']}"
+    assert held["visible"] >= 10, f"The list must take the freed height: {held['visible']} rows visible."
+    assert held["visible"] >= rest["visible"] * 4, (rest["visible"], held["visible"])
+
+    # Scrolling back up returns the navigation and lets the search go.
+    wheel_rail(page, -5000)
+    expect(header(page)).not_to_have_attribute("data-stuck", "")
+    back = geometry(page)
+    assert back["region"]["scrollTop"] == 0
+    assert back["chats"] == rest["chats"] and back["search"] == rest["search"], back
+    assert back["header"]["background"] == "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)"
+
+
+def test_the_next_page_loads_before_the_end_of_the_list_is_on_screen(open_page):
+    page, api = open_page()
+    mount(page, api)
+    assert api.cursors() == [None], api.feed_queries
+
+    # Bring the end of the list to 60px below the rail's visible edge: inside the look-ahead
+    # margin, but not yet on screen. Measured against the viewport, the region's edge clipped
+    # the margin away and the next page waited until the end was visible.
+    page.evaluate(
+        """() => {
+            const region = document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]');
+            const header = document.querySelector('[data-conversation-rail-header]');
+            const end = header.nextElementSibling.querySelector(':scope > ul + div');
+            const gap = end.getBoundingClientRect().top - region.getBoundingClientRect().bottom;
+            region.scrollTop += gap - 60;
+        }"""
+    )
+    page.wait_for_function(
+        """() => {
+            const region = document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]');
+            const header = document.querySelector('[data-conversation-rail-header]');
+            const end = header.nextElementSibling.querySelector(':scope > ul + div');
+            return end.getBoundingClientRect().top > region.getBoundingClientRect().bottom;
+        }"""
+    )
+    expect(row_items(page)).to_have_count(PAGE_SIZE * 2)
+    assert api.cursors() == [None, str(PAGE_SIZE)], api.feed_queries
+
+    # Reading on reaches the last page, and nothing is asked for after it.
+    for _ in range(6):
+        wheel_rail(page, 1500)
+    expect(row_items(page)).to_have_count(TOTAL)
+    expect(page.get_by_text(f"Conversation {TOTAL - 1:02d}", exact=True)).to_be_visible()
+    assert api.cursors() == [None, str(PAGE_SIZE), str(PAGE_SIZE * 2)], api.feed_queries
+
+
+def test_keyboard_focus_is_never_hidden_under_the_held_search(open_page):
+    page, api = open_page()
+    mount(page, api)
+    wheel_rail(page, 900)
+    expect(header(page)).to_have_attribute("data-stuck", "")
+
+    def walk_up(steps):
+        seen = 0
+        for _ in range(steps):
+            page.keyboard.press("Shift+Tab")
+            found = page.evaluate(FOCUS_CLEARANCE)
+            if found is None:
+                continue
+            seen += 1
+            assert found["top"] >= found["headerBottom"] - 1, f"Focus went under the held search: {found}"
+        return seen
+
+    # Start from a row that is on screen, then walk up into rows scrolled out above it.
+    first_visible = page.evaluate(
+        """() => {
+            const header = document.querySelector('[data-conversation-rail-header]');
+            const floor = header.getBoundingClientRect().bottom;
+            const row = [...document.querySelectorAll('li.group\\\\/row')]
+                .find((item) => item.getBoundingClientRect().top >= floor);
+            return row.querySelector('button').textContent.trim();
+        }"""
+    )
+    page.get_by_role("button", name=first_visible, exact=True).focus()
+    assert walk_up(9) >= 6, "Shift+Tab should have walked through several rows."
+
+    # The bulk bar makes the held header taller; the rows keep clear of that too.
+    page.get_by_role("checkbox", name=f"Select {first_visible}").check()
+    expect(page.get_by_text("1 selected", exact=True)).to_be_visible()
+    taller = geometry(page)["header"]
+    assert taller["height"] > 70, taller
+    page.get_by_role("button", name=first_visible, exact=True).focus()
+    assert walk_up(9) >= 6
+
+
+def test_clicking_a_row_partly_under_the_held_search_opens_it(open_page):
+    page, api = open_page()
+    mount(page, api)
+    wheel_rail(page, 913)
+    expect(header(page)).to_have_attribute("data-stuck", "")
+
+    # A row cut by the held header: the reader clicks the part they can see. Only keyboard
+    # focus is moved clear of the header, so the row must not slide out from under the pointer.
+    target = page.evaluate(
+        """() => {
+            const region = document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]');
+            const floor = document.querySelector('[data-conversation-rail-header]').getBoundingClientRect().bottom;
+            const row = [...document.querySelectorAll('li.group\\\\/row')].find((item) => {
+                const rect = item.getBoundingClientRect();
+                return rect.top < floor && rect.bottom > floor + 6;
+            });
+            const button = row.querySelector('button');
+            const rect = button.getBoundingClientRect();
+            return {title: button.textContent.trim(), x: rect.left + 60, y: (floor + rect.bottom) / 2,
+                    scrollTop: region.scrollTop};
+        }"""
+    )
+    page.mouse.move(target["x"], target["y"])
+    page.mouse.down()
+    assert page.evaluate("() => document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]').scrollTop") == target["scrollTop"]
+    page.mouse.up()
+
+    expect(page.get_by_role("heading", name=target["title"], level=1)).to_be_visible()
+    active = page.evaluate("() => window.OrchHarness.stores.chat.useChatStore.getState().activeConversationId")
+    assert active == next(item["id"] for item in api.conversations if item["title"] == target["title"])
+
+
+def test_searching_while_held_keeps_the_search_box_in_place(open_page):
+    page, api = open_page()
+    mount(page, api)
+    wheel_rail(page, 900)
+    expect(header(page)).to_have_attribute("data-stuck", "")
+    before = geometry(page)
+
+    search_box(page).click()
+    search_box(page).fill("Conversation 7")
+    expect(row_items(page)).to_have_count(5)
+    page.evaluate(SETTLE)
+    narrowed = geometry(page)
+
+    # Five results are far shorter than the rail. The search stays put under the reader's
+    # cursor instead of being dragged down as the navigation scrolls back into view. (It can
+    # settle one pixel lower: at the end of the shorter range the header sits at rest, under
+    # the section's 1px divider, rather than held over it.)
+    assert abs(narrowed["search"]["top"] - before["search"]["top"]) <= 1.5, (before["search"], narrowed["search"])
+    assert narrowed["chats"]["bottom"] <= narrowed["region"]["top"]
+    expect(search_box(page)).to_be_focused()
+
+    search_box(page).fill("")
+    expect(row_items(page)).to_have_count(PAGE_SIZE)
+
+
+def test_the_collapsed_rail_and_other_pages_do_not_scroll_as_a_panel(open_page):
+    page, api = open_page()
+    mount(page, api)
+
+    page.get_by_role("button", name="Collapse navigation", exact=True).click()
+    expect(search_box(page)).to_have_count(0)
+    collapsed = geometry(page)
+    assert collapsed["region"]["overflowY"] == "visible", collapsed["region"]
+    assert collapsed["scrollers"] == 0, "Nothing in the collapsed strip scrolls."
+
+    page.get_by_role("button", name="Expand navigation", exact=True).click()
+    expect(row_items(page)).to_have_count(PAGE_SIZE)
+    assert geometry(page)["region"]["overflowY"] == "auto"
+
+    other, other_api = open_page()
+    mount(other, other_api, experience="HomeExperience", entry="/", rows=0)
+    primary = other.get_by_role("navigation", name="Primary")
+    expect(primary.get_by_role("link", name="My Workspace", exact=True)).to_be_visible()
+    expect(search_box(other)).to_have_count(0)
+    expect(other.get_by_title("Start a new chat", exact=True)).to_have_count(0)
+    elsewhere = other.evaluate(
+        """() => {
+            const region = document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]');
+            return {overflowY: getComputedStyle(region).overflowY, flexGrow: getComputedStyle(region).flexGrow};
+        }"""
+    )
+    assert elsewhere == {"overflowY": "visible", "flexGrow": "1"}, elsewhere
+    assert other_api.feed_queries == [], "Other pages do not load the conversation list."
+
+
+def test_the_phone_drawer_holds_search_under_new_chat(open_page):
+    page, api = open_page(PHONE)
+    mount(page, api, rows=0)
+    expect(search_box(page)).to_have_count(0)
+
+    page.get_by_role("button", name="Expand navigation", exact=True).click()
+    expect(row_items(page)).to_have_count(PAGE_SIZE)
+    wheel_rail(page, 900)
+    expect(header(page)).to_have_attribute("data-stuck", "")
+    held = geometry(page)
+    assert held["regionScrolls"], held
+    assert held["chats"]["bottom"] <= held["region"]["top"]
+    assert held_under_new_chat(held), held
+    assert held["visible"] >= 10, held["visible"]
+
+    page.keyboard.press("Escape")
+    expect(page.get_by_role("button", name="Expand navigation", exact=True)).to_be_visible()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("theme", ["light", "dark"])
+def test_the_held_search_is_drawn_on_the_themes_solid_surface(open_page, theme):
+    page, api = open_page()
+    mount(page, api)
+    if theme == "dark":
+        page.get_by_role("button", name="Switch to dark theme", exact=True).click()
+        expect(page.locator("html.dark")).to_have_count(1)
+    wheel_rail(page, 900)
+    expect(header(page)).to_have_attribute("data-stuck", "")
+    held = geometry(page)
+    assert held["header"]["background"] == HELD_BACKING[theme], held["header"]
+    # The edge under it is drawn with a shadow, so nothing shifts when the search is held.
+    shadow = header(page).evaluate("(element) => getComputedStyle(element).boxShadow")
+    assert shadow not in ("", "none") and " 1px 0px" in shadow, shadow
+
+    ARTIFACTS.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    page.locator("#primary-navigation").screenshot(path=str(ARTIFACTS / f"{theme}-held.png"))
diff --git a/ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py b/ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py
index 2692134fd..9e703c89c 100644
--- a/ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py
+++ b/ui_tests/test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 # test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py
 """
 Browser regressions for the V2 workflow alert notice, its alert card and their runtime.
-Version: 0.261.228
+Version: 0.261.235
 Implemented in: 0.261.199
 Open and Dismiss up front, everything else under Show more: 0.261.228
+Hanging from the bell rather than My Workspace, whatever the chat rail's scroll: 0.261.235
 
 Exercises the real rail, bell, notice, card, live region, stores and both notification
 runtimes, bundled by fixtures/workflow_alerts. Only HTTP answers and the browser APIs a
@@ -275,6 +276,28 @@
 }
 """
 
+# Where the notice hangs from: the bell, the notch that points at it, and the rail's edge.
+ANCHOR = r"""
+() => {
+    const bell = document.querySelector('button[data-notification-bell]').getBoundingClientRect();
+    const notice = document.querySelector('[data-workflow-alert-notice]');
+    const box = notice.getBoundingClientRect();
+    const notch = notice.querySelector('.wf-alert-notch').getBoundingClientRect();
+    const nav = document.getElementById('primary-navigation').getBoundingClientRect();
+    return {
+        bellX: bell.left + bell.width / 2,
+        bellY: bell.top + bell.height / 2,
+        bellBottom: bell.bottom,
+        top: box.top,
+        left: box.left,
+        right: box.right,
+        notchX: notch.left + notch.width / 2,
+        notchY: notch.top + notch.height / 2,
+        navRight: nav.right,
+    };
+}
+"""
+
 # The properties every wf-* keyframe animates.
 KEYFRAMES = r"""
 () => {
@@ -420,6 +443,8 @@ def __init__(self, stylesheets):
         self.errors = []
         self.unexpected = []
         self.expected_http_failures = set()
+        # The conversation feed's rows, served a page at a time; empty unless a test fills it.
+        self.conversations = []
         # When set, the alerts route leaves out its delivery and recency filters, as a server
         # from before they existed would, so the client's own checks are what is tested.
         self.leaky = False
@@ -520,9 +545,13 @@ def notification_route(self, route, method, path, query, tab):
 
     def conversation_route(self, route, method, path, query, tab):
         if method == "GET" and path == "/api/conversations/feed":
+            size = int(query.get("page_size", 50))
+            start = int(query.get("cursor") or 0)
+            more = start + size < len(self.conversations)
             route.fulfill(json={
-                "success": True, "conversations": [], "has_more": False, "next_cursor": None,
-                "page_size": int(query.get("page_size", 50)), "hidden_count": 0, "priority_count": 0,
+                "success": True, "conversations": self.conversations[start:start + size], "has_more": more,
+                "next_cursor": str(start + size) if more else None,
+                "page_size": size, "hidden_count": 0, "priority_count": 0,
                 "recent_count": 0, "source_offsets": {},
             })
         elif method == "GET" and (match := re.fullmatch(r"/api/conversations/([^/]+)/kind", path)):
@@ -1206,13 +1235,15 @@ def test_hover_and_focus_pause_the_tuck_timer(tab, server, alert, now):
     tab.run_for(5000)
     expect(tab.notice).to_be_visible()
 
-    tab.focus('textarea[aria-label="Notes"]')
+    # Somewhere the notice does not cover. Hanging from the bell past the rail's edge, it lies
+    # over the top of the page, Notes included, and focus moving under it tucks it at once.
+    tab.focus('button[aria-label^="Switch to"]')
     tab.run_for(2400)
     expect(tab.notice).to_be_visible()
     assert tab.state()["phase"] == "notice"
     tab.run_for(200)
     tab.wait_tucked()
-    expect(tab.notes).to_be_focused()
+    expect(tab.page.locator('button[aria-label^="Switch to"]')).to_be_focused()
 
 
 def test_high_and_critical_alerts_stay_until_handled(tab, server, alert, now):
@@ -1386,8 +1417,8 @@ def test_the_notice_and_card_work_from_the_keyboard(tab, server, alert):
     tab.poll()
     expect(tab.notice).to_be_visible()
 
-    # The notice sits in the tab order right after the rail item it hangs from.
-    tab.my_workspace.focus()
+    # The notice sits in the tab order right after the bell it hangs from.
+    tab.bell.focus()
     tab.page.keyboard.press("Tab")
     expect(tab.open_button).to_be_focused()
     tab.page.keyboard.press("Enter")
@@ -1402,7 +1433,7 @@ def test_the_notice_and_card_work_from_the_keyboard(tab, server, alert):
 
     tab.page.keyboard.press("Escape")
     expect(tab.card).to_have_count(0)
-    expect(tab.my_workspace).to_be_focused()
+    expect(tab.bell).to_be_focused()
     assert server.find("kb-1")["is_read"] is False
     assert set(tab.claims()) == {"kb-1"}
     expect(tab.notice).to_have_count(0)
@@ -1411,12 +1442,12 @@ def test_the_notice_and_card_work_from_the_keyboard(tab, server, alert):
     server.add(alert("kb-2", title="Canary error rate is up"))
     tab.poll()
     expect(tab.notice).to_contain_text("Canary error rate is up")
-    expect(tab.my_workspace).to_be_focused()
+    expect(tab.bell).to_be_focused()
     tab.page.keyboard.press("Tab")
     expect(tab.open_button).to_be_focused()
     tab.page.keyboard.press("Escape")
     tab.wait_tucked()
-    expect(tab.my_workspace).to_be_focused()
+    expect(tab.bell).to_be_focused()
     expect(tab.bell_ring).to_have_count(1)
     assert server.find("kb-2")["is_read"] is False
 
@@ -1427,13 +1458,19 @@ def test_tabbing_onto_what_the_notice_covers_tucks_it(tab, server, alert):
     tab.poll()
     expect(tab.notice).to_be_visible()
 
-    tab.my_workspace.focus()
+    # From the bell: the notice's own two buttons, then Collapse navigation beside the bell,
+    # which the notice hangs below rather than over, then Chats, which it does cover.
+    tab.bell.focus()
     for _ in range(3):
         tab.page.keyboard.press("Tab")
-    group_workspaces = tab.page.get_by_role("link", name="Group Workspaces", exact=True)
-    expect(group_workspaces).to_be_focused()
+    collapse = tab.page.get_by_role("button", name="Collapse navigation", exact=True)
+    expect(collapse).to_be_focused()
+    expect(tab.notice).to_be_visible()
+    tab.page.keyboard.press("Tab")
+    chats = tab.page.get_by_role("link", name="Chats", exact=True)
+    expect(chats).to_be_focused()
     tab.wait_tucked()
-    expect(group_workspaces).to_be_focused()
+    expect(chats).to_be_focused()
     assert server.find("covering")["is_read"] is False
     assert tab.state()["ringToken"] == 1
 
@@ -1502,6 +1539,17 @@ def test_the_notice_fits_every_rail_layout_and_theme(tab, server, alert, layout,
     assert geometry["onTop"], f"Something covers the notice: {geometry}"
     assert geometry["background"] == NOTICE_SURFACE[theme], geometry
 
+    # It hangs from the bell: dropping from it like the bell's panel when the rail is
+    # expanded, past the rail's edge, and flying out from the strip's edge beside it otherwise.
+    anchor = tab.js(ANCHOR)
+    if setup["placement"] == "below":
+        assert abs(anchor["notchX"] - anchor["bellX"]) <= 2, f"The notch must point at the bell: {anchor}"
+        assert abs(anchor["top"] - (anchor["bellBottom"] + 8)) <= 1, f"It drops 8px below the bell: {anchor}"
+        assert anchor["right"] > anchor["navRight"], f"It hangs past the rail's edge: {anchor}"
+    else:
+        assert abs(anchor["notchY"] - anchor["bellY"]) <= 2, f"The notch must be level with the bell: {anchor}"
+        assert abs(anchor["left"] - anchor["navRight"]) <= 1, f"It flies out from the strip's edge: {anchor}"
+
     if layout == "phone":
         # The open navigation drawer has the reader's attention; the notice waits behind it.
         tab.page.get_by_role("button", name="Expand navigation", exact=True).click()
@@ -1511,6 +1559,44 @@ def test_the_notice_fits_every_rail_layout_and_theme(tab, server, alert, layout,
         assert tab.notice.evaluate(GEOMETRY)["onTop"]
 
 
+def test_the_notice_hangs_from_the_bell_however_far_the_chat_rail_is_scrolled(tab, server, alert):
+    """The chat rail scrolls its navigation away; the bell, and the notice, stay put."""
+    server.conversations = [
+        {"id": f"conv-{index:02d}", "title": f"Conversation {index:02d}", "chat_type": "personal_single_user",
+         "context": [], "is_pinned": False, "is_hidden": False, "has_unread_assistant_response": False}
+        for index in range(40)
+    ]
+    tab.open(path="/chat")
+    rows = tab.page.locator("#primary-navigation li.group\\/row")
+    expect(rows).to_have_count(30)
+    scrolled = tab.js(
+        """() => {
+            const region = document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]');
+            region.scrollTop = region.scrollHeight;
+            return region.scrollTop;
+        }"""
+    )
+    assert scrolled > 0
+    tab.wait_for(
+        lambda: tab.my_workspace.bounding_box()["y"] + tab.my_workspace.bounding_box()["height"]
+        <= tab.js("() => document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]').getBoundingClientRect().top"),
+        "My Workspace should have scrolled out of view with the rest of the navigation.",
+    )
+
+    server.add(alert("scrolled", title="Deploy gate is red"))
+    tab.poll()
+    expect(tab.notice).to_be_visible()
+    tab.page.wait_for_timeout(300)
+
+    geometry = tab.notice.evaluate(GEOMETRY)
+    assert geometry["onTop"], f"Something covers the notice: {geometry}"
+    assert geometry["top"] >= 0 and geometry["bottom"] <= geometry["viewportHeight"], geometry
+    anchor = tab.js(ANCHOR)
+    assert abs(anchor["notchX"] - anchor["bellX"]) <= 2, anchor
+    # The rail stays where the reader left it.
+    assert tab.js("() => document.querySelector('[data-rail-scroll-region]').scrollTop") >= scrolled - 1
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("transparency", ["normal", "reduced"], ids=["glass", "reduced-transparency"])
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("theme", ["light", "dark"])
 def test_every_priority_and_category_is_legible(tab, alert, theme, transparency):

From 4a6450cce031cf808802497e7ef95d98f5d78c30 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Paul Lizer <paullizer@microsoft.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2026 15:54:46 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Add 0.261.235 release notes for the V2 rail scroll and
 bell alerts

Refs #1642.

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 docs/explanation/release_notes.md | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+)

diff --git a/docs/explanation/release_notes.md b/docs/explanation/release_notes.md
index bf04ddc59..6360c1d7c 100644
--- a/docs/explanation/release_notes.md
+++ b/docs/explanation/release_notes.md
@@ -2,6 +2,22 @@
 
 For feature-focused and fix-focused drill-downs by version, see [Features by Version](https://github.com/microsoft/simplechat/tree/main/docs/explanation/features) and [Fixes by Version](https://github.com/microsoft/simplechat/tree/main/docs/explanation/fixes).
 
+### **(v0.261.235)**
+
+#### User Interface Enhancements
+
+*   **V2 Chat Rail Scrolls As One Panel**
+    *   On the V2 chat page, everything between **New chat** and the theme and account controls now scrolls as one panel, as the classic sidebar does. As you read down the conversation list, the navigation and any **External Links** or **Custom Pages** groups move out of view, and **Search chats** stays right under **New chat**. The list gets nearly the whole rail: a 720-pixel-tall window with two external links went from two visible conversations to twelve.
+    *   The held search box gets a solid backing and an edge only while it is held, so the rail looks as it did at rest. Searching while it is held no longer makes the box jump. Keyboard focus on a conversation is never hidden under it. The next page of conversations now loads just before you reach the end of the list.
+    *   The collapsed icon strip and other pages are unchanged.
+    *   (Ref: #1642, `Sidebar.tsx`, `ConversationRail.tsx`, `test_v2_sidebar_conversation_scroll.py`, [V2 Sidebar Conversation Scroll Fix](fixes/V2_SIDEBAR_CONVERSATION_SCROLL_FIX.md))
+
+*   **V2 Workflow Alerts Pop Up From The Bell**
+    *   Workflow alert notices now hang from the notification bell instead of **My Workspace**. With the rail expanded, the notice drops down from the bell the way the bell's panel does, hanging past the rail's edge so most of **New chat** stays clickable. When the rail is collapsed or on a phone, it flies out beside the bell.
+    *   The notice comes right after the bell in the tab order. Because the bell never scrolls, a notice can no longer be carried off screen with the navigation.
+    *   Timers, claims, the tuck into the bell, the alert card and the announcements are unchanged.
+    *   (Ref: #1642, `NotificationBell.tsx`, `WorkflowAlertNotice.tsx`, `test_v2_workflow_alert_notices.py`, [V2 Workflow Alert Notices](features/V2_WORKFLOW_ALERT_NOTICES.md))
+
 ### **(v0.261.234)**
 
 #### Bug Fixes