diff --git a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-view/components/resource-tabs/resource-tab-controls.ts b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-view/components/resource-tabs/resource-tab-controls.ts
index 9e8ab5d6ff7..a88f464d5a9 100644
--- a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-view/components/resource-tabs/resource-tab-controls.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-view/components/resource-tabs/resource-tab-controls.ts
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ export const RESOURCE_HEADER_CLASSES = {
   stripGeometry:
     '[--tab-strip-height:var(--resource-header-controls-height)] [--tab-strip-inline-start:var(--resource-header-end-inset)] [--tab-strip-inline-end:var(--resource-header-fixed-reserve)]',
   /**
-   * Bottom-aligned rather than centred: the header's own controls sit in the tab
-   * strip's band, one pixel clear of its border, and an overlaid control has to
-   * land in that same band to read as part of the row.
+   * Centred, matching the `floating` strip: its tabs and controls sit centred in
+   * the header band rather than hanging from the top, so an overlaid control has
+   * to centre too or it lands a pixel below the row it belongs to.
    */
-  overlay: 'absolute top-0 flex h-[var(--resource-header-controls-height)] items-end pb-px',
+  overlay: 'absolute top-0 flex h-[var(--resource-header-controls-height)] items-center',
   endPosition: 'right-[var(--resource-header-end-inset)]',
   /**
    * Sits a control 1px clear of the overlaid 30px collapse toggle — the same
diff --git a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-view/components/resource-tabs/resource-tabs.tsx b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-view/components/resource-tabs/resource-tabs.tsx
index de4a99ef22d..490467861e3 100644
--- a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-view/components/resource-tabs/resource-tabs.tsx
+++ b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-view/components/resource-tabs/resource-tabs.tsx
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ export function ResourceTabs({
       resources.map((resource) => ({
         id: resource.id,
         title: nameLookup.get(`${resource.type}:${resource.id}`) ?? resource.title,
-        icon: getResourceConfig(resource.type).renderTabIcon(resource, 'size-[14px] shrink-0'),
+        icon: getResourceConfig(resource.type).renderTabIcon(resource, 'size-[16px] shrink-0'),
         active: activeId === resource.id,
         selected: selectedIds.size > 1 && selectedIds.has(resource.id),
         attention: activityIds?.has(resource.id) ?? false,
@@ -452,6 +452,7 @@ export function ResourceTabs({
       onClose={handleClose}
       onReorder={handleReorder}
       onTabDragStart={handleTabDragStart}
+      variant='floating'
       className={RESOURCE_HEADER_CLASSES.stripGeometry}
       newTabControl={
         // Offered before the chat exists too: a resource opened while composing
diff --git a/packages/emcn/src/components/index.ts b/packages/emcn/src/components/index.ts
index a412ecb3738..1d04e2270e1 100644
--- a/packages/emcn/src/components/index.ts
+++ b/packages/emcn/src/components/index.ts
@@ -187,6 +187,7 @@ export {
   type TabStripItem,
   type TabStripProps,
   type TabStripSelectionSource,
+  type TabStripVariant,
   tabDropIndex,
   tabStripItemSelector,
   tabStripWheelPosition,
diff --git a/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.dom.test.tsx b/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.dom.test.tsx
index 09c9ebd7085..6b7f1c04013 100644
--- a/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.dom.test.tsx
@@ -178,6 +178,94 @@ describe('TabStrip interactions', () => {
     expect(item.className).not.toContain('opacity-30')
   })
 
+  describe('floating variant', () => {
+    const plain = tabs.filter((tab) => !tab.pinned)
+
+    function mountFloating(items = plain) {
+      mount(<TabStrip tabs={items} onSelect={vi.fn()} onClose={vi.fn()} variant='floating' />)
+    }
+
+    it('gives a shape to the active tab only', () => {
+      mountFloating()
+
+      expect(tabButton('one').className).toContain('bg-[var(--surface-active)]')
+      // A bare tab paints no surface of its own, which is what keeps the row
+      // from reading as a strip of buttons.
+      expect(tabButton('two').className).not.toContain('bg-[var(--surface-active)]')
+      expect(tabButton('two').className).not.toContain('border-[var(--border)]')
+    })
+
+    it('divides two adjacent bare tabs, but not a bare tab from a shaped one', () => {
+      // three/four are both bare and adjacent; two sits right after active one.
+      mountFloating([
+        { id: 'one', title: 'One', active: true },
+        { id: 'two', title: 'Two' },
+        { id: 'three', title: 'Three' },
+      ])
+
+      const divider = (id: string) => stripItem(id).querySelector('.w-px')
+      // 'two' follows the active tab, whose pill already separates them.
+      expect(divider('two')).toBeNull()
+      expect(divider('three')).not.toBeNull()
+      // Nothing precedes the first tab.
+      expect(divider('one')).toBeNull()
+    })
+
+    it('offers a close affordance on every tab, at rest only on the active one', () => {
+      mountFloating()
+
+      // `opacity-0` is not a substring of `opacity-100`, so these two assertions
+      // genuinely separate the states. (`toContain('pointer-events-none')` would
+      // not: the Button base carries `disabled:pointer-events-none`.)
+      const bare = container?.querySelector<HTMLElement>('[aria-label="Close Two"]')
+      expect(bare).not.toBeNull()
+      expect(bare?.className).toContain('opacity-0')
+      expect(bare?.className).toContain('group-hover:opacity-100')
+
+      const active = container?.querySelector<HTMLElement>('[aria-label="Close One"]')
+      expect(active?.className).not.toContain('opacity-0')
+    })
+
+    it('reserves the close slot on every tab, so activating one shifts nothing', () => {
+      mountFloating()
+
+      // Floating tabs are content-sized, so reserving only on the active tab
+      // would grow it on activation and shove the rest of the row sideways.
+      expect(tabButton('one').className).toContain('pr-8')
+      expect(tabButton('two').className).toContain('pr-8')
+    })
+
+    it('keeps a selected tab distinguishable from the active one', () => {
+      mountFloating([
+        { id: 'one', title: 'One', active: true, selected: true },
+        { id: 'two', title: 'Two', selected: true },
+      ])
+
+      // The active tab owns `--surface-active`; a selected tab takes the step
+      // below it, or the two would be one undifferentiated run of pills.
+      expect(tabButton('one').className).toContain('bg-[var(--surface-active)]')
+      expect(tabButton('two').className).toContain('bg-[var(--surface-4)]')
+      expect(tabButton('two').className).not.toContain('bg-[var(--surface-active)]')
+    })
+
+    it('lets tabs overflow rather than compress, so the strip can scroll', () => {
+      mountFloating()
+
+      // A flex child that both shrinks and has no floor collapses to fit its
+      // container, so scrollWidth never exceeds clientWidth and the edge fades,
+      // reveal-on-select and drag auto-scroll all go dead.
+      expect(stripItem('two').className).toContain('shrink-0')
+      expect(stripItem('two').className).not.toContain('min-w-0')
+    })
+
+    it('leaves the attached variant unchanged', () => {
+      mount(<TabStrip tabs={plain} onSelect={vi.fn()} onClose={vi.fn()} />)
+
+      expect(tabButton('one').className).toContain('bg-[var(--bg)]')
+      expect(stripItem('two').querySelector('.w-px')).toBeNull()
+    })
+  })
+
   it('closes an unpinned tab with the middle mouse button', () => {
     const onClose = vi.fn()
     mount(renderStrip(tabs, vi.fn(), onClose))
diff --git a/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.tsx b/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.tsx
index ce049b2e337..65b113f2733 100644
--- a/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.tsx
+++ b/packages/emcn/src/components/tab-strip/tab-strip.tsx
@@ -24,6 +24,68 @@ const DRAG_SCROLL_SPEED = 8
 const TITLE_TOOLTIP_HIDDEN_PX = 8
 const TAB_TRANSITION = { duration: 0.1, ease: [0.2, 0, 0, 1] as const }
 
+/**
+ * Width, not flex-basis: `flex-1` compiles to `flex: 1 1 0%`, and Tailwind emits
+ * the `flex` shorthand after `flex-basis`, so pairing the two silently discarded
+ * the basis and left every tab sized by its own title.
+ *
+ * `attached` gives every tab the same width and a floor, so a crowded strip
+ * degrades evenly and then scrolls. `floating` sizes to content up to a cap, so
+ * short labels stay short and only a long one ellipsizes — a row of bare labels
+ * must not read as a grid of buttons.
+ *
+ * Both refuse to shrink below their floor, and that is what makes the strip
+ * scrollable at all: a flex child that is both shrinkable and `min-w-0` compresses
+ * to fit its container instead of overflowing it, so `scrollWidth` never exceeds
+ * `clientWidth`, the edge fades never appear, and every label crushes to an
+ * ellipsis. `floating` therefore never shrinks; `attached` shrinks only to 96px.
+ */
+const TAB_WIDTH: Record<TabStripVariant, string> = {
+  attached: 'w-[156px] min-w-[96px] shrink',
+  floating: 'max-w-[200px] shrink-0',
+}
+
+/** The resting shape of a tab that is not the active one. */
+const TAB_SHAPE: Record<TabStripVariant, string> = {
+  attached: 'rounded-b-none border border-transparent border-b-0',
+  // No shape at all at rest: bare labels, so the row reads as one quiet line
+  // rather than a strip of buttons competing with the panel's own controls. A
+  // shape appears on hover, which is where the close affordance lives.
+  floating:
+    'rounded-lg text-[var(--text-secondary)] hover-hover:bg-[var(--surface-hover)] hover-hover:text-[var(--text-primary)]',
+}
+
+/**
+ * The active tab. `attached` fills with the page background and keeps a border,
+ * having already dropped its bottom edge to merge into the surface below;
+ * `floating` has no surface to merge with, so it reads by fill alone.
+ */
+const TAB_ACTIVE: Record<TabStripVariant, string> = {
+  attached:
+    'hover-hover:!border-[var(--border)] hover-hover:!bg-[var(--bg)] hover-hover:!text-[var(--text-primary)] hover-hover:!brightness-100 hover-hover:!opacity-100 border-[var(--border)] bg-[var(--bg)] text-[var(--text-primary)] transition-none',
+  floating:
+    'hover-hover:!bg-[var(--surface-active)] hover-hover:!text-[var(--text-primary)] bg-[var(--surface-active)] text-[var(--text-primary)]',
+}
+
+/**
+ * A tab held in a multi-selection that is not the one on screen. `attached` can
+ * reuse `--surface-active` because its active tab reads by border and page
+ * background instead. `floating`'s ramp has four rungs and each token does the
+ * job it is named for: bare is transparent, hover is `--surface-hover`, active
+ * is `--surface-active`, and a selected tab takes the one rung left between
+ * them. Keep them in that order — the fills are 3 hex steps apart, so swapping
+ * any two makes a state read as another.
+ */
+const TAB_SELECTED: Record<TabStripVariant, string> = {
+  attached: 'bg-[var(--surface-active)]',
+  floating: 'bg-[var(--surface-4)]',
+}
+
+/** Whether a tab draws no shape of its own, and so needs dividing from its neighbour. */
+function isBareTab(tab: TabStripItem | undefined): boolean {
+  return Boolean(tab) && !tab?.active && !tab?.selected
+}
+
 /** One tab in a {@link TabStrip}. */
 export interface TabStripItem {
   id: string
@@ -69,6 +131,18 @@ export interface TabStripDragContext {
   preventReorder: () => void
 }
 
+/**
+ * How the tabs are drawn.
+ *
+ * - `attached` — browser-style. Every tab is a shape, and the active one loses
+ *   its bottom border to merge into the surface below. For a strip that owns
+ *   the whole surface under it.
+ * - `floating` — only the active tab carries a shape; the rest are bare labels
+ *   divided by a hairline. Quieter, and it does not claim the surface below, so
+ *   it suits a panel header that sits above content it does not own.
+ */
+export type TabStripVariant = 'attached' | 'floating'
+
 /** How a tab selection was initiated. */
 export type TabStripSelectionSource = 'pointer' | 'keyboard'
 
@@ -138,6 +212,8 @@ interface TabStripBaseProps {
    * what separates it from {@link TabStripBaseProps.endActions}.
    */
   overlays?: ReactNode
+  /** Defaults to `attached`. See {@link TabStripVariant}. */
+  variant?: TabStripVariant
   /**
    * Merged onto the strip root. Intended for the geometry custom properties
    * below rather than for competing utility classes, so a caller that owns the
@@ -214,6 +290,13 @@ export function tabDropIndex(
 
 interface TabProps {
   tab: TabStripItem
+  variant: TabStripVariant
+  /**
+   * Draws the hairline that separates two adjacent bare tabs in the `floating`
+   * variant. Suppressed next to a tab that has a shape of its own, since the
+   * shape already does the dividing.
+   */
+  showDivider: boolean
   onSelect: (
     id: string,
     source?: TabStripSelectionSource,
@@ -235,6 +318,8 @@ interface TabProps {
 const Tab = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, TabProps>(function Tab(
   {
     tab,
+    variant,
+    showDivider,
     onSelect,
     onClose,
     onContextMenu,
@@ -274,14 +359,9 @@ const Tab = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, TabProps>(function Tab(
       transition={TAB_TRANSITION}
       className={cn(
         'group relative select-none',
-        // Width, not flex-basis: `flex-1` compiles to `flex: 1 1 0%`, and
-        // Tailwind emits the `flex` shorthand after `flex-basis`, so pairing
-        // the two silently discarded the basis and left every tab sized by its
-        // own title. `shrink` still lets a crowded strip squeeze them to the
-        // floor before it starts scrolling.
-        tab.pinned
-          ? 'w-[34px] min-w-[34px] max-w-[34px] flex-none'
-          : 'w-[156px] min-w-[96px] shrink',
+        // `shrink` lets a crowded strip squeeze tabs to their floor before it
+        // starts scrolling.
+        tab.pinned ? 'w-[34px] min-w-[34px] max-w-[34px] flex-none' : TAB_WIDTH[variant],
         dragging && 'opacity-30'
       )}
       data-tab-strip-item={tab.id}
@@ -295,11 +375,14 @@ const Tab = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, TabProps>(function Tab(
         onClose?.(tab.id)
       }}
     >
+      {showDivider && (
+        <div className='-translate-y-1/2 -left-1 pointer-events-none absolute top-1/2 h-4 w-px bg-[var(--border)]' />
+      )}
       {showDropBefore && (
-        <div className='-translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 pointer-events-none absolute top-1/2 left-0 z-30 h-[16px] w-[2px] rounded-full bg-[var(--text-subtle)]' />
+        <div className='-translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 pointer-events-none absolute top-1/2 left-0 z-30 h-4 w-[2px] rounded-full bg-[var(--text-subtle)]' />
       )}
       {showDropAfter && (
-        <div className='-translate-y-1/2 pointer-events-none absolute top-1/2 right-0 z-30 h-[16px] w-[2px] translate-x-1/2 rounded-full bg-[var(--text-subtle)]' />
+        <div className='-translate-y-1/2 pointer-events-none absolute top-1/2 right-0 z-30 h-4 w-[2px] translate-x-1/2 rounded-full bg-[var(--text-subtle)]' />
       )}
       <Tooltip.Root>
         <Tooltip.Trigger asChild>
@@ -313,12 +396,13 @@ const Tab = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, TabProps>(function Tab(
             data-tab-strip-button={tab.id}
             tabIndex={focusable ? 0 : -1}
             className={cn(
-              'h-[var(--tab-strip-band,30px)] w-full select-none rounded-b-none border border-transparent border-b-0 bg-transparent py-0 text-caption',
+              'h-[var(--tab-strip-band,30px)] w-full select-none bg-transparent py-0 text-caption',
               tab.pinned ? 'justify-center px-0' : 'justify-start gap-1.5 px-2',
-              closeable && !tab.pinned && 'pr-8',
-              tab.selected && !tab.active && 'bg-[var(--surface-active)]',
-              tab.active &&
-                'hover-hover:!border-[var(--border)] hover-hover:!bg-[var(--bg)] hover-hover:!text-[var(--text-primary)] hover-hover:!brightness-100 hover-hover:!opacity-100 relative z-10 border-[var(--border)] bg-[var(--bg)] text-[var(--text-primary)] transition-none'
+              closeable && 'pr-8',
+              TAB_SHAPE[variant],
+              tab.selected && !tab.active && TAB_SELECTED[variant],
+              tab.active && 'relative z-10',
+              tab.active && TAB_ACTIVE[variant]
             )}
             onClick={(event) => onSelect(tab.id, 'pointer', event)}
             onKeyDown={(event) => onKeyDown(event, tab.id)}
@@ -392,6 +476,7 @@ export function TabStrip({
   newTabControl,
   endActions,
   overlays,
+  variant = 'attached',
   className,
 }: TabStripProps) {
   const atLimit = maxTabs !== undefined && tabs.length >= maxTabs
@@ -653,12 +738,23 @@ export function TabStrip({
     [focusTab, onClose, onSelect, tabs]
   )
 
-  const renderTab = (tab: TabStripItem) => {
+  // Called as a `map` callback, so `lane` is whichever of the two rows — pinned
+  // or regular — is being rendered. The neighbour has to come from that lane
+  // rather than from `tabs`: the rows are separate containers, so a tab's
+  // predecessor in the combined list may not be the one beside it on screen, and
+  // the first tab in a lane has no on-screen predecessor at all.
+  const renderTab = (tab: TabStripItem, laneIndex: number, lane: TabStripItem[]) => {
     const index = tabs.findIndex((candidate) => candidate.id === tab.id)
+    // A hairline stands between two adjacent bare tabs only. A tab that carries
+    // a shape — the active one, or one held in a multi-selection — already
+    // separates itself, and doubling up reads as a seam.
+    const previous = lane[laneIndex - 1]
     return (
       <Tab
         key={tab.id}
         tab={tab}
+        variant={variant}
+        showDivider={variant === 'floating' && isBareTab(tab) && isBareTab(previous)}
         draggable={reorderable || Boolean(onTabDragStart)}
         dragging={draggedId === tab.id}
         focusable={tab.active || (activeIndex < 0 && index === 0)}
@@ -682,7 +778,10 @@ export function TabStrip({
       // `var()` calls, so a caller resizes the strip by setting a property
       // rather than by passing a utility class that has to out-merge this one.
       className={cn(
-        'flex h-[var(--tab-strip-height,34px)] shrink-0 select-none items-end gap-1 border-[var(--border)] border-b bg-transparent pt-1 pr-[var(--tab-strip-inline-end,8px)] pl-[var(--tab-strip-inline-start,8px)]',
+        'flex h-[var(--tab-strip-height,34px)] shrink-0 select-none gap-1 border-[var(--border)] border-b bg-transparent pr-[var(--tab-strip-inline-end,8px)] pl-[var(--tab-strip-inline-start,8px)]',
+        // Attached tabs hang from the top so the active one can reach the strip's
+        // bottom border and cover it; floating tabs are centred in the bar.
+        variant === 'attached' ? 'items-end pt-1' : 'items-center',
         className
       )}
       onDragOver={handleDragOver}
@@ -717,10 +816,18 @@ export function TabStrip({
       <div
         role='tablist'
         aria-label='Tabs'
-        className='-mb-px flex min-w-0 shrink items-end gap-0.5'
+        className={cn(
+          'flex min-w-0 shrink gap-0.5',
+          variant === 'attached' ? '-mb-px items-end' : 'items-center gap-2'
+        )}
       >
         {pinnedTabs.length > 0 && (
-          <div className='flex shrink-0 items-end gap-0.5'>
+          <div
+            className={cn(
+              'flex shrink-0 gap-0.5',
+              variant === 'attached' ? 'items-end' : 'items-center gap-2'
+            )}
+          >
             <AnimatePresence initial={false} mode='popLayout'>
               {pinnedTabs.map(renderTab)}
             </AnimatePresence>
@@ -729,7 +836,10 @@ export function TabStrip({
         <div className='relative flex min-w-0 shrink'>
           <div
             ref={scrollNodeRef}
-            className='flex min-w-0 shrink select-none items-end gap-0.5 overflow-x-auto [scrollbar-width:none] [&::-webkit-scrollbar]:hidden'
+            className={cn(
+              'flex min-w-0 shrink select-none gap-0.5 overflow-x-auto [scrollbar-width:none] [&::-webkit-scrollbar]:hidden',
+              variant === 'attached' ? 'items-end' : 'items-center gap-2'
+            )}
           >
             <AnimatePresence initial={false} mode='popLayout'>
               {regularTabs.map(renderTab)}
@@ -746,7 +856,12 @@ export function TabStrip({
       {/* Both slots sit in the tab row's band so whatever fills them lines up
           with the tabs rather than with the taller strip box. */}
       {newTabControl ? (
-        <div className='mb-px flex h-[var(--tab-strip-band,30px)] shrink-0 items-center'>
+        <div
+          className={cn(
+            'flex h-[var(--tab-strip-band,30px)] shrink-0 items-center',
+            variant === 'attached' && 'mb-px'
+          )}
+        >
           {newTabControl}
         </div>
       ) : onNew ? (
@@ -757,7 +872,10 @@ export function TabStrip({
               variant='ghost-secondary'
               size='sm'
               aria-label={newTabLabel}
-              className='mb-px size-[var(--tab-strip-band,30px)] shrink-0 p-0'
+              className={cn(
+                'size-[var(--tab-strip-band,30px)] shrink-0 p-0',
+                variant === 'attached' && 'mb-px'
+              )}
               disabled={atLimit}
               onClick={onNew}
             >
@@ -770,7 +888,12 @@ export function TabStrip({
         </Tooltip.Root>
       ) : null}
       {endActions && (
-        <div className='mb-px ml-auto flex h-[var(--tab-strip-band,30px)] shrink-0 items-center gap-1'>
+        <div
+          className={cn(
+            'ml-auto flex h-[var(--tab-strip-band,30px)] shrink-0 items-center gap-1',
+            variant === 'attached' && 'mb-px'
+          )}
+        >
           {endActions}
         </div>
       )}