diff --git a/meshterm/services/modifier_watch.py b/meshterm/services/modifier_watch.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c234321
--- /dev/null
+++ b/meshterm/services/modifier_watch.py
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+"""The optional Shift-state watcher behind the PicoCalc F-key lane's live flip.
+
+The PicoCalc keyboard's MCU translates Shift+F1..F5 into plain F6–F10 keycodes, so the
+terminal never sees the Shift that produced them — but the kernel input device does, and
+the ``LSHIFT DOWN`` event arrives *before* the translated F-code (measured in P0). This
+watcher reads the raw evdev stream and tracks whether a Shift key is physically held, so
+the footer lane can flip to the F6–F10 bank's labels while the user is mid-chord.
+
+Strictly an experiment layered over a working static lane, and built to disappear: it
+only ever engages when the platform asks for it (``Platform.modifier_watch``), the input
+device exists, and it is readable (the deploy user is in the ``input`` group on the device) — an ssh
+session on any other machine, a permissions change, or any read error at all just means
+:func:`shift_down` stays ``False`` and the lane stays static. Hand-rolled 30-line evdev
+reader instead of the ``keyboard`` library: no dependency to build on the stripped image,
+and we need exactly two keycodes.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import struct
+import threading
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Callable, Optional
+
+#: struct input_event on 32-bit ARM: struct timeval (2 × long = 8 bytes), then
+#: __u16 type, __u16 code, __s32 value.
+_EVENT_FORMAT = "llHHi"
+_EVENT_SIZE = struct.calcsize(_EVENT_FORMAT)
+
+_EV_KEY = 0x01
+_KEY_LEFTSHIFT = 42
+_KEY_RIGHTSHIFT = 54
+
+#: Where the PicoCalc's keyboard MCU registers (same i2c chip as the battery; P0).
+_SYS_INPUT = Path("/sys/class/input")
+
+_shift_down = False
+_thread: Optional[threading.Thread] = None
+
+
+def shift_down() -> bool:
+    """Whether a Shift key is physically held right now (``False`` when not watching)."""
+    return _shift_down
+
+
+def _find_keyboard() -> Optional[Path]:
+    """The PicoCalc keyboard's event device, or ``None`` when it isn't this machine."""
+    try:
+        for entry in sorted(_SYS_INPUT.glob("event*")):
+            name = (entry / "device" / "name").read_text().strip().lower()
+            if "picocalc" in name:
+                return Path("/dev/input") / entry.name
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+    return None
+
+
+def start(on_change: Callable[[], None]) -> bool:
+    """Start the watcher thread if this machine has the keyboard; ``True`` if it engaged.
+
+    Args:
+        on_change: Called (from the watcher thread) whenever the Shift state flips —
+            the session wraps this in a thread-safe repaint request.
+    """
+    global _thread
+    if _thread is not None:
+        return True
+    device = _find_keyboard()
+    if device is None:
+        return False
+    try:
+        stream = open(device, "rb", buffering=0)
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+
+    def _watch() -> None:
+        global _shift_down
+        held = {_KEY_LEFTSHIFT: False, _KEY_RIGHTSHIFT: False}
+        while True:
+            try:
+                data = stream.read(_EVENT_SIZE)
+            except OSError:
+                break
+            if not data or len(data) < _EVENT_SIZE:
+                break
+            _, _, etype, code, value = struct.unpack(_EVENT_FORMAT, data)
+            if etype != _EV_KEY or code not in held:
+                continue
+            held[code] = value != 0  # 1 down, 2 auto-repeat, 0 up
+            now = any(held.values())
+            if now != _shift_down:
+                _shift_down = now
+                try:
+                    on_change()
+                except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 - a repaint hiccup must not kill the watch
+                    pass
+
+    _thread = threading.Thread(target=_watch, name="modifier-watch", daemon=True)
+    _thread.start()
+    return True
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/menu.py b/meshterm/ui/menu.py
index ec5379b..db4a4bc 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/menu.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/menu.py
@@ -155,10 +155,14 @@ def _header(ctx: AppContext, cache: dict, width: int) -> Text:
         single line (see ``frame.compose_base``), so a too-narrow terminal chops the
         tail rather than wrapping.
     """
+    # Which items compose at all is platform data (see Platform.header_atoms): the
+    # PicoCalc's 53 columns drop the version mark and the pulse, keeping device, badges
+    # and battery. Read live — set_platform runs before the session, but tests swap.
+    atoms = get_platform().header_atoms
     # The battery gauge is pinned to the row's right edge, so reserve its width (plus a
     # leading separator) before the pulse claims the rest; a wider separator estimate for
     # the fit decision is harmless slack.
-    battery = _battery_segment(ctx)
+    battery = _battery_segment(ctx) if "battery" in atoms else Text()
     # The separator choice changes only the *joins*, never the segments themselves, so the
     # segments are built once and each candidate width is arithmetic: one separator per
     # segment (each is preceded by one, and a trailing one leads into the pulse). Building
@@ -183,6 +187,8 @@ def _header(ctx: AppContext, cache: dict, width: int) -> Text:
         header.append(sep)
     # Two dot columns per cell: every cell left of the reserved tail shows two minutes.
     room = width - header_w - reserve
+    if "pulse" not in atoms:
+        room = 0
     if room > 0:
         # Buckets seeded from a previous session's stored history draw grey; only
         # traffic this session actually heard pulses green.
@@ -261,37 +267,42 @@ def _header_segments(ctx: AppContext, cache: dict) -> list[Text]:
         The segments in display order — the app mark, the device, then whichever badges
         have something to report. :func:`_header` writes one separator after each.
     """
+    atoms = get_platform().header_atoms
+    segments: list[Text] = []
     # Each segment starts as an unstyled Text and takes its styles per append. A base style
     # passed to the constructor would instead blanket everything appended after it, layering
     # the mark's brand under the version's muted.
-    mark = Text()
-    mark.append("MeshTerm", style="brand")
-    mark.append(f" v{__version__}", style="muted")
-    segments = [mark]
+    if "version" in atoms:
+        mark = Text()
+        mark.append("MeshTerm", style="brand")
+        mark.append(f" v{__version__}", style="muted")
+        segments.append(mark)
 
-    device = Text()
-    if ctx.mock:
-        device.append("simulator", style="warn")
-    else:
-        name, where = _device_label(ctx, cache)
-        device.append(name or "no device", style=None if name else "muted")
-        if where:
-            device.append(f" ({where})", style="muted")
-    segments.append(device)
+    if "device" in atoms:
+        device = Text()
+        if ctx.mock:
+            device.append("simulator", style="warn")
+        else:
+            name, where = _device_label(ctx, cache)
+            device.append(name or "no device", style=None if name else "muted")
+            if where:
+                device.append(f" ({where})", style="muted")
+        segments.append(device)
 
-    unread = ctx.chat.unread_total()
-    if unread:
-        badge = Text()
-        badge.append("●", style="err")
-        badge.append(f" {unread}", style="warn")
-        segments.append(badge)
-    alerts = ctx.watchtower.unacked_count()
-    if alerts:
-        # The Watchtower's badge: a triangle so it never reads as unread mail.
-        badge = Text()
-        badge.append("▲", style="err")
-        badge.append(f" {alerts}", style="warn")
-        segments.append(badge)
+    if "badges" in atoms:
+        unread = ctx.chat.unread_total()
+        if unread:
+            badge = Text()
+            badge.append("●", style="err")
+            badge.append(f" {unread}", style="warn")
+            segments.append(badge)
+        alerts = ctx.watchtower.unacked_count()
+        if alerts:
+            # The Watchtower's badge: a triangle so it never reads as unread mail.
+            badge = Text()
+            badge.append("▲", style="err")
+            badge.append(f" {alerts}", style="warn")
+            segments.append(badge)
     return segments
 
 
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/surface.py b/meshterm/ui/surface.py
index e29077d..6e76eed 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/surface.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/surface.py
@@ -42,6 +42,18 @@ _DIALOG_MAX_LINES = 3
 _DIALOG_MAX_CELLS = 76
 
 
+def _dialog_max_cells() -> int:
+    """The popup-qualifying width for the active platform.
+
+    The regular platform keeps the long-standing 76. On the PicoCalc the dialog frame
+    itself is capped at ``cols - 6 = 47`` outer (43 inner), so a line qualifying at 76
+    would wrap inside the box it was promoted into — the gate shrinks to match.
+    """
+    from ..platforms import get_platform
+
+    return _DIALOG_MAX_CELLS if get_platform().frame_border else 43
+
+
 def _collapse_to_message(buffered: list[RenderableType]) -> Optional[Text]:
     """Collapse small, text-only buffered output into one dialog message.
 
@@ -65,7 +77,7 @@ def _collapse_to_message(buffered: list[RenderableType]) -> Optional[Text]:
         lines.extend(item.split("\n") or [item])
     if len(lines) > _DIALOG_MAX_LINES:
         return None
-    if any(line.cell_len > _DIALOG_MAX_CELLS for line in lines):
+    if any(line.cell_len > _dialog_max_cells() for line in lines):
         return None
     return Text("\n").join(lines)
 
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/tui/fkeys.py b/meshterm/ui/tui/fkeys.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1dc9df0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/meshterm/ui/tui/fkeys.py
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+"""The PicoCalc F-key lane: a fixed footer row mapping F1–F5 (and their opposites).
+
+The PicoCalc keyboard has five dedicated function keys; its MCU translates Shift+F1..F5
+into plain F6–F10 keycodes (measured in P0), so "Shift+key = the opposite action" is
+literal hardware behaviour and the app simply binds all ten. One footer row teaches both
+banks: each slot shows its digit and primary label, and — while the optional modifier
+watch reports Shift held — flips to the opposite bank's labels live.
+
+A screen describes its lane as five :class:`FPair` slots (``None`` = unassigned); the
+session resolves a pressed F-key to the slot's action string and dispatches it through
+the normal action funnel, so screens gain F-key support without any key handling of
+their own. The defaults duplicate the nav cluster (which sits on an Fn layer on this
+keyboard) plus commit/leave — the pairs that mean something on every screen.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import Optional, Sequence
+
+from rich.text import Text
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True, slots=True)
+class FPair:
+    """One F-key slot: the primary action (Fn) and its opposite (F(n+5)).
+
+    Attributes:
+        label: Hint text for the primary, ≤7 cells (the lane budgets 5 slots into 53).
+        action: The screen action the primary dispatches (``"home"``, ``"enter"``, …).
+        opp_label: Hint text for the opposite bank.
+        opp_action: The action the opposite dispatches.
+    """
+
+    label: str
+    action: str
+    opp_label: str
+    opp_action: str
+
+
+#: A lane is five slots, F1..F5 left to right; ``None`` leaves a slot unassigned.
+Lane = Sequence[Optional[FPair]]
+
+#: The screen-agnostic default lane. Top/End and the page pair mirror the nav cluster
+#: (Fn-layered on the physical keyboard, so the dedicated F-keys earn their duplicate);
+#: F5 commits and its opposite leaves — the one inversion every screen understands.
+DEFAULT_LANE: tuple[Optional[FPair], ...] = (
+    FPair("Top", "home", "End", "end"),
+    FPair("PgUp", "pageup", "PgDn", "pagedown"),
+    None,
+    None,
+    FPair("OK", "enter", "Back", "escape"),
+)
+
+
+def action_for(lane: Lane, number: int) -> Optional[str]:
+    """The action F-key ``number`` (1–10) resolves to on this lane, or ``None``.
+
+    F1–F5 take the slot's primary action, F6–F10 its opposite (the physical Shift bank).
+    """
+    index = (number - 1) % 5
+    if index >= len(lane) or lane[index] is None:
+        return None
+    pair = lane[index]
+    return pair.opp_action if number > 5 else pair.action
+
+
+def lane_text(lane: Lane, *, shifted: bool = False) -> Text:
+    """Render the lane as the fixed footer row: ``1 Top  2 PgUp  ···  5 OK``.
+
+    Args:
+        lane: The five slots.
+        shifted: Show the opposite bank's digits and labels (the modifier watch saw
+            Shift go down); the static fallback always shows the primary bank.
+
+    Returns:
+        A one-line :class:`Text`, ≤53 cells with ≤7-cell labels.
+    """
+    row = Text()
+    for index in range(5):
+        pair = lane[index] if index < len(lane) else None
+        if row.plain:
+            row.append("  ")
+        number = index + 6 if shifted else index + 1
+        if pair is None:
+            row.append(f"{number}", style="track")
+            continue
+        label = pair.opp_label if shifted else pair.label
+        # The row's budget is exact at 53: five 9-cell slots and four 2-cell gaps. A
+        # label is clipped to its slot rather than pushing the lane over — and F10's
+        # two-digit key costs its own label a cell.
+        budget = 6 if number >= 10 else 7
+        row.append(f"{number}", style="accent")
+        row.append(f" {label[:budget]}", style="muted")
+    return row
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/tui/frame.py b/meshterm/ui/tui/frame.py
index 913c8be..3299161 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/tui/frame.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/tui/frame.py
@@ -164,12 +164,38 @@ def _panel(screen: Screen, inner_w: int, viewport: int, active: bool) -> Panel:
     )
 
 
+def _title_bar(screen: Screen, cols: int, more_above: bool, more_below: bool) -> Text:
+    """The borderless frame's one-row title bar: title, a muted rule, clip arrows.
+
+    The Panel border's whole vocabulary — where you are (title) and whether the list
+    continues (the ``↑↓ more`` subtitle) — compressed into a single row so the body wins
+    back three rows and four columns on the PicoCalc. Shape: ``─ Title ───────── ↑↓``,
+    echoing :func:`~meshterm.ui.menus.section_heading`'s heading language.
+    """
+    bar = Text()
+    bar.append("─ ", style="hint.accent")
+    if screen.title:
+        bar.append(screen.title, style=title_style("accent"))
+        bar.append(" ", style=None)
+    tail = ""
+    if more_above or more_below:
+        tail = ("↑" if more_above else " ") + ("↓" if more_below else " ")
+    fill = cols - bar.cell_len - (len(tail) + 1 if tail else 0)
+    if fill > 0:
+        bar.append("─" * fill, style="hint.accent")
+    if tail:
+        bar.append(" " + tail, style="hint.accent")
+    bar.truncate(cols)
+    return bar
+
+
 def compose_base(
     header: RenderableType,
     base: Screen,
     footer_hint: str,
     cols: int,
     rows: int,
+    footer_lane: RenderableType | None = None,
 ) -> str:
     """Compose the full-screen ANSI view: header, the base screen's panel, and a footer.
 
@@ -179,25 +205,44 @@ def compose_base(
         footer_hint: The active screen's key hint, shown at the very bottom.
         cols: Terminal width.
         rows: Terminal height.
+        footer_lane: A pre-built footer row (the PicoCalc F-key lane) that replaces the
+            hint string when the platform runs fixed F-key hints.
 
     Returns:
         An ANSI string of exactly ``rows`` lines, each within ``cols`` columns.
     """
+    platform = get_platform()
     # The header is a single status line: crop it to one row so a narrow terminal never
     # wraps it onto a second line (which would push the panel down and misreport its height).
     header_lines = render_lines(header, cols, no_wrap=True)
     header_h = len(header_lines)
-    viewport = max(1, rows - header_h - 1 - 2)  # minus footer(1) and panel border(2)
-    panel = _panel(base, cols - 4, viewport, active=True)
-    footer = Text.from_markup(f"[muted]{footer_hint}[/muted]")
+    footer = footer_lane if footer_lane is not None else Text.from_markup(
+        f"[muted]{footer_hint}[/muted]"
+    )
+    if platform.frame_border:
+        viewport = max(1, rows - header_h - 1 - 2)  # minus footer(1) and panel border(2)
+        panel: RenderableType = _panel(base, cols - 4, viewport, active=True)
+        body = render_lines(Group(panel, footer), cols)
+    else:
+        # Borderless chrome: a one-row title bar instead of the Panel's border and
+        # padding — the body wins the full terminal width and one extra row.
+        viewport = max(1, rows - header_h - 1 - 1)  # minus footer(1) and title bar(1)
+        base.note_viewport(viewport)
+        body_lines = base.render_body(cols)
+        visible, more_above, more_below = _visible_slice(base, body_lines, viewport)
+        bar = _title_bar(base, cols, more_above, more_below)
+        body = (
+            render_lines(bar, cols, no_wrap=True)
+            + visible
+            + render_lines(footer, cols, no_wrap=True)
+        )
     # The glow pass lights the outer frame *and* any tool panels nested in the body. It only
     # ever recolours truecolor foregrounds (see glow._advance_fg), so on a platform without
     # effects — which is also a platform without truecolor — it would scan every line of
     # every frame and hand back the identical list. Skipping it outright is the same picture
     # for none of the work. Read live rather than bound at import: set_platform() runs in the
     # CLI callback, long after this module is imported (see meshterm.platforms).
-    body = render_lines(Group(panel, footer), cols)
-    lines = header_lines + (apply_corner_glow(body) if get_platform().effects else body)
+    lines = header_lines + (apply_corner_glow(body) if platform.effects else body)
     # Guarantee we never exceed the terminal height (pt would otherwise clip unpredictably).
     if len(lines) > rows:
         lines = lines[:rows]
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py b/meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py
index 0610901..3d838b4 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py
@@ -59,6 +59,18 @@ class Screen:
     banner: Optional[Sequence[str]] = None
     footnote: Optional[str] = None
 
+    @property
+    def fkey_lane(self):
+        """The screen's F-key lane (the PicoCalc footer; see :mod:`~meshterm.ui.tui.fkeys`).
+
+        Five slots, F1–F5 with their F6–F10 opposites (the physical Shift bank). The
+        default duplicates the nav cluster — Fn-layered on the PicoCalc keyboard — plus
+        commit/leave; a screen with richer verbs overrides this property.
+        """
+        from .fkeys import DEFAULT_LANE
+
+        return DEFAULT_LANE
+
     def __init__(self) -> None:
         """Initialize scroll state and the (later-assigned) result future."""
         self.scroll = 0
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/tui/session.py b/meshterm/ui/tui/session.py
index dd2363e..ef9f748 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/tui/session.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/tui/session.py
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ from rich.console import RenderableType
 from rich.text import Text
 
 from ...platforms import get_platform
-from . import frame
+from ...services import modifier_watch
+from . import fkeys, frame
 from .overlay import BusyOverlay
 from .progress import TuiProgress
 from .prompt import (
@@ -92,6 +93,12 @@ _KEY_ACTIONS: dict[Any, str] = {
     Keys.Delete: "delete",
     Keys.Tab: "tab",
     Keys.BackTab: "shift_tab",
+    # The function keys, for the PicoCalc's F-key lane (F6–F10 are its Shift bank —
+    # the MCU translates Shift+F1..F5 into these plain keycodes). The session resolves
+    # them against the top screen's lane in _dispatch; on platforms without the lane
+    # they resolve to nothing and fall away. Alt+Fn is the kernel's VT switch on the
+    # device and must never be bound.
+    **{getattr(Keys, f"F{n}"): f"f{n}" for n in range(1, 11)},
     # The Ctrl-letter chords, generated from the one table above so a chord can never be
     # bound without its right-Ctrl rescue (or rescued into an action nothing binds).
     **{
@@ -1048,6 +1055,12 @@ class TuiSession:
             main: The coroutine driving the session (typically the menu loop).
         """
         self._app = self._build_app()
+        if get_platform().modifier_watch:
+            # The Shift watcher flips the F-key lane's labels live. It reports from its
+            # own thread; hop onto the app loop for the repaint. Failure to engage (no
+            # device, no permission) just leaves the lane static — see the module doc.
+            loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+            modifier_watch.start(lambda: loop.call_soon_threadsafe(self.invalidate))
         box: dict[str, BaseException] = {}
 
         async def driver() -> None:
@@ -1286,7 +1299,13 @@ class TuiSession:
         if not base.chrome:
             return self._emit(frame.compose_startup(base, cols, rows))
         footer = self.top.footer_hint if self.top else base.footer_hint
-        return self._emit(frame.compose_base(self._header(cols), base, footer, cols, rows))
+        lane = None
+        if get_platform().footer_fkeys:
+            active = self.top or base
+            lane = fkeys.lane_text(active.fkey_lane, shifted=modifier_watch.shift_down())
+        return self._emit(
+            frame.compose_base(self._header(cols), base, footer, cols, rows, footer_lane=lane)
+        )
 
     def _render_float_layer(self, index: int) -> ANSI:
         """Render the ``index``-th floating dialog (bottom-to-top) as a centered box."""
@@ -1366,6 +1385,15 @@ class TuiSession:
         the terminal may draw narrower than pt reserves for it (an emoji) upgrades itself to a
         full repaint at compose time — see :meth:`_emit`.
         """
+        # An F-key resolves against the top screen's lane (see ui.tui.fkeys) into a
+        # normal screen action; an unassigned slot, or a platform without the lane,
+        # drops the press here.
+        if len(action) in (2, 3) and action[0] == "f" and action[1:].isdigit():
+            top = self.top or self._base_screen()
+            resolved = fkeys.action_for(top.fkey_lane, int(action[1:])) if top else None
+            if resolved is None:
+                return
+            action = resolved
         # The key-state probe comes last in each test, so it only runs for a key that could
         # be a chord at all — not on every keystroke.
         if action in _CTRL_CHORDS and _right_ctrl_down():
diff --git a/tests/test_picocalc_chrome.py b/tests/test_picocalc_chrome.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78dc0cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_picocalc_chrome.py
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+"""P4 chrome contracts: borderless frame, slim header, the F-key lane, dialog gate."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from rich.cells import cell_len
+from rich.text import Text
+
+from meshterm.platforms import PICOCALC, REGULAR, set_platform
+from meshterm.ui.tui import frame
+from meshterm.ui.tui.fkeys import DEFAULT_LANE, FPair, action_for, lane_text
+from meshterm.ui.tui.screen import ScrollScreen
+
+from tests.conftest import plain as _plain
+
+
+def _screen(lines: int = 40) -> ScrollScreen:
+    body = Text("\n".join(f"row {i}" for i in range(lines)))
+    screen = ScrollScreen(body, title="Chrome probe", floating=False)
+    return screen
+
+
+def test_borderless_frame_swaps_the_panel_for_a_title_bar() -> None:
+    set_platform(PICOCALC)
+    composed = frame.compose_base(Text("hdr"), _screen(), "hint", 53, 26).split("\n")
+    assert len(composed) == 26
+    plain = [_plain(line) for line in composed]
+    # Row 1 (under the one-line header) is the title bar: rule + title + clip arrow.
+    assert "Chrome probe" in plain[1] and "─" in plain[1]
+    assert "↓" in plain[1]  # 40 rows into a 23-row viewport: more below
+    # No Panel borders anywhere — the body owns the full width.
+    assert not any("│" in line or "╭" in line for line in plain)
+    assert all(cell_len(line) <= 53 for line in plain)
+    # The body's first row starts at column 0 of row 2 (no panel padding).
+    assert plain[2].startswith("row 0")
+
+
+def test_bordered_frame_is_unchanged_on_regular() -> None:
+    set_platform(REGULAR)
+    composed = frame.compose_base(Text("hdr"), _screen(), "hint", 72, 24).split("\n")
+    plain = [_plain(line) for line in composed]
+    assert any("╭" in line or "┌" in line for line in plain), "regular keeps its Panel"
+
+
+def test_picocalc_header_drops_version_and_pulse() -> None:
+    """The header_atoms wiring: no brand/version mark, no pulse row under picocalc."""
+    from meshterm.ui.menu import _header_segments
+
+    class _Badges:
+        def unread_total(self) -> int:
+            return 0
+
+        def unacked_count(self) -> int:
+            return 0
+
+    class _Ctx:
+        mock = True
+        chat = _Badges()
+        watchtower = _Badges()
+
+    set_platform(PICOCALC)
+    segments = _header_segments(_Ctx(), {})
+    text = "".join(seg.plain for seg in segments)
+    assert "MeshTerm" not in text and "v" not in text.split()[0]
+    assert "simulator" in text
+    set_platform(REGULAR)
+    segments = _header_segments(_Ctx(), {})
+    assert "MeshTerm" in "".join(seg.plain for seg in segments)
+
+
+def test_fkey_lane_resolution_and_banks() -> None:
+    lane = DEFAULT_LANE
+    assert action_for(lane, 1) == "home" and action_for(lane, 6) == "end"
+    assert action_for(lane, 2) == "pageup" and action_for(lane, 7) == "pagedown"
+    assert action_for(lane, 3) is None and action_for(lane, 8) is None
+    assert action_for(lane, 5) == "enter" and action_for(lane, 10) == "escape"
+
+
+def test_fkey_lane_text_fits_and_flips() -> None:
+    primary = lane_text(DEFAULT_LANE)
+    shifted = lane_text(DEFAULT_LANE, shifted=True)
+    assert cell_len(primary.plain) <= 53 and cell_len(shifted.plain) <= 53
+    assert "1 Top" in primary.plain and "5 OK" in primary.plain
+    assert "6 End" in shifted.plain and "10 Back" in shifted.plain
+    wide = [FPair("Muchtoolonglabel", "a", "Muchtoolonglabel", "b")] * 5
+    assert cell_len(lane_text(wide).plain) <= 53  # clipped to the slot budget
+    assert cell_len(lane_text(wide, shifted=True).plain) <= 53
+
+
+def test_dialog_gate_shrinks_on_picocalc() -> None:
+    from meshterm.ui.surface import _dialog_max_cells
+
+    set_platform(PICOCALC)
+    assert _dialog_max_cells() == 43
+    set_platform(REGULAR)
+    assert _dialog_max_cells() == 76