diff --git a/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/manifest.json b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/manifest.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f332e088
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/manifest.json
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "schema": "nodebench-ui-contract-v1",
+  "capturedAt": "2026-07-18T22:30:00Z",
+  "slice": "polish-chat-answer",
+  "app": "nodebench-ai (FastAgentPanel canonical answer harness, panel-canonical-answer-harness.html)",
+  "notes": "Examine-then-polish pass over the unified chat answer anatomy before final presentation. Three root-caused fixes: (1) streamdown markdown links render as <button class='text-primary underline'>, and the light-mode WCAG block's [class*='primary'] substring shotgun force-filled them into terracotta pills - narrowed to bg-primary/rd-btn--primary plus a scoped link reset in agent-workspace.css; (2) ALL eight @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) hardening blocks keyed off the OS scheme while the app themes via data-redesign-theme, so an OS-light user with the app toggled dark received near-black inks on dark surfaces (invisible table headers via [class*='muted'] matching Tailwind's bg-muted, unreadable code lines, vanished run-summary meta, darkened accent) - every selector now guards with :where(:not([data-redesign-theme='dark'])), zero added specificity so light cascade is unchanged; (3) evidence rows with an honestly-empty quote rendered an empty paragraph that shoved the source label - quote now gated on content. Before = origin/main e2aebecb + harness index.css import only; after = fix branch. Captured against vite dev 127.0.0.1:4194, Playwright default (OS-light) color scheme with html.dark toggled for dark - deliberately the worst-case combination that reproduced the theme-mismatch bug.",
+  "pages": [
+    { "route": "/src/features/agents/components/FastAgentPanel/__harness__/panel-canonical-answer-harness.html", "viewport": { "width": 760, "height": 1000 }, "theme": "light", "before": "polish-before-light.png", "after": "polish-after-light.png" },
+    { "route": "/src/features/agents/components/FastAgentPanel/__harness__/panel-canonical-answer-harness.html", "viewport": { "width": 760, "height": 1000 }, "theme": "dark", "before": "polish-before-dark.png", "after": "polish-after-dark.png" }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-after-dark.png b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-after-dark.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0783011f
Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-after-dark.png differ
diff --git a/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-after-light.png b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-after-light.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3db49355
Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-after-light.png differ
diff --git a/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-before-dark.png b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-before-dark.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9e49a729
Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-before-dark.png differ
diff --git a/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-before-light.png b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-before-light.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..62879933
Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/design/ui-contract/20260718-polish-chat-answer/polish-before-light.png differ
diff --git a/src/features/agents/components/FastAgentPanel/__harness__/panelCanonicalAnswerHarness.tsx b/src/features/agents/components/FastAgentPanel/__harness__/panelCanonicalAnswerHarness.tsx
index 108797b4..4388d3bd 100644
--- a/src/features/agents/components/FastAgentPanel/__harness__/panelCanonicalAnswerHarness.tsx
+++ b/src/features/agents/components/FastAgentPanel/__harness__/panelCanonicalAnswerHarness.tsx
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@
  * the adopted anatomy can be captured and reviewed as evidence.
  */
 import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
+// The app's Tailwind entry — without it the streamdown table/code chrome and
+// inline marks render unstyled, which made the Phase C evidence captures
+// misrepresent the in-app look (recorded as a caveat in that manifest).
+import "../../../../../index.css";
 import type { UIMessage } from "@convex-dev/agent/react";
 import { convexToUIParts } from "../adapters/convexToUIParts";
 import {
diff --git a/src/features/redesign/agent-workspace.css b/src/features/redesign/agent-workspace.css
index 2e4a9e22..e8ebdf29 100644
--- a/src/features/redesign/agent-workspace.css
+++ b/src/features/redesign/agent-workspace.css
@@ -747,6 +747,26 @@
   text-decoration: underline;
   text-underline-offset: 2px;
 }
+
+/* Streamdown renders markdown links as <button class="… underline"> for its
+   hover-preview affordance. The app's global base styles bare buttons as
+   filled primary chips with a 44px touch-target minimum, which turned every
+   markdown link into a shouting terracotta pill (polish pass, 2026-07-18).
+   Reset them to read as links: prose speaks, one accent underlines. The
+   .underline discriminator spares the table/code chrome buttons. */
+[data-redesign] .rd-answer-copy--markdown button.underline {
+  min-height: 0;
+  min-width: 0;
+  padding: 0;
+  border: none;
+  background: none;
+  color: var(--rd-accent, #d97757);
+  font: inherit;
+  font-weight: 500;
+  text-decoration: underline;
+  text-underline-offset: 2px;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
 [data-redesign] .rd-answer-copy--markdown blockquote {
   margin: 0 0 8px;
   padding-left: 12px;
diff --git a/src/features/redesign/components/ChatAssistantMessage.tsx b/src/features/redesign/components/ChatAssistantMessage.tsx
index 226dd2f3..f5968b99 100644
--- a/src/features/redesign/components/ChatAssistantMessage.tsx
+++ b/src/features/redesign/components/ChatAssistantMessage.tsx
@@ -1031,8 +1031,13 @@ export function ChatAssistantMessage({
                       onMouseLeave={handleCiteLeave}
                     >
                       <span className="rd-cite rd-cite--block" data-cite={e.idx}>[{e.idx}]</span>
+                      {/* Panel evidence rows can honestly carry no quote —
+                          gate on content so the empty paragraph doesn't shove
+                          the source label across a void (polish pass). */}
                       <div className="rd-evidence-row__main">
-                        <p className="rd-body rd-evidence-row__quote">{e.quote}</p>
+                        {e.quote?.trim() && (
+                          <p className="rd-body rd-evidence-row__quote">{e.quote}</p>
+                        )}
                         {trustBadge && (
                           <span
                             className="rd-mono rd-evidence-row__badge"
diff --git a/src/features/redesign/primitives.css b/src/features/redesign/primitives.css
index 7860ba4c..684fa976 100644
--- a/src/features/redesign/primitives.css
+++ b/src/features/redesign/primitives.css
@@ -2774,11 +2774,11 @@
 
   /* Full-surface QA — P1 fix: light mode subtitle contrast (Home) — WCAG AA 4.5:1+ */
   @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
-    [data-redesign] .rd-v3-home-composer-head p,
-    [data-redesign] .rd-v3-home-halo-head p {
+    [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-v3-home-composer-head p,
+    [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-v3-home-halo-head p {
       color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.72);
     }
-    [data-redesign] .rd-v3-home-halo small {
+    [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-v3-home-halo small {
       color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.58);
     }
   }
@@ -12293,29 +12293,29 @@ body[data-redesign-focus-mode="on"] [data-redesign] [data-focus-mode="on"] main
 
 /* Full-surface QA Round 3+4 — light mode glass card depth + border */
 @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
-  [data-redesign] .rd-card {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-card {
     box-shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06), 0 0 0 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06);
     border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.12);
   }
-  [data-redesign] .rd-card--ghost {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-card--ghost {
     box-shadow: none;
     border-color: transparent;
   }
   /* Strengthen muted text contrast in light mode */
-  [data-redesign] .rd-muted,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="ink-mute"] {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-muted,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="ink-mute"] {
     color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55);
   }
   /* Light mode pill border visibility */
-  [data-redesign] .rd-pill {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-pill {
     border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.12);
   }
   /* Light mode JetBrains Mono contrast boost (4.9:1 → 7:1+) */
-  [data-redesign] .rd-mono {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-mono {
     color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65);
   }
   /* Override inline color on mono body text for WCAG AA+ */
-  [data-redesign] [style*="font-mono"][style*="ink-mute"] {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [style*="font-mono"][style*="ink-mute"] {
     color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.62) !important;
   }
 }
@@ -12370,8 +12370,8 @@ body[data-redesign-focus-mode="on"] [data-redesign] [data-focus-mode="on"] main
 
 /* P1-6: Home subheader light-mode contrast — darken --rd-ink-soft overrides */
 @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
-  [data-redesign] .rd-v3-home-composer-head [class*="subheader"],
-  [data-redesign] .rd-v3-home-composer-head p {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-v3-home-composer-head [class*="subheader"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-v3-home-composer-head p {
     color: var(--rd-ink-mute);
   }
 }
@@ -12397,8 +12397,8 @@ body[data-redesign-focus-mode="on"] [data-redesign] [data-focus-mode="on"] main
   color: var(--rd-ink-soft);
 }
 @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
-  [data-redesign] .rd-agent-rail__muted,
-  [data-redesign] .rd-agent-rail__copy {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-agent-rail__muted,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-agent-rail__copy {
     color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.62);
   }
 }
@@ -12489,14 +12489,14 @@ body[data-redesign-focus-mode="on"] [data-redesign] [data-focus-mode="on"] main
   border-radius: 2px;
 }
 @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
-  [data-redesign] .rd-progress-bar,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="progress-bar"],
-  [data-redesign] [role="progressbar"] > div {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-progress-bar,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="progress-bar"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [role="progressbar"] > div {
     background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15);
   }
-  [data-redesign] .rd-progress-bar__fill,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="progress-bar"] > [class*="fill"],
-  [data-redesign] [role="progressbar"] > div > div {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-progress-bar__fill,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="progress-bar"] > [class*="fill"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [role="progressbar"] > div > div {
     background: var(--rd-accent-strong);
   }
 }
@@ -12598,18 +12598,18 @@ body[data-redesign-focus-mode="on"] [data-redesign] [data-focus-mode="on"] main
   background: var(--rd-line);
 }
 @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
-  [data-redesign] .rd-chat-header .rd-btn--ghost,
-  [data-redesign] .rd-v3-chat-hero .rd-btn--ghost,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="chat"] .rd-btn--ghost,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="composer"] .rd-btn--ghost {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-chat-header .rd-btn--ghost,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-v3-chat-hero .rd-btn--ghost,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="chat"] .rd-btn--ghost,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="composer"] .rd-btn--ghost {
     border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
     color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.88);
     background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04);
   }
-  [data-redesign] .rd-chat-header .rd-btn--ghost:hover,
-  [data-redesign] .rd-v3-chat-hero .rd-btn--ghost:hover,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="chat"] .rd-btn--ghost:hover,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="composer"] .rd-btn--ghost:hover {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-chat-header .rd-btn--ghost:hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-v3-chat-hero .rd-btn--ghost:hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="chat"] .rd-btn--ghost:hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="composer"] .rd-btn--ghost:hover {
     border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.52);
     background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08);
   }
@@ -12692,18 +12692,18 @@ body[data-redesign-focus-mode="on"] [data-redesign] [data-focus-mode="on"] main
    Root cause: accent-strong (#b85a3d) on semi-transparent glass bg drops below 4.5:1.
    Fix: darken accent links in light mode to a fully opaque high-contrast shade. */
 @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
-  [data-redesign] a[class*="chat"],
-  [data-redesign] [class*="chat-now"],
-  [data-redesign] .rd-agent-rail a,
-  [data-redesign] .rd-agent-rail__next a,
-  [data-redesign] .rd-link--accent {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) a[class*="chat"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="chat-now"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-agent-rail a,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-agent-rail__next a,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-link--accent {
     color: #9e4a30;
     text-decoration-color: rgba(158, 74, 48, 0.35);
   }
-  [data-redesign] a[class*="chat"]:hover,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="chat-now"]:hover,
-  [data-redesign] .rd-agent-rail a:hover,
-  [data-redesign] .rd-link--accent:hover {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) a[class*="chat"]:hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="chat-now"]:hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-agent-rail a:hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-link--accent:hover {
     color: #843d28;
     text-decoration-color: rgba(132, 61, 40, 0.55);
   }
@@ -12713,76 +12713,85 @@ body[data-redesign-focus-mode="on"] [data-redesign] [data-focus-mode="on"] main
    Root cause: glass morphism backgrounds (semi-transparent) reduce effective
    contrast ratios for all text and interactive elements. Instead of chasing
    individual Gemini-flagged P1s, this block ensures ALL elements pass WCAG AA
-   when glass backgrounds are present. */
+   when glass backgrounds are present.
+   NOTE: every light-scheme block in this file guards with
+   :where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) — the media query keys off the
+   OS scheme, but the app themes via data-redesign-theme, so an OS-light user
+   with the app toggled dark must NOT receive these near-black inks. :where()
+   keeps light-mode specificity unchanged. */
 @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
   /* All ghost buttons on glass: solid white bg + dark text + visible border */
-  [data-redesign] .rd-btn--ghost {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-btn--ghost {
     color: #1a1a1a !important;
     border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.32) !important;
     background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.55) !important;
   }
-  [data-redesign] .rd-btn--ghost:hover {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-btn--ghost:hover {
     background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8) !important;
     border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.48) !important;
   }
 
   /* All muted/soft text: ensure 4.5:1 minimum on any background */
-  [data-redesign] .rd-ink-mute,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="muted"],
-  [data-redesign] [class*="subtitle"],
-  [data-redesign] .rd-agent-rail__copy,
-  [data-redesign] .rd-agent-rail__muted {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-ink-mute,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="muted"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="subtitle"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-agent-rail__copy,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-agent-rail__muted {
     color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.68) !important;
   }
 
   /* Status pills: darken text for amber/yellow variants specifically */
-  [data-redesign] .rd-pill--amber,
-  [data-redesign] [class*="pill"][class*="draft"],
-  [data-redesign] [class*="status"][class*="draft"],
-  [data-redesign] .ar-drawer-status[data-status="drafting"] {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-pill--amber,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="pill"][class*="draft"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="status"][class*="draft"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .ar-drawer-status[data-status="drafting"] {
     color: #8a5100 !important;
     border-color: #b26200 !important;
   }
 
   /* Accent links: ensure terracotta links hit 4.5:1 on warm-white glass */
-  [data-redesign] a:not(.rd-btn),
-  [data-redesign] [role="link"] {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) a:not(.rd-btn),
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [role="link"] {
     color: #8b4226;
   }
-  [data-redesign] a:not(.rd-btn):hover,
-  [data-redesign] [role="link"]:hover {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) a:not(.rd-btn):hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [role="link"]:hover {
     color: #6e3420;
   }
 
   /* Terracotta primary buttons: darken bg so white text passes WCAG AA (4.5:1+)
-     #d97757 + white = ~3.2:1 (FAIL). #b04a2a + white = ~5.2:1 (PASS). */
-  [data-redesign] .rd-btn--primary,
-  [data-redesign] button[class*="primary"],
-  [data-redesign] [class*="run-research"],
-  [data-redesign] [class*="save-report"] {
+     #d97757 + white = ~3.2:1 (FAIL). #b04a2a + white = ~5.2:1 (PASS).
+     Match FILLED primaries only ("bg-primary" / rd-btn--primary): the old
+     [class*="primary"] substring shotgun also caught Tailwind's text-primary
+     utility, force-filling streamdown's markdown link-buttons into shouting
+     terracotta pills (polish pass, 2026-07-18). */
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-btn--primary,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) button[class*="bg-primary"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="run-research"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="save-report"] {
     background-color: #b04a2a !important;
     color: #fff !important;
   }
-  [data-redesign] .rd-btn--primary:hover,
-  [data-redesign] button[class*="primary"]:hover {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) .rd-btn--primary:hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) button[class*="bg-primary"]:hover {
     background-color: #963e22 !important;
   }
 
   /* R27-P1: Override --rd-accent itself in light mode so ALL accent uses pass WCAG AA.
      #d97757 on white = ~3.2:1 (FAIL). #c25e3f = ~3.9:1 (still marginal).
      #b04a2a = ~5.2:1 (PASS on pure white), safe on semi-transparent glass. */
-  [data-redesign] {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) {
     --rd-accent: #b04a2a;
     --rd-accent-strong: #963e22;
   }
 
   /* R27-P1: "Chat now" link — use darker grey for secondary links on Home */
-  [data-redesign] [class*="chat-now"],
-  [data-redesign] button[aria-label="Chat now"] {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="chat-now"],
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) button[aria-label="Chat now"] {
     color: #71717a !important;
   }
-  [data-redesign] [class*="chat-now"]:hover,
-  [data-redesign] button[aria-label="Chat now"]:hover {
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) [class*="chat-now"]:hover,
+  [data-redesign]:where(:not([data-redesign-theme="dark"])) button[aria-label="Chat now"]:hover {
     color: #52525b !important;
   }
 }