diff --git a/desktop/src/app/AppShell.tsx b/desktop/src/app/AppShell.tsx
index 960be8117..ffd6e96e5 100644
--- a/desktop/src/app/AppShell.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/app/AppShell.tsx
@@ -641,7 +641,7 @@ export function AppShell() {
   useAppShellLifecycleEffects({
     desktopBadgeEnabled: !isHuddleRoom,
     homeBadgeCountExcludingHighPriority,
-    unreadChannelIds,
+    topLevelUnreadChannelIds,
     unreadChannelNotificationCount,
   });
   // Dispatch `buzz://` deep links only from the main window; the companion is dedicated to its active Huddle route.
diff --git a/desktop/src/app/useAppShellLifecycleEffects.ts b/desktop/src/app/useAppShellLifecycleEffects.ts
index ae62ae3e2..969bf67ca 100644
--- a/desktop/src/app/useAppShellLifecycleEffects.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/app/useAppShellLifecycleEffects.ts
@@ -8,14 +8,14 @@ import { useRelayResumeTriggers } from "@/shared/api/useRelayResumeTriggers";
 type AppShellLifecycleEffectsOptions = {
   desktopBadgeEnabled: boolean;
   homeBadgeCountExcludingHighPriority: number;
-  unreadChannelIds: ReadonlySet<string>;
+  topLevelUnreadChannelIds: ReadonlySet<string>;
   unreadChannelNotificationCount: number;
 };
 
 export function useAppShellLifecycleEffects({
   desktopBadgeEnabled,
   homeBadgeCountExcludingHighPriority,
-  unreadChannelIds,
+  topLevelUnreadChannelIds,
   unreadChannelNotificationCount,
 }: AppShellLifecycleEffectsOptions) {
   // Event-driven reconnect: network online / focus / visibility short-circuit
@@ -82,12 +82,12 @@ export function useAppShellLifecycleEffects({
     void setDesktopAppBadge(
       count
         ? { kind: "count", count }
-        : { kind: unreadChannelIds.size ? "dot" : "none" },
+        : { kind: topLevelUnreadChannelIds.size ? "dot" : "none" },
     );
   }, [
     desktopBadgeEnabled,
     homeBadgeCountExcludingHighPriority,
-    unreadChannelIds,
+    topLevelUnreadChannelIds,
     unreadChannelNotificationCount,
   ]);
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/channels/observedUnreadNative.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/channels/observedUnreadNative.test.mjs
index eea4fbb33..0f443affc 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/channels/observedUnreadNative.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/channels/observedUnreadNative.test.mjs
@@ -52,6 +52,86 @@ async function settle() {
   });
 }
 
+test("native no-op marker delta does not notify the renderer", async () => {
+  installFreshStorage();
+  let harness;
+  let notifications = 0;
+  const rig = installNativeRig();
+  try {
+    harness = await mountHook(
+      {
+        ...DEFAULT_PROPS,
+        pubkey: "pk-no-op-marker",
+        getTs: () => NOW_S,
+        onPruned: () => {
+          notifications += 1;
+        },
+      },
+      makeRefs(),
+    );
+    await settle();
+    assert.equal(notifications, 1, "opening the native snapshot notifies once");
+
+    harness.api.syncMarkers(["channel-empty"]);
+    await settle();
+
+    assert.equal(
+      rig.requests("observed_unread_ingest").length,
+      1,
+      "the marker must still advance the native revision and ack sequence",
+    );
+    assert.equal(
+      notifications,
+      1,
+      "an empty projection delta must not trigger a renderer feedback render",
+    );
+  } finally {
+    await harness?.unmount();
+    rig.restore();
+  }
+});
+
+test("native snapshotRequired response still reopens and notifies", async () => {
+  installFreshStorage();
+  let harness;
+  let notifications = 0;
+  const scope = { pubkey: "pk-snapshot-required", relayUrl: RELAY };
+  const rig = installNativeRig();
+  try {
+    harness = await mountHook(
+      {
+        ...DEFAULT_PROPS,
+        pubkey: scope.pubkey,
+        getTs: () => NOW_S,
+        onPruned: () => {
+          notifications += 1;
+        },
+      },
+      makeRefs(),
+    );
+    await settle();
+    rig.scope(scope).lastSequence = -1;
+
+    harness.api.syncMarkers(["channel-gap"]);
+    await settle();
+    await settle();
+
+    assert.equal(
+      rig.requests("observed_unread_open_scope").length,
+      2,
+      "a sequence gap must reopen the scope even when it carries no projection rows",
+    );
+    assert.equal(
+      notifications,
+      2,
+      "the replacement snapshot must still notify the renderer",
+    );
+  } finally {
+    await harness?.unmount();
+    rig.restore();
+  }
+});
+
 // ── Entry: the boundary that makes every other test meaningful ────────────────
 
 test("native mode is ENTERED: the hook opens the scope over the bridge", async () => {
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/channels/useObservedUnreadPersistence.ts b/desktop/src/features/channels/useObservedUnreadPersistence.ts
index d27a643b5..71960e1c4 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/channels/useObservedUnreadPersistence.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/channels/useObservedUnreadPersistence.ts
@@ -170,7 +170,9 @@ export function useObservedUnreadPersistence(
         revision: response.revision,
         sequence: response.ackedSequence,
       };
-      optionsRef.current.onPruned?.();
+      if (response.removed.length > 0 || response.upserts.length > 0) {
+        optionsRef.current.onPruned?.();
+      }
     },
     [reopen],
   );
diff --git a/desktop/src/testing/e2eBridge.ts b/desktop/src/testing/e2eBridge.ts
index b27bf91ec..cb90d7642 100644
--- a/desktop/src/testing/e2eBridge.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/testing/e2eBridge.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ import {
   handleDeleteCustomHarness,
 } from "./e2eBridgeCustomHarnesses.ts";
 
+import type {
+  ObservedUnreadProjection,
+  ObservedUnreadResponse,
+} from "@/shared/api/tauriObservedUnread";
 import type { UnreadCatchUpChannelResult } from "@/shared/api/tauriUnreadCatchUp";
 import { relayClient } from "@/shared/api/relayClient";
 import { activateRateLimit } from "@/shared/api/relayRateLimitGate";
@@ -3078,6 +3082,111 @@ type MockSaveSubscriptionRow = {
 };
 let mockSaveSubscriptions: MockSaveSubscriptionRow[] = [];
 
+type MockObservedUnreadScope = {
+  generation: string;
+  revision: number;
+  lastSequence: number;
+  migrationComplete: boolean;
+  events: Map<
+    string,
+    {
+      channelId: string;
+      id: string;
+      createdAt: number;
+      rootId: string | null;
+      highPriority: boolean;
+      countsTowardBadge: boolean;
+      countsTowardAppBadge: boolean;
+    }
+  >;
+  channelLatest: Map<string, number>;
+  markers: Map<string, number>;
+};
+
+const mockObservedUnreadScopes = new Map<string, MockObservedUnreadScope>();
+
+function mockObservedUnreadScopeKey(scope: {
+  pubkey: string;
+  relayUrl: string;
+}) {
+  return `${scope.pubkey.trim().toLowerCase()}:${scope.relayUrl
+    .trim()
+    .replace(/\/+$/, "")}`;
+}
+
+function getMockObservedUnreadScope(scope: {
+  pubkey: string;
+  relayUrl: string;
+}) {
+  const key = mockObservedUnreadScopeKey(scope);
+  const existing = mockObservedUnreadScopes.get(key);
+  if (existing) return existing;
+  const created: MockObservedUnreadScope = {
+    generation: "e2e",
+    revision: 0,
+    lastSequence: 0,
+    migrationComplete: false,
+    events: new Map(),
+    channelLatest: new Map(),
+    markers: new Map(),
+  };
+  mockObservedUnreadScopes.set(key, created);
+  return created;
+}
+
+function mockObservedUnreadProjections(
+  scope: MockObservedUnreadScope,
+): ObservedUnreadProjection[] {
+  const channels = new Map<string, ObservedUnreadProjection>();
+  for (const [channelId, latest] of scope.channelLatest) {
+    channels.set(channelId, {
+      channelId,
+      latest,
+      count: 0,
+      badgeCount: 0,
+      appBadgeCount: 0,
+      topLevelUnread: false,
+      highPriorityUnread: false,
+    });
+  }
+  for (const event of scope.events.values()) {
+    let readAt = Math.max(
+      scope.markers.get(event.channelId) ?? 0,
+      scope.markers.get(`msg:${event.id}`) ?? 0,
+    );
+    if (event.rootId) {
+      readAt = Math.max(
+        readAt,
+        scope.markers.get(`thread:${event.rootId}`) ?? 0,
+      );
+    }
+    if (event.createdAt <= readAt) continue;
+    const projection = channels.get(event.channelId) ?? {
+      channelId: event.channelId,
+      latest: 0,
+      count: 0,
+      badgeCount: 0,
+      appBadgeCount: 0,
+      topLevelUnread: false,
+      highPriorityUnread: false,
+    };
+    projection.latest = Math.max(projection.latest, event.createdAt);
+    projection.count += 1;
+    projection.badgeCount += event.countsTowardBadge ? 1 : 0;
+    projection.appBadgeCount += event.countsTowardAppBadge ? 1 : 0;
+    projection.topLevelUnread ||= event.rootId === null;
+    projection.highPriorityUnread ||= event.highPriority;
+    channels.set(event.channelId, projection);
+  }
+  return [...channels.values()].sort((left, right) =>
+    left.channelId.localeCompare(right.channelId),
+  );
+}
+
+function resetMockObservedUnread() {
+  mockObservedUnreadScopes.clear();
+}
+
 function resetMockSaveSubscriptions(config: E2eConfig | undefined) {
   mockSaveSubscriptions = (config?.mock?.saveSubscriptions ?? []).map((s) => ({
     ...s,
@@ -3094,6 +3203,123 @@ function resetMockPersonaCatalogEvents(config: E2eConfig | undefined) {
   }
 }
 
+function mockPersonaCatalogPublications() {
+  const publications = [];
+  const claimed = new Set<string>();
+  for (const event of [...mockPersonaEvents].sort(
+    (a, b) => b.created_at - a.created_at || a.id.localeCompare(b.id),
+  )) {
+    const dTags = event.tags.filter((tag) => tag[0] === "d");
+    if (dTags.length !== 1 || !dTags[0]?.[1]) continue;
+    const sourcePersonaId = dTags[0][1];
+    const ownerPubkey = event.pubkey.toLowerCase();
+    const coordinate = `${ownerPubkey}:${sourcePersonaId}`;
+    if (claimed.has(coordinate)) continue;
+    claimed.add(coordinate);
+    if (!personaHasExactSharedTag(event)) continue;
+    let content: Record<string, unknown>;
+    try {
+      content = JSON.parse(event.content) as Record<string, unknown>;
+    } catch {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const displayName = content.display_name;
+    const systemPrompt = content.system_prompt ?? "";
+    const optionalString = (value: unknown) =>
+      typeof value === "string" && value.trim() ? value : null;
+    const isExtendedPictographic = (value: string) =>
+      /^\p{Extended_Pictographic}$/u.test(value);
+    const hasValidVisibleText = (value: string, allowLayout: boolean) => {
+      const characters = [...value];
+      return characters.every((character, index) => {
+        if (allowLayout && (character === "\n" || character === "\t"))
+          return true;
+        if (/\p{Control}/u.test(character)) return false;
+        const codepoint = character.codePointAt(0) ?? 0;
+        const defaultIgnorable =
+          codepoint === 0x00ad ||
+          codepoint === 0x034f ||
+          codepoint === 0x061c ||
+          (codepoint >= 0x115f && codepoint <= 0x1160) ||
+          (codepoint >= 0x17b4 && codepoint <= 0x17b5) ||
+          (codepoint >= 0x180b && codepoint <= 0x180f) ||
+          (codepoint >= 0x200b && codepoint <= 0x200f) ||
+          (codepoint >= 0x202a && codepoint <= 0x202e) ||
+          (codepoint >= 0x2060 && codepoint <= 0x206f) ||
+          codepoint === 0x3164 ||
+          (codepoint >= 0xfe00 && codepoint <= 0xfe0f) ||
+          codepoint === 0xfeff ||
+          codepoint === 0xffa0 ||
+          (codepoint >= 0xfff0 && codepoint <= 0xfff8) ||
+          (codepoint >= 0x1bca0 && codepoint <= 0x1bca3) ||
+          (codepoint >= 0x1d173 && codepoint <= 0x1d17a) ||
+          (codepoint >= 0xe0000 && codepoint <= 0xe0fff);
+        if (!defaultIgnorable) return true;
+        if (character === "\ufe0f") {
+          const previous = characters[index - 1];
+          return (
+            previous !== undefined &&
+            (/^[#*0-9]$/u.test(previous) || isExtendedPictographic(previous))
+          );
+        }
+        if (character !== "\u200d") return false;
+        let previousIndex = index - 1;
+        while (
+          previousIndex >= 0 &&
+          (characters[previousIndex] === "\ufe0f" ||
+            /[\u{1f3fb}-\u{1f3ff}]/u.test(characters[previousIndex] ?? ""))
+        ) {
+          previousIndex -= 1;
+        }
+        return (
+          previousIndex >= 0 &&
+          isExtendedPictographic(characters[previousIndex] ?? "") &&
+          isExtendedPictographic(characters[index + 1] ?? "")
+        );
+      });
+    };
+    if (
+      typeof displayName !== "string" ||
+      !displayName.trim() ||
+      [...displayName].length > 128 ||
+      typeof systemPrompt !== "string" ||
+      new TextEncoder().encode(systemPrompt).length > 64 * 1024 ||
+      !hasValidVisibleText(displayName, false) ||
+      !hasValidVisibleText(systemPrompt, true)
+    )
+      continue;
+    publications.push({
+      eventId: event.id,
+      ownerPubkey,
+      sourcePersonaId,
+      createdAt: event.created_at,
+      agent: {
+        displayName,
+        avatarUrl: optionalString(content.avatar_url),
+        systemPrompt,
+        runtime: optionalString(content.runtime),
+        model: optionalString(content.model),
+        provider: optionalString(content.provider),
+        namePool: Array.isArray(content.name_pool)
+          ? content.name_pool.filter(
+              (value): value is string => typeof value === "string",
+            )
+          : [],
+        respondTo:
+          content.respond_to === "allowlist"
+            ? "owner-only"
+            : content.respond_to === "owner-only" ||
+                content.respond_to === "anyone"
+              ? content.respond_to
+              : null,
+        parallelism:
+          typeof content.parallelism === "number" ? content.parallelism : null,
+      },
+    });
+  }
+  return publications;
+}
+
 // Mesh-compute mock state — TEST-ONLY.
 //
 // This entire module (e2eBridge.ts) is loaded only when `window.__BUZZ_E2E__`
@@ -10267,6 +10493,7 @@ export function maybeInstallE2eTauriMocks() {
   resetMockMesh();
   resetMockUserStatuses();
   resetMockPersonaCatalogEvents(config);
+  resetMockObservedUnread();
   resetMockSaveSubscriptions(config);
   resetMockPendingCommunityDeepLinks(config);
   resetMockPendingNavigationDeepLinks(config);
@@ -13377,43 +13604,144 @@ export function maybeInstallE2eTauriMocks() {
       case "start_archive_sync":
       case "stop_archive_sync":
         return null;
+      case "fetch_persona_catalog":
+        return mockPersonaCatalogPublications();
       case "observed_unread_open_scope": {
         const request = payload as {
-          request: { scope: { pubkey: string; relayUrl: string } };
+          request: {
+            scope: { pubkey: string; relayUrl: string };
+            legacyPayload?: {
+              eventsByChannel?: Record<
+                string,
+                Array<{
+                  id: string;
+                  createdAt: number;
+                  rootId?: string | null;
+                  highPriority: boolean;
+                  countsTowardBadge: boolean;
+                  countsTowardAppBadge: boolean;
+                }>
+              >;
+            };
+          };
         };
+        const scope = getMockObservedUnreadScope(request.request.scope);
+        if (!scope.migrationComplete) {
+          for (const [channelId, events] of Object.entries(
+            request.request.legacyPayload?.eventsByChannel ?? {},
+          )) {
+            for (const event of events) {
+              if (!scope.events.has(event.id)) {
+                scope.events.set(event.id, {
+                  channelId,
+                  ...event,
+                  rootId: event.rootId ?? null,
+                });
+              }
+            }
+          }
+          scope.migrationComplete = true;
+        }
         return {
           kind: "snapshot",
           scope: request.request.scope,
-          generation: "e2e",
-          revision: 0,
-          lastAckedSequence: 0,
-          migrationComplete: true,
+          generation: scope.generation,
+          revision: scope.revision,
+          lastAckedSequence: scope.lastSequence,
+          migrationComplete: scope.migrationComplete,
           membershipSeeded: true,
-          channels: [],
-        };
+          channels: mockObservedUnreadProjections(scope),
+        } satisfies ObservedUnreadResponse;
       }
       case "observed_unread_ingest": {
-        const request = payload as {
+        const { request } = payload as {
           request: {
             scope: { pubkey: string; relayUrl: string };
             sequence: number;
             baseRevision: number;
+            events: Array<{
+              channelId: string;
+              id: string;
+              createdAt: number;
+              rootId: string | null;
+              highPriority: boolean;
+              countsTowardBadge: boolean;
+              countsTowardAppBadge: boolean;
+            }>;
+            channelLatest: Array<{ channelId: string; createdAt: number }>;
+            markers: Array<{ contextId: string; readAt: number | null }>;
+            membership: Array<{
+              kind: string;
+              value: string;
+              present: boolean;
+            }>;
+            clearChannels: string[];
+            clearAll: boolean;
           };
         };
+        const scope = getMockObservedUnreadScope(request.scope);
+        const before = new Map(
+          mockObservedUnreadProjections(scope).map((item) => [
+            item.channelId,
+            item,
+          ]),
+        );
+        if (request.clearAll) {
+          scope.events.clear();
+          scope.channelLatest.clear();
+        }
+        for (const channelId of request.clearChannels) {
+          scope.channelLatest.delete(channelId);
+          for (const [id, event] of scope.events) {
+            if (event.channelId === channelId) scope.events.delete(id);
+          }
+        }
+        for (const latest of request.channelLatest ?? []) {
+          scope.channelLatest.set(
+            latest.channelId,
+            Math.max(
+              scope.channelLatest.get(latest.channelId) ?? 0,
+              latest.createdAt,
+            ),
+          );
+        }
+        for (const event of request.events ?? []) {
+          if (!scope.events.has(event.id)) scope.events.set(event.id, event);
+        }
+        for (const marker of request.markers ?? []) {
+          if (marker.readAt === null) scope.markers.delete(marker.contextId);
+          else
+            scope.markers.set(
+              marker.contextId,
+              Math.max(scope.markers.get(marker.contextId) ?? 0, marker.readAt),
+            );
+        }
+        const after = mockObservedUnreadProjections(scope);
+        const afterIds = new Set(after.map((item) => item.channelId));
+        const baseRevision = scope.revision;
+        scope.revision += 1;
+        scope.lastSequence = request.sequence;
         return {
           kind: "delta",
-          scope: request.request.scope,
-          generation: "e2e",
-          baseRevision: request.request.baseRevision,
-          revision: request.request.baseRevision + 1,
-          ackedSequence: request.request.sequence,
-          upserts: [],
-          removed: [],
-        };
+          scope: request.scope,
+          generation: scope.generation,
+          baseRevision,
+          revision: scope.revision,
+          ackedSequence: request.sequence,
+          upserts: after.filter(
+            (item) =>
+              JSON.stringify(before.get(item.channelId)) !==
+              JSON.stringify(item),
+          ),
+          removed: [...before.keys()].filter((id) => !afterIds.has(id)),
+        } satisfies ObservedUnreadResponse;
       }
       case "unread_catch_up": {
         const request = payload as {
-          request: { channels: Array<{ id: string }> };
+          request: {
+            channels: Array<{ id: string }>;
+            selfPubkey: string;
+          };
         };
         const results: UnreadCatchUpChannelResult[] =
           request.request.channels.map((channel) => ({
@@ -13422,7 +13750,18 @@ export function maybeInstallE2eTauriMocks() {
             observedEvents: [],
             maxTrigger: 0,
             activityRows: [],
-            discovered: { participated: [], authored: [], mentioned: [] },
+            discovered: {
+              participated: [],
+              authored: getMockMessageStore(channel.id)
+                .filter(
+                  (event) =>
+                    event.pubkey === request.request.selfPubkey &&
+                    getThreadReferenceFromTags(event.tags).parentEventId ===
+                      null,
+                )
+                .map((event) => event.id),
+              mentioned: [],
+            },
           }));
         // Keep this mock aligned with the complete Rust serde shape pinned by
         // `serialized_response_matches_the_typescript_contract`.