diff --git a/frontend/src/assets/theme.css b/frontend/src/assets/theme.css
index 7b19fff..b72322f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/assets/theme.css
+++ b/frontend/src/assets/theme.css
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@
   --page-max-width: 1200px;
   --page-padding-x: 1rem;
   --sidebar-width: 260px;
+  --chat-reading-width: min(820px, 100%);
+  --chat-context-sidebar-width: 220px;
   --color-accent-warm: #b8860b;
   --color-accent-warm-light: #d4a017;
   --color-primary-solid: #7c3aed;
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ChatPanel.vue b/frontend/src/components/ChatPanel.vue
index bb4ad18..1c8b40e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ChatPanel.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ChatPanel.vue
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ defineExpose({ focus, prefill, send })
 <template>
   <!-- ═══════════════════════════════ FULL VARIANT ══════════════════════════════ -->
   <template v-if="variant === 'full'">
-    <div class="chat-body" :class="{ 'chat-body--has-sidebar': hasContextSidebar }">
+    <div class="chat-full" :class="{ 'chat-full--has-sidebar': hasContextSidebar }">
       <!-- Message list -->
       <div ref="messagesEl" class="messages-container">
         <div class="messages-inner">
@@ -391,10 +391,9 @@ defineExpose({ focus, prefill, send })
           </div>
         </template>
       </aside>
-    </div>
 
-    <!-- Input area (hidden when readOnly) -->
-    <div v-if="!readOnly" class="input-wrapper">
+      <!-- Input area (hidden when readOnly) -->
+      <div v-if="!readOnly" class="input-wrapper">
       <!-- Scope chip -->
       <div v-if="showScopeChip" class="scope-chip-row">
         <div class="scope-chip-wrapper">
@@ -476,6 +475,7 @@ defineExpose({ focus, prefill, send })
         @submit="onSubmit"
         @abort="store.cancelGeneration()"
       />
+      </div>
     </div>
   </template>
 
@@ -528,18 +528,34 @@ defineExpose({ focus, prefill, send })
 </template>
 
 <style scoped>
-/* ── Full variant layout ── */
-.chat-body {
+/* ── Full variant layout ──
+ * Single grid owns the reading column + context sidebar + input bar so
+ * messages and input bar share one centered reading track while the
+ * context sidebar spans the full height from header to bottom of view.
+ * The sidebar column collapses to 0 when there are no context notes.
+ */
+.chat-full {
+  --chat-sidebar-col: 0px;
   flex: 1;
-  display: flex;
   min-height: 0;
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns:
+    1fr
+    minmax(0, var(--chat-reading-width))
+    1fr
+    var(--chat-sidebar-col);
+  grid-template-rows: minmax(0, 1fr) auto;
   overflow: hidden;
 }
+.chat-full--has-sidebar {
+  --chat-sidebar-col: var(--chat-context-sidebar-width);
+}
 
 .messages-container {
-  flex: 1;
+  grid-column: 2;
+  grid-row: 1;
   overflow-y: auto;
-  padding: 1rem;
+  padding: 1rem 1rem 0;
   mask-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, transparent, black 20px, black calc(100% - 20px), transparent);
   -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, transparent, black 20px, black calc(100% - 20px), transparent);
 }
@@ -558,11 +574,10 @@ defineExpose({ focus, prefill, send })
   opacity: 0.35;
 }
 
-/* Context sidebar */
+/* Context sidebar — spans full height (rows 1 and 2) of the chat grid */
 .context-sidebar {
-  width: 200px;
-  min-width: 160px;
-  max-width: 220px;
+  grid-column: 4;
+  grid-row: 1 / -1;
   border-left: 1px solid var(--color-border);
   padding: 0.75rem 0.5rem;
   overflow-y: auto;
@@ -616,8 +631,10 @@ defineExpose({ focus, prefill, send })
 .context-note-remove:hover { color: #ef4444; }
 .context-note-add:hover { color: var(--color-primary); }
 
-/* Input wrapper */
+/* Input wrapper — lives in the same reading column as messages */
 .input-wrapper {
+  grid-column: 2;
+  grid-row: 2;
   border-top: 1px solid var(--color-border);
   padding: 0.5rem 1rem 0.75rem;
   display: flex;