@@ -3291,13 +3291,15 @@ function sendConfigToWebview() {
 	// "unconstrained": the way to widen the measure is a large number, not 0.
 	const proseSize = clampSetting(cfg.get('chat.fontSize', 0), 8, 24);
 	const proseWidth = clampSetting(cfg.get('chat.proseWidth', 0), 320, 2000);
+	// The light round the message box while LevelCode works (media/chat.html, "the working aura").
+	const workingAura = cfg.get('chat.workingAura', true) !== false;
 	if (providerMode() === 'gateway' && cloudSignedIn) {
 		const model = gatewayModel();
 		post({
 			type: 'config', provider: 'gateway', proseSize, proseWidth, model: gatewayModelLabel(model), modelId: model,
 			providerLabel: 'LevelCode Cloud', contextLimit: contextLimitFor('openai', capsModel(model)),
 			gateway: true, plan: cloudPlanName() || 'Free', paid: isPaidCloudPlan(cloudPlanName()),
-			groupActivity: groupActivity, canSeeImages: supportsVisionForModel('openai', capsModel(model)), maxImages: maxImagesPerMessage()
+			groupActivity: groupActivity, workingAura, canSeeImages: supportsVisionForModel('openai', capsModel(model)), maxImages: maxImagesPerMessage()
 		});
 		return;
 	}
@@ -3306,7 +3308,7 @@ function sendConfigToWebview() {
 	// Carry the model's context window so the footer meter updates the moment the model changes.
 	// canSeeImages travels with the model so the composer can refuse an attachment BEFORE anything is
 	// typed and lost, rather than after a send that the provider would reject.
-	post({ type: 'config', provider: providerId, proseSize, proseWidth, model: activeModel(cfg, providerId), providerLabel: p.label, contextLimit: currentContextLimit(), groupActivity: groupActivity, canSeeImages: supportsVisionForModel(providerId, activeModel(cfg, providerId)), maxImages: maxImagesPerMessage() });
+	post({ type: 'config', provider: providerId, proseSize, proseWidth, model: activeModel(cfg, providerId), providerLabel: p.label, contextLimit: currentContextLimit(), groupActivity: groupActivity, workingAura, canSeeImages: supportsVisionForModel(providerId, activeModel(cfg, providerId)), maxImages: maxImagesPerMessage() });
 }
 
 /**
 
@@ -984,6 +984,50 @@
   }
   #composer.focused { border-color: var(--accent); box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px var(--accent); }
 
+  /* ---- the working aura: a light that travels round the message box while LevelCode works ----
+     Thinking, streaming, running a command, verifying: a short bright arc circles the box, trailing a soft
+     glow over a faint whole ring. Waiting on you (a command to approve, a question to answer) it stops and
+     dims to a thin ring with no glow — paused, because nothing happens until you act. Off: nothing at all.
+     Two rings on the box's own edge, cut to a band by a mask so the box's inside is untouched: ::after is
+     the sharp line, ::before the blurred glow under it. Both turn on one angle, so the glow never lags.
+     Colours come from the theme: the progress colour while working (the theme's own "busy"), the focus
+     colour while waiting. The speed is set per box (syncAura) so a wide panel does not look frantic. */
+  @property --aura-angle { syntax: '<angle>'; inherits: false; initial-value: 0deg; }
+  @keyframes aura-turn { to { --aura-angle: 360deg; } }
+  #composer {
+    position: relative;
+    --aura-color: var(--vscode-progressBar-background, var(--accent));
+    --aura-head: color-mix(in srgb, var(--aura-color) 62%, var(--vscode-foreground, #fff));
+  }
+  #composer::before, #composer::after {
+    content: ''; position: absolute; border-radius: inherit; pointer-events: none; opacity: 0;
+    transition: opacity .4s ease;
+    -webkit-mask: linear-gradient(#000 0 0) content-box, linear-gradient(#000 0 0); -webkit-mask-composite: xor;
+    mask: linear-gradient(#000 0 0) content-box, linear-gradient(#000 0 0); mask-composite: exclude;
+  }
+  #composer::before {
+    inset: -6px; padding: 6px; filter: blur(5px);
+    background: conic-gradient(from var(--aura-angle), transparent 0deg 255deg,
+      color-mix(in srgb, var(--aura-color) 38%, transparent) 318deg, color-mix(in srgb, var(--aura-head) 80%, transparent) 354deg, transparent 360deg);
+  }
+  #composer::after {
+    inset: -1px; padding: 2px;
+    /* A faint whole ring (the box is busy) with the bright arc travelling over it. */
+    background: conic-gradient(from var(--aura-angle), color-mix(in srgb, var(--aura-color) 22%, transparent) 0deg 262deg,
+      color-mix(in srgb, var(--aura-color) 60%, transparent) 320deg, var(--aura-head) 355deg, color-mix(in srgb, var(--aura-color) 22%, transparent) 360deg);
+  }
+  body.aura-working #composer::before, body.aura-working #composer::after { opacity: 1; animation: aura-turn var(--aura-turn, 2.4s) linear infinite; }
+  /* Waiting on you: paused — a thin, dim ring with no glow, weaker than working and than the box's own focus. */
+  body.aura-waiting #composer::after { opacity: 1; padding: 1px; background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 45%, transparent); }
+  @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+    /* No motion: working is a whole, bright ring with its glow — still distinct from waiting's dim one. */
+    body.aura-working #composer::before, body.aura-working #composer::after { animation: none; }
+    body.aura-working #composer::after { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--aura-color) 75%, transparent); }
+    body.aura-working #composer::before { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--aura-color) 35%, transparent); }
+  }
+  /* High contrast draws its own borders; a soft glow there is noise. The working bar still says it. */
+  @media (forced-colors: active) { #composer::before, #composer::after { display: none; } }
+
   #chips { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 5px; align-items: center; }
   .chip {
     display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 5px;
@@ -3444,6 +3488,33 @@
   }
   // Waiting on you (a command to approve, a question to answer): the step in progress stops spinning.
   function agentParked(){ return !!pendingApproval || !!log.querySelector('.questions:not(.answered)'); }
+  // ── the working aura (the light round the message box; its look is in the CSS) ──
+  // `var`, not `let`: syncAura is reached from syncSendBtn, which can run before this line does, and a
+  // decoration must never stop the chat with a temporal-dead-zone error.
+  var auraEnabled = true;     // levelcode.ai.chat.workingAura, from the config message
+  var auraShown = 'off';
+  /** What the aura shows: off (idle, or turned off), working (LevelCode is busy), waiting (busy, but on you). */
+  function auraState(isBusy, parked, enabled){ return (!enabled || !isBusy) ? 'off' : parked ? 'waiting' : 'working'; }
+  /** Seconds per turn: grows with the box's perimeter, but slower than it, so a wide panel stays calm. */
+  function auraDuration(w, h){
+    const p = 2 * (Math.max(0, w || 0) + Math.max(0, h || 0));
+    return Math.min(3, Math.max(1.6, 0.55 + 0.06 * Math.sqrt(p)));
+  }
+  function syncAura(){
+    try {
+      const s = auraState(busy(), agentParked(), auraEnabled);
+      if (s === auraShown) { return; }
+      // The speed is fixed when the light starts: a duration changed mid-turn would only apply on a restart.
+      if (s === 'working') { const r = composer.getBoundingClientRect(); composer.style.setProperty('--aura-turn', auraDuration(r.width, r.height).toFixed(2) + 's'); }
+      auraShown = s;
+      document.body.classList.toggle('aura-working', s === 'working');
+      document.body.classList.toggle('aura-waiting', s === 'waiting');
+    } catch (e) { /* before the page is wired up: the next change draws it */ }
+  }
+  // An approval card or a question appearing, or being answered, is a class or a node in the transcript:
+  // watched here, so no card has to remember to tell the aura.
+  new MutationObserver(function(){ if (auraShown !== 'off' || busy()) { syncAura(); } })
+    .observe(log, { childList: true, subtree: true, attributes: true, attributeFilter: ['class'] });
   function renderTurnBox(){
     if (turnBox.parentNode !== log) { log.appendChild(turnBox); }   // the log is rebuilt on reset / resume
     const v = turnView(turn, agentParked());
@@ -3670,6 +3741,7 @@
     sendBtn.classList.toggle('stop', stop);
     sendBtn.innerHTML = stop ? '&#9632;' : '&#8629;';     // ■ stops the run, ↵ sends (or queues)
     sendBtn.title = stop ? 'Stop' : queueing ? 'Queue — it sends when the agent is ready (Enter)' : 'Send (Enter)';
+    syncAura();   // busy() changes with the button: a message on its way already counts as LevelCode working
   }
   function updateReviewBar(count, add, del){
     if (count > 0){
@@ -3811,6 +3883,7 @@
     if (workbarEl){ workbarEl.hidden = !on; }           // the working bar is visible for the ENTIRE run
     if (on){ setWork('Working…'); }
     else { setTimeout(drainQueue, 60); }                // the run is over: a queued message goes next
+    syncAura();
   }
   // Shell-style history recall in the composer: ↑ = previous sent message, ↓ = newer (back to your draft).
   // Session-only. In multiline text, ↑/↓ recall only when the caret is on the first/last line (arrows still move otherwise).
@@ -5069,6 +5142,7 @@
         shell.style.setProperty('--prose-size', m.proseSize ? m.proseSize + 'px' : '');
         shell.style.setProperty('--prose-max', m.proseWidth ? m.proseWidth + 'px' : '');
       }
+      if (typeof m.workingAura === 'boolean'){ auraEnabled = m.workingAura; syncAura(); }
       const label = m.provider === 'claude' ? prettyModel(m.model) : m.model;
       const mEl = document.getElementById('model');
       mEl.innerHTML = esc(label) + ' <span class="caret">▾</span>';
 
@@ -452,6 +452,12 @@
           "default": true,
           "description": "Fold consecutive agent actions (reads, edits, commands) into one collapsible activity card in the chat — the header shows the live step while running and a summary when done. Turn off for the flat, ungrouped timeline."
         },
+        "levelcode.ai.chat.workingAura": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "scope": "application",
+          "default": true,
+          "description": "Show a light that travels round the message box while LevelCode works — thinking, writing, running a command, checking its edits. While it waits on you (a command to approve, a question to answer) the light stops and stays as a still ring. With reduced motion it is a still ring throughout. Turn off for no light at all; the working line above the message box still shows what is happening."
+        },
         "levelcode.cloud.endpoint": {
           "type": "string",
           "default": "https://levelcode.ai",
 
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ test('ENTER WHILE THE AGENT WORKS: queued — ■ with an empty composer still s
 	assert.ok(body.indexOf('/^\\/skills\\b/i') < body.indexOf('enqueue(t, imgs)'), 'the chat\'s own commands still run at once, never queued');
 });
 test('THE SEND BUTTON: Stop while busy and empty, Queue once you type, Send otherwise', () => {
-	const btn = (streaming, text) => { const e = { streaming, text, btn: { classList: { on: null, toggle(c, v) { this.on = v; } }, innerHTML: '', title: '' } }; new Function('env', 'let streaming = env.streaming, awaitingStart = false; const pendingImages = []; const input = { value: env.text }; const sendBtn = env.btn;\n' + extract('busy') + '\n' + extract('syncSendBtn') + '\nsyncSendBtn();')(e); return [e.btn.classList.on, e.btn.title]; };
+	const btn = (streaming, text) => { const e = { streaming, text, btn: { classList: { on: null, toggle(c, v) { this.on = v; } }, innerHTML: '', title: '' } }; new Function('env', 'let streaming = env.streaming, awaitingStart = false; const pendingImages = []; const input = { value: env.text }; const sendBtn = env.btn; function syncAura(){}\n' + extract('busy') + '\n' + extract('syncSendBtn') + '\nsyncSendBtn();')(e); return [e.btn.classList.on, e.btn.title]; };
 	assert.deepStrictEqual(btn(true, ''), [true, 'Stop']);
 	assert.deepStrictEqual(btn(true, 'and the README'), [false, 'Queue — it sends when the agent is ready (Enter)']);
 	assert.deepStrictEqual(btn(false, 'hi'), [false, 'Send (Enter)']);