diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/changed-files-card.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/changed-files-card.tsx
index 8a29c55de9..b3d0fe1ad5 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/changed-files-card.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/changed-files-card.tsx
@@ -5,11 +5,16 @@ import { useSessionView } from '@/app/chat/session-view'
 import { deriveChangedFiles } from '@/components/assistant-ui/thread/changed-files'
 import { WIDGET_SHELL_CLASS } from '@/components/chat/widget-shell'
 import { DiffCount } from '@/components/ui/diff-count'
+import { FadeScroll } from '@/components/ui/fade-scroll'
 import { FileTypeIcon } from '@/components/ui/file-type-icon'
 import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 import { openReviewForPath, revealReview } from '@/store/review'
 
+// ~5 rows. A turn that rewrites twenty files should still read as one card in
+// the transcript, not a wall the user has to scroll past to reach the composer.
+const MAX_ROWS_HEIGHT = '9.375rem'
+
 /**
  * Cursor-style "N files changed" summary closing out the newest assistant turn:
  * one row per file it edited with that file's +/-, and a Review action opening
@@ -47,10 +52,10 @@ export const ChangedFilesCard: FC<{ parts: readonly unknown[] }> = ({ parts }) =
           {copy.reviewChanges}
         </button>
       </div>
-      <div className="mt-1.5 flex flex-col">
+      <FadeScroll className="-mx-1.5 mt-1.5 flex flex-col px-1.5" maxHeight={MAX_ROWS_HEIGHT}>
         {files.map(file => (
           <button
-            className="row-hover -mx-1.5 flex items-center gap-2 rounded-md px-1.5 py-1 text-left"
+            className="row-hover flex shrink-0 items-center gap-2 rounded-md px-1.5 py-1 text-left"
             key={file.path}
             onClick={() => void openReviewForPath(file.path, scopeCwd)}
             title={file.path}
@@ -61,7 +66,7 @@ export const ChangedFilesCard: FC<{ parts: readonly unknown[] }> = ({ parts }) =
             <DiffCount added={file.added} removed={file.removed} />
           </button>
         ))}
-      </div>
+      </FadeScroll>
     </div>
   )
 }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/fade-scroll.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/fade-scroll.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0ee82affe7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/fade-scroll.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import { edgeMask, scrollEdges } from './fade-scroll'
+
+const box = (scrollTop: number, clientHeight: number, scrollHeight: number) => ({
+  clientHeight,
+  scrollHeight,
+  scrollTop
+})
+
+describe('scrollEdges', () => {
+  it('reports no clipped edge when the content fits', () => {
+    expect(scrollEdges(box(0, 150, 150))).toEqual({ above: false, below: false })
+  })
+
+  it('reports only the bottom at the top of a clipped list', () => {
+    expect(scrollEdges(box(0, 150, 400))).toEqual({ above: false, below: true })
+  })
+
+  it('reports both edges mid-scroll', () => {
+    expect(scrollEdges(box(100, 150, 400))).toEqual({ above: true, below: true })
+  })
+
+  it('reports only the top once scrolled to the end', () => {
+    expect(scrollEdges(box(250, 150, 400))).toEqual({ above: true, below: false })
+  })
+})
+
+describe('edgeMask', () => {
+  // The whole point of an edge-AWARE fade: content that fits is never dimmed.
+  it('is absent when nothing is clipped', () => {
+    expect(edgeMask({ above: false, below: false })).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('leaves the first row fully opaque when nothing is hidden above it', () => {
+    expect(edgeMask({ above: false, below: true })).toBe(
+      'linear-gradient(to bottom, black, black calc(100% - 1.25rem), transparent)'
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('leaves the last row fully opaque once the bottom is reached', () => {
+    expect(edgeMask({ above: true, below: false })).toBe('linear-gradient(to bottom, transparent, black 1.25rem, black)')
+  })
+
+  it('fades both edges mid-scroll', () => {
+    expect(edgeMask({ above: true, below: true })).toBe(
+      'linear-gradient(to bottom, transparent, black 1.25rem, black calc(100% - 1.25rem), transparent)'
+    )
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/fade-scroll.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/fade-scroll.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..38bafe0c84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/fade-scroll.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+import { type ReactNode, useCallback, useLayoutEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+
+import { useResizeObserver } from '@/hooks/use-resize-observer'
+import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
+
+/** How much of a clipped edge the gradient eats. */
+const FADE = '1.25rem'
+
+export interface FadeEdges {
+  above: boolean
+  below: boolean
+}
+
+/**
+ * The mask for a pair of clipped edges, or `undefined` when nothing is clipped
+ * — a list that fits must not be dimmed at all.
+ */
+export function edgeMask({ above, below }: FadeEdges): string | undefined {
+  if (!above && !below) {
+    return undefined
+  }
+
+  const top = above ? `transparent, black ${FADE}` : 'black'
+  const bottom = below ? `black calc(100% - ${FADE}), transparent` : 'black'
+
+  return `linear-gradient(to bottom, ${top}, ${bottom})`
+}
+
+/** Which edges of a scroller currently have content clipped behind them. */
+export function scrollEdges(el: Pick<HTMLElement, 'clientHeight' | 'scrollHeight' | 'scrollTop'>): FadeEdges {
+  return {
+    above: el.scrollTop > 1,
+    below: el.scrollTop + el.clientHeight < el.scrollHeight - 1
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * A height-capped scroller whose clipped edges fade out.
+ *
+ * The fade is a mask-image, not an overlay: it resolves against whatever
+ * background the parent happens to have, so one component works on the chat
+ * backdrop, inside a widget panel, and in a drawer without knowing any of
+ * their fills. Same technique as FadeText, on the other axis.
+ *
+ * The gradient is EDGE-AWARE — a side only fades when it actually has content
+ * clipped behind it, so a list that fits shows no gradient at all and a list
+ * scrolled to the bottom stops fading its last row. That state is tracked on
+ * scroll and on resize (via the app's shared observer, so N of these cost one
+ * delivery per frame rather than N).
+ *
+ * `deps` re-pins the scroller to the bottom when it changes — newest-at-bottom
+ * feeds want that; a plain list should leave it unset.
+ */
+export function FadeScroll({
+  children,
+  className,
+  deps,
+  maxHeight = '9rem'
+}: {
+  children: ReactNode
+  className?: string
+  deps?: unknown
+  maxHeight?: string
+}) {
+  const ref = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
+  const [edges, setEdges] = useState({ above: false, below: false })
+
+  const measure = useCallback(() => {
+    const el = ref.current
+
+    if (!el) {
+      return
+    }
+
+    const next = scrollEdges(el)
+
+    setEdges(prev => (prev.above === next.above && prev.below === next.below ? prev : next))
+  }, [])
+
+  useLayoutEffect(() => {
+    if (deps !== undefined && ref.current) {
+      ref.current.scrollTop = ref.current.scrollHeight
+    }
+
+    measure()
+  }, [deps, measure])
+
+  useResizeObserver(measure, ref)
+
+  const mask = edgeMask(edges)
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className={cn('overflow-y-auto overscroll-contain', className)}
+      onScroll={measure}
+      ref={ref}
+      style={mask ? { maskImage: mask, maxHeight, WebkitMaskImage: mask } : { maxHeight }}
+    >
+      {children}
+    </div>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/kanban/ui.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/kanban/ui.tsx
index bc59bb7046..626ee9f17f 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/kanban/ui.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/kanban/ui.tsx
@@ -9,12 +9,13 @@ import {
   DropdownMenuContent,
   DropdownMenuItem,
   DropdownMenuTrigger,
+  FadeScroll,
   profileColor,
   profileColorSoft,
   relativeTime,
   useQuery
 } from '@hermes/plugin-sdk'
-import { type ReactNode, useEffect, useLayoutEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import { type ReactNode, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 
 import { fetchOrchestration, ORCHESTRATION_KEY } from './api'
 import { columnLabel, useKanban } from './i18n'
@@ -270,67 +271,13 @@ export function Callout({
   )
 }
 
-// A short, edge-masked scroll area. The fades are EDGE-AWARE like the rest of
-// the app: a gradient only appears on a side that actually has clipped content
-// (nothing to scroll → no mask at all), tracked via scroll + resize. Plus
-// `overscroll-contain` so scrolling it never chains into the drawer. When
-// `deps` is provided it re-pins to the bottom on change — the activity feed's
-// newest-at-bottom behavior.
+// A short, edge-masked scroll area. Thin wrapper over the app's FadeScroll so
+// the drawer's scrollers behave exactly like the ones in chat; kept as a local
+// name because every call site here passes `max`.
 export function ScrollFade({ children, deps, max = '9rem' }: { children: ReactNode; deps?: unknown; max?: string }) {
-  const ref = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
-  const [edges, setEdges] = useState({ above: false, below: false })
-
-  const measure = () => {
-    const el = ref.current
-
-    if (!el) {
-      return
-    }
-
-    const above = el.scrollTop > 1
-    const below = el.scrollTop + el.clientHeight < el.scrollHeight - 1
-
-    setEdges(prev => (prev.above === above && prev.below === below ? prev : { above, below }))
-  }
-
-  useLayoutEffect(() => {
-    if (deps !== undefined && ref.current) {
-      ref.current.scrollTop = ref.current.scrollHeight
-    }
-
-    measure()
-  }, [deps])
-
-  useLayoutEffect(() => {
-    const el = ref.current
-
-    if (!el) {
-      return
-    }
-
-    const observer = new ResizeObserver(measure)
-    observer.observe(el)
-
-    return () => observer.disconnect()
-  }, [])
-
-  const stops = [
-    edges.above ? 'transparent, black 1.25rem' : 'black',
-    edges.below ? 'calc(100% - 1.25rem), transparent' : 'black'
-  ]
-
-  const mask = `linear-gradient(to bottom, ${stops[0]}, black ${stops[1]})`
-
   return (
-    <div
-      className="overflow-y-auto overscroll-contain"
-      onScroll={measure}
-      ref={ref}
-      style={
-        edges.above || edges.below ? { maskImage: mask, maxHeight: max, WebkitMaskImage: mask } : { maxHeight: max }
-      }
-    >
+    <FadeScroll deps={deps} maxHeight={max}>
       {children}
-    </div>
+    </FadeScroll>
   )
 }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/sdk/index.ts b/apps/desktop/src/sdk/index.ts
index fbaf0260e5..ffbc3a3067 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/sdk/index.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/sdk/index.ts
@@ -164,6 +164,7 @@ export {
 } from '@/components/ui/dropdown-menu'
 export { EmptyState } from '@/components/ui/empty-state'
 export { ErrorState } from '@/components/ui/error-state'
+export { FadeScroll } from '@/components/ui/fade-scroll'
 export { GlyphSpinner } from '@/components/ui/glyph-spinner'
 export { Input } from '@/components/ui/input'
 export { Kbd, KbdGroup } from '@/components/ui/kbd'