diff --git a/agent/JOURNAL.md b/agent/JOURNAL.md
index d776fae..f12002a 100644
--- a/agent/JOURNAL.md
+++ b/agent/JOURNAL.md
@@ -19,6 +19,28 @@ Template:
 
 ---
 
+## 2026-07-17 — #143 closed via upstream's own knob; executive-slate gets the icon grid (f899b19 + this)
+- **Task:** Bernardo live: rofi#2317 got a maintainer reply → adopt; plus
+  "make executive-slate's app menu the boreal-style icon grid".
+- **Did:** DaveDavenport pointed at the `inputchange {}` config block the
+  #143 survey had missed — shipped `action: "kb-row-first"` in the
+  generated config.rasi (rofi.nix extraConfig; HM renders nested
+  sections). Zero build cost, watch closed. New
+  `themes/executive-slate/launcher.rasi`: boreal's 4×3 drun grid, 4px
+  cards to keep the flat control-panel identity.
+- **Verified:** V2. Scratch theme-shot variant (launcher-shot.nix) drives
+  QMP keystrokes: HEAD repro shows the stationary-index bug; patched run
+  snaps to row 0 after backspace — in the exec-slate grid, boreal's grid
+  (no regression), and the layout dmenu. Contrast check 24/24. Gotchas
+  found: hyprctl `exec` needs the multi-arg command quoted, and the
+  per-device keyboard watcher's layout pickers (one per virtio/AT
+  keyboard) hold the single rofi instance — drain with pkill before
+  driving the launcher.
+- **Pending:** nothing; grid polish on real hardware is the standing
+  guest-rendering caveat (TESTING §5), not a queue entry.
+- **Next suggestion:** #152 (generated waybar polish) is the topmost
+  actionable NEXT item.
+
 ## 2026-07-17 — Wallpapers split shipped: 94 MB out of the flake source
 - **Task:** LATER "Wallpapers artifact split" (promoted by Bernardo live —
   he created the Nomarchy-Wallpapers repo mid-session). Also filed #151
diff --git a/themes/executive-slate/launcher.rasi b/themes/executive-slate/launcher.rasi
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..48ffb65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/themes/executive-slate/launcher.rasi
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/**
+ * Executive Slate — app-launcher override (themes/<slug>/launcher.rasi).
+ * Installed to ~/.local/share/rofi/themes/launcher.rasi and used only by
+ * `rofi -show drun` (the SUPER+Space / SUPER+D launcher). It inherits the
+ * flat slate panel from the sibling rofi.rasi (this whole-swap theme,
+ * which HM deploys under its source basename — rofi.rasi — not custom.rasi),
+ * then reshapes the list into a 4×3 grid of large application icons.
+ * Text menus keep the list — they don't use this theme. Cards stay at the
+ * theme's 4px radius (sharp "control panel" identity), and the selected
+ * card keeps the one-accent-edge highlight from rofi.rasi.
+ */
+
+@import "rofi.rasi"
+
+window { width: 780px; }
+
+listview {
+    columns: 4;
+    lines: 3;
+    fixed-columns: true;
+    spacing: 10px;
+    padding: 6px 0px 0px 0px;
+    /* Fill row-by-row so Down at a column's foot pages to the next screen
+       instead of jumping to the top of the next column (rofi's default
+       Vertical flow). Mirrors the theme-picker grid in rofi.nix. */
+    flow: horizontal;
+}
+
+element {
+    orientation: vertical;
+    padding: 16px 8px;
+    spacing: 10px;
+    border-radius: 4px;
+}
+
+element-icon {
+    size: 56px;
+    horizontal-align: 0.5;
+}
+
+element-text {
+    horizontal-align: 0.5;
+    vertical-align: 0.5;
+}