diff --git a/agent/BACKLOG.md b/agent/BACKLOG.md
index 4bef0ff..17c293b 100644
--- a/agent/BACKLOG.md
+++ b/agent/BACKLOG.md
@@ -33,24 +33,6 @@ flake pin are different root causes even when they show up on the same machine.
 
 ## NEXT
 
-### 152. Generated waybar polish: bar height vs workspace highlighter, right-edge icon spacing
-
-Bernardo, 2026-07-17. Two visual fixes to the **generated** bar (the one
-every theme without a `waybar.jsonc`/`waybar.css` whole-swap gets — the
-4 whole-swap themes are out of scope unless the parity rule drags them in):
-- **Bar height:** make the bar a bit taller so the selected-workspace
-  highlighter no longer renders taller than the bar itself (today it
-  visually overflows/clips the bar edge).
-- **Right-module spacing:** the icon distances on the right cluster look
-  uneven — e.g. the power button sits too close to the screen edge; give
-  the cluster consistent inter-icon spacing and sane end padding.
-
-This is §3 visual-protocol work (agent/THEME-DESIGN.md + VERIFICATION §3):
-before/after screenshots, two themes (one generated palette + one
-whole-swap for the no-regression side), scripted checks first, actually
-view the captures. Waybar CSS ↔ tray-menu gotchas in agent/MEMORY.md
-apply (never scope `*`).
-
 ### 151. `[human]` v1 launch plan — devise with Bernardo (includes the GitHub move)
 
 Bernardo, 2026-07-17: before tagging v1, sit down and devise the launch plan.
diff --git a/agent/HARDWARE-QUEUE.md b/agent/HARDWARE-QUEUE.md
index 41adc82..acd6551 100644
--- a/agent/HARDWARE-QUEUE.md
+++ b/agent/HARDWARE-QUEUE.md
@@ -42,6 +42,14 @@ Everything else below stays open; order is convenience, not a gate.
       four (the `*`-reset counter-rules). If a VM-rendered preview looks
       off in the theme-picker grid next to the hardware-captured ones,
       recapture that preview on hardware into themes/<slug>/preview.png.
+- [ ] **Light-theme contrast refits (2026-07-18 report)** — under any
+      light theme: (1) with two workspaces open, the inactive number is
+      readable on the bar (subtext, not the washed-out grey); (2) hover a
+      notification popup — background stays the theme's light card with a
+      faint tint, text readable (the swaync default's dark
+      .notification-default-action hover is now overridden); close
+      button matches the palette. VM-verified with a hover probe under
+      summer-day; this is the on-hardware confirmation of the report.
 - [ ] **Auto-theme pair flip on hardware** — set
       `settings.autoTheme.{day,night}` to one of the new pairs (e.g.
       kiln-clay / kiln), force sunrise/sunset around the current time,
diff --git a/modules/home/swaync.nix b/modules/home/swaync.nix
index c15a73e..051e168 100644
--- a/modules/home/swaync.nix
+++ b/modules/home/swaync.nix
@@ -71,12 +71,47 @@ in
           font-size: ${toString t.fonts.size}pt;
         }
 
-        .control-center .notification-row:focus,
-        .control-center .notification-row:hover {
+        /* Unscoped on purpose: the floating popup wraps .notification in
+           a .notification-row too, and swaync's DEFAULT stylesheet (still
+           loaded underneath this one) paints that row dark on hover — on
+           light themes the theme's dark @text then sat on the default's
+           dark hover, unreadable. The same alpha(@text) tint as
+           everywhere else overrides it in both surfaces. */
+        .notification-row:focus,
+        .notification-row:hover {
           background: alpha(@text, 0.1);
           border-radius: ${r}px;
         }
 
+        /* The REAL popup-hover culprit: the notification body is one big
+           GTK button (.notification-default-action), and the default
+           sheet hovers IT to rgb(56,56,56) — on light themes that put
+           dark @text on a dark chip (unreadable, hardware report
+           2026-07-18). Re-pin body + action buttons to the palette's
+           tint construction; hover stays a tint of @text, so it works
+           in both modes by construction. */
+        .notification-default-action,
+        .notification-action {
+          background: transparent;
+          color: @text;
+        }
+        .notification-default-action:hover,
+        .notification-action:hover {
+          background: alpha(@text, 0.08);
+        }
+
+        /* Same default-stylesheet leak: swaync ships a dark close-button
+           chip; re-pin both ends to the palette's tint construction. */
+        .close-button {
+          background: alpha(@text, 0.1);
+          color: @text;
+          border-radius: ${r}px;
+        }
+        .close-button:hover {
+          background: alpha(@text, 0.2);
+          color: @text;
+        }
+
         .widget-title {
           color: @text;
           font-weight: bold;
diff --git a/modules/home/waybar.nix b/modules/home/waybar.nix
index 9aa65c1..146724c 100644
--- a/modules/home/waybar.nix
+++ b/modules/home/waybar.nix
@@ -426,10 +426,12 @@ let
       border-radius: ${toString t.ui.rounding}px;
     }
 
-    /* Dim states use the palette's @muted role: since item 28b it is
-       floor-guaranteed legible on @base in every theme (muted/base >=
-       2.0, gated by tools/check-theme-contrast.py) — the palettes that
-       once made it vanish (gruvbox muted≈base, item 27) were retuned.
+    /* Dim states use the palette's @muted role on DARK themes: since
+       item 28b it is floor-guaranteed legible on @base (muted/base >=
+       2.0, gated by tools/check-theme-contrast.py). On LIGHT themes that
+       2.0-floor grey washes out at number size — inactive workspace
+       numbers were unreadable on every light palette — so light mode
+       promotes them to @subtext (>= 3.0 floor, typically 4-7:1).
        Secondary-but-not-dim stays alpha(@text, 0.85). */
     /* 3px vertical margin insets the active pill INSIDE the bar — without
        it the filled button spans the bar's full inner height and visually
@@ -437,7 +439,7 @@ let
     #workspaces button {
       padding: 0 8px;
       margin: 3px 0;
-      color: @muted;
+      color: ${if t.mode == "light" then "@subtext" else "@muted"};
       border-radius: ${toString t.ui.rounding}px;
     }
 
diff --git a/themes/boreal-dawn/waybar.css b/themes/boreal-dawn/waybar.css
index 651d7dc..8ac2dc4 100644
--- a/themes/boreal-dawn/waybar.css
+++ b/themes/boreal-dawn/waybar.css
@@ -120,7 +120,9 @@ window#waybar {
 #workspaces { padding: 0 2px; }
 
 #workspaces button {
-  color: @muted;
+  /* @subtext, not @muted: on a light pill the 2.0-floor grey washes out
+     at number size — inactive workspaces must stay readable (6.4:1). */
+  color: @subtext;
   padding: 0 9px;
   margin: 3px 1px;
   border-radius: 9px;
diff --git a/themes/kiln-clay/waybar.css b/themes/kiln-clay/waybar.css
index 2058d49..4c086b1 100644
--- a/themes/kiln-clay/waybar.css
+++ b/themes/kiln-clay/waybar.css
@@ -117,7 +117,9 @@ window#waybar {
 #workspaces { padding: 0 2px; }
 
 #workspaces button {
-  color: @muted;
+  /* @subtext, not @muted: on the cream plank the 2.0-floor grey washes
+     out at number size — inactive workspaces must stay readable (6.6:1). */
+  color: @subtext;
   padding: 0 9px;
   margin: 3px 1px;
   border-radius: 6px;
diff --git a/themes/summer-day/waybar.css b/themes/summer-day/waybar.css
index 5d73404..ddee237 100755
--- a/themes/summer-day/waybar.css
+++ b/themes/summer-day/waybar.css
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 @define-color grey0 #a6b0a0;
 @define-color grey1 #939f91; /* overlay */
 @define-color grey2 #829181; /* muted */
+@define-color fg_dim #6e828a; /* subtext */
 
 /* margin: top right bottom left */
 /* Spacing outside the element */
@@ -79,6 +80,14 @@ window#waybar {
   padding: 0px;
 }
 
+/* Inactive workspace numbers: without an explicit rule the GTK default
+   button color leaks in (the container's @fg does NOT inherit into
+   buttons) and the numbers vanish on the cream chip. @fg_dim = the
+   palette's subtext (4.0:1) — dim but readable. */
+#workspaces button {
+  color: @fg_dim;
+}
+
 /* The power-profile speedometer glyph renders small in its em box. */
 #custom-powerprofile {
   font-size: 20px;