diff --git a/agent/BACKLOG.md b/agent/BACKLOG.md
index eebeb66..b770d37 100644
--- a/agent/BACKLOG.md
+++ b/agent/BACKLOG.md
@@ -47,16 +47,6 @@ Likely a `hyprland`/`kanshi`-style profile layer plus a menu surface;
 split into slices before starting. `[blocked:hw]` for the real
 dock/undock + HDMI-audio verification (see HARDWARE-QUEUE.md).
 
-### 30. Waybar overlaps fullscreen video
-(Raised by Bernardo, 2026-07-07.) A fullscreen YouTube video (browser
-fullscreen) leaves Waybar drawn on top of the video instead of being
-covered. Waybar sits on an overlay/top layer that outranks the
-fullscreen window's surface. Fix so a true fullscreen window hides the
-bar — likely a Hyprland `layerrule`/`windowrule` or lowering Waybar's
-layer, or wiring the bar to auto-hide on fullscreen. Verify with
-browser fullscreen (F on YouTube) AND a native fullscreen app; make
-sure the bar returns on exit. Small, agent-doable.
-
 ### 28. Theme UI review — make every surface stunning `[big]`
 (Raised by Bernardo, 2026-07-05 — placed at the head of NEXT; reorder
 freely.) A thorough visual pass over the whole themed UI — Waybar (the
diff --git a/agent/HARDWARE-QUEUE.md b/agent/HARDWARE-QUEUE.md
index e737093..e0bedee 100644
--- a/agent/HARDWARE-QUEUE.md
+++ b/agent/HARDWARE-QUEUE.md
@@ -222,6 +222,14 @@ QA machine), the **T14s** (webcam case).
       draining. (Crossing logic VM-verified — this checks the real
       swaync rendering in a session.)
 
+- [ ] **Waybar hides under fullscreen video** (item 30) — after
+      `home-update` + relogin, put a browser video (YouTube) into
+      fullscreen (F): the bar is now *covered* by the video, not drawn
+      on top; exit fullscreen → the bar returns. Normal tiling
+      unchanged (the bar still reserves its space). Accepted trade-off
+      of `layer: bottom`: a floating window dragged over the top strip
+      can now overlap the bar — confirm that's the only regression.
+
 ## AMD dev box only
 - [ ] **AMD runtime bits** — VA-API (`vainfo` → radeonsi), amd-pstate EPP
       active and PPD switching governors; opt-ins: ROCm (`rocminfo`, a GPU
diff --git a/agent/JOURNAL.md b/agent/JOURNAL.md
index 5c1492a..dbe2d44 100644
--- a/agent/JOURNAL.md
+++ b/agent/JOURNAL.md
@@ -17,6 +17,25 @@ Template:
 
 ---
 
+## 2026-07-07 — Waybar overlaps fullscreen video (iteration #54)
+- **Task:** BACKLOG item 30 — bar drawn on top of a fullscreen YouTube video.
+- **Did:** `layer: top` → `bottom` in the generated `waybar.nix` and the
+  four whole-swap jsoncs (boreal, summer-night, summer-day,
+  executive-slate — parity rule). On Hyprland the top layer renders above
+  even real-fullscreen surfaces; bottom lets the fullscreen window cover
+  the bar while the exclusive zone still reserves its space in normal
+  tiling. Rationale comment in waybar.nix; data jsoncs left comment-free
+  (they carry none). Also shipped this session (pre-loop, user-driven):
+  battery discharging-icon gap widened (f848e73).
+- **Verified:** V0 (`nix flake check --no-build`, green) + V1
+  (`homeConfigurations.nomarchy.activationPackage` builds; the built
+  `.config/waybar/config` shows `"layer": "bottom"`).
+- **Pending:** V3 queued in HARDWARE-QUEUE — fullscreen video covers the
+  bar, bar returns on exit, floating-overlap trade-off. Can't be
+  eyeballed headlessly here.
+- **Next suggestion:** item 29 is `[human]`/`[blocked:hw]`; remaining
+  work is item 28 (theme UI) slices or a QA sweep.
+
 ## 2026-07-06 — menu parity for downstream-flake options (iteration #51, slice 1)
 - **Task:** PROPOSED item — ensure `nomarchy.*` options have a menu toggle where appropriate.
 - **Did:** Audited options and implemented the first slice of missing toggles in the TUI Control Center (`Updates`, `Battery Limit`, `Bluetooth`, `Printing`). Wired `modules/home/options.nix` and `modules/nixos/options.nix` to use `config.nomarchy.settings.*` as defaults.
diff --git a/agent/MEMORY.md b/agent/MEMORY.md
index 014417b..b46858f 100644
--- a/agent/MEMORY.md
+++ b/agent/MEMORY.md
@@ -63,6 +63,11 @@ iteration would otherwise rediscover.
   split (BACKLOG LATER) is the decided fix (§ Faster switches).
 
 ## Gotchas (cost a debugging session once)
+- Waybar `layer: top` renders above **even real-fullscreen windows** — the
+  bar draws over a fullscreen video. `layer: bottom` lets the fullscreen
+  surface cover it while the exclusive zone still reserves the bar's space
+  in normal tiling (trade-off: floating windows can now overlap the bar
+  strip). Set in both waybar.nix and every whole-swap jsonc (item 30).
 - Hyprland binds match the exact modmask: a shifted keysym (`question`)
   needs SHIFT in `mods` or the bind never fires — the keypress falls
   through to the focused window (§ item 26; caught on hardware, invisible
diff --git a/modules/home/waybar.nix b/modules/home/waybar.nix
index aa47677..afe9650 100644
--- a/modules/home/waybar.nix
+++ b/modules/home/waybar.nix
@@ -119,7 +119,12 @@ let
     (lib.mapAttrsToList (name: value: "@define-color ${name} ${value};") t.colors);
 
   generatedSettings = {
-    layer = "top";
+    # `bottom`, not `top`: on Hyprland the `top` layer renders above every
+    # window — so a real fullscreen surface (a browser video gone
+    # fullscreen) sits *under* the bar. On `bottom` the fullscreen window
+    # covers the bar, while the exclusive zone still reserves its space in
+    # normal tiling. Keep in sync with the whole-swap jsoncs (parity rule).
+    layer = "bottom";
     position = "top";
     height = 34;
     margin-top = t.ui.gapsOut;
diff --git a/themes/boreal/waybar.jsonc b/themes/boreal/waybar.jsonc
index e2f0e6e..df36992 100644
--- a/themes/boreal/waybar.jsonc
+++ b/themes/boreal/waybar.jsonc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   "margin-right": 14,
   "margin-bottom": 0,
   "height": 38,
-  "layer": "top",
+  "layer": "bottom",
   "position": "top",
   "spacing": 4,
   "reload_style_on_change": true,
diff --git a/themes/executive-slate/waybar.jsonc b/themes/executive-slate/waybar.jsonc
index f7ae3aa..8d67c50 100644
--- a/themes/executive-slate/waybar.jsonc
+++ b/themes/executive-slate/waybar.jsonc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   "margin-bottom": 0,
   "margin-right": 0,
   "height": 34,
-  "layer": "top",
+  "layer": "bottom",
   "position": "top",
   "spacing": 0,
   "reload_style_on_change": true,
diff --git a/themes/summer-day/waybar.jsonc b/themes/summer-day/waybar.jsonc
index c00b83a..4fbc009 100644
--- a/themes/summer-day/waybar.jsonc
+++ b/themes/summer-day/waybar.jsonc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   "margin-bottom": 0,
   "margin-right": 120,
   "height": 60,
-  "layer": "top",
+  "layer": "bottom",
   "position": "top",
   "spacing": 15,
   "reload_style_on_change": true,
diff --git a/themes/summer-night/waybar.jsonc b/themes/summer-night/waybar.jsonc
index 19262f6..66fcab7 100644
--- a/themes/summer-night/waybar.jsonc
+++ b/themes/summer-night/waybar.jsonc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   "margin-bottom": 0,
   "margin-right": 120,
   "height": 61,
-  "layer": "top",
+  "layer": "bottom",
   "position": "top",
   "spacing": 15,
   "reload_style_on_change": true,