diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index cad73ee5..8092db61 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,16 @@ edit the release notes and re-run the generator.
 
 Upgrading, pinning a version and rolling back: [docs/self-hosting.md](docs/self-hosting.md#upgrading).
 
+## 0.107.3 — 2026-10-17
+
+### New
+
+- Development: the end-to-end suite runs the WCAG A and AA accessibility checks over every page and the player, and every shell script is linted in the gate.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Readability: muted text in the light themes is a shade darker, and the item count, the labels and the selected Files folder sit on a solid tint, so text on the frosted-glass bars stays readable (4.5:1) in every scheme.
+
 ## 0.107.2 — 2026-10-17
 
 ### New
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index b9353518..2acf4a0d 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ router-free navigation provider.
 
 ## The gate — never merge or ship red
 
-The local gate is **ruff (`check` + `format --check`) + basedpyright (backend) + the lock check + typecheck (3 tsc projects) +
+The local gate is **ruff (`check` + `format --check`) + shellcheck + basedpyright (backend) + the lock check + typecheck (3 tsc projects) +
 eslint + prettier --check + knip + vitest + vite build + pytest + pip-audit + npm audit**. It runs
 before every `release` merges and on every `publish`, which **refuses to build on failure — there is deliberately no `--skip`
 flag**; a release also requires the Playwright suite, and the image must pass a Trivy scan before it is pushed. Run it and get it
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@ how it gets built. Concretely:
 - **Challenge unsound requests.** If a request is technically ill-advised and you can back it with real
   arguments, push back or propose an alternative — don't comply blindly.
 - **Verify UI in the browser before calling it done.** tsc/unit/DOM tests miss visual and interaction
-  bugs; do a real visual check of any UI change, and run DESIGN.md's four-step Conformance check.
+  bugs; do a real visual check of any UI change, and run DESIGN.md's Conformance check (a copy-only
+  change runs its step 4 alone: every state the new text renders in, in both languages).
 - **Be terse everywhere else.** Outside those decision points, lead with the answer or decision. During
   implementation and debugging especially: no restating the same point reworded, no filler.
 
@@ -101,7 +102,8 @@ CQRS, a repository/DI framework, a router library, a generic CRUD-router factory
 | FE view push (history)               | `rememberNavPosition()` right before `history.pushState`                                                                                                                                          | a push that forgets: Back strands focus on `<body>`                                                                                                     |
 | FE static label / button-like link   | `Badge` (flat, no edge) · `LinkButton` / `IconLink`                                                                                                                                               | a glass pill that reads as a chip; an `<a>` hand-painted like a button                                                                                  |
 | FE loading/empty/error               | `QueryState` / `StateMessage`                                                                                                                                                                     | ad-hoc conditionals                                                                                                                                     |
-| FE failed write                      | `meta.failTitle`, else `notifyActionError(err, title)`                                                                                                                                            | a bare `catch {}` or `notify()` with no error attached                                                                                                  |
+| FE failed write                      | `meta.failTitle`, else `notifyActionError(err, title)`; a YouTube write action (subscribe, sync, …): `notifyYouTubeActionError` — a 403 offers Connect                                            | a bare `catch {}` or `notify()` with no error attached                                                                                                  |
+| FE floating or full-screen layer     | `ui/Overlay` (portals to `<body>`) or the popover engine (`AnchoredPopover` portals itself); stacking by the z-index scale (`z-menu` … `z-popover`, docs/DESIGN.md "Layers")                      | one rendered in place inside a virtualized row or a masked/transformed scroller — clipped or painted over; a magic `z-[n]`                              |
 | FE player on a native media element  | `lib/mediaSession` (`useMediaSession`) + `lib/mediaKeys` + `lib/resume` (`useResume`), the element held as STATE                                                                                  | a private `navigator.mediaSession` / `keydown` / position-saving effect per player                                                                      |
 | FE diagnostics                       | `lib/log.ts` (`log.info("event.code", msg, attrs)`); a filter change → `lib/filterLog.ts`, a player → `lib/mediaLog.ts`                                                                           | `console.*` (lint-enforced); a value only a higher level may carry, logged unguarded                                                                    |
 | FE state that MIRRORS a prop/query   | derive it, or hold a draft (`draft ?? server`)                                                                                                                                                    | a copy an effect re-syncs — that paints the stale value first                                                                                           |
@@ -114,7 +116,8 @@ CQRS, a repository/DI framework, a router library, a generic CRUD-router factory
 Not repeated here, because a lint rule refuses the wrong one and its message names the right one:
 buttons (`ui/Button`, `IconButton`, `Pressable`, `Chip`, `DragHandle`), text fields and native
 controls (`ui/Input`, `Checkbox`, `Slider`, …), glass surfaces (`SURFACE.*`), a native `<select>`
-(`SegmentedToggle` / `FilterSelect`), a picture (`ui/RemoteImage`, never a bare `<img>`), and network calls (`req` / `uploadReq` / `beacon`, `lib/http.ts`).
+(`SegmentedToggle` / `FilterSelect`), a picture (`ui/RemoteImage`, never a bare `<img>`), a box or font size (the spacing scale or rem,
+never a px-frozen `w-[Npx]` / `text-[Npx]`: the text-size slider scales the root font), and network calls (`req` / `uploadReq` / `beacon`, `lib/http.ts`).
 
 ## House rules that bite (learned from real bugs)
 
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 7d0edd39..775915d4 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.107.2
+0.107.3
diff --git a/docs/DESIGN.md b/docs/DESIGN.md
index 1d7f250a..f8774b57 100644
--- a/docs/DESIGN.md
+++ b/docs/DESIGN.md
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@ runs this check before it is called done (E28 S3g):
    A rule that holds is not the same as a screen that works: the person page passed every rule above with
    half its panel empty.
 
+A **copy-only** change — translated text and nothing else: no markup, class, component or logic — runs step 4
+alone: a screenshot of every state the changed text renders in, in Hungarian and in English (Hungarian runs about
+a fifth longer, so it is the one that wraps or clips). The key parity is the gate's.
+
 ## The design lab
 
 `npm run dev`, then open **`http://localhost:5173/design-lab`**. The lab renders each open decision's variants
@@ -126,7 +130,10 @@ style guide.
   to name one of the two. Black and white are the media scrims and their text. Five schemes × dark
   and light (B2): **Midnight** (blue), **Forest** (cyan), **Slate** (fuchsia), **Matrix** (moss) each earn their
   place with their own hue family; **Fjord** (Midnight's navy with a calm steel-blue accent) is the one kept
-  exception, the calm twin of the vivid Midnight. A new scheme still needs its own hue family. Normal text ≥ 4.5:1 and a control's edge ≥ 3:1 in **every** scheme and mode.
+  exception, the calm twin of the vivid Midnight. A new scheme still needs its own hue family. Normal text ≥ 4.5:1 and a control's edge ≥ 3:1 in **every** scheme and mode;
+  `--muted` keeps ≥ 6:1 on the bare `--bg`, because it mostly sits on glass, which costs up to ~1.5 of the ratio.
+  A tonal fill under text (a badge, the item count, the current rail row) is an opaque `bg-tint*` (its colour
+  mixed into `--surface`), never a translucent `bg-fg/8`: the glass and what scrolls under it show through.
   [WCAG 1.4.3, 1.4.11] The input edge token is set under Controls (A4). The ≥ 3:1 edge is the field
   family's (a field, the form's dropdown trigger), whose edge is the only thing that says "type here". A
   labelled pill (a chip, a toolbar trigger, a tab, a segment) keeps the faint `--border`: its text names it,
@@ -783,3 +790,5 @@ of a full-width panel and nothing on the right.
 | 2026-10-12 | A running download's step (owner ★)              | The tray row names the step beside its bar ("Downloading audio · 12%", "Merging" with a pulse); a paused-only tray shows a pause mark, never the done check                                                                                                                                                                               | A bare bar and %                                                                                                                                                                                       | A download fetches video and audio as two streams: unnamed, the second fill reads as a restart; the tray is the only place a download is followed                                                                            |
 | 2026-10-14 | API tokens (owner A/A/A)                         | Settings → API tokens: a row per token in three lines (name + prefix, its folders and rights, last use and expiry), revoked from its ⋯; a new token asks the kind first (Hub exchange or Custom: rights as chips per folder), expiry 1 year by default; the token shows once in the same dialog, with Copy and a curl line                | A table; one form with a preset link; the token in a banner above the list                                                                                                                             | A table truncates the rights at this width; the common token never shows a matrix to get wrong; closing the dialog is plainly when the token is gone                                                                         |
 | 2026-10-15 | Folder links (owner A/A/A)                       | An own folder's menu has Copy link and Share with link… as a file row does (the dialog is the link half of the file's); the link opens a list of the folder's files as it is now, Play opening the watch player above it with the playing row lit, a document only downloading; the rail marks a folder with a live link beside its count | Share with link… alone; cards; a download-only list; no mark                                                                                                                                           | Mostly videos from a phone, read on a phone: a list gives a long name its line and the next one is a tap away; the folder link is the one place where moving a file in publishes it, so where it is must show                |
+| 2026-10-17 | Copy-only changes (owner ★)                      | Step 4 of the Conformance check alone (not 1–3 or 5): every state the changed text renders in, seen in both languages                                                                                                                                                                                                                     | The whole five-step check; no screenshot at all (DOM test + key parity)                                                                                                                                | Steps 1–3 and 5 judge controls, patterns and composition, which a text change does not touch; the one risk left is a longer Hungarian string wrapping or clipping, and only a screenshot shows that                          |
+| 2026-10-17 | Text on glass (owner ★)                          | Light `--muted` 15% toward `--fg` in every scheme (≥ 6:1 on the bare page); the item count, the badges and the current Files row on opaque tints mixed into the surface                                                                                                                                                                   | Only the two failing components; the item count's number in `--fg`                                                                                                                                     | Pixel-measured over every scheme × mode × backdrop, the count fell to 3.8:1 (dark too: thumbnails scroll under the toolbar's glass) and Channels' tabs to 4.1:1; an `--fg` count outshouts the filters beside it             |
diff --git a/docs/development.md b/docs/development.md
index 13dd22f4..842f3cef 100644
--- a/docs/development.md
+++ b/docs/development.md
@@ -46,12 +46,9 @@ bash scripts/check.sh lint   # the static lanes only (no tests, build or audits)
 bash scripts/check.sh --brief          # either mode: one line per lane, output only for a red one
 bash scripts/check.sh --list           # the lane names, one per line (runs nothing)
 bash scripts/check.sh --only "vitest"  # one lane, by its exact name — never "the gate"
-bash scripts/lint-changed.sh           # ruff + eslint + prettier on the uncommitted files only
 ```
 
-It runs every lane even after one fails and names each red one at the end. `lint-changed.sh` is a
-convenience, not the gate; with `--hook` it doubles as a Claude Code Stop hook (silent when clean,
-the findings handed back otherwise).
+It runs every lane even after one fails and names each red one at the end.
 
 The codebase's health numbers — size, complexity, test ratio, gate weight, comment noise — come from
 `python scripts/audit_metrics.py` (seconds; it reports, it never fails). `--speed` adds the speed
@@ -87,6 +84,13 @@ docker compose -f backend/docker-compose.test.yml run --rm --no-deps test \
   pip-audit -r requirements.lock --no-deps --disable-pip
 ```
 
+**Shell scripts**
+
+```bash
+# every tracked *.sh at shellcheck's default bar (info included); the version is pinned in scripts/check.sh
+git ls-files -z -- '*.sh' | xargs -0 shellcheck
+```
+
 A missing database or ffmpeg is a hard error, not a skip — so the gate can't print green while the
 DB-backed tests were quietly not run (`SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=0` is the explicit "pure-logic only"
 run for a machine without Postgres). Tests that need a database take the `db` fixture
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/README.md b/frontend/e2e/README.md
index 2fa68d23..6f8116fc 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/README.md
+++ b/frontend/e2e/README.md
@@ -45,6 +45,11 @@ login-free `/watch/<token>` share link).
   PW_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5173 siftlode e2e
   ```
 
+**Accessibility** — `a11y.spec.ts` runs axe-core's WCAG 2.x A + AA rules (`@axe-core/playwright`)
+over every rail page, every admin page and the player, in `chromium` only (the rules read the DOM,
+which the engines build alike). It does not judge colour contrast: axe files text on a gradient —
+every glass surface — as "incomplete", not as a pass or a hit.
+
 ## Account & fixture
 
 Tests run as a dedicated **admin** account `e2e@siftlode.local` (never a real account;
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/a11y.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/a11y.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..82984fc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/e2e/a11y.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+import AxeBuilder from "@axe-core/playwright";
+import { test, expect, type Page } from "@playwright/test";
+import { gotoPage, openApp, openFirstVideo } from "./helpers";
+
+// Accessibility, the machine-checkable half: axe-core's WCAG 2.x A + AA rules over every page the
+// owner reaches and the player. A hit fails with the rule, its impact and the elements.
+//
+// What it does NOT cover — colour contrast, mostly: axe cannot compute a contrast over a gradient,
+// and the glass surfaces are gradients, so it files most text as "incomplete" instead of judging it
+// (measured 2026-10-17: 110 nodes on the feed, 9-32 on the other pages). A green here says nothing
+// about contrast; that stays with the visual check.
+//
+// Chromium only (playwright.config.ts leaves it out of the other projects).
+const TAGS = ["wcag2a", "wcag2aa", "wcag21a", "wcag21aa", "wcag22aa"];
+
+/** Wait until nothing is loading: no QueryState spinner and no skeleton bone left. */
+async function settled(page: Page): Promise<void> {
+  await expect(
+    page.locator('[role="status"] .animate-spin, [aria-hidden="true"].animate-pulse'),
+  ).toHaveCount(0);
+}
+
+async function violations(page: Page): Promise<string[]> {
+  const result = await new AxeBuilder({ page }).withTags(TAGS).analyze();
+  return result.violations.map((v) => {
+    const shown = v.nodes.slice(0, 5).map((n) => n.target.join(" "));
+    const more = v.nodes.length > 5 ? ` (+${v.nodes.length - 5})` : "";
+    return `${v.id} (${v.impact ?? "?"}): ${v.help} — ${shown.join(" | ")}${more}`;
+  });
+}
+
+test.describe("accessibility (axe)", () => {
+  const RAIL = ["feed", "channels", "playlists", "files", "stats", "settings"];
+  const ADMIN = ["scheduler", "config", "users", "audit"];
+
+  for (const id of RAIL) {
+    test(`page: ${id}`, async ({ page }) => {
+      await openApp(page);
+      await gotoPage(page, id);
+      await settled(page);
+      expect(await violations(page)).toEqual([]);
+    });
+  }
+
+  for (const id of ADMIN) {
+    test(`admin page: ${id}`, async ({ page }) => {
+      await openApp(page);
+      await page.getByTestId("nav-admin").click();
+      await page.getByTestId(`nav-admin-${id}`).click();
+      await expect(page.getByTestId("nav-admin")).toHaveAttribute("aria-current", "page");
+      await settled(page);
+      expect(await violations(page)).toEqual([]);
+    });
+  }
+
+  test("player", async ({ page }) => {
+    // hermetic: the YouTube iframe is not loaded
+    await page.route(/youtube\.com/, (route) => route.abort());
+    await openApp(page);
+    await openFirstVideo(page);
+    await settled(page);
+    expect(await violations(page)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/package-lock.json b/frontend/package-lock.json
index 880bebdb..3467e0bf 100644
--- a/frontend/package-lock.json
+++ b/frontend/package-lock.json
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
         "react-i18next": "^15.7.4"
       },
       "devDependencies": {
+        "@axe-core/playwright": "4.13.0",
         "@babel/core": "7.29.7",
         "@eslint-community/eslint-plugin-eslint-comments": "4.8.1",
         "@eslint/js": "9.39.1",
@@ -91,6 +92,19 @@
       "dev": true,
       "license": "ISC"
     },
+    "node_modules/@axe-core/playwright": {
+      "version": "4.13.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@axe-core/playwright/-/playwright-4.13.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6YLx+kxXu5GJceG4ozFg+33a2EMTdjYwWGloJ3sb9Kta5pp+ZNS53uxGVog5JetIY8s++P5UrtX+cri+u0VAVg==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MPL-2.0",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "axe-core": "~4.13.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "playwright-core": ">= 1.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@babel/code-frame": {
       "version": "7.29.7",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@babel/code-frame/-/code-frame-7.29.7.tgz",
@@ -3631,6 +3645,16 @@
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT"
     },
+    "node_modules/axe-core": {
+      "version": "4.13.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/axe-core/-/axe-core-4.13.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-UzGt8zg7Ny8djbYMhxl2zuEevVa7r2gJjYY5Lwr1xM7+XU2nd6CkIWFTVcCIbAP63vSz71NaVyyuSk9lHKcy0A==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MPL-2.0",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=4"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/babel-plugin-react-compiler": {
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/babel-plugin-react-compiler/-/babel-plugin-react-compiler-1.0.0.tgz",
@@ -6163,9 +6187,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/source-map-js": {
-      "version": "1.2.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/source-map-js/-/source-map-js-1.2.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-UXWMKhLOwVKb728IUtQPXxfYU+usdybtUrK/8uGE8CQMvrhOpwvzDBwj0QhSL7MQc7vIsISBG8VQ8+IDQxpfQA==",
+      "version": "1.2.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/source-map-js/-/source-map-js-1.2.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-KGj/8Y43x35aZVDtt+J4mK1hoLGHULMYfSkODJNQjNDC3oW1PqPoxMwo0pLUsWM/UEGzON/NxeHywEfNXNP3Vw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "BSD-3-Clause",
       "engines": {
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index 0fc26506..8b8604a3 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
     "react-i18next": "^15.7.4"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
+    "@axe-core/playwright": "4.13.0",
     "@babel/core": "7.29.7",
     "@eslint-community/eslint-plugin-eslint-comments": "4.8.1",
     "@eslint/js": "9.39.1",
diff --git a/frontend/playwright.config.ts b/frontend/playwright.config.ts
index 6fe0aa9e..0acd2290 100644
--- a/frontend/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/frontend/playwright.config.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ import { defineConfig, devices } from "@playwright/test";
 
 const BASE_URL = process.env.PW_BASE_URL || "http://127.0.0.1:8080";
 const STORAGE_STATE = "e2e/.auth/state.json";
+// The axe scan reads the DOM and the accessibility tree, which the engines build alike: one engine
+// answers for all, so the other projects leave it out instead of tripling its time.
+const CHROMIUM_ONLY = /a11y\.spec\.ts/;
 
 export default defineConfig({
   testDir: "./e2e",
@@ -54,11 +57,13 @@ export default defineConfig({
     {
       name: "webkit",
       use: { ...devices["Desktop Safari"], storageState: STORAGE_STATE },
+      testIgnore: CHROMIUM_ONLY,
       dependencies: ["setup"],
     },
     {
       name: "ipad",
       use: { ...devices["iPad (gen 7) landscape"], storageState: STORAGE_STATE },
+      testIgnore: CHROMIUM_ONLY,
       dependencies: ["setup"],
     },
     // The speed baseline (e2e/speed.measure.ts): readings, not tests. Only when PW_SPEED is set —
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/FilesRail.tsx b/frontend/src/components/FilesRail.tsx
index c26ba92d..79471ae9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/FilesRail.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/FilesRail.tsx
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ function Entry({
       onClick={() => setView(view)}
       className={clsx(
         "flex w-full min-h-8 items-center gap-2 rounded-lg px-2 text-sm",
-        active ? "bg-accent/12 font-medium text-accent" : "text-fg",
+        active ? "bg-tint-current font-medium text-accent" : "text-fg",
       )}
     >
       <Icon className={clsx("size-4 shrink-0", !active && "text-muted")} />
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/Badge.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/Badge.tsx
index be4b8b60..4619c18f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/Badge.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/Badge.tsx
@@ -7,10 +7,12 @@ import type { ReactNode } from "react";
 // at 8%, so it reads on the dark schemes and on white alike; `onDark` is the always-dark player's. A
 // `tone` says which kind of label it is (a role, a state to notice): its own colour at 6%, the most
 // that keeps its text at 4.5:1 on light (theme.contract.test.ts measures all three in every scheme).
+// Each tint is mixed into the surface (`bg-tint*`), opaque: a translucent one lets the glass and what
+// scrolls under it through, and the text's contrast goes with them.
 const TONES = {
-  neutral: "bg-fg/8 text-muted",
-  accent: "bg-accent/6 text-accent",
-  warn: "bg-warn/6 text-warn",
+  neutral: "bg-tint text-muted",
+  accent: "bg-tint-accent text-accent",
+  warn: "bg-tint-warn text-warn",
 } as const;
 
 export function Badge({
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/ItemCount.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/ItemCount.tsx
index 2d7c7ce2..61761f36 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/ItemCount.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/ItemCount.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ import { formatNumber } from "../../lib/format";
 const OVERFLOW_AT = 1_000_000;
 
 // A compact, FIXED-WIDTH count pill for a toolbar: the filtered item count at the toolbar's 28, flat
-// and tonal like a `Badge` — no edge, because it does nothing (edged = pressable, flat = just
+// and tonal like a `Badge` (the same opaque `bg-tint`: the toolbar is glass over scrolling thumbnails)
+// — no edge, because it does nothing (edged = pressable, flat = just
 // says; it used to wear the filter dropdowns' glass pill and read as one more). The fixed width is the point — a
 // changing number must never shove the controls beside it, so the box is sized to the widest value
 // ("999,999 items") and the content is centred within it. A count of a million or more collapses to
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ export default function ItemCount({
         failed ? t("common.countFailed") : count == null ? undefined : formatNumber(count, lang)
       }
       aria-busy={stale || undefined}
-      className="inline-flex h-7 min-w-[9rem] shrink-0 items-center justify-center gap-1.5 rounded-full bg-fg/8 px-3 text-sm whitespace-nowrap text-muted"
+      className="inline-flex h-7 min-w-[9rem] shrink-0 items-center justify-center gap-1.5 rounded-full bg-tint px-3 text-sm whitespace-nowrap text-muted"
     >
       <Layers className="h-3.5 w-3.5 shrink-0 text-muted" aria-hidden="true" />
       <span className={clsx("tabular-nums transition-opacity", stale && "opacity-60")}>
diff --git a/frontend/src/content/release-notes/en.json b/frontend/src/content/release-notes/en.json
index 63462bfa..bbe9d46f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/content/release-notes/en.json
+++ b/frontend/src/content/release-notes/en.json
@@ -1,4 +1,14 @@
 [
+  {
+    "version": "0.107.3",
+    "date": "2026-10-17",
+    "new": [
+      "Development: the end-to-end suite runs the WCAG A and AA accessibility checks over every page and the player, and every shell script is linted in the gate."
+    ],
+    "fixed": [
+      "Readability: muted text in the light themes is a shade darker, and the item count, the labels and the selected Files folder sit on a solid tint, so text on the frosted-glass bars stays readable (4.5:1) in every scheme."
+    ]
+  },
   {
     "version": "0.107.2",
     "date": "2026-10-17",
diff --git a/frontend/src/content/release-notes/hu.json b/frontend/src/content/release-notes/hu.json
index 3081cbc7..659354b0 100644
--- a/frontend/src/content/release-notes/hu.json
+++ b/frontend/src/content/release-notes/hu.json
@@ -1,4 +1,14 @@
 [
+  {
+    "version": "0.107.3",
+    "date": "2026-10-17",
+    "new": [
+      "Fejlesztés: a végponttól végpontig tartó tesztek minden oldalon és a lejátszóban lefuttatják a WCAG A és AA akadálymentességi ellenőrzéseit, és a gate minden shell-szkriptet ellenőriz."
+    ],
+    "fixed": [
+      "Olvashatóság: a halvány szöveg a világos témákban egy árnyalattal sötétebb, a darabszám, a címkék és a Fájlok kijelölt mappája pedig tömör árnyalaton ül, így az üvegszerű sávokon is olvasható (4,5:1) minden színsémában."
+    ]
+  },
   {
     "version": "0.107.2",
     "date": "2026-10-17",
diff --git a/frontend/src/index.css b/frontend/src/index.css
index ba9de5d1..7c9533b2 100644
--- a/frontend/src/index.css
+++ b/frontend/src/index.css
@@ -51,6 +51,13 @@
   --color-live-fg: var(--live-fg);
   --color-media-chrome: var(--media-chrome);
   --color-media-mark: var(--media-mark);
+  /* A tonal fill under text (a Badge, the item count, the current rail row): its colour mixed into the
+     surface, OPAQUE — a `bg-fg/8` lets the glass and whatever scrolls under it through, which pixel-measured
+     the item count down to 3.8:1. theme.contract.test.ts measures each one's text on it. */
+  --color-tint: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fg) 8%, var(--surface));
+  --color-tint-accent: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 6%, var(--surface));
+  --color-tint-warn: color-mix(in srgb, var(--warn) 6%, var(--surface));
+  --color-tint-current: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 12%, var(--surface));
 
   --font-sans: Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, sans-serif;
 
@@ -1032,7 +1039,7 @@ html[data-scheme="midnight"][data-theme="light"] {
   --card: #ffffff;
   --border: #dde3f0;
   --fg: #1a2238;
-  --muted: #5b6685;
+  --muted: #515c79;
   --accent: #3b5bdb;
   --accent-fg: #ffffff;
 }
@@ -1054,7 +1061,7 @@ html[data-scheme="forest"][data-theme="light"] {
   --card: #ffffff;
   --border: #d6e7e0;
   --fg: #102a22;
-  --muted: #4d6b60;
+  --muted: #446157;
   --accent: #0e7490;
   --accent-fg: #ffffff;
 }
@@ -1076,7 +1083,7 @@ html[data-scheme="slate"][data-theme="light"] {
   --card: #ffffff;
   --border: #e3e6eb;
   --fg: #1c1f26;
-  --muted: #5d636e;
+  --muted: #535963;
   --accent: #a21caf;
   --accent-fg: #ffffff;
 }
@@ -1100,7 +1107,7 @@ html[data-scheme="matrix"][data-theme="light"] {
   --card: #ffffff;
   --border: #dfe3d8;
   --fg: #161a14;
-  --muted: #5a6352;
+  --muted: #505849;
   --accent: #556b2f;
   --accent-fg: #ffffff;
 }
@@ -1126,7 +1133,7 @@ html[data-scheme="fjord"][data-theme="light"] {
   --card: #ffffff;
   --border: #c9d6e3;
   --fg: #152232;
-  --muted: #4f6278;
+  --muted: #46586e;
   --accent: #256b8f;
   --accent-fg: #ffffff;
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json b/frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json
index d6230d64..f6a147c5 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json
@@ -1377,6 +1377,16 @@
       "}",
       "ruff_check() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }",
       "ruff_format() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }",
+      "SHELLCHECK_PIN=0.11.0",
+      "shellcheck_lane() {",
+      "  local host",
+      "  host=\"$(shellcheck --version 2>/dev/null | sed -n 's/^version: //p')\"",
+      "  if [ \"$host\" != \"$SHELLCHECK_PIN\" ]; then",
+      "    echo \"shellcheck ${host:-missing} on the host, $SHELLCHECK_PIN pinned — https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck/releases\" >&2",
+      "    return 1",
+      "  fi",
+      "  git ls-files -z -- '*.sh' | xargs -0 shellcheck",
+      "}",
       "basedpyright() {",
       "  local before",
       "  before=\"$(git hash-object backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json)\"",
@@ -1394,6 +1404,7 @@
       "gate_t0=\"$(ms)\"",
       "lane \"ruff\" ruff_check",
       "lane \"ruff format --check\" ruff_format",
+      "lane \"shellcheck (every shell script)\" shellcheck_lane",
       "lane \"basedpyright (new errors only)\" basedpyright",
       "lane \"lock check (frontend/node_modules == package-lock.json)\" node scripts/check-node-modules.mjs",
       "lane \"tsc (src + configs + e2e)\" frontend npm run --silent typecheck",
@@ -1405,7 +1416,7 @@
       "  local rc=0",
       "  docker compose -f \"$TESTCOMPOSE\" up --build --abort-on-container-exit --exit-code-from test || rc=1",
       "  docker compose -f \"$TESTCOMPOSE\" down -v >/dev/null 2>&1",
-      "  return $rc",
+      "  return \"$rc\"",
       "}",
       "pip_audit() {",
       "  docker compose -f \"$TESTCOMPOSE\" run --rm --no-deps test \\",
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/theme.contract.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/theme.contract.test.ts
index 6628b61e..69473822 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/theme.contract.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/theme.contract.test.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ import { hexContrast, hueGap, mixHex } from "./colorMath";
 import { SCHEMES } from "./theme";
 
 // docs/DESIGN.md's colour rules, held in code instead of prose. Every scheme × mode in index.css:
-//   - body text, muted text and accent text ≥ 4.5:1 on the page, and the accent's own text ≥ 4.5:1 on
-//     an accent fill [WCAG 1.4.3];
+//   - body text and accent text ≥ 4.5:1 on the page, muted text ≥ 6:1 there (the headroom glass costs),
+//     and the accent's own text ≥ 4.5:1 on an accent fill [WCAG 1.4.3];
 //   - a control's edge (--edge-strong, the fg mixed 55% into the bg) ≥ 3:1 on the page [WCAG 1.4.11];
 //   - the accent ≥ 30° of OKLCH hue away from danger, warn and success, so a primary button never
 //     reads as a status (decision B2: the old YouTube, Slate, Forest and Matrix accents all did).
@@ -177,6 +177,22 @@ it("text on a solid accent fill uses --accent-fg", () => {
   expect(offenders).toEqual([]);
 });
 
+// The tints measured below are only what renders while the tonal fills USE them: a translucent
+// `bg-fg/8` there passes every token check and still lets the glass under a toolbar or a rail through.
+it("a tonal fill under text is an opaque tint", () => {
+  const sites = [
+    "components/ui/Badge.tsx",
+    "components/ui/ItemCount.tsx",
+    "components/FilesRail.tsx",
+  ];
+  const offenders = sites.flatMap((f) => {
+    const src = readFileSync(new URL(`../${f}`, import.meta.url), "utf8");
+    const bad = [...src.matchAll(/\bbg-(?:fg|accent|warn)\/\d+/g)].map((m) => `${f}: ${m[0]}`);
+    return /\bbg-tint/.test(src) ? bad : [...bad, `${f}: no bg-tint`];
+  });
+  expect(offenders).toEqual([]);
+});
+
 describe.each(SCHEMES.map((s) => s.id))("scheme %s", (id) => {
   it.each(MODES)("%s: backdrop rule and file", (mode) => {
     const file = `backdrops/${mode === "light" ? "light/" : ""}${id}.svg`;
@@ -200,15 +216,23 @@ describe.each(SCHEMES.map((s) => s.id))("scheme %s", (id) => {
       // A score is text, on the page and on its own 15% chip (PlexInfo); the live glyph is not text.
       rating: hexContrast(s.rating!, bg),
       ratingOnChip: hexContrast(s.rating!, mixHex(s.rating!, bg, 0.15)),
-      // A Badge (a role, a status, a count, F29): the neutral one's muted text on the fg at 8%, a toned
-      // one's text on its own colour at 6% (ui/Badge).
-      mutedOnBadge: hexContrast(t.muted!, mixHex(t.fg!, bg, 0.08)),
-      accentOnBadge: hexContrast(t.accent!, mixHex(t.accent!, bg, 0.06)),
-      warnOnBadge: hexContrast(s.warn!, mixHex(s.warn!, bg, 0.06)),
+      // A tonal fill under text (the `tint` tokens: a Badge, the item count, the current rail row) is
+      // OPAQUE — its colour mixed into --surface, so the glass and what scrolls under it never show
+      // through: the neutral one's muted text on the fg at 8%, a toned one's text on its own colour at
+      // 6%, the current row's accent on the accent at 12%.
+      mutedOnBadge: hexContrast(t.muted!, mixHex(t.fg!, t.surface!, 0.08)),
+      accentOnBadge: hexContrast(t.accent!, mixHex(t.accent!, t.surface!, 0.06)),
+      warnOnBadge: hexContrast(s.warn!, mixHex(s.warn!, t.surface!, 0.06)),
+      accentOnCurrent: hexContrast(t.accent!, mixHex(t.accent!, t.surface!, 0.12)),
       live: hexContrast(media().live!, bg),
     };
     const nonText = new Set(["edge", "live"]);
-    const failing = Object.entries(measured).filter(([k, v]) => v < (nonText.has(k) ? 3 : 4.5));
+    // Muted text mostly sits on GLASS (a toolbar, a tab row, a panel): the scrim, the blur and the
+    // backdrop under it cost up to ~1.5 of the ratio a bare --bg gives (pixel-measured over every
+    // scheme × mode × backdrop), so on the bare page it keeps that headroom over 4.5.
+    const onGlass = new Set(["muted"]);
+    const need = (k: string) => (nonText.has(k) ? 3 : onGlass.has(k) ? 6 : 4.5);
+    const failing = Object.entries(measured).filter(([k, v]) => v < need(k));
     expect(failing.map(([k, v]) => `${k} ${v.toFixed(2)}:1`)).toEqual([]);
   });
 
diff --git a/scripts/check.sh b/scripts/check.sh
index 626255be..4a64f0d9 100644
--- a/scripts/check.sh
+++ b/scripts/check.sh
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 # stops at the first failure hides the second until the first is fixed. The backend lanes run in the
 # test image (backend/Dockerfile.test): requirements.lock will not install on Windows (uvloop), and a
 # type checker or auditor without the real packages reports nonsense.
+# shellcheck disable=SC2329  # the lane functions below are called by name, through lane()
 set -u
 cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." || exit 2
 mode=all
@@ -121,6 +122,20 @@ ruff_pinned() {
 ruff_check() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }
 ruff_format() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }
 
+# Every tracked shell script (the gate itself, backup/restore, the installer, the image's entrypoint) at
+# the linter's full default bar, info included. Host shellcheck, held to this pin like ruff: a newer one
+# adds checks, and a gate must not change under a green commit.
+SHELLCHECK_PIN=0.11.0
+shellcheck_lane() {
+  local host
+  host="$(shellcheck --version 2>/dev/null | sed -n 's/^version: //p')"
+  if [ "$host" != "$SHELLCHECK_PIN" ]; then
+    echo "shellcheck ${host:-missing} on the host, $SHELLCHECK_PIN pinned — https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck/releases" >&2
+    return 1
+  fi
+  git ls-files -z -- '*.sh' | xargs -0 shellcheck
+}
+
 # New errors only: the pre-existing ones are in backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json. basedpyright
 # TIGHTENS that file by itself when errors go, and the tree is bind-mounted read-write, so a green run
 # can leave it rewritten: that fails here until it is committed, or the next run's stack reads stale.
@@ -143,6 +158,7 @@ frontend() { (cd frontend && "$@"); }
 gate_t0="$(ms)"
 lane "ruff" ruff_check
 lane "ruff format --check" ruff_format
+lane "shellcheck (every shell script)" shellcheck_lane
 lane "basedpyright (new errors only)" basedpyright
 # every frontend lane judges the HOST node_modules: this proves it is the tree the lock pins
 lane "lock check (frontend/node_modules == package-lock.json)" node scripts/check-node-modules.mjs
@@ -158,7 +174,7 @@ pytest_lane() { # the full suite against a throwaway Postgres; --pull keeps the
   local rc=0
   docker compose -f "$TESTCOMPOSE" up --build --abort-on-container-exit --exit-code-from test || rc=1
   docker compose -f "$TESTCOMPOSE" down -v >/dev/null 2>&1
-  return $rc
+  return "$rc"
 }
 # Every pinned backend package against the advisory databases, at any severity — the lock is a full
 # `pip freeze`, so it is audited as written, without a resolver. An advisory with no fix is answered
diff --git a/scripts/lint-changed.sh b/scripts/lint-changed.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 817b48de..00000000
--- a/scripts/lint-changed.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# The fast lint lanes on the uncommitted files only — ruff (check + format) on Python, eslint on the
-# frontend's code and prettier on all of the frontend — for a check after every edit instead of a
-# full gate run. It is a convenience, never the gate: scripts/check.sh stays what a merge or a
-# release requires.
-#
-#   bash scripts/lint-changed.sh          lint what `git status` shows as changed or new
-#   bash scripts/lint-changed.sh --hook   the same, as a Claude Code Stop hook: silent and exit 0 when
-#                                         clean; otherwise the findings on stderr and exit 2, which
-#                                         hands them back to the agent before it ends its turn
-#
-# Measured 2026-10-04: one cold eslint run (type-aware) takes 3.4–4.7 s, so this runs once per turn
-# (Stop), not after every edit — a warm daemon (eslint_d) would add a dependency and a stray process.
-set -u
-cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." || exit 2
-hook=0
-[ "${1:-}" = --hook ] && hook=1
-
-if [ "$hook" = 1 ]; then
-  # A Stop hook that blocked once is told so on the next stop; let that one through, or an unfixable
-  # finding would keep the agent in a loop.
-  grep -q '"stop_hook_active": *true' && exit 0
-fi
-
-mapfile -t changed < <(git status --porcelain --untracked-files=all | sed -E 's/^.. //; s/.* -> //' |
-  while read -r f; do [ -f "$f" ] && printf '%s\n' "$f"; done)
-# eslint reads code; prettier reads every file the gate's `prettier --check .` does (a locale JSON,
-# a stylesheet), and `--ignore-unknown` passes over the ones it has no parser for.
-py=() fe=() pretty=()
-for f in "${changed[@]}"; do
-  case "$f" in
-    backend/*.py | scripts/*.py) py+=("$f") ;;
-  esac
-  case "$f" in
-    frontend/*.ts | frontend/*.tsx | frontend/*.js | frontend/*.mjs) fe+=("${f#frontend/}") ;;
-  esac
-  case "$f" in
-    frontend/*) pretty+=("${f#frontend/}") ;;
-  esac
-done
-
-report="$(
-  if [ ${#py[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
-    python -m ruff check --quiet --config backend/ruff.toml "${py[@]}" 2>&1
-    python -m ruff format --check --quiet --config backend/ruff.toml "${py[@]}" 2>&1
-  fi
-  if [ ${#fe[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
-    (cd frontend && npx eslint --max-warnings 0 "${fe[@]}" 2>&1)
-  fi
-  if [ ${#pretty[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
-    (cd frontend && npx prettier --check --ignore-unknown --log-level warn "${pretty[@]}" 2>&1)
-  fi
-)"
-
-if [ -z "$report" ]; then
-  [ "$hook" = 1 ] || echo "lint-changed: clean (${#py[@]} py, ${#pretty[@]} frontend)"
-  exit 0
-fi
-if [ "$hook" = 1 ]; then
-  printf 'lint-changed found problems in the uncommitted files:\n%s\n' "$report" >&2
-  exit 2
-fi
-printf '%s\n' "$report"
-exit 1