diff --git a/services/frontend/components/chat/ChatInput.tsx b/services/frontend/components/chat/ChatInput.tsx
index 90639708..b0be5a56 100644
--- a/services/frontend/components/chat/ChatInput.tsx
+++ b/services/frontend/components/chat/ChatInput.tsx
@@ -43,10 +43,10 @@ export default function ChatInput({ value, onChange, onSubmit, onStop, isStreami
   return (
     <div className="sticky bottom-0 bg-white/85 dark:bg-ink/85 backdrop-blur pt-3 pb-[calc(1rem+env(safe-area-inset-bottom))] px-4">
       <div className="max-w-3xl mx-auto">
-        {/* Input pod — single rounded container with the button inside */}
+        {/* Input pod — textarea on top, tool row + send below, single rounded container */}
         <div
           className={clsx(
-            'relative flex items-end gap-2 rounded-[26px] border bg-white dark:bg-ink-soft transition-shadow',
+            'flex flex-col rounded-[24px] border bg-white dark:bg-ink-soft transition-shadow',
             'border-cream-border dark:border-ink-border',
             'focus-within:border-saffron/60 dark:focus-within:border-saffron/50 focus-within:shadow-[0_8px_30px_rgba(255,153,51,0.12)]',
           )}
@@ -59,61 +59,56 @@ export default function ChatInput({ value, onChange, onSubmit, onStop, isStreami
             onChange={(e) => onChange(e.target.value)}
             onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
             disabled={disabled}
-            className="flex-1 resize-none bg-transparent px-5 py-4 pr-2 text-[0.95rem] leading-relaxed text-gray-900 dark:text-ink-text placeholder-gray-400 dark:placeholder-ink-text-soft focus:outline-none min-h-[52px] max-h-[200px]"
+            className="resize-none bg-transparent px-5 pt-4 pb-1 text-[0.95rem] leading-relaxed text-gray-900 dark:text-ink-text placeholder-gray-400 dark:placeholder-ink-text-soft focus:outline-none min-h-[48px] max-h-[200px]"
           />
 
-          {/* Think toggle */}
-          {onToggleThinking && (
-            <div className="self-end p-2">
-              <button
-                type="button"
-                onClick={onToggleThinking}
-                aria-pressed={!!thinkingMode}
-                title={thinkingMode ? 'Reasoning mode ON — model will think step-by-step' : 'Enable reasoning mode'}
-                className={clsx(
-                  'h-10 px-3 rounded-full flex items-center gap-1.5 text-xs font-medium transition-all border',
-                  thinkingMode
-                    ? 'bg-saffron/15 dark:bg-saffron/20 border-saffron/40 dark:border-saffron/50 text-saffron dark:text-saffron-soft shadow-[0_4px_14px_rgba(255,153,51,0.15)]'
-                    : 'bg-transparent border-cream-border dark:border-ink-border text-gray-500 dark:text-ink-text-soft hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-ink-elev',
-                )}
-              >
-                <Brain size={14} />
-                <span>Think</span>
-              </button>
+          {/* Tool row: subtle inline pills on the left, send on the right */}
+          <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2 px-2 pb-2">
+            <div className="flex items-center gap-1">
+              {onToggleThinking && (
+                <button
+                  type="button"
+                  onClick={onToggleThinking}
+                  aria-pressed={!!thinkingMode}
+                  title={thinkingMode ? 'Thinking on — step-by-step reasoning' : 'Think step-by-step before answering'}
+                  className={clsx(
+                    'h-8 px-2.5 rounded-full inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-[12px] font-medium transition-all',
+                    thinkingMode
+                      ? 'bg-saffron/10 text-saffron dark:text-saffron-soft ring-1 ring-saffron/40'
+                      : 'text-gray-500 dark:text-ink-text-soft hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-ink-elev',
+                  )}
+                >
+                  <Brain size={14} />
+                  <span>Think</span>
+                </button>
+              )}
+              {onToggleWebSearch && (
+                <button
+                  type="button"
+                  onClick={onToggleWebSearch}
+                  aria-pressed={!!webSearchMode}
+                  title={webSearchMode ? 'Web search on — every message is searched online' : 'Force a web search'}
+                  className={clsx(
+                    'h-8 px-2.5 rounded-full inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-[12px] font-medium transition-all',
+                    webSearchMode
+                      ? 'bg-emerald-500/10 text-emerald-600 dark:text-emerald-400 ring-1 ring-emerald-500/40'
+                      : 'text-gray-500 dark:text-ink-text-soft hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-ink-elev',
+                  )}
+                >
+                  <Globe size={14} />
+                  <span>Search</span>
+                </button>
+              )}
             </div>
-          )}
 
-          {/* Force web-search toggle */}
-          {onToggleWebSearch && (
-            <div className="self-end p-2">
-              <button
-                type="button"
-                onClick={onToggleWebSearch}
-                aria-pressed={!!webSearchMode}
-                title={webSearchMode ? 'Web search ON — every message will be searched online' : 'Force a web search for your next message'}
-                className={clsx(
-                  'h-10 px-3 rounded-full flex items-center gap-1.5 text-xs font-medium transition-all border',
-                  webSearchMode
-                    ? 'bg-emerald-500/15 dark:bg-emerald-500/20 border-emerald-500/50 text-emerald-600 dark:text-emerald-400 shadow-[0_4px_14px_rgba(16,185,129,0.15)]'
-                    : 'bg-transparent border-cream-border dark:border-ink-border text-gray-500 dark:text-ink-text-soft hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-ink-elev',
-                )}
-              >
-                <Globe size={14} />
-                <span>Search</span>
-              </button>
-            </div>
-          )}
-
-          {/* Send / stop button — vertically centered with the textarea baseline */}
-          <div className="self-end p-2">
             {isStreaming && onStop ? (
               <button
                 type="button"
                 onClick={onStop}
-                className="w-10 h-10 rounded-full bg-chutney-red text-white flex items-center justify-center hover:brightness-110 transition shadow-md"
+                className="w-9 h-9 rounded-full bg-chutney-red text-white flex items-center justify-center hover:brightness-110 transition shadow-md"
                 aria-label="Stop generating"
               >
-                <Square size={14} fill="currentColor" />
+                <Square size={12} fill="currentColor" />
               </button>
             ) : (
               <button
@@ -121,14 +116,14 @@ export default function ChatInput({ value, onChange, onSubmit, onStop, isStreami
                 onClick={onSubmit}
                 disabled={!canSend}
                 className={clsx(
-                  'w-10 h-10 rounded-full flex items-center justify-center transition-all',
+                  'w-9 h-9 rounded-full flex items-center justify-center transition-all',
                   canSend
                     ? 'bg-gray-900 dark:bg-ink-text text-white dark:text-ink shadow-[0_6px_18px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)] hover:-translate-y-px'
                     : 'bg-gray-200 dark:bg-ink-elev text-gray-400 dark:text-ink-text-soft cursor-not-allowed',
                 )}
                 aria-label="Send message"
               >
-                <ArrowUp size={18} strokeWidth={2.4} />
+                <ArrowUp size={16} strokeWidth={2.4} />
               </button>
             )}
           </div>
diff --git a/services/frontend/components/chat/MessageBubble.tsx b/services/frontend/components/chat/MessageBubble.tsx
index 7d7f9a59..034b7475 100644
--- a/services/frontend/components/chat/MessageBubble.tsx
+++ b/services/frontend/components/chat/MessageBubble.tsx
@@ -17,10 +17,30 @@ type Segment =
   | { kind: 'tool_call'; content: string; closed: boolean }
   | { kind: 'tool_result'; content: string; closed: boolean };
 
+function sanitizeModelOutput(s: string): string {
+  // Strip training-artifact leaks the small model sometimes emits:
+  //  - HTML bold/italic tags from <b>/<i>/<strong>/<em> that were never meant to render
+  //  - Stray leading "<" (a dangling tool marker that was never closed — cosmetic only)
+  //  - Leading "Answer:" / "Response:" labels that are training-data prefixes
+  //  - Markdown image references whose payload is clearly placeholder text (e.g. [something image])
+  //  - Duplicate paragraphs the model sometimes emits verbatim after <|output_end|>
+  s = s.replace(/<\/?(?:b|i|strong|em|u|small|big|code)\s*>/gi, '');
+  // stray standalone "<" on its own line
+  s = s.replace(/^\s*<\s*$/gm, '');
+  // leading "Answer:" / "Response:" labels at start of a line
+  s = s.replace(/^\s*(?:Answer|Response|Final answer|Reply)\s*:\s*/gim, '');
+  // placeholder-image markdown e.g. ![Diary entry for samosa history]
+  s = s.replace(/!\[[^\]]*?\](?!\()/g, '');
+  // normalize double newlines
+  s = s.replace(/\n{3,}/g, '\n\n');
+  return s.trim();
+}
+
 function parseSegments(raw: string): Segment[] {
-  // First pass: strip orphan tool markers (end-tag without open-tag, or any
-  // stray marker outside a pair) that the model sometimes emits as loop
-  // artifacts — otherwise they leak into the message body as raw text.
+  // Sanitize first — remove HTML tag leaks / stray Answer: / orphan "<"
+  raw = sanitizeModelOutput(raw);
+  // Then strip orphan tool markers (end without open) that the model sometimes
+  // emits as loop artifacts.
   raw = stripOrphanMarkers(raw);
 
   const segs: Segment[] = [];