diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialog.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialog.test.ts
index eacdd3e5994..f17eaea0845 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialog.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialog.test.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,43 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import React, { type ReactNode } from 'react'
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from 'react-dom/server'
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import { buildCommitMessageGenerationParams } from './SourceControlTextGenerationDialog'
-import { getDefaultSourceControlTextGenerationSaveTargetKey } from './SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm'
+import {
+  getDefaultSourceControlTextGenerationSaveTargetKey,
+  SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm
+} from './SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm'
 import {
   applyCommitMessageGenerationDefaults,
   applySourceControlTextGenerationDefaults
 } from './SourceControlTextGenerationDefaults'
 
+vi.mock('../source-control/SourceControlActionVariableChips', () => ({
+  SourceControlActionVariableChips: ({
+    variablePreviews
+  }: {
+    variablePreviews?: Partial<Record<string, string>>
+  }) =>
+    React.createElement('div', {
+      'data-variable-previews': JSON.stringify(variablePreviews ?? {})
+    })
+}))
+
+vi.mock('@/components/ui/dialog', () => ({
+  DialogFooter: ({ children }: { children?: ReactNode }) =>
+    React.createElement('div', null, children)
+}))
+
+vi.mock('@/components/ui/select', () => ({
+  Select: ({ children }: { children?: ReactNode }) => React.createElement('div', null, children),
+  SelectContent: ({ children }: { children?: ReactNode }) =>
+    React.createElement('div', null, children),
+  SelectItem: ({ children }: { children?: ReactNode }) =>
+    React.createElement('div', null, children),
+  SelectTrigger: ({ children }: { children?: ReactNode }) =>
+    React.createElement('button', null, children),
+  SelectValue: () => React.createElement('span')
+}))
+
 describe('buildCommitMessageGenerationParams', () => {
   it('defaults saved text-generation recipes to the global target when repo and global are available', () => {
     expect(
@@ -24,6 +56,29 @@ describe('buildCommitMessageGenerationParams', () => {
     ).toBe('global')
   })
 
+  it('passes the base prompt preview to variable chips in text generation dialogs', () => {
+    const markup = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      React.createElement(SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm, {
+        actionId: 'commitMessage',
+        generateLabel: 'Generate',
+        settings: null,
+        repo: null,
+        baseParams: {
+          agentId: 'codex',
+          model: 'gpt-5.4-mini',
+          commandInputTemplate: '{basePrompt}'
+        },
+        basePromptPreview: 'You are generating a single git commit message.',
+        saveTargets: [],
+        onGenerate: () => {},
+        onOpenChange: () => {},
+        onSaveDefaults: () => {}
+      })
+    )
+
+    expect(markup).toContain('You are generating a single git commit message.')
+  })
+
   it('preserves the resolved model and thinking level for the selected agent', () => {
     expect(
       buildCommitMessageGenerationParams({
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialog.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialog.tsx
index dc33a97d24a..7ef7ab9c82f 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialog.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialog.tsx
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ import {
 import type { SourceControlTextActionId } from '../../../../shared/source-control-ai-actions'
 import type { GlobalSettings, Repo } from '../../../../shared/types'
 import type { SourceControlAiWriteTarget } from '../../../../shared/source-control-ai-recipe-save'
+import { buildBranchNamePrompt } from '../../../../shared/branch-name-from-work'
+import { buildCommitMessagePrompt } from '../../../../shared/commit-message-generation'
+import { buildPullRequestFieldsPrompt } from '../../../../shared/pull-request-generation'
 import {
   SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm,
   type SourceControlTextGenerationSaveTarget
@@ -42,6 +45,40 @@ type SourceControlTextGenerationDialogProps = SourceControlTextGenerationBaseDia
   generateLabel: string
 }
 
+function buildBasePromptPreview(actionId: SourceControlTextActionId): string {
+  switch (actionId) {
+    case 'commitMessage':
+      return buildCommitMessagePrompt(
+        {
+          branch: 'feature/example',
+          stagedSummary: 'M src/example.ts',
+          stagedPatch: 'diff --git a/src/example.ts b/src/example.ts\n+addSourceControlAiPreview()'
+        },
+        ''
+      )
+    case 'pullRequest':
+      return buildPullRequestFieldsPrompt(
+        {
+          branch: 'feature/example',
+          base: 'main',
+          branchChangedByPreparation: false,
+          currentTitle: 'Draft title',
+          currentBody: 'Draft description',
+          currentDraft: false,
+          commitSummary: 'a1b2c3d Add Source Control AI prompt previews',
+          changeSummary: 'src/example.ts | 12 ++++++++++--',
+          patch: 'diff --git a/src/example.ts b/src/example.ts\n+addSourceControlAiPreview()'
+        },
+        ''
+      )
+    case 'branchName':
+      return buildBranchNamePrompt({
+        firstPrompt: 'Add source-control AI prompt previews',
+        assistantMessage: 'I will update the generation dialog variable chip preview.'
+      })
+  }
+}
+
 export function SourceControlTextGenerationDialog({
   actionId,
   title,
@@ -126,6 +163,7 @@ export function SourceControlTextGenerationDialog({
           settings={settings}
           repo={repo ?? null}
           baseParams={baseParams}
+          basePromptPreview={buildBasePromptPreview(actionId)}
           saveTargets={saveTargets}
           onGenerate={onGenerate}
           onOpenChange={onOpenChange}
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm.tsx
index d003bc79e3a..7315ba66207 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm.tsx
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ type SourceControlTextGenerationDialogFormProps = {
   settings: GlobalSettings | null
   repo: Pick<Repo, 'id' | 'sourceControlAi'> | null
   baseParams: ResolvedSourceControlAiGenerationParams | null
+  basePromptPreview?: string
   saveTargets: SourceControlTextGenerationSaveTarget[]
   onGenerate: (params: ResolvedSourceControlAiGenerationParams) => void
   onOpenChange: (open: boolean) => void
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ export function SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm({
   settings,
   repo,
   baseParams,
+  basePromptPreview,
   saveTargets,
   onGenerate,
   onOpenChange,
@@ -285,6 +287,7 @@ export function SourceControlTextGenerationDialogForm({
           />
           <SourceControlActionVariableChips
             actionId={actionId}
+            variablePreviews={basePromptPreview ? { basePrompt: basePromptPreview } : undefined}
             onInsert={(variable) => {
               const separator =
                 commandTemplate.endsWith('\n') || commandTemplate.length === 0 ? '' : ' '
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/source-control/SourceControlActionVariableChips.test.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/source-control/SourceControlActionVariableChips.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..13e13eb50bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/source-control/SourceControlActionVariableChips.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import type { ReactNode } from 'react'
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from 'react-dom/server'
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { SourceControlActionVariableChips } from './SourceControlActionVariableChips'
+
+vi.mock('../ui/hover-card', () => ({
+  HoverCard: ({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) => (
+    <div data-slot="hover-card">{children}</div>
+  ),
+  HoverCardContent: ({ children, className }: { children: ReactNode; className?: string }) => (
+    <div data-slot="hover-card-content" className={className}>
+      {children}
+    </div>
+  ),
+  HoverCardTrigger: ({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) => (
+    <div data-slot="hover-card-trigger">{children}</div>
+  )
+}))
+
+describe('SourceControlActionVariableChips', () => {
+  it('renders variable details in a scrollable hover card', () => {
+    const markup = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <SourceControlActionVariableChips
+        actionId="commitMessage"
+        variablePreviews={{ basePrompt: 'Generate a commit message.\n\nInclude staged changes.' }}
+        onInsert={() => {}}
+      />
+    )
+
+    expect(markup).toContain('data-slot="hover-card-content"')
+    expect(markup).toContain('scrollbar-sleek')
+    expect(markup).toContain('overflow-y-auto')
+    expect(markup).toContain('Generate a commit message.')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/source-control/SourceControlActionVariableChips.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/source-control/SourceControlActionVariableChips.tsx
index 93ea4ad673e..b6ee822ed37 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/source-control/SourceControlActionVariableChips.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/source-control/SourceControlActionVariableChips.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import {
   type SourceControlActionId
 } from '../../../../shared/source-control-ai-actions'
 import { Button } from '../ui/button'
-import { Tooltip, TooltipContent, TooltipTrigger } from '../ui/tooltip'
+import { HoverCard, HoverCardContent, HoverCardTrigger } from '../ui/hover-card'
 import { translate } from '@/i18n/i18n'
 
 type SourceControlActionVariableChipsProps = {
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ function hasVariablePreview(
   )
 }
 
-function SourceControlVariableTooltip({
+function SourceControlVariableDetails({
   variable,
   preview
 }: {
@@ -38,17 +38,25 @@ function SourceControlVariableTooltip({
   if (preview !== undefined) {
     if (variable === 'basePrompt') {
       return (
-        <pre className="scrollbar-sleek max-h-72 max-w-[min(32rem,calc(100vw-2rem))] overflow-auto whitespace-pre-wrap break-words font-mono text-[11px] leading-relaxed">
-          {preview || translate("auto.components.source.control.SourceControlActionVariableChips.4bf6d88039", "(empty)")}
+        <pre className="whitespace-pre-wrap break-words font-mono text-[11px] leading-relaxed">
+          {preview ||
+            translate(
+              'auto.components.source.control.SourceControlActionVariableChips.4bf6d88039',
+              '(empty)'
+            )}
         </pre>
       )
     }
 
     return (
       <div className="space-y-1.5">
-        <div className="font-mono text-[11px] text-background/70">{`{${variable}}`}</div>
-        <pre className="scrollbar-sleek max-h-72 max-w-[min(32rem,calc(100vw-2rem))] overflow-auto rounded-sm bg-background/10 p-2 whitespace-pre-wrap break-words font-mono text-[11px] leading-relaxed">
-          {preview || translate("auto.components.source.control.SourceControlActionVariableChips.4bf6d88039", "(empty)")}
+        <div className="font-mono text-[11px] text-muted-foreground">{`{${variable}}`}</div>
+        <pre className="rounded-sm bg-background/60 p-2 whitespace-pre-wrap break-words font-mono text-[11px] leading-relaxed">
+          {preview ||
+            translate(
+              'auto.components.source.control.SourceControlActionVariableChips.4bf6d88039',
+              '(empty)'
+            )}
         </pre>
       </div>
     )
@@ -59,12 +67,16 @@ function SourceControlVariableTooltip({
     <div className="max-w-80 space-y-2 text-left leading-relaxed">
       <div className="space-y-0.5">
         <div className="font-mono text-[11px]">{`{${variable}}`}</div>
-        <div className="text-background/80">{info.description}</div>
+        <div className="text-muted-foreground">{info.description}</div>
       </div>
       <div className="space-y-1">
-        <div className="text-[10px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-background/60">
-          {translate("auto.components.source.control.SourceControlActionVariableChips.6b921a0ac2", "Example")}</div>
-        <pre className="scrollbar-sleek max-h-40 overflow-auto rounded-sm bg-background/10 p-2 whitespace-pre-wrap break-words font-mono text-[11px] leading-relaxed">
+        <div className="text-[10px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-muted-foreground">
+          {translate(
+            'auto.components.source.control.SourceControlActionVariableChips.6b921a0ac2',
+            'Example'
+          )}
+        </div>
+        <pre className="rounded-sm bg-background/60 p-2 whitespace-pre-wrap break-words font-mono text-[11px] leading-relaxed">
           {info.example}
         </pre>
       </div>
@@ -82,14 +94,18 @@ export function SourceControlActionVariableChips({
     <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-1.5">
       <span className="inline-flex items-center gap-1 text-[11px] text-muted-foreground">
         <Braces className="size-3" />
-        {translate("auto.components.source.control.SourceControlActionVariableChips.1b77798d5f", "Variables")}</span>
+        {translate(
+          'auto.components.source.control.SourceControlActionVariableChips.1b77798d5f',
+          'Variables'
+        )}
+      </span>
       {SOURCE_CONTROL_ACTION_VARIABLES[actionId].map((variable) => {
         const preview = hasVariablePreview(variablePreviews, variable)
           ? variablePreviews?.[variable]
           : undefined
         return (
-          <Tooltip key={variable}>
-            <TooltipTrigger asChild>
+          <HoverCard key={variable} openDelay={150} closeDelay={120}>
+            <HoverCardTrigger asChild>
               <span className="inline-flex">
                 <Button
                   type="button"
@@ -102,11 +118,16 @@ export function SourceControlActionVariableChips({
                   {`{${variable}}`}
                 </Button>
               </span>
-            </TooltipTrigger>
-            <TooltipContent side="top" sideOffset={6} className="px-2 py-2 text-left">
-              <SourceControlVariableTooltip variable={variable} preview={preview} />
-            </TooltipContent>
-          </Tooltip>
+            </HoverCardTrigger>
+            <HoverCardContent
+              side="top"
+              sideOffset={6}
+              collisionPadding={12}
+              className="scrollbar-sleek max-h-[min(18rem,calc(100vh-2rem))] w-[min(32rem,calc(100vw-2rem))] overflow-y-auto p-2 text-left text-xs"
+            >
+              <SourceControlVariableDetails variable={variable} preview={preview} />
+            </HoverCardContent>
+          </HoverCard>
         )
       })}
     </div>