diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/EditorHeader.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/EditorHeader.svelte
index 25291fa5f0..5c3a9bc013 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/EditorHeader.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/EditorHeader.svelte
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
 		/** Workspace whose items the breadcrumb picker lists; defaults to the operating
 		 * workspace (see `useOperatingWorkspace`). */
 		workspaceId?: string
+		/** Lay the summary out after the path on one line, for the page header bar, rather than
+		 * stacked under it. */
+		inline?: boolean
 	}
 
 	let {
@@ -72,7 +75,8 @@
 		summaryEditable = true,
 		pathEditable = true,
 		hidePath = false,
-		workspaceId
+		workspaceId,
+		inline = false
 	}: Props = $props()
 
 	let pathPopoverOpen = $state(false)
@@ -145,7 +149,11 @@
 	}
 </script>
 
-<div class="inline-block max-w-full align-top group px-2 py-0.5 leading-tight">
+<div
+	class="max-w-full group px-2 py-0.5 leading-tight {inline
+		? 'flex items-center gap-2 min-w-0'
+		: 'inline-block align-top'}"
+>
 	<!-- Path row -->
 	{#if !hidePath}
 		<div class="flex items-center max-w-full text-2xs text-secondary font-mono">
@@ -255,7 +263,7 @@
 	{/if}
 
 	<!-- Summary -->
-	<div class="max-w-full -mt-[2px]" title={summary}>
+	<div class="max-w-full {inline ? 'min-w-0' : '-mt-[2px]'}" title={summary}>
 		<EditableInput
 			value={summary ?? ''}
 			placeholder="Add a summary..."
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/PageHeaderBar.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/PageHeaderBar.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a63ea9aa70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/PageHeaderBar.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+<!--
+@component
+The bar every route wears, above the page content and beside the sidebar: the sidebar toggle, the
+workspace picker, then whatever the route registered — an item's breadcrumb and summary, or a
+section name — and the route's own buttons at the far end.
+
+The row's height matches the sidebar's own header row, so the two read as one band.
+-->
+<script lang="ts">
+	import { Menubar } from '$lib/components/meltComponents'
+	import WorkspaceMenu from '$lib/components/sidebar/WorkspaceMenu.svelte'
+	import BreadcrumbSegment from '$lib/components/BreadcrumbSegment.svelte'
+	import EditorHeader from '$lib/components/EditorHeader.svelte'
+	import { pageHeader } from './pageHeaderRegistry.svelte'
+	import { kindKey, KIND_LABEL_LOWER } from '$lib/components/workspacePicker'
+
+	interface Props {
+		/** The sidebar's show/hide control, placed at the very start of the band. */
+		toggle?: import('svelte').Snippet
+	}
+
+	let { toggle }: Props = $props()
+
+	const content = $derived(pageHeader.content)
+	const item = $derived(content?.item)
+	const section = $derived(content?.section)
+</script>
+
+<div class="flex items-center gap-1 h-12 px-2 border-b shrink-0 min-w-0">
+	{@render toggle?.()}
+
+	<Menubar>
+		{#snippet children({ createMenu })}
+			<WorkspaceMenu {createMenu} strictWorkspaceSelect={false} />
+		{/snippet}
+	</Menubar>
+
+	{#if item}
+		<EditorHeader
+			inline
+			kind={item.kind}
+			raw_app={item.raw_app}
+			savedPath={item.savedPath}
+			workspaceId={item.workspaceId}
+			onBehalfOfEmail={item.onBehalfOfEmail}
+			pathEditable={item.pathEditable ?? true}
+			summaryEditable={item.summaryEditable ?? true}
+			onNavigate={item.onNavigate}
+			bind:path={() => item.path, (v) => item.onPathChange?.(v ?? '')}
+			bind:summary={() => item.summary, (v) => item.onSummaryChange?.(v ?? '')}
+		/>
+	{:else if section}
+		<nav aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="contents">
+			<BreadcrumbSegment
+				label={section.kind ? KIND_LABEL_LOWER[section.kind] : section.label}
+				isCurrent
+				initialHighlight={section.kind ? kindKey(section.kind) : undefined}
+				initialScope={section.kind ? { kind: section.kind } : undefined}
+				onPick={() => {}}
+			/>
+		</nav>
+	{/if}
+
+	{#if content?.actions}
+		<div class="ml-auto flex items-center gap-2 shrink-0">
+			{@render content.actions()}
+		</div>
+	{/if}
+</div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/PageHeaderContent.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/PageHeaderContent.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..92859547e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/PageHeaderContent.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+<!--
+@component
+Fills the layout's page header from the route that mounts it: the breadcrumb (an item's path, or a
+section name for a list) and the page's own buttons. Renders nothing itself.
+
+Only a route page mounts this. An editor nested in a session pane or a drawer must not take over
+the header, so nesting is decided by the caller rather than guessed from context.
+-->
+<script lang="ts">
+	import { onMount } from 'svelte'
+	import { pageHeader, type PageHeaderContent } from './pageHeaderRegistry.svelte'
+
+	let { item, section, actions }: PageHeaderContent = $props()
+
+	onMount(() => {
+		const id = pageHeader.register(() => ({ item, section, actions }))
+		return () => pageHeader.release(id)
+	})
+</script>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AiChatLayout.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AiChatLayout.svelte
index e2b8c9bba9..6069e09fb3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AiChatLayout.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AiChatLayout.svelte
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 		transitionClass?: string
 		isMobile?: boolean
 		children: any
+		/** The bar every route wears, rendered above the page content and inside the rail's offset. */
+		header?: import('svelte').Snippet
 		onMenuOpen?: () => void
 		disableAi?: boolean
 		// Whether this layout loads the workspace AI config. It gates far more than
@@ -41,6 +43,7 @@
 		transitionClass = 'transition-all ease-in-out duration-200',
 		isMobile = false,
 		children,
+		header,
 		onMenuOpen,
 		disableAi,
 		loadAiConfig = true,
@@ -113,6 +116,7 @@
 				<main class="flex-1 flex flex-col min-h-0">
 					<div class="relative w-full flex-1 flex flex-col min-h-0">
 						{@render burgerRow()}
+						{@render header?.()}
 						<div class="flex-1 min-h-0">
 							{@render children?.()}
 						</div>
@@ -142,6 +146,7 @@
 		style:padding-left="{contentPadLeft}rem"
 	>
 		{@render burgerRow()}
+		{@render header?.()}
 		<div class="flex-1 min-h-0 flex flex-col">
 			{@render children?.()}
 		</div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/pageHeaderRegistry.svelte.ts b/frontend/src/lib/components/pageHeaderRegistry.svelte.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..604f581e16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/pageHeaderRegistry.svelte.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import type { Snippet } from 'svelte'
+import type { WorkspaceItem, WorkspaceItemKind } from './workspacePicker'
+
+/** An item the page is working on: the breadcrumb walks its path and ends with its summary. */
+export type PageHeaderItem = {
+	kind: WorkspaceItemKind
+	path: string | undefined
+	/** The item's saved path, so a mid-rename breadcrumb and picker stay coherent. */
+	savedPath?: string
+	summary?: string
+	raw_app?: boolean
+	/** Which workspace the breadcrumb's pickers read (a session editor acts on its fork). */
+	workspaceId?: string
+	pathEditable?: boolean
+	summaryEditable?: boolean
+	onBehalfOfEmail?: string
+	onSummaryChange?: (summary: string) => void
+	onPathChange?: (path: string) => void
+	onNavigate?: (item: WorkspaceItem) => void
+}
+
+/** A page with no item of its own, such as a list: the breadcrumb is the section alone. */
+export type PageHeaderSection = {
+	label: string
+	/** Scopes the segment's picker, when the section maps to a kind of item. */
+	kind?: WorkspaceItemKind
+}
+
+export type PageHeaderContent = {
+	item?: PageHeaderItem
+	section?: PageHeaderSection
+	/** Rendered at the right end of the bar — the page's own buttons. */
+	actions?: Snippet
+}
+
+// The bar belongs to the root layout and is always on screen; a route page fills its breadcrumb
+// and actions by registering here.
+//
+// A registration is a getter, not a snapshot: the layout calls it while rendering, so a path or
+// summary the page edits reaches the bar through the layout's own dependency tracking, with no
+// effect keeping two copies in step.
+//
+// Registrations stack and only the first shows. Pages register on mount, so the first entry is the
+// outermost one — an editor nested in a session pane or a drawer is asked to register nothing, and
+// a route mounting its successor before unmounting itself cannot flash the wrong path.
+let entries = $state<{ id: number; get: () => PageHeaderContent }[]>([])
+let nextId = 0
+
+export const pageHeader = {
+	get content(): PageHeaderContent | undefined {
+		return entries[0]?.get()
+	},
+	/** Registers on mount and returns the id to release on destroy. */
+	register(get: () => PageHeaderContent): number {
+		const id = nextId++
+		entries = [...entries, { id, get }]
+		return id
+	},
+	release(id: number) {
+		entries = entries.filter((e) => e.id !== id)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/+layout.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/+layout.svelte
index 6c47ac2dcf..c826ca8dca 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/+layout.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/+layout.svelte
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@
 	import { twMerge } from 'tailwind-merge'
 	import { navDetached } from '$lib/components/sidebar/navDetached.svelte'
 	import { navHandleSlot } from '$lib/components/sidebar/navHandlePlacement.svelte'
+	import PageHeaderBar from '$lib/components/PageHeaderBar.svelte'
 	import NavHandle from '$lib/components/sidebar/NavHandle.svelte'
 	import { sidebarPageAllowed } from '$lib/components/sidebar/operatorRoutes'
 	import GlobalSearchModal from '$lib/components/search/GlobalSearchModal.svelte'
@@ -1041,6 +1042,25 @@
 
 <!-- Windmill brand mark anchoring the sidebar bottom (the header slot is taken
      by the workspace picker). -->
+<!-- The page header's first control: one toggle for the sidebar, shown or hidden. -->
+{#snippet sidebarToggle()}
+	{@const hidden = navDetached.val}
+	<Tooltip class="flex" placement="bottom" small>
+		<button
+			class="p-1.5 rounded hover:bg-surface-hover"
+			aria-label={hidden ? 'Show sidebar' : 'Hide sidebar'}
+			onclick={() => setDetached(!hidden)}
+		>
+			{#if hidden}
+				<PanelLeft size={16} class="flex-shrink-0 text-hint" />
+			{:else}
+				<PanelLeftDashed size={16} class="flex-shrink-0 text-hint" />
+			{/if}
+		</button>
+		{#snippet text()}{hidden ? 'Show sidebar' : 'Hide sidebar'}{/snippet}
+	</Tooltip>
+{/snippet}
+
 {#snippet brandMark(collapsed: boolean)}
 	<div class="flex items-center gap-x-1.5 text-xs font-semibold text-emphasis">
 		<WindmillIcon white={darkMode} height="16px" width="16px" />
@@ -1198,31 +1218,10 @@
 								class="h-full flex flex-col"
 								style:background-color={darkMode ? SIDEBAR_BG_DARK : SIDEBAR_BG}
 							>
-								<!-- Workspace picker as the drawer header (replaces the Windmill logo). -->
-								<div class="flex-shrink-0 px-2 h-12 w-52 flex items-center gap-1">
-									<Menubar class="w-full min-w-0">
-										{#snippet children({ createMenu })}
-											<WorkspaceMenu {createMenu} />
-										{/snippet}
-									</Menubar>
-									{#if detachedFloating}
-										<!-- Same spot as the docked sidebar's detach button, so the two swap in place. -->
-										<Tooltip class="flex" placement="bottom" small>
-											<button
-												class="p-1.5 -mr-1 rounded hover:bg-surface-hover"
-												aria-label="Attach sidebar"
-												onclick={() => setDetached(false)}
-											>
-												<PanelLeft size={14} class="flex-shrink-0 h-3.5 w-3.5 text-hint" />
-											</button>
-											{#snippet text()}Attach sidebar{/snippet}
-										</Tooltip>
-									{/if}
-								</div>
-
+								<!-- Top row: the workspace ⇄ sessions switch, as in the docked rail. The
+								     workspace picker lives in the page header. -->
 								{#if !embedded && sessionsSwitchShown}
-									<!-- The switch: workspace navigation ⇄ sessions sidebar. -->
-									<div class="px-2 pb-1 w-52">
+									<div class="flex-shrink-0 px-2 h-12 w-52 flex items-center">
 										<SessionModeSwitch
 											mode={sessionMode ? 'session' : 'nav'}
 											onToggle={() => (preserveMenuOnNextNav = true)}
@@ -1345,34 +1344,15 @@
 							)}
 							onpointerdown={startSidebarResize}
 						></div>
-						<!-- Workspace picker as the sidebar header (replaces the Windmill logo).
-							     Kept in both modes: it scopes which workspace family's sessions
-							     the sessions sidebar shows. -->
-						<div class="flex-shrink-0 px-2 h-12 flex items-center gap-1">
-							<Menubar class="w-full min-w-0">
-								{#snippet children({ createMenu })}
-									<WorkspaceMenu {createMenu} {isCollapsed} />
-								{/snippet}
-							</Menubar>
-							{#if !isCollapsed}
-								<!-- Same spot as the detached card's attach button, so the two swap in place.
-								     The icon-only rail has no room for it and keeps the footer copy. -->
-								<Tooltip class="flex" placement="bottom" small>
-									<button
-										class="p-1.5 -mr-1 rounded hover:bg-surface-hover"
-										aria-label="Detach sidebar"
-										onclick={() => setDetached(true)}
-									>
-										<PanelLeftDashed size={14} class="flex-shrink-0 h-3.5 w-3.5 text-hint" />
-									</button>
-									{#snippet text()}Detach sidebar{/snippet}
-								</Tooltip>
-							{/if}
-						</div>
-
+						<!-- Top row: the workspace ⇄ sessions switch, level with the page header's own
+						     row so the two read as one band. The workspace picker itself lives in that
+						     header now, which is why nothing names the workspace here. -->
 						{#if !embedded && sessionsSwitchShown}
-							<!-- The switch: workspace navigation ⇄ sessions sidebar. -->
-							<div class="px-2 pb-1 {isCollapsed ? 'flex justify-center' : ''}">
+							<div
+								class="flex-shrink-0 px-2 h-12 flex items-center {isCollapsed
+									? 'justify-center'
+									: ''}"
+							>
 								<SessionModeSwitch mode={sessionMode ? 'session' : 'nav'} {isCollapsed} />
 							</div>
 						{/if}
@@ -1650,7 +1630,13 @@
 				transitionClass={sidebarTransitionClass}
 				isMobile={useDrawer}
 				onMenuOpen={() => navHandleSlot.open()}
-			/>
+			>
+				{#snippet header()}
+					{#if !menuHidden && !devOnly}
+						<PageHeaderBar toggle={sidebarToggle} />
+					{/if}
+				{/snippet}
+			</AiChatLayout>
 		</div>
 	</div>
 {:else}