diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/package.json b/frontend/packages/shared/package.json
index 02bde7a9..1815a756 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/shared/package.json
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/package.json
@@ -36,7 +36,11 @@
     "./api-error-panel.js": "./src/api-error-panel/ApiErrorPanel.tsx",
     "./api-error-panel.css": "./src/api-error-panel/api-error-panel.css",
     "./warn-banner.js": "./src/warn-banner/WarnBanner.tsx",
-    "./warn-banner.css": "./src/warn-banner/WarnBanner.css"
+    "./warn-banner.css": "./src/warn-banner/WarnBanner.css",
+    "./badge.js": "./src/badge/Badge.tsx",
+    "./badge.css": "./src/badge/Badge.css",
+    "./dropdown.js": "./src/dropdown/Dropdown.tsx",
+    "./dropdown.css": "./src/dropdown/Dropdown.css"
   },
   "files": [
     "src/"
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.css b/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1b9c81f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.css
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/* <Badge> — pill-shaped status/control chip. Same touch-target floor as
+   the rest of the shared control set (2.75em ≈ 44px, WCAG 2.5.5) when
+   interactive; a plain display badge (no `onClick`) stays compact since
+   it's not a tap target at all. Colours are the shared base16-derived
+   vars (../theme.css) — `--bg-elev` is the same slot dropdowns/popovers
+   use, so an open Badge and the Dropdown it triggers read as one surface. */
+.ui-badge {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 0.35em;
+  padding: 0.15em 0.6em;
+  border-radius: 1em;
+  font: inherit;
+  font-size: 0.85em;
+  line-height: 1.4;
+  background: var(--purple-dim);
+  color: var(--fg);
+  border: none;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.ui-badge-interactive {
+  cursor: pointer;
+  min-height: 2.75em;
+  padding-inline: 0.8em;
+}
+.ui-badge-interactive:hover {
+  background: var(--border);
+}
+.ui-badge-interactive:disabled {
+  opacity: 0.6;
+  cursor: default;
+}
+.ui-badge-interactive[aria-expanded='true'] {
+  background: var(--bg-elev);
+  outline: 1px solid var(--purple);
+}
+.ui-badge-label {
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+.ui-badge-value {
+  color: var(--fg);
+}
+.ui-badge-caret {
+  font-size: 0.75em;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+.ui-badge-positive .ui-badge-value {
+  color: var(--green);
+}
+.ui-badge-warning .ui-badge-value {
+  color: var(--amber);
+}
+.ui-badge-negative .ui-badge-value {
+  color: var(--red);
+}
+.ui-badge-accent .ui-badge-value {
+  color: var(--purple);
+}
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.tsx b/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f2f4cae7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+// <Badge> — a labelled status pill, the "next to the thing it affects"
+// building block for the per-agent terminal redesign.
+// Design-guide anti-example this exists to fix: the agent page's model/
+// effort *pickers* used to live in a `⋯` overflow menu while the current
+// model/effort only showed as a separate, non-interactive chip — control
+// disconnected from display. `Badge` is that chip PLUS, optionally, the
+// control: pass `onClick` and it renders as a real `<button>` (so it can
+// open a `Dropdown` right underneath itself, or toggle in place — e.g.
+// pause/resume), pass nothing and it stays a plain status `<span>` (e.g.
+// "alive"). Same component either way so a page reads as one consistent
+// row of badges regardless of which ones happen to be interactive.
+//
+// Distinct from swarm-ui's own `StatusChip` (`swarm-ui/src/ui/status-chip/`):
+// that one is presentational-only and swarm-ui-local. This one lives here
+// in `shared` because both swarm-ui *and* the per-agent page need the
+// interactive shape, and `shared` is the one package both already depend
+// on (see `docs/web-ui/design-guide.md`'s component-first + junk-drawer
+// rules — this is the same visual language, applied where it's actually
+// consumed).
+import type { ComponentChildren } from 'preact';
+import './Badge.css';
+
+export type BadgeTone = 'neutral' | 'positive' | 'warning' | 'negative' | 'accent';
+
+export interface BadgeProps {
+  /** Dim prefix text, e.g. "model". Omit for a single-value badge like "alive". */
+  label?: ComponentChildren;
+  /** The value itself, e.g. "sonnet". Required — a badge always shows something. */
+  value: ComponentChildren;
+  tone?: BadgeTone;
+  /** Decorative glyph before the label; `aria-hidden`, the text is still the real label. */
+  icon?: ComponentChildren;
+  /**
+   * Present → renders a `<button>` (real control, min touch target) and
+   * shows a disclosure caret. Absent → renders a plain `<span>` (status
+   * display only, e.g. "alive"/"idle 6m").
+   */
+  onClick?: (e: MouseEvent) => void;
+  /** Only meaningful with `onClick` — drives the caret direction + `aria-expanded`. */
+  expanded?: boolean;
+  disabled?: boolean;
+  class?: string;
+  title?: string;
+}
+
+export function Badge({
+  label,
+  value,
+  tone = 'neutral',
+  icon,
+  onClick,
+  expanded,
+  disabled,
+  class: extraClass,
+  title,
+}: BadgeProps) {
+  const classes = ['ui-badge', `ui-badge-${tone}`, onClick && 'ui-badge-interactive', extraClass]
+    .filter(Boolean)
+    .join(' ');
+  const content = (
+    <>
+      {icon ? (
+        <span class="ui-badge-icon" aria-hidden="true">
+          {icon}
+        </span>
+      ) : null}
+      {label ? <span class="ui-badge-label">{label}</span> : null}
+      <span class="ui-badge-value">{value}</span>
+      {onClick ? (
+        <span class="ui-badge-caret" aria-hidden="true">
+          {expanded ? '▴' : '▾'}
+        </span>
+      ) : null}
+    </>
+  );
+  if (onClick) {
+    return (
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        class={classes}
+        onClick={onClick}
+        disabled={disabled}
+        aria-expanded={expanded}
+        title={title}
+      >
+        {content}
+      </button>
+    );
+  }
+  return (
+    <span class={classes} title={title}>
+      {content}
+    </span>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/dropdown/Dropdown.css b/frontend/packages/shared/src/dropdown/Dropdown.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..50dfd860
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/dropdown/Dropdown.css
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/* <Dropdown> — anchored option list. `position: absolute` against the
+   caller's `position: relative` wrapper (see Dropdown.tsx's file-top
+   comment) so it hangs directly under the badge that opened it.
+   `--bg-elev` is the same elevated-surface slot the badge uses when
+   open (../badge/Badge.css), so the pair reads as one continuous panel. */
+.ui-dropdown {
+  position: absolute;
+  top: calc(100% + 0.25em);
+  left: 0;
+  z-index: 20;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  min-width: 12em;
+  padding: 0.25em;
+  background: var(--bg-elev);
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 0.5em;
+  box-shadow: 0 0.4em 1em rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.35);
+}
+.ui-dropdown-item {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  align-items: flex-start;
+  gap: 0.1em;
+  min-height: 2.75em;
+  padding: 0.4em 0.7em;
+  border: none;
+  border-radius: 0.35em;
+  background: transparent;
+  color: var(--fg);
+  font: inherit;
+  text-align: left;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.ui-dropdown-item:hover {
+  background: var(--border);
+}
+.ui-dropdown-item-active {
+  background: var(--purple-dim);
+}
+.ui-dropdown-item-active .ui-dropdown-item-label::before {
+  content: '✓ ';
+  color: var(--purple);
+}
+.ui-dropdown-item-desc {
+  font-size: 0.8em;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/dropdown/Dropdown.tsx b/frontend/packages/shared/src/dropdown/Dropdown.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ab9c86b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/dropdown/Dropdown.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+// <Dropdown> — a small anchored option list, meant to sit directly under
+// the `Badge` that opened it (../badge/Badge.tsx) so the control is
+// visually attached to the thing it affects, instead of living three
+// clicks away in a catch-all menu (the junk-drawer pattern
+// `docs/web-ui/design-guide.md` calls out by name against the old
+// per-agent terminal's model picker). Not a native `<dialog>` — a
+// `showModal()` dialog's backdrop would visually detach it from its
+// anchor badge, and a non-modal `show()` gets no click-outside-to-close
+// for free, so this hand-rolls the same "outside click or Escape
+// closes" contract `Dialog` gets from the platform.
+//
+// Positioning is the caller's job: render `<Dropdown>` as a child of a
+// `position: relative` wrapper (the badge + dropdown pair) and it anchors
+// to that box's bottom-left via CSS. No portal — a badge in a normal
+// document-flow header never needs one, and skipping it keeps focus
+// management simple (no re-parenting to `<body>` to reason about).
+import { useEffect, useRef } from 'preact/hooks';
+import type { ComponentChildren } from 'preact';
+import './Dropdown.css';
+
+export interface DropdownOption {
+  value: string;
+  label: ComponentChildren;
+  /** Optional dim secondary text, e.g. "sonnet (balanced)". */
+  description?: ComponentChildren;
+}
+
+export interface DropdownProps {
+  open: boolean;
+  options: DropdownOption[];
+  activeValue?: string;
+  onSelect: (value: string) => void;
+  onClose: () => void;
+  /** `aria-label` for the option list (e.g. "select model"). */
+  label: string;
+}
+
+export function Dropdown({ open, options, activeValue, onSelect, onClose, label }: DropdownProps) {
+  const ref = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!open) return;
+    function handlePointerDown(e: PointerEvent) {
+      if (ref.current && e.target instanceof Node && !ref.current.contains(e.target)) onClose();
+    }
+    function handleKeyDown(e: KeyboardEvent) {
+      if (e.key === 'Escape') onClose();
+    }
+    // `pointerdown` (not `click`) so a drag-to-select that ends outside
+    // still closes; capture phase so this sees the event before a
+    // stopPropagation() elsewhere in the tree could swallow it.
+    document.addEventListener('pointerdown', handlePointerDown, true);
+    document.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
+    return () => {
+      document.removeEventListener('pointerdown', handlePointerDown, true);
+      document.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
+    };
+  }, [open, onClose]);
+
+  if (!open) return null;
+
+  return (
+    <div class="ui-dropdown" role="menu" aria-label={label} ref={ref}>
+      {options.map((opt) => (
+        <button
+          type="button"
+          key={opt.value}
+          role="menuitemradio"
+          aria-checked={opt.value === activeValue}
+          class={'ui-dropdown-item' + (opt.value === activeValue ? ' ui-dropdown-item-active' : '')}
+          onClick={() => onSelect(opt.value)}
+        >
+          <span class="ui-dropdown-item-label">{opt.label}</span>
+          {opt.description ? <span class="ui-dropdown-item-desc">{opt.description}</span> : null}
+        </button>
+      ))}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.css b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.css
index 49d1e44c..eb030491 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.css
@@ -42,3 +42,10 @@
   font-size: 0.8em;
   color: var(--muted);
 }
+/* Anchor for a Badge + the Dropdown it opens (@hive/shared) — Dropdown
+   positions `absolute` against this box, see Dropdown.css's file-top
+   comment. */
+.components-badge-anchor {
+  position: relative;
+  display: inline-block;
+}
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.tsx b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.tsx
index f719f361..f2c1c0b5 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import { Table, type TableColumn } from '../ui/table/Table.js';
 import { TextField } from '../ui/text-field/TextField.js';
 import { SelectField, type SelectOption } from '../ui/select-field/SelectField.js';
 import { Button, type ButtonVariant } from '../ui/button/Button.js';
+import { Badge, type BadgeTone } from '@hive/shared/badge.js';
+import { Dropdown, type DropdownOption } from '@hive/shared/dropdown.js';
 import './ComponentsPage.css';
 
 function Section({ title, children }: { title: string; children: ComponentChildren }) {
@@ -59,6 +61,13 @@ const SELECT_OPTIONS: SelectOption[] = [
 ];
 
 const BUTTON_VARIANTS: ButtonVariant[] = ['primary', 'default'];
+const BADGE_TONES: BadgeTone[] = ['neutral', 'positive', 'warning', 'negative', 'accent'];
+
+const MODEL_OPTIONS: DropdownOption[] = [
+  { value: 'haiku', label: 'haiku', description: 'fast' },
+  { value: 'sonnet', label: 'sonnet', description: 'balanced' },
+  { value: 'opus', label: 'opus', description: 'powerful' },
+];
 
 // Controlled samples need their own state to actually type/select into —
 // module-level consts can't do that, hence these two small wrappers
@@ -86,6 +95,51 @@ function RefreshIntervalPickerSample() {
   return <RefreshIntervalPicker id="sample-refresh-interval" value={value} onChange={setValue} />;
 }
 
+// The badge-triggers-a-dropdown-right-underneath-itself pattern this is
+// meant to land — the model/effort picker shape from the per-agent
+// terminal, demoed here with sample data. The wrapper
+// needs `position: relative` (`.components-badge-anchor`) so `Dropdown`
+// anchors under this badge specifically, not the page.
+function BadgePickerSample() {
+  const [value, setValue] = useState('sonnet');
+  const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
+  return (
+    <div class="components-badge-anchor">
+      <Badge
+        label="model"
+        value={value}
+        onClick={() => setOpen((o) => !o)}
+        expanded={open}
+      />
+      <Dropdown
+        open={open}
+        options={MODEL_OPTIONS}
+        activeValue={value}
+        label="select model"
+        onSelect={(v) => {
+          setValue(v);
+          setOpen(false);
+        }}
+        onClose={() => setOpen(false)}
+      />
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+// The other interactive shape: a badge that's itself the control (no
+// dropdown) — e.g. the agent page's pause/resume action folded into the
+// status row instead of living in the `⋯` overflow menu.
+function BadgeToggleSample() {
+  const [paused, setPaused] = useState(false);
+  return (
+    <Badge
+      value={paused ? '▶ resume' : '⏸ pause'}
+      tone={paused ? 'warning' : 'neutral'}
+      onClick={() => setPaused((p) => !p)}
+    />
+  );
+}
+
 export function ComponentsPage() {
   return (
     <Panel title="components" icon="🧰">
@@ -176,6 +230,25 @@ export function ComponentsPage() {
           </Sample>
         </div>
       </Section>
+
+      <Section title="Badge (@hive/shared — used by swarm-ui and the per-agent page)">
+        <div class="components-chip-row">
+          {BADGE_TONES.map((tone) => (
+            <Sample key={tone} label={`display, ${tone}`}>
+              <Badge value={tone} tone={tone} />
+            </Sample>
+          ))}
+          <Sample label="with a label prefix">
+            <Badge label="ctx" value="534k" />
+          </Sample>
+          <Sample label="interactive, opens a Dropdown (model/effort picker shape)">
+            <BadgePickerSample />
+          </Sample>
+          <Sample label="interactive, toggles itself (pause/resume shape)">
+            <BadgeToggleSample />
+          </Sample>
+        </div>
+      </Section>
     </Panel>
   );
 }