diff --git a/frontend/packages/agent/src/components/MetaNav.tsx b/frontend/packages/agent/src/components/MetaNav.tsx
index 78d7dad6..743148ca 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/agent/src/components/MetaNav.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/agent/src/components/MetaNav.tsx
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@
 // link and rebuild; rebuild's gone outright, the dashboard's own
 // R3BU1LD button already covers it, dashboard-link moves here, so
 // `OverflowMenu` had nothing left to justify existing and is deleted).
+//
+// `variant="quiet"` — mara: "link and settings button should not have
+// the badge bg". `Badge`'s default filled-pill look is right for a
+// status/picker chip, wrong for this icon-only trigger, which should
+// read as header chrome. See `@hive/shared/badge.js`'s `BadgeVariant`.
 
 // v1 of this rendered every link inline in the header's title row —
 // mara, live: "the login card looks like it is behind the header"
@@ -73,7 +78,13 @@ export function MetaNav({ links, forgePublicUrl, dashboardBase }: MetaNavProps)
 
   return (
     <div class="meta-nav-anchor" ref={rootRef}>
-      <Badge value={<LinkIcon />} title="agent links" onClick={() => setOpen((o) => !o)} expanded={open} />
+      <Badge
+        value={<LinkIcon />}
+        title="agent links"
+        variant="quiet"
+        onClick={() => setOpen((o) => !o)}
+        expanded={open}
+      />
       {open ? (
         <div class="meta-nav-popover" role="menu" aria-label="agent links">
           <a
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.css b/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.css
index 547bc75a..e8c1b908 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.css
@@ -30,6 +30,14 @@
   opacity: 0.6;
   cursor: default;
 }
+/* `variant="quiet"` — icon-only header triggers (settings/links), not
+   status chips: no permanent fill, so it reads as chrome next to the
+   rest of the header rather than another data pill. The `:hover` and
+   `[aria-expanded='true']` rules above still apply — quiet only drops
+   the idle background, which is what mara's report was actually about. */
+.ui-badge-quiet {
+  background: none;
+}
 .ui-badge-interactive[aria-expanded='true'] {
   background: var(--bg-elev);
   outline: 1px solid var(--purple);
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.tsx b/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.tsx
index 67163d4c..ddb54ea6 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/badge/Badge.tsx
@@ -23,6 +23,19 @@ import type { ComponentChildren } from 'preact';
 import './Badge.css';
 
 export type BadgeTone = 'neutral' | 'positive' | 'warning' | 'negative' | 'accent';
+/**
+ * `'default'` — the filled pill every status/picker badge has always
+ * been. `'quiet'` — no permanent fill, only a background on hover/
+ * `expanded`; for an icon-only trigger that should read as chrome (a
+ * header button) rather than a status chip — mara: "link and settings
+ * button should not have the badge bg" against both the agent page's
+ * `MetaNav` and the shared `SettingsMenu` (swarm-ui + agent both use
+ * it). Same `variant` naming/shape as `Button`'s
+ * `ButtonVariant` (`../../swarm-ui/src/ui/button/Button.tsx`) — visual
+ * weight is orthogonal to `tone` (color semantics), so it's its own prop
+ * rather than a new `tone` value.
+ */
+export type BadgeVariant = 'default' | 'quiet';
 
 export interface BadgeProps {
   /** Dim prefix text, e.g. "model". Omit for a single-value badge like "alive". */
@@ -30,6 +43,7 @@ export interface BadgeProps {
   /** The value itself, e.g. "sonnet". Required — a badge always shows something. */
   value: ComponentChildren;
   tone?: BadgeTone;
+  variant?: BadgeVariant;
   /** Decorative glyph before the label; `aria-hidden`, the text is still the real label. */
   icon?: ComponentChildren;
   /**
@@ -49,6 +63,7 @@ export function Badge({
   label,
   value,
   tone = 'neutral',
+  variant = 'default',
   icon,
   onClick,
   expanded,
@@ -56,7 +71,13 @@ export function Badge({
   class: extraClass,
   title,
 }: BadgeProps) {
-  const classes = ['ui-badge', `ui-badge-${tone}`, onClick && 'ui-badge-interactive', extraClass]
+  const classes = [
+    'ui-badge',
+    `ui-badge-${tone}`,
+    variant === 'quiet' && 'ui-badge-quiet',
+    onClick && 'ui-badge-interactive',
+    extraClass,
+  ]
     .filter(Boolean)
     .join(' ');
   const content = (
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/settings/SettingsMenu.tsx b/frontend/packages/shared/src/settings/SettingsMenu.tsx
index 11e51e90..ac643132 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/shared/src/settings/SettingsMenu.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/settings/SettingsMenu.tsx
@@ -1,26 +1,21 @@
 // <SettingsMenu> — a single header icon-button + popover holding the
 // client-local overrides a page has (theme, reduced motion). Originated
-// in swarm-ui (its own `shell/SettingsMenu.tsx`, trigger a raw SVG
-// gear icon); the agent terminal page needed the identical panel
-// (mara: "agent terminal page should get the settings panel from swarm
-// ui as well"). First pass duplicated it with an agent-specific trigger
-// (`Badge`, matching the rest of that page's header pills — `MetaNav`
-// already established `Badge` as the one interactive-chip language
-// there); mara's review on that PR: "i think the component should be
-// shared. motion setting is missing." — this is that: one component,
-// both pages import it, `Badge` trigger everywhere (already a
-// `@hive/shared` component itself, and already used elsewhere in
-// swarm-ui — `pages/ComponentsPage.tsx` etc. — so this isn't a new
-// visual language for that package either), motion included
-// unconditionally rather than agent-only.
+// in swarm-ui, duplicated to the agent terminal page (mara: "agent
+// terminal page should get the settings panel from swarm ui as well"),
+// then unified here per her review on that PR: "i think the component
+// should be shared. motion setting is missing." — one component, both
+// pages import it, motion included unconditionally rather than
+// agent-only.
 //
-// That first merge swapped the trigger's icon from swarm-ui's original
-// inline SVG gear to a plain `⚙` text glyph (matching `MetaNav`'s own
-// `value="🔗"` emoji at the time) — mara caught it: "settings icon
-// looks weird since component extract". `../icons.js`'s `GearIcon` is
-// swarm-ui's original SVG, restored here so both pages get the crisp
-// version now instead of just one — see that file's comment for why a
-// text/emoji glyph is the wrong tool for a trigger's own icon.
+// Trigger is `Badge` (`../badge/Badge.js`) with `../icons.js`'s
+// `GearIcon` — an inline SVG, not a text/emoji glyph (see that file's
+// comment for why a glyph is the wrong tool for a trigger's own icon;
+// this file went through one regression on exactly that, caught by
+// mara: "settings icon looks weird since component extract").
+// `variant="quiet"` drops `Badge`'s default filled-pill look, which is
+// right for a status/picker chip but wrong for this icon-only header
+// button (mara again: "link and settings button should not have the
+// badge bg") — see `Badge.tsx`'s `BadgeVariant` comment.
 //
 // Storage keys are the caller's responsibility (`themeKey`/`motionKey`
 // props), not derived here — a page mounts `useApplyThemeOverride`/
@@ -68,7 +63,13 @@ export function SettingsMenu({ themeKey, motionKey }: SettingsMenuProps) {
 
   return (
     <div class="settings-menu-anchor" ref={rootRef}>
-      <Badge value={<GearIcon />} title="settings" onClick={() => setOpen((v) => !v)} expanded={open} />
+      <Badge
+        value={<GearIcon />}
+        title="settings"
+        variant="quiet"
+        onClick={() => setOpen((v) => !v)}
+        expanded={open}
+      />
       {open ? (
         <div class="settings-menu-popover" role="menu" aria-label="settings">
           <label class="settings-menu-row">
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.tsx b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.tsx
index a3a6d78d..076febed 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/ComponentsPage.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ 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 { GearIcon } from '@hive/shared/icons.js';
 import { Dropdown, type DropdownOption } from '@hive/shared/dropdown.js';
 import './ComponentsPage.css';
 
@@ -234,6 +235,9 @@ export function ComponentsPage() {
           <Sample label="interactive, toggles itself (pause/resume shape)">
             <BadgeToggleSample />
           </Sample>
+          <Sample label="interactive, quiet variant (icon-only header trigger, e.g. settings)">
+            <Badge value={<GearIcon />} title="settings" variant="quiet" onClick={() => {}} />
+          </Sample>
         </div>
       </Section>
     </Panel>