diff --git a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.css b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9ef7cefa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.css
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+/* hive-agent-menu.css — scoped stylesheet for the <hive-agent-menu>
+   shadow-DOM custom element (hive-agent-menu.js). Loaded as raw text at
+   build time (esbuild's `text` loader) and appended as a <style> element
+   inside the shadow root — see @hive/shared/shadow-css.js's header
+   comment for why a plain <style> tag and not adoptedStyleSheets.
+
+   `:host` carries exactly the rules the old light-DOM `.agent-menu`
+   wrapper div carried (flex:none, position:relative, ...) — the host
+   element now plays that structural role directly, positioned after
+   .card-body in .container-row's flex row (see dashboard.css). Its
+   position:relative anchors the shadow tree's absolute-positioned
+   .agent-menu-dropdown: a shadow host is the containing block for its
+   own shadow tree's positioned descendants, exactly like any other
+   positioned ancestor in the flat tree.
+
+   The hover-reveal opacity crosses the shadow boundary via the
+   `--menu-btn-opacity` custom property (custom properties inherit
+   through shadow boundaries): dashboard.css sets it to 1 on
+   `.container-row:hover hive-agent-menu`; hive-agent-menu.js also sets
+   it directly on the host's inline style while its own dropdown is
+   open, since "am I open" is component-internal state a CSS selector
+   out in the light DOM can't see. */
+
+:host {
+  flex: none;
+  position: relative;
+  align-self: flex-start;
+  margin-top: 0.3em;
+}
+.agent-menu-btn {
+  display: block;
+  background: none;
+  border: none;
+  color: var(--subtext0);
+  font-size: 1.1em;
+  line-height: 1;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  padding: 0.1em 0.4em;
+  border-radius: 4px;
+  opacity: var(--menu-btn-opacity, 0);
+  transition: opacity 120ms, background 120ms, color 120ms;
+}
+.agent-menu-btn:hover,
+.agent-menu-btn:focus-visible {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--purple) 10%, transparent);
+  color: var(--purple);
+  outline: none;
+}
+.agent-menu-btn:focus-visible {
+  outline: 1px solid var(--purple);
+}
+.agent-menu-dropdown {
+  position: absolute;
+  right: 0;
+  top: calc(100% + 2px);
+  z-index: 50;
+  background: var(--bg-elev);
+  border: 1px solid var(--purple-dim);
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  box-shadow: 0 4px 16px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
+  list-style: none;
+  margin: 0;
+  padding: 0.3em 0;
+  min-width: 10em;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.agent-menu-item {
+  display: block;
+  width: 100%;
+  background: none;
+  border: none;
+  color: var(--fg);
+  font-family: inherit;
+  font-size: 0.88em;
+  letter-spacing: 0.04em;
+  text-align: left;
+  padding: 0.4em 0.9em;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  text-decoration: none;
+  box-sizing: border-box;
+}
+.agent-menu-item:hover {
+  background: var(--border);
+  color: var(--purple);
+}
+.agent-menu-sep {
+  height: 1px;
+  background: var(--purple-dim);
+  margin: 0.3em 0;
+  padding: 0;
+}
diff --git a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.js b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c549cbf6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.js
@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+// hive-agent-menu.js — <hive-agent-menu>, the per-agent "⋮" context-menu
+// shadow-DOM custom element. One instance per agent card, appended after
+// .card-body in the container row's flex layout (swarm.js's
+// buildContainerLi via buildAgentMenu). The host element itself plays the
+// structural role the old light-DOM `.agent-menu` wrapper div played
+// (flex:none, position:relative — see hive-agent-menu.css's `:host` rule),
+// so its shadow tree's absolute-positioned dropdown anchors off it same as
+// before.
+//
+// Callers set `._opts = { c, forgeBase }` before appending — custom
+// elements can't take constructor args via `document.createElement`
+// (same convention `<hive-dialog>` uses, see modal.js).
+//
+// At most one instance's dropdown is open at a time. `openInstances`
+// tracks every instance currently open (a Set, though in practice it never
+// holds more than one) so `closeAll()` can close each one via its own
+// `.close()` instance method rather than reaching into another instance's
+// shadow internals from outside. `closeAllAgentMenus()` is exported for
+// swarm.js's buildAgentTree to call before it replaces the container tree
+// DOM (the previous dropdown element would otherwise be a stale
+// reference).
+//
+// The document-level click/keydown listeners below are registered once at
+// module scope (not per-instance, and not per open/close) — shadow-DOM
+// event retargeting means `e.target` for a click that lands inside one
+// instance's shadow tree, once the event bubbles past that instance's own
+// host, is retargeted to that host rather than the actual element clicked.
+// `e.composedPath()` sees the real, unretargeted path, so it's what's used
+// here to test "did this click land inside any open menu's shadow tree" —
+// same reasoning as `<hive-dialog>`'s backdrop-click check.
+
+import { el } from '@hive/shared/dom.js';
+import { themedConfirm, themedToast } from '@hive/shared/modal.js';
+import { attachShadowCss } from '@hive/shared/shadow-css.js';
+import agentMenuCss from './hive-agent-menu.css';
+
+const openInstances = new Set();
+
+function closeAll() {
+  for (const inst of [...openInstances]) inst.close();
+}
+
+// Exported for swarm.js's buildAgentTree — see module header.
+export function closeAllAgentMenus() {
+  closeAll();
+}
+
+// Close on any click outside every currently-open instance.
+document.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
+  if (!openInstances.size) return;
+  const path = e.composedPath();
+  for (const inst of [...openInstances]) {
+    if (!path.includes(inst)) inst.close();
+  }
+}, true);
+// Close on Escape. stopImmediatePropagation so swarm.js's own
+// selection-clear Escape handler doesn't also fire while a menu is open.
+document.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
+  if (e.key === 'Escape' && openInstances.size) {
+    closeAll();
+    e.stopImmediatePropagation();
+  }
+}, true);
+
+// Single-agent POST helper shared by all menu items.
+async function agentMenuPost(actionPath, name, body, graceful) {
+  const url = actionPath + encodeURIComponent(name) + (graceful ? '?graceful=true' : '');
+  try {
+    const resp = await fetch(url, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: body ? { 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded' } : {},
+      body: body ? new URLSearchParams(body) : undefined,
+      redirect: 'manual',
+    });
+    const ok = resp.ok || resp.type === 'opaqueredirect'
+      || (resp.status >= 200 && resp.status < 400);
+    if (!ok) {
+      const text = await resp.text().catch(() => '');
+      themedToast('action failed: ' + resp.status + (text ? '\n\n' + text : ''), { type: 'error' });
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    themedToast('action failed: ' + err, { type: 'error' });
+  }
+}
+
+class HiveAgentMenu extends HTMLElement {
+  connectedCallback() {
+    const { c, forgeBase } = this._opts || {};
+    const root = attachShadowCss(this, agentMenuCss);
+
+    const btn = el('button', {
+      type: 'button',
+      class: 'agent-menu-btn',
+      title: `actions for ${c.name}`,
+      'aria-label': `actions for ${c.name}`,
+      'aria-haspopup': 'menu',
+      'aria-expanded': 'false',
+    }, '⋮');
+    const dropdown = el('ul', { class: 'agent-menu-dropdown', hidden: true, role: 'menu' });
+    this._btn = btn;
+    this._dropdown = dropdown;
+
+    const menuItem = (label, opts) => {
+      const li = el('li', { role: 'presentation' });
+      const item = el('button', {
+        type: 'button',
+        class: 'agent-menu-item',
+        role: 'menuitem',
+      }, label);
+      item.addEventListener('click', async () => {
+        this.close();
+        let graceful = false;
+        if (opts.confirm) {
+          const r = await themedConfirm({
+            message: opts.confirm,
+            danger: true,
+            confirmLabel: opts.confirmLabel || 'confirm',
+            checkboxes: opts.graceful
+              ? [{ name: 'graceful', label: opts.gracefulLabel || 'stop gracefully — let the agent finish its turn and flush state before the container stops' }]
+              : [],
+          });
+          if (!r) return;
+          graceful = !!r.graceful;
+        }
+        await agentMenuPost(opts.action, c.name, opts.body || null, graceful);
+      });
+      li.append(item);
+      return li;
+    };
+
+    const menuSep = () => el('li', { class: 'agent-menu-sep', role: 'separator' });
+
+    // Navigation link item (opens in same tab by default).
+    const menuLink = (label, href, title) => {
+      const li = el('li', { role: 'presentation' });
+      const a = el('a', {
+        class: 'agent-menu-item',
+        href,
+        role: 'menuitem',
+        title: title || '',
+      }, label);
+      a.addEventListener('click', () => this.close());
+      li.append(a);
+      return li;
+    };
+
+    // Show only actions that are applicable in the current state.
+    if (c.running) {
+      dropdown.append(
+        menuItem('↺ R3ST4RT', {
+          action: '/api/restart/',
+          confirm: `restart ${c.name}?`,
+          graceful: true,
+          gracefulLabel: 'restart gracefully — let the agent finish its turn and flush state before the container restarts',
+        }),
+        menuItem('■ ST0P', { action: '/api/kill/', confirm: `stop ${c.name}?`, confirmLabel: '■ stop', graceful: true }),
+      );
+    } else {
+      dropdown.append(
+        menuItem('▶ ST4RT', { action: '/api/start/', confirm: `start ${c.name}?` }),
+      );
+    }
+    // Pause/resume is orthogonal to running: a paused stopped agent boots
+    // paused; a paused running agent keeps its container but drives no turns.
+    if (c.paused) {
+      dropdown.append(
+        menuItem('▶ R3SUM3', { action: '/api/resume/', confirm: `resume ${c.name}? the turn loop restarts and drains queued messages.` }),
+      );
+    } else {
+      dropdown.append(
+        menuItem('⏸ P4US3', { action: '/api/pause/', confirm: `pause ${c.name}? parks the turn loop — inbox messages queue unacked.` }),
+      );
+    }
+    dropdown.append(
+      menuSep(),
+      menuItem('↻ R3BU1LD', { action: '/api/rebuild/', confirm: `rebuild ${c.name}? hot-reloads the container.` }),
+      menuSep(),
+      // Deep-link to the AGENT log tab pre-filtered to this container.
+      // The ?agent= param is read by logs.js on load and pre-selects this
+      // agent's journal without extra clicks.
+      menuLink('journal logs →',
+        `/logs.html?agent=${encodeURIComponent(c.name)}#agent`,
+        `view ${c.name} journal logs`),
+    );
+
+    dropdown.append(
+      menuSep(),
+      menuItem('DESTR0Y', {
+        action: '/api/destroy/',
+        confirm: `destroy ${c.name}? container removed; state + creds kept.`,
+      }),
+      menuItem('PURG3', {
+        action: '/api/destroy/',
+        body: { purge: 'on' },
+        confirm: `PURGE ${c.name}? WIPES container, config history, claude creds, and notes. no undo.`,
+      }),
+    );
+
+    if (c.deployed_sha && forgeBase) {
+      const li = el('li', { role: 'presentation' });
+      const a = el('a', {
+        class: 'agent-menu-item',
+        href: `${forgeBase}/agent-configs/${encodeURIComponent(c.name)}/commit/${c.deployed_sha}`,
+        target: '_blank',
+        rel: 'noopener',
+        role: 'menuitem',
+        title: 'deployed config commit on forge',
+      }, `deployed:${c.deployed_sha} ↗`);
+      li.append(a);
+      dropdown.append(menuSep(), li);
+    }
+
+    btn.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
+      e.stopPropagation();
+      const wasOpen = openInstances.has(this);
+      closeAll();
+      if (!wasOpen) this.open();
+    });
+
+    root.append(btn, dropdown);
+  }
+
+  disconnectedCallback() {
+    // Guards against a stale entry if the element is removed from the DOM
+    // (row re-render, tab switch) while its dropdown was still open.
+    openInstances.delete(this);
+  }
+
+  open() {
+    this._dropdown.hidden = false;
+    this._btn.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'true');
+    this.style.setProperty('--menu-btn-opacity', '1');
+    openInstances.add(this);
+  }
+
+  close() {
+    if (!openInstances.has(this)) return;
+    this._dropdown.hidden = true;
+    this._btn.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'false');
+    this.style.removeProperty('--menu-btn-opacity');
+    openInstances.delete(this);
+  }
+}
+customElements.define('hive-agent-menu', HiveAgentMenu);
diff --git a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/dashboard.css b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/dashboard.css
index 916518a6..5e7e6912 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/dashboard.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/dashboard.css
@@ -279,78 +279,19 @@ body.dashboard-shell {
 }
 
 /* ── per-agent three-dot context menu ─────────────────────────────────────
-   Positioned after .card-body in the flex row. */
-.agent-menu {
-  flex: none;
-  position: relative;
-  align-self: flex-start;
-  margin-top: 0.3em;
-}
-.agent-menu-btn {
-  display: block;
-  background: none;
-  border: none;
-  color: var(--subtext0);
-  font-size: 1.1em;
-  line-height: 1;
-  cursor: pointer;
-  padding: 0.1em 0.4em;
-  border-radius: 4px;
-  opacity: 0;
-  transition: opacity 120ms, background 120ms, color 120ms;
-}
-.container-row:hover .agent-menu-btn,
-.agent-menu.open .agent-menu-btn {
-  opacity: 1;
-}
-.agent-menu-btn:hover,
-.agent-menu-btn:focus-visible {
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--purple) 10%, transparent);
-  color: var(--purple);
-  outline: none;
-}
-.agent-menu-btn:focus-visible {
-  outline: 1px solid var(--purple);
-}
-.agent-menu-dropdown {
-  position: absolute;
-  right: 0;
-  top: calc(100% + 2px);
-  z-index: 50;
-  background: var(--bg-elev);
-  border: 1px solid var(--purple-dim);
-  border-radius: 6px;
-  box-shadow: 0 4px 16px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
-  list-style: none;
-  margin: 0;
-  padding: 0.3em 0;
-  min-width: 10em;
-  white-space: nowrap;
-}
-.agent-menu-item {
-  display: block;
-  width: 100%;
-  background: none;
-  border: none;
-  color: var(--fg);
-  font-family: inherit;
-  font-size: 0.88em;
-  letter-spacing: 0.04em;
-  text-align: left;
-  padding: 0.4em 0.9em;
-  cursor: pointer;
-  text-decoration: none;
-  box-sizing: border-box;
-}
-.agent-menu-item:hover {
-  background: var(--border);
-  color: var(--purple);
-}
-.agent-menu-sep {
-  height: 1px;
-  background: var(--purple-dim);
-  margin: 0.3em 0;
-  padding: 0;
+   Positioned after .card-body in the flex row. The menu itself is the
+   <hive-agent-menu> shadow-DOM custom element (agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.js
+   + .css) — its own shadow-scoped stylesheet carries the button/dropdown/
+   item/separator rules and the `:host` rules that play the structural
+   role this light-DOM wrapper used to play. The one rule that still has
+   to live out here is the hover reveal: a light-DOM descendant-combinator
+   selector can't reach into the shadow tree, so it's relayed across the
+   shadow boundary via the `--menu-btn-opacity` custom property (custom
+   properties inherit through shadow boundaries) instead — the
+   component's own JS forces the same variable to 1 while its dropdown is
+   open (see hive-agent-menu.js's open()/close()). */
+.container-row:hover hive-agent-menu {
+  --menu-btn-opacity: 1;
 }
 /* Pending state splits queued vs running. */
 .container-row.pending .actions { opacity: 0.4; pointer-events: none; }
diff --git a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/swarm.js b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/swarm.js
index eb906ec5..5ed2e69d 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/swarm.js
+++ b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/swarm.js
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { themedConfirm, themedToast } from '@hive/shared/modal.js';
 import {
   containersState, questionsState,
 } from './state.js';
+import { closeAllAgentMenus } from './agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.js';
 
 // Context-window badge thresholds. Preferred source is each container's
 // `context_window_tokens` from /api/state (the real window for the model
@@ -45,8 +46,6 @@ const transientsState = new Map();
 // tab-gated visibility).
 const selectionState = new Set();
 
-let openAgentMenu = null; // currently open dropdown element, or null
-
 // ─── rebuild queue ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 export function syncRebuildQueueFromSnapshot(s) {
@@ -186,192 +185,16 @@ document.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
 // stopped; rebuild + destroy/purge always shown.
 // The button is CSS-invisible until the row is hovered (or menu is
 // open) so it doesn't clutter quiet rows.
-
-function closeAllAgentMenus() {
-  if (!openAgentMenu) return;
-  openAgentMenu.hidden = true;
-  const wrap = openAgentMenu.closest('.agent-menu');
-  if (wrap) {
-    wrap.classList.remove('open');
-    const btn = wrap.querySelector('.agent-menu-btn');
-    if (btn) btn.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'false');
-  }
-  openAgentMenu = null;
-}
-
-// Close on any click outside an agent-menu element.
-document.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
-  if (!e.target.closest('.agent-menu')) closeAllAgentMenus();
-}, true);
-// Close on Escape. stopImmediatePropagation so the selection-clear
-// handler on the same element doesn't also fire when a menu is open.
-document.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
-  if (e.key === 'Escape' && openAgentMenu) {
-    closeAllAgentMenus();
-    e.stopImmediatePropagation();
-  }
-}, true);
-
-// Single-agent POST helper shared by all menu items.
-async function agentMenuPost(actionPath, name, body, graceful) {
-  const url = actionPath + encodeURIComponent(name) + (graceful ? '?graceful=true' : '');
-  try {
-    const resp = await fetch(url, {
-      method: 'POST',
-      headers: body ? { 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded' } : {},
-      body: body ? new URLSearchParams(body) : undefined,
-      redirect: 'manual',
-    });
-    const ok = resp.ok || resp.type === 'opaqueredirect'
-      || (resp.status >= 200 && resp.status < 400);
-    if (!ok) {
-      const text = await resp.text().catch(() => '');
-      themedToast('action failed: ' + resp.status + (text ? '\n\n' + text : ''), { type: 'error' });
-    }
-  } catch (err) {
-    themedToast('action failed: ' + err, { type: 'error' });
-  }
-}
-
+// Rendering + all interaction/coordination logic lives in the
+// <hive-agent-menu> shadow-DOM custom element (./agent-menu/hive-agent-menu.js,
+// imported above for its `closeAllAgentMenus` export and its
+// customElements.define side effect); this is a thin wrapper matching
+// <hive-dialog>'s `._opts`-before-append convention, since a custom
+// element created via `document.createElement` can't take constructor args.
 function buildAgentMenu(c, forgeBase) {
-  const wrap = el('div', { class: 'agent-menu' });
-  const btn = el('button', {
-    type: 'button',
-    class: 'agent-menu-btn',
-    title: `actions for ${c.name}`,
-    'aria-label': `actions for ${c.name}`,
-    'aria-haspopup': 'menu',
-    'aria-expanded': 'false',
-  }, '⋮');
-
-  const dropdown = el('ul', { class: 'agent-menu-dropdown', hidden: true, role: 'menu' });
-
-  function menuItem(label, opts) {
-    const li = el('li', { role: 'presentation' });
-    const item = el('button', {
-      type: 'button',
-      class: 'agent-menu-item',
-      role: 'menuitem',
-    }, label);
-    item.addEventListener('click', async () => {
-      closeAllAgentMenus();
-      let graceful = false;
-      if (opts.confirm) {
-        const r = await themedConfirm({
-          message: opts.confirm,
-          danger: true,
-          confirmLabel: opts.confirmLabel || 'confirm',
-          checkboxes: opts.graceful
-            ? [{ name: 'graceful', label: opts.gracefulLabel || 'stop gracefully — let the agent finish its turn and flush state before the container stops' }]
-            : [],
-        });
-        if (!r) return;
-        graceful = !!r.graceful;
-      }
-      await agentMenuPost(opts.action, c.name, opts.body || null, graceful);
-    });
-    li.append(item);
-    return li;
-  }
-
-  function menuSep() {
-    return el('li', { class: 'agent-menu-sep', role: 'separator' });
-  }
-
-  // Navigation link item (opens in same tab by default).
-  function menuLink(label, href, title) {
-    const li = el('li', { role: 'presentation' });
-    const a = el('a', {
-      class: 'agent-menu-item',
-      href,
-      role: 'menuitem',
-      title: title || '',
-    }, label);
-    a.addEventListener('click', () => closeAllAgentMenus());
-    li.append(a);
-    return li;
-  }
-
-  // Show only actions that are applicable in the current state.
-  if (c.running) {
-    dropdown.append(
-      menuItem('↺ R3ST4RT', {
-        action: '/api/restart/',
-        confirm: `restart ${c.name}?`,
-        graceful: true,
-        gracefulLabel: 'restart gracefully — let the agent finish its turn and flush state before the container restarts',
-      }),
-      menuItem('■ ST0P', { action: '/api/kill/', confirm: `stop ${c.name}?`, confirmLabel: '■ stop', graceful: true }),
-    );
-  } else {
-    dropdown.append(
-      menuItem('▶ ST4RT', { action: '/api/start/', confirm: `start ${c.name}?` }),
-    );
-  }
-  // Pause/resume is orthogonal to running: a paused stopped agent boots
-  // paused; a paused running agent keeps its container but drives no turns.
-  if (c.paused) {
-    dropdown.append(
-      menuItem('▶ R3SUM3', { action: '/api/resume/', confirm: `resume ${c.name}? the turn loop restarts and drains queued messages.` }),
-    );
-  } else {
-    dropdown.append(
-      menuItem('⏸ P4US3', { action: '/api/pause/', confirm: `pause ${c.name}? parks the turn loop — inbox messages queue unacked.` }),
-    );
-  }
-  dropdown.append(
-    menuSep(),
-    menuItem('↻ R3BU1LD', { action: '/api/rebuild/', confirm: `rebuild ${c.name}? hot-reloads the container.` }),
-    menuSep(),
-    // Deep-link to the AGENT log tab pre-filtered to this container.
-    // The ?agent= param is read by logs.js on load and pre-selects this
-    // agent's journal without extra clicks.
-    menuLink('journal logs →',
-      `/logs.html?agent=${encodeURIComponent(c.name)}#agent`,
-      `view ${c.name} journal logs`),
-  );
-
-  dropdown.append(
-    menuSep(),
-    menuItem('DESTR0Y', {
-      action: '/api/destroy/',
-      confirm: `destroy ${c.name}? container removed; state + creds kept.`,
-    }),
-    menuItem('PURG3', {
-      action: '/api/destroy/',
-      body: { purge: 'on' },
-      confirm: `PURGE ${c.name}? WIPES container, config history, claude creds, and notes. no undo.`,
-    }),
-  );
-
-  if (c.deployed_sha && forgeBase) {
-    const li = el('li', { role: 'presentation' });
-    const a = el('a', {
-      class: 'agent-menu-item',
-      href: `${forgeBase}/agent-configs/${encodeURIComponent(c.name)}/commit/${c.deployed_sha}`,
-      target: '_blank',
-      rel: 'noopener',
-      role: 'menuitem',
-      title: 'deployed config commit on forge',
-    }, `deployed:${c.deployed_sha} ↗`);
-    li.append(a);
-    dropdown.append(menuSep(), li);
-  }
-
-  btn.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
-    e.stopPropagation();
-    const wasHidden = dropdown.hidden;
-    closeAllAgentMenus();
-    if (wasHidden) {
-      dropdown.hidden = false;
-      btn.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'true');
-      wrap.classList.add('open');
-      openAgentMenu = dropdown;
-    }
-  });
-
-  wrap.append(btn, dropdown);
-  return wrap;
+  const menu = document.createElement('hive-agent-menu');
+  menu._opts = { c, forgeBase };
+  return menu;
 }
 
 // ─── port conflicts ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────