diff --git a/hypr/lid_state.conf b/hypr/lid_state.conf
deleted file mode 100644
index e8e4907..0000000
--- a/hypr/lid_state.conf
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-monitor=eDP-1, disable
diff --git a/hypr/lua/monitors.lua b/hypr/lua/monitors.lua
index 86f0083..ed3e174 100644
--- a/hypr/lua/monitors.lua
+++ b/hypr/lua/monitors.lua
@@ -20,7 +20,12 @@ M.external = {
     { output = "desc:Samsung Electric Company LC27G7xT H4ZRA00734", mode = "2560x1440@240", position = "-2560x0", scale = 1 },
 }
 
-M.builtin = { output = M.laptop, mode = "1920x1080@60", position = "0x0", scale = 1 }
+-- `disabled = false` is load-bearing, not decoration. hl.monitor() merges into
+-- whatever rule the output already has, so a spec that simply omits the flag
+-- leaves an earlier `disabled = true` in place: the panel stays dark and the
+-- mode/position are applied to a monitor nobody can see. Opening the lid while
+-- docked hit exactly that.
+M.builtin = { output = M.laptop, mode = "1920x1080@60", position = "0x0", scale = 1, disabled = false }
 
 -- Anything not declared above falls back to Hyprland's auto placement, so a
 -- borrowed projector or a monitor at the office still lights up.
diff --git a/quickshell/bar/Bar.qml b/quickshell/bar/Bar.qml
index 12df02b..57eca11 100644
--- a/quickshell/bar/Bar.qml
+++ b/quickshell/bar/Bar.qml
@@ -115,10 +115,17 @@ PanelWindow {
         implicitWidth: Theme.padM * 2
         implicitHeight: Theme.barHeight
 
+        // A leaning hairline needs a box wide enough to hold the lean: at 20px
+        // tall the top edge sits 20 * skew ≈ 5px right of the bottom one, so a
+        // 1px-wide Skew folded into a bowtie instead. Width is the lean plus the
+        // stroke the rule should actually read as.
+        readonly property real ruleWeight: 1.5
+        readonly property real ruleHeight: 20
+
         Skew {
             anchors.centerIn: parent
-            width: 1
-            height: 20
+            width: parent.ruleHeight * Theme.skew + parent.ruleWeight
+            height: parent.ruleHeight
             color: Theme.alpha(Theme.outline, 0.9)
         }
     }
diff --git a/quickshell/bar/BarPill.qml b/quickshell/bar/BarPill.qml
index 4c13c26..05161ee 100644
--- a/quickshell/bar/BarPill.qml
+++ b/quickshell/bar/BarPill.qml
@@ -37,9 +37,15 @@ Item {
     // crimson line struck through its bottom edge on hover. Reserving the band
     // and centring content in what is left is what keeps the rule under the
     // module instead of across it.
+    // The band reserved the full rule plus its inset — 7px off a 40px module,
+    // all of it taken from the bottom — so every module's content was centred
+    // 3.5px above the slab's own centre and the whole bar read as top-heavy.
+    // The rule is pushed closer to the edge now and the band keeps only enough
+    // clearance to stop the tallest content (the media pill's 24px art) from
+    // touching it, so content sits within a pixel of the slab's centre line.
     readonly property real ruleHeight: 2
-    readonly property real ruleInset: 5
-    readonly property real ruleBand: root.standalone ? 0 : root.ruleHeight + root.ruleInset
+    readonly property real ruleInset: 3
+    readonly property real ruleBand: root.standalone ? 0 : 2
 
     // Modules with a notion of progress (the player's track position) draw it in
     // the same band, so it can never be struck through the content. A module
diff --git a/quickshell/bar/Clock.qml b/quickshell/bar/Clock.qml
index 8d8fcbc..f7325dd 100644
--- a/quickshell/bar/Clock.qml
+++ b/quickshell/bar/Clock.qml
@@ -50,18 +50,54 @@ BarPill {
             }
         }
 
+        // Declared with room for its own lean, so the slash sits inside the box
+        // the Row gave it instead of hanging several px into the date column.
         Skew {
             anchors.verticalCenter: parent.verticalCenter
-            width: 2
+            width: 22 * Theme.skew + 3
             height: 22
             color: Theme.alpha(Theme.accent, 0.6)
         }
 
+        // Archivo Black's digits are not all the same width, so a clock sized to
+        // its own text changed width as the minutes rolled over — 11:11 is
+        // several px narrower than 08:48 — and shoved the rest of the bar
+        // around. Reserve the widest possible reading and centre inside it.
+        TextMetrics {
+            id: timeMetrics
+            text: "88:88"
+            font.family: Theme.fontDisplay
+            font.pixelSize: Theme.fsTitle
+            font.weight: Theme.weightDisplay
+            font.italic: true
+            font.letterSpacing: 0.5
+        }
+
+        // Archivo Black reserves descender room the time never uses — "12:04"
+        // is all cap height — so centring the line box left the digits sitting
+        // above everything beside them. Centre the ink instead.
+        // `tightBoundingRect` is measured from the baseline, so the ink's top
+        // inside the line box is `ascent + ink.y`.
+        readonly property real timeInkOffset: {
+            const ink = timeMetrics.tightBoundingRect;
+            if (ink.height <= 0) return 0;
+            const inkCentre = timeFont.ascent + ink.y + ink.height / 2;
+            return Math.round(timeMetrics.boundingRect.height / 2 - inkCentre);
+        }
+
+        FontMetrics {
+            id: timeFont
+            font: timeMetrics.font
+        }
+
         SplitText {
             id: timeText
             anchors.verticalCenter: parent.verticalCenter
+            anchors.verticalCenterOffset: layout.timeInkOffset
+            width: timeMetrics.advanceWidth
             text: Qt.formatDateTime(clock.date, "HH:mm")
             pixelSize: Theme.fsTitle
+            horizontalAlignment: Text.AlignHCenter
             split: 1.4
         }
 
diff --git a/quickshell/bar/Rail.qml b/quickshell/bar/Rail.qml
index 67fd5e2..3055d60 100644
--- a/quickshell/bar/Rail.qml
+++ b/quickshell/bar/Rail.qml
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ PanelWindow {
             id: volIcon
             icon: Audio.icon
             readout: Audio.muted ? "" : Audio.volumePercent + "%"
+            reserveReadout: true
             label: "Volume"
             statusText: Audio.muted ? "Muted" : Audio.volumePercent + "% · " + Audio.sinkName
             hint: "Scroll to adjust"
@@ -162,6 +163,7 @@ PanelWindow {
             readout: Notifs.unread > 0
                 ? (Notifs.unread > 9 ? "9+" : String(Notifs.unread))
                 : ""
+            reserveReadout: true
             dim: Notifs.dnd
             alert: Notifs.hasUnread && !Notifs.dnd
             suppressTooltip: notifPopout.detailActive
@@ -187,10 +189,17 @@ PanelWindow {
         implicitWidth: Theme.railWidth
         implicitHeight: Theme.padM + 4
 
+        // Same correction as the bar's divider, on the other axis: a 22px rule
+        // rises 22 * skew ≈ 5px across its run, so the box has to be that tall
+        // plus the weight of the stroke. At height 1 the polygon inverted and
+        // the rule rendered as a stubby wedge sitting left of centre.
+        readonly property real ruleWeight: 1.5
+        readonly property real ruleWidth: 22
+
         Skew {
             anchors.centerIn: parent
-            width: 22
-            height: 1
+            width: parent.ruleWidth
+            height: parent.ruleWidth * Theme.skew + parent.ruleWeight
             vertical: true
             color: Theme.alpha(Theme.outline, 0.9)
         }
diff --git a/quickshell/bar/RailIcon.qml b/quickshell/bar/RailIcon.qml
index 403d73a..abfeb62 100644
--- a/quickshell/bar/RailIcon.qml
+++ b/quickshell/bar/RailIcon.qml
@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@ Item {
     property bool dim: false
     property bool pulsing: false
 
+    // Hold the readout line open even while there is nothing to put in it.
+    // Volume drops its percentage when muted and the bell only carries a count
+    // when something is unread, so without this the slot collapsed from 42px to
+    // 32px and every icon below it jumped a third of its own height.
+    property bool reserveReadout: false
+
+    readonly property bool hasReadout: root.readout !== "" || root.reserveReadout
     readonly property bool hovered: hover.hovered
 
     // Clearance between the wipe and the rail's left edge, chosen so the bar
@@ -31,16 +38,42 @@ Item {
     signal scrolled(real delta)
 
     implicitWidth: Theme.railWidth
-    implicitHeight: root.readout !== "" ? 42 : 32
+    implicitHeight: root.hasReadout ? root.glyphBand + readoutLine.height + 1 : root.glyphBand
 
-    Column {
+    // The glyph always sits centred in a fixed band at the top of the slot and
+    // the readout hangs below it, rather than the pair being centred together.
+    // Centring the pair meant the icon slid up and down by a few px whenever its
+    // number appeared or vanished — the icons stopped lining up with each other
+    // exactly when something was changing and you were looking at them.
+    readonly property real glyphBand: 32
+
+    // Nerd Font's status glyphs are not all centred inside their own advance —
+    // the muted-speaker and muted-mic marks carry their cross out to the right,
+    // so centring the advance box left them visibly off-axis next to the wifi
+    // and bluetooth glyphs. Centre the ink instead, capped so a glyph with an
+    // odd bounding box cannot slide far off the rail's axis.
+    readonly property real opticalShift: {
+        const ink = glyphMetrics.tightBoundingRect;
+        if (ink.width <= 0) return 0;
+        const off = glyphMetrics.advanceWidth / 2 - (ink.x + ink.width / 2);
+        return Math.max(-4, Math.min(4, off));
+    }
+
+    TextMetrics {
+        id: glyphMetrics
+        text: root.icon
+        font.family: Theme.fontIcon
+        font.pixelSize: Theme.fsLarge
+    }
+
+    Item {
         id: layout
-        anchors.centerIn: parent
-        spacing: 1
+        anchors.fill: parent
 
         Icon {
             id: glyph
-            anchors.horizontalCenter: parent.horizontalCenter
+            x: (root.width - width) / 2 + root.opticalShift
+            y: (root.glyphBand - height) / 2
             text: root.icon
             pulsing: root.pulsing
             font.pixelSize: Theme.fsLarge
@@ -57,7 +90,10 @@ Item {
         }
 
         Text {
+            id: readoutLine
             anchors.horizontalCenter: parent.horizontalCenter
+            anchors.top: parent.top
+            anchors.topMargin: root.glyphBand + 1
             visible: root.readout !== ""
             text: root.readout
             color: root.dim ? Theme.muted : Theme.subtext
@@ -88,7 +124,7 @@ Item {
         anchors.leftMargin: root.wipeInset
         anchors.verticalCenter: parent.verticalCenter
         width: 2
-        height: root.hovered ? layout.implicitHeight : 0
+        height: root.hovered ? root.height - 4 : 0
         color: Theme.glow
 
         Behavior on height {
diff --git a/quickshell/bar/Resources.qml b/quickshell/bar/Resources.qml
index b58dd7c..1d43411 100644
--- a/quickshell/bar/Resources.qml
+++ b/quickshell/bar/Resources.qml
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ BarPill {
             label: "CPU"
             value: Sys.cpuUsage
             readout: Math.round(Sys.cpuUsage) + "%"
+            widest: "100%"
         }
 
         Divider {}
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ BarPill {
             label: "MEM"
             value: Sys.memPercent
             readout: Sys.memUsed.toFixed(1) + "G"
+            widest: "88.8G"
         }
 
         Divider { visible: Sys.gpuAvailable }
@@ -46,14 +48,23 @@ BarPill {
             label: "GPU"
             value: Sys.gpuUsage
             readout: Math.round(Sys.gpuUsage) + "%"
+            widest: "100%"
         }
     }
 
-    component Divider: Skew {
+    component Divider: Item {
         anchors.verticalCenter: parent.verticalCenter
-        width: 1
-        height: 18
-        color: Theme.alpha(Theme.outline, 0.8)
+        implicitWidth: rule.width
+        implicitHeight: 18
+
+        // Sized to hold its own lean — see the note on the bar's divider.
+        Skew {
+            id: rule
+            anchors.centerIn: parent
+            width: parent.height * Theme.skew + 1
+            height: parent.height
+            color: Theme.alpha(Theme.outline, 0.8)
+        }
     }
 
     // A tiny fixed label makes every number self-describing without turning the
@@ -65,14 +76,35 @@ BarPill {
         property real value: 0
         property string readout: ""
 
+        // The widest reading this metric will ever show. The number column is
+        // sized from this rather than from the live text, because sizing to the
+        // live text is what made the whole right-hand group breathe in and out:
+        // "9%" and "100%" are ~14px apart in Archivo Black, so every tick of the
+        // CPU sampler nudged the metrics, the media pill and the clock sideways.
+        // Reserving the maximum costs a few px of blank and buys a bar that
+        // never moves.
+        property string widest: "100%"
+
+        readonly property real numberWidth: Math.max(gauge.width, metrics.advanceWidth)
+        readonly property real headWidth: labelText.implicitWidth + head.spacing + numberWidth
+
         anchors.verticalCenter: parent.verticalCenter
         spacing: 2
+        width: Math.max(headWidth, 44)
+
+        TextMetrics {
+            id: metrics
+            text: metric.widest
+            font: gauge.font
+        }
 
         Row {
+            id: head
             spacing: 4
 
             Text {
-                anchors.baseline: readoutText.baseline
+                id: labelText
+                anchors.baseline: gauge.baseline
                 text: metric.label
                 color: Theme.muted
                 font.family: Theme.fontMono
@@ -83,7 +115,7 @@ BarPill {
             }
 
             Text {
-                id: readoutText
+                id: gauge
                 text: metric.readout
                 color: Theme.heat(metric.value)
                 font.family: Theme.fontDisplay
@@ -99,12 +131,15 @@ BarPill {
             }
         }
 
+        // Ends flush with the reading above it instead of stopping short at a
+        // fixed 43px, so each metric reads as one block.
         MeterBar {
             value: metric.value
             segments: 9
-            segmentWidth: 3
             spacing: 2
             height: 5
+            width: metric.width
+            segmentWidth: (width - 8 * spacing) / 9
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/quickshell/components/Skew.qml b/quickshell/components/Skew.qml
index 9fbed52..7e61547 100644
--- a/quickshell/components/Skew.qml
+++ b/quickshell/components/Skew.qml
@@ -31,6 +31,20 @@ Shape {
     // rail slab.
     property bool vertical: false
 
+    // NOTE ON SIZING. The lean shifts one edge by `lean * height` (or by
+    // `lean * width` when vertical), and the piece that actually gets painted is
+    // what is left: a Skew declared 1px wide and 20px tall does not draw a 1px
+    // rule at an angle, it draws a rule |1 - 20 * 0.249| = 4px thick that hangs
+    // 4px to the *left* of the box it was given. That is why the bar's and the
+    // rail's hairlines came out fat and off-centre. A thin leaning rule has to be
+    // declared with room for its own lean — `height * Theme.skew + weight` — and
+    // the call sites that draw one now do exactly that.
+    //
+    // Zero-sized pieces still have a lean offset, so a collapsed hover wipe or a
+    // meter at 0 drew a sub-pixel wedge of pure accent — the stray red dot under
+    // the metrics. Nothing with no extent should paint at all.
+    visible: root.width > 0 && root.height > 0
+
     preferredRendererType: Shape.CurveRenderer
     asynchronous: false