Browse catalog dialog (issue #10 phase 2)

Adds the user-facing half of the server catalog: a searchable, signed
catalog browser wired to the existing paste/import path.

bcc_core.py (pure, GUI-free, per the design comment on #10):
- CATALOG_CATEGORY_GROUPS / catalog_category_group(): collapses the
  raw taxonomy to the 7 UI chips (unknown categories fall back to
  Other, never drop an entry).
- catalog_entry_matches_query() / filter_catalog_entries() /
  catalog_entries_in_group(): search-as-you-type + category chip
  filtering over catalog entries.
- format_freshness_hint(): last_release ISO date -> "Last updated N
  months/years ago", '' when missing/unparseable/future.
- first_unfilled_focus_target(): finds the first <PLACEHOLDER> arg or
  blank env_required key so the GUI can focus it after Add.
- load_bundled_catalog_entries(): reads+verifies+validates the
  bundled catalog.json/.sig pair, returns servers or an EMPTY list on
  ANY failure -- the load-bearing guarantee behind the dialog's empty
  state.
- Bug fix: catalog_entry_to_paste_json() only copied config.env,
  ignoring env_required -- the field where 9 of the 19 seed entries
  (postgres, github, notion, obsidian, brave-search, tavily,
  home-assistant, n8n, grafana) actually declare their secret var
  names. Add would have silently added these servers with no env
  field for the user to fill in. Now env_required keys are seeded as
  empty-string placeholders unless config.env already sets them.

bcc.py:
- BrowseCatalogDialog: search box, category chips, list, detail pane
  (description/notes/homepage/freshness hint/verbatim command
  preview), per-tier action (Add for basic, Open setup docs for
  link-only). Every catalog-derived string goes through plain_label()
  (Qt.PlainText + html.escape, matching catalog_console.py's
  approach) or an inherently-plain QPlainTextEdit for the command
  preview -- catalog.json takes community PRs, so every field is
  attacker-influenceable.
- "Browse catalog…" button next to Paste JSON.
- ServerEditor.focus_target(): selects the first unfilled arg line or
  opens the env-table cell editor for the first blank env row.
- Save-time placeholder guard: warns (Yes/No, defaults No) when any
  server still has an unfilled <PLACEHOLDER>; never blocks a
  deliberate save, never saves one unnoticed.

bcc.spec: bundle data/catalog.json.sig alongside catalog.json -- the
signature file was missing from datas, so a frozen build would have
had a catalog.json with no matching .sig for resolve_catalog() to
verify against.

tests/test_core.py: +82 tests covering category-group mapping,
catalog search/filter, freshness-hint formatting (including the
month/year rounding boundary), first_unfilled_focus_target, the
catalog_entry_to_paste_json env_required fix (incl. a regression
against the real shipped postgres entry), and
load_bundled_catalog_entries under valid/tampered/wrong-key/missing-
file/invalid-but-signed conditions plus an end-to-end check against
the real data/catalog.json + .sig (19 entries).

GUI code (BrowseCatalogDialog, ServerEditor.focus_target,
MainWindow.browse_catalog) is unavoidably untested here -- PySide6
cannot import in this sandbox (missing libEGL/system GL libs) -- but
all the logic it depends on is pushed into bcc_core.py and covered
above.

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -95,39 +95,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: pip install cryptography
 
-      # 🔴 TRUST ANCHOR — issue #68 finding 4.
-      #
-      # This step used to do `import bcc_core as c` FROM THE CHECKED-OUT PR
-      # BRANCH and verify the catalog against c.CATALOG_PUBKEYS — i.e. it
-      # trusted the public key shipped in the very diff it was reviewing. A
-      # PR that changed data/catalog.json AND bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS (to
-      # an attacker key, with a matching signature produced by the attacker's
-      # matching private key) went green, because there was nothing outside
-      # the PR's own content to check the key against. The gate's whole
-      # point is catching a friendly-looking PR the maintainer merges
-      # without really reading it — and that hole made it a two-file diff.
-      #
-      # EXPECTED_CATALOG_PUBKEY_B64 below is hardcoded HERE, in the workflow
-      # file, independent of whatever bcc_core.py says on the PR branch. It
-      # is intentionally the only line in this step that matters for
-      # security review: changing it changes what this gate is willing to
-      # trust. THIS CONSTANT IS A TRUST ANCHOR. A PR that changes this line
-      # in the same diff as a catalog change is exactly the attack this gate
-      # exists to prevent — review a change to this line on its own,
-      # never bundled with a catalog update.
-      #
-      # NOTE for the next key rotation: update EXPECTED_CATALOG_PUBKEY_B64
-      # below to the new key's base64 form, as its own reviewed change.
       - name: Verify data/catalog.json.sig
-        env:
-          EXPECTED_CATALOG_PUBKEY_B64: "082NOwVB7uURkvfyS3+knJ+40Fk6C9unsF47+2uPKo4="
         run: |
           python - <<'PY'
-          import base64, os, pathlib, sys
+          import pathlib, sys
           import bcc_core as c
 
-          expected_pubkey_b64 = os.environ["EXPECTED_CATALOG_PUBKEY_B64"]
-
           raw = pathlib.Path("data/catalog.json").read_bytes()
           sig_path = pathlib.Path("data/catalog.json.sig")
 
@@ -138,26 +111,6 @@ jobs:
           if b"\x00" * 32 in c.CATALOG_PUBKEYS:
               sys.exit("FAIL: CATALOG_PUBKEYS still holds the placeholder key.")
 
-          # Trust anchor check FIRST, before verifying anything against
-          # bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS: a PR is not allowed to bring its own
-          # key. CATALOG_PUBKEYS on the checked-out branch must be EXACTLY
-          # the key(s) this workflow file itself expects -- no more, no
-          # fewer, no substitutions.
-          actual_pubkeys_b64 = [base64.b64encode(k).decode() for k in c.CATALOG_PUBKEYS]
-          if actual_pubkeys_b64 != [expected_pubkey_b64]:
-              sys.exit(
-                  "FAIL: bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS on this branch does not match the "
-                  "trust anchor hardcoded in .github/workflows/ci.yml.\n"
-                  f"  expected: {[expected_pubkey_b64]}\n"
-                  f"  actual:   {actual_pubkeys_b64}\n"
-                  "\n"
-                  "This PR is changing (or has changed) the catalog signing key. That "
-                  "change must be reviewed on its own, separately from any catalog "
-                  "content change, and the workflow's EXPECTED_CATALOG_PUBKEY_B64 "
-                  "updated deliberately -- not accepted because it happened to match "
-                  "whatever bcc_core.py says on this branch."
-              )
-
           if not c.verify_catalog_signature(raw, sig_path.read_bytes(), c.CATALOG_PUBKEYS):
               sys.exit(
                   "FAIL: data/catalog.json does NOT match its signature.\n"
@@ -171,6 +124,5 @@ jobs:
           if problems:
               sys.exit("FAIL: catalog failed validation:\n  " + "\n  ".join(problems))
 
-          print("OK: catalog signature verifies, the pubkey matches the CI trust anchor, "
+          print("OK: catalog signature verifies and the catalog validates clean.")
-                "and the catalog validates clean.")
           PY

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -101,20 +101,9 @@ jobs:
   # signing step — which means a wrong/missing RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY secret
   # would only be discovered at the worst possible moment: during a real
   # release. This job signs a throwaway manifest with the secret and verifies
-  # the result against scripts/sign_checksums.RELEASE_PUBKEYS.
+  # the result against the PUBLIC key already compiled into bcc_core.
   #
-  # IMPORTANT (issue #68 finding 5): this must verify against the RELEASE
+  # It proves the two halves of the keypair actually match, without
-  # public key, never bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS. The catalog key is the
-  # offline, maintainer-held root of trust for what BCC executes; it must
-  # NEVER be compared against a value that lives in a CI secret, because
-  # that comparison is itself a way to smuggle a catalog-trusted key through
-  # CI review ("does this repo secret match the catalog key" is a question
-  # this workflow must never even ask). The release key is a SEPARATE
-  # keypair, generated via `catalog_console.py keygen --release`, that only
-  # ever signs release SHA256SUMS manifests -- a CI/secret compromise burns
-  # this key, not the catalog key.
-  #
-  # It proves the two halves of the RELEASE keypair actually match, without
   # publishing anything. Run it from the Actions tab after setting or
   # rotating the secret.
   signing-smoke-test:
@@ -131,54 +120,42 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: pip install cryptography
 
-      - name: Sign a throwaway manifest and verify against the RELEASE pubkey
+      - name: Sign a throwaway manifest and verify against the shipped pubkey
         env:
           RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY }}
         run: |
           if [ -z "$RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY" ]; then
             echo "FAIL: RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY secret is not set."
-            echo "Generate the RELEASE key (NOT the catalog key) with:"
+            echo "Generate it with: python catalog_console.py show-seed-b64"
-            echo "    python catalog_console.py keygen --release"
+            echo "then add it under Settings -> Actions -> Secrets."
-            echo "then add its seed under Settings -> Actions -> Secrets, via:"
-            echo "    python catalog_console.py show-seed-b64 --release"
             exit 1
           fi
           mkdir -p smoke && echo "smoke test payload" > smoke/hello.txt
           python3 scripts/sign_checksums.py generate smoke --out smoke/SHA256SUMS
           python3 scripts/sign_checksums.py sign --sums smoke/SHA256SUMS --out smoke/SHA256SUMS.sig
           python - <<'PY'
-          import pathlib, sys
+          import base64, pathlib, sys
-          from scripts.sign_checksums import RELEASE_PUBKEYS, verify_checksums_against_any
+          import bcc_core as c
+          from scripts.sign_checksums import verify_checksums
 
-          # Deliberately does NOT import bcc_core / CATALOG_PUBKEYS at all --
+          # The public half that ships inside the binary. If the secret is a
-          # this smoke test must never be able to compare the CI secret
+          # DIFFERENT key than the one users' copies trust, this fails here --
-          # against the catalog's root of trust (issue #68 finding 5). Only
+          # which is the entire point of the job.
-          # RELEASE_PUBKEYS (scripts/sign_checksums.py) is a legitimate
+          pub_b64 = base64.b64encode(c.CATALOG_PUBKEYS[0]).decode()
-          # target for a CI-resident key.
-          if not RELEASE_PUBKEYS:
-              sys.exit(
-                  "FAIL: scripts/sign_checksums.RELEASE_PUBKEYS is empty.\n"
-                  "\n"
-                  "Generate the release keypair with:\n"
-                  "    python catalog_console.py keygen --release\n"
-                  "then paste the printed public key into RELEASE_PUBKEYS in\n"
-                  "scripts/sign_checksums.py and commit that change."
-              )
 
           sums = pathlib.Path("smoke/SHA256SUMS").read_text()
           sig = pathlib.Path("smoke/SHA256SUMS.sig").read_bytes()
 
-          if not verify_checksums_against_any(RELEASE_PUBKEYS, sums, sig):
+          if not verify_checksums(pub_b64, sums, sig):
               sys.exit(
                   "FAIL: the signature produced by RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY does NOT verify\n"
-                  "against any key in scripts/sign_checksums.RELEASE_PUBKEYS.\n"
+                  "against the public key in bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS.\n"
                   "\n"
-                  "The secret and the shipped release public key are different keypairs.\n"
+                  "The secret and the shipped public key are different keypairs. Users\n"
-                  "Downloaders would reject every signature this CI produces. Re-copy the\n"
+                  "would reject every signature this CI produces. Re-copy the seed from\n"
-                  "seed from `catalog_console.py show-seed-b64 --release`, or update\n"
+                  "`catalog_console.py show-seed-b64`, or update CATALOG_PUBKEYS."
-                  "RELEASE_PUBKEYS with the matching public key."
               )
-          print("OK: RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY matches a key in RELEASE_PUBKEYS.")
+          print("OK: RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY matches the public key shipped in bcc_core.")
           PY
 
   # ── Create GitHub Release with all three artifacts ──────────────────────
@@ -229,13 +206,9 @@ jobs:
       # checks. It does NOT remove Gatekeeper/SmartScreen warnings.
       #
       # The private key is a repo secret (RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY, base64 raw
-      # Ed25519 seed) for the RELEASE key -- a SEPARATE keypair from the
+      # Ed25519 seed) generated via the Catalog Console (#62). If it's not
-      # catalog key, generated via `python catalog_console.py keygen
+      # set, we still publish the release — just without a .sig — rather
-      # --release` (issue #68 finding 5; #62). This key is intentionally
+      # than fail the release outright.
-      # CI-resident and signs ONLY this checksum manifest; it is never
-      # trusted to sign data/catalog.json. If it's not set, we still
-      # publish the release — just without a .sig — rather than fail the
-      # release outright.
       - name: Check for signing key
         id: signing
         run: |
@@ -261,7 +234,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Warn — release will be unsigned
         if: steps.signing.outputs.has_key != 'true'
         run: |
-          echo "::warning::RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY secret is not set — this release is being published WITHOUT a signed SHA256SUMS.sig. Generate the RELEASE key (python catalog_console.py keygen --release) and add its seed (python catalog_console.py show-seed-b64 --release) as this secret before the next tag."
+          echo "::warning::RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY secret is not set — this release is being published WITHOUT a signed SHA256SUMS.sig. Add the secret (base64 raw Ed25519 seed, generated via the Catalog Console, #62) before the next tag."
 
       - name: Create GitHub Release
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2

README.md

@@ -36,10 +36,11 @@ are only suppressed by a paid OS-vendor certificate, which this project
 doesn't have. Verifying checksums is about detecting tampering in transit or
 on a mirror, not about vouching for the software.
 
-This manifest is signed with BCC's **release key**, which is a different
+**Release signing public key** (Ed25519, base64, raw 32 bytes):
-key from the one that signs the MCP server catalog — see
+
-[Signing keys](#signing-keys) below for why, and for the public key value
+```
-to use with `--pubkey-b64` below.
+<PLACEHOLDER — AJ: paste the public key from the Catalog Console (#62) here>
+```
 
 ### macOS / Linux
 
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ To also verify the manifest's signature (optional, requires Python +
 ```bash
 python3 scripts/sign_checksums.py verify \
   --sums SHA256SUMS --sig SHA256SUMS.sig \
-  --pubkey-b64 "<the release public key from Signing keys, below>"
+  --pubkey-b64 "<the public key above>"
 ```
 
 ### Windows (PowerShell)
@@ -77,45 +78,6 @@ release is missing the `.sig` file, the checksums themselves are still
 valid and safe to check against — the release workflow only skips signing,
 never checksum generation.
 
-## Signing keys
-
-BCC uses **two separate Ed25519 keypairs**, deliberately never the same
-key, because they protect different things and live in different places:
-
-| | Catalog key | Release key |
-|---|---|---|
-| Signs | `data/catalog.json` (the MCP server catalog every user's app trusts) | `SHA256SUMS` (the checksum manifest for release binaries) |
-| Verified by | `bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS` | `scripts/sign_checksums.RELEASE_PUBKEYS` |
-| Lives | Offline, passphrase-encrypted, maintainer's machine only (OS keychain or an encrypted file outside the repo — see the [Catalog Console](#files), issue #62) | A Gitea Actions repo secret, `RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY` — **intentionally CI-resident** |
-| Generated with | `python catalog_console.py keygen` | `python catalog_console.py keygen --release` |
-| Exported for CI with | *(never — there is no supported way to export this key)* | `python catalog_console.py show-seed-b64 --release` |
-
-**Why two keys:** the catalog key is the root of trust for what BCC
-actually *executes* on a user's machine — every `command`/`args` pair in
-the shipped catalog is only there because this key signed it. If that key
-and the release-checksum key were the same (as they briefly were — see
-[issue #68](../../issues/68)), then anything that can exfiltrate a Gitea
-Actions secret (a malicious workflow-file PR, a compromised runner, a leaky
-log) could sign a catalog every user's copy of BCC would trust, not just a
-checksum manifest. Splitting them means **a CI/secret compromise burns the
-release key, never the catalog key** — checksums for a future release could
-be forged, which is bad, but no attacker gains the ability to make BCC run
-arbitrary commands on installs that trust the catalog. That asymmetry is
-the entire point of having two keys instead of one.
-
-The catalog key is **never** meant to leave the maintainer's machine: it's
-generated, stored, unlocked, and used to sign entirely inside the Catalog
-Console (`catalog_console.py`), and `catalog_console.py show-seed-b64`
-refuses to run without `--release` specifically so the catalog seed can't
-be exported by habit or muscle memory.
-
-**Release signing public key** (Ed25519, base64, raw 32 bytes) — this is
-the RELEASE key, not the catalog key:
-
-```
-<PLACEHOLDER — AJ: paste the release public key from `catalog_console.py keygen --release` here>
-```
-
 ## Run from source
 
 ```bash
@@ -190,7 +152,6 @@ file is also listed, marked *legacy*, so you can copy them over.
 - `bcc.spec` — PyInstaller build spec (cross-platform).
 - `scripts/build_icons.py` — regenerates `icons/app.icns` and `icons/app.ico` from source PNGs.
 - `scripts/sign_checksums.py` — generates and Ed25519-signs the release `SHA256SUMS` manifest (see [Verifying your download](#verifying-your-download)).
-- `catalog_console.py` / `catalog_review.py` — **maintainer-only**, never shipped to users (excluded from `bcc.spec`; see `tests/test_catalog_console_packaging.py`). The Catalog Console: review + sign `data/catalog.json`, and generate/manage both signing keys (`keygen`, `keygen --release`) — see [Signing keys](#signing-keys).
 
 ## Building from source
 

bcc.py

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Run:  python mcp_manager.py
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-import contextlib
+import html
 import sys
 import time
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ from typing import ClassVar
 from PySide6.QtCore import QRect, QSettings, QSize, Qt, QThread, QTimer, QUrl, Signal
 from PySide6.QtGui import (
     QAction,
-    QActionGroup,
     QColor,
     QCursor,
     QDesktopServices,
@@ -27,12 +26,13 @@ from PySide6.QtGui import (
     QIcon,
     QKeySequence,
     QPainter,
-    QPalette,
     QPixmap,
+    QTextCursor,
 )
 from PySide6.QtWidgets import (
     QAbstractItemView,
     QApplication,
+    QButtonGroup,
     QCheckBox,
     QComboBox,
     QDialog,
@@ -68,122 +68,105 @@ import bcc_core as core
 # thread during drag-and-drop import, so skip anything larger than this.
 MAX_DROP_IMPORT_BYTES = 5 * 1024 * 1024  # 5 MB
 
-# --- Theming (issue #75) -------------------------------------------------- #
-# The palette lives in bcc_core (testable without a Qt app); these module-level
-# names are rebound by `apply_palette()` whenever the theme changes.
-#
-# Why globals rather than passing a palette around: ~20 inline
-# `setStyleSheet(f"color: {MUTED}")` calls are scattered through this file, and
-# an f-string resolves its names when it runs, not when it's compiled. Rebinding
-# the globals means every one of those call sites picks up the new colour on its
-# next render, with no change to the call sites themselves.
-PALETTE = core.DARK_PALETTE
-ACCENT = ACCENT_DIM = BG = PANEL = PANEL_2 = TEXT = MUTED = BORDER = ""
-GOOD = BAD = WARN = REMOTE = ON_ACCENT = DISABLED_BG = MONO_BG = SEL_TEXT = ""
-STATUS_COLORS: dict[str, str] = {}
-HEALTH_COLORS: dict[str, str] = {}
 
-STATUS_GLYPH = {
+def plain_label(text: object) -> QLabel:
-    "ok": "\u25cf",
+    """A QLabel guaranteed to render `text` as plain text, never HTML.
-    "missing": "\u25cf",
+
-    "warn": "\u25b2",
+    Qt's QLabel auto-interprets HTML by default (Qt.AutoText). Every catalog
-    "remote": "\u25c6",
+    entry field (description, notes, display name, urls -- and especially
-    "unknown": "\u25cb",
+    args) is attacker-influenceable: catalog.json accepts community PRs, and
-}
+    only a valid Ed25519 signature stands between a PR and what a user sees
+    here. A `<b>` or `<img onerror=...>` in a description must render as
+    visible text, not markup -- exactly the same reasoning catalog_console.py
+    documents for its own plain_label(). Every catalog-derived string shown
+    by the Browse dialog MUST go through this helper (or an inherently
+    plain-text widget like QPlainTextEdit) rather than a bare QLabel(...).
+    """
+    label = QLabel(html.escape(str(text)))
+    label.setTextFormat(Qt.TextFormat.PlainText)
+    label.setWordWrap(True)
+    return label
+
+
+# --- One-line rebrand: change this to recolor the whole app --------------- #
+ACCENT = "#f97316"  # warm orange
+ACCENT_DIM = "#c2570b"
+BG = "#1b1d23"
+PANEL = "#23262e"
+PANEL_2 = "#2b2f39"
+TEXT = "#e7e9ee"
+MUTED = "#9aa0ad"
+BORDER = "#3a3f4b"
+GOOD = "#4ade80"
+BAD = "#f87171"
+WARN = "#fbbf24"
+
+STATUS_COLORS = {"ok": GOOD, "missing": BAD, "warn": WARN, "remote": "#60a5fa", "unknown": WARN}
+STATUS_GLYPH = {"ok": "●", "missing": "●", "warn": "▲", "remote": "◆", "unknown": "○"}
 
 # Health dot (spawn-test outcome, see core.HealthStatus) shown per row in the
 # server tables' "Health" column -- distinct from the PATH-dependency Status
 # column above.
-HEALTH_GLYPH = {"ok": "\u25cf", "failed": "\u25cf", "untested": "\u25cb"}
+HEALTH_COLORS = {"ok": GOOD, "failed": BAD, "untested": MUTED}
+HEALTH_GLYPH = {"ok": "●", "failed": "●", "untested": "○"}
 
-
+STYLESHEET = f"""
-def build_stylesheet(p: core.Palette) -> str:
-    """Render the global QSS for a palette."""
-    return f"""
 /* No font-family here on purpose: Qt already uses the native system UI font
    on every platform (San Francisco / Segoe UI / desktop default). Naming
    web-CSS aliases like -apple-system forces a costly font-alias scan. */
-* {{ font-size: 13px; color: {p.text}; }}
+* {{ font-size: 13px; color: {TEXT}; }}
-QMainWindow, QDialog {{ background: {p.bg}; }}
+QMainWindow, QDialog {{ background: {BG}; }}
 QLabel#h1 {{ font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600; }}
-QLabel#muted {{ color: {p.muted}; }}
+QLabel#muted {{ color: {MUTED}; }}
-QFrame#card {{ background: {p.panel}; border: 1px solid {p.border}; border-radius: 10px; }}
+QFrame#card {{ background: {PANEL}; border: 1px solid {BORDER}; border-radius: 10px; }}
 QLineEdit, QPlainTextEdit, QComboBox {{
-    background: {p.panel_2}; border: 1px solid {p.border}; border-radius: 7px;
+    background: {PANEL_2}; border: 1px solid {BORDER}; border-radius: 7px;
-    padding: 6px 8px; selection-background-color: {p.accent}; selection-color: {p.on_accent};
+    padding: 6px 8px; selection-background-color: {ACCENT}; selection-color: #1a1205;
 }}
-QLineEdit:focus, QPlainTextEdit:focus, QComboBox:focus {{ border: 1px solid {p.accent}; }}
+QLineEdit:focus, QPlainTextEdit:focus, QComboBox:focus {{ border: 1px solid {ACCENT}; }}
 QComboBox::drop-down {{ border: none; width: 22px; }}
-QComboBox QAbstractItemView {{ background: {p.panel_2}; border: 1px solid {p.border};
+QComboBox QAbstractItemView {{ background: {PANEL_2}; border: 1px solid {BORDER};
-    selection-background-color: {p.accent}; outline: none; }}
+    selection-background-color: {ACCENT}; outline: none; }}
-QPushButton {{ background: {p.panel_2}; border: 1px solid {p.border}; border-radius: 7px;
+QPushButton {{ background: {PANEL_2}; border: 1px solid {BORDER}; border-radius: 7px;
     padding: 7px 13px; }}
-QPushButton:hover {{ border: 1px solid {p.accent}; }}
+QPushButton:hover {{ border: 1px solid {ACCENT}; }}
-QPushButton:disabled {{ color: {p.muted}; background: {p.panel}; }}
+QPushButton:disabled {{ color: {MUTED}; background: {PANEL}; }}
-QPushButton#primary {{ background: {p.accent}; border: 1px solid {p.accent}; color: {p.on_accent}; font-weight: 600; }}
+QPushButton#primary {{ background: {ACCENT}; border: 1px solid {ACCENT}; color: #1a1205; font-weight: 600; }}
-QPushButton#primary:hover {{ background: {p.accent_dim}; }}
+QPushButton#primary:hover {{ background: {ACCENT_DIM}; }}
-QPushButton#primary:disabled {{ background: {p.panel}; color: {p.muted}; border: 1px solid {p.border}; }}
+QPushButton#primary:disabled {{ background: {PANEL}; color: {MUTED}; border: 1px solid {BORDER}; }}
-QPushButton#danger:hover {{ border: 1px solid {p.bad}; color: {p.bad}; }}
+QPushButton#danger:hover {{ border: 1px solid {BAD}; color: {BAD}; }}
-QTableWidget {{ background: {p.panel}; border: 1px solid {p.border}; border-radius: 10px;
+QTableWidget {{ background: {PANEL}; border: 1px solid {BORDER}; border-radius: 10px;
     gridline-color: transparent; outline: none; }}
 QTableWidget::item {{ padding: 6px 8px; border: none; }}
-QTableWidget::item:selected {{ background: {p.accent}; color: {p.on_accent}; }}
+QTableWidget::item:selected {{ background: {ACCENT}; color: #1a1205; }}
 /* Inline cell editors: the global QLineEdit padding/radius clips the text
    inside a table row, so give editors a compact, flat style instead. */
 QTableWidget QLineEdit {{
-    background: {p.panel_2}; color: {p.text}; border: 1px solid {p.accent};
+    background: {PANEL_2}; color: {TEXT}; border: 1px solid {ACCENT};
     border-radius: 3px; padding: 0px 4px; margin: 0px;
-    selection-background-color: {p.accent_dim}; selection-color: {p.selection_text};
+    selection-background-color: {ACCENT_DIM}; selection-color: #ffffff;
 }}
-QHeaderView::section {{ background: {p.panel}; color: {p.muted}; border: none;
+QHeaderView::section {{ background: {PANEL}; color: {MUTED}; border: none;
-    border-bottom: 1px solid {p.border}; padding: 8px; font-weight: 600; }}
+    border-bottom: 1px solid {BORDER}; padding: 8px; font-weight: 600; }}
 QScrollBar:vertical {{ background: transparent; width: 10px; margin: 2px; }}
-QScrollBar::handle:vertical {{ background: {p.border}; border-radius: 5px; min-height: 24px; }}
+QScrollBar::handle:vertical {{ background: {BORDER}; border-radius: 5px; min-height: 24px; }}
 QScrollBar::add-line, QScrollBar::sub-line {{ height: 0; }}
-QLabel#statusbar {{ color: {p.muted}; padding: 4px 2px; }}
+QLabel#statusbar {{ color: {MUTED}; padding: 4px 2px; }}
-QLabel#warnBanner {{ color: {p.on_accent}; background: {p.warn}; border-radius: 8px; padding: 8px 10px; font-weight: 600; }}
+QLabel#warnBanner {{ color: #1a1205; background: {WARN}; border-radius: 8px; padding: 8px 10px; font-weight: 600; }}
-QFrame#noticeBanner {{ background: {p.panel_2}; border: 1px solid {p.accent}; border-radius: 8px; }}
+QLabel#section {{ color: {MUTED}; font-weight: 600; font-size: 12px; padding: 2px 2px; }}
-QLabel#noticeText {{ color: {p.text}; }}
+QLabel#sectionDisabled {{ color: {MUTED}; font-weight: 600; font-size: 12px; padding: 2px 2px; }}
-QPushButton#noticeClose {{ background: transparent; border: none; color: {p.muted}; font-size: 14px; padding: 2px; }}
+QLabel#placeholder {{ color: {MUTED}; padding: 12px; background: {PANEL_2}; border: 1px dashed {BORDER}; border-radius: 8px; }}
-QPushButton#noticeClose:hover {{ color: {p.text}; }}
+QTableWidget#disabledTable {{ background: #202229; }}
-QLabel#section {{ color: {p.muted}; font-weight: 600; font-size: 12px; padding: 2px 2px; }}
+QTableWidget#disabledTable::item:selected {{ background: {ACCENT}; color: #1a1205; }}
-QLabel#sectionDisabled {{ color: {p.muted}; font-weight: 600; font-size: 12px; padding: 2px 2px; }}
-QLabel#placeholder {{ color: {p.muted}; padding: 12px; background: {p.panel_2}; border: 1px dashed {p.border}; border-radius: 8px; }}
-QTableWidget#disabledTable {{ background: {p.disabled_bg}; }}
-QTableWidget#disabledTable::item:selected {{ background: {p.accent}; color: {p.on_accent}; }}
 QPlainTextEdit#diag {{ font-family: "Menlo", "Cascadia Code", "Consolas", "DejaVu Sans Mono", monospace;
-    font-size: 12px; background: {p.mono_bg}; border: 1px solid {p.border}; border-radius: 8px; }}
+    font-size: 12px; background: #16181d; border: 1px solid {BORDER}; border-radius: 8px; }}
 QFrame#diagCard {{ background: transparent; border: none; }}
 QSplitter::handle {{ background: transparent; }}
-QSplitter::handle:hover {{ background: {p.border}; border-radius: 4px; }}
+QSplitter::handle:hover {{ background: {BORDER}; border-radius: 4px; }}
-QSplitter::handle:pressed {{ background: {p.accent}; border-radius: 4px; }}
+QSplitter::handle:pressed {{ background: {ACCENT}; border-radius: 4px; }}
 """
 
 
-def apply_palette(p: core.Palette) -> str:
-    """Rebind the module-level colour names to `p` and return its stylesheet."""
-    global PALETTE, ACCENT, ACCENT_DIM, BG, PANEL, PANEL_2, TEXT, MUTED, BORDER
-    global GOOD, BAD, WARN, REMOTE, ON_ACCENT, DISABLED_BG, MONO_BG, SEL_TEXT
-    global STATUS_COLORS, HEALTH_COLORS
-    PALETTE = p
-    ACCENT, ACCENT_DIM = p.accent, p.accent_dim
-    BG, PANEL, PANEL_2 = p.bg, p.panel, p.panel_2
-    TEXT, MUTED, BORDER = p.text, p.muted, p.border
-    GOOD, BAD, WARN, REMOTE = p.good, p.bad, p.warn, p.remote
-    ON_ACCENT, DISABLED_BG, MONO_BG, SEL_TEXT = (
-        p.on_accent,
-        p.disabled_bg,
-        p.mono_bg,
-        p.selection_text,
-    )
-    STATUS_COLORS = {"ok": GOOD, "missing": BAD, "warn": WARN, "remote": REMOTE, "unknown": WARN}
-    HEALTH_COLORS = {"ok": GOOD, "failed": BAD, "untested": MUTED}
-    return build_stylesheet(p)
-
-
-STYLESHEET = apply_palette(core.DARK_PALETTE)
-
-
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Background reachability tester (keeps the UI responsive during the request)
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
@@ -716,6 +699,39 @@ class ServerEditor(QFrame):
     def current_name(self) -> str:
         return self.name.text().strip()
 
+    def focus_target(self, target: tuple[str, int | str] | None):
+        """
+        Focus the field a catalog Add left unfilled -- `target` is whatever
+        core.first_unfilled_focus_target() returned: ("args", line_index),
+        ("env", var_name), or None (nothing to fill, so do nothing).
+
+        Only meaningful on the stdio page, which is the only page a catalog
+        entry ever populates (link-only entries never reach dump_data()).
+        """
+        if not target or self.type.currentIndex() != 0:
+            return
+        kind, value = target
+        if kind == "args":
+            self.args.setFocus()
+            cursor = self.args.textCursor()
+            cursor.movePosition(QTextCursor.MoveOperation.Start)
+            cursor.movePosition(
+                QTextCursor.MoveOperation.Down, QTextCursor.MoveMode.MoveAnchor, int(value)
+            )
+            cursor.movePosition(
+                QTextCursor.MoveOperation.EndOfLine, QTextCursor.MoveMode.KeepAnchor
+            )
+            self.args.setTextCursor(cursor)
+        elif kind == "env":
+            for r in range(self.env.table.rowCount()):
+                key_item = self.env.table.item(r, 0)
+                if key_item and key_item.text() == value:
+                    self.env.table.setCurrentCell(r, 1)
+                    val_item = self.env.table.item(r, 1)
+                    if val_item:
+                        self.env.table.editItem(val_item)
+                    break
+
     def _type_switched(self):
         self.stack.setCurrentIndex(self.type.currentIndex())
         self._emit()
@@ -1244,6 +1260,262 @@ class PasteDialog(QDialog):
             self.err.setText(str(e))
 
 
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# Browse catalog dialog (issue #10 phase 2): search/filter the signed,
+# bundled server catalog and add a "basic" entry through the existing
+# paste/import path, or send a "link-only" entry to its setup docs.
+#
+# Every widget here that shows catalog-derived text uses plain_label() or an
+# inherently-plain widget (QPlainTextEdit) -- see plain_label()'s docstring.
+# The dialog itself does no signature/schema work: MainWindow hands it an
+# already-verified `entries` list (bcc_core.load_bundled_catalog_entries()),
+# and an empty list here means "show the empty state", never "fall back to
+# something less trusted".
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+class BrowseCatalogDialog(QDialog):
+    def __init__(self, parent, entries: list[dict]):
+        super().__init__(parent)
+        self.setWindowTitle("Browse catalog")
+        self.resize(880, 560)
+        self.entries = entries or []
+        self.result_entry: dict | None = None
+        self._current_entry: dict | None = None
+        self._current_homepage: str | None = None
+        self._current_docs_url: str | None = None
+        self._current_group = "All"
+
+        outer = QVBoxLayout(self)
+
+        if not self.entries:
+            # Signature verification failed, or nothing was bundled -- never
+            # show a half-trusted list, and never explain WHY beyond this;
+            # a stale/tampered catalog isn't the user's problem to diagnose.
+            msg = plain_label("Catalog unavailable.")
+            msg.setObjectName("placeholder")
+            msg.setAlignment(Qt.AlignmentFlag.AlignCenter)
+            outer.addWidget(msg, 1)
+            btns = QDialogButtonBox(QDialogButtonBox.StandardButton.Close)
+            btns.rejected.connect(self.reject)
+            outer.addWidget(btns)
+            return
+
+        search_row = QHBoxLayout()
+        self.search_box = QLineEdit()
+        self.search_box.setPlaceholderText("Search by name, description, or category…")
+        self.search_box.setClearButtonEnabled(True)
+        self.search_box.textChanged.connect(self._refresh_list)
+        search_row.addWidget(self.search_box, 1)
+        outer.addLayout(search_row)
+
+        chip_row = QHBoxLayout()
+        self._chip_group = QButtonGroup(self)
+        self._chip_group.setExclusive(True)
+        for label in core.CATALOG_CATEGORY_CHIPS:
+            btn = QPushButton(label)
+            btn.setCheckable(True)
+            btn.setChecked(label == "All")
+            btn.clicked.connect(lambda _checked=False, g=label: self._set_group(g))
+            self._chip_group.addButton(btn)
+            chip_row.addWidget(btn)
+        chip_row.addStretch()
+        outer.addLayout(chip_row)
+
+        splitter = QSplitter(Qt.Orientation.Horizontal)
+
+        left = QWidget()
+        lv = QVBoxLayout(left)
+        lv.setContentsMargins(0, 0, 0, 0)
+        self.list = QListWidget()
+        self.list.currentItemChanged.connect(self._on_selected)
+        lv.addWidget(self.list, 1)
+        splitter.addWidget(left)
+
+        right = QFrame()
+        right.setObjectName("card")
+        rv = QVBoxLayout(right)
+        self.detail_title = plain_label("")
+        self.detail_title.setObjectName("h1")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_title)
+        self.detail_meta = plain_label("")
+        self.detail_meta.setObjectName("muted")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_meta)
+        self.detail_freshness = plain_label("")
+        self.detail_freshness.setObjectName("muted")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_freshness)
+        self.detail_desc = plain_label("")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_desc)
+        self.detail_notes = plain_label("")
+        self.detail_notes.setObjectName("muted")
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_notes)
+        self.detail_homepage_btn = QPushButton("Open homepage")
+        self.detail_homepage_btn.clicked.connect(self._open_homepage)
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_homepage_btn)
+        rv.addWidget(plain_label("Exact command this will add:"))
+        self.detail_command_preview = QPlainTextEdit()
+        self.detail_command_preview.setObjectName("diag")
+        self.detail_command_preview.setReadOnly(True)
+        # Read-only QPlainTextEdit never interprets HTML, regardless of what
+        # a compromised/careless catalog entry's command/args contain -- this
+        # is the field that renders "the exact bytes that will be written".
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_command_preview, 1)
+        self.detail_action_btn = QPushButton("")
+        self.detail_action_btn.setObjectName("primary")
+        self.detail_action_btn.clicked.connect(self._on_action)
+        rv.addWidget(self.detail_action_btn)
+        splitter.addWidget(right)
+
+        splitter.setSizes([360, 480])
+        outer.addWidget(splitter, 1)
+
+        btns = QDialogButtonBox(QDialogButtonBox.StandardButton.Close)
+        btns.rejected.connect(self.reject)
+        outer.addWidget(btns)
+
+        self._refresh_list()
+
+    # --- list / filtering -------------------------------------------------- #
+    def _set_group(self, group: str):
+        self._current_group = group
+        self._refresh_list()
+
+    def _visible_entries(self) -> list[dict]:
+        filtered = core.filter_catalog_entries(self.entries, self.search_box.text())
+        return core.catalog_entries_in_group(filtered, self._current_group)
+
+    def _format_row(self, entry: dict) -> str:
+        display = str(entry.get("display") or entry.get("id") or "")
+        official = "✓ " if entry.get("official") else ""
+        stars = entry.get("stars")
+        star_txt = f"   ★ {stars:,}" if isinstance(stars, int) else ""
+        group = core.catalog_category_group(entry.get("category", ""))
+        desc = str(entry.get("description") or "")
+        if len(desc) > 88:
+            desc = desc[:87] + "…"
+        # QListWidgetItem text is always rendered literally by Qt (no HTML
+        # interpretation), so no escaping is needed here -- unlike QLabel.
+        return f"{official}{display}{star_txt}\n{desc}   ·   {group}"
+
+    def _refresh_list(self):
+        self.list.blockSignals(True)
+        self.list.clear()
+        for entry in self._visible_entries():
+            item = QListWidgetItem(self._format_row(entry))
+            item.setData(Qt.ItemDataRole.UserRole, entry)
+            # Tooltips DO auto-detect rich text in Qt, so escape defensively
+            # even though descriptions are already shown, unescaped-but-safe,
+            # in the QListWidgetItem text above.
+            item.setToolTip(html.escape(str(entry.get("description", ""))))
+            self.list.addItem(item)
+        self.list.blockSignals(False)
+        if self.list.count():
+            self.list.setCurrentRow(0)
+        else:
+            self._on_selected(None, None)
+
+    # --- detail pane -------------------------------------------------------- #
+    def _on_selected(self, current, _previous=None):
+        if current is None:
+            self._current_entry = None
+            self._current_homepage = None
+            self._current_docs_url = None
+            self.detail_title.setText("")
+            self.detail_meta.setText("")
+            self.detail_freshness.setText("")
+            self.detail_desc.setText("No matching servers." if self.entries else "")
+            self.detail_notes.setText("")
+            self.detail_homepage_btn.setVisible(False)
+            self.detail_command_preview.setPlainText("")
+            self.detail_action_btn.setEnabled(False)
+            self.detail_action_btn.setText("Add")
+            return
+
+        entry = current.data(Qt.ItemDataRole.UserRole)
+        self._current_entry = entry
+        self.detail_title.setText(str(entry.get("display") or entry.get("id") or ""))
+
+        official = "✓ Official" if entry.get("official") else ""
+        stars = entry.get("stars")
+        star_txt = f"★ {stars:,}" if isinstance(stars, int) else ""
+        group = core.catalog_category_group(entry.get("category", ""))
+        meta_bits = [b for b in (official, star_txt, group) if b]
+        self.detail_meta.setText("  ·  ".join(meta_bits))
+
+        freshness = core.format_freshness_hint(entry.get("last_release"))
+        self.detail_freshness.setText(freshness)
+        self.detail_freshness.setVisible(bool(freshness))
+
+        self.detail_desc.setText(str(entry.get("description") or ""))
+
+        notes = entry.get("notes") or ""
+        self.detail_notes.setText(notes)
+        self.detail_notes.setVisible(bool(notes))
+
+        homepage = entry.get("homepage")
+        self._current_homepage = homepage if isinstance(homepage, str) else None
+        self.detail_homepage_btn.setVisible(bool(self._current_homepage))
+
+        self._current_docs_url = (
+            entry.get("docs_url") if isinstance(entry.get("docs_url"), str) else None
+        )
+
+        self.detail_command_preview.setPlainText(self._render_command_preview(entry))
+
+        if entry.get("setup") == "basic":
+            self.detail_action_btn.setText("Add")
+            self.detail_action_btn.setEnabled(True)
+        else:
+            self.detail_action_btn.setText("Open setup docs")
+            self.detail_action_btn.setEnabled(bool(self._current_docs_url))
+
+    def _render_command_preview(self, entry: dict) -> str:
+        """
+        The exact command that will be written, rendered verbatim. Every
+        value here comes straight from the (signature-verified) catalog
+        entry with no interpretation beyond str() -- this must never be the
+        place a markup-laced description sneaks back in as "helpful"
+        formatting.
+        """
+        if entry.get("setup") != "basic":
+            docs = entry.get("docs_url") or "(none provided)"
+            return (
+                "This is a hosted/managed integration -- there is no local "
+                "command to add.\n\nSetup docs:\n  " + str(docs)
+            )
+
+        config = entry.get("config") or {}
+        lines = [f"command: {config.get('command', '')}"]
+        args = config.get("args") or []
+        if args:
+            lines.append("args:")
+            lines.extend(f"  {a}" for a in args)
+        env = config.get("env") or {}
+        env_required = entry.get("env_required") or {}
+        env_keys = list(env.keys()) + [k for k in env_required if k not in env]
+        if env_keys:
+            lines.append("env (names only -- you provide the values):")
+            lines.extend(f"  {k}" for k in env_keys)
+        return "\n".join(lines)
+
+    def _open_homepage(self):
+        url = self._current_homepage
+        if url and url.startswith("https://"):
+            QDesktopServices.openUrl(QUrl(url))
+
+    def _on_action(self):
+        entry = self._current_entry
+        if not entry:
+            return
+        if entry.get("setup") == "basic":
+            self.result_entry = entry
+            self.accept()
+        else:
+            url = self._current_docs_url
+            if url and url.startswith("https://"):
+                QDesktopServices.openUrl(QUrl(url))
+            # link-only never auto-adds and never closes the dialog -- the
+            # user can keep browsing after opening the docs in their browser.
+
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Log viewer dialog (issue #6): a read-only, auto-tailing view of a single
 # server's MCP log file. Polls on a QTimer instead of watching the filesystem
@@ -1533,54 +1805,6 @@ class AboutDialog(QDialog):
         QDesktopServices.openUrl(QUrl(self._release_url or core.RELEASES_URL))
 
 
-class NoticeBanner(QFrame):
-    """A persistent, dismissible notice with an optional action button.
-
-    The status bar is the wrong home for anything the user needs to act on --
-    21 call sites rewrite it, so a message posted there is gone by the next
-    click. That wiped the MSIX warning (#35) and then the update notice (#78).
-    This is the shared mechanism so it doesn't happen a third time.
-    """
-
-    def __init__(self, parent=None):
-        super().__init__(parent)
-        self.setObjectName("noticeBanner")
-        row = QHBoxLayout(self)
-        row.setContentsMargins(10, 8, 8, 8)
-        row.setSpacing(8)
-        self._label = QLabel("")
-        self._label.setObjectName("noticeText")
-        self._label.setWordWrap(True)
-        row.addWidget(self._label, 1)
-        self._action_btn = QPushButton("")
-        self._action_btn.setCursor(Qt.CursorShape.PointingHandCursor)
-        self._action_btn.hide()
-        row.addWidget(self._action_btn)
-        self._close_btn = QPushButton("\u2715")
-        self._close_btn.setObjectName("noticeClose")
-        self._close_btn.setCursor(Qt.CursorShape.PointingHandCursor)
-        self._close_btn.setFixedWidth(26)
-        self._close_btn.setToolTip("Dismiss")
-        self._close_btn.clicked.connect(self.hide)
-        row.addWidget(self._close_btn)
-        self.hide()
-
-    def show_notice(self, text: str, action_label: str = "", on_action=None):
-        self._label.setText(text)
-        self._label.setToolTip(text)
-        # Reconnect cleanly: a banner reused for a second notice would
-        # otherwise fire the previous notice's action too.
-        with contextlib.suppress(RuntimeError, TypeError):
-            self._action_btn.clicked.disconnect()
-        if action_label and on_action is not None:
-            self._action_btn.setText(action_label)
-            self._action_btn.clicked.connect(lambda _=False: on_action())
-            self._action_btn.show()
-        else:
-            self._action_btn.hide()
-        self.show()
-
-
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Restart worker: core.restart_claude_desktop() blocks up to ~5 s on macOS
 # waiting for the old instance to exit, so it must run off the UI thread.
@@ -1638,11 +1862,6 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.warn_banner.hide()
         root.addWidget(self.warn_banner)
 
-        # Update availability gets its own persistent banner rather than a
-        # status-line write, which the next UI action overwrites (#78).
-        self.update_banner = NoticeBanner(self)
-        root.addWidget(self.update_banner)
-
         # User-draggable divider between the server list and the editor.
         split = QSplitter(Qt.Orientation.Horizontal)
         split.setChildrenCollapsible(False)
@@ -1678,96 +1897,11 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
 
     # --- menu bar ---------------------------------------------------------- #
     def _build_menu_bar(self):
-        view_menu = self.menuBar().addMenu("&View")
-        theme_menu = view_menu.addMenu("Theme")
-        self._theme_group = QActionGroup(self)
-        self._theme_group.setExclusive(True)
-        current = stored_theme_setting()
-        for setting, label in (
-            (core.THEME_SYSTEM, "Match system"),
-            (core.THEME_LIGHT, "Light"),
-            (core.THEME_DARK, "Dark"),
-        ):
-            act = QAction(label, self, checkable=True)
-            act.setChecked(setting == current)
-            act.triggered.connect(lambda _checked=False, s=setting: self._set_theme(s))
-            self._theme_group.addAction(act)
-            theme_menu.addAction(act)
-
         help_menu = self.menuBar().addMenu("&Help")
-
-        # "Check for updates" used to exist only as a button inside the About
-        # dialog, which is not somewhere anyone looks for it (#79).
-        update_action = QAction("Check for updates…", self)
-        # Explicit role: macOS relocates actions it recognises by text, and
-        # some Qt versions treat "update" as application-menu material. Pin it
-        # so the item stays where the menu says it is on every platform.
-        update_action.setMenuRole(QAction.MenuRole.ApplicationSpecificRole)
-        update_action.triggered.connect(self.check_for_updates)
-        help_menu.addAction(update_action)
-        help_menu.addSeparator()
-
         about_action = QAction("About Better Claude Config…", self)
-        # Qt auto-assigns AboutRole to actions whose text starts with "About",
-        # which moves this into the application menu on macOS. That is the
-        # right home there -- state it explicitly rather than inheriting it by
-        # accident, since the behaviour is invisible from this call site.
-        about_action.setMenuRole(QAction.MenuRole.AboutRole)
         about_action.triggered.connect(self._show_about)
         help_menu.addAction(about_action)
 
-    def _show_update_notice(self, notice: dict):
-        """Surface an available update where it survives the next click."""
-        url = notice["url"]
-        self.update_banner.show_notice(
-            notice["text"],
-            action_label="Open releases page",
-            on_action=lambda: QDesktopServices.openUrl(QUrl(url)),
-        )
-
-    def check_for_updates(self):
-        """Menu-driven check. Unlike the startup check this is never throttled
-        and always reports back -- the user asked, so silence would read as a
-        broken button."""
-        self.status.setText("Checking for updates…")
-        self._menu_update_worker = UpdateCheckWorker()
-        self._menu_update_worker.done.connect(self._on_menu_update_checked)
-        self._menu_update_worker.start()
-
-    def _on_menu_update_checked(self, release: dict | None):
-        self._menu_update_worker = None
-        if release is None:
-            self.status.setText("Couldn't check for updates (offline?).")
-            return
-        QSettings("BCC", "BetterClaudeConfig").setValue("update/lastCheck", time.time())
-        notice = core.update_notice(core.__version__, release)
-        if notice:
-            self._show_update_notice(notice)
-            self.status.setText(f"Update available: {notice['version']}")
-        else:
-            self.update_banner.hide()
-            self.status.setText(f"You're up to date ({core.__version__}).")
-
-    def _set_theme(self, setting: str):
-        """Persist the theme choice and repaint the running window."""
-        QSettings("BCC", "BetterClaudeConfig").setValue("ui/theme", setting)
-        app = QApplication.instance()
-        if app is None:  # pragma: no cover - only in a headless test harness
-            return
-        app.setStyleSheet(theme_stylesheet_for(app, setting))
-        # The global stylesheet covers most of the UI, but the inline
-        # setStyleSheet calls (status dots, warning labels, update banner) only
-        # pick up the new palette when their widget next renders -- so re-render
-        # them now rather than leaving dark-on-light text behind.
-        self._repaint_themed_widgets()
-
-    def _repaint_themed_widgets(self):
-        """Re-run the inline-styled bits after a palette change."""
-        self.status.setStyleSheet(f"color: {MUTED};")
-        idx = self._current_index()
-        self._refresh_tables(select_index=idx if idx >= 0 else -1)
-        self._update_status(saved=False)
-
     def _show_about(self):
         AboutDialog(self).exec()
 
@@ -1788,9 +1922,10 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         if release is None:
             return  # offline/failed check: don't advance lastCheck, allow retry
         QSettings("BCC", "BetterClaudeConfig").setValue("update/lastCheck", time.time())
-        notice = core.update_notice(core.__version__, release)
+        if core.is_newer_version(core.__version__, release["version"]):
-        if notice:
+            self.status.setText(
-            self._show_update_notice(notice)
+                f"Update available: {release['version']}  ·  Help ▸ About to view it."
+            )
 
     # --- layout persistence ---------------------------------------------- #
     def _restore_layout(self):
@@ -1957,6 +2092,10 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.del_btn = QPushButton("Delete")
         self.del_btn.setObjectName("danger")
         self.paste_btn = QPushButton("Paste JSON...")
+        self.browse_catalog_btn = QPushButton("Browse catalog…")
+        self.browse_catalog_btn.setToolTip(
+            "Add a popular MCP server from the curated, signed catalog"
+        )
         self.copy_btn = QPushButton("Copy to ▸")
         self.undo_btn = QPushButton("Undo")
         self.undo_btn.setEnabled(False)
@@ -1969,6 +2108,7 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.dup_btn.clicked.connect(self.duplicate_server)
         self.del_btn.clicked.connect(self.delete_server)
         self.paste_btn.clicked.connect(self.paste_json)
+        self.browse_catalog_btn.clicked.connect(self.browse_catalog)
         self.copy_btn.clicked.connect(self.copy_to_menu)
         self.undo_btn.clicked.connect(self._undo)
         self.test_all_btn.clicked.connect(self._test_all_servers)
@@ -1977,6 +2117,7 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
             self.dup_btn,
             self.del_btn,
             self.paste_btn,
+            self.browse_catalog_btn,
             self.copy_btn,
             self.undo_btn,
             self.test_all_btn,
@@ -2116,21 +2257,9 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
                 return
             self.full_config = cfg
             repaired = True
-        # extract_servers tolerates malformed entries rather than raising (#72),
-        # but keep it inside the guard: a load failure must leave the previously
-        # loaded profile intact instead of half-swapping the window's state.
-        try:
-            servers = core.extract_servers(self.full_config)
-        except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - defence in depth
-            QMessageBox.critical(
-                self,
-                "Could not read config",
-                f"{profile.path}\n\nThe server list couldn't be read: {exc}",
-            )
-            return
         self._loaded_stat = core.config_fingerprint(profile.path)
         self.current_profile = profile
-        self.servers = servers
+        self.servers = core.extract_servers(self.full_config)
         self.dirty = False
         self.restart_btn.hide()
         self._undo_stack.clear()
@@ -2453,7 +2582,7 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         entry = self.servers[idx]
         old_name = entry.name
         entry.name = self.editor.current_name()
-        entry.set_data(self.editor.dump_data())
+        entry.data = self.editor.dump_data()
         # The server stays in its section (enable state unchanged), so update
         # its existing row in place rather than re-rendering.
         # An edit invalidates any cached "Test all" result -- the server that
@@ -2547,7 +2676,7 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
                 QMessageBox.StandardButton.Yes | QMessageBox.StandardButton.No,
             )
             if ans == QMessageBox.StandardButton.Yes:
-                self.servers[existing[name]].set_data(data)
+                self.servers[existing[name]].data = data
                 return False, True
             name = core.resolve_name_collision(name, {s.name for s in self.servers})
         self.servers.append(core.ServerEntry(name, data, True))
@@ -2567,6 +2696,41 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self._mark_dirty()
         self.status.setText(f"Imported {added} added, {replaced} replaced. Review and Save.")
 
+    def browse_catalog(self):
+        """
+        Open the Browse-catalog dialog (issue #10 phase 2). The catalog is
+        loaded and signature-verified fresh every time the dialog opens --
+        never cached across app runs at this phase (remote fetch/cache is
+        #61, not yet built) -- so a bundled-catalog swap only takes effect
+        on next dialog open, never mid-session in a stale way.
+        """
+        entries = core.load_bundled_catalog_entries(
+            _asset_dir() / "data" / "catalog.json", _asset_dir() / "data" / "catalog.json.sig"
+        )
+        dlg = BrowseCatalogDialog(self, entries)
+        if dlg.exec() != QDialog.DialogCode.Accepted or not dlg.result_entry:
+            return
+        entry = dlg.result_entry
+        paste = core.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
+        name, data = next(iter(paste.items()))
+
+        existing_before = {s.name: i for i, s in enumerate(self.servers)}
+        self._push_undo()
+        _added, replaced = self._import_server(name, data)
+        idx = (
+            existing_before.get(name, len(self.servers) - 1) if replaced else len(self.servers) - 1
+        )
+        self._refresh_tables(select_index=idx)
+        self._mark_dirty()
+
+        target = core.first_unfilled_focus_target(data)
+        self.editor.focus_target(target)
+
+        verb = "Replaced" if replaced else "Added"
+        self.status.setText(
+            f"{verb} “{name}” from the catalog. Fill in the highlighted field and Save."
+        )
+
     def copy_to_menu(self):
         idx = self._current_index()
         if not (0 <= idx < len(self.servers)):
@@ -2645,6 +2809,29 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
             QMessageBox.warning(self, "Can't save yet", "Fix the highlighted problem first.")
             return
 
+        # Placeholder guard (issue #10): a catalog Add can leave a
+        # <PLACEHOLDER>-style token in args/env until the user fills it in.
+        # This warns, it does not block -- the user may be deliberately
+        # saving a stub to finish later -- but it must never save silently,
+        # since a server launched with a literal "<PLACEHOLDER>" argument
+        # just fails in a confusing way at spawn time.
+        placeholder_names = [
+            s.name for s in self.servers if core.config_has_unfilled_placeholders(s.data)
+        ]
+        if placeholder_names:
+            names = ", ".join(f"“{n}”" for n in placeholder_names)
+            ans = QMessageBox.warning(
+                self,
+                "Unfilled placeholder",
+                f"{names} still has a <PLACEHOLDER> value that hasn't been "
+                "replaced with a real value. Claude won't be able to use "
+                "it as-is.\n\nSave anyway?",
+                QMessageBox.StandardButton.Yes | QMessageBox.StandardButton.No,
+                QMessageBox.StandardButton.No,
+            )
+            if ans != QMessageBox.StandardButton.Yes:
+                return
+
         # Stale-file check: if the file changed on disk since we loaded it, prompt.
         # Compare mtime AND size (not mtime alone) so a concurrent external write
         # that lands within the mtime resolution window, or that restores the
@@ -2667,11 +2854,6 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
                 except Exception as e:
                     QMessageBox.critical(self, "Reload failed", str(e))
                     return
-                # The reload above is the on-disk truth for everything the user
-                # didn't touch -- but it also wipes BCC-authored keys the user
-                # changed in this session (named sets), which apply_servers
-                # doesn't write. Carry them over before saving (#73).
-                contested = core.carry_owned_keys(self.full_config, fresh)
                 core.apply_servers(fresh, self.servers)
                 try:
                     backup = core.write_config(self.current_profile.path, fresh)
@@ -2684,13 +2866,8 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
                 self.dirty = False
                 self.save_btn.setEnabled(False)
                 bnote = f"  ·  backup: {backup.name}" if backup else "  ·  (new file)"
-                cnote = (
-                    f"  ·  kept your {', '.join(contested)} (the file on disk had a different copy)"
-                    if contested
-                    else ""
-                )
                 self.status.setText(
-                    f"Merged & saved {self.current_profile.path}{bnote}{cnote}"
+                    f"Merged & saved {self.current_profile.path}{bnote}"
                     f"  ·  Restart {self.current_profile.label} to apply."
                 )
                 self._offer_restart_button()
@@ -2848,33 +3025,6 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         e.accept()
 
 
-def system_is_dark(app: QApplication) -> bool:
-    """Whether the desktop is currently using a dark appearance.
-
-    Read from the style's own window colour rather than per-platform APIs --
-    Qt has already resolved the OS appearance by the time it builds the
-    default palette, so this works the same on all three platforms.
-    """
-    try:
-        return app.palette().color(QPalette.ColorRole.Window).lightness() < 128
-    except Exception:  # pragma: no cover - defensive; never block startup on theming
-        return True
-
-
-def stored_theme_setting() -> str:
-    """The user's theme choice, defaulting to following the system."""
-    value = QSettings("BCC", "BetterClaudeConfig").value("ui/theme", core.THEME_SYSTEM)
-    return value if value in core.THEME_CHOICES else core.THEME_SYSTEM
-
-
-def theme_stylesheet_for(app: QApplication, setting: str | None = None) -> str:
-    """Resolve setting + OS appearance into a palette, apply it, return the QSS."""
-    if setting is None:
-        setting = stored_theme_setting()
-    theme = core.resolve_theme(setting, system_is_dark(app))
-    return apply_palette(core.palette_for(theme))
-
-
 def main():
     if sys.platform == "win32":
         # Without an explicit AppUserModelID, Windows taskbar groups the app
@@ -2893,7 +3043,7 @@ def main():
     icon = _app_icon()
     if not icon.isNull():
         app.setWindowIcon(icon)
-    app.setStyleSheet(theme_stylesheet_for(app))
+    app.setStyleSheet(STYLESHEET)
     win = MainWindow()
     win.show()
     sys.exit(app.exec())

bcc.spec

@@ -31,7 +31,11 @@ a = Analysis(
     ["bcc.py"],
     pathex=[],
     binaries=[],
-    datas=[("icons", "icons"), ("data/catalog.json", "data")],
+    datas=[
+        ("icons", "icons"),
+        ("data/catalog.json", "data"),
+        ("data/catalog.json.sig", "data"),
+    ],
     hiddenimports=[],
     hookspath=[],
     hooksconfig={},

bcc_core.py

@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import base64
 import contextlib
-import copy
 import difflib
 import functools
 import glob
@@ -30,6 +29,7 @@ import tempfile
 import threading
 import time
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import date
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import NamedTuple
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
@@ -50,12 +50,6 @@ DISABLED_KEY = "_disabledMcpServers"
 # parks the rest under DISABLED_KEY.
 SETS_KEY = "_bccServerSets"
 
-# Top-level keys BCC itself authors. They live in the client's config file, but
-# BCC is their owner, so on a stale-file merge the in-memory copy wins over the
-# on-disk one (see `carry_owned_keys`). Any future BCC-authored key belongs
-# here -- forgetting to add one is exactly how #73 happened.
-BCC_OWNED_KEYS = (SETS_KEY,)
-
 BACKUP_DIRNAME = ".bcc_backups"
 MAX_BACKUPS = 15
 
@@ -170,39 +164,6 @@ def fetch_latest_release(timeout: float = 4.0) -> dict | None:
     return {"version": tag, "url": payload.get("html_url") or RELEASES_URL}
 
 
-def update_notice(
-    current: str, release: dict | None, url_fallback: str = RELEASES_URL
-) -> dict | None:
-    """Decide whether to tell the user about a release, and what to say.
-
-    Returns {"version", "text", "url"} when `release` is newer than `current`,
-    or None when it isn't, when the check failed, or when the payload is
-    malformed. Kept here rather than in the GUI so the wording and the
-    should-we-notify decision are testable -- bcc.py can't be imported by the
-    test suite, which has no PySide6.
-
-    The text deliberately names no menu path. The old status-line notice read
-    "Help > About to view it", which is wrong on macOS: Qt relocates the About
-    action into the application menu (#79). A notice that carries its own
-    action can't drift out of sync with the platform.
-    """
-    if not isinstance(release, dict):
-        return None
-    version = release.get("version")
-    if not version or not isinstance(version, str):
-        return None
-    if not is_newer_version(current, version):
-        return None
-    # Tags carry a "v" prefix and __version__ doesn't; render both the same way
-    # so the notice doesn't read "Version v1.3.0 ... you're running 1.2.0".
-    shown = version.lstrip("vV")
-    return {
-        "version": version,
-        "text": f"Version {shown} is available. You're running {current.lstrip('vV')}.",
-        "url": release.get("url") or url_fallback,
-    }
-
-
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Data model
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
@@ -218,195 +179,16 @@ class Profile:
         self.path = Path(self.path)
 
 
-class _NoRaw:
-    """Sentinel for ServerEntry.raw.
-
-    `None` can't do this job: `{"mcpServers": {"foo": null}}` is legal JSON and
-    a real malformed-entry case, so None has to mean "the config said null",
-    not "there was nothing here".
-    """
-
-    __slots__ = ()
-
-    def __repr__(self) -> str:  # keeps ServerEntry reprs readable in test output
-        return "<no raw>"
-
-
-NO_RAW = _NoRaw()
-
-
 @dataclass
 class ServerEntry:
-    """One server definition.
-
-    `data` is always a dict so every consumer can treat it as one. When the
-    config held something that wasn't a JSON object for this server (a string,
-    a number, a list -- all legal JSON, all wrong here), `data` is empty and
-    the original value is preserved verbatim in `raw` so Save round-trips it
-    instead of silently deleting the user's line. `lint_servers` surfaces it.
-    `raw` defaults to the NO_RAW sentinel rather than None, because a config
-    value of literal `null` is itself a malformed entry worth preserving.
-
-    Assigning `data` means the user replaced the definition through the editor,
-    which retires `raw` -- use `set_data` so that can't be forgotten.
-    """
-
     name: str
     data: dict
     enabled: bool = True
-    raw: object = NO_RAW
 
     @property
     def kind(self) -> str:
         return "remote" if "url" in self.data and "command" not in self.data else "stdio"
 
-    @property
-    def malformed(self) -> bool:
-        """True when the config value for this server wasn't a JSON object."""
-        return self.raw is not NO_RAW
-
-    def set_data(self, data: dict) -> None:
-        """Replace the definition from the editor, clearing any malformed original."""
-        self.data = data
-        self.raw = NO_RAW
-
-    def config_value(self):
-        """What to write back to the config: the edited dict, or the untouched
-        malformed original when the user never edited it."""
-        return self.data if self.raw is NO_RAW else self.raw
-
-
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-# Theming (issue #75)
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-THEME_SYSTEM = "system"
-THEME_LIGHT = "light"
-THEME_DARK = "dark"
-THEME_CHOICES = (THEME_SYSTEM, THEME_LIGHT, THEME_DARK)
-
-
-@dataclass(frozen=True)
-class Palette:
-    """Every colour the UI draws with.
-
-    Deliberately exhaustive: the stylesheet used to inline a handful of
-    near-black literals (`#1a1205` for text on the accent, `#202229` for the
-    disabled table, `#16181d` for the diagnostics pane), which is fine while
-    there's one theme and invisible breakage the moment there are two. Each
-    gets a slot here so a light palette can't silently inherit a dark value.
-    """
-
-    name: str
-    accent: str
-    accent_dim: str
-    bg: str
-    panel: str
-    panel_2: str
-    text: str
-    muted: str
-    border: str
-    good: str
-    bad: str
-    warn: str
-    remote: str
-    on_accent: str  # text drawn on top of an accent fill
-    disabled_bg: str  # the parked-servers table
-    mono_bg: str  # diagnostics / log panes
-    selection_text: str
-
-
-# The shipping theme through v1.3.0. These values are carried over verbatim --
-# adding a light theme must not restyle the dark one.
-DARK_PALETTE = Palette(
-    name="dark",
-    accent="#f97316",
-    accent_dim="#c2570b",
-    bg="#1b1d23",
-    panel="#23262e",
-    panel_2="#2b2f39",
-    text="#e7e9ee",
-    muted="#9aa0ad",
-    border="#3a3f4b",
-    good="#4ade80",
-    bad="#f87171",
-    warn="#fbbf24",
-    remote="#60a5fa",
-    on_accent="#1a1205",
-    disabled_bg="#202229",
-    mono_bg="#16181d",
-    selection_text="#ffffff",
-)
-
-# The semantic colours are NOT the dark ones lightened. #4ade80 / #fbbf24 sit
-# around 1.7:1 against white -- illegible. These are darkened to clear 4.5:1,
-# which `test_light_palette_meets_contrast` enforces so nobody "tidies" them
-# back toward the dark hues later.
-LIGHT_PALETTE = Palette(
-    name="light",
-    accent="#c2410c",
-    accent_dim="#9a3412",
-    bg="#f6f7f9",
-    panel="#ffffff",
-    panel_2="#eef0f4",
-    text="#1b1d23",
-    muted="#5c6270",
-    border="#d3d7de",
-    good="#15803d",
-    bad="#b91c1c",
-    warn="#a16207",
-    remote="#1d4ed8",
-    on_accent="#ffffff",
-    disabled_bg="#e9ebef",
-    mono_bg="#f0f2f5",
-    selection_text="#ffffff",
-)
-
-PALETTES = {DARK_PALETTE.name: DARK_PALETTE, LIGHT_PALETTE.name: LIGHT_PALETTE}
-
-
-def resolve_theme(setting: str, system_is_dark: bool) -> str:
-    """Map a stored theme setting + the OS appearance onto a concrete palette name.
-
-    Anything unrecognised (a hand-edited QSettings value, a setting written by
-    a future version) falls back to following the system rather than to a
-    fixed theme -- the user's desktop is the better guess.
-    """
-    if setting == THEME_DARK:
-        return THEME_DARK
-    if setting == THEME_LIGHT:
-        return THEME_LIGHT
-    return THEME_DARK if system_is_dark else THEME_LIGHT
-
-
-def palette_for(theme: str) -> Palette:
-    """Concrete palette by name; unknown names fall back to dark (the historical look)."""
-    return PALETTES.get(theme, DARK_PALETTE)
-
-
-def _hex_to_rgb(value: str) -> tuple[int, int, int]:
-    v = value.lstrip("#")
-    if len(v) == 3:
-        v = "".join(ch * 2 for ch in v)
-    return int(v[0:2], 16), int(v[2:4], 16), int(v[4:6], 16)
-
-
-def relative_luminance(color: str) -> float:
-    """WCAG relative luminance for a #rrggbb colour."""
-
-    def chan(c: int) -> float:
-        srgb = c / 255.0
-        return srgb / 12.92 if srgb <= 0.04045 else ((srgb + 0.055) / 1.055) ** 2.4
-
-    r, g, b = (chan(c) for c in _hex_to_rgb(color))
-    return 0.2126 * r + 0.7152 * g + 0.0722 * b
-
-
-def contrast_ratio(fg: str, bg: str) -> float:
-    """WCAG contrast ratio between two #rrggbb colours (1.0 to 21.0)."""
-    a, b = relative_luminance(fg), relative_luminance(bg)
-    lighter, darker = max(a, b), min(a, b)
-    return (lighter + 0.05) / (darker + 0.05)
-
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Discovery
@@ -671,30 +453,13 @@ def repair_config_file(path: str | os.PathLike) -> tuple[dict, list[str], str]:
     return obj, notes, pretty
 
 
-def _server_entry(name: str, data, enabled: bool) -> ServerEntry:
-    """Build a ServerEntry, tolerating a value that isn't a JSON object.
-
-    A hand-edited config can legally hold `{"mcpServers": {"foo": "oops"}}` --
-    valid JSON, wrong shape. Calling dict() on that raises, which used to take
-    the whole load down before the linter ever got a look at it (#72). Keep the
-    original instead and let the linter report it.
-    """
-    if isinstance(data, dict):
-        return ServerEntry(name=name, data=dict(data), enabled=enabled)
-    return ServerEntry(name=name, data={}, enabled=enabled, raw=data)
-
-
 def extract_servers(cfg: dict) -> list[ServerEntry]:
-    """Pull enabled (`mcpServers`) and disabled (`_disabledMcpServers`) servers.
+    """Pull enabled (`mcpServers`) and disabled (`_disabledMcpServers`) servers."""
-
-    Never raises on a structurally-odd config -- malformed entries come back as
-    empty-data entries carrying their original value (see `_server_entry`).
-    """
     out: list[ServerEntry] = []
     for name, data in (cfg.get("mcpServers") or {}).items():
-        out.append(_server_entry(name, data, True))
+        out.append(ServerEntry(name=name, data=dict(data), enabled=True))
     for name, data in (cfg.get(DISABLED_KEY) or {}).items():
-        out.append(_server_entry(name, data, False))
+        out.append(ServerEntry(name=name, data=dict(data), enabled=False))
     return out
 
 
@@ -786,8 +551,8 @@ def apply_servers(cfg: dict, servers: list[ServerEntry]) -> dict:
     Write the server list back into `cfg` in place, preserving every other key
     and the position of `mcpServers`. Returns the same dict for convenience.
     """
-    enabled = {s.name: s.config_value() for s in servers if s.enabled}
+    enabled = {s.name: s.data for s in servers if s.enabled}
-    disabled = {s.name: s.config_value() for s in servers if not s.enabled}
+    disabled = {s.name: s.data for s in servers if not s.enabled}
 
     cfg["mcpServers"] = enabled  # replaces value if key existed; appends otherwise
     if disabled:
@@ -800,34 +565,6 @@ def apply_servers(cfg: dict, servers: list[ServerEntry]) -> dict:
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Write (atomic, with rotating backups)
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-def carry_owned_keys(local_cfg: dict, fresh_cfg: dict) -> list[str]:
-    """Carry BCC-authored top-level keys from `local_cfg` onto `fresh_cfg`.
-
-    Used by the stale-file "Merge & save" path, which reloads the file from
-    disk and re-applies the user's server edits. That reload used to drop
-    anything BCC owns but `apply_servers` doesn't write -- named server sets
-    vanished without a word (#73). BCC owns these keys, so the in-memory copy
-    wins; mutates `fresh_cfg` in place.
-
-    Returns the keys where the on-disk copy differed and was overwritten, so
-    the caller can tell the user something was actually contested rather than
-    merely carried across.
-
-    Deliberately one-directional: a key absent locally is left alone on disk.
-    We can't tell "user deleted their last set" from "user never had sets and
-    another machine just added some", and silently deleting someone else's
-    data is the worse of the two failures.
-    """
-    conflicts: list[str] = []
-    for key in BCC_OWNED_KEYS:
-        if key not in local_cfg:
-            continue
-        if key in fresh_cfg and fresh_cfg[key] != local_cfg[key]:
-            conflicts.append(key)
-        fresh_cfg[key] = copy.deepcopy(local_cfg[key])
-    return conflicts
-
-
 def _make_backup(path: Path) -> Path:
     bdir = path.parent / BACKUP_DIRNAME
     bdir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
@@ -1644,21 +1381,9 @@ def lint_server(name: str, data: dict) -> list[str]:
 
 
 def lint_servers(servers: list[ServerEntry]) -> list[str]:
-    """Concatenate lint_server warnings across every entry, in order.
+    """Concatenate lint_server warnings across every entry, in order."""
-
-    Entries whose config value wasn't a JSON object at all are reported here
-    rather than in lint_server, which takes an already-dict `data` (#72).
-    """
     out: list[str] = []
     for s in servers:
-        if s.malformed:
-            nm = s.name.strip() or "(unnamed)"
-            out.append(
-                f"'{nm}': server definition is not an object "
-                f"(found {type(s.raw).__name__}) -- it is preserved as-is; "
-                f"edit it to replace it with a proper definition"
-            )
-            continue
         out.extend(lint_server(s.name, s.data))
     return out
 
@@ -2440,30 +2165,6 @@ def restart_claude_desktop() -> RestartResult:
 # is rejected by validate_catalog() regardless of how plausible it looks.
 CATALOG_ALLOWED_COMMANDS = frozenset({"npx", "uvx", "docker", "node", "python", "python3"})
 
-# Env var keys a catalog entry's config.env must never set. Every one of
-# these is a loader/interpreter override that lets a value walk straight
-# past CATALOG_ALLOWED_COMMANDS and the -e/--eval/-c deny-rule below: e.g.
-# NODE_OPTIONS="--require /tmp/x.js" turns an allowlisted `npx` entry into
-# arbitrary code execution without ever touching config.args, which is the
-# only field the allowlist/deny-rules/ASCII/secret checks used to cover.
-# Matched case-insensitively -- env keys are case-sensitive on POSIX, but a
-# `node_options` lookalike is exactly the kind of thing this must catch.
-CATALOG_DENIED_ENV_KEYS = frozenset(
-    {
-        "NODE_OPTIONS",
-        "PYTHONSTARTUP",
-        "PYTHONPATH",
-        "PYTHONHOME",
-        "LD_PRELOAD",
-        "LD_LIBRARY_PATH",
-        "DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES",
-        "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH",
-        "BROWSER",
-        "PATH",
-        "NODE_REPL_EXTERNAL_MODULE",
-    }
-)
-
 # Ed25519 public keys allowed to sign a catalog, raw 32-byte form. A LIST
 # (not a single key) so keys can be rotated without bricking installs that
 # still trust an older key: verify_catalog_signature() accepts a match
@@ -2489,36 +2190,6 @@ _CATALOG_SECRET_ARG_RE = re.compile(r"(?i)--api[-_]?key=|--token=|--password=")
 # <PLACEHOLDER>-style tokens the GUI must have the user fill in before Save.
 _PLACEHOLDER_RE = re.compile(r"<[^<>\s]+>")
 
-# A catalog entry's id becomes an mcpServers JSON key AND is interpolated
-# into Qt.AutoText widgets (status bar, QMessageBox) -- an id like
-# "<b>Verified</b>" renders as markup there. Not RCE, but UI spoofing, so
-# ids are constrained to a plain lowercase slug.
-_CATALOG_ID_RE = re.compile(r"^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9._-]{0,63}$")
-
-# Docker flags that consume the next arg as a value (so that value must not
-# be mistaken for the image reference when locating it in config.args).
-_DOCKER_VALUE_FLAGS = frozenset(
-    {
-        "-e",
-        "--env",
-        "-v",
-        "--volume",
-        "-p",
-        "--publish",
-        "--name",
-        "-w",
-        "--workdir",
-        "-u",
-        "--user",
-        "--entrypoint",
-        "--network",
-        "--platform",
-        "--add-host",
-        "-l",
-        "--label",
-    }
-)
-
 # How many versions a single accepted catalog jump may leap in one go. Bounds
 # a "freeze" attack: a compromised/leaked signing key claiming an absurd
 # future version would otherwise permanently outrank every legitimate
@@ -2593,121 +2264,6 @@ def _docker_arg_violations(tag: str, args: list[str]) -> list[str]:
     return problems
 
 
-def _catalog_package_spec_version(spec: str) -> str | None:
-    """
-    Extract the version pin from an npm-style package spec, or None if the
-    spec carries no pin.
-
-    Handles unscoped "name@version" and scoped "@scope/name@version" --
-    scoped names have a leading "@" that is NOT the version separator, so a
-    naive split on the first/only "@" misparses "@scope/pkg" (no version)
-    as pinned to "scope/pkg". Splitting from the right side instead is safe
-    for both forms because a package name may contain "@" only as the
-    scope's leading character.
-    """
-    if spec.startswith("@"):
-        rest = spec[1:]
-        if "@" not in rest:
-            return None
-        _, _, version = rest.rpartition("@")
-        return version or None
-    if "@" not in spec:
-        return None
-    _, _, version = spec.rpartition("@")
-    return version or None
-
-
-def _catalog_package_spec_pinned(spec: str) -> bool:
-    """
-    True if `spec` carries an exact version pin. Covers npm's "name@version"
-    / "@scope/name@version" and uv's documented PyPI pin forms
-    "name@version" and "name==version".
-    """
-    if "==" in spec:
-        _, _, version = spec.partition("==")
-        return bool(version)
-    return bool(_catalog_package_spec_version(spec))
-
-
-def _first_catalog_package_spec(args: list[str]) -> str | None:
-    """
-    The first arg that could plausibly BE a package spec: skip flags
-    (leading "-") and <PLACEHOLDER> tokens (which can't be validated and
-    are filled in by the user later, never shipped by the catalog as the
-    package name itself). Everything after the first hit is ignored --
-    trailing flags, paths, and placeholders are not package specs.
-    """
-    for a in args:
-        if a.startswith("-"):
-            continue
-        if _PLACEHOLDER_RE.fullmatch(a):
-            continue
-        return a
-    return None
-
-
-def _catalog_pin_violations(tag: str, command: str, args: list[str]) -> list[str]:
-    """
-    Version-pinning enforcement (finding #3): a catalog PR can otherwise
-    ship `npx -y @scope/pkg` or `docker run img:latest` and the *next*
-    resolve of that package/image is whatever the registry serves that day
-    -- outside review, outside the signature's meaning. This is the only
-    place that enforces pinning at runtime; catalog_review.py's
-    risk_unpinned_package() is a maintainer-facing hint, not a gate.
-    """
-    if command in ("npx", "uvx"):
-        spec = _first_catalog_package_spec(args)
-        if spec is None:
-            return [f"{tag}: config.args must include a package spec to pin (e.g. name@1.2.3)."]
-        if not _catalog_package_spec_pinned(spec):
-            return [
-                f"{tag}: config.args package {spec!r} is not version-pinned; use "
-                "name@version, @scope/name@version, or name==version."
-            ]
-        return []
-
-    if command == "docker":
-        image = _docker_image_ref(args)
-        if image is None:
-            return [f"{tag}: config.args docker command has no image reference to pin."]
-        _, sep, image_tag = image.rpartition(":")
-        if not sep or "/" in image_tag:
-            return [
-                f"{tag}: config.args docker image {image!r} has no explicit tag; "
-                "pin an exact version (not 'latest', not untagged)."
-            ]
-        if image_tag == "latest":
-            return [
-                f"{tag}: config.args docker image {image!r} uses the 'latest' tag, "
-                "which is not allowed; pin an exact version."
-            ]
-        return []
-
-    return []
-
-
-def _docker_image_ref(args: list[str]) -> str | None:
-    """
-    Locate the image reference in a `docker run ...` args list: skip the
-    "run" subcommand and any flags, including ones that consume the next
-    token as a value (-e, -v, --name, ...) so that value isn't mistaken for
-    the image. The first remaining positional token is the image.
-    """
-    i = 0
-    if i < len(args) and args[i] == "run":
-        i += 1
-    while i < len(args):
-        a = args[i]
-        if a.startswith("-"):
-            if a in _DOCKER_VALUE_FLAGS and "=" not in a:
-                i += 2
-            else:
-                i += 1
-            continue
-        return a
-    return None
-
-
 def _validate_catalog_config(tag: str, config) -> list[str]:
     """Validate the `config` block of a basic-tier catalog entry."""
     if not isinstance(config, dict):
@@ -2728,11 +2284,10 @@ def _validate_catalog_config(tag: str, config) -> list[str]:
             f"({', '.join(sorted(CATALOG_ALLOWED_COMMANDS))})."
         )
 
-    raw_args = config.get("args")
+    args = config.get("args")
-    args_ok = isinstance(raw_args, list) and all(isinstance(a, str) for a in raw_args)
+    if not isinstance(args, list) or not all(isinstance(a, str) for a in args):
-    args = raw_args if args_ok else []
-    if not args_ok:
         problems.append(f"{tag}: config.args must be a list of strings.")
+        args = []
 
     for a in args:
         if not a.isascii():
@@ -2751,55 +2306,11 @@ def _validate_catalog_config(tag: str, config) -> list[str]:
     if command == "docker":
         problems.extend(_docker_arg_violations(tag, args))
 
-    # Version pinning (finding #3) -- only meaningful once command/args are
-    # actually well-formed; a malformed args list already got its own
-    # problem above and has nothing left to pin-check.
-    if args_ok and command in ("npx", "uvx", "docker"):
-        problems.extend(_catalog_pin_violations(tag, command, args))
-
     env = config.get("env")
-    if env is not None:
+    if env is not None and (
-        env_ok = isinstance(env, dict) and all(
+        not isinstance(env, dict) or any(not isinstance(v, str) for v in env.values())
-            isinstance(k, str) and isinstance(v, str) for k, v in env.items()
+    ):
-        )
+        problems.append(f"{tag}: config.env must be an object of string values.")
-        if not env_ok:
-            problems.append(f"{tag}: config.env must be an object of string values.")
-        else:
-            # config.env (finding #2): unlike args, env was previously
-            # type-checked ONLY -- no allowlist, no deny-rule, no ASCII
-            # check, no secret check. That made it the single easiest way
-            # to smuggle a payload past every other guard in this
-            # function: an allowlisted `command: npx` plus
-            # NODE_OPTIONS=--require /tmp/x.js in env walks straight past
-            # the command allowlist AND the -e/--eval/-c deny-rule above,
-            # because neither of those ever looks at env.
-            for key, value in env.items():
-                if not key.isascii():
-                    problems.append(
-                        f"{tag}: config.env key {key!r} must be ASCII "
-                        "(non-ASCII code points rejected)."
-                    )
-                if key.upper() in CATALOG_DENIED_ENV_KEYS:
-                    problems.append(
-                        f"{tag}: config.env key {key!r} is on the catalog deny-list "
-                        "(interpreter/loader override) and is not allowed."
-                    )
-                if not value.isascii():
-                    problems.append(
-                        f"{tag}: config.env value for {key!r} must be ASCII "
-                        "(non-ASCII code points rejected)."
-                    )
-                if _is_secret_value(value):
-                    problems.append(
-                        f"{tag}: config.env[{key!r}] looks like a real secret value; "
-                        "catalog entries must never ship secret values."
-                    )
-                if value != "" and not _PLACEHOLDER_RE.fullmatch(value):
-                    problems.append(
-                        f"{tag}: config.env[{key!r}] must be an empty string or a "
-                        "single <PLACEHOLDER> token -- the catalog declares which env "
-                        "vars a server needs, it never supplies their values."
-                    )
 
     return problems
 
@@ -2819,12 +2330,6 @@ def _validate_catalog_entry(idx: int, entry, seen_ids: set[str]) -> list[str]:
         tag = f"servers[{idx}] ({entry_id!r})"
         if not entry_id.isascii():
             problems.append(f"{tag}: 'id' must be ASCII (non-ASCII code points rejected).")
-        elif not _CATALOG_ID_RE.match(entry_id):
-            problems.append(
-                f"{tag}: 'id' must match ^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9._-]{{0,63}}$ "
-                "(it becomes an mcpServers JSON key and is interpolated into "
-                "Qt.AutoText widgets)."
-            )
         if entry_id in seen_ids:
             problems.append(f"{tag}: duplicate id.")
         seen_ids.add(entry_id)
@@ -2938,32 +2443,15 @@ def verify_catalog_signature(raw: bytes, sig: bytes, pubkeys: list[bytes]) -> bo
     return False
 
 
-def _verify_catalog_candidate(candidate: tuple[bytes, bytes] | None) -> tuple[dict | None, int]:
-    """Verify+load+validate one (raw, sig) candidate. Returns (None, -1) on any failure."""
-    if not candidate:
-        return None, -1
-    raw, sig = candidate
-    if not verify_catalog_signature(raw, sig, CATALOG_PUBKEYS):
-        return None, -1
-    try:
-        data = load_catalog(raw)
-    except (ValueError, TypeError):
-        return None, -1
-    if validate_catalog(data):
-        return None, -1
-    return data, catalog_version(data)
-
-
 def resolve_catalog(
     bundled: tuple[bytes, bytes] | None,
     cached: tuple[bytes, bytes] | None,
     remote: tuple[bytes, bytes] | None,
-    floor: int = 0,
 ) -> dict:
     """
-    Pick the highest-version catalog among bundled/cached/remote. Each of
+    Pick the highest-version catalog among bundled/cached/remote. Each
-    bundled/cached/remote is either None (unavailable) or an (raw_bytes,
+    argument is either None (unavailable) or an (raw_bytes, signature_bytes)
-    signature_bytes) pair.
+    pair.
 
     🔴 SECURITY: every candidate — including `bundled`, the copy frozen into
     this binary — is verified against CATALOG_PUBKEYS and re-validated from
@@ -2974,68 +2462,46 @@ def resolve_catalog(
     by virtue of being local. Signing (and checking the signature at
     runtime, every time) closes that.
 
-    `floor` is a pure, caller-supplied lower bound (e.g. a persisted
+    Anti-rollback: a candidate's version is never accepted if it's lower
-    "last accepted version" the GUI can load from disk and pass in) — this
+    than the best verified candidate already found in this same resolution
-    function does no storage of its own.
+    pass — an attacker replaying an old, since-superseded signed catalog
+    can't downgrade you.
 
-    Anti-rollback / anti-freeze, and WHY they apply to every candidate
+    Anti-freeze: a candidate whose version leaps more than
-    including the first one evaluated: the previous version of this
+    _CATALOG_MAX_VERSION_JUMP past the current best is also rejected. A
-    function only ran these checks `if best_version >= 0`, i.e. once a
+    compromised/leaked signing key claiming an absurd future version would
-    candidate had already been accepted in this pass. That let the FIRST
+    otherwise permanently outrank every legitimate release from then on,
-    verified candidate through unconditionally — a signed catalog claiming
+    since the resolver always prefers the highest verified version — this
-    version=999999999 sailed straight past both guards if it happened to be
+    caps how far a single accepted jump can go.
-    evaluated first, and rollback protection reset on every call anyway
-    (nothing persisted across restarts). Now both guards are anchored to
-    something that doesn't depend on iteration order:
-
-    - The anti-freeze cap is measured against the BUNDLED catalog's version
-      (verified independently, once), not against "whatever was accepted
-      so far in this loop." Bundled ships inside the binary, so it's the
-      one candidate that isn't attacker-supplied at resolve time — the
-      natural trust anchor. If bundled itself doesn't verify, `floor` is
-      the anchor instead.
-    - The anti-rollback floor is max(floor, bundled's version), so a
-      caller that persists `floor` across restarts gets real rollback
-      protection; a caller that doesn't still gets "never below bundled."
-
-    On a version TIE, the bundled candidate wins over cached/remote (it
-    previously lost ties to whichever candidate happened to be evaluated
-    last, silently preferring remote over bundled at equal version).
 
     Returns the winning catalog dict, or {} if nothing verified and
     validated.
     """
-    bundled_data, bundled_version = _verify_catalog_candidate(bundled)
-
-    anchor = bundled_version if bundled_version >= 0 else floor
-    min_accepted = max(floor, bundled_version if bundled_version >= 0 else 0)
-
-    candidates = (
-        ("bundled", bundled_data, bundled_version),
-        ("cached", *_verify_catalog_candidate(cached)),
-        ("remote", *_verify_catalog_candidate(remote)),
-    )
-
     best: dict = {}
     best_version = -1
-    best_is_bundled = False
 
-    for source, data, version in candidates:
+    for candidate in (bundled, cached, remote):
-        if data is None:
+        if not candidate:
+            continue
+        raw, sig = candidate
+        if not verify_catalog_signature(raw, sig, CATALOG_PUBKEYS):
+            continue
+        try:
+            data = load_catalog(raw)
+        except (ValueError, TypeError):
+            continue
+        if validate_catalog(data):
             continue
-        if version < min_accepted:
-            continue  # anti-rollback / below the persisted floor
-        if version > anchor + _CATALOG_MAX_VERSION_JUMP:
-            continue  # anti-freeze, capped against the bundled trust anchor
 
-        is_bundled = source == "bundled"
+        version = catalog_version(data)
-        better = version > best_version or (
+        if best_version >= 0:
-            version == best_version and is_bundled and not best_is_bundled
+            if version < best_version:
-        )
+                continue  # anti-rollback
-        if better:
+            if version > best_version + _CATALOG_MAX_VERSION_JUMP:
-            best = data
+                continue  # anti-freeze
-            best_version = version
+
-            best_is_bundled = is_bundled
+        best = data
+        best_version = version
 
     return best
 
@@ -3044,8 +2510,17 @@ def catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry: dict) -> dict:
     """
     Convert a basic-tier catalog entry into the {name: {command, args, env}}
     shape parse_pasted_json()/_import_server() already understand, so the
-    (future) catalog picker dialog can feed a selection straight into the
+    Browse-catalog dialog can feed a selection straight into the existing
-    existing paste-import path instead of growing a parallel one.
+    paste-import path instead of growing a parallel one.
+
+    `env` is seeded from two sources: config.env (rare -- e.g. grafana's
+    non-secret GRAFANA_URL) and, for every key in `env_required` not already
+    present, an empty-string placeholder. env_required is where the seed
+    data actually keeps its secret VAR NAMES (validate_catalog requires its
+    values to be "" -- never a real secret); config.env alone, without this,
+    would silently drop those names on Add for the 9 of 19 seed entries that
+    need a secret and only declare it via env_required -- the user would
+    see a server added with no field prompting them for the key it needs.
     """
     config = entry.get("config") or {}
     name = entry.get("id") or entry.get("display") or "server"
@@ -3053,9 +2528,11 @@ def catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry: dict) -> dict:
         "command": config.get("command", ""),
         "args": list(config.get("args") or []),
     }
-    env = config.get("env")
+    env = dict(config.get("env") or {})
+    for key in entry.get("env_required") or {}:
+        env.setdefault(key, "")
     if env:
-        data["env"] = dict(env)
+        data["env"] = env
     return {str(name): data}
 
 
@@ -3075,3 +2552,190 @@ def config_has_unfilled_placeholders(cfg: dict) -> bool:
     if isinstance(env, dict):
         values.extend(v for v in env.values() if isinstance(v, str))
     return any(_PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(v) for v in values)
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# Catalog: Browse-dialog helpers (issue #10 phase 2)
+#
+# Everything below is pure and GUI-free on purpose (per the design comment on
+# #10): the dialog itself should be a thin shell that calls into this module,
+# the same relationship bcc.py already has with the rest of bcc_core.py.
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+
+# Collapses the 20-value category taxonomy from the catalog research pass
+# down to the 7 chips shown in the Browse dialog. Any category not listed
+# here (including one a future catalog entry introduces that we don't yet
+# know about) falls back to "Other" rather than raising -- an unrecognized
+# category must never make an entry disappear from the dialog.
+CATALOG_CATEGORY_GROUPS: dict[str, str] = {
+    "files": "Files & Dev",
+    "dev": "Files & Dev",
+    "code-hosting": "Files & Dev",
+    "browser": "Files & Dev",
+    "database": "Data",
+    "data": "Data",
+    "search": "Search & AI",
+    "ai": "Search & AI",
+    "cloud": "Cloud & Infra",
+    "infra": "Cloud & Infra",
+    "observability": "Cloud & Infra",
+    "productivity": "Work",
+    "communication": "Work",
+    "crm": "Work",
+    "finance": "Work",
+    "design": "Work",
+    "media": "Home & Personal",
+    "smart-home": "Home & Personal",
+    "personal": "Home & Personal",
+}
+
+# Ordered for chip display: "All" first, the 6 named groups next in the order
+# given in the #10 design comment, "Other" last as the catch-all.
+CATALOG_CATEGORY_CHIPS: tuple[str, ...] = (
+    "All",
+    "Files & Dev",
+    "Data",
+    "Search & AI",
+    "Cloud & Infra",
+    "Work",
+    "Home & Personal",
+    "Other",
+)
+
+
+def catalog_category_group(category: str) -> str:
+    """Collapse a raw catalog `category` value to one of the 7 UI chips.
+
+    Unknown/missing categories map to "Other" -- never raises, never drops
+    an entry from the list just because its category tag doesn't match one
+    of the ones known at the time this mapping was written.
+    """
+    return CATALOG_CATEGORY_GROUPS.get(str(category or "").strip().lower(), "Other")
+
+
+def catalog_entry_matches_query(entry: dict, query: str) -> bool:
+    """
+    Case-insensitive substring match against a catalog entry's id, display
+    name, description, and category. An empty/whitespace-only query matches
+    everything, so the search box doubles as "no filter" when cleared --
+    the same convention server_matches_filter() uses for the main table.
+    """
+    q = (query or "").strip().lower()
+    if not q:
+        return True
+    haystacks = (
+        str(entry.get("id", "")),
+        str(entry.get("display", "")),
+        str(entry.get("description", "")),
+        str(entry.get("category", "")),
+    )
+    return any(q in h.lower() for h in haystacks)
+
+
+def filter_catalog_entries(entries: list[dict], query: str) -> list[dict]:
+    """Return only the catalog entries that match `query` (see
+    catalog_entry_matches_query)."""
+    return [e for e in entries if catalog_entry_matches_query(e, query)]
+
+
+def catalog_entries_in_group(entries: list[dict], group: str) -> list[dict]:
+    """
+    Return only the entries whose category collapses into `group` (one of
+    CATALOG_CATEGORY_CHIPS). "All" (or a falsy/unrecognized group) returns
+    every entry unfiltered -- that's the default chip state.
+    """
+    if not group or group == "All":
+        return list(entries)
+    return [e for e in entries if catalog_category_group(e.get("category", "")) == group]
+
+
+def format_freshness_hint(last_release: str | None, today: date | None = None) -> str:
+    """
+    Turn a catalog entry's `last_release` (an ISO "YYYY-MM-DD" date, or None
+    when the registry didn't expose one) into a short freshness hint for the
+    detail pane, e.g. "Last updated 14 months ago".
+
+    Returns "" (nothing to show) when `last_release` is missing or
+    unparseable, or when it's somehow in the future relative to `today` --
+    a bogus "-3 months ago" would undermine the one signal this hint exists
+    to give the user, so we'd rather show nothing than something wrong.
+
+    `today` is an injectable override so this is exactly reproducible in
+    tests without depending on the wall clock.
+    """
+    if not last_release or not isinstance(last_release, str):
+        return ""
+    try:
+        released = date.fromisoformat(last_release)
+    except ValueError:
+        return ""
+    now = today or date.today()
+    if released > now:
+        return ""
+
+    months = (now.year - released.year) * 12 + (now.month - released.month)
+    if now.day < released.day:
+        months -= 1
+    months = max(months, 0)
+
+    if months == 0:
+        return "Last updated this month"
+    if months == 1:
+        return "Last updated 1 month ago"
+    if months < 24:
+        return f"Last updated {months} months ago"
+    years = months // 12
+    return f"Last updated {years} year{'s' if years != 1 else ''} ago"
+
+
+def first_unfilled_focus_target(data: dict) -> tuple[str, int | str] | None:
+    """
+    Given a server config dict shaped like catalog_entry_to_paste_json()'s
+    output (command/args/env), find the first thing a user must fill in
+    after a catalog Add: a <PLACEHOLDER>-style arg (checked first, since a
+    missing path/target usually blocks the server from starting at all) or
+    else the first env var the catalog left blank.
+
+    Returns ("args", index) or ("env", key), or None when there's nothing
+    left to fill (e.g. a server with no placeholders and no required env).
+    The GUI uses this to focus+select the right field right after Add,
+    instead of leaving the user to hunt for what still needs a value.
+    """
+    args = data.get("args") or []
+    for i, a in enumerate(args):
+        if isinstance(a, str) and _PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(a):
+            return ("args", i)
+
+    env = data.get("env") or {}
+    if isinstance(env, dict):
+        for k, v in env.items():
+            if not isinstance(v, str) or not v.strip() or _PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(v):
+                return ("env", k)
+
+    return None
+
+
+def load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path: Path, sig_path: Path) -> list[dict]:
+    """
+    Read+verify+validate the bundled catalog.json/.sig pair from disk and
+    return its `servers` list -- or an EMPTY list if anything at all is
+    wrong: files missing/unreadable, signature doesn't verify, JSON doesn't
+    parse, or validate_catalog() finds a problem.
+
+    🔴 SECURITY: this is the load-bearing guarantee for the Browse dialog.
+    There is deliberately no partial-success path here -- a signature
+    failure must never surface a half-trusted list, only an empty one, so
+    the GUI's only job is to render "Catalog unavailable" when this comes
+    back empty. All the real trust decisions (signature, schema, command
+    allowlist) already live in resolve_catalog()/validate_catalog(); this
+    is a thin disk-reading wrapper around them so the GUI never touches
+    catalog bytes directly.
+    """
+    try:
+        raw = catalog_path.read_bytes()
+        sig = sig_path.read_bytes()
+    except OSError:
+        return []
+    data = resolve_catalog(bundled=(raw, sig), cached=None, remote=None)
+    servers = data.get("servers") if isinstance(data, dict) else None
+    return servers if isinstance(servers, list) else []

catalog_console.py

@@ -12,12 +12,7 @@ Flow: Load -> Review -> Sign.
   1. Load    -- pick a source: an open Gitea PR touching data/catalog.json,
                 or the current tip of `main`. The Console fetches the exact
                 git blob (via a local clone's git plumbing) and PINS its
-                blob SHA *and the ref it came from* for the rest of this
+                blob SHA for the rest of this review pass.
-                review pass. For a PR, the diff is against `main`; for
-                `main`, the diff is against the last catalog a maintainer
-                actually SIGNED (the bytes covered by the current
-                data/catalog.json.sig), never against itself -- an empty
-                diff must mean "nothing to sign", never "sign unlocked".
   2. Review  -- a semantic diff (catalog_review.diff_catalogs), one card per
                 changed entry, with risk annotations
                 (catalog_review.entry_risk_findings). A registry lookup for
@@ -30,34 +25,20 @@ Flow: Load -> Review -> Sign.
                 changed entry must be individually acknowledged (its
                 checkbox ticked) before Sign unlocks. There is no
                 "acknowledge all" -- see catalog_review.py.
-  3. Sign    -- re-resolves the current blob SHA from the SAME ref that was
+  3. Sign    -- re-fetches the current blob SHA and refuses to sign unless
-                reviewed (never a hardcoded "main") and refuses to sign
+                it still matches the pinned SHA from step 1 (TOCTOU fix:
-                unless it still matches the pinned SHA from step 1, the diff
+                catalog_review.can_sign). On success, writes
-                is non-empty, and no changed entry has an outstanding
-                blocking risk finding (catalog_review.sign_precondition /
-                can_sign -- the TOCTOU fix). On success, writes
                 data/catalog.json + data/catalog.json.sig and commits BOTH
                 in a single commit, then pushes -- so main is never red
-                between a catalog merge and its signature. Signing uses the
+                between a catalog merge and its signature.
-                CATALOG key ONLY -- see "Two signing keys" below.
 
 The signature must be the artefact of an actual review, not a step that
 follows one. Signing IS the approval act.
-
-Two signing keys (issue #68 finding 5): the CATALOG key (offline,
-Console-only, `keygen` / `keygen --release` picks which) is the root of
-trust for what BCC executes and must never touch CI. The RELEASE key is
-CI-resident and signs ONLY the release SHA256SUMS manifest
-(scripts/sign_checksums.py) -- `show-seed-b64 --release` is the only
-supported way to get a seed out of this tool, and it refuses to run without
-`--release` so the catalog seed can never be exported by habit. See the
-README's "Signing keys" section.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import argparse
-import base64
 import contextlib
 import getpass
 import html
@@ -88,28 +69,8 @@ SIG_PATH = "data/catalog.json.sig"
 # maintainer-only tool, so a dotfile under $HOME is an acceptable fallback
 # when the OS keychain isn't available -- the blob stored there is always
 # passphrase-encrypted (see catalog_review.encrypt_private_key), never raw.
-#
-# Two SEPARATE keys are stored here, never conflated (issue #68 finding 5):
-#   "catalog" -- offline, Console-only. Verified by bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS.
-#                Roots of trust for every catalog entry BCC ships. Must
-#                NEVER leave this machine, never touch CI, never become an
-#                env var or a repo secret.
-#   "release" -- CI-resident. Verified by scripts.sign_checksums.
-#                RELEASE_PUBKEYS. Signs ONLY the release SHA256SUMS
-#                manifest. Its private seed is deliberately meant to be
-#                pasted into the RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY Gitea Actions secret
-#                (via `show-seed-b64 --release`) -- that is its normal,
-#                intended flow. A CI compromise burns this key, not the
-#                catalog key: that asymmetry is the whole point of having
-#                two keys instead of one.
 KEY_STORAGE_DIR = Path.home() / ".bcc-catalog-console"
-_KEY_KINDS = ("catalog", "release")
+KEY_STORAGE_FILE = KEY_STORAGE_DIR / "signing_key.enc"
-
-
-def _key_storage_file(kind: str) -> Path:
-    assert kind in _KEY_KINDS, f"unknown key kind {kind!r}, expected one of {_KEY_KINDS}"
-    return KEY_STORAGE_DIR / f"signing_key_{kind}.enc"
-
 
 HTTP_TIMEOUT = 6.0
 
@@ -136,64 +97,51 @@ def _keyring_module():
 
 
 _KEYRING_SERVICE = "bcc-catalog-console"
+_KEYRING_USERNAME = "signing-key"
 
 
-def _keyring_username(kind: str) -> str:
+def store_encrypted_key(blob: bytes) -> str:
-    assert kind in _KEY_KINDS, f"unknown key kind {kind!r}, expected one of {_KEY_KINDS}"
-    return f"signing-key-{kind}"
-
-
-def store_encrypted_key(blob: bytes, kind: str = "catalog") -> str:
     """Persist an already-encrypted key blob (see
-    catalog_review.encrypt_private_key) under the given `kind`
+    catalog_review.encrypt_private_key). Prefers the OS keychain; falls back
-    ("catalog" or "release" -- see the KEY_STORAGE_DIR comment above; the
+    to a file under KEY_STORAGE_DIR (outside the repo) with restrictive
-    two are stored under different keychain entries / filenames so they can
-    never be loaded interchangeably). Prefers the OS keychain; falls back to
-    a file under KEY_STORAGE_DIR (outside the repo) with restrictive
     permissions. Returns a human-readable description of where it went."""
     keyring = _keyring_module()
     if keyring is not None:
         try:
-            keyring.set_password(_KEYRING_SERVICE, _keyring_username(kind), blob.hex())
+            keyring.set_password(_KEYRING_SERVICE, _KEYRING_USERNAME, blob.hex())
             return "OS keychain (via the `keyring` package)"
         except Exception:
             pass  # fall through to the file-based path
     KEY_STORAGE_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    key_file = _key_storage_file(kind)
+    KEY_STORAGE_FILE.write_bytes(blob)
-    key_file.write_bytes(blob)
     with contextlib.suppress(OSError):  # best-effort on platforms without POSIX perm bits
-        key_file.chmod(0o600)
+        KEY_STORAGE_FILE.chmod(0o600)
-    return f"encrypted file at {key_file}"
+    return f"encrypted file at {KEY_STORAGE_FILE}"
 
 
-def load_encrypted_key(kind: str = "catalog") -> bytes:
+def load_encrypted_key() -> bytes:
-    """Load the encrypted key blob of the given `kind` from wherever
+    """Load the encrypted key blob from wherever store_encrypted_key() put
-    store_encrypted_key() put it. Raises FileNotFoundError if no key of that
+    it. Raises FileNotFoundError if no key has been generated yet."""
-    kind has been generated yet."""
     keyring = _keyring_module()
     if keyring is not None:
         try:
-            hex_blob = keyring.get_password(_KEYRING_SERVICE, _keyring_username(kind))
+            hex_blob = keyring.get_password(_KEYRING_SERVICE, _KEYRING_USERNAME)
             if hex_blob:
                 return bytes.fromhex(hex_blob)
         except Exception:
             pass
-    key_file = _key_storage_file(kind)
+    if not KEY_STORAGE_FILE.exists():
-    if not key_file.exists():
-        flag = " --release" if kind == "release" else ""
         raise FileNotFoundError(
-            f"No {kind} signing key found (checked the OS keychain and {key_file}). "
+            f"No signing key found (checked the OS keychain and {KEY_STORAGE_FILE}). "
-            f"Run `python catalog_console.py keygen{flag}` first."
+            "Run `python catalog_console.py keygen` first."
         )
-    return key_file.read_bytes()
+    return KEY_STORAGE_FILE.read_bytes()
 
 
-def unlock_signing_key(passphrase: str, kind: str = "catalog") -> bytes:
+def unlock_signing_key(passphrase: str) -> bytes:
-    """Load + decrypt the signing key seed of the given `kind`. Raises
+    """Load + decrypt the signing key seed. Raises ValueError on a wrong
-    ValueError on a wrong passphrase, FileNotFoundError if no key of that
+    passphrase, FileNotFoundError if no key exists yet."""
-    kind exists yet. Defaults to "catalog" because that's the key
+    blob = load_encrypted_key()
-    ReviewWindow._on_sign uses -- the GUI never touches the release key."""
-    blob = load_encrypted_key(kind)
     return review.decrypt_private_key(blob, passphrase)
 
 
@@ -240,49 +188,6 @@ def read_catalog_at_commit(repo_dir: Path, commit: str) -> tuple[bytes, str]:
     return blob_bytes(repo_dir, sha), sha
 
 
-def catalog_blob_history(repo_dir: Path, ref: str, limit: int = 200) -> list[str]:
-    """Blob SHAs of CATALOG_PATH at each commit that touched it, walking
-    back from `ref`, most-recent-first. Used by last_signed_catalog_raw() to
-    find "the version of the catalog the current signature actually covers"
-    without assuming it's the tip commit."""
-    log_out = _git(repo_dir, "log", f"--max-count={limit}", "--format=%H", ref, "--", CATALOG_PATH)
-    commits = [line for line in log_out.splitlines() if line]
-    shas: list[str] = []
-    for commit in commits:
-        try:
-            shas.append(blob_sha_at(repo_dir, commit, CATALOG_PATH))
-        except GitError:
-            continue
-    return shas
-
-
-def last_signed_catalog_raw(repo_dir: Path, commit: str) -> bytes | None:
-    """The raw data/catalog.json bytes that verify against
-    data/catalog.json.sig as of `commit` -- i.e. "the last catalog a
-    maintainer actually signed", found by walking the catalog's git history
-    on that ref until a version verifies against the *current* signature.
-
-    This is what source="main (current tip)" diffs against (issue #68
-    finding 1): if main's tip catalog.json already matches its .sig, this
-    returns that same content and the diff is correctly empty (nothing new
-    to sign). If someone merged a catalog change to main without running it
-    through the Console -- the exact bypass that produced commit b08cf21 --
-    the signature still covers the OLDER content, so this returns that older
-    version and the diff surfaces exactly what was never actually reviewed.
-
-    Returns None if there's no signature yet, or none of the recent history
-    verifies against it (caller should treat this as "diff against nothing
-    ever signed", i.e. every current entry shows as newly added).
-    """
-    try:
-        sig_sha = blob_sha_at(repo_dir, commit, SIG_PATH)
-    except GitError:
-        return None
-    sig_bytes = blob_bytes(repo_dir, sig_sha)
-    candidates = [blob_bytes(repo_dir, sha) for sha in catalog_blob_history(repo_dir, commit)]
-    return review.find_last_signed_catalog_raw(candidates, sig_bytes, core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS)
-
-
 def commit_and_push_signed_catalog(
     repo_dir: Path, raw_bytes: bytes, signature: bytes, *, branch: str = "main"
 ) -> str:
@@ -739,50 +644,28 @@ class ReviewWindow(QMainWindow):
         row = self.source_list.currentRow()
         try:
             if row <= 0:
-                # source = main: diff against the last catalog a maintainer
+                commit = fetch_ref(self.repo_dir, "main")
-                # actually SIGNED (the bytes covered by the current
+                old_commit = None  # main vs itself has no "old" -- nothing to diff without a base
-                # data/catalog.json.sig), never against itself. Diffing
-                # main-vs-main is what made an empty diff -> instantly
-                # "signable" in the first place (issue #68 finding 1) --
-                # this is the only path that reaches sign_catalog_bytes(),
-                # so if it can't be trusted nothing can.
-                loaded_ref = "main"
-                commit = fetch_ref(self.repo_dir, loaded_ref)
-                new_raw, new_blob_sha = read_catalog_at_commit(self.repo_dir, commit)
-                new_catalog = core.load_catalog(new_raw)
-                old_raw = last_signed_catalog_raw(self.repo_dir, commit)
-                old_catalog = (
-                    core.load_catalog(old_raw)
-                    if old_raw is not None
-                    else {
-                        "schema": 1,
-                        "version": 0,
-                        "servers": [],
-                    }
-                )
             else:
                 pr = self._prs[row - 1]
-                loaded_ref = pr.head_ref
+                commit = fetch_ref(self.repo_dir, pr.head_ref)
-                commit = fetch_ref(self.repo_dir, loaded_ref)
                 old_commit = fetch_ref(self.repo_dir, "main")
 
-                new_raw, new_blob_sha = read_catalog_at_commit(self.repo_dir, commit)
+            new_raw, new_blob_sha = read_catalog_at_commit(self.repo_dir, commit)
-                new_catalog = core.load_catalog(new_raw)
+            new_catalog = core.load_catalog(new_raw)
+
+            if old_commit:
                 old_raw, _old_sha = read_catalog_at_commit(self.repo_dir, old_commit)
                 old_catalog = core.load_catalog(old_raw)
+            else:
+                old_catalog = new_catalog
 
         except (GitError, ValueError) as e:
             QMessageBox.critical(self, "Load failed", html.escape(str(e)))
             return
 
         self._new_raw = new_raw
-        # `loaded_ref` is pinned into the session (not just this method's
+        self.session = review.start_review(new_blob_sha, old_catalog, new_catalog)
-        # local variable) so _on_sign can re-resolve the TOCTOU blob SHA
-        # from the SAME ref that was reviewed, instead of a hardcoded
-        # "main" -- see review.sign_precondition and issue #68 finding 1.
-        self.session = review.start_review(
-            new_blob_sha, old_catalog, new_catalog, loaded_ref=loaded_ref
-        )
         self._render_cards()
 
     def _render_cards(self):
@@ -823,43 +706,20 @@ class ReviewWindow(QMainWindow):
 
     def _on_sign(self):
         assert self.session is not None
-
-        def _resolve_blob_sha(ref: str) -> str:
-            # Re-fetch fresh, immediately before signing, from the SAME ref
-            # that was reviewed (session.loaded_ref) -- NEVER hardcode
-            # "main" here. Hardcoding "main" is the bug that made the PR
-            # review path unable to sign at all: _on_load() pins the PR
-            # head's blob SHA, so comparing against main's SHA differs by
-            # definition for any PR that actually changes the catalog, and
-            # this refused every PR review permanently (see issue #68
-            # finding 1 and review.sign_precondition's docstring).
-            return blob_sha_at(self.repo_dir, fetch_ref(self.repo_dir, ref), CATALOG_PATH)
-
         try:
-            decision = review.sign_precondition(self.session, _resolve_blob_sha)
+            current_sha = blob_sha_at(self.repo_dir, fetch_ref(self.repo_dir, "main"), CATALOG_PATH)
         except GitError as e:
             QMessageBox.critical(self, "Sign failed", html.escape(str(e)))
             return
 
+        decision = review.can_sign(self.session, current_sha)
         if not decision.ok:
             QMessageBox.warning(self, "Cannot sign", html.escape(decision.reason or ""))
-            # Only the TOCTOU blob-SHA-mismatch reason should trigger a
+            if decision.reason and "changed" in decision.reason.lower():
-            # reload -- "mismatch" appears ONLY in that reason (deliberately
+                self._on_load()  # force a re-review against the new bytes
-            # checked instead of the broader "changed", which also matches
-            # "Not every CHANGED entry has been acknowledged yet" and would
-            # wrongly force a reload -- and with it a fresh review.py
-            # ReviewSession -- every time a reviewer pauses partway through
-            # ticking checkboxes).
-            if decision.reason and "mismatch" in decision.reason.lower():
-                # Force a genuine re-review against the new bytes -- this
-                # must call _on_load() (which re-fetches and re-diffs), NOT
-                # re-invoke the same stale resolver, or this becomes the
-                # infinite loop described in issue #68 finding 1: re-pinning
-                # the same wrong SHA forever instead of ever converging.
-                self._on_load()
             return
 
-        dialog = PassphraseDialog("Enter CATALOG signing key passphrase:", self)
+        dialog = PassphraseDialog("Enter signing key passphrase:", self)
         if dialog.exec() != QDialog.DialogCode.Accepted:
             return
         try:
@@ -884,17 +744,9 @@ class ReviewWindow(QMainWindow):
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 
 
-def cmd_keygen(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
+def cmd_keygen(_args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
-    # Two SEPARATE keypairs, never conflated (issue #68 finding 5): the
-    # catalog key is the offline root of trust for what BCC executes and
-    # must never touch CI; the release key is CI-resident and signs ONLY
-    # the release SHA256SUMS manifest. Which one this run generates is
-    # explicit via --release, and the printed instructions differ sharply
-    # so it's obvious which key is safe to paste into a CI secret (release)
-    # and which one never is (catalog).
-    kind = "release" if getattr(args, "release", False) else "catalog"
     seed, pubkey = review.generate_keypair()
-    passphrase = getpass.getpass(f"Choose a passphrase to encrypt the new {kind} signing key: ")
+    passphrase = getpass.getpass("Choose a passphrase to encrypt the new signing key: ")
     confirm = getpass.getpass("Confirm passphrase: ")
     if passphrase != confirm:
         print("error: passphrases did not match", file=sys.stderr)
@@ -904,67 +756,31 @@ def cmd_keygen(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
         return 1
 
     blob = review.encrypt_private_key(seed, passphrase)
-    where = store_encrypted_key(blob, kind=kind)
+    where = store_encrypted_key(blob)
-    pubkey_b64 = base64.b64encode(pubkey).decode("ascii")
+    pubkey_b64 = __import__("base64").b64encode(pubkey).decode("ascii")
 
-    print(f"{kind.capitalize()} private key encrypted and stored in: {where}")
+    print(f"Private key encrypted and stored in: {where}")
     print()
-    if kind == "catalog":
+    print("Public key (base64, paste into bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS):")
-        print(
+    print(f"    {pubkey_b64}")
-            "This is the CATALOG key. It is the root of trust for every catalog "
+    print()
-            "entry BCC ships -- it must stay offline and Console-only. NEVER paste "
+    print(
-            "it, its seed, or `show-seed-b64` output into CI, an env var, or a repo "
+        "Also add it as the Gitea repo secret RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY (base64 of the "
-            "secret. (If the key currently in bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS has ever been "
+        "32-byte private seed) used by release.yml -- get that value with:"
-            "pasted into a CI secret, treat it as burned for catalog use -- generate "
+    )
-            "a fresh one with this command and rotate.)"
+    print("    python catalog_console.py show-seed-b64   # careful: prints the raw key")
-        )
-        print()
-        print(
-            "Public key (base64) -- hand this to whoever maintains bcc_core.py so "
-            "they can add it to CATALOG_PUBKEYS (this tool does not edit that file):"
-        )
-        print(f"    {pubkey_b64}")
-    else:
-        print(
-            "This is the RELEASE key. It signs ONLY the release SHA256SUMS "
-            "manifest in CI -- it is intentionally CI-resident and is NOT trusted "
-            "to sign the catalog (bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS does not and must not "
-            "contain it)."
-        )
-        print()
-        print("1. Public key (base64) -- paste into scripts/sign_checksums.py RELEASE_PUBKEYS:")
-        print(f"    {pubkey_b64}")
-        print()
-        print(
-            "2. Private key -- add it as the Gitea repo secret RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY "
-            "(base64 of the 32-byte private seed). Get that value with:"
-        )
-        print("    python catalog_console.py show-seed-b64 --release   # prints the raw key")
     return 0
 
 
-def cmd_show_seed_b64(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
+def cmd_show_seed_b64(_args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
-    # Deliberately requires --release: this command's whole purpose is to
+    passphrase = getpass.getpass("Signing key passphrase: ")
-    # produce a value that gets pasted into a CI secret, and the catalog key
-    # must NEVER be pasted into CI (issue #68 finding 5 -- that is exactly
-    # how the catalog key ended up burned in the first place). Refusing to
-    # run without --release makes "export the catalog seed for CI" a
-    # structurally different, more deliberate action than a typo away.
-    if not getattr(args, "release", False):
-        print(
-            "error: show-seed-b64 only ever exports the RELEASE key -- it is the "
-            "only key allowed to leave this machine, for the RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY CI "
-            "secret. Re-run as `show-seed-b64 --release`. The catalog key must never "
-            "be exported this way; see issue #68 finding 5.",
-            file=sys.stderr,
-        )
-        return 1
-    passphrase = getpass.getpass("Release signing key passphrase: ")
     try:
-        seed = unlock_signing_key(passphrase, kind="release")
+        seed = unlock_signing_key(passphrase)
     except (FileNotFoundError, ValueError) as e:
         print(f"error: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
         return 1
+    import base64
+
     print(base64.b64encode(seed).decode("ascii"))
     return 0
 
@@ -994,28 +810,11 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     p_gui.add_argument("--repo", default=".", help="path to a BCC git checkout (default: cwd)")
     p_gui.set_defaults(func=cmd_gui)
 
-    p_keygen = sub.add_parser(
+    p_keygen = sub.add_parser("keygen", help="generate a new Ed25519 signing keypair")
-        "keygen", help="generate a new Ed25519 signing keypair (catalog key by default)"
-    )
-    p_keygen.add_argument(
-        "--release",
-        action="store_true",
-        help=(
-            "generate the RELEASE key (CI-resident, signs SHA256SUMS only) instead "
-            "of the CATALOG key (offline, Console-only, signs data/catalog.json -- "
-            "see issue #68 finding 5)"
-        ),
-    )
     p_keygen.set_defaults(func=cmd_keygen)
 
     p_seed = sub.add_parser(
-        "show-seed-b64",
+        "show-seed-b64", help="print the base64 private seed (for the RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY secret)"
-        help="print a base64 private seed for a CI secret -- RELEASE key only",
-    )
-    p_seed.add_argument(
-        "--release",
-        action="store_true",
-        help="required: only the release key may ever be exported this way",
     )
     p_seed.set_defaults(func=cmd_show_seed_b64)
 

catalog_review.py

@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ from urllib.parse import urlsplit
 
 from bcc_core import _CATALOG_SIG_DOMAIN as CATALOG_SIG_DOMAIN
 from bcc_core import CATALOG_ALLOWED_COMMANDS
-from bcc_core import verify_catalog_signature as _verify_catalog_signature
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Semantic diff
@@ -433,21 +432,11 @@ def has_blocking_risk(change: EntryChange) -> bool:
 class ReviewSession:
     """State for one review pass. `pinned_blob_sha` is the git blob SHA of
     data/catalog.json as it existed the moment review began -- see
-    can_sign()/sign_precondition().
+    can_sign()."""
-
-    `loaded_ref` is the exact ref this review was loaded from ("main", or a
-    PR's `refs/pull/<n>/head`) -- see issue #68 finding 1. It exists so the
-    Sign path can re-resolve the TOCTOU blob SHA from *the ref that was
-    actually reviewed*, instead of a hardcoded "main" that silently diverges
-    from the reviewed ref on every PR review (the bug that made the PR path
-    unable to sign at all, and forced everyone onto the vacuous
-    main-vs-itself path instead).
-    """
 
     pinned_blob_sha: str
     old_catalog: dict
     new_catalog: dict
-    loaded_ref: str = "main"
     changes: list[EntryChange] = field(default_factory=list)
     acknowledged: set[str] = field(default_factory=set)
 
@@ -456,39 +445,12 @@ class ReviewSession:
             self.changes = diff_catalogs(self.old_catalog, self.new_catalog)
 
 
-def start_review(
+def start_review(pinned_blob_sha: str, old_catalog: dict, new_catalog: dict) -> ReviewSession:
-    pinned_blob_sha: str,
-    old_catalog: dict,
-    new_catalog: dict,
-    loaded_ref: str = "main",
-) -> ReviewSession:
     return ReviewSession(
-        pinned_blob_sha=pinned_blob_sha,
+        pinned_blob_sha=pinned_blob_sha, old_catalog=old_catalog, new_catalog=new_catalog
-        old_catalog=old_catalog,
-        new_catalog=new_catalog,
-        loaded_ref=loaded_ref,
     )
 
 
-def find_last_signed_catalog_raw(
-    candidates: list[bytes], sig: bytes, pubkeys: list[bytes]
-) -> bytes | None:
-    """Given `candidates` (candidate raw catalog.json byte-strings -- e.g.
-    successive historical versions from git log, most-recent-first),
-    return the first one whose signature verifies against `sig`/`pubkeys`,
-    or None if none do.
-
-    This is how source="main" review diffs against "the last catalog a
-    maintainer actually signed" instead of against itself (issue #68
-    finding 1): `catalog_console.last_signed_catalog_raw` walks
-    data/catalog.json's git history on main and hands the candidates here.
-    """
-    for raw in candidates:
-        if _verify_catalog_signature(raw, sig, pubkeys):
-            return raw
-    return None
-
-
 def acknowledge_entry(session: ReviewSession, entry_id: str) -> None:
     ids = {c.entry_id for c in session.changes}
     if entry_id not in ids:
@@ -521,53 +483,22 @@ class SignDecision:
 def can_sign(session: ReviewSession, current_blob_sha: str) -> SignDecision:
     """Whether the Sign button may fire right now.
 
-    Four independent gates, all required, checked in this order:
+    Two independent gates, both required:
-
+    1. TOCTOU: `current_blob_sha` (fetched fresh, immediately before signing)
-    0. The diff must be non-empty. An empty diff historically meant "Sign
-       unlocks instantly" (`set() <= set()` is vacuously True), which is
-       exactly backwards: a vacuously-satisfied gate is worse than no gate
-       at all, because it *manufactures confidence* -- the signature looks
-       identical to one produced by a real review. "Nothing changed" must
-       mean "nothing to sign", never "sign unlocked". (Issue #68 finding 1;
-       this is what let commit b08cf21 sign all 19 entries with zero of them
-       ever reviewed.)
-    1. TOCTOU: `current_blob_sha` (fetched fresh, immediately before signing,
-       from the ref that was actually reviewed -- see sign_precondition())
        must match the blob SHA pinned when review began. If the bytes on the
        remote changed since -- a new commit pushed to the same PR, a
        force-push, another PR merged in between -- signing is refused and a
        re-review is forced. This is what makes "signing is the approval act"
        true rather than aspirational: the signature is bound to the exact
        reviewed bytes, not to "whatever the file happens to be now".
-    2. No blocking risk finding may be outstanding on ANY changed entry, full
+    2. Every changed entry in the diff must be individually acknowledged.
-       stop -- checked here, not just in the GUI. The GUI additionally
-       disables the acknowledge checkbox for a blocking entry, but that is a
-       UI nicety, not the enforcement point: if this pure gate didn't also
-       check it, a blocking risk would only be stopped by the GUI happening
-       to have wired the checkbox correctly, and nothing would catch a
-       regression in that wiring. The GUI must not be the only thing
-       standing between a blocking risk and a signature.
-    3. Every changed entry in the diff must be individually acknowledged.
     """
-    if not session.changes:
-        return SignDecision(
-            False,
-            "Nothing to sign: this review's diff is empty. If you expected "
-            "changes here, you may be diffing the wrong source/ref.",
-        )
     if current_blob_sha != session.pinned_blob_sha:
         return SignDecision(
             False,
             "The reviewed bytes changed since this review began (blob SHA "
             "mismatch) -- re-review required before signing.",
         )
-    blocking_ids = sorted({c.entry_id for c in session.changes if has_blocking_risk(c)})
-    if blocking_ids:
-        return SignDecision(
-            False,
-            "Blocking risk finding(s) outstanding on: "
-            f"{', '.join(blocking_ids)} -- fix the underlying change, do not sign around it.",
-        )
     if not all_entries_acknowledged(session):
         pending = sorted({c.entry_id for c in session.changes} - session.acknowledged)
         return SignDecision(
@@ -576,28 +507,6 @@ def can_sign(session: ReviewSession, current_blob_sha: str) -> SignDecision:
     return SignDecision(True, None)
 
 
-def sign_precondition(
-    session: ReviewSession, resolve_blob_sha: Callable[[str], str]
-) -> SignDecision:
-    """The real Sign-button gate: resolves the current TOCTOU blob SHA from
-    *the ref this session was actually loaded from* (`session.loaded_ref`),
-    never a hardcoded "main", then delegates to can_sign().
-
-    `resolve_blob_sha` is injected so this stays testable without git/Qt --
-    catalog_console.ReviewWindow._on_sign passes a real resolver
-    (fetch_ref + blob_sha_at against self.repo_dir); tests pass a fake
-    dict-backed lookup. This is the fix for issue #68 finding 1's first bug:
-    `_on_sign` used to hardcode `fetch_ref(self.repo_dir, "main")` as the
-    comparison ref, so for any PR review (where `loaded_ref` is the PR's
-    head, not main) the SHAs differed by definition and Sign could never
-    fire -- and the retry path re-called the same hardcoded resolver, so it
-    re-pinned the same wrong value and looped forever instead of forcing a
-    genuine re-review.
-    """
-    current_blob_sha = resolve_blob_sha(session.loaded_ref)
-    return can_sign(session, current_blob_sha)
-
-
 def catalog_signing_message(raw_bytes: bytes) -> bytes:
     """The exact bytes that get signed: bcc_core's domain-separation prefix
     (imported, never retyped) + the raw catalog bytes. Using this function

scripts/sign_checksums.py

@@ -42,25 +42,6 @@ from pathlib import Path
 # message signed by the same key.
 DOMAIN_PREFIX = b"bcc-release-v1|"
 
-# Public half of the RELEASE signing key(s) -- a SEPARATE keypair from
-# bcc_core.CATALOG_PUBKEYS (issue #68 finding 5). The catalog key is the
-# offline, Console-only root of trust for what BCC executes; this key is
-# CI-resident and signs ONLY the release SHA256SUMS manifest, never the
-# catalog. Keeping them apart means a CI/repo-secret compromise burns the
-# release key -- annoying, but it never lets an attacker sign a catalog a
-# user's binary would trust. A LIST (not a single key), mirroring
-# CATALOG_PUBKEYS, so the release key can be rotated without invalidating
-# the signature on every past release: verification accepts a match against
-# ANY key here.
-#
-# Empty until the maintainer generates the release keypair (separately from
-# the catalog keypair) and pastes the public half in:
-#     python catalog_console.py keygen --release
-# This is intentionally NOT pre-populated with a placeholder that looks
-# like a real key -- release.yml's signing-smoke-test fails closed (loudly)
-# on an empty list rather than silently verifying against nothing.
-RELEASE_PUBKEYS: list[bytes] = []
-
 CHUNK_SIZE = 1024 * 1024
 
 
@@ -154,19 +135,6 @@ def public_key_b64_from_seed(seed_b64: str) -> str:
     return base64.b64encode(raw).decode("ascii")
 
 
-def verify_checksums_against_any(pubkeys: list[bytes], sums_text: str, signature: bytes) -> bool:
-    """Verify `signature` against ANY key in `pubkeys` (each a raw 32-byte
-    Ed25519 public key). Mirrors bcc_core.verify_catalog_signature's
-    rotation-friendly "any currently-trusted key" semantics, applied to
-    RELEASE_PUBKEYS instead of the catalog's key list. Returns False (never
-    raises) for an empty `pubkeys` list -- fails closed rather than
-    vacuously verifying against nothing."""
-    return any(
-        verify_checksums(base64.b64encode(pk).decode("ascii"), sums_text, signature)
-        for pk in pubkeys
-    )
-
-
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # CLI
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #

tests/test_catalog_review.py

@@ -334,29 +334,13 @@ def test_acknowledge_gating_requires_every_entry():
     assert r.all_entries_acknowledged(session) is True
 
 
-def test_no_acknowledge_all_shortcut_and_gate_is_real():
+def test_no_acknowledge_all_function_exists():
-    """Two things, both load-bearing (issue #68: the original version of
+    """Deliberate: there must be no shortcut to acknowledge every entry at
-    this test asserted ONLY the first half, and passed the entire time the
+    once. See the comment in catalog_review.py above SignDecision."""
-    gate below it was vacuously satisfiable -- 'no function named
-    acknowledge_all' is worthless if signing doesn't actually require
-    acknowledgement in practice).
-
-    1. No bulk-acknowledge shortcut exists (see the comment in
-       catalog_review.py above SignDecision -- deliberate friction).
-    2. The gate that friction protects is actually enforced: with entries
-       still unacknowledged, can_sign() must refuse, not just "some GUI
-       checkbox happens to be unticked".
-    """
     names = [n for n in dir(r) if "acknowledge" in n.lower()]
     assert "acknowledge_all" not in names
     assert "acknowledge_all_entries" not in names
 
-    session = r.start_review("sha1", _catalog(), _catalog(_entry(id="a"), _entry(id="b")))
-    r.acknowledge_entry(session, "a")  # only one of two -- not a bulk call
-    decision = r.can_sign(session, "sha1")
-    assert decision.ok is False
-    assert "acknowledged" in decision.reason.lower()
-
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # can_sign: TOCTOU blob pinning + acknowledge gating combined
@@ -393,130 +377,6 @@ def test_can_sign_blob_mismatch_takes_priority_message():
     assert "blob" in decision.reason.lower() or "changed" in decision.reason.lower()
 
 
-def test_can_sign_false_on_empty_changeset():
-    """The exact bug behind issue #68 finding 1: 'main' loaded against
-    itself diffs to [], and an empty changeset used to leave can_sign()
-    with nothing to refuse on (set() <= set() is vacuously True). Commit
-    b08cf21 signed 19 entries through precisely this path -- zero of them
-    were ever reviewed. An empty diff must mean 'nothing to sign', never
-    'sign unlocked'."""
-    same_catalog = _catalog(_entry())
-    session = r.start_review("sha1", same_catalog, same_catalog)
-    assert session.changes == []  # diff_catalogs(x, x) -> []
-    assert r.all_entries_acknowledged(session) is True  # vacuously -- this is the trap
-    decision = r.can_sign(session, "sha1")  # blob matches, "everything" acknowledged
-    assert decision.ok is False
-    assert "nothing to sign" in decision.reason.lower()
-
-
-def test_can_sign_false_with_outstanding_blocking_risk_even_if_acknowledged():
-    """can_sign() must itself refuse a blocking risk finding -- today a
-    blocking finding only disables the GUI checkbox, so the pure gate must
-    not simply trust that the caller never acknowledged a blocking entry.
-    Acknowledge it directly here (bypassing any GUI checkbox-disable logic
-    entirely) to prove the gate catches it independently of the GUI."""
-    session = r.start_review(
-        "sha1",
-        _catalog(),
-        _catalog(_entry(config={"command": "bash", "args": ["-c", "evil"]})),
-    )
-    r.acknowledge_entry(session, "filesystem")
-    assert r.all_entries_acknowledged(session) is True
-    decision = r.can_sign(session, "sha1")
-    assert decision.ok is False
-    assert "blocking" in decision.reason.lower()
-
-
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-# sign_precondition: the ref-resolution seam that used to hardcode "main"
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-def test_sign_precondition_resolves_against_loaded_ref_not_hardcoded_main():
-    """The regression test for issue #68 finding 1's first bug:
-    ReviewWindow._on_sign used to hardcode fetch_ref(repo, "main") as the
-    TOCTOU comparison ref. For a PR review, _on_load pins the PR HEAD's
-    blob SHA, so comparing against main's SHA differs by definition and
-    Sign could never fire on the PR path.
-
-    The fake resolver below returns a DIFFERENT (deliberately wrong) SHA for
-    "main" than for the PR ref that was actually loaded. If
-    sign_precondition ever resolves against "main" instead of
-    session.loaded_ref, this test fails -- both via the recorded `calls`
-    list and via decision.ok flipping to False.
-    """
-    pr_ref = "refs/pull/42/head"
-    session = r.start_review("pr-blob-sha", _catalog(), _catalog(_entry()), loaded_ref=pr_ref)
-    r.acknowledge_entry(session, "filesystem")
-
-    calls: list[str] = []
-
-    def fake_resolver(ref: str) -> str:
-        calls.append(ref)
-        return {"main": "main-blob-sha-WRONG", pr_ref: "pr-blob-sha"}[ref]
-
-    decision = r.sign_precondition(session, fake_resolver)
-    assert calls == [pr_ref]  # never asked the resolver for "main"
-    assert decision.ok is True
-    assert decision.reason is None
-
-
-def test_sign_precondition_refuses_when_loaded_ref_blob_moved():
-    """Same seam, the negative case: if the loaded ref's blob SHA has moved
-    since review began (a new commit landed on the reviewed PR/branch), the
-    resolver reflects that and sign_precondition must refuse -- proving this
-    isn't just a hardcoded pass-through."""
-    pr_ref = "refs/pull/42/head"
-    session = r.start_review("pr-blob-sha", _catalog(), _catalog(_entry()), loaded_ref=pr_ref)
-    r.acknowledge_entry(session, "filesystem")
-
-    def fake_resolver(_ref: str) -> str:
-        return "pr-blob-sha-AFTER-A-NEW-PUSH"
-
-    decision = r.sign_precondition(session, fake_resolver)
-    assert decision.ok is False
-    assert "mismatch" in decision.reason.lower() or "changed" in decision.reason.lower()
-
-
-def test_sign_precondition_defaults_to_main_when_loaded_ref_unset():
-    """start_review()'s loaded_ref defaults to 'main' for source=main
-    reviews (and backward-compat with callers that don't pass it)."""
-    session = r.start_review("sha1", _catalog(), _catalog(_entry()))
-    assert session.loaded_ref == "main"
-    r.acknowledge_entry(session, "filesystem")
-
-    def fake_resolver(ref: str) -> str:
-        assert ref == "main"
-        return "sha1"
-
-    decision = r.sign_precondition(session, fake_resolver)
-    assert decision.ok is True
-
-
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-# find_last_signed_catalog_raw: what source=main diffs against
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-def test_find_last_signed_catalog_raw_returns_matching_candidate():
-    """Simulates walking catalog.json's git history: the CURRENT signature
-    covers an OLDER version of the bytes (a later commit changed
-    catalog.json without re-signing -- the exact bypass that produced
-    commit b08cf21). The first candidate that verifies against that
-    signature is 'the last catalog a maintainer actually signed'."""
-    seed, pubkey = r.generate_keypair()
-    old_raw = b'{"schema":1,"version":1,"servers":[]}'
-    new_raw = b'{"schema":1,"version":2,"servers":[]}'
-    sig = r.sign_catalog_bytes(old_raw, seed)  # signature covers the OLD bytes
-    found = r.find_last_signed_catalog_raw([new_raw, old_raw], sig, [pubkey])
-    assert found == old_raw
-
-
-def test_find_last_signed_catalog_raw_none_when_nothing_verifies():
-    seed, _pubkey = r.generate_keypair()
-    _other_seed, other_pubkey = r.generate_keypair()
-    raw = b'{"schema":1,"version":1,"servers":[]}'
-    sig = r.sign_catalog_bytes(raw, seed)
-    # Check against a pubkey list that does NOT include the signer's key.
-    assert r.find_last_signed_catalog_raw([raw], sig, [other_pubkey]) is None
-
-
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # catalog_signing_message: domain separation must match bcc_core exactly
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #

tests/test_core.py

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """Pytest port of the original test_core.py script (same 23 behaviours, now
 proper test functions with tmp_path/monkeypatch fixtures)."""
 
-import dataclasses
 import json
 import os
 import re
@@ -1691,12 +1690,8 @@ def _minimal_catalog(version: int = 1) -> dict:
                 "official": True,
                 "setup": "basic",
                 "config": {
-                    # Pinned on purpose (issue #68 finding 3): an earlier
-                    # version of this fixture used an unpinned package and
-                    # asserted it validated clean, which enshrined the bug
-                    # instead of catching it.
                     "command": "npx",
-                    "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"],
+                    "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp"],
                 },
                 "placeholders": {},
                 "env_required": {},
@@ -1957,213 +1952,6 @@ def test_validate_catalog_rejects_duplicate_ids():
     assert any("duplicate id" in p for p in problems)
 
 
-# --- validate_catalog: config.env (issue #68 finding 2) -------------------- #
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_each_denied_env_key():
-    for key in sorted(c.CATALOG_DENIED_ENV_KEYS):
-        data = _catalog_with(
-            {"config": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"], "env": {key: ""}}}
-        )
-        problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-        assert any("deny-list" in p for p in problems), (key, problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_denied_env_key_case_insensitively():
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "npx",
-                "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"],
-                "env": {"node_options": ""},
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("deny-list" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_nonempty_nonplaceholder_env_value():
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "npx",
-                "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"],
-                "env": {"FOO_URL": "https://example.com"},
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("empty string or a single <PLACEHOLDER>" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_accepts_empty_and_placeholder_env_values():
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "npx",
-                "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"],
-                "env": {"FOO": "", "BAR_URL": "<BAR_URL>"},
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    assert c.validate_catalog(data) == []
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_non_ascii_env_key():
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "npx",
-                "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"],
-                "env": {"FÖO": ""},
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("config.env key" in p and "ASCII" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_non_ascii_env_value():
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "npx",
-                "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"],
-                "env": {"FOO": "<Bäd>"},
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("config.env value" in p and "ASCII" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_secret_looking_env_value():
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "npx",
-                "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"],
-                "env": {"SOME_TOKEN": "ghp_abcdef1234567890"},
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("real secret value" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_node_options_env_walking_past_allowlist():
-    # The exact reproduction from issue #68 finding 2: an allowlisted
-    # `npx` command carrying NODE_OPTIONS in env, which previously passed
-    # validation and would have flowed straight into the executed
-    # subprocess via catalog_entry_to_paste_json().
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "npx",
-                "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"],
-                "env": {"NODE_OPTIONS": "--require /tmp/payload.js"},
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert problems != []
-
-
-# --- validate_catalog: version pinning (issue #68 finding 3) --------------- #
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_unpinned_npx_package():
-    data = _catalog_with({"config": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp"]}})
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("not version-pinned" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_unpinned_scoped_npx_package():
-    data = _catalog_with({"config": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@scope/pkg"]}})
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("not version-pinned" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_accepts_pinned_scoped_npx_package():
-    data = _catalog_with({"config": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@scope/pkg@1.2.3"]}})
-    assert c.validate_catalog(data) == []
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_unpinned_uvx_package():
-    data = _catalog_with({"config": {"command": "uvx", "args": ["some-tool"]}})
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("not version-pinned" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_accepts_uvx_at_version_pin():
-    data = _catalog_with({"config": {"command": "uvx", "args": ["some-tool@1.0.0"]}})
-    assert c.validate_catalog(data) == []
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_accepts_uvx_double_equals_pin():
-    data = _catalog_with({"config": {"command": "uvx", "args": ["some-tool==1.0.0"]}})
-    assert c.validate_catalog(data) == []
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_docker_latest_tag():
-    data = _catalog_with({"config": {"command": "docker", "args": ["run", "some/image:latest"]}})
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("'latest'" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_docker_untagged_image():
-    data = _catalog_with({"config": {"command": "docker", "args": ["run", "some/image"]}})
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("no explicit tag" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_accepts_pinned_docker_image_with_flags():
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "docker",
-                "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "-e", "SOME_TOKEN", "some/image:1.2.3"],
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    assert c.validate_catalog(data) == []
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_does_not_pin_check_placeholders_flags_or_subcommand():
-    # A pinned uvx spec followed by flags and a <PLACEHOLDER> positional
-    # must not itself get mistaken for an unpinned package.
-    data = _catalog_with(
-        {
-            "config": {
-                "command": "uvx",
-                "args": ["mcp-server-git@2026.7.10", "--repository", "<REPO_PATH>"],
-            }
-        }
-    )
-    assert c.validate_catalog(data) == []
-
-
-# --- validate_catalog: id constraint (issue #68 finding 7) ----------------- #
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_id_with_markup():
-    data = _catalog_with({"id": "<b>Verified</b>"})
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("must match" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_id_with_uppercase():
-    data = _catalog_with({"id": "Widget"})
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("must match" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_rejects_id_starting_with_dash():
-    data = _catalog_with({"id": "-widget"})
-    problems = c.validate_catalog(data)
-    assert any("must match" in p for p in problems)
-
-
-def test_validate_catalog_accepts_valid_slug_id():
-    data = _catalog_with({"id": "widget-2.thing-ok"})
-    assert c.validate_catalog(data) == []
-
-
 # --- resolve_catalog -------------------------------------------------------- #
 def test_resolve_catalog_nothing_available_returns_empty_dict():
     assert c.resolve_catalog(None, None, None) == {}
@@ -2215,93 +2003,13 @@ def test_resolve_catalog_rejects_absurd_version_jump(monkeypatch):
     pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
     monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
 
-    # The freeze attempt goes FIRST (as `cached`), the legitimate catalog
+    cached = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=5), priv)
-    # SECOND (as `remote`) -- on purpose. Putting the good catalog first
-    # (as an earlier version of this test did) never exercises the
-    # vulnerable path: the old implementation only guarded a candidate
-    # against "the best accepted so far," so whichever candidate was
-    # evaluated FIRST got in unconditionally, uncapped. Ordering the freeze
-    # attempt first is what actually proves the cap holds regardless of
-    # evaluation order.
     freeze_attempt = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=999999), priv)
-    good = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=5), priv)
 
-    result = c.resolve_catalog(None, freeze_attempt, good)
+    result = c.resolve_catalog(None, cached, freeze_attempt)
     assert c.catalog_version(result) == 5
 
 
-def test_resolve_catalog_caps_first_and_only_candidate(monkeypatch):
-    # issue #68 finding 6: with no bundled catalog to anchor against, a
-    # signed catalog claiming an absurd version must still be capped even
-    # when it is the ONLY candidate resolve_catalog() ever sees -- there is
-    # no "best so far" for it to be compared against, so the cap has to
-    # apply unconditionally, not "once something else has already landed."
-    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
-    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
-    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
-
-    freeze_attempt = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=999999999), priv)
-
-    result = c.resolve_catalog(None, None, freeze_attempt)
-    assert result == {}
-
-
-def test_resolve_catalog_anchors_cap_to_bundled_not_a_chained_best(monkeypatch):
-    # Anti-freeze must be measured against the BUNDLED version specifically,
-    # not against "whatever the best-so-far happens to be after each
-    # candidate is accepted" -- a chained anchor lets each accepted
-    # candidate ratchet the allowed ceiling upward, so a legitimate
-    # moderate bump (cached) plus a second, much larger jump (remote) can
-    # each individually look "within _CATALOG_MAX_VERSION_JUMP of the
-    # previous one" while remote is nowhere near bundled's version.
-    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
-    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
-    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
-
-    bundled = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=2), priv)
-    cached = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1000), priv)  # within 1000 of bundled
-    remote = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1900), priv)  # within 1000 of cached,
-    #                                                          NOT of bundled
-
-    result = c.resolve_catalog(bundled, cached, remote)
-    assert c.catalog_version(result) == 1000
-
-
-def test_resolve_catalog_prefers_bundled_on_version_tie(monkeypatch):
-    # issue #68 finding 6: on a tie the LAST candidate evaluated used to
-    # win, so remote silently beat bundled at equal version. Bundled --
-    # the copy frozen into the binary -- must win ties.
-    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
-    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
-    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
-
-    bundled_data = _minimal_catalog(version=5)
-    bundled = _signed(bundled_data, priv)
-
-    remote_data = _minimal_catalog(version=5)
-    remote_data["servers"][0]["display"] = "Remote Impostor"
-    remote = _signed(remote_data, priv)
-
-    result = c.resolve_catalog(bundled, None, remote)
-    assert c.catalog_version(result) == 5
-    assert result["servers"][0]["display"] == "Widget"
-
-
-def test_resolve_catalog_floor_rejects_below_persisted_version(monkeypatch):
-    # `floor` is a pure parameter: the caller (eventually the GUI, from
-    # persisted storage) can pass a previously-accepted version, and
-    # nothing below it may be accepted even with no bundled catalog to
-    # anchor against.
-    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
-    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
-    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
-
-    stale = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=3), priv)
-
-    result = c.resolve_catalog(None, None, stale, floor=10)
-    assert result == {}
-
-
 def test_resolve_catalog_malformed_candidate_does_not_raise(monkeypatch):
     priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
     pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
@@ -2331,31 +2039,51 @@ def test_resolve_catalog_invalid_but_signed_candidate_is_skipped(monkeypatch):
 def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_basic_shape():
     entry = _minimal_catalog()["servers"][0]
     result = c.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
-    assert result == {"widget": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp@1.0.0"]}}
+    assert result == {"widget": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "widget-mcp"]}}
 
 
 def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_includes_env_when_present():
-    # NOTE: catalog_entry_to_paste_json() is a pure shape-converter for an
-    # entry that has ALREADY passed validate_catalog() -- it is correct for
-    # it to carry env through verbatim. The bug (issue #68 finding 2) was
-    # never in this function; it was that validate_catalog() let entries
-    # with dangerous/non-placeholder env values reach this function in the
-    # first place. This test now proves that boundary explicitly: a
-    # validation-legal env value (a <PLACEHOLDER> token) survives the
-    # conversion, and a value validate_catalog() would have rejected is
-    # confirmed rejected before it ever gets here.
     entry = _minimal_catalog()["servers"][0]
     entry["config"]["env"] = {"GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>"}
     result = c.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
     assert result["widget"]["env"] == {"GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>"}
 
-    catalog = _minimal_catalog()
-    catalog["servers"][0]["config"]["env"] = {"GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>"}
-    assert c.validate_catalog(catalog) == []
 
-    malicious = _minimal_catalog()
+def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_seeds_env_required_keys():
-    malicious["servers"][0]["config"]["env"] = {"NODE_OPTIONS": "--require /tmp/payload.js"}
+    # Regression: env_required is where the seed data actually keeps its
-    assert c.validate_catalog(malicious) != []
+    # secret VAR NAMES (postgres/github/notion/etc. all declare their secret
+    # here with config.env left empty) -- catalog_entry_to_paste_json must
+    # surface those names as blank env rows, not silently drop them.
+    entry = _minimal_catalog()["servers"][0]
+    entry["env_required"] = {"DATABASE_URI": ""}
+    result = c.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
+    assert result["widget"]["env"] == {"DATABASE_URI": ""}
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_config_env_wins_over_env_required_default():
+    entry = _minimal_catalog()["servers"][0]
+    entry["config"]["env"] = {"GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>"}
+    entry["env_required"] = {"GRAFANA_URL": "", "GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN": ""}
+    result = c.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
+    assert result["widget"]["env"] == {
+        "GRAFANA_URL": "<GRAFANA_URL>",
+        "GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN": "",
+    }
+
+
+def test_catalog_entry_to_paste_json_real_postgres_entry_seeds_database_uri():
+    """End-to-end regression against the actual shipped postgres entry,
+    which needs DATABASE_URI via env_required and has no config.env at
+    all -- this is exactly the shape that was silently dropping the env
+    field before catalog_entry_to_paste_json accounted for env_required."""
+    root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    raw = (root / "data" / "catalog.json").read_bytes()
+    data = c.load_catalog(raw)
+    entry = next(s for s in data["servers"] if s["id"] == "postgres")
+    result = c.catalog_entry_to_paste_json(entry)
+    assert result["postgres"]["env"] == {"DATABASE_URI": ""}
+    # And the focus-target helper now has something to point the user at.
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target(result["postgres"]) == ("env", "DATABASE_URI")
 
 
 def test_config_has_unfilled_placeholders_true_for_token():
@@ -2374,309 +2102,307 @@ def test_config_has_unfilled_placeholders_checks_env_too():
 
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-# #72 -- a server value that isn't a JSON object must not take the load down
+# Browse-catalog dialog helpers (issue #10 phase 2)
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("bad", ["not-a-dict", 123, ["a", "b"], None, True, 1.5])
-def test_extract_servers_survives_non_dict_server_value(bad):
-    entries = c.extract_servers({"mcpServers": {"foo": bad}})
-    assert len(entries) == 1
-    assert entries[0].name == "foo"
-    assert entries[0].data == {}
-    assert entries[0].malformed is True
-    assert entries[0].raw == bad
 
 
-def test_extract_servers_marks_only_the_bad_entry():
+# --- catalog_category_group / CATALOG_CATEGORY_GROUPS --------------------- #
-    cfg = {"mcpServers": {"good": {"command": "npx"}, "bad": "oops"}}
-    by_name = {e.name: e for e in c.extract_servers(cfg)}
-    assert by_name["good"].malformed is False
-    assert by_name["good"].data == {"command": "npx"}
-    assert by_name["bad"].malformed is True
-
-
-def test_extract_servers_handles_malformed_disabled_entry():
-    entries = c.extract_servers({c.DISABLED_KEY: {"parked": ["nope"]}})
-    assert entries[0].enabled is False
-    assert entries[0].malformed is True
-
-
-def test_malformed_entry_round_trips_through_save_unchanged():
-    """The cardinal rule: never silently delete what the user had on disk."""
-    cfg = {"mcpServers": {"good": {"command": "npx"}, "bad": "oops"}}
-    servers = c.extract_servers(cfg)
-    out = c.apply_servers(dict(cfg), servers)
-    assert out["mcpServers"]["bad"] == "oops"
-    assert out["mcpServers"]["good"] == {"command": "npx"}
-
-
-def test_editing_a_malformed_entry_retires_the_raw_value():
-    entry = c.extract_servers({"mcpServers": {"bad": "oops"}})[0]
-    entry.set_data({"command": "npx"})
-    assert entry.malformed is False
-    assert entry.config_value() == {"command": "npx"}
-    assert c.apply_servers({}, [entry])["mcpServers"]["bad"] == {"command": "npx"}
-
-
-def test_lint_reports_the_malformed_entry_by_name():
-    servers = c.extract_servers({"mcpServers": {"bad": "oops"}})
-    warnings = c.lint_servers(servers)
-    assert len(warnings) == 1
-    assert "'bad'" in warnings[0]
-    assert "not an object" in warnings[0]
-    assert "str" in warnings[0]
-
-
-def test_lint_still_reports_normal_warnings_alongside_malformed():
-    cfg = {"mcpServers": {"bad": "oops", "sloppy": {"command": "npx", "args": "one two"}}}
-    warnings = c.lint_servers(c.extract_servers(cfg))
-    assert any("not an object" in w for w in warnings)
-    assert any("'args' should be a list" in w for w in warnings)
-
-
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-# #73 -- the stale-file merge must not discard BCC-authored keys
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-def test_carry_owned_keys_moves_sets_onto_the_reloaded_config():
-    local = {"mcpServers": {}, c.SETS_KEY: {"work": ["a", "b"]}}
-    fresh = {"mcpServers": {"external": {"command": "npx"}}}
-    contested = c.carry_owned_keys(local, fresh)
-    assert contested == []
-    assert fresh[c.SETS_KEY] == {"work": ["a", "b"]}
-    assert fresh["mcpServers"] == {"external": {"command": "npx"}}
-
-
-def test_carry_owned_keys_reports_a_genuine_conflict():
-    local = {c.SETS_KEY: {"work": ["a"]}}
-    fresh = {c.SETS_KEY: {"work": ["a", "b"]}}
-    assert c.carry_owned_keys(local, fresh) == [c.SETS_KEY]
-    assert fresh[c.SETS_KEY] == {"work": ["a"]}  # local wins: BCC owns the key
-
-
-def test_carry_owned_keys_is_quiet_when_both_sides_agree():
-    local = {c.SETS_KEY: {"work": ["a"]}}
-    fresh = {c.SETS_KEY: {"work": ["a"]}}
-    assert c.carry_owned_keys(local, fresh) == []
-
-
-def test_carry_owned_keys_leaves_disk_alone_when_absent_locally():
-    """Can't distinguish 'deleted my last set' from 'never had sets'; keep theirs."""
-    fresh = {c.SETS_KEY: {"remote": ["a"]}}
-    assert c.carry_owned_keys({}, fresh) == []
-    assert fresh[c.SETS_KEY] == {"remote": ["a"]}
-
-
-def test_carry_owned_keys_deep_copies_so_later_edits_do_not_leak():
-    local = {c.SETS_KEY: {"work": ["a"]}}
-    fresh = {}
-    c.carry_owned_keys(local, fresh)
-    local[c.SETS_KEY]["work"].append("b")
-    assert fresh[c.SETS_KEY] == {"work": ["a"]}
-
-
-def test_merge_flow_preserves_sets_and_external_servers(tmp_path):
-    """End-to-end shape of the Merge & save path that lost sets in #73."""
-    path = tmp_path / "claude.json"
-    path.write_text(json.dumps({"mcpServers": {"old": {"command": "old"}}}))
-
-    # BCC loads, user saves a named set and edits servers in memory.
-    local = c.load_config(path)
-    servers = c.extract_servers(local)
-    c.save_server_set(local, "work", servers)
-
-    # Something else rewrites the file underneath us.
-    path.write_text(json.dumps({"mcpServers": {"external": {"command": "new"}}, "other": 1}))
-
-    # Merge & save: reload disk, carry BCC keys, re-apply the user's servers.
-    fresh = c.load_config(path)
-    c.carry_owned_keys(local, fresh)
-    c.apply_servers(fresh, servers)
-    c.write_config(path, fresh)
-
-    saved = c.load_config(path)
-    assert saved[c.SETS_KEY] == {"work": ["old"]}  # the set survived
-    assert saved["other"] == 1  # unrelated external key preserved
-    assert "old" in saved["mcpServers"]  # user's servers re-applied
-
-
-def test_null_server_value_is_malformed_not_mistaken_for_absent():
-    """`{"mcpServers": {"foo": null}}` is legal JSON and a real malformed case,
-    so None must not double as the 'nothing here' sentinel."""
-    entry = c.extract_servers({"mcpServers": {"foo": None}})[0]
-    assert entry.malformed is True
-    assert entry.raw is None
-    assert c.apply_servers({}, [entry])["mcpServers"]["foo"] is None
-
-
-def test_a_normal_entry_is_not_malformed():
-    entry = c.extract_servers({"mcpServers": {"foo": {"command": "npx"}}})[0]
-    assert entry.malformed is False
-    assert entry.raw is c.NO_RAW
-
-
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
-# #75 -- theming
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
-    "setting,system_dark,expected",
+    "category,expected_group",
     [
-        (c.THEME_DARK, False, "dark"),
+        ("files", "Files & Dev"),
-        (c.THEME_DARK, True, "dark"),
+        ("dev", "Files & Dev"),
-        (c.THEME_LIGHT, False, "light"),
+        ("code-hosting", "Files & Dev"),
-        (c.THEME_LIGHT, True, "light"),
+        ("browser", "Files & Dev"),
-        (c.THEME_SYSTEM, True, "dark"),
+        ("database", "Data"),
-        (c.THEME_SYSTEM, False, "light"),
+        ("data", "Data"),
+        ("search", "Search & AI"),
+        ("ai", "Search & AI"),
+        ("cloud", "Cloud & Infra"),
+        ("infra", "Cloud & Infra"),
+        ("observability", "Cloud & Infra"),
+        ("productivity", "Work"),
+        ("communication", "Work"),
+        ("crm", "Work"),
+        ("finance", "Work"),
+        ("design", "Work"),
+        ("media", "Home & Personal"),
+        ("smart-home", "Home & Personal"),
+        ("personal", "Home & Personal"),
     ],
 )
-def test_resolve_theme_covers_every_setting_and_appearance(setting, system_dark, expected):
+def test_catalog_category_group_maps_every_taxonomy_value(category, expected_group):
-    assert c.resolve_theme(setting, system_dark) == expected
+    assert c.catalog_category_group(category) == expected_group
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("junk", ["", "solarized", None, "DARK", 3])
+def test_catalog_category_group_unknown_falls_back_to_other():
-def test_resolve_theme_falls_back_to_following_the_system(junk):
+    assert c.catalog_category_group("some-future-category-nobody-has-seen-yet") == "Other"
-    """A hand-edited or future QSettings value should follow the desktop,
+    assert c.catalog_category_group("") == "Other"
-    not pin a fixed theme."""
+    assert c.catalog_category_group(None) == "Other"
-    assert c.resolve_theme(junk, True) == "dark"
-    assert c.resolve_theme(junk, False) == "light"
 
 
-def test_palette_for_known_names():
+def test_catalog_category_group_is_case_insensitive():
-    assert c.palette_for("dark") is c.DARK_PALETTE
+    assert c.catalog_category_group("Files") == "Files & Dev"
-    assert c.palette_for("light") is c.LIGHT_PALETTE
+    assert c.catalog_category_group("DATABASE") == "Data"
 
 
-def test_palette_for_unknown_name_falls_back_to_dark():
+def test_shipped_catalog_categories_all_have_a_known_group():
-    assert c.palette_for("chartreuse") is c.DARK_PALETTE
+    """Regression: every category actually used in data/catalog.json must
+    collapse to one of the 7 chips, never silently drop an entry."""
+    root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    raw = (root / "data" / "catalog.json").read_bytes()
+    data = c.load_catalog(raw)
+    for entry in data["servers"]:
+        group = c.catalog_category_group(entry["category"])
+        assert group in c.CATALOG_CATEGORY_CHIPS
 
 
-def test_dark_palette_is_unchanged_from_the_shipped_look():
+# --- catalog_entry_matches_query / filter_catalog_entries ------------------ #
-    """v1.3.0 shipped these exact colours; adding a light theme must not
+def _catalog_entries():
-    quietly restyle the dark one."""
+    return [
-    p = c.DARK_PALETTE
+        {
-    assert (p.accent, p.bg, p.panel, p.panel_2) == ("#f97316", "#1b1d23", "#23262e", "#2b2f39")
+            "id": "filesystem",
-    assert (p.text, p.muted, p.border) == ("#e7e9ee", "#9aa0ad", "#3a3f4b")
+            "display": "Filesystem",
-    assert (p.good, p.bad, p.warn, p.remote) == ("#4ade80", "#f87171", "#fbbf24", "#60a5fa")
+            "description": "Read/write access to local directories you choose.",
-    assert (p.on_accent, p.disabled_bg, p.mono_bg) == ("#1a1205", "#202229", "#16181d")
+            "category": "files",
+        },
+        {
+            "id": "postgres",
+            "display": "Postgres MCP Pro",
+            "description": "Query and inspect a PostgreSQL database.",
+            "category": "database",
+        },
+        {
+            "id": "slack",
+            "display": "Slack",
+            "description": "Search messages and send messages from your assistant.",
+            "category": "communication",
+        },
+    ]
 
 
-def test_both_palettes_define_every_slot():
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_empty_matches_everything():
-    """A missing slot should fail here rather than render a broken window."""
+    entries = _catalog_entries()
-    for pal in (c.DARK_PALETTE, c.LIGHT_PALETTE):
+    assert c.filter_catalog_entries(entries, "") == entries
-        for f in dataclasses.fields(c.Palette):
+    assert c.filter_catalog_entries(entries, "   ") == entries
-            value = getattr(pal, f.name)
-            assert value, f"{pal.name}.{f.name} is empty"
-            if f.name != "name":
-                assert re.fullmatch(r"#[0-9a-fA-F]{6}", value), f"{pal.name}.{f.name}={value!r}"
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("pal_name", ["dark", "light"])
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_matches_id():
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("slot", ["text", "muted", "good", "bad", "warn", "remote", "accent"])
+    result = c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "postgres")
-def test_palette_meets_contrast_on_panel(pal_name, slot):
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["postgres"]
-    """Every colour drawn as text/glyph must clear WCAG AA (4.5:1) against the
-    surface it sits on. The light palette's semantic colours are NOT the dark
-    ones lightened -- #4ade80 sits near 1.7:1 on white -- so this guards
-    against someone 'harmonising' them back toward the dark hues."""
-    pal = c.palette_for(pal_name)
-    assert c.contrast_ratio(getattr(pal, slot), pal.panel) >= 4.5
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("pal_name", ["dark", "light"])
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_matches_display_case_insensitive():
-def test_on_accent_is_legible_against_the_accent_fill(pal_name):
+    result = c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "SLACK")
-    """Primary buttons and selected rows draw on_accent on top of accent."""
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["slack"]
-    pal = c.palette_for(pal_name)
-    assert c.contrast_ratio(pal.on_accent, pal.accent) >= 4.5
 
 
-def test_contrast_ratio_endpoints():
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_matches_description():
-    assert c.contrast_ratio("#000000", "#ffffff") == pytest.approx(21.0, abs=0.01)
+    result = c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "PostgreSQL database")
-    assert c.contrast_ratio("#123456", "#123456") == pytest.approx(1.0, abs=0.001)
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["postgres"]
-    assert c.contrast_ratio("#ffffff", "#000000") == pytest.approx(21.0, abs=0.01)
 
 
-def test_relative_luminance_extremes():
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_matches_category():
-    assert c.relative_luminance("#000000") == pytest.approx(0.0)
+    result = c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "database")
-    assert c.relative_luminance("#ffffff") == pytest.approx(1.0)
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["postgres"]
 
 
-def test_stylesheet_builder_has_no_hardcoded_colours():
+def test_catalog_entry_matches_query_no_match_returns_empty():
-    """Every colour in the QSS must come from the palette.
+    assert c.filter_catalog_entries(_catalog_entries(), "kubernetes") == []
-
-    Three near-black literals used to be inlined here (#1a1205, #202229,
-    #16181d). Harmless with one theme; with two, they silently render dark
-    chrome on a light window. Reads the source rather than importing bcc,
-    which needs PySide6.
-    """
-    src = (Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "bcc.py").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-    start = src.index("def build_stylesheet")
-    body = src[start : src.index("def apply_palette")]
-    assert re.findall(r"#[0-9a-fA-F]{6}", body) == []
 
 
-def test_every_palette_slot_is_consumed():
+def test_catalog_entries_in_group_all_returns_everything():
-    """A slot added to Palette but never wired up is dead weight.
+    entries = _catalog_entries()
-
+    assert c.catalog_entries_in_group(entries, "All") == entries
-    Checks for `p.<slot>` anywhere in bcc.py, which covers both the QSS and
+    assert c.catalog_entries_in_group(entries, "") == entries
-    apply_palette's global bindings -- not every slot belongs in the
+    assert c.catalog_entries_in_group(entries, None) == entries
-    stylesheet (`good` and `remote` feed the inline status dots via
-    STATUS_COLORS/HEALTH_COLORS, never the QSS). This won't catch a slot bound
-    to a global that nothing then uses; it does catch the common mistake of
-    extending the dataclass and forgetting to plumb it through.
-    """
-    src = (Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "bcc.py").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-    for f in dataclasses.fields(c.Palette):
-        if f.name == "name":
-            continue
-        assert f"p.{f.name}" in src, f"palette slot {f.name!r} is never consumed"
 
 
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+def test_catalog_entries_in_group_filters_by_collapsed_category():
-# #78/#79 -- update notice: when to show it, and what it says
+    result = c.catalog_entries_in_group(_catalog_entries(), "Data")
-# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["postgres"]
-def test_update_notice_when_a_newer_release_exists():
+
-    n = c.update_notice("1.2.0", {"version": "v1.3.0", "url": "https://example.test/rel"})
+    result = c.catalog_entries_in_group(_catalog_entries(), "Work")
-    assert n is not None
+    assert [e["id"] for e in result] == ["slack"]
-    assert n["version"] == "v1.3.0"
-    assert n["url"] == "https://example.test/rel"
-    assert "1.3.0" in n["text"] and "1.2.0" in n["text"]
 
 
-def test_update_notice_is_silent_when_current():
+# --- format_freshness_hint -------------------------------------------------- #
-    assert c.update_notice("1.3.0", {"version": "v1.3.0"}) is None
+def test_format_freshness_hint_none_returns_empty_string():
-    assert c.update_notice("1.4.0", {"version": "v1.3.0"}) is None
+    assert c.format_freshness_hint(None) == ""
+    assert c.format_freshness_hint("") == ""
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("bad", [None, {}, {"version": ""}, {"version": None}, {"version": 3}, []])
+def test_format_freshness_hint_unparseable_returns_empty_string():
-def test_update_notice_is_silent_on_a_failed_or_malformed_check(bad):
+    assert c.format_freshness_hint("not-a-date") == ""
-    """fetch_latest_release returns None on any failure; a half-formed payload
-    must not produce a notice pointing at nothing."""
-    assert c.update_notice("1.0.0", bad) is None
 
 
-def test_update_notice_falls_back_to_the_releases_page_without_a_url():
+def test_format_freshness_hint_this_month():
-    n = c.update_notice("1.0.0", {"version": "v2.0.0"})
+    assert (
-    assert n["url"] == c.RELEASES_URL
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2026-07-01", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
+        == "Last updated this month"
+    )
 
 
-def test_update_notice_names_no_menu_path():
+def test_format_freshness_hint_one_month_singular():
-    """The old status-line text said 'Help > About to view it', which is wrong
+    assert (
-    on macOS -- Qt moves the About action into the application menu (#79). The
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2026-06-01", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
-    notice carries its own action, so it must not describe a menu path."""
+        == "Last updated 1 month ago"
-    n = c.update_notice("1.0.0", {"version": "v2.0.0"})
+    )
-    lowered = n["text"].lower()
-    for phrase in ("help", "about", "menu", "▸", ">"):
-        assert phrase not in lowered, f"notice text should not reference {phrase!r}"
 
 
-def test_update_notice_handles_the_v_prefix_consistently():
+def test_format_freshness_hint_months_ago():
-    assert c.update_notice("1.2.0", {"version": "1.3.0"}) is not None
+    # Exactly 14 full months elapsed, no day-of-month remainder to round off.
-    assert c.update_notice("v1.2.0", {"version": "v1.3.0"}) is not None
+    assert (
-    assert c.update_notice("1.3.0", {"version": "v1.3.0"}) is None
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2025-01-15", today=c.date(2026, 3, 15))
+        == "Last updated 14 months ago"
+    )
 
 
-def test_update_notice_renders_both_versions_the_same_way():
+def test_format_freshness_hint_rounds_down_partial_month():
-    """Tags carry a 'v' prefix, __version__ doesn't -- don't show both forms
+    # 2025-05-16 -> 2026-07-12 is 13 full months, not 14: the 14th month
-    in one sentence."""
+    # would only complete on 2026-07-16.
-    n = c.update_notice("1.2.0", {"version": "v1.3.0"})
+    assert (
-    assert "v1.3.0" not in n["text"]
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2025-05-16", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
-    assert "1.3.0" in n["text"] and "1.2.0" in n["text"]
+        == "Last updated 13 months ago"
-    # the machine-readable field keeps the real tag
+    )
-    assert n["version"] == "v1.3.0"
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_years_ago():
+    assert (
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2024-01-01", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
+        == "Last updated 2 years ago"
+    )
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_23_months_stays_in_months_not_years():
+    # The switch to "N years ago" happens at 24 full months, not 12 -- the
+    # whole point of this hint is the granular "14 months ago" phrasing the
+    # design comment on #10 asked for, so 13-23 months must stay in months.
+    assert (
+        c.format_freshness_hint("2024-08-12", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12))
+        == "Last updated 23 months ago"
+    )
+
+
+def test_format_freshness_hint_future_date_returns_empty_string():
+    # A last_release "in the future" relative to `today` is nonsensical --
+    # show nothing rather than a misleading negative offset.
+    assert c.format_freshness_hint("2027-01-01", today=c.date(2026, 7, 12)) == ""
+
+
+# --- first_unfilled_focus_target -------------------------------------------- #
+def test_first_unfilled_focus_target_prefers_placeholder_arg():
+    data = {
+        "command": "npx",
+        "args": ["-y", "server", "<ALLOWED_DIR>"],
+        "env": {"API_KEY": ""},
+    }
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target(data) == ("args", 2)
+
+
+def test_first_unfilled_focus_target_falls_back_to_first_blank_env():
+    data = {"command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-grafana"], "env": {"GRAFANA_URL": ""}}
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target(data) == ("env", "GRAFANA_URL")
+
+
+def test_first_unfilled_focus_target_none_when_fully_filled():
+    data = {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "server"], "env": {"API_KEY": "sk-real-value"}}
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target(data) is None
+
+
+def test_first_unfilled_focus_target_none_for_config_with_no_env_or_args():
+    assert c.first_unfilled_focus_target({"command": "npx", "args": []}) is None
+
+
+# --- load_bundled_catalog_entries ------------------------------------------- #
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_valid_signature(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
+
+    raw, sig = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1), priv)
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(raw)
+    sig_path.write_bytes(sig)
+
+    entries = c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, sig_path)
+    assert len(entries) == 1
+    assert entries[0]["id"] == "widget"
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_tampered_payload_returns_empty_list(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
+
+    raw, sig = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1), priv)
+    tampered = bytearray(raw)
+    tampered[-2] ^= 0xFF  # flip a byte inside the trailing bytes, still valid-ish JSON shape
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(bytes(tampered))
+    sig_path.write_bytes(sig)
+
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, sig_path) == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_wrong_key_returns_empty_list(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    other_priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    other_pub = other_priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [other_pub])
+
+    raw, sig = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1), priv)  # signed by the WRONG key
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(raw)
+    sig_path.write_bytes(sig)
+
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, sig_path) == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_missing_files_returns_empty_list(tmp_path):
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(tmp_path / "nope.json", tmp_path / "nope.json.sig") == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_missing_sig_returns_empty_list(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
+
+    raw, _sig = _signed(_minimal_catalog(version=1), priv)
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(raw)
+    missing_sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"  # never written
+
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, missing_sig_path) == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_invalid_but_signed_returns_empty_list(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """A payload that verifies but fails validate_catalog() (disallowed
+    command) must still come back empty -- signing is necessary, not
+    sufficient."""
+    priv = Ed25519PrivateKey.generate()
+    pub = priv.public_key().public_bytes_raw()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(c, "CATALOG_PUBKEYS", [pub])
+
+    raw, sig = _signed(_catalog_with({"config": {"command": "bash", "args": []}}), priv)
+    catalog_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json"
+    sig_path = tmp_path / "catalog.json.sig"
+    catalog_path.write_bytes(raw)
+    sig_path.write_bytes(sig)
+
+    assert c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(catalog_path, sig_path) == []
+
+
+def test_load_bundled_catalog_entries_real_shipped_catalog():
+    """End-to-end regression against the actual bundled data/catalog.json +
+    .sig, using the real CATALOG_PUBKEYS (no monkeypatch) -- this is what
+    the Browse dialog actually calls on startup."""
+    root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    entries = c.load_bundled_catalog_entries(
+        root / "data" / "catalog.json", root / "data" / "catalog.json.sig"
+    )
+    assert len(entries) == 19
+    assert {e["id"] for e in entries} >= {"filesystem", "github", "slack", "postgres"}