diff --git a/tests/test_shell_js.py b/tests/test_shell_js.py
index 4072fe94..6b15088a 100644
--- a/tests/test_shell_js.py
+++ b/tests/test_shell_js.py
@@ -391,3 +391,33 @@ def test_step7_tab_menu_css_promoted_shared() -> None:
     assert "color-mix(in oklab, var(--err)" in css, (
         "the destructive item must use the DS --err token (the translation happened)"
     )
+
+
+def test_step7_live_tab_state_glyphs() -> None:
+    """Step 7 #2: conversational tabs show LIVE state glyphs driven by Tier-1 —
+    the SAME source + builder the rail uses (one writer; the pane's Tier-2 stream
+    drives its body, not the tab glyph), so tab and rail agree and the glyph never
+    sits stale at an open-time placeholder.  The coord/int static placeholders are
+    retired for a `stateful` flag."""
+    rail = _RAIL_JS.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    assert "export function glyph(" in rail, (
+        "rail must export its state-glyph builder so the tab reuses it (single source)"
+    )
+    pane = _PANE_JS.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    assert "setTabGlyph(paneId, el)" in pane and "statefulTabs()" in pane, (
+        "PaneManager must expose the generic glyph setter + the stateful-tab list"
+    )
+    assert "this.stateful" in pane, "ShellPane must carry the stateful flag"
+    shell = _SHELL_JS.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    assert 'import { mountRail, mountManage, glyph } from "./rail.js"' in shell, (
+        "the shell must import the rail's glyph builder (one source for tab + rail)"
+    )
+    assert "function stateForWs(" in shell and "function paintConvTabGlyphs(" in shell
+    assert "window.TS_APP.onRender" in shell and "paintConvTabGlyphs(pm)" in shell, (
+        "tab glyphs must repaint on every Tier-1 render (live, not stale)"
+    )
+    assert shell.count("stateful: true") == 2, (
+        "the coordinator + interactive panes are stateful (their static placeholders retired)"
+    )
+    css = _SHELL_CSS.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    assert ".tab .tab-glyph" in css, "the tab-glyph spacing rule must apply to static + live glyphs"
diff --git a/turnstone/shared_static/pane.js b/turnstone/shared_static/pane.js
index 40316a3d..c7f2943b 100644
--- a/turnstone/shared_static/pane.js
+++ b/turnstone/shared_static/pane.js
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@ export class ShellPane {
     this.rawId = opts.id != null ? opts.id : null; // ws_id for keyed panes, null for singletons
     this.id = this.rawId == null ? this.type : this.type + ":" + this.rawId;
     this.title = opts.title || this.type || "";
-    this.glyph = opts.glyph || null; // a single char shown in the tab (e.g. "◇"); state glyphs use ui-base .ui-glyph-*
+    this.glyph = opts.glyph || null; // a single static char shown in the tab (e.g. "◇"); stateful panes use a live .ui-glyph-* instead
+    this.stateful = opts.stateful || false; // conversational panes: tab glyph tracks live Tier-1 state (set via setTabGlyph)
     this.closable = opts.closable !== false; // dashboard is not closable
     // DOM — created and owned by the PaneManager on mount:
     this.el = null; // <section class="pane">
@@ -109,6 +110,29 @@ export class PaneManager {
       this._activeSubs.push(cb);
   }
 
+  /** Replace a tab's leading state glyph with `el` (a built glyph span).  The
+   *  shell drives this from Tier-1 so a conversational tab shows live shape+colour
+   *  state — generic here (PaneManager owns no glyph vocabulary; the shell passes
+   *  the element, reusing the rail's builder so tab and rail render identically). */
+  setTabGlyph(paneId, el) {
+    const pane = this._panes.get(paneId);
+    if (!pane || !pane.tabEl || !el) return;
+    el.classList.add("tab-glyph"); // tab spacing (margin); colour stays the el's own
+    if (pane._glyphEl && pane._glyphEl.parentNode === pane.tabEl)
+      pane._glyphEl.replaceWith(el);
+    else pane.tabEl.insertBefore(el, pane.tabEl.firstChild);
+    pane._glyphEl = el;
+  }
+
+  /** Open panes whose tab shows live Tier-1 state — `{id, rawId}[]` (the shell
+   *  repaints these on every Tier-1 render). */
+  statefulTabs() {
+    const out = [];
+    for (const p of this._panes.values())
+      if (p.stateful && p.rawId != null) out.push({ id: p.id, rawId: p.rawId });
+    return out;
+  }
+
   /** Create the pane if absent, then focus it.  Auth/cap gating is the caller's.
    *  `extra` is an optional open-time hint passed straight to the factory (e.g.
    *  the interactive pane's `{nodeId}` from a rail click); it is NOT persisted,
@@ -253,11 +277,15 @@ export class PaneManager {
     tab.setAttribute("role", "tab");
     tab.setAttribute("aria-controls", "pane-" + cssId(pane.id));
     if (pane.glyph) {
+      // Static decorative char (Dashboard ◇ / Admin ⚙).  Stateful panes get NO
+      // static glyph — the shell paints a live .ui-glyph onto the slot via
+      // setTabGlyph (on activate + every Tier-1 render).
       const g = document.createElement("span");
-      g.className = "glyph";
+      g.className = "glyph tab-glyph";
       g.setAttribute("aria-hidden", "true"); // decorative glyph, not read as content
       g.textContent = pane.glyph;
       tab.append(g);
+      pane._glyphEl = g;
     }
     tab.append(document.createTextNode(pane.title));
     // Tab-action menu (step 7): a pane that exposes `tabMenu()` gets a caret to
diff --git a/turnstone/shared_static/rail.js b/turnstone/shared_static/rail.js
index 24944377..afa82199 100644
--- a/turnstone/shared_static/rail.js
+++ b/turnstone/shared_static/rail.js
@@ -27,8 +27,10 @@ const STATE_LABEL = {
 };
 
 /** A decorative shape+colour state glyph (the row/pill also carries the state
- *  in text/aria, so the glyph itself is aria-hidden). */
-function glyph(state) {
+ *  in text/aria, so the glyph itself is aria-hidden).  Exported so the shell can
+ *  paint the SAME glyph onto a conversational tab from the SAME Tier-1 source —
+ *  rail row and tab stay consistent, one writer (no Tier-2 tab-glyph race). */
+export function glyph(state) {
   const s = GLYPH[state] ? state : "idle";
   const el = document.createElement("span");
   el.className = "ui-glyph ui-glyph-" + s;
diff --git a/turnstone/shared_static/shell.css b/turnstone/shared_static/shell.css
index 67c8d5ce..f943dc24 100644
--- a/turnstone/shared_static/shell.css
+++ b/turnstone/shared_static/shell.css
@@ -411,11 +411,17 @@
   background: none;
   font-family: var(--font-ui);
 }
-.tab .glyph {
+/* Tab glyph spacing — applies to BOTH the static decorative char (Dashboard /
+   Admin, via .glyph) and the live state glyph (.ui-glyph-* on conversational
+   tabs).  The static glyph is dim --ink-4; the live glyph keeps its own
+   .ui-glyph-* state colour, so it is NOT given a colour here. */
+.tab .tab-glyph {
   margin-right: 6px;
-  color: var(--ink-4);
   font-size: 11px;
 }
+.tab .glyph {
+  color: var(--ink-4);
+}
 .tab:hover {
   background: var(--panel-2);
 }
@@ -424,9 +430,8 @@
   border-color: var(--hair-2);
   color: var(--ink);
 }
-/* Active tab's glyph brightens so an open session's `○` placeholder doesn't read
-   permanently "idle" beside its live (e.g. running ●) rail row.  Step 7 makes
-   tab glyphs live state; this is the interim hint. */
+/* Active tab's STATIC glyph (Dashboard / Admin) brightens a touch; live state
+   glyphs on conversational tabs keep their .ui-glyph-* state colour instead. */
 .tab.active .glyph {
   color: var(--ink-2);
 }
diff --git a/turnstone/shared_static/shell.js b/turnstone/shared_static/shell.js
index 8b99221a..4281ecf8 100644
--- a/turnstone/shared_static/shell.js
+++ b/turnstone/shared_static/shell.js
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
    ========================================================================== */
 
 import { PaneManager, ShellPane } from "./pane.js";
-import { mountRail, mountManage } from "./rail.js";
+import { mountRail, mountManage, glyph } from "./rail.js";
 // The interactive pane is a real ES module beside us in /shared (step 5a) — the
 // shell imports it directly, and it exists in every deployment.  The coordinator
 // pane lives at an absolute /static path that only the CONSOLE serves, so it is
@@ -155,6 +155,36 @@ function nodeForWs(wsId) {
 // app.js) and a reduced menu in the console — the capability-derived-affordances
 // thesis applied to the tab menu.  `opts`: titleVerbs (Refresh/Edit/Fork title),
 // deleteVerb (the destructive Delete), closeSession (stop the workstream itself).
+// The live state of a workstream from the Tier-1 snapshot (the SAME source the
+// rail reads) — so a conversational tab's state glyph stays consistent with its
+// rail row and updates live rather than sitting at an open-time placeholder.
+function stateForWs(wsId) {
+  try {
+    const cs =
+      window.TS_APP &&
+      window.TS_APP.getClusterState &&
+      window.TS_APP.getClusterState();
+    if (cs && cs.nodes) {
+      for (const nid in cs.nodes) {
+        for (const ws of cs.nodes[nid].workstreams || []) {
+          if (ws.id === wsId) return ws.state || "idle";
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  } catch (e) {
+    /* snapshot not ready */
+  }
+  return "idle";
+}
+
+// Repaint every stateful tab's glyph from Tier-1.  Subscribed to the render
+// signal (one Tier-1 writer for the tab glyph; the pane's Tier-2 stream drives
+// its body, not the tab) and called on activate for the initial paint.
+function paintConvTabGlyphs(pm) {
+  for (const t of pm.statefulTabs())
+    pm.setTabGlyph(t.id, glyph(stateForWs(t.rawId)));
+}
+
 function convTabMenu(pane, pm, wsId, opts) {
   opts = opts || {};
   const G = window;
@@ -294,7 +324,7 @@ async function mountShell() {
     const pane = new ShellPane({
       type: "interactive",
       title: wsTitle(id),
-      glyph: "○",
+      stateful: true, // tab shows live Tier-1 state (no static placeholder)
     });
     pane.tabMenu = () =>
       convTabMenu(pane, pm, id, {
@@ -319,6 +349,7 @@ async function mountShell() {
       });
     };
     pane.onActivate = function () {
+      pm.setTabGlyph(pane.id, glyph(stateForWs(id))); // live Tier-1 state glyph
       if (!this._ctl) return;
       this._ctl.connect(); // idempotent — opens the stream once, re-marks focus
       if (!this._loginArmed && window.TS_LOGIN && this._ctl.onLogin) {
@@ -352,7 +383,7 @@ async function mountShell() {
         const pane = new ShellPane({
           type: "coordinator",
           title: wsTitle(id),
-          glyph: "◆",
+          stateful: true, // tab shows live Tier-1 state (no static placeholder)
         });
         pane.tabMenu = () =>
           convTabMenu(pane, pm, id, {
@@ -366,6 +397,7 @@ async function mountShell() {
           });
         };
         pane.onActivate = function () {
+          pm.setTabGlyph(pane.id, glyph(stateForWs(id))); // live Tier-1 state glyph
           if (this._ctl && !this._connected) {
             this._connected = true;
             this._ctl.connect();
@@ -427,6 +459,14 @@ async function mountShell() {
   // `pm` lets the rail seed its active marker when a restored Admin pane is open.
   mountManage(shell.manageSec, pm);
 
+  // Live tab state-glyphs (step 7): repaint conversational tabs' state glyphs on
+  // every Tier-1 render — the SAME source + builder the rail uses, so tab and
+  // rail agree and the glyph never sits stale at an open-time placeholder.  One
+  // Tier-1 writer for the tab glyph; the pane's Tier-2 stream drives its body.
+  if (window.TS_APP && typeof window.TS_APP.onRender === "function") {
+    window.TS_APP.onRender(() => paintConvTabGlyphs(pm));
+  }
+
   // Hand off to the legacy boot (login + Tier-1 stream) now that the shell and
   // its status DOM exist.
   if (window.TS_APP && typeof window.TS_APP.boot === "function") {