diff --git a/components/chain-table.tsx b/components/chain-table.tsx
index 7ef8268..c79c171 100644
--- a/components/chain-table.tsx
+++ b/components/chain-table.tsx
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ export function ChainTableBody({
 	onClear,
 	onDelete,
 	onClose,
+	topBarExtra,
 	selectMode,
 	onSelect,
 }: {
@@ -140,6 +141,11 @@ export function ChainTableBody({
 	 * (graph rendering off, owner 2026-10-06): the table is the page,
 	 * there is nothing to close, and the X does not render. */
 	onClose?: () => void;
+	/** HOME VARIANT (owner, 2026-10-06 polish): extra controls injected
+	 * into the shared TopBar, right cluster, LEFT of the search input —
+	 * the chains home's Import-notes + cost pill live here instead of
+	 * floating over the list (covering table content read badly). */
+	topBarExtra?: React.ReactNode;
 	/** PRACTICE SELECT (2026-10-04): the floating bar's confirm becomes
 	 *  "Practice these" — no delete fence; the caller owns what the
 	 *  selection becomes. */
@@ -245,12 +251,17 @@ export function ChainTableBody({
 			    chat surface. NO TITLE (owner round 11, 2026-10-05): the serif
 			    title register is RESERVED — it always names a session; the
 			    chain table names nothing, so its bar carries counts + search +
-			    close only. Search + close carve out with lh-no-drag (the mask
-			    law: later in the DOM). */}
+			    close only — plus, in the home variant, the injected
+			    topBarExtra (import + cost, owner 2026-10-06). Search, close,
+			    and the extra carve out with lh-no-drag (the mask law: later
+			    in the DOM). */}
 			<TopBar>
 				<span className="min-w-0 flex-1 truncate text-xs text-muted-foreground">
 					{chains.length} {chains.length === 1 ? "chain" : "chains"} · {nodes.length} {nodes.length === 1 ? "node" : "nodes"}
 				</span>
+				{topBarExtra && (
+					<div className="lh-no-drag flex shrink-0 items-center gap-2">{topBarExtra}</div>
+				)}
 				<div className="relative shrink-0">
 					<SearchIcon className="absolute left-2.5 top-1/2 size-3.5 -translate-y-1/2 text-muted-foreground" />
 					<input
diff --git a/components/chains-home.tsx b/components/chains-home.tsx
index 9622646..110e7c2 100644
--- a/components/chains-home.tsx
+++ b/components/chains-home.tsx
@@ -16,8 +16,9 @@
  * (owner-approved wording: "bottom clearance so content scrolls clear").
  *
  * The graph chrome's survivors: Import notes (ALWAYS — the entry point,
- * the empty-graph law) and the cost pill, floating top-right below the
- * table's top bar. Node search is canvas-scoped and the render-settings
+ * the empty-graph law) and the cost pill, riding THE TOP BAR's right
+ * cluster (owner refinement, 2026-10-06 — floating over the list covered
+ * table content). Node search is canvas-scoped and the render-settings
  * gear is canvas rendering — neither applies; the table's own search row
  * covers query.
  *
@@ -193,33 +194,35 @@ export function ChainsHome({
 					// onClose ABSENT — the home variant: no top-bar X.
 					selectMode={chainSelectOpen}
 					onSelect={onChainSelectClose}
+					// The chrome survivors ride THE TOP BAR (owner refinement,
+					// 2026-10-06): floating over the list covered table content —
+					// the bar's right cluster (left of search) is their home now,
+					// consistent with the graph view where they sit in the top
+					// band. Import ALWAYS (the entry-point law); the cost pill
+					// when any run exists. Node search + the render gear stay
+					// canvas things.
+					topBarExtra={
+						<>
+							{costs && costs.runs.length > 0 && <GraphCostControl costs={costs} />}
+							<div className="shrink-0 rounded-xl border bg-card/85 px-1 py-[3px] shadow-lg backdrop-blur">
+								<Hint label="Import notes into the graph" side="bottom">
+									<button
+										type="button"
+										disabled={importing}
+										onClick={() => fileInputRef.current?.click()}
+										data-testid="import-notes"
+										className="flex h-7 items-center gap-1.5 rounded-lg px-2.5 text-xs text-muted-foreground transition-colors hover:bg-accent disabled:opacity-50"
+									>
+										<UploadIcon className="size-3" />
+										{importing ? "Importing…" : "Import notes…"}
+									</button>
+								</Hint>
+							</div>
+						</>
+					}
 				/>
 			)}
 
-			{/* The chrome survivors, floating top-right BELOW the table's top
-			    bar (h-15 = 60px + breathing room — owner, 2026-10-06): Import
-			    ALWAYS — the entry point; the cost pill when any run exists. Node
-			    search + the render gear are canvas things. */}
-			{!isEmpty && (
-				<div className="absolute right-3 top-[4.5rem] z-20 flex items-center gap-2">
-					{costs && costs.runs.length > 0 && <GraphCostControl costs={costs} />}
-					<div className="shrink-0 rounded-xl border bg-card/85 px-1 py-[3px] shadow-lg backdrop-blur">
-						<Hint label="Import notes into the graph" side="bottom">
-							<button
-								type="button"
-								disabled={importing}
-								onClick={() => fileInputRef.current?.click()}
-								data-testid="import-notes"
-								className="flex h-7 items-center gap-1.5 rounded-lg px-2.5 text-xs text-muted-foreground transition-colors hover:bg-accent disabled:opacity-50"
-							>
-								<UploadIcon className="size-3" />
-								{importing ? "Importing…" : "Import notes…"}
-							</button>
-						</Hint>
-					</div>
-				</div>
-			)}
-
 			{deleteOpen && (
 				<DeleteNodeDialog
 					nodes={selectedNodes.map((n) => ({ id: n.id, name: n.name }))}
diff --git a/tests/render-chain-table.test.tsx b/tests/render-chain-table.test.tsx
index dad71ab..a34014c 100644
--- a/tests/render-chain-table.test.tsx
+++ b/tests/render-chain-table.test.tsx
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ const BASE = {
 	onGenerate: () => {},
 	onDelete: () => {},
 	onClose: () => {},
+	topBarExtra: undefined as React.ReactNode,
 };
 
 function render(props: Partial<typeof BASE> = {}) {
@@ -96,6 +97,14 @@ describe("ChainTableBody — the HOME variant (graph rendering off, 2026-10-06)"
 		assert.ok(html.includes("chain"), "the counts stay");
 		assert.ok(html.includes("lh-drag"), "the window-drag band stays (same bar as every surface)");
 	});
+
+	it("topBarExtra injects into the bar's right cluster — import + cost ride the TOP BAR (owner, 2026-10-06)", () => {
+		const html = render({ onClose: undefined, topBarExtra: React.createElement("b", { "data-testid": "tbx" }, "X") });
+		assert.ok(html.includes('data-testid="tbx"'), "the extra renders inside the bar");
+		assert.ok(html.includes("lh-no-drag"), "the cluster carves out of the drag band");
+		const overlay = render();
+		assert.ok(!overlay.includes('data-testid="tbx"'), "absent by default — the overlay variant injects nothing");
+	});
 });
 
 describe("ChainTableBody — clusters (the outermost layer)", () => {