diff --git a/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/AuroraBackground.tsx b/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/AuroraBackground.tsx
index ba72985f..f3da6d00 100644
--- a/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/AuroraBackground.tsx
+++ b/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/AuroraBackground.tsx
@@ -21,12 +21,18 @@ function isWebGLAvailable(): boolean {
 }
 
 function CSSFallback() {
+  // Approximates the WebGL Aurora's purple-to-green palette (colorA #7B2FBE,
+  // colorB #00CD98, colorC #A855F7) with layered radial gradients.
   return (
     <div
       className="absolute inset-0 w-full h-full"
       style={{
-        background:
-          'radial-gradient(ellipse 80% 60% at 50% 0%, oklch(0.45 0.2 290 / 0.35) 0%, transparent 70%), radial-gradient(ellipse 60% 40% at 30% 20%, oklch(0.55 0.18 160 / 0.2) 0%, transparent 60%)',
+        background: [
+          'radial-gradient(ellipse 110% 55% at 50% 0%, rgba(123, 47, 190, 0.55) 0%, rgba(123, 47, 190, 0.18) 38%, transparent 70%)',
+          'radial-gradient(ellipse 80% 60% at 50% 95%, rgba(0, 205, 152, 0.45) 0%, transparent 72%)',
+          'radial-gradient(ellipse 65% 50% at 22% 28%, rgba(168, 85, 247, 0.32) 0%, transparent 68%)',
+          'radial-gradient(ellipse 55% 45% at 82% 62%, rgba(0, 205, 152, 0.22) 0%, transparent 70%)',
+        ].join(', '),
       }}
     />
   )
@@ -77,7 +83,26 @@ function AuroraCanvas({ onError }: { onError: () => void }) {
           shader.destroy()
           return
         }
-        cleanup = () => shader.destroy()
+
+        // createShader pins the canvas to a fixed pixel size and watches the
+        // canvas itself for resizes — so CSS-driven layout changes (e.g. the
+        // sidebar opening/closing) never reach it. Observe the parent instead
+        // and resize explicitly.
+        const parent = canvas.parentElement
+        let resizeObserver: ResizeObserver | null = null
+        if (parent) {
+          resizeObserver = new ResizeObserver(([entry]) => {
+            if (!entry) return
+            const { width, height } = entry.contentRect
+            if (width > 0 && height > 0) shader.resize(width, height)
+          })
+          resizeObserver.observe(parent)
+        }
+
+        cleanup = () => {
+          resizeObserver?.disconnect()
+          shader.destroy()
+        }
       })
       .catch(err => {
         console.error('[AuroraBackground] shader init failed, falling back to CSS:', err)
diff --git a/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/Chat.tsx b/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/Chat.tsx
index 6de5a268..c03e5d00 100644
--- a/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/Chat.tsx
+++ b/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/Chat.tsx
@@ -9,12 +9,14 @@ import { AssistantMessage } from './AssistantMessage'
 import { AuroraBackground } from './AuroraBackground'
 import { Composer } from './Composer'
 import { LoadingIndicator } from './LoadingIndicator'
-import { Button } from './ui/Button'
+import { PopularActionsCarousel } from './PopularActionsCarousel'
 import { UserMessage } from './UserMessage'
 
-const WELCOME_SUGGESTIONS = [
+const POPULAR_ACTIONS = [
+  'Show my recent transaction activity',
+  'Create a stop loss for my ETH position',
+  'Swap half my USDC on Ethereum to FOX',
   'What is my USDC balance on Arbitrum?',
-  'Swap half my USDC on arb to FOX',
   'Give me some info about FOX on Arb',
 ]
 
@@ -117,23 +119,7 @@ export function Chat() {
       </div>
 
       {/* Suggestions above composer - only shown when empty */}
-      {isEmpty && (
-        <div className="bg-background/80 backdrop-blur-md border-t border-border">
-          <div className="mx-auto flex max-w-2xl gap-2 px-4 py-3">
-            {WELCOME_SUGGESTIONS.map((suggestion, index) => (
-              <Button
-                key={index}
-                onClick={() => handleSuggestionClick(suggestion)}
-                title={suggestion}
-                variant="outline"
-                className="flex-1 min-w-0 h-[52px] line-clamp-2 whitespace-normal"
-              >
-                {suggestion}
-              </Button>
-            ))}
-          </div>
-        </div>
-      )}
+      {isEmpty && <PopularActionsCarousel actions={POPULAR_ACTIONS} onActionClick={handleSuggestionClick} />}
 
       {/* Composer */}
       <div className={isEmpty ? 'bg-background/80 backdrop-blur-md' : 'bg-background'}>
diff --git a/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/PopularActionsCarousel.tsx b/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/PopularActionsCarousel.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4ffe82c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/agentic-chat/src/components/PopularActionsCarousel.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+
+import { Button } from './ui/Button'
+
+type PopularActionsCarouselProps = {
+  actions: string[]
+  onActionClick: (action: string) => void
+}
+
+const AUTO_ADVANCE_MS = 5000
+
+export function PopularActionsCarousel({ actions, onActionClick }: PopularActionsCarouselProps) {
+  const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null)
+  const [activeIndex, setActiveIndex] = useState(0)
+  const [isPaused, setIsPaused] = useState(false)
+  const pauseTimeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null)
+  const rafRef = useRef<number | null>(null)
+
+  const stopResumeTimer = useCallback(() => {
+    if (!pauseTimeoutRef.current) return
+    clearTimeout(pauseTimeoutRef.current)
+    pauseTimeoutRef.current = null
+  }, [])
+
+  const resumeAfterInteraction = useCallback(() => {
+    stopResumeTimer()
+    pauseTimeoutRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
+      setIsPaused(false)
+      pauseTimeoutRef.current = null
+    }, 1200)
+  }, [stopResumeTimer])
+
+  const goToSlide = useCallback((index: number) => {
+    const container = containerRef.current
+    if (!container) return
+    const item = container.querySelector<HTMLButtonElement>(`[data-action-index="${index}"]`)
+    if (!item) return
+    item.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', inline: 'start', block: 'nearest' })
+    setActiveIndex(index)
+  }, [])
+
+  const handleScroll = useCallback(() => {
+    if (rafRef.current) cancelAnimationFrame(rafRef.current)
+
+    rafRef.current = requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+      const container = containerRef.current
+      if (!container) return
+
+      const children = Array.from(container.querySelectorAll<HTMLButtonElement>('[data-action-index]'))
+      if (children.length === 0) return
+
+      let closestIndex = 0
+      let closestDistance = Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY
+
+      children.forEach((child, index) => {
+        const distance = Math.abs(child.offsetLeft - container.scrollLeft)
+        if (distance < closestDistance) {
+          closestDistance = distance
+          closestIndex = index
+        }
+      })
+
+      setActiveIndex(closestIndex)
+    })
+  }, [])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (actions.length <= 1 || isPaused) return
+
+    const timer = setInterval(() => {
+      const nextIndex = (activeIndex + 1) % actions.length
+      goToSlide(nextIndex)
+    }, AUTO_ADVANCE_MS)
+
+    return () => clearInterval(timer)
+  }, [actions.length, activeIndex, goToSlide, isPaused])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    return () => {
+      stopResumeTimer()
+      if (rafRef.current) cancelAnimationFrame(rafRef.current)
+    }
+  }, [stopResumeTimer])
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className="bg-background/80 backdrop-blur-md border-t border-border"
+      onMouseEnter={() => setIsPaused(true)}
+      onMouseLeave={() => setIsPaused(false)}
+      onFocusCapture={() => setIsPaused(true)}
+      onBlurCapture={() => setIsPaused(false)}
+    >
+      <div className="mx-auto max-w-2xl px-4 py-3">
+        <div
+          ref={containerRef}
+          className="flex snap-x snap-mandatory gap-2 overflow-x-auto scroll-smooth pb-1 [scrollbar-width:none] [&::-webkit-scrollbar]:hidden"
+          onScroll={handleScroll}
+          onTouchStart={() => {
+            stopResumeTimer()
+            setIsPaused(true)
+          }}
+          onTouchEnd={resumeAfterInteraction}
+          onTouchCancel={resumeAfterInteraction}
+          role="region"
+          aria-label="Popular actions"
+        >
+          {actions.map((action, index) => (
+            <Button
+              key={action}
+              data-action-index={index}
+              onClick={() => onActionClick(action)}
+              title={action}
+              variant="outline"
+              className="h-[52px] w-[85%] shrink-0 snap-start whitespace-normal text-left leading-tight sm:w-[calc(50%-0.25rem)]"
+            >
+              {action}
+            </Button>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+        <div className="mt-2 flex justify-center gap-1.5">
+          {actions.map((action, index) => (
+            <button
+              key={`dot-${action}`}
+              type="button"
+              onClick={() => goToSlide(index)}
+              aria-label={`Show action ${index + 1}`}
+              className={`h-1.5 w-1.5 rounded-full transition-colors ${index === activeIndex ? 'bg-foreground' : 'bg-muted-foreground/30'}`}
+            />
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  )
+}