diff --git a/docs/dashboard-tables.md b/docs/dashboard-tables.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..72226f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/dashboard-tables.md
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# Dashboard tables
+
+How every data table on the dashboard is laid out, and the rules a new table
+must follow so it never grows a horizontal scrollbar on a desktop screen.
+Everything here is plain CSS in `src/web/tailwind.css` plus four cell classes;
+there is no table library and no JavaScript involved.
+
+## The problem this solves
+
+A table used to be `min-width: max-content` inside a `.scroll-x` wrapper, and
+most cells were `white-space: nowrap`. Any table whose natural width exceeded
+the page column (80rem, ~1355px at the site's 110% scale) became a horizontal
+scroller, even on a 2560px monitor, and the columns that mattered were hidden
+behind the scrollbar. Wrapping columns were squeezed to their minimum while the
+nowrap ones kept everything.
+
+## The three rules
+
+1. **Tables get the whole viewport, everything else keeps the page column.**
+   `.dashboard` is a CSS grid with two named column spans: `content` (at most
+   80rem minus the page gutters, exactly what the header uses) and `wide` (the
+   viewport minus the same gutters). Every direct child sits in `content`; a
+   direct-child `.scroll-x` sits in `wide`. The table inside a wide wrapper is
+   `width: auto` (shrink-to-fit) with `min-width` equal to the content column
+   and `max-width: 100%`, centred. A table that fits the page column therefore
+   looks exactly as before; a table that needs more grows, centred, up to the
+   viewport edge; the page itself never scrolls sideways.
+
+2. **Columns wrap before the table scrolls.** The `min-width: max-content` rule
+   is gone. A table shrinks by wrapping its text columns down to their floors,
+   and only when the floors alone no longer fit (phones, mostly) does the
+   `.scroll-x` wrapper scroll. Headers always wrap.
+
+3. **A cell declares what it holds, and nothing else decides its width.**
+   There are exactly four cell classes:
+
+   | class        | use it for                                                     | behaviour                                                              |
+   | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+   | *(none)*     | short prose, names, tokens, badges                             | wraps at spaces                                                        |
+   | `num`        | numbers, money, counts                                         | right-aligned tabular figures; `td.num` never wraps, `th.num` may      |
+   | `cell-tight` | timestamps, dates, ids, a single short token that must not split | `white-space: nowrap`. Nothing longer than ~20 characters              |
+   | `cell-wrap`  | titles, URLs, notes, messages, badge lists, anything free-form | floor 10rem, ceiling 32rem, `overflow-wrap: anywhere`                  |
+
+   Anything long that must not wrap gets an inner block with a Tailwind clamp
+   (`<div class="line-clamp-2" title="…">`) inside a `cell-wrap` cell; the cell
+   ceiling bounds the column, the clamp bounds the row height. Do not put
+   `truncate`/`line-clamp-*` on a `td` itself (a table cell cannot be a
+   `-webkit-box`), and do not use `table-fixed` on a page-level table (fixed
+   layout needs a definite width and is silently ignored with `width: auto`).
+
+## Checklist for a new table
+
+- Wrap it in `<div class="scroll-x">` (add `tall` for a 70vh vertical cap) and
+  make that wrapper a **direct child** of `<section class="dashboard">` if the
+  table has more than a handful of columns. Tables inside `.card`, `.cards` or
+  `details` stay inside their box and just wrap/scroll there.
+- Give every `td` one of the four classes above according to its content.
+  When in doubt, leave it unclassed: wrapping is the safe default.
+- Never `cell-tight` a name, a title, a reason sentence or a free-text field.
+- Check the page at 390, 1280 and 2560px. At 1280 and above the wrapper's
+  `scrollWidth` must equal its `clientWidth`; at 390 a wide table is allowed to
+  scroll.
+
+## Measuring
+
+`docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/measure.mjs` logs in as the dev-seed admin,
+visits every dashboard page at several widths and prints, per page, whether the
+document overflows and which table wrappers scroll. Run it against a seeded
+dev server (`cargo run --example seed_dev_db -- ./dev`) before and after a CSS
+change; the "scrolling" count for widths ≥ 1280 should be zero.
diff --git a/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/00-shared.md b/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/00-shared.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e35f4f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/00-shared.md
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# Shared brief — dashboard tables (2026-09-20)
+
+The operator sees horizontal scrollbars on most dashboard tables, even on an
+ultrawide monitor, because every table is capped at the 80rem page column and
+`min-width: max-content` forbids wrapping. The fix is a small, reusable table
+framework described in **`docs/dashboard-tables.md` — read it first; it is the
+spec.** Two tasks run in parallel in separate git worktrees:
+
+- `01-css.md` — the CSS side (`src/web/tailwind.css`, rebuilt `app.css`).
+- `02-templates.md` — the template audit (every `td` gets the right cell class).
+
+## Ground rules
+
+- Work only in the worktree named in your brief. **Never touch the main checkout**
+  at `/home/thallada/workspace/the-daily-epub`. **Do not `git commit`** (the sandbox
+  cannot write `.git/worktrees`); leave the work in the tree, the orchestrator
+  commits.
+- Styling lives in **`src/web/tailwind.css`** (Tailwind v4, `@apply` inside
+  `@layer components`, semantic colour tokens). After every CSS change run
+  `npm run css` (writes `src/web/static/app.css`, which the binary embeds with
+  `include_str!`). `npm run css:check` must print no diff at the end.
+- CSP forbids inline `<style>`, `<script>` and `style=""` attributes. No new JS,
+  no new dependencies, no table library: this is plain CSS + four cell classes.
+- Keep every hook `app.js` relies on: `table[data-filter]`, `.table-filter`,
+  `input[data-table-filter]`, `.scroll-x` (the filter script does
+  `table.closest(".scroll-x")`), `form[data-confirm]`, `details[id]`, `[data-refresh]`.
+- Keep `cargo fmt`, `cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings` and the tests
+  green (`cargo test --lib web::` while iterating, one full `cargo test` at the
+  end). **Sandbox note:** inside the Codex sandbox `bind()` on 127.0.0.1 is
+  forbidden; ignore every test that fails with `PermissionDenied`/bind errors
+  (about 17 pre-existing ones). Do not "fix" them.
+- 4 cores / 7 GB shared with another agent building Rust at the same time: one
+  cargo process at a time, be patient.
+- KISS / YAGNI: no config knobs, no per-table width tables, no JS resizing, no
+  responsive card-ification of rows. Where the brief and the code disagree,
+  follow the code and note the deviation in your handoff.
+- Finish by writing `docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/handoff-<task>.md`:
+  what changed (file by file), deviations, what you verified and how, anything
+  left open.
+
+## Previewing (optional — the sandbox usually cannot bind a port)
+
+Seed a throwaway database with `cargo run --example seed_dev_db -- ./dev`
+(git-ignored) and serve it with
+`DAILY_EPUB_SERVER__HMAC_SECRET=$(head -c 48 /dev/urandom | base64) DAILY_EPUB_SERVER__BIND=127.0.0.1:<port> cargo run -- --config ./dev/config.toml serve`.
+`measure.mjs` in this directory (needs `playwright` on the module path; a copy
+lives at `~/.npm/_npx/705bc6b22212b352/node_modules`) prints per page and width
+whether the document overflows and which table wrappers scroll. If you cannot
+bind, rely on the router tests and say so; the orchestrator screenshots every
+page at 390/768/1280/1920/2560 after merging.
diff --git a/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/01-css.md b/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/01-css.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc4a83a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/01-css.md
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+# Task 01 — table framework CSS
+
+Worktree: `/home/thallada/workspace/the-daily-epub-tables-css` (branch `tables-css`).
+Read `00-shared.md` and `docs/dashboard-tables.md` first. Only `src/web/tailwind.css`
+and the rebuilt `src/web/static/app.css` change in this task (plus your handoff).
+The template audit happens in a sibling worktree; do not edit templates.
+
+## 1. `.dashboard` becomes a content grid
+
+Replace `.dashboard { @apply mx-auto my-8 max-w-7xl px-4 pb-6 … sm:px-6; }` with a
+grid that keeps the page column pixel-identical to the header
+(`mx-auto max-w-7xl px-4 sm:px-6` = content width `80rem - 2 * gutter`, centred):
+
+```css
+.dashboard {
+  --gutter: 1rem;
+  @apply my-8 grid pb-6 font-sans text-base leading-normal;
+  grid-template-columns:
+    [full-start] var(--gutter)
+    [wide-start] 1fr
+    [content-start] minmax(0, calc(80rem - 2 * var(--gutter)))
+    [content-end] 1fr
+    [wide-end] var(--gutter)
+    [full-end];
+}
+@media (width >= 40rem) { .dashboard { --gutter: 1.5rem; } }   /* Tailwind `sm` */
+.dashboard > * { grid-column: content; min-width: 0; }
+.dashboard > .scroll-x { grid-column: wide; }
+```
+
+Keep `.dashboard > * + * { mt-4 }` and every other `.dashboard …` rule as they
+are (margins on grid items work). Verify in the templates that nothing relied
+on the old padding: `.save-bar` uses `-mx-4 sm:-mx-6` to bleed to the edges;
+under the grid it still overflows its `content` area into the gutter columns
+by the same amount, so leave it unless you see a problem. The `sm` breakpoint
+is `40rem` in Tailwind v4 and `@media` rem is always 16px-based, so the query
+above matches `sm:` exactly.
+
+Prototype measured in Chromium and Firefox at 390/1280/2560: `h1` left edge and
+width identical to today, no document overflow, table centred and wider than
+the column only when its content needs it.
+
+## 2. Tables shrink by wrapping; page-level tables may grow past the column
+
+- Delete `.scroll-x > table { min-width:max-content; }`.
+- Add, for the wide wrapper only:
+
+```css
+.dashboard > .scroll-x > table {
+  width: auto;                                   /* shrink-to-fit */
+  min-width: min(100%, calc(80rem - 2 * var(--gutter)));
+  max-width: 100%;
+  margin-inline: auto;
+}
+```
+
+  A table narrower than the page column fills the column as today; a wider one
+  grows, centred, to the viewport edge; the wrapper scrolls only past that.
+  Tables that are not direct children (cards, disclosures, signal tables inside
+  cells) keep `w-full` from the base rule and simply wrap, then scroll.
+
+## 3. Cell vocabulary (exactly four classes, see the doc's table)
+
+- `.num` → `@apply text-right tabular-nums;` and `td.num { @apply whitespace-nowrap; }`.
+  Header cells with `.num` may wrap ("cache write", "matched articles").
+- `.cell-tight` unchanged (`whitespace-nowrap`).
+- `.cell-wrap` → `@apply min-w-[10rem] max-w-[32rem] whitespace-normal; overflow-wrap:anywhere;`
+  (ceiling raised from 24rem so titles get a single line when the screen has
+  room; `max-width` on a cell is honoured by Chromium and Firefox for the
+  column's max-content contribution — measured).
+- `th` keeps wrapping (no nowrap); keep the sticky `thead`.
+- `td > pre.preview { max-w-md }` and `.rating-cell` rules stay.
+
+## 4. Small things to keep honest
+
+- `.prose-body table` (reader pages) keeps its own rules; do not touch.
+- Put a short comment above the table rules pointing at `docs/dashboard-tables.md`.
+- `npm run css`, then `cargo build` (the binary embeds app.css) and
+  `cargo test --lib web::`. Router tests assert on markup, not on these rules,
+  so nothing should break; if something does, say what and why in the handoff.
+- If you can run the dev server + `measure.mjs`, do it and paste the ≥1280 lines
+  for `/dashboard/articles`, `/dashboard/runs` and `/dashboard/runs/1` into the
+  handoff. With unchanged templates some tables will still scroll at 1280 —
+  that is expected until the template audit lands — but at 2560 the articles
+  and candidates tables must fit without scrolling.
diff --git a/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/02-templates.md b/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/02-templates.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd2c5c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/02-templates.md
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+# Task 02 — template audit: every cell says what it holds
+
+Worktree: `/home/thallada/workspace/the-daily-epub-tables-tpl` (branch `tables-tpl`).
+Read `00-shared.md` and `docs/dashboard-tables.md` first. Only files under
+`src/web/templates/` change in this task (plus your handoff). The CSS lands in a
+sibling worktree; assume the four cell classes behave exactly as the doc's
+table says (`cell-wrap` floor 10rem / ceiling 32rem with `overflow-wrap:anywhere`,
+`cell-tight` nowrap, `td.num` nowrap right-aligned, unclassed cells wrap at
+spaces, `th` always wraps, page-level tables grow past the page column when
+their content needs it).
+
+Go through every `<table>` in `src/web/templates/dashboard/*.html`,
+`src/web/templates/_candidate_row.html` and `src/web/templates/_signals_table.html`
+and apply these rules to each `td`:
+
+1. **`cell-tight` only on timestamps, dates, ids and single tokens ≤ ~20
+   characters** (`first_seen`, `when`, `started`, `finished`, `requested`,
+   `created`, `last_login`, `saved_at`, `changed_at`, `event_at`, `issue_date`,
+   `published`, `run.date`, `run.funnel` "310 → 200 → …", `age → decay`,
+   `#id`). **Remove it** from feed names/titles (`article.feed`, `candidate.feed`,
+   `miss.feed`, `row.feed_credits`, nearest-article `feed`), reasons
+   (`article.reason`, `row.reason`, `candidate.reason`), "admitted by" cells,
+   usernames / `requested_by` / `saved_by`, roles, sources, kinds, job names,
+   and from any cell that combines a badge with more text (stage + run date).
+   A `.badge` is already `whitespace-nowrap` on its own, so a badge-only cell
+   needs no class.
+2. **`cell-wrap` on every free-form column**: titles, URLs, notes, messages,
+   "reason or comment", facet values, badge lists (interests), config diff
+   before/after, anything a user typed. Keep it where it already is.
+3. **`num` on numbers only** (it already is; just make sure no text column
+   uses it because it wanted right alignment — `#id` cells may keep `num`).
+4. **Long text that should not stretch a row**: if a column can hold hundreds of
+   characters (job `message`, rating-import `message`, `note`), keep
+   `cell-wrap` and wrap the text in `<div class="line-clamp-3" title="{{ … }}">`
+   **only** if the full text is reachable somewhere else on the page or via the
+   `title`; otherwise let it wrap. Never put `truncate`/`line-clamp-*` on a `td`.
+5. **`dashboard/feeds.html`**: drop `table-fixed` (fixed layout is ignored once
+   the page-level table is `width:auto`). Keep the `w-*` hints on the `th`s
+   (they act as minimums under auto layout), keep the `line-clamp-*`/`truncate`
+   inner elements — they already sit on block children, which is the pattern —
+   and put `cell-wrap` on the Feed and Why cells if it is not there. The
+   actions cell keeps its forms; give it `cell-tight` only if the buttons wrap
+   badly, otherwise leave it unclassed.
+6. **`dashboard/run.html` Feeds card** (`<table class="table-fixed">` inside
+   `.card`): this table is `w-full` inside a card, so `table-fixed` still works
+   there; leave it, but it is the only allowed `table-fixed`.
+7. **Header cells**: remove nothing, but make sure no `th` has `whitespace-nowrap`
+   or `cell-tight`; long headers such as
+   "considered → eligible → triaged → assessed → shortlisted → selected" may wrap.
+8. **Wrappers**: every page-level table (more than a handful of columns:
+   runs, candidates, articles, ratings current/events, interests, feeds, users,
+   jobs, stats runs/costs, settings history, profile versions, near misses,
+   funnel) must sit in a `<div class="scroll-x …">` that is a **direct child**
+   of `<section class="dashboard …">` — check that no such wrapper is nested in
+   a stray `<div>`; tables inside `.card`/`.cards`/`details` stay where they are.
+   Keep `tall` where it is today.
+
+Do not change the columns themselves, their order, the text, or any
+`data-*`/`id`/`name`/`action`/`aria-*` attribute. Do not touch reader/public
+templates (`issue_*.html`, `article.html`, `world.html`, `behind.html`, `_toc.html`).
+
+Verify: `cargo test --lib web::` (router tests assert on text and some class
+names; if one breaks only because a class moved, update the test and say so),
+then `cargo fmt`/`clippy`. List in the handoff, per template, which cells lost
+`cell-tight`, which gained `cell-wrap`, and any clamp you added.
diff --git a/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/measure.mjs b/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/measure.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cee9dc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/plans/briefs/dashboard-tables/measure.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+// usage: node measure.mjs <port> <outdir> [widths]
+import { chromium } from "playwright";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+const [port, outdir, widthsArg] = process.argv.slice(2);
+const base = `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`;
+const widths = (widthsArg || "390,768,1280,1920,2560").split(",").map(Number);
+const pages = ["/dashboard","/dashboard/runs","/dashboard/runs/1","/dashboard/runs/2","/dashboard/articles","/dashboard/articles/1","/dashboard/ratings","/dashboard/ratings?tab=events","/dashboard/interests","/dashboard/feeds","/dashboard/feeds?status=added","/dashboard/profile","/dashboard/stats","/dashboard/jobs","/dashboard/settings","/dashboard/settings/history","/dashboard/users","/","/issues","/account"];
+fs.mkdirSync(outdir, { recursive: true });
+const browser = await chromium.launch();
+const ctx = await browser.newContext({ viewport: { width: 1280, height: 900 } });
+const page = await ctx.newPage();
+await page.goto(`${base}/login`);
+await page.fill('input[name="username"]', "admin");
+await page.fill('input[name="password"]', "adminpassword123");
+await page.click('button[type="submit"]');
+await page.waitForLoadState("networkidle");
+const report = [];
+for (const w of widths) {
+  await page.setViewportSize({ width: w, height: 1000 });
+  for (const p of pages) {
+    const resp = await page.goto(`${base}${p}`, { waitUntil: "networkidle" });
+    const status = resp?.status();
+    const info = await page.evaluate(() => {
+      const de = document.documentElement;
+      const container = document.querySelector(".dashboard, main > section, main > div, main");
+      const tables = [...document.querySelectorAll("table")].map((t) => {
+        const host = t.closest(".scroll-x") || t.parentElement;
+        const r = t.getBoundingClientRect();
+        return { cls: t.className, ths: t.querySelectorAll("thead th").length, rows: t.querySelectorAll("tbody tr").length, tableW: Math.round(r.width), hostW: Math.round(host.getBoundingClientRect().width), hostScroll: host.scrollWidth, hostClient: host.clientWidth, overflow: host.scrollWidth > host.clientWidth + 1 };
+      });
+      const culprits = [...document.querySelectorAll("body *")].filter((el) => el.scrollWidth > el.clientWidth + 1 && getComputedStyle(el).overflowX === "visible" && !el.closest("table")).slice(0, 5).map((el) => `${el.tagName.toLowerCase()}.${String(el.className).split(" ").slice(0,2).join(".")} ${el.scrollWidth}>${el.clientWidth}`);
+      return { pageOverflow: de.scrollWidth > de.clientWidth, docW: de.clientWidth, containerW: container ? Math.round(container.getBoundingClientRect().width) : null, tables, culprits };
+    });
+    const name = p.replace(/[\/?=]/g, "_").replace(/^_/, "") || "root";
+    if (w === 1280 || w === 2560 || w === 390) await page.screenshot({ path: `${outdir}/${w}-${name}.png`, fullPage: true });
+    report.push({ w, p, status, ...info });
+    const bad = info.tables.filter((t) => t.overflow);
+    console.log(`${w} ${p} status=${status} page=${info.pageOverflow ? "OVERFLOW" : "ok"} container=${info.containerW} tables=${info.tables.length} scrolling=${bad.length}${bad.length ? " [" + bad.map((t) => `${t.cls || "-"}:${t.hostScroll}>${t.hostClient}`).join(", ") + "]" : ""}${info.culprits.length ? " culprits=" + info.culprits.join(" | ") : ""}`);
+  }
+}
+fs.writeFileSync(`${outdir}/report.json`, JSON.stringify(report, null, 1));
+await browser.close();