diff --git a/.claude/CLAUDE.md b/.claude/CLAUDE.md
index b0ce666c..0d47c31d 100644
--- a/.claude/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/.claude/CLAUDE.md
@@ -1425,6 +1425,24 @@ Three rules about it:
    vocabulary is app-wide across the secondary windows and dialogs; the main
    window's command bar deliberately keeps its flat minimalist `toolbar`
    buttons (rule 1) and is the one surface exempt.
+   **A status line is `TextBlock.statusMessage`** (`Styles/Theme.axaml`,
+   2026-10, 1.0.1 release pass): one line (`MaxLines=1`: Npgsql puts a server
+   error's `DETAIL` after a newline, which grew the bar a line), cut with an
+   ellipsis, and its whole text in a tooltip only while it is cut
+   (`Converters/CutTextTip`, which reads the block's `TextLayout` for a
+   collapsed line or lines left out). The main window's message and
+   cap warning, and the Activity, Database Overview and Security windows' status
+   lines use it; Slow Queries keeps its wrapping line, a paragraph of caveats
+   meant to be read. Found because a failed safe-mode commit read "Commit
+   failed…" in a narrow window with no way to see why: the main message had
+   carried a `ToolTip.Tip` since the bar was built, and it never once opened.
+   **Landmine: a `TextBlock` or panel with no `Background` is not hit-testable**
+   (not even over its glyphs: 0 of 4,536 points over the status text reached
+   it), so a tooltip on it is dead and the pointer lands on whatever has a
+   background behind it. The style sets `Background="Transparent"`, and so does
+   `Border.statusBar StackPanel`, whose segment tooltips (read-only reason, In
+   transaction, staged changes) had opened only over an icon's ink.
+   `StatusLineTests` hovers each with real pointer input.
    **Surfaces and dialogs have a vocabulary too** (2026-09, DESIGN.md rules 15
    and 16). Every secondary window sits on the shell tone — a `Window` style in
    `Styles/Theme.axaml` sets it, and the Inter font, so no window sets either —
diff --git a/src/PgNimbus.App/Converters/CutTextTip.cs b/src/PgNimbus.App/Converters/CutTextTip.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..edfb27f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/PgNimbus.App/Converters/CutTextTip.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+using System.Globalization;
+using Avalonia.Controls;
+using Avalonia.Data.Converters;
+
+namespace PgNimbus.App.Converters;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// The tooltip of a <c>TextBlock.statusMessage</c>: its whole text while the
+/// line is cut with an ellipsis, and nothing while it fits (a tooltip repeating
+/// what is already on screen is noise). Bound as a multi-binding over the text
+/// block itself, its text and its width, so it is asked again whenever either
+/// changes; by then the block's layout reflects the new width.
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class CutTextTip : IMultiValueConverter
+{
+    public static readonly CutTextTip Instance = new();
+
+    public object? Convert(IList<object?> values, Type targetType, object? parameter, CultureInfo culture) =>
+        values is [TextBlock { Text: { Length: > 0 } text } block, ..] && IsCut(block) ? text : null;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Whether <paramref name="block"/> is showing less than its text: a line
+    /// ended in an ellipsis, or lines left out by <c>MaxLines</c>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool IsCut(TextBlock block)
+    {
+        var lines = block.TextLayout.TextLines;
+        return lines.Any(line => line.HasCollapsed)
+            || lines.Sum(line => line.Length) < (block.Text?.Length ?? 0);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/PgNimbus.App/Styles/Theme.axaml b/src/PgNimbus.App/Styles/Theme.axaml
index e64941cd..5c5292c7 100644
--- a/src/PgNimbus.App/Styles/Theme.axaml
+++ b/src/PgNimbus.App/Styles/Theme.axaml
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
         xmlns:cc="clr-namespace:AvaloniaEdit.CodeCompletion;assembly=AvaloniaEdit"
         xmlns:search="clr-namespace:AvaloniaEdit.Search;assembly=AvaloniaEdit"
         xmlns:completion="using:PgNimbus.App.Completion"
-        xmlns:cmd="using:PgNimbus.App">
+        xmlns:cmd="using:PgNimbus.App"
+        xmlns:conv="using:PgNimbus.App.Converters">
 
     <!--
         PowerToys-inspired design tokens: soft rounded cards, pill-shaped nav
@@ -614,4 +615,36 @@
         </Setter>
     </Style>
 
+    <!--
+        A status line: one line, cut with an ellipsis when the window is too
+        narrow, and the whole text in a tooltip while it is cut. Every window's
+        status message uses it, so a long error ("Commit failed — no staged
+        changes were applied: …") can always be read without a control of its
+        own. The transparent background is load-bearing: a TextBlock without
+        one is not hit-testable, so the pointer reached the status bar behind
+        it and the main window's tooltip, bound since the bar was built, never
+        once opened (2026-10, 1.0.1 release pass).
+    -->
+    <Style Selector="TextBlock.statusMessage">
+        <!-- One line even for a message that has two: Npgsql puts a server
+             error's DETAIL after a newline, which grew the status bar. -->
+        <Setter Property="MaxLines" Value="1" />
+        <Setter Property="TextTrimming" Value="CharacterEllipsis" />
+        <Setter Property="Background" Value="Transparent" />
+        <Setter Property="ToolTip.Tip">
+            <MultiBinding Converter="{x:Static conv:CutTextTip.Instance}">
+                <Binding Path="$self" />
+                <Binding Path="$self.Text" />
+                <Binding Path="$self.Bounds.Width" />
+            </MultiBinding>
+        </Setter>
+    </Style>
+
+    <!-- The status bar's segments carry tooltips of their own (why results are
+         read-only, what "In transaction" means, what is staged), which opened
+         only over an icon's ink for the same reason. -->
+    <Style Selector="Border.statusBar StackPanel">
+        <Setter Property="Background" Value="Transparent" />
+    </Style>
+
 </Styles>
diff --git a/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/ActivityWindow.axaml b/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/ActivityWindow.axaml
index 523be1b3..7748aa19 100644
--- a/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/ActivityWindow.axaml
+++ b/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/ActivityWindow.axaml
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@
         <!-- One status strip flush along the window's bottom edge, showing the
              visible tab's line — not a floating caption per tab. -->
         <Border Grid.Row="1" Classes="statusBar" Margin="0,12,0,0">
-            <TextBlock Classes="statusText dim" Text="{Binding ActiveStatus}" />
+            <TextBlock Classes="statusText dim statusMessage" Text="{Binding ActiveStatus}" />
         </Border>
 
     </Grid>
diff --git a/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/DatabaseOverviewWindow.axaml b/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/DatabaseOverviewWindow.axaml
index 1dfd2323..a958cad5 100644
--- a/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/DatabaseOverviewWindow.axaml
+++ b/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/DatabaseOverviewWindow.axaml
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@
             </TabItem>
         </TabControl>
 
-        <TextBlock Grid.Row="3" Text="{Binding Status}" FontSize="11" Opacity="0.7" Margin="2,8,2,0" />
+        <TextBlock Grid.Row="3" Classes="statusMessage" Text="{Binding Status}" FontSize="11" Opacity="0.7" Margin="2,8,2,0" />
 
     </Grid>
 
diff --git a/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/MainWindow.axaml b/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/MainWindow.axaml
index 75baed20..016c0622 100644
--- a/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/MainWindow.axaml
+++ b/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/MainWindow.axaml
@@ -522,15 +522,14 @@
             <!-- Files-style segmented status bar: message · rows · timing · cap warning -->
             <!-- The bar is a Grid, not a StackPanel, so it can never overflow the
                  window: the message sits in the lone star column and truncates
-                 (full text on hover), while every other segment is compact and
-                 keeps its width. Long cap text truncates the same way. -->
+                 (statusMessage: full text on hover while it is cut), while every
+                 other segment is compact and keeps its width. Long cap text
+                 truncates the same way. -->
             <Border Grid.Row="1" Classes="statusBar">
                 <Grid ColumnDefinitions="*,Auto,Auto,Auto,Auto,Auto,Auto,Auto,Auto,Auto,Auto">
                     <TextBlock Grid.Column="0" Text="{Binding ActiveTab.Status}"
-                               Classes="statusText" Classes.error="{Binding ActiveTab.HasError}"
-                               TextTrimming="CharacterEllipsis" VerticalAlignment="Center"
-                               HorizontalAlignment="Left"
-                               ToolTip.Tip="{Binding ActiveTab.Status}" />
+                               Classes="statusText statusMessage" Classes.error="{Binding ActiveTab.HasError}"
+                               VerticalAlignment="Center" HorizontalAlignment="Left" />
                     <!-- Running indicator: indeterminate bar + live elapsed tick while a query is in flight -->
                     <StackPanel Grid.Column="1" Orientation="Horizontal" Spacing="10" VerticalAlignment="Center"
                                 Margin="10,0,0,0"
@@ -603,9 +602,8 @@
                     <StackPanel Grid.Column="8" Orientation="Horizontal" Spacing="10" Margin="10,0,0,0"
                                 IsVisible="{Binding ActiveTab.CapStatusText, Converter={x:Static conv:ObjectConverters.IsNotNull}}">
                         <Rectangle Classes="statusSeparator" />
-                        <TextBlock Classes="statusText warn" Text="{Binding ActiveTab.CapStatusText}" VerticalAlignment="Center"
-                                   MaxWidth="320" TextTrimming="CharacterEllipsis"
-                                   ToolTip.Tip="{Binding ActiveTab.CapStatusText}" />
+                        <TextBlock Classes="statusText warn statusMessage" Text="{Binding ActiveTab.CapStatusText}"
+                                   VerticalAlignment="Center" MaxWidth="320" />
                     </StackPanel>
                     <!-- Browse-mode paging: the one piece of the old browse bar that
                          couldn't move into the SQL editor. Disabled while a query is
diff --git a/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/Security/SecurityWindow.axaml b/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/Security/SecurityWindow.axaml
index 7ebf0341..771dd8a9 100644
--- a/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/Security/SecurityWindow.axaml
+++ b/src/PgNimbus.App/Views/Security/SecurityWindow.axaml
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
             </TabItem>
         </TabControl>
 
-        <TextBlock Grid.Row="2" Text="{Binding Status}" FontSize="11" Opacity="0.7" Margin="2,8,2,0" />
+        <TextBlock Grid.Row="2" Classes="statusMessage" Text="{Binding Status}" FontSize="11" Opacity="0.7" Margin="2,8,2,0" />
 
     </Grid>
 
diff --git a/tests/PgNimbus.App.Tests/StatusLineTests.cs b/tests/PgNimbus.App.Tests/StatusLineTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6ed26acc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/PgNimbus.App.Tests/StatusLineTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+using Avalonia;
+using Avalonia.Controls;
+using Avalonia.Headless;
+using Avalonia.Input;
+using Avalonia.VisualTree;
+using PgNimbus.App.Converters;
+using PgNimbus.App.ViewModels;
+using PgNimbus.App.ViewModels.Security;
+using PgNimbus.Screenshot;
+
+namespace PgNimbus.App.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// A status line too long for its window is cut with an ellipsis, and its whole
+/// text has to be readable somewhere. The 1.0.1 release pass found a failed
+/// safe-mode commit shown as "Commit failed…" with the reason out of reach: the
+/// main window's status text had carried a tooltip since the bar was built, but
+/// a TextBlock with no background is not hit-testable, so the pointer reached
+/// the bar behind it and the tooltip never opened. The secondary windows' status
+/// lines had no tooltip and no ellipsis at all.
+/// </summary>
+public class StatusLineTests
+{
+    private const string Failure =
+        "Commit failed — no staged changes were applied: 23505: duplicate key value violates unique constraint "
+        + "\"order_lines_pkey\". DETAIL: Key (order_id, line)=(1042, 3) already exists. The staged edits are kept, "
+        + "so the offending change can be fixed, restaged or discarded before committing again.";
+
+    [Test]
+    public async Task A_cut_status_message_shows_its_whole_text_on_hover()
+    {
+        await Ui.Run(async () =>
+        {
+            var (window, vm) = Scenarios.Shell();
+            Ui.Show(window);
+            vm.ActiveTab.Status = Failure;
+            vm.ActiveTab.HasError = true;
+            Ui.Settle();
+
+            var status = TextBlockShowing(window, Failure);
+            await Assert.That(CutTextTip.IsCut(status)).IsTrue();
+            await Assert.That(await HoverAsync(window, status)).IsEqualTo(Failure);
+
+            window.Close();
+        });
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The live failure: Npgsql puts a server error's DETAIL on a second line,
+    /// and the status bar grew a line to show it, each line cut on its own.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Test]
+    public async Task A_message_of_two_lines_shows_one_and_its_whole_text_on_hover()
+    {
+        await Ui.Run(async () =>
+        {
+            const string twoLines = "Commit failed — no staged changes were applied: 23505: duplicate key value violates unique constraint \"orders_code_key\"\n"
+                + "DETAIL: Detail redacted as it may contain sensitive data.";
+            var (window, vm) = Scenarios.Shell();
+            Ui.Show(window);
+            vm.ActiveTab.Status = "Ready";
+            Ui.Settle();
+            var oneLineHeight = TextBlockShowing(window, "Ready").Bounds.Height;
+
+            vm.ActiveTab.Status = twoLines;
+            Ui.Settle();
+
+            var status = TextBlockShowing(window, twoLines);
+            await Assert.That(status.Bounds.Height).IsEqualTo(oneLineHeight);
+            await Assert.That(CutTextTip.IsCut(status)).IsTrue();
+            await Assert.That(await HoverAsync(window, status)).IsEqualTo(twoLines);
+
+            window.Close();
+        });
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public async Task A_status_message_that_fits_has_no_tooltip()
+    {
+        await Ui.Run(async () =>
+        {
+            var (window, vm) = Scenarios.Shell();
+            Ui.Show(window);
+            vm.ActiveTab.Status = "Committed 3 staged changes";
+            Ui.Settle();
+
+            var status = TextBlockShowing(window, "Committed 3 staged changes");
+            await Assert.That(CutTextTip.IsCut(status)).IsFalse();
+            await Assert.That(ToolTip.GetTip(status)).IsNull();
+
+            window.Close();
+        });
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public async Task Every_status_bar_segment_with_a_tooltip_answers_the_pointer_over_its_text()
+    {
+        await Ui.Run(async () =>
+        {
+            var (window, vm) = Scenarios.Shell();
+            Ui.Show(window);
+            vm.IsInTransaction = true;
+            vm.ActiveTab.ReadOnlyHint = "the result has no primary key";
+            Ui.Settle();
+
+            var bar = window.GetVisualDescendants().OfType<Border>().First(b => b.Classes.Contains("statusBar"));
+            var segments = bar.GetVisualDescendants().OfType<StackPanel>()
+                .Where(p => p.IsEffectivelyVisible && ToolTip.GetTip(p) is not null)
+                .ToList();
+            await Assert.That(segments.Count).IsGreaterThanOrEqualTo(2);
+
+            foreach (var segment in segments)
+            {
+                var label = segment.GetVisualDescendants().OfType<TextBlock>().First(t => t.IsEffectivelyVisible);
+                var point = label.TranslatePoint(new Point(label.Bounds.Width / 2, label.Bounds.Height / 2), window)!.Value;
+                var hit = window.InputHitTest(point) as Visual;
+                var reaches = hit is not null && (ReferenceEquals(hit, segment) || hit.GetVisualAncestors().Contains(segment));
+                await Assert.That(reaches).IsTrue().Because($"the pointer over \"{label.Text}\" must reach its segment");
+            }
+
+            window.Close();
+        });
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public async Task Each_window_status_line_is_cut_with_its_whole_text_on_hover()
+    {
+        await Ui.Run(async () =>
+        {
+            foreach (var (window, setStatus) in new (Window, Action<string>)[]
+            {
+                Open(Scenarios.DatabaseOverview(), w => ((DatabaseOverviewViewModel)w.DataContext!).Status = Failure),
+                Open(Scenarios.Security(), w => ((SecurityViewModel)w.DataContext!).Status = Failure),
+                Open(Scenarios.Activity(), w => ((ActivityViewModel)w.DataContext!).Status = Failure),
+            })
+            {
+                setStatus(Failure);
+                window.Width = 700;
+                Ui.Settle();
+
+                var status = TextBlockShowing(window, Failure);
+                await Assert.That(CutTextTip.IsCut(status)).IsTrue().Because(window.GetType().Name);
+                await Assert.That(await HoverAsync(window, status)).IsEqualTo(Failure).Because(window.GetType().Name);
+                window.Close();
+            }
+        });
+
+        static (Window, Action<string>) Open(Window window, Action<Window> set)
+        {
+            Ui.Show(window);
+            return (window, _ => set(window));
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static TextBlock TextBlockShowing(Window window, string text) =>
+        window.GetVisualDescendants().OfType<TextBlock>().First(t => t.Text == text && t.IsEffectivelyVisible);
+
+    // Moves the pointer onto the start of the text, where the glyphs are, and
+    // returns what the tooltip that opens shows. The show delay is a dispatcher
+    // timer the headless clock never advances, so it is zero here; everything
+    // else is the real path (hit test, pointer-over, the tooltip service).
+    private static async Task<object?> HoverAsync(Window window, TextBlock block)
+    {
+        ToolTip.SetShowDelay(block, 0);
+        var point = block.TranslatePoint(new Point(8, block.Bounds.Height / 2), window)!.Value;
+        window.MouseMove(point);
+        Ui.SettleUntil(() =>
+        {
+            Thread.Sleep(10);
+            return ToolTip.GetIsOpen(block);
+        }, maxPasses: 100);
+
+        var tip = ToolTip.GetIsOpen(block) ? ToolTip.GetTip(block) : null;
+        window.MouseMove(new Point(1, 1));
+        Ui.Settle();
+        await Task.CompletedTask;
+        return tip;
+    }
+}