diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/inline/inline-expression.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/inline/inline-expression.tsx
index 94c5470f49..16a36d1ad5 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/inline/inline-expression.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/inline/inline-expression.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
 import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input";
 import {
   Select,
@@ -11,6 +10,7 @@ import type { ReactElement } from "react";
 import { useRecipeStudioStore } from "../../stores/recipe-studio";
 import type { ExpressionConfig, ExpressionDtype } from "../../types";
 import { getAvailableVariableEntries } from "../../utils/variables";
+import { AvailableReferencesInline } from "../shared/available-references-inline";
 import { InlineField } from "./inline-field";
 
 type InlineExpressionProps = {
@@ -58,26 +58,7 @@ export function InlineExpression({
           />
         </InlineField>
       </div>
-      {vars.length > 0 && (
-        <div className="space-y-1">
-          <p className="text-[10px] font-medium text-muted-foreground">Available references</p>
-          <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-1">
-            {vars.map((v) => (
-              <Badge
-                key={`${v.source}:${v.name}`}
-                variant="secondary"
-                className={
-                  v.source === "seed"
-                    ? "corner-squircle h-4 border-blue-500/25 bg-blue-500/10 px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px] text-blue-700 dark:text-blue-300"
-                    : "corner-squircle h-4 px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px]"
-                }
-              >
-                {v.name}
-              </Badge>
-            ))}
-          </div>
-        </div>
-      )}
+      <AvailableReferencesInline entries={vars} />
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/recipe-graph-aux-node.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/recipe-graph-aux-node.tsx
index a08b538afc..2aa1988102 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/recipe-graph-aux-node.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/recipe-graph-aux-node.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input";
 import { Textarea } from "@/components/ui/textarea";
@@ -15,6 +14,7 @@ import type { LlmConfig, Score, ScoreOption } from "../types";
 import { AUX_HANDLE_CLASS } from "../utils/handle-layout";
 import { HANDLE_IDS } from "../utils/handles";
 import { getAvailableVariableEntries } from "../utils/variables";
+import { AvailableReferencesInline } from "./shared/available-references-inline";
 import { BaseNode, BaseNodeContent, BaseNodeHeader, BaseNodeHeaderTitle } from "./rf-ui/base-node";
 
 type PromptField = "prompt" | "system_prompt";
@@ -59,27 +59,7 @@ function updateOptionAt(
 function AuxVariableBadges({ llmId }: { llmId: string }): ReactElement | null {
   const configs = useRecipeStudioStore((state) => state.configs);
   const vars = getAvailableVariableEntries(configs, llmId);
-  if (vars.length === 0) return null;
-  return (
-    <div className="space-y-1">
-      <p className="text-[10px] font-medium text-muted-foreground">Available references</p>
-      <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-1">
-        {vars.map((v) => (
-          <Badge
-            key={`${v.source}:${v.name}`}
-            variant="secondary"
-            className={
-              v.source === "seed"
-                ? "corner-squircle h-4 border-blue-500/25 bg-blue-500/10 px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px] text-blue-700 dark:text-blue-300"
-                : "corner-squircle h-4 px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px]"
-            }
-          >
-            {v.name}
-          </Badge>
-        ))}
-      </div>
-    </div>
-  );
+  return <AvailableReferencesInline entries={vars} />;
 }
 
 function AuxNodeBase({
@@ -144,7 +124,7 @@ function AuxNodeBase({
         </BaseNodeHeader>
         <BaseNodeContent className="gap-2 px-3 py-2">
           <Textarea
-            className="corner-squircle nodrag max-h-40 min-h-[88px] w-full resize-none overflow-y-auto text-xs"
+            className="corner-squircle nodrag nowheel max-h-40 min-h-[88px] w-full resize-none overflow-y-auto text-xs"
             value={value}
             onChange={(event) =>
               updateConfig(data.llmId, {
@@ -216,7 +196,7 @@ function AuxNodeBase({
           onChange={(event) => updateScore({ name: event.target.value })}
         />
         <Textarea
-          className="corner-squircle nodrag max-h-32 min-h-[56px] w-full resize-none overflow-y-auto text-xs"
+          className="corner-squircle nodrag nowheel max-h-32 min-h-[56px] w-full resize-none overflow-y-auto text-xs"
           placeholder="Score description"
           value={score.description}
           onChange={(event) => updateScore({ description: event.target.value })}
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/shared/available-references-inline.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/shared/available-references-inline.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2e8b17db27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/components/shared/available-references-inline.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
+import { type ReactElement, useLayoutEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import type { AvailableVariableEntry } from "../../utils/variables";
+
+type AvailableReferencesInlineProps = {
+  entries: AvailableVariableEntry[];
+};
+
+const MAX_ROWS = 2;
+
+export function AvailableReferencesInline({
+  entries,
+}: AvailableReferencesInlineProps): ReactElement | null {
+  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(false);
+  const [collapsedCount, setCollapsedCount] = useState(entries.length);
+  const wrapperRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
+  const measureRefs = useRef<Array<HTMLSpanElement | null>>([]);
+
+  useLayoutEffect(() => {
+    if (expanded) {
+      return;
+    }
+    const wrapper = wrapperRef.current;
+    const items = measureRefs.current.filter(
+      (node): node is HTMLSpanElement => Boolean(node),
+    );
+    if (!(wrapper && items.length > 0)) {
+      setCollapsedCount(entries.length);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const compute = () => {
+      const rowTops: number[] = [];
+      let cutoff = items.length;
+      for (let i = 0; i < items.length; i += 1) {
+        const top = items[i].offsetTop;
+        if (!rowTops.some((value) => Math.abs(value - top) <= 1)) {
+          rowTops.push(top);
+        }
+        if (rowTops.length > MAX_ROWS) {
+          cutoff = i;
+          break;
+        }
+      }
+      if (cutoff < items.length) {
+        cutoff = Math.max(0, cutoff - 1);
+      }
+      setCollapsedCount(cutoff);
+    };
+
+    compute();
+    const observer = new ResizeObserver(compute);
+    observer.observe(wrapper);
+    return () => observer.disconnect();
+  }, [entries.length, expanded]);
+
+  if (entries.length === 0) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const shown = expanded ? entries : entries.slice(0, collapsedCount);
+  const hiddenCount = Math.max(0, entries.length - shown.length);
+
+  return (
+    <div className="space-y-1">
+      <p className="text-[10px] font-medium text-muted-foreground">
+        Available references
+      </p>
+      <div ref={wrapperRef} className="relative">
+        {!expanded && (
+          <div className="invisible pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 -z-10">
+            <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-1">
+              {entries.map((entry, index) => (
+                <Badge
+                  // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noArrayIndexKey: static measurement mirror
+                  key={`${entry.source}:${entry.name}:${index}`}
+                  ref={(node) => {
+                    measureRefs.current[index] = node;
+                  }}
+                  variant="secondary"
+                  className={
+                    entry.source === "seed"
+                      ? "corner-squircle h-4 border-blue-500/25 bg-blue-500/10 px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px] text-blue-700 dark:text-blue-300"
+                      : "corner-squircle h-4 px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px]"
+                  }
+                >
+                  {entry.name}
+                </Badge>
+              ))}
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        )}
+        <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-1">
+          {shown.map((entry) => (
+            <Badge
+              key={`${entry.source}:${entry.name}`}
+              variant="secondary"
+              className={
+                entry.source === "seed"
+                  ? "corner-squircle h-4 border-blue-500/25 bg-blue-500/10 px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px] text-blue-700 dark:text-blue-300"
+                  : "corner-squircle h-4 px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px]"
+              }
+            >
+              {entry.name}
+            </Badge>
+          ))}
+          {!expanded && hiddenCount > 0 && (
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              className="corner-squircle h-4 px-1.5 text-[10px] text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground"
+              onClick={() => setExpanded(true)}
+            >
+              +{hiddenCount} more
+            </button>
+          )}
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/dialogs/import-dialog.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/dialogs/import-dialog.tsx
index 93ba604bca..379091a8ae 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/dialogs/import-dialog.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/dialogs/import-dialog.tsx
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ export function ImportDialog({
           />
           <Textarea
             id={payloadId}
-            className="corner-squircle nodrag min-h-[220px]"
+            className="corner-squircle nodrag min-h-[220px] max-h-[450px]"
             placeholder='{"recipe": { "columns": [] }}'
             value={value}
             onChange={(event) => setValue(event.target.value)}
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/dialogs/llm/general-tab.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/dialogs/llm/general-tab.tsx
index a0ab8e23fc..04960354f4 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/dialogs/llm/general-tab.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/dialogs/llm/general-tab.tsx
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ export function LlmGeneralTab({
         />
         <Textarea
           id={promptId}
-          className="corner-squircle nodrag max-h-[600px] overflow-auto"
+          className="corner-squircle nodrag max-h-[450px] overflow-auto"
           value={config.prompt}
           onChange={(event) => onUpdate({ prompt: event.target.value })}
         />
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ export function LlmGeneralTab({
         />
         <Textarea
           id={systemPromptId}
-          className="corner-squircle nodrag max-h-[600px] overflow-auto"
+          className="corner-squircle nodrag max-h-[450px] overflow-auto"
           value={config.system_prompt}
           onChange={(event) => onUpdate({ system_prompt: event.target.value })}
         />
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/hooks/use-recipe-persistence.ts b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/hooks/use-recipe-persistence.ts
index 9826a7396f..0d15ca27b2 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/hooks/use-recipe-persistence.ts
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/hooks/use-recipe-persistence.ts
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ export function useRecipePersistence({
       }
       setCopied(true);
       window.setTimeout(() => setCopied(false), 1500);
-      toastSuccess("Payload copied");
+      toastSuccess("👨‍🍳 Recipe copied");
     } catch (error) {
       console.error("Copy failed:", error);
       toastError("Copy failed", "Could not copy payload.");
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/stores/recipe-studio.ts b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/stores/recipe-studio.ts
index 3edb6cbb29..2005643a82 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/stores/recipe-studio.ts
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/recipe-studio/stores/recipe-studio.ts
@@ -258,11 +258,6 @@ export const useRecipeStudioStore = create<RecipeStudioState>((set, get) => ({
   applyLayout: () =>
     set((state) => {
       const isTopBottom = state.layoutDirection === "TB";
-      const noteNodeIds = new Set(
-        Object.values(state.configs)
-          .filter((config) => config.kind === "markdown_note")
-          .map((config) => config.id),
-      );
 
       const displayGraph = deriveDisplayGraph({
         nodes: state.nodes,
@@ -272,14 +267,7 @@ export const useRecipeStudioStore = create<RecipeStudioState>((set, get) => ({
         auxNodePositions: {},
         llmAuxVisibility: state.llmAuxVisibility,
       });
-      const layoutNodes = displayGraph.nodes.filter(
-        (node) => !noteNodeIds.has(node.id),
-      );
-      const layoutNodeIds = new Set(layoutNodes.map((node) => node.id));
-      const layoutEdges = displayGraph.edges.filter(
-        (edge) => layoutNodeIds.has(edge.source) && layoutNodeIds.has(edge.target),
-      );
-      const { nodes } = getLayoutedElements(layoutNodes, layoutEdges, {
+      const { nodes } = getLayoutedElements(displayGraph.nodes, displayGraph.edges, {
         direction: state.layoutDirection,
         nodesep: isTopBottom ? 120 : 80,
         ranksep: isTopBottom ? 140 : 80,
@@ -288,9 +276,6 @@ export const useRecipeStudioStore = create<RecipeStudioState>((set, get) => ({
         nodes.map((node) => [node.id, node.position] as const),
       );
       const nextNodes = state.nodes.map((node) => {
-        if (noteNodeIds.has(node.id)) {
-          return node;
-        }
         const position = layoutedPositions.get(node.id);
         if (!position) {
           return node;