diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/app/routes/__root.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/app/routes/__root.tsx
index 83863b7990..501399f907 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/app/routes/__root.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/app/routes/__root.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import {
   createRootRoute,
   useRouterState,
 } from "@tanstack/react-router";
+import { AnimatePresence, motion } from "motion/react";
 import { Suspense } from "react";
 import { AppProvider } from "../provider";
 
@@ -20,9 +21,19 @@ function RootLayout() {
   return (
     <AppProvider>
       {!hideNavbar && <Navbar />}
-      <Suspense fallback={null}>
-        <Outlet />
-      </Suspense>
+      <AnimatePresence initial={false}>
+        <motion.div
+          key={pathname}
+          initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
+          animate={{ opacity: 1 }}
+          transition={{ duration: 0.15 }}
+          className="flex-1"
+        >
+          <Suspense fallback={null}>
+            <Outlet />
+          </Suspense>
+        </motion.div>
+      </AnimatePresence>
     </AppProvider>
   );
 }
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/components/navbar.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/components/navbar.tsx
index 6153a74cc3..aee6105cf3 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/components/navbar.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/components/navbar.tsx
@@ -5,8 +5,11 @@ import {
 } from "@/components/ui/hover-card";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
 import {
+  AiChat02Icon,
+  Analytics01Icon,
   ArrowRight01Icon,
   Book03Icon,
+  PackageIcon,
   ZapIcon,
 } from "@hugeicons/core-free-icons";
 import { HugeiconsIcon } from "@hugeicons/react";
@@ -16,9 +19,9 @@ import { useState } from "react";
 
 const NAV_ITEMS = [
   { label: "Studio", href: "/studio", icon: ZapIcon, enabled: true },
-  { label: "Evaluate", href: "/evaluate", enabled: false },
-  { label: "Export", href: "/export", enabled: true },
-  { label: "Chat", href: "/chat", enabled: true },
+  { label: "Evaluate", href: "/evaluate", icon: Analytics01Icon, enabled: false },
+  { label: "Export", href: "/export", icon: PackageIcon, enabled: true },
+  { label: "Chat", href: "/chat", icon: AiChat02Icon, enabled: true },
 ];
 
 export function Navbar() {
@@ -37,11 +40,11 @@ export function Navbar() {
           <motion.img
             src="https://unsloth.ai/cgi/image/unsloth_sticker_no_shadow_ldN4V4iydw00qSIIWDCUv.png?width=96&quality=80&format=auto"
             alt="unsloth"
-            className="size-8"
+            className="size-10"
             animate={{ rotate: logoHovered ? 360 : 0 }}
             transition={{ duration: 0.5, ease: [0.165, 0.84, 0.44, 1] }}
           />
-          <span className="text-xl font-bold tracking-tight font-heading">
+          <span className="text-2xl font-bold tracking-wide font-heading">
             unsloth
           </span>
           <AnimatePresence>
@@ -67,7 +70,7 @@ export function Navbar() {
               return (
                 <span
                   key={item.href}
-                  className="rounded-full px-4 py-1.5 text-sm font-medium text-muted-foreground/40 cursor-not-allowed"
+                  className="relative rounded-full px-4 py-1.5 text-sm font-medium text-muted-foreground/40 cursor-not-allowed"
                 >
                   {item.label}
                 </span>
@@ -78,19 +81,44 @@ export function Navbar() {
                 key={item.href}
                 to={item.href}
                 className={cn(
-                  "rounded-full px-4 py-1.5 text-sm font-medium transition-colors",
+                  "relative rounded-full px-4 py-1.5 text-sm font-medium transition-colors",
                   active
-                    ? "bg-foreground text-background"
+                    ? "text-background"
                     : "text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground",
                 )}
               >
-                {"icon" in item && item.icon && (
-                  <HugeiconsIcon
-                    icon={item.icon}
-                    className="size-3.5 inline-block mr-1 -mt-px fill-current"
+                {active && (
+                  <motion.span
+                    layoutId="nav-pill"
+                    className="absolute inset-0 rounded-full bg-foreground"
+                    transition={{
+                      type: "spring",
+                      stiffness: 500,
+                      damping: 35,
+                      mass: 0.5,
+                    }}
                   />
                 )}
-                {item.label}
+                <span className="relative z-10 flex items-center gap-1.5">
+                  <AnimatePresence mode="popLayout">
+                    {active && item.icon && (
+                      <motion.span
+                        key={item.href}
+                        initial={{ width: 0, opacity: 0 }}
+                        animate={{ width: "auto", opacity: 1 }}
+                        exit={{ width: 0, opacity: 0 }}
+                        transition={{ duration: 0.2, ease: [0.165, 0.84, 0.44, 1] }}
+                        className="overflow-hidden"
+                      >
+                        <HugeiconsIcon
+                          icon={item.icon}
+                          className="size-3.5 -mt-px fill-current"
+                        />
+                      </motion.span>
+                    )}
+                  </AnimatePresence>
+                  {item.label}
+                </span>
               </Link>
             );
           })}
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-page.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-page.tsx
index 6de42ed671..3fa5e05685 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-page.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-page.tsx
@@ -3,13 +3,23 @@ import {
   ModelSelector,
 } from "@/components/assistant-ui/model-selector";
 import { Thread } from "@/components/assistant-ui/thread";
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import {
   SidebarProvider,
   SidebarTrigger,
   useSidebar,
 } from "@/components/ui/sidebar";
+import {
+  Tooltip,
+  TooltipContent,
+  TooltipTrigger,
+} from "@/components/ui/tooltip";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
-import { Settings04Icon } from "@hugeicons/core-free-icons";
+import {
+  ColumnInsertIcon,
+  PencilEdit02Icon,
+  Settings04Icon,
+} from "@hugeicons/core-free-icons";
 import { HugeiconsIcon } from "@hugeicons/react";
 import {
   type CSSProperties,
@@ -176,7 +186,7 @@ function InlineSidebar({
       <aside
         data-sidebar="sidebar"
         className={cn(
-          "bg-sidebar text-sidebar-foreground h-full overflow-hidden transition-[width] duration-200 ease-linear",
+          "bg-sidebar text-sidebar-foreground h-full overflow-hidden rounded-2xl corner-squircle transition-[width] duration-200 ease-linear",
           !collapsed && (side === "left" ? "border-r border-0 border-sidebar-border" : "border-l border-0 border-sidebar-border"),
           collapsed ? "w-0" : "w-(--sidebar-width)",
         )}
@@ -189,6 +199,34 @@ function InlineSidebar({
   );
 }
 
+function TopBarActions({
+  onNewThread,
+  onNewCompare,
+}: { onNewThread: () => void; onNewCompare: () => void }) {
+  const { state } = useSidebar();
+  if (state !== "collapsed") return null;
+  return (
+    <>
+      <Tooltip>
+        <TooltipTrigger asChild>
+          <Button variant="ghost" size="icon-sm" onClick={onNewThread}>
+            <HugeiconsIcon icon={PencilEdit02Icon} strokeWidth={2} />
+          </Button>
+        </TooltipTrigger>
+        <TooltipContent side="bottom">New Chat</TooltipContent>
+      </Tooltip>
+      <Tooltip>
+        <TooltipTrigger asChild>
+          <Button variant="ghost" size="icon-sm" onClick={onNewCompare}>
+            <HugeiconsIcon icon={ColumnInsertIcon} strokeWidth={2} />
+          </Button>
+        </TooltipTrigger>
+        <TooltipContent side="bottom">Compare</TooltipContent>
+      </Tooltip>
+    </>
+  );
+}
+
 export function ChatPage(): ReactElement {
   const [view, setView] = useState<ChatView>({ mode: "single" });
   const [settingsOpen, setSettingsOpen] = useState(false);
@@ -204,6 +242,14 @@ export function ChatPage(): ReactElement {
     () => setInferenceParams((p) => ({ ...p, checkpoint: "" })),
     [],
   );
+  const handleNewThread = useCallback(
+    () => setView({ mode: "single" }),
+    [],
+  );
+  const handleNewCompare = useCallback(
+    () => setView({ mode: "compare", pairId: crypto.randomUUID() }),
+    [],
+  );
 
   const models =
     inferenceParams.inferenceEngine === "llama-cpp"
@@ -212,7 +258,7 @@ export function ChatPage(): ReactElement {
 
   return (
     <SidebarProvider
-      defaultOpen={false}
+      defaultOpen={true}
       className="!min-h-0 h-[calc(100vh-4rem)] max-w-7xl mx-auto px-4"
       style={{ "--sidebar-width": "14rem", "--sidebar-width-icon": "3rem" } as CSSProperties}
     >
@@ -220,17 +266,19 @@ export function ChatPage(): ReactElement {
         <ThreadSidebar
           view={view}
           onSelect={setView}
-          onNewThread={() => setView({ mode: "single" })}
-          onNewCompare={() =>
-            setView({ mode: "compare", pairId: crypto.randomUUID() })
-          }
+          onNewThread={handleNewThread}
+          onNewCompare={handleNewCompare}
         />
       </InlineSidebar>
 
       <div className="flex min-h-0 min-w-0 flex-1 flex-col">
         <div className="flex h-11 shrink-0 items-center px-2">
-          <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5">
+          <div className="flex items-center gap-1">
             <SidebarTrigger />
+            <TopBarActions
+              onNewThread={handleNewThread}
+              onNewCompare={handleNewCompare}
+            />
             <ModelSelector
               models={models}
               value={inferenceParams.checkpoint}
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-settings-sheet.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-settings-sheet.tsx
index 82287a7119..807dcbc2c3 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-settings-sheet.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/chat-settings-sheet.tsx
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ export function ChatSettingsPanel({
 
   return (
     <aside
-      className={`shrink-0 h-full overflow-hidden bg-sidebar transition-[width] duration-200 ease-linear ${open ? "w-[17rem] border-sidebar-border" : "w-0"}`}
+      className={`shrink-0 h-full overflow-hidden bg-sidebar rounded-2xl corner-squircle transition-[width] duration-200 ease-linear ${open ? "w-[17rem] border-sidebar-border" : "w-0"}`}
     >
       <div className="flex h-full w-[17rem] flex-col">
           <div className="flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-2">
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/index.css b/studio/frontend/src/index.css
index 81051cbced..c329fdf305 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/index.css
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/index.css
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
   --chart-4: oklch(0.6926 0.1112 346.5775);
   --chart-5: oklch(0.7497 0.1003 85.0057);
   --radius: 1.2rem;
-  --sidebar: oklch(0.9845 0.005 165.0106);
+  --sidebar: oklch(0.975 0 0);
   --sidebar-foreground: oklch(0.1281 0.0179 169.2764);
   --sidebar-primary: oklch(0.6929 0.1396 166.5513);
   --sidebar-primary-foreground: oklch(1 0 0);
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@
   --chart-3: oklch(0.7554 0.1285 197.339);
   --chart-4: oklch(0.7503 0.1199 346.7805);
   --chart-5: oklch(0.799 0.1196 84.6633);
-  --sidebar: oklch(0.0853 0.0204 156.6743);
+  --sidebar: oklch(0.15 0 0);
   --sidebar-foreground: oklch(0.9808 0.0059 170.4505);
   --sidebar-primary: oklch(0.6929 0.1396 166.5513);
   --sidebar-primary-foreground: oklch(1 0 0);