diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 28e2df9..0a27682 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -18,3 +18,8 @@ ui/framework
 # and the BIRD golden eval set. Never committed.
 ctrl/seed/data
 api/evals/data
+
+# Recon build artefacts — generated by `make recon` from the per-dataset
+# YAML + live warehouse introspection. Re-buildable, not source.
+api/datasets/*/recon.json
+api/datasets/*/extracted_schema.json
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 70be936..202ae52 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-.PHONY: kind tilt-up tilt-down seed seed-fetch seed-push evals test \
-        compose-up compose-down compose-clean compose-seed compose-evals \
+.PHONY: kind tilt-up tilt-down seed seed-fetch seed-push recon evals test \
+        compose-up compose-down compose-clean compose-seed compose-recon compose-evals \
         docs-graphs
 
 COMPOSE := docker compose -f ctrl/docker-compose.yml
@@ -32,6 +32,22 @@ seed-push:
 seed: seed-fetch seed-push
 	kubectl $(KCTX) $(KNS) exec deploy/api -- uv run python -m seed.load_bird
 
+# Rebuild api/datasets/<name>/{extracted_schema,recon}.json from the YAML +
+# live warehouse introspection. Runs inside the api pod (needs Postgres
+# access), then copies the artefacts back to the host so they appear next
+# to the source YAMLs.
+recon:
+	@POD=$$(kubectl $(KCTX) $(KNS) get pod -l app=api -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}'); \
+	kubectl $(KCTX) $(KNS) exec $$POD -- uv run python -m api.recon.build; \
+	for ds in $$(ls api/datasets); do \
+		[ -d "api/datasets/$$ds" ] || continue; \
+		case "$$ds" in __*|.*) continue ;; esac; \
+		for f in extracted_schema.json recon.json; do \
+			kubectl $(KCTX) $(KNS) cp $$POD:/app/api/datasets/$$ds/$$f api/datasets/$$ds/$$f 2>/dev/null \
+				&& echo "  → api/datasets/$$ds/$$f" || true; \
+		done; \
+	done
+
 evals:
 	kubectl $(KCTX) $(KNS) exec deploy/api -- uv run python -m api.evals.run_evals
 
@@ -55,6 +71,9 @@ compose-clean:
 compose-seed: seed-fetch
 	$(COMPOSE) exec api uv run python -m seed.load_bird
 
+compose-recon:
+	$(COMPOSE) exec api uv run python -m api.recon.build
+
 compose-evals:
 	$(COMPOSE) exec api uv run python -m api.evals.run_evals
 
diff --git a/api/analyses/compare_periods.py b/api/analyses/compare_periods.py
index 14f9769..b1cd401 100644
--- a/api/analyses/compare_periods.py
+++ b/api/analyses/compare_periods.py
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ from api.analyses.types import Finding
 from api.llm import chat
 from api.prompts import load, render
 from api.runtime import events
+from api.recon import load_recon
 from api.tools.execute_sql import execute_sql
-from api.tools.schema import load_schema
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("nvi.analyses.compare_periods")
 
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ class ComparePeriods(Analysis):
 
 
 def _generate_pair(question: str, period_a: str, period_b: str) -> dict[str, dict[str, str]]:
-    schema = load_schema()
+    schema = load_recon()
     text = chat(
         system=load("compare_periods.pair"),
         user=render(
diff --git a/api/analyses/drill_down/__init__.py b/api/analyses/drill_down/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ecd588c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/analyses/drill_down/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+from api.analyses.drill_down.analysis import DrillDown
+
+__all__ = ["DrillDown"]
diff --git a/api/analyses/drill_down/analysis.py b/api/analyses/drill_down/analysis.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b0a98d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/analyses/drill_down/analysis.py
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+"""drill_down Analysis — ReAct loop.
+
+Pattern: bounded loop that picks a dimension to slice by, generates SQL,
+executes it, and decides whether to continue. From the runtime's view this
+is just `(args, question) → Finding`; internally it's a small ReAct agent.
+
+This file owns the orchestration. The decision step, the slice execution,
+the interpretation, and the prompt-context formatters all live in
+`helpers.py`. Types and constants live in `types.py`.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+from typing import Any
+
+from api import langfuse_client as lf
+from api.analyses.base import Analysis
+from api.analyses.drill_down.helpers import decide_next, execute_slice, interpret
+from api.analyses.drill_down.types import ARGS_SCHEMA, DrillDownArgs, Slice
+from api.analyses.types import Finding
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("nvi.analyses.drill_down")
+
+
+class DrillDown(Analysis):
+    name = "drill_down"
+    description = (
+        "Iteratively slice a metric by candidate dimensions to find which "
+        "ones explain the most variance. ReAct loop: pick a dimension, "
+        "query, decide whether to continue. Best for open-ended 'which "
+        "factors explain X' or 'why are some segments different' questions."
+    )
+    args_schema = ARGS_SCHEMA
+
+    async def run(self, args: dict[str, Any], question: str) -> Finding:
+        a = DrillDownArgs.from_raw(args, default_question=question)
+
+        with lf.span("analysis.drill_down", input={"question": a.question, "metric": a.metric}) as span:
+            try:
+                slices = await self._loop(a)
+                if not slices:
+                    return Finding(
+                        analysis=self.name, summary="",
+                        error="drill_down stopped before producing any slice",
+                    )
+                summary = await interpret(a.question, a.metric, slices)
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.exception("drill_down failed")
+                span.update(output={"error": str(e)})
+                return Finding(analysis=self.name, summary="", error=str(e))
+
+            span.update(output={"summary": summary, "iterations": len(slices)})
+            return self._finalise(a, slices, summary)
+
+    async def _loop(self, a: DrillDownArgs) -> list[Slice]:
+        """Bounded ReAct loop. Each iteration: decide → slice. Stops when the
+        LLM says so, when the budget runs out, or when a repeat is detected."""
+        slices: list[Slice] = []
+        tried: set[str] = set()
+        for it in range(a.max_iters):
+            remaining = a.max_iters - it
+            decision = await decide_next(a.question, a.metric, a.dimensions, slices, remaining)
+            if decision.get("action") == "stop":
+                break
+            dim = decision.get("dimension")
+            if not dim or dim in tried:
+                break
+            tried.add(dim)
+            slices.append(await execute_slice(
+                a.question, a.metric, dim, decision.get("reason", ""),
+            ))
+        return slices
+
+    def _finalise(self, a: DrillDownArgs, slices: list[Slice], summary: str) -> Finding:
+        rows_combined = [
+            {"dimension": s.dimension, **r} for s in slices for r in s.rows
+        ]
+        return Finding(
+            analysis=self.name,
+            summary=summary,
+            rows=rows_combined,
+            sql=[s.sql for s in slices],
+            metadata={
+                "metric": a.metric,
+                "iterations": len(slices),
+                "dimensions_tried": [s.dimension for s in slices],
+            },
+        )
diff --git a/api/analyses/drill_down/helpers.py b/api/analyses/drill_down/helpers.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..984a3de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/analyses/drill_down/helpers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+"""drill_down helpers — one function per concern.
+
+Kept separate from `analysis.py` so the DrillDown class stays readable as
+high-level orchestration: decide → slice → loop → interpret.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import logging
+import re
+from typing import Any
+
+from api import langfuse_client as lf
+from api.analyses.drill_down.types import Slice
+from api.llm import chat
+from api.prompts import load, render
+from api.recon import load_recon
+from api.runtime import events
+from api.tools.execute_sql import execute_sql
+from api.tools.text_to_sql import text_to_sql
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("nvi.analyses.drill_down.helpers")
+
+
+# ── Decision step ──
+
+async def decide_next(question: str, metric: str, dimensions: list[str],
+                      slices: list[Slice], budget: int) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """One LLM call to pick the next dimension or stop.
+
+    If the LLM picks something not in the candidate list, drop the choice
+    and stop — the planner's fallback (if any) takes over. We don't try to
+    coerce the LLM into a valid dimension because it might be hallucinating
+    a name (e.g. a metric name) that has no obvious mapping.
+    """
+    system = load("drill_down.next.system")
+    user = render(
+        "drill_down.next.user",
+        question=question,
+        metric=metric,
+        dimensions=", ".join(dimensions),
+        history=format_history(slices),
+        budget=budget,
+    )
+    with lf.span("drill_down.next", as_type="generation", input={"budget": budget}) as span:
+        await events.publish_current(events.llm_call(
+            "drill_down.next", system_len=len(system), user_len=len(user),
+        ))
+        decision = _parse_json(chat(system=system, user=user, max_tokens=256))
+
+        # Hard guard: the chosen dimension MUST be in the candidate list.
+        if decision.get("action") == "drill":
+            dim = decision.get("dimension")
+            if dim not in dimensions:
+                logger.warning(
+                    "drill_down.next picked %r (not in candidates %s); stopping",
+                    dim, dimensions,
+                )
+                decision = {
+                    "action": "stop",
+                    "reason": f"LLM picked {dim!r}, which isn't in the candidate dimensions",
+                }
+        span.update(output=decision)
+        return decision
+
+
+# ── Slice execution ──
+
+def build_slice_question(question: str, metric: str, dim: str) -> str:
+    """Construct a slice question with explicit table/join hints from the
+    recon graph. Stops the LLM from inventing FROM clauses that omit the
+    table that owns the dimension column.
+    """
+    recon = load_recon()
+    dim_owners = recon.owning_tables(dim)
+    metric_def = recon.metrics.get(metric)
+    metric_table = metric_def.from_table if metric_def else None
+
+    hints: list[str] = []
+    if dim_owners:
+        hints.append(f"- The dimension column `{dim}` lives in table: {', '.join(dim_owners)}.")
+    if metric_table:
+        hints.append(f"- The metric `{metric}` is defined over table `{metric_table}`.")
+        if metric_def and metric_def.filter:
+            hints.append(f"  Apply this filter for the metric: {metric_def.filter}.")
+        if metric_def:
+            hints.append(f"  Compute the metric as: {metric_def.sql} (use this expression verbatim).")
+    if dim_owners and metric_table and dim_owners[0] != metric_table:
+        path = recon.join_path(metric_table, dim_owners[0])
+        if path:
+            hints.append(f"- Required JOIN path: {' → '.join(path)}.")
+
+    hint_block = ("\n".join(hints) + "\n\n") if hints else ""
+    return (
+        f"{question}\n\n"
+        f"Slice the metric `{metric}` by `{dim}` and return the top rows by metric value.\n\n"
+        f"{hint_block}"
+        f"GROUP BY the dimension. ORDER BY the metric DESC. Limit to top 10."
+    )
+
+
+async def execute_slice(question: str, metric: str, dim: str, reason: str) -> Slice:
+    """Generate SQL for one slice, execute it, emit tool-call events
+    around both, and return the Slice."""
+    slice_q = build_slice_question(question, metric, dim)
+
+    await events.publish_current(events.tool_call_start("text_to_sql", input={"question": slice_q}))
+    t2s = text_to_sql(slice_q)
+    await events.publish_current(events.tool_call_end(
+        "text_to_sql", output={"sql": t2s.sql, "tables": t2s.used_tables},
+    ))
+
+    await events.publish_current(events.tool_call_start(
+        "execute_sql", input={"sql": t2s.sql, "dimension": dim},
+    ))
+    result = execute_sql(t2s.sql)
+    await events.publish_current(events.tool_call_end(
+        "execute_sql",
+        output={"dimension": dim, "row_count": result.row_count,
+                "preview": result.as_dicts()[:5]},
+    ))
+
+    return Slice(
+        dimension=dim,
+        sql=t2s.sql,
+        rows=result.as_dicts()[:20],
+        reason=reason,
+    )
+
+
+# ── Final interpretation ──
+
+async def interpret(question: str, metric: str, slices: list[Slice]) -> str:
+    system = load("drill_down.interpret.system")
+    user = render(
+        "drill_down.interpret.user",
+        question=question,
+        metric=metric,
+        slices_block=format_slices_block(slices),
+    )
+    await events.publish_current(events.llm_call(
+        "drill_down.interpret", system_len=len(system), user_len=len(user),
+    ))
+    return chat(system=system, user=user, max_tokens=512)
+
+
+# ── Prompt-context formatters ──
+
+def format_history(slices: list[Slice]) -> str:
+    """Render the 'already tried' block fed to drill_down.next."""
+    if not slices:
+        return "(none yet)"
+    return "\n".join(f"- {s.dimension}: {repr(s.rows[:5])}" for s in slices)
+
+
+def format_slices_block(slices: list[Slice]) -> str:
+    """Render every slice's rows for drill_down.interpret."""
+    return "\n\n".join(
+        f"dimension: {s.dimension}\nrows: {repr(s.rows)}"
+        for s in slices
+    )
+
+
+# ── JSON extraction ──
+
+def _parse_json(text: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    m = re.search(r"```(?:json)?\s*(\{.*\})\s*```", text, re.DOTALL)
+    raw = m.group(1) if m else text
+    start, end = raw.find("{"), raw.rfind("}")
+    if start < 0 or end <= start:
+        raise ValueError(f"drill_down.next returned no JSON: {text[:200]!r}")
+    return json.loads(raw[start:end + 1])
diff --git a/api/analyses/drill_down/types.py b/api/analyses/drill_down/types.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae03c98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/analyses/drill_down/types.py
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+"""Public data shapes + constants for the drill_down Analysis."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from typing import Any
+
+DEFAULT_DIMENSIONS: list[str] = ["A2", "A3", "A11", "A12", "A13", "A14"]
+DEFAULT_METRIC: str = "loan_default_rate"
+DEFAULT_MAX_ITERS: int = 3
+
+# JSON-schema-ish surface the planner reads to know which args this
+# Analysis accepts. Kept as a plain dict so `registry.catalog()` can dump
+# it straight to JSON.
+ARGS_SCHEMA: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = {
+    "question": {
+        "type": "string",
+        "description": "Refined question this Analysis should answer.",
+    },
+    "metric": {
+        "type": "string",
+        "description": "Metric or column to slice (e.g. 'loan_default_rate', 'amount').",
+    },
+    "dimensions": {
+        "type": "array",
+        "items": "string",
+        "description": "Candidate dimensions to drill into. Defaults to district demographics.",
+    },
+    "max_iters": {
+        "type": "integer",
+        "description": f"Cap on slice iterations. Default {DEFAULT_MAX_ITERS}.",
+    },
+}
+
+
+@dataclass
+class DrillDownArgs:
+    """Parsed, defaulted args for one drill_down run."""
+    question: str
+    metric: str = DEFAULT_METRIC
+    dimensions: list[str] = field(default_factory=lambda: list(DEFAULT_DIMENSIONS))
+    max_iters: int = DEFAULT_MAX_ITERS
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_raw(cls, raw: dict[str, Any], default_question: str) -> "DrillDownArgs":
+        return cls(
+            question=raw.get("question") or default_question,
+            metric=raw.get("metric") or DEFAULT_METRIC,
+            dimensions=raw.get("dimensions") or list(DEFAULT_DIMENSIONS),
+            max_iters=int(raw.get("max_iters") or DEFAULT_MAX_ITERS),
+        )
+
+
+@dataclass
+class Slice:
+    """One iteration's slice: the chosen dimension, the SQL it produced,
+    its rows, and the LLM's stated reason for picking the dimension."""
+    dimension: str
+    sql: str
+    rows: list[dict[str, Any]]
+    reason: str = ""
diff --git a/api/analyses/registry.py b/api/analyses/registry.py
index 4a2f272..6b2c17f 100644
--- a/api/analyses/registry.py
+++ b/api/analyses/registry.py
@@ -7,10 +7,12 @@ from typing import Any
 from api.analyses.base import Analysis
 from api.analyses.compare_periods import ComparePeriods
 from api.analyses.direct_answer import DirectAnswer
+from api.analyses.drill_down import DrillDown
 
 REGISTRY: dict[str, Analysis] = {
     DirectAnswer.name: DirectAnswer(),
     ComparePeriods.name: ComparePeriods(),
+    DrillDown.name: DrillDown(),
 }
 
 
diff --git a/api/datasets/financial/schema_docs.yaml b/api/datasets/financial/schema_docs.yaml
index 88b2dd8..c38940f 100644
--- a/api/datasets/financial/schema_docs.yaml
+++ b/api/datasets/financial/schema_docs.yaml
@@ -1,93 +1,99 @@
-# Per-table / per-column human descriptions for the BIRD `financial` schema
-# (PKDD'99 Czech bank). The text-to-SQL tool prepends the relevant subset to
-# the LLM prompt so it can disambiguate cryptic column names like A2, A3, etc.
+# Human-authored augmentation for the BIRD `financial` dataset.
+#
+# The warehouse STRUCTURE (tables/columns/types/nullability) is extracted
+# from Postgres into extracted_schema.json by `make recon`. This file only
+# carries what humans add on top: table/column descriptions and relationships.
+# (Metrics live in metrics.yaml.)
+#
+# Format:
+#   tables.<name>:           one-line description.
+#   columns.<table>.<col>:   one-line description. Sparse — only the ones
+#                            worth describing. Undescribed columns just have
+#                            no description in the recon.
+#   relationships:           declared FKs (BIRD ships SQLite without them).
 
 schema: financial
 
 tables:
-  account:
-    description: One row per bank account. The pivot table — most facts hang off account_id.
-    columns:
-      account_id: Surrogate primary key for the account.
-      district_id: Geographic district the account belongs to (joins to district).
-      frequency: Statement issuance frequency. "POPLATEK MESICNE" = monthly, "POPLATEK TYDNE" = weekly, "POPLATEK PO OBRATU" = on transaction.
-      date: Date the account was opened (YYMMDD as integer).
+  account: One row per bank account. The pivot table — most facts hang off account_id.
+  client: One row per bank customer.
+  disp: Disposition — many-to-many link between client and account. Type tells you whether the client is the OWNER or just a USER of the account.
+  district: Demographic and economic data for each Czech district. The A-columns are infamous — most analysis questions referencing demographics use these.
+  loan: One row per loan granted to an account.
+  card: One row per credit/debit card issued to a disposition.
+  trans: Transaction history. Largest table by far (~1M rows). Every credit, debit, transfer.
+  order: Standing payment orders (recurring debits). Note the table name collides with a SQL keyword and must be quoted.
 
-  client:
-    description: One row per bank customer.
-    columns:
-      client_id: Surrogate primary key for the client.
-      gender: '"M" or "F". Derived from birth_number.'
-      birth_date: Date of birth, normalised. Original birth_number encoded gender by adding 50 to the month field for women.
-      district_id: District the client lives in (joins to district).
+columns:
+  account.district_id: Geographic district the account belongs to (joins to district).
+  account.frequency: Statement issuance frequency. "POPLATEK MESICNE" = monthly, "POPLATEK TYDNE" = weekly, "POPLATEK PO OBRATU" = on transaction.
+  account.date: Date the account was opened (YYMMDD as integer).
 
-  disp:
-    description: Disposition — many-to-many link between client and account. Type tells you whether the client is the OWNER or just a USER of the account.
-    columns:
-      disp_id: Surrogate key.
-      client_id: Joins to client.
-      account_id: Joins to account.
-      type: '"OWNER" or "DISPONENT" (USER). Only owners can request loans / cards.'
+  client.gender: '"M" or "F". Derived from birth_number.'
+  client.birth_date: Date of birth, normalised. Original birth_number encoded gender by adding 50 to the month field for women.
+  client.district_id: District the client lives in (joins to district).
 
-  district:
-    description: Demographic and economic data for each Czech district. The A-columns are infamous — most analysis questions referencing demographics use these.
-    columns:
-      district_id: Surrogate key.
-      A2: District name.
-      A3: Region (a grouping of districts).
-      A4: Number of inhabitants.
-      A5: Number of municipalities with population < 499.
-      A6: Number of municipalities with population 500-1999.
-      A7: Number of municipalities with population 2000-9999.
-      A8: Number of municipalities with population > 10000.
-      A9: Number of cities.
-      A10: Ratio of urban inhabitants (percent).
-      A11: Average salary (in CZK).
-      A12: Unemployment rate in 1995 (percent). NULL means missing data.
-      A13: Unemployment rate in 1996 (percent).
-      A14: Number of entrepreneurs per 1000 inhabitants.
-      A15: Number of crimes committed in 1995. NULL means missing data.
-      A16: Number of crimes committed in 1996.
+  disp.client_id: Joins to client.
+  disp.account_id: Joins to account.
+  disp.type: '"OWNER" or "DISPONENT" (USER). Only owners can request loans / cards.'
 
-  loan:
-    description: One row per loan granted to an account.
-    columns:
-      loan_id: Surrogate key.
-      account_id: The account the loan was granted to.
-      date: Loan grant date (YYMMDD as integer).
-      amount: Total amount of the loan (CZK).
-      duration: Loan duration in months.
-      payments: Monthly payment (CZK).
-      status: Loan status code. "A" = contract finished, no problems. "B" = contract finished, loan not paid (DEFAULT). "C" = running contract, payments on time. "D" = running contract, client in debt (AT RISK). Defaults are A,B finished or B,D paid-flag attached.
+  district.A2: District name.
+  district.A3: Region (a grouping of districts).
+  district.A4: Number of inhabitants.
+  district.A5: Number of municipalities with population < 499.
+  district.A6: Number of municipalities with population 500-1999.
+  district.A7: Number of municipalities with population 2000-9999.
+  district.A8: Number of municipalities with population > 10000.
+  district.A9: Number of cities.
+  district.A10: Ratio of urban inhabitants (percent).
+  district.A11: Average salary (in CZK).
+  district.A12: Unemployment rate in 1995 (percent). NULL means missing data.
+  district.A13: Unemployment rate in 1996 (percent).
+  district.A14: Number of entrepreneurs per 1000 inhabitants.
+  district.A15: Number of crimes committed in 1995. NULL means missing data.
+  district.A16: Number of crimes committed in 1996.
 
-  card:
-    description: One row per credit/debit card issued to a disposition.
-    columns:
-      card_id: Surrogate key.
-      disp_id: The disposition (and via it, the account) the card belongs to.
-      type: '"junior", "classic", or "gold".'
-      issued: Date the card was issued.
+  loan.account_id: The account the loan was granted to.
+  loan.date: Loan grant date (YYMMDD as integer).
+  loan.amount: Total amount of the loan (CZK).
+  loan.duration: Loan duration in months.
+  loan.payments: Monthly payment (CZK).
+  loan.status: Loan status code. "A" = contract finished, no problems. "B" = contract finished, loan not paid (DEFAULT). "C" = running contract, payments on time. "D" = running contract, client in debt (AT RISK).
 
-  trans:
-    description: Transaction history. Largest table by far (~1M rows). Every credit, debit, transfer.
-    columns:
-      trans_id: Surrogate key.
-      account_id: The account the transaction belongs to.
-      date: Transaction date (YYMMDD as integer).
-      type: '"PRIJEM" (credit) or "VYDAJ" (debit).'
-      operation: Mode of operation, e.g. "VKLAD" (cash credit), "VYBER" (cash withdrawal), "PREVOD Z UCTU" (transfer from another bank), etc.
-      amount: Amount (CZK).
-      balance: Account balance after the transaction.
-      k_symbol: Characterisation of the payment. "POJISTNE" = insurance, "SLUZBY" = household, "UROK" = interest credited, "SANKC. UROK" = penalty interest, "SIPO" = household payment, "DUCHOD" = old-age pension, "UVER" = loan payment.
-      bank: Counterparty bank code (only set for inter-bank transfers).
-      account: Counterparty account number (only set for inter-bank transfers).
+  card.disp_id: The disposition (and via it, the account) the card belongs to.
+  card.type: '"junior", "classic", or "gold".'
+  card.issued: Date the card was issued.
 
-  "order":
-    description: Standing payment orders (recurring debits). Note the table name collides with a SQL keyword and must be quoted.
-    columns:
-      order_id: Surrogate key.
-      account_id: The originating account.
-      bank_to: Recipient bank.
-      account_to: Recipient account.
-      amount: Order amount (CZK).
-      k_symbol: Purpose, same vocabulary as trans.k_symbol.
+  trans.account_id: The account the transaction belongs to.
+  trans.date: Transaction date (YYMMDD as integer).
+  trans.type: '"PRIJEM" (credit) or "VYDAJ" (debit).'
+  trans.operation: Mode of operation, e.g. "VKLAD" (cash credit), "VYBER" (cash withdrawal), "PREVOD Z UCTU" (transfer from another bank).
+  trans.amount: Amount (CZK).
+  trans.balance: Account balance after the transaction.
+  trans.k_symbol: Characterisation of the payment. "POJISTNE" = insurance, "SLUZBY" = household, "UROK" = interest credited, "SANKC. UROK" = penalty interest, "SIPO" = household payment, "DUCHOD" = old-age pension, "UVER" = loan payment.
+  trans.bank: Counterparty bank code (only set for inter-bank transfers).
+  trans.account: Counterparty account number (only set for inter-bank transfers).
+
+  order.account_id: The originating account.
+  order.bank_to: Recipient bank.
+  order.account_to: Recipient account.
+  order.amount: Order amount (CZK).
+  order.k_symbol: Purpose, same vocabulary as trans.k_symbol.
+
+relationships:
+  - from: account.district_id
+    to: district.district_id
+  - from: client.district_id
+    to: district.district_id
+  - from: disp.client_id
+    to: client.client_id
+  - from: disp.account_id
+    to: account.account_id
+  - from: loan.account_id
+    to: account.account_id
+  - from: card.disp_id
+    to: disp.disp_id
+  - from: trans.account_id
+    to: account.account_id
+  - from: order.account_id
+    to: account.account_id
diff --git a/api/plan/planner.py b/api/plan/planner.py
index 43864a0..03dbb33 100644
--- a/api/plan/planner.py
+++ b/api/plan/planner.py
@@ -15,13 +15,13 @@ from api.analyses.registry import catalog
 from api.llm import chat
 from api.plan.types import Plan
 from api.prompts import load, render
-from api.tools.schema import load_schema
+from api.recon import load_recon
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("nvi.plan.planner")
 
 
 def plan(question: str) -> Plan:
-    schema = load_schema()
+    schema = load_recon()
     user = render(
         "planner.user",
         question=question,
diff --git a/api/plan/types.py b/api/plan/types.py
index f082844..c48274c 100644
--- a/api/plan/types.py
+++ b/api/plan/types.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
-from typing import Any
+from typing import Any, Optional
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -11,17 +11,30 @@ class PlanStep:
     analysis: str
     args: dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)
     why: str = ""
+    # Optional sibling step to run when the primary errors or yields no
+    # finding. Lets the planner hedge between a speculative Analysis (e.g.
+    # `drill_down`) and a safer one (e.g. `direct_answer`).
+    fallback: Optional["PlanStep"] = None
 
     @classmethod
     def from_dict(cls, raw: dict[str, Any]) -> "PlanStep":
+        fb_raw = raw.get("fallback")
         return cls(
             analysis=raw["analysis"],
             args=raw.get("args") or {},
             why=raw.get("why", ""),
+            fallback=cls.from_dict(fb_raw) if fb_raw else None,
         )
 
     def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        return {"analysis": self.analysis, "args": self.args, "why": self.why}
+        out: dict[str, Any] = {
+            "analysis": self.analysis,
+            "args": self.args,
+            "why": self.why,
+        }
+        if self.fallback is not None:
+            out["fallback"] = self.fallback.to_dict()
+        return out
 
 
 @dataclass
diff --git a/api/prompts/drill_down.interpret.system.txt b/api/prompts/drill_down.interpret.system.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f60d36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/prompts/drill_down.interpret.system.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+Task: write a short interpretation of an iterative drill-down across a metric.
+
+You're given the analyst's question, the metric, and the slices tried (each: a dimension and its top rows). Identify the dimension(s) that show the strongest signal — biggest variance, most concentrated outliers, clearest pattern — and write a short, concrete summary.
+
+Output: two to four sentences. Lead with the dimension(s) that mattered most. Cite specific values from the slices (e.g. "districts with unemployment above 5% accounted for 73% of defaults"). No preamble.
+
+If no slice produced a meaningful signal, say so plainly.
diff --git a/api/prompts/drill_down.interpret.user.txt b/api/prompts/drill_down.interpret.user.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0fe8e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/prompts/drill_down.interpret.user.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+Question:
+{question}
+
+Metric: {metric}
+
+Slices (in order tried):
+{slices_block}
diff --git a/api/prompts/drill_down.next.system.txt b/api/prompts/drill_down.next.system.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2320e6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/prompts/drill_down.next.system.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+Task: pick the next dimension to slice by, in an iterative drill-down investigation.
+
+You're given the analyst's question, the candidate dimensions, the dimensions already tried (with their slice rows), and a remaining iteration budget. Decide which dimension to try next, or stop if the investigation has converged or budget is exhausted.
+
+Output: a JSON object in one fenced ```json block:
+{
+  "action": "drill" | "stop",
+  "dimension": "<dimension name from the candidate list>",   // required when action is "drill"
+  "reason": "<one sentence>"
+}
+
+Rules:
+- Pick a dimension that hasn't been tried yet and that the previous slices suggest might explain variance in the metric.
+- If every candidate has been tried, or the previous slice already shows a clear story, return action="stop".
+- Don't repeat dimensions.
+- Never invent a dimension that isn't in the candidate list.
diff --git a/api/prompts/drill_down.next.user.txt b/api/prompts/drill_down.next.user.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2e97227
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/prompts/drill_down.next.user.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+Question:
+{question}
+
+Metric we're slicing:
+{metric}
+
+Candidate dimensions:
+{dimensions}
+
+Already tried (with row previews):
+{history}
+
+Remaining iterations: {budget}
diff --git a/api/prompts/planner.system.txt b/api/prompts/planner.system.txt
index 0a9443d..7aa734b 100644
--- a/api/prompts/planner.system.txt
+++ b/api/prompts/planner.system.txt
@@ -6,7 +6,16 @@ Output: a JSON object with exactly this shape, in one fenced ```json block:
 {
   "rationale": "<one sentence on why this plan>",
   "steps": [
-    {"analysis": "<analysis_name>", "args": { ... }, "why": "<one sentence>"}
+    {
+      "analysis": "<analysis_name>",
+      "args": { ... },
+      "why": "<one sentence>",
+      "fallback": {                          // OPTIONAL — see rules
+        "analysis": "<analysis_name>",
+        "args": { ... },
+        "why": "<one sentence>"
+      }
+    }
   ]
 }
 
@@ -15,3 +24,4 @@ Rules:
 - The `args` keys must match the analysis's args_schema; additional keys are ignored, missing optional ones are fine.
 - Most questions are single-step. Only chain analyses when the second genuinely needs the first's output.
 - Comparing two periods is ONE `compare_periods` step, not two `direct_answer` steps.
+- A step's `fallback` is optional. Include one when the primary analysis is speculative (e.g. an exploratory `drill_down` that might find nothing useful) and there's a safer Analysis that can still produce an answer. The fallback runs only if the primary errors or yields no finding. Fallbacks must not themselves have fallbacks.
diff --git a/api/prompts/text_to_sql.system.txt b/api/prompts/text_to_sql.system.txt
index f9ba9dc..c019c59 100644
--- a/api/prompts/text_to_sql.system.txt
+++ b/api/prompts/text_to_sql.system.txt
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@ Output: exactly one fenced ```sql block, nothing else — no prose, no second bl
 
 Constraints:
 - search_path is set to `financial`; don't qualify table names with the schema.
+- **Postgres folds unquoted identifiers to lowercase.** Always double-quote any column or table name that contains an uppercase letter — including all the `district` columns: `"A2"`, `"A3"`, `"A4"`, `"A5"`, `"A6"`, `"A7"`, `"A8"`, `"A9"`, `"A10"`, `"A11"`, `"A12"`, `"A13"`, `"A14"`, `"A15"`, `"A16"`. Mixing quoted and unquoted forms of the same column (`"A3"` and `A13`) will fail at runtime — be consistent.
 - Quote identifiers that collide with SQL keywords (notably `"order"`).
-- Dates in the source are YYMMDD integers (e.g. 950315 → 1995-03-15). Convert with TO_DATE(LPAD(date::text, 6, '0'), 'YYMMDD') whenever you need a real date for filtering, comparison, or display.
+- Dates in the source are YYMMDD integers (e.g. 950315 → 1995-03-15). Convert with `TO_DATE(LPAD(date::text, 6, '0'), 'YYMMDD')` whenever you need a real date for filtering, comparison, or display.
 - Loan `status` values: 'A' finished OK, 'B' finished defaulted, 'C' running OK, 'D' running in debt.
 - Transaction `type` values: 'PRIJEM' credit, 'VYDAJ' debit.
 - Read-only: never emit DDL or DML.
diff --git a/api/recon/__init__.py b/api/recon/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df2af55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/recon/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+"""Recon package — load the dataset's knowledge graph.
+
+Typical use:
+    from api.recon import load_recon
+    recon = load_recon()
+    tables = recon.owning_tables("A2")          # ["district"]
+    path = recon.join_path("loan", "district")  # ["loan", "account", "district"]
+
+The Recon is read from `api/datasets/<active_dataset>/recon.json`. If the
+file is missing on first call, it's built on demand (with a log line) so
+local dev doesn't require remembering `make recon`. For deploys, run
+`python -m api.recon.build` (or `make recon`) to pre-bake.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import logging
+from functools import lru_cache
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from api.config import get_settings
+from api.datasets import DATASETS_DIR
+from api.recon.types import (
+    Column, Metric, Recon, Relationship, Table,
+)
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("nvi.recon")
+
+__all__ = [
+    "load_recon", "recon_path",
+    "Recon", "Column", "Table", "Metric", "Relationship",
+]
+
+
+def recon_path(dataset: str | None = None) -> Path:
+    dataset = dataset or get_settings().dataset
+    return DATASETS_DIR / dataset / "recon.json"
+
+
+@lru_cache(maxsize=1)
+def load_recon() -> Recon:
+    dataset = get_settings().dataset
+    path = recon_path(dataset)
+    if not path.exists():
+        logger.info("recon.json missing for %s; building on demand", dataset)
+        from api.recon.build import build_recon, write_recon
+        write_recon(dataset, build_recon(dataset))
+    data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+    return Recon.from_dict(data)
diff --git a/api/recon/build.py b/api/recon/build.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..907a5bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/recon/build.py
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+"""Recon build — two-stage:
+
+1. **DDL extraction** (auto, from Postgres): reads every table's columns +
+   types + nullability via SQLAlchemy Inspector and writes
+   `api/datasets/<name>/extracted_schema.json`. This is the structural
+   source of truth. Re-run whenever the warehouse changes.
+
+2. **Augmentation merge** (human YAML): reads `schema_docs.yaml` (sparse —
+   table descriptions, column descriptions, relationships) and `metrics.yaml`,
+   merges them onto the extracted schema, and writes
+   `api/datasets/<name>/recon.json` — the artefact the runtime reads.
+
+Run via `make recon` or `python -m api.recon.build`. Auto-triggered by
+load_recon() on first call if recon.json is missing.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import logging
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
+
+import yaml
+from sqlalchemy import inspect
+
+from api.datasets import DATASETS_DIR
+from api.recon.types import Column, Metric, Recon, Relationship, Table
+from api.tools.db import get_engine
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("nvi.recon.build")
+
+
+# ── Stage 1: DDL extraction ──
+
+def extract_ddl(dataset: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Introspect Postgres for `<dataset>` schema → structural dict.
+
+    Shape:
+      {
+        "schema": "<name>",
+        "tables": {
+          "<table>": {
+            "columns": [
+              {"name": ..., "sql_type": ..., "nullable": ...},
+              ...
+            ]
+          },
+          ...
+        }
+      }
+    """
+    insp = inspect(get_engine())
+    tables: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = {}
+    for name in insp.get_table_names(schema=dataset):
+        cols = []
+        for c in insp.get_columns(name, schema=dataset):
+            cols.append({
+                "name": c["name"],
+                "sql_type": str(c["type"]).upper(),
+                "nullable": bool(c["nullable"]),
+            })
+        tables[name] = {"columns": cols}
+    return {"schema": dataset, "tables": tables}
+
+
+def write_extracted_schema(dataset: str, extracted: dict[str, Any]) -> Path:
+    out = DATASETS_DIR / dataset / "extracted_schema.json"
+    out.write_text(json.dumps(extracted, indent=2) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    return out
+
+
+# ── Stage 2: augmentation merge ──
+
+def _read_yaml(path: Path) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    if not path.exists():
+        return {}
+    return yaml.safe_load(path.read_text()) or {}
+
+
+def _parse_column_descs(raw: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, str]:
+    """Accept either the flat form `{table.col: desc}` or the nested form
+    `{table: {col: desc}}`. Returns flat form."""
+    out: dict[str, str] = {}
+    for k, v in raw.items():
+        if isinstance(v, dict):
+            for col, desc in v.items():
+                out[f"{k}.{col}"] = desc
+        else:
+            out[k] = v
+    return out
+
+
+def merge_into_recon(dataset: str, extracted: dict[str, Any]) -> Recon:
+    """Combine extracted DDL with human-authored augmentation YAML."""
+    schema_name = extracted.get("schema", dataset)
+
+    aug = _read_yaml(DATASETS_DIR / dataset / "schema_docs.yaml")
+    metrics_yaml = _read_yaml(DATASETS_DIR / dataset / "metrics.yaml")
+
+    table_descs: dict[str, str] = aug.get("tables", {}) or {}
+    col_descs = _parse_column_descs(aug.get("columns", {}) or {})
+
+    tables: dict[str, Table] = {}
+    for tname, t_data in extracted["tables"].items():
+        cols = [
+            Column(
+                name=c["name"],
+                sql_type=c["sql_type"],
+                nullable=c["nullable"],
+                description=col_descs.get(f"{tname}.{c['name']}"),
+            )
+            for c in t_data["columns"]
+        ]
+        tables[tname] = Table(
+            name=tname,
+            description=table_descs.get(tname),
+            columns=cols,
+        )
+
+    metrics: dict[str, Metric] = {
+        name: Metric.from_spec(name, spec)
+        for name, spec in (metrics_yaml.get("metrics", {}) or {}).items()
+    }
+
+    relationships = [Relationship.parse(r) for r in (aug.get("relationships", []) or [])]
+
+    column_to_tables: dict[str, list[str]] = {}
+    for t in tables.values():
+        for c in t.columns:
+            column_to_tables.setdefault(c.name, []).append(t.name)
+    for k in column_to_tables:
+        column_to_tables[k] = sorted(column_to_tables[k])
+
+    return Recon(
+        schema=schema_name,
+        tables=tables,
+        metrics=metrics,
+        column_to_tables=column_to_tables,
+        relationships=relationships,
+    )
+
+
+def write_recon(dataset: str, recon: Recon) -> Path:
+    out = DATASETS_DIR / dataset / "recon.json"
+    out.write_text(json.dumps(recon.to_dict(), indent=2) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    return out
+
+
+# ── Public entry: full build ──
+
+def build_recon(dataset: str) -> Recon:
+    """End-to-end: extract DDL, write the extracted artefact, merge with
+    YAML, write the recon artefact. Returns the in-memory Recon."""
+    extracted = extract_ddl(dataset)
+    write_extracted_schema(dataset, extracted)
+    recon = merge_into_recon(dataset, extracted)
+    write_recon(dataset, recon)
+    return recon
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(name)s %(message)s")
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Build the recon artefacts for one or all datasets.")
+    ap.add_argument("--dataset", help="Dataset name (default: all subdirs of api/datasets/).")
+    args = ap.parse_args()
+
+    if args.dataset:
+        targets = [args.dataset]
+    else:
+        targets = [
+            p.name for p in DATASETS_DIR.iterdir()
+            if p.is_dir() and not p.name.startswith("_") and not p.name.startswith(".")
+        ]
+
+    if not targets:
+        print("no datasets to build", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    for name in targets:
+        recon = build_recon(name)
+        print(
+            f"recon[{name}]: {len(recon.tables)} tables, "
+            f"{len(recon.metrics)} metrics, {len(recon.relationships)} relationships "
+            f"→ api/datasets/{name}/{{extracted_schema,recon}}.json"
+        )
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/api/recon/types.py b/api/recon/types.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9377759
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/recon/types.py
@@ -0,0 +1,250 @@
+"""Recon types — the dataset's knowledge graph as seen by the rest of the api.
+
+The dataset-model types (Column, Table, Metric, SchemaContext) used to live
+in `api/tools/types.py`. They're authored here now because they describe the
+dataset, not the tools that consume it.
+
+`Recon` is a SchemaContext extended with derived indexes that let Analyses
+ask things like "which table owns column A2?" or "how do I join loan to
+district?" without re-deriving from raw YAML each time.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from typing import Any
+
+
+# ── Schema model ──
+
+@dataclass
+class Column:
+    name: str
+    sql_type: str
+    nullable: bool
+    description: str | None = None
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_inspector(cls, info: dict[str, Any], description: str | None = None) -> "Column":
+        """Build from a SQLAlchemy Inspector column dict."""
+        return cls(
+            name=info["name"],
+            sql_type=str(info["type"]).upper(),
+            nullable=bool(info["nullable"]),
+            description=description,
+        )
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {
+            "name": self.name,
+            "sql_type": self.sql_type,
+            "nullable": self.nullable,
+            "description": self.description,
+        }
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, d: dict[str, Any]) -> "Column":
+        return cls(name=d["name"], sql_type=d["sql_type"],
+                   nullable=d["nullable"], description=d.get("description"))
+
+
+@dataclass
+class Table:
+    name: str
+    description: str | None
+    columns: list[Column]
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {
+            "name": self.name,
+            "description": self.description,
+            "columns": [c.to_dict() for c in self.columns],
+        }
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, d: dict[str, Any]) -> "Table":
+        return cls(
+            name=d["name"],
+            description=d.get("description"),
+            columns=[Column.from_dict(c) for c in d.get("columns", [])],
+        )
+
+
+@dataclass
+class Metric:
+    name: str
+    description: str
+    sql: str
+    from_table: str
+    filter: str | None
+    unit: str | None
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_spec(cls, name: str, spec: dict[str, Any]) -> "Metric":
+        return cls(
+            name=name,
+            description=spec.get("description", ""),
+            sql=spec["sql"],
+            from_table=spec["from_table"],
+            filter=spec.get("filter"),
+            unit=spec.get("unit"),
+        )
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {
+            "name": self.name,
+            "description": self.description,
+            "sql": self.sql,
+            "from_table": self.from_table,
+            "filter": self.filter,
+            "unit": self.unit,
+        }
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, d: dict[str, Any]) -> "Metric":
+        return cls(
+            name=d["name"], description=d.get("description", ""),
+            sql=d["sql"], from_table=d["from_table"],
+            filter=d.get("filter"), unit=d.get("unit"),
+        )
+
+
+# ── Relationships ──
+
+@dataclass
+class Relationship:
+    from_table: str
+    from_column: str
+    to_table: str
+    to_column: str
+
+    @classmethod
+    def parse(cls, raw: dict[str, str]) -> "Relationship":
+        """Accept either `{from: 'a.b', to: 'c.d'}` or `{from_table, from_column, ...}`."""
+        if "from_table" in raw:
+            return cls(raw["from_table"], raw["from_column"], raw["to_table"], raw["to_column"])
+        ft, fc = raw["from"].split(".", 1)
+        tt, tc = raw["to"].split(".", 1)
+        return cls(ft, fc, tt, tc)
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, str]:
+        return {
+            "from_table": self.from_table, "from_column": self.from_column,
+            "to_table": self.to_table, "to_column": self.to_column,
+        }
+
+
+# ── Recon — top-level dataset knowledge bundle ──
+
+@dataclass
+class Recon:
+    schema: str
+    tables: dict[str, Table]
+    metrics: dict[str, Metric]
+    column_to_tables: dict[str, list[str]] = field(default_factory=dict)
+    relationships: list[Relationship] = field(default_factory=list)
+
+    # ── Read-side helpers used by Analyses + text_to_sql ──
+
+    def table_names(self) -> list[str]:
+        return sorted(self.tables)
+
+    def metric_names(self) -> list[str]:
+        return sorted(self.metrics)
+
+    def owning_tables(self, column: str) -> list[str]:
+        """Tables that have a column with this name (case-sensitive)."""
+        return self.column_to_tables.get(column, [])
+
+    def join_path(self, src: str, dst: str) -> list[str] | None:
+        """Shortest sequence of tables from src to dst via declared relationships.
+        Returns None if no path exists. The path includes both endpoints."""
+        if src == dst:
+            return [src]
+        if src not in self.tables or dst not in self.tables:
+            return None
+        # Build undirected adjacency once.
+        adj: dict[str, set[str]] = {t: set() for t in self.tables}
+        for r in self.relationships:
+            adj.setdefault(r.from_table, set()).add(r.to_table)
+            adj.setdefault(r.to_table, set()).add(r.from_table)
+        # BFS.
+        from collections import deque
+        prev: dict[str, str | None] = {src: None}
+        q: deque[str] = deque([src])
+        while q:
+            cur = q.popleft()
+            if cur == dst:
+                # reconstruct
+                path: list[str] = []
+                node: str | None = cur
+                while node is not None:
+                    path.append(node)
+                    node = prev[node]
+                return list(reversed(path))
+            for nb in adj.get(cur, ()):
+                if nb not in prev:
+                    prev[nb] = cur
+                    q.append(nb)
+        return None
+
+    # ── Prompt-rendering helpers ──
+
+    def render_tables(self, names: list[str] | None = None) -> str:
+        """CREATE TABLE-like rendering for prompt context."""
+        sel = [self.tables[n] for n in (names or self.table_names()) if n in self.tables]
+        out: list[str] = []
+        for t in sel:
+            header = f"-- {t.description}\n" if t.description else ""
+            cols: list[str] = []
+            for c in t.columns:
+                line = f'  "{c.name}" {c.sql_type}'
+                if not c.nullable:
+                    line += " NOT NULL"
+                if c.description:
+                    line += f"  -- {c.description}"
+                cols.append(line)
+            out.append(header + f'CREATE TABLE "{t.name}" (\n' + ",\n".join(cols) + "\n);")
+        return "\n\n".join(out)
+
+    def render_metrics(self) -> str:
+        if not self.metrics:
+            return "(no metrics defined)"
+        lines: list[str] = []
+        for m in self.metrics.values():
+            lines.append(
+                f"- {m.name} ({m.unit or 'unitless'}): {m.description}\n"
+                f"    sql: {m.sql}\n"
+                f"    from: {m.from_table}"
+                + (f"\n    filter: {m.filter}" if m.filter else "")
+            )
+        return "\n".join(lines)
+
+    def render_relationships(self) -> str:
+        if not self.relationships:
+            return "(no relationships declared)"
+        return "\n".join(
+            f"  {r.from_table}.{r.from_column} → {r.to_table}.{r.to_column}"
+            for r in self.relationships
+        )
+
+    # ── Cache serialisation ──
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {
+            "schema": self.schema,
+            "tables": {n: t.to_dict() for n, t in self.tables.items()},
+            "metrics": {n: m.to_dict() for n, m in self.metrics.items()},
+            "column_to_tables": self.column_to_tables,
+            "relationships": [r.to_dict() for r in self.relationships],
+        }
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, d: dict[str, Any]) -> "Recon":
+        return cls(
+            schema=d["schema"],
+            tables={n: Table.from_dict(t) for n, t in d.get("tables", {}).items()},
+            metrics={n: Metric.from_dict(m) for n, m in d.get("metrics", {}).items()},
+            column_to_tables=d.get("column_to_tables", {}),
+            relationships=[Relationship(**r) for r in d.get("relationships", [])],
+        )
diff --git a/api/recon/validate.py b/api/recon/validate.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df46d0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/recon/validate.py
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+"""SQL validation against the recon schema.
+
+`validate_sql` parses the SQL, runs sqlglot's `qualify` optimizer pass with
+the dataset's column→type schema, and raises with a clear message when the
+LLM references a column that doesn't exist on the table it's bound to.
+
+This is the deterministic complement to the LLM prompt: prompt hints help
+the LLM get it right; the validator GUARANTEES we don't ship a schema-
+wrong query to Postgres. If validation fails, the caller can either bubble
+the error up (no silent retry) or do one *guided* re-prompt that includes
+the validator's message — which is a correction with concrete facts, not
+a blind retry.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sqlglot
+from sqlglot.errors import OptimizeError
+from sqlglot.optimizer.qualify import qualify
+
+from api.recon import load_recon
+from api.recon.types import Recon
+
+
+class ReconValidationError(ValueError):
+    """The SQL references a table/column combination that doesn't exist
+    in the recon. The original sqlglot error is in `__cause__`."""
+
+
+def _build_sqlglot_schema(recon: Recon) -> dict[str, dict[str, str]]:
+    """Convert recon → sqlglot's expected schema shape: {table: {col: type}}."""
+    return {
+        name: {col.name: col.sql_type for col in t.columns}
+        for name, t in recon.tables.items()
+    }
+
+
+def validate_sql(sql: str, recon: Recon | None = None) -> None:
+    """Raise `ReconValidationError` if any column reference in `sql` doesn't
+    exist on the table it's bound to. Returns None on success."""
+    recon = recon or load_recon()
+    schema = _build_sqlglot_schema(recon)
+    try:
+        parsed = sqlglot.parse_one(sql, dialect="postgres")
+        qualify(parsed, schema=schema, dialect="postgres")
+    except OptimizeError as e:
+        # Try to enrich the message with hints from the recon.
+        msg = str(e)
+        hint = _column_hint(msg, recon)
+        full = f"{msg}{hint}" if hint else msg
+        raise ReconValidationError(full) from e
+
+
+_COL_PATTERNS = [
+    r"Column '([^']+)'",                       # "Column 'X' could not be resolved."
+    r"Unknown column:\s*\"?([^\"\s,]+)\"?",  # "Unknown column: X"
+    r"column \"([^\"]+)\"",                   # 'column "X" does not exist'
+]
+
+
+def _column_hint(msg: str, recon: Recon) -> str:
+    """If the error names a specific column, append a hint about which
+    table(s) actually own it. Tries the wordings sqlglot and psycopg use."""
+    import re
+    col_name: str | None = None
+    for pat in _COL_PATTERNS:
+        m = re.search(pat, msg)
+        if m:
+            col_name = m.group(1)
+            break
+    if col_name is None:
+        return ""
+    owners = recon.owning_tables(col_name)
+    if owners:
+        return f"  (Column '{col_name}' actually lives in: {', '.join(owners)}.)"
+    return f"  (No table in the {recon.schema!r} schema has a column named '{col_name}'.)"
diff --git a/api/runtime/context.py b/api/runtime/context.py
index 37dd23e..6b9dc24 100644
--- a/api/runtime/context.py
+++ b/api/runtime/context.py
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-"""Per-run context — exposes the active run_id to code deep in the call stack
-without threading it through every signature.
+"""Per-run context — exposes the active run_id (and active Analysis) to code
+deep in the call stack without threading them through every signature.
 
-Set by the runtime at run entry; read by Analyses and helper functions so they
-can publish trace events without needing the run_id passed in explicitly.
+Set by the runtime; read by Analyses, Tools, and helper functions so they
+can publish trace events with the right associations.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -10,3 +10,8 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 from contextvars import ContextVar
 
 current_run_id: ContextVar[str | None] = ContextVar("nvi.current_run_id", default=None)
+
+# Name of the Analysis currently executing (e.g. "direct_answer"). Set by the
+# runtime in `_execute_node` before each Analysis runs, reset after. Used by
+# event factories to annotate tool/llm calls so the UI can group them.
+current_analysis: ContextVar[str | None] = ContextVar("nvi.current_analysis", default=None)
diff --git a/api/runtime/events.py b/api/runtime/events.py
index 9ce1fd7..c679e50 100644
--- a/api/runtime/events.py
+++ b/api/runtime/events.py
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ transition; the FastAPI SSE endpoint subscribes and forwards.
 
 Event payloads are constructed via the module-level factory functions below
 so the dict shape lives in one place and is grep-able.
+
+Many event types carry an `analysis` field that names the active Analysis
+(read from `current_analysis` ContextVar). The UI uses it to group
+sub-events under the right Analysis node without inferring from time order.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -14,7 +18,7 @@ import json
 from typing import Any
 
 from api.analyses.types import Finding
-from api.runtime.context import current_run_id
+from api.runtime.context import current_analysis, current_run_id
 
 # run_id -> queue of events. Events are plain dicts.
 _queues: dict[str, asyncio.Queue[dict[str, Any] | None]] = {}
@@ -80,6 +84,8 @@ async def stream(run_id: str):
 # ── Event factories ──
 # Each returns the dict payload to pass into `publish()` /
 # `publish_current()`. Names mirror the `type` field for grep-ability.
+# Factories that fire from inside an Analysis pick up the analysis name from
+# the `current_analysis` ContextVar so callers don't have to pass it.
 
 def run_start(question: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
     return {"type": "run_start", "question": question}
@@ -101,33 +107,66 @@ def node_update(node: str, update: Any) -> dict[str, Any]:
     }
 
 
-def analysis_start(name: str, args: dict[str, Any], why: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    return {"type": "analysis_start", "analysis": name, "args": args, "why": why}
+def analysis_start(name: str, args: dict[str, Any], why: str, *,
+                   step_id: str | None = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    return {"type": "analysis_start", "analysis": name, "step_id": step_id,
+            "args": args, "why": why}
 
 
-def analysis_end(name: str, finding: Finding) -> dict[str, Any]:
+def analysis_end(name: str, finding: Finding, *,
+                 step_id: str | None = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
     return {
         "type": "analysis_end",
         "analysis": name,
+        "step_id": step_id,
         "summary": finding.summary,
         "error": finding.error,
         "row_count": len(finding.rows),
     }
 
 
+def analysis_fallback(*, primary: str, fallback: str, reason: str,
+                      step_id: str | None = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        "type": "analysis_fallback",
+        "primary": primary,
+        "fallback": fallback,
+        "reason": reason,
+        "step_id": step_id,
+    }
+
+
 def synth_start() -> dict[str, Any]:
     return {"type": "synth_start"}
 
 
 def tool_call_start(tool: str, *, input: Any = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    return {"type": "tool_call_start", "tool": tool, "input": input}
+    return {
+        "type": "tool_call_start",
+        "tool": tool,
+        "analysis": current_analysis.get(),
+        "input": input,
+    }
 
 
-def tool_call_end(tool: str, *, output: Any = None, error: str | None = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    return {"type": "tool_call_end", "tool": tool, "output": output, "error": error}
+def tool_call_end(tool: str, *, output: Any = None,
+                  error: str | None = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        "type": "tool_call_end",
+        "tool": tool,
+        "analysis": current_analysis.get(),
+        "output": output,
+        "error": error,
+    }
 
 
 def llm_call(label: str, *, system_len: int, user_len: int) -> dict[str, Any]:
     """Lightweight breadcrumb for an LLM call. Doesn't carry the prompt
     contents (those go through Langfuse) — just the fact and rough size."""
-    return {"type": "llm_call", "label": label, "system_chars": system_len, "user_chars": user_len}
+    return {
+        "type": "llm_call",
+        "label": label,
+        "analysis": current_analysis.get(),
+        "system_chars": system_len,
+        "user_chars": user_len,
+    }
diff --git a/api/runtime/runner.py b/api/runtime/runner.py
index 23875ba..2ce8feb 100644
--- a/api/runtime/runner.py
+++ b/api/runtime/runner.py
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
 
 Graph: START → plan → execute → synthesize → END
 
-`execute` iterates Plan steps and dispatches each to its Analysis. Sequential
-for now; swap to a fan-out with parallel nodes once we want to parallelise.
+`execute` iterates Plan steps and dispatches each to its Analysis. A step
+can declare an optional `fallback` Analysis that runs when the primary
+errors or returns an empty finding.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ from api.llm import chat
 from api.plan.planner import plan as run_planner
 from api.prompts import load, render
 from api.runtime import events
-from api.runtime.context import current_run_id
+from api.runtime.context import current_analysis, current_run_id
 from api.runtime.state import RunState
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("nvi.runtime")
@@ -35,25 +36,74 @@ def _plan_node(state: RunState) -> dict[str, Any]:
     }
 
 
+def _step_id(idx: int, name: str, suffix: str | None = None) -> str:
+    base = f"{name}#{idx}"
+    return f"{base}.{suffix}" if suffix else base
+
+
+async def _invoke_analysis(name: str, args: dict[str, Any], question: str,
+                            *, step_id: str, run_id: str, why: str) -> Finding:
+    """Run a single Analysis with contextvar set, events around it, and
+    error→Finding catch. Returns the Finding (success or failure)."""
+    analysis = ANALYSES.get(name)
+    await events.publish(run_id, events.analysis_start(name, args, why, step_id=step_id))
+    if analysis is None:
+        f = Finding(analysis=name, summary="", error=f"unknown analysis {name!r}")
+    else:
+        token = current_analysis.set(step_id)
+        try:
+            f = await analysis.run(args, question)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.exception("analysis %s raised", name)
+            f = Finding(analysis=name, summary="", error=str(e))
+        finally:
+            current_analysis.reset(token)
+    await events.publish(run_id, events.analysis_end(name, f, step_id=step_id))
+    return f
+
+
+def _finding_is_empty_or_errored(f: Finding) -> bool:
+    if f.error:
+        return True
+    if not f.summary and not f.rows:
+        return True
+    return False
+
+
 async def _execute_node(state: RunState) -> dict[str, Any]:
     findings: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
-    for step in state.get("plan_steps", []):
-        name = step["analysis"]
-        analysis = ANALYSES.get(name)
-        await events.publish(
-            state["run_id"],
-            events.analysis_start(name, step.get("args", {}), step.get("why", "")),
+    run_id = state["run_id"]
+    for idx, step in enumerate(state.get("plan_steps", [])):
+        primary_name = step["analysis"]
+        primary_args = step.get("args", {})
+        primary_why = step.get("why", "")
+        primary_step_id = _step_id(idx, primary_name)
+
+        primary = await _invoke_analysis(
+            primary_name, primary_args, state["question"],
+            step_id=primary_step_id, run_id=run_id, why=primary_why,
         )
-        if analysis is None:
-            f = Finding(analysis=name, summary="", error=f"unknown analysis {name!r}")
-        else:
-            try:
-                f = await analysis.run(step.get("args", {}), state["question"])
-            except Exception as e:
-                logger.exception("analysis %s raised", name)
-                f = Finding(analysis=name, summary="", error=str(e))
-        findings.append(dataclasses.asdict(f))
-        await events.publish(state["run_id"], events.analysis_end(name, f))
+        primary_dict = dataclasses.asdict(primary)
+        primary_dict["step_id"] = primary_step_id
+        findings.append(primary_dict)
+
+        fb = step.get("fallback")
+        if fb and _finding_is_empty_or_errored(primary):
+            fb_name = fb["analysis"]
+            fb_step_id = _step_id(idx, fb_name, suffix="fallback")
+            reason = primary.error or "primary returned empty finding"
+            await events.publish(run_id, events.analysis_fallback(
+                primary=primary_name, fallback=fb_name, reason=reason,
+                step_id=fb_step_id,
+            ))
+            fb_finding = await _invoke_analysis(
+                fb_name, fb.get("args", {}), state["question"],
+                step_id=fb_step_id, run_id=run_id, why=fb.get("why", ""),
+            )
+            fb_dict = dataclasses.asdict(fb_finding)
+            fb_dict["step_id"] = fb_step_id
+            fb_dict["is_fallback_for"] = primary_step_id
+            findings.append(fb_dict)
     return {"findings": findings}
 
 
@@ -61,14 +111,17 @@ async def _synthesize_node(state: RunState) -> dict[str, Any]:
     await events.publish(state["run_id"], events.synth_start())
 
     findings = state.get("findings", [])
-    if not findings or all(f.get("error") for f in findings):
+    # Effective findings = primary OR its fallback if the primary was empty.
+    # Pass everything through; the LLM weighs which one to cite.
+    usable = [f for f in findings if not _finding_is_empty_or_errored(_dict_to_finding(f))]
+    if not usable:
         return {
             "answer": "I couldn't answer this question — see the per-analysis errors above.",
             "error": "all_analyses_failed",
         }
 
     findings_block = "\n\n".join(
-        f"[{f['analysis']}]\n"
+        f"[{f['analysis']}{ ' (fallback)' if f.get('is_fallback_for') else '' }]\n"
         f"summary: {f.get('summary') or '(none)'}\n"
         f"error: {f.get('error') or '(none)'}\n"
         f"sql: {f.get('sql')}"
@@ -89,6 +142,17 @@ async def _synthesize_node(state: RunState) -> dict[str, Any]:
     return {"answer": answer}
 
 
+def _dict_to_finding(d: dict[str, Any]) -> Finding:
+    return Finding(
+        analysis=d.get("analysis", ""),
+        summary=d.get("summary", ""),
+        rows=d.get("rows") or [],
+        sql=d.get("sql") or [],
+        error=d.get("error"),
+        metadata=d.get("metadata") or {},
+    )
+
+
 def build_graph():
     g: StateGraph = StateGraph(RunState)
     g.add_node("plan", _plan_node)
diff --git a/api/tools/schema.py b/api/tools/schema.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 84df945..0000000
--- a/api/tools/schema.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-"""Warehouse schema retrieval.
-
-Physical layer via SQLAlchemy's Inspector against the active dataset's
-Postgres schema; semantic layer (table/column descriptions, metric catalog)
-from YAML files under `api/datasets/<name>/`.
-
-Cached on first call — the schema is stable for a process's lifetime.
-Restart the api to pick up a dataset switch or YAML edits.
-"""
-
-from __future__ import annotations
-
-from functools import lru_cache
-from typing import Any
-
-from sqlalchemy import inspect
-
-from api.config import get_settings
-from api.datasets import read_yaml
-from api.tools.db import get_engine
-from api.tools.types import Column, Metric, SchemaContext, Table
-
-
-@lru_cache(maxsize=1)
-def load_schema() -> SchemaContext:
-    dataset = get_settings().dataset
-    docs = read_yaml(dataset, "schema_docs.yaml")
-    metrics_yaml = read_yaml(dataset, "metrics.yaml")
-
-    # Postgres schema name comes from the dataset id; the schema_docs file
-    # can override it, but normally they match.
-    schema_name: str = docs.get("schema", dataset)
-    table_descs: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = docs.get("tables", {}) or {}
-
-    insp = inspect(get_engine())
-    tables: dict[str, Table] = {
-        name: Table(
-            name=name,
-            description=(desc := table_descs.get(name, {})).get("description"),
-            columns=[
-                Column.from_inspector(c, (desc.get("columns") or {}).get(c["name"]))
-                for c in insp.get_columns(name, schema=schema_name)
-            ],
-        )
-        for name in insp.get_table_names(schema=schema_name)
-    }
-
-    metrics: dict[str, Metric] = {
-        name: Metric.from_spec(name, spec)
-        for name, spec in (metrics_yaml.get("metrics", {}) or {}).items()
-    }
-
-    return SchemaContext(schema=schema_name, tables=tables, metrics=metrics)
-
-
-def get_metric(name: str) -> Metric | None:
-    return load_schema().metrics.get(name)
diff --git a/api/tools/text_to_sql.py b/api/tools/text_to_sql.py
index ad01ac4..a5b6591 100644
--- a/api/tools/text_to_sql.py
+++ b/api/tools/text_to_sql.py
@@ -10,23 +10,24 @@ import sqlglot
 from api import langfuse_client as lf
 from api.llm import chat
 from api.prompts import load, render
-from api.tools.schema import load_schema
+from api.recon import load_recon
+from api.recon.validate import ReconValidationError, validate_sql
 from api.tools.types import T2SResult
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("nvi.tools.text_to_sql")
 
 
 def text_to_sql(question: str, *, hint_tables: list[str] | None = None) -> T2SResult:
-    schema = load_schema()
-    tables = hint_tables or schema.table_names()
+    recon = load_recon()
+    tables = hint_tables or recon.table_names()
     system = load("text_to_sql.system")
 
     def _user(retry_hint: str = "") -> str:
         return render(
             "text_to_sql.user",
             question=question,
-            schema_block=schema.render_tables(tables),
-            metrics_block=schema.render_metrics(),
+            schema_block=recon.render_tables(tables),
+            metrics_block=recon.render_metrics(),
             retry_hint=retry_hint,
         )
 
@@ -35,14 +36,9 @@ def text_to_sql(question: str, *, hint_tables: list[str] | None = None) -> T2SRe
         as_type="generation",
         input={"question": question, "hint_tables": hint_tables},
     ) as span:
-        sql = _extract_sql(chat(system=system, user=_user()))
-        try:
-            _validate(sql)
-        except Exception as e:
-            logger.info("t2s first attempt invalid (%s); retrying once", e)
-            hint = f"\n\nPrevious attempt failed parsing: {e}. Fix and return only the SQL."
-            sql = _extract_sql(chat(system=system, user=_user(hint)))
-            _validate(sql)
+        raw = _extract_sql(chat(system=system, user=_user()))
+        sql = _normalize(raw)              # raises on parse error — fail fast
+        validate_sql(sql, recon)           # raises ReconValidationError — fail fast
 
         result = T2SResult(sql=sql, used_tables=_extract_tables(sql))
         span.update(output={"sql": sql, "used_tables": result.used_tables})
@@ -56,10 +52,20 @@ def _extract_sql(text: str) -> str:
     return text.strip().rstrip(";").strip()
 
 
-def _validate(sql: str) -> None:
+def _normalize(sql: str) -> str:
+    """Parse the LLM's SQL, then re-render with every identifier quoted.
+
+    Postgres folds unquoted identifiers to lowercase, so `d.A13` becomes
+    `d.a13` and breaks against case-preserving columns like district."A13".
+    Re-rendering with `identify=True` puts double quotes around every
+    identifier — case is preserved, and Postgres treats a quoted lowercase
+    identifier the same as the unquoted form, so this is safe in both
+    directions.
+    """
     parsed = sqlglot.parse_one(sql, dialect="postgres")
     if parsed is None:
         raise ValueError("sqlglot returned no parse tree")
+    return parsed.sql(dialect="postgres", identify=True)
 
 
 def _extract_tables(sql: str) -> list[str]:
diff --git a/api/tools/types.py b/api/tools/types.py
index d76790f..f913b84 100644
--- a/api/tools/types.py
+++ b/api/tools/types.py
@@ -1,11 +1,7 @@
 """Public data shapes for the Tools layer.
 
-Behavior modules in api/tools/ import from here. Keeping types in one file
-makes the layer's surface visible at a glance.
-
-Secondary constructors (`from_inspector`, `from_spec`, …) live as
-classmethods so call sites read as one line instead of multi-line kwarg
-blocks.
+Tool-output types only. The dataset model (Column, Table, Metric, Recon)
+lives in `api/recon/types.py` — Tools consume it but don't own it.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -14,100 +10,6 @@ from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Any
 
 
-# ── Schema model ──
-
-@dataclass
-class Column:
-    name: str
-    sql_type: str
-    nullable: bool
-    description: str | None = None
-
-    @classmethod
-    def from_inspector(cls, info: dict[str, Any], description: str | None = None) -> "Column":
-        """Build from a SQLAlchemy Inspector column dict."""
-        return cls(
-            name=info["name"],
-            sql_type=str(info["type"]).upper(),
-            nullable=bool(info["nullable"]),
-            description=description,
-        )
-
-
-@dataclass
-class Table:
-    name: str
-    description: str | None
-    columns: list[Column]
-
-
-@dataclass
-class Metric:
-    name: str
-    description: str
-    sql: str
-    from_table: str
-    filter: str | None
-    unit: str | None
-
-    @classmethod
-    def from_spec(cls, name: str, spec: dict[str, Any]) -> "Metric":
-        """Build from a metrics.yaml entry."""
-        return cls(
-            name=name,
-            description=spec.get("description", ""),
-            sql=spec["sql"],
-            from_table=spec["from_table"],
-            filter=spec.get("filter"),
-            unit=spec.get("unit"),
-        )
-
-
-@dataclass
-class SchemaContext:
-    schema: str
-    tables: dict[str, Table]
-    metrics: dict[str, Metric]
-
-    def table_names(self) -> list[str]:
-        return sorted(self.tables)
-
-    def metric_names(self) -> list[str]:
-        return sorted(self.metrics)
-
-    def render_tables(self, names: list[str] | None = None) -> str:
-        """CREATE TABLE-like rendering for prompt context."""
-        sel = [self.tables[n] for n in (names or self.table_names()) if n in self.tables]
-        out: list[str] = []
-        for t in sel:
-            header = f"-- {t.description}\n" if t.description else ""
-            cols: list[str] = []
-            for c in t.columns:
-                line = f'  "{c.name}" {c.sql_type}'
-                if not c.nullable:
-                    line += " NOT NULL"
-                if c.description:
-                    line += f"  -- {c.description}"
-                cols.append(line)
-            out.append(header + f'CREATE TABLE "{t.name}" (\n' + ",\n".join(cols) + "\n);")
-        return "\n\n".join(out)
-
-    def render_metrics(self) -> str:
-        if not self.metrics:
-            return "(no metrics defined)"
-        lines: list[str] = []
-        for m in self.metrics.values():
-            lines.append(
-                f"- {m.name} ({m.unit or 'unitless'}): {m.description}\n"
-                f"    sql: {m.sql}\n"
-                f"    from: {m.from_table}"
-                + (f"\n    filter: {m.filter}" if m.filter else "")
-            )
-        return "\n".join(lines)
-
-
-# ── Query execution ──
-
 @dataclass
 class QueryResult:
     columns: list[str]
@@ -119,8 +21,6 @@ class QueryResult:
         return [dict(zip(self.columns, r)) for r in self.rows]
 
 
-# ── Text-to-SQL output ──
-
 @dataclass
 class T2SResult:
     sql: str
diff --git a/ctrl/k8s/base/api.yaml b/ctrl/k8s/base/api.yaml
index d3dc661..0736283 100644
--- a/ctrl/k8s/base/api.yaml
+++ b/ctrl/k8s/base/api.yaml
@@ -13,6 +13,14 @@ spec:
       labels:
         app: api
     spec:
+      # lng.local.ar resolves to ::1 via the host's dnsmasq → coredns chain,
+      # which is the pod's own loopback (wrong). Override to the kind bridge
+      # gateway so traffic from this pod reaches the host's system Caddy and
+      # gets reverse-proxied to Langfuse on :3000.
+      hostAliases:
+        - ip: "172.19.0.1"
+          hostnames:
+            - "lng.local.ar"
       containers:
         - name: api
           image: nvi-api
diff --git a/ctrl/recon.sh b/ctrl/recon.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e7feb46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ctrl/recon.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Rebuild the per-dataset recon artefacts inside the api pod and copy them
+# back to the host so they're visible next to the source YAMLs.
+#
+# Outputs per dataset under api/datasets/<name>/:
+#   - extracted_schema.json   (auto, from Postgres introspection)
+#   - recon.json              (merged: extracted + schema_docs.yaml + metrics.yaml)
+#
+# Usage:
+#   bash ctrl/recon.sh                # all datasets
+#   bash ctrl/recon.sh financial      # one dataset
+
+set -euo pipefail
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/.."
+
+CTX="${KCTX:---context kind-nvi}"
+NS="${KNS:--n nvi}"
+
+POD=$(kubectl $CTX $NS get pod -l app=api -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
+if [ -z "$POD" ]; then
+    echo "no api pod found; is \`make tilt-up\` running?" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Run the build inside the pod (needs live Postgres access).
+build_args=()
+if [ "${1-}" != "" ]; then
+    build_args+=(--dataset "$1")
+fi
+kubectl $CTX $NS exec "$POD" -- uv run python -m api.recon.build "${build_args[@]}"
+
+# Pull each artefact back to the host.
+for ds_path in api/datasets/*/; do
+    ds=$(basename "$ds_path")
+    case "$ds" in
+        __*|.*) continue ;;
+    esac
+    if [ "${1-}" != "" ] && [ "$1" != "$ds" ]; then
+        continue
+    fi
+    for f in extracted_schema.json recon.json; do
+        if kubectl $CTX $NS cp "$POD:/app/api/datasets/$ds/$f" "api/datasets/$ds/$f" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "  → api/datasets/$ds/$f"
+        fi
+    done
+done
diff --git a/tests/test_analyses_registry.py b/tests/test_analyses_registry.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e17f2a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_analyses_registry.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+"""Regression: Analysis registry exposes the expected Analyses."""
+
+from api.analyses.registry import REGISTRY, catalog, get
+
+
+def test_registry_has_expected_analyses():
+    assert set(REGISTRY) >= {"direct_answer", "compare_periods", "drill_down"}
+
+
+def test_registry_get_returns_instance_or_none():
+    a = get("direct_answer")
+    assert a is not None
+    assert a.name == "direct_answer"
+    assert get("does_not_exist") is None
+
+
+def test_catalog_shape_for_planner():
+    cat = catalog()
+    names = {entry["name"] for entry in cat}
+    assert names >= {"direct_answer", "compare_periods", "drill_down"}
+    for entry in cat:
+        assert isinstance(entry["description"], str) and entry["description"]
+        assert isinstance(entry["args_schema"], dict)
diff --git a/tests/test_events.py b/tests/test_events.py
index 6158417..9120ff0 100644
--- a/tests/test_events.py
+++ b/tests/test_events.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 from api.analyses.types import Finding
 from api.runtime import events
+from api.runtime.context import current_analysis
 
 
 def test_run_start_shape():
@@ -22,10 +23,11 @@ def test_plan_ready_shape():
 
 
 def test_analysis_start_shape():
-    e = events.analysis_start("direct_answer", {"q": "?"}, "fits")
+    e = events.analysis_start("direct_answer", {"q": "?"}, "fits", step_id="direct_answer#0")
     assert e == {
         "type": "analysis_start",
         "analysis": "direct_answer",
+        "step_id": "direct_answer#0",
         "args": {"q": "?"},
         "why": "fits",
     }
@@ -33,19 +35,65 @@ def test_analysis_start_shape():
 
 def test_analysis_end_uses_finding():
     f = Finding(analysis="direct_answer", summary="ok", rows=[{"a": 1}], sql=["SELECT 1"])
-    e = events.analysis_end("direct_answer", f)
+    e = events.analysis_end("direct_answer", f, step_id="direct_answer#0")
     assert e["type"] == "analysis_end"
     assert e["analysis"] == "direct_answer"
+    assert e["step_id"] == "direct_answer#0"
     assert e["summary"] == "ok"
     assert e["error"] is None
     assert e["row_count"] == 1
 
 
-def test_tool_call_shapes():
+def test_analysis_fallback_shape():
+    e = events.analysis_fallback(
+        primary="drill_down", fallback="direct_answer",
+        reason="empty result", step_id="direct_answer#0.fallback",
+    )
+    assert e == {
+        "type": "analysis_fallback",
+        "primary": "drill_down",
+        "fallback": "direct_answer",
+        "reason": "empty result",
+        "step_id": "direct_answer#0.fallback",
+    }
+
+
+def test_tool_call_shapes_carry_analysis_field():
+    """Tool/LLM events must include the active Analysis name from the
+    contextvar — UI groups sub-events by it. None when outside an Analysis."""
+    # Outside any Analysis: analysis is None.
     s = events.tool_call_start("text_to_sql", input={"q": "?"})
-    assert s == {"type": "tool_call_start", "tool": "text_to_sql", "input": {"q": "?"}}
+    assert s["type"] == "tool_call_start"
+    assert s["tool"] == "text_to_sql"
+    assert s["analysis"] is None
+    assert s["input"] == {"q": "?"}
+
     e = events.tool_call_end("text_to_sql", output={"sql": "..."})
-    assert e == {"type": "tool_call_end", "tool": "text_to_sql", "output": {"sql": "..."}, "error": None}
+    assert e["analysis"] is None
+    assert e["output"] == {"sql": "..."}
+    assert e["error"] is None
+
+    # Inside an Analysis context: analysis field is populated.
+    token = current_analysis.set("direct_answer#0")
+    try:
+        s2 = events.tool_call_start("execute_sql", input={"sql": "SELECT 1"})
+        e2 = events.tool_call_end("execute_sql", output={"row_count": 1})
+        assert s2["analysis"] == "direct_answer#0"
+        assert e2["analysis"] == "direct_answer#0"
+    finally:
+        current_analysis.reset(token)
+
+
+def test_llm_call_carries_analysis_field():
+    token = current_analysis.set("compare_periods#0")
+    try:
+        e = events.llm_call("compare_periods.interpret", system_len=100, user_len=200)
+        assert e["type"] == "llm_call"
+        assert e["analysis"] == "compare_periods#0"
+        assert e["system_chars"] == 100
+        assert e["user_chars"] == 200
+    finally:
+        current_analysis.reset(token)
 
 
 def test_synth_start_shape():
diff --git a/tests/test_imports.py b/tests/test_imports.py
index 46eca73..976779a 100644
--- a/tests/test_imports.py
+++ b/tests/test_imports.py
@@ -17,8 +17,10 @@ MODULES = [
     "api.llm",
     "api.datasets",
     "api.prompts",
+    "api.recon",
+    "api.recon.types",
+    "api.recon.build",
     "api.tools.db",
-    "api.tools.schema",
     "api.tools.text_to_sql",
     "api.tools.execute_sql",
     "api.tools.types",
diff --git a/tests/test_plan_types.py b/tests/test_plan_types.py
index 49542cc..ef213c0 100644
--- a/tests/test_plan_types.py
+++ b/tests/test_plan_types.py
@@ -29,3 +29,28 @@ def test_plan_roundtrip():
     assert plan.rationale == "single step suffices"
     assert len(plan.steps) == 1
     assert plan.steps[0].analysis == "direct_answer"
+
+
+def test_planstep_fallback_roundtrip():
+    raw = {
+        "analysis": "drill_down",
+        "args": {"metric": "amount"},
+        "why": "speculative",
+        "fallback": {
+            "analysis": "direct_answer",
+            "args": {"question": "fallback q"},
+            "why": "safe option",
+        },
+    }
+    step = PlanStep.from_dict(raw)
+    assert step.fallback is not None
+    assert step.fallback.analysis == "direct_answer"
+    assert step.fallback.args == {"question": "fallback q"}
+    assert step.fallback.why == "safe option"
+    assert step.to_dict() == raw
+
+
+def test_planstep_no_fallback_omits_key():
+    step = PlanStep.from_dict({"analysis": "direct_answer"})
+    assert step.fallback is None
+    assert "fallback" not in step.to_dict()
diff --git a/tests/test_recon.py b/tests/test_recon.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3dd6452
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_recon.py
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+"""Regression tests for the recon package — type round-trips, join_path,
+and column_to_tables index."""
+
+from api.recon.types import Recon, Relationship, Table, Column, Metric
+
+
+def _sample_recon() -> Recon:
+    cols_account = [
+        Column("account_id", "BIGINT", False),
+        Column("district_id", "BIGINT", True),
+    ]
+    cols_district = [
+        Column("district_id", "BIGINT", False),
+        Column("A2", "TEXT", True),
+        Column("A11", "BIGINT", True),
+    ]
+    cols_loan = [
+        Column("loan_id", "BIGINT", False),
+        Column("account_id", "BIGINT", True),
+        Column("amount", "BIGINT", True),
+        Column("status", "TEXT", True),
+    ]
+    rels = [
+        Relationship("account", "district_id", "district", "district_id"),
+        Relationship("loan", "account_id", "account", "account_id"),
+    ]
+    c2t = {
+        "account_id": sorted(["account", "loan"]),
+        "district_id": sorted(["account", "district"]),
+        "A2": ["district"],
+        "A11": ["district"],
+        "loan_id": ["loan"],
+        "amount": ["loan"],
+        "status": ["loan"],
+    }
+    return Recon(
+        schema="financial",
+        tables={
+            "account": Table("account", "Accounts", cols_account),
+            "district": Table("district", "Districts", cols_district),
+            "loan": Table("loan", "Loans", cols_loan),
+        },
+        metrics={
+            "loan_volume": Metric("loan_volume", "Total CZK lent",
+                                  "SUM(amount)", "loan", None, "CZK"),
+        },
+        column_to_tables=c2t,
+        relationships=rels,
+    )
+
+
+def test_owning_tables():
+    r = _sample_recon()
+    assert r.owning_tables("A2") == ["district"]
+    assert r.owning_tables("amount") == ["loan"]
+    assert r.owning_tables("account_id") == ["account", "loan"]
+    assert r.owning_tables("nonsense") == []
+
+
+def test_join_path_direct():
+    r = _sample_recon()
+    assert r.join_path("loan", "account") == ["loan", "account"]
+    assert r.join_path("account", "district") == ["account", "district"]
+
+
+def test_join_path_multi_hop():
+    r = _sample_recon()
+    assert r.join_path("loan", "district") == ["loan", "account", "district"]
+
+
+def test_join_path_same():
+    r = _sample_recon()
+    assert r.join_path("loan", "loan") == ["loan"]
+
+
+def test_join_path_unknown_returns_none():
+    r = _sample_recon()
+    assert r.join_path("loan", "does_not_exist") is None
+
+
+def test_recon_to_dict_from_dict_roundtrip():
+    r = _sample_recon()
+    d = r.to_dict()
+    r2 = Recon.from_dict(d)
+    assert r2.schema == r.schema
+    assert sorted(r2.tables) == sorted(r.tables)
+    assert sorted(r2.metrics) == sorted(r.metrics)
+    assert r2.column_to_tables == r.column_to_tables
+    assert len(r2.relationships) == len(r.relationships)
+    assert r2.join_path("loan", "district") == ["loan", "account", "district"]
+
+
+def test_relationship_parse_dotted():
+    r = Relationship.parse({"from": "loan.account_id", "to": "account.account_id"})
+    assert r.from_table == "loan"
+    assert r.from_column == "account_id"
+    assert r.to_table == "account"
+    assert r.to_column == "account_id"
+
+
+def test_relationship_parse_explicit():
+    r = Relationship.parse({
+        "from_table": "loan", "from_column": "account_id",
+        "to_table": "account", "to_column": "account_id",
+    })
+    assert r.from_table == "loan"
diff --git a/tests/test_recon_validate.py b/tests/test_recon_validate.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d5fb2c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_recon_validate.py
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+"""Regression: recon SQL validator catches LLM-generated schema mismatches.
+
+Bug captured: drill_down generated `SELECT district_id FROM loan` —
+syntactically valid, parses, but `loan` doesn't have a `district_id` column.
+We want to catch this BEFORE Postgres does, with a clear message naming
+where the column actually lives.
+"""
+
+import pytest
+
+from api.recon.types import Column, Metric, Recon, Relationship, Table
+from api.recon.validate import ReconValidationError, validate_sql
+
+
+def _recon() -> Recon:
+    return Recon(
+        schema="financial",
+        tables={
+            "loan": Table("loan", None, [
+                Column("loan_id", "BIGINT", False),
+                Column("account_id", "BIGINT", True),
+                Column("amount", "BIGINT", True),
+                Column("status", "TEXT", True),
+            ]),
+            "account": Table("account", None, [
+                Column("account_id", "BIGINT", False),
+                Column("district_id", "BIGINT", True),
+            ]),
+            "district": Table("district", None, [
+                Column("district_id", "BIGINT", False),
+                Column("A2", "TEXT", True),
+                Column("A13", "BIGINT", True),
+            ]),
+        },
+        metrics={},
+        column_to_tables={
+            "loan_id": ["loan"],
+            "account_id": ["account", "loan"],
+            "amount": ["loan"],
+            "status": ["loan"],
+            "district_id": ["account", "district"],
+            "A2": ["district"],
+            "A13": ["district"],
+        },
+        relationships=[
+            Relationship("account", "district_id", "district", "district_id"),
+            Relationship("loan", "account_id", "account", "account_id"),
+        ],
+    )
+
+
+def test_valid_sql_passes():
+    sql = "SELECT account_id, amount FROM loan WHERE status = 'B'"
+    validate_sql(sql, _recon())
+
+
+def test_valid_join_passes():
+    sql = """
+      SELECT d.A2, AVG(l.amount)
+      FROM loan l
+      JOIN account a ON l.account_id = a.account_id
+      JOIN district d ON a.district_id = d.district_id
+      GROUP BY d.A2
+    """
+    validate_sql(sql, _recon())
+
+
+def test_unknown_column_on_table_raises():
+    # The exact bug we hit in production: district_id picked from loan
+    # without joining through account.
+    sql = """
+      WITH x AS (SELECT district_id, AVG(amount) FROM loan GROUP BY district_id)
+      SELECT * FROM x
+    """
+    with pytest.raises(ReconValidationError) as exc:
+        validate_sql(sql, _recon())
+    msg = str(exc.value)
+    assert "district_id" in msg
+    # The hint should name where district_id actually lives.
+    assert "account" in msg and "district" in msg
+
+
+def test_misspelled_column_raises():
+    sql = "SELECT amnt FROM loan"
+    with pytest.raises(ReconValidationError) as exc:
+        validate_sql(sql, _recon())
+    assert "amnt" in str(exc.value)
+
+
+def test_qualified_column_on_wrong_table_raises():
+    # district.amount doesn't exist (amount is on loan).
+    sql = "SELECT d.amount FROM district d"
+    with pytest.raises(ReconValidationError):
+        validate_sql(sql, _recon())
diff --git a/tests/test_yaml_datasets.py b/tests/test_yaml_datasets.py
index 8d1d5d2..33702b5 100644
--- a/tests/test_yaml_datasets.py
+++ b/tests/test_yaml_datasets.py
@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@
 Bug captured: schema_docs.yaml had values that began with a quote character
 (e.g. `gender: 'M' or 'F'.`), which YAML treats as a quoted scalar — anything
 after the closing quote is a parse error.
+
+The YAML structure is now flat — tables.<name> is a description string,
+columns are keyed `table.column`, and relationships are an explicit list.
+The DDL structure (column types, nullability) lives in extracted_schema.json
+generated by `make recon`.
 """
 
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -20,6 +25,9 @@ def test_schema_docs_parses(dataset):
     assert docs is not None
     assert "tables" in docs
     assert isinstance(docs["tables"], dict) and docs["tables"]
+    # New shape: each table value is a description string, not a dict.
+    for name, val in docs["tables"].items():
+        assert isinstance(val, str), f"tables.{name} should be a string description, got {type(val)}"
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("dataset", DATASETS)
@@ -31,16 +39,24 @@ def test_metrics_parses(dataset):
 
 
 def test_financial_columns_with_quotes_survive_parse():
-    """Specific regression: values that contain quoted codes (M, F, OWNER,
-    PRIJEM, etc.) must parse without truncation."""
+    """Values containing quoted codes (M, F, OWNER, PRIJEM, ...) must parse
+    without truncation. Columns are flat `table.col` keys now."""
     docs = yaml.safe_load(
         (DATASETS_DIR / "financial" / "schema_docs.yaml").read_text()
     )
-    cols = docs["tables"]["client"]["columns"]
-    assert '"M"' in cols["gender"] and '"F"' in cols["gender"]
+    cols = docs["columns"]
+    assert '"M"' in cols["client.gender"] and '"F"' in cols["client.gender"]
+    assert '"OWNER"' in cols["disp.type"] and '"DISPONENT"' in cols["disp.type"]
+    assert '"PRIJEM"' in cols["trans.type"] and '"VYDAJ"' in cols["trans.type"]
 
-    disp = docs["tables"]["disp"]["columns"]
-    assert '"OWNER"' in disp["type"] and '"DISPONENT"' in disp["type"]
 
-    trans = docs["tables"]["trans"]["columns"]
-    assert '"PRIJEM"' in trans["type"] and '"VYDAJ"' in trans["type"]
+def test_financial_has_relationships():
+    docs = yaml.safe_load(
+        (DATASETS_DIR / "financial" / "schema_docs.yaml").read_text()
+    )
+    rels = docs.get("relationships") or []
+    assert len(rels) >= 5  # we have 8; assert ≥5 to allow some pruning
+    # all entries have from/to
+    for r in rels:
+        assert "from" in r and "to" in r
+        assert "." in r["from"] and "." in r["to"]
diff --git a/ui/app/src/composables/useRunStream.ts b/ui/app/src/composables/useRunStream.ts
index 7170b54..81fb18a 100644
--- a/ui/app/src/composables/useRunStream.ts
+++ b/ui/app/src/composables/useRunStream.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-import { ref, onUnmounted, computed } from 'vue'
-import type { LogEntry } from 'soleprint-ui'
+import { computed, onUnmounted, ref } from 'vue'
 import { apiUrl } from '../config'
 
 /* Mirror of the backend factories in api/runtime/events.py */
@@ -9,26 +8,41 @@ export interface PlanStep {
   analysis: string
   args: Record<string, any>
   why: string
+  fallback?: PlanStep | null
 }
 
+export type NodeKind = 'plan' | 'analysis' | 'fallback' | 'synthesize'
+
 export interface GraphNode {
-  id: string                              // e.g. "plan", "direct_answer", "synthesize"
-  kind: 'plan' | 'analysis' | 'synthesize'
+  /** Stable id used for scroll-into-view + bidirectional links */
+  id: string
+  kind: NodeKind
   label: string
-  status: 'pending' | 'running' | 'done' | 'error'
+  status: 'pending' | 'running' | 'done' | 'error' | 'skipped'
   detail?: string
+  /** For fallback nodes: id of the primary they back. */
+  fallbackFor?: string
 }
 
 export interface ToolCall {
+  /** owning Analysis node id (e.g. "direct_answer#0"); null for run-level calls */
+  analysisId: string | null
   tool: string
   input?: any
   output?: any
   error?: string | null
-  /** ms since the run started */
   t_started: number
   t_ended?: number
 }
 
+export interface LogEntry {
+  level: string
+  stage: string
+  msg: string
+  ts: string
+}
+
+
 export function useRunStream() {
   const status = ref<RunStatus>('idle')
   const runId = ref<string | null>(null)
@@ -80,6 +94,19 @@ export function useRunStream() {
     }
   }
 
+  /** Sub-events (tool calls + LLM calls) grouped by their owning Analysis
+   *  step_id. UI uses this to render the nested sub-graph in each Analysis
+   *  expansion. */
+  const subEventsByAnalysis = computed(() => {
+    const out: Record<string, ToolCall[]> = {}
+    for (const c of toolCalls.value) {
+      const key = c.analysisId ?? '__root__'
+      if (!out[key]) out[key] = []
+      out[key]!.push(c)
+    }
+    return out
+  })
+
   async function ask(q: string): Promise<string | null> {
     reset()
     status.value = 'connecting'
@@ -140,36 +167,61 @@ export function useRunStream() {
       rationale.value = d.rationale
       planSteps.value = d.steps
 
-      // Replace placeholder analysis nodes with real ones from the plan.
       const planNode = nodeBy('plan')!
       planNode.status = 'done'
       planNode.detail = d.rationale
-      const synth = graphNodes.value.find(n => n.id === 'synthesize')
-      graphNodes.value = [
-        planNode,
-        ...d.steps.map((s, i): GraphNode => ({
-          id: `${s.analysis}#${i}`,
+
+      // Build the chain: plan → step[0] (and its fallback) → step[1] → ... → synth.
+      const synth: GraphNode = nodeBy('synthesize')
+        || { id: 'synthesize', kind: 'synthesize', label: 'Synthesize', status: 'pending' }
+
+      const nodes: GraphNode[] = [planNode]
+      d.steps.forEach((s, i) => {
+        const primaryId = `${s.analysis}#${i}`
+        nodes.push({
+          id: primaryId,
           kind: 'analysis',
           label: s.analysis,
           status: 'pending',
           detail: s.why,
-        })),
-        synth || { id: 'synthesize', kind: 'synthesize', label: 'Synthesize', status: 'pending' },
-      ]
-      push('info', 'plan', `${d.steps.length} step(s): ${d.steps.map(s => s.analysis).join(' → ')}`)
+        })
+        if (s.fallback) {
+          nodes.push({
+            id: `${s.fallback.analysis}#${i}.fallback`,
+            kind: 'fallback',
+            label: s.fallback.analysis,
+            status: 'skipped',  // dimmed until proven needed
+            detail: `fallback for ${s.analysis}: ${s.fallback.why}`,
+            fallbackFor: primaryId,
+          })
+        }
+      })
+      nodes.push(synth)
+      graphNodes.value = nodes
+
+      push('info', 'plan', `${d.steps.length} step(s): ${d.steps.map(s =>
+        s.fallback ? `${s.analysis} (fallback: ${s.fallback.analysis})` : s.analysis,
+      ).join(' → ')}`)
     })
 
     es.addEventListener('analysis_start', (e: MessageEvent) => {
-      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { analysis: string; args: any; why: string }
-      // Mark the first matching pending analysis node as running.
-      const n = graphNodes.value.find(g => g.kind === 'analysis' && g.label === d.analysis && g.status === 'pending')
-      if (n) n.status = 'running'
+      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { analysis: string; step_id: string; args: any; why: string }
+      // Prefer the step_id-based match (works for both primary and fallback).
+      const n = nodeBy(d.step_id) || graphNodes.value.find(
+        g => (g.kind === 'analysis' || g.kind === 'fallback') && g.label === d.analysis && g.status === 'pending'
+      )
+      if (n) {
+        n.id = d.step_id  // ensure id matches step_id for bidirectional linking
+        n.status = 'running'
+      }
       push('info', d.analysis, `start: ${d.why || JSON.stringify(d.args)}`)
     })
 
     es.addEventListener('analysis_end', (e: MessageEvent) => {
-      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { analysis: string; summary: string; error: string | null; row_count: number }
-      const n = graphNodes.value.find(g => g.kind === 'analysis' && g.label === d.analysis && g.status === 'running')
+      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as {
+        analysis: string; step_id: string; summary: string; error: string | null; row_count: number
+      }
+      const n = nodeBy(d.step_id)
       if (n) {
         n.status = d.error ? 'error' : 'done'
         n.detail = d.error || d.summary
@@ -179,9 +231,26 @@ export function useRunStream() {
       push(level, d.analysis, msg)
     })
 
+    es.addEventListener('analysis_fallback', (e: MessageEvent) => {
+      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as {
+        primary: string; fallback: string; reason: string; step_id: string
+      }
+      const fbNode = nodeBy(d.step_id)
+      if (fbNode) {
+        fbNode.status = 'running'  // promoted from 'skipped'
+        fbNode.detail = `fallback fired — ${d.reason}`
+      }
+      push('warn', 'fallback', `${d.primary} → ${d.fallback}: ${d.reason}`)
+    })
+
     es.addEventListener('tool_call_start', (e: MessageEvent) => {
-      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { tool: string; input: any }
-      toolCalls.value.push({ tool: d.tool, input: d.input, t_started: elapsed() })
+      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { tool: string; analysis: string | null; input: any }
+      toolCalls.value.push({
+        tool: d.tool,
+        analysisId: d.analysis,
+        input: d.input,
+        t_started: elapsed(),
+      })
       const detail = d.tool === 'execute_sql' ? (d.input?.sql || '') :
                      d.tool === 'text_to_sql' ? (d.input?.question || '') :
                      JSON.stringify(d.input)
@@ -189,8 +258,10 @@ export function useRunStream() {
     })
 
     es.addEventListener('tool_call_end', (e: MessageEvent) => {
-      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { tool: string; output: any; error: string | null }
-      const call = [...toolCalls.value].reverse().find(c => c.tool === d.tool && c.t_ended === undefined)
+      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { tool: string; analysis: string | null; output: any; error: string | null }
+      const call = [...toolCalls.value].reverse().find(
+        c => c.tool === d.tool && c.analysisId === d.analysis && c.t_ended === undefined,
+      )
       if (call) {
         call.output = d.output
         call.error = d.error
@@ -203,7 +274,8 @@ export function useRunStream() {
       if (d.tool === 'text_to_sql' && d.output?.sql) {
         push('info', d.tool, `✓ ${d.output.sql}`)
       } else if (d.tool === 'execute_sql') {
-        const label = d.output?.label ? `${d.output.label}: ` : ''
+        const label = d.output?.dimension ? `${d.output.dimension}: ` :
+                      d.output?.label ? `${d.output.label}: ` : ''
         push('info', d.tool, `✓ ${label}${d.output?.row_count} rows`)
       } else if (d.tool === 'generate_pair') {
         push('info', d.tool, `✓ a=${d.output?.a?.label} · b=${d.output?.b?.label}`)
@@ -213,7 +285,7 @@ export function useRunStream() {
     })
 
     es.addEventListener('llm_call', (e: MessageEvent) => {
-      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { label: string; system_chars: number; user_chars: number }
+      const d = JSON.parse(e.data) as { label: string; analysis: string | null; system_chars: number; user_chars: number }
       push('debug', d.label, `llm ← sys:${d.system_chars} usr:${d.user_chars}`)
     })
 
@@ -241,8 +313,6 @@ export function useRunStream() {
     })
 
     es.addEventListener('error', (e: MessageEvent) => {
-      // The browser also fires a generic `error` event on disconnect; only
-      // surface it when the run hasn't already ended.
       if (status.value === 'streaming') {
         status.value = 'error'
         const msg = e?.data ? JSON.parse(e.data)?.message : 'stream error'
@@ -261,7 +331,7 @@ export function useRunStream() {
 
   return {
     status, runId, question, rationale, planSteps, graphNodes,
-    log, toolCalls, answer, error, isRunning,
+    log, toolCalls, subEventsByAnalysis, answer, error, isRunning,
     ask, disconnect,
   }
 }
diff --git a/ui/app/src/pages/Ask.vue b/ui/app/src/pages/Ask.vue
index a2d149b..b7de85a 100644
--- a/ui/app/src/pages/Ask.vue
+++ b/ui/app/src/pages/Ask.vue
@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
-import { nextTick, ref, watch } from 'vue'
+import { computed, nextTick, ref, watch } from 'vue'
 import { Panel } from 'soleprint-ui'
-import { useRunStream } from '../composables/useRunStream'
+import { useRunStream, type GraphNode, type ToolCall } from '../composables/useRunStream'
 
 const question = ref('How many loans are currently in debt (status D)?')
 const examples = [
   'How many loans are currently in debt (status D)?',
-  'Which districts have the highest average loan amount?',
   'Compare loan default rates between 1995 and 1996.',
-  'What share of accounts have at least one credit card?',
+  'Which dimensions best explain regional differences in loan default rates?',
+  "What's driving variation in average loan size across districts?",
 ]
 
 const {
-  status, runId, rationale, planSteps, graphNodes, log,
-  toolCalls, answer, error, isRunning, ask,
+  status, runId, rationale, graphNodes, log,
+  toolCalls, subEventsByAnalysis, answer, error, isRunning, ask,
 } = useRunStream()
 
 const wrapLog = ref(true)
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ function toggleNode(id: string) {
   expanded.value = s
 }
 
+// Trace pane grows to 2/3 when the run gets visually dense.
+const traceDense = computed(() =>
+  graphNodes.value.length > 4 || toolCalls.value.length > 6,
+)
+
 watch(() => log.value.length, async () => {
   await nextTick()
   if (logEl.value) logEl.value.scrollTop = logEl.value.scrollHeight
@@ -47,10 +52,63 @@ function statusOf(s: string): 'idle' | 'processing' | 'live' | 'error' {
   if (s === 'error') return 'error'
   return 'idle'
 }
+
+function focusNode(id: string | null) {
+  if (!id) return
+  if (!expanded.value.has(id)) toggleNode(id)
+  nextTick(() => {
+    const el = document.getElementById(`node-${id}`)
+    el?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'center' })
+    el?.classList.add('flash')
+    setTimeout(() => el?.classList.remove('flash'), 1200)
+  })
+}
+
+function focusFirstTool(id: string) {
+  const first = toolCalls.value.findIndex(c => c.analysisId === id)
+  if (first < 0) return
+  nextTick(() => {
+    const el = document.getElementById(`tc-${first}`)
+    el?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'center' })
+    el?.classList.add('flash')
+    setTimeout(() => el?.classList.remove('flash'), 1200)
+  })
+}
+
+function toolIndex(call: ToolCall): number {
+  return toolCalls.value.indexOf(call)
+}
+
+function subEvents(nodeId: string): ToolCall[] {
+  return subEventsByAnalysis.value[nodeId] || []
+}
+
+function shortPreview(call: ToolCall): string {
+  if (call.tool === 'text_to_sql' && call.output?.sql) return call.output.sql
+  if (call.tool === 'execute_sql' && call.input?.sql) return call.input.sql
+  if (call.tool === 'generate_pair' && call.output) {
+    return `A: ${call.output.a?.label}\n${call.output.a?.sql}\n\nB: ${call.output.b?.label}\n${call.output.b?.sql}`
+  }
+  return ''
+}
+
+function isExpandable(n: GraphNode): boolean {
+  return !!n.detail || subEvents(n.id).length > 0
+}
+
+function nodeClasses(n: GraphNode) {
+  return [
+    'node', n.kind, n.status,
+    {
+      expanded: expanded.value.has(n.id),
+      expandable: isExpandable(n),
+    },
+  ]
+}
 </script>
 
 <template>
-  <div class="ask-layout">
+  <div :class="['ask-layout', { dense: traceDense }]">
     <!-- Left / top: ask + answer (the user's surface) -->
     <div class="ask-pane">
       <Panel title="Ask" :status="statusOf(status)">
@@ -87,25 +145,43 @@ function statusOf(s: string): 'idle' | 'processing' | 'live' | 'error' {
 
         <div class="graph">
           <div v-for="(n, idx) in graphNodes" :key="n.id" class="graph-row">
-            <span class="connector" v-if="idx > 0">↓</span>
+            <span v-if="idx > 0 && n.kind !== 'fallback'" class="connector">↓</span>
+            <span v-else-if="n.kind === 'fallback'" class="connector fallback-arrow">↳ fallback</span>
             <div
-              :class="['node', n.kind, n.status, {
-                expanded: expanded.has(n.id),
-                expandable: !!n.detail,
-              }]"
-              @click="n.detail && toggleNode(n.id)"
-              :role="n.detail ? 'button' : undefined"
-              :tabindex="n.detail ? 0 : undefined"
-              @keydown.enter="n.detail && toggleNode(n.id)"
-              @keydown.space.prevent="n.detail && toggleNode(n.id)"
+              :id="`node-${n.id}`"
+              :class="nodeClasses(n)"
+              @click="isExpandable(n) && toggleNode(n.id)"
+              :role="isExpandable(n) ? 'button' : undefined"
+              :tabindex="isExpandable(n) ? 0 : undefined"
             >
               <div class="node-head">
-                <span class="chev" v-if="n.detail">{{ expanded.has(n.id) ? '▾' : '▸' }}</span>
+                <span v-if="isExpandable(n)" class="chev">
+                  {{ expanded.has(n.id) ? '▾' : '▸' }}
+                </span>
                 <span class="dot" />
                 <span class="label">{{ n.label }}</span>
+                <span v-if="n.kind === 'analysis' && subEvents(n.id).length" class="step-count">
+                  {{ subEvents(n.id).length }} call(s)
+                </span>
                 <span v-if="n.detail && !expanded.has(n.id)" class="detail-preview">{{ n.detail }}</span>
+                <button v-if="n.kind === 'analysis' && subEvents(n.id).length"
+                        class="goto" @click.stop="focusFirstTool(n.id)"
+                        title="Jump to tool call list">↗</button>
+              </div>
+
+              <div v-if="expanded.has(n.id)" class="node-body">
+                <div v-if="n.detail" class="detail-full">{{ n.detail }}</div>
+                <div v-if="subEvents(n.id).length" class="subgraph">
+                  <div class="subgraph-label">tool calls</div>
+                  <div v-for="c in subEvents(n.id)" :key="toolIndex(c)"
+                       :class="['sub-node', c.error ? 'error' : (c.t_ended ? 'done' : 'running')]"
+                       @click.stop="document.getElementById(`tc-${toolIndex(c)}`)?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'center' })">
+                    <span class="sub-dot" />
+                    <span class="sub-tool">{{ c.tool }}</span>
+                    <span class="sub-time">{{ c.t_ended ? `${c.t_ended - c.t_started}ms` : '…' }}</span>
+                  </div>
+                </div>
               </div>
-              <div v-if="n.detail && expanded.has(n.id)" class="detail-full">{{ n.detail }}</div>
             </div>
           </div>
         </div>
@@ -113,16 +189,19 @@ function statusOf(s: string): 'idle' | 'processing' | 'live' | 'error' {
 
       <Panel title="Tool calls" class="tools-panel">
         <div v-if="toolCalls.length === 0" class="muted small">No tool calls yet.</div>
-        <div v-for="(t, i) in toolCalls" :key="i" :class="['tool', t.error ? 'err' : (t.t_ended ? 'done' : 'pending')]">
+        <div v-for="(t, i) in toolCalls" :key="i"
+             :id="`tc-${i}`"
+             :class="['tool', t.error ? 'err' : (t.t_ended ? 'done' : 'pending')]">
           <div class="tool-head">
-            <span class="tool-name">{{ t.tool }}</span>
+            <span v-if="t.analysisId" class="tool-chip"
+                  @click="focusNode(t.analysisId)"
+                  :title="`Jump to ${t.analysisId} node`">
+              {{ t.analysisId }}
+            </span>
+            <span class="tool-name">· {{ t.tool }}</span>
             <span class="tool-time">{{ t.t_ended ? `${t.t_ended - t.t_started}ms` : '…' }}</span>
           </div>
-          <pre v-if="t.tool === 'text_to_sql' && t.output?.sql" class="tool-body sql">{{ t.output.sql }}</pre>
-          <pre v-else-if="t.tool === 'execute_sql' && t.input?.sql" class="tool-body sql">{{ t.input.sql }}</pre>
-          <pre v-else-if="t.tool === 'generate_pair' && t.output" class="tool-body sql">A ({{ t.output.a?.label }}): {{ t.output.a?.sql }}
-
-B ({{ t.output.b?.label }}): {{ t.output.b?.sql }}</pre>
+          <pre v-if="shortPreview(t)" class="tool-body sql">{{ shortPreview(t) }}</pre>
           <pre v-if="t.output?.preview && t.output.preview.length" class="tool-body rows">{{ JSON.stringify(t.output.preview, null, 2) }}</pre>
           <div v-if="t.error" class="tool-error">{{ t.error }}</div>
         </div>
@@ -156,15 +235,13 @@ B ({{ t.output.b?.label }}): {{ t.output.b?.sql }}</pre>
   gap: 16px;
   height: calc(100vh - 80px);
   min-height: 0;
+  transition: grid-template-columns 0.25s ease;
 }
+.ask-layout.dense { grid-template-columns: 1fr 2fr; }
 
-.ask-pane,
-.trace-pane {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  gap: 12px;
-  overflow: auto;
-  min-height: 0;
+.ask-pane, .trace-pane {
+  display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 12px;
+  overflow: auto; min-height: 0;
 }
 
 .trace-pane {
@@ -172,161 +249,69 @@ B ({{ t.output.b?.label }}): {{ t.output.b?.sql }}</pre>
   padding-left: 16px;
 }
 
-.trace-pane > .tools-panel {
-  flex: 1;
-  min-height: 0;
-}
-.trace-pane > .log-panel {
-  flex: 1;
-  min-height: 200px;
-}
+.trace-pane > .tools-panel { flex: 1; min-height: 0; }
+.trace-pane > .log-panel { flex: 1; min-height: 200px; }
 
 /* ── Ask form ── */
-.ask-form {
-  padding: 12px;
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  gap: 10px;
-}
-
+.ask-form { padding: 12px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 10px; }
 textarea {
-  width: 100%;
-  background: var(--surface-2);
-  color: var(--text-primary);
-  border: var(--panel-border);
-  padding: 10px;
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 13px;
-  resize: vertical;
+  width: 100%; background: var(--surface-2); color: var(--text-primary);
+  border: var(--panel-border); padding: 10px;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 13px; resize: vertical;
 }
-
-.ask-actions {
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  justify-content: space-between;
-  gap: 12px;
-}
-
-.hint {
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 11px;
-  color: var(--text-dim);
-}
-
+.ask-actions { display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-between; gap: 12px; }
+.hint { font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px; color: var(--text-dim); }
 .run-btn {
-  background: var(--accent);
-  color: white;
-  border: none;
-  padding: 6px 18px;
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 12px;
-  cursor: pointer;
+  background: var(--accent); color: white; border: none;
+  padding: 6px 18px; font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 12px; cursor: pointer;
 }
 .run-btn:hover { background: var(--accent-dim); }
 .run-btn:disabled { opacity: 0.5; cursor: not-allowed; }
-
-.examples {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  gap: 4px;
-}
+.examples { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 4px; }
 .example {
-  text-align: left;
-  background: transparent;
-  border: none;
-  border-left: 2px solid var(--surface-3);
-  padding: 4px 10px;
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 11px;
-  color: var(--text-dim);
-  cursor: pointer;
-}
-.example:hover {
-  color: var(--text-primary);
-  border-left-color: var(--accent);
+  text-align: left; background: transparent; border: none;
+  border-left: 2px solid var(--surface-3); padding: 4px 10px;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px;
+  color: var(--text-dim); cursor: pointer;
 }
+.example:hover { color: var(--text-primary); border-left-color: var(--accent); }
 
-/* ── Answer block ── */
-.answer-block {
-  padding: 16px;
-  font-size: 14px;
-  color: var(--text-primary);
-  line-height: 1.6;
-}
-.error-block {
-  padding: 16px;
-  color: var(--status-error, #f55);
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 12px;
-}
-.muted {
-  padding: 16px;
-  color: var(--text-dim);
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 12px;
-}
+/* ── Answer ── */
+.answer-block { padding: 16px; font-size: 14px; color: var(--text-primary); line-height: 1.6; }
+.error-block { padding: 16px; color: var(--status-error, #f55); font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 12px; }
+.muted { padding: 16px; color: var(--text-dim); font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 12px; }
 .muted.small { padding: 8px 12px; font-size: 11px; }
 
 /* ── Plan + graph ── */
 .rationale {
-  padding: 10px 12px;
-  font-size: 12px;
-  color: var(--text-secondary);
-  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--surface-3);
-  font-style: italic;
+  padding: 10px 12px; font-size: 12px; color: var(--text-secondary);
+  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--surface-3); font-style: italic;
 }
+.graph { display: flex; flex-direction: column; padding: 10px 12px; gap: 2px; }
+.graph-row { display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: flex-start; }
+.connector { font-family: var(--font-mono); color: var(--text-dim); font-size: 10px; margin-left: 6px; }
+.connector.fallback-arrow { color: var(--status-processing, #ffc107); }
 
-.graph {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  padding: 10px 12px;
-  gap: 2px;
-}
-.graph-row {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  align-items: flex-start;
-}
-.connector {
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  color: var(--text-dim);
-  font-size: 10px;
-  margin-left: 6px;
-}
 .node {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
+  display: flex; flex-direction: column;
   padding: 6px 10px;
-  background: var(--surface-2);
-  border: var(--panel-border);
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 12px;
-  width: 100%;
-  box-sizing: border-box;
+  background: var(--surface-2); border: var(--panel-border);
+  font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 12px;
+  width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box;
+  transition: background 0.2s ease, opacity 0.2s ease, box-shadow 0.4s ease;
 }
 .node.expandable { cursor: pointer; }
 .node.expandable:hover { background: var(--surface-3, #1a2340); }
 .node.expandable:focus-visible { outline: 1px solid var(--accent); outline-offset: -1px; }
+.node.skipped { opacity: 0.4; }
+.node.fallback { border-left: 2px solid var(--status-processing, #ffc107); }
+.node.flash { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px var(--accent); }
 
-.node-head {
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 10px;
-}
-
-.node .chev {
-  color: var(--text-dim);
-  font-size: 10px;
-  width: 10px;
-  flex-shrink: 0;
-}
-
+.node-head { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 10px; }
+.node .chev { color: var(--text-dim); font-size: 10px; width: 10px; flex-shrink: 0; }
 .node .dot {
-  width: 8px;
-  height: 8px;
-  border-radius: 50%;
-  background: var(--status-idle, #555);
-  flex-shrink: 0;
+  width: 8px; height: 8px; border-radius: 50%;
+  background: var(--status-idle, #555); flex-shrink: 0;
 }
 .node.running .dot {
   background: var(--status-processing, #ffc107);
@@ -335,124 +320,111 @@ textarea {
 }
 .node.done .dot { background: var(--status-live, #00c853); }
 .node.error .dot { background: var(--status-error, #ef4444); }
-
-@keyframes pulse {
-  0%, 100% { opacity: 1; }
-  50% { opacity: 0.5; }
-}
+@keyframes pulse { 0%,100%{opacity:1;} 50%{opacity:0.5;} }
 
 .node .label { font-weight: 500; }
+.node .step-count { font-size: 10px; color: var(--text-dim); margin-left: 4px; }
 .node .detail-preview {
-  margin-left: auto;
-  color: var(--text-dim);
-  font-size: 11px;
-  text-align: right;
-  max-width: 60%;
-  overflow: hidden;
-  text-overflow: ellipsis;
-  white-space: nowrap;
+  margin-left: auto; color: var(--text-dim);
+  font-size: 11px; text-align: right; max-width: 60%;
+  overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;
 }
-.node .detail-full {
-  margin-top: 6px;
-  padding: 6px 0 2px 20px;
-  color: var(--text-secondary);
-  font-size: 11px;
-  line-height: 1.5;
-  white-space: pre-wrap;
-  word-break: break-word;
+.node .goto {
+  margin-left: auto;
+  background: transparent; border: 1px solid var(--surface-3); color: var(--text-dim);
+  width: 22px; height: 18px; font-size: 11px; cursor: pointer; padding: 0; line-height: 1;
+}
+.node .goto:hover { color: var(--accent); border-color: var(--accent); }
+.node .detail-preview + .goto { margin-left: 8px; }
+
+.node-body {
+  margin-top: 6px; padding-top: 6px;
   border-top: 1px dashed var(--surface-3);
 }
+.detail-full {
+  padding: 4px 0 8px 20px;
+  color: var(--text-secondary); font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5;
+  white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;
+}
+
+.subgraph { padding-left: 20px; }
+.subgraph-label {
+  font-size: 10px; color: var(--text-dim); text-transform: uppercase;
+  letter-spacing: 0.5px; margin-bottom: 4px;
+}
+.sub-node {
+  display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 8px;
+  padding: 3px 8px; background: var(--surface-3, #1a2340);
+  border-left: 2px solid var(--surface-3); cursor: pointer;
+  font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 2px;
+}
+.sub-node:hover { background: var(--surface-2); }
+.sub-node.done { border-left-color: var(--status-live, #00c853); }
+.sub-node.running { border-left-color: var(--status-processing, #ffc107); }
+.sub-node.error { border-left-color: var(--status-error, #ef4444); }
+.sub-node .sub-dot {
+  width: 6px; height: 6px; border-radius: 50%; background: var(--text-dim);
+}
+.sub-node.done .sub-dot { background: var(--status-live, #00c853); }
+.sub-node.running .sub-dot { background: var(--status-processing, #ffc107); }
+.sub-node.error .sub-dot { background: var(--status-error, #ef4444); }
+.sub-tool { color: var(--text-secondary); }
+.sub-time { margin-left: auto; color: var(--text-dim); font-size: 10px; }
 
 /* ── Tool call cards ── */
 .tool {
-  margin: 8px;
-  border: var(--panel-border);
-  border-left-width: 3px;
+  margin: 8px; border: var(--panel-border); border-left-width: 3px;
   background: var(--surface-2);
+  transition: box-shadow 0.4s ease;
 }
+.tool.flash { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px var(--accent); }
 .tool.done { border-left-color: var(--status-live, #00c853); }
 .tool.pending { border-left-color: var(--status-processing, #ffc107); }
 .tool.err { border-left-color: var(--status-error, #ef4444); }
-
 .tool-head {
-  display: flex;
-  justify-content: space-between;
+  display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 6px;
   padding: 6px 10px;
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 11px;
-  color: var(--text-secondary);
+  font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px; color: var(--text-secondary);
   border-bottom: 1px solid var(--surface-3);
 }
-.tool-name { font-weight: 600; }
-.tool-time { color: var(--text-dim); }
+.tool-chip {
+  background: var(--surface-3); color: var(--text-primary);
+  padding: 1px 6px; border-radius: 2px;
+  cursor: pointer; font-weight: 600;
+}
+.tool-chip:hover { background: var(--accent-dim); color: white; }
+.tool-name { color: var(--text-dim); }
+.tool-time { margin-left: auto; color: var(--text-dim); }
 
 .tool-body {
-  margin: 0;
-  padding: 8px 10px;
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 11px;
-  color: var(--text-secondary);
-  white-space: pre-wrap;
-  word-break: break-word;
-  max-height: 200px;
-  overflow: auto;
+  margin: 0; padding: 8px 10px;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px; color: var(--text-secondary);
+  white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;
+  max-height: 200px; overflow: auto;
 }
 .tool-body.sql { color: #7ab0ff; }
 .tool-body.rows { color: var(--text-dim); }
-
-.tool-error {
-  padding: 8px 10px;
-  color: var(--status-error, #f55);
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 11px;
-}
+.tool-error { padding: 8px 10px; color: var(--status-error, #f55); font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px; }
 
 /* ── Event log ── */
 .wrap-toggle {
-  display: inline-flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 4px;
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 11px;
-  color: var(--text-dim);
-  cursor: pointer;
-  user-select: none;
+  display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 4px;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px; color: var(--text-dim);
+  cursor: pointer; user-select: none;
 }
 .wrap-toggle input { margin: 0; }
-
 .log {
-  height: 100%;
-  overflow: auto;
-  padding: 4px 0;
-  font-family: var(--font-mono);
-  font-size: 11px;
-  line-height: 1.5;
+  height: 100%; overflow: auto; padding: 4px 0;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5;
 }
-
 .log-row {
-  display: grid;
-  grid-template-columns: 64px 52px 100px 1fr;
-  gap: 8px;
-  padding: 2px 10px;
-  align-items: baseline;
+  display: grid; grid-template-columns: 64px 52px 100px 1fr;
+  gap: 8px; padding: 2px 10px; align-items: baseline;
 }
-
-.log:not(.wrap) .log-msg {
-  white-space: pre;
-  overflow-x: auto;
-}
-
-.log.wrap .log-msg {
-  white-space: pre-wrap;
-  word-break: break-word;
-}
-
+.log:not(.wrap) .log-msg { white-space: pre; overflow-x: auto; }
+.log.wrap .log-msg { white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word; }
 .log-ts { color: var(--text-dim); }
-.log-level {
-  text-transform: uppercase;
-  font-size: 10px;
-  letter-spacing: 0.5px;
-}
+.log-level { text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; }
 .log-row.info .log-level { color: var(--text-secondary); }
 .log-row.debug .log-level { color: var(--text-dim); }
 .log-row.error .log-level { color: var(--status-error, #ef4444); }
@@ -463,15 +435,13 @@ textarea {
 
 /* ── Mobile: stack vertically ── */
 @media (max-width: 900px) {
-  .ask-layout {
+  .ask-layout, .ask-layout.dense {
     grid-template-columns: 1fr;
     height: auto;
   }
   .trace-pane {
-    border-left: none;
-    border-top: var(--panel-border);
-    padding-left: 0;
-    padding-top: 16px;
+    border-left: none; border-top: var(--panel-border);
+    padding-left: 0; padding-top: 16px;
   }
 }
 </style>