diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b25653d..eb61fef 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2394,8 +2394,8 @@ now — they are listed so they are not mistaken for anything else:
   section was short of room, and finding one meant scrolling past the others. The built
   sidebar is a **Measure** tab (the cursors readout and the measurements) and a **Signals**
   tab (the trigger and the channels), **each a pill with its own glyph and no text** — the
-  cursors and the ruler for Measure, the trigger and the channel list for Signals — with the words
-  kept as each pill's tooltip and
+  cursors and the ruler for Measure, the trigger and the channel list for Signals, drawn as a
+  32x16 pair so both motifs are legible at a glance — with the words kept as each pill's tooltip and
   accessible name. The design spec had the switcher showing *titles* and neither page an
   `icon-name`; `narrow` alone does not do it (libadwaita still draws a label beside the icon,
   measured), so the pages carry an empty title and the pills are named in code. With the math
diff --git a/docs/claude/invariants-gtk-and-chrome.md b/docs/claude/invariants-gtk-and-chrome.md
index 02b8c07..7ee0120 100644
--- a/docs/claude/invariants-gtk-and-chrome.md
+++ b/docs/claude/invariants-gtk-and-chrome.md
@@ -65,11 +65,17 @@ Part of [CLAUDE.md](../../CLAUDE.md). These are rules that cost a defect to lear
   `udpscope-tab-measure-symbolic` is the cursors and the ruler they read against, and
   `udpscope-tab-signals-symbolic` is the trigger's edge above the channel list it acts on. They are not
   reuses because a glyph the toolbar already carries means two things the moment a tab shows it too. Both
-  are 16px composites with four features each, which is about the limit of this size: the Signals list is
-  two rows and not three, so the edge and the list get half the cell each, and the bars in it are all one
-  length because unequal ones read as a bar chart, and a chart is not a list. Their ink fractions (32% and
-  36%) sit inside the range the icons above set, which is the check that a composite has not turned into a
-  blot. Beside them in
+  are **32x16** composites, one motif per half: the Measure pill is the two cursors beside the ruler, the
+  Signals pill the trigger beside the channel list. Wider than tall on purpose — a 16px square cell carries
+  one motif, and squeezing a pair into it is what turns both into a smear — and the pill has the width for
+  it, in a 300px column whose switcher has two pills in it. **GDK paints an icon into a square box whatever
+  the document's aspect** (measured: `gtk_icon_theme_lookup_icon()` at 32 reports `32x32`, and librsvg
+  fits it to `32x16`), so the pair is letterboxed, not stretched — and the pill's image is given
+  `pixel_size` 32 in `name_side_tabs()`, which draws the artwork at exactly the size it is written, so its
+  2px bars stay crisp. A fractional scale is what blurs them, which is why nothing here is drawn at 24 or
+  48. The bars in the Signals list are all one length, because unequal ones read as a bar chart and a chart
+  is not a list; their ink fractions (23% and 33%) sit inside the range the icons above set, which is the
+  check that a composite has not turned into a blot. Beside them in
   `src/icons/scalable/apps/` are the two
   **application** icons, `org.udpscope.app.svg` (128px colour artwork) and
   `org.udpscope.app-symbolic.svg` (16px). The `apps` context is where an icon theme keeps an
diff --git a/docs/claude/probe-readings.md b/docs/claude/probe-readings.md
index cb4d269..7bfd8a0 100644
--- a/docs/claude/probe-readings.md
+++ b/docs/claude/probe-readings.md
@@ -357,13 +357,22 @@ Two lines of the self-check output are assertions in disguise:
   substitutes a missing-image placeholder, the button still works, and every other line of the
   dump still passes. Changing an icon name is a one-line change in `build_toolbar()` and this
   is the only check that it names something that exists.
-- `switcher: policy=narrow pills=2 labels=0 names=2` (in the exit dump, beside `panels:`) — the two
+- `switcher: policy=narrow pills=2 labels=0 names=2 icon=32x32 size=308x36` (in the exit dump, beside
+  `panels:`) — the two
   sidebar tabs as the switcher actually draws them. **`pills=2 labels=0`** is the claim: two pills are on
   screen and **no text is drawn** (`labels` counts *mapped labels with text*, because `narrow` keeps an
   empty label in the pill's layout and a plain mapped count would read 2 either way). `names=2` is the
   other half — both pills carry a tooltip and an accessible name set by `name_side_tabs()`, so an
   icon-only pill is not an anonymous button — and `pills=0` means nothing is mapped, which makes the
-  rest of the line meaningless rather than a pass. `policy=narrow` is read rather than assumed.
+  rest of the line meaningless rather than a pass. `policy=narrow` is read rather than assumed. `icon=`
+  is the box the pills' `GtkImage` is *rendered* in, which proves the 32px override stuck: the tab
+  glyphs are 32x16 documents, and GDK paints an icon into a square box whatever the document's aspect,
+  so the artwork is drawn 32x16 at 1:1 inside that 32x32 box — letterboxed, not stretched, which is what
+  keeps its 2px bars crisp. It reads `0x0` on the first tick, where nothing has been allocated yet, and
+  is therefore read by the exit probe with the rest of the sidebar's geometry. `size=` is the bar's own
+  size, and it is the answer to "what did the wider glyphs cost": `36` is what it was with 16px icons,
+  because the pill's fixed height takes a 32px box without growing — the glyph gets twice the width for
+  no vertical room at all.
 - `page icons: measure=udpscope-tab-measure-symbolic(ok) signals=udpscope-tab-signals-symbolic(ok)` (in the exit
   dump, beside `toolbar icons:`) — each tab's own glyph and `gtk_icon_theme_has_icon()`'s verdict, read
   on the first tick for the same reason the toolbar's are. **Both must read `(ok)`**: the page titles are
diff --git a/docs/claude/verification.md b/docs/claude/verification.md
index 5cf2aa4..3fbbea0 100644
--- a/docs/claude/verification.md
+++ b/docs/claude/verification.md
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ xvfb-run -a env UDPSCOPE_EXIT_AFTER_MS=8000 UDPSCOPE_ENABLE_ALL_MS=1000 \
 Two baselines every run is read against. A clean build emits **four** warnings and no more: two
 `-Wmissing-field-initializers` on `MathNode::source` and `-Woverlength-strings` on **both**
 generated GResource `.c` files — the help pages' (**514660** bytes) and the icons', whose blob is
-**11309** against C99's 4095-byte string-literal limit with the seven action icons and the two app icons
+**11661** against C99's 4095-byte string-literal limit with the seven action icons and the two app icons
 that remain (a note about a generated file, which GCC itself supports) -- re-measured when
 the tab work changed the set (that icon left, the two tab glyphs arrived, and this file's
 help page was rewritten), which did not move the count; re-measure by touching each `*.gresource.xml`
diff --git a/src/icons/scalable/actions/udpscope-tab-measure-symbolic.svg b/src/icons/scalable/actions/udpscope-tab-measure-symbolic.svg
index 4a3a303..01bbf85 100644
--- a/src/icons/scalable/actions/udpscope-tab-measure-symbolic.svg
+++ b/src/icons/scalable/actions/udpscope-tab-measure-symbolic.svg
@@ -1,23 +1,26 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT -->
 <!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Martino Ferrari -->
-<!-- The Measure tab: the cursors and the ruler they read against, in one glyph. Two markers, each a
-     cap over a dashed shaft, stand across a ruler: the ruler is two bars with three hanging ticks.
-     The ruler's ends are open on purpose. A closed frame puts four more pixels of ink at the left
-     and right edges, which at this size is what turns a ruler into a rectangle. The shafts stop at
-     the bars rather than crossing them, the way a marker on a plot sits over the scale. Whole
-     pixels, filled `path`s wound the same way, and an ink fraction of 36%, in line with the ruler
-     and the cursors it is made of. -->
-<svg height="16px" width="16px" viewBox="0 0 16 16" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
-  <path fill="#2e3436" d="M3 1 H7 V3 H3 Z
-                          M9 1 H13 V3 H9 Z
-                          M4 3 H6 V6 H4 Z
-                          M10 3 H12 V6 H10 Z
-                          M4 14 H6 V16 H4 Z
-                          M10 14 H12 V16 H10 Z
-                          M2 6 H14 V8 H2 Z
-                          M2 12 H14 V14 H2 Z
-                          M4 8 H5 V11 H4 Z
-                          M8 8 H9 V10 H8 Z
-                          M12 8 H13 V11 H12 Z"/>
+<!-- The Measure tab, as two motifs side by side in a 32x16 cell: the two cursors on the left (a cap
+     over a dashed shaft, the shape the toolbar's cursors button has) and the ruler they read against
+     on the right. The ruler is a closed frame with its ticks hanging inside it, which needs
+     `fill-rule="evenodd"`: the ticks sit inside the frame's hole, three crossings deep, so they fill
+     rather than punching a second hole. The cursors do not overlap the ruler, so one evenodd path
+     carries both without either cancelling. Rendered at 32, i.e. 1:1, so the 2px bars stay crisp,
+     and every coordinate is a whole pixel of the cell. As with the Signals glyph, GDK's box is
+     square whatever the document's aspect: this pair is letterboxed, not stretched. -->
+<svg height="16px" width="32px" viewBox="0 0 32 16" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
+  <path fill="#2e3436" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M1 1 H7 V4 H1 Z
+                          M3 5 H6 V8 H3 Z
+                          M3 9 H6 V12 H3 Z
+                          M3 13 H6 V16 H3 Z
+                          M9 1 H15 V4 H9 Z
+                          M11 5 H14 V8 H11 Z
+                          M11 9 H14 V12 H11 Z
+                          M11 13 H14 V16 H11 Z
+                          M17 4 H31 V12 H17 Z
+                          M19 6 H29 V10 H19 Z
+                          M21 6 H22 V9 H21 Z
+                          M25 6 H26 V9 H25 Z
+                          M28 6 H29 V8 H28 Z"/>
 </svg>
diff --git a/src/icons/scalable/actions/udpscope-tab-signals-symbolic.svg b/src/icons/scalable/actions/udpscope-tab-signals-symbolic.svg
index ffdcca9..abc84ac 100644
--- a/src/icons/scalable/actions/udpscope-tab-signals-symbolic.svg
+++ b/src/icons/scalable/actions/udpscope-tab-signals-symbolic.svg
@@ -1,20 +1,25 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT -->
 <!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Martino Ferrari -->
-<!-- The Signals tab: the trigger *and* the channel list it acts on, in one glyph. A rising edge
-     crossing a dashed level is the trigger as the toolbar already draws it; below it, two rows of a
-     colour chip and a name are the channel list, which is what the page mostly is. Two rows and not
-     three, so the edge and the list each get half the cell: at 16px a third row costs the edge its
-     clearance and the whole thing turns into a grid. Whole pixels, filled `path`s wound the same
-     way, and the 2px bars match the house stroke weight. -->
-<svg height="16px" width="16px" viewBox="0 0 16 16" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
-  <path fill="#2e3436" d="M6 1 H8 V6 H6 Z
-                          M6 1 H15 V3 H6 Z
-                          M0 5 H2 V7 H0 Z
-                          M3 5 H5 V7 H3 Z
-                          M12 5 H14 V7 H12 Z
-                          M1 9 H4 V12 H1 Z
-                          M6 10 H14 V12 H6 Z
-                          M1 13 H4 V15 H1 Z
-                          M6 13 H14 V15 H6 Z"/>
+<!-- The Signals tab, as two motifs side by side in a 32x16 cell: the trigger on the left (a rising
+     edge crossing a dashed level, the shape the toolbar's trigger button has) and three rows of a
+     colour chip and a name on the right, which is the channel list the tab mostly is. Wider than
+     tall because it has to hold *two* motifs: a 16px square cell can carry one, and squeezing the
+     pair into it is what turns them into a smear. The pill renders this at 32, i.e. 1:1, so the 2px
+     bars stay crisp; a fractional scale would blur them, which is why every coordinate is a whole
+     pixel. GDK paints an icon into a *square* box whatever the document's aspect, so this pair is
+     letterboxed in a 32x32 box rather than stretched (measured: a 32x16 render inside a 32 request).
+     All subpaths are filled `path`s wound the same way. -->
+<svg height="16px" width="32px" viewBox="0 0 32 16" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
+  <path fill="#2e3436" d="M4 2 H6 V12 H4 Z
+                          M6 2 H14 V4 H6 Z
+                          M0 7 H2 V9 H0 Z
+                          M8 7 H10 V9 H8 Z
+                          M12 7 H14 V9 H12 Z
+                          M18 2 H21 V5 H18 Z
+                          M23 3 H30 V5 H23 Z
+                          M18 7 H21 V10 H18 Z
+                          M23 8 H30 V10 H23 Z
+                          M18 12 H21 V15 H18 Z
+                          M23 13 H30 V15 H23 Z"/>
 </svg>
diff --git a/src/ui.cpp b/src/ui.cpp
index 223cb17..1e06005 100644
--- a/src/ui.cpp
+++ b/src/ui.cpp
@@ -2903,6 +2903,17 @@ void name_side_tabs(App& app) {
       }
     };
     hide_labels(pill);
+    // The tabs' glyphs are 32x16 documents, and the pill has the width for them: drawn at 32 they are
+    // 1:1, so both motifs sit side by side at the size they were authored at and the 2px bars stay
+    // crisp. A 16px box would scale the pair down to a smear, and a fractional scale would blur it.
+    const std::function<void(GtkWidget*)> size_images = [&](GtkWidget* w) {
+      if (GTK_IS_IMAGE(w)) gtk_image_set_pixel_size(GTK_IMAGE(w), 32);
+      for (GtkWidget* c = gtk_widget_get_first_child(w); c != nullptr;
+           c = gtk_widget_get_next_sibling(c)) {
+        size_images(c);
+      }
+    };
+    size_images(pill);
     app.side_tabs_named = true;
   }
 }
@@ -5674,9 +5685,12 @@ int run_ui(int argc, char** argv, const Config& cfg, ScopeModel& model, Acquisit
                 app.dbg_trigger_sensitive, app.dbg_switcher_visible,
                 rows.cursors_visible() ? 1 : 0, rows.time_window(),
                 app.window_limit_s);
-    std::printf("[udpscope]   switcher: policy=%s pills=%d labels=%d names=%d\n",
+    std::printf("[udpscope]   switcher: policy=%s pills=%d labels=%d names=%d icon=%dx%d "
+                "size=%dx%d\n",
                 app.dbg_switcher_policy == 0 ? "narrow" : (app.dbg_switcher_policy == 1 ? "wide" : "?"),
-                app.dbg_switcher_pills, app.dbg_switcher_labels, app.dbg_switcher_names);
+                app.dbg_switcher_pills, app.dbg_switcher_labels, app.dbg_switcher_names,
+                app.dbg_switcher_icon_w, app.dbg_switcher_icon_h, app.dbg_switcher_w,
+                app.dbg_switcher_h);
     std::printf("[udpscope]   mode with trigger on: %s\n", app.dbg_mode_triggered.c_str());
     std::printf("[udpscope]   trigger marker x=%.3f, view x_max=%.3f; model trigger_time=%.3f "
                 "valid=%d\n",
diff --git a/src/ui_app.hpp b/src/ui_app.hpp
index 8c777f0..666caf8 100644
--- a/src/ui_app.hpp
+++ b/src/ui_app.hpp
@@ -219,6 +219,14 @@ struct App {
   int dbg_switcher_pills = -1;
   int dbg_switcher_labels = -1;
   int dbg_switcher_names = -1;
+  /// The pills' icon as it is *rendered*: a 32x16 glyph in a 32px box is drawn 1:1, which is what
+  /// keeps its 2px bars crisp.
+  int dbg_switcher_icon_w = -1;
+  int dbg_switcher_icon_h = -1;
+  /// The switcher's own size, beside it: the pills carry 32px icon boxes now, so the tab bar's height
+  /// is what it costs.
+  int dbg_switcher_w = -1;
+  int dbg_switcher_h = -1;
   int dbg_switcher_policy = -1;
   /// Whether `name_side_tabs()` has named the pills: it can only run once the switcher is mapped.
   bool side_tabs_named = false;
diff --git a/src/ui_probe.cpp b/src/ui_probe.cpp
index 40784e7..297dcac 100644
--- a/src/ui_probe.cpp
+++ b/src/ui_probe.cpp
@@ -78,6 +78,28 @@ gboolean exit_probe_step3(gpointer user) {
   a->dbg_signal_h = gtk_widget_get_height(a->signal_panel);
   a->dbg_trigger_w = gtk_widget_get_width(a->trigger_panel);
   a->dbg_trigger_h = gtk_widget_get_height(a->trigger_panel);
+  // The switcher's icon as it is *rendered*: a 32x16 glyph in a 32px box draws 1:1, which is what
+  // keeps its 2px bars crisp rather than blurred by a fractional scale. Read here and not on the
+  // first tick, where the window has not been allocated yet and every widget still measures 0x0.
+  if (a->side_switcher != nullptr) {
+    a->dbg_switcher_w = gtk_widget_get_width(a->side_switcher);
+    a->dbg_switcher_h = gtk_widget_get_height(a->side_switcher);
+  }
+  for (GtkWidget* pill = a->side_switcher != nullptr ? gtk_widget_get_first_child(a->side_switcher)
+                                                    : nullptr;
+       pill != nullptr; pill = gtk_widget_get_next_sibling(pill)) {
+    const std::function<void(GtkWidget*)> measure_icon = [&](GtkWidget* node) {
+      if (GTK_IS_IMAGE(node) && gtk_widget_get_mapped(node)) {
+        a->dbg_switcher_icon_w = std::max(a->dbg_switcher_icon_w, gtk_widget_get_width(node));
+        a->dbg_switcher_icon_h = std::max(a->dbg_switcher_icon_h, gtk_widget_get_height(node));
+      }
+      for (GtkWidget* c = gtk_widget_get_first_child(node); c != nullptr;
+           c = gtk_widget_get_next_sibling(c)) {
+        measure_icon(c);
+      }
+    };
+    measure_icon(pill);
+  }
   // The height of one signal row, which is the thing "the channel toggle is too tall"
   // was about. The panel's own height cannot stand in for it: it also covers the
   // heading, the hint and the box margins.