diff --git a/canvas/src/components/Legend.tsx b/canvas/src/components/Legend.tsx
index ad7ec8fa..10964fd3 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/Legend.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/Legend.tsx
@@ -1,12 +1,18 @@
 "use client";
 
 import { STATUS_CONFIG } from "@/lib/design-tokens";
+import { useCanvasStore } from "@/store/canvas";
 
 const LEGEND_STATUSES = ["online", "provisioning", "degraded", "failed", "paused", "offline"] as const;
 
 export function Legend() {
+  // TemplatePalette (when open) is fixed top-0 left-0 w-[280px] — the
+  // default bottom-6 left-4 position of this legend would sit under it.
+  // Shift past the 280 px palette + a 16 px gap when the palette is open.
+  const paletteOpen = useCanvasStore((s) => s.templatePaletteOpen);
+  const leftClass = paletteOpen ? "left-[296px]" : "left-4";
   return (
-    <div className="fixed bottom-6 left-4 z-30 bg-zinc-900/95 border border-zinc-700/50 rounded-xl px-4 py-3 shadow-xl shadow-black/30 backdrop-blur-sm max-w-[280px]">
+    <div className={`fixed bottom-6 ${leftClass} z-30 bg-zinc-900/95 border border-zinc-700/50 rounded-xl px-4 py-3 shadow-xl shadow-black/30 backdrop-blur-sm max-w-[280px] transition-[left] duration-200`}>
       <div className="text-[11px] font-semibold text-zinc-400 uppercase tracking-wider mb-2">Legend</div>
 
       {/* Status */}
diff --git a/canvas/src/components/TemplatePalette.tsx b/canvas/src/components/TemplatePalette.tsx
index 8387f538..2d2b1718 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/TemplatePalette.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/TemplatePalette.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import { useState, useEffect, useCallback, useRef } from "react";
 import { api } from "@/lib/api";
+import { useCanvasStore } from "@/store/canvas";
 import { checkDeploySecrets, type PreflightResult } from "@/lib/deploy-preflight";
 import { MissingKeysModal } from "./MissingKeysModal";
 import { ConfirmDialog } from "./ConfirmDialog";
@@ -226,6 +227,14 @@ function ImportAgentButton({ onImported }: { onImported: () => void }) {
 
 export function TemplatePalette() {
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
+  // Publish palette-open state to the canvas store so Legend (and any
+  // future floating left-bottom UI) can shift right to avoid being
+  // hidden behind the 280 px palette drawer.
+  const setTemplatePaletteOpen = useCanvasStore((s) => s.setTemplatePaletteOpen);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setTemplatePaletteOpen(open);
+  }, [open, setTemplatePaletteOpen]);
+
   const [templates, setTemplates] = useState<Template[]>([]);
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
   const [creating, setCreating] = useState<string | null>(null);
diff --git a/canvas/src/components/tabs/ChatTab.tsx b/canvas/src/components/tabs/ChatTab.tsx
index 719393b1..daf6d48f 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/tabs/ChatTab.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/tabs/ChatTab.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import remarkGfm from "remark-gfm";
 import { api } from "@/lib/api";
 import { useCanvasStore, type WorkspaceNodeData } from "@/store/canvas";
 import { WS_URL } from "@/store/socket";
+import { closeWebSocketGracefully } from "@/lib/ws-close";
 import { type ChatMessage, createMessage, appendMessageDeduped } from "./chat/types";
 import { extractResponseText, extractRequestText } from "./chat/message-parser";
 import { AgentCommsPanel } from "./chat/AgentCommsPanel";
@@ -304,7 +305,9 @@ function MyChatPanel({ workspaceId, data }: Props) {
       } catch { /* ignore */ }
     };
 
-    return () => ws.close();
+    return () => {
+      closeWebSocketGracefully(ws);
+    };
   }, [sending, workspaceId, resolveWorkspaceName]);
 
   const sendMessage = async () => {
diff --git a/canvas/src/components/tabs/chat/AgentCommsPanel.tsx b/canvas/src/components/tabs/chat/AgentCommsPanel.tsx
index 18a36884..7315e7be 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/tabs/chat/AgentCommsPanel.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/tabs/chat/AgentCommsPanel.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { useState, useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 import { api } from "@/lib/api";
 import { useCanvasStore, type WorkspaceNodeData } from "@/store/canvas";
 import { WS_URL } from "@/store/socket";
+import { closeWebSocketGracefully } from "@/lib/ws-close";
 import { extractResponseText, extractRequestText } from "./message-parser";
 
 interface ActivityEntry {
@@ -122,7 +123,9 @@ export function AgentCommsPanel({ workspaceId }: { workspaceId: string }) {
         }
       } catch { /* ignore */ }
     };
-    return () => ws.close();
+    return () => {
+      closeWebSocketGracefully(ws);
+    };
   }, [workspaceId]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
diff --git a/canvas/src/lib/__tests__/ws-close.test.ts b/canvas/src/lib/__tests__/ws-close.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4bb37991
--- /dev/null
+++ b/canvas/src/lib/__tests__/ws-close.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from "vitest";
+import { closeWebSocketGracefully } from "../ws-close";
+
+// Minimal test-double for WebSocket. jsdom doesn't ship a
+// spec-compliant WebSocket, so we roll our own with just the bits the
+// helper touches: readyState, close(), addEventListener("open") /
+// ("error"). This lets us verify the graceful-close semantics without
+// a live server.
+function makeFakeWS(initialState: number) {
+  const listeners: Record<string, Array<() => void>> = {};
+  const ws = {
+    readyState: initialState,
+    close: vi.fn(),
+    addEventListener: vi.fn(
+      (type: string, handler: () => void, _opts?: { once?: boolean }) => {
+        (listeners[type] ??= []).push(handler);
+      },
+    ),
+    removeEventListener: vi.fn(
+      (type: string, handler: () => void) => {
+        const arr = listeners[type];
+        if (!arr) return;
+        const idx = arr.indexOf(handler);
+        if (idx >= 0) arr.splice(idx, 1);
+      },
+    ),
+    // Helpers for tests to fire the queued listeners.
+    fire(type: string) {
+      (listeners[type] ?? []).slice().forEach((h) => h());
+    },
+  };
+  return ws as unknown as WebSocket & { fire(type: string): void };
+}
+
+describe("closeWebSocketGracefully", () => {
+  it("calls close() immediately when the socket is OPEN", () => {
+    const ws = makeFakeWS(WebSocket.OPEN);
+    closeWebSocketGracefully(ws);
+    expect(ws.close).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("calls close() immediately when the socket is CLOSING", () => {
+    const ws = makeFakeWS(WebSocket.CLOSING);
+    closeWebSocketGracefully(ws);
+    expect(ws.close).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("is a no-op when the socket is already CLOSED", () => {
+    const ws = makeFakeWS(WebSocket.CLOSED);
+    closeWebSocketGracefully(ws);
+    expect(ws.close).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(ws.addEventListener).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("defers close until 'open' when the socket is CONNECTING", () => {
+    const ws = makeFakeWS(WebSocket.CONNECTING);
+    closeWebSocketGracefully(ws);
+
+    // close() NOT called yet — handshake hasn't completed.
+    expect(ws.close).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    // Two listeners queued: one for 'open' (close on connect), one
+    // for 'error' (cancel the queued close if handshake fails).
+    expect(ws.addEventListener).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "open", expect.any(Function), { once: true },
+    );
+    expect(ws.addEventListener).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "error", expect.any(Function), { once: true },
+    );
+
+    // Simulate the handshake completing — close() should fire now.
+    (ws as unknown as { fire: (t: string) => void }).fire("open");
+    expect(ws.close).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("does NOT call close() when the CONNECTING socket errors instead of opening", () => {
+    const ws = makeFakeWS(WebSocket.CONNECTING);
+    closeWebSocketGracefully(ws);
+
+    // Simulate handshake failure — the browser has already torn the
+    // socket down, no explicit close() needed.
+    (ws as unknown as { fire: (t: string) => void }).fire("error");
+    expect(ws.close).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/canvas/src/lib/ws-close.ts b/canvas/src/lib/ws-close.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7684ebac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/canvas/src/lib/ws-close.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/**
+ * closeWebSocketGracefully closes a WebSocket without tripping the
+ * browser console warning "WebSocket is closed before the connection is
+ * established". That warning fires when `ws.close()` runs while
+ * readyState is still CONNECTING (0) — most often triggered by React
+ * StrictMode's double-invoked useEffect in dev, or any rapid
+ * mount/unmount (tab switch, route change) during the WS handshake.
+ *
+ * Behaviour by state:
+ *   - OPEN / CLOSING: close immediately (the normal path).
+ *   - CONNECTING:     defer the close until 'open' fires, so the
+ *                     browser sees a full handshake before the shutdown.
+ *   - CLOSED:         no-op.
+ *
+ * Returns the ws unchanged for chaining.
+ */
+export function closeWebSocketGracefully(ws: WebSocket): WebSocket {
+  const state = ws.readyState;
+  if (state === WebSocket.OPEN || state === WebSocket.CLOSING) {
+    ws.close();
+    return ws;
+  }
+  if (state === WebSocket.CONNECTING) {
+    const onOpen = () => {
+      ws.close();
+    };
+    ws.addEventListener("open", onOpen, { once: true });
+    // Also wire an error listener — if the handshake fails we don't
+    // need to close (the browser already tore it down) and we should
+    // clear the queued onOpen handler.
+    ws.addEventListener(
+      "error",
+      () => ws.removeEventListener("open", onOpen),
+      { once: true },
+    );
+  }
+  return ws;
+}
diff --git a/canvas/src/store/canvas.ts b/canvas/src/store/canvas.ts
index e6f6f28a..8527be4d 100644
--- a/canvas/src/store/canvas.ts
+++ b/canvas/src/store/canvas.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ interface CanvasState {
   // hidden behind the panel when a workspace is selected.
   sidePanelWidth: number;
   setSidePanelWidth: (w: number) => void;
+  // Whether the TemplatePalette left-drawer is open. Consumed by the
+  // Legend so it can shift right and avoid being hidden under the
+  // palette. Set by TemplatePalette's toggle button.
+  templatePaletteOpen: boolean;
+  setTemplatePaletteOpen: (open: boolean) => void;
   hydrate: (workspaces: WorkspaceData[]) => void;
   applyEvent: (msg: WSMessage) => void;
   onNodesChange: (changes: NodeChange<Node<WorkspaceNodeData>>[]) => void;
@@ -124,6 +129,8 @@ export const useCanvasStore = create<CanvasState>((set, get) => ({
   contextMenu: null,
   sidePanelWidth: 480, // matches SIDEPANEL_DEFAULT_WIDTH in SidePanel.tsx
   setSidePanelWidth: (w) => set({ sidePanelWidth: w }),
+  templatePaletteOpen: false,
+  setTemplatePaletteOpen: (open) => set({ templatePaletteOpen: open }),
   // Batch selection
   selectedNodeIds: new Set<string>(),
   toggleNodeSelection: (id) => {