src/app/components/nav/styles.css.ts

@@ -32,10 +32,10 @@ export const NavLevel = style({
   paddingLeft: LEVEL_STEP,
 });
 
-// Chevrons and room icons are matched in weight, so a foldout is not outweighed by its rooms.
-export const NAV_ICON_REST_OPACITY = 0.6;
+// Chevrons and room icons are matched in measured ink (a room glyph is about 1.7x a chevron's; unread rooms stay far above), so a foldout is not outweighed by its rooms.
+export const NAV_ICON_REST_OPACITY = 0.9;
 // A room's glyph is bigger and denser than the chevron, so it rests lighter to read as the same weight.
-export const NAV_ROOM_ICON_REST_OPACITY = 0.42;
+export const NAV_ROOM_ICON_REST_OPACITY = 0.26;
 export const NAV_ICON_UNREAD_OPACITY = 0.9;
 
 export const NavCategory = style([

src/app/components/unread-badge/UnreadBadge.tsx

@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@ export function UnreadBadge({ highlight, count }: UnreadBadgeProps) {
     <Badge
       variant={highlight ? 'Success' : 'Secondary'}
       size={count > 0 ? '400' : '200'}
-      // A mention is the one solid pill; plain unread is a soft tint, so a row's count is never its loudest part.
-      fill={highlight ? 'Solid' : 'Soft'}
+      // A mention and the bare unread dot are solid (a soft dot measured 1.6:1 against the ground); a plain unread
+      // count is a soft tint, so a row's count is never its loudest part.
+      fill={highlight || count === 0 ? 'Solid' : 'Soft'}
       radii="Pill"
       outlined={false}
     >

src/app/features/estate/EstateNavigator.tsx

@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ function MindMedia({ media }: { media: MediaRowState }) {
 }
 
 function GroupSection({ tierId, group }: { tierId: string; group: EstateGroup }) {
-  const media = useMindMedia(group.mind);
+  const media = useMindMedia(group.mind, group.rooms);
   const hasMedia = MINDS.includes(group.mind);
   // The media room is the Media row; it is not listed a second time among the Mind's rooms.
   const rooms =

src/app/features/estate/MediaRow.tsx

@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ import { useAtomValue } from 'jotai';
 import { Avatar, Box, Icon, Icons, Text } from 'folds';
 import { NavGutter, NavItem, NavItemContent, NavLink } from '../../components/nav';
 import { NAV_ROOM_ICON_REST_OPACITY, NavLabel } from '../../components/nav/styles.css';
+import { EstateRoom } from './buildEstate';
+import { isFileZone } from '../albums/isFileZone';
+import { useClientConfig } from '../../hooks/useClientConfig';
 import { MINDS } from '../../components/message/pose/poses';
 import { useMatrixClient } from '../../hooks/useMatrixClient';
 import { allRoomsAtom } from '../../state/room-list/roomList';
@@ -15,6 +18,7 @@ import {
   lookupMediaRoom,
   mediaRoomIdFromStewardships,
   mediaRow,
+  typedMediaRoom,
 } from './mediaRoom';
 
 const mediaIcon = (
@@ -58,12 +62,31 @@ export function MediaLink({ to }: { to: string }) {
 }
 
 /** The Mind's media room as the navigator sees it right now. */
-export const useMindMedia = (mind: string): MediaRowState => {
+export const useMindMedia = (mind: string, rooms: readonly EstateRoom[]): MediaRowState => {
   const mx = useMatrixClient();
   const { rootId } = useEstateRootId();
   const joined = useAtomValue(allRoomsAtom);
   const invited = useAtomValue(allInvitesAtom);
+  const config = useClientConfig();
   const server = mx.getDomain() ?? '';
+  // A joined room whose type says it is a file zone is the Media row; the alias or carried id only finds a
+  // room the client cannot type yet (not joined).
+  const typed = typedMediaRoom(rooms, (roomId) => {
+    const room = mx.getRoom(roomId);
+    return (
+      !!room &&
+      isFileZone(
+        {
+          roomId,
+          aliases: [room.getCanonicalAlias(), ...room.getAltAliases()].filter(
+            (a): a is string => !!a
+          ),
+          createType: room.currentState.getStateEvents('m.room.create', '')?.getContent().type,
+        },
+        config
+      )
+    );
+  });
   const carried = mediaRoomIdFromStewardships(
     rootId
       ? mx.getRoom(rootId)?.currentState.getStateEvents(STEWARDSHIPS_KEY, '')?.getContent()
@@ -74,10 +97,11 @@ export const useMindMedia = (mind: string): MediaRowState => {
     queryKey: ['mind-media', mind, server, carried],
     queryFn: () => lookupMediaRoom(mx, mind, server, carried),
     staleTime: 60_000,
-    enabled: MINDS.includes(mind),
+    enabled: MINDS.includes(mind) && !typed,
   });
   const membership = new Map<string, 'join' | 'invite'>();
   invited.forEach((id) => membership.set(id, 'invite'));
   joined.forEach((id) => membership.set(id, 'join'));
+  if (typed) return { kind: 'room', room: { ...typed, name: 'Media' } };
   return mediaRow(lookup.data, membership);
 };

src/app/features/estate/mediaRoom.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
-import { lookupMediaRoom, mediaAlias, mediaRoomIdFromStewardships, mediaRow } from './mediaRoom';
+import {
+  lookupMediaRoom,
+  mediaAlias,
+  mediaRoomIdFromStewardships,
+  mediaRow,
+  typedMediaRoom,
+} from './mediaRoom';
 
 const notFound = Object.assign(new Error('Room alias not found'), {
   httpStatus: 404,
@@ -90,4 +96,23 @@ describe('the Media row of a Mind', () => {
     expect(mediaRow(undefined, new Map())).toEqual({ kind: 'checking' });
     expect(mediaRow({ found: false, reason: 'unset' }, new Map())).toEqual({ kind: 'unset' });
   });
+
+  it('takes the joined room whose type says file zone, whatever its alias, before any alias lookup', () => {
+    const room = (roomId: string, state: 'joined' | 'joinable') => ({
+      roomId,
+      name: roomId,
+      state,
+      via: [],
+      parentId: null,
+      direct: false,
+    });
+    const rooms = [
+      room('!chat', 'joined'),
+      room('!old-files-slug', 'joined'),
+      room('!unjoined', 'joinable'),
+    ];
+    const zones = new Set(['!old-files-slug', '!unjoined']);
+    expect(typedMediaRoom(rooms, (id) => zones.has(id))?.roomId).toBe('!old-files-slug');
+    expect(typedMediaRoom(rooms, () => false)).toBeUndefined();
+  });
 });

src/app/features/estate/mediaRoom.ts

@@ -19,6 +19,16 @@ export const mediaRoomIdFromStewardships = (content: unknown, mind: string): str
   return typeof id === 'string' && id.startsWith('!') ? id : undefined;
 };
 
+/**
+ * The Mind's media room among the rooms the client already knows: the first one whose room type (or the
+ * fileZoneRooms config) says it is a file zone. The type is the authority; the alias is only how an unknown
+ * room is found, below.
+ */
+export const typedMediaRoom = (
+  rooms: readonly EstateRoom[],
+  isZone: (roomId: string) => boolean
+): EstateRoom | undefined => rooms.find((r) => r.state === 'joined' && isZone(r.roomId));
+
 type MediaClient = {
   getRoomIdForAlias(alias: string): Promise<{ room_id: string; servers?: string[] }>;
 };