diff --git a/ui/src/app/app.html b/ui/src/app/app.html
index ef43ee8..c9ad8fc 100644
--- a/ui/src/app/app.html
+++ b/ui/src/app/app.html
@@ -1 +1,99 @@
-<h1>Hello, {{ title() }}</h1>
+<main class="display-shell">
+  <section class="hero">
+    <div class="hero-copy">
+      <p class="eyebrow">Core GUI</p>
+      <h1>{{ title() }}</h1>
+      <p class="subtitle">{{ subtitle() }}</p>
+      <p class="body">
+        A compact operator surface for desktop workflows, provider discovery, and realtime
+        backend status.
+      </p>
+
+      <div class="hero-actions">
+        <button type="button" class="primary-action" (click)="refreshProviders()">
+          Refresh providers
+        </button>
+        <a class="secondary-action" [href]="apiBase()" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">
+          Open API endpoint
+        </a>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+
+    <div class="hero-meta">
+      <div class="meta-card">
+        <span class="meta-label">Connection</span>
+        <strong [class.good]="connected()">{{ connected() ? 'Live' : 'Reconnecting' }}</strong>
+      </div>
+      <div class="meta-card">
+        <span class="meta-label">Providers</span>
+        <strong>{{ providerCount() }}</strong>
+      </div>
+      <div class="meta-card">
+        <span class="meta-label">Local time</span>
+        <strong>{{ clock() | date: 'mediumTime' }}</strong>
+      </div>
+      <div class="meta-card">
+        <span class="meta-label">API base</span>
+        <strong class="mono">{{ apiBase() }}</strong>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  </section>
+
+  <section class="content-grid">
+    <article class="feature-panel">
+      <div class="panel-heading">
+        <div>
+          <p class="eyebrow">Discovered providers</p>
+          <h2>Renderable capabilities</h2>
+        </div>
+        <span class="pill">{{ providerCount() }} total</span>
+      </div>
+
+      <div class="provider-list" *ngIf="featuredProviders().length; else emptyState">
+        <div class="provider-row" *ngFor="let provider of featuredProviders(); trackBy: trackByProvider">
+          <div class="provider-icon">
+            <span>{{ provider.name.slice(0, 1).toUpperCase() }}</span>
+          </div>
+          <div class="provider-copy">
+            <strong>{{ provider.name }}</strong>
+            <span>{{ provider.basePath }}</span>
+            <small *ngIf="provider.element?.tag" class="mono">
+              {{ provider.element?.tag }} · {{ provider.element?.source }}
+            </small>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      <ng-template #emptyState>
+        <div class="empty-state">
+          <strong>No providers discovered yet.</strong>
+          <span>The shell will populate this view once the backend exposes provider metadata.</span>
+        </div>
+      </ng-template>
+    </article>
+
+    <article class="feature-panel accent">
+      <div class="panel-heading">
+        <div>
+          <p class="eyebrow">Live wiring</p>
+          <h2>What this shell keeps online</h2>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      <ul class="feature-list">
+        <li>
+          <strong>Provider discovery</strong>
+          <span>Loads provider metadata and registers custom element scripts automatically.</span>
+        </li>
+        <li>
+          <strong>Realtime status</strong>
+          <span>Tracks the websocket connection used for backend events.</span>
+        </li>
+        <li>
+          <strong>Desktop bridge</strong>
+          <span>Renders in the Wails webview and stays responsive to the local runtime.</span>
+        </li>
+      </ul>
+    </article>
+  </section>
+</main>
diff --git a/ui/src/app/app.ts b/ui/src/app/app.ts
index 3e4d93e..e18f504 100644
--- a/ui/src/app/app.ts
+++ b/ui/src/app/app.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,64 @@
-import { Component, signal } from '@angular/core';
+import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
+import { Component, DestroyRef, OnDestroy, computed, effect, inject, signal } from '@angular/core';
+import { ApiConfigService } from '../services/api-config.service';
+import { ProviderDiscoveryService, type ProviderInfo } from '../services/provider-discovery.service';
+import { TranslationService } from '../services/translation.service';
+import { WebSocketService } from '../services/websocket.service';
 
 @Component({
   selector: 'core-display',
+  imports: [CommonModule],
   templateUrl: './app.html',
-  standalone: true
+  standalone: true,
 })
-export class App {
-  protected readonly title = signal('display');
+export class App implements OnDestroy {
+  private readonly discovery = inject(ProviderDiscoveryService);
+  private readonly apiConfig = inject(ApiConfigService);
+  private readonly translations = inject(TranslationService);
+  private readonly websocket = inject(WebSocketService);
+  private readonly destroyRef = inject(DestroyRef);
+
+  protected readonly title = signal('Core GUI');
+  protected readonly subtitle = signal('Desktop orchestration console');
+  protected readonly clock = signal(new Date());
+
+  protected readonly providers = this.discovery.providers;
+  protected readonly providerCount = computed(() => this.providers().length);
+  protected readonly connected = this.websocket.connected;
+  protected readonly apiBase = computed(() => this.apiConfig.baseUrl || window.location.origin);
+
+  protected readonly featuredProviders = computed<ProviderInfo[]>(() =>
+    this.providers().filter((provider) => provider.element?.tag).slice(0, 6),
+  );
+
+  constructor() {
+    const tick = setInterval(() => this.clock.set(new Date()), 1000);
+    this.destroyRef.onDestroy(() => clearInterval(tick));
+
+    effect(() => {
+      if (this.connected()) {
+        document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-connected', 'true');
+      } else {
+        document.documentElement.removeAttribute('data-connected');
+      }
+    });
+  }
+
+  async ngOnInit(): Promise<void> {
+    await this.translations.onReady();
+    await this.discovery.discover();
+    this.websocket.connect();
+  }
+
+  ngOnDestroy(): void {
+    this.websocket.disconnect();
+  }
+
+  refreshProviders(): Promise<void> {
+    return this.discovery.refresh();
+  }
+
+  trackByProvider(_: number, provider: ProviderInfo): string {
+    return provider.name;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/ui/src/index.html b/ui/src/index.html
index a06ba71..c4274e6 100644
--- a/ui/src/index.html
+++ b/ui/src/index.html
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 <html lang="en">
 <head>
   <meta charset="utf-8">
-  <title>Display</title>
+  <title>Core GUI</title>
   <base href="/">
   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
   <link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="favicon.ico">
diff --git a/ui/src/styles.css b/ui/src/styles.css
index 90d4ee0..6dc8d02 100644
--- a/ui/src/styles.css
+++ b/ui/src/styles.css
@@ -1 +1,390 @@
-/* You can add global styles to this file, and also import other style files */
+:root {
+  color-scheme: dark;
+  --bg: #070b14;
+  --bg-soft: #0f1729;
+  --panel: rgba(13, 19, 34, 0.86);
+  --panel-strong: rgba(18, 26, 46, 0.94);
+  --border: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.09);
+  --text: #eef2ff;
+  --muted: #a8b3cf;
+  --accent: #8b5cf6;
+  --accent-strong: #c084fc;
+  --accent-soft: rgba(139, 92, 246, 0.2);
+  --good: #4ade80;
+  --shadow: 0 24px 80px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.45);
+  --radius: 24px;
+  --radius-sm: 16px;
+  --mono: 'IBM Plex Mono', 'SFMono-Regular', Consolas, monospace;
+  --sans: 'IBM Plex Sans', 'Avenir Next', 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;
+}
+
+html,
+body {
+  height: 100%;
+  margin: 0;
+}
+
+body {
+  min-height: 100%;
+  background:
+    radial-gradient(circle at top left, rgba(139, 92, 246, 0.26), transparent 30%),
+    radial-gradient(circle at top right, rgba(34, 211, 238, 0.15), transparent 28%),
+    linear-gradient(160deg, #050816 0%, #070b14 44%, #0b1020 100%);
+  color: var(--text);
+  font-family: var(--sans);
+  -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
+  text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;
+}
+
+body::before {
+  content: '';
+  position: fixed;
+  inset: 0;
+  pointer-events: none;
+  background-image:
+    linear-gradient(rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.03) 1px, transparent 1px),
+    linear-gradient(90deg, rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.03) 1px, transparent 1px);
+  background-size: 48px 48px;
+  mask-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85), transparent 90%);
+  opacity: 0.3;
+}
+
+core-display {
+  display: block;
+  min-height: 100vh;
+}
+
+button,
+a {
+  font: inherit;
+}
+
+a {
+  color: inherit;
+  text-decoration: none;
+}
+
+.mono {
+  font-family: var(--mono);
+  letter-spacing: 0;
+}
+
+core-display {
+  display: block;
+  min-height: 100vh;
+}
+
+core-display .display-shell {
+  position: relative;
+  z-index: 1;
+  min-height: 100vh;
+  padding: 3rem clamp(1.25rem, 3vw, 2.5rem);
+}
+
+core-display .display-shell::before {
+  content: '';
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 1.5rem;
+  border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.06);
+  border-radius: 32px;
+  background: linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(13, 19, 34, 0.35), rgba(7, 11, 20, 0.08));
+  backdrop-filter: blur(22px);
+  box-shadow: 0 30px 90px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
+  z-index: -1;
+}
+
+core-display .hero,
+core-display .feature-panel {
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: var(--radius);
+  background: var(--panel);
+  box-shadow: var(--shadow);
+}
+
+core-display .hero {
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1.7fr) minmax(280px, 0.9fr);
+  gap: 1.5rem;
+  padding: clamp(1.5rem, 3vw, 2rem);
+  overflow: hidden;
+  position: relative;
+}
+
+core-display .hero::after {
+  content: '';
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: auto -5rem -4rem auto;
+  width: 18rem;
+  height: 18rem;
+  border-radius: 999px;
+  background: radial-gradient(circle, rgba(139, 92, 246, 0.34), transparent 68%);
+  filter: blur(12px);
+  pointer-events: none;
+}
+
+core-display .hero-copy,
+core-display .hero-meta {
+  position: relative;
+  z-index: 1;
+}
+
+core-display .eyebrow {
+  margin: 0 0 0.75rem;
+  font-size: 0.78rem;
+  letter-spacing: 0.18em;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--accent-strong);
+}
+
+core-display h1,
+core-display h2,
+core-display p {
+  margin: 0;
+}
+
+core-display h1 {
+  font-size: clamp(2.6rem, 5vw, 4.5rem);
+  line-height: 0.95;
+  letter-spacing: -0.05em;
+  max-width: 12ch;
+}
+
+core-display h2 {
+  font-size: 1.15rem;
+  letter-spacing: -0.02em;
+}
+
+core-display .subtitle {
+  margin-top: 1rem;
+  font-size: 1.1rem;
+  color: var(--accent-strong);
+}
+
+core-display .body {
+  margin-top: 0.75rem;
+  max-width: 62ch;
+  color: var(--muted);
+  line-height: 1.65;
+}
+
+core-display .hero-actions {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  gap: 0.75rem;
+  margin-top: 1.5rem;
+}
+
+core-display .primary-action,
+core-display .secondary-action {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  min-height: 2.75rem;
+  padding: 0.75rem 1rem;
+  border-radius: 999px;
+  border: 1px solid transparent;
+  transition:
+    transform 140ms ease,
+    border-color 140ms ease,
+    background 140ms ease;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+
+core-display .primary-action {
+  background: linear-gradient(135deg, var(--accent), #4f46e5);
+  color: white;
+  box-shadow: 0 10px 30px rgba(91, 33, 182, 0.35);
+}
+
+core-display .secondary-action {
+  border-color: var(--border);
+  background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.03);
+  color: var(--text);
+}
+
+core-display .primary-action:hover,
+core-display .secondary-action:hover {
+  transform: translateY(-1px);
+}
+
+core-display .hero-meta {
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));
+  gap: 0.75rem;
+  align-content: start;
+}
+
+core-display .meta-card {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 0.35rem;
+  min-height: 6rem;
+  padding: 1rem;
+  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
+  background: var(--panel-strong);
+  border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.07);
+}
+
+core-display .meta-label {
+  font-size: 0.72rem;
+  letter-spacing: 0.16em;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+
+core-display .meta-card strong {
+  font-size: 1.05rem;
+  line-height: 1.3;
+}
+
+core-display .good {
+  color: var(--good);
+}
+
+core-display .content-grid {
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1.15fr) minmax(0, 0.85fr);
+  gap: 1.25rem;
+  margin-top: 1.25rem;
+}
+
+core-display .feature-panel {
+  padding: 1.25rem;
+}
+
+core-display .feature-panel.accent {
+  background: linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(20, 27, 48, 0.92), rgba(11, 15, 28, 0.9));
+}
+
+core-display .panel-heading {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: start;
+  justify-content: space-between;
+  gap: 1rem;
+  margin-bottom: 1rem;
+}
+
+core-display .pill {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  min-height: 2rem;
+  padding: 0 0.75rem;
+  border-radius: 999px;
+  border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.08);
+  background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.04);
+  color: var(--muted);
+  font-size: 0.78rem;
+}
+
+core-display .provider-list {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 0.75rem;
+}
+
+core-display .provider-row {
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: auto minmax(0, 1fr);
+  gap: 0.875rem;
+  align-items: center;
+  padding: 0.85rem;
+  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
+  background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.03);
+  border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.05);
+}
+
+core-display .provider-icon {
+  display: grid;
+  place-items: center;
+  width: 2.5rem;
+  height: 2.5rem;
+  border-radius: 0.95rem;
+  background: linear-gradient(135deg, rgba(139, 92, 246, 0.35), rgba(99, 102, 241, 0.15));
+  color: white;
+  font-weight: 700;
+}
+
+core-display .provider-copy {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 0.2rem;
+  min-width: 0;
+}
+
+core-display .provider-copy strong {
+  font-size: 0.98rem;
+}
+
+core-display .provider-copy span,
+core-display .provider-copy small {
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+
+core-display .provider-copy small {
+  overflow-wrap: anywhere;
+}
+
+core-display .empty-state {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 0.35rem;
+  min-height: 10rem;
+  align-items: start;
+  justify-content: center;
+  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
+  padding: 1rem;
+  border: 1px dashed rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.12);
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+
+core-display .feature-list {
+  display: grid;
+  gap: 0.85rem;
+  padding: 0;
+  margin: 0;
+  list-style: none;
+}
+
+core-display .feature-list li {
+  display: grid;
+  gap: 0.25rem;
+  padding: 0.95rem 1rem;
+  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
+  background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.04);
+  border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.05);
+}
+
+core-display .feature-list strong {
+  font-size: 0.98rem;
+}
+
+core-display .feature-list span {
+  color: var(--muted);
+  line-height: 1.55;
+}
+
+@media (max-width: 920px) {
+  core-display .hero,
+  core-display .content-grid {
+    grid-template-columns: 1fr;
+  }
+}
+
+@media (max-width: 640px) {
+  core-display .display-shell {
+    padding: 1rem;
+  }
+
+  core-display .display-shell::before {
+    inset: 0.75rem;
+    border-radius: 24px;
+  }
+
+  core-display .hero-meta {
+    grid-template-columns: 1fr;
+  }
+
+  core-display h1 {
+    max-width: none;
+  }
+}