diff --git a/crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/application.rs b/crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/application.rs
index 81ed9c9..ac58d72 100644
--- a/crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/application.rs
+++ b/crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/application.rs
@@ -293,6 +293,12 @@ mod imp {
         /// The global shortcut logic.
         pub global_shortcuts: OnceCell<GlobalShortcuts>,
 
+        /// True once the shortcuts' `config` property is bound to ours
+        /// (Zig: `bindProperty` in `startupGlobalShortcuts`, after the
+        /// D-Bus connection was set; before that the config must not reach
+        /// the shortcuts, or the portal session is created twice).
+        pub global_shortcuts_bound: Cell<bool>,
+
         /// Set to true so long as we request a window exactly once. This
         /// prevents quitting the app before we've shown one window.
         pub requested_window: Cell<bool>,
@@ -827,7 +833,9 @@ impl Application {
         }
 
         // Keep global shortcuts in sync with the config (property binding).
-        if let Some(gs) = self.imp().global_shortcuts.get() {
+        if self.imp().global_shortcuts_bound.get()
+            && let Some(gs) = self.imp().global_shortcuts.get()
+        {
             gs.set_config(self.imp().config.borrow().as_ref());
         }
     }
@@ -1075,6 +1083,7 @@ impl Application {
         gs.set_connection(self.dbus_connection().as_ref());
 
         // Keep the shortcut config in sync with the app.
+        self.imp().global_shortcuts_bound.set(true);
         gs.set_config(self.imp().config.borrow().as_ref());
 
         // Setup the signal handler for global shortcut triggers
diff --git a/crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/global_shortcuts.rs b/crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/global_shortcuts.rs
index f2006bf..3418e46 100644
--- a/crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/global_shortcuts.rs
+++ b/crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/global_shortcuts.rs
@@ -157,6 +157,42 @@ fn vardict(entries: Vec<(&str, glib::Variant)>) -> glib::Variant {
     map.to_variant()
 }
 
+/// `(a{sv})`: the `CreateSession` arguments.
+fn create_session_payload(handle_token: &str, session_handle_token: &str) -> glib::Variant {
+    let opts = vardict(vec![
+        ("handle_token", handle_token.to_variant()),
+        ("session_handle_token", session_handle_token.to_variant()),
+    ]);
+    glib::Variant::tuple_from_iter([opts])
+}
+
+/// `(oa(sa{sv})sa{sv})`: the `BindShortcuts` arguments (session handle,
+/// shortcuts, parent window, options).
+fn bind_shortcuts_payload<'a>(
+    handle: &str,
+    shortcuts: impl Iterator<Item = (&'a str, String)>,
+    request_token: &str,
+) -> Option<glib::Variant> {
+    let handle = ObjectPath::try_from(handle.to_owned()).ok()?;
+    let binds = glib::Variant::array_from_iter_with_type(
+        glib::VariantTy::new("(sa{sv})").ok()?,
+        shortcuts.map(|(trigger, description)| {
+            let opts = vardict(vec![
+                ("description", description.to_variant()),
+                ("preferred_trigger", trigger.to_variant()),
+            ]);
+            glib::Variant::tuple_from_iter([trigger.to_variant(), opts])
+        }),
+    );
+    let opts = vardict(vec![("handle_token", request_token.to_variant())]);
+    Some(glib::Variant::tuple_from_iter([
+        handle.to_variant(),
+        binds,
+        String::new().to_variant(),
+        opts,
+    ]))
+}
+
 impl GlobalShortcuts {
     pub fn new() -> Self {
         glib::Object::new()
@@ -279,39 +315,18 @@ impl GlobalShortcuts {
     fn make_payload(&self, method: Method, request_token: &str) -> Option<glib::Variant> {
         match method {
             // https://flatpak.github.io/xdg-desktop-portal/docs/doc-org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts.html#org-freedesktop-portal-globalshortcuts-createsession
-            Method::CreateSession => {
-                let opts = vardict(vec![
-                    ("handle_token", request_token.to_variant().to_variant()),
-                    (
-                        "session_handle_token",
-                        generate_token().to_variant().to_variant(),
-                    ),
-                ]);
-                Some((opts,).to_variant())
-            }
+            Method::CreateSession => Some(create_session_payload(request_token, &generate_token())),
             // https://flatpak.github.io/xdg-desktop-portal/docs/doc-org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts.html#org-freedesktop-portal-globalshortcuts-bindshortcuts
             Method::BindShortcuts => {
                 let imp = self.imp();
                 let handle = imp.handle.borrow().clone()?;
-                let handle = ObjectPath::try_from(handle).ok()?;
-
-                let binds: Vec<(String, glib::Variant)> = imp
-                    .map
-                    .borrow()
-                    .iter()
-                    .map(|(trigger, action)| {
-                        let opts = vardict(vec![
-                            ("description", action.to_string().to_variant().to_variant()),
-                            ("preferred_trigger", trigger.to_variant().to_variant()),
-                        ]);
-                        (trigger.clone(), opts)
-                    })
-                    .collect();
-                let opts = vardict(vec![(
-                    "handle_token",
-                    request_token.to_variant().to_variant(),
-                )]);
-                Some((handle, binds, String::new(), opts).to_variant())
+                let map = imp.map.borrow();
+                bind_shortcuts_payload(
+                    &handle,
+                    map.iter()
+                        .map(|(trigger, action)| (trigger.as_str(), action.to_string())),
+                    request_token,
+                )
             }
         }
     }
@@ -459,3 +474,40 @@ impl GlobalShortcuts {
         self.emit_by_name::<()>("trigger", &[&action.to_string()]);
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    #![allow(clippy::unwrap_used)]
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn create_session_payload_signature() {
+        let v = create_session_payload("tok", "stok");
+        assert_eq!(v.type_().as_str(), "(a{sv})");
+        let (m,): (HashMap<String, glib::Variant>,) = v.get().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(m["handle_token"].get::<String>().unwrap(), "tok");
+        assert_eq!(m["session_handle_token"].get::<String>().unwrap(), "stok");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn bind_shortcuts_payload_signature() {
+        let v = bind_shortcuts_payload(
+            "/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop/session/1_2/x",
+            [("CTRL+ALT+x", "new_window".to_owned())].into_iter(),
+            "tok",
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(v.type_().as_str(), "(oa(sa{sv})sa{sv})");
+        assert_eq!(v.n_children(), 4);
+        let binds = v.child_value(1);
+        assert_eq!(binds.n_children(), 1);
+        let bind = binds.child_value(0);
+        assert_eq!(bind.child_value(0).str(), Some("CTRL+ALT+x"));
+        let opts: HashMap<String, glib::Variant> = bind.child_value(1).get().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(opts["description"].get::<String>().unwrap(), "new_window");
+        assert_eq!(
+            opts["preferred_trigger"].get::<String>().unwrap(),
+            "CTRL+ALT+x"
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/docs/rewrite/KNOWN_DIFFERENCES.md b/docs/rewrite/KNOWN_DIFFERENCES.md
index 88a5aaa..3cec0e8 100644
--- a/docs/rewrite/KNOWN_DIFFERENCES.md
+++ b/docs/rewrite/KNOWN_DIFFERENCES.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ What remains is verification coverage that this Linux machine cannot provide:
 - Native Apple execution: Metal, IOSurface, CoreText, Apple input APIs, Mach handling and Apple packaging (compile-checked only, `just check-macos`).
 - Native Windows (real Windows console host, Windows-only APIs Wine stubs: `ResizePseudoConsole` is a Wine stub, POSIX-semantics rename over an existing file is unsupported by Wine). The Windows code paths are otherwise run under Wine (`just test-windows-wine`, see `notes/windows-wine.md`): ConPTY, `CreateProcessW`, pipes, the IO thread and `cmd.exe` children are runtime-tested; `just check-windows` stays the clippy gate.
 - Native FreeBSD execution (cross `cargo check` only, if the target could be added).
-- Live portal / D-Bus integration.
+- Real input methods (ibus/fcitx are not installed; the IME paths are covered with a mock `GtkIMContext`, see `notes/verification-VR.md`).
+- Desktop-specific portal backends (GNOME/KDE GlobalShortcuts, a real notification daemon). The D-Bus/portal protocol Ghostty speaks (GTK single-instance and `+new-window`, desktop notifications, GlobalShortcuts, Settings colour scheme, systemd cgroup scope, xdg-open) *is* now covered at runtime against the original on a private bus, with mocks and the real xdg-desktop-portal + gtk backend (`just live-dbus`, `notes/live-dbus.md`).
 - Real-browser rendering (wasm is checked with Node only).
 - Native io_uring execution; Swift code was excluded.
diff --git a/docs/rewrite/notes/live-dbus.md b/docs/rewrite/notes/live-dbus.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2cebea4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/rewrite/notes/live-dbus.md
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# Live D-Bus / portal integration (agent LIVE)
+
+Harness: `scripts/live-dbus-test.sh` (`just live-dbus [scenario...]`), helpers in `scripts/live-dbus/`
+(`scenario.sh`, `scenarios.sh`, `mock.py`, `normalize.py`, child scripts, `golden/`, `build-rust.sh`).
+Automated gate: `tests/live_dbus.rs` (golden mode, see below).
+
+## Method
+- Every scenario runs once per binary (original `/usr/bin/ghostty` = oracle, Rust release-profile build) on a
+  **private session bus**: `dbus-run-session --config-file=...` with its own `servicedir` (only
+  `com.mitchellh.ghostty.service` pointing at the binary under test, so D-Bus activation starts the build under test, not
+  `/usr/bin/ghostty`), inside a private headless weston (as `visual-parity.sh`), private HOME/XDG dirs,
+  `GSETTINGS_BACKEND=memory`. The user's bus, portal and desktop are never touched. All spawned processes carry an
+  `LDB_TAG` env marker and are swept at the end.
+- Mock services (`mock.py`, Gio via PyGObject) on the private bus: `org.freedesktop.Notifications`,
+  `org.freedesktop.systemd1` (Manager.StartTransientUnit, switchable to failing), `org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop`
+  (GlobalShortcuts incl. Request/Session objects, Settings, OpenURI). Control interface `test.ghostty.Mock`
+  (`Activate`, `SetColorScheme`, `Invoke`, `SetFail`). Every received call is logged as JSON.
+- `busctl --user monitor --json=short` records all traffic; `normalize.py` keeps `org.gtk.*`, Notifications, systemd1 and
+  portal messages and normalizes pids, tokens, unique names, paths. Observable effects ("facts") come from the exported
+  GtkApplication window objects (`busctl tree`), process counts, child cwd/argv, and the pty (colour-scheme reports).
+- `golden/<scenario>.txt` = the original's facts + received mock calls (recorded with `UPDATE_GOLDEN=1`). With the
+  original installed the harness compares original vs Rust directly **and** Rust vs golden; without it (CI,
+  `tests/live_dbus.rs`, `LABELS=rust`) only Rust vs golden. Debug builds use the app id `com.mitchellh.ghostty-debug`
+  (as Zig), so the Rust build must be the release profile (`scripts/live-dbus/build-rust.sh`).
+- Real `xdg-desktop-portal` + `xdg-desktop-portal-gtk` do run on the private bus (scenario `real-portal`, keyfile
+  gsettings backend so `color-scheme` can be changed live). They cannot give Ghostty an app id without systemd/flatpak
+  ("An app id is required"), so GlobalShortcuts against the real frontend only yields `NotAllowed`; the BindShortcuts
+  payload is therefore checked against the mock.
+
+## Scenarios: original vs Rust
+| Scenario | Covers | Result |
+|---|---|---|
+| single-instance | first launch owns `com.mitchellh.ghostty`; `+new-window` (plain, `-e`, `--working-directory`, both, wrong/bad `--class`), second GUI launch forwarded, `-e` launch is never single-instance, `--class=com.example.custom-app` own bus name/path and `+new-window --class`; exact `org.gtk.Actions.Activate new-window-command` payloads (the CLI prepends `--working-directory=<cwd>`), exported actions, window counts, child cwd/argv | identical |
+| single-instance-detect | `gtk-single-instance=detect`: plain launch = single instance, `TERM_PROGRAM` set or any CLI argument = dedicated instance | identical |
+| notifications | OSC 9, OSC 777 (title/body/empty parts/`;` in body/markup/non-ASCII), repeated body (replaces id), `ActionInvoked default` incl. unknown id, `desktop-notifications=false` after reload; exact `Notify(app, replaces_id, icon, summary, body, actions, hints, timeout)` | identical (app name `""`, summary `Ghostty` for OSC 9, actions `[default,""]`, hints `desktop-entry`, `image-path`, `urgency=1`) |
+| shortcuts | `global:` keybinds -> `CreateSession`/`BindShortcuts` payload (ids, descriptions, order), `Activated` -> action, unknown id ignored, session `Close` + re-create on reload, none without global binds | **diverged, fixed** (see below) |
+| settings | portal `org.freedesktop.appearance color-scheme` (Read/ReadAll/SettingChanged) -> CSI ? 997 reports (mode 2031), `theme = light:..,dark:..` OSC 11 colour, `window-theme=dark` | identical |
+| cgroup | `linux-cgroup` default/always/never, memory/processes limits (`MemoryHigh`,`TasksMax`,`ManagedOOMMemoryPressure`,`PIDs`), failing StartTransientUnit (app keeps running) | identical |
+| openuri | `open-config` -> `xdg-open <config>`; **no** portal OpenURI/OpenFile call (upstream TODO in `Application.openUrl`; the Rust port has the same TODO) | identical |
+| openurl-click | ctrl+click on plain URL / OSC 8 link / `file://` / path -> `xdg-open` argv | Rust only (the original cannot be driven: no input injection, Xwayland pointer is not reachable in headless weston); golden derived from `Surface.zig`/`os/open.zig` |
+| real-portal | real xdg-desktop-portal + gtk backend: Settings color-scheme live changes, GlobalShortcuts error path, Inhibit monitor | identical |
+
+## Divergences found and fixed (Rust port bugs, not upstream bugs: normal commits)
+1. **GlobalShortcuts payloads had the wrong D-Bus signature** (`crates/ghostty-apprt-gtk/src/class/global_shortcuts.rs`):
+   `CreateSession` was sent as `(v)` instead of `(a{sv})`, option values were double-boxed (`v` in `v`), and
+   `BindShortcuts` was `(oa(sv)sv)` instead of `(oa(sa{sv})sa{sv})`. A real portal rejects these, so global shortcuts could
+   never work. Now built with `tuple_from_iter`/typed arrays by `create_session_payload`/`bind_shortcuts_payload`;
+   unit tests assert the signatures.
+2. **CreateSession was sent twice at startup** (`class/application.rs`): the app's `config` notify forwarded the config to
+   `GlobalShortcuts` before `startup_global_shortcuts`; Zig binds the property only after `setDbusConnection`
+   (`bindProperty(.., .sync_create)`), so the session is created once. New `global_shortcuts_bound` flag.
+
+No upstream (deviant) bugs were found in this area; `DEVIANT_FIXES.md` is unchanged by this work.
+
+## Not covered
+- Input method (ibus/fcitx not installed) stays in "Not verifiable on this machine".
+- The original cannot receive pointer input here, so link clicks are checked for the Rust build only.
+- `notify-on-command-finished` never produced a notification for either binary in the headless setup (identical, no
+  focus change events), so only OSC 9/777 are compared.
+- Real GlobalShortcuts backends (GNOME/KDE) are not installed; the real frontend answers `NotAllowed` for non-sandboxed
+  apps without systemd-assigned app ids.
diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
index c332134..9c9f677 100644
--- a/justfile
+++ b/justfile
@@ -299,3 +299,10 @@ check-all: clippy test check-wasm check-windows
 # Capture original Ghostty vs the Rust build in a headless weston and diff them.
 visual-parity *scenarios:
     RUST_BIN="${RUST_BIN:-target/vp/production/ghostty}" scripts/visual-parity.sh {{scenarios}}
+
+# Live D-Bus / portal comparison (private bus + nested weston): notifications,
+# single-instance, global shortcuts, color-scheme, cgroup scope. Builds the
+# iteration binary first. UPDATE_GOLDEN=1 re-records scripts/live-dbus/golden.
+live-dbus *scenarios:
+    scripts/live-dbus/build-rust.sh
+    RUST_BIN="${RUST_BIN:-target/vp/production/ghostty}" scripts/live-dbus-test.sh {{scenarios}}
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus-test.sh b/scripts/live-dbus-test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..a01c2c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus-test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Live D-Bus / portal comparison of original Ghostty and the Rust build.
+#
+#   scripts/live-dbus-test.sh [scenario...]
+#
+# Scenarios: single-instance single-instance-detect notifications shortcuts settings cgroup openuri openurl-click real-portal
+# (default: all).  Each scenario runs once per binary on a *private* session
+# bus (dbus-run-session with its own config: only our service dir, no user
+# services) inside a private headless weston; mock services
+# (scripts/live-dbus/mock.py) answer org.freedesktop.Notifications,
+# org.freedesktop.systemd1 and the portal interfaces Ghostty uses.  The
+# user's session bus, portal and desktop are never touched.
+#
+# The original's normalized result (D-Bus traffic + observable effects) is the
+# oracle; the Rust result must be identical.  Exit status 1 on any difference,
+# 0 when everything matches or the needed tools are missing (skip).
+#
+# env: RUST_BIN (default target/vp/production/ghostty: debug builds use a different app id), REF_BIN (default /usr/bin/ghostty),
+# OUT (default target/live-dbus), KEEP=1 keeps the weston log.
+set -u
+ROOT=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)
+RUST_BIN=${RUST_BIN:-$ROOT/target/vp/production/ghostty}
+REF_BIN=${REF_BIN:-/usr/bin/ghostty}
+OUT=${OUT:-$ROOT/target/live-dbus}
+LD=$ROOT/scripts/live-dbus
+SCEN=${*:-single-instance single-instance-detect notifications shortcuts settings cgroup openuri openurl-click real-portal}
+
+for t in weston dbus-run-session busctl python3 xdotool; do
+  command -v $t >/dev/null || { echo "live-dbus: SKIP ($t missing)"; exit 0; }
+done
+python3 -c 'import gi; gi.require_version("Gio","2.0")' 2>/dev/null || { echo "live-dbus: SKIP (python gi missing)"; exit 0; }
+[ -x "$RUST_BIN" ] || [ "${LABELS:-}" = ref ] || { echo "live-dbus: SKIP (no rust build at $RUST_BIN)"; exit 0; }
+
+mkdir -p "$OUT"
+export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=${VP_RUNTIME_DIR:-/tmp/vp-runtime-$UID}
+mkdir -p -m700 "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR" /tmp/.X11-unix 2>/dev/null
+WORK=$(mktemp -d "$OUT/work.XXXX")
+TAG=ldb$$
+SOCK=ldb$$
+cat >"$WORK/weston.ini" <<INI
+[core]
+shell=desktop-shell.so
+xwayland=true
+[output]
+name=headless
+mode=1200x800
+[shell]
+panel-position=none
+background-color=0xff202020
+INI
+__EGL_VENDOR_LIBRARY_FILENAMES=/usr/share/glvnd/egl_vendor.d/50_mesa.json XWAYLAND_NO_GLAMOR=1 \
+  timeout 3000 weston --debug --backend=headless --renderer=gl --socket=$SOCK -c "$WORK/weston.ini" \
+  >"$WORK/weston.log" 2>&1 &
+WPID=$!
+cleanup() {
+  kill $WPID 2>/dev/null
+  for p in /proc/[0-9]*; do
+    grep -qa "LDB_TAG=$TAG" "$p/environ" 2>/dev/null && kill -9 "${p#/proc/}" 2>/dev/null
+  done
+  wait 2>/dev/null
+  [ -n "${KEEP:-}" ] || rm -rf "$WORK"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+for _ in $(seq 50); do [ -S "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/$SOCK" ] && break; sleep 0.1; done
+[ -S "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/$SOCK" ] || { echo "live-dbus: SKIP (weston did not start)"; cat "$WORK/weston.log"; exit 0; }
+sleep 1
+XDISPLAY=$(grep -o "display :[0-9]*" "$WORK/weston.log" | tail -1 | sed 's/display //')
+
+rc=0
+RUST_ONLY=" openurl-click "   # the original cannot be driven (no input injection): golden file only
+cut_bus() { sed '/^== bus traffic/,$d' "$1"; }
+run_label() { # scenario label bin
+  local s=$1 label=$2 bin=$3
+  local d=$OUT/$s/$label; rm -rf "$d"; mkdir -p "$d"
+  local run=$WORK/run-$s-$label; mkdir -p "$run/services"
+  # Private bus: only our service dir (activation must start the binary
+  # under test, not /usr/bin/ghostty), no user services.
+  cat >"$run/session.conf" <<CONF
+<!DOCTYPE busconfig PUBLIC "-//freedesktop//DTD D-Bus Bus Configuration 1.0//EN" "http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/dbus/1.0/busconfig.dtd">
+<busconfig><type>session</type><keep_umask/><listen>unix:tmpdir=$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR</listen><auth>EXTERNAL</auth>
+<servicedir>$run/services</servicedir>
+<policy context="default"><allow send_destination="*" eavesdrop="true"/><allow eavesdrop="true"/><allow own="*"/></policy>
+</busconfig>
+CONF
+  printf '[D-BUS Service]\nName=com.mitchellh.ghostty\nExec=%s --gtk-single-instance=true --initial-window=false\n' "$bin" \
+    >"$run/services/com.mitchellh.ghostty.service"
+  LDB_LABEL=$label LDB_TAG=$TAG WAYLAND_DISPLAY=$SOCK DISPLAY=$XDISPLAY LDB_BIN=$bin LDB_RUN=$run LDB_ROOT=$ROOT \
+    timeout 240 dbus-run-session --config-file="$run/session.conf" -- \
+    bash "$LD/scenario.sh" "$s" "$bin" "$d" >"$d/driver.log" 2>&1
+  LDB_RUN=$run LDB_ROOT=$ROOT python3 "$LD/normalize.py" "$d" >"$d/result.txt" 2>"$d/normalize.err"
+}
+for s in $SCEN; do
+  golden=$LD/golden/$s.txt
+  mkdir -p "$OUT/$s"
+  have_ref=0
+  case "$RUST_ONLY" in *" $s "*) ;; *) [ -x "$REF_BIN" ] && [ "${LABELS:-ref rust}" != rust ] && have_ref=1 ;; esac
+  if [ $have_ref = 1 ]; then run_label "$s" ref "$REF_BIN"; fi
+  if [ -x "$RUST_BIN" ] && [ "${LABELS:-rust}" != ref ]; then
+    if [ $have_ref = 1 ] || [ -f "$golden" ] || [ -n "${UPDATE_GOLDEN:-}" ]; then
+      run_label "$s" rust "$RUST_BIN"
+    fi
+  fi
+  [ "${LABELS:-}" = ref ] && continue
+  ok=1
+  if grep -qs '^ERROR' "$OUT"/$s/*/facts.txt; then echo "live-dbus: FAIL $s (scenario error, see $OUT/$s/*/facts.txt)"; rc=1; continue; fi
+  if [ $have_ref = 1 ] && [ -f "$OUT/$s/rust/result.txt" ]; then
+    if diff -u "$OUT/$s/ref/result.txt" "$OUT/$s/rust/result.txt" >"$OUT/$s/diff.txt"; then :; else
+      echo "live-dbus: FAIL $s (original vs Rust)"; cat "$OUT/$s/diff.txt"; ok=0; fi
+    if [ -n "${UPDATE_GOLDEN:-}" ] || [ ! -f "$golden" ]; then cut_bus "$OUT/$s/ref/result.txt" >"$golden"; fi
+  fi
+  if [ -f "$golden" ] && [ -f "$OUT/$s/rust/result.txt" ]; then
+    if [ -n "${UPDATE_GOLDEN:-}" ] && [ $have_ref = 0 ]; then cut_bus "$OUT/$s/rust/result.txt" >"$golden"; fi
+    if ! diff -u "$golden" <(cut_bus "$OUT/$s/rust/result.txt") >"$OUT/$s/diff-golden.txt"; then
+      echo "live-dbus: FAIL $s (Rust vs recorded original, golden/$s.txt)"; cat "$OUT/$s/diff-golden.txt"; ok=0; fi
+  fi
+  if [ $ok = 1 ]; then
+    echo "live-dbus: PASS $s$([ $have_ref = 1 ] && echo ' (original + golden)' || echo ' (golden only)')"
+  else rc=1; fi
+done
+exit $rc
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/build-rust.sh b/scripts/live-dbus/build-rust.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..54866aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/build-rust.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Iteration build of the Rust binary used by live-dbus-test.sh / visual-parity.
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." || exit 1
+CARGO_TARGET_DIR=target/vp CARGO_PROFILE_PRODUCTION_LTO=off CARGO_PROFILE_PRODUCTION_CODEGEN_UNITS=16 \
+  CARGO_PROFILE_PRODUCTION_INCREMENTAL=true exec cargo build --profile production "$@"
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/child-links.sh b/scripts/live-dbus/child-links.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee45657
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/child-links.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Prints links on known rows, then reports the text area size (CSI 18 t).
+esc=$(printf '\033'); bel=$(printf '\007')
+stty raw -echo
+printf '%s[H%s[2J' "$esc" "$esc"
+printf 'https://example.org/plain\r\n'
+printf '%s]8;;https://example.com/osc8%s\\osc8-link%s]8;;%s\\\r\n' "$esc" "$esc" "$esc" "$esc"
+printf 'file:///etc/hostname\r\n'
+printf '/etc/hostname\r\n'
+printf '%s[18t' "$esc"
+exec cat -v >>"$OUTF"
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/child-notify.sh b/scripts/live-dbus/child-notify.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0ef55fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/child-notify.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Terminal child for the notifications scenario.
+esc=$(printf '\033'); bel=$(printf '\007')
+sleep 2
+printf '%s]9;osc9 body%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 1.2
+printf '%s]777;notify;Title777;Body777%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 1.2
+printf '%s]777;notify;;OnlyBody%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 1.2
+printf '%s]777;notify;Only title;%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 1.2
+printf '%s]9;<b>markup</b> & "quotes" \303\251\342\202\254%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 1.2
+printf '%s]9;osc9 body%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 1.2
+printf '%s]777;notify;semi;colon;body%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 1.2
+# command finished (OSC 133 prompt marks): C then D;3 after >1s
+printf '%s]133;A%s%s]133;B%s%s]133;C%s' "$esc" "$bel" "$esc" "$bel" "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 2
+printf '%s]133;D;3%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 1.5
+printf '%s]133;A%s%s]133;B%s%s]133;C%s' "$esc" "$bel" "$esc" "$bel" "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 2
+printf '%s]133;D;0%s' "$esc" "$bel"
+# wait for the harness to ask for one more notification
+while [ ! -e "$FLAG2" ]; do sleep 0.3; done
+printf '%s]9;after reload%s' "$esc" "$bel"
+sleep 60
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/child-theme.sh b/scripts/live-dbus/child-theme.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..7945e76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/child-theme.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Enables color-scheme reporting (mode 2031), asks for the current scheme
+# (CSI ? 996 n) and keeps asking for the background colour (OSC 11).
+esc=$(printf '\033'); bel=$(printf '\007')
+stty raw -echo
+printf '%s[?2031h%s[?996n' "$esc" "$esc"
+( while :; do printf '%s]11;?%s' "$esc" "$bel"; sleep 0.7; done ) &
+exec cat -v >>"$OUTF"
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/golden/cgroup.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/cgroup.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2314a4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/cgroup.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+== facts ==
+phase default:
+phase always:
+  call: {"args": ["app-ghostty-surface-transient-PID.scope", "fail", [["ManagedOOMMemoryPressure", "kill"], ["PIDs", [PID]]], []], "iface": "org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager", "method": "StartTransientUnit"}
+phase always-limits:
+  call: {"args": ["app-ghostty-surface-transient-PID.scope", "fail", [["MemoryHigh", 123456789], ["TasksMax", 77], ["ManagedOOMMemoryPressure", "kill"], ["PIDs", [PID]]], []], "iface": "org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager", "method": "StartTransientUnit"}
+phase never:
+phase always-failing:
+  call: {"args": ["app-ghostty-surface-transient-PID.scope", "fail", [["ManagedOOMMemoryPressure", "kill"], ["PIDs", [PID]]], []], "iface": "org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager", "method": "StartTransientUnit"}
+cgroup done
+== mock received ==
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager.StartTransientUnit ["app-ghostty-surface-transient-PID.scope", "fail", [["ManagedOOMMemoryPressure", "kill"], ["PIDs", [PID]]], []]
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/golden/notifications.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/notifications.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04a4c08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/notifications.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+== facts ==
+notifications so far: 7
+alive after ActionInvoked: instances=1 windows=1
+alive after more ActionInvoked: instances=1 windows=1
+notifications after desktop-notifications=false: 7
+== mock received ==
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.Notifications.Notify ["", 0, "", "Ghostty", "osc9 body", ["default", ""], {"desktop-entry": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "image-path": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "urgency": 1}, -1]
+org.freedesktop.Notifications.Notify ["", 0, "", "Title777", "Body777", ["default", ""], {"desktop-entry": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "image-path": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "urgency": 1}, -1]
+org.freedesktop.Notifications.Notify ["", 0, "", "Ghostty", "OnlyBody", ["default", ""], {"desktop-entry": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "image-path": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "urgency": 1}, -1]
+org.freedesktop.Notifications.Notify ["", 0, "", "Only title", "", ["default", ""], {"desktop-entry": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "image-path": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "urgency": 1}, -1]
+org.freedesktop.Notifications.Notify ["", 0, "", "Ghostty", "<b>markup</b> & \"quotes\" \u00e9\u20ac", ["default", ""], {"desktop-entry": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "image-path": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "urgency": 1}, -1]
+org.freedesktop.Notifications.Notify ["", 1, "", "Ghostty", "osc9 body", ["default", ""], {"desktop-entry": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "image-path": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "urgency": 1}, -1]
+org.freedesktop.Notifications.Notify ["", 0, "", "semi", "colon;body", ["default", ""], {"desktop-entry": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "image-path": "com.mitchellh.ghostty", "urgency": 1}, -1]
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/golden/openuri.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/openuri.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dec5c9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/openuri.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+== facts ==
+spawn: xdg-open argc=1 [$RUN/cfg/ghostty/config] cwd=$ROOT
+portal OpenURI/OpenFile calls: 0
+== mock received ==
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/golden/real-portal.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/real-portal.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..602cdec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/real-portal.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+== facts ==
+portal frontend: (<uint32 2>,)
+tty: startup: 997 reports=1 last bg=rgb:1111/2222/3333
+tty: after gsettings color-scheme=prefer-light: 997 reports=1,2 last bg=rgb:ffff/eeee/dddd
+tty: after gsettings color-scheme=prefer-dark: 997 reports=2,1 last bg=rgb:1111/2222/3333
+tty: after gsettings color-scheme=default: 997 reports=1,2 last bg=rgb:ffff/eeee/dddd
+tty: after gsettings color-scheme=prefer-dark: 997 reports=2,1 last bg=rgb:1111/2222/3333
+global-shortcuts request error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.portal.Error.NotAllowed
+global-shortcuts request error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.portal.Error.NotAllowed
+global-shortcuts request error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.portal.Error.NotAllowed
+global-shortcuts request error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.portal.Error.NotAllowed
+global-shortcuts request error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.portal.Error.NotAllowed
+alive: instances=1
+== mock received ==
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/golden/settings.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/settings.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b26031c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/settings.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+== facts ==
+tty: startup: 997 reports=1 last bg=rgb:1111/2222/3333
+tty: after portal color-scheme=2: 997 reports=1,2 last bg=rgb:ffff/eeee/dddd
+tty: after portal color-scheme=1: 997 reports=2,1 last bg=rgb:1111/2222/3333
+tty: after portal color-scheme=0: 997 reports=1,2 last bg=rgb:ffff/eeee/dddd
+tty: after portal color-scheme=2: 997 reports=- last bg=rgb:ffff/eeee/dddd
+tty: after reload window-theme=dark: 997 reports=2 last bg=rgb:ffff/eeee/dddd
+tty: after portal color-scheme=2 with window-theme=dark: 997 reports=- last bg=rgb:ffff/eeee/dddd
+== mock received ==
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/golden/shortcuts.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/shortcuts.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8231c0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/shortcuts.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+== facts ==
+step start: windows=1
+new_window shortcut id: CTRL+ALT+x
+step Activated(new_window): windows=2
+step Activated(unknown): windows=2
+step reload without global: windows=2
+step reload with global again: windows=2
+== mock received ==
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts.CreateSession [{"handle_token": "ghostty_TOKEN", "session_handle_token": "ghostty_TOKEN"}]
+org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts.BindShortcuts ["/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop/session/SENDER/ghostty_TOKEN", [["CTRL+ALT+x", {"description": "new_window", "preferred_trigger": "CTRL+ALT+x"}], ["SHIFT+LOGO+b", {"description": "new_tab", "preferred_trigger": "SHIFT+LOGO+b"}], ["SHIFT+CTRL+F12", {"description": "reload_config", "preferred_trigger": "SHIFT+CTRL+F12"}], ["CTRL+ALT+q", {"description": "text:hi", "preferred_trigger": "CTRL+ALT+q"}]], "", {"handle_token": "ghostty_TOKEN"}]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Session.Close {"path": "/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop/session/SENDER/ghostty_TOKEN"}
+org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts.CreateSession [{"handle_token": "ghostty_TOKEN", "session_handle_token": "ghostty_TOKEN"}]
+org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts.BindShortcuts ["/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop/session/SENDER/ghostty_TOKEN", [["CTRL+ALT+x", {"description": "new_window", "preferred_trigger": "CTRL+ALT+x"}]], "", {"handle_token": "ghostty_TOKEN"}]
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/golden/single-instance-detect.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/single-instance-detect.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b3c697
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/single-instance-detect.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+== facts ==
+plain launch owns name: 0
+step plain: windows=1 instances=1
+second plain launch rc=0
+step second plain: windows=2 instances=1
+step TERM_PROGRAM: windows=2 instances=2
+step TERM_PROGRAM ended: windows=2 instances=1
+step CLI arg: windows=2 instances=2
+step CLI arg ended: windows=2 instances=1
+ipc newwin rc=0
+step +new-window: windows=3 instances=1
+== mock received ==
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/golden/single-instance.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/single-instance.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb6bc53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/golden/single-instance.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+== facts ==
+first instance owns name: 0
+step first: windows=1 instances=1
+ipc newwin rc=0
+step +new-window: windows=2 instances=1
+ipc newwin-e rc=0
+step +new-window -e: windows=3 instances=1
+ipc newwin-wd rc=0
+step +new-window --working-directory: windows=4 instances=1
+ipc newwin-e-wd rc=0
+step +new-window -e..--working-directory: windows=5 instances=1
+ipc newwin-class rc=1
+  ipc-err: D-Bus method call returned an error err=GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name com.example.nobody was not provided by any .service files
+step +new-window --class=nobody: windows=5 instances=1
+second launch rc=0
+step second launch: windows=6 instances=1
+child: /usr/bin/bash  cwd=$HOME
+child: /usr/bin/bash  cwd=$HOME
+child: /usr/bin/bash  cwd=$ROOT
+child: /usr/bin/bash  cwd=/usr
+child: sleep 601  cwd=$ROOT
+step -e launch: windows=6 instances=2
+step -e launch ended: windows=6 instances=1
+custom class owns name: 0
+step custom: windows=1 instances=2
+ipc newwin-custom rc=0
+step +new-window --class=custom: custom windows=2 default windows=6
+ipc newwin-custom-e rc=0
+step +new-window --class=custom -e: custom windows=3 default windows=6
+ipc newwin-badclass rc=1
+  ipc-err: D-Bus bus name is not valid: 1bad
+badclass done
+bus name: com.example.custom-app
+bus name: com.mitchellh.ghostty
+actions: ([open-config, present-surface, quit, new-window-command, new-window, reload-config],)
+custom actions: ([open-config, present-surface, quit, new-window-command, new-window, reload-config],)
+== mock received ==
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "contrast"]
+org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read ["org.freedesktop.appearance", "accent-color"]
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/mock.py b/scripts/live-dbus/mock.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2c9ebe3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/mock.py
@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Mock D-Bus services for the live D-Bus comparison (scripts/live-dbus-test.sh).
+
+Runs on the private session bus and claims:
+  org.freedesktop.Notifications     Notify/CloseNotification/GetCapabilities/GetServerInformation
+  org.freedesktop.systemd1          Manager.StartTransientUnit
+  org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop    GlobalShortcuts, Settings, OpenURI (+ Request objects)
+  test.ghostty.Mock                 control: Activate(s), SetColorScheme(u), Quit()
+
+Every received call is appended to $MOCK_LOG as one JSON line:
+  {"iface": ..., "method": ..., "args": ...}
+The portal pieces are mocks (the real xdg-desktop-portal needs a running
+backend and a desktop session); they implement just what Ghostty calls.
+"""
+import json
+import os
+import signal
+import sys
+
+import gi
+
+gi.require_version("Gio", "2.0")
+from gi.repository import Gio, GLib  # noqa: E402
+
+LOG = os.environ.get("MOCK_LOG", "/dev/stderr")
+COLOR_SCHEME = int(os.environ.get("MOCK_COLOR_SCHEME", "0"))  # 0 none, 1 dark, 2 light
+BIND_REPLY = os.environ.get("MOCK_BIND", "ok")
+
+XML = """
+<node>
+ <interface name='org.freedesktop.Notifications'>
+  <method name='Notify'>
+   <arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='u' direction='in'/><arg type='s' direction='in'/>
+   <arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='as' direction='in'/>
+   <arg type='a{sv}' direction='in'/><arg type='i' direction='in'/><arg type='u' direction='out'/>
+  </method>
+  <method name='CloseNotification'><arg type='u' direction='in'/></method>
+  <method name='GetCapabilities'><arg type='as' direction='out'/></method>
+  <method name='GetServerInformation'>
+   <arg type='s' direction='out'/><arg type='s' direction='out'/><arg type='s' direction='out'/><arg type='s' direction='out'/>
+  </method>
+  <signal name='ActionInvoked'><arg type='u'/><arg type='s'/></signal>
+  <signal name='NotificationClosed'><arg type='u'/><arg type='u'/></signal>
+ </interface>
+ <interface name='org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager'>
+  <method name='StartTransientUnit'>
+   <arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='a(sv)' direction='in'/>
+   <arg type='a(sa(sv))' direction='in'/><arg type='o' direction='out'/>
+  </method>
+ </interface>
+ <interface name='org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts'>
+  <method name='CreateSession'><arg type='a{sv}' direction='in'/><arg type='o' direction='out'/></method>
+  <method name='BindShortcuts'>
+   <arg type='o' direction='in'/><arg type='a(sa{sv})' direction='in'/><arg type='s' direction='in'/>
+   <arg type='a{sv}' direction='in'/><arg type='o' direction='out'/>
+  </method>
+  <signal name='Activated'><arg type='o'/><arg type='s'/><arg type='t'/><arg type='a{sv}'/></signal>
+ </interface>
+ <interface name='org.freedesktop.portal.Session'><method name='Close'/></interface>
+ <interface name='org.freedesktop.portal.Settings'>
+  <method name='ReadAll'><arg type='as' direction='in'/><arg type='a{sa{sv}}' direction='out'/></method>
+  <method name='Read'><arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='v' direction='out'/></method>
+  <signal name='SettingChanged'><arg type='s'/><arg type='s'/><arg type='v'/></signal>
+  <property name='version' type='u' access='read'/>
+ </interface>
+ <interface name='org.freedesktop.portal.OpenURI'>
+  <method name='OpenURI'>
+   <arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='a{sv}' direction='in'/><arg type='o' direction='out'/>
+  </method>
+  <method name='OpenFile'>
+   <arg type='s' direction='in'/><arg type='h' direction='in'/><arg type='a{sv}' direction='in'/><arg type='o' direction='out'/>
+  </method>
+  <property name='version' type='u' access='read'/>
+ </interface>
+ <interface name='org.freedesktop.portal.Request'><method name='Close'/>
+  <signal name='Response'><arg type='u'/><arg type='a{sv}'/></signal></interface>
+</node>
+"""
+
+CTRL_XML = """
+<node><interface name='test.ghostty.Mock'>
+ <method name='Activate'><arg type='s' direction='in'/></method>
+ <method name='SetColorScheme'><arg type='u' direction='in'/></method>
+ <method name='Invoke'><arg type='u' direction='in'/><arg type='s' direction='in'/></method>
+ <method name='SetFail'><arg type='b' direction='in'/></method>
+ <method name='Quit'/>
+</interface></node>
+"""
+
+nid = [0]
+state = {"session": None, "scheme": COLOR_SCHEME}
+loop = GLib.MainLoop()
+conns = {}
+
+
+def log(iface, method, args):
+    def conv(o):
+        if isinstance(o, (bytes, bytearray)):
+            return list(o)
+        return str(o)
+
+    with open(LOG, "a") as f:
+        f.write(json.dumps({"iface": iface, "method": method, "args": args}, default=conv, sort_keys=True) + "\n")
+
+
+def unpack(v):
+    return v.unpack() if v is not None else None
+
+
+def request_path(sender, options):
+    tok = options.get("handle_token", "tok")
+    return "/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop/request/" + sender[1:].replace(".", "_") + "/" + tok
+
+
+def reply_request(conn, sender, options, results):
+    """Emit Request.Response after the method reply was sent."""
+    path = request_path(sender, options)
+
+    def emit():
+        conn.emit_signal(
+            sender, path, "org.freedesktop.portal.Request", "Response",
+            GLib.Variant("(ua{sv})", (0, results)),
+        )
+        return False
+
+    GLib.timeout_add(100, emit)
+    return path
+
+
+def settings_all():
+    return {"org.freedesktop.appearance": {"color-scheme": GLib.Variant("u", state["scheme"])}}
+
+
+def on_call(conn, sender, path, iface, method, params, inv):
+    args = unpack(params)
+    if iface == "org.freedesktop.Notifications":
+        if method == "Notify":
+            log(iface, method, args)
+            nid[0] += 1
+            inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(u)", (nid[0],)))
+        elif method == "GetCapabilities":
+            inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(as)", (["actions", "body", "body-markup", "icon-static"],)))
+        elif method == "GetServerInformation":
+            inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(ssss)", ("mock", "ghostty-test", "1.0", "1.2")))
+        else:
+            log(iface, method, args)
+            inv.return_value(None)
+    elif iface == "org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager":
+        log(iface, method, args)
+        if state.get("fail"):
+            inv.return_dbus_error("org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied", "mock failure")
+            return
+        inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(o)", ("/org/freedesktop/systemd1/job/1",)))
+    elif iface == "org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts":
+        log(iface, method, args)
+        if method == "CreateSession":
+            opts = args[0]
+            sess = "/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop/session/" + sender[1:].replace(".", "_") + "/" + opts.get("session_handle_token", "s")
+            state["session"] = sess
+            state["sender"] = sender
+            sess_info = Gio.DBusNodeInfo.new_for_xml(XML).lookup_interface("org.freedesktop.portal.Session")
+            conn.register_object(sess, sess_info, on_call, None, None)
+            rp = reply_request(conn, sender, opts, {"session_handle": GLib.Variant("s", sess)})
+            inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(o)", (rp,)))
+        else:
+            rp = reply_request(conn, sender, args[3], {"shortcuts": GLib.Variant("a(sa{sv})", [])})
+            inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(o)", (rp,)))
+    elif iface == "org.freedesktop.portal.Session":
+        log(iface, method, {"path": path})
+        inv.return_value(None)
+    elif iface == "org.freedesktop.portal.Settings":
+        log(iface, method, args)
+        if method == "ReadAll":
+            inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(a{sa{sv}})", (settings_all(),)))
+        else:
+            inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(v)", (GLib.Variant("v", GLib.Variant("u", state["scheme"])),)))
+    elif iface == "org.freedesktop.portal.OpenURI":
+        log(iface, method, args)
+        rp = reply_request(conn, sender, args[-1], {})
+        inv.return_value(GLib.Variant("(o)", (rp,)))
+    elif iface == "org.freedesktop.portal.Request":
+        inv.return_value(None)
+    elif iface == "test.ghostty.Mock":
+        if method == "Activate":
+            conn.emit_signal(
+                None, "/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop", "org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts", "Activated",
+                GLib.Variant("(osta{sv})", (state["session"], args[0], 0, {})),
+            )
+        elif method == "SetColorScheme":
+            state["scheme"] = args[0]
+            conn.emit_signal(
+                None, "/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop", "org.freedesktop.portal.Settings", "SettingChanged",
+                GLib.Variant("(ssv)", ("org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme", GLib.Variant("u", args[0]))),
+            )
+        elif method == "Invoke":
+            conn.emit_signal(
+                None, "/org/freedesktop/Notifications", "org.freedesktop.Notifications", "ActionInvoked",
+                GLib.Variant("(us)", (args[0], args[1])),
+            )
+        elif method == "SetFail":
+            state["fail"] = args[0]
+        elif method == "Quit":
+            loop.quit()
+        inv.return_value(None)
+
+
+def on_prop(conn, sender, path, iface, name):
+    return GLib.Variant("u", 1 if iface == "org.freedesktop.portal.Settings" else 3)
+
+
+def on_bus(conn, name):
+    node = Gio.DBusNodeInfo.new_for_xml(XML)
+    paths = {
+        "org.freedesktop.Notifications": ["/org/freedesktop/Notifications"],
+        "org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager": ["/org/freedesktop/systemd1"],
+        "org.freedesktop.portal.GlobalShortcuts": ["/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop"],
+        "org.freedesktop.portal.Settings": ["/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop"],
+        "org.freedesktop.portal.OpenURI": ["/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop"],
+        "org.freedesktop.portal.Session": [],
+    }
+    for ifc in node.interfaces:
+        for p in paths.get(ifc.name, []):
+            conn.register_object(p, ifc, on_call, on_prop, None)
+    ctrl = Gio.DBusNodeInfo.new_for_xml(CTRL_XML)
+    conn.register_object("/test/ghostty/Mock", ctrl.interfaces[0], on_call, None, None)
+    conns["c"] = conn
+
+
+def acquired(conn, name):
+    if name == "test.ghostty.Mock":
+        sys.stdout.write("READY\n")
+        sys.stdout.flush()
+
+
+# Own all names on one connection; announce READY once the last is acquired.
+bus = Gio.bus_get_sync(Gio.BusType.SESSION, None)
+on_bus(bus, None)
+names = os.environ.get("MOCK_NAMES", "notifications,systemd,portal").split(",")
+want = []
+if "notifications" in names:
+    want.append("org.freedesktop.Notifications")
+if "systemd" in names:
+    want.append("org.freedesktop.systemd1")
+if "portal" in names:
+    want.append("org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop")
+want.append("test.ghostty.Mock")
+for n in want:
+    Gio.bus_own_name_on_connection(bus, n, Gio.BusNameOwnerFlags.NONE, acquired, None)
+signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, lambda *a: loop.quit())
+GLib.unix_signal_add(GLib.PRIORITY_DEFAULT, signal.SIGINT, lambda *a: loop.quit())
+loop.run()
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/normalize.py b/scripts/live-dbus/normalize.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3f66f85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/normalize.py
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Turn a scenario output dir into a comparable text: facts + filtered bus
+traffic + mock-received calls, with volatile values (unique names, pids,
+cookies, tokens, paths) normalized."""
+import json
+import os
+import pwd
+import re
+import sys
+
+d = sys.argv[1]
+out = []
+
+
+def rd(name):
+    p = os.path.join(d, name)
+    return open(p).read() if os.path.exists(p) else ""
+
+
+def norm(s):
+    s = re.sub(r"app-ghostty-surface-transient-\d+", "app-ghostty-surface-transient-PID", s)
+    s = re.sub(r'"PIDs", (\[\d+\]|\{"data": \[\d+\])', lambda m: re.sub(r"\d+", "PID", m.group(0)), s)
+    s = re.sub(r"ghostty_[0-9a-f]{7}", "ghostty_TOKEN", s)
+    s = re.sub(r"gtk[0-9]{6,}", "gtkTOKEN", s)
+    s = re.sub(r"/request/[0-9_]+/", "/request/SENDER/", s)
+    s = re.sub(r"/session/[0-9_]+/", "/session/SENDER/", s)
+    s = s.replace(os.environ.get("LDB_RUN", "\0"), "$RUN")
+    s = s.replace(os.environ.get("LDB_ROOT", "\0"), "$ROOT")
+    s = s.replace(os.path.expanduser("~" + os.environ.get("USER", "")) if False else pwd.getpwuid(os.getuid()).pw_dir, "$HOME")
+    return s
+
+
+# Scope creation races with the end of a scenario; only the cgroup scenario checks it.
+CGROUP = os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(d.rstrip("/"))) == "cgroup"
+
+out.append("== facts ==")
+for l in rd("facts.txt").splitlines():
+    out.append(norm(l))
+
+out.append("== mock received ==")
+for l in rd("mock.jsonl").splitlines():
+    j = json.loads(l)
+    if j["method"] == "StartTransientUnit" and not CGROUP:
+        continue
+    out.append(norm(f"{j['iface']}.{j['method']} {json.dumps(j['args'], sort_keys=True)}"))
+
+out.append("== bus traffic (filtered) ==")
+names = {}
+
+
+def label(n):
+    if n is None:
+        return "-"
+    if n.startswith(":"):
+        names.setdefault(n, f"conn{len(names)+1}")
+        return names[n]
+    return n
+
+
+KEEP = re.compile(r"^(org\.gtk\.|org\.freedesktop\.(Notifications|systemd1|portal))")
+for l in rd("bus.json").splitlines():
+    try:
+        m = json.loads(l)
+    except ValueError:
+        continue
+    iface = m.get("interface") or ""
+    if not KEEP.match(iface):
+        continue
+    if m.get("member") == "StartTransientUnit" and not CGROUP:
+        continue
+    payload = m.get("payload") or {}
+    data = json.dumps(payload.get("data"), sort_keys=True)
+    out.append(norm(f"{m['type']} {iface}.{m.get('member')} path={m.get('path')} -> {data}"))
+print("\n".join(out))
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/replay-windows.txt b/scripts/live-dbus/replay-windows.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9d4d637
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/replay-windows.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+wait 5000
+windows-dump
+wait 4000
+windows-dump
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/scenario.sh b/scripts/live-dbus/scenario.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..4344a42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/scenario.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# One scenario against one binary, executed inside `dbus-run-session`
+# (see ../live-dbus-test.sh).  usage: scenario.sh <scenario> <bin> <outdir>
+# Writes <outdir>/{bus.json,mock.jsonl,facts.txt,...}; normalize.py turns them
+# into the comparable result.txt.
+set -u
+SCEN=$1; BIN=$2; D=$3
+W=$LDB_RUN
+LD=$LDB_ROOT/scripts/live-dbus
+mkdir -p "$W/home" "$W/cfg/ghostty" "$W/data" "$W/cache"
+export HOME=$W/home XDG_CONFIG_HOME=$W/cfg XDG_DATA_HOME=$W/data XDG_CACHE_HOME=$W/cache
+export GSETTINGS_BACKEND=memory GDK_BACKEND=wayland LANG=C.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/sh
+export MOCK_LOG=$D/mock.jsonl
+unset TERM_PROGRAM TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION GHOSTTY_BIN_DIR GHOSTTY_SHELL_FEATURES
+export GHOSTTY_RESOURCES_DIR=${GHOSTTY_RESOURCES_DIR:-}
+[ -z "$GHOSTTY_RESOURCES_DIR" ] && unset GHOSTTY_RESOURCES_DIR
+FACTS=$D/facts.txt; : >"$FACTS"
+fact() { echo "$*" >>"$FACTS"; }
+PIDS=()
+bg() { "$@" & PIDS+=($!); }
+finish() {
+  for p in "${PIDS[@]}"; do kill "$p" 2>/dev/null; done
+  for p in /proc/[0-9]*; do
+    grep -qa "LDB_TAG=$LDB_TAG" "$p/environ" 2>/dev/null || continue
+    case "$(cat "$p/comm" 2>/dev/null)" in dbus-*|bash|timeout) continue ;; esac
+    kill "${p#/proc/}" 2>/dev/null
+  done
+  sleep 0.5
+}
+trap finish EXIT
+
+cfg() { printf '%s\n' "shell-integration = none" "confirm-close-surface = false" \
+  "quit-after-last-window-closed = false" "window-theme = auto" "$@" >"$W/cfg/ghostty/config"; }
+
+start_bus_tools() { # [mock names]
+  busctl --user monitor --json=short >"$D/bus.json" 2>"$D/monitor.err" &
+  PIDS+=($!)
+  MOCK_NAMES=${1:-notifications,systemd,portal} python3 -W ignore "$LD/mock.py" >"$D/mock.out" 2>&1 &
+  PIDS+=($!)
+  for _ in $(seq 50); do grep -q READY "$D/mock.out" && break; sleep 0.1; done
+  sleep 0.5
+}
+
+# Wait until the app owns its bus name.
+wait_name() { for _ in $(seq 300); do busctl --user list --acquired --no-pager 2>/dev/null | grep -q "^$1 " && return 0; sleep 0.1; done; return 1; }
+mockctl() { gdbus call --session --dest test.ghostty.Mock --object-path /test/ghostty/Mock --method test.ghostty.Mock."$@" >/dev/null; }
+
+# GUI window objects exported on the bus by GtkApplication.
+windows() { # [bus name]
+  # (never activate the service: only query a name that is already owned)
+  busctl --user list --acquired --no-pager 2>/dev/null | grep -q "^${1:-com.mitchellh.ghostty} " || { echo 0; return; }
+  busctl --user tree "${1:-com.mitchellh.ghostty}" --list --no-pager 2>/dev/null | grep -c '/window/[0-9]*$'
+}
+# Number of GUI instances of the binary under test (not +actions).
+instances() {
+  local n=0 p
+  for p in /proc/[0-9]*; do
+    [ "$(readlink "$p/exe" 2>/dev/null)" = "$(readlink -f "$BIN")" ] || continue
+    tr '\0' ' ' <"$p/cmdline" | grep -q ' +' && continue
+    n=$((n+1))
+  done
+  echo $n
+}
+# Command lines of terminal children (sh/sleep/...) of GUI instances, sorted.
+children() {
+  local p c
+  for p in /proc/[0-9]*; do
+    [ "$(readlink "$p/exe" 2>/dev/null)" = "$(readlink -f "$BIN")" ] || continue
+    tr '\0' ' ' <"$p/cmdline" | grep -q ' +' && continue
+    for c in $(pgrep -P "${p#/proc/}"); do
+      echo "$(tr '\0' ' ' <"/proc/$c/cmdline") cwd=$(readlink /proc/$c/cwd)"
+    done
+  done | sort
+}
+# pids of processes with this comm that belong to this run
+tagged() { local p; for p in /proc/[0-9]*; do
+  [ "$(cat "$p/comm" 2>/dev/null)" = "$1" ] && grep -qa "LDB_TAG=$LDB_TAG" "$p/environ" 2>/dev/null && echo "${p#/proc/}"
+done; }
+settle() { sleep "${1:-2}"; }
+
+run_ipc() { # label args...
+  local label=$1; shift
+  timeout 15 "$BIN" "$@" >"$D/ipc-$label.log" 2>&1
+  fact "ipc $label rc=$?"
+  grep -E "D-Bus|not valid|error" "$D/ipc-$label.log" | grep -v "^warning\|^info" | sed 's/^/  ipc-err: /' >>"$FACTS"
+}
+
+. "$LD/scenarios.sh"
+"scn_${SCEN//-/_}"
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/scenarios.sh b/scripts/live-dbus/scenarios.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0360119
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/scenarios.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,275 @@
+# Scenario bodies, sourced by scenario.sh.
+
+scn_single_instance() {
+  cfg "gtk-single-instance = true"
+  start_bus_tools
+  # (A launch with -e is never single-instance: see the "-e launch" step.)
+  bg env GHOSTTY_DEBUG_INPUT_SCRIPT="$LD/replay-windows.txt" "$BIN" >"$D/app1.log" 2>&1
+  wait_name com.mitchellh.ghostty; fact "first instance owns name: $?"
+  settle 4; fact "step first: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  run_ipc newwin +new-window; settle
+  fact "step +new-window: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  run_ipc newwin-e +new-window -e sleep 601; settle
+  fact "step +new-window -e: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  run_ipc newwin-wd +new-window --working-directory=/usr; settle
+  fact "step +new-window --working-directory: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  run_ipc newwin-e-wd +new-window -e sleep 602 --working-directory=/usr; settle
+  fact "step +new-window -e..--working-directory: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  run_ipc newwin-class +new-window --class=com.example.nobody; settle 1
+  fact "step +new-window --class=nobody: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  # A second GUI launch is forwarded to the first instance and exits.
+  timeout 20 "$BIN" >"$D/second.log" 2>&1; fact "second launch rc=$?"
+  settle; fact "step second launch: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  children | sed 's/^/child: /' >>"$FACTS"
+  # A launch with -e is not single-instance: it runs on its own.
+  bg timeout 8 "$BIN" -e sleep 603 >"$D/dash-e.log" 2>&1
+  settle 5; fact "step -e launch: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  settle 5; fact "step -e launch ended: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  # Custom class: a separate instance on its own bus name / object path.
+  bg "$BIN" --class=com.example.custom-app >"$D/app2.log" 2>&1
+  wait_name com.example.custom-app; fact "custom class owns name: $?"
+  settle 4; fact "step custom: windows=$(windows com.example.custom-app) instances=$(instances)"
+  run_ipc newwin-custom +new-window --class=com.example.custom-app; settle
+  fact "step +new-window --class=custom: custom windows=$(windows com.example.custom-app) default windows=$(windows)"
+  run_ipc newwin-custom-e +new-window --class=com.example.custom-app -e sleep 605; settle
+  fact "step +new-window --class=custom -e: custom windows=$(windows com.example.custom-app) default windows=$(windows)"
+  run_ipc newwin-badclass +new-window --class=1bad; fact "badclass done"
+  busctl --user list --acquired --no-pager | awk '$1 ~ /^(com\.mitchellh|com\.example)/ {print "bus name: "$1}' >>"$FACTS"
+  gdbus call --session --dest com.mitchellh.ghostty --object-path /com/mitchellh/ghostty \
+    --method org.gtk.Actions.List 2>&1 | tr -d "'" >"$D/actions.txt"; fact "actions: $(cat "$D/actions.txt")"
+  gdbus call --session --dest com.example.custom-app --object-path /com/example/custom_app \
+    --method org.gtk.Actions.List 2>&1 | tr -d "'" >"$D/actions2.txt"; fact "custom actions: $(cat "$D/actions2.txt")"
+}
+
+scn_single_instance_detect() {
+  cfg "gtk-single-instance = detect"
+  start_bus_tools
+  bg "$BIN" >"$D/app1.log" 2>&1
+  wait_name com.mitchellh.ghostty; fact "plain launch owns name: $?"
+  settle 4; fact "step plain: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  timeout 20 "$BIN" >"$D/second.log" 2>&1; fact "second plain launch rc=$?"
+  settle; fact "step second plain: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  # TERM_PROGRAM set: a dedicated instance (false) that does not use the bus name.
+  bg env TERM_PROGRAM=x timeout 12 "$BIN" >"$D/termprog.log" 2>&1
+  settle 6; fact "step TERM_PROGRAM: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  settle 7; fact "step TERM_PROGRAM ended: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  # Any CLI argument: dedicated instance.
+  bg timeout 12 "$BIN" --title=cli >"$D/cliarg.log" 2>&1
+  settle 6; fact "step CLI arg: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  settle 7; fact "step CLI arg ended: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+  run_ipc newwin +new-window; settle
+  fact "step +new-window: windows=$(windows) instances=$(instances)"
+}
+
+scn_notifications() {
+  export FLAG2=$W/go2
+  rm -f "$FLAG2"
+  cfg "desktop-notifications = true" "notify-on-command-finished = always" "notify-on-command-finished-after = 1s" \
+    "command = sh $LD/child-notify.sh"
+  start_bus_tools
+  bg "$BIN" >"$D/app.log" 2>&1
+  settle 16
+  fact "notifications so far: $(grep -c "\"method\": \"Notify\"" "$MOCK_LOG" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  # Activate the first notifications (default action): must not crash.
+  mockctl Invoke 1 default; settle 2
+  fact "alive after ActionInvoked: instances=$(instances) windows=$(windows)"
+  mockctl Invoke 2 default; mockctl Invoke 999 default; settle 1
+  fact "alive after more ActionInvoked: instances=$(instances) windows=$(windows)"
+  cfg "desktop-notifications = false" "command = sh $LD/child-notify.sh"
+  gdbus call --session --dest com.mitchellh.ghostty --object-path /com/mitchellh/ghostty \
+    --method org.gtk.Actions.Activate reload-config '[]' '{}' >/dev/null; settle 2
+  touch "$FLAG2"; settle 3
+  fact "notifications after desktop-notifications=false: $(grep -c "\"method\": \"Notify\"" "$MOCK_LOG" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+}
+
+scn_shortcuts() {
+  cfg "keybind = global:ctrl+alt+x=new_window" "keybind = global:super+shift+b=new_tab" \
+    "keybind = global:ctrl+shift+f12=reload_config" "keybind = global:alt+space>q=quit" \
+    "keybind = global:ctrl+alt+q=text:hi" "keybind = ctrl+alt+z=new_window"
+  start_bus_tools
+  bg "$BIN" >"$D/app.log" 2>&1
+  wait_name com.mitchellh.ghostty; settle 5
+  fact "step start: windows=$(windows)"
+  id=$(python3 - "$MOCK_LOG" <<'PY'
+import json, sys
+for l in open(sys.argv[1]):
+    j = json.loads(l)
+    if j["method"] == "BindShortcuts":
+        for sid, opts in j["args"][1]:
+            if opts.get("description", "").startswith("new_window"):
+                print(sid)
+PY
+)
+  fact "new_window shortcut id: $id"
+  mockctl Activate "$id"; settle 3
+  fact "step Activated(new_window): windows=$(windows)"
+  mockctl Activate nonexistent; settle 1
+  fact "step Activated(unknown): windows=$(windows)"
+  # Reload with the keybinds removed: the old session is closed.
+  cfg "keybind = ctrl+alt+z=new_window"
+  gdbus call --session --dest com.mitchellh.ghostty --object-path /com/mitchellh/ghostty \
+    --method org.gtk.Actions.Activate reload-config '[]' '{}' >/dev/null; settle 3
+  fact "step reload without global: windows=$(windows)"
+  cfg "keybind = global:ctrl+alt+x=new_window"
+  gdbus call --session --dest com.mitchellh.ghostty --object-path /com/mitchellh/ghostty \
+    --method org.gtk.Actions.Activate reload-config '[]' '{}' >/dev/null; settle 3
+  fact "step reload with global again: windows=$(windows)"
+}
+
+scn_settings() {
+  mkdir -p "$W/themes"
+  printf 'background = ffeedd\nforeground = 111111\n' >"$W/themes/light"
+  printf 'background = 112233\nforeground = eeeeee\n' >"$W/themes/dark"
+  cfg "theme = light:$W/themes/light,dark:$W/themes/dark" "window-theme = auto" "command = sh $LD/child-theme.sh"
+  MOCK_COLOR_SCHEME=1 start_bus_tools
+  export OUTF=$D/tty.txt
+  : >"$OUTF"
+  bg "$BIN" >"$D/app.log" 2>&1
+  for _ in $(seq 600); do [ -s "$OUTF" ] && break; sleep 0.1; done
+  [ -s "$OUTF" ] || fact "ERROR: terminal child produced no output"
+  settle 3
+  for scheme in 2 1 0 2; do
+    printf "\n--- after portal color-scheme=$scheme\n" >>"$OUTF"
+    mockctl SetColorScheme $scheme; settle 2
+  done
+  printf "\n--- after reload window-theme=dark\n" >>"$OUTF"
+  cfg "theme = light:$W/themes/light,dark:$W/themes/dark" "window-theme = dark" "command = sh $LD/child-theme.sh"
+  gdbus call --session --dest com.mitchellh.ghostty --object-path /com/mitchellh/ghostty \
+    --method org.gtk.Actions.Activate reload-config '[]' '{}' >/dev/null; settle 2
+  printf "\n--- after portal color-scheme=2 with window-theme=dark\n" >>"$OUTF"
+  mockctl SetColorScheme 2; settle 2
+  python3 "$LD/summarize-tty.py" "$OUTF" | sed 's/^/tty: /' >>"$FACTS"
+}
+
+scn_cgroup() {
+  start_bus_tools
+  phase() { # name, config lines...
+    local name=$1; shift
+    : >"$MOCK_LOG"
+    cfg "$@"
+    bg "$BIN" -e sleep 30 >"$D/app-$name.log" 2>&1
+    local pid=$!
+    # wait for the terminal child (the scope is created right before it is exec'd)
+    for _ in $(seq 250); do pgrep -P $pid -x sleep >/dev/null && break; sleep 0.1; done
+    settle 3
+    fact "phase $name:"
+    grep StartTransientUnit "$MOCK_LOG" | sed 's/^/  call: /' >>"$FACTS"
+    kill $pid 2>/dev/null
+    for _ in $(seq 100); do kill -0 $pid 2>/dev/null || break; sleep 0.1; done
+    kill -9 $pid 2>/dev/null; kill $(tagged sleep) 2>/dev/null; settle 1
+  }
+  phase default "gtk-single-instance = false"
+  phase always "gtk-single-instance = false" "linux-cgroup = always"
+  phase always-limits "gtk-single-instance = false" "linux-cgroup = always" "linux-cgroup-memory-limit = 123456789" "linux-cgroup-processes-limit = 77"
+  phase never "gtk-single-instance = false" "linux-cgroup = never"
+  mockctl SetFail true
+  phase always-failing "gtk-single-instance = false" "linux-cgroup = always"
+  fact "cgroup done"
+}
+
+scn_openuri() {
+  # Ghostty 1.3.1 does not use the OpenURI portal (upstream TODO): links and
+  # the config file are opened by spawning `xdg-open`.  A fake xdg-open on
+  # PATH records the invocations; the mock records any portal OpenURI call.
+  mkdir -p "$W/bin"
+  cat >"$W/bin/xdg-open" <<XDG
+#!/bin/sh
+printf 'xdg-open argc=%s' "\$#" >>"$D/xdg-open.log"
+for a in "\$@"; do printf ' [%s]' "\$a" >>"$D/xdg-open.log"; done
+printf ' cwd=%s\n' "\$(pwd)" >>"$D/xdg-open.log"
+XDG
+  chmod +x "$W/bin/xdg-open"
+  export PATH=$W/bin:$PATH GTK_USE_PORTAL=1
+  : >"$D/xdg-open.log"
+  cfg "gtk-single-instance = true"
+  start_bus_tools
+  bg "$BIN" >"$D/app.log" 2>&1
+  wait_name com.mitchellh.ghostty; settle 5
+  gdbus call --session --dest com.mitchellh.ghostty --object-path /com/mitchellh/ghostty \
+    --method org.gtk.Actions.Activate open-config '[]' '{}' >/dev/null; settle 3
+  sed "s|$W|\$RUN|g" "$D/xdg-open.log" | sed 's/^/spawn: /' >>"$FACTS"
+  fact "portal OpenURI/OpenFile calls: $(grep -c 'portal.OpenURI' "$MOCK_LOG")"
+}
+
+scn_openurl_click() {
+  # The original has no input replay and weston's headless pointer is not
+  # reachable through Xwayland, so this scenario only runs for the Rust
+  # build; its result is compared against golden/openurl-click.txt, which is
+  # derived from the Zig source (internal_os/open.zig spawns `xdg-open <url>`).
+  [ "${LDB_LABEL:-}" = rust ] || return
+  mkdir -p "$W/bin"
+  cat >"$W/bin/xdg-open" <<XDG
+#!/bin/sh
+printf 'xdg-open argc=%s' "\$#" >>"$D/xdg-open.log"
+for a in "\$@"; do printf ' [%s]' "\$a" >>"$D/xdg-open.log"; done
+printf '\n' >>"$D/xdg-open.log"
+XDG
+  chmod +x "$W/bin/xdg-open"
+  export PATH=$W/bin:$PATH GDK_BACKEND=x11 OUTF=$D/tty.txt
+  : >"$D/xdg-open.log"; : >"$OUTF"
+  cfg "gtk-single-instance = false" "gtk-titlebar = false" "window-padding-x = 0" "window-padding-y = 0" \
+    "font-size = 14" "window-decoration = none" "command = sh $LD/child-links.sh" "window-width = 60" "window-height = 12"
+  start_bus_tools
+  # Launch 1 measures the cell size.
+  bg "$BIN" >"$D/app-measure.log" 2>&1
+  local pid=$!
+  settle 7
+  rows=$(grep -o '\^\[\[8;[0-9]*;[0-9]*t' "$OUTF" | head -1 | cut -d';' -f2)
+  cols=$(grep -o '\^\[\[8;[0-9]*;[0-9]*t' "$OUTF" | head -1 | cut -d';' -f3 | tr -d t)
+  wid=$(xdotool search --onlyvisible --class ghostty 2>/dev/null | head -1)
+  eval "$(xdotool getwindowgeometry --shell "$wid" 2>/dev/null)"
+  kill $pid; settle 1
+  [ -n "${WIDTH:-}" ] && [ -n "${rows:-}" ] || { fact "no geometry"; return; }
+  cw=$((WIDTH / cols)); ch=$((HEIGHT / rows))
+  {
+    for row in 0 1 2 3; do
+      echo "mouse-move $((cw * 3)) $((row * ch + ch / 2)) ctrl"
+      echo "wait 600"
+      echo "click 1 ctrl"
+      echo "wait 1500"
+    done
+    echo "wait 500"
+  } >"$W/click.txt"
+  : >"$D/xdg-open.log"; : >"$OUTF"
+  bg env GHOSTTY_DEBUG_INPUT_SCRIPT="$W/click.txt" "$BIN" >"$D/app.log" 2>&1
+  settle 16
+  sed "s|$W|\$RUN|g" "$D/xdg-open.log" | sed 's/^/spawn: /' >>"$FACTS"
+}
+
+# The real xdg-desktop-portal frontend + the gtk backend (gsettings keyfile
+# backend, so we can change color-scheme live) on the private bus.
+scn_real_portal() {
+  mkdir -p "$W/cfg/xdg-desktop-portal" "$W/cfg/glib-2.0/settings" "$W/themes"
+  printf '[preferred]\ndefault=gtk\n' >"$W/cfg/xdg-desktop-portal/portals.conf"
+  portal_env="/usr/bin/env XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=GNOME GSETTINGS_BACKEND=keyfile XDG_CONFIG_HOME=$W/cfg HOME=$W/home XDG_DATA_HOME=$W/data XDG_CACHE_HOME=$W/cache WAYLAND_DISPLAY=$WAYLAND_DISPLAY"
+  svc() { printf '[D-BUS Service]\nName=%s\nExec=%s\n' "$1" "$2" >"$LDB_RUN/services/$1.service"; }
+  svc org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop "$portal_env /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal"
+  svc org.freedesktop.impl.portal.desktop.gtk "$portal_env /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal-gtk"
+  svc org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore "$portal_env /usr/lib/xdg-permission-store"
+  printf 'background = ffeedd\nforeground = 111111\n' >"$W/themes/light"
+  printf 'background = 112233\nforeground = eeeeee\n' >"$W/themes/dark"
+  keyfile=$W/cfg/glib-2.0/settings/keyfile
+  setscheme() { printf '[org/gnome/desktop/interface]\ncolor-scheme='"'"'%s'"'"'\n' "$1" >"$keyfile"; }
+  setscheme prefer-dark
+  cfg "theme = light:$W/themes/light,dark:$W/themes/dark" "window-theme = auto" "command = sh $LD/child-theme.sh" \
+    "keybind = global:ctrl+alt+x=new_window"
+  start_bus_tools notifications,systemd
+  # Start the portal first so that its backends are up.
+  gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop --object-path /org/freedesktop/portal/desktop \
+    --method org.freedesktop.DBus.Properties.Get org.freedesktop.portal.Settings version >"$D/portal-version.txt" 2>&1
+  fact "portal frontend: $(tr -d '\n' <"$D/portal-version.txt" | cut -c1-80)"
+  settle 2
+  export OUTF=$D/tty.txt; : >"$OUTF"
+  bg env GSETTINGS_BACKEND=memory "$BIN" >"$D/app.log" 2>&1
+  for _ in $(seq 600); do [ -s "$OUTF" ] && break; sleep 0.1; done
+  [ -s "$OUTF" ] || fact "ERROR: terminal child produced no output"
+  settle 3
+  for scheme in prefer-light prefer-dark default prefer-dark; do
+    printf "\n--- after gsettings color-scheme=$scheme\n" >>"$OUTF"
+    setscheme $scheme; settle 3
+  done
+  python3 "$LD/summarize-tty.py" "$OUTF" | sed 's/^/tty: /' >>"$FACTS"
+  # Only the D-Bus error names (the log prefixes differ between the builds).
+  sed -n 's/.*request failed=\(GDBus.Error:[A-Za-z.]*\).*/\1/p' "$D/app.log" | sed 's/^/global-shortcuts request error: /' >>"$FACTS"
+  fact "alive: instances=$(instances)"
+}
diff --git a/scripts/live-dbus/summarize-tty.py b/scripts/live-dbus/summarize-tty.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..661d522
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/live-dbus/summarize-tty.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Summarize the raw `cat -v` capture of child-theme.sh: per phase (split by
+the `--- after` markers) the collapsed sequence of CSI ? 997 reports and the
+last OSC 11 background answer."""
+import re
+import sys
+
+text = open(sys.argv[1]).read()
+parts = re.split(r"\n--- (after [^\n]*)\n", "\n" + text)
+# parts: [startup, name1, body1, name2, body2, ...]; markers are written
+# right before the action, so the body after a marker is its effect.
+names = ["startup"] + parts[1::2]
+chunks = [parts[0]] + parts[2::2]
+for name, chunk in zip(names, chunks):
+    reports = re.findall(r"\^\[\[\?997;(\d)n", chunk)
+    collapsed = [r for i, r in enumerate(reports) if i == 0 or r != reports[i - 1]]
+    bgs = re.findall(r"\^\[\]11;(rgb:[0-9a-f/]+)\^G", chunk)
+    print(f"{name}: 997 reports={','.join(collapsed) or '-'} last bg={bgs[-1] if bgs else '-'}")
diff --git a/tests/live_dbus.rs b/tests/live_dbus.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..426d925
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/live_dbus.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+#![allow(clippy::unwrap_used)]
+//! Runs `scripts/live-dbus-test.sh` in golden mode: the Rust build is started
+//! on a private D-Bus session bus inside a private headless weston, with mock
+//! Notifications / systemd1 / portal services (and the real
+//! xdg-desktop-portal + gtk backend), and its observable D-Bus behaviour is
+//! compared with `scripts/live-dbus/golden/*.txt`, recorded from the original
+//! Ghostty 1.3.1 (`UPDATE_GOLDEN=1 just live-dbus` re-records them against the
+//! installed original). See `docs/rewrite/notes/live-dbus.md`.
+//!
+//! Skipped (passes) when a needed tool is missing, when there is no
+//! release-profile Rust build to test (debug builds use a different D-Bus
+//! application id, `com.mitchellh.ghostty-debug`) or when that build is older
+//! than the sources (build it with `scripts/live-dbus/build-rust.sh`). Set
+//! `GHOSTTY_SKIP_LIVE_DBUS` to skip explicitly.
+
+use std::{
+    path::{Path, PathBuf},
+    process::Command,
+    time::SystemTime,
+};
+
+fn newest_source(dir: &Path, newest: &mut SystemTime) {
+    let Ok(entries) = std::fs::read_dir(dir) else {
+        return;
+    };
+    for e in entries.flatten() {
+        let p = e.path();
+        let name = e.file_name();
+        if p.is_dir() {
+            if name != "target" && name != ".git" {
+                newest_source(&p, newest);
+            }
+        } else if matches!(
+            p.extension().and_then(|x| x.to_str()),
+            Some("rs" | "toml" | "blp" | "ui" | "css")
+        ) && let Ok(m) = e.metadata().and_then(|m| m.modified())
+        {
+            *newest = (*newest).max(m);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn have(tool: &str) -> bool {
+    Command::new("sh")
+        .args(["-c", &format!("command -v {tool}")])
+        .output()
+        .is_ok_and(|o| o.status.success())
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn rust_build_matches_recorded_original_on_private_bus() {
+    let root = PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"));
+    if std::env::var_os("GHOSTTY_SKIP_LIVE_DBUS").is_some() {
+        return;
+    }
+    for tool in ["weston", "dbus-run-session", "busctl", "python3", "xdotool"] {
+        if !have(tool) {
+            eprintln!("live-dbus: skipped ({tool} missing)");
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+    let bin = std::env::var_os("RUST_BIN")
+        .map_or_else(|| root.join("target/vp/production/ghostty"), PathBuf::from);
+    let Ok(built) = std::fs::metadata(&bin).and_then(|m| m.modified()) else {
+        eprintln!("live-dbus: skipped (no release build at {})", bin.display());
+        return;
+    };
+    let mut newest = SystemTime::UNIX_EPOCH;
+    for d in ["crates", "src", "resources"] {
+        newest_source(&root.join(d), &mut newest);
+    }
+    if newest > built {
+        eprintln!(
+            "live-dbus: skipped ({} is older than the sources)",
+            bin.display()
+        );
+        return;
+    }
+    let out = Command::new("bash")
+        .arg(root.join("scripts/live-dbus-test.sh"))
+        .env("LABELS", "rust")
+        .env("RUST_BIN", &bin)
+        .env("OUT", root.join("target/live-dbus"))
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+    let text = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stdout);
+    eprintln!("{text}");
+    assert!(out.status.success(), "live-dbus comparison failed:\n{text}");
+}