diff --git a/vibn-frontend/app/[workspace]/project/[projectId]/(home)/code/page.tsx b/vibn-frontend/app/[workspace]/project/[projectId]/(home)/code/page.tsx
index ab0d629d..a6ec56c4 100644
--- a/vibn-frontend/app/[workspace]/project/[projectId]/(home)/code/page.tsx
+++ b/vibn-frontend/app/[workspace]/project/[projectId]/(home)/code/page.tsx
@@ -73,34 +73,34 @@ export default function CodeTab() {
           {/* ── Left rail ── */}
           <section style={leftCol}>
             {showLoading && (
-              <Card>
-                <div
-                  style={{
-                    display: "flex",
-                    alignItems: "center",
-                    gap: 8,
-                    color: THEME.mid,
-                    fontSize: "0.875rem",
-                  }}
-                >
-                  <Loader2 size={15} className="animate-spin" /> Loading…
-                </div>
-              </Card>
+              <div
+                style={{
+                  display: "flex",
+                  alignItems: "center",
+                  justifyContent: "center",
+                  padding: "48px 0",
+                  gap: 8,
+                  color: THEME.muted,
+                  fontSize: "0.85rem",
+                }}
+              >
+                <Loader2 size={16} className="animate-spin" /> Loading codebase…
+              </div>
             )}
             {error && !showLoading && (
-              <Card>
-                <div
-                  style={{
-                    display: "flex",
-                    alignItems: "center",
-                    gap: 8,
-                    color: THEME.danger,
-                    fontSize: "0.875rem",
-                  }}
-                >
-                  <AlertCircle size={15} /> {error}
-                </div>
-              </Card>
+              <div
+                style={{
+                  display: "flex",
+                  alignItems: "center",
+                  justifyContent: "center",
+                  padding: "48px 0",
+                  gap: 8,
+                  color: THEME.danger,
+                  fontSize: "0.85rem",
+                }}
+              >
+                <AlertCircle size={16} /> {error}
+              </div>
             )}
 
             {anatomy && (