diff --git a/STATUS.md b/STATUS.md
index 3b9b0f9..9294fa4 100644
--- a/STATUS.md
+++ b/STATUS.md
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ Single source of truth for "what's next." One milestone per PR/run. Autopilot:
 pick the one task under **NEXT**, ship it, stop. Do **not** start anything under
 **BLOCKED**.
 
-_Last updated: 2026-07-04 — Milestone 6 (Web Worker WASM inference) done; two
-user-directed polish items (boot loading bar, then a black+green "coding"
-aesthetic) landed on top; queue empty pending an M7 proposal._
+_Last updated: 2026-07-04 — Milestone 6 (Web Worker WASM inference) done; three
+user-directed polish items (boot loading bar, a black+green "coding" aesthetic,
+then a persistent title + author credit) landed on top; queue empty pending an
+M7 proposal._
 
 ---
 
@@ -195,6 +196,26 @@ aesthetic) landed on top; queue empty pending an M7 proposal._
   30.7fps). Deployed to the linked Netlify site (`live-depth-field`).
   Pre-change HEAD (rollback) `d455809`.
 
+- **Polish — persistent title + author credit (user-directed, not a milestone).**
+  The "Live Depth Field" name previously lived only on the boot loader; it now
+  also sits **persistently at the top-middle of the running app**, with the
+  author credit **"by Noah Federovitch"** beneath it. Both are static
+  presentational chrome — an inline `#app-title` overlay in `index.html` (like
+  `#boot-loader`, so it's in the page from the first paint and testable in the
+  raw server bytes) styled in `src/style.css` to mirror the boot loader's
+  phosphor-green `.boot-title` (uppercase name in `--accent` with a green glow,
+  dimmer `--accent-dim` credit line, monospace). `pointer-events: none` keeps the
+  overlay from ever intercepting orbit drags on the canvas underneath, and
+  `z-index: 5` (below the loader's 10) means the loader still fully covers it
+  during boot. **No JS** — `src/main.js`, the render loop, OrbitControls, the
+  geometry/shader, and the M4 decoupling machinery are byte-unchanged. Smoke test
+  asserts both strings ship in the raw HTML AND the live title is visible,
+  horizontally centered near the top, and does not capture pointer events over
+  the canvas (`elementFromPoint` at its center returns the canvas). Proven
+  non-tautological (RED on the prior HTML: no `#app-title`). Verified visually on
+  a real build (centered green title + credit above the orbiting cloud, ~21fps).
+  Pre-change HEAD (rollback) `d5546e8`.
+
 **Carry-over facts from M3/M4 (do not re-derive):**
 
 - Depth output contract: `depth` RawImage, Uint8, 1 channel, input W×H, 0–255
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index bb2924b..0eb44f8 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -83,6 +83,17 @@
       <div class="boot-track"><div class="boot-fill"></div></div>
     </div>
     <div id="app"></div>
+    <!--
+      Persistent app title + author credit, top-middle of the screen. Static
+      chrome (inlined here, not built by JS) so it's part of the page from the
+      first paint — sitting behind the #boot-loader overlay (lower z-index)
+      until the app boots and the loader fades. pointer-events:none (see
+      style.css) keeps it from ever intercepting orbit drags over the canvas.
+    -->
+    <div id="app-title">
+      <div class="app-title-name">Live Depth Field</div>
+      <div class="app-title-credit">by Noah Federovitch</div>
+    </div>
     <script type="module" src="/src/main.js"></script>
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/src/style.css b/src/style.css
index 29eeb2e..b6f855c 100644
--- a/src/style.css
+++ b/src/style.css
@@ -21,6 +21,37 @@ canvas {
   display: block;
 }
 
+/* Persistent title + author credit, docked top-middle over the canvas. Mirrors
+   the boot loader's phosphor-green .boot-title so the name carries over from the
+   loading screen. pointer-events:none so the overlay never steals orbit drags
+   from the canvas underneath; z-index sits below #boot-loader (10) so the loader
+   still fully covers it during boot. */
+#app-title {
+  position: fixed;
+  top: 12px;
+  left: 50%;
+  transform: translateX(-50%);
+  z-index: 5;
+  text-align: center;
+  pointer-events: none;
+  user-select: none;
+}
+
+#app-title .app-title-name {
+  font: 600 15px/1 var(--mono);
+  letter-spacing: 0.2em;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--accent);
+  text-shadow: 0 0 12px rgba(0, 255, 156, 0.6);
+}
+
+#app-title .app-title-credit {
+  margin-top: 5px;
+  font: 11px/1 var(--mono);
+  letter-spacing: 0.08em;
+  color: var(--accent-dim);
+}
+
 /* Milestone 2: live splat-uniform sliders, docked top-left over the canvas. */
 #controls {
   position: fixed;
diff --git a/tests/smoke.spec.js b/tests/smoke.spec.js
index 0d29b7a..68cf0ef 100644
--- a/tests/smoke.spec.js
+++ b/tests/smoke.spec.js
@@ -717,6 +717,68 @@ test('aesthetic: pre-upload cloud tint reads green (coding aesthetic)', async ({
   expect(errors, `unexpected page errors:\n${errors.join('\n')}`).toEqual([]);
 });
 
+// Title + credit (user-directed, not a milestone). The "Live Depth Field" name
+// from the boot loader must ALSO live on the running app — persistently, at the
+// top-middle of the screen — and the project must carry the author credit
+// "by Noah Federovitch". Both are static presentational chrome inlined in the
+// initial HTML (like the boot loader), so this asserts (a) they ship in the raw
+// server bytes AND (b) the name sits horizontally centered near the top of the
+// live page, and (c) the title overlay never intercepts pointer input (so it
+// can't block orbiting the cloud underneath it). Non-tautological: no #app-title
+// exists before this change — every assertion is RED on the prior HTML.
+test('title: Live Depth Field name + Noah Federovitch credit shown at top center', async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  const errors = [];
+  page.on('pageerror', (e) => errors.push(`pageerror: ${e}`));
+  page.on('console', (m) => {
+    if (m.type() === 'error') errors.push(`console.error: ${m.text()}`);
+  });
+
+  // (a) Both strings ship in the exact bytes the server sends — static chrome,
+  // not JS-injected. Fetched raw so a scripted node can't satisfy it.
+  const html = await (await page.request.get('/')).text();
+  expect(html, 'initial HTML must contain an #app-title overlay').toMatch(
+    /id=["']app-title["']/,
+  );
+  expect(html, 'the title must show the app name').toContain('Live Depth Field');
+  expect(html, 'the project must carry the author credit').toContain(
+    'by Noah Federovitch',
+  );
+
+  // (b) Live: the title is visible and its text is present once the page loads.
+  await page.goto('/');
+  const title = page.locator('#app-title');
+  await expect(title).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(title).toContainText('Live Depth Field');
+  await expect(title).toContainText(/by Noah Federovitch/i);
+
+  // Top-middle placement: horizontally centered on the viewport, near the top.
+  const box = await title.boundingBox();
+  const viewport = page.viewportSize();
+  const titleCenter = box.x + box.width / 2;
+  const viewportCenter = viewport.width / 2;
+  expect(
+    Math.abs(titleCenter - viewportCenter),
+    `title must be horizontally centered (center ${titleCenter} vs ${viewportCenter})`,
+  ).toBeLessThan(40);
+  expect(box.y, 'title must sit near the top of the screen').toBeLessThan(80);
+
+  // (c) The overlay sits over the canvas but must not steal orbit input — the
+  // element under its center point must be the canvas, not the title.
+  const underCenter = await page.evaluate(() => {
+    const el = document.getElementById('app-title');
+    const r = el.getBoundingClientRect();
+    const hit = document.elementFromPoint(r.left + r.width / 2, r.top + r.height / 2);
+    return hit ? hit.tagName.toLowerCase() : null;
+  });
+  expect(underCenter, 'title must not capture pointer events over the canvas').toBe(
+    'canvas',
+  );
+
+  expect(errors, `unexpected page errors:\n${errors.join('\n')}`).toEqual([]);
+});
+
 // Milestone 6: WASM inference moves into a Web Worker so the main thread stays
 // responsive during a pass. The worker itself can't run in CI (it loads the
 // real ~100MB model — the worker-path proof is a local real-model probe, like