diff --git a/bootstrap/app.php b/bootstrap/app.php
index 1ac8199..f7b9c20 100644
--- a/bootstrap/app.php
+++ b/bootstrap/app.php
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ return Application::configure(basePath: dirname(__DIR__))
     ->withMiddleware(function (Middleware $middleware): void {
         $middleware->trustProxies(at: '*');
 
+        $middleware->encryptCookies(except: ['nimuli_theme']);
+
         $middleware->web(append: [
             LocaleFromUser::class,
             SecurityHeaders::class,
diff --git a/public/android-chrome-192x192.png b/public/android-chrome-192x192.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5199f8d
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/android-chrome-192x192.png differ
diff --git a/public/android-chrome-512x512.png b/public/android-chrome-512x512.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f81e0b9
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/android-chrome-512x512.png differ
diff --git a/public/apple-touch-icon.png b/public/apple-touch-icon.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4d92e8b
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/apple-touch-icon.png differ
diff --git a/public/favicon-16x16.png b/public/favicon-16x16.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c92ee0
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/favicon-16x16.png differ
diff --git a/public/favicon-32x32.png b/public/favicon-32x32.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b99f9b
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/favicon-32x32.png differ
diff --git a/resources/js/app.js b/resources/js/app.js
index 3ade3e0..0cc106b 100644
--- a/resources/js/app.js
+++ b/resources/js/app.js
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ document.addEventListener('alpine:init', () => {
             this.current = theme;
             document.documentElement.dataset.theme = theme;
             localStorage.setItem('nimuli_theme', theme);
+            document.cookie = 'nimuli_theme=' + theme + '; path=/; max-age=31536000; SameSite=Lax';
         },
         cycle() {
             const order = ['dark', 'light', 'system'];
diff --git a/resources/js/bootstrap.js b/resources/js/bootstrap.js
index 5f1390b..fb8b32e 100644
--- a/resources/js/bootstrap.js
+++ b/resources/js/bootstrap.js
@@ -1,4 +1,17 @@
 import axios from 'axios';
 window.axios = axios;
-
 window.axios.defaults.headers.common['X-Requested-With'] = 'XMLHttpRequest';
+
+import Echo from 'laravel-echo';
+import Pusher from 'pusher-js';
+window.Pusher = Pusher;
+
+window.Echo = new Echo({
+    broadcaster: 'reverb',
+    key: import.meta.env.VITE_REVERB_APP_KEY,
+    wsHost: import.meta.env.VITE_REVERB_HOST,
+    wsPort: import.meta.env.VITE_REVERB_PORT ?? 443,
+    wssPort: import.meta.env.VITE_REVERB_PORT ?? 443,
+    forceTLS: (import.meta.env.VITE_REVERB_SCHEME ?? 'https') === 'https',
+    enabledTransports: ['ws', 'wss'],
+});
diff --git a/resources/views/layouts/nimuli-app.blade.php b/resources/views/layouts/nimuli-app.blade.php
index 388c132..eedb290 100644
--- a/resources/views/layouts/nimuli-app.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/layouts/nimuli-app.blade.php
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <!DOCTYPE html>
-<html lang="{{ app()->getLocale() }}" data-theme="{{ auth()->user()?->theme ?? 'dark' }}">
+<html lang="{{ app()->getLocale() }}" data-theme="{{ request()->cookie('nimuli_theme') ?? auth()->user()?->theme ?? 'dark' }}">
 <head>
     <meta charset="utf-8">
     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
     <script>
         (function () {
             try {
-                var saved = localStorage.getItem('nimuli_theme') || '{{ auth()->user()?->theme ?? 'dark' }}';
+                var saved = localStorage.getItem('nimuli_theme') || '{{ request()->cookie('nimuli_theme') ?? auth()->user()?->theme ?? 'dark' }}';
                 var theme = saved === 'system'
                     ? (matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches ? 'dark' : 'light')
                     : saved;
@@ -133,10 +133,9 @@
         </div>
     </div>
 
-    <x-modal-container />
-
     @livewireScripts
-
+    @livewire('wire-elements-modal')
+    
     <script>
         (function () {
             function markReady() { document.body.classList.add('app-ready'); }
diff --git a/scripts/verify-modals.sh b/scripts/verify-modals.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5aadabc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/verify-modals.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+PASS=0; FAIL=0
+
+ok()  { echo "  ✓ $*"; PASS=$((PASS+1)); }
+fail(){ echo "  ✗ $*"; FAIL=$((FAIL+1)); }
+
+APP_URL="${APP_URL:-https://nimuli.com}"
+PROJECT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+
+echo ""
+echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════"
+echo "  Nimuli — Modal & Layout Verify"
+echo "  $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
+echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════"
+
+# ── 1. PHP / Composer ─────────────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 1 ] Dependencies"
+cd "$PROJECT_DIR"
+docker compose exec -T app php artisan --version &>/dev/null && ok "Laravel reachable" || fail "Laravel not reachable"
+
+# ── 2. wire-elements-modal present once ───────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 2 ] Modal container in layout"
+LAYOUT="resources/views/layouts/nimuli-app.blade.php"
+MODAL_COUNT=$(grep -c "wire-elements-modal\|livewire-ui-modal" "$LAYOUT" || true)
+if [ "$MODAL_COUNT" -eq 1 ]; then
+    ok "Exactly 1 modal container in layout"
+elif [ "$MODAL_COUNT" -eq 0 ]; then
+    fail "No modal container found in layout"
+else
+    fail "Duplicate modal containers ($MODAL_COUNT) — remove one"
+fi
+
+# ── 3. Echo in bootstrap.js ───────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 3 ] Laravel Echo"
+if grep -q "new Echo" "resources/js/bootstrap.js"; then
+    ok "Echo instantiated in bootstrap.js"
+else
+    fail "Echo missing from bootstrap.js"
+fi
+
+# ── 4. Cookie theme ───────────────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 4 ] Theme cookie"
+if grep -q "nimuli_theme" "bootstrap/app.php"; then
+    ok "nimuli_theme excluded from cookie encryption"
+else
+    fail "nimuli_theme not excluded from EncryptCookies"
+fi
+if grep -q "document.cookie.*nimuli_theme" "resources/js/app.js"; then
+    ok "Theme cookie written in Alpine store"
+else
+    fail "Alpine theme store does not write cookie"
+fi
+if grep -q "request()->cookie('nimuli_theme')" "resources/views/layouts/nimuli-app.blade.php"; then
+    ok "Layout reads theme cookie server-side"
+else
+    fail "Layout does not read theme cookie server-side"
+fi
+
+# ── 5. PNG icons ──────────────────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 5 ] Manifest icons"
+for f in favicon-16x16.png favicon-32x32.png apple-touch-icon.png android-chrome-192x192.png android-chrome-512x512.png; do
+    if [ -f "public/$f" ]; then
+        ok "$f present"
+    else
+        fail "$f missing from public/"
+    fi
+done
+
+# ── 6. Modal component files ──────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 6 ] Modal Livewire components"
+MODALS=(
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/CreateLink.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/EditLink.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/DeleteLink.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/CreateWorkspace.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/DeleteWorkspace.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/InviteMember.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/EditMemberRole.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/RemoveMember.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/CreateWebhook.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/DeleteWebhook.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/CreateApiToken.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/RevokeApiToken.php"
+    "app/Livewire/Modals/ConfirmAction.php"
+)
+for modal in "${MODALS[@]}"; do
+    if [ -f "$modal" ]; then
+        ok "$(basename "$modal" .php)"
+    else
+        fail "MISSING: $modal"
+    fi
+done
+
+# ── 7. Tests ──────────────────────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 7 ] Test suite"
+if docker compose exec -T app php artisan test --filter "LinksModals|WorkspaceModals|DevUserSeeder" 2>&1 | grep -q "passed"; then
+    ok "Pest tests pass"
+else
+    echo "  Running full suite (this may take a moment)..."
+    docker compose exec -T app php artisan test 2>&1 | tail -5
+    fail "Check output above"
+fi
+
+# ── 8. Build compiles ─────────────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 8 ] Vite build"
+if npm run build 2>&1 | grep -q "built in"; then
+    ok "Vite build clean"
+else
+    fail "Vite build errors — check output"
+fi
+
+# ── 9. Seeders ────────────────────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "[ 9 ] Dev user seeder"
+DB_USER=$(sed -n 's/^DB_USERNAME=//p' "$PROJECT_DIR/.env")
+DB_PASS=$(sed -n 's/^DB_PASSWORD=//p' "$PROJECT_DIR/.env")
+DB_NAME=$(sed -n 's/^DB_DATABASE=//p' "$PROJECT_DIR/.env")
+USER_CNT=$(docker compose exec -T mysql mysql -u"$DB_USER" -p"$DB_PASS" "$DB_NAME" \
+    -se "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users WHERE email='nexxo@nimuli.com';" 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
+if [ "${USER_CNT:-0}" -gt 0 ]; then
+    ok "nexxo@nimuli.com exists in DB"
+else
+    fail "nexxo@nimuli.com not found — run: php artisan db:seed"
+fi
+
+# ── Summary ───────────────────────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════"
+TOTAL=$((PASS + FAIL))
+echo "  Passed: $PASS / $TOTAL"
+if [ "$FAIL" -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "  Failed: $FAIL"
+    echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════"
+    echo ""
+    exit 1
+else
+    echo "  All checks passed ✓"
+    echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════"
+    echo ""
+fi
diff --git a/tests/bootstrap.php b/tests/bootstrap.php
index 1aa8690..817a876 100644
--- a/tests/bootstrap.php
+++ b/tests/bootstrap.php
@@ -1,9 +1,17 @@
 <?php
 
-// Force APP_ENV=testing before anything else loads
-// This overrides Docker container OS env (APP_ENV=local) so CSRF is disabled in tests
+// Force test env vars before anything else loads.
+// Docker OS env overrides phpunit.xml <env> directives unless we set them here first.
 putenv('APP_ENV=testing');
 $_ENV['APP_ENV'] = 'testing';
 $_SERVER['APP_ENV'] = 'testing';
 
+putenv('DB_CONNECTION=sqlite');
+$_ENV['DB_CONNECTION'] = 'sqlite';
+$_SERVER['DB_CONNECTION'] = 'sqlite';
+
+putenv('DB_DATABASE=:memory:');
+$_ENV['DB_DATABASE'] = ':memory:';
+$_SERVER['DB_DATABASE'] = ':memory:';
+
 require __DIR__.'/../vendor/autoload.php';
