diff --git a/CLIENTS.md b/CLIENTS.md
index 398f171..a38936d 100644
--- a/CLIENTS.md
+++ b/CLIENTS.md
@@ -78,10 +78,12 @@ absolute API base if offline-launch or store policy requires it.
 
 ### Phase D — Inline-reply notifications (Teams-style)  *(right AFTER packaging)*
 Reply to a chat directly from the OS notification, without opening the app. Cross-platform:
-- **Desktop (Windows):** native **Windows Toast** with an `<input>` reply box + action, a
-  registered **AppUserModelID** + Start-menu shortcut (why it needs the installer first), and
-  a toast-activation handler that POSTs the reply to `/api/messages`. (Web `Notification` and
-  Electron's built-in notification can't do Windows text reply; needs a native toast lib.)
+- [x] **Desktop (Windows):** native Windows toast with a **reply box** via **node-notifier**
+      (bundles SnoreToast). main.js `reply-notification` handler → preload `replyNotify` →
+      home.html `notify()` routes chat toasts through it: a typed reply calls `sendReplyTo`
+      (POST /api/messages) without opening the app; clicking opens the chat. Uses the installer's
+      AppUserModelID, so it only works in the **installed** app. *Needs a live test in the
+      installed app (can't drive a real Windows toast from CI).*
 - **Android:** notification action with **`RemoteInput`** (direct reply) on the FCM message.
 - **iOS:** **`UNTextInputNotificationAction`** on the APNs notification category.
 All three hand the typed text to the same send path. Depends on Phase B push + Phase C packaging.
diff --git a/desktop/main.js b/desktop/main.js
index 942f86e..100fb58 100644
--- a/desktop/main.js
+++ b/desktop/main.js
@@ -35,6 +35,33 @@ ipcMain.on('get-install-info', (e) => {
 // on the next restart. No-op in dev (unpackaged).
 let autoUpdater = null;
 try { ({ autoUpdater } = require('electron-updater')); } catch (_) { /* not installed in dev */ }
+// node-notifier bundles SnoreToast, which renders a native Windows toast WITH a reply box
+// (Electron's own Notification can't do Windows inline reply). Only works in the installed app
+// (needs the AppUserModelID shortcut the NSIS installer registers).
+let notifier = null;
+try { notifier = require('node-notifier'); } catch (_) { /* optional */ }
+
+// Show a chat notification with an inline reply box. Resolves with the typed reply, an "open"
+// intent (toast clicked), or null (dismissed/timeout). The renderer sends the reply / opens chat.
+ipcMain.handle('reply-notification', (_e, payload = {}) => new Promise((resolve) => {
+  if (!notifier) return resolve(null);
+  let done = false; const finish = (v) => { if (!done) { done = true; resolve(v); } };
+  try {
+    notifier.notify({
+      appID: 'com.bizgaze.connect.desktop',
+      title: payload.title || 'Biz Connect',
+      message: payload.body || '',
+      reply: true, wait: true, timeout: 20,
+    }, (err, response, metadata) => {
+      if (err) return finish(null);
+      const text = (metadata && metadata.activationValue) ? String(metadata.activationValue).trim() : '';
+      const resp = String(response || '').toLowerCase();
+      if (text && resp !== 'activate') finish({ kind: payload.kind, id: payload.id, text });
+      else if (resp === 'activate' || resp === 'clicked') finish({ kind: payload.kind, id: payload.id, open: true });
+      else finish(null);
+    });
+  } catch (_) { finish(null); }
+}));
 
 // Windows attributes notifications to the AppUserModelID. Without setting it, toasts read
 // "electron.app.<name>"; setting it to the installer's appId makes Windows resolve the
diff --git a/desktop/package-lock.json b/desktop/package-lock.json
index 0c1f118..8879ddb 100644
--- a/desktop/package-lock.json
+++ b/desktop/package-lock.json
@@ -1,14 +1,15 @@
 {
   "name": "biz-connect-desktop",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "version": "0.1.1",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "biz-connect-desktop",
-      "version": "0.1.0",
+      "version": "0.1.1",
       "dependencies": {
-        "electron-updater": "^6.3.9"
+        "electron-updater": "^6.3.9",
+        "node-notifier": "^10.0.1"
       },
       "devDependencies": {
         "electron": "^31.0.0",
@@ -2555,6 +2556,12 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-RbJ5/jmFcNNCcDV5o9eTnBLJ/HszWV0P73bc+Ff4nS/rJj+YaS6IGyiOL0VoBYX+l1Wrl3k63h/KrH+nhJ0XvQ==",
       "license": "ISC"
     },
+    "node_modules/growly": {
+      "version": "1.3.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/growly/-/growly-1.3.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-+xGQY0YyAWCnqy7Cd++hc2JqMYzlm0dG30Jd0beaA64sROr8C4nt8Yc9V5Ro3avlSUDTN0ulqP/VBKi1/lLygw==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
     "node_modules/has-flag": {
       "version": "4.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/has-flag/-/has-flag-4.0.0.tgz",
@@ -2768,6 +2775,21 @@
         "is-ci": "bin.js"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/is-docker": {
+      "version": "2.2.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/is-docker/-/is-docker-2.2.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-F+i2BKsFrH66iaUFc0woD8sLy8getkwTwtOBjvs56Cx4CgJDeKQeqfz8wAYiSb8JOprWhHH5p77PbmYCvvUuXQ==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "bin": {
+        "is-docker": "cli.js"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=8"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/is-fullwidth-code-point": {
       "version": "3.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/is-fullwidth-code-point/-/is-fullwidth-code-point-3.0.0.tgz",
@@ -2778,6 +2800,18 @@
         "node": ">=8"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/is-wsl": {
+      "version": "2.2.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/is-wsl/-/is-wsl-2.2.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-fKzAra0rGJUUBwGBgNkHZuToZcn+TtXHpeCgmkMJMMYx1sQDYaCSyjJBSCa2nH1DGm7s3n1oBnohoVTBaN7Lww==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "is-docker": "^2.0.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=8"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/isarray": {
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/isarray/-/isarray-1.0.0.tgz",
@@ -2803,7 +2837,6 @@
       "version": "2.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/isexe/-/isexe-2.0.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-RHxMLp9lnKHGHRng9QFhRCMbYAcVpn69smSGcq3f36xjgVVWThj4qqLbTLlq7Ssj8B+fIQ1EuCEGI2lKsyQeIw==",
-      "dev": true,
       "license": "ISC"
     },
     "node_modules/jackspeak": {
@@ -3213,6 +3246,32 @@
       "license": "MIT",
       "optional": true
     },
+    "node_modules/node-notifier": {
+      "version": "10.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-notifier/-/node-notifier-10.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-YX7TSyDukOZ0g+gmzjB6abKu+hTGvO8+8+gIFDsRCU2t8fLV/P2unmt+LGFaIa4y64aX98Qksa97rgz4vMNeLQ==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "growly": "^1.3.0",
+        "is-wsl": "^2.2.0",
+        "semver": "^7.3.5",
+        "shellwords": "^0.1.1",
+        "uuid": "^8.3.2",
+        "which": "^2.0.2"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/node-notifier/node_modules/semver": {
+      "version": "7.8.5",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/semver/-/semver-7.8.5.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Y7/KDsb8LjooZpwaqGyulO6DQlksgCncchHGk+sZIY4SBvUocMBEFH5Ur1fI4dV+Jvl0w6cjvucaIi40puRioA==",
+      "license": "ISC",
+      "bin": {
+        "semver": "bin/semver.js"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=10"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/normalize-path": {
       "version": "3.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/normalize-path/-/normalize-path-3.0.0.tgz",
@@ -3624,6 +3683,12 @@
         "node": ">=8"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/shellwords": {
+      "version": "0.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/shellwords/-/shellwords-0.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-vFwSUfQvqybiICwZY5+DAWIPLKsWO31Q91JSKl3UYv+K5c2QRPzn0qzec6QPu1Qc9eHYItiP3NdJqNVqetYAww==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
     "node_modules/signal-exit": {
       "version": "4.1.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/signal-exit/-/signal-exit-4.1.0.tgz",
@@ -4017,6 +4082,16 @@
       "license": "MIT",
       "peer": true
     },
+    "node_modules/uuid": {
+      "version": "8.3.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/uuid/-/uuid-8.3.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-+NYs2QeMWy+GWFOEm9xnn6HCDp0l7QBD7ml8zLUmJ+93Q5NF0NocErnwkTkXVFNiX3/fpC6afS8Dhb/gz7R7eg==",
+      "deprecated": "uuid@10 and below is no longer supported.  For ESM codebases, update to uuid@latest.  For CommonJS codebases, use uuid@11 (but be aware this version will likely be deprecated in 2028).",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "bin": {
+        "uuid": "dist/bin/uuid"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/verror": {
       "version": "1.10.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/verror/-/verror-1.10.1.tgz",
@@ -4037,7 +4112,6 @@
       "version": "2.0.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/which/-/which-2.0.2.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-BLI3Tl1TW3Pvl70l3yq3Y64i+awpwXqsGBYWkkqMtnbXgrMD+yj7rhW0kuEDxzJaYXGjEW5ogapKNMEKNMjibA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "license": "ISC",
       "dependencies": {
         "isexe": "^2.0.0"
diff --git a/desktop/package.json b/desktop/package.json
index 3a43767..2f97a68 100644
--- a/desktop/package.json
+++ b/desktop/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "biz-connect-desktop",
-  "version": "0.1.1",
+  "version": "0.1.2",
   "description": "Biz Connect technician desktop client — loads the Connect web UI with native screen capture",
   "author": { "name": "BizGaze", "email": "support@bizgaze.com" },
   "main": "main.js",
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@
     "dist": "electron-builder"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "electron-updater": "^6.3.9"
+    "electron-updater": "^6.3.9",
+    "node-notifier": "^10.0.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "electron": "^31.0.0",
diff --git a/desktop/preload.js b/desktop/preload.js
index 6d13f59..e6f250a 100644
--- a/desktop/preload.js
+++ b/desktop/preload.js
@@ -19,4 +19,7 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('bizConnectNative', Object.freeze({
   // Show the unread-chat count as a badge on the taskbar icon. count=number of chats with
   // unread; dataUrl=a small PNG badge the renderer drew (null to clear).
   setUnread: (count, dataUrl) => ipcRenderer.send('set-unread', { count, dataUrl }),
+  // Native Windows toast with an inline reply box. Resolves to {text} (replied), {open} (clicked)
+  // or null. Lets the user reply to a chat straight from the notification.
+  replyNotify: (payload) => ipcRenderer.invoke('reply-notification', payload),
 }));
diff --git a/server/public/home.html b/server/public/home.html
index c7ac4ee..dca48bd 100644
--- a/server/public/home.html
+++ b/server/public/home.html
@@ -731,7 +731,7 @@
 </head>
 <body>
 <script src="/icons.js?v=4"></script>
-<script>window.__BUILD='2026-07-01-batch20';console.log('%cBiz Connect','color:#1F3B73;font-weight:bold','build '+window.__BUILD);</script>
+<script>window.__BUILD='2026-07-01-batch21';console.log('%cBiz Connect','color:#1F3B73;font-weight:bold','build '+window.__BUILD);</script>
 <div class="loading" id="loading">Loading…</div>
 
 <header>
@@ -1894,11 +1894,24 @@ async function unsubscribePush(){
 // Open the chat from an in-page notification. Navigation reliably repaints across browsers (a
 // notification click is not an in-page gesture, so an in-place open won't paint until you
 // tap). The reload is made fast by HTTP caching + a boot fast-path that opens the chat first.
+function openFromNotif(kind,id){ try{ if(window.bizConnectNative&&window.bizConnectNative.focusApp) window.bizConnectNative.focusApp(); }catch(_){} try{ window.focus(); }catch(_){} location.assign('/home?openKind='+encodeURIComponent(kind||'')+'&openId='+encodeURIComponent(id||'')); }
+// Reply to a conversation without opening it (used by the notification quick-reply).
+async function sendReplyTo(kind,id,text){ try{ await postJSON('/api/messages', kind==='group'?{group:id,body:text}:{to:id,body:text}); }catch(_){} }
 function notify(title, body, kind, id){
   try{
+    // Desktop app (Phase D): native Windows toast with an inline reply box.
+    if(window.bizConnectNative && window.bizConnectNative.replyNotify){
+      window.bizConnectNative.replyNotify({title, body, kind, id}).then(r=>{
+        if(!r) return;
+        if(r.text) sendReplyTo(kind, id, r.text);       // replied from the toast
+        else if(r.open) openFromNotif(kind, id);         // clicked the toast
+      }).catch(()=>{});
+      return;
+    }
+    // Web / PWA: standard Notification.
     if(!('Notification' in window) || Notification.permission!=='granted') return;
     const n=new Notification(title, { body, icon:'/logo.png' });
-    n.onclick=()=>{ try{ window.focus(); }catch(_){} try{ if(window.bizConnectNative&&window.bizConnectNative.focusApp) window.bizConnectNative.focusApp(); }catch(_){} const u='/home?openKind='+encodeURIComponent(kind||'')+'&openId='+encodeURIComponent(id||''); n.close(); location.assign(u); };
+    n.onclick=()=>{ n.close(); openFromNotif(kind, id); };
     setTimeout(()=>{ try{ n.close(); }catch(_){} }, 8000);
   }catch(_){}
 }