refine(wallet): the balance readout scans as one column, not a barcode

Seeing it on the node settled the shape. Two rows of per-cell delays
read as a dense flicker — closer to a progress bar than a display, and
short enough against the row's text to look like an underline.

Three rows laid out column-first fixes both: the three cells of a column
now share a delay, so the lit column travels across as a single scan
line, and at 11px the matrix sits with the text rather than under it.

Verified in a real browser against the live node with the balance RPCs
held open: five placeholders, five distinct rail colours (white, orange,
yellow, purple, blue), 42 cells each, all animating, each announcing
what it is waiting for — and no "0 sats" anywhere on screen while the
calls were in flight. They gave way to real figures on arrival, with
Lightning's genuine 0 correctly shown as a figure rather than left
shimmering.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

docker/lnd-ui/index.html

@@ -196,8 +196,8 @@
            not a loading state, and it is the one number that frightens
            people. It inherits currentColor, so each tile shimmers in its own
            rail colour. */
-        .bal-pixels { display: inline-grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(14, 4px); grid-auto-rows: 4px; gap: 1px; vertical-align: 0.15em; }
+        .bal-pixels { display: inline-grid; grid-auto-flow: column; grid-template-rows: repeat(3, 4px); grid-auto-columns: 4px; gap: 1px; vertical-align: 0.1em; }
-        .bal-pixels i { width: 4px; height: 4px; border-radius: 0.5px; background: currentColor; opacity: 0.16; animation: bal-pixel-scan 1.4s ease-in-out infinite; }
+        .bal-pixels i { width: 4px; height: 4px; border-radius: 0.5px; background: currentColor; opacity: 0.16; animation: bal-pixel-scan 1.6s ease-in-out infinite; }
         @keyframes bal-pixel-scan { 0%, 70%, 100% { opacity: 0.16; } 25% { opacity: 1; } 45% { opacity: 0.42; } }
         @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) { .bal-pixels i { animation: none; opacity: 0.35; } }
         .bg-green { background: #4ade80; } .bg-yellow { background: #facc15; } .bg-red { background: #f87171; }
@@ -1083,9 +1083,11 @@
 
         // 28 cells = 14 columns x 2 rows, delays staggered so the lit column
         // travels across the matrix.
+        // 14 columns x 3 rows, laid out column-first so the three cells of a
+        // column share a delay and the lit column scans across as one line.
         const BAL_PIXELS = '<span class="bal-pixels" role="status" aria-label="Loading balance">' +
-            Array.from({ length: 28 }, function (_, i) {
+            Array.from({ length: 42 }, function (_, i) {
-                return '<i style="animation-delay:' + (i * 45) + 'ms"></i>';
+                return '<i style="animation-delay:' + (Math.floor(i / 3) * 55) + 'ms"></i>';
             }).join('') + '</span>';
 
         // Render a balance, or the pixel readout when it is not known yet.

neode-ui/src/components/BalanceAmount.vue

@@ -34,9 +34,18 @@ const props = withDefaults(
   { suffix: 'sats', label: 'balance' },
 )
 
-// 14 columns × 2 rows. Enough to read as a matrix rather than a spinner, and
+// 14 columns × 3 rows, laid out column-first so all three cells of a column
-// close to the width of a five-figure sat amount.
+// share a delay and the lit column travels across as a single scan line —
-const CELLS = 28
+// that is what makes it read as a readout rather than a progress bar.
+const COLUMNS = 14
+const ROWS = 3
+const CELLS = COLUMNS * ROWS
+const STEP_MS = 55
+
+/** Delay for cell `i` (1-based), constant within a column. */
+function cellDelay(i: number): string {
+  return `${Math.floor((i - 1) / ROWS) * STEP_MS}ms`
+}
 
 /**
  * Built as one string rather than interpolated around a `<template>`, so the
@@ -59,7 +68,7 @@ const display = computed(() => {
     :aria-label="`Loading ${props.label}`"
     :title="`Loading ${props.label}…`"
   >
-    <span v-for="i in CELLS" :key="i" class="balance-pixel" :style="{ '--i': i }" />
+    <span v-for="i in CELLS" :key="i" class="balance-pixel" :style="{ animationDelay: cellDelay(i) }" />
   </span>
   <span v-else>{{ display }}</span>
 </template>
@@ -67,12 +76,15 @@ const display = computed(() => {
 <style scoped>
 .balance-pixels {
   display: inline-grid;
-  grid-template-columns: repeat(14, 3px);
+  /* Column-first: children fill top-to-bottom, then across, so consecutive
-  grid-auto-rows: 3px;
+     cells share a column and the delay below scans horizontally. */
+  grid-auto-flow: column;
+  grid-template-rows: repeat(3, 3px);
+  grid-auto-columns: 3px;
   gap: 1px;
-  /* Sit on the text baseline so a row's height doesn't change when the real
+  /* Centred on the text it stands in for, so the row height is unchanged when
-     figure replaces this. */
+     the real figure replaces it. */
-  vertical-align: -1px;
+  vertical-align: 0.05em;
 }
 
 .balance-pixel {
@@ -81,10 +93,7 @@ const display = computed(() => {
   border-radius: 0.5px;
   background: currentColor;
   opacity: 0.16;
-  /* The wave runs left-to-right across columns; the two rows of a column are
+  animation: balance-pixel-scan 1.6s ease-in-out infinite;
-     offset slightly so it reads as a scan rather than a marching block. */
-  animation: balance-pixel-scan 1.4s ease-in-out infinite;
-  animation-delay: calc(var(--i) * 45ms);
 }
 
 @keyframes balance-pixel-scan {

neode-ui/src/components/__tests__/BalanceAmount.test.ts

@@ -59,9 +59,17 @@ describe('BalanceAmount', () => {
     expect(w.html()).not.toMatch(/background:\s*#|rgb\(/)
   })
 
-  it('renders enough cells to read as a matrix', () => {
+  it('renders a 14x3 matrix scanned column by column', () => {
+    // Column-first layout is what makes the lit column travel across as one
+    // scan line; per-cell delays would make it crawl diagonally instead.
     const w = mount(BalanceAmount, { props: { sats: null } })
-    expect(w.findAll('.balance-pixel').length).toBe(28)
+    const cells = w.findAll('.balance-pixel')
+    expect(cells.length).toBe(42)
+    // The three cells of a column share a delay; the next column steps on.
+    const delay = (i: number) => cells[i]?.attributes('style') ?? ''
+    expect(delay(0)).toBe(delay(1))
+    expect(delay(1)).toBe(delay(2))
+    expect(delay(3)).not.toBe(delay(2))
   })
 })