diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index b6b25da2..6f7e95e6 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
     "preview": true,
     "activationEvents": [
         "onFileSystem:azureResourceGroups",
+        "onStartupFinished",
         "workspaceContains:**/.azure/project-plan.md",
         "workspaceContains:**/.azure/requirements.json",
         "workspaceContains:**/.azure/vscode-debug-plan.md"
diff --git a/src/commands/registerCommands.ts b/src/commands/registerCommands.ts
index 9a92f03d..81df2afe 100644
--- a/src/commands/registerCommands.ts
+++ b/src/commands/registerCommands.ts
@@ -190,7 +190,11 @@ export function registerCommands(): void {
             message: l10n.t('Copilot is gathering requirements and preparing your project plan.'),
         }));
     registerCommand('azureResourceGroups.startProjectIntegrate', (_context: IActionContext, prompt?: string) =>
-        openChatWithAgent('azure-project-integrate', prompt ?? 'The project has been scaffolded. Read `.azure/integration-plan.md`, then integrate the project: create the SQL/PostgreSQL schema migrations (no seed data), smoke-test the backend so every endpoint responds, wire the frontend to live data (remove all mock data), and run the frontend and backend together end-to-end.'));
+        openChatWithAgent('azure-project-integrate', prompt ?? 'The project has been scaffolded. Read `.azure/integration-plan.md`, then integrate the project: create the SQL/PostgreSQL schema migrations (no seed data), smoke-test the backend so every endpoint responds, wire the frontend to live data (remove all mock data), and run the frontend and backend together end-to-end.', {
+            stage: 0,
+            title: l10n.t('Integrating your frontend…'),
+            message: l10n.t('Copilot is wiring the frontend to your backend services. For progress please view the Copilot chat.'),
+        }));
     registerCommand('azureResourceGroups.startLocalDevelopment', (_context: IActionContext, prompt?: string) =>
         openChatWithAgent('azure-debug-plan', prompt ?? 'The project has been scaffolded. Now set up the local debugging environment so the user can start building and testing.', {
             stage: 1,
diff --git a/src/extension.ts b/src/extension.ts
index c1480f56..07fc86e2 100644
--- a/src/extension.ts
+++ b/src/extension.ts
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ async function isWorkspaceEmpty(): Promise<boolean> {
     }
 
     // Entries that don't count as "real" project content.
-    const ignored = new Set(['.git', '.vscode', '.azure', '.github', '.agents']);
+    const ignored = new Set(['.git', '.vscode', '.azure', '.github', '.agents', '.DS_Store']);
 
     let readableFolderCount = 0;
 
diff --git a/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/extension/controllers/ScaffoldNextStepsViewController.ts b/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/extension/controllers/ScaffoldNextStepsViewController.ts
index d22f27e7..5aa3ac8e 100644
--- a/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/extension/controllers/ScaffoldNextStepsViewController.ts
+++ b/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/extension/controllers/ScaffoldNextStepsViewController.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 import { WebviewController } from "@microsoft/vscode-azext-webview";
 import * as vscode from "vscode";
 import { ViewColumn } from "vscode";
-import { ensureCopilotChatReady } from "../../../../commands/copilotOnRails/openChatWithAgent";
 import { ext } from "../../../../extensionVariables";
 import { getCopilotOnRailsBundleLocation } from "../copilotOnRailsBundleLocation";
 
@@ -35,14 +34,11 @@ export class ScaffoldNextStepsViewController extends WebviewController<Record<st
     private async handleAction(action: ScaffoldAction): Promise<void> {
         switch (action) {
             case 'setupLocal':
-                if (!(await ensureCopilotChatReady())) {
-                    return;
-                }
                 this.panel.dispose();
-                await vscode.commands.executeCommand('workbench.action.chat.open', {
-                    mode: 'azure-debug-plan',
-                    query: vscode.l10n.t('The project has been scaffolded. Now set up the local debugging environment so I can start building and testing.'),
-                });
+                await vscode.commands.executeCommand(
+                    'azureResourceGroups.startLocalDevelopment',
+                    vscode.l10n.t('The project has been scaffolded. Now set up the local debugging environment so I can start building and testing.'),
+                );
                 return;
             case 'deploy':
                 this.panel.dispose();
diff --git a/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/RequirementsView.tsx b/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/RequirementsView.tsx
index 37f1d112..da3d618e 100644
--- a/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/RequirementsView.tsx
+++ b/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/RequirementsView.tsx
@@ -410,9 +410,10 @@ const QuestionRow = ({
     const isMissing = isAnswerEmpty(draft);
     const heading = question.header ?? question.question;
     const showSubtext = question.header !== undefined && question.question && question.question !== question.header;
+    const isFreeform = inputType === 'text';
 
     return (
-        <li className={`questionRow ${isMissing ? 'questionRow--missing' : ''}`}>
+        <li className={`questionRow ${isMissing ? 'questionRow--missing' : ''} ${isFreeform ? 'questionRow--fill' : ''}`}>
             {!hideHeader && (
                 <div className='questionMeta'>
                     <span className='questionText'>{heading}</span>
@@ -503,6 +504,7 @@ const AnswerInput = ({
     const useTextarea = text.length > 60;
 
     if (useTextarea) {
+        const rows = Math.max(3, Math.min(12, Math.ceil(text.length / 40)));
         return (
             <Textarea
                 size='small'
@@ -510,7 +512,7 @@ const AnswerInput = ({
                 onChange={(_, data) => onChange(data.value)}
                 resize='vertical'
                 className='answerInput answerInput--textarea'
-                rows={3}
+                rows={rows}
             />
         );
     }
diff --git a/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/ScaffoldPlanView.tsx b/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/ScaffoldPlanView.tsx
index a52ec67c..fb512c29 100644
--- a/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/ScaffoldPlanView.tsx
+++ b/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/ScaffoldPlanView.tsx
@@ -206,7 +206,11 @@ export const ScaffoldPlanView = (): JSX.Element => {
 
     const isAlreadyApproved = useMemo(() => {
         const s = plan?.status?.trim().toLowerCase();
-        return s === 'approved';
+        if (!s) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        const approvedOrLater = ['approved', 'in progress', 'awaiting integration', 'integrated', 'executing', 'implemented'];
+        return approvedOrLater.includes(s);
     }, [plan?.status]);
 
     const editedCells = useMemo(() => {
diff --git a/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/styles/requirementsView.scss b/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/styles/requirementsView.scss
index cf92f04c..0bac606f 100644
--- a/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/styles/requirementsView.scss
+++ b/src/webviews/copilotOnRails/views/styles/requirementsView.scss
@@ -148,6 +148,8 @@
         border-radius: 6px;
         background: transparent;
         overflow: hidden;
+        display: flex;
+        flex-direction: column;
 
         .categoryHeader {
             padding: 12px 16px;
@@ -194,6 +196,9 @@
             list-style: none;
             margin: 0;
             padding: 0;
+            flex: 1 1 auto;
+            display: flex;
+            flex-direction: column;
         }
 
         .questionRow {
@@ -207,6 +212,23 @@
                 border-bottom: none;
             }
 
+            &--fill {
+                flex: 1 1 auto;
+
+                .questionInput {
+                    flex: 1 1 auto;
+                    align-items: stretch;
+                }
+
+                .answerInput--textarea {
+                    height: 100%;
+
+                    textarea {
+                        height: 100%;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
             .questionMeta {
                 display: flex;
                 align-items: center;