diff --git a/web/.npm-cache/_update-notifier-last-checked b/web/.npm-cache/_update-notifier-last-checked
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/web/e2e/research.spec.ts b/web/e2e/research.spec.ts
index c25e0ef7..a1b63d5d 100644
--- a/web/e2e/research.spec.ts
+++ b/web/e2e/research.spec.ts
@@ -25,4 +25,18 @@ test.describe("Research Page E2E", () => {
       content?.includes("Topic");
     expect(hasResearchContent).toBeTruthy();
   });
+
+  test("post-search view renders without Track Snapshot panel", async ({ page }) => {
+    // Navigate with a query to trigger post-search UI state
+    await page.goto("/research?query=rag");
+
+    // 1) Wait for a stable post-search marker (auto-retrying)
+    await expect(page.getByRole("link", { name: "Open Workflows" })).toBeVisible();
+
+    // 2) Assert the old panel label is absent (auto-retrying)
+    await expect(page.locator("text=Track Snapshot")).toHaveCount(0);
+
+    // 3) Sanity: a summary badge/label remains visible (one is enough)
+    await expect(page.locator("text=Results:").first()).toBeVisible();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/web/src/components/research/ResearchPageNew.tsx b/web/src/components/research/ResearchPageNew.tsx
index 746b2443..a8862b31 100644
--- a/web/src/components/research/ResearchPageNew.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/research/ResearchPageNew.tsx
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ import { SavedTab } from "./SavedTab"
 import { CreateTrackModal } from "./CreateTrackModal"
 import { EditTrackModal } from "./EditTrackModal"
 import { ManageTracksModal } from "./ManageTracksModal"
-import { ResearchTrackContextPanel } from "./ResearchTrackContextPanel"
 import type { Track } from "./TrackSelector"
 import type { Paper } from "./PaperCard"
 import type { ResearchTrackContextResponse } from "@/lib/types"
@@ -638,14 +637,7 @@ export default function ResearchPageNew() {
           />
         </div>
 
-        {trackContext ? (
-          <div className="mb-6 animate-in fade-in slide-in-from-bottom-2 duration-500">
-            <ResearchTrackContextPanel
-              context={trackContext}
-              onOpenMemory={() => setMemoryOpen(true)}
-            />
-          </div>
-        ) : null}
+        {/* Track context panel removed per request */}
 
         {/* Track Pills - only show before search */}
         {!hasSearched && tracks.length > 0 && (
diff --git a/web/src/components/research/ResearchTrackContextPanel.test.tsx b/web/src/components/research/ResearchTrackContextPanel.test.tsx
deleted file mode 100644
index c1a6dac1..00000000
--- a/web/src/components/research/ResearchTrackContextPanel.test.tsx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,76 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest"
-import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server"
-
-import type { ResearchTrackContextResponse } from "@/lib/types"
-
-import { ResearchTrackContextPanel, buildStatItems } from "./ResearchTrackContextPanel"
-
-const TRACK_CONTEXT_FIXTURE: ResearchTrackContextResponse = {
-  user_id: "default",
-  track_id: 7,
-  track: {
-    id: 7,
-    name: "Agentic Retrieval",
-    description: "Keep retrieval quality and latency balanced.",
-    keywords: ["rag", "retrieval", "reranking"],
-    is_active: true,
-  },
-  tasks: [
-    { id: 1, track_id: 7, title: "Validate reranker", status: "todo" },
-    { id: 2, track_id: 7, title: "Compare OpenAlex recall", status: "doing" },
-  ],
-  milestones: [
-    { id: 9, track_id: 7, name: "Freeze benchmark slice", status: "doing" },
-  ],
-  memory: {
-    total_items: 6,
-    approved_items: 4,
-    pending_items: 2,
-    top_tags: ["retrieval", "latency"],
-    latest_memory_at: "2026-03-12T08:00:00+00:00",
-  },
-  feedback: {
-    total_items: 5,
-    actions: { save: 3, like: 2 },
-    latest_feedback_at: "2026-03-12T08:30:00+00:00",
-    recent_items: [],
-  },
-  saved_papers: {
-    total_items: 3,
-    latest_saved_at: "2026-03-12T08:40:00+00:00",
-    recent_items: [],
-  },
-  eval_summary: {
-    feedback_coverage: 0.75,
-  },
-}
-
-describe("ResearchTrackContextPanel", () => {
-  it("builds compact stat cards from the track snapshot", () => {
-    const stats = buildStatItems(TRACK_CONTEXT_FIXTURE)
-
-    expect(stats).toHaveLength(3)
-    expect(stats.map((item) => ({ label: item.label, value: item.value }))).toEqual([
-      { label: "Pending Memory", value: "2" },
-      { label: "Saved Papers", value: "3" },
-      { label: "Feedback", value: "5" },
-    ])
-  })
-
-  it("renders the consolidated track snapshot details", () => {
-    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
-      <ResearchTrackContextPanel
-        context={TRACK_CONTEXT_FIXTURE}
-        onOpenMemory={() => undefined}
-      />
-    )
-
-    expect(html).toContain("Track Snapshot")
-    expect(html).toContain("Agentic Retrieval")
-    expect(html).toContain("Pending Memory")
-    expect(html).toContain("Validate reranker")
-    expect(html).toContain("Freeze benchmark slice")
-    expect(html).toContain("save: 3")
-    expect(html).toContain("75%")
-  })
-})
diff --git a/web/src/components/research/ResearchTrackContextPanel.tsx b/web/src/components/research/ResearchTrackContextPanel.tsx
deleted file mode 100644
index 51841a61..00000000
--- a/web/src/components/research/ResearchTrackContextPanel.tsx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,213 +0,0 @@
-"use client"
-
-import { BookMarked, BrainCircuit, CheckSquare2, Clock3, Database, Tags } from "lucide-react"
-
-import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge"
-import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"
-import { Card, CardContent, CardHeader, CardTitle } from "@/components/ui/card"
-import { Separator } from "@/components/ui/separator"
-import type {
-  ResearchTrackContextResponse,
-  ResearchTrackSummary,
-} from "@/lib/types"
-
-type StatItem = {
-  label: string
-  value: string
-  icon: typeof Database
-}
-
-export function buildStatItems(context: ResearchTrackContextResponse): StatItem[] {
-  return [
-    {
-      label: "Pending Memory",
-      value: String(context.memory.pending_items),
-      icon: Clock3,
-    },
-    {
-      label: "Saved Papers",
-      value: String(context.saved_papers.total_items),
-      icon: BookMarked,
-    },
-    {
-      label: "Feedback",
-      value: String(context.feedback.total_items),
-      icon: BrainCircuit,
-    },
-  ]
-}
-
-function getTrackDescription(track: ResearchTrackSummary): string {
-  const description = String(track.description || "").trim()
-  if (description) {
-    return description
-  }
-  const keywords = track.keywords || []
-  if (keywords.length > 0) {
-    return `Focused on ${keywords.slice(0, 4).join(", ")}.`
-  }
-  return "Use the track snapshot to keep context, memory, and saved papers aligned."
-}
-
-interface ResearchTrackContextPanelProps {
-  context: ResearchTrackContextResponse
-  onOpenMemory: () => void
-}
-
-export function ResearchTrackContextPanel({
-  context,
-  onOpenMemory,
-}: ResearchTrackContextPanelProps) {
-  const statItems = buildStatItems(context)
-  const track = context.track
-  const keywords = track.keywords || []
-  const memoryTags = context.memory.top_tags || []
-
-  return (
-    <Card className="border-border/70 bg-card/85 shadow-sm backdrop-blur-sm">
-      <CardHeader className="pb-3">
-        <div className="flex flex-col gap-3 lg:flex-row lg:items-start lg:justify-between">
-          <div className="space-y-2">
-            <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
-              <Badge variant="secondary">Track Snapshot</Badge>
-              {track.is_active ? <Badge variant="outline">Active Track</Badge> : null}
-            </div>
-            <div className="space-y-1">
-              <CardTitle className="text-xl">{track.name}</CardTitle>
-              <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">{getTrackDescription(track)}</p>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-          <Button variant="outline" size="sm" onClick={onOpenMemory} className="gap-1.5">
-            <Database className="h-4 w-4" />
-            Open Memory Drawer
-          </Button>
-        </div>
-      </CardHeader>
-      <CardContent className="space-y-4">
-        <div className="grid gap-3 md:grid-cols-3">
-          {statItems.map((item) => {
-            const Icon = item.icon
-            return (
-              <div
-                key={item.label}
-                className="rounded-xl border border-border/70 bg-muted/30 px-3 py-3"
-              >
-                <div className="flex items-center gap-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.14em] text-muted-foreground">
-                  <Icon className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />
-                  {item.label}
-                </div>
-                <div className="mt-2 text-2xl font-semibold tracking-tight">{item.value}</div>
-              </div>
-            )
-          })}
-        </div>
-
-        {keywords.length > 0 ? (
-          <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2">
-            <Badge variant="outline" className="gap-1.5">
-              <Tags className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />
-              Track Keywords
-            </Badge>
-            {keywords.slice(0, 6).map((keyword) => (
-              <Badge key={keyword} variant="secondary">
-                {keyword}
-              </Badge>
-            ))}
-          </div>
-        ) : null}
-
-        <Separator />
-
-        <div className="grid gap-4 lg:grid-cols-[1.4fr,1fr]">
-          <div className="space-y-3">
-            <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
-              <CheckSquare2 className="h-4 w-4 text-muted-foreground" />
-              <h3 className="text-sm font-medium">Recent Track Work</h3>
-            </div>
-            <div className="grid gap-3 md:grid-cols-2">
-              <div className="rounded-xl border border-border/70 bg-background/80 p-3">
-                <p className="text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.14em] text-muted-foreground">Tasks</p>
-                <div className="mt-2 space-y-2">
-                  {context.tasks.length > 0 ? (
-                    context.tasks.slice(0, 3).map((task) => (
-                      <div key={task.id} className="rounded-lg bg-muted/40 px-2.5 py-2">
-                        <div className="text-sm font-medium">{task.title}</div>
-                        <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-                          Status {task.status || "todo"}
-                        </div>
-                      </div>
-                    ))
-                  ) : (
-                    <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">No tasks yet for this track.</p>
-                  )}
-                </div>
-              </div>
-
-              <div className="rounded-xl border border-border/70 bg-background/80 p-3">
-                <p className="text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.14em] text-muted-foreground">Milestones</p>
-                <div className="mt-2 space-y-2">
-                  {context.milestones.length > 0 ? (
-                    context.milestones.slice(0, 3).map((milestone) => (
-                      <div key={milestone.id} className="rounded-lg bg-muted/40 px-2.5 py-2">
-                        <div className="text-sm font-medium">{milestone.name}</div>
-                        <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-                          Status {milestone.status || "todo"}
-                        </div>
-                      </div>
-                    ))
-                  ) : (
-                    <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">No milestones yet for this track.</p>
-                  )}
-                </div>
-              </div>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-
-          <div className="space-y-3 rounded-xl border border-border/70 bg-background/80 p-3">
-            <p className="text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.14em] text-muted-foreground">Memory & Feedback Shape</p>
-            <div className="grid gap-2 sm:grid-cols-2">
-              <div className="rounded-lg bg-muted/40 px-2.5 py-2">
-                <div className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">Approved Memory</div>
-                <div className="mt-1 text-lg font-semibold">{context.memory.approved_items}</div>
-              </div>
-              <div className="rounded-lg bg-muted/40 px-2.5 py-2">
-                <div className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">Feedback Coverage</div>
-                <div className="mt-1 text-lg font-semibold">
-                  {Math.round(Number(context.eval_summary.feedback_coverage || 0) * 100)}%
-                </div>
-              </div>
-            </div>
-            <div className="space-y-2">
-              <div className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">Top Memory Tags</div>
-              <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
-                {memoryTags.length > 0 ? (
-                  memoryTags.map((tag) => (
-                    <Badge key={tag} variant="outline">
-                      {tag}
-                    </Badge>
-                  ))
-                ) : (
-                  <span className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">No track-scoped memory tags yet.</span>
-                )}
-              </div>
-            </div>
-            <div className="space-y-2">
-              <div className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">Effective Feedback Mix</div>
-              <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
-                {Object.entries(context.feedback.actions).length > 0 ? (
-                  Object.entries(context.feedback.actions).map(([action, count]) => (
-                    <Badge key={action} variant="secondary">
-                      {action}: {count}
-                    </Badge>
-                  ))
-                ) : (
-                  <span className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">No effective feedback recorded yet.</span>
-                )}
-              </div>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        </div>
-      </CardContent>
-    </Card>
-  )
-}