@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ git -C vscode diff HEAD -- \
   src/vs/workbench/contrib/welcomeGettingStarted/browser/gettingStarted.contribution.ts \
   src/vs/workbench/contrib/welcomeGettingStarted/browser/startupPage.ts \
   src/vs/workbench/contrib/update/browser/releaseNotesEditor.ts \
+  src/vs/sessions/browser/media/openInVSCode.css \
   > patches/levelcode-core.patch
 # NOTE: use `diff HEAD` (not plain `diff`) — bootstrap's `git apply` may leave these STAGED,
 # and plain `git diff` shows only UNSTAGED changes, silently dropping the staged patches.
@@ -47,6 +48,9 @@ grep -rn "\[LevelCode\]" vscode/src vscode/build
 | 4 | `src/vs/workbench/contrib/welcomeGettingStarted/browser/gettingStarted.contribution.ts` | `workbench.welcomePage.experimentalOnboarding` default `true`→`false`; removed the `experiment:{mode:'auto'}` block. | De-brand (WS-A/B1-B2). Kills the first-run **"Welcome to VS Code — Sign in to use GitHub Copilot"** onboarding overlay a client saw. The experiment block would silently re-enable it, so it must go too. |
 | 5 | `src/vs/workbench/contrib/welcomeGettingStarted/browser/startupPage.ts` (`tryShowOnboarding`) | Early `return` — never invoke `onboardingService.show()`. | De-brand (WS-A/B1). Guaranteed kill of the onboarding overlay regardless of config/experiment. Do NOT null `product.defaultChatAgent` (it's `assertDefined`-d and used in ~15 core files) — killing the *entry point* is the safe route. |
 | 6 | `src/vs/workbench/contrib/update/browser/releaseNotesEditor.ts` (`show`) | Open `product.releaseNotesUrl` in the browser instead of fetching `code.visualstudio.com/raw/v{ver}.md`. | De-brand (WS-B/B5). Stops the in-editor **"Visual Studio Code 1.126"** release-notes tab. The `useCurrentFile` dev command (author a local `.md`) still renders locally. |
+| 7 | `src/vs/sessions/browser/media/openInVSCode.css` | The `[data-product-quality]` "Open in VS Code" button icon → `./vscode-icon.svg` (the real VS Code shield) instead of `code-icon.svg`. | De-brand (WS-D). That button *opens VS Code*, so it must show the VS Code logo — but we now overwrite `code-icon.svg` with the LevelCode mark (see the asset-override note below), which would otherwise make it show LevelCode. |
+
+> **Branding asset override (not a patch):** `apply-branding.mjs` also copies `branding/icons/code-icon.svg` (the LevelCode chevron mark) over `vscode/src/vs/workbench/browser/media/code-icon.svg`. Stock Code-OSS ships the blue `#167abf` VS Code "book" there; it's used as a `background-image` on the title-bar app icon, the update tooltip, the welcome/onboarding hero, the walkthrough and the banner (one file → ~6 surfaces). Because it's a whole-file swap it's done by the branding copy step, not this patch — but patch #7 above pairs with it.
 
 > Dev mode (`run-dev.sh`) still loads `extensions/copilot` from source; patches #2/#3 only affect the **packaged** app. We can disable it in dev too later if desired.
 
 
@@ -51,6 +51,21 @@ index e487ff5c..778c3de9 100644
  }
 
  export function packageMarketplaceExtensionsStream(forWeb: boolean): Stream {
+diff --git a/src/vs/sessions/browser/media/openInVSCode.css b/src/vs/sessions/browser/media/openInVSCode.css
+index 5d89e0be..18d3b47b 100644
+--- a/src/vs/sessions/browser/media/openInVSCode.css
++++ b/src/vs/sessions/browser/media/openInVSCode.css
+@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@
+ .monaco-workbench .open-in-vscode-titlebar-widget[data-product-quality="stable"] > .open-in-vscode-titlebar-widget-icon,
+ .monaco-workbench .open-in-vscode-titlebar-widget[data-product-quality="insider"] > .open-in-vscode-titlebar-widget-icon,
+ .monaco-workbench .open-in-vscode-titlebar-widget[data-product-quality="exploration"] > .open-in-vscode-titlebar-widget-icon {
+-	background-image: url('../../../workbench/browser/media/code-icon.svg');
++	/* [LevelCode] This button OPENS VS CODE, so it must show the real VS Code shield — not code-icon.svg,
++	   which LevelCode overwrites with its own chevron mark. Use the bundled shield like the dev fallback. */
++	background-image: url('./vscode-icon.svg');
+ }
+ 
+ .monaco-enable-motion .monaco-workbench .open-in-vscode-titlebar-widget > .open-in-vscode-titlebar-widget-icon,
 diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/files/browser/files.contribution.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/files/browser/files.contribution.ts
 index 574c2d8e..f6b8c7af 100644
 --- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/files/browser/files.contribution.ts
 
@@ -91,6 +91,16 @@ if (existsSync(pngSrc) && existsSync(dirname(pngDst))) {
   copyFileSync(pngSrc, pngDst);
 }
 
+// The in-app logo used as a background-image on the title-bar app icon, the update tooltip, the
+// welcome/onboarding hero and the walkthrough (one file, ~6 surfaces). Stock Code-OSS ships the blue
+// VS Code "book" here; overwrite it with the LevelCode chevron mark so no #167abf logo shows anywhere.
+const codeIconSrc = join(repoRoot, "branding", "icons", "code-icon.svg");
+const codeIconDst = join(vscodeDir, "src", "vs", "workbench", "browser", "media", "code-icon.svg");
+if (existsSync(codeIconSrc) && existsSync(dirname(codeIconDst))) {
+  copyFileSync(codeIconSrc, codeIconDst);
+  console.log(`[apply-branding] Installed in-app logo -> ${codeIconDst}`);
+}
+
 // Install our bundled LevelCode extensions into the checkout. The canonical, version-controlled
 // source lives in this repo's extensions/ folder; the copies inside vscode/ are generated.
 const OUR_PUBLISHERS = new Set(["levelcode", "atompp"]); // atompp = pre-rename, prune any leftovers