diff --git a/ClaudeMeter.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/ClaudeMeter.xcscheme b/ClaudeMeter.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/ClaudeMeter.xcscheme
index b90c50c..c27f3be 100644
--- a/ClaudeMeter.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/ClaudeMeter.xcscheme
+++ b/ClaudeMeter.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/xcschemes/ClaudeMeter.xcscheme
@@ -27,8 +27,18 @@
       buildConfiguration = "Debug"
       selectedDebuggerIdentifier = "Xcode.DebuggerFoundation.Debugger.LLDB"
       selectedLauncherIdentifier = "Xcode.DebuggerFoundation.Launcher.LLDB"
-      shouldUseLaunchSchemeArgsEnv = "YES"
+      shouldUseLaunchSchemeArgsEnv = "NO"
       shouldAutocreateTestPlan = "YES">
+      <CommandLineArguments>
+         <CommandLineArgument
+            argument = "--demo"
+            isEnabled = "YES">
+         </CommandLineArgument>
+         <CommandLineArgument
+            argument = "safeUsage"
+            isEnabled = "YES">
+         </CommandLineArgument>
+      </CommandLineArguments>
       <Testables>
          <TestableReference
             skipped = "NO"
diff --git a/ClaudeMeterTests/MenuBarIconSnapshotTests.swift b/ClaudeMeterTests/MenuBarIconSnapshotTests.swift
index a6578ff..3cbae26 100644
--- a/ClaudeMeterTests/MenuBarIconSnapshotTests.swift
+++ b/ClaudeMeterTests/MenuBarIconSnapshotTests.swift
@@ -12,52 +12,76 @@ import XCTest
 
 @MainActor
 final class MenuBarIconSnapshotTests: XCTestCase {
+    /// SwiftUI renders gradients and antialiased edges differently across macOS versions,
+    /// so a pixel-exact comparison fails on any OS other than the one that recorded the
+    /// references. Compare perceptually instead.
+    ///
+    /// The tolerance is sized from measurement, not taste: the same icon rendered on a
+    /// newer macOS drifts by at most ~10 ΔE, while a genuinely different icon differs by
+    /// ~128 ΔE. Allowing ΔE ≤ 10 absorbs the drift and still leaves a 12x margin.
+    private let strategy: Snapshotting<NSImage, NSImage> = .image(
+        precision: 0.99,
+        perceptualPrecision: 0.90
+    )
+
     func test_menuBarIcon_showsBatteryStyleWhenWarning() {
         let image = renderIcon(style: .battery)
 
-        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: .image, record: isRecording)
+        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: strategy, record: isRecording)
     }
 
     func test_menuBarIcon_showsCircularStyleWhenWarning() {
         let image = renderIcon(style: .circular)
 
-        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: .image, record: isRecording)
+        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: strategy, record: isRecording)
     }
 
     func test_menuBarIcon_showsMinimalStyleWhenWarning() {
         let image = renderIcon(style: .minimal)
 
-        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: .image, record: isRecording)
+        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: strategy, record: isRecording)
     }
 
     func test_menuBarIcon_showsSegmentsStyleWhenWarning() {
         let image = renderIcon(style: .segments)
 
-        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: .image, record: isRecording)
+        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: strategy, record: isRecording)
     }
 
     func test_menuBarIcon_showsDualBarStyleWhenWarning() {
         let image = renderIcon(style: .dualBar)
 
-        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: .image, record: isRecording)
+        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: strategy, record: isRecording)
     }
 
     func test_menuBarIcon_showsGaugeStyleWhenWarning() {
         let image = renderIcon(style: .gauge)
 
-        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: .image, record: isRecording)
+        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: strategy, record: isRecording)
     }
 
     func test_menuBarIcon_showsLoadingIndicatorInBatteryStyle() {
         let image = renderIcon(style: .battery, status: .safe, isLoading: true)
 
-        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: .image, record: isRecording)
+        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: strategy, record: isRecording)
     }
 
     func test_menuBarIcon_showsStaleIndicatorInBatteryStyle() {
         let image = renderIcon(style: .battery, status: .safe, isStale: true)
 
-        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: .image, record: isRecording)
+        assertSnapshot(of: image, as: strategy, record: isRecording)
+    }
+
+    /// Keeps the tolerance above honest: it must still reject an icon whose status colour
+    /// changed, otherwise the snapshots assert nothing.
+    func test_snapshotTolerance_rejectsChangedStatusColour() {
+        let warning = renderIcon(style: .battery, status: .warning)
+        let critical = renderIcon(style: .battery, status: .critical)
+
+        XCTAssertNotNil(
+            strategy.diffing.diff(warning, critical),
+            "Tolerance is too loose: a changed status colour compares as unchanged"
+        )
     }
 
     private func renderIcon(
diff --git a/ClaudeMeterTests/TestHostLaunchTests.swift b/ClaudeMeterTests/TestHostLaunchTests.swift
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06a5e8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ClaudeMeterTests/TestHostLaunchTests.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+//
+//  TestHostLaunchTests.swift
+//  ClaudeMeterTests
+//
+
+import XCTest
+@testable import ClaudeMeter
+
+/// The test bundle is hosted by the app, so running any test launches the real app.
+/// Left alone it would bootstrap the menu bar, read the session key from the Keychain
+/// (prompting on every run, since the test binary is signed differently from the
+/// installed app) and fetch live usage over the network.
+///
+/// The scheme's test action passes `--demo safeUsage`, which routes the app to
+/// `startWithoutBootstrap()`. That keeps the workaround out of the production path,
+/// at the cost of living in the scheme where it is easy to delete by accident —
+/// hence this test.
+final class TestHostLaunchTests: XCTestCase {
+    func test_testHost_launchesWithoutBootstrappingTheMenuBar() throws {
+        let arguments = ProcessInfo.processInfo.arguments
+
+        guard let flag = arguments.firstIndex(of: "--demo") else {
+            return XCTFail(
+                """
+                The test host was launched without `--demo`, so it will bootstrap the menu bar: \
+                read the Keychain and hit the network during tests. Restore the CommandLineArguments \
+                in the scheme's TestAction (ClaudeMeter.xcscheme).
+                """
+            )
+        }
+
+        let mode = arguments[arguments.index(after: flag)]
+        XCTAssertNotNil(
+            DemoMode(rawValue: mode),
+            "`--demo \(mode)` is not a DemoMode, so the app will bootstrap normally."
+        )
+    }
+}