Record AMD XFCE follow-up and omit HDMI-pinned mixer

Add direct live xfconf follow-up evidence, keep the themed Start icon fix path documented, and omit the default xfce4-mixer panel plugin because it auto-pinned HDMI on AMD despite the internal speaker being the FreeBSD default.\n\nChecks: sh -n build.sh live/operator-session/clawdie-xfce-visuals-guard.sh live/operator-session/hw-report; ./scripts/check-format.sh; git diff --check.

doc/AMD-ASUS-XFCE-LIVE-USB-FINDINGS.md

@@ -926,6 +926,34 @@ xrandr --query
 xfconf-query -c xfce4-panel -p /panels/panel-1 -lv
 ```
 
+## Follow-up live XFCE command evidence — 2026-06-01
+
+After the report archive was collected, the operator ran direct `xfconf-query`
+checks in the live XFCE session before rebooting.
+
+Confirmed good state:
+
+- `xsettings` had `Greybird`, `Papirus`, `DMZ-White`, `Noto Sans 11`, and
+  `Hack 11`; global GTK/icon/cursor/font configuration is loading.
+- `xfce4-desktop` had `image-show=true`, `image-style=5`, and
+  `last-image=/usr/local/share/clawdie-iso/wallpapers/clawdie-operator-bg.png`;
+  the wallpaper config and image file exist.
+- `xfce4-panel` had the intended panel size, opacity, plugin order, and launcher
+  entries; the panel seed is loading.
+
+Confirmed problem state:
+
+- The shipped live image only had `clawdie-start` under
+  `/usr/local/share/clawdie-iso/icons/`; `find /usr/local/share/icons -name
+'clawdie-start*'` returned nothing until the operator manually copied the icon
+  into `hicolor` and rebuilt the cache.
+- The Whisker button still did not visibly change during that live-session test,
+  so the next build should stage the icon in the theme at build time and verify
+  real first-login behavior rather than relying on hot panel reloads.
+- `xfce4-mixer` auto-selected `ATIR6xxHDMI`/`Vol` even though FreeBSD selected
+  the internal Realtek speaker as the default device. The default panel should
+  not ship a mixer plugin that controls HDMI on AMD laptops.
+
 ## Fix-planning backlog derived from this report
 
 This is a backlog only; solutions should be discussed separately.

doc/XFCE-PANEL-BUGS-HANDOFF.md

@@ -66,14 +66,29 @@ FreeBSD/operator side. Pass 2 only improves _proportion and uniformity_.
 - [ ] `square-icons` took effect on the systray (network/mixer icons square and
       uniform) — confirm the installed `systray` plugin honors the property.
 
+## Pre-build changes applied (2026-06-01) — Pass 3
+
+Follow-up from the AMD live report and direct `xfconf-query` checks:
+
+- **Start icon:** the live image had only `/usr/local/share/clawdie-iso/icons/*`;
+  no `clawdie-start` entries existed under `/usr/local/share/icons`. The build
+  now stages `clawdie-start.png` into `hicolor/48x48/apps` and
+  `hicolor/64x64/apps`, stages the SVG into `hicolor/scalable/apps`, updates the
+  `hicolor` cache at build time, and uses the themed icon name
+  `button-icon="clawdie-start"`.
+- **Mixer:** `xfce4-mixer` auto-selected `ATIR6xxHDMI`/`Vol` on AMD hardware even
+  when FreeBSD's default sound unit was the internal Realtek speaker. The default
+  panel now omits the mixer plugin instead of shipping a visible control pinned
+  to HDMI. Re-add only after a reliable backend/default-device strategy exists.
+
 ## Deletion Criteria
 
 - [ ] Whiskermenu Start button icon is visible (not missing/broken).
 - [ ] Clock plugin renders date+time in the panel.
 - [ ] Clipman re-added and loads without "could not be loaded" dialog (dropped
       from this build pending D-Bus root-cause).
-- [ ] Systray icons (NetworkMgr, mixer) and xkb flag icon are visually
-      uniform in size — no oversized or undersized outliers.
+- [ ] Systray icons (NetworkMgr) and xkb flag/text display are visually uniform
+      in size — no oversized or undersized outliers.
 - [ ] All fixes confirmed on real hardware boot (not just image inspection).
 
 ## Operator-Reported Issues

live/operator-session/clawdie-xfce-visuals-guard.sh

@@ -41,10 +41,6 @@ apply_panel() {
     set_xfconf xfce4-panel /panels/panel-1/size uint 40
     set_xfconf xfce4-panel /panels/panel-1/icon-size uint 2
     set_xfconf xfce4-panel /plugins/plugin-8/square-icons bool true
-    # Do not let the mixer pin itself to HDMI on laptops where rc.d selected
-    # the internal speaker as hw.snd.default_unit.
-    set_xfconf xfce4-panel /plugins/plugin-11/sound-card string ""
-    set_xfconf xfce4-panel /plugins/plugin-11/track string ""
 }
 
 apply_wallpaper() {

live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml

@@ -23,8 +23,10 @@
         <value type="double" value="0.180000"/>
         <value type="double" value="0.850000"/>
       </property>
-      <!-- order intentional: mixer before xkb. clipman (plugin-13) dropped
-           pending D-Bus root-cause; see doc/XFCE-PANEL-BUGS-HANDOFF.md -->
+      <!-- clipman (plugin-13) dropped pending D-Bus root-cause. The mixer
+           plugin is also omitted by default because xfce4-mixer auto-pins the
+           first HDMI device on AMD laptops instead of FreeBSD's selected
+           internal speaker; see doc/XFCE-PANEL-BUGS-HANDOFF.md. -->
       <property name="plugin-ids" type="array">
         <value type="int" value="1"/>
         <value type="int" value="2"/>
@@ -35,7 +37,6 @@
         <value type="int" value="7"/>
         <value type="int" value="8"/>
         <value type="int" value="9"/>
-        <value type="int" value="11"/>
         <value type="int" value="10"/>
         <value type="int" value="12"/>
       </property>
@@ -91,10 +92,6 @@
       <property name="size" type="int" value="36"/>
       <property name="update-interval" type="int" value="4"/>
     </property>
-    <property name="plugin-11" type="string" value="mixer">
-      <property name="sound-card" type="string" value=""/>
-      <property name="track" type="string" value=""/>
-    </property>
     <property name="plugin-10" type="string" value="xkb">
       <property name="display-type" type="uint" value="1"/>
       <property name="display-name" type="uint" value="0"/>