diff --git a/apps/x/apps/main/src/deeplink.ts b/apps/x/apps/main/src/deeplink.ts
index f7bbeff4..96717409 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/main/src/deeplink.ts
+++ b/apps/x/apps/main/src/deeplink.ts
@@ -24,30 +24,19 @@ export function extractDeepLinkFromArgv(argv: readonly string[]): string | null
 }
 
 export function dispatchDeepLink(url: string): void {
-    console.log(`[deeplink] dispatch ${url}`);
-    if (!url.startsWith(URL_PREFIX)) {
-        console.log(`[deeplink] rejected: bad prefix`);
-        return;
-    }
+    if (!url.startsWith(URL_PREFIX)) return;
 
     pendingUrl = url;
 
     const win = mainWindowRef;
-    if (!win || win.isDestroyed()) {
-        console.log(`[deeplink] no window, buffered`);
-        return;
-    }
+    if (!win || win.isDestroyed()) return;
 
     if (win.isMinimized()) win.restore();
     win.show();
     win.focus();
 
-    if (win.webContents.isLoading()) {
-        console.log(`[deeplink] window loading, buffered`);
-        return;
-    }
+    if (win.webContents.isLoading()) return;
 
-    console.log(`[deeplink] sending app:openUrl to renderer`);
     win.webContents.send("app:openUrl", { url });
     pendingUrl = null;
 }
diff --git a/apps/x/apps/main/src/notification/electron-notification-service.ts b/apps/x/apps/main/src/notification/electron-notification-service.ts
index 4b41e1ce..75a33c21 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/main/src/notification/electron-notification-service.ts
+++ b/apps/x/apps/main/src/notification/electron-notification-service.ts
@@ -6,38 +6,38 @@ const HTTP_URL = /^https?:\/\//i;
 const ROWBOAT_URL = /^rowboat:\/\//i;
 
 export class ElectronNotificationService implements INotificationService {
+    // Holds strong references to active Notification instances so the GC can't
+    // collect them while they're still visible — without this, the click handler
+    // gets dropped and macOS clicks just focus the app silently.
+    private active = new Set<Notification>();
+
     isSupported(): boolean {
         return Notification.isSupported();
     }
 
-    notify({ title = "Rowboat", message, link, actionLabel }: NotifyInput): void {
+    notify({ title = "Rowboat", message, link }: NotifyInput): void {
         const notification = new Notification({
             title,
             body: message,
-            // Action button is only meaningful when there's something to open.
-            // macOS shows the first action inline (Banner) or all (Alert).
-            actions: link ? [{ type: "button", text: actionLabel?.trim() || "Open" }] : [],
         });
 
-        const handleAction = (source: string) => {
-            console.log(`[notification] ${source} fired, link=${link ?? '<none>'}`);
+        this.active.add(notification);
+        const release = () => { this.active.delete(notification); };
+
+        notification.on("click", () => {
             if (link && ROWBOAT_URL.test(link)) {
                 dispatchDeepLink(link);
-                return;
-            }
-            if (link && HTTP_URL.test(link)) {
+            } else if (link && HTTP_URL.test(link)) {
                 shell.openExternal(link).catch((err) => {
                     console.error("[notification] failed to open link:", err);
                 });
-                return;
+            } else {
+                this.focusMainWindow();
             }
-            this.focusMainWindow();
-        };
-
-        // Both events route through the same handler — body click on macOS is
-        // less reliable than action-button click, but we want either to work.
-        notification.on("click", () => handleAction("click"));
-        notification.on("action", () => handleAction("action"));
+            release();
+        });
+        notification.on("close", release);
+        notification.on("failed", release);
 
         notification.show();
     }
diff --git a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
index eed5a034..e42b3342 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
+++ b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
@@ -3097,14 +3097,11 @@ function App() {
   useEffect(() => {
     const handle = (url: string) => {
       const view = parseDeepLink(url)
-      console.log('[deeplink renderer] received', url, '→ view', view)
       if (view) void navigateToViewRef.current(view)
     }
     void window.ipc.invoke('app:consumePendingDeepLink', null).then(({ url }) => {
-      console.log('[deeplink renderer] mount drain:', url)
       if (url) handle(url)
     })
-    console.log('[deeplink renderer] listener registered')
     return window.ipc.on('app:openUrl', ({ url }) => handle(url))
   }, [])
 
diff --git a/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/assistant/skills/notify-user/skill.ts b/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/assistant/skills/notify-user/skill.ts
index 6dbbd1e2..9bc619be 100644
--- a/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/assistant/skills/notify-user/skill.ts
+++ b/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/assistant/skills/notify-user/skill.ts
@@ -14,15 +14,10 @@ Triggers a native macOS notification. The call returns immediately; it does not
 ### Parameters
 - **\`title\`** (optional, defaults to \`"Rowboat"\`) — bold headline at the top.
 - **\`message\`** (required) — body text. Keep it short — macOS truncates after a couple of lines.
-- **\`link\`** (optional) — URL to open when the user clicks the notification or its action button. Two kinds accepted:
+- **\`link\`** (optional) — URL to open when the user clicks the notification. Two kinds accepted:
   - **\`https://...\` / \`http://...\`** — opens in the default browser
   - **\`rowboat://...\`** — opens a view inside Rowboat (see deep links below)
   - If omitted, clicking the notification focuses the Rowboat app.
-- **\`actionLabel\`** (optional, defaults to \`"Open"\`) — label for the inline action button. Only shown when \`link\` is set. Keep it to 1-2 words: \`"Open"\`, \`"View"\`, \`"Read"\`, \`"Reply"\`. Pick a verb that names what clicking will do.
-
-### Why the action button matters
-
-When \`link\` is set, an action button is shown inline on the notification (the same way Slack shows "Reply" or Mail shows "Mark as Read"). This button is **the recommended click target** — it's a clear CTA and it's more reliable than expecting the user to click the notification body. Body click also works as a fallback.
 
 ### Examples
 
@@ -43,7 +38,7 @@ External link:
 }
 \`\`\`
 
-Deep link into a Rowboat note (default "Open" button):
+Deep link into a Rowboat note:
 \`\`\`json
 {
   "message": "Daily brief is ready",
@@ -51,16 +46,6 @@ Deep link into a Rowboat note (default "Open" button):
 }
 \`\`\`
 
-Custom action label:
-\`\`\`json
-{
-  "title": "Stripe charge declined",
-  "message": "Card ending 4242 — retry from the dashboard",
-  "link": "https://dashboard.stripe.com/payments/pi_abc",
-  "actionLabel": "Review"
-}
-\`\`\`
-
 ## Deep links: \`rowboat://\`
 
 Use these as the \`link\` parameter to land the user on a specific view in Rowboat instead of an external site. URL-encode paths/names that contain spaces or special characters.
diff --git a/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/lib/builtin-tools.ts b/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/lib/builtin-tools.ts
index 81270472..7bf6bde1 100644
--- a/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/lib/builtin-tools.ts
+++ b/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/lib/builtin-tools.ts
@@ -1524,7 +1524,6 @@ export const BuiltinTools: z.infer<typeof BuiltinToolsSchema> = {
             link: z.string().url().refine((v) => /^(https?|rowboat):\/\//i.test(v), {
                 message: "link must be an http(s):// or rowboat:// URL",
             }).optional().describe("Optional URL opened when the user clicks the notification. Accepts http(s):// (opens in browser) or rowboat:// (opens a view inside Rowboat — see the notify-user skill for deep-link shapes)."),
-            actionLabel: z.string().min(1).max(20).optional().describe("Label for the action button shown when `link` is set. Defaults to 'Open'. Keep it short — 1-2 words like 'Open', 'View', 'Read', 'Reply'. Ignored when no link is provided."),
         }),
         isAvailable: async () => {
             try {
@@ -1533,13 +1532,13 @@ export const BuiltinTools: z.infer<typeof BuiltinToolsSchema> = {
                 return false;
             }
         },
-        execute: async ({ title, message, link, actionLabel }: { title?: string; message: string; link?: string; actionLabel?: string }) => {
+        execute: async ({ title, message, link }: { title?: string; message: string; link?: string }) => {
             try {
                 const service = container.resolve<INotificationService>('notificationService');
                 if (!service.isSupported()) {
                     return { success: false, error: 'Notifications are not supported on this system' };
                 }
-                service.notify({ title, message, link, actionLabel });
+                service.notify({ title, message, link });
                 return { success: true };
             } catch (error) {
                 return {
diff --git a/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/notification/service.ts b/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/notification/service.ts
index a90c8e13..5e596853 100644
--- a/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/notification/service.ts
+++ b/apps/x/packages/core/src/application/notification/service.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ export interface NotifyInput {
     title?: string;
     message: string;
     link?: string;
-    actionLabel?: string;
 }
 
 export interface INotificationService {