diff --git a/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/proposal.md b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/proposal.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9c7ff1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/proposal.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+## Why
+
+- The Active Agents SCM contribution can render session rows, but it cannot render the header count badge shown in the intended VS Code screenshot because it only registers a tree-data provider.
+- The view also depends on prior user view-state persistence, so the section may stay hidden instead of appearing by default in Source Control.
+
+## What Changes
+
+- Create the SCM view with `createTreeView(...)` so the extension can set a live badge and empty-state message.
+- Mark the contributed SCM view as visible by default.
+- Add regression coverage for both the empty-state message and the live-session badge count.
+
+## Impact
+
+- Affected surfaces: `templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/package.json`, `templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/extension.js`, and `test/vscode-active-agents-session-state.test.js`.
+- Risk is narrow because the change stays inside the VS Code companion and does not alter Guardex session-state generation.
diff --git a/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/specs/vscode-active-agents-scm/spec.md b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/specs/vscode-active-agents-scm/spec.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e1bb72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/specs/vscode-active-agents-scm/spec.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+## ADDED Requirements
+
+### Requirement: Active Agents SCM view exposes header state
+The Guardex Active Agents VS Code companion SHALL create the `gitguardex.activeAgents` SCM view through a tree-view handle so the view can expose header state in addition to item rows.
+
+#### Scenario: Live sessions set a header badge
+- **WHEN** one or more live Guardex sessions are available in the current workspace
+- **THEN** the SCM view shows the session rows
+- **AND** the view header badge reflects the live session count.
+
+#### Scenario: Empty state sets a view message
+- **WHEN** no live Guardex sessions are available in the current workspace
+- **THEN** the SCM view remains available in Source Control
+- **AND** the view exposes an empty-state message that tells the operator to start a sandbox session.
+
+### Requirement: Active Agents SCM view is visible by default
+The `gitguardex.activeAgents` SCM contribution SHALL default to visible so operators do not need to discover it manually in the SCM views menu on first install.
+
+#### Scenario: First load shows the section
+- **WHEN** the extension is installed in a workspace with Source Control open
+- **THEN** the Active Agents section is available in the SCM container without requiring a manual enable step.
diff --git a/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/tasks.md b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/tasks.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..34fa58a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31/tasks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+## Definition of Done
+
+- [x] 1.1 Capture the SCM badge and default-visibility acceptance criteria in the proposal/spec.
+- [x] 2.1 Create the Active Agents SCM view with badge/message support.
+- [x] 2.2 Default the SCM view contribution to visible.
+- [x] 2.3 Add regression coverage for empty and live SCM view states.
+- [x] 3.1 Run `node --test test/vscode-active-agents-session-state.test.js`.
+- [x] 3.2 Run `openspec validate agent-codex-vscode-active-agents-scm-badge-visibilit-2026-04-21-18-31 --type change --strict`.
+- [x] 3.3 Run `openspec validate --specs`.
+- [ ] 4.1 Run the Guardex finish flow with PR merge + cleanup, or record a `BLOCKED:` note.
diff --git a/templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/extension.js b/templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/extension.js
index 7b340f5..1028cd3 100644
--- a/templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/extension.js
+++ b/templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/extension.js
@@ -51,12 +51,34 @@ class ActiveAgentsProvider {
   constructor() {
     this.onDidChangeTreeDataEmitter = new vscode.EventEmitter();
     this.onDidChangeTreeData = this.onDidChangeTreeDataEmitter.event;
+    this.treeView = null;
   }
 
   getTreeItem(element) {
     return element;
   }
 
+  attachTreeView(treeView) {
+    this.treeView = treeView;
+    this.updateViewState(0);
+  }
+
+  updateViewState(sessionCount) {
+    if (!this.treeView) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    this.treeView.badge = sessionCount > 0
+      ? {
+          value: sessionCount,
+          tooltip: `${sessionCount} active agent${sessionCount === 1 ? '' : 's'}`,
+        }
+      : undefined;
+    this.treeView.message = sessionCount > 0
+      ? undefined
+      : 'Start a sandbox session to populate this view.';
+  }
+
   refresh() {
     this.onDidChangeTreeDataEmitter.fire();
   }
@@ -67,13 +89,15 @@ class ActiveAgentsProvider {
     }
 
     const sessionsByRepo = await this.loadSessionsByRepo();
+    const sessionCount = [...sessionsByRepo.values()].reduce((total, sessions) => total + sessions.length, 0);
+    this.updateViewState(sessionCount);
     const repos = [...sessionsByRepo.entries()]
       .map(([repoRoot, sessions]) => ({ repoRoot, sessions }))
       .filter((entry) => entry.sessions.length > 0)
       .sort((left, right) => left.repoRoot.localeCompare(right.repoRoot));
 
     if (repos.length === 0) {
-      return [new InfoItem('No active Guardex agents', 'Start a sandbox session to populate this view.')];
+      return [new InfoItem('No active Guardex agents', 'Open or start a sandbox session.')];
     }
 
     if (repos.length === 1) {
@@ -115,12 +139,17 @@ class ActiveAgentsProvider {
 
 function activate(context) {
   const provider = new ActiveAgentsProvider();
+  const treeView = vscode.window.createTreeView('gitguardex.activeAgents', {
+    treeDataProvider: provider,
+    showCollapseAll: true,
+  });
+  provider.attachTreeView(treeView);
   const refresh = () => provider.refresh();
   const watcher = vscode.workspace.createFileSystemWatcher('**/.omx/state/active-sessions/*.json');
   const interval = setInterval(refresh, 5_000);
 
   context.subscriptions.push(
-    vscode.window.registerTreeDataProvider('gitguardex.activeAgents', provider),
+    treeView,
     vscode.commands.registerCommand('gitguardex.activeAgents.refresh', refresh),
     vscode.commands.registerCommand('gitguardex.activeAgents.openWorktree', async (session) => {
       if (!session?.worktreePath) {
diff --git a/templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/package.json b/templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/package.json
index 354efa2..3c3b0d1 100644
--- a/templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/package.json
+++ b/templates/vscode/guardex-active-agents/package.json
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@
       "scm": [
         {
           "id": "gitguardex.activeAgents",
-          "name": "Active Agents"
+          "name": "Active Agents",
+          "visibility": "visible"
         }
       ]
     },
diff --git a/test/vscode-active-agents-session-state.test.js b/test/vscode-active-agents-session-state.test.js
index 4d89e5f..7497b51 100644
--- a/test/vscode-active-agents-session-state.test.js
+++ b/test/vscode-active-agents-session-state.test.js
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ function loadExtensionWithMockVscode(mockVscode) {
 function createMockVscode(tempRoot) {
   const registrations = {
     providers: [],
+    treeViews: [],
   };
 
   class TreeItem {
@@ -95,6 +96,18 @@ function createMockVscode(tempRoot) {
         file: (fsPath) => ({ fsPath }),
       },
       window: {
+        createTreeView: (viewId, options) => {
+          const treeView = {
+            viewId,
+            options,
+            badge: undefined,
+            message: undefined,
+            dispose() {},
+          };
+          registrations.treeViews.push(treeView);
+          registrations.providers.push({ viewId, provider: options.treeDataProvider });
+          return treeView;
+        },
         registerTreeDataProvider: (viewId, provider) => {
           registrations.providers.push({ viewId, provider });
           return disposable();
@@ -228,6 +241,8 @@ test('active-agents extension registers a provider with getTreeItem', async () =
 
   extension.activate(context);
 
+  assert.equal(registrations.treeViews.length, 1);
+  assert.equal(registrations.treeViews[0].viewId, 'gitguardex.activeAgents');
   assert.equal(registrations.providers.length, 1);
   assert.equal(registrations.providers[0].viewId, 'gitguardex.activeAgents');
 
@@ -237,6 +252,47 @@ test('active-agents extension registers a provider with getTreeItem', async () =
   const [rootItem] = await provider.getChildren();
   assert.equal(rootItem.label, 'No active Guardex agents');
   assert.equal(provider.getTreeItem(rootItem), rootItem);
+  assert.equal(registrations.treeViews[0].badge, undefined);
+  assert.equal(registrations.treeViews[0].message, 'Start a sandbox session to populate this view.');
+
+  for (const subscription of context.subscriptions) {
+    subscription.dispose?.();
+  }
+});
+
+test('active-agents extension updates the SCM badge for live sessions', async () => {
+  const tempRoot = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'guardex-vscode-live-view-'));
+  const sessionPath = sessionSchema.sessionFilePathForBranch(tempRoot, 'agent/codex/live-task');
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(sessionPath), { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(
+    sessionPath,
+    `${JSON.stringify(sessionSchema.buildSessionRecord({
+      repoRoot: tempRoot,
+      branch: 'agent/codex/live-task',
+      taskName: 'live-task',
+      agentName: 'codex',
+      worktreePath: path.join(tempRoot, '.omx', 'agent-worktrees', 'live-task'),
+      pid: process.pid,
+      cliName: 'codex',
+    }), null, 2)}\n`,
+    'utf8',
+  );
+
+  const { registrations, vscode } = createMockVscode(tempRoot);
+  vscode.workspace.findFiles = async () => [{ fsPath: sessionPath }];
+  const extension = loadExtensionWithMockVscode(vscode);
+  const context = { subscriptions: [] };
+
+  extension.activate(context);
+
+  const provider = registrations.providers[0].provider;
+  const [sessionItem] = await provider.getChildren();
+  assert.equal(sessionItem.label, 'live-task');
+  assert.deepEqual(registrations.treeViews[0].badge, {
+    value: 1,
+    tooltip: '1 active agent',
+  });
+  assert.equal(registrations.treeViews[0].message, undefined);
 
   for (const subscription of context.subscriptions) {
     subscription.dispose?.();