diff --git a/backend/apps/dashboards/models.py b/backend/apps/dashboards/models.py
index 22ede85c..3f514033 100644
--- a/backend/apps/dashboards/models.py
+++ b/backend/apps/dashboards/models.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field
 from typing import Optional
 from datetime import datetime
 from uuid import uuid4
@@ -53,9 +53,17 @@ class NotePosition(BaseModel):
 
 
 class DashboardLayout(BaseModel):
+    # Accept whatever the FE serialises (workflow_cards, configure_panels,
+    # workflows_hub etc). Pydantic was silently stripping these because
+    # they weren't declared, which made the dashboard re-render WITHOUT
+    # the workflow card the user just placed.
+    model_config = ConfigDict(extra="allow")
     cards: dict[str, CardPosition] = Field(default_factory=dict)
     view_cards: dict[str, ViewCardPosition] = Field(default_factory=dict)
     browser_cards: dict[str, BrowserCardPosition] = Field(default_factory=dict)
+    workflow_cards: dict = Field(default_factory=dict)
+    configure_panels: dict = Field(default_factory=dict)
+    workflows_hub: Optional[dict] = None
     notes: dict[str, NotePosition] = Field(default_factory=dict)
     expanded_session_ids: list[str] = Field(default_factory=list)
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/shared/state/store.ts b/frontend/src/shared/state/store.ts
index 89155cb4..6e248635 100644
--- a/frontend/src/shared/state/store.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/shared/state/store.ts
@@ -59,3 +59,10 @@ export const store = configureStore({
 
 export type RootState = ReturnType<typeof store.getState>;
 export type AppDispatch = typeof store.dispatch;
+
+// Expose the store on window in dev so playwright + the user's devtools
+// can drive UI flows without hunting for selectors. The expose is
+// guarded by NODE_ENV so production bundles don't ship it.
+if (typeof window !== 'undefined' && process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
+  (window as unknown as { __OPENSWARM_STORE__?: typeof store }).__OPENSWARM_STORE__ = store;
+}