diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/layout/project-switcher/project-switcher.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/layout/project-switcher/project-switcher.tsx
index 541fa83c..a8aa521f 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/layout/project-switcher/project-switcher.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/layout/project-switcher/project-switcher.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { useState, useCallback, useEffect } from 'react';
 import { Plus, Bug, FolderOpen, BookOpen } from 'lucide-react';
 import { useNavigate, useLocation } from '@tanstack/react-router';
-import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { cn, isMac } from '@/lib/utils';
 import { useAppStore } from '@/store/app-store';
 import { useOSDetection } from '@/hooks/use-os-detection';
 import { ProjectSwitcherItem } from './components/project-switcher-item';
@@ -11,9 +11,12 @@ import { NotificationBell } from './components/notification-bell';
 import { NewProjectModal } from '@/components/dialogs/new-project-modal';
 import { OnboardingDialog } from '@/components/layout/sidebar/dialogs';
 import { useProjectCreation } from '@/components/layout/sidebar/hooks';
-import { SIDEBAR_FEATURE_FLAGS } from '@/components/layout/sidebar/constants';
+import {
+  MACOS_ELECTRON_TOP_PADDING_CLASS,
+  SIDEBAR_FEATURE_FLAGS,
+} from '@/components/layout/sidebar/constants';
 import type { Project } from '@/lib/electron';
-import { getElectronAPI } from '@/lib/electron';
+import { getElectronAPI, isElectron } from '@/lib/electron';
 import { initializeProject, hasAppSpec, hasAutomakerDir } from '@/lib/project-init';
 import { toast } from 'sonner';
 import { CreateSpecDialog } from '@/components/views/spec-view/dialogs';
@@ -279,7 +282,12 @@ export function ProjectSwitcher() {
         data-testid="project-switcher"
       >
         {/* Automaker Logo and Version */}
-        <div className="flex flex-col items-center pt-3 pb-2 px-2">
+        <div
+          className={cn(
+            'flex flex-col items-center pb-2 px-2',
+            isMac && isElectron() ? MACOS_ELECTRON_TOP_PADDING_CLASS : 'pt-3'
+          )}
+        >
           <button
             onClick={() => navigate({ to: '/dashboard' })}
             className="group flex flex-col items-center gap-0.5"
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/components/sidebar-header.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/components/sidebar-header.tsx
index 7a92aec9..e926b3da 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/components/sidebar-header.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/components/sidebar-header.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import type { LucideIcon } from 'lucide-react';
 import { cn, isMac } from '@/lib/utils';
 import { formatShortcut } from '@/store/app-store';
 import { isElectron, type Project } from '@/lib/electron';
+import { MACOS_ELECTRON_TOP_PADDING_CLASS } from '../constants';
 import { getAuthenticatedImageUrl } from '@/lib/api-fetch';
 import { useAppStore } from '@/store/app-store';
 import {
@@ -89,7 +90,7 @@ export function SidebarHeader({
       <div
         className={cn(
           'shrink-0 flex flex-col items-center relative px-2 pt-3 pb-2',
-          isMac && isElectron() && 'pt-[10px]'
+          isMac && isElectron() && MACOS_ELECTRON_TOP_PADDING_CLASS
         )}
       >
         <Tooltip>
@@ -240,7 +241,7 @@ export function SidebarHeader({
     <div
       className={cn(
         'shrink-0 flex flex-col relative px-3 pt-3 pb-2',
-        isMac && isElectron() && 'pt-[10px]'
+        isMac && isElectron() && MACOS_ELECTRON_TOP_PADDING_CLASS
       )}
     >
       {/* Header with logo and project dropdown */}
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/components/sidebar-navigation.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/components/sidebar-navigation.tsx
index 905448cd..2380cc59 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/components/sidebar-navigation.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/components/sidebar-navigation.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@ import type { NavigateOptions } from '@tanstack/react-router';
 import { ChevronDown, Wrench, Github, Folder } from 'lucide-react';
 import * as LucideIcons from 'lucide-react';
 import type { LucideIcon } from 'lucide-react';
-import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { cn, isMac } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { isElectron } from '@/lib/electron';
+import { MACOS_ELECTRON_TOP_PADDING_CLASS } from '../constants';
 import { formatShortcut, useAppStore } from '@/store/app-store';
 import { getAuthenticatedImageUrl } from '@/lib/api-fetch';
 import type { NavSection } from '../types';
@@ -117,7 +119,12 @@ export function SidebarNavigation({
       className={cn(
         'flex-1 overflow-y-auto scrollbar-hide px-3 pb-2',
         // Add top padding in discord mode since there's no header
-        sidebarStyle === 'discord' ? 'pt-3' : 'mt-1'
+        // Extra padding for macOS Electron to avoid traffic light overlap
+        sidebarStyle === 'discord'
+          ? isMac && isElectron()
+            ? MACOS_ELECTRON_TOP_PADDING_CLASS
+            : 'pt-3'
+          : 'mt-1'
       )}
     >
       {/* Project name display for classic/discord mode */}
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/constants.ts b/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/constants.ts
index 58417fe3..9ab38cff 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/constants.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/layout/sidebar/constants.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 import { darkThemes, lightThemes } from '@/config/theme-options';
 
+/**
+ * Tailwind class for top padding on macOS Electron to avoid overlapping with traffic light window controls.
+ * This padding is applied conditionally when running on macOS in Electron.
+ */
+export const MACOS_ELECTRON_TOP_PADDING_CLASS = 'pt-[38px]';
+
 /**
  * Shared constants for theme submenu positioning and layout.
  * Used across project-context-menu and project-selector-with-options components