diff --git a/admin-frontend/src/components/Layout.tsx b/admin-frontend/src/components/Layout.tsx
index 9fdd921..0d2fe2c 100644
--- a/admin-frontend/src/components/Layout.tsx
+++ b/admin-frontend/src/components/Layout.tsx
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ export default function Layout() {
         }}
         className={`flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm font-medium transition-colors ${
           isActive
-            ? 'bg-sidebar-active text-sidebar-accent-foreground ring-1 ring-gold/50'
-            : 'text-sidebar-foreground/85 hover:bg-sidebar-accent hover:text-sidebar-accent-foreground'
+            ? 'bg-sidebar-active text-sidebar-accent-foreground ring-1 ring-[color:var(--gold)]'
+            : 'text-sidebar-foreground hover:bg-sidebar-accent hover:text-sidebar-accent-foreground'
         } ${extraClasses}`}
       >
         <span>{item.label}</span>
diff --git a/docs/ADMIN_UX_REVIEW.md b/docs/ADMIN_UX_REVIEW.md
index cb8d2ed..9ec8816 100644
--- a/docs/ADMIN_UX_REVIEW.md
+++ b/docs/ADMIN_UX_REVIEW.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Snapshot after Chabad Blue chrome parity (navy sidebar, theme toggle, shared tok
 | P2 | iOS hamburger only — no desktop collapse | Optional collapsed icon rail for large monitors |
 | P3 | Viewer filter comboboxes lack accessible names (axe `button-name`) | Label each Select trigger; then restore full-page axe on gallery home |
 | Done | Admin Home was a SaaS marketing splash (orange/blue hero, emoji placeholders) | Quiet ops home: welcome + workflow links + recent processed strip |
+| Done | Sidebar primary links invisible (Tailwind `/85` on CSS-var colors → transparent) | Solid `text-sidebar-foreground`; e2e asserts Scan/Process/People visible |
 | P3 | Emoji leftovers in Help / some toasts (remove over time) | Plain language + lucide/SVG icons over time |
 
 ## Accessibility status
diff --git a/e2e/tests/admin.sidebar-nav.spec.ts b/e2e/tests/admin.sidebar-nav.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e698f43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/tests/admin.sidebar-nav.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { z } from 'zod';
+import { test, expect } from '../fixtures';
+import { DEFAULT_ADMIN_BASE_URL } from '../env-defaults';
+
+const TokenResponse = z.object({
+  access_token: z.string().min(1),
+  refresh_token: z.string().min(1),
+});
+
+/**
+ * Admin sidebar primary nav must be visible after Chabad chrome (CSS-var
+ * opacity modifiers made inactive links transparent — #104).
+ */
+test.describe('admin sidebar nav @smoke', () => {
+  const adminBaseUrl = process.env.PLAYKIT_ADMIN_BASE_URL || DEFAULT_ADMIN_BASE_URL;
+
+  test('primary workflow links are visible in the sidebar', async ({ page, api }) => {
+    const username = process.env.E2E_API_USERNAME || '';
+    const password = process.env.E2E_API_PASSWORD || '';
+    test.skip(!username || !password, 'E2E_API_USERNAME/PASSWORD required for admin UI');
+
+    const tokens = await api.post<z.infer<typeof TokenResponse>>('/api/v1/auth/login', {
+      body: { username, password },
+      expectedStatus: 200,
+      schema: TokenResponse,
+    });
+
+    await page.goto(`${adminBaseUrl}/login`);
+    await page.evaluate(
+      ({ access, refresh }) => {
+        localStorage.setItem('access_token', access);
+        localStorage.setItem('refresh_token', refresh);
+      },
+      {
+        access: tokens.data.access_token,
+        refresh: tokens.data.refresh_token,
+      },
+    );
+    await page.goto(`${adminBaseUrl}/`);
+    await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: /Log\s*out/i })).toBeVisible({
+      timeout: 30_000,
+    });
+
+    const nav = page.getByRole('navigation', { name: 'Primary' });
+    await expect(nav).toBeVisible();
+
+    for (const label of ['Scan', 'Process', 'Search photos', 'People', 'Tag photos']) {
+      const link = nav.getByRole('link', { name: label, exact: true });
+      await expect(link, `sidebar missing visible link: ${label}`).toBeVisible();
+      // Guard against transparent text (CSS-var + /opacity bug)
+      await expect(link).toHaveCSS('opacity', '1');
+      const color = await link.evaluate((el) => getComputedStyle(el).color);
+      expect(color, `${label} must not be transparent`).not.toBe('rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)');
+      expect(color).not.toMatch(/rgba?\(\s*0,\s*0,\s*0,\s*0\s*\)/);
+    }
+
+    await expect(nav.getByRole('button', { name: /Maintenance/i })).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(nav.getByRole('link', { name: 'Help', exact: true })).toBeVisible();
+  });
+});