diff --git a/Neon Vision Editor.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj b/Neon Vision Editor.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
index 668914e..f0098d0 100644
--- a/Neon Vision Editor.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj	
+++ b/Neon Vision Editor.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj	
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@
 				CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED = YES;
 				CODE_SIGN_IDENTITY = "Apple Development";
 				CODE_SIGN_STYLE = Automatic;
-				CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION = 401;
+				CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION = 402;
 				DEAD_CODE_STRIPPING = YES;
 				DEVELOPMENT_TEAM = CS727NF72U;
 				ENABLE_APP_SANDBOX = YES;
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@
 				CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED = YES;
 				CODE_SIGN_IDENTITY = "Apple Development";
 				CODE_SIGN_STYLE = Automatic;
-				CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION = 401;
+				CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION = 402;
 				DEAD_CODE_STRIPPING = YES;
 				DEVELOPMENT_TEAM = CS727NF72U;
 				ENABLE_APP_SANDBOX = YES;
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a40422b..6231d95 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
   <img src="docs/images/release-download-trend.svg" alt="GitHub release downloads trend chart" width="100%">
 </p>
 
-<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a 14-day git clone volume strip.</em></p>
+<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a scaled 14-day git clone volume bar.</em></p>
 <p align="center">Git clones (last 14 days): <strong>1508</strong>.</p>
 <p align="center">Snapshot total downloads: <strong>547</strong> across releases.</p>
 
diff --git a/docs/images/release-download-trend.svg b/docs/images/release-download-trend.svg
index ee679f8..3bf6d72 100644
--- a/docs/images/release-download-trend.svg
+++ b/docs/images/release-download-trend.svg
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <svg width="1200" height="560" viewBox="0 0 1200 560" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" role="img" aria-labelledby="title desc">
   <title id="title">GitHub Release Downloads and Clone Trend</title>
-  <desc id="desc">Line chart of release downloads with highlighted points and a git clone sparkline.</desc>
+  <desc id="desc">Line chart of release downloads with highlighted points and a scaled 14-day git clone volume bar.</desc>
   <defs>
     <linearGradient id="bg" x1="0" y1="0" x2="1200" y2="560" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse">
       <stop stop-color="#061423"/>
@@ -80,6 +80,12 @@
   <rect x="58" y="390" width="1084" height="132" rx="12" fill="#0A1A2B" stroke="#2A4762" stroke-width="1"/>
   <text x="84" y="420" fill="#E6F3FF" font-size="18" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif" font-weight="600">Git Clones (last 14 days): 1508</text>
   <rect x="86" y="450" width="1024" height="36" rx="10" fill="#15263A" stroke="#2B4255" stroke-width="1"/>
-  <rect x="86" y="450" width="1024.0" height="36" rx="10" fill="url(#cloneFill)"/>
-  <text x="86" y="510" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="13" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">Clone volume relative to release-download snapshot.</text>
+  <line x1="86" y1="442" x2="86" y2="494" stroke="#436280" stroke-width="1"/>
+  <line x1="598.0" y1="442" x2="598.0" y2="494" stroke="#436280" stroke-width="1"/>
+  <line x1="1110" y1="442" x2="1110" y2="494" stroke="#436280" stroke-width="1"/>
+  <rect x="86" y="450" width="965.1" height="36" rx="10" fill="url(#cloneFill)"/>
+  <text x="82" y="438" text-anchor="start" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="12" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">0</text>
+  <text x="598.0" y="438" text-anchor="middle" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="12" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">800</text>
+  <text x="1114" y="438" text-anchor="end" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="12" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">1600</text>
+  <text x="86" y="510" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="13" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">Scale: 0 to 1600 clones in the last 14 days.</text>
 </svg>
diff --git a/scripts/update_download_metrics.py b/scripts/update_download_metrics.py
index 2726e67..526f0d9 100755
--- a/scripts/update_download_metrics.py
+++ b/scripts/update_download_metrics.py
@@ -199,20 +199,28 @@ def generate_svg(points: list[ReleasePoint], clone_total: int, snapshot_date: st
     bar_top = 450
     bar_bottom = 486
     track_width = panel_right - panel_left
-    baseline = max(1, total_downloads_for_scale(points), clone_total)
-    fill_ratio = min(1.0, clone_total / baseline)
+    clone_scale_max = max(100, y_top(max(1, clone_total), ticks=4))
+    fill_ratio = min(1.0, clone_total / clone_scale_max)
     fill_width = max(8.0, track_width * fill_ratio)
+    mid_value = clone_scale_max // 2
+    mid_x = panel_left + (track_width * 0.5)
     clone_panel.extend(
         [
             f'  <rect x="{panel_left}" y="{bar_top}" width="{track_width}" height="{bar_bottom - bar_top}" rx="10" fill="#15263A" stroke="#2B4255" stroke-width="1"/>',
+            f'  <line x1="{panel_left}" y1="{bar_top - 8}" x2="{panel_left}" y2="{bar_bottom + 8}" stroke="#436280" stroke-width="1"/>',
+            f'  <line x1="{mid_x:.1f}" y1="{bar_top - 8}" x2="{mid_x:.1f}" y2="{bar_bottom + 8}" stroke="#436280" stroke-width="1"/>',
+            f'  <line x1="{panel_right}" y1="{bar_top - 8}" x2="{panel_right}" y2="{bar_bottom + 8}" stroke="#436280" stroke-width="1"/>',
             f'  <rect x="{panel_left}" y="{bar_top}" width="{fill_width:.1f}" height="{bar_bottom - bar_top}" rx="10" fill="url(#cloneFill)"/>',
-            f'  <text x="{panel_left}" y="{bar_bottom + 24}" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="13" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">Clone volume relative to release-download snapshot.</text>',
+            f'  <text x="{panel_left - 4}" y="{bar_top - 12}" text-anchor="start" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="12" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">0</text>',
+            f'  <text x="{mid_x:.1f}" y="{bar_top - 12}" text-anchor="middle" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="12" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">{mid_value}</text>',
+            f'  <text x="{panel_right + 4}" y="{bar_top - 12}" text-anchor="end" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="12" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">{clone_scale_max}</text>',
+            f'  <text x="{panel_left}" y="{bar_bottom + 24}" fill="#9CC3E6" font-size="13" font-family="SF Pro Text, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, sans-serif">Scale: 0 to {clone_scale_max} clones in the last {CLONES_WINDOW_DAYS} days.</text>',
         ]
     )
 
     return """<svg width="1200" height="560" viewBox="0 0 1200 560" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" role="img" aria-labelledby="title desc">
   <title id="title">GitHub Release Downloads and Clone Trend</title>
-  <desc id="desc">Line chart of release downloads with highlighted points and a git clone sparkline.</desc>
+  <desc id="desc">Line chart of release downloads with highlighted points and a scaled 14-day git clone volume bar.</desc>
   <defs>
     <linearGradient id="bg" x1="0" y1="0" x2="1200" y2="560" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse">
       <stop stop-color="#061423"/>
@@ -325,12 +333,17 @@ def update_readme(content: str, latest_tag: str, total_downloads: int, clone_tot
     )
     content = re.sub(
         r'(?m)^<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart with highlighted points shows per-release totals and trend direction\.</em></p>$',
-        '<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a 14-day git clone volume strip.</em></p>',
+        '<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a scaled 14-day git clone volume bar.</em></p>',
         content,
     )
     content = re.sub(
         r'(?m)^<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a 14-day git clone sparkline\.</em></p>$',
-        '<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a 14-day git clone volume strip.</em></p>',
+        '<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a scaled 14-day git clone volume bar.</em></p>',
+        content,
+    )
+    content = re.sub(
+        r'(?m)^<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a 14-day git clone volume strip\.</em></p>$',
+        '<p align="center"><em>Styled line chart shows per-release totals plus a scaled 14-day git clone volume bar.</em></p>',
         content,
     )
     content = re.sub(