diff --git a/.jules/palette.md b/.jules/palette.md
index ea004e2d..fe85b31d 100644
--- a/.jules/palette.md
+++ b/.jules/palette.md
@@ -81,3 +81,7 @@
 ## 2026-08-12 - Skip to Content Accessibility
 **Learning:** Screen reader and keyboard-only users experience significant friction when forced to navigate through repetitive header controls on every page load.
 **Action:** Keep a visible-on-focus skip link as the first interactive element, target a programmatically focusable main container, and give the focused link a high-contrast outline.
+
+## 2024-09-03 - Added Proxy Button for File Input in Header
+**Learning:** In zero-build dashboard (scanner/dashboard/index.html), the native <input type="file"> does not support firing the change event when a user attempts to select the same file path sequentially. Additionally, hiding the file input and exposing a proxy <button> allows users to have a much larger and better-styled click target.
+**Action:** Visually hide the native <input type="file"> with the hidden attribute and create a proxy <button> that triggers the file input. Remove aria-label from the native input when using a proxy button to adhere to 'label-in-name' principles and update UI contract tests appropriately.
diff --git a/scanner/dashboard/index.html b/scanner/dashboard/index.html
index 132bc31b..975caeb9 100644
--- a/scanner/dashboard/index.html
+++ b/scanner/dashboard/index.html
@@ -93,7 +93,8 @@
   <span class="logo"></span><span class="brand">AppGuardrail</span>
   <span class="spacer"></span>
   <span class="meta" id="src">no findings loaded</span>
-  <input type="file" id="file" accept="application/json,.json" aria-label="Upload findings file" style="margin-left:12px">
+  <button type="button" id="header-browse" class="primary-action" style="margin-left:12px">Upload findings file</button>
+  <input type="file" id="file" accept="application/json,.json" hidden>
 </header>
 <p id="findings-summary" class="sr-only" role="status" aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true"></p>
 <main id="app" tabindex="-1"></main>
@@ -325,6 +326,7 @@ <h1>Dashboard</h1>
 }
 
 const fileInput = document.getElementById('file');
+document.getElementById('header-browse').addEventListener('click', () => fileInput.click());
 fileInput.addEventListener('change', () => {
   const selectedFile = fileInput.files?.[0];
   fileInput.value = '';
diff --git a/tests/test_dashboard_core.py b/tests/test_dashboard_core.py
index 75a5809f..be738615 100644
--- a/tests/test_dashboard_core.py
+++ b/tests/test_dashboard_core.py
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ def test_dashboard_rows_are_keyboard_accessible():
     assert 'tabindex="0" role="button"' in html
     assert 'title="View details for finding"' in html
     assert "tbody tr:focus-visible" in html
-    assert "aria-label=\"Upload findings file\"" in html
+    assert ">Upload findings file</button>" in html
     assert "aria-label=\"Search findings\"" in html
     assert "aria-label=\"Filter by severity\"" in html
     assert "tr.addEventListener('keydown'" in html
diff --git a/tests/test_dashboard_upload_proxy_contract.py b/tests/test_dashboard_upload_proxy_contract.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..66e8405e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_dashboard_upload_proxy_contract.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+"""Contracts for the dashboard file-upload proxy control."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+DASHBOARD = Path("scanner/dashboard/index.html")
+
+
+def _header_upload_button(html: str) -> str:
+    """Return the shipped header upload button tag."""
+    match = re.search(r'<button\b[^>]*\bid="header-browse"[^>]*>', html)
+    assert match is not None, "header upload proxy button must exist"
+    return match.group(0)
+
+
+def test_header_upload_proxy_preserves_primary_action_touch_target() -> None:
+    """The header proxy must not override the shared 44px primary-action target."""
+    html = DASHBOARD.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    button = _header_upload_button(html)
+
+    assert 'class="primary-action"' in button
+    assert "min-height:auto" not in button.replace(" ", "")
+    assert "padding:6px 12px" not in button
+
+
+def test_header_upload_proxy_keeps_visible_name_and_native_file_boundary() -> None:
+    """The visible button owns the name while the hidden native input owns selection."""
+    html = DASHBOARD.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+    assert ">Upload findings file</button>" in html
+    assert '<input type="file" id="file" accept="application/json,.json" hidden>' in html
+    assert "document.getElementById('header-browse').addEventListener('click', () => fileInput.click())" in html
+    # Same-file re-selection is enabled by clearing the native input after handling it;
+    # it is not a property of the proxy button itself.
+    assert "fileInput.value = '';" in html