diff --git a/frontend/src/components/AssetDetailTabs.vue b/frontend/src/components/AssetDetailTabs.vue
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a4c49778
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/AssetDetailTabs.vue
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+<template>
+  <!-- The tab strip for an asset detail page. Presentational only: it owns the
+       strip and the keyboard model, never the content, so every detail page
+       gets the same behaviour without the strip knowing what an asset is.
+
+       It sits BELOW the hero and triage band on purpose. Those answer "is this
+       thing OK", which must not be behind a click - the strip partitions the
+       detail underneath and is not navigation. That distinction is what makes
+       tabs worth having here; a strip that duplicated the sidebar was tried and
+       rejected. -->
+  <div class="adt" role="tablist" :aria-label="label">
+    <button
+      v-for="(tab, index) in tabs"
+      :key="tab.key"
+      :id="`adt-${uid}-${tab.key}`"
+      class="adt-tab"
+      :class="{ 'adt-on': tab.key === modelValue }"
+      role="tab"
+      type="button"
+      :aria-selected="tab.key === modelValue ? 'true' : 'false'"
+      :aria-controls="`adtp-${uid}-${tab.key}`"
+      :tabindex="tab.key === modelValue ? 0 : -1"
+      :ref="el => setRef(el, index)"
+      @click="$emit('update:modelValue', tab.key)"
+      @keydown="onKey($event, index)"
+    >
+      {{ tab.label }}
+      <span v-if="tab.count != null" class="adt-count">{{ tab.count }}</span>
+    </button>
+  </div>
+</template>
+
+<script setup>
+import { ref } from 'vue'
+
+const props = defineProps({
+  // [{ key, label, count? }] - the caller decides which tabs exist, so a page
+  // can drop a tab it has nothing for rather than offering an empty one.
+  tabs: { type: Array, required: true },
+  modelValue: { type: String, required: true },
+  label: { type: String, default: 'Detail sections' },
+})
+const emit = defineEmits(['update:modelValue'])
+
+// Ids have to be unique per instance: a page may show two of these, and
+// duplicate ids would break the aria-controls pairing.
+const uid = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)
+
+const els = ref([])
+function setRef(el, index) { if (el) els.value[index] = el }
+
+// Roving tabindex, per the WAI-ARIA tabs pattern: arrows move between tabs,
+// Home and End jump to the ends. Without this a keyboard user tabs through
+// every tab button to reach the panel.
+function onKey(event, index) {
+  const last = props.tabs.length - 1
+  let next = null
+  if (event.key === 'ArrowRight') next = index === last ? 0 : index + 1
+  else if (event.key === 'ArrowLeft') next = index === 0 ? last : index - 1
+  else if (event.key === 'Home') next = 0
+  else if (event.key === 'End') next = last
+  if (next === null) return
+  event.preventDefault()
+  emit('update:modelValue', props.tabs[next].key)
+  els.value[next]?.focus()
+}
+</script>
+
+<style scoped>
+.adt {
+  display: flex;
+  gap: 2px;
+  overflow-x: auto;
+  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border);
+  margin-bottom: 1.25rem;
+}
+.adt-tab {
+  font: inherit;
+  font-size: 0.875rem;
+  font-weight: 500;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+  background: none;
+  border: none;
+  border-bottom: 2px solid transparent;
+  margin-bottom: -1px;
+  padding: 0.7rem 0.9rem;
+  color: var(--text-light);
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.adt-tab:hover { color: var(--text); }
+.adt-on { color: var(--primary); border-bottom-color: var(--primary); }
+.adt-tab:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid var(--primary); outline-offset: -3px; border-radius: 3px; }
+.adt-count {
+  font-size: 0.75rem;
+  color: var(--text-light);
+  margin-left: 0.35rem;
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+}
+</style>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PluginAssetPanels.vue b/frontend/src/components/PluginAssetPanels.vue
index d5b8ab92..abe4b013 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PluginAssetPanels.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PluginAssetPanels.vue
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   <!-- Generic renderer for ADR-010 get_asset_panels (Path A). A plugin declares
        a panel as JSON (title, endpoint, render mode, field map); this renders it
        on any asset detail page, so a plugin adds detail-page UI with no Vue. -->
-  <template v-for="panel in panels" :key="panel.id">
+  <template v-for="panel in groupedPanels" :key="panel.id">
     <div v-if="panelVisible(panel)" class="section-card">
       <!-- collapsible panels get a clickable header with a caret and, when the
            panel declares a status rollup, a green/yellow/red dot for the worst
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@
 </template>
 
 <script setup>
-import { ref, watch } from 'vue'
+import { ref, computed, watch } from 'vue'
 import api from '../api'
 import { colorStyle } from '@/utils/colorStyle'
 import {
@@ -183,10 +183,29 @@ function visibleRows(panel) {
 
 const props = defineProps({
   assetid: { type: [Number, String], default: null },
+  // Which detail-page tab to render. Null renders every panel, which is what
+  // the detail pages that have not adopted tabs still do - so this stays
+  // additive and no existing page changes behaviour.
+  group: { type: String, default: null },
 })
 
 const panels = ref([])
 
+// The server resolves every panel's group before we see it, so an unknown or
+// absent one is already 'details' by the time it arrives here. Filtering can
+// therefore be a plain equality check and nothing falls through the gap.
+const groupedPanels = computed(() =>
+  props.group ? panels.value.filter((p) => p.group === props.group) : panels.value
+)
+
+// Which groups actually have a panel with data, so a parent can hide a tab
+// rather than offering an empty one.
+const populatedGroups = computed(() => {
+  const seen = new Set()
+  panels.value.forEach((p) => { if (panelVisible(p)) seen.add(p.group || 'details') })
+  return seen
+})
+
 // Which tab each 'tabs' panel is showing, keyed by panel id. Kept here rather
 // than on the panel object because panels are replaced wholesale on refetch.
 const tabs = ref({})
@@ -334,7 +353,7 @@ watch(() => props.assetid, load, { immediate: true })
 
 // Let a parent detail page (for example PCDetail's header Refresh button)
 // trigger a panel reload without duplicating the fetch plumbing.
-defineExpose({ refresh: load })
+defineExpose({ refresh: load, populatedGroups })
 </script>
 
 <style scoped>
diff --git a/plugins/computers/frontend/views/PCDetail.vue b/plugins/computers/frontend/views/PCDetail.vue
index 3edc8625..aa4f9d50 100644
--- a/plugins/computers/frontend/views/PCDetail.vue
+++ b/plugins/computers/frontend/views/PCDetail.vue
@@ -84,8 +84,10 @@
            Hardware and the rest follow. Panels self-order among themselves by
            their declared position, and self-hide when a site has no plugin
            answering for this asset type. -->
-      <div class="content-grid">
-        <PluginAssetPanels ref="assetPanels" :assetid="computer.assetid" />
+      <AssetDetailTabs v-model="activegroup" :tabs="detailtabs" label="Computer detail sections" />
+
+      <div v-show="activegroup === 'details'" class="content-grid">
+        <PluginAssetPanels ref="assetPanels" :assetid="computer.assetid" group="details" />
 
         <!-- Left Column -->
         <div class="content-column">
@@ -256,7 +258,25 @@
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          <!-- Installed Applications -->
+          <!-- Custom Fields -->
+          <CustomFieldsSection :assetid="computer.assetid" />
+
+          <!-- All relationships (controls, defaultprinter, ...) -->
+          <AssetRelationships v-if="computer.assetid" :assetid="computer.assetid" />
+
+          <!-- Notes -->
+          <div class="section-card" v-if="computer.notes">
+            <h3 class="section-title">Notes</h3>
+            <p class="notes-text">{{ computer.notes }}</p>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      <!-- Software. The core installed-applications list plus anything a plugin
+           declared for this group. -->
+      <div v-show="activegroup === 'software'" class="content-grid">
+        <PluginAssetPanels :assetid="computer.assetid" group="software" />
+        <div class="content-column">
           <div class="section-card" v-if="installedApps.length > 0">
             <h3 class="section-title">Installed Applications</h3>
             <div class="app-list">
@@ -276,21 +296,22 @@
               </router-link>
             </div>
           </div>
-
-          <!-- Custom Fields -->
-          <CustomFieldsSection :assetid="computer.assetid" />
-
-          <!-- All relationships (controls, defaultprinter, ...) -->
-          <AssetRelationships v-if="computer.assetid" :assetid="computer.assetid" />
-
-          <!-- Notes -->
-          <div class="section-card" v-if="computer.notes">
-            <h3 class="section-title">Notes</h3>
-            <p class="notes-text">{{ computer.notes }}</p>
-          </div>
         </div>
       </div>
 
+      <!-- Metrics, Actions and Activity are entirely plugin-contributed: the
+           telemetry, the service controls and the event feed all belong to the
+           endpoints plugin, and core knows nothing about them. -->
+      <div v-show="activegroup === 'metrics'" class="content-grid">
+        <PluginAssetPanels :assetid="computer.assetid" group="metrics" />
+      </div>
+      <div v-show="activegroup === 'actions'" class="content-grid">
+        <PluginAssetPanels :assetid="computer.assetid" group="actions" />
+      </div>
+      <div v-show="activegroup === 'activity'" class="content-grid">
+        <PluginAssetPanels :assetid="computer.assetid" group="activity" />
+      </div>
+
       <!-- Audit Footer -->
       <div class="audit-footer">
         <span>Created {{ formatDate(computer.createddate) }}<template v-if="computer.createdby"> by {{ computer.createdby }}</template></span>
@@ -305,7 +326,7 @@
 </template>
 
 <script setup>
-import { ref, computed, onMounted } from 'vue'
+import { ref, computed, watch, onMounted } from 'vue'
 import { colorStyle } from "@/utils/colorStyle"
 import { useRoute, useRouter } from 'vue-router'
 import { computersApi, applicationsApi, endpointsApi } from '@/api'
@@ -315,6 +336,7 @@ import LocationMapTooltip from '@/components/LocationMapTooltip.vue'
 import CustomFieldsSection from '@/components/CustomFieldsSection.vue'
 import AssetTriageBand from '@/components/AssetTriageBand.vue'
 import PluginAssetPanels from '@/components/PluginAssetPanels.vue'
+import AssetDetailTabs from '@/components/AssetDetailTabs.vue'
 import AssetRelationships from '@/components/AssetRelationships.vue'
 import { useIdentifierFlags } from '@/composables/identifierSettings'
 import { setRecordTitle } from '@/composables/pageTitle'
@@ -344,6 +366,36 @@ const hasRecordCheckin = computed(() => {
 })
 const installedApps = ref([])
 const assetPanels = ref(null)
+
+// Which tab is showing. Always opens on Details: it holds what the asset IS,
+// which is the answer somebody arriving from a search or a link came for.
+const activegroup = ref('details')
+
+// Only offer a tab that has something in it. An empty tab is worse than an
+// absent one - it reads as broken rather than as "this site does not collect
+// that". Details always shows because core fills it regardless of plugins.
+//
+// populatedGroups comes from PluginAssetPanels, which knows which panels
+// actually returned data; Software is additionally true when core has an
+// installed-applications list of its own.
+const detailtabs = computed(() => {
+  const filled = assetPanels.value?.populatedGroups ?? new Set()
+  const has = (key) => filled.has ? filled.has(key) : false
+  const tabs = [{ key: 'details', label: 'Details' }]
+  if (has('software') || installedApps.value.length > 0) {
+    tabs.push({ key: 'software', label: 'Software', count: installedApps.value.length || null })
+  }
+  if (has('metrics')) tabs.push({ key: 'metrics', label: 'Metrics' })
+  if (has('actions')) tabs.push({ key: 'actions', label: 'Actions' })
+  if (has('activity')) tabs.push({ key: 'activity', label: 'Activity' })
+  return tabs
+})
+
+// A tab can disappear on refetch - a plugin gets disabled, telemetry stops
+// answering. Fall back to Details rather than leaving the page showing nothing.
+watch(detailtabs, (tabs) => {
+  if (!tabs.some((tab) => tab.key === activegroup.value)) activegroup.value = 'details'
+})
 const restarting = ref(false)
 const refreshing = ref(false)
 
diff --git a/plugins/endpoints/plugin.py b/plugins/endpoints/plugin.py
index 71526442..0de20675 100644
--- a/plugins/endpoints/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/endpoints/plugin.py
@@ -351,6 +351,8 @@ class EndpointsPlugin(BasePlugin):
                 'permission': 'endpoints.command',
                 'empty': 'No monitored services reported.',
                 'position': 12,
+                # Start/Stop act on the machine, so this is a control surface
+                'group': 'actions',
             },
             {
                 'id': 'endpoints-tracked-processes',
@@ -389,6 +391,8 @@ class EndpointsPlugin(BasePlugin):
                 'permission': 'endpoints.command',
                 'empty': 'No monitored processes reported.',
                 'position': 13,
+                # observed process state, not something you act on here
+                'group': 'metrics',
             },
             {
                 # One feed instead of two cards. Events and commands answer the
@@ -432,6 +436,8 @@ class EndpointsPlugin(BasePlugin):
                 },
                 'empty': 'Nothing recorded for this endpoint yet.',
                 'position': 20,
+                # the event and command feed IS the activity tab
+                'group': 'activity',
             },
             {
                 'id': 'endpoints-interfaces',
@@ -451,6 +457,8 @@ class EndpointsPlugin(BasePlugin):
                 ],
                 'empty': 'No network interfaces reported.',
                 'position': 16,
+                # adapter state is telemetry, not something you act on
+                'group': 'metrics',
             },
             {
                 # Installed-software (SBOM) inventory. Low-priority reference
@@ -471,6 +479,8 @@ class EndpointsPlugin(BasePlugin):
                 ],
                 'empty': 'No installed software reported.',
                 'position': 30,
+                # the installed-software inventory
+                'group': 'software',
             },
         ]
 
diff --git a/shopdb/__init__.py b/shopdb/__init__.py
index 55ada8fc..e85f4b67 100644
--- a/shopdb/__init__.py
+++ b/shopdb/__init__.py
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ from .plugins import plugin_manager
 # defeated by rotating the header. The helper resolves from remote_addr, which
 # ProxyFix has already filled from the header when TRUSTED_PROXY_COUNT says a
 # proxy is really in front. Additive names on the surface, minor bump.
-__contract_version__ = '0.28.0'
+__contract_version__ = '0.29.0'
 
 # Product release version (see ADR-007). The product version and the
 # plugin-contract version above are distinct series with independent
diff --git a/shopdb/core/api/pluginui.py b/shopdb/core/api/pluginui.py
index 1173f4b7..4a54eb52 100644
--- a/shopdb/core/api/pluginui.py
+++ b/shopdb/core/api/pluginui.py
@@ -19,6 +19,14 @@ from shopdb.utils.authz import require_permission
 
 pluginui_bp = Blueprint('pluginui', __name__)
 
+# The tabs an asset detail page offers, and so the only values a panel's
+# 'group' may take. Kept here rather than in the frontend because the server
+# resolves the group before the client sees it - see asset_panels below.
+#
+# 'details' is first and is the fallback: it holds what an asset IS, which is
+# what a panel declaring nothing almost always contributes.
+ASSET_PANEL_GROUPS = ('details', 'software', 'metrics', 'actions', 'activity')
+
 
 def _collect(hookname):
     """Aggregate a data-only hook across enabled plugins.
@@ -67,6 +75,12 @@ def asset_panels():
 
     Query param assetid is required. A panel matches when its assettypes list
     contains the asset's type key or the wildcard '*'.
+
+    Every panel comes back carrying a 'group', naming the detail-page tab it
+    belongs to. It is resolved HERE rather than in the client so a plugin that
+    predates tabs, or names a group that does not exist, still lands somewhere a
+    person can see instead of vanishing from a page that only renders known
+    groups. Unknown and absent both mean 'details'.
     """
     assetid = request.args.get('assetid', type=int)
     if not assetid:
@@ -81,6 +95,9 @@ def asset_panels():
     for panel in _collect('get_asset_panels'):
         assettypes = panel.get('assettypes') or []
         if '*' in assettypes or (assettype and assettype in assettypes):
+            panel = dict(panel)
+            group = str(panel.get('group') or '').strip().lower()
+            panel['group'] = group if group in ASSET_PANEL_GROUPS else 'details'
             matched.append(panel)
     matched.sort(key=lambda panel: panel.get('position', 99))
     return success_response(matched)
diff --git a/shopdb/plugins/base.py b/shopdb/plugins/base.py
index 850f412a..8527dda0 100644
--- a/shopdb/plugins/base.py
+++ b/shopdb/plugins/base.py
@@ -370,8 +370,23 @@ class BasePlugin(ABC):
                                       # ('list' takes a 'map' of title/badge/meta
                                       # keys, rendered generically - see warranty)
             'position':   int,        # order among panels
+            'group':      str,        # OPTIONAL. Which tab on the detail page:
+                                      # 'details' | 'software' | 'metrics'
+                                      # | 'actions' | 'activity'. Omitted means
+                                      # 'details'.
         }
 
+        ON 'group'. The detail pages are tabbed, and a panel says which tab it
+        belongs to rather than the page listing panels by id - a page that knew
+        its plugins' panels by name would defeat the point of the hook.
+
+        Omitting it is the correct answer for most panels and keeps every
+        existing plugin working untouched: an unknown or absent group resolves
+        to 'details', which is the tab that holds what an asset IS. Reach for
+        another group only when the panel is the thing that tab exists for -
+        an inventory listing, live telemetry, controls that act on the machine,
+        or a history feed.
+
         Consumed by GET /api/pluginui/asset-panels?assetid=<id>, which returns
         the panels matching that asset's type. Disabled plugins
         are skipped; a broken plugin is isolated in prod, re-raised in dev/test.
diff --git a/tests/test_core/test_pluginui.py b/tests/test_core/test_pluginui.py
index d61c68ce..8b672ad2 100644
--- a/tests/test_core/test_pluginui.py
+++ b/tests/test_core/test_pluginui.py
@@ -142,3 +142,86 @@ def test_asset_presentation_skip_disabled_plugin(app, client, auth_headers, monk
 
     entries = _data(client, '/api/pluginui/asset-presentation', auth_headers)
     assert 'measuring_tool' not in {e.get('assettype') for e in entries}
+
+
+# =============================================================================
+# asset-panel groups (which detail-page tab a panel lands in)
+# =============================================================================
+
+def test_every_panel_comes_back_with_a_group(app, client, db, auth_headers,
+                                             monkeypatch):
+    """The client filters by group, so a panel without one must not vanish.
+
+    Resolution happens on the server precisely so a plugin written before tabs
+    existed still lands somewhere a person can see.
+    """
+    from shopdb.core.api.pluginui import ASSET_PANEL_GROUPS
+    pm = app.extensions['plugin_manager']
+    monkeypatch.setattr(pm.registry, 'is_enabled', lambda name: True)
+    assetid = _make_asset(db)
+
+    panels = _data(client, '/api/pluginui/asset-panels?assetid=%d' % assetid,
+                   auth_headers)
+    assert panels, 'no panels matched, so this test proves nothing'
+    for panel in panels:
+        assert panel.get('group') in ASSET_PANEL_GROUPS, panel.get('id')
+
+
+def test_an_undeclared_group_defaults_to_details(app, client, db, auth_headers,
+                                                 monkeypatch):
+    """Omitting group is the documented answer for most panels."""
+    pm = app.extensions['plugin_manager']
+    monkeypatch.setattr(pm.registry, 'is_enabled', lambda name: True)
+    plugin = next(iter(pm.get_all_plugins().values()))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(plugin, 'get_asset_panels', lambda: [{
+        'id': 'nogroup', 'title': 'No group', 'assettypes': ['*'],
+        'endpoint': '/api/whatever', 'render': 'keyvalue', 'position': 1,
+    }])
+    assetid = _make_asset(db)
+
+    panels = _data(client, '/api/pluginui/asset-panels?assetid=%d' % assetid,
+                   auth_headers)
+    panel = next(p for p in panels if p['id'] == 'nogroup')
+    assert panel['group'] == 'details'
+
+
+def test_a_group_nobody_defined_falls_back_rather_than_disappearing(
+        app, client, db, auth_headers, monkeypatch):
+    """A typo must not drop the panel off every tab.
+
+    The page renders known groups only, so an unrecognised value that survived
+    to the client would be a panel that exists and is never shown anywhere.
+    """
+    pm = app.extensions['plugin_manager']
+    monkeypatch.setattr(pm.registry, 'is_enabled', lambda name: True)
+    plugin = next(iter(pm.get_all_plugins().values()))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(plugin, 'get_asset_panels', lambda: [{
+        'id': 'typo', 'title': 'Typo', 'assettypes': ['*'],
+        'endpoint': '/api/whatever', 'render': 'keyvalue', 'position': 1,
+        'group': 'metrcis',
+    }])
+    assetid = _make_asset(db)
+
+    panels = _data(client, '/api/pluginui/asset-panels?assetid=%d' % assetid,
+                   auth_headers)
+    panel = next(p for p in panels if p['id'] == 'typo')
+    assert panel['group'] == 'details'
+
+
+def test_group_matching_is_not_case_or_space_sensitive(app, client, db,
+                                                       auth_headers, monkeypatch):
+    """'Metrics ' is obviously meant to be metrics; do not send it to details."""
+    pm = app.extensions['plugin_manager']
+    monkeypatch.setattr(pm.registry, 'is_enabled', lambda name: True)
+    plugin = next(iter(pm.get_all_plugins().values()))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(plugin, 'get_asset_panels', lambda: [{
+        'id': 'shouty', 'title': 'Shouty', 'assettypes': ['*'],
+        'endpoint': '/api/whatever', 'render': 'keyvalue', 'position': 1,
+        'group': '  Metrics ',
+    }])
+    assetid = _make_asset(db)
+
+    panels = _data(client, '/api/pluginui/asset-panels?assetid=%d' % assetid,
+                   auth_headers)
+    panel = next(p for p in panels if p['id'] == 'shouty')
+    assert panel['group'] == 'metrics'