feat(canvas): drag-to-front — whatever you dragged last paints on top

An unseated board dropped over a component was painted underneath it
(boards z 0, components z 1) and became impossible to grab back; the
earlier blanket z bump for boards broke the opposite case, hiding LEDs
and transistors behind every board. Neither static order can win both.

The rule is now the user's own gesture: the FIRST movement of a drag
raises that item (board or part, symmetrically) to the top of a
monotonic dragged-stack, so a board dropped over an LED sits visibly on
top — and dragging the LED afterwards wins the stack right back.
Click-select alone never raises: selection must not reshuffle a scene
you arranged. Untouched items keep the static layering (components
above unseated boards, seated boards above their socket), and the rank
map is ephemeral — never saved with the project.

frontend/src/components/DynamicComponent.tsx

@@ -295,6 +295,10 @@ export const DynamicComponent: React.FC<DynamicComponentProps> = ({
   const handleComponentEvent = useSimulatorStore((s) => s.handleComponentEvent);
   const running = useSimulatorStore((s) => s.running);
   const simulator = useSimulatorStore((s) => s.simulator);
+  // Drag-to-front rank: 0 = never dragged, static layering applies. A part
+  // the user dragged paints above everything it overlaps — including a board
+  // that was raised earlier — so the stack always reads "last dragged wins".
+  const zRaise = useSimulatorStore((s) => s.zOrders[id] ?? 0);
   // Board-less SPICE circuits (digital / analog gallery) have no MCU to
   // run, so `running` is always false — but interactive parts like
   // slide-switches and pushbuttons should still show a pointer cursor
@@ -803,7 +807,10 @@ export const DynamicComponent: React.FC<DynamicComponentProps> = ({
         borderRadius: '4px',
         padding: '4px',
         userSelect: 'none',
-        zIndex: isSelected ? 5 : 1,
+        // Drag-to-front (zRaise) beats the static layers: a part dragged onto
+        // a board — or a board dragged onto a part — the last one dragged
+        // paints on top. Untouched parts keep the classic selected/idle z.
+        zIndex: zRaise > 0 ? 10 + zRaise : isSelected ? 5 : 1,
         pointerEvents: 'auto',
         transform: properties.rotation ? `rotate(${properties.rotation}deg)` : undefined,
         transformOrigin: 'center center',

frontend/src/components/simulator/BoardOnCanvas.tsx

@@ -127,6 +127,8 @@ export const BoardOnCanvas = ({
     () => isBoardSeated(id, boardKind, x, y, components),
     [id, boardKind, x, y, components, seatEpoch],
   );
+  // Drag-to-front rank: 0 = never dragged (static layering applies).
+  const zRaise = useSimulatorStore((st) => st.zOrders[id] ?? 0);
 
   // Status dot color: green=running, amber=compiled, gray=idle
   const statusColor = board.running ? '#22c55e' : board.compiledProgram ? '#f59e0b' : '#6b7280';
@@ -211,12 +213,20 @@ export const BoardOnCanvas = ({
       // Stacking: boards normally sit BELOW components (z 0 vs their 1/2) —
       // a resistor next to an Arduino must be visible on top, and a blanket
       // z bump here once hid it behind the board in every ordinary example.
-      // The ONE exception is a board SEATED on a socket component (the Round
-      // Display back header): then the board is the thing you see, the way
-      // the physical XIAO stacks on the shield. The magnet snap places the
-      // board exactly on the seat, so the moment it clicks it pops on top,
-      // and dragging it off drops it back under.
-      style={{ position: 'absolute', left: 0, top: 0, zIndex: seated ? 3 : 0 }}
+      // Two exceptions:
+      //  - a board SEATED on a socket component (the Round Display / reSpeaker
+      //    back header): then the board is the thing you see, the way the
+      //    physical XIAO stacks on the shield;
+      //  - a board the user has DRAGGED (zRaise > 0): drag-to-front puts
+      //    whatever you dragged last above everything it overlaps, so a board
+      //    dropped over a part is never lost underneath it — and dragging the
+      //    part afterwards wins the stack right back.
+      style={{
+        position: 'absolute',
+        left: 0,
+        top: 0,
+        zIndex: zRaise > 0 ? 10 + zRaise : seated ? 3 : 0,
+      }}
       onMouseEnter={onMouseEnter}
       onMouseLeave={onMouseLeave}
     >

frontend/src/components/simulator/SimulatorCanvas.tsx

@@ -339,6 +339,9 @@ export const SimulatorCanvas = ({ headerSlot }: SimulatorCanvasProps = {}) => {
 
   // Component dragging state
   const [draggedComponentId, setDraggedComponentId] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  // Which drag session already raised its item (drag-to-front fires once per
+  // drag, on the first mousemove).
+  const raisedThisDragRef = useRef<string | null>(null);
   // Captures (x, y) of the dragged component at mousedown so a drag-end
   // can record the diff as a single undoable Move. Boards are intentionally
   // skipped — board moves don't go through component history.
@@ -1529,6 +1532,17 @@ export const SimulatorCanvas = ({ headerSlot }: SimulatorCanvasProps = {}) => {
 
     // Handle component/board dragging
     if (draggedComponentId) {
+      // Drag-to-front: the FIRST movement of a drag raises the item above
+      // everything else on the canvas (boards over parts and parts over
+      // boards, symmetrically — whatever you dragged last wins). Movement,
+      // not mousedown: a plain click-select must not reshuffle the stack.
+      if (raisedThisDragRef.current !== draggedComponentId) {
+        raisedThisDragRef.current = draggedComponentId;
+        const raiseId = draggedComponentId.startsWith('__board__:')
+          ? draggedComponentId.slice('__board__:'.length)
+          : draggedComponentId;
+        if (raiseId !== '__board__') useSimulatorStore.getState().raiseItem(raiseId);
+      }
       const world = toWorld(e.clientX, e.clientY);
       if (draggedComponentId.startsWith('__board__:')) {
         const boardId = draggedComponentId.slice('__board__:'.length);
@@ -1855,6 +1869,7 @@ export const SimulatorCanvas = ({ headerSlot }: SimulatorCanvasProps = {}) => {
 
       recalculateAllWirePositions();
       setDraggedComponentId(null);
+      raisedThisDragRef.current = null;
     }
   };
 
@@ -2809,6 +2824,7 @@ export const SimulatorCanvas = ({ headerSlot }: SimulatorCanvasProps = {}) => {
             isPanningRef.current = false;
             setPan({ ...panRef.current });
             setDraggedComponentId(null);
+            raisedThisDragRef.current = null;
           }}
           onContextMenu={(e) => {
             e.preventDefault();

frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts

@@ -1016,6 +1016,23 @@ interface SimulatorState {
   updateWirePositions: (componentId: string) => void;
   recalculateAllWirePositions: () => void;
 
+  // ── Drag-to-front stacking ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+  /**
+   * Items the user has DRAGGED, in drag order: id -> monotonic rank. The
+   * canvas raises an item on the first movement of its drag, so whatever you
+   * dragged last paints above everything it overlaps — boards over parts,
+   * parts over boards, symmetrically. Click-select alone never raises
+   * (deliberate: selection should not reshuffle a scene you arranged), and
+   * untouched items keep the static layering (components above unseated
+   * boards, seated boards above their socket). Ephemeral: not saved with the
+   * project.
+   */
+  zOrders: Record<string, number>;
+  /** Highest rank handed out so far. */
+  zTop: number;
+  /** Move an item (board or component id) to the top of the dragged stack. */
+  raiseItem: (id: string) => void;
+
   // ── Undo/redo ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   /** Bounded ring buffer of canvas mutations (HISTORY_MAX = 50). */
   history: CanvasCommand[];
@@ -3054,6 +3071,15 @@ export const useSimulatorStore = create<SimulatorState>((set, get) => {
       });
     },
 
+    zOrders: {},
+    zTop: 0,
+    raiseItem: (id: string) => {
+      const s = get();
+      // Already on top: re-raising would only churn renders.
+      if (s.zOrders[id] === s.zTop && s.zTop > 0) return;
+      set({ zTop: s.zTop + 1, zOrders: { ...s.zOrders, [id]: s.zTop + 1 } });
+    },
+
     recalculateAllWirePositions: () => {
       const state = get();
       const updatedWires = state.wires.map((wire) => {