diff --git a/main.cpp b/main.cpp
index 10ea9f7..9e48045 100644
--- a/main.cpp
+++ b/main.cpp
@@ -450,6 +450,35 @@ static void agent_action(AppState& s, const std::string& agent_id,
 // SSE connections
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+// Fetch historical log tail via REST before subscribing to SSE.
+// Returns synchronously; caller usually spawns it in a thread + starts SSE next.
+static void fetch_log_history(AppState& s, const std::string& agent_id, int n) {
+    fn_http::Request req;
+    req.method       = "GET";
+    req.url          = make_url(s, "/agents/" + agent_id + "/logs?n=" + std::to_string(n));
+    req.bearer_token = s.apikey_buf;
+    req.timeout_ms   = 5000;
+    auto res = fn_http::request(req);
+    if (!res.error.empty() || res.status != 200) {
+        FN_DBG("fetch_log_history %s failed: status=%d err=%s",
+               agent_id.c_str(), res.status, res.error.c_str());
+        return;
+    }
+    auto j = json::parse(res.body, nullptr, false);
+    if (j.is_discarded()) return;
+    // Endpoint returns {count, id, lines:[...]} (object) — not a raw array.
+    const auto* arr = j.is_array() ? &j : j.contains("lines") ? &j["lines"] : nullptr;
+    if (!arr || !arr->is_array()) return;
+    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lk(s.log_mu);
+    for (auto& line : *arr) {
+        if (!line.is_string()) continue;
+        s.log_lines.push_back(line.get<std::string>());
+        while (s.log_lines.size() > 5000) s.log_lines.pop_front();
+    }
+    FN_DBG("fetch_log_history %s loaded %zu lines",
+           agent_id.c_str(), s.log_lines.size());
+}
+
 static void start_log_sse(AppState& s, const std::string& agent_id) {
     s.log_sse.stop();
     {
@@ -457,6 +486,11 @@ static void start_log_sse(AppState& s, const std::string& agent_id) {
         s.log_lines.clear();
         s.log_sse_agent_connected = agent_id;
     }
+    // Populate historical tail BEFORE subscribing so the user sees context
+    // immediately instead of an empty panel until new lines appear.
+    if (!agent_id.empty()) {
+        std::thread([&s, agent_id]() { fetch_log_history(s, agent_id, 200); }).detach();
+    }
     fn_sse::Config cfg;
     cfg.url          = make_url(s, "/sse/agents/" + agent_id + "/logs");
     cfg.bearer_token = s.apikey_buf;
@@ -474,6 +508,30 @@ static void start_log_sse(AppState& s, const std::string& agent_id) {
         });
 }
 
+// Fetch recent status events to seed the Status Feed panel on connect.
+static void fetch_status_history(AppState& s, int n) {
+    fn_http::Request req;
+    req.method       = "GET";
+    req.url          = make_url(s, "/status/recent?n=" + std::to_string(n));
+    req.bearer_token = s.apikey_buf;
+    req.timeout_ms   = 5000;
+    auto res = fn_http::request(req);
+    if (!res.error.empty() || res.status != 200) {
+        FN_DBG("fetch_status_history failed: status=%d err=%s",
+               res.status, res.error.c_str());
+        return;
+    }
+    auto j = json::parse(res.body, nullptr, false);
+    if (j.is_discarded() || !j.is_array()) return;
+    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lk(s.status_mu);
+    for (auto& ev : j) {
+        std::string entry = "[hist] " + ev.dump();
+        s.status_events.push_front(entry);
+        while (s.status_events.size() > 200) s.status_events.pop_back();
+    }
+    FN_DBG("fetch_status_history loaded %zu events into feed", s.status_events.size());
+}
+
 static void start_status_sse(AppState& s) {
     s.status_sse.stop();
     fn_sse::Config cfg;
@@ -629,7 +687,10 @@ static void draw_connection_panel(AppState& s) {
             s.connected = true;
             fn_log::log_info("[connect] OK");
             db_save_connection(s);
-            // Start SSEs
+            // Seed Status Feed with history BEFORE subscribing live, so the
+            // user sees recent activity from the moment Connect succeeds.
+            std::thread([&s]() { fetch_status_history(s, 100); }).detach();
+            // Start SSEs (Status live)
             start_status_sse(s);
             // Initial agents fetch
             fetch_agents_async(s);
diff --git a/tests/test_connect_e2e.py b/tests/test_connect_e2e.py
index ca63273..7faf47e 100644
--- a/tests/test_connect_e2e.py
+++ b/tests/test_connect_e2e.py
@@ -82,6 +82,72 @@ def test_connect_succeeds_with_valid_apikey():
     assert n > 0, f"expected at least 1 agent, got {n}"
 
 
+def test_status_recent_history_endpoint():
+    """GET /status/recent returns a JSON array (may be empty after restart)."""
+    apikey = _apikey()
+    r = _curl([
+        "-fsS",
+        "-H", f"Authorization: Bearer {apikey}",
+        f"{_url()}/status/recent?n=10",
+    ])
+    assert r.returncode == 0, r.stderr
+    body = json.loads(r.stdout)
+    assert isinstance(body, list)
+
+
+def test_status_recent_captures_stop_start_events():
+    """Triggering stop/start must produce 2 entries in /status/recent.
+
+    Drives the end-to-end "send actions and observe feed" flow the user
+    asked for: this is the same data path the C++ frontend uses to seed
+    its Status Feed panel on Connect.
+    """
+    apikey = _apikey()
+    hdr = ["-H", f"Authorization: Bearer {apikey}"]
+    # Snapshot history length before
+    r0 = _curl(["-fsS", *hdr, f"{_url()}/status/recent?n=100"])
+    before = json.loads(r0.stdout)
+
+    # Drive events: stop then start test-bot.
+    _curl(["-sS", "-X", "POST", *hdr, f"{_url()}/agents/test-bot/stop"])
+    import time
+    time.sleep(2.5)  # poller emits diff at most every 2s
+    _curl(["-sS", "-X", "POST", *hdr, f"{_url()}/agents/test-bot/start"])
+    time.sleep(2.5)
+
+    r1 = _curl(["-fsS", *hdr, f"{_url()}/status/recent?n=100"])
+    after = json.loads(r1.stdout)
+    # At least one new event captured (poller may coalesce or already had recents)
+    assert len(after) > len(before) or any(
+        e.get("agent_id") == "test-bot" for e in after[-5:]
+    ), f"no test-bot event in feed; before={len(before)} after={len(after)}"
+
+
+def test_agent_logs_history_endpoint():
+    """GET /agents/{id}/logs?n=N returns {count, id, lines:[...]} — historical tail."""
+    apikey = _apikey()
+    r = _curl([
+        "-fsS",
+        "-H", f"Authorization: Bearer {apikey}",
+        f"{_url()}/agents/assistant-bot/logs?n=50",
+    ])
+    assert r.returncode == 0, r.stderr
+    body = json.loads(r.stdout)
+    assert isinstance(body, dict)
+    assert body.get("id") == "assistant-bot"
+    lines = body.get("lines")
+    assert isinstance(lines, list)
+    # assistant-bot is long-running with persistent log file (logs/<id>/YYYY-MM-DD.jsonl)
+    assert len(lines) > 0, "expected at least 1 historical log line"
+    assert isinstance(lines[0], str)
+
+
+def test_status_recent_unauthorized_without_bearer():
+    r = _curl(["-s", "-o", "/dev/null", "-w", "%{http_code}",
+               f"{_url()}/status/recent"])
+    assert r.stdout == "401", f"expected 401 got {r.stdout!r}"
+
+
 def test_app_survives_auto_refresh_cycle():
     """Regression: app must NOT crash on Refresh Agents button click.