diff --git a/components/vibn-chat/chat-panel.tsx b/components/vibn-chat/chat-panel.tsx
index e38c9c82..d93ebea1 100644
--- a/components/vibn-chat/chat-panel.tsx
+++ b/components/vibn-chat/chat-panel.tsx
@@ -32,23 +32,23 @@ interface Message {
   toolName?: string;
   createdAt?: string;
   /**
-   * First-person reasoning narration streamed alongside tool calls.
-   * Rendered as collapsed italic text above the message bubble; the
-   * user can expand for the full chain of thought. Discarded on
-   * persistence (we pay tokens regardless, but the bytes aren't
-   * worth keeping in PG).
+   * Chronological turn timeline interleaving the model's thinking
+   * narration and the tool calls it fired. Rendered as a stack of
+   * pills INSIDE the bubble above the final text content, so the
+   * user sees the actual flow:
+   *   [thought] [tool ×N] [thought] [tool] ... [summary]
+   * Each thought is its own collapsed pill (click to expand);
+   * adjacent runs of the same tool name collapse into one pill
+   * with a ×N counter. The final assistant text is rendered
+   * separately, below the timeline.
    */
-  thoughts?: string;
-  /**
-   * Tool calls executed during this assistant turn, in chronological
-   * order. Rendered as pills INSIDE the bubble above the text content
-   * so the final summary lands where the user's eye naturally goes
-   * (the bottom of the bubble) instead of being buried above the
-   * tool tray.
-   */
-  toolEvents?: ToolEvent[];
+  timeline?: TimelineEntry[];
 }
 
+type TimelineEntry =
+  | { kind: "thought"; text: string }
+  | { kind: "tool"; name: string; status: "running" | "done"; result?: string };
+
 interface ToolEvent {
   name: string;
   status: "running" | "done";
@@ -180,9 +180,8 @@ function MessageBubble({ msg }: { msg: Message }) {
         display: "flex",
         flexDirection: "column",
       }}>
-        {!isUser && msg.thoughts && <ThinkingBubble thoughts={msg.thoughts} />}
-        {!isUser && msg.toolEvents && msg.toolEvents.length > 0 && (
-          <ToolEventList events={msg.toolEvents} />
+        {!isUser && msg.timeline && msg.timeline.length > 0 && (
+          <Timeline entries={msg.timeline} />
         )}
         {(msg.content || isUser) && (
           <div style={{
@@ -207,33 +206,60 @@ function MessageBubble({ msg }: { msg: Message }) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Renders the chronological tool tray for an assistant turn. Adjacent
- * runs of the same tool name collapse into a single pill with a "×N"
- * counter, so a 12-call shell.exec debugging streak doesn't fill the
- * viewport. Click to expand the run into individual pills.
+ * Renders the chronological turn timeline: thoughts as their own
+ * collapsed pills, tool calls grouped by adjacent runs of the same
+ * name with a ×N counter. The flow visually mirrors what actually
+ * happened: thought → tools → thought → tools → ... → final summary.
  */
-function ToolEventList({ events }: { events: ToolEvent[] }) {
-  const groups: Array<{ name: string; events: ToolEvent[] }> = [];
-  for (const ev of events) {
-    const last = groups[groups.length - 1];
-    if (last && last.name === ev.name) last.events.push(ev);
-    else groups.push({ name: ev.name, events: [ev] });
+function Timeline({ entries }: { entries: TimelineEntry[] }) {
+  // Walk the entries and emit a renderable list. Adjacent same-named
+  // tool entries get bundled into a TimelineToolGroup; everything
+  // else passes through as-is.
+  type Item =
+    | { kind: "thought"; text: string }
+    | { kind: "toolGroup"; name: string; entries: Array<Extract<TimelineEntry, { kind: "tool" }>> };
+  const items: Item[] = [];
+  for (const e of entries) {
+    if (e.kind === "thought") {
+      items.push({ kind: "thought", text: e.text });
+    } else {
+      const last = items[items.length - 1];
+      if (last && last.kind === "toolGroup" && last.name === e.name) {
+        last.entries.push(e);
+      } else {
+        items.push({ kind: "toolGroup", name: e.name, entries: [e] });
+      }
+    }
   }
   return (
     <div style={{ marginBottom: 6 }}>
-      {groups.map((g, i) => <ToolGroup key={i} group={g} />)}
+      {items.map((item, i) =>
+        item.kind === "thought" ? (
+          <ThinkingBubble key={i} thoughts={item.text} />
+        ) : (
+          <TimelineToolGroup key={i} name={item.name} entries={item.entries} />
+        )
+      )}
     </div>
   );
 }
 
-function ToolGroup({ group }: { group: { name: string; events: ToolEvent[] } }) {
+function TimelineToolGroup({
+  name,
+  entries,
+}: {
+  name: string;
+  entries: Array<Extract<TimelineEntry, { kind: "tool" }>>;
+}) {
   const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(false);
-  const count = group.events.length;
-  const allDone = group.events.every(e => e.status === "done");
+  const count = entries.length;
+  const allDone = entries.every((e) => e.status === "done");
   if (count === 1 || expanded) {
     return (
       <>
-        {group.events.map((ev, i) => <ToolBubble key={i} event={ev} />)}
+        {entries.map((e, i) => (
+          <ToolBubble key={i} event={{ name: e.name, status: e.status, result: e.result }} />
+        ))}
         {expanded && count > 1 && (
           <button
             type="button"
@@ -262,9 +288,7 @@ function ToolGroup({ group }: { group: { name: string; events: ToolEvent[] } })
         width: "auto",
       }}
     >
-      <span style={{ fontFamily: "ui-monospace, monospace" }}>
-        {group.name}
-      </span>
+      <span style={{ fontFamily: "ui-monospace, monospace" }}>{name}</span>
       <span style={{ color: "#a09a90" }}>×{count}</span>
       <span style={{ marginLeft: "auto", color: allDone ? "#2e7d32" : "#a09a90" }}>
         {allDone ? "✓" : "…"}
@@ -532,16 +556,18 @@ export function ChatPanel() {
               return next;
             });
           } else if (ev.type === "thinking" && ev.text) {
-            // Accumulate reasoning narration on the in-flight
-            // assistant message. The renderer collapses it by
-            // default and shows the latest sentence as a pill.
+            // Each thinking event from the server is one round of the
+            // model's reasoning. Push as a separate timeline entry so
+            // the renderer can show it as its own collapsed pill —
+            // 12 rounds become 12 small pills the user can each
+            // expand independently, not one giant blob.
             setMessages((prev) => {
               const next = [...prev];
               if (msgIndex >= 0 && next[msgIndex]) {
-                const existing = next[msgIndex].thoughts ?? "";
+                const tl = next[msgIndex].timeline ?? [];
                 next[msgIndex] = {
                   ...next[msgIndex],
-                  thoughts: existing + ev.text,
+                  timeline: [...tl, { kind: "thought", text: ev.text }],
                 };
               }
               return next;
@@ -550,10 +576,10 @@ export function ChatPanel() {
             setMessages((prev) => {
               const next = [...prev];
               if (msgIndex >= 0 && next[msgIndex]) {
-                const existing = next[msgIndex].toolEvents ?? [];
+                const tl = next[msgIndex].timeline ?? [];
                 next[msgIndex] = {
                   ...next[msgIndex],
-                  toolEvents: [...existing, { name: ev.name, status: "running" }],
+                  timeline: [...tl, { kind: "tool", name: ev.name, status: "running" }],
                 };
               }
               return next;
@@ -562,16 +588,22 @@ export function ChatPanel() {
             setMessages((prev) => {
               const next = [...prev];
               if (msgIndex >= 0 && next[msgIndex]) {
-                const events = next[msgIndex].toolEvents ?? [];
+                const tl = next[msgIndex].timeline ?? [];
+                // Walk backward to the most recent matching running
+                // tool entry and mark it done. Avoids cross-matching
+                // earlier same-named entries.
                 let updated = false;
-                const newEvents = [...events].reverse().map((t) => {
-                  if (!updated && t.name === ev.name && t.status === "running") {
+                const newTl: TimelineEntry[] = [];
+                for (let i = tl.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+                  const e = tl[i];
+                  if (!updated && e.kind === "tool" && e.name === ev.name && e.status === "running") {
+                    newTl.unshift({ ...e, status: "done", result: ev.result });
                     updated = true;
-                    return { ...t, status: "done" as const, result: ev.result };
+                  } else {
+                    newTl.unshift(e);
                   }
-                  return t;
-                }).reverse();
-                next[msgIndex] = { ...next[msgIndex], toolEvents: newEvents };
+                }
+                next[msgIndex] = { ...next[msgIndex], timeline: newTl };
               }
               return next;
             });