diff --git a/src/client/src/chatTranscript.test.ts b/src/client/src/chatTranscript.test.ts
index 34c2249..d44bf70 100644
--- a/src/client/src/chatTranscript.test.ts
+++ b/src/client/src/chatTranscript.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { groupChatMessages } from "./chatGroups";
-import { textMessage } from "./chatMessages";
+import { normalizeMessages, textMessage } from "./chatMessages";
 import { applyTranscriptEvent } from "./chatTranscript";
 import type { ChatLine } from "./components/shared";
 
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ describe("applyTranscriptEvent", () => {
       type: "tool.end",
       toolName: "read",
       toolCallId: "read-image-1",
-      text: "Read image file [image/png]",
+      text: "Read image file [image/png]\n[image]",
       isError: false,
       content: [{ type: "text", text: "Read image file [image/png]" }, provisionalImage],
       details: { source: "tool.end" },
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ describe("applyTranscriptEvent", () => {
     let messages: ChatLine[] = [];
 
     messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, { type: "tool.start", toolName: "capture", toolCallId: "capture-1", summary: "screenshot" }) ?? messages;
-    messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, { type: "tool.end", toolName: "capture", toolCallId: "capture-1", text: "", isError: false, content: [image] }) ?? messages;
+    messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, { type: "tool.end", toolName: "capture", toolCallId: "capture-1", text: "[image]", isError: false, content: [image] }) ?? messages;
     messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, {
       type: "message.end",
       message: { role: "toolResult", toolCallId: "capture-1", toolName: "capture", content: [image], isError: false },
@@ -253,6 +253,100 @@ describe("applyTranscriptEvent", () => {
     expect(groupChatMessages(messages).map((group) => group.kind)).toEqual(["group", "message"]);
   });
 
+  it("keeps repeated final tool-result events idempotent", () => {
+    const image = { type: "image" as const, mimeType: "image/png", data: "RklOQUw=" };
+    const finalEvent = {
+      type: "message.end" as const,
+      message: {
+        role: "toolResult",
+        toolCallId: "read-image-repeat",
+        toolName: "read",
+        content: [{ type: "text", text: "Read image file [image/png]" }, image],
+        isError: false,
+        timestamp: "2026-07-13T22:00:00.000Z",
+      },
+    };
+    let messages: ChatLine[] = [];
+
+    messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, { type: "tool.start", toolName: "read", toolCallId: "read-image-repeat", summary: "image.png" }) ?? messages;
+    messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, {
+      type: "tool.end",
+      toolName: "read",
+      toolCallId: "read-image-repeat",
+      text: "Read image file [image/png]\n[image]",
+      isError: false,
+      content: finalEvent.message.content,
+    }) ?? messages;
+    messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, finalEvent) ?? messages;
+    messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, finalEvent) ?? messages;
+
+    expect(messages).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(messages[0]?.parts.filter((part) => part.type === "toolExecution")).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(messages[0]?.parts.filter((part) => part.type === "image")).toEqual([image]);
+    expect(messages[0]?.meta).toEqual({ timestamp: "2026-07-13T22:00:00.000Z" });
+  });
+
+  it("matches hydrated history for technical execution and visible image content", () => {
+    const image = { type: "image" as const, mimeType: "image/png", data: "QUJD" };
+    const timestamp = "2026-07-13T22:00:00.000Z";
+    const finalResult = {
+      role: "toolResult",
+      toolCallId: "read-history-parity",
+      toolName: "read",
+      content: [{ type: "text", text: "Read image file [image/png]" }, image],
+      details: { path: "image.png" },
+      isError: false,
+      timestamp,
+    };
+    const historyGroups = groupChatMessages(normalizeMessages([
+      {
+        role: "assistant",
+        content: [{ type: "toolCall", id: "read-history-parity", name: "read", arguments: { path: "image.png" } }],
+      },
+      finalResult,
+    ]));
+    let liveMessages: ChatLine[] = [];
+
+    liveMessages = applyTranscriptEvent(liveMessages, {
+      type: "tool.start",
+      toolName: "read",
+      toolCallId: "read-history-parity",
+      summary: "image.png",
+      args: { path: "image.png" },
+    }) ?? liveMessages;
+    liveMessages = applyTranscriptEvent(liveMessages, {
+      type: "tool.end",
+      toolName: "read",
+      toolCallId: "read-history-parity",
+      text: "Read image file [image/png]\n[image]",
+      isError: false,
+      content: finalResult.content,
+      details: finalResult.details,
+    }) ?? liveMessages;
+    liveMessages = applyTranscriptEvent(liveMessages, { type: "message.end", message: finalResult }) ?? liveMessages;
+
+    const liveGroups = groupChatMessages(liveMessages);
+    const technicalParts = (groups: ReturnType<typeof groupChatMessages>) => groups.flatMap((group) => group.kind === "group"
+      ? group.messages.flatMap((message) => message.parts.filter((part) => part.type === "toolExecution"))
+      : []);
+    const visibleImages = (groups: ReturnType<typeof groupChatMessages>) => groups.flatMap((group) => group.kind === "message"
+      ? group.message.parts.filter((part) => part.type === "image")
+      : []);
+    const visibleImageMeta = (groups: ReturnType<typeof groupChatMessages>) => {
+      for (const group of groups) {
+        if (group.kind === "message" && group.message.parts.some((part) => part.type === "image")) return group.message.meta;
+      }
+      return undefined;
+    };
+
+    expect(historyGroups.map((group) => group.kind)).toEqual(["group", "message"]);
+    expect(liveGroups.map((group) => group.kind)).toEqual(["group", "message"]);
+    expect(technicalParts(liveGroups)).toEqual(technicalParts(historyGroups));
+    expect(visibleImages(liveGroups)).toEqual(visibleImages(historyGroups));
+    expect(visibleImageMeta(historyGroups)).toEqual({ timestamp });
+    expect(visibleImageMeta(liveGroups)).toEqual({ timestamp });
+  });
+
   it("does not merge consecutive streamed skill reads", () => {
     let messages: ChatLine[] = [];
     messages = applyTranscriptEvent(messages, { type: "tool.start", toolName: "read", toolCallId: "1", summary: "", args: { path: "/skills/playwright/SKILL.md" } }) ?? messages;
diff --git a/src/client/src/components/ChatView.test.ts b/src/client/src/components/ChatView.test.ts
index df3b167..d3206f5 100644
--- a/src/client/src/components/ChatView.test.ts
+++ b/src/client/src/components/ChatView.test.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,29 @@ describe("chatMessageMetadataLabel", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("ChatView image rendering", () => {
+  // Direct handler extraction keeps this node-environment test focused on the
+  // late image-load scroll wiring without introducing a component-wide DOM shim.
+  it("renders native image data and re-pins late loads only while already pinned", () => {
+    const view = new ChatView();
+    let scrollCalls = 0;
+    if (!Reflect.set(view, "scrollToBottom", () => { scrollCalls += 1; })) throw new Error("Could not observe ChatView.scrollToBottom");
+    const rendered = renderPart(view, { type: "image", mimeType: "image/png", data: "QUJD" });
+    const onLoad = templateEventHandler(rendered, "@load=");
+
+    expect(templateStaticMarkup(rendered)).toContain("<img");
+    expect(templateStaticMarkup(rendered)).toContain('loading="lazy"');
+    expect(templateValuesAfterMarker(rendered, "src=")).toEqual(["data:image/png;base64,QUJD"]);
+
+    if (!Reflect.set(view, "pinnedToBottom", true)) throw new Error("Could not set ChatView.pinnedToBottom");
+    onLoad(new Event("load"));
+    if (!Reflect.set(view, "pinnedToBottom", false)) throw new Error("Could not set ChatView.pinnedToBottom");
+    onLoad(new Event("load"));
+
+    expect(scrollCalls).toBe(1);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("ChatView technical-event groups", () => {
   const messages: ChatLine[] = [
     { role: "assistant", parts: [{ type: "toolCall", toolName: "read", summary: "inspect a file" }] },
@@ -103,10 +126,17 @@ interface GroupBodyRenderCall {
   startIndex: number;
 }
 
+type RenderPart = (this: ChatView, part: ChatLine["parts"][number], message?: ChatLine) => TemplateResult;
 type RenderMessageGroup = (this: ChatView, messages: ChatLine[], startIndex: number, endIndex: number, defaultOpen: boolean) => TemplateResult;
 type RenderMessageGroupBody = (this: ChatView, messages: ChatLine[], startIndex: number) => TemplateResult;
 type TemplateEventHandler = (event: Event) => void;
 
+function renderPart(view: ChatView, part: ChatLine["parts"][number], message?: ChatLine): TemplateResult {
+  const method: unknown = Reflect.get(view, "renderPart");
+  if (!isRenderPart(method)) throw new Error("ChatView.renderPart is not callable");
+  return method.call(view, part, message);
+}
+
 function renderMessageGroup(view: ChatView, messages: ChatLine[], startIndex: number, endIndex: number, defaultOpen: boolean): TemplateResult {
   const method: unknown = Reflect.get(view, "renderMessageGroup");
   if (!isRenderMessageGroup(method)) throw new Error("ChatView.renderMessageGroup is not callable");
@@ -125,6 +155,10 @@ function observeGroupBodyRenders(view: ChatView): GroupBodyRenderCall[] {
   return calls;
 }
 
+function isRenderPart(value: unknown): value is RenderPart {
+  return typeof value === "function";
+}
+
 function isRenderMessageGroup(value: unknown): value is RenderMessageGroup {
   return typeof value === "function";
 }
diff --git a/src/client/src/components/ChatView.ts b/src/client/src/components/ChatView.ts
index 8cc549e..2afa0cc 100644
--- a/src/client/src/components/ChatView.ts
+++ b/src/client/src/components/ChatView.ts
@@ -120,6 +120,9 @@ export class ChatView extends LitElement {
     if (this.pinnedToBottom) this.scrollToBottom();
     else this.lastClientHeight = this.chat?.clientHeight ?? 0;
   };
+  private readonly onImageLoad = (): void => {
+    if (this.pinnedToBottom) this.scrollToBottom();
+  };
   private readonly onPageHide = () => {
     this.saveScrollPosition();
   };
@@ -500,7 +503,7 @@ export class ChatView extends LitElement {
         <small>read ${part.path}</small>
       </div>
     `;
-    if (part.type === "image") return html`<img class="part chat-image" src=${`data:${part.mimeType};base64,${part.data}`} alt="attached image" loading="lazy" />`;
+    if (part.type === "image") return html`<img class="part chat-image" src=${`data:${part.mimeType};base64,${part.data}`} alt="attached image" loading="lazy" @load=${this.onImageLoad} />`;
     if (part.type === "toolCall") return html`<div class="part tool-line">▶ ${part.toolName}<span class="summary">${part.summary}</span></div>`;
     if (part.type === "toolExecution") return html`<tool-execution-view class="part" .execution=${part}></tool-execution-view>`;
     if (part.type === "toolResult") return html`