diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7107b45..167cfcc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.4.0] - 2026-08-02
+
+Requires [AgentForge](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge) **[≥ 0.14.0](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge/releases/tag/v0.14.0)** for the recap endpoint (`POST /api/sessions/{id}/recap`).
+
+### Added
+
+- **Recap**: idle-triggered running summary under the last answer (`useRecap` + `RecapMessage`). After `RECAP_MESSAGE_THRESHOLD` complete user/assistant exchanges since the last recap (default **3**), waits `RECAP_IDLE_MS` of quiet (default **1 min**), then `POST`s the recap endpoint. Backend stores a volatile recap message so it survives reloads; plain text only (no Markdown)
+
 ## [0.3.0] - 2026-07-19
 
 Requires [AgentForge](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge) **≥ 0.13.0** for command permission profiles (`/api/permissions/profiles/*`). Command-permissions overrides (`/api/permissions/commands/*`) remain as in 0.12.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e8ff181..a8023a9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](./LICENSE)
 [![Vite](https://img.shields.io/badge/Vite-8-646cff.svg?logo=vite&logoColor=white)](https://vitejs.dev/)
 [![Biome](https://img.shields.io/badge/lint%2Fformat-Biome-60a5fa.svg?logo=biome&logoColor=white)](https://biomejs.dev/)
-[![Requires AgentForge](https://img.shields.io/badge/requires-AgentForge%200.13.0%2B-blueviolet)](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge/releases/tag/v0.13.0)
+[![Requires AgentForge](https://img.shields.io/badge/requires-AgentForge%200.14.0%2B-blueviolet)](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge/releases/tag/v0.14.0)
 
 > [!NOTE]
 > **Experimental!**
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ AgentForge WebUI is a React SPA for [AgentForge](https://github.com/bulletinmybe
 It's a pure frontend: it streams the agent's think > act > observe loop over the backend's `/ws/chat` WebSocket and calls its REST API for sessions, uploads, memory, and configs. It does nothing on its own — a running AgentForge backend is required!
 
 > [!IMPORTANT]
-> **Backend version:** WebUI **0.3.0+** needs [AgentForge **v0.13.0**](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge/releases/tag/v0.13.0) or newer.
-> The **Command Permissions** modal (overrides + **profiles**) depends on APIs and schema from that release (`/api/permissions/commands/*`, `/api/permissions/profiles/*`, session `source` filtering, etc.). Older backends will fail those endpoints (e.g. 404).
+> **Backend version:** WebUI **0.4.0+** needs [AgentForge **v0.14.0**](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge/releases/tag/v0.14.0) or newer.
+> **Recap** depends on `/api/sessions/{id}/recap` from that release. The **Command Permissions** modal (overrides + **profiles**) depends on APIs and schema from v0.13.0 (`/api/permissions/commands/*`, `/api/permissions/profiles/*`, session `source` filtering, etc.). Older backends will fail those endpoints (e.g., 404).
 
 ## Features
 
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ It's a pure frontend: it streams the agent's think > act > observe loop over the
 - Botty side panel for passive, in-context suggestions and full semantic-searchable chat session history
 - Session sidebar, status bar, knowledge bar, memory settings, profile and provider selectors, and a help modal
 - Context-usage bar with one-click session compaction at the critical threshold
+- **Recap**: idle-triggered running summary of the conversation in a muted block under the last answer, persisted so it survives reloads
 - Eager file uploads: paperclip, clipboard paste, or drag-and-drop with inline thumbnails. Unset attachments persist across reloads
 - GitHub-flavoured Markdown rendering and a Monaco-based inline prompt editor
 
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ It's a pure frontend: it streams the agent's think > act > observe loop over the
 Prerequisites:
 
 - **Node 20.19+** (`engines` in `package.json`)
-- A running [AgentForge](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge) backend **[v0.13.0](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge/releases/tag/v0.13.0) or newer** (`scripts/deploy-local.sh` brings the stack up with the web service on `:8200`)
+- A running [AgentForge](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge) backend **[v0.14.0](https://github.com/bulletinmybeard/agent-forge/releases/tag/v0.14.0) or newer** (`scripts/deploy-local.sh` brings the stack up with the web service on `:8200`)
 
 ```bash
 npm install
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index fd349d7..f61a8a2 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "agent-forge-webui",
-  "version": "0.3.0",
+  "version": "0.4.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 1,
   "requires": true,
   "dependencies": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index deaa5bb..c617abf 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "agent-forge-webui",
-  "version": "0.3.0",
+  "version": "0.4.0",
   "description": "React SPA front-end for AgentForge — every mode, tool call, and connector in one chat UI",
   "type": "module",
   "engines": {
diff --git a/src/components/MessageList.jsx b/src/components/MessageList.jsx
index 055b4a3..e5755bc 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageList.jsx
+++ b/src/components/MessageList.jsx
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import FileDiffMessage from "./messages/FileDiffMessage";
 import ModelFallbackMessage from "./messages/ModelFallbackMessage";
 import MonitorJobMessage from "./messages/MonitorJobMessage";
 import QueryMessage from "./messages/QueryMessage";
+import RecapMessage from "./messages/RecapMessage";
 import ResearchPlanMessage from "./messages/ResearchPlanMessage";
 import ResultMessage from "./messages/ResultMessage";
 import RoutingMessage from "./messages/RoutingMessage";
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ const MESSAGE_COMPONENTS = {
   secret_answer: SecretDialog,
   result: ResultMessage,
   summary: SummaryMessage,
+  recap: RecapMessage,
   error: ErrorMessage,
   discovery_scope: DiscoveryScopeMessage,
   discovery_areas: DiscoveryAreaMessage,
diff --git a/src/components/messages/RecapMessage.jsx b/src/components/messages/RecapMessage.jsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05238cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/messages/RecapMessage.jsx
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+export default function RecapMessage({ text }) {
+  if (!text) return null;
+
+  return (
+    <div className="px-3 py-2">
+      <div className="border-l-2 border-gray-700/70 pl-3 space-y-1.5">
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 text-xs text-gray-500">
+          <span aria-hidden="true">♦</span>
+          <span className="font-medium">Recap</span>
+        </div>
+        {/* Backend strips Markdown; render as plain text. */}
+        <p className="text-xs text-gray-500 italic leading-relaxed">{text}</p>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/hooks/useAgent.js b/src/hooks/useAgent.js
index f57c0b8..0151368 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useAgent.js
+++ b/src/hooks/useAgent.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { useParams } from "react-router-dom";
 import { v7 as uuidv7 } from "uuid";
 import ws from "../lib/ws";
+import useRecap from "./useRecap";
 
 export const useAgent = () => {
   const { sessionId: urlSessionId } = useParams();
@@ -1414,8 +1415,20 @@ export const useAgent = () => {
 
   const savedNoteTsSet = commandNotes.size > 0 ? new Set(commandNotes.keys()) : null;
 
+  const sessionId = sessionInfo.sessionId ?? urlSessionId ?? null;
+
+  const handleRecap = useCallback(
+    (text, data) => {
+      addMessage({ type: "recap", text, covered: data?.covered ?? null });
+    },
+    [addMessage],
+  );
+
+  useRecap({ sessionId, running, messages, confirm, secret, onRecap: handleRecap });
+
   return {
     connected,
+    sessionId,
     messages,
     running,
     confirm,
@@ -1579,6 +1592,14 @@ const restoreMessages = (dbMessages) => {
         });
         break;
 
+      case "recap":
+        restored.push({
+          type: "recap",
+          text: msg.content || meta.text || "",
+          _ts: `${new Date(msg.created_at).getTime()}-${seq}`,
+        });
+        break;
+
       case "summary":
         restored.push({
           type: "summary",
diff --git a/src/hooks/useRecap.js b/src/hooks/useRecap.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..118aefb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hooks/useRecap.js
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
+
+// How long the conversation must sit untouched before a recap is requested.
+// export const RECAP_IDLE_MS = 180000; // 3 min
+export const RECAP_IDLE_MS = 60000; // 1 min
+
+// Complete user -> assistant exchanges required before a recap fires. 3 means
+// three prompts that each got an answer; two back-and-forths won't trigger one.
+// Counted since the last recap, so the gate keeps applying to every later recap
+// rather than only the first.
+export const RECAP_MESSAGE_THRESHOLD = 3;
+
+/**
+ * Count complete exchanges since the most recent recap.
+ *
+ * A prompt still awaiting its answer doesn't count, hence the min() of the two
+ * tallies. If the last recap has scrolled out of the loaded page the count comes
+ * out too high, which is harmless: the backend owns the real watermark and
+ * answers `created: false` when there is nothing new.
+ */
+export const exchangesSinceRecap = (messages) => {
+  let queries = 0;
+  let results = 0;
+  for (let i = messages.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+    const type = messages[i]?.type;
+    if (type === "recap") break;
+    if (type === "query") queries++;
+    else if (type === "result") results++;
+  }
+  return Math.min(queries, results);
+};
+
+/**
+ * Request a recap once the conversation has gone quiet.
+ *
+ * Two gates: RECAP_MESSAGE_THRESHOLD complete exchanges must have happened since
+ * the last recap, and the conversation must then sit idle for RECAP_IDLE_MS. Below
+ * the threshold no timer is armed at all.
+ *
+ * The timer is re-armed from scratch whenever anything changes — a new message,
+ * a run starting, a pending confirm/secret prompt — so it only ever fires after
+ * a genuine idle stretch following an assistant response.
+ *
+ * The endpoint is incremental and no-ops when nothing new exists, so an extra
+ * fire is harmless; we still skip re-arming when the last message is already a
+ * recap, to avoid a pointless request every interval while the tab sits open.
+ */
+export default function useRecap({ sessionId, running, messages, confirm, secret, onRecap }) {
+  const timerRef = useRef(null);
+
+  const last = messages.length > 0 ? messages[messages.length - 1] : null;
+  const lastTs = last?._ts ?? null;
+  const lastIsRecap = last?.type === "recap";
+  const exchanges = exchangesSinceRecap(messages);
+  const enoughExchanges = exchanges >= Math.max(1, RECAP_MESSAGE_THRESHOLD);
+  const blocked = running || !!confirm || !!secret;
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (timerRef.current) {
+      clearTimeout(timerRef.current);
+      timerRef.current = null;
+    }
+    if (!sessionId || blocked || !enoughExchanges || !lastTs || lastIsRecap) return;
+
+    let cancelled = false;
+    timerRef.current = setTimeout(async () => {
+      try {
+        const resp = await fetch(`/api/sessions/${sessionId}/recap`, { method: "POST" });
+        if (!resp.ok) return;
+        const data = await resp.json();
+        if (!cancelled && data?.created && data.recap) {
+          onRecap(data.recap, data);
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // A recap is chrome — a failure must never surface into the chat.
+      }
+    }, RECAP_IDLE_MS);
+
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+      if (timerRef.current) {
+        clearTimeout(timerRef.current);
+        timerRef.current = null;
+      }
+    };
+  }, [sessionId, blocked, enoughExchanges, lastTs, lastIsRecap, onRecap]);
+}