diff --git a/templates/run_details.html b/templates/run_details.html
index 3e9ddfe..7e105da 100644
--- a/templates/run_details.html
+++ b/templates/run_details.html
@@ -286,6 +286,25 @@
         </div>
         {% endif %}
 
+        <!-- Live Status Panel -->
+        <div class="card shadow-sm mb-3">
+            <div class="card-body py-2 px-3">
+                <div class="d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center flex-wrap gap-2">
+                    <div class="d-flex align-items-center gap-3 flex-wrap">
+                        <span class="small text-muted fw-semibold">Poll:</span>
+                        <span id="poll-state" class="badge bg-secondary">Initializing...</span>
+                        <span class="small text-muted">Last update:</span>
+                        <span id="last-update-time" class="small fw-bold text-info">—</span>
+                        <span id="db-diagnostics" class="small text-muted"></span>
+                    </div>
+                    <button class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-info py-0 px-2" onclick="forceRefresh()" title="Immediately trigger a new poll request">
+                        <i class="fas fa-bolt me-1"></i>Force Refresh
+                    </button>
+                </div>
+                <div id="poll-error-msg" class="small text-danger mt-1" style="display:none;"></div>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+
         <!-- Collapsible Log -->
         <div class="card shadow-sm">
             <div class="card-header bg-dark text-white d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center" style="cursor: pointer;" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#logCollapse">
@@ -344,6 +363,8 @@
     const costEl = document.getElementById('run-cost');
 
     let lastLog = '';
+    let pollTimer = null;
+    let countdownInterval = null;
 
     // Phase → colour mapping (matches utils.log phase labels)
     const PHASE_COLORS = {
@@ -386,10 +407,67 @@
         return '';
     }
 
+    // --- Live Status Panel helpers ---
+
+    function clearCountdown() {
+        if (countdownInterval) { clearInterval(countdownInterval); countdownInterval = null; }
+    }
+
+    function setPollState(text, badgeClass) {
+        const el = document.getElementById('poll-state');
+        if (el) { el.className = 'badge ' + badgeClass; el.innerText = text; }
+    }
+
+    function setPollError(msg) {
+        const el = document.getElementById('poll-error-msg');
+        if (!el) return;
+        if (msg) { el.innerText = 'Last error: ' + msg; el.style.display = ''; }
+        else { el.innerText = ''; el.style.display = 'none'; }
+    }
+
+    function startWaitCountdown(seconds, isError) {
+        clearCountdown();
+        let rem = seconds;
+        const cls = isError ? 'bg-danger' : 'bg-secondary';
+        const prefix = isError ? 'Error — retry in' : 'Waiting';
+        setPollState(prefix + ' (' + rem + 's)', cls);
+        countdownInterval = setInterval(() => {
+            rem--;
+            if (rem <= 0) { clearCountdown(); }
+            else { setPollState(prefix + ' (' + rem + 's)', cls); }
+        }, 1000);
+    }
+
+    function forceRefresh() {
+        clearCountdown();
+        if (pollTimer) { clearTimeout(pollTimer); pollTimer = null; }
+        updateLog();
+    }
+
+    // --- Main polling function ---
+
     function updateLog() {
+        setPollState('Requesting...', 'bg-primary');
         fetch(`/run/${runId}/status`)
             .then(response => response.json())
             .then(data => {
+                // Update "Last Successful Update" timestamp
+                const now = new Date();
+                const lastUpdateEl = document.getElementById('last-update-time');
+                if (lastUpdateEl) lastUpdateEl.innerText = now.toLocaleTimeString();
+
+                // Update DB diagnostics
+                const diagEl = document.getElementById('db-diagnostics');
+                if (diagEl) {
+                    const parts = [];
+                    if (data.db_log_count !== undefined) parts.push('DB logs: ' + data.db_log_count);
+                    if (data.latest_log_timestamp) parts.push('Latest: ' + String(data.latest_log_timestamp).substring(11, 19));
+                    diagEl.innerText = parts.join(' | ');
+                }
+
+                // Clear any previous poll error
+                setPollError(null);
+
                 // Update Status Text + current phase
                 const statusLabel = data.status.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + data.status.slice(1);
                 if (data.status === 'running') {
@@ -435,11 +513,13 @@
                     }
                 }
 
-                // Poll if running
+                // Schedule next poll or stop
                 if (data.status === 'running' || data.status === 'queued') {
-                    setTimeout(updateLog, 2000);
+                    startWaitCountdown(2, false);
+                    pollTimer = setTimeout(updateLog, 2000);
                 } else {
-                    // If the run was active when we loaded the page, reload now that it's finished to show artifacts
+                    setPollState('Idle', 'bg-success');
+                    // If the run was active when we loaded the page, reload to show artifacts
                     if (initialStatus === 'running' || initialStatus === 'queued') {
                         window.location.reload();
                     }
@@ -447,7 +527,10 @@
             })
             .catch(err => {
                 console.error("Polling failed:", err);
-                setTimeout(updateLog, 5000);
+                const errMsg = err.message || String(err);
+                setPollError(errMsg);
+                startWaitCountdown(5, true);
+                pollTimer = setTimeout(updateLog, 5000);
             });
     }
 
diff --git a/web/routes/run.py b/web/routes/run.py
index 16c546f..5fb5116 100644
--- a/web/routes/run.py
+++ b/web/routes/run.py
@@ -138,7 +138,10 @@ def run_status(id):
         "log": log_content,
         "cost": run.cost,
         "percent": run.progress,
-        "start_time": run.start_time.timestamp() if run.start_time else None
+        "start_time": run.start_time.timestamp() if run.start_time else None,
+        "server_timestamp": datetime.utcnow().isoformat() + "Z",
+        "db_log_count": len(logs),
+        "latest_log_timestamp": last_log.timestamp.isoformat() if last_log else None,
     }
 
     if last_log: