diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/AgentsPage.tsx b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/AgentsPage.tsx
index 4010af2b..5a4d23b6 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/AgentsPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/AgentsPage.tsx
@@ -310,7 +310,11 @@ export function AgentsPage() {
       header: "hive",
       render: (a) => a.hive ?? "—",
       sortBy: (a) => a.hive ?? "",
-      filterValue: (a) => a.hive ?? "",
+      // "—" (not "") so the missing-hive option in the filter dropdown
+      // reads the same as the cell itself, rather than showing a blank
+      // choice.
+      filterValue: (a) => a.hive ?? "—",
+      filterMode: "select",
     },
     {
       key: "status",
@@ -322,6 +326,7 @@ export function AgentsPage() {
       // now lives in its own "message" column below.
       sortBy: (a) => FRESHNESS[a.freshness].label,
       filterValue: (a) => FRESHNESS[a.freshness].label,
+      filterMode: "select",
       render: (a) => {
         const { tone, label } = FRESHNESS[a.freshness];
         return (
@@ -367,6 +372,7 @@ export function AgentsPage() {
       // callbacks to the page's own state/handlers.
       sortBy: (a) => a.wanted ?? "",
       filterValue: (a) => a.wanted ?? "no declaration",
+      filterMode: "select",
       render: (a) => {
         const err = actionErrors.get(a.name);
         return (
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/HivesPage.tsx b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/HivesPage.tsx
index c89f3446..1ee81b32 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/HivesPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/HivesPage.tsx
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ const COLUMNS: TableColumn<HiveStatus>[] = [
     },
     sortBy: (h) => FRESHNESS[h.freshness].label,
     filterValue: (h) => FRESHNESS[h.freshness].label,
+    filterMode: "select",
   },
 ];
 
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/ui/table/Table.css b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/ui/table/Table.css
index 2ec46dae..30fb1f81 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/ui/table/Table.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/ui/table/Table.css
@@ -70,7 +70,8 @@
   padding-bottom: 0.5em;
   font-weight: 400;
 }
-.ui-table-filter-input {
+.ui-table-filter-input,
+.ui-table-filter-select {
   width: 100%;
   box-sizing: border-box;
   background: var(--bg);
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/ui/table/Table.tsx b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/ui/table/Table.tsx
index bf982941..9a1c6887 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/ui/table/Table.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/ui/table/Table.tsx
@@ -51,13 +51,28 @@ export interface TableColumn<T> {
    */
   sortBy?: (row: T) => string | number;
   /**
-   * Column is filterable (a text input in its own row under the
-   * headers) when present — extracts the substring to match a case-
-   * insensitive filter query against. Same one-signal reasoning as
-   * `sortBy`: no separate `filterable` flag, the extractor's presence
-   * is the flag.
+   * Column is filterable (a control in its own row under the headers)
+   * when present — extracts the string to filter this column against.
+   * Same one-signal reasoning as `sortBy`: no separate `filterable`
+   * flag, the extractor's presence is the flag. How the extracted
+   * string is matched against the operator's input is `filterMode`.
    */
   filterValue?: (row: T) => string;
+  /**
+   * `"text"` (default): free substring, case-insensitive `<input>` —
+   * today's only behavior, unaffected if you don't set this.
+   * `"select"`: a `<select>` populated from the *distinct* `filterValue`
+   * results across the currently-loaded rows (deduped, case-insensitive
+   * sort) plus a leading "any" option, matched by exact equality. Pick
+   * this for a column whose value only ever comes from a small
+   * bounded/closed set (an enum label, a hive name) — typing an exact
+   * substring is friction a picker removes, and a substring query can
+   * accidentally straddle two distinct values. Deriving options from
+   * live rows rather than a hardcoded enum means the list never offers
+   * a choice that would match zero rows. Ignored unless `filterValue`
+   * is also set.
+   */
+  filterMode?: "text" | "select";
 }
 
 type SortDir = "asc" | "desc";
@@ -104,6 +119,7 @@ export function Table<T>({
         activeFilters.every(([key, query]) => {
           const col = columns.find((c) => c.key === key);
           const value = col?.filterValue?.(row) ?? "";
+          if (col?.filterMode === "select") return value === query;
           return value.toLowerCase().includes(query.toLowerCase());
         }),
       );
@@ -141,6 +157,20 @@ export function Table<T>({
     return sort.dir === "asc" ? "ascending" : "descending";
   }
 
+  // Distinct values currently present for a `"select"`-mode column, so
+  // the dropdown never offers an option that would match zero rows.
+  // Computed off `rows` (pre-filter) — every column's own option list
+  // stays stable while a sibling column's filter narrows `visibleRows`,
+  // matching how a spreadsheet's column filters don't hide each other's
+  // choices.
+  function selectOptionsFor(c: TableColumn<T>): string[] {
+    if (!c.filterValue) return [];
+    const values = new Set(rows.map(c.filterValue));
+    return Array.from(values).sort((a, b) =>
+      a.localeCompare(b, undefined, { sensitivity: "base", numeric: true }),
+    );
+  }
+
   return (
     <div class="ui-table-scroll">
       <table class="ui-table">
@@ -175,7 +205,24 @@ export function Table<T>({
             <tr class="ui-table-filter-row">
               {columns.map((c) => (
                 <th key={c.key}>
-                  {c.filterValue ? (
+                  {c.filterValue && c.filterMode === "select" ? (
+                    <select
+                      class="ui-table-filter-select"
+                      aria-label={`filter by ${typeof c.header === "string" ? c.header : c.key}`}
+                      value={filters[c.key] ?? ""}
+                      onChange={(e) => {
+                        const v = (e.target as HTMLSelectElement).value;
+                        setFilters((prev) => ({ ...prev, [c.key]: v }));
+                      }}
+                    >
+                      <option value="">any</option>
+                      {selectOptionsFor(c).map((v) => (
+                        <option key={v} value={v}>
+                          {v}
+                        </option>
+                      ))}
+                    </select>
+                  ) : c.filterValue ? (
                     <input
                       type="text"
                       class="ui-table-filter-input"