diff --git a/hive-c0re/assets/app.js b/hive-c0re/assets/app.js
index 736bdde..31d4758 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/assets/app.js
+++ b/hive-c0re/assets/app.js
@@ -634,7 +634,51 @@
   }
 
   const APPROVAL_TAB_KEY = 'hyperhive:approvals:tab';
-  function renderApprovals(s) {
+  // Derived approval state — cold-loaded from /api/state, then mutated
+  // live by `approval_added` / `approval_resolved` dashboard events.
+  // `pending` is the open queue (newest-first); `history` is the last
+  // 30 resolved rows.
+  const APPROVAL_HISTORY_LIMIT = 30;
+  const approvalsState = { pending: [], history: [] };
+  function syncApprovalsFromSnapshot(s) {
+    approvalsState.pending = (s.approvals || []).slice();
+    approvalsState.history = (s.approval_history || []).slice();
+  }
+  function applyApprovalAdded(ev) {
+    // Upsert by id so a snapshot that already included the row (cold
+    // load + event lands at the same tick) doesn't double it.
+    const existing = approvalsState.pending.findIndex((a) => a.id === ev.id);
+    const row = {
+      id: ev.id,
+      agent: ev.agent,
+      kind: ev.approval_kind,
+      sha_short: ev.sha_short || null,
+      diff: ev.diff || null,
+      description: ev.description || null,
+    };
+    if (existing >= 0) approvalsState.pending[existing] = row;
+    else approvalsState.pending.push(row);
+    renderApprovals();
+  }
+  function applyApprovalResolved(ev) {
+    // Drop from pending; prepend to history (newest-first), cap at 30.
+    approvalsState.pending = approvalsState.pending.filter((a) => a.id !== ev.id);
+    approvalsState.history.unshift({
+      id: ev.id,
+      agent: ev.agent,
+      kind: ev.approval_kind,
+      sha_short: ev.sha_short || null,
+      status: ev.status,
+      resolved_at: ev.resolved_at,
+      note: ev.note || null,
+      description: ev.description || null,
+    });
+    if (approvalsState.history.length > APPROVAL_HISTORY_LIMIT) {
+      approvalsState.history.length = APPROVAL_HISTORY_LIMIT;
+    }
+    renderApprovals();
+  }
+  function renderApprovals() {
     const root = $('approvals-section');
     root.innerHTML = '';
 
@@ -655,7 +699,8 @@
     );
     root.append(spawn);
 
-    const history = s.approval_history || [];
+    const pending = approvalsState.pending;
+    const history = approvalsState.history;
     const active = localStorage.getItem(APPROVAL_TAB_KEY) || 'pending';
     const tabs = el('div', { class: 'approval-tabs' });
     const pendingTab = el(
@@ -664,7 +709,7 @@
         type: 'button',
         class: 'approval-tab' + (active === 'pending' ? ' active' : ''),
       },
-      `pending · ${s.approvals.length}`,
+      `pending · ${pending.length}`,
     );
     const historyTab = el(
       'button',
@@ -676,11 +721,11 @@
     );
     pendingTab.addEventListener('click', () => {
       localStorage.setItem(APPROVAL_TAB_KEY, 'pending');
-      renderApprovals(s);
+      renderApprovals();
     });
     historyTab.addEventListener('click', () => {
       localStorage.setItem(APPROVAL_TAB_KEY, 'history');
-      renderApprovals(s);
+      renderApprovals();
     });
     tabs.append(pendingTab, historyTab);
     root.append(tabs);
@@ -690,12 +735,12 @@
       return;
     }
 
-    if (!s.approvals.length) {
+    if (!pending.length) {
       root.append(el('p', { class: 'empty' }, 'queue empty'));
       return;
     }
     const ul = el('ul', { class: 'approvals' });
-    for (const a of s.approvals) {
+    for (const a of pending) {
       const li = el('li');
       const row = el('div', { class: 'row' });
       if (a.kind === 'apply_commit') {
@@ -954,7 +999,12 @@
       renderTombstones(s);
       renderQuestions(s);
       renderInbox();
-      renderApprovals(s);
+      // Sync the derived approvals store from the snapshot, then
+      // render. Live `approval_added` / `approval_resolved` events
+      // mutate the store directly and call renderApprovals() without
+      // a snapshot refetch.
+      syncApprovalsFromSnapshot(s);
+      renderApprovals();
       renderMetaInputs(s);
       restoreOpenDetails(openDetails);
       notifyDeltas(s);
@@ -1014,6 +1064,11 @@
       renderers: {
         sent:      (ev, api) => renderMsg(ev, api, '→'),
         delivered: (ev, api) => renderMsg(ev, api, '✓'),
+        // Mutation events update derived state and trigger a
+        // section re-render — no terminal log row (the terminal is
+        // for broker traffic, not state-change chatter).
+        approval_added:    (ev) => { applyApprovalAdded(ev); },
+        approval_resolved: (ev) => { applyApprovalResolved(ev); },
       },
       // Both history backfill and live frames flow through here, so the
       // inbox section ends up populated correctly on first paint and
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/actions.rs b/hive-c0re/src/actions.rs
index c3d7015..8dbbfdf 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/actions.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/actions.rs
@@ -114,6 +114,29 @@ fn finish_approval(
         sha: approval.fetched_sha.clone(),
         tag: terminal_tag.clone(),
     });
+    // Phase 5b: also fire on the dashboard event channel so the
+    // browser moves the row out of pending into history without a
+    // snapshot refetch. `approved` rows that succeed get the
+    // approval's logged resolved_at indirectly via `now_unix()`;
+    // failures already wrote it via mark_failed above.
+    let approval_kind = match approval.kind {
+        ApprovalKind::Spawn => "spawn",
+        ApprovalKind::ApplyCommit => "apply_commit",
+    };
+    let sha_short = approval
+        .fetched_sha
+        .as_deref()
+        .map(|s| s[..s.len().min(12)].to_owned());
+    let status_str = if ok { "approved" } else { "failed" };
+    coord.emit_approval_resolved(
+        approval.id,
+        &approval.agent,
+        approval_kind,
+        sha_short,
+        status_str,
+        note.clone(),
+        approval.description.clone(),
+    );
     // For spawn/rebuild approvals, also surface the underlying action so
     // the manager knows whether the container actually came up. The
     // ApprovalResolved event already carries the same `ok` signal but
@@ -381,6 +404,13 @@ pub async fn deny(coord: &Coordinator, id: i64, note: Option<&str>) -> Result<()
                 }
             }
         }
+        let approval_kind = match a.kind {
+            ApprovalKind::Spawn => "spawn",
+            ApprovalKind::ApplyCommit => "apply_commit",
+        };
+        let sha_short = sha.as_deref().map(|s| s[..s.len().min(12)].to_owned());
+        let description = a.description.clone();
+        let agent_owned = a.agent.clone();
         coord.notify_manager(&HelperEvent::ApprovalResolved {
             id: a.id,
             agent: a.agent,
@@ -390,6 +420,15 @@ pub async fn deny(coord: &Coordinator, id: i64, note: Option<&str>) -> Result<()
             sha,
             tag,
         });
+        coord.emit_approval_resolved(
+            id,
+            &agent_owned,
+            approval_kind,
+            sha_short,
+            "denied",
+            note.map(String::from),
+            description,
+        );
     }
     Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs b/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
index 0718924..9ace31c 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
@@ -161,6 +161,63 @@ impl Coordinator {
         let _ = self.dashboard_events.send(event);
     }
 
+    /// Emit `ApprovalAdded` immediately after the row is inserted in
+    /// sqlite. Caller passes the diff text it already computed (or
+    /// `None` for spawn approvals which carry no diff).
+    pub fn emit_approval_added(
+        &self,
+        id: i64,
+        agent: &str,
+        approval_kind: &'static str,
+        sha_short: Option<String>,
+        diff: Option<String>,
+        description: Option<String>,
+    ) {
+        self.emit_dashboard_event(DashboardEvent::ApprovalAdded {
+            seq: self.next_seq(),
+            id,
+            agent: agent.to_owned(),
+            approval_kind,
+            sha_short,
+            diff,
+            description,
+        });
+    }
+
+    /// Emit `ApprovalResolved` after `mark_approved` / `mark_denied` /
+    /// `mark_failed` lands. `resolved_at` is stamped from the system
+    /// clock here so call sites don't repeat the conversion; if you
+    /// already have an authoritative timestamp from the db update,
+    /// the tiny skew between "row updated" and "event emitted" is
+    /// presentation-only and doesn't matter to clients.
+    pub fn emit_approval_resolved(
+        &self,
+        id: i64,
+        agent: &str,
+        approval_kind: &'static str,
+        sha_short: Option<String>,
+        status: &'static str,
+        note: Option<String>,
+        description: Option<String>,
+    ) {
+        let resolved_at = std::time::SystemTime::now()
+            .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+            .ok()
+            .and_then(|d| i64::try_from(d.as_secs()).ok())
+            .unwrap_or(0);
+        self.emit_dashboard_event(DashboardEvent::ApprovalResolved {
+            seq: self.next_seq(),
+            id,
+            agent: agent.to_owned(),
+            approval_kind,
+            sha_short,
+            status,
+            resolved_at,
+            note,
+            description,
+        });
+    }
+
     pub fn register_agent(self: &Arc<Self>, name: &str) -> Result<PathBuf> {
         // Idempotent: drop any existing listener so re-registration (e.g. on rebuild,
         // or after a hive-c0re restart cleared /run/hyperhive) gets a fresh socket.
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs
index 868d1d3..682e0ab 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs
@@ -1177,6 +1177,12 @@ async fn post_request_spawn(
     {
         Ok(id) => {
             tracing::info!(%id, %name, "operator: spawn approval queued via dashboard");
+            // Phase 5b: notify the dashboard event channel so live
+            // subscribers can append the row without a snapshot
+            // refetch. Spawn approvals carry no diff/sha.
+            state
+                .coord
+                .emit_approval_added(id, &name, "spawn", None, None, None);
             Redirect::to("/").into_response()
         }
         Err(e) => error_response(&format!("request-spawn {name} failed: {e:#}")),
@@ -1381,8 +1387,22 @@ fn gc_orphans(coord: &Coordinator, approvals: Vec<Approval>) -> Vec<Approval> {
             if Coordinator::agent_proposed_dir(&a.agent).exists() {
                 true
             } else {
-                let _ = coord.approvals.mark_failed(a.id, "agent state dir missing");
+                let note = "agent state dir missing";
+                let _ = coord.approvals.mark_failed(a.id, note);
                 tracing::info!(id = a.id, agent = %a.agent, "auto-failed orphan approval");
+                let sha_short = a
+                    .fetched_sha
+                    .as_deref()
+                    .map(|s| s[..s.len().min(12)].to_owned());
+                coord.emit_approval_resolved(
+                    a.id,
+                    &a.agent,
+                    "apply_commit",
+                    sha_short,
+                    "failed",
+                    Some(note.to_owned()),
+                    a.description.clone(),
+                );
                 false
             }
         })
@@ -1407,7 +1427,12 @@ fn claude_has_session(dir: &Path) -> bool {
 /// since the canonical proposal commit lives there (manager-side
 /// amendments don't move it). Empty output means proposal == main —
 /// a no-op approval.
-async fn approval_diff(agent: &str, approval_id: i64) -> String {
+///
+/// `pub(crate)` so the manager-socket handler can pre-compute the
+/// diff once at submission time and embed it in the `ApprovalAdded`
+/// dashboard event (instead of forcing the dashboard to wait a
+/// `/api/state` cycle to see the diff for newly-queued approvals).
+pub(crate) async fn approval_diff(agent: &str, approval_id: i64) -> String {
     let applied = Coordinator::agent_applied_dir(agent);
     if !applied.join(".git").exists() {
         return format!("(no applied git repo at {})", applied.display());
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard_events.rs b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard_events.rs
index fc8305f..f5cdf66 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard_events.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard_events.rs
@@ -44,4 +44,37 @@ pub enum DashboardEvent {
         body: String,
         at: i64,
     },
+    /// A new approval landed in the pending queue. Payload carries
+    /// enough to render the dashboard row without a `/api/state`
+    /// refetch (`diff` is the raw unified diff text, same shape the
+    /// snapshot ships).
+    ///
+    /// The approval's own kind (`"apply_commit"` / `"spawn"`) lives on
+    /// `approval_kind` rather than `kind` because the latter is taken
+    /// by the serde tag identifying which `DashboardEvent` variant
+    /// this is.
+    ApprovalAdded {
+        seq: u64,
+        id: i64,
+        agent: String,
+        approval_kind: &'static str,
+        sha_short: Option<String>,
+        diff: Option<String>,
+        description: Option<String>,
+    },
+    /// A pending approval transitioned to a terminal state
+    /// (approved / denied / failed). Clients move the row out of the
+    /// pending list and into history.
+    ApprovalResolved {
+        seq: u64,
+        id: i64,
+        agent: String,
+        approval_kind: &'static str,
+        sha_short: Option<String>,
+        /// `"approved"` / `"denied"` / `"failed"`.
+        status: &'static str,
+        resolved_at: i64,
+        note: Option<String>,
+        description: Option<String>,
+    },
 }
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/manager_server.rs b/hive-c0re/src/manager_server.rs
index 2959c64..a9786ad 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/manager_server.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/manager_server.rs
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ async fn dispatch(req: &ManagerRequest, coord: &Arc<Coordinator>) -> ManagerResp
             ) {
                 Ok(id) => {
                     tracing::info!(%id, %name, "spawn approval queued");
+                    coord.emit_approval_added(id, name, "spawn", None, None, description.clone());
                     ManagerResponse::Ok
                 }
                 Err(e) => ManagerResponse::Err {
@@ -382,7 +383,17 @@ async fn submit_apply_commit(
                 // dashboard reflects it instead of leaving a phantom
                 // pending entry. The note doubles as the operator-visible
                 // explanation of why the approval can't be approved.
-                let _ = coord.approvals.mark_failed(id, &format!("{e:#}"));
+                let note = format!("{e:#}");
+                let _ = coord.approvals.mark_failed(id, &note);
+                coord.emit_approval_resolved(
+                    id,
+                    agent,
+                    "apply_commit",
+                    None,
+                    "failed",
+                    Some(note),
+                    description.map(str::to_owned),
+                );
                 return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("git_fetch_to_tag: {e:#}"));
             }
         };
@@ -390,6 +401,19 @@ async fn submit_apply_commit(
         .approvals
         .set_fetched_sha(id, &sha)
         .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("persist fetched_sha: {e:#}"))?;
+    // Phase 5b: surface the new pending approval on the dashboard
+    // event channel. Compute the diff once here so live subscribers
+    // get a fully-formed row without a snapshot refetch.
+    let sha_short = sha[..sha.len().min(12)].to_owned();
+    let diff = crate::dashboard::approval_diff(agent, id).await;
+    coord.emit_approval_added(
+        id,
+        agent,
+        "apply_commit",
+        Some(sha_short),
+        Some(diff),
+        description.map(str::to_owned),
+    );
     Ok((id, sha))
 }