diff --git a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/dashboard.css b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/dashboard.css
index 8dda2a6d..a837d12a 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/dashboard.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/dashboard.css
@@ -418,12 +418,32 @@ body.dashboard-shell {
   font-size: 0.82em;
   color: var(--subtext0);
   padding: 0.1em 0.3em 0.25em;
-  white-space: nowrap;
+  /* Row layout: the message can wrap to two lines and clamp; the age
+     stamp is a non-shrinking sibling so it is always shown (it wraps to
+     the next line if there is no room, but is never clipped away). */
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  align-items: baseline;
+  column-gap: 0.3em;
+}
+.agent-status .status-msg {
+  flex: 0 1 auto;
+  min-width: 0;
+  /* Wrap to at most two lines, then ellipsize the overflow. */
+  display: -webkit-box;
+  -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
+  -webkit-line-clamp: 2;
+  line-clamp: 2;
   overflow: hidden;
-  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  overflow-wrap: anywhere;
 }
 .agent-status .status-icon { opacity: 0.65; }
-.agent-status .status-age { opacity: 0.5; font-size: 0.9em; margin-left: 0.2em; }
+.agent-status .status-age {
+  flex: 0 0 auto;
+  opacity: 0.5;
+  font-size: 0.9em;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
 
 .container-row.tombstone {
   border-style: dashed;
diff --git a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/tabs.js b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/tabs.js
index 095698ad..ee69e53a 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/tabs.js
+++ b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/tabs.js
@@ -671,12 +671,18 @@ window.marked = marked;
             const ageAttrs = ds.status_set_at != null
               ? { class: 'status-age', 'data-set-at': String(ds.status_set_at) }
               : { class: 'status-age' };
+            // Icon + message are wrapped together in `.status-msg` so the
+            // CSS can clamp *just the message* to two lines; the age span is
+            // a separate flex sibling that is never clipped, so the "(set N
+            // ago)" stamp stays visible even when the status text is long.
             body.append(el('div', {
               class: 'agent-status',
               title: `agent self-reported status${ageStr}`,
             },
-              el('span', { class: 'status-icon' }, '◈ '),
-              ds.status_text,
+              el('span', { class: 'status-msg' },
+                el('span', { class: 'status-icon' }, '◈ '),
+                ds.status_text,
+              ),
               el('span', ageAttrs, ageStr),
             ));
           }