diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/terminal.js b/frontend/packages/shared/src/terminal.js
index 658b07b2..314328b1 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/shared/src/terminal.js
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/terminal.js
@@ -69,16 +69,47 @@ export function create(opts) {
   // handler so both programmatic scrollTop assignments and
   // operator-driven wheel/drag stay in sync.
   let stickToBottom = true;
+  // Guards scroll-event-handler from misreading the position while
+  // our own smooth-scroll animation is mid-flight (#400). When we
+  // initiate `scrollTo({ behavior: 'smooth' })`, the browser fires
+  // a stream of scroll events as it eases toward the target — the
+  // position passes through "not near bottom" before settling at
+  // bottom. Without this gate, the scroll handler flips
+  // `stickToBottom` to false mid-animation, which then causes the
+  // MutationObserver to skip the next snap and leaves the operator
+  // stranded mid-scroll. The gate is released on a timeout sized
+  // to outlast the smooth-scroll animation (~500ms in Chromium /
+  // Firefox; 800ms gives comfortable headroom). Each fresh snap
+  // re-arms the timer so back-to-back snaps stay gated.
+  let smoothScrollingUntil = 0;
 
   function isNearBottom() {
     return log.scrollHeight - log.scrollTop - log.clientHeight <= NEAR_BOTTOM_PX;
   }
+  // Smooth-scroll the log to the bottom (#400 — replaces the
+  // instant `scrollTop = scrollHeight` jumps with eased animation).
+  // Each call re-arms the smooth-scrolling gate so back-to-back
+  // burst writes coalesce into one smooth ride to the new bottom
+  // instead of a sequence of half-cancelled animations. Falls back
+  // to instant scroll when `currentNoAnim` is true (backfill replay
+  // — the operator never sees the intermediate positions so the
+  // animation is just wasted frames + jitter).
+  function snapToBottom(immediate) {
+    stickToBottom = true;
+    if (immediate || currentNoAnim) {
+      smoothScrollingUntil = 0;
+      log.scrollTop = log.scrollHeight;
+      return;
+    }
+    smoothScrollingUntil = Date.now() + 800;
+    log.scrollTo({ top: log.scrollHeight, behavior: 'smooth' });
+  }
   function ensurePill() {
     if (pill) return pill;
     pill = document.createElement('button');
     pill.type = 'button';
     pill.className = 'tail-pill';
-    pill.addEventListener('click', () => { log.scrollTop = log.scrollHeight; });
+    pill.addEventListener('click', () => snapToBottom());
     pillAnchor.appendChild(pill);
     return pill;
   }
@@ -92,6 +123,12 @@ export function create(opts) {
     pill.classList.add('visible');
   }
   log.addEventListener('scroll', () => {
+    // Mid-smooth-scroll: ignore the intermediate scroll events. The
+    // gate releases when the animation has had time to settle (or
+    // when the next snap re-arms it). Without this, easing toward
+    // bottom would flip `stickToBottom` false partway and the next
+    // MO callback would skip the snap.
+    if (Date.now() < smoothScrollingUntil) return;
     stickToBottom = isNearBottom();
     if (stickToBottom) { unseen = 0; updatePill(); }
   });
@@ -113,7 +150,7 @@ export function create(opts) {
   // assignments don't re-trigger MO (the scroll itself isn't a
   // DOM mutation), so no feedback loop.
   const mo = new MutationObserver(() => {
-    if (stickToBottom) log.scrollTop = log.scrollHeight;
+    if (stickToBottom) snapToBottom();
   });
   mo.observe(log, { childList: true, subtree: true, characterData: true });
 
@@ -130,13 +167,7 @@ export function create(opts) {
   // frame instead of one microtask + frame.)
   function afterAppend(wasNearBottom) {
     if (currentNoAnim || wasNearBottom) {
-      // Re-arm stickToBottom before the scroll — the assignment
-      // fires a scroll event which sets it via isNearBottom(),
-      // but doing it eagerly here makes the next renderer
-      // mutation's MO callback deterministic even if the scroll
-      // event hasn't fired yet.
-      stickToBottom = true;
-      log.scrollTop = log.scrollHeight;
+      snapToBottom();
     } else {
       unseen += 1;
       updatePill();