diff --git a/backend/app/api/activity.py b/backend/app/api/activity.py
index fefda1a..af68199 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/activity.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/activity.py
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
 import json
+import os
 from collections import deque
 from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
+from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 from uuid import UUID, uuid4
 
@@ -312,6 +314,205 @@ async def _fetch_runtime_ticker_items(
     return items
 
 
+def _parse_ts(ts: str | None) -> datetime | None:
+    if not ts:
+        return None
+    try:
+        return datetime.fromisoformat(ts.replace("Z", "+00:00")).astimezone(UTC).replace(tzinfo=None)
+    except ValueError:
+        return None
+
+
+_BASH_CMD_MAX = 80
+_TASK_DESC_MAX = 60
+
+
+def _format_tool_status(tool_name: str, inp: dict[str, Any]) -> str:
+    """Human-readable tool label — ported from pixel-agents-openclaw/transcriptParser.ts."""
+    def _base(p: Any) -> str:
+        return os.path.basename(str(p)) if p else ""
+
+    if tool_name == "Read":
+        return f"Reading {_base(inp.get('file_path', ''))}"
+    if tool_name == "Edit":
+        return f"Editing {_base(inp.get('file_path', ''))}"
+    if tool_name == "Write":
+        return f"Writing {_base(inp.get('file_path', ''))}"
+    if tool_name == "Bash":
+        cmd = str(inp.get("command", ""))
+        return f"Running: {cmd[:_BASH_CMD_MAX]}…" if len(cmd) > _BASH_CMD_MAX else f"Running: {cmd}"
+    if tool_name == "Glob":
+        return "Searching files"
+    if tool_name == "Grep":
+        return "Searching code"
+    if tool_name == "WebFetch":
+        return "Fetching web content"
+    if tool_name == "WebSearch":
+        return "Searching the web"
+    if tool_name == "Task":
+        desc = str(inp.get("description", ""))
+        if desc:
+            return f"Subtask: {desc[:_TASK_DESC_MAX]}…" if len(desc) > _TASK_DESC_MAX else f"Subtask: {desc}"
+        return "Running subtask"
+    if tool_name == "AskUserQuestion":
+        return "Waiting for input"
+    if tool_name == "EnterPlanMode":
+        return "Planning"
+    if tool_name == "NotebookEdit":
+        return "Editing notebook"
+    return f"Using {tool_name}"
+
+
+def _tail_lines(path: Path, nbytes: int = 80_000) -> list[str]:
+    try:
+        with open(path, "rb") as fh:
+            fh.seek(0, 2)
+            size = fh.tell()
+            fh.seek(max(0, size - nbytes))
+            data = fh.read()
+        idx = data.find(b"\n")
+        if idx >= 0:
+            data = data[idx + 1:]
+        return data.decode("utf-8", errors="replace").splitlines()
+    except (OSError, PermissionError):
+        return []
+
+
+def _extract_claude_ticker_items(path: Path, cutoff: datetime) -> list[ActivityTickerItem]:
+    items: list[ActivityTickerItem] = []
+    seen_msg_ids: set[str] = set()
+    for line in _tail_lines(path):
+        if not line.strip():
+            continue
+        try:
+            rec = json.loads(line)
+        except json.JSONDecodeError:
+            continue
+        if rec.get("type") != "assistant" or rec.get("isSidechain"):
+            continue
+        ts = _parse_ts(rec.get("timestamp"))
+        if ts is None or ts < cutoff:
+            continue
+        msg = rec.get("message") or {}
+        msg_id = msg.get("id")
+        if msg_id:
+            if msg_id in seen_msg_ids:
+                continue
+            seen_msg_ids.add(msg_id)
+        content = msg.get("content") if isinstance(msg.get("content"), list) else []
+
+        tool_blocks = [b for b in content if isinstance(b, dict) and b.get("type") == "tool_use"]
+        text_blocks  = [b for b in content if isinstance(b, dict) and b.get("type") == "text"]
+
+        if tool_blocks:
+            # Emit one ticker item per tool call (most informative for live activity)
+            for block in tool_blocks:
+                tool_name = str(block.get("name") or "")
+                inp = block.get("input") or {}
+                if not isinstance(inp, dict):
+                    inp = {}
+                label = _format_tool_status(tool_name, inp)
+                items.append(ActivityTickerItem(
+                    id=uuid4(),
+                    source="Claude Code",
+                    message=label,
+                    created_at=ts,
+                ))
+        elif text_blocks:
+            # Text-only turn (no tools used) — show the response text
+            text = " ".join(
+                b.get("text", "").strip() for b in text_blocks if b.get("text", "").strip()
+            ).strip()
+            if text:
+                items.append(ActivityTickerItem(
+                    id=uuid4(),
+                    source="Claude Code",
+                    message=text[:200],
+                    created_at=ts,
+                ))
+    return items
+
+
+def _extract_codex_ticker_items(path: Path, cutoff: datetime) -> list[ActivityTickerItem]:
+    items: list[ActivityTickerItem] = []
+    seen_turn_ids: set[str] = set()
+    for line in _tail_lines(path):
+        if not line.strip():
+            continue
+        try:
+            rec = json.loads(line)
+        except json.JSONDecodeError:
+            continue
+        ts = _parse_ts(rec.get("timestamp"))
+        if ts is None or ts < cutoff:
+            continue
+        payload = rec.get("payload") or {}
+        rec_type = rec.get("type")
+
+        if rec_type == "event_msg" and payload.get("type") == "task_complete":
+            turn_id = payload.get("turn_id") or ""
+            if turn_id and turn_id in seen_turn_ids:
+                continue
+            if turn_id:
+                seen_turn_ids.add(turn_id)
+            text = (payload.get("last_agent_message") or "").strip()
+            if text:
+                items.append(ActivityTickerItem(
+                    id=uuid4(),
+                    source="Codex",
+                    message=text[:200],
+                    created_at=ts,
+                ))
+        elif rec_type == "response_item" and payload.get("role") == "assistant":
+            content = payload.get("content") or []
+            text = " ".join(
+                b.get("text", "").strip()
+                for b in content
+                if isinstance(b, dict) and b.get("type") == "output_text" and b.get("text", "").strip()
+            ).strip()
+            if text:
+                items.append(ActivityTickerItem(
+                    id=uuid4(),
+                    source="Codex",
+                    message=text[:200],
+                    created_at=ts,
+                ))
+    return items
+
+
+def _fetch_local_session_items_sync(cutoff: datetime) -> list[ActivityTickerItem]:
+    items: list[ActivityTickerItem] = []
+
+    claude_root_env = os.environ.get("CLAUDE_PROJECTS_PATH", "").strip()
+    claude_root = Path(claude_root_env) if claude_root_env else Path.home() / ".claude" / "projects"
+    if claude_root.exists():
+        for path in claude_root.rglob("*.jsonl"):
+            try:
+                if datetime.utcfromtimestamp(path.stat().st_mtime) >= cutoff:
+                    items.extend(_extract_claude_ticker_items(path, cutoff))
+            except (OSError, PermissionError):
+                pass
+
+    codex_root_env = os.environ.get("CODEX_SESSIONS_PATH", "").strip()
+    codex_root = Path(codex_root_env) if codex_root_env else Path.home() / ".codex" / "sessions"
+    if codex_root.exists():
+        for path in codex_root.rglob("*.jsonl"):
+            try:
+                if datetime.utcfromtimestamp(path.stat().st_mtime) >= cutoff:
+                    items.extend(_extract_codex_ticker_items(path, cutoff))
+            except (OSError, PermissionError):
+                pass
+
+    return items
+
+
+async def _fetch_local_session_ticker_items(cutoff: datetime) -> list[ActivityTickerItem]:
+    try:
+        return await asyncio.to_thread(_fetch_local_session_items_sync, cutoff)
+    except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001
+        return []
+
+
 @router.get("/ticker", response_model=list[ActivityTickerItem])
 async def get_activity_ticker(
     limit: int = Query(default=20, ge=1, le=50),
@@ -322,53 +523,62 @@ async def get_activity_ticker(
     board_ids = await list_accessible_board_ids(session, member=ctx.member, write=False)
     cutoff = utcnow() - timedelta(minutes=15)
 
-    statement = (
-        select(ActivityEvent, Agent)
-        .outerjoin(Agent, col(ActivityEvent.agent_id) == col(Agent.id))
-        .outerjoin(Task, col(ActivityEvent.task_id) == col(Task.id))
-        .where(func.length(func.trim(col(ActivityEvent.message))) > 0)
-        .where(col(ActivityEvent.created_at) >= cutoff)
-        .where(col(ActivityEvent.event_type) != "agent.heartbeat")
-        .order_by(desc(col(ActivityEvent.created_at)))
-        .limit(limit)
-    )
-
-    if board_ids:
-        statement = statement.where(
-            or_(
-                col(ActivityEvent.board_id).in_(board_ids),
-                and_(
-                    col(ActivityEvent.board_id).is_(None),
-                    col(Task.board_id).in_(board_ids),
-                ),
-            )
+    def _build_db_statement(since: datetime) -> Any:
+        stmt = (
+            select(ActivityEvent, Agent)
+            .outerjoin(Agent, col(ActivityEvent.agent_id) == col(Agent.id))
+            .outerjoin(Task, col(ActivityEvent.task_id) == col(Task.id))
+            .where(func.length(func.trim(col(ActivityEvent.message))) > 0)
+            .where(col(ActivityEvent.created_at) >= since)
+            .order_by(desc(col(ActivityEvent.created_at)))
+            .limit(limit)
         )
-    else:
-        statement = statement.where(col(ActivityEvent.id).is_(None))
+        if board_ids:
+            return stmt.where(
+                or_(
+                    col(ActivityEvent.board_id).in_(board_ids),
+                    and_(
+                        col(ActivityEvent.board_id).is_(None),
+                        col(Task.board_id).in_(board_ids),
+                    ),
+                )
+            )
+        return stmt.where(col(ActivityEvent.id).is_(None))
 
-    rows = (await session.exec(statement)).all()
-    db_items: list[ActivityTickerItem] = []
-    for row in rows:
-        event: ActivityEvent = row[0]
-        agent: Agent | None = row[1]
-        msg = (event.message or "").strip()
-        if not msg:
-            continue
-        db_items.append(
-            ActivityTickerItem(
+    def _rows_to_items(rows: Any) -> list[ActivityTickerItem]:
+        result: list[ActivityTickerItem] = []
+        for row in rows:
+            event: ActivityEvent = row[0]
+            agent: Agent | None = row[1]
+            msg = (event.message or "").strip()
+            if not msg:
+                continue
+            result.append(ActivityTickerItem(
                 id=event.id,
                 source=_ticker_source(event, agent),
                 message=msg[:200],
                 created_at=event.created_at,
-            )
-        )
+            ))
+        return result
+
+    rows = (await session.exec(_build_db_statement(cutoff))).all()
+    db_items = _rows_to_items(rows)
+
+    # If nothing recent, widen to 2 hours so the ticker is never blank
+    if not db_items:
+        fallback_cutoff = utcnow() - timedelta(hours=2)
+        rows = (await session.exec(_build_db_statement(fallback_cutoff))).all()
+        db_items = _rows_to_items(rows)
 
     gw_rows = list((await session.exec(
         select(Gateway).where(col(Gateway.organization_id) == ctx.organization.id)
     )).all())
-    runtime_items = await _fetch_runtime_ticker_items(gw_rows, cutoff)
+    runtime_items, local_items = await asyncio.gather(
+        _fetch_runtime_ticker_items(gw_rows, cutoff),
+        _fetch_local_session_ticker_items(cutoff),
+    )
 
-    all_items = db_items + runtime_items
+    all_items = db_items + runtime_items + local_items
     all_items.sort(key=lambda x: x.created_at, reverse=True)
     return all_items[:limit]
 
diff --git a/compose.yml b/compose.yml
index 95b68fb..35c5634 100644
--- a/compose.yml
+++ b/compose.yml
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ services:
       CODEX_CREDENTIALS_PATH: /run/secrets/codex_credentials
       # Claude Code session JSONL files — read-only mount so the session viewer works.
       CLAUDE_PROJECTS_PATH: /run/claude/projects
+      # Codex CLI session JSONL files — read-only mount for the activity ticker.
+      CODEX_SESSIONS_PATH: /run/codex/sessions
       # AI provider API keys — seeded into provider_credentials on boot (optional).
       ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:-}
       ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: ${ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL:-}
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ services:
       - ${CLAUDE_CREDENTIALS_FILE:-/home/kaspa/.claude/.credentials.json}:/run/secrets/claude_credentials:ro
       - ${CODEX_CREDENTIALS_FILE:-/home/kaspa/.codex/auth.json}:/run/secrets/codex_credentials:ro
       - ${CLAUDE_PROJECTS_DIR:-/home/kaspa/.claude/projects}:/run/claude/projects:ro
+      - ${CODEX_SESSIONS_DIR:-/home/kaspa/.codex/sessions}:/run/codex/sessions:ro
     depends_on:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy