diff --git a/ui/web/src/components/shared/image-lightbox.tsx b/ui/web/src/components/shared/image-lightbox.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5441cc0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/web/src/components/shared/image-lightbox.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import { useEffect, useCallback } from "react";
+import { X } from "lucide-react";
+
+interface ImageLightboxProps {
+  src: string;
+  alt?: string;
+  onClose: () => void;
+}
+
+export function ImageLightbox({ src, alt, onClose }: ImageLightboxProps) {
+  const handleKeyDown = useCallback(
+    (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
+      if (e.key === "Escape") onClose();
+    },
+    [onClose],
+  );
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    document.addEventListener("keydown", handleKeyDown);
+    return () => document.removeEventListener("keydown", handleKeyDown);
+  }, [handleKeyDown]);
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className="fixed inset-0 z-[100] flex items-center justify-center bg-black/80 backdrop-blur-sm"
+      onClick={onClose}
+    >
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        onClick={onClose}
+        className="absolute top-4 right-4 rounded-full bg-black/50 p-2 text-white hover:bg-black/70 transition-colors cursor-pointer"
+      >
+        <X className="h-5 w-5" />
+      </button>
+      <img
+        src={src}
+        alt={alt ?? "image"}
+        className="max-h-[90vh] max-w-[90vw] rounded-lg object-contain"
+        onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
+      />
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/ui/web/src/components/shared/markdown-renderer.tsx b/ui/web/src/components/shared/markdown-renderer.tsx
index b45d9672..31cab6eb 100644
--- a/ui/web/src/components/shared/markdown-renderer.tsx
+++ b/ui/web/src/components/shared/markdown-renderer.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
+import { useState, useCallback } from "react";
 import ReactMarkdown from "react-markdown";
 import remarkGfm from "remark-gfm";
 import rehypeHighlight from "rehype-highlight";
 import { useClipboard } from "@/hooks/use-clipboard";
 import { Check, Copy } from "lucide-react";
+import { ImageLightbox } from "./image-lightbox";
 
 function CodeBlock({
   className,
@@ -41,8 +43,14 @@ interface MarkdownRendererProps {
 }
 
 export function MarkdownRenderer({ content, className }: MarkdownRendererProps) {
+  const [lightbox, setLightbox] = useState<{ src: string; alt: string } | null>(null);
+  const openLightbox = useCallback((src: string, alt: string) => setLightbox({ src, alt }), []);
+
   return (
     <div className={`prose prose-sm dark:prose-invert max-w-none break-words ${className ?? ""}`}>
+      {lightbox && (
+        <ImageLightbox src={lightbox.src} alt={lightbox.alt} onClose={() => setLightbox(null)} />
+      )}
       <ReactMarkdown
         remarkPlugins={[remarkGfm]}
         rehypePlugins={[rehypeHighlight]}
@@ -67,15 +75,17 @@ export function MarkdownRenderer({ content, className }: MarkdownRendererProps)
           },
           img({ src, alt, ...props }) {
             return (
-              <a href={src} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
-                <img
-                  src={src}
-                  alt={alt ?? "image"}
-                  className="max-w-sm rounded-lg border shadow-sm"
-                  loading="lazy"
-                  {...props}
-                />
-              </a>
+              <img
+                src={src}
+                alt={alt ?? "image"}
+                className="max-w-sm rounded-lg border shadow-sm cursor-pointer hover:opacity-90 transition-opacity"
+                loading="lazy"
+                onClick={(e) => {
+                  e.preventDefault();
+                  if (src) openLightbox(src, alt ?? "image");
+                }}
+                {...props}
+              />
             );
           },
           table({ children, ...props }) {
diff --git a/ui/web/src/hooks/use-auto-scroll.ts b/ui/web/src/hooks/use-auto-scroll.ts
index 1ea07ae3..ddd4d210 100644
--- a/ui/web/src/hooks/use-auto-scroll.ts
+++ b/ui/web/src/hooks/use-auto-scroll.ts
@@ -3,10 +3,12 @@ import { useEffect, useRef, useCallback } from "react";
 /**
  * Auto-scroll to bottom of a container when content changes.
  * Only auto-scrolls if user is near the bottom (within threshold).
+ * Pass a `forceTrigger` counter to force scroll regardless of position (e.g. on send).
  */
 export function useAutoScroll<T extends HTMLElement>(
   deps: unknown[],
   threshold = 100,
+  forceTrigger = 0,
 ) {
   const ref = useRef<T>(null);
   const isNearBottom = useRef(true);
@@ -24,6 +26,7 @@ export function useAutoScroll<T extends HTMLElement>(
     el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
   }, []);
 
+  // Auto-scroll when content changes (only if near bottom)
   useEffect(() => {
     if (isNearBottom.current) {
       scrollToBottom();
@@ -31,5 +34,13 @@ export function useAutoScroll<T extends HTMLElement>(
     // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
   }, deps);
 
+  // Force scroll when trigger increments (e.g. user sends a message)
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (forceTrigger > 0) {
+      isNearBottom.current = true;
+      scrollToBottom();
+    }
+  }, [forceTrigger, scrollToBottom]);
+
   return { ref, onScroll: checkScroll, scrollToBottom };
 }
diff --git a/ui/web/src/pages/chat/chat-page.tsx b/ui/web/src/pages/chat/chat-page.tsx
index 3ba0ae28..89636655 100644
--- a/ui/web/src/pages/chat/chat-page.tsx
+++ b/ui/web/src/pages/chat/chat-page.tsx
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ export function ChatPage() {
   const connected = useAuthStore((s) => s.connected);
   const userId = useAuthStore((s) => s.userId);
 
+  const [scrollTrigger, setScrollTrigger] = useState(0);
+
   const [agentId, setAgentId] = useState(() => {
     if (urlSessionKey) {
       const { agentId: parsed } = parseSessionKey(urlSessionKey);
@@ -115,6 +117,7 @@ export function ChatPage() {
       }
       // Pass key directly so send() doesn't use a stale closure value
       send(message, key);
+      setScrollTrigger((n) => n + 1);
     },
     [sessionKey, send, buildNewSessionKey, navigate],
   );
@@ -206,6 +209,7 @@ export function ChatPage() {
           toolStream={toolStream}
           isRunning={isRunning}
           loading={messagesLoading}
+          scrollTrigger={scrollTrigger}
         />
 
         {isOwn ? (
diff --git a/ui/web/src/pages/chat/chat-thread.tsx b/ui/web/src/pages/chat/chat-thread.tsx
index e6ef9e29..0f149e6b 100644
--- a/ui/web/src/pages/chat/chat-thread.tsx
+++ b/ui/web/src/pages/chat/chat-thread.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ interface ChatThreadProps {
   toolStream: ToolStreamEntry[];
   isRunning: boolean;
   loading?: boolean;
+  scrollTrigger?: number;
 }
 
 export function ChatThread({
@@ -24,9 +25,12 @@ export function ChatThread({
   toolStream,
   isRunning,
   loading,
+  scrollTrigger = 0,
 }: ChatThreadProps) {
   const { ref, onScroll } = useAutoScroll<HTMLDivElement>(
     [messages.length, streamText, thinkingText, toolStream.length],
+    100,
+    scrollTrigger,
   );
 
   // Build map of tool_call_id → error content for tool results that indicate errors