diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 3a8b08cc..1cd5c66e 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -15,6 +15,14 @@
 - Prefer composable primitives (signals, hooks, utilities) over deep inheritance or implicit global state.
 - When adding platform integrations (SSE, IPC, SDK), isolate them in thin adapters that surface typed events/actions.
 
+## PR Review Principles
+- **Check for regressions first.** Before approving any change, verify the existing behavior still works — run the test suite, test manually on both mobile and desktop, and confirm no unintended side effects in related subsystems.
+- **Look for better possible implementations.** Don't settle for the first working approach. Ask: is there a simpler way? Does the codebase already have a pattern for this? Would a different abstraction reduce future maintenance cost?
+- **Be the PR gatekeeper.** Every line merged becomes technical debt someone else will read. If it's unclear, fragile, or lacks tests, push back. The reviewer's job is to protect the codebase, not to be nice.
+- **Be ruthless about code quality.** Surface-level "LGTM" is negligence. Inspect: naming, error handling, edge cases, type safety, logging (is it useful or just noise?), performance (any unnecessary allocations or re-renders?), and whether the change respects existing architectural boundaries.
+- **Test before responding to review comments.** Never reply "works for me" or "this fixes it" without deploying the exact commit and verifying the behavior. Untested responses waste reviewer time and erode trust.
+- **UI and server must be built from the same version.** Version mismatches between UI and server cause subtle bugs (e.g., sessions disappearing). Always build both from the same commit before testing.
+
 ## Multi-Language Support (i18n)
 
 The UI uses a small custom i18n layer (no ICU/messageformat). When building features, never hardcode user-visible strings.
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/lib/server-events.ts b/packages/ui/src/lib/server-events.ts
index 4145367d..e8704193 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/lib/server-events.ts
+++ b/packages/ui/src/lib/server-events.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ function logSse(message: string, context?: Record<string, unknown>) {
 class ServerEvents {
   private handlers = new Map<WorkspaceEventType | "*", Set<(event: WorkspaceEventPayload) => void>>()
   private openHandlers = new Set<() => void>()
+  private disconnectHandlers = new Set<() => void>()
   private connection: WorkspaceEventConnection | null = null
   private connectGeneration = 0
   private retryDelay = RETRY_BASE_DELAY
@@ -105,6 +106,8 @@ class ServerEvents {
       this.connection = null
     }
 
+    this.disconnectHandlers.forEach((handler) => handler())
+
     logSse("Events stream disconnected, scheduling reconnect", { delayMs: this.retryDelay })
     this.retryTimer = setTimeout(() => {
       this.retryTimer = null
@@ -154,6 +157,11 @@ class ServerEvents {
     return () => this.openHandlers.delete(handler)
   }
 
+  onDisconnect(handler: () => void): () => void {
+    this.disconnectHandlers.add(handler)
+    return () => this.disconnectHandlers.delete(handler)
+  }
+
   restart(reason = "manual restart"): void {
     this.retryDelay = RETRY_BASE_DELAY
     this.clearReconnectTimer()
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/lib/sse-manager.ts b/packages/ui/src/lib/sse-manager.ts
index 47b9ea80..f0f113af 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/lib/sse-manager.ts
+++ b/packages/ui/src/lib/sse-manager.ts
@@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ const [connectionStatus, setConnectionStatus] = createSignal<Map<string, Connect
 
 class SSEManager {
   constructor() {
+    log.info("sseManager initialized: listening for SSE disconnect and reconnect")
+
     serverEvents.on("instance.eventStatus", (event) => {
       const payload = event as InstanceStatusPayload
       this.updateConnectionStatus(payload.instanceId, payload.status)
@@ -118,6 +120,30 @@ class SSEManager {
       this.updateConnectionStatus(payload.instanceId, "connected")
       this.handleEvent(payload.instanceId, payload.event as SSEEvent)
     })
+
+    serverEvents.onDisconnect(() => {
+      log.info("SSE transport disconnected → setting all instances to 'connecting'")
+      setConnectionStatus((prev) => {
+        const next = new Map(prev)
+        for (const [id] of next) {
+          next.set(id, "connecting")
+        }
+        return next
+      })
+    })
+
+    serverEvents.onOpen(() => {
+      log.info("SSE transport reconnected → clearing 'connecting' status")
+      setConnectionStatus((prev) => {
+        const next = new Map(prev)
+        for (const [id, status] of next) {
+          if (status === "connecting") {
+            next.delete(id)
+          }
+        }
+        return next
+      })
+    })
   }
 
   seedStatus(instanceId: string, status: ConnectionStatus) {