diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 375d8a7..c0586a2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -183,6 +183,12 @@ agk trace list
 agk trace show <trace-id>
 ```
 
+**Live Tail**
+Follow a run's spans in real time (great alongside `agk run` in another terminal).
+```bash
+agk trace watch          # follow the live run, or wait for the next one
+```
+
 **Visual Flowchart (Mermaid)**
 Generate a diagram of the agent's execution path.
 ```bash
@@ -203,6 +209,7 @@ agk trace mermaid > trace_flow.md
 | `trace list` | List all captured trace runs. |
 | `trace show` | Display summary of a specific run. |
 | `trace view` | Open the interactive TUI trace explorer. |
+| `trace watch` | Live-tail a run's spans as it executes. |
 | `trace mermaid` | Generate Mermaid flowchart of trace execution. |
 
 ---
diff --git a/cmd/trace_watch.go b/cmd/trace_watch.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65191eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/trace_watch.go
@@ -0,0 +1,247 @@
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"os/signal"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"syscall"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/fatih/color"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+)
+
+// watchCmd live-tails a trace run as it executes, printing each span as it lands.
+var watchCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "watch [run-id]",
+	Short: "Live-tail a trace run as it executes",
+	Long: `Live-tail a trace run, printing each span as it is appended to trace.jsonl.
+
+With no run ID, watch follows the currently-running run if one is live, otherwise
+it waits for the next run to start (e.g. from 'agk run' in another terminal). The
+watch ends when the run completes (its manifest.json is written) or on Ctrl+C.
+
+Examples:
+  agk trace watch              # follow the live run, or wait for the next one
+  agk trace watch <run-id>     # follow a specific run`,
+	Args: cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
+	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+		runID := ""
+		if len(args) > 0 {
+			runID = args[0]
+		}
+		return watchTrace(runID)
+	},
+}
+
+func init() {
+	traceCmd.AddCommand(watchCmd)
+}
+
+func watchTrace(runID string) error {
+	ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), os.Interrupt, syscall.SIGTERM)
+	defer stop()
+
+	resolved, err := resolveWatchRun(ctx, runsDirName, runID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if resolved == "" {
+		return nil // cancelled while waiting
+	}
+
+	return tailRun(ctx, filepath.Join(runsDirName, resolved), resolved)
+}
+
+// resolveWatchRun picks the run to follow: an explicit ID, the live latest run, or
+// (when the latest run has already completed) the next run to appear.
+func resolveWatchRun(ctx context.Context, runsDir, runID string) (string, error) {
+	if runID != "" {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(runsDir, runID)); err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("trace not found: %s", runID)
+		}
+		return runID, nil
+	}
+
+	// A latest run with no manifest yet is still live — follow it.
+	if latest := getLatestRunID(); latest != "" {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(runsDir, latest, "manifest.json")); err != nil {
+			return latest, nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	fmt.Println("⏳ Waiting for a new run to start (e.g. `agk run`)... Ctrl+C to stop")
+	before := currentRunSet(runsDir)
+
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(300 * time.Millisecond)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return "", nil
+		case <-ticker.C:
+			for name := range currentRunSet(runsDir) {
+				if !before[name] {
+					return name, nil
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func currentRunSet(runsDir string) map[string]bool {
+	set := map[string]bool{}
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(runsDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return set
+	}
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if e.IsDir() {
+			set[e.Name()] = true
+		}
+	}
+	return set
+}
+
+func tailRun(ctx context.Context, runPath, runID string) error {
+	tracePath := filepath.Join(runPath, "trace.jsonl")
+	manifestPath := filepath.Join(runPath, "manifest.json")
+
+	color.Cyan("👀 Watching %s  (Ctrl+C to stop)", runID)
+	fmt.Println(strings.Repeat("─", 64))
+
+	tailer := &traceTailer{path: tracePath}
+	printNew := func() {
+		for _, line := range tailer.poll() {
+			var span map[string]interface{}
+			if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(line), &span); err == nil {
+				fmt.Println(formatWatchSpan(span))
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(250 * time.Millisecond)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			printNew()
+			fmt.Println("\n👋 Stopped")
+			return nil
+		case <-ticker.C:
+			printNew()
+			if _, err := os.Stat(manifestPath); err == nil {
+				printNew() // final drain
+				printWatchSummary(runPath, runID)
+				return nil
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func printWatchSummary(runPath, runID string) {
+	fmt.Println(strings.Repeat("─", 64))
+	if m, err := readManifest(runPath); err == nil {
+		color.Green("✅ Run complete — %d spans, %d LLM calls, %d tokens, $%.4f, %.2fs",
+			m.SpanCount, m.LLMCalls, m.TotalTokens, m.EstimatedCost, m.Duration)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("→ Inspect: %s\n", color.CyanString("agk trace view %s", runID))
+}
+
+// traceTailer incrementally reads new complete lines appended to a JSONL file,
+// buffering any trailing partial line until it is finished.
+type traceTailer struct {
+	path   string
+	offset int64
+	buf    []byte
+}
+
+func (t *traceTailer) poll() []string {
+	f, err := os.Open(t.path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = f.Close() }()
+
+	if _, err := f.Seek(t.offset, io.SeekStart); err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	data, err := io.ReadAll(f)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	t.offset += int64(len(data))
+	t.buf = append(t.buf, data...)
+
+	var lines []string
+	for {
+		i := bytes.IndexByte(t.buf, '\n')
+		if i < 0 {
+			break
+		}
+		if line := strings.TrimSpace(string(t.buf[:i])); line != "" {
+			lines = append(lines, line)
+		}
+		t.buf = t.buf[i+1:]
+	}
+	return lines
+}
+
+func formatWatchSpan(span map[string]interface{}) string {
+	name, _ := span["Name"].(string)
+	start := parseSpanTime(span["StartTime"])
+	end := parseSpanTime(span["EndTime"])
+
+	var durMs int64
+	if !start.IsZero() && !end.IsZero() {
+		durMs = end.Sub(start).Milliseconds()
+	}
+	ts := "--:--:--"
+	if !start.IsZero() {
+		ts = start.Format("15:04:05")
+	}
+
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s  %s  %-44s %6dms", ts, watchIcon(strings.ToLower(name)), truncateName(name, 44), durMs)
+}
+
+func watchIcon(lowerName string) string {
+	switch {
+	case strings.Contains(lowerName, "llm"):
+		return "🤖"
+	case strings.Contains(lowerName, "tool"):
+		return "🔧"
+	case strings.Contains(lowerName, "workflow"):
+		return "🔀"
+	case strings.Contains(lowerName, "agent"):
+		return "👤"
+	default:
+		return "•"
+	}
+}
+
+func truncateName(s string, max int) string {
+	if len(s) <= max {
+		return s
+	}
+	if max <= 1 {
+		return s[:max]
+	}
+	return s[:max-1] + "…"
+}
+
+func parseSpanTime(v interface{}) time.Time {
+	s, ok := v.(string)
+	if !ok || s == "" {
+		return time.Time{}
+	}
+	if t, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, s); err == nil {
+		return t
+	}
+	return time.Time{}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/trace_watch_test.go b/cmd/trace_watch_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..00c2962
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/trace_watch_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestTraceTailer(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "trace.jsonl")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte("line1\nline2\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	tl := &traceTailer{path: path}
+
+	// First poll returns both complete lines.
+	if got := tl.poll(); len(got) != 2 || got[0] != "line1" || got[1] != "line2" {
+		t.Fatalf("first poll = %v, want [line1 line2]", got)
+	}
+
+	// Nothing new yet.
+	if got := tl.poll(); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected no new lines, got %v", got)
+	}
+
+	// A partial line (no newline) is buffered, not emitted.
+	appendString(t, path, "partial")
+	if got := tl.poll(); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("partial line should buffer, got %v", got)
+	}
+
+	// Completing the line emits it whole.
+	appendString(t, path, "-done\n")
+	if got := tl.poll(); len(got) != 1 || got[0] != "partial-done" {
+		t.Fatalf("poll = %v, want [partial-done]", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFormatWatchSpan(t *testing.T) {
+	span := map[string]interface{}{
+		"Name":      "agk.llm.generate",
+		"StartTime": "2026-06-22T10:00:00Z",
+		"EndTime":   "2026-06-22T10:00:01Z",
+	}
+	line := formatWatchSpan(span)
+	if !strings.Contains(line, "agk.llm.generate") {
+		t.Errorf("missing span name: %q", line)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(line, "1000ms") {
+		t.Errorf("expected 1000ms duration: %q", line)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(line, "🤖") {
+		t.Errorf("expected LLM icon: %q", line)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWatchIconAndTruncate(t *testing.T) {
+	if watchIcon("agk.tool.call") != "🔧" {
+		t.Error("tool icon mismatch")
+	}
+	if watchIcon("agk.workflow.run") != "🔀" {
+		t.Error("workflow icon mismatch")
+	}
+	if got := truncateName("abcdefghij", 5); got != "abcd…" {
+		t.Errorf("truncateName = %q, want abcd…", got)
+	}
+	if got := truncateName("short", 10); got != "short" {
+		t.Errorf("truncateName should not change short strings, got %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func appendString(t *testing.T, path, s string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	f, err := os.OpenFile(path, os.O_APPEND|os.O_WRONLY, 0o644)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = f.Close() }()
+	if _, err := f.WriteString(s); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}