diff --git a/src/tui/messageList.js b/src/tui/messageList.js
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+++ b/src/tui/messageList.js
@@ -0,0 +1,276 @@
+/**
+ * MessageList component — manages a Map of MessageBubble component instances.
+ * Provides imperative methods (addMessage, updateMessage, clear) and handles
+ * scroll-to-bottom internally via its own ref.
+ *
+ * Using a Map (keyed by bubble ID) instead of an array ensures that
+ * imperatively-added streaming bubbles survive the sync from the
+ * messages prop, which is the source of truth for persisted messages.
+ *
+ * @module messageList
+ */
+
+import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
+import React, { useState, useRef, useEffect, useCallback, useImperativeHandle, forwardRef } from "react";
+import { Box } from "ink";
+import { ScrollView } from "ink-scroll-view";
+import MessageBubble from "./messageBubble.js";
+import { logger } from "../logger.js";
+
+/**
+ * Maximum number of messages to render in the React tree.
+ * Limits rendering to the last N messages to prevent performance
+ * degradation with very long conversations.
+ * @constant {number}
+ */
+const MAX_RENDER_MESSAGES = 100;
+
+/**
+ * Scroll throttle interval in milliseconds during active streaming.
+ * Reduces scroll-to-bottom frequency by ~90% while maintaining smooth UX.
+ * @constant {number}
+ */
+const SCROLL_THROTTLE_MS = 100;
+
+/**
+ * MessageList component — manages MessageBubble instances and handles scrolling.
+ *
+ * @param {Object} props
+ * @param {React.Ref} [props.scrollRef] - Optional external scroll ref passed from parent
+ */
+export const MessageList = forwardRef(function MessageList({ scrollRef: externalScrollRef, height, messages }, ref) {
+	const [bubbles, setBubbles] = useState(new Map());
+	const internalScrollRef = useRef(null);
+	const scrollRef = externalScrollRef || internalScrollRef;
+	const previousMessageCount = useRef(0);
+	const previousContentHashRef = useRef(0);
+	const lastScrollTimeRef = useRef(0);
+	const isUserScrollingRef = useRef(false);
+	const bubbleRefs = useRef({});
+	const { stdout } = React.useContext(React.createContext({}));
+	const prevMessageCountRef = useRef(0);
+
+	logger.info({ hasMessages: !!messages, messageCount: messages?.length }, "[MessageList] component rendered");
+
+	// Sync persisted messages from prop into the bubble Map.
+	// Uses index-based IDs (msg-0, msg-1, ...) as the key so the
+	// sync can find and update existing entries without wiping
+	// imperatively-added streaming bubbles.
+	useEffect(() => {
+		logger.info({ messageCount: messages?.length, prevCount: prevMessageCountRef.current }, "[MessageList] useEffect fired");
+		const currentCount = messages?.length ?? 0;
+		if (currentCount === prevMessageCountRef.current) {
+			logger.info("[MessageList] count unchanged, returning");
+			return;
+		}
+		prevMessageCountRef.current = currentCount;
+
+		logger.info({ messageCount: currentCount }, "[MessageList] messages length changed");
+		if (currentCount === 0) {
+			setBubbles(new Map());
+			return;
+		}
+
+		setBubbles((prev) => {
+			const next = new Map(prev);
+			messages.forEach((msg, idx) => {
+				const key = `msg-${idx}`;
+				const existing = next.get(key);
+				if (existing) {
+					// Update existing synced bubble in place
+					next.set(key, { ...existing, ...msg });
+				} else {
+					// New synced message — add it
+					next.set(key, {
+						id: key,
+						role: msg.role,
+						content: msg.content || "",
+						assistantName: msg.assistantName || "Assistant",
+						time: msg.time || new Date().toLocaleTimeString([], { hour: "2-digit", minute: "2-digit" }),
+						streaming: msg.streaming,
+						reasoningContent: msg.reasoningContent,
+						activeToolCall: msg.activeToolCall,
+						toolCallDisplay: msg.toolCallDisplay,
+					});
+				}
+			});
+			logger.info({ bubbleCount: next.size }, "[MessageList] bubbles synced");
+			return next;
+		});
+	}, [messages?.length]);
+
+	// We need access to stdout for resize handling — get it from the Ink context
+	// Since we can't directly import useStdout here without breaking the module,
+	// we'll handle resize via a different approach
+	useEffect(() => {
+		// Handle terminal resize by remeasuring content heights
+		const resizeHandler = () => {
+			if (scrollRef.current && stdout?.isTTY && !process.env.CI) {
+				scrollRef.current.remeasure();
+			}
+		};
+
+		// Listen for resize events on the process
+		process.on("resize", resizeHandler);
+		return () => {
+			process.off("resize", resizeHandler);
+		};
+	}, [stdout, scrollRef]);
+
+	/**
+	 * Add a new message bubble to the list.
+	 * @param {string} role - Message role: "user", "assistant", or "system"
+	 * @param {string} content - Initial message content
+	 * @param {Object} [options] - Additional options
+	 * @param {string} [options.assistantName] - Name to display for assistant
+	 * @param {string} [options.time] - Timestamp string
+	 * @returns {string} The ID of the newly created bubble
+	 */
+	const addMessage = useCallback((role, content, options = {}) => {
+		const id = randomUUID();
+		const newBubble = {
+			id,
+			role,
+			content: content || "",
+			assistantName: options.assistantName || "Assistant",
+			time: options.time || new Date().toLocaleTimeString([], { hour: "2-digit", minute: "2-digit" }),
+		};
+
+		setBubbles((prev) => {
+			const next = new Map(prev);
+			next.set(id, newBubble);
+			return next;
+		});
+		return id;
+	}, []);
+
+	/**
+	 * Update an existing message bubble by ID.
+	 * @param {string} id - The bubble ID to update
+	 * @param {Object} updates - State updates to apply
+	 * @param {string} [updates.content] - New content text
+	 * @param {boolean} [updates.streaming] - Streaming state
+	 * @param {string} [updates.toolCallDisplay] - Tool call display text
+	 * @param {string} [updates.reasoningContent] - Reasoning/thinking content
+	 * @param {Object} [updates.activeToolCall] - Active tool call {name: string}
+	 */
+	const updateMessage = useCallback((id, updates) => {
+		const bubbleRef = bubbleRefs.current[id];
+		if (bubbleRef && bubbleRef.update) {
+			bubbleRef.update(updates);
+		}
+
+		// Also update the bubble data in state for rendering consistency
+		setBubbles((prev) => {
+			const existing = prev.get(id);
+			if (!existing) return prev;
+			const next = new Map(prev);
+			next.set(id, { ...existing, ...updates });
+			return next;
+		});
+	}, []);
+
+	/**
+	 * Clear all message bubbles from the list.
+	 */
+	const clear = useCallback(() => {
+		setBubbles(new Map());
+		bubbleRefs.current = {};
+	}, []);
+
+	// Expose imperative methods via ref
+	useImperativeHandle(ref, () => ({
+		addMessage,
+		updateMessage,
+		clear,
+	}), [addMessage, updateMessage, clear]);
+
+	// Detect manual scroll-up: when user scrolls away from bottom,
+	// suppress auto-scroll until they return to bottom or streaming completes.
+	useEffect(() => {
+		if (!scrollRef.current) return;
+
+		const checkScrollPosition = () => {
+			if (!scrollRef.current) return;
+			const maxScroll = scrollRef.current.getMaxScrollOffset?.() || 0;
+			const currentScroll = scrollRef.current.getScrollOffset?.() || 0;
+			const atBottom = maxScroll - currentScroll < 2; // 2 char tolerance
+
+			if (!atBottom) {
+				isUserScrollingRef.current = true;
+			} else {
+				isUserScrollingRef.current = false;
+			}
+		};
+
+		checkScrollPosition();
+	}, [bubbles, scrollRef]);
+
+	// Auto-scroll to bottom on new content
+	useEffect(() => {
+		if (!scrollRef.current) return;
+
+		const bubbleArr = Array.from(bubbles.values());
+		const lastBubble = bubbleArr[bubbleArr.length - 1];
+		const isStreaming = lastBubble?.streaming === true;
+		const streamingContentLen = isStreaming ? (lastBubble?.content || "").length : 0;
+		const contentHash = bubbleArr.length + streamingContentLen;
+
+		const wasScrolling =
+			bubbleArr.length > previousMessageCount.current ||
+			(isStreaming && contentHash !== previousContentHashRef.current);
+
+		if (!wasScrolling) return;
+
+		// If user manually scrolled up, suppress auto-scroll
+		if (isUserScrollingRef.current && !isStreaming) return;
+
+		const now = Date.now();
+		const timeSinceLastScroll = now - lastScrollTimeRef.current;
+
+		// Throttle scroll-to-bottom during active streaming (100ms interval)
+		if (isStreaming && timeSinceLastScroll < SCROLL_THROTTLE_MS) {
+			previousContentHashRef.current = contentHash;
+			return;
+		}
+
+		const scrollHandle = () => {
+			if (scrollRef.current) {
+				scrollRef.current.scrollToBottom();
+				previousMessageCount.current = bubbleArr.length;
+				lastScrollTimeRef.current = Date.now();
+			}
+		};
+		previousContentHashRef.current = contentHash;
+		const timer = setTimeout(scrollHandle, 0);
+		return () => clearTimeout(timer);
+	}, [bubbles]);
+
+	// Windowing: only render the last MAX_RENDER_MESSAGES bubbles
+	const bubbleArr = Array.from(bubbles.values());
+	const startIdx = Math.max(0, bubbleArr.length - MAX_RENDER_MESSAGES);
+	const visibleBubbles = bubbleArr.slice(startIdx);
+
+	return React.createElement(
+		Box,
+		{ key: "message-list", flexDirection: "column", flexGrow: 1 },
+		React.createElement(
+			ScrollView,
+			{ ref: scrollRef, key: "scroll", focus: false, height: height || 1 },
+			visibleBubbles.map((bubble) =>
+				React.createElement(MessageBubble, {
+					key: bubble.id,
+					ref: (el) => {
+						if (el) bubbleRefs.current[bubble.id] = el;
+					},
+					role: bubble.role,
+					content: bubble.content,
+					assistantName: bubble.assistantName,
+					time: bubble.time,
+				}),
+			),
+		),
+	);
+});
+
+export default MessageList;
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