2 files changed, 50 insertions, 6 deletions

diff --git a/web/app.js b/web/app.js
index 8bc6a9f..70184bc 100644
--- a/web/app.js
+++ b/web/app.js
@@ -744,6 +744,24 @@ function updateToggleButton() {
 
 // Shared helper: renders an array of tasks as cards into a container element.
 // Now updated to be non-destructive by reusing/updating existing task-card elements.
+// cardContentSignature returns a structural fingerprint of a task card,
+// excluding any .task-log-tail/.running-log subtree — live-streamed log
+// content must never cause renderTasksIntoContainer to think the card
+// "changed" and tear it down (see Task 5 of the tasks-board plan).
+export function cardContentSignature(cardEl) {
+  function walk(el) {
+    if (!el) return '';
+    const isLogTail = el.className && (
+      el.className.split(' ').includes('task-log-tail') ||
+      el.className.split(' ').includes('running-log')
+    );
+    if (isLogTail) return `<logtail:${el.dataset && el.dataset.logTarget || ''}>`;
+    const childSig = (el.children || []).map(walk).join('');
+    return `<${el.tag || ''} class="${el.className || ''}" data-state="${(el.dataset && el.dataset.state) || ''}">${el.textContent || ''}${childSig}`;
+  }
+  return walk(cardEl);
+}
+
 function renderTasksIntoContainer(tasks, container, emptyMsg) {
   if (!tasks || tasks.length === 0) {
     container.innerHTML = `<div class="task-empty">${emptyMsg}</div>`;
@@ -775,12 +793,16 @@ function renderTasksIntoContainer(tasks, container, emptyMsg) {
     const newCard = createTaskCard(task);
     
     if (card) {
-      // If the content is exactly the same, we could skip replacing,
-      // but createTaskCard is fast and ensures we have the latest state.
-      // We replace the card in-place to preserve its position if possible.
-      if (card.innerHTML !== newCard.innerHTML) {
-        // Special case: if user is interacting with THIS card, we might want to skip or merge.
-        // For now, createTaskCard ensures we don't disrupt if NOT editing.
+      // Compare everything except live-streamed log content (see
+      // cardContentSignature) so an appending .task-log-tail never triggers
+      // a teardown-and-rebuild of the whole card on its own.
+      if (cardContentSignature(card) !== cardContentSignature(newCard)) {
+        // Preserve the existing (potentially already-streaming) log-tail
+        // element across the swap so its EventSource's target node stays
+        // attached and its accumulated content survives.
+        const oldLogTail = card.querySelector('.task-log-tail');
+        const newLogTail = newCard.querySelector('.task-log-tail');
+        if (oldLogTail && newLogTail) newLogTail.replaceWith(oldLogTail);
         container.replaceChild(newCard, card);
       }
     } else {
diff --git a/web/test/tasks-board.test.mjs b/web/test/tasks-board.test.mjs
index db61880..1e35e18 100644
--- a/web/test/tasks-board.test.mjs
+++ b/web/test/tasks-board.test.mjs
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
   columnForTaskState,
   groupTasksByColumn,
   createTaskCard,
+  cardContentSignature,
 } from '../app.js';
 
 describe('columnForTaskState', () => {
@@ -227,3 +228,24 @@ describe('createTaskCard elapsed timer', () => {
     assert.equal(ready.querySelector('.task-elapsed[data-started-at]'), null);
   });
 });
+
+// ── renderTasksIntoContainer: log-tail preservation across re-renders ──────
+
+describe('cardContentSignature', () => {
+  it('excludes .task-log-tail content from the signature', () => {
+    const doc = makeMockDoc();
+    const cardA = createTaskCard({ id: 't1', name: 'Task', state: 'READY' }, doc);
+    const cardB = createTaskCard({ id: 't1', name: 'Task', state: 'READY' }, doc);
+    // Simulate cardB having accumulated live log lines that cardA (freshly built) doesn't have.
+    const tailB = cardB.querySelector('.task-log-tail');
+    tailB.children.push({ tag: 'div', className: 'log-line', textContent: 'some streamed output', children: [] });
+    assert.equal(cardContentSignature(cardA), cardContentSignature(cardB));
+  });
+
+  it('still differs when a non-log field changes', () => {
+    const doc = makeMockDoc();
+    const cardA = createTaskCard({ id: 't1', name: 'Task', state: 'READY' }, doc);
+    const cardB = createTaskCard({ id: 't1', name: 'Task', state: 'FAILED' }, doc);
+    assert.notEqual(cardContentSignature(cardA), cardContentSignature(cardB));
+  });
+});