diff --git a/src/components/ActivityFeed.test.tsx b/src/components/ActivityFeed.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6af07a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/ActivityFeed.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+// @vitest-environment happy-dom
+(globalThis as { IS_REACT_ACT_ENVIRONMENT?: boolean }).IS_REACT_ACT_ENVIRONMENT = true;
+
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { ActivityFeed } from "./ActivityFeed";
+import type { Activity } from "@/types";
+
+const baseActivity: Activity = {
+  id: "a-1",
+  kind: "claim_submitted",
+  message: "Claim ABC-1 submitted",
+  timestamp: "2026-06-20T12:00:00Z",
+};
+
+describe("ActivityFeed", () => {
+  it("renders the empty-state copy when items is empty", () => {
+    render(<ActivityFeed items={[]} />);
+    expect(screen.getByText("No activity yet.")).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("renders each item's message", () => {
+    render(
+      <ActivityFeed
+        items={[
+          baseActivity,
+          { ...baseActivity, id: "a-2", message: "Remit XYZ received" },
+        ]}
+      />,
+    );
+    expect(screen.getByText("Claim ABC-1 submitted")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.getByText("Remit XYZ received")).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("does not crash on an unknown kind", () => {
+    // Backwards-compat guard: the backend may emit a kind the frontend
+    // hasn't been updated for yet (manual_match was the original case).
+    // The feed must fall back to a neutral icon instead of throwing.
+    const unknown = {
+      ...baseActivity,
+      id: "a-3",
+      message: "future_kind event arrived",
+      // Cast through `unknown` so the type-checker doesn't widen the
+      // `kind` literal away from the exhaustive union.
+      kind: "future_kind" as Activity["kind"],
+    };
+    expect(() => render(<ActivityFeed items={[unknown]} />)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(screen.getByText("future_kind event arrived")).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/ActivityFeed.tsx b/src/components/ActivityFeed.tsx
index 552417b..260afe7 100644
--- a/src/components/ActivityFeed.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ActivityFeed.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 import {
   Banknote,
   CheckCircle2,
+  Circle,
   FileText,
   Pill,
   UserPlus,
+  Wrench,
   XCircle,
   type LucideIcon,
 } from "lucide-react";
@@ -21,6 +23,22 @@ const kindConfig: Record<
   claim_denied: { icon: XCircle, tone: "text-destructive" },
   remit_received: { icon: Pill, tone: "text-[hsl(var(--warning))]" },
   provider_added: { icon: UserPlus, tone: "text-foreground" },
+  // `manual_match` is emitted by the backend when an operator manually
+  // pairs a remit to a claim from the Reconciliation page — see
+  // `cyclone.store` `record_manual_match`. Wrench is the closest fit;
+  // we keep it neutral-tone so it doesn't read as a status.
+  manual_match: { icon: Wrench, tone: "text-muted-foreground" },
+};
+
+// Defensive fallback: if the backend ever emits a kind this UI doesn't
+// know about (e.g. a new kind landed server-side before the frontend
+// picked it up), render a neutral icon instead of crashing the whole
+// Activity Log page. The kindConfig map above stays exhaustive for
+// known kinds so TypeScript still catches missing entries at compile
+// time; this only protects the runtime path.
+const FALLBACK_KIND: { icon: LucideIcon; tone: string } = {
+  icon: Circle,
+  tone: "text-muted-foreground",
 };
 
 export function ActivityFeed({
@@ -40,7 +58,7 @@ export function ActivityFeed({
   return (
     <ul className="divide-y divide-border/40">
       {items.map((a) => {
-        const cfg = kindConfig[a.kind];
+        const cfg = kindConfig[a.kind] ?? FALLBACK_KIND;
         const Icon = cfg.icon;
         return (
           <li
diff --git a/src/types/index.ts b/src/types/index.ts
index afb0726..6daabc3 100644
--- a/src/types/index.ts
+++ b/src/types/index.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,11 @@ export type ActivityKind =
   | "claim_denied"
   | "claim_accepted"
   | "remit_received"
-  | "provider_added";
+  | "provider_added"
+  // Emitted by `cyclone.store.record_manual_match` when an operator
+  // pairs a remit to a claim by hand. Surface as a neutral event on
+  // the Activity Log; do NOT treat it as a status change.
+  | "manual_match";
 
 export interface Claim {
   id: string;
diff --git a/vite.config.ts b/vite.config.ts
index 33b94ee..68e79fc 100644
--- a/vite.config.ts
+++ b/vite.config.ts
@@ -12,5 +12,26 @@ export default defineConfig({
   server: {
     port: 5173,
     host: true,
+    // Proxy /api/* to the FastAPI backend so relative-URL fetchers
+    // (e.g. the live-tail NDJSON streams opened by src/lib/tail-stream.ts)
+    // resolve through the same origin as the Vite dev server instead of
+    // 404'ing. The backend's own port is taken from CYCLONE_PORT (default
+    // 8000) — keeping that env-driven so deploys don't have to edit
+    // both files.
+    proxy: {
+      "/api": {
+        target: `http://127.0.0.1:${process.env.CYCLONE_PORT ?? "8000"}`,
+        changeOrigin: true,
+        // SSE/NDJSON streams: disable response buffering so the proxy
+        // doesn't hold lines until the chunk size fills. uvicorn already
+        // streams as `transfer-encoding: chunked`, but axios-style proxy
+        // servers can buffer; the explicit headers keep browsers honest.
+        configure: (proxy) => {
+          proxy.on("proxyRes", (proxyRes) => {
+            proxyRes.headers["x-accel-buffering"] = "no";
+          });
+        },
+      },
+    },
   },
 });