diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/logs.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/logs.ts
index 8e50c748a..1d5168aef 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/logs.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/logs.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,27 @@ export interface AgentLogsOptions extends CommandOptions {
 // Logs command returns void - it outputs directly to console
 export type AgentLogsResult = void
 
+export const NO_ACTIVITY_MESSAGE = 'No activity to display.'
+
+export async function fetchAgentTimelineItems(
+  client: DaemonClient,
+  agentId: string
+): Promise<AgentTimelineItem[]> {
+  return fetchProjectedTimelineItems({ client, agentId })
+}
+
+export function formatAgentActivityTranscript(
+  timelineItems: AgentTimelineItem[],
+  tailCount?: number
+): string {
+  if (tailCount === 0) {
+    return ''
+  }
+  return curateAgentActivity(
+    timelineItems,
+    tailCount !== undefined ? { maxItems: tailCount } : undefined
+  )
+}
 
 function parseTailCount(raw: string | undefined): number | undefined {
   if (raw === undefined) return undefined
@@ -100,10 +121,7 @@ export async function runLogsCommand(
     }
 
     // Fetch timeline directly via cursor RPC.
-    let timelineItems = await fetchProjectedTimelineItems({
-      client,
-      agentId: resolvedId,
-    })
+    let timelineItems = await fetchAgentTimelineItems(client, resolvedId)
 
     // Apply filter
     if (options.filter) {
@@ -125,7 +143,7 @@ export async function runLogsCommand(
       return
     }
 
-    const transcript = curateAgentActivity(timelineItems, tailCount !== undefined ? { maxItems: tailCount } : undefined)
+    const transcript = formatAgentActivityTranscript(timelineItems, tailCount)
     console.log(transcript)
   } catch (err) {
     const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
@@ -147,10 +165,7 @@ async function runFollowMode(
   const tailCount = parseTailCount(options.tail) ?? DEFAULT_FOLLOW_TAIL
 
   // First, get existing timeline.
-  let existingItems = await fetchProjectedTimelineItems({
-    client,
-    agentId,
-  })
+  let existingItems = await fetchAgentTimelineItems(client, agentId)
 
   // Apply filter to existing items
   if (options.filter) {
@@ -159,8 +174,8 @@ async function runFollowMode(
 
   // Print existing transcript (tail-like behavior)
   if (tailCount > 0) {
-    const existingTranscript = curateAgentActivity(existingItems, { maxItems: tailCount })
-    if (existingTranscript !== 'No activity to display.') {
+    const existingTranscript = formatAgentActivityTranscript(existingItems, tailCount)
+    if (existingTranscript !== NO_ACTIVITY_MESSAGE) {
       console.log(existingTranscript)
     }
   }
@@ -181,8 +196,8 @@ async function runFollowMode(
         return
       }
       // Print each timeline item as it arrives using the curator format
-      const transcript = curateAgentActivity([item])
-      if (transcript !== 'No activity to display.') {
+      const transcript = formatAgentActivityTranscript([item])
+      if (transcript !== NO_ACTIVITY_MESSAGE) {
         console.log(transcript)
       }
     }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/wait.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/wait.ts
index 4e49cd264..dfd799a4b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/wait.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/wait.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { Command } from 'commander'
 import { connectToDaemon, getDaemonHost } from '../../utils/client.js'
 import type { CommandOptions, SingleResult, OutputSchema, CommandError } from '../../output/index.js'
+import { fetchAgentTimelineItems, formatAgentActivityTranscript } from './logs.js'
 
 /** Result type for agent wait command */
 export interface AgentWaitResult {
@@ -24,6 +25,28 @@ export interface AgentWaitOptions extends CommandOptions {
   host?: string
 }
 
+const WAIT_ACTIVITY_PREVIEW_COUNT = 5
+
+function appendRecentActivity(message: string, transcript: string | null): string {
+  if (!transcript || transcript.trim().length === 0) {
+    return message
+  }
+
+  return `${message}\nLast ${WAIT_ACTIVITY_PREVIEW_COUNT} activity items:\n${transcript}`
+}
+
+async function getRecentActivityTranscript(
+  client: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof connectToDaemon>>,
+  agentId: string
+): Promise<string | null> {
+  try {
+    const timelineItems = await fetchAgentTimelineItems(client, agentId)
+    return formatAgentActivityTranscript(timelineItems, WAIT_ACTIVITY_PREVIEW_COUNT)
+  } catch {
+    return null
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Parse duration string to milliseconds.
  * Supports formats like: 5m, 30s, 1h, 2h30m, 90, etc.
@@ -106,6 +129,7 @@ export async function runWaitCommand(
     timeoutMs = 10 * 60 * 1000 // default 10 minutes
   }
   const timeoutSeconds = Math.floor(timeoutMs / 1000)
+  const timeoutLabel = `${timeoutSeconds} second${timeoutSeconds === 1 ? '' : 's'}`
 
   let client
   try {
@@ -123,15 +147,24 @@ export async function runWaitCommand(
   try {
     try {
       const state = await client.waitForFinish(agentIdArg, timeoutMs)
+      const resolvedAgentId = state.final?.id ?? agentIdArg
+      const recentActivity =
+        state.status === 'timeout' || state.status === 'idle'
+          ? await getRecentActivityTranscript(client, resolvedAgentId)
+          : null
+
       await client.close()
 
       if (state.status === 'timeout') {
         return {
           type: 'single',
           data: {
-            agentId: agentIdArg,
+            agentId: resolvedAgentId,
             status: 'timeout',
-            message: `Timed out waiting for agent after ${timeoutSeconds} seconds`,
+            message: appendRecentActivity(
+              `Agent did not finish within ${timeoutLabel}. Run \`paseo wait ${resolvedAgentId}\` again to keep waiting.`,
+              recentActivity
+            ),
           },
           schema: agentWaitSchema,
         }
@@ -142,7 +175,7 @@ export async function runWaitCommand(
         return {
           type: 'single',
           data: {
-            agentId: state.final?.id ?? agentIdArg,
+            agentId: resolvedAgentId,
             status: 'permission',
             message: permission
               ? `Agent is waiting for permission: ${permission.kind}`
@@ -156,7 +189,7 @@ export async function runWaitCommand(
         return {
           type: 'single',
           data: {
-            agentId: state.final?.id ?? agentIdArg,
+            agentId: resolvedAgentId,
             status: 'error',
             message: state.error ?? 'Agent finished with error',
           },
@@ -168,9 +201,9 @@ export async function runWaitCommand(
       return {
         type: 'single',
         data: {
-          agentId: state.final?.id ?? agentIdArg,
+          agentId: resolvedAgentId,
           status: 'idle',
-          message: 'Agent is now idle',
+          message: appendRecentActivity('Agent is idle.', recentActivity),
         },
         schema: agentWaitSchema,
       }