diff --git a/ui/src/components/logs/derive-trace-groups.ts b/ui/src/components/logs/derive-trace-groups.ts
index 24f22ebc..61ea9914 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/logs/derive-trace-groups.ts
+++ b/ui/src/components/logs/derive-trace-groups.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,52 @@ function coalesceKey(entry: LogsEntry): string {
   ].join(' ');
 }
 
+/**
+ * Coalesce identical consecutive children inside a single trace.
+ *
+ * Key tuple includes `message` so two children that share
+ * event/stage/level/module but report different content stay visible as
+ * separate rows. Includes `source` so adjacent rows from different
+ * services with otherwise-identical fields stay distinct (a request can
+ * fan out across multiple sources participating in the same trace).
+ * Excludes `latencyMs` — it drifts per request and would defeat the
+ * dedup on truly redundant polls.
+ *
+ * Exported so it can be unit-tested independently from the React row.
+ */
+export function coalesceChildren(children: LogsEntry[]): Array<{ head: LogsEntry; count: number }> {
+  if (children.length === 0) return [];
+  const out: Array<{ head: LogsEntry; count: number }> = [];
+  let head: LogsEntry | null = null;
+  let count = 0;
+  let key = '';
+  const flush = () => {
+    if (head) out.push({ head, count });
+    head = null;
+    count = 0;
+  };
+  for (const child of children) {
+    const k = [
+      child.event ?? '',
+      child.message ?? '',
+      child.stage ?? '',
+      child.level,
+      child.module ?? '',
+      child.source ?? '',
+    ].join(' ');
+    if (head && k === key) {
+      count += 1;
+    } else {
+      flush();
+      head = child;
+      count = 1;
+      key = k;
+    }
+  }
+  flush();
+  return out;
+}
+
 /**
  * For an entry without an explicit `stage` field, derive a short chip label
  * from the event name so the trace timeline still renders meaningful badges
diff --git a/ui/src/components/logs/logs-trace-row.tsx b/ui/src/components/logs/logs-trace-row.tsx
index a9efd1aa..4b8d70f9 100644
Binary files a/ui/src/components/logs/logs-trace-row.tsx and b/ui/src/components/logs/logs-trace-row.tsx differ
diff --git a/ui/tests/unit/ui/components/logs-derive-trace-groups.test.ts b/ui/tests/unit/ui/components/logs-derive-trace-groups.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..03560ac5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/tests/unit/ui/components/logs-derive-trace-groups.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,231 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import type { LogsEntry } from '@/lib/api-client';
+import {
+  coalesceChildren,
+  deriveStageHint,
+  deriveTraceGroups,
+  type LeafItem,
+} from '@/components/logs/derive-trace-groups';
+import type { TraceGroup } from '@/components/logs/logs-trace-row';
+
+// Minimal LogsEntry factory — fields the helpers actually look at.
+function entry(overrides: Partial<LogsEntry> & Pick<LogsEntry, 'id' | 'timestamp'>): LogsEntry {
+  return {
+    level: 'info',
+    source: 'web-server:http',
+    event: 'event.default',
+    message: 'default message',
+    ...overrides,
+  } as LogsEntry;
+}
+
+function leafEntries(
+  ...overrides: Array<Partial<LogsEntry> & Pick<LogsEntry, 'id' | 'timestamp'>>
+) {
+  return overrides.map(entry);
+}
+
+describe('deriveStageHint', () => {
+  it('returns explicit stage when present', () => {
+    expect(deriveStageHint(entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't', stage: 'route' }))).toBe('route');
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to last `.`-segment of event when stage is missing', () => {
+    expect(deriveStageHint(entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't', event: 'request.dispatched' }))).toBe(
+      'dispatched'
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('caps the derived hint at 12 chars', () => {
+    expect(
+      deriveStageHint(entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't', event: 'foo.absurdlylongsegmentname' }))
+    ).toBe('absurdlylong');
+  });
+
+  it('returns undefined when neither stage nor event is meaningful', () => {
+    expect(deriveStageHint(entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't', event: '' }))).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('treats single-segment event as its own hint', () => {
+    expect(deriveStageHint(entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't', event: 'startup' }))).toBe('startup');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('coalesceChildren', () => {
+  it('returns empty array for empty input', () => {
+    expect(coalesceChildren([])).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('passes through a single child as count=1', () => {
+    const e = entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't', event: 'a.b' });
+    expect(coalesceChildren([e])).toEqual([{ head: e, count: 1 }]);
+  });
+
+  it('coalesces two adjacent identical children', () => {
+    const a = entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't1', event: 'a.b', message: 'm' });
+    const b = entry({ id: '2', timestamp: 't2', event: 'a.b', message: 'm' });
+    const result = coalesceChildren([a, b]);
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result[0]?.count).toBe(2);
+    expect(result[0]?.head).toBe(a);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps children with different messages distinct (round-1 fix)', () => {
+    const a = entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't1', event: 'auth.ok', message: 'alice' });
+    const b = entry({ id: '2', timestamp: 't2', event: 'auth.ok', message: 'bob' });
+    expect(coalesceChildren([a, b])).toHaveLength(2);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps children with different sources distinct (round-2 fix)', () => {
+    const a = entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't1', source: 'svc-a', event: 'e' });
+    const b = entry({ id: '2', timestamp: 't2', source: 'svc-b', event: 'e' });
+    expect(coalesceChildren([a, b])).toHaveLength(2);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps children with different stages distinct', () => {
+    const a = entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't1', stage: 'route', event: 'e' });
+    const b = entry({ id: '2', timestamp: 't2', stage: 'dispatch', event: 'e' });
+    expect(coalesceChildren([a, b])).toHaveLength(2);
+  });
+
+  it('only collapses adjacent duplicates — interleaving breaks the run', () => {
+    const a = entry({ id: '1', timestamp: 't1', event: 'a' });
+    const b = entry({ id: '2', timestamp: 't2', event: 'b' });
+    const c = entry({ id: '3', timestamp: 't3', event: 'a' });
+    const result = coalesceChildren([a, b, c]);
+    // a, b, a — three distinct runs of count 1 each
+    expect(result.map((r) => r.count)).toEqual([1, 1, 1]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('deriveTraceGroups', () => {
+  it('returns empty array for empty input', () => {
+    expect(deriveTraceGroups([])).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('emits a single leaf for a no-requestId entry', () => {
+    const e = entry({ id: '1', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z' });
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups([e]);
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result[0]?.kind).toBe('leaf');
+    expect((result[0] as LeafItem).entry).toBe(e);
+    expect((result[0] as LeafItem).repeatCount).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('groups entries sharing a requestId into one trace', () => {
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '1', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:01Z', requestId: 'req-1', stage: 'intake' },
+        { id: '2', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:02Z', requestId: 'req-1', stage: 'route' }
+      )
+    );
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result[0]?.kind).toBe('trace');
+    expect((result[0] as TraceGroup).children).toHaveLength(2);
+  });
+
+  it('sorts trace children by ts ascending and pins group ts to oldest child', () => {
+    // Input order intentionally reverses ts so we can assert the sort.
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '2', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:02Z', requestId: 'req-1' },
+        { id: '1', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:01Z', requestId: 'req-1' }
+      )
+    );
+    const trace = result[0] as TraceGroup;
+    expect(trace.children.map((c) => c.id)).toEqual(['1', '2']);
+    expect(trace.ts).toBe('2026-01-01T00:00:01Z');
+  });
+
+  it('coalesces two adjacent identical leaves into a single ×N row', () => {
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '1', timestamp: 't1', event: 'poll', message: 'tick' },
+        { id: '2', timestamp: 't2', event: 'poll', message: 'tick' }
+      )
+    );
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(1);
+    const leaf = result[0] as LeafItem;
+    expect(leaf.repeatCount).toBe(2);
+    expect(leaf.collapsedRange?.fromTs).toBe('t1');
+    expect(leaf.collapsedRange?.toTs).toBe('t2');
+  });
+
+  it('does NOT coalesce identical leaves split by an unrelated trace (round-3 fix)', () => {
+    // Two identical no-requestId entries with a trace between them: the run
+    // must break — they were not adjacent in the real stream.
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '1', timestamp: 't1', event: 'poll', message: 'tick' },
+        { id: '2', timestamp: 't2', requestId: 'req-1' },
+        { id: '3', timestamp: 't3', event: 'poll', message: 'tick' }
+      )
+    );
+    // Expected: 1 trace + 2 distinct leaves (no ×N).
+    const leaves = result.filter((r) => r.kind === 'leaf') as LeafItem[];
+    expect(leaves).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(leaves.every((l) => l.repeatCount === undefined)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps adjacent leaves with different messages as separate rows', () => {
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '1', timestamp: 't1', event: 'login', message: 'alice' },
+        { id: '2', timestamp: 't2', event: 'login', message: 'bob' }
+      )
+    );
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(result.every((r) => r.kind === 'leaf' && r.repeatCount === undefined)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('display-sorts items reverse-chronologically', () => {
+    // Use distinct events so leaves don't coalesce — testing display sort,
+    // not coalesce.
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '1', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:01Z', event: 'a' },
+        { id: '2', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:03Z', event: 'b' },
+        { id: '3', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:02Z', event: 'c' }
+      )
+    );
+    const ids = result.map((r) => (r.kind === 'leaf' ? r.entry.id : 'trace'));
+    expect(ids).toEqual(['2', '3', '1']);
+  });
+
+  it('computes max level across trace children', () => {
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '1', timestamp: 't1', requestId: 'r', level: 'debug' },
+        { id: '2', timestamp: 't2', requestId: 'r', level: 'error' },
+        { id: '3', timestamp: 't3', requestId: 'r', level: 'info' }
+      )
+    );
+    expect((result[0] as TraceGroup).maxLevel).toBe('error');
+  });
+
+  it('sums latencyMs across trace children', () => {
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '1', timestamp: 't1', requestId: 'r', latencyMs: 100 },
+        { id: '2', timestamp: 't2', requestId: 'r', latencyMs: 50 },
+        { id: '3', timestamp: 't3', requestId: 'r' /* no latency */ }
+      )
+    );
+    expect((result[0] as TraceGroup).totalLatencyMs).toBe(150);
+  });
+
+  it('preserves original input order when computing leaf adjacency, even if display sort reorders later', () => {
+    // Stream: [A, B, A] — A entries identical but split by B. A run of 1+1+1.
+    const result = deriveTraceGroups(
+      leafEntries(
+        { id: '1', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:01Z', event: 'A' },
+        { id: '2', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:02Z', event: 'B' },
+        { id: '3', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:03Z', event: 'A' }
+      )
+    );
+    const leaves = result.filter((r) => r.kind === 'leaf') as LeafItem[];
+    expect(leaves).toHaveLength(3);
+    // None should have repeatCount because A and A weren't adjacent.
+    expect(leaves.every((l) => l.repeatCount === undefined)).toBe(true);
+  });
+});