diff --git a/app/shared/src/commonMain/kotlin/iris/ui/screens/ChatScreen.kt b/app/shared/src/commonMain/kotlin/iris/ui/screens/ChatScreen.kt
index e5c9a8c..f4fd4b5 100644
--- a/app/shared/src/commonMain/kotlin/iris/ui/screens/ChatScreen.kt
+++ b/app/shared/src/commonMain/kotlin/iris/ui/screens/ChatScreen.kt
@@ -167,10 +167,14 @@ fun ChatScreen(controller: IrisController) {
     val threads = channels.filter { it.kind == "thread" && it.parentChatId == currentChatId }
 
     val listState = rememberLazyListState()
-    // "At the bottom" while the last row's bottom edge is within a small
-    // tolerance of its rest position (16dp above the viewport bottom, from the
-    // list's content padding). Scrolling up by more than that reveals the
-    // back-to-bottom button and stops new messages from auto-scrolling the view.
+    // "At the bottom" when the list can't scroll further forward, or the last
+    // row's bottom edge is within a small tolerance of the viewport bottom
+    // (the tolerance avoids flicker when the newest message is shorter than
+    // the viewport). The canScrollForward check is what makes this work when
+    // the newest message is TALLER than the viewport: the gap is then
+    // negative even at the true bottom. Scrolling up by more than the
+    // tolerance reveals the back-to-bottom button and stops new messages from
+    // auto-scrolling the view.
     val bottomThresholdPx = 8.dp.value * LocalDensity.current.density
     var isAtBottom by remember { mutableStateOf(true) }
     var isAutoScrolling by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
@@ -182,10 +186,28 @@ fun ChatScreen(controller: IrisController) {
                 true
             } else {
                 val gap = (info.viewportEndOffset - (last.offset + last.size)).toFloat()
-                last.index == info.totalItemsCount - 1 && gap >= bottomThresholdPx
+                !listState.canScrollForward ||
+                    (last.index == info.totalItemsCount - 1 && gap >= bottomThresholdPx)
             }
         }.collect { isAtBottom = it }
     }
+
+    // Scroll so the newest row's BOTTOM edge is visible: first bring the last
+    // row into view (top-aligned), then, if it is taller than the viewport,
+    // align its bottom with the viewport bottom. A plain scrollToItem(last)
+    // would leave a long final message cut off at the bottom.
+    suspend fun scrollToBottom(animate: Boolean) {
+        val total = listState.layoutInfo.totalItemsCount
+        if (total == 0) return
+        val last = total - 1
+        if (animate) listState.animateScrollToItem(last) else listState.scrollToItem(last)
+        val info = listState.layoutInfo
+        val item = info.visibleItemsInfo.firstOrNull { it.index == last } ?: return
+        val offset = (item.offset + item.size - info.viewportSize.height).coerceAtLeast(0)
+        if (offset > 0) {
+            if (animate) listState.animateScrollToItem(last, offset) else listState.scrollToItem(last, offset)
+        }
+    }
     var input by remember { mutableStateOf("") }
     var showSearch by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
     var showNewChannel by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
@@ -235,11 +257,8 @@ fun ChatScreen(controller: IrisController) {
         focusManager.clearFocus(force = true)
     }
 
-    // (Re)entering a lane always lands on the latest message.
-    LaunchedEffect(currentLane) {
-        val last = items.size - 1
-        if (last >= 0) listState.scrollToItem(last)
-    }
+    // (Re)entering a lane always lands on the latest message (bottom-aligned).
+    LaunchedEffect(currentLane) { scrollToBottom(animate = false) }
 
     // Follow the bottom only while the user is already there; if they've
     // scrolled up to read history, new messages must not yank the view back
@@ -250,7 +269,7 @@ fun ChatScreen(controller: IrisController) {
         if (last >= 0) {
             isAutoScrolling = true
             try {
-                listState.animateScrollToItem(last)
+                scrollToBottom(animate = true)
             } finally {
                 isAutoScrolling = false
             }
@@ -551,10 +570,7 @@ fun ChatScreen(controller: IrisController) {
                                 .background(IrisColors.surface)
                                 .border(1.dp, IrisColors.divider, CircleShape)
                                 .clickable {
-                                    val last = listState.layoutInfo.totalItemsCount - 1
-                                    if (last >= 0) {
-                                        drawerScope.launch { listState.animateScrollToItem(last) }
-                                    }
+                                    drawerScope.launch { scrollToBottom(animate = true) }
                                 },
                         contentAlignment = Alignment.Center,
                     ) {