diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/list.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/list.tsx
index 7aa58a339a..b24e6b9995 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/list.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/list.tsx
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ import { isSecondaryWindow } from '@/store/windows'
 
 import { MessageRenderBoundary } from '../message-render-boundary'
 
-import { resolveShowEarlierAction, useTranscriptWindow } from './transcript-window'
+import { resolveShowEarlierAction, shouldAutoShowEarlier, TOP_EDGE_PX, useTranscriptWindow } from './transcript-window'
 import { useMessagesBelow } from './use-messages-below'
 
 type ThreadMessageComponents = ComponentProps<typeof ThreadPrimitive.MessageByIndex>['components']
@@ -956,6 +956,48 @@ const ThreadMessageListInner: FC<ThreadMessageListProps> = ({
     }
   }, [anchorBeforePrepend, expandWindow, hiddenCount, olderAvailable, paneBudget])
 
+  // Scroll/wheel at the top edge pages older turns through the same showEarlier
+  // path as the button. Wheel is required because browsers often omit `scroll`
+  // once scrollTop is already 0. Fail-open gates live in shouldAutoShowEarlier.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const el = scrollRef.current
+
+    if (!el) {
+      return
+    }
+
+    const tryShowEarlier = (wheelDeltaY?: number) => {
+      if (
+        !shouldAutoShowEarlier({
+          action: resolveShowEarlierAction(hiddenCount, olderAvailable),
+          isAtBottom,
+          loadSettled: loadSettledRef.current,
+          restorePending: restoreFromBottomRef.current != null,
+          scrollTop: el.scrollTop,
+          topEdgePx: TOP_EDGE_PX,
+          wheelDeltaY
+        })
+      ) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      showEarlier()
+    }
+
+    const onScroll = () => tryShowEarlier()
+    const onWheel = (event: WheelEvent) => {
+      tryShowEarlier(event.deltaY)
+    }
+
+    el.addEventListener('scroll', onScroll, { passive: true })
+    el.addEventListener('wheel', onWheel, { passive: true })
+
+    return () => {
+      el.removeEventListener('scroll', onScroll)
+      el.removeEventListener('wheel', onWheel)
+    }
+  }, [hiddenCount, isAtBottom, olderAvailable, scrollRef, showEarlier])
+
   useLayoutEffect(() => {
     const el = scrollRef.current
     const restoreFromBottom = restoreFromBottomRef.current
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/should-auto-show-earlier.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/should-auto-show-earlier.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e3cad94021
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/should-auto-show-earlier.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import { resolveShowEarlierAction, shouldAutoShowEarlier, TOP_EDGE_PX } from './transcript-window'
+
+const settledTop = {
+  action: 'dom' as const,
+  isAtBottom: false,
+  loadSettled: true,
+  restorePending: false,
+  scrollTop: 0,
+  topEdgePx: TOP_EDGE_PX
+}
+
+describe('TOP_EDGE_PX', () => {
+  it('is a small top-edge slack, not a mid-scroll threshold', () => {
+    expect(TOP_EDGE_PX).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(48)
+    expect(TOP_EDGE_PX).toBeLessThanOrEqual(64)
+  })
+})
+
+describe('shouldAutoShowEarlier', () => {
+  it('loads earlier when the reader is at the top edge with a DOM page to spend', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, action: 'dom' })).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('loads earlier when the reader is at the top edge with a store window to expand', () => {
+    expect(
+      shouldAutoShowEarlier({
+        ...settledTop,
+        action: resolveShowEarlierAction(0, true)
+      })
+    ).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('treats scrollTop at the edge pixel as top-edge reading intent', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, scrollTop: TOP_EDGE_PX })).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('loads earlier on an upward wheel while already at the top edge', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, wheelDeltaY: -40 })).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('does not fire when resolveShowEarlierAction is a no-op', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, action: null })).toBe(false)
+    expect(
+      shouldAutoShowEarlier({
+        ...settledTop,
+        action: resolveShowEarlierAction(0, false)
+      })
+    ).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('does not fire until the session load has settled', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, loadSettled: false })).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('does not fire while a prepend restore is still pending', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, restorePending: true })).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('does not fire while the reader is following the bottom', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, isAtBottom: true })).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('does not fire in the middle of the transcript', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, scrollTop: TOP_EDGE_PX + 1 })).toBe(false)
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, scrollTop: 400 })).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('does not treat a downward or zero wheel at the top as earlier-reading intent', () => {
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, wheelDeltaY: 40 })).toBe(false)
+    expect(shouldAutoShowEarlier({ ...settledTop, wheelDeltaY: 0 })).toBe(false)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/transcript-window.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/transcript-window.tsx
index 1ce059acd0..b6e6676860 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/transcript-window.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread/transcript-window.tsx
@@ -32,3 +32,47 @@ export function resolveShowEarlierAction(hiddenCount: number, olderAvailable: bo
 
   return olderAvailable ? 'window' : null
 }
+
+/** Slack (px) treated as "already at the top edge" for auto Show-earlier. */
+export const TOP_EDGE_PX = 48
+
+export interface ShouldAutoShowEarlierInput {
+  action: 'dom' | 'window' | null
+  isAtBottom: boolean
+  loadSettled: boolean
+  restorePending: boolean
+  scrollTop: number
+  topEdgePx?: number
+  /** Present only for `wheel` events; omitted for `scroll`. */
+  wheelDeltaY?: number
+}
+
+/**
+ * Auto Show-earlier is the button's `showEarlier()` path, triggered when the
+ * reader is at the viewport top and older content exists. Fail-open: missing
+ * action, an unsettled load, a pending prepend restore, following the bottom,
+ * or a mid-transcript scroll must not page.
+ */
+export function shouldAutoShowEarlier({
+  action,
+  isAtBottom,
+  loadSettled,
+  restorePending,
+  scrollTop,
+  topEdgePx = TOP_EDGE_PX,
+  wheelDeltaY
+}: ShouldAutoShowEarlierInput): boolean {
+  if (action == null || !loadSettled || restorePending || isAtBottom) {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  if (scrollTop > topEdgePx) {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  if (wheelDeltaY !== undefined && !(wheelDeltaY < 0)) {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  return true
+}