diff --git a/Sources/Shared/Models/ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.swift b/Sources/Shared/Models/ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.swift
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c77fb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Sources/Shared/Models/ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+import Foundation
+import SwiftUI
+
+/// Timing and geometry for the Messages-style chat animations.
+///
+/// Two effects live here: the staggered rise of the first visible page when a
+/// conversation opens, and the transition a freshly appended row uses while the
+/// user already watches the timeline (an outgoing bubble launches from the
+/// composer's send control, an incoming one springs from its own edge).
+enum ChatMessageEntrancePolicy {
+    /// A row waits this long behind every newer row below it, so the visible
+    /// page unfolds bottom-up the way Messages does.
+    static let entranceStagger: TimeInterval = 0.035
+
+    /// Rows further from the bottom than this are left alone: past a screenful
+    /// the cascade is invisible and the row may only appear on a later scroll.
+    static let entranceCascadeLimit = 12
+
+    static let entranceRise: CGFloat = 16
+    static let entranceScale: CGFloat = 0.94
+
+    static let sendScale: CGFloat = 0.2
+    /// Launch point sits next to the composer's send control so the bubble
+    /// reads as thrown out of the field instead of fading in place.
+    static let sendRise: CGFloat = 12
+
+    static let receiveScale: CGFloat = 0.4
+    static let receiveRise: CGFloat = 10
+
+    /// Upper bound of the spring used by both effects. The owning view keeps a
+    /// row's entrance state alive for this long so a recycled row that reappears
+    /// while scrolling plays nothing.
+    static let entranceAnimationDuration: TimeInterval = 0.75
+
+    /// A burst larger than this is a history page arriving, not a conversation:
+    /// animating every row of a page would flash the whole timeline.
+    static let appendAnimationLimit = 4
+
+    /// Total time the opening cascade can still be pending for the last row.
+    static var entranceCascadeDuration: TimeInterval {
+        TimeInterval(entranceCascadeLimit - 1) * entranceStagger
+            + entranceAnimationDuration
+    }
+
+    static var appendAnimation: Animation {
+        .spring(response: 0.44, dampingFraction: 0.68)
+    }
+
+    /// Per-row delays keyed by client ID. The newest row leads the cascade and
+    /// every older row follows one stagger step behind it; rows outside the
+    /// cascade get no delay and therefore no entrance at all.
+    static func entranceDelays(forIDs ids: [String]) -> [String: TimeInterval] {
+        let last = ids.count - 1
+        guard last >= 0 else { return [:] }
+        let firstAnimated = max(0, ids.count - entranceCascadeLimit)
+        var delays: [String: TimeInterval] = [:]
+        delays.reserveCapacity(ids.count - firstAnimated)
+        for index in firstAnimated...last {
+            delays[ids[index]] = TimeInterval(last - index) * entranceStagger
+        }
+        return delays
+    }
+
+    /// Rows a query refresh added below everything already on screen.
+    ///
+    /// A MAM page paged in above the viewport is deliberately ignored: replaying
+    /// the entrance mid-scroll would yank the timeline the user is reading. A
+    /// burst of rows is treated as the same kind of archive delivery.
+    static func appendedLaunchIDs(
+        in ids: [String],
+        after previous: Set<String>
+    ) -> [String] {
+        guard !previous.isEmpty else { return [] }
+        guard let lastKnownIndex = ids.lastIndex(where: previous.contains)
+        else { return [] }
+        let appended = ids.dropFirst(lastKnownIndex + 1).filter {
+            !previous.contains($0)
+        }
+        guard appended.count <= appendAnimationLimit else { return [] }
+        return Array(appended)
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Sources/Shared/UI/ChatView.swift b/Sources/Shared/UI/ChatView.swift
index bfb52ed..fad96d9 100644
--- a/Sources/Shared/UI/ChatView.swift
+++ b/Sources/Shared/UI/ChatView.swift
@@ -75,6 +75,13 @@ struct ChatView: View {
     @State private var captureSuspendsArchiveSync = false
     @State private var pickerResetToken = UUID()
     @State private var timelineEntries: [ChatTimelineEntry] = []
+    /// Messages-style entrance state: which rows currently animate, which IDs
+    /// the timeline already showed, and whether the opening cascade of this
+    /// conversation has played.
+    @State private var entranceModes: [String: MessageBubbleEntrance.Mode] = [:]
+    @State private var knownEntranceIDs: Set<String> = []
+    @State private var hasPlayedOpeningEntrance = false
+    @State private var entranceReleaseToken = UUID()
 
     /// Messages of this conversation straight from the SwiftData store,
     /// ordered like `AppModel.selectedMessages`: timestamp, then clientID.
@@ -143,6 +150,13 @@ struct ChatView: View {
         _captureSuspendsArchiveSync = State(initialValue: false)
         _pickerResetToken = State(initialValue: UUID())
         _timelineEntries = State<[ChatTimelineEntry]>(initialValue: [])
+        _entranceModes = State<[String: MessageBubbleEntrance.Mode]>(
+            initialValue: [:]
+        )
+        _knownEntranceIDs = State<Set<String>>(initialValue: [])
+        _hasPlayedOpeningEntrance = State(initialValue: false)
+        _entranceConversationID = State<String?>(initialValue: nil)
+        _entranceReleaseToken = State(initialValue: UUID())
     }
 
     var body: some View {
@@ -376,6 +390,10 @@ struct ChatView: View {
             historyTopTriggerVisible = false
             historyAutoContinueCount = 0
             emptyHistoryRetryCount = 0
+            entranceModes = [:]
+            knownEntranceIDs = []
+            hasPlayedOpeningEntrance = false
+            entranceReleaseToken = UUID()
         }
         .onDisappear {
             model.endConversationViewing(jid: conversation.jid)
@@ -478,7 +496,87 @@ struct ChatView: View {
 
     private func rebuildTimelineEntries(from newMessages: [ChatMessage]? = nil)
     {
-        timelineEntries = ChatTimelineEntry.make(from: newMessages ?? messages)
+        let source = newMessages ?? messages
+        timelineEntries = ChatTimelineEntry.make(from: source)
+        updateEntranceModes(for: source)
+    }
+
+    /// Decides which rows play a Messages-style entrance after a rebuild.
+    /// The first page of an opened conversation cascades bottom-up; rows that
+    /// appear later (a send, an incoming message) launch from the composer's
+    /// edge. Modes are released once the animation window closes so a row
+    /// recycled by the lazy stack during scrolling reappears statically.
+    private func updateEntranceModes(for newMessages: [ChatMessage]) {
+        let ids = newMessages.map(\.clientID)
+        let known = knownEntranceIDs
+        knownEntranceIDs = Set(ids)
+
+        guard hasPlayedOpeningEntrance else {
+            guard !ids.isEmpty else { return }
+            hasPlayedOpeningEntrance = true
+            // The first message ever in an empty chat should launch out of
+            // the composer like any other send, not cascade in.
+            if ids.count == 1, known.isEmpty,
+                newMessages.first?.direction == .outgoing
+            {
+                applyLaunch(for: newMessages, ids: ids)
+                return
+            }
+            let delays = ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.entranceDelays(
+                forIDs: ids
+            )
+            for (id, delay) in delays {
+                entranceModes[id] = .cascade(delay: delay)
+            }
+            scheduleEntranceRelease(
+                ids: Set(delays.keys),
+                after: ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.entranceCascadeDuration
+            )
+            return
+        }
+
+        applyLaunch(
+            for: newMessages,
+            ids: ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.appendedLaunchIDs(
+                in: ids,
+                after: known
+            )
+        )
+    }
+
+    private func applyLaunch(for messages: [ChatMessage], ids: [String]) {
+        guard !ids.isEmpty else { return }
+        let launched = Set(ids)
+        var applied: Set<String> = []
+        for message in messages where launched.contains(message.clientID) {
+            entranceModes[message.clientID] = .launch(
+                outgoing: message.direction == .outgoing
+            )
+            applied.insert(message.clientID)
+        }
+        scheduleEntranceRelease(
+            ids: applied,
+            after: ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.entranceAnimationDuration
+        )
+    }
+
+    private func scheduleEntranceRelease(
+        ids: Set<String>,
+        after delay: TimeInterval
+    ) {
+        guard !ids.isEmpty else { return }
+        let token = entranceReleaseToken
+        Task { @MainActor in
+            try? await Task.sleep(
+                nanoseconds: UInt64(delay * 1_000_000_000)
+            )
+            guard !Task.isCancelled, token == entranceReleaseToken else {
+                return
+            }
+            for id in ids {
+                entranceModes[id] = nil
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     private var isSelectingMessages: Bool {
@@ -606,6 +704,13 @@ struct ChatView: View {
                                             )
                                         }
                                     )
+                                    .modifier(
+                                        MessageBubbleEntrance(
+                                            mode: entranceModes[
+                                                message.clientID
+                                            ] ?? .settled
+                                        )
+                                    )
                                     .id(message.clientID)
                                 }
                             }
diff --git a/Sources/Shared/UI/Components/MessageBubbleEntrance.swift b/Sources/Shared/UI/Components/MessageBubbleEntrance.swift
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e6b352e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Sources/Shared/UI/Components/MessageBubbleEntrance.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+import SwiftUI
+
+/// Messages-style entrance for chat rows.
+///
+/// Opening a conversation reveals its first page as a bottom-up cascade
+/// (`.cascade`), and a row appended while the timeline is already rendered
+/// springs out of the composer's send control when outgoing (`.launch`).
+/// Everything else stays `.settled`, which keeps history scrolling, reactions
+/// and selection updates free of animation.
+struct MessageBubbleEntrance: ViewModifier {
+    enum Mode: Equatable {
+        case settled
+        case cascade(delay: TimeInterval)
+        case launch(outgoing: Bool)
+
+        var isSettled: Bool {
+            if case .settled = self { return true }
+            return false
+        }
+    }
+
+    let mode: Mode
+
+    // A settled row must never pass through an invisible frame, so only the
+    // rows that actually animate start hidden.
+    @State private var isRevealed: Bool
+    @State private var hasStarted = false
+
+    init(mode: Mode) {
+        self.mode = mode
+        _isRevealed = State(initialValue: mode.isSettled)
+    }
+
+    func body(content: Content) -> some View {
+        content
+            .opacity(isRevealed ? 1 : 0)
+            .scaleEffect(isRevealed ? 1 : displacedScale, anchor: scaleAnchor)
+            .offset(y: isRevealed ? 0 : displacedRise)
+            .onAppear(perform: reveal)
+    }
+
+    /// Outgoing bubbles shrink toward the trailing bottom corner, where the
+    /// composer's send control sits; incoming ones grow from their own edge.
+    private var displacedScale: CGFloat {
+        switch mode {
+        case .settled, .cascade:
+            return ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.entranceScale
+        case .launch(let outgoing):
+            return outgoing
+                ? ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.sendScale
+                : ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.receiveScale
+        }
+    }
+
+    private var scaleAnchor: UnitPoint {
+        if case .launch(let outgoing) = mode, outgoing { return .bottomTrailing }
+        return .bottom
+    }
+
+    private var displacedRise: CGFloat {
+        switch mode {
+        case .settled, .cascade:
+            return ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.entranceRise
+        case .launch(let outgoing):
+            return outgoing
+                ? ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.sendRise
+                : ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.receiveRise
+        }
+    }
+
+    private func reveal() {
+        guard !hasStarted else { return }
+        hasStarted = true
+        guard !isRevealed else { return }
+        let delay: TimeInterval
+        if case .cascade(let cascadeDelay) = mode {
+            delay = cascadeDelay
+        } else {
+            delay = 0
+        }
+        withAnimation(
+            ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.appendAnimation.delay(delay)
+        ) {
+            isRevealed = true
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/t b/t
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe8bb4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+
+Sources/Shared/UI/ChatView.swift
+────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+────────────────────────────┐
+75: struct ChatView: View { │
+────────────────────────────┘
+    @State private var captureSuspendsArchiveSync = false
+    @State private var pickerResetToken = UUID()
+    @State private var timelineEntries: [ChatTimelineEntry] = []
+    /// Messages-style entrance state: which rows currently animate, which IDs
+    /// the timeline already showed, and whether the opening cascade of this
+    /// conversation has played.
+    @State private var entranceModes: [String: MessageBubbleEntrance.Mode] = [:]
+    @State private var knownEntranceIDs: Set<String> = []
+    @State private var hasPlayedOpeningEntrance = false
+    @State private var entranceReleaseToken = UUID()
+
+    /// Messages of this conversation straight from the SwiftData store,
+    /// ordered like `AppModel.selectedMessages`: timestamp, then clientID.
+
+─────────────────────────────┐
+150: struct ChatView: View { │
+─────────────────────────────┘
+        _captureSuspendsArchiveSync = State(initialValue: false)
+        _pickerResetToken = State(initialValue: UUID())
+        _timelineEntries = State<[ChatTimelineEntry]>(initialValue: [])
+        _entranceModes = State<[String: MessageBubbleEntrance.Mode]>(
+            initialValue: [:]
+        )
+        _knownEntranceIDs = State<Set<String>>(initialValue: [])
+        _hasPlayedOpeningEntrance = State(initialValue: false)
+        _entranceConversationID = State<String?>(initialValue: nil)
+        _entranceReleaseToken = State(initialValue: UUID())
+    }
+
+    var body: some View {
+
+─────────────────────────────┐
+390: struct ChatView: View { │
+─────────────────────────────┘
+            historyTopTriggerVisible = false
+            historyAutoContinueCount = 0
+            emptyHistoryRetryCount = 0
+            entranceModes = [:]
+            knownEntranceIDs = []
+            hasPlayedOpeningEntrance = false
+            entranceReleaseToken = UUID()
+        }
+        .onDisappear {
+            model.endConversationViewing(jid: conversation.jid)
+
+─────────────────────────────┐
+496: struct ChatView: View { │
+─────────────────────────────┘
+
+    private func rebuildTimelineEntries(from newMessages: [ChatMessage]? = nil)
+    {
+        timelineEntries = ChatTimelineEntry.make(from: newMessages ?? messages)
+        let source = newMessages ?? messages
+        timelineEntries = ChatTimelineEntry.make(from: source)
+        updateEntranceModes(for: source)
+    }
+
+    /// Decides which rows play a Messages-style entrance after a rebuild.
+    /// The first page of an opened conversation cascades bottom-up; rows that
+    /// appear later (a send, an incoming message) launch from the composer's
+    /// edge. Modes are released once the animation window closes so a row
+    /// recycled by the lazy stack during scrolling reappears statically.
+    private func updateEntranceModes(for newMessages: [ChatMessage]) {
+        let ids = newMessages.map(\.clientID)
+        let known = knownEntranceIDs
+        knownEntranceIDs = Set(ids)
+
+        guard hasPlayedOpeningEntrance else {
+            guard !ids.isEmpty else { return }
+            hasPlayedOpeningEntrance = true
+            // The first message ever in an empty chat should launch out of
+            // the composer like any other send, not cascade in.
+            if ids.count == 1, known.isEmpty,
+                newMessages.first?.direction == .outgoing
+            {
+                applyLaunch(for: newMessages, ids: ids)
+                return
+            }
+            let delays = ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.entranceDelays(
+                forIDs: ids
+            )
+            for (id, delay) in delays {
+                entranceModes[id] = .cascade(delay: delay)
+            }
+            scheduleEntranceRelease(
+                ids: Set(delays.keys),
+                after: ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.entranceCascadeDuration
+            )
+            return
+        }
+
+        applyLaunch(
+            for: newMessages,
+            ids: ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.appendedLaunchIDs(
+                in: ids,
+                after: known
+            )
+        )
+    }
+
+    private func applyLaunch(for messages: [ChatMessage], ids: [String]) {
+        guard !ids.isEmpty else { return }
+        let launched = Set(ids)
+        var applied: Set<String> = []
+        for message in messages where launched.contains(message.clientID) {
+            entranceModes[message.clientID] = .launch(
+                outgoing: message.direction == .outgoing
+            )
+            applied.insert(message.clientID)
+        }
+        scheduleEntranceRelease(
+            ids: applied,
+            after: ChatMessageEntrancePolicy.entranceAnimationDuration
+        )
+    }
+
+    private func scheduleEntranceRelease(
+        ids: Set<String>,
+        after delay: TimeInterval
+    ) {
+        guard !ids.isEmpty else { return }
+        let token = entranceReleaseToken
+        Task { @MainActor in
+            try? await Task.sleep(
+                nanoseconds: UInt64(delay * 1_000_000_000)
+            )
+            guard !Task.isCancelled, token == entranceReleaseToken else {
+                return
+            }
+            for id in ids {
+                entranceModes[id] = nil
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private var isSelectingMessages: Bool {
+
+─────────────────────────────┐
+704: struct ChatView: View { │
+─────────────────────────────┘
+                                            )
+                                        }
+                                    )
+                                    .modifier(
+                                        MessageBubbleEntrance(
+                                            mode: entranceModes[
+                                                message.clientID
+                                            ] ?? .settled
+                                        )
+                                    )
+                                    .id(message.clientID)
+                                }
+                            }