diff --git a/src/hooks/trace-window.test.ts b/src/hooks/trace-window.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6fbf017
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hooks/trace-window.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+import { act, renderHook, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import * as db from '@/lib/trace-db'
+import { DEFAULT_SETTINGS, type Settings } from '@/lib/settings'
+import { useConsoleUnderTest } from '@/test/console-driver'
+import { GO_CONNECT, FIXTURE_NEWEST_EPOCH, traceFrame } from '@/test/stream-fixtures'
+import { FakeEventSource, installFakeEventSource, replay } from '@/test/sse-stream'
+
+/**
+ * The trace list against the store underneath it.
+ *
+ * The list used to only grow: every batch merged in and nothing came out except a
+ * clear. That cost a sort over the whole session per batch, and — the reason this
+ * file exists — eviction removed rows from IndexedDB without removing them from the
+ * list. Measured on the old code with a limit of 8: after ten arrivals the header
+ * read "15 shown · 8 retained", and 7 of the rows on screen existed nowhere else.
+ *
+ * Limits are tiny here for the reason `retention-limit.test.ts` gives: the store is
+ * limit-agnostic and the dialog's floor is asserted there.
+ */
+
+const withRetention = (retention: number, over: Partial<Settings> = {}): Settings => ({
+  ...DEFAULT_SETTINGS,
+  retention,
+  ...over,
+})
+
+async function settle(): Promise<void> {
+  await act(async () => {
+    for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 0))
+  })
+}
+
+/** Traces in the platform's connect dump — the store's starting count. */
+const ON_CONNECT = 5
+
+/** Connect and deliver the fixture dump, all of it persisted. */
+async function connected(settings: Settings) {
+  const hook = renderHook(() => useConsoleUnderTest(settings))
+  await act(async () => {
+    const es = FakeEventSource.current()
+    es.emit('open')
+    replay(es, GO_CONNECT)
+  })
+  await waitFor(async () => expect(await db.countTraces()).toBe(ON_CONNECT))
+  return hook
+}
+
+/** Deliver one trace newer than everything so far. */
+async function arrive(n: number): Promise<void> {
+  await act(async () => {
+    FakeEventSource.current().emit('trace', traceFrame(9000 + n, FIXTURE_NEWEST_EPOCH + n * 1_000))
+  })
+  await settle()
+}
+
+let restoreEventSource: () => void
+
+beforeEach(async () => {
+  restoreEventSource = installFakeEventSource()
+  await db.clearTraces()
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  restoreEventSource()
+})
+
+const stored = async () => new Set((await db.getTracePage(1_000)).map((r) => r._key))
+
+describe('the list after eviction', () => {
+  it('never shows a row storage no longer holds', async () => {
+    const { result } = await connected(withRetention(8))
+    for (let n = 1; n <= 10; n++) {
+      await arrive(n)
+      await waitFor(async () => expect(result.current.store.total).toBe(await db.countTraces()))
+      const { rows, total } = result.current.store
+      expect(rows.length, `after arrival ${n}: ${rows.length} shown · ${total} retained`).toBeLessThanOrEqual(total)
+    }
+    const keys = await stored()
+    const ghosts = result.current.store.rows.filter((r) => !keys.has(r._key))
+    expect(ghosts.map((r) => r._key)).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('drops evicted rows from a search result too', async () => {
+    // A filter is answered from storage, so its result is a list of stored rows —
+    // and the same eviction takes some of them away.
+    const { result } = await connected(withRetention(8))
+    for (let n = 1; n <= 3; n++) await arrive(n)
+    act(() => result.current.store.setFilter({ chip: 'all', query: 'hello' }))
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.store.searching).toBe(false))
+    const before = result.current.store.rows.length
+
+    for (let n = 4; n <= 8; n++) await arrive(n)
+
+    const keys = await stored()
+    expect(result.current.store.rows.filter((r) => !keys.has(r._key)).map((r) => r._key)).toEqual([])
+    expect(result.current.store.rows.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+    expect(before).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+  })
+})
+
+describe('the list under steady traffic', () => {
+  it('holds one page, pushing the oldest out of the bottom', async () => {
+    const { result } = await connected(withRetention(1_000, { pageSize: 4 }))
+    for (let n = 1; n <= 6; n++) await arrive(n)
+
+    const { rows } = result.current.store
+    expect(rows).toHaveLength(4)
+    // The newest four, in order — the window slides, it does not freeze.
+    expect(rows.map((r) => r.epochMillis)).toEqual([6, 5, 4, 3].map((n) => FIXTURE_NEWEST_EPOCH + n * 1_000))
+    // What left the list is still in storage, and the list says there is more.
+    expect(await db.countTraces()).toBe(ON_CONNECT + 6)
+    expect(result.current.store.hasMore).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('grows only by what the user loads', async () => {
+    const { result } = await connected(withRetention(1_000, { pageSize: 4 }))
+    for (let n = 1; n <= 6; n++) await arrive(n)
+
+    act(() => result.current.store.loadOlder())
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.store.rows).toHaveLength(8))
+    // The rows the window had pushed out come back from storage, oldest last.
+    expect(result.current.store.rows[4].epochMillis).toBe(FIXTURE_NEWEST_EPOCH + 2_000)
+
+    // And the deeper window holds through the next arrival instead of snapping back.
+    await arrive(7)
+    expect(result.current.store.rows).toHaveLength(8)
+    expect(result.current.store.rows[0].epochMillis).toBe(FIXTURE_NEWEST_EPOCH + 7_000)
+  })
+
+  it('says there is nothing more once storage is exhausted', async () => {
+    const { result } = await connected(withRetention(1_000, { pageSize: 4 }))
+    await arrive(1) // 6 stored, 4 shown
+    act(() => result.current.store.loadOlder())
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.store.rows).toHaveLength(6))
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.store.hasMore).toBe(false))
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/hooks/use-trace-store.ts b/src/hooks/use-trace-store.ts
index 1dca4d2..8627979 100644
--- a/src/hooks/use-trace-store.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/use-trace-store.ts
@@ -4,9 +4,12 @@ import {
   countTraces,
   findTraces,
   getTracePage,
+  laterMark,
   pruneOldest,
+  survives,
   traceKey,
   upsertTraces,
+  type EvictionMark,
   type StoredTrace,
 } from '@/lib/trace-db'
 import { evictionCount, type Settings } from '@/lib/settings'
@@ -33,6 +36,20 @@ function merge(a: StoredTrace[], b: StoredTrace[]): StoredTrace[] {
   return [...byKey.values()].sort((x, y) => y.epochMillis - x.epochMillis)
 }
 
+/**
+ * The rows the list holds: the newest `keep`, minus anything storage evicted.
+ *
+ * Both cuts exist because the list used to only grow. Every batch merged in and
+ * nothing came out except a clear, so a long session sorted hundreds of thousands
+ * of rows per batch — and eviction removed rows from IndexedDB without removing them
+ * here, so the header could say "15 shown · 8 retained" over rows that no longer
+ * existed anywhere but the screen.
+ */
+function windowed(rows: StoredTrace[], keep: number, evicted: EvictionMark | null): StoredTrace[] {
+  const kept = evicted === null ? rows : rows.filter((r) => survives(r, evicted))
+  return kept.length > keep ? kept.slice(0, keep) : kept
+}
+
 /**
  * Whether the browser's storage is doing what the screen implies it is doing.
  *
@@ -83,6 +100,16 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
     settingsRef.current = settings
   }, [settings])
   const [rows, setRows] = useState<StoredTrace[]>([])
+  // How many rows the list holds: one page, plus a page for every "load older" the
+  // user asked for. New traffic pushes the oldest out of the bottom rather than
+  // growing the list; they are still in storage, and loading older brings them back.
+  // Mirrored in a ref for the async batch path, which must not be re-created by it.
+  const [keep, setKeepState] = useState(settings.pageSize)
+  const keepRef = useRef(keep)
+  const setKeep = useCallback((next: number) => {
+    keepRef.current = next
+    setKeepState(next)
+  }, [])
   const [total, setTotal] = useState(0)
   const [hasMore, setHasMore] = useState(false)
   const [loadingOlder, setLoadingOlder] = useState(false)
@@ -175,7 +202,8 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
         const page = settingsRef.current.pageSize
         const first = await getTracePage(page)
         if (cancelled) return
-        setRows((prev) => merge(prev, first))
+        setKeep(page)
+        setRows((prev) => windowed(merge(prev, first), page, null))
         setHasMore(first.length === page)
         setTotal(await countTraces())
         okStorage('read')
@@ -189,7 +217,7 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
     return () => {
       cancelled = true
     }
-  }, [persist, failStorage, okStorage])
+  }, [persist, failStorage, okStorage, setKeep])
 
   // Live mode: persist + merge each incoming batch. Persistence is best-effort;
   // the incoming batch is always merged into the view even if IDB write fails.
@@ -203,6 +231,8 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
     const overtaken = () => cancelled || gen !== clearGenRef.current
     const batch = fresh.map(withKey)
     void (async () => {
+      // How far eviction reached during this batch, across the retry too.
+      let evicted: EvictionMark | null = null
       /**
        * Insert, then evict down to the user's limit.
        *
@@ -218,7 +248,8 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
         await upsertTraces(fresh)
         const after = await countTraces()
         const s = settingsRef.current
-        await pruneOldest(evictionCount(after, after - before, s))
+        const pruned = await pruneOldest(evictionCount(after, after - before, s))
+        evicted = laterMark(evicted, pruned.through)
       }
       try {
         try {
@@ -237,7 +268,8 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
           const s = settingsRef.current
           const total = await countTraces()
           const freed = await pruneOldest(Math.max(fresh.length * s.evictionFactor, total - s.retention))
-          if (freed === 0) throw first // nothing to give back; report the original failure
+          evicted = laterMark(evicted, freed.through)
+          if (freed.deleted === 0) throw first // nothing to give back; report the original failure
           await store()
         }
         if (overtaken()) return
@@ -271,7 +303,14 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
           /* leave the count where it was; the write failure is the message that matters */
         }
       }
-      if (!overtaken()) setRows((prev) => merge(prev, batch))
+      if (overtaken()) return
+      const gone = evicted
+      setRows((prev) => windowed(merge(prev, batch), keepRef.current, gone))
+      // A search result is a list of stored rows too, and the same eviction emptied
+      // some of them out of storage.
+      if (gone !== null) {
+        setResult((prev) => (prev ? { ...prev, rows: prev.rows.filter((r) => survives(r, gone)) } : prev))
+      }
     })()
     return () => {
       cancelled = true
@@ -349,7 +388,9 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
         const current = rowsRef.current
         const oldest = current[current.length - 1]
         const page = await getTracePage(size, oldest?.epochMillis)
-        setRows((prev) => merge(prev, page))
+        const next = keepRef.current + size
+        setKeep(next)
+        setRows((prev) => windowed(merge(prev, page), next, null))
         setHasMore(page.length === size)
         okStorage('read')
       } catch (e) {
@@ -361,7 +402,7 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
         setLoadingOlder(false)
       }
     })()
-  }, [failStorage, okStorage])
+  }, [failStorage, okStorage, setKeep])
 
   // Wipe the retained history and the display window, and record how far the wipe
   // reached so a later batch — or a platform replaying its ring buffer on the next
@@ -387,11 +428,12 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
         return
       }
       okStorage('clear')
+      setKeep(settingsRef.current.pageSize)
       setRows([])
       setTotal(0)
       setHasMore(false)
     })()
-  }, [failStorage, okStorage])
+  }, [failStorage, okStorage, setKeep])
 
   // Sample mode has nothing persisted to wipe, so "clear" records which batch
   // was dismissed. Storing the input alongside the decision keeps the view
@@ -424,8 +466,9 @@ export function useTraceStore(liveTraces: RequestTrace[], persist: boolean, sett
   return {
     rows: view,
     total,
-    // Under a filter, "more" means more matches to find, not more rows to page.
-    hasMore: filtering ? moreMatches : hasMore,
+    // Under a filter, "more" means more matches to find, not more rows to page. A full
+    // window may have pushed rows out of the bottom, which storage still holds.
+    hasMore: filtering ? moreMatches : hasMore || rows.length >= keep,
     loadingOlder,
     loadOlder,
     clear,
diff --git a/src/lib/trace-db.ts b/src/lib/trace-db.ts
index 450a1ae..fc0ee0e 100644
--- a/src/lib/trace-db.ts
+++ b/src/lib/trace-db.ts
@@ -153,6 +153,34 @@ export async function clearTraces(): Promise<void> {
   await (await db()).clear(STORE)
 }
 
+/**
+ * How far an eviction reached: the last row it deleted, in the order it deleted them.
+ *
+ * Rows are evicted oldest-first along `byEpoch`, and an index orders equal keys by
+ * primary key, so everything at or before this position is gone and everything
+ * after it survived. The trace list uses it to drop exactly what storage dropped —
+ * an epoch alone could not, since rows sharing the boundary millisecond may have
+ * gone either way.
+ */
+export interface EvictionMark {
+  epochMillis: number
+  key: string
+}
+
+/** The row survived an eviction that reached `mark`. */
+export function survives(t: StoredTrace, mark: EvictionMark | null): boolean {
+  if (mark === null) return true
+  // IndexedDB compares string keys by UTF-16 code unit, which is what `>` does too.
+  return t.epochMillis > mark.epochMillis || (t.epochMillis === mark.epochMillis && t._key > mark.key)
+}
+
+/** The later of two marks — what two evictions in a row removed between them. */
+export function laterMark(a: EvictionMark | null, b: EvictionMark | null): EvictionMark | null {
+  if (a === null) return b
+  if (b === null) return a
+  return survives({ epochMillis: b.epochMillis, _key: b.key } as StoredTrace, a) ? b : a
+}
+
 /**
  * Drop the oldest rows once the store is over its limit.
  *
@@ -160,23 +188,27 @@ export async function clearTraces(): Promise<void> {
  * of the batch that arrived and the user's eviction factor (`evictionCount` in
  * `settings.ts`). Passing it in rather than recomputing here keeps the policy in
  * one place and lets this stay a mechanism.
+ *
+ * Returns how many went and how far the deletion reached (`null` when none did).
  */
-export async function pruneOldest(count: number): Promise<number> {
-  if (count <= 0) return 0
+export async function pruneOldest(count: number): Promise<{ deleted: number; through: EvictionMark | null }> {
+  if (count <= 0) return { deleted: 0, through: null }
   const database = await db()
   const tx = database.transaction(STORE, 'readwrite')
   observeAbort(tx)
   let cursor = await tx.store.index(BY_EPOCH).openCursor(null, 'next') // oldest first
   let deleted = 0
   let toDelete = count
+  let through: EvictionMark | null = null
   while (cursor && toDelete > 0) {
+    through = { epochMillis: cursor.value.epochMillis, key: cursor.primaryKey }
     await cursor.delete()
     deleted += 1
     toDelete -= 1
     cursor = await cursor.continue()
   }
   await tx.done
-  return deleted
+  return { deleted, through }
 }
 
 /** Drop oldest rows beyond `max` (default retention cap). */