diff --git a/docker/build.sh b/docker/build.sh
index f5da04e..e4b01bf 100755
--- a/docker/build.sh
+++ b/docker/build.sh
@@ -20,13 +20,30 @@
 #
 # Binaryen is downloaded automatically - no prerequisites needed.
 
+# Auto-launch the live progress dashboard in this terminal (handled by logging.sh,
+# which owns the TTY before it re-execs us with output redirected). Set KICAD_NO_MONITOR=1
+# to disable. MUST be set before sourcing logging.sh — that's where the dashboard is
+# launched, in the pre-re-exec process.
+export KICAD_MONITOR=1
+
 # Redirect all output to a log file (re-execs script with redirection).
 # MUST be sourced before arg parsing — the re-exec relies on the original
 # "$@", so any shifts before this point would strip args from the re-exec.
 source "$(dirname "$0")/../scripts/common/logging.sh"
 
+# Build-progress markers (parsed by scripts/build-monitor.sh).
+source "$(dirname "$0")/../scripts/common/stages.sh"
+
 set -e
 
+# Emit a completion/failure marker no matter how the build ends, so the monitor
+# can stop on a clean "done" or show an aborted state instead of hanging.
+trap '_rc=$?; if [ $_rc -eq 0 ]; then kw_done; else kw_fail $_rc; fi' EXIT
+# On Ctrl-C, mark the build aborted so the final dashboard frame shows failed
+# (not a stale "running" state). The EXIT trap above also fires; the monitor reads
+# the last marker, so the duplicate is harmless.
+trap 'kw_fail 130; exit 130' INT TERM
+
 cd "$(dirname "$0")/.."
 
 VALID_APPS="pcbnew | eeschema | calculator | pl_editor | all"
@@ -79,6 +96,7 @@ docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up -d
 # Use --checksum to only transfer files with different CONTENT, not timestamps.
 # This avoids the timestamp mismatch cycle that caused full rebuilds every time.
 # Transferred files get current container time, so make detects them correctly.
+kw_stage container-sync
 echo "Syncing source code to container..."
 # rsync into the macOS-backed volume intermittently hits transient VirtioFS glitches:
 # temp-file rename failures (exit 23) or vanished-source files (exit 24, harmless).
@@ -121,12 +139,16 @@ kicad_subdir_for() {
 }
 
 # Build one app: compile in container, then run host-side post-processing.
+# Args: <app> [index] [total] — index/total drive the monitor's app counter.
 build_app() {
     local app="$1"
+    local index="${2:-1}"
+    local total="${3:-1}"
     local subdir
     subdir=$(kicad_subdir_for "$app")
+    kw_app "$app" "$index" "$total"
     echo ""
-    echo "=== Building ${app} ==="
+    echo "=== Building ${app} (${index}/${total}) ==="
 
     # Run build inside the container.
     # -e EMSDK=/emsdk: `docker compose exec` bypasses the entrypoint that sources
@@ -137,6 +159,7 @@ build_app() {
 
     # Copy output to host-accessible directory.
     # ${app}.wasm.debug.wasm contains DWARF debug info (when built with -gseparate-dwarf).
+    kw_stage copy-output
     echo "Copying ${app} build output to ./output/..."
     docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml exec kicad-wasm-builder \
         bash -c "mkdir -p /workspace/output && \
@@ -146,22 +169,25 @@ build_app() {
             cp /workspace/build-wasm/wxwidgets/build/wasm/wx.js /workspace/output/ 2>/dev/null || true"
 
     # Inject dynCall shims (fixes "dynCall_* is not defined" errors in Emscripten 4.x)
+    kw_stage dyncall-shims
     ./scripts/common/inject-dyncall-shims.sh "output/${app}.js"
 
     # Apply wasm-emscripten-finalize on host (skipped in Docker due to memory limits)
+    kw_stage finalize
     ./scripts/common/apply-finalize.sh "output/${app}.wasm" "output/${app}.wasm"
 
     # Apply asyncify transformation on host
+    kw_stage asyncify
     ./scripts/common/apply-asyncify.sh "output/${app}.wasm" "output/${app}.wasm"
 }
 
 if [[ "${APP_NAME}" == "all" ]]; then
-    build_app pcbnew
-    build_app eeschema
-    build_app calculator
-    build_app pl_editor
+    build_app pcbnew 1 4
+    build_app eeschema 2 4
+    build_app calculator 3 4
+    build_app pl_editor 4 4
 else
-    build_app "${APP_NAME}"
+    build_app "${APP_NAME}" 1 1
 fi
 
 echo ""
diff --git a/scripts/build-monitor.sh b/scripts/build-monitor.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2e62b72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/build-monitor.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,393 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Live terminal dashboard for KiCad WASM builds.
+#
+# Builds redirect all output to logs/<script>/<timestamp>.log (see
+# scripts/common/logging.sh). This monitor tails the newest log and renders a
+# single, self-refreshing screen of named stages + progress, so you never have to
+# open the log to see "where are we, X of N".
+#
+# It reads the @KW@ progress markers emitted by scripts/common/stages.sh, and the
+# CMake "[ N%]" lines for within-compile progress. If a log has no @KW@ markers
+# (old logs, or a build started before this tooling existed), it falls back to
+# inferring stages from the existing "=== ... ===" / "[INFO] ..." log lines.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./scripts/build-monitor.sh                  # follow newest logs/build/*.log
+#   ./scripts/build-monitor.sh --dir build-calculator   # watch a different subdir
+#   ./scripts/build-monitor.sh --once [logfile]  # one-shot snapshot (non-TTY ok)
+#   ./scripts/build-monitor.sh <logfile>         # follow a specific log file
+#
+# --managed: don't self-exit on the done/failed marker; run until killed. Used when
+#   a parent process (logging.sh's auto-launch) owns the monitor's lifecycle.
+
+set -u
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/.." && pwd)"
+LOGS_ROOT="${PROJECT_ROOT}/logs"
+
+ONCE=0
+MANAGED=0
+DIR="build"
+LOGFILE=""
+
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case "$1" in
+        --once) ONCE=1; shift ;;
+        --managed) MANAGED=1; shift ;;
+        --dir)  DIR="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --dir=*) DIR="${1#--dir=}"; shift ;;
+        -h|--help)
+            grep '^#' "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" | sed 's/^# \{0,1\}//; 1d'
+            exit 0 ;;
+        *) LOGFILE="$1"; shift ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+# Newest *.log under logs/<dir>, or empty string if none yet.
+find_newest_log() {
+    ls -t "${LOGS_ROOT}/${DIR}"/*.log 2>/dev/null | head -1
+}
+
+# Colors + cursor/erase escapes (only when stdout is a terminal). Captured once so
+# the redraw doesn't fork tput per line. C_HOME/C_EL/C_ED drive the flicker-free
+# in-place repaint (move home + erase each line + erase to end of screen) instead of
+# blanking the screen with `clear`, which would flash.
+if [[ -t 1 ]]; then
+    C_RESET=$(tput sgr0); C_BOLD=$(tput bold); C_DIM=$(tput dim)
+    C_GREEN=$(tput setaf 2); C_CYAN=$(tput setaf 6); C_RED=$(tput setaf 1)
+    C_YELLOW=$(tput setaf 3)
+    C_HOME=$(tput cup 0 0); C_EL=$(tput el); C_ED=$(tput ed)
+else
+    C_RESET=""; C_BOLD=""; C_DIM=""; C_GREEN=""; C_CYAN=""; C_RED=""; C_YELLOW=""
+    C_HOME=""; C_EL=""; C_ED=""
+fi
+
+SPINNER='|/-\'
+
+# All parsing + state computation lives in awk: portable across macOS bash 3.2 /
+# BSD awk, and avoids associative-array bashisms. It reads the log and emits simple
+# pipe-delimited records that the bash render() function formats.
+#
+# Records:
+#   H|<app>|<index>|<total>|<elapsedSec>|<state>   state = running|done|failed
+#   R|<status>|<label>|<detail>                    status = done|active|pending|skipped|failed
+#   B|<pct>                                         active-compile bar pct, or -1
+#   N|<note>                                        optional note line
+read -r -d '' AWK_PROG <<'AWK' || true
+function fmt(sec,   m,s) {
+    if (sec < 0) sec = 0
+    m = int(sec / 60); s = sec % 60
+    if (m > 0) return m "m" s "s"
+    return s "s"
+}
+# Start ts of the next stage row that actually ran after index i (else terminal ts).
+function next_seen_start(i,   j) {
+    for (j = i + 1; j <= ROWN; j++)
+        if (ord[j] in rowSeen) return rowStartTs[ord[j]]
+    return termTs
+}
+BEGIN {
+    # Canonical per-app stage rows, in order. Sub-stages (wxwidgets-configure /
+    # -compile) fold into the wxwidgets row via parent[].
+    ROWN = 0
+    ord[++ROWN] = "deps";            lab["deps"]            = "Dependencies"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "wxwidgets";       lab["wxwidgets"]       = "wxWidgets"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "kicad-stubs";     lab["kicad-stubs"]     = "Stub libraries"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "kicad-configure"; lab["kicad-configure"] = "KiCad configure (CMake)"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "kicad-compile";   lab["kicad-compile"]   = "KiCad compile"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "kicad-bitmaps";   lab["kicad-bitmaps"]   = "Bitmap resources"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "copy-output";     lab["copy-output"]     = "Copy output"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "dyncall-shims";   lab["dyncall-shims"]   = "dynCall shims"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "finalize";        lab["finalize"]        = "Finalize WASM"
+    ord[++ROWN] = "asyncify";        lab["asyncify"]        = "Asyncify"
+    for (i = 1; i <= ROWN; i++) ridx[ord[i]] = i
+    parent["wxwidgets-configure"] = "wxwidgets"
+    parent["wxwidgets-compile"]   = "wxwidgets"
+
+    markerCount = 0; firstTs = 0
+    appName = ""; appIndex = 0; appTotal = 0
+    curRawKey = ""; doneFlag = 0; failFlag = 0; failCode = 0
+    lastpct = -1; cc = 0
+    # heuristic-mode flags
+    h_app = ""; h_phase = ""; h_pct = -1; h_cc = 0; h_done = 0
+}
+$1 == "@KW@" {
+    markerCount++
+    ts = $2 + 0
+    if (firstTs == 0) firstTs = ts
+    kind = $3
+    if (kind == "app") {
+        appName = $4; appIndex = $5 + 0; appTotal = $6 + 0
+        # New app segment: reset per-segment stage tracking.
+        delete rowSeen; delete rowStartTs
+        curRawKey = ""; lastpct = -1; cc = 0
+    } else if (kind == "stage") {
+        key = $4
+        pk = (key in parent) ? parent[key] : key
+        if (!(pk in rowSeen)) { rowSeen[pk] = 1; rowStartTs[pk] = ts }
+        curRawKey = key; curTs = ts
+        if (key == "kicad-compile") { lastpct = -1; cc = 0 }
+    } else if (kind == "done") {
+        doneFlag = 1; termRaw = ts
+    } else if (kind == "failed") {
+        failFlag = 1; failCode = $4 + 0; termRaw = ts
+    }
+    next
+}
+# Within an active KiCad compile, track CMake percent and compiled-object count.
+curRawKey == "kicad-compile" {
+    if (match($0, /[0-9]+%\]/)) {
+        p = substr($0, RSTART, RLENGTH); gsub(/[^0-9]/, "", p); lastpct = p + 0
+    }
+    if ($0 ~ /Building (C|CXX) object/) cc++
+}
+# ---- Heuristic fallback signal collection (only used if no @KW@ markers) ----
+{
+    if ($0 ~ /=== Building (pcbnew|eeschema|calculator)/) {
+        s = $0; sub(/.*=== Building /, "", s); sub(/ .*/, "", s); h_app = s
+    }
+    if ($0 ~ /=== Building wxWidgets/)            h_phase = "wxwidgets"
+    if ($0 ~ /Configuring KiCad with CMake/)      h_phase = "kicad-configure"
+    if ($0 ~ /\(CMake target:/)                   h_phase = "kicad-compile"
+    if ($0 ~ /Building bitmap resources/)         h_phase = "kicad-bitmaps"
+    if ($0 ~ /Applying asyncify transformation/)  h_phase = "asyncify"
+    if (h_phase == "kicad-compile" && match($0, /[0-9]+%\]/)) {
+        p = substr($0, RSTART, RLENGTH); gsub(/[^0-9]/, "", p); h_pct = p + 0
+    }
+    if (h_phase == "kicad-compile" && $0 ~ /Building (C|CXX) object/) h_cc++
+    if ($0 ~ /Build complete\. Output files/ || $0 ~ /Asyncify complete/) h_done = 1
+}
+END {
+    if (markerCount > 0) { render_markers(); }
+    else                 { render_heuristic(); }
+}
+function render_markers(   state, totalEl, pk, curIdx, i, k, st, det, subdet, endts) {
+    state = doneFlag ? "done" : (failFlag ? "failed" : "running")
+    termTs = (doneFlag || failFlag) ? termRaw : NOW
+    totalEl = (firstTs > 0) ? termTs - firstTs : 0
+
+    # Pre-app phase (container sync runs before the first app marker).
+    if (appName == "") {
+        printf "H|-|0|0|%d|%s\n", totalEl, state
+        if (curRawKey == "container-sync") {
+            printf "R|active|Sync source to container|%s\n", fmt(termTs - rowStartTs["container-sync"])
+        } else {
+            printf "N|waiting for build to start...\n"
+        }
+        printf "B|-1\n"
+        return
+    }
+
+    printf "H|%s|%d|%d|%d|%s\n", appName, appIndex, appTotal, totalEl, state
+    pk = (curRawKey in parent) ? parent[curRawKey] : curRawKey
+    curIdx = (pk in ridx) ? ridx[pk] : 0
+
+    for (i = 1; i <= ROWN; i++) {
+        k = ord[i]
+        det = ""
+        if (doneFlag) {
+            st = (k in rowSeen) ? "done" : "skipped"
+        } else if (failFlag) {
+            if (i == curIdx) st = "failed"
+            else if (i < curIdx) st = (k in rowSeen) ? "done" : "skipped"
+            else st = "pending"
+        } else {
+            if (i < curIdx) st = (k in rowSeen) ? "done" : "skipped"
+            else if (i == curIdx) st = "active"
+            else st = "pending"
+        }
+        if (st == "done") {
+            endts = next_seen_start(i)
+            det = fmt(endts - rowStartTs[k])
+        } else if (st == "active") {
+            if (k == "kicad-compile") {
+                if (lastpct >= 0) det = sprintf("[%3d%%]  %d files", lastpct, cc)
+                else det = sprintf("%d files", cc)
+            } else {
+                subdet = ""
+                if (k == "wxwidgets") {
+                    if (curRawKey == "wxwidgets-configure") subdet = "configure "
+                    else if (curRawKey == "wxwidgets-compile") subdet = "compile "
+                }
+                det = subdet fmt(termTs - rowStartTs[k])
+            }
+        }
+        printf "R|%s|%s|%s\n", st, lab[k], det
+    }
+    if (curIdx > 0 && ord[curIdx] == "kicad-compile" && !doneFlag && !failFlag && lastpct >= 0)
+        printf "B|%d\n", lastpct
+    else
+        printf "B|-1\n"
+}
+function render_heuristic(   state, order, ph, i, k, st, names) {
+    state = h_done ? "done" : "running"
+    printf "H|%s|0|0|-1|%s\n", (h_app == "" ? "-" : h_app), state
+    # Freshly-created/empty log at startup: nothing to infer yet.
+    if (h_app == "" && h_phase == "" && !h_done) {
+        printf "N|starting build...\n"
+        printf "B|-1\n"
+        return
+    }
+    printf "N|(no progress markers in this log - inferred from log text)\n"
+    # Reduced ordered phase set we can detect heuristically.
+    split("wxwidgets kicad-configure kicad-compile kicad-bitmaps asyncify", order, " ")
+    names["wxwidgets"]="wxWidgets"; names["kicad-configure"]="KiCad configure (CMake)"
+    names["kicad-compile"]="KiCad compile"; names["kicad-bitmaps"]="Bitmap resources"
+    names["asyncify"]="Asyncify"
+    ph = 0
+    for (i = 1; i <= 5; i++) if (order[i] == h_phase) ph = i
+    for (i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
+        k = order[i]
+        if (h_done) st = "done"
+        else if (i < ph) st = "done"
+        else if (i == ph) st = "active"
+        else st = "pending"
+        det = ""
+        if (st == "active" && k == "kicad-compile")
+            det = (h_pct >= 0) ? sprintf("[%3d%%]  %d files", h_pct, h_cc) : sprintf("%d files", h_cc)
+        printf "R|%s|%s|%s\n", st, names[k], det
+    }
+    printf "B|%s\n", (h_phase == "kicad-compile" && h_pct >= 0) ? h_pct : "-1"
+}
+AWK
+
+# Draw a width-w progress bar for percent p.
+bar() {
+    local p="$1" w=24 filled i out=""
+    filled=$(( p * w / 100 ))
+    for ((i = 0; i < w; i++)); do
+        if (( i < filled )); then out+="#"; else out+="."; fi
+    done
+    printf '%s' "$out"
+}
+
+# Render one snapshot from awk output ($1) to the screen.
+render() {
+    local data="$1" tick="$2"
+    local spin="${SPINNER:$((tick % 4)):1}"
+    local app idx total elapsed state note="" barpct=-1
+    local -a rows=()
+
+    while IFS='|' read -r kind a b c d e; do
+        case "$kind" in
+            H) app="$a"; idx="$b"; total="$c"; elapsed="$d"; state="$e" ;;
+            R) rows+=("$a|$b|$c") ;;
+            B) barpct="$a" ;;
+            N) note="$a" ;;
+        esac
+    done <<< "$data"
+
+    local title="KiCad WASM build"
+    [[ "$app" != "-" && -n "$app" ]] && title+="  ${C_BOLD}${app}${C_RESET}"
+    [[ "${total:-0}" -gt 0 ]] && title+=" (${idx}/${total})"
+    case "$state" in
+        done)   title+="  ${C_GREEN}[done]${C_RESET}" ;;
+        failed) title+="  ${C_RED}[FAILED]${C_RESET}" ;;
+        *)      title+="  ${C_CYAN}[building ${spin}]${C_RESET}" ;;
+    esac
+
+    printf '%s== %s ==%s\n' "$C_BOLD" "$title" "$C_RESET"
+    printf '%s\n' "------------------------------------------------------------"
+    [[ -n "$note" ]] && printf '  %s%s%s\n' "$C_DIM" "$note" "$C_RESET"
+
+    local r st label detail glyph color
+    for r in ${rows[@]+"${rows[@]}"}; do
+        IFS='|' read -r st label detail <<< "$r"
+        case "$st" in
+            done)    glyph="[x]"; color="$C_GREEN" ;;
+            active)  glyph="[${spin}]"; color="$C_CYAN" ;;
+            pending) glyph="[ ]"; color="$C_DIM" ;;
+            skipped) glyph="[-]"; color="$C_DIM" ;;
+            failed)  glyph="[!]"; color="$C_RED" ;;
+            *)       glyph="[ ]"; color="$C_RESET" ;;
+        esac
+        printf '  %s%s %-24s%s %s\n' "$color" "$glyph" "$label" "$C_RESET" "$detail"
+        if [[ "$st" == "active" && "$barpct" -ge 0 ]]; then
+            printf '      %s  %s%%\n' "$(bar "$barpct")" "$barpct"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    printf '%s\n' "------------------------------------------------------------"
+    local elapsed_str="--"
+    [[ "${elapsed:--1}" -ge 0 ]] 2>/dev/null && elapsed_str="$(fmt_sec "$elapsed")"
+    printf '  elapsed %s  ·  log %s\n' "$elapsed_str" "$(basename "${CUR_LOG:-?}")"
+}
+
+# Seconds -> "Xm YYs" (bash side, for the footer).
+fmt_sec() {
+    local s="$1" m
+    (( s < 0 )) && s=0
+    m=$(( s / 60 )); s=$(( s % 60 ))
+    if (( m > 0 )); then printf '%dm%02ds' "$m" "$s"; else printf '%ds' "$s"; fi
+}
+
+snapshot() {
+    local now data
+    now=$(date +%s)
+    data=$(awk -v NOW="$now" "$AWK_PROG" "$CUR_LOG")
+    render "$data" "${1:-0}"
+    # Surface the build state to the caller via global.
+    LAST_STATE=$(printf '%s\n' "$data" | awk -F'|' '$1=="H"{print $6}')
+}
+
+# Write a pre-built frame in place, without clearing the screen first (no flash).
+# Home the cursor, erase each line to its end (handles a shorter new line), then
+# erase to end of screen (handles a shorter new frame, e.g. the bar/note lines
+# disappearing). On a non-TTY C_HOME/C_EL/C_ED are empty, so this is plain printing.
+paint() {
+    local frame="$1" line
+    printf '%s' "$C_HOME"
+    while IFS= read -r line; do
+        printf '%s%s\n' "$line" "$C_EL"
+    done <<< "$frame"
+    printf '%s' "$C_ED"
+}
+
+# --- one-shot mode -----------------------------------------------------------
+if [[ "$ONCE" -eq 1 ]]; then
+    CUR_LOG="${LOGFILE:-$(find_newest_log)}"
+    if [[ -z "$CUR_LOG" || ! -f "$CUR_LOG" ]]; then
+        echo "No log found in ${LOGS_ROOT}/${DIR}/ (and none given)." >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    snapshot 0
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# --- live follow mode --------------------------------------------------------
+tick=0
+trap 'tput cnorm 2>/dev/null; printf "%s" "$C_RESET"; echo; exit 0' INT TERM
+[[ -t 1 ]] && tput civis 2>/dev/null
+# Clear once up front; every later frame overwrites in place via paint() so the
+# screen is never blanked between refreshes (no flash).
+[[ -t 1 ]] && tput clear 2>/dev/null
+
+while true; do
+    # Re-resolve newest log each tick (unless a specific file was given) so the
+    # monitor latches onto a build started after it.
+    if [[ -z "$LOGFILE" ]]; then CUR_LOG="$(find_newest_log)"; else CUR_LOG="$LOGFILE"; fi
+
+    if [[ -z "$CUR_LOG" || ! -f "$CUR_LOG" ]]; then
+        paint "$(printf '%sWaiting for a build log in %s/%s/ ...%s\n%s(spinner %s)%s' \
+            "$C_DIM" "$LOGS_ROOT" "$DIR" "$C_RESET" \
+            "$C_DIM" "${SPINNER:$((tick % 4)):1}" "$C_RESET")"
+        sleep 1; tick=$((tick + 1)); continue
+    fi
+
+    # Fetch state once, derive build state in this scope (a $(...) capture of
+    # render() can't propagate a global), then render to a string and paint it.
+    now=$(date +%s)
+    data=$(awk -v NOW="$now" "$AWK_PROG" "$CUR_LOG")
+    state=$(printf '%s\n' "$data" | awk -F'|' '$1=="H"{print $6}')
+    paint "$(render "$data" "$tick")"
+
+    # In managed mode the parent owns our lifecycle and will kill us; keep painting
+    # the final frame until then. Otherwise self-exit once the build is finished.
+    if [[ "$MANAGED" -eq 0 && ( "${state:-running}" == "done" || "${state:-running}" == "failed" ) ]]; then
+        tput cnorm 2>/dev/null
+        break
+    fi
+    sleep 1
+    tick=$((tick + 1))
+done
diff --git a/scripts/build-wxuniversal-wasm.sh b/scripts/build-wxuniversal-wasm.sh
index 6283e30..29b7f20 100755
--- a/scripts/build-wxuniversal-wasm.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-wxuniversal-wasm.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ source "$(dirname "$0")/common/logging.sh"
 
 # Source common environment (sets up local emsdk)
 source "$(dirname "$0")/common/env.sh"
+# Build-progress markers (parsed by scripts/build-monitor.sh).
+source "$(dirname "$0")/common/stages.sh"
 # This builds the GUI-enabled wxWidgets needed for KiCad
 #
 # Prerequisites:
@@ -98,6 +100,7 @@ if [ $NEEDS_CONFIGURE -eq 1 ]; then
     # --without-libtiff          Avoid external dependencies
     # --disable-xlocale          Browser environment handles locale
 
+    kw_stage wxwidgets-configure
     echo ""
     echo "=== Configuring ==="
 
@@ -162,6 +165,7 @@ if [ $NEEDS_CONFIGURE -eq 1 ]; then
 fi
 
 # Build wxWidgets
+kw_stage wxwidgets-compile
 echo ""
 echo "=== Building wxWidgets (using ${JOBS} parallel jobs) ==="
 emmake make -j${JOBS}
diff --git a/scripts/common/logging.sh b/scripts/common/logging.sh
index 69cce2b..991a12e 100644
--- a/scripts/common/logging.sh
+++ b/scripts/common/logging.sh
@@ -38,15 +38,46 @@ _LOG_FILE="${_LOGS_DIR}/${_TIMESTAMP}.log"
 
 mkdir -p "${_LOGS_DIR}"
 
+# Optionally drive the live progress dashboard in this terminal (the re-exec'd build
+# below has its stdout redirected to the log, so THIS process — which still owns the
+# TTY — is the one that can paint it). Opt-in: a build script sets KICAD_MONITOR=1
+# before sourcing this file. Skipped for non-interactive stdout or KICAD_NO_MONITOR=1.
+_MONITOR="${_PROJECT_ROOT}/scripts/build-monitor.sh"
+_USE_MONITOR=0
+if [[ "${KICAD_MONITOR:-0}" == "1" ]] && [[ -z "${KICAD_NO_MONITOR:-}" ]] \
+   && [[ -t 1 ]] && [[ -x "${_MONITOR}" ]]; then
+    _USE_MONITOR=1
+fi
+
 # Show log path before re-exec
 echo "Logging to: ${_LOG_FILE}"
+# Only suggest the manual command when we're NOT auto-launching the dashboard.
+[[ ${_USE_MONITOR} -eq 0 ]] && \
+    echo "Watch progress: ${_MONITOR} --dir ${_SCRIPT_NAME}"
 
 # Run the calling script with output redirected
 # This is equivalent to: ./script.sh > logfile 2>&1
 # and reliably captures ALL output including docker compose TTY messages
 export KICAD_LOG_NESTED=1
-"${_CALLER_SCRIPT}" "$@" > "${_LOG_FILE}" 2>&1
-_EXIT_CODE=$?
+export KICAD_LOG_FILE="${_LOG_FILE}"   # let the build body know its own log path
+
+if [[ ${_USE_MONITOR} -eq 1 ]]; then
+    : > "${_LOG_FILE}"                            # create now so the follower has a file
+    "${_MONITOR}" "${_LOG_FILE}" &                # live dashboard on this terminal
+    _MON_PID=$!
+    # Tear down the dashboard if the user interrupts the build.
+    trap 'kill ${_MON_PID} 2>/dev/null' INT TERM
+    "${_CALLER_SCRIPT}" "$@" >> "${_LOG_FILE}" 2>&1
+    _EXIT_CODE=$?
+    # The build body's EXIT trap writes the done/failed marker, so the monitor paints
+    # its final frame in place and self-exits — no separate redraw needed (which would
+    # otherwise print the frame a second time).
+    wait "${_MON_PID}" 2>/dev/null
+    trap - INT TERM
+else
+    "${_CALLER_SCRIPT}" "$@" > "${_LOG_FILE}" 2>&1
+    _EXIT_CODE=$?
+fi
 
 # Print completion message (this runs AFTER the script finishes)
 if [[ ${_EXIT_CODE} -eq 0 ]]; then
diff --git a/scripts/common/stages.sh b/scripts/common/stages.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..fab2105
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/common/stages.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Emit machine-parseable build-progress markers into the log stream.
+#
+# All build output is captured by logging.sh into logs/<script>/<ts>.log, and
+# scripts/build-monitor.sh parses these @KW@ lines to render live progress.
+# These are plain printf so they work identically on the host (docker/build.sh)
+# and inside `docker compose exec` (build-kicad-target.sh, build-wxuniversal-wasm.sh):
+# the container's stdout flows back through build.sh's redirected stdout into the
+# same host log, so a single log is the source of truth for the whole build.
+#
+# Each marker carries an epoch timestamp so the monitor can reconstruct per-stage
+# elapsed time even when it attaches mid-build or runs --once on a finished log.
+#
+# Marker grammar (one per line):
+#   @KW@ <epoch> stage  <key>
+#   @KW@ <epoch> app    <name> <index> <total>
+#   @KW@ <epoch> done
+#   @KW@ <epoch> failed <exit_code>
+#
+# The monitor owns human-readable labels (key -> label), so keys stay terse here.
+
+kw_stage() { printf '@KW@ %s stage %s\n' "$(date +%s)" "$1"; }
+kw_app()   { printf '@KW@ %s app %s %s %s\n' "$(date +%s)" "$1" "$2" "$3"; }
+kw_done()  { printf '@KW@ %s done\n' "$(date +%s)"; }
+kw_fail()  { printf '@KW@ %s failed %s\n' "$(date +%s)" "${1:-1}"; }
diff --git a/scripts/kicad/build-kicad-target.sh b/scripts/kicad/build-kicad-target.sh
index aaf00fd..0033640 100755
--- a/scripts/kicad/build-kicad-target.sh
+++ b/scripts/kicad/build-kicad-target.sh
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../common/env.sh"
 source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../common/versions.sh"
 source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../common/functions.sh"
+source "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../common/stages.sh"
 
 KICAD_DIR="${PROJECT_ROOT}/kicad"
 KICAD_BUILD="${BUILD_ROOT}/kicad-${APP_NAME}"
@@ -155,6 +156,7 @@ fi
 # Step 2: Build dependencies
 # Note: --with-occ for OpenCASCADE, but NOT ngspice since KICAD_SPICE=OFF
 if [ $SKIP_DEPS -eq 0 ]; then
+    kw_stage deps
     log_info "Building dependencies..."
     "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../deps/build-all-deps.sh" --with-occ
 else
@@ -167,6 +169,7 @@ fi
 # scripts that want to know if KiCad was ever built successfully.
 
 # Step 4: Build wxWidgets (incremental - only recompiles changed files)
+kw_stage wxwidgets
 log_info "Building wxWidgets..."
 "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../build-wxuniversal-wasm.sh" --no-clean
 
@@ -208,6 +211,7 @@ STUBS_DIR="${PROJECT_ROOT}/wasm/stubs"
 STUBS_BUILD="${BUILD_ROOT}/stubs"
 mkdir -p "${STUBS_BUILD}"
 
+kw_stage kicad-stubs
 log_info "Building stub libraries..."
 # Compile libgit2 stub
 emcc -c "${STUBS_DIR}/libgit2_stub.c" -o "${STUBS_BUILD}/libgit2_stub.o"
@@ -303,6 +307,7 @@ EMBIND_SRC="${PROJECT_ROOT}/wasm/bindings/${APP_NAME}_embind.cpp"
 
 # Step 7: Configure KiCad with CMake
 # We use CMAKE_MODULE_PATH to inject our compatibility layer
+kw_stage kicad-configure
 log_info "Configuring KiCad with CMake..."
 
 # Use ccache if available (CMAKE_*_COMPILER_LAUNCHER is the proper CMake way)
@@ -392,11 +397,13 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Step 8: Build the app target
+kw_stage kicad-compile
 log_info "Building ${APP_NAME} (CMake target: ${KICAD_TARGET})..."
 emmake make -j${JOBS} "${KICAD_TARGET}"
 
 # Step 8.1: Build bitmap resources (images.tar.gz)
 # This creates the icon archive that KiCad loads at runtime
+kw_stage kicad-bitmaps
 log_info "Building bitmap resources..."
 emmake make bitmap_archive_build