diff --git a/api/storage_s3.py b/api/storage_s3.py
index acd198a..90d21cd 100644
--- a/api/storage_s3.py
+++ b/api/storage_s3.py
@@ -218,24 +218,40 @@ async def list_objects(
         return JSONResponse({"ok": False, "error": str(exc)}, status_code=502)
 
 
+_MEDIA_BY_EXT = {
+    "jpeg": "image/jpeg", "jpg": "image/jpeg", "png": "image/png", "gif": "image/gif",
+    "webp": "image/webp", "bmp": "image/bmp", "svg": "image/svg+xml",
+}
+
+
 @router.get("/buckets/{bucket}/download")
-async def download_object(bucket: str, key: str = Query(...)):
+async def download_object(bucket: str, key: str = Query(...), inline: bool = Query(False)):
     try:
         _track("download")
         s3 = _client()
         obj = s3.get_object(Bucket=bucket, Key=key)
         body = obj["Body"]
         filename = key.split("/")[-1] or "download"
-        media = obj.get("ContentType") or "application/octet-stream"
+        ext_media = _MEDIA_BY_EXT.get(_ext(key))
+        stored = obj.get("ContentType")
+        # ECS often stores everything as octet-stream — trust the extension for
+        # known image types so previews render inline instead of downloading.
+        media = ext_media or stored or "application/octet-stream"
+        if ext_media and (not stored or stored == "application/octet-stream"):
+            media = ext_media
 
         def stream():
             while chunk := body.read(1024 * 256):
                 yield chunk
 
+        disp = "inline" if inline else "attachment"
         return StreamingResponse(
             stream(),
             media_type=media,
-            headers={"Content-Disposition": f'attachment; filename="{filename}"'},
+            headers={
+                "Content-Disposition": f'{disp}; filename="{filename}"',
+                "Cache-Control": "private, max-age=300",
+            },
         )
     except ClientError as exc:
         return JSONResponse({"ok": False, "error": str(exc)}, status_code=404)
diff --git a/ui/src/components/features/StorageView.tsx b/ui/src/components/features/StorageView.tsx
index db097f6..f58b49a 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/features/StorageView.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/features/StorageView.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
 import {
-  Activity, BarChart3, Boxes, ChevronRight, Clock, Database, Download, ExternalLink,
-  Files, Folder, Gauge, HardDrive, LayoutGrid, Loader2, RefreshCw, Search, TrendingUp,
+  Activity, BarChart3, Boxes, ChevronLeft, ChevronRight, Clock, Database, Download, ExternalLink,
+  Files, FileText, Folder, Gauge, GalleryThumbnails, HardDrive, LayoutGrid, List, Loader2,
+  RefreshCw, Search, TrendingUp, X,
 } from 'lucide-react'
 import { cn } from '../../lib/utils'
 import { subTabActive, subTabIdle } from '../../lib/tabActive'
@@ -350,6 +351,46 @@ export function StorageView() {
 /* ── Browser (the original explorer, now a tab) ──────────────────────────── */
 
 const TYPE_CHIPS = ['json', 'jpeg', 'png', 'csv', 'log', 'parquet', 'avro', 'pdf', 'txt']
+const IMG_EXT = new Set(['jpeg', 'jpg', 'png', 'gif', 'webp', 'bmp', 'svg'])
+const isImage = (o: S3Item) => IMG_EXT.has((o.ext || '').toLowerCase())
+const objUrl = (bucket: string, key: string, inline = false) =>
+  `/api/storage/s3/buckets/${encodeURIComponent(bucket)}/download?key=${encodeURIComponent(key)}${inline ? '&inline=true' : ''}`
+
+function Lightbox({ bucket, items, index, onClose, onNav }: { bucket: string; items: S3Item[]; index: number; onClose: () => void; onNav: (i: number) => void }) {
+  const o = items[index]
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const h = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
+      if (e.key === 'Escape') onClose()
+      if (e.key === 'ArrowRight') onNav((index + 1) % items.length)
+      if (e.key === 'ArrowLeft') onNav((index - 1 + items.length) % items.length)
+    }
+    window.addEventListener('keydown', h)
+    return () => window.removeEventListener('keydown', h)
+  }, [index, items.length, onClose, onNav])
+  if (!o?.key) return null
+  return (
+    <div className="fixed inset-0 z-50 flex items-center justify-center bg-black/80 p-6" onClick={onClose}>
+      <button type="button" className="absolute right-4 top-4 rounded-full bg-white/10 p-2 text-white hover:bg-white/20" onClick={onClose}><X className="h-4 w-4" /></button>
+      {items.length > 1 && (
+        <>
+          <button type="button" className="absolute left-4 rounded-full bg-white/10 p-2 text-white hover:bg-white/20" onClick={(e) => { e.stopPropagation(); onNav((index - 1 + items.length) % items.length) }}><ChevronLeft className="h-5 w-5" /></button>
+          <button type="button" className="absolute right-4 rounded-full bg-white/10 p-2 text-white hover:bg-white/20" style={{ top: '50%' }} onClick={(e) => { e.stopPropagation(); onNav((index + 1) % items.length) }}><ChevronRight className="h-5 w-5" /></button>
+        </>
+      )}
+      <div className="flex max-h-full max-w-full flex-col items-center gap-3" onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}>
+        <img src={objUrl(bucket, o.key, true)} alt={o.key} className="max-h-[80vh] max-w-[85vw] rounded-lg object-contain shadow-2xl" />
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-3 text-[11px] text-white/80">
+          <span className="font-mono">{o.key}</span>
+          <span>·</span>
+          <span>{o.size_human}</span>
+          <span>·</span>
+          <span>{index + 1}/{items.length}</span>
+          <a href={objUrl(bucket, o.key)} className="inline-flex items-center gap-1 rounded bg-white/10 px-2 py-1 hover:bg-white/20"><Download className="h-3 w-3" /> Download</a>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  )
+}
 
 function BucketBrowser() {
   const [buckets, setBuckets] = useState<Bucket[]>([])
@@ -367,8 +408,20 @@ function BucketBrowser() {
   const [recursive, setRecursive] = useState(false)
   const [nextToken, setNextToken] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const [scanned, setScanned] = useState(0)
+  // gallery
+  const [view, setView] = useState<'list' | 'grid'>('list')
+  const [userPickedView, setUserPickedView] = useState(false)
+  const [lightbox, setLightbox] = useState<number | null>(null)
 
   const flat = recursive || !!q || !!ext
+  const images = useMemo(() => objects.filter(isImage), [objects])
+  const imageShare = objects.length ? images.length / objects.length : 0
+
+  // auto-switch to gallery when a listing is mostly images (until user overrides)
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (userPickedView) return
+    setView(objects.length > 0 && imageShare >= 0.5 ? 'grid' : 'list')
+  }, [objects.length, imageShare, userPickedView])
 
   const loadBuckets = useCallback(async () => {
     setLoading(true); setError(null)
@@ -395,6 +448,7 @@ function BucketBrowser() {
       const r = await fetch(`/api/storage/s3/buckets/${encodeURIComponent(b)}/objects?${params}`)
       const j = await r.json()
       if (!r.ok || !j.ok) { setError(j.error || 'List failed'); return }
+      if (!append) setLightbox(null)
       setFolders(j.flat ? [] : (j.folders || []))
       setObjects((prev) => (append ? [...prev, ...(j.objects || [])] : (j.objects || [])))
       setNextToken(j.next_token || null)
@@ -455,6 +509,15 @@ function BucketBrowser() {
           {(q || ext || recursive) && (
             <button type="button" onClick={clearSearch} className={cn('rounded-md px-2 py-1 text-[10px]', subTabIdle)}>Clear</button>
           )}
+          <div className="ml-auto flex items-center gap-1">
+            {images.length > 0 && <span className="text-[9px] text-foreground-faint">{images.length} image{images.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}</span>}
+            <div className="flex rounded-md border border-border p-0.5">
+              <button type="button" title="List" onClick={() => { setView('list'); setUserPickedView(true) }}
+                className={cn('rounded p-1', view === 'list' ? subTabActive : subTabIdle)}><List className="h-3 w-3" /></button>
+              <button type="button" title="Gallery" onClick={() => { setView('grid'); setUserPickedView(true) }}
+                className={cn('rounded p-1', view === 'grid' ? subTabActive : subTabIdle)}><GalleryThumbnails className="h-3 w-3" /></button>
+            </div>
+          </div>
         </div>
 
         {bucket && !flat && (
@@ -477,6 +540,58 @@ function BucketBrowser() {
         )}
         {loading && <p className="flex items-center gap-2 text-[11px] text-foreground-muted"><Loader2 className="h-4 w-4 animate-spin" /> Loading…</p>}
         {error && <p className="mb-2 text-[11px] text-danger">{error}</p>}
+
+        {view === 'grid' ? (
+          <div className="scrollbar-thin min-h-0 flex-1 overflow-y-auto">
+            {!flat && folders.length > 0 && (
+              <div className="mb-3 flex flex-wrap gap-2">
+                {folders.map((f) => (
+                  <button key={f.prefix} type="button" onClick={() => setPrefix(f.prefix || '')}
+                    className="inline-flex items-center gap-1 rounded-md border border-border bg-surface-overlay px-2 py-1 text-[10px] font-medium text-docker hover:bg-surface-muted">
+                    <Folder className="h-3.5 w-3.5" /> {f.name}/
+                  </button>
+                ))}
+              </div>
+            )}
+            <div className="grid grid-cols-[repeat(auto-fill,minmax(108px,1fr))] gap-2">
+              {objects.map((o) => {
+                const img = isImage(o)
+                const imgIdx = img ? images.findIndex((x) => x.key === o.key) : -1
+                return (
+                  <div key={o.key} className="group overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-border bg-surface-raised">
+                    <button type="button" onClick={() => img ? setLightbox(imgIdx) : undefined}
+                      className="flex aspect-square w-full items-center justify-center overflow-hidden bg-surface-overlay">
+                      {img && o.key && bucket ? (
+                        <img src={objUrl(bucket, o.key, true)} alt={o.name || o.key} loading="lazy"
+                          className="h-full w-full object-cover transition-transform group-hover:scale-105" />
+                      ) : (
+                        <FileText className="h-7 w-7 text-foreground-faint" />
+                      )}
+                    </button>
+                    <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-1 px-1.5 py-1">
+                      <span className="truncate font-mono text-[9px] text-foreground-muted" title={o.key}>{(o.name || o.key || '').split('/').pop()}</span>
+                      {o.key && bucket && (
+                        <a href={objUrl(bucket, o.key)} className="shrink-0 text-docker hover:underline"><Download className="h-3 w-3" /></a>
+                      )}
+                    </div>
+                    <div className="px-1.5 pb-1 text-[8px] text-foreground-faint">{o.size_human}</div>
+                  </div>
+                )
+              })}
+            </div>
+            {!loading && objects.length === 0 && bucket && (
+              <p className="py-8 text-center text-sm text-foreground-muted">{flat ? 'No matching objects found.' : 'No files in this prefix.'}</p>
+            )}
+            {nextToken && bucket && (
+              <div className="py-3 text-center">
+                <button type="button" disabled={loadingMore} onClick={() => loadObjects(bucket, prefix, { q, ext, recursive }, nextToken)}
+                  className={cn('rounded-md px-3 py-1.5 text-[11px]', subTabIdle)}>
+                  {loadingMore ? <Loader2 className="inline h-3 w-3 animate-spin" /> : 'Load more'}
+                </button>
+              </div>
+            )}
+          </div>
+        ) : (
         <div className="scrollbar-thin min-h-0 flex-1 overflow-y-auto">
           <table className="w-full text-left text-[11px]">
             <thead>
@@ -525,7 +640,12 @@ function BucketBrowser() {
             </div>
           )}
         </div>
+        )}
       </div>
+
+      {lightbox !== null && bucket && images.length > 0 && (
+        <Lightbox bucket={bucket} items={images} index={Math.min(lightbox, images.length - 1)} onClose={() => setLightbox(null)} onNav={setLightbox} />
+      )}
     </div>
   )
 }