diff --git a/crates/xy-supervisor/src/lib.rs b/crates/xy-supervisor/src/lib.rs
index 1aa7124..e8f7fb1 100644
--- a/crates/xy-supervisor/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/xy-supervisor/src/lib.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,6 @@ pub mod retry_window;
 
 pub use backoff::Backoff;
 pub use child::{ChildHandle, MockChild, MockChildController};
-pub use logs::RotatingLogWriter;
+pub use logs::{RecordedLine, RingBuffer, RotatingLogWriter};
 pub use policy::{RestartDecision, decide};
 pub use retry_window::RetryWindow;
diff --git a/crates/xy-supervisor/src/logs.rs b/crates/xy-supervisor/src/logs.rs
index 0c66204..a2c80f7 100644
--- a/crates/xy-supervisor/src/logs.rs
+++ b/crates/xy-supervisor/src/logs.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
+use std::collections::VecDeque;
 use std::fs::{File, OpenOptions};
 use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
 
 pub struct RotatingLogWriter {
     base: PathBuf,
@@ -64,6 +66,61 @@ impl RotatingLogWriter {
     }
 }
 
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub struct RingBuffer {
+    inner: Arc<Mutex<RingBufferInner>>,
+    capacity_bytes: usize,
+}
+
+struct RingBufferInner {
+    lines: VecDeque<RecordedLine>,
+    bytes: usize,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct RecordedLine {
+    pub stream: xy_protocol::rpc::LogStream,
+    pub line: String,
+    pub ts_unix_ms: u64,
+}
+
+impl RingBuffer {
+    pub fn new(capacity_bytes: usize) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            inner: Arc::new(Mutex::new(RingBufferInner {
+                lines: VecDeque::new(),
+                bytes: 0,
+            })),
+            capacity_bytes,
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn push(&self, line: RecordedLine) {
+        let mut g = self.inner.lock().unwrap();
+        g.bytes += line.line.len();
+        g.lines.push_back(line);
+        while g.bytes > self.capacity_bytes {
+            if let Some(removed) = g.lines.pop_front() {
+                g.bytes -= removed.line.len();
+            } else {
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn snapshot_tail(&self, n: Option<u32>) -> Vec<RecordedLine> {
+        let g = self.inner.lock().unwrap();
+        match n {
+            None => g.lines.iter().cloned().collect(),
+            Some(n) => {
+                let take = (n as usize).min(g.lines.len());
+                let start = g.lines.len() - take;
+                g.lines.iter().skip(start).cloned().collect()
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -101,4 +158,38 @@ mod tests {
             rotated.display()
         );
     }
+
+    use xy_protocol::rpc::LogStream;
+
+    fn recorded(s: &str) -> RecordedLine {
+        RecordedLine {
+            stream: LogStream::Stdout,
+            line: s.to_string(),
+            ts_unix_ms: 0,
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn ring_buffer_drops_oldest_when_full() {
+        let rb = RingBuffer::new(10);
+        rb.push(recorded("aaaaa"));
+        rb.push(recorded("bbbbb"));
+        rb.push(recorded("ccc"));
+        let snap = rb.snapshot_tail(None);
+        assert_eq!(snap.len(), 2);
+        assert_eq!(snap[0].line, "bbbbb");
+        assert_eq!(snap[1].line, "ccc");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn ring_buffer_tail_n() {
+        let rb = RingBuffer::new(1024);
+        for i in 0..5 {
+            rb.push(recorded(&format!("line{i}")));
+        }
+        let snap = rb.snapshot_tail(Some(2));
+        assert_eq!(snap.len(), 2);
+        assert_eq!(snap[0].line, "line3");
+        assert_eq!(snap[1].line, "line4");
+    }
 }