diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 975a5a1..b1a6aa1 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -5,3 +5,4 @@ tmp/
 .DS_Store
 coverage/
 .acp-*.json
+worktrees/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8f3d5f9..31ebd68 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -93,6 +93,32 @@ describes what the model originally saw. Nudge/pressure *decisions* are
 unaffected: they recount live text every turn. If you need the legacy
 live-recomputed tags, use `renderVisibleRefs` directly.
 
+#### `buildStatusReport` drilldown — reaching the newest rows
+
+The per-message drilldown (`scope:"uncompressed"` + `view:"messages"`) sorts
+`time` ascending by default and shows only the first `limit` rows, so the
+newest messages are unreachable once the conversation outgrows the limit.
+Two optional navigation options fix that: `reverse` (default `false`) flips
+the sorted order after sorting — `sort:"time"` + `reverse:true` lists
+newest-first, `sort:"size"` + `reverse:true` lists smallest-first — and
+`offset` (default `0`) skips the first N rows, paginating with `limit`.
+
+```ts
+buildStatusReport(state, messages, countTokens, {
+  scope: "uncompressed",
+  view: "messages",
+  sort: "time",
+  reverse: true,   // newest message first — reach the tail without a ref tag
+  limit: 30,
+});
+// pagination: offset: 30 → the next page
+```
+
+`reverse` and `offset` are optional, so existing call sites keep working
+unchanged. The "N of M shown." footer stays for `offset: 0`; when
+`offset > 0` it reads "Showing A–B of M.", and an offset past the end reports
+"Offset N past end" instead of a silent empty page.
+
 ### Standalone modules
 
 | Module | Purpose |
diff --git a/src/report.ts b/src/report.ts
index cc53e23..68726c8 100644
--- a/src/report.ts
+++ b/src/report.ts
@@ -95,6 +95,10 @@ export interface StatusReportOptions {
     tool?: string;
     sort?: "size" | "time" | "tool" | "age";
     limit?: number;
+    /** Flip the sorted order (newest/largest first). Default: false. */
+    reverse?: boolean;
+    /** Skip the first N rows of the sorted order (pagination). Default: 0. */
+    offset?: number;
 }
 
 export function buildStatusReport(
@@ -108,20 +112,22 @@ export function buildStatusReport(
     const toolFilter = options.tool;
     const sort = options.sort ?? "size";
     const limit = options.limit ?? 30;
+    const reverse = options.reverse ?? false;
+    const offset = Math.max(0, options.offset ?? 0);
 
     const activeBlocks = state.blocks
         .filter((b) => b.active)
         .sort((a, b) => numericPart(a.blockId) - numericPart(b.blockId));
 
     if (scope === "compressed") {
-        return renderCompressedDrilldown(activeBlocks, state, sort, limit, countTokens);
+        return renderCompressedDrilldown(activeBlocks, state, sort, limit, countTokens, reverse, offset);
     }
 
     const { visible, summaryTokens } = collectVisible(messages, state, countTokens);
 
     if (scope === "uncompressed") {
         if (view === "messages") {
-            return renderMessageDrilldown(visible, toolFilter, sort, limit);
+            return renderMessageDrilldown(visible, toolFilter, sort, limit, reverse, offset);
         }
         return renderUncompressedRanges(visible);
     }
@@ -196,7 +202,7 @@ function renderOverview(
 
     lines.push("");
     lines.push(
-        `Tip: buildStatusReport({scope:"uncompressed", view:"messages", tool:"${topTool ?? "bash"}"}) for per-message listing`,
+        `Tip: buildStatusReport({scope:"uncompressed", view:"messages", sort:"time", reverse:true, tool:"${topTool ?? "bash"}"}) for newest-first per-message listing`,
     );
     return lines.join("\n");
 }
@@ -240,11 +246,26 @@ function renderUncompressedRanges(visible: VisibleMessageInfo[]): string {
     return lines.join("\n");
 }
 
+function paginationNote(total: number, offset: number, shownCount: number): string[] {
+    if (total <= shownCount) return [];
+    const lines: string[] = [""];
+    if (shownCount === 0) {
+        lines.push(`Offset ${offset} past end (${total} total).`);
+    } else if (offset > 0) {
+        lines.push(`Showing ${offset + 1}–${offset + shownCount} of ${total}.`);
+    } else {
+        lines.push(`${shownCount} of ${total} shown.`);
+    }
+    return lines;
+}
+
 function renderMessageDrilldown(
     visible: VisibleMessageInfo[],
     toolFilter: string | undefined,
     sort: string,
     limit: number,
+    reverse: boolean,
+    offset: number,
 ): string {
     let filtered = visible;
     if (toolFilter) filtered = filtered.filter((m) => m.tool === toolFilter);
@@ -253,20 +274,19 @@ function renderMessageDrilldown(
     else if (sort === "tool") filtered.sort((a, b) => a.tool.localeCompare(b.tool) || b.tokens - a.tokens);
     else filtered.sort((a, b) => b.tokens - a.tokens);
 
+    if (reverse) filtered.reverse();
+
     const totalTokens = filtered.reduce((s, m) => s + m.tokens, 0);
     const allTokens = visible.reduce((s, m) => s + m.tokens, 0);
     const header = toolFilter
         ? `UNCOMPRESSED — ${toolFilter}: ${formatTokens(totalTokens)} | ${filtered.length} msgs | ${pct(totalTokens, allTokens)}% of visible`
         : `UNCOMPRESSED — ${formatTokens(totalTokens)} | ${filtered.length} msgs`;
-    const lines = [header, `Sorted by ${sort}`, ""];
-    const shown = filtered.slice(0, limit);
+    const lines = [header, `Sorted by ${sort}${reverse ? " (reverse)" : ""}`, ""];
+    const shown = filtered.slice(offset, offset + limit);
     for (const message of shown) {
         lines.push(`  ${message.ref} (${formatTokens(message.tokens)}) ${message.tool}`);
     }
-    if (filtered.length > shown.length) {
-        lines.push("");
-        lines.push(`${shown.length} of ${filtered.length} shown.`);
-    }
+    lines.push(...paginationNote(filtered.length, offset, shown.length));
     return lines.join("\n");
 }
 
@@ -276,6 +296,8 @@ function renderCompressedDrilldown(
     sort: string,
     limit: number,
     countTokens: (t: string) => number,
+    reverse: boolean,
+    offset: number,
 ): string {
     let sorted = [...blocks];
     if (sort === "time") sorted.sort((a, b) => a.createdAt - b.createdAt);
@@ -288,6 +310,8 @@ function renderCompressedDrilldown(
                 b.createdAt - a.createdAt,
         );
 
+    if (reverse) sorted.reverse();
+
     const totalSummary = sorted.reduce((s, b) => s + summaryTokensOf(b, countTokens), 0);
     const totalEffective = sorted.reduce(
         (s, b) => s + effectiveCompressedTokens(b, state, countTokens),
@@ -299,7 +323,7 @@ function renderCompressedDrilldown(
     const breakdown = tierBreakdown(sorted, countTokens);
     if (breakdown) lines.push(`Tier usage: ${breakdown}`);
     lines.push("");
-    const shown = sorted.slice(0, limit);
+    const shown = sorted.slice(offset, offset + limit);
     for (const block of shown) {
         const nested = block.directBlockIds.length > 0 ? ` nested=[${block.directBlockIds.join(",")}]` : "";
         const topic = block.topic ?? "(no topic)";
@@ -309,10 +333,7 @@ function renderCompressedDrilldown(
         );
         lines.push(`    "${topic}"`);
     }
-    if (sorted.length > shown.length) {
-        lines.push("");
-        lines.push(`${shown.length} of ${sorted.length} shown.`);
-    }
+    lines.push(...paginationNote(sorted.length, offset, shown.length));
     return lines.join("\n");
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/report-drilldown.test.ts b/tests/report-drilldown.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fce9756
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/report-drilldown.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { buildStatusReport } from "../src/report.js";
+import { createInitialState } from "../src/state.js";
+import { defaultCountTokens } from "../src/tokenize.js";
+import type { CompressionBlock, CompressionState, CoreMessage } from "../src/types.js";
+
+function block(overrides: Partial<CompressionBlock>): CompressionBlock {
+    return {
+        blockId: "b0",
+        runId: "r0",
+        tier: 1,
+        summary: "summary",
+        directMessageIds: [],
+        effectiveMessageIds: [],
+        directBlockIds: [],
+        createdAt: 1000,
+        survivedCount: 0,
+        generation: "young",
+        active: true,
+        ...overrides,
+    };
+}
+
+// messages m0..m9 (oldest..newest), each with a distinct token size so the
+// fixture doubles for both sort:"time" and sort:"size" ordering assertions.
+function fixtureMessages(): CoreMessage[] {
+    const messages: CoreMessage[] = [];
+    for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+        messages.push({
+            id: `m${i}`,
+            role: "assistant",
+            contentType: "tool-result",
+            toolName: i % 2 === 0 ? "bash" : "read",
+            text: "x".repeat(i * 4 + 4),
+        });
+    }
+    return messages;
+}
+
+function fixtureState(messages: CoreMessage[]): CompressionState {
+    const byRaw: Record<string, string> = {};
+    const byRef: Record<string, string> = {};
+    messages.forEach((m, i) => {
+        const ref = `m${String(i).padStart(5, "0")}`;
+        byRaw[m.id] = ref;
+        byRef[ref] = m.id;
+    });
+    return {
+        ...createInitialState(),
+        messageRefs: { byRaw, byRef },
+        blocks: [],
+    };
+}
+
+test("drilldown sort:time is oldest-first and head-only by default (status quo pinned)", () => {
+    const messages = fixtureMessages();
+    const state = fixtureState(messages);
+    const report = buildStatusReport(state, messages, defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "uncompressed",
+        view: "messages",
+        sort: "time",
+        limit: 3,
+    });
+    assert.ok(report.includes("  m00000 (1) bash"));
+    assert.ok(report.includes("  m00001 (2) read"));
+    assert.ok(report.includes("  m00002 (3) bash"));
+    assert.ok(!report.includes("m00009"), "newest message must not appear with head-only default");
+    assert.ok(report.includes("3 of 10 shown."));
+});
+
+test("drilldown sort:time + reverse:true reaches the newest messages", () => {
+    const messages = fixtureMessages();
+    const state = fixtureState(messages);
+    const report = buildStatusReport(state, messages, defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "uncompressed",
+        view: "messages",
+        sort: "time",
+        reverse: true,
+        limit: 3,
+    });
+    assert.ok(report.includes("Sorted by time (reverse)"));
+    assert.ok(report.includes("  m00009 (10) read"));
+    assert.ok(report.includes("  m00008 (9) bash"));
+    assert.ok(report.includes("  m00007 (8) read"));
+    assert.ok(!report.includes("m00000"), "oldest message must not appear when reversed");
+});
+
+test("drilldown offset paginates past the head of any sort", () => {
+    const messages = fixtureMessages();
+    const state = fixtureState(messages);
+    // time, ascending, page 3 of 4 (rows 7-9)
+    const forward = buildStatusReport(state, messages, defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "uncompressed",
+        view: "messages",
+        sort: "time",
+        limit: 3,
+        offset: 6,
+    });
+    assert.ok(forward.includes("  m00006 (7) bash"));
+    assert.ok(forward.includes("  m00008 (9) bash"));
+    assert.ok(forward.includes("Showing 7–9 of 10."));
+    assert.ok(!forward.includes("m00009"), "offset window ends before the last message");
+
+    // time, descending, page 3 of 4 — the tail is now on page 1, later pages
+    // walk back toward the head
+    const backward = buildStatusReport(state, messages, defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "uncompressed",
+        view: "messages",
+        sort: "time",
+        reverse: true,
+        limit: 3,
+        offset: 6,
+    });
+    assert.ok(backward.includes("  m00003 (4) read"));
+    assert.ok(backward.includes("  m00002 (3) bash"));
+    assert.ok(backward.includes("  m00001 (2) read"));
+    assert.ok(backward.includes("Showing 7–9 of 10."));
+});
+
+test("drilldown offset past the end reports the miss instead of an empty page", () => {
+    const messages = fixtureMessages();
+    const state = fixtureState(messages);
+    const report = buildStatusReport(state, messages, defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "uncompressed",
+        view: "messages",
+        sort: "time",
+        limit: 3,
+        offset: 10,
+    });
+    assert.ok(report.includes("Offset 10 past end (10 total)."));
+    // line-level check: no message row (two-space indent + ref) may be rendered
+    const rowLines = report.split("\n").filter((line) => /^  m\d/.test(line));
+    assert.deepEqual(rowLines, [], "no message rows rendered past the end");
+});
+
+test("drilldown sort:size reverse flips largest-first to smallest-first", () => {
+    const messages = fixtureMessages();
+    const state = fixtureState(messages);
+    const largest = buildStatusReport(state, messages, defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "uncompressed",
+        view: "messages",
+        sort: "size",
+        limit: 2,
+    });
+    assert.ok(largest.includes("  m00009 (10) read"));
+    assert.ok(largest.includes("  m00008 (9) bash"));
+
+    const smallest = buildStatusReport(state, messages, defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "uncompressed",
+        view: "messages",
+        sort: "size",
+        reverse: true,
+        limit: 2,
+    });
+    assert.ok(smallest.includes("  m00000 (1) bash"));
+    assert.ok(smallest.includes("  m00001 (2) read"));
+});
+
+test("drilldown tool filter combines with reverse:time to reach the newest rows of one tool", () => {
+    const messages = fixtureMessages();
+    const state = fixtureState(messages);
+    const report = buildStatusReport(state, messages, defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "uncompressed",
+        view: "messages",
+        tool: "bash",
+        sort: "time",
+        reverse: true,
+        limit: 2,
+    });
+    // newest bash rows are m8 (9), m6 (7)
+    assert.ok(report.includes("  m00008 (9) bash"));
+    assert.ok(report.includes("  m00006 (7) bash"));
+    assert.ok(!report.includes("read"), "tool filter must exclude other tools");
+});
+
+test("drilldown compressed scope: reverse:time shows newest blocks first", () => {
+    const state: CompressionState = {
+        ...createInitialState(),
+        blocks: [
+            block({ blockId: "b1", createdAt: 1000, summary: "old", topic: "one" }),
+            block({ blockId: "b2", createdAt: 2000, summary: "mid", topic: "two" }),
+            block({ blockId: "b3", createdAt: 3000, summary: "new", topic: "three" }),
+        ],
+    };
+    const forward = buildStatusReport(state, [], defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "compressed",
+        sort: "time",
+        limit: 2,
+    });
+    assert.ok(forward.includes("b1"));
+    assert.ok(forward.includes("b2"));
+    assert.ok(!forward.includes("b3"), "newest block must not appear with head-only default");
+    assert.ok(forward.includes("2 of 3 shown."));
+
+    const backward = buildStatusReport(state, [], defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "compressed",
+        sort: "time",
+        reverse: true,
+        limit: 2,
+    });
+    assert.ok(backward.includes("b3"));
+    assert.ok(backward.includes("b2"));
+    assert.ok(!backward.includes("b1"), "oldest block must not appear when reversed");
+
+    const paged = buildStatusReport(state, [], defaultCountTokens, {
+        scope: "compressed",
+        sort: "time",
+        limit: 1,
+        offset: 2,
+    });
+    assert.ok(paged.includes("b3"));
+    assert.ok(!paged.includes("b1"));
+    assert.ok(paged.includes("Showing 3–3 of 3."));
+});