diff --git a/packages/junior-dashboard/src/client/components/TranscriptTurn.tsx b/packages/junior-dashboard/src/client/components/TranscriptTurn.tsx
index 7dc0c4e1..dcf3f1da 100644
--- a/packages/junior-dashboard/src/client/components/TranscriptTurn.tsx
+++ b/packages/junior-dashboard/src/client/components/TranscriptTurn.tsx
@@ -359,11 +359,91 @@ function turnMeta(turn: ConversationTurn): string[] {
   ].filter((value) => value && value !== "none");
 }
 
+/**
+ * Render the system prompt as a collapsed disclosure. Uses the same
+ * groupTranscriptParts → TranscriptPartView → TranscriptText pipeline as every
+ * other message so XML tag collapsing, syntax highlighting, and copy behaviour
+ * stay consistent. detectLanguage returns "xml" for the system prompt once the
+ * block-level XML heuristic in format.ts fires.
+ */
+function SystemMessageView(props: {
+  message: TranscriptMessage;
+  turn: ConversationTurn;
+  view: TranscriptViewMode;
+}) {
+  const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
+  const rawText = messageRawText(props.message);
+  const role = props.message.role;
+  const byteCount = new TextEncoder().encode(rawText).byteLength;
+  const renderedParts = groupTranscriptParts(props.message.parts);
+  const totalRenderedChildren = renderedParts.reduce(
+    (count, part) => count + countRenderedTranscriptChildren(part, role),
+    0,
+  );
+  let seenRenderedChildren = 0;
+
+  return (
+    <details
+      className={transcriptMessageClass(role)}
+      onToggle={(event) => {
+        if (event.currentTarget !== event.target) return;
+        setOpen(event.currentTarget.open);
+      }}
+      open={open}
+    >
+      <summary className="list-none cursor-pointer">
+        <div className={transcriptRoleClass(role)}>
+          <span className={transcriptRoleLabelClass(role)}>
+            {transcriptRoleLabel(role, props.turn)}
+          </span>
+          {open ? null : (
+            <span className="font-mono text-[0.78rem] text-[#888]">
+              {formatBytes(byteCount)}
+            </span>
+          )}
+        </div>
+      </summary>
+      {props.view === "raw" ? (
+        <HighlightedCode
+          code={rawText || "{}"}
+          language={detectLanguage(rawText)}
+        />
+      ) : (
+        <div className="grid min-w-0 gap-2">
+          {renderedParts.map((part, index) => {
+            const firstChildIndex = seenRenderedChildren;
+            seenRenderedChildren += countRenderedTranscriptChildren(part, role);
+            return (
+              <TranscriptPartView
+                firstChildIndex={firstChildIndex}
+                key={index}
+                lastChildIndex={totalRenderedChildren - 1}
+                part={part}
+                role={role}
+              />
+            );
+          })}
+        </div>
+      )}
+    </details>
+  );
+}
+
 function TranscriptMessageView(props: {
   message: TranscriptMessage;
   turn: ConversationTurn;
   view: TranscriptViewMode;
 }) {
+  if (transcriptRoleKind(props.message.role) === "system") {
+    return (
+      <SystemMessageView
+        message={props.message}
+        turn={props.turn}
+        view={props.view}
+      />
+    );
+  }
+
   const offset = formatMessageOffset(props.turn, props.message.timestamp);
   const renderedParts = groupTranscriptParts(props.message.parts);
   const rawText = messageRawText(props.message);
diff --git a/packages/junior-dashboard/src/client/format.ts b/packages/junior-dashboard/src/client/format.ts
index 7ef1ce5c..8064a937 100644
--- a/packages/junior-dashboard/src/client/format.ts
+++ b/packages/junior-dashboard/src/client/format.ts
@@ -479,6 +479,18 @@ export function detectLanguage(text: string): BundledLanguage {
   if (/^<[\s\S]+>$/.test(trimmed) && /<\/?[a-zA-Z][^>]*>/.test(trimmed)) {
     return "xml";
   }
+  // Mixed prose + block-level XML: detect when a complete open/close element pair
+  // appears on its own lines. Handles system prompts and runtime context blocks
+  // that start with plain text but contain structured XML sections.
+  const blockOpen = trimmed.match(
+    /(?:^|\n)[ \t]*<([A-Za-z_][\w:.-]*)(?:[ \t][^<>]*)?>[ \t]*(?=\n|$)/,
+  );
+  if (blockOpen?.[1]) {
+    const tag = blockOpen[1].replace(/[$()*+.?[\\^{|}]/g, "\\$&");
+    if (new RegExp(`(?:^|\\n)[ \\t]*</${tag}>[ \\t]*(?=\\n|$)`).test(trimmed)) {
+      return "xml";
+    }
+  }
   if (/```|^#{1,6}\s|\n[-*]\s|\n\d+\.\s|\[[^\]]+\]\([^)]+\)/m.test(trimmed)) {
     return "markdown";
   }
@@ -575,7 +587,11 @@ export function parseMarkdownBlocks(
     const prose = text.slice(cursor, match.index).trim();
     if (prose) {
       const language = detectProse(prose);
-      blocks.push({ code: formatCodeBlock(prose, language), fenced: false, language });
+      blocks.push({
+        code: formatCodeBlock(prose, language),
+        fenced: false,
+        language,
+      });
     }
     const language = normalizeLanguage(match[1]);
     blocks.push({
@@ -588,7 +604,11 @@ export function parseMarkdownBlocks(
   const rest = text.slice(cursor).trim();
   if (rest) {
     const language = detectProse(rest);
-    blocks.push({ code: formatCodeBlock(rest, language), fenced: false, language });
+    blocks.push({
+      code: formatCodeBlock(rest, language),
+      fenced: false,
+      language,
+    });
   }
   if (blocks.length > 0) return blocks;
   const language = detectProse(text);
diff --git a/packages/junior-dashboard/tests/format.test.ts b/packages/junior-dashboard/tests/format.test.ts
index 5050a8a1..5c86c62a 100644
--- a/packages/junior-dashboard/tests/format.test.ts
+++ b/packages/junior-dashboard/tests/format.test.ts
@@ -87,6 +87,39 @@ describe("parseMarkdownBlocks prose language detection", () => {
       expect(["xml", "html"]).toContain(block?.language);
     });
 
+    it("detects mixed prose + block-level XML as xml (system prompt pattern)", () => {
+      const text = [
+        "You are a Slack-based helper assistant.",
+        "",
+        "<identity>",
+        "Your Slack username is `junior`.",
+        "</identity>",
+        "",
+        "<personality>",
+        "## core identity",
+        "- you are junior",
+        "</personality>",
+      ].join("\n");
+      const [block] = parseMarkdownBlocks(text);
+      expect(block?.language).toBe("xml");
+    });
+
+    it("does not detect an unclosed block tag as xml", () => {
+      const text = [
+        "Here is an example:",
+        "",
+        "<div>",
+        "## heading",
+        "- bullet",
+      ].join("\n");
+      expect(parseMarkdownBlocks(text)[0]?.language).not.toBe("xml");
+    });
+
+    it("keeps normal markdown without XML blocks as markdown", () => {
+      const text = ["Intro", "", "## heading", "- bullet"].join("\n");
+      expect(parseMarkdownBlocks(text)[0]?.language).toBe("markdown");
+    });
+
     it("detects valid JSON prose as json", () => {
       const [block] = parseMarkdownBlocks('{"a":1}');
       expect(block?.language).toBe("json");
@@ -107,18 +140,24 @@ describe("parseMarkdownBlocks prose language detection", () => {
 
   describe("outputOnly: true mode (detectOutputLanguage — for assistant messages)", () => {
     it("treats XML-looking prose as markdown, never auto-detects XML", () => {
-      const [block] = parseMarkdownBlocks("<foo>bar</foo>", { outputOnly: true });
+      const [block] = parseMarkdownBlocks("<foo>bar</foo>", {
+        outputOnly: true,
+      });
       expect(block?.language).toBe("markdown");
       expect(block?.fenced).toBe(false);
     });
 
     it("treats HTML-looking prose as markdown", () => {
-      const [block] = parseMarkdownBlocks("<div>Hello</div>", { outputOnly: true });
+      const [block] = parseMarkdownBlocks("<div>Hello</div>", {
+        outputOnly: true,
+      });
       expect(block?.language).toBe("markdown");
     });
 
     it("treats TypeScript-looking prose as markdown", () => {
-      const [block] = parseMarkdownBlocks("const value = 1;", { outputOnly: true });
+      const [block] = parseMarkdownBlocks("const value = 1;", {
+        outputOnly: true,
+      });
       expect(block?.language).toBe("markdown");
     });
 
@@ -135,7 +174,9 @@ describe("parseMarkdownBlocks prose language detection", () => {
     });
 
     it("keeps prose blocks as markdown even when fenced XML is present", () => {
-      const blocks = parseMarkdownBlocks("before\n```xml\n<foo/>\n```\nafter", { outputOnly: true });
+      const blocks = parseMarkdownBlocks("before\n```xml\n<foo/>\n```\nafter", {
+        outputOnly: true,
+      });
       expect(blocks[0]?.language).toBe("markdown");
       expect(blocks[0]?.fenced).toBe(false);
       expect(blocks[2]?.language).toBe("markdown");
@@ -143,7 +184,9 @@ describe("parseMarkdownBlocks prose language detection", () => {
     });
 
     it("still detects fenced xml blocks as xml", () => {
-      const blocks = parseMarkdownBlocks("before\n```xml\n<foo/>\n```\nafter", { outputOnly: true });
+      const blocks = parseMarkdownBlocks("before\n```xml\n<foo/>\n```\nafter", {
+        outputOnly: true,
+      });
       expect(blocks[1]?.language).toBe("xml");
       expect(blocks[1]?.fenced).toBe(true);
     });
@@ -153,19 +196,31 @@ describe("parseMarkdownBlocks prose language detection", () => {
 describe("canRenderStructuredMarkup", () => {
   it("returns true for xml blocks regardless of fenced status", () => {
     expect(
-      canRenderStructuredMarkup({ code: "<foo/>", language: "xml", fenced: false }),
-    ).toBe(true);
-    expect(
-      canRenderStructuredMarkup({ code: "<foo/>", language: "xml", fenced: true }),
+      canRenderStructuredMarkup({
+        code: "<foo/>",
+        language: "xml",
+        fenced: false,
+      }),
     ).toBe(true);
     expect(
-      canRenderStructuredMarkup({ code: "<foo/>", language: "xml" }),
+      canRenderStructuredMarkup({
+        code: "<foo/>",
+        language: "xml",
+        fenced: true,
+      }),
     ).toBe(true);
+    expect(canRenderStructuredMarkup({ code: "<foo/>", language: "xml" })).toBe(
+      true,
+    );
   });
 
   it("returns true for html blocks", () => {
     expect(
-      canRenderStructuredMarkup({ code: "<div/>", language: "html", fenced: true }),
+      canRenderStructuredMarkup({
+        code: "<div/>",
+        language: "html",
+        fenced: true,
+      }),
     ).toBe(true);
     expect(
       canRenderStructuredMarkup({ code: "<div/>", language: "html" }),
@@ -174,7 +229,11 @@ describe("canRenderStructuredMarkup", () => {
 
   it("returns false for non-xml/html blocks", () => {
     expect(
-      canRenderStructuredMarkup({ code: "const x = 1", language: "typescript", fenced: true }),
+      canRenderStructuredMarkup({
+        code: "const x = 1",
+        language: "typescript",
+        fenced: true,
+      }),
     ).toBe(false);
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/junior/src/reporting.ts b/packages/junior/src/reporting.ts
index b92ad443..cd34acc3 100644
--- a/packages/junior/src/reporting.ts
+++ b/packages/junior/src/reporting.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import {
   type AgentTurnRequester,
   type AgentTurnSessionSummary,
 } from "@/chat/state/turn-session";
+import { buildSystemPrompt } from "@/chat/prompt";
 import { GET as healthGET } from "@/handlers/health";
 
 const HUNG_TURN_PROGRESS_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000;
@@ -510,6 +511,14 @@ function countConversationMessages(
   return transcript.filter(isConversationMessage).length;
 }
 
+/** Build the synthetic system-prompt message prepended to each exposed turn transcript. */
+function systemPromptMessage(): DashboardTranscriptMessage {
+  return {
+    role: "system",
+    parts: [{ type: "text", text: buildSystemPrompt() }],
+  };
+}
+
 function turnScopedMessages(messages: PiMessage[]): PiMessage[] {
   for (let index = messages.length - 1; index >= 0; index -= 1) {
     const record = messages[index] as unknown as Record<string, unknown>;
@@ -579,7 +588,9 @@ async function readConversation(
       );
       const transcriptMessageCount =
         countConversationMessages(normalizedTranscript);
-      const transcript = canExposeTranscript ? normalizedTranscript : [];
+      const transcript = canExposeTranscript
+        ? [systemPromptMessage(), ...normalizedTranscript]
+        : [];
       const transcriptMetadata = canExposeTranscript
         ? undefined
         : normalizedTranscript.map(redactTranscriptMessage);
diff --git a/packages/junior/tests/integration/dashboard-reporting.test.ts b/packages/junior/tests/integration/dashboard-reporting.test.ts
index bbdd6900..2094fd8c 100644
--- a/packages/junior/tests/integration/dashboard-reporting.test.ts
+++ b/packages/junior/tests/integration/dashboard-reporting.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,18 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import type { PiMessage } from "@/chat/pi/messages";
 
+vi.mock("@/chat/prompt", () => ({
+  buildSystemPrompt: vi.fn(() => "[system prompt]"),
+  buildTurnContextPrompt: vi.fn(() => null),
+  JUNIOR_PERSONALITY: "",
+  JUNIOR_WORLD: null,
+}));
+
+const SYSTEM_MESSAGE = {
+  role: "system",
+  parts: [{ type: "text", text: "[system prompt]" }],
+};
+
 const ORIGINAL_ENV = { ...process.env };
 
 describe("dashboard reporting", () => {
@@ -137,6 +149,7 @@ describe("dashboard reporting", () => {
       transcriptMessageCount: 2,
     });
     expect(report.turns[0]!.transcript).toEqual([
+      SYSTEM_MESSAGE,
       {
         role: "user",
         timestamp: 3,
@@ -211,6 +224,7 @@ describe("dashboard reporting", () => {
       transcriptAvailable: true,
     });
     expect(report.turns[0]!.transcript).toEqual([
+      SYSTEM_MESSAGE,
       {
         role: "user",
         timestamp: 1,
@@ -277,6 +291,7 @@ describe("dashboard reporting", () => {
     expect(report.turns).toHaveLength(2);
     expect(report.turns[0]).toMatchObject({ id: "turn-one" });
     expect(report.turns[0]!.transcript).toEqual([
+      SYSTEM_MESSAGE,
       {
         role: "user",
         timestamp: 1,
@@ -290,6 +305,7 @@ describe("dashboard reporting", () => {
     ]);
     expect(report.turns[1]).toMatchObject({ id: "turn-two" });
     expect(report.turns[1]!.transcript).toEqual([
+      SYSTEM_MESSAGE,
       {
         role: "user",
         timestamp: 3,