diff --git a/backend/src/main/java/com/dbaagent/controller/DashboardGenerationController.java b/backend/src/main/java/com/dbaagent/controller/DashboardGenerationController.java
index 5824c57..0ce3faf 100644
--- a/backend/src/main/java/com/dbaagent/controller/DashboardGenerationController.java
+++ b/backend/src/main/java/com/dbaagent/controller/DashboardGenerationController.java
@@ -28,8 +28,9 @@
  * <ul>
  *   <li>{@code POST /api/dashboards/generate} — blocking; returns the validated config.</li>
  *   <li>{@code POST /api/dashboards/generate/stream} — SSE; streams the agent's live
- *       steps ({@code step} events: grounding → planning → validating) then a {@code done}
- *       event with the final config (or an {@code error} event).</li>
+ *       steps ({@code step} events: grounding → planning → validating) then either a
+ *       {@code chat} event (out-of-context reply) or a {@code done} event with the
+ *       artifact config (or an {@code error} event).</li>
  * </ul>
  *
  * Read-only: generates a config and validates queries by running them read-only; it never
@@ -101,8 +102,20 @@ public SseEmitter generateStream(@RequestBody GenerateRequest request) {
                             throw new ClientGoneException(io);
                         }
                     });
-                emitter.send(SseEmitter.event().name("done")
-                    .data(Map.of("success", true, "dashboardConfig", config)));
+                // Chat-only replies (greetings / tool questions) must not share the
+                // `done` event with a real artifact — the FE's done handler always
+                // appends "Done — built…" and auto-saves. A dedicated `chat` event
+                // keeps that path from swallowing out-of-context messages.
+                if (Boolean.TRUE.equals(config.get("chat"))) {
+                    emitter.send(SseEmitter.event().name("chat")
+                        .data(Map.of(
+                            "success", true,
+                            "reply", String.valueOf(config.getOrDefault("reply", "")),
+                            "dashboardConfig", config)));
+                } else {
+                    emitter.send(SseEmitter.event().name("done")
+                        .data(Map.of("success", true, "dashboardConfig", config)));
+                }
                 emitter.complete();
             } catch (ClientGoneException gone) {
                 emitter.complete();
diff --git a/backend/src/main/java/com/dbaagent/service/DashboardAgentService.java b/backend/src/main/java/com/dbaagent/service/DashboardAgentService.java
index 47ac0e9..15e0c05 100644
--- a/backend/src/main/java/com/dbaagent/service/DashboardAgentService.java
+++ b/backend/src/main/java/com/dbaagent/service/DashboardAgentService.java
@@ -97,6 +97,9 @@ public Map<String, Object> generate(String connectionId, String prompt, Object c
                 chat.put("chat", true);
                 chat.put("reply", chatReply.text().trim());
                 chat.put("trace", trace);
+                log.info("Dashboard chat-only reply ({} chars) for prompt: {}",
+                    chat.get("reply").toString().length(),
+                    prompt == null ? "" : prompt.trim());
                 return chat;
             }
             // Ambiguous or the agent didn't just answer — fall through to a real build
diff --git a/src/components/sections/DashboardWorkspace.jsx b/src/components/sections/DashboardWorkspace.jsx
index 40964de..e1ac508 100644
--- a/src/components/sections/DashboardWorkspace.jsx
+++ b/src/components/sections/DashboardWorkspace.jsx
@@ -135,9 +135,15 @@ export default function DashboardWorkspace({ connectionId, dashboard, onClose })
       },
       onDone: (next) => {
         abortRef.current = null
-        setConfig(next)
         setThinking(false)
         setSteps([])
+        // Belt-and-braces: a chat-shaped payload must never hit the "built" path
+        // (that appends the canned save line and would clobber a real artifact).
+        if (!next?.html || next?.chat) {
+          setMessages((m) => [...m, { role: 'agent', text: next?.reply || '…' }])
+          return
+        }
+        setConfig(next)
         // Auto-save as a draft so a refresh never loses it (create first time, update after).
         const updated = [...messagesRef.current, { role: 'agent', text: 'Done — built and verified against your data. Saved as a draft — tell me what to change.' }]
         setMessages(updated)
diff --git a/src/lib/api/client.js b/src/lib/api/client.js
index d70424f..c1e0663 100644
--- a/src/lib/api/client.js
+++ b/src/lib/api/client.js
@@ -2724,6 +2724,9 @@ export const dashboardGenAPI = {
           let data = {};
           try { data = JSON.parse(dataLines.join("\n")); } catch { return; }
           if (event === "step") onStep && onStep(data);
+          // `chat` = out-of-context reply (hi/thanks); must not fall through to `done`
+          // or the workspace appends the canned "Done — built…" save message.
+          else if (event === "chat") { finished = true; onDone && onDone(data); }
           else if (event === "done") { finished = true; onDone && onDone(data); }
           else if (event === "error") { finished = true; onError && onError(new Error(data?.error || "Generation failed")); }
         };
diff --git a/src/lib/dashboardGenerator.js b/src/lib/dashboardGenerator.js
index b4166d9..53bbaa5 100644
--- a/src/lib/dashboardGenerator.js
+++ b/src/lib/dashboardGenerator.js
@@ -15,15 +15,20 @@ export function generateDashboardStream(connectionId, prompt, currentConfig, { o
   return dashboardGenAPI.generateStream(connectionId, prompt, currentConfig, {
     onStep,
     onDone: (data) => {
-      if (data?.dashboardConfig?.chat) {
-        onChat && onChat(data.dashboardConfig.reply || '')
+      // Chat-only can arrive as event:chat (reply at top level) or legacy done
+      // with dashboardConfig.chat=true. Treat either as a plain reply — never as
+      // a successful build (that path hardcodes "Done — built…" in the UI).
+      const cfg = data?.dashboardConfig
+      const chatReply = (typeof data?.reply === 'string' && data.reply) || cfg?.reply || ''
+      if (data?.chat === true || cfg?.chat === true || (chatReply && !cfg?.html && !cfg?.renderMode)) {
+        onChat && onChat(chatReply)
         return
       }
-      if (!data?.dashboardConfig) {
+      if (!cfg) {
         onError && onError(new Error(data?.error || 'Generation returned no dashboard.'))
         return
       }
-      onDone && onDone({ ...data.dashboardConfig, updatedAt: new Date().toISOString() })
+      onDone && onDone({ ...cfg, updatedAt: new Date().toISOString() })
     },
     onError,
   })