diff --git a/frontend/src/components/home/ContentAuth.vue b/frontend/src/components/home/ContentAuth.vue
index cceb8a48d..e61cef332 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/home/ContentAuth.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/home/ContentAuth.vue
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ import {useProjectStore} from '@/stores/projects'
 import {useRouteWithModal} from '@/composables/useRouteWithModal'
 import {useRenewTokenOnFocus} from '@/composables/useRenewTokenOnFocus'
 import {useSidebarResize} from '@/composables/useSidebarResize'
+import {useWebSocket} from '@/composables/useWebSocket'
 import {useAuthStore} from '@/stores/auth'
 
 const authStore = useAuthStore()
@@ -136,6 +137,9 @@ watch(() => route.name as string, (routeName) => {
 
 useRenewTokenOnFocus()
 
+const {connect} = useWebSocket()
+connect()
+
 const labelStore = useLabelStore()
 labelStore.loadAllLabels()
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/notifications/Notifications.vue b/frontend/src/components/notifications/Notifications.vue
index ca4e5264e..c8e702142 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/notifications/Notifications.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/notifications/Notifications.vue
@@ -83,10 +83,11 @@
 </template>
 
 <script lang="ts" setup>
-import {computed, onMounted, onUnmounted, ref} from 'vue'
+import {computed, onMounted, onUnmounted, ref, watch} from 'vue'
 import {useRouter, isNavigationFailure, NavigationFailureType, RouteLocationRaw} from 'vue-router'
 
 import NotificationService from '@/services/notification'
+import NotificationModel from '@/models/notification'
 import BaseButton from '@/components/base/BaseButton.vue'
 import CustomTransition from '@/components/misc/CustomTransition.vue'
 import User from '@/components/misc/User.vue'
@@ -95,11 +96,12 @@ import {closeWhenClickedOutside} from '@/helpers/closeWhenClickedOutside'
 import {formatDateLong, formatDisplayDate} from '@/helpers/time/formatDate'
 import {getDisplayName} from '@/models/user'
 import {useAuthStore} from '@/stores/auth'
+import {useWebSocket} from '@/composables/useWebSocket'
 import XButton from '@/components/input/Button.vue'
 import {success} from '@/message'
 import {useI18n} from 'vue-i18n'
 
-const LOAD_NOTIFICATIONS_INTERVAL = 10000
+const {subscribe, connected: wsConnected} = useWebSocket()
 
 const authStore = useAuthStore()
 const router = useRouter()
@@ -117,26 +119,68 @@ const notifications = computed(() => {
 })
 const userInfo = computed(() => authStore.info)
 
-let interval: ReturnType<typeof setInterval>
+let unsubscribeWs: (() => void) | null = null
+let pollInterval: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null
+
+const POLL_INTERVAL = 10000
+
+onMounted(async () => {
+	// Initial load via REST - wrapped in try/catch so the rest of setup
+	// (click handler, WS subscription, polling) still runs if this fails
+	try {
+		await loadNotifications()
+	} catch (e) {
+		console.warn('Failed to load initial notifications:', e)
+	}
 
-onMounted(() => {
-	loadNotifications()
 	document.addEventListener('click', hidePopup)
-	document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', loadNotifications)
-	interval = setInterval(loadNotifications, LOAD_NOTIFICATIONS_INTERVAL)
+
+	// Subscribe to real-time notifications
+	unsubscribeWs = subscribe('notification.created', (msg) => {
+		if (msg.event === 'notification.created' && msg.data) {
+			const notification = new NotificationModel(msg.data as Partial<INotification>)
+			// Avoid duplicates if the same notification was already loaded via REST
+			const exists = allNotifications.value.some(n => n.id === notification.id)
+			if (!exists) {
+				allNotifications.value = [notification, ...allNotifications.value]
+			}
+		}
+	})
+
+	// Fallback polling when WebSocket is not available
+	startPollingFallback()
+})
+
+// Reload notifications when WebSocket disconnects to catch any events
+// that may have been missed during the disconnect window
+watch(wsConnected, (isConnected, wasConnected) => {
+	if (wasConnected && !isConnected) {
+		loadNotifications().catch(e => console.warn('Failed to reload notifications after WS disconnect:', e))
+	}
 })
 
 onUnmounted(() => {
 	document.removeEventListener('click', hidePopup)
-	document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', loadNotifications)
-	clearInterval(interval)
+	unsubscribeWs?.()
+	stopPollingFallback()
 })
 
-async function loadNotifications() {
-	if (document.visibilityState !== 'visible') {
-		return
+function startPollingFallback() {
+	pollInterval = setInterval(async () => {
+		if (!wsConnected.value && document.visibilityState === 'visible') {
+			await loadNotifications()
+		}
+	}, POLL_INTERVAL)
+}
+
+function stopPollingFallback() {
+	if (pollInterval) {
+		clearInterval(pollInterval)
+		pollInterval = null
 	}
-	// We're recreating the notification service here to make sure it uses the latest api user token
+}
+
+async function loadNotifications() {
 	const notificationService = new NotificationService()
 	allNotifications.value = await notificationService.getAll()
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/composables/useWebSocket.ts b/frontend/src/composables/useWebSocket.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8cd3c30b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/composables/useWebSocket.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
+import {ref, readonly} from 'vue'
+
+import {getToken} from '@/helpers/auth'
+
+type MessageCallback = (msg: WebSocketEvent) => void
+
+interface WebSocketEvent {
+	event?: string
+	action?: string
+	success?: boolean
+	error?: string
+	data?: unknown
+}
+
+const RECONNECT_BASE_DELAY = 1000
+const RECONNECT_MAX_DELAY = 30000
+
+let socket: WebSocket | null = null
+let reconnectAttempt = 0
+let reconnectTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
+const subscriptions = new Map<string, Set<MessageCallback>>()
+const connected = ref(false)
+const authenticated = ref(false)
+let manuallyDisconnected = false
+
+function getWebSocketUrl(): string {
+	const base = window.API_URL.replace(/\/+$/, '')
+	const wsProtocol = base.startsWith('https') ? 'wss' : 'ws'
+	return base.replace(/^https?/, wsProtocol) + '/ws'
+}
+
+function sendMessage(msg: object) {
+	if (socket?.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
+		socket.send(JSON.stringify(msg))
+	}
+}
+
+function sendAuth() {
+	const token = getToken()
+	if (token) {
+		sendMessage({action: 'auth', token})
+	}
+}
+
+function resubscribeAll() {
+	for (const event of subscriptions.keys()) {
+		sendMessage({action: 'subscribe', event})
+	}
+}
+
+function handleMessage(event: MessageEvent) {
+	let msg: WebSocketEvent
+	try {
+		msg = JSON.parse(event.data)
+	} catch {
+		console.warn('WebSocket: invalid message', event.data)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Handle auth success
+	if (msg.action === 'auth.success' && msg.success) {
+		authenticated.value = true
+		console.debug('WebSocket: authenticated')
+		resubscribeAll()
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Handle auth error - treat as terminal (no reconnect) so we don't
+	// thrash the WS endpoint with a bad token. Fallback polling kicks in.
+	if (msg.error === 'invalid_token' || msg.error === 'auth_required') {
+		console.warn('WebSocket: auth failed:', msg.error)
+		manuallyDisconnected = true
+		authenticated.value = false
+		connected.value = false
+		socket?.close()
+		socket = null
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Handle regular events — route by event name
+	if (msg.event) {
+		const callbacks = subscriptions.get(msg.event)
+		if (callbacks) {
+			for (const cb of callbacks) {
+				cb(msg)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+function scheduleReconnect() {
+	if (manuallyDisconnected) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	if (reconnectTimer) {
+		clearTimeout(reconnectTimer)
+		reconnectTimer = null
+	}
+
+	const baseDelay = Math.min(
+		RECONNECT_BASE_DELAY * Math.pow(2, reconnectAttempt),
+		RECONNECT_MAX_DELAY,
+	)
+	// Add ±25% jitter to prevent thundering herd on server restart
+	const jitter = baseDelay * (0.75 + Math.random() * 0.5)
+	const delay = Math.round(jitter)
+	reconnectAttempt++
+	console.debug(`WebSocket: reconnecting in ${delay}ms (attempt ${reconnectAttempt})`)
+
+	reconnectTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+		reconnectTimer = null
+		connect()
+	}, delay)
+}
+
+function connect() {
+	if (socket?.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN || socket?.readyState === WebSocket.CONNECTING) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	const token = getToken()
+	if (!token) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	manuallyDisconnected = false
+	authenticated.value = false
+	const url = getWebSocketUrl()
+
+	try {
+		socket = new WebSocket(url)
+	} catch (e) {
+		console.warn('WebSocket: failed to create connection', e)
+		scheduleReconnect()
+		return
+	}
+
+	socket.onopen = () => {
+		connected.value = true
+		reconnectAttempt = 0
+		console.debug('WebSocket: connected, sending auth')
+		sendAuth()
+	}
+
+	socket.onmessage = handleMessage
+
+	socket.onclose = () => {
+		connected.value = false
+		authenticated.value = false
+		socket = null
+		scheduleReconnect()
+	}
+
+	socket.onerror = () => {
+		// onclose will fire after onerror, which handles reconnect
+	}
+}
+
+function disconnect() {
+	manuallyDisconnected = true
+	if (reconnectTimer) {
+		clearTimeout(reconnectTimer)
+		reconnectTimer = null
+	}
+	reconnectAttempt = 0
+	if (socket) {
+		socket.close()
+		socket = null
+	}
+	connected.value = false
+	authenticated.value = false
+	subscriptions.clear()
+}
+
+function subscribe(event: string, callback: MessageCallback): () => void {
+	if (!subscriptions.has(event)) {
+		subscriptions.set(event, new Set())
+	}
+	subscriptions.get(event)!.add(callback)
+
+	// Only send subscribe if already authenticated
+	// (otherwise it will be sent after auth succeeds)
+	if (authenticated.value) {
+		sendMessage({action: 'subscribe', event})
+	}
+
+	return () => {
+		const callbacks = subscriptions.get(event)
+		if (callbacks) {
+			callbacks.delete(callback)
+			if (callbacks.size === 0) {
+				subscriptions.delete(event)
+				sendMessage({action: 'unsubscribe', event})
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+export function useWebSocket() {
+	return {
+		connect,
+		disconnect,
+		subscribe,
+		connected: readonly(connected),
+		authenticated: readonly(authenticated),
+	}
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/stores/auth.ts b/frontend/src/stores/auth.ts
index f79003b67..0288ff4d4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/stores/auth.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/stores/auth.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import UserModel, {getDisplayName, fetchAvatarBlobUrl, invalidateAvatarCache} fr
 import AvatarService from '@/services/avatar'
 import UserSettingsService from '@/services/userSettings'
 import {getToken, refreshToken, removeToken, saveToken} from '@/helpers/auth'
+import {useWebSocket} from '@/composables/useWebSocket'
 import {setModuleLoading} from '@/stores/helper'
 import {success, error} from '@/message'
 import {
@@ -507,6 +508,9 @@ export const useAuthStore = defineStore('auth', () => {
 	}
 
 	async function logout() {
+		const {disconnect} = useWebSocket()
+		disconnect()
+
 		// Revoke the server session so the refresh token can't be reused.
 		// Best-effort: if the network call fails, still clean up locally.
 		try {