diff --git a/containers/libreportal/frontend/components/apps/tools/js/tools-manager.js b/containers/libreportal/frontend/components/apps/tools/js/tools-manager.js
index 7ceafdd..1b38a46 100644
--- a/containers/libreportal/frontend/components/apps/tools/js/tools-manager.js
+++ b/containers/libreportal/frontend/components/apps/tools/js/tools-manager.js
@@ -828,19 +828,22 @@ class ToolsManager {
   }
 
   // Wait for one specific tool task to finish, then surface its outcome
-  // without leaving the Tools tab.
+  // without leaving the Tools tab. `pending` is the small spinner toast raised
+  // by _dispatch; it comes down the moment we have a result to show.
   //
-  // list_users is left alone: _maybeOpenUserListModal already listens for the
-  // same event and opens the interactive account list, which is a better
-  // result view than a summary could be.
-  _watchToolTask(tool, taskId) {
-    if (!taskId) return;
+  // list_users is left alone on success: _maybeOpenUserListModal already listens
+  // for the same event and opens the interactive account list, which is a better
+  // result view than a summary could be. A failed run has no account list to
+  // open, so it falls through to the normal result modal like every other tool.
+  _watchToolTask(tool, taskId, pending) {
+    if (!taskId) { pending?.dismiss(); return; }
     const onDone = (ev) => {
       const d = ev?.detail || {};
       const id = d.taskId || d.id || d.task?.id;
       if (id !== taskId) return;                 // not ours — keep listening
       window.removeEventListener('taskCompleted', onDone);
-      if (tool.id === 'list_users') return;
+      pending?.dismiss();
+      if (tool.id === 'list_users' && d.status === 'completed') return;
       this._showToolResult(tool, taskId, d.status);
     };
     window.addEventListener('taskCompleted', onDone);
@@ -910,6 +913,15 @@ class ToolsManager {
       }
       return;
     }
+    // One small spinner line for the whole run, in place of the standard
+    // "task started!" / "task completed!" pair (suppressed for the `tool`
+    // action in LP_BACKGROUND_TASKS). A tool is a few seconds of work whose
+    // answer arrives in a modal — two full-size toasts around that read as
+    // ceremony, and the started one is already stale by the time it's read.
+    const pending = window.notificationSystem
+      ? window.notificationSystem.showPending(`Running ${escapeHtml(tool.label || tool.id)}…`)
+      : null;
+
     try {
       const task = await window.tasksManager.router.routeAction('tool', {
         appName: this.currentApp,
@@ -929,9 +941,10 @@ class ToolsManager {
       //
       // So: stay put, and bring the result to them. The log is still one click
       // away from the completion notice for anything that needs the detail.
-      this._watchToolTask(tool, task && task.id);
+      this._watchToolTask(tool, task && task.id, pending);
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Tool dispatch failed', err);
+      pending?.dismiss();
       if (window.notificationSystem) {
         window.notificationSystem.error(`Tool failed: ${err.message}`);
       }
diff --git a/containers/libreportal/frontend/components/tasks/js/tasks-manager.js b/containers/libreportal/frontend/components/tasks/js/tasks-manager.js
index bbafde5..a8d1b90 100755
--- a/containers/libreportal/frontend/components/tasks/js/tasks-manager.js
+++ b/containers/libreportal/frontend/components/tasks/js/tasks-manager.js
@@ -420,8 +420,10 @@ class TasksManager {
         const bg = window.LP_BACKGROUND_TASKS;
         if (bg && bg.match(task.type, task.command)) {
           const handLaunched = bg.pending.delete(String(task.id));
-          if (handLaunched && (task.status === 'completed' || task.status === 'failed')) {
-            const m = bg.messages(task.type);
+          const m = bg.messages(task.type);
+          // `silent` actions (app tools) report their own outcome in a modal —
+          // even the one-line finish toast would be saying it twice.
+          if (!m.silent && handLaunched && (task.status === 'completed' || task.status === 'failed')) {
             window.notificationSystem.show(
               task.status === 'completed' ? m.done : m.fail,
               task.status === 'completed' ? 'success' : 'error'
diff --git a/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/notifications/js/notifications.js b/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/notifications/js/notifications.js
index 3e2fa42..a8b2ce4 100755
--- a/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/notifications/js/notifications.js
+++ b/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/notifications/js/notifications.js
@@ -36,6 +36,41 @@ class NotificationSystem {
     return notification;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Small "working on it" toast for short actions that report their own
+   * result (e.g. app tools, which end in a result modal).
+   *
+   * Deliberately unlike show(): compact, spinner instead of a status icon, no
+   * app icon or action button, never written to localStorage (a pending state
+   * is meaningless after a reload) and no 10s auto-dismiss — the caller closes
+   * it when the work finishes. A long safety timeout still clears it if the
+   * caller never calls back (processor restart, tab left open).
+   *
+   * Returns a handle: { element, dismiss() }. dismiss() is idempotent.
+   */
+  showPending(message, options = {}) {
+    const notification = document.createElement('div');
+    notification.className = 'notification notification-pending';
+    notification.innerHTML = `
+      <div class="notification-content">
+        <div class="notification-icon"><span class="notification-spinner" aria-hidden="true"></span></div>
+        <div class="notification-message">${message}</div>
+      </div>`;
+    this.addNotificationToContainer(notification);
+
+    let closed = false;
+    const dismiss = () => {
+      if (closed) return;
+      closed = true;
+      clearTimeout(safety);
+      notification.classList.add('notification-hide');
+      setTimeout(() => notification.remove(), 300);
+    };
+    const safety = setTimeout(dismiss, options.timeout || 5 * 60 * 1000);
+
+    return { element: notification, dismiss };
+  }
+
   /**
    * Create notification element with consistent structure
    */
diff --git a/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/tasks/js/task-actions.js b/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/tasks/js/task-actions.js
index cadc2e2..4272b9c 100755
--- a/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/tasks/js/task-actions.js
+++ b/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/tasks/js/task-actions.js
@@ -533,9 +533,14 @@ window.TaskActions = TaskActions;
 // Classified by task action/type; the command regex also catches backend
 // variants (e.g. `libreportal updater check auto`). Add a `byAction` entry to
 // make another self-surfacing action quiet — the mechanism is generic.
+// A `silent: true` entry goes one step further: no started toast and no finish
+// line at all, for actions that surface their own result in place (app tools
+// open a result modal). Those show a small "…" pending toast of their own while
+// the task runs — see tools-manager.js.
 window.LP_BACKGROUND_TASKS = window.LP_BACKGROUND_TASKS || {
   byAction: {
     updater_check: { done: 'Apps checked for updates & vulnerabilities.', fail: 'Update check failed.' },
+    tool:          { silent: true },
   },
   commandRe: /^libreportal\s+updater\s+check\b/,
   pending: new Set(),   // ids of hand-launched background tasks awaiting a quiet finish toast
diff --git a/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/theme/css/base.css b/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/theme/css/base.css
index 4228923..33b96e9 100755
--- a/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/theme/css/base.css
+++ b/containers/libreportal/frontend/core/theme/css/base.css
@@ -2810,6 +2810,32 @@ html[data-theme="nebula"]::after {
   color: var(--status-danger);
 }
 
+/* Compact "working on it" toast (notificationSystem.showPending) — sized to
+   its text rather than the 350px+ status toasts, since it carries one short
+   line and no action button. */
+.notification-pending {
+  min-width: 0;
+  width: fit-content;
+  max-width: min(420px, calc(100vw - 40px));
+  padding: 12px 16px;
+}
+
+.notification-pending .notification-message {
+  font-size: 13px;
+  color: var(--text-secondary, var(--text-muted));
+  margin-top: 0;
+}
+
+.notification-spinner {
+  display: block;
+  width: 16px;
+  height: 16px;
+  border: 2px solid rgba(var(--text-rgb), 0.15);
+  border-top-color: var(--accent);
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  animation: spin 0.7s linear infinite;
+}
+
 /* Mobile positioning */
 @media (max-width: 768px) {
   .notification-container {