diff --git a/server/app/db/version.json b/server/app/db/version.json
index 6604efce..476e383f 100644
--- a/server/app/db/version.json
+++ b/server/app/db/version.json
@@ -1 +1 @@
-{"version": "2026-0902-123259-beta" }
\ No newline at end of file
+{"version": "2026-0910-102045-beta" }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/app/handlers/projectController.js b/server/app/handlers/projectController.js
index f6171a6e..faee0690 100644
--- a/server/app/handlers/projectController.js
+++ b/server/app/handlers/projectController.js
@@ -323,11 +323,16 @@ async function runDispatcher(clientID, projectRootDir, ack) {
       getLogger(projectRootDir).debug(err.message);
     } else if (err.reason === "invalidRemoteStorage") {
       getLogger(projectRootDir).error(`you do not have write permission to ${err.storagePath} on ${err.host}`);
+      emitAll(projectRootDir, "showMessage", `you do not have write permission to ${err.storagePath} on ${err.host}`);
     } else {
       getLogger(projectRootDir).error("fatal error occurred while preparing phase:", err);
+      emitAll(projectRootDir, "showMessage", `failed to start project: ${err.message || err}`);
     }
     removeSsh(projectRootDir);
     removeAllJWTServerPassphrase(projectRootDir);
+    //runDispatcher is fire-and-forget from onRunProject/onContinueProject, so projectOperator
+    //has already resolved the socket ack with ack(true); this ack(err) is a dropped second
+    //ack on the wire. the client is notified via "showMessage" (toast) above instead.
     ack(err);
     return false;
   }
@@ -392,6 +397,9 @@ async function runDispatcher(clientID, projectRootDir, ack) {
     await _internal.unlockIfFinished(projectRootDir);
   } catch (err) {
     getLogger(projectRootDir).error("fatal error occurred while parsing workflow:", err);
+    //the socket ack was already resolved by projectOperator's ack(true) (runDispatcher is
+    //not awaited), so ack(err) below does nothing on the wire - surface it as a toast here.
+    emitAll(projectRootDir, "showMessage", `project run aborted: ${err.message || err}`);
     await updateProjectState(projectRootDir, "failed");
     ack(err);
   } finally {
diff --git a/server/app/logSettings.js b/server/app/logSettings.js
index e51a4db4..d357eba2 100644
--- a/server/app/logSettings.js
+++ b/server/app/logSettings.js
@@ -32,6 +32,14 @@ function socketIOAppender(layout, timezoneOffset, argEventName) {
     if (eventName) {
       const message = layout(loggingEvent, timezoneOffset);
       _internal.emitAll(projectRootDir, "WHEEL_LOG", message);
+      //the structured "WHEEL_LOG" stream above feeds the log screen. the client also
+      //raises a toast for "logERR" events (onLogErr in Home.vue/Viewer.vue/Workflow.vue),
+      //but that per-level channel stopped being emitted once the socketIO appender was
+      //unified onto "WHEEL_LOG". re-emit FATAL only (as plain text) so a run-aborting
+      //error still pops a toast, without flooding it with every ERROR-level line.
+      if (loggingEvent.level.levelStr === "FATAL") {
+        _internal.emitAll(projectRootDir, "logERR", formatToastMessage(loggingEvent));
+      }
     }
   };
 }
@@ -73,6 +81,18 @@ function formatLogArg(value) {
   return value;
 }
 
+//build a short one-line string from a logging event's data parts for a client-side
+//toast. unlike formatLogArg(), an Error is reduced to its message (no stack trace)
+//since the toast has no room for it - the full entry is still in the log screen/file.
+function formatToastMessage(loggingEvent) {
+  const data = Array.isArray(loggingEvent.data) ? loggingEvent.data : [loggingEvent.data];
+  return data
+    .map((value)=>{
+      return value instanceof Error ? value.message : formatLogArg(value);
+    })
+    .join(" ");
+}
+
 const socketIO = {
   configure: (config, layouts)=>{
     let layout = layouts.basicLayout;