diff --git a/dashboard/src/lib/stores/app.svelte.ts b/dashboard/src/lib/stores/app.svelte.ts
index 1932011c..642d4d00 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/lib/stores/app.svelte.ts
+++ b/dashboard/src/lib/stores/app.svelte.ts
@@ -8,11 +8,6 @@
  */
 
 import { browser } from "$app/environment";
-import { addToast } from "$lib/stores/toast.svelte";
-import {
-  getDownloadTag,
-  extractModelIdFromDownload,
-} from "$lib/utils/downloads";
 
 // UUID generation fallback for browsers without crypto.randomUUID
 function generateUUID(): string {
@@ -1332,7 +1327,6 @@ class AppStore {
         this.runners = data.runners;
       }
       if (data.downloads) {
-        this.detectEvictions(this.downloads, data.downloads);
         this.downloads = data.downloads;
       }
       if (data.nodeDisk) {
@@ -1461,63 +1455,6 @@ class AppStore {
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Detect models that were evicted (completed -> not completed) and show toasts.
-   */
-  private detectEvictions(
-    oldDownloads: Record<string, unknown[]>,
-    newDownloads: Record<string, unknown[]>,
-  ) {
-    if (Object.keys(oldDownloads).length === 0) return;
-
-    const wasCompleted = new Map<string, Set<string>>();
-    for (const [nodeId, entries] of Object.entries(oldDownloads)) {
-      if (!Array.isArray(entries)) continue;
-      for (const entry of entries) {
-        const tagged = getDownloadTag(entry);
-        if (!tagged || tagged[0] !== "DownloadCompleted") continue;
-        const modelId = extractModelIdFromDownload(tagged[1]);
-        if (!modelId) continue;
-        if (!wasCompleted.has(nodeId)) wasCompleted.set(nodeId, new Set());
-        wasCompleted.get(nodeId)!.add(modelId);
-      }
-    }
-
-    for (const [nodeId, modelIds] of wasCompleted) {
-      const newEntries = newDownloads[nodeId];
-      const stillCompleted = new Set<string>();
-      if (Array.isArray(newEntries)) {
-        for (const entry of newEntries) {
-          const tagged = getDownloadTag(entry);
-          if (!tagged || tagged[0] !== "DownloadCompleted") continue;
-          const mid = extractModelIdFromDownload(tagged[1]);
-          if (mid) stillCompleted.add(mid);
-        }
-      }
-
-      for (const modelId of modelIds) {
-        if (!stillCompleted.has(modelId)) {
-          const shortName = modelId.split("/").pop() ?? modelId;
-          const nodeLabel = this.getNodeFriendlyName(nodeId);
-          addToast({
-            type: "info",
-            message: `Model evicted on ${nodeLabel}: ${shortName}`,
-            duration: 6000,
-          });
-        }
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  private getNodeFriendlyName(nodeId: string): string {
-    const nodeInfo = this.topologyData?.nodes?.[nodeId];
-    return (
-      nodeInfo?.friendly_name ??
-      nodeInfo?.system_info?.chip ??
-      nodeId.slice(0, 4)
-    );
-  }
-
   /**
    * Handle topology changes - clean up filter and re-fetch if needed
    */
diff --git a/dashboard/src/routes/+page.svelte b/dashboard/src/routes/+page.svelte
index ef05e729..3845adec 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/routes/+page.svelte
+++ b/dashboard/src/routes/+page.svelte
@@ -1582,6 +1582,7 @@
     perNode: NodeDownloadStatus[];
     failedError: string | null;
     rejectedError: string | null;
+    evicted: boolean;
   } {
     const empty = {
       isDownloading: false,
@@ -1589,6 +1590,7 @@
       perNode: [] as NodeDownloadStatus[],
       failedError: null,
       rejectedError: null,
+      evicted: false,
     };
 
     if (!downloadsData || Object.keys(downloadsData).length === 0) {
@@ -1631,6 +1633,7 @@
               (downloadPayload.error_message as string) ||
               "Download failed",
             rejectedError: null,
+            evicted: false,
           };
         }
 
@@ -1643,6 +1646,19 @@
             failedError: null,
             rejectedError:
               (downloadPayload.reason as string) || "Storage limit exceeded",
+            evicted: false,
+          };
+        }
+
+        // DownloadEvicted — model was evicted from storage
+        if (downloadKind === "DownloadEvicted") {
+          return {
+            isDownloading: false,
+            progress: null,
+            perNode: Array.from(perNodeMap.values()),
+            failedError: null,
+            rejectedError: null,
+            evicted: true,
           };
         }
 
@@ -1738,6 +1754,7 @@
         perNode,
         failedError: null,
         rejectedError: null,
+        evicted: false,
       };
     }
 
@@ -1759,6 +1776,7 @@
       perNode,
       failedError: null,
       rejectedError: null,
+      evicted: false,
     };
   }
 
@@ -1854,6 +1872,17 @@
       };
     }
 
+    if (result.evicted) {
+      return {
+        isDownloading: false,
+        isFailed: false,
+        errorMessage: null,
+        progress: null,
+        statusText: "EVICTED",
+        perNode: [],
+      };
+    }
+
     if (!result.isDownloading) {
       const statusInfo = deriveInstanceStatus(instanceWrapped);
       return {
@@ -2489,7 +2518,6 @@
   // ── Instance status transition toasts ──
   // Track previous statuses so we can detect meaningful transitions and fire toasts.
   let previousInstanceStatuses: Record<string, string> = {};
-  let previousInstanceModelIds: Record<string, string> = {};
 
   $effect(() => {
     const currentStatuses: Record<string, string> = {};
@@ -2556,34 +2584,19 @@
         if (prevStatus !== "SHUTDOWN" && currentStatus === "SHUTDOWN") {
           addToast({ type: "info", message: `Model shut down: ${shortName}` });
         }
-      }
-    }
 
-    // Detect instances that disappeared while in early states (e.g. rejected download)
-    if (Object.keys(prev).length > 0) {
-      for (const [id, prevStatus] of Object.entries(prev)) {
-        if (id in currentStatuses) continue; // still exists
-        if (prevStatus === "PREPARING" || prevStatus === "DOWNLOADING") {
-          const modelId = previousInstanceModelIds[id];
-          const shortName = modelId
-            ? (modelId.split("/").pop() ?? modelId)
-            : id.slice(0, 8);
+        // Any -> Evicted
+        if (prevStatus !== "EVICTED" && currentStatus === "EVICTED") {
           addToast({
-            type: "warning",
-            message: `Download cancelled: ${shortName} — insufficient storage`,
-            duration: 8000,
+            type: "info",
+            message: `Model evicted: ${shortName}`,
+            duration: 6000,
           });
         }
       }
     }
 
     previousInstanceStatuses = currentStatuses;
-    const modelIds: Record<string, string> = {};
-    for (const [id, inst] of Object.entries(instanceData)) {
-      const mid = getInstanceModelId(inst);
-      if (mid) modelIds[id] = mid;
-    }
-    previousInstanceModelIds = modelIds;
   });
 
   // ── Connection status toasts ──
diff --git a/dashboard/src/routes/downloads/+page.svelte b/dashboard/src/routes/downloads/+page.svelte
index 6dbc206d..5d472186 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/routes/downloads/+page.svelte
+++ b/dashboard/src/routes/downloads/+page.svelte
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@
         limitBytes: number;
         modelDirectory?: string;
       }
+    | { kind: "evicted"; evictedFor: string; modelDirectory?: string }
     | { kind: "not_present" };
 
   type ModelCardInfo = {
@@ -167,6 +168,7 @@
     downloading: 4,
     pending: 3,
     rejected: 2,
+    evicted: 1,
     failed: 1,
     not_present: 0,
   };
@@ -353,6 +355,11 @@
             };
           } else if (tag === "DownloadFailed") {
             cell = { kind: "failed", modelDirectory };
+          } else if (tag === "DownloadEvicted") {
+            const evictedFor =
+              ((payload.evicted_for ?? payload.evictedFor) as string) ??
+              "unknown";
+            cell = { kind: "evicted", evictedFor, modelDirectory };
           } else {
             const downloaded = getBytes(
               payload.downloaded ??
@@ -787,6 +794,51 @@
                           </button>
                         {/if}
                       </div>
+                    {:else if cell.kind === "evicted"}
+                      <div
+                        class="flex flex-col items-center gap-1"
+                        title="Evicted for {cell.evictedFor}"
+                      >
+                        <svg
+                          class="w-5 h-5 text-blue-400"
+                          viewBox="0 0 20 20"
+                          fill="currentColor"
+                        >
+                          <path
+                            fill-rule="evenodd"
+                            d="M18 10a8 8 0 11-16 0 8 8 0 0116 0zm-7-4a1 1 0 11-2 0 1 1 0 012 0zM9 9a1 1 0 000 2v3a1 1 0 001 1h1a1 1 0 100-2v-3a1 1 0 00-1-1H9z"
+                            clip-rule="evenodd"
+                          ></path>
+                        </svg>
+                        <span
+                          class="text-[10px] text-blue-400/80 leading-tight text-center max-w-[100px] truncate"
+                        >
+                          Evicted for {cell.evictedFor.split("/").pop()}
+                        </span>
+                        {#if row.shardMetadata}
+                          <button
+                            type="button"
+                            class="text-white/50 hover:text-exo-yellow transition-colors cursor-pointer"
+                            onclick={() =>
+                              startDownload(col.nodeId, row.shardMetadata!)}
+                            title="Re-download on this node"
+                          >
+                            <svg
+                              class="w-5 h-5"
+                              viewBox="0 0 20 20"
+                              fill="none"
+                              stroke="currentColor"
+                              stroke-width="2"
+                            >
+                              <path
+                                d="M10 3v10m0 0l-3-3m3 3l3-3M3 17h14"
+                                stroke-linecap="round"
+                                stroke-linejoin="round"
+                              ></path>
+                            </svg>
+                          </button>
+                        {/if}
+                      </div>
                     {:else if cell.kind === "failed"}
                       <div
                         class="flex flex-col items-center gap-1"
diff --git a/src/exo/download/coordinator.py b/src/exo/download/coordinator.py
index ee5c264a..0be66a1b 100644
--- a/src/exo/download/coordinator.py
+++ b/src/exo/download/coordinator.py
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ from exo.shared.types.memory import Memory
 from exo.shared.types.storage import StorageConfig
 from exo.shared.types.worker.downloads import (
     DownloadCompleted,
+    DownloadEvicted,
     DownloadFailed,
     DownloadOngoing,
     DownloadPending,
@@ -82,7 +83,6 @@ class DownloadCoordinator:
     # LRU tracking
     _model_last_used: dict[ModelId, datetime] = field(default_factory=dict)
     _active_model_ids: set[ModelId] = field(default_factory=set)
-    _recently_evicted: set[ModelId] = field(default_factory=set)
 
     _tg: TaskGroup = field(init=False, default_factory=TaskGroup)
     _stopped: anyio.Event = field(init=False, default_factory=anyio.Event)
@@ -450,8 +450,6 @@ class DownloadCoordinator:
                 logger.debug(
                     "DownloadCoordinator: Fetching and emitting existing download progress..."
                 )
-                # Track which evicted models the scanner still sees on disk
-                evicted_still_on_disk: set[ModelId] = set()
 
                 async for (
                     _,
@@ -459,8 +457,9 @@ class DownloadCoordinator:
                 ) in self.shard_downloader.get_shard_download_status():
                     model_id = progress.shard.model_card.model_id
 
-                    if model_id in self._recently_evicted:
-                        evicted_still_on_disk.add(model_id)
+                    # Don't overwrite DownloadEvicted — the model may still be on disk
+                    # while deletion is finishing
+                    if isinstance(self.download_status.get(model_id), DownloadEvicted):
                         continue
 
                     # Active downloads emit progress via the callback — don't overwrite
@@ -542,8 +541,6 @@ class DownloadCoordinator:
                                 NodeDownloadProgress(download_progress=path_completed)
                             )
 
-                self._recently_evicted = evicted_still_on_disk
-
                 logger.debug(
                     "DownloadCoordinator: Done emitting existing download progress."
                 )
@@ -599,6 +596,8 @@ class DownloadCoordinator:
             logger.info(
                 f"Auto-evicting model {evict_model_id} to free space for {model_id}"
             )
+            # Capture shard_metadata before _delete_download removes it
+            evicted_status = self.download_status.get(evict_model_id)
             success = await self._delete_download(evict_model_id)
             if not success:
                 current_used = calculate_used_storage(
@@ -611,7 +610,20 @@ class DownloadCoordinator:
                     current_available,
                 )
                 return False
-            self._recently_evicted.add(evict_model_id)
+
+            # Overwrite the DownloadPending that _delete_download emitted
+            # with an explicit DownloadEvicted status
+            if evicted_status is not None:
+                evicted = DownloadEvicted(
+                    shard_metadata=evicted_status.shard_metadata,
+                    node_id=self.node_id,
+                    model_directory=self._model_dir(evict_model_id),
+                    evicted_for=model_id,
+                )
+                self.download_status[evict_model_id] = evicted
+                await self.event_sender.send(
+                    NodeDownloadProgress(download_progress=evicted)
+                )
 
         return True
 
diff --git a/src/exo/download/tests/test_auto_eviction.py b/src/exo/download/tests/test_auto_eviction.py
index 0d058646..2512be4c 100644
--- a/src/exo/download/tests/test_auto_eviction.py
+++ b/src/exo/download/tests/test_auto_eviction.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ from exo.shared.types.memory import Memory
 from exo.shared.types.storage import StorageConfig
 from exo.shared.types.worker.downloads import (
     DownloadCompleted,
+    DownloadEvicted,
     DownloadPending,
     DownloadRejected,
 )
@@ -128,7 +129,8 @@ class TestStartDownloadAutoEviction:
 
         # MODEL_A (oldest) should have been evicted
         mock_delete.assert_called_once_with(MODEL_A)
-        assert MODEL_A not in coordinator.download_status
+        assert isinstance(coordinator.download_status[MODEL_A], DownloadEvicted)
+        assert coordinator.download_status[MODEL_A].evicted_for == MODEL_NEW
 
     @patch(
         "exo.download.coordinator.delete_model",
diff --git a/src/exo/shared/types/worker/downloads.py b/src/exo/shared/types/worker/downloads.py
index ed45a151..ba1228b8 100644
--- a/src/exo/shared/types/worker/downloads.py
+++ b/src/exo/shared/types/worker/downloads.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from typing import Literal
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field, PositiveInt
 
-from exo.shared.types.common import NodeId
+from exo.shared.types.common import ModelId, NodeId
 from exo.shared.types.memory import Memory
 from exo.shared.types.worker.shards import ShardMetadata
 from exo.utils.pydantic_ext import CamelCaseModel, TaggedModel
@@ -54,12 +54,17 @@ class DownloadRejected(BaseDownloadProgress):
     limit: Memory
 
 
+class DownloadEvicted(BaseDownloadProgress):
+    evicted_for: ModelId
+
+
 DownloadProgress = (
     DownloadPending
     | DownloadCompleted
     | DownloadFailed
     | DownloadOngoing
     | DownloadRejected
+    | DownloadEvicted
 )