diff --git a/src/app/api/chat/route.ts b/src/app/api/chat/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a8cebf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/chat/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
+import { getLatestChatMessages } from "@/lib/clickhouse/actions";
+
+export async function GET(req: Request) {
+  try {
+    const { searchParams } = new URL(req.url);
+    const limit = parseInt(searchParams.get("limit") || "20", 10);
+    const before = searchParams.get("before") || undefined;
+    const messages = await getLatestChatMessages({ limit, before });
+    return NextResponse.json(messages);
+  } catch (error) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: "Failed to fetch chat messages" }, { status: 500 });
+  }
+} 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/components/ChatBox.tsx b/src/components/ChatBox.tsx
index fb6be61..7498078 100644
--- a/src/components/ChatBox.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ChatBox.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,78 @@
 "use client";
-import { useState } from "react";
+import { useState, useEffect } from "react";
 import { MinusIcon, PlusIcon } from "@heroicons/react/24/outline";
 
+interface ChatMessage {
+  ingest_timestamp: string;
+  origin: string;
+  mesh_timestamp: string;
+  packet: string;
+  path_len: number;
+  path: string;
+  channel_hash: string;
+  mac: string;
+  encrypted_message: string;
+}
+
+const PAGE_SIZE = 20;
+
+function formatHex(hex: string): string {
+  // Add a space every 2 characters for readability
+  return hex.replace(/(.{2})/g, "$1 ").trim();
+}
+
+function formatLocalTime(utcString: string): string {
+  // Parse as UTC and display in local time
+  const utcDate = new Date(utcString + (utcString.endsWith('Z') ? '' : 'Z'));
+  return utcDate.toLocaleString();
+}
+
 export default function ChatBox() {
-  const [value, setValue] = useState("");
   const [minimized, setMinimized] = useState(true);
+  const [messages, setMessages] = useState<ChatMessage[]>([]);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
+  const [hasMore, setHasMore] = useState(true);
+  const [lastBefore, setLastBefore] = useState<string | undefined>(undefined);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!minimized) {
+      setMessages([]);
+      setHasMore(true);
+      setLastBefore(undefined);
+      fetchMessages(undefined, true);
+    }
+    // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
+  }, [minimized]);
+
+  const fetchMessages = async (before?: string, replace = false) => {
+    setLoading(true);
+    try {
+      let url = `/api/chat?limit=${PAGE_SIZE}`;
+      if (before) url += `&before=${encodeURIComponent(before)}`;
+      const res = await fetch(url);
+      const data = await res.json();
+      if (Array.isArray(data)) {
+        setMessages((prev) => replace ? data : [...prev, ...data]);
+        setHasMore(data.length === PAGE_SIZE);
+        if (data.length > 0) {
+          setLastBefore(data[data.length - 1].ingest_timestamp);
+        }
+      } else {
+        setHasMore(false);
+      }
+    } catch {
+      setHasMore(false);
+    } finally {
+      setLoading(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  const handleLoadMore = () => {
+    if (lastBefore) {
+      fetchMessages(lastBefore);
+    }
+  };
+
   return (
     <div
       className={`w-80 bg-white dark:bg-neutral-900 rounded-lg shadow-lg flex flex-col ${
@@ -26,8 +94,30 @@ export default function ChatBox() {
         </button>
       </div>
       {!minimized && (
-        <div className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto text-sm text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200">
-          <div className="text-gray-400 text-center mt-8">Chat coming soon...</div>
+        <div className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto text-sm text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 flex flex-col-reverse">
+          <div className="flex flex-col-reverse gap-2">
+            {messages.length === 0 && !loading && (
+              <div className="text-gray-400 text-center mt-8">No chat messages found.</div>
+            )}
+            {messages.map((msg, i) => (
+              <div key={msg.ingest_timestamp + msg.origin + i} className="border-b border-gray-200 dark:border-neutral-800 pb-2 mb-2">
+                <div className="text-xs text-gray-400 flex items-center gap-2">
+                  {formatLocalTime(msg.ingest_timestamp)} <span className="text-xs text-blue-600 dark:text-blue-400 font-mono">{msg.channel_hash}</span>
+                </div>
+                <div className="font-mono break-all whitespace-pre-wrap">{formatHex(msg.encrypted_message)}</div>
+                <div className="text-xs text-gray-300">from: {msg.origin}</div>
+              </div>
+            ))}
+            {hasMore && (
+              <button
+                className="w-full py-2 bg-gray-100 dark:bg-neutral-800 rounded text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 hover:bg-gray-200 dark:hover:bg-neutral-700 mt-2"
+                onClick={handleLoadMore}
+                disabled={loading}
+              >
+                {loading ? "Loading..." : "Load more"}
+              </button>
+            )}
+          </div>
         </div>
       )}
     </div>
diff --git a/src/lib/clickhouse/actions.ts b/src/lib/clickhouse/actions.ts
index c35f527..2ff615b 100644
--- a/src/lib/clickhouse/actions.ts
+++ b/src/lib/clickhouse/actions.ts
@@ -43,4 +43,28 @@ export async function getNodePositions({ minLat, maxLat, minLng, maxLng, nodeTyp
       last_seen: string;
       type: string;
     }>;
+} 
+
+export async function getLatestChatMessages({ limit = 20, before }: { limit?: number, before?: string } = {}) {
+  let where = [];
+  const params: Record<string, any> = { limit };
+  if (before) {
+    where.push('ingest_timestamp < {before:DateTime64}');
+    params.before = before;
+  }
+  const whereClause = where.length > 0 ? `WHERE ${where.join(' AND ')}` : '';
+  const query = `SELECT ingest_timestamp, origin, mesh_timestamp, packet, path_len, path, channel_hash, mac, hex(encrypted_message) AS encrypted_message FROM meshcore_public_channel_messages ${whereClause} ORDER BY ingest_timestamp DESC LIMIT {limit:UInt32}`;
+  const resultSet = await clickhouse.query({ query, query_params: params, format: 'JSONEachRow' });
+  const rows = await resultSet.json();
+  return rows as Array<{
+    ingest_timestamp: string;
+    origin: string;
+    mesh_timestamp: string;
+    packet: string;
+    path_len: number;
+    path: string;
+    channel_hash: string;
+    mac: string;
+    encrypted_message: string;
+  }>;
 } 
\ No newline at end of file