diff --git a/src/components/Onboarding/OnboardingNavPill.test.tsx b/src/components/Onboarding/OnboardingNavPill.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..48fbb8965
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/Onboarding/OnboardingNavPill.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import { cleanup, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import { OnboardingNavPill } from "./OnboardingNavPill";
+
+vi.mock("@tanstack/react-router", () => ({
+  Link: ({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) => <a>{children}</a>,
+}));
+
+let onboarding = {
+  steps: [],
+  completedCount: 1,
+  total: 4,
+  isComplete: false,
+  dismissed: false,
+  isResolved: true,
+  markDocsRead: vi.fn(),
+};
+vi.mock("@/providers/OnboardingProvider/OnboardingProvider", () => ({
+  useOnboarding: () => onboarding,
+}));
+
+function resetState() {
+  onboarding = {
+    steps: [],
+    completedCount: 1,
+    total: 4,
+    isComplete: false,
+    dismissed: false,
+    isResolved: true,
+    markDocsRead: vi.fn(),
+  };
+}
+
+beforeEach(resetState);
+afterEach(cleanup);
+
+const pill = () => screen.queryByText(/Onboarding/);
+
+describe("OnboardingNavPill", () => {
+  it("shows progress while onboarding is in progress", () => {
+    render(<OnboardingNavPill />);
+    expect(pill()).toHaveTextContent("Onboarding · 1/4");
+  });
+
+  it("is hidden once onboarding is complete", () => {
+    onboarding.isComplete = true;
+    render(<OnboardingNavPill />);
+    expect(pill()).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("is hidden once onboarding is dismissed", () => {
+    onboarding.dismissed = true;
+    render(<OnboardingNavPill />);
+    expect(pill()).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/Onboarding/OnboardingNavPill.tsx b/src/components/Onboarding/OnboardingNavPill.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3e8d49f21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/Onboarding/OnboardingNavPill.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { OnboardingChecklist } from "@/components/Onboarding/OnboardingChecklist";
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
+import { Icon } from "@/components/ui/icon";
+import { BlockStack } from "@/components/ui/layout";
+import {
+  Popover,
+  PopoverContent,
+  PopoverTrigger,
+} from "@/components/ui/popover";
+import { Heading } from "@/components/ui/typography";
+import { useOnboarding } from "@/providers/OnboardingProvider/OnboardingProvider";
+import { tracking } from "@/utils/tracking";
+
+export function OnboardingNavPill() {
+  const { completedCount, total, isComplete, dismissed, isResolved } =
+    useOnboarding();
+
+  if (!isResolved || isComplete || dismissed) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <Popover>
+      <PopoverTrigger asChild {...tracking("navigation.onboarding_pill")}>
+        <Button variant="nav" size="sm" shape="pill">
+          <Icon name="Rocket" size="sm" aria-hidden="true" />
+          Onboarding · {completedCount}/{total}
+        </Button>
+      </PopoverTrigger>
+      <PopoverContent align="end" className="w-96">
+        <BlockStack gap="3">
+          <Heading level={3}>Get started with Tangle</Heading>
+          <OnboardingChecklist />
+        </BlockStack>
+      </PopoverContent>
+    </Popover>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/components/layout/AppMenu.tsx b/src/components/layout/AppMenu.tsx
index cea3f0515..2cc453527 100644
--- a/src/components/layout/AppMenu.tsx
+++ b/src/components/layout/AppMenu.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
 import { useState } from "react";
 
 import logo from "/Tangle_white.png";
+import { OnboardingNavPill } from "@/components/Onboarding/OnboardingNavPill";
 import { isAuthorizationRequired } from "@/components/shared/Authentication/helpers";
 import { TopBarAuthentication } from "@/components/shared/Authentication/TopBarAuthentication";
 import { CopyText } from "@/components/shared/CopyText/CopyText";
@@ -110,6 +111,8 @@ const DefaultAppMenu = () => {
             <div className="w-px h-5 bg-stone-700" />
           </div>
 
+          <OnboardingNavPill />
+
           <EditorVersionToggle />
 
           {/* Settings & status */}
diff --git a/src/components/ui/button.tsx b/src/components/ui/button.tsx
index 4a775bc94..02b165f76 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/button.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/button.tsx
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ const buttonVariants = cva(
           "hover:bg-accent hover:text-accent-foreground dark:hover:bg-accent/50",
         link: "text-primary underline-offset-4 hover:underline",
         "link-info": "text-info underline decoration-dotted",
+        nav: "bg-stone-700 text-white text-xs font-semibold hover:bg-stone-600 hover:text-white",
       },
       size: {
         default: "h-9 px-4 py-2 has-[>svg]:px-3",
@@ -35,10 +36,15 @@ const buttonVariants = cva(
         icon: "size-9",
         min: "h-fit w-fit p-1 rounded-sm",
       },
+      shape: {
+        default: "",
+        pill: "rounded-full",
+      },
     },
     defaultVariants: {
       variant: "default",
       size: "default",
+      shape: "default",
     },
   },
 );
@@ -52,6 +58,7 @@ function Button({
   className,
   variant,
   size,
+  shape,
   asChild = false,
   ...props
 }: ButtonProps) {
@@ -60,7 +67,7 @@ function Button({
   return (
     <Comp
       data-slot="button"
-      className={cn(buttonVariants({ variant, size, className }))}
+      className={cn(buttonVariants({ variant, size, shape, className }))}
       {...props}
     />
   );
diff --git a/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/OnboardingProvider.tsx b/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/OnboardingProvider.tsx
index 469be6607..15f8c99dd 100644
--- a/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/OnboardingProvider.tsx
+++ b/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/OnboardingProvider.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   createRequiredContext,
   useRequiredContext,
 } from "@/hooks/useRequiredContext";
+import useToastNotification from "@/hooks/useToastNotification";
 import { useAnalytics } from "@/providers/AnalyticsProvider";
 import { useBackend } from "@/providers/BackendProvider";
 import { useTourCompletions } from "@/providers/TourProvider/tourCompletion";
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ import {
   ONBOARDING_STEPS,
   type OnboardingStepMeta,
 } from "./steps";
+import { useStepCompletionToasts } from "./useStepCompletionToasts";
 
 const PIPELINE_RUNS_QUERY_URL = "/api/pipeline_runs/";
 const STALE_MS = 1000 * 60 * 5;
@@ -47,6 +49,8 @@ interface OnboardingContextValue {
   total: number;
   isComplete: boolean;
   dismissed: boolean;
+  isReady: boolean;
+  isResolved: boolean;
   markDocsRead: () => void;
   dismiss: () => void;
   reopen: () => void;
@@ -55,11 +59,14 @@ interface OnboardingContextValue {
 const OnboardingContext =
   createRequiredContext<OnboardingContextValue>("OnboardingProvider");
 
-function useHasMyRun(): boolean {
+function useHasMyRun(): {
+  hasRun: boolean;
+  isLoading: boolean;
+} {
   const { available, backendUrl } = useBackend();
   const filterQuery = filtersToFilterQuery(parseFilterParam("created_by:me"));
 
-  const { data } = useQuery({
+  const { data, isLoading } = useQuery({
     queryKey: [...ONBOARDING_MY_RUN_COUNT_KEY, backendUrl],
     enabled: available && Boolean(backendUrl),
     staleTime: STALE_MS,
@@ -71,19 +78,23 @@ function useHasMyRun(): boolean {
       return countPipelineRuns(payload);
     },
   });
-  return (data ?? 0) > 0;
+  return { hasRun: (data ?? 0) > 0, isLoading };
 }
 
 export function OnboardingProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   const { track } = useAnalytics();
-  const { data: progress } = useOnboardingProgress();
+  const notify = useToastNotification();
+  const { ready: backendReady, configured } = useBackend();
+  const { data: progress, isLoading: progressLoading } =
+    useOnboardingProgress();
   const persist = usePersistOnboardingProgress();
 
-  const { data: tourCompletions } = useTourCompletions();
+  const { data: tourCompletions, isLoading: toursLoading } =
+    useTourCompletions();
   const hasCompletedTour = Boolean(
     tourCompletions && Object.keys(tourCompletions).length > 0,
   );
-  const hasMyRun = useHasMyRun();
+  const { hasRun: hasMyRun, isLoading: runsLoading } = useHasMyRun();
 
   const stored = progress?.steps;
   const desiredSteps: OnboardingSteps = {
@@ -94,6 +105,8 @@ export function OnboardingProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   };
 
   const isComplete = ONBOARDING_STEP_IDS.every((id) => desiredSteps[id]);
+  const isReady = !progressLoading && !toursLoading && !runsLoading;
+  const isResolved = (backendReady || !configured) && isReady;
 
   const [pipelineWriteCount, setPipelineWriteCount] = useState(0);
 
@@ -120,6 +133,8 @@ export function OnboardingProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     track("onboarding.step.completed", { step_id: "create_pipeline" });
   }, [pipelineWriteCount, progress, persist, track]);
 
+  useStepCompletionToasts({ isResolved, desiredSteps, isComplete });
+
   const markDocsRead = () => {
     if (!progress || progress.steps.read_docs) return;
     persist({ ...progress, steps: { ...progress.steps, read_docs: true } });
@@ -132,6 +147,7 @@ export function OnboardingProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     if (!progress || progress.dismissed) return;
     persist({ ...progress, dismissed: true });
     track("onboarding.dismissed");
+    notify("You can resume onboarding from the Learning Hub", "info");
   };
 
   const reopen = () => {
@@ -151,6 +167,8 @@ export function OnboardingProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     total: steps.length,
     isComplete,
     dismissed: progress?.dismissed ?? false,
+    isReady,
+    isResolved,
     markDocsRead,
     dismiss,
     reopen,
diff --git a/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/onboardingCompletion.test.ts b/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/onboardingCompletion.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..33b04ec3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/onboardingCompletion.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import {
+  completedStepIds,
+  newlyCompletedIds,
+  stepLabel,
+} from "./onboardingCompletion";
+import { ONBOARDING_STEPS } from "./steps";
+
+describe("completedStepIds", () => {
+  it("returns completed ids in canonical order", () => {
+    expect(
+      completedStepIds({
+        read_docs: true,
+        complete_tour: false,
+        create_pipeline: true,
+        execute_run: false,
+      }),
+    ).toEqual(["read_docs", "create_pipeline"]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns an empty array when nothing is complete", () => {
+    expect(
+      completedStepIds({
+        read_docs: false,
+        complete_tour: false,
+        create_pipeline: false,
+        execute_run: false,
+      }),
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("newlyCompletedIds", () => {
+  it("returns ids present in current but not previous", () => {
+    expect(
+      newlyCompletedIds(
+        new Set(["read_docs"]),
+        new Set(["read_docs", "execute_run"]),
+      ),
+    ).toEqual(["execute_run"]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns empty when nothing newly completed", () => {
+    expect(
+      newlyCompletedIds(new Set(["read_docs"]), new Set(["read_docs"])),
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("stepLabel", () => {
+  it("resolves the label for a known step", () => {
+    expect(stepLabel("read_docs")).toBe(
+      ONBOARDING_STEPS.find((step) => step.id === "read_docs")?.label,
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/onboardingCompletion.ts b/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/onboardingCompletion.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6fca90731
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/onboardingCompletion.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import type { OnboardingSteps } from "./onboardingProgress";
+import {
+  ONBOARDING_STEP_IDS,
+  ONBOARDING_STEPS,
+  type OnboardingStepId,
+} from "./steps";
+
+export function completedStepIds(steps: OnboardingSteps): OnboardingStepId[] {
+  return ONBOARDING_STEP_IDS.filter((id) => steps[id]);
+}
+
+export function newlyCompletedIds(
+  previous: ReadonlySet<OnboardingStepId>,
+  current: ReadonlySet<OnboardingStepId>,
+): OnboardingStepId[] {
+  return [...current].filter((id) => !previous.has(id));
+}
+
+export function stepLabel(id: OnboardingStepId): string | undefined {
+  return ONBOARDING_STEPS.find((step) => step.id === id)?.label;
+}
diff --git a/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/useStepCompletionToasts.ts b/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/useStepCompletionToasts.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9130715cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/providers/OnboardingProvider/useStepCompletionToasts.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
+
+import useToastNotification from "@/hooks/useToastNotification";
+
+import {
+  completedStepIds,
+  newlyCompletedIds,
+  stepLabel,
+} from "./onboardingCompletion";
+import type { OnboardingSteps } from "./onboardingProgress";
+import type { OnboardingStepId } from "./steps";
+
+interface UseStepCompletionToastsArgs {
+  isResolved: boolean;
+  desiredSteps: OnboardingSteps;
+  isComplete: boolean;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Fires a toast the first time each step flips to complete (and a single
+ * "all set up" toast once everything is done). The first resolved render
+ * only seeds the baseline, so already-complete steps don't toast on mount.
+ */
+export function useStepCompletionToasts({
+  isResolved,
+  desiredSteps,
+  isComplete,
+}: UseStepCompletionToastsArgs) {
+  const notify = useToastNotification();
+  const previousRef = useRef<Set<OnboardingStepId> | null>(null);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!isResolved) return;
+    const current = new Set(completedStepIds(desiredSteps));
+    const previous = previousRef.current;
+    previousRef.current = current;
+    if (previous === null) return;
+
+    const newly = newlyCompletedIds(previous, current);
+    if (newly.length === 0) return;
+
+    if (isComplete) {
+      notify("You're all set up - onboarding complete!", "success");
+      return;
+    }
+    for (const id of newly) {
+      const label = stepLabel(id);
+      if (label) notify(`Completed: ${label}`, "success");
+    }
+  }, [isResolved, desiredSteps, isComplete, notify]);
+}
diff --git a/src/routes/v2/shared/components/AppMenuActions.tsx b/src/routes/v2/shared/components/AppMenuActions.tsx
index 3fe3fc8ee..0fe78a982 100644
--- a/src/routes/v2/shared/components/AppMenuActions.tsx
+++ b/src/routes/v2/shared/components/AppMenuActions.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { Link as RouterLink } from "@tanstack/react-router";
 
+import { OnboardingNavPill } from "@/components/Onboarding/OnboardingNavPill";
 import { isAuthorizationRequired } from "@/components/shared/Authentication/helpers";
 import { TopBarAuthentication } from "@/components/shared/Authentication/TopBarAuthentication";
 import TooltipButton from "@/components/shared/Buttons/TooltipButton";
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ export function AppMenuActions() {
       className="shrink-0"
       data-testid="app-menu-actions"
     >
+      {!tourMode && <OnboardingNavPill />}
       <EditorVersionToggle />
       {tourMode ? (
         <TooltipButton