diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 1aa6de8..ec56e87 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 ## What this is
 
-Noise is a Signal Messenger client for Emacs, written in Elisp. It communicates with a local `signal-cli` instance via JSON-RPC over HTTP (default: `localhost:9128`). Conversations are stored in SQLite via `emacs-sqlite3-api`.
+Noise is a Signal Messenger client for Emacs, written in Elisp. It communicates with a local `signal-cli` instance via JSON-RPC over HTTP (default: `localhost:8080`). Conversations are stored in SQLite via `emacs-sqlite3-api`.
 
 ## Technology & Architecture
 
@@ -10,11 +10,13 @@ Noise is a Signal Messenger client for Emacs, written in Elisp. It communicates
 |---|---|
 | Language | Emacs Lisp (Elisp) |
 | Message backend | `signal-cli` JSON-RPC (`signal-cli daemon`) |
+| Real-time messages | SSE via `GET /api/v1/events` |
 | Local storage | SQLite (`emacs-sqlite3-api`) |
 | Runtime | GNU Emacs |
 
 - All Signal protocol work is delegated to `signal-cli`. Noise is a *client* — it does not implement Signal crypto.
-- The JSON-RPC interface is called over HTTP (not piped subprocess stdio), so requests are `POST http://localhost:9128/api/v1/rpc` with JSON-RPC 2.0 payloads.
+- The JSON-RPC interface is called over HTTP (not piped subprocess stdio), so requests are `POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/rpc` with JSON-RPC 2.0 payloads.
+- Noise uses Server-Sent Events (SSE) to receive messages in real-time from signal-cli's `/api/v1/events` endpoint.
 - SQLite is the single source of truth for local state: contacts, conversations, messages, read/unread markers.
 - The address is configurable via the `noise-signal-cli-address` defcustom.
 - The Signal account is configurable via the `noise-account` defcustom (nil for a single-account daemon; required when signal-cli has multiple accounts registered). Account-scoped RPC calls go through `noise-rpc-call-for-account`.
@@ -57,3 +59,7 @@ These come directly from the UI mockup (`signal-emacs-ui.html`) and README:
 - Elisp files should be byte-compilable with `emacs -batch -f batch-byte-compile`.
 - Follow Emacs buffer-naming conventions and major-mode patterns.
 - Always respect `noise-signal-cli-address` as the configurable JSON-RPC endpoint.
+- Uses SSE (Server-Sent Events) for real-time message reception.
+- `noise-sse.el` handles connection and event parsing.
+- `noise-receive.el` processes envelopes and updates UI.
+- Automatic reconnection with exponential backoff.
diff --git a/README.org b/README.org
index def6a14..a1040b0 100644
--- a/README.org
+++ b/README.org
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Its ultimate goal is to provide a fast and efficient user interface for Signal c
 The tech stack is Elisp and SQLite (for storing conversations)
 
 ** Setup
-The project assumes a working installation of signal-cli and interfaces with that via JSON-RPC.
+The project assumes a working installation of signal-cli and interfaces with that via JSON-RPC. Noise uses Server-Sent Events (SSE) to receive messages in real-time.
 
 ** Dependencies
 
@@ -138,11 +138,15 @@ Once signal-cli is running and Noise is installed:
 - =M-x noise-new-chat-sync-contacts= — re-sync contacts from signal-cli
 - =M-x noise-receive= — fetch new messages from signal-cli once
 
-While =noise-mode= is enabled, Noise polls signal-cli for new messages
-every =noise-receive-interval= seconds (default 5). Incoming messages,
-delivery/read receipts, typing indicators, and messages sent from your
-other linked devices are all stored locally and reflected in open
-buffers automatically.
+While =noise-mode= is enabled, Noise connects to signal-cli's SSE
+endpoint at =/api/v1/events= for real-time message reception. Incoming
+messages, delivery/read receipts, typing indicators, and messages sent
+from your other linked devices are all stored locally and reflected in
+open buffers automatically.
+
+The SSE connection automatically reconnects with exponential backoff
+if the connection is lost. You can configure the maximum reconnect
+delay via =noise-sse-max-reconnect-delay= (default 60 seconds).
 
 If signal-cli has more than one account registered, set =noise-account=
 to the phone number you want to use (E.164 format), or run