diff --git a/frontend/src/components/FilePreviewModal.css b/frontend/src/components/FilePreviewModal.css
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b678426
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/FilePreviewModal.css
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+.file-preview-overlay {
+  position: fixed;
+  inset: 0;
+  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65);
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  padding: var(--sp-4);
+  z-index: 100;
+}
+
+.file-preview-modal {
+  background: var(--ds-surface);
+  border: 1px solid var(--ds-border);
+  border-radius: var(--radius);
+  width: min(700px, 100%);
+  max-height: min(80vh, 800px);
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  overflow: hidden;
+}
+
+.file-preview-header {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: space-between;
+  gap: var(--sp-2);
+  padding: var(--sp-3) var(--sp-4);
+  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--ds-border);
+  flex: none;
+}
+
+.file-preview-filename {
+  font-size: 0.86rem;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  color: var(--ds-text);
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+.file-preview-actions {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 4px;
+  flex: none;
+}
+
+.file-preview-download,
+.file-preview-close {
+  width: 28px;
+  height: 28px;
+  border-radius: var(--radius);
+  background: transparent;
+  border: 1px solid var(--ds-border);
+  color: var(--ds-muted);
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+
+.file-preview-close {
+  font-size: 1rem;
+  line-height: 1;
+}
+
+.file-preview-download:hover,
+.file-preview-close:hover {
+  color: var(--ds-text);
+  border-color: var(--ds-accent);
+}
+
+.file-preview-body {
+  padding: var(--sp-4);
+  overflow: auto;
+}
+
+.file-preview-loading,
+.file-preview-error {
+  font-size: 0.86rem;
+  color: var(--ds-muted);
+  margin: 0;
+}
+
+.file-preview-error {
+  color: var(--ds-danger, #e5484d);
+}
+
+.file-preview-text {
+  font-family: var(--mono);
+  font-size: 0.82rem;
+  color: var(--ds-text);
+  white-space: pre-wrap;
+  word-break: break-word;
+  margin: 0;
+}
+
+.file-preview-markdown {
+  font-size: 0.9rem;
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/FilePreviewModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/FilePreviewModal.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..daa500a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/FilePreviewModal.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+import Markdown from 'markdown-to-jsx'
+import { getRoomFileUrl } from '../api/rooms'
+import { useEscapeKey } from '../hooks/useEscapeKey'
+import type { MessageFileInfo } from '../types'
+import { MARKDOWN_OPTIONS } from './MessageContent'
+import './FilePreviewModal.css'
+
+export type PreviewKind = 'markdown' | 'text'
+
+// Deliberately extension-based, not content_type-based: the browser-supplied
+// content_type for less-common extensions like .md is inconsistent (often
+// reported as empty or application/octet-stream), so it isn't reliable
+// enough to gate what gets parsed as markdown vs. shown as literal text.
+export function getPreviewKind(filename: string): PreviewKind | null {
+  const lower = filename.toLowerCase()
+  if (lower.endsWith('.md') || lower.endsWith('.markdown')) return 'markdown'
+  if (lower.endsWith('.txt')) return 'text'
+  return null
+}
+
+interface FilePreviewModalProps {
+  roomId: string
+  file: MessageFileInfo
+  kind: PreviewKind
+  onClose: () => void
+}
+
+export function FilePreviewModal({ roomId, file, kind, onClose }: FilePreviewModalProps) {
+  useEscapeKey(onClose)
+  const [content, setContent] = useState<string | null>(null)
+  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null)
+  const fileUrl = getRoomFileUrl(roomId, file.id)
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    let cancelled = false
+    // A plain fetch() read is unaffected by the Content-Disposition:
+    // attachment header the file-serve endpoint always sends -- that header
+    // only steers the browser's own navigation/embed rendering, not a
+    // script-initiated read of the response body. So no separate
+    // "inline"-flavored endpoint is needed just to preview text.
+    fetch(fileUrl, { credentials: 'include' })
+      .then((res) => {
+        if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to load file (${res.status})`)
+        return res.text()
+      })
+      .then((text) => {
+        if (!cancelled) setContent(text)
+      })
+      .catch((err) => {
+        if (!cancelled) setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Failed to load file')
+      })
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true
+    }
+  }, [fileUrl])
+
+  return (
+    <div className="file-preview-overlay" onClick={onClose}>
+      <div className="file-preview-modal" onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}>
+        <div className="file-preview-header">
+          <span className="file-preview-filename">{file.filename}</span>
+          <div className="file-preview-actions">
+            <a href={fileUrl} download={file.filename} className="file-preview-download" aria-label="Download">
+              <svg width="15" height="15" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" aria-hidden="true">
+                <path
+                  d="M10 3v10m0 0-4-4m4 4 4-4M4 16h12"
+                  stroke="currentColor"
+                  strokeWidth="1.6"
+                  strokeLinecap="round"
+                  strokeLinejoin="round"
+                />
+              </svg>
+            </a>
+            <button type="button" className="file-preview-close" onClick={onClose} aria-label="Close">
+              ×
+            </button>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+        <div className="file-preview-body">
+          {error && <p className="file-preview-error">{error}</p>}
+          {!error && content === null && <p className="file-preview-loading">Loading…</p>}
+          {!error && content !== null && kind === 'markdown' && (
+            <div className="message-text file-preview-markdown">
+              <Markdown options={MARKDOWN_OPTIONS}>{content}</Markdown>
+            </div>
+          )}
+          {!error && content !== null && kind === 'text' && <pre className="file-preview-text">{content}</pre>}
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/MessageContent.tsx b/frontend/src/components/MessageContent.tsx
index 6a21c34..939e19c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/MessageContent.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/MessageContent.tsx
@@ -46,20 +46,19 @@ function preserveLineBreaks(text: string): string {
     .join('\n')
 }
 
-export function MessageContent({ content }: MessageContentProps) {
-  return (
-    <Markdown
-      options={{
-        // The core XSS mitigation: raw HTML in message content is escaped
-        // and printed literally instead of being parsed into elements.
-        disableParsingRawHTML: true,
-        overrides: {
-          a: { props: { target: '_blank', rel: 'noopener noreferrer' } },
-          img: { component: MarkdownImageLink },
-        },
-      }}
-    >
-      {preserveLineBreaks(content)}
-    </Markdown>
-  )
+// Shared with FilePreviewModal so both render paths carry the exact same
+// XSS mitigation (disableParsingRawHTML) -- duplicating this object would
+// risk the two drifting out of sync if one gets edited later.
+export const MARKDOWN_OPTIONS = {
+  // The core XSS mitigation: raw HTML in message content is escaped
+  // and printed literally instead of being parsed into elements.
+  disableParsingRawHTML: true,
+  overrides: {
+    a: { props: { target: '_blank', rel: 'noopener noreferrer' } },
+    img: { component: MarkdownImageLink },
+  },
+}
+
+export function MessageContent({ content }: MessageContentProps) {
+  return <Markdown options={MARKDOWN_OPTIONS}>{preserveLineBreaks(content)}</Markdown>
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/MessageList.tsx b/frontend/src/components/MessageList.tsx
index bcc979d..7d37733 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/MessageList.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/MessageList.tsx
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@ import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import { getRoomFileUrl, getRoomImageUrl } from '../api/rooms'
 import { useAuth } from '../context/AuthContext'
 import { avatarUrlFor, displayNameFor, senderColorIndex } from '../lib/messageGrouping'
-import type { ChatMessageEnvelope, Message, RoomMember } from '../types'
+import type { ChatMessageEnvelope, Message, MessageFileInfo, RoomMember } from '../types'
 import { EmojiPicker } from './EmojiPicker'
+import { FilePreviewModal, getPreviewKind } from './FilePreviewModal'
 import { ImageLightbox } from './ImageLightbox'
 import { MessageContent } from './MessageContent'
 import { UserAvatar } from './UserAvatar'
@@ -15,6 +16,54 @@ function formatFileSize(bytes: number): string {
   return `${(bytes / (1024 * 1024)).toFixed(1)} MB`
 }
 
+function FileAttachmentIcon() {
+  return (
+    <svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" aria-hidden="true">
+      <path
+        d="M6 2.5h6l4 4V16a1.5 1.5 0 0 1-1.5 1.5h-8A1.5 1.5 0 0 1 5 16V4A1.5 1.5 0 0 1 6 2.5Z"
+        stroke="currentColor"
+        strokeWidth="1.4"
+        strokeLinejoin="round"
+      />
+      <path d="M12 2.5V6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h3.5" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="1.4" strokeLinejoin="round" />
+    </svg>
+  )
+}
+
+interface FileAttachmentCardProps {
+  file: MessageFileInfo
+  roomId: string
+  onPreview: () => void
+}
+
+// Previewable files (markdown/text) open a modal on click, with a small
+// explicit download icon alongside; everything else keeps the original
+// click-to-download behavior unchanged.
+function FileAttachmentCard({ file, roomId, onPreview }: FileAttachmentCardProps) {
+  const info = (
+    <span className="message-file-info">
+      <span className="message-file-name">{file.filename}</span>
+      <span className="message-file-size">{formatFileSize(file.size_bytes)}</span>
+    </span>
+  )
+
+  if (getPreviewKind(file.filename)) {
+    return (
+      <button type="button" className="message-file-attachment" onClick={onPreview}>
+        <FileAttachmentIcon />
+        {info}
+      </button>
+    )
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <a href={getRoomFileUrl(roomId, file.id)} download={file.filename} className="message-file-attachment">
+      <FileAttachmentIcon />
+      {info}
+    </a>
+  )
+}
+
 interface MessageListProps {
   roomId: string
   messages: (Message | ChatMessageEnvelope)[]
@@ -30,6 +79,7 @@ export function MessageList({ roomId, messages, members, onEdit, onReact }: Mess
   const [draft, setDraft] = useState('')
   const [lightboxSrc, setLightboxSrc] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const [reactingId, setReactingId] = useState<string | null>(null)
+  const [previewFile, setPreviewFile] = useState<MessageFileInfo | null>(null)
 
   function displayNameForUserId(userId: string): string {
     const member = members.find((m) => m.user_id === userId)
@@ -110,25 +160,11 @@ export function MessageList({ roomId, messages, members, onEdit, onReact }: Mess
                     />
                   )}
                   {msg.file && (
-                    <a
-                      href={getRoomFileUrl(roomId, msg.file.id)}
-                      download={msg.file.filename}
-                      className="message-file-attachment"
-                    >
-                      <svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" aria-hidden="true">
-                        <path
-                          d="M6 2.5h6l4 4V16a1.5 1.5 0 0 1-1.5 1.5h-8A1.5 1.5 0 0 1 5 16V4A1.5 1.5 0 0 1 6 2.5Z"
-                          stroke="currentColor"
-                          strokeWidth="1.4"
-                          strokeLinejoin="round"
-                        />
-                        <path d="M12 2.5V6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h3.5" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="1.4" strokeLinejoin="round" />
-                      </svg>
-                      <span className="message-file-info">
-                        <span className="message-file-name">{msg.file.filename}</span>
-                        <span className="message-file-size">{formatFileSize(msg.file.size_bytes)}</span>
-                      </span>
-                    </a>
+                    <FileAttachmentCard
+                      file={msg.file}
+                      roomId={roomId}
+                      onPreview={() => setPreviewFile(msg.file!)}
+                    />
                   )}
                   {msg.content && (
                     <div className="message-text">
@@ -198,6 +234,14 @@ export function MessageList({ roomId, messages, members, onEdit, onReact }: Mess
       })}
       <div ref={bottomRef} />
       {lightboxSrc && <ImageLightbox src={lightboxSrc} onClose={() => setLightboxSrc(null)} />}
+      {previewFile && (
+        <FilePreviewModal
+          roomId={roomId}
+          file={previewFile}
+          kind={getPreviewKind(previewFile.filename) ?? 'text'}
+          onClose={() => setPreviewFile(null)}
+        />
+      )}
     </div>
   )
 }