diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-harness.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-harness.ts
index e89f042..f863f47 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-harness.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-harness.ts
@@ -47,7 +47,11 @@ import { createKernel } from "@uncaged/nerve-daemon";
 import type { Kernel } from "@uncaged/nerve-daemon";
 import { defineCommand, runCommand } from "citty";
 
+import { daemonCommand } from "../commands/daemon.js";
+import { logsCommand } from "../commands/logs.js";
 import { senseCommand } from "../commands/sense.js";
+import { statusCommand } from "../commands/status.js";
+import { stopCommand } from "../commands/stop.js";
 
 const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 const nerveDaemonRoot = dirname(require.resolve("@uncaged/nerve-daemon/package.json"));
@@ -90,6 +94,10 @@ const e2eRootCommand = defineCommand({
   meta: { name: "nerve", description: "e2e" },
   subCommands: {
     sense: senseCommand,
+    logs: logsCommand,
+    daemon: daemonCommand,
+    status: statusCommand,
+    stop: stopCommand,
   },
 });
 
@@ -186,9 +194,19 @@ export async function startTestDaemon(
   return { fakeHome, nerveRoot, socketPath, kernel };
 }
 
-/** Stops the kernel (workers + IPC) and removes the temp HOME tree. */
-export async function stopTestDaemon(handle: TestDaemonHandle): Promise<void> {
-  await handle.kernel.stop();
+/**
+ * Stops the kernel (workers + IPC) and removes the temp HOME tree.
+ *
+ * @param kernelAlreadyStopped — pass `true` when the test already called `kernel.stop()`
+ *   (e.g. daemon lifecycle e2e); only the temp directory is removed.
+ */
+export async function stopTestDaemon(
+  handle: TestDaemonHandle,
+  kernelAlreadyStopped = false,
+): Promise<void> {
+  if (!kernelAlreadyStopped) {
+    await handle.kernel.stop();
+  }
   try {
     rmSync(handle.fakeHome, { recursive: true, force: true });
   } catch {
@@ -235,10 +253,10 @@ function patchWriteStream(stream: NodeJS.WriteStream, sink: string[]): () => voi
 }
 
 /**
- * Runs `nerve <args>` for the subset wired here (`sense` subcommands), with
- * `process.env.HOME` pointing at `handle.fakeHome` so `getNerveRoot()` resolves to the
- * test workspace. Captures stdout/stderr; sets `exitCode` when `process.exit` is invoked
- * or on thrown errors.
+ * Runs `nerve <args>` for the subset wired in `e2eRootCommand` (`sense`, `logs`, `daemon`,
+ * top-level `status` / `stop`), with `process.env.HOME` pointing at `handle.fakeHome` so
+ * `getNerveRoot()` resolves to the test workspace. Captures stdout/stderr; sets `exitCode`
+ * when `process.exit` is invoked or on thrown errors.
  */
 export async function runCli(handle: TestDaemonHandle, args: string[]): Promise<CliRunResult> {
   const stdoutChunks: string[] = [];
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-logs.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-logs.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c63fe6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-logs.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+/**
+ * E2E test for `nerve logs` command (#161).
+ *
+ * The logs command reads from a plain text log file at
+ * `<nerveRoot>/logs/nerve.log`. Since the e2e harness starts the kernel
+ * in-process (not as a detached daemon), no log file is created automatically.
+ * We manually write test log content to the expected path.
+ */
+
+import { mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { type TestDaemonHandle, runCli, startTestDaemon, stopTestDaemon } from "./e2e-harness.js";
+
+/** Generate N log lines for testing. */
+function generateLogLines(count: number): string[] {
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  for (let i = 1; i <= count; i++) {
+    const ts = new Date(Date.UTC(2025, 0, 1, 0, 0, i)).toISOString();
+    lines.push(`${ts} [INFO] log entry ${i}`);
+  }
+  return lines;
+}
+
+/** Write fake log content to the daemon log path. */
+function writeTestLogFile(nerveRoot: string, lines: string[]): void {
+  const logsDir = join(nerveRoot, "logs");
+  mkdirSync(logsDir, { recursive: true });
+  writeFileSync(join(logsDir, "nerve.log"), `${lines.join("\n")}\n`, "utf8");
+}
+
+describe("e2e logs", () => {
+  let daemon: TestDaemonHandle | null = null;
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    const h = daemon;
+    daemon = null;
+    if (h === null) return;
+    await Promise.race([
+      stopTestDaemon(h),
+      new Promise<never>((_, reject) =>
+        setTimeout(() => reject(new Error("stopTestDaemon timed out after 10s")), 10_000),
+      ),
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("shows log file not found when no log exists", { timeout: 30_000 }, async () => {
+    daemon = await startTestDaemon();
+
+    // No log file written — command should fail
+    const result = await runCli(daemon, ["logs"]);
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Log file not found");
+  });
+
+  it("displays last N lines (tail mode)", { timeout: 30_000 }, async () => {
+    daemon = await startTestDaemon();
+
+    const lines = generateLogLines(10);
+    writeTestLogFile(daemon.nerveRoot, lines);
+
+    // Default: last 50 lines, but we only have 10
+    const result = await runCli(daemon, ["logs"]);
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("log entry 1");
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("log entry 10");
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("lines 1-10 of 10");
+  });
+
+  it("respects -n flag to limit lines", { timeout: 30_000 }, async () => {
+    daemon = await startTestDaemon();
+
+    const lines = generateLogLines(20);
+    writeTestLogFile(daemon.nerveRoot, lines);
+
+    // Request only last 5 lines
+    const result = await runCli(daemon, ["logs", "-n", "5"]);
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+
+    // Should show lines 16-20 (last 5)
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("log entry 16");
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("log entry 20");
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("lines 16-20 of 20");
+
+    // Should NOT contain earlier lines
+    expect(result.stdout).not.toContain("log entry 1\n");
+    expect(result.stdout).not.toContain("log entry 15\n");
+  });
+
+  it("supports --offset for pagination", { timeout: 30_000 }, async () => {
+    daemon = await startTestDaemon();
+
+    const lines = generateLogLines(20);
+    writeTestLogFile(daemon.nerveRoot, lines);
+
+    // Offset 5 means start at line 5, show default 50 (will get 5-20)
+    const result = await runCli(daemon, ["logs", "--offset", "5", "-n", "5"]);
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+
+    // Should show lines 5-9
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("log entry 5");
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("log entry 9");
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("lines 5-9 of 20");
+  });
+
+  it("shows pagination hint when earlier lines exist", { timeout: 30_000 }, async () => {
+    daemon = await startTestDaemon();
+
+    const lines = generateLogLines(100);
+    writeTestLogFile(daemon.nerveRoot, lines);
+
+    // Request last 10 lines — there should be a "previous page" hint
+    const result = await runCli(daemon, ["logs", "-n", "10"]);
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("Earlier lines available");
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("nerve logs --offset");
+  });
+
+  it("shows empty message for empty log file", { timeout: 30_000 }, async () => {
+    daemon = await startTestDaemon();
+
+    // Write an empty log file
+    const logsDir = join(daemon.nerveRoot, "logs");
+    mkdirSync(logsDir, { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(logsDir, "nerve.log"), "", "utf8");
+
+    const result = await runCli(daemon, ["logs"]);
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("Log file is empty");
+  });
+});