diff --git a/frontend/app/block/blockframe.tsx b/frontend/app/block/blockframe.tsx
index d473433a1..99facd9cb 100644
--- a/frontend/app/block/blockframe.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/block/blockframe.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
     blockViewToIcon,
     blockViewToName,
     ConnectionButton,
+    ControllerStatusIcon,
     getBlockHeaderIcon,
     IconButton,
     Input,
@@ -192,6 +193,7 @@ const BlockFrame_Header = ({
         );
         headerTextElems.unshift(connButtonElem);
     }
+    headerTextElems.unshift(<ControllerStatusIcon blockId={nodeModel.blockId} />);
 
     return (
         <div className="block-frame-default-header" ref={dragHandleRef} onContextMenu={onContextMenu}>
diff --git a/frontend/app/block/blockutil.tsx b/frontend/app/block/blockutil.tsx
index 57e31f8a0..26debf54a 100644
--- a/frontend/app/block/blockutil.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/block/blockutil.tsx
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
 import { useLongClick } from "@/app/hook/useLongClick";
-import { getConnStatusAtom } from "@/app/store/global";
+import { getConnStatusAtom, waveEventSubscribe, WOS } from "@/app/store/global";
+import * as services from "@/app/store/services";
+import { makeORef } from "@/app/store/wos";
 import * as util from "@/util/util";
 import clsx from "clsx";
 import * as jotai from "jotai";
@@ -150,6 +152,51 @@ interface ConnectionButtonProps {
     changeConnModalAtom: jotai.PrimitiveAtom<boolean>;
 }
 
+export const ControllerStatusIcon = React.memo(({ blockId }: { blockId: string }) => {
+    const [blockData] = WOS.useWaveObjectValue<Block>(WOS.makeORef("block", blockId));
+    const hasController = !util.isBlank(blockData?.meta?.controller);
+    const [controllerStatus, setControllerStatus] = React.useState<BlockControllerRuntimeStatus>(null);
+    const connection = blockData?.meta?.connection ?? "local";
+    const connStatusAtom = getConnStatusAtom(connection);
+    const connStatus = jotai.useAtomValue(connStatusAtom);
+    React.useEffect(() => {
+        if (!hasController) {
+            return;
+        }
+        const initialRTStatus = services.BlockService.GetControllerStatus(blockId);
+        initialRTStatus.then((rts) => {
+            setControllerStatus(rts);
+        });
+        const unsubFn = waveEventSubscribe("controllerstatus", makeORef("block", blockId), (event) => {
+            const cstatus: BlockControllerRuntimeStatus = event.data;
+            setControllerStatus(cstatus);
+        });
+        return () => {
+            unsubFn();
+        };
+    }, [hasController]);
+    if (!hasController) {
+        return null;
+    }
+    if (
+        controllerStatus == null ||
+        (controllerStatus?.status == "running" && controllerStatus?.shellprocstatus == "running")
+    ) {
+        return null;
+    }
+    if (connStatus?.status != "connected") {
+        return null;
+    }
+    const controllerStatusElem = (
+        <i
+            className="fa-sharp fa-solid fa-triangle-exclamation"
+            title="Controller Is Not Running"
+            style={{ color: "var(--error-color)" }}
+        />
+    );
+    return controllerStatusElem;
+});
+
 export const ConnectionButton = React.memo(
     React.forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, ConnectionButtonProps>(
         ({ connection, changeConnModalAtom }: ConnectionButtonProps, ref) => {
diff --git a/pkg/blockcontroller/blockcontroller.go b/pkg/blockcontroller/blockcontroller.go
index 10d61ffe4..1b116ee53 100644
--- a/pkg/blockcontroller/blockcontroller.go
+++ b/pkg/blockcontroller/blockcontroller.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/wavetermdev/thenextwave/pkg/shellexec"
 	"github.com/wavetermdev/thenextwave/pkg/wavebase"
 	"github.com/wavetermdev/thenextwave/pkg/waveobj"
+	"github.com/wavetermdev/thenextwave/pkg/wps"
 	"github.com/wavetermdev/thenextwave/pkg/wshrpc"
 	"github.com/wavetermdev/thenextwave/pkg/wshutil"
 	"github.com/wavetermdev/thenextwave/pkg/wstore"
@@ -124,12 +125,21 @@ func (bc *BlockController) UpdateControllerAndSendUpdate(updateFn func() bool) {
 		sendUpdate = updateFn()
 	})
 	if sendUpdate {
-		log.Printf("sending blockcontroller update %#v\n", bc.GetRuntimeStatus())
+		rtStatus := bc.GetRuntimeStatus()
+		log.Printf("sending blockcontroller update %#v\n", rtStatus)
 		go eventbus.SendEvent(eventbus.WSEventType{
 			EventType: eventbus.WSEvent_BlockControllerStatus,
 			ORef:      waveobj.MakeORef(waveobj.OType_Block, bc.BlockId).String(),
-			Data:      bc.GetRuntimeStatus(),
+			Data:      rtStatus,
 		})
+		waveEvent := wshrpc.WaveEvent{
+			Event: wshrpc.Event_ControllerStatus,
+			Scopes: []string{
+				waveobj.MakeORef(waveobj.OType_Tab, bc.TabId).String(),
+			},
+			Data: rtStatus,
+		}
+		wps.Broker.Publish(waveEvent)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/wshrpc/wshrpctypes.go b/pkg/wshrpc/wshrpctypes.go
index 583cdb25e..a107da5bb 100644
--- a/pkg/wshrpc/wshrpctypes.go
+++ b/pkg/wshrpc/wshrpctypes.go
@@ -25,9 +25,10 @@ const (
 )
 
 const (
-	Event_BlockClose = "blockclose"
-	Event_ConnChange = "connchange"
-	Event_SysInfo    = "sysinfo"
+	Event_BlockClose       = "blockclose"
+	Event_ConnChange       = "connchange"
+	Event_SysInfo          = "sysinfo"
+	Event_ControllerStatus = "controllerstatus"
 )
 
 const (