diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 36fca7e4f..10cc267fa 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ dist/
 downloads/
 eggs/
 .eggs/
-lib/
-lib64/
+/lib/
+/lib64/
 parts/
 sdist/
 var/
diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/bounty-flow-diagram.test.tsx b/frontend/src/__tests__/bounty-flow-diagram.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..389b85b37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/bounty-flow-diagram.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
+import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event';
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { BountyFlowDiagram } from '../components/how-it-works/BountyFlowDiagram';
+
+describe('BountyFlowDiagram', () => {
+  it('renders the interactive lifecycle SVG and default stage copy', () => {
+    render(<BountyFlowDiagram />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('bounty-flow-svg')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText('Bounty flow from post to payout')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText('Post bounty')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Show Payment stage' })).toHaveAttribute(
+      'aria-pressed',
+      'false',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('updates the tooltip when a stage is clicked', async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    render(<BountyFlowDiagram />);
+
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Show Review stage' }));
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Show Review stage' })).toHaveAttribute(
+      'aria-pressed',
+      'true',
+    );
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('stage-tooltip')).toHaveTextContent(
+      'Automated and maintainer review checks quality, scope, and eligibility.',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('supports keyboard activation for SVG stages', async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    render(<BountyFlowDiagram />);
+
+    const paymentStage = screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Show Payment stage' });
+    for (let i = 0; i < 6; i += 1) {
+      await user.tab();
+    }
+    expect(paymentStage).toHaveFocus();
+    await user.keyboard('{Enter}');
+
+    expect(paymentStage).toHaveAttribute('aria-pressed', 'true');
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('stage-tooltip')).toHaveTextContent(
+      'Approved work is merged and paid from the bounty mechanism.',
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/how-it-works/BountyFlowDiagram.tsx b/frontend/src/components/how-it-works/BountyFlowDiagram.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0ee0a01fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/how-it-works/BountyFlowDiagram.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,262 @@
+import { useMemo, useState } from 'react';
+import { motion } from 'framer-motion';
+import {
+  Bot,
+  CircleDollarSign,
+  FileText,
+  GitPullRequest,
+  Hammer,
+  ShieldCheck,
+  type LucideIcon,
+} from 'lucide-react';
+
+type FlowStageId = 'post' | 'claim' | 'work' | 'submit' | 'review' | 'payment';
+
+interface FlowStage {
+  id: FlowStageId;
+  label: string;
+  shortLabel: string;
+  description: string;
+  detail: string;
+  icon: LucideIcon;
+  accent: 'emerald' | 'purple' | 'magenta' | 'info' | 'warning' | 'success';
+}
+
+const STAGES: FlowStage[] = [
+  {
+    id: 'post',
+    label: 'Post bounty',
+    shortLabel: 'Post',
+    description: 'Creator publishes a scoped task with reward, deadline, and review criteria.',
+    detail: 'The bounty starts as a GitHub issue or SolFoundry listing with enough detail for contributors to estimate the work.',
+    icon: FileText,
+    accent: 'emerald',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'claim',
+    label: 'Claim',
+    shortLabel: 'Claim',
+    description: 'Contributor chooses the bounty and signals intent to work.',
+    detail: 'Open races can start immediately. Gated tiers check contributor reputation before review begins.',
+    icon: ShieldCheck,
+    accent: 'purple',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'work',
+    label: 'Work',
+    shortLabel: 'Work',
+    description: 'Contributor implements the fix, feature, docs, or asset.',
+    detail: 'Good submissions stay scoped, include verification notes, and avoid unrelated churn.',
+    icon: Hammer,
+    accent: 'magenta',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'submit',
+    label: 'Submit PR',
+    shortLabel: 'Submit',
+    description: 'The solution is opened as a pull request referencing the bounty issue.',
+    detail: 'The PR body must include the linked issue, test evidence, and wallet details when required by the bounty.',
+    icon: GitPullRequest,
+    accent: 'info',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'review',
+    label: 'Review',
+    shortLabel: 'Review',
+    description: 'Automated and maintainer review checks quality, scope, and eligibility.',
+    detail: 'SolFoundry review combines CI status, bounty guards, and AI-assisted review before maintainer approval.',
+    icon: Bot,
+    accent: 'warning',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'payment',
+    label: 'Payment',
+    shortLabel: 'Pay',
+    description: 'Approved work is merged and paid from the bounty mechanism.',
+    detail: 'Rewards can be released from escrow, treasury, or direct payout depending on the bounty source.',
+    icon: CircleDollarSign,
+    accent: 'success',
+  },
+];
+
+const ACCENTS: Record<FlowStage['accent'], { fill: string; stroke: string; text: string; glow: string }> = {
+  emerald: {
+    fill: 'fill-emerald-bg',
+    stroke: 'stroke-emerald',
+    text: 'text-emerald',
+    glow: 'shadow-[0_0_28px_rgba(0,230,118,0.22)]',
+  },
+  purple: {
+    fill: 'fill-purple-bg',
+    stroke: 'stroke-purple',
+    text: 'text-purple-light',
+    glow: 'shadow-[0_0_28px_rgba(124,58,237,0.22)]',
+  },
+  magenta: {
+    fill: 'fill-magenta-bg',
+    stroke: 'stroke-magenta',
+    text: 'text-magenta',
+    glow: 'shadow-[0_0_28px_rgba(224,64,251,0.22)]',
+  },
+  info: {
+    fill: 'fill-[rgba(64,196,255,0.1)]',
+    stroke: 'stroke-status-info',
+    text: 'text-status-info',
+    glow: 'shadow-[0_0_28px_rgba(64,196,255,0.2)]',
+  },
+  warning: {
+    fill: 'fill-[rgba(255,179,0,0.1)]',
+    stroke: 'stroke-status-warning',
+    text: 'text-status-warning',
+    glow: 'shadow-[0_0_28px_rgba(255,179,0,0.18)]',
+  },
+  success: {
+    fill: 'fill-emerald-bg',
+    stroke: 'stroke-status-success',
+    text: 'text-status-success',
+    glow: 'shadow-[0_0_28px_rgba(0,230,118,0.22)]',
+  },
+};
+
+const NODE_POSITIONS = [
+  { x: 80, y: 110 },
+  { x: 226, y: 110 },
+  { x: 372, y: 110 },
+  { x: 518, y: 110 },
+  { x: 664, y: 110 },
+  { x: 810, y: 110 },
+];
+
+export function BountyFlowDiagram() {
+  const [activeId, setActiveId] = useState<FlowStageId>('post');
+  const activeStage = useMemo(
+    () => STAGES.find((stage) => stage.id === activeId) ?? STAGES[0],
+    [activeId],
+  );
+
+  return (
+    <section
+      aria-labelledby="bounty-flow-heading"
+      className="mb-14 rounded-2xl border border-border bg-forge-900/80 p-4 sm:p-6 overflow-hidden"
+      data-testid="bounty-flow-diagram"
+    >
+      <div className="flex flex-col gap-3 sm:flex-row sm:items-end sm:justify-between mb-6">
+        <div>
+          <p className="text-xs font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.22em] text-emerald">Lifecycle map</p>
+          <h2 id="bounty-flow-heading" className="mt-2 font-display text-2xl font-bold text-text-primary">
+            Bounty flow from post to payout
+          </h2>
+        </div>
+        <p className="max-w-md text-sm text-text-secondary">
+          Hover, focus, or tap any stage to see what happens before the bounty moves forward.
+        </p>
+      </div>
+
+      <div className="rounded-xl border border-border bg-forge-950/70 p-3 sm:p-4">
+        <svg
+          role="img"
+          aria-label="Interactive bounty lifecycle diagram"
+          viewBox="0 0 890 220"
+          className="h-auto min-h-[190px] w-full"
+          data-testid="bounty-flow-svg"
+        >
+          <defs>
+            <marker id="flow-arrow" markerWidth="10" markerHeight="10" refX="8" refY="5" orient="auto">
+              <path d="M 0 0 L 10 5 L 0 10 z" className="fill-border-active" />
+            </marker>
+          </defs>
+          {NODE_POSITIONS.slice(0, -1).map((position, index) => (
+            <motion.path
+              key={`${STAGES[index].id}-connector`}
+              d={`M ${position.x + 48} ${position.y} C ${position.x + 76} ${position.y - 36}, ${
+                NODE_POSITIONS[index + 1].x - 76
+              } ${NODE_POSITIONS[index + 1].y - 36}, ${NODE_POSITIONS[index + 1].x - 48} ${
+                NODE_POSITIONS[index + 1].y
+              }`}
+              className="stroke-border-active"
+              strokeWidth="2"
+              strokeDasharray="5 7"
+              fill="none"
+              markerEnd="url(#flow-arrow)"
+              initial={{ pathLength: 0.3, opacity: 0.55 }}
+              animate={{ pathLength: 1, opacity: 0.9 }}
+              transition={{ duration: 0.35, delay: index * 0.04 }}
+            />
+          ))}
+
+          {STAGES.map((stage, index) => {
+            const position = NODE_POSITIONS[index];
+            const Icon = stage.icon;
+            const selected = stage.id === activeId;
+            const accent = ACCENTS[stage.accent];
+
+            return (
+              <motion.g
+                key={stage.id}
+                role="button"
+                tabIndex={0}
+                aria-label={`Show ${stage.label} stage`}
+                aria-pressed={selected}
+                onMouseEnter={() => setActiveId(stage.id)}
+                onFocus={() => setActiveId(stage.id)}
+                onClick={() => setActiveId(stage.id)}
+                onKeyDown={(event) => {
+                  if (event.key === 'Enter' || event.key === ' ') {
+                    event.preventDefault();
+                    setActiveId(stage.id);
+                  }
+                }}
+                className="cursor-pointer outline-none"
+                animate={{ scale: selected ? 1.05 : 1 }}
+                transition={{ type: 'spring', stiffness: 320, damping: 22 }}
+              >
+                <circle
+                  cx={position.x}
+                  cy={position.y}
+                  r={selected ? 46 : 40}
+                  className={`${accent.fill} ${accent.stroke}`}
+                  strokeWidth={selected ? 3 : 2}
+                />
+                <foreignObject x={position.x - 13} y={position.y - 18} width="26" height="26">
+                  <Icon className={`h-6 w-6 ${accent.text}`} aria-hidden="true" />
+                </foreignObject>
+                <text
+                  x={position.x}
+                  y={position.y + 63}
+                  textAnchor="middle"
+                  className="fill-text-secondary text-[13px] font-semibold"
+                >
+                  {stage.shortLabel}
+                </text>
+              </motion.g>
+            );
+          })}
+        </svg>
+      </div>
+
+      <motion.div
+        key={activeStage.id}
+        initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 8 }}
+        animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
+        transition={{ duration: 0.18 }}
+        className={`mt-5 rounded-xl border border-border bg-forge-850 p-4 ${ACCENTS[activeStage.accent].glow}`}
+        data-testid="stage-tooltip"
+      >
+        <div className="flex items-start gap-3">
+          <div
+            className={`flex h-10 w-10 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-lg border ${
+              ACCENTS[activeStage.accent].text
+            } border-current bg-forge-900`}
+          >
+            <activeStage.icon className="h-5 w-5" aria-hidden="true" />
+          </div>
+          <div>
+            <h3 className="font-sans text-lg font-semibold text-text-primary">{activeStage.label}</h3>
+            <p className="mt-1 text-sm text-text-secondary leading-relaxed">{activeStage.description}</p>
+            <p className="mt-2 text-xs text-text-muted leading-relaxed">{activeStage.detail}</p>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </motion.div>
+    </section>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/animations.ts b/frontend/src/lib/animations.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..91bfd9aa7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/animations.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import type { Variants } from 'framer-motion';
+
+export const fadeIn: Variants = {
+  initial: { opacity: 0, y: 12 },
+  animate: {
+    opacity: 1,
+    y: 0,
+    transition: { duration: 0.22, ease: 'easeOut' },
+  },
+};
+
+export const pageTransition: Variants = {
+  initial: { opacity: 0 },
+  animate: {
+    opacity: 1,
+    transition: { duration: 0.22, ease: 'easeOut' },
+  },
+  exit: {
+    opacity: 0,
+    transition: { duration: 0.12, ease: 'easeInOut' },
+  },
+};
+
+export const staggerContainer: Variants = {
+  initial: {},
+  animate: {
+    transition: {
+      staggerChildren: 0.06,
+    },
+  },
+};
+
+export const staggerItem: Variants = {
+  initial: { opacity: 0, y: 10 },
+  animate: {
+    opacity: 1,
+    y: 0,
+    transition: { duration: 0.2, ease: 'easeOut' },
+  },
+};
+
+export const slideInRight: Variants = {
+  initial: { opacity: 0, x: 18 },
+  animate: {
+    opacity: 1,
+    x: 0,
+    transition: { duration: 0.22, ease: 'easeOut' },
+  },
+};
+
+export const cardHover: Variants = {
+  rest: {
+    y: 0,
+    borderColor: 'var(--color-border)',
+  },
+  hover: {
+    y: -3,
+    borderColor: 'var(--color-border-hover)',
+    transition: { duration: 0.16, ease: 'easeOut' },
+  },
+};
+
+export const buttonHover: Variants = {
+  rest: { scale: 1 },
+  hover: {
+    scale: 1.02,
+    transition: { duration: 0.15, ease: 'easeOut' },
+  },
+  tap: {
+    scale: 0.98,
+    transition: { duration: 0.08, ease: 'easeOut' },
+  },
+};
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/utils.ts b/frontend/src/lib/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..510ac1639
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+export const LANG_COLORS: Record<string, string> = {
+  TypeScript: '#3178c6',
+  JavaScript: '#f7df1e',
+  React: '#61dafb',
+  Python: '#3776ab',
+  Rust: '#dea584',
+  Solana: '#14f195',
+  Solidity: '#627eea',
+  Go: '#00add8',
+  'C++': '#00599c',
+  CSS: '#663399',
+  HTML: '#e34f26',
+  Docs: '#a78bfa',
+};
+
+export function formatCurrency(amount?: number | null, token = 'USDC') {
+  const safeAmount = Number.isFinite(amount ?? NaN) ? Number(amount) : 0;
+
+  if (token === 'FNDRY') {
+    return `${compactNumber(safeAmount)} FNDRY`;
+  }
+
+  if (token === 'USDC') {
+    return `$${compactNumber(safeAmount)} USDC`;
+  }
+
+  return `${compactNumber(safeAmount)} ${token}`;
+}
+
+export function timeAgo(value?: string | Date | null) {
+  const date = toDate(value);
+  if (!date) return 'unknown';
+
+  const seconds = Math.round((Date.now() - date.getTime()) / 1000);
+  const suffix = seconds < 0 ? 'from now' : 'ago';
+  const absolute = Math.abs(seconds);
+
+  if (absolute < 60) return 'just now';
+  if (absolute < 3600) return `${Math.round(absolute / 60)}m ${suffix}`;
+  if (absolute < 86400) return `${Math.round(absolute / 3600)}h ${suffix}`;
+  if (absolute < 2592000) return `${Math.round(absolute / 86400)}d ${suffix}`;
+  if (absolute < 31536000) return `${Math.round(absolute / 2592000)}mo ${suffix}`;
+  return `${Math.round(absolute / 31536000)}y ${suffix}`;
+}
+
+export function timeLeft(value?: string | Date | null) {
+  const date = toDate(value);
+  if (!date) return 'No deadline';
+
+  const seconds = Math.round((date.getTime() - Date.now()) / 1000);
+  if (seconds <= 0) return 'Expired';
+  if (seconds < 3600) return `${Math.ceil(seconds / 60)}m left`;
+  if (seconds < 86400) return `${Math.ceil(seconds / 3600)}h left`;
+  return `${Math.ceil(seconds / 86400)}d left`;
+}
+
+function toDate(value?: string | Date | null) {
+  if (!value) return null;
+  const date = value instanceof Date ? value : new Date(value);
+  return Number.isNaN(date.getTime()) ? null : date;
+}
+
+function compactNumber(value: number) {
+  const abs = Math.abs(value);
+  if (abs >= 1_000_000) return `${trimTrailingZero(value / 1_000_000)}M`;
+  if (abs >= 1_000) return `${trimTrailingZero(value / 1_000)}k`;
+  return new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', { maximumFractionDigits: 2 }).format(value);
+}
+
+function trimTrailingZero(value: number) {
+  return value.toFixed(value >= 10 ? 0 : 1).replace(/\.0$/, '');
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/HowItWorksPage.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/HowItWorksPage.tsx
index 9b245eb50..3819cd509 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/HowItWorksPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/HowItWorksPage.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import React from 'react';
 import { motion } from 'framer-motion';
 import { PageLayout } from '../components/layout/PageLayout';
 import { FlowTabs } from '../components/how-it-works/FlowTabs';
+import { BountyFlowDiagram } from '../components/how-it-works/BountyFlowDiagram';
 import { fadeIn } from '../lib/animations';
 
 export function HowItWorksPage() {
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ export function HowItWorksPage() {
           <h1 className="font-display text-4xl font-bold text-text-primary mb-3">How It Works</h1>
           <p className="text-text-secondary text-lg">Two paths to earning on SolFoundry</p>
         </div>
+        <BountyFlowDiagram />
         <FlowTabs />
       </motion.div>
     </PageLayout>