diff --git a/components/dashboard-recent-gains-client.tsx b/components/dashboard-recent-gains-client.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3dd82ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/dashboard-recent-gains-client.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,205 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { Clock, History, Trophy, X } from "lucide-react";
+import Link from "next/link";
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
+import {
+  Dialog,
+  DialogClose,
+  DialogContent,
+  DialogTitle,
+  DialogTrigger,
+} from "@/components/ui/dialog";
+import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
+import type { RouterOutputs } from "@/types/trpc";
+
+const PREVIEW_COUNT = 4;
+
+type RecentGains = RouterOutputs["xpTransaction"]["getRecentGains"];
+type Gain = RecentGains[number];
+
+function groupByMonth(gains: RecentGains) {
+  const map = new Map<string, { label: string; items: Gain[] }>();
+  for (const gain of gains) {
+    const key = `${gain.createdAt.getFullYear()}-${gain.createdAt.getMonth()}`;
+    const label = gain.createdAt.toLocaleDateString("en-US", {
+      month: "long",
+      year: "numeric",
+    });
+    const group = map.get(key);
+    if (group) {
+      group.items.push(gain);
+    } else {
+      map.set(key, { label, items: [gain] });
+    }
+  }
+  return Array.from(map.entries()).map(([key, value]) => ({ key, ...value }));
+}
+
+function ActivityItem({
+  activity,
+  compact = false,
+}: {
+  activity: Gain;
+  compact?: boolean;
+}) {
+  const hasChallenge =
+    activity.challengeSlug !== null && activity.challengeTitle !== null;
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className={cn(
+        "bg-background neo-border-thick neo-shadow-sm relative before:absolute before:left-0 before:top-0 before:bottom-0 before:w-[4px] before:bg-primary",
+        compact ? "pl-4" : "pl-6",
+      )}
+    >
+      <div className={cn("flex items-start gap-3", compact ? "p-3" : "p-4")}>
+        <div className="p-1.5 neo-border-thick neo-shadow-sm rounded-lg bg-secondary shrink-0">
+          <Trophy
+            className={cn("text-primary", compact ? "w-3.5 h-3.5" : "w-4 h-4")}
+          />
+        </div>
+        <div className="flex-1 min-w-0">
+          <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-2">
+            {hasChallenge ? (
+              <Link
+                href={`/challenges/${activity.challengeSlug}`}
+                className="font-black hover:text-primary transition-colors text-sm block truncate"
+              >
+                {activity.challengeTitle}
+              </Link>
+            ) : (
+              <span className="font-black text-sm block truncate">
+                {activity.description}
+              </span>
+            )}
+            {activity.xpAmount > 0 && (
+              <div className="px-1.5 py-0.5 bg-primary neo-border shrink-0">
+                <span className="text-xs font-black text-primary-foreground">
+                  +{activity.xpAmount} XP
+                </span>
+              </div>
+            )}
+          </div>
+          {hasChallenge && (
+            <div className="flex items-center justify-between mt-0.5">
+              <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground font-bold">
+                {activity.description}
+              </p>
+              <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground font-bold shrink-0 ml-2">
+                {activity.createdAt.toLocaleDateString("en-US", {
+                  month: "short",
+                  day: "numeric",
+                })}
+              </p>
+            </div>
+          )}
+          {!hasChallenge && (
+            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground font-bold mt-0.5">
+              {activity.createdAt.toLocaleDateString("en-US", {
+                month: "short",
+                day: "numeric",
+              })}
+            </p>
+          )}
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+export function DashboardRecentGainsClient({
+  recentGains,
+}: {
+  recentGains: RecentGains;
+}) {
+  const preview = recentGains.slice(0, PREVIEW_COUNT);
+  const recentXp = recentGains.reduce((sum, g) => sum + g.xpAmount, 0);
+  const grouped = groupByMonth(recentGains);
+
+  return (
+    <div className="bg-secondary neo-border-thick neo-shadow p-8">
+      <div className="flex items-center gap-3 mb-6">
+        <div className="p-2 bg-primary neo-border-thick neo-shadow rounded-lg">
+          <Clock className="w-5 h-5 text-white" />
+        </div>
+        <h2 className="text-2xl font-black">Recent Activity</h2>
+      </div>
+
+      {recentGains.length === 0 ? (
+        <p className="text-muted-foreground font-bold text-sm py-4 text-center">
+          No activity yet. Complete a challenge to get started!
+        </p>
+      ) : (
+        <>
+          <div className="space-y-4">
+            {preview.map((activity) => (
+              <ActivityItem key={activity.id} activity={activity} />
+            ))}
+          </div>
+
+          <Dialog>
+            <DialogTrigger asChild>
+              <Button className="w-full mt-6 neo-border neo-shadow font-black">
+                View All Activity
+                <History className="ml-2 w-4 h-4" />
+              </Button>
+            </DialogTrigger>
+            <DialogContent
+              className="p-0 gap-0 overflow-hidden"
+              hideCloseButton
+            >
+              <DialogTitle className="sr-only">Activity Log</DialogTitle>
+
+              {/* Purple header with explicit close button */}
+              <div className="bg-primary px-6 py-5 flex items-start justify-between gap-4">
+                <div>
+                  <div className="flex items-center gap-2 mb-3">
+                    <Clock className="w-5 h-5 text-primary-foreground" />
+                    <span className="text-xl font-black text-primary-foreground">
+                      Activity Log
+                    </span>
+                  </div>
+                  <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
+                    <div className="px-3 py-1 bg-white/20 border border-white/30">
+                      <span className="text-sm font-black text-primary-foreground">
+                        +{recentXp} XP recently
+                      </span>
+                    </div>
+                    <span className="text-primary-foreground/80 text-sm font-bold">
+                      {recentGains.length} recent{" "}
+                      {recentGains.length === 1 ? "activity" : "activities"}
+                    </span>
+                  </div>
+                </div>
+                <DialogClose className="text-primary-foreground/80 hover:text-primary-foreground transition-colors mt-1 shrink-0">
+                  <X className="w-5 h-5" />
+                  <span className="sr-only">Close</span>
+                </DialogClose>
+              </div>
+
+              {/* Grouped list */}
+              <div className="overflow-y-auto max-h-[55vh] p-5 space-y-5">
+                {grouped.map(({ label, key, items }) => (
+                  <div key={key}>
+                    <div className="flex items-center gap-3 mb-3">
+                      <span className="text-xs font-black uppercase tracking-widest text-muted-foreground whitespace-nowrap">
+                        {label}
+                      </span>
+                      <div className="flex-1 h-px bg-border" />
+                    </div>
+                    <div className="space-y-2">
+                      {items.map((gain) => (
+                        <ActivityItem key={gain.id} activity={gain} compact />
+                      ))}
+                    </div>
+                  </div>
+                ))}
+              </div>
+            </DialogContent>
+          </Dialog>
+        </>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/components/dashboard-recent-gains.tsx b/components/dashboard-recent-gains.tsx
index bc4942e..a8c873c 100644
--- a/components/dashboard-recent-gains.tsx
+++ b/components/dashboard-recent-gains.tsx
@@ -1,66 +1,10 @@
-import { ArrowRight, Clock, Trophy } from "lucide-react";
-import Link from "next/link";
-import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { getQueryClient, trpc } from "@/trpc/server";
+import { DashboardRecentGainsClient } from "./dashboard-recent-gains-client";
 
 export async function DashboardRecentGains() {
   const queryClient = getQueryClient();
-
   const recentGains = await queryClient.fetchQuery(
     trpc.xpTransaction.getRecentGains.queryOptions(),
   );
-
-  return (
-    <div className="bg-secondary neo-border-thick neo-shadow p-8">
-      <div className="flex items-center gap-3 mb-6">
-        <div className="p-2 bg-primary neo-border-thick neo-shadow rounded-lg">
-          <Clock className="w-5 h-5 text-white" />
-        </div>
-        <h2 className="text-2xl font-black">Recent Activity</h2>
-      </div>
-      <div className="space-y-4">
-        {recentGains.map((activity) => (
-          <div
-            key={activity.id}
-            className="p-4 bg-background neo-border-thick neo-shadow-sm relative pl-6 before:absolute before:left-0 before:top-0 before:bottom-0 before:w-2 before:bg-primary"
-          >
-            <div className="flex items-start gap-3">
-              <div className="p-2 neo-border-thick neo-shadow-sm rounded-lg bg-secondary">
-                <Trophy className="w-4 h-4 text-primary" />
-              </div>
-              <div className="flex-1">
-                <Link
-                  href={`/challenges/${activity.challengeSlug}`}
-                  className="font-black hover:text-primary transition-colors"
-                >
-                  {activity.challengeTitle}
-                </Link>
-                <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground font-bold mt-1">
-                  {activity.description}
-                </p>
-                {activity.xpAmount > 0 && (
-                  <div className="flex items-center gap-2 mt-2">
-                    <div className="px-2 py-1 bg-primary neo-border rounded">
-                      <span className="text-xs font-black text-primary-foreground">
-                        +{activity.xpAmount} XP
-                      </span>
-                    </div>
-                  </div>
-                )}
-                <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground font-bold mt-2">
-                  {activity.createdAt.toLocaleDateString()}
-                </p>
-              </div>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        ))}
-      </div>
-      <Button className="w-full mt-6 neo-border neo-shadow font-black" asChild>
-        <Link href="/challenges">
-          View All Challenges
-          <ArrowRight className="ml-2 w-4 h-4" />
-        </Link>
-      </Button>
-    </div>
-  );
+  return <DashboardRecentGainsClient recentGains={recentGains} />;
 }
diff --git a/components/ui/dialog.tsx b/components/ui/dialog.tsx
index 9dceac0..26bc3d5 100644
--- a/components/ui/dialog.tsx
+++ b/components/ui/dialog.tsx
@@ -31,8 +31,10 @@ DialogOverlay.displayName = DialogPrimitive.Overlay.displayName;
 
 const DialogContent = React.forwardRef<
   React.ElementRef<typeof DialogPrimitive.Content>,
-  React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<typeof DialogPrimitive.Content>
->(({ className, children, ...props }, ref) => (
+  React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<typeof DialogPrimitive.Content> & {
+    hideCloseButton?: boolean;
+  }
+>(({ className, children, hideCloseButton = false, ...props }, ref) => (
   <DialogPortal>
     <DialogOverlay />
     <DialogPrimitive.Content
@@ -44,10 +46,12 @@ const DialogContent = React.forwardRef<
       {...props}
     >
       {children}
-      <DialogPrimitive.Close className="absolute right-4 top-4 rounded-lg opacity-70 ring-offset-background transition-opacity hover:opacity-100 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-ring focus:ring-offset-2 disabled:pointer-events-none data-[state=open]:bg-accent data-[state=open]:text-muted-foreground">
-        <X className="h-4 w-4" />
-        <span className="sr-only">Close</span>
-      </DialogPrimitive.Close>
+      {!hideCloseButton && (
+        <DialogPrimitive.Close className="absolute right-4 top-4 rounded-lg opacity-70 ring-offset-background transition-opacity hover:opacity-100 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-ring focus:ring-offset-2 disabled:pointer-events-none data-[state=open]:bg-accent data-[state=open]:text-muted-foreground">
+          <X className="h-4 w-4" />
+          <span className="sr-only">Close</span>
+        </DialogPrimitive.Close>
+      )}
     </DialogPrimitive.Content>
   </DialogPortal>
 ));
diff --git a/server/api/routers/xpTransaction.ts b/server/api/routers/xpTransaction.ts
index 058141c..d571e89 100644
--- a/server/api/routers/xpTransaction.ts
+++ b/server/api/routers/xpTransaction.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ export const xpTransactionRouter = createTRPCRouter({
       .leftJoin(challenge, eq(userXpTransaction.challengeId, challenge.id))
       .where(eq(userXpTransaction.userId, userId))
       .orderBy(desc(userXpTransaction.createdAt))
-      .limit(5);
+      .limit(20);
 
     return recentGains;
   }),