diff --git a/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.c b/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.c
index bc7f54a..618ed47 100644
--- a/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.c
+++ b/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.c
@@ -554,6 +554,94 @@ el_val_t __http_response(el_val_t status, el_val_t headers_json, el_val_t body)
     return http_response(status, headers_json, body);
 }
 
+/* ── HTTP SSE — Server-Sent Events streaming ─────────────────────────────── */
+/*
+ * Thread-local file descriptor stashed by http_worker_v2 before calling the
+ * El handler. El SSE builtins read this to get the raw socket fd.
+ *
+ * Lifecycle:
+ *   http_worker_v2 sets _tl_http_conn_fd = fd  (via el_seed_set_http_conn_fd)
+ *   El handler calls __http_conn_fd()  → receives that fd
+ *   El handler calls __http_sse_open(fd) → sends SSE headers, keeps fd open
+ *   El handler calls __http_sse_send(fd, data) → writes "data: ...\n\n"
+ *   El handler calls __http_sse_close(fd) → closes the fd
+ *   El handler returns "__sse__" sentinel → http_worker_v2 does NOT close fd
+ *
+ * The -1 value means no current connection (guard against misuse outside
+ * a handler context).
+ */
+static __thread int _tl_http_conn_fd = -1;
+
+/* Called by el_runtime.c's http_worker_v2 — not part of the El ABI. */
+void el_seed_set_http_conn_fd(int fd) {
+    _tl_http_conn_fd = fd;
+}
+
+/* __http_conn_fd() — returns the raw fd for the current HTTP connection.
+ * Valid only inside an http_serve_v2 handler before it returns. */
+el_val_t __http_conn_fd(void) {
+    return EL_INT(_tl_http_conn_fd);
+}
+
+/* __http_sse_open(fd) — sends SSE response headers on fd, keeping it open.
+ * Returns 1 on success, 0 on write failure. */
+el_val_t __http_sse_open(el_val_t conn_id) {
+    int fd = (int)(int64_t)conn_id;
+    if (fd < 0) return 0;
+    static const char sse_headers[] =
+        "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\n"
+        "Content-Type: text/event-stream\r\n"
+        "Cache-Control: no-cache\r\n"
+        "Connection: keep-alive\r\n"
+        "Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *\r\n"
+        "\r\n";
+    size_t n = sizeof(sse_headers) - 1;  /* exclude NUL */
+    size_t sent = 0;
+    while (sent < n) {
+        ssize_t w = write(fd, sse_headers + sent, n - sent);
+        if (w <= 0) return 0;
+        sent += (size_t)w;
+    }
+    return 1;
+}
+
+/* __http_sse_send(fd, data) — writes one SSE event frame: "data: <data>\n\n".
+ * data must not contain newlines. Returns 1 on success, 0 on client disconnect. */
+el_val_t __http_sse_send(el_val_t conn_id, el_val_t data) {
+    int fd = (int)(int64_t)conn_id;
+    if (fd < 0) return 0;
+    const char* s = EL_CSTR(data);
+    if (!s) s = "";
+    /* Build "data: <s>\n\n" in a single buffer for one write call. */
+    size_t prefix_len = 6;  /* "data: " */
+    size_t slen = strlen(s);
+    size_t total = prefix_len + slen + 2;  /* + "\n\n" */
+    char* buf = malloc(total + 1);
+    if (!buf) return 0;
+    memcpy(buf, "data: ", 6);
+    memcpy(buf + 6, s, slen);
+    buf[6 + slen]     = '\n';
+    buf[6 + slen + 1] = '\n';
+    buf[total] = '\0';
+    size_t sent = 0;
+    int ok = 1;
+    while (sent < total) {
+        ssize_t w = write(fd, buf + sent, total - sent);
+        if (w <= 0) { ok = 0; break; }
+        sent += (size_t)w;
+    }
+    free(buf);
+    return ok ? 1 : 0;
+}
+
+/* __http_sse_close(fd) — closes the SSE connection fd. */
+el_val_t __http_sse_close(el_val_t conn_id) {
+    int fd = (int)(int64_t)conn_id;
+    if (fd < 0) return 0;
+    close(fd);
+    return 1;
+}
+
 /* ── Threading ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 /*
  * Design:
diff --git a/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.h b/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.h
index 20f01a4..8a9bd90 100644
--- a/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.h
+++ b/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.h
@@ -81,6 +81,26 @@ void      __http_serve_v2(el_val_t port, el_val_t handler_name);
  * headers_json: JSON object literal like {"Content-Type":"text/plain"} or "{}" */
 el_val_t  __http_response(el_val_t status, el_val_t headers_json, el_val_t body);
 
+/* ── HTTP SSE — Server-Sent Events streaming ─────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* Returns the raw file descriptor for the current HTTP connection.
+ * Valid only inside an http_serve_v2 handler before it returns.
+ * Returns -1 if called outside a handler context. */
+el_val_t  __http_conn_fd(void);
+
+/* Sends SSE response headers on conn_id (the fd from __http_conn_fd),
+ * keeping the connection open for streaming. Returns 1 on success, 0 on
+ * write failure. Call once at the start of an SSE handler. */
+el_val_t  __http_sse_open(el_val_t conn_id);
+
+/* Writes one SSE event frame: "data: <data>\n\n". data must not contain
+ * newlines. Returns 1 on success, 0 if the client disconnected. */
+el_val_t  __http_sse_send(el_val_t conn_id, el_val_t data);
+
+/* Closes the SSE connection. The handler must return http_sse_sentinel()
+ * so the HTTP worker does not double-close the fd. */
+el_val_t  __http_sse_close(el_val_t conn_id);
+
 /* ── Threading ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 /* Create a thread that calls the named El function with a String argument.
diff --git a/el-compiler/runtime/legacy/el_runtime.c b/el-compiler/runtime/legacy/el_runtime.c
index da1e6d3..08d51fb 100644
--- a/el-compiler/runtime/legacy/el_runtime.c
+++ b/el-compiler/runtime/legacy/el_runtime.c
@@ -1673,6 +1673,7 @@ static void* http_worker_v2(void* arg) {
     HttpWorkerArg* a = (HttpWorkerArg*)arg;
     int fd = a->fd;
     free(a);
+    int is_sse = 0;
     char *method = NULL, *path = NULL, *body = NULL, *hdr_block = NULL;
     if (http_read_request(fd, &method, &path, &body, &hdr_block) == 0) {
         http_handler4_fn h = http_lookup_active_v2();
@@ -1680,28 +1681,39 @@ static void* http_worker_v2(void* arg) {
         int head_only = (method && strcmp(method, "HEAD") == 0);
         const char* dispatch_method = head_only ? "GET" : method;
         el_request_start();                         /* begin per-request arena */
+        /* Expose the raw fd to El SSE builtins (__http_conn_fd etc.). */
+        el_seed_set_http_conn_fd(fd);
         if (h) {
             el_val_t hmap = http_build_headers_map(hdr_block ? hdr_block : "");
             el_val_t r = h(EL_STR(dispatch_method), EL_STR(path), hmap, EL_STR(body));
             const char* rs = EL_CSTR(r);
-            size_t rlen = _tl_fs_read_len > 0 ? _tl_fs_read_len : (rs ? strlen(rs) : 0);
-            response = malloc(rlen + 1);
-            if (response && rs) { memcpy(response, rs, rlen); response[rlen] = '\0'; }
-            else if (response) { response[0] = '\0'; }
+            /* Detect SSE sentinel — handler took ownership of the fd. */
+            if (rs && strcmp(rs, "__sse__") == 0) {
+                is_sse = 1;
+            } else {
+                size_t rlen = _tl_fs_read_len > 0 ? _tl_fs_read_len : (rs ? strlen(rs) : 0);
+                response = malloc(rlen + 1);
+                if (response && rs) { memcpy(response, rs, rlen); response[rlen] = '\0'; }
+                else if (response) { response[0] = '\0'; }
+            }
             el_release(hmap);
         } else {
             response = el_strdup_persist(
                 "el-runtime: no v2 http handler registered "
                 "(call http_set_handler_v2)");
         }
+        el_seed_set_http_conn_fd(-1);               /* clear before arena teardown */
         el_request_end();                           /* free all intermediate strings */
-        _tl_http_head_only = head_only;
-        http_send_response(fd, response);
-        _tl_http_head_only = 0;
-        free(response);
+        if (!is_sse) {
+            _tl_http_head_only = head_only;
+            http_send_response(fd, response);
+            _tl_http_head_only = 0;
+            free(response);
+        }
     }
     free(method); free(path); free(body); free(hdr_block);
-    close(fd);
+    /* SSE handlers close the fd themselves via __http_sse_close. */
+    if (!is_sse) close(fd);
     pthread_mutex_lock(&_http_conn_mu);
     _http_conn_active--;
     pthread_cond_signal(&_http_conn_cv);
diff --git a/el-compiler/runtime/legacy/el_runtime.h b/el-compiler/runtime/legacy/el_runtime.h
index 72bbf4b..8b80ee7 100644
--- a/el-compiler/runtime/legacy/el_runtime.h
+++ b/el-compiler/runtime/legacy/el_runtime.h
@@ -176,6 +176,11 @@ void      http_set_handler_v2(el_val_t name);
  * auto-content-type contract for legacy handlers that return plain bodies. */
 el_val_t  http_response(el_val_t status, el_val_t headers_json, el_val_t body);
 
+/* SSE connection fd — set by http_worker_v2 before calling the El handler,
+ * cleared afterwards. Defined in el_seed.c; called from el_runtime.c.
+ * The getter is exposed as __http_conn_fd() to El programs. */
+void      el_seed_set_http_conn_fd(int fd);
+
 /* HTTP timeout — every libcurl request honors EL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS (default
  * 60000ms). Read lazily on first use, so setting the env var any time before
  * the first http_* call is sufficient.                                    */
diff --git a/runtime/http.el b/runtime/http.el
index 3a5e4a4..587d3dc 100644
--- a/runtime/http.el
+++ b/runtime/http.el
@@ -169,3 +169,53 @@ fn http_serve_v2(port: Int, handler: String) {
 fn http_response(status: Int, headers_json: String, body: String) -> String {
     return __http_response(status, headers_json, body)
 }
+
+// ── SSE — Server-Sent Events streaming ───────────────────────────────────────
+//
+// Usage pattern for an SSE handler:
+//
+//   fn my_handler(method: String, path: String, headers: Map<String, String>, body: String) -> String {
+//       let fd: Int = http_conn_fd()
+//       http_sse_open(fd)
+//       http_sse_send(fd, "hello")
+//       http_sse_send(fd, "world")
+//       http_sse_close(fd)
+//       return http_sse_sentinel()
+//   }
+//
+// The sentinel return value tells http_serve_v2 NOT to close the connection
+// automatically — the handler already closed it via http_sse_close.
+
+// http_conn_fd returns the raw file descriptor for the current HTTP connection.
+// Only valid inside an http_serve_v2 handler, before the handler returns.
+// Use with http_sse_open / http_sse_send / http_sse_close for streaming.
+fn http_conn_fd() -> Int {
+    return __http_conn_fd()
+}
+
+// http_sse_open sends SSE response headers on the current connection,
+// keeping it open for streaming. Call once at the start of an SSE handler.
+// Returns true on success.
+fn http_sse_open(fd: Int) -> Bool {
+    return __http_sse_open(fd)
+}
+
+// http_sse_send writes one SSE event to the connection.
+// data should not contain newlines (they are added automatically).
+// Returns true if the write succeeded (client still connected).
+fn http_sse_send(fd: Int, data: String) -> Bool {
+    return __http_sse_send(fd, data)
+}
+
+// http_sse_close closes the SSE connection.
+fn http_sse_close(fd: Int) {
+    __http_sse_close(fd)
+    return
+}
+
+// http_sse_sentinel is the return value an SSE handler must return
+// to tell the HTTP server NOT to close the connection automatically.
+// The handler takes ownership of the fd and closes it via http_sse_close.
+fn http_sse_sentinel() -> String {
+    return "__sse__"
+}