diff --git a/src/dagUtils.ts b/src/dagUtils.ts
index a7fd947..d6b580d 100644
--- a/src/dagUtils.ts
+++ b/src/dagUtils.ts
@@ -539,18 +539,22 @@ export function buildSpanDag(events: LogEvent[]): SpanDag {
 
     let node = allSpans.get(spanId);
     if (!node) {
-      node = {
+      const newNode: SpanNode = {
         span_id: spanId,
         trace_id: (event.trace_id as string) || '',
-        parent_span_id: event.parent_span_id as string | undefined,
+        parent_span_id: (event.parent_span_id as string | null) || null,
         name: (event.span_name as string) || event.msg.replace(/\.(started|finished)$/, ''),
         worker_id: event.worker,
-        bead_id: event.bead,
+        bead_id: event.bead || null,
+        start_ts: null,
+        end_ts: null,
+        duration_ms: null,
         status: 'unknown',
         children: [],
         attributes: {},
       };
-      allSpans.set(spanId, node);
+      allSpans.set(spanId, newNode);
+      node = newNode;
     }
 
     // Update from .started / .finished events
@@ -558,11 +562,11 @@ export function buildSpanDag(events: LogEvent[]): SpanDag {
     const isFinished = event.msg.endsWith('.finished');
 
     if (isStarted) {
-      node.start_ts = event.ts;
+      node.start_ts = event.ts || null;
       if (event.span_name) node.name = event.span_name as string;
     } else if (isFinished) {
-      node.end_ts = event.ts;
-      node.duration_ms = event.duration_ms;
+      node.end_ts = event.ts || null;
+      node.duration_ms = event.duration_ms || null;
       node.status = event.error ? 'error' : 'ok';
     }
 
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index 966c99d..75d5ab0 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -1311,8 +1311,8 @@ export interface SpanNode {
   /** OTLP trace ID */
   trace_id: string;
 
-  /** Parent span ID (undefined for root spans) */
-  parent_span_id?: string;
+  /** Parent span ID (null for root spans) */
+  parent_span_id: string | null;
 
   /** Span name (e.g. "bead.lifecycle", "tool.call", "llm.request") */
   name: string;
@@ -1320,17 +1320,17 @@ export interface SpanNode {
   /** Worker that emitted this span */
   worker_id: string;
 
-  /** Associated bead ID (if this is a bead lifecycle span) */
-  bead_id?: string;
+  /** Associated bead ID (null if not associated) */
+  bead_id: string | null;
 
-  /** Start timestamp (ms from .started event) */
-  start_ts?: number;
+  /** Start timestamp (ms from .started event, null if not available) */
+  start_ts: number | null;
 
-  /** End timestamp (ms from .finished event) */
-  end_ts?: number;
+  /** End timestamp (ms from .finished event, null if not available) */
+  end_ts: number | null;
 
-  /** Duration in ms */
-  duration_ms?: number;
+  /** Duration in ms (null if not available) */
+  duration_ms: number | null;
 
   /** Span completion status */
   status: 'ok' | 'error' | 'unknown';
@@ -1359,6 +1359,22 @@ export interface SpanDag {
   traces: Map<string, SpanNode[]>;
 }
 
+/**
+ * JSON-serializable span DAG response for API endpoints.
+ * Unlike SpanDag (which uses Maps for internal use), this format
+ * is designed for HTTP responses and JSON serialization.
+ */
+export interface SpanDagResponse {
+  /** Root spans (no parent_span_id or orphaned) */
+  roots: SpanNode[];
+
+  /** Total number of spans in the DAG */
+  totalSpans: number;
+
+  /** Trace summary with span counts */
+  traces: Array<{ trace_id: string; span_count: number }>;
+}
+
 // ============================================
 // Git Event Types
 // ============================================
diff --git a/src/web/server.ts b/src/web/server.ts
index d747bf8..ee295f9 100644
--- a/src/web/server.ts
+++ b/src/web/server.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import { join, dirname } from 'path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 import * as systemdNotify from 'systemd-notify';
 import { WebSocketServer, WebSocket } from 'ws';
-import { LogEvent, EventFilter, CrossReferenceEntityType, CrossReferenceRelationship, DagOptions, BeadStatus, SemanticNarrative, NarrativeSegment } from '../types.js';
+import { LogEvent, EventFilter, CrossReferenceEntityType, CrossReferenceRelationship, DagOptions, BeadStatus, SemanticNarrative, NarrativeSegment, SpanDagResponse, SpanNode } from '../types.js';
 import { InMemoryEventStore } from '../store.js';
 import { refreshDependencyGraph, getDagStats } from '../tui/dagUtils.js';
 import { normalizeToLogEvent, EventDeduplicator } from '../normalizer.js';
@@ -1483,6 +1483,87 @@ export function createWebServer(options: WebServerOptions): WebServer {
       }
     });
 
+    // GET /api/spans/dag - Get span DAG for visualization
+    app.get('/api/spans/dag', (req: Request, res: Response) => {
+      try {
+        const traceId = req.query.trace_id as string | undefined;
+
+        // Query all events that have span data
+        const allEvents = store.query();
+        const spanEvents = allEvents.filter(
+          (e) => e.span_id && (e.trace_id || !traceId)
+        );
+
+        // Filter by trace_id if specified
+        const filteredEvents = traceId
+          ? spanEvents.filter((e) => e.trace_id === traceId)
+          : spanEvents;
+
+        // Build span nodes and index
+        const spanMap = new Map<string, SpanNode>();
+        const rootSpans: SpanNode[] = [];
+        const traceCounts = new Map<string, number>();
+
+        for (const event of filteredEvents) {
+          const spanId = event.span_id as string;
+          const traceId = event.trace_id as string;
+
+          // Count spans per trace
+          traceCounts.set(traceId, (traceCounts.get(traceId) || 0) + 1);
+
+          // Create span node if not exists
+          if (!spanMap.has(spanId)) {
+            const node: SpanNode = {
+              span_id: spanId,
+              trace_id: traceId,
+              parent_span_id: event.parent_span_id as string | null || null,
+              name: event.span_name as string || event.msg || 'Unknown',
+              worker_id: event.worker,
+              bead_id: event.bead || null,
+              start_ts: event.start_ts ? Number(event.start_ts) : null,
+              end_ts: event.end_ts ? Number(event.end_ts) : null,
+              duration_ms: event.duration_ms || null,
+              status: event.level === 'error' ? 'error' : 'ok',
+              attributes: {},
+              children: [],
+            };
+            spanMap.set(spanId, node);
+          }
+        }
+
+        // Build tree structure by linking children to parents
+        for (const [spanId, node] of spanMap) {
+          if (node.parent_span_id && spanMap.has(node.parent_span_id)) {
+            // Add as child to parent
+            spanMap.get(node.parent_span_id)!.children.push(node);
+          } else if (!node.parent_span_id) {
+            // Root span (no parent)
+            rootSpans.push(node);
+          }
+        }
+
+        // Build traces array
+        const traces = Array.from(traceCounts.entries()).map(([trace_id, span_count]) => ({
+          trace_id,
+          span_count,
+        }));
+
+        const response: SpanDagResponse = {
+          roots: rootSpans,
+          totalSpans: spanMap.size,
+          traces,
+        };
+
+        res.json(response);
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error('Error fetching span DAG:', error);
+        res.status(500).json({
+          error: 'Failed to fetch span DAG',
+          message: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error',
+        });
+      }
+    });
+
     // Serve static frontend files
     const staticPath = join(__dirname, 'public');
     app.use(express.static(staticPath));