diff --git a/src/components/AppHeader.tsx b/src/components/AppHeader.tsx
index 2f1fe20..516b6ed 100644
--- a/src/components/AppHeader.tsx
+++ b/src/components/AppHeader.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@ import { useMachineStore } from "../stores/useMachineStore";
 import { useUIStore } from "../stores/useUIStore";
 import { WorkflowStepper } from "./WorkflowStepper";
 import { ErrorPopoverContent } from "./ErrorPopover";
-import { getStateVisualInfo } from "../utils/machineStateHelpers";
+import {
+  getStateVisualInfo,
+  getStatusIndicatorState,
+} from "../utils/machineStateHelpers";
 import {
   CheckCircleIcon,
   BoltIcon,
@@ -14,6 +17,7 @@ import {
 } from "@heroicons/react/24/solid";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
+import StatusIndicator from "@/components/ui/status-indicator";
 import { Popover, PopoverTrigger } from "@/components/ui/popover";
 import {
   Tooltip,
@@ -66,20 +70,18 @@ export function AppHeader() {
   };
   const StatusIcon = stateIcons[stateVisual.iconName];
 
+  // Get connection indicator state (idle when disconnected, state-dependent when connected)
+  const connectionIndicatorState = isConnected
+    ? getStatusIndicatorState(machineStatus)
+    : "idle";
+
   return (
     <TooltipProvider>
       <header className="bg-gradient-to-r from-primary-600 via-primary-700 to-primary-800 dark:from-primary-700 dark:via-primary-800 dark:to-primary-900 px-4 sm:px-6 lg:px-8 py-3 shadow-lg border-b-2 border-primary-900/20 dark:border-primary-800/30 flex-shrink-0">
         <div className="grid grid-cols-1 lg:grid-cols-[280px_1fr] gap-4 lg:gap-8 items-center">
           {/* Machine Connection Status - Responsive width column */}
           <div className="flex items-center gap-3 w-full lg:w-[280px]">
-            <div
-              className="w-2.5 h-2.5 bg-success-400 rounded-full animate-pulse shadow-lg shadow-success-400/50"
-              style={{ visibility: isConnected ? "visible" : "hidden" }}
-            ></div>
-            <div
-              className="w-2.5 h-2.5 bg-gray-400 rounded-full -ml-2.5"
-              style={{ visibility: !isConnected ? "visible" : "hidden" }}
-            ></div>
+            <StatusIndicator state={connectionIndicatorState} size="sm" />
             <div className="flex-1 min-w-0">
               <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
                 <h1 className="text-lg lg:text-xl font-bold text-white leading-tight">
diff --git a/src/components/ui/status-indicator.tsx b/src/components/ui/status-indicator.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e318e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/ui/status-indicator.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import React from "react";
+import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
+
+interface StatusIndicatorProps {
+  state: "active" | "down" | "fixing" | "idle";
+  label?: string;
+  className?: string;
+  size?: "sm" | "md" | "lg";
+  labelClassName?: string;
+}
+
+const getStateColors = (state: StatusIndicatorProps["state"]) => {
+  switch (state) {
+    case "active":
+      return { dot: "bg-green-500", ping: "bg-green-300" };
+    case "down":
+      return { dot: "bg-red-500", ping: "bg-red-300" };
+    case "fixing":
+      return { dot: "bg-yellow-500", ping: "bg-yellow-300" };
+    case "idle":
+    default:
+      return { dot: "bg-slate-700", ping: "bg-slate-400" };
+  }
+};
+
+const getSizeClasses = (size: StatusIndicatorProps["size"]) => {
+  switch (size) {
+    case "sm":
+      return { dot: "h-2 w-2", ping: "h-2 w-2" };
+    case "lg":
+      return { dot: "h-4 w-4", ping: "h-4 w-4" };
+    case "md":
+    default:
+      return { dot: "h-3 w-3", ping: "h-3 w-3" };
+  }
+};
+
+const StatusIndicator: React.FC<StatusIndicatorProps> = ({
+  state = "idle",
+  label,
+  className,
+  size = "md",
+  labelClassName,
+}) => {
+  const shouldAnimate =
+    state === "active" || state === "fixing" || state === "down";
+  const colors = getStateColors(state);
+  const sizeClasses = getSizeClasses(size);
+
+  return (
+    <div className={cn("flex items-center gap-2", className)}>
+      <div className="relative flex items-center">
+        {shouldAnimate && (
+          <span
+            className={cn(
+              "absolute inline-flex rounded-full opacity-75 animate-ping",
+              sizeClasses.ping,
+              colors.ping,
+            )}
+          />
+        )}
+        <span
+          className={cn(
+            "relative inline-flex rounded-full",
+            sizeClasses.dot,
+            colors.dot,
+          )}
+        />
+      </div>
+      {label && (
+        <p
+          className={cn(
+            "text-sm text-slate-700 dark:text-slate-300",
+            labelClassName,
+          )}
+        >
+          {label}
+        </p>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+};
+
+export default StatusIndicator;
diff --git a/src/utils/machineStateHelpers.ts b/src/utils/machineStateHelpers.ts
index 8548bc6..231c84c 100644
--- a/src/utils/machineStateHelpers.ts
+++ b/src/utils/machineStateHelpers.ts
@@ -205,3 +205,30 @@ export function getStateVisualInfo(status: MachineStatus): StateVisualInfo {
 
   return visualMap[category];
 }
+
+/**
+ * Map machine state category to status indicator state.
+ * Returns the appropriate state for the StatusIndicator component.
+ */
+export function getStatusIndicatorState(
+  status: MachineStatus,
+): "active" | "down" | "fixing" | "idle" {
+  const category = getMachineStateCategory(status);
+
+  switch (category) {
+    case MachineStateCategory.IDLE:
+      return "active"; // Gray, no animation
+    case MachineStateCategory.ACTIVE:
+      return "active"; // Green with animation
+    case MachineStateCategory.WAITING:
+      return "fixing"; // Yellow with animation
+    case MachineStateCategory.COMPLETE:
+      return "active"; // Green with animation
+    case MachineStateCategory.INTERRUPTED:
+      return "down"; // Red with animation
+    case MachineStateCategory.ERROR:
+      return "down"; // Red with animation
+    default:
+      return "idle";
+  }
+}