diff --git a/src/components/code-editor/hooks/useCodeEditorDocument.ts b/src/components/code-editor/hooks/useCodeEditorDocument.ts
index b2b7acd2..74f928d6 100644
--- a/src/components/code-editor/hooks/useCodeEditorDocument.ts
+++ b/src/components/code-editor/hooks/useCodeEditorDocument.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from 'react';
 import { api } from '../../../utils/api';
 import type { CodeEditorFile } from '../types/types';
 import { isBinaryFile } from '../utils/binaryFile';
+import { getPreviewKind } from '../utils/previewableFile';
 
 type UseCodeEditorDocumentParams = {
   file: CodeEditorFile;
@@ -23,6 +24,9 @@ export const useCodeEditorDocument = ({ file, projectPath }: UseCodeEditorDocume
   const [saveSuccess, setSaveSuccess] = useState(false);
   const [saveError, setSaveError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [isBinary, setIsBinary] = useState(false);
+  // Some binaries (images, PDFs, audio, video) can be rendered natively, so the
+  // editor shows an inline preview instead of the generic binary placeholder.
+  const previewKind = getPreviewKind(file.name);
   // `fileProjectId` is the DB primary key passed down from the editor sidebar;
   // the fallback to `projectPath` preserves older callers that didn't yet
   // propagate the identifier.
@@ -38,6 +42,13 @@ export const useCodeEditorDocument = ({ file, projectPath }: UseCodeEditorDocume
         setLoading(true);
         setIsBinary(false);
 
+        // Natively previewable media (image/pdf/audio/video) is rendered by
+        // CodeEditorMediaPreview, so there is nothing to read as text here.
+        if (getPreviewKind(file.name)) {
+          setLoading(false);
+          return;
+        }
+
         // Check if file is binary by extension
         if (isBinaryFile(file.name)) {
           setIsBinary(true);
@@ -134,6 +145,8 @@ export const useCodeEditorDocument = ({ file, projectPath }: UseCodeEditorDocume
     saveSuccess,
     saveError,
     isBinary,
+    previewKind,
+    fileProjectId,
     handleSave,
     handleDownload,
   };
diff --git a/src/components/code-editor/utils/previewableFile.ts b/src/components/code-editor/utils/previewableFile.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..464cad81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/code-editor/utils/previewableFile.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+// Some binary files can't be edited as text, but the browser can still render
+// them natively (images, PDFs, audio, video). For those we show an inline
+// preview instead of the generic "binary file" placeholder. Anything not listed
+// here (zip, exe, avi, mkv, fonts, ...) falls through to the binary message.
+
+export type PreviewKind = 'image' | 'pdf' | 'video' | 'audio';
+
+// Formats browsers can decode in <img>.
+const IMAGE_EXTENSIONS = new Set([
+  'png', 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'gif', 'svg', 'webp', 'ico', 'bmp', 'avif', 'apng',
+]);
+
+const PDF_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['pdf']);
+
+// Container/codec combos broadly playable in <video>. Intentionally excludes
+// formats browsers generally can't play (avi, mkv, flv, wmv).
+const VIDEO_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['mp4', 'webm', 'ogv', 'mov', 'm4v']);
+
+// Formats broadly playable in <audio>.
+const AUDIO_EXTENSIONS = new Set([
+  'mp3', 'wav', 'm4a', 'aac', 'flac', 'opus', 'oga', 'ogg', 'weba',
+]);
+
+export const getPreviewKind = (filename: string): PreviewKind | null => {
+  const ext = filename.split('.').pop()?.toLowerCase() ?? '';
+  if (IMAGE_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) return 'image';
+  if (PDF_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) return 'pdf';
+  if (VIDEO_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) return 'video';
+  if (AUDIO_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) return 'audio';
+  return null;
+};
diff --git a/src/components/code-editor/view/CodeEditor.tsx b/src/components/code-editor/view/CodeEditor.tsx
index 5861ce71..c542ae12 100644
--- a/src/components/code-editor/view/CodeEditor.tsx
+++ b/src/components/code-editor/view/CodeEditor.tsx
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import CodeEditorHeader from './subcomponents/CodeEditorHeader';
 import CodeEditorLoadingState from './subcomponents/CodeEditorLoadingState';
 import CodeEditorSurface from './subcomponents/CodeEditorSurface';
 import CodeEditorBinaryFile from './subcomponents/CodeEditorBinaryFile';
+import CodeEditorMediaPreview from './subcomponents/CodeEditorMediaPreview';
 
 type CodeEditorProps = {
   file: CodeEditorFile;
@@ -58,6 +59,8 @@ export default function CodeEditor({
     saveSuccess,
     saveError,
     isBinary,
+    previewKind,
+    fileProjectId,
     handleSave,
     handleDownload,
   } = useCodeEditorDocument({
@@ -162,6 +165,30 @@ export default function CodeEditor({
     );
   }
 
+  // Natively previewable media (image/pdf/audio/video) is rendered inline
+  // instead of showing the generic "cannot be displayed" placeholder.
+  if (previewKind) {
+    return (
+      <CodeEditorMediaPreview
+        file={file}
+        kind={previewKind}
+        projectId={fileProjectId}
+        isSidebar={isSidebar}
+        isFullscreen={isFullscreen}
+        onClose={onClose}
+        onToggleFullscreen={() => setIsFullscreen((previous) => !previous)}
+        labels={{
+          loading: t('filePreview.loading', 'Loading preview...'),
+          error: t('filePreview.error', 'Unable to display this file.'),
+          openInNewTab: t('filePreview.openInNewTab', 'Open in new tab'),
+          fullscreen: t('actions.fullscreen', 'Fullscreen'),
+          exitFullscreen: t('actions.exitFullscreen', 'Exit fullscreen'),
+          close: t('actions.close', 'Close'),
+        }}
+      />
+    );
+  }
+
   // Binary file display
   if (isBinary) {
     return (
diff --git a/src/components/code-editor/view/subcomponents/CodeEditorMediaPreview.tsx b/src/components/code-editor/view/subcomponents/CodeEditorMediaPreview.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..25b25127
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/code-editor/view/subcomponents/CodeEditorMediaPreview.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,230 @@
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
+import { authenticatedFetch } from '../../../../utils/api';
+import type { CodeEditorFile } from '../../types/types';
+import type { PreviewKind } from '../../utils/previewableFile';
+
+type CodeEditorMediaPreviewProps = {
+  file: CodeEditorFile;
+  kind: PreviewKind;
+  // DB projectId used to build the raw-content URL; falls back to projectPath
+  // for older callers, mirroring useCodeEditorDocument.
+  projectId?: string;
+  isSidebar: boolean;
+  isFullscreen: boolean;
+  onClose: () => void;
+  onToggleFullscreen: () => void;
+  labels: {
+    loading: string;
+    error: string;
+    openInNewTab: string;
+    fullscreen: string;
+    exitFullscreen: string;
+    close: string;
+  };
+};
+
+// MIME type forced onto the blob per kind so the browser picks the right viewer
+// even when the server response was generic (e.g. application/octet-stream).
+const FALLBACK_MIME: Record<PreviewKind, string> = {
+  image: 'application/octet-stream',
+  pdf: 'application/pdf',
+  video: 'video/mp4',
+  audio: 'audio/mpeg',
+};
+
+export default function CodeEditorMediaPreview({
+  file,
+  kind,
+  projectId,
+  isSidebar,
+  isFullscreen,
+  onClose,
+  onToggleFullscreen,
+  labels,
+}: CodeEditorMediaPreviewProps) {
+  const [url, setUrl] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!projectId) {
+      setError(labels.error);
+      setLoading(false);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    let objectUrl: string | null = null;
+    const controller = new AbortController();
+
+    const loadMedia = async () => {
+      try {
+        setLoading(true);
+        setError(null);
+        setUrl(null);
+
+        // The content endpoint requires the auth header, so we fetch the bytes
+        // ourselves and hand the media element a blob URL instead of a bare src.
+        // Fetching a blob (rather than streaming) also lets <video>/<audio> seek.
+        const contentUrl = `/api/projects/${projectId}/files/content?path=${encodeURIComponent(file.path)}`;
+        const response = await authenticatedFetch(contentUrl, { signal: controller.signal });
+
+        if (!response.ok) {
+          throw new Error(`Request failed with status ${response.status}`);
+        }
+
+        const blob = await response.blob();
+        const typed = blob.type ? blob : new Blob([blob], { type: FALLBACK_MIME[kind] });
+        objectUrl = URL.createObjectURL(typed);
+        setUrl(objectUrl);
+      } catch (loadError: unknown) {
+        if (loadError instanceof Error && loadError.name === 'AbortError') {
+          return;
+        }
+        console.error('Error loading preview:', loadError);
+        setError(labels.error);
+      } finally {
+        setLoading(false);
+      }
+    };
+
+    loadMedia();
+
+    return () => {
+      controller.abort();
+      if (objectUrl) {
+        URL.revokeObjectURL(objectUrl);
+      }
+    };
+  }, [file.path, projectId, kind, labels.error]);
+
+  const renderMedia = () => {
+    if (!url) return null;
+    switch (kind) {
+      case 'image':
+        return (
+          <img
+            src={url}
+            alt={file.name}
+            className="max-h-full max-w-full object-contain"
+          />
+        );
+      case 'pdf':
+        return <iframe src={url} title={file.name} className="h-full w-full border-0 bg-white" />;
+      case 'video':
+        return (
+          <video src={url} controls className="max-h-full max-w-full" autoPlay={false}>
+            {labels.error}
+          </video>
+        );
+      case 'audio':
+        return (
+          <div className="flex w-full max-w-xl flex-col items-center gap-4 px-6">
+            <p className="max-w-full truncate text-sm text-muted-foreground">{file.name}</p>
+            <audio src={url} controls className="w-full">
+              {labels.error}
+            </audio>
+          </div>
+        );
+      default:
+        return null;
+    }
+  };
+
+  const previewBody = (
+    <div className="relative flex h-full w-full flex-col items-center justify-center bg-muted/30 p-2">
+      {loading && (
+        <div className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">{labels.loading}</div>
+      )}
+
+      {!loading && url && renderMedia()}
+
+      {!loading && !url && (
+        <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-3 p-8 text-center text-muted-foreground">
+          <p className="text-sm">{error || labels.error}</p>
+          <p className="break-all text-xs">{file.path}</p>
+        </div>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+
+  const headerActions = (
+    <div className="flex shrink-0 items-center gap-0.5">
+      {url && (
+        <a
+          href={url}
+          target="_blank"
+          rel="noopener noreferrer"
+          className="flex items-center justify-center rounded-md p-1.5 text-gray-600 hover:bg-gray-100 hover:text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-400 dark:hover:bg-gray-800 dark:hover:text-white"
+          title={labels.openInNewTab}
+        >
+          <svg className="h-4 w-4" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+            <path strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" strokeWidth={2} d="M10 6H6a2 2 0 00-2 2v10a2 2 0 002 2h10a2 2 0 002-2v-4M14 4h6m0 0v6m0-6L10 14" />
+          </svg>
+        </a>
+      )}
+      {!isSidebar && (
+        <button
+          type="button"
+          onClick={onToggleFullscreen}
+          className="flex items-center justify-center rounded-md p-1.5 text-gray-600 hover:bg-gray-100 hover:text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-400 dark:hover:bg-gray-800 dark:hover:text-white"
+          title={isFullscreen ? labels.exitFullscreen : labels.fullscreen}
+        >
+          {isFullscreen ? (
+            <svg className="h-4 w-4" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+              <path strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" strokeWidth={2} d="M9 9V4.5M9 9H4.5M9 9L3.5 3.5M9 15v4.5M9 15H4.5M9 15l-5.5 5.5M15 9h4.5M15 9V4.5M15 9l5.5-5.5M15 15h4.5M15 15v4.5m0-4.5l5.5 5.5" />
+            </svg>
+          ) : (
+            <svg className="h-4 w-4" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+              <path strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" strokeWidth={2} d="M4 8V4m0 0h4M4 4l5 5m11-1V4m0 0h-4m4 0l-5 5M4 16v4m0 0h4m-4 0l5-5m11 5l-5-5m5 5v-4m0 4h-4" />
+            </svg>
+          )}
+        </button>
+      )}
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        onClick={onClose}
+        className="flex items-center justify-center rounded-md p-1.5 text-gray-600 hover:bg-gray-100 hover:text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-400 dark:hover:bg-gray-800 dark:hover:text-white"
+        title={labels.close}
+      >
+        <svg className="h-4 w-4" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+          <path strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" strokeWidth={2} d="M6 18L18 6M6 6l12 12" />
+        </svg>
+      </button>
+    </div>
+  );
+
+  const header = (
+    <div className="flex flex-shrink-0 items-center justify-between border-b border-border px-3 py-1.5">
+      <div className="flex min-w-0 flex-1 items-center gap-2">
+        <h3 className="truncate text-sm font-medium text-gray-900 dark:text-white">{file.name}</h3>
+      </div>
+      {headerActions}
+    </div>
+  );
+
+  if (isSidebar) {
+    return (
+      <div className="flex h-full w-full flex-col bg-background">
+        {header}
+        {previewBody}
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
+  const containerClassName = isFullscreen
+    ? 'fixed inset-0 z-[9999] bg-background flex flex-col'
+    : 'fixed inset-0 z-[9999] md:bg-black/50 md:flex md:items-center md:justify-center md:p-4';
+
+  const innerClassName = isFullscreen
+    ? 'bg-background flex flex-col w-full h-full'
+    : 'bg-background shadow-2xl flex flex-col w-full h-full md:rounded-lg md:shadow-2xl md:w-full md:max-w-6xl md:h-[80vh] md:max-h-[80vh]';
+
+  return (
+    <div className={containerClassName}>
+      <div className={innerClassName}>
+        {header}
+        {previewBody}
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/i18n/locales/en/codeEditor.json b/src/i18n/locales/en/codeEditor.json
index db6fdf47..1a5b0357 100644
--- a/src/i18n/locales/en/codeEditor.json
+++ b/src/i18n/locales/en/codeEditor.json
@@ -32,5 +32,10 @@
   "binaryFile": {
     "title": "Binary File",
     "message": "The file \"{{fileName}}\" cannot be displayed in the text editor because it is a binary file."
+  },
+  "filePreview": {
+    "loading": "Loading preview...",
+    "error": "Unable to display this file.",
+    "openInNewTab": "Open in new tab"
   }
 }