diff --git a/scripts/Invoke-CIJob.ps1 b/scripts/Invoke-CIJob.ps1
index 7497219..05b6022 100644
--- a/scripts/Invoke-CIJob.ps1
+++ b/scripts/Invoke-CIJob.ps1
@@ -108,7 +108,15 @@ param(
 
     [string] $GuestCredentialTarget = 'BuildVMGuest',
 
-    [string] $VmrunPath = 'C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmrun.exe'
+    [string] $VmrunPath = 'C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmrun.exe',
+
+    # Directory for job execution logs. Each job gets its own sub-directory:
+    # $LogDir\$JobId\invoke-ci.log
+    [string] $LogDir = 'F:\CI\Logs',
+
+    # Days to retain job logs. Directories older than this are purged at job end.
+    # Set to 0 to disable retention/purge.
+    [int] $LogRetentionDays = 30
 )
 
 Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
@@ -152,6 +160,19 @@ $hostCloneDir   = Join-Path $env:TEMP "ci-src-$JobId"
 $cloneVmxPath   = $null
 $startTime      = Get-Date
 
+# ── Start transcript ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+$transcriptStarted = $false
+try {
+    $jobLogDir = Join-Path $LogDir $JobId
+    if (-not (Test-Path $jobLogDir)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $jobLogDir -Force | Out-Null }
+    $transcriptPath = Join-Path $jobLogDir 'invoke-ci.log'
+    Start-Transcript -Path $transcriptPath -Force -ErrorAction Stop
+    $transcriptStarted = $true
+}
+catch {
+    Write-Warning "[Invoke-CIJob] Could not start transcript: $_"
+}
+
 Write-Host "============================================================"
 Write-Host "[Invoke-CIJob] Job          : $JobId"
 Write-Host "[Invoke-CIJob] Repository   : $RepoUrl"
@@ -276,6 +297,22 @@ finally {
         Write-Host "[Cleanup] Removing host source clone ($hostCloneDir)..."
         Remove-Item $hostCloneDir -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
     }
+
+    # ── Stop transcript ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    if ($transcriptStarted) {
+        try { Stop-Transcript -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue } catch {}
+    }
+
+    # ── Log retention: purge directories older than $LogRetentionDays days ─
+    if ($LogRetentionDays -gt 0 -and (Test-Path $LogDir)) {
+        $cutoff = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$LogRetentionDays)
+        Get-ChildItem -Path $LogDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
+            Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt $cutoff } |
+            ForEach-Object {
+                Remove-Item $_.FullName -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+                Write-Host "[Cleanup] Purged old log dir: $($_.FullName)"
+            }
+    }
 }
 
 exit $exitCode
diff --git a/scripts/Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1 b/scripts/Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1
index 6a44c29..fc341f5 100644
--- a/scripts/Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1
+++ b/scripts/Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1
@@ -132,13 +132,16 @@ try {
     if ($BuildCommand -ne '') {
         # ── Custom build command (e.g. python, msbuild, cmake…) ──────────
         Write-Host "[Invoke-RemoteBuild] Running build command: $BuildCommand"
-        $buildResult = Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {
+        $buildExit = Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {
             param($workDir, $cmd, $artifactZip, $artifactSrc)
+            # Unbuffered Python output — lines appear in real-time instead of being held in buffer
+            $env:PYTHONUNBUFFERED = '1'
             Set-Location $workDir
-            $output = Invoke-Expression "$cmd 2>&1" | ForEach-Object { "$_" }
-            $buildExit = $LASTEXITCODE
+            # Stream each output line via Write-Host — WinRM forwards Write-Host in real-time
+            & cmd /c "$cmd 2>&1" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ }
+            $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
 
-            if ($buildExit -eq 0) {
+            if ($exit -eq 0) {
                 $archiveDir = Split-Path $artifactZip -Parent
                 if (-not (Test-Path $archiveDir)) {
                     New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $archiveDir -Force | Out-Null
@@ -147,38 +150,36 @@ try {
                 Compress-Archive -Path $srcPath -DestinationPath $artifactZip -Force
             }
 
-            return @{ ExitCode = $buildExit; Output = ($output -join "`n") }
+            return $exit
         } -ArgumentList $GuestWorkDir, $BuildCommand, $GuestArtifactZip, $GuestArtifactSource
 
-        Write-Host $buildResult.Output
-        if ($buildResult.ExitCode -ne 0) {
-            throw "Build command failed (exit $($buildResult.ExitCode))"
+        if ($buildExit -ne 0) {
+            throw "Build command failed (exit $buildExit)"
         }
     }
     else {
         # ── Default: dotnet restore + dotnet build ────────────────────────
         Write-Host "[Invoke-RemoteBuild] Running dotnet restore..."
-        $restoreResult = Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {
+        $restoreExit = Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {
             param($workDir)
             Set-Location $workDir
-            $output = dotnet restore 2>&1
-            return @{ ExitCode = $LASTEXITCODE; Output = ($output -join "`n") }
+            dotnet restore 2>&1 | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ }
+            return $LASTEXITCODE
         } -ArgumentList $GuestWorkDir
 
-        Write-Host $restoreResult.Output
-        if ($restoreResult.ExitCode -ne 0) {
-            throw "dotnet restore failed (exit $($restoreResult.ExitCode))"
+        if ($restoreExit -ne 0) {
+            throw "dotnet restore failed (exit $restoreExit)"
         }
 
         Write-Host "[Invoke-RemoteBuild] Running dotnet build (configuration: $Configuration)..."
-        $buildResult = Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {
+        $buildExit = Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {
             param($workDir, $config, $artifactZip)
             Set-Location $workDir
             $outputDir = Join-Path $workDir 'bin\CIOutput'
-            $output = dotnet build --configuration $config --output $outputDir 2>&1
-            $buildExit = $LASTEXITCODE
+            dotnet build --configuration $config --output $outputDir 2>&1 | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ }
+            $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
 
-            if ($buildExit -eq 0) {
+            if ($exit -eq 0) {
                 $archiveDir = Split-Path $artifactZip -Parent
                 if (-not (Test-Path $archiveDir)) {
                     New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $archiveDir -Force | Out-Null
@@ -186,12 +187,11 @@ try {
                 Compress-Archive -Path "$outputDir\*" -DestinationPath $artifactZip -Force
             }
 
-            return @{ ExitCode = $buildExit; Output = ($output -join "`n") }
+            return $exit
         } -ArgumentList $GuestWorkDir, $Configuration, $GuestArtifactZip
 
-        Write-Host $buildResult.Output
-        if ($buildResult.ExitCode -ne 0) {
-            throw "dotnet build failed (exit $($buildResult.ExitCode))"
+        if ($buildExit -ne 0) {
+            throw "dotnet build failed (exit $buildExit)"
         }
     }