diff --git a/pydantic_ai_slim/pydantic_ai/_display.py b/pydantic_ai_slim/pydantic_ai/_display.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..256a0b4ed9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pydantic_ai_slim/pydantic_ai/_display.py
@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+"""Agent banner display — logo, agent info, and next-steps guide.
+
+Prints a branded banner to stderr the first time any agent runs. Subsequent calls
+are no-ops — the banner only prints once per process, regardless of how many
+agent instances exist.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import platform
+import sys
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
+
+from . import __version__
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from .agent import Agent as _Agent
+
+# Track whether the banner has already been displayed (process-wide, once only).
+_banner_displayed: bool = False
+
+LOGO_PREAMBLE = r"""
+pydantic-ai v{version} • Python {python_version}
+"""
+
+LOGO = r"""
+      /\        
+     /  \       
+    /    \      
+   /      \     
+  /________\    
+ /    ||    \   
+/     ||     \  
+\_____||_____/  
+"""
+
+LOGO_TEXT = r"""
+[agent]
+name:         {name}
+model:        {model}
+output_type:  {output_type}
+tools:        {tools}
+logfire:      {logfire_status}
+
+
+"""
+
+# line by line join of Logo and text for easier maintenance
+LOGO_PLUS_TEXT = '\n'.join(
+    f'{logo_line}{text_line}'
+    for logo_line, text_line in zip(
+        LOGO.splitlines(),
+        LOGO_TEXT.splitlines(),
+    )
+)
+
+NEXT_STEPS = """
+─── Next steps ────────────────────────────────────
+• Setup Logfire (Free):   https://ai.pydantic.dev/logfire/
+• Configure Logfire:      logfire.configure(...)
+• Instrument this agent:  logfire.instrument_pydantic_ai()
+• Instrument its calls:   .instrument_httpx · .instrument_openai
+• Export anywhere:        OTLP → Logfire · etc
+
+• Docs:                   https://ai.pydantic.dev/logfire/
+• Turn off this banner:   os.environ['PYDANTIC_AI_HIDE_BANNER'] = '1'
+
+"""
+
+BANNER = f'{LOGO_PREAMBLE}\n{LOGO_PLUS_TEXT}\n{NEXT_STEPS}'
+
+
+def _get_model_name(agent: _Agent[Any, Any]) -> str:
+    """Get a display-friendly model name from the agent."""
+    model = agent.model
+    if model is None:
+        return '(not set)'
+    if isinstance(model, str):
+        return model
+    # Model instance
+    try:
+        return model.model_id
+    except Exception:
+        return getattr(model, 'model_name', str(model))
+
+
+def _get_output_type_name(agent: _Agent[Any, Any]) -> str:
+    """Get a display-friendly output type name."""
+    try:
+        ot = agent.output_type
+        return getattr(ot, '__name__', str(ot))
+    except Exception:
+        return '(unknown)'
+
+
+def _get_tool_names(agent: _Agent[Any, Any]) -> str:
+    """Get comma-separated tool names from the agent's function toolset."""
+    try:
+        tools = agent._function_toolset.tools  # type: ignore[union-attr]
+        if tools:
+            return ', '.join(tools.keys())
+        return '(none)'
+    except Exception:
+        return '(none)'
+
+
+def _get_logfire_status(agent: _Agent[Any, Any]) -> str:
+    """Check whether Logfire instrumentation is configured."""
+    try:
+        return 'configured' if agent.instrument else 'not configured'
+    except Exception:
+        return 'unknown'
+
+
+def display_agent_banner(agent: _Agent[Any, Any]) -> None:
+    """Display the agent banner to stderr, once per process.
+
+    Set ``PYDANTIC_AI_HIDE_BANNER=1`` to suppress the banner.
+
+    Args:
+        agent: The agent to display the banner for.
+    """
+    if os.environ.get('PYDANTIC_AI_HIDE_BANNER'):
+        return
+
+    global _banner_displayed
+    if _banner_displayed:
+        return
+    _banner_displayed = True
+
+    name = agent.name or '(unnamed)'
+    model = _get_model_name(agent)
+    output_type = _get_output_type_name(agent)
+    tools = _get_tool_names(agent)
+    logfire_status = _get_logfire_status(agent)
+    python_version = platform.python_version()
+
+    banner = BANNER.format(
+        version=__version__,
+        python_version=python_version,
+        name=name,
+        model=model,
+        output_type=output_type,
+        tools=tools,
+        logfire_status=logfire_status,
+    )
+
+    print(f'\n{banner}\n', file=sys.stderr)
diff --git a/pydantic_ai_slim/pydantic_ai/agent/__init__.py b/pydantic_ai_slim/pydantic_ai/agent/__init__.py
index 8239d586e3..1909ea9a17 100644
--- a/pydantic_ai_slim/pydantic_ai/agent/__init__.py
+++ b/pydantic_ai_slim/pydantic_ai/agent/__init__.py
@@ -884,6 +884,24 @@ def event_stream_handler(self) -> EventStreamHandler[AgentDepsT] | None:
     def __repr__(self) -> str:
         return f'{type(self).__name__}(model={self.model!r}, name={self.name!r}, end_strategy={self.end_strategy!r}, model_settings={self.model_settings!r}, output_type={self.output_type!r})'
 
+    def display_banner(self) -> None:
+        """Display a banner with logo, agent info, and next steps.
+
+        Prints to stderr once per agent instance. Subsequent calls are no-ops.
+        Called automatically on the first `run()` / `run_sync()` / `iter()` call.
+
+        Example:
+        ```python
+        from pydantic_ai import Agent
+
+        agent = Agent('openai:gpt-5.2', name='my_agent')
+        agent.display_banner()
+        ```
+        """
+        from .._display import display_agent_banner
+
+        display_agent_banner(self)
+
     @overload
     def iter(
         self,
@@ -1048,6 +1066,11 @@ async def main():
         if infer_name and self.name is None:
             self._infer_name(inspect.currentframe())
 
+        # Display agent banner on first run (once per agent instance, process-wide)
+        from .._display import display_agent_banner
+
+        display_agent_banner(self)
+
         # Tool retries cannot be overridden per run: `int` is treated as the output budget. An explicit
         # `retries={'tools': ...}` is rejected so the value isn't silently dropped.
         retry_overrides = _normalize_agent_retry_overrides(retries, int_means='output')
diff --git a/tests/test_display.py b/tests/test_display.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6034276980
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_display.py
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sys
+from io import StringIO
+
+import pytest
+
+import pydantic_ai_slim.pydantic_ai._display as _display
+from pydantic_ai import Agent
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _reset_banner_state():
+    """Reset the once-per-process banner flag between tests."""
+    _display._banner_displayed = False
+    yield
+    _display._banner_displayed = False
+
+
+class TestDisplayAgentBanner:
+    def test_smoke_prints_banner(self):
+        """Banner prints to stderr on first call."""
+        agent = Agent('test', name='my_agent', output_type=bool, defer_model_check=True)
+
+        capture = StringIO()
+        old = sys.stderr
+        sys.stderr = capture
+        try:
+            _display.display_agent_banner(agent)
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+
+        output = capture.getvalue()
+        assert 'my_agent' in output
+        assert 'test' in output
+        assert 'bool' in output
+        assert 'pydantic-ai v' in output
+        assert 'Next steps' in output
+
+    def test_once_per_process(self):
+        """Second call is a no-op."""
+        agent = Agent('test', name='agent1', defer_model_check=True)
+
+        capture = StringIO()
+        old = sys.stderr
+        sys.stderr = capture
+        try:
+            _display.display_agent_banner(agent)
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+        first = capture.getvalue()
+        assert first, 'First call should produce output'
+
+        capture2 = StringIO()
+        sys.stderr = capture2
+        try:
+            _display.display_agent_banner(agent)
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+        assert capture2.getvalue() == '', 'Second call should be silent'
+
+    def test_hide_banner_env_var(self, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+        """PYDANTIC_AI_HIDE_BANNER suppresses output."""
+        _display._banner_displayed = False
+        monkeypatch.setenv('PYDANTIC_AI_HIDE_BANNER', '1')
+
+        agent = Agent('test', name='hidden', defer_model_check=True)
+
+        capture = StringIO()
+        old = sys.stderr
+        sys.stderr = capture
+        try:
+            _display.display_agent_banner(agent)
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+        assert capture.getvalue() == '', 'Banner should be suppressed by env var'
+
+    def test_agent_display_banner_method(self):
+        """Agent.display_banner() calls through to _display.display_agent_banner."""
+        agent = Agent('test', name='method_test', defer_model_check=True)
+
+        capture = StringIO()
+        old = sys.stderr
+        sys.stderr = capture
+        try:
+            agent.display_banner()
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+
+        assert 'method_test' in capture.getvalue()
+
+    def test_tools_appear_in_banner(self):
+        """Function tools are listed in the banner."""
+        agent = Agent('test', name='tool_agent', defer_model_check=True)
+
+        @agent.tool_plain
+        def my_tool() -> str:
+            return 'ok'
+
+        capture = StringIO()
+        old = sys.stderr
+        sys.stderr = capture
+        try:
+            _display.display_agent_banner(agent)
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+
+        assert 'my_tool' in capture.getvalue()
+
+    def test_logfire_status_not_configured(self):
+        """Logfire shows 'not configured' when no instrumentation is set."""
+        agent = Agent('test', name='no_logfire', defer_model_check=True)
+
+        capture = StringIO()
+        old = sys.stderr
+        sys.stderr = capture
+        try:
+            _display.display_agent_banner(agent)
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+
+        assert 'not configured' in capture.getvalue()
+
+    def test_model_name_string(self):
+        """Model displayed as plain string when set as a string."""
+        agent = Agent('openai:gpt-5-mini', name='str_model', defer_model_check=True)
+
+        capture = StringIO()
+        old = sys.stderr
+        sys.stderr = capture
+        try:
+            _display.display_agent_banner(agent)
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+
+        assert 'openai:gpt-5-mini' in capture.getvalue()
+
+    def test_model_name_none(self):
+        """Model displayed as '(not set)' when model is None."""
+        agent = Agent(None, name='no_model', defer_model_check=True)
+
+        capture = StringIO()
+        old = sys.stderr
+        sys.stderr = capture
+        try:
+            _display.display_agent_banner(agent)
+        finally:
+            sys.stderr = old
+
+        assert '(not set)' in capture.getvalue()