diff --git a/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.controller.spec.ts b/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.controller.spec.ts
index e9f29c13e..5c6f651ff 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.controller.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.controller.spec.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ function makeFakeResponse() {
   const emitter = new EventEmitter();
   const res = Object.assign(emitter, {
     setHeader: jest.fn(),
+    flushHeaders: jest.fn(),
     status: jest.fn(function (this: unknown) {
       return res;
     }),
@@ -135,6 +136,7 @@ describe('EvidenceExportController', () => {
       'Content-Disposition',
       `attachment; filename="acme_mytask_evidence_2026-04-22.zip"`,
     );
+    expect(res.flushHeaders).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     expect(archive.pipe).toHaveBeenCalledWith(res);
   });
 
@@ -273,6 +275,7 @@ describe('AuditorEvidenceExportController', () => {
       'Content-Disposition',
       `attachment; filename="acme_all-evidence_2026-04-22.zip"`,
     );
+    expect(res.flushHeaders).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     expect(archive.pipe).toHaveBeenCalledWith(res);
   });
 });
diff --git a/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.controller.ts b/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.controller.ts
index 3a5cd924d..fd516e93e 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.controller.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.controller.ts
@@ -188,6 +188,11 @@ export class EvidenceExportController {
       'Content-Disposition',
       `attachment; filename="${filename}"`,
     );
+    // Push the response status line + headers to the wire immediately so
+    // upstream proxies (Cloudflare, ALB, etc.) don't apply their idle-timeout
+    // while we assemble the first archive entry — a TTFB > ~60s on a large
+    // org otherwise surfaces in the browser as `TypeError: Failed to fetch`.
+    res.flushHeaders();
 
     pipeArchiveToResponse({
       archive,
@@ -261,6 +266,9 @@ export class AuditorEvidenceExportController {
       'Content-Disposition',
       `attachment; filename="${filename}"`,
     );
+    // See note on the task variant above — flush early so a slow first task
+    // doesn't blow past the proxy idle timeout for large orgs.
+    res.flushHeaders();
 
     pipeArchiveToResponse({
       archive,
diff --git a/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.service.spec.ts b/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.service.spec.ts
index 8b4788261..bf8c63290 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.service.spec.ts
@@ -192,10 +192,15 @@ describe('EvidenceExportService — streaming ZIPs', () => {
       await mock.finalized;
 
       const paths = mock.appendCalls.map((c) => c.options.name);
+      // EXPORT_INFO.txt is appended first to flush a ZIP byte through proxies
+      // before the slow per-task data load runs.
       expect(paths[0]).toBe(
-        'acme-corp_soc-2-access-review_evidence/00-summary.pdf',
+        'acme-corp_soc-2-access-review_evidence/EXPORT_INFO.txt',
       );
       expect(paths[1]).toBe(
+        'acme-corp_soc-2-access-review_evidence/00-summary.pdf',
+      );
+      expect(paths[2]).toBe(
         'acme-corp_soc-2-access-review_evidence/01-attachments/contract.pdf',
       );
 
@@ -592,6 +597,7 @@ describe('EvidenceExportService — streaming ZIPs', () => {
 
       const paths = mock.appendCalls.map((c) => c.options.name);
       expect(paths).toEqual([
+        'acme-corp_soc-2-access-review_evidence/EXPORT_INFO.txt',
         'acme-corp_soc-2-access-review_evidence/00-summary.pdf',
       ]);
       expect(s3Client!.send).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
diff --git a/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.service.ts b/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.service.ts
index 9781f0629..67f4d6f64 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.service.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/tasks/evidence-export/evidence-export.service.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,30 @@ const safeStringify = configureStringify({
   deterministic: false,
 });
 
+function buildExportInfo(
+  info:
+    | { kind: 'task'; taskId: string }
+    | {
+        kind: 'organization';
+        organizationName: string;
+        organizationId: string;
+        taskCount: number;
+      },
+): string {
+  const lines = [
+    'Evidence export',
+    `Started at: ${new Date().toISOString()}`,
+  ];
+  if (info.kind === 'task') {
+    lines.push(`Task ID: ${info.taskId}`);
+  } else {
+    lines.push(`Organization: ${info.organizationName}`);
+    lines.push(`Organization ID: ${info.organizationId}`);
+    lines.push(`Tasks included: ${info.taskCount}`);
+  }
+  return lines.join('\n') + '\n';
+}
+
 @Injectable()
 export class EvidenceExportService {
   private readonly logger = new Logger(EvidenceExportService.name);
@@ -198,6 +222,17 @@ export class EvidenceExportService {
   }): Promise<void> {
     const { archive, organizationId, taskId, folderName, options } = params;
 
+    // Force the archiver to emit a real ZIP byte immediately, before the
+    // per-task data load runs. Combined with res.flushHeaders() upstream this
+    // keeps the response visibly alive through any proxy idle timer.
+    archive.append(
+      Buffer.from(
+        buildExportInfo({ kind: 'task', taskId }),
+        'utf-8',
+      ),
+      { name: `${folderName}/EXPORT_INFO.txt` },
+    );
+
     const [headers, attachments] = await Promise.all([
       getAutomationHeaders({ organizationId, taskId }),
       getTaskAttachments(organizationId, taskId),
@@ -355,6 +390,21 @@ export class EvidenceExportService {
       options,
     } = params;
 
+    // Push the first ZIP byte out immediately so proxies see a live stream
+    // before the slow per-task loop begins. See populateTaskArchive note.
+    archive.append(
+      Buffer.from(
+        buildExportInfo({
+          kind: 'organization',
+          organizationName,
+          organizationId,
+          taskCount: taskIds.length,
+        }),
+        'utf-8',
+      ),
+      { name: `${orgFolder}/EXPORT_INFO.txt` },
+    );
+
     const manifestEntries: Array<{
       id: string;
       title: string;