diff --git a/loop/webui/src/timeline/icons/index.ts b/loop/webui/src/timeline/icons/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9480c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/loop/webui/src/timeline/icons/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+/**
+ * Get the icon text to display for a message type
+ * @param type - The message type
+ * @returns The single character to represent this message type
+ */
+export function getIconText(type: string | null | undefined): string {
+  switch (type) {
+    case "user":
+      return "U";
+    case "agent":
+      return "A";
+    case "tool":
+      return "T";
+    case "error":
+      return "E";
+    default:
+      return "?";
+  }
+}