diff --git a/python/lib/sift_client/__init__.py b/python/lib/sift_client/__init__.py
index 0f510a146..e98ee783d 100644
--- a/python/lib/sift_client/__init__.py
+++ b/python/lib/sift_client/__init__.py
@@ -132,14 +132,18 @@ async def main():
 5. **Use type hints** to get full IDE support and catch errors early
 """
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import logging
 
 from sift_client.client import SiftClient
+from sift_client.config import config
 from sift_client.transport import SiftConnectionConfig
 
 __all__ = [
     "SiftClient",
     "SiftConnectionConfig",
+    "config",
 ]
 
 logging.getLogger(__name__).addHandler(logging.NullHandler())
diff --git a/python/lib/sift_client/_internal/sync_wrapper.py b/python/lib/sift_client/_internal/sync_wrapper.py
index eb6d0240e..b0d990ee4 100644
--- a/python/lib/sift_client/_internal/sync_wrapper.py
+++ b/python/lib/sift_client/_internal/sync_wrapper.py
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ def generate_sync_api(cls: type[ResourceBase], sync_name: str) -> type:
     @wraps(orig_init)
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):  # noqa: N807
         self._async_impl = cls(*args, **kwargs)
+        self._async_impl._is_sync = True
 
     def _run(self, coro):
         loop = self._async_impl.client.get_asyncio_loop()
diff --git a/python/lib/sift_client/_internal/util/file.py b/python/lib/sift_client/_internal/util/file.py
index 55f937cc8..518bce847 100644
--- a/python/lib/sift_client/_internal/util/file.py
+++ b/python/lib/sift_client/_internal/util/file.py
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 import zipfile
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
+from alive_progress import alive_bar  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
+
 from sift_client.errors import SiftWarning
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -12,13 +14,21 @@
     from sift_client.transport.rest_transport import RestClient
 
 
-def download_file(signed_url: str, output_path: Path, *, rest_client: RestClient) -> Path:
+def download_file(
+    signed_url: str,
+    output_path: Path,
+    *,
+    rest_client: RestClient,
+    show_progress: bool = False,
+) -> Path:
     """Download a file from a URL in streaming 4 MiB chunks.
 
     Args:
         url: The URL to download from.
         dest: Path where the file will be saved. Parent directories are created if needed.
         rest_client: The SDK rest client to use for the download.
+        show_progress: If True, display a progress bar during download.
+            Defaults to False.
 
     Returns:
         The path to the downloaded file.
@@ -30,10 +40,21 @@ def download_file(signed_url: str, output_path: Path, *, rest_client: RestClient
     # Strip the session's default Authorization header, presigned URLs carry their own auth
     with rest_client.get(signed_url, stream=True, headers={"Authorization": None}) as response:
         response.raise_for_status()
-        with output_path.open("wb") as file:
-            for chunk in response.iter_content(chunk_size=4194304):  # 4 MiB
-                if chunk:
-                    file.write(chunk)
+        total_bytes = int(response.headers.get("Content-Length", 0)) or None
+        with alive_bar(
+            total_bytes,
+            title="Downloading",
+            spinner="dots_waves",
+            spinner_length=7,
+            unit="B",
+            scale="SI",
+            disable=not show_progress,
+        ) as bar:
+            with output_path.open("wb") as file:
+                for chunk in response.iter_content(chunk_size=4194304):  # 4 MiB
+                    if chunk:
+                        file.write(chunk)
+                        bar(len(chunk))
     return output_path
 
 
diff --git a/python/lib/sift_client/_tests/resources/test_jobs.py b/python/lib/sift_client/_tests/resources/test_jobs.py
index feb84707d..35908ce87 100644
--- a/python/lib/sift_client/_tests/resources/test_jobs.py
+++ b/python/lib/sift_client/_tests/resources/test_jobs.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 - Error handling and edge cases
 """
 
+import asyncio
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock, patch
 
@@ -393,6 +394,24 @@ async def test_raises_timeout_error_when_not_complete_in_time(self, jobs_api_asy
                         timeout_secs=0.1,
                     )
 
+        @pytest.mark.asyncio
+        async def test_concurrent_wait_with_progress_disabled(self, jobs_api_async):
+            """Concurrent wait_until_complete calls with show_progress=False should not raise."""
+            mock_job = MagicMock()
+            mock_job.job_status = JobStatus.FINISHED
+
+            with patch(
+                "sift_client.resources.jobs.JobsAPIAsync.get",
+                new_callable=AsyncMock,
+                return_value=mock_job,
+            ):
+                results = await asyncio.gather(
+                    jobs_api_async.wait_until_complete(job="job-1", show_progress=False),
+                    jobs_api_async.wait_until_complete(job="job-2", show_progress=False),
+                )
+
+            assert all(r.job_status == JobStatus.FINISHED for r in results)
+
     class TestJobProperties:
         """Tests for job property methods."""
 
@@ -527,6 +546,58 @@ def test_basic_list(self, jobs_api_sync):
             if jobs:
                 assert isinstance(jobs[0], Job)
 
+    class TestWaitUntilComplete:
+        """Tests for wait_until_complete through the sync wrapper."""
+
+        def test_wait_defaults_to_progress_enabled(self, jobs_api_sync):
+            """Sync wrapper defaults to show_progress=True when no kwarg is passed."""
+            mock_job = MagicMock()
+            mock_job.job_status = JobStatus.FINISHED
+
+            with patch(
+                "sift_client.resources.jobs.JobsAPIAsync.get",
+                new_callable=AsyncMock,
+                return_value=mock_job,
+            ):
+                result = jobs_api_sync.wait_until_complete(job="job-1")
+
+            assert result.job_status == JobStatus.FINISHED
+
+        def test_wait_with_progress_explicit_false(self, jobs_api_sync):
+            """Explicit show_progress=False overrides the sync default."""
+            mock_job = MagicMock()
+            mock_job.job_status = JobStatus.FINISHED
+
+            with patch(
+                "sift_client.resources.jobs.JobsAPIAsync.get",
+                new_callable=AsyncMock,
+                return_value=mock_job,
+            ):
+                result = jobs_api_sync.wait_until_complete(job="job-1", show_progress=False)
+
+            assert result.job_status == JobStatus.FINISHED
+
+        def test_namespace_override_disables_progress(self, jobs_api_sync):
+            """Setting sift_client.config.show_progress=False overrides the sync default."""
+            import sift_client
+
+            mock_job = MagicMock()
+            mock_job.job_status = JobStatus.FINISHED
+
+            original = sift_client.config.show_progress
+            try:
+                sift_client.config.show_progress = False
+                with patch(
+                    "sift_client.resources.jobs.JobsAPIAsync.get",
+                    new_callable=AsyncMock,
+                    return_value=mock_job,
+                ):
+                    result = jobs_api_sync.wait_until_complete(job="job-1")
+            finally:
+                sift_client.config.show_progress = original
+
+            assert result.job_status == JobStatus.FINISHED
+
 
 class TestWaitAndDownload:
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/python/lib/sift_client/config.py b/python/lib/sift_client/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..13f7810b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/lib/sift_client/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+"""Global configuration for the Sift client library."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from dataclasses import dataclass, fields
+
+
+@dataclass
+class Config:
+    """Global configuration for the Sift client library.
+
+    This is a singleton dataclass, use the module-level ``config`` instance
+    rather than creating your own::
+
+        import sift_client
+
+        sift_client.config.show_progress = False
+
+    Setting an attribute that doesn't exist raises ``AttributeError`` so
+    typos are caught immediately.
+
+    """
+
+    show_progress: bool | None = None
+    """Controls progress-bar display for job polling and file downloads.
+
+    ``None`` (default) shows bars for sync calls and hides them for async.
+    Set to ``False`` to disable everywhere.
+    """
+
+    def __setattr__(self, name: str, value: object) -> None:
+        if name not in {f.name for f in fields(self)}:
+            raise AttributeError(f"Unknown setting: {name!r}")
+        super().__setattr__(name, value)
+
+
+config = Config()
diff --git a/python/lib/sift_client/resources/jobs.py b/python/lib/sift_client/resources/jobs.py
index a0b50649e..6ddaec6ca 100644
--- a/python/lib/sift_client/resources/jobs.py
+++ b/python/lib/sift_client/resources/jobs.py
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
+from alive_progress import alive_bar  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
+
+import sift_client as _sift_client_module
 from sift_client._internal.low_level_wrappers.jobs import JobsLowLevelClient
 from sift_client._internal.util.executor import run_sync_function
 from sift_client._internal.util.file import download_file, extract_zip
@@ -169,6 +172,7 @@ async def wait_until_complete(
         *,
         polling_interval_secs: int = 5,
         timeout_secs: int | None = None,
+        show_progress: bool | None = None,
     ) -> Job:
         """Wait until the job is complete or the timeout is reached.
 
@@ -180,20 +184,45 @@ async def wait_until_complete(
             polling_interval_secs: Seconds between status polls. Defaults to 5s.
             timeout_secs: Maximum seconds to wait. If None, polls indefinitely.
                 Defaults to None (indefinite).
+            show_progress: If True, display an animated progress spinner alongside
+                the job status while polling. Defaults to True for sync, False
+                for async. Use ``sift_client.config.show_progress = False`` to disable
+                globally for sync.
 
         Returns:
             The Job in the completed state.
         """
         job_id = job._id_or_error if isinstance(job, Job) else job
+        if show_progress is None:
+            global_setting = _sift_client_module.config.show_progress
+            if global_setting is not None:
+                show_progress = global_setting
+            elif getattr(self, "_is_sync", False):
+                show_progress = True
+            else:
+                show_progress = False
 
         start = time.monotonic()
-        while True:
-            job = await self.get(job_id)
-            if job.job_status in (JobStatus.FINISHED, JobStatus.FAILED, JobStatus.CANCELLED):
-                return job
-            if timeout_secs is not None and (time.monotonic() - start) >= timeout_secs:
-                raise TimeoutError(f"Job {job_id} did not complete within {timeout_secs} seconds")
-            await asyncio.sleep(polling_interval_secs)
+        with alive_bar(
+            title=f"Job {job_id}: polling",
+            bar=None,
+            spinner_length=7,
+            spinner="dots_waves",
+            monitor=False,
+            stats=False,
+            disable=not show_progress,
+        ) as bar:
+            while True:
+                job = await self.get(job_id)
+                bar.title(f"Job {job_id} ({job.job_type.value.lower()}): {job.job_status.value}")
+                bar()
+                if job.job_status in (JobStatus.FINISHED, JobStatus.FAILED, JobStatus.CANCELLED):
+                    return job
+                if timeout_secs is not None and (time.monotonic() - start) >= timeout_secs:
+                    raise TimeoutError(
+                        f"Job {job_id} did not complete within {timeout_secs} seconds"
+                    )
+                await asyncio.sleep(polling_interval_secs)
 
     async def wait_and_download(
         self,
@@ -203,6 +232,7 @@ async def wait_and_download(
         timeout_secs: int | None = None,
         output_dir: str | Path | None = None,
         extract: bool = True,
+        show_progress: bool | None = None,
     ) -> list[Path]:
         """Wait for a job to complete and download the result files.
 
@@ -219,6 +249,10 @@ async def wait_and_download(
                 extract it and delete the archive, returning paths to the
                 extracted files. Non-zip files are returned as-is regardless
                 of this flag.
+            show_progress: If True, display an animated progress spinner
+                while waiting and a download progress bar. Defaults to True
+                for sync, False for async. Use ``sift_client.config.show_progress = False``
+                to disable globally for sync.
 
         Returns:
             List of paths to the downloaded/extracted files.
@@ -228,11 +262,20 @@ async def wait_and_download(
             TimeoutError: If the job does not complete within timeout_secs.
         """
         job_id = job._id_or_error if isinstance(job, Job) else job
+        if show_progress is None:
+            global_setting = _sift_client_module.config.show_progress
+            if global_setting is not None:
+                show_progress = global_setting
+            elif getattr(self, "_is_sync", False):
+                show_progress = True
+            else:
+                show_progress = False
 
         completed_job = await self.wait_until_complete(
             job=job_id,
             polling_interval_secs=polling_interval_secs,
             timeout_secs=timeout_secs,
+            show_progress=show_progress,
         )
         if completed_job.job_status == JobStatus.FAILED:
             if (
@@ -259,7 +302,9 @@ async def wait_and_download(
         # Run the synchronous download in a thread pool to avoid blocking the event loop
         rest_client = self.client.rest_client
         await run_sync_function(
-            lambda: download_file(presigned_url, download_path, rest_client=rest_client)
+            lambda: download_file(
+                presigned_url, download_path, rest_client=rest_client, show_progress=show_progress
+            )
         )
 
         if not extract or not zipfile.is_zipfile(download_path):
diff --git a/python/lib/sift_client/resources/sync_stubs/__init__.pyi b/python/lib/sift_client/resources/sync_stubs/__init__.pyi
index 02e53aeb5..fe87809cd 100644
--- a/python/lib/sift_client/resources/sync_stubs/__init__.pyi
+++ b/python/lib/sift_client/resources/sync_stubs/__init__.pyi
@@ -859,6 +859,7 @@ class JobsAPI:
         timeout_secs: int | None = None,
         output_dir: str | Path | None = None,
         extract: bool = True,
+        show_progress: bool | None = None,
     ) -> list[Path]:
         """Wait for a job to complete and download the result files.
 
@@ -875,6 +876,10 @@ class JobsAPI:
                 extract it and delete the archive, returning paths to the
                 extracted files. Non-zip files are returned as-is regardless
                 of this flag.
+            show_progress: If True, display an animated progress spinner
+                while waiting and a download progress bar. Defaults to True
+                for sync, False for async. Use ``sift_client.config.show_progress = False``
+                to disable globally for sync.
 
         Returns:
             List of paths to the downloaded/extracted files.
@@ -886,7 +891,12 @@ class JobsAPI:
         ...
 
     def wait_until_complete(
-        self, job: Job | str, *, polling_interval_secs: int = 5, timeout_secs: int | None = None
+        self,
+        job: Job | str,
+        *,
+        polling_interval_secs: int = 5,
+        timeout_secs: int | None = None,
+        show_progress: bool | None = None,
     ) -> Job:
         """Wait until the job is complete or the timeout is reached.
 
@@ -898,6 +908,10 @@ class JobsAPI:
             polling_interval_secs: Seconds between status polls. Defaults to 5s.
             timeout_secs: Maximum seconds to wait. If None, polls indefinitely.
                 Defaults to None (indefinite).
+            show_progress: If True, display an animated progress spinner alongside
+                the job status while polling. Defaults to True for sync, False
+                for async. Use ``sift_client.config.show_progress = False`` to disable
+                globally for sync.
 
         Returns:
             The Job in the completed state.
diff --git a/python/mkdocs.yml b/python/mkdocs.yml
index ed12ad4e7..fd52b8d29 100644
--- a/python/mkdocs.yml
+++ b/python/mkdocs.yml
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ plugins:
             show_source: false
             find_stubs_package: true
             show_if_no_docstring: true
-            filters: "public"
+            filters: ["!^__(?!init)", "!^_[^_]"]
             show_submodules: false
             # Styling
             group_by_category: true