diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-flusher.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-flusher.ts
index adab9cc7a23..8912134a7cf 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-flusher.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-flusher.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { writeForegroundTerminalChunk } from './pane-terminal-foreground-render-settle'
+import { runGuardedWriteCompletionStep } from './xterm-write-callback-guard'
 import { registerTerminalOutputAckCredits } from './pane-terminal-output-ack-credit'
 import {
   armTerminalWriteStallWatch,
@@ -132,8 +133,12 @@ export function flushTerminalOutputImpl(
     } catch {
       // Why: pre-write hooks/setup failed before xterm owned these bytes; cancel the watch, but consumed + abandoned chunks still credit delivery.
       cancelTerminalWriteStallWatch(terminal)
-      ackCreditsParsed?.()
-      denseSgrRelease?.()
+      if (ackCreditsParsed) {
+        runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('flush-abort-ack-credits', ackCreditsParsed)
+      }
+      if (denseSgrRelease) {
+        runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('flush-abort-dense-release', denseSgrRelease)
+      }
       fireQueuedAckCredits(entry)
       clearForegroundRelease(entry)
       recordQueueDebugPressure()
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-pipeline.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-pipeline.ts
index fa20b6fb24c..d9cfbd77e87 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-pipeline.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-pipeline.ts
@@ -82,10 +82,19 @@ export function composeParsedCallback(
     try {
       onParsed?.()
     } finally {
-      ackCreditsParsed?.()
-      denseSgrRelease?.()
-      pacer?.()
-      settleTerminalWriteStallWatch(terminal)
+      // Why guarded per step: one throwing step would skip every later one, and a skipped dense release pins inFlight so the pane never drains again.
+      if (ackCreditsParsed) {
+        runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('parsed-ack-credits', ackCreditsParsed)
+      }
+      if (denseSgrRelease) {
+        runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('parsed-dense-release', denseSgrRelease)
+      }
+      if (pacer) {
+        runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('parsed-pacer', pacer)
+      }
+      runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('parsed-stall-settle', () =>
+        settleTerminalWriteStallWatch(terminal)
+      )
     }
   }
 }
@@ -98,8 +107,12 @@ export function composeWriteFailureCallback(
   return () => {
     try {
       // A rejected write still consumed the main-owned delivery window.
-      ackCreditsParsed?.()
-      denseSgrRelease?.()
+      if (ackCreditsParsed) {
+        runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('write-failure-ack-credits', ackCreditsParsed)
+      }
+      if (denseSgrRelease) {
+        runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('write-failure-dense-release', denseSgrRelease)
+      }
     } finally {
       // Why: a synchronous rejection proves undeliverability but nothing about parse progress; recover without extending replay guards.
       failTerminalWriteStallWatch(terminal)
@@ -179,8 +192,12 @@ export function writeQueuedChunk(entry: QueueEntry): 'foreground' | 'background'
   } catch {
     // Why: beforeWrite or write setup can fail before xterm owns the bytes; cancel the armed watch without claiming parser failure.
     cancelTerminalWriteStallWatch(entry.terminal)
-    ackCreditsParsed?.()
-    denseSgrRelease?.()
+    if (ackCreditsParsed) {
+      runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('drain-abort-ack-credits', ackCreditsParsed)
+    }
+    if (denseSgrRelease) {
+      runGuardedWriteCompletionStep('drain-abort-dense-release', denseSgrRelease)
+    }
     fireQueuedAckCredits(entry)
     entry.chunks.length = 0
     entry.chunkIndex = 0
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-scheduler.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-scheduler.test.ts
index 09f0d6939f1..aa1f73b5f35 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-scheduler.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-terminal-output-scheduler.test.ts
@@ -518,6 +518,43 @@ describe('pane terminal output scheduler', () => {
     expect(queuedByTerminal.has(terminal)).toBe(true)
   })
 
+  it('releases the dense pacing slot when a parsed ack credit throws', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const { writeTerminalOutput } = await loadScheduler()
+    const terminal = createTerminal()
+    const parsed: (() => void)[] = []
+    terminal.write.mockImplementation((_data: string, callback?: () => void) => {
+      if (callback) {
+        parsed.push(callback)
+      }
+    })
+    const dense = Array.from(
+      { length: 300 },
+      (_, index) => `\x1b[${30 + (index % 8)}mX\x1b[0m`
+    ).join('')
+
+    writeTerminalOutput(terminal, dense, {
+      foreground: false,
+      ackCredit: () => {
+        throw new Error('ack credit failed')
+      }
+    })
+    writeTerminalOutput(terminal, dense, { foreground: false })
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(50)
+    expect(terminal.write).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+
+    parsed.shift()?.()
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(0)
+
+    // A throwing credit must not skip the dense release, or inFlight stays
+    // pinned and the terminal never drains again.
+    expect(terminal.write).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+    expect(mocks.recordRendererCrashBreadcrumb).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'terminal_write_completion_error',
+      expect.objectContaining({ context: 'parsed-ack-credits' })
+    )
+  })
+
   it('promotes large background backlogs to high-priority drains', async () => {
     vi.useFakeTimers()
     const { writeTerminalOutput } = await loadScheduler()