diff --git a/src/main/native-chat/transcript-line-decoders-codex.ts b/src/main/native-chat/transcript-line-decoders-codex.ts
index 8c55ec4a69f..d70bd7a7c80 100644
--- a/src/main/native-chat/transcript-line-decoders-codex.ts
+++ b/src/main/native-chat/transcript-line-decoders-codex.ts
@@ -202,29 +202,17 @@ function codexTurnItemBlocks(content: unknown): NativeChatBlock[] {
   return blocks
 }
 
-/** A call's arguments arrive as a string holding JSON, so decode them once here
- *  rather than leaving every consumer to unescape the payload for itself. The
- *  transcript is untrusted, so anything that is not a JSON object stays exactly
- *  as it arrived. */
+/** The argument payload is passed through exactly as it arrived. Decoding it
+ *  here would change the shape every `.input` consumer sees — including the ask
+ *  surface, which reads a question shape out of any tool's input — so the one
+ *  consumer that needs structure decodes it for itself. */
 function codexCallInput(payload: Record<string, unknown>): unknown {
-  const args = payload.arguments
-  if (args !== undefined) {
-    return typeof args === 'string' ? (parsedJsonObject(args) ?? args) : args
+  if (payload.arguments !== undefined) {
+    return payload.arguments
   }
   return payload.input ?? payload.action ?? null
 }
 
-function parsedJsonObject(value: string): Record<string, unknown> | null {
-  try {
-    const parsed: unknown = JSON.parse(value)
-    return typeof parsed === 'object' && parsed !== null && !Array.isArray(parsed)
-      ? (parsed as Record<string, unknown>)
-      : null
-  } catch {
-    return null
-  }
-}
-
 function codexToolResult(output: unknown): NativeChatBlock {
   const record = asRecord(output)
   const isError = record?.success === false || record?.is_error === true
diff --git a/src/main/native-chat/transcript-reader-codex-history-mode.test.ts b/src/main/native-chat/transcript-reader-codex-history-mode.test.ts
index 23e503ae0a4..5d18bec8c85 100644
--- a/src/main/native-chat/transcript-reader-codex-history-mode.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/native-chat/transcript-reader-codex-history-mode.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { mkdtemp, rm, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { extractPendingAsk } from '../../shared/native-chat-ask'
 import { decodeCodexTranscriptLine } from './transcript-line-decoders-codex'
 import { readNativeChatTranscript } from './transcript-reader'
 import { readNativeChatTranscriptTail } from './transcript-tail-reader'
@@ -248,7 +249,7 @@ describe('Codex transcript history modes', () => {
     })
   })
 
-  it('decodes a call argument payload once, so consumers see real values', () => {
+  it('passes an argument payload through untouched, so no consumer changes shape', () => {
     const call = decodeCodexTranscriptLine(
       JSON.stringify({
         type: 'response_item',
@@ -256,7 +257,7 @@ describe('Codex transcript history modes', () => {
           type: 'function_call',
           id: 'call-2',
           name: 'shell',
-          arguments: JSON.stringify({ command: ['bash', '-lc', 'echo one\necho two'] })
+          arguments: '{"command":["bash","-lc","echo hi"]}'
         }
       }),
       'fallback-args'
@@ -265,19 +266,25 @@ describe('Codex transcript history modes', () => {
     expect(call?.blocks[0]).toMatchObject({
       type: 'tool-call',
       name: 'shell',
-      input: { command: ['bash', '-lc', 'echo one\necho two'] }
+      input: '{"command":["bash","-lc","echo hi"]}'
     })
   })
 
-  it('leaves an argument payload that is not an object exactly as it arrived', () => {
+  it('does not raise a question card from an unrelated tool that carries a questions payload', () => {
     const call = decodeCodexTranscriptLine(
       JSON.stringify({
         type: 'response_item',
-        payload: { type: 'function_call', id: 'call-3', name: 'shell', arguments: '{ not json' }
+        payload: {
+          type: 'function_call',
+          id: 'call-3',
+          name: 'some_mcp_tool',
+          arguments: '{"questions":[{"question":"Which branch?","options":["main","dev"]}]}'
+        }
       }),
-      'fallback-bad-args'
+      'fallback-questions'
     )
 
-    expect(call?.blocks[0]).toMatchObject({ type: 'tool-call', input: '{ not json' })
+    expect(call).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(extractPendingAsk(call ? [call] : [])).toBeNull()
   })
 })
diff --git a/src/main/native-chat/transcript-reader.test.ts b/src/main/native-chat/transcript-reader.test.ts
index 8de4e8892ec..ff48548804d 100644
--- a/src/main/native-chat/transcript-reader.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/native-chat/transcript-reader.test.ts
@@ -246,11 +246,10 @@ describe('readNativeChatTranscript (codex)', () => {
     expect(roles).toEqual(['user', 'reasoning', 'assistant', 'tool', 'assistant'])
 
     const call = result.messages.find((m) => m.blocks[0]?.type === 'tool-call')
-    // The argument payload is decoded once here rather than by every consumer.
     expect(call?.blocks[0]).toEqual({
       type: 'tool-call',
       name: 'shell',
-      input: { command: ['bash', '-lc', 'make'] }
+      input: '{"command":["bash","-lc","make"]}'
     })
 
     const toolResult = result.messages.find((m) => m.blocks[0]?.type === 'tool-result')
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/NativeChatToolRun.test.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/NativeChatToolRun.test.tsx
index 82e6806d845..9fc0ff16788 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/NativeChatToolRun.test.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/NativeChatToolRun.test.tsx
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ describe('NativeChatToolRun', () => {
       {
         type: 'tool-call',
         name: 'apply_patch',
+        // The patch lives on the call in this lane, so the provider's own
+        // completion is what says the edit landed.
+        state: 'completed',
         input: {
           changes: [
             {
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/NativeChatToolRun.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/NativeChatToolRun.tsx
index 914faa9361c..be961aa9fcc 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/NativeChatToolRun.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/NativeChatToolRun.tsx
@@ -166,14 +166,10 @@ type EditCardModel = {
 
 const NO_EDIT_CARDS: EditCardModel = { editCards: new Map(), consumedResults: new Set() }
 
-/** An edit renders as one card, so its result block is folded into the call. A
- *  call still in flight keeps the generic tool view rather than a card that
- *  states the edit as made; a failed one is filtered out by the model itself, so
- *  its result stays visible as the provider's error. */
-function buildEditCards(
-  blocks: NativeChatBlock[],
-  activeTurnIsWorking: boolean | undefined
-): EditCardModel {
+/** An edit renders as one card, so its result block is folded into the call. The
+ *  model decides which calls have landed; a call that has not keeps the generic
+ *  tool view, its result still visible as the provider's own error. */
+function buildEditCards(blocks: NativeChatBlock[]): EditCardModel {
   const editCards: EditCardModel['editCards'] = new Map()
   const consumedResults: EditCardModel['consumedResults'] = new Set()
   for (const [index, pair] of pairToolBlocks(blocks).entries()) {
@@ -181,10 +177,6 @@ function buildEditCards(
     if (!call || !isEditToolName(call.name)) {
       continue
     }
-    // No lifecycle and no result yet, on a turn still working: not landed.
-    if (call.state == null && activeTurnIsWorking === true && pair.result === undefined) {
-      continue
-    }
     const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
       name: call.name,
       input: call.input,
@@ -251,8 +243,8 @@ export function NativeChatToolRun({
   // Diffing every edit is the run's most expensive work, so a collapsed run —
   // which renders none of it — never pays for it.
   const { editCards, consumedResults } = useMemo(
-    () => (open ? buildEditCards(blocks, activeTurnIsWorking) : NO_EDIT_CARDS),
-    [open, blocks, activeTurnIsWorking]
+    () => (open ? buildEditCards(blocks) : NO_EDIT_CARDS),
+    [open, blocks]
   )
   const ActiveToolIcon =
     latestActiveCall && COMMAND_TOOL_NAMES.has(normalizedToolName(latestActiveCall.name))
diff --git a/src/shared/native-chat-begin-patch.ts b/src/shared/native-chat-begin-patch.ts
index f409108d188..4598157288b 100644
--- a/src/shared/native-chat-begin-patch.ts
+++ b/src/shared/native-chat-begin-patch.ts
@@ -8,15 +8,12 @@ const MOVE_HEADER = /^\*\*\* Move to: (.+)$/
 /** Envelope structure that carries no file content of its own. */
 const CONTROL_LINE = /^\*\*\* (?:End of File|Environment ID:)/
 
-/** The envelope reaches a tool call as one of its argument values, either whole
- *  or as an element of the argument vector the agent runs. Recover its text. */
+/** The envelope reaches a command tool as one of its patch or command
+ *  arguments, either whole or as one word of the argument vector it runs.
+ *  Recover its text. Callers must gate this on the tool being one that runs a
+ *  patch: a file's own contents may quote an envelope. */
 export function unwrapBeginPatch(input: unknown): string | null {
-  const source =
-    typeof input === 'string'
-      ? input
-      : typeof input === 'object' && input !== null
-        ? envelopeArgument(input as Record<string, unknown>)
-        : null
+  const source = envelopeSource(input)
   if (!source) {
     return null
   }
@@ -34,10 +31,43 @@ export function unwrapBeginPatch(input: unknown): string | null {
   return source.slice(start, end + END.length)
 }
 
-/** Any argument value may hold the envelope, including one word of an argument
- *  vector, so look at the values rather than guessing at key names. */
+/** The arguments that carry a patch or the command line that applies one. Only
+ *  these are searched: any other value is data the tool operates on, and a file
+ *  whose own contents quote an envelope would otherwise be read as a patch
+ *  against some other file entirely. */
+const ENVELOPE_ARGUMENTS = ['input', 'command', 'patch', 'arguments', 'script'] as const
+
+/** The call payload may itself be a string holding JSON. Decoding it here, in
+ *  the one consumer that needs its structure, keeps every other reader of the
+ *  call input seeing exactly what the provider sent. */
+function envelopeSource(input: unknown): string | null {
+  if (typeof input === 'string') {
+    const record = jsonRecord(input)
+    return record ? envelopeArgument(record) : input
+  }
+  return typeof input === 'object' && input !== null
+    ? envelopeArgument(input as Record<string, unknown>)
+    : null
+}
+
+function jsonRecord(value: string): Record<string, unknown> | null {
+  if (!value.trimStart().startsWith('{')) {
+    return null
+  }
+  try {
+    const parsed: unknown = JSON.parse(value)
+    return typeof parsed === 'object' && parsed !== null && !Array.isArray(parsed)
+      ? (parsed as Record<string, unknown>)
+      : null
+  } catch {
+    return null
+  }
+}
+
+/** A command tool's argument is a vector, so the envelope sits one level in. */
 function envelopeArgument(record: Record<string, unknown>): string | null {
-  for (const value of Object.values(record)) {
+  for (const key of ENVELOPE_ARGUMENTS) {
+    const value = record[key]
     if (typeof value === 'string' && value.includes(BEGIN)) {
       return value
     }
@@ -104,21 +134,19 @@ export function editFilesFromBeginPatch(envelope: string): NativeChatEditFile[]
         })
       ]
     }
-    // The first chunk of an update may carry no hunk header at all, and a file
-    // whose body cannot be read as a hunk would otherwise vanish from a
-    // multi-file envelope with nothing to say it was dropped.
+    // The first chunk of an update may carry no hunk header at all, and a
+    // section may carry no body either. The envelope named the file, so it is
+    // reported with whatever rows it has rather than dropped from a multi-file
+    // envelope with nothing to say it went missing.
     const parsed = editLinesFromUnifiedPatch(body, { implicitFirstHunk: true })
-    if (!parsed) {
-      return []
-    }
     return [
       finalizeEditFile({
         path: moved ?? section.path,
         oldPath: moved ? section.path : null,
         changeKind: moved ? 'renamed' : 'edited',
-        lines: parsed.lines,
-        lineNumbersKnown: parsed.lineNumbersKnown,
-        truncated: parsed.truncated
+        lines: parsed?.lines ?? [],
+        lineNumbersKnown: parsed?.lineNumbersKnown ?? false,
+        truncated: parsed?.truncated ?? false
       })
     ]
   })
diff --git a/src/shared/native-chat-edit-normalize.test.ts b/src/shared/native-chat-edit-normalize.test.ts
index 0fd64b1ab02..4f834185bbc 100644
--- a/src/shared/native-chat-edit-normalize.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/native-chat-edit-normalize.test.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@ import { unwrapBeginPatch } from './native-chat-begin-patch'
 const gutter = (files: ReturnType<typeof editFilesFromToolPair>): (number | null)[] =>
   (files ?? []).flatMap((file) => file.lines.map((line) => unifiedLineNumber(line)))
 
+/** A card takes evidence the edit landed, so these cases report the call as
+ *  complete. Cases about the lifecycle itself pass their own state. */
+const settledFiles = (
+  pair: Parameters<typeof editFilesFromToolPair>[0]
+): ReturnType<typeof editFilesFromToolPair> =>
+  editFilesFromToolPair({ state: 'completed', ...pair })
+
 describe('editLinesFromUnifiedPatch', () => {
   it('numbers deletes from the old side and adds from the new side', () => {
     const parsed = editLinesFromUnifiedPatch('@@ -12,3 +12,3 @@\n ctx\n-was\n+now\n tail')
@@ -115,13 +122,13 @@ describe('unwrapBeginPatch', () => {
   it('declines an envelope with no closing marker rather than swallowing the command line', () => {
     const command = 'bash -c "*** Begin Patch\n*** Update File: a.ts\n@@\n-x\n+y" && echo ok'
     expect(unwrapBeginPatch(command)).toBeNull()
-    expect(editFilesFromToolPair({ name: 'shell', input: command })).toBeNull()
+    expect(settledFiles({ name: 'shell', input: command })).toBeNull()
   })
 })
 
 describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   it('renders an apply_patch run through a command tool, which produced no diff', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'exec',
       input: {
         command: [
@@ -141,7 +148,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('numbers an added file from 1', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'exec',
       input: '*** Begin Patch\n*** Add File: new.ts\n+one\n+two\n*** End Patch'
     })
@@ -151,7 +158,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('keeps a file whose update body carries no hunk header', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'apply_patch',
       input: {
         input:
@@ -164,7 +171,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('does not render envelope control lines as file content', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'apply_patch',
       input: {
         input:
@@ -175,7 +182,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('reports a delete that names the file and carries no body', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'apply_patch',
       input: { input: '*** Begin Patch\n*** Delete File: gone.ts\n*** End Patch' }
     })
@@ -186,7 +193,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('reads a CRLF envelope, whose markers otherwise match nothing', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'apply_patch',
       input: {
         input:
@@ -199,7 +206,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('marks the break between resolved hunks that sit far apart', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'Edit',
       input: { file_path: '/repo/a.ts' },
       result: {
@@ -220,7 +227,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('reads a move header as a rename', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'exec',
       input:
         '*** Begin Patch\n*** Update File: old.ts\n*** Move to: new.ts\n@@\n-a\n+b\n*** End Patch'
@@ -231,7 +238,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('interleaves a Claude snippet pair without claiming line positions', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'Edit',
       input: {
         file_path: '/repo/a.ts',
@@ -244,7 +251,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('prefers the resolved hunks on the result over the snippet pair', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'Edit',
       input: { file_path: '/repo/a.ts', old_string: 'was', new_string: 'now' },
       result: {
@@ -267,7 +274,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('treats a Write the provider reported as a creation as an added file', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'Write',
       input: { file_path: '/repo/new.ts', content: 'one\ntwo\n' },
       result: { output: 'File created successfully at: /repo/new.ts' }
@@ -277,14 +284,14 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('does not claim a creation for a Write over an existing file', () => {
-    const overwrite = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const overwrite = settledFiles({
       name: 'Write',
       input: { file_path: '/repo/a.ts', content: 'one\ntwo\n' },
       result: { output: 'The file /repo/a.ts has been updated.' }
     })
     expect(overwrite?.[0]?.changeKind).toBe('edited')
     // With no result at all there is no evidence of a creation either.
-    const unreported = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const unreported = settledFiles({
       name: 'Write',
       input: { file_path: '/repo/a.ts', content: 'one\n' }
     })
@@ -292,7 +299,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('reads a MultiEdit, whose snippet pairs sit in edits[]', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'MultiEdit',
       input: {
         file_path: '/repo/a.ts',
@@ -321,7 +328,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('drops the gutter numbers whenever they locate a snippet rather than the file', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'Edit',
       input: { file_path: '/repo/a.ts', old_string: 'keep\nwas', new_string: 'keep\nnow' }
     })
@@ -335,14 +342,14 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   it('renders no card for an edit the provider rejected or has not landed', () => {
     const failedInput = { file_path: '/repo/a.ts', old_string: 'missing', new_string: 'now' }
     expect(
-      editFilesFromToolPair({
+      settledFiles({
         name: 'Edit',
         input: failedInput,
         result: { output: 'String to replace not found in file.', isError: true }
       })
     ).toBeNull()
     expect(
-      editFilesFromToolPair({
+      settledFiles({
         name: 'apply_patch',
         input: {
           changes: [{ path: 'a.ts', kind: { type: 'update' }, diff: '@@ -1 +1 @@\n-a\n+b' }]
@@ -350,20 +357,20 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
         state: 'failed'
       })
     ).toBeNull()
-    expect(editFilesFromToolPair({ name: 'Edit', input: failedInput, state: 'running' })).toBeNull()
+    expect(settledFiles({ name: 'Edit', input: failedInput, state: 'running' })).toBeNull()
   })
 
   it('does not read a command tool result as a file edit', () => {
     const patch = 'diff --git a/a.ts b/a.ts\n--- a/a.ts\n+++ b/a.ts\n@@ -1 +1 @@\n-was\n+now'
     expect(
-      editFilesFromToolPair({
+      settledFiles({
         name: 'exec',
         input: { command: 'git diff' },
         result: { output: patch }
       })
     ).toBeNull()
     // The structured journal's `Diff` item carries its patch only on the result.
-    const diffed = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const diffed = settledFiles({
       name: 'Diff',
       input: { path: '/repo/a.ts' },
       result: { output: patch }
@@ -373,7 +380,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('reports truncation when the content runs past the character cap', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'Write',
       input: { file_path: '/repo/a.ts', content: `${'x'.repeat(MAX_EDIT_CHARS)}\nlast\n` }
     })
@@ -383,7 +390,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('reads Codex structured changes, stripping the move marker from the body', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'apply_patch',
       input: {
         changes: [
@@ -401,7 +408,7 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
   })
 
   it('reads a Codex add change, which arrives as raw content with no hunk header', () => {
-    const files = editFilesFromToolPair({
+    const files = settledFiles({
       name: 'apply_patch',
       input: { changes: [{ path: 'new.ts', kind: { type: 'add' }, diff: 'one\ntwo' }] }
     })
@@ -409,8 +416,67 @@ describe('editFilesFromToolPair', () => {
     expect(files?.[0]?.added).toBe(2)
   })
 
+  it('renders the file a write actually wrote, not one its content quotes', () => {
+    const files = settledFiles({
+      name: 'Write',
+      input: {
+        file_path: 'docs/patch-format.md',
+        content:
+          'Example:\n\n*** Begin Patch\n*** Update File: src/victim.ts\n@@\n-a\n+b\n*** End Patch\n'
+      },
+      result: { output: 'File created successfully at: docs/patch-format.md' }
+    })
+    expect(files?.map((file) => file.path)).toEqual(['docs/patch-format.md'])
+    expect(files?.[0]?.lines.some((line) => line.text.includes('Begin Patch'))).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('finds an envelope in a command payload that arrived as JSON text', () => {
+    const envelope = '*** Begin Patch\n*** Update File: src/a.ts\n@@\n-was\n+now\n*** End Patch'
+    const files = settledFiles({
+      name: 'shell',
+      input: JSON.stringify({ command: ['bash', '-lc', envelope], workdir: '/repo' })
+    })
+    expect(files?.[0]?.path).toBe('src/a.ts')
+    expect(files?.[0]?.added).toBe(1)
+  })
+
+  it('renders no card for a call the turn never answered', () => {
+    const input = { file_path: '/repo/a.ts', old_string: 'was', new_string: 'now' }
+    // No lifecycle and no result: nothing says the edit was applied.
+    expect(editFilesFromToolPair({ name: 'Edit', input })).toBeNull()
+    expect(editFilesFromToolPair({ name: 'Edit', input, state: 'completed' })).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(editFilesFromToolPair({ name: 'Edit', input, result: { output: 'ok' } })).toHaveLength(1)
+  })
+
+  it('splits a multi-file patch into one card per file', () => {
+    const files = settledFiles({
+      name: 'Diff',
+      input: { path: '/repo/one.ts' },
+      result: {
+        output:
+          'diff --git a/one.ts b/one.ts\n--- a/one.ts\n+++ b/one.ts\n@@ -1,1 +1,1 @@\n-first\n+FIRST\n' +
+          'diff --git a/two.ts b/two.ts\n--- a/two.ts\n+++ b/two.ts\n@@ -10,1 +10,1 @@\n-second\n+SECOND'
+      }
+    })
+    expect(files?.map((file) => file.path)).toEqual(['one.ts', 'two.ts'])
+    expect(files?.[0]?.lines.map((line) => line.text)).toEqual(['first', 'FIRST'])
+    expect(gutter(files?.slice(1))).toEqual([10, 10])
+  })
+
+  it('keeps a file whose envelope section carries no body at all', () => {
+    const files = settledFiles({
+      name: 'apply_patch',
+      input: {
+        input:
+          '*** Begin Patch\n*** Update File: first.ts\n@@\n-a\n+b\n*** Update File: second.ts\n*** Update File: third.ts\n@@\n-c\n+d\n*** End Patch'
+      }
+    })
+    expect(files?.map((file) => file.path)).toEqual(['first.ts', 'second.ts', 'third.ts'])
+    expect(files?.[1]?.lines).toEqual([])
+  })
+
   it('returns null for a tool that did not edit a file', () => {
-    expect(editFilesFromToolPair({ name: 'Bash', input: { command: 'ls' } })).toBeNull()
+    expect(settledFiles({ name: 'Bash', input: { command: 'ls' } })).toBeNull()
     expect(isEditToolName('Bash')).toBe(false)
     expect(isEditToolName('Edit')).toBe(true)
   })
diff --git a/src/shared/native-chat-edit-normalize.ts b/src/shared/native-chat-edit-normalize.ts
index 6e2f8b610c0..e25d43a79bf 100644
--- a/src/shared/native-chat-edit-normalize.ts
+++ b/src/shared/native-chat-edit-normalize.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ import {
   type NativeChatEditFile,
   type NativeChatEditLine
 } from './native-chat-edit-model'
-import { editLinesFromUnifiedPatch, editLinesFromWholeFile } from './native-chat-unified-patch'
+import {
+  editLinesFromUnifiedPatch,
+  editLinesFromWholeFile,
+  unifiedPatchSections
+} from './native-chat-unified-patch'
 import type { NativeChatEditPatch } from './native-chat-types'
 
 // `NotebookEdit` is deliberately absent: its input carries only the new cell
@@ -66,7 +70,10 @@ function linesFromEditPatch(patch: NativeChatEditPatch): NativeChatEditLine[] {
 }
 
 /** A whole-content write looks identical whether it created the file or
- *  overwrote one, so only positive evidence may claim a creation. */
+ *  overwrote one, so only positive evidence may claim a creation. With no
+ *  evidence either way this errs toward the weaker claim: calling a creation an
+ *  edit is imprecise, while calling an overwrite a creation is false and paints
+ *  an existing file as wholly new. */
 const CREATED_FILE_RESULT = /^\s*File created successfully/
 
 function wholeContentChangeKind(
@@ -210,11 +217,16 @@ export function editFilesFromToolPair(pair: {
   state?: 'running' | 'completed' | 'failed'
   result?: { output?: string; isError?: boolean; editPatch?: NativeChatEditPatch }
 }): NativeChatEditFile[] | null {
-  // A card states the edit as made. An edit that failed or has not landed yet
-  // must keep the generic tool view, which shows the provider's own error.
+  // A card states the edit as made, so it takes evidence that it landed: the
+  // provider reporting the call complete, or a result that is not an error.
+  // Anything else — failed, still running, or a turn that stopped before the
+  // call was answered — keeps the generic tool view and its error body.
   if (pair.state === 'failed' || pair.state === 'running' || pair.result?.isError === true) {
     return null
   }
+  if (pair.state !== 'completed' && pair.result === undefined) {
+    return null
+  }
   const input = record(pair.input)
   const patch = pair.result?.editPatch
   if (patch && patch.hunks.length > 0) {
@@ -229,9 +241,12 @@ export function editFilesFromToolPair(pair: {
     ]
   }
 
-  const envelope = unwrapBeginPatch(pair.input)
-  if (envelope) {
-    const files = editFilesFromBeginPatch(envelope)
+  // Only a tool that runs a patch may be searched for an envelope: a file's own
+  // contents can quote one, and scanning a write's payload rendered a card for
+  // the quoted file while the file actually written never appeared.
+  if (PATCH_ENVELOPE_TOOLS.has(pair.name)) {
+    const envelope = unwrapBeginPatch(pair.input)
+    const files = envelope ? editFilesFromBeginPatch(envelope) : []
     if (files.length > 0) {
       return files
     }
@@ -259,18 +274,31 @@ export function editFilesFromToolPair(pair: {
   if (!patchText) {
     return null
   }
-  const parsed = editLinesFromUnifiedPatch(patchText)
-  if (!parsed) {
-    return null
-  }
-  return [
-    finalizeEditFile({
-      path: text(input?.path) ?? text(input?.file_path) ?? 'file',
-      oldPath: null,
-      changeKind: 'edited',
-      lines: parsed.lines,
-      lineNumbersKnown: parsed.lineNumbersKnown,
-      truncated: parsed.truncated
-    })
-  ]
+  // One card per file the patch touches: run together, the later files' rows
+  // and gutter numbers sit under the first file's name.
+  const split = unifiedPatchSections(patchText)
+  const callerPath = text(input?.path) ?? text(input?.file_path)
+  // For a single-file patch the call names the file it is reporting on, which
+  // is the provider's own path. A multi-file patch has no one path, so each
+  // section is named by its own header.
+  const named = (section: { path: string | null }): string =>
+    (split.sections.length === 1 ? (callerPath ?? section.path) : (section.path ?? callerPath)) ??
+    'file'
+  const files = split.sections.flatMap((section) => {
+    const parsed = editLinesFromUnifiedPatch(section.body)
+    if (!parsed && section.path === null) {
+      return []
+    }
+    return [
+      finalizeEditFile({
+        path: named(section),
+        oldPath: section.oldPath,
+        changeKind: section.changeKind,
+        lines: parsed?.lines ?? [],
+        lineNumbersKnown: parsed?.lineNumbersKnown ?? false,
+        truncated: split.truncated || (parsed?.truncated ?? false)
+      })
+    ]
+  })
+  return files.length > 0 ? files : null
 }
diff --git a/src/shared/native-chat-unified-patch.ts b/src/shared/native-chat-unified-patch.ts
index b2eb6df73c6..d00000c69c0 100644
--- a/src/shared/native-chat-unified-patch.ts
+++ b/src/shared/native-chat-unified-patch.ts
@@ -105,6 +105,131 @@ export function editLinesFromUnifiedPatch(
   return { lines, lineNumbersKnown: ranged, truncated: source.truncated }
 }
 
+const GIT_DIFF_HEADER = 'diff --git '
+
+export type UnifiedPatchSection = {
+  /** Null when the patch text named no file, leaving it to the caller. */
+  path: string | null
+  oldPath: string | null
+  changeKind: 'added' | 'deleted' | 'edited' | 'renamed'
+  body: string
+}
+
+type Section = {
+  rows: string[]
+  oldPath: string | null
+  newPath: string | null
+  named: boolean
+  /** A `--- `/`+++ ` pair already named this section, so the next one is a new file. */
+  hasHeaderPair: boolean
+}
+
+/** Splits patch text into one section per file it touches. Without this a
+ *  multi-file patch renders as a single card under the first file's name, with
+ *  the later files' rows and gutter numbers beneath it. */
+export function unifiedPatchSections(text: string): {
+  sections: UnifiedPatchSection[]
+  truncated: boolean
+} {
+  const source = splitEditContent(text)
+  const rows = source.lines
+  const sections: Section[] = []
+  let current: Section | null = null
+  let inHunk = false
+
+  const open = (): Section => {
+    const section: Section = {
+      rows: [],
+      oldPath: null,
+      newPath: null,
+      named: false,
+      hasHeaderPair: false
+    }
+    sections.push(section)
+    current = section
+    return section
+  }
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < rows.length; index += 1) {
+    const raw = rows[index] ?? ''
+    if (raw.startsWith(GIT_DIFF_HEADER)) {
+      const paths = gitHeaderPaths(raw)
+      const section = open()
+      section.oldPath = paths.oldPath
+      section.newPath = paths.newPath
+      section.named = true
+      inHunk = false
+      continue
+    }
+    // The same rule the parser uses: a header pair is structure only outside a
+    // hunk, where `--- ` would otherwise be a removed line beginning with `--`.
+    if (!inHunk && isFileHeaderPair(rows, index)) {
+      // The pair names the section a `diff --git` just opened; a second pair in
+      // the same section is the next file of a patch written without them.
+      const section = current && !current.hasHeaderPair ? current : open()
+      section.oldPath = sourceHeaderPath(rows[index] ?? '')
+      section.newPath = sourceHeaderPath(rows[index + 1] ?? '')
+      section.named = true
+      section.hasHeaderPair = true
+      index += 1
+      continue
+    }
+    if (raw.startsWith('@@')) {
+      inHunk = true
+    } else if (FILE_SECTION.test(raw)) {
+      inHunk = false
+    }
+    ;(current ?? open()).rows.push(raw)
+  }
+
+  return {
+    sections: sections.map((section) => ({
+      path: section.newPath ?? section.oldPath,
+      oldPath:
+        section.oldPath && section.newPath && section.oldPath !== section.newPath
+          ? section.oldPath
+          : null,
+      changeKind: sectionChangeKind(section),
+      body: section.rows.join('\n')
+    })),
+    truncated: source.truncated
+  }
+}
+
+function sectionChangeKind(section: Section): UnifiedPatchSection['changeKind'] {
+  if (!section.named) {
+    return 'edited'
+  }
+  if (section.newPath === null) {
+    return 'deleted'
+  }
+  if (section.oldPath === null) {
+    return 'added'
+  }
+  return section.oldPath === section.newPath ? 'edited' : 'renamed'
+}
+
+/** `--- a/<path>` / `+++ b/<path>`, where the absent side is `/dev/null` and a
+ *  trailing tab introduces the timestamp some producers append. */
+function sourceHeaderPath(line: string): string | null {
+  const value = (line.slice(4).split('\t')[0] ?? '').trim()
+  return value === '' || value === '/dev/null' ? null : value.replace(/^[ab]\//, '')
+}
+
+function gitHeaderPaths(line: string): { oldPath: string | null; newPath: string | null } {
+  const rest = line.slice(GIT_DIFF_HEADER.length)
+  // Both halves carry the same path unless the file moved, so the second one
+  // starts at the last ` b/` rather than at the first space.
+  const split = rest.lastIndexOf(' b/')
+  if (split === -1) {
+    return { oldPath: null, newPath: null }
+  }
+  return {
+    oldPath: rest.slice(0, split).replace(/^a\//, ''),
+    newPath: rest.slice(split + 1).replace(/^b\//, '')
+  }
+}
+
 /** Rows for a whole-file add or delete, which legitimately number from 1. */
 export function editLinesFromWholeFile(
   content: string,