diff --git a/src/main/codex-accounts/runtime-home-service.test.ts b/src/main/codex-accounts/runtime-home-service.test.ts
index d820830af8c..ef3ccbfbde4 100644
--- a/src/main/codex-accounts/runtime-home-service.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/codex-accounts/runtime-home-service.test.ts
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ function createSettings(overrides: Partial<GlobalSettings> = {}): GlobalSettings
     experimentalPet: false,
     experimentalActivity: true,
     experimentalWorktreeSymlinks: false,
+    terminalMacrosEnabled: false,
     terminalWindowsShell: 'powershell.exe',
     terminalWindowsPowerShellImplementation: 'powershell.exe',
     enableGitHubAttribution: true,
diff --git a/src/main/codex-accounts/service.test.ts b/src/main/codex-accounts/service.test.ts
index f59ff778b07..74dc3ebd2d8 100644
--- a/src/main/codex-accounts/service.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/codex-accounts/service.test.ts
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ function createSettings(overrides: Partial<GlobalSettings> = {}): GlobalSettings
     experimentalPet: false,
     experimentalActivity: true,
     experimentalWorktreeSymlinks: false,
+    terminalMacrosEnabled: false,
     terminalWindowsShell: 'powershell.exe',
     terminalWindowsPowerShellImplementation: 'powershell.exe',
     enableGitHubAttribution: true,
diff --git a/src/main/persistence.test.ts b/src/main/persistence.test.ts
index b3f83758067..9785cf3c79b 100644
--- a/src/main/persistence.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/persistence.test.ts
@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ describe('Store', () => {
     expect(settings.openInApplications).toEqual([])
     expect(settings.experimentalActivity).toBe(false)
     expect(settings.experimentalActivityDefaultedOffForAllUsers).toBe(true)
+    expect(settings.terminalMacrosEnabled).toBe(false)
     expect(settings.floatingTerminalEnabled).toBe(true)
     expect(settings.floatingTerminalDefaultedForAllUsers).toBe(true)
     expect(settings.notifications.customSoundPath).toBeNull()
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/ExperimentalPane.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/ExperimentalPane.tsx
index 6e8eefaa2ad..b02e25a89e0 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/ExperimentalPane.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/ExperimentalPane.tsx
@@ -156,19 +156,43 @@ export function ExperimentalPane({
           description="Named terminal launch presets available from the new-tab menu."
           keywords={EXPERIMENTAL_SEARCH_ENTRY.terminalMacros.keywords}
           className="space-y-3 px-1 py-2"
+          id="terminal-macros"
         >
-          <div className="space-y-1.5">
-            <Label>Terminal Macros</Label>
-            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-              Define named terminal launch presets that open a new tab, optionally create a split
-              right or down, and seed each pane with startup text. This remains experimental and
-              currently only appears in the tab-bar new-tab menu.
-            </p>
+          <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-4">
+            <div className="min-w-0 shrink space-y-1.5">
+              <Label>Terminal Macros</Label>
+              <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+                Define named terminal launch presets that open a new tab, optionally create a split
+                right or down, and seed the new terminal with startup text. This remains
+                experimental and appears in the tab-bar new-tab menu only when enabled.
+              </p>
+            </div>
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              role="switch"
+              aria-checked={settings.terminalMacrosEnabled}
+              onClick={() =>
+                updateSettings({
+                  terminalMacrosEnabled: !settings.terminalMacrosEnabled
+                })
+              }
+              className={`relative inline-flex h-5 w-9 shrink-0 cursor-pointer items-center rounded-full border border-transparent transition-colors ${
+                settings.terminalMacrosEnabled ? 'bg-foreground' : 'bg-muted-foreground/30'
+              }`}
+            >
+              <span
+                className={`inline-block h-3.5 w-3.5 transform rounded-full bg-background shadow-sm transition-transform ${
+                  settings.terminalMacrosEnabled ? 'translate-x-4' : 'translate-x-0.5'
+                }`}
+              />
+            </button>
           </div>
-          <TerminalMacrosSection
-            macros={settings.terminalMacros ?? []}
-            onChange={(terminalMacros) => updateSettings({ terminalMacros })}
-          />
+          {settings.terminalMacrosEnabled ? (
+            <TerminalMacrosSection
+              macros={settings.terminalMacros ?? []}
+              onChange={(terminalMacros) => updateSettings({ terminalMacros })}
+            />
+          ) : null}
         </SearchableSetting>
       ) : null}
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/TerminalMacrosSection.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/TerminalMacrosSection.tsx
index c3b8d63c186..107c886e7f2 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/TerminalMacrosSection.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/TerminalMacrosSection.tsx
@@ -34,9 +34,7 @@ export function TerminalMacrosSection({
   onChange
 }: TerminalMacrosSectionProps): React.JSX.Element {
   const [editor, setEditor] = useState<EditorState>(null)
-  const visibleMacros = macros.filter(
-    (macro) => macro.name.trim() || macro.command.trimEnd() || macro.splitCommand?.trimEnd()
-  )
+  const visibleMacros = macros.filter((macro) => macro.name.trim() || macro.command.trimEnd())
 
   const saveMacro = (next: TerminalMacro): void => {
     if (editor?.mode === 'edit') {
@@ -83,7 +81,7 @@ export function TerminalMacrosSection({
                     <Badge variant="outline">{layoutLabel(macro.layout)}</Badge>
                   </div>
                   <div className="truncate font-mono text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-                    {macro.command || macro.splitCommand || 'Opens an idle shell'}
+                    {macro.command || 'Opens an idle shell'}
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 <Button
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/experimental-search.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/experimental-search.ts
index cac0bafc0fd..8bffd748cd3 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/experimental-search.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/experimental-search.ts
@@ -51,12 +51,14 @@ export const EXPERIMENTAL_PANE_SEARCH_ENTRIES: SettingsSearchEntry[] = [
   {
     title: 'Terminal Macros',
     description:
-      'Named terminal launch presets that open a tab and optional startup split from the new-tab menu.',
+      'Experimental toggle for named terminal launch presets that open a tab and optional startup split from the new-tab menu.',
     keywords: [
       'experimental',
       'terminal',
       'macro',
       'macros',
+      'toggle',
+      'enable',
       'launch',
       'preset',
       'split',
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBar.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBar.tsx
index 33f2cb41264..4ba97d0447c 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBar.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/TabBar.tsx
@@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ function TabBarInner({
   const defaultWindowsPowerShellImplementation = useAppStore(
     (s) => s.settings?.terminalWindowsPowerShellImplementation ?? 'auto'
   )
+  const terminalMacrosEnabled = useAppStore((s) => s.settings?.terminalMacrosEnabled === true)
   const terminalMacros = useAppStore((s) => s.settings?.terminalMacros ?? [])
   const openSettingsPage = useAppStore((s) => s.openSettingsPage)
   const openSettingsTarget = useAppStore((s) => s.openSettingsTarget)
@@ -170,8 +171,9 @@ function TabBarInner({
   }, [])
   const resolvedGroupId = groupId ?? worktreeId
   const launchableTerminalMacros = useMemo(
-    () => terminalMacros.filter((macro) => macro.name.trim().length > 0),
-    [terminalMacros]
+    () =>
+      terminalMacrosEnabled ? terminalMacros.filter((macro) => macro.name.trim().length > 0) : [],
+    [terminalMacros, terminalMacrosEnabled]
   )
 
   const statusByRelativePath = useMemo(
@@ -588,55 +590,54 @@ function TabBarInner({
               />
             </>
           ) : null}
-          <DropdownMenuSeparator />
-          <DropdownMenuSub>
-            <DropdownMenuSubTrigger className="gap-2 rounded-[7px] px-2 py-1.5 text-[12px] leading-5 font-medium">
-              <TerminalSquare className="size-4 text-muted-foreground" />
-              Macros
-            </DropdownMenuSubTrigger>
-            <DropdownMenuSubContent className="min-w-[15rem] rounded-[11px] border-border/80 p-1 shadow-[0_16px_36px_rgba(0,0,0,0.24)]">
-              {launchableTerminalMacros.length === 0 ? (
-                <DropdownMenuItem
-                  disabled
-                  className="gap-2 rounded-[7px] px-2 py-1.5 text-[12px] leading-5 text-muted-foreground"
-                >
-                  No macros saved
-                </DropdownMenuItem>
-              ) : (
-                launchableTerminalMacros.map((macro) => (
-                  <DropdownMenuItem
-                    key={macro.id}
-                    onSelect={() => {
-                      const launched = launchTerminalMacro({
-                        macro,
-                        worktreeId,
-                        groupId: resolvedGroupId
-                      })
-                      if (launched) {
-                        focusTerminalTabSurface(launched.tabId)
-                      }
-                    }}
-                    className="gap-2 rounded-[7px] px-2 py-1.5 text-[12px] leading-5 font-medium"
-                    title={`Run ${macro.name}`}
-                  >
-                    <TerminalSquare className="size-4 text-muted-foreground" />
-                    <span className="flex-1 truncate">{macro.name}</span>
-                  </DropdownMenuItem>
-                ))
-              )}
+          {launchableTerminalMacros.length > 0 ? (
+            <>
               <DropdownMenuSeparator />
-              <DropdownMenuItem
-                onSelect={() => {
-                  openSettingsTarget({ pane: 'terminal', repoId: null, sectionId: 'macros' })
-                  openSettingsPage()
-                }}
-                className="gap-2 rounded-[7px] px-2 py-1.5 text-[12px] leading-5 font-medium text-muted-foreground"
-              >
-                <SettingsIcon className="size-4" />
-                Manage Macros…
-              </DropdownMenuItem>
-            </DropdownMenuSubContent>
-          </DropdownMenuSub>
+              <DropdownMenuSub>
+                <DropdownMenuSubTrigger className="gap-2 rounded-[7px] px-2 py-1.5 text-[12px] leading-5 font-medium">
+                  <TerminalSquare className="size-4 text-muted-foreground" />
+                  Macros
+                </DropdownMenuSubTrigger>
+                <DropdownMenuSubContent className="min-w-[15rem] rounded-[11px] border-border/80 p-1 shadow-[0_16px_36px_rgba(0,0,0,0.24)]">
+                  {launchableTerminalMacros.map((macro) => (
+                    <DropdownMenuItem
+                      key={macro.id}
+                      onSelect={() => {
+                        const launched = launchTerminalMacro({
+                          macro,
+                          worktreeId,
+                          groupId: resolvedGroupId
+                        })
+                        if (launched) {
+                          focusTerminalTabSurface(launched.tabId)
+                        }
+                      }}
+                      className="gap-2 rounded-[7px] px-2 py-1.5 text-[12px] leading-5 font-medium"
+                      title={`Run ${macro.name}`}
+                    >
+                      <TerminalSquare className="size-4 text-muted-foreground" />
+                      <span className="flex-1 truncate">{macro.name}</span>
+                    </DropdownMenuItem>
+                  ))}
+                  <DropdownMenuSeparator />
+                  <DropdownMenuItem
+                    onSelect={() => {
+                      openSettingsTarget({
+                        pane: 'experimental',
+                        repoId: null,
+                        sectionId: 'terminal-macros'
+                      })
+                      openSettingsPage()
+                    }}
+                    className="gap-2 rounded-[7px] px-2 py-1.5 text-[12px] leading-5 font-medium text-muted-foreground"
+                  >
+                    <SettingsIcon className="size-4" />
+                    Manage Macros…
+                  </DropdownMenuItem>
+                </DropdownMenuSubContent>
+              </DropdownMenuSub>
+            </>
+          ) : null}
         </DropdownMenuContent>
       </DropdownMenu>
     </div>
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/terminal-macros/TerminalMacroDialog.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/terminal-macros/TerminalMacroDialog.tsx
index 0bc73f396c4..14b10c8cc5d 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/terminal-macros/TerminalMacroDialog.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/terminal-macros/TerminalMacroDialog.tsx
@@ -30,9 +30,7 @@ export function createTerminalMacroDraft(): TerminalMacro {
     name: '',
     layout: 'tab',
     command: '',
-    appendEnter: true,
-    splitCommand: '',
-    splitAppendEnter: true
+    appendEnter: true
   }
 }
 
@@ -58,13 +56,7 @@ export function TerminalMacroDialog({
       name: draft.name.trim(),
       command: draft.command.trimEnd(),
       layout: nextLayout,
-      appendEnter: draft.appendEnter !== false,
-      ...(nextLayout === 'tab'
-        ? { splitCommand: '', splitAppendEnter: true }
-        : {
-            splitCommand: draft.splitCommand?.trimEnd() ?? '',
-            splitAppendEnter: draft.splitAppendEnter !== false
-          })
+      appendEnter: draft.appendEnter !== false
     }
     if (!next.name) {
       return
@@ -74,7 +66,7 @@ export function TerminalMacroDialog({
   }
 
   const canSave = draft.name.trim().length > 0
-  const hasSplitPane = draft.layout !== 'tab'
+  const targetsSplitPane = draft.layout !== 'tab'
 
   return (
     <Dialog open={open} onOpenChange={onOpenChange}>
@@ -122,56 +114,39 @@ export function TerminalMacroDialog({
           </div>
 
           <div className="space-y-2">
-            <Label>Primary Pane Startup</Label>
+            <Label>{targetsSplitPane ? 'New Pane Startup' : 'Tab Startup'}</Label>
             <textarea
               value={draft.command}
               onChange={(event) =>
                 setDraft((current) => ({ ...current, command: event.target.value }))
               }
-              placeholder="codex --model gpt-5.5"
+              placeholder={targetsSplitPane ? 'npm run dev' : 'codex --model gpt-5.5'}
               rows={5}
               className="min-h-28 w-full resize-y rounded-md border border-input bg-transparent px-3 py-2 text-sm font-mono shadow-xs outline-none transition-[color,box-shadow] focus-visible:border-ring focus-visible:ring-[3px] focus-visible:ring-ring/50"
             />
+            {targetsSplitPane ? (
+              <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+                This startup text runs only in the newly created split pane. The original pane is
+                left alone.
+              </p>
+            ) : (
+              <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+                Optional startup text for the new tab.
+              </p>
+            )}
             <MacroAppendEnterToggle
               checked={draft.appendEnter !== false}
-              label="Submit primary pane"
-              description="Append Enter after the startup text."
+              label={targetsSplitPane ? 'Run new pane startup text' : 'Run tab startup text'}
+              description={
+                targetsSplitPane
+                  ? 'Press Enter after sending the new split pane text.'
+                  : 'Press Enter after sending the tab startup text.'
+              }
               onToggle={() =>
                 setDraft((current) => ({ ...current, appendEnter: !current.appendEnter }))
               }
             />
           </div>
-
-          {hasSplitPane ? (
-            <div className="space-y-2 rounded-lg border border-border/50 p-3">
-              <div className="space-y-1">
-                <Label>Split Pane Startup</Label>
-                <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-                  Leave blank to open the split as an idle shell.
-                </p>
-              </div>
-              <textarea
-                value={draft.splitCommand ?? ''}
-                onChange={(event) =>
-                  setDraft((current) => ({ ...current, splitCommand: event.target.value }))
-                }
-                placeholder="npm run dev"
-                rows={4}
-                className="min-h-24 w-full resize-y rounded-md border border-input bg-transparent px-3 py-2 text-sm font-mono shadow-xs outline-none transition-[color,box-shadow] focus-visible:border-ring focus-visible:ring-[3px] focus-visible:ring-ring/50"
-              />
-              <MacroAppendEnterToggle
-                checked={draft.splitAppendEnter !== false}
-                label="Submit split pane"
-                description="Append Enter after the split pane startup text."
-                onToggle={() =>
-                  setDraft((current) => ({
-                    ...current,
-                    splitAppendEnter: !current.splitAppendEnter
-                  }))
-                }
-              />
-            </div>
-          ) : null}
         </div>
 
         <DialogFooter>
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-terminal-macro.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-terminal-macro.test.ts
index 82f7a55b839..251241dc426 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-terminal-macro.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-terminal-macro.test.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ describe('launchTerminalMacro', () => {
     state.createTab.mockReturnValue({ id: 'tab-1', title: 'Terminal 1' })
   })
 
-  it('creates a named tab and queues the primary startup command', async () => {
+  it('creates a named tab and queues startup for tab macros', async () => {
     const { launchTerminalMacro } = await import('./launch-terminal-macro')
 
     const result = launchTerminalMacro({
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ describe('launchTerminalMacro', () => {
     expect(result).toEqual({ tabId: 'tab-1' })
   })
 
-  it('queues an initial split and preserves idle split shells when blank', async () => {
+  it('queues an initial split and sends startup only to the new split pane', async () => {
     const { launchTerminalMacro } = await import('./launch-terminal-macro')
 
     launchTerminalMacro({
@@ -70,17 +70,16 @@ describe('launchTerminalMacro', () => {
         id: 'macro-2',
         name: 'Dev stack',
         layout: 'split-right',
-        command: '',
-        appendEnter: true,
-        splitCommand: '',
-        splitAppendEnter: true
+        command: 'npm run dev',
+        appendEnter: true
       },
       worktreeId: 'wt-1'
     })
 
     expect(state.queueTabStartupCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
     expect(state.queueTabSetupSplit).toHaveBeenCalledWith('tab-1', {
-      direction: 'vertical'
+      direction: 'vertical',
+      command: 'npm run dev\r'
     })
   })
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-terminal-macro.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-terminal-macro.ts
index 8d1a03f9f47..8ebb07ebbf7 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-terminal-macro.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-terminal-macro.ts
@@ -24,19 +24,18 @@ export function launchTerminalMacro({
   store.setTabCustomTitle(tab.id, name)
 
   const command = macro.command.trimEnd()
-  if (command) {
+  if (command && macro.layout === 'tab') {
     store.queueTabStartupCommand(tab.id, {
       command: buildTerminalMacroInput(command, macro.appendEnter !== false)
     })
   }
 
   if (macro.layout === 'split-right' || macro.layout === 'split-down') {
-    const splitCommand = macro.splitCommand?.trimEnd() ?? ''
     store.queueTabSetupSplit(tab.id, {
       direction: macro.layout === 'split-right' ? 'vertical' : 'horizontal',
-      ...(splitCommand
+      ...(command
         ? {
-            command: buildTerminalMacroInput(splitCommand, macro.splitAppendEnter !== false)
+            command: buildTerminalMacroInput(command, macro.appendEnter !== false)
           }
         : {})
     })
diff --git a/src/shared/constants.ts b/src/shared/constants.ts
index b8c16a11b08..f684001f97c 100644
--- a/src/shared/constants.ts
+++ b/src/shared/constants.ts
@@ -192,6 +192,9 @@ export function getDefaultSettings(homedir: string): GlobalSettings {
     terminalWindowsPowerShellImplementation: 'auto',
     terminalMouseHideWhileTyping: false,
     terminalQuickCommands: getDefaultTerminalQuickCommands(),
+    // Why: terminal macros can auto-type into newly spawned terminals, so keep
+    // the experimental launcher hidden until the user explicitly opts in.
+    terminalMacrosEnabled: false,
     terminalMacros: getDefaultTerminalMacros(),
     // Default false: opt-in only (matches Ghostty's default). Existing users
     // on upgrade inherit this default via persistence.ts's
diff --git a/src/shared/terminal-macros.test.ts b/src/shared/terminal-macros.test.ts
index 26f772043c3..3df31b89952 100644
--- a/src/shared/terminal-macros.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/terminal-macros.test.ts
@@ -25,9 +25,7 @@ describe('normalizeTerminalMacros', () => {
         name: 'Codex review',
         layout: 'split-right',
         command: 'codex',
-        appendEnter: false,
-        splitCommand: 'npm run dev',
-        splitAppendEnter: true
+        appendEnter: false
       },
       {
         id: 'draft-row',
diff --git a/src/shared/terminal-macros.ts b/src/shared/terminal-macros.ts
index 6eafbf4565a..bf4b045a4c6 100644
--- a/src/shared/terminal-macros.ts
+++ b/src/shared/terminal-macros.ts
@@ -33,18 +33,16 @@ export function normalizeTerminalMacros(input: unknown): TerminalMacro[] {
     const record = item as Record<string, unknown>
     const rawId = typeof record.id === 'string' ? record.id.trim() : ''
     const hasName = typeof record.name === 'string'
-    const hasCommand = typeof record.command === 'string'
-    const hasSplitCommand = typeof record.splitCommand === 'string'
+    const hasAnyCommand = typeof record.command === 'string'
     // Why: settings saves on each edit; keep in-progress rows instead of
     // deleting them before the user has finished filling them out.
-    if (!hasName && !hasCommand && !hasSplitCommand) {
+    if (!hasName && !hasAnyCommand) {
       continue
     }
 
     const name = hasName ? String(record.name).trim() : ''
     const command = trimMacroText(record.command)
     const layout = normalizeTerminalMacroLayout(record.layout)
-    const splitCommand = trimMacroText(record.splitCommand)
 
     const idBase = rawId || `terminal-macro-${normalized.length + 1}`
     let id = idBase.slice(0, MAX_TERMINAL_MACRO_NAME_LENGTH)
@@ -60,13 +58,7 @@ export function normalizeTerminalMacros(input: unknown): TerminalMacro[] {
       name: name.slice(0, MAX_TERMINAL_MACRO_NAME_LENGTH),
       layout,
       command,
-      appendEnter: record.appendEnter !== false,
-      ...(layout !== 'tab' || splitCommand
-        ? {
-            splitCommand,
-            splitAppendEnter: record.splitAppendEnter !== false
-          }
-        : {})
+      appendEnter: record.appendEnter !== false
     })
 
     if (normalized.length >= MAX_TERMINAL_MACROS) {
diff --git a/src/shared/types.ts b/src/shared/types.ts
index 7e8cef00ad3..0834c4262d4 100644
--- a/src/shared/types.ts
+++ b/src/shared/types.ts
@@ -1400,8 +1400,6 @@ export type TerminalMacro = {
   layout: TerminalMacroLayout
   command: string
   appendEnter: boolean
-  splitCommand?: string
-  splitAppendEnter?: boolean
 }
 
 export type OpenInApplication = {
@@ -1471,6 +1469,7 @@ export type GlobalSettings = {
   terminalWordSeparator?: string
   terminalCursorOpacity?: number
   terminalQuickCommands?: TerminalQuickCommand[]
+  terminalMacrosEnabled: boolean
   terminalMacros?: TerminalMacro[]
   windowBackgroundBlur?: boolean
   /** Why: Windows terminals conventionally use right-click as a paste gesture.