diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-reveal-fit.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-reveal-fit.ts
index 759d9dacab7..a59a5337329 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-reveal-fit.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/pane-reveal-fit.ts
@@ -39,11 +39,11 @@ function proposedGridMatchesTerminal(pane: ManagedPane): boolean {
   }
 }
 
-function releaseMeasurableFitContinuations(pane: ManagedPane): void {
+function releaseMeasurableFitContinuations(pane: ManagedPane, measurable: boolean): void {
   // Why: no reflow needed, but a pane that mounted hidden can have replay/reattach
   // continuations parked on a measurable fit — release them (and any parked scroll
   // restore, mirroring safeFit's equal-dims path) now it is visible.
-  if (!canMeasurePaneForFit(pane)) {
+  if (!measurable) {
     return
   }
   resumePendingFitScrollRestoreAfterFit(pane.terminal)
@@ -63,10 +63,12 @@ function releaseMeasurableFitContinuations(pane: ManagedPane): void {
 //    mismatch refits but a transient metric wobble does not reflow;
 //  - grid already correct → leave it alone.
 export function fitRevealedPane(pane: ManagedPane): void {
+  // Hoisted: the measurability probe forces style+layout, so read it once per reveal.
+  const measurable = canMeasurePaneForFit(pane)
   // Why before the fit, not after: while the render service is latched, every
   // resize below parks the renderer half and composites the pre-hide backing
   // store into the new box. Measurable only — a hidden pane must stay paused.
-  if (canMeasurePaneForFit(pane)) {
+  if (measurable) {
     releaseRenderPauseLatch(pane.terminal)
   }
   // Why first: the checks below can both say "nothing to do" and return without
@@ -83,5 +85,5 @@ export function fitRevealedPane(pane: ManagedPane): void {
     requestStablePaneFit(pane)
     return
   }
-  releaseMeasurableFitContinuations(pane)
+  releaseMeasurableFitContinuations(pane, measurable)
 }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/terminal-render-pause-release.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/terminal-render-pause-release.ts
index e83642604cd..8f395eeec38 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/terminal-render-pause-release.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/pane-manager/terminal-render-pause-release.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 type MaybePausableRenderService = {
   _isPaused?: boolean
   _needsFullRefresh?: boolean
+  _pausedResizeTask?: { flush?: () => void }
   refreshRows?: (start: number, end: number, sync?: boolean) => void
 }
 
@@ -61,7 +62,17 @@ export function releaseRenderPauseLatch(terminal: unknown): boolean {
   if (!service || service._isPaused !== true) {
     return false
   }
-  service._isPaused = false
+  try {
+    // Why flush first: a resize parked while paused would otherwise replay on
+    // its own idle callback after the fit and trim the DOM renderer's row
+    // elements to stale args (paused-path `set()` used to overwrite it; the
+    // inline path no longer does). Replayed now, the fit's resize wins.
+    service._pausedResizeTask?.flush?.()
+    service._isPaused = false
+  } catch {
+    // Never throw into a render frame; a disposed renderer stays latched.
+    return false
+  }
   return true
 }
 
@@ -83,10 +94,13 @@ export function forceRepaintThroughRenderPause(terminal: unknown): boolean {
     return false
   }
 
-  // Why: leave the latch as if the pending full refresh was serviced — we are
-  // about to service it — so the observer's next callback doesn't queue a
-  // redundant second full repaint.
-  service._isPaused = false
+  // Why: releaseRenderPauseLatch also flushes the parked renderer resize; then
+  // leave the latch as if the pending full refresh was serviced — we are about
+  // to service it — so the observer's next callback doesn't queue a redundant
+  // second full repaint.
+  if (!releaseRenderPauseLatch(terminal)) {
+    return false
+  }
   service._needsFullRefresh = false
   try {
     service.refreshRows(0, rows - 1, true)
diff --git a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-analysis.mjs b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-analysis.mjs
index eee5857686c..a8f66274998 100644
--- a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-analysis.mjs
+++ b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-analysis.mjs
@@ -106,8 +106,26 @@ export function compareScaledRevealRaster(baselineBuffer, candidateBuffer) {
   }
 }
 
+const baselineAnalysisCache = new WeakMap()
+
+// The reference crop is compared against every captured frame; decode it and
+// derive its frame-invariant metrics once per buffer instead of once per frame.
+function baselineAnalysis(baselineBuffer) {
+  let cached = baselineAnalysisCache.get(baselineBuffer)
+  if (!cached) {
+    const image = PNG.sync.read(baselineBuffer)
+    cached = { image, background: dominantBackground(image), edgeEnergy: edgeEnergy(image) }
+    baselineAnalysisCache.set(baselineBuffer, cached)
+  }
+  return cached
+}
+
 export function compareRevealRaster(baselineBuffer, candidateBuffer) {
-  const baseline = PNG.sync.read(baselineBuffer)
+  const {
+    image: baseline,
+    background,
+    edgeEnergy: baselineEdgeEnergy
+  } = baselineAnalysis(baselineBuffer)
   const candidate = PNG.sync.read(candidateBuffer)
   if (baseline.width !== candidate.width || baseline.height !== candidate.height) {
     return {
@@ -119,7 +137,6 @@ export function compareRevealRaster(baselineBuffer, candidateBuffer) {
     }
   }
 
-  const background = dominantBackground(baseline)
   let diffPixels = 0
   let baselineInkPixels = 0
   let candidateInkPixels = 0
@@ -158,7 +175,6 @@ export function compareRevealRaster(baselineBuffer, candidateBuffer) {
     }
   }
   const pixelCount = baseline.width * baseline.height
-  const baselineEdgeEnergy = edgeEnergy(baseline)
   const candidateEdgeEnergy = edgeEnergy(candidate)
   return {
     comparable: true,
@@ -236,11 +252,12 @@ export function measureRasterInk(buffer) {
     }
   }
   const pixels = image.width * image.height
+  const energy = edgeEnergy(image)
   return {
     inkPixels,
     inkRatio: pixels ? inkPixels / pixels : 0,
-    edgeEnergy: edgeEnergy(image),
-    edgePerPixel: pixels ? edgeEnergy(image) / pixels : 0,
+    edgeEnergy: energy,
+    edgePerPixel: pixels ? energy / pixels : 0,
     pixels
   }
 }
diff --git a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-arms.mjs b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-arms.mjs
index 6a215009aae..f0c4c48cec2 100644
--- a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-arms.mjs
+++ b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-arms.mjs
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ async function ensureTargetVisible(page, context) {
 
 async function prepareAttempt(page, context) {
   await ensureTargetVisible(page, context)
-  const stable = await captureStableReference(page, context.targetTabId, 2)
+  // Only the settled state is consumed here; skip the full-page screenshots.
+  const stable = await captureStableReference(page, context.targetTabId, 2, { screenshots: false })
   return stable.at(-1).state
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-attempt.mjs b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-attempt.mjs
index 2c16e252627..dc2ead9329d 100644
--- a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-attempt.mjs
+++ b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-attempt.mjs
@@ -200,12 +200,18 @@ function measureRevealSettle(capture, stableState) {
 }
 
 function prepareReference(stableCaptures) {
-  const prepared = stableCaptures.map((entry) => ({
-    ...entry,
-    crop: entry.state?.screenClip
-      ? cropTerminalRaster(entry.buffer, entry.state.screenClip, entry.viewport)
-      : null
-  }))
+  const prepared = stableCaptures.map((entry) => {
+    let crop = null
+    if (entry.state?.screenClip) {
+      try {
+        crop = cropTerminalRaster(entry.buffer, entry.state.screenClip, entry.viewport)
+      } catch {
+        // Recorded below as crop-failed: one bad capture scores invalid-run,
+        // it must not abort the whole campaign.
+      }
+    }
+    return { ...entry, crop }
+  })
   const reference = prepared.at(-1)
   const stableState = reference?.state
   const noise = []
@@ -246,7 +252,10 @@ function prepareReference(stableCaptures) {
 
 function writeAttemptEvidence(directory, result, capture, prepared) {
   mkdirSync(directory, { recursive: true })
-  writeFileSync(path.join(directory, 'stable.png'), prepared.at(-1).crop)
+  const referenceCrop = prepared.at(-1)?.crop
+  if (referenceCrop) {
+    writeFileSync(path.join(directory, 'stable.png'), referenceCrop)
+  }
   writeFileSync(
     path.join(directory, 'state.jsonl'),
     `${capture.states.map((state) => JSON.stringify(state)).join('\n')}\n`
diff --git a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-fixture.mjs b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-fixture.mjs
index 661740f97f8..102243e6d38 100644
--- a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-fixture.mjs
+++ b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-fixture.mjs
@@ -64,13 +64,10 @@ function fixtureOutput(mode) {
 const SYNC_TUI_REDRAW_MS = 350
 
 // One BSU/ESU pair per frame, the way an agent TUI actually draws: sync is held
-// only for the write, never between frames. An earlier revision re-asserted BSU
-// on a 40 ms heartbeat to guarantee the mode spanned a reveal; that made the
-// hold effectively permanent, and a terminal that never paints while DEC 2026 is
-// held is spec-correct, not broken — it produced durable "blank" panes on a clean
-// tree and would have been reported as a product defect. The reveal-time overlap
-// is forced deliberately instead, by the probe's holdSync, which this cadence
-// then releases within one frame.
+// only for the write, never between frames. Do not re-assert BSU on a heartbeat
+// to span reveals — a permanent hold is spec-correct "never paint" and reads as
+// a durable blank-pane product defect on a clean tree. Reveal-time overlap is
+// forced by the probe's holdSync instead, which this cadence releases in one frame.
 function syncTuiScript() {
   const lines = Array.from({ length: 3 }, () => READABLE_LINES).flat()
   return [
diff --git a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-repro.mjs b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-repro.mjs
index 5a26cee83ae..ce03cdaf6e1 100644
--- a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-repro.mjs
+++ b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-repro.mjs
@@ -35,6 +35,13 @@ const PARK_DELAY_MS = 1_500
 const DEFAULT_ARMS = ['control', 'tab', 'warm', 'cold']
 const FIXTURE_MODES = ['static', 'atlas', 'sync-tui']
 
+// `Number(value) || fallback` would silently turn an explicit 0 (and typos)
+// into the fallback; clamp real numbers, reject the rest.
+function numericFlag(value, minimum, fallback) {
+  const parsed = Number(value)
+  return Number.isFinite(parsed) ? Math.max(minimum, parsed) : fallback
+}
+
 function parseArgs() {
   const args = {
     arms: DEFAULT_ARMS,
@@ -66,27 +73,35 @@ function parseArgs() {
       args.noHoldSync = true
       continue
     }
-    const [name, value] = arg.split('=', 2)
+    // split-once: `split('=', 2)` would truncate values containing '='.
+    const separator = arg.indexOf('=')
+    const name = separator === -1 ? arg : arg.slice(0, separator)
+    const value = separator === -1 ? undefined : arg.slice(separator + 1)
     if (name === '--arms') {
-      args.arms = (value ?? '')
+      const requested = (value ?? '')
         .split(',')
         .map((item) => item.trim())
-        .filter((item) => ARM_NAMES.includes(item))
+        .filter(Boolean)
+      const unknown = requested.filter((item) => !ARM_NAMES.includes(item))
+      if (unknown.length > 0) {
+        throw new Error(`Unknown arms ${unknown.join(', ')}; expected ${ARM_NAMES.join(', ')}`)
+      }
+      args.arms = requested
     } else if (name === '--cycles') {
-      args.cycles = Math.max(1, Number(value) || 3)
+      args.cycles = numericFlag(value, 1, 3)
     } else if (name === '--pressure-tabs') {
-      args.pressureTabs = Math.max(1, Number(value) || 18)
+      args.pressureTabs = numericFlag(value, 1, 18)
     } else if (name === '--pressure-splits') {
-      args.pressureSplits = Math.max(0, Number(value) || 0)
+      args.pressureSplits = numericFlag(value, 0, 0)
     } else if (name === '--capture-ms') {
-      args.captureMs = Math.max(750, Number(value) || 2_200)
+      args.captureMs = numericFlag(value, 750, 2_200)
     } else if (name === '--fixture') {
       if (!FIXTURE_MODES.includes(value)) {
         throw new Error(`Unknown fixture ${value}; expected one of ${FIXTURE_MODES.join(', ')}`)
       }
       args.fixture = value
     } else if (name === '--inject-blank-ms') {
-      args.injectBlankMs = Math.max(0, Number(value) || 0)
+      args.injectBlankMs = numericFlag(value, 0, 0)
     } else if (name === '--output') {
       args.output = value || null
     }
diff --git a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-session.mjs b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-session.mjs
index 8f5ecd7c00c..ce382ed59c2 100644
--- a/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-session.mjs
+++ b/tests/tools/terminal-reveal-raster-session.mjs
@@ -412,12 +412,6 @@ export async function installRevealRasterProbe(page) {
       pinPty(ptyId) {
         preferredPtyId = ptyId ?? null
       },
-      // Orca stops feeding the pty while a pane is hidden, so a fixture that
-      // holds DEC 2026 cannot get its BSU across the reveal boundary — measured:
-      // synchronizedOutput is false for the first ~200 ms of every reveal. Set
-      // the mode directly on the hidden terminal to reproduce the state an agent
-      // TUI is actually in when the reveal fit runs; the fixture's next ESU
-      // releases it exactly as a real TUI frame flush would.
       // Fault injection, not a reproduction: replays the reverted commit's
       // timing-free blank shape (bitmap cleared, repaint swallowed, xterm's
       // recovery zeroed) so the blank-pane measurement, thresholds and plumbing
@@ -459,6 +453,12 @@ export async function installRevealRasterProbe(page) {
       blankFaultFiredAt() {
         return blankFaultFiredAt
       },
+      // Orca stops feeding the pty while a pane is hidden, so a fixture that
+      // holds DEC 2026 cannot get its BSU across the reveal boundary — measured:
+      // synchronizedOutput is false for the first ~200 ms of every reveal. Set
+      // the mode directly on the hidden terminal to reproduce the state an agent
+      // TUI is actually in when the reveal fit runs; the fixture's next ESU
+      // releases it exactly as a real TUI frame flush would.
       holdSync(tabId) {
         const terminal = pickPane(window.__paneManagers?.get(tabId))?.terminal
         const modes = terminal?._core?.coreService?.decPrivateModes
@@ -501,13 +501,15 @@ export async function captureCompositorTransition(page, tabId, captureMs, action
   const frames = []
   const cdp = await page.context().newCDPSession(page)
   cdp.on('Page.screencastFrame', (params) => {
-    const receiptAt = Date.now()
-    frames.push({
-      buffer: Buffer.from(params.data, 'base64'),
-      receiptAt,
-      capturedAt: frameTimestamp(params, receiptAt),
-      metadata: params.metadata
-    })
+    // Capped in the handler so a long capture cannot hold hundreds of PNGs.
+    if (frames.length < 400) {
+      const receiptAt = Date.now()
+      frames.push({
+        buffer: Buffer.from(params.data, 'base64'),
+        receiptAt,
+        capturedAt: frameTimestamp(params, receiptAt)
+      })
+    }
     void cdp.send('Page.screencastFrameAck', { sessionId: params.sessionId }).catch(() => {})
   })
   await page.evaluate((id) => window.__terminalRevealRasterProbe.start(id), tabId)
@@ -520,30 +522,31 @@ export async function captureCompositorTransition(page, tabId, captureMs, action
     maxHeight: Math.ceil(viewport.height * viewport.dpr)
   })
   await page.waitForTimeout(50)
-  let actionAt = Date.now()
+  const actionAt = Date.now()
+  let states = []
   try {
-    // Arms that spend time off-screen re-stamp the action once the reveal
-    // itself starts, so the hidden gap is not scored as reveal latency.
-    await action({
-      mark: () => {
-        actionAt = Date.now()
-      }
-    })
+    await action()
     await page.waitForTimeout(captureMs)
   } finally {
+    // A throwing action must still stop the screencast, the probe's rAF
+    // sampler (and its pump element), and the CDP session.
     await cdp.send('Page.stopScreencast').catch(() => {})
+    states = await page.evaluate(() => window.__terminalRevealRasterProbe.stop()).catch(() => [])
+    await cdp.detach().catch(() => {})
   }
-  const states = await page.evaluate(() => window.__terminalRevealRasterProbe.stop())
-  await cdp.detach().catch(() => {})
   return {
     actionAt,
-    captureViewport: viewport,
-    frames: frames.slice(0, 400),
+    frames,
     states
   }
 }
 
-export async function captureStableReference(page, tabId, samples = 3) {
+export async function captureStableReference(
+  page,
+  tabId,
+  samples = 3,
+  { screenshots = true } = {}
+) {
   const captures = []
   for (let index = 0; index < samples; index += 1) {
     // Late repairs (DPR, deferred fits) can still move geometry a few frames
@@ -551,12 +554,14 @@ export async function captureStableReference(page, tabId, samples = 3) {
     await page.waitForTimeout(200)
     await settleFrames(page, 3)
     const state = await readTargetState(page, tabId)
-    const buffer = await page.screenshot()
-    const viewport = await page.evaluate(() => ({
-      width: innerWidth,
-      height: innerHeight
-    }))
-    captures.push({ state, buffer, viewport })
+    // Skipping screenshots lets settle-only callers avoid full-page captures;
+    // viewport comes from the same probe sample instead of a second evaluate.
+    const buffer = screenshots ? await page.screenshot() : null
+    captures.push({
+      state,
+      buffer,
+      viewport: { width: state?.innerWidth ?? 0, height: state?.innerHeight ?? 0 }
+    })
   }
   return captures
 }