diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/terminal-tab-activity-status.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/terminal-tab-activity-status.ts
index 211aae2c3b2..b64ba41b0f5 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/terminal-tab-activity-status.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/terminal-tab-activity-status.ts
@@ -104,7 +104,10 @@ function parseAgentStatusPaneKey(paneKey: string): { tabId: string; paneId: stri
 const EMPTY_PANE_IDS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set()
 
 type TerminalTabActivityInput = {
-  tab: Pick<TerminalTab, 'id' | 'title'>
+  // Why: launchAgent is read, not just carried — the status gate needs it to attribute a
+  // bare spinner title to an agent (#9040). Narrowing it away here compiles (it is optional)
+  // but silently drops the tab-bar dot back to the pre-#9040 behavior.
+  tab: Pick<TerminalTab, 'id' | 'title' | 'launchAgent'>
   agentStatusByPaneKey?: Record<string, AgentStatusEntry>
   // Why: the store bumps this at the 30m stale boundary without replacing the
   // pane-status map; it is the flag cache's invalidation key (see above).
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/terminal-tab-spinner-launch-agent.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/terminal-tab-spinner-launch-agent.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4259ff8ade3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/tab-bar/terminal-tab-spinner-launch-agent.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import type { TerminalTab } from '../../../../shared/types'
+import {
+  resetTerminalTabActivityFlagsCacheForTest,
+  resolveTerminalTabActivityStatus
+} from './terminal-tab-activity-status'
+
+// Why: #9040 — the tab-bar dot shares the sidebar's attribution gate, so Claude's
+// token-less spinner title must reach 'working' here too. TerminalTabActivityInput
+// narrows `tab` with a Pick; because launchAgent is optional, dropping it from that
+// Pick compiles cleanly and would silently revert this path alone.
+describe('#9040 terminal tab dot attributes spinner titles to the launched agent', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    resetTerminalTabActivityFlagsCacheForTest()
+  })
+
+  it('reports working for a Claude spinner title on a live tab', () => {
+    const status = resolveTerminalTabActivityStatus({
+      tab: {
+        id: 'tab-1',
+        title: '⠋ implementing the feature',
+        launchAgent: 'claude'
+      } satisfies Partial<TerminalTab> as TerminalTab,
+      ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-0'] }
+    })
+
+    expect(status).toBe('working')
+  })
+
+  // Control: the named-provider path this must stay at parity with.
+  it('reports working for a named-provider title', () => {
+    const status = resolveTerminalTabActivityStatus({
+      tab: { id: 'tab-1', title: 'claude [working]' } as TerminalTab,
+      ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-0'] }
+    })
+
+    expect(status).toBe('working')
+  })
+
+  it('stays out of working for a spinner title with no launch identity', () => {
+    const status = resolveTerminalTabActivityStatus({
+      tab: { id: 'tab-1', title: '⠐ Review branch for regressions' } as TerminalTab,
+      ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-0'] }
+    })
+
+    expect(status).not.toBe('working')
+  })
+})