diff --git a/src/main/daemon/terminal-host-wsl-launch-directory.test.ts b/src/main/daemon/terminal-host-wsl-launch-directory.test.ts
index 6e6354f385b..5c54ebdccf5 100644
--- a/src/main/daemon/terminal-host-wsl-launch-directory.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/daemon/terminal-host-wsl-launch-directory.test.ts
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ describe('a daemon WSL session with a launch file', () => {
   it('writes the file into the distro and types its Linux path', async () => {
     await create({ distro: 'Ubuntu', windowsPath: windowsSide, linuxPath: '/home/ada/.cache/orca' })
     const command = spawn.mock.calls[0]?.[0].command ?? ''
-    const linuxPath = /\/home\/ada\/\.cache\/orca\/orca-launch-file-\w+\/task-context\.md/.exec(
+    const linuxPath = /\/home\/ada\/\.cache\/orca\/orca-launch-file-\d+-\w+\/task-context\.md/.exec(
       command
     )?.[0]
     expect(command).toBe(`claude '${buildLaunchFilePointer(linuxPath ?? 'missing')}'`)
diff --git a/src/main/ipc/pty/ipc/launched-agent-foreground.ts b/src/main/ipc/pty/ipc/launched-agent-foreground.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0d8246cef57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/ipc/pty/ipc/launched-agent-foreground.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import { getPtyIpc } from '../../pty-host-bindings'
+import { isTuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-config'
+import type { OrcaRuntimeService } from '../../../runtime/orca-runtime'
+import type { LaunchedAgentForeground } from '../../../runtime/launched-agent-foreground'
+
+/** The renderer's launch-prompt receipt asks the question #24257's crash guard asks before a paste. */
+export function installLaunchedAgentForegroundIpcHandler(
+  runtime: OrcaRuntimeService | undefined
+): void {
+  getPtyIpc().handle(
+    'pty:readLaunchedAgentForeground',
+    async (_event, args: { id: string; agent: string }): Promise<LaunchedAgentForeground> => {
+      if (!runtime || typeof args?.id !== 'string' || !isTuiAgent(args.agent)) {
+        return 'unknown'
+      }
+      return runtime.readLaunchedAgentForeground(args.id, args.agent)
+    }
+  )
+}
diff --git a/src/main/ipc/pty/ipc/spawn.ts b/src/main/ipc/pty/ipc/spawn.ts
index e35b40ee637..dcd8a89db73 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/pty/ipc/spawn.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/pty/ipc/spawn.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@ import { getPtyIpc } from '../../pty-host-bindings'
 import { runPtyIpcSpawn } from './spawn-run'
 import type { PtySpawnIpcArgs, PtySpawnIpcDeps } from './spawn-types'
 import { isLaunchFileUnavailableMessage } from '../../../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
-import { recordTerminalLaunchRefusal } from '../../../runtime/terminal-launch-refusals'
+import {
+  noteTerminalPaneSpawn,
+  recordTerminalLaunchRefusal
+} from '../../../runtime/terminal-launch-refusals'
 
 export function installPtySpawnIpcHandler(deps: PtySpawnIpcDeps): void {
   const ipcMain = getPtyIpc()
@@ -13,6 +16,8 @@ export function installPtySpawnIpcHandler(deps: PtySpawnIpcDeps): void {
     if (startupPromise) {
       await startupPromise
     }
+    // Why: a create waiting on this tab's handle keeps waiting while the spawn still runs.
+    const settleSpawn = args.tabId ? noteTerminalPaneSpawn(args.tabId) : () => {}
     try {
       return await runPtyIpcSpawn(deps, args)
     } catch (error) {
@@ -22,6 +27,8 @@ export function installPtySpawnIpcHandler(deps: PtySpawnIpcDeps): void {
         recordTerminalLaunchRefusal(args.tabId, message)
       }
       throw error
+    } finally {
+      settleSpawn()
     }
   })
 }
diff --git a/src/main/ipc/pty/register-handlers.ts b/src/main/ipc/pty/register-handlers.ts
index 9ce1d4082a4..6ca836bb545 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/pty/register-handlers.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/pty/register-handlers.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import {
 import { installPtyWriteIpcHandlers } from './ipc/write'
 import { installPtySpawnIpcHandler } from './ipc/spawn'
 import { installPtyRuntimeController } from './runtime/controller'
+import { installLaunchedAgentForegroundIpcHandler } from './ipc/launched-agent-foreground'
 import { installPtySnapshotIpcHandlers } from './ipc/snapshot'
 import {
   assertFolderWorkspacePtyPathUsable as assertFolderWorkspacePtyPathUsableImpl,
@@ -119,6 +120,7 @@ export function registerPtyHandlers(
   ipcMain.removeHandler('pty:getForegroundProcess')
   ipcMain.removeHandler('pty:inspectProcess')
   ipcMain.removeHandler('pty:confirmForegroundProcess')
+  ipcMain.removeHandler('pty:readLaunchedAgentForeground')
   ipcMain.removeHandler('pty:isCodexOnSharedServer')
   ipcMain.removeHandler('pty:disableCodexSharedServerAutoStart')
   ipcMain.removeHandler('pty:stopCodexSharedServer')
@@ -282,6 +284,7 @@ export function registerPtyHandlers(
   installPtyWriteIpcHandlers({ mainWindow, runtime })
   installPtyResizeVisibilityIpc(session)
   installPtyInspectIpcHandlers({ getLocalPtyProviderStartupPromise })
+  installLaunchedAgentForegroundIpcHandler(runtime)
   installPtyCodexSharedServerIpcHandler({ getLocalPtyProviderStartupPromise })
   installPtyKillIpcHandler(killDeps)
 }
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/agent-terminal-startup-prompt.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/agent-terminal-startup-prompt.test.ts
index 222f9c4bd38..492a289f10c 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/agent-terminal-startup-prompt.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/agent-terminal-startup-prompt.test.ts
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ describe('a terminal create that is handed a launch prompt', () => {
         startupAgent: 'aider',
         startupPrompt: 'summarize the diff'
       })
-    ).rejects.toThrow(/does not take a startup prompt/)
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/takes its prompt only after it starts/)
     expect(spawn).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
   })
 })
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/launch-host-agent-in-front.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/launch-host-agent-in-front.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 12c7f209ffc..00000000000
--- a/src/main/runtime/launch-host-agent-in-front.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
-import { launchHostProvesAgentInFront } from './launch-host-agent-in-front'
-
-describe('whether a launch host can prove its agent is in front before a paste', () => {
-  it.each([
-    ['a local macOS host', false, 'darwin', 'darwin', true],
-    ['a local Linux host', false, 'linux', 'linux', true],
-    ['a local Windows host', false, 'win32', 'win32', false],
-    // The pane runs in the distro, but the reads run on the Windows host.
-    ['a local WSL pane', false, 'linux', 'win32', false],
-    ['an SSH Linux host from Windows', true, 'linux', 'win32', true],
-    ['an SSH Windows host', true, 'win32', 'darwin', false]
-  ] as const)('%s: %s', (_label, isRemote, launchPlatform, hostPlatform, proves) => {
-    expect(launchHostProvesAgentInFront({ isRemote, launchPlatform, hostPlatform })).toBe(proves)
-  })
-})
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/launch-host-agent-in-front.ts b/src/main/runtime/launch-host-agent-in-front.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 1badb1bc806..00000000000
--- a/src/main/runtime/launch-host-agent-in-front.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Whether the execution host can prove a launched agent holds its terminal before a paste
- * (`launched-agent-foreground`). A Windows host cannot, and a local WSL pane runs on one; an SSH
- * host is judged by its own platform.
- */
-export function launchHostProvesAgentInFront(args: {
-  isRemote: boolean
-  launchPlatform: NodeJS.Platform
-  hostPlatform?: NodeJS.Platform
-}): boolean {
-  return args.isRemote
-    ? args.launchPlatform !== 'win32'
-    : (args.hostPlatform ?? process.platform) !== 'win32'
-}
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-agent-session-operation.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-agent-session-operation.test.ts
index f8ef09234db..91dd2658df2 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-agent-session-operation.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-agent-session-operation.test.ts
@@ -213,19 +213,22 @@ describe('agent-session create operation ledger', () => {
     )
   })
 
-  it('refuses a prompt it could only paste, having no paste after ready', async () => {
+  // Why: main started this agent with the whole prompt on its line; with no paste after ready this
+  // create must not refuse what main started.
+  it('keeps a prompt it cannot paste on the agent’s line, as main did', async () => {
     const runtime = createRuntime({
       supportsAgentSessionClaims: () => true,
       supportsAgentSessionCreateOperations: () => true
     })
     const createTerminal = vi.spyOn(runtime, 'createTerminal').mockResolvedValue(terminal())
 
-    await expect(
-      runtime.createAgentSession(
-        request(operationId(), { agent: 'gemini', prompt: 'x'.repeat(20_000) })
-      )
-    ).rejects.toThrow(/gemini cannot take this prompt on its command line here/)
-    expect(createTerminal).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    await runtime.createAgentSession(
+      request(operationId(), { agent: 'gemini', prompt: 'x'.repeat(20_000) })
+    )
+    expect(createTerminal).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'id:worktree-1',
+      expect.objectContaining({ command: expect.stringContaining('x'.repeat(20_000)) })
+    )
   })
 
   it('requests exact client legacy fallback before nested SSH side effects', async () => {
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-agent-session.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-agent-session.ts
index 4523e483d50..63370145083 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-agent-session.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-agent-session.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import {
   windowsDraftRefusal
 } from '../../shared/launch-prompt-carry'
 import { resolveStartupShell } from '../../shared/tui-agent-startup-shell'
+import { thisOrcaLaunchHost } from './this-orca-launch-host'
 import type { RuntimeTerminalCreate } from '../../shared/runtime-types'
 import type {
   AgentSessionCreateOperation,
@@ -180,7 +181,16 @@ export class OrcaRuntimeWithCreateAgentSession extends OrcaRuntimeWithGetAgentSe
           throw new Error(refusal ?? 'agent_session_identity_required')
         }
       } else {
-        const planned = planLaunchPrompt({ ...startupArgs, prompt: request.prompt ?? '' })
+        const planned = planLaunchPrompt({
+          ...startupArgs,
+          prompt: request.prompt ?? '',
+          host: thisOrcaLaunchHost({
+            launchPlatform: startupArgs.platform,
+            isRemote: Boolean(workspace.connectionId)
+          }),
+          // Why: this create returns before the agent is ready, so nothing pastes after it.
+          canPasteAfterReady: false
+        })
         if (!planned) {
           throw new Error('agent_session_identity_required')
         }
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-terminal-desktop.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-terminal-desktop.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..03be15e6988
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-terminal-desktop.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { describeLaunchFileUnavailable } from '../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
+
+const surface = vi.hoisted(() => {
+  const handlers = new Map<string, (event: unknown, response: unknown) => void>()
+  return {
+    handlers,
+    onIpc: (channel: string, handler: (event: unknown, response: unknown) => void) =>
+      handlers.set(channel, handler),
+    removeIpcListener: vi.fn()
+  }
+})
+
+vi.mock('./orca-runtime-create-terminal-dependencies', () => ({
+  randomUUID: () => 'request-1',
+  ownerSurfacing: () => ({}),
+  getRuntimeDesktopSurface: () => surface
+}))
+
+import { createDesktopTerminal } from './orca-runtime-create-terminal-desktop'
+
+describe('a desktop terminal create whose pane the host refused', () => {
+  // Why: the pane never started, so closing its tab is what makes the refusal a launch without
+  // effects, and lets the phone's replay be told the reason instead of "outcome unknown".
+  it('closes the tab it opened and reports the refusal', async () => {
+    const refusal = new Error(describeLaunchFileUnavailable('disk full'))
+    const webContents = {
+      send: (_channel: string, request: { requestId: string }) =>
+        surface.handlers.get('terminal:tabCreateReply')?.(
+          { sender: webContents },
+          { requestId: request.requestId, tabId: 'tab-refused' }
+        )
+    }
+    const closeTerminalTab = vi.fn(async () => {})
+    const runtime = {
+      assertGraphReady: () => {},
+      getAuthoritativeWindow: () => ({ webContents }),
+      resolveTerminalWorkspaceLaunchScope: async () => null,
+      waitForTerminalHandle: vi.fn(async () => {
+        throw refusal
+      }),
+      notifier: { closeTerminalTab }
+    }
+
+    await expect(
+      // oxlint-disable-next-line typescript/consistent-type-assertions -- SAFETY: the create reads only the members stubbed above.
+      createDesktopTerminal(runtime as never, undefined, { command: 'claude' }, undefined, null)
+    ).rejects.toBe(refusal)
+    expect(closeTerminalTab).toHaveBeenCalledWith('tab-refused', { force: true })
+  })
+
+  it('leaves the tab of any other failure', async () => {
+    const webContents = {
+      send: (_channel: string, request: { requestId: string }) =>
+        surface.handlers.get('terminal:tabCreateReply')?.(
+          { sender: webContents },
+          { requestId: request.requestId, tabId: 'tab-slow' }
+        )
+    }
+    const closeTerminalTab = vi.fn(async () => {})
+    const runtime = {
+      assertGraphReady: () => {},
+      getAuthoritativeWindow: () => ({ webContents }),
+      resolveTerminalWorkspaceLaunchScope: async () => null,
+      waitForTerminalHandle: vi.fn(async () => {
+        throw new Error('Timed out waiting for terminal handle after creation')
+      }),
+      notifier: { closeTerminalTab }
+    }
+
+    await expect(
+      // oxlint-disable-next-line typescript/consistent-type-assertions -- SAFETY: the create reads only the members stubbed above.
+      createDesktopTerminal(runtime as never, undefined, { command: 'claude' }, undefined, null)
+    ).rejects.toThrow('Timed out')
+    expect(closeTerminalTab).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-terminal-desktop.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-terminal-desktop.ts
index 1bcf2d346bd..f5bb03439b1 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-terminal-desktop.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-create-terminal-desktop.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import * as dependencies from './orca-runtime-create-terminal-dependencies'
 import type { OrcaRuntimeWithCreateTerminal } from './orca-runtime-create-terminal'
 import type { RuntimeTerminalPresentation } from '../../shared/runtime-types'
+import { isLaunchFileRefusal } from '../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
 
 export async function createDesktopTerminal(
   runtime: OrcaRuntimeWithCreateTerminal,
@@ -78,7 +79,18 @@ export async function createDesktopTerminal(
       ...dependencies.ownerSurfacing(opts.surfaceOwner !== false)
     })
   })
-  const handle = await runtime.waitForTerminalHandle(reply.tabId)
+  let handle: string
+  try {
+    handle = await runtime.waitForTerminalHandle(reply.tabId)
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (isLaunchFileRefusal(error)) {
+      // Why: the refused pane never started; closing its tab leaves the launch without effects.
+      await Promise.resolve(
+        runtime.notifier?.closeTerminalTab?.(reply.tabId, { force: true })
+      ).catch((closeError: unknown) => console.error('Could not close a refused tab', closeError))
+    }
+    throw error
+  }
   return {
     handle,
     tabId: reply.tabId,
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-resolve-mobile-session-terminal-command.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-resolve-mobile-session-terminal-command.ts
index 26ff9f9d0f9..a619bbb6ee9 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-resolve-mobile-session-terminal-command.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-resolve-mobile-session-terminal-command.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import type { TuiAgent } from '../../shared/tui-agent'
 import type { SleepingAgentLaunchConfig } from '../../shared/agent-session-resume'
 import { isTuiAgentEnabled } from '../../shared/tui-agent-selection'
 import { planLaunchPrompt } from '../../shared/tui-agent-startup'
+import { thisOrcaLaunchHost } from './this-orca-launch-host'
 import { launchPromptNeedsPasteRefusal } from '../../shared/launch-prompt-carry'
 import { resolveAgentStartupPlanInputs } from '../../shared/agent-startup-plan-inputs'
 
@@ -48,16 +49,21 @@ export class OrcaRuntimeWithResolveMobileSessionTerminalCommand extends OrcaRunt
     if (!isTuiAgentEnabled(opts.agent, settings.disabledTuiAgents)) {
       throw new Error('Selected agent is disabled. Choose an enabled agent before creating.')
     }
+    // Why: mobile may be iOS while the shell host is Windows/macOS/Linux or SSH Linux; quote for the host shell.
+    const launchPlatform = this.getAgentLaunchPlatformForWorkspace(workspace)
+    const isRemote = Boolean(workspace.connectionId)
     const planned = planLaunchPrompt({
       ...resolveAgentStartupPlanInputs({
         agent: opts.agent,
         settings,
-        // Why: mobile may be iOS while the shell host is Windows/macOS/Linux or SSH Linux; quote for the host shell.
-        platform: this.getAgentLaunchPlatformForWorkspace(workspace),
+        platform: launchPlatform,
         // Why: SSH runs the CLI through the relay shim (plain `orca`), so the Linux-only `orca-ide` rename must not apply.
-        isRemote: Boolean(workspace.connectionId)
+        isRemote
       }),
-      prompt: opts.agentPrompt ?? ''
+      prompt: opts.agentPrompt ?? '',
+      host: thisOrcaLaunchHost({ launchPlatform, isRemote }),
+      // Why: a quick command has no paste after ready.
+      canPasteAfterReady: false
     })
     if (!planned) {
       throw new Error(`Could not build launch command for ${opts.agent}.`)
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-resolve-worktree-removal-target.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-resolve-worktree-removal-target.ts
index c5b3fee7854..dc9ef38d813 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-resolve-worktree-removal-target.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-resolve-worktree-removal-target.ts
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ import { terminalShellOverrideRefusal } from './terminal-shell-override-host-sup
 import { resolveTerminalStartupCwd } from '../../shared/terminal-startup-cwd'
 import { resolveLocalProjectRuntimeForWorktreeId } from '../local-project-runtime-resolution'
 import { resolveBareAgentLaunchCommand } from './runtime-agent-launch-resolution'
-import { agentPromptRidesLaunchCommand, planLaunchPrompt } from '../../shared/tui-agent-startup'
+import { planLaunchPrompt } from '../../shared/tui-agent-startup'
 import { launchPromptNeedsPasteRefusal } from '../../shared/launch-prompt-carry'
-import { launchHostProvesAgentInFront } from './launch-host-agent-in-front'
+import { thisOrcaLaunchHost } from './this-orca-launch-host'
 import { resolveAgentStartupPlanInputs } from '../../shared/agent-startup-plan-inputs'
 import { agentStartedTelemetry } from '../agent-launch/agent-started-telemetry'
 import { LOCAL_EXECUTION_HOST_ID } from '../../shared/execution-host'
@@ -256,11 +256,6 @@ export class OrcaRuntimeWithResolveWorktreeRemovalTarget extends OrcaRuntimeWith
       return opts
     }
 
-    // A prompt this launch command cannot carry has nowhere to go from here — the create returns
-    // options, not a live PTY — so refuse rather than spawn the agent and drop the text.
-    if (opts.startupPrompt && !agentPromptRidesLaunchCommand(agent)) {
-      throw new Error(`Agent ${agent} does not take a startup prompt on its launch command.`)
-    }
     const planInputs = resolveAgentStartupPlanInputs({
       agent,
       settings,
@@ -276,7 +271,8 @@ export class OrcaRuntimeWithResolveWorktreeRemovalTarget extends OrcaRuntimeWith
       ...planInputs,
       prompt: opts.startupPrompt ?? '',
       ...(opts.launchFile ? { launchFile: opts.launchFile } : {}),
-      hostProvesAgentInFront: launchHostProvesAgentInFront({ isRemote, launchPlatform: platform })
+      host: thisOrcaLaunchHost({ launchPlatform: platform, isRemote }),
+      canPasteAfterReady: opts.onStartupPromptCarry !== undefined
     })
     if (!planned) {
       // Why: an explicit agent that yields no plan would otherwise spawn a bare
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-restore-live-paired-renderer-session-owned-mobile-terminals.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-restore-live-paired-renderer-session-owned-mobile-terminals.ts
index d540e6d497c..735b2cde640 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-restore-live-paired-renderer-session-owned-mobile-terminals.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-restore-live-paired-renderer-session-owned-mobile-terminals.ts
@@ -2,10 +2,17 @@
 import { OrcaRuntimeWithWaitForMobileTerminalSurface } from './orca-runtime-wait-for-mobile-terminal-surface'
 import { runtimeWorktreeIdsEqual } from './runtime-worktree-path-identity'
 import { parsePaneKey } from '../../shared/stable-pane-id'
-import { onTerminalLaunchRefusal, takeTerminalLaunchRefusal } from './terminal-launch-refusals'
+import {
+  onTerminalLaunchRefusal,
+  takeTerminalLaunchRefusal,
+  terminalPaneSpawnInFlight
+} from './terminal-launch-refusals'
 import type { RuntimePtyWorktreeRecord } from './runtime-terminal-state-records'
 import type { RuntimeMobileSessionCreateTerminalResult } from '../../shared/runtime-types'
 
+const TERMINAL_HANDLE_RECHECK_MS = 500
+const TERMINAL_HANDLE_SPAWN_IN_FLIGHT_CAP_MS = 60_000
+
 export class OrcaRuntimeWithRestoreLivePairedRendererSessionOwnedMobileTerminals extends OrcaRuntimeWithWaitForMobileTerminalSurface {
   protected restoreLivePairedRendererSessionOwnedMobileTerminals(
     worktreeId: string | null,
@@ -146,10 +153,21 @@ export class OrcaRuntimeWithRestoreLivePairedRendererSessionOwnedMobileTerminals
           this.graphSyncCallbacks.splice(idx, 1)
         }
       }
-      const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      const startedAt = Date.now()
+      const onTimeout = (): void => {
+        // Why: a spawn still running (a cold WSL probe, then the spawn) answers soon; only a tab
+        // with nothing in flight has timed out. Capped so a wedged spawn still ends the wait.
+        if (
+          terminalPaneSpawnInFlight(tabId) &&
+          Date.now() - startedAt < TERMINAL_HANDLE_SPAWN_IN_FLIGHT_CAP_MS
+        ) {
+          timer = setTimeout(onTimeout, TERMINAL_HANDLE_RECHECK_MS)
+          return
+        }
         stop()
         reject(new Error('Timed out waiting for terminal handle after creation'))
-      }, timeoutMs)
+      }
+      let timer = setTimeout(onTimeout, timeoutMs)
       // Why: a host that refused the spawn's launch file never registers a handle.
       const refuse = (message: string): void => {
         stop()
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/mobile-session-tabs-part-12.spec.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/mobile-session-tabs-part-12.spec.ts
index 28c9cc0dd2e..5545ce19b79 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/mobile-session-tabs-part-12.spec.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/mobile-session-tabs-part-12.spec.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,32 @@ describe('OrcaRuntimeService', () => {
     expect(spawn).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
   })
 
+  // Why: main started this agent with the prompt on its line; a quick command has no paste after
+  // ready, so it keeps the line rather than refuse what main started.
+  it('starts an agent with a prompt it cannot paste on its line, as main did', async () => {
+    const spawn = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ id: 'pty-agent-long-prompt' })
+    const runtime = new OrcaRuntimeService({
+      ...store,
+      getSettings: () => ({ ...store.getSettings(), disabledTuiAgents: [], agentCmdOverrides: {} })
+    } as never)
+    runtime.setPtyController({
+      spawn,
+      write: () => true,
+      kill: () => true,
+      getForegroundProcess: async () => null
+    })
+    runtime.syncWindowGraph(0, { tabs: [], leaves: [] })
+
+    await runtime.createMobileSessionTerminal(`id:${TEST_WORKTREE_ID}`, {
+      agent: 'gemini',
+      agentPrompt: 'g'.repeat(20_000)
+    })
+
+    expect(spawn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ command: expect.stringContaining('g'.repeat(20_000)) })
+    )
+  })
+
   it('uses portable Unix quoting for mobile agent launch commands in WSL project runtimes', async () => {
     await withPlatform('win32', async () => {
       const spawn = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ id: 'pty-agent' })
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/agent-launch-failure-code.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/agent-launch-failure-code.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d3b2c9751db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/agent-launch-failure-code.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { launchFailureWithoutEffectsCode } from './agent-launch-failure-code'
+import { trackTerminalSpawnDispatch } from '../../../agent-launch/agent-launch-not-started'
+import { describeLaunchFileUnavailable } from '../../../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
+
+describe('a launch that failed without effects', () => {
+  // Why: every host refuses a launch file before it spawns anything, so the phone's replay must
+  // get the reason, not "outcome unknown", even after the spawn request left this process.
+  it('includes a launch-file refusal for an existing workspace, as it arrives from any host', () => {
+    const dispatched = trackTerminalSpawnDispatch()
+    dispatched.onPtySpawnDispatched()
+    const refusal = new Error(describeLaunchFileUnavailable("the WSL distro's home is gone"))
+    expect(launchFailureWithoutEffectsCode(refusal, 'existing', dispatched)).toBe(
+      'launch_file_unavailable'
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('leaves it out for a created workspace, which exists whatever the agent did', () => {
+    const refusal = new Error(describeLaunchFileUnavailable('disk full'))
+    expect(
+      launchFailureWithoutEffectsCode(refusal, 'create-worktree', trackTerminalSpawnDispatch())
+    ).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('leaves out any other failure after the spawn request left', () => {
+    const dispatched = trackTerminalSpawnDispatch()
+    dispatched.onPtySpawnDispatched()
+    expect(
+      launchFailureWithoutEffectsCode(new Error('spawn ENOENT'), 'existing', dispatched)
+    ).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/agent-launch-failure-code.ts b/src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/agent-launch-failure-code.ts
index eac21c7c00e..cba9f6045ae 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/agent-launch-failure-code.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/agent-launch-failure-code.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ import {
   AGENT_LAUNCH_SESSION_ALREADY_EXISTS_CODE
 } from '../../../../shared/agent-launch-session-already-exists'
 import type { TerminalSpawnDispatch } from '../../../agent-launch/agent-launch-not-started'
+import {
+  isLaunchFileRefusal,
+  LAUNCH_FILE_UNAVAILABLE_CODE
+} from '../../../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
 
 /** Long enough for every code this path raises, with room for one a later guard adds. */
 const LAUNCH_FAILURE_CODE_MAX_LENGTH = 128
@@ -53,5 +57,11 @@ export function launchFailureWithoutEffectsCode(
   if (terminalSpawn.failedBeforeDispatch(error) && targetKind === 'existing') {
     return agentLaunchFailureCode(error)
   }
+  // Why without effects: every host refuses before it spawns anything, and a desktop window closes
+  // the refused pane's tab before the error reaches here (`createDesktopTerminal`). The code, not
+  // the sentence: the sentence carries a reason long enough to lose its code to the bound.
+  if (isLaunchFileRefusal(error) && targetKind === 'existing') {
+    return LAUNCH_FILE_UNAVAILABLE_CODE
+  }
   return null
 }
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/runtime-worktree-agent-startup.ts b/src/main/runtime/runtime-worktree-agent-startup.ts
index 6e5d234536f..447daa30d54 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/runtime-worktree-agent-startup.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/runtime-worktree-agent-startup.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import {
   type AgentStartupPlan
 } from '../../shared/tui-agent-startup'
 import type { LaunchFile } from '../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
-import { launchHostProvesAgentInFront } from './launch-host-agent-in-front'
+import { thisOrcaLaunchHost } from './this-orca-launch-host'
 import {
   detectInstalledAgentsWithShellPathHydration,
   detectRemoteAgents
@@ -158,10 +158,12 @@ export function buildWorktreeStartupForAgent(
   const planned = planLaunchPrompt({
     ...planInputs,
     prompt: environment.prompt ?? '',
-    hostProvesAgentInFront: launchHostProvesAgentInFront({
+    host: thisOrcaLaunchHost({
       isRemote: repoIsRemote(repo),
       launchPlatform: environment.getLaunchPlatform()
-    })
+    }),
+    // A caller that cannot paste takes a follow-up and sends it once the agent is ready.
+    canPasteAfterReady: true
   })
   if (!planned) {
     throw new Error(`Could not build launch command for ${agent}.`)
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/terminal-launch-refusals.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/terminal-launch-refusals.test.ts
index 07c10e96e7b..5ad04e356d2 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/terminal-launch-refusals.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/terminal-launch-refusals.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import { OrcaRuntimeService } from './orca-runtime'
-import { recordTerminalLaunchRefusal, takeTerminalLaunchRefusal } from './terminal-launch-refusals'
+import {
+  noteTerminalPaneSpawn,
+  recordTerminalLaunchRefusal,
+  takeTerminalLaunchRefusal
+} from './terminal-launch-refusals'
 import { describeLaunchFileUnavailable } from '../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
 
 vi.mock('electron', () => ({
@@ -10,12 +14,16 @@ vi.mock('electron', () => ({
   app: { getPath: vi.fn(() => '/tmp') }
 }))
 
-function waitForHandle(runtime: OrcaRuntimeService, tabId: string): Promise<string> {
+function waitForHandle(
+  runtime: OrcaRuntimeService,
+  tabId: string,
+  timeoutMs = 5_000
+): Promise<string> {
   // oxlint-disable-next-line typescript/consistent-type-assertions -- SAFETY: the wait under test is a protected member of the runtime; the assertion names only that method.
   const internal = runtime as unknown as {
     waitForTerminalHandle: (tabId: string, timeoutMs?: number) => Promise<string>
   }
-  return internal.waitForTerminalHandle(tabId, 5_000)
+  return internal.waitForTerminalHandle(tabId, timeoutMs)
 }
 
 describe('a pane spawn the host refused for its launch file', () => {
@@ -43,4 +51,25 @@ describe('a pane spawn the host refused for its launch file', () => {
     recordTerminalLaunchRefusal('tab-early', refusal)
     await expect(waitForHandle(runtime, 'tab-early')).rejects.toThrow(refusal)
   })
+
+  // Why: a cold WSL probe plus the spawn can outlast the create's wait; the agent then starts
+  // anyway, so a timeout there would be false.
+  it('keeps waiting past its budget while that tab’s spawn still runs, then times out', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    try {
+      const runtime = new OrcaRuntimeService()
+      const settleSpawn = noteTerminalPaneSpawn('tab-cold-wsl')
+      let outcome: string | null = null
+      waitForHandle(runtime, 'tab-cold-wsl', 100).catch((error: Error) => {
+        outcome = error.message
+      })
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(5_000)
+      expect(outcome).toBeNull()
+      settleSpawn()
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1_000)
+      expect(outcome).toMatch(/Timed out waiting for terminal handle/)
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers()
+    }
+  })
 })
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/terminal-launch-refusals.ts b/src/main/runtime/terminal-launch-refusals.ts
index 9ec35d90534..c4419fef865 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/terminal-launch-refusals.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/terminal-launch-refusals.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,31 @@ const MAX_REFUSALS = 64
 
 const refusals = new Map<string, { message: string; at: number }>()
 const listeners = new Set<(tabId: string, message: string) => void>()
+/** Pane spawns still running per tab; each `noteTerminalPaneSpawn` settles in a `finally`. */
+const spawnsInFlight = new Map<string, number>()
+
+/** Marks a tab's pane spawn as running until the returned settle runs. */
+export function noteTerminalPaneSpawn(tabId: string): () => void {
+  spawnsInFlight.set(tabId, (spawnsInFlight.get(tabId) ?? 0) + 1)
+  let settled = false
+  return () => {
+    if (settled) {
+      return
+    }
+    settled = true
+    const remaining = (spawnsInFlight.get(tabId) ?? 1) - 1
+    if (remaining > 0) {
+      spawnsInFlight.set(tabId, remaining)
+    } else {
+      spawnsInFlight.delete(tabId)
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/** Whether a pane spawn for the tab is still running, such as one probing a cold WSL distro. */
+export function terminalPaneSpawnInFlight(tabId: string): boolean {
+  return spawnsInFlight.has(tabId)
+}
 
 export function recordTerminalLaunchRefusal(tabId: string, message: string): void {
   const now = Date.now()
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/this-orca-launch-host.ts b/src/main/runtime/this-orca-launch-host.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3a2d28f3f99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/runtime/this-orca-launch-host.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+import { describeLaunchHost, type LaunchHost } from '../../shared/launch-host'
+
+/** The host facts for a launch this Orca runs itself, locally or over its own SSH connection. */
+export function thisOrcaLaunchHost(args: {
+  launchPlatform: NodeJS.Platform
+  isRemote: boolean
+}): LaunchHost {
+  return describeLaunchHost({ ...args, hostPlatform: process.platform, paired: false })
+}
diff --git a/src/preload/api/pty-api.ts b/src/preload/api/pty-api.ts
index 4bc489eb62e..c854cd3bd64 100644
--- a/src/preload/api/pty-api.ts
+++ b/src/preload/api/pty-api.ts
@@ -128,6 +128,8 @@ export type PtyApi = {
     }
   ) => Promise<TerminalProcessInspection>
   confirmForegroundProcess: (id: string) => Promise<string | null>
+  /** What holds a launched agent's terminal, read fresh on its execution host (#24257's guard). */
+  readLaunchedAgentForeground: (id: string, agent: string) => Promise<'agent' | 'shell' | 'unknown'>
   /** Local panes only; false for any other pane. */
   isCodexOnSharedServer: (id: string) => Promise<boolean>
   /** Runs the fix with the pane's own Codex; true only once verified. Local panes only. */
diff --git a/src/preload/api/pty-bridge-stream-and-serialization.ts b/src/preload/api/pty-bridge-stream-and-serialization.ts
index ec5b232acb5..22c8cf8bbf9 100644
--- a/src/preload/api/pty-bridge-stream-and-serialization.ts
+++ b/src/preload/api/pty-bridge-stream-and-serialization.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@ export const ptyStreamAndSerializationApi = {
     ipcRenderer.invoke('pty:inspectProcess', { id, ...options }),
   confirmForegroundProcess: (id: string): Promise<string | null> =>
     ipcRenderer.invoke('pty:confirmForegroundProcess', { id }),
+  readLaunchedAgentForeground: (
+    id: string,
+    agent: string
+  ): Promise<'agent' | 'shell' | 'unknown'> =>
+    ipcRenderer.invoke('pty:readLaunchedAgentForeground', { id, agent }),
   isCodexOnSharedServer: (id: string): Promise<boolean> =>
     ipcRenderer.invoke('pty:isCodexOnSharedServer', { id }),
   disableCodexSharedServerAutoStart: (id: string): Promise<boolean> =>
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan.ts
index c5307266a25..c906836cfa2 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ type BuildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlanArgs = {
   /** Why: keep the previewed command label in sync with the real remote launch,
    * which omits the Linux-only `orca-ide` rename for SSH hosts. */
   isRemote?: boolean
-  launchHostIsPaired?: boolean
+  runtimeEnvironmentId?: string | null
 }
 
 export function buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan({
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ export function buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan({
   connectionUnavailable,
   launchPlatform,
   isRemote,
-  launchHostIsPaired
+  runtimeEnvironmentId
 }: BuildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlanArgs): SourceControlAgentActionDeliveryPlanState {
   if (connectionUnavailable) {
     return buildSourceControlAgentConnectionErrorPlan()
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ export function buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan({
     terminalWindowsShell: settings?.terminalWindowsShell,
     platform: launchPlatform,
     isRemote,
-    launchHostIsPaired
+    runtimeEnvironmentId
   })
   if (!result.ok) {
     return { status: 'error', error: result.error }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/useSourceControlAgentActionStart.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/useSourceControlAgentActionStart.ts
index 85fe301b820..08fadee4c25 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/useSourceControlAgentActionStart.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/right-sidebar/useSourceControlAgentActionStart.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ import type { Repo } from '../../../../shared/repo-types'
 import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
 import { buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan } from './buildSourceControlAgentDeliveryPlan'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/store'
-import { launchHostIsPaired } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import { getRuntimeEnvironmentIdForWorktree } from '@/lib/worktree-runtime-owner'
 import type { SourceControlAgentActionDeliveryPlanState } from './SourceControlAgentActionDialogForm'
 import { runSourceControlAgentActionStart } from './runSourceControlAgentActionStart'
@@ -120,9 +119,7 @@ export function useSourceControlAgentActionStart({
         connectionUnavailable,
         launchPlatform,
         isRemote,
-        launchHostIsPaired: launchHostIsPaired(
-          getRuntimeEnvironmentIdForWorktree(useAppStore.getState(), worktreeId)
-        )
+        runtimeEnvironmentId: getRuntimeEnvironmentIdForWorktree(useAppStore.getState(), worktreeId)
       })
     },
     [
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/folder-workspace-composer-submit.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/folder-workspace-composer-submit.ts
index d942af2701f..960291aa1e3 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/folder-workspace-composer-submit.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/folder-workspace-composer-submit.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import { planAgentSessionLaunch } from '@/lib/agent-session-launch-plan'
 import { beginStructuredAgentSessionProvisionalLaunch } from '@/lib/structured-agent-session-provisional-tab'
 import { getNewWorkspaceProjectGroupHostId } from '@/lib/new-workspace-project-options'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/store'
-import { launchHostIsPaired } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
+import { clientLaunchHost } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import {
   composerAgentStartupPlan,
   type ComposerAgentStartupPlan
@@ -129,7 +129,12 @@ export async function submitFolderWorkspaceCreate({
               platform: launchPlatform,
               shell: launchShell,
               isRemote: launchIsRemote,
-              launchHostIsPaired: launchHostIsPaired(runtimeEnvironmentId)
+              host: clientLaunchHost({
+                runtimeEnvironmentId,
+                launchPlatform,
+                isRemote: launchIsRemote
+              }),
+              canPasteAfterReady: true
             }),
             note
           )
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/full-creation-startup.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/full-creation-startup.test.ts
index 1f48e5233e7..8bfefea7195 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/full-creation-startup.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/full-creation-startup.test.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ describe('the full composer’s renderer-spawned startup', () => {
         prompt,
         cmdOverrides: {},
         platform: 'linux',
-        isRemote: true
+        isRemote: true,
+        host: { paired: false, provesAgentInFront: true },
+        canPasteAfterReady: true
       }),
       prompt
     )
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/full-submit-preparation.ts b/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/full-submit-preparation.ts
index 98c273cde24..68a1fa6df82 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/full-submit-preparation.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/full-submit-preparation.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ import { resolveInitialNativeChatSessionOptions } from '@/components/native-chat
 import { isNativeChatTranscriptLocalReadable } from '@/lib/native-chat-transcript-readability'
 import type { AgentStartedTelemetry } from '@/lib/worktree-startup-payload'
 import { tuiAgentToAgentKind } from '@/lib/telemetry'
-import { launchHostIsPaired } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
+import { clientLaunchHost } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import { composerAgentStartupPlan } from '@/lib/composer-agent-startup-plan'
 import type { PendingSmartGitHubSubmitResolution } from './source-selection-decisions'
 
@@ -205,7 +205,12 @@ export function useFullSubmitPreparation(input: FullSubmitPreparationInput) {
           platform: selectedRepoAgentLaunchPlatform,
           shell: selectedRepoStartupShell,
           isRemote: selectedRepoIsRemote,
-          launchHostIsPaired: launchHostIsPaired(selectedRepoSettings?.activeRuntimeEnvironmentId)
+          host: clientLaunchHost({
+            runtimeEnvironmentId: selectedRepoSettings?.activeRuntimeEnvironmentId,
+            launchPlatform: selectedRepoAgentLaunchPlatform,
+            isRemote: selectedRepoIsRemote
+          }),
+          canPasteAfterReady: true
         }),
         submitStartupPrompt
       )
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/quick-creation-execution.ts b/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/quick-creation-execution.ts
index 37a57f9056b..104f8f24b75 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/quick-creation-execution.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/quick-creation-execution.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ import { useAppStore } from '@/store'
 import { settleComposerSubmit } from '@/lib/composer-submit-cancellation'
 import { ensureHooksConfirmed } from '@/lib/ensure-hooks-confirmed'
 import { getActiveRuntimeTarget } from '@/runtime/runtime-rpc-client'
-import { launchHostIsPaired } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
+import { clientLaunchHost } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import { runBackgroundWorktreeCreation } from '@/lib/worktree-creation-flow'
 import { translate } from '@/i18n/i18n'
 import { resolveQuickCreateLinkedWorkItemPrompt } from '@/lib/linked-work-item-context'
@@ -140,7 +140,11 @@ export function useQuickCreationExecution(input: QuickCreationExecutionInput) {
         platform: selectedRepoAgentLaunchPlatform,
         shell: selectedRepoStartupShell,
         isRemote: selectedRepoIsRemote,
-        launchHostIsPaired: launchHostIsPaired(selectedRepoSettings?.activeRuntimeEnvironmentId),
+        host: clientLaunchHost({
+          runtimeEnvironmentId: selectedRepoSettings?.activeRuntimeEnvironmentId,
+          launchPlatform: selectedRepoAgentLaunchPlatform,
+          isRemote: selectedRepoIsRemote
+        }),
         telemetrySource
       })
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/quick-startup-plan.ts b/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/quick-startup-plan.ts
index 2b2eed7538f..2a8feb0143a 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/quick-startup-plan.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/hooks/composer-state/quick-startup-plan.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { GlobalSettings } from '../../../../shared/global-settings-types'
 import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
 import type { AgentStartupShell } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-startup-shell'
+import type { LaunchHost } from '../../../../shared/launch-host'
 import type { AgentStartedTelemetry } from '@/lib/worktree-startup-payload'
 import type { WorktreeCreationRequest } from '@/lib/pending-worktree-creation'
 import { buildAgentDraftLaunchPlan, planLaunchPrompt } from '@/lib/tui-agent-startup'
@@ -25,8 +26,8 @@ export type QuickComposerStartupInput = {
   platform: NodeJS.Platform
   shell: AgentStartupShell | null | undefined
   isRemote: boolean
-  /** See `launchHostIsPaired`. */
-  launchHostIsPaired: boolean
+  /** The host the launch runs on (`clientLaunchHost`). */
+  host: LaunchHost
   telemetrySource: WorktreeCreationRequest['telemetrySource']
 }
 
@@ -96,7 +97,8 @@ export function buildQuickComposerStartup(input: QuickComposerStartupInput): Qui
         platform: input.platform,
         shell: input.shell ?? undefined,
         isRemote: input.isRemote,
-        launchHostIsPaired: input.launchHostIsPaired
+        host: input.host,
+        canPasteAfterReady: true
       }),
       prompt
     )
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/en.json b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/en.json
index a79fb299069..f0a26c2b480 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/en.json
+++ b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/en.json
@@ -657,6 +657,11 @@
                   "message": "The agent wasn't started: Orca couldn't write the file that carries your prompt. Copy the prompt and launch again."
                 }
               }
+            },
+            "unconfirmed": {
+              "notice": {
+                "message": "Orca couldn't confirm the agent received your prompt. Check the agent before sending it again."
+              }
             }
           }
         }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/es.json b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/es.json
index 555445f4816..90f0660d695 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/es.json
+++ b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/es.json
@@ -416,6 +416,11 @@
                   "message": "El agente no se inició: Orca no pudo escribir el archivo que contiene tu prompt. Copia el prompt e inícialo de nuevo."
                 }
               }
+            },
+            "unconfirmed": {
+              "notice": {
+                "message": "Orca no pudo confirmar que el agente recibió tu prompt. Revisa el agente antes de enviarlo de nuevo."
+              }
             }
           }
         }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/fr.json b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/fr.json
index 34857cb55bf..c70852ae279 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/fr.json
+++ b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/fr.json
@@ -626,6 +626,11 @@
                   "message": "L’agent n’a pas démarré : Orca n’a pas pu écrire le fichier qui contient votre prompt. Copiez le prompt et relancez."
                 }
               }
+            },
+            "unconfirmed": {
+              "notice": {
+                "message": "Orca n’a pas pu confirmer que l’agent a reçu votre prompt. Vérifiez l’agent avant de le renvoyer."
+              }
             }
           }
         }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ja.json b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ja.json
index e1b10ffa8c9..3e61e025a82 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ja.json
+++ b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ja.json
@@ -527,6 +527,11 @@
                   "message": "Agent は起動しませんでした。プロンプトを渡すファイルを Orca が書き込めませんでした。プロンプトをコピーして、もう一度起動してください。"
                 }
               }
+            },
+            "unconfirmed": {
+              "notice": {
+                "message": "Agent がプロンプトを受け取ったことを Orca で確認できませんでした。再送する前に Agent を確認してください。"
+              }
             }
           }
         }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ko.json b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ko.json
index 02a7b6200f4..cc7615728b2 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ko.json
+++ b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ko.json
@@ -527,6 +527,11 @@
                   "message": "에이전트가 시작되지 않았습니다. Orca가 프롬프트를 담을 파일을 쓰지 못했습니다. 프롬프트를 복사한 뒤 다시 시작하세요."
                 }
               }
+            },
+            "unconfirmed": {
+              "notice": {
+                "message": "에이전트가 프롬프트를 받았는지 Orca가 확인하지 못했습니다. 다시 보내기 전에 에이전트를 확인하세요."
+              }
             }
           }
         }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/zh.json b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/zh.json
index 033b8e741c6..ba7aaac7f85 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/zh.json
+++ b/src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/zh.json
@@ -527,6 +527,11 @@
                   "message": "代理未启动：Orca 无法写入承载你的提示词的文件。请复制提示词并重新启动。"
                 }
               }
+            },
+            "unconfirmed": {
+              "notice": {
+                "message": "Orca 无法确认代理已收到你的提示词。再次发送前请先检查代理。"
+              }
             }
           }
         }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-draft-readiness.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-draft-readiness.test.ts
index fe0ce62c4a9..6c25f3cf342 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-draft-readiness.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-draft-readiness.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import {
   clearPreHandlerPtyState,
   drainPreHandlerPtyData
 } from '@/components/terminal-pane/pty-pre-handler-buffer'
-import { waitForAgentDraftInputReady } from './agent-draft-readiness'
+import { bracketedPasteStateAfter, waitForAgentDraftInputReady } from './agent-draft-readiness'
 
 const testState = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   observer: null as ((data: string) => void) | null,
@@ -52,4 +52,60 @@ describe('waitForAgentDraftInputReady', () => {
     ])
     expect(vi.getTimerCount()).toBe(0)
   })
+
+  // Why: a shell running the launch line turns bracketed paste off, so its earlier prompt must not
+  // read as the agent ready once the line is running.
+  describe('with bracketed paste turned off revoking the quiet window', () => {
+    const quietTimers = (): void => {
+      vi.useFakeTimers()
+      vi.stubGlobal('window', {
+        setTimeout: (handler: () => void, ms: number) => globalThis.setTimeout(handler, ms),
+        clearTimeout: (timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>) => globalThis.clearTimeout(timer)
+      })
+    }
+    afterEach(() => vi.unstubAllGlobals())
+
+    it('waits for the agent to turn it on again', async () => {
+      quietTimers()
+      let ready: boolean | null = null
+      void waitForAgentDraftInputReady(
+        PTY_ID,
+        20_000,
+        'render-quiet-after-bracketed-paste',
+        {},
+        {
+          revokeOnBracketedPasteOff: true
+        }
+      ).then((value) => {
+        ready = value
+      })
+      testState.observer?.('$ \x1b[?2004h')
+      testState.observer?.('claude "fix it"\r\n\x1b[?2004l')
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(3_000)
+      expect(ready).toBeNull()
+      testState.observer?.('\x1b[?2004h> ')
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1_500)
+      expect(ready).toBe(true)
+    })
+
+    it('leaves a caller that did not ask for it on the shell prompt’s quiet window', async () => {
+      quietTimers()
+      const pending = waitForAgentDraftInputReady(
+        PTY_ID,
+        20_000,
+        'render-quiet-after-bracketed-paste',
+        {}
+      )
+      testState.observer?.('$ \x1b[?2004h')
+      testState.observer?.('\x1b[?2004l')
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1_500)
+      await expect(pending).resolves.toBe(true)
+    })
+
+    it('reads the last toggle in a chunk', () => {
+      expect(bracketedPasteStateAfter(true, 'a\x1b[?2004lb')).toBe(false)
+      expect(bracketedPasteStateAfter(false, '\x1b[?2004l\x1b[?2004h')).toBe(true)
+      expect(bracketedPasteStateAfter(false, 'plain')).toBe(false)
+    })
+  })
 })
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-draft-readiness.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-draft-readiness.ts
index 25be94193da..5f993edac29 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-draft-readiness.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-draft-readiness.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,15 @@ import { subscribeToRuntimeTerminalData } from '@/runtime/runtime-terminal-strea
 import { createDraftPasteReadyScanner } from '../../../shared/draft-paste-ready-scanner'
 
 const BRACKETED_PASTE_QUIET_MS = 1500
+const BRACKETED_PASTE_ON = '\x1b[?2004h'
+const BRACKETED_PASTE_OFF = '\x1b[?2004l'
+
+/** Whether bracketed paste is on after `data`, from the last toggle in it; `previous` if none. */
+export function bracketedPasteStateAfter(previous: boolean, data: string): boolean {
+  const on = data.lastIndexOf(BRACKETED_PASTE_ON)
+  const off = data.lastIndexOf(BRACKETED_PASTE_OFF)
+  return on === -1 && off === -1 ? previous : on > off
+}
 
 /**
  * Tap the PTY data stream as a side-channel observer (does NOT take over
@@ -22,7 +31,10 @@ export function waitForAgentDraftInputReady(
   ptyId: string,
   timeoutMs: number,
   readySignal: DraftPasteReadySignal,
-  settings: Pick<GlobalSettings, 'activeRuntimeEnvironmentId'> | null | undefined
+  settings: Pick<GlobalSettings, 'activeRuntimeEnvironmentId'> | null | undefined,
+  /** A quiet window counts only while bracketed paste is still on: a shell running the launch
+   *  line turns it off (`2004l`), so its earlier prompt no longer reads as the agent ready. */
+  options: { revokeOnBracketedPasteOff?: boolean } = {}
 ): Promise<boolean> {
   return new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
     let settled = false
@@ -53,13 +65,24 @@ export function waitForAgentDraftInputReady(
       quietTimer = window.setTimeout(() => finish(true), BRACKETED_PASTE_QUIET_MS)
     }
 
+    let toggleCarry = ''
+    let bracketedPasteOn = true
     const observeData = (data: string): void => {
       const { ready, armQuietTimer: shouldArm } = scanner.observe(data)
       if (ready) {
         finish(true)
         return
       }
-      if (shouldArm) {
+      if (options.revokeOnBracketedPasteOff) {
+        const recent = toggleCarry + data
+        toggleCarry = recent.slice(-(BRACKETED_PASTE_OFF.length - 1))
+        bracketedPasteOn = bracketedPasteStateAfter(bracketedPasteOn, recent)
+        if (!bracketedPasteOn && quietTimer !== null) {
+          window.clearTimeout(quietTimer)
+          quietTimer = null
+        }
+      }
+      if (shouldArm && bracketedPasteOn) {
         armQuietTimer()
       }
     }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-permissions.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-permissions.test.ts
index 9323a9aa5a4..b9bdf655892 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-permissions.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-permissions.test.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ vi.mock('@/components/native-chat/native-chat-session-option-cache', () => ({
 }))
 vi.mock('@/lib/agent-paste-draft', () => ({ pasteDraftWhenAgentReady: vi.fn(async () => true) }))
 vi.mock('@/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt', () => ({
-  waitForLaunchPromptReceipt: vi.fn(async () => true)
+  waitForLaunchPromptReceipt: vi.fn(async () => 'delivered')
 }))
 vi.mock('@/lib/agent-ready-wait', () => ({
   waitForAgentReady: vi.fn(async () => ({ ready: true, reason: 'foreground-match' }))
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-placement.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-placement.test.ts
index d2721aa2805..282dc6eb7ef 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-placement.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-placement.test.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ vi.mock('@/components/native-chat/native-chat-session-option-cache', () => ({
 }))
 vi.mock('@/lib/agent-paste-draft', () => ({ pasteDraftWhenAgentReady: vi.fn(async () => true) }))
 vi.mock('@/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt', () => ({
-  waitForLaunchPromptReceipt: vi.fn(async () => true)
+  waitForLaunchPromptReceipt: vi.fn(async () => 'delivered')
 }))
 vi.mock('@/lib/agent-ready-wait', () => ({
   waitForAgentReady: vi.fn(async () => ({ ready: true, reason: 'foreground-match' }))
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-prompt-transport.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-prompt-transport.test.ts
index 696d3e40423..6155a7e51ab 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-prompt-transport.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-caller-prompt-transport.test.ts
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ vi.mock('@/lib/agent-paste-draft', () => ({
 vi.mock('@/lib/agent-ready-wait', () => ({
   waitForAgentReady: vi.fn(async () => ({ ready: true, reason: 'foreground-match' }))
 }))
-const mockWaitForLaunchPromptReceipt = vi.fn(async () => true)
+const mockWaitForLaunchPromptReceipt = vi.fn(async () => 'delivered')
 vi.mock('@/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt', () => ({
   waitForLaunchPromptReceipt: mockWaitForLaunchPromptReceipt
 }))
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-not-delivered-notice.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-not-delivered-notice.ts
index 06f1afddd30..feb0af95c36 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-not-delivered-notice.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-not-delivered-notice.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,28 @@ export function showAgentLaunchPromptNotDeliveredNotice(args: {
   })
 }
 
+/**
+ * The agent started with the prompt on its command line, but nothing proved it received it: no hook
+ * turn, and the host cannot tell what holds the terminal. Not a "wasn't sent", so the user is told
+ * to check the agent before sending the prompt again.
+ */
+export function showAgentLaunchPromptUnconfirmedNotice(args: {
+  agent: TuiAgent
+  prompt: string
+}): void {
+  showPromptCopyNotice(
+    translate(
+      'auto.lib.agent.launch.prompt.unconfirmed.notice.message',
+      "Orca couldn't confirm the agent received your prompt. Check the agent before sending it again."
+    ),
+    args.prompt
+  )
+  track('agent_error', {
+    error_class: 'paste_readiness_timeout',
+    agent_kind: tuiAgentToAgentKind(args.agent)
+  })
+}
+
 /**
  * The host refused to start the agent because it could not write the launch file that carries the
  * prompt. Nothing ran, so the user is handed the text to launch again with.
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt.test.ts
index 475a77660a6..25080f8854b 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
 type ReceiptState = {
   tabsByWorktree: Record<string, { id: string }[]>
@@ -8,12 +8,13 @@ type ReceiptState = {
 }
 
 const mocks = vi.hoisted(() => {
-  let state: ReceiptState = {
+  const empty = (): ReceiptState => ({
     tabsByWorktree: {},
     ptyIdsByTabId: {},
     agentStatusByPaneKey: {},
     settings: {}
-  }
+  })
+  let state = empty()
   const listeners = new Set<(next: ReceiptState) => void>()
   return {
     getState: () => state,
@@ -29,89 +30,114 @@ const mocks = vi.hoisted(() => {
     },
     reset: () => {
       listeners.clear()
-      state = { tabsByWorktree: {}, ptyIdsByTabId: {}, agentStatusByPaneKey: {}, settings: {} }
+      state = empty()
     },
     readiness: vi.fn(),
-    waitForAgentReady: vi.fn()
+    readForeground: vi.fn()
   }
 })
 
 vi.mock('@/store', () => ({
   useAppStore: { getState: mocks.getState, subscribe: mocks.subscribe }
 }))
+vi.mock('./agent-draft-readiness', () => ({ waitForAgentDraftInputReady: mocks.readiness }))
 vi.mock('./agent-paste-draft', () => ({
   PTY_SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS: 8000,
-  getSettingsForAgentTabRuntimeOwner: () => ({}),
-  waitForAgentDraftInputReadyOnTab: mocks.readiness
+  getSettingsForAgentTabRuntimeOwner: () => ({})
 }))
-vi.mock('./agent-ready-wait', () => ({ waitForAgentReady: mocks.waitForAgentReady }))
+vi.mock('@/runtime/runtime-terminal-inspection', () => ({ isRemoteRuntimePtyId: () => false }))
 
 import { waitForLaunchPromptReceipt } from './agent-launch-prompt-receipt'
 
-const never = (): Promise<never> => new Promise(() => {})
+const PANE = 'tab-1:11111111-1111-4111-8111-111111111111'
+
+function receipt() {
+  return waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId: 'tab-1', agent: 'claude', launchedAt: 100 })
+}
 
 describe('whether a prompt that rode the launch command reached the agent', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     mocks.reset()
     mocks.setState({ tabsByWorktree: { 'wt-1': [{ id: 'tab-1' }] } })
-    mocks.readiness.mockReset().mockImplementation(never)
-    mocks.waitForAgentReady.mockReset()
+    mocks.readiness.mockReset().mockResolvedValue(true)
+    mocks.readForeground.mockReset().mockResolvedValue('agent')
+    // Timers go through globalThis at call time, so fake timers reach them.
+    vi.stubGlobal('window', {
+      setTimeout: (handler: () => void, ms: number) => globalThis.setTimeout(handler, ms),
+      clearTimeout: (timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>) => globalThis.clearTimeout(timer),
+      api: { pty: { readLaunchedAgentForeground: mocks.readForeground } }
+    })
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.useRealTimers()
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals()
   })
 
   it('is delivered when the agent’s own hook reports a turn on the tab', async () => {
-    const receipt = waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId: 'tab-1', agent: 'claude', launchedAt: 100 })
+    mocks.readiness.mockReturnValue(new Promise(() => {}))
+    const pending = receipt()
     mocks.setState({ ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-1'] } })
-    mocks.setState({
-      agentStatusByPaneKey: { 'tab-1:11111111-1111-4111-8111-111111111111': { updatedAt: 150 } }
-    })
-    await expect(receipt).resolves.toBe(true)
+    mocks.setState({ agentStatusByPaneKey: { [PANE]: { updatedAt: 150 } } })
+    await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('delivered')
   })
 
-  it('ignores a status row older than the launch', async () => {
-    mocks.setState({
-      agentStatusByPaneKey: { 'tab-1:11111111-1111-4111-8111-111111111111': { updatedAt: 50 } }
-    })
-    mocks.readiness.mockResolvedValue(null)
-    const receipt = waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId: 'tab-1', agent: 'claude', launchedAt: 100 })
-    await expect(receipt).resolves.toBe(false)
+  // Why: #24257's crash-guard predicate, asked once the agent looks ready.
+  it('is delivered when a fresh read finds the launched agent in front', async () => {
+    const pending = receipt()
+    mocks.setState({ ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-1'] } })
+    await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('delivered')
+    expect(mocks.readForeground).toHaveBeenCalledWith('pty-1', 'claude')
+    expect(mocks.readiness.mock.calls[0]?.[4]).toEqual({ revokeOnBracketedPasteOff: true })
   })
 
-  it('is not delivered when the PTY exits before the agent shows any sign of the prompt', async () => {
-    const receipt = waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId: 'tab-1', agent: 'claude', launchedAt: 100 })
+  // Why: a shell back at its prompt looks ready too; readiness alone never counts.
+  it('is not delivered when the read finds the shell, however ready it looked', async () => {
+    mocks.readForeground.mockResolvedValue('shell')
+    mocks.setState({ agentStatusByPaneKey: { [PANE]: { updatedAt: 50 } } })
+    const pending = receipt()
+    mocks.setState({ ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-1'] } })
+    await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('not-delivered')
+  })
+
+  it('is unconfirmed when the host cannot tell and no hook turn arrives', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    mocks.readForeground.mockResolvedValue('unknown')
+    const pending = receipt()
+    mocks.setState({ ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-1'] } })
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2_000)
+    await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('unconfirmed')
+  })
+
+  it('takes a hook turn that arrives after a read that could not tell', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    mocks.readForeground.mockResolvedValue('unknown')
+    const pending = receipt()
+    mocks.setState({ ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-1'] } })
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(500)
+    mocks.setState({ agentStatusByPaneKey: { [PANE]: { updatedAt: 600 } } })
+    await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('delivered')
+  })
+
+  it('is not delivered when the PTY exits first', async () => {
+    mocks.readiness.mockReturnValue(new Promise(() => {}))
+    const pending = receipt()
     mocks.setState({ ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': ['pty-1'] } })
     mocks.setState({ ptyIdsByTabId: { 'tab-1': [] } })
-    await expect(receipt).resolves.toBe(false)
+    await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('not-delivered')
   })
 
   it('is not delivered when the PTY never spawns, as when the host refused its launch file', async () => {
-    mocks.readiness.mockResolvedValue(null)
-    const receipt = waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId: 'tab-1', agent: 'codex', launchedAt: 100 })
-    await expect(receipt).resolves.toBe(false)
-  })
-
-  it('is delivered when the agent shows the composer a paste would have waited for', async () => {
-    mocks.readiness.mockResolvedValue({ ptyId: 'pty-1', ready: true })
-    const receipt = waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId: 'tab-1', agent: 'codex', launchedAt: 100 })
-    await expect(receipt).resolves.toBe(true)
-  })
-
-  it('reports an unconfirmed delivery when only the agent process was seen', async () => {
-    mocks.readiness.mockResolvedValue({ ptyId: 'pty-1', ready: false })
-    mocks.waitForAgentReady.mockResolvedValue({ ready: true, reason: 'foreground-match' })
-    const onUnconfirmedDelivery = vi.fn()
-    const receipt = waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({
-      tabId: 'tab-1',
-      agent: 'codex',
-      launchedAt: 100,
-      onUnconfirmedDelivery
-    })
-    await expect(receipt).resolves.toBe(true)
-    expect(onUnconfirmedDelivery).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const pending = receipt()
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(8_000)
+    await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('not-delivered')
+    expect(mocks.readForeground).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
   })
 
   it('is not delivered when the tab closes first', async () => {
-    const receipt = waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId: 'tab-1', agent: 'claude', launchedAt: 100 })
+    const pending = receipt()
     mocks.setState({ tabsByWorktree: { 'wt-1': [] } })
-    await expect(receipt).resolves.toBe(false)
+    await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('not-delivered')
   })
 })
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt.ts
index e2ef5c2c00a..23d58bd026e 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt.ts
@@ -3,15 +3,17 @@ import { TUI_AGENT_CONFIG } from '../../../shared/tui-agent-config'
 import { resolveDraftPasteReadyTimeoutMs } from '../../../shared/draft-paste-ready-timeout'
 import { parsePaneKey } from '../../../shared/stable-pane-id'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/store'
-import { waitForAgentReady } from './agent-ready-wait'
-import {
-  getSettingsForAgentTabRuntimeOwner,
-  PTY_SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS,
-  waitForAgentDraftInputReadyOnTab
-} from './agent-paste-draft'
+import { isRemoteRuntimePtyId } from '@/runtime/runtime-terminal-inspection'
+import { waitForAgentDraftInputReady } from './agent-draft-readiness'
+import { getSettingsForAgentTabRuntimeOwner, PTY_SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS } from './agent-paste-draft'
 
 type AppState = ReturnType<typeof useAppStore.getState>
 
+export type LaunchPromptReceipt = 'delivered' | 'not-delivered' | 'unconfirmed'
+
+/** How long a hook turn may still arrive after a read that could not tell. */
+const HOOK_GRACE_AFTER_UNKNOWN_READ_MS = 2000
+
 function hookReportedTurnOnTab(state: AppState, tabId: string, launchedAt: number): boolean {
   return Object.entries(state.agentStatusByPaneKey).some(
     ([paneKey, entry]) => parsePaneKey(paneKey)?.tabId === tabId && entry.updatedAt >= launchedAt
@@ -22,31 +24,68 @@ function tabExists(state: AppState, tabId: string): boolean {
   return Object.values(state.tabsByWorktree).some((tabs) => tabs?.some((tab) => tab.id === tabId))
 }
 
+async function readLaunchedAgentForeground(
+  ptyId: string,
+  agent: TuiAgent
+): Promise<'agent' | 'shell' | 'unknown'> {
+  // A paired host's process reads do not reach this client.
+  if (isRemoteRuntimePtyId(ptyId)) {
+    return 'unknown'
+  }
+  return window.api.pty.readLaunchedAgentForeground(ptyId, agent).catch(() => 'unknown' as const)
+}
+
 /**
- * Whether a prompt that rode an agent's launch command reached the agent. True at the first real
- * signal: the agent's own hook reports a turn on the tab, or the agent shows the composer a paste
- * would have waited for. False when the PTY never spawns (a refused launch file included), exits
- * first, or the tab closes. Never "the tab exists".
+ * Whether a prompt that rode an agent's launch command reached the agent, proven the way #24257's
+ * crash guard proves an agent before a paste. Delivered on the agent's own hook turn on the tab, or
+ * a fresh read on the execution host that finds the launched agent, not its shell, in front of the
+ * terminal (`readLaunchedAgentForeground`). A ready signal never counts on its own: it only times
+ * that read, and bracketed paste turned off (`2004l`) revokes it. Not delivered when the PTY never
+ * spawns (a refused launch file included), exits first, the tab closes, or the read finds the
+ * shell. Unconfirmed when nothing proves either, as on a Windows host without hooks.
  */
 export function waitForLaunchPromptReceipt(args: {
   tabId: string
   agent: TuiAgent
   launchedAt: number
-  /** The agent process was seen, but neither its hook nor its composer. */
-  onUnconfirmedDelivery?: () => void
-}): Promise<boolean> {
+}): Promise<LaunchPromptReceipt> {
   const { tabId, agent, launchedAt } = args
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
     let settled = false
-    let sawPty = false
+    let boundPtyId: string | null = null
     let unsubscribe: (() => void) | null = null
-    const finish = (delivered: boolean): void => {
+    const timers: number[] = []
+    const finish = (receipt: LaunchPromptReceipt): void => {
       if (settled) {
         return
       }
       settled = true
       unsubscribe?.()
-      resolve(delivered)
+      timers.forEach((timer) => window.clearTimeout(timer))
+      resolve(receipt)
+    }
+    const readAfterReadiness = (ptyId: string): void => {
+      const config = TUI_AGENT_CONFIG[agent]
+      void waitForAgentDraftInputReady(
+        ptyId,
+        resolveDraftPasteReadyTimeoutMs(agent),
+        config.draftPasteReadySignal ?? 'render-quiet-after-bracketed-paste',
+        getSettingsForAgentTabRuntimeOwner(tabId),
+        { revokeOnBracketedPasteOff: true }
+      )
+        .then(() => readLaunchedAgentForeground(ptyId, agent))
+        .then((foreground) => {
+          if (foreground === 'agent') {
+            finish('delivered')
+          } else if (foreground === 'shell') {
+            finish('not-delivered')
+          } else {
+            timers.push(
+              window.setTimeout(() => finish('unconfirmed'), HOOK_GRACE_AFTER_UNKNOWN_READ_MS)
+            )
+          }
+        })
+        .catch(() => finish('unconfirmed'))
     }
     let scannedStatus: AppState['agentStatusByPaneKey'] | null = null
     const observe = (state: AppState): void => {
@@ -54,45 +93,26 @@ export function waitForLaunchPromptReceipt(args: {
       if (state.agentStatusByPaneKey !== scannedStatus) {
         scannedStatus = state.agentStatusByPaneKey
         if (hookReportedTurnOnTab(state, tabId, launchedAt)) {
-          finish(true)
+          finish('delivered')
           return
         }
       }
-      if ((state.ptyIdsByTabId[tabId]?.length ?? 0) > 0) {
-        sawPty = true
-      } else if (sawPty || !tabExists(state, tabId)) {
-        finish(false)
+      const ptyId = state.ptyIdsByTabId[tabId]?.[0]
+      if (ptyId && !boundPtyId) {
+        boundPtyId = ptyId
+        readAfterReadiness(ptyId)
+      } else if ((boundPtyId && !ptyId) || !tabExists(state, tabId)) {
+        finish('not-delivered')
       }
     }
     unsubscribe = useAppStore.subscribe(observe)
-    observe(useAppStore.getState())
-    const config = TUI_AGENT_CONFIG[agent]
-    void waitForAgentDraftInputReadyOnTab({
-      tabId,
-      spawnTimeoutMs: PTY_SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS,
-      readinessTimeoutMs: resolveDraftPasteReadyTimeoutMs(agent),
-      readySignal: config.draftPasteReadySignal ?? 'render-quiet-after-bracketed-paste',
-      settings: getSettingsForAgentTabRuntimeOwner(tabId)
-    }).then(
-      async (readiness) => {
-        if (settled) {
-          return
+    timers.push(
+      window.setTimeout(() => {
+        if (!boundPtyId) {
+          finish('not-delivered')
         }
-        if (!readiness) {
-          finish(false)
-          return
-        }
-        if (readiness.ready) {
-          finish(true)
-          return
-        }
-        const fallback = await waitForAgentReady(tabId, config.expectedProcess, { timeoutMs: 1000 })
-        if (fallback.ready && !settled) {
-          args.onUnconfirmedDelivery?.()
-        }
-        finish(fallback.ready)
-      },
-      () => finish(false)
+      }, PTY_SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS)
     )
+    observe(useAppStore.getState())
   })
 }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-paste-draft.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-paste-draft.ts
index 510ebb1aae0..2353e268896 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-paste-draft.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/agent-paste-draft.ts
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ async function sendBracketedPasteToAgent(args: {
   }
 }
 
-export function waitForAgentDraftInputReadyOnTab(args: {
+function waitForAgentDraftInputReadyOnTab(args: {
   tabId: string
   spawnTimeoutMs: number
   readinessTimeoutMs: number
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-background-session-remote.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-background-session-remote.test.ts
index d2a54bf3d7a..1334029413b 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-background-session-remote.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-background-session-remote.test.ts
@@ -372,9 +372,9 @@ describe('launchAgentBackgroundSession remote runtime and SSH startup delivery',
   })
 
   // Why: a paired host is sent a command and never a launch file, so a pointer would name nothing.
-  it('pastes a prompt an old paired host would need a launch file for, instead of pointing at one', async () => {
+  it('pastes a long prompt to an old paired Linux host, which may neither stage it nor read a file', async () => {
     useRemoteAgentBackgroundRuntime(state)
-    mockGetAgentLaunchPlatformForRepo.mockReturnValue('win32')
+    mockGetAgentLaunchPlatformForRepo.mockReturnValue('linux')
     mockRuntimeEnvironmentTransportCall.mockImplementation((request: { method: string }) => {
       if (request.method === 'status.get') {
         return Promise.resolve({
@@ -413,9 +413,49 @@ describe('launchAgentBackgroundSession remote runtime and SSH startup delivery',
     )
   })
 
-  it('leaves that prompt to a paired host that takes the prompt itself, without a second paste', async () => {
+  // Why: a Windows host cannot prove the agent is in front to paste into, so the line carries it.
+  it('keeps that prompt on an old paired Windows host’s line, as main typed it', async () => {
     useRemoteAgentBackgroundRuntime(state)
     mockGetAgentLaunchPlatformForRepo.mockReturnValue('win32')
+    mockRuntimeEnvironmentTransportCall.mockImplementation((request: { method: string }) => {
+      if (request.method === 'status.get') {
+        return Promise.resolve({
+          id: 'status',
+          ok: true,
+          result: {
+            runtimeId: 'old-runtime',
+            graphStatus: 'ready',
+            runtimeProtocolVersion: 3,
+            minCompatibleRuntimeClientVersion: 2,
+            capabilities: []
+          }
+        })
+      }
+      return Promise.resolve({
+        id: 'create',
+        ok: true,
+        result: { terminal: { handle: 'legacy-terminal-1' } }
+      })
+    })
+    const { launchAgentBackgroundSession } = await import('./launch-agent-background-session')
+
+    await launchAgentBackgroundSession({
+      agent: 'claude',
+      worktreeId: 'wt-1',
+      prompt: 'fix the build\nthen run the tests'
+    })
+
+    const create = mockRuntimeEnvironmentTransportCall.mock.calls.find(
+      ([request]) => request.method === 'terminal.create'
+    )?.[0]
+    expect(create?.params?.command).not.toContain('orca-launch-file')
+    expect(create?.params?.command).toContain('fix the build')
+    expect(mockPasteDraftWhenAgentReady).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('leaves that prompt to a paired host that takes the prompt itself, without a second paste', async () => {
+    useRemoteAgentBackgroundRuntime(state)
+    mockGetAgentLaunchPlatformForRepo.mockReturnValue('linux')
     const { launchAgentBackgroundSession } = await import('./launch-agent-background-session')
 
     await launchAgentBackgroundSession({
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-background-session.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-background-session.ts
index 8ef6c3fe556..34839d54905 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-background-session.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-background-session.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useAppStore } from '@/store'
-import { launchHostIsPaired } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
+import { clientLaunchHost } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import { planLaunchPrompt, type AgentStartupPlan } from '@/lib/tui-agent-startup'
 import type { LaunchFile } from '../../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
 import type {
@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ export async function launchAgentBackgroundSession(
     terminalWindowsShell: store.settings?.terminalWindowsShell
   })
   const trimmedPrompt = prompt?.trim() ?? ''
-  const hasPrompt = trimmedPrompt.length > 0
   const isFollowupPath = requireTuiAgentConfig(agent).promptInjectionMode === 'stdin-after-start'
 
   // Route by the worktree's owner host, not the focused runtime.
@@ -85,7 +84,12 @@ export async function launchAgentBackgroundSession(
     platform: launchPlatform,
     shell: startupShell,
     isRemote,
-    launchHostIsPaired: launchHostIsPaired(ownerSettings?.activeRuntimeEnvironmentId)
+    host: clientLaunchHost({
+      runtimeEnvironmentId: ownerSettings?.activeRuntimeEnvironmentId,
+      launchPlatform,
+      isRemote
+    }),
+    canPasteAfterReady: true
   })
   if (!planned) {
     return null
@@ -108,7 +112,7 @@ export async function launchAgentBackgroundSession(
       promptLeftForPaste = isFollowupPath ? null : planned.text
       break
   }
-  let pasteDraftAfterLaunch = hasPrompt && isFollowupPath ? trimmedPrompt : promptLeftForPaste
+  let pasteDraftAfterLaunch = trimmedPrompt && isFollowupPath ? trimmedPrompt : promptLeftForPaste
 
   // A hidden run tab must never be store-visible without its PTY (#2989).
   const { reservedTabId, leafId, launchToken, launchRegistration, paneEnv } =
@@ -174,7 +178,7 @@ export async function launchAgentBackgroundSession(
         tabId: reservedTabId,
         leafId,
         agent,
-        ...(hasPrompt && !isFollowupPath ? { prompt: trimmedPrompt } : {}),
+        ...(trimmedPrompt && !isFollowupPath ? { prompt: trimmedPrompt } : {}),
         ...(startupPlan.sessionOptions ? { sessionOptions: startupPlan.sessionOptions } : {}),
         legacy: {
           command: startupPlan.launchCommand,
@@ -247,7 +251,7 @@ export async function launchAgentBackgroundSession(
     tab = adopted.tab
     paneKey = adopted.paneKey
     terminalOwnership = adopted.terminalOwnership
-    if (agent === 'command-code' && hasPrompt && !isFollowupPath) {
+    if (agent === 'command-code' && trimmedPrompt && !isFollowupPath) {
       // Why: Command Code does not expose a prompt-start hook; seed working for
       // hidden prompt launches so sidebar/activity surfaces do not stay idle.
       const routing = agentStatusConsumer.resolveRouting()
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-in-new-tab.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-in-new-tab.test.ts
index d44a7bb6739..4a18aa3a379 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-in-new-tab.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-in-new-tab.test.ts
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ vi.mock('@/runtime/web-runtime-session', () => ({
 describe('launchAgentInNewTab', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.clearAllMocks()
-    mockWaitForLaunchPromptReceipt.mockResolvedValue(true)
+    mockWaitForLaunchPromptReceipt.mockResolvedValue('delivered')
     mockIsWebRuntimeSessionActive.mockReturnValue(false)
     mockCreateWebRuntimeSessionTerminal.mockResolvedValue({ status: 'created' })
     mockCreateWebRuntimeAgentSessionTerminalWithLaunchDraft.mockResolvedValue({ status: 'created' })
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ describe('launchAgentInNewTab', () => {
 
   it('reports a carried prompt undelivered when the agent never received it', async () => {
     const { launchAgentInNewTab } = await import('./launch-agent-in-new-tab')
-    mockWaitForLaunchPromptReceipt.mockResolvedValue(false)
+    mockWaitForLaunchPromptReceipt.mockResolvedValue('not-delivered')
     const onPromptDelivered = vi.fn()
 
     const result = launchAgentInNewTab({
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-in-new-tab.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-in-new-tab.ts
index 096a2241d5c..6b0f5801809 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-in-new-tab.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-in-new-tab.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import type { AgentStartupPlan } from '@/lib/tui-agent-startup'
 import { planLaunchAgentStartupPrompt } from '@/lib/launch-agent-startup-prompt-plan'
 import { persistAgentLaunchTabOrder } from '@/lib/launch-agent-tab-order'
 import { tuiAgentToAgentKind } from '@/lib/telemetry'
-import { launchHostIsPaired } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
+import { clientLaunchHost } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import { deliverNewTabLaunchPrompt } from '@/lib/launch-agent-new-tab-prompt-delivery'
 import { initialAgentTabViewModeProps } from '@/lib/native-chat-initial-view-mode'
 import { isNativeChatTranscriptLocalReadable } from '@/lib/native-chat-transcript-readability'
@@ -160,7 +160,11 @@ function launchAgentInNewTabInternal(args: LaunchAgentInNewTabArgs): LaunchAgent
       prompt: trimmedPrompt,
       promptDelivery,
       isFollowupPath,
-      launchHostIsPaired: launchHostIsPaired(runtimeEnvironmentId)
+      host: clientLaunchHost({
+        runtimeEnvironmentId,
+        launchPlatform: resolvedLaunchPlatform,
+        isRemote
+      })
     })
   let promptDeliveryResult: Promise<{ delivered: boolean; failureNotified: boolean }> | undefined
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-new-tab-prompt-delivery.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-new-tab-prompt-delivery.ts
index 4bb2e43ab66..bab1b8759d5 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-new-tab-prompt-delivery.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-new-tab-prompt-delivery.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { createPasteReadinessTimeoutNotice } from '@/lib/launch-agent-paste-timeout-notice'
 import { waitForLaunchPromptReceipt } from '@/lib/agent-launch-prompt-receipt'
+import { showAgentLaunchPromptUnconfirmedNotice } from '@/lib/agent-launch-prompt-not-delivered-notice'
 import {
   deliverLaunchPromptToAgentTab,
   seedNativeChatLaunchDraftForAgentTab,
@@ -60,9 +61,18 @@ export function deliverNewTabLaunchPrompt(args: {
     content
   })
   // Why the receipt for a carried prompt: callers post replies and resolve threads on this result.
-  const delivery =
+  const result =
     pasteDraftAfterLaunch === null
-      ? waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId, agent, launchedAt: args.launchedAt, ...unconfirmed })
+      ? waitForLaunchPromptReceipt({ tabId, agent, launchedAt: args.launchedAt }).then(
+          (receipt) => {
+            if (receipt !== 'unconfirmed') {
+              return timeoutNotice.settle(receipt === 'delivered', args.onPromptDelivered)
+            }
+            // The agent may have the prompt: say so, and never invite pasting it a second time.
+            showAgentLaunchPromptUnconfirmedNotice({ agent, prompt })
+            return { delivered: false, failureNotified: true }
+          }
+        )
       : deliverLaunchPromptToAgentTab({
           tabId,
           content,
@@ -71,10 +81,7 @@ export function deliverNewTabLaunchPrompt(args: {
           forcePaste: true,
           onTimeout: timeoutNotice.onTimeout,
           ...unconfirmed
-        })
-  const result = delivery.then((delivered) =>
-    timeoutNotice.settle(delivered, args.onPromptDelivered)
-  )
+        }).then((delivered) => timeoutNotice.settle(delivered, args.onPromptDelivered))
   if (promptDelivery === 'submit-after-ready') {
     return result
   }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-startup-prompt-plan.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-startup-prompt-plan.ts
index f82379f99a4..7e41a5fdf16 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-startup-prompt-plan.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-agent-startup-prompt-plan.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   type AgentStartupPlanInputs
 } from '@/lib/tui-agent-startup'
 import type { LaunchFile } from '../../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
+import type { LaunchHost } from '../../../shared/launch-host'
 
 export type LaunchAgentStartupPromptPlan = {
   startupPlan: AgentStartupPlan | null
@@ -26,8 +27,8 @@ export function planLaunchAgentStartupPrompt(args: {
   prompt: string
   promptDelivery: 'auto-submit' | 'draft' | 'submit-after-ready'
   isFollowupPath: boolean
-  /** See `launchHostIsPaired`. */
-  launchHostIsPaired: boolean
+  /** The host the launch runs on (`clientLaunchHost`). */
+  host: LaunchHost
 }): LaunchAgentStartupPromptPlan {
   const { base, prompt, promptDelivery, isFollowupPath } = args
   const pasteAfterReady = (
@@ -65,19 +66,13 @@ export function planLaunchAgentStartupPrompt(args: {
       submitPastedPrompt: false
     }
   }
-  if (prompt.length > 0 && isFollowupPath) {
-    return pasteAfterReady(cleanPlan(), prompt, promptDelivery === 'submit-after-ready')
-  }
-  // Why: a caller that waits for delivery gets a verdict from a paste; this client cannot observe a
-  // paired host's carried prompt reach its agent. Temporary, until paired hosts report that receipt.
-  if (prompt.length > 0 && args.launchHostIsPaired && promptDelivery === 'submit-after-ready') {
+  // Why outside the rule: this is the caller's need, not a host fact. A caller that waits for
+  // delivery gets a verdict from a paste, and this client cannot observe a paired host's carried
+  // prompt reach its agent. Temporary, until paired hosts report that receipt.
+  if (prompt.length > 0 && args.host.paired && promptDelivery === 'submit-after-ready') {
     return pasteAfterReady(cleanPlan(), prompt, true)
   }
-  const planned = planLaunchPrompt({
-    ...base,
-    prompt,
-    launchHostIsPaired: args.launchHostIsPaired
-  })
+  const planned = planLaunchPrompt({ ...base, prompt, host: args.host, canPasteAfterReady: true })
   if (!planned) {
     return { startupPlan: null, pasteDraftAfterLaunch: null, submitPastedPrompt: false }
   }
@@ -93,7 +88,11 @@ export function planLaunchAgentStartupPrompt(args: {
         submitPastedPrompt: false
       }
     case 'paste-after-ready':
-      // Every non-draft new-tab prompt is submitted; a draft returned above.
-      return pasteAfterReady(planned.cleanPlan, planned.text, true)
+      // An agent that takes text only after start keeps an auto-submit prompt as an editable draft.
+      return pasteAfterReady(
+        planned.cleanPlan,
+        planned.text,
+        !isFollowupPath || promptDelivery === 'submit-after-ready'
+      )
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-file-host.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-file-host.test.ts
index 299c4672db5..4dbdb125d40 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-file-host.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-file-host.test.ts
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ describe('the quick composer on a paired host', () => {
       draftPrompt: null,
       settings: null,
       repoConnectionId: null,
-      platform: 'win32',
-      shell: 'powershell',
+      platform: 'linux',
+      shell: null,
       isRemote: false,
-      launchHostIsPaired: true,
+      host: { paired: true, provesAgentInFront: true },
       telemetrySource: 'sidebar'
     })
     expect(startup.backendStartup).toBeUndefined()
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-file-host.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-file-host.ts
index cb49325168c..c1b7e5ed77f 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-file-host.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-file-host.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,27 @@
 import { isWebRuntimeSessionActive } from '@/runtime/web-runtime-session-environment'
+import { CLIENT_PLATFORM } from '@/lib/new-workspace'
+import { describeLaunchHost, type LaunchHost } from '../../../shared/launch-host'
 import { isWebClientLocation } from './web-client-location'
 
 /**
  * Whether a launch lands on a paired Orca: another Orca this client drives, which may be an older
- * build that neither stages a long line nor writes a launch file. `carryLaunchPrompt` then keeps
- * the line to the typed budget and pastes the rest after the agent is ready. Temporary, until paired
- * hosts advertise both.
+ * build that neither stages a long line nor writes a launch file. Temporary, until paired hosts
+ * advertise both.
  */
 export function launchHostIsPaired(runtimeEnvironmentId: string | null | undefined): boolean {
   return isWebClientLocation() || isWebRuntimeSessionActive(runtimeEnvironmentId)
 }
+
+/** The host facts for a launch this client starts, from the environment it targets. */
+export function clientLaunchHost(args: {
+  runtimeEnvironmentId: string | null | undefined
+  launchPlatform: NodeJS.Platform
+  isRemote: boolean
+}): LaunchHost {
+  return describeLaunchHost({
+    launchPlatform: args.launchPlatform,
+    isRemote: args.isRemote,
+    hostPlatform: CLIENT_PLATFORM,
+    paired: launchHostIsPaired(args.runtimeEnvironmentId)
+  })
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent-routing.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent-routing.ts
index 8dee872c816..7d30fdb2d04 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent-routing.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent-routing.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import type { AppState } from '@/store/types'
 import { TUI_AGENT_CONFIG } from '../../../shared/tui-agent-config'
 import { isTuiAgentEnabled, pickTuiAgent } from '../../../shared/tui-agent-selection'
 import { buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan } from '@/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent'
+import { clientLaunchHost } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import type { AgentSessionLaunchPlan } from '@/lib/agent-session-launch-plan'
 import { isNativeChatTranscriptLocalReadable } from '@/lib/native-chat-transcript-readability'
 import { resolveSourceControlLaunchPlatform } from '@/lib/source-control-launch-platform'
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@ export function buildDirectWorkItemStartup(args: {
   launchConnectionId: string | null
   worktreePath: string
   repoProjectRuntime?: Parameters<typeof resolveSourceControlLaunchPlatform>[0]['projectRuntime']
-  launchHostIsPaired: boolean
+  runtimeEnvironmentId: string | null
 }): ReturnType<typeof buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan> {
   const launchPlatform =
     args.launchPlatform ??
@@ -39,7 +40,11 @@ export function buildDirectWorkItemStartup(args: {
     ),
     // Why: SSH hosts run the plain `orca` shim, so the Linux-only `orca-ide` rename is not applied.
     isRemote: typeof args.launchConnectionId === 'string',
-    launchHostIsPaired: args.launchHostIsPaired
+    host: clientLaunchHost({
+      runtimeEnvironmentId: args.runtimeEnvironmentId,
+      launchPlatform,
+      isRemote: typeof args.launchConnectionId === 'string'
+    })
   })
 }
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent.test.ts
index 44b38b65066..1b90b6f6e8c 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent.test.ts
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ const settings = {
 describe('buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan', () => {
   it('omits native-chat preferences when the new workspace opens in terminal mode', () => {
     const result = buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan({
-      launchHostIsPaired: false,
+      host: { paired: false, provesAgentInFront: true },
       agent: 'codex',
       draftContent: 'Review issue 42',
       promptDelivery: 'draft',
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ describe('buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan', () => {
 
   it('applies native-chat preferences when the new workspace opens in chat', () => {
     const result = buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan({
-      launchHostIsPaired: false,
+      host: { paired: false, provesAgentInFront: true },
       agent: 'codex',
       draftContent: 'Review issue 42',
       promptDelivery: 'draft',
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ describe('buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan global arguments fallback', () =>
 
   it('resolves the global Agents arguments when the launch names none', () => {
     const result = buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan({
-      launchHostIsPaired: false,
+      host: { paired: false, provesAgentInFront: true },
       agent: 'codex',
       draftContent: 'Fix the broken checks',
       promptDelivery: 'draft',
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ describe('buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan global arguments fallback', () =>
 
   it('lets an explicit per-action value win over the global one', () => {
     const result = buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan({
-      launchHostIsPaired: false,
+      host: { paired: false, provesAgentInFront: true },
       agent: 'codex',
       agentArgs: '--model gpt-5',
       draftContent: 'Fix the broken checks',
@@ -177,9 +177,9 @@ describe('buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan global arguments fallback', () =>
 })
 
 describe('buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan submitted prompts', () => {
-  const submit = (agent: 'claude' | 'gemini', draftContent: string, launchHostIsPaired = false) =>
+  const submit = (agent: 'claude' | 'gemini', draftContent: string, paired = false) =>
     buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan({
-      launchHostIsPaired,
+      host: { paired, provesAgentInFront: true },
       agent,
       draftContent,
       promptDelivery: 'submit-after-ready',
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent.ts
index cdd32ec8bed..6a75ba2fc8a 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-agent.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import { translate } from '@/i18n/i18n'
 import { resolveInitialNativeChatSessionOptions } from '@/components/native-chat/native-chat-launch-session-options'
 import type { PersistedNativeChatSessionOptions } from '../../../shared/native-chat-session-options'
 import type { LaunchFile } from '../../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
+import type { LaunchHost } from '../../../shared/launch-host'
 
 export function buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan(args: {
   agent: TuiAgent | null
@@ -41,8 +42,8 @@ export function buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan(args: {
   /** Why: SSH remotes deploy the CLI shim as plain `orca`, so the Linux-only
    * `orca-ide` rename must not be applied for remote launches. */
   isRemote?: boolean
-  /** See `launchHostIsPaired`. */
-  launchHostIsPaired: boolean
+  /** The host the launch runs on (`clientLaunchHost`). */
+  host: LaunchHost
 }): {
   startupPlan: AgentStartupPlan | null
   launchFile?: LaunchFile
@@ -81,7 +82,8 @@ export function buildDirectWorkItemAgentStartupPlan(args: {
     const planned = planLaunchPrompt({
       ...planInputs,
       prompt: args.draftContent,
-      launchHostIsPaired: args.launchHostIsPaired
+      host: args.host,
+      canPasteAfterReady: true
     })
     if (!planned) {
       return { startupPlan: null, promptOnLaunchCommand: false, startupPlanFailed: true }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-route-preparation.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-route-preparation.ts
index f19f8632015..b968b74fb0c 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-route-preparation.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/launch-work-item-direct-route-preparation.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import { getConnectionId } from '@/lib/connection-context'
 import { CLIENT_PLATFORM } from '@/lib/new-workspace'
 import { getLocalProjectExecutionRuntimeContext } from '@/lib/local-preflight-context'
 import { getRuntimeEnvironmentIdForWorktree } from '@/lib/worktree-runtime-owner'
-import { launchHostIsPaired } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import type { LaunchFile } from '../../../shared/launch-prompt-file'
 import type {
   AgentSessionLaunchPlan,
@@ -93,9 +92,7 @@ export async function prepareDirectWorkItemAgentLaunch(args: {
               CLIENT_PLATFORM
             ) ?? args.repoProjectRuntime)
           : undefined,
-      launchHostIsPaired: launchHostIsPaired(
-        getRuntimeEnvironmentIdForWorktree(args.latestStore, args.worktreeId)
-      )
+      runtimeEnvironmentId: getRuntimeEnvironmentIdForWorktree(args.latestStore, args.worktreeId)
     })
 
   const plan =
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/source-control-agent-action-plan.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/source-control-agent-action-plan.ts
index b32d6cbc669..712d065abde 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/source-control-agent-action-plan.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/source-control-agent-action-plan.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   type AgentStartupPlan
 } from '@/lib/tui-agent-startup'
 import { CLIENT_PLATFORM } from '@/lib/new-workspace'
+import { clientLaunchHost } from '@/lib/launch-file-host'
 import { TUI_AGENT_CONFIG } from '../../../shared/tui-agent-config'
 import { isTuiAgentEnabled } from '../../../shared/tui-agent-selection'
 import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../shared/tui-agent'
@@ -45,8 +46,8 @@ export function planSourceControlAgentActionLaunch(args: {
   /** Why: SSH remotes deploy the CLI shim as plain `orca`, so the Linux-only
    * `orca-ide` rename must not be applied for remote launches. */
   isRemote?: boolean
-  /** See `launchHostIsPaired`. */
-  launchHostIsPaired?: boolean
+  /** The runtime environment the launch targets, for its host facts (`clientLaunchHost`). */
+  runtimeEnvironmentId?: string | null
 }): SourceControlLaunchPlanResult {
   const agent = args.agent
   if (!agent) {
@@ -104,24 +105,7 @@ export function planSourceControlAgentActionLaunch(args: {
   let startupPlan: AgentStartupPlan | null = null
   let delivery: SourceControlLaunchPlanDelivery
 
-  // Only an agent that takes no launch prompt waits for readiness; the rest carry it on argv.
-  if (
-    args.promptDelivery === 'submit-after-ready' &&
-    TUI_AGENT_CONFIG[agent].promptInjectionMode === 'stdin-after-start'
-  ) {
-    startupPlan = buildAgentStartupPlan({
-      agent,
-      prompt: '',
-      cmdOverrides,
-      platform,
-      shell,
-      isRemote,
-      agentArgs: args.agentArgs,
-      sessionOptions: args.sessionOptions,
-      allowEmptyPromptLaunch: true
-    })
-    delivery = 'paste-submit'
-  } else if (args.promptDelivery === 'draft') {
+  if (args.promptDelivery === 'draft') {
     const draftLaunchPlan = buildAgentDraftLaunchPlan({
       agent,
       draft: trimmedInput,
@@ -161,19 +145,6 @@ export function planSourceControlAgentActionLaunch(args: {
       })
       delivery = 'draft-paste'
     }
-  } else if (TUI_AGENT_CONFIG[agent].promptInjectionMode === 'stdin-after-start') {
-    startupPlan = buildAgentStartupPlan({
-      agent,
-      prompt: '',
-      cmdOverrides,
-      platform,
-      shell,
-      isRemote,
-      agentArgs: args.agentArgs,
-      sessionOptions: args.sessionOptions,
-      allowEmptyPromptLaunch: true
-    })
-    delivery = 'draft-paste'
   } else {
     const planned = planLaunchPrompt({
       agent,
@@ -184,7 +155,12 @@ export function planSourceControlAgentActionLaunch(args: {
       isRemote,
       agentArgs: args.agentArgs,
       sessionOptions: args.sessionOptions,
-      launchHostIsPaired: args.launchHostIsPaired ?? false
+      host: clientLaunchHost({
+        runtimeEnvironmentId: args.runtimeEnvironmentId,
+        launchPlatform: platform,
+        isRemote
+      }),
+      canPasteAfterReady: true
     })
     switch (planned?.carry) {
       case undefined:
@@ -201,7 +177,12 @@ export function planSourceControlAgentActionLaunch(args: {
         break
       case 'paste-after-ready':
         startupPlan = planned.cleanPlan
-        delivery = 'paste-submit'
+        // An agent that takes text only after start keeps an auto-submit prompt as a draft.
+        delivery =
+          TUI_AGENT_CONFIG[agent].promptInjectionMode === 'stdin-after-start' &&
+          args.promptDelivery !== 'submit-after-ready'
+            ? 'draft-paste'
+            : 'paste-submit'
         break
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/web/preload-api/web-terminal-api.ts b/src/renderer/src/web/preload-api/web-terminal-api.ts
index c4bf707ea3c..e6e95a3c575 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/web/preload-api/web-terminal-api.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/web/preload-api/web-terminal-api.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ export function createPtyApi(): NonNullable<Partial<PreloadApi>['pty']> {
     inspectProcess: () => Promise.reject(new Error('terminal_liveness_unavailable')),
     // Why: paired web panes cannot provide a local post-boundary process scan.
     confirmForegroundProcess: () => Promise.resolve(null),
+    readLaunchedAgentForeground: () => Promise.resolve('unknown' as const),
     // Why: a paired client's terminals belong to the host, whose Codex settings this client does not own.
     isCodexOnSharedServer: () => Promise.resolve(false),
     disableCodexSharedServerAutoStart: () => Promise.resolve(false),
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-file-writing.test.ts b/src/shared/launch-file-writing.test.ts
index cbdf971d4c2..8e0ed8ed90b 100644
--- a/src/shared/launch-file-writing.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/launch-file-writing.test.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
 } from 'node:fs'
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { dirname, join } from 'node:path'
-import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import { runProcess } from './child-process/run-process'
 import {
   LAUNCH_FILE_STALE_MS,
@@ -187,7 +187,39 @@ describePosix('a launch line naming a file under an unusual home directory', ()
 })
 
 describe('sweepStaleLaunchFiles', () => {
-  it('removes only launch file directories older than a day', () => {
+  const ageOut = (directory: string, now: number): void => {
+    const staleSeconds = (now - LAUNCH_FILE_STALE_MS - 1000) / 1000
+    utimesSync(directory, staleSeconds, staleSeconds)
+  }
+
+  // Why: a daemon session outlives app restarts; its agent may re-read its task file any time.
+  it('never removes a folder whose owning process is alive, however old', () => {
+    const now = Date.now()
+    const live = join(baseDirectory, `orca-launch-file-${process.pid}-aaaaaa`)
+    mkdirSync(live)
+    ageOut(live, now)
+    sweepStaleLaunchFiles({ baseDirectory, now })
+    expect(readdirSync(baseDirectory)).toEqual([`orca-launch-file-${process.pid}-aaaaaa`])
+  })
+
+  it('removes a folder whose owning process is gone, however new', () => {
+    const deadPid = 2_147_483_000
+    const kill = vi.spyOn(process, 'kill').mockImplementation((pid) => {
+      if (pid === deadPid) {
+        throw Object.assign(new Error('no such process'), { code: 'ESRCH' })
+      }
+      return true
+    })
+    try {
+      mkdirSync(join(baseDirectory, `orca-launch-file-${deadPid}-bbbbbb`))
+      sweepStaleLaunchFiles({ baseDirectory })
+      expect(readdirSync(baseDirectory)).toEqual([])
+    } finally {
+      kill.mockRestore()
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to the age backstop for a folder that names no owner', () => {
     const now = Date.now()
     const stale = join(baseDirectory, 'orca-launch-file-aaaaaa')
     const fresh = join(baseDirectory, 'orca-launch-file-bbbbbb')
@@ -195,10 +227,19 @@ describe('sweepStaleLaunchFiles', () => {
     for (const directory of [stale, fresh, unrelated]) {
       mkdirSync(directory)
     }
-    const staleSeconds = (now - LAUNCH_FILE_STALE_MS - 1000) / 1000
-    utimesSync(stale, staleSeconds, staleSeconds)
-    utimesSync(unrelated, staleSeconds, staleSeconds)
+    ageOut(stale, now)
+    ageOut(unrelated, now)
     sweepStaleLaunchFiles({ baseDirectory, now })
     expect(readdirSync(baseDirectory).sort()).toEqual(['orca-launch-file-bbbbbb', 'unrelated'])
   })
+
+  it('names the owning process in each folder it writes', () => {
+    const { launchFile } = carryInLaunchFile('x', true)
+    const written = writeLaunchFile({
+      launchFile: { ...launchFile, quoting: 'posix' },
+      baseDirectory
+    })
+    expect(written.directory).toMatch(new RegExp(`orca-launch-file-${process.pid}-[^/\\\\]+$`))
+    removeLaunchFile(written)
+  })
 })
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-file-writing.ts b/src/shared/launch-file-writing.ts
index b3d55e20b98..78b24dc2756 100644
--- a/src/shared/launch-file-writing.ts
+++ b/src/shared/launch-file-writing.ts
@@ -25,10 +25,22 @@ import type { WslLaunchDirectory } from './wsl-launch-directory'
 
 const LAUNCH_FILE_DIR_PREFIX = 'orca-launch-file-'
 const LAUNCH_FILE_NAME = 'task-context.md'
+/** `orca-launch-file-<owner pid>-<random>`: the process whose sessions read the file. */
+const OWNED_LAUNCH_FILE_DIR = /^orca-launch-file-(\d+)-/
 
-/** A running agent may re-read its task file, so leftovers get a day, not an hour. */
+/** Backstop for a folder that names no owner: a running agent may re-read its task file. */
 export const LAUNCH_FILE_STALE_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000
 
+/** Whether `pid` is a live process; one this process may not signal still counts as live. */
+function processIsAlive(pid: number): boolean {
+  try {
+    process.kill(pid, 0)
+    return true
+  } catch (error) {
+    return error instanceof Error && 'code' in error && error.code === 'EPERM'
+  }
+}
+
 // Characters one of the three quotings ends or expands on: `'` (POSIX, PowerShell, which also
 // honours the typographic single quotes), `"` and `%` (cmd).
 const QUOTE_SENSITIVE_PATH_CHARACTER = /['"%\u2018-\u201b]/
@@ -111,7 +123,9 @@ export function writeLaunchFile(args: {
     // Why realpath: an agent matches its read grant against the resolved path (macOS $TMPDIR sits
     // under /var -> /private/var), so the pointer and the granted directory both name that form.
     // A UNC path into WSL is named by its Linux path instead, which the distro resolves itself.
-    const created = mkdtempSync(join(baseDirectory, LAUNCH_FILE_DIR_PREFIX))
+    // Why the pid: this process owns the sessions that read the file, which it removes when they
+    // end; the sweep leaves it alone while this process lives, however long that is.
+    const created = mkdtempSync(join(baseDirectory, `${LAUNCH_FILE_DIR_PREFIX}${process.pid}-`))
     directory = wsl ? created : realpathSync(created)
     const launchDirectory = wsl ? posix.join(wsl.linuxPath, basename(created)) : directory
     const path = (wsl ? posix.join : join)(launchDirectory, LAUNCH_FILE_NAME)
@@ -219,7 +233,11 @@ export function removeLaunchFile(written: WrittenLaunchFile | undefined): void {
   }
 }
 
-/** Removes launch files a crashed host left behind; age-gated so a live agent's file survives. */
+/**
+ * Removes launch files a crashed host left behind. A folder whose owner process is alive is never
+ * touched: that process removes it when the session reading it ends. A dead owner's sessions died
+ * with it. A folder that names no owner falls back to the age backstop.
+ */
 export function sweepStaleLaunchFiles(args: { baseDirectory?: string; now?: number }): void {
   const baseDirectory = args.baseDirectory ?? tmpdir()
   const now = args.now ?? Date.now()
@@ -234,8 +252,12 @@ export function sweepStaleLaunchFiles(args: { baseDirectory?: string; now?: numb
       continue
     }
     const directory = join(baseDirectory, name)
+    const owner = OWNED_LAUNCH_FILE_DIR.exec(name)?.[1]
     try {
-      if (now - statSync(directory).mtimeMs > LAUNCH_FILE_STALE_MS) {
+      const orphaned = owner
+        ? !processIsAlive(Number(owner))
+        : now - statSync(directory).mtimeMs > LAUNCH_FILE_STALE_MS
+      if (orphaned) {
         rmSync(directory, { recursive: true, force: true })
       }
     } catch {
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-host.test.ts b/src/shared/launch-host.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7eb4de191b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/launch-host.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { describeLaunchHost } from './launch-host'
+
+describe('whether a launch host can prove its agent is in front before a paste', () => {
+  it.each([
+    ['a local macOS host', false, false, 'darwin', 'darwin', true],
+    ['a local Linux host', false, false, 'linux', 'linux', true],
+    ['a local Windows host', false, false, 'win32', 'win32', false],
+    // The pane runs in the distro, but the reads run on the Windows host.
+    ['a local WSL pane', false, false, 'linux', 'win32', false],
+    ['an SSH Linux host from Windows', true, false, 'linux', 'win32', true],
+    ['an SSH Windows host', true, false, 'win32', 'darwin', false],
+    ['a paired Linux Orca from Windows', false, true, 'linux', 'win32', true],
+    ['a paired Windows Orca from macOS', false, true, 'win32', 'darwin', false]
+  ] as const)('%s', (_label, isRemote, paired, launchPlatform, hostPlatform, proves) => {
+    expect(describeLaunchHost({ isRemote, paired, launchPlatform, hostPlatform })).toEqual({
+      paired,
+      provesAgentInFront: proves
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-host.ts b/src/shared/launch-host.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..01dcdaa8c91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/launch-host.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/** What the host a launch runs on can do with its prompt, derived in one place from where it runs. */
+export type LaunchHost = {
+  /** Another Orca this client drives, possibly an older one: it is sent a command it may neither
+   *  stage nor accompany with a launch file. Temporary, until paired hosts advertise both. */
+  paired: boolean
+  /** Whether the host can prove the launched agent holds its terminal before a paste
+   *  (`launched-agent-foreground`). A Windows host cannot, so it refuses a paste. */
+  provesAgentInFront: boolean
+}
+
+/**
+ * The launch host's facts. An SSH or paired host is judged by its own platform, a local one (a WSL
+ * pane included, whose process reads run on Windows) by the machine running this Orca.
+ */
+export function describeLaunchHost(args: {
+  /** The platform of the shell that types the launch line. */
+  launchPlatform: NodeJS.Platform
+  isRemote: boolean
+  /** The platform of the machine this Orca runs on. */
+  hostPlatform: NodeJS.Platform
+  paired: boolean
+}): LaunchHost {
+  const runsElsewhere = args.isRemote || args.paired
+  return {
+    paired: args.paired,
+    provesAgentInFront: (runsElsewhere ? args.launchPlatform : args.hostPlatform) !== 'win32'
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-prompt-carrier.test.ts b/src/shared/launch-prompt-carrier.test.ts
index 81b69019970..6714581d266 100644
--- a/src/shared/launch-prompt-carrier.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/launch-prompt-carrier.test.ts
@@ -24,14 +24,14 @@ describe('the one launch-prompt decision every launch path builds through', () =
       ...base,
       prompt: 'fix it',
       platform: 'linux',
-      launchHostIsPaired: true
+      host: { paired: true, provesAgentInFront: true }
     })
     expect(short?.carry).toBe('on-line')
     const long = planLaunchForTest({
       ...base,
       prompt: 'fix it\nthen run the tests',
       platform: 'linux',
-      launchHostIsPaired: true
+      host: { paired: true, provesAgentInFront: true }
     })
     expect(long?.carry).toBe('paste-after-ready')
     expect(long?.pasteAfterReady).toBe('fix it\nthen run the tests')
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-prompt-carry.test.ts b/src/shared/launch-prompt-carry.test.ts
index 30e8a43d156..d4a18be1e65 100644
--- a/src/shared/launch-prompt-carry.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/launch-prompt-carry.test.ts
@@ -5,13 +5,31 @@ import type { TuiAgent } from './tui-agent'
 import { RUNTIME_CAPABILITIES } from './protocol-version'
 import { AGENT_LAUNCH_PROMPT_CARRY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY } from './agent-launch-runtime-capability'
 import { TYPED_STARTUP_LINE_BUDGET_BYTES, typedStartupLineFits } from './typed-startup-line'
+import { describeLaunchHost } from './launch-host'
+import { WINDOWS_TYPED_LINE_MAX_CHARS } from './launch-prompt-carry'
 
 function plan(
   agent: TuiAgent,
   prompt: string,
   extra: Partial<Omit<AgentLaunchPromptArgs, 'agent' | 'prompt'>> = {}
 ) {
-  return planLaunchPrompt({ agent, prompt, cmdOverrides: {}, platform: 'darwin', ...extra })
+  const platform = extra.platform ?? 'darwin'
+  // A local launch on that platform, by a caller that pastes, unless the test says otherwise.
+  const host = describeLaunchHost({
+    launchPlatform: platform,
+    isRemote: false,
+    hostPlatform: platform,
+    paired: false
+  })
+  return planLaunchPrompt({
+    agent,
+    prompt,
+    cmdOverrides: {},
+    platform,
+    host,
+    canPasteAfterReady: true,
+    ...extra
+  })
 }
 
 describe('where a launch prompt rides', () => {
@@ -62,6 +80,15 @@ describe('where a launch prompt rides', () => {
     expect(planned.cleanPlan.launchCommand).not.toContain('gggg')
   })
 
+  // Why: main started such an agent with the whole prompt on its line; a caller with no paste
+  // (agentSession.create, a phone quick command) must not refuse it now.
+  it('keeps a file-sized prompt on the line for a caller that cannot paste', () => {
+    const prompt = 'g'.repeat(MAX_INLINE_LAUNCH_PROMPT_CHARS + 1)
+    const planned = plan('gemini', prompt, { canPasteAfterReady: false })
+    expect(planned?.carry).toBe('on-line')
+    expect(planned?.carry === 'on-line' && planned.plan.launchCommand).toContain('gggg')
+  })
+
   it('leaves a stdin-after-start agent’s prompt for the paste', () => {
     const planned = plan('aider', 'fix it')
     expect(planned).toMatchObject({ carry: 'paste-after-ready', text: 'fix it' })
@@ -78,48 +105,58 @@ describe('where a launch prompt rides', () => {
 })
 
 describe('a host that types the line raw', () => {
+  // Why: the user's own words stay in the agent's history wherever a Windows line carries them.
   it.each<['cmd' | 'powershell']>([['cmd'], ['powershell']])(
-    'keeps a %s line to the typed budget and points Claude at a file past it',
+    'keeps an exact %s line up to cmd’s cap and points Claude at a file past it',
     (shell) => {
-      const short = plan('claude', 'fix it', { platform: 'win32', shell })
-      expect(short?.carry).toBe('on-line')
-      const long = plan('claude', 'y'.repeat(600), { platform: 'win32', shell })
-      expect(long?.carry).toBe('launch-file')
+      expect(plan('claude', 'fix it', { platform: 'win32', shell })?.carry).toBe('on-line')
+      expect(plan('claude', 'y'.repeat(4_000), { platform: 'win32', shell })?.carry).toBe('on-line')
+      const past = plan('claude', 'y'.repeat(WINDOWS_TYPED_LINE_MAX_CHARS), {
+        platform: 'win32',
+        shell
+      })
+      expect(past?.carry).toBe('launch-file')
     }
   )
 
-  it('points Codex at a file for a Windows-damaged prompt, and pastes it for Gemini', () => {
+  // The measured matrix (#23962 W-1): PowerShell splits at `"`, turns a trailing `\` into `"`, and
+  // a .cmd shim expands `%NAME%`; everything else arrives byte for byte.
+  it.each([
+    ['a double quote', 'say "hi"', 'launch-file'],
+    ['a trailing backslash', 'see C:\\dir\\', 'launch-file'],
+    ['a %NAME% pair', 'echo %PATH%', 'launch-file'],
+    ['a lone percent and an apostrophe', "it's 100% done", 'on-line']
+  ] as const)(
+    'carries a PowerShell prompt with %s by the measured matrix',
+    (_label, text, carry) => {
+      expect(plan('claude', text, { platform: 'win32', shell: 'powershell' })?.carry).toBe(carry)
+    }
+  )
+
+  it('points Codex at a file for a Windows-damaged prompt, and keeps it on Gemini’s line', () => {
     const prompt = 'fix the build\nthen run the tests'
     expect(plan('codex', prompt, { platform: 'win32', shell: 'cmd' })?.carry).toBe('launch-file')
-    expect(plan('gemini', prompt, { platform: 'win32', shell: 'cmd' })).toMatchObject({
-      carry: 'paste-after-ready',
-      text: prompt
-    })
-  })
-
-  it('points a PowerShell prompt with a double quote at a file', () => {
-    expect(plan('claude', 'say "hi"', { platform: 'win32', shell: 'powershell' })?.carry).toBe(
-      'launch-file'
-    )
+    // A Windows host cannot prove Gemini is in front to paste into, so it types it as main did.
+    expect(plan('gemini', prompt, { platform: 'win32', shell: 'cmd' })?.carry).toBe('on-line')
   })
 
   // Why: a host that cannot prove the agent holds its terminal refuses a paste (#24257), so the
   // line carries what the paste would have, as main typed it; Claude and Codex still get the file.
   it('keeps a prompt on the line of a host that cannot paste, unless a file can carry it', () => {
+    // A local WSL pane: a Linux line, on a Windows host that cannot read what holds it.
     const extra = {
-      platform: 'win32' as const,
-      shell: 'cmd' as const,
-      hostProvesAgentInFront: false
+      platform: 'linux' as const,
+      host: { paired: false, provesAgentInFront: false }
     }
     const prompt = 'fix the build\nthen run the tests'
     expect(plan('gemini', prompt, extra)?.carry).toBe('on-line')
-    expect(plan('gemini', 'y'.repeat(600), extra)?.carry).toBe('on-line')
-    expect(plan('claude', prompt, extra)?.carry).toBe('launch-file')
+    expect(plan('gemini', 'y'.repeat(20_000), extra)?.carry).toBe('on-line')
+    expect(plan('claude', 'y'.repeat(20_000), extra)?.carry).toBe('launch-file')
     expect(plan('aider', prompt, extra)?.carry).toBe('paste-after-ready')
   })
 
   it('pastes on a paired host what its line cannot carry typed, even for Claude', () => {
-    const extra = { platform: 'linux' as const, launchHostIsPaired: true }
+    const extra = { platform: 'linux' as const, host: { paired: true, provesAgentInFront: true } }
     expect(plan('claude', 'fix it', extra)?.carry).toBe('on-line')
     expect(plan('claude', 'first line\nsecond line', extra)?.carry).toBe('paste-after-ready')
     expect(plan('claude', 'z'.repeat(20_000), extra)?.carry).toBe('paste-after-ready')
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-prompt-carry.ts b/src/shared/launch-prompt-carry.ts
index cc1eccd7a6e..1c98fb5e4f9 100644
--- a/src/shared/launch-prompt-carry.ts
+++ b/src/shared/launch-prompt-carry.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import {
 } from './tui-agent-startup-shell'
 import { hasControlByte, typedStartupLineFits } from './typed-startup-line'
 import type { TuiAgent } from './tui-agent'
+import type { LaunchHost } from './launch-host'
 
 /**
  * Whether a Windows shell would damage `prompt` as one quoted argument. No quoting keeps a control
@@ -75,26 +76,41 @@ export type CarriedPlanArgs = {
   shell?: AgentStartupShell
   /** The file `prompt` already points at, when the caller wrote its own. */
   launchFile?: LaunchFile
-  /** Another Orca this client drives, possibly an older one: it is sent a command it may neither
-   *  stage nor accompany with a launch file. Temporary, until paired hosts advertise both. */
-  launchHostIsPaired?: boolean
-  /** False where the host cannot prove the launched agent holds its terminal (a Windows host),
-   *  so it refuses a paste (`launched-agent-foreground`). */
-  hostProvesAgentInFront?: boolean
+  /** The host the launch runs on (`describeLaunchHost`). */
+  host: LaunchHost
+  /** Whether the caller pastes a prompt left for after the agent is ready. One that cannot still
+   *  starts the agent with the prompt on its line, as main did. */
+  canPasteAfterReady: boolean
 }
 
 export function agentReadsLaunchFile(agent: TuiAgent): boolean {
   return TUI_AGENT_CONFIG[agent].readsLaunchFile === true
 }
 
+/** cmd.exe's documented line cap, the smallest of the Windows shells Orca types into. */
+export const WINDOWS_TYPED_LINE_MAX_CHARS = 8191
+
 /**
- * The one carry rule. The prompt rides the agent's line, which a host that stages (POSIX, SSH, WSL)
- * stages when it is long or multi-line. It rides a launch file when it is past the argv ceiling,
- * when a Windows shell would damage it, or when the host types the line raw (a Windows host, a
- * paired Orca) and the line is past the typed budget. A launch file goes only to an agent measured
- * reading one, on a host that writes it; otherwise the agent starts clean and the prompt is pasted
- * once it is ready, except where the host cannot prove the agent is in front to paste into: there
- * the line carries it, as main typed it.
+ * Whether a Windows shell carries `prompt` exactly on `line`. Nothing stages a Windows line, so it
+ * must hold no control byte, fit cmd's cap, and survive the shell's quoting (measured matrix:
+ * `windowsShellDamagesPrompt`).
+ */
+function windowsLineCarriesExactly(prompt: string, line: string, shell: AgentStartupShell) {
+  return (
+    !hasControlByte(line) &&
+    line.length <= WINDOWS_TYPED_LINE_MAX_CHARS &&
+    !windowsShellDamagesPrompt(prompt, shell)
+  )
+}
+
+/**
+ * The one carry rule. The prompt rides the agent's line: a host that stages (POSIX, SSH, WSL)
+ * stages it when it is long or multi-line, and a Windows host types it when its shell carries the
+ * text exactly. It rides a launch file when it is past the argv ceiling, when a Windows line would
+ * damage it, or past a paired host's typed budget. A launch file goes only to an agent measured
+ * reading one, on a host that writes it. Otherwise the prompt is pasted once the agent is ready,
+ * unless the host cannot prove the agent is in front to paste into or the caller has no paste:
+ * then the line carries it, as main typed it.
  */
 export function carryLaunchPrompt<A extends CarriedPlanArgs, P extends { launchCommand: string }>(
   args: A,
@@ -120,12 +136,13 @@ export function carryLaunchPrompt<A extends CarriedPlanArgs, P extends { launchC
     return pasteAfterReady()
   }
   const lineOrPaste = (): LaunchPromptPlan<P> | null => {
-    const plan = args.hostProvesAgentInFront === false ? buildLine(args) : null
+    const pasteIsSafe = args.host.provesAgentInFront && args.canPasteAfterReady
+    const plan = pasteIsSafe ? null : buildLine(args)
     return plan ? { carry: 'on-line', plan } : pasteAfterReady()
   }
   const viaLaunchFile = (): LaunchPromptPlan<P> | null => {
     // Why: an agent not measured reading the file would stop on an approval or refuse the path.
-    if (args.launchHostIsPaired === true || !agentReadsLaunchFile(args.agent)) {
+    if (args.host.paired || !agentReadsLaunchFile(args.agent)) {
       return lineOrPaste()
     }
     const pointer = carryInLaunchFile(text, false)
@@ -134,23 +151,25 @@ export function carryLaunchPrompt<A extends CarriedPlanArgs, P extends { launchC
       plan && { carry: 'launch-file', plan, launchFile: withQuoting(pointer.launchFile, shell) }
     )
   }
-  const readsEnv = mode === 'hermes-query'
-  if (
-    text.length > MAX_INLINE_LAUNCH_PROMPT_CHARS ||
-    (!readsEnv && windowsShellDamagesPrompt(text, shell))
-  ) {
+  if (text.length > MAX_INLINE_LAUNCH_PROMPT_CHARS) {
     return viaLaunchFile()
   }
   const plan = buildLine(args)
+  const readsEnv = mode === 'hermes-query'
   if (!plan) {
     // Hermes reads its prompt from the env and refuses one past that budget, counted in bytes; a
     // one-character query building proves the budget, not the command, refused it.
     return readsEnv && buildLine({ ...args, prompt: '.' }) ? viaLaunchFile() : null
   }
-  // Why the typed budget (#24257's): nothing stages a line the host types raw, and a long typed
-  // line is truncated or submitted early. Hermes's line never holds the text.
-  const hostTypesLineRaw = args.launchHostIsPaired === true || args.platform === 'win32'
-  if (!readsEnv && hostTypesLineRaw && !typedStartupLineFits(plan.launchCommand)) {
+  // Hermes's line never holds the text.
+  if (readsEnv) {
+    return { carry: 'on-line', plan }
+  }
+  if (args.platform === 'win32' && !windowsLineCarriesExactly(text, plan.launchCommand, shell)) {
+    return viaLaunchFile()
+  }
+  // Why #24257's typed budget: an older paired host may type the line raw, truncated past it.
+  if (args.host.paired && !typedStartupLineFits(plan.launchCommand)) {
     return viaLaunchFile()
   }
   return { carry: 'on-line', plan }
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-prompt-file.ts b/src/shared/launch-prompt-file.ts
index 0c99fc1251e..62c9e2ebc62 100644
--- a/src/shared/launch-prompt-file.ts
+++ b/src/shared/launch-prompt-file.ts
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ export function parseLaunchFile(value: unknown): LaunchFile | undefined {
   return { placeholder, content, sensitive, ...(knownQuoting ? { quoting: knownQuoting } : {}) }
 }
 
-const LAUNCH_FILE_UNAVAILABLE_CODE = 'launch_file_unavailable'
+export const LAUNCH_FILE_UNAVAILABLE_CODE = 'launch_file_unavailable'
 
 /** The refusal a host sends when it could not write what carries the prompt (a launch file, or the
  *  staged script holding a long line); it reaches the user as is. */
@@ -106,3 +106,8 @@ export function describeLaunchFileUnavailable(
 export function isLaunchFileUnavailableMessage(message: string): boolean {
   return message.includes(LAUNCH_FILE_UNAVAILABLE_CODE)
 }
+
+/** The refusal as it reaches main from any host: its code is its type across process boundaries. */
+export function isLaunchFileRefusal(error: unknown): boolean {
+  return error instanceof Error && isLaunchFileUnavailableMessage(error.message)
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/launch-prompt-plan.test-fixture.ts b/src/shared/launch-prompt-plan.test-fixture.ts
index 782eba00086..2a611152790 100644
--- a/src/shared/launch-prompt-plan.test-fixture.ts
+++ b/src/shared/launch-prompt-plan.test-fixture.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import type { LaunchFile } from './launch-prompt-file'
+import { describeLaunchHost } from './launch-host'
 import type { LaunchPromptCarry } from './launch-prompt-carry'
 import {
   planLaunchPrompt,
@@ -17,13 +18,28 @@ export type PlannedLaunchForTest = AgentStartupPlan & {
 /** `planLaunchPrompt`, flattened; null where it answers null, or for an empty prompt unless
  *  `allowEmptyPromptLaunch`, as the builder did before the outcome was explicit. */
 export function planLaunchForTest(
-  args: AgentLaunchPromptArgs & { allowEmptyPromptLaunch?: boolean }
+  args: Omit<AgentLaunchPromptArgs, 'host' | 'canPasteAfterReady'> &
+    Partial<Pick<AgentLaunchPromptArgs, 'host' | 'canPasteAfterReady'>> & {
+      allowEmptyPromptLaunch?: boolean
+    }
 ): PlannedLaunchForTest | null {
   const { allowEmptyPromptLaunch, ...launchArgs } = args
   if (allowEmptyPromptLaunch !== true && !args.prompt.trim()) {
     return null
   }
-  const planned = planLaunchPrompt(launchArgs)
+  const planned = planLaunchPrompt({
+    ...launchArgs,
+    // A local launch on the platform under test, by a caller that pastes, unless the test says.
+    host:
+      args.host ??
+      describeLaunchHost({
+        launchPlatform: args.platform,
+        isRemote: args.isRemote === true,
+        hostPlatform: args.platform,
+        paired: false
+      }),
+    canPasteAfterReady: args.canPasteAfterReady ?? true
+  })
   if (!planned) {
     return null
   }
diff --git a/src/shared/tui-agent-startup.ts b/src/shared/tui-agent-startup.ts
index ba7093e9884..23a47218339 100644
--- a/src/shared/tui-agent-startup.ts
+++ b/src/shared/tui-agent-startup.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
   type AgentStartupShell
 } from './tui-agent-startup-shell'
 import type { LaunchFile } from './launch-prompt-file'
+import type { LaunchHost } from './launch-host'
 import {
   carryLaunchPrompt,
   launchFileDirectoryGrant,
@@ -72,10 +73,10 @@ export type AgentLaunchPromptArgs = AgentStartupPlanInputs & {
   prompt: string
   /** The file `prompt` already points at, when the caller wrote its own. */
   launchFile?: LaunchFile
-  /** Another Orca this client drives; see `CarriedPlanArgs`. */
-  launchHostIsPaired?: boolean
   /** See `CarriedPlanArgs`. */
-  hostProvesAgentInFront?: boolean
+  host: LaunchHost
+  /** See `CarriedPlanArgs`. */
+  canPasteAfterReady: boolean
 }
 
 /**
@@ -89,7 +90,9 @@ export function planLaunchPrompt(
 }
 
 /** Builds the line with `prompt` on it; the carry rule decides whether it should. */
-function buildPlanWithPromptOnLine(args: AgentLaunchPromptArgs): AgentStartupPlan | null {
+function buildPlanWithPromptOnLine(
+  args: AgentStartupPlanInputs & { prompt: string; launchFile?: LaunchFile }
+): AgentStartupPlan | null {
   const { agent, prompt, cmdOverrides, platform } = args
   const shell = resolveStartupShell(platform, args.shell)
   const trimmedPrompt = prompt.trim()
diff --git a/src/shared/windows-shell-prompt-damage.test.ts b/src/shared/windows-shell-prompt-damage.test.ts
index 579f2639981..1deb601ea65 100644
--- a/src/shared/windows-shell-prompt-damage.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/windows-shell-prompt-damage.test.ts
@@ -76,18 +76,18 @@ describe('a prompt a Windows shell would damage on the launch line', () => {
     )
   })
 
-  it('launches clean and leaves the prompt for the paste when the host writes no launch file', () => {
+  it('keeps the prompt on a paired Windows host’s line, which writes no file and cannot paste', () => {
     const startup = planLaunchForTest({
       agent: 'claude',
       prompt: 'fix the build\nthen run the tests',
       cmdOverrides: {},
       platform: 'win32',
       shell: 'powershell',
-      launchHostIsPaired: true
+      host: { paired: true, provesAgentInFront: false }
     })
     expect(startup?.launchFile).toBeUndefined()
-    expect(startup?.launchCommand).toBe('claude')
-    expect(startup?.pasteAfterReady).toBe('fix the build\nthen run the tests')
+    expect(startup?.launchCommand).toContain('fix the build')
+    expect(startup?.pasteAfterReady).toBeNull()
   })
 
   it('tells its own pointer apart from a prompt that merely mentions one', () => {