diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 478bb9c1..535479db 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,50 @@ All notable changes to tty7 are documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Added
+
+- **Panes are told which terminal they're running in** — every pane now carries
+  `TERM_PROGRAM=tty7` and `TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION`, the de-facto standard pair
+  Apple Terminal introduced and iTerm2, WezTerm, Ghostty, VS Code and tmux all
+  set. `TERM` names terminfo capabilities and can't answer "which program is
+  this", so without the pair, capability probes (`supports-color`,
+  `supports-hyperlinks`, and the CLI ecosystem built on them), editors applying
+  terminal-specific workarounds, and shell prompts all fell back to their most
+  conservative behaviour. tty7's own `TTY7` marker doesn't help them — it exists
+  so globally-installed agent hooks stay silent in other terminals, and nothing
+  third-party knows to look for it. Unlike `TERM` and `COLORTERM`, both new
+  variables can be overridden from `env` in `config.json`: they name an
+  identity, not a capability, and posing as another terminal is a legitimate way
+  to get a tool that only recognises a fixed list to light up. Local panes only
+  — ssh forwards environment variables solely by agreement between client and
+  server, so a remote host still sees whatever it sets for itself. (#212)
+
+- **Inactive panes only fade if you want them to** — a split tab dims every pane
+  but the focused one so the active terminal reads as foreground. That is the
+  right default, but it is not free: at 55% opacity a dim theme's comment color
+  or a long-running build's output in the pane you are *watching* rather than
+  typing into gets harder to read, and some people track panes by cursor alone
+  and never needed the cue. Settings → Appearance → Transparency now carries a
+  "Dim inactive panes" switch. On by default, so nothing changes for anyone who
+  was happy; off renders every pane at full opacity. (#214)
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Italic CJK rendered as unrelated CJK on Windows** — every character came out
+  as a different character, one for one, consistently, so it read as a broken
+  locale or a mangled encoding. It was neither. Hack, the bundled default, has no
+  CJK, so those cells are shaped by the font-fallback chain; gpui's Windows
+  backend then threw away the face DirectWrite shaped with and looked a fresh one
+  up by family, weight and style. That round trip mapped DirectWrite's *italic*
+  to *oblique* — the two are numbered the other way around in the API — and a
+  family with no oblique face resolved to its upright one. The glyph indices were
+  right; the outlines they were pointing into belonged to a different face. Fixed
+  in our gpui fork by rasterizing the face DirectWrite actually chose, which also
+  closes a latent use-after-free in the same cache: it keyed fonts by a raw
+  pointer to a face nothing held a reference to.
+
 ## [26.7.5] - 2026-07-27
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index f63f5adf..605e3ebf 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1369,7 +1369,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "collections"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "gpui_util",
  "indexmap",
@@ -1927,7 +1927,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "derive_refineable"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -3096,7 +3096,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui"
 version = "0.2.2"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "accesskit",
  "anyhow",
@@ -3287,7 +3287,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_linux"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "accesskit",
  "accesskit_unix",
@@ -3338,7 +3338,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_macos"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "accesskit",
  "accesskit_macos",
@@ -3385,7 +3385,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_macros"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "heck 0.5.0",
  "proc-macro2",
@@ -3396,7 +3396,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_platform"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "console_error_panic_hook",
  "gpui",
@@ -3409,7 +3409,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_shared_string"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "schemars",
  "serde",
@@ -3419,7 +3419,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_util"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "log",
@@ -3428,7 +3428,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_web"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "console_error_panic_hook",
@@ -3452,7 +3452,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_wgpu"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "bytemuck",
@@ -3481,7 +3481,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "gpui_windows"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "accesskit",
  "accesskit_windows",
@@ -3800,7 +3800,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "http_client"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "async-compression",
@@ -3825,7 +3825,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "http_client_tls"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "rustls",
  "rustls-platform-verifier",
@@ -4946,7 +4946,7 @@ checksum = "7ebb8d8732c6a6df3d8f032a82911cfc747e00efb95cc46e8d0acd5b5b88570c"
 [[package]]
 name = "media"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "bindgen",
@@ -6044,7 +6044,7 @@ checksum = "9b4f627cb1b25917193a259e49bdad08f671f8d9708acfd5fe0a8c1455d87220"
 [[package]]
 name = "perf"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "collections",
  "serde",
@@ -7021,7 +7021,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "refineable"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "derive_refineable",
 ]
@@ -7064,7 +7064,7 @@ checksum = "19b30a45b0cd0bcca8037f3d0dc3421eaf95327a17cad11964fb8179b4fc4832"
 [[package]]
 name = "reqwest_client"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "bytes",
@@ -7589,7 +7589,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "scheduler"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "async-task",
  "backtrace",
@@ -8396,7 +8396,7 @@ checksum = "13c2bddecc57b384dee18652358fb23172facb8a2c51ccc10d74c157bdea3292"
 [[package]]
 name = "sum_tree"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "heapless",
  "log",
@@ -9775,7 +9775,7 @@ checksum = "b6c140620e7ffbb22c2dee59cafe6084a59b5ffc27a8859a5f0d494b5d52b6be"
 [[package]]
 name = "util"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "async-fs",
@@ -9814,7 +9814,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "util_macros"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "perf",
  "quote",
@@ -11620,7 +11620,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "zlog"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "chrono",
@@ -11665,7 +11665,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "ztracing"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 dependencies = [
  "tracing",
  "tracing-subscriber",
@@ -11676,7 +11676,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "ztracing_macro"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#24ed55f4cf1c6f90c2fb4a1db0f33aca949a7f02"
+source = "git+https://github.com/l0ng-ai/zed?branch=tty7#87ce3e2d5c16d5704a45196a761c8809e4a386c7"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zune-core"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 9d076654..b1b0a15f 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -319,12 +319,21 @@ lto = "thin"
 codegen-units = 1
 
 # ---- gpui fork ------------------------------------------------------------
-# Our `tty7` branch (cut from the pinned upstream rev, one commit on top) carries
-# a single patch: `prefers_ime_for_printable_keys` takes the keystroke, so an
-# input handler can answer per key instead of per view. tty7 needs it for
-# Option-as-Meta — macOS routes ⌥-chords to the IME whenever a CJK input source
-# is active, and without the keystroke there is no way to decline just those
-# chords (see `terminal::input::prefers_ime_for_printable_keys`, issue #177).
+# Our `tty7` branch (cut from the pinned upstream rev, two commits on top) carries:
+#
+# 1. `prefers_ime_for_printable_keys` takes the keystroke, so an input handler can
+#    answer per key instead of per view. tty7 needs it for Option-as-Meta — macOS
+#    routes ⌥-chords to the IME whenever a CJK input source is active, and without
+#    the keystroke there is no way to decline just those chords (see
+#    `terminal::input::prefers_ime_for_printable_keys`, issue #177).
+#
+# 2. gpui's Windows backend rasterizes a font-fallback run with the face
+#    DirectWrite actually shaped it with, instead of re-deriving one from the
+#    face's family/weight/style. The round trip mapped DirectWrite's italic to
+#    oblique, so italic CJK — which every pane reaches through the fallback chain,
+#    Hack having no CJK — drew a *different* face's outlines at the shaped glyph
+#    indices. Every character rendered as an unrelated character, one for one,
+#    which reads as mojibake rather than as a font bug.
 #
 # Patching by source rather than editing the `gpui`/`gpui_platform` pins above is
 # deliberate: `gpui-component` declares its own `gpui` from the upstream URL, and
diff --git a/src/core/config.rs b/src/core/config.rs
index 700f3b94..98e53117 100644
--- a/src/core/config.rs
+++ b/src/core/config.rs
@@ -1095,6 +1095,25 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(!newer.confirm_window_close);
     }
 
+    /// Also opt-*out*: every config written before the switch existed predates
+    /// the choice, and those users have been looking at dimmed panes all along —
+    /// defaulting to `false` would silently change how every split tab looks on
+    /// upgrade. And once someone does turn it off, the `false` has to survive a
+    /// save/load cycle, or the effect they opted out of returns on next launch.
+    #[test]
+    fn dim_inactive_panes_defaults_on_and_round_trips() {
+        assert!(Config::default().dim_inactive_panes);
+
+        let old: Config = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"font_size": 15.0}"#).unwrap();
+        assert!(old.dim_inactive_panes);
+
+        let off: Config = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"dim_inactive_panes": false}"#).unwrap();
+        assert!(!off.dim_inactive_panes);
+        let json = serde_json::to_string(&off).unwrap();
+        let back: Config = serde_json::from_str(&json).unwrap();
+        assert!(!back.dim_inactive_panes);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn theme_follow_system_defaults_and_round_trips() {
         // Old configs (no follow-system keys) must land on off + the built-in
diff --git a/src/daemon/pane.rs b/src/daemon/pane.rs
index a7a167a2..e4e17711 100644
--- a/src/daemon/pane.rs
+++ b/src/daemon/pane.rs
@@ -422,29 +422,84 @@ fn system_locale_identifier() -> Option<String> {
     }
 }
 
+/// What tty7 answers to in `TERM_PROGRAM`. Terminals name themselves in the
+/// form they brand themselves in — `Apple_Terminal`, `iTerm.app`, `WezTerm`,
+/// `ghostty`, `vscode` — so ours is the lowercase product name.
+const TERM_PROGRAM_NAME: &str = "tty7";
+
+/// Env keys that describe our emulator's real capabilities. A user's `env` map
+/// must not override these: the answer isn't a preference, it's a fact about
+/// what the pane on the other end can decode.
+const CAPABILITY_ENV: [&str; 2] = ["TERM", "COLORTERM"];
+
+/// Whether a configured `env` key names one of [`CAPABILITY_ENV`]. Windows
+/// environment blocks are case-insensitive — `portable-pty` keeps one slot per
+/// lowercased key, so a configured `Term` there would replace `TERM` just as
+/// surely as the exact spelling — so the filter must use the platform's own
+/// notion of "the same variable". On Unix a differently-cased key is a genuinely
+/// distinct variable and stays the user's to set.
+fn names_capability_env(key: &str) -> bool {
+    CAPABILITY_ENV.iter().any(|cap| {
+        if cfg!(windows) {
+            key.eq_ignore_ascii_case(cap)
+        } else {
+            key == *cap
+        }
+    })
+}
+
+/// The environment every pane starts with, in application order — tty7's own
+/// advertisements first, then the user's `env` map, which overrides all but
+/// [`CAPABILITY_ENV`]. Returned as a list rather than applied in place so the
+/// precedence is testable without a `CommandBuilder` or a real `config.json`.
+fn pane_environment(
+    extra_env: &std::collections::HashMap<String, String>,
+) -> Vec<(String, String)> {
+    let version = env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION");
+    let mut env = vec![
+        // A widely-available terminfo + truecolor.
+        ("TERM".to_string(), "xterm-256color".to_string()),
+        ("COLORTERM".to_string(), "truecolor".to_string()),
+        // Mark the session as tty7's, for tooling that adapts to its host
+        // terminal — most importantly the `tty7 agent-hook` emitter, which
+        // stays silent without it so globally-installed agent hooks can't leak
+        // escape sequences into other terminals (see `core::agent_hooks`).
+        (
+            crate::core::agent_hooks::TTY7_ENV_MARKER.to_string(),
+            version.to_string(),
+        ),
+        // The de-facto standard pair for "which terminal is this": Apple
+        // Terminal introduced it, and iTerm2, WezTerm, Ghostty, VS Code and
+        // tmux all set it. `TERM` describes terminfo capabilities and can't
+        // answer this — but capability probes (`supports-color`,
+        // `supports-hyperlinks` and the JS CLI ecosystem built on them),
+        // editors applying terminal-specific workarounds, and shell prompts all
+        // branch on the program name, falling back to their most conservative
+        // behaviour when it's missing. `TTY7` doesn't help them: it's ours, and
+        // nothing third-party knows to look for it.
+        //
+        // Deliberately overridable below, unlike the capability keys: this
+        // names an identity, and posing as another terminal is a legitimate way
+        // to get a tool that only recognises a fixed list to light up.
+        ("TERM_PROGRAM".to_string(), TERM_PROGRAM_NAME.to_string()),
+        ("TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION".to_string(), version.to_string()),
+    ];
+    env.extend(
+        extra_env
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|(k, _)| !names_capability_env(k))
+            .map(|(k, v)| (k.clone(), v.clone())),
+    );
+    env
+}
+
 fn apply_common_command_setup(cmd: &mut CommandBuilder, initial_cwd: &Option<PathBuf>) {
     if let Some(dir) = initial_cwd {
         cmd.cwd(dir);
     }
-    // Advertise a widely-available terminfo + truecolor.
-    cmd.env("TERM", "xterm-256color");
-    cmd.env("COLORTERM", "truecolor");
-    // Mark the session as tty7's, for tooling that adapts to its host terminal
-    // — most importantly the `tty7 agent-hook` emitter, which stays silent
-    // without it so globally-installed agent hooks can't leak escape sequences
-    // into other terminals (see `core::agent_hooks`).
-    cmd.env(
-        crate::core::agent_hooks::TTY7_ENV_MARKER,
-        env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"),
-    );
-
-    // User-configured environment variables override inherited values (but not
-    // TERM/COLORTERM above, which reflect our emulator's real capabilities).
     let extra_env = crate::core::config::extra_env();
-    for (k, v) in &extra_env {
-        if k != "TERM" && k != "COLORTERM" {
-            cmd.env(k, v);
-        }
+    for (k, v) in pane_environment(&extra_env) {
+        cmd.env(k, v);
     }
 
     // LaunchServices commonly starts a macOS app with no locale variables at
@@ -4042,6 +4097,107 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(dead_rx.try_recv().is_err(), "on_dead must fire only once");
     }
 
+    /// Every pane is told which terminal it is running in, under the names the
+    /// rest of the world reads (`TERM_PROGRAM`/`TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION`) as well
+    /// as our own `TTY7` marker. Nothing third-party looks for the marker, so
+    /// dropping the standard pair would leave capability probes guessing.
+    #[test]
+    fn pane_environment_advertises_the_terminal_under_the_standard_names() {
+        let env: std::collections::HashMap<_, _> =
+            pane_environment(&std::collections::HashMap::new())
+                .into_iter()
+                .collect();
+        let version = env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION");
+
+        assert_eq!(env.get("TERM_PROGRAM").map(String::as_str), Some("tty7"));
+        assert_eq!(
+            env.get("TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION").map(String::as_str),
+            Some(version)
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            env.get(crate::core::agent_hooks::TTY7_ENV_MARKER)
+                .map(String::as_str),
+            Some(version)
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            env.get("TERM").map(String::as_str),
+            Some("xterm-256color"),
+            "terminfo name is what the pane's decoder actually implements"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// The user's `env` map may rename the terminal — posing as another program
+    /// is how you get a tool that only recognises a fixed list to light up —
+    /// but it may not contradict what our emulator can decode. Later entries
+    /// win, so the ordering is the precedence.
+    #[test]
+    fn pane_environment_lets_configured_env_override_identity_but_not_capability() {
+        let configured = [
+            ("TERM_PROGRAM", "iTerm.app"),
+            ("TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION", "3.5.0"),
+            ("TERM", "dumb"),
+            ("COLORTERM", ""),
+            ("EDITOR", "hx"),
+        ]
+        .iter()
+        .map(|(k, v)| ((*k).to_string(), (*v).to_string()))
+        .collect();
+
+        let applied: std::collections::HashMap<_, _> =
+            pane_environment(&configured).into_iter().collect();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            applied.get("TERM_PROGRAM").map(String::as_str),
+            Some("iTerm.app")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            applied.get("TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION").map(String::as_str),
+            Some("3.5.0")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(applied.get("EDITOR").map(String::as_str), Some("hx"));
+        assert_eq!(
+            applied.get("TERM").map(String::as_str),
+            Some("xterm-256color")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            applied.get("COLORTERM").map(String::as_str),
+            Some("truecolor")
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Windows environment blocks are case-insensitive — `portable-pty` keeps
+    /// one slot per lowercased key — so a configured `Term` would replace
+    /// `TERM` just as surely as the exact spelling. The capability filter must
+    /// therefore drop any casing of a capability key, not just the canonical
+    /// one. (On Unix a differently-cased key is a distinct variable and passes
+    /// through untouched.)
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    #[test]
+    fn pane_environment_capability_keys_cannot_be_overridden_by_recasing() {
+        let configured = [("Term", "dumb"), ("ColorTerm", ""), ("term_program", "x")]
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(k, v)| ((*k).to_string(), (*v).to_string()))
+            .collect();
+
+        let applied = pane_environment(&configured);
+
+        assert!(
+            !applied.iter().any(|(k, _)| k == "Term" || k == "ColorTerm"),
+            "a recased capability key must be filtered out, or it would land \
+             in the same case-folded slot and win by coming later"
+        );
+        let get = |key: &str| {
+            applied
+                .iter()
+                .find(|(k, _)| k == key)
+                .map(|(_, v)| v.as_str())
+        };
+        assert_eq!(get("TERM"), Some("xterm-256color"));
+        assert_eq!(get("COLORTERM"), Some("truecolor"));
+        // Identity keys stay overridable in any casing the user spells.
+        assert_eq!(get("term_program"), Some("x"));
+    }
+
     /// The macOS UTF-8 fallback applies only when the inherited environment has
     /// no locale and the user has not taken control through the generic `env`
     /// map. Key presence is authoritative there, including an empty value.
diff --git a/src/terminal/element.rs b/src/terminal/element.rs
index b4044521..512c8d43 100644
--- a/src/terminal/element.rs
+++ b/src/terminal/element.rs
@@ -490,18 +490,51 @@ enum RowSeg {
     /// drawing, accented Latin, …) that may route to a fallback face whose
     /// advance isn't the cell width.
     Solo { col: usize },
-    /// A base plus the combining marks stacked on it, shaped as one string so
-    /// the marks reach the shaper. Never batched with neighbours: the marks add
+    /// A base with everything that has to shape alongside it — the combining
+    /// marks stacked on it, and a following SARA AM — as one string, so the
+    /// shaper sees the whole cluster. Never batched with neighbours: marks add
     /// characters without adding columns, which is exactly the correspondence
     /// `force_width` relies on in a [`RowSeg::Run`] or [`RowSeg::Wide`].
+    ///
+    /// An absorbed SARA AM takes the base's style rather than its own. Unlike
+    /// a [`RowSeg::Run`], the cluster can't break on a style change: split off,
+    /// SARA AM has no base to reorder its nikhahit onto and renders as a dotted
+    /// circle. A recoloured vowel beats a broken one.
     Cluster {
         col: usize,
-        /// Columns the base occupies — 2 once the grid marked it wide.
+        /// Columns the whole cluster occupies — 2 for a wide base, or for a
+        /// narrow base that absorbed a following SARA AM.
         cells: usize,
         text: String,
+        /// Whether `cells == 2` because the *base* is wide, rather than because
+        /// a spacing character joined it. The two need opposite pinning: a wide
+        /// base is one glyph across two columns, an absorbed SARA AM is two
+        /// glyphs of one column each.
+        wide_base: bool,
     },
 }
 
+/// Append a cell's character followed by any combining marks riding on it.
+fn push_cell(text: &mut String, cell: &RenderCell) {
+    text.push(cell.c);
+    text.extend(cell.marks.iter().flat_map(|marks| marks.iter()));
+}
+
+/// SARA AM (Thai U+0E33, Lao U+0EB3) is `Lo` and owns a column, but it is not
+/// atomic to the shaper: the Thai shaper decomposes it into NIKHAHIT + SARA AA
+/// and moves the nikhahit backwards over any above-base marks onto the base
+/// consonant. Shaped in a run of its own it has no base to reorder onto, and
+/// comes out as a dotted circle.
+fn is_sara_am(c: char) -> bool {
+    matches!(c, '\u{0E33}' | '\u{0EB3}')
+}
+
+/// Does `col` hold a SARA AM that should join the preceding cell's cluster?
+fn sara_am_at(row: &[RenderCell], col: usize) -> Option<&RenderCell> {
+    row.get(col)
+        .filter(|cell| !cell.spacer && is_sara_am(cell.c))
+}
+
 /// Split one grid row into paintable segments.
 ///
 /// ASCII-graphic cells batch into [`RowSeg::Run`]s: they always come from the
@@ -530,15 +563,26 @@ fn segment_row(row: &[RenderCell]) -> Vec<RowSeg> {
         // Combining marks come first: they can sit on an ASCII base too, and
         // either way the whole cluster has to reach the shaper in one string.
         if let Some(marks) = &cell.marks {
-            let cells = if col + 1 < row.len() && row[col + 1].spacer {
-                2
-            } else {
-                1
-            };
+            let wide_base = col + 1 < row.len() && row[col + 1].spacer;
+            let mut cells = if wide_base { 2 } else { 1 };
             let mut text = String::with_capacity(1 + marks.len());
-            text.push(cell.c);
-            text.extend(marks.iter());
-            segs.push(RowSeg::Cluster { col, cells, text });
+            push_cell(&mut text, cell);
+            // A wide base already owns both columns, so only a narrow one has a
+            // column spare for SARA AM to join it in. A SARA AM is not itself a
+            // base to absorb onto — two in a row stay separate.
+            if !wide_base
+                && !is_sara_am(cell.c)
+                && let Some(am) = sara_am_at(row, col + 1)
+            {
+                push_cell(&mut text, am);
+                cells = 2;
+            }
+            segs.push(RowSeg::Cluster {
+                col,
+                cells,
+                text,
+                wide_base,
+            });
             col += cells;
             continue;
         }
@@ -569,6 +613,23 @@ fn segment_row(row: &[RenderCell]) -> Vec<RowSeg> {
                     cells: col - start,
                     text,
                 });
+            } else if !is_sara_am(cell.c)
+                && let Some(am) = sara_am_at(row, col + 1)
+            {
+                // An unmarked base still has to shape with its SARA AM. A
+                // baseless SARA AM is not a base for the next one: absorbing
+                // there would pin the second one's glyphs outside the cluster's
+                // clip, so two in a row stay separate and both stay visible.
+                let mut text = String::with_capacity(2);
+                push_cell(&mut text, cell);
+                push_cell(&mut text, am);
+                segs.push(RowSeg::Cluster {
+                    col,
+                    cells: 2,
+                    text,
+                    wide_base: false,
+                });
+                col += 2;
             } else {
                 segs.push(RowSeg::Solo { col });
                 col += 1;
@@ -904,11 +965,22 @@ fn paint_glyphs(
                 // Same pinning as the batched runs, just for one base: two
                 // columns get `force_width` so a fallback emoji face can't
                 // drift, one column paints at the origin like `Solo`.
-                RowSeg::Cluster { col, cells, text } => (
+                // Two columns pin per *base glyph*, and which that is depends
+                // on why the cluster is two cells wide: a wide base is one
+                // glyph spanning both, an absorbed SARA AM is two glyphs of one
+                // column each. `force_width` classifies by advance, so the
+                // marks ride their base under either. One column paints at the
+                // origin like `Solo`.
+                RowSeg::Cluster {
+                    col,
+                    cells,
+                    text,
+                    wide_base,
+                } => (
                     col,
                     cells,
                     SharedString::from(text),
-                    (cells == 2).then(|| geom.cell_width * 2.),
+                    (cells == 2).then(|| geom.cell_width * if wide_base { 2. } else { 1. }),
                     cells == 1,
                 ),
             };
@@ -2228,6 +2300,16 @@ mod tests {
             col,
             cells,
             text: text.to_string(),
+            wide_base: false,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn wide_cluster(col: usize, cells: usize, text: &str) -> RowSeg {
+        RowSeg::Cluster {
+            col,
+            cells,
+            text: text.to_string(),
+            wide_base: true,
         }
     }
 
@@ -2246,7 +2328,7 @@ mod tests {
         // spacer too (❤ + U+FE0F).
         let mut row = wide_cells("\u{2764}");
         row[0].marks = Some(Box::from(['\u{FE0F}']));
-        assert_eq!(segment_row(&row), [cluster(0, 2, "\u{2764}\u{FE0F}")]);
+        assert_eq!(segment_row(&row), [wide_cluster(0, 2, "\u{2764}\u{FE0F}")]);
 
         // Several marks on one base: an above-base vowel and a tone mark both
         // sit on the consonant (ที่ = ท U+0E17 + ◌ี U+0E35 + ◌่ U+0E48).
@@ -2258,6 +2340,58 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    /// SARA AM (U+0E33) is the awkward Thai vowel: `Lo`, width 1, so the grid
+    /// gives it its own column — but the shaper decomposes it into NIKHAHIT +
+    /// SARA AA and reorders the nikhahit backwards onto the base consonant.
+    /// Shaped in its own run it has no base to reorder onto and comes out as a
+    /// dotted circle, so it has to join the preceding cell's cluster.
+    #[test]
+    fn segment_row_absorbs_sara_am_into_its_base() {
+        // น + ้ (tone) + ำ — the base already carries a mark.
+        let mut row = vec![cell('\u{0E19}'), cell('\u{0E33}'), cell('a')];
+        row[0].marks = Some(Box::from(['\u{0E49}']));
+        assert_eq!(
+            segment_row(&row),
+            [cluster(0, 2, "\u{0E19}\u{0E49}\u{0E33}"), run(2, 1, "a")]
+        );
+
+        // ก + ำ — an unmarked base still has to shape with it.
+        let row = vec![cell('\u{0E01}'), cell('\u{0E33}')];
+        assert_eq!(segment_row(&row), [cluster(0, 2, "\u{0E01}\u{0E33}")]);
+
+        // Lao SARA AM (U+0EB3) takes the same shaper path.
+        let row = vec![cell('\u{0E81}'), cell('\u{0EB3}')];
+        assert_eq!(segment_row(&row), [cluster(0, 2, "\u{0E81}\u{0EB3}")]);
+
+        // A style change does not break the cluster, unlike a `Run` or `Wide`
+        // batch: split off, the vowel has no base and paints a dotted circle,
+        // so it takes the base's style instead.
+        let mut row = vec![cell('\u{0E01}'), cell('\u{0E33}')];
+        row[1].fg = gpui::red();
+        assert_eq!(segment_row(&row), [cluster(0, 2, "\u{0E01}\u{0E33}")]);
+    }
+
+    /// With nothing to attach to, SARA AM paints alone — a dotted circle is the
+    /// shaper's honest answer for an orphaned mark, and inventing a base would
+    /// be worse.
+    #[test]
+    fn segment_row_leaves_a_baseless_sara_am_alone() {
+        let row = vec![cell('\u{0E33}'), cell('a')];
+        assert_eq!(segment_row(&row), [RowSeg::Solo { col: 0 }, run(1, 1, "a")]);
+
+        // A blank before it is not a base either.
+        let row = vec![cell(' '), cell('\u{0E33}')];
+        assert_eq!(segment_row(&row), [RowSeg::Solo { col: 1 }]);
+
+        // Nor is another SARA AM: absorbing would pin the second one's glyphs
+        // past the cluster's two-cell clip and swallow it entirely.
+        let row = vec![cell('\u{0E33}'), cell('\u{0E33}')];
+        assert_eq!(
+            segment_row(&row),
+            [RowSeg::Solo { col: 0 }, RowSeg::Solo { col: 1 }]
+        );
+    }
+
     /// A marked cell never joins a batch: marks add characters without adding
     /// columns, which would desync `force_width`'s glyph-per-column pinning.
     #[test]
@@ -2277,7 +2411,7 @@ mod tests {
             segment_row(&row),
             [
                 wide(0, 2, "你"),
-                cluster(2, 2, "好\u{FE0F}"),
+                wide_cluster(2, 2, "好\u{FE0F}"),
                 wide(4, 2, "世"),
             ]
         );
diff --git a/src/ui/app.rs b/src/ui/app.rs
index b2181f7d..26c1925f 100644
--- a/src/ui/app.rs
+++ b/src/ui/app.rs
@@ -2506,8 +2506,8 @@ impl Tty7App {
         self.update_config(cx, |cfg| cfg.check_for_updates = on);
     }
 
-    /// Toggle inactive-pane dimming. Applies on the next render — the pane tree
-    /// reads the flag from the `Config` global each frame.
+    /// Toggle inactive-pane dimming. Applies on the next render — `update_config`
+    /// notifies, and this view's render is what hands the flag to the pane tree.
     pub(crate) fn set_dim_inactive_panes(&mut self, on: bool, cx: &mut Context<Self>) {
         self.update_config(cx, |cfg| cfg.dim_inactive_panes = on);
     }
@@ -5214,7 +5214,7 @@ impl Render for Tty7App {
             .get(self.active)
             .and_then(|t| t.pane.focused_or_first(window, cx))
             .and_then(|leaf| self.render_ssh_status_strip(&leaf, cx));
-        // Render the active tab's pane tree; show focus rings only when split.
+        // Render the active tab's pane tree.
         let body = match self.tabs.get(self.active) {
             // Zero tabs: the window's own face — the home page (see `ui::home`).
             None => self.render_home(cx).into_any_element(),
@@ -5235,8 +5235,11 @@ impl Render for Tty7App {
                         .child(leaf.clone())
                         .into_any_element(),
                     None => {
-                        let show_focus = active_tab.pane.leaves().len() > 1;
-                        active_tab.pane.render(show_focus, window, cx)
+                        // Fading the unfocused panes only says anything once the
+                        // tab is actually split, and the user can turn it off.
+                        let dim_inactive = active_tab.pane.leaves().len() > 1
+                            && cx.global::<Config>().dim_inactive_panes;
+                        active_tab.pane.render(dim_inactive, window, cx)
                     }
                 }
             }
diff --git a/src/ui/pane.rs b/src/ui/pane.rs
index 5f658295..cade6881 100644
--- a/src/ui/pane.rs
+++ b/src/ui/pane.rs
@@ -524,33 +524,33 @@ impl Pane<Entity<TerminalView>> {
         self.close_leaf_where(&|v| v.entity_id() == target.entity_id())
     }
 
-    /// Render the subtree. `show_focus` draws a focus ring on the active leaf
-    /// (suppressed when the tab has a single pane).
-    pub fn render(&self, show_focus: bool, window: &mut Window, cx: &mut App) -> gpui::AnyElement {
+    /// Render the subtree. `dim_inactive` fades every leaf but the focused one;
+    /// the caller decides it — it is off for an unsplit tab (nothing to
+    /// distinguish) and off when the user turned `dim_inactive_panes` off. Kept
+    /// a parameter rather than a `Config` global read here so the tree stays
+    /// renderable without one, as the rest of this module is.
+    pub fn render(
+        &self,
+        dim_inactive: bool,
+        window: &mut Window,
+        cx: &mut App,
+    ) -> gpui::AnyElement {
         match self {
             Pane::Empty => div().into_any_element(),
             Pane::Leaf(v) => {
-                let focused = show_focus && v.read(cx).focus_handle.contains_focused(window, cx);
+                let focused = v.read(cx).focus_handle.contains_focused(window, cx);
                 // No full border (it reads as a hard rectangle).
                 div()
                     .size_full()
                     .relative()
                     .overflow_hidden()
-                    // Inactive panes (only when the tab is actually split) fade back
-                    // so the focused terminal reads as foreground without a hard
-                    // border. Element opacity multiplies through the whole subtree
-                    // (terminal glyphs + cell fills), unlike a background-tinted
-                    // scrim which is near-invisible on a light theme (white on
-                    // white). Applied to the container, so a click still lands on
-                    // the terminal and focuses it. `dim_inactive_panes` opts out.
-                    .when(
-                        show_focus
-                            && !focused
-                            && cx
-                                .global::<crate::core::config::Config>()
-                                .dim_inactive_panes,
-                        |d| d.opacity(0.55),
-                    )
+                    // Inactive panes fade back so the focused terminal reads as
+                    // foreground without a hard border. Element opacity multiplies
+                    // through the whole subtree (terminal glyphs + cell fills),
+                    // unlike a background-tinted scrim which is near-invisible on a
+                    // light theme (white on white). Applied to the container, so a
+                    // click still lands on the terminal and focuses it.
+                    .when(dim_inactive && !focused, |d| d.opacity(0.55))
                     .child(v.clone())
                     .into_any_element()
             }
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ impl Pane<Entity<TerminalView>> {
                             .flex_basis(px(0.))
                             .min_w_0()
                             .min_h_0()
-                            .child(a.render(show_focus, window, cx)),
+                            .child(a.render(dim_inactive, window, cx)),
                     )
                     .child(divider)
                     .child(
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ impl Pane<Entity<TerminalView>> {
                             .flex_basis(px(0.))
                             .min_w_0()
                             .min_h_0()
-                            .child(b.render(show_focus, window, cx)),
+                            .child(b.render(dim_inactive, window, cx)),
                     )
                     .into_any_element()
             }
diff --git a/src/ui/settings.rs b/src/ui/settings.rs
index 4eeb63ff..edd32d10 100644
--- a/src/ui/settings.rs
+++ b/src/ui/settings.rs
@@ -144,6 +144,11 @@ fn settings_search_entries() -> &'static [SearchEntry] {
             title: "Blur",
             keywords: "transparency translucent frosted vibrancy window background",
         },
+        SearchEntry {
+            section: Appearance,
+            title: "Dim inactive panes",
+            keywords: "fade unfocused inactive split pane focus opacity highlight active dimming",
+        },
         SearchEntry {
             section: Appearance,
             title: "Font size",
@@ -1518,10 +1523,12 @@ impl Tty7App {
             .into_any_element()
     }
 
-    /// Window section (Appearance): global opacity slider + blur switch that
-    /// apply to every theme. Both are config *overrides* — until touched they
-    /// follow the active theme's own `opacity`/`blur`, and "Follow theme"
-    /// clears them back to that state.
+    /// Window section (Appearance): the global opacity slider and blur switch
+    /// that apply to every theme, then the inactive-pane dimming switch. The
+    /// first two are config *overrides* — until touched they follow the active
+    /// theme's own `opacity`/`blur`, and "Follow theme" clears them back to that
+    /// state; the dimming switch is a plain flag no theme carries a value for,
+    /// so it sits below that button and "Follow theme" leaves it alone.
     fn render_window_section(&self, cx: &mut Context<Self>) -> AnyElement {
         let Some(slider) = self
             .active_settings()
@@ -1578,12 +1585,6 @@ impl Tty7App {
                 blur_switch,
                 cx,
             ))
-            .child(self.settings_row(
-                "Dim inactive panes",
-                "Fade unfocused panes in a split so the active one stands out.",
-                dim_switch,
-                cx,
-            ))
             // Only offered while an override is active; otherwise the values
             // already follow the theme and the button would be a no-op.
             .when(overridden, |this| {
@@ -1598,6 +1599,14 @@ impl Tty7App {
                     ),
                 )
             })
+            // Below "Follow theme", which resets the two rows above it and not
+            // this one — a plain setting with no theme value behind it.
+            .child(self.settings_row(
+                "Dim inactive panes",
+                "Fade unfocused panes in a split so the active one stands out.",
+                dim_switch,
+                cx,
+            ))
             .into_any_element()
     }
 
@@ -4623,6 +4632,7 @@ mod tests {
             "Sidebar grouping",
             "Tab completion",
             "History search",
+            "Dim inactive panes",
         ] {
             assert!(
                 settings_search_entries().iter().any(|e| e.title == title),