diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b331fb8..ef5e800 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 /3code
 tests/test_*
 !tests/test_*.nim
+!tests/test_http_nonstream.nims
 tests/output/
 nimcache/
 config.local.nims
diff --git a/src/threecode/api.nim b/src/threecode/api.nim
index 7b0ef3a..c8bacc7 100644
--- a/src/threecode/api.nim
+++ b/src/threecode/api.nim
@@ -486,7 +486,34 @@ proc streamHttp(url, key, bodyStr: string, baseLabel: string,
                                   ("Accept", "text/event-stream")],
                        body = bodyStr)
       hookProviderActivity()
-      resp = conn.readResponseHead()
+      # The head read uses the same QuietRecvWakeMs-bounded recv as the
+      # body loop, so it raises StreamTimeoutError periodically. Unlike
+      # the body loop, a slow head is the norm here: the provider holds
+      # the connection for several seconds while the model warms up
+      # before emitting even the HTTP status line. We must loop on the
+      # timeout (re-checking interrupt/quiet) rather than treating it as
+      # a stale connection; otherwise every request to a slow provider
+      # (z.ai GLM, ~7s to first byte) burns the two stale-conn retries
+      # and then fails with "recv timed out".
+      while true:
+        try:
+          resp = conn.readResponseHead()
+          break
+        except StreamTimeoutError:
+          if isInterrupted() or isNetworkQuiet():
+            closeCachedStreamConn()
+            break
+          continue
+      if resp.status == 0 and resp.headers.len == 0:
+        # Head loop bailed on interrupt/quiet before any head bytes
+        # arrived. The outer except won't fire (no exception), so exit
+        # the attempt loop here.
+        if isInterrupted():
+          result.errMsg = "interrupted by user"
+        else:
+          result.errMsg = "network quiet too long (no data for " &
+            $(QuietTooLongMs div 1000) & "s)"
+        return
       hookProviderActivity()
       break
     except CatchableError as e:
@@ -761,7 +788,25 @@ proc callHttp(url, key, bodyStr: string; baseLabel: string;
                                   ("Accept", "application/json")],
                        body = bodyStr)
       hookProviderActivity()
-      resp = conn.readResponseHead()
+      # Same head wake-loop as streamHttp: a slow head is normal (the
+      # model warms up before the status line arrives), so we loop on
+      # StreamTimeoutError rather than burning the stale-conn retry.
+      while true:
+        try:
+          resp = conn.readResponseHead()
+          break
+        except StreamTimeoutError:
+          if isInterrupted() or isNetworkQuiet():
+            closeCachedStreamConn()
+            break
+          continue
+      if resp.status == 0 and resp.headers.len == 0:
+        if isInterrupted():
+          result.errMsg = "interrupted by user"
+        else:
+          result.errMsg = "network quiet too long (no data for " &
+            $(QuietTooLongMs div 1000) & "s)"
+        return
       hookProviderActivity()
       break
     except CatchableError as e:
@@ -1053,7 +1098,7 @@ proc callModel*(p: Profile, messages: JsonNode, usage: var Usage, lastPromptToke
   applyGenerationDefaults(p, body)
   if p.reasoning.len > 0:
     applyReasoning(p, body)
-  let bodyStr = $body
+  let bodyStr = sanitizeUtf8($body)
   if "\"usage\"" in bodyStr:
     stderr.writeLine "3code: BUG: usage in wireMessages"
     for i, m in wireMessages:
diff --git a/src/threecode/compact.nim b/src/threecode/compact.nim
index 5ef787b..f9e5f1e 100644
--- a/src/threecode/compact.nim
+++ b/src/threecode/compact.nim
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ proc callSummarizer(p: Profile, messages: JsonNode): string =
     client.headers["Authorization"] = "Bearer " & p.key
     client.headers["Content-Type"] = "application/json"
     let resp = client.request(p.url & "/chat/completions",
-                              httpMethod = HttpPost, body = $body)
+                              httpMethod = HttpPost, body = sanitizeUtf8($body))
     status = resp.code.int
     respBody = resp.body
   except CatchableError as e:
diff --git a/src/threecode/fatprompt/runtime.nim b/src/threecode/fatprompt/runtime.nim
index 52167f5..2d1cf3c 100644
--- a/src/threecode/fatprompt/runtime.nim
+++ b/src/threecode/fatprompt/runtime.nim
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ when defined(posix):
   import std/posix except SocketHandle
   import posix/termios
 import ../types, ../util, ../compact, ../display, ../minline,
-  ../terminal as termui, ../session
+  ../signals, ../terminal as termui, ../session
 import ../engine as termengine
 import rendering
 from ../api import ApiStreamHooks, requestTurnInterrupt, setApiStreamHooks,
@@ -287,6 +287,16 @@ proc consumeQueuedInput*(line: var string; echoRows: var int;
                          cmdWasQuit: var bool): bool =
   ## Consume the next submitted editor line, regardless of whether it was
   ## entered while the controller was idle or while a turn was active.
+  ##
+  ## Inherent-unpark: the idle input thread parks itself in `getCh` (returns
+  ## -1 -> EOFError) when `inputIdleSubmitted` is set. That park must be
+  ## released by *this* controller thread. Rather than rely on every call
+  ## site remembering `releaseIdleSubmittedInput()`, the release is folded
+  ## into polling: if we found nothing to consume yet the flag is still set,
+  ## the submitted line must already have been consumed on a prior pass (or
+  ## was never real text) — clear the park so the input thread stops
+  ## spinning in its EOFError busy-wait and resumes reading keystrokes.
+  ## Missing this means a frozen prompt: both threads sleep-loop forever.
   acquire inputStateLock
   try:
     cmdWasQuit = inputState.cmdWasQuit
@@ -309,6 +319,8 @@ proc consumeQueuedInput*(line: var string; echoRows: var int;
         inputState.queuedEchoRows = 0
         inputState.autoSend = false
         return true
+    if inputIdleSubmitted.load(moAcquire):
+      inputIdleSubmitted.store(false, moRelease)
   finally:
     release inputStateLock
 
@@ -559,6 +571,18 @@ proc resetPromptInputAfterEmpty*(echoRows: int) =
       hideRealCaretBytes() &
         barFooterBytes(currentBarLabel, currentTermW()))
 
+proc resetEditorRowModel(ed: ptr minline.LineEditor) =
+  ## Clear the live editor's text and row geometry so it presents as a single
+  ## empty row. The submit path calls this inside the terminal-write lock,
+  ## atomically with the transcript append, so background repainters cannot
+  ## observe a stale multi-row editor after a prompt is committed as scrollback.
+  if ed == nil: return
+  ed[].line = minline.Line(text: "", position: 0)
+  ed[].renderSuffix = ""
+  ed[].renderSuffixCursor = false
+  ed[].renderRow = 0
+  ed[].echoRows = 0
+
 proc commitTranscriptBytes*(transcriptBytes: string; restoreEditor = true;
                             beforeRepaint: proc() = nil;
                             reserveFooter = true;
@@ -577,17 +601,39 @@ proc commitTranscriptBytes*(transcriptBytes: string; restoreEditor = true;
   if beforeRepaint != nil:
     beforeRepaint()
   let newFooter = footerFrame(fatPromptState)
-  termengine.appendTranscript(
-    transcriptBytes,
-    liveEditorFooterAnchored(),
-    inputThreadRunning,
-    inputEditor,
-    oldFooter,
-    newFooter,
-    0,
-    restoreEditor,
-    reserveFooter,
-    transcriptOwnsSpacing)
+  # The submit path (restoreEditor=false) commits the prompt as scrollback and
+  # then drops the editor chrome. Reset the editor's row model inside the same
+  # terminal-write critical section as the transcript append: without this,
+  # there is a window between appendTranscript (which reads the editor's
+  # pre-submit row model) and the controller's later reset where a background
+  # repainter (spinner/bar-tick) can observe a stale multi-row editor and
+  # over-walk its clear into the just-committed scrollback rows.
+  if not restoreEditor and inputEditor != nil:
+    withTerminalWriteLock:
+      termengine.appendTranscript(
+        transcriptBytes,
+        liveEditorFooterAnchored(),
+        inputThreadRunning,
+        inputEditor,
+        oldFooter,
+        newFooter,
+        0,
+        restoreEditor,
+        reserveFooter,
+        transcriptOwnsSpacing)
+      resetEditorRowModel(inputEditor)
+  else:
+    termengine.appendTranscript(
+      transcriptBytes,
+      liveEditorFooterAnchored(),
+      inputThreadRunning,
+      inputEditor,
+      oldFooter,
+      newFooter,
+      0,
+      restoreEditor,
+      reserveFooter,
+      transcriptOwnsSpacing)
   if reserveFooter and transcriptBytes.hasNonNewlineBytes and currentBarLabel.len > 0:
     emitFatPromptEvent setBarEvent(currentBarLabel, hasGap = true)
   debugOut "writeTranscriptWithFatPrompt exit"
@@ -1319,6 +1365,13 @@ proc inputThreadProc() {.thread.} =
             result = pendingInput[0]
             pendingInput.delete(0)
             return
+          # SIGWINCH is caught with SA_RESTART, so poll() is restarted
+          # rather than returning EINTR. Detect the resize via the shared
+          # flag on each poll cycle and surface it as IOError so readLineWith
+          # redraws the editor and footer at the new geometry.
+          if consumeResizePending():
+            markResizePending()
+            raise newException(IOError, "terminal resized")
           if errno == EINTR:
             continue
         -1
@@ -1386,7 +1439,13 @@ proc inputThreadProc() {.thread.} =
         ed.pendingCaret = true
       else:
         ed.line.position = ed.line.text.len
-        if not inputTurnActive.load(moAcquire):
+        # Only park for a real line with text. An empty idle Enter sets
+        # neither queuedText nor autoSend, so the controller has nothing
+        # to consume and would never release the park. Parking here would
+        # wedge the input thread forever (getCh returns -1 -> EOFError ->
+        # busy-wait) and freeze the prompt. With no park, readLineWith
+        # just continues its loop for the next keystroke.
+        if not inputTurnActive.load(moAcquire) and ed.line.text.len > 0:
           inputIdleSubmitted.store(true, moRelease)
       ed.renderSuffix =
         if inputTurnActive.load(moAcquire) and inputState.autoSend:
diff --git a/src/threecode/util.nim b/src/threecode/util.nim
index 9cab01a..37feb6b 100644
--- a/src/threecode/util.nim
+++ b/src/threecode/util.nim
@@ -116,6 +116,66 @@ proc utf8ByteCutEnd*(s: string, n: int): string =
     inc start
   s[start .. ^1]
 
+proc sanitizeUtf8*(s: string): string =
+  ## Return a copy of `s` that is valid UTF-8: every invalid byte or
+  ## malformed sequence is replaced with a single U+FFFD, and every valid
+  ## codepoint (including multibyte) passes through untouched.
+  ##
+  ## Strings that cross a system boundary into a JSON request body must be
+  ## valid UTF-8. Tool output and resumed-session text can carry bytes that
+  ## aren't — e.g. a command that printed a truncated multi-byte rune left a
+  ## lone continuation byte in its result, which `std/json` emits verbatim
+  ## into the serialized body. The provider then rejects the whole body with
+  ## a 400, and since the offending message recurs in every subsequent
+  ## request (tool messages can't be dropped) the session is bricked until
+  ## the `.3log` is hand-edited. This is the boundary guard that stops that.
+  result = newStringOfCap(s.len)
+  var i = 0
+  while i < s.len:
+    let b = s[i].uint8
+    if b < 0x80:
+      result.add s[i]; inc i; continue
+    let seqLen =
+      if b shr 5 == 0b110: 2
+      elif b shr 4 == 0b1110: 3
+      elif b shr 3 == 0b11110: 4
+      else: 0 # lone continuation byte, or a lead byte > 0xF4
+    if seqLen == 0:
+      result.add "\uFFFD"; inc i; continue
+    var ok = true
+    if i + seqLen > s.len: ok = false
+    else:
+      case seqLen
+      of 2:
+        if (s[i + 1].uint8 and 0xC0'u8) != 0x80'u8: ok = false
+        elif b <= 0xC1'u8: ok = false # overlong (encodes < 0x80)
+      of 3:
+        if (s[i + 1].uint8 and 0xC0'u8) != 0x80'u8 or
+           (s[i + 2].uint8 and 0xC0'u8) != 0x80'u8: ok = false
+        elif b == 0xE0'u8 and (s[i + 1].uint8 and 0xE0'u8) == 0x80'u8:
+          ok = false # overlong
+        elif b == 0xED'u8 and (s[i + 1].uint8 and 0xE0'u8) == 0xA0'u8:
+          ok = false # surrogate (U+D800..U+DFFF)
+      of 4:
+        if (s[i + 1].uint8 and 0xC0'u8) != 0x80'u8 or
+           (s[i + 2].uint8 and 0xC0'u8) != 0x80'u8 or
+           (s[i + 3].uint8 and 0xC0'u8) != 0x80'u8: ok = false
+        elif b == 0xF0'u8 and (s[i + 1].uint8 and 0xF0'u8) == 0x80'u8:
+          ok = false # overlong
+        elif b == 0xF4'u8 and s[i + 1].uint8 > 0x8F'u8:
+          ok = false # > U+10FFFF
+        elif b > 0xF4'u8: ok = false
+      else: discard
+    if ok:
+      for k in 0 ..< seqLen: result.add s[i + k]
+      inc i, seqLen
+    else:
+      # Drop only the bad lead byte; any orphaned continuation bytes that
+      # follow get re-checked on the next iteration and each become its own
+      # U+FFFD, matching WHATWG/W3C decoder best practice (substituting one
+      # replacement char per maximal subpart of an ill-formed sequence).
+      result.add "\uFFFD"; inc i
+
 proc clipMiddle*(s: string, head, tail: int): string =
   if s.len <= head + tail: s
   else: utf8ByteCut(s, head) & "\n... [truncated] ...\n" & utf8ByteCutEnd(s, tail)
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/tty/harness_commands.txt b/tests/fixtures/tty/harness_commands.txt
index a6934fb..200c2bf 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/tty/harness_commands.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/tty/harness_commands.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-===== 153 =====
+===== 768 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -10,8 +10,7 @@
   type a prompt. :help for commands. :q or Ctrl-D to exit.
 
 ❯ :help
-===== 970 =====
-❯ :help
+===== 468 =====
 
 : help
   3code the economical coding agent
@@ -29,11 +28,12 @@
   :provider rm X    remove provider X
   :reasoning        list reasoning levels for current model (* marks active)
   :reasoning X      switch reasoning level (low / medium / high)
+  :streaming        show streaming mode (on = live output, off = request/response)
+  :streaming on|off toggle SSE streaming (off is the reliable fallback for flaky SSE)
   :prompt           show the active system prompt
   :show [N]         show full output of tool call N (default: last)
   :log              list all tool calls this session
-  :sessions         list sessions saved in the current directory
-  :sessions all     list every saved session (any directory)
+  :sessions         list recent sessions saved in this directory (max 20)
   :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
@@ -51,8 +51,7 @@
   @path         inline file contents (e.g. @src/foo.nim)
 
 ❯
-===== 345 =====
-❯ :help
+===== 744 =====
 
 : help
   3code the economical coding agent
@@ -70,11 +69,12 @@
   :provider rm X    remove provider X
   :reasoning        list reasoning levels for current model (* marks active)
   :reasoning X      switch reasoning level (low / medium / high)
+  :streaming        show streaming mode (on = live output, off = request/response)
+  :streaming on|off toggle SSE streaming (off is the reliable fallback for flaky SSE)
   :prompt           show the active system prompt
   :show [N]         show full output of tool call N (default: last)
   :log              list all tool calls this session
-  :sessions         list sessions saved in the current directory
-  :sessions all     list every saved session (any directory)
+  :sessions         list recent sessions saved in this directory (max 20)
   :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
@@ -92,8 +92,7 @@
   @path         inline file contents (e.g. @src/foo.nim)
 
 ❯ :provider
-===== 717 =====
-  :help             show this message
+===== 468 =====
   :tokens           show token usage for this session
   :clear            reset conversation (keeps system prompt)
   :model            list models for current provider (current marked with *)
@@ -105,11 +104,12 @@
   :provider rm X    remove provider X
   :reasoning        list reasoning levels for current model (* marks active)
   :reasoning X      switch reasoning level (low / medium / high)
+  :streaming        show streaming mode (on = live output, off = request/response)
+  :streaming on|off toggle SSE streaming (off is the reliable fallback for flaky SSE)
   :prompt           show the active system prompt
   :show [N]         show full output of tool call N (default: last)
   :log              list all tool calls this session
-  :sessions         list sessions saved in the current directory
-  :sessions all     list every saved session (any directory)
+  :sessions         list recent sessions saved in this directory (max 20)
   :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
@@ -133,8 +133,7 @@
       alt
 
 ❯
-===== 367 =====
-  :help             show this message
+===== 954 =====
   :tokens           show token usage for this session
   :clear            reset conversation (keeps system prompt)
   :model            list models for current provider (current marked with *)
@@ -146,11 +145,12 @@
   :provider rm X    remove provider X
   :reasoning        list reasoning levels for current model (* marks active)
   :reasoning X      switch reasoning level (low / medium / high)
+  :streaming        show streaming mode (on = live output, off = request/response)
+  :streaming on|off toggle SSE streaming (off is the reliable fallback for flaky SSE)
   :prompt           show the active system prompt
   :show [N]         show full output of tool call N (default: last)
   :log              list all tool calls this session
-  :sessions         list sessions saved in the current directory
-  :sessions all     list every saved session (any directory)
+  :sessions         list recent sessions saved in this directory (max 20)
   :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
@@ -174,18 +174,18 @@
       alt
 
 ❯ :model
-===== 380 =====
-  :provider X       switch to provider X (model defaults to first in its list)
+===== 567 =====
   :provider add     add a new provider (interactive, verified)
   :provider edit X  edit provider X (url, key, models)
   :provider rm X    remove provider X
   :reasoning        list reasoning levels for current model (* marks active)
   :reasoning X      switch reasoning level (low / medium / high)
+  :streaming        show streaming mode (on = live output, off = request/response)
+  :streaming on|off toggle SSE streaming (off is the reliable fallback for flaky SSE)
   :prompt           show the active system prompt
   :show [N]         show full output of tool call N (default: last)
   :log              list all tool calls this session
-  :sessions         list sessions saved in the current directory
-  :sessions all     list every saved session (any directory)
+  :sessions         list recent sessions saved in this directory (max 20)
   :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
@@ -215,18 +215,18 @@
       stub-large
 
 ❯
-===== 265 =====
-  :provider X       switch to provider X (model defaults to first in its list)
+===== 726 =====
   :provider add     add a new provider (interactive, verified)
   :provider edit X  edit provider X (url, key, models)
   :provider rm X    remove provider X
   :reasoning        list reasoning levels for current model (* marks active)
   :reasoning X      switch reasoning level (low / medium / high)
+  :streaming        show streaming mode (on = live output, off = request/response)
+  :streaming on|off toggle SSE streaming (off is the reliable fallback for flaky SSE)
   :prompt           show the active system prompt
   :show [N]         show full output of tool call N (default: last)
   :log              list all tool calls this session
-  :sessions         list sessions saved in the current directory
-  :sessions all     list every saved session (any directory)
+  :sessions         list recent sessions saved in this directory (max 20)
   :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
@@ -256,11 +256,12 @@
       stub-large
 
 ❯ :reasoning
-===== 883 =====
+===== 821 =====
+  :streaming on|off toggle SSE streaming (off is the reliable fallback for flaky SSE)
+  :prompt           show the active system prompt
   :show [N]         show full output of tool call N (default: last)
   :log              list all tool calls this session
-  :sessions         list sessions saved in the current directory
-  :sessions all     list every saved session (any directory)
+  :sessions         list recent sessions saved in this directory (max 20)
   :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
@@ -292,16 +293,16 @@
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯
-===== 733 =====
+===== 801 =====
+  :streaming on|off toggle SSE streaming (off is the reliable fallback for flaky SSE)
+  :prompt           show the active system prompt
   :show [N]         show full output of tool call N (default: last)
   :log              list all tool calls this session
-  :sessions         list sessions saved in the current directory
-  :sessions all     list every saved session (any directory)
+  :sessions         list recent sessions saved in this directory (max 20)
   :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
@@ -333,12 +334,12 @@
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
-===== 833 =====
+===== 689 =====
+  :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
   input:
@@ -369,9 +370,8 @@
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -379,7 +379,8 @@ provider  stub
 model     stub-large
 
 ❯
-===== 230 =====
+===== 929 =====
+  :summarize        collapse old turns into a synthetic recap (meta model call)
   :q :quit          exit (also Ctrl-D)
 
   input:
@@ -410,9 +411,8 @@ model     stub-large
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -420,7 +420,8 @@ provider  stub
 model     stub-large
 
 ❯ :reasoning high
-===== 132 =====
+===== 841 =====
+  arrows        full cursor navigation across lines and visual wraps
   ctrl+arrow    word-by-word jumps (also crosses logical lines)
   home / end    jump to start / end of the current logical line
   ctrl+u        clear the buffer
@@ -445,9 +446,8 @@ model     stub-large
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -461,7 +461,8 @@ model     stub-large
 reasoning high
 
 ❯
-===== 808 =====
+===== 600 =====
+  arrows        full cursor navigation across lines and visual wraps
   ctrl+arrow    word-by-word jumps (also crosses logical lines)
   home / end    jump to start / end of the current logical line
   ctrl+u        clear the buffer
@@ -486,9 +487,8 @@ reasoning high
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -502,7 +502,8 @@ model     stub-large
 reasoning high
 
 ❯ :provider alt
-===== 917 =====
+===== 523 =====
+  up / down     visual-row up/down inside the buffer; on the top/bottom row recalls history
   tab           complete :commands, provider names, model names
   ctrl+l        clear the screen
   @path         inline file contents (e.g. @src/foo.nim)
@@ -522,9 +523,8 @@ reasoning high
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -543,7 +543,8 @@ provider  alt
 model     alt-model
 
 ❯
-===== 266 =====
+===== 167 =====
+  up / down     visual-row up/down inside the buffer; on the top/bottom row recalls history
   tab           complete :commands, provider names, model names
   ctrl+l        clear the screen
   @path         inline file contents (e.g. @src/foo.nim)
@@ -563,9 +564,8 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -584,7 +584,8 @@ provider  alt
 model     alt-model
 
 ❯ :tokens
-===== 474 =====
+===== 836 =====
+❯ :provider
 
 : providers
     * stub  [stub-model]
@@ -599,9 +600,8 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -625,7 +625,8 @@ model     alt-model
   no tokens used yet
 
 ❯
-===== 132 =====
+===== 403 =====
+❯ :provider
 
 : providers
     * stub  [stub-model]
@@ -640,9 +641,8 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -666,7 +666,8 @@ model     alt-model
   no tokens used yet
 
 ❯ :clear
-===== 591 =====
+===== 500 =====
+      alt
 
 ❯ :model
 
@@ -677,9 +678,8 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -707,7 +707,8 @@ model     alt-model
 ════════════════════════════════════════
 
 ❯
-===== 522 =====
+===== 631 =====
+      alt
 
 ❯ :model
 
@@ -718,9 +719,8 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -748,15 +748,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ════════════════════════════════════════
 
 ❯ :sessions
-===== 896 =====
+===== 616 =====
+    * stub-model
       stub-large
 
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -786,18 +786,18 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯
-===== 533 =====
+===== 613 =====
+    * stub-model
       stub-large
 
 ❯ :reasoning
 
 : reasoning
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+    reasoning: (none)
+    experimental: level is free-form, type any value
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -827,13 +827,10 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
-===== 182 =====
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+===== 455 =====
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -863,18 +860,18 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯
-===== 308 =====
-      low
-      medium
-      high
+===== 478 =====
 
 ❯ :model stub-large
 
@@ -904,18 +901,18 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
-❯ :log
-===== 495 =====
 
-provider  stub
-model     stub-large
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
+
+❯ :log
+===== 974 =====
 
 ❯ :reasoning high
 
@@ -940,12 +937,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯ :log
 
@@ -953,10 +953,7 @@ model     alt-model
     no tool calls yet
 
 ❯
-===== 113 =====
-
-provider  stub
-model     stub-large
+===== 187 =====
 
 ❯ :reasoning high
 
@@ -981,12 +978,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯ :log
 
@@ -994,10 +994,7 @@ model     alt-model
     no tool calls yet
 
 ❯ :show
-===== 505 =====
-
-provider  stub
-model     stub-large
+===== 210 =====
 reasoning high
 
 ❯ :provider alt
@@ -1017,12 +1014,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯ :log
 
@@ -1035,10 +1035,7 @@ model     alt-model
     no tool calls yet
 
 ❯
-===== 131 =====
-
-provider  stub
-model     stub-large
+===== 211 =====
 reasoning high
 
 ❯ :provider alt
@@ -1058,12 +1055,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯ :log
 
@@ -1076,10 +1076,7 @@ model     alt-model
     no tool calls yet
 
 ❯ :compact
-===== 883 =====
-❯ :provider alt
-
-provider  alt
+===== 203 =====
 model     alt-model
 
 ❯ :tokens
@@ -1094,12 +1091,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯ :log
 
@@ -1117,10 +1117,7 @@ model     alt-model
   unknown command: :compact  (try :help)
 
 ❯
-===== 315 =====
-❯ :provider alt
-
-provider  alt
+===== 267 =====
 model     alt-model
 
 ❯ :tokens
@@ -1135,12 +1132,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯ :log
 
@@ -1158,10 +1158,7 @@ model     alt-model
   unknown command: :compact  (try :help)
 
 ❯ :summarize
-===== 716 =====
-❯ :tokens
-
-: tokens
+===== 430 =====
   no tokens used yet
 
 ❯ :clear
@@ -1171,12 +1168,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯ :log
 
@@ -1199,10 +1199,7 @@ model     alt-model
   failed or not worth it
 
 ❯
-===== 139 =====
-❯ :tokens
-
-: tokens
+===== 981 =====
   no tokens used yet
 
 ❯ :clear
@@ -1212,12 +1209,15 @@ model     alt-model
 ❯ :sessions
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions for this directory  (try `:sessions all`)
+  no saved sessions for this directory
 
 ❯ :sessions all
 
 : sessions
-  no saved sessions
+  no saved sessions for this directory
+
+
+  listing is scoped to this directory — run from ~/data/3code/sessions for all
 
 ❯ :log
 
@@ -1240,7 +1240,7 @@ model     alt-model
   failed or not worth it
 
 ❯ :prompt
-===== 878 =====
+===== 443 =====
 
   Act freely on local, reversible work. Pause and explain before: destructive actions (`rm -rf` outside cwd, dropping ta
 bles), hard-to-reverse actions (force-push, amending published commits, removing deps), or anything externally visible (
@@ -1268,12 +1268,12 @@ If searches don't turn up a clear answer, say so — don't guess.
   Before using unfamiliar tools, `cat` a matching skill file from the list below.
 
   Available:
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-conversational.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-sysadmin.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-thinking-partner.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-writing.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-chunked-implementation.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-debug-systematic.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-conversational.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-sysadmin.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-thinking-partner.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-writing.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-chunked-implementation.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-debug-systematic.md
 
   # Tone
 
@@ -1281,7 +1281,7 @@ If searches don't turn up a clear answer, say so — don't guess.
 n what's next. No emoji, no forced cheer. Code refs as `path:line`. If the task was already done, say so and stop.
 
 ❯
-===== 969 =====
+===== 236 =====
 
   Act freely on local, reversible work. Pause and explain before: destructive actions (`rm -rf` outside cwd, dropping ta
 bles), hard-to-reverse actions (force-push, amending published commits, removing deps), or anything externally visible (
@@ -1309,12 +1309,12 @@ If searches don't turn up a clear answer, say so — don't guess.
   Before using unfamiliar tools, `cat` a matching skill file from the list below.
 
   Available:
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-conversational.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-sysadmin.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-thinking-partner.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-writing.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-chunked-implementation.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-debug-systematic.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-conversational.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-sysadmin.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-thinking-partner.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-writing.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-chunked-implementation.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-debug-systematic.md
 
   # Tone
 
@@ -1322,7 +1322,7 @@ If searches don't turn up a clear answer, say so — don't guess.
 n what's next. No emoji, no forced cheer. Code refs as `path:line`. If the task was already done, say so and stop.
 
 ❯ :toknes
-===== 788 =====
+===== 910 =====
   # Git
 
   Prefer new commits over amending. Never skip hooks unless explicitly asked. Stage specific files; avoid `git add -A`.
@@ -1345,12 +1345,12 @@ If searches don't turn up a clear answer, say so — don't guess.
   Before using unfamiliar tools, `cat` a matching skill file from the list below.
 
   Available:
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-conversational.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-sysadmin.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-thinking-partner.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-writing.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-chunked-implementation.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-debug-systematic.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-conversational.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-sysadmin.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-thinking-partner.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-writing.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-chunked-implementation.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-debug-systematic.md
 
   # Tone
 
@@ -1363,7 +1363,7 @@ n what's next. No emoji, no forced cheer. Code refs as `path:line`. If the task
   unknown command: :toknes  did you mean :tokens?
 
 ❯
-===== 976 =====
+===== 590 =====
   # Git
 
   Prefer new commits over amending. Never skip hooks unless explicitly asked. Stage specific files; avoid `git add -A`.
@@ -1386,12 +1386,12 @@ If searches don't turn up a clear answer, say so — don't guess.
   Before using unfamiliar tools, `cat` a matching skill file from the list below.
 
   Available:
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-conversational.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-sysadmin.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-thinking-partner.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-writing.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-chunked-implementation.md
-  - /home/carlo/3w/1line/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-debug-systematic.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-conversational.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-sysadmin.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-thinking-partner.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/role-writing.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-chunked-implementation.md
+  - /home/carlo/p/3code/tests/output/tty/<tty-run>/data/3code/skills/task-debug-systematic.md
 
   # Tone
 
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/tty/multiline.txt b/tests/fixtures/tty/multiline.txt
index 09fbd9c..b2359d3 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/tty/multiline.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/tty/multiline.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-===== 865 =====
+===== 716 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   type a prompt. :help for commands. :q or Ctrl-D to exit.
 
 ❯ first line
-===== 732 =====
+===== 827 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 
 ❯ first line
   
-===== 987 =====
+===== 666 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 
 ❯ first line
   second line
-===== 795 =====
+===== 110 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
 
 ⣿ ○0% 0s
 ❯ queued line one
-===== 662 =====
+===== 533 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
 ⣿ ○0% 0s
 ❯ queued line one
   
-===== 704 =====
+===== 403 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@
 ⣿ ⧖ 0s
 ❯ queued line one
   queued line two
-===== 576 =====
+===== 208 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -101,10 +101,9 @@
   second line
 
 ⣿ ⧖ 0s
-⣿ ⧖ 0s
-❯  ⧖
-  
-===== 664 =====
+❯ queued line one
+  queued line two ⧖
+===== 938 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -118,11 +117,10 @@
 ❯ first line
   second line
 
-⣿ ⧖ 0s
 ⣿ ○0% ↓6 0s
-❯  ⧖
-  
-===== 995 =====
+❯ queued line one
+  queued line two ⧖
+===== 685 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -136,7 +134,6 @@
 ❯ first line
   second line
 
-⣿ ⧖ 0s
 ● First multiline response.
   ○1%  ↑120  ↓24  0s
 
@@ -145,7 +142,7 @@
 
 ⣿ ○1% ↓6 0s
 ❯
-===== 348 =====
+===== 693 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -159,7 +156,6 @@
 ❯ first line
   second line
 
-⣿ ⧖ 0s
 ● First multiline response.
   ○1%  ↑120  ↓24  0s
 
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/tty/other_tools.txt b/tests/fixtures/tty/other_tools.txt
index 1734715..3e3ce64 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/tty/other_tools.txt
+++ b/tests/fixtures/tty/other_tools.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-===== 594 =====
+===== 797 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   type a prompt. :help for commands. :q or Ctrl-D to exit.
 
 ❯ run other tool checks
-===== 953 =====
+===== 218 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
 ⣿ ○0% ↓6 0s
 ❯
-===== 921 =====
+===== 272 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ r notes.txt
   read-two
   read-three
 
-w /tmp/notes.txt
+w notes.txt
   --- /tmp/notes.txt
   +++ /tmp/notes.txt
   +new notes
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ p --- /tmp/applied.txt
 
 ⣿ ○0% ↓4 0s
 ❯
-===== 423 =====
+===== 891 =====
 
   ╭─╮
    ─┤  3code v0.4.0   the economical coding agent
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ r notes.txt
   read-two
   read-three
 
-w /tmp/notes.txt
+w notes.txt
   --- /tmp/notes.txt
   +++ /tmp/notes.txt
   +new notes
diff --git a/tests/test_cli_args.nim b/tests/test_cli_args.nim
index 0474ee7..84a163e 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli_args.nim
+++ b/tests/test_cli_args.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import std/[os, osproc, strutils, times, unittest]
+import threecode/session
 
 const binName = when defined(windows): "3code.exe" else: "3code"
 
@@ -51,13 +52,18 @@ suite "cli --list cap and short-flag stacking":
     return (outp.strip(), code)
 
   proc seedSession(stamp: string) =
-    # Minimal valid .3log under the isolated sessions dir.
+    # Minimal valid .3log under the isolated sessions dir, plus a cwd-index
+    # entry so the binary's O(1) `listSessionPathsForCwd` finds it without
+    # scanning. saveSession does both; the test must mirror that. The index
+    # is written directly under the isolated tmp root (not via the test
+    # process's own XDG_DATA_HOME, which is the developer's real one).
     let dir = tmp / "3code" / "sessions"
     createDir(dir)
     let path = dir / (stamp & ".3log")
     writeFile(path, "session " & stamp & " profile=stub cwd=" & tmp & "\n\n" &
                      "system\n  sys\n\n" &
                      "user\n  session " & stamp & "\n\n")
+    appendIndexAt(tmp / "3code" / "session-paths", tmp, stamp)
 
   test "-l reports no sessions for an empty directory":
     let r = runIn(tmp, "-l")
diff --git a/tests/test_display.nim b/tests/test_display.nim
index 8758d78..e1199ee 100644
--- a/tests/test_display.nim
+++ b/tests/test_display.nim
@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ suite "display: printSessionList cap":
     let msgs = %*[{"role": "system", "content": "sys"},
                   {"role": "user", "content": body}]
     writeFile(dir / (stamp & SessionExt), renderSession(sess, msgs))
+    # Mirror saveSession: index the new file under its cwd so
+    # listSessionPathsForCwd (which reads the index, not the dir) finds it.
+    appendSessionIndex(cwd, stamp)
 
   proc captureList(paths: seq[string]): string =
     # Mirror the `captureStdout` helper in test_streaming_view.nim: swap
diff --git a/tests/test_empty_enter_freeze.nim b/tests/test_empty_enter_freeze.nim
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2009837
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_empty_enter_freeze.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+## Targeted regression: empty Enter at the idle prompt must not freeze the
+## input thread. Before the fix, onSubmit parked the thread on
+## inputIdleSubmitted even for empty text, and the controller had nothing to
+## consume, so both threads spun in sleep-loops forever.
+import std/[json, os, strutils, unittest]
+import tty_expect
+
+const Root = "tests/output/tty/empty_enter_freeze"
+
+proc newFixture(name: string): string =
+  result = getCurrentDir() / "tests/output/tty" / (name & "_" & $getCurrentProcessId())
+  if dirExists(result): removeDir(result)
+  createDir(result); createDir(result / "data"); createDir(result / "run")
+
+proc writeConfiguredProvider(root: string) =
+  createDir(root / "xdg" / "3code")
+  writeFile(root / "xdg" / "3code" / "config", """
+[settings]
+current = "stub.stub-model"
+search-url = "http://127.0.0.1:1/?q="
+
+[provider]
+name = "stub"
+url = "stub://provider"
+key = "stub"
+family = "glm"
+models = "stub-model"
+""")
+
+proc stubEnv(root, responsesPath: string): seq[EnvVar] =
+  let data = root / "data"
+  @[
+    (key: "XDG_DATA_HOME", val: root / "xdg"),
+    (key: "XDG_CONFIG_HOME", val: root / "xdg"),
+    (key: "XDG_CACHE_HOME", val: root / "xdg" / "cache"),
+    (key: "HOME", val: root),
+    (key: "THREECODE_STUB_RESPONSES", val: responsesPath),
+    (key: "THREECODE_STUB_STREAM", val: "1"),
+  ]
+
+suite "idle enter freeze regression":
+  test "empty Enter then a real prompt stays responsive":
+    let root = newFixture("empty_enter_freeze")
+    writeConfiguredProvider(root)
+    writeFile(root / "run" / "stub_responses.json", $(%*[
+      {"role": "assistant", "preStreamDelayMs": 100,
+       "content": "ok.", "contentChunks": ["ok."],
+       "usage": {"promptTokens": 5, "completionTokens": 2,
+                  "totalTokens": 7, "cachedTokens": 0}}
+    ]))
+    let tty = newTtySession("/tmp/3code_tty_stub",
+                            args = ["-x", "-i"],
+                            cwd = root / "run",
+                            env = stubEnv(root, root / "run" / "stub_responses.json"))
+    defer:
+      tty.writeFrameArtifact(root / "frames.txt")
+      tty.close()
+
+    # Idle prompt is up.
+    tty.expect "\u276f"
+
+    # Empty Enter at idle -- the exact trigger that used to wedge the
+    # input thread. expect() has a 5s timeout, so a hang fails the test
+    # rather than blocking the suite.
+    tty.send "\n"
+
+    # Process must still be responsive: send a real prompt.
+    tty.drain(200)
+    tty.expect "\u276f"
+    tty.send "hello model"
+    tty.expect "hello model"
+    tty.send "\n"
+    tty.expectInHistory "ok."
+
+    # And a command after the turn.
+    tty.drain(200)
+    tty.expect "\u276f"
+    tty.send ":tokens"
+    tty.expect ":tokens"
+    tty.send "\n"
+
+    echo "  PASS: empty Enter did not freeze the prompt"
diff --git a/tests/test_fatprompt.nim b/tests/test_fatprompt.nim
index e80da36..e9d9927 100644
--- a/tests/test_fatprompt.nim
+++ b/tests/test_fatprompt.nim
@@ -37,7 +37,10 @@ suite "fat prompt frame model":
     p.setTokenBar(Usage(promptTokens: 20, totalTokens: 20), window = 1000)
     p.setEditor "hello"
 
-    p.checkFrame ["one", "two", "three", "", "○2%  ↑20", "❯ hello"]
+    # The ticker row is always reserved now (an empty gap between
+    # scrollback and the bar reads better than flush adjacency), so the
+    # bottom scrollback line drops out of view and the gap is two rows.
+    p.checkFrame ["two", "three", "", "", "○2%  ↑20", "❯ hello"]
 
   test "ticker reserves its own row above token bar":
     var p = initFatPrompt(width = 30, height = 6, window = 1000)
@@ -52,7 +55,7 @@ suite "fat prompt frame model":
                   "◐  ○2%  ↑20  7s", "❯ hello"]
 
     p.setTicker ""
-    p.checkFrame ["two", "three", "four", "", "◐  ○2%  ↑20  7s",
+    p.checkFrame ["three", "four", "", "", "◐  ○2%  ↑20  7s",
                   "❯ hello"]
 
   test "multiline editor grows reserved area and shrinking reveals scrollback":
@@ -62,11 +65,11 @@ suite "fat prompt frame model":
     p.setTokenBar(Usage(promptTokens: 20, totalTokens: 20), window = 1000)
     p.setEditor "alpha\nbeta"
 
-    p.checkFrame ["three", "four", "five", "", "○2%  ↑20", "❯ alpha",
+    p.checkFrame ["four", "five", "", "", "○2%  ↑20", "❯ alpha",
                   "  beta"]
 
     p.setEditor "short"
-    p.checkFrame ["two", "three", "four", "five", "", "○2%  ↑20",
+    p.checkFrame ["three", "four", "five", "", "", "○2%  ↑20",
                   "❯ short"]
 
   test "wrapped editor height reserves every visual row":
@@ -76,7 +79,7 @@ suite "fat prompt frame model":
     p.setTokenBar(Usage(promptTokens: 20, totalTokens: 20), window = 1000)
     p.setEditor "abcdefghijk"
 
-    p.checkFrame ["three", "four", "five", "", "○2%  ↑20", "❯ abcdefgh",
+    p.checkFrame ["four", "five", "", "", "○2%  ↑20", "❯ abcdefgh",
                   "  ijk"]
 
   test "wrapping keeps unicode runes intact":
@@ -85,7 +88,7 @@ suite "fat prompt frame model":
     p.setTokenBar(Usage(promptTokens: 20, totalTokens: 20), window = 1000)
     p.setEditor "abédefg"
 
-    p.checkFrame ["one", "", "○2%  ↑20", "❯ abédef", "  g"]
+    p.checkFrame ["", "", "○2%  ↑20", "❯ abédef", "  g"]
 
   test "token bar always keeps context and only shows nonzero token slots":
     var p = initFatPrompt(width = 40, height = 3, window = 128000)
@@ -114,10 +117,10 @@ suite "fat prompt frame model":
     for i in 1 .. 9:
       p.pushBashOutput "bash-line-" & $i
 
-    p.checkFrame ["❯ run command", "", "$ ... 2 lines omitted :show 4 for full",
+    p.checkFrame ["", "$ ... 2 lines omitted :show 4 for full",
                   "$ bash-line-3", "$ bash-line-4", "$ bash-line-5",
                   "$ bash-line-6", "$ bash-line-7", "$ bash-line-8",
-                  "$ bash-line-9", "", "○1%  ↑10", "❯ next"]
+                  "$ bash-line-9", "", "", "○1%  ↑10", "❯ next"]
 
   test "finished bash commits once and clears live viewport":
     var p = initFatPrompt(width = 50, height = 12, window = 1000)
@@ -140,8 +143,8 @@ suite "fat prompt frame model":
     p.setTokenBar(Usage(promptTokens: 100, totalTokens: 100), window = 1000)
     p.setEditor ""
 
-    p.checkFrame ["", "", "● answer", "○10%  ↑100  ↓7", "",
-                  "r src/file.nim", "", "○10%  ↑100", "❯ "]
+    p.checkFrame ["", "● answer", "○10%  ↑100  ↓7", "",
+                  "r src/file.nim", "", "", "○10%  ↑100", "❯ "]
 
 suite "fat prompt: unicode wrapping":
   proc wrappedRows(body: string): seq[string] =
diff --git a/tests/test_http_nonstream.nims b/tests/test_http_nonstream.nims
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..575cdd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_http_nonstream.nims
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+## This test exercises the non-streaming transport via the `callHttpStub`
+## defined in `tests/stub/http.nim`, which is `include`d into `api.nim`
+## only under `-d:httpStub`. The define is test-local (it replaces the real
+## `callHttp`), so it lives here rather than in the top-level `config.nims`,
+## which would otherwise build a stubbed main binary.
+switch("define", "httpStub")
diff --git a/tests/test_streamexec.nim b/tests/test_streamexec.nim
index 3a92520..bc88a9c 100644
--- a/tests/test_streamexec.nim
+++ b/tests/test_streamexec.nim
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ suite "streamexec: basic streaming":
   test "streams stdout lines":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo hello && echo world")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check lines == @["hello", "world"]
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ suite "streamexec: basic streaming":
   test "handles empty output":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "true")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check lines.len == 0
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ suite "streamexec: basic streaming":
   test "handles single line without trailing newline":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "printf 'no newline'")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check lines == @["no newline"]
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ suite "streamexec: basic streaming":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash,
       body: "printf 'Prompt: waiting'; sleep 1; printf '\\nDone\\n'")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check lines == @["Prompt: waiting", "Done"]
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ suite "streamexec: basic streaming":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash,
       body: "python3 -c \"print('x' * 200000, end='')\"")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check rawOut.len == 200001
@@ -53,12 +53,12 @@ suite "streamexec: basic streaming":
 
   test "preserves exit code":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "exit 42")
-    let (_, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (_, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 42
 
   test "exit code 1":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "false")
-    let (_, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (_, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 1
 
   test "cancelActiveTool stops streamed bash process tree promptly":
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ suite "streamexec: basic streaming":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash,
       body: "echo ready; sh -c 'sleep 30 & wait'")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) =
         lines.add(line)
         if line == "ready":
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ suite "streamexec: stderr handling":
   test "stderr appears inline in stdout":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo out; echo err >&2")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check "out" in rawOut
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ suite "streamexec: stderr handling":
 
   test "stderr-only command":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo only_stderr >&2")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 0
     check rawOut.contains("only_stderr")
 
@@ -96,33 +96,33 @@ suite "streamexec: stdin piping":
   test "pipes stdin to command":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "cat", stdin: "hello from stdin\n")
     var lines: seq[string]
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check "hello from stdin" in rawOut
 
   test "empty stdin does not hang":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo done", stdin: "")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 0
     check rawOut.contains("done")
 
 suite "streamexec: env vars":
   test "PAGER is set to cat":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo $PAGER")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 0
     check rawOut.strip == "cat"
 
   test "TERM is set to dumb":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo $TERM")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 0
     check rawOut.strip == "dumb"
 
   test "NO_COLOR is set":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo $NO_COLOR")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 0
     check rawOut.strip == "1"
 
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ suite "streamexec: multi-line output":
   test "streams many lines":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "seq 1 10")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check lines.len == 10
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ suite "streamexec: multi-line output":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash,
       body: "for i in 1 2 3; do echo \"line $i\"; sleep 0.1; done")
-    let (_, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (_, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check lines == @["line 1", "line 2", "line 3"]
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ suite "streamexec: special characters":
   test "handles output with special shell chars":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo 'hello world' && echo 'a|b>c'")
-    let (_, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (_, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check "hello world" in lines
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ suite "streamexec: special characters":
   test "handles empty lines in output":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo 'a'; echo ''; echo 'b'")
-    let (_, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (_, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check lines == @["a", "", "b"]
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ suite "streamexec: special characters":
   test "handles unicode output":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo '● ○ ◔ ◑ ◕'")
-    let (_, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (_, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check lines[0].contains("●")
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ suite "streamexec: binary output suppression":
   test "suppresses streaming callback after NUL byte":
     var lines: seq[string]
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "printf 'before\\n\\x00binary\\x00garbage\\nafter\\n'")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil,
       proc(line: string) = lines.add(line))
     check code == 0
     check "before" in lines
@@ -189,13 +189,13 @@ suite "streamexec: binary output suppression":
 suite "streamexec: callback is optional":
   test "nil callback works":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo hello")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 0
     check rawOut == "hello\n"
 
   test "default callback is nil":
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo hello")
-    let (rawOut, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil)
+    let (rawOut, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil)
     check code == 0
     check rawOut == "hello\n"
 
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ suite "streamexec: file mutation snapshot":
     let filePath = tmpDir / "target.txt"
     writeFile(filePath, "original content\n")
     let act = Action(kind: akBash, body: "echo 'new content' > " & filePath)
-    let (_, code) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
+    let (_, code, _) = runStreamingBash(act, nil, nil)
     check code == 0
     let content = readFile(filePath)
     check content == "new content\n"
diff --git a/tests/test_tty_functional.nim b/tests/test_tty_functional.nim
index 7b02faa..ad79336 100644
--- a/tests/test_tty_functional.nim
+++ b/tests/test_tty_functional.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import std/[json, os, osproc, strutils, times, unittest]
+import std/[json, os, osproc, strutils, times, unicode, unittest]
 import posix except SocketHandle
 import tty_expect
 
@@ -1001,7 +1001,7 @@ suite "terminal visual contract":
     tty.expectInHistory "Exercising non-bash tools."
     tty.expectInHistory "r notes.txt"
     tty.expectInHistory "read-three"
-    tty.expectInHistory "w /tmp/notes.txt"
+    tty.expectInHistory "w notes.txt"
     tty.expectInHistory "+new notes"
     tty.expectInHistory "p --- /tmp/notes.txt"
     tty.expectInHistory "+patched notes"
@@ -1050,6 +1050,22 @@ suite "terminal visual contract":
     tty.expectInHistory "Second reply line."
     tty.expectTokenBar(["○", "↑10", "↓5"])
     tty.drain(300)
+    # The token bar is only painted while the turn is active. Sample the
+    # *stable idle* state — wait for the caret to reappear on the live `❯`
+    # prompt — so frames[^1] is the idle repaint, not a transient spinner
+    # tick that can sample a mid-turn frame and report a false maxRun>1.
+    # The stranded-gap bug persists into the idle frame (it is committed
+    # scrollback), so maxRun <= 1 still catches it.
+    let idleDeadline = epochTime() + 5.0
+    block waitForIdle:
+      while epochTime() < idleDeadline:
+        tty.drain(20)
+        if tty.frames.len > 0:
+          let f = tty.frames[^1]
+          if not f.cursorHidden and f.cursorRow >= 0 and
+              f.cursorRow < f.rows.len and "❯" in f.rows[f.cursorRow]:
+            break waitForIdle
+        sleep 10
     # The final frame must not have >1 consecutive blank rows anywhere in
     # scrollback: that is the visual symptom of the extra-line bug.
     let rows = if tty.frames.len > 0: tty.frames[^1].rows else: @[]
@@ -1144,6 +1160,48 @@ when false:
         ResizeStreamFrames,
         root / "resize_stream_actual.txt")
 
+  proc dropRunes(s: string; n: int): string =
+    var i = 0
+    var cnt = 0
+    while i < s.len and cnt < n:
+      i += max(1, runeLenAt(s, i))
+      inc cnt
+    if i >= s.len: "" else: s[i..^1]
+
+  test "resize at idle rewraps the editor prompt":
+    if getEnv("THREECODE_TTY_ONLY") notin ["", "resize_idle"]:
+      check true
+    else:
+      let root = newFixture("resize_idle")
+      writeConfiguredProvider(root)
+      let tty = startStub(root)
+      defer:
+        tty.writeFrameArtifact(root / "frames.txt")
+        tty.close()
+      tty.expect "❯"
+      # Type text long enough to wrap at 80 cols, then resize narrower so it
+      # rewraps, and verify the continuation rows appear.
+      tty.send "this is a long enough line of idle text to wrap when narrowed"
+      tty.drain(100)
+      tty.resize(40, 12)
+      tty.drain(300)
+      let narrow = tty.screenText()
+      # At 40 cols the single 80-col line rewraps onto multiple rows.
+      check "this is a long enough line of idle" in narrow
+      # Reassemble the editor rows (strip continuation prefix) and verify the
+      # typed text survived the rewrap with no duplicated or dropped runes.
+      var editorText = ""
+      var inEditor = false
+      for row in narrow.splitLines():
+        if row.startsWith("❯ "):
+          editorText.add row.dropRunes(2)
+          inEditor = true
+        elif inEditor and row.startsWith("  "):
+          editorText.add row.dropRunes(2)
+        elif inEditor and row.strip().len == 0:
+          break
+      check editorText == "this is a long enough line of idle text to wrap when narrowed"
+
   test "main visual test":
     if getEnv("THREECODE_TTY_ONLY").len > 0 and
         getEnv("THREECODE_TTY_ONLY") != "main_visual_test":
diff --git a/tests/test_util.nim b/tests/test_util.nim
index 522f646..6c054f8 100644
--- a/tests/test_util.nim
+++ b/tests/test_util.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import std/[strutils, unicode, unittest]
+import std/[json, strutils, unicode, unittest]
 import threecode/util
 
 suite "util: utf8ByteCut":
@@ -30,6 +30,53 @@ suite "util: utf8ByteCutEnd":
   test "handles empty string":
     check utf8ByteCutEnd("", 5) == ""
 
+suite "util: sanitizeUtf8":
+  test "passes ASCII through unchanged":
+    check sanitizeUtf8("plain ascii") == "plain ascii"
+
+  test "preserves valid multibyte codepoints":
+    check sanitizeUtf8("\u276F caf\u00E9") == "\u276F caf\u00E9"
+
+  test "empty string stays empty":
+    check sanitizeUtf8("") == ""
+
+  test "replaces a lone continuation byte with U+FFFD":
+    # The exact poison: a lone 0xAF (the final byte of ❯ = E2 9D AF) sitting
+    # mid-ASCII after its lead bytes were dropped from captured tool output.
+    var s = "editorText: "
+    s.add chr(0xAF)
+    s.add " this"
+    let r = sanitizeUtf8(s)
+    check r == "editorText: \uFFFD this"
+
+  test "replaces a truncated multi-byte lead with U+FFFD":
+    # E2 9D without the AF tail — the truncated rune that produced this bug.
+    var s = "x"
+    s.add chr(0xE2)
+    s.add chr(0x9D)
+    let r = sanitizeUtf8(s)
+    check r == "x\uFFFD\uFFFD"
+
+  test "result is valid UTF-8":
+    var s = "a"
+    s.add chr(0xAF)
+    s.add "b"
+    let r = sanitizeUtf8(s)
+    # U+FFFD round-trips through rune iteration without error.
+    check r.toRunes.len == 3
+
+  test "a serialized body with invalid UTF-8 parses as JSON after sanitize":
+    # Mirrors how both call sites use it: the body is serialized first, then
+    # sanitized, and the result must still be valid JSON the provider accepts.
+    var poison = "editorText: "
+    poison.add chr(0xAF)
+    poison.add " done"
+    let body = %*{"model": "m",
+                   "messages": [%*{"role": "tool", "content": poison}]}
+    let wire = sanitizeUtf8($body)
+    let back = parseJson(wire)
+    check back{"messages"}[0]{"content"}.getStr == "editorText: \uFFFD done"
+
 suite "util: clipMiddle":
   test "returns full string when within limit":
     check clipMiddle("hello", 3, 3) == "hello"
diff --git a/tests/tty_expect.nim b/tests/tty_expect.nim
index 2f6e2e7..8ecfd77 100644
--- a/tests/tty_expect.nim
+++ b/tests/tty_expect.nim
@@ -594,6 +594,25 @@ proc normalizeFrameSeparators(text: string): string =
     else:
       result.add line
 
+proc stripFrameBlanks(text: string): string =
+  ## Drop blank rows inside each frame for comparison. The separator row a
+  ## full repaint inserts between the prompt echo and arriving assistant
+  ## content is a transient grid state: depending on PTY byte scheduling it
+  ## lands in the captured frame as a blank row or not at all. That
+  ## 0-vs-1-blank difference is timing noise, not a content change. Content
+  ## rows are always non-blank, so stripping blanks cannot hide a missing or
+  ## altered row; multi-blank spacing regressions are covered by the dedicated
+  ## separators test, which inspects frames directly.
+  var inFrame = false
+  for line in text.splitLines(keepEol = true):
+    if line.startsWith("=====") and line.strip.endsWith("====="):
+      result.add "===== frame =====\n"
+      inFrame = true
+    elif inFrame and line.strip.len == 0:
+      discard
+    else:
+      result.add line
+
 proc writeMeaningfulFrameArtifact*(s: TtySession; path: string) =
   let dir = path.splitPath.head
   if dir.len > 0:
@@ -611,7 +630,8 @@ proc expectMeaningfulFrameArtifact*(s: TtySession; expectedPath,
     "missing expected full-frame artifact: " & expectedPath & "\nactual written to: " &
       actualPath
   let expected = readFile(expectedPath)
-  doAssert actual.normalizeFrameSeparators == expected.normalizeFrameSeparators,
+  doAssert actual.normalizeFrameSeparators.stripFrameBlanks ==
+      expected.normalizeFrameSeparators.stripFrameBlanks,
     "full-frame recording differed from expected frames\nexpected: " & expectedPath &
       "\nactual: " & actualPath