diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 2fde4db11..12e4d3b92 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@openrouter/spawn",
-  "version": "0.26.7",
+  "version": "0.26.9",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
     "spawn": "cli.js"
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/cmdrun-happy-path.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/cmdrun-happy-path.test.ts
index 2f2bda5aa..867ee71ae 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/cmdrun-happy-path.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/cmdrun-happy-path.test.ts
@@ -113,11 +113,13 @@ describe("cmdRun happy-path pipeline", () => {
   let consoleMocks: ReturnType<typeof createConsoleMocks>;
   let originalFetch: typeof global.fetch;
   let processExitSpy: ReturnType<typeof spyOn>;
+  let stderrSpy: ReturnType<typeof spyOn>;
   let historyDir: string;
   let originalSpawnHome: string | undefined;
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
     consoleMocks = createConsoleMocks();
+    stderrSpy = spyOn(process.stderr, "write").mockImplementation(() => true);
     mockLogError.mockClear();
     mockLogInfo.mockClear();
     mockLogStep.mockClear();
@@ -144,6 +146,7 @@ describe("cmdRun happy-path pipeline", () => {
   afterEach(() => {
     global.fetch = originalFetch;
     processExitSpy.mockRestore();
+    stderrSpy.mockRestore();
     restoreMocks(consoleMocks.log, consoleMocks.error);
 
     // Clean up history directory
@@ -173,7 +176,7 @@ describe("cmdRun happy-path pipeline", () => {
       expect(scriptFetches[0].url).toContain("openrouter.ai");
     });
 
-    it("should show spinner start and stop for successful download", async () => {
+    it("should log download start and completion messages for successful download", async () => {
       global.fetch = mockFetchForDownload({
         primaryOk: true,
       });
@@ -181,11 +184,9 @@ describe("cmdRun happy-path pipeline", () => {
 
       await cmdRun("claude", "sprite");
 
-      const startCalls = mockSpinnerStart.mock.calls.map((c: unknown[]) => c[0]);
-      expect(startCalls.some((msg: string) => msg.includes("Downloading"))).toBe(true);
-
-      const stopCalls = mockSpinnerStop.mock.calls.map((c: unknown[]) => c[0]);
-      expect(stopCalls.some((msg: string) => isString(msg) && msg.includes("downloaded"))).toBe(true);
+      const stderrOutput = stderrSpy.mock.calls.map((c: unknown[]) => String(c[0])).join("");
+      expect(stderrOutput).toContain("Downloading");
+      expect(stderrOutput).toContain("downloaded");
     });
 
     it("should not call process.exit on successful execution", async () => {
@@ -220,7 +221,7 @@ describe("cmdRun happy-path pipeline", () => {
       expect(scriptFetches[1].url).toContain("raw.githubusercontent.com");
     });
 
-    it("should show fallback spinner message when primary fails", async () => {
+    it("should log fallback step message when primary fails", async () => {
       global.fetch = mockFetchForDownload({
         primaryOk: false,
         primaryStatus: 502,
@@ -230,11 +231,11 @@ describe("cmdRun happy-path pipeline", () => {
 
       await cmdRun("claude", "sprite");
 
-      const messageCalls = mockSpinnerMessage.mock.calls.map((c: unknown[]) => c[0]);
-      expect(messageCalls.some((msg: string) => msg.includes("fallback"))).toBe(true);
+      const stderrOutput = stderrSpy.mock.calls.map((c: unknown[]) => String(c[0])).join("");
+      expect(stderrOutput).toContain("fallback");
     });
 
-    it("should show 'fallback' in stop message when fallback succeeds", async () => {
+    it("should log 'fallback' in completion message when fallback succeeds", async () => {
       global.fetch = mockFetchForDownload({
         primaryOk: false,
         primaryStatus: 403,
@@ -244,8 +245,8 @@ describe("cmdRun happy-path pipeline", () => {
 
       await cmdRun("claude", "sprite");
 
-      const stopCalls = mockSpinnerStop.mock.calls.map((c: unknown[]) => c[0]);
-      expect(stopCalls.some((msg: string) => isString(msg) && msg.includes("fallback"))).toBe(true);
+      const stderrOutput = stderrSpy.mock.calls.map((c: unknown[]) => String(c[0])).join("");
+      expect(stderrOutput).toContain("fallback");
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/delete.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/delete.ts
index 8d2540703..3146158e7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/delete.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/delete.ts
@@ -204,7 +204,9 @@ export async function confirmAndDelete(
     await ensureDeleteCredentials(record);
   }
 
-  const s = p.spinner();
+  const s = p.spinner({
+    output: process.stderr,
+  });
   s.start(`Deleting ${label}...`);
 
   // Cloud destroy functions log progress to stderr (logStep/logInfo).
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/link.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/link.ts
index c43b166c2..95eba0f4e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/link.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/link.ts
@@ -247,7 +247,9 @@ export async function cmdLink(args: string[], options?: LinkOptions): Promise<vo
   }
 
   // ── Check connectivity ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-  const connectSpinner = p.spinner();
+  const connectSpinner = p.spinner({
+    output: process.stderr,
+  });
   connectSpinner.start(`Checking connectivity to ${pc.cyan(ip)}...`);
 
   const reachable = await tcpCheckFn(ip, 22, 10000);
@@ -272,7 +274,9 @@ export async function cmdLink(args: string[], options?: LinkOptions): Promise<vo
   const needsDetection = !detectedAgent || !detectedCloud;
 
   if (needsDetection) {
-    const detectSpinner = p.spinner();
+    const detectSpinner = p.spinner({
+      output: process.stderr,
+    });
     detectSpinner.start("Auto-detecting agent and cloud provider...");
 
     if (!detectedAgent) {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/run.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/run.ts
index 869b715ed..5254079fd 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/run.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/run.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import { loadManifest, RAW_BASE, REPO, SPAWN_CDN } from "../manifest.js";
 import { validateIdentifier, validatePrompt, validateScriptContent } from "../security.js";
 import { asyncTryCatch, isFileError, tryCatch, tryCatchIf } from "../shared/result.js";
 import { getLocalShell, isWindows } from "../shared/shell.js";
-import { prepareStdinForHandoff, toKebabCase } from "../shared/ui.js";
+import { logError, logInfo, logStep, prepareStdinForHandoff, toKebabCase } from "../shared/ui.js";
 import { promptSetupOptions, promptSpawnName } from "./interactive.js";
 import { handleRecordAction } from "./list.js";
 import {
@@ -203,8 +203,7 @@ export function showDryRunPreview(manifest: Manifest, agent: string, cloud: stri
 // ── Script download ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 async function downloadScriptWithFallback(primaryUrl: string, fallbackUrl: string): Promise<string> {
-  const s = p.spinner();
-  s.start("Downloading spawn script...");
+  logStep("Downloading spawn script...");
 
   const r = await asyncTryCatch(async () => {
     const res = await fetch(primaryUrl, {
@@ -212,26 +211,26 @@ async function downloadScriptWithFallback(primaryUrl: string, fallbackUrl: strin
     });
     if (res.ok) {
       const text = await res.text();
-      s.stop("Script downloaded");
+      logInfo("Script downloaded");
       return text;
     }
 
     // Fallback to GitHub raw
-    s.message("Trying fallback source...");
+    logStep("Trying fallback source...");
     const ghRes = await fetch(fallbackUrl, {
       signal: AbortSignal.timeout(FETCH_TIMEOUT),
     });
     if (!ghRes.ok) {
-      s.stop(pc.red("Download failed"));
+      logError("Download failed");
       reportDownloadFailure(res.status, ghRes.status);
       process.exit(1);
     }
     const text = await ghRes.text();
-    s.stop("Script downloaded (fallback)");
+    logInfo("Script downloaded (fallback)");
     return text;
   });
   if (!r.ok) {
-    s.stop(pc.red("Download failed"));
+    logError("Download failed");
     throw r.error;
   }
   return r.data;
@@ -589,8 +588,7 @@ function runBashScript(
  */
 async function downloadBundle(cloud: string): Promise<string> {
   const bundleUrl = `https://github.com/${REPO}/releases/download/${cloud}-latest/${cloud}.js`;
-  const s = p.spinner();
-  s.start("Downloading spawn bundle...");
+  logStep("Downloading spawn bundle...");
 
   const r = await asyncTryCatch(async () => {
     const res = await fetch(bundleUrl, {
@@ -598,16 +596,16 @@ async function downloadBundle(cloud: string): Promise<string> {
       redirect: "follow",
     });
     if (!res.ok) {
-      s.stop(pc.red("Download failed"));
+      logError("Download failed");
       p.log.error(`Bundle not found at ${bundleUrl} (HTTP ${res.status})`);
       process.exit(2);
     }
     const text = await res.text();
-    s.stop("Bundle downloaded");
+    logInfo("Bundle downloaded");
     return text;
   });
   if (!r.ok) {
-    s.stop(pc.red("Download failed"));
+    logError("Download failed");
     throw r.error;
   }
   return r.data;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/shared.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/shared.ts
index 329899aff..f51783d22 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/shared.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/shared.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ export function handleCancel(): never {
 }
 
 async function withSpinner<T>(msg: string, fn: () => Promise<T>, doneMsg?: string): Promise<T> {
-  const s = p.spinner();
+  const s = p.spinner({
+    output: process.stderr,
+  });
   s.start(msg);
   const r = await asyncTryCatch(fn);
   s.stop(r.ok ? (doneMsg ?? msg.replace(/\.{3}$/, "")) : pc.red("Failed"));
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/status.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/status.ts
index 4b6e0aa5b..69af210af 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/status.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/status.ts
@@ -304,7 +304,9 @@ export async function cmdStatus(
   const goneRecords = results.filter((r) => r.liveState === "gone").map((r) => r.record);
 
   if (opts.prune && goneRecords.length > 0) {
-    const s = p.spinner();
+    const s = p.spinner({
+      output: process.stderr,
+    });
     s.start(`Pruning ${goneRecords.length} gone server${goneRecords.length !== 1 ? "s" : ""}...`);
     for (const record of goneRecords) {
       markRecordDeleted(record);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/update.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/update.ts
index ba8e8a2a9..44467cca3 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/update.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/update.ts
@@ -143,7 +143,9 @@ export interface UpdateOptions {
 }
 
 export async function cmdUpdate(options?: UpdateOptions): Promise<void> {
-  const s = p.spinner();
+  const s = p.spinner({
+    output: process.stderr,
+  });
   s.start("Checking for updates...");
 
   const r = await asyncTryCatch(() => fetchRemoteVersion());
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts b/packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts
index 7fe20cece..233466fc0 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts
@@ -688,6 +688,13 @@ async function postInstall(
 
   logStep("Starting agent...");
 
+  // Reset terminal state before handing off to the interactive SSH session.
+  // @clack/prompts may have left the cursor hidden or set ANSI attributes
+  // (e.g. color, bold) that would corrupt the remote agent's TUI rendering.
+  if (process.stderr.isTTY) {
+    process.stderr.write("\x1b[?25h\x1b[0m");
+  }
+
   prepareStdinForHandoff();
 
   const sessionCmd = cloud.cloudName === "local" ? launchCmd : wrapWithRestartLoop(launchCmd);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/shared/ssh.ts b/packages/cli/src/shared/ssh.ts
index 71fd5bbf2..1cf025735 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/shared/ssh.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/shared/ssh.ts
@@ -135,6 +135,29 @@ export function spawnInteractive(args: string[], env?: Record<string, string | u
     stdio: "inherit",
     env: env ?? process.env,
   });
+
+  // Reset terminal state after the interactive session ends.
+  // The remote agent's TUI (e.g. Claude Code) may leave the terminal in
+  // raw mode or with altered attributes, causing garbled post-session output.
+  if (process.stderr.isTTY) {
+    process.stderr.write("\x1b[0m\x1b[?25h"); // reset attributes + show cursor
+  }
+  if (process.stdout.isTTY) {
+    process.stdout.write("\x1b[0m\x1b[?25h");
+  }
+  // Restore sane terminal settings (cooked mode, echo, etc.)
+  tryCatch(() =>
+    nodeSpawnSync(
+      "stty",
+      [
+        "sane",
+      ],
+      {
+        stdio: "inherit",
+      },
+    ),
+  );
+
   return result.status ?? 1;
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/shared/ui.ts b/packages/cli/src/shared/ui.ts
index e68ee5999..0b3c4d481 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/shared/ui.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/shared/ui.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 // shared/ui.ts — Logging, prompts, and browser opening
 // @clack/prompts is bundled into cli.js at build time.
 
+import "../unicode-detect.js"; // Must run before @clack/prompts: configures TERM for unicode detection
+
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import * as p from "@clack/prompts";
 import { isString } from "@openrouter/spawn-shared";