diff --git a/crates/codegen/kigi-bin/src/main.rs b/crates/codegen/kigi-bin/src/main.rs
index 3f72ef1..7fb25b0 100644
--- a/crates/codegen/kigi-bin/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/codegen/kigi-bin/src/main.rs
@@ -146,27 +146,33 @@ async fn run_setup_command(json: bool) {
                     .expect("setup report has no non-serializable values");
                 println!("{out}");
                 if !report.configured {
-                    eprintln!(
-                        "Your team doesn't have a managed configuration yet. Ask a team admin to provision one."
+                    kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(
+                        "Your team doesn't have a managed configuration yet. Ask a team admin to provision one.",
                     );
                 }
             }
             Err(e) => {
-                eprintln!("Couldn't fetch managed configuration. {e}");
+                kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!(
+                    "Couldn't fetch managed configuration. {e}"
+                ));
                 std::process::exit(1);
             }
         }
         return;
     }
     match managed_config::run_setup().await {
-        SetupOutcome::Installed => eprintln!("Applied managed configuration."),
+        SetupOutcome::Installed => {
+            kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line("Applied managed configuration.")
+        }
         SetupOutcome::NothingConfigured => {
-            eprintln!(
-                "Your team doesn't have a managed configuration yet. Ask a team admin to provision one."
+            kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(
+                "Your team doesn't have a managed configuration yet. Ask a team admin to provision one.",
             );
         }
         SetupOutcome::Failed(e) => {
-            eprintln!("Couldn't apply managed configuration. {e}");
+            kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!(
+                "Couldn't apply managed configuration. {e}"
+            ));
             std::process::exit(1);
         }
     }
@@ -208,8 +214,8 @@ async fn run_leader_mgmt(args: LeaderMgmtArgs) -> Result<()> {
                 println!("{info:#?}");
             } else {
                 print_leader_descriptor(&descriptor);
-                eprintln!(
-                    "  (detailed info unavailable — leader does not advertise control capabilities)"
+                kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(
+                    "  (detailed info unavailable — leader does not advertise control capabilities)",
                 );
             }
             client.cancel();
@@ -220,7 +226,7 @@ async fn run_leader_mgmt(args: LeaderMgmtArgs) -> Result<()> {
 async fn kill_leaders() -> Result<()> {
     let leaders = kigi_shell::leader::discover_leaders().await;
     if leaders.is_empty() {
-        eprintln!("No leader candidates found.");
+        kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line("No leader candidates found.");
         return Ok(());
     }
     let mut killed = 0u32;
@@ -231,7 +237,9 @@ async fn kill_leaders() -> Result<()> {
         };
         if !kigi_shell::util::is_kigi_process(pid) {
             if let Some(ref lock) = d.lock_path {
-                eprintln!("  PID {pid} is not a kigi process, removing stale lock");
+                kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!(
+                    "  PID {pid} is not a kigi process, removing stale lock"
+                ));
                 let _ = std::fs::remove_file(lock);
                 cleaned += 1;
             }
@@ -240,19 +248,23 @@ async fn kill_leaders() -> Result<()> {
             }
             continue;
         }
-        eprintln!("  Killing leader PID {pid}");
+        kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!("  Killing leader PID {pid}"));
         if let Err(e) = kigi_shell::util::kill_process_by_pid(pid) {
-            eprintln!("  warning: failed to terminate PID {pid}: {e}");
+            kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!(
+                "  warning: failed to terminate PID {pid}: {e}"
+            ));
             continue;
         }
         killed += 1;
     }
     if killed > 0 {
-        eprintln!("Killed {killed} leader process(es).");
+        kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!("Killed {killed} leader process(es)."));
     } else if cleaned > 0 {
-        eprintln!("No live leader processes found (cleaned up {cleaned} stale lock(s)).");
+        kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!(
+            "No live leader processes found (cleaned up {cleaned} stale lock(s))."
+        ));
     } else {
-        eprintln!("No live leader processes found.");
+        kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line("No live leader processes found.");
     }
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -295,7 +307,7 @@ fn print_leader_descriptor(d: &LeaderDescriptor) {
         .map(|p| p.display().to_string())
         .unwrap_or_else(|| "?".into());
     let state = format!("{:?}", d.classification);
-    eprintln!("  PID {pid} ({state}) -- {sock}");
+    kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!("  PID {pid} ({state}) -- {sock}"));
 }
 fn leader_descriptor_json(d: &LeaderDescriptor) -> serde_json::Value {
     serde_json::json!(
@@ -1233,10 +1245,12 @@ fn main() {
             // A host out of threads (RLIMIT_NPROC / pids.max) is an
             // environment problem, not a bug — report it, don't panic.
             kigi_tty_utils::restore_native_stderr();
-            eprintln!("Error: failed to start the async runtime: {e}");
-            eprintln!(
+            kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!(
+                "Error: failed to start the async runtime: {e}"
+            ));
+            kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(
                 "The host may be out of threads (RLIMIT_NPROC or the cgroup pids ceiling); \
-                 close other processes or raise the limit, then retry."
+                 close other processes or raise the limit, then retry.",
             );
             std::process::exit(1);
         }
@@ -1245,7 +1259,8 @@ fn main() {
     kigi_log::debug_log::flush();
     if let Err(e) = result {
         kigi_tty_utils::restore_native_stderr();
-        eprintln!("Error: {e:#}");
+        // fd 2 may be a closed pane: one attempt, never a panic under panic = "abort".
+        kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!("Error: {e:#}"));
         std::process::exit(1);
     }
 }
@@ -1603,9 +1618,13 @@ async fn async_main() -> Result<()> {
             // A terminal that stopped reading at teardown would block these prints.
             if exit.terminal_reading {
                 if installed {
-                    eprintln!("Update installed. Run `kigi` to start.");
+                    kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(
+                        "Update installed. Run `kigi` to start.",
+                    );
                 } else {
-                    eprintln!("Update did not complete. Run `kigi update` to retry.");
+                    kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(
+                        "Update did not complete. Run `kigi update` to retry.",
+                    );
                 }
             }
             Ok(())
@@ -1634,7 +1653,7 @@ async fn finish_update_on_exit(
             return false;
         }
         if let Some(reason) = reason {
-            eprintln!("{reason}");
+            kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&reason);
         }
         auto_update::run_update_if_available(
             auto_update::UpdateRunMode::Blocking,
@@ -1647,7 +1666,9 @@ async fn finish_update_on_exit(
     match adopted {
         Some(handle) => {
             if terminal_reading {
-                eprintln!("Waiting for the update download to finish...");
+                kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(
+                    "Waiting for the update download to finish...",
+                );
             }
             match handle.await {
                 Ok(Ok(status)) if status.success() => true,
@@ -1821,7 +1842,9 @@ async fn signal_leaders_to_relaunch(installed_version: &str) {
                 to_version,
                 ..
             })) => {
-                eprintln!("  ↻ Relaunching shared session (leader {from_version} → {to_version})…");
+                kigi_tui::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line(&format!(
+                    "  ↻ Relaunching shared session (leader {from_version} → {to_version})…"
+                ));
             }
             Ok(Ok(kigi_shell::leader::ControlPayload::RelaunchDeclined { reason })) => {
                 tracing::debug!(% reason, "Leader declined relaunch");
diff --git a/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/best_effort_stderr.rs b/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/best_effort_stderr.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cac3bee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/best_effort_stderr.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+//! Stderr lines for paths where fd 2 may be dead: a closed pane fails every write, `eprintln!` panics on it, and under `panic = "abort"` that is a SIGABRT plus a crash report.
+
+use std::io::Write;
+
+/// Write `line` and a newline to `w`; `false` when the write failed.
+pub fn write_line(w: &mut impl Write, line: &str) -> bool {
+    writeln!(w, "{line}").is_ok()
+}
+
+/// [`write_line`] to process stderr, outcome discarded.
+pub fn eprint_line(line: &str) {
+    write_line(&mut std::io::stderr(), line);
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_line_appends_a_newline_and_reports_success() {
+        let mut buf = Vec::new();
+        assert!(write_line(&mut buf, "Finishing session…"));
+        assert_eq!(buf, "Finishing session…\n".as_bytes());
+    }
+
+    /// A closed read end fails every write with EPIPE, like the dead tty a closed pane leaves.
+    #[test]
+    fn write_line_reports_failure_on_a_dead_pipe() {
+        let (reader, mut writer) = std::io::pipe().expect("pipe");
+        drop(reader);
+        assert!(!write_line(&mut writer, "unreachable"));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/headless.rs b/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/headless.rs
index 719463f..bbc58b1 100644
--- a/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/headless.rs
+++ b/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/headless.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 //! `spawn_kigi_shell`, sends the ACP lifecycle (init → auth → session → prompt),
 //! streams text to stdout, and exits cleanly via `CancellationToken`.
 
+use crate::best_effort_stderr::eprint_line;
 use std::collections::HashSet;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
@@ -459,7 +460,7 @@ impl HeadlessEmitter {
 
     fn on_error(&self, message: &str) {
         match self.format {
-            OutputFormat::Plain => eprintln!("{message}"),
+            OutputFormat::Plain => eprint_line(message),
             OutputFormat::StreamingJson | OutputFormat::Json => {
                 let mut err = serde_json::json!({"type":"error","message": message});
                 if let Some(usage) = &self.usage {
@@ -1276,7 +1277,7 @@ pub async fn run_single_turn(
                 == Some("max_turns_reached");
             if is_max_turns {
                 match emitter.format {
-                    OutputFormat::Plain => eprintln!("Max turns reached"),
+                    OutputFormat::Plain => eprint_line("Max turns reached"),
                     OutputFormat::StreamingJson => {
                         println!("{}", serde_json::json!({"type": "max_turns_reached"}))
                     }
@@ -1644,7 +1645,9 @@ fn handle_ext_notification(
                 );
             }
             OutputFormat::Plain => {
-                eprintln!("Auto-compacting conversation ({percentage}% full)...");
+                eprint_line(&format!(
+                    "Auto-compacting conversation ({percentage}% full)..."
+                ));
             }
             OutputFormat::Json => {}
         },
@@ -1652,7 +1655,7 @@ fn handle_ext_notification(
             OutputFormat::StreamingJson => {
                 println!("{}", serde_json::json!({"type": "auto_compact_completed"}));
             }
-            OutputFormat::Plain => eprintln!("Conversation compacted."),
+            OutputFormat::Plain => eprint_line("Conversation compacted."),
             OutputFormat::Json => {}
         },
         XaiUpdate::AutoCompactFailed { error } => match format {
@@ -1664,9 +1667,9 @@ fn handle_ext_notification(
             }
             OutputFormat::Plain => {
                 if error.trim().is_empty() {
-                    eprintln!("Auto-compact failed.");
+                    eprint_line("Auto-compact failed.");
                 } else {
-                    eprintln!("Auto-compact failed: {error}");
+                    eprint_line(&format!("Auto-compact failed: {error}"));
                 }
             }
             OutputFormat::Json => {}
@@ -1675,7 +1678,7 @@ fn handle_ext_notification(
             OutputFormat::StreamingJson => {
                 println!("{}", serde_json::json!({"type": "auto_compact_cancelled"}));
             }
-            OutputFormat::Plain => eprintln!("Auto-compact cancelled."),
+            OutputFormat::Plain => eprint_line("Auto-compact cancelled."),
             OutputFormat::Json => {}
         },
         XaiUpdate::AutoContinueCompleted { total_tokens } => match format {
@@ -1685,7 +1688,7 @@ fn handle_ext_notification(
                     serde_json::json!({"type": "auto_continue_completed", "total_tokens": total_tokens})
                 );
             }
-            OutputFormat::Plain => eprintln!("Resumed after compaction."),
+            OutputFormat::Plain => eprint_line("Resumed after compaction."),
             OutputFormat::Json => {}
         },
         XaiUpdate::ImageCompressed { message } => match format {
@@ -1695,7 +1698,7 @@ fn handle_ext_notification(
                     serde_json::json!({"type": "image_compressed", "message": message})
                 );
             }
-            OutputFormat::Plain => eprintln!("{message}"),
+            OutputFormat::Plain => eprint_line(&message),
             OutputFormat::Json => {}
         },
         XaiUpdate::SubagentSpawned { subagent_id } => {
diff --git a/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/lib.rs b/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/lib.rs
index 2dd5a95..fe8c533 100644
--- a/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/src/lib.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 pub mod acp;
 pub mod actions;
 pub mod app;
+pub mod best_effort_stderr;
 pub mod client_identity;
 pub mod completions_cmd;
 mod config_toml_edit;