diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx
index 63983caaa1..8982b14d5e 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ import {
   $sessions,
   sessionPinId
 } from '@/store/session'
-import { isNewSessionWindow, isSecondaryWindow } from '@/store/windows'
+import { isSecondaryWindow } from '@/store/windows'
 import type { ModelOptionsResponse } from '@/types/hermes'
 
 import { routeSessionId } from '../routes'
@@ -121,10 +121,10 @@ function ChatHeader({
       ? pinnedSessionIds.includes(selectedSessionId)
       : false
 
-  // A brand-new session has no session to pin/delete/rename, so the header is
-  // just a dead "New session" label + chevron. Drop it (and its border)
-  // entirely until there's a real session to act on.
-  if (isNewSessionWindow() || (!selectedSessionId && !activeSessionId && !isRoutedSessionView)) {
+  // Secondary windows (new-session scratch, subagent watch, cmd-click pop-out)
+  // are compact side panels — they drop the session-actions header + border
+  // entirely. A brand-new draft has nothing to pin/delete/rename either.
+  if (isSecondaryWindow() || (!selectedSessionId && !activeSessionId && !isRoutedSessionView)) {
     return null
   }
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/app-shell.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/app-shell.tsx
index ade1f8a3c3..7cbcaacfb4 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/app-shell.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/app-shell.tsx
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import {
 } from '@/store/layout'
 import { $paneWidthOverride } from '@/store/panes'
 import { $connection } from '@/store/session'
-import { isNewSessionWindow, isSecondaryWindow } from '@/store/windows'
+import { isSecondaryWindow } from '@/store/windows'
 
 import { SIDEBAR_COLLAPSE_MEDIA_QUERY } from '../layout-constants'
 
@@ -80,7 +80,10 @@ export function AppShell({
   const connection = useStore($connection)
   const viewportFullscreen = useSyncExternalStore(subscribeWindowSize, viewportIsFullscreen, () => false)
   const isFullscreen = Boolean(connection?.isFullscreen) || viewportFullscreen
-  const hideTitlebarControls = isNewSessionWindow()
+  // Every secondary window (new-session scratch, subagent watch, cmd-click
+  // pop-out) is a compact side panel — none of them carry the full titlebar
+  // tool cluster. Gate on isSecondaryWindow, never the narrower new-session flag.
+  const hideTitlebarControls = isSecondaryWindow()
   const titlebarControls = titlebarControlsPosition(connection?.windowButtonPosition, isFullscreen)
   // Width Windows/Linux reserve for the OS-painted min/max/close overlay (zero
   // on macOS, where window controls sit on the left and are reported via
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread-list.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread-list.tsx
index e3faf64547..8c98b88a59 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread-list.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/thread-list.tsx
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import {
   resetThreadScroll,
   setThreadAtBottom
 } from '@/store/thread-scroll'
-import { isNewSessionWindow, isSecondaryWindow } from '@/store/windows'
+import { isSecondaryWindow } from '@/store/windows'
 
 import { MessageRenderBoundary } from './message-render-boundary'
 
@@ -134,13 +134,20 @@ const ThreadMessageListInner: FC<ThreadMessageListProps> = ({
   const hiddenCount = firstVisible
   const visibleGroups = hiddenCount > 0 ? groups.slice(hiddenCount) : groups
   const restoreFromBottomRef = useRef<number | null>(null)
-  const newSessionWindow = isNewSessionWindow()
-  const newSessionTitlebarGap = 'calc(var(--titlebar-height)+0.75rem)'
-  const threadContentTopPad = newSessionWindow
+  // Secondary windows (new-session scratch, subagent watch, cmd-click pop-out)
+  // hide the titlebar tool cluster + session header, but the OS traffic lights
+  // still sit in the top-left, so reserve the titlebar gap above the transcript.
+  const secondaryWindow = isSecondaryWindow()
+  // NB: CSS calc() requires whitespace around the +/- operator. This string is
+  // assigned verbatim to the --sticky-human-top inline style below (it does not
+  // go through Tailwind, which would auto-space it), so the spaces are load-
+  // bearing — without them the declaration is invalid, gets dropped, and the
+  // sticky user bubble falls back to its ~4px default and slides under the OS
+  // traffic lights.
+  const secondaryTitlebarGap = 'calc(var(--titlebar-height) + 0.75rem)'
+  const threadContentTopPad = secondaryWindow
     ? 'pt-[calc(var(--titlebar-height)+0.75rem)]'
-    : isSecondaryWindow()
-      ? 'pt-6'
-      : 'pt-[calc(var(--titlebar-height)-0.5rem)]'
+    : 'pt-[calc(var(--titlebar-height)-0.5rem)]'
 
   useEffect(() => setThreadAtBottom(isAtBottom), [isAtBottom])
   useEffect(() => () => resetThreadScroll(), [])
@@ -247,10 +254,21 @@ const ThreadMessageListInner: FC<ThreadMessageListProps> = ({
       style={
         {
           height: clampToComposer ? 'var(--thread-viewport-height)' : '100%',
-          ...(newSessionWindow ? { '--sticky-human-top': newSessionTitlebarGap } : {})
+          ...(secondaryWindow ? { '--sticky-human-top': secondaryTitlebarGap } : {})
         } as CSSProperties
       }
     >
+      {secondaryWindow && (
+        // Secondary windows hide the titlebar chrome, so the scroller runs to
+        // the window's top edge and streamed text slides up under the OS
+        // traffic lights. Content padding alone scrolls away with the text — a
+        // fixed opaque strip (the titlebar's drag region) masks anything behind
+        // it and keeps the window draggable, matching the main window's header.
+        <div
+          aria-hidden="true"
+          className="absolute inset-x-0 top-0 z-10 h-(--titlebar-height) bg-background [-webkit-app-region:drag]"
+        />
+      )}
       <div
         className="size-full overflow-x-hidden overflow-y-auto overscroll-contain"
         data-following={isAtBottom ? 'true' : 'false'}
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_delegate.py b/tests/tools/test_delegate.py
index 4b08dc491d..911025e999 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_delegate.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_delegate.py
@@ -499,7 +499,7 @@ class TestToolNamePreservation(unittest.TestCase):
         with patch("run_agent.AIAgent") as MockAgent:
             mock_child = MagicMock()
 
-            def capture_and_return(user_message, task_id=None):
+            def capture_and_return(user_message, task_id=None, stream_callback=None):
                 captured["saved"] = list(mock_child._delegate_saved_tool_names)
                 return {"final_response": "ok", "completed": True, "api_calls": 1}
 
@@ -2616,7 +2616,7 @@ class TestOrchestratorEndToEnd(unittest.TestCase):
                 m.thinking_callback = None
                 orch_mock["agent"] = m
 
-                def _orchestrator_run(user_message=None, task_id=None):
+                def _orchestrator_run(user_message=None, task_id=None, stream_callback=None):
                     # Re-entrant: orchestrator spawns two leaves
                     delegate_task(
                         tasks=[{"goal": "leaf-A"}, {"goal": "leaf-B"}],
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_delegate_subagent_timeout_diagnostic.py b/tests/tools/test_delegate_subagent_timeout_diagnostic.py
index ec596f963a..daaaf4301f 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_delegate_subagent_timeout_diagnostic.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_delegate_subagent_timeout_diagnostic.py
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ class _StubChild:
             "seconds_since_activity": 60,
         }
 
-    def run_conversation(self, user_message, task_id=None):
+    def run_conversation(self, user_message, task_id=None, stream_callback=None):
         self._hang.wait(self._hang_seconds)
         return {"final_response": "", "completed": False, "api_calls": self._api_call_count}
 
diff --git a/tests/tui_gateway/test_protocol.py b/tests/tui_gateway/test_protocol.py
index b4f830f881..60d3c7a5c4 100644
--- a/tests/tui_gateway/test_protocol.py
+++ b/tests/tui_gateway/test_protocol.py
@@ -509,6 +509,111 @@ def test_session_resume_lazy_reports_running_for_inflight_child(server, monkeypa
     assert resp["result"]["status"] == "streaming"
 
 
+def test_session_resume_lazy_tolerates_missing_row_for_active_child(server, monkeypatch):
+    """Race regression: a watch window opens on a freshly-spawned subagent and
+    resumes BEFORE the child's first run_conversation() flushes its DB row.
+
+    The child relays ``subagent.start`` (carrying child_session_id, which opens
+    the window) before ``_ensure_db_session`` writes the row, so
+    ``db.get_session(target)`` is momentarily empty. On slower hosts (WSL2) the
+    window's lazy resume consistently lands in this gap. It used to hard-fail
+    "session not found"; the frontend then 404'd on its REST messages fallback
+    and the watch window spun forever. Since the child is provably live
+    (``_child_run_active``), the lazy resume must instead register the live
+    session with empty history so the mirror can stream the turn.
+    """
+
+    target = "20260616_131212_racey"
+
+    class _DB:
+        def get_session(self, _sid):
+            # Row not flushed yet — the whole point of the race.
+            return None
+
+        def get_session_by_title(self, _title):
+            return None
+
+        def reopen_session(self, _sid):
+            return None
+
+        def get_messages_as_conversation(self, _sid, include_ancestors=False):
+            # No rows for an unwritten session.
+            return []
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(server, "_get_db", lambda: _DB())
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        server, "_make_agent", lambda *a, **k: (_ for _ in ()).throw(AssertionError("no build"))
+    )
+    # Child is live in the relay registry even though its row isn't written.
+    server._active_child_runs[target] = time.time()
+    try:
+        resp = server.handle_request(
+            {
+                "id": "r1",
+                "method": "session.resume",
+                "params": {"session_id": target, "cols": 100, "lazy": True},
+            }
+        )
+    finally:
+        server._active_child_runs.pop(target, None)
+
+    # The resume must succeed (no "session not found") and register a live,
+    # agent-less watch session the mirror can find by stored key.
+    assert "error" not in resp
+    result = resp["result"]
+    assert result["resumed"] == target
+    assert result["session_key"] == target
+    assert result["info"]["lazy"] is True
+    assert result["messages"] == []
+    # Live for the mirror; reported running so the window shows a busy state.
+    assert result["running"] is True
+    assert result["status"] == "streaming"
+    sid = result["session_id"]
+    assert server._find_live_session_by_key(target) == (sid, server._sessions[sid])
+    assert server._sessions[sid]["agent"] is None
+
+
+def test_session_resume_missing_row_non_lazy_still_errors(server, monkeypatch):
+    """The missing-row tolerance is scoped to lazy resumes of an ACTIVE child.
+    A normal (non-lazy) resume of a genuinely unknown id must still fail fast
+    with "session not found" rather than silently registering an empty session.
+    """
+
+    target = "20260616_000000_ghost"
+
+    class _DB:
+        def get_session(self, _sid):
+            return None
+
+        def get_session_by_title(self, _title):
+            return None
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(server, "_get_db", lambda: _DB())
+
+    # Non-lazy resume, no active child → hard error.
+    resp = server.handle_request(
+        {
+            "id": "r1",
+            "method": "session.resume",
+            "params": {"session_id": target, "cols": 100},
+        }
+    )
+    assert "error" in resp
+    assert "session not found" in resp["error"]["message"].lower()
+
+    # Lazy resume but the child is NOT live → still an error (no live mirror to
+    # justify an empty session; this would just be a dead, sessionless window).
+    resp2 = server.handle_request(
+        {
+            "id": "r2",
+            "method": "session.resume",
+            "params": {"session_id": target, "cols": 100, "lazy": True},
+        }
+    )
+    assert "error" in resp2
+    assert "session not found" in resp2["error"]["message"].lower()
+
+
 def test_session_resume_reuses_existing_live_session(server, monkeypatch):
     """Repeated resume must not allocate duplicate live agents."""
 
diff --git a/tests/tui_gateway/test_subagent_child_mirror.py b/tests/tui_gateway/test_subagent_child_mirror.py
index bb828482bb..1f7e7df0c5 100644
--- a/tests/tui_gateway/test_subagent_child_mirror.py
+++ b/tests/tui_gateway/test_subagent_child_mirror.py
@@ -201,9 +201,13 @@ def test_active_child_runs_registry_tracks_liveness(server, emits):
     assert "child-1" not in server._active_child_runs
 
 
-def test_start_and_progress_mirror_as_immediate_text_activity(server, emits):
+def test_start_mirrors_as_immediate_header_line(server, emits):
     server._sessions["live-1"] = {"session_key": "child-1", "agent": None}
 
+    # subagent.start emits a one-time header (the goal) so a freshly opened
+    # window shows context immediately. subagent.progress (batched tool-name
+    # rollups) no longer pollutes the message body — tools mirror natively via
+    # tool.start and the reply streams via subagent.text.
     _relay(server, "subagent.start", preview="starting child branch", child_session_id="child-1")
     _relay(server, "subagent.progress", preview="step 1/3", child_session_id="child-1")
 
@@ -211,5 +215,57 @@ def test_start_and_progress_mirror_as_immediate_text_activity(server, emits):
     assert child == [
         ("message.start", None),
         ("message.delta", {"text": "starting child branch\n"}),
-        ("message.delta", {"text": "step 1/3\n"}),
     ]
+
+
+def test_text_mirrors_as_message_delta(server, emits):
+    """The child's streamed reply (subagent.text) becomes a native
+    message.delta on the live child sid — the watch window streams it as the
+    agent 'talking', the piece that was previously missing entirely."""
+    server._sessions["live-1"] = {"session_key": "child-1", "agent": None}
+
+    _relay(server, "subagent.text", preview="Here is ", child_session_id="child-1")
+    _relay(server, "subagent.text", preview="the answer.", child_session_id="child-1")
+
+    child = [(e, p) for e, s, p in emits if s == "live-1"]
+    assert child == [
+        ("message.start", None),
+        ("message.delta", {"text": "Here is "}),
+        ("message.delta", {"text": "the answer."}),
+    ]
+
+
+def test_text_routes_to_watch_transport_without_contextvar(server, monkeypatch):
+    """Async/background path: the child runs on a detached daemon thread that
+    carries NO contextvar transport binding. Routing must still reach the
+    watch window because write_json keys event frames off the session's STORED
+    transport, not the current context. Exercises the real _emit/write_json."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(server, "_tool_progress_enabled", lambda sid: True)
+
+    frames: list = []
+
+    class RecTransport:
+        def write(self, obj):
+            frames.append(obj)
+            return True
+
+    watch_t = RecTransport()
+    # A lazy watch resume stored its transport on the live child session.
+    server._sessions["live-1"] = {
+        "session_key": "child-1",
+        "agent": None,
+        "transport": watch_t,
+    }
+
+    # Relay with NO transport bound on the current context (the daemon worker
+    # thread never inherits the parent's contextvar) — mirrors the async case.
+    assert server.current_transport() is None
+    _relay(server, "subagent.text", preview="streamed reply", child_session_id="child-1")
+
+    routed = [
+        (f["params"]["type"], f["params"]["session_id"], f["params"].get("payload"))
+        for f in frames
+        if f.get("method") == "event" and f["params"]["session_id"] == "live-1"
+    ]
+    assert ("message.start", "live-1", None) in routed
+    assert ("message.delta", "live-1", {"text": "streamed reply"}) in routed
diff --git a/tools/delegate_tool.py b/tools/delegate_tool.py
index 7fc82c72fe..b89e7f8dbb 100644
--- a/tools/delegate_tool.py
+++ b/tools/delegate_tool.py
@@ -867,6 +867,15 @@ def _build_child_progress_callback(
             _relay("subagent.complete", preview=preview, **kwargs)
             return
 
+        if event_type == "subagent.text":
+            # Streamed assistant reply text from the child. Relay verbatim so a
+            # gateway watch window can mirror the child "talking" as it streams.
+            # No spinner echo — the CLI shows the child via the tree, and the
+            # CLI/TUI progress handlers ignore non-tool event types, so this is
+            # inert there; only a gateway watch window consumes it.
+            _relay("subagent.text", preview=preview)
+            return
+
         # Normalise legacy strings, new-style "delegate.*" strings, and
         # DelegateEvent enum values all to a single DelegateEvent.  The
         # original implementation only accepted the five legacy strings;
@@ -1626,11 +1635,23 @@ def _run_single_child(
         # Python stack (see #14726 — 0-API-call hangs are opaque without it).
         _worker_thread_holder: Dict[str, Optional[threading.Thread]] = {"t": None}
 
+        def _relay_child_text(delta: str) -> None:
+            # Forward the child's streamed reply text up the progress relay so
+            # gateway watch windows mirror it live (subagent.text → message.delta).
+            # Inert under CLI/TUI: their progress handlers ignore non-tool events.
+            if not delta or not child_progress_cb:
+                return
+            try:
+                child_progress_cb("subagent.text", preview=delta)
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.debug("Child text relay failed: %s", e)
+
         def _run_with_thread_capture():
             _worker_thread_holder["t"] = threading.current_thread()
             return child.run_conversation(
                 user_message=goal,
                 task_id=child_task_id,
+                stream_callback=_relay_child_text,
             )
 
         _child_future = _timeout_executor.submit(_run_with_thread_capture)
diff --git a/tui_gateway/server.py b/tui_gateway/server.py
index 072a0c959b..61a100b98c 100644
--- a/tui_gateway/server.py
+++ b/tui_gateway/server.py
@@ -904,6 +904,14 @@ def _start_agent_build(sid: str, session: dict) -> None:
     ready = session.get("agent_ready")
     if ready is None:
         return
+    # A lazy watch session spectating an in-flight child must stay lazy so the
+    # subagent live-mirror keeps flowing. Incidental RPCs (session.info, model
+    # metadata, etc.) resolve through _sess(), which would otherwise upgrade it
+    # to a full agent mid-stream and silently kill the mirror (the mirror bails
+    # once agent is set). Once the child completes, the guard lifts and the next
+    # prompt/RPC builds the agent normally so the user can talk to the session.
+    if session.get("lazy") and _child_run_active(str(session.get("session_key") or "")):
+        return
     lock = session.setdefault("agent_build_lock", threading.Lock())
     with lock:
         if ready.is_set() or session.get("agent_build_started"):
@@ -2867,7 +2875,14 @@ def _on_tool_progress(
         if preview and event_type == "subagent.tool":
             payload["tool_preview"] = str(preview)
             payload["text"] = str(preview)
-        _emit(event_type, sid, payload)
+        # subagent.text is the child's per-token reply, relayed solely to feed a
+        # watch window's live mirror. It is meaningless on the parent session
+        # (which shows the child via the spawn tree, not its reply body), so
+        # skip the parent emit — sending hundreds of ignored token frames there
+        # is wasted traffic and a trap for any future parent-side subagent
+        # catch-all. The mirror keys off the child sid and is unaffected.
+        if event_type != "subagent.text":
+            _emit(event_type, sid, payload)
         _mirror_subagent_to_child(event_type, payload)
 
 
@@ -2927,11 +2942,15 @@ def _mirror_subagent_to_child(event_type: str, payload: dict) -> None:
         if event_type == "subagent.thinking":
             if text := str(payload.get("text") or ""):
                 _emit("reasoning.delta", csid, {"text": text})
-        elif event_type in {"subagent.start", "subagent.progress"}:
-            # Mirror branch-level progress lines so a just-opened child window
-            # shows immediate activity instead of waiting for the next tool or
-            # completion event. This matches the TUI /agents "live branch log"
-            # feel that users expect.
+        elif event_type == "subagent.text":
+            # The child's streamed reply text — the actual "agent talking".
+            # Relayed token-by-token from the child's run_conversation
+            # stream_callback, so the watch window streams the reply live.
+            if text := str(payload.get("text") or ""):
+                _emit("message.delta", csid, {"text": text})
+        elif event_type == "subagent.start":
+            # One-time header line (the child's goal) so a freshly opened window
+            # shows immediate context before the first reply token streams.
             if text := str(payload.get("text") or ""):
                 _emit("message.delta", csid, {"text": f"{text}\n"})
         elif event_type == "subagent.tool":
@@ -4226,6 +4245,19 @@ def _(rid, params: dict) -> dict:
         found = db.get_session_by_title(target)
         if found:
             target = found["id"]
+        elif is_truthy_value(params.get("lazy", False)) and _child_run_active(target):
+            # Race: a watch window opened on a freshly-spawned subagent. The
+            # child relays `subagent.start` (which carries child_session_id and
+            # triggers the window) BEFORE its first run_conversation() flushes
+            # the DB row via _ensure_db_session, so db.get_session(target) is
+            # momentarily empty. On slower hosts (notably WSL2, where SQLite +
+            # process scheduling widen the gap) the window's resume consistently
+            # lands inside this window and used to hard-fail "session not found"
+            # — the frontend then 404'd on the REST messages fallback and the
+            # window spun forever. The child is provably live (_child_run_active),
+            # so proceed into the lazy branch with empty history; the live mirror
+            # streams the whole turn anyway and the row exists by upgrade time.
+            found = {}
         else:
             return _err(rid, 4007, "session not found")
     profile_resume_cwd = str(found.get("cwd") or "").strip() or _profile_configured_cwd(