diff --git a/packages/ui/tui/src/index.ts b/packages/ui/tui/src/index.ts
index 9544d13cb0..17fef4c1e6 100644
--- a/packages/ui/tui/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/ui/tui/src/index.ts
@@ -1134,25 +1134,24 @@ export function createTuiChat(
     currentScheme = scheme
     Object.assign(palette, createPalette(resolved.color, scheme))
     Object.assign(mdTheme, markdownTheme(palette))
-    editor.borderColor = text => palette.dim(text)
     rebuildTranscript(false)
     setStatus(agent.status)
     requestRender()
   }
   let currentScheme: TerminalColorScheme = 'dark'
 
-  // Detect the terminal's color scheme via device-status report. Most terminals
-  // do not respond, so the promise settles with `undefined` and we keep the
-  // dark-optimised palette.
-  ui.queryTerminalColorScheme({ timeoutMs: 2000 }).then((scheme) => {
-    if (scheme !== undefined) applyColorScheme(scheme)
-  }).catch(() => {
-    // Timeout or query failure — keep dark default.
-  })
-
-  // Live-update when the user switches their terminal theme behind us.
+  // Apply any color scheme the terminal reports. Registering before the query
+  // below means even a synchronous reply reaches `applyColorScheme`; in practice
+  // the startup query's reply is the only report, since dsh-tui leaves
+  // unsolicited color-scheme notifications disabled.
   const disposeSchemeListener = ui.onTerminalColorSchemeChange(applyColorScheme)
 
+  // Ask the terminal for its color scheme via device-status report; the reply,
+  // if any, arrives through the listener above. Most terminals do not respond,
+  // so we keep the dark-optimised palette. Swallow a query-write failure for the
+  // same reason.
+  ui.queryTerminalColorScheme({ timeoutMs: 2000 }).catch(() => {})
+
   const toggleTools = (): void => {
     toolsExpanded = !toolsExpanded
     for (const card of allToolCards) card.setExpanded(toolsExpanded)
diff --git a/packages/ui/tui/tests/tui.spec.ts b/packages/ui/tui/tests/tui.spec.ts
index 51a3ee4ec0..3eacfa4fcf 100644
--- a/packages/ui/tui/tests/tui.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/ui/tui/tests/tui.spec.ts
@@ -942,6 +942,13 @@ describe('terminal mounting', () => {
     // Initial render uses dark-optimised palette: SGR 2 (dim) for dim text.
     expect(result.terminal.output).toContain('\x1b[2mdeepseek-v4-flash')
 
+    // A report matching the current scheme is a no-op: no palette rebuild or
+    // re-render (ESC [?997;1n = dark, the startup default).
+    const beforeSameScheme = result.terminal.output.length
+    result.terminal.send('\x1b[?997;1n')
+    await tick()
+    expect(result.terminal.output.length).toBe(beforeSameScheme)
+
     // Simulate the terminal responding with a light color scheme report
     // (ESC [?997;2n = light, ESC [?997;1n = dark).
     result.terminal.send('\x1b[?997;2n')
@@ -963,4 +970,23 @@ describe('terminal mounting', () => {
     expect(result.terminal.output).toContain('\x1b[2mdeepseek-v4-flash')
     await dispose(result)
   })
+
+  it('keeps the dark palette when the terminal rejects the color-scheme query', async () => {
+    class QueryFailTerminal extends FakeTerminal {
+      override write(data: string): void {
+        // The device-status query is the only write that fails; the promise
+        // rejects and the swallowed `.catch` leaves the dark palette in place.
+        if (data === '\x1b[?996n') throw new Error('query write failed')
+        super.write(data)
+      }
+    }
+    const terminal = new QueryFailTerminal()
+    const result = await createTuiTestHarness(terminal, vi.fn(), {
+      config: { color: true },
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+    })
+    await tick()
+    expect(terminal.output).toContain('\x1b[2mdeepseek-v4-flash')
+    await disposeTuiTestHarness(result)
+  })
 })