diff --git a/org/system-integration-tests.org b/org/system-integration-tests.org
index 9c5c88b..8f4395a 100644
--- a/org/system-integration-tests.org
+++ b/org/system-integration-tests.org
@@ -330,10 +330,36 @@ tmux new-session -d -s tui-test "passepartout tui 2>&1 | tee $TUI_LOG"
 sleep 4
 
 # ---- Tests ----
-test_renders_input() {
-  tmux send-keys -t tui-test "hello world" Enter
-  sleep 2
-  grep -q 'hello world' "$TUI_LOG"
+
+test_handshake() {
+  # The TUI receives a handshake from the daemon on connect
+  # and renders "Connected v<version>" in the log/chat area.
+  grep -q 'Connected v[0-9]' "$TUI_LOG"
+}
+
+test_agent_responds() {
+  # Send text to the TUI and wait for an agent (⬇) response.
+  # This proves the full round-trip: TUI → daemon → pipeline → TUI.
+  # The response may be a cascade failure message (no API key)
+  # or a real LLM reply — either way, ⬇ proves the daemon responded.
+  local before_ts
+  before_ts=$(date +%s)
+
+  tmux send-keys -t tui-test "hello" Enter
+
+  # Wait up to 20 seconds for ⬇ to appear
+  while true; do
+    if grep -q '⬇.*[a-zA-Z]\{3,\}' "$TUI_LOG"; then
+      return 0
+    fi
+    local now_ts
+    now_ts=$(date +%s)
+    if (( now_ts - before_ts > 20 )); then
+      echo "TIMEOUT: no agent response in log" >&2
+      return 1
+    fi
+    sleep 1
+  done
 }
 
 test_eval_command() {
@@ -354,9 +380,10 @@ test_connection_drop() {
   grep -qi 'connection.*lost\|ERROR.*Connection' "$TUI_LOG"
 }
 
-run_test "renders-input" test_renders_input
-run_test "eval-command"  test_eval_command
-run_test "status-bar"    test_status_bar
+run_test "handshake"       test_handshake
+run_test "agent-responds"  test_agent_responds
+run_test "eval-command"    test_eval_command
+run_test "status-bar"      test_status_bar
 run_test "connection-drop" test_connection_drop
 
 # ---- Summary ----
diff --git a/test/integration-tui.sh b/test/integration-tui.sh
index 588aea5..e25c246 100755
--- a/test/integration-tui.sh
+++ b/test/integration-tui.sh
@@ -35,10 +35,36 @@ tmux new-session -d -s tui-test "passepartout tui 2>&1 | tee $TUI_LOG"
 sleep 4
 
 # ---- Tests ----
-test_renders_input() {
-  tmux send-keys -t tui-test "hello world" Enter
-  sleep 2
-  grep -q 'hello world' "$TUI_LOG"
+
+test_handshake() {
+  # The TUI receives a handshake from the daemon on connect
+  # and renders "Connected v<version>" in the log/chat area.
+  grep -q 'Connected v[0-9]' "$TUI_LOG"
+}
+
+test_agent_responds() {
+  # Send text to the TUI and wait for an agent (⬇) response.
+  # This proves the full round-trip: TUI → daemon → pipeline → TUI.
+  # The response may be a cascade failure message (no API key)
+  # or a real LLM reply — either way, ⬇ proves the daemon responded.
+  local before_ts
+  before_ts=$(date +%s)
+
+  tmux send-keys -t tui-test "hello" Enter
+
+  # Wait up to 20 seconds for ⬇ to appear
+  while true; do
+    if grep -q '⬇.*[a-zA-Z]\{3,\}' "$TUI_LOG"; then
+      return 0
+    fi
+    local now_ts
+    now_ts=$(date +%s)
+    if (( now_ts - before_ts > 20 )); then
+      echo "TIMEOUT: no agent response in log" >&2
+      return 1
+    fi
+    sleep 1
+  done
 }
 
 test_eval_command() {
@@ -59,9 +85,10 @@ test_connection_drop() {
   grep -qi 'connection.*lost\|ERROR.*Connection' "$TUI_LOG"
 }
 
-run_test "renders-input" test_renders_input
-run_test "eval-command"  test_eval_command
-run_test "status-bar"    test_status_bar
+run_test "handshake"       test_handshake
+run_test "agent-responds"  test_agent_responds
+run_test "eval-command"    test_eval_command
+run_test "status-bar"      test_status_bar
 run_test "connection-drop" test_connection_drop
 
 # ---- Summary ----