diff --git a/org/system-integration-tests.org b/org/system-integration-tests.org
index 8f4395a..3b6a492 100644
--- a/org/system-integration-tests.org
+++ b/org/system-integration-tests.org
@@ -340,8 +340,6 @@ test_handshake() {
 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)
 
@@ -362,6 +360,17 @@ test_agent_responds() {
   done
 }
 
+test_agent_not_cascade_failure() {
+  # After test_agent_responds passes, verify the ⬇ line is NOT
+  # just a cascade failure message. If it is, the daemon is alive
+  # but no LLM backend is working.
+  if grep '⬇' "$TUI_LOG" | grep -qi 'cascade.*fail\|exhausted\|neural cascade'; then
+    echo "WARNING: LLM cascade failure — no working backend configured?" >&2
+    return 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
 test_eval_command() {
   tmux send-keys -t tui-test "/eval (+ 1 2)" Enter
   sleep 2
@@ -380,11 +389,12 @@ test_connection_drop() {
   grep -qi 'connection.*lost\|ERROR.*Connection' "$TUI_LOG"
 }
 
-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
+run_test "handshake"            test_handshake
+run_test "agent-responds"       test_agent_responds
+run_test "agent-not-cascade-fail" test_agent_not_cascade_failure
+run_test "eval-command"         test_eval_command
+run_test "status-bar"           test_status_bar
+run_test "connection-drop"      test_connection_drop
 
 # ---- Summary ----
 echo ""
diff --git a/test/integration-tui.sh b/test/integration-tui.sh
index e25c246..19183cb 100755
--- a/test/integration-tui.sh
+++ b/test/integration-tui.sh
@@ -45,8 +45,6 @@ test_handshake() {
 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)
 
@@ -67,6 +65,17 @@ test_agent_responds() {
   done
 }
 
+test_agent_not_cascade_failure() {
+  # After test_agent_responds passes, verify the ⬇ line is NOT
+  # just a cascade failure message. If it is, the daemon is alive
+  # but no LLM backend is working.
+  if grep '⬇' "$TUI_LOG" | grep -qi 'cascade.*fail\|exhausted\|neural cascade'; then
+    echo "WARNING: LLM cascade failure — no working backend configured?" >&2
+    return 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
 test_eval_command() {
   tmux send-keys -t tui-test "/eval (+ 1 2)" Enter
   sleep 2
@@ -85,11 +94,12 @@ test_connection_drop() {
   grep -qi 'connection.*lost\|ERROR.*Connection' "$TUI_LOG"
 }
 
-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
+run_test "handshake"            test_handshake
+run_test "agent-responds"       test_agent_responds
+run_test "agent-not-cascade-fail" test_agent_not_cascade_failure
+run_test "eval-command"         test_eval_command
+run_test "status-bar"           test_status_bar
+run_test "connection-drop"      test_connection_drop
 
 # ---- Summary ----
 echo ""