diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/pi-transcript.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/pi-transcript.test.ts
index b57e43775c..ba098060a4 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/pi-transcript.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/pi-transcript.test.ts
@@ -126,6 +126,22 @@ describe('Maka Pi TUI transcript', () => {
     assert.match(chinese, /\/session\s+切换或恢复会话/);
   });
 
+  test('keeps every pending-queue preview on exactly one terminal row (#3824)', () => {
+    const state = createMakaPiTranscriptState();
+    // limitText appends its truncation suffix behind a newline once the 200-char
+    // cap trips; an embedded newline shifts every later row down while pi-tui
+    // still counts one row written, corrupting the frame until the queue drains.
+    state.steering = ['s'.repeat(250)];
+    state.followup = ['f'.repeat(250)];
+
+    const lines = renderMakaPiPendingQueue(state, 400);
+    for (const line of lines) {
+      assert.doesNotMatch(line, /[\r\n]/, `pending-queue row must be a single row: ${line}`);
+    }
+    // The truncation notice still reaches the user, just on the same row.
+    assert.match(stripAnsi(lines[0] ?? ''), /50 chars truncated/);
+  });
+
   test('renders the pending-queue edit shortcut for the current platform', () => {
     const state = createMakaPiTranscriptState();
     state.steering = ['Keep going'];
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/pi-transcript.ts b/packages/cli/src/pi-transcript.ts
index 35de5bbd80..a732bcab09 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/pi-transcript.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/pi-transcript.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ import type { MakaSessionDriver } from './session-driver.js';
 import { BoundedChunkBuffer } from './bounded-chunk-buffer.js';
 import { ansi } from './tui-ansi.js';
 import {
+  collapseToSingleLine,
   fitLine,
   formatTokenCount,
   formatUnknown,
@@ -1502,14 +1503,24 @@ export function renderMakaPiPendingQueue(
   return lines;
 }
 
-/** First non-empty line of a queued message, trimmed for a one-line preview. */
+/**
+ * First non-empty line of a queued message, trimmed for a one-line preview.
+ *
+ * `limitText` appends its truncation suffix behind a newline, so its output is
+ * multi-line whenever the cap trips. Each element the pending-bar returns must
+ * occupy exactly one terminal row — pi-tui writes them between explicit \r\n
+ * separators and counts one row each, so an embedded newline shifts every
+ * later row down while the diff accounting still believes one row was written
+ * (#3824). `fitLine` cannot catch it: visibleWidth treats controls as
+ * zero-width. Sibling call sites collapse the same output the same way.
+ */
 function firstLinePreview(text: string): string {
   const line =
     text
       .split('\n')
       .map((part) => part.trim())
       .find((part) => part.length > 0) ?? '';
-  return limitText(line, 200);
+  return collapseToSingleLine(limitText(line, 200));
 }
 
 /**