diff --git a/apps/desktop/playwright.config.ts b/apps/desktop/playwright.config.ts
index 9ed34b2fea2..9a661e5fadd 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/playwright.config.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,14 @@ export default defineConfig({
   use: {
     screenshot: 'on',
     trace: { mode: 'on', screenshots: true, snapshots: true, sources: true },
+    // Emulate prefers-reduced-motion: reduce so all CSS transitions and
+    // animations resolve instantly. This prevents boot/connecting overlays
+    // from being mid-fade when a screenshot fires, and skips JS-driven exit
+    // choreography in components that check matchMedia (onboarding, connecting
+    // overlay, DecodeText). Without this, screenshots capture the loading bar
+    // or overlay at a transient opacity because the text-content check fires
+    // before the visual transition finishes.
+    reducedMotion: 'reduce',
   },
   expect: {
     toHaveScreenshot: {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/gateway-connecting-overlay.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/gateway-connecting-overlay.tsx
index 79bc9935804..d2050f11fed 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/gateway-connecting-overlay.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/gateway-connecting-overlay.tsx
@@ -35,11 +35,20 @@ function forcedPreview(): boolean {
   }
 }
 
+function prefersReducedMotion(): boolean {
+  return typeof window !== 'undefined' && Boolean(window.matchMedia?.('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches)
+}
+
 export function GatewayConnectingOverlay() {
   const gatewayState = useStore($gatewayState)
   const boot = useStore($desktopBoot)
   const gatewaySwitching = useStore($gatewaySwitching)
   const [previewing] = useState(forcedPreview)
+  const reduce = prefersReducedMotion()
+  // Under reduced motion, skip the multi-phase exit choreography (text-out →
+  // hold → overlay fade) and jump straight to gone so the overlay unmounts
+  // the instant the gateway opens. E2E screenshots rely on this to avoid
+  // catching the overlay mid-fade.
   const [phase, setPhase] = useState<Phase>('live')
   // Once cold boot has completed once, never resurrect the fullscreen overlay
   // — soft gateway switches keep the shell and reskeleton the sidebar instead.
@@ -74,16 +83,32 @@ export function GatewayConnectingOverlay() {
       return
     }
 
-    if (previewing) {
+    if(reduce) {
+      // Under reduced motion, skip straight to gone — no text-out, no hold,
+      // no overlay fade. The overlay unmounts immediately.
+      setPhase('gone')
+    }
+
+      if (previewing) {
+        // Under reduced motion, skip straight to gone — no text-out, no hold,
+        // no overlay fade. The overlay unmounts immediately.
+        if(reduce) {
+          setPhase('gone')
+
+          return
+        }
+
       const id = window.setTimeout(() => setPhase('text-out'), PREVIEW_CONNECT_MS)
 
       return () => window.clearTimeout(id)
     }
 
     if (gatewayState === 'open' && shownRef.current) {
-      setPhase('text-out')
+      // Under reduced motion, skip straight to gone — no text-out, no hold,
+      // no overlay fade. The overlay unmounts immediately.
+      setPhase(reduce ? 'gone' : 'text-out')
     }
-  }, [phase, previewing, gatewayState])
+  }, [phase, previewing, gatewayState, reduce])
 
   // Advance the exit choreography: text-out -> overlay-out -> gone.
   useEffect(() => {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/decode-text.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/decode-text.tsx
index e5bc470ab07..243de60f620 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/decode-text.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/ui/decode-text.tsx
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ export const DECODE_SCRAMBLE_CHARS = '/\\|-_=+<>~:*'
 const TICK_MS = 45
 const HOLD_TICKS = 16
 
+function prefersReducedMotion(): boolean {
+  return typeof window !== 'undefined' && Boolean(window.matchMedia?.('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches)
+}
+
 function scrambled(tail: string, resolvedCount: number): string {
   return Array.from(tail, (ch, i) =>
     ch === ' ' || i < resolvedCount ? ch : DECODE_SCRAMBLE_CHARS[(Math.random() * DECODE_SCRAMBLE_CHARS.length) | 0]
@@ -62,6 +66,15 @@ export function DecodeText({
       return
     }
 
+    // Under reduced motion, skip the scramble interval and render the fully
+    // resolved text immediately. The cursor blink (CSS animation) is also
+    // killed by the blanket reduced-motion CSS rule.
+    if (prefersReducedMotion()) {
+      setTail(tailText)
+
+      return
+    }
+
     let resolved = 0
     let hold = 0
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/styles.css b/apps/desktop/src/styles.css
index d1e45ae6ed4..86a87dbf0ea 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/styles.css
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/styles.css
@@ -5,6 +5,22 @@
 @import '@vscode/codicons/dist/codicon.css';
 @custom-variant dark (&:is(.dark *));
 
+/* Blanket reduced-motion override: kill ALL CSS animations and transitions
+   when the user (or the E2E test harness via prefers-reduced-motion) requests
+   it. Per-component @media rules below handle specific cases; this catches
+   everything else so overlays and loading bars resolve instantly instead of
+   being caught mid-fade by a screenshot. */
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+  *,
+  *::before,
+  *::after {
+    animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
+    animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
+    transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
+    scroll-behavior: auto !important;
+  }
+}
+
 /* Sidebar sections: tall viewports give each its own scroller; compact ones
    (this variant) flatten everything into one shared scroll. See ChatSidebar. */
 @custom-variant compact (@media (max-height: 768px));