diff --git a/ui-tui/babel.compiler.config.cjs b/ui-tui/babel.compiler.config.cjs
index b81ff95485..ab41a82e2b 100644
--- a/ui-tui/babel.compiler.config.cjs
+++ b/ui-tui/babel.compiler.config.cjs
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ module.exports = {
   ],
   // We feed already-compiled JS into babel; don't re-parse as TS/JSX.
   // @babel/preset-env etc. would over-transform — the compiler is our only
-  // transform here.
-  babelrc: false,
-  configFile: false
+  // transform here. babelrc:false stops @babel/cli from walking up the
+  // filesystem looking for other configs (the parent repo might add one).
+  babelrc: false
 }
diff --git a/ui-tui/eslint.config.mjs b/ui-tui/eslint.config.mjs
index 1b20c3244f..4452f49fa5 100644
--- a/ui-tui/eslint.config.mjs
+++ b/ui-tui/eslint.config.mjs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import typescriptEslint from '@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin'
 import typescriptParser from '@typescript-eslint/parser'
 import perfectionist from 'eslint-plugin-perfectionist'
 import reactPlugin from 'eslint-plugin-react'
+import reactCompiler from 'eslint-plugin-react-compiler'
 import hooksPlugin from 'eslint-plugin-react-hooks'
 import unusedImports from 'eslint-plugin-unused-imports'
 import globals from 'globals'
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ export default [
       'custom-rules': customRules,
       perfectionist,
       react: reactPlugin,
+      'react-compiler': reactCompiler,
       'react-hooks': hooksPlugin,
       'unused-imports': unusedImports
     },
@@ -53,6 +55,12 @@ export default [
       '@typescript-eslint/no-unused-vars': 'off',
       'no-undef': 'off',
       'no-unused-vars': 'off',
+      // React Compiler: warn (not error) so the gate doesn't block merges
+      // while we migrate. Flags patterns that would break the compiler at
+      // runtime (mutating refs during render, non-PascalCase components,
+      // etc.). See audit §5 — we run the compiler in `npm run build` as a
+      // post-pass over tsc's `dist/` output.
+      'react-compiler/react-compiler': 'warn',
       'padding-line-between-statements': [
         1,
         { blankLine: 'always', next: ['block-like', 'block', 'return', 'if', 'class', 'continue', 'debugger', 'break', 'multiline-const', 'multiline-let'], prev: '*' },
@@ -89,6 +97,9 @@ export default [
       'no-constant-condition': 'off',
       'no-empty': 'off',
       'no-redeclare': 'off',
+      // Ink internals: reconciler, style pool, DOM node impl — full of
+      // intentional side effects the compiler rules reject.
+      'react-compiler/react-compiler': 'off',
       'react-hooks/exhaustive-deps': 'off'
     }
   },
diff --git a/ui-tui/package.json b/ui-tui/package.json
index 4a16c9c3a3..061e3bc448 100644
--- a/ui-tui/package.json
+++ b/ui-tui/package.json
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "npm run build --prefix packages/hermes-ink && tsx --watch src/entry.tsx",
     "start": "tsx src/entry.tsx",
-    "build": "npm run build --prefix packages/hermes-ink && tsc -p tsconfig.build.json && chmod +x dist/entry.js",
+    "build": "npm run build --prefix packages/hermes-ink && tsc -p tsconfig.build.json && npm run build:compile && chmod +x dist/entry.js",
+    "build:compile": "babel dist --out-dir dist --config-file ./babel.compiler.config.cjs --extensions .js --keep-file-extension",
     "type-check": "tsc --noEmit -p tsconfig.json",
     "lint": "eslint src/ packages/",
     "lint:fix": "eslint src/ packages/ --fix",
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/components/todoPanel.tsx b/ui-tui/src/components/todoPanel.tsx
index 567050a39d..8b5b59b6a4 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/components/todoPanel.tsx
+++ b/ui-tui/src/components/todoPanel.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Box, Text } from '@hermes/ink'
-import { memo } from 'react'
+import { memo, useState } from 'react'
 
 import { countPendingTodos } from '../lib/liveProgress.js'
 import { todoGlyph, todoTone } from '../lib/todo.js'
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const rowColor = (t: Theme, status: TodoItem['status']) => {
 }
 
 export const TodoPanel = memo(function TodoPanel({
-  collapsed = false,
+  collapsed,
   incomplete = false,
   onToggle,
   t,
@@ -25,6 +25,25 @@ export const TodoPanel = memo(function TodoPanel({
   t: Theme
   todos: TodoItem[]
 }) {
+  // Fallback local state for archived todos in transcript where there's no
+  // external controller. Live TodoPanel passes collapsed+onToggle from the
+  // turn store so clicks still work there.
+  const [localCollapsed, setLocalCollapsed] = useState(false)
+  const isControlled = typeof collapsed === 'boolean'
+  const effectiveCollapsed = isControlled ? collapsed : localCollapsed
+
+  const handleToggle = () => {
+    if (onToggle) {
+      onToggle()
+
+      return
+    }
+
+    if (!isControlled) {
+      setLocalCollapsed(v => !v)
+    }
+  }
+
   if (!todos.length) {
     return null
   }
@@ -34,9 +53,9 @@ export const TodoPanel = memo(function TodoPanel({
 
   return (
     <Box flexDirection="column" marginBottom={1}>
-      <Box onClick={onToggle}>
+      <Box onClick={handleToggle}>
         <Text color={t.color.dim}>
-          <Text color={t.color.amber}>{collapsed ? '▸ ' : '▾ '}</Text>
+          <Text color={t.color.amber}>{effectiveCollapsed ? '▸ ' : '▾ '}</Text>
           <Text bold color={t.color.cornsilk}>
             Todo
           </Text>{' '}
@@ -52,7 +71,7 @@ export const TodoPanel = memo(function TodoPanel({
         </Text>
       </Box>
 
-      {!collapsed && (
+      {!effectiveCollapsed && (
         <Box flexDirection="column" marginLeft={2}>
           {todos.map(todo => {
             const tone = todoTone(todo.status)