diff --git a/ui-tui/src/app/useMainApp.ts b/ui-tui/src/app/useMainApp.ts
index f2827dfdfa..e6e8cfe1f4 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/app/useMainApp.ts
+++ b/ui-tui/src/app/useMainApp.ts
@@ -93,7 +93,10 @@ export function useMainApp(gw: GatewayClient) {
     }
   }, [stdout])
 
-  const [historyItems, setHistoryItems] = useState<Msg[]>([])
+  // Seed with an info-less intro so the banner paints on the first frame,
+  // before gateway.ready / session.create resolve. Replaced by
+  // `introMsg(info)` as soon as session.info arrives.
+  const [historyItems, setHistoryItems] = useState<Msg[]>(() => [{ kind: 'intro', role: 'system', text: '' }])
   const [lastUserMsg, setLastUserMsg] = useState('')
   const [stickyPrompt, setStickyPrompt] = useState('')
   const [catalog, setCatalog] = useState<null | SlashCatalog>(null)
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/components/appLayout.tsx b/ui-tui/src/components/appLayout.tsx
index d517fa7a74..48cf1c5b89 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/components/appLayout.tsx
+++ b/ui-tui/src/components/appLayout.tsx
@@ -33,11 +33,11 @@ const TranscriptPane = memo(function TranscriptPane({
 
           {visibleHistory.map(row => (
             <Box flexDirection="column" key={row.key} ref={transcript.virtualHistory.measureRef(row.key)}>
-              {row.msg.kind === 'intro' && row.msg.info ? (
+              {row.msg.kind === 'intro' ? (
                 <Box flexDirection="column" paddingTop={1}>
                   <Banner t={ui.theme} />
 
-                  <SessionPanel info={row.msg.info} sid={ui.sid} t={ui.theme} />
+                  {row.msg.info && <SessionPanel info={row.msg.info} sid={ui.sid} t={ui.theme} />}
                 </Box>
               ) : row.msg.kind === 'panel' && row.msg.panelData ? (
                 <Panel sections={row.msg.panelData.sections} t={ui.theme} title={row.msg.panelData.title} />