diff --git a/hub/src/index.ts b/hub/src/index.ts
index a53ae3308..3f6cbc29b 100644
--- a/hub/src/index.ts
+++ b/hub/src/index.ts
@@ -179,7 +179,8 @@ async function main() {
         onWebappEvent: (event: SyncEvent) => syncEngine?.handleRealtimeEvent(event),
         onSessionAlive: (payload) => syncEngine?.handleSessionAlive(payload),
         onSessionEnd: (payload) => syncEngine?.handleSessionEnd(payload),
-        onMachineAlive: (payload) => syncEngine?.handleMachineAlive(payload)
+        onMachineAlive: (payload) => syncEngine?.handleMachineAlive(payload),
+        onBackgroundTaskDelta: (sessionId, delta) => syncEngine?.handleBackgroundTaskDelta(sessionId, delta)
     })
 
     syncEngine = new SyncEngine(store, socketServer.io, socketServer.rpcRegistry, sseManager)
diff --git a/hub/src/socket/handlers/cli/index.ts b/hub/src/socket/handlers/cli/index.ts
index 480ac7def..5c2ec6b57 100644
--- a/hub/src/socket/handlers/cli/index.ts
+++ b/hub/src/socket/handlers/cli/index.ts
@@ -40,10 +40,11 @@ export type CliHandlersDeps = {
     onSessionEnd?: (payload: SessionEndPayload) => void
     onMachineAlive?: (payload: MachineAlivePayload) => void
     onWebappEvent?: (event: SyncEvent) => void
+    onBackgroundTaskDelta?: (sessionId: string, delta: { started: number; completed: number }) => void
 }
 
 export function registerCliHandlers(socket: CliSocketWithData, deps: CliHandlersDeps): void {
-    const { io, store, rpcRegistry, terminalRegistry, onSessionAlive, onSessionEnd, onMachineAlive, onWebappEvent } = deps
+    const { io, store, rpcRegistry, terminalRegistry, onSessionAlive, onSessionEnd, onMachineAlive, onWebappEvent, onBackgroundTaskDelta } = deps
     const terminalNamespace = io.of('/terminal')
     const namespace = typeof socket.data.namespace === 'string' ? socket.data.namespace : null
 
@@ -102,7 +103,8 @@ export function registerCliHandlers(socket: CliSocketWithData, deps: CliHandlers
         emitAccessError,
         onSessionAlive,
         onSessionEnd,
-        onWebappEvent
+        onWebappEvent,
+        onBackgroundTaskDelta
     })
     registerMachineHandlers(socket, {
         store,
diff --git a/hub/src/socket/handlers/cli/sessionHandlers.ts b/hub/src/socket/handlers/cli/sessionHandlers.ts
index 67ec014b7..8860421e1 100644
--- a/hub/src/socket/handlers/cli/sessionHandlers.ts
+++ b/hub/src/socket/handlers/cli/sessionHandlers.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import type { Store, StoredSession } from '../../../store'
 import type { SyncEvent } from '../../../sync/syncEngine'
 import { extractTodoWriteTodosFromMessageContent } from '../../../sync/todos'
 import { extractTeamStateFromMessageContent, applyTeamStateDelta } from '../../../sync/teams'
+import { extractBackgroundTaskDelta } from '../../../sync/backgroundTasks'
 import type { CliSocketWithData } from '../../socketTypes'
 import type { AccessErrorReason, AccessResult } from './types'
 
@@ -57,10 +58,11 @@ export type SessionHandlersDeps = {
     onSessionAlive?: (payload: SessionAlivePayload) => void
     onSessionEnd?: (payload: SessionEndPayload) => void
     onWebappEvent?: (event: SyncEvent) => void
+    onBackgroundTaskDelta?: (sessionId: string, delta: { started: number; completed: number }) => void
 }
 
 export function registerSessionHandlers(socket: CliSocketWithData, deps: SessionHandlersDeps): void {
-    const { store, resolveSessionAccess, emitAccessError, onSessionAlive, onSessionEnd, onWebappEvent } = deps
+    const { store, resolveSessionAccess, emitAccessError, onSessionAlive, onSessionEnd, onWebappEvent, onBackgroundTaskDelta } = deps
 
     socket.on('message', (data: unknown) => {
         const parsed = messageSchema.safeParse(data)
@@ -109,6 +111,11 @@ export function registerSessionHandlers(socket: CliSocketWithData, deps: Session
             }
         }
 
+        const bgDelta = extractBackgroundTaskDelta(content)
+        if (bgDelta) {
+            onBackgroundTaskDelta?.(sid, bgDelta)
+        }
+
         const update = {
             id: randomUUID(),
             seq: msg.seq,
diff --git a/hub/src/socket/server.ts b/hub/src/socket/server.ts
index bc591a11c..19086a95b 100644
--- a/hub/src/socket/server.ts
+++ b/hub/src/socket/server.ts
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ export type SocketServerDeps = {
     onSessionAlive?: (payload: { sid: string; time: number; thinking?: boolean; mode?: 'local' | 'remote' }) => void
     onSessionEnd?: (payload: { sid: string; time: number }) => void
     onMachineAlive?: (payload: { machineId: string; time: number }) => void
+    onBackgroundTaskDelta?: (sessionId: string, delta: { started: number; completed: number }) => void
 }
 
 export function createSocketServer(deps: SocketServerDeps): {
@@ -113,7 +114,8 @@ export function createSocketServer(deps: SocketServerDeps): {
         onSessionAlive: deps.onSessionAlive,
         onSessionEnd: deps.onSessionEnd,
         onMachineAlive: deps.onMachineAlive,
-        onWebappEvent: deps.onWebappEvent
+        onWebappEvent: deps.onWebappEvent,
+        onBackgroundTaskDelta: deps.onBackgroundTaskDelta
     }))
 
     terminalNs.use(async (socket, next) => {
diff --git a/hub/src/sync/backgroundTasks.ts b/hub/src/sync/backgroundTasks.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..526a08d7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hub/src/sync/backgroundTasks.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+import { isObject } from '@hapi/protocol'
+import { unwrapRoleWrappedRecordEnvelope } from '@hapi/protocol/messages'
+
+/**
+ * Extract background task start/completion signals from a message.
+ *
+ * Uses role-aware parsing to avoid false positives:
+ *  - Started:   agent-role output with tool_result containing
+ *               "Command running in background with ID:"
+ *  - Completed: agent-role output wrapping a user-type message (system-injected)
+ *               starting with "<task-notification>"
+ *
+ * Both signals arrive as { role: 'agent', content: { type: 'output', data: {...} } }
+ * because the CLI wraps all messages in agent envelopes.
+ */
+export function extractBackgroundTaskDelta(messageContent: unknown): { started: number; completed: number } | null {
+    const record = unwrapRoleWrappedRecordEnvelope(messageContent)
+    if (!record || record.role !== 'agent') return null
+    if (!isObject(record.content) || record.content.type !== 'output') return null
+
+    const data = isObject(record.content.data) ? record.content.data : null
+    if (!data) return null
+
+    const started = countTaskStarts(record.content)
+    const completed = data.type === 'user' ? countTaskCompletions(data) : 0
+
+    if (started === 0 && completed === 0) return null
+    return { started, completed }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Count background task starts from tool_result blocks.
+ */
+function countTaskStarts(content: Record<string, unknown>): number {
+    const data = isObject(content.data) ? content.data : null
+    if (!data) return 0
+
+    // Direct tool_result
+    if (data.type === 'tool_result') {
+        return isBackgroundStartResult(data) ? 1 : 0
+    }
+
+    // Assistant message with content array containing tool_result blocks
+    if (data.type === 'assistant') {
+        const message = isObject(data.message) ? data.message : null
+        const modelContent = message?.content
+        if (!Array.isArray(modelContent)) return 0
+
+        let count = 0
+        for (const block of modelContent) {
+            if (isObject(block) && block.type === 'tool_result' && isBackgroundStartResult(block)) {
+                count++
+            }
+        }
+        return count
+    }
+
+    return 0
+}
+
+function isBackgroundStartResult(block: Record<string, unknown>): boolean {
+    const text = typeof block.content === 'string'
+        ? block.content
+        : Array.isArray(block.content)
+            ? block.content.map((c: unknown) => isObject(c) && typeof c.text === 'string' ? c.text : '').join('')
+            : ''
+    return text.includes('Command running in background with ID:')
+}
+
+/**
+ * Count task completions from system-injected user messages.
+ *
+ * These arrive as: { type: 'user', message: { content: '<task-notification>...' } }
+ * inside the agent output envelope.
+ */
+function countTaskCompletions(data: Record<string, unknown>): number {
+    // { type: 'user', message: { content: '<task-notification>...' } }
+    if (isObject(data.message)) {
+        const msg = data.message as Record<string, unknown>
+        if (typeof msg.content === 'string' && msg.content.trimStart().startsWith('<task-notification>')) {
+            return 1
+        }
+    }
+
+    // { type: 'user', uuid: '...', content: '<task-notification>...' }
+    if (typeof data.content === 'string' && data.content.trimStart().startsWith('<task-notification>')) {
+        return 1
+    }
+
+    return 0
+}
diff --git a/hub/src/sync/sessionCache.ts b/hub/src/sync/sessionCache.ts
index 618447c7d..b4abd3865 100644
--- a/hub/src/sync/sessionCache.ts
+++ b/hub/src/sync/sessionCache.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import type { Store } from '../store'
 import { clampAliveTime } from './aliveTime'
 import { EventPublisher } from './eventPublisher'
 import { extractTodoWriteTodosFromMessageContent, TodosSchema } from './todos'
+import { extractBackgroundTaskDelta } from './backgroundTasks'
 
 export class SessionCache {
     private readonly sessions: Map<string, Session> = new Map()
@@ -131,6 +132,7 @@ export class SessionCache {
             agentStateVersion: stored.agentStateVersion,
             thinking: existing?.thinking ?? false,
             thinkingAt: existing?.thinkingAt ?? 0,
+            backgroundTaskCount: existing?.backgroundTaskCount ?? 0,
             todos,
             teamState,
             model: stored.model,
@@ -230,6 +232,22 @@ export class SessionCache {
         }
     }
 
+    applyBackgroundTaskDelta(sessionId: string, delta: { started: number; completed: number }): void {
+        const session = this.sessions.get(sessionId)
+        if (!session) return
+
+        const prev = session.backgroundTaskCount ?? 0
+        const next = Math.max(0, prev + delta.started - delta.completed)
+        if (next === prev) return
+
+        session.backgroundTaskCount = next
+        this.publisher.emit({
+            type: 'session-updated',
+            sessionId,
+            data: { backgroundTaskCount: next }
+        })
+    }
+
     handleSessionEnd(payload: { sid: string; time: number }): void {
         const t = clampAliveTime(payload.time) ?? Date.now()
 
@@ -243,8 +261,9 @@ export class SessionCache {
         session.active = false
         session.thinking = false
         session.thinkingAt = t
+        session.backgroundTaskCount = 0
 
-        this.publisher.emit({ type: 'session-updated', sessionId: session.id, data: { active: false, thinking: false } })
+        this.publisher.emit({ type: 'session-updated', sessionId: session.id, data: { active: false, thinking: false, backgroundTaskCount: 0 } })
     }
 
     expireInactive(now: number = Date.now()): void {
diff --git a/hub/src/sync/syncEngine.ts b/hub/src/sync/syncEngine.ts
index 6b5be2f1c..ffc5792bf 100644
--- a/hub/src/sync/syncEngine.ts
+++ b/hub/src/sync/syncEngine.ts
@@ -198,6 +198,10 @@ export class SyncEngine {
         this.sessionCache.handleSessionEnd(payload)
     }
 
+    handleBackgroundTaskDelta(sessionId: string, delta: { started: number; completed: number }): void {
+        this.sessionCache.applyBackgroundTaskDelta(sessionId, delta)
+    }
+
     handleMachineAlive(payload: { machineId: string; time: number }): void {
         this.machineCache.handleMachineAlive(payload)
     }
diff --git a/shared/src/schemas.ts b/shared/src/schemas.ts
index 52ec83737..01db07cd3 100644
--- a/shared/src/schemas.ts
+++ b/shared/src/schemas.ts
@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@ export const SessionSchema = z.object({
     agentStateVersion: z.number(),
     thinking: z.boolean(),
     thinkingAt: z.number(),
+    backgroundTaskCount: z.number().optional(),
     todos: TodosSchema.optional(),
     teamState: TeamStateSchema.optional(),
     model: z.string().nullable(),
diff --git a/web/src/components/AssistantChat/HappyComposer.tsx b/web/src/components/AssistantChat/HappyComposer.tsx
index 101cca2d6..927c778e8 100644
--- a/web/src/components/AssistantChat/HappyComposer.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/AssistantChat/HappyComposer.tsx
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ export function HappyComposer(props: {
     allowSendWhenInactive?: boolean
     thinking?: boolean
     agentState?: AgentState | null
+    backgroundTaskCount?: number
     contextSize?: number
     controlledByUser?: boolean
     agentFlavor?: string | null
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ export function HappyComposer(props: {
         allowSendWhenInactive = false,
         thinking = false,
         agentState,
+        backgroundTaskCount,
         contextSize,
         controlledByUser = false,
         agentFlavor,
@@ -668,6 +670,7 @@ export function HappyComposer(props: {
                         active={active}
                         thinking={thinking}
                         agentState={agentState}
+                        backgroundTaskCount={backgroundTaskCount}
                         contextSize={contextSize}
                         model={model}
                         permissionMode={permissionMode}
diff --git a/web/src/components/AssistantChat/StatusBar.tsx b/web/src/components/AssistantChat/StatusBar.tsx
index e026c99f9..4527311bc 100644
--- a/web/src/components/AssistantChat/StatusBar.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/AssistantChat/StatusBar.tsx
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ function getConnectionStatus(
     thinking: boolean,
     agentState: AgentState | null | undefined,
     voiceStatus: ConversationStatus | undefined,
+    backgroundTaskCount: number,
     t: (key: string) => string
 ): { text: string; color: string; dotColor: string; isPulsing: boolean } {
     const hasPermissions = agentState?.requests && Object.keys(agentState.requests).length > 0
@@ -84,6 +85,15 @@ function getConnectionStatus(
         }
     }
 
+    if (backgroundTaskCount > 0) {
+        return {
+            text: `${backgroundTaskCount} background task${backgroundTaskCount > 1 ? 's' : ''} running`,
+            color: 'text-[#007AFF]',
+            dotColor: 'bg-[#007AFF]',
+            isPulsing: true
+        }
+    }
+
     return {
         text: t('misc.online'),
         color: 'text-[#34C759]',
@@ -110,6 +120,7 @@ export function StatusBar(props: {
     active: boolean
     thinking: boolean
     agentState: AgentState | null | undefined
+    backgroundTaskCount?: number
     contextSize?: number
     model?: string | null
     permissionMode?: PermissionMode
@@ -119,8 +130,8 @@ export function StatusBar(props: {
 }) {
     const { t } = useTranslation()
     const connectionStatus = useMemo(
-        () => getConnectionStatus(props.active, props.thinking, props.agentState, props.voiceStatus, t),
-        [props.active, props.thinking, props.agentState, props.voiceStatus, t]
+        () => getConnectionStatus(props.active, props.thinking, props.agentState, props.voiceStatus, props.backgroundTaskCount ?? 0, t),
+        [props.active, props.thinking, props.agentState, props.voiceStatus, props.backgroundTaskCount, t]
     )
 
     const contextWarning = useMemo(
diff --git a/web/src/components/SessionChat.tsx b/web/src/components/SessionChat.tsx
index 841286245..17dd463c3 100644
--- a/web/src/components/SessionChat.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/SessionChat.tsx
@@ -379,6 +379,7 @@ export function SessionChat(props: {
                         allowSendWhenInactive
                         thinking={props.session.thinking}
                         agentState={props.session.agentState}
+                        backgroundTaskCount={props.session.backgroundTaskCount}
                         contextSize={reduced.latestUsage?.contextSize}
                         controlledByUser={controlledByUser}
                         onCollaborationModeChange={