diff --git a/flutter/lib/desktop/pages/terminal_page.dart b/flutter/lib/desktop/pages/terminal_page.dart
index d38dc4a8b..e5e1dbb8d 100644
--- a/flutter/lib/desktop/pages/terminal_page.dart
+++ b/flutter/lib/desktop/pages/terminal_page.dart
@@ -95,6 +95,13 @@ class _TerminalPageState extends State<TerminalPage>
     // Register this terminal model with FFI for event routing
     _ffi.registerTerminalModel(widget.terminalId, _terminalModel);
 
+    // Auto-close tab when shell exits
+    _terminalModel.onClosed = () {
+      if (mounted) {
+        widget.tabController.closeBy(widget.tabKey);
+      }
+    };
+
     // Initialize terminal connection
     WidgetsBinding.instance.addPostFrameCallback((_) {
       widget.tabController.onSelected?.call(widget.id);
diff --git a/flutter/lib/mobile/pages/terminal_page.dart b/flutter/lib/mobile/pages/terminal_page.dart
index aff85b40c..cbf47a7e9 100644
--- a/flutter/lib/mobile/pages/terminal_page.dart
+++ b/flutter/lib/mobile/pages/terminal_page.dart
@@ -83,6 +83,13 @@ class _TerminalPageState extends State<TerminalPage>
     // Register this terminal model with FFI for event routing
     _ffi.registerTerminalModel(widget.terminalId, _terminalModel);
 
+    // Auto-close connection when shell exits
+    _terminalModel.onClosed = () {
+      if (mounted) {
+        closeConnection(id: widget.id);
+      }
+    };
+
     // Web desktop users have full hardware keyboard access, so the on-screen
     // terminal extra keys bar is unnecessary and disabled.
     _showTerminalExtraKeys = !isWebDesktop &&
diff --git a/flutter/lib/models/terminal_model.dart b/flutter/lib/models/terminal_model.dart
index 8961d2dd8..3374b9782 100644
--- a/flutter/lib/models/terminal_model.dart
+++ b/flutter/lib/models/terminal_model.dart
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ class TerminalModel with ChangeNotifier {
 
   void Function(int w, int h, int pw, int ph)? onResizeExternal;
 
+  /// Called when the terminal session ends (shell exits).
+  /// The listener (typically TerminalPage) can use this to auto-close the tab/page.
+  VoidCallback? onClosed;
+
   Future<void> _handleInput(String data) async {
     // Soft keyboards (notably iOS) emit '\n' when Enter is pressed, while a
     // real keyboard's Enter sends '\r'. Some Android keyboards also emit '\n'.
@@ -473,6 +477,8 @@ class TerminalModel with ChangeNotifier {
     _writeToTerminal('\r\nTerminal closed with exit code: $exitCode\r\n');
     _terminalOpened = false;
     notifyListeners();
+    // Auto-close the tab/page
+    onClosed?.call();
   }
 
   void _handleTerminalError(Map<String, dynamic> evt) {
diff --git a/src/server/terminal_service.rs b/src/server/terminal_service.rs
index 52a296b74..8664a9927 100644
--- a/src/server/terminal_service.rs
+++ b/src/server/terminal_service.rs
@@ -1857,15 +1857,33 @@ impl TerminalServiceProxy {
         // Process each session with its own lock
         for (terminal_id, session_arc) in sessions {
             if let Ok(mut session) = session_arc.try_lock() {
-                // Check if reader thread is still alive and we haven't sent closed message yet
+                // Check if the session has ended (reader thread finished or child exited).
+                // On Linux, the PTY reader thread may not return EOF when the shell exits
+                // (the cloned master fd keeps the read side open), so we also poll the child
+                // process via try_wait() as a fallback detection mechanism.
                 let mut should_send_closed = false;
                 if !session.closed_message_sent {
                     if let Some(thread) = &session.reader_thread {
                         if thread.is_finished() {
                             should_send_closed = true;
-                            session.closed_message_sent = true;
                         }
                     }
+                    if !should_send_closed {
+                        if let Some(child) = &mut session.child {
+                            match child.try_wait() {
+                                Ok(Some(_)) => {
+                                    should_send_closed = true;
+                                }
+                                Ok(None) => {} // still running
+                                Err(e) => {
+                                    log::warn!("Terminal {} child wait error: {}", terminal_id, e);
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    if should_send_closed {
+                        session.closed_message_sent = true;
+                    }
                 }
                 // It's Ok to put the closed message here.
                 // Because the `reader_thread` is joined in `stop()`,
@@ -2018,7 +2036,8 @@ impl TerminalServiceProxy {
                         }
                     }
                 } else {
-                    // For persistent sessions, just clear the child reference
+                    // For persistent sessions, clear the child reference and remove the session
+                    // if the closed message has been sent (shell has exited).
                     if let Some(session_arc) = sessions.get(&terminal_id) {
                         let mut session = session_arc.lock().unwrap();
                         if let Some(mut child) = session.child.take() {
@@ -2028,6 +2047,12 @@ impl TerminalServiceProxy {
                             }
                             add_to_reaper(child);
                         }
+                        if session.closed_message_sent {
+                            // Shell has exited, remove the dead session
+                            drop(session);
+                            sessions.remove(&terminal_id);
+                            service.lock().unwrap().sessions.remove(&terminal_id);
+                        }
                     }
                 }