diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Composer.test.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Composer.test.tsx
index 449d042f8cc..ba1b706a458 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Composer.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Composer.test.tsx
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ const createMockUIState = (overrides: Partial<UIState> = {}): UIState =>
     streamingResponseLengthRef: { current: 0 },
     isReceivingContent: false,
     pendingGeminiHistoryItems: [],
+    terminalWidth: 80,
     ...overrides,
   }) as UIState;
 
@@ -202,6 +203,86 @@ describe('Composer', () => {
       expect(output).not.toContain('Should not show');
     });
 
+    // ─── Narrow-terminal suppression (suppressBottomLoadingIndicator) ───
+    // The indicator is hidden only when actively Responding on a terminal
+    // ≤ 30 cols wide. WaitingForConfirmation must NEVER be suppressed.
+
+    it('hides LoadingIndicator when Responding on a 30-col terminal', () => {
+      const uiState = createMockUIState({
+        streamingState: StreamingState.Responding,
+        terminalWidth: 30,
+      });
+
+      const { lastFrame } = renderComposer(uiState);
+
+      expect(lastFrame()).not.toContain('LoadingIndicator');
+    });
+
+    it('hides LoadingIndicator when Responding on a 25-col terminal', () => {
+      const uiState = createMockUIState({
+        streamingState: StreamingState.Responding,
+        terminalWidth: 25,
+      });
+
+      const { lastFrame } = renderComposer(uiState);
+
+      expect(lastFrame()).not.toContain('LoadingIndicator');
+    });
+
+    it('preserves "esc to cancel" fallback when LoadingIndicator is suppressed', () => {
+      // Even when the full LoadingIndicator is hidden on ultra-narrow
+      // terminals, the cancel affordance must remain so users can abort.
+      const uiState = createMockUIState({
+        streamingState: StreamingState.Responding,
+        terminalWidth: 25,
+      });
+
+      const { lastFrame } = renderComposer(uiState);
+
+      const output = lastFrame();
+      expect(output).not.toContain('LoadingIndicator');
+      expect(output).toContain('Esc to cancel');
+    });
+
+    it('does not render the esc fallback once the full indicator is visible', () => {
+      const uiState = createMockUIState({
+        streamingState: StreamingState.Responding,
+        terminalWidth: 31,
+      });
+
+      const { lastFrame } = renderComposer(uiState);
+
+      const output = lastFrame();
+      expect(output).toContain('LoadingIndicator');
+      // The minimal fallback string only appears when the full indicator is
+      // suppressed — when LoadingIndicator renders, it owns the cancel hint.
+      expect(output).not.toContain('Esc to cancel');
+    });
+
+    it('shows LoadingIndicator when Responding on a 31-col terminal', () => {
+      const uiState = createMockUIState({
+        streamingState: StreamingState.Responding,
+        terminalWidth: 31,
+      });
+
+      const { lastFrame } = renderComposer(uiState);
+
+      expect(lastFrame()).toContain('LoadingIndicator');
+    });
+
+    it('shows LoadingIndicator when WaitingForConfirmation even on a 25-col terminal', () => {
+      // Confirmation prompts must remain visible regardless of width — the
+      // user needs to see something is awaiting their input.
+      const uiState = createMockUIState({
+        streamingState: StreamingState.WaitingForConfirmation,
+        terminalWidth: 25,
+      });
+
+      const { lastFrame } = renderComposer(uiState);
+
+      expect(lastFrame()).toContain('LoadingIndicator');
+    });
+
     it('suppresses thought when waiting for confirmation', () => {
       const uiState = createMockUIState({
         streamingState: StreamingState.WaitingForConfirmation,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Composer.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Composer.tsx
index c5bda6bea92..b26aac50349 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Composer.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Composer.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
  */
 
-import { Box, useIsScreenReaderEnabled } from 'ink';
+import { Box, Text, useIsScreenReaderEnabled } from 'ink';
 import { useCallback, useState } from 'react';
 import { LoadingIndicator } from './LoadingIndicator.js';
 import { InputPrompt } from './InputPrompt.js';
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { useUIState } from '../contexts/UIStateContext.js';
 import { useUIActions } from '../contexts/UIActionsContext.js';
 import { useVimMode } from '../contexts/VimModeContext.js';
 import { useConfig } from '../contexts/ConfigContext.js';
+import { theme } from '../semantic-colors.js';
 import { StreamingState, type HistoryItemToolGroup } from '../types.js';
 import { FeedbackDialog } from '../FeedbackDialog.js';
 import { t } from '../../i18n/index.js';
@@ -38,6 +39,13 @@ export const Composer = () => {
   const isStreaming =
     uiState.streamingState === StreamingState.Responding ||
     uiState.streamingState === StreamingState.WaitingForConfirmation;
+  // `isStreaming` covers Responding|WaitingForConfirmation, but we only
+  // suppress during Responding (active token output). A confirmation prompt
+  // must remain visible regardless of width. Drop the redundant `isStreaming`
+  // guard so future expansions of `isStreaming` don't silently widen suppression.
+  const suppressBottomLoadingIndicator =
+    uiState.streamingState === StreamingState.Responding &&
+    uiState.terminalWidth <= 30;
 
   // Aggregate agent tool tokens from executing tool calls. Only changes when
   // a subagent reports progress, so it doesn't drive the animation loop.
@@ -80,7 +88,7 @@ export const Composer = () => {
 
   return (
     <Box flexDirection="column" marginTop={1}>
-      {!uiState.embeddedShellFocused && (
+      {!uiState.embeddedShellFocused && !suppressBottomLoadingIndicator && (
         <LoadingIndicator
           // Hide loading phrases when enableLoadingPhrases is explicitly false.
           // Using === false ensures phrases show by default when undefined.
@@ -102,6 +110,18 @@ export const Composer = () => {
           isReceivingContent={isReceivingContent}
         />
       )}
+      {/*
+       * Narrow-terminal fallback: when the full LoadingIndicator is suppressed
+       * (≤30 cols, actively Responding) we still surface a minimal `esc to
+       * cancel` hint so users on ultra-narrow terminals retain the cancel
+       * affordance during long-running calls. The full timer/spinner/phrase
+       * UI is still suppressed to avoid layout breakage.
+       */}
+      {!uiState.embeddedShellFocused && suppressBottomLoadingIndicator && (
+        <Box paddingLeft={2}>
+          <Text color={theme.text.secondary}>({t('Esc to cancel')})</Text>
+        </Box>
+      )}
 
       <QueuedMessageDisplay messageQueue={uiState.messageQueue} />
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/TableRenderer.test.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/TableRenderer.test.tsx
index 51bc466d8b4..b5cc235f8b7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/TableRenderer.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/TableRenderer.test.tsx
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ describe('<TableRenderer />', () => {
     const output = renderTable(
       ['项目', 'ANSI', 'Markdown'],
       [['中文内容', '\u001b[31mRed\u001b[0m Blue', '**bold** and `code`']],
-      42,
+      80,
       ['left', 'center', 'right'],
     );
     expectAllLinesToHaveSameVisibleWidth(output);
@@ -110,19 +110,27 @@ describe('<TableRenderer />', () => {
     expect(output).toContain('wrap');
   });
 
+  // Alignment tests use contentWidth ≥ 60 so horizontal mode is exercised
+  // (vertical mode renders key:value pairs and bypasses pad alignment).
+
   it('respects left alignment', () => {
-    const output = renderTable(['Header'], [['left']], 30, ['left']);
+    const output = renderTable(['Header'], [['left']], 60, ['left']);
     expect(output).toContain('left');
+    // Horizontal-mode guard so this test fails loudly if the threshold
+    // is bumped back above 60 and the test silently degrades to vertical.
+    expect(output).toContain('┌');
   });
 
   it('respects center alignment', () => {
-    const output = renderTable(['Header'], [['center']], 30, ['center']);
+    const output = renderTable(['Header'], [['center']], 60, ['center']);
     expect(output).toContain('center');
+    expect(output).toContain('┌');
   });
 
   it('respects right alignment', () => {
-    const output = renderTable(['Header'], [['right']], 30, ['right']);
+    const output = renderTable(['Header'], [['right']], 60, ['right']);
     expect(output).toContain('right');
+    expect(output).toContain('┌');
   });
 
   it('handles multiple columns with mixed alignment', () => {
@@ -458,6 +466,89 @@ describe('<TableRenderer />', () => {
     expect(output).toContain('很长的值一');
   });
 
+  // ─── Narrow-terminal vertical fallback ───
+  describe('horizontal/vertical mode threshold', () => {
+    it('uses horizontal mode at ample width (60 cols, 2 short cols)', () => {
+      const output = renderTable(['A', 'B'], [['x', 'y']], 60);
+      // Horizontal markers must be present.
+      expect(output).toContain('┌');
+      expect(output).toContain('└');
+      expect(output).toContain('│');
+    });
+
+    it('falls back to vertical below the absolute floor (≤24 cols)', () => {
+      // ABSOLUTE_MIN_HORIZONTAL_TABLE_WIDTH is 24.
+      const output = renderTable(['A', 'B'], [['x', 'y']], 20);
+      // No horizontal table border characters in vertical mode.
+      expect(output).not.toContain('┌');
+      expect(output).not.toContain('└');
+      // Vertical mode renders "label:" pairs.
+      expect(output).toContain('A:');
+      expect(output).toContain('B:');
+      expect(output).toContain('x');
+      expect(output).toContain('y');
+    });
+
+    it('promotes to horizontal once column-budget threshold is met (2 cols, ~30 cols)', () => {
+      // borderOverhead = 1 + 2*3 = 7; minHorizontal = max(24, 2*3 + 7 + 4) = 24
+      // so 30 cols comfortably fits horizontal.
+      const output = renderTable(['A', 'B'], [['x', 'y']], 30);
+      expect(output).toContain('┌');
+    });
+
+    // Boundary equality tests: the comparator is strict `<`, so the threshold
+    // value itself must still render horizontally. Without these, a future
+    // off-by-one change from `<` to `<=` would slip through the < / > pair.
+    it('renders horizontal at exact absolute floor (2 cols, contentWidth=24)', () => {
+      // ABSOLUTE_MIN_HORIZONTAL_TABLE_WIDTH is 24. With strict `<`, equality
+      // means horizontal mode is selected.
+      const output = renderTable(['A', 'B'], [['x', 'y']], 24);
+      expect(output).toContain('┌');
+      expect(output).toContain('└');
+    });
+
+    it('falls back to vertical one below absolute floor (2 cols, contentWidth=23)', () => {
+      const output = renderTable(['A', 'B'], [['x', 'y']], 23);
+      expect(output).not.toContain('┌');
+      expect(output).toContain('A:');
+    });
+
+    it('renders horizontal at exact column-budget threshold (5 cols, contentWidth=35)', () => {
+      // 5 cols → minHorizontal = 5*3 + (1+5*3) + 4 = 35. Equality must still
+      // render horizontally under the strict `<` comparator.
+      const output = renderTable(
+        ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E'],
+        [['1', '2', '3', '4', '5']],
+        35,
+      );
+      expect(output).toContain('┌');
+    });
+
+    it('falls back to vertical one below column-budget threshold (5 cols, contentWidth=34)', () => {
+      const output = renderTable(
+        ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E'],
+        [['1', '2', '3', '4', '5']],
+        34,
+      );
+      expect(output).not.toContain('┌');
+      expect(output).toContain('A:');
+    });
+
+    it('forces vertical for many-column tables on narrow terminals', () => {
+      // 5 cols → minHorizontal = 5*3 + (1+5*3) + 4 = 35; 30 cols is below that.
+      const output = renderTable(
+        ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E'],
+        [['1', '2', '3', '4', '5']],
+        30,
+      );
+      expect(output).not.toContain('┌');
+      // Should still surface the data.
+      expect(output).toContain('A:');
+      expect(output).toContain('1');
+      expect(output).toContain('5');
+    });
+  });
+
   it('stays stable across multiple content widths', () => {
     for (const width of [8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 30, 40, 60]) {
       const output = renderTable(
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/TableRenderer.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/TableRenderer.tsx
index e65ed9b1086..623ed99bf06 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/TableRenderer.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/TableRenderer.tsx
@@ -18,6 +18,13 @@ const MIN_COLUMN_WIDTH = 3;
 /** Maximum number of lines per row before switching to vertical format */
 const MAX_ROW_LINES = 4;
 
+/**
+ * Below this width the column-aware budget (see `minHorizontalTableWidth`
+ * below) is bypassed and we always switch to vertical: even a 1-column
+ * table is barely readable horizontally under ~24 cols of content.
+ */
+const ABSOLUTE_MIN_HORIZONTAL_TABLE_WIDTH = 24;
+
 /** Safety margin to account for terminal resize races */
 const SAFETY_MARGIN = 4;
 
@@ -324,7 +331,10 @@ export const TableRenderer: React.FC<TableRendererProps> = ({
   });
 
   // ── Step 2: Calculate available space ──
-  // Border overhead: │ content │ content │ = 1 + (width + 3) per column
+  // Border overhead: │ content │ content │ = 1 + (width + 3) per column.
+  // NOTE: this value is reused below in the horizontal-vs-vertical threshold
+  // (`minHorizontalTableWidth`). Any change to this formula will silently
+  // shift the layout threshold — adjust both call sites together.
   const borderOverhead = 1 + colCount * 3;
   const availableWidth = Math.max(
     contentWidth - borderOverhead - SAFETY_MARGIN,
@@ -392,7 +402,18 @@ export const TableRenderer: React.FC<TableRendererProps> = ({
   }
 
   const maxRowLines = calculateMaxRowLines();
-  const useVerticalFormat = maxRowLines > MAX_ROW_LINES;
+  // Column-aware horizontal-vs-vertical decision: a horizontal table needs
+  // at least `MIN_COLUMN_WIDTH` per column plus the border overhead computed
+  // above, with a safety margin. This avoids the prior fixed 60-col floor
+  // that forced vertical mode for a 2-col table on a 50-col terminal even
+  // when content fit comfortably. The downstream `maxLineWidth` safety
+  // check still catches content that would actually overflow.
+  const minHorizontalTableWidth = Math.max(
+    ABSOLUTE_MIN_HORIZONTAL_TABLE_WIDTH,
+    colCount * MIN_COLUMN_WIDTH + borderOverhead + SAFETY_MARGIN,
+  );
+  const useVerticalFormat =
+    contentWidth < minHorizontalTableWidth || maxRowLines > MAX_ROW_LINES;
 
   // ── Helper: Get alignment for a column ──
   const getAlign = (colIndex: number): ColumnAlign =>