diff --git a/cmux-tui/crates/cmux-tui/src/cli/app_focus.rs b/cmux-tui/crates/cmux-tui/src/cli/app_focus.rs
index 5962c688227f..c7e888adcd29 100644
--- a/cmux-tui/crates/cmux-tui/src/cli/app_focus.rs
+++ b/cmux-tui/crates/cmux-tui/src/cli/app_focus.rs
@@ -129,11 +129,23 @@ impl AppWorkspaces {
     }
 }
 
-/// What the app's windows show (`snapshot.get`).
+/// What the app's windows show (`snapshot.get`), from the app's last
+/// published snapshot. Which workspace a window shows is the app's own
+/// state, and no daemon write of this caller changes it (focus goes through
+/// the app's focus actions, which answer after the window moved), so this
+/// read takes no `after: "sync"` barrier: that barrier waits for a daemon
+/// round trip and for the app's main actor to publish past it, and under
+/// load it made each `workspace list` wait up to two 2 s app deadlines
+/// (CLI-1). `after: 0` answers from any loaded snapshot, off the main actor.
 pub(super) fn app_workspaces(stream: &mut UnixStream) -> Option<AppWorkspaces> {
-    let reply = super::app::request(stream, "snapshot.get", json!({}), super::app::READ_TIMEOUT)
-        .ok()?
-        .ok()?;
+    let reply = super::app::request(
+        stream,
+        "snapshot.get",
+        json!({ "after": 0 }),
+        super::app::READ_TIMEOUT,
+    )
+    .ok()?
+    .ok()?;
     let shown = reply.pointer("/topology/focus/workspace").and_then(Value::as_str)?.to_owned();
     let known = reply
         .pointer("/topology/workspaces")
diff --git a/cmux-tui/crates/cmux-tui/src/cli/app_focus/tests.rs b/cmux-tui/crates/cmux-tui/src/cli/app_focus/tests.rs
index c75f92e6da33..499fab772d00 100644
--- a/cmux-tui/crates/cmux-tui/src/cli/app_focus/tests.rs
+++ b/cmux-tui/crates/cmux-tui/src/cli/app_focus/tests.rs
@@ -173,3 +173,63 @@ fn screen_focus_runs_the_apps_screen_focus() {
     assert_eq!(received[0]["params"]["action"], "screen.focus");
     assert_eq!(received[0]["params"]["target"], "screen_1");
 }
+
+/// An app whose read barrier never settles: a request with `after: "sync"`
+/// gets the app's own deadline error (its main actor is busy publishing,
+/// TYPING UNDER LOAD L6), any other request the window's snapshot.
+fn busy_app(snapshot: Value) -> (PathBuf, std::thread::JoinHandle<Vec<Value>>) {
+    let dir = cmux_unix_socket::short_test_dir("cmux-focus-busy");
+    let socket = dir.path().join("app.sock");
+    let listener = UnixListener::bind(&socket).unwrap();
+    let handle = std::thread::spawn(move || {
+        let (stream, _) = listener.accept().unwrap();
+        let mut reader = BufReader::new(stream.try_clone().unwrap());
+        let mut writer = stream;
+        let mut received = Vec::new();
+        let mut line = String::new();
+        while reader.read_line(&mut line).unwrap() > 0 {
+            let request = serde_json::from_str::<Value>(&line).unwrap();
+            line.clear();
+            let response = if request["params"]["after"] == "sync" {
+                json!({"id": 1, "ok": false,
+                       "error": {"code": "timeout", "message": "snapshot.get timed out after 2 s"}})
+            } else {
+                ok(snapshot.clone())
+            };
+            received.push(request);
+            writeln!(writer, "{response}").unwrap();
+        }
+        drop(dir);
+        received
+    });
+    (socket, handle)
+}
+
+/// CLI-1 (TYPING UNDER LOAD, STATUS 6290): `workspace list` asked the app
+/// which workspace its window shows with the read barrier `after: "sync"`,
+/// which waits for the app's main actor to publish a snapshot past a daemon
+/// round trip. Under load each try hit the app's 2 s deadline and the CLI
+/// asked twice: a 4.1 s list. Which workspace a window shows is the app's
+/// own state, which no daemon write of the caller changes (focus goes
+/// through the app's focus actions), so the overlay reads the published
+/// snapshot and never waits for the main actor.
+#[test]
+fn workspace_list_reads_the_window_without_waiting_for_the_apps_read_barrier() {
+    let (socket, app) = busy_app(json!({
+        "topology": {"focus": {"workspace": "ws_home"},
+            "workspaces": [{"id": "ws_home"}, {"id": "ws_new"}]}
+    }));
+    let mut stream = UnixStream::connect(&socket).unwrap();
+    let mut reply = json!([
+        {"id": "ws_home", "name": "Home", "focused": false},
+        {"id": "ws_new", "name": "workspace-2", "focused": true}
+    ]);
+    after_daemon_with(&mut stream, &follow_for(ResourceOperation::WorkspaceList), &mut reply)
+        .unwrap();
+    drop(stream);
+    let received = app.join().unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(received.len(), 1, "one snapshot read, no retry: {received:?}");
+    assert_ne!(received[0]["params"]["after"], "sync", "{received:?}");
+    assert_eq!(reply[0]["focused"], true, "{reply}");
+    assert_eq!(reply[1]["focused"], false, "{reply}");
+}