diff --git a/Sources/SessionPersistence.swift b/Sources/SessionPersistence.swift
index 27436b09b9e0..7d9ba8b9ddb3 100644
--- a/Sources/SessionPersistence.swift
+++ b/Sources/SessionPersistence.swift
@@ -1964,7 +1964,14 @@ enum SessionScrollbackReplayStore {
     private static func normalizedScrollback(_ scrollback: String?) -> String? {
         guard let scrollback else { return nil }
         guard scrollback.contains(where: { !$0.isWhitespace }) else { return nil }
-        guard let truncated = SessionPersistencePolicy.truncatedScrollback(scrollback) else { return nil }
+        // Restored history must not reconfigure the live terminal's colors: the
+        // active theme owns the default foreground/background (and palette), so
+        // default-colored cells track it. The captured scrollback bakes the
+        // capture-time theme via terminal-color OSC sequences (e.g. OSC 10/11),
+        // which would otherwise survive a theme change as white-on-white output
+        // (issue #5165). Strip them before replay.
+        let themePortable = strippingTerminalColorOSCSequences(scrollback)
+        guard let truncated = SessionPersistencePolicy.truncatedScrollback(themePortable) else { return nil }
         return ansiSafeReplayText(truncated)
     }
 
@@ -1981,6 +1988,97 @@ enum SessionScrollbackReplayStore {
         return output
     }
 
+    /// Removes terminal-color OSC sequences (palette entries and the dynamic
+    /// foreground/background/cursor/highlight colors plus their resets) from
+    /// captured scrollback so the restored history does not reconfigure the live
+    /// terminal's colors.
+    ///
+    /// Ghostty's `write_screen_file:copy,vt` export bakes the capture-time theme
+    /// by prepending `OSC 10` / `OSC 11` (and resolving palette entries). Replaying
+    /// those into a freshly launched terminal would override the active theme's
+    /// default colors, so restored default-colored cells would keep the old theme
+    /// (white-on-white after a theme change — issue #5165). Explicit per-cell SGR
+    /// colors and every non-color escape sequence (titles, hyperlinks, prompt
+    /// marks, …) are preserved verbatim.
+    private static func strippingTerminalColorOSCSequences(_ text: String) -> String {
+        let escByte: UInt8 = 0x1B
+        let oscIntroducer: UInt8 = 0x5D // ]
+        let bel: UInt8 = 0x07
+        let backslash: UInt8 = 0x5C
+        let zero: UInt8 = 0x30
+        let nine: UInt8 = 0x39
+
+        let bytes = Array(text.utf8)
+        guard bytes.contains(escByte) else { return text }
+
+        var output = [UInt8]()
+        output.reserveCapacity(bytes.count)
+        let count = bytes.count
+        var index = 0
+        while index < count {
+            let byte = bytes[index]
+            guard byte == escByte,
+                  index + 1 < count,
+                  bytes[index + 1] == oscIntroducer else {
+                output.append(byte)
+                index += 1
+                continue
+            }
+
+            // Parse the OSC numeric command (Ps) following `ESC ]`.
+            var cursor = index + 2
+            var code = 0
+            var sawDigit = false
+            while cursor < count, bytes[cursor] >= zero, bytes[cursor] <= nine {
+                code = (code * 10) + Int(bytes[cursor] - zero)
+                sawDigit = true
+                cursor += 1
+                if code > 100_000 { break } // overflow guard for malformed input
+            }
+
+            guard sawDigit, isTerminalColorOSCCode(code) else {
+                // Not a terminal-color OSC; emit `ESC` and resume scanning so the
+                // rest of the preserved sequence is copied verbatim.
+                output.append(byte)
+                index += 1
+                continue
+            }
+
+            // Consume through the OSC terminator (BEL or `ESC \` / ST). A truncated
+            // (unterminated) color OSC at the end of the buffer is dropped as well.
+            var end = cursor
+            var terminated = false
+            while end < count {
+                if bytes[end] == bel {
+                    end += 1
+                    terminated = true
+                    break
+                }
+                if bytes[end] == escByte, end + 1 < count, bytes[end + 1] == backslash {
+                    end += 2
+                    terminated = true
+                    break
+                }
+                end += 1
+            }
+            index = terminated ? end : count
+        }
+
+        return String(decoding: output, as: UTF8.self)
+    }
+
+    /// Returns `true` for OSC command numbers that configure terminal colors
+    /// (palette entries and the dynamic foreground/background/cursor/highlight
+    /// colors plus their resets), which restored scrollback must not carry.
+    private static func isTerminalColorOSCCode(_ code: Int) -> Bool {
+        switch code {
+        case 4, 5, 104, 105: return true // palette / special color set + reset
+        case 10...19: return true        // dynamic colors (fg, bg, cursor, …)
+        case 110...119: return true      // dynamic color resets
+        default: return false
+        }
+    }
+
     private static func writeReplayFile(contents: String, tempDirectory: URL) -> URL? {
         guard let data = contents.data(using: .utf8) else { return nil }
         let directory = tempDirectory.appendingPathComponent(directoryName, isDirectory: true)
diff --git a/cmuxTests/SessionPersistenceTests.swift b/cmuxTests/SessionPersistenceTests.swift
index ee0f88b941db..2498eb53f879 100644
--- a/cmuxTests/SessionPersistenceTests.swift
+++ b/cmuxTests/SessionPersistenceTests.swift
@@ -486,6 +486,72 @@ final class SessionPersistenceTests: XCTestCase {
         XCTAssertTrue(contents.hasSuffix(reset))
     }
 
+    // Regression for https://github.com/manaflow-ai/cmux/issues/5165.
+    //
+    // Ghostty's `write_screen_file:copy,vt` export (used to capture session
+    // scrollback) prepends OSC 10 / OSC 11 sequences that bake the capture-time
+    // theme's default foreground/background. Replaying those into a freshly
+    // launched terminal reconfigures the live terminal's dynamic colors, so
+    // restored default-colored cells keep the OLD theme instead of tracking the
+    // active one — producing white-on-white scrollback after a theme change.
+    // The active theme owns default fg/bg, so the restored history must not carry
+    // these terminal-color OSC sequences.
+    func testScrollbackReplayStripsThemeBakedDefaultColorOSCSequences() {
+        let tempDir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory
+            .appendingPathComponent("cmux-scrollback-replay-\(UUID().uuidString)", isDirectory: true)
+        try? FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: tempDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        defer { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: tempDir) }
+
+        let esc = "\u{001B}"
+        // Captured under a dark theme: default fg baked white, default bg baked dark.
+        let setForeground = "\(esc)]10;rgb:ff/ff/ff\(esc)\\"
+        let setBackground = "\(esc)]11;rgb:28/2c/34\(esc)\\"
+        // A BEL-terminated cursor-color OSC, the other dynamic-color terminator form.
+        let setCursor = "\(esc)]12;rgb:c0/c1/b5\u{0007}"
+        // Palette set/reset and a dynamic-color reset are equally theme state that
+        // restored history must not re-impose, so they are stripped too.
+        let setPalette = "\(esc)]4;1;rgb:aa/00/00\(esc)\\"
+        let resetPalette = "\(esc)]104;1\(esc)\\"
+        let resetForeground = "\(esc)]110;\(esc)\\"
+        let red = "\(esc)[31m"
+        let reset = "\(esc)[0m"
+        // OSC 8 hyperlinks are scrollback content, not terminal color config; keep them.
+        let hyperlink = "\(esc)]8;;https://example.com\(esc)\\link\(esc)]8;;\(esc)\\"
+        let source = "\(setForeground)\(setBackground)\(setCursor)"
+            + "\(setPalette)\(resetPalette)\(resetForeground)plain default text\n"
+            + "\(red)RED\(reset) \(hyperlink)\n"
+
+        let environment = SessionScrollbackReplayStore.replayEnvironment(
+            for: source,
+            tempDirectory: tempDir
+        )
+
+        guard let path = environment[SessionScrollbackReplayStore.environmentKey] else {
+            XCTFail("Expected replay file path")
+            return
+        }
+        guard let contents = try? String(contentsOfFile: path, encoding: .utf8) else {
+            XCTFail("Expected replay file contents")
+            return
+        }
+
+        // Terminal-color OSC sequences must be stripped so the active theme owns
+        // default fg/bg/cursor and restored default cells track it.
+        XCTAssertFalse(contents.contains("\(esc)]10;"), "OSC 10 (set foreground) must be stripped")
+        XCTAssertFalse(contents.contains("\(esc)]11;"), "OSC 11 (set background) must be stripped")
+        XCTAssertFalse(contents.contains("\(esc)]12;"), "OSC 12 (set cursor color) must be stripped")
+        XCTAssertFalse(contents.contains("\(esc)]4;"), "OSC 4 (set palette entry) must be stripped")
+        XCTAssertFalse(contents.contains("\(esc)]104;"), "OSC 104 (reset palette entry) must be stripped")
+        XCTAssertFalse(contents.contains("\(esc)]110;"), "OSC 110 (reset foreground) must be stripped")
+        XCTAssertFalse(contents.contains("rgb:ff/ff/ff"), "baked default-color payload must be gone")
+        XCTAssertFalse(contents.contains("rgb:aa/00/00"), "baked palette payload must be gone")
+
+        // Explicit SGR colors, plain text, and hyperlinks are preserved verbatim.
+        XCTAssertTrue(contents.contains("plain default text"))
+        XCTAssertTrue(contents.contains("\(red)RED\(reset)"))
+        XCTAssertTrue(contents.contains(hyperlink), "non-color OSC sequences must be preserved")
+    }
+
     func testSessionScrollbackPersistenceHonorsReportedShellState() {
         XCTAssertTrue(
             Workspace.shouldPersistSessionScrollback(