diff --git a/.changeset/tui-quit-hard-exit.md b/.changeset/tui-quit-hard-exit.md
index 22e1ace74b..eb1ea434e2 100644
--- a/.changeset/tui-quit-hard-exit.md
+++ b/.changeset/tui-quit-hard-exit.md
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
 "@runfusion/fusion": patch
 ---
 
-summary: Pressing q (or Ctrl+C) in the TUI now always quits, even if a teardown step stalls.
+summary: Pressing q (or Ctrl+C) in the TUI now quits cleanly without engine logs bleeding onto your shell.
 category: fix
-dev: dashboard.ts shutdown/devShutdown arm an unref'd 3s hard-exit watchdog on the first signal and force an immediate process.exit(0) on a second signal, so a hung stopAllDevServers/engine/central-core teardown can no longer leave the process alive repainting the restored shell. Each teardown step now runs through timeShutdownStep, which tracks the in-flight step so the watchdog names the exact stalling step on stderr; set FUSION_DEBUG_SHUTDOWN=1 for per-step timings (slow steps >1s are always surfaced).
+dev: Two-part fix. (1) dashboard.ts shutdown/devShutdown arm an unref'd 3s hard-exit watchdog on the first signal and force an immediate process.exit(0) on a second signal, so a hung stopAllDevServers/engine/central-core teardown can no longer leave the process alive. (2) Root cause of the "TUI keeps rendering after q" symptom: dispose() called logSink.releaseConsole() (re-pointing console.* at the terminal) before tui.stop() restored the shell, so slow engine/mesh/dev-server teardown logs painted over the recovered prompt. dispose() now calls the new logSink.silence() instead, dropping all sink + console.* output from quit to exit. Shutdown step diagnostics (timeShutdownStep + the watchdog stall line) are gated behind FUSION_DEBUG_SHUTDOWN=1 so a normal quit is pristine.
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard-tui/__tests__/log-sink.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard-tui/__tests__/log-sink.test.ts
index 6ae6bfdd35..95ea5247e6 100644
Binary files a/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard-tui/__tests__/log-sink.test.ts and b/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard-tui/__tests__/log-sink.test.ts differ
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard-tui/log-sink.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard-tui/log-sink.ts
index 44644d6144..4fd582ae28 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard-tui/log-sink.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard-tui/log-sink.ts
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ export interface LogSinkTarget {
 export class DashboardLogSink {
   private tui: LogSinkTarget | null = null;
   private isTTY: boolean;
+  private silenced = false;
   private originalConsole: {
     log: typeof console.log;
     warn: typeof console.warn;
@@ -86,7 +87,28 @@ export class DashboardLogSink {
     this.isTTY = true;
   }
 
+  /*
+  FNXC:DashboardShutdown 2026-06-28-00:00:
+  Quit teardown spilled engine/mesh/dev-server log lines onto the user's
+  restored shell — after `q`, dispose() called releaseConsole() (re-pointing
+  console.* at the real terminal) and then tui.stop() left the alt-screen, so
+  every subsequent slow-teardown log painted over the recovered prompt. That
+  read as "the TUI keeps rendering after I get my terminal back."
+  silence() makes the sink — and console.* — drop everything from here to
+  process exit. It is irreversible by design; only shutdown calls it.
+  */
+  silence(): void {
+    this.silenced = true;
+    const noop = (): void => {};
+    // Drop direct console.* from engine teardown too (captureConsole patched
+    // these to route here at startup; repoint them to no-ops, not the shell).
+    console.log = noop;
+    console.warn = noop;
+    console.error = noop;
+  }
+
   log(message: string, prefix?: string): void {
+    if (this.silenced) return;
     const line = prefix ? `[${prefix}] ${message}` : message;
     if (this.tui && this.isTTY) {
       this.tui.log(message, prefix);
@@ -98,6 +120,7 @@ export class DashboardLogSink {
   }
 
   warn(message: string, prefix?: string): void {
+    if (this.silenced) return;
     const line = prefix ? `[${prefix}] ${message}` : message;
     if (this.tui && this.isTTY) {
       this.tui.warn(message, prefix);
@@ -109,6 +132,7 @@ export class DashboardLogSink {
   }
 
   error(message: string, prefix?: string): void {
+    if (this.silenced) return;
     const line = prefix ? `[${prefix}] ${message}` : message;
     if (this.tui && this.isTTY) {
       this.tui.error(message, prefix);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard.ts
index e95f39efd3..926880b145 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard.ts
@@ -1128,7 +1128,11 @@ export async function runDashboard(port: number, opts: { paused?: boolean; dev?:
   let currentShutdownStep: string | null = null;
   function armHardExitWatchdog(): void {
     setTimeout(() => {
-      if (currentShutdownStep) {
+      // Only surface the stall on stderr under FUSION_DEBUG_SHUTDOWN — by this
+      // point tui.stop() has restored the user's shell, so an unconditional
+      // write would itself paint the recovered prompt. The force-exit always
+      // happens regardless of the flag.
+      if (currentShutdownStep && process.env.FUSION_DEBUG_SHUTDOWN) {
         process.stderr.write(
           `fusion: graceful shutdown stalled on "${currentShutdownStep}" after ${SHUTDOWN_HARD_EXIT_GRACE_MS}ms — forcing exit\n`,
         );
@@ -1144,9 +1148,12 @@ export async function runDashboard(port: number, opts: { paused?: boolean; dev?:
     try {
       await fn();
       const ms = Date.now() - startedAt;
-      if (debug) process.stderr.write(`fusion: shutdown step: ${label} done in ${ms}ms\n`);
-      else if (ms >= SHUTDOWN_STEP_SLOW_MS) {
-        process.stderr.write(`fusion: slow shutdown step: ${label} took ${ms}ms\n`);
+      // Per-step timing only under the debug flag. A non-debug stderr write for
+      // "slow" steps would paint the shell tui.stop() already restored; the
+      // SHUTDOWN_STEP_SLOW_MS threshold only governs debug emphasis now.
+      if (debug) {
+        const slow = ms >= SHUTDOWN_STEP_SLOW_MS ? " (slow)" : "";
+        process.stderr.write(`fusion: shutdown step: ${label} done in ${ms}ms${slow}\n`);
       }
     } catch (err) {
       // Best-effort teardown: log and continue so one failing step can't strand
@@ -1671,10 +1678,15 @@ export async function runDashboard(port: number, opts: { paused?: boolean; dev?:
 
     // Stop TUI if active
     if (tui) {
-      // Restore console.* before stopping the TUI so any log lines emitted
-      // during teardown (or by late-firing listeners) go to the real terminal
-      // instead of a ring buffer that's about to disappear.
-      logSink.releaseConsole();
+      // FNXC:DashboardShutdown 2026-06-28-00:00:
+      // Silence (do NOT releaseConsole) before stopping the TUI. tui.stop()
+      // leaves the alt-screen and restores the user's shell prompt; releasing
+      // console here would re-point console.* at that restored shell, so the
+      // engine/mesh/dev-server logs emitted during the slow teardown that
+      // follows painted over the recovered prompt — the "TUI keeps rendering
+      // after q" regression. We are exiting; drop teardown output instead.
+      // FUSION_DEBUG_SHUTDOWN still surfaces per-step timing on stderr.
+      logSink.silence();
       void tui.stop();
     }