diff --git a/packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskChatTab.tsx b/packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskChatTab.tsx
index c430611082..e1f5884478 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskChatTab.tsx
+++ b/packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskChatTab.tsx
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ interface TaskChatTabProps {
   projectId?: string;
   active: boolean;
   addToast: (msg: string, type?: ToastType) => void;
+  sessionLive?: boolean;
 }
 
 type AgentLogRole = AgentRole | undefined;
@@ -95,7 +96,10 @@ function groupEntriesByAgent(entries: AgentLogEntry[]): AgentLogGroup[] {
   }, []);
 }
 
-function isActiveAgentSession(task: Task | TaskDetail): boolean {
+function isActiveAgentSession(task: Task | TaskDetail, opts: { sessionLive?: boolean } = {}): boolean {
+  if (task.paused || task.userPaused) return false;
+  if (opts.sessionLive) return true;
+
   const hasAssignedAgent = Boolean(task.assignedAgentId || task.checkedOutBy);
   const statusBlocksProgressSteering = task.status ? STEERING_BLOCKED_STATUSES.has(task.status) : false;
   const statusAllowsProgressSteering = !statusBlocksProgressSteering;
@@ -103,9 +107,7 @@ function isActiveAgentSession(task: Task | TaskDetail): boolean {
   const columnAllowsSteering = (task.column === "in-progress" && statusAllowsProgressSteering)
     || (task.column === "in-review" && statusAllowsReviewSteering);
   return columnAllowsSteering
-    && hasAssignedAgent
-    && !task.paused
-    && !task.userPaused;
+    && hasAssignedAgent;
 }
 
 function isToolLikeEntry(entry: AgentLogEntry): boolean {
@@ -331,7 +333,7 @@ function TaskChatSegmentView({ segment }: { segment: TaskChatSegment }) {
   return <TaskChatTextEntry entry={segment.entry} />;
 }
 
-export function TaskChatTab({ task, projectId, active, addToast }: TaskChatTabProps) {
+export function TaskChatTab({ task, projectId, active, addToast, sessionLive }: TaskChatTabProps) {
   const { entries, loading } = useAgentLogs(task.id, active, projectId);
   const [draft, setDraft] = useState("");
   const [sending, setSending] = useState(false);
@@ -343,7 +345,7 @@ export function TaskChatTab({ task, projectId, active, addToast }: TaskChatTabPr
   const textareaRef = useRef<HTMLTextAreaElement>(null);
 
   const groups = useMemo(() => groupEntriesByAgent(entries), [entries]);
-  const activeSession = isActiveAgentSession(task);
+  const activeSession = isActiveAgentSession(task, { sessionLive });
   const canSend = activeSession && draft.trim().length > 0 && !sending;
 
   const resizeComposer = useCallback(() => {
@@ -523,7 +525,7 @@ export function TaskChatTab({ task, projectId, active, addToast }: TaskChatTabPr
       <form className="task-chat-composer card" onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
         {!activeSession ? (
           <div className="task-chat-session-hint" role="status">
-            No active assigned agent session is available. An active, assigned, non-paused agent session is required to send guidance.
+            No active steerable agent session is available. An active assigned task agent or live, non-paused CLI session is required to send guidance.
           </div>
         ) : null}
         <div className="task-chat-composer-row">
@@ -531,7 +533,7 @@ export function TaskChatTab({ task, projectId, active, addToast }: TaskChatTabPr
             ref={textareaRef}
             className="input task-chat-input"
             value={draft}
-            placeholder={activeSession ? "Message the active agent session…" : "Active non-paused agent session required"}
+            placeholder={activeSession ? "Message the active agent session…" : "Active steerable agent session required"}
             onChange={(event) => setDraft(event.target.value)}
             onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
             disabled={!activeSession || sending}
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskDetailModal.tsx b/packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskDetailModal.tsx
index 3a0d4ab156..c277d10935 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskDetailModal.tsx
+++ b/packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskDetailModal.tsx
@@ -322,17 +322,19 @@ type CliTabVisibility =
  *  - dead/needsAttention (PTY reaped) → replay "session ended"
  *  - no recorded session → hidden
  */
+export function isCliSessionLive(session: CliSessionSummaryRecord | null): boolean {
+  return session?.agentState === "starting"
+    || session?.agentState === "ready"
+    || session?.agentState === "busy"
+    || session?.agentState === "waitingOnInput";
+}
+
 export function deriveCliTabVisibility(
   session: CliSessionSummaryRecord | null,
   opts: { oneShot?: boolean; genericIdle?: boolean } = {},
 ): CliTabVisibility {
   if (!session) return { kind: "hidden" };
-  const live =
-    session.agentState === "starting" ||
-    session.agentState === "ready" ||
-    session.agentState === "busy" ||
-    session.agentState === "waitingOnInput";
-  if (live) {
+  if (isCliSessionLive(session)) {
     return {
       kind: "live",
       readOnly: Boolean(opts.oneShot),
@@ -3123,7 +3125,13 @@ export function TaskDetailContent({
             </div>
           ) : activeTab === "chat" ? (
             <div className="detail-section">
-              <TaskChatTab task={task} projectId={projectId} active={activeTab === "chat"} addToast={addToast} />
+              <TaskChatTab
+                task={task}
+                projectId={projectId}
+                active={activeTab === "chat"}
+                addToast={addToast}
+                sessionLive={isCliSessionLive(cliSession)}
+              />
             </div>
           ) : activeTab === "logs" ? (
             <div className={`detail-section${logSubview === "agent-log" ? " detail-section--agent-log" : ""}`}>
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/app/components/__tests__/TaskChatTab.test.tsx b/packages/dashboard/app/components/__tests__/TaskChatTab.test.tsx
index 6c7fa69019..660e5f4c05 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/app/components/__tests__/TaskChatTab.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/dashboard/app/components/__tests__/TaskChatTab.test.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { resolve } from "node:path";
 import type { AgentLogEntry, Task } from "@fusion/core";
 import { TaskChatTab } from "../TaskChatTab";
+import { isCliSessionLive, type CliSessionSummaryRecord } from "../TaskDetailModal";
 import { useAgentLogs } from "../../hooks/useAgentLogs";
 import { addSteeringComment } from "../../api";
 
@@ -39,6 +40,17 @@ function makeTask(overrides: Partial<Task> = {}): Task {
   } as Task;
 }
 
+function makeCliSession(agentState: CliSessionSummaryRecord["agentState"]): CliSessionSummaryRecord {
+  return {
+    id: "session-1",
+    taskId: "FN-001",
+    projectId: "project-1",
+    adapterId: "claude",
+    agentState,
+    terminationReason: null,
+  };
+}
+
 function makeEntry(overrides: Partial<AgentLogEntry>): AgentLogEntry {
   return {
     timestamp: "2026-06-12T00:00:00.000Z",
@@ -594,7 +606,7 @@ describe("TaskChatTab", () => {
     mockedAddSteeringComment.mockResolvedValue(makeTask({ status }));
     render(<TaskChatTab task={makeTask({ column: "in-progress", assignedAgentId: "agent-1", status })} projectId="project-1" active addToast={vi.fn()} />);
 
-    expect(screen.queryByText(/No active assigned agent session/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/No active steerable agent session/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
     const input = screen.getByLabelText("Message active agent session");
     expect(input).not.toBeDisabled();
     await user.type(input, message);
@@ -607,12 +619,67 @@ describe("TaskChatTab", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it.each(["starting", "ready", "busy", "waitingOnInput"] as const)(
+    "enables steering for a live %s CLI session when static task fields are not steerable",
+    async (agentState) => {
+      const user = userEvent.setup();
+      mockedAddSteeringComment.mockResolvedValue(makeTask({ column: "in-review", status: "queued" }));
+      render(
+        <TaskChatTab
+          task={makeTask({ column: "in-review", status: "queued", assignedAgentId: undefined, checkedOutBy: undefined })}
+          projectId="project-1"
+          active
+          addToast={vi.fn()}
+          sessionLive={isCliSessionLive(makeCliSession(agentState))}
+        />,
+      );
+
+      expect(screen.queryByText(/No active steerable agent session/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+      const input = screen.getByLabelText("Message active agent session");
+      expect(input).not.toBeDisabled();
+      await user.type(input, `Please continue ${agentState}`);
+      const sendButton = screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Send" });
+      expect(sendButton).not.toBeDisabled();
+      await user.click(sendButton);
+
+      await waitFor(() => {
+        expect(mockedAddSteeringComment).toHaveBeenCalledWith("FN-001", `Please continue ${agentState}`, "project-1");
+      });
+    },
+  );
+
+  it("enables steering for a live CLI session in a terminal column that static task fields reject", () => {
+    render(
+      <TaskChatTab
+        task={makeTask({ column: "todo", status: undefined, assignedAgentId: undefined, checkedOutBy: undefined })}
+        active
+        addToast={vi.fn()}
+        sessionLive={true}
+      />,
+    );
+
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/No active steerable agent session/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByLabelText("Message active agent session")).not.toBeDisabled();
+  });
+
+  it.each(["busy", "ready", "starting", "waitingOnInput"] as const)("treats %s CLI sessions as live", (agentState) => {
+    expect(isCliSessionLive(makeCliSession(agentState))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it.each(["done", "dead", "needsAttention"] as const)("treats %s CLI sessions as not live", (agentState) => {
+    expect(isCliSessionLive(makeCliSession(agentState))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("treats a missing CLI session as not live", () => {
+    expect(isCliSessionLive(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
   it.each([undefined, null, "queued", "planning", "merging", "merging-fix"])(
     "enables in-progress steering for assigned agents with %s status",
     (status) => {
       render(<TaskChatTab task={makeTask({ column: "in-progress", assignedAgentId: "agent-1", status })} active addToast={vi.fn()} />);
 
-      expect(screen.queryByText(/No active assigned agent session/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(screen.queryByText(/No active steerable agent session/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
       expect(screen.getByLabelText("Message active agent session")).not.toBeDisabled();
     },
   );
@@ -699,10 +766,23 @@ describe("TaskChatTab", () => {
   ])("disables the composer and shows a hint for %s", (_label, task) => {
     render(<TaskChatTab task={task} active addToast={vi.fn()} />);
 
-    expect(screen.getByText(/No active assigned agent session/)).toBeTruthy();
-    expect(screen.getByText(/active, assigned, non-paused agent session is required/i)).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.getByText(/No active steerable agent session/)).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.getByText(/active assigned task agent or live, non-paused CLI session is required/i)).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.getByLabelText("Message active agent session")).toBeDisabled();
+    expect(screen.getByPlaceholderText("Active steerable agent session required")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Send" })).toBeDisabled();
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    ["paused in-progress task with a live session", makeTask({ column: "in-progress", status: "queued", paused: true })],
+    ["user-paused in-progress task with a live session", makeTask({ column: "in-progress", status: "queued", userPaused: true })],
+    ["paused in-review task with a live session", makeTask({ column: "in-review", status: "reviewing", paused: true })],
+    ["user-paused in-review task with a live session", makeTask({ column: "in-review", status: "reviewing", userPaused: true })],
+  ])("disables the composer for %s", (_label, task) => {
+    render(<TaskChatTab task={task} active addToast={vi.fn()} sessionLive={true} />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByText(/No active steerable agent session/)).toBeTruthy();
     expect(screen.getByLabelText("Message active agent session")).toBeDisabled();
-    expect(screen.getByPlaceholderText("Active non-paused agent session required")).toBeTruthy();
     expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Send" })).toBeDisabled();
   });
 
@@ -711,7 +791,7 @@ describe("TaskChatTab", () => {
     (status) => {
       render(<TaskChatTab task={makeTask({ column: "in-progress", assignedAgentId: "agent-1", status })} active addToast={vi.fn()} />);
 
-      expect(screen.getByText(/No active assigned agent session/)).toBeTruthy();
+      expect(screen.getByText(/No active steerable agent session/)).toBeTruthy();
       expect(screen.getByLabelText("Message active agent session")).toBeDisabled();
       expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Send" })).toBeDisabled();
     },