diff --git a/backend/internal/adapters/agent/claudecode/activity.go b/backend/internal/adapters/agent/claudecode/activity.go
index a0e49119d8..c1f397dbb3 100644
--- a/backend/internal/adapters/agent/claudecode/activity.go
+++ b/backend/internal/adapters/agent/claudecode/activity.go
@@ -10,7 +10,9 @@ import (
 // payload) onto an AO activity state. The bool is false when the event carries
 // no activity signal — e.g. SessionStart (metadata only, v1), a Notification
 // type we don't track, or a SessionEnd reason that doesn't actually end the AO
-// session — in which case the caller reports nothing.
+// session — in which case the caller reports nothing. WaitingInput is reserved
+// for genuine blocking prompts (permission_prompt); routine end-of-turn
+// idleness (stop, idle_prompt) reports Idle.
 //
 // event is the AO hook sub-command name installed in claudeManagedHooks
 // ("user-prompt-submit", "stop", "notification", "session-end", ...), NOT the
@@ -22,7 +24,8 @@ func DeriveActivityState(event string, payload []byte) (domain.ActivityState, bo
 		return domain.ActivityActive, true
 	case "stop":
 		// End of a turn: the agent is idle but alive (not exited). A following
-		// Notification(idle_prompt) upgrades this to the sticky waiting_input.
+		// Notification(idle_prompt) just reaffirms ActivityIdle — it's a routine
+		// "done and quiet for now" signal, not a real block.
 		return domain.ActivityIdle, true
 	case "notification":
 		return notificationState(payload)
@@ -33,9 +36,11 @@ func DeriveActivityState(event string, payload []byte) (domain.ActivityState, bo
 	}
 }
 
-// notificationState reports waiting_input only for the notification types that
-// mean "the agent is blocked on the user": a pending tool-permission prompt or
-// an idle prompt awaiting the next instruction. Other types (auth_success,
+// notificationState reports waiting_input only for permission_prompt: the
+// agent is genuinely blocked on a tool-permission decision that requires a
+// human/orchestrator response. idle_prompt fires after ordinary end-of-turn
+// idling — it's a routine "done and quiet for now" signal, not a real
+// blocker — so it maps to ActivityIdle instead. Other types (auth_success,
 // elicitation_*) carry no activity meaning, as does a malformed payload.
 func notificationState(payload []byte) (domain.ActivityState, bool) {
 	var p struct {
@@ -43,8 +48,10 @@ func notificationState(payload []byte) (domain.ActivityState, bool) {
 	}
 	_ = json.Unmarshal(payload, &p)
 	switch p.NotificationType {
-	case "idle_prompt", "permission_prompt":
+	case "permission_prompt":
 		return domain.ActivityWaitingInput, true
+	case "idle_prompt":
+		return domain.ActivityIdle, true
 	default:
 		return "", false
 	}
diff --git a/backend/internal/adapters/agent/claudecode/activity_test.go b/backend/internal/adapters/agent/claudecode/activity_test.go
index c503dc6290..bd8cb881b8 100644
--- a/backend/internal/adapters/agent/claudecode/activity_test.go
+++ b/backend/internal/adapters/agent/claudecode/activity_test.go
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ func TestDeriveActivityState(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		{"user prompt -> active", "user-prompt-submit", `{}`, domain.ActivityActive, true},
 		{"stop -> idle", "stop", `{}`, domain.ActivityIdle, true},
-		{"notification idle_prompt -> waiting_input", "notification", `{"notification_type":"idle_prompt"}`, domain.ActivityWaitingInput, true},
+		{"notification idle_prompt -> idle", "notification", `{"notification_type":"idle_prompt"}`, domain.ActivityIdle, true},
 		{"notification permission_prompt -> waiting_input", "notification", `{"notification_type":"permission_prompt"}`, domain.ActivityWaitingInput, true},
 		{"notification auth_success -> no signal", "notification", `{"notification_type":"auth_success"}`, "", false},
 		{"notification empty type -> no signal", "notification", `{}`, "", false},
diff --git a/backend/internal/cli/hooks_test.go b/backend/internal/cli/hooks_test.go
index 25723f87eb..56fa81ba6d 100644
--- a/backend/internal/cli/hooks_test.go
+++ b/backend/internal/cli/hooks_test.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func TestHooks_NotificationReportsWaitingInput(t *testing.T) {
 	writeRunFileFor(t, cfg, srv)
 
 	_, errOut, err := executeCLI(t, Deps{
-		In:           strings.NewReader(`{"notification_type":"idle_prompt"}`),
+		In:           strings.NewReader(`{"notification_type":"permission_prompt"}`),
 		ProcessAlive: func(int) bool { return true },
 	}, "hooks", "claude-code", "notification")
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/backend/internal/domain/activity.go b/backend/internal/domain/activity.go
index f4a5126966..2280b6b58f 100644
--- a/backend/internal/domain/activity.go
+++ b/backend/internal/domain/activity.go
@@ -8,14 +8,18 @@ type ActivityState string
 
 // Activity states. WaitingInput is sticky (see IsSticky).
 const (
-	ActivityActive       ActivityState = "active"
-	ActivityIdle         ActivityState = "idle"
+	ActivityActive ActivityState = "active"
+	ActivityIdle   ActivityState = "idle"
+	// ActivityWaitingInput means the agent is genuinely blocked on a
+	// human/orchestrator decision (e.g. a tool-permission prompt) — not merely
+	// idle at the end of an ordinary turn.
 	ActivityWaitingInput ActivityState = "waiting_input"
 	ActivityExited       ActivityState = "exited"
 )
 
 // IsSticky reports whether an activity state must NOT be aged/demoted by the
-// passage of time (a paused agent is still paused until a new signal says so).
+// passage of time (an agent genuinely blocked on a decision is still blocked
+// until a new signal says otherwise).
 func (a ActivityState) IsSticky() bool {
 	return a == ActivityWaitingInput
 }