diff --git a/src/assistant-request-manager.ts b/src/assistant-request-manager.ts
index e371f8e23..58e2eb46d 100644
--- a/src/assistant-request-manager.ts
+++ b/src/assistant-request-manager.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import {
   observeOpenCode,
   type NativeCursor,
 } from './assistant-native.js';
-import { observeClaudeAssistantTurn, observeAssistantTurn } from './assistant-turn-observer.js';
+import { codexLifecycleReady, observeClaudeAssistantTurn, observeAssistantTurn } from './assistant-turn-observer.js';
 import type { AssistantDefinition, AssistantBinding } from './types/assistant.js';
 import type { AssistantRecovery } from './assistant-recovery.js';
 
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ export class AssistantRequestManager {
   conversationReady(path: string, binding?: AssistantBinding): Promise<boolean> {
     return binding && assistantBindingMode(binding) !== 'codex'
       ? otherNativeReady(binding, path)
-      : this.nativeReady(path);
+      : this.nativeReady(path, binding?.conversationId);
   }
   private handoffPending = new Set<string>();
   private takingControl = new Set<string>();
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ export class AssistantRequestManager {
         .map((r) => r.binding.sessionId)
     );
   }
-  private async nativeReady(path: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  private async nativeReady(path: string, conversationId?: string): Promise<boolean> {
     const file = await open(path, 'r');
     try {
       const info = await file.stat();
@@ -121,7 +121,13 @@ export class AssistantRequestManager {
               r.payload?.type ?? ''
             )
         );
-      return !malformed && (!events.length || events.at(-1)?.payload?.type === 'task_complete');
+      return (
+        !malformed &&
+        codexLifecycleReady(
+          events.map((event) => event!.payload!),
+          conversationId
+        )
+      );
     } finally {
       await file.close();
     }
diff --git a/src/assistant-turn-observer.ts b/src/assistant-turn-observer.ts
index ffd75ccf7..935483737 100644
--- a/src/assistant-turn-observer.ts
+++ b/src/assistant-turn-observer.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,28 @@ function isEarlierCodexTurn(candidate: unknown, current: string): boolean {
   );
 }
 
+/** A completed turn remains idle when only its background command results arrive later. */
+export function codexLifecycleReady(events: ReadonlyArray<Record<string, unknown>>, conversationId?: string): boolean {
+  if (!events.length) return true;
+  let completedIndex = events.length - 1;
+  while (completedIndex >= 0 && events[completedIndex].type !== 'task_complete') completedIndex--;
+  if (completedIndex < 0) return false;
+  const completed = events[completedIndex];
+  return events
+    .slice(completedIndex + 1)
+    .every(
+      (event) =>
+        event.type === 'item_completed' &&
+        (event.item as { type?: string } | undefined)?.type === 'CommandExecution' &&
+        typeof completed.turn_id === 'string' &&
+        completed.turn_id.length > 0 &&
+        typeof event.thread_id === 'string' &&
+        typeof conversationId === 'string' &&
+        event.thread_id === conversationId &&
+        (event.turn_id === completed.turn_id || isEarlierCodexTurn(event.turn_id, completed.turn_id))
+    );
+}
+
 export function observeAssistantTurn(
   jsonl: string,
   conversationId: string,
diff --git a/test/assistant-requests.test.ts b/test/assistant-requests.test.ts
index b2fe9a7b3..022cfda23 100644
--- a/test/assistant-requests.test.ts
+++ b/test/assistant-requests.test.ts
@@ -128,6 +128,48 @@ afterEach(async () => {
   rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
 });
 describe('durable assistant requests', () => {
+  it.each(['01a1a0ff-0bd4-71b2-b26f-33504a365079', '01a1a070-9999-70a1-b838-7e4162d35c0f'])(
+    'hands off after a completed turn receives background result from %s',
+    async (backgroundTurn) => {
+      const id = '01a1a0ff-0bd4-71b2-b26f-33504a365079';
+      appendFileSync(
+        file,
+        turn('earlier prompt', 'finished', id) +
+          row({
+            type: 'item_completed',
+            thread_id: conversationId,
+            turn_id: backgroundTurn,
+            item: { type: 'CommandExecution' },
+          })
+      );
+      const a = await ready();
+      expect(manager.availability(a).requestExecution).toBe(true);
+      expect(writes).toEqual([]);
+    }
+  );
+
+  it.each(['task_started', 'UserMessage', 'foreign-thread', 'newer-turn', 'missing-turn'])(
+    'does not hand off after completion followed by %s',
+    async (kind) => {
+      const id = '01a1a0ff-0bd4-71b2-b26f-33504a365079';
+      const later =
+        kind === 'task_started'
+          ? row({ type: 'task_started', turn_id: 'new-turn' })
+          : row({
+              type: 'item_completed',
+              thread_id: kind === 'foreign-thread' ? randomUUID() : conversationId,
+              turn_id:
+                kind === 'missing-turn'
+                  ? undefined
+                  : kind === 'newer-turn'
+                    ? '01a1a1ff-0bd4-71b2-b26f-33504a365079'
+                    : id,
+              item: { type: kind === 'UserMessage' ? 'UserMessage' : 'CommandExecution' },
+            });
+      appendFileSync(file, turn('earlier prompt', 'finished', id) + later);
+      await expect(ready()).rejects.toThrow(/unfinished turn/);
+    }
+  );
   it('completes once when an older background command finishes during this request (#42)', async () => {
     const a = await ready();
     const request = manager.submit(a, 'hello', 'late-background-command-42');