diff --git a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/diff.go b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/diff.go
index f8f5f707..bf77ec35 100644
--- a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/diff.go
+++ b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/diff.go
@@ -53,7 +53,10 @@ func parseUnifiedDiff(diff string) []diffRow {
 	}
 	for _, ln := range strings.Split(strings.TrimRight(diff, "\n"), "\n") {
 		switch {
-		case strings.HasPrefix(ln, "+++"), strings.HasPrefix(ln, "---"),
+		// File headers carry a trailing space ("+++ b/x"); requiring it means a real
+		// changed line whose content starts with "++"/"--" isn't mistaken for a header
+		// and silently dropped from the rendered diff (and its row count).
+		case strings.HasPrefix(ln, "+++ "), strings.HasPrefix(ln, "--- "),
 			strings.HasPrefix(ln, "diff "), strings.HasPrefix(ln, "index "):
 			continue
 		case strings.HasPrefix(ln, "@@"):
diff --git a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/server.go b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/server.go
index 6b5c0dc2..7be87790 100644
--- a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/server.go
+++ b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/server.go
@@ -425,9 +425,9 @@ func diffSummary(diff string) (path string, added, removed int) {
 			if p != "" && p != "/dev/null" {
 				path = p
 			}
-		case strings.HasPrefix(ln, "+") && !strings.HasPrefix(ln, "+++"):
+		case strings.HasPrefix(ln, "+") && !strings.HasPrefix(ln, "+++ "):
 			added++
-		case strings.HasPrefix(ln, "-") && !strings.HasPrefix(ln, "---"):
+		case strings.HasPrefix(ln, "-") && !strings.HasPrefix(ln, "--- "):
 			removed++
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/tool_summary_test.go b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/tool_summary_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..737afa9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/tool_summary_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package app
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// The collapsed tool row for a write/edit must summarise the diff by its row count (what
+// ^x shows), not the raw diff byte length that used to read as a meaningless "N chars".
+func TestToolRowSummary_DiffReportsRows(t *testing.T) {
+	diff := "--- a/f\n+++ b/f\n@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@\n context\n-old line\n+new line\n+added line\n"
+	got := toolRowSummary(diff)
+	wantRows := previewRowCount(diff)
+	if !strings.Contains(got, "diff (") || !strings.Contains(got, itoa(wantRows)+" rows") {
+		t.Fatalf("diff summary = %q, want a diff row count of %d", got, wantRows)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(got, "tool output") {
+		t.Errorf("a diff should not be labelled 'tool output': %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// Non-diff output reports a true character (rune) count, not a byte count.
+func TestToolRowSummary_NonDiffCountsRunes(t *testing.T) {
+	content := "café — déjà" // 11 runes, but 14 bytes (é, —, à are multi-byte)
+	got := toolRowSummary(content)
+	if !strings.Contains(got, "(11 chars)") {
+		t.Fatalf("non-diff summary = %q, want 11 chars (runes, not bytes)", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// A changed line whose content starts with "++"/"--" must still be counted (and rendered):
+// requiring the trailing space on the file-header guard prevents mistaking it for a header.
+func TestDiffSummary_CountsDoublePrefixContentLines(t *testing.T) {
+	// The added line's content is "++flag"; in the diff that's "+" + "++flag" = "+++flag".
+	diff := "--- a/f\n+++ b/f\n@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@\n+++flag\n+normal\n"
+	_, added, removed := diffSummary(diff)
+	if added != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("added = %d, want 2 (the '+++flag' content line must count)", added)
+	}
+	if removed != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("removed = %d, want 0", removed)
+	}
+	// The renderer must keep the line too (2 add rows), not drop it as a header.
+	if n := previewRowCount(diff); n != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("rendered rows = %d, want 2", n)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/view.go b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/view.go
index b42abb72..2b212ccc 100644
--- a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/view.go
+++ b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/view.go
@@ -589,7 +589,7 @@ func (m Model) buildTranscriptRows(w int) ([]string, []int) {
 				rows = append(rows, t.span(s, t.P.Faint))
 			}
 		case "tool":
-			rows = append(rows, t.span("· tool output ("+itoaLen(e.Content)+" chars) — ^x to view", t.P.Dim))
+			rows = append(rows, t.span(toolRowSummary(e.Content), t.P.Dim))
 		case "narration_llm":
 			diamond := lipgloss.NewStyle().Foreground(t.P.Accent).Background(t.P.Bg).Bold(true).Render("◆")
 			lines := wrap(e.Content, w-2)
@@ -856,7 +856,17 @@ func itoa(n int) string {
 	return string(b[i:])
 }
 
-func itoaLen(s string) string { return itoa(len(s)) }
+// toolRowSummary collapses a tool-output transcript entry into a one-line pointer. A
+// write/edit entry holds a unified diff, so summarise it by what ^x actually shows — the
+// diff's row count — instead of the raw diff byte length (which read as a meaningless
+// "N chars": it counted +/-/@@/header bytes, not anything the operator cares about, and
+// len() is bytes not characters). Non-diff output falls back to a true character count.
+func toolRowSummary(content string) string {
+	if isUnifiedDiff(content) {
+		return "· diff (" + itoa(previewRowCount(content)) + " rows) — ^x to view"
+	}
+	return "· tool output (" + itoa(len([]rune(content))) + " chars) — ^x to view"
+}
 
 // metricsSuffix formats the faint latency+token annotation for a ROUTER turn.
 func metricsSuffix(mtr *TurnMetrics) string {