diff --git a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/artifact_preview.go b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/artifact_preview.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..85190dd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/artifact_preview.go
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+package app
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// artifactDisplayLines turns a structured (JSON) artifact preview into scannable plain-text lines,
+// so the approval card and transcript show a readable summary instead of a raw JSON dump. Returns
+// (nil, false) for non-JSON content, which falls back to the raw line view. The lines are plain;
+// colorizePreviewLine adds the highlighting at render time. Kept in sync with previewRowCount via
+// previewDisplayLines so band sizing/scroll bounds match what's drawn.
+func artifactDisplayLines(content string) ([]string, bool) {
+	trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(content)
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(trimmed, "{") {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	var obj map[string]json.RawMessage
+	if json.Unmarshal([]byte(trimmed), &obj) != nil {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	if lines, ok := planSummaryLines(obj); ok {
+		return lines, true
+	}
+	return objectSummaryLines(obj), true
+}
+
+// planSummaryLines renders an execution_plan artifact ({goal, stages:[{id,role,prompt,produces,…}]})
+// as a goal line plus a numbered, aligned stage list — the freestyle plan approval an operator sees.
+func planSummaryLines(obj map[string]json.RawMessage) ([]string, bool) {
+	raw, ok := obj["stages"]
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	var stages []struct {
+		ID       string `json:"id"`
+		Role     string `json:"role"`
+		Prompt   string `json:"prompt"`
+		Produces string `json:"produces"`
+	}
+	if json.Unmarshal(raw, &stages) != nil || len(stages) == 0 {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+
+	var out []string
+	if g := jsonString(obj["goal"]); g != "" {
+		out = append(out, "Goal", "  "+g, "")
+	}
+	out = append(out, "Plan · "+plural(len(stages), "stage"))
+	idW := 0
+	for _, s := range stages {
+		if len(s.ID) > idW {
+			idW = len(s.ID)
+		}
+	}
+	for i, s := range stages {
+		head := "  " + itoa(i+1) + ". " + padRaw(s.ID, idW) + "  " + padRaw(s.Role, 12)
+		if s.Produces != "" {
+			head += " → " + s.Produces
+		}
+		out = append(out, head)
+		if p := firstLine(s.Prompt); p != "" {
+			out = append(out, "      "+p)
+		}
+	}
+	return out, true
+}
+
+// objectSummaryLines pretty-prints any other JSON object as indented key/value lines — a readable
+// fallback (e.g. the analyst's `analysis` artifact) instead of a single minified blob.
+func objectSummaryLines(obj map[string]json.RawMessage) []string {
+	keys := make([]string, 0, len(obj))
+	for k := range obj {
+		keys = append(keys, k)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(keys)
+	var out []string
+	for _, k := range keys {
+		out = append(out, jsonFieldLines(k, obj[k], 0)...)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// jsonFieldLines renders one "key: value" field, recursing into nested objects/arrays with
+// indentation. Scalars go inline; containers get a header line then their children.
+func jsonFieldLines(key string, raw json.RawMessage, depth int) []string {
+	indent := strings.Repeat("  ", depth)
+	v := strings.TrimSpace(string(raw))
+	switch {
+	case strings.HasPrefix(v, "{"):
+		var nested map[string]json.RawMessage
+		if json.Unmarshal(raw, &nested) == nil && len(nested) > 0 {
+			out := []string{indent + key + ":"}
+			nkeys := make([]string, 0, len(nested))
+			for k := range nested {
+				nkeys = append(nkeys, k)
+			}
+			sort.Strings(nkeys)
+			for _, nk := range nkeys {
+				out = append(out, jsonFieldLines(nk, nested[nk], depth+1)...)
+			}
+			return out
+		}
+	case strings.HasPrefix(v, "["):
+		var items []json.RawMessage
+		if json.Unmarshal(raw, &items) == nil {
+			out := []string{indent + key + ": (" + itoa(len(items)) + ")"}
+			for _, it := range items {
+				out = append(out, indent+"  • "+scalarString(it))
+			}
+			return out
+		}
+	}
+	return []string{indent + key + ": " + scalarString(raw)}
+}
+
+// scalarString renders a JSON scalar (or compact fallback) as a single-line human string.
+func scalarString(raw json.RawMessage) string {
+	if s := jsonString(raw); s != "" {
+		return firstLine(s)
+	}
+	return firstLine(strings.TrimSpace(string(raw)))
+}
+
+func jsonString(raw json.RawMessage) string {
+	if len(raw) == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	var s string
+	if json.Unmarshal(raw, &s) == nil {
+		return s
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+func firstLine(s string) string {
+	s = strings.TrimSpace(s)
+	if i := strings.IndexByte(s, '\n'); i >= 0 {
+		return strings.TrimSpace(s[:i]) + " …"
+	}
+	return s
+}
diff --git a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/artifact_preview_test.go b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/artifact_preview_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bc032c0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/artifact_preview_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+package app
+
+import "strings"
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestArtifactDisplayLines_ExecutionPlan(t *testing.T) {
+	plan := `{"goal":"Scaffold a UI","stages":[
+		{"id":"explore","role":"implementer","prompt":"Explore the project.\nMore detail.","produces":"exploration_report"},
+		{"id":"design_ui","role":"architect","prompt":"Design it.","produces":"ui_design_doc"}]}`
+	lines, ok := artifactDisplayLines(plan)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatal("expected plan to be recognized as a structured artifact")
+	}
+	joined := strings.Join(lines, "\n")
+	for _, want := range []string{"Goal", "Scaffold a UI", "Plan · 2 stages", "explore", "implementer", "→ exploration_report", "design_ui"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(joined, want) {
+			t.Errorf("summary missing %q in:\n%s", want, joined)
+		}
+	}
+	// Multi-line prompts collapse to a single first-line summary, never a raw dump.
+	if strings.Contains(joined, "More detail.") {
+		t.Errorf("prompt body leaked into summary:\n%s", joined)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestArtifactDisplayLines_NonJSONFallsBack(t *testing.T) {
+	if _, ok := artifactDisplayLines("just some text"); ok {
+		t.Error("plain text must not be treated as a structured artifact")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestArtifactDisplayLines_GenericObject(t *testing.T) {
+	lines, ok := artifactDisplayLines(`{"summary":"did the thing","risks":["a","b"]}`)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatal("expected generic JSON object to summarize")
+	}
+	joined := strings.Join(lines, "\n")
+	if !strings.Contains(joined, "summary:") || !strings.Contains(joined, "risks: (2)") {
+		t.Errorf("generic object summary wrong:\n%s", joined)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/diff.go b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/diff.go
index 906a5460..5f87b9ea 100644
--- a/apps/tui-go/internal/app/diff.go
+++ b/apps/tui-go/internal/app/diff.go
@@ -94,19 +94,29 @@ func previewPlainLines(s string) []string {
 	return strings.Split(strings.TrimRight(s, "\n"), "\n")
 }
 
+// previewDisplayLines is the single source of truth for how a non-diff preview is laid out:
+// a scannable summary for structured (JSON) artifacts, raw lines otherwise. Both the renderer
+// and previewRowCount go through it so band sizing and scroll bounds match what's drawn.
+func previewDisplayLines(s string) []string {
+	if lines, ok := artifactDisplayLines(s); ok {
+		return lines
+	}
+	return previewPlainLines(s)
+}
+
 // previewRowCount is the number of content rows a preview occupies — diff rows
 // for a real diff, plain lines otherwise. Drives band sizing and scroll bounds.
 func previewRowCount(s string) int {
 	if isUnifiedDiff(s) {
 		return len(parseUnifiedDiff(s))
 	}
-	return len(previewPlainLines(s))
+	return len(previewDisplayLines(s))
 }
 
 // renderPreviewLines renders non-diff preview text as dim plain lines (single
 // column), up to maxRows starting at off, each truncated to width.
 func (m Model) renderPreviewLines(content string, width, maxRows, off int) []string {
-	lines := previewPlainLines(content)
+	lines := previewDisplayLines(content)
 	if off < 0 {
 		off = 0
 	}
@@ -119,11 +129,34 @@ func (m Model) renderPreviewLines(content string, width, maxRows, off int) []str
 	}
 	out := make([]string, 0, end-off)
 	for _, ln := range lines[off:end] {
-		out = append(out, m.theme.span(truncate(ln, width), m.theme.P.Dim))
+		out = append(out, m.colorizePreviewLine(ln, width))
 	}
 	return out
 }
 
+// colorizePreviewLine highlights a summarized-artifact line: flush-left section headers (Goal,
+// Plan · N) in accent, the "→ produces" target picked out, everything else dim — so the structure
+// reads at a glance without a full JSON syntax highlighter. Plain (raw) previews stay uniformly dim.
+func (m Model) colorizePreviewLine(ln string, w int) string {
+	t := m.theme
+	ln = truncate(ln, w)
+	if ln == "" {
+		return ""
+	}
+	// Section header: no leading indent (e.g. "Goal", "Plan · 4 stages").
+	if ln[0] != ' ' {
+		return lipgloss.NewStyle().Foreground(t.P.Accent2).Background(t.P.Bg).Bold(true).Render(ln)
+	}
+	// Stage head: pick out the "→ produces" target after truncation so widths stay bounded.
+	if i := strings.Index(ln, " → "); i >= 0 {
+		head := t.span(ln[:i], t.P.FgStrong)
+		arrow := t.span(" → ", t.P.Faint)
+		prod := lipgloss.NewStyle().Foreground(t.P.OK).Background(t.P.Bg).Render(ln[i+len(" → "):])
+		return head + arrow + prod
+	}
+	return t.span(ln, t.P.Dim)
+}
+
 // hunkStarts reads the starting old/new line numbers from an @@ -a,b +c,d @@ marker.
 func hunkStarts(h string) (int, int) {
 	old, newer := 1, 1