diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/tiny/title-client.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/tiny/title-client.ts
index b3a15e995..f575ff342 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/tiny/title-client.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/tiny/title-client.ts
@@ -120,6 +120,13 @@ interface SpawnedSubprocess {
 	proc: Subprocess<"ignore", "inherit", "inherit">;
 	inbound: Set<(message: TinyTitleWorkerOutbound) => void>;
 	errors: Set<(error: Error) => void>;
+	/**
+	 * Flipped to `true` by {@link wrapSubprocess}'s `terminate()` right
+	 * before it SIGKILLs the child so `onExit` can distinguish the
+	 * expected hard-kill from a crash/OOM/external signal. Only the
+	 * latter is surfaced as a worker error.
+	 */
+	intentionalExit: { value: boolean };
 }
 
 /**
@@ -130,6 +137,7 @@ interface SpawnedSubprocess {
 export function createTinyTitleSubprocess(): SpawnedSubprocess {
 	const inbound = new Set<(message: TinyTitleWorkerOutbound) => void>();
 	const errors = new Set<(error: Error) => void>();
+	const intentionalExit = { value: false };
 	const proc = Bun.spawn({
 		cmd: tinyWorkerSpawnCmd(),
 		env: tinyWorkerEnv(),
@@ -142,19 +150,28 @@ export function createTinyTitleSubprocess(): SpawnedSubprocess {
 			for (const handler of inbound) handler(message as TinyTitleWorkerOutbound);
 		},
 		onExit(_proc, exitCode, signalCode) {
-			if (exitCode === 0 || exitCode === null) return;
-			const signalSuffix = signalCode ? ` (signal ${signalCode})` : "";
-			const err = new Error(`tiny model subprocess exited with code ${exitCode}${signalSuffix}`);
+			// Clean exit. The child only exits via SIGKILL in practice, but
+			// treat code 0 as a no-op for symmetry.
+			if (exitCode === 0) return;
+			// `exitCode === null` + non-null `signalCode` covers both the
+			// expected SIGKILL from `terminate()` AND external kills
+			// (SIGSEGV from a native crash, SIGKILL from the OOM killer, an
+			// operator `kill -9`, etc.). Swallow only the expected one;
+			// every other signal exit is a real worker death that must
+			// fault every in-flight request so callers don't await forever.
+			if (exitCode === null && intentionalExit.value) return;
+			const reason = exitCode !== null ? `code ${exitCode}` : `signal ${signalCode ?? "unknown"}`;
+			const err = new Error(`tiny model subprocess exited with ${reason}`);
 			for (const handler of errors) handler(err);
 		},
 	});
 	// Don't keep the parent event loop alive on account of an idle worker; the
 	// agent dispose path calls `terminate()` explicitly when shutting down.
 	proc.unref();
-	return { proc, inbound, errors };
+	return { proc, inbound, errors, intentionalExit };
 }
 
-function wrapSubprocess({ proc, inbound, errors }: SpawnedSubprocess): WorkerHandle {
+function wrapSubprocess({ proc, inbound, errors, intentionalExit }: SpawnedSubprocess): WorkerHandle {
 	return {
 		send(message) {
 			try {
@@ -179,6 +196,9 @@ function wrapSubprocess({ proc, inbound, errors }: SpawnedSubprocess): WorkerHan
 			// SIGTERM lets the subprocess try to clean up, which is exactly the
 			// codepath that crashes Bun on Windows. Hard-kill instead — the
 			// model lives in process memory and the OS reclaims everything.
+			// Flip the intentional-exit flag *before* killing so `onExit` can
+			// tell this apart from a crash or external SIGKILL.
+			intentionalExit.value = true;
 			try {
 				proc.kill("SIGKILL");
 			} catch {
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/issue-1606-repro.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/issue-1606-repro.test.ts
index 1c85c6804..9b771b336 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/issue-1606-repro.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/issue-1606-repro.test.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
  * the original crash again.
  */
 import { describe, expect, it } from "bun:test";
-import { smokeTestTinyTitleWorker, TINY_WORKER_ARG } from "../src/tiny/title-client";
+import { createTinyTitleSubprocess, smokeTestTinyTitleWorker, TINY_WORKER_ARG } from "../src/tiny/title-client";
 
 describe("issue #1606 — tiny model lives in an isolated subprocess", () => {
 	it("ping/pongs through the spawned worker subprocess and tears it down cleanly", async () => {
@@ -38,4 +38,52 @@ describe("issue #1606 — tiny model lives in an isolated subprocess", () => {
 		expect(cliSource).toContain(`argv[0] === "${TINY_WORKER_ARG}"`);
 		expect(cliSource).toContain("runTinyWorker");
 	});
+
+	it("surfaces unexpected signal exits so in-flight callers don't await forever", async () => {
+		// If the child dies from a signal we did NOT request — SIGSEGV from a
+		// native crash (the original Windows shutdown bug, now relocated to
+		// the child), an OOM SIGKILL, or an operator `kill -9` — the
+		// subprocess wrapper must fault every in-flight request via the
+		// `errors` channel. The original fix swallowed any `exitCode === null`
+		// exit unconditionally, which left `TinyTitleClient.#pending`
+		// promises hanging forever. Pin the new contract: an external
+		// SIGKILL (no `intentionalExit` flip) MUST surface a worker error.
+		const sub = createTinyTitleSubprocess();
+		try {
+			const { promise, resolve } = Promise.withResolvers<Error>();
+			sub.errors.add(resolve);
+			sub.proc.kill("SIGKILL");
+			const err = await promise;
+			expect(err.message).toMatch(/signal/i);
+		} finally {
+			// Ensure the child is reaped even on assertion failure.
+			try {
+				sub.proc.kill("SIGKILL");
+			} catch {}
+			await sub.proc.exited;
+		}
+	}, 15_000);
+
+	it("does not surface intentional terminate() SIGKILLs as worker errors", async () => {
+		// Inverse of the previous test: a SIGKILL issued by the wrapper's
+		// own `terminate()` MUST NOT fault callers — terminate is the
+		// shutdown path and the worker handle is already torn down by then.
+		// Regression guard against an over-eager fix that surfaces every
+		// signal exit indiscriminately.
+		const sub = createTinyTitleSubprocess();
+		let errored = false;
+		sub.errors.add(() => {
+			errored = true;
+		});
+		// Simulate what `wrapSubprocess.terminate()` does: flip the flag,
+		// then SIGKILL. We test the primitive directly rather than going
+		// through the wrapper to avoid coupling to `WorkerHandle` internals.
+		sub.intentionalExit.value = true;
+		sub.proc.kill("SIGKILL");
+		await sub.proc.exited;
+		// Give onExit a microtask to drain — Bun's exited promise resolves
+		// after onExit fires, but be defensive.
+		await Bun.sleep(20);
+		expect(errored).toBe(false);
+	}, 10_000);
 });