diff --git a/codex-rs/ansi-escape/src/lib.rs b/codex-rs/ansi-escape/src/lib.rs
index 68ea5e9aa9..b47cf14f8e 100644
--- a/codex-rs/ansi-escape/src/lib.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/ansi-escape/src/lib.rs
@@ -3,11 +3,30 @@ use ansi_to_tui::IntoText;
 use ratatui::text::Line;
 use ratatui::text::Text;
 
+// Expand tabs in a best-effort way for transcript rendering.
+// Tabs can interact poorly with left-gutter prefixes in our TUI and CLI
+// transcript views (e.g., `nl` separates line numbers from content with a tab).
+// Replacing tabs with spaces avoids odd visual artifacts without changing
+// semantics for our use cases.
+fn expand_tabs(s: &str) -> std::borrow::Cow<'_, str> {
+    if s.contains('\t') {
+        // Keep it simple: replace each tab with 4 spaces.
+        // We do not try to align to tab stops since most usages (like `nl`)
+        // look acceptable with a fixed substitution and this avoids stateful math
+        // across spans.
+        std::borrow::Cow::Owned(s.replace('\t', "    "))
+    } else {
+        std::borrow::Cow::Borrowed(s)
+    }
+}
+
 /// This function should be used when the contents of `s` are expected to match
 /// a single line. If multiple lines are found, a warning is logged and only the
 /// first line is returned.
 pub fn ansi_escape_line(s: &str) -> Line<'static> {
-    let text = ansi_escape(s);
+    // Normalize tabs to spaces to avoid odd gutter collisions in transcript mode.
+    let s = expand_tabs(s);
+    let text = ansi_escape(&s);
     match text.lines.as_slice() {
         [] => "".into(),
         [only] => only.clone(),
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/app.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/app.rs
index cb3dea5e60..6edc1a0ed3 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/app.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/app.rs
@@ -421,10 +421,8 @@ impl App {
                 kind: KeyEventKind::Press,
                 ..
             } => {
-                // Enter alternate screen and set viewport to full size.
-                let _ = tui.enter_alt_screen();
-                self.overlay = Some(Overlay::new_transcript(self.transcript_cells.clone()));
-                tui.frame_requester().schedule_frame();
+                // Open transcript overlay: flush explore stack, enter alt screen, and enable transcript mode.
+                self.open_transcript_overlay(tui);
             }
             // Esc primes/advances backtracking only in normal (not working) mode
             // with an empty composer. In any other state, forward Esc so the
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/app_backtrack.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/app_backtrack.rs
index b5c1300b45..f6d4ab4a4b 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/app_backtrack.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/app_backtrack.rs
@@ -109,6 +109,9 @@ impl App {
 
     /// Open transcript overlay (enters alternate screen and shows full transcript).
     pub(crate) fn open_transcript_overlay(&mut self, tui: &mut tui::Tui) {
+        // Flush any in‑progress explore stack so it lands in history first.
+        self.chat_widget.flush_active_cell();
+        self.chat_widget.set_transcript_mode(true);
         let _ = tui.enter_alt_screen();
         self.overlay = Some(Overlay::new_transcript(self.transcript_cells.clone()));
         tui.frame_requester().schedule_frame();
@@ -117,6 +120,8 @@ impl App {
     /// Close transcript overlay and restore normal UI.
     pub(crate) fn close_transcript_overlay(&mut self, tui: &mut tui::Tui) {
         let _ = tui.leave_alt_screen();
+        // Leave transcript mode so future tool calls return to the explore stack.
+        self.chat_widget.set_transcript_mode(false);
         let was_backtrack = self.backtrack.overlay_preview_active;
         if !self.deferred_history_lines.is_empty() {
             let lines = std::mem::take(&mut self.deferred_history_lines);
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs
index 2237c678c7..65b7c4223d 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget.rs
@@ -260,6 +260,9 @@ pub(crate) struct ChatWidget {
     needs_final_message_separator: bool,
 
     last_rendered_width: std::cell::Cell<Option<usize>>,
+
+    // When true, route tool calls directly into history (transcript mode).
+    transcript_mode_active: bool,
 }
 
 struct UserMessage {
@@ -285,6 +288,12 @@ fn create_initial_user_message(text: String, image_paths: Vec<PathBuf>) -> Optio
 }
 
 impl ChatWidget {
+    /// Enable or disable transcript mode. When enabled, tool calls are
+    /// recorded directly into history instead of the active explore stack.
+    pub(crate) fn set_transcript_mode(&mut self, active: bool) {
+        self.transcript_mode_active = active;
+    }
+
     fn model_description_for(slug: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
         if slug.starts_with("gpt-5-codex") {
             Some("Optimized for coding tasks with many tools.")
@@ -706,6 +715,24 @@ impl ChatWidget {
             None => (vec![ev.call_id.clone()], Vec::new()),
         };
 
+        // In transcript mode, avoid the active explore stack and emit a
+        // completed exec cell directly to history.
+        if self.transcript_mode_active {
+            let mut cell = new_active_exec_command(ev.call_id.clone(), command, parsed);
+            cell.complete_call(
+                &ev.call_id,
+                CommandOutput {
+                    exit_code: ev.exit_code,
+                    stdout: ev.stdout.clone(),
+                    stderr: ev.stderr.clone(),
+                    formatted_output: ev.formatted_output.clone(),
+                },
+                ev.duration,
+            );
+            self.add_boxed_history(Box::new(cell));
+            return;
+        }
+
         let needs_new = self
             .active_cell
             .as_ref()
@@ -797,6 +824,11 @@ impl ChatWidget {
                 parsed_cmd: ev.parsed_cmd.clone(),
             },
         );
+        // In transcript mode, skip creating/updating the active explore stack.
+        if self.transcript_mode_active {
+            self.request_redraw();
+            return;
+        }
         if let Some(cell) = self
             .active_cell
             .as_mut()
@@ -823,6 +855,12 @@ impl ChatWidget {
 
     pub(crate) fn handle_mcp_begin_now(&mut self, ev: McpToolCallBeginEvent) {
         self.flush_answer_stream_with_separator();
+        if self.transcript_mode_active {
+            // In transcript mode, don't create an active cell; history will be
+            // emitted on the corresponding end event.
+            self.request_redraw();
+            return;
+        }
         self.flush_active_cell();
         self.active_cell = Some(Box::new(history_cell::new_active_mcp_tool_call(
             ev.call_id,
@@ -840,6 +878,17 @@ impl ChatWidget {
             result,
         } = ev;
 
+        // In transcript mode, bypass the active stack and emit a completed tool call.
+        if self.transcript_mode_active {
+            let mut cell = history_cell::new_active_mcp_tool_call(call_id, invocation);
+            let extra = cell.complete(duration, result);
+            self.add_boxed_history(Box::new(cell));
+            if let Some(extra_cell) = extra {
+                self.add_boxed_history(extra_cell);
+            }
+            return;
+        }
+
         let extra_cell = match self
             .active_cell
             .as_mut()
@@ -938,6 +987,7 @@ impl ChatWidget {
             ghost_snapshots_disabled: true,
             needs_final_message_separator: false,
             last_rendered_width: std::cell::Cell::new(None),
+            transcript_mode_active: false,
         }
     }
 
@@ -1001,6 +1051,7 @@ impl ChatWidget {
             ghost_snapshots_disabled: true,
             needs_final_message_separator: false,
             last_rendered_width: std::cell::Cell::new(None),
+            transcript_mode_active: false,
         }
     }
 
@@ -1225,7 +1276,7 @@ impl ChatWidget {
         }
     }
 
-    fn flush_active_cell(&mut self) {
+    pub(crate) fn flush_active_cell(&mut self) {
         if let Some(active) = self.active_cell.take() {
             self.needs_final_message_separator = true;
             self.app_event_tx.send(AppEvent::InsertHistoryCell(active));
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests.rs
index 0ab31daa32..44bc69b2fc 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/tests.rs
@@ -287,6 +287,7 @@ fn make_chatwidget_manual() -> (
         ghost_snapshots_disabled: false,
         needs_final_message_separator: false,
         last_rendered_width: std::cell::Cell::new(None),
+        transcript_mode_active: false,
     };
     (widget, rx, op_rx)
 }