diff --git a/docs/remote-sessions.md b/docs/remote-sessions.md
index 72ff0274..6a73be42 100644
--- a/docs/remote-sessions.md
+++ b/docs/remote-sessions.md
@@ -404,7 +404,8 @@ The invariants worth keeping:
   after the reattach, with a settle delay so bytes cannot land in a still-connecting
   pane. The **send-and-wait** path blocks on the wake instead — its response is open
   anyway, and buffering would break the wait contract.
-- **The command runs without a shell** (`spawn(path, [], { shell: false })`), the schema
+- **The command runs without a shell** (`spawn(path, [], { stdio: 'ignore' })` — `shell`
+  defaults to `false`), the schema
   requires a single executable path (no arguments, no `$`/backtick), and `wakeMac` is a
   structural hex-pair allowlist. A broken or missing wake target fails the wake, never the
   input route.
@@ -418,8 +419,9 @@ The invariants worth keeping:
   again). Other host-level fields deliberately stay as persisted, so neither path can
   silently re-point an existing pane's SSH options.
 - **UI/SSE**: `remote:hostWaking` and `remote:hostWakeFailed` (plus the reused
-  `remote:sessionReconnected`) drive the banner and toasts in `host-wake-ui.js` /
-  `panels-ui.js`.
+  `remote:sessionReconnected`) drive the banner and toasts, all from `host-wake-ui.js` —
+  its handlers are the ONLY definitions, since a second one in another mixin would be
+  silently shadowed by script order.
 
 Tests: `test/remote-wake.test.ts` (decision/throttle table, single-flight registry,
 buffering + flush order, MAC parsing/magic packet, live host-config resolution, and the wiring
diff --git a/src/remote-wake.ts b/src/remote-wake.ts
index 25fdcc31..8022eead 100644
--- a/src/remote-wake.ts
+++ b/src/remote-wake.ts
@@ -99,6 +99,11 @@ export function decideRemoteInputAction(args: {
 /**
  * Append `data` to the pending buffer, dropping the OLDEST bytes when the cap is
  * exceeded. Returns the resulting buffer. Pure.
+ *
+ * A single chunk can itself exceed the cap (one large paste is one `input` value),
+ * so after whole chunks are dropped the surviving chunk's HEAD is trimmed too —
+ * otherwise "bounded at 4 KB" would hold only per chunk, not per session. The trim
+ * is code-point aware, so it never emits a broken multi-byte character.
  */
 export function appendBoundedPending(
   pending: string[],
@@ -111,9 +116,25 @@ export function appendBoundedPending(
     total -= Buffer.byteLength(next[0]);
     next.shift();
   }
+  if (next.length === 1) next[0] = tailWithinBytes(next[0], maxBytes);
   return next;
 }
 
+/** Keep only the trailing part of `value` that fits in `maxBytes` UTF-8 bytes. Pure. */
+function tailWithinBytes(value: string, maxBytes: number): string {
+  if (Buffer.byteLength(value) <= maxBytes) return value;
+  const chars = [...value];
+  let total = 0;
+  let start = chars.length;
+  while (start > 0) {
+    const size = Buffer.byteLength(chars[start - 1]);
+    if (total + size > maxBytes) break;
+    total += size;
+    start--;
+  }
+  return chars.slice(start).join('');
+}
+
 /** The remote fields the wake flow needs. Structurally satisfied by `SessionRemote`. */
 export interface WakeableRemote {
   wakeCommand?: string;
diff --git a/src/web/public/host-wake-ui.js b/src/web/public/host-wake-ui.js
index 8f222e77..636c8df1 100644
--- a/src/web/public/host-wake-ui.js
+++ b/src/web/public/host-wake-ui.js
@@ -314,8 +314,21 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
     }
   },
 
-  /** SSE `remote:hostWaking` — a wake is running (ours or one started by typing). */
+  /**
+   * SSE `remote:hostWaking` — a wake is running (ours or one started by typing).
+   *
+   * ⚠️ The ONLY definition of this handler: `panels-ui.js` must not define it too.
+   * Both mix into `Codeman.prototype` and this file loads later, so a second copy
+   * would be silently shadowed (the guard in `sse-dispatch-table.test.ts` sees that a
+   * handler exists, not that two modules claim the same name). The toast is
+   * deliberately UNCONDITIONAL — a wake can start for a background session (input on
+   * a non-active tab) where there is no banner to update.
+   */
   _onRemoteHostWaking(data) {
+    const label = data && data.label ? data.label : 'Remote host';
+    // Long enough to cover the wake + attach (~10s measured on a warm S3), and it
+    // is replaced by `remote:sessionReconnected` the moment the pane is back.
+    this.showToast(`Waking ${label} … input is queued`, 'info', { duration: 12000 });
     const state = this._hostWake;
     if (!state || !data || state.sessionId !== data.sessionId) return;
     state.waking = true;
@@ -326,6 +339,8 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
 
   /** SSE `remote:hostWakeFailed` — the host did not come back in time. */
   _onRemoteHostWakeFailed(data) {
+    const label = data && data.label ? data.label : 'Remote host';
+    this.showToast(`${label} did not wake up — queued input is still held`, 'error', { duration: 15000 });
     const state = this._hostWake;
     if (!state || !data || state.sessionId !== data.sessionId) return;
     state.waking = false;
diff --git a/src/web/public/panels-ui.js b/src/web/public/panels-ui.js
index 023efb6e..c29b1ac9 100644
--- a/src/web/public/panels-ui.js
+++ b/src/web/public/panels-ui.js
@@ -120,17 +120,13 @@ Object.assign(CodemanApp.prototype, {
 
 
   // Wake-on-LAN from user input on a sleeping remote host (see remote-wake.ts).
-  _onRemoteHostWaking(data) {
-    const label = data && data.label ? data.label : 'Remote host';
-    // Long enough to cover the wake + attach (~10s measured on a warm S3), and it
-    // is replaced by `remote:sessionReconnected` the moment the pane is back.
-    this.showToast(`Waking ${label} … input is queued`, 'info', { duration: 12000 });
-  },
-
-  _onRemoteHostWakeFailed(data) {
-    const label = data && data.label ? data.label : 'Remote host';
-    this.showToast(`${label} did not wake up — queued input is still held`, 'error', { duration: 15000 });
-  },
+  // ⚠️ The `remote:hostWaking` / `remote:hostWakeFailed` HANDLERS live in
+  // `host-wake-ui.js`, which owns the banner state. They are NOT redefined here:
+  // both files mix into `CodemanApp.prototype` and `host-wake-ui.js` is loaded
+  // later, so a second definition would silently shadow the banner update (and the
+  // toast would never fire — the exact silent no-op `sse-dispatch-table.test.ts`
+  // exists to prevent, which cannot see shadowing). The toasts are shown from the
+  // host-wake-ui handlers instead.
 
 
   // Bash tools
diff --git a/test/remote-wake.test.ts b/test/remote-wake.test.ts
index ad1986c9..8c018251 100644
--- a/test/remote-wake.test.ts
+++ b/test/remote-wake.test.ts
@@ -76,9 +76,21 @@ describe('appendBoundedPending', () => {
     expect(appendBoundedPending([big], 'newest')).toEqual(['newest']);
   });
 
-  it('never drops the just-typed chunk even when it alone exceeds the cap', () => {
+  it('trims a single oversized chunk to the cap, keeping its TAIL', () => {
+    // One large paste is one input value, so the cap has to hold WITHIN a chunk too
+    // (otherwise "bounded at 4 KB" would only be true per chunk, not per session).
     const huge = 'y'.repeat(REMOTE_WAKE_PENDING_MAX_BYTES + 100);
-    expect(appendBoundedPending([], huge)).toEqual([huge]);
+    const result = appendBoundedPending([], huge);
+    expect(result).toEqual(['y'.repeat(REMOTE_WAKE_PENDING_MAX_BYTES)]);
+    expect(result[0].length).toBe(REMOTE_WAKE_PENDING_MAX_BYTES);
+  });
+
+  it('trims a multi-byte tail without splitting a character', () => {
+    const cap = 10;
+    const value = 'ä'.repeat(8); // 2 bytes each → 16 bytes
+    const result = appendBoundedPending([], value, cap);
+    expect(Buffer.byteLength(result[0])).toBeLessThanOrEqual(cap);
+    expect(result[0]).toBe('ä'.repeat(5)); // 10 bytes, no U+FFFD
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/test/sse-dispatch-table.test.ts b/test/sse-dispatch-table.test.ts
index b42b8213..6d3eeb47 100644
--- a/test/sse-dispatch-table.test.ts
+++ b/test/sse-dispatch-table.test.ts
@@ -57,4 +57,22 @@ describe('SSE dispatch table', () => {
       .filter((handler) => !new RegExp(`(^|\\s)${handler}\\s*\\(`, 'm').test(allModules));
     expect(missing).toEqual([]);
   });
+
+  it('defines every handler in exactly ONE module (a second copy is shadowed)', () => {
+    // Modules mix into `CodemanApp.prototype` and run in script order, so two
+    // definitions of the same handler name silently shadow each other: the later file
+    // wins and the earlier one never runs. The existence check above cannot see that
+    // (both names resolve), which is how a duplicate banner handler can leave a toast
+    // dead with no error anywhere.
+    const byModule = readdirSync(PUBLIC_DIR)
+      .filter((name) => name.endsWith('.js'))
+      .map((name) => ({ name, source: readFileSync(join(PUBLIC_DIR, name), 'utf-8') }));
+    const shadowed = dispatchEntries()
+      .map((entry) => entry.handler)
+      .filter((handler) => {
+        const re = new RegExp(`(^|\\s)${handler}\\s*\\(`, 'm');
+        return byModule.filter((mod) => re.test(mod.source)).length > 1;
+      });
+    expect(shadowed).toEqual([]);
+  });
 });