diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/.claude/settings.local.json b/packages/voice-assistant/.claude/settings.local.json
index ff0198ec9..fbfcab7fa 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/.claude/settings.local.json
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/.claude/settings.local.json
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
       "WebFetch(domain:vite.dev)",
       "Read(//Users/moboudra/dev/voice-dev/packages/web/app/hooks/**)",
       "Read(//Users/moboudra/dev/voice-dev/packages/web/app/**)",
-      "Read(//Users/moboudra/dev/voice-dev/**)"
+      "Read(//Users/moboudra/dev/voice-dev/**)",
+      "Bash(cat:*)"
     ],
     "deny": [],
     "ask": []
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/agent-prompt.md b/packages/voice-assistant/agent-prompt.md
index 33ff7b555..74967dc69 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/agent-prompt.md
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/agent-prompt.md
@@ -411,16 +411,38 @@ You: create-terminal(name="authentication", workingDirectory="WHATEVER THE CURRE
 
 **When user says "show me", keep your voice response SHORT and use present_artifact for the actual data.**
 
-**Pattern:**
+**CRITICAL: Use command_output or file sources - don't run commands yourself then pass as text.**
+
+**Pattern for commands:**
+
+User: "Show me the git diff"
+You: "Here's the diff."
+[Call present_artifact with source: { type: "command_output", command: "git diff" }]
+
+User: "Show me package.json"
+You: "Here's package.json."
+[Call present_artifact with source: { type: "file", path: "/path/to/package.json" }]
+
+**Only use text source for data you already have (like terminal output you just captured):**
 
 User: "Show me the terminal output"
-You: [Capture terminal output]
+You: [Capture terminal output via capture-terminal]
 You: "Here's the terminal output."
-[Call present_artifact with the output]
+[Call present_artifact with source: { type: "text", text: capturedOutput }]
 
-User: "Show me the inbox items"
-You: "Here's the inbox."
-[Call present_artifact with the items]
+**Bad pattern (don't do this):**
+
+User: "Show me the git diff"
+You: [Run git diff command via send-text]
+You: [Capture output]
+You: [Call present_artifact with text source containing the output]
+❌ Wrong - should use command_output source instead
+
+**Good pattern:**
+
+User: "Show me the git diff"
+You: [Call present_artifact with command_output source: "git diff"]
+✅ Correct - let the tool run the command
 
 **Don't read long content out loud - present it visually instead.**
 
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/package.json b/packages/voice-assistant/package.json
index bed252f6e..79f103377 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/package.json
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/package.json
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
     "ai": "^5.0.76",
     "dotenv": "^17.2.3",
     "express": "^4.18.2",
+    "express-basic-auth": "^1.2.1",
     "lucide-react": "^0.546.0",
     "openai": "^4.20.0",
     "playwright": "^1.56.1",
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/scripts/process-conversation.ts b/packages/voice-assistant/scripts/process-conversation.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3519d9c90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/scripts/process-conversation.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "fs";
+import { inspect } from "util";
+import { standardizePrompt } from "ai/internal";
+
+async function processConversation() {
+  try {
+    const conversationPath =
+      ".conversations/ce44c79a-0689-4210-8e00-72c0a627406d-2.json";
+
+    console.log("Loading conversation from:", conversationPath);
+
+    const conversationData: any = JSON.parse(
+      readFileSync(conversationPath, "utf-8")
+    );
+
+    console.log(
+      `\nLoaded conversation ${conversationData.conversationId} with ${conversationData.messages.length} messages\n`
+    );
+
+    const result = await standardizePrompt({
+      prompt: conversationData.messages,
+    });
+
+    console.log("Standardized prompt result:");
+    console.log(inspect(result, { depth: null, colors: true }));
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error("Error processing conversation:", error);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+}
+
+processConversation();
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/agent/llm-openai.ts b/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/agent/llm-openai.ts
index 1ed94dfaf..e02c558c6 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/agent/llm-openai.ts
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/agent/llm-openai.ts
@@ -119,6 +119,11 @@ const manualTools = {
       type: z
         .enum(["markdown", "diff", "image", "code"])
         .describe("Type of artifact to present."),
+      title: z
+        .string()
+        .describe(
+          "Title for the artifact (e.g., 'Implementation Plan', 'Refactoring Strategy', '/path/to/project/package.json')."
+        ),
       source: z.union([
         z.object({
           type: z.literal("file"),
@@ -133,11 +138,6 @@ const manualTools = {
           text: z.string(),
         }),
       ]),
-      title: z
-        .string()
-        .describe(
-          "Title for the artifact (e.g., 'Implementation Plan', 'Refactoring Strategy', '/path/to/project/package.json')."
-        ),
     }),
     execute: async () => {
       // Artifact will be broadcast by orchestrator via onToolCall callback
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/index.ts b/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/index.ts
index 86ebabf9a..cdf74e4a6 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/index.ts
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/index.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import "dotenv/config";
 import express from "express";
+import basicAuth from "express-basic-auth";
 import path from "path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
 import { createServer as createHTTPServer, Server as HttpServer } from "http";
@@ -17,6 +18,15 @@ const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
 async function createServer(httpServer: HttpServer, config: ServerConfig) {
   const app = express();
 
+  // Basic authentication
+  app.use(
+    basicAuth({
+      users: { mo: "bo" },
+      challenge: true,
+      realm: "Voice Assistant",
+    })
+  );
+
   // Middleware
   app.use(express.json());
 
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/session.ts b/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/session.ts
index 14a449f21..3107cfe4f 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/session.ts
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/session.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { v4 as uuidv4 } from "uuid";
 import { readFile, mkdir, writeFile } from "fs/promises";
 import { exec } from "child_process";
-import { promisify } from "util";
+import { promisify, inspect } from "util";
 import { join } from "path";
 import invariant from "tiny-invariant";
 import { streamText, stepCountIs } from "ai";
@@ -729,7 +729,7 @@ export class Session {
         messages: this.messages,
       };
 
-      await writeFile(filepath, JSON.stringify(dump, null, 2), "utf-8");
+      await writeFile(filepath, inspect(dump, { depth: null }), "utf-8");
       console.log(
         `[Session ${this.clientId}] Dumped conversation to ${filepath}`
       );
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/terminal-mcp/tmux.ts b/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/terminal-mcp/tmux.ts
index d23495e05..643827535 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/terminal-mcp/tmux.ts
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/src/server/terminal-mcp/tmux.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-import { exec as execCallback } from "child_process";
+import { exec as execCallback, execFile as execFileCallback } from "child_process";
 import { promisify } from "util";
 import { v4 as uuidv4 } from "uuid";
 import os from "node:os";
 
 const exec = promisify(execCallback);
+const execFile = promisify(execFileCallback);
 
 // Basic interfaces for tmux objects
 export interface TmuxSession {
@@ -55,10 +56,11 @@ export function setShellConfig(config: { type: string }): void {
 
 /**
  * Execute a tmux command and return the result
+ * Uses execFile to avoid shell interpretation of special characters
  */
-export async function executeTmux(tmuxCommand: string): Promise<string> {
+export async function executeTmux(args: string[]): Promise<string> {
   try {
-    const { stdout } = await exec(`tmux ${tmuxCommand}`);
+    const { stdout } = await execFile("tmux", args);
     return stdout.trim();
   } catch (error: any) {
     throw new Error(`Failed to execute tmux command: ${error.message}`);
@@ -70,7 +72,7 @@ export async function executeTmux(tmuxCommand: string): Promise<string> {
  */
 export async function isTmuxRunning(): Promise<boolean> {
   try {
-    await executeTmux("list-sessions -F '#{session_name}'");
+    await executeTmux(["list-sessions", "-F", "#{session_name}"]);
     return true;
   } catch (error) {
     return false;
@@ -83,7 +85,7 @@ export async function isTmuxRunning(): Promise<boolean> {
 export async function listSessions(): Promise<TmuxSession[]> {
   const format =
     "#{session_id}:#{session_name}:#{?session_attached,1,0}:#{session_windows}";
-  const output = await executeTmux(`list-sessions -F '${format}'`);
+  const output = await executeTmux(["list-sessions", "-F", format]);
 
   if (!output) return [];
 
@@ -143,9 +145,13 @@ export async function isWindowNameUnique(
  */
 export async function listWindows(sessionId: string): Promise<TmuxWindow[]> {
   const format = "#{window_id}:#{window_name}:#{?window_active,1,0}";
-  const output = await executeTmux(
-    `list-windows -t '${sessionId}' -F '${format}'`
-  );
+  const output = await executeTmux([
+    "list-windows",
+    "-t",
+    sessionId,
+    "-F",
+    format,
+  ]);
 
   if (!output) return [];
 
@@ -165,9 +171,7 @@ export async function listWindows(sessionId: string): Promise<TmuxWindow[]> {
  */
 export async function listPanes(windowId: string): Promise<TmuxPane[]> {
   const format = "#{pane_id}:#{pane_title}:#{?pane_active,1,0}";
-  const output = await executeTmux(
-    `list-panes -t '${windowId}' -F '${format}'`
-  );
+  const output = await executeTmux(["list-panes", "-t", windowId, "-F", format]);
 
   if (!output) return [];
 
@@ -190,12 +194,14 @@ export async function capturePaneContent(
   lines: number = 200,
   includeColors: boolean = false
 ): Promise<string> {
-  const colorFlag = includeColors ? "-e" : "";
   // Capture a large range to ensure we have enough content
   const captureLines = Math.max(lines, 1000);
-  const output = await executeTmux(
-    `capture-pane -p ${colorFlag} -t '${paneId}' -S -${captureLines} -E -`
-  );
+  const args = ["capture-pane", "-p"];
+  if (includeColors) {
+    args.push("-e");
+  }
+  args.push("-t", paneId, "-S", `-${captureLines}`, "-E", "-");
+  const output = await executeTmux(args);
 
   // Trim trailing whitespace, split by lines, take last N lines, rejoin
   const trimmed = output.trimEnd();
@@ -212,9 +218,13 @@ export async function getCurrentWorkingDirectory(
   paneId: string
 ): Promise<string> {
   try {
-    const tmuxPath = await executeTmux(
-      `display-message -p -t '${paneId}' '#{pane_current_path}'`
-    );
+    const tmuxPath = await executeTmux([
+      "display-message",
+      "-p",
+      "-t",
+      paneId,
+      "#{pane_current_path}",
+    ]);
 
     // If tmux returns a valid path, use it
     if (tmuxPath && tmuxPath.trim()) {
@@ -222,9 +232,13 @@ export async function getCurrentWorkingDirectory(
     }
 
     // Fallback: get the PID and use lsof to find the actual CWD
-    const shellPid = await executeTmux(
-      `display-message -p -t '${paneId}' '#{pane_pid}'`
-    );
+    const shellPid = await executeTmux([
+      "display-message",
+      "-p",
+      "-t",
+      paneId,
+      "#{pane_pid}",
+    ]);
     const { stdout } = await exec(
       `lsof -a -p ${shellPid.trim()} -d cwd -Fn | grep '^n' | cut -c2-`
     );
@@ -242,9 +256,13 @@ export async function getCurrentWorkingDirectory(
 export async function getCurrentCommand(paneId: string): Promise<string> {
   try {
     // Get the shell PID (the pane's main process)
-    const shellPid = await executeTmux(
-      `display-message -p -t '${paneId}' '#{pane_pid}'`
-    );
+    const shellPid = await executeTmux([
+      "display-message",
+      "-p",
+      "-t",
+      paneId,
+      "#{pane_pid}",
+    ]);
 
     // First, check if there's a child process using comm= (works for all programs including top)
     // Use 'ax' flags to see all processes
@@ -268,9 +286,13 @@ export async function getCurrentCommand(paneId: string): Promise<string> {
     return shellCmd.trim();
   } catch (error) {
     // Fallback to just the command name if ps fails
-    return executeTmux(
-      `display-message -p -t '${paneId}' '#{pane_current_command}'`
-    );
+    return executeTmux([
+      "display-message",
+      "-p",
+      "-t",
+      paneId,
+      "#{pane_current_command}",
+    ]);
   }
 }
 
@@ -279,10 +301,19 @@ export async function getCurrentCommand(paneId: string): Promise<string> {
  */
 export async function createSession(name: string): Promise<TmuxSession | null> {
   const homeDir = process.env.HOME || "~";
-  await executeTmux(`new-session -d -s "${name}" -n "default" -c "${homeDir}"`);
+  await executeTmux([
+    "new-session",
+    "-d",
+    "-s",
+    name,
+    "-n",
+    "default",
+    "-c",
+    homeDir,
+  ]);
 
   // Disable automatic window renaming for all windows in the session
-  await executeTmux(`set-window-option -t "${name}" automatic-rename off`);
+  await executeTmux(["set-window-option", "-t", name, "automatic-rename", "off"]);
 
   return findSessionByName(name);
 }
@@ -321,21 +352,27 @@ export async function createWindow(
   }
 
   // Build new-window command with optional working directory
-  let newWindowCmd = `new-window -t '${sessionId}' -n '${name}'`;
+  const args = ["new-window", "-t", sessionId, "-n", name];
   if (options?.workingDirectory) {
     // Expand tilde to home directory before passing to tmux
     const expandedPath = expandTilde(options.workingDirectory);
-    newWindowCmd += ` -c '${expandedPath}'`;
+    args.push("-c", expandedPath);
   }
 
-  await executeTmux(newWindowCmd);
+  await executeTmux(args);
   const windows = await listWindows(sessionId);
   const window = windows.find((window) => window.name === name);
 
   if (!window) return null;
 
   // Disable automatic window renaming
-  await executeTmux(`set-window-option -t '${window.id}' automatic-rename off`);
+  await executeTmux([
+    "set-window-option",
+    "-t",
+    window.id,
+    "automatic-rename",
+    "off",
+  ]);
 
   // Get the default pane created with the window
   const panes = await listPanes(window.id);
@@ -367,21 +404,21 @@ export async function createWindow(
  * Kill a tmux session by ID
  */
 export async function killSession(sessionId: string): Promise<void> {
-  await executeTmux(`kill-session -t '${sessionId}'`);
+  await executeTmux(["kill-session", "-t", sessionId]);
 }
 
 /**
  * Kill a tmux window by ID
  */
 export async function killWindow(windowId: string): Promise<void> {
-  await executeTmux(`kill-window -t '${windowId}'`);
+  await executeTmux(["kill-window", "-t", windowId]);
 }
 
 /**
  * Kill a tmux pane by ID
  */
 export async function killPane(paneId: string): Promise<void> {
-  await executeTmux(`kill-pane -t '${paneId}'`);
+  await executeTmux(["kill-pane", "-t", paneId]);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -413,9 +450,15 @@ export async function renameWindow(
     windowId = window.id;
   }
 
-  await executeTmux(`rename-window -t '${windowId}' '${newName}'`);
+  await executeTmux(["rename-window", "-t", windowId, newName]);
   // Disable automatic renaming to preserve the manual name
-  await executeTmux(`set-window-option -t '${windowId}' automatic-rename off`);
+  await executeTmux([
+    "set-window-option",
+    "-t",
+    windowId,
+    "automatic-rename",
+    "off",
+  ]);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -426,31 +469,35 @@ export async function splitPane(
   direction: "horizontal" | "vertical" = "vertical",
   size?: number
 ): Promise<TmuxPane | null> {
-  // Build the split-window command
-  let splitCommand = "split-window";
+  // Build the split-window command args
+  const args = ["split-window"];
 
   // Add direction flag (-h for horizontal, -v for vertical)
   if (direction === "horizontal") {
-    splitCommand += " -h";
+    args.push("-h");
   } else {
-    splitCommand += " -v";
+    args.push("-v");
   }
 
   // Add target pane
-  splitCommand += ` -t '${targetPaneId}'`;
+  args.push("-t", targetPaneId);
 
   // Add size if specified (as percentage)
   if (size !== undefined && size > 0 && size < 100) {
-    splitCommand += ` -p ${size}`;
+    args.push("-p", size.toString());
   }
 
   // Execute the split command
-  await executeTmux(splitCommand);
+  await executeTmux(args);
 
   // Get the window ID from the target pane to list all panes
-  const windowInfo = await executeTmux(
-    `display-message -p -t '${targetPaneId}' '#{window_id}'`
-  );
+  const windowInfo = await executeTmux([
+    "display-message",
+    "-p",
+    "-t",
+    targetPaneId,
+    "#{window_id}",
+  ]);
 
   // List all panes in the window to find the newly created one
   const panes = await listPanes(windowInfo);
@@ -538,20 +585,18 @@ export async function executeCommand(
 
     if (isSpecialKey || isKeyCombo) {
       // Send special key or key combination as-is
-      await executeTmux(`send-keys -t '${paneId}' ${fullCommand}`);
+      const args = ["send-keys", "-t", paneId];
+      args.push(...fullCommand.split(" "));
+      await executeTmux(args);
     } else {
       // For regular text, send each character individually to ensure proper processing
       // This handles both single characters (like 'q', 'f') and strings (like 'beam')
       for (const char of fullCommand) {
-        await executeTmux(
-          `send-keys -t '${paneId}' '${char.replace(/'/g, "'\\''")}'`
-        );
+        await executeTmux(["send-keys", "-t", paneId, char]);
       }
     }
   } else {
-    await executeTmux(
-      `send-keys -t '${paneId}' '${fullCommand.replace(/'/g, "'\\''")}' Enter`
-    );
+    await executeTmux(["send-keys", "-t", paneId, fullCommand, "Enter"]);
   }
 
   return commandId;
@@ -712,9 +757,13 @@ export async function list({
     if (!target) {
       throw new Error("target is required for scope 'pane'");
     }
-    const windowId = await executeTmux(
-      `display-message -p -t '${target}' '#{window_id}'`
-    );
+    const windowId = await executeTmux([
+      "display-message",
+      "-p",
+      "-t",
+      target,
+      "#{window_id}",
+    ]);
     const panes = await listPanes(windowId);
     const pane = panes.find((p) => p.id === target);
     if (!pane) {
@@ -779,9 +828,7 @@ export async function executeShellCommand({
     rawMode: false,
   });
 
-  await executeTmux(
-    `send-keys -t '${paneId}' '${fullCommand.replace(/'/g, "'\\''")}' Enter`
-  );
+  await executeTmux(["send-keys", "-t", paneId, fullCommand, "Enter"]);
 
   // Poll for completion
   const startTime = Date.now();
@@ -830,7 +877,9 @@ export async function sendKeys({
   // Repeat the key press the specified number of times
   for (let i = 0; i < repeat; i++) {
     // Raw pass-through, no validation or processing
-    await executeTmux(`send-keys -t '${paneId}' ${keys}`);
+    const args = ["send-keys", "-t", paneId];
+    args.push(...keys.split(" "));
+    await executeTmux(args);
   }
 
   // If return_output is requested, wait and capture pane content
@@ -897,15 +946,14 @@ export async function sendText({
   };
 }): Promise<string | void> {
   // Send each character with -l flag for literal interpretation
+  // Using execFile avoids shell interpretation of special characters like ; | & $
   for (const char of text) {
-    await executeTmux(
-      `send-keys -l -t '${paneId}' '${char.replace(/'/g, "'\\''")}'`
-    );
+    await executeTmux(["send-keys", "-l", "-t", paneId, char]);
   }
 
   if (pressEnter) {
     await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 300));
-    await executeTmux(`send-keys -t '${paneId}' Enter`);
+    await executeTmux(["send-keys", "-t", paneId, "Enter"]);
   }
 
   // If return_output is requested, wait and capture pane content
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/src/ui/App.css b/packages/voice-assistant/src/ui/App.css
index e1e4d0bca..74a840468 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/src/ui/App.css
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/src/ui/App.css
@@ -380,6 +380,14 @@
   background-color: #f59e0b;
 }
 
+.send-button.cancelling {
+  background-color: #ef4444;
+}
+
+.send-button.cancelling:hover:not(:disabled) {
+  background-color: #dc2626;
+}
+
 .send-button:disabled {
   background-color: #444;
   color: #999;
diff --git a/packages/voice-assistant/src/ui/App.tsx b/packages/voice-assistant/src/ui/App.tsx
index 73f65ea95..d9d613146 100644
--- a/packages/voice-assistant/src/ui/App.tsx
+++ b/packages/voice-assistant/src/ui/App.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useState, useEffect, useRef } from "react";
-import { Mic, Send, Radio } from "lucide-react";
+import { Mic, Send, Radio, X } from "lucide-react";
 import { useWebSocket } from "./hooks/useWebSocket";
 import { createAudioPlayer } from "./lib/audio-playback";
 import { createAudioRecorder, type AudioRecorder } from "./lib/audio-capture";
@@ -399,12 +399,47 @@ function App() {
     }
   };
 
+  const handleCancel = async () => {
+    console.log("[App] Cancelling operations...");
+
+    // Stop audio playback
+    audioPlayerRef.current.stop();
+    setIsPlayingAudio(false);
+
+    // Clear streaming state
+    setCurrentAssistantMessage("");
+
+    // Reset processing state
+    setIsProcessingAudio(false);
+
+    // Send abort request to server
+    ws.send({
+      type: "session",
+      message: {
+        type: "abort_request",
+      },
+    });
+
+    addLog("info", "Operations cancelled");
+  };
+
+  // Compute if we're processing an already sent request (not including recording)
+  const isInProgress =
+    isProcessingAudio || isPlayingAudio || currentAssistantMessage.length > 0;
+
   const handleButtonClick = async (e: React.MouseEvent<HTMLButtonElement>) => {
     e.preventDefault();
 
-    if (userInput.trim()) {
+    if (isRecording) {
+      // Stop recording and send the audio
+      await handleToggleRecording();
+    } else if (isInProgress) {
+      // Cancel processing/playback of already sent request
+      await handleCancel();
+    } else if (userInput.trim()) {
       handleSendMessage();
     } else {
+      // Start recording
       await handleToggleRecording();
     }
   };
@@ -649,15 +684,15 @@ function App() {
             <button
               type="button"
               onClick={handleButtonClick}
-              disabled={!ws.isConnected || isProcessingAudio}
-              className={`send-button ${isRecording ? "recording" : ""} ${
-                isProcessingAudio ? "processing" : ""
+              disabled={!ws.isConnected}
+              className={`send-button ${isInProgress ? "cancelling" : ""} ${
+                isRecording ? "recording" : ""
               } ${userInput.trim() ? "has-text" : ""}`}
             >
-              {isRecording ? (
+              {isInProgress ? (
+                <X size={20} />
+              ) : isRecording ? (
                 <span className="recording-indicator" />
-              ) : isProcessingAudio ? (
-                <span className="processing-indicator" />
               ) : userInput.trim() ? (
                 <Send size={20} />
               ) : (