diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/attach.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/attach.ts
index 522905c033..a881f2d7f8 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/attach.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/attach.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ export function addAttachOptions(cmd: Command): Command {
     .argument("<id>", "Agent ID (or prefix)");
 }
 import { connectToDaemon } from "../../utils/client.js";
+import { waitForStop } from "../../utils/wait-for-stop.js";
 import {
   fetchProjectedTimelineItems,
   LIVE_HISTORY_FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS,
@@ -157,31 +158,10 @@ export async function runAttachCommand(
     await unsubscribe.ready;
     console.log(`Attached to agent ${resolvedId.substring(0, 7)}.`);
 
-    // Handle Ctrl+C to detach gracefully
-    let detached = false;
-    const detach = () => {
-      if (detached) return;
-      detached = true;
-
-      console.log("\n\nDetaching from agent...");
-      unsubscribe();
-      client
-        .close()
-        .then(() => {
-          process.exit(0);
-        })
-        .catch(() => {
-          process.exit(1);
-        });
-    };
-
-    process.on("SIGINT", detach);
-    process.on("SIGTERM", detach);
-
-    // Keep the process alive
-    await new Promise(() => {
-      // Wait indefinitely until interrupted
-    });
+    await waitForStop();
+    console.log("\n\nDetaching from agent...");
+    unsubscribe();
+    await client.close();
   } catch (err) {
     await client.close().catch(() => {});
     const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/logs.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/logs.ts
index 6e32690b39..f555e27b80 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/logs.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/logs.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { Command } from "commander";
 import { connectToDaemon } from "../../utils/client.js";
+import { waitForStop } from "../../utils/wait-for-stop.js";
 import type { CommandOptions } from "../../output/index.js";
 import {
   fetchProjectedTimelineItems,
@@ -224,16 +225,7 @@ async function runFollowMode(
   await unsubscribe.ready;
   console.log(`\n--- Following logs (${tailLabel}; Ctrl+C to stop) ---\n`);
 
-  // Wait for interrupt
-  await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
-    const cleanup = () => {
-      unsubscribe();
-      resolve();
-    };
-
-    process.on("SIGINT", cleanup);
-    process.on("SIGTERM", cleanup);
-  });
-
+  await waitForStop();
+  unsubscribe();
   await client.close();
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/run.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/run.test.ts
index 66f4c9b613..651719e806 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/run.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/run.test.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,39 @@
+import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { createCli } from "./cli";
 import { createCliParseArgv } from "./run";
 
+const runModuleUrl = new URL("./run.ts", import.meta.url).href;
+
+// Runs the CLI in a child process whose stdout pipe has no reader, as when the
+// program that launched it has already closed its end.
+async function runCliWithClosedStdout(
+  argv: string[],
+): Promise<{ code: number | null; stderr: string }> {
+  const script = `
+    const { runCli } = await import(${JSON.stringify(runModuleUrl)});
+    process.exitCode = await runCli(${JSON.stringify(argv)});
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 100));
+    process.stderr.write("still running\\n");
+  `;
+  const child = spawn(process.execPath, ["--import", "tsx", "--input-type=module", "-e", script], {
+    cwd: path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)),
+    stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+  });
+  child.stdout.destroy();
+  let stderr = "";
+  child.stderr.setEncoding("utf8");
+  child.stderr.on("data", (chunk: string) => {
+    stderr += chunk;
+  });
+  const code = await new Promise<number | null>((resolve) => child.on("close", resolve));
+  return { code, stderr };
+}
+
 describe("runCli", () => {
   it("lets plugin update own --version while preserving global output options", async () => {
     const cli = createCli()
@@ -72,6 +101,19 @@ describe("runCli", () => {
     ).toEqual(["node", "paseo", "hooks", "claude", "UserPromptSubmit"]);
   });
 
+  it("finishes the command quietly when stdout is closed before it writes its output", async () => {
+    const home = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), "paseo-cli-closed-stdout-"));
+
+    try {
+      const result = await runCliWithClosedStdout(["daemon", "status", "--json", "--home", home]);
+
+      expect(result.stderr).toBe("still running\n");
+      expect(result.code).toBe(0);
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  }, 30_000);
+
   it("classifies existing unknown directories as open-project invocations", () => {
     const root = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), "paseo-cli-run-"));
     const project = path.join(root, "repository");
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/run.ts b/packages/cli/src/run.ts
index b95dd9b419..ac67e80745 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/run.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/run.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,21 @@ export function createCliParseArgv(input: {
   return [...nodeArgv, ...cliArgv];
 }
 
+// The program that started the CLI can close its end of stdout before the output
+// is written, as `paseo ls | head -1` or a launcher that discards output does.
+// Drop the output nobody reads and let the command finish, instead of surfacing
+// the failed write as an uncaught error.
+function ignoreClosedStdout(error: NodeJS.ErrnoException): void {
+  if (error.code !== "EPIPE") {
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
+
 export async function runCli(argv: string[], options: RunCliOptions = {}): Promise<number> {
+  if (!process.stdout.listeners("error").includes(ignoreClosedStdout)) {
+    process.stdout.on("error", ignoreClosedStdout);
+  }
+
   const parseArgv = createCliParseArgv({
     argv,
     cwd: options.cwd ?? process.cwd(),
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/wait-for-stop.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/wait-for-stop.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8430c39726
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/wait-for-stop.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+// Commands that stream until stopped (`paseo agent logs --follow`, `paseo agent
+// attach`) stop on Ctrl+C, a termination signal, or when the program reading
+// their output closes its end, as `| head` does. A closed reader shows up as
+// EPIPE on the next write to stdout, so the command stops at its next line of
+// output.
+export function waitForStop(): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const stop = () => {
+      process.off("SIGINT", stop);
+      process.off("SIGTERM", stop);
+      process.stdout.off("error", stopOnClosedStdout);
+      resolve();
+    };
+    const stopOnClosedStdout = (error: NodeJS.ErrnoException) => {
+      if (error.code === "EPIPE") {
+        stop();
+      }
+    };
+
+    process.on("SIGINT", stop);
+    process.on("SIGTERM", stop);
+    process.stdout.on("error", stopOnClosedStdout);
+  });
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/tests/43-agent-follow-closed-stdout.test.ts b/packages/cli/tests/43-agent-follow-closed-stdout.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0191867438
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/tests/43-agent-follow-closed-stdout.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env npx tsx
+
+/**
+ * Follow commands stop when nobody reads their output
+ *
+ * `paseo agent logs --follow` and `paseo agent attach` stream until they are
+ * stopped. A program that closes its end of their stdout, as `| head` or a
+ * launcher that discards output does, stops them the same way Ctrl+C does.
+ */
+
+import assert from "node:assert";
+import { connectToDaemon } from "../src/utils/client.ts";
+import { runPaseoCli, startTestDaemon } from "./helpers/test-daemon.ts";
+
+console.log("=== Follow Commands With Closed Stdout Tests ===\n");
+
+const daemon = await startTestDaemon();
+const host = `127.0.0.1:${daemon.port}`;
+
+try {
+  // An agent created without a prompt stays idle, so no provider is called.
+  const client = await connectToDaemon({ target: { kind: "endpoint", host } });
+  const agent = await client.createAgent({
+    provider: "claude",
+    cwd: daemon.workDir,
+    title: "closed stdout",
+  });
+  await client.close();
+
+  for (const args of [
+    ["agent", "logs", agent.id, "--follow"],
+    ["agent", "attach", agent.id],
+  ]) {
+    const label = `paseo ${args.slice(0, 2).join(" ")}`;
+    console.log(`Test: ${label} exits when its stdout reader is gone`);
+    const result = await runPaseoCli(daemon, [...args, "--host", host], {
+      closedStdout: true,
+      timeout: 20_000,
+    });
+
+    assert.strictEqual(result.stderr, "", `${label} should exit quietly`);
+    assert.strictEqual(result.exitCode, 0, `${label} should exit with code 0`);
+    console.log(`✓ ${label} exits when its stdout reader is gone\n`);
+  }
+} finally {
+  await daemon.stop();
+}
+
+console.log("=== All follow commands with closed stdout tests passed ===");
diff --git a/packages/cli/tests/helpers/test-daemon.ts b/packages/cli/tests/helpers/test-daemon.ts
index f8be7e6ead..5b5513d1a7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/tests/helpers/test-daemon.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/tests/helpers/test-daemon.ts
@@ -352,6 +352,8 @@ export async function runPaseoCli(
     timeout?: number;
     cwd?: string;
     env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
+    /** Close the reading end of the CLI's stdout, as a launcher that discards output does. */
+    closedStdout?: boolean;
   },
 ): Promise<{ exitCode: number; stdout: string; stderr: string }> {
   const timeout = options?.timeout ?? 60000;
@@ -380,6 +382,10 @@ export async function runPaseoCli(
     const stdout = createOutputCapture();
     const stderr = createOutputCapture();
 
+    if (options?.closedStdout) {
+      proc.stdout?.destroy();
+    }
+
     proc.stdout?.on("data", (data) => {
       appendOutputCapture(stdout, data);
     });