diff --git a/config/bash/zellij.sh b/config/bash/zellij.sh
index b4431c8..bc6f1b4 100644
--- a/config/bash/zellij.sh
+++ b/config/bash/zellij.sh
@@ -131,7 +131,11 @@ if declare -F _red_zellij_launch >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   )"
 
   _red_zellij_status=1
-  while IFS= read -r _red_zellij_session; do
+  # Read candidates on fd 9 so an interactive attach keeps the terminal on
+  # stdin. Feeding this loop with a plain here-document replaces fd 0 with a
+  # pipe for every command in the body. Zellij's stdin threads then spin on
+  # EOF while its output still targets the tty, freezing the terminal client.
+  while IFS= read -r _red_zellij_session <&9; do
     [ -n "$_red_zellij_session" ] || continue
     printf '%s\n' "$_red_zellij_session" >"$_red_zellij_last.tmp-$$" 2>/dev/null &&
       mv -f "$_red_zellij_last.tmp-$$" "$_red_zellij_last" 2>/dev/null
@@ -139,7 +143,7 @@ if declare -F _red_zellij_launch >/dev/null 2>&1; then
       2>>"$_red_zellij_log"
     _red_zellij_status=$?
     [ "$_red_zellij_status" -eq 0 ] && break
-  done <<EOF
+  done 9<<EOF
 $_red_zellij_candidates
 EOF
 
diff --git a/src/zellij-autostart.test.ts b/src/zellij-autostart.test.ts
index e1d3100..b6b9003 100644
--- a/src/zellij-autostart.test.ts
+++ b/src/zellij-autostart.test.ts
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ if [ "\${1:-}" = "attach" ]; then
     create=1
     shift
   fi
-  echo "STUB RED_IN_ZELLIJ=$RED_IN_ZELLIJ ATTACH=\${1:-} CREATE=$create"
+  stdin_tty=0
+  [ -t 0 ] && stdin_tty=1
+  echo "STUB RED_IN_ZELLIJ=$RED_IN_ZELLIJ ATTACH=\${1:-} CREATE=$create STDIN_TTY=$stdin_tty"
   if [ "\${1:-}" = "\${STUB_BAD_SESSION:-}" ]; then
     echo "invalid saved session: \${1:-}" >&2
     exit 7
@@ -162,6 +164,14 @@ describe("zellij autostart", () => {
   });
 
   describe("resumes the last valid session", () => {
+    test("keeps the terminal on stdin while reading session candidates", () => {
+      const r = run({
+        STUB_SESSIONS: "live [Created 2h ago]",
+      }, true);
+
+      expect(r.out).toContain("ATTACH=live CREATE=0 STDIN_TTY=1");
+    });
+
     test("prefers the newest live session over serialized exited sessions", () => {
       const r = run({
         STUB_SESSIONS: