diff --git a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/DirtyTreePolicy.scala b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/DirtyTreePolicy.scala
index 3933cfce..268a186f 100644
--- a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/DirtyTreePolicy.scala
+++ b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/DirtyTreePolicy.scala
@@ -69,12 +69,12 @@ private[runner] object DirtyTreePolicy:
     *
     * This writes the terminal outside `TerminalOutput`'s prompt transaction,
     * which is otherwise the single owner of the cursor. What makes that safe is
-    * WHEN it runs: setup precedes the first stage, and the status row is only
-    * ever raised by a `StageStarted`, so nothing is pinned at the bottom and
-    * the animator's `tick` is a no-op. Routing it through the transaction
-    * instead would mean handing setup the run's `Interaction` — including every
-    * embedder's non-terminal one. Residual: the read blocks uninterruptibly, so
-    * a fork failing elsewhere in the run's scope waits for the answer.
+    * WHEN it runs: before any stage or setup activity raises the status row, so
+    * nothing is pinned at the bottom and the animator's `tick` is a no-op.
+    * Routing it through the transaction instead would mean handing setup the
+    * run's `Interaction` — including every embedder's non-terminal one.
+    * Residual: the read blocks uninterruptibly, so a fork failing elsewhere in
+    * the run's scope waits for the answer.
     */
   def promptOnStderr(dirtyCount: Int): DirtyTreeChoice =
     Console.err.println(
diff --git a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/FlowLifecycle.scala b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/FlowLifecycle.scala
index 8b2e8fe2..e1af7e91 100644
--- a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/FlowLifecycle.scala
+++ b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/FlowLifecycle.scala
@@ -550,7 +550,8 @@ object FlowLifecycle:
         StackOutcome.Configured(settings)
       case SettingsResolution.NeedsDiscovery(existingContent) =>
         val (settings, entries) =
-          StackDiscovery.discover(agent, workDir, emit, existingContent)
+          withActivity("Discovering format, lint & test commands", emit):
+            StackDiscovery.discover(agent, workDir, emit, existingContent)
         val fileText = existingContent match
           case None => SettingsFile.render(entries)
           case Some(content) =>
@@ -563,6 +564,13 @@ object FlowLifecycle:
         )
         StackOutcome.Discovered(settings)
 
+  private def withActivity[T](label: String, emit: OrcaEvent => Unit)(
+      op: => T
+  ): T =
+    emit(OrcaEvent.ActivityStarted(label))
+    try op
+    finally emit(OrcaEvent.ActivityEnded())
+
   /** The run's stack settings, and whether [[resolveStackSettings]] just wrote
     * them to the settings file, which then still needs its own commit.
     */
@@ -681,7 +689,8 @@ object FlowLifecycle:
       emit: OrcaEvent => Unit
   )(using InStage, WorkspaceWrite): FeatureBranch =
     val strategy = branchNaming.getOrElse(BranchNamingStrategy.shortenPrompt)
-    val resolvedName = strategy.resolve(userPrompt, agent)
+    val resolvedName = withActivity("Naming the branch", emit):
+      strategy.resolve(userPrompt, agent)
     // Resolved once, shared by both fallback triggers below (a
     // protected-name refusal and a git-level `BranchAlreadyExists`
     // collision use the exact same deterministic name).
diff --git a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/LoggingListener.scala b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/LoggingListener.scala
index 304fc6c1..05ab1b35 100644
--- a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/LoggingListener.scala
+++ b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/LoggingListener.scala
@@ -22,7 +22,10 @@ private[orca] class LoggingListener extends OrcaListener:
       log.info("stage start: {}", path.display)
     case OrcaEvent.StageEnded(path, outcome) =>
       log.info("stage end: {} ({})", path.display, outcome)
-    case OrcaEvent.Step(message) => log.info("step: {}", message)
+    case OrcaEvent.ActivityStarted(label) =>
+      log.info("activity start: {}", label)
+    case _: OrcaEvent.ActivityEnded => log.info("activity end")
+    case OrcaEvent.Step(message)    => log.info("step: {}", message)
     case OrcaEvent.Bookkeeping(message) =>
       log.info("bookkeeping: {}", message)
     case OrcaEvent.Caveat(message)     => log.info("caveat: {}", message)
diff --git a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalEventRenderer.scala b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalEventRenderer.scala
index 98941a03..2ce1c2b3 100644
--- a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalEventRenderer.scala
+++ b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalEventRenderer.scala
@@ -49,6 +49,10 @@ private[terminal] class TerminalEventRenderer(
       stack = stack.drop(1)
       stageEmitters = StageEmitters.Silent
       output.setStatus(stack.headOption)
+    case OrcaEvent.ActivityStarted(label) =>
+      output.setStatus(Some(label))
+    case _: OrcaEvent.ActivityEnded =>
+      output.setStatus(stack.headOption)
     case OrcaEvent.ToolUse(tool, args, agent) =>
       // Recorded before the branch: an agent whose reads go out unnamed is
       // still an emitter, so its prose and writes get named once the stage has
diff --git a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalOutput.scala b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalOutput.scala
index 6b15d51d..f7836d02 100644
--- a/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalOutput.scala
+++ b/runner/src/main/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalOutput.scala
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ private[terminal] object TerminalOutputState:
   /** Carriage return + ANSI Erase-In-Line-2 (clear entire line). `\u001b` is
     * the ESC byte, a Unicode escape so the source stays grep-friendly.
     */
-  private val ClearLine: String = "\r\u001b[2K"
+  private[terminal] val ClearLine: String = "\r\u001b[2K"
 
   private val DefaultLabel: String = "Thinking..."
 
diff --git a/runner/src/test/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalEventRendererTest.scala b/runner/src/test/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalEventRendererTest.scala
index 8ba4fb14..6b63e60a 100644
--- a/runner/src/test/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalEventRendererTest.scala
+++ b/runner/src/test/scala/orca/runner/terminal/TerminalEventRendererTest.scala
@@ -487,6 +487,23 @@ class TerminalEventRendererTest extends munit.FunSuite:
       s"outer stage title leaked into the status bar; tail was: '$tail'"
     )
 
+  test("an activity outside any stage pins its label until it ends"):
+    val rendered = renderWith(
+      animated = true,
+      List(
+        OrcaEvent.ActivityStarted("Naming the branch"),
+        OrcaEvent.ActivityEnded()
+      )
+    )
+    assert(
+      rendered.contains("Naming the branch"),
+      s"activity label missing from the status row; got: '$rendered'"
+    )
+    assert(
+      rendered.endsWith(TerminalOutputState.ClearLine),
+      s"status row should be cleared once the activity ends; got: '$rendered'"
+    )
+
   test("nested stages indent inner content; no ✔ ever appears in the log"):
     val output = renderEvents(
       List(
diff --git a/tools/src/main/scala/orca/events/OrcaEvent.scala b/tools/src/main/scala/orca/events/OrcaEvent.scala
index 557352b7..ecd335d3 100644
--- a/tools/src/main/scala/orca/events/OrcaEvent.scala
+++ b/tools/src/main/scala/orca/events/OrcaEvent.scala
@@ -28,6 +28,16 @@ enum OrcaEvent:
   /** The stage at `path` ended; see [[StageStarted]]. */
   case StageEnded private[orca] (path: StagePath.Stage, outcome: StageOutcome)
 
+  /** Orca began work outside any stage, such as a setup model call; `label`
+    * names it for display. Always followed by [[ActivityEnded]], before the
+    * next `ActivityStarted` or [[StageStarted]]; emitted on the flow's owner
+    * thread.
+    */
+  case ActivityStarted private[orca] (label: String)
+
+  /** The work announced by the preceding [[ActivityStarted]] finished. */
+  case ActivityEnded private[orca] ()
+
   /** One tool invocation by the agent named in `agent`. Backends emit `None` —
     * a drain doesn't know which agent it runs for;
     * [[OrcaListener.attributedTo]] wraps it and stamps the name on the way out.