diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index bd35a5a..c063020 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.5.0] - 2026-08-21
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Prevented interactive progress spinners from printing every animation frame when
+  their message exceeds the terminal width.
+
 ### Changed
 
 - Refreshed the README with a quick-start path, a recorded synthetic TUI demo that
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 54b4445..3015239 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@ require (
 	github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea v1.3.10
 	github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss v1.1.0
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20
+	github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.16
 	github.com/muesli/termenv v0.16.0
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.10.2
+	golang.org/x/term v0.35.0
 )
 
 require (
@@ -20,7 +22,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/lucasb-eyer/go-colorful v1.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-localereader v0.0.1 // indirect
-	github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.16 // indirect
 	github.com/muesli/ansi v0.0.0-20230316100256-276c6243b2f6 // indirect
 	github.com/muesli/cancelreader v0.2.2 // indirect
 	github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.4.7 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 08693d6..e91f09a 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@ golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210809222454-d867a43fc93e/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBc
 golang.org/x/sys v0.6.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.36.0 h1:KVRy2GtZBrk1cBYA7MKu5bEZFxQk4NIDV6RLVcC8o0k=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.36.0/go.mod h1:OgkHotnGiDImocRcuBABYBEXf8A9a87e/uXjp9XT3ks=
+golang.org/x/term v0.35.0 h1:bZBVKBudEyhRcajGcNc3jIfWPqV4y/Kt2XcoigOWtDQ=
+golang.org/x/term v0.35.0/go.mod h1:TPGtkTLesOwf2DE8CgVYiZinHAOuy5AYUYT1lENIZnA=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.8 h1:nAL+RVCQ9uMn3vJZbV+MRnydTJFPf8qqY42YiA6MrqY=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.8/go.mod h1:E6s5w1FMmriuDzIBO73fBruAKo1PCIq6d2Q6DHfQ8WQ=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
diff --git a/internal/cli/progress.go b/internal/cli/progress.go
index d0d6151..7f75150 100644
--- a/internal/cli/progress.go
+++ b/internal/cli/progress.go
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/mattn/go-isatty"
+	"github.com/mattn/go-runewidth"
+	"golang.org/x/term"
 )
 
 // spinner writes an animated, single-line progress indicator to a writer while a
@@ -17,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 type spinner struct {
 	w       io.Writer
 	enabled bool
+	width   func() int
 
 	mu       sync.Mutex
 	messages []string
@@ -27,25 +30,53 @@ type spinner struct {
 
 var spinnerFrames = []rune{'⠋', '⠙', '⠹', '⠸', '⠼', '⠴', '⠦', '⠧', '⠇', '⠏'}
 
-const framesPerMessage = 20
+const (
+	framesPerMessage   = 20
+	spinnerSafetyWidth = 1
+)
 
 // newSpinner returns a spinner writing to w. It is enabled only when w is (or
-// wraps) an interactive terminal, which we detect via os.Stderr.
+// wraps) an interactive terminal whose width can be handled safely.
 func newSpinner(w io.Writer, messages ...string) *spinner {
-	return newSpinnerWithTerminal(w, isTerminal(w), messages...)
+	return newSpinnerWithTerminal(w, spinnerEnabled(w), messages...)
 }
 
 func newSpinnerWithTerminal(w io.Writer, enabled bool, messages ...string) *spinner {
-	return &spinner{w: w, enabled: enabled, messages: messages}
+	return &spinner{
+		w:        w,
+		enabled:  enabled,
+		width:    func() int { return terminalWidth(w) },
+		messages: messages,
+	}
 }
 
-func isTerminal(w io.Writer) bool {
+func spinnerEnabled(w io.Writer) bool {
 	f, ok := w.(*os.File)
 	if !ok {
 		return false
 	}
 	fd := f.Fd()
-	return isatty.IsTerminal(fd) || isatty.IsCygwinTerminal(fd)
+	return supportsSpinner(
+		isatty.IsTerminal(fd),
+		isatty.IsCygwinTerminal(fd),
+		terminalWidth(w),
+	)
+}
+
+func supportsSpinner(nativeTerminal, cygwinTerminal bool, width int) bool {
+	return nativeTerminal || (cygwinTerminal && width > 0)
+}
+
+func terminalWidth(w io.Writer) int {
+	f, ok := w.(*os.File)
+	if !ok {
+		return 0
+	}
+	width, _, err := term.GetSize(int(f.Fd()))
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return width
 }
 
 // start begins animating. It is safe to call when disabled (no-op).
@@ -72,12 +103,47 @@ func (s *spinner) run() {
 		case <-ticker.C:
 			msg := s.messageAt(frame)
 			elapsed := time.Since(start).Truncate(time.Second)
-			fmt.Fprintf(s.w, "\r\033[K%c %s (%s)", spinnerFrames[frame%len(spinnerFrames)], msg, elapsed)
+			fmt.Fprintf(s.w, "\r\033[K%s", s.renderFrame(frame, msg, elapsed))
 			frame++
 		}
 	}
 }
 
+func (s *spinner) renderFrame(frame int, message string, elapsed time.Duration) string {
+	width := 0
+	if s.width != nil {
+		width = s.width()
+	}
+	return formatSpinnerFrame(spinnerFrames[frame%len(spinnerFrames)], message, elapsed, width)
+}
+
+func formatSpinnerFrame(frame rune, message string, elapsed time.Duration, terminalWidth int) string {
+	prefix := fmt.Sprintf("%c ", frame)
+	suffix := fmt.Sprintf(" (%s)", elapsed)
+	line := prefix + message + suffix
+	if terminalWidth <= 0 {
+		return line
+	}
+
+	maxWidth := terminalWidth - spinnerSafetyWidth
+	if maxWidth <= 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	if runewidth.StringWidth(line) <= maxWidth {
+		return line
+	}
+
+	messageWidth := maxWidth - runewidth.StringWidth(prefix) - runewidth.StringWidth(suffix)
+	if messageWidth <= 0 {
+		return runewidth.Truncate(string(frame), maxWidth, "")
+	}
+	tail := "…"
+	if runewidth.StringWidth(tail) > messageWidth {
+		tail = ""
+	}
+	return prefix + runewidth.Truncate(message, messageWidth, tail) + suffix
+}
+
 // setMessages updates the messages shown next to the spinner. The spinner cycles
 // through the supplied messages on a fixed cadence, keeping progress copy
 // deterministic for both users and tests.
diff --git a/internal/cli/progress_test.go b/internal/cli/progress_test.go
index 66e342f..d68110c 100644
--- a/internal/cli/progress_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/progress_test.go
@@ -2,7 +2,11 @@ package cli
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/mattn/go-runewidth"
 )
 
 func TestSpinnerDisabledOnNonTerminal(t *testing.T) {
@@ -58,6 +62,111 @@ func TestSpinnerMessageUpdates(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestFormatSpinnerFrame(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name          string
+		message       string
+		terminalWidth int
+		want          string
+		wantTruncated bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:          "normal width",
+			message:       "Starting WorkIQ",
+			terminalWidth: 80,
+			want:          "⠋ Starting WorkIQ (1s)",
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "narrow width",
+			message:       "Starting WorkIQ",
+			terminalWidth: 16,
+			wantTruncated: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "unicode display width",
+			message:       "界界界界",
+			terminalWidth: 12,
+			wantTruncated: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "ellipsis wider than remaining space",
+			message:       "Starting WorkIQ",
+			terminalWidth: 9,
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "unknown width",
+			message:       "Starting WorkIQ",
+			terminalWidth: 0,
+			want:          "⠋ Starting WorkIQ (1s)",
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "extremely narrow width",
+			message:       "Starting WorkIQ",
+			terminalWidth: 4,
+			want:          "⠋",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := formatSpinnerFrame('⠋', tt.message, time.Second, tt.terminalWidth)
+			if tt.want != "" && got != tt.want {
+				t.Errorf("formatSpinnerFrame() = %q, want %q", got, tt.want)
+			}
+			if tt.wantTruncated && (!strings.Contains(got, "…") || !strings.HasSuffix(got, " (1s)")) {
+				t.Errorf("formatSpinnerFrame() = %q, want a truncated message with elapsed time", got)
+			}
+			if tt.terminalWidth > 0 && runewidth.StringWidth(got) >= tt.terminalWidth {
+				t.Errorf("formatSpinnerFrame() width = %d, must be less than terminal width %d", runewidth.StringWidth(got), tt.terminalWidth)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSpinnerRenderFrameReadsCurrentWidth(t *testing.T) {
+	widths := []int{80, 16}
+	sp := newSpinnerWithTerminal(&bytes.Buffer{}, true, "Starting WorkIQ")
+	sp.width = func() int {
+		width := widths[0]
+		widths = widths[1:]
+		return width
+	}
+
+	wide := sp.renderFrame(0, "Starting WorkIQ", time.Second)
+	narrow := sp.renderFrame(0, "Starting WorkIQ", time.Second)
+
+	if strings.Contains(wide, "…") {
+		t.Errorf("wide frame unexpectedly truncated: %q", wide)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(narrow, "…") {
+		t.Errorf("narrow frame was not truncated: %q", narrow)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSupportsSpinner(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		native   bool
+		cygwin   bool
+		width    int
+		expected bool
+	}{
+		{"native terminal with width", true, false, 80, true},
+		{"native terminal with unknown width", true, false, 0, true},
+		{"cygwin terminal with width", false, true, 80, true},
+		{"cygwin terminal with unknown width", false, true, 0, false},
+		{"non-terminal", false, false, 80, false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if got := supportsSpinner(tt.native, tt.cygwin, tt.width); got != tt.expected {
+				t.Errorf("supportsSpinner() = %t, want %t", got, tt.expected)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestSpinnerNilSafe(t *testing.T) {
 	var sp *spinner
 	// None of these should panic on a nil spinner.