diff --git a/cli.py b/cli.py
old mode 100755
new mode 100644
index 5ff0625c03a..b2c246137ff
--- a/cli.py
+++ b/cli.py
@@ -1915,6 +1915,9 @@ class HermesCLI:
                 tool_progress_callback=self._on_tool_progress,
                 stream_delta_callback=self._stream_delta if self.streaming_enabled else None,
             )
+            # Route agent status output through prompt_toolkit so ANSI escape
+            # sequences aren't garbled by patch_stdout's StdoutProxy (#2262).
+            self.agent._print_fn = _cprint
             self._active_agent_route_signature = (
                 effective_model,
                 runtime.get("provider"),
@@ -4238,13 +4241,18 @@ class HermesCLI:
             elif not self.show_reasoning:
                 self.agent.reasoning_callback = None
 
+        # Use raw ANSI codes via _cprint so the output is routed through
+        # prompt_toolkit's renderer.  self.console.print() with Rich markup
+        # writes directly to stdout which patch_stdout's StdoutProxy mangles
+        # into garbled sequences like '?[33mTool progress: NEW?[0m' (#2262).
+        from hermes_cli.colors import Colors as _Colors
         labels = {
-            "off": "[dim]Tool progress: OFF[/] — silent mode, just the final response.",
-            "new": "[yellow]Tool progress: NEW[/] — show each new tool (skip repeats).",
-            "all": "[green]Tool progress: ALL[/] — show every tool call.",
-            "verbose": "[bold green]Tool progress: VERBOSE[/] — full args, results, think blocks, and debug logs.",
+            "off": f"{_Colors.DIM}Tool progress: OFF{_Colors.RESET} — silent mode, just the final response.",
+            "new": f"{_Colors.YELLOW}Tool progress: NEW{_Colors.RESET} — show each new tool (skip repeats).",
+            "all": f"{_Colors.GREEN}Tool progress: ALL{_Colors.RESET} — show every tool call.",
+            "verbose": f"{_Colors.BOLD}{_Colors.GREEN}Tool progress: VERBOSE{_Colors.RESET} — full args, results, think blocks, and debug logs.",
         }
-        self.console.print(labels.get(self.tool_progress_mode, ""))
+        _cprint(labels.get(self.tool_progress_mode, ""))
 
     def _handle_reasoning_command(self, cmd: str):
         """Handle /reasoning — manage effort level and display toggle.
diff --git a/run_agent.py b/run_agent.py
index 29df5373a73..7931581f80b 100644
--- a/run_agent.py
+++ b/run_agent.py
@@ -473,6 +473,11 @@ class AIAgent:
         self.quiet_mode = quiet_mode
         self.ephemeral_system_prompt = ephemeral_system_prompt
         self.platform = platform  # "cli", "telegram", "discord", "whatsapp", etc.
+        # Pluggable print function — CLI replaces this with _cprint so that
+        # raw ANSI status lines are routed through prompt_toolkit's renderer
+        # instead of going directly to stdout where patch_stdout's StdoutProxy
+        # would mangle the escape sequences.  None = use builtins.print.
+        self._print_fn = None
         self.skip_context_files = skip_context_files
         self.pass_session_id = pass_session_id
         self.log_prefix_chars = log_prefix_chars
@@ -1111,16 +1116,21 @@ class AIAgent:
             self.context_compressor.compression_count = 0
             self.context_compressor._context_probed = False
     
-    @staticmethod
-    def _safe_print(*args, **kwargs):
+    def _safe_print(self, *args, **kwargs):
         """Print that silently handles broken pipes / closed stdout.
 
         In headless environments (systemd, Docker, nohup) stdout may become
         unavailable mid-session.  A raw ``print()`` raises ``OSError`` which
         can crash cron jobs and lose completed work.
+
+        Internally routes through ``self._print_fn`` (default: builtin
+        ``print``) so callers such as the CLI can inject a renderer that
+        handles ANSI escape sequences properly (e.g. prompt_toolkit's
+        ``print_formatted_text(ANSI(...))``) without touching this method.
         """
         try:
-            print(*args, **kwargs)
+            fn = self._print_fn or print
+            fn(*args, **kwargs)
         except OSError:
             pass