diff --git a/roboco/agent_sdk/opencode_session.py b/roboco/agent_sdk/opencode_session.py
index b5e59615..93408ebf 100644
--- a/roboco/agent_sdk/opencode_session.py
+++ b/roboco/agent_sdk/opencode_session.py
@@ -206,6 +206,22 @@ class OpencodeServeSession:
         """Run one turn (synchronous message) and yield its normalized chunks."""
         if self._client is None or self._session_id is None:
             raise RuntimeError("OpencodeServeSession used outside its context")
+        # If the serve subprocess has died, the session is gone — every turn
+        # would otherwise fail with an opaque httpx connection error while the
+        # container lingers as a zombie. Surface it clearly (the panel shows a
+        # real message) and end the turn; the idle watchdog / a human reap tears
+        # the container down.
+        if self._proc is not None and self._proc.returncode is not None:
+            logger.error("opencode serve exited", returncode=self._proc.returncode)
+            yield StreamChunk(
+                kind="error",
+                text=(
+                    f"opencode serve exited (rc={self._proc.returncode}); this "
+                    "chat session ended — please start a new chat."
+                ),
+            )
+            yield StreamChunk(kind="turn_end", data={})
+            return
         body: dict[str, Any] = {"parts": [{"type": "text", "text": text}]}
         # Per-role reasoning effort: the orchestrator sets ROBOCO_GROK_VARIANT on
         # the container; the serve message endpoint accepts a `variant` field
diff --git a/tests/unit/agent_sdk/test_opencode_session.py b/tests/unit/agent_sdk/test_opencode_session.py
index 1de33bf9..29913077 100644
--- a/tests/unit/agent_sdk/test_opencode_session.py
+++ b/tests/unit/agent_sdk/test_opencode_session.py
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
+import pytest
 from roboco.agent_sdk.opencode_session import (
+    OpencodeServeSession,
     _extract_session_id,
     _message_error,
     normalize_opencode_message,
@@ -51,6 +53,21 @@ def test_fenced_draft_in_text_becomes_draft_chunk() -> None:
     assert draft.data["title"] == "Add login"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_send_on_dead_serve_yields_clear_error(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    # A crashed `opencode serve` must surface a clear error + end the turn, not
+    # hang the chat with opaque connection errors while the container zombies.
+    sess = OpencodeServeSession()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sess, "_session_id", "ses-1")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sess, "_client", object())  # unused: dead-proc guard wins
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sess, "_proc", type("P", (), {"returncode": 1})())
+    chunks = [c async for c in sess.send("hi")]
+    assert [c.kind for c in chunks] == ["error", "turn_end"]
+    assert "exited" in chunks[0].text
+
+
 def test_propose_draft_tool_part_becomes_draft_chunk() -> None:
     # The intake-tools.js propose_draft tool call (its input nested under
     # `draft`) is intercepted into a draft chunk — NOT rendered as a tool_use —