diff --git a/ui-tui/src/__tests__/composerHighlights.test.ts b/ui-tui/src/__tests__/composerHighlights.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0fcc9598ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui-tui/src/__tests__/composerHighlights.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import { highlightsStable, splitComposerHighlights } from '../domain/composerHighlights.js'
+
+const painted = (text: string) =>
+  splitComposerHighlights(text)
+    .filter(segment => segment.ref)
+    .map(segment => segment.text)
+
+describe('splitComposerHighlights', () => {
+  it('marks a command invocation and a skill named mid-prose', () => {
+    expect(painted('/work fix the leak')).toEqual(['/work'])
+    expect(painted('clean this up with /clean')).toEqual(['/clean'])
+    expect(painted('run /clean then /work')).toEqual(['/clean', '/work'])
+  })
+
+  it('marks @ references, including quoted values with spaces', () => {
+    expect(painted('see @file:src/a.ts please')).toEqual(['@file:src/a.ts'])
+    expect(painted('see @file:`my notes.md` please')).toEqual(['@file:`my notes.md`'])
+    expect(painted('diff @diff and @staged')).toEqual(['@diff', '@staged'])
+  })
+
+  it('marks attachment and paste tokens', () => {
+    expect(painted('what is in [[ Image 1 ]] here')).toEqual(['[[ Image 1 ]]'])
+    expect(painted('paste [[ log.. [3 lines] ]] ok')).toEqual(['[[ log.. [3 lines] ]]'])
+  })
+
+  it('marks every kind in one message', () => {
+    expect(painted('/work with @file:a.ts and [[ Image 2 ]]')).toEqual(['/work', '@file:a.ts', '[[ Image 2 ]]'])
+  })
+
+  it('leaves paths, bare slashes, and email addresses alone', () => {
+    for (const text of [
+      'look at /usr/local/bin',
+      'check src/foo/bar',
+      'a 3 /4 b',
+      'either / or',
+      'email me@example.com'
+    ]) {
+      expect(splitComposerHighlights(text)).toEqual([{ ref: false, text }])
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('marks a half-typed token so the accent tracks the caret', () => {
+    // The composer paints while you type — waiting for the token to close
+    // would flash the accent on only after the last character. A bare `/`
+    // counts at the caret: that's the command menu opening.
+    expect(painted('/wor')).toEqual(['/wor'])
+    expect(painted('ref @fi')).toEqual(['@fi'])
+    expect(painted('/')).toEqual(['/'])
+  })
+
+  it('round-trips the input exactly', () => {
+    for (const text of ['/work a', 'x @file:b [[ Image 1 ]]', 'plain text', '', 'look at /usr/local/bin']) {
+      expect(
+        splitComposerHighlights(text)
+          .map(segment => segment.text)
+          .join('')
+      ).toBe(text)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('always returns at least one segment', () => {
+    expect(splitComposerHighlights('')).toEqual([{ ref: false, text: '' }])
+  })
+})
+
+describe('highlightsStable', () => {
+  // Fast-echo writes ONLY the new cells, so it may run only when every
+  // character already on screen keeps the colour it had.
+  it('allows the bypass while a token just grows', () => {
+    expect(highlightsStable('/wor', '/work')).toBe(true)
+    expect(highlightsStable('hello', 'hello ')).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('blocks the bypass when a keystroke re-colours existing cells', () => {
+    expect(highlightsStable('[[ a ]', '[[ a ]]')).toBe(false)
+    expect(highlightsStable('/usr', '/usr/')).toBe(false)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/__tests__/inlineSlashSkill.test.ts b/ui-tui/src/__tests__/inlineSlashSkill.test.ts
index 61578fce68..3fd35cf1f9 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/__tests__/inlineSlashSkill.test.ts
+++ b/ui-tui/src/__tests__/inlineSlashSkill.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
-import { inlineSlashTrigger, splitSlashSkillRefs } from '../domain/slash.js'
+import { inlineSlashTrigger } from '../domain/slash.js'
 import { completionRequestForInput } from '../hooks/useCompletion.js'
 
 describe('inlineSlashTrigger', () => {
@@ -91,44 +91,3 @@ describe('completionRequestForInput — inline skill references', () => {
     expect(completionRequestForInput('open /usr/lo')).toMatchObject({ method: 'complete.path' })
   })
 })
-
-describe('splitSlashSkillRefs', () => {
-  it('marks a skill referenced mid-prose', () => {
-    expect(splitSlashSkillRefs('clean this up with /clean')).toEqual([
-      { ref: false, text: 'clean this up with ' },
-      { ref: true, text: '/clean' }
-    ])
-  })
-
-  it('keeps the prose on both sides of the reference', () => {
-    expect(splitSlashSkillRefs('run /clean then ship')).toEqual([
-      { ref: false, text: 'run ' },
-      { ref: true, text: '/clean' },
-      { ref: false, text: ' then ship' }
-    ])
-  })
-
-  it('does not mark paths', () => {
-    for (const text of ['look at /usr/local/bin', 'check src/foo/bar', 'a 3 /4 b']) {
-      expect(splitSlashSkillRefs(text)).toEqual([{ ref: false, text }])
-    }
-  })
-
-  it('does not mark a leading slash — that is a command, not a reference', () => {
-    expect(splitSlashSkillRefs('/clean')).toEqual([{ ref: false, text: '/clean' }])
-  })
-
-  it('round-trips the input exactly', () => {
-    for (const text of ['run /clean then /work ok', 'plain text', '', 'look at /usr/local/bin']) {
-      expect(
-        splitSlashSkillRefs(text)
-          .map(s => s.text)
-          .join('')
-      ).toBe(text)
-    }
-  })
-
-  it('always returns at least one segment', () => {
-    expect(splitSlashSkillRefs('')).toEqual([{ ref: false, text: '' }])
-  })
-})
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/components/messageLine.tsx b/ui-tui/src/components/messageLine.tsx
index 1d3d7e6761..7417450e35 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/components/messageLine.tsx
+++ b/ui-tui/src/components/messageLine.tsx
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ import { memo, useState } from 'react'
 import { TERMUX_TUI_MODE } from '../config/env.js'
 import { LONG_MSG } from '../config/limits.js'
 import { hasLeadGap } from '../domain/blockLayout.js'
+import { splitComposerHighlights } from '../domain/composerHighlights.js'
 import { sectionMode } from '../domain/details.js'
 import { userDisplay } from '../domain/messages.js'
 import { ROLE } from '../domain/roles.js'
-import { splitSlashSkillRefs } from '../domain/slash.js'
 import { transcriptBodyWidth, transcriptGutterWidth } from '../lib/inputMetrics.js'
 import {
   boundedLiveRenderText,
@@ -230,11 +230,11 @@ export const MessageLine = memo(function MessageLine({
       )
     }
 
-    // A skill the user referenced mid-prose (`clean this up with /clean`)
-    // keeps the accent it wore as a completion in the composer, instead of
-    // flattening back into the body text.
+    // A skill, `@ref`, or attachment token the user put in the message keeps
+    // the accent it wore in the composer, instead of flattening back into the
+    // body text.
     if (msg.role === 'user') {
-      const segments = splitSlashSkillRefs(msg.text)
+      const segments = splitComposerHighlights(msg.text)
 
       return (
         <Text {...(body ? { color: body } : {})}>
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/domain/composerHighlights.ts b/ui-tui/src/domain/composerHighlights.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f5ee602ad3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui-tui/src/domain/composerHighlights.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+import { PASTE_SNIPPET_RE } from '../protocol/paste.js'
+
+/**
+ * Reference spans in composer text: a `/skill` invoked or named in prose, an
+ * `@file:` / `@url:` / `@session:` ref, and a `[[ Image 1 ]]` / paste token.
+ * The same vocabulary the desktop chips, so the two surfaces agree on what a
+ * reference is.
+ *
+ * Concatenating every `text` reproduces the input exactly — styling only, the
+ * text is never rewritten. Regexes are built per call: a shared `/g` instance
+ * carries `lastIndex` between callers and silently skips the first match in
+ * the next string it is handed.
+ */
+export type ComposerHighlight = { ref: boolean; text: string }
+
+// Leading OR mid-prose. `(?![\w-]*\/)` keeps `/usr/local` from lighting up as
+// `/usr`, and requiring a letter keeps `a 3 /4 b` plain. A BARE `/` counts only
+// at the very end — that is the user opening the command menu, not prose.
+const slashRe = () => /(?<=^|\s)(?:\/[a-zA-Z][\w-]*(?![\w-]*\/)|\/$)/g
+
+// Every `@ref` shape the composer accepts: a typed kind (`@file:src/a.ts`), a
+// quoted value with spaces, a bare `@diff` / `@staged`, and the half-typed
+// `@fi` the user is still working on. Quoted alternatives come before bare
+// `\S+` or a quoted value would end at its first space.
+const atRe = () => /(?<=^|\s)@(?:[\w-]+:(?:`[^`\n]*`?|"[^"\n]*"?|'[^'\n]*'?|\S*)|\S*)/g
+
+const tokenRe = () => new RegExp(PASTE_SNIPPET_RE.source, 'g')
+
+type Span = { end: number; start: number }
+
+const matchSpans = (text: string, re: RegExp): Span[] =>
+  [...text.matchAll(re)].filter(m => m[0]).map(m => ({ end: (m.index ?? 0) + m[0].length, start: m.index ?? 0 }))
+
+export const splitComposerHighlights = (text: string): ComposerHighlight[] => {
+  // Tokens, then @refs, then slashes: on an overlap the earlier kind wins, so
+  // a slash inside a quoted ref value stays part of that ref.
+  const spans = [...matchSpans(text, tokenRe()), ...matchSpans(text, atRe()), ...matchSpans(text, slashRe())]
+    .sort((a, b) => a.start - b.start)
+    .reduce<Span[]>((kept, span) => {
+      if (!kept.some(prev => span.start < prev.end && span.end > prev.start)) {
+        kept.push(span)
+      }
+
+      return kept
+    }, [])
+
+  const out: ComposerHighlight[] = []
+  let last = 0
+
+  for (const span of spans) {
+    if (span.start > last) {
+      out.push({ ref: false, text: text.slice(last, span.start) })
+    }
+
+    out.push({ ref: true, text: text.slice(span.start, span.end) })
+    last = span.end
+  }
+
+  if (last < text.length || !out.length) {
+    out.push({ ref: false, text: text.slice(last) })
+  }
+
+  return out
+}
+
+/** Per-character "is this cell accented", indexed to match the input string. */
+export const highlightMask = (text: string): boolean[] => {
+  const mask = new Array<boolean>(text.length).fill(false)
+  let offset = 0
+
+  for (const segment of splitComposerHighlights(text)) {
+    if (segment.ref) {
+      mask.fill(true, offset, offset + segment.text.length)
+    }
+
+    offset += segment.text.length
+  }
+
+  return mask
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether every character that stays on screen keeps the color it had.
+ *
+ * The fast-echo bypass writes ONLY the new cells, so it may run only when a
+ * keystroke leaves the existing ones alone. Typing `]` to close a
+ * `[[ token ]]`, or a second `/` demoting `/usr` to a path, recolors text
+ * already painted — those have to go through a full Ink repaint instead.
+ */
+export const highlightsStable = (prev: string, next: string): boolean => {
+  const before = highlightMask(prev)
+  const after = highlightMask(next)
+
+  return before.slice(0, Math.min(before.length, after.length)).every((on, i) => on === after[i])
+}
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/domain/slash.ts b/ui-tui/src/domain/slash.ts
index b40578c960..1f1b12847d 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/domain/slash.ts
+++ b/ui-tui/src/domain/slash.ts
@@ -53,44 +53,6 @@ export const parseSlashCommand = (cmd: string) => {
   return { arg: rest.join(' '), cmd, name: name.toLowerCase() }
 }
 
-// A skill referenced mid-prose in a message that's already been sent
-// ("clean this up with /clean"). The composer offers it as a completion, so
-// the transcript marks it as one rather than flattening it into the body text.
-//
-// Unlike the caret-anchored trigger above this scans finished text, so it has
-// to reject a token that continues into a path: `/usr/local/bin` would
-// otherwise mark `/usr`. `(?![\w-]*\/)` requires the token to end at something
-// other than another slash. A leading `/` is excluded too — that's a command
-// invocation, which never reaches the transcript as a user message.
-const SLASH_SKILL_REF_RE = /(?<=\s)\/[a-zA-Z][\w-]*(?![\w-]*\/)/g
-
-/**
- * Split `text` into alternating plain and `/skill` reference runs. Always
- * returns at least one segment, and concatenating every `text` reproduces the
- * input exactly — the transcript styles the reference without rewriting it.
- */
-export const splitSlashSkillRefs = (text: string): { ref: boolean; text: string }[] => {
-  const out: { ref: boolean; text: string }[] = []
-  let last = 0
-
-  for (const match of text.matchAll(SLASH_SKILL_REF_RE)) {
-    const start = match.index ?? 0
-
-    if (start > last) {
-      out.push({ ref: false, text: text.slice(last, start) })
-    }
-
-    out.push({ ref: true, text: match[0] })
-    last = start + match[0].length
-  }
-
-  if (last < text.length || !out.length) {
-    out.push({ ref: false, text: text.slice(last) })
-  }
-
-  return out
-}
-
 /**
  * Apply a completion row to the current input, mirroring the editor's
  * replace semantics: replace from `compReplace` with the row text, dropping