diff --git a/src/__tests__/integration/api/agent.test.ts b/src/__tests__/integration/api/agent.test.ts
index 1f407ec1a9..2e86fd2771 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/integration/api/agent.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/integration/api/agent.test.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,21 @@ import { createTestTask } from "@/__tests__/support/factories/task.factory";
 import { createTestWorkspace } from "@/__tests__/support/factories/workspace.factory";
 import { db } from "@/lib/db";
 
+const { mockAfter, pendingAfterCallbacks } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  pendingAfterCallbacks: [] as Promise<unknown>[],
+  mockAfter: vi.fn((callback: () => unknown) => {
+    pendingAfterCallbacks.push(Promise.resolve().then(callback));
+  }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("next/server", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("next/server")>();
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    after: mockAfter,
+  };
+});
+
 // Mock the gooseWeb provider
 const mockStreamText = vi.fn();
 vi.mock("ai-sdk-provider-goose-web", () => ({
@@ -34,6 +49,7 @@ vi.stubGlobal("fetch", mockFetch);
 describe("POST /api/agent Integration Tests", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.clearAllMocks();
+    pendingAfterCallbacks.length = 0;
 
     // Enable agent mode feature flag for all tests
     process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_FEATURE_TASK_AGENT_MODE = "true";
@@ -44,7 +60,9 @@ describe("POST /api/agent Integration Tests", () => {
     });
   });
 
-  afterEach(() => {
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await Promise.allSettled(pendingAfterCallbacks);
+    pendingAfterCallbacks.length = 0;
     delete process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_FEATURE_TASK_AGENT_MODE;
   });
 
@@ -101,6 +119,9 @@ describe("POST /api/agent Integration Tests", () => {
             json: () => Promise.resolve({ token: "mock-stream-token" }),
           });
         }
+        if (url.includes("/stream/")) {
+          return Promise.resolve(new Response("data: {}\n\n"));
+        }
         return Promise.resolve({
           ok: false,
           text: () => Promise.resolve("Not found"),
@@ -139,6 +160,8 @@ describe("POST /api/agent Integration Tests", () => {
 
       expect(response.status).toBe(200);
       expect(data.success).toBe(true);
+      expect(data.backgroundStream).toBe(true);
+      expect(data.streamToken).toBeUndefined();
 
       const sessionCall = mockFetch.mock.calls.find(([url]: [string]) =>
         url.includes("/session"),
@@ -149,6 +172,47 @@ describe("POST /api/agent Integration Tests", () => {
       expect(sessionBody.agent_name).toBeUndefined();
       expect(sessionBody.model).toBe("sonnet");
     });
+
+    test("starts the agent stream in a Next after callback", async () => {
+      const user = await createTestUser();
+      const workspace = await createTestWorkspace({ ownerId: user.id });
+      const task = await createTestTask({
+        workspaceId: workspace.id,
+        createdById: user.id,
+        title: "Background stream task",
+      });
+
+      await db.task.update({
+        where: { id: task.id },
+        data: { mode: "agent", model: "sonnet" },
+      });
+
+      getMockedSession().mockResolvedValue(createAuthenticatedSession(user));
+
+      const request = createPostRequest("http://localhost/api/agent", {
+        message: "Keep working if I leave the page",
+        taskId: task.id,
+        model: "sonnet",
+      });
+
+      const response = await POST(request);
+      const data = await response.json();
+
+      expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+      expect(data.backgroundStream).toBe(true);
+      expect(mockAfter).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+      await Promise.all(pendingAfterCallbacks);
+
+      const streamCall = mockFetch.mock.calls.find(([url]: [string]) =>
+        url.includes(`/stream/${task.id}`),
+      );
+      expect(streamCall).toBeDefined();
+      expect(streamCall?.[0]).toContain("token=mock-stream-token");
+      expect(JSON.parse(streamCall?.[1].body)).toEqual({
+        prompt: "Keep working if I leave the page",
+      });
+    });
   });
 
   // NOTE: Most tests commented out due to significant implementation gaps:
diff --git a/src/app/api/agent/route.ts b/src/app/api/agent/route.ts
index 23282788d1..df2b7d665b 100644
--- a/src/app/api/agent/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/agent/route.ts
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
  * - `agentWebhookSecret`: Encrypted per-task secret for JWT signing
  */
 
-import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
+import { after, NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
 import { authOptions } from "@/lib/auth/nextauth";
 import { getServerSession } from "next-auth/next";
 import { db } from "@/lib/db";
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ import { claimPodAndGetFrontend, updatePodRepositories, POD_PORTS, releasePodByI
 
 const encryptionService = EncryptionService.getInstance();
 
+export const runtime = "nodejs";
+export const maxDuration = 300;
+
 // ============================================================================
 // Types
 // ============================================================================
@@ -107,6 +110,14 @@ interface ServiceInfo {
   scripts?: Record<string, string>;
 }
 
+interface AgentStreamRequest {
+  agentUrl: string;
+  taskId: string;
+  streamToken: string;
+  prompt: string;
+  resume: boolean;
+}
+
 // ============================================================================
 // Helper Functions
 // ============================================================================
@@ -400,6 +411,68 @@ async function saveUserMessage(taskId: string, message: string, artifacts: Artif
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Start and drain the remote agent stream server-side.
+ *
+ * The agent writes durable updates through /api/agent/webhook, so Hive only
+ * needs to keep the stream request alive. Running this from Next's after()
+ * decouples the agent run from the browser tab that started it.
+ */
+async function startAgentStreamInBackground({
+  agentUrl,
+  taskId,
+  streamToken,
+  prompt,
+  resume,
+}: AgentStreamRequest): Promise<void> {
+  const streamUrl = agentUrl.replace(/\/$/, "") + `/stream/${taskId}`;
+  const headers: Record<string, string> = {
+    "Content-Type": "application/json",
+  };
+
+  const streamBody: Record<string, unknown> = { prompt };
+  if (resume) {
+    streamBody.resume = true;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    console.log("[Agent] Starting background stream:", { taskId, resume });
+    const streamResponse = await fetch(`${streamUrl}?token=${encodeURIComponent(streamToken)}`, {
+      method: "POST",
+      headers,
+      body: JSON.stringify(streamBody),
+    });
+
+    if (!streamResponse.ok) {
+      const errorText = await streamResponse.text().catch(() => "");
+      console.error("[Agent] Background stream failed:", {
+        taskId,
+        status: streamResponse.status,
+        error: errorText || streamResponse.statusText,
+      });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (!streamResponse.body) {
+      console.log("[Agent] Background stream completed without response body:", { taskId });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const reader = streamResponse.body.getReader();
+    try {
+      while (true) {
+        const { done } = await reader.read();
+        if (done) break;
+      }
+      console.log("[Agent] Background stream completed:", { taskId });
+    } finally {
+      reader.releaseLock();
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error("[Agent] Error running background stream:", { taskId, error });
+  }
+}
+
 // ============================================================================
 // Main Handler
 // ============================================================================
@@ -600,17 +673,24 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
   }
   await saveUserMessage(taskId, message, allArtifacts);
 
-  // 9. Return connection info
-  const streamUrl = agentCredentials.agentUrl.replace(/\/$/, "") + `/stream/${taskId}`;
   const isResume = messageCount > 0 && !chatHistoryForPrompt;
+  const promptWithContext = chatHistoryForPrompt ? `${chatHistoryForPrompt}\n\n${message}` : message;
+
+  after(async () => {
+    await startAgentStreamInBackground({
+      agentUrl: agentCredentials.agentUrl,
+      taskId,
+      streamToken,
+      prompt: promptWithContext,
+      resume: isResume,
+    });
+  });
 
   return NextResponse.json({
     success: true,
     sessionId: taskId,
-    streamToken,
-    streamUrl,
+    backgroundStream: true,
     resume: isResume,
-    ...(chatHistoryForPrompt && { historyContext: chatHistoryForPrompt }),
     ...(podUrls && { podUrls }),
   });
 }
diff --git a/src/app/w/[slug]/task/[...taskParams]/page.tsx b/src/app/w/[slug]/task/[...taskParams]/page.tsx
index 826290d51d..df8f5476b4 100644
--- a/src/app/w/[slug]/task/[...taskParams]/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/w/[slug]/task/[...taskParams]/page.tsx
@@ -1302,7 +1302,14 @@ export default function TaskChatPage() {
             throw new Error(errorData.error || `Failed to create session: ${sessionResponse.statusText}`);
           }
 
-          const { streamToken, streamUrl, resume, historyContext, podUrls } = await sessionResponse.json();
+          const {
+            backgroundStream,
+            streamToken,
+            streamUrl,
+            resume,
+            historyContext,
+            podUrls,
+          } = await sessionResponse.json();
 
           // If backend claimed a pod (new task or re-claim), update state and add artifacts
           if (podUrls) {
@@ -1336,6 +1343,11 @@ export default function TaskChatPage() {
           // Signal that pod is ready (for handleStart to switch views)
           options?.onPodReady?.();
 
+          if (backgroundStream) {
+            setIsLoading(false);
+            return;
+          }
+
           // 2. Connect directly to remote server for streaming
           // If historyContext is provided, the session was not found on the pod
           // so we prepend the chat history to help the agent understand the conversation