diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
index 2b77152c2..10ecd72a7 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- Fixed a session-liveness wait that could pin a CPU core at 100% by resampling settled promises in a tight microtask loop; it now yields a real event-loop turn when a queued work item does not converge, restoring RPC responsiveness under load ([#1084](https://github.com/code-yeongyu/senpi/pull/1084)).
 - The interactive TUI now keeps the working dock painted across adjacent and locally buffered turns, and clears it on the new core `agent_idle` event - emitted only after settlement-deferred turns (TTSR, loop-guard, goal recovery) resolve without starting a run - so the editor/footer no longer bounce at queued-turn boundaries. A buffered prompt consumed with `action: "handled"` (for example a `UserPromptSubmit` hook block) also clears the retained dock, prompt admission failure clears it, and clear-on-shrink reserves the dock's measured height, together eliminating the vertical jitter.
 
 - Goal cache-warm notices now render the expected wake time in the user's local system timezone with a short zone label (for example `ready 2026-08-22 16:51 GMT+9 (4m 30s)`), falling back to the legacy UTC shape when local timezone formatting is unavailable ([#1074](https://github.com/code-yeongyu/senpi/pull/1074)).
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/session-work-barrier.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/session-work-barrier.ts
index 4223bf32f..80c7ef600 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/session-work-barrier.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/session-work-barrier.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,33 @@
+/**
+ * Re-sample rounds allowed before the loop starts yielding to the event loop.
+ * Normal sessions settle within a couple of rounds, so a small budget keeps the
+ * fast path free of macrotask hops while still catching a runaway queue.
+ */
+const SETTLE_ROUNDS_BEFORE_YIELD = 16;
+
+/**
+ * Yields to a real event-loop turn between re-sample rounds. Awaiting only
+ * promises keeps work on the microtask queue, which starves timers and IO and
+ * pins a core at 100% CPU.
+ *
+ * A `MessageChannel` message is a genuine macrotask that mocked timers do not
+ * replace, so the loop keeps yielding under `vi.useFakeTimers()`. `setTimeout`
+ * and `setImmediate` are both stubbed there and would stall every caller that
+ * drives retry/compaction recovery on a mocked clock; `process.nextTick` runs
+ * ahead of the microtask drain and would not relieve the starvation at all.
+ */
+function yieldToEventLoop(): Promise<void> {
+	return new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+		const channel = new MessageChannel();
+		channel.port1.onmessage = () => {
+			channel.port1.close();
+			channel.port2.close();
+			resolve();
+		};
+		channel.port2.postMessage(undefined);
+	});
+}
+
 export class SessionWorkBarrier {
 	private activeWork: Promise<void> | undefined = undefined;
 	private activeWorkResolve: (() => void) | undefined = undefined;
@@ -39,7 +69,7 @@ export class SessionWorkBarrier {
 	}
 
 	async waitForSettled(getEventQueue: () => Promise<void>): Promise<void> {
-		while (true) {
+		for (let round = 0; ; round++) {
 			const eventQueue = getEventQueue();
 			const work = this.activeWork;
 
@@ -51,6 +81,16 @@ export class SessionWorkBarrier {
 			if (getEventQueue() === eventQueue && !this.activeWork) {
 				return;
 			}
+
+			// The queue moved under us. The first rounds re-sample immediately so a
+			// continuation scheduled during this turn is still observed as pending —
+			// that tight re-check is what keeps queued work from being reported as
+			// settled. Once the queue proves it is not converging, hand control back
+			// to the event loop so a session that re-chains already-resolved promises
+			// cannot pin a core at 100% CPU.
+			if (round >= SETTLE_ROUNDS_BEFORE_YIELD) {
+				await yieldToEventLoop();
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/session-work-barrier.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/session-work-barrier.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..afeda62d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/session-work-barrier.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { SessionWorkBarrier } from "../src/core/session-work-barrier.ts";
+
+/**
+ * `waitForSettled` re-samples the event queue until two consecutive samples agree.
+ * A session whose queue identity is replaced by already-resolved promises never
+ * reaches agreement, and because every iteration only awaits microtasks the loop
+ * never yields to the event loop's timer/IO phases: the process pins one core at
+ * 100% CPU for as long as the producer keeps re-chaining. This is the observed
+ * `omo --mode rpc --multi-session` child spin.
+ */
+describe("SessionWorkBarrier.waitForSettled", () => {
+	it("returns once the event queue identity is stable and no work is active", async () => {
+		const barrier = new SessionWorkBarrier();
+		const queue = Promise.resolve();
+		await barrier.waitForSettled(() => queue);
+		expect(barrier.hasActiveWork).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	it("waits for active work registered through begin()", async () => {
+		const barrier = new SessionWorkBarrier();
+		const queue = Promise.resolve();
+		const finish = barrier.begin();
+		expect(barrier.hasActiveWork).toBe(true);
+
+		let settled = false;
+		const waiter = barrier
+			.waitForSettled(() => queue)
+			.then(() => {
+				settled = true;
+			});
+
+		await Promise.resolve();
+		expect(settled).toBe(false);
+
+		finish();
+		await waiter;
+		expect(settled).toBe(true);
+		expect(barrier.hasActiveWork).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	it("keeps the event loop responsive when the queue never stabilizes", async () => {
+		const barrier = new SessionWorkBarrier();
+		// Model the observed spin: a session whose subscriber keeps re-chaining an
+		// already-resolved queue, so the two samples in one round never agree.
+		// Awaiting only such promises never leaves the microtask queue, which pins
+		// a core at 100% CPU and stalls every timer and socket on the process.
+		let unstableRounds = 0;
+		const getEventQueue = (): Promise<void> => {
+			unstableRounds++;
+			return Promise.resolve();
+		};
+
+		let timerFired = false;
+		const ticker = setInterval(() => {
+			timerFired = true;
+		}, 1);
+		// Deliberately not awaited: an unstable queue means there is still work to
+		// drain, so reporting it as settled would be a lie. The contract under test
+		// is that waiting stays cheap, not that it gives up.
+		void barrier.waitForSettled(getEventQueue);
+
+		try {
+			await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+				const deadline = setTimeout(resolve, 50);
+				deadline.unref?.();
+			});
+			// A starving loop never lets these timers run at all.
+			expect(timerFired).toBe(true);
+			expect(unstableRounds).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+		} finally {
+			clearInterval(ticker);
+		}
+	});
+});