diff --git a/src/session-monitor.js b/src/session-monitor.js
index f5c50f1..41ff3fd 100644
--- a/src/session-monitor.js
+++ b/src/session-monitor.js
@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ class SessionMonitor extends EventEmitter {
     this._knownSessions = new Map();
     // Set<sessionKey> — sessions that were skipped as stale; re-check on next poll
     this._staleSessions = new Set();
+    // Map<sessionKey, expiresAt> — sessions that completed idle; suppressed from re-detection
+    // until the transcript file stops being written to (checked on each poll).
+    this._completedSessions = new Map();
     // Cache: "user:XXXX" -> channelId (resolved DM channels)
     this._dmChannelCache = new Map();
     this._pollTimer = null;
@@ -80,10 +83,29 @@ class SessionMonitor extends EventEmitter {
   /**
    * Remove a session from known sessions so it can be re-detected on next poll.
    * Called when the watcher marks a session as idle/done.
+   *
+   * The session is placed in a cooldown set (_completedSessions). It will only be
+   * re-emitted as 'session-added' once the transcript file goes stale (>5 min no
+   * writes), preventing the complete→reactivate loop that occurs when the gateway
+   * keeps appending events to a session file after the agent finishes its turn.
+   *
    * @param {string} sessionKey
    */
   forgetSession(sessionKey) {
     this._knownSessions.delete(sessionKey);
+    // Mark as completed — suppress re-detection while transcript is still active.
+    // The stale check in _handleNewSession will naturally unblock re-detection
+    // once the file stops being modified (>5 min gap).
+    this._completedSessions.set(sessionKey, Date.now());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Explicitly clear a session from the completed cooldown, allowing immediate re-detection.
+   * Use this when a new gateway session replaces an old one with the same key.
+   * @param {string} sessionKey
+   */
+  clearCompleted(sessionKey) {
+    this._completedSessions.delete(sessionKey);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -350,6 +372,25 @@ class SessionMonitor extends EventEmitter {
     // Detect new or previously-stale sessions
     for (const [sessionKey, entry] of currentSessions) {
       if (!this._knownSessions.has(sessionKey) || this._staleSessions.has(sessionKey)) {
+        // Skip sessions in completed cooldown — only allow re-detection once the
+        // transcript has gone stale (file not modified in >5 min). This prevents
+        // the reactivation loop caused by the gateway appending bookkeeping events
+        // to the JSONL after a session's agent turn finishes.
+        if (this._completedSessions.has(sessionKey)) {
+          const completedAt = this._completedSessions.get(sessionKey);
+          // Re-activate if sessions.json shows a newer updatedAt than when we
+          // marked the session complete. This is the infrastructure-level signal
+          // that the gateway started a new turn — no AI involvement, pure timestamp
+          // comparison between two on-disk data sources.
+          const sessionUpdatedAt = entry.updatedAt || 0;
+          if (sessionUpdatedAt > completedAt) {
+            // New turn started after completion — reactivate
+            this._completedSessions.delete(sessionKey);
+          } else {
+            // No new turn yet — suppress re-detection
+            continue;
+          }
+        }
         this._onSessionAdded(entry);
       }
     }
@@ -359,6 +400,7 @@ class SessionMonitor extends EventEmitter {
       if (!currentSessions.has(sessionKey)) {
         this._onSessionRemoved(sessionKey);
         this._staleSessions.delete(sessionKey);
+        this._completedSessions.delete(sessionKey);
       }
     }