diff --git a/agent/build_runtime.go b/agent/build_runtime.go
index 3bf4454..58e1529 100644
--- a/agent/build_runtime.go
+++ b/agent/build_runtime.go
@@ -116,6 +116,20 @@ func BuildRuntime(cfg *AgentConfig, srv toolsrv.Runner, cwd string, env []string
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Build resetsCounter lookup from tool infos.
+	resetsCounterMap := make(map[string]bool, len(allToolInfos))
+	for _, ti := range allToolInfos {
+		if ti.ResetsCounter {
+			resetsCounterMap[ti.Name] = true
+		}
+	}
+	var resetsCounterFn func(string) bool
+	if len(resetsCounterMap) > 0 {
+		resetsCounterFn = func(name string) bool {
+			return resetsCounterMap[name]
+		}
+	}
+
 	var backendName, modelName, compactionModel string
 	if cfg != nil {
 		backendName = cfg.Backend
@@ -175,6 +189,7 @@ func BuildRuntime(cfg *AgentConfig, srv toolsrv.Runner, cwd string, env []string
 		ClassifyTool:    classify,
 		OutputFormat:    outputFormat,
 		ClassifyTier:    tierFn,
+		ResetsCounter:   resetsCounterFn,
 		Preamble:        preamble,
 		GenParams:       genParams,
 		MaxSteps:        maxSteps,
diff --git a/agent/loop.go b/agent/loop.go
index 576ec46..f6366d5 100644
--- a/agent/loop.go
+++ b/agent/loop.go
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ type agentConfig struct {
 	ClassifyTool     func(name string) bool                             // nil=treat all as serial; true=parallel-read-safe
 	OutputFormat     func(name string) string                           // empty means plaintext fence
 	ClassifyTier     func(name string, args json.RawMessage) ResultTier // nil=TierHot for all; tools self-classify retention
+	ResetsCounter    func(name string) bool                             // nil=false for all; true=reset step counter
 	Output           EventHandler
 	preamble         string // compiled system+agent prompt sent as the system role
 	GenerationParams backend.GenerationParams
@@ -653,6 +654,19 @@ func run(ctx context.Context, cfg agentConfig, state state) error {
 			}
 		}
 
+		// Reset step counter when an action-oriented tool is called successfully.
+		// This allows the agent to continue working without hitting the soft
+		// step-budget guardrail, as long as it's making active progress (writing
+		// files, renaming symbols, etc.) rather than looping on research.
+		if cfg.ResetsCounter != nil {
+			for _, r := range results {
+				if !r.IsError && cfg.ResetsCounter(r.Name) {
+					step = 0
+					break
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
 		// Soft step-budget guardrail: when MaxSteps is set and the budget is
 		// exhausted, nudge the model to wrap up and exit cleanly. This is not
 		// a hard abort — the model gets one final turn without tools to emit
diff --git a/agent/runtime.go b/agent/runtime.go
index aec2f63..bb65354 100644
--- a/agent/runtime.go
+++ b/agent/runtime.go
@@ -12,16 +12,17 @@ import (
 // agent. The agent struct stores a pointer to the active Runtime; switching
 // agents replaces it atomically.
 type Runtime struct {
-	Backend      backend.Backend
-	ToolServer   toolsrv.Runner // the execute server (tool runtime, env, cwd)
-	Preamble     string // compiled system prompt
-	Tools        []backend.Tool
-	Exec         toolExecutor
-	ClassifyTool toolClassifier
-	OutputFormat func(string) string
-	ClassifyTier func(string, json.RawMessage) ResultTier
-	GenParams    backend.GenerationParams
-	MaxSteps     int
+	Backend       backend.Backend
+	ToolServer    toolsrv.Runner // the execute server (tool runtime, env, cwd)
+	Preamble      string         // compiled system prompt
+	Tools         []backend.Tool
+	Exec          toolExecutor
+	ClassifyTool  toolClassifier
+	OutputFormat  func(string) string
+	ClassifyTier  func(string, json.RawMessage) ResultTier
+	ResetsCounter func(string) bool // true if tool resets step counter
+	GenParams     backend.GenerationParams
+	MaxSteps      int
 	// CfgBackend and CfgModel are the backend/model overrides from the agent
 	// config JSON. Empty means no override. Applied by the caller after
 	// BuildRuntime returns.
diff --git a/agent/turn.go b/agent/turn.go
index d96c998..95b24db 100644
--- a/agent/turn.go
+++ b/agent/turn.go
@@ -132,10 +132,11 @@ func (ag *Agent) executeTurn(ctx context.Context, input string) string {
 		ClassifyTool:     ag.runtime.ClassifyTool,
 		OutputFormat:     outputFormatFn,
 		ClassifyTier:     ag.runtime.ClassifyTier,
-			GenerationParams: ag.runtime.GenParams,
-			MaxSteps:         ag.runtime.MaxSteps,
-			ReadPlanStep:     ag.readPlanStep,
-		}
+		ResetsCounter:    ag.runtime.ResetsCounter,
+		GenerationParams: ag.runtime.GenParams,
+		MaxSteps:         ag.runtime.MaxSteps,
+		ReadPlanStep:     ag.readPlanStep,
+	}
 
 	var replyBuf strings.Builder
 	ag.cfg.Output = func(ev Event) {
diff --git a/data/agents/default.json b/data/agents/default.json
index 59def11..6394022 100644
--- a/data/agents/default.json
+++ b/data/agents/default.json
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     "file_write",
     "tool_load"
   ],
-  "maxSteps": 50,
+  "maxSteps": 25,
   "temperature": 0.5,
   "maxTokens": 16384
 }
diff --git a/data/agents/driver.json b/data/agents/driver.json
index ed4851b..4a7c3c2 100644
--- a/data/agents/driver.json
+++ b/data/agents/driver.json
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
   ],
   "backend": "openrouter",
   "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash",
-  "maxSteps": 50,
+  "maxSteps": 25,
   "temperature": 0.4,
   "maxTokens": 16384
 }
diff --git a/data/scripts/o b/data/scripts/o
index 463e469..b3d26a9 100755
--- a/data/scripts/o
+++ b/data/scripts/o
@@ -482,7 +482,7 @@ cmd_tui() {
     # State shown in tmux status-right.
 
     # Pane 0: chat (top, 80%)
-    tmux new-session -d -s "$tmux_session" -c "$HOME" \
+    tmux -CC new-session -d -s "$tmux_session" -c "$HOME" \
         -e "session=$s" -e "agent=$a"
     tmux send-keys -t "$tmux_session" "clear; o tail | grep -v '\\[\\[\\[.*\\]\\]\\]'" Enter
 
diff --git a/data/tools/file_edit.meta b/data/tools/file_edit.meta
index ef9e487..5b8a7c0 100644
--- a/data/tools/file_edit.meta
+++ b/data/tools/file_edit.meta
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 {
   "description": "Replace text in a file. Has fuzzy matching (whitespace/indent flexible).",
   "outputFormat": "diff",
+  "resetsCounter": true,
   "prompt": "## file_edit\n\nReplace text in a file. Has fuzzy matching (whitespace/indent flexible).\n\n**Args**: `path`, `old_string`, `new_string` (required); `replace_all` (optional)\n\n```\nfile_edit(path=\"/abs/path\", old_string=\"old text\", new_string=\"new text\")\nfile_edit(path=\"/abs/path\", old_string=\"old text\", new_string=\"new text\", replace_all=\"true\")\n```\n\n**Constraints**: Absolute paths only. Errors if `old_string` matches multiple locations — add surrounding context to disambiguate, or use `replace_all=true`.",
   "args": {
     "type": "object",
diff --git a/data/tools/file_write.meta b/data/tools/file_write.meta
index 4ece576..c525e4a 100644
--- a/data/tools/file_write.meta
+++ b/data/tools/file_write.meta
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 {
   "description": "Create or overwrite a file. Produces a unified diff.",
   "outputFormat": "diff",
+  "resetsCounter": true,
   "prompt": "## file_write\n\nCreate or overwrite a file. Produces a unified diff.\n\n**Args**: `[path, content]`\n\n```\nfile_write(path=\"/abs/path\", content=\"file content here\")\n```\n\n**Constraints**: Absolute paths only. Parent directory must exist.",
   "args": {
     "type": "object",
diff --git a/data/tools/shell.meta b/data/tools/shell.meta
index 35c898f..a5c3c5b 100644
--- a/data/tools/shell.meta
+++ b/data/tools/shell.meta
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {
   "description": "Execute a single bash command in a sandboxed environment.",
+  "resetsCounter": true,
   "prompt": "Execute a single bash command in a sandboxed environment.\n\nUsage: {\"cmd\": \"your command here\"}\n\nSandbox prevents dangerous operations. Use for computation, builds, scripting.\ntimeout applies to each call (default: 30s). A non-zero exit is an error.",
   "args": {
     "type": "object",
diff --git a/toolsrv/meta.go b/toolsrv/meta.go
index 2bc1f98..f299568 100644
--- a/toolsrv/meta.go
+++ b/toolsrv/meta.go
@@ -11,30 +11,32 @@ import (
 
 // MetaFile is the JSON structure of a .meta sidecar file.
 type MetaFile struct {
-	Description  string          `json:"description"`
-	Prompt       string          `json:"prompt,omitempty"`
-	Args         json.RawMessage `json:"args,omitempty"`
-	Tier         string          `json:"tier,omitempty"`
-	ReadOnly     bool            `json:"readOnly,omitempty"`
-	OutputFormat string          `json:"outputFormat,omitempty"`
-	Cmd          string          `json:"cmd,omitempty"`
-	Sudo         bool            `json:"sudo,omitempty"`
-	Variants     []Variant       `json:"variants,omitempty"`
+	Description   string          `json:"description"`
+	Prompt        string          `json:"prompt,omitempty"`
+	Args          json.RawMessage `json:"args,omitempty"`
+	Tier          string          `json:"tier,omitempty"`
+	ReadOnly      bool            `json:"readOnly,omitempty"`
+	OutputFormat  string          `json:"outputFormat,omitempty"`
+	Cmd           string          `json:"cmd,omitempty"`
+	Sudo          bool            `json:"sudo,omitempty"`
+	ResetsCounter bool            `json:"resetsCounter,omitempty"`
+	Variants      []Variant       `json:"variants,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Variant is a conditional tool definition. The first variant whose
 // match conditions are all satisfied determines the tool's schema,
 // documentation, and executable.
 type Variant struct {
-	Match        map[string]any  `json:"match"`
-	Description  string          `json:"description,omitempty"`
-	Prompt       string          `json:"prompt,omitempty"`
-	Args         json.RawMessage `json:"args,omitempty"`
-	Tier         string          `json:"tier,omitempty"`
-	ReadOnly     bool            `json:"readOnly,omitempty"`
-	OutputFormat string          `json:"outputFormat,omitempty"`
-	Cmd          string          `json:"cmd,omitempty"`
-	Sudo         bool            `json:"sudo,omitempty"`
+	Match         map[string]any  `json:"match"`
+	Description   string          `json:"description,omitempty"`
+	Prompt        string          `json:"prompt,omitempty"`
+	Args          json.RawMessage `json:"args,omitempty"`
+	Tier          string          `json:"tier,omitempty"`
+	ReadOnly      bool            `json:"readOnly,omitempty"`
+	OutputFormat  string          `json:"outputFormat,omitempty"`
+	Cmd           string          `json:"cmd,omitempty"`
+	Sudo          bool            `json:"sudo,omitempty"`
+	ResetsCounter bool            `json:"resetsCounter,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // LoadMetaFile reads and parses a .meta sidecar file for the given tool name.
@@ -88,6 +90,9 @@ func (m *MetaFile) Resolve() *MetaFile {
 			if v.Sudo {
 				resolved.Sudo = true
 			}
+			if v.ResetsCounter {
+				resolved.ResetsCounter = true
+			}
 			if v.Cmd != "" {
 				resolved.Cmd = v.Cmd
 			}
@@ -176,13 +181,14 @@ func ToolInfoFromMeta(name string, m *MetaFile) ToolInfo {
 		tier = "hot"
 	}
 	return ToolInfo{
-		Name:         name,
-		Description:  resolved.Description,
-		InputSchema:  args,
-		Prompt:       resolved.Prompt,
-		Tier:         tier,
-		ReadOnly:     resolved.ReadOnly,
-		OutputFormat: resolved.OutputFormat,
+		Name:          name,
+		Description:   resolved.Description,
+		InputSchema:   args,
+		Prompt:        resolved.Prompt,
+		Tier:          tier,
+		ReadOnly:      resolved.ReadOnly,
+		OutputFormat:  resolved.OutputFormat,
+		ResetsCounter: resolved.ResetsCounter,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/toolsrv/tools.go b/toolsrv/tools.go
index 8a05c24..ef4e0af 100644
--- a/toolsrv/tools.go
+++ b/toolsrv/tools.go
@@ -23,6 +23,11 @@ type ToolInfo struct {
 	ReadOnly bool
 	// OutputFormat is the source-fence language for tool output. Empty means plaintext.
 	OutputFormat string
+	// ResetsCounter is true for action-oriented tools (file_write, lsp_rename, etc.)
+	// that indicate active progress rather than passive research. When true, the
+	// agent loop resets its step counter, allowing continued work without hitting
+	// the soft step-budget guardrail.
+	ResetsCounter bool
 }
 
 // Runner is the minimal interface satisfied by any tool server (local or remote).