diff --git a/.changeset/thinking-indicator-only.md b/.changeset/thinking-indicator-only.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..06c04037
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/thinking-indicator-only.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@pythoughts/pythinker-code": patch
+---
+
+Show only the animated thinking indicator while the model thinks; the streamed thinking text no longer appears in the transcript unless expanded with Ctrl+O.
diff --git a/apps/pythinker-code/src/tui/components/messages/thinking.ts b/apps/pythinker-code/src/tui/components/messages/thinking.ts
index 9c7b7b56..6f6c5cc7 100644
--- a/apps/pythinker-code/src/tui/components/messages/thinking.ts
+++ b/apps/pythinker-code/src/tui/components/messages/thinking.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  * Supports expand/collapse via Ctrl+O (shared with tool output).
  */
 
-import { Markdown, truncateToWidth, type Component, type TUI } from '@earendil-works/pi-tui';
+import { Markdown, type Component, type TUI } from '@earendil-works/pi-tui';
 
 import {
   formatThinkingSpinnerLabel,
@@ -85,14 +85,11 @@ export class ThinkingComponent implements Component {
   }
 
   render(width: number): string[] {
-    const contentWidth = Math.max(1, width - MESSAGE_INDENT.length);
-    const contentLines = this.text.length > 0 ? this.textComponent.render(contentWidth) : [''];
-
+    // Collapsed thinking renders no body text: while live only the spinner
+    // header shows (it sits directly above the prompt as the newest entry),
+    // and a finalized block disappears from the transcript entirely.
+    // Ctrl+O (expand) opts back into the full text.
     if (this.mode === 'live') {
-      const visibleLines =
-        contentLines.length > THINKING_PREVIEW_LINES
-          ? contentLines.slice(contentLines.length - THINKING_PREVIEW_LINES)
-          : contentLines;
       const spinner = currentTheme.fg(
         'primary',
         `${BRAILLE_SPINNER_FRAMES[this.spinnerFrame] ?? BRAILLE_SPINNER_FRAMES[0]} `,
@@ -102,29 +99,29 @@ export class ThinkingComponent implements Component {
         shimmerToken: 'primaryShimmer',
         bandHalfWidth: 4,
       });
+      if (!this.expanded) return ['', spinner + label];
+      const contentLines = this.renderContent(width);
+      const visibleLines =
+        contentLines.length > THINKING_PREVIEW_LINES
+          ? contentLines.slice(contentLines.length - THINKING_PREVIEW_LINES)
+          : contentLines;
       return ['', spinner + label, ...visibleLines.map((line) => MESSAGE_INDENT + line)];
     }
 
+    if (!this.expanded) return [];
+
+    const contentLines = this.renderContent(width);
     const rendered: string[] = [''];
     for (let i = 0; i < contentLines.length; i++) {
       const p = i === 0 && this.showMarker ? currentTheme.fg('textDim', STATUS_BULLET) : MESSAGE_INDENT;
       rendered.push(p + contentLines[i]);
     }
+    return rendered;
+  }
 
-    if (this.expanded || contentLines.length <= THINKING_PREVIEW_LINES) {
-      return rendered;
-    }
-
-    // Leading blank + first PREVIEW_LINES content lines + hint line.
-    const truncated = rendered.slice(0, 1 + THINKING_PREVIEW_LINES);
-    const remaining = contentLines.length - THINKING_PREVIEW_LINES;
-    const hint = `... (${String(remaining)} more lines, ctrl+o to expand)`;
-    const indentWidth = Math.min(MESSAGE_INDENT.length, Math.max(0, width));
-    const hintWidth = Math.max(0, width - indentWidth);
-    truncated.push(
-      ' '.repeat(indentWidth) + currentTheme.dim(truncateToWidth(hint, hintWidth, '…')),
-    );
-    return truncated;
+  private renderContent(width: number): string[] {
+    const contentWidth = Math.max(1, width - MESSAGE_INDENT.length);
+    return this.text.length > 0 ? this.textComponent.render(contentWidth) : [''];
   }
 
   private startSpinner(): void {
diff --git a/apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/components/messages/thinking.test.ts b/apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/components/messages/thinking.test.ts
index b419f2d7..df94678b 100644
--- a/apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/components/messages/thinking.test.ts
+++ b/apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/components/messages/thinking.test.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ describe('getThinkingSpinnerLabel', () => {
 });
 
 describe('ThinkingComponent', () => {
-  it('shows the live spinner header before thinking content', () => {
+  it('shows only the live spinner header while collapsed', () => {
     const component = new ThinkingComponent('working it out', true, 'live');
     const out = strip(component.render(80).join('\n'));
     const label = formatThinkingSpinnerLabel();
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ describe('ThinkingComponent', () => {
     expect(out).toContain(`⠋ ${label}`);
     expect(out).not.toContain(`  ⠋ ${label}`);
     expect(out).not.toContain(`${STATUS_BULLET}⠋`);
-    expect(out).toContain('  working it out');
+    expect(out).not.toContain('working it out');
   });
 
   it('uses the primary activity color while thinking is live', () => {
@@ -57,8 +57,9 @@ describe('ThinkingComponent', () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it('keeps live thinking height-limited to the tail', () => {
+  it('keeps expanded live thinking height-limited to the tail', () => {
     const component = new ThinkingComponent(longThinking, true, 'live');
+    component.setExpanded(true);
     const out = strip(component.render(80).join('\n'));
 
     expect(out).not.toContain('line1');
@@ -116,17 +117,12 @@ describe('ThinkingComponent', () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it('finalizes in place into a collapsed preview', () => {
+  it('finalizes in place into nothing while collapsed', () => {
     const component = new ThinkingComponent(longThinking, true, 'live');
 
     component.finalize();
 
-    const out = strip(component.render(80).join('\n'));
-    expect(out).toContain('line1');
-    expect(out).toContain('line2');
-    expect(out).not.toContain('line3');
-    expect(out).not.toContain('line4');
-    expect(out).toContain('... (5 more lines, ctrl+o to expand)');
+    expect(component.render(80)).toEqual([]);
   });
 
   it('expands and collapses after finalization', () => {
@@ -135,18 +131,18 @@ describe('ThinkingComponent', () => {
 
     component.setExpanded(true);
     const expanded = strip(component.render(80).join('\n'));
+    expect(expanded).toContain('line1');
     expect(expanded).toContain('line7');
     expect(expanded).not.toContain('ctrl+o to expand');
 
     component.setExpanded(false);
-    const collapsed = strip(component.render(80).join('\n'));
-    expect(collapsed).not.toContain('line7');
-    expect(collapsed).toContain('ctrl+o to expand');
+    expect(component.render(80)).toEqual([]);
   });
 
-  it('keeps the finalized truncation footer within the requested render width', () => {
+  it('keeps expanded finalized lines within the requested render width', () => {
     const component = new ThinkingComponent(longThinking, true, 'live');
     component.finalize();
+    component.setExpanded(true);
 
     for (const line of component.render(37)) {
       expect(visibleWidth(line)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(37);
diff --git a/apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/pythinker-tui-message-flow.test.ts b/apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/pythinker-tui-message-flow.test.ts
index c6bb5ddc..fe787454 100644
--- a/apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/pythinker-tui-message-flow.test.ts
+++ b/apps/pythinker-code/test/tui/pythinker-tui-message-flow.test.ts
@@ -5891,7 +5891,8 @@ command = "vim"
 
     expect(driver.streamingUI.hasActiveThinkingComponent()).toBe(true);
     expect(driver.state.appState.streamingPhase).toBe('thinking');
-    expect(stripSgr(renderTranscript(driver))).toContain('visible reasoning');
+    // Collapsed live thinking renders only the spinner header, never the text.
+    expect(stripSgr(renderTranscript(driver))).not.toContain('visible reasoning');
   });
 
   it('does not create a thinking component for whitespace-only replay content', async () => {