diff --git a/deep_research/src/core.rs b/deep_research/src/core.rs
index a96da55..0a55425 100644
--- a/deep_research/src/core.rs
+++ b/deep_research/src/core.rs
@@ -171,20 +171,19 @@ async fn write_report(
         )
         .build();
 
-    // Drop the spinner before streaming starts: report text is about to print
-    // to the same terminal line, so the two must not race over stdout.
     let spinner = Spinner::start(show_progress, format!("{REPORT_EMOJI} Writing report..."));
     let response_stream = writer
         .stream_prompt(format!("Topic: {topic}\n\nResearch notes:\n{findings}"))
         .await;
-    drop(spinner);
 
     // Locked once for the whole stream rather than per chunk (as print!
     // would do internally) — chunks arrive in a tight loop, so re-acquiring
-    // the lock on every one adds up.
+    // the lock on every one adds up. The spinner keeps running until the
+    // stream's first chunk arrives, so the terminal stays covered through
+    // the gap between sending the prompt and generation actually starting.
     let stdout = std::io::stdout();
     let mut handle = stdout.lock();
-    let report = write_text_stream(response_stream, &mut handle).await?;
+    let report = write_text_stream(response_stream, &mut handle, spinner).await?;
     writeln!(handle)?;
 
     Ok(report)
diff --git a/deep_research/src/progress.rs b/deep_research/src/progress.rs
index 7534f71..ed0312f 100644
--- a/deep_research/src/progress.rs
+++ b/deep_research/src/progress.rs
@@ -47,14 +47,23 @@ impl Spinner {
 
         Self(Some(bar))
     }
+
+    /// Clears the spinner immediately rather than waiting for drop — for
+    /// callers that need it gone at a precise moment (e.g. right as the
+    /// first chunk of a stream is about to print on the same line) rather
+    /// than whenever the value happens to go out of scope. Idempotent: a
+    /// spinner already stopped, or one that was never enabled, does nothing.
+    pub(crate) fn stop(&mut self) {
+        if let Some(bar) = self.0.take() {
+            bar.finish_and_clear();
+            *active().lock().expect("spinner mutex poisoned") = None;
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 impl Drop for Spinner {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        if let Some(bar) = &self.0 {
-            bar.finish_and_clear();
-            *active().lock().expect("spinner mutex poisoned") = None;
-        }
+        self.stop();
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/deep_research/src/stream.rs b/deep_research/src/stream.rs
index 36d71cb..bb3622b 100644
--- a/deep_research/src/stream.rs
+++ b/deep_research/src/stream.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+use crate::progress::Spinner;
 use futures::{Stream, StreamExt};
 use rig::agent::{MultiTurnStreamItem, StreamingError};
 use rig::streaming::StreamedAssistantContent;
@@ -12,9 +13,15 @@ use std::io::Write;
 /// caller controls the lock's lifetime: locking once around a whole report
 /// (as `write_report` does) avoids re-acquiring it on every chunk, the way
 /// `print!` would.
+///
+/// `spinner` stays up until the stream actually produces its first item,
+/// covering the gap between the prompt being sent and generation starting
+/// (otherwise the terminal would go blank for however long that takes)
+/// rather than being dropped by the caller before this is even called.
 pub(crate) async fn write_text_stream<R>(
     mut stream: impl Stream<Item = Result<MultiTurnStreamItem<R>, StreamingError>> + Unpin,
     writer: &mut impl Write,
+    mut spinner: Spinner,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<String>
 where
     R: Clone,
@@ -22,6 +29,8 @@ where
     let mut text = String::new();
 
     while let Some(chunk) = stream.next().await {
+        spinner.stop();
+
         if let MultiTurnStreamItem::StreamAssistantItem(StreamedAssistantContent::Text(chunk)) =
             chunk?
         {
@@ -55,7 +64,7 @@ mod tests {
         let items = vec![text_item("Hello, "), text_item("world!")];
         let mut written = Vec::new();
 
-        let accumulated = write_text_stream(stream::iter(items), &mut written)
+        let accumulated = write_text_stream(stream::iter(items), &mut written, Spinner::start(false, ""))
             .await
             .unwrap();
 
@@ -72,7 +81,7 @@ mod tests {
         let items = vec![text_item("kept"), final_item];
         let mut written = Vec::new();
 
-        let accumulated = write_text_stream(stream::iter(items), &mut written)
+        let accumulated = write_text_stream(stream::iter(items), &mut written, Spinner::start(false, ""))
             .await
             .unwrap();
 
@@ -88,7 +97,7 @@ mod tests {
         let items = vec![text_item("kept"), Err(error)];
         let mut written = Vec::new();
 
-        let result = write_text_stream(stream::iter(items), &mut written).await;
+        let result = write_text_stream(stream::iter(items), &mut written, Spinner::start(false, "")).await;
 
         assert!(result.is_err());
         assert_eq!(String::from_utf8(written).unwrap(), "kept");