diff --git a/BUILD.md b/BUILD.md
index 67d85e8..ec6a384 100644
--- a/BUILD.md
+++ b/BUILD.md
@@ -548,7 +548,7 @@ once the desktop is proven stable on hardware:
 Listed for completeness so the lean/full split stays honest:
 
 - **Desktop session:** `xfce4-desktop`, `xfce4-panel`, `xfce4-session`,
-  `xfce4-settings`, `xfce4-wm`, `xfce4-terminal`,
+  `xfce4-settings`, `xfce4-wm`, `kitty`,
   `xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin`, `sddm`, `xinit`, `xterm`.
 - **GTK / desktop integration:** `gsettings-desktop-schemas`,
   `adwaita-icon-theme`, `adwaita-icon-theme-legacy`,
diff --git a/live/operator-session/clawdie-enable-mother.desktop b/live/operator-session/clawdie-enable-mother.desktop
index fa4f33b..fa7ee5f 100644
--- a/live/operator-session/clawdie-enable-mother.desktop
+++ b/live/operator-session/clawdie-enable-mother.desktop
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ Type=Application
 Version=1.0
 Name=Enable Mother Link
 Comment=Let this agent's Pi call mother's tools over MCP (opt-in)
-Exec=xfce4-terminal --title "Enable Mother Link" --geometry=90x28 --command "/usr/local/bin/clawdie-enable-mother"
+Exec=kitty -T "Enable Mother Link" -o initial_window_width=90c -o initial_window_height=28c /usr/local/bin/clawdie-enable-mother
 Icon=network-transmit-receive
 Terminal=false
 Categories=System;Utility;
diff --git a/live/operator-session/clawdie-join-hive.desktop b/live/operator-session/clawdie-join-hive.desktop
index 2673284..ff0a24e 100644
--- a/live/operator-session/clawdie-join-hive.desktop
+++ b/live/operator-session/clawdie-join-hive.desktop
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ Type=Application
 Version=1.0
 Name=Join Hive
 Comment=Register this machine as a Colibri agent
-Exec=xfce4-terminal --title "Join Hive" --geometry=80x24 --command "/usr/local/bin/clawdie-join-hive"
+Exec=kitty -T "Join Hive" -o initial_window_width=80c -o initial_window_height=24c /usr/local/bin/clawdie-join-hive
 Icon=network-server
 Terminal=false
 Categories=System;Utility;
diff --git a/live/operator-session/clawdie-xfce-session-inner b/live/operator-session/clawdie-xfce-session-inner
index e35619c..b5e1026 100644
--- a/live/operator-session/clawdie-xfce-session-inner
+++ b/live/operator-session/clawdie-xfce-session-inner
@@ -95,9 +95,9 @@ manual_xfce_desktop() {
         if ! pgrep -U "$(id -u)" -x xfce4-panel >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
            ! pgrep -U "$(id -u)" -x xfwm4 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
             echo "Panel or window manager missing after fallback startup; opening rescue terminal"
-            if command -v xfce4-terminal >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-                xfce4-terminal --title "Clawdie desktop rescue" \
-                    --command "sh -lc 'echo XFCE startup fallback. See ~/.xsession-errors.; exec sh'" &
+            if command -v kitty >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+                kitty -T "Clawdie desktop rescue" \
+                    sh -lc 'echo XFCE startup fallback. See ~/.xsession-errors.; exec sh' &
             fi
         fi
     ) &
diff --git a/live/operator-session/colibri-dashboard.desktop b/live/operator-session/colibri-dashboard.desktop
index fc0277b..0c9b00f 100644
--- a/live/operator-session/colibri-dashboard.desktop
+++ b/live/operator-session/colibri-dashboard.desktop
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ Type=Application
 Version=1.0
 Name=Colibri Dashboard
 Comment=Open the live Colibri operator dashboard in a terminal
-Exec=xfce4-terminal --title "Colibri Dashboard" --geometry=120x30 --command "/usr/local/bin/colibri-tui"
+Exec=kitty -T "Colibri Dashboard" -o initial_window_width=120c -o initial_window_height=30c /usr/local/bin/colibri-tui
 Icon=utilities-terminal
 Terminal=false
 Categories=System;Utility;
diff --git a/live/operator-session/colibri-panel-indicator.sh b/live/operator-session/colibri-panel-indicator.sh
index 11465ef..6dc1150 100755
--- a/live/operator-session/colibri-panel-indicator.sh
+++ b/live/operator-session/colibri-panel-indicator.sh
@@ -36,4 +36,4 @@ HOST=$(echo "$STATUS" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)[
 
 echo "<txt>🟢 ${AGENTS:-?} agents · ${TASKS:-?} tasks</txt>"
 echo "<tool>Colibri: ${HOST:-?} | socket: ${SOCKET} | agents: ${AGENTS:-?} | started tasks: ${TASKS:-?}</tool>"
-echo "<txtclick>xfce4-terminal --title 'Colibri Status' --command 'colibri status'</txtclick>"
+echo "<txtclick>kitty -T 'Colibri Status' colibri status</txtclick>"
diff --git a/live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/panel/launcher-4/xfce4-terminal.desktop b/live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/panel/launcher-4/kitty.desktop
similarity index 89%
rename from live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/panel/launcher-4/xfce4-terminal.desktop
rename to live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/panel/launcher-4/kitty.desktop
index 853e76e..aa6b530 100644
--- a/live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/panel/launcher-4/xfce4-terminal.desktop
+++ b/live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/panel/launcher-4/kitty.desktop
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [Desktop Entry]
 Version=1.0
 Type=Application
-Exec=xfce4-terminal
+Exec=kitty
 Icon=utilities-terminal
 StartupNotify=true
 Terminal=false
diff --git a/live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml b/live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml
index e06c588..b01d77f 100644
--- a/live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml
+++ b/live/operator-session/panel-skel/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
     </property>
     <property name="plugin-4" type="string" value="launcher">
       <property name="items" type="array">
-        <value type="string" value="xfce4-terminal.desktop"/>
+        <value type="string" value="kitty.desktop"/>
       </property>
     </property>
     <property name="plugin-5" type="string" value="separator">
diff --git a/packages/pkg-list-xfce.txt b/packages/pkg-list-xfce.txt
index ad7c421..5f576ba 100644
--- a/packages/pkg-list-xfce.txt
+++ b/packages/pkg-list-xfce.txt
@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@ xfce4-panel
 xfce4-session
 xfce4-settings
 xfce4-wm
-xfce4-terminal
+# GPU-accelerated terminal — replaces xfce4-terminal.
+# Kitty: fast, keyboard-driven, respects terminal color themes,
+# supports modern escape codes ratatui uses (REVERSED, italic, true color).
+kitty
 mousepad
 # Keep runtime desktop caches/schemas explicit. These are dependencies of GTK
 # and XFCE packages, but explicit entries make the live-session contract clear.