diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index beb24aa0..4d57c596 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -95,6 +95,16 @@ tail -f "$(cat /tmp/cmux-last-debug-log-path 2>/dev/null || echo /tmp/cmux-debug
 - Do not add an app-level display link or manual `ghostty_surface_draw` loop; rely on Ghostty wakeups/renderer to avoid typing lag.
 - **Submodule safety:** When modifying a submodule (ghostty, vendor/bonsplit, etc.), always push the submodule commit to its remote `main` branch BEFORE committing the updated pointer in the parent repo. Never commit on a detached HEAD or temporary branch — the commit will be orphaned and lost. Verify with: `cd <submodule> && git merge-base --is-ancestor HEAD origin/main`.
 
+## Socket command threading policy
+
+- Do not use `DispatchQueue.main.sync` for high-frequency socket telemetry commands (`report_*`, `ports_kick`, status/progress/log metadata updates).
+- For telemetry hot paths:
+  - Parse and validate arguments off-main.
+  - Dedupe/coalesce off-main first.
+  - Schedule minimal UI/model mutation with `DispatchQueue.main.async` only when needed.
+- Commands that directly manipulate AppKit/Ghostty UI state (focus/select/open/close/send key/input, list/current queries requiring exact synchronous snapshot) are allowed to run on main actor.
+- If adding a new socket command, default to off-main handling; require an explicit reason in code comments when main-thread execution is necessary.
+
 ## E2E mac UI tests
 
 Run UI tests on the UTM macOS VM (never on the host machine). Always run e2e UI tests via `ssh cmux-vm`:
diff --git a/Sources/TerminalController.swift b/Sources/TerminalController.swift
index 0d87e920..5d524703 100644
--- a/Sources/TerminalController.swift
+++ b/Sources/TerminalController.swift
@@ -103,6 +103,33 @@ class TerminalController {
         return currentSorted != nextSorted
     }
 
+    private struct SocketSurfaceKey: Hashable {
+        let workspaceId: UUID
+        let panelId: UUID
+    }
+
+    private final class SocketFastPathState: @unchecked Sendable {
+        private let queue = DispatchQueue(label: "com.cmux.socket-fast-path")
+        private var lastReportedDirectories: [SocketSurfaceKey: String] = [:]
+        private let maxTrackedDirectories = 4096
+
+        func shouldPublishDirectory(workspaceId: UUID, panelId: UUID, directory: String) -> Bool {
+            let key = SocketSurfaceKey(workspaceId: workspaceId, panelId: panelId)
+            return queue.sync {
+                if lastReportedDirectories[key] == directory {
+                    return false
+                }
+                if lastReportedDirectories.count >= maxTrackedDirectories {
+                    lastReportedDirectories.removeAll(keepingCapacity: true)
+                }
+                lastReportedDirectories[key] = directory
+                return true
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static let socketFastPathState = SocketFastPathState()
+
     nonisolated static func explicitSocketScope(
         options: [String: String]
     ) -> (workspaceId: UUID, panelId: UUID)? {
@@ -117,6 +144,15 @@ class TerminalController {
         return (workspaceId, panelId)
     }
 
+    nonisolated static func normalizeReportedDirectory(_ directory: String) -> String {
+        let trimmed = directory.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
+        guard !trimmed.isEmpty else { return directory }
+        if trimmed.hasPrefix("file://"), let url = URL(string: trimmed), !url.path.isEmpty {
+            return url.path
+        }
+        return trimmed
+    }
+
     /// Update which window's TabManager receives socket commands.
     /// This is used when the user switches between multiple terminal windows.
     func setActiveTabManager(_ tabManager: TabManager?) {
@@ -10752,13 +10788,32 @@ class TerminalController {
     }
 
     private func reportPwd(_ args: String) -> String {
-        guard let tabManager else { return "ERROR: TabManager not available" }
         let parsed = parseOptions(args)
         guard !parsed.positional.isEmpty else {
             return "ERROR: Missing path — usage: report_pwd <path> [--tab=X] [--panel=Y]"
         }
 
-        let directory = parsed.positional.joined(separator: " ")
+        let directory = Self.normalizeReportedDirectory(parsed.positional.joined(separator: " "))
+
+        // Shell integration provides explicit UUID handles for cwd updates.
+        // Keep this hot path off-main and drop no-op reports before scheduling UI work.
+        if let scope = Self.explicitSocketScope(options: parsed.options) {
+            guard Self.socketFastPathState.shouldPublishDirectory(
+                workspaceId: scope.workspaceId,
+                panelId: scope.panelId,
+                directory: directory
+            ) else {
+                return "OK"
+            }
+            DispatchQueue.main.async {
+                guard let tabManager = AppDelegate.shared?.tabManagerFor(tabId: scope.workspaceId) else { return }
+                tabManager.updateSurfaceDirectory(tabId: scope.workspaceId, surfaceId: scope.panelId, directory: directory)
+            }
+            return "OK"
+        }
+
+        guard let tabManager else { return "ERROR: TabManager not available" }
+
         var result = "OK"
         DispatchQueue.main.sync {
             guard let tab = resolveTabForReport(args) else {
diff --git a/cmuxTests/CmuxWebViewKeyEquivalentTests.swift b/cmuxTests/CmuxWebViewKeyEquivalentTests.swift
index babd4d8d..6f810a8e 100644
--- a/cmuxTests/CmuxWebViewKeyEquivalentTests.swift
+++ b/cmuxTests/CmuxWebViewKeyEquivalentTests.swift
@@ -3114,4 +3114,25 @@ final class TerminalControllerSidebarDedupeTests: XCTestCase {
         XCTAssertNil(TerminalController.explicitSocketScope(options: ["tab": "workspace:1", "panel": UUID().uuidString]))
         XCTAssertNil(TerminalController.explicitSocketScope(options: ["tab": UUID().uuidString, "panel": "surface:1"]))
     }
+
+    func testNormalizeReportedDirectoryTrimsWhitespace() {
+        XCTAssertEqual(
+            TerminalController.normalizeReportedDirectory("   /Users/cmux/project   "),
+            "/Users/cmux/project"
+        )
+    }
+
+    func testNormalizeReportedDirectoryResolvesFileURL() {
+        XCTAssertEqual(
+            TerminalController.normalizeReportedDirectory("file:///Users/cmux/project"),
+            "/Users/cmux/project"
+        )
+    }
+
+    func testNormalizeReportedDirectoryLeavesInvalidURLTrimmed() {
+        XCTAssertEqual(
+            TerminalController.normalizeReportedDirectory("  file://bad host  "),
+            "file://bad host"
+        )
+    }
 }