diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dd8ec7a1..1b5ed7fa 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -108,12 +108,6 @@ Host workbox
 
 same session, same agents, same state.
 
-### direct agent attach
-
-`herdr` and `herdr --remote` attach to the full Herdr session UI. `herdr agent attach <target>` attaches your current terminal directly to one server-owned terminal, like a single-pane terminal attach. `herdr terminal attach <terminal_id>` does the same by terminal id.
-
-Direct attach streams the current rendered terminal state first, then live ANSI frames. Your input goes straight to that terminal. Detach with `ctrl+b q`; send a literal `ctrl+b` with `ctrl+b ctrl+b`. One writable client owns input and resize for a terminal. A second attach fails unless you pass `--takeover`.
-
 ## agent awareness
 
 the sidebar shows which agents are blocked, working, or done. workspaces roll up to their most urgent state so you can scan the full list at a glance.
diff --git a/SOCKET_API.md b/SOCKET_API.md
index b21fba6f..51046860 100644
--- a/SOCKET_API.md
+++ b/SOCKET_API.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ if you are teaching an agent that is already running inside herdr, start with [`
 there are three practical ways to integrate with herdr:
 
 - **agent skill** — [`SKILL.md`](./SKILL.md). best when an agent inside herdr just needs to learn the workflow quickly.
-- **cli wrappers** — `herdr server stop`, `herdr workspace ...`, `herdr tab ...`, `herdr agent ...`, `herdr pane ...`, `herdr wait ...`. best for shell scripts and simple orchestration.
+- **cli wrappers** — `herdr server stop`, `herdr workspace ...`, `herdr tab ...`, `herdr pane ...`, `herdr wait ...`. best for shell scripts and simple orchestration.
 - **raw socket api** — best when you want direct request/response control or long-lived event subscriptions.
 
 these layers are intentionally stacked on top of the same control surface.
@@ -141,7 +141,6 @@ for backward compatibility, requests also accept the older positional forms like
 ```json
 {
   "pane_id": "w64e95948145ed1-1",
-  "terminal_id": "term_64e95948145ed1",
   "workspace_id": "w64e95948145ed1",
   "tab_id": "w64e95948145ed1:1",
   "focused": true,
@@ -153,29 +152,8 @@ for backward compatibility, requests also accept the older positional forms like
 }
 ```
 
-`terminal_id` is an opaque terminal identity. during the pane-backed transition each pane has one terminal id, but clients should not derive it from the pane id.
-
 `label` is an optional manual pane name set through `pane.rename`.
 
-`agent_info` responses contain a terminal-facing view of the same live pane-backed terminal:
-
-```json
-{
-  "terminal_id": "term_64e95948145ed1",
-  "name": "reviewer",
-  "agent": "pi",
-  "agent_status": "working",
-  "workspace_id": "w64e95948145ed1",
-  "tab_id": "w64e95948145ed1:1",
-  "pane_id": "w64e95948145ed1-1",
-  "focused": true,
-  "cwd": "/home/can/Projects/herdr",
-  "revision": 0
-}
-```
-
-`name` is the manual pane label treated as the terminal/agent name by `agent.*` commands. `agent.rename` rejects duplicate active names; `pane.rename` remains backward-compatible and can still create duplicates.
-
 `agent` is an optional display label string.
 
 - when herdr detects a built-in agent, this is that built-in name like `pi` or `claude`
@@ -225,13 +203,6 @@ for backward compatibility, requests also accept the older positional forms like
 | `tab.focus` | focus a tab | `tab_info` |
 | `tab.rename` | rename a tab | `tab_info` |
 | `tab.close` | close a tab | `ok` |
-| `agent.list` | list named or detected terminal-backed agents | `agent_list` |
-| `agent.get` | inspect one terminal-backed agent by terminal id, unique name, or pane id | `agent_info` |
-| `agent.read` | read output from one terminal-backed agent | `pane_read` |
-| `agent.send` | send literal text to one terminal-backed agent | `ok` |
-| `agent.rename` | set or clear the unique agent/terminal name | `agent_info` |
-| `agent.focus` | show the terminal-backed agent in the TUI | `agent_info` |
-| `agent.start` | start a named terminal-backed agent from argv | `agent_started` |
 | `pane.list` | list panes, optionally filtered by workspace | `pane_list` |
 | `pane.get` | inspect one pane | `pane_info` |
 | `pane.rename` | set or clear a manual pane label | `pane_info` |
@@ -989,20 +960,6 @@ herdr tab rename <tab_id> <label>
 herdr tab close <tab_id>
 ```
 
-agent commands:
-
-```text
-herdr agent list
-herdr agent get <target>
-herdr agent read <target> [--source visible|recent|recent-unwrapped] [--lines N] [--format text|ansi] [--ansi]
-herdr agent send <target> <text>
-herdr agent rename <target> <name>|--clear
-herdr agent focus <target>
-herdr agent start <name> [--cwd PATH] [--workspace ID] [--tab ID] [--split right|down] [--focus|--no-focus] -- <argv...>
-```
-
-agent targets accept terminal ids, unique agent names, and legacy pane ids. duplicate names fail clearly for `agent.*`; `pane.rename` can still create duplicate pane labels for backward compatibility. `agent start` treats everything after `--` as argv and does not require agent-specific launch logic.
-
 pane commands:
 
 ```text
@@ -1037,10 +994,6 @@ herdr wait agent-status <pane_id> --status <idle|working|blocked|done|unknown> [
 - `tab create` without `--label` keeps the default numbered tab naming
 - `tab create --label` applies the custom tab name immediately
 - `tab create` returns `result.tab` and `result.root_pane`
-- `agent list` shows named panes and detected/reported agents as terminal-backed agents
-- `agent focus` switches the TUI workspace/tab/pane focus; it is not direct terminal attach
-- `agent rename` enforces unique active names; use `pane rename` only when duplicate labels are intentional
-- `agent start <name> -- <argv...>` starts a named pane-backed terminal and returns `result.agent` plus `result.argv`
 - `pane split` keeps focus where it is by default; pass `--focus` to switch to the new pane
 - `pane read` prints **text**, not json
 - `pane read --format ansi` and `pane read --ansi` print a rendered ANSI snapshot with colors/styles preserved
diff --git a/docs/next/README.md b/docs/next/README.md
index 1b5ed7fa..f5faf558 100644
--- a/docs/next/README.md
+++ b/docs/next/README.md
@@ -108,6 +108,12 @@ Host workbox
 
 same session, same agents, same state.
 
+### direct agent attach
+
+`herdr` and `herdr --remote` attach to the full Herdr session UI. `herdr agent attach <target>` attaches your current terminal directly to one server-owned terminal, like a single-pane terminal attach. `herdr terminal attach <terminal_id>` does the same by terminal id.
+
+Direct attach streams the current rendered terminal state first, then live ANSI frames. Your input goes straight to that terminal. Detach with `ctrl+b q`; send a literal `ctrl+b` with `ctrl+b ctrl+b`. One writable client owns input and resize for a terminal. A second attach fails unless you pass `--takeover`.
+
 ## agent awareness
 
 the sidebar shows which agents are blocked, working, or done. workspaces roll up to their most urgent state so you can scan the full list at a glance.
@@ -147,7 +153,7 @@ herdr tab create --label "logs"
 herdr pane split 1-1 --direction right
 herdr pane run 1-2 "npm test"
 
-# wait for an agent
+# wait for a pane-level UI attention state
 herdr wait agent-status 1-1 --status done
 
 # read output
diff --git a/docs/next/SOCKET_API.md b/docs/next/SOCKET_API.md
index 783d6e97..e639940e 100644
--- a/docs/next/SOCKET_API.md
+++ b/docs/next/SOCKET_API.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ if you are teaching an agent that is already running inside herdr, start with [`
 there are three practical ways to integrate with herdr:
 
 - **agent skill** — [`SKILL.md`](./SKILL.md). best when an agent inside herdr just needs to learn the workflow quickly.
-- **cli wrappers** — `herdr server stop`, `herdr workspace ...`, `herdr tab ...`, `herdr pane ...`, `herdr wait ...`. best for shell scripts and simple orchestration.
+- **cli wrappers** — `herdr server stop`, `herdr workspace ...`, `herdr tab ...`, `herdr agent ...`, `herdr pane ...`, `herdr wait ...`. best for shell scripts and simple orchestration.
 - **raw socket api** — best when you want direct request/response control or long-lived event subscriptions.
 
 these layers are intentionally stacked on top of the same control surface.
@@ -141,6 +141,7 @@ for backward compatibility, requests also accept the older positional forms like
 ```json
 {
   "pane_id": "w64e95948145ed1-1",
+  "terminal_id": "term_64e95948145ed1",
   "workspace_id": "w64e95948145ed1",
   "tab_id": "w64e95948145ed1:1",
   "focused": true,
@@ -153,8 +154,30 @@ for backward compatibility, requests also accept the older positional forms like
 }
 ```
 
+`terminal_id` is an opaque terminal identity. during the pane-backed transition each pane has one terminal id, but clients should not derive it from the pane id.
+
 `label` is an optional manual pane name set through `pane.rename`.
 
+`agent_info` responses contain a terminal-facing view of a live agent terminal:
+
+```json
+{
+  "terminal_id": "term_64e95948145ed1",
+  "name": "reviewer",
+  "agent": "pi",
+  "agent_status": "working",
+  "custom_status": "indexing",
+  "workspace_id": "w64e95948145ed1",
+  "tab_id": "w64e95948145ed1:1",
+  "pane_id": "w64e95948145ed1-1",
+  "focused": true,
+  "cwd": "/home/can/Projects/herdr",
+  "revision": 0
+}
+```
+
+`name` is an optional unique agent alias set by `agent.start` or `agent.rename`. it is separate from the pane `label`: `pane.rename` names a terminal/pane for UI purposes, while `agent.rename` declares or changes the agent-facing name and rejects duplicate active agent names.
+
 `agent` is an optional display label string.
 
 - when herdr detects a built-in agent, this is that built-in name like `pi` or `claude`
@@ -206,6 +229,13 @@ for backward compatibility, requests also accept the older positional forms like
 | `tab.focus` | focus a tab | `tab_info` |
 | `tab.rename` | rename a tab | `tab_info` |
 | `tab.close` | close a tab | `ok` |
+| `agent.list` | list terminal-backed agents | `agent_list` |
+| `agent.get` | inspect one agent by terminal id, unique agent name, detected agent label, or pane id | `agent_info` |
+| `agent.read` | read output from one agent terminal | `pane_read` |
+| `agent.send` | send literal text to one agent terminal | `ok` |
+| `agent.rename` | set or clear the unique agent name | `agent_info` |
+| `agent.focus` | show the agent terminal in the TUI | `agent_info` |
+| `agent.start` | start a named agent terminal from argv | `agent_started` |
 | `pane.list` | list panes, optionally filtered by workspace | `pane_list` |
 | `pane.get` | inspect one pane | `pane_info` |
 | `pane.rename` | set or clear a manual pane label | `pane_info` |
@@ -968,6 +998,30 @@ herdr tab rename <tab_id> <label>
 herdr tab close <tab_id>
 ```
 
+agent commands:
+
+```text
+herdr agent list
+herdr agent get <target>
+herdr agent read <target> [--source visible|recent|recent-unwrapped] [--lines N] [--format text|ansi] [--ansi]
+herdr agent send <target> <text>
+herdr agent rename <target> <name>|--clear
+herdr agent focus <target>
+herdr agent wait <target> --status <idle|working|blocked|unknown> [--timeout MS]
+herdr agent attach <target> [--takeover]
+herdr agent start <name> [--cwd PATH] [--workspace ID] [--tab ID] [--split right|down] [--focus|--no-focus] -- <argv...>
+```
+
+agent targets accept terminal ids, unique agent names, detected/reported agent labels, and legacy pane ids. `agent list` shows terminals with explicit agent identity, detected/reported agent identity, or `agent.start` launch metadata. `pane.rename` does not make a plain terminal appear in `agent list`; use `agent.rename` for agent identity.
+
+terminal commands:
+
+```text
+herdr terminal attach <terminal_id> [--takeover]
+```
+
+`terminal attach` is the low-level direct attach primitive. it streams the current rendered terminal state first, then live ANSI frames. direct attach has one writable input/resize owner; a second direct attach fails unless you pass `--takeover`. detach with `ctrl+b q`; send a literal `ctrl+b` with `ctrl+b ctrl+b`.
+
 pane commands:
 
 ```text
@@ -1003,6 +1057,11 @@ herdr wait agent-status <pane_id> --status <idle|working|blocked|done|unknown> [
 - `tab create` without `--label` keeps the default numbered tab naming
 - `tab create --label` applies the custom tab name immediately
 - `tab create` returns `result.tab` and `result.root_pane`
+- `agent list` shows agent terminals, not arbitrary named panes
+- `agent wait --status idle` is the CLI completion wait; it treats the UI-only `done` attention state as satisfying idle
+- `agent focus` switches the TUI workspace/tab/pane focus; it is not direct terminal attach
+- `agent attach` attaches the current terminal directly to the agent terminal stream
+- `agent start <name> -- <argv...>` starts a named agent terminal and returns `result.agent` plus `result.argv`
 - `pane split` keeps focus where it is by default; pass `--focus` to switch to the new pane
 - `pane read` prints **text**, not json
 - `pane read --format ansi` and `pane read --ansi` print a rendered ANSI snapshot with colors/styles preserved
@@ -1026,7 +1085,13 @@ herdr pane run 1-2 "npm run dev"
 herdr wait output 1-2 --match "ready" --timeout 30000
 ```
 
-wait for another agent to finish in the same user-facing sense the UI shows:
+wait for an agent by name to become idle for CLI automation:
+
+```bash
+herdr agent wait reviewer --status idle --timeout 60000
+```
+
+wait for a pane-level UI attention state:
 
 ```bash
 herdr wait agent-status 1-1 --status done --timeout 60000