diff --git a/apps/fabro-web/app/routes/run-stages-chat.test.tsx b/apps/fabro-web/app/routes/run-stages-chat.test.tsx
index 9ca84db99..be86b89fd 100644
--- a/apps/fabro-web/app/routes/run-stages-chat.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/fabro-web/app/routes/run-stages-chat.test.tsx
@@ -52,6 +52,58 @@ describe("StageChatView", () => {
     expect(html).toContain("1m 12s");
   });
 
+  test("renders no node for a text-free assistant turn between tool batches", () => {
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <StageChatView
+        turns={[
+          {
+            kind: "tool",
+            ts: "2026-04-09T12:00:01Z",
+            toolName: "shell",
+            input: "{}",
+            result: "ok",
+            isError: false,
+            durationMs: 5,
+          },
+          {
+            kind: "assistant",
+            ts: "2026-04-09T12:00:02Z",
+            content: "   ",
+            inputTokens: 0,
+            outputTokens: 0,
+            toolCallCount: 1,
+          },
+          {
+            kind: "tool",
+            ts: "2026-04-09T12:00:03Z",
+            toolName: "shell",
+            input: "{}",
+            result: "ok",
+            isError: false,
+            durationMs: 5,
+          },
+          {
+            kind: "assistant",
+            ts: "2026-04-09T12:00:04Z",
+            content: "Done",
+            inputTokens: 10,
+            outputTokens: 20,
+            toolCallCount: null,
+          },
+        ]}
+        pendingTools={[]}
+        stage={stage()}
+      />,
+    );
+
+    // The boundary keeps the two batches as separate chips, but contributes
+    // no element of its own between them.
+    expect(html.match(/1 tool call/g)).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(html).not.toContain('class="prose prose-sm max-w-none"');
+    expect(html.match(/class="prose /g)).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(html).toContain("Done");
+  });
+
   test("connects a long prompt's expand button to its controlled content", () => {
     const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
       <StageChatView
diff --git a/apps/fabro-web/app/routes/run-stages.tsx b/apps/fabro-web/app/routes/run-stages.tsx
index 22b862716..ad5dfc104 100644
--- a/apps/fabro-web/app/routes/run-stages.tsx
+++ b/apps/fabro-web/app/routes/run-stages.tsx
@@ -1586,13 +1586,21 @@ export function StageChatView({
               </p>
             );
           case "assistant": {
+            const hasText = turn.content.trim().length > 0;
             const metric = turnMetric(turn);
             const isFinal =
               turnIndex === lastAssistantTurnIndex && !stageActive;
+            const showFooter = isFinal && Boolean(metric || duration);
+            // A text-free assistant turn is the boundary between two batches
+            // of tool calls, kept in the turn stream so those batches stay
+            // separate chips. It has nothing to show, and an empty node would
+            // still take a slot in this gap-4 column, doubling the space
+            // between the chips on either side of it.
+            if (!hasText && !showFooter) return null;
             return (
               <div key={`turn-${turnIndex}`} className="flex flex-col gap-1.5">
-                <Markdown content={turn.content} />
-                {isFinal && (metric || duration) && (
+                {hasText && <Markdown content={turn.content} />}
+                {showFooter && (
                   <div className="flex gap-3 font-mono text-[11px] text-fg-muted tabular-nums">
                     {metric && <span>{metric}</span>}
                     {duration && <span>{duration}</span>}