diff --git a/packages/cli/src/prompt-navigation.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/prompt-navigation.test.ts
index 4dd428df..9338b56e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/prompt-navigation.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/prompt-navigation.test.ts
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ describe('prompt navigation helpers', () => {
         'Name this PostgreSQL connection\nKTX will use this short name in commands and config. You can rename it now.',
       ),
     ).toBe(
-      'Name this PostgreSQL connection\n\nKTX will use this short name in commands and config. You can rename it now.\nPress Escape to go back.\n',
+      'Name this PostgreSQL connection\n│\n│  KTX will use this short name in commands and config. You can rename it now.\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│',
     );
   });
 
   it('adds a blank separator before compact text input values', () => {
-    expect(withTextInputNavigation('Project folder path')).toBe('Project folder path\nPress Escape to go back.\n');
+    expect(withTextInputNavigation('Project folder path')).toBe('Project folder path\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│');
   });
 
   it('normalizes already hinted text input prompts without duplicating the hint', () => {
@@ -42,7 +42,19 @@ describe('prompt navigation helpers', () => {
         'Name this PostgreSQL connection\nKTX will use this short name in commands and config. You can rename it now.\nPress Escape to go back.',
       ),
     ).toBe(
-      'Name this PostgreSQL connection\n\nKTX will use this short name in commands and config. You can rename it now.\nPress Escape to go back.\n',
+      'Name this PostgreSQL connection\n│\n│  KTX will use this short name in commands and config. You can rename it now.\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│',
     );
   });
+
+  it('is idempotent when text input navigation is applied twice', () => {
+    const once = withTextInputNavigation('Project folder path');
+    expect(withTextInputNavigation(once)).toBe(once);
+  });
+
+  it('is idempotent when text input navigation with body is applied twice', () => {
+    const once = withTextInputNavigation(
+      'Name this PostgreSQL connection\nKTX will use this short name in commands and config.',
+    );
+    expect(withTextInputNavigation(once)).toBe(once);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/prompt-navigation.ts b/packages/cli/src/prompt-navigation.ts
index d80f2f97..c3644338 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/prompt-navigation.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/prompt-navigation.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,26 @@ function removeTrailingBlankLines(message: string): string {
   return message.replace(/\n+$/, '');
 }
 
+function prefixContinuationLines(message: string): string {
+  const lines = message.split('\n');
+  if (lines.length <= 1) return message;
+  const [title, ...body] = lines;
+  let trailingEmptyCount = 0;
+  while (trailingEmptyCount < body.length && body[body.length - 1 - trailingEmptyCount] === '') {
+    trailingEmptyCount++;
+  }
+  const contentBody = trailingEmptyCount > 0 ? body.slice(0, -trailingEmptyCount) : body;
+  const trailingBody = trailingEmptyCount > 0 ? body.slice(-trailingEmptyCount) : [];
+  return [
+    title,
+    ...contentBody.map((line) => {
+      const stripped = line.replace(/^│\s*/, '');
+      return stripped === '' ? '│' : `│  ${stripped}`;
+    }),
+    ...trailingBody,
+  ].join('\n');
+}
+
 function withTextInputBodySpacing(message: string): string {
   const normalized = removeTrailingBlankLines(message);
   if (!normalized.includes('\n')) {
@@ -39,7 +59,9 @@ export function withMultiselectNavigation(message: string): string {
 export function withTextInputNavigation(message: string): string {
   const messageWithoutHint = removeTrailingBlankLines(message)
     .split('\n')
-    .filter((line) => line !== TEXT_INPUT_NAVIGATION_HINT)
+    .filter((line) => !line.includes(TEXT_INPUT_NAVIGATION_HINT))
+    .map((line) => line.replace(/^│\s*/, ''))
     .join('\n');
-  return `${withTextInputBodySpacing(messageWithoutHint)}\n${TEXT_INPUT_NAVIGATION_HINT}\n`;
+  const full = `${withTextInputBodySpacing(messageWithoutHint)}\n${TEXT_INPUT_NAVIGATION_HINT}`;
+  return `${prefixContinuationLines(full)}\n│`;
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-agents.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-agents.ts
index 1ce9b2e6..6a9721b9 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-agents.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-agents.ts
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupAgentsStep(
   deps: KtxSetupAgentsDeps = {},
 ): Promise<KtxSetupAgentsResult> {
   if (args.skipAgents) {
-    io.stdout.write('Agent integration skipped.\n');
+    io.stdout.write('│  Agent integration skipped.\n');
     return { status: 'skipped', projectDir: args.projectDir };
   }
   if (!args.agents && args.inputMode === 'disabled') {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.test.ts
index de91ae3f..4c2abfcd 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.test.ts
@@ -58,10 +58,10 @@ function connectionNamePrompt(label: string): string {
 function textInputPrompt(message: string): string {
   const normalized = message.replace(/\n+$/, '');
   if (!normalized.includes('\n')) {
-    return `${normalized}\nPress Escape to go back.\n`;
+    return `${normalized}\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│`;
   }
   const [title, ...bodyLines] = normalized.split('\n');
-  return `${title}\n\n${bodyLines.join('\n')}\nPress Escape to go back.\n`;
+  return `${title}\n│\n│  ${bodyLines.join('\n│  ')}\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│`;
 }
 
 const legacyHistoricSqlServiceAccountPatternsKey = ['serviceAccount', 'UserPatterns'].join('');
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.ts
index 080970cc..bbb39836 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-databases.ts
@@ -1115,7 +1115,7 @@ async function maybeRunHistoricSqlSetupProbe(input: {
     return;
   }
 
-  input.io.stdout.write('Historic SQL probe...\n');
+  input.io.stdout.write('│  Historic SQL probe...\n');
   const probe = input.deps.historicSqlProbe ?? defaultHistoricSqlProbe;
   const result = await probe({
     projectDir: input.projectDir,
@@ -1123,10 +1123,10 @@ async function maybeRunHistoricSqlSetupProbe(input: {
     dialect: 'postgres',
   });
   for (const line of result.lines) {
-    input.io.stdout.write(`${line}\n`);
+    input.io.stdout.write(`│${line}\n`);
   }
   if (!result.ok) {
-    input.io.stdout.write('Setup written; first ingest run will fail until fixed.\n');
+    input.io.stdout.write('│  Setup written; first ingest run will fail until fixed.\n');
   }
 }
 
@@ -1261,7 +1261,7 @@ async function chooseDrivers(
       return 'back';
     }
 
-    io.stdout.write('KTX cannot work without at least one primary source. Select a source or press Escape to go back.\n');
+    io.stdout.write('│  KTX cannot work without at least one primary source. Select a source or press Escape to go back.\n');
   }
 }
 
@@ -1325,7 +1325,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupDatabasesStep(
   deps: KtxSetupDatabasesDeps = {},
 ): Promise<KtxSetupDatabasesResult> {
   if (args.skipDatabases) {
-    io.stdout.write('Primary source setup skipped. KTX cannot work until you add a primary source.\n');
+    io.stdout.write('│  Primary source setup skipped. KTX cannot work until you add a primary source.\n');
     return { status: 'skipped', projectDir: args.projectDir };
   }
 
@@ -1382,7 +1382,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupDatabasesStep(
     if (drivers === 'missing-input') return { status: 'missing-input', projectDir: args.projectDir };
     if (drivers.length === 0) {
       await markDatabasesComplete(args.projectDir, []);
-      io.stdout.write('KTX cannot work without a primary source.\n');
+      io.stdout.write('│  KTX cannot work without a primary source.\n');
       return { status: 'skipped', projectDir: args.projectDir };
     }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.test.ts
index 24c567ad..5f37697e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.test.ts
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ describe('setup embeddings step', () => {
 
     await vi.waitFor(() => {
       expect(io.stdout()).toContain(
-        '\r- Testing local sentence-transformers embeddings (all-MiniLM-L6-v2, 384 dimensions). First run may take up to 60 seconds.',
+        '\r│  - Testing local sentence-transformers embeddings (all-MiniLM-L6-v2, 384 dimensions). First run may take up to 60 seconds.',
       );
     });
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.ts
index f7995796..9354ad75 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.ts
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ async function chooseCredentialRef(
   }
   if (choice === 'paste') {
     io.stdout.write(
-      `${[
+      `│  ${[
         `KTX will save the key in .ktx/secrets/${backend}-api-key with local file permissions,`,
         'then write a file: reference in ktx.yaml.',
       ].join(' ')}\n`,
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ function healthCheckStartText(backend: KtxSetupEmbeddingBackend, model: string,
 
 function startHealthCheckProgress(io: KtxCliIo, message: string): HealthCheckProgress {
   if (io.stdout.isTTY !== true) {
-    io.stdout.write(`${message}\n`);
+    io.stdout.write(`│  ${message}\n`);
     const noop = () => undefined;
     return {
       succeed: noop,
@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@ function startHealthCheckProgress(io: KtxCliIo, message: string): HealthCheckPro
   let frameIndex = 0;
   let stopped = false;
   const writeFrame = () => {
-    io.stdout.write(`${CLEAR_CURRENT_LINE}${HEALTH_CHECK_SPINNER_FRAMES[frameIndex]} ${message}`);
+    io.stdout.write(`${CLEAR_CURRENT_LINE}│  ${HEALTH_CHECK_SPINNER_FRAMES[frameIndex]} ${message}`);
   };
   writeFrame();
   const interval = setInterval(() => {
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ function startHealthCheckProgress(io: KtxCliIo, message: string): HealthCheckPro
     }
     stopped = true;
     clearInterval(interval);
-    io.stdout.write(`${CLEAR_CURRENT_LINE}${finalMessage}\n`);
+    io.stdout.write(`${CLEAR_CURRENT_LINE}│  ${finalMessage}\n`);
   };
 
   return {
@@ -396,7 +396,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupEmbeddingsStep(
   deps: KtxSetupEmbeddingsDeps = {},
 ): Promise<KtxSetupEmbeddingsResult> {
   if (args.skipEmbeddings) {
-    io.stdout.write('Embeddings setup skipped.\n');
+    io.stdout.write('│  Embeddings setup skipped.\n');
     return { status: 'skipped', projectDir: args.projectDir };
   }
 
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupEmbeddingsStep(
     !args.embeddingApiKeyEnv &&
     !args.embeddingApiKeyFile
   ) {
-    io.stdout.write(`Embeddings ready: yes (${project.config.ingest.embeddings.model})\n`);
+    io.stdout.write(`│  Embeddings ready: yes (${project.config.ingest.embeddings.model})\n`);
     return { status: 'ready', projectDir: args.projectDir };
   }
 
@@ -495,7 +495,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupEmbeddingsStep(
               credentialRef,
             }),
       );
-      io.stdout.write(`Embeddings ready: yes (${model}, ${dimensions} dimensions)\n`);
+      io.stdout.write(`│  Embeddings ready: yes (${model}, ${dimensions} dimensions)\n`);
       return { status: 'ready', projectDir: args.projectDir };
     }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-models.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-models.test.ts
index 0c7686f7..82f82875 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-models.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-models.test.ts
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ describe('setup Anthropic model step', () => {
     expect(result.status).toBe('ready');
     expect(prompts.select).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({ message: 'Paste Anthropic API key now?' }));
     expect(prompts.password).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-      message: 'Anthropic API key\nPress Escape to go back.\n',
+      message: 'Anthropic API key\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│',
     });
   });
 
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ describe('setup Anthropic model step', () => {
     );
     expect(prompts.text).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       expect.objectContaining({
-        message: 'Anthropic model ID\nPress Escape to go back.\n',
+        message: 'Anthropic model ID\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│',
         placeholder: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
       }),
     );
@@ -629,7 +629,7 @@ describe('setup Anthropic model step', () => {
 
     expect(result.status).toBe('ready');
     expect(prompts.password).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-      message: 'Anthropic API key\nPress Escape to go back.\n',
+      message: 'Anthropic API key\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│',
     });
     await expect(readFile(join(tempDir, '.ktx/secrets/anthropic-api-key'), 'utf-8')).rejects.toMatchObject({
       code: 'ENOENT',
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-models.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-models.ts
index 843691cd..6d3c6757 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-models.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-models.ts
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ async function chooseCredentialRef(
   const prompts = deps.prompts ?? createPromptAdapter();
   if (args.showPromptInstructions !== false) {
     io.stdout.write(
-      'Use Up/Down to move, Enter to confirm the current selection, choose Back to return to the previous step, Ctrl+C to exit.\n',
+      '│  Use Up/Down to move, Enter to confirm the current selection, choose Back to return to the previous step, Ctrl+C to exit.\n',
     );
   }
   while (true) {
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ async function chooseCredentialRef(
     }
     if (choice === 'paste') {
       io.stdout.write(
-        'KTX will save the key in .ktx/secrets/anthropic-api-key with local file permissions, then write a file: reference in ktx.yaml.\n',
+        '│  KTX will save the key in .ktx/secrets/anthropic-api-key with local file permissions, then write a file: reference in ktx.yaml.\n',
       );
       const value = await prompts.password({ message: withTextInputNavigation('Anthropic API key') });
       if (value === undefined) {
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupAnthropicModelStep(
   deps: KtxSetupModelDeps = {},
 ): Promise<KtxSetupModelResult> {
   if (args.skipLlm) {
-    io.stdout.write('LLM setup skipped.\n');
+    io.stdout.write('│  LLM setup skipped.\n');
     return { status: 'skipped', projectDir: args.projectDir };
   }
 
@@ -406,7 +406,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupAnthropicModelStep(
     !args.anthropicApiKeyFile &&
     !args.anthropicModel
   ) {
-    io.stdout.write(`LLM ready: yes (${project.config.llm.models.default})\n`);
+    io.stdout.write(`│  LLM ready: yes (${project.config.llm.models.default})\n`);
     return { status: 'ready', projectDir: args.projectDir };
   }
 
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupAnthropicModelStep(
     const health = await healthCheck(buildHealthConfig(credential.value, model.model));
     if (health.ok) {
       await persistLlmConfig(args.projectDir, credential.ref, model.model);
-      io.stdout.write(`LLM ready: yes (${model.model})\n`);
+      io.stdout.write(`│  LLM ready: yes (${model.model})\n`);
       return { status: 'ready', projectDir: args.projectDir };
     }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-project.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-project.test.ts
index 3dd1b0cd..5562c59c 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-project.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-project.test.ts
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ describe('setup project step', () => {
     );
     expect(prompts.text).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(result.status === 'ready' ? result.project.config.project : '').toBe('ktx-project');
-    expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain(`KTX will create:\n  ${projectDir}`);
+    expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain(`│  KTX will create:\n│    ${projectDir}`);
     await expect(stat(join(projectDir, 'ktx.yaml'))).resolves.toBeDefined();
   });
 
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ describe('setup project step', () => {
     expect(result.projectDir).toBe(projectDir);
     expect(prompts.text).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       expect.objectContaining({
-        message: 'Project folder path\nPress Escape to go back.\n',
+        message: 'Project folder path\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│',
         placeholder: './analytics-ktx, ~/analytics-ktx, or /Users/you/projects/analytics-ktx',
       }),
     );
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-project.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-project.ts
index d164e41d..175adaf7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-project.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-project.ts
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ async function loadExistingProject(projectDir: string, deps: KtxSetupProjectDeps
 }
 
 function printProjectSummary(io: KtxCliIo, projectDir: string): void {
-  io.stdout.write(`Project: ${projectDir}\n`);
+  io.stdout.write(`│  Project: ${projectDir}\n`);
 }
 
 async function promptForNewProjectDir(
@@ -155,8 +155,8 @@ async function promptForNewProjectDir(
   const defaultProjectDir = join(projectDir, DEFAULT_NEW_PROJECT_FOLDER_NAME);
 
   while (true) {
-    io.stdout.write(`Relative paths are resolved from:\n  ${projectDir}\n`);
-    io.stdout.write(`Home paths are resolved from:\n  ${homeDir}\n`);
+    io.stdout.write(`│  Relative paths are resolved from:\n│    ${projectDir}\n`);
+    io.stdout.write(`│  Home paths are resolved from:\n│    ${homeDir}\n`);
     const destinationChoice = await prompts.select({
       message: 'Where should KTX create the project?',
       options: [
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ async function promptForNewProjectDir(
       confirmedCreation = true;
     }
 
-    io.stdout.write(`KTX will create:\n  ${selectedDir}\n`);
+    io.stdout.write(`│  KTX will create:\n│    ${selectedDir}\n`);
     if (state !== 'non-empty-directory') {
       const createAction = await prompts.select({
         message: `Create KTX project at ${selectedDir}?`,
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupProjectStep(
 
   const prompts = deps.prompts ?? createClackSetupProjectPromptAdapter();
   io.stdout.write(
-    'Use Up/Down to move, Enter to confirm the current selection, choose Back to return to the previous step, Ctrl+C to exit.\n',
+    '│  Use Up/Down to move, Enter to confirm the current selection, choose Back to return to the previous step, Ctrl+C to exit.\n',
   );
   while (true) {
     const choice = await prompts.select({
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.test.ts
index b75e2f65..edadc17e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.test.ts
@@ -66,10 +66,10 @@ function connectionNamePrompt(label: string): string {
 function textInputPrompt(message: string): string {
   const normalized = message.replace(/\n+$/, '');
   if (!normalized.includes('\n')) {
-    return `${normalized}\nPress Escape to go back.\n`;
+    return `${normalized}\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│`;
   }
   const [title, ...bodyLines] = normalized.split('\n');
-  return `${title}\n\n${bodyLines.join('\n')}\nPress Escape to go back.\n`;
+  return `${title}\n│\n│  ${bodyLines.join('\n│  ')}\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│`;
 }
 
 describe('setup sources step', () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.ts
index 42b7a7a9..dc010b0a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-sources.ts
@@ -699,7 +699,7 @@ async function runInitialSourceIngestWithRecovery(input: {
   deps: KtxSetupSourcesDeps;
 }): Promise<'ready' | 'continue' | 'back' | 'failed'> {
   while (true) {
-    input.io.stdout.write(`Building context from ${input.connectionId}. Large sources can take a while.\n`);
+    input.io.stdout.write(`│  Building context from ${input.connectionId}. Large sources can take a while.\n`);
     const ingestCode = await (input.deps.runInitialIngest ?? defaultRunInitialIngest)(
       input.args.projectDir,
       input.connectionId,
@@ -727,8 +727,8 @@ async function runInitialSourceIngestWithRecovery(input: {
       continue;
     }
     if (action === 'continue') {
-      input.io.stdout.write(`Context source saved without a completed context build for ${input.connectionId}.\n`);
-      input.io.stdout.write(`Run later: ktx ingest ${input.connectionId}\n`);
+      input.io.stdout.write(`│  Context source saved without a completed context build for ${input.connectionId}.\n`);
+      input.io.stdout.write(`│  Run later: ktx ingest ${input.connectionId}\n`);
       return 'continue';
     }
     return 'back';
@@ -1355,7 +1355,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupSourcesStep(
   try {
     if (args.skipSources) {
       await markSourcesComplete(args.projectDir);
-      io.stdout.write('Context source setup skipped.\n');
+      io.stdout.write('│  Context source setup skipped.\n');
       return { status: 'skipped', projectDir: args.projectDir };
     }
 
@@ -1368,7 +1368,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupSourcesStep(
         return { status: 'failed', projectDir: args.projectDir };
       }
       if (args.inputMode !== 'disabled') {
-        io.stdout.write(`${message}\n`);
+        io.stdout.write(`│  ${message}\n`);
         return { status: 'skipped', projectDir: args.projectDir };
       }
     }
@@ -1392,7 +1392,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupSourcesStep(
           return { status: 'missing-input', projectDir: args.projectDir };
         }
         await markSourcesComplete(args.projectDir);
-        io.stdout.write('No context sources selected.\n');
+        io.stdout.write('│  No context sources selected.\n');
         return { status: 'skipped', projectDir: args.projectDir };
       }
 
@@ -1465,7 +1465,7 @@ export async function runKtxSetupSourcesStep(
             break;
           }
         } else {
-          io.stdout.write(`Context source ${connectionId} saved. It will be built during the context build step.\n`);
+          io.stdout.write(`│  Context source ${connectionId} saved. It will be built during the context build step.\n`);
         }
         readyConnectionIds.push(connectionId);
       }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup.test.ts
index b36b0923..e74dca5d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup.test.ts
@@ -715,7 +715,7 @@ describe('setup status', () => {
 
     expect(projectPrompts.text).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       expect.objectContaining({
-        message: 'Project folder path\nPress Escape to go back.\n',
+        message: 'Project folder path\n│  Press Escape to go back.\n│',
         placeholder: './analytics-ktx, ~/analytics-ktx, or /Users/you/projects/analytics-ktx',
       }),
     );