diff --git a/src/vm.ts b/src/vm.ts
index 76f63b3..7978a75 100644
--- a/src/vm.ts
+++ b/src/vm.ts
@@ -116,7 +116,8 @@ export async function claude(workdir: string, opts?: { prompt?: string; print?:
     "The host's ~/.sandlot is mounted at /sandlot.",
   ].join("\n")
 
-  const args = ["container", "exec", "-it", "--user", USER, "--workdir", cwd, CONTAINER_NAME, CLAUDE_BIN, "--dangerously-skip-permissions", "--model", "claude-opus-4-6", "--append-system-prompt", systemPrompt]
+  const term = process.env.TERM || "xterm-256color"
+  const args = ["container", "exec", "-it", "--user", USER, "--workdir", cwd, CONTAINER_NAME, "env", `TERM=${term}`, CLAUDE_BIN, "--dangerously-skip-permissions", "--model", "claude-opus-4-6", "--append-system-prompt", systemPrompt]
   if (opts?.print) args.push("-p", opts.print)
   else if (opts?.prompt) args.push(opts.prompt)