diff --git a/src/hooks/session-notification-sender.ts b/src/hooks/session-notification-sender.ts
index 8c5cf1df7..4ac0c4d8c 100644
--- a/src/hooks/session-notification-sender.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/session-notification-sender.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
   getAfplayPath,
   getPaplayPath,
   getAplayPath,
+  getTerminalNotifierPath,
 } from "./session-notification-utils"
 import { buildWindowsToastScript, escapeAppleScriptText, escapePowerShellSingleQuotedText } from "./session-notification-formatting"
 
@@ -39,6 +40,19 @@ export async function sendSessionNotification(
 ): Promise<void> {
   switch (platform) {
     case "darwin": {
+      // Try terminal-notifier first — deterministic click-to-focus
+      const terminalNotifierPath = await getTerminalNotifierPath()
+      if (terminalNotifierPath) {
+        const bundleId = process.env.__CFBundleIdentifier
+        const args = [terminalNotifierPath, "-title", title, "-message", message]
+        if (bundleId) {
+          args.push("-activate", bundleId)
+        }
+        await ctx.$`${args}`.catch(() => {})
+        break
+      }
+
+      // Fallback: osascript (click may open Finder instead of terminal)
       const osascriptPath = await getOsascriptPath()
       if (!osascriptPath) return
 
diff --git a/src/hooks/session-notification-utils.ts b/src/hooks/session-notification-utils.ts
index 0c09fd8f8..5f9d572fb 100644
--- a/src/hooks/session-notification-utils.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/session-notification-utils.ts
@@ -32,11 +32,13 @@ export const getPowershellPath = createCommandFinder("powershell")
 export const getAfplayPath = createCommandFinder("afplay")
 export const getPaplayPath = createCommandFinder("paplay")
 export const getAplayPath = createCommandFinder("aplay")
+export const getTerminalNotifierPath = createCommandFinder("terminal-notifier")
 
 export function startBackgroundCheck(platform: Platform): void {
   if (platform === "darwin") {
     getOsascriptPath().catch(() => {})
     getAfplayPath().catch(() => {})
+    getTerminalNotifierPath().catch(() => {})
   } else if (platform === "linux") {
     getNotifySendPath().catch(() => {})
     getPaplayPath().catch(() => {})
diff --git a/src/hooks/session-notification.test.ts b/src/hooks/session-notification.test.ts
index cf895ba98..9d9c4706b 100644
--- a/src/hooks/session-notification.test.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/session-notification.test.ts
@@ -365,4 +365,87 @@ describe("session-notification", () => {
     // then - only one notification should be sent
     expect(notificationCalls).toHaveLength(1)
   })
+
+  function createSenderMockCtx() {
+    const notifyCalls: string[] = []
+    const mockCtx = {
+      $: async (cmd: TemplateStringsArray | string, ...values: any[]) => {
+        const cmdStr = typeof cmd === "string"
+          ? cmd
+          : cmd.reduce((acc, part, i) => acc + part + (values[i] ?? ""), "")
+        notifyCalls.push(cmdStr)
+        return { stdout: "", stderr: "", exitCode: 0 }
+      },
+    } as any
+    return { mockCtx, notifyCalls }
+  }
+
+  test("should use terminal-notifier with -activate when available on darwin", async () => {
+    // given - terminal-notifier is available and __CFBundleIdentifier is set
+    spyOn(sender, "sendSessionNotification").mockRestore()
+    const { mockCtx, notifyCalls } = createSenderMockCtx()
+    spyOn(utils, "getTerminalNotifierPath").mockResolvedValue("/usr/local/bin/terminal-notifier")
+    const originalEnv = process.env.__CFBundleIdentifier
+    process.env.__CFBundleIdentifier = "com.mitchellh.ghostty"
+
+    try {
+      // when - sendSessionNotification is called directly on darwin
+      await sender.sendSessionNotification(mockCtx, "darwin", "Test Title", "Test Message")
+
+      // then - notification uses terminal-notifier with -activate flag
+      expect(notifyCalls.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1)
+      const tnCall = notifyCalls.find(c => c.includes("terminal-notifier"))
+      expect(tnCall).toBeDefined()
+      expect(tnCall).toContain("-activate")
+      expect(tnCall).toContain("com.mitchellh.ghostty")
+    } finally {
+      if (originalEnv !== undefined) {
+        process.env.__CFBundleIdentifier = originalEnv
+      } else {
+        delete process.env.__CFBundleIdentifier
+      }
+    }
+  })
+
+  test("should fall back to osascript when terminal-notifier is not available", async () => {
+    // given - terminal-notifier is NOT available
+    spyOn(sender, "sendSessionNotification").mockRestore()
+    const { mockCtx, notifyCalls } = createSenderMockCtx()
+    spyOn(utils, "getTerminalNotifierPath").mockResolvedValue(null)
+    spyOn(utils, "getOsascriptPath").mockResolvedValue("/usr/bin/osascript")
+
+    // when - sendSessionNotification is called directly on darwin
+    await sender.sendSessionNotification(mockCtx, "darwin", "Test Title", "Test Message")
+
+    // then - notification uses osascript (fallback)
+    expect(notifyCalls.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1)
+    const osascriptCall = notifyCalls.find(c => c.includes("osascript"))
+    expect(osascriptCall).toBeDefined()
+    const tnCall = notifyCalls.find(c => c.includes("terminal-notifier"))
+    expect(tnCall).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  test("should use terminal-notifier without -activate when __CFBundleIdentifier is not set", async () => {
+    // given - terminal-notifier available but no bundle ID
+    spyOn(sender, "sendSessionNotification").mockRestore()
+    const { mockCtx, notifyCalls } = createSenderMockCtx()
+    spyOn(utils, "getTerminalNotifierPath").mockResolvedValue("/usr/local/bin/terminal-notifier")
+    const originalEnv = process.env.__CFBundleIdentifier
+    delete process.env.__CFBundleIdentifier
+
+    try {
+      // when - sendSessionNotification is called directly on darwin
+      await sender.sendSessionNotification(mockCtx, "darwin", "Test Title", "Test Message")
+
+      // then - terminal-notifier used but without -activate flag
+      expect(notifyCalls.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1)
+      const tnCall = notifyCalls.find(c => c.includes("terminal-notifier"))
+      expect(tnCall).toBeDefined()
+      expect(tnCall).not.toContain("-activate")
+    } finally {
+      if (originalEnv !== undefined) {
+        process.env.__CFBundleIdentifier = originalEnv
+      }
+    }
+  })
 })