diff --git a/internal/cmd/handoff.go b/internal/cmd/handoff.go
index 2313c390..3d8cd839 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/handoff.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/handoff.go
@@ -213,7 +213,10 @@ func runHandoff(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	// Kill all processes in the pane before respawning to prevent orphan leaks
 	// RespawnPane's -k flag only sends SIGHUP which Claude/Node may ignore
-	if err := t.KillPaneProcesses(pane); err != nil {
+	// IMPORTANT: Exclude our own process to avoid race condition where we get killed
+	// before RespawnPane executes, causing the pane to close prematurely (gt-85qd)
+	myPID := fmt.Sprintf("%d", os.Getpid())
+	if err := t.KillPaneProcessesExcluding(pane, []string{myPID}); err != nil {
 		// Non-fatal but log the warning
 		style.PrintWarning("could not kill pane processes: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/internal/tmux/tmux.go b/internal/tmux/tmux.go
index eb4005c6..0ef2d419 100644
--- a/internal/tmux/tmux.go
+++ b/internal/tmux/tmux.go
@@ -418,6 +418,78 @@ func (t *Tmux) KillPaneProcesses(pane string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// KillPaneProcessesExcluding is like KillPaneProcesses but excludes specified PIDs.
+// This is essential for self-handoff scenarios where the calling process (e.g., gt handoff)
+// is running inside the pane it's about to respawn. Without exclusion, the caller would
+// be killed before completing the respawn operation, potentially leaving the pane in a
+// broken state.
+func (t *Tmux) KillPaneProcessesExcluding(pane string, excludePIDs []string) error {
+	// Build exclusion set for O(1) lookup
+	exclude := make(map[string]bool)
+	for _, pid := range excludePIDs {
+		exclude[pid] = true
+	}
+
+	// Get the pane PID
+	pid, err := t.GetPanePID(pane)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("getting pane PID: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if pid == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("pane PID is empty")
+	}
+
+	// Collect PIDs to kill (excluding specified ones)
+	toKill := make(map[string]bool)
+
+	// First, collect process group members (catches reparented processes)
+	pgid := getProcessGroupID(pid)
+	if pgid != "" && pgid != "0" && pgid != "1" {
+		for _, member := range getProcessGroupMembers(pgid) {
+			if !exclude[member] {
+				toKill[member] = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Also walk the process tree for any descendants that might have called setsid()
+	descendants := getAllDescendants(pid)
+	for _, dpid := range descendants {
+		if !exclude[dpid] {
+			toKill[dpid] = true
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Convert to slice for iteration
+	var killList []string
+	for dpid := range toKill {
+		killList = append(killList, dpid)
+	}
+
+	// Send SIGTERM to all non-excluded processes
+	for _, dpid := range killList {
+		_ = exec.Command("kill", "-TERM", dpid).Run()
+	}
+
+	// Wait for graceful shutdown (2s gives processes time to clean up)
+	time.Sleep(processKillGracePeriod)
+
+	// Send SIGKILL to any remaining non-excluded processes
+	for _, dpid := range killList {
+		_ = exec.Command("kill", "-KILL", dpid).Run()
+	}
+
+	// Kill the pane process itself only if not excluded
+	if !exclude[pid] {
+		_ = exec.Command("kill", "-TERM", pid).Run()
+		time.Sleep(processKillGracePeriod)
+		_ = exec.Command("kill", "-KILL", pid).Run()
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // KillServer terminates the entire tmux server and all sessions.
 func (t *Tmux) KillServer() error {
 	_, err := t.run("kill-server")