diff --git a/src/ccstatusline.ts b/src/ccstatusline.ts
index be492891..09438f98 100644
--- a/src/ccstatusline.ts
+++ b/src/ccstatusline.ts
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ import {
     getWidgetSpeedWindowSeconds,
     isWidgetSpeedWindowEnabled
 } from './utils/speed-window';
+import { readStdin } from './utils/stdin';
 import {
     getPackageVersion,
     getTerminalWidth
@@ -57,35 +58,6 @@ function hasSessionDurationInStatusJson(data: StatusJSON): boolean {
     return typeof durationMs === 'number' && Number.isFinite(durationMs) && durationMs >= 0;
 }
 
-async function readStdin(): Promise<string | null> {
-    // Check if stdin is a TTY (terminal) - if it is, there's no piped data
-    if (process.stdin.isTTY) {
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    const chunks: string[] = [];
-
-    try {
-        // Use Node.js compatible approach
-        if (typeof Bun !== 'undefined') {
-            // Bun environment
-            const decoder = new TextDecoder();
-            for await (const chunk of Bun.stdin.stream()) {
-                chunks.push(decoder.decode(chunk));
-            }
-        } else {
-            // Node.js environment
-            process.stdin.setEncoding('utf8');
-            for await (const chunk of process.stdin) {
-                chunks.push(chunk as string);
-            }
-        }
-        return chunks.join('');
-    } catch {
-        return null;
-    }
-}
-
 async function ensureWindowsUtf8CodePage() {
     if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
         return;
diff --git a/src/utils/__tests__/stdin.test.ts b/src/utils/__tests__/stdin.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e2e1b509
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/__tests__/stdin.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+import { Readable } from 'node:stream';
+import {
+    afterEach,
+    beforeEach,
+    describe,
+    expect,
+    it,
+    vi
+} from 'vitest';
+
+import { readStdin } from '../stdin';
+
+const originalStdin = process.stdin;
+const originalTimeout = process.env.CCSTATUSLINE_STDIN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+
+function setStdin(stream: Readable & { isTTY?: boolean }) {
+    Object.defineProperty(process, 'stdin', {
+        value: stream,
+        configurable: true
+    });
+}
+
+describe('readStdin', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        process.env.CCSTATUSLINE_STDIN_TIMEOUT_MS = '50';
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+        Object.defineProperty(process, 'stdin', {
+            value: originalStdin,
+            configurable: true
+        });
+
+        if (originalTimeout === undefined) {
+            delete process.env.CCSTATUSLINE_STDIN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+        } else {
+            process.env.CCSTATUSLINE_STDIN_TIMEOUT_MS = originalTimeout;
+        }
+
+        vi.useRealTimers();
+    });
+
+    it('returns null when stdin is a TTY', async () => {
+        const stream = Object.assign(Readable.from([]), { isTTY: true });
+        setStdin(stream);
+
+        await expect(readStdin()).resolves.toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('reads the payload when the writer closes the stream', async () => {
+        const stream = Object.assign(Readable.from(['{"session_id":"abc"}']), { isTTY: false });
+        setStdin(stream);
+
+        await expect(readStdin()).resolves.toBe('{"session_id":"abc"}');
+    });
+
+    it('resolves with what arrived when EOF never comes', async () => {
+        const stream = Object.assign(new Readable({ read() { /* never pushes EOF */ } }), { isTTY: false });
+        stream.push('{"session_id":"abc"}');
+        setStdin(stream);
+
+        // Without the timeout this would hang and the process would outlive the render.
+        await expect(readStdin()).resolves.toBe('{"session_id":"abc"}');
+    });
+});
diff --git a/src/utils/stdin.ts b/src/utils/stdin.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fec96b45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/stdin.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/**
+ * Default time to wait for the status JSON before giving up on EOF.
+ * Override with CCSTATUSLINE_STDIN_TIMEOUT_MS.
+ */
+const DEFAULT_STDIN_TIMEOUT_MS = 5000;
+
+function getStdinTimeoutMs(): number {
+    const raw = Number(process.env.CCSTATUSLINE_STDIN_TIMEOUT_MS);
+    return Number.isFinite(raw) && raw > 0 ? raw : DEFAULT_STDIN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Reads the piped status JSON.
+ *
+ * A host that writes the payload but never closes the write end leaves the async
+ * iteration below suspended forever, and the process outlives the render it was
+ * spawned for. The timeout bounds that: whatever arrived is still worth rendering,
+ * because the payload is written in one shot, so a timeout means the EOF is
+ * missing rather than the data.
+ */
+export async function readStdin(): Promise<string | null> {
+    // Check if stdin is a TTY (terminal) - if it is, there's no piped data
+    if (process.stdin.isTTY) {
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    const chunks: string[] = [];
+
+    const read = async (): Promise<string> => {
+        // Bun exposes the same Node-compatible process.stdin stream. Reading
+        // through it keeps this function testable and avoids maintaining two
+        // subtly different input paths.
+        process.stdin.setEncoding('utf8');
+        for await (const chunk of process.stdin) {
+            chunks.push(chunk as string);
+        }
+        return chunks.join('');
+    };
+
+    let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
+
+    try {
+        return await Promise.race([
+            read(),
+            new Promise<string>((resolve) => {
+                timer = setTimeout(() => {
+                    resolve(chunks.join(''));
+                }, getStdinTimeoutMs());
+            })
+        ]);
+    } catch {
+        return null;
+    } finally {
+        if (timer) {
+            clearTimeout(timer);
+        }
+
+        // The reader can still hold the stream open after the race settles.
+        process.stdin.pause();
+        const unref = Reflect.get(process.stdin, 'unref') as unknown;
+        if (typeof unref === 'function') {
+            unref.call(process.stdin);
+        }
+    }
+}