diff --git a/nix/profiles/development.nix b/nix/profiles/development.nix
index 64660909..21385d81 100644
--- a/nix/profiles/development.nix
+++ b/nix/profiles/development.nix
@@ -103,6 +103,11 @@ in
           };
         };
         remoteSyncthingDevices = lib.filterAttrs (name: _: name != hostName) syncthingDevices;
+        # Backport the standalone scrollback restoration fix from
+        # https://github.com/neurosnap/zmx/pull/271 until it reaches a ZMX release.
+        zmx = pkgs.zmx.overrideAttrs (old: {
+          patches = (old.patches or [ ]) ++ [ ./development/zmx-preserve-scrollback-tail.patch ];
+        });
         # Syncthing uses decimal units; 5.4 GB keeps slightly more than 5 GiB free.
         syncthingMinDiskFree = {
           value = 5.4;
@@ -163,7 +168,7 @@ in
             ''} ${config.home.homeDirectory}/.pi/agent/sessions/.stignore
           '';
           packages = [
-            pkgs.zmx
+            zmx
           ]
           ++ (with pkgs; [
             curl
diff --git a/nix/profiles/development/zmx-preserve-scrollback-tail.patch b/nix/profiles/development/zmx-preserve-scrollback-tail.patch
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cb05c148
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nix/profiles/development/zmx-preserve-scrollback-tail.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+From bd4d4c98c153ff343f71886bb646fa2771531a8d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
+From: Matthias Bertschy <matthias.bertschy@gmail.com>
+Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2026 10:18:47 +0200
+Subject: [PATCH] fix: preserve scrollback tail during terminal restoration
+
+---
+ src/util.zig | 52 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
+ 1 file changed, 47 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
+
+diff --git a/src/util.zig b/src/util.zig
+index e83ccdbb..40148d65 100644
+--- a/src/util.zig
++++ b/src/util.zig
+@@ -782,6 +782,7 @@ pub fn serializeTerminalState(alloc: std.mem.Allocator, term: *ghostty_vt.Termin
+     if (had_synchronized_output) {
+         term.modes.set(.synchronized_output, false);
+     }
++    defer if (had_synchronized_output) term.modes.set(.synchronized_output, true);
+
+     // If state contains color override, restore it.
+     writeColorOverrides(&builder.writer, term);
+@@ -823,6 +824,14 @@ pub fn serializeTerminalState(alloc: std.mem.Allocator, term: *ghostty_vt.Termin
+             };
+         }
+
++        // The formatter leaves its final history rows in the viewport. Move
++        // every one into scrollback before clearing that viewport, including
++        // when the entire history is shorter than the terminal height.
++        for (0..pages.rows) |_| builder.writer.writeAll("\r\n") catch |err| {
++            std.log.warn("failed to preserve scrollback err={s}", .{@errorName(err)});
++            return null;
++        };
++
+         // Clear visible screen after scrollback. \x1b[2J clears only the visible
+         // rows (not the scrollback buffer). \x1b[H homes the cursor. \x1b[0m resets
+         // SGR style so phase 1 styles don't bleed into phase 2.
+@@ -882,11 +891,6 @@ pub fn serializeTerminalState(alloc: std.mem.Allocator, term: *ghostty_vt.Termin
+     const output = builder.writer.buffered();
+     if (output.len == 0) return null;
+
+-    // Restore the original synchronized_output mode before returning
+-    if (had_synchronized_output) {
+-        term.modes.set(.synchronized_output, true);
+-    }
+-
+     return alloc.dupe(u8, output) catch |err| {
+         std.log.warn("failed to allocate terminal state err={s}", .{@errorName(err)});
+         return null;
+@@ -1791,6 +1795,44 @@ test "serializeTerminalState roundtrip preserves CUP-positioned markers" {
+     try expectCursorAt(&client, 15, 19);
+ }
+
++test "serializeTerminalState preserves all scrollback rows before clearing viewport" {
++    const alloc = testing.allocator;
++    const io = testing.io;
++    for ([_]u16{ 1, 3, 24 }) |rows| {
++        for ([_]usize{ 1, 2, 23, 24, 25, 80 }) |lines| {
++            var term = try testCreateTerminal(alloc, io, 40, rows, "");
++            defer term.deinit(alloc);
++            {
++                var stream = term.vtStream();
++                defer stream.deinit();
++                var buf: [32]u8 = undefined;
++                for (0..lines) |index| {
++                    stream.nextSlice(try std.fmt.bufPrint(&buf, "ROW_{d}\r\n", .{index}));
++                }
++                stream.nextSlice("\x1b[2J\x1b[Hvisible");
++            }
++            var restored = try serializeRoundtrip(alloc, io, &term);
++            defer restored.deinit(alloc);
++            const expected = try term.screens.active.dumpStringAlloc(alloc, .{ .screen = .{ .x = 0, .y = 0 } });
++            defer alloc.free(expected);
++            const actual = try restored.screens.active.dumpStringAlloc(alloc, .{ .screen = .{ .x = 0, .y = 0 } });
++            defer alloc.free(actual);
++            try testing.expectEqualStrings(expected, actual);
++            try expectCursorAt(&restored, term.screens.active.cursor.y, term.screens.active.cursor.x);
++        }
++    }
++}
++
++test "serializeTerminalState allocation failure preserves synchronized output mode" {
++    const alloc = testing.allocator;
++    var term = try testCreateTerminal(alloc, testing.io, 40, 3, "one\r\ntwo\r\nthree\r\nfour\r\n");
++    defer term.deinit(alloc);
++    term.modes.set(.synchronized_output, true);
++    var failing = testing.FailingAllocator.init(alloc, .{ .fail_index = 0 });
++    try testing.expect(serializeTerminalState(failing.allocator(), &term) == null);
++    try testing.expect(term.modes.get(.synchronized_output));
++}
++
+ test "serializeTerminalState with scrollback preserves visible content" {
+     const alloc = testing.allocator;
+     const io = testing.io;