diff --git a/loop.sh b/loop.sh
index 3847542..24c22ec 100755
--- a/loop.sh
+++ b/loop.sh
@@ -173,8 +173,9 @@ finish() {
         echo "  ⚠ Some stories are blocked. Run /agent-loop:triage"
         echo ""
     fi
-    echo "  Press Enter to close, or Ctrl+C to keep this terminal open."
-    read -r 2>/dev/null || true
+    echo "  Closing in 30 seconds. Press Enter to close now, or Ctrl+C to keep open."
+    # Auto-close after 30s so the tmux session exits and the background watcher fires
+    read -r -t 30 2>/dev/null || true
     exit "$exit_code"
 }
 LOOP_AGENT_TMPFILE=""