diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.test.ts
index 4adce119a6..eaf501a1fb 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.test.ts
@@ -9,9 +9,15 @@ import type {
   ToolCallConfirmationDetails,
   ToolEditConfirmationDetails,
 } from '@google/gemini-cli-core';
-import { escapeAnsiCtrlCodes } from './textUtils.js';
+import { escapeAnsiCtrlCodes, stripUnsafeCharacters } from './textUtils.js';
 
 describe('textUtils', () => {
+  describe('stripUnsafeCharacters', () => {
+    it('should not strip tab characters', () => {
+      const input = 'hello	world';
+      expect(stripUnsafeCharacters(input)).toBe('hello	world');
+    });
+  });
   describe('escapeAnsiCtrlCodes', () => {
     describe('escapeAnsiCtrlCodes string case study', () => {
       it('should replace ANSI escape codes with a visible representation', () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.ts
index ecea36316a..5da186c423 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/utils/textUtils.ts
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ export function cpSlice(str: string, start: number, end?: number): string {
  * - All printable Unicode including emojis
  * - DEL (0x7F) - handled functionally by applyOperations, not a display issue
  * - CR/LF (0x0D/0x0A) - needed for line breaks
+ * - TAB (0x09) - preserve tabs
  */
 export function stripUnsafeCharacters(str: string): string {
   const strippedAnsi = stripAnsi(str);
@@ -99,8 +100,8 @@ export function stripUnsafeCharacters(str: string): string {
       const code = char.codePointAt(0);
       if (code === undefined) return false;
 
-      // Preserve CR/LF for line handling
-      if (code === 0x0a || code === 0x0d) return true;
+      // Preserve CR/LF/TAB for line handling
+      if (code === 0x0a || code === 0x0d || code === 0x09) return true;
 
       // Remove C0 control chars (except CR/LF) that can break display
       // Examples: BELL(0x07) makes noise, BS(0x08) moves cursor, VT(0x0B), FF(0x0C)