diff --git a/src/main/orcad/orcad-entry.ts b/src/main/orcad/orcad-entry.ts
index 6c0e9bbad227..9b15ed4657a0 100644
--- a/src/main/orcad/orcad-entry.ts
+++ b/src/main/orcad/orcad-entry.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
  */
 import process from 'node:process'
 import { setAppEnvironment, type AppEnvironment } from '../../shared/app-environment'
+import { HEADLESS_RUNTIME_WINDOW_ID } from '../../shared/runtime-session-contracts'
 import { setSecretStore, type SecretStore } from '../../shared/secret-store'
 import type { ServeReadiness } from '../server/serve-readiness'
 import { resolveOrcadInstallRoot, resolveOrcadPath, resolveUserDataPath } from './orcad-app-paths'
@@ -291,6 +292,10 @@ async function startOrcadRuntime(
   // Recovery binds terminal and dispatch identities; only now can startup observations be fenced.
   observedStatusCapture.attach(runtime)
 
+  // Why: nothing else publishes a graph on this host, so `graphStatus` would stay 'unavailable'
+  // and every graph-gated RPC — terminal create, tab inventory — would fail or hang forever.
+  runtime.syncWindowGraph(HEADLESS_RUNTIME_WINDOW_ID, { tabs: [], leaves: [] })
+
   const bindHost = resolveOrcadBindHost(options.bind)
   rpc = new OrcaRuntimeRpcServer({
     runtime,
diff --git a/src/main/startup/headless-pty-hydration-ordering.test.ts b/src/main/startup/headless-pty-hydration-ordering.test.ts
index c761ccf0409f..25e609a444d7 100644
--- a/src/main/startup/headless-pty-hydration-ordering.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/startup/headless-pty-hydration-ordering.test.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,20 @@ describe('headless PTY registry hydration ordering', () => {
     expect(readiness).toBeGreaterThan(rpc)
   })
 
+  it('publishes the orcad headless graph after PTY registration and before RPC', () => {
+    const source = readFileSync(join(process.cwd(), 'src/main/orcad/orcad-entry.ts'), 'utf8')
+    const handlersAndHydration = source.indexOf('await registerHeadlessPtyRuntime(')
+    const sentinel = source.indexOf(
+      'runtime.syncWindowGraph(HEADLESS_RUNTIME_WINDOW_ID, { tabs: [], leaves: [] })',
+      handlersAndHydration
+    )
+    const rpc = source.indexOf('rpc = new OrcaRuntimeRpcServer({', sentinel)
+
+    expect(handlersAndHydration).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0)
+    expect(sentinel).toBeGreaterThan(handlersAndHydration)
+    expect(rpc).toBeGreaterThan(sentinel)
+  })
+
   it('starts the orcad hook owner after Store hydration and before daemon PTY recovery', () => {
     const source = readFileSync(join(process.cwd(), 'src/main/orcad/orcad-entry.ts'), 'utf8')
     const cleanup = source.indexOf('registerCleanup(async () => {')