diff --git a/cmd/tui.go b/cmd/tui.go
index b666dfb..5bcb392 100644
--- a/cmd/tui.go
+++ b/cmd/tui.go
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/theirongolddev/cburn/internal/tui/theme"
 
 	tea "github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea"
+	"github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss"
+	"github.com/muesli/termenv"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
@@ -26,6 +28,10 @@ func runTUI(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	cfg, _ := config.Load()
 	theme.SetActive(cfg.Appearance.Theme)
 
+	// Force TrueColor profile so all background styling produces ANSI codes
+	// Without this, lipgloss may default to Ascii profile (no colors)
+	lipgloss.SetColorProfile(termenv.TrueColor)
+
 	app := tui.NewApp(flagDataDir, flagDays, flagProject, flagModel, !flagNoSubagents)
 	p := tea.NewProgram(app, tea.WithAltScreen())