diff --git a/src/components/ui/spinner/Spinner.tsx b/src/components/ui/spinner/Spinner.tsx
index 6c232a51d..dfa79447d 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/spinner/Spinner.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/spinner/Spinner.tsx
@@ -32,7 +32,10 @@ export const Spinner: React.FC<SpinnerProps> = ({
 
   return (
     <Box>
-      <Text color={theme.colors.primary}>{frames[frame]}</Text>
+      {/* Keep the frame column when the label is wider than the row. */}
+      <Box flexShrink={0}>
+        <Text color={theme.colors.primary}>{frames[frame]}</Text>
+      </Box>
       {label ? <Text color={theme.colors.text}> {label}</Text> : null}
     </Box>
   );
diff --git a/src/components/ui/task-list/TaskList.test.tsx b/src/components/ui/task-list/TaskList.test.tsx
index 91531d4f7..efe10f483 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/task-list/TaskList.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/task-list/TaskList.test.tsx
@@ -75,4 +75,25 @@ describe("TaskList", () => {
     expect(tailLine).toContain("…");
     instance.unmount();
   });
+
+  // A title with no break opportunity (a Windows temp path) is wider than the
+  // row; Ink's default shrink used to give the glyph column to the title.
+  test("keeps the glyph and spinner when an unbreakable title exceeds the width", () => {
+    const title = "Reading 'C:\\Users\\Admin\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\agentcore-x\\agentcore.json'";
+    const instance = render(<></>);
+    Object.defineProperty(instance.stdout, "columns", { configurable: true, value: 40 });
+    instance.rerender(
+      <TaskList
+        tasks={[
+          { title, state: "done", tail: [] },
+          { title, state: "running", tail: [] },
+        ]}
+      />,
+    );
+
+    const lines = (instance.lastFrame() ?? "").split("\n");
+    expect(lines[0]).toMatch(/^✓ Reading/);
+    expect(lines.some((line) => /^[⠋⠙⠹⠸⠼⠴⠦⠧⠇⠏] Reading/.test(line))).toBe(true);
+    instance.unmount();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/components/ui/task-list/TaskList.tsx b/src/components/ui/task-list/TaskList.tsx
index a35d1bb93..56ad5694f 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/task-list/TaskList.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/task-list/TaskList.tsx
@@ -49,9 +49,12 @@ export const TaskList: React.FC<TaskListProps> = ({
             <Spinner label={task.title} theme={theme} />
           ) : (
             <Box>
-              <Text color={task.state === "done" ? theme.colors.success : theme.colors.error}>
-                {task.state === "done" ? glyphs.done : glyphs.failed}
-              </Text>
+              {/* Keep the glyph column when the title is wider than the row. */}
+              <Box flexShrink={0}>
+                <Text color={task.state === "done" ? theme.colors.success : theme.colors.error}>
+                  {task.state === "done" ? glyphs.done : glyphs.failed}
+                </Text>
+              </Box>
               <Text color={theme.colors.text}> {task.title}</Text>
             </Box>
           )}
diff --git a/src/handlers/project/add/memory/index.test.ts b/src/handlers/project/add/memory/index.test.ts
index 509cd709b..e218c020d 100644
--- a/src/handlers/project/add/memory/index.test.ts
+++ b/src/handlers/project/add/memory/index.test.ts
@@ -32,8 +32,17 @@ afterEach(async () => {
   );
 });
 
-async function run(args: string[], opts?: { core?: TestCoreClient }) {
-  const io = testIO();
+// Ink writes cursor/erase sequences around each frame; the TTY assertions
+// below care about frame text, not terminal control. Built without a
+// control-char literal so lint stays quiet.
+const ANSI_SEQUENCE = new RegExp(`${String.fromCharCode(0x1b)}\\[[0-9;?]*[A-Za-z]`, "g");
+
+function stripAnsi(text: string): string {
+  return text.replace(ANSI_SEQUENCE, "");
+}
+
+async function run(args: string[], opts?: { core?: TestCoreClient; isTTY?: boolean }) {
+  const io = testIO({ isTTY: opts?.isTTY });
   const core = opts?.core ?? new TestCoreClient();
   const root = createRootHandler(core, {
     io: io.io,
@@ -66,6 +75,33 @@ describe("project add memory", () => {
     expect(io.stderr()).not.toContain("added memory");
   });
 
+  // The same progress driver create, build, and deploy use: a TTY gets the live
+  // step list with every step marked done, and the success line follows it.
+  test("renders a live step list on a TTY", async () => {
+    await inProject();
+    const { io } = await run(["add", "memory", "--name", "customer_memory"], { isTTY: true });
+
+    const frames = stripAnsi(io.stderr());
+    expect(frames).toContain("✓ Reading project spec file");
+    expect(frames).toContain("✓ Updating project spec file");
+    expect(frames).toContain("added memory 'customer_memory' to 'TestProject'");
+    expect(io.stdout()).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  test("--json on a TTY keeps the plain step lines so no ANSI reaches stderr", async () => {
+    await inProject();
+    const { io } = await run(["add", "memory", "--name", "customer_memory", "--json"], {
+      isTTY: true,
+    });
+
+    expect(io.stderr()).not.toContain(String.fromCharCode(0x1b));
+    expect(io.stderr()).toContain("Reading project spec file");
+    expect(JSON.parse(io.stdout())).toMatchObject({
+      operation: "add",
+      resource: { type: "memory", name: "customer_memory" },
+    });
+  });
+
   /** Verify the flag -> agentcore.json memories[] entry for each flag. */
   test.each<[string, string[], Record<string, unknown>]>([
     [
diff --git a/src/handlers/project/add/shared.ts b/src/handlers/project/add/shared.ts
index 800e728a9..b1f211dc4 100644
--- a/src/handlers/project/add/shared.ts
+++ b/src/handlers/project/add/shared.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { Context } from "../../../router";
 import { runWithProgress } from "../../../tui/progress";
+import { JsonKey } from "../../keys";
 import { renderResult } from "../../utils";
 import {
   projectMutationResource,
@@ -23,11 +24,12 @@ export async function addProjectResource(
   humanSuccessMessage: string,
   options: AddProjectResourceResultOptions = {},
 ): Promise<Project> {
+  // Same driver as create, build, and deploy: a live step list in a TTY, and
+  // plain line-per-step output when stderr is not a TTY or --json wants no ANSI
+  // on it.
   const updatedProject = await runWithProgress(config.projectManager.addResource(project, input), {
     io: config.io,
-    // Project add commands historically print plain progress lines even on a
-    // TTY. Keep that behavior while still collecting the generator result.
-    interactive: false,
+    interactive: ctx.require(JsonKey) ? false : undefined,
   });
 
   renderResult<ProjectMutationResult>(