diff --git a/app/src/ai/blocklist/orchestration_topology.rs b/app/src/ai/blocklist/orchestration_topology.rs
index 9aa7a1e58f0..ff556cc32d3 100644
--- a/app/src/ai/blocklist/orchestration_topology.rs
+++ b/app/src/ai/blocklist/orchestration_topology.rs
@@ -70,6 +70,32 @@ pub fn collect_descendant_conversation_ids_in_spawn_order(
     }
 }
 
+/// Returns `true` if `orchestrator_id` has at least one **active local** child
+/// agent in its orchestration subtree.
+///
+/// "Local" means the child runs in this client (`!is_remote_child()`); a
+/// remote/cloud child is owned by its worker and is unaffected by handing the
+/// parent off to the cloud. "Active" means the child is not in a terminal state
+/// (`!ConversationStatus::is_done()`), so a session whose children have all
+/// finished is not treated as still orchestrating.
+///
+/// This is used to keep automatic cloud handoff from forking only the
+/// orchestrator to the cloud and orphaning its still-running local children.
+/// Descendants whose `AIConversation` is not loaded are ignored — active local
+/// children are always loaded in this client.
+pub fn has_local_orchestrated_children(
+    history: &BlocklistAIHistoryModel,
+    orchestrator_id: AIConversationId,
+) -> bool {
+    descendant_conversation_ids_in_spawn_order(history, orchestrator_id)
+        .iter()
+        .any(|id| {
+            history.conversation(id).is_some_and(|conversation| {
+                !conversation.is_remote_child() && !conversation.status().is_done()
+            })
+        })
+}
+
 /// Returns descendants in the canonical orchestration pill order:
 ///   1) pinned children
 ///   2) unpinned children
diff --git a/app/src/ai/blocklist/orchestration_topology_tests.rs b/app/src/ai/blocklist/orchestration_topology_tests.rs
index b71ea122861..92d742fdeeb 100644
--- a/app/src/ai/blocklist/orchestration_topology_tests.rs
+++ b/app/src/ai/blocklist/orchestration_topology_tests.rs
@@ -252,6 +252,109 @@ fn orchestration_aware_status_uses_direct_status_for_non_parent() {
         });
     });
 }
+#[test]
+fn has_local_orchestrated_children_detects_active_local_children() {
+    App::test((), |mut app| async move {
+        initialize_history_persistence_for_tests(&mut app);
+        let terminal_view_id = EntityId::new();
+        let history_model = app.add_singleton_model(|_| BlocklistAIHistoryModel::new_for_test());
+
+        let orchestrator_id = history_model.update(&mut app, |history_model, ctx| {
+            history_model.start_new_conversation(terminal_view_id, false, false, false, ctx)
+        });
+
+        // No children yet.
+        history_model.read(&app, |history_model, _| {
+            assert!(!has_local_orchestrated_children(
+                history_model,
+                orchestrator_id
+            ));
+        });
+
+        let child = history_model.update(&mut app, |history_model, ctx| {
+            history_model.start_new_child_conversation(
+                terminal_view_id,
+                "local-child".to_string(),
+                orchestrator_id,
+                None,
+                ctx,
+            )
+        });
+        history_model.update(&mut app, |history_model, ctx| {
+            history_model.update_conversation_status(
+                terminal_view_id,
+                child,
+                ConversationStatus::InProgress,
+                ctx,
+            );
+        });
+
+        // An active local child counts.
+        history_model.read(&app, |history_model, _| {
+            assert!(has_local_orchestrated_children(
+                history_model,
+                orchestrator_id
+            ));
+        });
+
+        // A finished local child no longer counts.
+        history_model.update(&mut app, |history_model, ctx| {
+            history_model.update_conversation_status(
+                terminal_view_id,
+                child,
+                ConversationStatus::Success,
+                ctx,
+            );
+        });
+        history_model.read(&app, |history_model, _| {
+            assert!(!has_local_orchestrated_children(
+                history_model,
+                orchestrator_id
+            ));
+        });
+    });
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn has_local_orchestrated_children_ignores_remote_children() {
+    App::test((), |mut app| async move {
+        initialize_history_persistence_for_tests(&mut app);
+        let terminal_view_id = EntityId::new();
+        let history_model = app.add_singleton_model(|_| BlocklistAIHistoryModel::new_for_test());
+
+        let orchestrator_id = history_model.update(&mut app, |history_model, ctx| {
+            history_model.start_new_conversation(terminal_view_id, false, false, false, ctx)
+        });
+        let remote_child = history_model.update(&mut app, |history_model, ctx| {
+            history_model.start_new_child_conversation(
+                terminal_view_id,
+                "remote-child".to_string(),
+                orchestrator_id,
+                None,
+                ctx,
+            )
+        });
+        history_model.update(&mut app, |history_model, ctx| {
+            history_model.update_conversation_status(
+                terminal_view_id,
+                remote_child,
+                ConversationStatus::InProgress,
+                ctx,
+            );
+            history_model.mark_conversation_as_remote_child(remote_child, ctx);
+        });
+
+        // A remote child runs on its own worker and is not orphaned by a
+        // parent-only cloud handoff, so it must not count.
+        history_model.read(&app, |history_model, _| {
+            assert!(!has_local_orchestrated_children(
+                history_model,
+                orchestrator_id
+            ));
+        });
+    });
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn descendant_conversation_ids_in_spawn_order_returns_empty_without_children() {
     App::test((), |mut app| async move {
diff --git a/app/src/workspace/auto_handoff.rs b/app/src/workspace/auto_handoff.rs
index b3218b9a37f..f3ef4ff9ffa 100644
--- a/app/src/workspace/auto_handoff.rs
+++ b/app/src/workspace/auto_handoff.rs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ use super::{
 use crate::ai::active_agent_views_model::{ActiveAgentViewsModel, ConversationOrTaskId};
 use crate::ai::agent::conversation::{AIConversation, AIConversationId};
 use crate::ai::ambient_agents::telemetry::CloudAgentTelemetryEvent;
+use crate::ai::blocklist::orchestration_topology::has_local_orchestrated_children;
 use crate::settings::AISettings;
 use crate::system::{SystemStats, SystemStatsEvent};
 use crate::terminal::view::TerminalView;
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ pub(crate) enum AutoCloudHandoffSkipReason {
     MissingServerConversationToken,
     SharedSessionViewer,
     CloudHandoffUnavailable,
+    OrchestratorWithLocalChildren,
     AlreadyAttempted,
     NoFocusedConversation,
     TerminalNotFound { terminal_view_id: EntityId },
@@ -42,6 +44,10 @@ pub(crate) struct AutoCloudHandoffEligibility {
     pub(crate) is_viewing_shared_session: bool,
     pub(crate) can_handoff_to_cloud: bool,
     pub(crate) already_attempted: bool,
+    /// True when the focused conversation is an orchestrator with at least one
+    /// active local child agent. Handing such a session off to the cloud would
+    /// fork only the parent and orphan its local children, so we skip it.
+    pub(crate) has_local_orchestrated_children: bool,
 }
 
 impl AutoCloudHandoffEligibility {
@@ -49,6 +55,7 @@ impl AutoCloudHandoffEligibility {
         conversation: &AIConversation,
         can_handoff_to_cloud: bool,
         already_attempted: bool,
+        has_local_orchestrated_children: bool,
     ) -> Self {
         Self {
             is_empty: conversation.is_empty(),
@@ -57,6 +64,7 @@ impl AutoCloudHandoffEligibility {
             is_viewing_shared_session: conversation.is_viewing_shared_session(),
             can_handoff_to_cloud,
             already_attempted,
+            has_local_orchestrated_children,
         }
     }
 
@@ -73,6 +81,9 @@ impl AutoCloudHandoffEligibility {
         if !self.is_in_progress {
             return Some(AutoCloudHandoffSkipReason::NotInProgress);
         }
+        if self.has_local_orchestrated_children {
+            return Some(AutoCloudHandoffSkipReason::OrchestratorWithLocalChildren);
+        }
         if !self.has_server_conversation_token {
             return Some(AutoCloudHandoffSkipReason::MissingServerConversationToken);
         }
@@ -316,6 +327,7 @@ impl AutoCloudHandoffController {
             conversation,
             can_handoff_to_cloud,
             self.attempted_conversation_ids.contains(&conversation_id),
+            has_local_orchestrated_children(history, conversation_id),
         )
         .skip_reason()
         {
diff --git a/app/src/workspace/auto_handoff_tests.rs b/app/src/workspace/auto_handoff_tests.rs
index 418ffd39353..ba0b4fb2c80 100644
--- a/app/src/workspace/auto_handoff_tests.rs
+++ b/app/src/workspace/auto_handoff_tests.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ fn eligibility() -> AutoCloudHandoffEligibility {
         is_viewing_shared_session: false,
         can_handoff_to_cloud: true,
         already_attempted: false,
+        has_local_orchestrated_children: false,
     }
 }
 
@@ -16,6 +17,19 @@ fn eligible_running_synced_conversation_is_not_skipped() {
     assert_eq!(eligibility().skip_reason(), None);
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn auto_handoff_skips_orchestrator_with_local_children() {
+    let eligibility = AutoCloudHandoffEligibility {
+        has_local_orchestrated_children: true,
+        ..eligibility()
+    };
+
+    assert_eq!(
+        eligibility.skip_reason(),
+        Some(AutoCloudHandoffSkipReason::OrchestratorWithLocalChildren)
+    );
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn auto_handoff_skips_empty_conversations() {
     let eligibility = AutoCloudHandoffEligibility {