diff --git a/MainWindow.xaml.cs b/MainWindow.xaml.cs
index b1b4c93..39a1671 100644
--- a/MainWindow.xaml.cs
+++ b/MainWindow.xaml.cs
@@ -147,8 +147,28 @@ public partial class MainWindow : Window
             _topBar.RefreshAvatar();
     }
 
-    private void MainWindow_Closing(object? sender, CancelEventArgs e)
+    private bool _shutdownComplete;
+
+    private async void MainWindow_Closing(object? sender, CancelEventArgs e)
     {
+        if (_shutdownComplete)
+        {
+            SaveWindowGeometry();
+            _viewModel.Shutdown();
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // A session must END before anything is disposed (2026-11-12: closing mid-recording used to
+        // pull the pump out from under itself). Hold the window open, stop properly, then close again.
+        if (_viewModel.IsLive || _viewModel.IsRecording)
+        {
+            e.Cancel = true;
+            await _viewModel.StopBeforeShutdownAsync();
+            _shutdownComplete = true;
+            Close();
+            return;
+        }
+
         SaveWindowGeometry();
         _viewModel.Shutdown();
     }
diff --git a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
index f4c86e2..9dc8da6 100644
--- a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
+++ b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
@@ -616,6 +616,25 @@ public partial class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
     }
 
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Ends a running session before the app tears itself down, and says whether it is safe to close.
+    ///
+    /// <para>Closing with a recording active used to dispose the frame pump and the audio mixer under a
+    /// live loop: ffmpeg never flushed, the file was never renamed or kept, and the pump was disposed
+    /// while it was still working. The window now holds itself open until the ordinary stop completes
+    /// (bounded — a stuck encoder must not trap the creator in an unclosable app).</para>
+    /// </summary>
+    internal async Task<bool> StopBeforeShutdownAsync()
+    {
+        if (!IsLive && !IsRecording) return true;
+
+        StopStream();
+        for (var i = 0; i < 120 && (IsLive || IsRecording); i++)   // up to ~6 s
+            await Task.Delay(50).ConfigureAwait(true);
+
+        return !IsLive && !IsRecording;
+    }
+
     public void Shutdown()
     {
         StopCurrentLaunchLogFeed();
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/TopBarWorldTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/TopBarWorldTests.cs
index f6b19ba..98af355 100644
--- a/ytLive.Tests/TopBarWorldTests.cs
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/TopBarWorldTests.cs
@@ -91,6 +91,63 @@ public class TopBarWorldTests
         }
     }
 
+    /// <summary>Closing mid-session must end the session first (2026-11-12). The clear case: with
+    /// nothing running, closing is immediate — no hold, no wait.</summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Closing_with_nothing_running_does_not_hold_the_window()
+    {
+        var db = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), $"llamacasty-shutdown-{Guid.NewGuid():N}.db");
+        MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = db;
+        try
+        {
+            var vm = new MainViewModel();
+            var started = DateTime.UtcNow;
+            Assert.True(await vm.StopBeforeShutdownAsync());
+            Assert.True(DateTime.UtcNow - started < TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = null;
+            try { File.Delete(db); } catch (IOException) { }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The symptom the creator hit: pressing Start left the idle chip on screen with a dead command, so
+    /// the recording could not be stopped. Reading the property directly was never the test — the UI must
+    /// be TOLD the stage changed.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void Starting_or_stopping_a_recording_announces_the_stage_change()
+    {
+        var db = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), $"llamacasty-recannounce-{Guid.NewGuid():N}.db");
+        MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = db;
+        try
+        {
+            var vm = new MainViewModel();
+            vm.EnterOutputWorldCommand.Execute(null);
+            vm.SelectLocalMp4Command.Execute(null);
+
+            var raised = new System.Collections.Generic.List<string>();
+            vm.PropertyChanged += (_, e) => raised.Add(e.PropertyName ?? string.Empty);
+
+            vm.IsRecording = true;
+            Assert.Contains(nameof(MainViewModel.ShowEndRecordingAction), raised);
+            Assert.Contains(nameof(MainViewModel.ShowStartRecordingAction), raised);
+            Assert.Contains(nameof(MainViewModel.RecordChipText), raised);
+
+            raised.Clear();
+            vm.IsRecording = false;
+            Assert.Contains(nameof(MainViewModel.ShowStartRecordingAction), raised);
+            Assert.Contains(nameof(MainViewModel.RecordChipText), raised);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = null;
+            try { File.Delete(db); } catch (IOException) { }
+        }
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public void Build_scenes_is_the_default_world_and_is_the_only_place_editing_lives()
     {