diff --git a/src/core/dsl/builtins/process.zig b/src/core/dsl/builtins/process.zig
index 191b33ba..6504c6d8 100644
--- a/src/core/dsl/builtins/process.zig
+++ b/src/core/dsl/builtins/process.zig
@@ -12,59 +12,6 @@ const Value = values.Value;
 const BuiltinError = pathname.BuiltinError;
 const ExecCtx = pathname.ExecCtx;
 
-/// Post_install output is attacker-influenced: a formula's `system` call can
-/// emit whatever the child writes, and a terminal will act on it. The
-/// `--use-system-ruby` path already pumps the child through
-/// `ui/term_sanitize.zig`, which drops OSC (including OSC 52 clipboard
-/// writes), DCS, absolute cursor positioning, and scrollback erase. The
-/// native interpreter — the default path, and the one the README leads with —
-/// inherited the terminal directly, so none of that applied to it.
-///
-/// Piping means the child no longer sees a TTY, so colour-on-TTY heuristics
-/// turn themselves off. That is the same trade the ruby path already makes,
-/// and `MALT_ALLOW_RAW_POST_INSTALL=1` opts out of both.
-fn childStdioMode(suppress: bool, raw: bool) std.process.SpawnOptions.StdIo {
-    if (suppress) return .ignore;
-    return if (raw) .inherit else .pipe;
-}
-
-/// Test seam mirroring `sandbox/macos.zig`'s `SpawnHooks`: forces the Nth pump
-/// spawn to fail, so the undrained-pipe path is reachable without exhausting
-/// threads for real.
-const PumpHooks = struct { fail_spawn_on: ?u32 = null };
-
-fn spawnPump(hooks: PumpHooks, idx: u32, fd: c_int, out_fd: c_int) std.Thread.SpawnError!std.Thread {
-    if (hooks.fail_spawn_on) |n| if (idx == n) return error.SystemResources;
-    return std.Thread.spawn(.{}, macos_sandbox.filterInto, .{ fd, out_fd });
-}
-
-/// Pump `child`'s piped stdout/stderr through the sanitizer, then reap it.
-/// One thread each, so a chatty child cannot wedge one pipe while we block on
-/// the other. `wait` owns the pipe fds, hence the non-closing `filterInto`.
-fn waitSanitized(ctx: ExecCtx, child: *std.process.Child, hooks: PumpHooks) !std.process.Child.Term {
-    var out_thread: ?std.Thread = null;
-    var err_thread: ?std.Thread = null;
-    // A pump that never starts leaves its pipe undrained, so the child blocks
-    // on a full buffer and `wait` never returns. Kill first — that EOFs any
-    // pump that did start — then join.
-    errdefer {
-        child.kill(ctx.io);
-        if (out_thread) |t| t.join();
-        if (err_thread) |t| t.join();
-    }
-
-    if (child.stdout) |f| out_thread = try spawnPump(hooks, 0, f.handle, std.c.STDOUT_FILENO);
-    if (child.stderr) |f| err_thread = try spawnPump(hooks, 1, f.handle, std.c.STDERR_FILENO);
-
-    // The pumps see EOF when the child's write ends close, i.e. when it exits,
-    // so joining before `wait` cannot hang on a live child.
-    if (out_thread) |t| t.join();
-    if (err_thread) |t| t.join();
-    out_thread = null;
-    err_thread = null;
-    return child.wait(ctx.io);
-}
-
 /// Coerce every argument to a string and collect them into an owned argv.
 /// A coercion/allocation failure aborts the whole call rather than silently
 /// dropping an element and shifting the command line — the DSL runs untrusted
@@ -102,10 +49,10 @@ pub fn system(ctx: ExecCtx, _: ?Value, args: []const Value) BuiltinError!Value {
     const raw = macos_sandbox.rawPassthroughEnabled(ctx.environ);
     var child = std.process.spawn(ctx.io, .{
         .argv = spawn_argv,
-        .stdout = childStdioMode(ctx.suppress_child_stdout, raw),
-        .stderr = childStdioMode(false, raw),
+        .stdout = macos_sandbox.childStdioMode(ctx.suppress_child_stdout, raw),
+        .stderr = macos_sandbox.childStdioMode(false, raw),
     }) catch return BuiltinError.SystemCommandFailed;
-    const term = waitSanitized(ctx, &child, .{}) catch return BuiltinError.SystemCommandFailed;
+    const term = macos_sandbox.waitSanitizedChild(ctx.io, &child, .{}) catch return BuiltinError.SystemCommandFailed;
 
     switch (term) {
         .exited => |code| if (code == 0) return Value{ .bool = true } else recordFailure(ctx, argv_slice[0], code),
@@ -327,12 +274,12 @@ fn readPipeAll(file: std.Io.File, allocator: std.mem.Allocator, max_bytes: usize
 test "childStdioMode: suppression wins, then raw passthrough, else sanitized pipe" {
     // Under --json/--ndjson the caller suppresses the child's stdout so it
     // can't corrupt the document — that still takes precedence.
-    try std.testing.expect(std.meta.activeTag(childStdioMode(true, false)) == .ignore);
-    try std.testing.expect(std.meta.activeTag(childStdioMode(true, true)) == .ignore);
+    try std.testing.expect(std.meta.activeTag(macos_sandbox.childStdioMode(true, false)) == .ignore);
+    try std.testing.expect(std.meta.activeTag(macos_sandbox.childStdioMode(true, true)) == .ignore);
     // MALT_ALLOW_RAW_POST_INSTALL=1 hands the terminal straight to the child.
-    try std.testing.expect(std.meta.activeTag(childStdioMode(false, true)) == .inherit);
+    try std.testing.expect(std.meta.activeTag(macos_sandbox.childStdioMode(false, true)) == .inherit);
     // Default: pipe, so the bytes can be run through the sanitizer first.
-    try std.testing.expect(std.meta.activeTag(childStdioMode(false, false)) == .pipe);
+    try std.testing.expect(std.meta.activeTag(macos_sandbox.childStdioMode(false, false)) == .pipe);
 }
 
 // Homebrew's formula-context `system` raises on failure, so a child
@@ -711,7 +658,7 @@ test "waitSanitized fails loudly when a sanitizer pump cannot start" {
     });
     try std.testing.expectError(
         error.SystemResources,
-        waitSanitized(ctx, &child, .{ .fail_spawn_on = 0 }),
+        macos_sandbox.waitSanitizedChild(ctx.io, &child, .{ .fail_spawn_on = 0 }),
     );
 }
 
diff --git a/src/core/post_install_steps.zig b/src/core/post_install_steps.zig
index fa8c1cb9..d4facf36 100644
--- a/src/core/post_install_steps.zig
+++ b/src/core/post_install_steps.zig
@@ -1186,15 +1186,17 @@ fn spawnFenced(ctx: StepsCtx, argv: []const []const u8, env_map: ?*const std.pro
         return false;
     };
 
+    const raw = sandbox_macos.rawPassthroughEnabled(ctx.environ);
     var child = std.process.spawn(ctx.io, .{
         .argv = fenced,
-        .stdout = if (ctx.suppress_child_stdout) .ignore else .inherit,
+        .stdout = sandbox_macos.childStdioMode(ctx.suppress_child_stdout, raw),
+        .stderr = sandbox_macos.childStdioMode(false, raw),
         .environ_map = env_map,
     }) catch {
         logCmdFail(ctx, std.fmt.allocPrint(ctx.allocator, "{s} failed to spawn", .{label}) catch label);
         return false;
     };
-    const term = child.wait(ctx.io) catch {
+    const term = sandbox_macos.waitSanitizedChild(ctx.io, &child, .{}) catch {
         logCmdFail(ctx, std.fmt.allocPrint(ctx.allocator, "{s} did not terminate cleanly", .{label}) catch label);
         return false;
     };
@@ -1360,6 +1362,44 @@ const TestHarness = struct {
     }
 };
 
+/// Capture what a declarative child writes to a terminal fd. The production
+/// path uses the process's real descriptors, so an in-memory output capture
+/// would miss the behavior under test.
+const TestFdCapture = struct {
+    fd: c_int,
+    saved: c_int,
+    path: [:0]const u8,
+    io: std.Io,
+
+    fn start(alloc: std.mem.Allocator, io: std.Io, fd: c_int) !TestFdCapture {
+        const path = try std.fmt.allocPrintSentinel(alloc, "/tmp/malt_steps_output_{d}", .{std.c.getpid()}, 0);
+        const saved = std.c.dup(fd);
+        const cap = std.c.open(path.ptr, .{ .ACCMODE = .WRONLY, .CREAT = true, .TRUNC = true }, @as(std.c.mode_t, 0o600));
+        if (saved < 0 or cap < 0) return error.CaptureFailed;
+        _ = std.c.dup2(cap, fd);
+        _ = std.c.close(cap);
+        return .{ .fd = fd, .saved = saved, .path = path, .io = io };
+    }
+
+    fn finish(self: *TestFdCapture, alloc: std.mem.Allocator) ![]const u8 {
+        self.restore();
+        defer std.Io.Dir.cwd().deleteFile(self.io, self.path) catch {};
+        const f = try std.Io.Dir.openFileAbsolute(self.io, self.path, .{});
+        defer f.close(self.io);
+        const st = try f.stat(self.io);
+        const buf = try alloc.alloc(u8, @intCast(st.size));
+        _ = try f.readPositionalAll(self.io, buf, 0);
+        return buf;
+    }
+
+    fn restore(self: *TestFdCapture) void {
+        if (self.saved < 0) return;
+        _ = std.c.dup2(self.saved, self.fd);
+        _ = std.c.close(self.saved);
+        self.saved = -1;
+    }
+};
+
 fn testFormulaJson(h: *TestHarness, steps_json: []const u8) ![]const u8 {
     return std.fmt.allocPrint(
         h.arena.allocator(),
@@ -2556,6 +2596,31 @@ test "run executes the formula's own helper with its arguments expanded" {
     try testing.expect(dirExists(h.io, try std.fmt.allocPrint(a, "{s}/var/lib/dbus", .{h.prefix})));
 }
 
+test "run strips terminal escapes a formula emits while preserving text" {
+    if (@import("builtin").os.tag != .macos) return error.SkipZigTest;
+    var threaded: std.Io.Threaded = .init(testing.allocator, .{});
+    defer threaded.deinit();
+    var h = try TestHarness.init();
+    defer h.deinit();
+    h.io = threaded.io();
+    const a = h.arena.allocator();
+
+    const bin = try std.fmt.allocPrint(a, "{s}/bin", .{h.keg});
+    try std.Io.Dir.cwd().createDirPath(h.io, bin);
+    try std.Io.Dir.symLinkAbsolute(h.io, "/bin/echo", try std.fmt.allocPrint(a, "{s}/emit", .{bin}), .{});
+
+    var cap = try TestFdCapture.start(a, h.io, std.c.STDOUT_FILENO);
+    defer cap.restore();
+    try testing.expect(execute(h.ctx(), try testFormulaJson(&h,
+        \\[{"type":"run","command":{"base":"bin","path":"emit"},
+        \\  "args":["\u001b]52;c;ZXZpbA==\u0007VISIBLE"]}]
+    )));
+    const got = try cap.finish(a);
+
+    try testing.expect(std.mem.indexOf(u8, got, "VISIBLE") != null);
+    try testing.expect(std.mem.indexOfScalar(u8, got, 0x1b) == null);
+}
+
 test "run refuses the execution fields malt does not honour" {
     // Compaction drops defaults, so a key that survives into the JSON is one
     // the formula meant. Running without honouring it would be a truncated
diff --git a/src/core/sandbox/macos.zig b/src/core/sandbox/macos.zig
index d848ee6c..238101d9 100644
--- a/src/core/sandbox/macos.zig
+++ b/src/core/sandbox/macos.zig
@@ -287,6 +287,52 @@ pub fn rawPassthroughEnabled(environ: std.process.Environ) bool {
     return std.mem.eql(u8, v, "1");
 }
 
+/// Select child stdio for every native post_install executor. Formula output
+/// is attacker-controlled, so normal output is piped through the sanitizer
+/// that drops OSC 52 clipboard writes and other active terminal controls.
+/// JSON modes may suppress stdout; the explicit raw opt-out preserves
+/// inherited terminal behavior. Piping also disables colour-on-TTY heuristics.
+pub fn childStdioMode(suppress: bool, raw: bool) std.process.SpawnOptions.StdIo {
+    if (suppress) return .ignore;
+    return if (raw) .inherit else .pipe;
+}
+
+/// Test seam for a failed sanitizer-pump spawn. Production uses the zero
+/// value; tests force the error path without exhausting threads for real.
+pub const ChildPumpHooks = struct { fail_spawn_on: ?u32 = null };
+
+fn spawnChildPump(hooks: ChildPumpHooks, idx: u32, fd: c_int, out_fd: c_int) std.Thread.SpawnError!std.Thread {
+    if (hooks.fail_spawn_on) |n| if (idx == n) return error.SystemResources;
+    return std.Thread.spawn(.{}, filterInto, .{ fd, out_fd });
+}
+
+/// Pump a std.process child through the terminal sanitizer and reap it. Both
+/// pipes drain concurrently so a chatty child cannot fill one while the
+/// caller blocks on the other. `wait` owns the pipe descriptors, so the pump
+/// uses `filterInto`, which leaves them open for `wait` to close.
+pub fn waitSanitizedChild(
+    io: std.Io,
+    child: *std.process.Child,
+    hooks: ChildPumpHooks,
+) !std.process.Child.Term {
+    var out_thread: ?std.Thread = null;
+    var err_thread: ?std.Thread = null;
+    errdefer {
+        child.kill(io);
+        if (out_thread) |t| t.join();
+        if (err_thread) |t| t.join();
+    }
+
+    if (child.stdout) |f| out_thread = try spawnChildPump(hooks, 0, f.handle, std.c.STDOUT_FILENO);
+    if (child.stderr) |f| err_thread = try spawnChildPump(hooks, 1, f.handle, std.c.STDERR_FILENO);
+
+    if (out_thread) |t| t.join();
+    if (err_thread) |t| t.join();
+    out_thread = null;
+    err_thread = null;
+    return child.wait(io);
+}
+
 fn spawnInherit(
     argv_z: [:null]?[*:0]u8,
     envp: [:null]?[*:0]u8,