diff --git a/src/seedpass/cli/__init__.py b/src/seedpass/cli/__init__.py
index efbd3003..4a00a2ae 100644
--- a/src/seedpass/cli/__init__.py
+++ b/src/seedpass/cli/__init__.py
@@ -154,11 +154,21 @@ def _launch_legacy_tui(*, fingerprint: Optional[str]) -> typer.Exit:
         return typer.Exit(legacy_main(fingerprint=fingerprint))
 
 
+def _stdin_is_tty() -> bool:
+    return sys.stdin.isatty()
+
+
 def _launch_tui3_or_exit(
     *,
     fingerprint: Optional[str],
     services: Optional[dict[str, object]] = None,
 ) -> None:
+    if not _stdin_is_tty():
+        typer.echo(
+            "seedpass tui3: requires an interactive terminal (stdin is not a TTY).",
+            err=True,
+        )
+        raise typer.Exit(1)
     kwargs: dict[str, object] = {"fingerprint": fingerprint}
     if services is not None:
         kwargs.update(
diff --git a/src/tests/test_typer_cli.py b/src/tests/test_typer_cli.py
index 2f082613..535d9125 100644
--- a/src/tests/test_typer_cli.py
+++ b/src/tests/test_typer_cli.py
@@ -1021,6 +1021,7 @@ def test_root_tui3_forward_fingerprint(monkeypatch):
         called["factory"] = kwargs.get("entry_service_factory")
         return True
 
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cli, "_stdin_is_tty", lambda: True)
     monkeypatch.setattr(cli, "launch_tui3", fake_launch)
     result = runner.invoke(app, ["--fingerprint", "abc"])
     assert result.exit_code == 0
@@ -1170,6 +1171,7 @@ def test_tui2_fallback_legacy_strips_subcommand_argv(monkeypatch):
 
 
 def test_root_tui3_unavailable_returns_error(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cli, "_stdin_is_tty", lambda: True)
     monkeypatch.setattr(cli, "launch_tui3", lambda **_: False)
     result = runner.invoke(app, ["--fingerprint", "abc"])
     assert result.exit_code == 1
@@ -1179,6 +1181,7 @@ def test_root_tui3_unavailable_returns_error(monkeypatch):
 
 
 def test_root_tui3_does_not_preflight_entry_service(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cli, "_stdin_is_tty", lambda: True)
     monkeypatch.setattr(
         cli,
         "_get_entry_service",
@@ -1189,6 +1192,14 @@ def test_root_tui3_does_not_preflight_entry_service(monkeypatch):
     assert result.exit_code == 0
 
 
+def test_tui3_non_interactive_stdin_exits_with_error(monkeypatch):
+    """tui3 must exit cleanly with an error message when stdin is not a TTY."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cli, "_stdin_is_tty", lambda: False)
+    result = runner.invoke(app, ["tui3"])
+    assert result.exit_code == 1
+    assert "not a TTY" in result.stderr
+
+
 def test_tui2_preflight_failure_without_fallback(monkeypatch):
     monkeypatch.setattr(
         cli,