diff --git a/internal/engine/gemini/gemini.go b/internal/engine/gemini/gemini.go
index e59123d..de13a2c 100644
--- a/internal/engine/gemini/gemini.go
+++ b/internal/engine/gemini/gemini.go
@@ -76,7 +76,12 @@ func (r *Runner) Run(ctx context.Context, req domain.RunRequest) (domain.RunResu
 
 	res := domain.RunResult{Role: req.Role, Summary: tail(strings.TrimSpace(string(out)), 40)}
 	if runErr != nil {
-		res.Err = fmt.Errorf("gemini -p: %w", runErr)
+		msg := strings.TrimSpace(string(out))
+		if msg != "" {
+			res.Err = fmt.Errorf("gemini -p: %w\n%s", runErr, tail(msg, 20))
+		} else {
+			res.Err = fmt.Errorf("gemini -p: %w", runErr)
+		}
 		return res, res.Err
 	}
 	return res, nil
@@ -116,6 +121,13 @@ func (r *Runner) childEnv(workDir, credsPath string) []string {
 	} else if k := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("AIXGO_VERTEX_API_KEY")); k != "" {
 		env = append(env, "GOOGLE_API_KEY="+k)
 	}
+	// gemini-cli 0.60+ defaults folder trust on; headless CI checkouts are
+	// untrusted and exit 55 (FatalUntrustedWorkspaceError). -y does not bypass
+	// that gate — mirror unattended CI by trusting the workspace unless the
+	// caller already set the override.
+	if !hasEnvKey(r.ExtraEnv, "GEMINI_CLI_TRUST_WORKSPACE") {
+		env = append(env, "GEMINI_CLI_TRUST_WORKSPACE=true")
+	}
 	return env
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/engine/gemini/gemini_test.go b/internal/engine/gemini/gemini_test.go
index 9e44b3d..d63e5a6 100644
--- a/internal/engine/gemini/gemini_test.go
+++ b/internal/engine/gemini/gemini_test.go
@@ -172,6 +172,40 @@ func TestRunDefaultsLocationWhenUnset(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+const echoTrustEnv = `#!/bin/sh
+printf '%s\n' "$GEMINI_CLI_TRUST_WORKSPACE"
+exit 0
+`
+
+func TestRunTrustsWorkspaceForHeadlessCI(t *testing.T) {
+	r := New()
+	r.Bin = writeFakeGemini(t, echoTrustEnv)
+	res, err := r.Run(context.Background(), domain.RunRequest{
+		Role: domain.RoleImplementer, WorkDir: t.TempDir(), Prompt: "x",
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if res.Summary != "true" {
+		t.Fatalf("GEMINI_CLI_TRUST_WORKSPACE = %q, want true", res.Summary)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunPreservesCallerTrustWorkspaceOverride(t *testing.T) {
+	r := New()
+	r.Bin = writeFakeGemini(t, echoTrustEnv)
+	r.ExtraEnv = []string{"GEMINI_CLI_TRUST_WORKSPACE=false"}
+	res, err := r.Run(context.Background(), domain.RunRequest{
+		Role: domain.RoleImplementer, WorkDir: t.TempDir(), Prompt: "x",
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if res.Summary != "false" {
+		t.Fatalf("caller override lost: %q", res.Summary)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunReportsAFailureAsAnEngineError(t *testing.T) {
 	r := New()
 	r.Bin = writeFakeGemini(t, "#!/bin/sh\necho boom >&2\nexit 3\n")
@@ -184,6 +218,26 @@ func TestRunReportsAFailureAsAnEngineError(t *testing.T) {
 	if !strings.Contains(res.Summary, "boom") {
 		t.Fatalf("the CLI's own output should be kept: %q", res.Summary)
 	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "boom") {
+		t.Fatalf("engine error should include CLI output: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunReportsSilentFailureAsAnEngineError(t *testing.T) {
+	r := New()
+	r.Bin = writeFakeGemini(t, "#!/bin/sh\nexit 3\n")
+	res, err := r.Run(context.Background(), domain.RunRequest{
+		Role: domain.RoleImplementer, WorkDir: t.TempDir(), Prompt: "x",
+	})
+	if err == nil || res.Err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a non-zero exit must surface as an engine error")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "exit status 3") {
+		t.Fatalf("silent failure error = %v", err)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "\n") {
+		t.Fatalf("empty CLI output should not add a detail line: %v", err)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestRunRequiresAWorkDir(t *testing.T) {