diff --git a/pkg/agent/loop.go b/pkg/agent/loop.go
index 7f42a62fd..a37b9f8cb 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/loop.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/loop.go
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ type activeTask struct {
 	interrupt   chan string // buffered 1, for user message injection
 	toolLog     []toolLogEntry
 	lastError   *toolLogEntry // sticky: most recent error, persists across iterations
+	projectDir  string        // detected project directory name (from cd prefix)
 	mu          sync.Mutex
 }
 
@@ -947,13 +948,55 @@ func buildPlanReminder(planStatus string) (providers.Message, bool) {
 }
 
 // cdPrefixPattern matches "cd /some/path && " at the start of a shell command.
-var cdPrefixPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`^cd\s+\S+\s*&&\s*`)
+// Group 1 captures the target directory path.
+var cdPrefixPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`^cd\s+(\S+)\s*&&\s*`)
 
 // optFlagPattern matches option flags like --verbose, -v, --timeout=60, -q.
 // Only standalone flags are removed; flags whose value is the next positional
 // argument (e.g. "-A 20") are kept because removing them would lose context.
 var optFlagPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`\s+--?\w[\w-]*(=\S*)?`)
 
+// extractProjectDir extracts the project directory name from an exec command's
+// "cd <path> && ..." prefix by stripping the workspace prefix and taking the
+// first remaining path component.
+// Returns "" if no cd prefix or no deeper directory exists.
+func extractProjectDir(cmd, workspace string) string {
+	m := cdPrefixPattern.FindStringSubmatch(cmd)
+	if len(m) < 2 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	cdPath := strings.TrimRight(m[1], "/\\")
+	if workspace == "" {
+		if idx := strings.LastIndex(cdPath, "/"); idx >= 0 {
+			return cdPath[idx+1:]
+		}
+		return cdPath
+	}
+	ws := strings.TrimRight(workspace, "/\\")
+	rest := strings.TrimPrefix(cdPath, ws)
+	if rest == cdPath {
+		// workspace not a prefix — fall back to last component
+		if idx := strings.LastIndex(cdPath, "/"); idx >= 0 {
+			return cdPath[idx+1:]
+		}
+		return cdPath
+	}
+	rest = strings.TrimLeft(rest, "/\\")
+	if rest == "" {
+		return ""
+	}
+	// Take first path component (e.g. "projects/my-app" → "projects")
+	// But if it looks like a generic dir (projects, src, workspace), go deeper
+	parts := strings.SplitN(rest, "/", 3)
+	if len(parts) >= 2 {
+		first := strings.ToLower(parts[0])
+		if first == "projects" || first == "repos" || first == "src" {
+			return parts[1]
+		}
+	}
+	return parts[0]
+}
+
 // buildArgsSnippet produces a human-friendly snippet for the tool log.
 // For exec: extracts the command and strips the leading "cd <workspace> && ".
 // For file tools: extracts the path and strips the workspace prefix.
@@ -1149,9 +1192,11 @@ func buildRichStatus(task *activeTask, isBackground bool, workspace string) stri
 	sb.WriteByte('/')
 	sb.WriteString(strconv.Itoa(task.MaxIter))
 	sb.WriteString(")\n")
-	// Workspace: always emit for fixed height (show project name only)
+	// Workspace: prefer detected project dir, fall back to workspace basename
 	sb.WriteString("\U0001F4C1 ")
-	if workspace != "" {
+	if task.projectDir != "" {
+		sb.WriteString(task.projectDir)
+	} else if workspace != "" {
 		project := strings.TrimRight(workspace, "/\\")
 		if idx := strings.LastIndex(project, "/"); idx >= 0 {
 			project = project[idx+1:]
@@ -1489,6 +1534,12 @@ func (al *AgentLoop) runLLMIteration(
 					ArgsSnip: buildArgsSnippet(tc.Name, tc.Arguments, agent.Workspace),
 					Result:   "\u23F3",
 				})
+				// Detect project directory from exec cd prefix (once)
+				if task.projectDir == "" && tc.Name == "exec" {
+					if cmd, _ := tc.Arguments["command"].(string); cmd != "" {
+						task.projectDir = extractProjectDir(cmd, agent.Workspace)
+					}
+				}
 			}
 			task.mu.Unlock()
 
diff --git a/pkg/agent/loop_test.go b/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
index 5200ad7ad..32677a102 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
@@ -1569,23 +1569,94 @@ func TestBuildRichStatus(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestBuildRichStatus_TrailingSlash(t *testing.T) {
+func TestBuildRichStatus_ProjectDir(t *testing.T) {
+	// projectDir takes priority over workspace basename
 	task := &activeTask{
+		Iteration:  1,
+		MaxIter:    10,
+		projectDir: "terra-py-form",
+		toolLog: []toolLogEntry{
+			{Name: "exec", ArgsSnip: "ls", Result: "✓ 0.1s"},
+		},
+	}
+	got := buildRichStatus(task, false, "/home/user/.picoclaw/workspace")
+	if !strings.Contains(got, "terra-py-form") {
+		t.Errorf("expected projectDir 'terra-py-form' in output, got:\n%s", got)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(got, "\U0001F4C1 workspace") {
+		t.Error("should not show workspace basename when projectDir is set")
+	}
+
+	// Fallback: no projectDir, trailing slash should still work
+	task2 := &activeTask{
 		Iteration: 1,
 		MaxIter:   10,
 		toolLog: []toolLogEntry{
 			{Name: "exec", ArgsSnip: "ls", Result: "✓ 0.1s"},
 		},
 	}
-	// Trailing slash should not break project name extraction
-	for _, ws := range []string{"/home/user/terra-py-form/", "/home/user/terra-py-form", "C:\\Users\\dev\\terra-py-form\\"} {
-		got := buildRichStatus(task, false, ws)
-		if !strings.Contains(got, "terra-py-form") {
-			t.Errorf("workspace %q: expected 'terra-py-form' in output, got:\n%s", ws, got)
+	for _, ws := range []string{"/home/user/my-project/", "/home/user/my-project"} {
+		got := buildRichStatus(task2, false, ws)
+		if !strings.Contains(got, "my-project") {
+			t.Errorf("workspace %q: expected 'my-project' in output, got:\n%s", ws, got)
 		}
 	}
 }
 
+func TestExtractProjectDir(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name      string
+		cmd       string
+		workspace string
+		want      string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:      "cd into projects subdir",
+			cmd:       "cd /home/user/.picoclaw/workspace/projects/terra-py-form && pytest",
+			workspace: "/home/user/.picoclaw/workspace",
+			want:      "terra-py-form",
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "cd into projects subdir with trailing slash",
+			cmd:       "cd /home/user/.picoclaw/workspace/projects/terra-py-form && ls",
+			workspace: "/home/user/.picoclaw/workspace/",
+			want:      "terra-py-form",
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "cd into direct subdir",
+			cmd:       "cd /home/user/.picoclaw/workspace/my-app && make build",
+			workspace: "/home/user/.picoclaw/workspace",
+			want:      "my-app",
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "cd to workspace itself",
+			cmd:       "cd /home/user/.picoclaw/workspace && ls",
+			workspace: "/home/user/.picoclaw/workspace",
+			want:      "",
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "no cd prefix",
+			cmd:       "pytest tests/",
+			workspace: "/home/user/.picoclaw/workspace",
+			want:      "",
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "cd to unrelated path",
+			cmd:       "cd /tmp/build && make",
+			workspace: "/home/user/.picoclaw/workspace",
+			want:      "build",
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := extractProjectDir(tt.cmd, tt.workspace)
+			if got != tt.want {
+				t.Errorf("extractProjectDir(%q, %q) = %q, want %q", tt.cmd, tt.workspace, got, tt.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestBuildRichStatus_FixedHeight(t *testing.T) {
 	// Test that output has the same number of lines regardless of entry count
 	countLines := func(s string) int {