diff --git a/extensions/capabilities/index.ts b/extensions/capabilities/index.ts
index 25835ecd..c8d66370 100644
--- a/extensions/capabilities/index.ts
+++ b/extensions/capabilities/index.ts
@@ -85,6 +85,29 @@ export function createCapabilitiesExtension(
   },
 ) {
   return function capabilities(pi: ExtensionAPI) {
+    let shimmerPhase = 0;
+    let shimmerTimer: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | undefined;
+    let shimmerActive = false;
+
+    const stopShimmer = () => {
+      if (shimmerTimer !== undefined) clearInterval(shimmerTimer);
+      shimmerTimer = undefined;
+      shimmerActive = false;
+    };
+
+    const setShimmerActive = (active: boolean, requestRender: () => void) => {
+      shimmerActive = active;
+      if (!active) {
+        stopShimmer();
+        return;
+      }
+      shimmerTimer ??= setInterval(() => {
+        if (!shimmerActive) return;
+        shimmerPhase = (shimmerPhase + 0.08) % 1;
+        requestRender();
+      }, 120);
+    };
+
     const reconcileDiscoveryGateway = () => {
       const adaptive =
         dependencies.loadConfig().capabilities.discovery === "adaptive";
@@ -98,6 +121,8 @@ export function createCapabilitiesExtension(
     pi.events.on(SETUP_CONFIG_CHANGED_CHANNEL, reconcileDiscoveryGateway);
 
     pi.on("session_start", (_event, ctx) => {
+      stopShimmer();
+      shimmerPhase = 0;
       resetOpenPiToolSurface(
         pi,
         dependencies.sourcePath
@@ -108,17 +133,27 @@ export function createCapabilitiesExtension(
       registerEditorLayer(pi, ctx, {
         id: "capability-intent-highlight",
         order: 150,
-        wrap: (base, _tui, _theme, keybindings) =>
-          new CapabilityIntentHighlightEditor(base, keybindings, (text) =>
-            colorCapabilityKeyword(text, {
-              colorMode: ctx.ui.theme.getColorMode(),
-              light: isLightNamedTheme(ctx.ui.theme.name),
-            }),
-          ),
+        wrap: (base, tui, _theme, keybindings) => {
+          return new CapabilityIntentHighlightEditor(
+            base,
+            keybindings,
+            (text) =>
+              colorCapabilityKeyword(
+                text,
+                {
+                  colorMode: ctx.ui.theme.getColorMode(),
+                  light: isLightNamedTheme(ctx.ui.theme.name),
+                },
+                shimmerPhase,
+              ),
+            (active) => setShimmerActive(active, () => tui.requestRender()),
+          );
+        },
       });
     });
 
     pi.on("session_shutdown", () => {
+      stopShimmer();
       removeEditorLayer(pi, "capability-intent-highlight");
     });
 
diff --git a/extensions/capabilities/src/ui.ts b/extensions/capabilities/src/ui.ts
index e8a7921f..dc535056 100644
--- a/extensions/capabilities/src/ui.ts
+++ b/extensions/capabilities/src/ui.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,21 @@ interface CapabilityKeywordColorOptions {
   readonly light: boolean;
 }
 
+type Rgb = readonly [number, number, number];
+
+const DARK_SHIMMER_PALETTE: readonly Rgb[] = [
+  [210, 168, 255],
+  [239, 220, 255],
+  [178, 125, 244],
+  [210, 168, 255],
+];
+const LIGHT_SHIMMER_PALETTE: readonly Rgb[] = [
+  [130, 80, 223],
+  [92, 42, 174],
+  [161, 111, 239],
+  [130, 80, 223],
+];
+
 export function isLightNamedTheme(name: string | undefined) {
   return name !== undefined && /(?:^|[-_])light(?:$|[-_])/iu.test(name);
 }
@@ -26,6 +41,7 @@ export function isLightNamedTheme(name: string | undefined) {
 export function colorCapabilityKeyword(
   text: string,
   options: CapabilityKeywordColorOptions,
+  phase?: number,
 ) {
   const start = options.light
     ? options.colorMode === "truecolor"
@@ -34,7 +50,34 @@ export function colorCapabilityKeyword(
     : options.colorMode === "truecolor"
       ? "\u001b[38;2;210;168;255m"
       : "\u001b[38;5;183m";
-  return `${start}${text}${FOREGROUND_RESET}`;
+  if (phase === undefined || options.colorMode !== "truecolor") {
+    return `${start}${text}${FOREGROUND_RESET}`;
+  }
+
+  const palette = options.light ? LIGHT_SHIMMER_PALETTE : DARK_SHIMMER_PALETTE;
+  const chars = [...text];
+  const span = Math.max(chars.length - 1, 1);
+  const normalized = ((phase % 1) + 1) % 1;
+  const sample = (position: number) => {
+    const scaled = ((((position + normalized) % 1) + 1) % 1) * palette.length;
+    const index = Math.floor(scaled);
+    const amount = scaled - index;
+    const from = palette[index]!;
+    const to = palette[(index + 1) % palette.length]!;
+    return [
+      Math.round(from[0] + (to[0] - from[0]) * amount),
+      Math.round(from[1] + (to[1] - from[1]) * amount),
+      Math.round(from[2] + (to[2] - from[2]) * amount),
+    ];
+  };
+  return (
+    chars
+      .map((character, index) => {
+        const [red, green, blue] = sample(index / span);
+        return `\u001b[38;2;${red};${green};${blue}m${character}`;
+      })
+      .join("") + FOREGROUND_RESET
+  );
 }
 
 export function highlightCapabilityNames(
@@ -59,11 +102,13 @@ export function highlightCapabilityNames(
  */
 export class CapabilityIntentHighlightEditor extends BelowEditorNavigationEditor {
   private readonly highlight: (text: string) => string;
+  private readonly onShimmerActive?: (active: boolean) => void;
 
   constructor(
     base: EditorComponent,
     keybindings: KeybindingsManager,
     highlight: (text: string) => string,
+    onShimmerActive?: (active: boolean) => void,
   ) {
     super(
       base,
@@ -74,14 +119,15 @@ export class CapabilityIntentHighlightEditor extends BelowEditorNavigationEditor
       () => undefined,
     );
     this.highlight = highlight;
+    this.onShimmerActive = onShimmerActive;
   }
 
   override render(width: number) {
     const capabilities = capabilitiesRequestedByPrompt(this.getText());
-    if (
-      !capabilities.includes("delegate") &&
-      !capabilities.includes("workflow")
-    ) {
+    const active =
+      capabilities.includes("delegate") || capabilities.includes("workflow");
+    this.onShimmerActive?.(active);
+    if (!active) {
       return super.render(width);
     }
     return super
diff --git a/tests/extensions/capabilities/ui.test.ts b/tests/extensions/capabilities/ui.test.ts
index 8cc3b24a..237f0241 100644
--- a/tests/extensions/capabilities/ui.test.ts
+++ b/tests/extensions/capabilities/ui.test.ts
@@ -75,6 +75,33 @@ test("uses Claude-style lavender with a contrast-safe light variant", () => {
   );
 });
 
+test("shimmer phase changes only the keyword colors", () => {
+  const first = colorCapabilityKeyword(
+    "workflow",
+    { colorMode: "truecolor", light: false },
+    0,
+  );
+  const second = colorCapabilityKeyword(
+    "workflow",
+    { colorMode: "truecolor", light: false },
+    0.4,
+  );
+  assert.notEqual(first, second);
+  assert.match(first, /^\u001b\[38;2;\d+;\d+;\d+m/u);
+  assert.equal(
+    first.replace(/\u001b\[38;2;\d+;\d+;\d+m/gu, "").replace("\u001b[39m", ""),
+    "workflow",
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    colorCapabilityKeyword(
+      "workflow",
+      { colorMode: "256color", light: false },
+      0.4,
+    ),
+    "\u001b[38;5;183mworkflow\u001b[39m",
+  );
+});
+
 test("highlights capability names only when shared intent authorizes them", () => {
   const reserved = editor("subagent, workflow");
   assert.deepEqual(reserved.highlighted.render(120), [