diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fa272db..196cd9d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,6 +38,15 @@ Useful flags:
   --recreate
 ```
 
+By default, the launcher creates a fresh temporary Zellij config directory for each new session.
+This is intentional: it avoids interference from an existing user Zellij config, custom default
+layouts, plugins, or resurrected session state. If you really want to use a specific Zellij config
+directory, pass:
+
+```bash
+./scripts/zellij-ai-triple.sh --zellij-config-dir /path/to/zellij-config
+```
+
 On first launch of each Codex pane, if `auth.json` is missing in its profile, the pane runs:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/scripts/zellij-ai-codex-pane.sh b/scripts/zellij-ai-codex-pane.sh
index a24384d..62a0d95 100755
--- a/scripts/zellij-ai-codex-pane.sh
+++ b/scripts/zellij-ai-codex-pane.sh
@@ -66,6 +66,12 @@ workspace="${ZELLIJ_AI_WORKSPACE:-$PWD}"
 image="${ZELLIJ_AI_CODEX_IMAGE:-codercom/code-server:latest}"
 main_codex_config="${ZELLIJ_AI_MAIN_CODEX_CONFIG:-$HOME/.codex/config.toml}"
 codex_binary="$(find_codex_binary || true)"
+term_value="${ZELLIJ_AI_CODEX_TERM:-${TERM:-xterm-256color}}"
+color_term_value="${COLORTERM:-truecolor}"
+
+if [[ "$term_value" == "dumb" ]]; then
+    term_value="xterm-256color"
+fi
 
 if [[ ! -d "$workspace" ]]; then
     echo "Workspace not found: $workspace" >&2
@@ -136,8 +142,8 @@ docker_args=(
     -e HOME=/codex-home
     -e CODEX_HOME=/codex-home
     -e USER="${USER:-$(id -un)}"
-    -e TERM="${TERM:-xterm-256color}"
-    -e COLORTERM="${COLORTERM:-truecolor}"
+    -e TERM="$term_value"
+    -e COLORTERM="$color_term_value"
     -e LANG="${LANG:-C.UTF-8}"
     -v "${workspace}:/workspace"
     -v "${profile_dir}:/codex-home"
diff --git a/scripts/zellij-ai-triple.sh b/scripts/zellij-ai-triple.sh
index 48e8311..64aa881 100755
--- a/scripts/zellij-ai-triple.sh
+++ b/scripts/zellij-ai-triple.sh
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@ Options:
   --codex2-label LABEL  Display label for the second Codex pane
                         default: codex-2
   --claude-config DIR   Optional CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR override for the Claude pane
+  --zellij-config-dir DIR
+                        Optional isolated Zellij config dir to use for session creation
+                        default: a fresh temporary config dir per new session
   --recreate            Kill the existing session before recreating it
   -h, --help            Show this help
 EOF
@@ -54,6 +57,7 @@ codex2_home="$HOME/.codex-profiles/codex-2"
 codex1_label="codex-1"
 codex2_label="codex-2"
 claude_config_dir=""
+zellij_config_dir=""
 recreate=false
 
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
@@ -90,6 +94,10 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
             claude_config_dir="$2"
             shift 2
             ;;
+        --zellij-config-dir)
+            zellij_config_dir="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
         --recreate)
             recreate=true
             shift
@@ -156,14 +164,22 @@ rm -f "$bootstrap_file"
 bootstrap_path="$(kdl_escape "$script_dir/zellij-ai-bootstrap.sh")"
 cat >"$layout_file" <<EOF
 layout {
-    pane size=1 borderless=true {
-        plugin location="tab-bar"
-    }
-    pane command="$bootstrap_path"
-    pane size=2 borderless=true {
-        plugin location="status-bar"
+    tab name="AI Triple" {
+        pane size=1 borderless=true {
+            plugin location="tab-bar"
+        }
+        pane command="$bootstrap_path"
+        pane size=2 borderless=true {
+            plugin location="status-bar"
+        }
     }
 }
 EOF
 
-exec zellij --new-session-with-layout "$layout_file" --session "$session"
+if [[ -z "$zellij_config_dir" ]]; then
+    zellij_config_dir="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/zellij-ai-triple-${session}.XXXXXX")"
+else
+    mkdir -p "$zellij_config_dir"
+fi
+
+exec zellij --config-dir "$zellij_config_dir" --new-session-with-layout "$layout_file" --session "$session"