diff --git a/internal/tui/tui.go b/internal/tui/tui.go
index 74d82e15514c70ee96b507a01b8f611d3ade6a4d..fe3875d256b3b7c7e3d2fdafecca57b20c3d2fbb 100644
--- a/internal/tui/tui.go
+++ b/internal/tui/tui.go
@@ -603,9 +603,9 @@ func (a *appModel) View() tea.View {
 	view.Layer = canvas
 	view.Cursor = cursor
 	view.ProgressBar = tea.NewProgressBar(tea.ProgressBarNone, 0)
-	if a.app.CoderAgent.IsBusy() {
-		// use a random percentage to prevent the ghostty from hiding it after
-		// a timeout.
+	if a.app != nil && a.app.CoderAgent != nil && a.app.CoderAgent.IsBusy() {
+		// HACK: use a random percentage to prevent ghostty from hiding it
+		// after a timeout.
 		view.ProgressBar = tea.NewProgressBar(tea.ProgressBarIndeterminate, rand.Intn(100))
 	}
 	return view