diff --git a/packages/tui/src/terminal-image.ts b/packages/tui/src/terminal-image.ts
index 201a40603..64703bf48 100644
--- a/packages/tui/src/terminal-image.ts
+++ b/packages/tui/src/terminal-image.ts
@@ -96,6 +96,13 @@ function detectCapabilitiesFromEnvironment(tmuxForwardsHyperlink: () => boolean)
 		return { images: "kitty", trueColor: true, hyperlinks: true };
 	}
 
+	// Orca supports Kitty graphics but only advertises it through ORCA_IMAGE_PROTOCOL. Require
+	// both signals so Orca releases predating that advertisement keep the text fallback instead
+	// of reserving image rows that nothing renders.
+	if (termProgram === "orca" && process.env.ORCA_IMAGE_PROTOCOL === "kitty") {
+		return { images: "kitty", trueColor: true, hyperlinks: true };
+	}
+
 	if (process.env.KITTY_WINDOW_ID || termProgram === "kitty") {
 		return { images: "kitty", trueColor: true, hyperlinks: true };
 	}
diff --git a/packages/tui/test/terminal-image.test.ts b/packages/tui/test/terminal-image.test.ts
index 6fd05f43d..0ae5bd8b4 100644
--- a/packages/tui/test/terminal-image.test.ts
+++ b/packages/tui/test/terminal-image.test.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import { visibleWidth } from "../src/utils.ts";
 const ENV_KEYS = [
 	"TERM",
 	"TERM_PROGRAM",
+	"ORCA_IMAGE_PROTOCOL",
 	"TERMINAL_EMULATOR",
 	"COLORTERM",
 	"TMUX",
@@ -343,6 +344,22 @@ describe("detectCapabilities", () => {
 		});
 	});
 
+	it("keeps images disabled for Orca without an image capability signal", () => {
+		withEnv({ TERM_PROGRAM: "Orca" }, () => {
+			const caps = detectCapabilities();
+			assert.strictEqual(caps.images, null);
+		});
+	});
+
+	it("enables images and hyperlinks for Orca advertising Kitty support", () => {
+		withEnv({ TERM_PROGRAM: "Orca", ORCA_IMAGE_PROTOCOL: "kitty" }, () => {
+			const caps = detectCapabilities();
+			assert.strictEqual(caps.images, "kitty");
+			assert.strictEqual(caps.trueColor, true);
+			assert.strictEqual(caps.hyperlinks, true);
+		});
+	});
+
 	it("enables hyperlinks for Ghostty", () => {
 		withEnv({ TERM_PROGRAM: "ghostty" }, () => {
 			const caps = detectCapabilities();