diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index caacc4419..3103dc91a 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@
         "node-pty": "^1.1.0",
         "prettier": "^3.7.4",
         "secretlint": "^12.2.0",
+        "strip-ansi": "^7.2.0",
         "tsx": "^4.21.0",
         "typescript": "^5",
         "typescript-eslint": "^8.50.1",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1ab3763c8..a5a5de9f2 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@
     "node-pty": "^1.1.0",
     "prettier": "^3.7.4",
     "secretlint": "^12.2.0",
+    "strip-ansi": "^7.2.0",
     "tsx": "^4.21.0",
     "typescript": "^5",
     "typescript-eslint": "^8.50.1",
diff --git a/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/DeployStatus.test.tsx b/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/DeployStatus.test.tsx
index fedca8e1a..b661ec13c 100644
--- a/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/DeployStatus.test.tsx
+++ b/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/DeployStatus.test.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import type { DeployMessage } from '../../../cdk/toolkit-lib/index.js';
 import { DeployStatus } from '../DeployStatus.js';
 import { render } from 'ink-testing-library';
 import React from 'react';
+import stripAnsi from 'strip-ansi';
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 
 function makeMsg(
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ describe('DeployStatus', () => {
     it('shows "Deploying to AWS" when not complete', () => {
       const { lastFrame } = render(<DeployStatus messages={[]} isComplete={false} hasError={false} />);
 
-      expect(lastFrame()).toContain('Deploying to AWS');
+      expect(stripAnsi(lastFrame()!)).toContain('Deploying to AWS');
     });
 
     it('shows success message when complete without error', () => {
@@ -90,7 +91,7 @@ describe('DeployStatus', () => {
       const { lastFrame } = render(<DeployStatus messages={messages} isComplete={false} hasError={false} />);
 
       // Should show deploying text but no resource lines
-      expect(lastFrame()).toContain('Deploying to AWS');
+      expect(stripAnsi(lastFrame()!)).toContain('Deploying to AWS');
       expect(lastFrame()).not.toContain('Some general info');
     });
 
diff --git a/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/LogPanel.test.tsx b/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/LogPanel.test.tsx
index e7e445e48..28003ed84 100644
--- a/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/LogPanel.test.tsx
+++ b/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/LogPanel.test.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import type { LogEntry } from '../LogPanel.js';
 import { LogPanel } from '../LogPanel.js';
 import { render } from 'ink-testing-library';
 import React from 'react';
+import stripAnsi from 'strip-ansi';
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 
 const UP_ARROW = '\x1B[A';
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ describe('LogPanel', () => {
   describe('empty state', () => {
     it('renders "No output yet" with no other content', () => {
       const { lastFrame } = render(<LogPanel logs={[]} />);
-      expect(lastFrame()).toBe('No output yet');
+      expect(stripAnsi(lastFrame()!)).toBe('No output yet');
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/SecretInput.test.tsx b/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/SecretInput.test.tsx
index 3b326ea2a..cf00b0378 100644
--- a/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/SecretInput.test.tsx
+++ b/src/cli/tui/components/__tests__/SecretInput.test.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { ApiKeySecretInput, SecretInput } from '../SecretInput.js';
 import { render } from 'ink-testing-library';
 import React from 'react';
+import stripAnsi from 'strip-ansi';
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 import { z } from 'zod';
 
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ describe('SecretInput', () => {
       <SecretInput prompt="Key" placeholder="sk-..." onSubmit={vi.fn()} onCancel={vi.fn()} />
     );
 
-    expect(lastFrame()).toContain('sk-...');
+    expect(stripAnsi(lastFrame()!)).toContain('sk-...');
   });
 
   it('masks input with default * character', async () => {