diff --git a/docs/guide/architecture.md b/docs/guide/architecture.md
index 6a0a148aab..ba84cd0868 100644
--- a/docs/guide/architecture.md
+++ b/docs/guide/architecture.md
@@ -96,8 +96,12 @@ path's ordering.
 ## The Claude Code hook flow
 
 The live flow lives in `hook_cmd.rs`. The agent sends a PreToolUse JSON payload
-on stdin; `run_claude` reads it (size-limited, failing closed on a malformed or
-oversized payload) and hands the parsed value to
+on stdin; `run_claude` reads it with a short deadline and a size limit. Empty
+EOF is a no-op. Malformed, oversized, unreadable, or timed-out payloads fail
+closed with a Claude deny verdict. Copilot and Cursor share the same bounded
+stdin reader but fail open on read failure because their host permission engines
+remain the backstop; Gemini shares the bounded reader and fails closed with a
+Gemini deny verdict. Parsed Claude payloads are handed to
 `process_claude_payload_with_gate`.
 
 The critical ordering property: the **defence-in-depth gates run on the RAW
@@ -107,7 +111,7 @@ a flagged command from the gate.
 ```mermaid
 flowchart TD
     A[PreToolUse JSON on stdin] --> B{Parse payload}
-    B -- malformed / oversized --> DENY1[Deny - fail closed]
+    B -- malformed / oversized / timeout --> DENY1[Deny - fail closed]
     B -- ok --> C{Extract /tool_input/command}
     C -- absent --> IGN1[Ignore - non-Bash tool]
     C -- present but not a string --> DENY2[Deny - malformed payload]
diff --git a/src/hooks/hook_cmd.rs b/src/hooks/hook_cmd.rs
index 28f36cd9ab..977c62eba8 100644
--- a/src/hooks/hook_cmd.rs
+++ b/src/hooks/hook_cmd.rs
@@ -14,21 +14,48 @@ use super::{supply_chain_gate, tirith_gate};
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use serde_json::{json, Value};
 use std::io::{self, Read, Write};
+use std::sync::mpsc;
+use std::thread;
+use std::time::Duration;
 
 use crate::discover::registry::{has_heredoc, rewrite_command};
 
 const STDIN_CAP: usize = 1_048_576; // 1 MiB
+const STDIN_READ_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_millis(500);
 
 fn read_stdin_limited() -> Result<String> {
-    let mut input = String::new();
-    io::stdin()
-        .take((STDIN_CAP + 1) as u64)
-        .read_to_string(&mut input)
-        .context("Failed to read stdin")?;
-    if input.len() > STDIN_CAP {
-        anyhow::bail!("hook stdin exceeds {} byte limit", STDIN_CAP);
-    }
-    Ok(input)
+    read_stdin_limited_with_timeout(io::stdin(), STDIN_READ_TIMEOUT)
+}
+
+fn read_stdin_limited_with_timeout<R>(reader: R, timeout: Duration) -> Result<String>
+where
+    R: Read + Send + 'static,
+{
+    let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel();
+    thread::spawn(move || {
+        let mut input = String::new();
+        let result = reader
+            .take((STDIN_CAP + 1) as u64)
+            .read_to_string(&mut input)
+            .context("Failed to read stdin")
+            .and_then(|_| {
+                if input.len() > STDIN_CAP {
+                    anyhow::bail!("hook stdin exceeds {} byte limit", STDIN_CAP);
+                }
+                Ok(input)
+            });
+        let _ = tx.send(result);
+    });
+
+    match rx.recv_timeout(timeout) {
+        Ok(result) => result,
+        Err(mpsc::RecvTimeoutError::Timeout) => {
+            anyhow::bail!("hook stdin read timed out after {}ms", timeout.as_millis())
+        }
+        Err(mpsc::RecvTimeoutError::Disconnected) => {
+            anyhow::bail!("hook stdin reader disconnected")
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 // ── Copilot hook (VS Code + Copilot CLI) ──────────────────────
@@ -46,7 +73,15 @@ enum HookFormat {
 /// Run the Copilot preToolUse hook.
 /// Auto-detects VS Code Copilot Chat vs Copilot CLI format.
 pub fn run_copilot() -> Result<()> {
-    let input = read_stdin_limited()?;
+    let input = match read_stdin_limited() {
+        Ok(input) => input,
+        Err(e) => {
+            // Fail OPEN: Copilot remains the permission backstop and a hook
+            // read timeout must not wedge the shell tool invocation.
+            let _ = writeln!(io::stderr(), "[contextcrawler hook] {e}");
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+    };
 
     let input = input.trim();
     if input.is_empty() {
@@ -867,7 +902,16 @@ fn strip_leading_bom(input: &str) -> &str {
 
 /// Run the Cursor Agent hook natively.
 pub fn run_cursor() -> Result<()> {
-    let input = read_stdin_limited()?;
+    let input = match read_stdin_limited() {
+        Ok(input) => input,
+        Err(e) => {
+            // Fail OPEN: Cursor's own permission engine is the backstop, and
+            // `{}` is the existing pass-through shape for malformed payloads.
+            let _ = writeln!(io::stderr(), "[contextcrawler hook] {e}");
+            let _ = writeln!(io::stdout(), "{{}}");
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+    };
 
     let input = strip_leading_bom(&input).trim();
     if input.is_empty() {
@@ -1168,14 +1212,11 @@ mod tests {
         // gate (mirrors Tirith default-off). Auto-allow only happens on a true
         // `Allow` verdict, which the unattestable gate downgrades to `Ask`.
         let allow = vec!["*".to_string()];
-        let check = move |c: &str| {
-            permissions::check_command_with_rules(c, &[], &[], &allow)
-        };
+        let check = move |c: &str| permissions::check_command_with_rules(c, &[], &[], &allow);
         let v: Value = serde_json::from_str(&claude_input(cmd)).unwrap();
         match process_claude_payload_with_gate(&v, check, |_| GateDecision::Proceed) {
             PayloadAction::Rewrite { output, .. } => {
-                output.pointer("/hookSpecificOutput/permissionDecision")
-                    == Some(&json!("allow"))
+                output.pointer("/hookSpecificOutput/permissionDecision") == Some(&json!("allow"))
             }
             _ => false,
         }
@@ -1192,9 +1233,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn test_live_substitution_never_auto_allows() {
         assert!(!auto_allowed_on_live_path("git status `whoami`"));
         assert!(!auto_allowed_on_live_path("git log --pretty=$(whoami)"));
-        assert!(!auto_allowed_on_live_path(
-            "git log --pretty=\"$(whoami)\""
-        ));
+        assert!(!auto_allowed_on_live_path("git log --pretty=\"$(whoami)\""));
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/tests/hook_stdin_timeout.rs b/tests/hook_stdin_timeout.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6b70dd335a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/hook_stdin_timeout.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+//! Regression tests for hook stdin that stays open without sending a payload
+//! or EOF (#200).
+
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::process::{Child, Command, Stdio};
+use std::thread;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+fn binary_path() -> PathBuf {
+    PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_BIN_EXE_contextcrawler"))
+}
+
+fn spawn_hook(name: &str) -> Child {
+    Command::new(binary_path())
+        .arg("hook")
+        .arg(name)
+        .env("CONTEXTCRAWLER_TEST_MODE", "1")
+        .env("RTK_TELEMETRY_DISABLED", "1")
+        .stdin(Stdio::piped())
+        .stdout(Stdio::piped())
+        .stderr(Stdio::piped())
+        .spawn()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("spawn contextcrawler hook {name}: {e}"))
+}
+
+fn wait_quickly(mut child: Child, hook: &str) -> std::process::Output {
+    let deadline = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(2);
+    while Instant::now() < deadline {
+        if child
+            .try_wait()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("{hook}: try_wait failed: {e}"))
+            .is_some()
+        {
+            return child
+                .wait_with_output()
+                .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("{hook}: wait_with_output failed: {e}"));
+        }
+        thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(25));
+    }
+    let _ = child.kill();
+    panic!("{hook}: hook did not exit before timeout with stdin held open");
+}
+
+fn run_open_stdin_without_payload(hook: &str) -> std::process::Output {
+    let mut child = spawn_hook(hook);
+    let _held_open = child.stdin.take().expect("child stdin pipe");
+    wait_quickly(child, hook)
+}
+
+fn run_empty_eof(hook: &str) -> std::process::Output {
+    let mut child = spawn_hook(hook);
+    drop(child.stdin.take());
+    wait_quickly(child, hook)
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn claude_open_stdin_without_payload_fails_closed_without_hanging() {
+    let output = run_open_stdin_without_payload("claude");
+    assert!(output.status.success());
+    let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
+    let v: serde_json::Value =
+        serde_json::from_str(stdout.trim()).expect("Claude timeout must emit JSON");
+    assert_eq!(v["hookSpecificOutput"]["permissionDecision"], "deny");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn gemini_open_stdin_without_payload_fails_closed_without_hanging() {
+    let output = run_open_stdin_without_payload("gemini");
+    assert!(output.status.success());
+    let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
+    let v: serde_json::Value =
+        serde_json::from_str(stdout.trim()).expect("Gemini timeout must emit JSON");
+    assert_eq!(v["decision"], "deny");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn copilot_open_stdin_without_payload_fails_open_without_hanging() {
+    let output = run_open_stdin_without_payload("copilot");
+    assert!(output.status.success());
+    assert!(
+        output.stdout.is_empty(),
+        "Copilot timeout should pass through silently, got stdout: {}",
+        String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout)
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn empty_eof_remains_clean_noop_for_pass_through_hooks() {
+    for hook in ["claude", "copilot"] {
+        let output = run_empty_eof(hook);
+        assert!(
+            output.status.success(),
+            "{hook}: status {:?}",
+            output.status
+        );
+        assert!(
+            output.stdout.is_empty(),
+            "{hook}: empty EOF should not emit stdout, got {}",
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout)
+        );
+    }
+}