diff --git a/static/js/cookbookRunning.js b/static/js/cookbookRunning.js
index 5f75a49..1f225b7 100644
--- a/static/js/cookbookRunning.js
+++ b/static/js/cookbookRunning.js
@@ -66,6 +66,23 @@ function _clearPillLabel(task) {
   return 'clear';
 }
 
+// A pip dependency/driver install (payload._dep) reports success with the
+// runner's "=== Process exited with code 0 ===" sentinel and pip's
+// "Successfully installed" line — never the HuggingFace download markers
+// (DONE / 100% / /snapshots/ / DOWNLOAD_OK) that the download heuristics look
+// for. Without this, a clean install whose tmux pane has already gone away is
+// misread as crashed/stopped even though pip exited 0. Prefer the authoritative
+// exit-code sentinel; fall back to pip's success line when no sentinel was
+// captured (and there's no install error in the same output).
+function _depInstallSucceeded(output) {
+  const text = String(output || '');
+  if (!text) return false;
+  const exitMatch = text.match(/=== Process exited with code (-?\d+) ===/);
+  if (exitMatch) return Number(exitMatch[1]) === 0;
+  return /\b(?:Successfully installed|Requirement already satisfied)\b/.test(text)
+    && !/\bERROR\b|No matching distribution|Could not find a version|Traceback \(most recent call last\)/.test(text);
+}
+
 function _shouldOfferCrashReport(task) {
   if (!task) return false;
   if (task._unreachable && task.type === 'serve') return true;
@@ -2448,7 +2465,10 @@ async function _reconnectTask(el, task) {
           const downloadLooksSuccessful = !lastOutput.includes('DOWNLOAD_FAILED')
             && (lastOutput.includes('DONE') || lastOutput.includes('100%') || lastOutput.includes('/snapshots/') || lastOutput.includes('Download complete') || lastOutput.includes('DOWNLOAD_OK'));
           const serveLooksReady = task.type === 'serve' && _serveOutputLooksReady({ ...task, output: lastOutput });
-          const looksSuccessful = task.type === 'download' ? downloadLooksSuccessful : serveLooksReady;
+          // Dependency installs are tracked as download tasks but finish with a
+          // pip exit-0 sentinel, not HF download markers — so check that too.
+          const depInstallSucceeded = !!task.payload?._dep && _depInstallSucceeded(lastOutput);
+          const looksSuccessful = depInstallSucceeded || (task.type === 'download' ? downloadLooksSuccessful : serveLooksReady);
           if (!lastOutput.trim() || !looksSuccessful) {
             _updateTask(task.sessionId, { status: 'crashed' });
             el.dataset.status = 'crashed';
@@ -3309,11 +3329,18 @@ async function _pollBackgroundStatus() {
         const live = statusById.get(task.sessionId);
         if (!live) continue;
         const updates = {};
+        // A finished dependency install whose tmux pane is gone is reported
+        // "stopped" by the backend (its pip package is never in the HF cache the
+        // dead-session check inspects). Recover "done" from the retained output's
+        // exit-0 sentinel so a clean install isn't downgraded to crashed.
+        const depDone = !!task.payload?._dep && _depInstallSucceeded(task.output);
         const nextStatus = live.status === 'completed'
           ? 'done'
           : (live.status === 'error'
             ? 'error'
-            : (live.status === 'stopped' ? (task.type === 'download' ? 'crashed' : 'stopped') : null));
+            : (live.status === 'stopped'
+                ? (depDone ? 'done' : (task.type === 'download' ? 'crashed' : 'stopped'))
+                : null));
         if (nextStatus && task.status !== nextStatus) {
           updates.status = nextStatus;
           if (nextStatus === 'done' && task.payload?._dep) completedDeps.push(task);
diff --git a/tests/test_cookbook_dependency_completion_regression.py b/tests/test_cookbook_dependency_completion_regression.py
index b47e9b2..4c0ab59 100644
--- a/tests/test_cookbook_dependency_completion_regression.py
+++ b/tests/test_cookbook_dependency_completion_regression.py
@@ -37,6 +37,42 @@ def test_local_windows_session_commands_use_local_powershell_log_dir():
     assert ": `powershell -Command \"${ps}\"`;" in source
 
 
+def test_dep_install_success_recognized_from_exit_sentinel():
+    """A pip dependency install reports success via the runner's exit-0
+    sentinel / pip's "Successfully installed" line, not the HuggingFace
+    download markers. The shared helper must key off those, so an install
+    whose tmux pane is gone isn't misread as crashed."""
+    source = _read("static/js/cookbookRunning.js")
+
+    assert "function _depInstallSucceeded(output) {" in source
+    assert "=== Process exited with code" in source
+    assert "Successfully installed" in source
+
+
+def test_session_gone_heuristic_honors_dep_install_success():
+    """The reconnect loop's session-gone branch (download tasks need an HF
+    marker to look successful) must also accept a finished dependency install,
+    otherwise a clean pip install with no HF markers is marked crashed."""
+    source = _read("static/js/cookbookRunning.js")
+
+    assert "const depInstallSucceeded = !!task.payload?._dep && _depInstallSucceeded(lastOutput);" in source
+    assert (
+        "const looksSuccessful = depInstallSucceeded "
+        "|| (task.type === 'download' ? downloadLooksSuccessful : serveLooksReady);"
+    ) in source
+
+
+def test_background_poll_recovers_done_for_stopped_dependency_install():
+    """When the backend reports a finished dependency install as "stopped"
+    (its pip package is never in the HF cache the dead-session check inspects),
+    the reconciler must recover "done" from the retained output instead of
+    downgrading the card to crashed."""
+    source = _read("static/js/cookbookRunning.js")
+
+    assert "const depDone = !!task.payload?._dep && _depInstallSucceeded(task.output);" in source
+    assert "depDone ? 'done' : (task.type === 'download' ? 'crashed' : 'stopped')" in source
+
+
 def test_dependency_install_payload_keeps_env_path_for_refresh():
     source = _read("static/js/cookbook.js")