diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c7563e2..4cd6f3b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -84,6 +84,12 @@ the run. It resolves when the wizard is done, and only rejects if the
 wizard could not run at all: a step that fails reports itself to the
 developer and does not reject.
 
+Every run reaches a prompt, so the wizard needs an interactive terminal.
+Where stdin is not a TTY — a pipe, a CI job, a non-interactive shell — it
+writes a notice to stderr, sets a non-zero exit code, and resolves
+without rendering anything.
+`--help` and `--version` still work there.
+
 Pass `cwd` to set the project root the wizard sets up.
 It defaults to `process.cwd()`,
 which is the project the command was run in.
diff --git a/src/lib/wizard.ts b/src/lib/wizard.ts
index b342c88..dc301a2 100644
--- a/src/lib/wizard.ts
+++ b/src/lib/wizard.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,16 @@ const wizard = async (options: WizardOptions = {}): Promise<void> => {
     return
   }
 
+  // Every run reaches a prompt — the connect method, the SDK, the offer to
+  // write the integration — and a prompt needs stdin in raw mode, which only a
+  // TTY allows. Without one the first prompt throws from inside Ink's render
+  // and the developer gets a React stack trace, so say what is wrong instead.
+  if (!isInteractive()) {
+    writeError(nonInteractiveNotice(commandName))
+    process.exitCode = 1
+    return
+  }
+
   // Dev-only: preview a screen's layout without the auth/agent flow. Passing
   // `--debug-screen` with no name opens a chooser of every available screen.
   const debugScreen = args['debug-screen']
@@ -117,7 +127,28 @@ const usage = (commandName: string): string =>
     '',
   ].join('\n')
 
-// TODO: Replace this with a logger wrapper.
+const nonInteractiveNotice = (commandName: string): string =>
+  [
+    'Seam Wizard needs an interactive terminal.',
+    '',
+    '  It asks which account to connect, which SDK to install, and whether to',
+    '  write the integration, so it cannot run with stdin redirected — in a',
+    '  pipe, a CI job, or a non-interactive shell.',
+    '',
+    `  Run '${commandName}' in your terminal instead.`,
+    '',
+  ].join('\n')
+
+// Ink reads stdin, so this is the condition Ink itself checks before allowing
+// raw mode. Where stdout is redirected the wizard still runs: it skips the
+// alternate screen and leaves its frames in the log.
+const isInteractive = (): boolean => process.stdin.isTTY === true
+
+// TODO: Replace these with a logger wrapper.
 const write = (message: string): void => {
   process.stdout.write(`${message}\n`)
 }
+
+const writeError = (message: string): void => {
+  process.stderr.write(`${message}\n`)
+}
diff --git a/test/wizard.test.ts b/test/wizard.test.ts
index 696a697..d4e75b5 100644
--- a/test/wizard.test.ts
+++ b/test/wizard.test.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,40 @@ import wizard from 'lib/wizard.js'
 
 vi.mock('lib/render.js', () => ({ renderApp: vi.fn() }))
 
+// The wizard refuses to run without a TTY, so a test that expects it to render
+// has to look like a terminal. Tests for the refusal set this to undefined.
+const setInteractive = (isTty: boolean | undefined): void => {
+  Object.defineProperty(process.stdin, 'isTTY', {
+    value: isTty,
+    configurable: true,
+  })
+}
+
+const initialIsTty = process.stdin.isTTY
+
 beforeEach(() => {
   vi.mocked(renderApp).mockClear()
+  setInteractive(true)
 })
 
-afterEach(resetAdapter)
+afterEach(() => {
+  setInteractive(initialIsTty)
+  // Set by the refusal path; left alone it would fail the whole test run.
+  process.exitCode = 0
+  resetAdapter()
+})
+
+const captureError = async (
+  options: Parameters<typeof wizard>[0],
+): Promise<string> => {
+  const write = vi.spyOn(process.stderr, 'write').mockImplementation(() => true)
+  try {
+    await wizard(options)
+    return write.mock.calls.map(([chunk]) => String(chunk)).join('')
+  } finally {
+    write.mockRestore()
+  }
+}
 
 const captureOutput = async (
   options: Parameters<typeof wizard>[0],
@@ -134,3 +163,32 @@ test('wizard: asks no adapter anything to display usage', async () => {
 
   expect(getAuthSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
 })
+
+test('wizard: refuses to run without an interactive terminal', async () => {
+  setInteractive(undefined)
+
+  const output = await captureError({ argv: [], commandName: 'seam wizard' })
+
+  expect(output).toContain('needs an interactive terminal')
+  expect(output).toContain("Run 'seam wizard' in your terminal instead.")
+  expect(renderApp).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  expect(process.exitCode).toBe(1)
+})
+
+test('wizard: still displays usage without an interactive terminal', async () => {
+  setInteractive(undefined)
+
+  const output = await captureOutput({ argv: ['--help'] })
+
+  expect(output).toContain('$ wizard [options]')
+  expect(process.exitCode).not.toBe(1)
+})
+
+test('wizard: still displays the version without an interactive terminal', async () => {
+  setInteractive(undefined)
+
+  const output = await captureOutput({ argv: ['--version'] })
+
+  expect(output.trim()).toBe(seamapiWizardVersion)
+  expect(process.exitCode).not.toBe(1)
+})