diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 23de8d33e0..36136396eb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ checkpoint, and status-only commits are intentionally omitted.
 
 ### Changed
 
+- Terminal live-proof recordings tune VP9 for realtime capture and accept the recorder once any payload is written, matching the encoder's bursty muxer output.
 - OpenClaw browser live proofs run against the repository's mock control-UI dev server.
 - Folder reconciliation now defers with a zero-mutation result when the open-state scan hits GitHub rate limiting, so throttled proof/apply/publish runs proceed to their close and publication work instead of failing before `Apply close proposals` can run.
 - Comment-only sync now defers its remaining batch as a runtime-budget-style yield when GitHub rate limits a live read, instead of failing the scheduled run; the next 15-minute cycle resumes the interrupted item, and close-mode apply keeps its loud failure.
diff --git a/src/live-proof/drivers.ts b/src/live-proof/drivers.ts
index 96e3e3963d..ee5e857ba1 100644
--- a/src/live-proof/drivers.ts
+++ b/src/live-proof/drivers.ts
@@ -244,6 +244,12 @@ export function terminalCommandPlan(options: {
         ":99.0",
         "-c:v",
         "libvpx-vp9",
+        // Realtime tuning: default VP9 encoding cannot hold 30fps on a
+        // two-core hosted runner and buffers output for seconds at a time.
+        "-deadline",
+        "realtime",
+        "-cpu-used",
+        "8",
         options.rawVideoPath,
       ],
       waitAfter: "recorder",
@@ -347,20 +353,18 @@ function waitForRecorder(
   recorderSession: string,
   rawVideoPath: string,
 ): void {
-  let previousSize: number | undefined;
   for (let elapsed = 0; elapsed <= RECORDER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS; elapsed += 1) {
     const size = recordingSize(runner, checkout, rawVideoPath);
     if (recorderExited(runner, checkout, recorderSession)) {
-      throw new Error("recorder session exited before the raw WebM began growing");
-    }
-    if (size !== undefined) {
-      if (previousSize !== undefined && size > previousSize) return;
-      previousSize = size;
+      throw new Error("recorder session exited before the raw WebM was written");
     }
+    // VP9 muxer output is bursty, so consecutive equal size samples are normal
+    // while recording; any written payload proves the recorder captures frames.
+    if (size !== undefined && size > 0) return;
     if (elapsed < RECORDER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS) pollSleep(runner);
   }
   throw new Error(
-    `raw WebM did not begin growing within ${RECORDER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS} seconds`,
+    `raw WebM was not written within ${RECORDER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS} seconds`,
   );
 }
 
diff --git a/test/live-proof.test.ts b/test/live-proof.test.ts
index 4e78c8e370..b5cecd3802 100644
--- a/test/live-proof.test.ts
+++ b/test/live-proof.test.ts
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ test("terminal driver accepts a recorder file that appears and grows late", () =
   const calls: string[] = [];
   const result = runTerminalFixture(
     terminalLifecycleRunner(calls, {
-      recorderSizes: [undefined, undefined, 7, 7, 11],
+      recorderSizes: [undefined, undefined, 0, 0, 11],
     }),
   );
   assert.equal(result.status, "completed");
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ test("terminal driver reports a dead recorder with its pane diagnostics", () =>
     () => runTerminalFixture(runner),
     (error: unknown) => {
       assert.ok(error instanceof Error);
-      assert.match(error.message, /recorder session exited before the raw WebM began growing/);
+      assert.match(error.message, /recorder session exited before the raw WebM was written/);
       assert.match(error.message, /\[xterm: .*\]\nxterm pane ready/);
       assert.match(error.message, /\[recorder: .*\]\nffmpeg: cannot open display :99/);
       return true;
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ test("live-proof workflow keeps execute secretless and attach trusted", () => {
   assert.match(source, /uses: \.\/\.github\/actions\/create-target-write-token/);
   assert.match(source, /CLAWSWEEPER_LIVE_PROOF_S3_ENDPOINT: \$\{\{ secrets\./);
   assert.match(source, /setsid timeout --kill-after=30s 1500s/);
-  assert.match(source, /apt-get install --yes ffmpeg tmux x11-utils xvfb xterm/);
+  assert.match(source, /apt-get install --yes ffmpeg tmux x11-utils xfonts-base xvfb xterm/);
   assert.match(source, /--record \.\.\/live-proof-report\.md/);
   assert.doesNotMatch(source, /--plan \.\.\/live-proof/);