diff --git a/.changeset/fix-tui-markdown-bold-uses-textstrong.md b/.changeset/fix-tui-markdown-bold-uses-textstrong.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ba0256939d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-tui-markdown-bold-uses-textstrong.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@moonshot-ai/kimi-code": patch
+---
+
+Fix TUI markdown bold rendering as dark-on-dark. The pi-tui `MarkdownTheme` adapter emitted `chalk.bold(text)` — only the SGR bold code, no foreground colour — so bold spans in assistant messages inherited whatever fg the surrounding style left set and most terminals rendered them as a dim gray on dark backgrounds, nearly unreadable and unresponsive to theme changes. Route bold through `chalk.bold.hex(currentTheme.color('textStrong'))`, matching the token's documented role ("emphasised / bold text"). No behaviour change for callers that already override foreground colour before applying bold (e.g. diff-preview intra-line highlights).
diff --git a/apps/kimi-code/src/tui/theme/pi-tui-theme.ts b/apps/kimi-code/src/tui/theme/pi-tui-theme.ts
index 1b53bce0c0..0a7bafb1fa 100644
--- a/apps/kimi-code/src/tui/theme/pi-tui-theme.ts
+++ b/apps/kimi-code/src/tui/theme/pi-tui-theme.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,19 @@ export function createMarkdownTheme(options?: { transient?: boolean }): Markdown
     // prefix. Ordered lists arrive as "1. " / "2. " and are left
     // untouched by the leading-dash anchor.
     listBullet: (text) => chalk.hex(currentTheme.color('text'))(text.replace(/^-/, '•')),
+    // Structural bold — used by pi-tui's heading composition and inline style
+    // contexts. This carries the SGR bold code only; a caller wrapping other
+    // themed elements around it (e.g. `heading`) then supplies the fg colour.
+    // Do NOT pin a foreground here — an outer `heading` wraps its own text
+    // colour, and pinning here would let the inner bold's fg override the
+    // heading colour. See #1872 for the split between structural bold and
+    // emphasised strong spans.
     bold: (text) => chalk.bold(text),
+    // Emphasised markdown text (`**text**`). Route through `textStrong` so
+    // theme-driven bold is actually visible on dark backgrounds — before the
+    // split, this path shared `bold` above and inherited only the SGR bold
+    // code, which most terminals render as a dim gray. Fixes #1872.
+    strong: (text) => chalk.bold.hex(currentTheme.color('textStrong'))(text),
     italic: (text) => chalk.italic(text),
     strikethrough: (text) => chalk.strikethrough(text),
     underline: (text) => chalk.underline(text),
diff --git a/apps/kimi-code/test/tui/theme/pi-tui-theme.test.ts b/apps/kimi-code/test/tui/theme/pi-tui-theme.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9b8ef7721b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/kimi-code/test/tui/theme/pi-tui-theme.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+import chalk from 'chalk';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+
+import { darkColors, lightColors } from '#/tui/theme';
+import { createMarkdownTheme } from '#/tui/theme/pi-tui-theme';
+import { currentTheme } from '#/tui/theme/theme';
+
+// The pi-tui theme adapters wrap output with `chalk`. Under vitest chalk
+// defaults to level 0 (no color) because there's no TTY, which would strip
+// every SGR from the output we want to assert on. Force truecolor for the
+// duration of this file, matching the pattern used in banner/footer/server
+// tests elsewhere.
+const previousChalkLevel = chalk.level;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  chalk.level = 3;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  chalk.level = previousChalkLevel;
+});
+
+describe('createMarkdownTheme', () => {
+  it('emits the textStrong hex for strong (**bold**) spans so themes govern them (#1872)', () => {
+    // Regression for #1872. Before the fix, strong spans ran through `bold`,
+    // which was `chalk.bold(text)` — SGR bold code only, no fg — so most
+    // terminals rendered them as a dim gray on dark backgrounds, ignoring
+    // the theme's `textStrong` token. Split emphasised text into its own
+    // `strong` handler and assert it carries the token's hex.
+    const previousPalette = currentTheme.palette;
+    try {
+      currentTheme.setPalette(darkColors);
+      const theme = createMarkdownTheme();
+      const output = theme.strong?.('hello') ?? '';
+      // chalk.hex('#F5F5F5') → foreground truecolor SGR `[38;2;245;245;245m`.
+      expect(output).toContain('[38;2;245;245;245m');
+      // Still bold — no regression on the SGR bold code.
+      expect(output).toContain('[1m');
+      expect(output).toContain('hello');
+    } finally {
+      currentTheme.setPalette(previousPalette);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('follows the active palette when the theme changes (#1872)', () => {
+    // Guards against a future refactor that reads `textStrong` once at
+    // theme-factory time instead of at each call — `createMarkdownTheme` must
+    // stay reactive to `currentTheme.setPalette()` so `/reload-tui` picks up
+    // custom themes.
+    const previousPalette = currentTheme.palette;
+    try {
+      const theme = createMarkdownTheme();
+      currentTheme.setPalette(darkColors);
+      const dark = theme.strong?.('x') ?? '';
+      currentTheme.setPalette(lightColors);
+      const light = theme.strong?.('x') ?? '';
+      // Different textStrong on the two palettes → different foreground SGR.
+      expect(dark).not.toBe(light);
+    } finally {
+      currentTheme.setPalette(previousPalette);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('keeps structural bold uncoloured so heading composition preserves heading colour (#1872)', () => {
+    // pi-tui composes headings as `theme.heading(theme.bold(text))` — if
+    // `bold` pinned `textStrong`, every heading would render with the strong
+    // fg (dim gray on custom themes that use `textStrong` for a subtle
+    // emphasis colour), silently regressing heading rendering. Pin the
+    // separation: `bold` must emit ONLY the SGR bold code, no fg SGR, so an
+    // outer wrapper's fg can win.
+    const previousPalette = currentTheme.palette;
+    try {
+      currentTheme.setPalette(darkColors);
+      const theme = createMarkdownTheme();
+      const output = theme.bold('hello');
+      expect(output).toContain('[1m');
+      expect(output).toContain('hello');
+      // No 38;2 truecolor fg — the fg must come from an outer wrapper.
+      expect(output).not.toMatch(/\[38;2;/);
+    } finally {
+      currentTheme.setPalette(previousPalette);
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/pi-tui/src/components/markdown.ts b/packages/pi-tui/src/components/markdown.ts
index 34a0df9223..d156dd5a28 100644
--- a/packages/pi-tui/src/components/markdown.ts
+++ b/packages/pi-tui/src/components/markdown.ts
@@ -86,7 +86,18 @@ export interface MarkdownTheme {
 	quoteBorder: (text: string) => string;
 	hr: (text: string) => string;
 	listBullet: (text: string) => string;
+	/** Structural bold wrapper — used by headings and inline style contexts to
+	 * carry the SGR bold code, and by the "strong" span path when `strong` is
+	 * not provided. Callers wrapping other themed elements (e.g. `heading`)
+	 * around this expect it to *not* pin a foreground colour, so the outer
+	 * wrapper's fg can win. Use `strong` for emphasised text spans. */
 	bold: (text: string) => string;
+	/** Optional emphasised-text handler for markdown `**strong**` spans. When
+	 * absent, the renderer falls back to `bold`. Separating the two lets a
+	 * theme give strong spans a distinct colour (e.g. `textStrong`) without
+	 * bleeding that colour into headings, which compose `bold` inside
+	 * `heading` and would otherwise inherit the strong fg. */
+	strong?: (text: string) => string;
 	italic: (text: string) => string;
 	strikethrough: (text: string) => string;
 	underline: (text: string) => string;
@@ -520,7 +531,12 @@ export class Markdown implements Component {
 
 				case "strong": {
 					const boldContent = this.renderInlineTokens(token.tokens || [], resolvedStyleContext);
-					result += this.theme.bold(boldContent) + stylePrefix;
+					// Prefer `theme.strong` for emphasised spans; fall back to
+					// `theme.bold` so themes without a dedicated strong handler keep
+					// working. Structural bold (headings, inline style contexts)
+					// deliberately keeps `theme.bold` so an outer wrapper's fg can win.
+					const strongFn = this.theme.strong ?? this.theme.bold;
+					result += strongFn(boldContent) + stylePrefix;
 					break;
 				}