diff --git a/agent/context_references.py b/agent/context_references.py
index dea5fd4c3a5ed..8981aa472f507 100644
--- a/agent/context_references.py
+++ b/agent/context_references.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ REFERENCE_PATTERN = re.compile(
     rf"(?<![\w/])@(?:(?P<simple>diff|staged)\b|(?P<kind>file|folder|git|url):(?P<value>{_QUOTED_REFERENCE_VALUE}(?::\d+(?:-\d+)?)?|\S+))"
 )
 TRAILING_PUNCTUATION = ",.;!?"
+_NEEDS_QUOTING = re.compile(r"""[\s()\[\]{}<>"'`]""")
 _SENSITIVE_HOME_DIRS = (".ssh", ".aws", ".gnupg", ".kube", ".docker", ".azure", ".config/gh")
 _SENSITIVE_HERMES_DIRS = (Path("skills") / ".hub",)
 _SENSITIVE_HOME_FILES = (
@@ -60,6 +61,21 @@ class ContextReferenceResult:
     blocked: bool = False
 
 
+def format_reference_value(value: str) -> str:
+    """Quote a reference value so ``REFERENCE_PATTERN`` reads it back whole.
+
+    The unquoted alternative in the pattern is ``\\S+``, so a path containing a
+    space parses as a truncated ref with the tail left behind as loose text.
+    Mirrors ``formatRefValue`` in the desktop's directive-text.tsx.
+    """
+    if not _NEEDS_QUOTING.search(value):
+        return value
+    for quote in ("`", '"', "'"):
+        if quote not in value:
+            return f"{quote}{value}{quote}"
+    return value
+
+
 def parse_context_references(message: str) -> list[ContextReference]:
     refs: list[ContextReference] = []
     if not message:
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_context_references.py b/tests/agent/test_context_references.py
index 1fab3ef1b74e8..51f66fb937afa 100644
--- a/tests/agent/test_context_references.py
+++ b/tests/agent/test_context_references.py
@@ -445,3 +445,25 @@ async def test_canonical_guard_fails_closed_when_lookup_raises(tmp_path: Path, m
         "credential deny-list" in warning or "sensitive credential" in warning
         for warning in result.warnings
     )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "value",
+    [
+        "/tmp/plain.png",
+        "/Users/me/Library/Application Support/Hermes/composer-images/a.png",
+        r"C:\Users\John Doe\Pictures\cat.png",
+        "/tmp/report (final).pdf",
+        "/tmp/it's here.png",
+        '/tmp/say "hi".png',
+    ],
+)
+def test_format_reference_value_round_trips_through_the_parser(value):
+    """Whatever the path contains, the formatted ref must parse back whole —
+    an unquoted value stops at the first space and strands the tail as text."""
+    from agent.context_references import REFERENCE_PATTERN, format_reference_value
+
+    match = REFERENCE_PATTERN.search(f"@file:{format_reference_value(value)}")
+
+    assert match is not None
+    assert match.group("value").strip("`\"'") == value
diff --git a/tests/test_tui_gateway_server.py b/tests/test_tui_gateway_server.py
index fcf22be117c9c..99c811c484d68 100644
--- a/tests/test_tui_gateway_server.py
+++ b/tests/test_tui_gateway_server.py
@@ -13245,6 +13245,21 @@ def test_build_persist_message_with_image_refs_without_text_is_refs_only(monkeyp
     assert server._build_persist_message_with_image_refs("", [str(img)]) == f"@image:{img}"
 
 
+def test_build_persist_message_quotes_paths_containing_spaces(tmp_path):
+    """The unquoted alternative in the directive pattern is ``\\S+``, so a path
+    with a space parses as a truncated ref with the tail left as loose text.
+    Desktop composer images live in the app's userData dir, which on macOS is
+    ``~/Library/Application Support/...`` — a space every time."""
+    img_dir = tmp_path / "Application Support" / "Hermes" / "composer-images"
+    img_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+    img = img_dir / "cat.png"
+    img.write_bytes(b"png")
+
+    result = server._build_persist_message_with_image_refs("what is this?", [str(img)])
+
+    assert result == f"@image:`{img}`\nwhat is this?"
+
+
 def test_prompt_submit_passes_persist_user_message_to_agent(monkeypatch):
     """#70720: _run_prompt_submit must forward the (image-ref-aware) persisted
     user message to run_conversation via persist_user_message, so the gateway
diff --git a/tui_gateway/server.py b/tui_gateway/server.py
index 9f55c63c58f14..22b3764f7fcbc 100644
--- a/tui_gateway/server.py
+++ b/tui_gateway/server.py
@@ -5749,8 +5749,10 @@ def _build_persist_message_with_image_refs(user_text: str, image_paths: list[str
     persisted as-is (it silently breaks image rendering after a full
     restart, and reorders image/text on live session-switch reconciliation).
     """
+    from agent.context_references import format_reference_value
+
     text = user_text or ""
-    refs = "\n".join(f"@image:{p}" for p in image_paths if Path(p).exists())
+    refs = "\n".join(f"@image:{format_reference_value(p)}" for p in image_paths if Path(p).exists())
     if not refs:
         return text
     return f"{refs}\n{text}" if text else refs
@@ -11015,9 +11017,7 @@ def _run_prompt_submit(
                 "conversation_history": list(history),
                 "stream_callback": _stream,
                 "persist_user_message": (
-                    _build_persist_message_with_image_refs(prompt, images)
-                    if images
-                    else prompt
+                    _build_persist_message_with_image_refs(prompt, images) if images else prompt
                 ),
             }
             try: