diff --git a/tests/tools/test_terminal_timeout_output.py b/tests/tools/test_terminal_timeout_output.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..52823581f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/test_terminal_timeout_output.py
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+"""Verify that terminal command timeouts preserve partial output."""
+from tools.environments.local import LocalEnvironment
+
+
+class TestTimeoutPreservesPartialOutput:
+    """When a command times out, any output captured before the deadline
+    should be included in the result — not discarded."""
+
+    def test_timeout_includes_partial_output(self):
+        """A command that prints then sleeps past the deadline should
+        return both the printed text and the timeout notice."""
+        env = LocalEnvironment()
+        result = env.execute("echo 'hello from test' && sleep 30", timeout=2)
+
+        assert result["returncode"] == 124
+        assert "hello from test" in result["output"]
+        assert "timed out" in result["output"].lower()
+
+    def test_timeout_with_no_output(self):
+        """A command that produces nothing before timeout should still
+        return a clean timeout message."""
+        env = LocalEnvironment()
+        result = env.execute("sleep 30", timeout=1)
+
+        assert result["returncode"] == 124
+        assert "timed out" in result["output"].lower()
+        assert not result["output"].startswith("\n")
diff --git a/tools/environments/local.py b/tools/environments/local.py
index 8cd416efa..27282b6ef 100644
--- a/tools/environments/local.py
+++ b/tools/environments/local.py
@@ -473,7 +473,12 @@ class LocalEnvironment(PersistentShellMixin, BaseEnvironment):
                 except (ProcessLookupError, PermissionError):
                     proc.kill()
                 reader.join(timeout=2)
-                return self._timeout_result(effective_timeout)
+                partial = "".join(_output_chunks)
+                timeout_msg = f"\n[Command timed out after {effective_timeout}s]"
+                return {
+                    "output": partial + timeout_msg if partial else timeout_msg.lstrip(),
+                    "returncode": 124,
+                }
             time.sleep(0.2)
 
         reader.join(timeout=5)