diff --git a/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard.zig b/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard.zig
index 55c42fe8e..b848b1c04 100644
--- a/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard.zig
+++ b/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard.zig
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@
 //!     metadata section), an unknown or missing `type`, and invalid
 //!     base64 in `mime`, `name`, or `pw` all silently drop the request
 //!     with no response.
+//!   * Decoded metadata and MIME-list payloads must be valid UTF-8. An
+//!     invalid value on `wdata` or `walias`, or a `walias` without a
+//!     target MIME type, aborts an in-flight write with EINVAL.
 //!   * `mime`, `name`, and `pw` metadata values are base64-encoded UTF-8;
 //!     everything else is verbatim. Unknown keys are ignored.
 //!   * `id` is sanitized by stripping characters outside [a-zA-Z0-9-_+.]
diff --git a/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard_command.zig b/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard_command.zig
index 0bf5a1aa7..f5a6b1753 100644
--- a/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard_command.zig
+++ b/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard_command.zig
@@ -70,78 +70,108 @@ pub const Metadata = struct {
     /// Parse the metadata field. The raw value is expected to be exactly
     /// the metadata (prefix and payload and separators stripped out).
     ///
-    /// A null result means it was invalid but without any response.
-    /// Silently drop the OSC.
+    /// A null result means the packet should be silently dropped. An
+    /// InvalidValue error means a decoded textual value was not valid
+    /// UTF-8 or exceeded a local safety limit. Callers use the raw
+    /// operation to decide whether that invalid value aborts an in-flight
+    /// write transaction.
     pub fn parse(
         alloc: Allocator,
         raw: []const u8,
-    ) Allocator.Error!?Metadata {
-        var op_raw: ?[]const u8 = null;
-        var result: Metadata = .{ .op = undefined };
+    ) error{ OutOfMemory, InvalidValue }!?Metadata {
+        const fields = Raw.parse(raw) orelse return null;
+        var result: Metadata = .{
+            .op = Operation.init(fields.op orelse return null) orelse return null,
+            .loc = if (std.mem.eql(u8, fields.loc, "primary"))
+                .primary
+            else
+                .standard,
+            .id = try sanitizeId(alloc, fields.id),
+        };
 
-        // Note this loop visits every record even though an empty raw
-        // string yields a single empty record: that record has no '='
-        // and correctly drops the packet, matching kitty which requires
-        // at least a valid `type` record.
-        var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, raw, ':');
-        while (it.next()) |record| {
-            // Every record must be key=value. Any single invalid record
-            // is dropped, matching Kitty's behavior.
-            const eql_idx = std.mem.indexOfScalar(u8, record, '=') orelse return null;
-            const key = record[0..eql_idx];
-            const value = record[eql_idx + 1 ..];
-
-            if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "type")) {
-                // Validated after the loop: a duplicate key's last
-                // occurrence wins. This isn't specified but its how Kitty
-                // works.
-                op_raw = value;
-            } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "loc")) {
-                result.loc = if (std.mem.eql(u8, value, "primary"))
-                    .primary
-                else
-                    .standard;
-            } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "id")) {
-                result.id = try sanitizeId(alloc, value);
-            } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "mime")) {
-                result.mime = decodeValue(
-                    alloc,
-                    value,
-                    max_mime_len,
-                ) catch |err| switch (err) {
-                    error.OutOfMemory => return error.OutOfMemory,
-                    error.Overflow, error.Invalid => return null,
-                };
-            } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "pw")) {
-                result.pw = decodeValue(
-                    alloc,
-                    value,
-                    max_pw_len,
-                ) catch |err| switch (err) {
-                    error.OutOfMemory => return error.OutOfMemory,
-                    // An over-long password behaves as if none was
-                    // given: it can never match a stored grant.
-                    error.Overflow => "",
-                    error.Invalid => return null,
-                };
-            } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "name")) {
-                result.name = decodeValue(
-                    alloc,
-                    value,
-                    max_name_len,
-                ) catch |err| switch (err) {
-                    error.OutOfMemory => return error.OutOfMemory,
-                    error.Overflow, error.Invalid => return null,
-                };
-            }
-            // Unknown keys are ignored.
-        }
-
-        // A missing or unknown operation drops the request.
-        result.op = Operation.init(op_raw orelse return null) orelse return null;
+        result.mime = decodeValue(
+            alloc,
+            fields.mime,
+            max_mime_len,
+        ) catch |err| switch (err) {
+            error.OutOfMemory => return error.OutOfMemory,
+            // Base64 acceptance is intentionally left unchanged while the
+            // protocol's exact requirements are being specified.
+            error.InvalidBase64 => return null,
+            error.Overflow, error.InvalidUtf8 => return error.InvalidValue,
+        };
+        result.pw = decodeValue(
+            alloc,
+            fields.pw,
+            max_pw_len,
+        ) catch |err| switch (err) {
+            error.OutOfMemory => return error.OutOfMemory,
+            error.InvalidBase64 => return null,
+            // An over-long password behaves as if none was given: it can
+            // never match a stored grant.
+            error.Overflow => "",
+            error.InvalidUtf8 => return error.InvalidValue,
+        };
+        result.name = decodeValue(
+            alloc,
+            fields.name,
+            max_name_len,
+        ) catch |err| switch (err) {
+            error.OutOfMemory => return error.OutOfMemory,
+            error.InvalidBase64 => return null,
+            error.Overflow, error.InvalidUtf8 => return error.InvalidValue,
+        };
         return result;
     }
 
+    /// Return the last recognized operation from syntactically valid raw
+    /// metadata. This intentionally does not decode any values, so callers
+    /// can still classify an InvalidValue parse error.
+    pub fn operation(raw: []const u8) ?Operation {
+        const fields = Raw.parse(raw) orelse return null;
+        return Operation.init(fields.op orelse return null);
+    }
+
+    const Raw = struct {
+        op: ?[]const u8 = null,
+        loc: []const u8 = "",
+        id: []const u8 = "",
+        mime: []const u8 = "",
+        pw: []const u8 = "",
+        name: []const u8 = "",
+
+        fn parse(raw: []const u8) ?Raw {
+            var result: Raw = .{};
+
+            // This visits every record even though an empty raw string
+            // yields one empty record. Validating the complete structure
+            // before decoding also ensures the last duplicate value wins.
+            var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, raw, ':');
+            while (it.next()) |record| {
+                const eql_idx = std.mem.indexOfScalar(u8, record, '=') orelse return null;
+                const key = record[0..eql_idx];
+                const value = record[eql_idx + 1 ..];
+
+                if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "type")) {
+                    result.op = value;
+                } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "loc")) {
+                    result.loc = value;
+                } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "id")) {
+                    result.id = value;
+                } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "mime")) {
+                    result.mime = value;
+                } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "pw")) {
+                    result.pw = value;
+                } else if (std.mem.eql(u8, key, "name")) {
+                    result.name = value;
+                }
+                // Unknown keys are ignored.
+            }
+
+            return result;
+        }
+    };
+
     /// Sanitize the ID according to the spec:
     ///
     /// Valid ids must include only characters from the set: [a-zA-Z0-9-_+.].
@@ -167,7 +197,8 @@ pub const Metadata = struct {
     fn decodeValue(alloc: Allocator, value: []const u8, max_len: usize) error{
         OutOfMemory,
         Overflow,
-        Invalid,
+        InvalidBase64,
+        InvalidUtf8,
     }![]const u8 {
         const Encoder = std.base64.standard.Encoder;
 
@@ -180,10 +211,10 @@ pub const Metadata = struct {
         const decoded = simd.base64.decode(
             value,
             buf,
-        ) catch return error.Invalid;
+        ) catch return error.InvalidBase64;
 
         // Must be valid UTF-8
-        if (!std.unicode.utf8ValidateSlice(decoded)) return error.Invalid;
+        if (!std.unicode.utf8ValidateSlice(decoded)) return error.InvalidUtf8;
         if (decoded.len > max_len) return error.Overflow;
         return decoded;
     }
@@ -215,6 +246,10 @@ pub const Payload = struct {
         alloc.free(self.buf);
     }
 
+    pub fn isValidUtf8(self: *const Payload) bool {
+        return std.unicode.utf8ValidateSlice(self.data);
+    }
+
     /// Iterate the whitespace-separated MIME types of the payload.
     /// Matches Python str.split() used by kitty.
     pub fn mimeIterator(self: *const Payload) std.mem.TokenIterator(u8, .any) {
@@ -335,12 +370,19 @@ test "metadata: invalid mime base64 dropped" {
     try testing.expect((try Metadata.parse(arena.allocator(), "type=wdata:mime=!!!")) == null);
 }
 
-test "metadata: invalid mime utf8 dropped" {
+test "metadata: invalid mime utf8 reported" {
     const testing = std.testing;
     var arena: std.heap.ArenaAllocator = .init(testing.allocator);
     defer arena.deinit();
     // base64 of 0xff 0xfe
-    try testing.expect((try Metadata.parse(arena.allocator(), "type=wdata:mime=//4=")) == null);
+    try testing.expectError(
+        error.InvalidValue,
+        Metadata.parse(arena.allocator(), "type=wdata:mime=//4="),
+    );
+    try testing.expectEqual(
+        Operation.wdata,
+        Metadata.operation("type=wdata:mime=//4=").?,
+    );
 }
 
 test "metadata: pw and name" {
@@ -353,7 +395,7 @@ test "metadata: pw and name" {
     try testing.expectEqualStrings("app", meta.name);
 }
 
-test "metadata: over-long name dropped" {
+test "metadata: over-long name reported" {
     const testing = std.testing;
     var arena: std.heap.ArenaAllocator = .init(testing.allocator);
     defer arena.deinit();
@@ -364,7 +406,10 @@ test "metadata: over-long name dropped" {
         "type=read:name=",
         Encoder.encode(&buf, long),
     });
-    try testing.expect((try Metadata.parse(arena.allocator(), raw)) == null);
+    try testing.expectError(
+        error.InvalidValue,
+        Metadata.parse(arena.allocator(), raw),
+    );
 }
 
 test "metadata: empty name" {
@@ -407,3 +452,11 @@ test "payload: invalid base64" {
         Payload.init(testing.allocator, "!!!"),
     );
 }
+
+test "payload: decoded text must be valid utf8" {
+    const testing = std.testing;
+    // Valid base64 encoding of a single 0xff byte.
+    const payload = try Payload.init(testing.allocator, "/w==");
+    defer payload.deinit(testing.allocator);
+    try testing.expect(!payload.isValidUtf8());
+}
diff --git a/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard_write.zig b/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard_write.zig
index 7834ed631..b080b1fa8 100644
--- a/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard_write.zig
+++ b/src/terminal/kitty/clipboard_write.zig
@@ -243,6 +243,7 @@ pub const WriteState = struct {
         assert(meta.mime.len > 0);
         const decoded = try Payload.init(alloc, payload);
         defer decoded.deinit(alloc);
+        if (!decoded.isValidUtf8()) return error.Invalid;
         var it = decoded.mimeIterator();
 
         // Copy the target only if at least one valid alias exists.
@@ -496,6 +497,22 @@ test "write: aliases resolve at commit" {
     try testing.expectEqualStrings("Ghostty", committed.contents[2].data);
 }
 
+test "write: alias payload must be valid utf8" {
+    const testing = std.testing;
+    const alloc = testing.allocator;
+
+    const begin_meta: Metadata = .{ .op = .write };
+    var state: WriteState = try .init(alloc, &begin_meta, .{});
+    defer state.deinit(alloc);
+
+    const alias_meta: Metadata = .{ .op = .walias, .mime = "text/plain" };
+    // Valid base64 encoding of a single 0xff byte.
+    try testing.expectError(
+        error.Invalid,
+        state.alias(alloc, &alias_meta, "/w=="),
+    );
+}
+
 test "write: default limit when unset" {
     const testing = std.testing;
     const alloc = testing.allocator;
diff --git a/src/terminal/stream_terminal.zig b/src/terminal/stream_terminal.zig
index 3b3cf7eb2..589f09f6e 100644
--- a/src/terminal/stream_terminal.zig
+++ b/src/terminal/stream_terminal.zig
@@ -784,10 +784,24 @@ pub const Handler = struct {
         // Decode and validate the metadata.
         var arena: std.heap.ArenaAllocator = .init(self.terminal.gpa());
         defer arena.deinit();
-        const meta = (try kitty_clipboard.Metadata.parse(
+        const meta = (kitty_clipboard.Metadata.parse(
             arena.allocator(),
             v.metadata,
-        )) orelse return;
+        ) catch |err| switch (err) {
+            error.OutOfMemory => return error.OutOfMemory,
+            error.InvalidValue => {
+                const state = self.kitty_clipboard_write orelse return;
+                switch (kitty_clipboard.Metadata.operation(v.metadata) orelse return) {
+                    .wdata, .walias => self.kittyClipboardFinish(
+                        state,
+                        .EINVAL,
+                        v.terminator,
+                    ),
+                    .read, .write => {},
+                }
+                return;
+            },
+        }) orelse return;
 
         const payload = v.payload orelse "";
         switch (meta.op) {
@@ -815,6 +829,7 @@ pub const Handler = struct {
             error.Invalid => return,
         };
         defer decoded.deinit(alloc);
+        if (!decoded.isValidUtf8()) return;
 
         // Without a clipboard_read effect nothing can serve the read.
         // EPERM is the protocol's denial so clients degrade gracefully.
@@ -1069,10 +1084,15 @@ pub const Handler = struct {
         payload: []const u8,
         terminator: osc.Terminator,
     ) error{OutOfMemory}!void {
-        // Aliases without a transaction or without a target MIME type
-        // are silently ignored.
+        // Aliases without a transaction are silently ignored. Once a
+        // transaction exists, a missing target MIME type is invalid and
+        // aborts the transaction.
         const state = self.kitty_clipboard_write orelse return;
-        if (meta.mime.len == 0) return;
+        if (meta.mime.len == 0) return self.kittyClipboardFinish(
+            state,
+            .EINVAL,
+            terminator,
+        );
 
         state.alias(
             self.terminal.gpa(),
@@ -4236,7 +4256,7 @@ test "kitty clipboard new write replaces in-flight transaction" {
     );
 }
 
-test "kitty clipboard invalid walias payload aborts with EINVAL" {
+test "kitty clipboard invalid write packets abort with EINVAL" {
     var t: Terminal = try .init(testing.io, testing.allocator, .{ .cols = 80, .rows = 24 });
     defer t.deinit(testing.allocator);
 
@@ -4249,20 +4269,66 @@ test "kitty clipboard invalid walias payload aborts with EINVAL" {
     var s: Stream = .init(.{ .allocator = testing.allocator, .handler = handler });
     defer s.deinit();
 
+    const invalid_packets = [_][]const u8{
+        // Alias payload decodes to a non-UTF-8 byte.
+        "\x1B]5522;type=walias:mime=dGV4dC9wbGFpbg==;/w==\x1B\\",
+        // Alias has no target MIME type.
+        "\x1B]5522;type=walias;VEVYVA==\x1B\\",
+        // Alias target MIME decodes to non-UTF-8 bytes.
+        "\x1B]5522;type=walias:mime=//4=;VEVYVA==\x1B\\",
+        // Write data MIME decodes to non-UTF-8 bytes.
+        "\x1B]5522;type=wdata:mime=//4=;R2hvc3Q=\x1B\\",
+    };
+
+    for (invalid_packets) |packet| {
+        S.responses_len = 0;
+        s.nextSlice("\x1B]5522;type=write:id=w\x1B\\");
+        s.nextSlice("\x1B]5522;type=wdata:mime=dGV4dC9wbGFpbg==;R2hvc3Q=\x1B\\");
+        s.nextSlice(packet);
+        try testing.expectEqualStrings(
+            "\x1B]5522;type=write:status=EINVAL:id=w\x1B\\",
+            S.responseSlice(),
+        );
+        try testing.expect(!s.handler.semantic_failure);
+
+        // The transaction is gone: a commit does nothing further.
+        s.nextSlice("\x1B]5522;type=wdata\x1B\\");
+        try testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 0), S.write_count);
+        try testing.expectEqualStrings(
+            "\x1B]5522;type=write:status=EINVAL:id=w\x1B\\",
+            S.responseSlice(),
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+test "kitty clipboard invalid read text does not abort a write" {
+    var t: Terminal = try .init(testing.io, testing.allocator, .{ .cols = 80, .rows = 24 });
+    defer t.deinit(testing.allocator);
+
+    const S = KittyClipboardCapture;
+    S.reset();
+    S.read_result = .{ .success = .{} };
+
+    var handler: Handler = .init(&t);
+    handler.effects.write_pty = &S.writePty;
+    handler.effects.clipboard_read = &S.clipboardRead;
+    handler.effects.clipboard_write = &S.clipboardWrite;
+    var s: Stream = .init(.{ .allocator = testing.allocator, .handler = handler });
+    defer s.deinit();
+
     s.nextSlice("\x1B]5522;type=write:id=w\x1B\\");
     s.nextSlice("\x1B]5522;type=wdata:mime=dGV4dC9wbGFpbg==;R2hvc3Q=\x1B\\");
-    s.nextSlice("\x1B]5522;type=walias:mime=dGV4dC9wbGFpbg==;!!!\x1B\\");
-    try testing.expectEqualStrings(
-        "\x1B]5522;type=write:status=EINVAL:id=w\x1B\\",
-        S.responseSlice(),
-    );
-    try testing.expect(!s.handler.semantic_failure);
 
-    // The transaction is gone: a commit does nothing further.
+    // The read payload decodes to a non-UTF-8 byte. It is dropped without
+    // invoking the clipboard effect or disturbing the write transaction.
+    s.nextSlice("\x1B]5522;type=read;/w==\x1B\\");
+    try testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 0), S.read_count);
+    try testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 0), S.responses_len);
+
     s.nextSlice("\x1B]5522;type=wdata\x1B\\");
-    try testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 0), S.write_count);
+    try testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 1), S.write_count);
     try testing.expectEqualStrings(
-        "\x1B]5522;type=write:status=EINVAL:id=w\x1B\\",
+        "\x1B]5522;type=write:status=DONE:id=w\x1B\\",
         S.responseSlice(),
     );
 }
diff --git a/src/termio/stream_handler.zig b/src/termio/stream_handler.zig
index 356ef275e..85b5057f6 100644
--- a/src/termio/stream_handler.zig
+++ b/src/termio/stream_handler.zig
@@ -1026,14 +1026,29 @@ pub const StreamHandler = struct {
     ) error{ OutOfMemory, WriteFailed }!void {
         const kitty_clipboard = terminal.kitty.clipboard;
 
-        // Decode and validate the metadata. Malformed metadata drops
-        // the packet without any response, matching kitty.
+        // Decode and validate the metadata. Malformed structure drops
+        // the packet without a response. Invalid decoded text on a write
+        // data or alias packet aborts an in-flight transaction.
         var arena: std.heap.ArenaAllocator = .init(self.alloc);
         defer arena.deinit();
-        const meta = (try kitty_clipboard.Metadata.parse(
+        const meta = (kitty_clipboard.Metadata.parse(
             arena.allocator(),
             v.metadata,
-        )) orelse return;
+        ) catch |err| switch (err) {
+            error.OutOfMemory => return error.OutOfMemory,
+            error.InvalidValue => {
+                const state = self.kitty_clipboard_write orelse return;
+                switch (kitty_clipboard.Metadata.operation(v.metadata) orelse return) {
+                    .wdata, .walias => try self.kittyClipboardWriteFinish(
+                        state,
+                        .EINVAL,
+                        v.terminator,
+                    ),
+                    .read, .write => {},
+                }
+                return;
+            },
+        }) orelse return;
 
         switch (meta.op) {
             .read => try self.kittyClipboardRead(
@@ -1089,6 +1104,10 @@ pub const StreamHandler = struct {
                 return;
             },
         };
+        if (!decoded.isValidUtf8()) {
+            arena.deinit();
+            return;
+        }
 
         // The targets type ('.') asks for the listing of available
         // types rather than data. Requested types beyond the cap are
@@ -1235,10 +1254,15 @@ pub const StreamHandler = struct {
         payload: []const u8,
         terminator: terminal.osc.Terminator,
     ) error{ OutOfMemory, WriteFailed }!void {
-        // Aliases without a transaction or without a target MIME type
-        // are silently ignored, matching kitty.
+        // Aliases without a transaction are silently ignored. Once a
+        // transaction exists, a missing target MIME type is invalid and
+        // aborts the transaction.
         const state = self.kitty_clipboard_write orelse return;
-        if (meta.mime.len == 0) return;
+        if (meta.mime.len == 0) return self.kittyClipboardWriteFinish(
+            state,
+            .EINVAL,
+            terminator,
+        );
 
         state.alias(
             self.alloc,