diff --git a/wwwroot/api/cockpit_chat.dspy b/wwwroot/api/cockpit_chat.dspy
index 295d428..7426b0e 100644
--- a/wwwroot/api/cockpit_chat.dspy
+++ b/wwwroot/api/cockpit_chat.dspy
@@ -164,6 +164,8 @@ def _parse(raw):
     # Strip any {"action":"tool_call"...} JSON fragments from reply text
     import re as _re2
     clean = _re2.sub(r'\s*\{[^}]*"action"\s*:\s*"tool_call"[^}]*\}\s*', ' ', raw).strip()
+    # Remove stray trailing braces from malformed JSON attempts
+    clean = clean.rstrip().rstrip('}').strip()
     return {"action":"reply","message":clean or raw}
 
 def _w_text(t): return {"widgettype":"Text","options":{"text":t,"css":"agent-text","halign":"left"}}