diff --git a/pkg/runtime/payload.go b/pkg/runtime/payload.go
index df9c0f066..26d97e9fc 100644
--- a/pkg/runtime/payload.go
+++ b/pkg/runtime/payload.go
@@ -31,16 +31,22 @@ type LoadTeamRequest struct {
 // The same forward-compatibility argument as LoadTeamRequest applies: this
 // is the payload a remote backend will eventually send over the wire.
 //
+// Boolean fields intentionally do NOT use `omitempty`. With `omitempty`,
+// an explicit `false` is wire-indistinguishable from "unset", so a future
+// server-side default flip from `false` to `true` would silently change
+// the semantics for clients that omitted the field on purpose. Always
+// serialising the boolean keeps the sender's choice authoritative.
+//
 // GlobalPermissions is currently json:"-" (the permissions.Checker is an
 // opaque struct without a wire form yet); it'll get a serializable
 // representation in a follow-up.
 type CreateSessionRequest struct {
 	AgentName         string               `json:"agent_name,omitempty"`
-	ToolsApproved     bool                 `json:"tools_approved,omitempty"`
-	HideToolResults   bool                 `json:"hide_tool_results,omitempty"`
+	ToolsApproved     bool                 `json:"tools_approved"`
+	HideToolResults   bool                 `json:"hide_tool_results"`
 	SessionDB         string               `json:"session_db,omitempty"`
 	ResumeSessionID   string               `json:"resume_session_id,omitempty"`
-	SnapshotsEnabled  bool                 `json:"snapshots_enabled,omitempty"`
+	SnapshotsEnabled  bool                 `json:"snapshots_enabled"`
 	GlobalPermissions *permissions.Checker `json:"-"`
 	WorkingDir        string               `json:"working_dir,omitempty"`
 }
diff --git a/pkg/runtime/payload_test.go b/pkg/runtime/payload_test.go
index 5379de87d..caa146b63 100644
--- a/pkg/runtime/payload_test.go
+++ b/pkg/runtime/payload_test.go
@@ -73,9 +73,34 @@ func TestCreateSessionRequest_RoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
 func TestCreateSessionRequest_OmitsEmptyFields(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
+	// Boolean fields are always serialized (no `omitempty`) so that an
+	// explicit `false` survives the wire round-trip and stays distinct
+	// from "unset" semantics owned by the server. String fields with
+	// `omitempty` still drop out of the empty case.
 	data, err := json.Marshal(CreateSessionRequest{})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.JSONEq(t, `{}`, string(data))
+	assert.JSONEq(t, `{"tools_approved":false,"hide_tool_results":false,"snapshots_enabled":false}`, string(data))
+}
+
+func TestCreateSessionRequest_PreservesExplicitFalseOnTheWire(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// Pins the contract that `omitempty` on booleans is intentionally
+	// absent: a client sending an explicit `false` must reach the
+	// server as `false`, not as the field's absence. If the server's
+	// default ever flips to `true`, this guarantee keeps existing
+	// clients' "no, really, false" intact.
+	in := CreateSessionRequest{
+		AgentName:        "main",
+		ToolsApproved:    false,
+		HideToolResults:  false,
+		SnapshotsEnabled: false,
+	}
+	data, err := json.Marshal(in)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, string(data), `"tools_approved":false`)
+	assert.Contains(t, string(data), `"hide_tool_results":false`)
+	assert.Contains(t, string(data), `"snapshots_enabled":false`)
 }
 
 func TestCreateSessionRequest_NonSerializableFieldsExcluded(t *testing.T) {