diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-listen/src/deepctl_cmd_listen/command.py b/packages/deepctl-cmd-listen/src/deepctl_cmd_listen/command.py
index fb0a457..b198013 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-listen/src/deepctl_cmd_listen/command.py
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-listen/src/deepctl_cmd_listen/command.py
@@ -258,6 +258,7 @@ def handle(
     ) -> BaseResult:
         source: str | None = kwargs.get("source")
         use_mic: bool = kwargs.get("mic", False)
+        guided_flow = False
 
         # ── Resolve mode ───────────────────────────────────────────────
         if source == "-":
@@ -280,12 +281,12 @@ def handle(
                 ),
             )
         else:
-            # Interactive: ask the user
             selected_mode, selected_source = self._interactive_select_source()
             if not selected_mode:
                 return BaseResult(status="cancelled", message="Cancelled.")
             mode = selected_mode
             source = selected_source
+            guided_flow = True
 
         # ── Gather options ─────────────────────────────────────────────
         model = kwargs.get("model") or "nova-3"
@@ -322,13 +323,7 @@ def handle(
         if caption_format and not diarize:
             diarize = False  # keep explicit — user can add --diarize themselves
 
-        # Interactive feature selection when user chose source interactively
-        # (signals they want a guided experience)
-        if (
-            not _agentic
-            and mode in ("prerecorded_file", "prerecorded_url")
-            and not any([diarize, summarize, topics, sentiment])
-        ):
+        if guided_flow and mode in ("prerecorded_file", "prerecorded_url"):
             diarize, summarize, topics, sentiment = self._interactive_features()
 
         # ── Dispatch ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-listen/tests/unit/test_listen_command.py b/packages/deepctl-cmd-listen/tests/unit/test_listen_command.py
index 832cffb..9ef74f6 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-listen/tests/unit/test_listen_command.py
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-listen/tests/unit/test_listen_command.py
@@ -241,6 +241,98 @@ def test_handle_explicit_stdin_dash(
             assert result.source == "stdin"
 
 
+class TestGuidedFlow:
+    """Verify the guided-flow gate: prompts only fire on bare `dg listen`."""
+
+    @pytest.fixture
+    def command(self):
+        return ListenCommand()
+
+    @pytest.fixture
+    def common_kwargs(self):
+        return {
+            "client": Mock(spec=DeepgramClient),
+            "config": Mock(spec=Config),
+            "auth_manager": Mock(spec=AuthManager),
+        }
+
+    def test_url_arg_skips_both_prompts(self, command, common_kwargs):
+        with patch.object(command, "_interactive_features") as feat, patch.object(
+            command, "_interactive_select_source"
+        ) as src, patch.object(
+            command, "_prerecorded", return_value=BaseResult(status="ok")
+        ):
+            command.handle(
+                **common_kwargs, source="https://example.com/audio.wav"
+            )
+        assert feat.call_count == 0
+        assert src.call_count == 0
+
+    def test_file_arg_skips_both_prompts(self, command, common_kwargs):
+        with patch.object(command, "_interactive_features") as feat, patch.object(
+            command, "_interactive_select_source"
+        ) as src, patch.object(
+            command, "_prerecorded", return_value=BaseResult(status="ok")
+        ):
+            command.handle(**common_kwargs, source="/tmp/audio.wav")
+        assert feat.call_count == 0
+        assert src.call_count == 0
+
+    def test_url_arg_with_diarize_skips_both_prompts(
+        self, command, common_kwargs
+    ):
+        with patch.object(command, "_interactive_features") as feat, patch.object(
+            command, "_interactive_select_source"
+        ) as src, patch.object(
+            command, "_prerecorded", return_value=BaseResult(status="ok")
+        ):
+            command.handle(
+                **common_kwargs,
+                source="https://example.com/audio.wav",
+                diarize=True,
+            )
+        assert feat.call_count == 0
+        assert src.call_count == 0
+
+    def test_bare_invocation_runs_full_guided_flow(
+        self, command, common_kwargs
+    ):
+        with patch.object(
+            command,
+            "_interactive_features",
+            return_value=(False, False, False, False),
+        ) as feat, patch.object(
+            command,
+            "_interactive_select_source",
+            return_value=("prerecorded_url", "https://x.com/a.wav"),
+        ) as src, patch.object(
+            command, "_prerecorded", return_value=BaseResult(status="ok")
+        ), patch(
+            "sys.stdin"
+        ) as mock_stdin, patch(
+            "deepctl_cmd_listen.command._agentic", False
+        ):
+            mock_stdin.isatty.return_value = True
+            command.handle(**common_kwargs)
+        assert src.call_count == 1
+        assert feat.call_count == 1
+
+    def test_cancelled_source_select_returns_cancelled(
+        self, command, common_kwargs
+    ):
+        with patch.object(
+            command, "_interactive_select_source", return_value=(None, None)
+        ), patch.object(command, "_interactive_features") as feat, patch(
+            "sys.stdin"
+        ) as mock_stdin, patch(
+            "deepctl_cmd_listen.command._agentic", False
+        ):
+            mock_stdin.isatty.return_value = True
+            result = command.handle(**common_kwargs)
+        assert result.status == "cancelled"
+        assert feat.call_count == 0
+
+
 class TestListenResult:
     """Test ListenResult model fields and defaults."""