diff --git a/internal/cmd/ps.go b/internal/cmd/ps.go
index dc81244..f7b3885 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/ps.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/ps.go
@@ -47,15 +47,25 @@ func runPs(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	// Create tabwriter for aligned output
 	w := tabwriter.NewWriter(os.Stdout, 0, 0, 2, ' ', 0)
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(w, "ID\tPROJECT\tSTATUS\tSTARTED")
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(w, "--\t-------\t------\t-------")
+	_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(w, "ID\tPROJECT\tSTATUS\tTIMEOUT\tEXIT REASON\tSTARTED")
+	_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(w, "--\t-------\t------\t-------\t-----------\t-------")
 
 	for _, session := range sessions {
 		started := session.StartedAt.Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05")
-		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\n",
+		timeout := session.Timeout
+		if timeout == "" {
+			timeout = "-"
+		}
+		exitReason := session.ExitReason
+		if exitReason == "" {
+			exitReason = "-"
+		}
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\n",
 			session.ID,
 			session.ProjectDir,
 			session.Status,
+			timeout,
+			exitReason,
 			started,
 		)
 	}
diff --git a/internal/cmd/start.go b/internal/cmd/start.go
index c97b171..3ecc244 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/start.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/start.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/faize-ai/faize/internal/changeset"
@@ -269,6 +270,17 @@ func runStart(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	}
 	Debug("VM started successfully")
 
+	// Timeout enforcement: stop the VM when the timeout expires
+	var timedOut atomic.Bool
+	if timeoutDuration > 0 {
+		timer := time.AfterFunc(timeoutDuration, func() {
+			timedOut.Store(true)
+			fmt.Printf("\nSession timeout (%s) reached. Stopping...\n", timeoutDuration)
+			_ = manager.Stop(sess.ID)
+		})
+		defer timer.Stop()
+	}
+
 	// Take pre-snapshots of rw mounts for change tracking
 	type mountSnapshot struct {
 		source string
@@ -312,8 +324,28 @@ func runStart(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	// Attach to console — session stops when we return
 	fmt.Println("Attaching to console... (~. to detach)")
-	if err := manager.Attach(sess.ID); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, vm.ErrUserDetach) {
-		return fmt.Errorf("console error: %w", err)
+	attachErr := manager.Attach(sess.ID)
+	if attachErr != nil && !errors.Is(attachErr, vm.ErrUserDetach) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("console error: %w", attachErr)
+	}
+
+	// Determine exit reason and persist session metadata
+	exitReason := "normal"
+	if timedOut.Load() {
+		exitReason = "timeout"
+	} else if errors.Is(attachErr, vm.ErrUserDetach) {
+		exitReason = "detach"
+	}
+	now := time.Now()
+	sess.Timeout = startTimeout
+	sess.StoppedAt = &now
+	sess.ExitReason = exitReason
+	sess.Status = "stopped"
+	store, storeErr := session.NewStore()
+	if storeErr == nil {
+		if saveErr := store.Save(sess); saveErr != nil {
+			Debug("Failed to save session: %v", saveErr)
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Post-session change tracking
diff --git a/internal/session/types.go b/internal/session/types.go
index 5eb932c..59083e2 100644
--- a/internal/session/types.go
+++ b/internal/session/types.go
@@ -12,13 +12,16 @@ type VMMount struct {
 
 // Session represents a VM session with its configuration
 type Session struct {
-	ID         string    `json:"id"`
-	ProjectDir string    `json:"project_dir"`
-	Mounts     []VMMount `json:"mounts"`
-	Network    []string  `json:"network"`
-	CPUs       int       `json:"cpus"`
-	Memory     string    `json:"memory"`
-	Status     string    `json:"status"` // "created", "running", "stopped"
-	StartedAt  time.Time `json:"started_at"`
-	ClaudeMode bool      `json:"claude_mode"` // Whether using Claude rootfs
+	ID         string     `json:"id"`
+	ProjectDir string     `json:"project_dir"`
+	Mounts     []VMMount  `json:"mounts"`
+	Network    []string   `json:"network"`
+	CPUs       int        `json:"cpus"`
+	Memory     string     `json:"memory"`
+	Status     string     `json:"status"` // "created", "running", "stopped"
+	StartedAt  time.Time  `json:"started_at"`
+	ClaudeMode bool       `json:"claude_mode"`       // Whether using Claude rootfs
+	Timeout    string     `json:"timeout,omitempty"` // e.g., "2h" - human-readable timeout
+	StoppedAt  *time.Time `json:"stopped_at,omitempty"`
+	ExitReason string     `json:"exit_reason,omitempty"` // "normal" | "timeout" | "detach" | "killed"
 }