diff --git a/features/steps/architecture_steps.py b/features/steps/architecture_steps.py
index 1ac704f7..c834088c 100644
--- a/features/steps/architecture_steps.py
+++ b/features/steps/architecture_steps.py
@@ -379,9 +379,22 @@ def step_verify_public_functions_type_hints(context):
 
 @then("all dataclasses should use Pydantic models")
 def step_verify_dataclasses_pydantic(context):
-    """Verify dataclasses are Pydantic models."""
+    """Verify dataclasses are Pydantic models.
+
+    The TUI layer (``cleveragents/tui/``) is excluded because Textual
+    widget ``Message`` subclasses legitimately use ``@dataclass`` without
+    Pydantic ``BaseModel`` inheritance.
+    """
+    # Directories whose dataclasses follow framework conventions rather
+    # than the project-wide Pydantic-model rule.
+    _EXCLUDED_DIRS = {"tui"}
+
     missing_pydantic = []
     for py_file in context.src_dir.rglob("*.py"):
+        # Skip excluded directories (e.g. TUI widgets use Textual Messages).
+        if any(part in _EXCLUDED_DIRS for part in py_file.parts):
+            continue
+
         try:
             tree = ast.parse(py_file.read_text())
         except SyntaxError: