diff --git a/fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncher.java b/fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncher.java
index 652b28d..e1ff6e6 100644
--- a/fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncher.java
+++ b/fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncher.java
@@ -495,7 +495,7 @@ public final class ClaudeCodeLauncher extends HerdrPeerLauncher {
      * <p><b>Additive, not a rewrite.</b> {@code .claude.json} is large (tens of KB, dozens of
      * projects) and Claude Code itself rewrites it while running, so this reads the file as a JSON
      * tree (missing or unreadable → treated as an empty object) and changes only
-     * {@code projects.<cwd>.hasTrustDialogAccepted} / {@code .hasCompletedProjectOnboarding} —
+     * {@code projects.<cwd>.hasTrustDialogAccepted} (that key alone — see fleetd #247) —
      * every other top-level key and every other project entry is written back untouched. Only the
      * one project entry for {@code cwd} is replaced/created; an existing entry for a DIFFERENT cwd
      * (or the operator's own project history) is never touched.
@@ -558,8 +558,18 @@ public final class ClaudeCodeLauncher extends HerdrPeerLauncher {
                 if (!(projectNode instanceof ObjectNode)) {
                     projects.set(cwd, project);
                 }
+                // fleetd #247: ONLY hasTrustDialogAccepted. We used to write
+                // hasCompletedProjectOnboarding beside it; do not put it back. Measured on
+                // 2026-09-03, minutes after a live spawn seeded this file: 28 of 28 project
+                // entries carried hasTrustDialogAccepted and 0 of 28 carried the onboarding key
+                // — including the 27 entries Claude Code wrote for itself. Claude Code
+                // normalises the whole file when it saves and drops that key every time, so
+                // writing it achieved nothing except making the next reader think it mattered.
+                // The member reached idle with the trust flag alone, which is the only outcome
+                // this seed exists for. If a future Claude Code needs the second flag the
+                // symptom returns as the trust dialog fleetd #149 describes — re-measure then,
+                // do not restore it on a guess.
                 project.put("hasTrustDialogAccepted", true);
-                project.put("hasCompletedProjectOnboarding", true);
                 writeAtomically(target, TRUST_JSON.writerWithDefaultPrettyPrinter().writeValueAsString(root));
             } catch (Exception e) {
                 log.debug("cannot seed workspace-trust entry for cwd '{}' into '{}'", cwd, target, e);
diff --git a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncherTest.java b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncherTest.java
index ea5f991..d995775 100644
--- a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncherTest.java
+++ b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncherTest.java
@@ -2159,8 +2159,7 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
                 }
                 JsonNode root = new ObjectMapper().readTree(claudeJson.toFile());
                 JsonNode project = root.path("projects").path(worktree.toString());
-                seededBeforeStart.set(project.path("hasTrustDialogAccepted").asBoolean(false)
-                        && project.path("hasCompletedProjectOnboarding").asBoolean(false));
+                seededBeforeStart.set(project.path("hasTrustDialogAccepted").asBoolean(false));
             } catch (IOException e) {
                 seededBeforeStart.set(false);
             }
@@ -2178,7 +2177,7 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void seedTrustDialogWritesBothTrustFlagsForTheResolvedCwd(
+    void seedTrustDialogWritesOnlyTheTrustFlagAndNotTheOnboardingKey(
             @TempDir Path configDir, @TempDir Path worktree) throws Exception {
         markAsProvisionedWorktree(worktree);
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
@@ -2192,7 +2191,13 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
         JsonNode project = new ObjectMapper().readTree(claudeJson.toFile())
                 .path("projects").path(worktree.toString());
         assertTrue(project.path("hasTrustDialogAccepted").asBoolean(false));
-        assertTrue(project.path("hasCompletedProjectOnboarding").asBoolean(false));
+        // fleetd #247: the onboarding key must NOT be written. Claude Code strips it on every
+        // save (measured: 0 of 28 live entries had it, including its own), so writing it only
+        // adds a contested key to a file two processes share. This assertion is the guard that
+        // stops it coming back as a plausible-looking "completeness" fix.
+        assertFalse(project.has("hasCompletedProjectOnboarding"),
+                "hasCompletedProjectOnboarding must not be written — Claude Code drops it on "
+                        + "every save, and the member reaches idle on hasTrustDialogAccepted alone");
     }
 
     /**
@@ -2238,7 +2243,6 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
 
         JsonNode mine = root.path("projects").path(worktree.toString());
         assertTrue(mine.path("hasTrustDialogAccepted").asBoolean(false));
-        assertTrue(mine.path("hasCompletedProjectOnboarding").asBoolean(false));
     }
 
     /**