diff --git a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/config/ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest.java b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/config/ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest.java
index cda5530..f7e8d61 100644
--- a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/config/ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest.java
+++ b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/config/ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest.java
@@ -153,6 +153,21 @@ class ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest {
                 "ConfigRef.LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED names a component that does not exist on "
                         + "FleetConfig.Profile — check for a typo: " + excluded);
 
+        // The exclusion set is this mechanism's own escape hatch, so it has to be pinned too.
+        // Found by mutation while verifying fleetd #323: moving autoCompactWindow and
+        // ideOpenCommand OUT of the comparison and INTO the exclusion set left the whole suite
+        // green — the loop below simply skips them, and the denominator assertion still balances.
+        // That is exactly the lazy move a failing coverage test invites, and it silently restores
+        // the #323 bug. Only ideProjectDir and worktreeGroup were saved by a behavioural test in
+        // ConfigRefTest; the other two had none. So: growing this set now requires editing this
+        // line as well, which is a visible, deliberate diff rather than a quiet one.
+        assertEquals(Set.of("weight", "maxLoad", "credentialId"), excluded,
+                "ConfigRef.LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED changed. A component belongs in it ONLY if it "
+                        + "is read live off the config supplier, not baked into a launcher at "
+                        + "startup. If you are adding one to silence this test, that is fleetd #323 "
+                        + "happening again: compare it in sameLaunchSettings instead. If it really "
+                        + "is read live, name where it is read and update this assertion.");
+
         FleetConfig.Profile base = profileOf(BASE);
         List<String> uncovered = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
         int compared = 0;