diff --git a/bridged/src/main/java/dev/ltms/bridged/config/BridgedConfig.java b/bridged/src/main/java/dev/ltms/bridged/config/BridgedConfig.java
index 0b258fd..c41d6f0 100644
--- a/bridged/src/main/java/dev/ltms/bridged/config/BridgedConfig.java
+++ b/bridged/src/main/java/dev/ltms/bridged/config/BridgedConfig.java
@@ -986,6 +986,7 @@ public record BridgedConfig(
             warnUnknownTopLevelKeys(yaml, path);
             rejectDuplicateMemberSlots(yaml);
             rejectNegativeMaxLoad(yaml);
+            rejectUnknownKind(yaml);
             BridgedConfig cfg = YAML.readValue(yaml, BridgedConfig.class);
             return cfg.withDefaults();
         } catch (IOException e) {
@@ -1280,6 +1281,53 @@ public record BridgedConfig(
         }
     }
 
+    /** The peer kinds this build has an adapter for — {@link Profile#kind()}'s only valid values. */
+    private static final Set<String> KNOWN_KINDS = Set.of(Profile.KIND_CLAUDE_CODE, Profile.KIND_OPENCODE);
+
+    /**
+     * Reject a profile whose {@code kind:} is not one of {@link #KNOWN_KINDS} (CB-604), naming the
+     * profile, the value it set, and the accepted set.
+     *
+     * <p>{@link Profile}'s compact constructor only lower-cases {@code kind} and compares it against
+     * {@code KIND_OPENCODE} — anything else, including a typo like {@code opencod}, silently falls
+     * into the claude-code bucket ({@link dev.ltms.bridged.member.CompositePeerLauncher} routes by
+     * exact adapter claim, not by membership in a known set). With {@code argv:} also unset, the argv
+     * default special-cases only the exact string {@code "claude-code"}, so the launch command falls
+     * back to {@code List.of(kind)} — the daemon then tries to run a program literally named after the
+     * typo. {@code CompositePeerLauncher}'s constructor already treats a profile claimed by two
+     * adapters as fatal (CB-402); an unrecognized kind is the same class of adapter-routing mistake
+     * and gets the same treatment here, at config load, rather than surfacing later as a failed spawn.
+     *
+     * @param yaml the raw config text
+     * @throws IllegalStateException when any profile's {@code kind} is a non-blank value not in
+     *                                {@link #KNOWN_KINDS} (case-insensitive)
+     */
+    static void rejectUnknownKind(String yaml) {
+        Map<?, ?> raw;
+        try {
+            raw = YAML.readValue(yaml, Map.class);
+        } catch (IOException | IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            return; // a malformed file is reported by the real parse, not here
+        }
+        if (raw == null || !(raw.get("profiles") instanceof Map<?, ?> profiles)) {
+            return;
+        }
+        List<String> bad = profiles.entrySet().stream()
+                .filter(e -> e.getValue() instanceof Map<?, ?> p
+                        && p.get("kind") instanceof String k && !k.isBlank()
+                        && !KNOWN_KINDS.contains(k.toLowerCase()))
+                .map(e -> String.valueOf(e.getKey()) + "=" + ((Map<?, ?>) e.getValue()).get("kind"))
+                .sorted()
+                .toList();
+        if (!bad.isEmpty()) {
+            throw new IllegalStateException("refusing to start: profile(s) [" + String.join(", ", bad)
+                    + "] set an unrecognized kind — accepted values are "
+                    + String.join(", ", KNOWN_KINDS.stream().sorted().toList())
+                    + " (case-insensitive); an unrecognized kind would otherwise fall back to the"
+                    + " claude-code adapter and try to launch a program named after the typo.");
+        }
+    }
+
     static List<String> unknownTopLevelKeys(String yaml) {
         Map<?, ?> raw;
         try {
diff --git a/bridged/src/test/java/dev/ltms/bridged/config/BridgedConfigTest.java b/bridged/src/test/java/dev/ltms/bridged/config/BridgedConfigTest.java
index dc91af1..8e2efa6 100644
--- a/bridged/src/test/java/dev/ltms/bridged/config/BridgedConfigTest.java
+++ b/bridged/src/test/java/dev/ltms/bridged/config/BridgedConfigTest.java
@@ -1040,6 +1040,44 @@ class BridgedConfigTest {
                 "an opencode worker with no argv defaults to the opencode binary, never claude");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * CB-604: an unrecognized {@code kind:} used to silently fall into the claude-code bucket — not
+     * matching {@code "opencode"} was the only check. With {@code argv:} also unset that meant the
+     * daemon tried to launch a program literally named after the typo.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void unknownKindIsRefusedAtLoadNamingTheValueAndTheAcceptedSet(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("kind-typo.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                profiles:
+                  gemini:
+                    kind: opencod
+                    model: google/gemini-2.5-pro
+                """);
+
+        IllegalStateException e = assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class, () -> BridgedConfig.load(f));
+        assertTrue(e.getMessage().contains("gemini"), "error names the profile: " + e.getMessage());
+        assertTrue(e.getMessage().contains("opencod"), "error names the bad value: " + e.getMessage());
+        assertTrue(e.getMessage().contains("claude-code") && e.getMessage().contains("opencode"),
+                "error names the accepted set: " + e.getMessage());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void blankKindStillDefaultsToClaudeCode(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("kind-blank.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                profiles:
+                  gx10:
+                    baseUrl: http://gx10.gw:8000
+                    kind: ""
+                    argv: ["ccs", "gx10"]
+                """);
+
+        BridgedConfig cfg = BridgedConfig.load(f);
+        assertEquals(BridgedConfig.Profile.KIND_CLAUDE_CODE, cfg.profiles().get("gx10").kind(),
+                "a blank kind: is documented to behave exactly like an absent one");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void authDefaultsToLoopbackTrustSoExistingConfigsBehaveAsBefore(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
         Path f = dir.resolve("no-auth-block.yaml");