Merge pull request 'fleetd #612 Unit A: extract main's boot composition into FleetdAssembly/FleetdRuntime' (#620) from worker/fleetd-612-unita-87807e-1 into main

Resolves the one conflict in Fleetd.java. main's side is the inline boot block
that Unit A had already moved into FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart, so the
resolution keeps Unit A's single assembly call.

That resolution is not purely mechanical. #622 (fleetd #621) landed on main
AFTER Unit A forked, and it added

    boolean requireOperatorConfirm = cfg.leadRollover() == null
            || cfg.leadRollover().requireOperatorConfirm();

plus a 14th argument to the LeadHeartbeatLoop constructor, inside the very block
Unit A moved. Taking Unit A's side alone would have dropped both and silently
reverted the operator's #621 fix: the 13-argument overload still exists and
delegates with `true`, so the daemon would go back to telling every lead to ask
the operator before a context roll. Both are carried into FleetdAssembly here.

Measured: with the carried line removed, the full suite is
`Tests run: 1883, Failures: 0, Errors: 0` — nothing pins it. That is the fleetd
#612 defect shape applied to #621's own wiring, and it is filed separately
rather than fixed here, because this commit is a merge resolution and must not
also introduce new tests.

Full suite on this resolved tree: Tests run: 1883, Failures: 0, Errors: 0.

.claude/agents/hunter.md

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+name: hunter
+description: Sweep one assigned scope for defects and report ranked findings without changes.
+---
+
+<!-- CB-617: The model comes from fleetd.yaml because the launch flag overrides model here on both backends. -->
+
+You sweep the assigned package or scope for real defects. Read the full assigned scope before you
+judge it. Report several ranked findings when the evidence supports them. Change nothing: do not
+edit code, commit, push, or open a pull request.
+
+You may run the build or tests to check a finding. Read the complete output and report the real
+result. Do not hide failures with a pipe. State only checks you actually ran. The primary's IDE
+tools are not yours. A mounted forge tool may use a blocked credential and fail by design.
+
+Do only the assigned scope. Note anything outside it in one line and do not investigate it further.
+Use `fleet_ask{question}` only when a decision belongs to the lead, such as an unclear requirement
+or two defensible fixes. Do not ask about something you can decide by reading more code.
+
+Your handoff must name the files you read, each ranked finding or `NO FINDINGS`, the checks you ran,
+and any caveat for review.
+
+The launcher provides the required bridge reply instructions for every member.

.claude/skills/handover/SKILL.md

@@ -167,19 +167,59 @@ fails.
 - **There is no terminal or session parameter, on purpose.** The pane is always your own, resolved
   from your connection, so you can only ever roll yourself.
 - **`operatorConfirmed` is your report of what a human told you.** Do not pass `true` because you
-  are confident. Ask, wait for the answer, then pass what they said. `requireOperatorConfirm`
-  defaults to `true` and this is the only thing standing between a judgement call and a wiped
-  session.
+  are confident. Ask, wait for the answer, then pass what they said.
+
+- **Whether you must ask at all depends on `leadRollover.requireOperatorConfirm`. Check it; do not
+  assume.** The default is `true` (`FleetConfig.java:1426`), and then `confirm` refuses unless you
+  also pass `operatorConfirmed: true`. **This host set it to `false` on 2026-09-22**, on the
+  operator's explicit grant, because they do not want to approve routine context rolls. Where it is
+  `false`, the three handover-file checks are the whole gate: the file must exist, be fresher than
+  `maxDocAgeSeconds`, and have been modified after the open request.
+
+  Read the live value rather than trusting this line:
+
+  ```bash
+  grep -A1 'requireOperatorConfirm' fleetd/fleetd.yaml
+  ```
+
+  No match means the key is unset, so the default `true` applies and you must ask. The key is
+  **deferred, not hot** — it is read once at boot, so an edit does nothing until the daemon is
+  redeployed.
+
+  **Until fleetd #621 merges, the nudge text will tell you to ask the operator even where the
+  daemon no longer requires it.** `LeadHeartbeatLoop.contextNotice()` hardcodes "ask the operator"
+  and takes no config, so it cannot know. Trust the config value over the nudge text. Once #621 is
+  merged and deployed, the nudge matches the config and this warning can be deleted.
+
 - **The roll can still refuse after `confirm` returns**, and by then there is no caller to tell.
   Those outcomes are logged only, as `lead-rollover:` lines in the daemon log.
-- **The bootstrap prompt has never yet landed, and the fix is unproven (fleetd #489).** The first
-  real rollover, on 2026-09-12, joined `/clear` and the bootstrap text into one line and Claude Code
-  refused it as `Unknown command: /clearFresh`. The pane was never cleared and no context was lost,
-  so the failure was safe — the roll simply did nothing. PR #490 fixed the cause and is deployed,
-  but no roll has bootstrapped a fresh session end to end yet. **Assume it may still fail, and tell
-  the operator so before you confirm.** The recovery is the same either way: the file is already
-  written, so the operator starts a session and points it at the file. That is why you write the
-  file before you confirm, and never the other way round.
+- **The bootstrap prompt works end to end. Measured 2026-09-22.** This used to say the fix was
+  unproven (fleetd #489) and told you to expect a failure. That is no longer true. The daemon log
+  now holds four `lead-rollover: rolled` lines, and three of them ran on 2026-09-22 at 10:01:43,
+  10:38:28 and 11:15:47. Each one cleared the old lead and started a fresh session against the
+  handover file, with the configured `bootstrapText` arriving as its first message. No context was
+  lost. The old `Unknown command: /clearFresh` failure from 2026-09-12 does not appear in the log
+  at all. Re-measure both numbers with:
+
+  ```bash
+  grep -c "lead-rollover: rolled" fleetd/fleetd.out   # successful rolls
+  grep -c "lead-rollover:" fleetd/fleetd.out          # positive control: must be larger
+  grep -c "Unknown command" fleetd/fleetd.out         # the old failure: expect 0
+  ```
+
+  Run the control line too. A broken pattern returns a clean `0` that reads exactly like good news.
+  If the first number stops growing across rolls, or `Unknown command` returns anything above 0,
+  the bootstrap has regressed and this paragraph is stale again.
+
+  **You still write the file before you confirm, and never the other way round.** That order is not
+  about the bootstrap being unreliable. It is what the daemon checks: the handover file must have
+  been modified *after* the open request, or `confirm` refuses it as stale.
+
+- **One warning in the log is normal and is not a failure.** Every one of the three rolls above also
+  logged `/clear on term_… was never observed as WORKING after 8 consecutive IDLE/DONE polls —
+  releasing rather than wedging the roll`. The daemon could not see the pane go WORKING after
+  `/clear`, so it released instead of hanging. The roll then succeeded anyway. That is the safe
+  branch behaving correctly. Do not report it as a broken roll.
 
 ## Writing style
 

CLAUDE.md

@@ -139,6 +139,17 @@ prefer `wait:false` + `fleet_poll` for anything non-trivial: a blocking `fleet_s
 **Delegating does not delegate responsibility.** Workers open PRs; you are the gate. Never delegate
 the merge — and merging on a reviewer's word is delegating it by proxy.
 
+**When a decision blocks you, consult architects — not the operator.** Spawn one or more architect
+members, give them the question and the evidence you have, and act on what they agree. They are
+authorized to settle it, not only to advise. Architects first form independent positions, then
+compare them. If they still disagree after that comparison, they return both positions and their
+checked evidence; the lead decides. Go to the operator only for an action the fleet has no
+authority to take, such as spending money, granting access, or making a promise to someone else.
+**Then write the decision on the ticket.** Taking the operator out of the loop also removes the
+signal they used to get, because that signal was the block itself — work stopped, so they found
+out. A ticket comment replaces it, and it reaches them whether or not they are at a terminal when
+you decide.
+
 | Intent | Tool |
 |---|---|
 | Confirm your own role | `fleet_whoami` |
@@ -275,6 +286,8 @@ must obey belongs in the charter, not here.
   it for a multi-finding sweep hands the worker two contradictory output contracts. That has
   already cost three workers' turns: each wrote a good report to its terminal and ended the turn
   with no `fleet_reply`, and the scrape returned the tail of the brief instead.
+  Spawn `implementer` with role `dev`, `reviewer` with role `reviewer`, and `hunter` with role
+  `hunter`.
 - **Primary-side skills** (not delegation playbooks — a worker cannot use them):
   `port-to-opencode` (make an OpenCode session a participant in this workspace),
   `fleets-status` (report every fleet that shares one LavinMQ instance),

docs/CB-591-Gateway-Migration.md

@@ -5,6 +5,21 @@
 here took a revert and two upstream fixes — see §7.1, which is the useful part of this document. One
 risk is **accepted rather than solved**: a stream cut by any mid-response timer arrives as HTTP 200
 with no terminator, and our third-party members cannot detect it (§7.2).
+
+> **Superseded in part — 2026-09-13.** Two claims on this page are no longer true of the live fleet.
+> I measured both on this host today.
+>
+> 1. **The model is named `acoder` now, not `deepseek-v4-flash`.** `acoder` is a stable alias, and
+>    the model behind it changed on 2026-08-28: it is Qwen3.8-27B, not DeepSeek. The old name is
+>    still served, so nothing broke — the gateway answers it and reports `"model": "acoder"` in the
+>    reply, which is how you can see for yourself that it is an alias. `fleetd.yaml` moved to
+>    `acoder` on 2026-09-13. Do not guess behaviour from the name; ask the gateway's own manifest,
+>    `GET https://llm.ltms.dev/v1/deployment`, and read its `generation` field.
+> 2. **`local` sits at `weight: 0`, not 100.** Only `gx` is auto-selected today.
+>
+> §2 and §3 below are the plan as written in August. They are the record of the migration, so they
+> stay as they are. If this note stops matching `fleetd.yaml`, re-measure and rewrite the note.
+
 · **Upstream:** [systems/vms wiki → LLM and MCP Gateway](https://git.ltms.dev/systems/vms/wiki/LLM-and-MCP-Gateway)
 · **Upstream issue:** [systems/vms#31](https://git.ltms.dev/systems/vms/issues/31)
 
@@ -380,7 +395,10 @@ one turn; this one costs the whole task and is indistinguishable from a slow wor
 
 - Token accepted on both surfaces. **Unauthenticated → 401**, so the Caddy proxy really does gate —
   the wiki's "SecurityPolicy fails open" warning is about the gateway itself, not the edge.
-- `/v1/models` returns exactly `["deepseek-v4-flash"]`, so trap 3 is clear.
+- `/v1/models` returned exactly `["deepseek-v4-flash"]` **on 2026-08-15**, so trap 3 was clear
+  then. It returns 6 ids now — `acoder`, `qwen3.8-27b-nvfp4`, `deepseek-v4-flash` and three
+  embedding names — measured on this host 2026-09-13. The exact-name rule still holds; the
+  one-item list does not.
 - **Reasoning survives both surfaces** — see §3b above.
 - The launcher's generated opencode provider block is correct, carrying a real 48-character `llmk-`
   key rather than the `fleetd-local-noauth` placeholder.

fleetd/fleetd.example.yaml

@@ -77,16 +77,25 @@ bind:
 # a lead turn nobody asked for), so upgrading the daemon must never switch it on for you. Absent
 # block = feature off, exactly as before.
 #
-# Three knobs, each with a default that errs on the side of not burning context:
+# Four knobs, each with a default that errs on the side of not burning context:
 #   idleAfterSeconds: 300   # how long the lead must stay idle before the FIRST nudge (default 300 —
 #                           # absorbs normal post-turn pauses; re-prompting every pause burns context)
 #   backoffMs: 60000        # re-check cadence / spacing between nudges past the quiet period (default 60000)
 #   quietNudgeCap: 3        # cap on consecutive nudges that find NOTHING pending, then it stops
 #                           # until real state appears (default 3 — never nag an empty fleet forever)
+#   contextHighNudge: false # fleetd #609 — when true, an idle lead whose OWN Claude Code context
+#                           # reads HIGH (see LeadContextGauge; fleet_list's context row) gets a text
+#                           # notice appended to its nudge telling it to consider fleet_handover. Text
+#                           # only — it never rolls a pane by itself, and only the operator can approve
+#                           # a roll. Fires once per HIGH stretch (a later OK reading re-arms it), and
+#                           # never spends the quietNudgeCap budget. Default false/absent = off, same
+#                           # as every other knob here — an upgraded daemon must not start telling
+#                           # leads to hand over on its own.
 # leadHeartbeat:
 #   idleAfterSeconds: 300
 #   backoffMs: 60000
 #   quietNudgeCap: 3
+#   contextHighNudge: false
 
 # Lead rollover (fleetd #480): replace a lead session that has decided it is ready to be replaced,
 # without an operator doing it by hand. A lead writes a handover file, then asks fleetd to clear its
@@ -200,13 +209,13 @@ herdrSocket: ~/.config/herdr/herdr.sock
 #                      e.g. `env DISPLAY=:10.0 idea {dir}`. Best-effort: a failure is logged, never
 #                      fails the spawn. Omit to open the member's module by hand. There is no close
 #                      half yet — an opened module stays open until the operator closes it.
-#   autoCompactWindow → opt-in, default off. A bounded token window that forces a spawned member to
-#                      compact its context instead of running on the backend's own default and dying
-#                      mid-turn (losing its fleet_reply — the whole point of the turn — with it).
+#   autoCompactWindow → opt-in, default off. A bounded token window that forces a launched Claude Code
+#                      lead or member to compact its context instead of running on the backend's own
+#                      default. A member that runs out of context can die mid-turn and lose its fleet_reply.
 #                      Validated at config load to [100000, 1000000] — the band Claude Code's own
 #                      --autocompact flag accepts.
 #                      CROSS-BACKEND SEMANTICS DIFFER: on claude-code this is a launch-time
-#                      `--autocompact <tokens>` flag — the member compacts AT this window. opencode
+#                      `--autocompact <tokens>` flag — the Claude Code session compacts AT this window. opencode
 #                      has no equivalent flag (it only forces `compaction.auto: true`, unconditionally,
 #                      already), so this is instead applied as the model's `limit.context` in the
 #                      generated opencode.json — the member compacts WITHIN this window, not exactly
@@ -406,7 +415,7 @@ profiles:
     # ideMcpUrl: http://127.0.0.1:29170/index-mcp/streamable-http   # opt-in (CB-634): IDE code intelligence, pinned to the worktree
     # ideProjectDir: fleetd          # CB-634: module dir the IDE opens + the overlay pins (this repo's pom is in fleetd/)
     # ideOpenCommand: env DISPLAY=:10.0 idea {dir}   # CB-634 auto-open: opens {dir} in the IDE at spawn; omit to open by hand
-    # autoCompactWindow: 250000   # opt-in: bound member context; claude-code compacts AT this, opencode within it (model limit.context)
+    # autoCompactWindow: 250000   # opt-in: bound Claude Code lead/member context; claude-code compacts AT this, opencode within it (model limit.context)
   gx11:                              # a second backend, so `placement: weighted` has a choice
     baseUrl: http://gx01.gw:8000     # self-hosted; ccs handles the model + token
     placement: tab
@@ -560,7 +569,7 @@ placement: weighted
 # older keys: `leaders:`, `members:`, `leadScan:` and `defaultProfile:`.
 #
 # A member is anything a lead spawns, and every member has two INDEPENDENT attributes:
-#   role    — which contract: architect, dev or reviewer. It picks the launch charter, the role
+#   role    — which contract: architect, dev, hunter or reviewer. It picks the launch charter, the role
 #             file, the playbook skill and the authz row.
 #   profile — which backend: one of the `profiles:` keys above (model, CLI adapter, cost).
 # They vary on their own. A reviewer may run on the same profile as the dev whose diff it reads,
@@ -572,13 +581,13 @@ placement: weighted
 #
 # Each pool lists the profiles that role MAY run on — these are pools, not identities. That is also
 # what replaced `defaultProfile:`: an unqualified spawn names a role, and that role's pool supplies
-# the candidates, in definition order. A dev and a reviewer staying anonymous is exactly compatible
-# with being listed here; the entry key just names the entry.
+# the candidates, in definition order. A dev, hunter and reviewer staying anonymous is exactly
+# compatible with being listed here; the entry key just names the entry.
 fleet:
   # Optional launch-charter text, keyed only by the singular role wire names: architect, dev,
-  # reviewer. Changes are HOT and reach the next spawn without a daemon restart. Do not put secrets
-  # here: a later launch step writes this text to a world-readable temp file, and ${ENV} interpolation
-  # is deliberately not supported.
+  # hunter, reviewer. Changes are HOT and reach the next spawn without a daemon restart. Do not put
+  # secrets here: a later launch step writes this text to a world-readable temp file, and ${ENV}
+  # interpolation is deliberately not supported.
   charters:
     architect: |-
       You are an architect in this fleet. You refine work before anyone builds it:
@@ -589,6 +598,9 @@ fleet:
     dev: |-
       You implement the one unit you were given, and nothing else. You test it,
       commit it, and open your own pull request. You never merge.
+    hunter: |-
+      You sweep the assigned scope for real defects. You may run the build or tests
+      to check a finding. You change nothing, and report several ranked findings.
     reviewer: |-
       You review the diff you were given. You report bugs, risks and missing tests.
       You do not change code.
@@ -666,6 +678,9 @@ fleet:
   developers:
     gx10:
       profile: gx10
+  # hunters:
+  #   gx10:
+  #     profile: gx10                # a hunt may run checks, but never changes code
   # reviewers:
   #   gx10:
   #     profile: gx10                # the same backend may serve two roles; that is the point

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/AssemblyInputs.java

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 Unit A: everything {@code Fleetd.main} has ready once config is loaded, reported
+ * and validated — the exact point {@code main} used to keep going straight into socket and broker
+ * work. Building this (and handing it to {@link FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart}) is the seam a
+ * test now has to drive the real boot composition without being {@code main} itself.
+ *
+ * @param cfg   the boot-time {@link FleetConfig} snapshot every one-time wiring decision reads —
+ *              see {@code Fleetd.main}'s own comment on why this must never be swapped for a live
+ *              reference once loaded
+ * @param config the live {@link ConfigRef} the hot-reloadable paths read per use
+ * @param guard  the same {@link SubscriptionGuard} {@code Fleetd.main} already used to assert the
+ *               launching environment is clean, reused rather than rebuilt so the assembled
+ *               launchers see the identical instance {@code main} already validated with
+ */
+record AssemblyInputs(FleetConfig cfg, ConfigRef config, SubscriptionGuard guard) {
+}

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdAssembly.java

@@ -0,0 +1,536 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.CallerResolver;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.MemberRegistry;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigWatcher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.health.FleetHealthMonitor;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrRouter;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.LeadTabScanner;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PaneLocator;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.UnixSocketHerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.BackendErrorPatternLookup;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.BackendErrorSink;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.CompletionResolver;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.ExhaustedPatternLookup;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.ExhaustionSink;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.LiveExhaustedPatterns;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.MemberPresence;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.StatusPoller;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.TurnListener;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadContextGauge;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadLauncher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.ConnectionIdentity;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.LsofPeerPidLookup;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.LsofProcessCwdLookup;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.PrimaryRegistry;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.CompositePeerLauncher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.HerdrPeerLauncher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.MemberCredentialPolicyView;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.FleetMetrics;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.Metrics;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadChannelHandle;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadCoordLoop;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadHeartbeatLoop;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.MessageService;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.Rendezvous;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyPushLoop;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.PeerLauncher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendOutagePolicy;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendQuarantine;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.power.CaffeinateSleepAssertionMechanism;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.power.IdleSleepGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.rest.FleetApp;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.GitWorktrees;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionReaper;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
+import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+import java.util.function.Function;
+import java.util.function.Predicate;
+import java.util.function.Supplier;
+import java.util.regex.Pattern;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 Unit A: the real boot assembly, extracted out of {@code Fleetd.main} so a test can
+ * drive it directly. {@link #assembleAndStart} is <em>the same statements {@code main} used to run
+ * inline</em>, in the same order, against a real {@link ResourcePorts} in production and a fake one
+ * in a test — see {@code FleetdAssemblyLifecycleTest}. {@code Fleetd.main} keeps config loading and
+ * {@code cfg.validateAll()}; everything from immediately after that call onward moved here —
+ * including, since fleetd #612 A-gaps (gap 2), the two post-validation reports ({@code
+ * reportRoleFallbackGaps}, {@code assertChartersNameOnlyRegisteredTools}) that Unit A originally
+ * left behind in {@code main}. Those two calls do no I/O themselves, but leaving them outside this
+ * method meant deleting either one compiled clean and left the whole suite green — nothing drove
+ * {@code main} itself, so nothing could notice. They run first here, in the same relative order,
+ * before the herdr socket or anything else that touches the outside world.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>Construction and start order is preserved exactly, on purpose.</strong> This is not
+ * rebuilt into "construct everything, then start everything" — that would change boot timing. The
+ * order recorded before any code moved (see the ticket and {@code FleetdAssemblyLifecycleTest}):
+ * {@code SessionReaper} starts first (if {@code lifecycle.idleTtlSeconds} is configured), then
+ * {@link StatusPoller}, then the optional {@link LeadHeartbeatLoop} and {@link FleetHealthMonitor},
+ * then the optional {@link LeadCoordLoop} and {@link ConfigWatcher}, and the HTTP server starts
+ * last of all. The close order (see {@link FleetdRuntime#close()}) is the mirror the original
+ * shutdown hook always used.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>One statement could not move without reordering startup.</strong> {@code Fleetd.main}
+ * registered its shutdown hook <em>before</em> building the Javalin {@code FleetApp} — the hook
+ * itself never touched {@code app} (it still doesn't; see {@link FleetdRuntime#close()}), but the
+ * hook needs a {@link FleetdRuntime} to close over, and the ticket asks that runtime to also own
+ * {@code FleetApp}. Building the runtime before the app exists and mutating it afterward (via
+ * {@link FleetdRuntime#attachApp}) preserves the exact original order — hook registered, then app
+ * built, then HTTP started — without moving the app's construction earlier or the hook's
+ * registration later. That is the one seam this ticket did not get to pin any other way.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>No inert variant.</strong> Deliberately, there is no overload of this method that
+ * accepts a smaller/optional {@link ResourcePorts} or defaults one internally. A future edit that
+ * wants to skip {@code FleetdAssembly} entirely and build its own graph is still possible — no
+ * static analysis stops that — but it cannot do so by quietly swapping this call for an inert
+ * substitute that still compiles, because none exists.
+ */
+final class FleetdAssembly {
+
+    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(Fleetd.class);
+
+    /** CB-637: how often the lead coordination loop looks for peer messages — see {@code Fleetd}'s own constant. */
+    private static final long LEAD_COORD_INTERVAL_MS = 3_000L;
+
+    private FleetdAssembly() {
+    }
+
+    static FleetdRuntime assembleAndStart(AssemblyInputs inputs, ResourcePorts ports) {
+        FleetConfig cfg = inputs.cfg();
+        ConfigRef config = inputs.config();
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = inputs.guard();
+
+        // fleetd #612 A-gaps (gap 2): moved in from Fleetd.main, immediately after cfg.validateAll()
+        // there — the exact point main used to call these two, and still the first thing this
+        // method does, before any socket or broker work below. See this class's javadoc and each
+        // method's own for why they run here rather than in FleetConfig#validateAll() itself.
+        Fleetd.reportRoleFallbackGaps(cfg);
+        Fleetd.assertChartersNameOnlyRegisteredTools(cfg);
+
+        Path socket = cfg.herdrSocket() != null && !cfg.herdrSocket().isBlank()
+                ? Path.of(cfg.herdrSocket())
+                : UnixSocketHerdrClient.defaultSocketPath();
+
+        HerdrClient herdr = ports.connectHerdr(socket);
+        HerdrClient memberHerdr = cfg.memberHerdrSocket() != null && !cfg.memberHerdrSocket().isBlank()
+                ? ports.connectHerdr(Path.of(cfg.memberHerdrSocket()))
+                : herdr;
+        AtomicReference<Supplier<Map<String, String>>> leadsRef = new AtomicReference<>(Map::of);
+        HerdrRouter router = new HerdrRouter(herdr, memberHerdr,
+                target -> leadsRef.get().get().containsKey(target));
+        // CB-402: one adapter per configured peer kind, fronted by a composite router. A profile's
+        // `kind:` selects its adapter — claude-code (the default) and opencode partition the profile
+        // set — and the composite dispatches each SPI call to the adapter that owns the profile/pane.
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> claudeProfiles = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> opencodeProfiles = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        cfg.profiles().forEach((name, w) -> {
+            if (w.isOpenCode()) {
+                opencodeProfiles.put(name, w);
+            } else {
+                claudeProfiles.put(name, w);
+            }
+        });
+        List<HerdrPeerLauncher> adapters = new ArrayList<>();
+        // fleetd #175: the daemon's real ExhaustionSink can only be built once `sessions` exists
+        // (below), but `sessions` needs `workers`, which needs the adapters built right here — a
+        // genuine cycle. Break it exactly like liveCountRef below: a forwarding sink built now,
+        // pointed at the real one once it exists.
+        AtomicReference<ExhaustionSink> exhaustionSinkRef = new AtomicReference<>(ExhaustionSink.none());
+        ExhaustionSink forwardingExhaustionSink = Fleetd.forwardingExhaustionSink(exhaustionSinkRef);
+        // The claude-code adapter is the always-present default; keep it even with no profiles (so a
+        // bridge configured with no workers, or opencode-only, still has a well-defined base adapter)
+        // unless opencode is the only kind configured.
+        if (!claudeProfiles.isEmpty() || opencodeProfiles.isEmpty()) {
+            adapters.add(Fleetd.claudeCodeLauncher(router.memberAgents(), router.memberSpaces(), guard,
+                    claudeProfiles, cfg, config));
+        }
+        if (!opencodeProfiles.isEmpty()) {
+            adapters.add(Fleetd.openCodeLauncher(router.memberAgents(), router.memberSpaces(),
+                    opencodeProfiles, cfg, config, forwardingExhaustionSink));
+        }
+        AtomicReference<Function<String, Integer>> liveCountRef = new AtomicReference<>(_ -> 0);
+        // CB-578 stage B: one quarantine tracker for the whole daemon, shared between the launcher
+        // (checked at spawn) and the exhaustion sink wired in below (written on BACKEND_EXHAUSTED).
+        BackendQuarantine quarantine = BackendQuarantine.withEscalation(ports.nanoClock(),
+                TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(cfg.quarantineCooldownSeconds()));
+        // fleetd #201 Unit 5: one outage-cool-off tracker for the whole daemon, shared between the
+        // launcher (checked at spawn, like `quarantine` above) and the backend-error sink wired in
+        // below (written on a classified backend error).
+        BackendOutagePolicy outagePolicy = new BackendOutagePolicy(ports.nanoClock());
+        PeerLauncher workers = new CompositePeerLauncher(
+                adapters,
+                cfg.effectiveDefaultProfile(),
+                config,
+                profileName -> liveCountRef.get().apply(profileName),
+                quarantine,
+                outagePolicy);
+        // fleetd #422 follow-up: say which of the three model-gate states the daemon booted into.
+        log.info("model gate (fleetd #422): {}", Fleetd.modelGateCoverageLine(workers.modelGateState()));
+        // CB-504: under supervision (launchd/systemd) fleetd can start before herdr's socket
+        // exists. Wait, then degrade rather than die: serving with /healthz reporting "degraded" is
+        // strictly more useful than exiting.
+        Fleetd.HerdrAwaitOutcome herdrOutcome = Fleetd.awaitHerdr(herdr, ports.nanoClock(), Fleetd::sleepHerdrPoll);
+        boolean herdrUp = Fleetd.logHerdrWaitOutcomeAndShouldReap(herdrOutcome);
+        if (herdrUp) {
+            // CB-117: herdr keeps worker panes alive across a daemon restart, and their ids died
+            // with the previous process — reap those leaked orphans now, before we start serving.
+            workers.reapOrphanWorkers();
+        }
+
+        // CB-301: authoritative session registry + lifecycle FSM on top of ClaudeCodeLauncher.
+        // CB-301-ext: worktree provisioning seam, optionally rooted at a configured directory.
+        // CB-303 part 2: context cap is opt-in and disabled (0) when absent/null.
+        int contextCap = 0;
+        if (cfg.lifecycle() != null && cfg.lifecycle().contextCap() != null
+                && cfg.lifecycle().contextCap() > 0) {
+            contextCap = cfg.lifecycle().contextCap();
+        }
+        boolean clearAfterTurn = cfg.lifecycle() != null && cfg.lifecycle().clearAfterTurn();
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workers,
+                new GitWorktrees(cfg.worktreeRoot(), cfg.worktreeGroup(), cfg.memberSkills()),
+                ports.nanoClock(), contextCap, clearAfterTurn);
+        liveCountRef.set(profileName -> Fleetd.liveSessionCount(sessions.roster(), profileName));
+
+        // Idle-sleep guard: hold an OS-level assertion against idle sleep while at least one
+        // member is live. No-op (never constructed) off macOS or when idleSleepGuard.enabled is
+        // explicitly false; the mechanism itself is additionally a no-op if 'caffeinate' cannot be
+        // started, so this can never fail a spawn, a release, or startup.
+        boolean idleSleepGuardEnabled = cfg.idleSleepGuard() == null || cfg.idleSleepGuard().isEnabled();
+        final IdleSleepGuard idleSleepGuard;
+        if (idleSleepGuardEnabled) {
+            idleSleepGuard = new IdleSleepGuard(new CaffeinateSleepAssertionMechanism(), sessions::size);
+            sessions.onAcquire(_ -> idleSleepGuard.recheck());
+            sessions.onRelease(_ -> idleSleepGuard.recheck());
+        } else {
+            idleSleepGuard = null;
+        }
+
+        // CB-303 part 1: idle-ttl reaper — only when configured, defaults to disabled. FIRST of the
+        // recurring background loops to start — see this class's own javadoc for the full order.
+        final SessionReaper reaper;
+        if (cfg.lifecycle() != null
+                && cfg.lifecycle().idleTtlSeconds() != null
+                && cfg.lifecycle().idleTtlSeconds() > 0) {
+            reaper = new SessionReaper(sessions, cfg.lifecycle().idleTtlSeconds());
+            reaper.start();
+        } else {
+            reaper = null;
+        }
+
+        // CB-530: every pane the config names as a lead, merged from `leaders:` and the legacy
+        // singular pin. PrimaryRegistry below still tracks ONE terminal — it addresses the push
+        // loop's nudges, which need a single destination — so it keeps the legacy pin.
+        Map<String, String> leadTerminals = cfg.leaderTerminals();
+        if (leadTerminals.size() > 1) {
+            log.info("leads: {} panes recognised {}", leadTerminals.size(), leadTerminals.values());
+        }
+        // CB-531/CB-579: discover leads by the tab labels the operator writes, one scanner per
+        // configured lead's own exact `tab:` label.
+        final Supplier<Map<String, String>> leads;
+        var leaders = cfg.fleet().leaders();
+        if (!leaders.isEmpty()) {
+            Map<String, String> tabToName = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+            leaders.forEach((name, leader) -> {
+                if (leader != null && leader.tab() != null && !leader.tab().isBlank()) {
+                    tabToName.put(leader.tab(), name);
+                }
+            });
+            int scanIntervalSeconds = leaders.values().iterator().next().scanIntervalSeconds();
+            // This must use the lead daemon: scanning member tabs would demote the lead to a worker.
+            leads = new LeadTabScanner(herdr, tabToName, Set.of(),
+                    TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(scanIntervalSeconds), ports.nanoClock());
+            log.info("lead scan: tabs {} host a lead (rescan every {}s, shared fleet space)",
+                    tabToName.keySet(), scanIntervalSeconds);
+        } else {
+            leads = () -> leadTerminals;
+        }
+        leadsRef.set(leads);
+
+        // CB-558: start any declared lead that is not already running. After the scanner is built,
+        // and only when herdr answered — the launcher's whole safety property is that it can count
+        // live leads first, and must never guess and risk a second orchestrator.
+        if (herdrUp && !leaders.isEmpty()) {
+            int launched = new LeadLauncher(router.leadAgents(), router.leadSpaces(), cfg).ensureLeads();
+            if (launched > 0) {
+                log.info("lead auto-launch: {} lead(s) started", launched);
+            }
+        }
+
+        // CB-548: config-declared architect slots. Nothing here spawns a slot; the terminal → slot
+        // binding is owned by the registry and empty at startup.
+        MemberRegistry members = MemberRegistry.live(() -> config.get().fleet());
+        sessions.setMemberLifecycle(members);
+        if (!members.slots().isEmpty()) {
+            log.info("member slots: {} configured {} — none bound yet (a slot is idle until the "
+                            + "spawn lifecycle binds a live terminal to it)",
+                    members.slots().size(), members.slots().keySet());
+        }
+
+        // Status-gated injector (CB-103): the single writer into workers, fed by a poller.
+        // CB-106: a confirmed turn completion resolves a blocked send whose worker never replied.
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        // CB-578 stage A: classify a completion-fallback scrape that matches a profile's configured
+        // usage-limit refusal as BACKEND_EXHAUSTED rather than handing it back as a real answer.
+        LiveExhaustedPatterns liveExhaustedPatterns = Fleetd.liveExhaustedPatterns(config);
+        ExhaustedPatternLookup exhaustedPatterns = Fleetd.exhaustedPatternLookup(sessions::roster, liveExhaustedPatterns);
+        // The startup coverage line still reports the boot-time snapshot only.
+        Set<String> exhaustedConfiguredAtStartup = cfg.profiles().entrySet().stream()
+                .filter(e -> e.getValue().hasExhaustedPattern())
+                .map(Map.Entry::getKey)
+                .collect(Collectors.toCollection(LinkedHashSet::new));
+        log.info("backend-exhausted classification (CB-578 stage A): {}",
+                Fleetd.exhaustedPatternCoverageLine(cfg.profiles().keySet(), exhaustedConfiguredAtStartup));
+        // fleetd #201 Unit 5: classify a completion-fallback scrape that matches a profile's
+        // configured backend-error refusal (a credential outage, a provider 5xx) as a backend error
+        // rather than handing it back as a real answer.
+        Map<String, Pattern> errorPatternsByProfile = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        cfg.profiles().forEach((name, profile) -> {
+            if (profile.hasErrorPattern()) {
+                errorPatternsByProfile.put(name, Pattern.compile(profile.errorPattern()));
+            }
+        });
+        BackendErrorPatternLookup backendErrorPatterns = Fleetd.backendErrorPatternLookup(sessions::roster,
+                errorPatternsByProfile);
+        log.info("backend-error classification (fleetd #201 Unit 5): {}",
+                Fleetd.errorPatternCoverageLine(cfg.profiles().keySet(), errorPatternsByProfile.keySet()));
+        // CB-578 stage B: on a classification that actually wins, quarantine the exhausted profile's
+        // CREDENTIAL, so a profile sharing that credential is refused too, not just the one that
+        // happened to report it.
+        Map<String, String> quarantineReasonByCredential = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+        // fleetd #175: point the forwarding sink handed to OpenCodeLauncher above at the real one,
+        // now that `sessions` exists to resolve target -> session -> profile.
+        ExhaustionSink exhaustionSink = Fleetd.publishExhaustionSink(exhaustionSinkRef, sessions, config,
+                quarantine, quarantineReasonByCredential, cfg);
+        // fleetd #201 Unit 5: the production BackendErrorSink needs `pushLoop` (built further below,
+        // after `sessions`) to tell a lead about an incident or an unmapped target — the same
+        // construction-order cycle `exhaustionSinkRef` breaks above, broken the same way: a mutable
+        // holder set once `pushLoop` exists, read lazily from inside the lambda built here.
+        AtomicReference<ReplyPushLoop> pushLoopRef = new AtomicReference<>();
+        BackendErrorSink backendErrorSink = Fleetd.backendErrorSink(sessions, () -> config.get().profiles(),
+                outagePolicy, pushLoopRef::get);
+        AgentControl agents = router.memberAgents();
+        CompletionResolver completion = new CompletionResolver(agents, rendezvous, exhaustedPatterns,
+                exhaustionSink, backendErrorPatterns, backendErrorSink, ports.nanoClock(),
+                Fleetd.worktreeBranchLookup(sessions::roster));
+        // CB-113: deliver only to an available worker (its MCP is connected), never its boot window.
+        // CB-301: the manager's presence bridge records availability and drives SPAWNING → READY.
+        MemberPresence presence = sessions.asPresence();
+        TurnListener turnListener = Fleetd.turnListener(completion, sessions);
+        Predicate<String> deliverable = Fleetd.deliverableTo(presence, leads);
+        // fleetd #556: registration is wired directly to `completion`, not folded into the
+        // `turnListener` fan-out above — so it survives `sessions.onDelivered` (or any future
+        // listener) throwing, regardless of call order.
+        Injector injector = new Injector(router, turnListener, deliverable,
+                presence::forget, Fleetd.turnRegistrar(completion));
+        StatusPoller poller = new StatusPoller(router, injector, Injector.POLL_INTERVAL_MILLIS);
+        poller.start(); // SECOND of the recurring background loops to start, after the reaper.
+
+        // CB-307: reply inbox. A broker: block selects the AMQP-backed durable adapter; absent (or
+        // unusable), fleetd stays soft-state on the in-memory inbox. The AMQP inbox owns a broker
+        // connection, so keep the reference to close it in the ordered shutdown hook.
+        final ReplyInbox replyInbox = Fleetd.selectReplyInbox(cfg.broker(), ports.environment(),
+                ports.replyInboxOpener());
+        // CB-637: this daemon's lead-to-lead mailbox on the SHARED coordination vhost — a separate
+        // broker from the reply inbox by design. Absent a coordinator: block this is null and every
+        // lead path below is simply not wired, exactly the behaviour before this ticket. It owns a
+        // broker connection, so keep the reference for the ordered shutdown hook.
+        final LeadChannelHandle leadMailbox = Fleetd.openLeadMailbox(cfg.coordinator(), ports.environment(),
+                ports.leadMailboxOpener());
+        // CB-307: learn the primary's terminal from orchestration tool calls (or pin from config).
+        String pinnedPrimaryTerminal = cfg.primary() != null ? cfg.primary().terminal() : null;
+        PrimaryRegistry primaryRegistry = new PrimaryRegistry(pinnedPrimaryTerminal);
+        // CB-532: `primary.terminal` is superseded and no longer needed for either of its jobs.
+        if (pinnedPrimaryTerminal != null && !pinnedPrimaryTerminal.isBlank()) {
+            log.warn("primary.terminal is DEPRECATED (CB-532) and can be deleted: identity now comes "
+                    + "from leaders:/leadScan:, and reply nudges follow the lead that delegated. "
+                    + "It still works, and is still the fallback nudge destination when a restart "
+                    + "has lost the delegation map. Its pushReminders/pushBackoffMs stay valid.");
+        }
+        // CB-307: active push-to-primary loop — nudge the primary when replies land without an
+        // open fleet_send. Uses its own lightweight scheduled executor, separate from the injector.
+        int maxReminders = cfg.primary() != null ? cfg.primary().remindersOrDefault() : 5;
+        long backoffMs = cfg.primary() != null ? cfg.primary().backoffMsOrDefault() : 15_000L;
+        var pushScheduler = ports.newScheduler("bridge-push-");
+        // CB-502: the registry is built before the service and the push loop so send/reply outcomes
+        // are counted at their single funnel rather than at each of the two caller-facing surfaces.
+        Metrics metrics = FleetMetrics.create(sessions, replyInbox);
+        var pushLoop = new ReplyPushLoop(primaryRegistry, router.leadAgents(), replyInbox,
+                pushScheduler, maxReminders, backoffMs, metrics);
+        // fleetd #201 Unit 5: point the forwarding holder captured by the backendErrorSink lambda
+        // above at the real push loop, now that it exists.
+        pushLoopRef.set(pushLoop);
+        // CB-551: idle-lead heartbeat. Opt-in; absent `leadHeartbeat:` this is never constructed, so
+        // an upgraded daemon cannot silently start spending subscription on nudging an idle lead.
+        // THIRD of the recurring background loops to start (optional).
+        final LeadHeartbeatLoop heartbeat;
+        var heartbeatScheduler = ports.newScheduler("bridge-heartbeat-");
+        if (cfg.leadHeartbeat() != null) {
+            var hb = cfg.leadHeartbeat();
+            var leadContextGauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+            // fleetd #621: the context-high notice's own wording must track this same effective
+            // value — LeadRollover.confirm(...) already gates the roll on it (LeadRollover.java:480),
+            // and absent `leadRollover:` entirely the roll is unusable regardless (NOT_CONFIGURED),
+            // so `true` (the FleetConfig.LeadRollover default) is the safe, byte-identical fallback.
+            // Carried in from Fleetd.main when #612 Unit A merged main: #622 added this line to the
+            // block Unit A had already moved here, so the merge would otherwise have silently
+            // dropped it — with a fully green suite, because nothing pins it (see the follow-up issue).
+            boolean requireOperatorConfirm = cfg.leadRollover() == null || cfg.leadRollover().requireOperatorConfirm();
+            heartbeat = new LeadHeartbeatLoop(primaryRegistry, router.leadAgents(), replyInbox, sessions::roster,
+                    pushLoop, heartbeatScheduler, ports.nanoClock(),
+                    TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(hb.idleAfterSeconds()), hb.backoffMs(), hb.quietNudgeCap(),
+                    metrics,
+                    Fleetd.leadContextSource(leadContextGauge, router.leadAgents(), leads,
+                            Fleetd.leadConfigDirLookup(() -> config.get().profiles(), leaders)),
+                    Boolean.TRUE.equals(hb.contextHighNudge()), requireOperatorConfirm);
+            heartbeat.start();
+        } else {
+            heartbeat = null;
+            heartbeatScheduler.shutdownNow();
+        }
+        // fleetd #480: lead rollover. Opt-in; absent `leadRollover:` this is never constructed.
+        LeadRollover leadRollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(cfg, router.leadAgents(), config, leads);
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(router, injector, rendezvous, replyInbox,
+                pushLoop, metrics);
+
+        // Health is a slow whole-fleet observer. Keep it separate from the 250ms delivery poller.
+        // FOURTH of the recurring background loops to start (optional).
+        final FleetHealthMonitor healthMonitor;
+        var healthScheduler = ports.newScheduler("bridge-health-");
+        if (cfg.health() != null && cfg.health().isEnabled()) {
+            // CB-580: a member found GONE/NEVER_READY must fail whatever ticket is waiting on it.
+            healthMonitor = new FleetHealthMonitor(agents, sessions::roster, messages, healthScheduler,
+                    ports.nanoClock(), ports.wallClockNanos(),
+                    cfg.health().intervalOrDefault(),
+                    cfg.health().workingSuspectAfterOrDefault(), Fleetd.healthFailTarget(messages));
+            String coverage = FleetHealthMonitor.coverage(true,
+                    cfg.health().notifications() != null && cfg.health().notifications().configured());
+            if ("detection-only".equals(coverage)) {
+                log.warn("fleet health: {} (no notification sink configured)", coverage);
+            } else {
+                log.info("fleet health: {}", coverage);
+            }
+            healthMonitor.start();
+        } else {
+            healthMonitor = null;
+            healthScheduler.shutdownNow();
+        }
+
+        // CB-520: the reply inbox only consumes for agents this gateway owns. own on acquire,
+        // release on teardown. Do this before CB-516 so the inbox is owned before any reply can land.
+        sessions.onAcquire(replyInbox::own);
+        // CB-516: releasing a worker must fail whatever send was waiting on it.
+        sessions.onRelease(Fleetd.releaseCleanup(messages, replyInbox, primaryRegistry));
+
+        // MCP server face (CB-105): fleet_send/fleet_reply/fleet_status, mounted at /mcp.
+        // Caller identity is resolved from the connection (peer PID → herdr pane), not arguments.
+        ConnectionIdentity identity = new ConnectionIdentity(
+                new PaneLocator(herdr, memberHerdr), new LsofPeerPidLookup(), new LsofProcessCwdLookup());
+
+        // CB-501: one resolver behind both entry paths. Worker identity still comes from the
+        // connection and is never token-gated, so enabling token mode cannot lock the fleet out.
+        final CallerResolver callers;
+        if (cfg.auth().tokenMode()) {
+            String token = ports.environment().get(cfg.auth().tokenEnv());
+            if (token == null || token.isBlank()) {
+                throw new IllegalStateException("auth.mode=token but env var " + cfg.auth().tokenEnv()
+                        + " is unset or empty — export it before starting fleetd");
+            }
+            callers = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(identity, true, token, leads, members);
+            log.info("auth: token mode (bearer required for non-worker callers, env {})",
+                    cfg.auth().tokenEnv());
+        } else {
+            callers = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(identity, false, null, leads, members);
+            log.info("auth: loopback-trust (any loopback non-worker caller is the primary)");
+        }
+
+        FleetMcp.QuarantineSource quarantineSource = Fleetd.quarantineSource(config, quarantine,
+                liveExhaustedPatterns, quarantineReasonByCredential);
+        FleetMcp.OutageSource outageSource = new FleetMcp.OutageSource(profile -> {
+            var configured = config.get().profiles().get(profile);
+            return configured == null ? null : configured.effectiveCredentialId();
+        }, outagePolicy);
+
+        FleetMcp.LoopHealthSource loopHealth = Fleetd.loopHealthSource(poller, reaper);
+        FleetMcp mcp = new FleetMcp(messages, workers, sessions, identity, presence,
+                primaryRegistry, callers, FleetMcp.AuthorizationMode.ENFORCED, metrics,
+                Fleetd.capacitySource(config, cfg, profile -> liveCountRef.get().apply(profile)),
+                Fleetd.healthCoverageSource(config),
+                loopHealth,
+                quarantineSource,
+                leadMailbox,
+                outageSource,
+                new FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource(Fleetd.leadSeatLookup(() -> config.get().profiles(), leaders, leads)),
+                Fleetd.leadConfigDirSource(() -> config.get().profiles(), leaders),
+                cfg.coordinator() == null ? List.of() : cfg.coordinator().peers(),
+                leadRollover);
+
+        // CB-637: the receive half. Only constructed when a lead mailbox actually opened.
+        final LeadCoordLoop leadCoordLoop;
+        final ScheduledExecutorService leadCoordSchedulerRef;
+        if (leadMailbox != null) {
+            var leadCoordScheduler = ports.newScheduler("bridge-leadcoord-");
+            leadCoordLoop = new LeadCoordLoop(leadMailbox, router.leadAgents(), leads, leadCoordScheduler,
+                    LEAD_COORD_INTERVAL_MS);
+            leadCoordLoop.start(); // FIFTH of the recurring background loops to start (optional).
+            leadCoordSchedulerRef = leadCoordScheduler;
+        } else {
+            leadCoordLoop = null;
+            leadCoordSchedulerRef = null;
+        }
+
+        // CB-559: opt-in config reload. With no `configReload:` block nothing is constructed.
+        // SIXTH of the recurring background loops to start (optional).
+        final ConfigWatcher configWatcher;
+        if (cfg.configReload() != null && cfg.configReload().isEnabled()) {
+            configWatcher = new ConfigWatcher(config, cfg.configReload().intervalSeconds());
+            configWatcher.start();
+        } else {
+            configWatcher = null;
+        }
+
+        // CB-303 part 3: single ordered shutdown hook — see FleetdRuntime#close() for the statements
+        // this used to be. Registered here, at the exact point `main` used to register it: after
+        // configWatcher, before the Javalin app exists (see this class's own javadoc for why).
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = new FleetdRuntime(cfg, sessions, router, poller, messages, pushLoop, heartbeat,
+                leadCoordLoop, leadCoordSchedulerRef, healthMonitor, configWatcher, mcp, reaper, idleSleepGuard,
+                replyInbox, leadMailbox, completion, injector);
+        ports.addShutdownHook(runtime::close);
+
+        // CB-185: give FleetApp both daemons — /healthz must require both to answer and
+        // GET /sessions must merge across both, or a down/unpolled member daemon is invisible.
+        Javalin app = new FleetApp(herdr, memberHerdr, workers, sessions, messages, presence, mcp.servlet(),
+                callers, metrics, deliverable,
+                () -> MemberCredentialPolicyView.of(config.get().memberCredentials()),
+                quarantineSource, outageSource, loopHealth).build();
+        runtime.attachApp(app);
+        ports.startHttp(app, cfg.bind().host(), cfg.bind().port()); // HTTP starts LAST, always.
+        log.info("fleetd listening on {}:{}, herdr socket {}",
+                cfg.bind().host(), cfg.bind().port(), socket);
+        return runtime;
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdRuntime.java

@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigWatcher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.health.FleetHealthMonitor;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrRouter;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.CompletionResolver;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.StatusPoller;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadChannelHandle;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadCoordLoop;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadHeartbeatLoop;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.MessageService;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyPushLoop;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.power.IdleSleepGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionReaper;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 Unit A: the assembled daemon. {@link FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} builds exactly
+ * one of these and hands it to {@code ResourcePorts.addShutdownHook}; {@link #close()} is the
+ * single ordered shutdown, moved verbatim out of {@code Fleetd.main}'s old shutdown-hook
+ * {@code Thread} body — same statements, same order, see that method's javadoc.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>Owns the real production objects, never a copy.</strong> Every package-private
+ * accessor below returns the identical instance the running daemon is using. That is the entire
+ * point of this class existing (see fleetd #612's problem statement): a test that inspected a
+ * snapshot built alongside the real objects could pass while production silently received
+ * something else — the exact shape of the #602/#606 defect this ticket exists to stop from
+ * recurring one call site at a time. Nothing here is rebuilt or copied for a test's benefit.
+ */
+final class FleetdRuntime implements AutoCloseable {
+
+    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(FleetdRuntime.class);
+
+    private final FleetConfig cfg;
+    private final SessionManager sessions;
+    private final HerdrRouter router;
+    private final StatusPoller poller;
+    private final MessageService messages;
+    private final ReplyPushLoop pushLoop;
+    private final LeadHeartbeatLoop heartbeat;                 // nullable — leadHeartbeat: opt-in
+    private final LeadCoordLoop leadCoordLoop;                 // nullable — coordinator: opt-in
+    private final ScheduledExecutorService leadCoordScheduler; // nullable, paired with leadCoordLoop
+    private final FleetHealthMonitor healthMonitor;             // nullable — health.enabled opt-in
+    private final ConfigWatcher configWatcher;                  // nullable — configReload.enabled opt-in
+    private final FleetMcp mcp;
+    private final SessionReaper reaper;                         // nullable — lifecycle.idleTtlSeconds opt-in
+    private final IdleSleepGuard idleSleepGuard;                 // nullable — idleSleepGuard.enabled: false
+    private final ReplyInbox replyInbox;
+    private final LeadChannelHandle leadMailbox;                 // nullable — coordinator: opt-in
+    private final CompletionResolver completion;
+    private final Injector injector;
+    /**
+     * Not final: {@code Fleetd.main}'s shutdown hook was registered <em>before</em> the Javalin
+     * {@code FleetApp} was built and started — see {@link FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart}'s javadoc
+     * for why that order could not be preserved AND have this constructor take {@code app}. {@link
+     * #attachApp} is called immediately after the real app is built, still before HTTP starts
+     * listening, so this is set long before any test or caller could observe it unset.
+     */
+    private Javalin app;
+
+    FleetdRuntime(FleetConfig cfg, SessionManager sessions, HerdrRouter router, StatusPoller poller,
+            MessageService messages, ReplyPushLoop pushLoop, LeadHeartbeatLoop heartbeat,
+            LeadCoordLoop leadCoordLoop, ScheduledExecutorService leadCoordScheduler,
+            FleetHealthMonitor healthMonitor, ConfigWatcher configWatcher, FleetMcp mcp,
+            SessionReaper reaper, IdleSleepGuard idleSleepGuard, ReplyInbox replyInbox,
+            LeadChannelHandle leadMailbox, CompletionResolver completion, Injector injector) {
+        this.cfg = cfg;
+        this.sessions = sessions;
+        this.router = router;
+        this.poller = poller;
+        this.messages = messages;
+        this.pushLoop = pushLoop;
+        this.heartbeat = heartbeat;
+        this.leadCoordLoop = leadCoordLoop;
+        this.leadCoordScheduler = leadCoordScheduler;
+        this.healthMonitor = healthMonitor;
+        this.configWatcher = configWatcher;
+        this.mcp = mcp;
+        this.reaper = reaper;
+        this.idleSleepGuard = idleSleepGuard;
+        this.replyInbox = replyInbox;
+        this.leadMailbox = leadMailbox;
+        this.completion = completion;
+        this.injector = injector;
+    }
+
+    /** See the {@link #app} field doc for why this is a late-bound setter rather than a constructor arg. */
+    void attachApp(Javalin app) {
+        this.app = app;
+    }
+
+    // --- package-private accessors: the SAME instances this runtime owns, never a copy ---------
+
+    SessionManager sessions() { return sessions; }
+    HerdrRouter router() { return router; }
+    StatusPoller poller() { return poller; }
+    MessageService messages() { return messages; }
+    ReplyPushLoop pushLoop() { return pushLoop; }
+    LeadHeartbeatLoop heartbeat() { return heartbeat; }
+    LeadCoordLoop leadCoordLoop() { return leadCoordLoop; }
+    FleetHealthMonitor healthMonitor() { return healthMonitor; }
+    ConfigWatcher configWatcher() { return configWatcher; }
+    FleetMcp mcp() { return mcp; }
+    SessionReaper reaper() { return reaper; }
+    IdleSleepGuard idleSleepGuard() { return idleSleepGuard; }
+    ReplyInbox replyInbox() { return replyInbox; }
+    LeadChannelHandle leadMailbox() { return leadMailbox; }
+    CompletionResolver completion() { return completion; }
+    Injector injector() { return injector; }
+    Javalin app() { return app; }
+
+    /**
+     * CB-303 part 3: the single ordered shutdown. Moved verbatim out of {@code Fleetd.main}'s
+     * shutdown-hook {@code Thread} body (fleetd #612 Unit A) — drain sessions first while herdr is
+     * still open (so releases reach the daemon), then stop poller/message/mcp/reaper, and close
+     * herdr last, exactly as before. {@code Fleetd.main} never calls this directly; it hands the
+     * reference to {@code ResourcePorts.addShutdownHook} the moment this runtime exists, the same
+     * point it used to register the hook {@code Thread} itself.
+     */
+    @Override
+    public void close() {
+        sessions.close(cfg.lifecycle() != null ? cfg.lifecycle().drainTimeoutSeconds() : null);
+        poller.stop();
+        messages.close();
+        pushLoop.close();
+        if (heartbeat != null) heartbeat.close(); // CB-551: stop the idle-lead heartbeat scheduler
+        if (leadCoordLoop != null) leadCoordLoop.close(); // CB-637: stop delivering peer-lead messages
+        if (leadCoordScheduler != null) leadCoordScheduler.shutdownNow();
+        if (healthMonitor != null) healthMonitor.stop();
+        if (configWatcher != null) configWatcher.stop(); // CB-559: stop polling the config file
+        mcp.close();
+        if (reaper != null) reaper.stop();
+        // Idle-sleep guard: release unconditionally, even though sessions.close() above already
+        // drained every session (and each release already drove the live count to 0, which
+        // releases the guard's assertion on its own) — this is the backstop for a drain that was
+        // itself interrupted or threw, so no caffeinate child ever outlives the daemon.
+        if (idleSleepGuard != null) idleSleepGuard.close();
+        // Release the broker connection last among message resources (no-op for the in-memory inbox).
+        if (replyInbox instanceof AutoCloseable closeable) {
+            try {
+                closeable.close();
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                log.debug("reply inbox close: {}", e.toString());
+            }
+        }
+        // CB-637: the coordination connection goes with it — after the loop that reads it has
+        // stopped, so no tick can be mid-ack against a closed channel.
+        if (leadMailbox != null) {
+            try {
+                leadMailbox.close();
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                log.debug("lead mailbox close: {}", e.toString());
+            }
+        }
+        router.close();
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/ResourcePorts.java

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 Unit A: every boot-time side effect {@link FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} performs
+ * that a real daemon must do for real, and a test must not — read the process environment, connect
+ * a herdr client, open a broker (the reply inbox, the lead mailbox), read a clock, start a
+ * background scheduler, register the JVM shutdown hook, and bind the HTTP server.
+ *
+ * <p>{@link #system()} is the one production implementation ({@code SystemResourcePorts}), wired
+ * verbatim from what {@code Fleetd.main} used to call directly at each of these call sites. A test
+ * builds its own implementation instead of receiving an inert default from this interface —
+ * deliberately, there is no {@code ResourcePorts.none()}. fleetd #612's whole problem is a call
+ * site quietly swapped for an inert variant that still compiles; adding one here, even for tests,
+ * would hand a future edit to {@code FleetdAssembly} the exact compiling substitute this ticket
+ * exists to rule out. A test that wants an inert resource writes its own fake and owns that
+ * decision explicitly.
+ */
+public interface ResourcePorts {
+
+    /** The process environment. Production: {@link System#getenv()}. */
+    Map<String, String> environment();
+
+    /**
+     * Connect a herdr client bound to {@code socketPath}. Production returns a real
+     * {@code UnixSocketHerdrClient} — connection-per-call, so this itself never touches the socket.
+     */
+    HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath);
+
+    /** The reply-inbox AMQP opener (CB-307). Production: {@link Fleetd#replyInboxOpener()}. */
+    Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener();
+
+    /** The lead-mailbox AMQP opener (CB-637). Production: {@link Fleetd#leadMailboxOpener()}. */
+    Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener();
+
+    /** A monotonic elapsed-time clock. Production: {@link System#nanoTime()}. */
+    LongSupplier nanoClock();
+
+    /**
+     * A wall-clock reading, in nanoseconds. Production: {@code System.currentTimeMillis()}
+     * converted to nanoseconds. Kept separate from {@link #nanoClock()} because {@link
+     * dev.ltms.fleet.health.FleetHealthMonitor} needs both — one monotonic clock for elapsed-time
+     * decisions, one wall clock to detect and correct for a macOS sleep freezing the monotonic one.
+     */
+    LongSupplier wallClockNanos();
+
+    /** A dedicated single-thread scheduler; production names its (virtual) thread {@code purpose}. */
+    ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose);
+
+    /** Register a JVM shutdown hook that runs {@code hook} on JVM exit. */
+    void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook);
+
+    /** Bind and start the HTTP server. */
+    void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port);
+
+    /** The real production ports: a live herdr socket, a live broker, real threads, a real bind. */
+    static ResourcePorts system() {
+        return new SystemResourcePorts();
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/SystemResourcePorts.java

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.UnixSocketHerdrClient;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 Unit A: the one production {@link ResourcePorts} — every method here is the exact
+ * call {@code Fleetd.main} used to make directly at each of these sites before this ticket.
+ * Package-private: obtained only through {@link ResourcePorts#system()}.
+ */
+final class SystemResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+    @Override
+    public Map<String, String> environment() {
+        return System.getenv();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+        return UnixSocketHerdrClient.connect(socketPath, new ObjectMapper());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+        return Fleetd.replyInboxOpener();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+        return Fleetd.leadMailboxOpener();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+        return System::nanoTime;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+        return () -> TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toNanos(System.currentTimeMillis());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+        return Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor(r -> Thread.ofVirtual().name(purpose).unstarted(r));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+        Runtime.getRuntime().addShutdownHook(new Thread(hook));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+        app.start(host, port);
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/auth/CallerResolver.java

@@ -221,7 +221,8 @@ public final class CallerResolver {
                 // The config/live binding names this pane as an architect slot's own. Same
                 // unforgeable pane mapping; the live binding, never a request argument, decides.
                 // Check the slot role too: this defence in depth prevents a bad lifecycle bind from
-                // escalating a dev or reviewer into an architect. Checked before the worker fallback.
+                // escalating a dev, hunter or reviewer into an architect. Checked before
+                // the worker fallback.
                 return Principal.architect(memberSlotNames.apply(slot), c.terminal(), c.pid());
             }
             return Principal.worker(c.terminal(), c.pid()); // unforgeable; never token-gated

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/auth/MemberLifecycle.java

@@ -42,7 +42,8 @@ public interface MemberLifecycle {
      * Try to bind a newly spawned {@code terminal} into the role it was granted.
      *
      * @return the role this session actually holds: {@code role} unchanged for a role with no
-     *         live slot-binding semantics (dev, reviewer), or when the bind succeeded; a fallback
+     *         live slot-binding semantics (dev, hunter, reviewer), or when the bind
+     *         succeeded; a fallback
      *         role — never {@code role} — when a slot-bound role (architect) could not be bound.
      *         Callers must record THIS value on the session, never the requested {@code role}, so
      *         a later roster read never reports a role the session does not hold (CB-619). In

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/auth/MemberRegistry.java

@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
  *
  * <p>Two halves, split by who owns each:
  * <ul>
- *   <li><b>slots</b> — read from {@code fleet.architects}/{@code developers}/{@code reviewers}
+ *   <li><b>slots</b> — read from {@code fleet.architects}/{@code developers}/
+ *       {@code hunters}/{@code reviewers}
  *       (see {@link #slots()}), each carrying the {@code profile} reference the spawn lifecycle
  *       reads when it stands the slot up. <strong>Live, since fleetd #424</strong>: {@link #live}
  *       re-reads {@code fleet:} on every call, through a supplier the same shape as
@@ -322,7 +323,7 @@ public final class MemberRegistry implements MemberLifecycle {
      * CB-619 / fleetd #123: refuse an architect acquire before anything spawns when no configured
      * slot carries {@code profile} — the config-gap case from the original defect report (a spawn
      * asked for {@code role=architect, profile=sonnet}, and {@code fleet.architects} carried only
-     * {@code opus} and {@code sol}). A dev/reviewer acquire is always a no-op: those pools are
+     * {@code opus} and {@code sol}). A dev/hunter/reviewer acquire is always a no-op: those pools are
      * placement candidates only (see {@code CompositePeerLauncher}), never a live identity binding,
      * so there is nothing here to refuse — an explicit profile outside the pool for those roles is a
      * documented operator override, not a defect.

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/config/ConfigRef.java

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
  *       {@code placement:}, and an existing profile's {@code weight} / {@code maxLoad}. Both are
  *       read through a supplier on {@code CompositePeerLauncher}, which is what makes them hot —
  *       not the fact that they are config. Most of {@code fleet:} — every role pool
- *       ({@code architects}/{@code developers}/{@code reviewers}), {@code charters}, and
+ *       ({@code architects}/{@code developers}/{@code hunters}/{@code reviewers}), {@code charters}, and
  *       {@code tabLabel} — is read the same live way, through the same supplier
  *       ({@code () -> config.get().fleet()}). {@code architects} in particular is hot for
  *       <strong>two independent consumers</strong> (fleetd #424): {@code CompositePeerLauncher}
@@ -605,7 +605,7 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
                     + "opened once and needs a restart; the broker URI env-var name kept out of a "
                     + "member's environment is read live on every spawn and already applied");
         }
-        // fleetd #333: unlike health/coordinator above, most of `fleet:` (developers, reviewers,
+        // fleetd #333: unlike health/coordinator above, most of `fleet:` (developers, hunters, reviewers,
         // charters, tabLabel) is genuinely hot — ConfigRefTest.aHotChangeIsAppliedAndRead-
         // ThroughGet and aCharterChangeIsHotAndReachesTheLiveConfig prove it reaches the live config
         // with no restart note. `architects` is hot too, and — since fleetd #424 — hot for BOTH of
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
                     + "identity map and to auto-launch leads, and neither is rebuilt on reload, so a "
                     + "lead added, removed, or given a new tab: label needs a restart — until then it "
                     + "stays unrecognised, and a caller from its new tab resolves as a worker, not a "
-                    + "lead; the rest of fleet: (developers, reviewers, charters, tabLabel) is read "
+                    + "lead; the rest of fleet: (developers, hunters, reviewers, charters, tabLabel) is read "
                     + "live through the supplier on CompositePeerLauncher, and architects is read "
                     + "live through that same supplier for placement AND through a separate supplier "
                     + "on MemberRegistry for spawn-time identity — both already applied");

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/config/FleetConfig.java

@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ import java.util.regex.PatternSyntaxException;
  * @param fleet         who the daemon may run and under which role (CB-557). One block replacing
  *                      the former {@code leaders:}, {@code members:}, {@code leadScan:} and
  *                      {@code defaultProfile:}. Role is the containing key — {@code leaders},
- *                      {@code architects}, {@code developers}, {@code reviewers} — and each entry
+ *                      {@code architects}, {@code developers}, {@code hunters}, {@code reviewers} — and each entry
  *                      names the {@code profiles:} backend it runs on. See {@link Fleet}
  * @param leadHeartbeat opt-in idle-lead heartbeat (CB-551); {@code null} ⇒ off, and an upgraded
  *                      daemon never nudges an idle lead on its own initiative
@@ -462,8 +462,8 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      *                       profile that does not opt in. Read live off the current config, so it is
      *                       HOT: a change takes effect on the next exhaustion classification / spawn,
      *                       no restart needed.
-     * @param autoCompactWindow  opt-in per-profile token window that forces a spawned member to
-     *                       auto-compact its context at (Claude Code) or within (opencode) a bound the
+     * @param autoCompactWindow  opt-in per-profile token window that forces a launched Claude Code
+     *                       session to auto-compact its context at, or an opencode session within, a bound the
      *                       operator chooses, instead of the backend's own default. {@code null} (the
      *                       default) leaves today's behaviour exactly — opencode already forces
      *                       {@code compaction.auto: true} unconditionally (CB-523) but has no absolute
@@ -1200,6 +1200,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      * @param leaders     panes that orchestrate rather than are orchestrated, keyed by lead name
      * @param architects  profiles the {@code architect} role may run on
      * @param developers  profiles the {@code dev} role may run on
+     * @param hunters     profiles the {@code hunter} role may run on
      * @param reviewers   profiles the {@code reviewer} role may run on
      * @param charters    optional launch-charter text keyed by singular role wire name
      * @param tabLabel    template for a member tab's label; {@code {role}}, {@code {profile}},
@@ -1210,6 +1211,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
     public record Fleet(Map<String, Leader> leaders,
                         Map<String, Slot> architects,
                         Map<String, Slot> developers,
+                        Map<String, Slot> hunters,
                         Map<String, Slot> reviewers,
                         Map<String, String> charters,
                         String tabLabel) {
@@ -1226,6 +1228,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
             leaders = unmodifiableOrEmpty(leaders);
             architects = unmodifiableOrEmpty(architects);
             developers = unmodifiableOrEmpty(developers);
+            hunters = unmodifiableOrEmpty(hunters);
             reviewers = unmodifiableOrEmpty(reviewers);
             charters = unmodifiableOrEmpty(charters);
             tabLabel = (tabLabel == null || tabLabel.isBlank()) ? DEFAULT_TAB_LABEL : tabLabel;
@@ -1240,9 +1243,15 @@ public record FleetConfig(
          * constructor: the launcher reads {@code fleet.charters()} from the live config. Jackson
          * binds the canonical constructor, so this one cannot swallow an operator's YAML.
          */
+        public Fleet(Map<String, Leader> leaders, Map<String, Slot> architects,
+                     Map<String, Slot> developers, Map<String, Slot> reviewers,
+                     Map<String, String> charters, String tabLabel) {
+            this(leaders, architects, developers, null, reviewers, charters, tabLabel);
+        }
+
         public Fleet(Map<String, Leader> leaders, Map<String, Slot> architects,
                      Map<String, Slot> developers, Map<String, Slot> reviewers, String tabLabel) {
-            this(leaders, architects, developers, reviewers, null, tabLabel);
+            this(leaders, architects, developers, null, reviewers, null, tabLabel);
         }
 
         /**
@@ -1264,6 +1273,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
             return switch (role) {
                 case ARCHITECT -> architects;
                 case DEV -> developers;
+                case HUNTER -> hunters;
                 case REVIEWER -> reviewers;
             };
         }
@@ -1319,9 +1329,20 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      *                         each such nudge costs the lead a turn just to read "nothing pending";
      *                         three is enough to tell it it may stand down without nagging forever, and
      *                         it is the bound that stops an idle fleet from being a subscription burner.
+     * @param contextHighNudge fleetd #609: when {@code true}, an idle lead whose own {@code
+     *                         LeadContextGauge} reading is {@code HIGH} gets a text notice telling it
+     *                         to consider a handover, appended to whatever heartbeat nudge the loop
+     *                         already sends. Default {@code false} ({@code null} also means off) — an
+     *                         upgraded daemon must not silently start telling leads to hand over.
      */
     @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
-    public record LeadHeartbeat(Integer idleAfterSeconds, Long backoffMs, Integer quietNudgeCap) {
+    public record LeadHeartbeat(Integer idleAfterSeconds, Long backoffMs, Integer quietNudgeCap,
+                                 Boolean contextHighNudge) {
+        /** Convenience constructor for every call site that predates fleetd #609: no context notice. */
+        public LeadHeartbeat(Integer idleAfterSeconds, Long backoffMs, Integer quietNudgeCap) {
+            this(idleAfterSeconds, backoffMs, quietNudgeCap, null);
+        }
+
         public LeadHeartbeat {
             idleAfterSeconds = (idleAfterSeconds == null || idleAfterSeconds <= 0) ? 300 : idleAfterSeconds;
             backoffMs = (backoffMs == null || backoffMs <= 0) ? 60_000L : backoffMs;
@@ -1854,6 +1875,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
             rejectDuplicateMemberSlots(yaml);
             rejectNegativeMaxLoad(yaml);
             rejectAutoCompactWindowOutOfRange(yaml);
+            warnConflictingAutoCompactWindows(yaml);
             rejectMalformedProfilePatterns(yaml);
             rejectUnknownKind(yaml);
             rejectUnknownAuthMode(yaml);
@@ -1872,7 +1894,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
 
     /** The {@code fleet:} child blocks whose direct children are slot names. */
     private static final Set<String> FLEET_POOL_KEYS =
-            Set.of("leaders", "architects", "developers", "reviewers");
+            Set.of("leaders", "architects", "developers", "hunters", "reviewers");
 
     /**
      * Reject a {@code fleet:} role pool whose slot names repeat (CB-548, re-homed by CB-557).
@@ -1882,7 +1904,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      * daemon would never know. Jackson's YAML parser does not fail on duplicate mapping keys by
      * default, so duplicates are caught here, at parse time, before the map is built.
      *
-     * <p>Only the four pools <em>directly under the top-level {@code fleet:}</em> are considered,
+     * <p>Only the five pools <em>directly under the top-level {@code fleet:}</em> are considered,
      * and only their direct child keys (the slot names). A nested field elsewhere, even one also
      * named {@code developers:}, is ignored, so parsing of the rest of the config is unaffected.
      *
@@ -2049,8 +2071,9 @@ public record FleetConfig(
             "defaultProfile", "a role pool under 'fleet:' — an unqualified spawn now names a role,"
                     + " and that role's pool supplies the candidate profiles",
             "architects", "'fleet.architects'",
-            "members", "a role pool under 'fleet:' — 'fleet.architects', 'fleet.developers' or"
-                    + " 'fleet.reviewers'; the role is the containing key, not a 'role:' field",
+            "members", "a role pool under 'fleet:' — 'fleet.architects', 'fleet.developers',"
+                    + " 'fleet.hunters' or 'fleet.reviewers'; the role is the containing key, not"
+                    + " a 'role:' field",
             "leaders", "'fleet.leaders'",
             "leadScan", "'fleet.leaders.<name>.tabPrefix' and '.scanIntervalSeconds' — lead"
                     + " discovery is now configured on the lead it discovers");
@@ -2203,6 +2226,73 @@ public record FleetConfig(
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Warn (never refuse to start) about a Claude Code profile whose auto-compaction flag and
+     * environment setting disagree.
+     *
+     * <p>Renamed from {@code rejectConflictingAutoCompactWindows} (fleetd #601 review, measured
+     * 2026-09-22): that method threw {@link IllegalStateException}, so {@link #load(Path)} refused
+     * to start on a config carrying this conflict. On this host, four profiles trip it, including
+     * the lead's own profile and the one every worker spawns on — so the throw is not a rare edge
+     * case. Under launchd, a throw inside {@code load()} is a restart loop, not an error an operator
+     * reads once, and the config that would fix it ({@code fleetd/fleetd.yaml}) is gitignored, so
+     * the cause is invisible on the host where it bites. A WARN gives the operator the same
+     * information — which profiles, and now both values, so they can fix it without reading the
+     * source — without ever taking the fleet down.
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #618 measured which of the two inputs Claude Code actually follows when they
+     * disagree: the environment variable wins, so {@code autoCompactWindow} is inert on a profile
+     * that also sets the env var. This method only detects and reports the disagreement — it does
+     * not correct it — see {@link dev.ltms.fleet.launch.ClaudeCodeArguments} for the full measured
+     * precedence.
+     *
+     * <p>Equal values never warn: either input then produces the same session window, so there is
+     * nothing to reconcile.
+     */
+    static void warnConflictingAutoCompactWindows(String yaml) {
+        Map<?, ?> raw;
+        try {
+            raw = YAML.readValue(yaml, Map.class);
+        } catch (IOException | IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (raw == null || !(raw.get("profiles") instanceof Map<?, ?> profiles)) {
+            return;
+        }
+        List<String> names = new ArrayList<>();
+        List<String> detail = new ArrayList<>();
+        for (Map.Entry<?, ?> entry : profiles.entrySet()) {
+            if (!(entry.getValue() instanceof Map<?, ?> profile)
+                    || !(profile.get("autoCompactWindow") instanceof Number window)
+                    || !(profile.get("env") instanceof Map<?, ?> env)
+                    || !env.containsKey("CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW")) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            Object kind = profile.get("kind");
+            boolean claudeCode = kind == null || String.valueOf(kind).isBlank()
+                    || Profile.KIND_CLAUDE_CODE.equalsIgnoreCase(String.valueOf(kind));
+            Object envValue = env.get("CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW");
+            if (claudeCode && !String.valueOf(window).equals(String.valueOf(envValue))) {
+                String name = String.valueOf(entry.getKey());
+                names.add(name);
+                detail.add(name + " (autoCompactWindow=" + window
+                        + ", env.CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW=" + envValue + ")");
+            }
+        }
+        if (names.isEmpty()) {
+            return;
+        }
+        names.sort(String::compareTo);
+        detail.sort(String::compareTo);
+        log.warn("Claude Code profile(s) {} set disagreeing autoCompactWindow and env."
+                        + "CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW — the daemon starts anyway: {}. fleetd "
+                        + "#618 measured that CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW wins, so "
+                        + "autoCompactWindow is inert on these profiles. Set equal values on each "
+                        + "to resolve this — do not just delete the env var, since that LOWERS the "
+                        + "live window to autoCompactWindow's value rather than fixing anything.",
+                names, String.join(", ", detail));
+    }
+
     /**
      * Reject a profile whose {@code errorPattern} (fleetd #201 Unit 5) or {@code exhaustedPattern}
      * (CB-578 stage A) is not a valid Java regex, naming the profile, the key, and the parser's own

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/launch/ClaudeCodeArguments.java

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.launch;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+/** Arguments shared by every fleetd path that starts Claude Code. */
+public final class ClaudeCodeArguments {
+
+    private ClaudeCodeArguments() {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Append the configured Claude Code auto-compaction window when the profile opts in.
+     *
+     * <p>This flag and the environment variable {@code CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW} can
+     * disagree, and fleetd #618 measured which one Claude Code actually follows: the environment
+     * variable wins, ahead of this {@code --autocompact} flag, ahead of the settings file, ahead of
+     * clientdata, the experiment, and the model default. So when a profile sets both, the flag this
+     * method appends has NO effect — Claude Code reads {@code CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW}
+     * first and never consults the flag. {@link FleetConfig#load(java.nio.file.Path)} only WARNS
+     * when a Claude Code profile sets both to different values (see {@code
+     * FleetConfig.warnConflictingAutoCompactWindows}) — it does not stop the daemon from starting,
+     * and the launched session honours the env var, not this flag. Measured against Claude Code
+     * 2.1.278 (fleetd #618) — a later version could reorder this precedence.
+     */
+    public static List<String> withAutoCompactWindow(List<String> argv, FleetConfig.Profile profile) {
+        if (profile.autoCompactWindow() == null) {
+            return argv;
+        }
+        List<String> withAutoCompact = new ArrayList<>(argv);
+        withAutoCompact.add("--autocompact");
+        withAutoCompact.add(String.valueOf(profile.autoCompactWindow()));
+        return withAutoCompact;
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadContextGauge.java

@@ -0,0 +1,313 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.lead;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.RandomAccessFile;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+/**
+ * Reads how full a lead's own Claude Code context window is, from the transcript Claude Code
+ * itself writes — never from the lead's pane (fleetd has {@code AgentControl.read} for that, and
+ * this must not use it: a pane holds terminal text, not the structured usage numbers a transcript
+ * carries, and scraping it would also race the lead's own rendering).
+ *
+ * <p><strong>Why this exists.</strong> A lead auto-compacts when its context fills — on the host
+ * this was built for, that happened 30 times in one session, discarding roughly 250,000 tokens
+ * and costing 46 seconds to 3 minutes each time, and fleetd had no way to see it coming. This
+ * class is the first thing that looks.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>The route.</strong> Claude Code appends one JSON object per line to
+ * {@code <configDir>/projects/<slug>/<sessionId>.jsonl}. {@code <slug>} is an undocumented,
+ * internal encoding of the working directory — this class never derives it. Instead it lists the
+ * one-level-deep subdirectories of {@code <configDir>/projects/} and looks for
+ * {@code <sessionId>.jsonl} by name, so the slug rule can change without breaking this reader.
+ *
+ * <ul>
+ *   <li><strong>Live context</strong> is read off the last record in the read window that carries
+ *       a {@code message.usage} object: {@code input_tokens + cache_read_input_tokens +
+ *       cache_creation_input_tokens}. This is what actually fills the window — a plain
+ *       {@code input_tokens} count alone understates it once the conversation has any cached
+ *       prefix, which on a long-lived lead is always.</li>
+ *   <li><strong>Compaction history</strong> is a count of {@code subtype: "compact_boundary"}
+ *       records seen in the same read window — see {@link Reading#compactions()}. It is a count
+ *       within the window this reader actually looked at, not a lifetime total: a session with
+ *       more compactions than fit in {@link #TAIL_BYTES} of transcript will undercount. That
+ *       trade-off is deliberate — see {@link #TAIL_BYTES}.</li>
+ * </ul>
+ *
+ * <p><strong>Three states, not two (OK / HIGH / UNKNOWN).</strong> Every path that cannot
+ * positively establish the live token count — a missing file, an unreadable one, a peer that
+ * is not a Claude backend, or every line in the read window failing to parse as JSON — returns
+ * {@link State#UNKNOWN} with no token number, never a default "0" or "ok" that would read as
+ * "this lead is fine" when the honest answer is "I could not look".
+ *
+ * <p><strong>A torn final line does not mean UNKNOWN.</strong> {@code fleet_list} reads this
+ * transcript while Claude Code may be mid-write on it, so the last line in the window can be cut
+ * off mid-flush — that is an ordinary, expected race, not a sign the format has changed. Earlier
+ * this class treated ANY unparseable last line as UNKNOWN, on the theory that "if the format
+ * changes, we should see UNKNOWN". That reasoning does not hold: a real format change makes
+ * <em>every</em> line in the window unparseable, not only the last one written. So a single
+ * malformed line (most often the final, torn one, but the check is not position-specific) is
+ * simply skipped rather than treated as fatal, and the reading is built from whatever lines in the
+ * window did parse. Only when <em>none</em> of them parse — the real format-change signal — does
+ * this return {@link State#UNKNOWN}, still with no stale number standing in for "I could not
+ * tell".
+ *
+ * <p><strong>Bounded cost.</strong> {@code fleet_list} is polled constantly, so every read is
+ * capped two ways: {@link #TAIL_BYTES} bounds how much of the transcript is ever read from disk
+ * (never the whole 52 MB a long-lived transcript reaches on the host this was measured on), and
+ * {@link #DEFAULT_CACHE_TTL_MILLIS} bounds how often that bounded read actually happens — a burst
+ * of {@code fleet_list} calls inside one TTL window reads the file once. One instance's cache is
+ * keyed by {@code (configDir, sessionId)}, so it is safe to share across every lead a single
+ * {@code fleet_list} call reports on.
+ */
+public final class LeadContextGauge {
+
+    private static final String PROJECTS_DIR = "projects";
+    private static final ObjectMapper MAPPER = new ObjectMapper();
+
+    /**
+     * How many trailing bytes of a transcript a single read ever pulls off disk. Chosen so one
+     * read comfortably spans many recent turns — each usage or compact_boundary record is at most
+     * a few KB — while staying nowhere near the 52 MB a long session's real transcript reaches on
+     * the host this was built for; reading that whole file on every {@code fleet_list} call is
+     * exactly the cost this bound exists to avoid. 2 MiB holds on the order of hundreds of recent
+     * lines even when a turn's tool output is unusually large, which is far more than needed to
+     * find the most recent usage record and any recent compaction.
+     */
+    static final int TAIL_BYTES = 2 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+    /**
+     * How long a {@link Reading} is served from cache before the file is read again.
+     * {@code fleet_list} is called constantly (by design — it is the fleet's own status probe), so
+     * without a TTL a burst of calls would re-read the transcript tail once per call. 5 seconds is
+     * short enough that a caller watching for a state change never waits long, and long enough that
+     * a poll loop calling every second or two only touches disk once per window.
+     */
+    static final long DEFAULT_CACHE_TTL_MILLIS = 5_000;
+
+    /**
+     * Live tokens at or above this count report {@link State#HIGH}. On the host this was measured
+     * on, auto-compaction actually fires around 267,000–270,000 tokens, but the point of a HIGH
+     * state is to warn before that happens, not at it — 200,000 is the standard Claude context
+     * window size and a sensible built-in default: no config key is required to pick it, and a
+     * lead crossing it is already deep enough into its window that a compaction is foreseeable.
+     */
+    static final long HIGH_THRESHOLD_TOKENS = 200_000;
+
+    /** The only peer kind this reader understands ({@code Agent.agentType()}'s wire value). */
+    private static final String CLAUDE_AGENT_TYPE = "claude";
+
+    public enum State { OK, HIGH, UNKNOWN }
+
+    /**
+     * @param state       {@link State#UNKNOWN} whenever {@code tokens} could not be established
+     * @param tokens      live context tokens, or {@code null} exactly when {@code state} is
+     *                    {@link State#UNKNOWN}
+     * @param compactions {@code compact_boundary} records seen in the read window (see class
+     *                    javadoc) — {@code 0} both for "genuinely none seen" and for "unknown",
+     *                    since a caller that already sees {@code state: UNKNOWN} has no reason to
+     *                    trust this number either way
+     */
+    public record Reading(State state, Long tokens, int compactions) {
+        /**
+         * fleetd #609: widened from package-private to public so {@code
+         * dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource.none()} (a different package) can
+         * return the same inert "I could not look" reading the gauge itself uses, without inventing
+         * a parallel unknown-reading constant. Behaviour of this class is otherwise unchanged.
+         */
+        public static Reading unknown() {
+            return new Reading(State.UNKNOWN, null, 0);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private record CacheEntry(Reading reading, long readAtMillis) {
+    }
+
+    private final LongSupplier clock;
+    private final long ttlMillis;
+    private final Map<String, CacheEntry> cache = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    /** Test seam only (package-private) — counts real disk reads, i.e. cache misses. */
+    private final AtomicInteger diskReads = new AtomicInteger();
+
+    public LeadContextGauge() {
+        this(System::currentTimeMillis, DEFAULT_CACHE_TTL_MILLIS);
+    }
+
+    /** Test seam: an injectable clock and TTL so cache expiry is provable without sleeping. */
+    LeadContextGauge(LongSupplier clock, long ttlMillis) {
+        this.clock = clock;
+        this.ttlMillis = ttlMillis;
+    }
+
+    /** How many times this instance has actually read a transcript off disk — test seam only. */
+    int diskReadCount() {
+        return diskReads.get();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param configDir the lead's {@code CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR}, or {@code null}/blank to use the
+     *                  default {@code <user.home>/.claude} — the right answer for the common case
+     *                  where the lead's profile sets no {@code configDir} override
+     * @param sessionId the lead's own Claude session id ({@code Agent.sessionId()}), or
+     *                  {@code null} when herdr has not resolved one yet
+     * @param agentType the detected peer kind ({@code Agent.agentType()}); anything other than
+     *                  {@code "claude"} (including {@code null}, meaning undetected) reports
+     *                  {@link State#UNKNOWN} — this reader only understands Claude Code's own
+     *                  transcript format
+     */
+    public Reading read(String configDir, String sessionId, String agentType) {
+        if (sessionId == null || sessionId.isBlank()) {
+            return Reading.unknown();
+        }
+        if (!CLAUDE_AGENT_TYPE.equalsIgnoreCase(agentType)) {
+            return Reading.unknown();
+        }
+        String base = (configDir == null || configDir.isBlank())
+                ? System.getProperty("user.home") + "/.claude"
+                : configDir;
+        String cacheKey = base + '\u0000' + sessionId;
+        long now = clock.getAsLong();
+        CacheEntry cached = cache.get(cacheKey);
+        if (cached != null && now - cached.readAtMillis() < ttlMillis) {
+            return cached.reading();
+        }
+        Reading fresh = readUncached(base, sessionId);
+        cache.put(cacheKey, new CacheEntry(fresh, now));
+        return fresh;
+    }
+
+    private Reading readUncached(String base, String sessionId) {
+        diskReads.incrementAndGet();
+        Path file = findTranscript(base, sessionId);
+        if (file == null) {
+            return Reading.unknown();
+        }
+        TailRead tail;
+        try {
+            tail = tailBytes(file, TAIL_BYTES);
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            return Reading.unknown();
+        }
+        return parse(tail);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Finds {@code <sessionId>.jsonl} under {@code <base>/projects/}, one level deep — never by
+     * deriving the slug directory from a working directory (see class javadoc). Bounded to a
+     * single {@code list()} of {@code projects/} itself: it never recurses further, so the cost is
+     * the number of project directories, not the size of any transcript inside them.
+     */
+    private Path findTranscript(String base, String sessionId) {
+        Path projectsDir = Path.of(base, PROJECTS_DIR);
+        if (!Files.isDirectory(projectsDir)) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        String filename = sessionId + ".jsonl";
+        Path direct = projectsDir.resolve(filename);
+        if (Files.isRegularFile(direct)) {
+            return direct;
+        }
+        try (var children = Files.list(projectsDir)) {
+            return children.filter(Files::isDirectory)
+                    .map(dir -> dir.resolve(filename))
+                    .filter(Files::isRegularFile)
+                    .findFirst()
+                    .orElse(null);
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Package-private (not {@code private}): {@link #tailBytes} is a test seam, see its javadoc. */
+    record TailRead(byte[] bytes, boolean fromStart) {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reads at most {@code maxBytes} trailing bytes of {@code file}. Package-private (not
+     * {@code private}) so a test can assert directly on the returned array's length — "bytes
+     * actually read", not on any parsed answer — without needing a file anywhere near
+     * {@link #TAIL_BYTES} in size to prove the cap holds.
+     */
+    static TailRead tailBytes(Path file, int maxBytes) throws IOException {
+        try (RandomAccessFile raf = new RandomAccessFile(file.toFile(), "r")) {
+            long length = raf.length();
+            long start = Math.max(0, length - maxBytes);
+            raf.seek(start);
+            byte[] buf = new byte[(int) (length - start)];
+            raf.readFully(buf);
+            return new TailRead(buf, start == 0);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Parses the tail into a {@link Reading}. The first line is dropped unconditionally whenever
+     * the tail is not the whole file (it starts mid-line, cut by {@link #TAIL_BYTES} — an expected
+     * artefact of the bound, not a data problem). Every remaining line is then parsed on a
+     * best-effort basis: a line that fails to parse (most often the last one, torn by a write this
+     * read raced — see the "torn final line" section of the class javadoc) is skipped, not fatal.
+     * Only when none of the remaining lines parse does this report {@link State#UNKNOWN}.
+     */
+    private Reading parse(TailRead tail) {
+        String text = new String(tail.bytes(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+        List<String> lines = new ArrayList<>(List.of(text.split("\n", -1)));
+        if (!lines.isEmpty() && lines.get(lines.size() - 1).isEmpty()) {
+            lines.remove(lines.size() - 1); // trailing newline leaves a phantom empty last element
+        }
+        if (!tail.fromStart() && !lines.isEmpty()) {
+            lines.remove(0); // first line is a fragment cut by our own tail bound, not real data
+        }
+        if (lines.isEmpty()) {
+            return Reading.unknown();
+        }
+        Long tokens = null;
+        int compactions = 0;
+        boolean anyLineParsed = false;
+        for (String line : lines) {
+            JsonNode node = tryParse(line);
+            if (node == null) {
+                // A malformed line — typically the last one, cut mid-flush by a write this read
+                // raced — is skipped rather than treated as fatal. See the class javadoc's "torn
+                // final line" section for why: a real format change makes EVERY line unparseable,
+                // not only this one, and that case is still caught below by anyLineParsed.
+                continue;
+            }
+            anyLineParsed = true;
+            JsonNode usage = node.path("message").path("usage");
+            if (usage.isObject()) {
+                tokens = usage.path("input_tokens").asLong(0)
+                        + usage.path("cache_read_input_tokens").asLong(0)
+                        + usage.path("cache_creation_input_tokens").asLong(0);
+            }
+            if ("compact_boundary".equals(node.path("subtype").asText(null))) {
+                compactions++;
+            }
+        }
+        if (!anyLineParsed) {
+            return Reading.unknown();
+        }
+        if (tokens == null) {
+            return new Reading(State.UNKNOWN, null, compactions);
+        }
+        State state = tokens >= HIGH_THRESHOLD_TOKENS ? State.HIGH : State.OK;
+        return new Reading(state, tokens, compactions);
+    }
+
+    private JsonNode tryParse(String line) {
+        try {
+            return MAPPER.readTree(line);
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadLauncher.java

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PendingCloseMarker;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Tab;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Workspace;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.launch.ClaudeCodeArguments;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
@@ -358,7 +359,8 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
     }
 
     /**
-     * The lead's argv: the profile's own command, the model pin, and the bridge MCP mount.
+     * The lead's argv: the profile's own command, the model and auto-compaction pins, and the bridge
+     * MCP mount.
      *
      * <p>No {@code --append-system-prompt}. That flag carries the worker reply charter, and a lead
      * is not a worker — it reads its orchestration rules from the project's {@code CLAUDE.md} like
@@ -380,7 +382,7 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
             argv.add("--model");
             argv.add(profile.model());
         }
-        return argv;
+        return profile.isOpenCode() ? argv : ClaudeCodeArguments.withAutoCompactWindow(argv, profile);
     }
 
     /**

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadRollover.java

@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.UncheckedIOException;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.UUID;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
@@ -25,9 +27,11 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
  * every gate ({@link #confirm}'s own checks) has passed — a deferred, single-shot continuation
  * clears the lead's own pane and bootstraps a fresh session against that file.
  *
- * <p>This is the executor only. Nothing in this ticket wires an MCP tool onto {@link #open}/
- * {@link #confirm}/{@link #cancel} — that is a separate, later unit; until it lands, nothing calls
- * this class at all.
+ * <p>This is the executor behind the {@code fleet_handover} MCP tool ({@code
+ * dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp#handover}), which drives {@link #open}, {@link #confirm}, {@link
+ * #cancel}, and {@link #status} from a tool call — wired in fleetd #480 Unit C. <strong>An earlier
+ * version of this paragraph said nothing called this class at all; that stopped being true once
+ * that unit landed, and this correction exists so the javadoc does not go on claiming it.</strong>
  *
  * <p><strong>{@code confirm()} cannot roll inline — a fleetd #480 correction.</strong> The first
  * version of this class called {@code agents.send(lead, "/clear")} directly from inside {@code
@@ -181,6 +185,106 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * How many tokens {@link #outcomes} remembers before it starts evicting the oldest — bounded
+     * so a long-running daemon never grows this map without limit. Chosen generously rather than
+     * tightly: production rolls are rare (this class's own ticket found exactly ONE completed roll
+     * ever logged on this host), and each entry is a handful of short strings, so even a full cap
+     * costs a few tens of kilobytes — nowhere near a reason to make it configurable. 200 entries
+     * comfortably outlasts any operator's own memory of "did that roll I asked for actually
+     * happen", which is the whole reason {@link #status} exists.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>This cap counts {@link RollState#IN_PROGRESS} entries exactly the same as
+     * finished ones.</strong> There is only the one bounded map: {@link #confirm} writes an {@link
+     * RollState#IN_PROGRESS} entry into {@link #outcomes} at hand-off, and the deferred
+     * continuation later overwrites that SAME key with a terminal state — it never inserts a
+     * second entry. An approved roll therefore occupies one slot in this map for its entire
+     * lifetime, from the moment {@link #confirm} hands off, not only once it finishes; a
+     * confirmed-but-not-yet-finished roll counts against the cap exactly like a finished one. The
+     * alternative (a separate, uncapped in-flight map) would let a burst of confirmed-but-stuck
+     * rolls grow without bound — the exact failure this cap exists to prevent — so it was rejected.
+     */
+    static final int OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP = 200;
+
+    /**
+     * What is known about one token, right now — the answer {@link #status} gives. Distinguishes
+     * three terminal outcomes an approved roll can finish with, one in-flight outcome for a roll
+     * that has been approved but has not finished yet, and two answers for a token that names no
+     * active work at all: still pending confirmation, or nothing known about this token at all.
+     */
+    public enum RollState {
+        /**
+         * {@code token} is still open: either {@link #open} was called and {@link #confirm} has not
+         * been (or not successfully) yet, or a {@link #confirm} call failed one of its gate checks
+         * and left the token pending for a retry — see {@link #confirm}'s javadoc ("token stays
+         * pending"). Indistinguishable from a genuinely fresh request; a caller wanting to know
+         * WHICH gate most recently refused should read the {@link RollDecision} that {@link
+         * #confirm} itself returned, not this status. <strong>Never the state of an APPROVED
+         * roll</strong> — see {@link #IN_PROGRESS}, which {@link #confirm} records at the moment it
+         * hands off, before this token is even removed from the pending set.
+         */
+        PENDING,
+        /**
+         * {@link #confirm} approved this roll and handed it to the deferred continuation, which has
+         * not finished yet. Recorded by {@link #confirm} itself, at hand-off — <strong>before</strong>
+         * {@code token} is removed from the pending set — so there is never a gap in which {@link
+         * #status} could wrongly answer {@link #UNKNOWN} ("nothing was ever requested") for a roll
+         * that is, in fact, actively running. This is not sticky: the deferred continuation
+         * overwrites this same entry with a terminal state ({@link #ROLLED}, {@link
+         * #TURN_NEVER_SETTLED}, {@link #CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED}, or {@link #FAILED}) once it finishes
+         * — including by throwing, which fleetd #615's catch in {@link #runRollover} now turns into
+         * {@link #FAILED} instead of leaving this entry stuck forever.
+         */
+        IN_PROGRESS,
+        /**
+         * {@link #confirm} was approved and the deferred continuation completed the entire roll:
+         * the calling lead's turn settled, {@code /clear} was sent and settled, and {@code
+         * bootstrapText} was sent.
+         */
+        ROLLED,
+        /**
+         * {@link #confirm} was approved, but the calling lead's own turn never reached a boundary
+         * (IDLE or DONE) within {@code turnSettleSeconds} — no {@code /clear} was ever sent, at
+         * all. This is the branch the fleetd #480 correction exists to make safe, and the one this
+         * status exists to make VISIBLE: before this, a lead that hit this case had no way to find
+         * out, and would carry on believing it was about to be replaced. See this class's javadoc.
+         */
+        TURN_NEVER_SETTLED,
+        /**
+         * {@link #confirm} was approved and {@code /clear} was sent, but the pane never re-settled
+         * within {@code clearSettleSeconds} — {@code bootstrapText} was never sent.
+         */
+        CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED,
+        /**
+         * fleetd #615: the deferred continuation threw a {@link RuntimeException} — most likely a
+         * {@link dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException} out of one of the two unwrapped {@code
+         * agents.send} calls in {@link #runRollover} — and the continuation thread died with it.
+         * Before this state existed, that throw left {@link #outcomes} holding {@link #IN_PROGRESS}
+         * forever, because the production {@code continuationRunner} is a bare virtual thread with
+         * no uncaught-exception handler and nothing downstream of the throw ever ran to write a
+         * terminal outcome. {@code detail} names the exception, so a reader has something to act on
+         * — the same diagnostic style as {@link #TURN_NEVER_SETTLED} and {@link
+         * #CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED}. The roll is dead at this point and does not retry itself; a stuck
+         * lead must {@link #open} a fresh request.
+         */
+        FAILED,
+        /**
+         * {@code token} names nothing this instance currently knows about: never issued by {@link
+         * #open}, dropped by {@link #cancel}, or aged out of {@link #outcomes}'s bounded history.
+         * These three causes are not distinguished — all of them mean "there is nothing to tell
+         * you", which is the entire content of a clean answer here.
+         */
+        UNKNOWN
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The answer {@link #status} gives for one token: a {@link RollState} and a human-readable
+     * {@code detail}. For {@link RollState#TURN_NEVER_SETTLED}, {@code detail} names {@code
+     * turnSettleSeconds} and its configured value explicitly, so a reader who sees this knows what
+     * to raise.
+     */
+    public record RollStatus(RollState state, String detail) {}
+
     private final AgentControl agents;
     private final Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier;
     /**
@@ -201,6 +305,23 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
      */
     private final Consumer<Runnable> continuationRunner;
     private final Map<String, PendingRollover> pending = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    /**
+     * Finished tokens → what actually happened, for {@link #status}. Bounded by {@link
+     * #OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP}, oldest evicted first ({@code removeEldestEntry} on an insertion-order
+     * {@link LinkedHashMap}). Wrapped in {@link Collections#synchronizedMap} because entries are
+     * written from whatever thread {@code continuationRunner} runs the roll on (a fresh virtual
+     * thread in production, the calling test thread under {@code Runnable::run}) and read from
+     * whatever thread calls {@link #status} (the MCP handler thread) — a plain {@code
+     * LinkedHashMap} is not safe for that, and {@code removeEldestEntry} additionally requires
+     * external synchronization even for a thread-safe map that merely wraps it.
+     */
+    private final Map<String, RollStatus> outcomes = Collections.synchronizedMap(
+            new LinkedHashMap<>(16, 0.75f, false) {
+                @Override
+                protected boolean removeEldestEntry(Map.Entry<String, RollStatus> eldest) {
+                    return size() > OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP;
+                }
+            });
 
     /** Production constructor — wall clock, real sleep between settle polls, a real virtual thread. */
     public LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
@@ -366,6 +487,15 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
             return docCheck;
         }
 
+        // Record IN_PROGRESS BEFORE removing from `pending` — see RollState#IN_PROGRESS and
+        // OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP's javadoc. This ordering means `token` is written into `outcomes`
+        // while it is STILL present in `pending`; status() checks `outcomes` first (see that
+        // method), so it reports IN_PROGRESS immediately, not the brief-but-real gap a
+        // remove-then-put ordering would leave in which the token is in neither map.
+        outcomes.put(token, new RollStatus(RollState.IN_PROGRESS,
+                "confirm() approved this roll and handed it to the deferred continuation; it has "
+                        + "not finished yet — still waiting for the calling turn to settle, for "
+                        + "/clear to be sent and settle, or for bootstrapText to be sent"));
         pending.remove(token);
         log.info("lead-rollover: confirmed token={} lead={} — roll scheduled once the calling turn ends",
                 token, callerTerminal);
@@ -378,8 +508,42 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
      * entirely after {@link #confirm} has returned to its caller — see this class's javadoc for the
      * four-step order. There is no result to return to by this point, so every outcome is logged
      * only.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>fleetd #615 — the whole body is wrapped in one {@code try}.</strong> The two {@code
+     * agents.send} calls below are not wrapped individually: {@code send} → {@code agentCall} →
+     * {@code herdr.call} can throw an unchecked {@link dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException} (see
+     * {@code AgentControl.java}), and the production {@code continuationRunner} is a bare virtual
+     * thread with no uncaught-exception handler (see this class's public constructor). Before this
+     * fix, either throw killed the continuation thread silently, leaving the {@link
+     * RollState#IN_PROGRESS} entry {@link #confirm} wrote at hand-off stuck forever — {@link
+     * #status} had no way to tell a dead roll from one still genuinely running. The {@code catch}
+     * below is scoped to the method body rather than to each {@code send} call individually, so it
+     * also covers anything else added to this continuation later, not just today's two call sites —
+     * the same reasoning that put the write-a-terminal-outcome step at each of this method's other
+     * exits (see the {@link RollState#TURN_NEVER_SETTLED} and {@link RollState#CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED}
+     * branches below) rather than inside the helpers that detect them.</p>
+     *
+     * <p>Only {@link RuntimeException} is caught, matching the local convention {@link
+     * #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary} already set around its own {@code agents.status} call — not the
+     * broader {@link Exception} or {@link Throwable}, which would also swallow something like an
+     * {@link OutOfMemoryError} this continuation has no business handling.</p>
      */
     private void runRollover(PendingRollover p, FleetConfig.LeadRollover cfg) {
+        try {
+            runRolloverUnguarded(p, cfg);
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: continuation for token={} lead={} threw {} — the roll is dead; "
+                            + "no further step in this continuation will run",
+                    p.token(), p.leadTerminal(), e.toString(), e);
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.FAILED,
+                    "the roll's continuation threw " + e.toString() + " — the roll is dead and will "
+                            + "not retry itself; check the daemon log for the stack trace, then open() "
+                            + "a fresh rollover request"));
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** The actual body of {@link #runRollover}, unwrapped — see that method's javadoc for the catch. */
+    private void runRolloverUnguarded(PendingRollover p, FleetConfig.LeadRollover cfg) {
         String lead = p.leadTerminal();
         long rollStartMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
         TurnSettleResult turnResult = waitUntilAtTurnBoundary(lead, cfg.turnSettleSeconds());
@@ -393,6 +557,11 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
                             + "turn is still live and clearing it now would destroy live context "
                             + "(token={}, configured={}s elapsed={}ms)",
                     lead, p.token(), cfg.turnSettleSeconds(), turnResult.elapsedMillis());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.TURN_NEVER_SETTLED,
+                    "the calling lead's own turn never reached a boundary (IDLE or DONE) within "
+                            + "turnSettleSeconds=" + cfg.turnSettleSeconds() + "s (measured elapsed="
+                            + turnResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — no /clear was ever sent. If this "
+                            + "keeps happening, raise turnSettleSeconds in fleetd.yaml"));
             return;
         }
 
@@ -411,11 +580,17 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
                             + "elapsed={}ms nudges={})",
                     lead, p.token(), cfg.clearSettleSeconds(), clearResult.elapsedMillis(),
                     clearResult.nudges());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED,
+                    "/clear was sent, but the pane never re-settled within clearSettleSeconds="
+                            + cfg.clearSettleSeconds() + "s (measured elapsed=" + clearResult.elapsedMillis()
+                            + "ms, nudges=" + clearResult.nudges() + ") — bootstrapText was never sent"));
             return;
         }
         agents.send(lead, cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()));
         long rollElapsedMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong() - rollStartMillis;
         log.info("lead-rollover: rolled token={} lead={} elapsedMs={}", p.token(), lead, rollElapsedMillis);
+        outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.ROLLED,
+                "rolled successfully in " + rollElapsedMillis + "ms"));
     }
 
     /** Drop a pending request without rolling. @return whether a pending request existed for {@code token} */
@@ -423,6 +598,47 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
         return pending.remove(token) != null;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Read-only: what is currently known about {@code token}. <strong>Never sends anything, never
+     * schedules, cancels, or retries a roll</strong> — a caller may poll this as often as it likes
+     * with no side effect at all, which is exactly why it exists: every failure past {@link
+     * #confirm} used to be a {@code log.warn} a lead can never read (see this class's javadoc), and
+     * this is the only route back.
+     *
+     * @param token the token {@link #open} returned; {@code null} or blank is a clean {@link
+     *              RollState#UNKNOWN}, never a {@link NullPointerException} — {@link #pending} is a
+     *              {@link ConcurrentHashMap}, which throws on a {@code null} key lookup, so this
+     *              short-circuits before ever reaching it
+     * @return {@link RollState#IN_PROGRESS} for an approved roll whose continuation has not
+     *         finished yet, or a terminal state once it has (both read from {@link #outcomes} —
+     *         checked FIRST, see below); {@link RollState#PENDING} while {@code token} is still
+     *         open and has not yet been approved (including one left pending by a {@link #confirm}
+     *         gate refusal — see that method's javadoc); or {@link RollState#UNKNOWN} for a token
+     *         never issued, cancelled, or aged out of the bounded history
+     */
+    public RollStatus status(String token) {
+        if (token == null || token.isBlank()) {
+            return new RollStatus(RollState.UNKNOWN, "no token given");
+        }
+        // `outcomes` is checked BEFORE `pending`, deliberately: `confirm` writes an IN_PROGRESS
+        // entry into `outcomes` before it removes `token` from `pending` (see `confirm`'s own
+        // comment at that call site), so for the brief window where a token is present in BOTH
+        // maps, this order reports the more accurate answer (IN_PROGRESS, already approved) rather
+        // than the stale one (PENDING, not yet approved) a pending-first check would give.
+        RollStatus recorded = outcomes.get(token);
+        if (recorded != null) {
+            return recorded;
+        }
+        if (pending.containsKey(token)) {
+            return new RollStatus(RollState.PENDING, "open() has been called for this token and "
+                    + "it has not yet been confirmed — or a confirm() gate check failed and left it "
+                    + "pending, so the same token may be retried once the problem is fixed");
+        }
+        return new RollStatus(RollState.UNKNOWN, "token names no pending or finished rollover "
+                + "request known to this instance — never issued, cancelled, or aged out of the "
+                + "bounded history (cap=" + OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP + ")");
+    }
+
     /**
      * The three handover-file checks, in order: exists, not empty, fresh (modified after
      * {@link #open}'s timestamp and not older than {@code maxDocAgeSeconds}). Stats {@code

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/mcp/ConnectionIdentity.java

@@ -31,6 +31,20 @@ public final class ConnectionIdentity {
         this.cwds = cwds;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The {@link PaneLocator} this identity resolves callers against — fleetd #612 CB-185: lets a
+     * test drive the exact {@link PaneLocator} a real assembly wired up (e.g. {@code
+     * FleetdAssembly}'s {@code new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(herdr, memberHerdr), ...)})
+     * directly with a chosen pid, bypassing the OS-dependent {@link PeerPidLookup} that {@link
+     * #resolve} otherwise goes through. A full HTTP round trip cannot exercise this: {@code
+     * LsofPeerPidLookup} excludes its own pid, and an in-process test client and server share one
+     * JVM pid, so {@code pidForLocalPort} always returns {@code -1} and {@link PaneLocator} never
+     * gets called at all.
+     */
+    public PaneLocator panes() {
+        return panes;
+    }
+
     /**
      * The caller resolved from the connection: its worker {@code terminal} (or {@code null} for the
      * primary / an off-host client), its {@code pid} (or {@code -1} if not resolvable), and whether

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/mcp/FleetMcp.java

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.Metrics;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.MemberPresence;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.CompletionResolver;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadContextGauge;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadChannel;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadMessage;
@@ -106,6 +107,13 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * untested identity heuristic.
      */
     private final boolean authorizationEnforced;
+    /**
+     * fleetd #612 CB-185: kept as a field (rather than only captured by the {@code
+     * contextExtractor} closure built in the constructor) so a test can reach the exact {@link
+     * ConnectionIdentity} — and, through {@link ConnectionIdentity#panes()}, the exact {@link
+     * dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PaneLocator} — that a real assembly wired up. See {@link #identity()}.
+     */
+    private final ConnectionIdentity identity;
     private final Metrics metrics;      // CB-502: null → auth failures not counted
     private final CapacitySource capacity;
     private final HealthCoverageSource healthCoverage;
@@ -115,6 +123,8 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
     private final OutageSource outage;
     /** fleetd #176: SEPARATE from both of the above — see {@link LeadSeatSource}'s doc. */
     private final LeadSeatSource leadSeats;
+    /** fleetd #602 gauge-wiring: see {@link LeadConfigDirSource}. */
+    private final LeadConfigDirSource leadConfigDirs;
     /** CB-637: this daemon's lead-to-lead channel; {@code null} when no coordinator is configured. */
     private final LeadChannel leadChannel;
     /** fleetd #361: {@code coordinator.peers} — see {@link CoordinationSource}. Empty when unset. */
@@ -126,6 +136,17 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * clean {@code NOT_CONFIGURED} refusal rather than throwing. See {@link #handover}.
      */
     private final LeadRollover leadRollover;
+    /**
+     * "Lead context gauge": how full each lead's own Claude Code context window is, reported on
+     * {@code fleet_list}'s {@code leads} rows (see {@link #contextView}). Built unconditionally, in
+     * the field initializer rather than a constructor parameter — this is not a togglable feature
+     * with an on/off config knob the way {@link OutageSource}/{@link LeadSeatSource} are: it needs
+     * no config at all (see {@link LeadContextGauge}'s own javadoc for the built-in defaults), so
+     * there is no "off" value to thread through every existing constructor call site. One instance
+     * per daemon so its read cache (keyed by session, TTL'd) is actually shared across
+     * {@code fleet_list} calls rather than rebuilt — and therefore useless — on every call.
+     */
+    private final LeadContextGauge leadContextGauge = new LeadContextGauge();
 
     /** Capacity facts used by {@code fleet_list}; production must supply the placement live count. */
     public record CapacitySource(Function<String, Integer> liveCount, Function<String, Integer> maxLoad,
@@ -246,6 +267,29 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         public static LeadSeatSource none() { return new LeadSeatSource(_ -> 0); }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #602 gauge-wiring: a lead name's configured {@code CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR} override, fed to
+     * {@link LeadContextGauge#read} so {@code fleet_list}'s {@code context} row reads the transcript
+     * directory the lead's own profile actually writes to, not always the built-in
+     * {@code <user.home>/.claude} default.
+     *
+     * <p>The same idiom as {@link LeadSeatSource} — a {@code FleetMcp} constructor field, not a
+     * lookup {@code contextView} performs itself, because {@code FleetMcp} holds no
+     * {@link dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig} and {@code contextView} is {@code static}. See
+     * {@code Fleetd.leadConfigDirLookup} for the derivation: the same
+     * {@code fleet.leaders.<name>.profile} link {@link LeadSeatSource} already follows, resolved to
+     * that profile's own {@code configDir:}.
+     *
+     * @param configDirFor lead name → {@code configDir}, or {@code null} when the lead's entry names
+     *                      no profile, or that profile sets no {@code configDir} override — either
+     *                      way {@link LeadContextGauge} then falls back to its own built-in default,
+     *                      exactly as before this ticket
+     */
+    public record LeadConfigDirSource(Function<String, String> configDirFor) {
+        /** Inert source — every lead reads {@link LeadContextGauge}'s built-in default {@code configDir}. */
+        public static LeadConfigDirSource none() { return new LeadConfigDirSource(_ -> null); }
+    }
+
     /**
      * fleetd #361: peer-visibility facts for {@code fleet_list}'s {@code coordinator} row — this
      * daemon's own {@link LeadChannel} (for its self mailbox state and held messages) plus the
@@ -346,7 +390,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                        LeadSeatSource leadSeats, List<String> peers, LeadRollover leadRollover) {
         this(messages, workers, sessions, identity, presence, primaryRegistry, callers, authorizationMode, metrics,
                 capacity, healthCoverage, LoopHealthSource.none(), quarantine, leadChannel, outage, leadSeats,
-                peers, leadRollover);
+                LeadConfigDirSource.none(), peers, leadRollover);
     }
 
     public FleetMcp(MessageService messages, PeerLauncher workers, SessionManager sessions,
@@ -354,16 +398,19 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     CallerResolver callers, AuthorizationMode authorizationMode, Metrics metrics,
                     CapacitySource capacity, HealthCoverageSource healthCoverage, LoopHealthSource loopHealth,
                     QuarantineSource quarantine, LeadChannel leadChannel, OutageSource outage,
-                    LeadSeatSource leadSeats, List<String> peers, LeadRollover leadRollover) {
+                    LeadSeatSource leadSeats, LeadConfigDirSource leadConfigDirs, List<String> peers,
+                    LeadRollover leadRollover) {
         Objects.requireNonNull(callers, "callers");
         this.authorizationEnforced = Objects.requireNonNull(authorizationMode, "authorizationMode")
                 == AuthorizationMode.ENFORCED;
+        this.identity = identity;
         this.leadChannel = leadChannel;
         this.peers = peers == null ? List.of() : List.copyOf(peers);
         this.capacity = capacity;
         this.quarantine = Objects.requireNonNull(quarantine, "quarantine");
         this.outage = Objects.requireNonNull(outage, "outage");
         this.leadSeats = Objects.requireNonNull(leadSeats, "leadSeats");
+        this.leadConfigDirs = Objects.requireNonNull(leadConfigDirs, "leadConfigDirs");
         this.healthCoverage = healthCoverage;
         this.loopHealth = Objects.requireNonNull(loopHealth, "loopHealth");
         this.leadRollover = leadRollover;
@@ -498,7 +545,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_list", Map.of()), null);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return listFleet(workers, sessions, messages, capacity, healthCoverage, loopHealth, quarantine, outage,
-                            leadSeats, callers.leads(),
+                            leadSeats, leadContextGauge, leadConfigDirs, callers.leads(),
                             callerTerminal(exchange),
                             new CoordinationSource(leadChannel, peers),
                             coordinatorVisibleTo(principal(exchange)));
@@ -716,6 +763,15 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return transport;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The {@link ConnectionIdentity} this server resolves every caller against — fleetd #612
+     * CB-185: lets a test reach the exact {@link dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PaneLocator} a real assembly
+     * wired up (via {@link ConnectionIdentity#panes()}), rather than a copy built for the test.
+     */
+    public ConnectionIdentity identity() {
+        return identity;
+    }
+
     /** Mark a connected spawned member available for the injector readiness gate. */
     static void markSpawnedMemberPresent(Principal caller, MemberPresence presence) {
         if (caller.isSpawnedMember()) {
@@ -741,6 +797,46 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return server.listTools();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #612 B3 — same reason as {@link #registeredTools()}: a test that must drive the REAL
+     * {@link QuarantineSource} (and the real {@link BackendQuarantine} it wraps) this daemon was
+     * assembled with, rather than scraping {@code FleetdAssembly.java}'s source text for the
+     * constructor call that built it. Unlike {@link #registeredTools()}'s callers, that test cannot
+     * live in this package: it also builds the {@code ResourcePorts} that drives
+     * {@code FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart}, and {@code ResourcePorts}' methods return
+     * {@code Fleetd}-nested types that are only visible from package {@code dev.ltms.fleet} — so
+     * this accessor is {@code public}, not package-private, to stay reachable from there. {@code
+     * FleetdBackendQuarantineAssemblyTest} quarantines a credential twice through this exact
+     * instance and checks the second cooldown is longer than the first — the one behavioural
+     * difference {@link BackendQuarantine#withEscalation} and the flat two-argument constructor
+     * actually produce.
+     */
+    public QuarantineSource quarantineSource() {
+        return quarantine;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #612 B3 — as {@link #quarantineSource()}, {@code public} for the same cross-package
+     * reason, for the real {@link LeadSeatSource} this daemon was assembled with. {@code
+     * FleetdLeadSeatAssemblyTest} calls {@code seatsFor} on this exact instance and checks it
+     * reports a live lead's seat, which {@link LeadSeatSource#none()} can never do (it is a
+     * constant-zero function regardless of input).
+     */
+    public LeadSeatSource leadSeatSource() {
+        return leadSeats;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #612 B3 — as {@link #quarantineSource()}, {@code public} for the same cross-package
+     * reason, for the real {@link LeadRollover} (or {@code null}) this daemon was assembled with.
+     * {@code FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest} drives {@code open}/{@code confirm} on this exact
+     * instance and waits for the real continuation to send {@code /clear} and {@code bootstrapText}
+     * through the real {@code router.leadAgents()}.
+     */
+    public LeadRollover leadRollover() {
+        return leadRollover;
+    }
+
     // --- tool logic (thin adapters over the services; unit-testable) ---------------------------
 
     /**
@@ -828,6 +924,12 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     + "answered (turnId stale)");
             case TIMED_OUT_WORKING, TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, BUSY -> text("[no reply within " + timeout + "ms — worker "
                     + r.outcome().name().toLowerCase().replace("timed_out_", "") + "; retry or poll status]");
+            // fleetd #571: delivery is unknown here — agent.prompt pastes and submits in one call,
+            // so the message may already be sitting in the pane. Do not invite a blind retry the way
+            // the case above does; a resend on this route can double-deliver the same brief.
+            case TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED -> text("[no reply within " + timeout + "ms — delivery unconfirmed; "
+                    + "the message may already have reached the worker, so a retry risks sending it "
+                    + "twice — poll status before resending]");
         };
     }
 
@@ -1242,14 +1344,16 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                                               Map<String, Object> args) {
         String action = str(args, "action");
         if (isBlank(action)) {
-            return error("action is required: \"open\", \"confirm\" or \"cancel\"");
+            return error("action is required: \"open\", \"confirm\", \"cancel\" or \"status\"");
         }
         return switch (action) {
             case "open" -> handoverOpen(leadRollover, callerTerminal, str(args, "reason"));
             case "confirm" -> handoverConfirm(leadRollover, callerTerminal, str(args, "token"),
                     truthy(args, "operatorConfirmed"));
             case "cancel" -> handoverCancel(leadRollover, str(args, "token"));
-            default -> error("unknown action \"" + action + "\" — must be \"open\", \"confirm\" or \"cancel\"");
+            case "status" -> handoverStatus(leadRollover, str(args, "token"));
+            default -> error("unknown action \"" + action
+                    + "\" — must be \"open\", \"confirm\", \"cancel\" or \"status\"");
         };
     }
 
@@ -1319,6 +1423,29 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return text(json(m));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@code action: "status"}. Read-only — see {@link LeadRollover#status}: never schedules,
+     * cancels, or retries anything, and it is the only way for a lead to find out what happened to
+     * a token past {@code confirm()}, since every outcome after that point is otherwise logged only
+     * (see {@link LeadRollover}'s class javadoc).
+     */
+    private static McpSchema.CallToolResult handoverStatus(LeadRollover leadRollover, String token) {
+        if (leadRollover == null) {
+            Map<String, Object> m = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+            m.put("state", "NOT_CONFIGURED");
+            m.put("detail", "leadRollover: is not configured");
+            return text(json(m));
+        }
+        if (isBlank(token)) {
+            return error("token is required for action \"status\"");
+        }
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus s = leadRollover.status(token);
+        Map<String, Object> m = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        m.put("state", s.state().name());
+        m.put("detail", s.detail());
+        return text(json(m));
+    }
+
     /** The one shared {@code NOT_CONFIGURED} refusal shape for {@code open}/{@code confirm}. */
     private static McpSchema.CallToolResult notConfigured() {
         return refusalJson(false, "NOT_CONFIGURED", "leadRollover: is not configured");
@@ -1595,7 +1722,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                                                Map<String, String> leads, String selfTerm,
                                                CoordinationSource coordination) {
         return listFleet(workers, sessions, messages, capacity, healthCoverage, loopHealth, quarantine,
-                OutageSource.none(), LeadSeatSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, coordination, false);
+                OutageSource.none(), LeadSeatSource.none(), new LeadContextGauge(), LeadConfigDirSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, coordination, false);
     }
 
     /** As above, plus fleetd #201 Unit 5 cool-off facts (see {@link OutageSource}). */
@@ -1604,7 +1731,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                                                QuarantineSource quarantine, OutageSource outage,
                                                Map<String, String> leads, String selfTerm) {
         return listFleet(workers, sessions, messages, capacity, healthCoverage, LoopHealthSource.none(), quarantine, outage,
-                LeadSeatSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, CoordinationSource.none(), false);
+                LeadSeatSource.none(), new LeadContextGauge(), LeadConfigDirSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, CoordinationSource.none(), false);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1621,7 +1748,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                                                QuarantineSource quarantine, Map<String, String> leads, String selfTerm,
                                                CoordinationSource coordination) {
         return listFleet(workers, sessions, messages, capacity, healthCoverage, LoopHealthSource.none(), quarantine, OutageSource.none(),
-                LeadSeatSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, coordination, false);
+                LeadSeatSource.none(), new LeadContextGauge(), LeadConfigDirSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, coordination, false);
     }
 
     /** As above, plus fleetd #201 Unit 5 cool-off facts (see {@link OutageSource}). */
@@ -1630,7 +1757,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                                                QuarantineSource quarantine, OutageSource outage,
                                                Map<String, String> leads, String selfTerm, CoordinationSource coordination) {
         return listFleet(workers, sessions, messages, capacity, healthCoverage, LoopHealthSource.none(), quarantine, outage,
-                LeadSeatSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, coordination, false);
+                LeadSeatSource.none(), new LeadContextGauge(), LeadConfigDirSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, coordination, false);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1652,7 +1779,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                                                LeadSeatSource leadSeats, Map<String, String> leads, String selfTerm,
                                                CoordinationSource coordination) {
         return listFleet(workers, sessions, messages, capacity, healthCoverage, LoopHealthSource.none(), quarantine, outage,
-                leadSeats, leads, selfTerm, coordination, false);
+                leadSeats, new LeadContextGauge(), LeadConfigDirSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, coordination, false);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1676,14 +1803,24 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                                                 LeadSeatSource leadSeats, Map<String, String> leads, String selfTerm,
                                                 CoordinationSource coordination, boolean callerIsPrimary) {
         return listFleet(workers, sessions, messages, capacity, healthCoverage, LoopHealthSource.none(), quarantine,
-                outage, leadSeats, leads, selfTerm, coordination, callerIsPrimary);
+                outage, leadSeats, new LeadContextGauge(), LeadConfigDirSource.none(), leads, selfTerm, coordination, callerIsPrimary);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The canonical implementation. {@code contextGauge} is the "lead context gauge" (see
+     * {@link LeadContextGauge}) — every wrapper overload above passes a freshly constructed one,
+     * which is correct for them (none of them exercise repeated calls where a shared cache would
+     * matter); the one caller that matters for caching, {@code fleet_list}'s MCP handler, passes
+     * its own single long-lived instance instead (see {@code FleetMcp}'s {@code leadContextGauge}
+     * field).
+     */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult listFleet(PeerLauncher workers, SessionManager sessions, MessageService messages,
                                                  CapacitySource capacity, HealthCoverageSource healthCoverage,
                                                  LoopHealthSource loopHealth,
                                                 QuarantineSource quarantine, OutageSource outage,
-                                               LeadSeatSource leadSeats, Map<String, String> leads, String selfTerm,
+                                               LeadSeatSource leadSeats, LeadContextGauge contextGauge,
+                                               LeadConfigDirSource leadConfigDirs,
+                                               Map<String, String> leads, String selfTerm,
                                                CoordinationSource coordination, boolean callerIsPrimary) {
         try {
             Map<String, Agent> live = workers.list().stream()
@@ -1692,7 +1829,8 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     .collect(Collectors.toMap(Agent::terminalId, Function.identity(), (_, b) -> b));
             List<Map<String, Object>> leadRows = leads.entrySet().stream()
                     .sorted(Map.Entry.comparingByValue())
-                    .map(e -> leadView(e.getKey(), e.getValue(), live.get(e.getKey()), selfTerm))
+                    .map(e -> leadView(e.getKey(), e.getValue(), live.get(e.getKey()), selfTerm, contextGauge,
+                            leadConfigDirs))
                     .toList();
             // fleetd #209: this is the caller-driven fleet_list read that actually reports
             // agentSessionId (via memberCapacityView -> SessionManager.rosterView), so it uses the
@@ -1987,15 +2125,25 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
     }
 
     /**
-     * One lead's row: its address, its name, and whether it can be reached right now.
+     * One lead's row: its address, its name, whether it can be reached right now, and how full its
+     * own Claude Code context window is.
      *
      * <p>{@code status} is herdr's live view, and {@code unknown} when herdr is not tracking that
      * pane as an agent — the honest answer, and the one that matters: a lead whose pane herdr cannot
      * see is a lead a {@code fleet_send} cannot be typed into. It is reported rather than hidden,
      * because a peer that has gone unreachable is exactly what the sender needs to know.
+     *
+     * <p>{@code context} is the "lead context gauge" (fleetd's context-usage visibility ticket):
+     * {@code {state: "ok"|"high"|"unknown", tokens?: number, compactions: number}}, read from the
+     * lead's transcript — see {@link LeadContextGauge}. Kept small on purpose (a token count, a
+     * state, and a compaction count) rather than echoing the whole reading history: this is a
+     * roster row a caller glances at, not a diagnostics dump. {@code tokens} is present only when
+     * {@code state} is not {@code "unknown"} — never a stale or default number standing in for "I
+     * could not tell".
      */
     private static Map<String, Object> leadView(String terminal, String name, Agent live,
-                                                String selfTerm) {
+                                                String selfTerm, LeadContextGauge contextGauge,
+                                                LeadConfigDirSource leadConfigDirs) {
         Map<String, Object> m = new LinkedHashMap<>();
         m.put("sessionId", terminal);
         m.put("name", name);
@@ -2004,9 +2152,32 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         if (terminal.equals(selfTerm)) {
             m.put("self", true);
         }
+        String configDir = leadConfigDirs.configDirFor().apply(name);
+        m.put("context", contextView(contextGauge, live, configDir));
         return m;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Reads the lead context gauge for one lead. {@code configDir} is this lead's configured
+     * {@code CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR} override (see {@link LeadConfigDirSource}), derived from
+     * {@code fleet.leaders.<name>.profile} → that profile's own {@code configDir:} — or {@code null}
+     * when the lead's entry names no profile, or that profile sets no override, in which case
+     * {@link LeadContextGauge#read} falls back to its own built-in default
+     * ({@code <user.home>/.claude}).
+     */
+    private static Map<String, Object> contextView(LeadContextGauge contextGauge, Agent live, String configDir) {
+        String sessionId = live == null ? null : live.sessionId();
+        String agentType = live == null ? null : live.agentType();
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = contextGauge.read(configDir, sessionId, agentType);
+        Map<String, Object> c = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        c.put("state", reading.state().name().toLowerCase());
+        if (reading.tokens() != null) {
+            c.put("tokens", reading.tokens());
+        }
+        c.put("compactions", reading.compactions());
+        return c;
+    }
+
     /** {@code fleet_stop}: tear a worker down by its pane id. */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult stop(SessionManager sessions, String paneId) {
         if (isBlank(paneId)) {
@@ -2128,8 +2299,9 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return tool(FleetTool.SPAWN.wireName(),
                 "Spawn a new off-subscription member session. A member has two independent attributes: "
                         + "role (what it is for) and profile (which backend it runs on). Pass role to pick "
-                        + "the contract — 'dev' implements a unit and opens its own PR, 'reviewer' reviews a "
-                        + "diff it did not write, 'architect' refines a ticket before anyone builds it; omit "
+                        + "the contract — 'dev' implements a unit and opens its own PR, 'hunter' sweeps a "
+                        + "scope without changing it, 'reviewer' reviews a diff it did not write, 'architect' "
+                        + "refines a ticket before anyone builds it; omit "
                         + "it for 'dev'. Pass profile (from fleet_profiles) to pick the backend, or omit it "
                         + "for the default. The two are independent: a reviewer may run on the same profile "
                         + "as the dev it reviews. The member opens your current directory by default; pass "
@@ -2146,7 +2318,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                         + "one. Returns the member's sessionId (use with fleet_send) and paneId (use with "
                         + "fleet_stop).",
                 objectSchema(Map.of(
-                        "role", stringProp("What the member is for: architect, dev or reviewer (default dev)"),
+                        "role", stringProp("What the member is for: architect, dev, hunter, or reviewer (default dev)"),
                         "profile", stringProp("Which backend to run it on (omit for the default profile)"),
                         "cwd", stringProp("Working directory for the member (omit to inherit yours)"),
                         "worktree", Map.of("type", "string", "description", "'true' or a ticket slug — requests an isolated git worktree"),
@@ -2258,20 +2430,26 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return tool(FleetTool.HANDOVER.wireName(),
                 "Replace your OWN lead session once its context is full: write a handover file, "
                         + "then use this to have fleetd clear your pane and bootstrap a fresh lead "
-                        + "session against it. Three actions: 'open' (requests a token and the "
+                        + "session against it. Four actions: 'open' (requests a token and the "
                         + "handoverPath you must write the handover file to before confirming), "
                         + "'confirm' (validates every gate and — only if every one passes — schedules "
                         + "the roll; it does NOT itself clear the pane, the roll runs once this call's "
-                        + "own turn ends), and 'cancel' (drops a pending request without rolling). "
-                        + "Primary-only. There is deliberately no terminal/session/leadTerminal "
-                        + "parameter: the pane to roll is always resolved from YOUR OWN connection, "
-                        + "never a value you pass, so you can only ever roll yourself — never another "
-                        + "lead. Requires leadRollover: to be configured; when it is not, every action "
-                        + "returns a clean refusal naming NOT_CONFIGURED instead of failing.",
+                        + "own turn ends), 'cancel' (drops a pending request without rolling), and "
+                        + "'status' (read-only: what happened to a token after 'confirm' — still "
+                        + "running (approved but not finished yet), the roll completed, the calling "
+                        + "turn never settled within turnSettleSeconds so no /clear was ever sent, or "
+                        + "/clear itself never settled so bootstrapText was never sent; never "
+                        + "schedules, cancels or retries anything). Primary-only. "
+                        + "There is deliberately no terminal/session/leadTerminal parameter: the pane "
+                        + "to roll is always resolved from YOUR OWN connection, never a value you "
+                        + "pass, so you can only ever roll yourself — never another lead. Requires "
+                        + "leadRollover: to be configured; when it is not, every action returns a "
+                        + "clean refusal naming NOT_CONFIGURED instead of failing.",
                 objectSchema(Map.of(
-                        "action", stringProp("\"open\", \"confirm\" or \"cancel\""),
+                        "action", stringProp("\"open\", \"confirm\", \"cancel\" or \"status\""),
                         "reason", stringProp("Free-text audit note for \"open\" (optional, logged only)"),
-                        "token", stringProp("The token \"open\" returned — required for \"confirm\" and \"cancel\""),
+                        "token", stringProp("The token \"open\" returned — required for \"confirm\", "
+                                + "\"cancel\" and \"status\""),
                         "operatorConfirmed", Map.of("type", "boolean",
                                 "description", "For \"confirm\": your answer to \"has the human operator "
                                         + "confirmed this wipe\" (default false; only consulted when "

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncher.java

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.launch.ClaudeCodeArguments;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.Capability;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.PeerLauncher;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
@@ -298,7 +299,7 @@ public final class ClaudeCodeLauncher extends HerdrPeerLauncher {
         // has neither MCP nor a charter — session flags must be added into a list we own.
         List<String> argv = mutableArgv(argvWithFleet(cfg, spec));
         String agentSessionId = applySessionIdentity(argv, spec.sessionName(), spec.resumeSessionId());
-        return new Launch(workerEnv, argvWithAutoCompact(argvWithModel(argv, cfg), cfg), agentSessionId);
+        return new Launch(workerEnv, ClaudeCodeArguments.withAutoCompactWindow(argvWithModel(argv, cfg), cfg), agentSessionId);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -908,30 +909,6 @@ public final class ClaudeCodeLauncher extends HerdrPeerLauncher {
         return withModel;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Pin a bounded auto-compaction window on the command line via {@code --autocompact <tokens>},
-     * opt-in per profile (CB-634's sibling ticket: a member that runs out of context dies mid-turn
-     * and its {@code fleet_reply} — the whole point of the turn — is lost with it; opencode already
-     * forces {@code compaction.auto: true} unconditionally, CB-523, but Claude Code has no equivalent
-     * and runs at the backend's own default window).
-     *
-     * <p>Mirrors {@link #argvWithModel}: appended after it, so it survives the {@code ccs <profile>}
-     * wrapper the same way {@code --model} does, and outranks env/settings and the operator's own
-     * {@code argv}. Verified: {@code claude 2.1.241 --help} lists {@code --autocompact <auto|tokens>}
-     * (either the literal {@code auto}, or an integer 100k–1M) — {@link FleetConfig#load} rejects a
-     * configured value outside that band before this ever runs, so the flag Claude Code receives here
-     * is always in range.
-     */
-    private static List<String> argvWithAutoCompact(List<String> argv, FleetConfig.Profile cfg) {
-        if (cfg.autoCompactWindow() == null) {
-            return argv;
-        }
-        List<String> withAutoCompact = mutableArgv(argv);
-        withAutoCompact.add("--autocompact");
-        withAutoCompact.add(String.valueOf(cfg.autoCompactWindow()));
-        return withAutoCompact;
-    }
-
     // --- Agent-returning convenience spawns (used by callers/tests that want the herdr Agent) ---
 
     /** Spawn a worker for the default profile in the resolved default cwd. */

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/LeadChannelHandle.java

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 A-gaps (gap 1): a {@link LeadChannel} that its owner can also close.
+ *
+ * <p>{@link LeadChannel}'s own javadoc says plainly that {@code close()} is deliberately left out
+ * of that interface — draining is a caller convenience nobody uses, and closing is the
+ * <em>owner's</em> job. This interface is that owner's own, wider view: whoever opens the
+ * coordination mailbox (the assembly that builds the daemon) also needs to close it from the
+ * shutdown path, and a test standing in for a real broker connection needs a fake it can mark
+ * closed, without ever holding a live connection. Every ordinary consumer ({@code FleetMcp},
+ * {@link LeadCoordLoop}) keeps taking the narrower {@link LeadChannel} exactly as before — only
+ * the owner speaks this wider one.
+ *
+ * <p>{@link LeadMailbox} is still the only production implementation. This only generalises the
+ * TYPE its owner holds it as (previously the concrete class), so a test can substitute a fake
+ * closeable channel instead of a real AMQP connection.
+ */
+public interface LeadChannelHandle extends LeadChannel, AutoCloseable {
+
+    /** Release the underlying connection. Declared with no checked exception, unlike the plain {@link AutoCloseable#close()}. */
+    @Override
+    void close();
+}

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/LeadHeartbeatLoop.java

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
 
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadContextGauge;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.PrimaryRegistry;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.FleetMetrics;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.Metrics;
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.function.Function;
 import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
@@ -44,6 +46,15 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
  *       loop stands down, so two competing injections never start two turns in the same pane
  *       (constraint 6).</li>
  * </ol>
+ *
+ * <p><b>fleetd #609 — context-high notice.</b> Optionally ({@code contextHighNudge}, opt-in like the
+ * loop itself), a tick that finds the lead's own {@link LeadContextGauge} reading at {@link
+ * LeadContextGauge.State#HIGH} appends a text notice to whatever nudge it sends, telling the lead to
+ * consider {@code fleet_handover}. This is text only — it never rolls a pane itself. It fires once per
+ * HIGH stretch (a latch, cleared only by a later {@code OK} reading — {@code UNKNOWN} neither sets nor
+ * clears it, since "I could not look" must not be read as "it got better"), and it never spends the
+ * quiet-nudge budget: an idle, quiet, HIGH-context lead is exactly the case {@link Action#QUIET_DONE}
+ * would otherwise swallow, and it is the one case most worth interrupting the quiet cap for.
  */
 public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
 
@@ -63,11 +74,16 @@ public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
     private final long backoffMs;
     private final int quietNudgeCap;
     private final Metrics metrics; // CB-512 pattern: nullable — no registry in unit tests
+    private final LeadContextSource contextSource; // fleetd #609
+    private final boolean contextHighNudge; // fleetd #609: opt-in, like the loop itself
+    private final boolean requireOperatorConfirm; // fleetd #621: mirrors leadRollover.requireOperatorConfirm
 
     /** When the current idle stretch began (nanos), or {@link #NOT_IDLE}. Single scheduler thread only. */
     private long idleSinceNanos = NOT_IDLE;
     /** Consecutive nudges that found no pending fleet state. Single scheduler thread only. */
     private int quietCount = 0;
+    /** fleetd #609: latched "already told this lead about this HIGH stretch". Single scheduler thread only. */
+    private boolean contextNotified = false;
 
     /** Constructor with an injectable clock and no metric registry (unit tests, or wiring that opts out). */
     public LeadHeartbeatLoop(PrimaryRegistry primaryRegistry, AgentControl agents, ReplyInbox inbox,
@@ -75,7 +91,7 @@ public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
                              ScheduledExecutorService scheduler, LongSupplier clock,
                              long idleAfterNanos, long backoffMs, int quietNudgeCap) {
         this(primaryRegistry, agents, inbox, roster, pushLoop, scheduler, clock,
-                idleAfterNanos, backoffMs, quietNudgeCap, null);
+                idleAfterNanos, backoffMs, quietNudgeCap, null, LeadContextSource.none(), false);
     }
 
     /** As above, with a metric registry (the CB-512 pattern) so nudge outcomes are counted. */
@@ -83,6 +99,40 @@ public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
                              Supplier<List<MemberSession>> roster, ReplyPushLoop pushLoop,
                              ScheduledExecutorService scheduler, LongSupplier clock,
                              long idleAfterNanos, long backoffMs, int quietNudgeCap, Metrics metrics) {
+        this(primaryRegistry, agents, inbox, roster, pushLoop, scheduler, clock,
+                idleAfterNanos, backoffMs, quietNudgeCap, metrics, LeadContextSource.none(), false);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #609: as above, plus the lead's own context source and whether a HIGH reading should
+     * append a hand-over notice to the loop's nudge. Pass {@link LeadContextSource#none()} and
+     * {@code false} to keep the pre-#609 behaviour exactly (both existing public constructors do).
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #621: delegates to the full constructor with {@code requireOperatorConfirm=true} —
+     * the pre-#621 wording ("ask the operator ... only the operator can approve the roll") assumed
+     * the config default, so every caller of this overload keeps that text byte-identical.
+     */
+    public LeadHeartbeatLoop(PrimaryRegistry primaryRegistry, AgentControl agents, ReplyInbox inbox,
+                             Supplier<List<MemberSession>> roster, ReplyPushLoop pushLoop,
+                             ScheduledExecutorService scheduler, LongSupplier clock,
+                             long idleAfterNanos, long backoffMs, int quietNudgeCap, Metrics metrics,
+                             LeadContextSource contextSource, boolean contextHighNudge) {
+        this(primaryRegistry, agents, inbox, roster, pushLoop, scheduler, clock,
+                idleAfterNanos, backoffMs, quietNudgeCap, metrics, contextSource, contextHighNudge, true);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #621: as above, plus the daemon's effective {@code leadRollover.requireOperatorConfirm}
+     * value — threaded into {@link #contextNotice(boolean, LeadContextGauge.Reading, boolean, boolean)}
+     * so the notice's wording tracks the config the daemon actually enforces (see {@code
+     * LeadRollover.confirm}) instead of always asserting the operator gate is on.
+     */
+    public LeadHeartbeatLoop(PrimaryRegistry primaryRegistry, AgentControl agents, ReplyInbox inbox,
+                             Supplier<List<MemberSession>> roster, ReplyPushLoop pushLoop,
+                             ScheduledExecutorService scheduler, LongSupplier clock,
+                             long idleAfterNanos, long backoffMs, int quietNudgeCap, Metrics metrics,
+                             LeadContextSource contextSource, boolean contextHighNudge,
+                             boolean requireOperatorConfirm) {
         this.primaryRegistry = primaryRegistry;
         this.agents = agents;
         this.inbox = inbox;
@@ -94,6 +144,20 @@ public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
         this.backoffMs = backoffMs;
         this.quietNudgeCap = quietNudgeCap;
         this.metrics = metrics;
+        this.contextSource = contextSource;
+        this.contextHighNudge = contextHighNudge;
+        this.requireOperatorConfirm = requireOperatorConfirm;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #609: one lead's own context reading, keyed by its terminal id — the same injected-source
+     * idiom {@code FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource}/{@code FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource} already use.
+     */
+    public record LeadContextSource(Function<String, LeadContextGauge.Reading> readingFor) {
+        /** Inert source — every lead reads UNKNOWN, so the context notice can never fire. */
+        public static LeadContextSource none() {
+            return new LeadContextSource(_ -> LeadContextGauge.Reading.unknown());
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -126,8 +190,11 @@ public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
         STAND_DOWN
     }
 
-    /** The outcome of one decision: the action plus the state to persist for the next tick. */
-    record Decision(Action action, Long idleSinceNanos, int quietCount) {}
+    /**
+     * The outcome of one decision: the action, the state to persist for the next tick, and (fleetd
+     * #609) whether the lead has now been told about the current HIGH context stretch.
+     */
+    record Decision(Action action, Long idleSinceNanos, int quietCount, boolean contextNotified) {}
 
     /**
      * Pure decision function: given the current loop state and fleet/lead facts, return what to do
@@ -142,34 +209,47 @@ public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
      * @param pushLoopActive  whether {@link ReplyPushLoop} is currently nudging some target (constraint 6)
      * @param leadKnown       whether a lead terminal is known to nudge at all
      * @param fleet           a snapshot of the pending fleet state (constraint 5)
+     * @param context         fleetd #609: the lead's own {@link LeadContextGauge} reading for this tick
+     * @param contextNotified fleetd #609: whether the lead has already been told about the current HIGH
+     *                        stretch — a latch, carried forward by {@link #applyDecision}
      * @return the action to take and the state to persist
      */
     Decision decide(long nowNanos, Long idleSinceNanos, int quietCount, AgentStatus status,
-                    boolean pushLoopActive, boolean leadKnown, FleetState fleet) {
+                    boolean pushLoopActive, boolean leadKnown, FleetState fleet,
+                    LeadContextGauge.State context, boolean contextNotified) {
+        // fleetd #609: re-arm the latch only on a positive OK reading. UNKNOWN means "I could not
+        // look", not "it got better" — re-arming on UNKNOWN would let a flapping gauge (a transcript
+        // read that misses one tick) nudge a full lead again on every recovery, defeating the "once
+        // per HIGH stretch" promise. Computed once, up front, so every gate below carries it forward
+        // unchanged unless it is the gate that actually discharges it.
+        boolean latch = context == LeadContextGauge.State.OK ? false : contextNotified;
+        boolean contextHigh = contextHighNudge && context == LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH;
+
         // Constraint 6: while ReplyPushLoop is actively nudging the lead, injecting a second,
         // competing prompt into the same pane would start a second turn — racing loops multiply
         // turns and context burn. Stand aside, and treat the active push as real state (re-arm the
         // quiet counter), because the reply that drove it is exactly the kind of new state that
-        // should reset the cap.
+        // should reset the cap. The context latch is untouched: standing down must not spend the
+        // one notice this stretch gets.
         if (pushLoopActive) {
-            return new Decision(Action.STAND_DOWN, idleSinceNanos, 0);
+            return new Decision(Action.STAND_DOWN, idleSinceNanos, 0, latch);
         }
         // Constraint 2: a WORKING lead is making progress and must NOT be touched; an unreadable
         // status (read failure, or the agent is gone) is safest treated the same way — never inject
         // into a state we cannot read. Either way, reset the idle window and the quiet counter: the
         // lead was / may be active, so the next idle stretch must count its own quiet period fresh.
         if (status == null || !status.injectable()) {
-            return new Decision(Action.LEAD_BUSY, null, 0);
+            return new Decision(Action.LEAD_BUSY, null, 0, latch);
         }
         if (idleSinceNanos == null) {
             // The lead just became injectable — record the start of an idle stretch and wait out the
             // debounce quiet period before ever nudging (constraint 3).
-            return new Decision(Action.WAIT_IDLE, nowNanos, quietCount);
+            return new Decision(Action.WAIT_IDLE, nowNanos, quietCount, latch);
         }
         if (nowNanos - idleSinceNanos < idleAfterNanos) {
             // Still within the quiet period: the lead that just finished a turn sits momentarily idle
             // and must not be re-prompted into every natural pause.
-            return new Decision(Action.WAIT_IDLE, idleSinceNanos, quietCount);
+            return new Decision(Action.WAIT_IDLE, idleSinceNanos, quietCount, latch);
         }
         // Past the quiet period with an injectable lead: it is a genuine candidate for a nudge. Two
         // gating facts decide whether and how:
@@ -177,23 +257,33 @@ public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
             // No lead terminal is known yet (e.g. the registry has not learned one) — there is nobody
             // to nudge. Keep waiting; the window stays open so discovery re-arms it without a fresh
             // quiet period.
-            return new Decision(Action.WAIT_IDLE, idleSinceNanos, quietCount);
+            return new Decision(Action.WAIT_IDLE, idleSinceNanos, quietCount, latch);
         }
         if (fleet.hasPending()) {
             // Real fleet state is waiting — a worker reply or a DONE session. This is new state, so
-            // it resets the quiet counter (constraint 4) and the lead is nudged to go collect it.
-            return new Decision(Action.INJECT, idleSinceNanos, 0);
+            // it resets the quiet counter (constraint 4) and the lead is nudged to go collect it. The
+            // nudge text carries the context notice too when contextHigh — see injectNudge/contextNotice
+            // — so this route discharges the same duty and must set the latch.
+            return new Decision(Action.INJECT, idleSinceNanos, 0, latch || contextHigh);
+        }
+        if (contextHigh && !latch) {
+            // fleetd #609: the lead is idle, its context is full, and nothing is pending. This is the
+            // one case the quiet cap would otherwise swallow, and it is exactly when the lead most
+            // needs to hear it. Fire once per HIGH stretch, and do NOT spend the quiet budget on it:
+            // this is an event notice, not a "are you still there" nudge.
+            return new Decision(Action.INJECT, idleSinceNanos, quietCount, true);
         }
         if (quietCount < quietNudgeCap) {
             // Nothing is pending, but the cap is not exhausted: nudge anyway, telling the lead
             // exactly that nothing is waiting so it can choose to stand down rather than hunt
-            // (constraint 5). Count it toward the consecutive-quiet cap.
-            return new Decision(Action.INJECT, idleSinceNanos, quietCount + 1);
+            // (constraint 5). Count it toward the consecutive-quiet cap. This nudge also carries the
+            // context notice when contextHigh (already latched above, or being latched now).
+            return new Decision(Action.INJECT, idleSinceNanos, quietCount + 1, latch || contextHigh);
         }
         // Nothing pending and the cap is exhausted: stop nudging until real state appears again
         // (constraint 4). The loop still ticks on backoff so a genuinely new reply or session change
         // re-arms it — QUIET_DONE stops injection, not observation.
-        return new Decision(Action.QUIET_DONE, idleSinceNanos, quietCount);
+        return new Decision(Action.QUIET_DONE, idleSinceNanos, quietCount, latch);
     }
 
     // --- loop ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -203,62 +293,195 @@ public final class LeadHeartbeatLoop {
      * does not evaluate the lead's idle state before the fleet has settled.
      */
     public void start() {
-        log.info("idle-lead heartbeat: on — nudge lead after {}s idle (recheck {}ms, quiet cap {})",
-                TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.toSeconds(idleAfterNanos), backoffMs, quietNudgeCap);
+        // fleetd #613: contextHighNudge added alongside the three settings already here — an
+        // operator otherwise cannot tell from the boot log whether the #609 handover notice is
+        // armed, and had to load the deployed jar's config to confirm it.
+        log.info("idle-lead heartbeat: on — nudge lead after {}s idle (recheck {}ms, quiet cap {}, "
+                        + "context-high nudge {})",
+                TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.toSeconds(idleAfterNanos), backoffMs, quietNudgeCap,
+                contextHighNudge);
         scheduler.schedule(this::tick, backoffMs, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
     }
 
-    /** One loop tick, every {@link #backoffMs} — the thin scheduler around {@link #decide}. */
-    private void tick() {
+    /** One loop tick, every {@link #backoffMs} — the thin scheduler around {@link #decide}. Package-private
+     * (mirroring {@link ReplyPushLoop#tick(String)}) so tests can drive it directly with a fake clock and a
+     * fake {@link AgentControl} instead of racing the scheduler thread. */
+    void tick() {
         boolean leadKnown = primaryRegistry.primaryTerminal().isPresent();
         FleetState fleet = snapshot(inbox, roster);
         AgentStatus status = AgentStatus.UNKNOWN;
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = LeadContextGauge.Reading.unknown();
         if (leadKnown) {
+            String leadTerminal = primaryRegistry.primaryTerminal().orElseThrow();
             try {
-                status = agents.status(primaryRegistry.primaryTerminal().orElseThrow());
+                status = agents.status(leadTerminal);
             } catch (RuntimeException e) {
                 // A failed status read degrades to "unknown" — decide() treats that like a busy lead
                 // and never injects into a state it cannot read. Retry on the next backoff.
                 log.debug("idle-heartbeat: status check failed for lead, will retry: {}", e.toString());
             }
+            // fleetd #609: read the lead's own context regardless of status — decide() still gates on
+            // status first (constraint 2), so this is harmless work on a WORKING lead and lets the
+            // latch state stay accurate for whenever the lead does go idle.
+            reading = contextSource.readingFor().apply(leadTerminal);
         }
 
         Decision d = decide(clock.getAsLong(),
                 idleSinceNanos == NOT_IDLE ? null : idleSinceNanos,
-                quietCount, status, pushLoop.isActive(), leadKnown, fleet);
+                quietCount, status, pushLoop.isActive(), leadKnown, fleet,
+                reading.state(), contextNotified);
         applyDecision(d);
         switch (d.action()) {
-            case INJECT -> injectNudge(fleet);
-            case QUIET_DONE -> countNudge("exhausted");
-            case WAIT_IDLE, LEAD_BUSY, STAND_DOWN -> { /* nothing to inject, nothing to count */ }
+            case INJECT -> injectNudge(d, fleet, reading);
+            case QUIET_DONE -> {
+                countNudge("exhausted");
+                contextNotified = d.contextNotified();
+            }
+            case WAIT_IDLE, LEAD_BUSY, STAND_DOWN -> contextNotified = d.contextNotified();
         }
         scheduleNext();
     }
 
-    /** Persist the state a decision returned, so the next tick starts from it. */
+    /**
+     * Persist the idle/quiet state a decision returned, so the next tick starts from it.
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #609 review: the context latch ({@link #contextNotified}) is deliberately <em>not</em>
+     * set here any more. Setting it from the decision unconditionally — before {@link #injectNudge} even
+     * tries to send — is exactly the review's blocker: a decision to notify is not the same fact as "the
+     * notice reached the pane". Every branch of {@link #tick} now assigns {@link #contextNotified} itself,
+     * once it knows whether a send happened and whether it carried the notice (see {@link #injectNudge}).
+     */
     private void applyDecision(Decision d) {
         idleSinceNanos = d.idleSinceNanos() == null ? NOT_IDLE : d.idleSinceNanos();
         quietCount = d.quietCount();
     }
 
-    /** Send the nudge to the known lead. */
-    private void injectNudge(FleetState fleet) {
+    /**
+     * Send the nudge to the known lead, with the fleetd #609 context notice appended when it applies, and
+     * persist the context latch based on what actually happened this tick — not merely what {@code d}
+     * chose to attempt.
+     */
+    private void injectNudge(Decision d, FleetState fleet, LeadContextGauge.Reading reading) {
+        // fleetd #609 review: build the notice from the latch as it stood BEFORE this tick's decision —
+        // d.contextNotified() is the value to persist once delivery is confirmed, not the value the text
+        // itself should be built from. Otherwise a HIGH stretch that is still latched would never see the
+        // notice at all, defeating the very check this fixes.
+        String notice = contextNotice(contextHighNudge, reading, contextNotified, requireOperatorConfirm);
         var lead = primaryRegistry.primaryTerminal();
-        if (lead.isEmpty()) {
-            return; // the lead disappeared between the decision and the injection
-        }
-        String leadTerminal = lead.get();
+        boolean sent = lead.isPresent() && trySend(lead.get(), fleet.nudgeText() + notice, notice);
+        // The latch becomes true only when all three hold: decide() chose to notify, a notice was
+        // actually included in the text, and the send reached the pane without throwing. Whenever no
+        // notice was attempted (disabled, not HIGH, or already latched), nothing was promised to the lead
+        // this tick, so apply the decision's own carried-forward value unconditionally — that is how the
+        // OK-only re-arm rule and STAND_DOWN's "don't burn the notice" rule keep working through this path
+        // too. A lead that disappeared between the decision and the send (lead.isEmpty()) is treated the
+        // same as a failed send: nothing reached the pane, so the latch must not be set.
+        contextNotified = notice.isEmpty() ? d.contextNotified() : sent;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Attempt one herdr send and count its outcome. Returns whether {@code agents.send} returned without
+     * throwing — the caller ({@link #injectNudge}) needs this to decide whether the fleetd #609 context
+     * latch may be persisted as set.
+     */
+    private boolean trySend(String leadTerminal, String text, String notice) {
         try {
-            agents.send(leadTerminal, fleet.nudgeText());
+            agents.send(leadTerminal, text);
             log.debug("idle-heartbeat: nudge sent to lead {} (quiet nudges so far in this stretch: {})",
                     leadTerminal, quietCount);
-            countNudge("sent");
+            // fleetd #609: a nudge that carries the context notice is counted under its own outcome so
+            // it is visible in /metrics — one count per nudge either way, never two.
+            countNudge(notice.isEmpty() ? "sent" : "sent_context");
+            return true;
         } catch (RuntimeException e) {
             log.warn("idle-heartbeat: failed to nudge lead {}: {}", leadTerminal, e.toString());
             countNudge("failed");
+            return false;
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #609: the text appended to a nudge when the lead's own context is full — {@code ""}
+     * whenever the notice does not apply, so callers can unconditionally append this without an extra
+     * branch. Wording stays plain (CEFR B1) and honest about who actually gates the roll — see the
+     * {@code requireOperatorConfirm} overload (fleetd #621) for which check that is. This loop only
+     * ever prints text, it never calls {@code fleet_handover} itself.
+     *
+     * @param enabled the {@code leadHeartbeat.contextHighNudge} config flag
+     * @param reading the lead's current {@link LeadContextGauge} reading
+     * @return the notice text (starting with a leading space, to append directly after {@link
+     *         FleetState#nudgeText()}), or {@code ""} when disabled or the state is not {@code HIGH}
+     */
+    static String contextNotice(boolean enabled, LeadContextGauge.Reading reading) {
+        return contextNotice(enabled, reading, false);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #609 review: as {@link #contextNotice(boolean, LeadContextGauge.Reading)}, but also gated on
+     * {@code alreadyNotified} — the context latch as it stood <em>before</em> the current tick's decision.
+     * Without this gate, every pending-driven {@code INJECT} that lands while the context stays {@code
+     * HIGH} would re-append the full notice on top of an already-latched stretch, making the notice's own
+     * closing sentence ("You will not be told again until your context reads ok.") false. {@link
+     * #injectNudge} is the only caller that passes a non-default {@code alreadyNotified}.
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #621: delegates with {@code requireOperatorConfirm=true} — the pre-#621 default and the
+     * value every existing caller of this overload (including every test written before #621) already
+     * assumed, so the text this overload returns stays byte-identical.
+     *
+     * @param alreadyNotified whether the lead has already been told about the current HIGH stretch
+     */
+    static String contextNotice(boolean enabled, LeadContextGauge.Reading reading, boolean alreadyNotified) {
+        return contextNotice(enabled, reading, alreadyNotified, true);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #621: as {@link #contextNotice(boolean, LeadContextGauge.Reading, boolean)}, but the closing
+     * instructions also track the daemon's effective {@code leadRollover.requireOperatorConfirm} value,
+     * instead of always asserting that only the operator can approve the roll.
+     *
+     * <p>{@code LeadRollover.confirm(...)} already honours this flag: when it is {@code false}, the daemon
+     * itself gates the roll on the three handover-file checks alone (exists, modified after the {@code
+     * open()} request, and no older than {@code maxDocAgeSeconds}) and never consults {@code
+     * operatorConfirmed}. Before this parameter existed, this notice told the lead to ask the operator
+     * regardless — so a lead that followed its own instructions asked anyway, and setting the config knob
+     * to {@code false} stopped the daemon refusing the roll without stopping the operator being
+     * interrupted. This parameter is how the text is kept honest about which gate is actually live.
+     *
+     * @param requireOperatorConfirm the effective {@code leadRollover.requireOperatorConfirm} value
+     */
+    static String contextNotice(boolean enabled, LeadContextGauge.Reading reading, boolean alreadyNotified,
+                                boolean requireOperatorConfirm) {
+        if (!enabled || alreadyNotified || reading.state() != LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH) {
+            return "";
+        }
+        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(" Your own context is nearly full");
+        String compactionWord = reading.compactions() == 1 ? "compaction" : "compactions";
+        if (reading.tokens() != null) {
+            sb.append(": ").append(reading.tokens()).append(" tokens used, ")
+                    .append(reading.compactions()).append(' ').append(compactionWord).append(" so far.");
+        } else {
+            // A HIGH reading always carries a non-null token count today: LeadContextGauge only
+            // reaches HIGH by comparing a number against HIGH_THRESHOLD_TOKENS. That invariant
+            // lives in another class and nothing asserts it, so this branch does not rely on it —
+            // it drops the token clause rather than printing "null tokens".
+            sb.append(" (").append(reading.compactions()).append(' ').append(compactionWord)
+                    .append(" so far).");
+        }
+        if (requireOperatorConfirm) {
+            sb.append(" A fresh session would work better. To hand over: call fleet_handover(action=\"open\"), "
+                    + "write the file it names, ask the operator, then call fleet_handover(action=\"confirm\", "
+                    + "token, operatorConfirmed). Only the operator can approve the roll. You will not be told "
+                    + "again until your context reads ok.");
+        } else {
+            sb.append(" A fresh session would work better. To hand over: call fleet_handover(action=\"open\"), "
+                    + "write the file it names, then call fleet_handover(action=\"confirm\", token). Decide for "
+                    + "yourself when to confirm: the roll goes through if the handover file exists, was "
+                    + "changed after you opened it, and is not older than maxDocAgeSeconds. You will not be "
+                    + "told again until your context reads ok.");
+        }
+        return sb.toString();
+    }
+
     /** Schedule the next tick on the scheduler thread pool. */
     private void scheduleNext() {
         scheduler.schedule(this::tick, backoffMs, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/LeadMailbox.java

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;
  * which messages reached a lead. Any publish still awaiting its confirm is failed rather than left to idle out
  * the confirm timeout against a sequence number that means nothing on the new channel.
  */
-public final class LeadMailbox implements LeadChannel, AutoCloseable {
+public final class LeadMailbox implements LeadChannelHandle {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(LeadMailbox.class);
 

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/MessageService.java

@@ -93,25 +93,30 @@ public final class MessageService {
         /** Timed out after the message was delivered — the worker is still working. */
         TIMED_OUT_WORKING,
         /**
-         * Timed out with no confirmed delivery. Despite the name, this does not mean the message
-         * is sitting in a queue. {@link #send} reaches this outcome through {@link Injector#cancel},
-         * whose result tells three routes apart:
-         * {@link Injector.Cancellation#CANCELLED} means the message was still queued and this call
-         * removed it, so the target saw nothing and it will not arrive later;
-         * {@link Injector.Cancellation#NOT_DELIVERED} means nothing was ever sent — the queue was
-         * cleared because the target never became ready or was abandoned, or the injector's call to
-         * the target's terminal ({@link dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl#send}) failed with a herdr
-         * error that this codebase already treats as a confirmed absence — so this route too
-         * establishes that the target saw nothing and it will not arrive later; but
-         * {@link Injector.Cancellation#ATTEMPTED} (fleetd #551) means that call was made and its
-         * outcome is unknown. {@code agent.prompt} pastes <em>and submits</em> in one call, so on
-         * this route the target may hold a complete, already-submitted turn and be working on it
-         * right now — {@link Outcome#TIMED_OUT_WORKING}'s meaning, reported here as
-         * {@code TIMED_OUT_QUEUED} only because this caller never observed the pickup. Only
-         * {@code CANCELLED} and {@code NOT_DELIVERED} establish that the target saw nothing;
-         * {@code ATTEMPTED} does not.
+         * Timed out with no confirmed delivery, and the target saw nothing — the message will not
+         * arrive later, so a caller may resend. {@link #send} reaches this outcome through {@link
+         * Injector#cancel} reporting one of two routes: {@link Injector.Cancellation#CANCELLED}
+         * means the message was still queued and this call removed it; {@link
+         * Injector.Cancellation#NOT_DELIVERED} means nothing was ever sent — the queue was cleared
+         * because the target never became ready or was abandoned, or the injector's call to the
+         * target's terminal ({@link dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl#send}) failed with a herdr
+         * error that this codebase already treats as a confirmed absence. A third route,
+         * {@link Injector.Cancellation#ATTEMPTED}, used to be folded into this same outcome
+         * (fleetd #571) — it no longer is; see {@link #TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED}.
          */
         TIMED_OUT_QUEUED,
+        /**
+         * Timed out with delivery unknown. {@link #send} reaches this outcome when {@link
+         * Injector#cancel} reports {@link Injector.Cancellation#ATTEMPTED} (fleetd #551): the call
+         * to the target's terminal ({@link dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl#send}) was made, but
+         * this caller never observed whether it reached the pane. {@code agent.prompt} pastes
+         * <em>and submits</em> in one call, so the target may already hold a complete, submitted
+         * turn and be working on it right now — the same reality as {@link #TIMED_OUT_WORKING},
+         * just not confirmed. The message may or may not have arrived. Treat this as neither a
+         * confirmed delivery nor a confirmed absence: a caller that resends on this outcome risks a
+         * double delivery — the same brief typed into the pane twice (fleetd #571).
+         */
+        TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED,
         /** Another send to this session was in flight for the whole window. */
         BUSY,
         /**
@@ -317,20 +322,21 @@ public final class MessageService {
      */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, Boolean> strandedReplies = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     /**
-     * Targets whose last send timed out with {@link Outcome#TIMED_OUT_QUEUED} (CB-640) — {@link
-     * #send} called {@link Injector#cancel} and got back something other than {@code DELIVERED}.
-     * That covers three histories, not one: {@link Injector.Cancellation#CANCELLED} — the message
-     * was still queued and {@code cancel} removed it right there; {@link
-     * Injector.Cancellation#NOT_DELIVERED} — nothing was ever sent, because the target never became
-     * ready, was torn down, or the call to its terminal failed with a herdr error this codebase
-     * already treats as a confirmed absence; or {@link Injector.Cancellation#ATTEMPTED} (fleetd
-     * #551) — the call to the target's terminal was made and its outcome is unknown, so the target
-     * may already hold a complete, submitted turn. Only the first two mean the message will not
-     * arrive later and the target saw nothing; on the third it may already have arrived in full.
-     * Set where {@link #send} already computes {@code wasDelivered} for that outcome; no queue is
-     * kept here, only the fact that the send ended with no confirmed delivery. Cleared the same way
-     * as {@link #strandedReplies}: the next accepted delivery for the target ({@link #send} opening
-     * a fresh waiter) or a teardown ({@link #abandon}).
+     * Targets whose last send timed out with no confirmed delivery (CB-640) — {@link #send} called
+     * {@link Injector#cancel} and got back something other than {@code DELIVERED}. That covers
+     * three histories, not one: {@link Injector.Cancellation#CANCELLED} — the message was still
+     * queued and {@code cancel} removed it right there; {@link Injector.Cancellation#NOT_DELIVERED}
+     * — nothing was ever sent, because the target never became ready, was torn down, or the call to
+     * its terminal failed with a herdr error this codebase already treats as a confirmed absence; or
+     * {@link Injector.Cancellation#ATTEMPTED} (fleetd #551) — the call to the target's terminal was
+     * made and its outcome is unknown, so the target may already hold a complete, submitted turn.
+     * Only the first two mean the message will not arrive later and the target saw nothing; on the
+     * third it may already have arrived in full — and the caller sees a different outcome for it
+     * ({@link Outcome#TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED}, fleetd #571) than for the first two ({@link
+     * Outcome#TIMED_OUT_QUEUED}). Set where {@link #send} already computes {@code wasDelivered} for
+     * that outcome; no queue is kept here, only the fact that the send ended with no confirmed
+     * delivery. Cleared the same way as {@link #strandedReplies}: the next accepted delivery for the
+     * target ({@link #send} opening a fresh waiter) or a teardown ({@link #abandon}).
      */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, Boolean> queuedDeliveries = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     private final AtomicLong ticketSeq = new AtomicLong();
@@ -417,21 +423,22 @@ public final class MessageService {
 
     /**
      * Read-only delegation fact for fleet views (CB-640): {@code target}'s last send timed out
-     * with no confirmed delivery — the caller saw {@link Outcome#TIMED_OUT_QUEUED} (see the
-     * {@code TimeoutException} branch of {@link #send}). Despite the method's name, this is not
-     * proof that a message is sitting in a queue: {@link Injector#cancel} reports this outcome
-     * through three routes. {@link Injector.Cancellation#CANCELLED} means the message was still
-     * queued and got removed right there. {@link Injector.Cancellation#NOT_DELIVERED} means
-     * nothing was ever sent — the target never became ready, was torn down, or the call to its
-     * terminal failed with a herdr error this codebase already treats as a confirmed absence.
-     * Only these two routes mean the message will not arrive later. {@link
+     * with no confirmed delivery — the caller saw {@link Outcome#TIMED_OUT_QUEUED} or {@link
+     * Outcome#TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED} (fleetd #571; see the {@code TimeoutException} branch of
+     * {@link #send}). Despite the method's name, this is not proof that a message is sitting in a
+     * queue: {@link Injector#cancel} reports this outcome through three routes. {@link
+     * Injector.Cancellation#CANCELLED} means the message was still queued and got removed right
+     * there. {@link Injector.Cancellation#NOT_DELIVERED} means nothing was ever sent — the target
+     * never became ready, was torn down, or the call to its terminal failed with a herdr error this
+     * codebase already treats as a confirmed absence. Only these two routes mean the message will
+     * not arrive later, and both report {@code TIMED_OUT_QUEUED}. {@link
      * Injector.Cancellation#ATTEMPTED} (fleetd #551) means the call to the target's terminal was
      * made and its outcome is unknown: {@code agent.prompt} pastes <em>and submits</em> in one
      * call, so on this route the target may already hold a complete, submitted turn and be
-     * working on it right now — it does NOT follow that the target saw nothing. Distinct from
-     * {@link Outcome#TIMED_OUT_WORKING}, where delivery already happened and only the reply is
-     * outstanding. Cleared the next time this target's delivery is accepted or the target is
-     * abandoned — see {@link #queuedDeliveries}.
+     * working on it right now — it does NOT follow that the target saw nothing, and this route
+     * reports {@code TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED} instead. Distinct from {@link Outcome#TIMED_OUT_WORKING},
+     * where delivery already happened and only the reply is outstanding. Cleared the next time this
+     * target's delivery is accepted or the target is abandoned — see {@link #queuedDeliveries}.
      */
     public boolean hasQueuedDelivery(String target) {
         return target != null && queuedDeliveries.containsKey(target);
@@ -646,7 +653,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
         return switch (o) {
             case REPLIED -> "replied";
             case COMPLETED_UNREPLIED -> "completion_fallback";
-            case TIMED_OUT_WORKING, TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, BUSY -> "timeout";
+            case TIMED_OUT_WORKING, TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED, BUSY -> "timeout";
             case WORKER_FAILED -> "failed";
             case BACKEND_EXHAUSTED -> "backend_exhausted";
             case STALE_TURN, QUESTION -> null; // not a completed delegation
@@ -975,6 +982,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
                 } catch (TimeoutException e) {
                     boolean wasDelivered = delivery.completion().isDone()
                             && !delivery.completion().isCompletedExceptionally();
+                    Injector.Cancellation cancellation = null;
                     if (!wasDelivered) {
                         if (timeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest != null) {
                             // Test-only (fleetd #345): see the field's own javadoc.
@@ -982,20 +990,27 @@ public final class MessageService {
                         }
                         // The target monitor makes cancellation atomic with onStatus picking this
                         // Pending up. If pickup won, report TIMED_OUT_WORKING because the text landed.
-                        wasDelivered = injector.cancel(delivery) == Injector.Cancellation.DELIVERED;
+                        cancellation = injector.cancel(delivery);
+                        wasDelivered = cancellation == Injector.Cancellation.DELIVERED;
                     }
                     log.debug("send to {} timed out (delivered={})", target, wasDelivered);
-                    if (!wasDelivered) {
+                    Outcome outcome;
+                    if (wasDelivered) {
+                        outcome = Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING;
+                    } else if (cancellation == Injector.Cancellation.ATTEMPTED) {
+                        // fleetd #571: the call to the target's terminal was made and its outcome is
+                        // unknown — the message may already have arrived in full, so this must not
+                        // be reported as TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, which promises it never will.
+                        outcome = Outcome.TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED;
+                    } else {
                         // CB-640: record that delivery is not confirmed, for fleet health (see
-                        // queuedDeliveries). Whatever injector.cancel() reported above — this call
-                        // removed a still-queued Pending (CANCELLED), an earlier attempt already
-                        // failed with a confirmed absence (NOT_DELIVERED), or an earlier attempt was
-                        // made and its outcome is unknown (ATTEMPTED, fleetd #551 — the message may
-                        // already have arrived in full) — the send ends with no confirmed delivery.
+                        // queuedDeliveries). cancellation is CANCELLED (this call removed a
+                        // still-queued Pending) or NOT_DELIVERED (an earlier attempt already failed
+                        // with a confirmed absence) — both mean the target saw nothing.
                         queuedDeliveries.put(target, Boolean.TRUE);
+                        outcome = Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED;
                     }
-                    return recorded(new Reply(
-                            wasDelivered ? Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING : Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, null));
+                    return recorded(new Reply(outcome, null));
                 } catch (ExecutionException e) {
                     Throwable cause = e.getCause();
                     throw cause instanceof RuntimeException re ? re : new IllegalStateException(cause);

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/peer/MemberRole.java

@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ public enum MemberRole {
      * <p>Reads the repo and writes analysis. Never commits code and never opens a pull request —
      * an architect that starts implementing has stopped doing the job that makes it useful.
      *
-     * <p>Architects are the one member kind declared in config, because a lead addresses the same
-     * slots across many tickets and needs a stable name for them.
+     * <p>Architects are the one member kind with live slot binding, because a lead addresses the
+     * same slots across many tickets and needs a stable name for them.
      */
     ARCHITECT,
 
@@ -43,6 +43,14 @@ public enum MemberRole {
      */
     DEV,
 
+    /**
+     * Sweeps an assigned package for defects and reports several ranked findings.
+     *
+     * <p>Never changes code, commits, or opens a pull request. A hunt gathers evidence, which can
+     * include running the build, but leaves every fix to a later implementation unit.
+     */
+    HUNTER,
+
     /**
      * Reviews a diff it did not write and reports one structured finding.
      *
@@ -59,7 +67,7 @@ public enum MemberRole {
 
     /**
      * The {@code fleet:} block that holds this role's pool — {@code architects},
-     * {@code developers}, {@code reviewers}.
+     * {@code developers}, {@code hunters}, {@code reviewers}.
      *
      * <p>Plural, and not always the wire name: the pool of things a {@code dev} may run on reads
      * naturally as {@code developers:}. The wire name stays the singular {@code dev}, because that
@@ -69,6 +77,7 @@ public enum MemberRole {
         return switch (this) {
             case ARCHITECT -> "architects";
             case DEV -> "developers";
+            case HUNTER -> "hunters";
             case REVIEWER -> "reviewers";
         };
     }

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/rest/FleetApp.java

@@ -670,15 +670,31 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             }
             default -> ctx.status(202).json(Map.of(
                     "sessionId", id,
+                    // fleetd #571 (ticket comment 17126): no `default` here on purpose. This switch
+                    // is an expression, so the compiler already demands every Outcome constant have
+                    // an arm — adding an 11th constant to Outcome is a compile error here, not a
+                    // silent fall-through. That is exactly the bug this ticket exists to fix:
+                    // `default -> "done"` used to sit here and would have told a REST caller the
+                    // delegation completed for TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED, the one outcome where delivery
+                    // is unknown. REPLIED, COMPLETED_UNREPLIED, QUESTION and STALE_TURN can never
+                    // actually reach this inner switch — the outer switch above always dispatches
+                    // them first — but they still need an arm to keep this switch exhaustive.
                     "status", switch (reply.outcome()) {
                         case TIMED_OUT_WORKING -> "working";
                         case TIMED_OUT_QUEUED -> "queued";
+                        // Delivery here is unknown, not merely still queued — see
+                        // Outcome#TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED's own javadoc.
+                        case TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED -> "unconfirmed";
                         case BUSY -> "busy";
                         case WORKER_FAILED -> "failed";
                         case BACKEND_EXHAUSTED -> "backend_exhausted";
-                        default -> "done"; // unreachable (terminal outcomes handled above)
+                        case REPLIED, COMPLETED_UNREPLIED, QUESTION, STALE_TURN -> "done"; // unreachable
                     },
-                    "detail", (reply.outcome() == MessageService.Outcome.WORKER_FAILED
+                    "detail", reply.outcome() == MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED
+                            ? "no reply within " + timeout + "ms; delivery is unconfirmed — the "
+                                    + "message may already have reached the worker, so a resend "
+                                    + "risks sending it twice; poll status first"
+                            : (reply.outcome() == MessageService.Outcome.WORKER_FAILED
                                     || reply.outcome() == MessageService.Outcome.BACKEND_EXHAUSTED)
                                     && reply.text() != null
                             ? reply.text()

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/session/SessionManager.java

@@ -871,10 +871,23 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
         // digest lets a lead tell at a glance whether all members got the same charter; the source
         // records whether a role charter was configured ("fleet.charters.<role>") or only the reply
         // charter was composed ("none").
+        // #604: charterBytes rides along with charterSha256, not with charterSource — it is only
+        // meaningful as the digest's companion (a length turns "they differ" into "by how much").
+        // A member with no composed charter reports charterSource and nothing else, as before.
+        //
+        // Gating on the DIGEST rather than on the receipt is deliberate, and the two are not
+        // always null together. CharterReceipt.compose() derives the digest with digestOf(), which
+        // returns null for BLANK text, while the byte count is composed.getBytes().length, which
+        // does not. So a whitespace-only charter (a blank fleet.charters.<role> on a profile with
+        // no MCP, so no reply charter is appended) yields a null digest beside a non-zero size.
+        // Reporting a size with no digest would say "they differ by N bytes" about an artifact we
+        // cannot fingerprint, so this gate omits both. Never widen it to the receipt-level null
+        // check without deciding what that case should report.
         if (session.charterReceipt() != null) {
             m.put("charterSource", session.charterReceipt().charterSource());
             if (session.charterReceipt().charterSha256() != null) {
                 m.put("charterSha256", session.charterReceipt().charterSha256());
+                m.put("charterBytes", session.charterReceipt().charterBytes());
             }
         }
         m.put("liveStatus", live == null ? "unknown" : live.status().name().toLowerCase());

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdAssemblyConnectionIdentityTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PaneLocator;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 step 2, unit B2 (CB-185, identity half). Replaces the deleted
+ * {@code FleetdConnectionIdentityConstructionTest}, which pinned this claim by reading {@code
+ * Fleetd.java}'s source text for {@code "new PaneLocator(herdr, memberHerdr)"}. That claim moved
+ * to {@code FleetdAssembly.java} (fleetd #612 Unit A) and is pinned here instead, by driving the
+ * real {@link ConnectionIdentity} — via {@code runtime.mcp().identity()}, not a copy — that {@link
+ * FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} built.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>What this guards against</strong> (from the deleted test's own javadoc): pinning
+ * {@code PaneLocator} to {@code memberHerdr} alone leaves every LEAD's own MCP connection
+ * unresolvable ({@code callerTerminal == null}) the moment {@code memberHerdrSocket} names a
+ * second daemon, which breaks {@code fleet_reply}/{@code fleet_ask}/{@code fleet_whoami} for a
+ * lead. {@code PaneLocatorTest} already proves {@link PaneLocator} itself can search two clients
+ * given two — the gap this pins is that the assembly actually passes it two, and in the right
+ * order (lead first).
+ *
+ * <p><strong>Why this cannot be driven through a real MCP/HTTP round trip.</strong> The natural
+ * way to observe {@code ConnectionIdentity} would be a real {@code fleet_whoami} call over the
+ * built {@code FleetMcp}, the way {@code FleetMcpContextExtractorTest} drives its own
+ * hand-built one. That does not work for the REAL assembly, because {@code FleetdAssembly} wires
+ * {@code ConnectionIdentity} with a hardcoded {@code new LsofPeerPidLookup()} (see {@code
+ * FleetdAssembly.java:444}), and {@code LsofPeerPidLookup} explicitly excludes its own PID — see
+ * its javadoc: "we exclude our own PID and take the other end". In a JUnit test the HTTP client
+ * and the daemon under test run in the very same JVM, so the "client" and "server" ends of the
+ * loopback connection ARE the same PID, and {@code pidForLocalPort} always returns {@code -1}
+ * before {@link PaneLocator} is ever reached — proving nothing about which daemon(s) got searched.
+ * This test instead reaches the real {@link PaneLocator} the assembly built (through {@link
+ * ConnectionIdentity#panes()}, added for exactly this) and drives it with a chosen pid directly,
+ * bypassing the OS-dependent PID lookup entirely — a legitimate substitute, since the pid lookup
+ * is not what CB-185 is about.
+ */
+class FleetdAssemblyConnectionIdentityTest {
+
+    /** Same shape as {@code FleetdAssemblyLifecycleTest}'s fake, but keys {@code connectHerdr} by
+     * socket path so the lead and member daemons can be two DIFFERENT {@link FakeHerdr}s. */
+    private static final class TwoHerdrResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final Map<Path, HerdrClient> herdrsBySocket = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        final CopyOnWriteArrayList<ScheduledExecutorService> schedulers = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        Runnable shutdownHook;
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            HerdrClient client = herdrsBySocket.get(socketPath);
+            if (client == null) {
+                throw new IllegalStateException("no fake herdr registered for socket " + socketPath);
+            }
+            return client;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> new dev.ltms.fleet.msg.InMemoryReplyInbox();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                        "leadMailboxOpener must not be called — no coordinator: block is configured");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            ScheduledExecutorService scheduler = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+            schedulers.add(scheduler);
+            return scheduler;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+            this.shutdownHook = hook;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+            // Deliberately never bind — this test never issues a real HTTP request.
+        }
+    }
+
+    private FleetdRuntime runtime;
+    private TwoHerdrResourcePorts ports;
+
+    @AfterEach
+    void tearDown() {
+        if (ports != null && ports.shutdownHook != null) {
+            ports.shutdownHook.run();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static final Path LEAD_SOCKET = Path.of("/fake/lead-herdr.sock");
+    private static final Path MEMBER_SOCKET = Path.of("/fake/member-herdr.sock");
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                herdrSocket: "%s"
+                memberHerdrSocket: "%s"
+                lifecycle:
+                  idleTtlSeconds: 600
+                health:
+                  enabled: false
+                broker:
+                  uri: "amqp://fake-test-broker/vh"
+                """.formatted(LEAD_SOCKET, MEMBER_SOCKET));
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    private FleetdRuntime assemble(Path dir, FakeHerdr lead, FakeHerdr member) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        ports = new TwoHerdrResourcePorts();
+        ports.herdrsBySocket.put(LEAD_SOCKET, lead);
+        ports.herdrsBySocket.put(MEMBER_SOCKET, member);
+        runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+        return runtime;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The pin. {@code lead} carries the one pane {@link FakeHerdr}'s canned {@code
+     * pane.process_info} ties to {@link FakeHerdr#WORKER_PID} (pane {@code w2:p7}); {@code member}
+     * reports NO panes at all ({@link FakeHerdr#withNoPanes()}) — modelling a second daemon that
+     * simply does not host the caller's pane, exactly the CB-185 javadoc's scenario for a lead's
+     * own connection. If {@code PaneLocator} only ever searches the member daemon (the bug), this
+     * pid resolves to nothing, because the pane that owns it lives on the LEAD daemon the bug
+     * skips.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void connectionIdentitySearchesTheLeadDaemonNotJustTheMemberOne(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr();
+        FakeHerdr member = new FakeHerdr().withNoPanes();
+
+        assemble(dir, lead, member);
+
+        PaneLocator panes = runtime.mcp().identity().panes();
+        PaneLocator.Lookup lookup = panes.terminalForPid(FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID);
+
+        assertEquals("term_a", lookup.terminal(),
+                "the pane owning WORKER_PID lives on the LEAD daemon only (the member fake reports "
+                        + "no panes) — PaneLocator must still find it, which is only possible if it "
+                        + "searches the lead client and not just the member one");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The mirror control: when the pane instead lives ONLY on the member daemon (the lead reports
+     * no panes), the lookup must still find it — proving the member client is genuinely searched
+     * too, not merely tolerated as a second, always-losing argument.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void connectionIdentityAlsoSearchesTheMemberDaemon(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr().withNoPanes();
+        FakeHerdr member = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        assemble(dir, lead, member);
+
+        PaneLocator panes = runtime.mcp().identity().panes();
+        PaneLocator.Lookup lookup = panes.terminalForPid(FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID);
+
+        assertEquals("term_a", lookup.terminal(),
+                "the pane owning WORKER_PID lives on the MEMBER daemon only — PaneLocator must "
+                        + "find it there too");
+    }
+
+    /** Sanity control: a pid nobody owns resolves to nothing on either daemon. */
+    @Test
+    void aPidNoPaneOwnsResolvesToNoTerminalOnEitherDaemon(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr();
+        FakeHerdr member = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        assemble(dir, lead, member);
+
+        PaneLocator panes = runtime.mcp().identity().panes();
+        PaneLocator.Lookup lookup = panes.terminalForPid(999_999L);
+
+        assertNull(lookup.terminal());
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdAssemblyCoordinatorLifecycleTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadChannel;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadChannelHandle;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadMessage;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertSame;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 A-gaps (gap 1): {@code FleetdAssemblyLifecycleTest}'s own class javadoc says plainly
+ * that it leaves {@code coordinator:} unset, so {@code leadMailbox} and {@code leadCoordLoop} stay
+ * {@code null} throughout — the configured-coordinator path is never exercised by Unit A's own
+ * test. This class drives that path instead: a real {@code coordinator:} block, a fake {@link
+ * Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener} returning a fake closeable channel (never a real broker connection),
+ * and proof that {@link FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} both builds it and, on shutdown, closes it.
+ *
+ * <p>Made possible by generalising {@code Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener}'s return type (and {@code
+ * FleetdRuntime}'s field) from the concrete {@code LeadMailbox} to {@link LeadChannelHandle} — a
+ * {@link LeadChannel} its owner can also close. {@code FleetMcp} and {@code LeadCoordLoop} already
+ * consumed the narrower {@link LeadChannel}; this only widens the one seam that owns and closes it.
+ */
+class FleetdAssemblyCoordinatorLifecycleTest {
+
+    private static final String SELF_COORD_ID = "test-lead";
+
+    /** A fake {@link LeadChannelHandle}: never touches a broker, and records whether it was closed. */
+    private static final class FakeLeadChannel implements LeadChannelHandle {
+        volatile boolean closed = false;
+
+        @Override
+        public void publish(String toCoordId, LeadMessage m) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<LeadMessage> peek() {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void ack(String msgId) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String selfCoordId() {
+            return SELF_COORD_ID;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean heldDurable() {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public MailboxState inspect(String coordId) {
+            return MailboxState.unknown(coordId);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void close() {
+            closed = true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Minimal fake {@link ResourcePorts}: a real herdr fake, a fake reply inbox, and a real, offered fake lead channel. */
+    private static final class RecordingResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        final SentinelReplyInbox replyInbox = new SentinelReplyInbox();
+        final FakeLeadChannel leadChannel = new FakeLeadChannel();
+        String offeredUri;
+        String offeredSelfId;
+        Runnable shutdownHook;
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            return herdr;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> replyInbox;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                offeredUri = uri;
+                offeredSelfId = selfCoordId;
+                return leadChannel;
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            return Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+            this.shutdownHook = hook;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+            // No real HTTP bind in a unit test.
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static final class SentinelReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox {
+        @Override
+        public void own(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void release(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void publish(String target, String msgId, String content) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<InboxMessage> peek(String target) {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean ack(String target, String msgId) {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                idleSleepGuard:
+                  enabled: false
+                coordinator:
+                  uri: "amqp://fake-lead-broker/vh"
+                  selfId: "test-lead"
+                """);
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void configuredCoordinatorIsBuiltByTheAssemblyAndClosedOnShutdown(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        RecordingResourcePorts ports = new RecordingResourcePorts();
+
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+
+        // --- the assembly actually calls the configured opener and builds the coordinator path ---
+        assertEquals("amqp://fake-lead-broker/vh", ports.offeredUri,
+                "the assembly must open the mailbox at the configured broker uri");
+        assertEquals(SELF_COORD_ID, ports.offeredSelfId,
+                "the assembly must open the mailbox under the configured selfId");
+        assertSame(ports.leadChannel, runtime.leadMailbox(),
+                "FleetdRuntime must own the exact LeadChannelHandle the opener returned, not a copy");
+        assertNotNull(runtime.leadCoordLoop(),
+                "a configured coordinator: block must build the receiving LeadCoordLoop too");
+        assertFalse(ports.leadChannel.closed, "the channel must still be open while the daemon is running");
+
+        // --- shutting the assembly down closes it -------------------------------------------------
+        assertNotNull(ports.shutdownHook, "FleetdAssembly must have registered a shutdown hook");
+        ports.shutdownHook.run();
+
+        assertTrue(ports.leadChannel.closed,
+                "FleetdRuntime.close() must close the configured LeadChannelHandle");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdAssemblyFleetAppTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,237 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.net.URI;
+import java.net.http.HttpClient;
+import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
+import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 step 2, unit B2 (CB-185, {@code FleetApp} half). Replaces the deleted {@code
+ * FleetdFleetAppConstructionTest}, which pinned this claim by reading {@code Fleetd.java}'s
+ * source text for {@code "new FleetApp(herdr, memberHerdr, workers,"}. That claim moved to {@code
+ * FleetdAssembly.java} (fleetd #612 Unit A) and is pinned here instead, by driving the real {@code
+ * Javalin} app — via {@code runtime.app()}, not a copy — that {@link
+ * FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} built and handed to {@link FleetdRuntime}.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>What this guards against</strong> (from the deleted test's own javadoc): constructing
+ * {@code FleetApp} with the lead-only {@code herdr} client (dropping {@code memberHerdr}) makes
+ * {@code GET /healthz} report green while the MEMBER daemon is down — so every spawn fails
+ * invisibly — and silently drops every member workspace from {@code GET /sessions}. {@code
+ * FleetAppTwoDaemonTest} already proves {@code FleetApp} itself merges/gates correctly given two
+ * clients; the gap this pins is that the assembly actually passes it two.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>Both directions, not just one</strong> (fleetd #612 issue comment 17525): the deleted
+ * guard's positive assertion required the exact pair {@code "new FleetApp(herdr, memberHerdr,
+ * workers,"}, which does not survive EITHER daemon being dropped. An earlier version of this class
+ * only proved the member-dropped direction, which left {@code new FleetApp(memberHerdr,
+ * memberHerdr, ...)} — the symmetric bug, {@code /healthz} green while the LEAD daemon is down —
+ * an undetected regression. {@link #healthzGoesRedWhenTheLeadDaemonIsDownEvenThoughTheMemberIsUp}
+ * closes that.
+ *
+ * <p>Unlike the {@code ConnectionIdentity} half of CB-185 ({@code
+ * FleetdAssemblyConnectionIdentityTest}), {@code /healthz} needs no caller identity at all, so
+ * this test can bind {@link FleetdRuntime#app()} to a REAL ephemeral port (exactly {@code
+ * FleetAppTwoDaemonTest} does for its own hand-built {@code FleetApp}) and drive it with a real
+ * {@code HttpClient} — no accessor needed for this half.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>{@code GET /sessions} could not be driven the same way</strong>, so this class does
+ * not pin the merge half of the deleted test's javadoc. {@code /sessions} requires
+ * {@code Authz.Action.READ}, which — through the REAL assembly's real {@code
+ * CallerResolver}/{@code ConnectionIdentity} (built with a hardcoded {@code
+ * new LsofPeerPidLookup()}) — needs {@code Caller.resolved()}, i.e. a real positive pid from
+ * {@code lsof}. {@code LsofPeerPidLookup} excludes its own pid (see its javadoc), and a JUnit
+ * test's HTTP client and the daemon under test share one JVM pid, so the resolved pid is always
+ * {@code -1} and every such request is refused as {@code ANONYMOUS} (fleetd #317's fail-closed
+ * rule) before the route handler — and its {@code memberHerdr} merge — is ever reached. Verified
+ * directly: driving {@code GET /sessions} here returns {@code 401 unauthenticated}, not the
+ * merged body. {@code FleetAppTwoDaemonTest} avoids this because it builds {@code FleetApp} with
+ * {@code callers: null}, which is not what the real assembly passes. The {@code /healthz} pin
+ * below is what this class relies on for CB-185's {@code FleetApp} half; {@code
+ * FleetAppTwoDaemonTest} remains the full behavioural proof that {@code FleetApp} itself merges
+ * {@code /sessions} correctly once handed two clients.
+ */
+class FleetdAssemblyFleetAppTest {
+
+    private static final class TwoHerdrResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final Map<Path, HerdrClient> herdrsBySocket = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        final CopyOnWriteArrayList<ScheduledExecutorService> schedulers = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        Runnable shutdownHook;
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            HerdrClient client = herdrsBySocket.get(socketPath);
+            if (client == null) {
+                throw new IllegalStateException("no fake herdr registered for socket " + socketPath);
+            }
+            return client;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> new dev.ltms.fleet.msg.InMemoryReplyInbox();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                        "leadMailboxOpener must not be called — no coordinator: block is configured");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            ScheduledExecutorService scheduler = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+            schedulers.add(scheduler);
+            return scheduler;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+            this.shutdownHook = hook;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+            // Deliberately never bind here — this test binds runtime.app() itself, for real, below.
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static final Path LEAD_SOCKET = Path.of("/fake/lead-herdr.sock");
+    private static final Path MEMBER_SOCKET = Path.of("/fake/member-herdr.sock");
+
+    private final HttpClient http = HttpClient.newHttpClient();
+    private FleetdRuntime runtime;
+    private TwoHerdrResourcePorts ports;
+    private Javalin boundApp;
+
+    @AfterEach
+    void tearDown() {
+        if (boundApp != null) {
+            boundApp.stop();
+        }
+        if (ports != null && ports.shutdownHook != null) {
+            ports.shutdownHook.run();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                herdrSocket: "%s"
+                memberHerdrSocket: "%s"
+                lifecycle:
+                  idleTtlSeconds: 600
+                health:
+                  enabled: false
+                broker:
+                  uri: "amqp://fake-test-broker/vh"
+                """.formatted(LEAD_SOCKET, MEMBER_SOCKET));
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    /** Assembles the real graph, then binds the real {@code Javalin app} to an ephemeral port. */
+    private int assembleAndBind(Path dir, FakeHerdr lead, FakeHerdr member) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        ports = new TwoHerdrResourcePorts();
+        ports.herdrsBySocket.put(LEAD_SOCKET, lead);
+        ports.herdrsBySocket.put(MEMBER_SOCKET, member);
+        runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+        boundApp = runtime.app().start("127.0.0.1", 0);
+        return boundApp.port();
+    }
+
+    private HttpResponse<String> get(int port, String path) throws Exception {
+        HttpRequest req = HttpRequest.newBuilder(URI.create("http://127.0.0.1:" + port + path)).GET().build();
+        return http.send(req, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The pin. The MEMBER daemon is down; the LEAD daemon is healthy. If the assembly built
+     * {@code FleetApp} with only the lead client (the bug: passing {@code herdr} where {@code
+     * memberHerdr} is expected), the down member is invisible and {@code /healthz} stays 200.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void healthzGoesRedWhenTheMemberDaemonIsDownEvenThoughTheLeadIsUp(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr();
+        FakeHerdr member = new FakeHerdr().healthy(false);
+
+        int port = assembleAndBind(dir, lead, member);
+
+        HttpResponse<String> res = get(port, "/healthz");
+        assertEquals(503, res.statusCode(),
+                "a down MEMBER daemon must not be masked by a healthy lead: " + res.body());
+    }
+
+    /** Sanity control: both daemons healthy must still be green through the real assembly. */
+    @Test
+    void healthzIsGreenWhenBothDaemonsAreUp(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr();
+        FakeHerdr member = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        int port = assembleAndBind(dir, lead, member);
+
+        assertEquals(200, get(port, "/healthz").statusCode());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The symmetric pin (fleetd #612 issue comment 17525): the LEAD daemon is down; the MEMBER
+     * daemon is healthy. If the assembly built {@code FleetApp} with only the member client
+     * (dropping {@code herdr} — the mirror of the bug above, {@code new FleetApp(memberHerdr,
+     * memberHerdr, ...)}), the down LEAD is invisible and {@code /healthz} stays 200. Without this
+     * case the pair above is one-directional and does not cover the deleted guard's positive
+     * assertion (it required BOTH {@code herdr,} and {@code memberHerdr,} in that order).
+     */
+    @Test
+    void healthzGoesRedWhenTheLeadDaemonIsDownEvenThoughTheMemberIsUp(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr().healthy(false);
+        FakeHerdr member = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        int port = assembleAndBind(dir, lead, member);
+
+        HttpResponse<String> res = get(port, "/healthz");
+        assertEquals(503, res.statusCode(),
+                "a down LEAD daemon must not be masked by a healthy member: " + res.body());
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdAssemblyLifecycleTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,258 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.LoopWatchdog;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 Unit A: proves {@link FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} — not a copy of its logic —
+ * against a real {@link FleetConfig}, a {@link FakeHerdr} and a fake {@link ResourcePorts}, with no
+ * real herdr socket, no real broker, and no real HTTP bind.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>The canonical order this test asserts against was recorded from {@code Fleetd.java}
+ * BEFORE any code moved</strong> (fleetd #612 Unit A's mandated order of work), by reading the
+ * original {@code main}'s body and its shutdown-hook {@code Thread}:
+ *
+ * <p>Start order: {@code SessionReaper.start()} → {@code StatusPoller.start()} →
+ * {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop.start()} (opt-in) → {@code FleetHealthMonitor.start()} (opt-in) →
+ * {@code LeadCoordLoop.start()} (opt-in) → {@code ConfigWatcher.start()} (opt-in) →
+ * {@code app.start()} (HTTP), always last.
+ *
+ * <p>Close order (from the original shutdown hook body): {@code sessions.close(drainTimeoutSeconds)}
+ * → {@code poller.stop()} → {@code messages.close()} → {@code pushLoop.close()} →
+ * {@code heartbeat.close()} (if present) → {@code leadCoordLoop.close()} (if present) →
+ * {@code leadCoordScheduler.shutdownNow()} (if present) → {@code healthMonitor.stop()} (if present)
+ * → {@code configWatcher.stop()} (if present) → {@code mcp.close()} → {@code reaper.stop()} (if
+ * present) → {@code idleSleepGuard.close()} (if present) → {@code replyInbox.close()} (if
+ * {@code AutoCloseable}) → {@code leadMailbox.close()} (if present) → {@code router.close()}.
+ *
+ * <p>This test's config deliberately leaves {@code coordinator:} unset, so {@code leadMailbox} and
+ * {@code leadCoordLoop} stay {@code null} throughout — the lead-mailbox resource-ledger criterion is
+ * NOT exercised here; see the class-level caveat in the implementer's hand-off. {@code
+ * idleSleepGuard.enabled: false} is set for the same kind of reason: it would otherwise try to spawn
+ * a real {@code caffeinate} subprocess, which is not one of the resources the ticket's acceptance
+ * criteria names (scheduler/inbox/mailbox/loop/MCP server/herdr router).
+ */
+class FleetdAssemblyLifecycleTest {
+
+    /** The one {@link HerdrClient} both {@code herdrSocket} and {@code memberHerdrSocket} resolve to. */
+    private static final class RecordingResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        final SentinelReplyInbox replyInbox = new SentinelReplyInbox();
+        final List<String> ledger = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        final List<ScheduledExecutorService> schedulers = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        final List<String> schedulerPurposes = new ArrayList<>();
+        Runnable shutdownHook;
+        Javalin startedApp;
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            ledger.add("connectHerdr");
+            return herdr;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            ledger.add("replyInboxOpener");
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> replyInbox;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            // Never invoked: this test's config has no `coordinator:` block, so
+            // Fleetd.openLeadMailbox returns null before calling the opener at all.
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                        "leadMailboxOpener must not be called — no coordinator: block is configured");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            ledger.add("newScheduler:" + purpose);
+            schedulerPurposes.add(purpose);
+            ScheduledExecutorService scheduler = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+            schedulers.add(scheduler);
+            return scheduler;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+            ledger.add("addShutdownHook");
+            this.shutdownHook = hook;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+            // Deliberately never call app.start(host, port): no real HTTP bind in a unit test.
+            ledger.add("startHttp");
+            this.startedApp = app;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** A fake {@link ReplyInbox} that is also {@link AutoCloseable}, so the ledger can prove it closes. */
+    private static final class SentinelReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
+        volatile boolean closed = false;
+
+        @Override
+        public void own(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void release(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void publish(String target, String msgId, String content) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<InboxMessage> peek(String target) {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean ack(String target, String msgId) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void close() {
+            closed = true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                lifecycle:
+                  idleTtlSeconds: 600
+                health:
+                  enabled: true
+                  intervalSeconds: 30
+                leadHeartbeat:
+                  idleAfterSeconds: 600
+                  backoffMs: 15000
+                  quietNudgeCap: 5
+                configReload:
+                  enabled: true
+                  intervalSeconds: 30
+                idleSleepGuard:
+                  enabled: false
+                broker:
+                  uri: "amqp://fake-test-broker/vh"
+                """);
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void assemblesTheRealBootGraphWithoutTouchingAnyRealSocketBrokerOrPort(@TempDir Path dir)
+            throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        RecordingResourcePorts ports = new RecordingResourcePorts();
+
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+
+        // --- start order: the herdr connect, then the recurring background loops, in the recorded
+        // order, then the shutdown hook is registered, then (finally) HTTP "starts" -------------
+        assertTrue(ports.ledger.indexOf("connectHerdr") < ports.ledger.indexOf("newScheduler:bridge-push-"),
+                "herdr must connect before the push scheduler is created: " + ports.ledger);
+        assertEquals(List.of("bridge-push-", "bridge-heartbeat-", "bridge-health-"), ports.schedulerPurposes,
+                "the three always-created schedulers must be requested in exactly this order: "
+                        + ports.schedulerPurposes);
+        assertTrue(ports.ledger.indexOf("addShutdownHook") < ports.ledger.indexOf("startHttp"),
+                "the shutdown hook must be registered before HTTP starts — the one statement that "
+                        + "could not be reordered without changing FleetdRuntime's constructor shape, "
+                        + "see FleetdAssembly's javadoc: " + ports.ledger);
+        assertEquals(ports.ledger.size() - 1, ports.ledger.indexOf("startHttp"),
+                "HTTP must start LAST of everything this fake observes: " + ports.ledger);
+        assertNotNull(ports.startedApp, "FleetdAssembly must have built and handed off a real FleetApp");
+
+        // No real HTTP bind and no real herdr socket: this call returning at all, plus the ledger
+        // above, is the proof — a real bind or a real UnixSocketHerdrClient.connect would have
+        // thrown or hung against the sockets/ports this test never opened.
+        assertNotNull(runtime.app(), "FleetdRuntime must own the same Javalin app that was built");
+        assertEquals(ports.startedApp, runtime.app(), "attachApp must hand FleetdRuntime the SAME instance");
+
+        // --- the runtime owns the real, live objects — not a copy --------------------------------
+        assertEquals(LoopWatchdog.State.RUNNING, runtime.reaper().health(),
+                "SessionReaper must be running: lifecycle.idleTtlSeconds is configured");
+        assertEquals(LoopWatchdog.State.RUNNING, runtime.poller().health(), "StatusPoller must be running");
+        assertNotNull(runtime.heartbeat(), "leadHeartbeat: is configured, so the loop must be built and started");
+        assertNotNull(runtime.healthMonitor(), "health.enabled: true, so the monitor must be built and started");
+        assertNotNull(runtime.configWatcher(), "configReload.enabled: true, so the watcher must be built and started");
+        // Documented gap (see class javadoc): no coordinator: block, so these stay null.
+        assertEquals(null, runtime.leadCoordLoop(), "no coordinator: block — leadCoordLoop must stay unbuilt");
+        assertEquals(null, runtime.leadMailbox(), "no coordinator: block — leadMailbox must stay unbuilt");
+        assertEquals(runtime.replyInbox(), ports.replyInbox,
+                "FleetdRuntime must own the exact ReplyInbox instance this fake's AmqpOpener returned");
+        assertFalse(ports.herdr.closed, "herdr must still be open while the daemon is running");
+        assertFalse(ports.replyInbox.closed, "the reply inbox must still be open while the daemon is running");
+        for (ScheduledExecutorService scheduler : ports.schedulers) {
+            assertFalse(scheduler.isShutdown(), "a scheduler must still be running while the daemon is up");
+        }
+
+        // --- close order: invoke the captured shutdown-hook Runnable directly (no real JVM shutdown
+        // happens in a unit test) and prove every resource this fake can observe is released --------
+        assertNotNull(ports.shutdownHook, "FleetdAssembly must have registered a shutdown hook");
+        ports.shutdownHook.run();
+
+        assertEquals(LoopWatchdog.State.STOPPED, runtime.reaper().health(), "SessionReaper must stop on close");
+        assertEquals(LoopWatchdog.State.STOPPED, runtime.poller().health(), "StatusPoller must stop on close");
+        assertTrue(ports.herdr.closed, "router.close() must close the herdr client last");
+        assertTrue(ports.replyInbox.closed, "the AutoCloseable reply inbox must be closed");
+        for (int i = 0; i < ports.schedulers.size(); i++) {
+            assertTrue(ports.schedulers.get(i).isShutdown(),
+                    "scheduler for '" + ports.schedulerPurposes.get(i) + "' must be shut down by close(): "
+                            + "LeadHeartbeatLoop/FleetHealthMonitor/ReplyPushLoop each call "
+                            + "scheduler.shutdownNow() on the exact instance ports.newScheduler(...) handed them");
+        }
+
+        // Calling the captured hook a second time must never happen for a real JVM shutdown hook,
+        // but nothing above should have thrown — that already proves every accessed field's close()
+        // tolerated running once, in the recorded order, without an exception escaping.
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdAssemblyRoleFallbackBoundaryTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Level;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.spi.ILoggingEvent;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.testing.CapturedLog;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 A-gaps (gap 2): {@code Fleetd.java:185} used to call {@code
+ * reportRoleFallbackGaps(cfg)} <em>outside</em> the boundary {@code FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart}
+ * — the assembly call itself sat at line 201, after it — so nothing that drives the assembly (the
+ * seam {@code FleetdAssemblyLifecycleTest} exercises) could ever notice the call being deleted.
+ * {@code Fleetd.main} still refuses a bad config end to end (see {@code
+ * FleetdStartupValidationTest}), but that only pins {@code validateAll()} and {@code
+ * assertChartersNameOnlyRegisteredTools} — a validator that <em>throws</em>. {@code
+ * reportRoleFallbackGaps} only logs; nothing about {@code main} throwing or not throwing can
+ * observe whether that particular call ran.
+ *
+ * <p>This drives {@link FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} directly — never a copy of its logic —
+ * with a config that has no {@code fleet:} pools or charters configured for any role, so every role
+ * trips both of {@code reportRoleFallbackGaps}' log branches, and asserts on the real log line a
+ * {@code ListAppender} attached to the shared {@code Fleetd}/{@code FleetdAssembly} logger
+ * captures. Deleting the call from {@code FleetdAssembly} (verified by hand, see the ticket) turns
+ * this test red; deleting it from {@code Fleetd.main} instead (its old location) would not, which
+ * is exactly the gap this test closes.
+ */
+class FleetdAssemblyRoleFallbackBoundaryTest {
+
+    /** Minimal fake {@link ResourcePorts}: enough for {@code assembleAndStart} to run with no real I/O. */
+    private static final class RecordingResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        final SentinelReplyInbox replyInbox = new SentinelReplyInbox();
+        Runnable shutdownHook;
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            return herdr;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> replyInbox;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                        "leadMailboxOpener must not be called — no coordinator: block is configured");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            return Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+            this.shutdownHook = hook;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+            // No real HTTP bind in a unit test.
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static final class SentinelReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox {
+        @Override
+        public void own(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void release(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void publish(String target, String msgId, String content) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<InboxMessage> peek(String target) {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean ack(String target, String msgId) {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        // Deliberately no `fleet:` block at all: every MemberRole has neither a pool nor a
+        // charter, so reportRoleFallbackGaps' "role fallback: no fleet.<role>s: pool for ..."
+        // branch is guaranteed to log something to assert on.
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                idleSleepGuard:
+                  enabled: false
+                """);
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void assembleAndStartItselfReportsTheRoleFallbackGaps(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        RecordingResourcePorts ports = new RecordingResourcePorts();
+
+        try (var captured = CapturedLog.at(Fleetd.class, Level.INFO)) {
+            FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+
+            String infoLines = captured.events().stream()
+                    .filter(e -> e.getLevel() == Level.INFO)
+                    .map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage)
+                    .reduce("", (a, b) -> a + "\n" + b);
+            assertTrue(infoLines.contains("role fallback: no fleet.<role>s: pool for"),
+                    () -> "FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart itself must call reportRoleFallbackGaps "
+                            + "(fleetd #612 A-gaps gap 2) — captured INFO lines: " + infoLines);
+        } finally {
+            if (ports.shutdownHook != null) {
+                ports.shutdownHook.run();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdBackendQuarantineAssemblyTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendQuarantine;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.OptionalLong;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 B3 — replaces {@code FleetdBackendQuarantineWiringTest} (fleetd #466), a source-text
+ * test that scraped {@code Fleetd.java} (now {@code FleetdAssembly.java}, moved there by fleetd #612
+ * Unit A) for the {@code BackendQuarantine.withEscalation(...)} call, and separately asserted the
+ * flat two-argument constructor's text was ABSENT. That proves the right method NAME appears in
+ * source; it proves nothing about what the constructed object actually DOES.
+ *
+ * <p>This test instead drives the REAL {@link BackendQuarantine} the real {@link
+ * FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} builds — reached through {@link
+ * dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp#quarantineSource()} on the real, live {@code FleetMcp} {@code
+ * FleetdRuntime} owns — and asserts the ONE behavioural difference {@code withEscalation} and the
+ * flat constructor actually produce (see {@link BackendQuarantine}'s own class doc, "Mechanism"):
+ * quarantining the same credential twice in a row, within one base cooldown of the first deadline,
+ * must escalate the second cooldown past the first. A flat instance reports the identical cooldown
+ * both times.
+ */
+class FleetdBackendQuarantineAssemblyTest {
+
+    /** Base cooldown used throughout — long enough that rounding never blurs the 2x escalation. */
+    private static final int COOLDOWN_SECONDS = 100;
+
+    private static final class RecordingResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        final SentinelReplyInbox replyInbox = new SentinelReplyInbox();
+        final AtomicLong clockNanos = new AtomicLong(0L);
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            return herdr;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> replyInbox;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                        "leadMailboxOpener must not be called — no coordinator: block is configured");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            // Controllable: the SAME LongSupplier instance BackendQuarantine.withEscalation(...) is
+            // built with, so advancing clockNanos after assembly moves the quarantine tracker's own
+            // clock, with no real sleep needed to observe escalation.
+            return clockNanos::get;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return clockNanos::get;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            return Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static final class SentinelReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
+        @Override
+        public void own(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void release(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void publish(String target, String msgId, String content) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<InboxMessage> peek(String target) {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean ack(String target, String msgId) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void close() {
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                idleSleepGuard:
+                  enabled: false
+                broker:
+                  uri: "amqp://fake-test-broker/vh"
+                quarantineCooldownSeconds: %d
+                """.formatted(COOLDOWN_SECONDS));
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] the real assembled BackendQuarantine escalates a repeated exhaustion, "
+            + "which the flat two-argument constructor can never do")
+    void assembledQuarantineEscalatesOnARepeatedExhaustion(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        RecordingResourcePorts ports = new RecordingResourcePorts();
+
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+
+        BackendQuarantine quarantine = runtime.mcp().quarantineSource().quarantine();
+
+        // First exhaustion, at clock=0: a fresh occurrence, blocked for exactly the base cooldown.
+        quarantine.quarantine("cred-x");
+        BackendQuarantine.Status first = quarantine.status("cred-x").orElseThrow(
+                () -> new AssertionError("credential must be quarantined immediately after quarantine()"));
+        assertEquals(1, first.repeatCount(), "the first call is repeat #1");
+        assertEquals(COOLDOWN_SECONDS, first.remainingSeconds(),
+                "a fresh quarantine blocks for exactly the base cooldown");
+
+        // Second exhaustion, arriving just after the first deadline — well within one base cooldown
+        // of it, so this is a CONTINUATION of the same streak (repeat #2), not a fresh occurrence.
+        long firstDeadlineNanos = COOLDOWN_SECONDS * 1_000_000_000L;
+        ports.clockNanos.set(firstDeadlineNanos + 1);
+        quarantine.quarantine("cred-x");
+        BackendQuarantine.Status second = quarantine.status("cred-x").orElseThrow(
+                () -> new AssertionError("credential must be quarantined immediately after the second "
+                        + "quarantine() call"));
+        assertEquals(2, second.repeatCount(), "the second call, arriving within one base cooldown of "
+                + "the first deadline, continues the streak as repeat #2");
+
+        // The one behavioural difference: withEscalation doubles the cooldown on repeat #2 (capped
+        // well above this at 12x base), the flat two-argument constructor never grows past the base
+        // cooldown no matter how many times quarantine() is called in a row.
+        assertEquals(2 * COOLDOWN_SECONDS, second.remainingSeconds(),
+                "withEscalation's default backoff doubles the cooldown on the second consecutive "
+                        + "exhaustion — this is the exact call FleetdAssembly.java makes at the "
+                        + "BackendQuarantine.withEscalation(...) call site");
+        assertTrue(second.remainingSeconds() > first.remainingSeconds(),
+                "the flat two-argument BackendQuarantine constructor would report the SAME remaining "
+                        + "seconds both times — this inequality is what a mutation to the flat "
+                        + "constructor at that call site must fail");
+
+        // Also confirm isQuarantined/remainingSeconds agree, exercising the accessors a real caller
+        // (fleet_profiles / fleet_list, per BackendQuarantine's own class doc) actually reads.
+        assertTrue(quarantine.isQuarantined("cred-x"));
+        OptionalLong remaining = quarantine.remainingSeconds("cred-x");
+        assertTrue(remaining.isPresent());
+        assertEquals(2 * COOLDOWN_SECONDS, remaining.getAsLong());
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdBackendQuarantineWiringTest.java

@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-package dev.ltms.fleet;
-
-import java.nio.file.Files;
-import java.nio.file.Path;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
-
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
-
-/**
- * fleetd #466 follow-up: {@code Fleetd.main} builds the daemon's one {@code BackendQuarantine}
- * from {@link dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendQuarantine#withEscalation(java.util.function.LongSupplier,
- * long)} — the escalating factory — rather than the plain two-argument constructor, which is still a
- * flat cooldown (kept for backward compatibility, see that class's doc). {@code
- * BackendQuarantineTest} proves {@code withEscalation} itself escalates, is ceilinged, and resets;
- * it says nothing about which one {@code main} actually calls.
- *
- * <p>Measured directly: reverting {@code main} to {@code new BackendQuarantine(System::nanoTime,
- * TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(cfg.quarantineCooldownSeconds()))} — the pre-#466 flat call — compiles
- * with 0 errors and leaves the entire 1608-test suite (including every {@code BackendQuarantineTest}
- * case) green, because no other test constructs its {@code BackendQuarantine} through {@code main};
- * every one of them builds its own instance directly. That silent regression is exactly the shape
- * {@link FleetdLeadSeatWiringTest} and {@link FleetdCompletionResolverWiringTest} already guard
- * against for their own constructor arguments — this is the same class of gap for fleetd #466's
- * factory choice, following their approach.
- *
- * <p><b>This test checks source text, not runtime behaviour.</b> It never constructs a {@code
- * BackendQuarantine} and never runs {@code main} — a green result here proves only that the exact
- * text {@code main} calls {@code BackendQuarantine.withEscalation(...)} rather than the flat
- * constructor. It does not prove that call actually executes at startup (no test here starts the
- * daemon), and it does not prove the escalation reaches a real backend or credential — only
- * {@code BackendQuarantineTest} proves the factory's own behaviour, and only a live daemon proves
- * the wiring runs.
- */
-class FleetdBackendQuarantineWiringTest {
-
-    private static String fleetdSource() throws Exception {
-        return Files.readString(Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/Fleetd.java"));
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] main's BackendQuarantine local is still built from BackendQuarantine.withEscalation(...)")
-    void mainStillWiresTheEscalatingQuarantineFactory() throws Exception {
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains(
-                        "BackendQuarantine quarantine = BackendQuarantine.withEscalation(System::nanoTime,\n"
-                                + "                TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(cfg.quarantineCooldownSeconds()));"),
-                "Fleetd.main's BackendQuarantine local must still be built from "
-                        + "BackendQuarantine.withEscalation(System::nanoTime, "
-                        + "TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(cfg.quarantineCooldownSeconds())). Reverting to the flat "
-                        + "two-argument constructor (fleetd #466's measured regression) compiles with 0 errors "
-                        + "and leaves the whole suite green, including every BackendQuarantineTest case that "
-                        + "proves the escalation itself works — this source check is what must go red instead. "
-                        + "A reverted daemon would go back to retrying a weekly subscription limit on every "
-                        + "flat ~30-minute cooldown, about 336 times across the week.");
-
-        // Negative form of the same check: the pre-#466 flat call, if it ever reappears at this
-        // declaration, must not be mistaken for the escalating one by a looser positive-only check.
-        assertFalse(source.contains(
-                        "BackendQuarantine quarantine = new BackendQuarantine(System::nanoTime,\n"
-                                + "                TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(cfg.quarantineCooldownSeconds()));"),
-                "main's BackendQuarantine local must never regress to the flat two-argument constructor");
-    }
-}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdClaudeCodeLauncherCredentialWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 2: {@link Fleetd#claudeCodeLauncher} is the factory that replaced {@code
+ * main}'s inline {@code new ClaudeCodeLauncher(...)} call, whose 10th argument is the CB-596 {@code
+ * memberCredentials} policy supplier ({@code () -> config.get().memberCredentials()}). Before this
+ * ticket that argument was untestable wiring: replacing it with {@code () -> null} compiled with 0
+ * errors and left every existing test green, since no existing test builds the exact object {@code
+ * main} wires and then spawns it. {@code memberCredentials} being a lambda is never itself {@code
+ * null}, so {@link dev.ltms.fleet.member.HerdrPeerLauncher#applyMemberCredentialPolicy} sees {@code
+ * memberCredentials.get() == null} and silently shadows nothing — reopening the exact CB-592
+ * exposure gap CB-596's policy closed (gitea issue #82).
+ *
+ * <p>This test drives the factory with a real {@link ConfigRef} carrying a {@code
+ * memberCredentials:} block, spawns through the resulting launcher, and inspects what {@code
+ * tab.create} actually carried — the same observable surface {@code ClaudeCodeLauncherTest}'s
+ * {@code everyKnownNameNotAllowedIsShadowedWithTheSentinel} uses for the launcher's own credential
+ * policy, applied here to prove {@code main}'s wiring reaches it.
+ */
+class FleetdClaudeCodeLauncherCredentialWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String YAML = """
+            bind:
+              host: 127.0.0.1
+              port: 8765
+            herdrSocket: ~/.config/herdr/herdr.sock
+            profiles:
+              ltms-local:
+                baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+                model: coder
+            memberCredentials:
+              policy: deny-by-default
+              known:
+                - GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN
+            """;
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    private static Map<String, String> startEnv(FakeHerdr herdr) {
+        return (Map<String, String>) ((Map<String, Object>) herdr.lastCall("tab.create").params()).get("env");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("main's memberCredentials wiring reaches ClaudeCodeLauncher: a known-but-not-allowed "
+            + "name is shadowed on spawn")
+    void memberCredentialsWiringReachesClaudeCodeLauncher(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path file = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(file, YAML);
+        FleetConfig cfg = FleetConfig.load(file);
+        ConfigRef config = ConfigRef.fixed(cfg);
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher launcher = Fleetd.claudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr),
+                new WorkspaceControl(herdr), new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")),
+                cfg.profiles(), cfg, config);
+        launcher.spawn();
+
+        String shadowed = startEnv(herdr).get("GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN");
+        assertNotNull(shadowed,
+                "GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN is 'known' but not 'allow'-ed in the loaded config — it must be "
+                        + "explicitly shadowed on spawn; replacing the memberCredentials supplier with "
+                        + "() -> null at the Fleetd.claudeCodeLauncher call site must fail this "
+                        + "assertion, since a null policy shadows nothing");
+        assertFalse(shadowed.isBlank(), "the overlay value must be non-blank");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdCompletionResolverAssemblyTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,307 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.CompletionResolver;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.Rendezvous;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.TurnToken;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.PlacementException;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.MemberSession;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.WorktreeRequest;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 step 2, Unit B1 — replaces {@code FleetdCompletionResolverWiringTest} (deleted in
+ * this same commit), whose four tests read {@code Fleetd.java}'s source text and asserted the
+ * {@code CompletionResolver} construction call still named the right arguments. That proved the
+ * call site's spelling, never that the assembled resolver actually behaves differently when an
+ * argument is dropped.
+ *
+ * <p>These tests drive {@link FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} — the real boot composition,
+ * fleetd #612 Unit A — and read {@link FleetdRuntime#completion()}: the exact {@link
+ * CompletionResolver} instance the assembled daemon uses, never a copy built alongside it for the
+ * test's benefit. Two behaviours are pinned, matching the ticket's own two measured mutations:
+ *
+ * <ul>
+ *   <li>the 8th constructor argument ({@code Fleetd.worktreeBranchLookup(sessions::roster)}) —
+ *       {@link #assembledResolverReportsTheMembersWorktreeAndBranchInAFallbackReport}; and</li>
+ *   <li>the 5th/6th arguments ({@code backendErrorPatterns}, {@code backendErrorSink}, both
+ *       assigned from {@code Fleetd}'s extracted factories rather than an inline lambda) —
+ *       {@link #assembledResolverClassifiesAndCoolsOffOnAConfiguredBackendErrorPattern}.</li>
+ * </ul>
+ *
+ * <p>Both tests bypass {@link dev.ltms.fleet.inject.StatusPoller} and drive {@link
+ * CompletionResolver#onDelivered} / {@link CompletionResolver#resolveBeforePostAction} directly —
+ * the same public, synchronous entry points {@code CompletionResolverTest} uses — with a
+ * hand-built {@link CompletableFuture} waiter, so no real poller loop or herdr status poll is
+ * needed. The pane scrape comes from {@link FakeHerdr#readText}; the elapsed-time floor
+ * ({@code CompletionResolver.MIN_TURN_NANOS}) is controlled via a fake, advanceable {@link
+ * ResourcePorts#nanoClock()} rather than a real sleep.
+ */
+class FleetdCompletionResolverAssemblyTest {
+
+    /** Same shape as {@code FleetdAssemblyLifecycleTest}'s fake, plus a nanoClock this test can advance. */
+    private static final class ControllableResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final FakeHerdr herdr;
+        final AtomicLong nowNanos = new AtomicLong(1_000_000_000L); // arbitrary non-zero start
+        Runnable shutdownHook;
+
+        ControllableResourcePorts(FakeHerdr herdr) {
+            this.herdr = herdr;
+        }
+
+        void advanceSeconds(long seconds) {
+            nowNanos.addAndGet(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(seconds));
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            return herdr;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            // Never invoked: this test's config has no `broker:` block, so Fleetd.selectReplyInbox
+            // returns the in-memory inbox before calling the opener at all.
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException("replyInboxOpener must not be called — no broker: block");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            // Never invoked: no `coordinator:` block configured either.
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException("leadMailboxOpener must not be called — no coordinator: block");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            return nowNanos::get;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return nowNanos::get;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            return Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+            this.shutdownHook = hook;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+            // Deliberately never bind a real port.
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir, String profilesYaml, String extraGuardHost,
+                                            String worktreeRootYamlLine) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                idleSleepGuard:
+                  enabled: false
+                %s
+                profiles:
+                %s
+                guard:
+                  offSubscriptionHosts:
+                    - %s
+                """.formatted(worktreeRootYamlLine == null ? "" : worktreeRootYamlLine, profilesYaml, extraGuardHost));
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    private static void gitQuiet(Path cwd, String... args) throws Exception {
+        List<String> cmd = new java.util.ArrayList<>(List.of("git"));
+        cmd.addAll(List.of(args));
+        Process p = new ProcessBuilder(cmd).directory(cwd.toFile()).redirectErrorStream(true).start();
+        String out = new String(p.getInputStream().readAllBytes());
+        assertTrue(p.waitFor(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS), "git timed out: git " + String.join(" ", args));
+        assertEquals(0, p.exitValue(), "git " + String.join(" ", args) + " failed:\n" + out);
+    }
+
+    private static Path initRepo(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Files.createDirectories(dir);
+        gitQuiet(dir, "init", "-q", "-b", "main");
+        gitQuiet(dir, "config", "user.email", "test@example.invalid");
+        gitQuiet(dir, "config", "user.name", "Test");
+        Files.writeString(dir.resolve("README.md"), "seed\n");
+        gitQuiet(dir, "add", "README.md");
+        gitQuiet(dir, "commit", "-q", "-m", "seed");
+        return dir;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #248's first measured mutation: replacing {@code CompletionResolver}'s 8th constructor
+     * argument with the inert {@code _ -> null} compiles clean and leaves every existing test green
+     * — it silently drops fleetd #241's fallback-report location. This drives the real assembled
+     * resolver through a member echoing its own injected brief back (no {@code fleet_reply}), which
+     * resolves via {@code noReportMessage(target)}, and proves the real member's {@code branch} —
+     * only obtainable via {@code Fleetd.worktreeBranchLookup(sessions::roster)} reading the real,
+     * worktree-provisioned {@link MemberSession} — appears in the reported text.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void assembledResolverReportsTheMembersWorktreeAndBranchInAFallbackReport(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path repo = initRepo(dir.resolve("repo"));
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir, """
+                  wtprofile:
+                    baseUrl: http://wthost.local:8000
+                    model: sonnet
+                """, "wthost.local", "worktreeRoot: " + dir.resolve("wts"));
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        ControllableResourcePorts ports = new ControllableResourcePorts(new FakeHerdr());
+
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+        try {
+            MemberSession session = runtime.sessions().acquire("wtprofile", repo.toString(), repo.toString(),
+                    null, new WorktreeRequest("fleetd-612-b1", null));
+            String target = session.terminalId();
+            String branch = session.branch();
+            assertTrue(branch != null && branch.startsWith("worker/"),
+                    "sanity: a worktree-provisioned session must carry a real branch, got: " + branch);
+
+            CompletionResolver completion = runtime.completion();
+            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> waiter = new CompletableFuture<>();
+            String echoedBrief = "z".repeat(450); // >= CompletionResolver.ECHO_MIN_CHARS normalised chars
+
+            ports.herdr.readText("idle, nothing yet");
+            completion.onDelivered(target, new TurnToken(target, waiter, echoedBrief));
+
+            ports.herdr.readText(echoedBrief); // the pane just echoes the injected brief back — no real report
+            ports.advanceSeconds(3); // clear CompletionResolver.MIN_TURN_NANOS (2s) without a real sleep
+            completion.resolveBeforePostAction(target);
+
+            Rendezvous.Resolution resolution = waiter.getNow(null);
+            assertTrue(resolution != null, "the waiter must have resolved synchronously");
+            assertEquals(Rendezvous.Kind.COMPLETION, resolution.kind());
+            assertTrue(resolution.text().contains(CompletionResolver.NO_REPORT_PREFIX),
+                    "sanity: must have gone down the noReportMessage sub-path: " + resolution.text());
+            assertTrue(resolution.text().contains("branch=" + branch),
+                    "the assembled resolver must report the member's real branch (fleetd #241 via "
+                            + "fleetd #248's worktreeBranchLookup wiring); got: " + resolution.text());
+        } finally {
+            if (ports.shutdownHook != null) ports.shutdownHook.run();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #248's second measured mutation, and fleetd#201 Unit 5's own gap: replacing {@code
+     * backendErrorPatterns}/{@code backendErrorSink} with {@code BackendErrorPatternLookup.legacy()}
+     * / {@code BackendErrorSink.none()} compiles clean and leaves every existing behavioural test
+     * green.
+     *
+     * <p>Classification proof: this test's profile configures {@code errorPattern: "credential
+     * outage"} — text the built-in {@code (?i)\bAPI Error\s*:} fallback ({@code legacy()}'s only
+     * behaviour) never matches. So a real {@code Fleetd.backendErrorPatternLookup(...)} wiring
+     * classifies the send as {@code FAILED}; {@code legacy()} would fall through to the plain
+     * completion path instead ({@code Kind.COMPLETION}).
+     *
+     * <p>Cool-off proof: two distinct targets on the same profile/credential each classified as a
+     * backend error inside the 60s window must cool the credential off ({@link
+     * dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendOutagePolicy}, fleetd#201 Unit 5) — observable two ways: (1)
+     * the real {@code Fleetd.backendErrorSink(...)} marks each session {@code BACKEND_ERROR} (only
+     * the real sink calls {@code sessions.onBackendError}; {@code BackendErrorSink.none()} never
+     * does), and (2) a third explicit-profile spawn attempt is refused with a {@link
+     * PlacementException} naming the cool-off — only reachable because the real sink's {@code
+     * outagePolicy.record(...)} call actually ran.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void assembledResolverClassifiesAndCoolsOffOnAConfiguredBackendErrorPattern(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir, """
+                  coolprofile:
+                    baseUrl: http://coolhost.local:8000
+                    model: sonnet
+                    errorPattern: "credential outage"
+                """, "coolhost.local", null);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        ControllableResourcePorts ports = new ControllableResourcePorts(new FakeHerdr());
+
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+        try {
+            MemberSession session1 = runtime.sessions().acquire("coolprofile", null, dir.toString(), null);
+            MemberSession session2 = runtime.sessions().acquire("coolprofile", null, dir.toString(), null);
+            String target1 = session1.terminalId();
+            String target2 = session2.terminalId();
+            assertTrue(!target1.equals(target2), "sanity: the two spawns must be distinct targets");
+
+            CompletionResolver completion = runtime.completion();
+
+            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> waiter1 = new CompletableFuture<>();
+            ports.herdr.readText("idle 1");
+            completion.onDelivered(target1, new TurnToken(target1, waiter1, null));
+            ports.herdr.readText("credential outage: upstream 503");
+            ports.advanceSeconds(3);
+            completion.resolveBeforePostAction(target1);
+            Rendezvous.Resolution resolution1 = waiter1.getNow(null);
+            assertTrue(resolution1 != null, "target1's waiter must have resolved synchronously");
+            assertEquals(Rendezvous.Kind.FAILED, resolution1.kind(),
+                    "a configured errorPattern the built-in fallback never matches must classify as "
+                            + "a backend error, not a plain completion; got: " + resolution1);
+            assertTrue(resolution1.text().contains("credential outage: upstream 503"), resolution1.text());
+
+            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> waiter2 = new CompletableFuture<>();
+            ports.herdr.readText("idle 2");
+            completion.onDelivered(target2, new TurnToken(target2, waiter2, null));
+            ports.herdr.readText("credential outage: upstream 503 again");
+            ports.advanceSeconds(3);
+            completion.resolveBeforePostAction(target2);
+            Rendezvous.Resolution resolution2 = waiter2.getNow(null);
+            assertTrue(resolution2 != null, "target2's waiter must have resolved synchronously");
+            assertEquals(Rendezvous.Kind.FAILED, resolution2.kind());
+
+            List<MemberSession> roster = runtime.sessions().roster();
+            assertTrue(roster.stream().anyMatch(s -> target1.equals(s.terminalId())
+                            && s.state() == MemberSession.State.BACKEND_ERROR),
+                    "the real backendErrorSink must have transitioned target1 to BACKEND_ERROR: " + roster);
+            assertTrue(roster.stream().anyMatch(s -> target2.equals(s.terminalId())
+                            && s.state() == MemberSession.State.BACKEND_ERROR),
+                    "the real backendErrorSink must have transitioned target2 to BACKEND_ERROR: " + roster);
+
+            PlacementException coolOff = assertThrows(PlacementException.class,
+                    () -> runtime.sessions().acquire("coolprofile", null, dir.toString(), null),
+                    "two distinct targets classified within the 60s window must cool the credential "
+                            + "off (BackendOutagePolicy), refusing a third explicit-profile spawn");
+            assertTrue(coolOff.getMessage().contains("cooling off"), coolOff.getMessage());
+        } finally {
+            if (ports.shutdownHook != null) ports.shutdownHook.run();
+        }
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdCompletionResolverWiringTest.java

@@ -1,89 +0,0 @@
-package dev.ltms.fleet;
-
-import java.nio.file.Files;
-import java.nio.file.Path;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
-
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
-
-/**
- * fleetd #248: this is the test that was actually missing. {@code Fleetd.main} builds its {@code
- * CompletionResolver} from an 8-argument constructor, and the ticket's own measurement proved two
- * ways to silently unwire it — both compiled with 0 errors and left every existing test green:
- *
- * <ul>
- *   <li>replacing the worktree/branch argument (the 8th) with {@code _ -> null} — drops
- *       fleetd#241's fallback-report location entirely;</li>
- *   <li>replacing {@code backendErrorPatterns, backendErrorSink} (5th/6th) with {@code
- *       BackendErrorPatternLookup.legacy(), BackendErrorSink.none()} — drops fleetd#201 Unit 5's
- *       backend-error classification and cool-off entirely.</li>
- * </ul>
- *
- * <p>Neither mutation could be caught by any test that constructs its own {@code
- * CompletionResolver} (every test before this one did exactly that) or by a test of {@link
- * Fleetd#worktreeBranchLookup}, {@link Fleetd#backendErrorPatternLookup}, or {@link
- * Fleetd#backendErrorSink} in isolation (see {@code FleetdWorktreeBranchLookupTest}, {@code
- * FleetdBackendErrorPatternLookupTest}, {@code FleetdBackendErrorSinkTest}) — those prove the
- * factories work, never that {@code main} still calls them. This class is a plain source-text
- * assertion on {@code Fleetd.java} — crude, but honest about what it checks, and it turns red the
- * instant the wiring is dropped, mirroring the same fallback shape {@link
- * FleetdFleetAppConstructionTest} already uses for a different constructor argument.
- *
- * <p><b>This test checks source text, not runtime behaviour.</b> It never constructs a {@code
- * CompletionResolver} and never runs {@code main}.
- */
-class FleetdCompletionResolverWiringTest {
-
-    private static String fleetdSource() throws Exception {
-        return Files.readString(Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/Fleetd.java"));
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] CompletionResolver's construction call still names backendErrorPatterns and backendErrorSink")
-    void backendErrorArgumentsAreStillNamedAtTheCallSite() throws Exception {
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains(
-                        "exhaustionSink, backendErrorPatterns, backendErrorSink, System::nanoTime,"),
-                "CompletionResolver's construction call must still pass backendErrorPatterns and "
-                        + "backendErrorSink as its 5th/6th arguments. Replacing them with "
-                        + "BackendErrorPatternLookup.legacy()/BackendErrorSink.none() (fleetd #248's measured "
-                        + "mutation) compiles with 0 errors and leaves every behavioural test green — this "
-                        + "source check is what must go red instead.");
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] CompletionResolver's construction call still passes worktreeBranchLookup(sessions::roster)")
-    void worktreeBranchLookupIsStillPassedAtTheCallSite() throws Exception {
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains("worktreeBranchLookup(sessions::roster)"),
-                "CompletionResolver's construction call must still pass worktreeBranchLookup(sessions::roster) "
-                        + "as its 8th (last) argument. Replacing it with the inert `_ -> null` (fleetd #248's "
-                        + "other measured mutation) compiles with 0 errors and leaves every behavioural test "
-                        + "green — this source check is what must go red instead.");
-        assertFalse(source.contains("System::nanoTime,\n                _ -> null"),
-                "the worktree/branch argument must never regress to the inert `_ -> null` literal");
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] backendErrorPatterns is assigned from the extracted backendErrorPatternLookup(...) factory")
-    void backendErrorPatternsComesFromTheFactory() throws Exception {
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains(
-                        "BackendErrorPatternLookup backendErrorPatterns = backendErrorPatternLookup(sessions::roster,"),
-                "backendErrorPatterns must be assigned from Fleetd.backendErrorPatternLookup(...), not an "
-                        + "inline lambda that a source check on the CompletionResolver call alone cannot see "
-                        + "through");
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] backendErrorSink is assigned from the extracted backendErrorSink(...) factory")
-    void backendErrorSinkComesFromTheFactory() throws Exception {
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains(
-                        "BackendErrorSink backendErrorSink = backendErrorSink(sessions, () -> config.get().profiles(),"),
-                "backendErrorSink must be assigned from Fleetd.backendErrorSink(...), not an inline lambda "
-                        + "that a source check on the CompletionResolver call alone cannot see through");
-    }
-}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdConnectionIdentityConstructionTest.java

@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-package dev.ltms.fleet;
-
-import java.nio.file.Files;
-import java.nio.file.Path;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
-
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
-
-/**
- * CB-185: {@code ConnectionIdentity} must resolve a caller's pane on EITHER herdr daemon (a
- * lead's MCP connection resolves against the lead daemon; a member's against the member daemon).
- * Pinning {@code PaneLocator} to {@code memberHerdr} alone — the bug this guards against — leaves
- * every lead's own connection unresolvable ({@code callerTerminal == null}) the moment
- * {@code memberHerdrSocket} names a second daemon, which breaks {@code fleet_reply}/{@code
- * fleet_ask} and {@code fleet_whoami} for a lead. A unit test on {@link
- * dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PaneLocator} alone (see {@code PaneLocatorTest}) proves the class CAN
- * search two clients, but not that {@code Fleetd.main} actually wires it that way — hence this
- * source-level assertion, the same technique {@code FleetdHerdrControlConstructionTest} uses.
- */
-class FleetdConnectionIdentityConstructionTest {
-    @Test
-    void connectionIdentitySearchesBothDaemonsNotJustTheMemberOne() throws Exception {
-        String source = Files.readString(Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/Fleetd.java"));
-        assertFalse(source.contains("new PaneLocator(memberHerdr)"),
-                "PaneLocator must not be pinned to the member daemon alone — a lead's own "
-                        + "connection resolves against the LEAD daemon and would never be found");
-        assertTrue(source.contains("new PaneLocator(herdr, memberHerdr)"),
-                "PaneLocator must search the lead daemon first, then the member daemon");
-    }
-}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdExhaustedPatternLookupWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.ExhaustedPatternLookup;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.LiveExhaustedPatterns;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.MemberRole;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.MemberSession;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.regex.Pattern;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 1: {@link Fleetd#exhaustedPatternLookup} is the factory that replaced {@code
+ * main}'s inline lambda — resolve a herdr {@code target} to its session's profile, then to that
+ * profile's live {@link LiveExhaustedPatterns#patternFor}. Same shape as {@link
+ * Fleetd#worktreeBranchLookup} (which {@code FleetdWorktreeBranchLookupTest} pins the same way).
+ *
+ * <p>Before this ticket the lambda was built inline in {@code main} and untestable: replacing it
+ * with {@code target -> null} — the exact shape of {@link ExhaustedPatternLookup#none()} — compiled
+ * with 0 errors and left every existing test green. Per the ticket, this is the worst consequence
+ * in the whole #589 sweep: a genuine usage-limit refusal would stop being classified as {@code
+ * BACKEND_EXHAUSTED} and would be handed back to a waiting {@code fleet_send} as if it were real
+ * completed work.
+ */
+class FleetdExhaustedPatternLookupWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String YAML = """
+            bind:
+              host: 127.0.0.1
+              port: 8765
+            herdrSocket: ~/.config/herdr/herdr.sock
+            profiles:
+              terra:
+                baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+                model: claude-opus-5
+                exhaustedPattern: "usage limit"
+            """;
+
+    private static MemberSession session(String terminal, String profile) {
+        return new MemberSession("pane-" + terminal, terminal, profile, MemberRole.DEV,
+                "/cwd", null, 0L, 0L, 0, MemberSession.State.READY, null, null);
+    }
+
+    private static LiveExhaustedPatterns liveExhaustedPatterns(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path file = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(file, YAML);
+        FleetConfig cfg = FleetConfig.load(file);
+        return new LiveExhaustedPatterns(() -> ConfigRef.fixed(cfg).get().profiles());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a known target resolves through its session's profile to that profile's live pattern")
+    void knownTargetResolvesThroughItsProfile(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        LiveExhaustedPatterns patterns = liveExhaustedPatterns(dir);
+        ExhaustedPatternLookup lookup = Fleetd.exhaustedPatternLookup(
+                () -> List.of(session("term1", "terra")), patterns);
+
+        Pattern resolved = lookup.patternFor("term1");
+
+        assertNotNull(resolved,
+                "the lookup must resolve term1 -> profile 'terra' -> LiveExhaustedPatterns.patternFor("
+                        + "'terra') — replacing the lambda body with 'target -> null' at the "
+                        + "Fleetd.exhaustedPatternLookup call site must fail this assertion");
+        assertTrue(resolved.matcher("the usage limit has been reached").find());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("an unknown target resolves to null, not a thrown exception")
+    void unknownTargetResolvesToNull(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        LiveExhaustedPatterns patterns = liveExhaustedPatterns(dir);
+        ExhaustedPatternLookup lookup = Fleetd.exhaustedPatternLookup(
+                () -> List.of(session("term1", "terra")), patterns);
+
+        assertNull(lookup.patternFor("term_stranger"));
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdExhaustionSinkForwardingWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.ExhaustionSink;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 1: {@link Fleetd#forwardingExhaustionSink} is the factory that replaced
+ * {@code main}'s inline {@code ExhaustionSink.forwardingTo(exhaustionSinkRef::get)} (fleetd #175's
+ * construction-order break: the adapters need a sink before {@code sessions} exists to build the
+ * real one). Before this ticket that call site was untestable wiring: replacing the supplier
+ * argument with a hardcoded {@code () -> ExhaustionSink.none()} compiled with 0 errors and left
+ * every existing test green, because no test builds the object {@code main} actually wires and
+ * then mutates the reference afterward — every existing {@code ExhaustionSink.forwardingTo} caller
+ * in this codebase reads and writes the SAME reference within one test, so a hardcoded-none supplier
+ * and a correctly-forwarding one are indistinguishable to them.
+ *
+ * <p>This test builds the reference, builds the forwarder from it, and only THEN repoints the
+ * reference at a spy sink — the discriminating order fleetd #175's whole design depends on
+ * ({@code exhaustionSinkRef} starts at {@code none()} and is repointed once {@code sessions}
+ * exists). A forwarder that captured a fixed target at construction time (the inert form) can never
+ * see that later repoint.
+ */
+class FleetdExhaustionSinkForwardingWiringTest {
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("the forwarder reads the reference live: repointing it AFTER construction is honoured")
+    void forwarderReadsTheReferenceLiveNotAFixedTargetCapturedAtConstruction() {
+        AtomicReference<ExhaustionSink> exhaustionSinkRef = new AtomicReference<>(ExhaustionSink.none());
+        ExhaustionSink forwarder = Fleetd.forwardingExhaustionSink(exhaustionSinkRef);
+
+        AtomicBoolean spyCalled = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+        exhaustionSinkRef.set((target, reason, profile) -> spyCalled.set(true));
+
+        forwarder.onExhausted("term_x", "usage limit reached", "terra");
+
+        assertTrue(spyCalled.get(),
+                "forwardingExhaustionSink must delegate to whatever exhaustionSinkRef currently "
+                        + "holds — hardcoding the supplier to () -> ExhaustionSink.none() at the "
+                        + "Fleetd.forwardingExhaustionSink call site must fail this assertion, "
+                        + "since the spy set into the reference after construction would never run");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("before any repoint, the forwarder is inert — it starts at none(), not a crash")
+    void beforeAnyRepointTheForwarderIsInert() {
+        AtomicReference<ExhaustionSink> exhaustionSinkRef = new AtomicReference<>(ExhaustionSink.none());
+        ExhaustionSink forwarder = Fleetd.forwardingExhaustionSink(exhaustionSinkRef);
+
+        AtomicBoolean spyCalled = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+        forwarder.onExhausted("term_x", "usage limit reached", "terra");
+
+        assertFalse(spyCalled.get(), "nothing was ever wired to be called here — this only pins "
+                + "that the factory does not throw before a real sink is published");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdExhaustionSinkPublishWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.ExhaustionSink;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendQuarantine;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 1: {@link Fleetd#publishExhaustionSink} is the factory that replaced {@code
+ * main}'s previously untested two-statement sequence — build the real {@link
+ * Fleetd#exhaustionSink}, then {@code exhaustionSinkRef.set(exhaustionSink)}. {@link
+ * Fleetd#exhaustionSink} itself is already pinned by {@code FleetdExhaustionSinkWarningTest} (its
+ * log text) — what was NEVER pinned is the {@code .set(...)} call: {@code main} could replace it
+ * with {@code exhaustionSinkRef.set(ExhaustionSink.none())} and compile with 0 errors, leaving
+ * every existing test green, because {@link Fleetd#exhaustionSink}'s own tests build and call the
+ * sink directly, never through the reference {@code main} publishes it into.
+ *
+ * <p>This test proves the PUBLISHED reference — not a freshly rebuilt sink — is the one that
+ * actually quarantines a credential, by reading {@link BackendQuarantine#isQuarantined} after
+ * calling {@code exhaustionSinkRef.get().onExhausted(...)}, the same object {@link
+ * Fleetd#forwardingExhaustionSink} forwards to in production.
+ */
+class FleetdExhaustionSinkPublishWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String YAML = """
+            bind:
+              host: 127.0.0.1
+              port: 8765
+            herdrSocket: ~/.config/herdr/herdr.sock
+            profiles:
+              terra:
+                baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+                model: claude-opus-5
+            guard:
+              offSubscriptionHosts:
+                - gx00.gw
+            """;
+
+    private static SessionManager emptyRosterSessions() {
+        FakeHerdr h = new FakeHerdr();
+        FleetConfig.Profile dummy = new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "dummy", "http://gx00.gw:8000", "coder", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN", null,
+                "tab", "fleetd-workers", "worker: {profile} #{n}", null, null, null);
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher launcher = new ClaudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(h), new WorkspaceControl(h),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), Map.of(dummy.profile(), dummy), dummy.profile(), _ -> "tok");
+        // Never acquires a session — publishExhaustionSink's built sink resolves target -> profile
+        // via the profileHint fallback (fleetd #234), exactly like OpenCodeLauncher's real call
+        // site does, so this never needs a populated roster.
+        return new SessionManager(launcher);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("the published reference actually quarantines — not a rebuilt-but-never-set sink")
+    void publishedReferenceActuallyQuarantines(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path file = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(file, YAML);
+        FleetConfig cfg = FleetConfig.load(file);
+        ConfigRef config = ConfigRef.fixed(cfg);
+        BackendQuarantine quarantine = new BackendQuarantine(() -> 0L, TimeUnit.MINUTES.toNanos(30));
+        Map<String, String> reasonByCredential = new HashMap<>();
+        AtomicReference<ExhaustionSink> exhaustionSinkRef = new AtomicReference<>(ExhaustionSink.none());
+
+        Fleetd.publishExhaustionSink(exhaustionSinkRef, emptyRosterSessions(), config, quarantine,
+                reasonByCredential, cfg);
+        exhaustionSinkRef.get().onExhausted("term_x", "The usage limit has been reached", "terra");
+
+        assertTrue(quarantine.isQuarantined("terra"),
+                "publishExhaustionSink must repoint exhaustionSinkRef at the REAL sink — "
+                        + "replacing the .set(...) call with exhaustionSinkRef.set(ExhaustionSink.none()) "
+                        + "at the Fleetd.publishExhaustionSink call site must fail this assertion, "
+                        + "since none()'s onExhausted does nothing");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("before publishing, the reference is still inert — no quarantine, no crash")
+    void beforePublishingTheReferenceIsStillInert(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path file = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(file, YAML);
+        FleetConfig cfg = FleetConfig.load(file);
+        ConfigRef config = ConfigRef.fixed(cfg);
+        BackendQuarantine quarantine = new BackendQuarantine(() -> 0L, TimeUnit.MINUTES.toNanos(30));
+        AtomicReference<ExhaustionSink> exhaustionSinkRef = new AtomicReference<>(ExhaustionSink.none());
+
+        exhaustionSinkRef.get().onExhausted("term_x", "The usage limit has been reached", "terra");
+
+        assertFalse(quarantine.isQuarantined("terra"),
+                "nothing was published yet — this only pins the starting state the other test's "
+                        + "assertion actually distinguishes from");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdFleetAppConstructionTest.java

@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-package dev.ltms.fleet;
-
-import java.nio.file.Files;
-import java.nio.file.Path;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
-
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
-
-/**
- * CB-185: {@code FleetApp} must be constructed with BOTH herdr clients (the lead's and the
- * member's), never the raw lead-only {@code herdr}. Passing only {@code herdr} — the bug this
- * guards against — makes {@code GET /healthz} green while the member daemon is down (so every
- * spawn fails invisibly) and silently drops every member workspace from {@code GET /sessions}.
- * A behavioural test on {@code FleetApp} alone (see {@code FleetAppTwoDaemonTest}) proves the
- * class merges/gates correctly when given two clients, but not that {@code Fleetd.main} actually
- * passes it two — hence this source-level assertion, mirroring
- * {@code FleetdHerdrControlConstructionTest}.
- */
-class FleetdFleetAppConstructionTest {
-    @Test
-    void fleetAppIsConstructedWithBothHerdrDaemons() throws Exception {
-        String source = Files.readString(Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/Fleetd.java"));
-        assertFalse(source.contains("new FleetApp(herdr, workers,"),
-                "FleetApp must not be constructed with the lead-only herdr client");
-        assertTrue(source.contains("new FleetApp(herdr, memberHerdr, workers,"),
-                "FleetApp must be constructed with both the lead and the member herdr client");
-    }
-}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdHealthFailTargetWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.MessageService;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.Rendezvous;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.util.function.BiConsumer;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 3, site {@code :591}. {@code Fleetd.main} wires {@link
+ * dev.ltms.fleet.health.FleetHealthMonitor}'s {@code failTarget} callback with {@code
+ * messages::abandon} — before this ticket that was an inline argument to {@code new
+ * FleetHealthMonitor(...)}. Measured: replacing it with a no-op {@code BiConsumer} at the call
+ * site compiles with 0 errors and leaves the full suite green, because nothing else in the tree
+ * ever drives that specific constructor argument. In production it means a member the monitor
+ * classifies {@code GONE}/{@code NEVER_READY} never has its pending ticket failed — the caller
+ * keeps reporting {@code PENDING} for the full 30-minute async timeout instead of the immediate,
+ * accurate failure CB-580 exists to give it.
+ *
+ * <p>This test calls {@link Fleetd#healthFailTarget} directly — never {@code FleetHealthMonitor}
+ * or {@code main} — against a real {@link MessageService}, using the same {@code sendAsync} +
+ * {@code poll} observable {@link MessageServiceTest} already relies on to pin {@code
+ * MessageService.abandon} itself.
+ */
+class FleetdHealthFailTargetWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String T = "term_a";
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("Fleetd.healthFailTarget delegates to the real MessageService.abandon, not a no-op")
+    void healthFailTargetDelegatesToMessagesAbandon() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("$ prompt");
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous);
+
+        BiConsumer<String, String> failTarget = Fleetd.healthFailTarget(messages);
+
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task");
+        awaitWaiting(rendezvous);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.PENDING, messages.poll(ticket).phase());
+
+        failTarget.accept(T, "member unreachable (health monitor)");
+
+        MessageService.TaskView view = null;
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            view = messages.poll(ticket);
+            if (view.phase() != MessageService.Phase.PENDING) {
+                break;
+            }
+            //noinspection BusyWait
+            Thread.sleep(10);
+        }
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.FAILED, view == null ? null : view.phase(),
+                "Fleetd.healthFailTarget(messages) must return messages::abandon — replacing it "
+                        + "with a no-op BiConsumer at the Fleetd.healthFailTarget call site means "
+                        + "this ticket is never failed and keeps polling as PENDING");
+        assertTrue(view.detail() != null && view.detail().contains("member unreachable"),
+                "the failure reason passed to failTarget.accept must reach MessageService.abandon "
+                        + "and end up in the ticket's detail");
+    }
+
+    private static void awaitWaiting(Rendezvous rendezvous) throws InterruptedException {
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 2000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            //noinspection BusyWait
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting(T), "send should have opened its rendezvous waiter");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadConfigDirLookupTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.function.Function;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #602 gauge-wiring: {@link Fleetd#leadConfigDirLookup} is the factory {@code Fleetd.main}
+ * wires into {@code FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource} so {@code fleet_list}'s {@code context} row reads
+ * the transcript directory a lead's OWN profile actually writes to, instead of always falling back
+ * to the built-in {@code <user.home>/.claude} default (see {@code LeadContextGauge}).
+ *
+ * <p>{@code FleetMcpLeadContextGaugeWiringTest} proves the directory this factory returns is what
+ * actually gets read; this class proves the factory's own matching logic — the same
+ * {@code fleet.leaders.<name>.profile} link {@code Fleetd.leadSeatLookup} already follows (see
+ * {@code FleetdLeadSeatLookupTest}), one step further to that profile's own {@code configDir:}.
+ */
+class FleetdLeadConfigDirLookupTest {
+
+    private static FleetConfig.Profile profileWithConfigDir(String name, String configDir) {
+        return new FleetConfig.Profile(name, null, "claude-sonnet-5", configDir, null, null,
+                "tab", "fleet", "w #{n}", null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
+                null, 3, true, null, null, null);
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig.Leader leadOnProfile(String profile) {
+        return new FleetConfig.Leader(profile, "lead: primary", 1, "lead:", 10, "claude", "claude-sonnet-5");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a lead on a profile that sets configDir resolves to that directory")
+    void leadOnAProfileWithConfigDirResolvesToIt() {
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> profiles = Map.of("opus", profileWithConfigDir("opus", "/mnt/opus-claude"));
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leaders = Map.of("primary", leadOnProfile("opus"));
+        Function<String, String> lookup = Fleetd.leadConfigDirLookup(() -> profiles, leaders);
+
+        assertEquals("/mnt/opus-claude", lookup.apply("primary"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("changing the config from directory A to directory B changes what the lookup reports")
+    void configChangeFromDirectoryAToDirectoryBChangesTheAnswer() {
+        java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference<Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile>> profilesRef =
+                new java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference<>(
+                        Map.of("opus", profileWithConfigDir("opus", "/mnt/dir-a")));
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leaders = Map.of("primary", leadOnProfile("opus"));
+        Function<String, String> lookup = Fleetd.leadConfigDirLookup(profilesRef::get, leaders);
+
+        assertEquals("/mnt/dir-a", lookup.apply("primary"), "must read directory A before the config changes");
+
+        profilesRef.set(Map.of("opus", profileWithConfigDir("opus", "/mnt/dir-b")));
+        assertEquals("/mnt/dir-b", lookup.apply("primary"), "must read directory B once the LIVE config changes — "
+                + "a lookup that snapshotted the profile map at construction would still answer directory A here");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a lead entry with no `profile:` (recognise-only) resolves to null, not a thrown exception")
+    void recogniseOnlyLeadWithNoProfileResolvesToNull() {
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> profiles = Map.of("opus", profileWithConfigDir("opus", "/mnt/opus-claude"));
+        FleetConfig.Leader recogniseOnly = new FleetConfig.Leader(null, "lead: primary", 1, "lead:", 10,
+                "claude", "claude-sonnet-5");
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leaders = Map.of("primary", recogniseOnly);
+        Function<String, String> lookup = Fleetd.leadConfigDirLookup(() -> profiles, leaders);
+
+        assertNull(lookup.apply("primary"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a lead naming a profile that is not configured resolves to null, not a thrown exception")
+    void leadOnAnUnconfiguredProfileResolvesToNull() {
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leaders = Map.of("primary", leadOnProfile("ghost-profile"));
+        Function<String, String> lookup = Fleetd.leadConfigDirLookup(Map::of, leaders);
+
+        assertNull(lookup.apply("primary"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a lead on a profile that sets no configDir override resolves to null")
+    void leadOnAProfileWithNoConfigDirResolvesToNull() {
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> profiles = Map.of("opus", profileWithConfigDir("opus", null));
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leaders = Map.of("primary", leadOnProfile("opus"));
+        Function<String, String> lookup = Fleetd.leadConfigDirLookup(() -> profiles, leaders);
+
+        assertNull(lookup.apply("primary"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("an unrecognised lead name resolves to null, not a thrown exception")
+    void unrecognisedLeadNameResolvesToNull() {
+        Function<String, String> lookup = Fleetd.leadConfigDirLookup(Map::of, Map.of());
+
+        assertNull(lookup.apply("ghost-lead"));
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadConfigDirSourceWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #602 gauge-wiring follow-up (PR #606 review comment 17353): {@code Fleetd.main}'s {@code
+ * LeadConfigDirSource} local used to be a bare {@code new FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource(
+ * leadConfigDirLookup(...))} built inline, with nothing a test could call directly. Measured on
+ * that shape: replacing the whole expression with {@code FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource.none()} at
+ * the call site compiled with 0 errors and left the full 1822-test suite green — the daemon could
+ * be changed to always report every lead's context as {@code UNKNOWN}, forever, and no test would
+ * notice. That is the same hand-built-vs-config-wired shape as fleetd #561/#248/#426/#562
+ * ({@code FleetdLoopHealthSourceWiringTest}).
+ *
+ * <p>{@code FleetMcpLeadContextGaugeWiringTest} and {@code FleetdLeadConfigDirLookupTest} both
+ * predate this class and are both still correct — but neither can catch the mutation above. One
+ * builds its own {@code FleetMcp} and hands it its own {@code LeadConfigDirSource}; the other
+ * builds its own lookup and calls {@link Fleetd#leadConfigDirLookup} directly. Neither one ever
+ * calls the thing {@code Fleetd.main} actually calls.
+ *
+ * <p>The fix extracts the inline {@code new} into {@link Fleetd#leadConfigDirSource}, a
+ * package-private factory in the same style as {@link Fleetd#loopHealthSource}/{@link
+ * Fleetd#capacitySource}/{@link Fleetd#healthCoverageSource} — which is exactly what makes it
+ * directly callable here. This test calls that factory with real {@link FleetConfig.Profile}/
+ * {@link FleetConfig.Leader} fixtures (the same shapes {@code FleetdLeadConfigDirLookupTest}
+ * already uses) and asserts the returned source resolves a real {@code configDir} — a property
+ * that would be false if {@link Fleetd#leadConfigDirSource} were mutated to {@code return
+ * FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource.none();}. Measured: mutating exactly that line makes
+ * {@link #resolvesTheRealConfiguredConfigDir()} fail ({@code expected: </mnt/opus-claude> but was:
+ * <null>}); restoring it makes the whole suite green again.
+ *
+ * <p><b>What this class does not and cannot cover.</b> {@code main}'s own line —
+ * {@code leadConfigDirSource(() -> config.get().profiles(), leaders)} — could itself be swapped
+ * for a bare {@code FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource.none()}, bypassing this factory entirely. Measured:
+ * that exact mutation compiles with 0 errors and leaves every test in this file, and the full
+ * 1825-test suite, green. {@link Fleetd#loopHealthSource}'s own wiring test has the identical gap
+ * for its own one-line call in {@code main} — no test in this codebase calls {@code Fleetd.main}
+ * far enough to observe which factory call it made. This class narrows the gap from "nothing tests
+ * the wiring" (the pre-extraction state this ticket found) to "the factory's own logic is pinned,
+ * and main's call to it is a one-line, visually-verifiable delegation" — the same standard already
+ * accepted for {@code loopHealthSource}/{@code capacitySource}/{@code healthCoverageSource}.
+ */
+class FleetdLeadConfigDirSourceWiringTest {
+
+    private static FleetConfig.Profile profileWithConfigDir(String name, String configDir) {
+        return new FleetConfig.Profile(name, null, "claude-sonnet-5", configDir, null, null,
+                "tab", "fleet", "w #{n}", null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
+                null, 3, true, null, null, null);
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig.Leader leadOnProfile(String profile) {
+        return new FleetConfig.Leader(profile, "lead: primary", 1, "lead:", 10, "claude", "claude-sonnet-5");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("the returned source resolves the lead's REAL configured configDir, not a hardcoded null")
+    void resolvesTheRealConfiguredConfigDir() {
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> profiles = Map.of("opus", profileWithConfigDir("opus", "/mnt/opus-claude"));
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leaders = Map.of("primary", leadOnProfile("opus"));
+
+        FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource source = Fleetd.leadConfigDirSource(() -> profiles, leaders);
+
+        assertEquals("/mnt/opus-claude", source.configDirFor().apply("primary"),
+                "the configDirFor function must delegate to the real leadConfigDirLookup — mutating "
+                        + "Fleetd.leadConfigDirSource's own body to `return FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource.none();` "
+                        + "must fail this assertion (measured: it does — see this test's class javadoc for the "
+                        + "companion measurement on main's one-line call to this factory, which this assertion "
+                        + "does not and structurally cannot cover)");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a lead on a profile with no configDir override still resolves to null, not a crash")
+    void leadWithNoConfigDirOverrideResolvesToNull() {
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> profiles = Map.of("opus", profileWithConfigDir("opus", null));
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leaders = Map.of("primary", leadOnProfile("opus"));
+
+        FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource source = Fleetd.leadConfigDirSource(() -> profiles, leaders);
+
+        assertNull(source.configDirFor().apply("primary"),
+                "no configDir: override configured ⇒ null, so LeadContextGauge falls back to its own default");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("an unrecognised lead name resolves to null, not a thrown exception")
+    void unrecognisedLeadNameResolvesToNull() {
+        FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource source = Fleetd.leadConfigDirSource(Map::of, Map.of());
+
+        assertNull(source.configDirFor().apply("ghost-lead"));
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadContextLookupTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadContextGauge;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.function.Function;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertDoesNotThrow;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #609: {@link Fleetd#leadContextLookup} is the factory {@code Fleetd.main} wires into
+ * {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource} so the idle-lead heartbeat can read a lead's own
+ * {@link LeadContextGauge} reading by its terminal id. Three hops: terminal → lead name (unknown ⇒
+ * UNKNOWN), lead name → configDir, and {@code agents.get(terminal)} for the live session id and
+ * agent type the gauge itself needs — a herdr failure on that last hop must degrade to UNKNOWN, not
+ * throw and kill the heartbeat's own tick.
+ *
+ * <p>{@code AgentControl.agentCall} resolves a {@code term_}-prefixed target's pane id via a first
+ * {@code agent.list} round trip (see its own javadoc); this class's terminal id deliberately does
+ * NOT start with {@code term_} so the stub {@link HerdrClient} below only needs to answer
+ * {@code agent.get} — the one call this factory actually depends on.
+ */
+class FleetdLeadContextLookupTest {
+
+    private static final String LEAD_TERMINAL = "leadpane1";
+    private static final String LEAD_NAME = "opus";
+    private static final String SESSION_ID = "sess-609-happy-path";
+
+    private static String usageLine(long tokens) {
+        return "{\"type\":\"assistant\",\"message\":{\"role\":\"assistant\",\"usage\":{"
+                + "\"input_tokens\":" + tokens + ",\"cache_read_input_tokens\":0,\"cache_creation_input_tokens\":0}}}";
+    }
+
+    /** Lays out {@code <configDir>/projects/<anySlug>/<sessionId>.jsonl} carrying one usage record. */
+    private static void writeTranscript(Path configDir, String sessionId, long tokens) throws IOException {
+        Path projectDir = configDir.resolve("projects").resolve("some-project-slug");
+        Files.createDirectories(projectDir);
+        Files.writeString(projectDir.resolve(sessionId + ".jsonl"), usageLine(tokens) + "\n", StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+    }
+
+    /** An {@link AgentControl} whose every {@code agent.get} answers with the given session/type/status. */
+    private static AgentControl agentControlStub(String sessionId, String agentType, String status) {
+        HerdrClient client = new HerdrClient() {
+            @Override
+            public JsonNode call(String method, Object params) {
+                if (!"agent.get".equals(method)) {
+                    throw new HerdrException("stub has no canned response for " + method);
+                }
+                try {
+                    String sessionField = sessionId == null ? ""
+                            : ",\"agent_session\":{\"kind\":\"id\",\"value\":\"" + sessionId + "\"}";
+                    String agentField = agentType == null ? "null" : "\"" + agentType + "\"";
+                    return new ObjectMapper().readTree(("""
+                        {"type":"agent_info","agent":{"terminal_id":"%s","agent":%s,
+                          "agent_status":"%s"%s}}""")
+                            .formatted(LEAD_TERMINAL, agentField, status, sessionField));
+                } catch (Exception e) {
+                    throw new HerdrException("stub decode failed", e);
+                }
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() {
+            }
+        };
+        return new AgentControl(client);
+    }
+
+    /** An {@link AgentControl} whose every herdr call fails — models a herdr hiccup mid-tick. */
+    private static AgentControl throwingAgentControl() {
+        HerdrClient client = new HerdrClient() {
+            @Override
+            public JsonNode call(String method, Object params) {
+                throw new HerdrException("herdr unreachable (stub)");
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() {
+            }
+        };
+        return new AgentControl(client);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("an unrecognised terminal resolves to UNKNOWN, not a thrown exception")
+    void unrecognisedTerminalResolvesToUnknown() {
+        Function<String, LeadContextGauge.Reading> lookup = Fleetd.leadContextLookup(
+                new LeadContextGauge(), throwingAgentControl(), Map::of, name -> null);
+
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = assertDoesNotThrow(() -> lookup.apply("ghost-terminal"));
+
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, reading.state());
+        assertNull(reading.tokens());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("agents.get throwing degrades to UNKNOWN, no exception escapes")
+    void agentsGetThrowingDegradesToUnknown() {
+        Map<String, String> liveLeadTerminals = Map.of(LEAD_TERMINAL, LEAD_NAME);
+        Function<String, LeadContextGauge.Reading> lookup = Fleetd.leadContextLookup(
+                new LeadContextGauge(), throwingAgentControl(), () -> liveLeadTerminals, name -> null);
+
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = assertDoesNotThrow(() -> lookup.apply(LEAD_TERMINAL));
+
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, reading.state(),
+                "a herdr failure resolving the live agent must degrade to UNKNOWN, never kill the heartbeat's tick");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("the happy path resolves the configDir, sessionId and agentType through to the gauge")
+    void happyPathPassesResolvedFactsThroughToTheGauge(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        writeTranscript(tmp, SESSION_ID, 12_345);
+        Map<String, String> liveLeadTerminals = Map.of(LEAD_TERMINAL, LEAD_NAME);
+        AgentControl agents = agentControlStub(SESSION_ID, "claude", "idle");
+        Function<String, LeadContextGauge.Reading> lookup = Fleetd.leadContextLookup(
+                new LeadContextGauge(), agents, () -> liveLeadTerminals,
+                name -> LEAD_NAME.equals(name) ? tmp.toString() : null);
+
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = lookup.apply(LEAD_TERMINAL);
+
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.OK, reading.state(),
+                "the resolved configDir + the live agent's own sessionId/agentType must reach the gauge — "
+                        + "a wrong hop anywhere in the chain would read no transcript and report UNKNOWN instead");
+        assertEquals(12_345L, reading.tokens());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a lead whose agent type is not claude still resolves to UNKNOWN, never a crash")
+    void nonClaudeAgentTypeResolvesToUnknown(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        writeTranscript(tmp, SESSION_ID, 12_345);
+        Map<String, String> liveLeadTerminals = Map.of(LEAD_TERMINAL, LEAD_NAME);
+        AgentControl agents = agentControlStub(SESSION_ID, "opencode", "idle");
+        Function<String, LeadContextGauge.Reading> lookup = Fleetd.leadContextLookup(
+                new LeadContextGauge(), agents, () -> liveLeadTerminals,
+                name -> LEAD_NAME.equals(name) ? tmp.toString() : null);
+
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = lookup.apply(LEAD_TERMINAL);
+
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, reading.state(),
+                "the agentType hop must reach the gauge too — a non-claude peer must not be misread as claude");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadContextSourceWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadContextGauge;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadHeartbeatLoop;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #609: {@code Fleetd.main}'s {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource} local could be
+ * swapped for a bare {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource.none()} at the call site — compiling
+ * with 0 errors and leaving every pre-existing test green — exactly the shape #602/#606 already found
+ * for {@code LeadConfigDirSource} (see {@code FleetdLeadConfigDirSourceWiringTest}'s own javadoc for
+ * the measured version of that gap).
+ *
+ * <p>The fix follows the same pattern: {@link Fleetd#leadContextSource} is the extracted,
+ * directly-callable factory {@code main} calls to build the source it hands {@code
+ * LeadHeartbeatLoop}'s constructor. This test calls that exact factory and asserts it resolves a
+ * REAL reading off a real transcript file — a property that would be false if {@link
+ * Fleetd#leadContextSource} were mutated to {@code return LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource.none();}.
+ *
+ * <p>What this class does not and cannot cover: {@code main}'s own one-line call to this factory
+ * could itself be swapped for {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource.none()}, bypassing this
+ * factory entirely — the same structural gap {@code FleetdLeadConfigDirSourceWiringTest} names for
+ * its own factory, and for the same reason (no test in this codebase calls {@code Fleetd.main} far
+ * enough to observe which factory call it made).
+ */
+class FleetdLeadContextSourceWiringTest {
+
+    /** Deliberately not {@code term_}-prefixed — see {@code FleetdLeadContextLookupTest}'s class doc. */
+    private static final String LEAD_TERMINAL = "leadpane1";
+    private static final String LEAD_NAME = "opus";
+    private static final String SESSION_ID = "sess-609-wiring";
+
+    private static String usageLine(long tokens) {
+        return "{\"type\":\"assistant\",\"message\":{\"role\":\"assistant\",\"usage\":{"
+                + "\"input_tokens\":" + tokens + ",\"cache_read_input_tokens\":0,\"cache_creation_input_tokens\":0}}}";
+    }
+
+    private static void writeTranscript(Path configDir, String sessionId, long tokens) throws IOException {
+        Path projectDir = configDir.resolve("projects").resolve("some-project-slug");
+        Files.createDirectories(projectDir);
+        Files.writeString(projectDir.resolve(sessionId + ".jsonl"), usageLine(tokens) + "\n", StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+    }
+
+    private static AgentControl agentControlStub() {
+        HerdrClient client = new HerdrClient() {
+            @Override
+            public JsonNode call(String method, Object params) {
+                if (!"agent.get".equals(method)) {
+                    throw new HerdrException("stub has no canned response for " + method);
+                }
+                try {
+                    return new ObjectMapper().readTree(("""
+                        {"type":"agent_info","agent":{"terminal_id":"%s","agent":"claude",
+                          "agent_status":"idle","agent_session":{"kind":"id","value":"%s"}}}""")
+                            .formatted(LEAD_TERMINAL, SESSION_ID));
+                } catch (Exception e) {
+                    throw new HerdrException("stub decode failed", e);
+                }
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() {
+            }
+        };
+        return new AgentControl(client);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("main's factory resolves a REAL reading, not the inert none() answer")
+    void resolvesARealReadingNotTheInertNoneAnswer(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        writeTranscript(tmp, SESSION_ID, 54_321);
+        Map<String, String> liveLeadTerminals = Map.of(LEAD_TERMINAL, LEAD_NAME);
+
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource source = Fleetd.leadContextSource(new LeadContextGauge(),
+                agentControlStub(), () -> liveLeadTerminals, name -> LEAD_NAME.equals(name) ? tmp.toString() : null);
+
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = source.readingFor().apply(LEAD_TERMINAL);
+
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.OK, reading.state(),
+                "mutating Fleetd.leadContextSource's own body to `return LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource.none();` "
+                        + "must fail this assertion");
+        assertEquals(54_321L, reading.tokens());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("an unrecognised lead terminal resolves to UNKNOWN, not a thrown exception")
+    void unrecognisedTerminalResolvesToUnknown() {
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource source = Fleetd.leadContextSource(new LeadContextGauge(),
+                agentControlStub(), Map::of, name -> null);
+
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, source.readingFor().apply("ghost-terminal").state());
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadMailboxOpenerWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.net.ServerSocket;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 3, site {@code :518}. {@code Fleetd.main} passes {@code LeadMailbox::open} as
+ * the {@link Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener} argument to {@code openLeadMailbox(...)} — before this
+ * ticket that method reference was inline at the call site. Measured: replacing it with the inert
+ * {@code (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> null} compiles with 0 errors and leaves the full suite
+ * green — {@code FleetdLeadMailboxSelectionTest} drives {@code openLeadMailbox} with its own
+ * injected opener and never observes what {@code main} itself actually passes.
+ *
+ * <p>This test calls {@link Fleetd#leadMailboxOpener} directly and proves it is the real,
+ * network-attempting opener rather than a stub: pointed at a guaranteed-closed local port, it must
+ * throw, exactly mirroring {@link FleetdReplyInboxOpenerWiringTest} for the reply-inbox opener.
+ * The inert form never attempts a connection and returns {@code null} without throwing, so it
+ * fails this assertion silently.
+ */
+class FleetdLeadMailboxOpenerWiringTest {
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("Fleetd.leadMailboxOpener is the real LeadMailbox::open, not a stub that never connects")
+    void leadMailboxOpenerAttemptsARealConnection() throws Exception {
+        int closedPort;
+        try (ServerSocket socket = new ServerSocket(0)) {
+            closedPort = socket.getLocalPort();
+        } // released immediately — connecting to it now is a guaranteed refusal, not a fluke
+
+        Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener opener = Fleetd.leadMailboxOpener();
+
+        IllegalStateException thrown = assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class,
+                () -> opener.open("amqp://user:pw@127.0.0.1:" + closedPort + "/coord", "coord-1", 50),
+                "Fleetd.leadMailboxOpener() must be LeadMailbox::open — a real network attempt "
+                        + "against a genuinely unreachable broker must throw. The inert form "
+                        + "(uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> null never attempts a connection and "
+                        + "returns null instead of throwing, so it would fail this assertion "
+                        + "silently.");
+        assertTrue(thrown.getMessage().contains("cannot connect to AMQP coordination broker"),
+                "must be LeadMailbox.open's own real failure message, not a different exception "
+                        + "shape standing in for it");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadMailboxSelectionTest.java

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package dev.ltms.fleet;
 import ch.qos.logback.classic.Level;
 import ch.qos.logback.classic.spi.ILoggingEvent;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadChannelHandle;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadMailbox;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.testing.CapturedLog;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ class FleetdLeadMailboxSelectionTest {
         boolean unreachable;
 
         @Override
-        public LeadMailbox open(String uri, String selfCoordId, int prefetch) {
+        public LeadChannelHandle open(String uri, String selfCoordId, int prefetch) {
             this.offeredUri = uri;
             this.offeredSelfId = selfCoordId;
             this.offeredPrefetch = prefetch;

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 B3 — replaces {@code FleetdLeadRolloverWiringTest} (fleetd #480). That class was a
+ * source-text test scraping {@code Fleetd.java} (now {@code FleetdAssembly.java}, moved there by
+ * fleetd #612 Unit A) with three methods: {@code unrelatedAnchorStillPresent} (a scaffold anchor,
+ * not an independent claim — needs no replacement of its own), {@code
+ * mainStillCallsTheLeadRolloverFactory} (the call-site pin replaced by {@link
+ * #assembledLeadRolloverRunsTheRealClearAndBootstrapSequence}), and {@code
+ * factoryGatesOnConfigPresence} (the absent-config claim replaced by {@link
+ * #absentLeadRolloverConfigMeansNoRolloverIsBuilt} — a claim this ticket found was NOT actually
+ * covered behaviourally anywhere else: {@code LeadRolloverTest}'s only related assertion is
+ * vacuous, {@code assertNull(null)}, and never calls the real factory).
+ *
+ * <p><strong>fleetd #612 B3 correction (ticket comment 17553):</strong> the first version of this
+ * test configured a single shared {@link FakeHerdr} for both the lead and member herdr sockets.
+ * {@code FleetdAssembly.java:140-142} falls back to {@code memberHerdr = herdr} whenever no
+ * distinct {@code memberHerdrSocket} is configured, so with one fake, {@code
+ * router.leadAgents()} and {@code router.memberAgents()} wrapped the identical client — a
+ * mutation swapping {@code Fleetd.leadRollover(cfg, router.leadAgents(), config, leads)} for
+ * {@code ..., router.memberAgents(), ...} at {@code FleetdAssembly.java:408} was therefore
+ * invisible to this test, even though the two are genuinely different daemons in production. This
+ * version configures two distinct sockets and two distinct {@link FakeHerdr} instances (the same
+ * pattern {@code FleetdAssemblyConnectionIdentityTest}, fleetd #612 B2, already uses to separate
+ * lead from member) and asserts the roll's {@code /clear}/bootstrap sends land on the LEAD fake
+ * and never on the MEMBER one.
+ */
+class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
+
+    private static final Path LEAD_SOCKET = Path.of("/fake/lead-herdr.sock");
+    private static final Path MEMBER_SOCKET = Path.of("/fake/member-herdr.sock");
+
+    /** Keys {@code connectHerdr} by socket path so the lead and member daemons can be two
+     * DIFFERENT {@link FakeHerdr}s — same shape as B2's {@code FleetdAssemblyConnectionIdentityTest
+     * .TwoHerdrResourcePorts}. */
+    private static final class RecordingResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final Map<Path, HerdrClient> herdrsBySocket = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        final SentinelReplyInbox replyInbox = new SentinelReplyInbox();
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            HerdrClient client = herdrsBySocket.get(socketPath);
+            if (client == null) {
+                throw new IllegalStateException("no fake herdr registered for socket " + socketPath);
+            }
+            return client;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> replyInbox;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                        "leadMailboxOpener must not be called — no coordinator: block is configured");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            return Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static final class SentinelReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
+        @Override
+        public void own(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void release(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void publish(String target, String msgId, String content) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<InboxMessage> peek(String target) {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean ack(String target, String msgId) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void close() {
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir, Path leadCwd) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                herdrSocket: "%s"
+                memberHerdrSocket: "%s"
+                idleSleepGuard:
+                  enabled: false
+                broker:
+                  uri: "amqp://fake-test-broker/vh"
+                fleet:
+                  leaders:
+                    opus:
+                      tab: "lead: opus"
+                      cwd: "%s"
+                leadRollover:
+                  handoverPath: handover.md
+                  requireOperatorConfirm: false
+                """.formatted(LEAD_SOCKET, MEMBER_SOCKET, leadCwd.toString()));
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] the real assembled LeadRollover runs the full open/confirm/continuation "
+            + "sequence — /clear, then bootstrapText — through the real herdr router")
+    void assembledLeadRolloverRunsTheRealClearAndBootstrapSequence(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path leadCwd = dir.resolve("lead-workspace");
+        Files.createDirectories(leadCwd);
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir, leadCwd);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        RecordingResourcePorts ports = new RecordingResourcePorts();
+        // Two DISTINCT fakes — one per configured socket — so leadAgents()/memberAgents() wrap
+        // genuinely different clients, exactly like production when memberHerdrSocket is set.
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr();
+        lead.withTab("w2", "w2:t7", "lead: opus");
+        FakeHerdr member = new FakeHerdr();
+        ports.herdrsBySocket.put(LEAD_SOCKET, lead);
+        ports.herdrsBySocket.put(MEMBER_SOCKET, member);
+
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+
+        LeadRollover rollover = runtime.mcp().leadRollover();
+        assertNotNull(rollover, "leadRollover: is present in this test's config, so "
+                + "FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart must have built a real LeadRollover through the "
+                + "Fleetd.leadRollover(...) call site — a mutation to `LeadRollover leadRollover = "
+                + "null;` at that call site can never pass this");
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open("term_a", "fleetd #612 B3 test");
+        String expectedHandoverPath = leadCwd.resolve("handover.md").normalize().toString();
+        assertEquals(expectedHandoverPath, pending.handoverPath());
+
+        // Ensure the handover file's mtime lands strictly AFTER open()'s requestedAtMillis —
+        // LeadRollover.checkHandover refuses on mtime <= requestedAt (HANDOVER_STALE).
+        Thread.sleep(50);
+        Files.writeString(Path.of(pending.handoverPath()), "handover content for fleetd #612 B3");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm("term_a", pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "confirm() must approve: requireOperatorConfirm is false, "
+                + "the caller terminal matches open()'s, and the handover file exists, is non-empty "
+                + "and fresh — got: " + decision);
+
+        // The production LeadRollover constructor always runs the post-confirm continuation on a
+        // real virtual thread (see Fleetd.leadRollover, which never passes the package-private test
+        // constructor), so this polls the real FleetMcp.leadRollover() instance's status(token)
+        // until the real continuation finishes.
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = pollUntilTerminal(rollover, pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.ROLLED, status.state(),
+                "the full happy path must complete: FakeHerdr's default agent status is 'idle', so "
+                        + "the turn-boundary wait settles immediately and the post-/clear wait "
+                        + "releases via its pickup-grace path — detail: " + status.detail());
+
+        // Prove the real herdr router actually sent BOTH messages, in order, to the real LEAD
+        // pane — this is the one thing a source-text pin on the call site could never show.
+        List<FakeHerdr.Call> prompts = lead.calls.stream()
+                .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt"))
+                .toList();
+        assertTrue(prompts.size() >= 2, "expected at least a /clear send and a bootstrapText send "
+                + "on the LEAD daemon, got " + prompts.size() + " agent.prompt calls: " + prompts);
+        assertEquals("/clear", ((Map<String, Object>) prompts.get(0).params()).get("text"),
+                "the first send must be the literal /clear housekeeping command");
+        Object secondText = ((Map<String, Object>) prompts.get(1).params()).get("text");
+        assertTrue(secondText instanceof String && ((String) secondText).contains(expectedHandoverPath),
+                "the second send must be the default bootstrapText naming the resolved handover "
+                        + "path, got: " + secondText);
+
+        // fleetd #612 B3 correction: prove the roll never touches the MEMBER daemon. A mutation
+        // swapping router.leadAgents() for router.memberAgents() at the real call site would move
+        // both sends above onto `member` instead, which this assertion catches — the thing the
+        // single-fake version of this test could never see, because both wrapped the same client.
+        List<FakeHerdr.Call> memberPrompts = member.calls.stream()
+                .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt"))
+                .toList();
+        assertTrue(memberPrompts.isEmpty(), "the roll must be wired to the LEAD daemon only — got "
+                + memberPrompts.size() + " agent.prompt call(s) on the MEMBER daemon instead: "
+                + memberPrompts);
+    }
+
+    private static LeadRollover.RollStatus pollUntilTerminal(LeadRollover rollover, String token)
+            throws InterruptedException {
+        long deadline = System.nanoTime() + java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(10);
+        while (System.nanoTime() < deadline) {
+            LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(token);
+            if (status.state() != LeadRollover.RollState.PENDING
+                    && status.state() != LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS) {
+                return status;
+            }
+            Thread.sleep(50);
+        }
+        fail("the real continuation did not reach a terminal state within 10s — last status: "
+                + rollover.status(token));
+        throw new AssertionError("unreachable");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] Fleetd.leadRollover(...) returns null when leadRollover: is absent "
+            + "from config — the opt-in gate FleetdLeadRolloverWiringTest's "
+            + "factoryGatesOnConfigPresence pinned by source text alone")
+    void absentLeadRolloverConfigMeansNoRolloverIsBuilt(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path yaml = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(yaml, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                """);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(yaml, FleetConfig.load(yaml));
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(new FakeHerdr());
+
+        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), agents, config, Map::of);
+
+        assertNull(rollover, "leadRollover: is absent from this config, so the factory's opt-in "
+                + "gate (`if (cfg.leadRollover() == null) return null;`) must fire and no "
+                + "LeadRollover must be constructed at all");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadRolloverWiringTest.java

@@ -1,89 +0,0 @@
-package dev.ltms.fleet;
-
-import java.nio.file.Files;
-import java.nio.file.Path;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
-
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
-
-/**
- * fleetd #480 Unit A, hard requirement 6: pin {@code Fleetd.main}'s construction of {@link
- * dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover} with a source-text assertion, mirroring {@code
- * FleetdCompletionResolverWiringTest}'s pattern — five log-only reporters in {@code Fleetd.main}
- * already survived mutation batteries this exact way (fleetd #415's extraction antidote note).
- *
- * <p>What this class still covers, and what it never claimed to. {@code LeadRolloverTest}
- * constructs its own {@code LeadRollover} directly (as every prior test of an extracted factory
- * does) with a hand-built lookup, so a mutation that deletes the {@code leadRollover(...)} call
- * from {@code main} — or replaces one of its arguments with something that still compiles, e.g.
- * {@code router.leadAgents()} swapped for {@code null}, or the whole assignment swapped for a bare
- * {@code null} literal — leaves every behavioural test green. This is a plain string read, guarded
- * by an unrelated anchor assertion so a broken or empty file read cannot pass as a real change.
- *
- * <p><b>This test checks source text, not runtime behaviour.</b> It never constructs a {@code
- * LeadRollover} and never runs {@code main}. It pins the {@code leadRollover(...)} CALL SITE's
- * argument list — that {@code main} still passes {@code leads} at all — never what the factory
- * DOES with that argument once inside its own body.
- *
- * <p><b>Correction (fleetd #480 relative-handover-path follow-up): that gap used to be real, and
- * now is not — but not here.</b> This class's javadoc previously claimed "no behavioural test can
- * catch this wiring dropping out" for the whole factory, including the lambda {@code
- * leadRollover(...)} builds internally (terminal → lead name → {@code Leader.cwd()}). That claim
- * was proven true at the time — mutating that lambda's body to {@code String leadName = null;}
- * (always "no lead found", which silently reintroduces the daemon-cwd bug this ticket fixes) left
- * the full suite green, {@code Tests run: 1669, Failures: 0}. It is no longer true: {@code
- * FleetdLeadRolloverWorkspaceLookupTest} now calls {@code Fleetd.leadRollover(...)} directly with a
- * real {@link dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef} built from a temp {@code fleetd.yaml}, and fails
- * against that exact one-line mutation. So: THIS class still covers only the call site's argument
- * list; {@code FleetdLeadRolloverWorkspaceLookupTest} is what now covers the lambda's body. Neither
- * one subsumes the other — keep both.
- */
-class FleetdLeadRolloverWiringTest {
-
-    private static String fleetdSource() throws Exception {
-        return Files.readString(Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/Fleetd.java"));
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] unrelated anchor: Fleetd.java still declares the Fleetd class")
-    void unrelatedAnchorStillPresent() throws Exception {
-        // Guards the two assertions below: without this, a bad read (empty string, wrong file,
-        // truncated file) could vacuously fail to contain the leadRollover(...) call too, and a
-        // test that only asserts "contains X" would report a false pass for the wrong reason if X
-        // happened to match. Asserting an unrelated, structurally distant string first proves the
-        // read actually pulled real file content.
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains("public final class Fleetd"),
-                "sanity anchor failed — the file read did not return real Fleetd.java source; the "
-                        + "leadRollover(...) wiring assertions below cannot be trusted until this passes");
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] main still constructs LeadRollover via the leadRollover(...) factory, exactly as heartbeat is constructed")
-    void mainStillCallsTheLeadRolloverFactory() throws Exception {
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains(
-                        "LeadRollover leadRollover = leadRollover(cfg, router.leadAgents(), config, leads);"),
-                "Fleetd.main must still assign `LeadRollover leadRollover = leadRollover(cfg, "
-                        + "router.leadAgents(), config, leads);`. Dropping this call, or swapping one of "
-                        + "its arguments for something that still compiles (e.g. null in place of "
-                        + "router.leadAgents()), leaves every behavioural test green — this source check is "
-                        + "what must go red instead. fleetd #480 correction 2 deliberately dropped "
-                        + "primaryRegistry from this call — see LeadRollover's class javadoc for why a "
-                        + "single-slot lookup was wrong here. The fleetd #480 relative-handover-path "
-                        + "follow-up added `leads` (terminal → lead name) so the factory can resolve a "
-                        + "relative handoverPath against the calling lead's own workspace.");
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] the leadRollover(...) factory itself gates construction on cfg.leadRollover() != null")
-    void factoryGatesOnConfigPresence() throws Exception {
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains("if (cfg.leadRollover() == null) {"),
-                "Fleetd.leadRollover(...) must refuse to construct a LeadRollover when the "
-                        + "leadRollover: block is absent — an upgraded daemon must never silently acquire "
-                        + "the ability to clear the lead's own pane. See LeadHeartbeatLoop's construction "
-                        + "gate (cfg.leadHeartbeat() != null) for the pattern this mirrors.");
-    }
-}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadSeatAssemblyTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
+import io.javalin.Javalin;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #612 B3 — replaces {@code FleetdLeadSeatWiringTest} (fleetd #176), a source-text test that
+ * scraped {@code Fleetd.java} (now {@code FleetdAssembly.java}, moved there by fleetd #612 Unit A)
+ * for the exact {@code new FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource(Fleetd.leadSeatLookup(...))} constructor-call
+ * text. That proves the right symbols appear in source; it proves nothing about what the daemon's
+ * live {@code fleet_list} actually reports.
+ *
+ * <p>This test instead drives the REAL {@link FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource} the real {@link
+ * FleetdAssembly#assembleAndStart} builds — including the REAL {@code LeadTabScanner} it wires
+ * {@code Fleetd.leadSeatLookup} through — reached via {@link FleetMcp#leadSeatSource()} on the
+ * live {@code FleetMcp} {@code FleetdRuntime} owns. It seeds one FakeHerdr tab labelled to match a
+ * configured {@code fleet.leaders.opus.tab}, with a live agent already in it (FakeHerdr's own
+ * default {@code agent.list}/{@code pane.list} entries for {@code term_a}/{@code w2:p7}/{@code
+ * w2:t7} — no FakeHerdr change needed), and asserts the assembled seat source reports exactly the
+ * seat {@link FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource#none()} (the inert stand-in) could never produce: 1, not 0.
+ */
+class FleetdLeadSeatAssemblyTest {
+
+    private static final class RecordingResourcePorts implements ResourcePorts {
+
+        final FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        final SentinelReplyInbox replyInbox = new SentinelReplyInbox();
+
+        @Override
+        public Map<String, String> environment() {
+            return Map.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public HerdrClient connectHerdr(Path socketPath) {
+            return herdr;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.AmqpOpener replyInboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, prefetch) -> replyInbox;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Fleetd.LeadMailboxOpener leadMailboxOpener() {
+            return (uri, selfCoordId, prefetch) -> {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                        "leadMailboxOpener must not be called — no coordinator: block is configured");
+            };
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier nanoClock() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public LongSupplier wallClockNanos() {
+            return System::nanoTime;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledExecutorService newScheduler(String purpose) {
+            return Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void addShutdownHook(Runnable hook) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startHttp(Javalin app, String host, int port) {
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static final class SentinelReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
+        @Override
+        public void own(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void release(String target) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void publish(String target, String msgId, String content) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<InboxMessage> peek(String target) {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean ack(String target, String msgId) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void close() {
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfig(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                idleSleepGuard:
+                  enabled: false
+                broker:
+                  uri: "amqp://fake-test-broker/vh"
+                fleet:
+                  leaders:
+                    opus:
+                      tab: "lead: opus"
+                      profile: sonnet
+                profiles:
+                  sonnet:
+                    subscription: true
+                    argv: ["ccs", "sonnet"]
+                """);
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] the real assembled LeadSeatSource, backed by the real LeadTabScanner, "
+            + "reports a live lead's seat against its own subscription profile")
+    void assembledLeadSeatSourceReportsALiveLeadsSeat(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        RecordingResourcePorts ports = new RecordingResourcePorts();
+        // Label FakeHerdr's own default pane's tab (term_a / w2:p7 / w2:t7, already carrying a live
+        // agent) to match fleet.leaders.opus.tab exactly — no FakeHerdr change needed at all.
+        ports.herdr.withTab("w2", "w2:t7", "lead: opus");
+
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+
+        FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource seatSource = runtime.mcp().leadSeatSource();
+        assertEquals(1, seatSource.seatsFor().apply("sonnet"),
+                "the real LeadTabScanner recognises the labelled tab as a live 'opus' lead on "
+                        + "profile 'sonnet' (same credential, matched by Fleetd.leadSeatLookup), so "
+                        + "subscription profile 'sonnet' must be charged one seat — "
+                        + "FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource.none() (the inert stand-in this test's mutation "
+                        + "swaps the call site for) always reports 0, whatever the input");
+
+        // A profile no lead is running on gets no seat charged — the same seat source, applied to
+        // an input that must stay at the inert answer even on the real, non-inert instance.
+        assertEquals(0, seatSource.seatsFor().apply("no-such-profile"));
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLeadSeatWiringTest.java

@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-package dev.ltms.fleet;
-
-import java.nio.file.Files;
-import java.nio.file.Path;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
-
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
-
-/**
- * fleetd #176: {@code Fleetd.main} builds its {@code FleetMcp} from a 14-argument constructor whose
- * last argument is a {@code FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource} wrapping {@link Fleetd#leadSeatLookup}. That
- * argument is exactly the kind of wiring fleetd #248 warned about: dropping it (or swapping it for
- * the inert {@code FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource.none()}) compiles with 0 errors and leaves every test
- * that builds its own {@code FleetMcp}/{@code CapacitySource} directly — every test that predates
- * this ticket — green, because none of them go through {@code main} at all.
- *
- * <p>{@link FleetdLeadSeatLookupTest} proves the factory's own matching logic; this class is the
- * plain source-text assertion that proves {@code main} still passes its result in, mirroring
- * {@code FleetdCompletionResolverWiringTest}'s approach for the same class of gap.
- *
- * <p><b>This test checks source text, not runtime behaviour.</b> It never constructs a
- * {@code FleetMcp} and never runs {@code main}.
- */
-class FleetdLeadSeatWiringTest {
-
-    private static String fleetdSource() throws Exception {
-        return Files.readString(Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/Fleetd.java"));
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] FleetMcp's construction call still passes a LeadSeatSource built from leadSeatLookup(...)")
-    void fleetMcpConstructionStillWiresLeadSeatLookup() throws Exception {
-        String source = fleetdSource();
-        assertTrue(source.contains("new FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource(leadSeatLookup(() -> config.get().profiles(), "
-                        + "leaders, leads))"),
-                "FleetMcp's construction call must still pass a LeadSeatSource built from "
-                        + "Fleetd.leadSeatLookup(...). Dropping it or swapping in "
-                        + "FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource.none() (fleetd #176's would-be silent regression, the same "
-                        + "shape as fleetd #248's measured mutations) compiles with 0 errors and leaves every "
-                        + "existing behavioural test green — this source check is what must go red instead.");
-    }
-}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLiveExhaustedPatternsWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.LiveExhaustedPatterns;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 1: {@link Fleetd#liveExhaustedPatterns} is the factory that replaced {@code
+ * main}'s inline {@code new LiveExhaustedPatterns(() -> config.get().profiles())}. Before this
+ * ticket, that supplier argument was untestable wiring: replacing it with a hardcoded {@code () ->
+ * Map.of()} compiled with 0 errors and left every existing test green, because {@code
+ * LiveExhaustedPatternsTest} builds its own instance directly with a hand-supplied map and never
+ * goes through {@code main}'s call site.
+ *
+ * <p>Silently losing this wiring means every profile's {@code exhaustedPattern} stops being
+ * recognised — {@link Fleetd#exhaustedPatternLookup} would never see a match, and a genuine
+ * usage-limit refusal would be handed back to a waiting {@code fleet_send} as real completed work.
+ */
+class FleetdLiveExhaustedPatternsWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String YAML = """
+            bind:
+              host: 127.0.0.1
+              port: 8765
+            herdrSocket: ~/.config/herdr/herdr.sock
+            profiles:
+              terra:
+                baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+                model: claude-opus-5
+                exhaustedPattern: "usage limit"
+              gx:
+                baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+            """;
+
+    private static ConfigRef loadConfig(Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path file = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(file, YAML);
+        FleetConfig cfg = FleetConfig.load(file);
+        return ConfigRef.fixed(cfg);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a profile with a configured exhaustedPattern is armed, with a compiled matcher")
+    void configuredProfileIsArmed(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        LiveExhaustedPatterns patterns = Fleetd.liveExhaustedPatterns(loadConfig(dir));
+
+        assertTrue(patterns.armed("terra"),
+                "the config's live profiles() supplier must reach LiveExhaustedPatterns — hardcoding "
+                        + "the supplier to () -> Map.of() at the Fleetd.liveExhaustedPatterns call "
+                        + "site must fail this assertion");
+        assertTrue(patterns.patternFor("terra").matcher("the usage limit has been reached").find());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a profile with no configured exhaustedPattern is not armed, but is still resolvable")
+    void unconfiguredProfileIsNotArmed(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        LiveExhaustedPatterns patterns = Fleetd.liveExhaustedPatterns(loadConfig(dir));
+
+        assertFalse(patterns.armed("gx"), "'gx' has no exhaustedPattern configured");
+        assertNull(patterns.patternFor("gx"));
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdLoopHealthSourceWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.LoopWatchdog;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.StatusPoller;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.Capability;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.PeerHandle;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.PeerLauncher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.SpawnRequest;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.PlacementDecision;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionReaper;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #562 follow-up (issue comment "HOLD on PR #579"): {@code Fleetd.main}'s {@code loopHealth}
+ * local used to be a bare {@code new FleetMcp.LoopHealthSource(poller::health, ...)} built inline,
+ * with nothing a test could call directly. Measured on that shape: replacing {@code
+ * poller::health} with a constant {@code () -> LoopWatchdog.State.RUNNING} at the call site
+ * compiled with 0 errors and left all 1771 existing tests green — the daemon could be changed to
+ * always report the {@link StatusPoller} as {@code RUNNING}, so the watchdog could never fire and
+ * a stalled poller would be invisible, while every test stayed green. That is exactly the false
+ * negative this ticket exists to prevent.
+ *
+ * <p>The five tests PR #579 added ({@code FleetMcpTest}, {@code FleetAppTest}) all build their own
+ * {@link FleetMcp.LoopHealthSource} directly with fixed lambdas — they prove the seam ({@code
+ * LoopHealthSource} reports what it is given) and nothing about what {@code Fleetd.main} actually
+ * gives it. This is the same hand-built-vs-config-wired shape as fleetd #561/#248/#426.
+ *
+ * <p>The fix extracts the inline {@code new} into {@link Fleetd#loopHealthSource}, a package-private
+ * factory in the same style as {@link Fleetd#capacitySource} and {@link Fleetd#healthCoverageSource}
+ * — which is exactly what makes it directly callable here. This test calls that factory with real
+ * {@link StatusPoller}/{@link SessionReaper} instances (never started, so no herdr or git I/O
+ * happens) and pins each half separately, plus the {@code reaper == null} branch: one invariant
+ * wired at three places needs three assertions, not one combined check whose non-zero total could
+ * hide a gap at any single place.
+ */
+class FleetdLoopHealthSourceWiringTest {
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("the statusPoller half reports the real poller's health, not a hardcoded state")
+    void statusPollerHalfReflectsThePollersRealHealth() {
+        // Stopped without ever being started — stop() still marks the watchdog STOPPED. A poller
+        // that has never reported RUNNING is the discriminating case: if Fleetd.loopHealthSource
+        // ever hardcoded RUNNING (the exact mutation this test exists to catch), this would fail.
+        StatusPoller stoppedPoller = freshPoller();
+        stoppedPoller.stop();
+        SessionReaper unusedReaper = freshReaper(); // present only to satisfy the signature
+
+        FleetMcp.LoopHealthSource source = Fleetd.loopHealthSource(stoppedPoller, unusedReaper);
+
+        assertEquals(LoopWatchdog.State.STOPPED, source.statusPoller().get(),
+                "the statusPoller supplier must delegate to the real poller's health() — "
+                        + "replacing poller::health with a constant () -> RUNNING at the "
+                        + "Fleetd.loopHealthSource call site must fail this assertion");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("the sessionReaper half reports the real reaper's health, not a hardcoded state")
+    void sessionReaperHalfReflectsTheReapersRealHealth() {
+        StatusPoller unusedPoller = freshPoller(); // present only to satisfy the signature
+        SessionReaper stoppedReaper = freshReaper();
+        stoppedReaper.stop();
+
+        FleetMcp.LoopHealthSource source = Fleetd.loopHealthSource(unusedPoller, stoppedReaper);
+
+        assertEquals(LoopWatchdog.State.STOPPED, source.sessionReaper().get(),
+                "the sessionReaper supplier must delegate to the real reaper's health() — "
+                        + "replacing reaper.health() with a constant at the "
+                        + "Fleetd.loopHealthSource call site must fail this assertion");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a null reaper (idle ttl not configured) still reports STOPPED, not a crash")
+    void nullReaperStillReportsStopped() {
+        // SessionReaper is only constructed when lifecycle.idleTtlSeconds is configured (see the
+        // `reaper` local in Fleetd.main) — a real deployment routinely passes null here. That null
+        // check is real behaviour, not a simplification to delete: it must keep reporting STOPPED
+        // rather than throwing a NullPointerException on the first fleet_list/healthz call.
+        StatusPoller runningPoller = freshPoller();
+
+        FleetMcp.LoopHealthSource source = Fleetd.loopHealthSource(runningPoller, null);
+
+        assertEquals(LoopWatchdog.State.STOPPED, source.sessionReaper().get(),
+                "reaper == null must still report STOPPED, exactly like an intentionally-stopped "
+                        + "reaper would — do not delete this null check to simplify the wiring");
+    }
+
+    /** Never started, so no herdr call is ever made; freshly constructed reports RUNNING. */
+    private static StatusPoller freshPoller() {
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(new FakeHerdr());
+        return new StatusPoller(agents, new Injector(agents), 1000);
+    }
+
+    /** Never started, so no git/session I/O is ever made; freshly constructed reports RUNNING. */
+    private static SessionReaper freshReaper() {
+        return new SessionReaper(new SessionManager(new NeverSpawnsLauncher()), 60, 1000);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Same minimal shape as {@code FleetdBackendErrorSinkTest.NeverSpawnsLauncher} — every method
+     * throws or returns an empty/no-op value, since a {@link SessionReaper} that is only ever
+     * constructed and then stopped (never started) never calls any of them.
+     */
+    private static final class NeverSpawnsLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
+        @Override
+        public Set<Capability> capabilities() {
+            return Set.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Set<Capability> capabilitiesFor(String profileName) {
+            return Set.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public PeerHandle spawn(SpawnRequest req) {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException("not reachable — this test never acquires a session");
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public PeerHandle spawn(SpawnRequest req, PlacementDecision decision) {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException("not reachable — this test never acquires a session");
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Set<String> profiles() {
+            return Set.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String defaultProfile() {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String effectiveCwd(SpawnRequest req) {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException("not reachable — this test never acquires a session");
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<String> parityOverlay(String profileName) {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<?> list() {
+            return List.of();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public int reapOrphanWorkers() {
+            return 0;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void stop(String id) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean clearContext(String id) {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdOpenCodeLauncherCredentialWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.ConfigRef;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.ExhaustionSink;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.OpenCodeLauncher;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 2: {@link Fleetd#openCodeLauncher} is the factory that replaced {@code main}'s
+ * inline {@code new OpenCodeLauncher(...)} call — the {@code opencode} counterpart to {@link
+ * Fleetd#claudeCodeLauncher}, extracted for the identical reason. Its {@code memberCredentials}
+ * argument is the same {@code () -> config.get().memberCredentials()} supplier; replacing it with
+ * {@code () -> null} compiled with 0 errors and left every existing test green before this ticket,
+ * reopening the same CB-592 exposure gap CB-596's policy closed.
+ *
+ * <p>Same observable surface as {@code OpenCodeLauncherTest}'s own {@code memberCredentials} tests:
+ * spawn through the launcher {@code main} actually wires and inspect what {@code tab.create}
+ * carried.
+ */
+class FleetdOpenCodeLauncherCredentialWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String YAML = """
+            bind:
+              host: 127.0.0.1
+              port: 8765
+            herdrSocket: ~/.config/herdr/herdr.sock
+            profiles:
+              gemini:
+                kind: opencode
+                model: google/gemini-2.5-pro
+            memberCredentials:
+              policy: deny-by-default
+              known:
+                - GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN
+            """;
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    private static Map<String, String> startEnv(FakeHerdr herdr) {
+        return (Map<String, String>) ((Map<String, Object>) herdr.lastCall("tab.create").params()).get("env");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("main's memberCredentials wiring reaches OpenCodeLauncher: a known-but-not-allowed "
+            + "name is shadowed on spawn")
+    void memberCredentialsWiringReachesOpenCodeLauncher(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path file = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(file, YAML);
+        FleetConfig cfg = FleetConfig.load(file);
+        ConfigRef config = ConfigRef.fixed(cfg);
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        OpenCodeLauncher launcher = Fleetd.openCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr),
+                new WorkspaceControl(herdr), cfg.profiles(), cfg, config, ExhaustionSink.none());
+        launcher.spawn();
+
+        String shadowed = startEnv(herdr).get("GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN");
+        assertNotNull(shadowed,
+                "GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN is 'known' but not 'allow'-ed in the loaded config — it must be "
+                        + "explicitly shadowed on spawn; replacing the memberCredentials supplier with "
+                        + "() -> null at the Fleetd.openCodeLauncher call site must fail this "
+                        + "assertion, since a null policy shadows nothing");
+        assertFalse(shadowed.isBlank(), "the overlay value must be non-blank");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdReleaseCleanupWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.PrimaryRegistry;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.InMemoryReplyInbox;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.MessageService;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.Rendezvous;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.util.function.Consumer;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 3, site {@code :611-631}. {@code Fleetd.main} wires {@code
+ * sessions.onRelease(...)} with a lambda that calls three collaborators — {@code
+ * messages.abandon}, {@code replyInbox.release}, and {@code primaryRegistry.forgetDelegation} —
+ * before this ticket built inline inside {@code main}. Measured: replacing the whole lambda body
+ * with {@code detail -> { }} compiles with 0 errors and leaves the full suite green, because each
+ * collaborator is separately tested in isolation ({@code MessageServiceTest}, {@code
+ * PrimaryRegistryTest}) but nothing before this ticket drove the lambda that calls all three from
+ * {@code main}.
+ *
+ * <p>{@code MessageService.abandon}'s own javadoc documents the consequence: without this,
+ * tearing a worker down leaves its rendezvous waiter open, so a blocking {@code fleet_send} keeps
+ * blocking and an async one reports {@code PENDING} for a hardcoded thirty minutes on every {@code
+ * fleet_stop} and every idle-reap.
+ *
+ * <p>This test calls {@link Fleetd#releaseCleanup} directly — never {@code SessionManager} or
+ * {@code main} — against real {@link MessageService}, {@link InMemoryReplyInbox}, and {@link
+ * PrimaryRegistry} instances, and asserts each collaborator's own observable effect: the pending
+ * async ticket transitions to {@code FAILED} (abandon), the inbox no longer owns the target's
+ * queue (release), and the recorded delegation is forgotten (forgetDelegation).
+ */
+class FleetdReleaseCleanupWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String T = "term_a";
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("Fleetd.releaseCleanup reaches messages.abandon, replyInbox.release, and primaryRegistry.forgetDelegation")
+    void releaseCleanupReachesAllThreeCollaborators() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("$ prompt");
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous);
+        InMemoryReplyInbox replyInbox = new InMemoryReplyInbox();
+        PrimaryRegistry primaryRegistry = new PrimaryRegistry(null);
+
+        // Set up the "before" state each collaborator's own effect is measured against.
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task");
+        awaitWaiting(rendezvous);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.PENDING, messages.poll(ticket).phase(),
+                "sanity: the async ticket is pending before cleanup runs");
+
+        replyInbox.own(T);
+        replyInbox.publish(T, "msg-1", "hello");
+        assertEquals(1, replyInbox.peek(T).size(),
+                "sanity: the inbox owns T and holds one message before cleanup runs");
+
+        primaryRegistry.recordDelegation(T, "lead-1");
+        assertEquals("lead-1", primaryRegistry.nudgeTargetFor(T).orElse(null),
+                "sanity: the delegation is recorded before cleanup runs");
+
+        Consumer<SessionManager.ReleaseDetail> cleanup =
+                Fleetd.releaseCleanup(messages, replyInbox, primaryRegistry);
+        cleanup.accept(new SessionManager.ReleaseDetail(T, null, null, null, null));
+
+        MessageService.TaskView view = null;
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            view = messages.poll(ticket);
+            if (view.phase() != MessageService.Phase.PENDING) {
+                break;
+            }
+            //noinspection BusyWait
+            Thread.sleep(10);
+        }
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.FAILED, view == null ? null : view.phase(),
+                "releaseCleanup must call messages.abandon(...) — an inert detail -> { } lambda "
+                        + "leaves this ticket PENDING forever");
+        assertTrue(view.detail() != null && view.detail().contains("released"),
+                "the abandon reason must say the worker session was released");
+
+        assertTrue(replyInbox.peek(T).isEmpty(),
+                "releaseCleanup must call replyInbox.release(...) — an inert lambda leaves the "
+                        + "inbox still owning T with its message");
+
+        assertTrue(primaryRegistry.nudgeTargetFor(T).isEmpty(),
+                "releaseCleanup must call primaryRegistry.forgetDelegation(...) — an inert lambda "
+                        + "leaves the stale delegation in place");
+    }
+
+    private static void awaitWaiting(Rendezvous rendezvous) throws InterruptedException {
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 2000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            //noinspection BusyWait
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting(T), "send should have opened its rendezvous waiter");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdReplyInboxOpenerWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.net.ServerSocket;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 3, site {@code :512}. {@code Fleetd.main} passes {@code AmqpReplyInbox::open}
+ * as the {@link Fleetd.AmqpOpener} argument to {@code selectReplyInbox(...)} — before this ticket
+ * that method reference was inline at the call site. Measured: replacing it with the inert {@code
+ * (uri, prefetch) -> new InMemoryReplyInbox()} compiles with 0 errors and leaves the full suite
+ * green — {@code FleetdReplyInboxSelectionTest} drives {@code selectReplyInbox} with its own
+ * injected opener (including one test that passes the real {@code AmqpReplyInbox::open}
+ * explicitly) and never observes what {@code main} itself actually passes.
+ *
+ * <p>This test calls {@link Fleetd#replyInboxOpener} directly and proves it is the real, network-
+ * attempting opener rather than a stub: pointed at a guaranteed-closed local port, it must throw —
+ * the same shape {@code FleetdReplyInboxSelectionTest.aRealUnreachableBrokerFallsBackViaTheRealOpener}
+ * already relies on for {@code AmqpReplyInbox.open} itself. The inert form never attempts a
+ * connection and never throws, so it fails this assertion silently (by returning normally).
+ */
+class FleetdReplyInboxOpenerWiringTest {
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("Fleetd.replyInboxOpener is the real AmqpReplyInbox::open, not a stub that never connects")
+    void replyInboxOpenerAttemptsARealConnection() throws Exception {
+        int closedPort;
+        try (ServerSocket socket = new ServerSocket(0)) {
+            closedPort = socket.getLocalPort();
+        } // released immediately — connecting to it now is a guaranteed refusal, not a fluke
+
+        Fleetd.AmqpOpener opener = Fleetd.replyInboxOpener();
+
+        IllegalStateException thrown = assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class,
+                () -> opener.open("amqp://user:pw@127.0.0.1:" + closedPort + "/vh", 50),
+                "Fleetd.replyInboxOpener() must be AmqpReplyInbox::open — a real network attempt "
+                        + "against a genuinely unreachable broker must throw. The inert form "
+                        + "(uri, prefetch) -> new InMemoryReplyInbox() never attempts a connection "
+                        + "and never throws, so it would return normally here and fail this "
+                        + "assertion silently.");
+        assertTrue(thrown.getMessage().contains("cannot connect to AMQP broker"),
+                "must be AmqpReplyInbox.open's own real failure message, not a different exception "
+                        + "shape standing in for it");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdTurnRegistrarWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.CompletionResolver;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.ExhaustedPatternLookup;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.ExhaustionSink;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.TurnRegistrar;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.Rendezvous;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.TurnToken;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #589 Group 3, site {@code :505}. {@code Fleetd.main} wires the {@link
+ * dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector}'s {@link TurnRegistrar} with {@code completion::register} —
+ * before this ticket that was an inline argument to {@code new Injector(...)}, so nothing could
+ * pin it directly. Measured: replacing it with {@link TurnRegistrar#NOOP} at the call site
+ * compiles with 0 errors and leaves the full suite green, because {@code onDelivered}'s own {@code
+ * captureBaseline} performs the identical {@code inFlight} check-and-put a moment later on the
+ * ordinary delivery path — the two are indistinguishable unless something reads the resolver
+ * between {@code register} and {@code onDelivered}, or {@code onDelivered} never runs at all (the
+ * gap fleetd #556 introduced {@link TurnRegistrar} to close).
+ *
+ * <p>This test calls {@link Fleetd#turnRegistrar} directly — never {@code Injector} or {@code
+ * main} — and drives {@link CompletionResolver} entirely through its public API: {@link
+ * TurnRegistrar#register} followed by {@link CompletionResolver#resolveBeforePostAction}, which
+ * looks up the same {@code inFlight} entry {@code onTurnComplete} would. With the real registrar,
+ * that entry exists and the waiter opened by {@link Rendezvous#open} resolves; with {@link
+ * TurnRegistrar#NOOP} nothing was ever registered, {@code resolveBeforePostAction} finds no
+ * in-flight turn, and the waiter is left exactly as it started — never done.
+ */
+class FleetdTurnRegistrarWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String T = "term_a";
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("Fleetd.turnRegistrar delegates to the real CompletionResolver, not a no-op")
+    void turnRegistrarDelegatesToCompletionRegister() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("⏺ BUILD GREEN: 391 files\n❯ ");
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        // fleetd#164: an ever-advancing fake clock stands in for the real time a turn would take
+        // between delivery and resolution, so the MIN_TURN_NANOS "too fast" floor never trips here —
+        // see MessageServiceTest's resolverClock for the same technique.
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong();
+        CompletionResolver completion = new CompletionResolver(agents, rendezvous,
+                ExhaustedPatternLookup.none(), ExhaustionSink.none(),
+                () -> clock.addAndGet(CompletionResolver.MIN_TURN_NANOS + 1));
+
+        TurnRegistrar registrar = Fleetd.turnRegistrar(completion);
+
+        CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> waiter = rendezvous.open(T);
+        registrar.register(T, new TurnToken(T, waiter));
+
+        // Mirrors what Injector.onStatus's confirmed working->idle boundary would trigger via
+        // CompletionResolver.onTurnComplete — resolveBeforePostAction is the public, synchronous
+        // twin of that path and reads the exact same inFlight entry register() must have written.
+        completion.resolveBeforePostAction(T);
+
+        assertTrue(waiter.isDone(),
+                "Fleetd.turnRegistrar(completion) must return completion::register — replacing it "
+                        + "with TurnRegistrar.NOOP at the Fleetd.turnRegistrar call site means this "
+                        + "turn is never registered with CompletionResolver, so resolveBeforePostAction "
+                        + "finds no in-flight turn and this waiter is never resolved");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/RoleFallbackGapReportTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,252 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet;
+
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Level;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Logger;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.spi.ILoggingEvent;
+import ch.qos.logback.core.read.ListAppender;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #613: a {@code MemberRole} with no {@code fleet.<role>s:} pool falls back to
+ * <em>every</em> configured profile ({@code FleetConfig#candidateProfiles}), and one with no
+ * {@code fleet.charters.<role>:} entry runs with only the launcher's reply charter. Both are
+ * deliberate, legitimate states — neither is refused by {@code validateMembers()} — but both were
+ * silent at boot. On the host that opened this ticket, an unqualified {@code hunter} spawn silently
+ * widened to all 8 configured profiles and its resolved first choice was {@code local}, a profile
+ * every other pool on that same config gave weight 0 to.
+ *
+ * <p>{@link Fleetd#reportRoleFallbackGaps} must name every gapped role, and for a pool gap, the
+ * exact resolved first-choice profile — that number, not the pool size, is what actually surprised
+ * the operator. Mirrors {@link ExhaustedPatternGapReportTest}'s pattern: capture the real log via a
+ * {@link ListAppender} rather than asserting on the call site's source text.
+ */
+class RoleFallbackGapReportTest {
+
+    private static FleetConfig load(Path dir, String yaml) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml);
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The level this logger had before {@link #attach()} raised it, so {@link #detach} can put it
+     * back. {@code null} means "inherit from the parent" — the state this logger starts in.
+     */
+    private static Level originalLevel;
+
+    /**
+     * {@code reportRoleFallbackGaps} logs at INFO, and {@code logback-test.xml} sets
+     * {@code dev.ltms.fleet} to WARN — so INFO events are dropped by the level check before any
+     * appender sees them. Raise the level for the duration of the test, exactly like {@code
+     * GitHostShapeReportTest#attach}.
+     */
+    private static ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> attach() {
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(Fleetd.class);
+        originalLevel = logger.getLevel();
+        logger.setLevel(Level.INFO);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.start();
+        logger.addAppender(appender);
+        return appender;
+    }
+
+    private static void detach(ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender) {
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(Fleetd.class);
+        logger.detachAppender(appender);
+        logger.setLevel(originalLevel);
+    }
+
+    private static List<String> infoMessages(ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender) {
+        return appender.list.stream()
+                .filter(e -> e.getLevel() == Level.INFO)
+                .map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage)
+                .toList();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reproduces the shape measured in the ticket: {@code dev}, {@code reviewer} and
+     * {@code architect} each have a pool and a charter; {@code hunter} has neither. The pool-gap
+     * line must name {@code hunter}, the profile count (3), and the resolved first choice
+     * ({@code local}, the first profile in definition order) — and must not name the three healthy
+     * roles. The charter-gap line must separately name only {@code hunter}.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void hunterWithNoPoolOrCharterIsNamedWithItsResolvedFirstChoice(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = load(dir, """
+                profiles:
+                  local:
+                    baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+                  sonnet:
+                    baseUrl: https://llm.ltms.dev/v1
+                  terra:
+                    baseUrl: https://llm.ltms.dev/v1
+                fleet:
+                  developers:
+                    a:
+                      profile: sonnet
+                  reviewers:
+                    b:
+                      profile: terra
+                  architects:
+                    c:
+                      profile: sonnet
+                  charters:
+                    dev: "dev charter text"
+                    reviewer: "reviewer charter text"
+                    architect: "architect charter text"
+                """);
+
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = attach();
+        try {
+            Fleetd.reportRoleFallbackGaps(cfg);
+        } finally {
+            detach(appender);
+        }
+
+        List<String> infos = infoMessages(appender);
+
+        String poolLine = infos.stream()
+                .filter(m -> m.contains("no fleet.<role>s: pool"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElseThrow(() -> new AssertionError("expected a pool-gap INFO line: " + infos));
+        assertTrue(poolLine.contains("hunter"), poolLine);
+        assertTrue(poolLine.contains("3"), "must name the profile count the gap opens onto: " + poolLine);
+        assertTrue(poolLine.contains("'local'"),
+                "must name the resolved first-choice profile, the number that actually surprised "
+                        + "the operator: " + poolLine);
+        for (String healthy : List.of("dev", "reviewer", "architect")) {
+            assertFalse(poolLine.contains(healthy),
+                    "pool-gap line must not name a role that has a pool: " + poolLine);
+        }
+
+        String charterLine = infos.stream()
+                .filter(m -> m.contains("no fleet.charters: entry"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElseThrow(() -> new AssertionError("expected a charter-gap INFO line: " + infos));
+        assertTrue(charterLine.contains("hunter"), charterLine);
+        for (String healthy : List.of("dev", "reviewer", "architect")) {
+            assertFalse(charterLine.contains(healthy),
+                    "charter-gap line must not name a role that has a charter: " + charterLine);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The resolved first choice must be genuinely computed from definition order, not hardcoded —
+     * reordering {@code profiles:} so a different entry comes first changes the reported choice.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void theResolvedFirstChoiceFollowsProfileDefinitionOrder(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = load(dir, """
+                profiles:
+                  sonnet:
+                    baseUrl: https://llm.ltms.dev/v1
+                  local:
+                    baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+                fleet:
+                  developers:
+                    a:
+                      profile: sonnet
+                  charters:
+                    dev: "dev charter text"
+                """);
+
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = attach();
+        try {
+            Fleetd.reportRoleFallbackGaps(cfg);
+        } finally {
+            detach(appender);
+        }
+
+        String poolLine = infoMessages(appender).stream()
+                .filter(m -> m.contains("no fleet.<role>s: pool"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElseThrow();
+        // hunter, reviewer and architect all lack a pool here; each falls back to the full 2-profile
+        // set and the first-choice is 'sonnet' because it is first in profiles: definition order.
+        assertTrue(poolLine.contains("'sonnet'"), poolLine);
+        assertFalse(poolLine.contains("'local'"), poolLine);
+    }
+
+    /** A config with a pool and a charter for every role produces no role-fallback log at all. */
+    @Test
+    void everyRoleWithAPoolAndACharterProducesNoLogAtAll(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = load(dir, """
+                profiles:
+                  sonnet:
+                    baseUrl: https://llm.ltms.dev/v1
+                fleet:
+                  developers:
+                    a:
+                      profile: sonnet
+                  reviewers:
+                    b:
+                      profile: sonnet
+                  hunters:
+                    c:
+                      profile: sonnet
+                  architects:
+                    d:
+                      profile: sonnet
+                  charters:
+                    dev: "dev charter text"
+                    reviewer: "reviewer charter text"
+                    hunter: "hunter charter text"
+                    architect: "architect charter text"
+                """);
+
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = attach();
+        try {
+            Fleetd.reportRoleFallbackGaps(cfg);
+        } finally {
+            detach(appender);
+        }
+
+        assertTrue(appender.list.isEmpty(),
+                "a config with no gaps must not print a per-role block: " + infoMessages(appender));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A config with only {@code profiles:} and no {@code fleet:} block at all must still be
+     * reported (every role is gapped, both pool and charter) rather than throwing — this is the
+     * exact shape {@code candidateProfiles}' fallback exists to keep starting.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aConfigWithNoFleetBlockAtAllReportsEveryRoleGapped(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        FleetConfig cfg = load(dir, """
+                profiles:
+                  sonnet:
+                    baseUrl: https://llm.ltms.dev/v1
+                """);
+
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = attach();
+        try {
+            Fleetd.reportRoleFallbackGaps(cfg);
+        } finally {
+            detach(appender);
+        }
+
+        List<String> infos = infoMessages(appender);
+        String poolLine = infos.stream()
+                .filter(m -> m.contains("no fleet.<role>s: pool"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElseThrow(() -> new AssertionError("expected a pool-gap INFO line: " + infos));
+        String charterLine = infos.stream()
+                .filter(m -> m.contains("no fleet.charters: entry"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElseThrow(() -> new AssertionError("expected a charter-gap INFO line: " + infos));
+        for (String role : List.of("dev", "hunter", "reviewer", "architect")) {
+            assertTrue(poolLine.contains(role), poolLine);
+            assertTrue(charterLine.contains(role), charterLine);
+        }
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/config/FleetConfigTest.java

@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.config;
 
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Level;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.spi.ILoggingEvent;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.MemberRegistry;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.LeadMailbox;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.MemberRole;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.testing.CapturedLog;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
 
@@ -93,6 +96,72 @@ class FleetConfigTest {
                 "unset means off — today's behaviour, unchanged");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #601 review (measured 2026-09-22): this guard used to throw {@link
+     * IllegalStateException} and refuse to start. On a host with the conflict configured, that
+     * turned into a launchd restart loop with no readable cause, since {@code fleetd.yaml} is
+     * gitignored. It must now WARN and let the daemon start, and the warning must carry both values
+     * so an operator can fix the config without reading the source. Pinning the log line itself (via
+     * {@link CapturedLog}) rather than a snippet of production source text — the latter is the
+     * anti-pattern this repo avoids; the former is the actual observable behaviour a reader (or an
+     * alert on the log) depends on.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aClaudeProfileWithConflictingAutoCompactFlagAndEnvironmentWindowLoadsAndWarnsWithBothValues(
+            @TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("conflicting-auto-compact-window.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                profiles:
+                  claude-profile:
+                    autoCompactWindow: 250000
+                    env:
+                      CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW: "300000"
+                """);
+
+        FleetConfig cfg;
+        List<String> warnings;
+        try (CapturedLog log = CapturedLog.at(FleetConfig.class, Level.WARN)) {
+            cfg = FleetConfig.load(f);
+            warnings = log.events().stream().map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage).toList();
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(250_000, cfg.profiles().get("claude-profile").autoCompactWindow(),
+                "the disagreement is reported, not corrected — the flag value still loads as-is");
+        assertEquals(1, warnings.size(), "exactly one warning for the one conflicting profile: " + warnings);
+        String warning = warnings.get(0);
+        assertTrue(warning.contains("claude-profile"), "names the offending profile: " + warning);
+        assertTrue(warning.contains("autoCompactWindow=250000"), "names the flag value: " + warning);
+        assertTrue(warning.contains("CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW=300000"), "names the env value: " + warning);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The negative probe paired with the test above (per fleetd #601 review): a warning that fires
+     * on every load and a warning that never fires read the same from a single test, so both must be
+     * checked. No conflict here — the flag and the env value agree — so no warning should be logged.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aClaudeProfileWithEqualAutoCompactFlagAndEnvironmentWindowLoadsWithNoWarning(@TempDir Path dir)
+            throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("equal-auto-compact-window.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                profiles:
+                  claude-profile:
+                    autoCompactWindow: 250000
+                    env:
+                      CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW: "250000"
+                """);
+
+        FleetConfig cfg;
+        List<ILoggingEvent> events;
+        try (CapturedLog log = CapturedLog.at(FleetConfig.class, Level.WARN)) {
+            cfg = FleetConfig.load(f);
+            events = log.events();
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(250_000, cfg.profiles().get("claude-profile").autoCompactWindow());
+        assertTrue(events.isEmpty(), "equal values must not warn: " + events);
+    }
+
     // ── fleetd #201 Unit 5: errorPattern ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     @Test
@@ -345,7 +414,7 @@ class FleetConfigTest {
         IllegalStateException unknownError = assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class,
                 () -> FleetConfig.load(unknown).validateCharters());
         assertTrue(unknownError.getMessage().contains("architetc"));
-        assertTrue(unknownError.getMessage().contains("[architect, dev, reviewer]"));
+        assertTrue(unknownError.getMessage().contains("[architect, dev, hunter, reviewer]"));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -812,13 +881,17 @@ class FleetConfigTest {
                   reviewers:
                     b:
                       profile: sonnet
+                  hunters:
+                    c:
+                      profile: sonnet
                 """);
 
         FleetConfig cfg = FleetConfig.load(f);
         assertEquals(List.of("sonnet"), cfg.fleet().profilesFor(MemberRole.DEV));
+        assertEquals(List.of("sonnet"), cfg.fleet().profilesFor(MemberRole.HUNTER));
         assertEquals(List.of("sonnet"), cfg.fleet().profilesFor(MemberRole.REVIEWER));
         assertTrue(cfg.fleet().profilesFor(MemberRole.ARCHITECT).isEmpty());
-        assertEquals(List.of(MemberRole.DEV, MemberRole.REVIEWER), cfg.fleet().rolesConfigured());
+        assertEquals(List.of(MemberRole.DEV, MemberRole.HUNTER, MemberRole.REVIEWER), cfg.fleet().rolesConfigured());
     }
 
     /** The case the two axes exist for: one backend, two roles, and neither is a duplicate. */

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/herdr/FakeHerdr.java

@@ -456,7 +456,11 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
         }
     }
 
+    /** fleetd #612 Unit A: set by {@link #close()} so a test can prove a router/client actually closed this. */
+    public volatile boolean closed = false;
+
     @Override
     public void close() {
+        closed = true;
     }
 }

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/inject/CompletionResolverTest.java

@@ -625,6 +625,149 @@ class CompletionResolverTest {
         assertEquals(Rendezvous.Kind.REPLY, waiterB.getNow(null).kind());
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void aSupersededDoneTurnMustNotEvictItsSuccessorsRegistration() {
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(new FakeHerdr()), rendezvous,
+                ExhaustedPatternLookup.none(), ExhaustionSink.none());
+
+        var waiterA = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        var turnA = new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiterA, null);
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve("term_a", "A replied"));
+        rendezvous.close("term_a", waiterA);
+        var waiterB = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.captureBaseline("term_a", new TurnToken("term_a", waiterB));
+
+        resolver.resolve("term_a", turnA);
+
+        assertSuccessorRegistrationSurvives(resolver, rendezvous, waiterB,
+                "a done turn must not evict B from resolve()'s early return");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aSupersededExhaustedTurnMustNotEvictItsSuccessorsRegistration() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("⏺ usage limit has been reached\n❯ ");
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(herdr), rendezvous,
+                target -> Pattern.compile("usage limit has been reached"), ExhaustionSink.none());
+
+        var waiterA = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        var turnA = new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiterA, null);
+        rendezvous.close("term_a", waiterA);
+        var waiterB = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.captureBaseline("term_a", new TurnToken("term_a", waiterB));
+
+        resolver.resolve("term_a", turnA);
+
+        assertSuccessorRegistrationSurvives(resolver, rendezvous, waiterB,
+                "an exhausted turn must not evict B from resolve()'s exhausted branch");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aSupersededBackendErrorTurnMustNotEvictItsSuccessorsRegistration() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("⏺ API Error: 400 invalid request body\n❯ ");
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(herdr), rendezvous,
+                ExhaustedPatternLookup.none(), ExhaustionSink.none());
+
+        var waiterA = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        var turnA = new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiterA, null);
+        rendezvous.close("term_a", waiterA);
+        var waiterB = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.captureBaseline("term_a", new TurnToken("term_a", waiterB));
+
+        resolver.resolve("term_a", turnA);
+
+        assertSuccessorRegistrationSurvives(resolver, rendezvous, waiterB,
+                "a backend-error turn must not evict B from resolve()'s error branch");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aSupersededRawExhaustedTurnMustNotEvictItsSuccessorsRegistration() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("╭────\nusage limit has been reached");
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(herdr), rendezvous,
+                target -> Pattern.compile("usage limit has been reached"), ExhaustionSink.none());
+
+        var waiterA = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        var turnA = new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiterA, null);
+        rendezvous.close("term_a", waiterA);
+        var waiterB = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.captureBaseline("term_a", new TurnToken("term_a", waiterB));
+
+        resolver.resolve("term_a", turnA);
+
+        assertSuccessorRegistrationSurvives(resolver, rendezvous, waiterB,
+                "a raw exhausted turn must not evict B from the raw-scrape exhausted branch");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aSupersededRawBackendErrorTurnMustNotEvictItsSuccessorsRegistration() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("╭────\nAPI Error: 400 invalid request body");
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(herdr), rendezvous,
+                ExhaustedPatternLookup.none(), ExhaustionSink.none());
+
+        var waiterA = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        var turnA = new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiterA, null);
+        rendezvous.close("term_a", waiterA);
+        var waiterB = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.captureBaseline("term_a", new TurnToken("term_a", waiterB));
+
+        resolver.resolve("term_a", turnA);
+
+        assertSuccessorRegistrationSurvives(resolver, rendezvous, waiterB,
+                "a raw backend-error turn must not evict B from the raw-scrape error branch");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aSupersededDoneFailedTurnMustNotEvictItsSuccessorsRegistration() {
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(new FakeHerdr()), rendezvous,
+                ExhaustedPatternLookup.none(), ExhaustionSink.none());
+
+        var waiterA = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        var turnA = new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiterA, null);
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve("term_a", "A replied"));
+        rendezvous.close("term_a", waiterA);
+        var waiterB = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.captureBaseline("term_a", new TurnToken("term_a", waiterB));
+
+        resolver.fail("term_a", turnA);
+
+        assertSuccessorRegistrationSurvives(resolver, rendezvous, waiterB,
+                "a done failed turn must not evict B from fail()'s early return");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aSupersededTooFastBackendErrorTurnMustNotEvictItsSuccessorsRegistration() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("⏺ API Error: 400 invalid request body\n❯ ");
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        long[] clock = {10_000_000_000L};
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(herdr), rendezvous,
+                ExhaustedPatternLookup.none(), ExhaustionSink.none(), () -> clock[0]);
+
+        var waiterA = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        var turnA = new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiterA, null, clock[0]);
+        rendezvous.close("term_a", waiterA);
+        var waiterB = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.captureBaseline("term_a", new TurnToken("term_a", waiterB));
+        clock[0] += CompletionResolver.MIN_TURN_NANOS - 1;
+
+        resolver.resolve("term_a", turnA);
+
+        assertSuccessorRegistrationSurvives(resolver, rendezvous, waiterB,
+                "a too-fast backend-error turn must not evict B from failTooFast()");
+    }
+
+    private static void assertSuccessorRegistrationSurvives(CompletionResolver resolver, Rendezvous rendezvous,
+                                                             Object waiterB, String message) {
+        CompletionResolver.InFlight afterA = resolver.inFlight("term_a");
+        assertNotNull(afterA, message + " — a one-arg remove(target) would remove B");
+        assertEquals(waiterB, afterA.waiter(), message + " — the surviving record must belong to B");
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve("term_a", "B replied"), message + " — B must still resolve normally");
+    }
+
     // --- CB-578 stage A: backend-exhausted classification ---------------------------------
 
     @Test

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadContextGaugeTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.lead;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.RandomAccessFile;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assumptions.assumeFalse;
+
+/**
+ * Ticket "lead context gauge" — fleetd could not see how full a lead's own Claude Code context
+ * window was, so a lead auto-compacting was always a surprise. {@link LeadContextGauge} reads that
+ * off the lead's own transcript. Five acceptance properties from the ticket, one test class each
+ * (plus the three separate UNKNOWN cases the ticket calls out by name):
+ * <ol>
+ *   <li>{@link #tokenCountTracksTheLastUsageRecordAndChangesWithIt()}</li>
+ *   <li>{@link #compactionCountTracksCompactBoundaryRecordsAndChangesWithIt()}</li>
+ *   <li>{@link #missingFileIsUnknown()}, {@link #unreadableFileIsUnknown()}</li>
+ *   <li>{@link #tornFinalLineFallsBackToTheLastGoodReading()},
+ *       {@link #everyLineUnparseableIsUnknown()} (fleetd #602 gauge-wiring, finding 2)</li>
+ *   <li>{@link #readNeverExceedsTheTailBound()}</li>
+ *   <li>{@link #secondReadInsideTtlDoesNotTouchDiskAgain()}</li>
+ * </ol>
+ *
+ * <p>Every fixture lives under {@code @TempDir} — never the operator's real config directory (see
+ * the ticket's hard constraint on this).
+ *
+ * <p><strong>fleetd #602 gauge-wiring, finding 2.</strong> The property above used to be "a
+ * truncated or invalid LAST line reports UNKNOWN" — on the theory that a bad last line signals a
+ * format change. That reasoning did not hold: {@code fleet_list} reads this transcript while Claude
+ * Code may be mid-write on it, so a torn LAST line is an ordinary race, not a format change, and a
+ * real format change makes EVERY line unparseable, not only the last one written. So the property
+ * is now split in two: {@link #tornFinalLineFallsBackToTheLastGoodReading} (the torn-line case must
+ * NOT destroy a good earlier reading) and its control, {@link #everyLineUnparseableIsUnknown} (only
+ * when NOTHING in the window parses does this report UNKNOWN).
+ */
+class LeadContextGaugeTest {
+
+    private static final String SESSION_ID = "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111";
+
+    /** One line Claude Code would write for a turn with the given live-context total. */
+    private static String usageLine(long inputTokens, long cacheRead, long cacheCreation) {
+        return "{\"type\":\"assistant\",\"message\":{\"role\":\"assistant\",\"usage\":{"
+                + "\"input_tokens\":" + inputTokens + ","
+                + "\"cache_read_input_tokens\":" + cacheRead + ","
+                + "\"cache_creation_input_tokens\":" + cacheCreation + "}}}";
+    }
+
+    /** One line Claude Code writes when an auto-compaction happens. */
+    private static String compactionLine() {
+        return "{\"type\":\"system\",\"subtype\":\"compact_boundary\","
+                + "\"compactMetadata\":{\"preTokens\":250000,\"postTokens\":5000,"
+                + "\"trigger\":\"auto\",\"durationMs\":54000}}";
+    }
+
+    /** Lays out {@code <configDir>/projects/<anySlug>/<sessionId>.jsonl} and writes {@code lines}. */
+    private static String writeTranscript(Path configDir, String sessionId, String... lines) throws IOException {
+        Path projectDir = configDir.resolve("projects").resolve("some-project-slug");
+        Files.createDirectories(projectDir);
+        Path file = projectDir.resolve(sessionId + ".jsonl");
+        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
+        for (String line : lines) {
+            sb.append(line).append('\n');
+        }
+        Files.writeString(file, sb.toString(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+        return configDir.toString();
+    }
+
+    // --- property 1: live token count tracks the last usage record -----------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("reported tokens equal the LAST usage record's total, and change when it does")
+    void tokenCountTracksTheLastUsageRecordAndChangesWithIt(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        String configDir = writeTranscript(tmp, SESSION_ID,
+                usageLine(1_000, 0, 0),
+                usageLine(40_000, 5_000, 3_000)); // last record: 48,000
+        LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading first = gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, "claude");
+        assertEquals(48_000L, first.tokens(), "must total input+cache_read+cache_creation of the LAST usage record");
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.OK, first.state());
+
+        // Change N in the fixture (a fresh session id avoids the cache) -- the reported number
+        // must change with it, not stay pinned to the first fixture's total.
+        String otherSession = "22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222";
+        writeTranscript(tmp, otherSession, usageLine(100_000, 50_000, 50_000)); // last record: 200,000
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading second = gauge.read(configDir, otherSession, "claude");
+        assertEquals(200_000L, second.tokens());
+        assertTrue(second.tokens() != first.tokens(), "changing N in the fixture must change the reported number");
+    }
+
+    // --- property 2: compaction count tracks compact_boundary records --------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("reported compaction count equals K compact_boundary records, and changes with K")
+    void compactionCountTracksCompactBoundaryRecordsAndChangesWithIt(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        String sessionTwoCompactions = "33333333-3333-3333-3333-333333333333";
+        writeTranscript(tmp, sessionTwoCompactions,
+                usageLine(1_000, 0, 0),
+                compactionLine(),
+                usageLine(2_000, 0, 0),
+                compactionLine(),
+                usageLine(3_000, 0, 0));
+        LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading twoCompactions = gauge.read(tmp.toString(), sessionTwoCompactions, "claude");
+        assertEquals(2, twoCompactions.compactions());
+
+        String sessionZeroCompactions = "44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444";
+        writeTranscript(tmp, sessionZeroCompactions, usageLine(3_000, 0, 0));
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading zeroCompactions = gauge.read(tmp.toString(), sessionZeroCompactions, "claude");
+        assertEquals(0, zeroCompactions.compactions(), "changing K in the fixture must change the reported count");
+    }
+
+    // --- property 3: two separate UNKNOWN cases -------------------------------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a missing transcript file reports UNKNOWN with no token number")
+    void missingFileIsUnknown(@TempDir Path tmp) {
+        LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = gauge.read(tmp.toString(), SESSION_ID, "claude");
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, reading.state());
+        assertNull(reading.tokens());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("an unreadable transcript file reports UNKNOWN with no token number")
+    void unreadableFileIsUnknown(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        String configDir = writeTranscript(tmp, SESSION_ID, usageLine(1_000, 0, 0));
+        Path file = tmp.resolve("projects").resolve("some-project-slug").resolve(SESSION_ID + ".jsonl");
+        assertTrue(file.toFile().setReadable(false), "test setup: must be able to revoke read permission");
+        try {
+            // setReadable(false) really did clear the read bit (asserted above), but that alone
+            // does not prove the file is UNREADABLE: running as root (e.g. a CI container) ignores
+            // the read bit and opens the file anyway. Files.isReadable checks what actually happens
+            // on open, not the bit. When it still reports readable, this test cannot create the
+            // condition it needs on this machine, so it skips honestly instead of asserting on a
+            // state that was never reached. A skip here means "I could not set up the case", NOT
+            // "the UNKNOWN behaviour is fine" -- it is not evidence either way.
+            assumeFalse(Files.isReadable(file),
+                    "runs as root (CI container): the read bit does not stop root, so this case cannot be set up here");
+            LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+            LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, "claude");
+            assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, reading.state());
+            assertNull(reading.tokens());
+        } finally {
+            file.toFile().setReadable(true); // so @TempDir cleanup can delete it
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("fleetd #602 finding 2: a torn final line does not destroy a good earlier reading")
+    void tornFinalLineFallsBackToTheLastGoodReading(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        // Deliberately NOT via writeTranscript: that helper appends a trailing newline after every
+        // line, including the last one, which would not model what a write caught mid-flush looks
+        // like on disk. Claude Code appends and flushes one line at a time, so the torn line here has
+        // no trailing newline at all -- exactly the shape a read racing an in-progress write sees.
+        Path projectDir = tmp.resolve("projects").resolve("some-project-slug");
+        Files.createDirectories(projectDir);
+        Path file = projectDir.resolve(SESSION_ID + ".jsonl");
+        String lastCompleteLine = usageLine(1_000, 2_000, 3_000); // last COMPLETE record: 6,000
+        String tornLine = "{\"type\":\"assistant\",\"message\":{\"role\":\"assistant\",\"usage\":{\"input_tok";
+        Files.writeString(file, lastCompleteLine + "\n" + tornLine, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+
+        LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = gauge.read(tmp.toString(), SESSION_ID, "claude");
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.OK, reading.state(),
+                "a torn final line must not turn a good earlier reading into UNKNOWN");
+        assertEquals(6_000L, reading.tokens(),
+                "must report the last COMPLETE line's total, not fail the whole read");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("fleetd #602 finding 2 control: when EVERY line is unparseable, the reading IS UNKNOWN")
+    void everyLineUnparseableIsUnknown(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        // The real signal a format change gives: not one bad line, but ALL of them. Without this
+        // control, code that never reports UNKNOWN at all would still pass the torn-line property.
+        String configDir = writeTranscript(tmp, SESSION_ID,
+                "{this is not json at all",
+                "neither is this{{{");
+        LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+        LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, "claude");
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, reading.state(),
+                "every line unparseable is the real format-change signal and must still report UNKNOWN");
+        assertNull(reading.tokens());
+    }
+
+    // --- property 4: the tail bound is actually enforced ----------------------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("reading a transcript far larger than the tail bound reads no more than the bound")
+    void readNeverExceedsTheTailBound(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        int smallBound = 4_096; // exercise the mechanism without writing a multi-MB fixture
+        Path file = tmp.resolve("big.jsonl");
+        // One line far bigger than smallBound, repeated, so the whole file is many times the bound.
+        String line = usageLine(42, 0, 0) + " ".repeat(500);
+        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
+        for (int i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
+            sb.append(line).append('\n');
+        }
+        Files.writeString(file, sb.toString(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+        long fileLength = Files.size(file);
+        assertTrue(fileLength > (long) smallBound * 5, "test setup: fixture must genuinely dwarf the bound");
+
+        var tail = LeadContextGauge.tailBytes(file, smallBound);
+        assertEquals(smallBound, tail.bytes().length,
+                "must read exactly the bound, not the whole " + fileLength + "-byte file — assert on bytes actually read");
+    }
+
+    // --- property 5: the cache TTL means a burst of calls reads the file once -------------------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("the same (configDir, sessionId) read twice inside the TTL touches disk once")
+    void secondReadInsideTtlDoesNotTouchDiskAgain(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        String configDir = writeTranscript(tmp, SESSION_ID, usageLine(1_000, 0, 0));
+        AtomicLong now = new AtomicLong(0);
+        LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge(now::get, 5_000);
+
+        gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, "claude");
+        gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, "claude"); // still inside the TTL window
+        assertEquals(1, gauge.diskReadCount(), "two reads inside the TTL must touch disk once");
+
+        now.set(6_000); // past the TTL
+        gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, "claude");
+        assertEquals(2, gauge.diskReadCount(), "a read past the TTL must touch disk again");
+    }
+
+    // --- non-Claude peer / unresolved session -----------------------------------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a non-claude agent type or a null session id is UNKNOWN, never OK")
+    void nonClaudePeerOrUnresolvedSessionIsUnknown(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        String configDir = writeTranscript(tmp, SESSION_ID, usageLine(1_000, 0, 0));
+        LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, "opencode").state());
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, null).state());
+        assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, gauge.read(configDir, null, "claude").state());
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadLauncherTest.java

@@ -32,13 +32,26 @@ class LeadLauncherTest {
                 Map.of("CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW", "300000"), null, null, true, null);
     }
 
+    private static FleetConfig.Profile profileWithAutoCompactWindow(String kind) {
+        return new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "opus", null, "claude-opus-5", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN",
+                List.of("ccs", "ltms"), "tab", "fleet", null,
+                "http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp", null, null,
+                null, null, kind, Map.of(), null, null, true, null, null,
+                null, null, null, 250_000);
+    }
+
     private static FleetConfig configWith(FleetConfig.Leader lead) {
+        return configWith(lead, opusProfile());
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig configWith(FleetConfig.Leader lead, FleetConfig.Profile profile) {
         Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leaders = new LinkedHashMap<>();
         leaders.put("opus", lead);
         FleetConfig.Fleet fleet =
                 new FleetConfig.Fleet(leaders, Map.of(), Map.of(), Map.of(), null);
         return new FleetConfig(
-                null, null, Map.of("opus", opusProfile()), null, null, null, null, null,
+                null, null, Map.of("opus", profile), null, null, null, null, null,
                 null, null, fleet, null, "fixed", null).withDefaults();
     }
 
@@ -330,6 +343,36 @@ class LeadLauncherTest {
                 "--model is appended last so it outranks the ccs wrapper (CB-533)");
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void aClaudeLeadPassesItsConfiguredAutoCompactWindowToClaudeCode() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FleetConfig.Profile profile = profileWithAutoCompactWindow("claude-code");
+
+        launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1), profile)).ensureLeads();
+
+        List<String> args = startedArgs(herdr);
+        assertEquals("250000", args.get(args.indexOf("--autocompact") + 1));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aClaudeLeadWithNoAutoCompactWindowGetsNoAutoCompactFlag() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).ensureLeads();
+
+        assertFalse(startedArgs(herdr).contains("--autocompact"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aNonClaudeLeadDoesNotGetAnAutoCompactFlag() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FleetConfig.Profile profile = profileWithAutoCompactWindow("opencode");
+
+        launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1), profile)).ensureLeads();
+
+        assertFalse(startedArgs(herdr).contains("--autocompact"));
+    }
+
     /** A lead runs on the operator's subscription. Nothing may move it off. */
     @Test
     void theLeadEnvCarriesNoAnthropicBinding() {

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadRolloverTest.java

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 import java.util.function.Function;
@@ -1004,6 +1005,324 @@ class LeadRolloverTest {
         }
     }
 
+    // ---- CB-... : LeadRollover#status makes the outcome of a confirmed roll readable -----------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[STATUS 1] after the calling turn never settles, status() reports "
+            + "TURN_NEVER_SETTLED for that token — this assertion could not even be written before "
+            + "status() existed")
+    void statusReportsTurnNeverSettledAfterTheRollIsAbandoned() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        herdr.agentStatus("working"); // the calling lead's own pane — never goes idle in this test
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        FleetConfig.LeadRollover config =
+                new FleetConfig.LeadRollover(handover.toString(), true, 3600, 1 /*turnSettleSeconds*/, 20, "text");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(herdr, config, () -> clock.addAndGet(500));
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "every synchronous gate should pass; the refusal happens "
+                + "only inside the deferred continuation, which this test's synchronous runner has "
+                + "already run to completion by the time confirm() returns");
+        assertEquals(0, promptCallCount(herdr), "sanity: /clear was never sent");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.TURN_NEVER_SETTLED, status.state());
+        assertTrue(status.detail().contains("turnSettleSeconds"), "the detail must name the knob a "
+                + "reader needs to raise: " + status.detail());
+        assertTrue(status.detail().toLowerCase().contains("no /clear"), "the detail must say plainly "
+                + "that no /clear was ever sent: " + status.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[STATUS 2] a roll that completes reports ROLLED for its token")
+    void statusReportsRolledForACompletedRoll() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr(); // default idle — a full successful roll
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()), fixedClock(clock));
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "expected approval; got: " + decision.reason() + " / " + decision.detail());
+        assertEquals(2, promptCallCount(herdr), "sanity: /clear then bootstrapText were both sent");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.ROLLED, status.state());
+        assertNotNull(status.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[STATUS 3] a roll where /clear never settles reports CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED — "
+            + "distinct from both ROLLED and TURN_NEVER_SETTLED")
+    void statusReportsClearNeverSettledDistinctFromTheOtherTwoStates() throws IOException {
+        // Idle until /clear is sent, then permanently working — the SECOND wait never settles.
+        FakeHerdr fake = new FakeHerdr();
+        HerdrClient flipsAfterClear = new HerdrClient() {
+            @Override
+            public JsonNode call(String method, Object params) throws HerdrException {
+                JsonNode result = fake.call(method, params);
+                if ("agent.prompt".equals(method) && String.valueOf(params).contains("/clear")) {
+                    fake.agentStatus("working");
+                }
+                return result;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() {
+                fake.close();
+            }
+        };
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        FleetConfig.LeadRollover config =
+                new FleetConfig.LeadRollover(handover.toString(), true, 3600, 20, 1 /*clearSettleSeconds*/, "boot text");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(flipsAfterClear, config, () -> clock.addAndGet(500));
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "every synchronous gate passes; the refusal is logged only, "
+                + "deep inside the deferred continuation");
+        assertEquals(1, promptCallCount(fake), "sanity: only /clear was sent, never bootstrapText");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED, status.state());
+        assertNotEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.ROLLED, status.state());
+        assertNotEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.TURN_NEVER_SETTLED, status.state());
+        assertTrue(status.detail().contains("clearSettleSeconds"), status.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[STATUS 4] a token that was never issued, or was cancelled, gives a clean "
+            + "UNKNOWN answer rather than an exception or a false ROLLED")
+    void statusOnUnissuedOrCancelledTokenIsCleanNotAnExceptionOrFalseSuccess() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()), fixedClock(clock));
+
+        // never issued at all
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus neverIssued = assertDoesNotThrow(() -> rollover.status("no-such-token"));
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.UNKNOWN, neverIssued.state());
+        assertNotEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.ROLLED, neverIssued.state());
+
+        // null / blank must not throw either — pending is a ConcurrentHashMap, which throws on a
+        // null-key lookup unless status() guards it first
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.UNKNOWN, assertDoesNotThrow(() -> rollover.status(null)).state());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.UNKNOWN, assertDoesNotThrow(() -> rollover.status("  ")).state());
+
+        // opened, then cancelled
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        assertTrue(rollover.cancel(pending.token()));
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus cancelled = assertDoesNotThrow(() -> rollover.status(pending.token()));
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.UNKNOWN, cancelled.state());
+        assertNotEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.ROLLED, cancelled.state());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[STATUS 5] the bounded outcome history never grows past its cap")
+    void statusHistoryDoesNotGrowPastItsCap() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr(); // default idle — every roll completes
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents"); // one file, reused by every roll below —
+        // checkHandover only compares its mtime against each open()'s OWN requestedAtMillis (the
+        // fake clock, in the low thousands), and the file's real (wall-clock) mtime is always far
+        // larger than that, so freshness passes on every iteration without rewriting the file.
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()), () -> clock.addAndGet(1));
+
+        int rolls = LeadRollover.OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP + 50;
+        String[] tokens = new String[rolls];
+        for (int i = 0; i < rolls; i++) {
+            LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full #" + i);
+            LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+            assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "roll #" + i + " should have been approved: " + decision.detail());
+            tokens[i] = pending.token();
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.ROLLED, rollover.status(tokens[rolls - 1]).state(),
+                "the most recently finished roll's outcome must still be in the bounded history");
+
+        // There is no direct size accessor for the bounded history, so boundedness is asserted
+        // indirectly and behaviourally: the OLDEST finished roll's outcome must have been evicted
+        // (reads back as a clean UNKNOWN, exactly like a token that was never issued) once more than
+        // OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP rolls have gone through this instance. If the cap were not enforced,
+        // tokens[0] would still read back ROLLED here, and this assertion would fail.
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.UNKNOWN, rollover.status(tokens[0]).state(),
+                "the oldest finished roll's outcome must have been evicted once the cap was "
+                        + "exceeded — otherwise the bounded history is not actually bounded");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[STATUS 6] a status() call against a pending roll is read-only — no herdr call is "
+            + "made and the pending request is left untouched")
+    void statusCallAgainstAPendingRollIsReadOnlyAndTouchesNothing() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()), fixedClock(clock));
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.PENDING, status.state());
+        assertEquals(0, herdr.calls.size(), "status() must never make any herdr call at all — not "
+                + "just no agent.prompt — since it must never schedule, cancel, or retry anything");
+
+        // the pending request must be left exactly as it was: the SAME token can still be confirmed
+        // afterwards, as if status() had never been called.
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "status() must not have consumed or otherwise disturbed the "
+                + "pending request: " + decision.reason() + " / " + decision.detail());
+    }
+
+    // ---- PR #600 review round 2: IN_PROGRESS — the gap between confirm() handing off and the ----
+    // ---- continuation finishing must never read back as UNKNOWN ("nothing was ever requested") --
+
+    /**
+     * A {@code continuationRunner} that CAPTURES the roll instead of running it, so a test can
+     * observe {@link LeadRollover#status} in the window between {@link LeadRollover#confirm}
+     * handing off and the roll actually finishing — the window the synchronous {@code
+     * Runnable::run} runner used everywhere else in this class collapses to nothing. Call {@link
+     * #runNext()} to finish exactly one held roll, once the test is done observing the in-flight
+     * state.
+     */
+    private static final class HoldingRunner implements java.util.function.Consumer<Runnable> {
+        private final List<Runnable> held = new ArrayList<>();
+
+        @Override
+        public void accept(Runnable runnable) {
+            held.add(runnable);
+        }
+
+        int heldCount() {
+            return held.size();
+        }
+
+        /** Runs (and removes) the oldest held roll — FIFO, matching confirm() call order. */
+        void runNext() {
+            held.remove(0).run();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static LeadRollover newRolloverWithHoldingRunner(HerdrClient herdr,
+            FleetConfig.LeadRollover config, LongSupplier nowMillis, HoldingRunner runner) {
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        return new LeadRollover(agents, () -> config, _ -> null, nowMillis, () -> { }, runner);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[IN-PROGRESS 1] between an approved confirm() and the continuation finishing, "
+            + "status() reports IN_PROGRESS — not UNKNOWN, and not PENDING")
+    void statusReportsInProgressBetweenConfirmAndTheContinuationFinishing() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr(); // default idle — the held roll WOULD complete once run
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        HoldingRunner runner = new HoldingRunner();
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRolloverWithHoldingRunner(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()),
+                fixedClock(clock), runner);
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "expected approval; got: " + decision.reason() + " / " + decision.detail());
+        assertEquals(1, runner.heldCount(), "sanity: the roll must have been handed to the "
+                + "continuation runner and held there, not run yet");
+        assertEquals(0, promptCallCount(herdr), "sanity: the held continuation has not run, so "
+                + "nothing has been sent to the pane yet");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS, status.state(),
+                "a lead calling status() right after confirm() returned approved, while the roll "
+                        + "is still running, must be told IN_PROGRESS — not UNKNOWN (\"nothing was "
+                        + "ever requested\", which would wrongly invite it to call open() again "
+                        + "mid-roll) and not PENDING (\"not yet approved\", which is simply false "
+                        + "here): got " + status.state() + " / " + status.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[IN-PROGRESS 2] once the continuation finishes, the same token reports its "
+            + "terminal state — IN_PROGRESS is not sticky")
+    void inProgressStateIsNotStickyOnceTheContinuationFinishes() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr(); // default idle — the held roll completes once run
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        HoldingRunner runner = new HoldingRunner();
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRolloverWithHoldingRunner(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()),
+                fixedClock(clock), runner);
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "expected approval; got: " + decision.reason() + " / " + decision.detail());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS, rollover.status(pending.token()).state(),
+                "sanity: must be IN_PROGRESS before the held continuation is run");
+
+        runner.runNext(); // finish the held roll now
+
+        assertEquals(2, promptCallCount(herdr), "sanity: the roll actually ran to completion "
+                + "once released — /clear then bootstrapText");
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus after = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.ROLLED, after.state(),
+                "the SAME token must now report its terminal state — IN_PROGRESS must not still be "
+                        + "reported once the roll has actually finished");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[IN-PROGRESS 4] IN_PROGRESS is distinct from every other RollState")
+    void inProgressStateIsDistinctFromAllOtherStates() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        HoldingRunner runner = new HoldingRunner();
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRolloverWithHoldingRunner(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()),
+                fixedClock(clock), runner);
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "expected approval; got: " + decision.reason() + " / " + decision.detail());
+
+        LeadRollover.RollState inProgress = rollover.status(pending.token()).state();
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS, inProgress);
+        for (LeadRollover.RollState other : LeadRollover.RollState.values()) {
+            if (other == LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            assertNotEquals(other, inProgress, "IN_PROGRESS must be distinct from " + other);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[IN-PROGRESS 5] eviction counts IN_PROGRESS entries toward the cap exactly like "
+            + "finished ones — a burst of confirmed-but-not-yet-finished rolls still ages out")
+    void evictionCountsInProgressEntriesTowardTheCap() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents"); // reused by every roll — see
+        // statusHistoryDoesNotGrowPastItsCap for why one shared file is enough for freshness.
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        HoldingRunner runner = new HoldingRunner(); // nothing run below — every roll stays IN_PROGRESS
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRolloverWithHoldingRunner(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()),
+                () -> clock.addAndGet(1), runner);
+
+        int rolls = LeadRollover.OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP + 50;
+        String[] tokens = new String[rolls];
+        for (int i = 0; i < rolls; i++) {
+            LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full #" + i);
+            LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+            assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "roll #" + i + " should have been approved: " + decision.detail());
+            tokens[i] = pending.token();
+        }
+        assertEquals(rolls, runner.heldCount(), "sanity: none of these rolls have been run — every "
+                + "one of them is sitting in outcomes as IN_PROGRESS, not a separate uncapped map");
+
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS, rollover.status(tokens[rolls - 1]).state(),
+                "the most recently confirmed (still in-flight) roll must still be in the bounded "
+                        + "history");
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.UNKNOWN, rollover.status(tokens[0]).state(),
+                "the oldest confirmed roll's IN_PROGRESS entry must have been evicted once the cap "
+                        + "was exceeded, exactly like a finished entry would be — proving IN_PROGRESS "
+                        + "entries share the SAME bounded map and count against the SAME cap, rather "
+                        + "than living in a second, uncapped in-flight map");
+    }
+
     @Test
     @DisplayName("[fleetd #494 follow-up] the turn-settle timeout warn line prints the MEASURED "
             + "elapsed time next to the configured budget, never the configured value alone")
@@ -1040,4 +1359,92 @@ class LeadRolloverTest {
                     + "it were the measured wait duration: " + message);
         }
     }
+
+    // ---- fleetd #615: a HerdrException out of either unwrapped agents.send call must leave a ----
+    // ---- TERMINAL FAILED outcome, never a stuck IN_PROGRESS ---------------------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[fleetd #615 — 1] send() throwing on the /clear call leaves status(token) "
+            + "reporting FAILED, not stuck at IN_PROGRESS")
+    void sendThrowingOnClearLeavesStatusReportingFailed() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr fake = new FakeHerdr(); // default idle — the turn-settle wait passes immediately
+        HerdrClient throwsOnClear = new HerdrClient() {
+            @Override
+            public JsonNode call(String method, Object params) throws HerdrException {
+                if ("agent.prompt".equals(method) && String.valueOf(params).contains("/clear")) {
+                    throw new HerdrException("simulated herdr transport failure sending /clear");
+                }
+                return fake.call(method, params);
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() {
+                fake.close();
+            }
+        };
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(throwsOnClear, cfg(handover.toString()), fixedClock(clock));
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "every synchronous gate passes; the throw happens only "
+                + "inside the deferred continuation, which this test's synchronous runner has "
+                + "already run to completion by the time confirm() returns");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.FAILED, status.state(),
+                "a HerdrException out of the /clear send must leave a TERMINAL FAILED outcome — "
+                        + "before fleetd #615's fix, the continuation thread died silently and "
+                        + "status() was stuck reporting the IN_PROGRESS confirm() wrote at hand-off, "
+                        + "forever: got " + status.state() + " / " + status.detail());
+        assertNotEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS, status.state());
+        assertTrue(status.detail().contains("HerdrException"), "the detail must name the exception "
+                + "so an operator reading status() has something to act on: " + status.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[fleetd #615 — 2] send() throwing on the bootstrap-text call (after /clear "
+            + "succeeded and the pane settled) also leaves status(token) reporting FAILED — a "
+            + "DIFFERENT exit from the /clear-throw case above")
+    void sendThrowingOnBootstrapTextLeavesStatusReportingFailed() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr fake = new FakeHerdr(); // default idle throughout — both settle waits pass promptly
+        HerdrClient throwsOnBootstrapText = new HerdrClient() {
+            @Override
+            public JsonNode call(String method, Object params) throws HerdrException {
+                if ("agent.prompt".equals(method) && String.valueOf(params).contains("read the handover file")) {
+                    throw new HerdrException("simulated herdr transport failure sending bootstrapText");
+                }
+                return fake.call(method, params);
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() {
+                fake.close();
+            }
+        };
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(throwsOnBootstrapText, cfg(handover.toString()), fixedClock(clock));
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "every synchronous gate passes; the throw happens only "
+                + "inside the deferred continuation, which this test's synchronous runner has "
+                + "already run to completion by the time confirm() returns");
+        assertEquals(1, promptCallCount(fake), "sanity: /clear was sent and settled — only the "
+                + "SECOND agent.prompt call (bootstrapText) threw");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.FAILED, status.state(),
+                "a HerdrException out of the bootstrapText send — a DIFFERENT exit from the /clear "
+                        + "throw, reached only after /clear already succeeded and the pane already "
+                        + "settled — must also leave a TERMINAL FAILED outcome, not a stuck "
+                        + "IN_PROGRESS: got " + status.state() + " / " + status.detail());
+        assertNotEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS, status.state());
+        assertTrue(status.detail().contains("HerdrException"), "the detail must name the exception "
+                + "so an operator reading status() has something to act on: " + status.detail());
+    }
 }

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/mcp/FleetMcpHandoverTest.java

@@ -258,5 +258,51 @@ class FleetMcpHandoverTest {
         assertTrue(textOf(r).contains("\"cancelled\":true"), textOf(r));
     }
 
+    // --- new: action "status" — makes the outcome of a confirm() readable through the tool ----
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("status on a null LeadRollover is a clean NOT_CONFIGURED refusal, never a throw")
+    void statusWithNullLeadRolloverRefusesCleanly() {
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult r = assertDoesNotThrow(() -> FleetMcp.handover(null, LEAD,
+                Map.of("action", "status", "token", "whatever")));
+        assertFalse(r.isError());
+        assertTrue(textOf(r).contains("NOT_CONFIGURED"), textOf(r));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("status on a token that was never opened reports UNKNOWN")
+    void statusOnUnknownTokenReportsUnknown() {
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(tmp.resolve("h.md").toString());
+
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult r = FleetMcp.handover(rollover, LEAD,
+                Map.of("action", "status", "token", "does-not-exist"));
+        assertFalse(r.isError());
+        assertTrue(textOf(r).contains("\"state\":\"UNKNOWN\""), textOf(r));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("status on a token that is still pending (opened, not confirmed) reports PENDING")
+    void statusOnPendingTokenReportsPending() {
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(tmp.resolve("h.md").toString());
+        String token = extractToken(textOf(FleetMcp.handover(rollover, LEAD, Map.of("action", "open"))));
+
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult r = FleetMcp.handover(rollover, LEAD,
+                Map.of("action", "status", "token", token));
+        assertFalse(r.isError());
+        assertTrue(textOf(r).contains("\"state\":\"PENDING\""), textOf(r));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("status is registered on the tool's schema and the schema still names no caller-identity parameter")
+    void statusActionIsAdvertisedOnTheSchema() {
+        FleetMcp m = mcp(null);
+        McpSchema.Tool tool = m.registeredTools().stream()
+                .filter(t -> "fleet_handover".equals(t.name()))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElseThrow(() -> new AssertionError("fleet_handover was not registered"));
+        assertTrue(tool.description().contains("'status'"),
+                "the tool's own description must advertise the 'status' action: " + tool.description());
+    }
+
     // --- acceptance 7 (wiring) is covered by FleetdLeadRolloverWiringTest, unchanged -----------
 }

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/mcp/FleetMcpLeadContextGaugeWiringTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.mcp;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadContextGauge;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
+import io.modelcontextprotocol.spec.McpSchema;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #602 gauge-wiring: {@code FleetMcp}'s {@code fleet_list} handler shipped calling
+ * {@code LeadContextGauge.read(null, ...)} unconditionally, so every lead whose profile sets a
+ * {@code configDir:} override read the wrong transcript directory forever, with no error anywhere —
+ * {@link LeadContextGauge}'s own 8 tests all passed because none of them exercised THIS wiring; each
+ * one hands the gauge its own directory directly.
+ *
+ * <p>This class proves the directory {@code fleet.leaders.<name>.profile}'s own {@code configDir:}
+ * names is the one {@code fleet_list}'s {@code context} row actually reads — not merely that SOME
+ * directory got passed. If the wiring in {@code FleetMcp.leadView}/{@code contextView} is ever
+ * reverted to a hardcoded {@code null}, {@link #configuredDirectoryDecidesWhichTranscriptIsRead()}
+ * must go red: both directories below hold a REAL, DIFFERENT token count for the SAME session id,
+ * so a hardcoded {@code null} (always reading the built-in default, where neither transcript lives)
+ * would report {@code UNKNOWN} both times instead of the two distinct numbers this test asserts.
+ */
+class FleetMcpLeadContextGaugeWiringTest {
+
+    private static final String LEAD_TERMINAL = "term_lead";
+    private static final String LEAD_NAME = "opus";
+    /** {@code FakeHerdr.withAgent} always projects {@code agent_session.value} as {@code sess-<terminalId>}. */
+    private static final String LEAD_SESSION_ID = "sess-" + LEAD_TERMINAL;
+
+    private static ClaudeCodeLauncher workerService(FakeHerdr h) {
+        FleetConfig.Profile cfg = new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "ltms-local", "http://gx00.gw:8000", "coder", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN", null,
+                "tab", "fleetd-workers", "worker: {profile} #{n}", null, null, null);
+        return new ClaudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(h), new WorkspaceControl(h),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), Map.of(cfg.profile(), cfg), cfg.profile(), _ -> "tok");
+    }
+
+    private static String textOf(McpSchema.CallToolResult r) {
+        return ((McpSchema.TextContent) r.content().getFirst()).text();
+    }
+
+    /** One line Claude Code would write for a turn with the given live-context total. */
+    private static String usageLine(long tokens) {
+        return "{\"type\":\"assistant\",\"message\":{\"role\":\"assistant\",\"usage\":{"
+                + "\"input_tokens\":" + tokens + ",\"cache_read_input_tokens\":0,\"cache_creation_input_tokens\":0}}}";
+    }
+
+    /** Lays out {@code <configDir>/projects/<anySlug>/<sessionId>.jsonl} carrying one usage record. */
+    private static String writeTranscript(Path configDir, String sessionId, long tokens) throws IOException {
+        Path projectDir = configDir.resolve("projects").resolve("some-project-slug");
+        Files.createDirectories(projectDir);
+        Files.writeString(projectDir.resolve(sessionId + ".jsonl"), usageLine(tokens) + "\n", StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+        return configDir.toString();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("the CONFIGURED directory decides which transcript is read, and follows a config change")
+    void configuredDirectoryDecidesWhichTranscriptIsRead(@TempDir Path tmp) throws IOException {
+        Path dirA = Files.createDirectory(tmp.resolve("dir-a"));
+        Path dirB = Files.createDirectory(tmp.resolve("dir-b"));
+        writeTranscript(dirA, LEAD_SESSION_ID, 11_000);
+        writeTranscript(dirB, LEAD_SESSION_ID, 22_000);
+
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().withAgent("lead-opus", LEAD_TERMINAL, "wL:p1", "wL:t1");
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workerService(herdr));
+        LeadContextGauge contextGauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+        AtomicReference<String> configuredDir = new AtomicReference<>(dirA.toString());
+        FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource source = new FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource(name ->
+                LEAD_NAME.equals(name) ? configuredDir.get() : null);
+
+        String firstRead = textOf(listFleet(herdr, sessions, contextGauge, source));
+        assertTrue(firstRead.contains("\"tokens\":11000"),
+                "config names directory A ⇒ fleet_list must report A's token count: " + firstRead);
+
+        // The config changes to name directory B instead -- the very next read must follow it.
+        configuredDir.set(dirB.toString());
+        String secondRead = textOf(listFleet(herdr, sessions, contextGauge, source));
+        assertTrue(secondRead.contains("\"tokens\":22000"),
+                "config now names directory B ⇒ fleet_list must report B's token count, not A's stale one: "
+                        + secondRead);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a lead whose config names no directory still degrades to the built-in default, never throws")
+    void aLeadWhoseConfigNamesNoDirectoryStillFallsBackWithoutThrowing() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().withAgent("lead-opus", LEAD_TERMINAL, "wL:p1", "wL:t1");
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workerService(herdr));
+        LeadContextGauge contextGauge = new LeadContextGauge();
+
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = listFleet(herdr, sessions, contextGauge, FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource.none());
+
+        assertNotEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError(), "a lead with no configured configDir must degrade, never throw");
+        String out = textOf(res);
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"state\":\"unknown\""), "no transcript under the built-in default ⇒ UNKNOWN: " + out);
+        assertFalse(out.contains("\"tokens\""), "UNKNOWN must never carry a stale/default token number: " + out);
+    }
+
+    private static McpSchema.CallToolResult listFleet(FakeHerdr herdr, SessionManager sessions,
+            LeadContextGauge contextGauge, FleetMcp.LeadConfigDirSource leadConfigDirs) {
+        return FleetMcp.listFleet(workerService(herdr), sessions, null,
+                FleetMcp.CapacitySource.none(), new FleetMcp.HealthCoverageSource(() -> "off"),
+                FleetMcp.LoopHealthSource.none(), FleetMcp.QuarantineSource.none(), FleetMcp.OutageSource.none(),
+                FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource.none(), contextGauge, leadConfigDirs,
+                Map.of(LEAD_TERMINAL, LEAD_NAME), LEAD_TERMINAL, FleetMcp.CoordinationSource.none(), false);
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/mcp/FleetMcpTest.java

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Role;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.LoopWatchdog;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PaneLocator;
@@ -58,9 +59,10 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
 
     private final FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
     private final AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+    private final Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
     private final Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
     private final InMemoryReplyInbox inbox = new InMemoryReplyInbox();
-    private final MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, new Injector(agents), rendezvous, inbox);
+    private final MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous, inbox);
 
     @BeforeEach
     void setUp() {
@@ -299,6 +301,35 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertTrue(textOf(res).contains("no reply"), "got: " + textOf(res));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #571 (ticket CORRECTION 5): {@code formatReply}'s {@code TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED} arm is
+     * the one message whose whole job is to stop a caller retrying a delivery that may already have
+     * arrived. Pin that its wording is actually distinct from the queued/working arm's retry
+     * invitation — a mutation that swapped this arm's text for that one still passed every other
+     * test in this suite, because nothing asserted the specific wording.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void sendTimesOutWithAnUnconfirmedNoteNotARetryInvitation() throws Exception {
+        herdr.agentSendFailsWith("send_failed");
+        CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> send = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, T, "hi", 150L, null, Set.of()));
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 2000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            //noinspection BusyWait
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting(T), "send should have opened its rendezvous waiter");
+        injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE); // triggers the failing delivery attempt -> ATTEMPTED
+
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = send.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        String text = textOf(res);
+        assertNotEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError(), "a timeout is informational, not a tool error");
+        assertTrue(text.contains("delivery unconfirmed"), "got: " + text);
+        assertFalse(text.contains("retry or poll status"),
+                "an unconfirmed delivery must not carry the queued/working arm's retry invitation — "
+                        + "a resend here can double-deliver the same brief: got " + text);
+    }
+
     @Test
     void sendRejectsMissingArgs() {
         assertTrue(FleetMcp.send(messages, null, "hi", null, null, Set.of()).isError());
@@ -1906,7 +1937,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
                 null, null, null, null, null, null);
 
         assertEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError());
-        assertTrue(textOf(res).contains("architect, dev, reviewer"), textOf(res));
+        assertTrue(textOf(res).contains("architect, dev, hunter, reviewer"), textOf(res));
     }
 
     // ── CB-619 / fleetd #123: a spawn asking for a role its profile has no slot for must be

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/member/ClaudeCodeLauncherTest.java

@@ -556,6 +556,31 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
                 "no --agent flag when the role has no agent-definition file");
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void hunterRoleUsesItsAgentFileAndStopsUsingItWhenRemoved(@TempDir Path cwd) throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Path agentFile = Files.createDirectories(cwd.resolve(".claude/agents")).resolve("hunter.md");
+        Files.writeString(agentFile, "---\nname: hunter\n---\nSweep for defects.");
+        FleetConfig.Profile cfg = new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "sonnet", "http://gx00.gw:8000", null, null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN",
+                List.of("claude"), "tab", "fleetd-workers", "w #{n}", null, null, null);
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher svc = new ClaudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), Map.of(cfg.profile(), cfg), cfg.profile(), _ -> null);
+
+        svc.spawn(new SpawnRequest("sonnet", cwd.toString(), null, null, null, MemberRole.HUNTER));
+
+        List<String> args = spawnedArgs(herdr);
+        int flag = args.indexOf("--agent");
+        assertTrue(flag >= 0, "the hunter role reaches its agent-definition file: " + args);
+        assertEquals("hunter", args.get(flag + 1));
+
+        Files.delete(agentFile);
+        svc.spawn(new SpawnRequest("sonnet", cwd.toString(), null, null, null, MemberRole.HUNTER));
+
+        assertFalse(spawnedArgs(herdr).contains("--agent"),
+                "the hunter role no longer gets an agent when its file is removed");
+    }
+
     private ClaudeCodeLauncher multiProfile(FakeHerdr herdr) {
         FleetConfig.Profile gx10 = new FleetConfig.Profile("gx10", "http://gx10.gw:8000", "coder",
                 null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN", List.of("claude"), "tab", "fleetd-workers", "w #{n}", null, null, null);

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/AmqpReplyInboxRecoveryRaceTest.java

@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@ import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Timeout;
 
 import java.lang.reflect.InvocationHandler;
+import java.lang.reflect.Method;
 import java.lang.reflect.Proxy;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
 import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
@@ -20,6 +23,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
 
 /**
  * CB-528 follow-up: {@link AmqpReplyInbox#failPendingPublishesOnRecovery()} must not fail a publish
@@ -197,11 +201,78 @@ class AmqpReplyInboxRecoveryRaceTest {
                         + elapsedMillis.get() + "ms");
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void publishIOExceptionRemovesThePendingMessageId() throws Exception {
+        AtomicLong seqCounter = new AtomicLong();
+        Channel failing = fakeChannel(seqCounter, new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>(), new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>(),
+                new AtomicReference<>(), new AtomicReference<>(), true);
+        AmqpReplyInbox inbox = new AmqpReplyInbox(fakeConnection(failing, failing), AmqpReplyInbox.DEFAULT_PREFETCH);
+
+        try {
+            org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class,
+                    () -> inbox.publish("worker", "catch", "body"));
+            assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(inbox).size(), "publish IOException must remove its msgId entry");
+        } finally {
+            inbox.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void interruptedPublishRemovesThePendingMessageIdInFinally() throws Exception {
+        InboxFixture fixture = new InboxFixture();
+        Thread publish = fixture.startPublish("finally");
+        fixture.awaitPublished("finally");
+        publish.interrupt();
+        publish.join(5_000);
+
+        assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(fixture.inbox).size(), "publish finally must remove its msgId entry");
+        fixture.inbox.close();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void confirmResolutionRemovesThePendingMessageId() throws Exception {
+        AmqpReplyInbox inbox = new InboxFixture().inbox;
+        try {
+            seedPending(inbox, 1, "confirm");
+            invoke(inbox, "resolveConfirm", new Class<?>[] {long.class, boolean.class, boolean.class}, 1L, false, true);
+            assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(inbox).size(), "confirm resolution must remove its msgId entry");
+        } finally {
+            inbox.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void recoverySweepRemovesThePendingMessageId() throws Exception {
+        AmqpReplyInbox inbox = new InboxFixture().inbox;
+        try {
+            seedPending(inbox, 1, "recovery");
+            inbox.failPendingPublishesOnRecovery();
+            assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(inbox).size(), "recovery sweep must remove its msgId entry");
+        } finally {
+            inbox.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void closeRemovesThePendingMessageId() throws Exception {
+        AmqpReplyInbox inbox = new InboxFixture().inbox;
+        seedPending(inbox, 1, "close");
+        inbox.close();
+
+        assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(inbox).size(), "close must remove its msgId entry");
+    }
+
     /** A {@link Proxy}-backed {@link Channel}: only the calls {@link AmqpReplyInbox} actually makes
      *  are meaningfully implemented; everything else returns a harmless default. */
     private static Channel fakeChannel(AtomicLong seqCounter, List<Long> seqOrder, List<String> msgIdOrder,
-                                        AtomicReference<ConfirmCallback> ackCallback,
-                                        AtomicReference<ConfirmCallback> nackCallback) {
+                                         AtomicReference<ConfirmCallback> ackCallback,
+                                         AtomicReference<ConfirmCallback> nackCallback) {
+        return fakeChannel(seqCounter, seqOrder, msgIdOrder, ackCallback, nackCallback, false);
+    }
+
+    private static Channel fakeChannel(AtomicLong seqCounter, List<Long> seqOrder, List<String> msgIdOrder,
+                                         AtomicReference<ConfirmCallback> ackCallback,
+                                         AtomicReference<ConfirmCallback> nackCallback, boolean failPublish) {
         InvocationHandler handler = (proxy, method, args) -> {
             String name = method.getName();
             if (name.equals("getNextPublishSeqNo")) {
@@ -210,6 +281,9 @@ class AmqpReplyInboxRecoveryRaceTest {
                 return value;
             }
             if (name.equals("basicPublish")) {
+                if (failPublish) {
+                    throw new IOException("test publish failure");
+                }
                 AMQP.BasicProperties props = (AMQP.BasicProperties) args[3];
                 msgIdOrder.add(props.getMessageId());
                 return null;
@@ -285,4 +359,60 @@ class AmqpReplyInboxRecoveryRaceTest {
         }
         return 0;
     }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    private static Map<String, Object> pendingByMsgId(AmqpReplyInbox inbox) throws Exception {
+        var field = AmqpReplyInbox.class.getDeclaredField("pendingByMsgId");
+        field.setAccessible(true);
+        return (Map<String, Object>) field.get(inbox);
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    private static void seedPending(AmqpReplyInbox inbox, long seq, String msgId) throws Exception {
+        Class<?> pendingType = Class.forName(AmqpReplyInbox.class.getName() + "$Pending");
+        var constructor = pendingType.getDeclaredConstructor(String.class);
+        constructor.setAccessible(true);
+        Object pending = constructor.newInstance(msgId);
+        var seqField = AmqpReplyInbox.class.getDeclaredField("pendingBySeq");
+        seqField.setAccessible(true);
+        ((Map<Long, Object>) seqField.get(inbox)).put(seq, pending);
+        pendingByMsgId(inbox).put(msgId, pending);
+    }
+
+    private static void invoke(AmqpReplyInbox inbox, String name, Class<?>[] types, Object... args) throws Exception {
+        Method method = AmqpReplyInbox.class.getDeclaredMethod(name, types);
+        method.setAccessible(true);
+        method.invoke(inbox, args);
+    }
+
+    private static final class InboxFixture {
+        final AtomicLong seqCounter = new AtomicLong();
+        final List<Long> seqOrder = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        final List<String> msgIdOrder = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        final AtomicReference<ConfirmCallback> ackCallback = new AtomicReference<>();
+        final AtomicReference<ConfirmCallback> nackCallback = new AtomicReference<>();
+        final AmqpReplyInbox inbox = new AmqpReplyInbox(
+                fakeConnection(fakeChannel(seqCounter, seqOrder, msgIdOrder, ackCallback, nackCallback),
+                        fakeChannel(seqCounter, seqOrder, msgIdOrder, ackCallback, nackCallback)),
+                AmqpReplyInbox.DEFAULT_PREFETCH);
+
+        Thread startPublish(String msgId) {
+            Thread thread = Thread.ofVirtual().start(() -> {
+                try {
+                    inbox.publish("worker", msgId, "body");
+                } catch (IllegalStateException ignored) {
+                    // Interrupting the confirm wait is the path under test.
+                }
+            });
+            return thread;
+        }
+
+        void awaitPublished(String msgId) throws InterruptedException {
+            long deadline = System.nanoTime() + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(5);
+            while (!msgIdOrder.contains(msgId) && System.nanoTime() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(10);
+            }
+            assertTrue(msgIdOrder.contains(msgId), "publish did not register " + msgId);
+        }
+    }
 }

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/LeadHeartbeatLoopTest.java

@@ -1,27 +1,46 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
 
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Level;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Logger;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.spi.ILoggingEvent;
+import ch.qos.logback.core.read.ListAppender;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadContextGauge;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.PrimaryRegistry;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.MemberRole;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.MemberSession;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
+import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
 
 /**
  * Unit tests for the CB-551 idle-lead heartbeat: the pure {@link LeadHeartbeatLoop#decide} decision
- * function, the nudge text, and the {@link LeadHeartbeatLoop#snapshot} fleet snapshot.
+ * function, the nudge text, and the {@link LeadHeartbeatLoop#snapshot} fleet snapshot. Also covers
+ * fleetd #609's context-high notice: the {@code context}/{@code contextNotified} parameters {@code
+ * decide} gained, and the standalone {@link LeadHeartbeatLoop#contextNotice} text builder.
  *
  * <p>All decision tests call {@code decide} directly with explicit nanoTime values from an injected
  * clock — no sleeping, no scheduler races. This mirrors how {@code ReplyPushLoopTest} pins the pure
  * decision before exercising the loop.
+ *
+ * <p>Every pre-#609 test below passes {@code LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false} for the two new
+ * {@code decide} parameters — the same as a lead whose context could not be read and has never been
+ * notified — so each one still pins exactly the behaviour it pinned before this ticket.
  */
 class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
 
@@ -56,12 +75,18 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
         return new LeadHeartbeatLoop.FleetState(2, 1, 3, List.of("term_a", "term_b"));
     }
 
-    /** The loop under test; the scheduler is never invoked on the pure decide path. */
+    /** The loop under test, context notice off; the scheduler is never invoked on the pure decide path. */
     private static LeadHeartbeatLoop loop(int quietCap) {
+        return loop(quietCap, false);
+    }
+
+    /** As above, with the fleetd #609 {@code contextHighNudge} flag set explicitly. */
+    private static LeadHeartbeatLoop loop(int quietCap, boolean contextHighNudge) {
         return new LeadHeartbeatLoop(
                 new PrimaryRegistry("term_lead"), null /*agents — unused on the decide path*/,
                 null /*inbox*/, List::of, null /*pushLoop*/, null /*scheduler*/, () -> 0L,
-                IDLE_AFTER_NANOS, 1_000L, quietCap);
+                IDLE_AFTER_NANOS, 1_000L, quietCap, null,
+                LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource.none(), contextHighNudge);
     }
 
     // ── (a) a working lead is never injected ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -69,7 +94,8 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
     @Test
     void aWorkingLeadIsNeverInjected() {
         LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.WORKING, false, true, quietFleet());
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.WORKING, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.LEAD_BUSY, d.action(),
                 "a WORKING lead is making progress and must not be touched");
         assertNull(d.idleSinceNanos(), "a busy lead resets the idle window");
@@ -80,17 +106,71 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
     void anUnreadableStatusIsNeverInjectedEither() {
         // A failed status read (or a gone agent) must degrade to "do not inject", never hammer the pane.
         LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.UNKNOWN, false, true, pendingFleet());
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.UNKNOWN, false, true, pendingFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.LEAD_BUSY, d.action(),
                 "never inject into a state the loop cannot read");
     }
 
+    // ── fleetd #613: the boot line names all four heartbeat settings ──────────────────────────
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #613: {@link LeadHeartbeatLoop#start()}'s boot line named only 3 of the 4 constructor
+     * settings — {@code contextHighNudge} (fleetd #609) was missing, so an operator could not tell
+     * from the log whether the handover notice was armed. Captures the real log via a
+     * {@link ListAppender}, raising the logger's level past {@code logback-test.xml}'s
+     * {@code dev.ltms.fleet -> WARN} override for the duration of the call — the same seam {@code
+     * GitHostShapeReportTest#attach} uses for its own INFO-level boot line.
+     */
+    private static String heartbeatBootLine(boolean contextHighNudge, ScheduledExecutorService scheduler) {
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(LeadHeartbeatLoop.class);
+        Level originalLevel = logger.getLevel();
+        logger.setLevel(Level.INFO);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.start();
+        logger.addAppender(appender);
+        try {
+            LeadHeartbeatLoop l = new LeadHeartbeatLoop(
+                    new PrimaryRegistry("term_lead"), null /*agents*/, null /*inbox*/, List::of,
+                    null /*pushLoop*/, scheduler, () -> 0L, IDLE_AFTER_NANOS, 1_000L, 3, null,
+                    LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource.none(), contextHighNudge);
+            l.start();
+        } finally {
+            logger.detachAppender(appender);
+            logger.setLevel(originalLevel);
+        }
+        return appender.list.stream()
+                .filter(e -> e.getLevel() == Level.INFO)
+                .map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage)
+                .filter(m -> m.startsWith("idle-lead heartbeat:"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElseThrow(() -> new AssertionError("expected the heartbeat boot line to be logged"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void theBootLineNamesContextHighNudgeWhenArmed() {
+        String line = heartbeatBootLine(true, scheduler);
+        assertTrue(line.contains("300s idle"), line);
+        assertTrue(line.contains("recheck 1000ms"), line);
+        assertTrue(line.contains("quiet cap 3"), line);
+        assertTrue(line.contains("context-high nudge true"),
+                "the boot line must name the 4th setting, contextHighNudge, alongside the other "
+                        + "three: " + line);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void theBootLineNamesContextHighNudgeWhenOff() {
+        String line = heartbeatBootLine(false, scheduler);
+        assertTrue(line.contains("context-high nudge false"), line);
+    }
+
     // ── (b) an idle lead within the quiet period is not yet injected ───────────────────────────
 
     @Test
     void justBecameIdleStartsTheDebounceWindow() {
         LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, null, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet());
+                NOW, null, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.WAIT_IDLE, d.action(),
                 "the first injectable tick only records the start of the idle stretch");
         assertEquals(NOW, d.idleSinceNanos(), "the idle window opens at the moment the lead became injectable");
@@ -99,7 +179,8 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
     @Test
     void idleWithinQuietPeriodIsNotInjected() {
         LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_WITHIN, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet());
+                NOW, IDLE_WITHIN, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.WAIT_IDLE, d.action(),
                 "a lead idle for 10s (< 300s) has just finished a turn — do not re-prompt it");
     }
@@ -109,7 +190,8 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
     @Test
     void idlePastQuietPeriodIsInjected() {
         LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet());
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.INJECT, d.action(),
                 "a lead continuously idle past the quiet period is the reason to nudge");
     }
@@ -117,14 +199,17 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
     @Test
     void blockedAndDoneAreInjectableViewsOfIdle() {
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.INJECT, loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.BLOCKED, false, true, quietFleet()).action());
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.BLOCKED, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false).action());
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.INJECT, loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.DONE, false, true, quietFleet()).action());
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.DONE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false).action());
     }
 
     @Test
     void nothingIsInjectedWhenNoLeadIsKnown() {
-        var d = loop(3).decide(NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, false, pendingFleet());
+        var d = loop(3).decide(NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, false, pendingFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.WAIT_IDLE, d.action(),
                 "with no known lead there is nobody to nudge — keep waiting until one is discovered");
         assertEquals(IDLE_PAST, d.idleSinceNanos(), "the idle window stays open so discovery re-arms it");
@@ -135,7 +220,8 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
     @Test
     void quietNudgeCapStopsTheLoopWhenNothingIsPending() {
         LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet());
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.QUIET_DONE, d.action(),
                 "3 consecutive nothing-pending nudges have already happened — stop nagging an empty fleet");
     }
@@ -145,7 +231,8 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
     @Test
     void newPendingStateResetsTheQuietCap() {
         LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, pendingFleet());
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, pendingFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.INJECT, d.action(),
                 "real state appearing re-arms the loop past an exhausted cap");
         assertEquals(0, d.quietCount(), "the pending state resets the consecutive-quiet counter");
@@ -156,7 +243,8 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
     @Test
     void standsDownWhileReplyPushLoopIsActive() {
         LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = loop(3).decide(
-                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 2, AgentStatus.IDLE, true, true, quietFleet());
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 2, AgentStatus.IDLE, true, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
         assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.STAND_DOWN, d.action(),
                 "a second injection would start a competing turn — stand aside instead");
         assertEquals(0, d.quietCount(), "the active push is real state, so it re-arms the cap");
@@ -213,4 +301,398 @@ class LeadHeartbeatLoopTest {
         assertFalse(fs.hasPending());
         assertEquals(0, fs.liveWorkers());
     }
+
+    // ── fleetd #609: context-high notice ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    /** One gate scenario, keyed by name, over which the off-state/context-independence property is checked. */
+    private record Gate(String name, Long idleSince, int quietCount, AgentStatus status,
+                         boolean pushLoopActive, boolean leadKnown, LeadHeartbeatLoop.FleetState fleet) {}
+
+    private static List<Gate> allEightGates() {
+        return List.of(
+                new Gate("1-standDown", IDLE_PAST, 2, AgentStatus.IDLE, true, true, quietFleet()),
+                new Gate("2-leadBusy", IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.WORKING, false, true, quietFleet()),
+                new Gate("3-justBecameIdle", null, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet()),
+                new Gate("4-withinQuietPeriod", IDLE_WITHIN, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet()),
+                new Gate("5-noLeadKnown", IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, false, pendingFleet()),
+                new Gate("6-pending", IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, pendingFleet()),
+                new Gate("7-quietNotExhausted", IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet()),
+                new Gate("8-quietExhausted", IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet()));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aOffFlagIgnoresContextAcrossAllEightGates() {
+        // Property A: with contextHighNudge off, decide() must not depend on the context reading at
+        // all — not just "usually agrees", but identical Action/idleSinceNanos/quietCount whatever
+        // context state is passed, and contextNotified must stay false throughout. This is the proof
+        // that fleetd #609 is opt-in: a daemon upgraded to carry this code, but never configuring
+        // `contextHighNudge: true`, behaves exactly as it did before this ticket for every one of the
+        // 8 gates the class javadoc numbers.
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop offLoop = loop(3, false);
+        for (Gate g : allEightGates()) {
+            var withHigh = offLoop.decide(NOW, g.idleSince(), g.quietCount(), g.status(),
+                    g.pushLoopActive(), g.leadKnown(), g.fleet(), LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, false);
+            var withUnknown = offLoop.decide(NOW, g.idleSince(), g.quietCount(), g.status(),
+                    g.pushLoopActive(), g.leadKnown(), g.fleet(), LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, false);
+            var withOk = offLoop.decide(NOW, g.idleSince(), g.quietCount(), g.status(),
+                    g.pushLoopActive(), g.leadKnown(), g.fleet(), LeadContextGauge.State.OK, false);
+
+            assertEquals(withUnknown.action(), withHigh.action(), g.name() + ": action must not depend on context");
+            assertEquals(withUnknown.idleSinceNanos(), withHigh.idleSinceNanos(), g.name());
+            assertEquals(withUnknown.quietCount(), withHigh.quietCount(), g.name());
+            assertEquals(withUnknown.action(), withOk.action(), g.name() + ": nor on an OK reading");
+            assertFalse(withHigh.contextNotified(), g.name() + ": contextNotified must stay false when the flag is off");
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void bHighContextFiresEvenPastAnExhaustedQuietCapWithoutSpendingIt() {
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop on = loop(3, true);
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, false);
+        assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.INJECT, d.action(),
+                "an idle, quiet, HIGH-context lead is exactly the case the exhausted cap must not swallow");
+        assertEquals(3, d.quietCount(), "the context notice is an event notice, not a quiet nudge — it must not "
+                + "spend or grow the consecutive-quiet budget");
+        assertTrue(d.contextNotified(), "firing the notice sets the latch");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void cASecondTickWithTheLatchAlreadySetDoesNotTellTheLeadAgain() {
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop on = loop(3, true);
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, true);
+        assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.QUIET_DONE, d.action(),
+                "the lead was already told once about this HIGH stretch — telling it every tick would be nagging, "
+                        + "not a notice");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void dFlappingBetweenHighAndUnknownNeverReInjectsWhileLatched() {
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop on = loop(3, true);
+        // The lead was already told once (latch = true from a prior HIGH tick).
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision afterUnknown = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, true);
+        assertTrue(afterUnknown.contextNotified(),
+                "UNKNOWN means 'I could not look', not 'it got better' — it must not clear the latch");
+        assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.QUIET_DONE, afterUnknown.action(),
+                "a still-latched, still-quiet tick must not inject just because the reading is UNKNOWN");
+
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision afterHighAgain = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, afterUnknown.contextNotified());
+        assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.QUIET_DONE, afterHighAgain.action(),
+                "HIGH -> UNKNOWN -> HIGH with the latch already set must never inject again — this is the "
+                        + "flapping case that would otherwise cost a full lead its remaining turns");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void eAnOkReadingClearsTheLatchSoALaterHighInjectsAgain() {
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop on = loop(3, true);
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision afterOk = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.OK, true);
+        assertFalse(afterOk.contextNotified(), "an OK reading clears the latch — the lead's context recovered");
+
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision afterHighAgain = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, afterOk.contextNotified());
+        assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.INJECT, afterHighAgain.action(),
+                "the cleared latch lets a genuinely new HIGH stretch notify again");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void fStandingDownDoesNotBurnTheOneContextNotice() {
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop on = loop(3, true);
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 2, AgentStatus.IDLE, true, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, false);
+        assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.STAND_DOWN, d.action(), "ReplyPushLoop is active — stand aside");
+        assertFalse(d.contextNotified(),
+                "standing down must not spend the one notice this HIGH stretch gets — the latch stays clear so a "
+                        + "later tick can still fire it");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void gAWorkingLeadWithHighContextIsStillLeadBusy() {
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop on = loop(3, true);
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 0, AgentStatus.WORKING, false, true, quietFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, false);
+        assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.LEAD_BUSY, d.action(), "the status gate wins over the context notice");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void hAPendingDrivenInjectWhileHighSetsTheLatchTooSoTheLeadIsNotToldTwice() {
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop on = loop(3, true);
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop.Decision d = on.decide(
+                NOW, IDLE_PAST, 3, AgentStatus.IDLE, false, true, pendingFleet(),
+                LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, false);
+        assertEquals(LeadHeartbeatLoop.Action.INJECT, d.action());
+        assertTrue(d.contextNotified(),
+                "the pending-driven nudge carries the context notice too (see contextNotice), so it must set the "
+                        + "latch — otherwise the lead could be told twice by two different routes");
+    }
+
+    // ── contextNotice text builder ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    @Test
+    void contextNoticeIsEmptyWhenDisabled() {
+        var reading = new LeadContextGauge.Reading(LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, 260_771L, 1);
+        assertEquals("", LeadHeartbeatLoop.contextNotice(false, reading));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void contextNoticeIsEmptyWhenStateIsOk() {
+        var reading = new LeadContextGauge.Reading(LeadContextGauge.State.OK, 1_000L, 0);
+        assertEquals("", LeadHeartbeatLoop.contextNotice(true, reading));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void contextNoticeIsEmptyWhenStateIsUnknown() {
+        assertEquals("", LeadHeartbeatLoop.contextNotice(true, LeadContextGauge.Reading.unknown()));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void contextNoticeNamesTheTokenCountWhenHighAndEnabled() {
+        var reading = new LeadContextGauge.Reading(LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, 260_771L, 1);
+        String notice = LeadHeartbeatLoop.contextNotice(true, reading);
+        assertFalse(notice.isEmpty());
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("260771"), notice);
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("1 compaction"), notice);
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("fleet_handover"), notice);
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("operator"), notice);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void contextNoticeOmitsTheTokenClauseRatherThanPrintingNull() {
+        var reading = new LeadContextGauge.Reading(LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, null, 2);
+        String notice = LeadHeartbeatLoop.contextNotice(true, reading);
+        assertFalse(notice.isEmpty());
+        assertFalse(notice.toLowerCase().contains("null"), notice);
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("2 compactions"), notice);
+    }
+
+    // ── fleetd #621: the notice must track the effective requireOperatorConfirm value ─────────────
+
+    @Test
+    void contextNoticeKeepsAskingTheOperatorWhenRequireOperatorConfirmIsTrue() {
+        var reading = new LeadContextGauge.Reading(LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, 260_771L, 1);
+        String notice = LeadHeartbeatLoop.contextNotice(true, reading, false, true);
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("ask the operator"), notice);
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("Only the operator can approve the roll"), notice);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void contextNoticeDropsTheOperatorAskWhenRequireOperatorConfirmIsFalse() {
+        var reading = new LeadContextGauge.Reading(LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, 260_771L, 1);
+        String notice = LeadHeartbeatLoop.contextNotice(true, reading, false, false);
+        assertFalse(notice.contains("ask the operator"), notice);
+        assertFalse(notice.contains("Only the operator can approve the roll"), notice);
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("fleet_handover"), notice);
+        assertTrue(notice.contains("maxDocAgeSeconds"), notice);
+    }
+
+    // ── fleetd #609 review: the latch must mean "the notice reached the pane" ────────────────────
+    //
+    // These four drive LeadHeartbeatLoop.tick() directly (package-private, same reasoning as
+    // ReplyPushLoop#tick(String) being directly testable) against a real AgentControl wrapping a
+    // FailableHerdrClient, so the send path (agents.send -> herdr -> possible throw) is exercised
+    // for real rather than assumed from decide()'s Decision alone.
+
+    private static final String LEAD = "term_lead";
+    private static final String WORKER = "term_w1";
+
+    /** A HIGH reading with a fixed token/compaction count, for the four tests below. */
+    private static LeadContextGauge.Reading highReading() {
+        return new LeadContextGauge.Reading(LeadContextGauge.State.HIGH, 260_771L, 1);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Builds a real {@link LeadHeartbeatLoop} wired to {@code herdr} via a real {@link AgentControl},
+     * a mutable fake clock, and a mutable roster so a test can change fleet state between ticks. The
+     * lead is always reported IDLE by {@code herdr}, so every tick's outcome is governed only by the
+     * idle-window/quiet-cap/context gates under test.
+     */
+    private static LeadHeartbeatLoop tickableLoop(FailableHerdrClient herdr, AtomicLong now,
+                                                   List<MemberSession>[] rosterBox, InMemoryReplyInbox inbox,
+                                                   int quietNudgeCap, ScheduledExecutorService scheduler) {
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        PrimaryRegistry registry = new PrimaryRegistry(LEAD);
+        ReplyPushLoop pushLoop = new ReplyPushLoop(registry, agents, inbox, scheduler, 5, 100_000);
+        return new LeadHeartbeatLoop(registry, agents, inbox, () -> rosterBox[0], pushLoop, scheduler,
+                now::get, IDLE_AFTER_NANOS, 100_000L, quietNudgeCap, null,
+                new LeadHeartbeatLoop.LeadContextSource(t -> highReading()), true);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void iAFailedSendDoesNotConsumeTheNotice() {
+        var herdr = new FailableHerdrClient(LEAD);
+        var now = new AtomicLong(NOW);
+        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+        List<MemberSession>[] rosterBox = new List[]{List.of()}; // quiet: nothing pending
+        InMemoryReplyInbox inbox = new InMemoryReplyInbox();
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop loop = tickableLoop(herdr, now, rosterBox, inbox, 0, scheduler);
+
+        loop.tick(); // first injectable tick: only opens the idle window (WAIT_IDLE)
+        now.addAndGet(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(400)); // now clearly past the quiet period
+
+        herdr.throwOnNextSend();
+        loop.tick(); // quiet fleet, quiet cap exhausted (0), context HIGH, latch clear -> INJECT, send throws
+
+        assertEquals(0, herdr.sentTexts().size(), "the failed send must not have recorded any text");
+
+        loop.tick(); // same inputs — the latch must still be clear, so this must INJECT and send again
+        assertEquals(1, herdr.sentTexts().size(),
+                "a retried tick with the latch still clear must attempt the send again");
+        assertTrue(herdr.sentTexts().get(0).contains("Your own context is nearly full"),
+                "the retried, successful send must carry the notice: " + herdr.sentTexts().get(0));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void jASuccessfulSendDoesConsumeIt() {
+        var herdr = new FailableHerdrClient(LEAD);
+        var now = new AtomicLong(NOW);
+        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+        List<MemberSession>[] rosterBox = new List[]{List.of()};
+        InMemoryReplyInbox inbox = new InMemoryReplyInbox();
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop loop = tickableLoop(herdr, now, rosterBox, inbox, 0, scheduler);
+
+        loop.tick(); // opens the idle window
+        now.addAndGet(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(400));
+
+        loop.tick(); // INJECT, send succeeds -> latch set
+        assertEquals(1, herdr.sentTexts().size());
+        assertTrue(herdr.sentTexts().get(0).contains("Your own context is nearly full"), herdr.sentTexts().get(0));
+
+        loop.tick(); // same inputs — the lead was already told this stretch
+        assertEquals(1, herdr.sentTexts().size(),
+                "the next tick with the same inputs must not send a second notice");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void kAPendingDrivenInjectWithTheLatchAlreadySetSendsNoNotice() {
+        var herdr = new FailableHerdrClient(LEAD);
+        var now = new AtomicLong(NOW);
+        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+        List<MemberSession>[] rosterBox = new List[]{List.of()};
+        InMemoryReplyInbox inbox = new InMemoryReplyInbox();
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop loop = tickableLoop(herdr, now, rosterBox, inbox, 0, scheduler);
+
+        loop.tick();
+        now.addAndGet(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(400));
+        loop.tick(); // latches the notice (quiet, HIGH, cap exhausted -> the forced context INJECT)
+        assertEquals(1, herdr.sentTexts().size());
+        assertTrue(herdr.sentTexts().get(0).contains("Your own context is nearly full"));
+
+        // Now make the fleet have real pending state, so the NEXT INJECT is pending-driven, not the
+        // forced-context route — with the latch already set from the tick above.
+        inbox.own(WORKER);
+        inbox.publish(WORKER, "m1", "hello");
+        rosterBox[0] = List.of(new MemberSession("p1", WORKER, "prof", MemberRole.DEV, "/cwd", null,
+                0, 0, 0, MemberSession.State.READY, null, null));
+
+        loop.tick();
+
+        assertEquals(2, herdr.sentTexts().size(), "the pending-driven tick must still send a nudge");
+        assertFalse(herdr.sentTexts().get(1).contains("Your own context is nearly full"),
+                "a pending-driven INJECT while the latch is already set must carry no context notice: "
+                        + herdr.sentTexts().get(1));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void lTheNoticeAppearsExactlyOnceAcrossThreeDifferentlyDrivenInjects() {
+        var herdr = new FailableHerdrClient(LEAD);
+        var now = new AtomicLong(NOW);
+        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+        List<MemberSession>[] rosterBox = new List[]{List.of()};
+        InMemoryReplyInbox inbox = new InMemoryReplyInbox();
+        // quietNudgeCap=1 so a still-not-exhausted quiet nudge is available as the "forced" route below,
+        // distinct from both the pending-driven route and the exhausted-cap forced-context route.
+        LeadHeartbeatLoop loop = tickableLoop(herdr, now, rosterBox, inbox, 1, scheduler);
+
+        loop.tick(); // opens the idle window
+        now.addAndGet(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(400));
+
+        // 1) pending-driven INJECT: real fleet state present. Sets the latch and carries the notice.
+        inbox.own(WORKER);
+        inbox.publish(WORKER, "m1", "hello");
+        rosterBox[0] = List.of(new MemberSession("p1", WORKER, "prof", MemberRole.DEV, "/cwd", null,
+                0, 0, 0, MemberSession.State.READY, null, null));
+        loop.tick();
+        assertEquals(1, herdr.sentTexts().size());
+        assertTrue(herdr.sentTexts().get(0).contains("Your own context is nearly full"), herdr.sentTexts().get(0));
+
+        // 2) "forced" INJECT: nothing pending, but the quiet cap (1) is not yet exhausted, so decide()
+        // nudges anyway. The latch is already set, so no notice.
+        inbox.ack(WORKER, "m1");
+        rosterBox[0] = List.of();
+        loop.tick();
+        assertEquals(2, herdr.sentTexts().size(), "the quiet-cap-not-yet-exhausted nudge must still fire");
+        assertFalse(herdr.sentTexts().get(1).contains("Your own context is nearly full"), herdr.sentTexts().get(1));
+
+        // 3) pending-driven INJECT again. Still latched, still no notice.
+        inbox.publish(WORKER, "m2", "hello again");
+        rosterBox[0] = List.of(new MemberSession("p1", WORKER, "prof", MemberRole.DEV, "/cwd", null,
+                0, 0, 0, MemberSession.State.READY, null, null));
+        loop.tick();
+        assertEquals(3, herdr.sentTexts().size());
+        assertFalse(herdr.sentTexts().get(2).contains("Your own context is nearly full"), herdr.sentTexts().get(2));
+
+        long noticeCount = herdr.sentTexts().stream()
+                .filter(t -> t.contains("Your own context is nearly full")).count();
+        assertEquals(1, noticeCount,
+                "the notice text must appear exactly once across all three sends: " + herdr.sentTexts());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Fake herdr client for the four tests above: always reports {@code lead} as IDLE, records the
+     * {@code text} of every {@code agent.prompt} call, and can be told to throw on the very next
+     * {@code agent.prompt} call — standing in for one transient herdr send failure.
+     */
+    private static final class FailableHerdrClient implements HerdrClient {
+        private static final ObjectMapper MAPPER = new ObjectMapper();
+        private final String lead;
+        private final List<String> sentTexts = new ArrayList<>();
+        private boolean throwOnNextSend = false;
+
+        FailableHerdrClient(String lead) {
+            this.lead = lead;
+        }
+
+        void throwOnNextSend() {
+            throwOnNextSend = true;
+        }
+
+        List<String> sentTexts() {
+            return List.copyOf(sentTexts);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+        public JsonNode call(String method, Object params) {
+            if ("agent.get".equals(method)) {
+                return MAPPER.createObjectNode()
+                        .set("agent", MAPPER.createObjectNode()
+                                .put("terminal_id", lead)
+                                .put("agent_status", "idle"));
+            }
+            if ("agent.prompt".equals(method)) {
+                if (throwOnNextSend) {
+                    throwOnNextSend = false;
+                    throw new RuntimeException("simulated transient herdr send failure");
+                }
+                Map<String, Object> p = params instanceof Map ? (Map<String, Object>) params : Map.of();
+                sentTexts.add(String.valueOf(p.get("text")));
+            }
+            return MAPPER.createObjectNode();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void close() {
+        }
+    }
 }

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/LeadMailboxTest.java

@@ -12,7 +12,11 @@ import org.testcontainers.junit.jupiter.Testcontainers;
 import org.testcontainers.utility.DockerImageName;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.lang.reflect.InvocationHandler;
+import java.lang.reflect.Method;
+import java.lang.reflect.Proxy;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 
@@ -373,6 +377,72 @@ class LeadMailboxTest {
                 () -> "expected AlreadyClosedException, got: " + thrown);
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void publishIOExceptionRemovesThePendingMessageId() throws Exception {
+        LeadMailbox mailbox = newMailbox(true);
+        try {
+            assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class,
+                    () -> mailbox.publish("target", new LeadMessage("catch", "from", "target", "body")));
+            assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(mailbox).size(), "publish IOException must remove its msgId entry");
+        } finally {
+            mailbox.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void interruptedPublishRemovesThePendingMessageIdInFinally() throws Exception {
+        LeadMailbox mailbox = newMailbox(false);
+        Thread publish = Thread.ofVirtual().start(() -> {
+            try {
+                mailbox.publish("target", new LeadMessage("finally", "from", "target", "body"));
+            } catch (IllegalStateException ignored) {
+                // Interrupting the confirm wait is the path under test.
+            }
+        });
+        awaitPending(mailbox, "finally");
+        publish.interrupt();
+        publish.join(5_000);
+
+        try {
+            assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(mailbox).size(), "publish finally must remove its msgId entry");
+        } finally {
+            mailbox.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void confirmResolutionRemovesThePendingMessageId() throws Exception {
+        LeadMailbox mailbox = newMailbox(false);
+        try {
+            seedPending(mailbox, 1, "confirm");
+            invoke(mailbox, "resolveConfirm", new Class<?>[] {long.class, boolean.class, boolean.class}, 1L, false, true);
+            assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(mailbox).size(), "confirm resolution must remove its msgId entry");
+        } finally {
+            mailbox.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void recoverySweepRemovesThePendingMessageId() throws Exception {
+        LeadMailbox mailbox = newMailbox(false);
+        try {
+            seedPending(mailbox, 1, "recovery");
+            mailbox.failPendingPublishesOnRecovery();
+            assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(mailbox).size(), "recovery sweep must remove its msgId entry");
+        } finally {
+            mailbox.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void closeRemovesThePendingMessageId() throws Exception {
+        LeadMailbox mailbox = newMailbox(false);
+        seedPending(mailbox, 1, "close");
+        mailbox.close();
+
+        assertEquals(0, pendingByMsgId(mailbox).size(), "close must remove its msgId entry");
+    }
+
     /** Poll peek until at least one message is held, or ~10s elapse (broker delivery is async). */
     @SuppressWarnings("BusyWait")
     private static List<LeadMessage> awaitPeek(LeadMailbox inbox) throws InterruptedException {
@@ -398,4 +468,108 @@ class LeadMailboxTest {
         }
         return state;
     }
+
+    private static LeadMailbox newMailbox(boolean failPublish) {
+        AtomicLong sequence = new AtomicLong();
+        Channel consume = fakeChannel(sequence, false);
+        Channel publish = fakeChannel(sequence, failPublish);
+        return new LeadMailbox(fakeConnection(consume, publish), "self");
+    }
+
+    private static Channel fakeChannel(AtomicLong sequence, boolean failPublish) {
+        InvocationHandler handler = (proxy, method, args) -> {
+            if (method.getName().equals("getNextPublishSeqNo")) {
+                return sequence.incrementAndGet();
+            }
+            if (method.getName().equals("basicPublish") && failPublish) {
+                throw new IOException("test publish failure");
+            }
+            if (method.getName().equals("equals")) {
+                return proxy == args[0];
+            }
+            if (method.getName().equals("hashCode")) {
+                return System.identityHashCode(proxy);
+            }
+            return defaultValue(method.getReturnType());
+        };
+        return (Channel) Proxy.newProxyInstance(LeadMailboxTest.class.getClassLoader(), new Class<?>[] {Channel.class}, handler);
+    }
+
+    private static Connection fakeConnection(Channel first, Channel second) {
+        AtomicLong calls = new AtomicLong();
+        InvocationHandler handler = (proxy, method, args) -> {
+            if (method.getName().equals("createChannel") && (args == null || args.length == 0)) {
+                return calls.getAndIncrement() == 0 ? first : second;
+            }
+            if (method.getName().equals("equals")) {
+                return proxy == args[0];
+            }
+            if (method.getName().equals("hashCode")) {
+                return System.identityHashCode(proxy);
+            }
+            return defaultValue(method.getReturnType());
+        };
+        return (Connection) Proxy.newProxyInstance(LeadMailboxTest.class.getClassLoader(), new Class<?>[] {Connection.class}, handler);
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    private static Map<String, Object> pendingByMsgId(LeadMailbox mailbox) throws Exception {
+        var field = LeadMailbox.class.getDeclaredField("pendingByMsgId");
+        field.setAccessible(true);
+        return (Map<String, Object>) field.get(mailbox);
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    private static void seedPending(LeadMailbox mailbox, long seq, String msgId) throws Exception {
+        Class<?> pendingType = Class.forName(LeadMailbox.class.getName() + "$Pending");
+        var constructor = pendingType.getDeclaredConstructor(String.class);
+        constructor.setAccessible(true);
+        Object pending = constructor.newInstance(msgId);
+        var seqField = LeadMailbox.class.getDeclaredField("pendingBySeq");
+        seqField.setAccessible(true);
+        ((Map<Long, Object>) seqField.get(mailbox)).put(seq, pending);
+        pendingByMsgId(mailbox).put(msgId, pending);
+    }
+
+    private static void invoke(LeadMailbox mailbox, String name, Class<?>[] types, Object... args) throws Exception {
+        Method method = LeadMailbox.class.getDeclaredMethod(name, types);
+        method.setAccessible(true);
+        method.invoke(mailbox, args);
+    }
+
+    private static void awaitPending(LeadMailbox mailbox, String msgId) throws Exception {
+        long deadline = System.nanoTime() + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(5);
+        while (!pendingByMsgId(mailbox).containsKey(msgId) && System.nanoTime() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(10);
+        }
+        assertTrue(pendingByMsgId(mailbox).containsKey(msgId), "publish did not register " + msgId);
+    }
+
+    private static Object defaultValue(Class<?> type) {
+        if (!type.isPrimitive() || type == void.class) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        if (type == boolean.class) {
+            return Boolean.FALSE;
+        }
+        if (type == long.class) {
+            return 0L;
+        }
+        if (type == short.class) {
+            return (short) 0;
+        }
+        if (type == byte.class) {
+            return (byte) 0;
+        }
+        if (type == char.class) {
+            return (char) 0;
+        }
+        if (type == double.class) {
+            return 0.0d;
+        }
+        if (type == float.class) {
+            return 0.0f;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
 }

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/ManualScheduler.java

@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
+
+import java.util.ArrayDeque;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Deque;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.Callable;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
+import java.util.concurrent.Future;
+import java.util.concurrent.RejectedExecutionException;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+/**
+ * A {@link ScheduledExecutorService} for tests that never runs a task on a timer — it records what
+ * {@link ReplyPushLoop} schedules and only ever runs it when the test itself calls
+ * {@link #runDueTasks()} (fleetd #608).
+ *
+ * <p>The test this exists for ({@code anAlreadyCollectedTicketProducesNoNudge}) used to wire
+ * {@link ReplyPushLoop} to a real {@code Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor()} and bet a
+ * 300ms backoff was "wide" enough that the test's own work (collecting the ticket) always won the
+ * race against the scheduler's own timer firing the next tick. On an idle machine that held; under
+ * a loaded full-suite run it did not, and the test went red on perfectly correct code. Replacing
+ * the timer with this fake removes the race rather than widening it: nothing here ever runs on a
+ * schedule of its own, so no backoff value — however small — can make the tick fire before the test
+ * is ready for it.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>Deliberately narrow.</strong> {@link ReplyPushLoop} calls exactly two methods on its
+ * {@link ScheduledExecutorService} field — {@link #schedule(Runnable, long, TimeUnit)} (every tick,
+ * including the very first one {@code startOrCoalesce} kicks off) and {@link #shutdownNow()} (on
+ * {@code ReplyPushLoop.stop()}/{@code close()}) — verified by reading every {@code scheduler.} call
+ * site in that class. Every other {@link ScheduledExecutorService} method throws
+ * {@link UnsupportedOperationException} rather than silently doing the wrong thing, so a future
+ * change to {@code ReplyPushLoop} that starts calling one of them fails this fake loudly, on the
+ * very first test that exercises it, instead of being quietly mishandled.
+ */
+final class ManualScheduler implements ScheduledExecutorService {
+
+    private final Deque<Runnable> pending = new ArrayDeque<>();
+    private boolean shutdown = false;
+
+    /**
+     * Run every task pending as of the START of this call — a snapshot taken before anything runs.
+     * {@link ReplyPushLoop#tick} always reschedules its own next tick before returning (see
+     * {@code scheduleNext} in its {@code INJECT}/{@code WAIT_BUSY} branches), so without the
+     * snapshot a single call here would recurse forever. Taking it up front means one call is
+     * exactly one tick, deterministically, no matter what that tick itself goes on to schedule.
+     *
+     * @return how many tasks actually ran
+     */
+    synchronized int runDueTasks() {
+        List<Runnable> due = new ArrayList<>(pending);
+        pending.clear();
+        for (Runnable task : due) {
+            task.run();
+        }
+        return due.size();
+    }
+
+    /** How many tasks are currently queued, without running any of them. */
+    synchronized int pendingCount() {
+        return pending.size();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public synchronized ScheduledFuture<?> schedule(Runnable command, long delay, TimeUnit unit) {
+        if (shutdown) {
+            throw new RejectedExecutionException("ManualScheduler is shut down");
+        }
+        pending.add(command);
+        return null; // ReplyPushLoop discards the return value of every schedule() call it makes.
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public synchronized List<Runnable> shutdownNow() {
+        shutdown = true;
+        List<Runnable> left = new ArrayList<>(pending);
+        pending.clear();
+        return left;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public synchronized boolean isShutdown() {
+        return shutdown;
+    }
+
+    // --- everything below: not called by ReplyPushLoop, and not supported by this fake (see the
+    // class javadoc's "deliberately narrow" note) -------------------------------------------------
+
+    @Override
+    public ScheduledFuture<?> scheduleAtFixedRate(Runnable command, long initialDelay, long period, TimeUnit unit) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ScheduledFuture<?> scheduleWithFixedDelay(Runnable command, long initialDelay, long delay, TimeUnit unit) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <V> ScheduledFuture<V> schedule(Callable<V> callable, long delay, TimeUnit unit) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void shutdown() {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isTerminated() {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean awaitTermination(long timeout, TimeUnit unit) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> Future<T> submit(Callable<T> task) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> Future<T> submit(Runnable task, T result) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Future<?> submit(Runnable task) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> List<Future<T>> invokeAll(Collection<? extends Callable<T>> tasks) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> List<Future<T>> invokeAll(Collection<? extends Callable<T>> tasks, long timeout, TimeUnit unit) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> T invokeAny(Collection<? extends Callable<T>> tasks) throws ExecutionException {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> T invokeAny(Collection<? extends Callable<T>> tasks, long timeout, TimeUnit unit)
+            throws ExecutionException {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void execute(Runnable command) {
+        throw unsupported();
+    }
+
+    private static UnsupportedOperationException unsupported() {
+        return new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                "ManualScheduler only supports schedule(Runnable, long, TimeUnit), shutdownNow() and isShutdown() "
+                        + "— see the class javadoc");
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/msg/MessageServiceTest.java

@@ -601,6 +601,30 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #571 (the acceptance test the ticket was filed for). The worker is idle so the injector
+     * attempts delivery, but the {@code agent.prompt} call itself fails with a herdr error that is
+     * not a confirmed absence (not a {@code *_not_found} code) — {@link Injector} marks the Pending
+     * {@code ATTEMPTED} (fleetd #551), meaning the call was made and whether it reached the pane is
+     * unknown. Before this fix, {@code send}'s {@code TimeoutException} branch collapsed
+     * {@code ATTEMPTED} into {@code TIMED_OUT_QUEUED} — a promise that the message will never arrive,
+     * which may already be false: {@code agent.prompt} pastes and submits in one call.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void sendTimesOutWithAttemptedDeliveryReportsUnconfirmedNotQueued() throws Exception {
+        herdr.agentSendFailsWith("send_failed");
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "brief", 150));
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE); // triggers the failing delivery attempt → ATTEMPTED
+
+        MessageService.Reply r = send.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED, r.outcome(),
+                "an ATTEMPTED delivery must not collapse into TIMED_OUT_QUEUED — the message may "
+                        + "already have arrived in full, and TIMED_OUT_QUEUED promises it never will");
+        assertNull(r.text());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void answerTimesOutWhenTheResumedWorkerNeverReplies() throws Exception {
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send = sendAsync();
@@ -1817,6 +1841,43 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         return new PushWiring(service, leadHerdr, scheduler);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * A {@link MessageService} wired to a real {@link ReplyPushLoop}, like {@link #wireWithPushLoop},
+     * but backed by {@link ManualScheduler} instead of a real timer (fleetd #608): its tick never
+     * fires on its own — a test drives it explicitly via {@link ManualScheduler#runDueTasks()}.
+     */
+    private record ManualPushWiring(MessageService service, FakeHerdr leadHerdr, ManualScheduler scheduler,
+                                    ReplyPushLoop pushLoop)
+            implements AutoCloseable {
+        @Override
+        public void close() {
+            scheduler.shutdownNow();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * As {@link #wireWithPushLoop}, but the schedule never runs on its own. {@code backoffMs} is
+     * still threaded through to {@link ReplyPushLoop}'s constructor (it takes one), but nothing here
+     * ever waits it out, so its value cannot affect anything a test built on this observes — see
+     * {@code anAlreadyCollectedTicketProducesNoNudge}, which sets it to 1 to prove exactly that.
+     */
+    private ManualPushWiring wireWithManualScheduler(int maxReminders, long backoffMs) {
+        return wireWithManualScheduler(maxReminders, backoffMs, System::nanoTime);
+    }
+
+    /** As above, with an injectable clock for tests that exercise terminal-ticket pruning. */
+    private ManualPushWiring wireWithManualScheduler(int maxReminders, long backoffMs,
+                                                      java.util.function.LongSupplier nowNanos) {
+        PrimaryRegistry registry = new PrimaryRegistry(null);
+        registry.recordDelegation(T, LEAD);
+        FakeHerdr leadHerdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AgentControl leadAgents = new AgentControl(leadHerdr);
+        ManualScheduler scheduler = new ManualScheduler();
+        ReplyPushLoop pushLoop = new ReplyPushLoop(registry, leadAgents, inbox, scheduler, maxReminders, backoffMs);
+        MessageService service = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous, inbox, pushLoop, null, nowNanos);
+        return new ManualPushWiring(service, leadHerdr, scheduler, pushLoop);
+    }
+
     private void awaitNudge(FakeHerdr leadHerdr) throws InterruptedException {
         long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
         while (!leadHerdr.called("agent.prompt") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
@@ -1858,16 +1919,46 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
     @Test
     void anAlreadyCollectedTicketProducesNoNudge() throws Exception {
-        try (var wiring = wireWithPushLoop(1, 300)) { // wide backoff: poll before the first tick fires
-            String ticket = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "long task");
-            awaitWaiting();
-            injectDelivery();
-            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "async result"));
+        // fleetd #608: backoff is 1ms — the most hostile value there is, the tick due immediately —
+        // and the test still must pass, because with ManualScheduler the tick never runs on a timer
+        // at all; it only runs when this test calls runDueTasks() below. The old version bet a 300ms
+        // backoff was "wide" enough that collecting the ticket always won the race against a real
+        // scheduler's own timer; that held on an idle machine and failed under a loaded full-suite
+        // run — a false red on correct code, since nothing here forced that ordering, it only made
+        // it likely.
+        try (var wiring = wireWithManualScheduler(1, 1)) {
+            java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch terminalReached = new java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch(1);
+            // finishAsyncTask's task.future.complete(...) runs every whenComplete registered on that
+            // same future — including sendAsync's own hook that calls ReplyPushLoop.onTicketTerminal
+            // — synchronously, before complete() returns (see finishAsyncTask's javadoc and fleetd
+            // #399). This test-only hook fires right after that complete() call, on the very same
+            // (async executor) thread, so waiting for it guarantees onTicketTerminal has already run
+            // and the ticket is really sitting in the push loop's pending set — unlike waiting for
+            // Phase.DONE via poll(), which CompletableFuture.complete() can make visible to another
+            // thread before every whenComplete dependent has actually finished running (the same
+            // publish-then-run-dependents gap awaitCompletionStamped exists to close elsewhere).
+            String ticket;
+            wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(terminalReached::countDown);
+            try {
+                ticket = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "long task");
+                awaitWaiting();
+                injectDelivery();
+                assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "async result"));
+                assertTrue(terminalReached.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                        "the ticket never reached its terminal phase");
+            } finally {
+                wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(null);
+            }
 
+            // Collect it — the exact action the nudge must never follow.
             MessageService.TaskView view = awaitTicketPhaseOn(wiring.service(), ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE);
             assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.DONE, view.phase());
 
-            Thread.sleep(400); // let the scheduled tick run — it must find nothing pending
+            // Now run the pending tick explicitly. onTicketTerminal scheduled exactly one (the ticket
+            // is the only thing this lead has ever had pending); it must find nothing left pending —
+            // the collection above already removed it — and send no nudge.
+            assertEquals(1, wiring.scheduler().runDueTasks(),
+                    "expected exactly the one tick onTicketTerminal scheduled");
             assertFalse(wiring.leadHerdr().called("agent.prompt"),
                     "a ticket the lead already polled must never be nudged");
         }
@@ -1875,24 +1966,35 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
     @Test
     void severalAsyncTicketsFinishingTogetherProduceOneCoalescedNudge() throws Exception {
-        try (var wiring = wireWithPushLoop(1, 300)) { // wide backoff: both tickets land before the tick fires
-            String first = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "first task");
-            awaitWaiting();
-            injectDelivery();
-            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "first done"));
-            // Settle without polling: poll() itself marks a ticket collected (that's the point of
-            // anAlreadyCollectedTicketProducesNoNudge above) — using it here to detect completion
-            // would collect the ticket before the coalescing this test checks ever gets a chance.
-            Thread.sleep(100);
+        // A 1ms backoff is due immediately. ManualScheduler still cannot run it until this test
+        // explicitly calls runDueTasks(), so both terminal tickets join one scheduled tick.
+        try (var wiring = wireWithManualScheduler(1, 1)) {
+            String first;
+            String second;
+            java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch firstTerminalReached = new java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch(1);
+            wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(firstTerminalReached::countDown);
+            try {
+                first = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "first task");
+                awaitWaiting();
+                injectDelivery();
+                assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "first done"));
+                assertTrue(firstTerminalReached.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                        "the first ticket never reached its terminal phase");
 
-            String second = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "second task");
-            awaitWaiting();
-            injectDelivery();
-            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "second done"));
-            Thread.sleep(100);
+                java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch secondTerminalReached = new java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch(1);
+                wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(secondTerminalReached::countDown);
+                second = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "second task");
+                awaitWaiting();
+                injectDelivery();
+                assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "second done"));
+                assertTrue(secondTerminalReached.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                        "the second ticket never reached its terminal phase");
+            } finally {
+                wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(null);
+            }
 
-            awaitNudge(wiring.leadHerdr());
-            Thread.sleep(200); // settle — nothing more should arrive beyond the one coalesced nudge
+            assertEquals(1, wiring.scheduler().runDueTasks(),
+                    "both terminal tickets must coalesce onto one scheduled tick");
             long nudgeCount = wiring.leadHerdr().calls.stream()
                     .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt")).count();
             assertEquals(1, nudgeCount, "two tickets finishing together must produce ONE nudge, not two");
@@ -1971,7 +2073,8 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
     @Test
     void answeringAQuestionStopsFurtherNudgesAboutIt() throws Exception {
-        try (var wiring = wireWithPushLoop(5, 50)) {
+        // A 1ms backoff is due immediately, but ManualScheduler only ticks when this test asks it to.
+        try (var wiring = wireWithManualScheduler(5, 1)) {
             String ticket = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "task that asks");
             awaitWaiting();
             injectDelivery();
@@ -1979,8 +2082,9 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
             CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
                     () -> wiring.service().ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
             MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhaseOn(wiring.service(), ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+            awaitQuestionPendingOn(wiring.pushLoop(), LEAD, asking.turnId());
 
-            awaitNudge(wiring.leadHerdr());
+            assertEquals(1, wiring.scheduler().runDueTasks(), "the open question must have one scheduled tick");
             long callsBeforeAnswer = wiring.leadHerdr().calls.stream()
                     .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt")).count();
 
@@ -1988,12 +2092,22 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                     () -> wiring.service().answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
             assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
             awaitWaiting();
+            java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch terminalReached = new java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch(1);
+            wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(terminalReached::countDown);
             assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
+            try {
+                assertTrue(terminalReached.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                        "the answered ticket never reached its terminal phase");
+            } finally {
+                wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(null);
+            }
             answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
 
-            // Let several more ticks (and the ticket's own now-legitimate terminal nudge) fire —
-            // none of them may still name the question's turnId, which is closed.
-            Thread.sleep(300);
+            // Run the ticket's legitimate terminal nudge and every later scheduled tick through its
+            // reminder cap. None may still name the closed question.
+            for (int tick = 0; tick < 6; tick++) {
+                assertEquals(1, wiring.scheduler().runDueTasks(), "expected one scheduled reminder tick");
+            }
             boolean anyNamesClosedQuestion = wiring.leadHerdr().calls.stream()
                     .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt"))
                     .skip(callsBeforeAnswer)
@@ -2076,35 +2190,45 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         // decideTickets hits the cap and STOPs — activeLeads drops the lead, but (before the fix)
         // pendingTickets never drops the ticket. That is the exact "cap already STOPped" branch of
         // the bug report, reached deterministically rather than by timing it against a live tick.
-        try (var wiring = wireWithPushLoop(1, 50, clock::get)) {
-            String stale = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "first task");
-            awaitWaiting();
-            injectDelivery();
-            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "stale result"));
+        // A 1ms backoff is due immediately, but ManualScheduler runs only the ticks below.
+        try (var wiring = wireWithManualScheduler(1, 1, clock::get)) {
+            String stale;
+            String fresh;
+            java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch staleTerminalReached = new java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch(1);
+            wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(staleTerminalReached::countDown);
+            try {
+                stale = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "first task");
+                awaitWaiting();
+                injectDelivery();
+                assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "stale result"));
+                assertTrue(staleTerminalReached.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                        "the stale ticket never reached its terminal phase");
 
-            // Let the reminder loop fire its one nudge and hit the cap (STOP removes it from
-            // activeLeads; pendingTickets is untouched either way — that asymmetry is the bug).
-            awaitNudge(wiring.leadHerdr());
-            Thread.sleep(300);
-            assertTrue(wiring.leadHerdr().lastCall("agent.prompt").params().toString().contains(stale),
-                    "sanity: the stale ticket's own reminder must have fired first");
+                // Fire the stale ticket's one nudge, then its cap tick (STOP removes it from activeLeads;
+                // pendingTickets is untouched either way — that asymmetry is the bug).
+                assertEquals(1, wiring.scheduler().runDueTasks(), "the stale ticket must have one nudge tick");
+                assertEquals(1, wiring.scheduler().runDueTasks(), "the stale ticket must have one cap tick");
+                assertTrue(wiring.leadHerdr().lastCall("agent.prompt").params().toString().contains(stale),
+                        "sanity: the stale ticket's own reminder must have fired first");
 
-            // Cross the TTL — a real clock would need 10 minutes; the injected one does it instantly.
-            clock.addAndGet(MessageService.TICKET_TTL_NANOS + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(1));
+                // Cross the TTL — a real clock would need 10 minutes; the injected one does it instantly.
+                clock.addAndGet(MessageService.TICKET_TTL_NANOS + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(1));
 
-            // A second, unrelated ticket to the same target/lead reaches sendAsync, which prunes.
-            String fresh = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "second task");
-            awaitWaiting();
-            injectDelivery();
-            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "fresh result"));
-
-            // The fresh ticket restarts the (now-dormant) reminder loop with its own nudge.
-            long before = wiring.leadHerdr().calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt")).count();
-            long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
-            while (wiring.leadHerdr().calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt")).count() <= before
-                    && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
-                Thread.sleep(10);
+                // A second, unrelated ticket to the same target/lead reaches sendAsync, which prunes.
+                java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch freshTerminalReached = new java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch(1);
+                wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(freshTerminalReached::countDown);
+                fresh = wiring.service().sendAsync(T, "second task");
+                awaitWaiting();
+                injectDelivery();
+                assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "fresh result"));
+                assertTrue(freshTerminalReached.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                        "the fresh ticket never reached its terminal phase");
+            } finally {
+                wiring.service().setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(null);
             }
+
+            // The fresh ticket restarts the now-dormant reminder loop with its own nudge.
+            assertEquals(1, wiring.scheduler().runDueTasks(), "the fresh ticket must have one nudge tick");
             String latestNudge = wiring.leadHerdr().lastCall("agent.prompt").params().toString();
             assertTrue(latestNudge.contains(fresh), "the fresh ticket's nudge must still arrive: " + latestNudge);
             assertFalse(latestNudge.contains(stale),

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/peer/MemberRoleTest.java

@@ -10,12 +10,13 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
 class MemberRoleTest {
 
     @Test
-    void theThreeRolesAreArchitectDevAndReviewer() {
-        assertEquals(3, MemberRole.values().length,
+    void theFourRolesAreArchitectDevHunterAndReviewer() {
+        assertEquals(4, MemberRole.values().length,
                 "a new role changes the charter, the role file, the skill and the authz row — "
                         + "adding one is a deliberate act, so this count is meant to fail first");
         assertEquals("architect", MemberRole.ARCHITECT.wireName());
         assertEquals("dev", MemberRole.DEV.wireName());
+        assertEquals("hunter", MemberRole.HUNTER.wireName());
         assertEquals("reviewer", MemberRole.REVIEWER.wireName());
     }
 
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ class MemberRoleTest {
     void parseIsCaseInsensitiveAndTrimsSurroundingSpace() {
         assertSame(MemberRole.ARCHITECT, MemberRole.parse("Architect"));
         assertSame(MemberRole.DEV, MemberRole.parse("  DEV  "));
+        assertSame(MemberRole.HUNTER, MemberRole.parse("HuNtEr"));
         assertSame(MemberRole.REVIEWER, MemberRole.parse("ReViEwEr"));
     }
 
@@ -38,7 +40,7 @@ class MemberRoleTest {
         IllegalArgumentException e =
                 assertThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> MemberRole.parse("archtiect"));
         assertTrue(e.getMessage().contains("archtiect"), e.getMessage());
-        assertTrue(e.getMessage().contains("architect, dev, reviewer"),
+        assertTrue(e.getMessage().contains("architect, dev, hunter, reviewer"),
                 "a typo in config should be fixable from the message alone: " + e.getMessage());
     }
 

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/rest/FleetAppTest.java

@@ -647,6 +647,28 @@ class FleetAppTest {
         assertTrue(herdr.called("agent.prompt"), "message was injected");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #571: the worker is idle, so the poller attempts delivery, but the {@code agent.prompt}
+     * call itself fails with a herdr error that is not a confirmed absence — {@link
+     * dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector} marks this {@code ATTEMPTED}, meaning the call was made and
+     * whether it reached the pane is unknown. {@code writeReply}'s default arm must map this to its
+     * own {@code "unconfirmed"} status, not silently fall through to {@code "done"} (which would
+     * claim the delegation completed) nor collapse into {@code "queued"} (which would claim the
+     * message will never arrive, when it may already be sitting in the pane).
+     */
+    @Test
+    void messageTimesOutUnconfirmedWhenDeliveryAttemptFails() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentStatus("idle").agentSendFailsWith("send_failed");
+        int port = start(herdr, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"));
+
+        HttpResponse<String> res = postMessage(port, "{\"content\":\"hi\",\"timeoutMs\":250}");
+        assertEquals(202, res.statusCode());
+        JsonNode body = mapper.readTree(res.body());
+        assertEquals("unconfirmed", body.get("status").asText(),
+                "an ATTEMPTED delivery must report its own status, not \"queued\" or \"done\"");
+        assertTrue(herdr.called("agent.prompt"), "delivery must have been attempted");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void messageRejectsBlankContent() throws Exception {
         int port = startHealthy();

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/session/SessionManagerTest.java

@@ -328,9 +328,10 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
     void rosterViewExposesTheCharterReceiptButNeverTheCharterText() {
         // The roster (fleet_list and GET /members both render through rosterView) must let a lead
         // see which charter a member got, without ever carrying the charter prose itself (CB-571).
+        String composed = "role charter\n\nreply";
+        CharterReceipt receipt = CharterReceipt.compose(MemberRole.DEV, "prof", "role charter", composed);
         MemberSession s = new MemberSession("p1", "term1", "prof", MemberRole.DEV, "/cwd", null,
-                0, 0, 0, MemberSession.State.READY, null, null,
-                CharterReceipt.compose(MemberRole.DEV, "prof", "role charter", "role charter\n\nreply"), null);
+                0, 0, 0, MemberSession.State.READY, null, null, receipt, null);
 
         Map<String, Object> view = SessionManager.rosterView(s, null);
 
@@ -338,10 +339,49 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                 "the config key that supplied the role charter is reported");
         assertEquals(CharterReceipt.digestOf("role charter\n\nreply"), view.get("charterSha256"),
                 "the digest of the exact composed charter bytes is reported");
+        // #604: the byte count rides alongside the digest, and must match what the receipt itself
+        // carries (not a hardcoded literal) so a bug that reads the wrong field is caught.
+        assertEquals(receipt.charterBytes(), view.get("charterBytes"),
+                "the exact composed byte count is reported, read from the receipt");
+        assertEquals(composed.getBytes(java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8).length, view.get("charterBytes"),
+                "the byte count is the real UTF-8 length of the composed charter");
         assertFalse(view.values().toString().contains("role charter"),
                 "the roster row must not embed the charter text itself");
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void rosterViewOmitsCharterBytesAndDigestWhenNoCharterWasComposed() {
+        // #604: a member with no role charter and no reply charter (composed == null) still reports
+        // charterSource ("none"), but neither a digest nor a size — the digest is absent, and the
+        // size only ever accompanies a real digest. This must not be satisfiable by code that always
+        // writes charterBytes.
+        CharterReceipt receipt = CharterReceipt.compose(MemberRole.DEV, "prof", null, null);
+        MemberSession s = new MemberSession("p1", "term1", "prof", MemberRole.DEV, "/cwd", null,
+                0, 0, 0, MemberSession.State.READY, null, null, receipt, null);
+
+        Map<String, Object> view = SessionManager.rosterView(s, null);
+
+        assertEquals(CharterReceipt.NO_SOURCE, view.get("charterSource"),
+                "no configured role or reply charter reports the explicit \"none\" source");
+        assertFalse(view.containsKey("charterSha256"), "no digest is reported when no charter was composed");
+        assertFalse(view.containsKey("charterBytes"), "no byte count is reported when no charter was composed");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void rosterViewOmitsCharterFieldsEntirelyWhenTheReceiptItselfIsAbsent() {
+        // #604 acceptance criterion 3: charterReceipt() can be null on its own (a session recorded
+        // before CB-571, or a launcher that never composed one) — the outer null-guard must still
+        // suppress charterSource, charterSha256 AND charterBytes together.
+        MemberSession s = new MemberSession("p1", "term1", "prof", MemberRole.DEV, "/cwd", null,
+                0, 0, 0, MemberSession.State.READY, null, null, null, null);
+
+        Map<String, Object> view = SessionManager.rosterView(s, null);
+
+        assertFalse(view.containsKey("charterSource"), "no charter fields at all when the receipt is null");
+        assertFalse(view.containsKey("charterSha256"), "no charter fields at all when the receipt is null");
+        assertFalse(view.containsKey("charterBytes"), "no charter fields at all when the receipt is null");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void aNullTerminalFromThePrimaryIsANoOpEvenWithSessionsRegistered() {
         // The primary resolves to a Principal with no terminal, and FleetMcp's context extractor

scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh

@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@
 #      absence is the real signal, because a drain that dies on its first session prints nothing
 #      else either. Warns loudly; never fails the redeploy, because by the time this is detectable
 #      the new daemon is already up and healthy.
+#  10. fleetd #603 — the same shape as trap 3 above, through a different door: the step that waited
+#      for the NEW process to appear gave it its own short, fixed 10s budget, then hard-`die`d,
+#      while the health check right after it waits a full $HEALTH_WAIT (60s) for the same daemon to
+#      answer. Under launchd, `launchctl load` returns as soon as launchd accepts the job, before the
+#      java process exists, and on a slow host that took longer than 10s — so the script died with
+#      "no process appeared" on a deploy that had fully succeeded. The pid poll now shares
+#      $HEALTH_WAIT instead of a separate, shorter budget, and a miss there falls through to the
+#      health check (the truer signal: is it actually answering?) instead of killing the run.
 #
 # Usage:
 #   scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh              # build, confirm, restart, verify
@@ -79,7 +87,9 @@ OUT="$MODULE/fleetd.out"
 PATTERN='target/fleetd.jar'
 HEALTH='http://127.0.0.1:8765/healthz'
 STOP_WAIT=30      # seconds to wait for a clean exit before reporting failure
-HEALTH_WAIT=60    # seconds to wait for /healthz to answer after start
+HEALTH_WAIT=60    # seconds to wait for /healthz to answer after start — fleetd #603: also the pid-
+                  # poll budget below (wait_for_new_pid/await_daemon_started), so the two checks
+                  # share one named budget instead of the pid poll holding its own shorter one
 
 # CB-594: the launchd agent this script must not fight with (see trap 6 above).
 LAUNCHD_LABEL='dev.ltms.fleetd'
@@ -169,7 +179,55 @@ hash256() {
 # on PATH). "absent" must never be the answer for a file that exists — that conflation, on Linux,
 # was the whole defect this ticket fixes.
 jar_id() { local f="${1:-$JAR}"; [ -f "$f" ] && hash256 "$f" || echo "absent"; }
-running_pid() { pgrep -f "$PATTERN" || true; }
+
+# fleetd #593 — `pgrep -f "$PATTERN"` matches ANY process whose full command line CONTAINS the
+# pattern text, and that is not the same thing as "is the daemon". A shell that merely embeds the
+# pattern as literal text — a human typing this exact investigation by hand, an ssh-shaped
+# `sh -c '...; ...'`, a pipeline, or any other non-exec'ing shell that never replaced itself with
+# the pattern-holding command — still shows up in that match, and it is the INSTRUMENT, not the
+# daemon. Measured live on this Mac: `sh -c 'echo "target/fleetd.jar" >/dev/null; sleep 30' &`
+# leaves a real `sh` process alive (it forks for the `sleep`, it does not exec into it) whose own
+# `ps -o args` is `sh -c echo "target/fleetd.jar" >/dev/null; sleep 30` — `pgrep -f "$PATTERN"`
+# matches that line right alongside the real `java -jar target/fleetd.jar` process. `pgrep -c`
+# (an in-one-call count) does not exist on BSD/macOS at all, so this cannot be fixed by switching
+# pgrep flags — it has to filter what pgrep already found, after the fact, in a way that still
+# runs on BSD.
+#
+# fleetd #593 CORRECTION 1 — the first cut of this filter kept everything whose `comm` was NOT a
+# shell name (a denylist: sh/bash/zsh/dash/ksh). Two holes in that, both the same false-positive
+# shape the ticket exists to remove in the first place:
+#   1. a pid `pgrep` just listed can exit before the `ps -o comm=` lookup runs; on a gone pid `ps`
+#      prints nothing, `comm` ends up empty, and an empty string matches none of the denied shell
+#      names — so a pid that no longer exists was still counted.
+#   2. the denylist only knows the shells someone thought to name. `ssh`, `perl`, `python3`,
+#      `ruby`, `tail` — anything else that carries the pattern in its own argv — was still
+#      counted right along with the real daemon, and the ticket names `ssh` as a live route.
+# Both close with the same change: allowlist `comm = java` instead of denying shells. Measured on
+# the live daemon: `pid=30224 comm=java`. An empty comm (hole 1) is not `java` either, so it is
+# excluded for free — no separate "is this pid still alive" check needed.
+#
+# The objection, because it is real: an allowlist can UNDER-count. If fleetd ever stops being
+# launched as `java -jar ...` — a native image, a renamed launcher — `running_pid()` silently
+# returns nothing and `assert_single_daemon` stops noticing a second daemon at all. For a guard,
+# that false-negative direction is the worse one to be wrong in. This is not a new assumption,
+# though: `PATTERN='target/fleetd.jar'` two lines up already assumes the daemon is a jar, which
+# is only ever run by `java`. If that launch method changes, `PATTERN` stops matching anything
+# before this allowlist would ever get the chance to be wrong — the allowlist rides on the same
+# assumption that is already load-bearing, it does not add a new one. Whoever changes the launch
+# method needs to update both `PATTERN` and this allowlist together.
+running_pid() {
+  local pid comm out=''
+  for pid in $(pgrep -f "$PATTERN" 2>/dev/null || true); do
+    comm="$(ps -o comm= -p "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+    comm="${comm##*/}"
+    comm="${comm#-}"
+    # Allowlist, not a denylist of wrappers — see the CORRECTION 1 comment above. Anything that
+    # is not literally `java` is excluded, including an empty comm from a pid that already exited.
+    [ "$comm" = java ] || continue
+    out="$out$pid"$'\n'
+  done
+  printf '%s' "$out"
+}
 
 # fleetd #493 — three small, independently testable pieces of "never build into the path a
 # running process holds":
@@ -507,8 +565,11 @@ assert_single_daemon() {
     die "more than one fleetd process is running after this restart (pids: $(printf '%s' "$pids" | tr '\n' ' ')).
         This is the exact failure a racing supervisor produces: the OLD jar was revived by its
         supervisor while this script started a NEW copy. Two daemons on one herdr session kill
-        each other's members. Investigate with 'pgrep -f \"$PATTERN\"' and stop the wrong one by
-        hand — do not assume either pid is the one you want."
+        each other's members. Investigate with 'ps -eo pid,comm,args | grep -F \"$PATTERN\"' and
+        check the COMM column of each hit yourself before acting — a bare 'pgrep -f \"$PATTERN\"'
+        (fleetd #593) can match the very shell you type it into, not just the daemon, so it is not
+        safe remediation advice on its own. Stop the wrong one by hand — do not assume either pid
+        is the one you want."
   fi
 }
 
@@ -1016,6 +1077,67 @@ $(tail -30 "$out_file" 2>/dev/null)"
   fi
 }
 
+# fleetd #603 — the dual of wait_for_daemon_exit above: waits for a pid to APPEAR instead of
+# disappear. Used to be a bare `for _ in $(seq 10)` sitting directly in the main flow, with its own
+# short, fixed budget that had nothing to do with $HEALTH_WAIT (60s) — the budget the health check
+# right after it gets for the very same daemon. Under launchd, `launchctl load` returns as soon as
+# launchd accepts the job, before the java process exists, and on a slow host that took longer than
+# 10s — so the script died with "no process appeared" on a deploy that had fully succeeded (the
+# operator confirmed pid, healthz, and a fresh log line all present, by hand, right afterwards).
+# Sharing $HEALTH_WAIT here removes the extra, shorter magic number without inventing a new one.
+wait_for_new_pid() {
+  local timeout="$1" _i
+  for _i in $(seq "$timeout"); do
+    [ -n "$(running_pid)" ] && return 0
+    sleep 1
+  done
+  [ -n "$(running_pid)" ]
+}
+
+# fleetd #603 — the pid-appeared check and the healthz check, folded into one decision. Same shape
+# as swap_if_built/refuse_drain_gate/report_shutdown_drain above (#521/#528/#512): the main flow
+# calls this ONE function unconditionally, so there is no bare guard left for a future edit to
+# invert independently of it. That matters more here than for most of those: a plain grep of this
+# script's source cannot tell "a pid miss falls through to the health check" from "a pid miss still
+# dies" apart, because both read as the same two lines of text with only the runtime branch
+# changed — a source-text test could pass on either behavior. A real behavioural test on this
+# function is the only thing that can actually tell them apart, which is why one exists below.
+#
+# wait_for_new_pid's miss is no longer fatal by itself: it falls through to the health check, which
+# is direct proof the new daemon is up (/healthz answers 200) rather than a proxy for it (a process
+# merely existing under a name running_pid() recognises). A genuine failure still dies here: it
+# misses the pid poll AND the health poll, and report_health's own die() still prints the tail of
+# $out_file, exactly as before this fix.
+#
+# Sets NEW_PID (global — the caller's "pid N, jar ..." result line reads it afterwards) and
+# HEALTH_BODY/HEALTH_CODE (globals, the same reason report_health already needs them handed back).
+# Only ever called as a bare statement in the main flow below, never from inside a `$( )`: a die()
+# reached from inside a command substitution only kills that subshell, not the whole script, which
+# would silently turn a genuine failure back into a false "succeeded" exit (see poll_health_body's
+# own `|| true` idiom for the same hazard from the other direction).
+await_daemon_started() {
+  local health_wait="$1" old_pid="$2" health_url="$3" out_file="$4"
+  NEW_PID=""
+  if wait_for_new_pid "$health_wait"; then
+    NEW_PID="$(running_pid)"
+    [ "$NEW_PID" != "${old_pid:-}" ] || die "pid unchanged ($NEW_PID) — the old daemon never died"
+    ok "started, pid $NEW_PID"
+  else
+    warn "no process matched $PATTERN within ${health_wait}s of starting — falling through to the health check, which is the more truthful signal"
+  fi
+
+  HEALTH_BODY="$(poll_health_body "$health_url" "$health_wait")" || true
+  HEALTH_CODE="000"
+  [ -n "$HEALTH_BODY" ] || HEALTH_CODE="$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' --max-time 2 "$health_url" 2>/dev/null || echo 000)"
+  report_health "$HEALTH_BODY" "$HEALTH_CODE" "$out_file" "$health_wait"
+
+  # By now /healthz has answered (report_health above would have died otherwise), so the daemon is
+  # confirmed up even if the pid poll never matched it — see running_pid()'s own comment on
+  # under-counting if the launch method ever stops being a plain `java -jar`. Fill NEW_PID in for the
+  # result line rather than leave it blank on an otherwise fully successful redeploy.
+  [ -n "$NEW_PID" ] || NEW_PID="$(running_pid)"
+}
+
 # Ticket item 8 — `HAD_OLD_PID=0; [ -n "$OLD_PID" ] && HAD_OLD_PID=1`. Measured safe under `set -e`
 # at both bash 3.2.57 and 5.x (see the header comment trap 9 discussion in the ticket) — not a `set
 # -e` hazard, but still an untested computation feeding report_shutdown_drain's own four-way
@@ -1234,28 +1356,14 @@ say "start"
 # there now, so this line is the only thing left in the main flow to get wrong.
 dispatch_start "$SUPERVISOR_KIND"
 
-for _ in $(seq 10); do
-  NEW_PID="$(running_pid)"
-  [ -n "$NEW_PID" ] && break
-  sleep 1
-done
-[ -n "${NEW_PID:-}" ] || die "no process appeared. Last lines of $OUT:
-$(tail -20 "$OUT" 2>/dev/null)"
-[ "$NEW_PID" != "${OLD_PID:-}" ] || die "pid unchanged ($NEW_PID) — the old daemon never died"
-ok "started, pid $NEW_PID"
-
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------ verify
 
 say "verify"
 
-# fleetd #555: poll_health_body/health_is_up/report_health above. HEALTH_CODE is only ever
-# consulted by report_health when the body came back empty; `|| true` on both assignments is the
-# same "an absent/failing command substitution must not kill the script under set -e" idiom the
-# swap/drain helpers already rely on (see poll_health_body's own comment).
-HEALTH_BODY="$(poll_health_body "$HEALTH" "$HEALTH_WAIT")" || true
-HEALTH_CODE="000"
-[ -n "$HEALTH_BODY" ] || HEALTH_CODE="$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' --max-time 2 "$HEALTH" 2>/dev/null || echo 000)"
-report_health "$HEALTH_BODY" "$HEALTH_CODE" "$OUT" "$HEALTH_WAIT"
+# fleetd #603: await_daemon_started above folds the pid-appeared check and the healthz check into
+# one decision — see its own comment for why a bare `if` here, split back into the old two pieces,
+# would put back an untestable branch this ticket exists to close.
+await_daemon_started "$HEALTH_WAIT" "$OLD_PID" "$HEALTH" "$OUT"
 
 # A fresh listening line, strictly after the restart mark. An old daemon that never died would
 # otherwise let an old line pass for a new one.
@@ -1310,7 +1418,7 @@ report_shutdown_drain "$FRESH_LOG" "$HAD_OLD_PID"
 assert_single_daemon "$(running_pid)"
 
 say "result"
-ok "pid $NEW_PID, jar $(jar_id)"
+ok "pid ${NEW_PID:-unknown}, jar $(jar_id)"
 if [ "$REDEPLOY_AMQP_CHECK_SKIPPED" -eq 1 ]; then
   # fleetd #552: the fourth reader of the fresh-log region. Without this branch REDEPLOY_ERROR_COUNT
   # stays at its untouched 0 (classify_amqp_connection_errors never got a file to read) and

scripts/test-redeploy-fleetd.sh

@@ -433,6 +433,130 @@ test_assert_single_daemon_rejects_two_pids() {
   printf '%s' "$output" | grep -qF '4343' || fail "refusal message does not list the pids it found"
 }
 
+# fleetd #593 instance 2 — `running_pid()` used to be a bare `pgrep -f "$PATTERN"`, which matches
+# ANY process whose full command line contains the pattern TEXT, including a shell that merely
+# embeds it as literal text rather than being the daemon. Measured live on this Mac: `pgrep -c`
+# (a one-call count) does not exist on BSD at all, and `bash -c "<single command>"` execs in place
+# so no parent shell survives to hold the pattern — which is exactly why the defect did not
+# reproduce from a plain script and needs a wrapper shaped like this instead. A `sh -c '...; ...'`
+# with MORE THAN ONE statement does not get that exec-in-place treatment: the shell forks a child
+# for the second statement and stays alive itself, holding the whole `-c` string — pattern text
+# included — in its own `ps -o args`, for as long as it runs. That is the same shape an
+# `ssh host "…; …"` wrapper or a hand-typed pipeline leaves behind. Before the fix this test would
+# have found the wrapper's pid in running_pid()'s output; it must not.
+test_running_pid_excludes_self_matching_wrapper_shell() {
+  local before after wrapper_pid
+  before="$(running_pid)"
+  sh -c 'echo "target/fleetd.jar" >/dev/null; sleep 20' &
+  wrapper_pid=$!
+  sleep 0.3
+  after="$(running_pid)"
+  kill "$wrapper_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+  wait "$wrapper_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+  [ "$after" = "$before" ] \
+    || fail "running_pid() counted a self-matching wrapper shell (pid $wrapper_pid, holding the pattern as literal text in its own argv, not the daemon): before=[$before] after=[$after]"
+}
+
+# fleetd #593 CORRECTION 1 — the round-1 version of this test gave its standin an argv[0]
+# containing the pattern text (via `exec -a`) and left `comm` as whatever that override produced,
+# which was never `java`. That was fine for a denylist-of-shells filter, but the allowlist below
+# now requires `comm = java` specifically, so the standin here must actually carry that comm, not
+# just avoid being a shell. `exec -a java` overrides argv[0] to `java` while the process itself
+# stays a genuine, harmless `sh`; combining it with the same non-exec'ing multi-statement shape
+# the wrapper-shell test above uses keeps the pattern text in the process's own `ps -o args` for
+# as long as it runs. Measured live on this Mac (BSD/macOS: `ps -o comm=` here reflects argv[0]):
+# `comm=java`, `args` contains the pattern, `pgrep -f "$PATTERN"` finds it. Copying a real system
+# binary into a scratch path and executing it from there was tried first, for a more literal
+# stand-in daemon, and the OS killed it outright (SIGKILL, exit 137 — almost certainly a
+# code-signing check on a relocated binary); `exec -a` needs no binary of its own and nothing
+# under a scratch directory, and it is the technique CORRECTION 1 names as the right one.
+#
+# This is the one live-process test in this file whose result could differ on Linux: Linux sets
+# `comm` from the actually-executed binary's own path, not from `exec -a`'s argv[0] override (BSD
+# ties `comm` to argv[0], which is what makes this technique work here) — so on Linux this
+# specific fixture might report `comm=sh`, not `comm=java`, even though the REAL daemon (a literal
+# `java -jar target/fleetd.jar` process, never fabricated) is unaffected either way. I could not
+# verify this fixture's behavior on Linux, so test_running_pid_counts_a_pid_whose_comm_is_java
+# below backstops the same claim (the allowlist admits a pid whose comm is `java`) with a stubbed
+# `ps`, which is identical bash on every platform and carries no such platform question.
+test_running_pid_finds_a_real_java_named_second_process() {
+  local before after standin_pid
+  before="$(running_pid)"
+  ( exec -a java sh -c 'echo "target/fleetd.jar" >/dev/null; sleep 20' ) &
+  standin_pid=$!
+  sleep 0.3
+  after="$(running_pid)"
+  kill "$standin_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+  wait "$standin_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+  printf '%s\n' "$after" | grep -qxF "$standin_pid" \
+    || fail "running_pid() did not find a real second process (pid $standin_pid, comm forced to 'java' via exec -a) whose own argv holds the pattern: before=[$before] after=[$after]"
+}
+
+# fleetd #593 CORRECTION 1, hole 2 — the round-1 filter denied known shell names (sh/bash/zsh/
+# dash/ksh) and counted everything else. `ssh`, `perl`, `python3`, `ruby`, `tail` — anything not on
+# that list, carrying the pattern in its own argv — was still counted right alongside the real
+# daemon, and the ticket names `ssh` as a live route. Stubbing `pgrep`/`ps` (rather than spawning a
+# real perl/ssh process) pins the exact discriminator this correction is about — comm, not the
+# caller's shape — deterministically on every platform, with no dependency on perl/python3/ruby
+# being installed in whatever environment runs this suite, and no dependency on how a given OS
+# derives `comm` for a fabricated process (see the comment above
+# test_running_pid_finds_a_real_java_named_second_process for why that matters here).
+test_running_pid_drops_a_pid_whose_comm_is_not_java() {
+  pgrep() { printf '4242\n'; }
+  ps() { printf 'perl\n'; }
+  local found
+  found="$(running_pid)"
+  unset -f pgrep ps
+  [ -z "$found" ] \
+    || fail "running_pid() counted pid 4242 whose comm is 'perl', not 'java' — denying known shell names does not exclude a non-shell wrapper such as ssh or perl (fleetd #593 CORRECTION 1): found=[$found]"
+}
+
+# fleetd #593 CORRECTION 1, hole 1 — pgrep can list a pid that exits before the following
+# `ps -o comm=` lookup runs; on a gone pid `ps` prints nothing, so `comm` comes back empty. Under
+# the round-1 denylist an empty string matched none of the denied shell names, so the dead pid was
+# still counted — the exact false-positive shape the ticket exists to remove, just rarer. The
+# allowlist fixes this for free: an empty comm is not `java` either.
+test_running_pid_drops_a_pid_that_exited_before_the_comm_lookup() {
+  pgrep() { printf '4242\n'; }
+  ps() { :; }   # a pid that no longer exists: the real `ps -p <gone>` prints nothing and this mirrors that
+  local found
+  found="$(running_pid)"
+  unset -f pgrep ps
+  [ -z "$found" ] \
+    || fail "running_pid() counted pid 4242 whose comm lookup came back empty (the pid had already exited before the lookup ran) — an empty comm must not pass the allowlist (fleetd #593 CORRECTION 1): found=[$found]"
+}
+
+# The positive backstop for both stubbed tests above, and for
+# test_running_pid_finds_a_real_java_named_second_process on whatever platform that live fixture
+# does not itself carry comm=java: the allowlist must still ADMIT the one comm value the real
+# daemon actually has. Measured on the real, currently-running daemon on this Mac: `comm=java`.
+test_running_pid_counts_a_pid_whose_comm_is_java() {
+  pgrep() { printf '4242\n'; }
+  ps() { printf 'java\n'; }
+  local found
+  found="$(running_pid)"
+  unset -f pgrep ps
+  printf '%s\n' "$found" | grep -qxF '4242' \
+    || fail "running_pid() did not count pid 4242 whose comm is 'java' — the daemon's own name must pass the allowlist: found=[$found]"
+}
+
+# fleetd #593 instance 3 — assert_single_daemon's refusal message used to tell the operator to
+# "Investigate with 'pgrep -f \"\$PATTERN\"'", which — typed by hand or over ssh — is precisely the
+# self-matching invocation instance 2 above fixes. A source-text check, the same technique
+# test_no_error_lines_message_gated_by_drain_state uses: this is prose inside a die() call, never
+# reached by sourcing (the SOURCED guard stops before the main flow, and this text only prints
+# from inside a call assert_single_daemon makes when it is already refusing).
+test_die_message_does_not_recommend_bare_pgrep_as_remediation() {
+  local src="$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh" block bad
+  block="$(grep -A6 -F 'racing supervisor produces' "$src" || true)"
+  [ -n "$block" ] || fail "could not find the assert_single_daemon refusal message in redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+  bad="$(printf '%s' "$block" | grep -F "Investigate with 'pgrep -f" || true)"
+  [ -z "$bad" ] \
+    || fail "assert_single_daemon's die message still hands the operator a bare 'pgrep -f \"\$PATTERN\"' as remediation (fleetd #593) — that is exactly the self-matching invocation"
+  printf '%s' "$block" | grep -qF 'fleetd #593' \
+    || fail "assert_single_daemon's die message does not say in words that a pattern can match the caller (fleetd #593)"
+}
+
 # fleetd #511 — jar_id()'s no-argument default was unpinned by any test: nothing proved it reports
 # $JAR (the live path) rather than $JAR_STAGED. Both halves matter, so this pins both: the bare call
 # must hash the live jar, and an explicit path argument must hash THAT file, not fall back to $JAR.
@@ -646,6 +770,137 @@ test_wait_for_daemon_exit_times_out_if_pid_never_clears() {
   source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"   # restore the real running_pid/sleep for later tests
 }
 
+# fleetd #603 — wait_for_new_pid is the dual of wait_for_daemon_exit above: it must not report
+# success while running_pid() still answers empty, and must report success the moment a pid
+# appears. Same counter-file idiom as test_wait_for_daemon_exit_returns_true_once_pid_clears above,
+# for the same reason (running_pid() runs inside a `$(...)` subshell on every call).
+test_wait_for_new_pid_returns_true_once_pid_appears() {
+  local counter_file="$TMP/wait-new-pid-calls" final_calls
+  printf '0' > "$counter_file"
+  running_pid() {
+    local n
+    n="$(cat "$counter_file")"
+    n=$((n + 1))
+    printf '%s' "$n" > "$counter_file"
+    if [ "$n" -lt 3 ]; then printf ''; else printf '4242'; fi
+  }
+  sleep() { :; }
+  wait_for_new_pid 10 || fail "wait_for_new_pid did not report success once the pid appeared"
+  final_calls="$(cat "$counter_file")"
+  [ "$final_calls" -ge 3 ] || fail "wait_for_new_pid returned before actually re-checking running_pid"
+  source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"   # restore the real running_pid/sleep for later tests
+}
+
+test_wait_for_new_pid_times_out_if_pid_never_appears() {
+  local rc=0
+  running_pid() { printf ''; }
+  sleep() { :; }
+  wait_for_new_pid 3 || rc=$?
+  [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "wait_for_new_pid reported success while the pid never appeared"
+  source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"   # restore the real running_pid/sleep for later tests
+}
+
+# fleetd #603 — await_daemon_started folds the pid-appeared check and the healthz check into one
+# decision (see its own comment in redeploy-fleetd.sh for why a source-text grep cannot tell the two
+# possible behaviors apart here). These two tests are the ticket's own acceptance criteria, run
+# together in this one suite invocation so neither can be satisfied by code that never fails at all:
+#
+#   1. a slow start must still succeed — running_pid mimics a process that does not appear until
+#      well after the OLD, buggy 10-second budget, but does appear, and healthz answers.
+#   2. a genuine failure must still fail, and still print the log tail — running_pid and the health
+#      check both report nothing at all, ever.
+test_await_daemon_started_slow_pid_then_healthy_succeeds() {
+  source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+  stub_die_recorder
+  local counter_file="$TMP/await-slow-pid-calls" output
+  printf '0' > "$counter_file"
+  running_pid() {
+    local n
+    n="$(cat "$counter_file")"
+    n=$((n + 1))
+    printf '%s' "$n" > "$counter_file"
+    # Stays empty well past the old 10-second budget, then appears — the exact shape #603 reports.
+    if [ "$n" -lt 12 ]; then printf ''; else printf '4242'; fi
+  }
+  sleep() { :; }
+  poll_health_body() { printf '{"status":"ok"}'; return 0; }
+  # NOT `output="$(await_daemon_started ...)"`: that would run the call in a subshell, and
+  # NEW_PID — a plain global assignment inside the function, by design (see its own comment) — would
+  # die with that subshell instead of reaching this test's own shell. Redirect to a file instead, the
+  # same hazard await_daemon_started's own comment warns die() itself is subject to.
+  await_daemon_started 60 "" "http://ignored/healthz" "$TMP/await-slow-pid.out" \
+    > "$TMP/await-slow-pid-output.log" 2>&1
+  output="$(cat "$TMP/await-slow-pid-output.log")"
+  [ "$DIED_CALLED" = 0 ] \
+    || fail "await_daemon_started must not die on a slow-but-real start: $DIED_MESSAGE"
+  assert_equals "4242" "$NEW_PID" "await_daemon_started NEW_PID after a slow-but-real start"
+  printf '%s' "$output" | grep -qF 'started, pid 4242' \
+    || fail "await_daemon_started did not report the pid once it finally appeared"
+  source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+}
+
+test_await_daemon_started_never_appears_dies_with_log_tail() {
+  source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+  stub_die_recorder
+  local out_file="$TMP/await-never-appears.out"
+  printf 'boot line one\nboot line two\n' > "$out_file"
+  running_pid() { printf ''; }
+  sleep() { :; }
+  poll_health_body() { return 1; }
+  await_daemon_started 2 "" "http://127.0.0.1:1/healthz" "$out_file" > /dev/null 2>&1
+  [ "$DIED_CALLED" = 1 ] \
+    || fail "await_daemon_started must die when the daemon never appears and never becomes healthy"
+  printf '%s' "$DIED_MESSAGE" | grep -qF 'never answered' \
+    || fail "await_daemon_started die message does not say healthz never answered"
+  printf '%s' "$DIED_MESSAGE" | grep -qF 'boot line two' \
+    || fail "await_daemon_started die message does not include the log tail"
+  source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+}
+
+# fleetd #603 review — the path the fall-through actually exists for, and the one gap a lead
+# mutation found in the first version of this test file: running_pid() NEVER finds anything (as its
+# own doc comment says it eventually will, once the daemon stops being launched as a plain
+# `java -jar` its allowlist recognises), while /healthz answers anyway. Neither of the two tests
+# above drives this: the slow-pid test has the pid appear, so the `else` branch never runs, and the
+# never-appears test fails BOTH checks, so it dies either way and cannot tell which branch fired.
+# This must not die, must warn (so the operator is told the pid could not be identified), and must
+# leave NEW_PID empty — the honest "could not establish this" answer, never a guessed pid, which is
+# what the final result line's `${NEW_PID:-unknown}` fallback exists to print truthfully.
+#
+# Proof this actually pins the behavior, not just the source text (paste from a real run, not
+# claimed): reverting the `warn` below back to `die "no process appeared"` (the old fleetd #603
+# defect, reintroduced) turns this one test red —
+#   FAIL: await_daemon_started must not die when the pid is never found but healthz answers
+# — and restoring `warn` turns the whole suite green again. Both halves observed, not asserted.
+test_await_daemon_started_pid_never_found_but_healthy_warns_and_survives() {
+  source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+  stub_die_recorder
+  local out_file="$TMP/await-pid-never-found.out" output
+  printf 'boot line\n' > "$out_file"
+  running_pid() { printf ''; }
+  sleep() { :; }
+  poll_health_body() { printf '{"status":"ok"}'; return 0; }
+  # NOT `output="$(await_daemon_started ...)"` — see the slow-pid test above for why that would
+  # drop NEW_PID's assignment in a subshell instead of reaching this test's own shell.
+  await_daemon_started 3 "" "http://ignored/healthz" "$out_file" \
+    > "$TMP/await-pid-never-found-output.log" 2>&1
+  output="$(cat "$TMP/await-pid-never-found-output.log")"
+  [ "$DIED_CALLED" = 0 ] \
+    || fail "await_daemon_started must not die when the pid is never found but healthz answers: $DIED_MESSAGE"
+  printf '%s' "$output" | grep -qF 'falling through to the health check' \
+    || fail "await_daemon_started did not warn that the pid could not be identified"
+  assert_equals "" "$NEW_PID" \
+    "await_daemon_started NEW_PID when the pid is never found but healthz answers — must stay empty, never a guessed pid"
+  source "$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+}
+
+test_await_daemon_started_call_site_present() {
+  local src="$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh" call_line
+  call_line="$(grep -Fn 'await_daemon_started "$HEALTH_WAIT" "$OLD_PID" "$HEALTH" "$OUT"' "$src" | head -1 | cut -d: -f1 || true)"
+  [ -n "$call_line" ] \
+    || fail "could not find the main flow's await_daemon_started call site in redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+}
+
 # fleetd #521 — the swap step's guard, at two levels.
 #
 # The first two tests call the predicate should_swap() directly. They pin its logic, and that is all
@@ -1226,9 +1481,11 @@ test_poll_health_body_returns_nonzero_when_unreachable() {
 
 test_report_health_call_site_present() {
   local src="$ROOT/scripts/redeploy-fleetd.sh" call_line
-  call_line="$(grep -Fn 'report_health "$HEALTH_BODY" "$HEALTH_CODE" "$OUT" "$HEALTH_WAIT"' "$src" | head -1 | cut -d: -f1 || true)"
+  # fleetd #603 — moved from a literal main-flow call into await_daemon_started (see its own
+  # comment above for why); this now finds the call inside that function instead.
+  call_line="$(grep -Fn 'report_health "$HEALTH_BODY" "$HEALTH_CODE" "$out_file" "$health_wait"' "$src" | head -1 | cut -d: -f1 || true)"
   [ -n "$call_line" ] \
-    || fail "could not find the main flow's report_health call site in redeploy-fleetd.sh"
+    || fail "could not find await_daemon_started's report_health call site in redeploy-fleetd.sh"
 }
 
 # fleetd #555 item 8 — `HAD_OLD_PID=0; [ -n "$OLD_PID" ] && HAD_OLD_PID=1`. Measured safe under
@@ -1894,6 +2151,12 @@ test_require_drivable_supervisor_accepts_known_kinds
 test_count_daemon_pids
 test_assert_single_daemon_accepts_one_pid
 test_assert_single_daemon_rejects_two_pids
+test_running_pid_excludes_self_matching_wrapper_shell
+test_running_pid_finds_a_real_java_named_second_process
+test_running_pid_drops_a_pid_whose_comm_is_not_java
+test_running_pid_drops_a_pid_that_exited_before_the_comm_lookup
+test_running_pid_counts_a_pid_whose_comm_is_java
+test_die_message_does_not_recommend_bare_pgrep_as_remediation
 test_jar_id_defaults_to_live_and_reports_explicit_path
 test_hash256_computes_a_real_sha256
 test_jar_id_reports_absent_for_missing_file
@@ -1911,6 +2174,12 @@ test_require_no_build_jar_dies_when_absent
 test_require_no_build_jar_accepts_present_jar
 test_wait_for_daemon_exit_returns_true_once_pid_clears
 test_wait_for_daemon_exit_times_out_if_pid_never_clears
+test_wait_for_new_pid_returns_true_once_pid_appears
+test_wait_for_new_pid_times_out_if_pid_never_appears
+test_await_daemon_started_slow_pid_then_healthy_succeeds
+test_await_daemon_started_never_appears_dies_with_log_tail
+test_await_daemon_started_pid_never_found_but_healthy_warns_and_survives
+test_await_daemon_started_call_site_present
 test_swap_ordered_after_wait_and_before_start
 test_drain_gate_abort_message_says_no_no_build
 test_drain_gate_refusal_build_ran_staged_present