Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/worker/736-presence-forget-f35144-9'

SessionManager.releaseRemoved() tore down a member's registry row and pane
but never cleared it from MemberPresence, so a terminal stayed marked
"present" for the daemon's lifetime after release/idle-reap/shutdown drain.
Clear it in the method's unconditional finally block, alongside the other
must-always-run teardown step, so every release path (explicit release,
the idle reaper's releaseIfCurrent, and a shutdown drain) forgets it the
same way, and a throw from the dirty-worktree check does not skip it.

MemberPresence.forget(null) throws NullPointerException (verified empirically:
ConcurrentHashMap.remove(null) NPEs on key.hashCode()), so the new call guards
on a non-null, non-blank terminal id rather than relying on forget to no-op.

.claude/skills/handover/SKILL.md

@@ -159,6 +159,29 @@ fails.
 
 `{action: "cancel", token}` drops a pending request without rolling.
 
+**A change is coming: the roll will restart the process instead of sending `/clear` (fleetd #726
+unit 2, written 2026-10-04).**
+
+Today a roll types `/clear` into your pane. Your `claude` process keeps running, so a newer CLI on
+disk is never loaded. Unit 2 replaces that: the daemon ends the old pane, launches a fresh one,
+waits for the new terminal to be recognised as a lead, and only then sends the bootstrap text.
+
+**Everything below about `/clear` is accurate while the old jar is running.** Unit 2 was not merged
+when this note was written, and a merge is not a deployment.
+
+**How to tell which one is live: read your own tool list.** If `fleet_handover`'s description says
+it will "clear your pane", the daemon is serving the old behaviour. If it names a restart, the new
+behaviour is live. The description comes from the running daemon, so it cannot disagree with the
+code that is actually loaded.
+
+Two things change for you once it is live. The `status` outcomes are different: three new failures
+replace the `/clear` ones. And the "never observed as WORKING after 8 consecutive IDLE/DONE polls"
+warning described below can no longer appear, because that wait is deleted — so if you still see
+it, the old jar is running. `TURN_NEVER_SETTLED` does not change, and still means nothing was
+touched.
+
+**Delete this note and rewrite the `/clear` paragraphs once the new jar is live.**
+
 **Things that will surprise you:**
 
 - **`accepted` does not mean your pane has been cleared.** It means every gate passed and the roll
@@ -200,13 +223,18 @@ fails.
 
 - **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 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:
+- **The bootstrap prompt works end to end. Measured 2026-09-22, re-measured 2026-10-04.** This used
+  to say the fix was unproven (fleetd #489) and told you to expect a failure. That is no longer
+  true. On 2026-09-22 the daemon log held four `lead-rollover: rolled` lines. On 2026-10-04 it holds
+  **20**, against a control of 86 `lead-rollover:` lines. Each roll 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.
+
+  19 of the 20 carry an `elapsedMs`: median 16507 ms, maximum 48261 ms, and two above 45000 ms. That
+  figure times the **whole** roll, and the wait for your own turn to end dominates it, so do not
+  read it as the cost of the clear. Expect a roll to take tens of seconds, and do not treat a slow
+  one as a failed one. Re-measure all of these with:
 
   ```bash
   grep -c "lead-rollover: rolled" fleetd/fleetd.out   # successful rolls

CLAUDE.md

@@ -27,26 +27,31 @@ through its `fleet_*` tools. No session addresses a peer, a broker, or the netwo
 **Every role reads this file.** A member runs in a git worktree of this same repo, so it inherits
 this `CLAUDE.md` verbatim, and every rule below is role-conditional.
 
-**Call `fleet_whoami`.** It returns `primary`, `worker`, `architect`, or `collaborator`, resolved by
-the daemon from your connection — unforgeable, and the same resolution its authorization gate uses.
-A worker also carries its `sessionId`, `profile`, `worktree` and `branch`; an architect carries the
-slot name it was bound to; a collaborator carries its registry name and its own `sessionId`, and
-**no `leader` key** — a collaborator is a named peer, not a primary. Don't infer what you can ask.
+**Call `fleet_whoami`.** It returns `primary`, `worker`, `architect`, `collaborator`, or `observer`,
+resolved by the daemon from your connection — unforgeable, and the same resolution its authorization
+gate uses. A worker also carries its `sessionId`, `profile`, `worktree` and `branch`; an architect
+carries the slot name it was bound to; a collaborator carries its registry name and its own
+`sessionId`, and **no `leader` key** — a collaborator is a named peer, not a primary. An **observer**
+carries only its own `sessionId`: a pane the daemon could not place as any of the above, authorized
+to `READ`/`METRICS` and to `REPLY`/`ASK` on its own pane and nothing more — never `SEND`, never a
+ticket. Don't infer what you can ask.
 
 Only if that call is unavailable, fall back to these — each is one-way, so keep reading until one
 fires: the reply charter in your system prompt (*"You are a spawned member in the
 claude-bridge fleet"*) ⇒ **spawned member**; fleet tools prefixed `mcp__fleet__*` ⇒ **spawned
 member** (the launcher fixes that mount name; a primary's mount is named by whoever wrote its
 `.mcp.json`, so it varies — and a member spawned before CB-632 still says `mcp__bridge__*`); `ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL` set ⇒ **spawned member** (Claude-model members run
-on a clean env, so its *absence* proves nothing). None of these separate a worker from an architect —
-only `fleet_whoami` does. **And none of them fires for a collaborator at all**: every signal in the
-ladder detects a *spawned* member, while a collaborator is a tab a person opened by hand, so it has
-no charter, no fixed mount name and a normal environment. A collaborator that cannot call
-`fleet_whoami` therefore falls to the line below and acts as a worker. That is the safe direction —
-it under-privileges, and the refusals are loud — but it means a collaborator has no way to learn
-what it is except by asking. **Still unsure ⇒ act as a worker**, the most restricted member role. The
-two mistakes are not symmetric: a primary acting as a worker is refused by the authorization gate —
-loud and self-correcting — while a member acting as the primary ends its turn with no `fleet_reply`,
+on a clean env, so its *absence* proves nothing). None of these separate a worker from an architect,
+or a worker from an **observer** — an observer is just as unspawned as a collaborator and carries
+none of these signals either, so only `fleet_whoami` tells the two apart. **And none of them fires
+for a collaborator at all**: every signal in the ladder detects a *spawned* member, while a
+collaborator is a tab a person opened by hand, so it has no charter, no fixed mount name and a
+normal environment. A collaborator — or an observer — that cannot call `fleet_whoami` therefore falls
+to the line below and acts as a worker. That is the safe direction — it under-privileges, and the
+refusals are loud — but it means a collaborator or an observer has no way to learn what it is except
+by asking. **Still unsure ⇒ act as a worker**, the most restricted member role this ladder can name.
+The two mistakes are not symmetric: a primary acting as a worker is refused by the authorization gate
+— loud and self-correcting — while a member acting as the primary ends its turn with no `fleet_reply`,
 and the sender silently receives nothing. Fail toward the recoverable error.
 
 ### Invariants — every role, no exceptions

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

@@ -226,9 +226,8 @@ public final class Fleetd {
      * is the same way — a person's own tab, matched to a configured name, never spawned.
      *
      * <p>Neither a lead nor a collaborator is ever enrolled in {@link MemberPresence} — {@code
-     * FleetMcp} marks presence for every spawned member (worker and architect), deliberately, since
-     * that map doubles as the member roster's availability signal and a lead or collaborator counted
-     * there would show up as an available member. So without the second and third disjuncts a lead or
+     * FleetMcp} marks presence only for a worker, an architect, or the unconfigured-pane floor,
+     * never for a lead or a collaborator. So without the second and third disjuncts a lead or
      * collaborator is permanently un-deliverable: every send to one sat on the gate for
      * {@code READINESS_GRACE_POLLS} (~60s) and then failed having never been typed into the pane.
      *

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

@@ -138,13 +138,15 @@ public final class Authz {
             // fleet_whoami — and carries no secrets: no ticket reply, no pending question, and no
             // other session's turn state. Those live under TASK_READ. METRICS is the separate
             // Prometheus scrape. Both are open to every authenticated role, including a
-            // collaborator.
+            // collaborator and the unconfigured-pane floor.
             case READ, METRICS -> caller.isPrimary() || caller.isWorker() || caller.isArchitect()
-                    || caller.isCollaborator();
+                    || caller.isCollaborator() || caller.isObserver();
 
             // Ticket polling and session status, open to every role READ is open to except a
-            // collaborator: ticket ids are a sequential counter with no owner check, so a holder
-            // could walk every ticket and read another session's delegation reply.
+            // collaborator or an observer. MessageService compares a ticket's creator to the
+            // caller on every read as well, so dropping this gate would not expose another
+            // session's reply — it would move the refusal later and widen what a caller that
+            // never orchestrates can probe.
             case TASK_READ -> caller.isPrimary() || caller.isWorker() || caller.isArchitect();
 
             // fleetd #421: reading held lead-to-lead mail is the primary's alone. An architect

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

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
  *       the case the previous step does not catch: a binding with no live spawned-member session.</li>
  *   <li>A loopback peer PID that maps to an operator-labelled collaborator tab ⇒
  *       {@link Role#COLLABORATOR}, carrying that collaborator's name.</li>
- *   <li>A loopback peer PID that maps to any other herdr pane ⇒ {@link Role#WORKER}. This is
+ *   <li>A loopback peer PID that maps to any other herdr pane ⇒ {@link Role#OBSERVER}. This is
  *       unforgeable (the OS reports the PID, herdr owns the PID→pane map) and is honoured
  *       regardless of auth mode, so enabling auth never breaks the fleet.</li>
  *   <li>Otherwise, under {@code token} mode, a valid bearer token ⇒ {@link Role#PRIMARY}.</li>
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ public final class CallerResolver {
                 // of the above keeps that stronger role.
                 return Principal.collaborator(collaborator, c.terminal(), c.pid());
             }
-            return Principal.worker(c.terminal(), c.pid()); // unforgeable; never token-gated
+            return Principal.observer(c.terminal(), c.pid()); // unforgeable; never token-gated
         }
 
         if (tokenMode) {

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

@@ -88,6 +88,13 @@ public record Principal(Role role, String terminal, long pid, String name) {
         return new Principal(Role.COLLABORATOR, terminal, pid, name);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The unconfigured-pane floor: a loopback caller whose pane matched no other role.
+     */
+    public static Principal observer(String terminal, long pid) {
+        return new Principal(Role.OBSERVER, terminal, pid);
+    }
+
     public boolean isPrimary() {
         return role == Role.PRIMARY;
     }
@@ -104,11 +111,15 @@ public record Principal(Role role, String terminal, long pid, String name) {
         return role == Role.WORKER;
     }
 
+    public boolean isObserver() {
+        return role == Role.OBSERVER;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Whether this caller is a spawned member with its own pane.
      *
-     * <p>Both workers and architects are spawned members. A lead is excluded because recording it
-     * as present would count it as an available member in the roster.
+     * <p>Both workers and architects are spawned members. A lead is not: it is a peer the
+     * operator started and named, never a pane this daemon spawned.
      */
     public boolean isSpawnedMember() {
         return role == Role.WORKER || role == Role.ARCHITECT;
@@ -140,6 +151,7 @@ public record Principal(Role role, String terminal, long pid, String name) {
             case WORKER -> "worker:" + terminal;
             case ARCHITECT -> "architect:" + name;
             case COLLABORATOR -> "collaborator:" + name;
+            case OBSERVER -> "observer:" + terminal;
             case PRIMARY -> name == null ? "primary" : "leader:" + name;
             case ANONYMOUS -> "anonymous";
         };

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

@@ -45,6 +45,17 @@ public enum Role {
      */
     COLLABORATOR,
 
+    /**
+     * A loopback pane that resolved to none of the roles above: not a live spawned member, not a
+     * configured lead, not a bound architect slot, not a configured collaborator tab. Unforgeable
+     * like a worker's — derived from the connection's pane, never from a request argument, and
+     * honoured regardless of auth mode. May {@code READ} and {@code METRICS}, and {@code REPLY}/
+     * {@code ASK} only as its own pane; may not {@code SPAWN}/{@code STOP}/{@code DRAIN}/
+     * {@code HANDOVER}, {@code SEND}, poll a ticket ({@code TASK_READ}), or reach the coordination
+     * broker ({@code COORD_SEND}/{@code COORD_READ}).
+     */
+    OBSERVER,
+
     /** Authenticated as nothing. Authorized for nothing but {@code /healthz}. */
     ANONYMOUS
 }

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

@@ -164,7 +164,13 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
          * The handover file's modified time is not after {@link #open}'s request timestamp, or is
          * older than {@code maxDocAgeSeconds}.
          */
-        HANDOVER_STALE
+        HANDOVER_STALE,
+        /**
+         * This lead terminal already has a roll running: an earlier {@link #confirm} call claimed
+         * it and that roll's continuation has not released it yet. {@code detail} names the lead
+         * terminal and the token that holds the claim.
+         */
+        ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING
     }
 
     /**
@@ -305,6 +311,15 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
      */
     private final Consumer<Runnable> continuationRunner;
     private final Map<String, PendingRollover> pending = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    /**
+     * Lead terminal → the token of the roll currently holding that terminal exclusive, for
+     * {@link #confirm}'s single-flight claim. {@link #confirm} claims an entry here with an
+     * atomic put-if-absent once every other gate has passed, refusing with {@link
+     * RefusalReason#ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING} when a claim is already held; {@link #runRollover}
+     * releases it in a {@code finally}, on both the success and the thrown-exception path. A
+     * terminal absent from this map has no roll currently in flight for it.
+     */
+    private final Map<String, String> rollingByTerminal = 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
@@ -487,6 +502,16 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
             return docCheck;
         }
 
+        // Single-flight claim: atomic put-if-absent, taken only after every other gate has
+        // passed, so a refused confirm() never takes it. A non-null previous value means a
+        // different, still-running roll already holds this lead terminal.
+        String holder = rollingByTerminal.putIfAbsent(p.leadTerminal(), token);
+        if (holder != null) {
+            return RollDecision.refused(RefusalReason.ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING,
+                    "lead terminal " + p.leadTerminal() + " already has a roll running under token "
+                            + holder);
+        }
+
         // 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
@@ -499,7 +524,23 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
         pending.remove(token);
         log.info("lead-rollover: confirmed token={} lead={} — roll scheduled once the calling turn ends",
                 token, callerTerminal);
-        continuationRunner.accept(() -> runRollover(p, cfg));
+        try {
+            continuationRunner.accept(() -> runRollover(p, cfg));
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            // continuationRunner can reject the hand-off itself (e.g. a bounded executor's
+            // RejectedExecutionException) before runRollover ever starts, so runRollover's own
+            // finally — the only other place that releases rollingByTerminal — never runs either.
+            // Release the claim here and overwrite the IN_PROGRESS entry with a terminal outcome,
+            // or this lead terminal could never be rolled again and status() would report
+            // IN_PROGRESS forever for a roll that in fact never started.
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: continuationRunner rejected token={} lead={}: {} — the roll "
+                            + "never started; releasing its claim and reporting it as FAILED",
+                    token, callerTerminal, e.toString(), e);
+            rollingByTerminal.remove(p.leadTerminal(), token);
+            outcomes.put(token, new RollStatus(RollState.FAILED,
+                    "continuationRunner rejected this roll before it ever started: " + e.toString()
+                            + " — the roll never ran; open() a fresh rollover request"));
+        }
         return RollDecision.approved();
     }
 
@@ -539,6 +580,12 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
                     "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"));
+        } finally {
+            // Release the single-flight claim on both the normal return and the thrown-exception
+            // path above — a release only on success would leave this lead terminal unrollable
+            // forever after one failure. The conditional two-argument remove only clears the
+            // entry this roll itself holds, never a different roll's claim on the same terminal.
+            rollingByTerminal.remove(p.leadTerminal(), p.token());
         }
     }
 

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

@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * caller explicitly saying so — never by omitting a {@link CallerResolver} the way the old
      * {@code callers == null} idiom allowed. {@code callers} itself is required either way: even
      * under {@link #UNENFORCED}, the one real {@link CallerResolver} still resolves every caller's
-     * {@link Principal} (so {@code markSpawnedMemberPresent}/{@code recordPrimarySingleton} see a
+     * {@link Principal} (so {@code markTrackedCallerPresent}/{@code recordPrimarySingleton} see a
      * real identity), and {@link #denyFor} is the only thing that changes.
      */
     public enum AuthorizationMode { ENFORCED, UNENFORCED }
@@ -442,10 +442,10 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     // fall back to here — AuthorizationMode governs enforcement, not identity.
                     Principal p = callers.resolve(req.getRemoteAddr(), req.getRemotePort(),
                             req.getHeader("Authorization"));
-                    // CB-532: guard on the ROLE, not on the terminal being null. This excludes a
-                    // lead, which carries its pane too, while including every spawned member role.
-                    // Enrolling a lead would count it as an available member in the roster.
-                    markSpawnedMemberPresent(p, presence);
+                    // Guards on the ROLE, not on the terminal being null — this marks presence for
+                    // a worker, an architect, or the unconfigured-pane floor, and excludes a lead
+                    // or a collaborator even though each carries its own pane too.
+                    markTrackedCallerPresent(p, presence);
                     return McpTransportContext.create(Map.of(
                             CALLER_TERMINAL, orEmpty(p.terminal()),
                             CALLER_PID, Long.toString(p.pid()),
@@ -833,9 +833,14 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return identity;
     }
 
-    /** Mark a connected spawned member available for the injector readiness gate. */
-    static void markSpawnedMemberPresent(Principal caller, MemberPresence presence) {
-        if (caller.isSpawnedMember()) {
+    /**
+     * Mark a caller present for the injector readiness gate, when its deliverability depends on
+     * proving a live MCP contact: a worker, an architect, or the unconfigured-pane floor. A lead
+     * or a collaborator is excluded — each is already deliverable through its own named-registry
+     * entry.
+     */
+    static void markTrackedCallerPresent(Principal caller, MemberPresence presence) {
+        if (caller.isSpawnedMember() || caller.isObserver()) {
             presence.markPresent(caller.terminal());
         }
     }
@@ -1412,6 +1417,14 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
             }
             return text(json(m));
         }
+        if (caller.isObserver()) {
+            // No architect slot, collaborator name, or lead name to report — only the pane itself,
+            // so a peer that already knows this terminal can still address it.
+            if (caller.terminal() != null) {
+                m.put("sessionId", caller.terminal());
+            }
+            return text(json(m));
+        }
         if (!caller.isWorker()) {
             // CB-530: which lead, once more than one pane is configured as one. `role` deliberately
             // still reads "primary" — the fallback ladder in CLAUDE.md keys on it, and a lead IS a

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

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
 
+import java.util.UUID;
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
@@ -101,6 +102,14 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
     /** Reverse rendezvous (CB-205): worker questions awaiting the primary's answer, keyed by {@code turnId}. */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, AskWaiter> asks = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     private final AtomicLong askSeq = new AtomicLong();
+    /**
+     * Minted once per {@code Rendezvous} instance and folded into every {@code turnId} (see
+     * {@link #openAsk(String)}). {@link #askSeq} alone restarts at zero for every instance, so
+     * without this a {@code turnId} minted by one instance could be minted again by another and
+     * resolve to an unrelated ask with no error; this nonce makes that impossible, because an id
+     * minted by one instance can never match the id space of another.
+     */
+    private final String askBootNonce = UUID.randomUUID().toString().substring(0, 6);
     /** Per-session index of the currently-open ask, so duplicate fleet_ask calls coalesce onto one turn. */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, String> openAsksBySession = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
@@ -187,7 +196,7 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
         while (true) {
             AskWaiter[] minted = { null };
             String turnId = openAsksBySession.computeIfAbsent(session, _ -> {
-                String newTurnId = session + "#" + askSeq.incrementAndGet();
+                String newTurnId = session + "#" + askBootNonce + "-" + askSeq.incrementAndGet();
                 CompletableFuture<String> answer = new CompletableFuture<>();
                 AskWaiter waiter = new AskWaiter(session, answer, ownerOf(session));
                 asks.put(newTurnId, waiter);

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

@@ -255,6 +255,10 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
                         handle.id(), handle.terminalId(), resolvedProfile, actualRole, cwd, ownerTerminal, now, now, 0,
                         MemberSession.State.SPAWNING, null, null, handle.charterReceipt(), handle.agentSessionId());
                 registry.put(handle.id(), session);
+                // A presence contact that already arrived for this terminal found no registry
+                // entry to transition and gave up silently. Retry it now that one exists; remove
+                // this call and such a session stays in SPAWNING even though it is present.
+                reconcilePresence(handle.terminalId());
                 handles.put(handle.id(), handle);
                 log.debug("acquired session id={} terminal={} profile={} owner={}",
                         handle.id(), handle.terminalId(), session.profile(), session.ownerTerminal());
@@ -466,6 +470,12 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
                 MemberSession resolved = resolveAgentSessionId(removed, removedHandle);
                 notifyReleased(new ReleaseDetail(resolved.terminalId(), resolved.worktree(),
                         resolved.branch(), snapshotRef, resolved.agentSessionId()));
+                String terminal = removed.terminalId();
+                if (terminal != null && !terminal.isBlank()) {
+                    // Without this, a terminal stays marked present after its pane is gone, so a
+                    // later send to the same id would read as deliverable instead of refused.
+                    presence.forget(terminal);
+                }
             }
         }
         // CB-581: the pane must always stop, even if the dirty check above threw. A session removed
@@ -809,6 +819,10 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
                 handle.charterReceipt(),
                 handle.agentSessionId());
         registry.put(handle.id(), session);
+        // A presence contact that already arrived for this terminal found no registry entry to
+        // transition and gave up silently. Retry it now that one exists; remove this call and
+        // such a session stays in SPAWNING even though it is present.
+        reconcilePresence(handle.terminalId());
         handles.put(handle.id(), handle);
         log.debug("acquired worktree session id={} terminal={} profile={} branch={} path={}",
                 handle.id(), handle.terminalId(), session.profile(), session.branch(), session.worktree());
@@ -983,6 +997,20 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
         transitionByTerminal(terminalId, MemberSession.State.SPAWNING, MemberSession.State.READY);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Completes a newly registered session's {@code SPAWNING -> READY} transition when {@code
+     * terminalId} was already marked present before this ran. A terminal never marked present is
+     * left in {@code SPAWNING}; it reaches {@code READY} normally through {@link #onReady} once
+     * its own contact arrives. Callers must run this only once the session's registry entry is
+     * already visible — {@link #onReady}'s transition matches against that entry, and reconciling
+     * before the entry exists finds nothing to transition.
+     */
+    private void reconcilePresence(String terminalId) {
+        if (terminalId != null && !terminalId.isBlank() && presence.isPresent(terminalId)) {
+            onReady(terminalId);
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Lifecycle hook: a message was delivered into the worker — it is now busy on a turn.
      * The turn count is bumped and the activity timestamp is refreshed. A {@code DONE} session

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/auth/AuthzTest.java

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ class AuthzTest {
     private static final Principal ARCH_DESIGN = Principal.architect("lead-designer", "term_design", 400);
     private static final Principal ARCH_OTHER = Principal.architect("reviewer", "term_review", 500);
     private static final Principal COLLABORATOR = Principal.collaborator("ops", "term_collab", 600);
+    private static final Principal OBSERVER = Principal.observer("term_observer", 700);
 
     @Test
     void anonymousIsAuthorizedForNothing() {
@@ -266,4 +267,49 @@ class AuthzTest {
         assertTrue(WORKER_A.isSpawnedMember());
         assertTrue(ARCH_DESIGN.isSpawnedMember());
     }
+
+    // ── the observer matrix ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    @Test
+    void anObserverMayReadAndScrapeMetrics() {
+        assertTrue(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, READ, null));
+        assertTrue(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, METRICS, null));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void anObserverMayReplyAndAskOnlyAsItsOwnPane() {
+        assertTrue(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, REPLY, "term_observer"), "its own pane is its own");
+        assertTrue(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, ASK, "term_observer"));
+
+        assertFalse(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, REPLY, "term_design"),
+                "an observer must not reply on another pane");
+        assertFalse(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, REPLY, null),
+                "an absent target must not pass the own-session rule");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Every action beyond READ/METRICS/REPLY/ASK, asserted denied for an observer — including
+     * {@code TASK_READ}, which is the entire point of this role: an unconfigured pane must not be
+     * able to poll a ticket or read another session's status.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anObserverIsDeniedEverythingBeyondReadMetricsReplyAndAsk() {
+        for (Authz.Action a : Authz.Action.values()) {
+            if (a == READ || a == METRICS || a == REPLY || a == ASK) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            assertFalse(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, a, "term_observer", target -> true),
+                    "an observer must not " + a + " even when the classifier accepts every target");
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void anObserverIsNotCountedAsAnyOtherRole() {
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isPrimary());
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isWorker());
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isArchitect());
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isCollaborator());
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isSpawnedMember());
+        assertTrue(OBSERVER.isObserver());
+    }
 }

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/auth/CallerResolverTest.java

@@ -57,17 +57,23 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         return members;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * With no roster wired up at all (the simple constructor), a loopback pane that owns a herdr
+     * pane but is not recognised as a live spawned member lands on the {@link Role#OBSERVER} floor
+     * — unforgeable and never token-gated, exactly like a worker's own identity, because it comes
+     * from the same connection-derived pane mapping.
+     */
     @Test
-    void aLoopbackWorkerPaneResolvesToWorkerRegardlessOfAuthMode() {
+    void aLoopbackPaneWithNoLiveRosterResolvesToObserverRegardlessOfAuthMode() {
         Principal underTrust = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity()).resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
         Principal underToken = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), true, "s3cret")
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, underTrust.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, underTrust.role());
         assertEquals("term_a", underTrust.terminal());
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, underToken.role(),
-                "worker identity is unforgeable and must never be token-gated — otherwise enabling "
-                        + "auth would lock the whole fleet out of fleet_reply");
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, underToken.role(),
+                "the floor is unforgeable and must never be token-gated — otherwise enabling auth "
+                        + "would lock every unconfigured pane out of even READ");
         assertEquals("term_a", underToken.terminal());
     }
 
@@ -91,20 +97,20 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void otherPanesRemainWorkersWhenAPinIsSet() {
+    void otherPanesRemainAtTheFloorWhenAPinIsSet() {
         Principal p = CallerResolver.pinnedTo(workerIdentity(), false, null, "term_someone_else")
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
     }
 
     /** The pin is optional config, so an absent or whitespace one must change nothing at all. */
     @Test
-    void aBlankPinLeavesWorkerResolutionUntouched() {
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+    void aBlankPinLeavesFloorResolutionUntouched() {
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 CallerResolver.pinnedTo(workerIdentity(), false, null, "  ").resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 CallerResolver.pinnedTo(workerIdentity(), false, null, null).resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
     }
 
@@ -225,13 +231,13 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
      * mid-scan teardown into a refusal — the real match is still found and resolves as a worker.
      */
     @Test
-    void aHerdrErrorOnANonOwningPaneStillResolvesTheRealWorker() {
+    void aHerdrErrorOnANonOwningPaneStillResolvesTheRealPane() {
         FakeHerdr vanishedElsewhere = new FakeHerdr().processInfoFailsForPane("w2:p9", "pane_not_found");
         ConnectionIdentity id = new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(vanishedElsewhere), _ -> FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID);
 
         Principal p = new CallerResolver(id).resolve("127.0.0.1", 55555, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
     }
 
@@ -275,12 +281,12 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void aPaneAbsentFromTheRegistryIsStillAWorker() {
+    void aPaneAbsentFromTheRegistryFallsToTheObserverFloor() {
         Principal p = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), false, null,
                 Map.of("term_elsewhere", "gpt-sol-5.6"))
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
         assertNull(p.name());
     }
@@ -306,16 +312,16 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void anEmptyRegistryLeavesEveryPaneAWorker() {
+    void anEmptyRegistryLeavesEveryPaneAtTheObserverFloor() {
         Map<String, String> noLeads = null;
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), false, null, Map.of())
                         .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), false, null, noLeads)
                         .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
-        // CB-531: and the same for the live-registry form, whose supplier may also be absent.
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+        // And the same for the live-registry form, whose supplier may also be absent.
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 CallerResolver.withLeads(workerIdentity(), false, null, null)
                         .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
     }
@@ -388,7 +394,7 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         Map<String, String> live = new java.util.HashMap<>();
         CallerResolver r = CallerResolver.withLeads(workerIdentity(), false, null, () -> live);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
 
         live.put("term_a", "gpt-sol-5.6"); // the scanner sees a newly-labelled tab
 
@@ -405,7 +411,7 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
 
         mutable.put("term_a", "sneaky");
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
     }
 
     // ── CB-548: architect slots ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -435,13 +441,13 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void anUnboundPaneStillResolvesAsAWorker() {
+    void anUnboundPaneResolvesToTheObserverFloor() {
         MemberRegistry members = new MemberRegistry(new FleetConfig.Fleet(Map.of(),
                 Map.of("lead-designer", new FleetConfig.Slot("sonnet")), Map.of(), Map.of(), null));
         Principal p = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null,
                 Map::of, members).resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertNull(p.name());
     }
 
@@ -467,7 +473,7 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         CallerResolver r = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null,
                 Map::of, members);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
 
         assertTrue(members.bind("architect:lead-designer", "term_a")); // the later lifecycle binds the slot
 
@@ -494,12 +500,13 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void aBoundNonArchitectSlotStillResolvesAsAWorker() {
+    void aBoundNonArchitectSlotResolvesToTheObserverFloorNotArchitect() {
         Principal p = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null,
                 Map::of, boundMembers("dev:builder", MemberRole.DEV))
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role(), "a dev binding must never grant architect rights");
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role(), "a dev binding must never grant architect rights, "
+                + "and this construction path wires no roster to recognise it as the live dev it is");
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -510,17 +517,17 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> new CallerResolver(id, true, "  "));
     }
     @Test
-    void aWorkerOnAnyLoopbackSourceAddressIsStillAWorkerNotThePrimary() {
-        // fleetd #305: the escalation. ConnectionIdentity used to accept only 127.0.0.1, so a
-        // worker connecting from 127.0.0.2 resolved to no terminal, and this resolver's own
-        // (wider) loopback check then made it the PRIMARY — granting spawn, stop, send and drain.
-        // Measured on the Linux fleet host: binding a source of 127.0.0.2 succeeds there, so the
-        // path is real and not theoretical.
+    void aPaneOnAnyLoopbackSourceAddressIsStillAtTheFloorNotThePrimary() {
+        // fleetd #305: the escalation this guards against. ConnectionIdentity used to accept only
+        // 127.0.0.1, so a pane connecting from 127.0.0.2 resolved to no terminal, and this
+        // resolver's own (wider) loopback check then made it the PRIMARY — granting spawn, stop,
+        // send and drain. Measured on the Linux fleet host: binding a source of 127.0.0.2 succeeds
+        // there, so the path is real and not theoretical.
         CallerResolver r = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), false, null);
         for (String src : new String[]{"127.0.0.1", "127.0.0.2", "127.1.2.3", "::ffff:127.0.0.2"}) {
             Principal p = r.resolve(src, 55555, null);
-            assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role(), "a worker must stay a worker from source " + src);
-            assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal(), "worker terminal from source " + src);
+            assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role(), "the pane must stay off PRIMARY from source " + src);
+            assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal(), "pane terminal from source " + src);
         }
     }
 
@@ -826,14 +833,14 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
     }
 
-    /** Regression: an empty collaborator registry leaves every pane exactly as before. */
+    /** Regression: an empty collaborator registry leaves every pane at the unconfigured-pane floor. */
     @Test
-    void anEmptyCollaboratorRegistryLeavesEveryPaneAsBefore() {
+    void anEmptyCollaboratorRegistryLeavesEveryPaneAtTheObserverFloor() {
         Principal p = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null, Map::of,
                         new MemberRegistry(null), t -> null, Map::of)
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertNull(p.name());
     }
 
@@ -862,6 +869,39 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertFalse(r.knownLeadOrCollaborator().test("term_other"));
     }
 
+    // ── fleetd #705: narrowing the unconfigured-pane floor to OBSERVER ──────────────────────────
+
+    /**
+     * The case this ticket exists for: a pane the resolver cannot place as a live spawned member,
+     * a lead, a bound architect slot, or a configured collaborator must land on the narrow
+     * {@link Role#OBSERVER} floor, never the {@link Role#WORKER} the old fallback granted.
+     *
+     * <p>The second assertion is the control the ticket requires: a terminal the roster DOES
+     * recognise as a live spawned member must still resolve its own role. Without it, this test
+     * would also pass if the fix accidentally turned every caller into an observer.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anUnconfiguredPaneResolvesObserverButARegisteredMemberStillResolvesItsOwnRole() {
+        Principal unconfigured = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity()).resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, unconfigured.role(),
+                "a pane matching none of the configured or live-roster roles must fall to the "
+                        + "floor, not WORKER");
+        assertEquals("term_a", unconfigured.terminal());
+
+        Principal registered = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null,
+                        Map::of, new MemberRegistry(null),
+                        t -> "term_a".equals(t) ? MemberRole.DEV : null, Map::of)
+                .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
+        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, registered.role(),
+                "control: a live spawned member must keep resolving its own role, never the "
+                        + "unconfigured-pane floor");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void describeNamesTheObserverByItsPane() {
+        assertEquals("observer:term_a", Principal.observer("term_a", 1).describe());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void knownLeadOrCollaboratorIsFalseForASpawnedMembersTerminal() {
         // The exact scenario a collaborator's SEND must never reach: a live spawned member's own

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/auth/MemberRegistryLiveTest.java

@@ -295,9 +295,10 @@ class MemberRegistryLiveTest {
         assertTrue(out.applied(), "the reload must actually take effect: " + out.summary());
 
         Principal after = resolver.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, after.role(),
-                "removing the slot from config must demote the bound session to worker on its "
-                        + "NEXT request — this is the ticket's whole point");
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, after.role(),
+                "removing the slot from config must demote the bound session on its NEXT request — "
+                        + "this harness wires no live roster for term_a, so the demotion lands on "
+                        + "the unconfigured-pane floor");
         assertEquals("term_a", after.terminal(), "same pane, same terminal — only the role changed");
     }
 

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

@@ -1305,8 +1305,12 @@ class LeadRolloverTest {
         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);
+            // a distinct terminal per iteration: confirm() single-flights per lead terminal, so
+            // reusing LEAD here would refuse every roll after the first instead of building up
+            // OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP+50 simultaneously in-flight entries.
+            String terminal = "term_cap_" + i;
+            LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(terminal, "context is full #" + i);
+            LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(terminal, pending.token(), true);
             assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "roll #" + i + " should have been approved: " + decision.detail());
             tokens[i] = pending.token();
         }
@@ -1447,4 +1451,195 @@ class LeadRolloverTest {
         assertTrue(status.detail().contains("HerdrException"), "the detail must name the exception "
                 + "so an operator reading status() has something to act on: " + status.detail());
     }
+
+    // ---- fleetd #726 unit 3: confirm() single-flights per lead terminal -----------------------
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[SINGLE-FLIGHT 1] a second confirm() for the SAME lead terminal is refused with "
+            + "ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING while the first roll is still in flight, continuationRunner ran "
+            + "exactly once, and the claim is released once that first roll finishes")
+    void secondConfirmForSameTerminalIsRefusedWhileFirstRollIsStillInFlight() 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 first = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision firstDecision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, first.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(firstDecision.accepted(), "expected approval; got: " + firstDecision.reason()
+                + " / " + firstDecision.detail());
+        assertEquals(1, runner.heldCount(), "sanity: the first roll is held, not run yet");
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover second = rollover.open(LEAD, "a second request for the same terminal");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision secondDecision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, second.token(), true);
+
+        assertFalse(secondDecision.accepted());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RefusalReason.ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING, secondDecision.reason());
+        assertTrue(secondDecision.detail().contains(LEAD), "the refusal detail must name the lead "
+                + "terminal: " + secondDecision.detail());
+        assertTrue(secondDecision.detail().contains(first.token()), "the refusal detail must name "
+                + "the token holding the claim: " + secondDecision.detail());
+        assertEquals(1, runner.heldCount(), "the refused confirm() must never have reached "
+                + "continuationRunner — it ran exactly once, for the first roll only");
+
+        runner.runNext(); // let the first (and only) held roll finish
+        assertEquals(2, promptCallCount(herdr), "continuationRunner ran exactly once: /clear then "
+                + "bootstrapText, for the first roll only");
+
+        // The claim must have been released once the first roll's continuation finished — a
+        // fresh request for the SAME terminal is now approved.
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover third = rollover.open(LEAD, "retry after the first roll finished");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision thirdDecision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, third.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(thirdDecision.accepted(), "the claim must have been released once the first "
+                + "roll finished: " + thirdDecision.reason() + " / " + thirdDecision.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[SINGLE-FLIGHT 2] two DIFFERENT lead terminals confirm without either being "
+            + "refused, and the continuation runs once per terminal")
+    void differentLeadTerminalsConfirmIndependently() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr(); // default idle — both rolls complete
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(herdr, cfg(handover.toString()), fixedClock(clock));
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover a = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover b = rollover.open(OTHER_LEAD, "context is full too");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision aDecision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, a.token(), true);
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision bDecision = rollover.confirm(OTHER_LEAD, b.token(), true);
+
+        assertTrue(aDecision.accepted(), "expected approval; got: " + aDecision.reason() + " / " + aDecision.detail());
+        assertTrue(bDecision.accepted(), "expected approval; got: " + bDecision.reason() + " / " + bDecision.detail());
+        assertEquals(4, promptCallCount(herdr), "both rolls ran to completion — /clear and "
+                + "bootstrapText, once per terminal");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[SINGLE-FLIGHT 3] a confirm() refused for OPERATOR_NOT_CONFIRMED does not take "
+            + "the single-flight claim — a later valid confirm on the same terminal is still approved")
+    void refusedConfirmDoesNotTakeTheClaim() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        LeadRollover rollover = newRollover(herdr, cfg(handover.toString(), true), fixedClock(clock));
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision refused = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), false);
+        assertFalse(refused.accepted());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RefusalReason.OPERATOR_NOT_CONFIRMED, refused.reason());
+
+        // the same token stays pending after a gate refusal — retrying it with operator
+        // confirmation must succeed, proving the earlier refusal never took the claim.
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision approved = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(approved.accepted(), "a confirm() refused for an existing gate must never have "
+                + "taken the single-flight claim: " + approved.reason() + " / " + approved.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[SINGLE-FLIGHT 4] a roll whose continuation throws a RuntimeException still "
+            + "releases the claim — a fresh confirm() on that terminal is approved afterwards")
+    void throwingContinuationStillReleasesTheClaim() 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 first = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, first.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(first.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.FAILED, status.state(), "sanity: the continuation threw "
+                + "and left a terminal FAILED outcome: " + status.detail());
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover second = rollover.open(LEAD, "retry after the failure");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision retryDecision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, second.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(retryDecision.accepted(), "the claim must have been released even though the "
+                + "continuation threw — a release only on the success path would leave this lead "
+                + "terminal unrollable forever after one failure: " + retryDecision.reason() + " / "
+                + retryDecision.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[SINGLE-FLIGHT 5] cancel(token) after a successful confirm(token) returns false "
+            + "and does not release the claim held by that roll")
+    void cancelAfterConfirmDoesNotReleaseTheClaim() 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());
+
+        assertFalse(rollover.cancel(pending.token()), "confirm() already removed the token from "
+                + "pending, so cancel() must find nothing for it");
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover another = rollover.open(LEAD,
+                "a second request while the first roll is still held");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision anotherDecision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, another.token(), true);
+        assertFalse(anotherDecision.accepted(), "cancel() on the already-confirmed token must not "
+                + "have released the claim held by that roll");
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RefusalReason.ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING, anotherDecision.reason());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[SINGLE-FLIGHT 6] a continuationRunner that rejects the hand-off still releases "
+            + "the claim and leaves a terminal FAILED outcome, not a stuck IN_PROGRESS")
+    void continuationRunnerThatRejectsTheHandOffStillReleasesTheClaim() throws IOException {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Path handover = writeHandover("handover contents");
+        AtomicLong clock = new AtomicLong(1_000);
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        // A continuationRunner that rejects every hand-off, standing in for e.g. a bounded
+        // executor's RejectedExecutionException — the continuation never runs, so runRollover's
+        // own finally never gets a chance to release the claim either.
+        LeadRollover rollover = new LeadRollover(agents, () -> cfg(handover.toString()), _ -> null,
+                fixedClock(clock), () -> { },
+                r -> { throw new RuntimeException("simulated continuationRunner rejection"); });
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open(LEAD, "context is full");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, pending.token(), true);
+
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "every gate passed before the hand-off itself rejected — "
+                + "confirm() treats that rejection the same way it treats a throw INSIDE the "
+                + "continuation: logged and surfaced only through status(), never as a refusal here: "
+                + decision.reason() + " / " + decision.detail());
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.FAILED, status.state(), "a rejected hand-off must leave "
+                + "a TERMINAL outcome, never a stuck IN_PROGRESS — status() would otherwise have no "
+                + "way to tell a roll that never started from one still genuinely running: got "
+                + status.state() + " / " + status.detail());
+        assertNotEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.IN_PROGRESS, status.state());
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover retry = rollover.open(LEAD, "retry after the rejected hand-off");
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision retryDecision = rollover.confirm(LEAD, retry.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(retryDecision.accepted(), "the claim must have been released even though "
+                + "continuationRunner itself threw before the continuation ever ran — otherwise "
+                + "this lead terminal could never be rolled again: " + retryDecision.reason() + " / "
+                + retryDecision.detail());
+    }
 }

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

@@ -1920,8 +1920,8 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         Principal architect = Principal.architect("lead-designer", "term_design", 400);
         MemberPresence presence = new MemberPresence();
 
-        FleetMcp.markSpawnedMemberPresent(worker, presence);
-        FleetMcp.markSpawnedMemberPresent(architect, presence);
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(worker, presence);
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(architect, presence);
 
         assertTrue(presence.isPresent("term_worker"));
         assertTrue(presence.isPresent("term_design"));
@@ -1932,12 +1932,27 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         Principal lead = Principal.leader("opus", "term_lead", 100);
         MemberPresence presence = new MemberPresence();
 
-        FleetMcp.markSpawnedMemberPresent(lead, presence);
-        FleetMcp.markSpawnedMemberPresent(Principal.anonymous(), presence);
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(lead, presence);
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(Principal.anonymous(), presence);
 
         assertFalse(presence.isPresent("term_lead"));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The item whose absence would be silent: an observer's own MCP contact must still mark
+     * presence, or a pane resolving to the unconfigured-pane floor would sit on the injector
+     * readiness gate forever once something addresses it.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anObserverContactMarksPresence() {
+        Principal observer = Principal.observer("term_observer", 800);
+        MemberPresence presence = new MemberPresence();
+
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(observer, presence);
+
+        assertTrue(presence.isPresent("term_observer"));
+    }
+
     @Test
     void statusReportsLiveAgentStatus() {
         FakeHerdr blocked = new FakeHerdr().agentStatus("blocked");
@@ -2149,6 +2164,27 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertTrue(leadOut.contains("\"leader\":\"opus\""), leadOut);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * An observer reports its own role and pane, never a {@code leader} key. Without an explicit
+     * branch it would reach the lead branch by elimination and look right only because the
+     * {@code leader} key is guarded on a non-null name — this pins the branch rather than the
+     * accident.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void whoamiReportsAnObserverNotALead() {
+        FakeHerdr h = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(h, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"));
+
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.whoami(
+                Principal.observer("term_observer", 900), sessions);
+
+        assertNotEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError());
+        String out = textOf(res);
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"role\":\"observer\""), out);
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"sessionId\":\"term_observer\""), out);
+        assertFalse(out.contains("leader"), out);
+    }
+
     /**
      * CB-548: an architect SEND delegates as its own pane (recording the per-target delegation) but
      * must NEVER become the legacy singleton "primary" fallback — the per-target map does not cure

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

@@ -191,6 +191,53 @@ class RendezvousTest {
         assertNull(rendezvous.askOwner(t.turnId()), "a closed ask no longer reports an owner");
     }
 
+    // ── fleetd #729: per-boot nonce guards turnId against cross-instance reuse ────────────────
+
+    @Test
+    void twoInstancesMintDisjointTurnIds() {
+        Rendezvous other = new Rendezvous();
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket fromThis = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket fromOther = other.openAsk(W);
+        assertNotEquals(fromThis.turnId(), fromOther.turnId(),
+                "each instance mints its own id space, so even a first ask from each must differ");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void foreignInstanceTurnIdDoesNotResolve() {
+        Rendezvous other = new Rendezvous();
+
+        // `other` must reach the same sequence number as `rendezvous` (two asks each, the first
+        // closed so the second mints fresh), or this test passes against an empty map instead of
+        // against a colliding id.
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket firstFromThis = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        rendezvous.closeAsk(firstFromThis.turnId());
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket secondFromThis = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket firstFromOther = other.openAsk(W);
+        other.closeAsk(firstFromOther.turnId());
+        other.openAsk(W);
+
+        // control: the id resolves in the instance that minted it, so a false below cannot be
+        // explained by broken plumbing — only by the turnId being foreign to `other`.
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.answerAsk(secondFromThis.turnId(), "answer from this instance"),
+                "the minting instance must still resolve its own turnId");
+        assertFalse(other.answerAsk(secondFromThis.turnId(), "answer from other instance"),
+                "a turnId minted by a different instance must not resolve here");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void openAskStillCoalescesDuplicatesAndStillMintsDistinctIdsPerAsk() {
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket t1 = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket t2 = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        assertEquals(t1.turnId(), t2.turnId(),
+                "a second openAsk while one is open still coalesces onto the same turn");
+        assertFalse(t2.fresh(), "the coalesced ask is still reported as not fresh");
+
+        rendezvous.closeAsk(t1.turnId());
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket t3 = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        assertNotEquals(t1.turnId(), t3.turnId(), "two asks from the same session still get different turnIds");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void ownerPermitsIsFailClosedOnARecordAndThreeStatesAreDistinct() {
         assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(null, null),

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

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.CallerResolver;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Authz;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.MemberRegistry;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Principal;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Role;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.FleetMetrics;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.Metrics;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.MessageService;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.Rendezvous;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.MemberRole;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.FakeWorktrees;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher;
@@ -520,6 +522,11 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
      * As {@link #startOnSharedService(MessageService, FakeHerdr, long)}, but {@code leadTerminals}
      * resolves the given pid's terminal to a named lead (a caller with SEND permission) instead of
      * a plain worker, for a test that needs a terminal-bearing caller able to create a ticket.
+     *
+     * <p>Every connecting pane not already claimed by {@code leadTerminals} is wired into the live
+     * roster as a spawned worker, so a caller's resolved role matches what its own test expects:
+     * a {@link Role#WORKER}, never the unconfigured-pane {@link Role#OBSERVER} floor a roster-less
+     * resolver would otherwise fall to.
      */
     private Javalin startOnSharedService(MessageService messages, FakeHerdr herdr, long pid,
             Map<String, String> leadTerminals) {
@@ -534,7 +541,8 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
         SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workers, new FakeWorktrees());
         ConnectionIdentity identity = new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(herdr), _ -> pid);
         CallerResolver callers = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(identity, false, null,
-                () -> leadTerminals, new MemberRegistry(null));
+                () -> leadTerminals, new MemberRegistry(null),
+                t -> leadTerminals.containsKey(t) ? null : MemberRole.DEV, Map::of);
         Metrics appMetrics = FleetMetrics.create(sessions, new dev.ltms.fleet.msg.InMemoryReplyInbox());
 
         return new FleetApp(herdr, workers, sessions, messages, sessions.asPresence(), null,

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

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.session;
+
+import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.MemberPresence;
+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 java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+/**
+ * {@link PeerLauncher} decorator that marks presence for a spawned terminal before returning its
+ * handle to the caller — the contact-then-register ordering fleetd #722 covers, where the
+ * terminal's MCP contact lands before {@link SessionManager#acquire} runs its own
+ * {@code registry.put}. The presence view is set after construction, via {@link #presence},
+ * because it is owned by the {@link SessionManager} this launcher is passed into.
+ */
+final class PresenceRacingLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
+
+    private final PeerLauncher delegate;
+    volatile MemberPresence presence;
+
+    PresenceRacingLauncher(PeerLauncher delegate) {
+        this.delegate = delegate;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public PeerHandle spawn(SpawnRequest req) {
+        PeerHandle handle = delegate.spawn(req);
+        presence.markPresent(handle.terminalId());
+        return handle;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public PeerHandle spawn(SpawnRequest req, PlacementDecision decision) {
+        PeerHandle handle = delegate.spawn(req, decision);
+        presence.markPresent(handle.terminalId());
+        return handle;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Set<Capability> capabilities() {
+        return delegate.capabilities();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Set<Capability> capabilitiesFor(String profileName) {
+        return delegate.capabilitiesFor(profileName);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Set<String> profiles() {
+        return delegate.profiles();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String defaultProfile() {
+        return delegate.defaultProfile();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String effectiveCwd(SpawnRequest req) {
+        return delegate.effectiveCwd(req);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public List<String> parityOverlay(String profileName) {
+        return delegate.parityOverlay(profileName);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public List<?> list() {
+        return delegate.list();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int reapOrphanWorkers() {
+        return delegate.reapOrphanWorkers();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void stop(String id) {
+        delegate.stop(id);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean clearContext(String id) {
+        return delegate.clearContext(id);
+    }
+}

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

@@ -422,6 +422,53 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                 "turn completion moves BUSY → DONE");
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #722: registration and presence must reach READY whichever lands first --------
+
+    @Test
+    void registerThenContactReachesReadyForPlainSpawn() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(session.terminalId());
+
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.READY, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "a presence contact that arrives after registration reaches READY");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void contactThenRegisterStillReachesReadyForPlainSpawn() {
+        // The racing launcher marks presence for the spawned terminal from inside spawn() —
+        // before SessionManager.acquire's own registry.put runs — modeling an MCP contact that
+        // lands in that window.
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FleetConfig.Profile cfg = new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "ltms-local", "http://gx00.gw:8000", "coder", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN",
+                List.of("ccs", "ltms-local"), "tab", "fleetd-workers",
+                "worker: {profile} #{n}", null, null, null);
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher workers = new ClaudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), Map.of(cfg.profile(), cfg), cfg.profile(), _ -> null);
+        PresenceRacingLauncher race = new PresenceRacingLauncher(workers);
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(race);
+        race.presence = sessions.asPresence();
+
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.READY, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "a presence contact that lands before registry.put must still reach READY");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aTerminalNeverMarkedPresentStaysSpawningAfterRegistration() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.SPAWNING, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "registration alone must not advance a terminal that was never marked present");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void releaseTearsDownWorkerAndRemovesFromRosterAndIsIdempotent() {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
@@ -1405,6 +1452,105 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                         + "dirty check threw");
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #736: a release must forget the member's presence entry, not just its registry
+    // row ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseByPaneIdForgetsThePresenceEntry() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+        String terminal = session.terminalId();
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(terminal);
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal), "present before the release");
+
+        sessions.release(session.paneId());
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal),
+                "release must forget the terminal's presence, not just remove its registry row");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void reapIdleForgetsThePresenceEntryToo() {
+        long[] clock = {0};
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, () -> clock[0]);
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+        String terminal = session.terminalId();
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(terminal);
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal), "present before the reap");
+
+        clock[0] = 11;
+        assertEquals(1, sessions.reapIdle(10), "READY session past TTL is reaped");
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal),
+                "the idle-reap release path (releaseIfCurrent) goes through the same teardown "
+                        + "funnel as an explicit release, so it must forget presence too");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void shutdownDrainAlsoForgetsThePresenceEntry() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+        String terminal = session.terminalId();
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(terminal);
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal), "present before the drain");
+
+        sessions.drainAll(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toNanos(100));
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal),
+                "a shutdown drain still ends the member's process, so presence must be cleared "
+                        + "exactly as it is for any other release cause");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseOfAnUnknownPaneIdDoesNotThrow() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+
+        assertDoesNotThrow(() -> sessions.release("no-such-pane"),
+                "releasing a pane id that was never registered must be a no-op, not a throw");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseStillForgetsPresenceWhenDirtyCheckThrows() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("fleetd-736", null));
+        String terminal = s.terminalId();
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(terminal);
+        worktrees.failHasUncommittedWith(new WorktreeException("git status exited 128"));
+
+        assertDoesNotThrow(() -> sessions.release(s.paneId()),
+                "a throwing dirty check must not abort the release");
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal),
+                "presence must be forgotten even when the dirty check throws, which pins the "
+                        + "forget call to the finally block that runs no matter what happened above");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseLeavesADifferentStillLiveMembersPresenceUntouched() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession released = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/a", "ownerA");
+        MemberSession stillLive = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/b", "ownerB");
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(released.terminalId());
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(stillLive.terminalId());
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(stillLive.terminalId()),
+                "present before the release of the other member");
+
+        sessions.release(released.paneId());
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(released.terminalId()),
+                "the released terminal is forgotten");
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(stillLive.terminalId()),
+                "a still-live member's presence must survive an unrelated release");
+    }
+
     // --- fleetd #316: the dirty check must be re-taken after the worker is stopped, not trusted
     // stale from before it ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

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

@@ -159,6 +159,40 @@ class WorktreeSessionManagerTest {
         assertEquals(expectedPath, s.cwd(), "session cwd is the worktree path");
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #722: registration and presence must reach READY whichever lands first --------
+
+    @Test
+    void registerThenContactReachesReadyForWorktreeSpawn() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FakeWorktrees worktrees = new FakeWorktrees().withRepoRoot("/repo").withPrefix("/wt");
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workerService(herdr), worktrees);
+
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", "term_primary",
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-722", null));
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(session.terminalId());
+
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.READY, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "a presence contact that arrives after worktree registration reaches READY");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void contactThenRegisterStillReachesReadyForWorktreeSpawn() {
+        // The racing launcher marks presence for the spawned terminal from inside spawn() —
+        // before SessionManager.acquireWithWorktree's own registry.put runs — modeling an MCP
+        // contact that lands in that window.
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FakeWorktrees worktrees = new FakeWorktrees().withRepoRoot("/repo").withPrefix("/wt");
+        PresenceRacingLauncher race = new PresenceRacingLauncher(workerService(herdr));
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(race, worktrees);
+        race.presence = sessions.asPresence();
+
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", "term_primary",
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-722", null));
+
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.READY, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "a presence contact that lands before worktree registration must still reach READY");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void worktreeArchitectAcquireAlsoBindsItsSlot() {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();