fleetd #726: name RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY in the IN_PROGRESS terminal-state list

The javadoc on RollState.IN_PROGRESS enumerates the terminal states the entry
can be overwritten with, and omitted RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY. That state is
reachable at LeadRollover.java:710, so the list told a reader a state could not
occur when it can. Found by a reviewer on PR #742, outside its assigned scope.

Comment only; no behaviour change.

.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/fleetd.example.yaml

@@ -99,17 +99,17 @@ bind:
 #   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
-# own pane and bootstrap a fresh session against that file.
+# without an operator doing it by hand. A lead writes a handover file, then asks fleetd to end its
+# own pane, launch a fresh one, and bootstrap that fresh session against the handover file.
 #
-# Opt-in on purpose — it clears the lead's own pane on request, so upgrading the daemon must never
-# acquire that ability for you. Absent block = feature off, and nothing is constructed at all. Even
-# once present, nothing but an explicit confirm() call — one that passes every check — can ever
-# cause a /clear: there is no recurring timer, heartbeat or scheduler anywhere in this feature that
-# fires one on its own initiative. confirm() itself is called FROM the calling lead's own turn, so
-# it cannot clear the pane inline (that pane is still WORKING); instead it schedules a one-shot
+# Opt-in on purpose — it tears down the lead's own pane on request, so upgrading the daemon must
+# never acquire that ability for you. Absent block = feature off, and nothing is constructed at all.
+# Even once present, nothing but an explicit confirm() call — one that passes every check — can ever
+# tear a pane down: there is no recurring timer, heartbeat or scheduler anywhere in this feature that
+# fires one on its own initiative. confirm() itself is called FROM the calling lead's own turn, so it
+# cannot act on the pane inline (that pane is still WORKING); instead it schedules a one-shot
 # continuation that waits for the SAME confirm() call's turn to end, then does the actual work. See
-# dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover's class javadoc for the exact order (fleetd #480 correction).
+# dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover's class javadoc for the exact order.
 #
 # handoverPath: REQUIRED when this block is present — where the handover file a fresh lead session
 #               reads must live. No default (an operator-specific path); a present block with no
@@ -118,25 +118,30 @@ bind:
 #               working directory when that lead has none configured) — never against whatever
 #               directory the daemon process happens to have been started in. An absolute path is
 #               used unchanged. Prefer an absolute path if the daemon and the lead's pane might not
-#               share a working directory (fleetd #480 follow-up).
+#               share a working directory.
 # requireOperatorConfirm: true    # default true — confirm() refuses unless the caller also passes
 #                                 # operatorConfirmed: true
 # maxDocAgeSeconds: 3600          # default 3600 — refuse a handover file older than this
 # turnSettleSeconds: 20           # default 20 — how long the deferred roll waits for the CALLING
 #                                 # lead's own turn to end (its pane to report injectable again)
-#                                 # before sending /clear at all. If this elapses, /clear is NEVER
-#                                 # sent — a lead that never goes idle is still doing real work.
-# clearSettleSeconds: 20          # default 20 — how long to wait for the pane to become injectable
-#                                 # again AFTER /clear before giving up (never sends bootstrapText
-#                                 # if this elapses). A separate, second wait from turnSettleSeconds.
+#                                 # before tearing the old pane down at all. If this elapses, nothing
+#                                 # is torn down — a lead that never goes idle is still doing real
+#                                 # work.
+# relaunchReadySeconds: 45        # default 45 — bounds two later waits, after the old pane is gone
+#                                 # and a fresh one has been launched: first, for the fresh pane to
+#                                 # reach a real turn boundary (never sends bootstrapText if THIS one
+#                                 # elapses); second, for the new terminal to be recognised as this
+#                                 # lead (bootstrapText is sent either way once the first wait
+#                                 # passes). A separate, later pair of waits from turnSettleSeconds.
 # bootstrapText: "..."            # default names the RESOLVED (absolute) handoverPath — sent to
-#                                 # the lead once its pane settles after /clear
+#                                 # the freshly relaunched lead's pane once it reaches a real turn
+#                                 # boundary
 # leadRollover:
 #   handoverPath: /path/to/handover.md
 #   requireOperatorConfirm: true
 #   maxDocAgeSeconds: 3600
 #   turnSettleSeconds: 20
-#   clearSettleSeconds: 20
+#   relaunchReadySeconds: 45
 #   bootstrapText: "Fresh lead session: read the handover file and carry on."
 
 # Fleet health detection is dormant unless enabled (CB-573). It reads one whole-fleet agent list

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.
      *
@@ -942,21 +941,27 @@ public final class Fleetd {
      *                          cfg.leadHeartbeat()}
      * @param leadAgents        the {@link AgentControl} instance that reaches the LEAD's pane (not
      *                          {@code memberAgents}), normally {@code router.leadAgents()}
+     * @param leadSpaces        the {@link WorkspaceControl} instance that reaches the LEAD's
+     *                          workspace, normally {@code router.leadSpaces()} — used to tear down
+     *                          a rolled lead's old pane and confirm it is gone
+     * @param launcher          starts the fresh lead a roll relaunches once the old one is gone
      * @param config            the live {@link ConfigRef}, captured only inside the returned
-     *                          supplier and the workspace lookup — never dereferenced here
+     *                          supplier and the two lookups below — never dereferenced here
      * @param liveLeadTerminals terminal id → lead NAME for every CURRENTLY recognised lead, normally
      *                          the same {@code leads} supplier {@code main} already builds for
      *                          {@code HerdrRouter}/{@link #leadSeatLookup} — never a value snapshot
      * @return a constructed {@link LeadRollover}, or {@code null} when {@code leadRollover:} is
      *         absent from the startup config
      */
-    static LeadRollover leadRollover(FleetConfig cfg, AgentControl leadAgents, ConfigRef config,
+    static LeadRollover leadRollover(FleetConfig cfg, AgentControl leadAgents,
+            WorkspaceControl leadSpaces, LeadLauncher launcher, ConfigRef config,
             Supplier<Map<String, String>> liveLeadTerminals) {
         if (cfg.leadRollover() == null) {
             return null;
         }
+        Function<String, String> leadNameForTerminal = terminal -> liveLeadTerminals.get().get(terminal);
         Function<String, String> leadWorkspace = terminal -> {
-            String leadName = liveLeadTerminals.get().get(terminal);
+            String leadName = leadNameForTerminal.apply(terminal);
             if (leadName == null) {
                 return null;
             }
@@ -964,7 +969,8 @@ public final class Fleetd {
             FleetConfig.Leader leader = fleet == null ? null : fleet.leaders().get(leadName);
             return leader == null ? null : leader.cwd();
         };
-        return new LeadRollover(leadAgents, () -> config.get().leadRollover(), leadWorkspace);
+        return new LeadRollover(leadAgents, leadSpaces, launcher, () -> config.get().leadRollover(),
+                leadWorkspace, leadNameForTerminal, liveLeadTerminals);
     }
 
     /**

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

@@ -297,11 +297,15 @@ final class FleetdAssembly {
         leadsRef.set(leads);
         collaboratorTerminalsRef.set(collaboratorTerminals);
 
+        // Constructed unconditionally — it is cheap and side-effect free — so a LeadRollover built
+        // below can relaunch a lead even on a boot where herdr was down for the ensureLeads() call.
+        LeadLauncher leadLauncher = new LeadLauncher(router.leadAgents(), router.leadSpaces(), cfg);
+
         // 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();
+            int launched = leadLauncher.ensureLeads();
             if (launched > 0) {
                 log.info("lead auto-launch: {} lead(s) started", launched);
             }
@@ -440,7 +444,8 @@ final class FleetdAssembly {
             heartbeatScheduler.shutdownNow();
         }
         // fleetd #480: lead rollover. Opt-in; absent `leadRollover:` this is never constructed.
-        LeadRollover leadRollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(cfg, router.leadAgents(), config, leads);
+        LeadRollover leadRollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(cfg, router.leadAgents(), router.leadSpaces(),
+                leadLauncher, config, leads);
         MessageService messages = new MessageService(router, injector, rendezvous, replyInbox,
                 pushLoop, metrics);
 

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;
@@ -134,12 +145,32 @@ public record Principal(Role role, String terminal, long pid, String name) {
         return terminal != null && terminal.equals(sessionId);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Stable identity used to own tickets and open turns. The unnamed primary has no owner key so
+     * it can use the message layer's primary-wide ticket access rule.
+     */
+    public String ownerKey() {
+        return switch (role) {
+            case PRIMARY -> name == null ? null : prefixed("leader", name);
+            case WORKER -> prefixed("worker", terminal);
+            case ARCHITECT -> prefixed("architect", terminal);
+            case COLLABORATOR -> prefixed("collaborator", name);
+            case OBSERVER -> prefixed("observer", terminal);
+            case ANONYMOUS -> "anonymous";
+        };
+    }
+
+    private static String prefixed(String role, String identity) {
+        return role + ":" + identity;
+    }
+
     /** Short, non-sensitive description for audit lines and error details. */
     public String describe() {
         return switch (role) {
             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/config/ConfigRef.java

@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
  *       {@code models:} above: {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover} holds a
  *       {@code Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover>} (the same {@code () -> config.get().x()} shape)
  *       and reads {@code handoverPath}/{@code requireOperatorConfirm}/{@code maxDocAgeSeconds}/
- *       {@code turnSettleSeconds}/{@code clearSettleSeconds}/{@code bootstrapText} fresh on every
+ *       {@code turnSettleSeconds}/{@code relaunchReadySeconds}/{@code bootstrapText} fresh on every
  *       {@code open()}/{@code confirm()} call (and on the deferred post-{@code confirm()}
  *       continuation fleetd #480's correction added — see {@code LeadRollover}'s class doc) rather
  *       than capturing them into fields at construction — unlike its closest

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

@@ -1416,17 +1416,16 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      * before anything exists to call — the same fact already true of adding a brand-new
      * {@code profiles:} entry.
      *
-     * <p><strong>{@code turnSettleSeconds} (fleetd #480 correction):</strong> {@code confirm()} is
-     * called FROM the calling lead's own turn, so its pane is still {@code WORKING} the instant
-     * {@code confirm()} validates every gate and schedules the roll. {@code
-     * dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover}'s deferred continuation waits up to this many seconds for
-     * that SAME pane to report {@code IDLE} or {@code DONE} — i.e. for the calling turn to actually
-     * end — before it sends {@code /clear} at all. {@code BLOCKED} does not count: that is a live
-     * turn merely paused, not one that has finished. If that wait times out, no {@code /clear} is
-     * ever sent: a lead that never goes idle is still doing real work, and clearing it would
-     * destroy live context. This is a separate wait from {@code clearSettleSeconds} below, which
-     * bounds the SECOND wait, for the pane to reach {@code IDLE} or {@code DONE} again AFTER
-     * {@code /clear} has already gone out.
+     * <p><strong>{@code turnSettleSeconds}:</strong> {@code confirm()} is called FROM the calling
+     * lead's own turn, so its pane is still {@code WORKING} the instant {@code confirm()} validates
+     * every gate and schedules the roll. {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover}'s deferred
+     * continuation waits up to this many seconds for that SAME pane to report {@code IDLE} or
+     * {@code DONE} — i.e. for the calling turn to actually end — before it ends the old pane's
+     * process at all. {@code BLOCKED} does not count: that is a live turn merely paused, not one
+     * that has finished. If that wait times out, the old pane is never touched: a lead that never
+     * goes idle is still doing real work, and the roll ends that pane's whole process — there is no
+     * way back from this once it runs, so this wait is the only thing standing between "still
+     * working" and "gone".
      *
      * @param handoverPath required when this block is present — where the handover file a fresh
      *                     lead session reads must live. There is no sane non-null default for an
@@ -1447,36 +1446,49 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      *                     attempt can never be mistaken for a fresh one.
      * @param turnSettleSeconds default 300 — bound on how long the deferred roll waits for the
      *                     CALLING lead's own turn to end (its pane to report {@code IDLE} or
-     *                     {@code DONE}) before sending {@code /clear} at all. See the paragraph
-     *                     above.
-     * @param clearSettleSeconds default 20 — bound on how long to wait for the lead's pane to
-     *                     report {@code IDLE} or {@code DONE} again after {@code /clear} before
-     *                     giving up. A roll that times out here never sends {@code bootstrapText}.
+     *                     {@code DONE}) before ending that pane's process at all. See the
+     *                     paragraph above.
+     * @param relaunchReadySeconds default 45 — bound on EACH of two separate waits that run after
+     *                     the old lead's pane has been torn down and a fresh one launched: first,
+     *                     for the fresh pane itself to reach a real turn boundary ({@code IDLE} or
+     *                     {@code DONE}, never merely {@code BLOCKED}) — the safety gate, since
+     *                     typing into a pane that has not finished booting loses the keystrokes;
+     *                     second, for the fresh terminal to show up as a recognised lead, which is
+     *                     bookkeeping rather than a safety gate, so a timeout on this second wait
+     *                     does not withhold {@code bootstrapText} — it is sent once the pane is
+     *                     ready regardless. Recognition comes from the same periodically-refreshed
+     *                     scan {@code LeadTabScanner} already keeps ({@code scanIntervalSeconds},
+     *                     10s live), so a budget has to clear more than one scan interval to leave
+     *                     any real margin for the CLI's own boot time; 20 was rejected for exactly
+     *                     that reason — at a 10s scan interval it only buys two scans. 45 buys
+     *                     roughly four. Only a timeout on the FIRST wait (the pane never becomes
+     *                     ready) withholds {@code bootstrapText}.
      * @param bootstrapText default a sentence naming the RESOLVED handover path — sent to the
-     *                     lead's pane once it settles after {@code /clear}, telling the fresh
-     *                     session where to read the handover and carry on. Left {@code null} here
-     *                     when the operator configures none: the default sentence cannot be built
-     *                     at construction time because it must name the path AFTER {@code
-     *                     dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover#open} has resolved a relative {@code
-     *                     handoverPath} against the calling lead's workspace, which this record has
-     *                     no way to know — see {@link #bootstrapTextFor(String)}.
+     *                     fresh lead's pane once it reaches a real turn boundary after relaunch,
+     *                     telling the fresh session where to read the handover and carry on. Left
+     *                     {@code null} here when the operator configures none: the default sentence
+     *                     cannot be built at construction time because it must name the path AFTER
+     *                     {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover#open} has resolved a relative
+     *                     {@code handoverPath} against the calling lead's workspace, which this
+     *                     record has no way to know — see {@link #bootstrapTextFor(String)}.
      */
     @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
     public record LeadRollover(String handoverPath, Boolean requireOperatorConfirm,
                                 Integer maxDocAgeSeconds, Integer turnSettleSeconds,
-                                Integer clearSettleSeconds, String bootstrapText) {
+                                Integer relaunchReadySeconds, String bootstrapText) {
         public LeadRollover {
             requireOperatorConfirm = requireOperatorConfirm == null || requireOperatorConfirm;
             maxDocAgeSeconds = (maxDocAgeSeconds == null || maxDocAgeSeconds <= 0) ? 3600 : maxDocAgeSeconds;
             turnSettleSeconds = (turnSettleSeconds == null || turnSettleSeconds <= 0) ? 300 : turnSettleSeconds;
-            clearSettleSeconds = (clearSettleSeconds == null || clearSettleSeconds <= 0) ? 20 : clearSettleSeconds;
+            relaunchReadySeconds = (relaunchReadySeconds == null || relaunchReadySeconds <= 0)
+                    ? 45 : relaunchReadySeconds;
             bootstrapText = (bootstrapText == null || bootstrapText.isBlank()) ? null : bootstrapText;
         }
 
         /**
-         * The text actually sent to the lead's pane once it settles after {@code /clear}: the
-         * operator's configured {@link #bootstrapText} when one is set, otherwise the default
-         * sentence built from {@code resolvedHandoverPath}.
+         * The text actually sent to the fresh lead's pane once it reaches a real turn boundary
+         * after relaunch: the operator's configured {@link #bootstrapText} when one is set,
+         * otherwise the default sentence built from {@code resolvedHandoverPath}.
          *
          * @param resolvedHandoverPath the ABSOLUTE path {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover
          *                              #open} already resolved — never the raw configured {@link
@@ -1919,6 +1931,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
             rejectNegativeMaxLoad(yaml);
             rejectAutoCompactWindowOutOfRange(yaml);
             warnConflictingAutoCompactWindows(yaml);
+            warnRetiredClearSettleSecondsKey(yaml);
             rejectMalformedProfilePatterns(yaml);
             rejectUnknownKind(yaml);
             rejectUnknownAuthMode(yaml);
@@ -2342,6 +2355,33 @@ public record FleetConfig(
                 names, String.join(", ", detail));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Warn when a {@code leadRollover:} block still sets the retired {@code clearSettleSeconds}
+     * key. {@link LeadRollover} carries {@code @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)} and no
+     * longer declares that component, so Jackson drops it with no signal of its own — this raw-YAML
+     * check is the only place an operator's now-inert setting is reported at all; by the time a
+     * {@link LeadRollover} instance exists to run a validator against, the key is already gone.
+     *
+     * @param yaml the raw config text
+     */
+    static void warnRetiredClearSettleSecondsKey(String yaml) {
+        Map<?, ?> raw;
+        try {
+            raw = YAML.readValue(yaml, Map.class);
+        } catch (IOException | IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (raw == null || !(raw.get("leadRollover") instanceof Map<?, ?> leadRollover)) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (leadRollover.containsKey("clearSettleSeconds")) {
+            log.warn("leadRollover.clearSettleSeconds is retired and no longer read. Set "
+                    + "leadRollover.relaunchReadySeconds instead: it bounds how long to wait, after "
+                    + "a lead is relaunched, for its pane to become ready and then for it to be "
+                    + "recognised as a lead. Remove clearSettleSeconds from fleetd.yaml.");
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * 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/lead/LeadLauncher.java

@@ -83,6 +83,9 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(LeadLauncher.class);
 
+    /** Attempts {@link #relaunch(String)} makes before giving up and returning {@code null}. */
+    static final int RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS = 3;
+
     private final AgentControl agents;
     private final WorkspaceControl spaces;
     private final FleetConfig cfg;
@@ -201,24 +204,14 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
                 log.info("lead '{}': {} live, {} wanted — nothing to start", name, running, wanted);
                 continue;
             }
-            if (!lead.isCreatable()) {
-                // A lead with a `tab:` but no `profile:` is recognise-only by design: the operator
-                // opens it by hand. Say so once rather than looking like a silent failure.
-                log.info("lead '{}' is not live, and names no profile — it can be recognised but not "
-                        + "launched. Add `profile:` under fleet.leaders.{} to have fleetd start it.",
-                        name, name);
-                continue;
-            }
 
-            FleetConfig.Profile profile = cfg.profiles().get(lead.profile());
-            if (profile == null) {
-                log.warn("lead '{}' names profile '{}', which is not configured — not launching",
-                        name, lead.profile());
+            ResolvedLead resolved = resolveLaunchable(name);
+            if (resolved == null) {
                 continue;
             }
 
             for (int i = running; i < wanted; i++) {
-                if (launch(name, lead, profile)) {
+                if (launch(name, resolved.lead(), resolved.profile()) != null) {
                     started++;
                 }
             }
@@ -226,6 +219,82 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
         return started;
     }
 
+    /** A declared lead paired with the profile it launches on — {@link #resolveLaunchable}'s result. */
+    private record ResolvedLead(FleetConfig.Leader lead, FleetConfig.Profile profile) {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The declared {@code Leader} and its {@code Profile} for {@code name}, read from the config
+     * snapshot this launcher was constructed with.
+     *
+     * @return the resolved pair, or {@code null} (having logged) if {@code name} is not declared
+     *         under {@code fleet.leaders}, that lead names no {@code profile:} (a {@code tab:}-only,
+     *         recognise-only lead), or its {@code profile:} is not configured. Shared by
+     *         {@link #ensureLeads()} and {@link #relaunch(String)} so the three refusals and their
+     *         wording live in one place.
+     */
+    private ResolvedLead resolveLaunchable(String name) {
+        FleetConfig.Leader lead = cfg.fleet().leaders().get(name);
+        if (lead == null) {
+            log.warn("lead '{}' is not declared under fleet.leaders — not launching", name);
+            return null;
+        }
+        if (!lead.isCreatable()) {
+            // A lead with a `tab:` but no `profile:` is recognise-only by design: the operator
+            // opens it by hand. Say so once rather than looking like a silent failure.
+            log.info("lead '{}' names no profile — it can be recognised but not launched. Add "
+                    + "`profile:` under fleet.leaders.{} to have fleetd start it.", name, name);
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        FleetConfig.Profile profile = cfg.profiles().get(lead.profile());
+        if (profile == null) {
+            log.warn("lead '{}' names profile '{}', which is not configured — not launching",
+                    name, lead.profile());
+            return null;
+        }
+        return new ResolvedLead(lead, profile);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Start the named lead from the config snapshot this launcher was constructed with — not a
+     * live read, so a lead's {@code profile:} or {@code tab:} edited in config needs a daemon
+     * restart to take effect here — outside of {@link #ensureLeads()}'s {@code instances}
+     * bookkeeping.
+     *
+     * @return the started {@link Agent}, or {@code null} if {@code name} is not declared under
+     *         {@code fleet.leaders}, that lead names no {@code profile:} (a {@code tab:}-only,
+     *         recognise-only lead), its {@code profile:} is not configured, or every attempt up to
+     *         {@link #RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS} failed to start it. Never throws.
+     *
+     * <p>Does not count how many instances of this lead are already live. {@link #ensureLeads()}'s
+     * count exists to avoid starting a second orchestrator; the caller of this method has already
+     * decided to replace the lead and owns that decision.
+     *
+     * <p>Retries the whole launch attempt — not only the {@code agent_name_taken}/
+     * {@code agent_pane_busy} cases {@link ResilientAgentLaunch} already retries inside one
+     * {@code agents.start} call — up to {@link #RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS} times, sleeping via the
+     * injected sleeper between attempts, and returns the agent from the first attempt that
+     * succeeds.
+     */
+    public Agent relaunch(String name) {
+        ResolvedLead resolved = resolveLaunchable(name);
+        if (resolved == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS; attempt++) {
+            Agent started = launch(name, resolved.lead(), resolved.profile());
+            if (started != null) {
+                return started;
+            }
+            if (attempt < RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS) {
+                sleeper.run();
+            }
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
     /**
      * How many live leads exist per configured name, and which of that name's labelled tabs are
      * <em>not</em> live: a running agent in a tab labelled with that lead's exact {@code tab}
@@ -335,7 +404,7 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Start one lead. Returns false (having logged) rather than throwing on any failure.
+     * Start one lead. Returns null (having logged) rather than throwing on any failure.
      *
      * <p>Goes through the same {@link ResilientAgentLaunch} seam every member spawn uses
      * (fleetd #727): the assembled argv is refused outright if it cannot fit the pane line herdr
@@ -344,7 +413,7 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
      * relaunch, and a seed pane whose shell has not reached its prompt yet ({@code
      * agent_pane_busy}) is retried rather than failing on the first miss.
      */
-    private boolean launch(String name, FleetConfig.Leader lead, FleetConfig.Profile profile) {
+    private Agent launch(String name, FleetConfig.Leader lead, FleetConfig.Profile profile) {
         String label = lead.tabLabel();
         String cwd = (lead.cwd() == null || lead.cwd().isBlank())
                 ? System.getProperty("user.dir") : lead.cwd();
@@ -375,7 +444,7 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
             log.info("lead '{}' launched: profile={} tab={} pane={} terminal={} label='{}' cwd={}",
                     name, profile.profile(), tab.tab().tabId(), started.paneId(),
                     started.terminalId(), label, cwd);
-            return true;
+            return started;
         } catch (RuntimeException e) {
             log.warn("lead '{}' failed to launch on profile '{}': {}",
                     name, profile.profile(), e.getMessage());
@@ -387,7 +456,7 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
                             tab.tab().tabId(), cleanup.getMessage());
                 }
             }
-            return false;
+            return null;
         }
     }
 

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

@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.lead;
 
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
@@ -24,60 +27,69 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
 /**
  * fleetd #480: replace a lead session that has decided it is ready to be rolled over, without an
  * operator doing it by hand. A lead writes a handover file, calls {@link #open}, and then — once
- * 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.
+ * every gate ({@link #confirm}'s own checks) has passed — a deferred, single-shot continuation ends
+ * the lead's own pane, launches a fresh one, and bootstraps that fresh session against the file.
  *
  * <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>
+ * #cancel}, and {@link #status} from a tool call.
  *
- * <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
- * confirm()}, then polled for the pane to become injectable again. That is wrong, because {@code
- * confirm()} is called BY the lead, FROM the lead's own turn: the lead's pane is {@code WORKING}
- * for the whole duration of that call and cannot possibly report injectable until {@code confirm()}
- * itself returns. The poll always timed out — but only after the {@code /clear} had already been
- * sent and queued in the pane, where it fired the instant the turn ended anyway. The result was the
- * worst outcome this feature can produce: a silently destroyed lead context with no fresh session
- * ever started, and a refusal return value that claimed nothing had happened.
- *
- * <p>The fix: {@link #confirm} validates every gate, then does no I/O against the lead's own pane
- * at all — it only records that the request is approved and hands a one-shot continuation to
- * {@code continuationRunner} before returning. That continuation is what actually touches the pane,
- * once the calling turn has ended, in this order:
+ * <p><strong>{@code confirm()} cannot roll inline.</strong> {@code confirm()} is called BY the
+ * lead, FROM the lead's own turn: the lead's pane is {@code WORKING} for the whole duration of that
+ * call and cannot possibly report a real turn boundary until {@code confirm()} itself returns. So
+ * {@link #confirm} validates every gate, then does no I/O against the lead's own pane at all — it
+ * only records that the request is approved and hands a one-shot continuation to {@code
+ * continuationRunner} before returning. That continuation is what actually touches the pane, once
+ * the calling turn has ended, in this order:
  * <ol>
  *   <li>wait for the lead's own pane to report a real turn boundary — {@code IDLE} or {@code
  *       DONE}, never merely {@code BLOCKED} — i.e. wait for the very {@code confirm()} call that
  *       approved this roll to finish its turn — bounded by {@code turnSettleSeconds}. <strong>If
- *       this never happens, nothing else in this list runs: no {@code /clear} is ever sent.</strong>
- *       A lead that never goes idle is a lead still doing real work, and clearing it would throw
- *       away live context — exactly the failure this correction exists to prevent.</li>
- *   <li>{@code agents.send(lead, "/clear")}</li>
- *   <li>wait for {@code /clear} to be picked up and settle, bounded by {@code clearSettleSeconds}
- *       (fleetd #489: no longer a plain re-check of the same boundary — {@code /clear} starts no
- *       turn of its own, so this instead nudges the submit keystroke while no pickup has been seen,
- *       then waits for a real {@code WORKING} → {@code IDLE}/{@code DONE} boundary once one has;
- *       see {@link #waitForClearPickupAndSettle})</li>
- *   <li>{@code agents.send(lead, cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()))}</li>
+ *       this never happens, nothing else in this list runs: the old pane is never touched.</strong>
+ *       A lead that never goes idle is a lead still doing real work, and tearing it down would throw
+ *       away live context.</li>
+ *   <li>capture the old pane id (and, through it, the old tab) from {@link AgentControl#get}, with
+ *       a bounded retry — the terminal-to-pane lookup it goes through can itself report a genuinely
+ *       live agent as not found (see {@code AgentControl#agentCall}'s own re-resolve-once
+ *       behaviour), and one false negative here must not abort an otherwise-healthy roll. Neither id
+ *       is ever re-resolved from the terminal again after this — once the pane below is closed there
+ *       is nothing left to resolve it from.</li>
+ *   <li>resolve the lead's configured name from its terminal, for the relaunch step below.</li>
+ *   <li>end the old session: close the pane (an already-gone pane counts as success; any other
+ *       failure propagates), then close its tab only when the pane was that tab's sole occupant —
+ *       the same pane-then-tab teardown {@code HerdrPeerLauncher#stop} uses for a member.</li>
+ *   <li>confirm the old pane is actually gone by polling {@link
+ *       dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl#locatePane} for a {@code null} result — never {@link
+ *       AgentControl#status}, and never the live-lead terminal map, each of which answers a
+ *       different question. <strong>If the old pane is never confirmed gone, no relaunch is
+ *       attempted</strong> — see {@link RollState#OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED}.</li>
+ *   <li>launch a fresh lead with {@code LeadLauncher#relaunch}. <strong>If every attempt fails,
+ *       {@code bootstrapText} is never sent</strong> — see {@link RollState#RELAUNCH_FAILED}.</li>
+ *   <li>wait for the fresh pane to reach a real turn boundary ({@code IDLE} or {@code DONE},
+ *       never merely {@code BLOCKED}), bounded by {@code relaunchReadySeconds}. This is the
+ *       safety gate: typing into a pane that has not actually finished booting loses the
+ *       keystrokes. <strong>If the pane never becomes ready, {@code bootstrapText} is never
+ *       sent</strong> — see {@link RollState#RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY}.</li>
+ *   <li>wait for the fresh terminal to be recognised as a live lead — present in the live-lead
+ *       terminal map — bounded by {@code relaunchReadySeconds}. This is bookkeeping, not a
+ *       safety gate: {@code bootstrapText} is sent either way once the pane is ready, whether or
+ *       not this wait itself times out — see {@link RollState#RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED}.</li>
+ *   <li>{@code agents.send(newTerminal, cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()))} — sent to the
+ *       FRESH terminal, never the one that was just torn down.</li>
  * </ol>
  * A {@link #confirm} that returns {@link RollDecision#approved()} therefore means <em>"every gate
- * passed and the roll is scheduled"</em>, never <em>"the pane has been cleared"</em> — the pane may
- * still be mid-turn, possibly for a long time, when the caller gets that answer back.
+ * passed and the roll is scheduled"</em>, never <em>"the lead has already been replaced"</em> — the
+ * old pane may still be mid-turn, possibly for a long time, when the caller gets that answer back.
  *
- * <p><strong>The safety invariant survives this change, restated precisely.</strong> The ticket
- * that first defined this class required "no timer, no scheduler, no background thread" so that
- * nothing but an explicit {@link #confirm} call could ever cause a {@code /clear}. That invariant
- * is about INITIATIVE, not about synchronicity, and this correction keeps it: {@code
- * continuationRunner} launches a single-shot task that exists only because one specific,
+ * <p><strong>The safety invariant.</strong> "No timer, no scheduler, no background thread" means
+ * that nothing but an explicit {@link #confirm} call can ever tear a lead's pane down.
+ * {@code continuationRunner} launches a single-shot task that exists only because one specific,
  * already-approved {@link #confirm} call created it — it is not recurring, it is not started at
  * construction time or on any schedule, and no two invocations of it ever share state. A recurring
- * heartbeat or timer that could decide on its own initiative to roll a pane is still, and will
- * always be, absent from this class. <strong>Nothing but an explicit {@link #confirm} call that
- * passes every gate can ever cause a {@code /clear} — that call may simply finish its own work
- * slightly later than the method return, as a continuation of the same approved request, rather
- * than entirely inside the method body.</strong>
+ * heartbeat or timer that could decide on its own initiative to roll a pane is absent from this
+ * class. <strong>Nothing but an explicit {@link #confirm} call that passes every gate can ever tear
+ * a pane down — that call may simply finish its own work slightly later than the method return, as
+ * a continuation of the same approved request, rather than entirely inside the method body.</strong>
  *
  * <p><strong>Identity is resolved by the caller, never looked up here — a second fleetd #480
  * correction.</strong> The first version resolved the pane to clear via {@code
@@ -115,19 +127,17 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(LeadRollover.class);
 
-    /** Poll interval while waiting for the lead's pane to settle after {@code /clear}. */
-    static final long SETTLE_POLL_MS = 250;
+    /** Poll interval shared by every bounded wait in this class. */
+    static final long POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 250;
 
     /**
-     * How many consecutive not-yet-picked-up polls {@link #waitForClearPickupAndSettle} allows
-     * before releasing rather than wedging the roll — the same constant and the same
-     * release-not-wedge choice {@link dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector} already makes for its own
-     * post-turn {@code /clear} housekeeping (fleetd #306). <strong>This bounds the number of
-     * consecutive polls, not the number of nudges:</strong> the first {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS - 1}
-     * of those polls each send a nudge, and the {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS}th releases instead of
-     * nudging again — so 8 polls produce 7 nudges, not 8.
+     * How long {@link #waitUntilPaneGone} polls {@link WorkspaceControl#locatePane} before giving
+     * up on ever seeing the old pane disappear. Not configurable: once {@link #endOldSession} has
+     * closed the pane (and, usually, its tab), herdr dropping the pane from its own bookkeeping is
+     * expected to show up within one or two polls, not on an operator-tunable timescale the way a
+     * CLI boot is.
      */
-    static final int PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS = 8;
+    static final int PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 10;
 
     /**
      * One request opened by {@link #open}, pending its {@link #confirm} (or {@link #cancel}).
@@ -164,15 +174,21 @@ 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
     }
 
     /**
      * The outcome of a {@link #confirm} call. {@link #approved()} means every gate passed and the
-     * roll has been handed to a one-shot continuation — <strong>not</strong> that the pane has been
-     * cleared; the continuation may still be waiting for the calling turn to end when this returns.
-     * Whether the deferred roll itself later goes on to clear the pane, refuse for never going
-     * idle, or refuse for never re-settling after {@code /clear} is logged only (see this class's
+     * roll has been handed to a one-shot continuation — <strong>not</strong> that the lead has
+     * already been replaced; the continuation may still be waiting for the calling turn to end when
+     * this returns. Whether the deferred roll itself later goes on to tear the old pane down and
+     * relaunch the lead, or refuses at any of its own steps, is logged only (see this class's
      * javadoc) — there is deliberately no synchronous caller left by that point to hand a result to.
      */
     public record RollDecision(boolean accepted, RefusalReason reason, String detail) {
@@ -208,7 +224,7 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
 
     /**
      * 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
+     * five 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.
      */
@@ -231,41 +247,64 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
          * #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.
+         * #TURN_NEVER_SETTLED}, {@link #OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED}, {@link #RELAUNCH_FAILED}, {@link
+         * #RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY}, {@link #RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED}, or {@link #FAILED}) once it
+         * finishes — including by throwing, which {@link #runRollover}'s catch 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.
+         * {@link #confirm} was approved and the deferred continuation completed the entire roll: the
+         * calling lead's turn settled, the old pane was torn down and confirmed gone, a fresh lead
+         * was launched and recognised, and {@code bootstrapText} was sent to it.
          */
         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.
+         * (IDLE or DONE) within {@code turnSettleSeconds} — the old pane was never touched at all.
+         * This is the state that makes a lead's own stuck turn VISIBLE: without it, a lead that hit
+         * this case would have 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.
+         * {@link #confirm} was approved and the calling lead's turn settled, the old pane was closed
+         * (and its tab, if it was the sole occupant), but {@link
+         * dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl#locatePane} kept reporting it as still present for
+         * the whole pane-death timeout. No relaunch was ever attempted, and {@code bootstrapText}
+         * was never sent.
          */
-        CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED,
+        OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED,
         /**
-         * 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.
+         * The old pane was confirmed gone, but {@code LeadLauncher#relaunch} returned {@code null}
+         * — every launch attempt failed. {@code bootstrapText} was never sent, and no fresh terminal
+         * exists for this roll to have recognised.
+         */
+        RELAUNCH_FAILED,
+        /**
+         * A fresh lead was launched, but its pane never reached a real turn boundary ({@code IDLE}
+         * or {@code DONE}, never merely {@code BLOCKED}) within {@code relaunchReadySeconds} — the
+         * CLI never finished booting, or it stayed paused on a startup prompt. {@code bootstrapText}
+         * was never sent: typing into a pane that is not actually ready to accept input loses the
+         * keystrokes.
+         */
+        RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY,
+        /**
+         * A fresh lead was launched and its pane reached a real turn boundary, so {@code
+         * bootstrapText} WAS sent to it, but the terminal was never recognised as a live lead —
+         * present in the live-lead terminal map — within {@code relaunchReadySeconds}. The session
+         * itself is alive and bootstrapped; only the daemon's own bookkeeping has not caught up, and
+         * an operator should check why the tab was not recognised.
+         */
+        RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED,
+        /**
+         * The deferred continuation threw a {@link RuntimeException} and the continuation thread
+         * died with it. Without this state, that throw would leave {@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 runs to
+         * write a terminal outcome. {@code detail} names the exception, so a reader has something to
+         * act on. The roll is dead at this point and does not retry itself; a stuck lead must
+         * {@link #open} a fresh request.
          */
         FAILED,
         /**
@@ -286,6 +325,10 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
     public record RollStatus(RollState state, String detail) {}
 
     private final AgentControl agents;
+    /** Workspace/tab/pane control — used to tear down the old pane and confirm it is gone. */
+    private final WorkspaceControl spaces;
+    /** Starts the fresh lead that replaces the one this roll tears down. */
+    private final LeadLauncher launcher;
     private final Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier;
     /**
      * Terminal id → that lead's configured workspace directory (their {@code
@@ -295,8 +338,21 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
      * daemon-cwd bug this parameter exists to fix.
      */
     private final Function<String, String> leadWorkspace;
+    /**
+     * Terminal id → that lead's configured name under {@code fleet.leaders}, or {@code null} when
+     * the terminal names no currently-recognised lead. The deferred continuation calls this, on the
+     * OLD terminal, before tearing it down, so it knows which lead to pass to {@link
+     * LeadLauncher#relaunch}.
+     */
+    private final Function<String, String> leadNameForTerminal;
+    /**
+     * The daemon's current terminal id → lead name map, read fresh on every poll. The deferred
+     * continuation polls this for the FRESH terminal {@link LeadLauncher#relaunch} returns, to
+     * learn when that terminal has been recognised as a live lead — see this class's javadoc.
+     */
+    private final Supplier<Map<String, String>> liveLeadTerminals;
     private final LongSupplier nowMillis;
-    private final Runnable settleSleeper;
+    private final Runnable pollSleeper;
     /**
      * Launches the post-{@code confirm()} continuation. Production uses a single unstarted virtual
      * thread per confirmed request — see this class's javadoc for why that is a single-shot task,
@@ -305,6 +361,15 @@ 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
@@ -323,29 +388,40 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
                 }
             });
 
-    /** Production constructor — wall clock, real sleep between settle polls, a real virtual thread. */
-    public LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
-                         Function<String, String> leadWorkspace) {
-        this(agents, configSupplier, leadWorkspace, System::currentTimeMillis,
-                () -> sleepUninterruptibly(SETTLE_POLL_MS),
+    /** Production constructor — wall clock, real sleep between polls, a real virtual thread. */
+    public LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, WorkspaceControl spaces, LeadLauncher launcher,
+                         Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
+                         Function<String, String> leadWorkspace,
+                         Function<String, String> leadNameForTerminal,
+                         Supplier<Map<String, String>> liveLeadTerminals) {
+        this(agents, spaces, launcher, configSupplier, leadWorkspace, leadNameForTerminal,
+                liveLeadTerminals, System::currentTimeMillis,
+                () -> sleepUninterruptibly(POLL_INTERVAL_MS),
                 r -> Thread.ofVirtual().name("lead-rollover-continuation-").start(r));
     }
 
     /**
-     * Full constructor — an injectable wall-clock supplier, settle-poll sleeper, and continuation
-     * runner, for tests. {@code nowMillis} MUST be a wall-clock source (e.g. {@code
+     * Full constructor — an injectable wall-clock supplier, poll sleeper, and continuation runner,
+     * for tests. {@code nowMillis} MUST be a wall-clock source (e.g. {@code
      * System.currentTimeMillis()}), never {@code System.nanoTime()}: the freshness check compares
      * against a file's modified time, which only a wall clock is comparable to, and {@code
-     * nanoTime} freezes while the host sleeps (fleetd #386).
+     * nanoTime} freezes while the host sleeps.
      */
-    LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
-                 Function<String, String> leadWorkspace, LongSupplier nowMillis,
-                 Runnable settleSleeper, Consumer<Runnable> continuationRunner) {
+    LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, WorkspaceControl spaces, LeadLauncher launcher,
+                 Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
+                 Function<String, String> leadWorkspace,
+                 Function<String, String> leadNameForTerminal,
+                 Supplier<Map<String, String>> liveLeadTerminals,
+                 LongSupplier nowMillis, Runnable pollSleeper, Consumer<Runnable> continuationRunner) {
         this.agents = agents;
+        this.spaces = spaces;
+        this.launcher = launcher;
         this.configSupplier = configSupplier;
         this.leadWorkspace = leadWorkspace;
+        this.leadNameForTerminal = leadNameForTerminal;
+        this.liveLeadTerminals = liveLeadTerminals;
         this.nowMillis = nowMillis;
-        this.settleSleeper = settleSleeper;
+        this.pollSleeper = pollSleeper;
         this.continuationRunner = continuationRunner;
     }
 
@@ -487,6 +563,16 @@ 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
@@ -494,34 +580,48 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
         // 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"));
+                        + "not finished yet — still waiting for the calling turn to settle, for the "
+                        + "old pane to be torn down and confirmed gone, for the fresh lead to be "
+                        + "recognised, 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);
-        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();
     }
 
     /**
      * The single-shot continuation {@link #confirm} hands to {@code continuationRunner}. Runs
      * 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.
+     * full 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><strong>The whole body is wrapped in one {@code try}.</strong> Several calls below —
+     * {@code agents.get}, {@code agents.close}, {@code agents.send} — 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). An uncaught throw would kill the continuation thread
+     * silently, leaving the {@link RollState#IN_PROGRESS} entry {@link #confirm} wrote at hand-off
+     * stuck forever — {@link #status} would have 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
+     * call individually, so it also covers every call in this continuation, not a fixed list of
+     * call sites — the same reasoning that put the write-a-terminal-outcome step at each of this
+     * method's other exits 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
@@ -539,6 +639,12 @@ 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());
         }
     }
 
@@ -546,53 +652,237 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
     private void runRolloverUnguarded(PendingRollover p, FleetConfig.LeadRollover cfg) {
         String lead = p.leadTerminal();
         long rollStartMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
+
         TurnSettleResult turnResult = waitUntilAtTurnBoundary(lead, cfg.turnSettleSeconds());
         if (!turnResult.settled()) {
-            // fleetd #494 follow-up: this line had the SAME defect as the /clear-timeout line below
-            // — cfg.turnSettleSeconds() is the CONFIGURED budget, not how long this wait actually
-            // ran. Print the measured elapsed time alongside it, labelled, exactly like the /clear
-            // path already does.
             log.warn("lead-rollover: pane {} did not reach a turn boundary (IDLE or DONE) after "
-                            + "confirm() — refusing to send /clear at all; the calling lead's own "
-                            + "turn is still live and clearing it now would destroy live context "
+                            + "confirm() — the old pane is never touched; the calling lead's own "
+                            + "turn is still live and tearing it down 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"));
+                            + turnResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — the old pane was never touched. If "
+                            + "this keeps happening, raise turnSettleSeconds in fleetd.yaml"));
             return;
         }
 
-        // This deliberately bypasses Injector, exactly like ClaudeCodeLauncher#clearContext:
-        // /clear is housekeeping, not a delegated turn, and routing it through Injector wedges the
-        // pane forever (see this class's javadoc).
-        agents.send(lead, "/clear");
-        ClearSettleResult clearResult = waitForClearPickupAndSettle(lead, cfg.clearSettleSeconds());
-        if (!clearResult.settled()) {
-            // fleetd #494: cfg.clearSettleSeconds() is the CONFIGURED budget, not how long the wait
-            // actually ran — an operator reading only that number wrongly believes it is a measured
-            // duration. Print the measured elapsed time and nudge count alongside it, each labelled,
-            // so the two can be compared at a glance.
-            log.warn("lead-rollover: pane {} did not reach a turn boundary (IDLE or DONE) after "
-                            + "/clear — NOT sending bootstrapText (token={}, configured={}s "
-                            + "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"));
+        // Captured once, here, and never re-resolved from `lead` again below: once the pane is
+        // closed there is nothing left for a terminal lookup to find.
+        Agent oldAgent = captureAgentWithRetry(lead);
+        String oldPaneId = oldAgent.paneId();
+        String leadName = leadNameForTerminal.apply(lead);
+
+        endOldSession(oldPaneId);
+        DeathResult deathResult = waitUntilPaneGone(oldPaneId);
+        if (!deathResult.gone()) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: old pane {} for lead {} was never confirmed gone after being "
+                            + "closed — not attempting a relaunch (token={}, timeout={}s "
+                            + "elapsed={}ms)",
+                    oldPaneId, lead, p.token(), PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, deathResult.elapsedMillis());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED,
+                    "the old pane was closed, but locatePane kept reporting it as still present "
+                            + "after a pane-death timeout=" + PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
+                            + "s (measured elapsed=" + deathResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — no "
+                            + "relaunch was attempted"));
             return;
         }
-        agents.send(lead, cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()));
+
+        Agent newAgent = launcher.relaunch(leadName);
+        if (newAgent == null) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: relaunch of lead '{}' (old terminal {}) failed every attempt "
+                            + "— bootstrapText was never sent (token={})", leadName, lead, p.token());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.RELAUNCH_FAILED,
+                    "lead '" + leadName + "' could not be relaunched — every attempt failed; "
+                            + "bootstrapText was never sent"));
+            return;
+        }
+
+        ReadinessResult readinessResult = waitUntilPaneReady(newAgent.terminalId(),
+                cfg.relaunchReadySeconds());
+        if (!readinessResult.ready()) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: fresh pane for lead '{}' (terminal {}) never reached a real "
+                            + "turn boundary — bootstrapText was never sent (token={}, configured={}s "
+                            + "elapsed={}ms)",
+                    leadName, newAgent.terminalId(), p.token(), cfg.relaunchReadySeconds(),
+                    readinessResult.elapsedMillis());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY,
+                    "fresh terminal " + newAgent.terminalId() + " never reached a real turn "
+                            + "boundary (IDLE or DONE) within relaunchReadySeconds="
+                            + cfg.relaunchReadySeconds() + "s (measured elapsed="
+                            + readinessResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — bootstrapText was never "
+                            + "sent"));
+            return;
+        }
+
+        IdentityResult identityResult = waitUntilRecognisedAsLead(newAgent.terminalId(),
+                cfg.relaunchReadySeconds());
+        agents.send(newAgent.terminalId(), cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()));
+        if (!identityResult.ready()) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: fresh terminal {} for lead '{}' is alive and bootstrapped, but "
+                            + "was never recognised as a live lead — an operator should check why "
+                            + "the tab was not recognised (token={}, configured={}s elapsed={}ms)",
+                    newAgent.terminalId(), leadName, p.token(), cfg.relaunchReadySeconds(),
+                    identityResult.elapsedMillis());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED,
+                    "bootstrapText was sent to fresh terminal " + newAgent.terminalId() + ", but "
+                            + "it was never recognised as a live lead within relaunchReadySeconds="
+                            + cfg.relaunchReadySeconds() + "s (measured elapsed="
+                            + identityResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — check why the tab was not "
+                            + "recognised"));
+            return;
+        }
+
         long rollElapsedMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong() - rollStartMillis;
-        log.info("lead-rollover: rolled token={} lead={} elapsedMs={}", p.token(), lead, rollElapsedMillis);
+        log.info("lead-rollover: rolled token={} oldLead={} newTerminal={} elapsedMs={}",
+                p.token(), lead, newAgent.terminalId(), rollElapsedMillis);
         outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.ROLLED,
-                "rolled successfully in " + rollElapsedMillis + "ms"));
+                "rolled successfully in " + rollElapsedMillis + "ms; new terminal="
+                        + newAgent.terminalId()));
     }
 
+    /** Attempts {@link #captureAgentWithRetry} makes before letting the failure propagate. */
+    static final int CAPTURE_RETRIES = 3;
+
+    /**
+     * {@link AgentControl#get} for {@code lead}, retried up to {@link #CAPTURE_RETRIES} times. The
+     * terminal-to-pane lookup it goes through can report a genuinely live agent as not found (see
+     * {@code AgentControl#agentCall}'s own re-resolve-once behaviour), and one such false negative
+     * must not abort an otherwise-healthy roll. The result is captured once by the caller and never
+     * looked up again — see this class's javadoc.
+     *
+     * @throws RuntimeException the last failure, if every attempt fails — {@link #runRollover}'s
+     *                           catch turns that into {@link RollState#FAILED}
+     */
+    private Agent captureAgentWithRetry(String lead) {
+        RuntimeException last = null;
+        for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= CAPTURE_RETRIES; attempt++) {
+            try {
+                return agents.get(lead);
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                last = e;
+                log.debug("lead-rollover: agents.get({}) failed on attempt {}/{}: {}",
+                        lead, attempt, CAPTURE_RETRIES, e.toString());
+                if (attempt < CAPTURE_RETRIES) {
+                    pollSleeper.run();
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        throw last;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * End the old lead's session: close its pane, then close its tab only when the pane was that
+     * tab's sole occupant — the same pane-then-tab teardown {@code HerdrPeerLauncher#stop} uses for
+     * a member. An already-gone pane counts as success; any other {@code agents.close} failure
+     * propagates, so a genuinely failed teardown is never reported as done. A failing
+     * {@code spaces.closeTab} never propagates — by the time it runs the pane is already closed, so
+     * it is cosmetic tidying, not a real teardown failure.
+     */
+    private void endOldSession(String paneId) {
+        WorkspaceControl.PaneLocation loc = spaces.locatePane(paneId);
+        try {
+            agents.close(paneId);
+        } catch (HerdrException e) {
+            if (!isAlreadyGone(e)) {
+                throw e;
+            }
+            log.debug("lead-rollover: pane.close({}) ignored — already gone: {}", paneId, e.getMessage());
+        }
+        if (loc != null && loc.tabPaneCount() == 1) {
+            try {
+                spaces.closeTab(loc.tabId());
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                log.warn("lead-rollover: tab.close({}) failed — the pane is already torn down, so "
+                        + "continuing; the tab may need manual cleanup: {}", loc.tabId(), e.getMessage());
+            }
+        } else if (loc != null) {
+            log.debug("lead-rollover: not closing tab {} — it holds {} panes (not a dedicated lead "
+                    + "tab)", loc.tabId(), loc.tabPaneCount());
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** True when a herdr error means the target is already gone (safe to treat as done). */
+    private static boolean isAlreadyGone(HerdrException e) {
+        return e.code() != null && e.code().endsWith("_not_found");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Poll {@link WorkspaceControl#locatePane} for {@code paneId} until it reports {@code null}
+     * (the pane is gone) or {@link #PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS} elapses. Deliberately never calls
+     * {@link AgentControl#status} and never reads the live-lead terminal map — both answer a
+     * different question (whether an AGENT is live, not whether this PANE still exists) and
+     * {@code locatePane} alone catches a {@link HerdrException} from the underlying {@code
+     * pane.get} and turns it into {@code null} — see this class's javadoc.
+     */
+    private DeathResult waitUntilPaneGone(String paneId) {
+        long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
+        long deadline = startMillis + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS);
+        while (nowMillis.getAsLong() < deadline) {
+            if (spaces.locatePane(paneId) == null) {
+                return new DeathResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+            }
+            pollSleeper.run();
+        }
+        return new DeathResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+    }
+
+    /** The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilPaneGone}. */
+    private record DeathResult(boolean gone, long elapsedMillis) {}
+
+    /**
+     * Poll until {@code newTerminal}'s own pane reaches a real turn boundary ({@link
+     * AgentStatus#IDLE} or {@link AgentStatus#DONE}, never merely {@link AgentStatus#BLOCKED}) —
+     * the same exclusion {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary} applies to the calling lead's own turn,
+     * applied here to the fresh one, so {@code bootstrapText} is never typed into a pane that has
+     * not actually finished booting — or {@code readySeconds} elapses. A failed status read
+     * degrades to "not yet ready" and is retried on the next poll.
+     */
+    private ReadinessResult waitUntilPaneReady(String newTerminal, int readySeconds) {
+        long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
+        long deadline = startMillis + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(readySeconds);
+        while (nowMillis.getAsLong() < deadline) {
+            AgentStatus status;
+            try {
+                status = agents.status(newTerminal);
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                log.debug("lead-rollover: status check failed while waiting for {} to be ready: {}",
+                        newTerminal, e.toString());
+                status = null;
+            }
+            if (status == AgentStatus.IDLE || status == AgentStatus.DONE) {
+                return new ReadinessResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+            }
+            pollSleeper.run();
+        }
+        return new ReadinessResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+    }
+
+    /** The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilPaneReady}. */
+    private record ReadinessResult(boolean ready, long elapsedMillis) {}
+
+    /**
+     * Poll until {@code newTerminal} is present in {@link #liveLeadTerminals} or {@code
+     * readySeconds} elapses. This is bookkeeping, not a safety gate: the pane's own readiness (see
+     * {@link #waitUntilPaneReady}) is what decides whether {@code bootstrapText} is safe to send —
+     * a timeout here only means the daemon's own lead-discovery scan has not caught up yet.
+     */
+    private IdentityResult waitUntilRecognisedAsLead(String newTerminal, int readySeconds) {
+        long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
+        long deadline = startMillis + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(readySeconds);
+        while (nowMillis.getAsLong() < deadline) {
+            if (liveLeadTerminals.get().containsKey(newTerminal)) {
+                return new IdentityResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+            }
+            pollSleeper.run();
+        }
+        return new IdentityResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+    }
+
+    /** The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilRecognisedAsLead}. */
+    private record IdentityResult(boolean ready, long elapsedMillis) {}
+
     /** Drop a pending request without rolling. @return whether a pending request existed for {@code token} */
     public boolean cancel(String token) {
         return pending.remove(token) != null;
@@ -682,15 +972,12 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
 
     /**
      * Poll {@link AgentControl#status} until {@code target} reports a real turn boundary — {@link
-     * AgentStatus#IDLE} or {@link AgentStatus#DONE} — bounded by {@code settleSeconds}. Used once by
-     * {@link #runRollover}, to wait for the CALLING turn's own pane to settle before {@code /clear}
-     * is ever sent at all — the {@code turnSettleSeconds} gate that makes this correction safe. The
-     * SECOND wait, after {@code /clear}, is {@link #waitForClearPickupAndSettle} instead (fleetd
-     * #489) — a plain boundary check is not enough there, because {@code /clear} starts no turn of
-     * its own, so this method would (wrongly) report "settled" on its very first poll whether or not
-     * {@code /clear} was actually picked up. A failed status read degrades to "not yet settled" and
-     * is retried on the next poll, the same posture {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop} and {@code
-     * HerdrPeerLauncher}'s readiness gate already take toward an unreadable status.
+     * AgentStatus#IDLE} or {@link AgentStatus#DONE} — bounded by {@code settleSeconds}. Used by
+     * {@link #runRollover} to wait for the CALLING turn's own pane to settle before the old pane is
+     * touched at all — the {@code turnSettleSeconds} gate that makes tearing it down safe. A failed
+     * status read degrades to "not yet settled" and is retried on the next poll, the same posture
+     * {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop} and {@code HerdrPeerLauncher}'s readiness gate already take toward
+     * an unreadable status.
      *
      * <p><strong>Deliberately not {@link AgentStatus#injectable()}.</strong> {@code injectable()}
      * answers the {@code Injector}'s question — "may I deliver a message without stepping on a live
@@ -698,16 +985,16 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
      * an approval prompt is safe to queue a message behind. This class asks a stricter question —
      * "has the turn actually ended" — and {@code BLOCKED} answers no: it is a live turn that is
      * merely paused, not one that has finished. Reusing {@code injectable()} here would let this
-     * wait fire {@code /clear} while the lead's own {@code confirm()}-calling turn is still live and
-     * paused on a prompt — exactly the live-context-destroying failure the {@code turnSettleSeconds}
-     * gate exists to prevent. Do not "simplify" this back to {@code injectable()}. ({@link
-     * #waitForClearPickupAndSettle} keeps the same exclusion of {@code BLOCKED}, for the same
-     * reason, on the second wait.)
+     * wait tear the old pane down while the lead's own {@code confirm()}-calling turn is still live
+     * and paused on a prompt — exactly the live-context-destroying failure {@code turnSettleSeconds}
+     * exists to prevent. Do not "simplify" this back to {@code injectable()}. ({@link
+     * #waitUntilPaneReady} applies the same exclusion of {@code BLOCKED} to the fresh lead's own
+     * turn.)
      *
      * @return a {@link TurnSettleResult} whose {@code settled()} is {@code true} once a real
      *         boundary was observed, {@code false} if {@code settleSeconds} elapses first.
      *         {@code elapsedMillis()} is a MEASURED value from the injected {@link #nowMillis}
-     *         clock, never the configured {@code settleSeconds} budget (fleetd #494 follow-up).
+     *         clock, never the configured {@code settleSeconds} budget.
      */
     private TurnSettleResult waitUntilAtTurnBoundary(String target, int settleSeconds) {
         long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
@@ -724,142 +1011,11 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
             if (status == AgentStatus.IDLE || status == AgentStatus.DONE) {
                 return new TurnSettleResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
             }
-            settleSleeper.run();
+            pollSleeper.run();
         }
         return new TurnSettleResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
     }
 
-    /**
-     * The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary} — fleetd #494 follow-up. The sibling
-     * of {@link ClearSettleResult} for the FIRST wait, which never nudges, so it carries no nudge
-     * count.
-     */
+    /** The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary}. */
     private record TurnSettleResult(boolean settled, long elapsedMillis) {}
-
-    /**
-     * The SECOND wait in {@link #runRollover} — after {@code /clear} has been sent, waits for it to
-     * settle, bounded by {@code settleSeconds}. <strong>fleetd #489 — the paste-race fix.</strong>
-     * {@code /clear} does not start a real turn of its own, so a pane with no submit race simply
-     * stays {@link AgentStatus#IDLE} the whole time: {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary} would (wrongly)
-     * call that "settled" on its very first poll, whether or not the {@code /clear} Enter actually
-     * landed. That was Fault 1, measured live on 2026-09-12 — the second gate was a no-op, so a
-     * {@code bootstrapText} send followed immediately, racing Fault 2: {@link AgentControl#submit}'s
-     * own javadoc already records that the submit accompanying a delivery "can race the paste —
-     * especially right as the worker's TUI becomes interactive — leaving the text unsubmitted"
-     * (CB-113). Because {@code runRollover} deliberately bypasses {@code Injector} for {@code
-     * /clear} (see this class's javadoc), it inherited none of {@code Injector}'s nudging — so the
-     * lost {@code /clear} Enter sat in the input box and {@code bootstrapText} was typed right after
-     * it, landing as one concatenated line.
-     *
-     * <p>This method copies the pickup-nudge pattern {@link dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector} already
-     * ships for exactly this, on its own post-turn {@code /clear} housekeeping (fleetd #306; see
-     * {@code Injector.java:288-340} and {@code Injector.java:437-442}):
-     * <ul>
-     *   <li>an {@link AgentStatus#WORKING} sample means {@code /clear} was picked up as a real
-     *       turn;</li>
-     *   <li>until that happens, each poll that still reports {@link AgentStatus#IDLE} or {@link
-     *       AgentStatus#DONE} re-sends the submit keystroke ({@link AgentControl#submit}) to nudge
-     *       the raced Enter — for the first {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS - 1} of {@link
-     *       #PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS} consecutive such polls (i.e. {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS - 1}
-     *       nudges: 7, not 8, given {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS = 8}). A second Enter on an empty
-     *       Claude Code prompt is a no-op, so repeating it is safe;</li>
-     *   <li>the {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS}th consecutive such poll, with {@code WORKING} still never
-     *       observed, releases rather than wedges the roll instead of nudging again — the same
-     *       choice {@code Injector} makes — and returns {@code settled() == true} anyway, logged at
-     *       {@code warn} with the measured elapsed time (fleetd #494) so an operator can see which
-     *       path ran and how long it actually took;</li>
-     *   <li>once {@code WORKING} has been observed, nudging stops and this instead waits for a real
-     *       {@code working → IDLE/DONE} completion boundary before returning {@code true}.</li>
-     * </ul>
-     *
-     * <p><strong>{@link AgentStatus#BLOCKED} is deliberately excluded from both the nudge and the
-     * boundary check</strong> — the same reasoning as {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary}'s own
-     * javadoc: a paused live turn is not a settled one, and re-sending Enter into an open approval
-     * prompt could wrongly answer it. A {@code BLOCKED} sample (or an unreadable/{@link
-     * AgentStatus#UNKNOWN} one) simply keeps this polling, with no nudge and no release, until either
-     * a real boundary is reached or {@code settleSeconds} runs out.
-     *
-     * <p>{@link AgentControl#submit} can itself throw; a {@link RuntimeException} from it is
-     * swallowed and logged at {@code debug}, exactly like {@code Injector.java:437-442} — a failed
-     * nudge must not abort the roll.
-     *
-     * @return a {@link ClearSettleResult} whose {@code settled()} is {@code true} once {@code
-     *         /clear} has settled, or once the nudge budget was exhausted with no pickup ever
-     *         observed (released rather than wedged); {@code false} if {@code settleSeconds} elapses
-     *         first — the caller must NOT send {@code bootstrapText} in that case, exactly as before
-     *         this fix. {@code elapsedMillis()} and {@code nudges()} are MEASURED values (from the
-     *         injected {@link #nowMillis} clock and an actual nudge count), never the configured
-     *         {@code settleSeconds} budget (fleetd #494).
-     */
-    private ClearSettleResult waitForClearPickupAndSettle(String target, int settleSeconds) {
-        long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
-        long deadline = startMillis + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(settleSeconds);
-        boolean pickedUp = false; // a WORKING sample has been observed since /clear was sent
-        int idlePollsAwaitingPickup = 0;
-        int nudges = 0;
-        while (nowMillis.getAsLong() < deadline) {
-            AgentStatus status;
-            try {
-                status = agents.status(target);
-            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
-                log.debug("lead-rollover: status check failed while waiting for {} to settle after "
-                        + "/clear: {}", target, e.toString());
-                status = null;
-            }
-            if (status == AgentStatus.WORKING) {
-                pickedUp = true;
-            } else if (status == AgentStatus.IDLE || status == AgentStatus.DONE) {
-                if (pickedUp) {
-                    // a real WORKING -> IDLE/DONE completion boundary
-                    return new ClearSettleResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis, nudges);
-                }
-                if (++idlePollsAwaitingPickup >= PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS) {
-                    long elapsedMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis;
-                    // fleetd #494: this release trades a possibly-unsubmitted /clear for progress
-                    // instead of wedging the roll — that trade is deliberate and stays. But it is
-                    // also exactly the case that reported false success in the real incident (the
-                    // whole roll "succeeded" after 438ms of a 20s budget), so raise it to WARN and
-                    // print the MEASURED elapsed time next to the target pane, not just the count.
-                    //
-                    // fleetd #494 follow-up (2nd pass): BOTH numbers in this line must come from
-                    // the loop's own counters, never from the PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS constant.
-                    // `idlePollsAwaitingPickup` and `nudges` each have exactly one write site in
-                    // this loop, on the same branch, so on this branch they cannot differ from
-                    // PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS / PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS - 1 today — no test can prove the
-                    // difference on this line, and printing the counters does not change that.
-                    // What it does buy: one source of truth instead of two, so a later change to
-                    // the loop (an early return, a second increment site, a different exit
-                    // condition) cannot leave this message reporting a number the loop no longer
-                    // produces. The place where `nudges` genuinely varies with the run — and is
-                    // covered by a test that can tell it apart from a constant — is the
-                    // /clear-timeout warn in runRollover, which prints clearResult.nudges().
-                    log.warn("lead-rollover: /clear on {} was never observed as WORKING after {} "
-                                    + "consecutive IDLE/DONE polls ({} of those were nudged) — "
-                                    + "releasing rather than wedging the roll (elapsed={}ms)",
-                            target, idlePollsAwaitingPickup, nudges, elapsedMillis);
-                    return new ClearSettleResult(true, elapsedMillis, nudges);
-                }
-                try {
-                    agents.submit(target); // nudge a raced Enter (CB-113) so /clear actually submits
-                } catch (RuntimeException e) {
-                    log.debug("lead-rollover: resubmit to {} failed (will retry next poll): {}",
-                            target, e.getMessage());
-                } finally {
-                    nudges++; // an attempted nudge, whether or not the submit call itself threw
-                }
-            }
-            // AgentStatus.BLOCKED or UNKNOWN (or an unreadable status, above): neither a pickup
-            // signal nor a boundary — keep polling without nudging or releasing.
-            settleSleeper.run();
-        }
-        return new ClearSettleResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis, nudges);
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * The measured outcome of {@link #waitForClearPickupAndSettle} — fleetd #494. Carries the
-     * MEASURED elapsed time (from the injected {@link #nowMillis} clock) and nudge count alongside
-     * the settle/timeout decision, so callers can log them instead of the configured budget, which
-     * is not how long the wait actually ran.
-     */
-    private record ClearSettleResult(boolean settled, long elapsedMillis, int nudges) {}
 }

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()),
@@ -459,12 +459,14 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_send", req.arguments()),
                             str(req.arguments(), "sessionId"));
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
-                    String caller = callerTerminal(exchange);
+                    Principal caller = principal(exchange);
+                    String callerTerminal = caller.terminal();
+                    String callerOwner = caller.ownerKey();
                     // CB-548: only a PRIMARY caller may claim the legacy singleton "primary" fallback.
                     // An architect delegates as its own pane but must never become the fallback that
                     // no-delegation inbox nudges target as if it were the primary (the per-target
                     // delegation map does not cure the singleton).
-                    recordPrimarySingleton(primaryRegistry, caller, principal(exchange));
+                    recordPrimarySingleton(primaryRegistry, callerTerminal, caller);
                     Map<String, Object> a = req.arguments();
                     String target = str(a, "sessionId");
                     String content = str(a, "content");
@@ -480,18 +482,18 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                         // Answering a worker's fleet_ask (CB-205): resolve its blocked question and
                         // block for the worker's reply as it resumes the same turn. This is the same
                         // delegation, so ownership is left untouched (CB-548) — never re-recorded.
-                        return answer(messages, turnId, content, timeoutMs(a), caller);
+                        return answer(messages, turnId, content, timeoutMs(a), callerOwner);
                     }
                     // CB-548: delegator ownership (which lead's reply nudge this worker routes to,
                     // CB-532) is recorded only once the send is ACCEPTED — MessageService has won the
                     // session lock and queued delivery — via the accepted-delivery callback, never at
                     // request time. A concurrent sender that times out BUSY therefore cannot steal a
                     // live turn's reply routing without ever owning the turn.
-                    Runnable onAccepted = () -> primaryRegistry.recordDelegation(target, caller);
+                    Runnable onAccepted = () -> primaryRegistry.recordDelegation(target, callerTerminal);
                     // wait defaults to true (block for the reply); wait:false is fire-and-poll.
                     return Boolean.FALSE.equals(a.get("wait"))
                             ? sendAsync(messages, target, content, onAccepted, workers.profiles(), caller)
-                            : send(messages, target, content, timeoutMs(a), onAccepted, workers.profiles(), caller);
+                            : send(messages, target, content, timeoutMs(a), onAccepted, workers.profiles(), callerOwner);
                 };
         // fleet_reply's identity is the CONNECTION, never an argument — so the authz check
         // is "is this caller a worker at all", and it can only ever reply as itself.
@@ -514,7 +516,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                 (exchange, req) -> {
                     McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_status", req.arguments()), null);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
-                    return status(messages, str(req.arguments(), "sessionId"), callerTerminal(exchange));
+                    return status(messages, str(req.arguments(), "sessionId"), principal(exchange).ownerKey());
                 };
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> pollHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
@@ -524,7 +526,8 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     // The action depends on the ARGUMENTS, not on the tool name -- see pollAction.
                     McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_poll", a), target);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
-                    return poll(messages, leadChannel, str(a, "ticket"), target, coordId, callerTerminal(exchange));
+                    return poll(messages, leadChannel, str(a, "ticket"), target, coordId,
+                            principal(exchange).ownerKey());
                 };
         // CB-307 Increment 3: per-msgId ack (not needed in v1 but supported by the inbox).
         // Acking removes a reply from the inbox, so it is a drain, not a read.
@@ -833,9 +836,14 @@ 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());
         }
     }
@@ -891,8 +899,8 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * 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()}.
+     * instance and waits for the real continuation to end the old pane, relaunch a fresh one, and
+     * send {@code bootstrapText} through the real {@code router.leadAgents()}.
      */
     public LeadRollover leadRollover() {
         return leadRollover;
@@ -909,7 +917,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult send(MessageService messages, String sessionId, String content,
                                          Long timeoutMs, Runnable onAccepted, Set<String> profiles,
-                                         String callerTerminal) {
+                                         String callerOwner) {
         if (isBlank(sessionId) || isBlank(content)) {
             return error("sessionId and content are required");
         }
@@ -919,7 +927,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         }
         long timeout = clamp(timeoutMs == null ? DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS : timeoutMs);
         try {
-            return formatReply(messages.send(sessionId, content, timeout, onAccepted, callerTerminal), timeout);
+            return formatReply(messages.send(sessionId, content, timeout, onAccepted, callerOwner), timeout);
         } catch (HerdrException e) {
             return error("herdr error contacting session " + sessionId + ": " + e.getMessage());
         }
@@ -929,15 +937,15 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * {@code fleet_send} carrying a {@code turnId}: the primary's answer to a worker's
      * {@code fleet_ask} (CB-205). Resolves the worker's blocked question and blocks for its reply as
      * it resumes the same turn — surfaced to the primary identically to a normal send.
-     * {@code callerTerminal} must match the turn's recorded owner or this is refused.
+     * {@code callerOwner} must match the turn's recorded owner or this is refused.
      */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult answer(MessageService messages, String turnId, String content, Long timeoutMs,
-                                            String callerTerminal) {
+                                             String callerOwner) {
         if (isBlank(turnId) || isBlank(content)) {
             return error("turnId and content are required to answer a worker's question");
         }
         long timeout = clamp(timeoutMs == null ? DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS : timeoutMs);
-        return formatReply(messages.answer(turnId, content, timeout, callerTerminal), timeout);
+        return formatReply(messages.answer(turnId, content, timeout, callerOwner), timeout);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1013,13 +1021,12 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
     }
 
     /**
-     * As above, recording {@code creatorTerminal} as this ticket's owner (the caller's own
-     * terminal, resolved from the connection) so a later {@code fleet_poll{ticket}} only hands the
-     * result back to that same caller — see {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}.
+     * As above, recording {@code creator}'s owner key so a later {@code fleet_poll{ticket}} only
+     * hands the result back to the same caller — see {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}.
      */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult sendAsync(MessageService messages, String sessionId, String content,
-                                              Runnable onAccepted, Set<String> profiles,
-                                              String creatorTerminal) {
+                                               Runnable onAccepted, Set<String> profiles,
+                                               Principal creator) {
         if (isBlank(sessionId) || isBlank(content)) {
             return error("sessionId and content are required");
         }
@@ -1027,7 +1034,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         if (targetError != null) {
             return targetError;
         }
-        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(sessionId, content, onAccepted, creatorTerminal);
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(sessionId, content, onAccepted, creator);
         return text("accepted — task delegated. Poll fleet_poll with ticket=" + ticket);
     }
 
@@ -1217,13 +1224,12 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
     }
 
     /**
-     * As above, refusing a ticket lookup whose caller's terminal differs from the terminal that
-     * created it — see {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}. {@code callerTerminal} is the
-     * CALLING session's terminal id, resolved by the MCP layer from the connection, never a
-     * client-supplied value.
+     * As above, refusing a ticket lookup whose caller owner key differs from the key that created it
+     * — see {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}. {@code callerOwner} comes from the calling
+     * connection's resolved principal, never a client-supplied value.
      */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult poll(MessageService messages, LeadChannel leadChannel, String ticket,
-                                         String target, String coordId, String callerTerminal) {
+                                         String target, String coordId, String callerOwner) {
         if (!isBlank(coordId)) {
             return pollHeldPeerMail(leadChannel, coordId);
         }
@@ -1237,7 +1243,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         if (isBlank(ticket)) {
             return error("ticket (or target) is required");
         }
-        MessageService.TaskView v = messages.poll(ticket, callerTerminal);
+        MessageService.TaskView v = messages.poll(ticket, callerOwner);
         if (v == null) {
             return error("unknown ticket: " + ticket + " (never issued, or expired)");
         }
@@ -1346,18 +1352,17 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * {@code fleet_status}: the live lifecycle status of a worker session, plus — when the worker
      * is paused mid-turn in an async {@code fleet_ask} — the open question and how to answer it, so
      * a lead on its normal poll cadence does not need the ticket to notice. The question, its
-     * {@code turnId} and its ticket id are shown only to the caller whose terminal created that
-     * delegation, or to a caller with no terminal at all (the unnamed primary); any other caller
-     * still sees the base status. {@code callerTerminal} is the CALLING session's terminal id,
-     * resolved by the MCP layer from the connection, never a client-supplied value.
+     * {@code turnId} and its ticket id are shown only to the caller whose owner key created that
+     * delegation, or to the unnamed primary; any other caller still sees the base status.
+     * {@code callerOwner} comes from the calling connection's resolved principal.
      */
-    static McpSchema.CallToolResult status(MessageService messages, String sessionId, String callerTerminal) {
+    static McpSchema.CallToolResult status(MessageService messages, String sessionId, String callerOwner) {
         if (isBlank(sessionId)) {
             return error("sessionId is required");
         }
         try {
             String base = messages.status(sessionId).name().toLowerCase();
-            MessageService.PendingAsk ask = messages.pendingAsk(sessionId, callerTerminal);
+            MessageService.PendingAsk ask = messages.pendingAsk(sessionId, callerOwner);
             if (ask == null) {
                 return text(base);
             }
@@ -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
@@ -1492,7 +1505,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         }
         if (isBlank(callerTerminal)) {
             // An unnamed primary (token/loopback path, no resolved pane) has nowhere for the
-            // eventual /clear + bootstrap to land — LeadRollover#open would throw
+            // eventual relaunch + bootstrap to land — LeadRollover#open would throw
             // IllegalArgumentException for the same reason; refuse cleanly here instead.
             return error("fleet_handover requires a named lead pane (a resolved connection terminal) "
                     + "to open a rollover request against — an unnamed primary has none");
@@ -2630,17 +2643,20 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
     private static McpSchema.Tool handoverTool() {
         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. 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), '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. "
+                        + "then use this to have fleetd end your pane's process and relaunch a fresh "
+                        + "lead session bootstrapped 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 end your pane, the roll "
+                        + "runs once this call's 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 "
+                        + "nothing was touched, the old pane never confirmed dead so no relaunch was "
+                        + "attempted, the relaunch itself failed, the fresh pane never became ready "
+                        + "so bootstrapText was never sent, or the fresh pane became ready and was "
+                        + "bootstrapped but was never recognised as a live lead; 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 "

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

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
 
+import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Principal;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrRouter;
@@ -282,18 +283,15 @@ public final class MessageService {
          */
         private volatile boolean askTimedOut;
         /**
-         * The terminal of the caller whose {@code fleet_send{wait:false}} created this ticket, or
-         * {@code null} when that caller had no terminal (the unnamed primary) or the ticket was
-         * created through an overload that does not record one. {@link #poll(String, String)}
-         * compares a polling caller's own terminal against this field before handing back the
-         * ticket's state.
+         * The owner key of the caller whose {@code fleet_send{wait:false}} created this ticket, or
+         * {@code null} for the unnamed primary and overloads that do not record a caller.
          */
-        private final String creatorTerminal;
+        private final String creatorOwner;
 
-        private Task(String ticket, String target, LongSupplier nowNanos, String creatorTerminal) {
+        private Task(String ticket, String target, LongSupplier nowNanos, String creatorOwner) {
             this.ticket = ticket;
             this.target = target;
-            this.creatorTerminal = creatorTerminal;
+            this.creatorOwner = creatorOwner;
             this.createdNanos = nowNanos.getAsLong();
             future.whenComplete((reply, ex) -> completedNanos = nowNanos.getAsLong());
         }
@@ -355,6 +353,14 @@ public final class MessageService {
      */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, Boolean> queuedDeliveries = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     private final AtomicLong ticketSeq = new AtomicLong();
+    /**
+     * Minted once per {@code MessageService} instance and folded into every ticket id (see
+     * {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable, Principal)}). {@link #ticketSeq} alone restarts at
+     * zero for every instance, so without this a ticket id can be reused across instances and
+     * resolve to an unrelated {@link Task} 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 ticketBootNonce = UUID.randomUUID().toString().substring(0, 6);
     private final ExecutorService asyncExecutor = Executors.newThreadPerTaskExecutor(
             Thread.ofVirtual().name("bridge-async-", 0).factory());
 
@@ -930,13 +936,13 @@ public final class MessageService {
 
     /**
      * Deliver {@code content} to {@code target} (a herdr {@code terminal_id}) and block until the
-     * worker replies via {@link Rendezvous} or {@code timeoutMillis} elapses. {@code callerTerminal}
-     * is the terminal of the caller making this call — {@code null} for the unnamed primary — and is
-     * recorded as the turn's owner, the only caller {@link #answer(String, String, long, String)} will
+     * worker replies via {@link Rendezvous} or {@code timeoutMillis} elapses. {@code callerOwner}
+     * identifies the caller making this call and is recorded as the turn's owner. It is the only
+     * caller {@link #answer(String, String, long, String)} will
      * later accept an answer from if the worker pauses mid-turn to ask.
      */
-    public Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, String callerTerminal) {
-        return send(target, content, timeoutMillis, null, callerTerminal);
+    public Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, String callerOwner) {
+        return send(target, content, timeoutMillis, null, callerOwner);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -951,13 +957,13 @@ public final class MessageService {
      * acceptance means a concurrent sender that times out {@code BUSY} can never steal ownership it
      * never earned. {@code null} disables the hook.
      */
-    public Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, Runnable onAccepted, String callerTerminal) {
-        return send(target, content, timeoutMillis, onAccepted, null, callerTerminal);
+    public Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, Runnable onAccepted, String callerOwner) {
+        return send(target, content, timeoutMillis, onAccepted, null, callerOwner);
     }
 
     /** Run a send, optionally stopping an async task that teardown already failed before acceptance. */
     private Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, Runnable onAccepted, Task task,
-            String callerTerminal) {
+            String callerOwner) {
         long deadlineNanos = System.nanoTime() + timeoutMillis * 1_000_000L;
         ReentrantLock lock = sessionLocks.computeIfAbsent(target, _ -> new ReentrantLock());
 
@@ -977,7 +983,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
             // open race). Opening first also means a throwing onAccepted (fired before enqueue) or an
             // enqueue failure is safely closed by the finally below: nothing is left queued, and the
             // failed send leaves no stale waiter behind.
-            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> reply = rendezvous.open(target, Rendezvous.Owner.of(callerTerminal));
+            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> reply = rendezvous.open(target, Rendezvous.Owner.of(callerOwner));
             // CB-640: this send now owns target's delivery, so any earlier stranded-reply or
             // still-queued fact no longer describes the live state — clear both rather than let
             // them outlive the send that supersedes them.
@@ -1157,20 +1163,20 @@ public final class MessageService {
      * call, not a new status-gated delivery. The forward waiter is opened <em>before</em> the worker
      * is unblocked so a reply that lands the instant it resumes is not lost.
      *
-     * <p>{@code callerTerminal} is the terminal of the caller making this call — {@code null} for
-     * the unnamed primary. It is checked against the turn's recorded owner (the caller whose
+     * <p>{@code callerOwner} identifies the caller making this call. It is checked against the
+     * turn's recorded owner (the caller whose
      * accepted delegation opened it, see {@link #send(String, String, long, String)} and
-     * {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable, String)}) before anything else runs: a mismatch,
+     * {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable, Principal)}) before anything else runs: a mismatch,
      * including a turn with no owner on record at all, returns {@link Outcome#NOT_TURN_OWNER}
      * without touching the rendezvous, the session lock, or any async task bookkeeping.
      */
-    public Reply answer(String turnId, String content, long timeoutMillis, String callerTerminal) {
+    public Reply answer(String turnId, String content, long timeoutMillis, String callerOwner) {
         String workerSession = rendezvous.askSession(turnId);
         if (workerSession == null) {
             return new Reply(Outcome.STALE_TURN, null); // the ask lapsed (timed out or already answered)
         }
         Rendezvous.Owner owner = rendezvous.askOwner(turnId);
-        if (!Rendezvous.Owner.permits(owner, callerTerminal)) {
+        if (!Rendezvous.Owner.permits(owner, callerOwner)) {
             return new Reply(Outcome.NOT_TURN_OWNER, null);
         }
         long deadlineNanos = System.nanoTime() + timeoutMillis * 1_000_000L;
@@ -1313,16 +1319,16 @@ public final class MessageService {
     }
 
     /**
-     * As {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable)}, recording {@code creatorTerminal} as this
-     * ticket's owner. {@link #poll(String, String)} refuses a later caller whose own terminal
-     * differs from this one; {@code null} records no owner (a caller with no terminal — the
-     * unnamed primary — is always allowed to poll the result regardless).
+     * As {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable)}, recording {@code creator}'s owner key as this
+     * ticket's owner. The key is derived here from the resolved principal so callers cannot pass a
+     * terminal address where an owner identity is required.
      *
      * @return the ticket to poll for the eventual result
      */
-    public String sendAsync(String target, String content, Runnable onAccepted, String creatorTerminal) {
-        String ticket = "task-" + ticketSeq.incrementAndGet();
-        Task task = new Task(ticket, target, nowNanos, creatorTerminal);
+    public String sendAsync(String target, String content, Runnable onAccepted, Principal creator) {
+        String ticket = "task-" + ticketBootNonce + "-" + ticketSeq.incrementAndGet();
+        String creatorOwner = creator == null ? null : creator.ownerKey();
+        Task task = new Task(ticket, target, nowNanos, creatorOwner);
         tasks.put(ticket, task);
         if (pushLoop != null) {
             // CB-588: task.future only ever completes on a terminal phase (DONE or a failure) — a
@@ -1353,7 +1359,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
         }
         asyncExecutor.submit(() -> {
             try {
-                Reply result = send(target, content, ASYNC_TIMEOUT_MS, onAccepted, task, creatorTerminal);
+                Reply result = send(target, content, ASYNC_TIMEOUT_MS, onAccepted, task, creatorOwner);
                 if (result.outcome() == Outcome.QUESTION) {
                     // Keep the accepted owner until answer() finishes it. markAsyncQuestion may run
                     // just after resolveQuestion wakes this thread.
@@ -1385,9 +1391,9 @@ public final class MessageService {
     }
 
     /**
-     * As {@link #poll(String, String)}, with no caller terminal — the ticket's ownership is never
+     * As {@link #poll(String, String)}, with no caller owner key — the unnamed primary's ticket rule
      * checked, so this overload must only be used where the caller's identity is otherwise
-     * irrelevant (a test, or a surface that does not resolve a caller terminal at all).
+     * irrelevant.
      */
     public TaskView poll(String ticket) {
         return poll(ticket, null);
@@ -1395,18 +1401,18 @@ public final class MessageService {
 
     /**
      * Snapshot the state of an async delegation. Returns {@code null} for an unknown/expired ticket.
-     * Refuses a {@code callerTerminal} that differs from the terminal that created the ticket (see
-     * {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable, String)}) with a {@link Phase#FAILED} view that
-     * carries no reply text — a caller with no terminal (the unnamed primary) is never refused.
+     * Refuses a {@code callerOwner} that differs from the owner that created the ticket (see
+     * {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable, Principal)}) with a {@link Phase#FAILED} view that
+     * carries no reply text. The unnamed primary has a {@code null} owner key and is never refused.
      * Otherwise returns a {@link Phase#PENDING} view (with the live worker status as detail), a
      * {@link Phase#DONE} view carrying the reply, or a {@link Phase#FAILED} view with the reason.
      */
-    public TaskView poll(String ticket, String callerTerminal) {
+    public TaskView poll(String ticket, String callerOwner) {
         Task task = tasks.get(ticket);
         if (task == null) {
             return null;
         }
-        if (!ownsTicket(task, callerTerminal)) {
+        if (!ownsTicket(task, callerOwner)) {
             return new TaskView(ticket, Phase.FAILED, null, null,
                     "forbidden: this ticket was created by a different session", null);
         }
@@ -1446,14 +1452,13 @@ public final class MessageService {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Whether {@code callerTerminal} may read {@code task}'s state. A caller with no terminal
-     * always may — that is the unnamed primary, resolved by token or loopback trust, which never
-     * carries a herdr pane and must keep reading every ticket. Otherwise the caller's terminal must
-     * equal the terminal recorded on the task; a task with no recorded terminal matches no
-     * terminal-bearing caller.
+     * Whether {@code callerOwner} may read {@code task}'s state. A {@code null} caller key is the
+     * unnamed primary and may read every ticket. Other callers must match the task's owner key. This
+     * differs from {@link Rendezvous.Owner#permits}: a missing rendezvous owner is not an authenticated
+     * unnamed primary, so that gate refuses every caller when no owner was recorded.
      */
-    private static boolean ownsTicket(Task task, String callerTerminal) {
-        return callerTerminal == null || callerTerminal.equals(task.creatorTerminal);
+    private static boolean ownsTicket(Task task, String callerOwner) {
+        return callerOwner == null || callerOwner.equals(task.creatorOwner);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1779,13 +1784,13 @@ public final class MessageService {
      * {@code fleet_status} uses this to show a pending question without the caller needing the
      * ticket. {@code null} when the session has no open async question (including a session mid a
      * <em>blocking</em> {@code fleet_ask}, which has no {@link Task} to look up — see
-     * {@link PendingAsk}), or when {@code callerTerminal} does not own the task the question
+     * {@link PendingAsk}), or when {@code callerOwner} does not own the task the question
      * belongs to (see {@link #ownsTicket(Task, String)}).
      */
-    public PendingAsk pendingAsk(String workerSession, String callerTerminal) {
+    public PendingAsk pendingAsk(String workerSession, String callerOwner) {
         for (Task task : tasks.values()) {
             Reply q = task.question;
-            if (q != null && workerSession.equals(task.target) && ownsTicket(task, callerTerminal)) {
+            if (q != null && workerSession.equals(task.target) && ownsTicket(task, callerOwner)) {
                 return new PendingAsk(task.ticket, q.text(), q.turnId());
             }
         }

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;
@@ -72,23 +73,22 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
 
     /**
      * The caller whose accepted delegation opened a turn — the only caller allowed to answer it.
-     * A {@code null} terminal means the unnamed primary, an authenticated caller with no pane.
+     * A {@code null} owner key means the unnamed primary.
      */
-    public record Owner(String terminal) {
+    public record Owner(String ownerKey) {
         public static final Owner UNNAMED_PRIMARY = new Owner(null);
 
-        public static Owner of(String terminal) {
-            return terminal == null ? UNNAMED_PRIMARY : new Owner(terminal);
+        public static Owner of(String ownerKey) {
+            return ownerKey == null ? UNNAMED_PRIMARY : new Owner(ownerKey);
         }
 
         /**
-         * Whether {@code callerTerminal} matches {@code owner}. A {@code null} owner means no
-         * owner was ever recorded, and that state matches no caller, not even one whose own
-         * terminal is {@code null} — "no record" and "recorded as the unnamed primary" are
-         * different states.
+         * Whether {@code callerOwner} matches {@code owner}. A {@code null} owner means no owner was
+         * recorded, so it matches no caller. {@link #UNNAMED_PRIMARY} records the unnamed primary
+         * with an owner object whose key is {@code null}.
          */
-        public static boolean permits(Owner owner, String callerTerminal) {
-            return owner != null && java.util.Objects.equals(owner.terminal(), callerTerminal);
+        public static boolean permits(Owner owner, String callerOwner) {
+            return owner != null && java.util.Objects.equals(owner.ownerKey(), callerOwner);
         }
     }
 
@@ -101,6 +101,14 @@ 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 +195,7 @@ 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/rest/FleetApp.java

@@ -664,7 +664,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             return;
         }
         Principal caller = ctx.attribute(CALLER);
-        String callerTerminal = caller == null ? null : caller.terminal();
+        String callerOwner = caller == null ? null : caller.ownerKey();
         JsonNode body;
         try {
             body = mapper.readTree(ctx.body());
@@ -690,19 +690,19 @@ public final class FleetApp {
 
         // Answering a worker's fleet_ask (CB-205): always blocks, and derives the worker from turnId.
         if (turnId != null && !turnId.isBlank()) {
-            writeReply(ctx, id, messages.answer(turnId, content, timeout, callerTerminal), timeout);
+            writeReply(ctx, id, messages.answer(turnId, content, timeout, callerOwner), timeout);
             return;
         }
 
         if (!wait) {
             // Fire-and-poll (CB-107): return a ticket immediately; the caller polls GET /tasks/{ticket}.
-            String ticket = messages.sendAsync(id, content, null, callerTerminal);
+            String ticket = messages.sendAsync(id, content, null, caller);
             ctx.status(202).json(Map.of("sessionId", id, "ticket", ticket, "status", "accepted"));
             return;
         }
 
         try {
-            writeReply(ctx, id, messages.send(id, content, timeout, callerTerminal), timeout);
+            writeReply(ctx, id, messages.send(id, content, timeout, callerOwner), timeout);
         } catch (HerdrException e) {
             herdrError(ctx, e);
         }
@@ -883,10 +883,10 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             body.put("ready", deliverable.test(id));
             // A worker paused mid-turn in an async fleet_ask is otherwise invisible to a status
             // poll — surface the open question and how to answer it, same as fleet_poll's
-            // Phase.ASKING view, but only to the caller whose terminal created that delegation, or
-            // to a caller with no terminal at all (the unnamed primary).
+            // Phase.ASKING view, but only to the caller whose owner key created that delegation, or
+            // to the unnamed primary.
             Principal caller = ctx.attribute(CALLER);
-            MessageService.PendingAsk ask = messages.pendingAsk(id, caller == null ? null : caller.terminal());
+            MessageService.PendingAsk ask = messages.pendingAsk(id, caller == null ? null : caller.ownerKey());
             if (ask != null) {
                 body.put("question", ask.question());
                 body.put("turnId", ask.turnId());
@@ -904,7 +904,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             return;
         }
         Principal caller = ctx.attribute(CALLER);
-        MessageService.TaskView v = messages.poll(ctx.pathParam("ticket"), caller == null ? null : caller.terminal());
+        MessageService.TaskView v = messages.poll(ctx.pathParam("ticket"), caller == null ? null : caller.ownerKey());
         if (v == null) {
             ctx.status(404).json(Map.of("error", "unknown_ticket", "detail", "no such task (or it has expired)"));
             return;

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/FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest.java

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ 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.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadLauncher;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
 import io.javalin.Javalin;
@@ -34,7 +36,7 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
  * 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
+ * #assembledLeadRolloverEndsTheOldPaneThroughTheRealHerdrRouter}), 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
@@ -50,8 +52,8 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
  * 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.
+ * lead from member) and asserts the roll's {@code pane.close} call lands on the LEAD fake and
+ * never on the MEMBER one.
  */
 class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
 
@@ -177,11 +179,47 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
         return FleetConfig.load(f);
     }
 
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    /**
+     * Unlike {@link #writeConfig}, this names a {@code profile:} for the lead and declares it
+     * under {@code profiles:}, so {@code LeadLauncher#relaunch} can actually start a fresh agent
+     * instead of refusing with "names no profile". {@code relaunchReadySeconds} is cut to 2s so
+     * the recognition wait (expected to time out — see the test) does not cost real test seconds.
+     */
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfigWithRelaunchableLead(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"
+                      profile: opus
+                profiles:
+                  opus:
+                    subscription: true
+                    argv: ["ccs", "opus"]
+                leadRollover:
+                  handoverPath: handover.md
+                  requireOperatorConfirm: false
+                  relaunchReadySeconds: 2
+                """.formatted(LEAD_SOCKET, MEMBER_SOCKET, leadCwd.toString()));
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
     @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 {
+    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] the real assembled LeadRollover runs the open/confirm/continuation "
+            + "sequence through the real herdr router — ending the old pane, then giving up once it "
+            + "never reports gone")
+    void assembledLeadRolloverEndsTheOldPaneThroughTheRealHerdrRouter(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
         Path leadCwd = dir.resolve("lead-workspace");
         Files.createDirectories(leadCwd);
         FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir, leadCwd);
@@ -204,6 +242,11 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
                 + "Fleetd.leadRollover(...) call site — a mutation to `LeadRollover leadRollover = "
                 + "null;` at that call site can never pass this");
 
+        // assembleAndStart's own boot work (the orphan-worker reap) makes a real call on the
+        // member daemon before the roll ever starts. Clear it here so the assertion below measures
+        // only what the roll itself does, not what daemon startup does.
+        member.calls.clear();
+
         LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open("term_a", "fleetd #612 B3 test");
         String expectedHandoverPath = leadCwd.resolve("handover.md").normalize().toString();
         assertEquals(expectedHandoverPath, pending.handoverPath());
@@ -223,40 +266,109 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
         // 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.
+        // FakeHerdr's pane.get is a fixed canned response that never reports a pane as gone, so the
+        // real router's death poll runs out its whole budget and the roll stops here — proving the
+        // real teardown call landed on the real LEAD pane without ever reaching a relaunch or a send.
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED, status.state(),
+                "the old pane never reports gone against this fake, so the roll must stop with "
+                        + "OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED rather than ever relaunching or sending anything — "
+                        + "detail: " + status.detail());
+
+        // Prove the real herdr router actually closed the real LEAD pane — this is the one thing a
+        // source-text pin on the call site could never show.
+        boolean closedOldPane = lead.calls.stream()
+                .anyMatch(c -> c.method().equals("pane.close")
+                        && c.params() instanceof Map<?, ?> m && "w2:p7".equals(m.get("pane_id")));
+        assertTrue(closedOldPane, "endOldSession must close the real old pane (w2:p7) through the "
+                + "real LEAD herdr client, got calls: " + lead.calls);
+
+        // No agent.prompt is ever sent on this path: the roll stops at the pane-death wait, strictly
+        // before the relaunch and the final send step.
         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);
+        assertTrue(prompts.isEmpty(), "a roll that stops at OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED must never reach the "
+                + "send step, got agent.prompt call(s) on the LEAD daemon: " + prompts);
 
         // 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.
+        // the pane.close call 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.
+        assertTrue(member.calls.isEmpty(), "the roll must be wired to the LEAD daemon only — got "
+                + member.calls.size() + " call(s) recorded on the MEMBER daemon since the roll began: "
+                + member.calls);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Exercises the relaunch site {@link #assembledLeadRolloverEndsTheOldPaneThroughTheRealHerdrRouter}
+     * never reaches: with the old pane confirmed gone, the roll relaunches a fresh lead, and
+     * {@code bootstrapText} must reach it even though recognition times out (FakeHerdr's
+     * {@code tab.list} is a fixed canned response that never reflects the relaunch's own
+     * {@code tab.rename}, so the fresh terminal is never recognised as a live lead). Same
+     * dual-socket shape as the sibling test: two distinct {@link FakeHerdr} instances, so a
+     * {@code bootstrapText} send wired to the wrong daemon is visible.
+     */
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] bootstrapText reaches the fresh LEAD terminal even when recognition "
+            + "times out, and the MEMBER daemon never sees it")
+    void bootstrapTextReachesTheFreshLeadTerminalEvenWhenRecognitionTimesOut(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path leadCwd = dir.resolve("lead-workspace");
+        Files.createDirectories(leadCwd);
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfigWithRelaunchableLead(dir, leadCwd);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        RecordingResourcePorts ports = new RecordingResourcePorts();
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr();
+        lead.withTab("w2", "w2:t7", "lead: opus");
+        // Lets the old pane (w2:p7) report gone once pane.close actually reaches it, so the roll
+        // proceeds to relaunch instead of stopping at OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED.
+        lead.paneGoneAfterClose("w2:p7");
+        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 a real "
+                + "LeadRollover must have been built");
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open("term_a", "bootstrapText relaunch test");
+        Thread.sleep(50);
+        Files.writeString(Path.of(pending.handoverPath()), "handover content for bootstrapText test");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm("term_a", pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "confirm() must approve — got: " + decision);
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = pollUntilTerminal(rollover, pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED, status.state(),
+                "the fresh terminal is never recognised against this fake's static tab.list, so the "
+                        + "roll must reach RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED — not an earlier failure state and "
+                        + "not ROLLED — detail: " + status.detail());
+
+        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+        List<FakeHerdr.Call> leadPrompts = lead.calls.stream()
+                .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt"))
+                .toList();
+        assertEquals(1, leadPrompts.size(), "exactly one bootstrapText send is expected, on the LEAD "
+                + "daemon, once recognition gives up — got: " + leadPrompts);
+        Object text = ((Map<String, Object>) leadPrompts.get(0).params()).get("text");
+        assertTrue(text instanceof String && ((String) text).contains("handover.md"),
+                "the send must be bootstrapText naming the resolved handover path, got: " + text);
+
+        // Scoped to agent.prompt specifically, not every MEMBER call: the orphan-worker reap also
+        // talks to the MEMBER daemon once, unconditionally, at daemon boot — unrelated to this roll.
         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);
+        assertTrue(memberPrompts.isEmpty(), "bootstrapText must never be sent to the MEMBER daemon, "
+                + "got: " + memberPrompts);
     }
 
     private static LeadRollover.RollStatus pollUntilTerminal(LeadRollover rollover, String token)
             throws InterruptedException {
-        long deadline = System.nanoTime() + java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(10);
+        long deadline = System.nanoTime() + java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(15);
         while (System.nanoTime() < deadline) {
             LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(token);
             if (status.state() != LeadRollover.RollState.PENDING
@@ -283,8 +395,10 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
                 """);
         ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(yaml, FleetConfig.load(yaml));
         AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(new FakeHerdr());
+        WorkspaceControl spaces = new WorkspaceControl(new FakeHerdr());
+        LeadLauncher launcher = new LeadLauncher(agents, spaces, config.get());
 
-        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), agents, config, Map::of);
+        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), agents, spaces, launcher, 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 "

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

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ 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.lead.LeadLauncher;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
@@ -54,6 +56,11 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverWorkspaceLookupTest {
         return new AgentControl(new FakeHerdr());
     }
 
+    /** None of this class's tests reach the deferred continuation, so a plain fake is enough. */
+    private static LeadLauncher fakeLauncher(FleetConfig cfg) {
+        return new LeadLauncher(fakeAgents(), new WorkspaceControl(new FakeHerdr()), cfg);
+    }
+
     @Test
     @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] Fleetd.leadRollover(...) resolves a relative handoverPath against "
             + "the CALLING lead's configured cwd, not the daemon's own working directory")
@@ -74,7 +81,8 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverWorkspaceLookupTest {
                 """.formatted(leadCwd.toString()));
         ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(yaml, FleetConfig.load(yaml));
 
-        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), fakeAgents(), config,
+        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), fakeAgents(),
+                new WorkspaceControl(new FakeHerdr()), fakeLauncher(config.get()), config,
                 () -> Map.of("term_opus", "opus"));
         assertNotNull(rollover, "leadRollover: is present in the loaded config, so the factory "
                 + "must construct an object");
@@ -105,7 +113,8 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverWorkspaceLookupTest {
 
         // No lead has been discovered yet — exactly the real shape of a lead the live tab scan
         // has not yet scanned, or one with no fleet.leaders entry at all.
-        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), fakeAgents(), config, Map::of);
+        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), fakeAgents(),
+                new WorkspaceControl(new FakeHerdr()), fakeLauncher(config.get()), config, Map::of);
         assertNotNull(rollover);
 
         LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open("term_unknown", "test");
@@ -144,7 +153,8 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverWorkspaceLookupTest {
         // below — exactly the natural mistake to make, since leads are discovered by a live tab
         // scan that runs AFTER this factory is constructed at startup.
         Map<String, String> liveLeadTerminals = new HashMap<>();
-        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), fakeAgents(), config,
+        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), fakeAgents(),
+                new WorkspaceControl(new FakeHerdr()), fakeLauncher(config.get()), config,
                 () -> liveLeadTerminals);
         assertNotNull(rollover);
 

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/auth/PrincipalTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.auth;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+
+class PrincipalTest {
+
+    @Test
+    void ownerKeyCoversEveryRole() {
+        assertEquals("leader:opus", Principal.leader("opus", "term_lead", 1).ownerKey());
+        assertNull(Principal.primary(2).ownerKey());
+        assertEquals("worker:term_worker", Principal.worker("term_worker", 3).ownerKey());
+        assertEquals("architect:term_arch", Principal.architect("opus", "term_arch", 4).ownerKey());
+        assertEquals("collaborator:ops", Principal.collaborator("ops", "term_collab", 5).ownerKey());
+        assertEquals("observer:term_observer", Principal.observer("term_observer", 6).ownerKey());
+        assertEquals("anonymous", Principal.anonymous().ownerKey());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void rolePrefixesKeepLeadAndArchitectKeysDistinct() {
+        String lead = Principal.leader("opus", "term_lead", 1).ownerKey();
+        String architect = Principal.architect("design", "opus", 2).ownerKey();
+
+        assertEquals("leader:opus", lead);
+        assertEquals("architect:opus", architect);
+        assertNotEquals(lead, architect);
+    }
+}

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

@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class FleetConfigWithDefaultsPreservesEveryComponentTest {
         // comment there), same as broker/primary/leadHeartbeat/... above — a real, non-null value
         // here proves it, rather than leaving it null and proving nothing.
         v.put("leadRollover", new FleetConfig.LeadRollover(
-                "/handover/guard.md", true, 3600, 20, 20, "read the handover file"));
+                "/handover/guard.md", true, 3600, 20, 45, "read the handover file"));
         assertNamesMatchComponents(v);
         return v;
     }

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

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
 
@@ -59,6 +60,10 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
     private Runnable onAgentStart; // fires the instant agent.start is called — see onAgentStart(Runnable)
     private volatile int agentGetOkCalls = Integer.MAX_VALUE; // how many agent.get calls succeed first
     private volatile String agentGetFailCode = null; // error code every agent.get call after that reports
+    /** pane ids that {@link #paneGoneAfterClose} has opted into reporting gone — see that method. */
+    private final Set<String> paneGoneAfterCloseIds = ConcurrentHashMap.newKeySet();
+    /** pane ids a {@code pane.close} call has actually reached, for {@link #paneGoneAfterCloseIds}. */
+    private final Set<String> closedPaneIds = ConcurrentHashMap.newKeySet();
 
     public FakeHerdr healthy(boolean h) {
         this.healthy = h;
@@ -220,6 +225,19 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
         return this;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Make {@code pane.get(paneId)} report the pane gone (a {@code pane_not_found} {@link
+     * HerdrException}, exactly as {@link WorkspaceControl#locatePane} expects to see once a pane
+     * has really disappeared) once a {@code pane.close} call for that same {@code paneId} has
+     * actually reached this fake. Every other pane, and this pane before its own close, keeps
+     * reporting the default canned {@code pane.get} response — opt-in, by pane id, so no existing
+     * test's {@code pane.get} behaviour changes.
+     */
+    public FakeHerdr paneGoneAfterClose(String paneId) {
+        paneGoneAfterCloseIds.add(paneId);
+        return this;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Run {@code hook} synchronously the instant an {@code agent.start} call reaches this fake —
      * i.e. the instant the peer PROCESS would start against a real herdr daemon. A test uses this
@@ -422,9 +440,18 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
                     }
                     yield mapper.readTree("{\"type\":\"ok\"}");
                 }
-                case "pane.get" -> mapper.readTree("""
+                case "pane.get" -> {
+                    Object paneIdParam = params instanceof Map<?, ?> m ? m.get("pane_id") : null;
+                    String paneIdKey = paneIdParam == null ? null : String.valueOf(paneIdParam);
+                    if (paneIdKey != null && paneGoneAfterCloseIds.contains(paneIdKey)
+                            && closedPaneIds.contains(paneIdKey)) {
+                        throw new HerdrException("herdr error [pane_not_found]: pane.get failed",
+                                "pane_not_found", null);
+                    }
+                    yield mapper.readTree("""
                         {"type":"pane_info","pane":{"pane_id":"w9:pW","workspace_id":"w9",
                           "tab_id":"w9:t2","agent_status":"idle"}}""");
+                }
                 case "pane.list" -> noPanes
                         ? mapper.readTree("{\"type\":\"pane_list\",\"panes\":[]}")
                         : mapper.readTree("""
@@ -458,6 +485,9 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
                         throw new HerdrException("herdr error [" + code + "]: pane.close failed",
                                 code, null);
                     }
+                    if (paneIdParam != null) {
+                        closedPaneIds.add(String.valueOf(paneIdParam));
+                    }
                     yield mapper.readTree("{\"type\":\"ok\"}");
                 }
                 default -> throw new HerdrException("fake has no canned response for " + method);

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

@@ -571,4 +571,137 @@ class LeadLauncherTest {
         assertTrue(warn.contains("opus"), "names the profile: " + warn);
         assertTrue(warn.contains("x".repeat(60)), "names the culprit argument: " + warn);
     }
+
+    // ── fleetd #726 unit 1: the single-lead relaunch seam ─────────────────────────────────────
+
+    /**
+     * The returned agent's {@code terminalId()}/{@code paneId()} are the ones the fake
+     * {@code AgentControl} actually started — not a coincidental field left over from the caller.
+     * {@code paneId()} echoes the exact {@code pane_id} the launch's own {@code agent.start} call
+     * carried (protocol 19: the agent starts into the pane it is asked to), and {@code
+     * terminalId()} is herdr's own generated id, which the fake always shapes as {@code
+     * term_new_<n>}.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void relaunchReturnsTheStartedAgent() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNotNull(started, "a launchable, configured lead must start");
+        Object startedPaneIdParam = ((Map<?, ?>) herdr.lastCall("agent.start").params()).get("pane_id");
+        assertEquals(startedPaneIdParam, started.paneId(),
+                "paneId() must be the pane the agent.start call actually targeted");
+        assertTrue(started.terminalId() != null && started.terminalId().startsWith("term_new_"),
+                "terminalId() must be herdr's own generated id: " + started.terminalId());
+    }
+
+    /** The new tab is labelled with the lead's configured {@code tab:}, and AFTER the start. */
+    @Test
+    void relaunchLabelsTheNewTabAfterStarting() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNotNull(started);
+        assertEquals("lead: opus", ((Map<?, ?>) herdr.lastCall("tab.rename").params()).get("label"));
+
+        int startIndex = indexOfLastCall(herdr, "agent.start");
+        int renameIndex = indexOfLastCall(herdr, "tab.rename");
+        assertTrue(renameIndex > startIndex,
+                "the tab must be renamed AFTER the start succeeds, not before: start=" + startIndex
+                        + " rename=" + renameIndex);
+    }
+
+    private static int indexOfLastCall(FakeHerdr herdr, String method) {
+        int idx = -1;
+        List<FakeHerdr.Call> calls = herdr.calls;
+        for (int i = 0; i < calls.size(); i++) {
+            if (calls.get(i).method().equals(method)) {
+                idx = i;
+            }
+        }
+        return idx;
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void relaunchOfAnUnknownLeadNameReturnsNullAndStartsNothing() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("not-declared");
+
+        assertNull(started);
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"));
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("workspace.create"));
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("tab.create"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void relaunchOfARecogniseOnlyLeadReturnsNullAndStartsNothing() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead(null, "lead: dead", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNull(started);
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void relaunchWithAnUnconfiguredProfileReturnsNullAndStartsNothing() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("nope", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNull(started);
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The outer retry {@link LeadLauncher#relaunch(String)} owns, separate from {@code
+     * ResilientAgentLaunch}'s internal {@code agent_name_taken} retry: a failed attempt must not
+     * be the end of the whole relaunch. Each of the first two attempts exhausts {@code
+     * ResilientAgentLaunch.NAME_RETRIES} name attempts (every one of them rejected), so each
+     * attempt's own tab is created and then closed; the third attempt's first name is free.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void relaunchRetriesTheWholeAttemptAndSucceedsOnTheThird() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr()
+                .agentNameTakenTimes(2 * ResilientAgentLaunch.NAME_RETRIES);
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                fastLauncher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNotNull(started, "the third attempt's first name is free — it must succeed");
+        assertEquals(3, herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("tab.create")).count(),
+                "one tab per attempt: three attempts");
+        assertEquals(2, herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("tab.close")).count(),
+                "the two failed attempts' tabs must be closed");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Every attempt fails outright (a herdr error {@code ResilientAgentLaunch} does not retry at
+     * all) — {@link LeadLauncher#relaunch(String)} must give up after exactly {@code
+     * RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS} and must not leak any of the tabs it created along the way.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void relaunchGivesUpAfterExactlyRelaunchAttemptsAndLeaksNoTab() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentStartFailsWith("some_other_error");
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                fastLauncher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNull(started, "every attempt failed — relaunch must give up, not hang or guess");
+        assertEquals(LeadLauncher.RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS,
+                herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.start")).count(),
+                "exactly RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS attempts, no more, no fewer");
+        long tabsCreated = herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("tab.create")).count();
+        long tabsClosed = herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("tab.close")).count();
+        assertEquals(LeadLauncher.RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS, tabsCreated);
+        assertEquals(tabsCreated, tabsClosed, "every tab this method created must be closed — no leaks");
+    }
 }

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

@@ -504,12 +504,12 @@ class FleetMcpAuthzTest {
     }
 
     /**
-     * {@code fleet_poll{ticket}} must thread the calling connection's own terminal into
+     * {@code fleet_poll{ticket}} must thread the calling connection's owner key into
      * {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}, so a worker cannot read a ticket a different
      * session created.
      */
     @Test
-    void theFleetPollHandlerActuallyThreadsCallerTerminalIntoPoll() throws Exception {
+    void theFleetPollHandlerActuallyThreadsCallerOwnerIntoPoll() throws Exception {
         String source = Files.readString(MCP_SOURCE);
 
         int start = source.indexOf("pollHandler =");
@@ -525,18 +525,18 @@ class FleetMcpAuthzTest {
                 "control failed: the scraped pollHandler block contains no poll(messages, ...) call "
                         + "at all -- the anchors have drifted, this test is not testing what it claims to");
 
-        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("callerTerminal(exchange)"),
-                "the fleet_poll handler must thread callerTerminal(exchange) into poll(...), not omit "
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("principal(exchange).ownerKey()"),
+                "the fleet_poll handler must thread principal(exchange).ownerKey() into poll(...), not omit "
                         + "it or pass a literal null -- block: " + handlerBlock);
     }
 
     /**
-     * {@code fleet_status} must thread the calling connection's own terminal into
+     * {@code fleet_status} must thread the calling connection's owner key into
      * {@link FleetMcp#status(MessageService, String, String)}, so a caller that did not create a
      * worker's open delegation cannot read its pending question through the status handler either.
      */
     @Test
-    void theFleetStatusHandlerActuallyThreadsCallerTerminalIntoStatus() throws Exception {
+    void theFleetStatusHandlerActuallyThreadsCallerOwnerIntoStatus() throws Exception {
         String source = Files.readString(MCP_SOURCE);
 
         int start = source.indexOf("statusHandler =");
@@ -552,8 +552,8 @@ class FleetMcpAuthzTest {
                 "control failed: the scraped statusHandler block contains no status(messages, ...) "
                         + "call at all -- the anchors have drifted, this test is not testing what it claims to");
 
-        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("callerTerminal(exchange)"),
-                "the fleet_status handler must thread callerTerminal(exchange) into status(...), not "
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("principal(exchange).ownerKey()"),
+                "the fleet_status handler must thread principal(exchange).ownerKey() into status(...), not "
                         + "omit it or pass a literal null -- block: " + handlerBlock);
     }
 

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

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PaneLocator;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadLauncher;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.InMemoryReplyInbox;
@@ -24,6 +25,8 @@ 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.UncheckedIOException;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -36,14 +39,14 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
  * fleetd #480 Unit C — the {@code fleet_handover} MCP tool, the surface that finally calls
  * {@link LeadRollover#open}/{@link LeadRollover#confirm}/{@link LeadRollover#cancel}.
  *
- * <p>Uses {@link LeadRollover}'s PUBLIC constructor (real wall clock, real 250ms settle poll, a
- * real virtual-thread continuation runner) rather than its package-private test constructor —
- * this test lives in {@code dev.ltms.fleet.mcp}, not {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead}, and does not
- * need to control the post-{@code confirm()} continuation's timing: it only asserts the
- * SYNCHRONOUS return value of {@code open}/{@code confirm}/{@code cancel}, which is exactly what
- * {@code FleetMcp.handover} forwards to the client. {@code turnSettleSeconds}/{@code
- * clearSettleSeconds} are kept at 1s so a confirmed request's background continuation (which this
- * class does not wait on or assert against) gives up quickly rather than polling for 20s on a
+ * <p>Uses {@link LeadRollover}'s PUBLIC constructor (real wall clock, real 250ms poll, a real
+ * virtual-thread continuation runner) rather than its package-private test constructor — this
+ * test lives in {@code dev.ltms.fleet.mcp}, not {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead}, and does not need to
+ * control the post-{@code confirm()} continuation's timing: it only asserts the SYNCHRONOUS return
+ * value of {@code open}/{@code confirm}/{@code cancel}, which is exactly what {@code
+ * FleetMcp.handover} forwards to the client. {@code turnSettleSeconds}/{@code
+ * relaunchReadySeconds} are kept at 1s so a confirmed request's background continuation (which
+ * this class does not wait on or assert against) gives up quickly rather than polling for 20s on a
  * daemon virtual thread.
  */
 class FleetMcpHandoverTest {
@@ -67,10 +70,26 @@ class FleetMcpHandoverTest {
         return new FleetConfig.LeadRollover(handoverPath, false, 3600, 1, 1, "read the handover file");
     }
 
+    private static FleetConfig minimalFleetConfig() {
+        try {
+            Path yaml = Files.createTempFile("fleet-mcp-handover-test", ".yaml");
+            Files.writeString(yaml, "bind:\n  port: 8080\n");
+            return FleetConfig.load(yaml);
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new UncheckedIOException(e);
+        }
+    }
+
     private LeadRollover newRollover(String handoverPath) {
         // Every handoverPath this test class uses comes from tmp.resolve(...), which is already
         // absolute, so the workspace lookup is never actually consulted — a no-op lookup is enough.
-        return new LeadRollover(agents, () -> cfg(handoverPath), _ -> null);
+        // None of this class's tests reach the recognition-wait or the relaunch call, so the
+        // launcher's own functional correctness is irrelevant here — any constructed instance,
+        // backed by the same fake herdr, is enough.
+        WorkspaceControl spaces = new WorkspaceControl(herdr);
+        LeadLauncher launcher = new LeadLauncher(agents, spaces, minimalFleetConfig());
+        return new LeadRollover(agents, spaces, launcher, () -> cfg(handoverPath),
+                _ -> null, _ -> null, Map::of);
     }
 
     /** A fully wired FleetMcp on fakes (mirrors FleetMcpAuthzTest's helper), plus a leadRollover. */

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

@@ -329,12 +329,13 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
 
     /**
      * Same hijack and control through the fire-and-poll ({@code sendAsync}) path: the owner comes
-     * from the ticket's recorded creator terminal, not from a caller threaded through a live call.
+     * from the resolved principal, not from a caller argument threaded through a live call.
      */
     @Test
     void aDifferentCallersMcpAnswerIsRefusedForAnAsyncSendButTheRealOwnerSucceeds() throws Exception {
+        Principal owner = Principal.worker("term_owner", 1);
         McpSchema.CallToolResult accepted =
-                FleetMcp.sendAsync(messages, T, "do it", null, Set.of(), "term_owner");
+                FleetMcp.sendAsync(messages, T, "do it", null, Set.of(), owner);
         String ticket = textOf(accepted).substring(textOf(accepted).indexOf("ticket=") + "ticket=".length()).trim();
 
         long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
@@ -354,14 +355,15 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, asking.phase());
         String turnId = asking.turnId();
 
-        McpSchema.CallToolResult hijacked = FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "evil.yaml", 500L, "term_attacker");
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult hijacked = FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "evil.yaml", 500L,
+                "worker:term_attacker");
         assertTrue(hijacked.isError(), "a caller that did not create this delegation must get an error");
         assertFalse(ask.isDone(), "a refused answer must not resolve the worker's blocked fleet_ask");
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, messages.poll(ticket).phase(),
                 "a refused answer must not advance the async ticket's phase");
 
         CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "config.yaml", 5000L, "term_owner"));
+                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "config.yaml", 5000L, owner.ownerKey()));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", textOf(ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
         deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
         while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
@@ -1920,8 +1922,8 @@ 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 +1934,27 @@ 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");
@@ -1996,13 +2013,13 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
 
     /**
      * {@code fleet_status}'s pending-ask block (the question, its {@code turnId} and its ticket)
-     * is shown only to the caller whose terminal created the delegation, or to a caller with no
-     * terminal at all (the unnamed primary) — a different terminal-bearing caller still sees the
-     * base status line, but none of the pending-ask fields.
+     * is shown only to the caller whose owner key created the delegation, or to the unnamed primary.
+     * A different caller still sees the base status line, but none of the pending-ask fields.
      */
     @Test
-    void statusGatesThePendingAskFieldsByTheDelegationsCreatorTerminal() throws Exception {
-        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, "term_creator");
+    void statusGatesThePendingAskFieldsByTheDelegationsCreatorOwner() throws Exception {
+        Principal creator = Principal.worker("term_creator", 1);
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, creator);
         long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
         while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
             Thread.sleep(5);
@@ -2020,7 +2037,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         } while (asking.phase() != MessageService.Phase.ASKING && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, asking.phase());
 
-        String other = textOf(FleetMcp.status(messages, T, "term_other"));
+        String other = textOf(FleetMcp.status(messages, T, "worker:term_other"));
         assertTrue(other.startsWith("idle"), "the base status must still be shown: " + other);
         assertFalse(other.contains("which config file?"),
                 "a non-creating caller must not see the question text: " + other);
@@ -2029,10 +2046,12 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertFalse(other.contains(ticket),
                 "a non-creating caller must not see the ticket: " + other);
 
-        String creator = textOf(FleetMcp.status(messages, T, "term_creator"));
-        assertTrue(creator.contains("which config file?"), "the creator must see the question: " + creator);
-        assertTrue(creator.contains(asking.turnId()), "the creator must see the turnId: " + creator);
-        assertTrue(creator.contains(ticket), "the creator must see the ticket: " + creator);
+        String creatorStatus = textOf(FleetMcp.status(messages, T, creator.ownerKey()));
+        assertTrue(creatorStatus.contains("which config file?"),
+                "the creator must see the question: " + creatorStatus);
+        assertTrue(creatorStatus.contains(asking.turnId()),
+                "the creator must see the turnId: " + creatorStatus);
+        assertTrue(creatorStatus.contains(ticket), "the creator must see the ticket: " + creatorStatus);
 
         String unnamed = textOf(FleetMcp.status(messages, T, null));
         assertTrue(unnamed.contains("which config file?"),
@@ -2041,7 +2060,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         // Clean up the still-open ask so the background thread does not linger past the test.
         String turnId = asking.turnId();
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, "term_creator"));
+                () -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, creator.ownerKey()));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
         while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
@@ -2149,6 +2168,27 @@ 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/MessageServicePollUsageTest.java

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
  * {@link MessageService#poll(String)} overload. That overload skips the ownership check in
  * {@code MessageService}'s {@code ownsTicket} entirely, so a caller of it can read any session's
  * ticket. Every production caller must go through {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}
- * and pass a {@code callerTerminal} explicitly, even when it is {@code null}.
+ * and pass a {@code callerOwner} explicitly, even when it is {@code null}.
  *
  * <p>This reads each file's own source text rather than reflecting on compiled bytecode, because
  * the risk is a future one-word edit at a call site, not a missing overload.
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class MessageServicePollUsageTest {
                 + "below proves nothing");
 
         assertTrue(violations.isEmpty(), "found a call to the fail-open MessageService.poll(String) "
-                + "overload, which skips the ownership check entirely -- pass a callerTerminal "
+                + "overload, which skips the ownership check entirely -- pass a callerOwner "
                 + "explicitly (even if null) through poll(String, String) instead: " + violations);
 
         // CONTROL: the arity parser actually finds the two genuine two-argument call sites (the
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ class MessageServicePollUsageTest {
         assertEquals(2, twoArgSites.size(), "control failed: expected exactly the two known "
                 + "two-argument messages.poll(...) call sites, found: " + twoArgSites);
         assertTrue(twoArgSites.stream().anyMatch(s -> s.contains("FleetMcp.java")),
-                "control failed: did not find the FleetMcp.java messages.poll(ticket, callerTerminal) "
+                "control failed: did not find the FleetMcp.java messages.poll(ticket, callerOwner) "
                         + "site among: " + twoArgSites);
         assertTrue(twoArgSites.stream().anyMatch(s -> s.contains("FleetApp.java")),
                 "control failed: did not find the FleetApp.java messages.poll(...) site among: "

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

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ 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.auth.Principal;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
@@ -888,24 +889,59 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertNull(messages.poll("task-999999"), "a ticket that was never minted is unknown");
     }
 
-    // --- fleetd #705: a ticket's creator terminal gates who may poll it -------------------------
+    // --- fleetd #719: a per-boot nonce keeps one instance's ticket ids out of another's space ---
+
+    /** A second, fully independent instance — its own agents/injector/rendezvous/inbox, not shared. */
+    private MessageService newIndependentInstance() {
+        FakeHerdr otherHerdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("BUILD GREEN: 391 files");
+        AgentControl otherAgents = new AgentControl(otherHerdr);
+        Injector otherInjector = new Injector(otherAgents);
+        return new MessageService(otherAgents, otherInjector, new Rendezvous(), new InMemoryReplyInbox());
+    }
 
     @Test
-    void pollByAnotherTerminalIsRefused() throws Exception {
-        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task", null, "term_a");
+    void twoInstancesMintDisjointTicketIds() {
+        MessageService other = newIndependentInstance();
+        String ticketFromThis = messages.sendAsync(T, "task on first instance", null, null);
+        String ticketFromOther = other.sendAsync(T, "task on second instance", null, null);
+        assertNotEquals(ticketFromThis, ticketFromOther,
+                "each instance mints its own id space, so even a first ticket from each must differ");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void foreignInstanceTicketDoesNotResolve() {
+        MessageService other = newIndependentInstance();
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task on first instance", null, null);
+        // `other` must reach the same sequence number, or this test passes against an empty map
+        // instead of against a colliding id.
+        other.sendAsync(T, "task on second instance", null, null);
+
+        // control: the id resolves in the instance that minted it, so a null below cannot be
+        // explained by broken plumbing — only by the ticket being foreign to `other`.
+        assertNotNull(messages.poll(ticket), "the minting instance must still resolve its own ticket");
+        assertNull(other.poll(ticket), "a ticket minted by a different instance must not resolve here");
+    }
+
+    // --- ticket ownership -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    void leadBIsRefusedFromLeadAsTicket() throws Exception {
+        Principal leadA = Principal.leader("opus", "term_a", 1);
+        Principal leadB = Principal.leader("sol", "term_b", 2);
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task", null, leadA);
         awaitWaiting();
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // deliver
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING); // worker works
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "secret async result"), "a reply resolves the async send");
 
-        MessageService.TaskView owner = driveAsyncTicketToDone(ticket, "term_a");
+        MessageService.TaskView owner = driveAsyncTicketToDone(ticket, leadA.ownerKey());
         assertNotNull(owner, "the creator must still be able to read its own ticket");
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.DONE, owner.phase());
 
-        MessageService.TaskView refused = messages.poll(ticket, "term_b");
-        assertNotNull(refused, "a different terminal gets a refusal, not silence");
+        MessageService.TaskView refused = messages.poll(ticket, leadB.ownerKey());
+        assertNotNull(refused, "a different lead gets a refusal, not silence");
         assertNotEquals(MessageService.Phase.DONE, refused.phase(),
-                "a different terminal must never see the ticket as DONE");
+                "a different lead must never see the ticket as DONE");
         assertNull(refused.reply(), "a refusal must never carry the reply text");
         assertFalse(String.valueOf(refused).contains("secret async result"),
                 "the reply text must not appear anywhere in the refused view");
@@ -913,14 +949,13 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
     @Test
     void unnamedPrimaryStillReadsAnyTicket() throws Exception {
-        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task", null, "term_lead");
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task", null,
+                Principal.leader("opus", "term_lead", 1));
         awaitWaiting();
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // deliver
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING); // worker works
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "primary-visible result"), "a reply resolves the async send");
 
-        // callerTerminal == null is the unnamed primary (resolved by token or loopback trust, with
-        // no herdr pane) — it must read a ticket a terminal-bearing lead created.
         MessageService.TaskView view = driveAsyncTicketToDone(ticket, null);
         assertNotNull(view, "the unnamed primary must be able to read any ticket");
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.DONE, view.phase());
@@ -928,19 +963,44 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void creatorReadsItsOwnTicket() throws Exception {
-        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task", null, "term_creator");
+    void namedLeadCanPollItsTicketAfterItsTerminalChanges() throws Exception {
+        Principal oldLead = Principal.leader("opus", "term_OLD", 1);
+        Principal newLead = Principal.leader("opus", "term_NEW", 2);
+        assertNotEquals(oldLead.terminal(), newLead.terminal(), "the test requires different terminals");
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task", null, oldLead);
         awaitWaiting();
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // deliver
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING); // worker works
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "own result"), "a reply resolves the async send");
 
-        MessageService.TaskView view = driveAsyncTicketToDone(ticket, "term_creator");
-        assertNotNull(view, "the ticket's own creator must be able to read it");
+        MessageService.TaskView view = driveAsyncTicketToDone(ticket, newLead.ownerKey());
+        assertNotNull(view, "the same named lead must read the ticket from its new terminal");
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.DONE, view.phase());
         assertEquals("own result", view.reply());
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void anonymousOwnerKeyIsRefusedByTheTicketGateItself() {
+        Principal lead = Principal.leader("opus", "term_lead", 1);
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task", null, lead);
+
+        MessageService.TaskView refused = messages.poll(ticket, Principal.anonymous().ownerKey());
+
+        assertNotNull(refused);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.FAILED, refused.phase());
+        assertEquals("forbidden: this ticket was created by a different session", refused.detail());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void architectOwnershipUsesTerminalRatherThanSlot() {
+        Principal oldArchitect = Principal.architect("opus", "term_OLD", 1);
+        Principal newArchitect = Principal.architect("opus", "term_NEW", 2);
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task", null, oldArchitect);
+
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.PENDING, messages.poll(ticket, oldArchitect.ownerKey()).phase());
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.FAILED, messages.poll(ticket, newArchitect.ownerKey()).phase());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void pollReportsACompletedTicket() throws Exception {
         String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task");
@@ -1917,13 +1977,13 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     }
 
     /**
-     * A caller's own terminal must match the terminal that created the delegation to see its
-     * pending question; a different terminal-bearing caller sees nothing, and a caller with no
-     * terminal at all (the unnamed primary) always sees it.
+     * A caller's owner key must match the key that created the delegation to see its pending
+     * question. The unnamed primary always sees it.
      */
     @Test
-    void pendingAskGatesTheQuestionByTheDelegationsCreatorTerminal() throws Exception {
-        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, "term_creator");
+    void pendingAskGatesTheQuestionByTheDelegationsCreatorOwner() throws Exception {
+        Principal creator = Principal.worker("term_creator", 1);
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, creator);
         awaitWaiting();
         injectDelivery();
 
@@ -1931,10 +1991,10 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
         MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
 
-        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, "term_other"),
-                "a caller whose terminal did not create the delegation must not see the question");
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, "worker:term_other"),
+                "a caller whose key did not create the delegation must not see the question");
 
-        MessageService.PendingAsk own = messages.pendingAsk(T, "term_creator");
+        MessageService.PendingAsk own = messages.pendingAsk(T, creator.ownerKey());
         assertNotNull(own, "the creating caller must see its own open question");
         assertEquals("which config file?", own.question());
 
@@ -1943,7 +2003,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertEquals("which config file?", unnamed.question());
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, "term_creator"));
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, creator.ownerKey()));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         awaitWaiting();
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
@@ -1951,13 +2011,12 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     }
 
     /**
-     * A task created with no recorded creator terminal (a short {@code sendAsync} overload) must
-     * not hand its open question to any caller that does have a terminal — only a caller with no
-     * terminal at all may still see it.
+     * A task created with no recorded owner (a short {@code sendAsync} overload) must not hand its
+     * open question to a caller with an owner key. Only the unnamed primary may still see it.
      */
     @Test
     void pendingAskDeniesATerminalBearingCallerWhenTheTaskRecordsNoCreator() throws Exception {
-        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks"); // no creatorTerminal recorded
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks");
         awaitWaiting();
         injectDelivery();
 
@@ -1965,8 +2024,8 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
         MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
 
-        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, "term_someone"),
-                "a terminal-bearing caller must not see a question whose task records no creator");
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, "worker:term_someone"),
+                "a caller with an owner key must not see a question whose task records no creator");
         assertNotNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, null),
                 "the unnamed primary must still see it even with no recorded creator");
 
@@ -2022,7 +2081,8 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
      */
     @Test
     void aDifferentCallersAnswerIsRefusedForAnAsyncSendDelegationButTheRealOwnerSucceeds() throws Exception {
-        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, "term_owner");
+        Principal owner = Principal.worker("term_owner", 1);
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, owner);
         awaitWaiting();
         injectDelivery();
 
@@ -2030,7 +2090,8 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
         MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
 
-        MessageService.Reply hijacked = messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "evil.yaml", 500, "term_attacker");
+        MessageService.Reply hijacked = messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "evil.yaml", 500,
+                "worker:term_attacker");
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.NOT_TURN_OWNER, hijacked.outcome(),
                 "a caller that did not create this delegation must be refused, not served");
         assertFalse(ask.isDone(), "a refused answer must not resolve the worker's blocked fleet_ask");
@@ -2038,7 +2099,38 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 "a refused answer must not advance the async ticket's phase");
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, "term_owner"));
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, owner.ownerKey()));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+        awaitWaiting();
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome());
+        assertEquals("done", awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE).reply());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void namedLeadCanSeeAndAnswerAnAskAfterItsTerminalChangesWhileLeadBIsRefused() throws Exception {
+        Principal oldLead = Principal.leader("opus", "term_OLD", 1);
+        Principal newLead = Principal.leader("opus", "term_NEW", 2);
+        Principal leadB = Principal.leader("sol", "term_SOL", 3);
+        assertNotEquals(oldLead.terminal(), newLead.terminal(), "the test requires different terminals");
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, oldLead);
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
+        MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+
+        assertNotNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, newLead.ownerKey()),
+                "the same lead at its new terminal must see the pending ask");
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, leadB.ownerKey()),
+                "another lead must not see the pending ask");
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.NOT_TURN_OWNER,
+                messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "evil.yaml", 500, leadB.ownerKey()).outcome());
+        assertFalse(ask.isDone(), "another lead must not resolve the worker's ask");
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, newLead.ownerKey()));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         awaitWaiting();
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));

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

@@ -191,21 +191,68 @@ 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),
-                "no owner on record refuses even a caller with no terminal");
-        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(null, "term_a"),
-                "no owner on record refuses a terminal-bearing caller too");
+                "no owner on record refuses even the unnamed primary");
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(null, "worker:term_a"),
+                "no owner on record refuses a caller with an owner key too");
         assertTrue(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.UNNAMED_PRIMARY, null),
-                "the unnamed primary owner matches a caller with no terminal");
-        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.UNNAMED_PRIMARY, "term_a"),
-                "the unnamed primary owner does not match a terminal-bearing caller");
-        assertTrue(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_a"), "term_a"),
-                "a named owner matches the same terminal");
-        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_a"), "term_b"),
-                "a named owner refuses a different terminal");
-        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_a"), null),
+                "the recorded unnamed primary matches a caller with a null owner key");
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.UNNAMED_PRIMARY, "worker:term_a"),
+                "the recorded unnamed primary does not match another owner key");
+        assertTrue(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("worker:term_a"), "worker:term_a"),
+                "an owner matches the same key");
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("worker:term_a"), "worker:term_b"),
+                "an owner refuses a different key");
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("worker:term_a"), null),
                 "a named owner refuses the unnamed primary");
     }
 }

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;
@@ -146,11 +148,11 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
 
     /**
      * {@code GET /tasks/{ticket}} must resolve its caller the same way {@code allow(...)} does
-     * and thread that terminal into {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}, not the
+     * and thread that owner key into {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}, not the
      * no-check overload that ignores who is asking.
      */
     @Test
-    void theTaskStatusRouteActuallyThreadsTheCallersTerminalIntoPoll() throws Exception {
+    void theTaskStatusRouteActuallyThreadsTheCallersOwnerKeyIntoPoll() throws Exception {
         String source = Files.readString(REST_SOURCE);
 
         int start = source.indexOf("private void taskStatus(Context ctx) {");
@@ -166,8 +168,8 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
                 "control failed: the scraped taskStatus block contains no messages.poll( call at all "
                         + "-- the anchors have drifted, this test is not testing what it claims to");
 
-        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("caller.terminal()"),
-                "the taskStatus route must thread the resolved caller's terminal into messages.poll(...), "
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("caller.ownerKey()"),
+                "the taskStatus route must thread the resolved caller's owner key into messages.poll(...), "
                         + "not the no-check overload -- block: " + handlerBlock);
         assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("ctx.attribute(CALLER)"),
                 "the taskStatus route must resolve its caller the same way allow(...) does, not via a "
@@ -176,11 +178,11 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
 
     /**
      * {@code GET /sessions/{id}/status} must resolve its caller the same way {@code allow(...)}
-     * does and thread that terminal into {@link MessageService#pendingAsk(String, String)}, not
+     * does and thread that owner key into {@link MessageService#pendingAsk(String, String)}, not
      * the no-check overload that ignores who is asking.
      */
     @Test
-    void theSessionStatusRouteActuallyThreadsTheCallersTerminalIntoPendingAsk() throws Exception {
+    void theSessionStatusRouteActuallyThreadsTheCallersOwnerKeyIntoPendingAsk() throws Exception {
         String source = Files.readString(REST_SOURCE);
 
         int start = source.indexOf("private void sessionStatus(Context ctx) {");
@@ -196,8 +198,8 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
                 "control failed: the scraped sessionStatus block contains no messages.pendingAsk( "
                         + "call at all -- the anchors have drifted, this test is not testing what it claims to");
 
-        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("caller.terminal()"),
-                "the sessionStatus route must thread the resolved caller's terminal into "
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("caller.ownerKey()"),
+                "the sessionStatus route must thread the resolved caller's owner key into "
                         + "messages.pendingAsk(...), not the no-check overload -- block: " + handlerBlock);
         assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("ctx.attribute(CALLER)"),
                 "the sessionStatus route must resolve its caller the same way allow(...) does, not via "
@@ -222,7 +224,8 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
         Javalin otherWorkerApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 9001L);             // -> term_shell
         Javalin primaryApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 999_999L);              // no pane -> primary
         try {
-            String ticket = messages.sendAsync("term_a", "long task", null, "term_a");
+            String ticket = messages.sendAsync("term_a", "long task", null,
+                    Principal.worker("term_a", FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID));
 
             HttpResponse<String> refused = send(otherWorkerApp.port(), "GET", "/tasks/" + ticket, null, null);
             assertEquals(200, refused.statusCode());
@@ -287,12 +290,12 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
 
     /**
      * {@code GET /sessions/{id}/status} shows a worker's pending {@code fleet_ask} question, its
-     * {@code turnId} and its ticket only to the caller whose terminal created that delegation, or
-     * to a caller with no terminal at all (the unnamed primary) — a different terminal-bearing
-     * caller still sees the base status line, but none of the pending-ask fields.
+     * {@code turnId} and its ticket only to the caller whose owner key created that delegation, or
+     * to the unnamed primary. A different caller still sees the base status line, but none of the
+     * pending-ask fields.
      */
     @Test
-    void restStatusGatesThePendingAskFieldsByTheDelegationsCreatorTerminal() throws Exception {
+    void restStatusGatesThePendingAskFieldsByTheDelegationsCreatorOwner() throws Exception {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
         AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
         Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
@@ -304,7 +307,8 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
         Javalin primaryApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 999_999L);              // no pane -> primary
         try {
             ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
-            String ticket = messages.sendAsync("term_target", "task that asks", null, "term_a");
+            String ticket = messages.sendAsync("term_target", "task that asks", null,
+                    Principal.worker("term_a", FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID));
             long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
             while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
                 Thread.sleep(5);
@@ -343,7 +347,7 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
 
             // Clean up the still-open ask so the background thread does not linger past the test.
             CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                    () -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, "term_a"));
+                    () -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, "worker:term_a"));
             assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
             deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
             while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
@@ -520,6 +524,11 @@ 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 +543,8 @@ 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();