fleetd #345: test timeout cancellation race

#339 stopped a member's own prose about an error from recording a credential
outage, by requiring the pattern at the start of its matched line. A bare
lookingAt also rejected a genuine error line rendered as

    | 503 Service Unavailable: upstream credential rejected

The send still failed, but the outage was never recorded. That is the false
negative #339's own invariant 3 named as worse than the false positive it set
out to fix: an unrecorded outage leaves the fleet spawning into a dead
credential.

Measured with a throwaway probe on the raw-scrape path, whose own comment says
to expect leading chrome there: kind=FAILED, sinkNotified=0.

startsWithBackendError now skips a leading run of non-letter, non-digit
characters before the check. That keeps #339's intent: prose still does not
match, because there the pattern sits after words rather than after chrome.
The worker's own prose test still passes.

Mutation: restoring the bare lookingAt fails the new test.

.claude/skills/hunter/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+---
+name: hunter
+description: Defect-hunt procedure for a fleetd worker — sweep an assigned package for real bugs and report several ranked findings without fixing anything. Load this when the lead asks you to hunt or audit a scope rather than review one diff. Do NOT load `reviewer` for this; the two want different output.
+---
+
+# Hunter worker — procedure
+
+The turn contract (one `fleet_reply`, `fleet_ask` for the lead's decisions, honest reporting,
+never merge) is in **`CLAUDE.md` → Bridge communication → Worker** and already applies.
+
+**This skill is not `reviewer`.** `reviewer` judges one diff and reports the *single* most
+important issue in about 90 words. A hunt sweeps a whole package and reports *several* findings
+in a long structured form. Loading both gives you two contradictory output contracts, and the
+usual result is a worker that writes a good report into its terminal and ends the turn without
+sending it. Load exactly one.
+
+## 0. Read this before you read code: how the report gets home
+
+Your terminal reaches nobody. The lead sees **only** the text inside your `fleet_reply` call.
+
+A long report is exactly the case where this goes wrong, so plan for it:
+
+- **Write the report into the `fleet_reply` argument itself.** Do not compose it in your terminal
+  and then summarise it into the call.
+- If the report is long, **send it anyway** — one `fleet_reply` with everything.
+- If you end the turn without replying, the bridge scrapes your pane instead. That scrape carries
+  at most the last 4000 characters, and on a hunt it usually captures the tail of the lead's own
+  brief rather than your findings. The lead then has nothing and has to ask you again.
+
+## 1. Change nothing
+
+A hunt is read-only. Do not edit a production file, do not "quickly fix" what you find, and do
+not run a formatter. You may run the build and tests to *check* a claim, and you should say so
+when you did.
+
+## 2. Read the whole scope first
+
+Read every file in the assigned package before you judge any of it. A defect that a caller
+elsewhere in the same package makes unreachable is not a defect, and you cannot know that from
+one file.
+
+Stay inside the scope. If a defect there depends on a class outside it, read that class to
+confirm — but the defect itself must live in the scope you were given.
+
+## 3. The bar — this matters more than the count
+
+**Name the path into the bad state.** Say which caller, in which state, reaches it. A defect on
+paper is not a reachable defect. If you cannot name that path, keep the finding but mark it
+`unproven` and say exactly what you could not check. Do not drop it, and do not dress it up.
+
+**Say which direction the harm goes.** Data loss, privilege escalation and silent wrong answers
+are worth reporting even when the window is narrow. A finding whose worst outcome is a worse log
+line is not worth a block.
+
+Two workers once ran the same scope: the one that applied the direction-of-harm filter found ten
+real defects, the one that did not found none. Fewer findings the lead can act on beat many the
+lead has to triage.
+
+## 4. Shapes that have produced real merged fixes here
+
+Read for these first:
+
+1. **A one-way gate.** A guard added after an incident closes only the direction that incident
+   came from. Do not only ask what closes the gate — ask **which states still open it**.
+2. **A value read once, then used later to authorise something destructive**, after something
+   else has had a chance to change it.
+3. **A failure downgraded to a value that looks like a legitimate result** — `-1`, `null`, an
+   empty list, `false` — which a caller then trusts.
+4. **A lock held for one half of a read-modify-write and not the other**, or two collections
+   updated under different locks.
+5. **A comment or javadoc stating an invariant the code no longer keeps.** Comments are
+   load-bearing in this repo; a stale one has already caused a bug.
+
+## 5. What you cannot check, and must not claim you did
+
+- `fleetd/fleetd.yaml` is gitignored and **absent from your worktree**. You cannot read it. If a
+  finding depends on live configuration, name the key and say you could not check it.
+- `.mcp.json`, `opencode.json` and `.autoenv` in your worktree are neutralised stubs, not the
+  repo's real files.
+- The `wiki/` submodule pointer is months old. Do not cite it.
+
+Reporting a fact you took from the lead's brief as something you measured yourself is a false
+report, even when the fact is correct. Say where each fact came from.
+
+## 6. The report — what goes in `fleet_reply`
+
+One block per finding, most severe first:
+
+```
+FINDING N — <one line>
+file:line
+Path in:        <which caller, in which state, reaches this>
+Direction:      <data loss | escalation | silent wrong answer | outage | ...>
+Window/trigger: <when it actually happens>
+Confidence:     <confirmed by reading | unproven — say what you could not check>
+Why nothing else catches it: <the guard or test you checked, and why it misses>
+```
+
+End with one line naming every file you read, so the lead knows the denominator.
+
+**Nothing clears the bar?** Reply `NO FINDINGS`, name the files you read, and say what you ruled
+out. A clean sweep is a valid result; an invented defect is worse than none.

.claude/skills/reviewer/SKILL.md

@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ never merge) is in **`CLAUDE.md` → Bridge communication → Worker** and alrea
 skill is only the *review procedure*: how to work the scope, and the exact shape of what you
 send back.
 
+**Wrong skill for a sweep.** This one reviews *one* diff or scope and reports the *single* most
+important issue. If the lead asked you to hunt or audit a whole package for several defects, load
+`hunter` instead and ignore this file — the two want different output, and following both is how a
+worker ends its turn with a good report that never gets sent.
+
 ## 1. Read the whole scope before you judge
 
 The delegation names your scope — a file, a diff, a PR, a function. **Read all of it first.**

CLAUDE.md

@@ -200,8 +200,13 @@ must obey belongs in the charter, not here.
   adapter, with a message naming the credential and the remaining seconds ("cooling off after
   repeated backend errors") — distinct wording from a quarantine refusal, so don't conflate the
   two when reading a spawn failure.
-- **Skills available to delegate:** `implementer` (worktree → commit → push → own PR) and
-  `reviewer` (scoped review → one structured finding). Name one in every delegation.
+- **Skills available to delegate:** `implementer` (worktree → commit → push → own PR),
+  `reviewer` (one diff → one structured finding) and `hunter` (sweep a package → several ranked
+  findings, change nothing). Name exactly one in every delegation. **`reviewer` and `hunter` are
+  not interchangeable** — `reviewer` caps the answer at one finding in about 90 words, so naming
+  it for a multi-finding sweep hands the worker two contradictory output contracts. That has
+  already cost three workers' turns: each wrote a good report to its terminal and ended the turn
+  with no `fleet_reply`, and the scrape returned the tail of the brief instead.
 - **Primary-side skills** (not delegation playbooks — a worker cannot use them):
   `port-to-opencode` (make an OpenCode session a participant in this workspace) and
   `fleets-status` (report every fleet that shares one LavinMQ instance).

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

@@ -250,9 +250,7 @@ public final class Fleetd {
         boolean clearAfterTurn = cfg.lifecycle() != null && cfg.lifecycle().clearAfterTurn();
         SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workers, new GitWorktrees(cfg.worktreeRoot(), cfg.worktreeGroup()),
                 System::nanoTime, contextCap, clearAfterTurn);
-        liveCountRef.set(profileName -> (int) sessions.roster().stream()
-                .filter(s -> profileName.equals(s.profile()))
-                .count());
+        liveCountRef.set(profileName -> liveSessionCount(sessions.roster(), profileName));
 
         // CB-303 part 1: idle-ttl reaper — only when configured, defaults to disabled.
         final SessionReaper reaper;
@@ -627,6 +625,19 @@ public final class Fleetd {
             log.info("auth: loopback-trust (any loopback non-worker caller is the primary)");
         }
 
+        // fleetd #297: named once and reused verbatim below for FleetApp's GET /profiles, rather than
+        // built a second time — two independently-constructed sources reading the SAME BackendQuarantine
+        // / BackendOutagePolicy would still be able to drift (e.g. a future edit to the credentialIdFor
+        // closure in only one of the two places), exactly the shape #284 was.
+        FleetMcp.QuarantineSource quarantineSource = new FleetMcp.QuarantineSource(profile -> {
+            var configured = config.get().profiles().get(profile);
+            return configured == null ? null : configured.effectiveCredentialId();
+        }, quarantine);
+        FleetMcp.OutageSource outageSource = new FleetMcp.OutageSource(profile -> {
+            var configured = config.get().profiles().get(profile);
+            return configured == null ? null : configured.effectiveCredentialId();
+        }, outagePolicy);
+
         FleetMcp mcp = new FleetMcp(messages, workers, sessions, identity, presence,
                 primaryRegistry, callers, metrics, new FleetMcp.CapacitySource(profile -> liveCountRef.get().apply(profile),
                 profile -> {
@@ -638,15 +649,9 @@ public final class Fleetd {
                     return FleetHealthMonitor.coverage(health != null && health.isEnabled(),
                             health != null && health.notifications() != null && health.notifications().configured());
                 }),
-                new FleetMcp.QuarantineSource(profile -> {
-                    var configured = config.get().profiles().get(profile);
-                    return configured == null ? null : configured.effectiveCredentialId();
-                }, quarantine),
+                quarantineSource,
                 leadMailbox,
-                new FleetMcp.OutageSource(profile -> {
-                    var configured = config.get().profiles().get(profile);
-                    return configured == null ? null : configured.effectiveCredentialId();
-                }, outagePolicy),
+                outageSource,
                 new FleetMcp.LeadSeatSource(leadSeatLookup(() -> config.get().profiles(), leaders, leads)));
 
         // CB-637: the receive half. Only constructed when a lead mailbox actually opened — with no
@@ -717,9 +722,12 @@ public final class Fleetd {
         // GET /sessions must merge across both, or a down/unpolled member daemon is invisible.
         // fleetd #111: live (re-read-per-request) memberCredentials view for GET /member-credentials —
         // same hot-reload shape as the memberCredentials supplier passed to ClaudeCodeLauncher above.
+        // fleetd #297: quarantineSource/outageSource are the SAME instances passed to FleetMcp above —
+        // GET /profiles must report the identical quarantine/cool-off facts as fleet_profiles.
         Javalin app = new FleetApp(herdr, memberHerdr, workers, sessions, messages, presence, mcp.servlet(),
                 callers, metrics, deliverable,
-                () -> MemberCredentialPolicyView.of(config.get().memberCredentials())).build();
+                () -> MemberCredentialPolicyView.of(config.get().memberCredentials()),
+                quarantineSource, outageSource).build();
         app.start(cfg.bind().host(), cfg.bind().port());
         log.info("fleetd listening on {}:{}, herdr socket {}",
                 cfg.bind().host(), cfg.bind().port(), socket);
@@ -859,6 +867,19 @@ public final class Fleetd {
                 .orElse(null);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Count sessions that occupy a profile's spawn capacity. A {@code BACKEND_ERROR} or
+     * {@code FAILED} session stays in the roster so {@code fleet_list} can show its failure, but a
+     * member that cannot accept another delivery does not use a seat.
+     */
+    static int liveSessionCount(List<MemberSession> roster, String profileName) {
+        return (int) roster.stream()
+                .filter(session -> profileName.equals(session.profile()))
+                .filter(session -> session.state() != MemberSession.State.BACKEND_ERROR)
+                .filter(session -> session.state() != MemberSession.State.FAILED)
+                .count();
+    }
+
     /**
      * fleetd #248 / fleetd#201 Unit 5: factory for the production {@link BackendErrorSink} — the
      * collaborator {@link CompletionResolver} notifies when a pane-scrape classification actually

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

@@ -236,7 +236,15 @@ public final class CallerResolver {
         // loopback-trust: same-host callers that are not workers are the primary. A non-loopback
         // caller is anonymous even here — and startup refuses that combination anyway
         // (FleetConfig.validateAuthExposure), so this is defence in depth, not the control.
-        return isLoopback(remoteAddr) ? Principal.primary(c.pid()) : Principal.anonymous();
+        //
+        // fleetd #317: "not a worker" must not be conflated with "identity unresolved". The real
+        // primary is a real process — its pid resolves (c.resolved()), it just owns no herdr pane.
+        // A caller whose peer-PID lookup failed (LsofPeerPidLookup's -1 sentinel — on any failure,
+        // silently including "lsof found no match") has no such pid, and PaneLocator's own javadoc
+        // already names what happens if that case is handed the primary role: a worker→primary
+        // escalation. So an unresolved caller is refused (ANONYMOUS — the same clean, already-tested
+        // "authenticated as nothing" outcome used everywhere else in this method), never promoted.
+        return isLoopback(remoteAddr) && c.resolved() ? Principal.primary(c.pid()) : Principal.anonymous();
     }
 
     private boolean presentedTokenMatches(String authorizationHeader) {
@@ -262,11 +270,15 @@ public final class CallerResolver {
         return token.isEmpty() ? null : token;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #305: delegates to {@link ConnectionIdentity#isLoopback}. This used to be a second,
+     * independent copy of the same rule, and the two drifted: this one accepted all of
+     * {@code 127.0.0.0/8}, {@code ConnectionIdentity}'s accepted only {@code 127.0.0.1}. A caller
+     * from {@code 127.0.0.2} therefore had its identity skipped (so it had no terminal) and was
+     * then read as loopback here — which under loopback-trust is the primary. Sharing the inputs
+     * would not have prevented that; only sharing the computation does.
+     */
     private static boolean isLoopback(String remoteAddr) {
-        if (remoteAddr == null) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        return remoteAddr.equals("127.0.0.1") || remoteAddr.equals("::1")
-                || remoteAddr.equals("0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1") || remoteAddr.startsWith("127.");
+        return ConnectionIdentity.isLoopback(remoteAddr);
     }
 }

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

@@ -22,46 +22,153 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
  * choice rather than an accident of where the field was initialised.
  *
  * <h2>Not every key can change under a running daemon</h2>
- * Keys fall into three classes, and the difference is about what already exists when the reload
+ * Keys fall into four classes, and the difference is about what already exists when the reload
  * happens — not about how important the key is.
  *
  * <ul>
  *   <li><strong>Hot</strong> — re-read per use, so a reload takes effect on the next spawn:
- *       {@code fleet:} (every role pool, {@code charters}, and {@code tabLabel}),
- *       {@code placement:}, and an existing profile's {@code weight} / {@code maxLoad}. Those
- *       three are read through a supplier on {@code CompositePeerLauncher}, which is what makes
- *       them hot — not the fact that they are config. <strong>This does NOT include
- *       {@code fleet.leaders}</strong>: {@code Fleetd.main} reads {@code cfg.fleet().leaders()}
- *       once at startup to build the {@code LeadTabScanner} and the {@code LeadLauncher}, and
- *       neither is reconstructed on reload — so a lead added, removed, or re-{@code tab}'d under
- *       {@code fleet.leaders} needs a restart, the same as any deferred key below.</li>
+ *       {@code placement:}, and an existing profile's {@code weight} / {@code maxLoad}. Both are
+ *       read through a supplier on {@code CompositePeerLauncher}, which is what makes them hot —
+ *       not the fact that they are config. Most of {@code fleet:} — every role pool
+ *       ({@code architects}/{@code developers}/{@code reviewers}), {@code charters}, and
+ *       {@code tabLabel} — is read the same live way, through the same supplier
+ *       ({@code () -> config.get().fleet()}). <strong>But {@code fleet:} as a whole is NOT in this
+ *       class</strong>: {@code fleet.leaders} inside the same key is frozen, which is exactly what
+ *       makes {@code fleet:} split rather than hot — see below.</li>
  *   <li><strong>Deferred</strong> — accepted into the new snapshot, but the wiring built at startup
  *       keeps the old value until a restart: {@code lifecycle:}, {@code leadHeartbeat:},
  *       {@code spawnReadyTimeoutMs} / {@code spawnReadyPollMs}, {@code quarantineCooldownSeconds}
  *       (CB-578 stage B — baked once into the {@code BackendQuarantine} built at startup),
- *       {@code guard:}, {@code worktreeRoot:}, adding or removing a profile (a new backend needs its own launcher,
+ *       {@code guard:}, {@code worktreeRoot:} and {@code worktreeGroup:} (both baked once into the
+ *       {@code GitWorktrees} built at {@code Fleetd.java:251} and never rebuilt — fleetd #323
+ *       instance 2 found {@code worktreeGroup} missing from this list and from
+ *       {@link #changedDeferredKeys}), {@code primary:} (fleetd #326 — {@code Fleetd.java:506, 519,
+ *       520} read {@code cfg.primary()} only off the startup snapshot to build {@code
+ *       PrimaryRegistry} and size {@code ReplyPushLoop}'s reminder cap/backoff, and neither is
+ *       rebuilt on reload. Say the consequence exactly: {@code primary.terminal} is DEPRECATED
+ *       (CB-532, and {@code Fleetd.java:511} warns about it at startup) — a lead's identity comes
+ *       from {@code leaders:}/{@code leadScan:}, so changing this pin does not demote or promote a
+ *       lead that uses those. What a changed pin still does not take effect on until a restart is
+ *       the fallback nudge destination the pin remains, the deprecated identity path for an operator
+ *       who still relies on it, and {@code pushReminders}/{@code pushBackoffMs}), {@code configReload:} (fleetd #326 — {@code
+ *       Fleetd.java:679-680} read it only at startup to decide whether to build a {@code
+ *       ConfigWatcher} at all and with what interval; the watcher that would apply a later change is
+ *       itself built once, so a running watcher keeps polling on its original enabled flag and
+ *       interval regardless of what a reload changes it to, the same shape as {@code lifecycle} —
+ *       not cold, because no already-open resource goes inconsistent with the new value, the watcher
+ *       (if any) simply keeps its old settings), adding or removing a profile (a new backend needs its own launcher,
  *       which is constructed once), <em>and an existing profile's launch settings</em> —
  *       {@code model}, {@code baseUrl}, {@code argv}, {@code env}, {@code mcpUrl},
  *       {@code exhaustedPattern} (CB-578 stage A — compiled once into {@code Fleetd.main}'s
  *       pattern map at startup), {@code errorPattern} (fleetd #201 Unit 5 — compiled once into
- *       {@code Fleetd.main}'s backend-error pattern map at startup, the same way), and the rest.
+ *       {@code Fleetd.main}'s backend-error pattern map at startup, the same way),
+ *       {@code ideProjectDir} / {@code ideOpenCommand} / {@code autoCompactWindow} (fleetd #323
+ *       instance 1 — all three are read at spawn off the same frozen profile map and were missing
+ *       from {@link #sameLaunchSettings}), and the rest of {@link #sameLaunchSettings}.
  *       {@code credentialId} (CB-578 stage B) is NOT on
  *       this list — it is read live off the config supplier at every quarantine check and
  *       exhaustion event, exactly like {@code weight} / {@code maxLoad}, so it is hot instead.
  *       {@code HerdrPeerLauncher} takes {@code Map.copyOf(profiles)} at construction and resolves
  *       each spawn out of that copy, so those never reach a launch until the daemon restarts. A
  *       reload logs these rather than pretending they applied.</li>
- *   <li><strong>Cold</strong> — cannot change at all under a running daemon: {@code bind:},
- *       {@code herdrSocket:}, {@code broker:} and {@code auth:}. The socket is bound, the broker
+ *   <li><strong>Split</strong> (fleetd #330; extended to a third key by fleetd #333) — read
+ *       <em>both</em> ways at different sites, so the key does not fit any class above as a whole:
+ *       {@code health:}, {@code coordinator:} and {@code fleet:}. Each is read off the startup
+ *       snapshot to build a long-lived object, and read live off {@link #get()} at a different,
+ *       unrelated site — so half of a reload's effect already applies while the other half waits
+ *       for a restart, and a bare "config reloaded" would under-claim by exactly that half.
+ *       <ul>
+ *         <li>{@code health:} — the monitor itself ({@code enabled}, {@code intervalSeconds},
+ *             {@code workingSuspectAfterSeconds}) is built once at {@code Fleetd.java:556-563}
+ *             and never rebuilt, so a changed value needs a restart to actually start, stop, or
+ *             retime it. The coverage string {@code fleet_profiles} reports
+ *             ({@code Fleetd.java:648-650}) is read live off {@link #get()} on every call, so it
+ *             already reflects the new value.</li>
+ *         <li>{@code coordinator:} — the {@code LeadMailbox} connection ({@code uri},
+ *             {@code uriEnv}, {@code selfId}, {@code prefetch}) is opened once at
+ *             {@code Fleetd.java:502} and never reopened, so a changed value needs a restart —
+ *             {@code selfId} in particular names this daemon's own AMQP inbox queue, and a peer
+ *             lead that learned the old name would not discover a new one on its own. The broker
+ *             URI env-var <em>name</em> that {@code MemberEnvAllowList} keeps out of a member's
+ *             environment is read live off {@link #get()} on every spawn
+ *             ({@code HerdrPeerLauncher.java:1530}), so it already applies.</li>
+ *         <li>{@code fleet:} (fleetd #333) — {@code fleet.leaders} is the frozen half:
+ *             {@code Fleetd.java:281} reads {@code cfg.fleet().leaders()} off the startup snapshot
+ *             for two long-lived objects built right after it and never rebuilt — the
+ *             {@code LeadTabScanner}'s {@code tab label → lead name} map ({@code Fleetd.java:301},
+ *             wired into {@code CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers} at {@code Fleetd.java:620/624},
+ *             which is how a caller's pane is recognised as a lead at all) and, when herdr answered
+ *             at startup, {@code LeadLauncher(...).ensureLeads()} ({@code Fleetd.java:315}), which
+ *             auto-launches each declared lead up to its {@code instances} count. So a lead added,
+ *             removed, or given a new {@code tab:} label under {@code fleet.leaders} needs a
+ *             restart — until then it is invisible to identity resolution, and this is exactly the
+ *             scenario fleetd #333 named: an operator edits a lead's {@code tab:} to match a
+ *             renamed pane, sees "config reloaded", and the pane keeps resolving as a worker,
+ *             because {@code CallerResolver} is still matching against the old label. The live
+ *             half is the rest of {@code fleet:} — {@code architects}/{@code developers}/
+ *             {@code reviewers}, {@code charters}, {@code tabLabel} — read live through the same
+ *             {@code CompositePeerLauncher} supplier the Hot bullet above names, so a reload that
+ *             only touches those already applies with nothing to report. Because the hot and frozen
+ *             halves of {@code fleet:} are disjoint sub-fields rather than the same fields read two
+ *             ways (contrast {@code coordinator.uriEnv} above), {@link #changedSplitKeys} compares
+ *             {@code fleet.leaders} alone, not the whole {@code Fleet} record — comparing the whole
+ *             record would report "split" for a {@code tabLabel}-only change that is actually fully
+ *             hot, over-claiming in exactly the direction this class exists to avoid under-claiming
+ *             in.</li>
+ *       </ul>
+ *       A split change is still accepted — {@link Outcome#applied()} stays {@code true}, the same
+ *       as a deferred change — because the live half genuinely took effect; refusing the whole
+ *       reload would leave the operator worse off than today. {@link Outcome#split()} names the
+ *       key and says which half is which each time, rather than trying to score "how changed" a
+ *       mixed key is or handle "both halves changed in one reload" as a special case.</li>
+ *   <li><strong>Cold</strong> — cannot change at all under a running daemon. All five of
+ *       {@link #COLD_KEYS}: {@code bind:}, {@code herdrSocket:}, {@code memberHerdrSocket:},
+ *       {@code broker:} and {@code auth:}. The sockets are already connected, the broker
  *       connection is open, and the auth mode decides who may reach the port that is already
- *       listening.</li>
+ *       listening. This bullet omitted {@code memberHerdrSocket:} until fleetd #333 — say "all
+ *       five of COLD_KEYS" rather than re-listing them, so prose and set cannot drift again.</li>
  * </ul>
  *
+ * <p><strong>The denominator, measured on 2026-09-04 (fleetd #330; recounted for fleetd #333).</strong>
+ * {@code FleetConfig} has 22 top-level record components: 5 cold, 11 deferred, 3 split, 3
+ * hot-excluded. Three of them are named nowhere in this file, and the reason is the same for all
+ * three: {@code placement}, {@code memberCredentials} and {@code memberLoginShell} are
+ * <strong>hot</strong> and correctly absent — all three are read live off {@code config.get()}
+ * (placement through the {@code CompositePeerLauncher} supplier the Hot bullet names;
+ * {@code memberCredentials}/{@code memberLoginShell} at spawn time, {@code Fleetd.java:198, 205, 729}
+ * and {@code HerdrPeerLauncher#configuredMemberLoginShell}), so a reload takes effect on the next
+ * spawn with no entry needed here.
+ * {@code health} and {@code coordinator} used to be a third kind — <strong>undecided</strong>, not
+ * hot — until fleetd #330 added the <strong>split</strong> class above and gave them a home. A
+ * reload touching either used to report a bare "config reloaded", which under-claimed; now it names
+ * the key and says which half is which. {@code fleet} was the same story in reverse: fleetd #330's
+ * own fact-find named {@code health}/{@code coordinator} as "the complete set of split-shaped keys"
+ * and filed {@code fleet.leaders}'s restart requirement as a documented caveat sitting in the
+ * <strong>hot-excluded</strong> escape hatch instead — correctly documented, but in the one bucket
+ * this file's own coverage test cannot check the truth of (see that test's javadoc). fleetd #333
+ * moved it into <strong>split</strong>, where {@link #changedSplitKeys} actually reports it.
+ * <p>The point of writing the count down: "not mentioned in this file" looks identical for a key
+ * that is correctly hot and for a key nobody triaged. Three times now — {@code worktreeGroup} (#323),
+ * {@code primary}/{@code configReload} (#326), and {@code fleet.leaders} sitting in the escape hatch
+ * (#333) — the second kind hid among the first. A top-level coverage checker in the
+ * {@link ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest} shape (one level up, over {@code FleetConfig} itself rather
+ * than {@code FleetConfig.Profile}) proves this file's four classes exhaust the record's components
+ * — see {@code ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest}. That test proves the record's <em>shape</em> is fully
+ * triaged; it does NOT prove a {@code SPLIT_KEYS}/{@code COLD_KEYS}/{@code DEFERRED_KEYS} member has
+ * any reporting code behind it at all — {@code ConfigRefTopLevelReportingCoverageTest} is what
+ * fleetd #333 added for that, after measuring that a {@code SPLIT_KEYS} entry with its reporting
+ * branch deleted passes both this file's own "kept in step" assert and
+ * {@code ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest} unchanged. fleetd #337 extended it to {@code DEFERRED_KEYS}
+ * after measuring the same one-way gap there directly: dropping {@code guard}'s branch out of
+ * {@link #changedDeferredKeys} while {@code "guard"} stayed in the set left the whole suite green.
+ *
  * <p><strong>A cold change refuses the whole reload.</strong> Not the hot half applied and the cold
  * half warned about: that would leave the running daemon in a state matching no file on disk, which
  * is the worst thing a reload can do to an operator debugging one. Refusing keeps the invariant that
  * the live config is always some version of the file, and the message names the keys that must
- * change through a restart.
+ * change through a restart. A split change does <em>not</em> refuse, for a different reason than a
+ * deferred change does not: its live half genuinely took effect, so refusing would throw that away
+ * and leave the operator worse off than the partial-but-honest report {@link Outcome#split()} gives.
  *
  * <p>A reload that fails to parse or fails validation is also refused, and the previous config keeps
  * running. A config file being edited is normally read once mid-save; degrading a working daemon
@@ -71,10 +178,43 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(ConfigRef.class);
 
-    /** Keys that cannot change under a running daemon — see the class doc. */
-    private static final Set<String> COLD_KEYS =
+    /**
+     * Keys that cannot change under a running daemon — see the class doc.
+     *
+     * <p>Package-private (not {@code private}) so {@code ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest} can fold it
+     * into the top-level triage it checks, the same way it reads {@link #SPLIT_KEYS}.
+     */
+    static final Set<String> COLD_KEYS =
              Set.of("bind", "herdrSocket", "memberHerdrSocket", "broker", "auth");
 
+    /**
+     * Keys read BOTH off the startup snapshot and live off {@link #get()} at different sites, so
+     * neither the hot, deferred nor cold class fits them as a whole — see the class doc's Split
+     * bullet (fleetd #330). A changed split key is accepted ({@link Outcome#applied()} stays
+     * {@code true}) and reported by name, with a message naming which half is live and which needs
+     * a restart.
+     */
+    static final Set<String> SPLIT_KEYS = Set.of("health", "coordinator", "fleet");
+
+    /**
+     * Top-level keys {@link #changedDeferredKeys} compares — see the class doc's Deferred bullet.
+     * Promoted here from a test-side copy in {@code ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest} by fleetd #337,
+     * the same reason {@link #COLD_KEYS} and {@link #SPLIT_KEYS} live here rather than in a test: a
+     * second, hand-maintained copy of this set is exactly the kind of thing that silently drifts
+     * from the method it is supposed to describe. {@code spawnReadyTimeoutMs} and
+     * {@code spawnReadyPollMs} are compared together in one branch and reported under the combined
+     * label {@code "spawnReady*"}; {@code profiles} is compared twice over (added/removed names,
+     * then an existing profile's launch settings) — see {@link #changedDeferredKeys}.
+     *
+     * <p>Package-private (not {@code private}) so {@code ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest} and
+     * {@code ConfigRefTopLevelReportingCoverageTest} can both read it, the same way they already
+     * read {@link #COLD_KEYS} and {@link #SPLIT_KEYS}.
+     */
+    static final Set<String> DEFERRED_KEYS = Set.of(
+            "guard", "worktreeRoot", "worktreeGroup", "primary", "configReload",
+            "leadHeartbeat", "lifecycle", "spawnReadyTimeoutMs", "spawnReadyPollMs",
+            "quarantineCooldownSeconds", "profiles");
+
     private final Path path;
     private final AtomicReference<FleetConfig> current;
 
@@ -102,25 +242,37 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
     /**
      * What a reload attempt did.
      *
+     * <p>{@code split} is a separate field from {@code deferred} rather than a differently-worded
+     * entry inside it, because the two carry different guarantees for any caller that branches on
+     * them rather than just printing {@link #summary()}: every {@code deferred} entry means "this
+     * key's whole change waits for a restart", while every {@code split} entry means "part of this
+     * key's change already applied, and the message says which part" — collapsing them would force
+     * a caller to re-parse the message to tell those apart. See the class doc's Split bullet
+     * (fleetd #330) for why the key needs this at all.
+     *
      * @param applied  true when the new config is now live
      * @param coldKeys cold keys whose value changed, which is why an unapplied reload was refused
-     * @param deferred keys that changed and were accepted, but whose effect waits for a restart
+     * @param deferred keys that changed and were accepted, but whose effect waits entirely on a
+     *                 restart
+     * @param split    split keys that changed and were accepted, each named with which half of it
+     *                 is already live and which half waits for a restart
      * @param error    the parse or validation failure that refused the reload, else {@code null}
      */
     public record Outcome(boolean applied, List<String> coldKeys, List<String> deferred,
-                          String error) {
+                          List<String> split, String error) {
 
         public Outcome {
             coldKeys = List.copyOf(coldKeys);
             deferred = List.copyOf(deferred);
+            split = List.copyOf(split);
         }
 
         static Outcome refusedCold(List<String> keys) {
-            return new Outcome(false, keys, List.of(), null);
+            return new Outcome(false, keys, List.of(), List.of(), null);
         }
 
         static Outcome failed(String error) {
-            return new Outcome(false, List.of(), List.of(), error);
+            return new Outcome(false, List.of(), List.of(), List.of(), error);
         }
 
         /** A one-line summary for the operator — the reason, not just the verdict. */
@@ -132,11 +284,18 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
                 return "config reload refused — these keys cannot change under a running daemon: "
                         + String.join(", ", coldKeys) + ". Restart fleetd to apply them.";
             }
-            if (!deferred.isEmpty()) {
-                return "config reloaded; these changes need a restart to take effect: "
-                        + String.join(", ", deferred);
+            if (deferred.isEmpty() && split.isEmpty()) {
+                return "config reloaded";
             }
-            return "config reloaded";
+            StringBuilder out = new StringBuilder("config reloaded");
+            if (!deferred.isEmpty()) {
+                out.append("; these changes need a restart to take effect: ")
+                        .append(String.join(", ", deferred));
+            }
+            if (!split.isEmpty()) {
+                out.append("; partially live — ").append(String.join(" | ", split));
+            }
+            return out.toString();
         }
     }
 
@@ -177,14 +336,21 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
         }
 
         List<String> deferred = changedDeferredKeys(old, fresh);
+        List<String> split = changedSplitKeys(old, fresh);
         current.set(fresh);
-        Outcome out = new Outcome(true, List.of(), deferred, null);
+        Outcome out = new Outcome(true, List.of(), deferred, split, null);
         log.info(out.summary());
         return out;
     }
 
-    /** Cold keys whose value differs between the running config and the candidate. */
-    private static List<String> changedColdKeys(FleetConfig old, FleetConfig fresh) {
+    /**
+     * Cold keys whose value differs between the running config and the candidate.
+     *
+     * <p>Package-private (not {@code private}) so {@code ConfigRefTopLevelReportingCoverageTest}
+     * can call it directly with a reflection-built {@code FleetConfig} pair, the same reason
+     * {@link #sameLaunchSettings} is package-private — see that test's class doc (fleetd #333).
+     */
+    static List<String> changedColdKeys(FleetConfig old, FleetConfig fresh) {
         List<String> changed = new ArrayList<>();
         if (!Objects.equals(old.bind(), fresh.bind())) {
             changed.add("bind");
@@ -206,8 +372,16 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
         return changed;
     }
 
-    /** Changed keys that were accepted but whose effect waits for a restart. */
-    private static List<String> changedDeferredKeys(FleetConfig old, FleetConfig fresh) {
+    /**
+     * Changed keys that were accepted but whose effect waits for a restart.
+     *
+     * <p>Package-private (not {@code private}) so {@code ConfigRefTopLevelReportingCoverageTest}
+     * can call it directly with a reflection-built {@code FleetConfig} pair, the same reason
+     * {@link #changedColdKeys} and {@link #changedSplitKeys} already are (fleetd #333, extended to
+     * this method by fleetd #337 — membership in {@link #DEFERRED_KEYS} proved nothing about this
+     * method on its own until then; see that test's class doc).
+     */
+    static List<String> changedDeferredKeys(FleetConfig old, FleetConfig fresh) {
         List<String> changed = new ArrayList<>();
         if (!Objects.equals(old.lifecycle(), fresh.lifecycle())) {
             changed.add("lifecycle");
@@ -221,6 +395,29 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
         if (!Objects.equals(old.worktreeRoot(), fresh.worktreeRoot())) {
             changed.add("worktreeRoot");
         }
+        // Baked into the same GitWorktrees as worktreeRoot (Fleetd.java:251) and never rebuilt
+        // either — see the class doc. Missing this check was fleetd #323 instance 2: a reload
+        // that changed only worktreeGroup reported "config reloaded" with nothing deferred, and
+        // newly provisioned worktrees kept the old sharing behaviour.
+        if (!Objects.equals(old.worktreeGroup(), fresh.worktreeGroup())) {
+            changed.add("worktreeGroup");
+        }
+        // fleetd #326: Fleetd.java:506, 519, 520 read cfg.primary() only off the startup snapshot
+        // (PrimaryRegistry's pinned terminal, ReplyPushLoop's reminder cap and backoff) — neither is
+        // rebuilt on reload, so a changed value needs a restart. Note what it does NOT mean:
+        // primary.terminal is deprecated (CB-532), identity comes from leaders:/leadScan:, so a lead
+        // using those is unaffected by this pin either way. See the class doc for the exact scope.
+        if (!Objects.equals(old.primary(), fresh.primary())) {
+            changed.add("primary");
+        }
+        // fleetd #326: Fleetd.java:679-680 read cfg.configReload() only at startup to decide whether
+        // to build a ConfigWatcher at all and with what interval — the watcher that would apply a
+        // later change is itself built once, so a running watcher keeps its original enabled flag and
+        // interval regardless of what a reload changes it to. Not cold: no already-open resource goes
+        // inconsistent with the new value, a watcher (if any) simply keeps polling on the old settings.
+        if (!Objects.equals(old.configReload(), fresh.configReload())) {
+            changed.add("configReload");
+        }
         if (!Objects.equals(old.spawnReadyTimeoutMs(), fresh.spawnReadyTimeoutMs())
                 || !Objects.equals(old.spawnReadyPollMs(), fresh.spawnReadyPollMs())) {
             changed.add("spawnReady*");
@@ -265,14 +462,101 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Whether two versions of a profile would launch a peer identically. Compares every component
-     * the launcher reads at spawn; {@code weight}, {@code maxLoad} and {@code credentialId} are
-     * excluded because those are read live (by the placement policy and, for credentialId, by
-     * {@code CompositePeerLauncher}/the CB-578 stage B exhaustion sink) and really do take effect on
-     * the next spawn.
+     * Split keys whose value differs between the running config and the candidate — see the class
+     * doc's Split bullet (fleetd #330, extended for {@code fleet:} by fleetd #333). Unlike
+     * {@link #changedDeferredKeys}, this does not try to tell which sub-field moved for {@code
+     * health:} or {@code coordinator:}: any change to either gets the same fixed message, because
+     * the message already names both halves every time, so there is no "which half changed"
+     * question left for the caller to answer. {@code fleet:} is different on purpose — see below.
+     *
+     * <p>Package-private (not {@code private}) so {@code ConfigRefTopLevelReportingCoverageTest}
+     * can call it directly with a reflection-built {@code FleetConfig} pair, the same reason
+     * {@link #sameLaunchSettings} is package-private — see that test's class doc (fleetd #333). That
+     * test exists because membership in {@link #SPLIT_KEYS} proves nothing about this method on its
+     * own: fleetd #333 measured that dropping the {@code coordinator} branch out of this method
+     * while leaving {@code "coordinator"} in {@code SPLIT_KEYS} left the whole suite green except a
+     * hand-written {@code ConfigRefTest} case — neither {@code ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest} (it
+     * only reads the set) nor the "kept in step" assert below (it only checks the reported keys are
+     * a SUBSET of {@code SPLIT_KEYS}, never that every {@code SPLIT_KEYS} member has a branch here)
+     * would have caught it.
      */
-    private static boolean sameLaunchSettings(FleetConfig.Profile a, FleetConfig.Profile b) {
-        return Objects.equals(a.baseUrl(), b.baseUrl())
+    static List<String> changedSplitKeys(FleetConfig old, FleetConfig fresh) {
+        List<String> changed = new ArrayList<>();
+        if (!Objects.equals(old.health(), fresh.health())) {
+            changed.add("health: the monitor itself (enabled, interval, workingSuspectAfter) is "
+                    + "frozen at startup and needs a restart; the coverage status fleet_profiles "
+                    + "reports is read live and already applied");
+        }
+        if (!Objects.equals(old.coordinator(), fresh.coordinator())) {
+            changed.add("coordinator: the LeadMailbox connection (uri, uriEnv, selfId, prefetch) is "
+                    + "opened once and needs a restart; the broker URI env-var name kept out of a "
+                    + "member's environment is read live on every spawn and already applied");
+        }
+        // fleetd #333: unlike health/coordinator above, most of `fleet:` (architects, developers,
+        // reviewers, charters, tabLabel) is genuinely hot — ConfigRefTest.aHotChangeIsAppliedAndRead-
+        // ThroughGet and aCharterChangeIsHotAndReachesTheLiveConfig prove it reaches the live config
+        // with no restart note. Only fleet.leaders is frozen (Fleetd.java:281 reads
+        // cfg.fleet().leaders() off the startup snapshot to build both the LeadTabScanner's
+        // tab-label-to-name map, wired into CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers at Fleetd.java:620/624,
+        // and — when herdr answered — LeadLauncher(...).ensureLeads() at Fleetd.java:315, which
+        // auto-launches each lead up to its `instances` count; neither is rebuilt on reload). So this
+        // compares fleet.leaders alone, not the whole Fleet record: comparing the whole record would
+        // report "split" for a tabLabel-only or charters-only change that is actually fully hot,
+        // which is the over-claim mirror of the under-claim bug this class exists to prevent.
+        if (!Objects.equals(leadersOf(old), leadersOf(fresh))) {
+            changed.add("fleet: fleet.leaders (each lead's tab, workspace, cwd, profile and "
+                    + "instances count) is read once at startup to build the LeadTabScanner's "
+                    + "identity map and to auto-launch leads, and neither is rebuilt on reload, so a "
+                    + "lead added, removed, or given a new tab: label needs a restart — until then it "
+                    + "stays unrecognised, and a caller from its new tab resolves as a worker, not a "
+                    + "lead; the rest of fleet: (architects, developers, reviewers, charters, "
+                    + "tabLabel) is read live through the supplier on CompositePeerLauncher and "
+                    + "already applied");
+        }
+        // Kept in step with SPLIT_KEYS the same way changedColdKeys is kept in step with COLD_KEYS —
+        // every message here must be traceable to one of the split keys the class doc documents.
+        // NOTE what this does NOT prove, per the javadoc above: it does not catch a SPLIT_KEYS
+        // member with no branch above at all, only a branch whose message is mis-worded relative to
+        // the set. ConfigRefTopLevelReportingCoverageTest is what proves the former.
+        assert changed.stream().allMatch(m -> SPLIT_KEYS.stream().anyMatch(k -> m.startsWith(k + ":")))
+                : "a split entry was reported that does not start with a SPLIT_KEYS name: " + changed;
+        return changed;
+    }
+
+    /** {@code cfg.fleet().leaders()}, defensively, in case a caller hands in a non-defaulted config. */
+    private static Map<String, FleetConfig.Leader> leadersOf(FleetConfig cfg) {
+        return cfg.fleet() == null ? Map.of() : cfg.fleet().leaders();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@link FleetConfig.Profile} record components deliberately left out of
+     * {@link #sameLaunchSettings} because they are read <em>live</em>, not baked in at spawn — see
+     * the class doc's <em>Hot</em> bullet. {@code weight} and {@code maxLoad} are read live by the
+     * placement policy on every spawn; {@code credentialId} is read live by
+     * {@code CompositePeerLauncher} and the CB-578 stage B exhaustion sink. Nothing else is
+     * excluded — see {@code sameLaunchSettingsComparesEveryProfileComponentOrExcludesIt} in
+     * {@code ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest}, which enumerates every {@code Profile} record component
+     * by reflection and fails the build if one is neither compared below nor named here.
+     */
+    static final Set<String> LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED = Set.of("weight", "maxLoad", "credentialId");
+
+    /**
+     * Whether two versions of a profile would launch a peer identically.
+     *
+     * <p>This must compare every {@link FleetConfig.Profile} record component except the three in
+     * {@link #LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED}. That is not a claim this javadoc can make good on by
+     * itself — a javadoc saying "compares every component" is exactly what fleetd #323 found to be
+     * false for three fields (and a sibling method's field list, for a fourth). The actual
+     * guarantee comes from {@code ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest}: it enumerates every record
+     * component of {@code FleetConfig.Profile} by reflection, mutates each one not in
+     * {@code LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED} on a base profile, and asserts this method reports a
+     * difference — so a new component that is neither compared here nor added to
+     * {@code LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED} (with a reason) fails that test by name, rather than
+     * silently reporting "config reloaded" for a value the daemon never picked up.
+     */
+    static boolean sameLaunchSettings(FleetConfig.Profile a, FleetConfig.Profile b) {
+        return Objects.equals(a.profile(), b.profile())
+                && Objects.equals(a.baseUrl(), b.baseUrl())
                 && Objects.equals(a.model(), b.model())
                 && Objects.equals(a.configDir(), b.configDir())
                 && Objects.equals(a.tokenEnv(), b.tokenEnv())
@@ -298,6 +582,16 @@ public final class ConfigRef implements Supplier<FleetConfig> {
                 // fleetd #201 Unit 5: errorPattern is compiled once into Fleetd.main's backend-error
                 // pattern map at startup (see BackendErrorPatternLookup wiring), the same way
                 // exhaustedPattern is — a reload never re-reads it either.
-                && Objects.equals(a.errorPattern(), b.errorPattern());
+                && Objects.equals(a.errorPattern(), b.errorPattern())
+                // fleetd #323 instance 1: ideProjectDir and ideOpenCommand are read at spawn off the
+                // same frozen profile map as ideMcpUrl above (ClaudeCodeLauncher.java:267/269,
+                // OpenCodeLauncher.java:474/480/486) and were missing from this comparison.
+                && Objects.equals(a.ideProjectDir(), b.ideProjectDir())
+                && Objects.equals(a.ideOpenCommand(), b.ideOpenCommand())
+                // fleetd #323 instance 1: autoCompactWindow is read at spawn the same way
+                // (ClaudeCodeLauncher.java:926, OpenCodeLauncher.java:650). Comparing it here only
+                // makes the reload REPORT that a restart is needed — it deliberately does not make
+                // autoCompactWindow take effect live, which is a separate, larger change.
+                && Objects.equals(a.autoCompactWindow(), b.autoCompactWindow());
     }
 }

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

@@ -322,8 +322,9 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      *                       statement that does not stop being true just because the profile was
      *                       named directly. A negative value has no sane meaning (there is no
      *                       "excluded" to degrade to below zero) and is refused at config load
-     *                       instead, naming the profile and the key. Live means any session the
-     *                       registry still owns (acquired and not yet released), in any state.
+     *                       instead, naming the profile and the key. Live means a session that can
+     *                       receive another delivery. The roster keeps terminal {@code BACKEND_ERROR}
+     *                       and {@code FAILED} sessions for diagnostics, but they do not use capacity.
      * @param kind           which peer launcher spawns this profile: {@code "claude-code"} (default —
      *                       the {@link dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher}) or {@code "opencode"}.
      *                       The {@code CompositePeerLauncher} routes {@code spawn}/reap by this value, so

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/health/FleetHealthMonitor.java

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Objects;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.function.BiConsumer;
@@ -28,6 +29,14 @@ public final class FleetHealthMonitor {
     static final int MAX_FAIL_TARGET_ATTEMPTS = 3;
     // CB-641: Match the injector's 60s readiness gate so health allows a full first boot.
     static final long READINESS_GRACE_NANOS = TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(60);
+    /**
+     * fleetd #280: how long after a terminal transition to wait before the one bounded re-check
+     * fires. Must exceed the worst-case reverse-rendezvous {@code fleet_ask} window (55-115s, see
+     * {@code FleetMcp.ASK_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS} / {@code FleetApp.MAX_ASK_TIMEOUT_MS}) so that, if the
+     * target was genuinely {@code ASKING} when {@code state} was first observed, its own ask has had
+     * time to lapse (clearing {@code Task#question} back to {@code null}) before this fires.
+     */
+    static final long ASK_LAPSE_RECHECK_DELAY_SECONDS = 120;
 
     private final AgentControl agents;
     private final Supplier<List<MemberSession>> roster;
@@ -38,7 +47,16 @@ public final class FleetHealthMonitor {
     private final long workingSuspectAfterNanos;
     private final BiConsumer<String, String> failTarget;
     private final Map<String, HealthPrior> priors = new HashMap<>();
-    private final Map<String, HealthState> states = new HashMap<>();
+    /**
+     * The live classification per member, and the only one of this class's three maps that more
+     * than one scheduler task touches. {@code tick} writes it (and prunes it to the roster);
+     * fleetd #280's delayed {@link #recheckTerminalTarget} reads it from its own separate scheduled
+     * task. Both run on the single-threaded scheduler {@code Fleetd} passes in today, so they are
+     * serialised — but nothing in this class enforces that, and an unsynchronised {@link HashMap}
+     * read racing a resize can spin a CPU forever rather than fail visibly. {@code priors} and
+     * {@code orphanStreaks} stay plain maps because {@code tick} is still their only toucher.
+     */
+    private final Map<String, HealthState> states = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     /**
      * CB-643: consecutive ticks on which a target looked like an orphaned delegation. The fact
      * {@link MessageService#hasOrphanedDelegation} reports is a true snapshot, but it can read true
@@ -171,6 +189,7 @@ public final class FleetHealthMonitor {
         // member stayed terminal.
         if (terminal(next)) {
             failTerminalTarget(target, next);
+            scheduleTerminalRecheck(target, next);
         }
     }
 
@@ -191,6 +210,48 @@ public final class FleetHealthMonitor {
                 target, state, MAX_FAIL_TARGET_ATTEMPTS, last);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #280: schedule the one bounded, delayed follow-up for a terminal transition — never a
+     * per-tick retry (CB-580 rejected that shape; {@link #reportTransition} still fires
+     * {@link #failTerminalTarget} exactly once per transition, unconditionally on the tick loop).
+     * This is a single one-shot task, scheduled once per transition into GONE/NEVER_READY, so a
+     * member stuck terminal for the rest of its life gets exactly one extra attempt, not one per
+     * tick. See {@link #recheckTerminalTarget} for why the extra attempt is safe.
+     */
+    private void scheduleTerminalRecheck(String target, HealthState state) {
+        if (scheduler.isShutdown()) return;
+        try {
+            scheduler.schedule(() -> recheckTerminalTarget(target, state),
+                    ASK_LAPSE_RECHECK_DELAY_SECONDS, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            log.warn("fleet health: could not schedule terminal re-check for member={} state={}",
+                    target, state, e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #280: the delayed re-check {@link #scheduleTerminalRecheck} scheduled for one terminal
+     * transition. By now, a {@code fleet_ask} that was still open when {@code state} was first
+     * observed has had time to lapse on its own (see {@link #ASK_LAPSE_RECHECK_DELAY_SECONDS}),
+     * clearing {@code Task#question} back to {@code null} — which is exactly what
+     * {@link MessageService#abandon(String, String, boolean)}'s {@code sweepAsking=false} filter
+     * needs to finally match it. Calling {@link #failTerminalTarget} again is safe only because
+     * {@code sweepAsking} stays {@code false}: a task genuinely still {@code ASKING} is skipped
+     * exactly as it was on the very first attempt — this never fails a ticket whose ask has not yet
+     * lapsed.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>Guarded on "target is still classified {@code state}."</strong> Without this guard,
+     * a member that recovered (or was released and dropped from the roster) between the transition
+     * and this re-check would still take a blind {@code failTarget} call — reaching into whatever
+     * brand-new, unrelated turn it has since picked up and failing it too. {@link #states} already
+     * carries the live classification (updated every tick, pruned to the current roster on release),
+     * so a stale or recovered target simply reads as a mismatch here and this is a no-op.
+     */
+    void recheckTerminalTarget(String target, HealthState state) {
+        if (states.get(target) != state) return;
+        failTerminalTarget(target, state);
+    }
+
     private static boolean terminal(HealthState state) {
         return state == HealthState.GONE || state == HealthState.NEVER_READY;
     }

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/inject/BackendErrorSink.java

@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.inject;
 
 /**
- * Notified when {@link CompletionResolver} actually delivers a typed backend-error classification
- * to a waiting send (fleetd#201 / #227) — never on a race that lost. {@link CompletionResolver}
- * calls this only after {@code Rendezvous.resolveFailure} returns {@code true} for that exact
- * waiter, mirroring the win-only race rule {@link ExhaustionSink} already uses.
+ * Notified when {@link CompletionResolver} has a backend-error match at the start of a pane line,
+ * or both a match and its too-fast crash signature, for a waiting send (fleetd#201 / #227). A text
+ * match inside ordinary pane prose can be a member's report about an error, so it fails the send
+ * without notifying this sink.
+ * {@link CompletionResolver} calls this only after {@code Rendezvous.resolveFailure} returns
+ * {@code true} for that exact waiter, mirroring the win-only race rule {@link ExhaustionSink} uses.
  *
  * <p>The public send result is unchanged by this classification — it is still a failed send
  * ({@code Rendezvous.Kind#FAILED}); this sink is the internal seam a later stage (fleetd#201 Unit

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/inject/CompletionResolver.java

@@ -387,9 +387,10 @@ public final class CompletionResolver implements TurnListener {
         // fleetd#164 (part 2) / fleetd#201: a scrape that read cleanly and produced content still
         // isn't a real reply when that content is the backend's own rejection (e.g. an HTTP 400
         // before the worker did any work). Classify it as a failure naming the member, rather than
-        // handing the caller a scrape that reads like a completed answer, and — only on the
-        // resolution that actually wins the race, mirroring the exhaustion sink above — notify the
-        // typed backend-error sink so a later stage can act on repeated failures.
+        // handing the caller a scrape that reads like a completed answer. A text match alone is not
+        // enough to notify the typed backend-error sink: this assistant block can be a member's
+        // normal prose about an error. A line that starts with the error match is stronger evidence;
+        // the too-fast path below also has its crash signature before it records a credential failure.
         String backendError = firstMatchingLine(assistantBlock, backendErrorPatternOrFallback(target));
         if (backendError != null) {
             // Carry the whole scrape, not just the matched line. The pattern is a heuristic: a member
@@ -401,9 +402,9 @@ public final class CompletionResolver implements TurnListener {
             if (rendezvous.resolveFailure(waiter, reason)) {
                 inFlight.remove(target, turn);
                 log.warn("failing send to {} via turn-stall fallback: {}", target, reason);
-                // fleetd#201 Unit 1: only on the resolution that actually won the race — a late
-                // duplicate must never double-count one backend failure.
-                backendErrorSink.onBackendError(target, backendError, reason);
+                if (startsWithBackendError(backendError, backendErrorPatternOrFallback(target))) {
+                    backendErrorSink.onBackendError(target, backendError, reason);
+                }
             }
             return;
         }
@@ -492,8 +493,9 @@ public final class CompletionResolver implements TurnListener {
             if (rendezvous.resolveFailure(waiter, reason)) {
                 inFlight.remove(target, turn);
                 log.warn("failing send to {} via turn-stall fallback from the raw scrape: {}", target, reason);
-                // fleetd#201 Unit 1: only on the resolution that actually won the race.
-                backendErrorSink.onBackendError(target, backendError, reason);
+                if (startsWithBackendError(backendError, backendErrorPatternOrFallback(target))) {
+                    backendErrorSink.onBackendError(target, backendError, reason);
+                }
             }
             return true;
         }
@@ -540,10 +542,10 @@ public final class CompletionResolver implements TurnListener {
      * {@link #MIN_TURN_NANOS} — a crash signature (e.g. a backend HTTP 400 before the worker did
      * anything) that a bare {@code BUSY -> DONE} transition cannot be told apart from a genuinely
      * fast completion. Runs the same backend-error classification the normal and raw-scrape paths
-     * apply, against whatever is on screen right now: a match is a typed failure that notifies
-     * {@link #backendErrorSink} (only on the resolution that wins the race); a non-match stays the
-     * original generic too-fast failure, naming the member and both timings, with whatever the pane
-     * shows appended so the caller sees the cause, not just "it failed".
+     * apply, against whatever is on screen right now: a match together with the too-fast crash
+     * signature notifies {@link #backendErrorSink} (only on the resolution that wins the race). A
+     * non-match stays the original generic too-fast failure, naming the member and both timings,
+     * with whatever the pane shows appended so the caller sees the cause, not just "it failed".
      */
     private void failTooFast(String target, InFlight turn, CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> waiter,
                               long elapsedNanos) {
@@ -611,6 +613,28 @@ public final class CompletionResolver implements TurnListener {
         return null;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * True when the error pattern begins the matched pane line, rather than appearing in prose.
+     *
+     * <p>Leading terminal chrome is skipped first — box-drawing characters, bullets, gutter bars and
+     * spaces. #339 introduced this check with a bare {@code lookingAt}, and that rejected a genuine
+     * error line rendered as {@code "| 503 Service Unavailable: ..."}: the send still failed, but the
+     * credential outage was never recorded. That is the false negative #339's own invariant 3 called
+     * worse than the false positive it set out to fix — measured with a throwaway probe on the
+     * raw-scrape path, which is exactly the path whose comment says to expect leading chrome.
+     *
+     * <p>Skipping only a leading run of non-letter, non-digit characters keeps the fix's intent. A
+     * member's prose ({@code "I checked the retry path. An API Error: makes it back off."}) still
+     * does not match, because there the pattern sits after words, not after chrome.
+     */
+    private static boolean startsWithBackendError(String line, Pattern pattern) {
+        int i = 0;
+        while (i < line.length() && !Character.isLetterOrDigit(line.charAt(i))) {
+            i++;
+        }
+        return pattern.matcher(line.substring(i)).lookingAt();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Coverage summary for the CB-578 stage A exhausted-pattern classification, logged at startup
      * the way {@link dev.ltms.fleet.health.FleetHealthMonitor#coverage} is — so an operator can

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/inject/Injector.java

@@ -145,8 +145,58 @@ public final class Injector {
         return router != null ? router.agentsFor(target) : agents;
     }
 
+    /** The result of trying to remove an undelivered message from the injector. */
+    public enum Cancellation {
+        CANCELLED,
+        DELIVERED,
+        NOT_DELIVERED
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * An identity handle for one queued delivery. It is the only value accepted by
+     * {@link #cancel(Delivery)}, so a caller cannot cancel a different message with the same target
+     * or text.
+     */
+    public static final class Delivery {
+        private final Pending pending;
+
+        private Delivery(Pending pending) {
+            this.pending = pending;
+        }
+
+        public CompletableFuture<Void> completion() {
+            return pending.delivered;
+        }
+    }
+
     /** A pending message and the future that completes when it has been delivered. */
-    private record Pending(String text, TurnToken token, CompletableFuture<Void> delivered) {
+    private static final class Pending {
+        enum State { QUEUED, DELIVERED, NOT_DELIVERED, CANCELLED }
+
+        final String target;
+        final String text;
+        final TurnToken token;
+        final CompletableFuture<Void> delivered;
+        volatile State state = State.QUEUED; // written under the owning Target monitor
+
+        Pending(String target, String text, TurnToken token, CompletableFuture<Void> delivered) {
+            this.target = target;
+            this.text = text;
+            this.token = token;
+            this.delivered = delivered;
+        }
+
+        String text() {
+            return text;
+        }
+
+        TurnToken token() {
+            return token;
+        }
+
+        CompletableFuture<Void> delivered() {
+            return delivered;
+        }
     }
 
     /** Per-worker delivery state, guarded by its own monitor (single writer per worker). */
@@ -157,6 +207,7 @@ public final class Injector {
         boolean awaitingCompletion; // a delivered message's turn is not yet known-complete
         boolean turnObserved;      // saw a real `working` sample since that delivery (turn ran)
         int unknownSinceTurn;      // consecutive `unknown` samples while a delegation is outstanding (CB-109)
+        int unknownSincePostTurn;  // the same, for the post-turn housekeeping phase (fleetd #306)
         int notReadySincePoll;     // consecutive injectable samples a queued message waited on the readiness gate (CB-114)
         boolean postTurnPending;   // completion observed; adapter housekeeping has not started yet
         boolean awaitingPostTurnPickup;
@@ -176,15 +227,47 @@ public final class Injector {
      * <p>Uses an atomic map update so a concurrent {@link #drop} cannot slip between "find the
      * target" and "queue the message" and orphan it in a target it just removed.
      */
-    public CompletableFuture<Void> enqueue(String target, String text, TurnToken token) {
+    public Delivery enqueue(String target, String text, TurnToken token) {
         CompletableFuture<Void> delivered = new CompletableFuture<>();
-        Pending p = new Pending(text, token, delivered);
+        Pending p = new Pending(target, text, token, delivered);
         targets.compute(target, (_, existing) -> {
             Target t = (existing != null) ? existing : new Target();
             t.add(p); // synchronized on the Target monitor — atomic with a concurrent drop
             return t;
         });
-        return delivered;
+        return new Delivery(p);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Cancel this exact queued delivery. The target monitor serializes this operation with
+     * {@link #onStatus}: if delivery wins that race, this returns {@link Cancellation#DELIVERED}
+     * rather than claiming the message remained queued.
+     */
+    public Cancellation cancel(Delivery delivery) {
+        Pending p = delivery.pending;
+        Target t = targets.get(p.target);
+        if (t == null) {
+            return cancellationOf(p);
+        }
+        synchronized (t) {
+            if (p.state != Pending.State.QUEUED || !t.queue.remove(p)) {
+                return cancellationOf(p);
+            }
+            p.state = Pending.State.CANCELLED;
+            if (isQuiescent(t)) {
+                targets.remove(p.target, t);
+            }
+            return Cancellation.CANCELLED;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static Cancellation cancellationOf(Pending p) {
+        return p.state == Pending.State.DELIVERED ? Cancellation.DELIVERED : Cancellation.NOT_DELIVERED;
+    }
+
+    private static boolean isQuiescent(Target t) {
+        return t.queue.isEmpty() && !t.awaitingPickup && !t.awaitingCompletion
+                && !t.postTurnPending && !t.awaitingPostTurnPickup && !t.postTurnObserved;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -217,10 +300,12 @@ public final class Injector {
                 t.awaitingPickup = false;
                 t.injectableSincePickup = 0;
                 t.unknownSinceTurn = 0;
+                t.unknownSincePostTurn = 0;
                 t.notReadySincePoll = 0;
                 if (t.awaitingCompletion) t.turnObserved = true;
             } else if (status.injectable()) { // IDLE or BLOCKED
                 t.unknownSinceTurn = 0;
+                t.unknownSincePostTurn = 0;
                 if (t.awaitingPostTurnPickup) {
                     if (++t.injectableSincePostTurnPickup >= PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS) {
                         t.awaitingPostTurnPickup = false;
@@ -271,6 +356,7 @@ public final class Injector {
                             try {
                                 agentsFor(target).send(target, p.text());
                                 t.queue.poll();
+                                p.state = Pending.State.DELIVERED;
                                 t.awaitingPickup = true;
                                 t.awaitingCompletion = true;
                                 t.turnObserved = false;
@@ -280,6 +366,7 @@ public final class Injector {
                                 // Delivery failed at herdr; drop the poisoned message and surface it
                                 // rather than blocking the queue behind it.
                                 t.queue.poll();
+                                p.state = Pending.State.NOT_DELIVERED;
                                 sent = p;
                                 sendError = e;
                             }
@@ -290,6 +377,9 @@ public final class Injector {
                             // fail every queued message and release the target (CB-114) instead of
                             // polling it indefinitely with the caller's future never completing.
                             notReady = new ArrayList<>(t.queue);
+                            for (Pending pending : notReady) {
+                                pending.state = Pending.State.NOT_DELIVERED;
+                            }
                             log.warn("readiness grace for {} expired after {} polls ({}s): target never "
                                     + "became deliverable, so failing {} queued message(s) that never "
                                     + "reached its pane",
@@ -315,12 +405,29 @@ public final class Injector {
                     t.unknownSinceTurn = 0;
                     turnFailed = true;
                 }
+                // fleetd #306: the same escape for the post-turn housekeeping phase. Four latches
+                // gate delivery (awaitingCompletion, postTurnPending, awaitingPostTurnPickup,
+                // postTurnObserved) and only the first had a way out of a sustained unknown streak —
+                // a gate that closed one direction only. The other two below are released here as
+                // well; postTurnPending needs no escape because it is cleared unconditionally on the
+                // line after the listener call that sets it.
+                //
+                // This does NOT set turnFailed. The delegated turn already completed and its waiter
+                // already resolved — what is outstanding is adapter housekeeping (the `/clear`).
+                // Reporting a turn failure here would drive SessionManager.onFailed on a session
+                // that genuinely finished its work, which is a worse lie than the wedge.
+                if ((t.awaitingPostTurnPickup || t.postTurnObserved)
+                        && ++t.unknownSincePostTurn >= TURN_STALL_GRACE_POLLS) {
+                    t.awaitingPostTurnPickup = false;
+                    t.postTurnObserved = false;
+                    t.injectableSincePostTurnPickup = 0;
+                    t.unknownSincePostTurn = 0;
+                }
             }
 
             // Reclaim the entry once the worker is fully quiescent (nothing queued, no pickup or
             // completion awaited), so the map cannot grow without bound across short-lived workers.
-            if (t.queue.isEmpty() && !t.awaitingPickup && !t.awaitingCompletion
-                    && !t.postTurnPending && !t.awaitingPostTurnPickup && !t.postTurnObserved) {
+            if (isQuiescent(t)) {
                 targets.remove(target, t);
             }
         }
@@ -411,6 +518,9 @@ public final class Injector {
         boolean hadDeliveredTurn;
         synchronized (t) {
             pending = new ArrayList<>(t.queue);
+            for (Pending p : pending) {
+                p.state = Pending.State.NOT_DELIVERED;
+            }
             t.queue.clear();
             hadDeliveredTurn = t.awaitingCompletion;
             t.awaitingCompletion = false;

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

@@ -36,6 +36,25 @@ public final class ConnectionIdentity {
      * primary / an off-host client) and its {@code pid} (or {@code -1} if not resolvable).
      */
     public record Caller(String terminal, long pid) {
+
+        /**
+         * Whether the OS peer-PID lookup actually succeeded — {@code false} means {@code pid} is
+         * the {@code -1} sentinel, not a real process id, so this caller's identity could not be
+         * established at all. That is a different fact from a real pid that simply owns no worker
+         * pane (the primary's own connection): the primary is {@code resolved()} and has a
+         * {@code null terminal}; an unresolvable caller is {@code !resolved()} and also has a
+         * {@code null terminal}. The two look identical through {@link #terminal} alone, which is
+         * exactly how fleetd #317 happened — a failed {@code lsof} lookup and a genuine primary both
+         * fell through to {@code Principal.primary(...)}.
+         *
+         * <p>Centralised here, next to the sentinel it tests, for the same reason
+         * {@link ConnectionIdentity#isLoopback} is centralised rather than left for each caller to
+         * reimplement: a raw {@code pid > 0} check duplicated at every call site is precisely the
+         * "one rule, two copies" shape that let #305 drift.
+         */
+        public boolean resolved() {
+            return pid > 0;
+        }
     }
 
     /** Resolve the caller's terminal and PID from one peer-PID lookup. */
@@ -60,7 +79,44 @@ public final class ConnectionIdentity {
         return pid > 0 ? cwds.cwdForPid(pid) : null;
     }
 
-    private static boolean isLoopback(String addr) {
-        return "127.0.0.1".equals(addr) || "::1".equals(addr) || "0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1".equals(addr);
+    /**
+     * Whether {@code addr} is a same-host address, and therefore one whose peer PID is worth
+     * looking up. <strong>This is the one definition of loopback in the daemon</strong> —
+     * {@code CallerResolver} calls it rather than keeping its own, because the two used to differ
+     * and that difference was a privilege escalation (fleetd #305).
+     *
+     * <p>The whole of {@code 127.0.0.0/8} counts, not just {@code 127.0.0.1}. On Linux every
+     * address in that range is bound to {@code lo} by default, so a process can connect to
+     * {@code 127.0.0.1:8765} with a source address of {@code 127.0.0.2} — measured on the Linux
+     * fleet host, where binding that source succeeds.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>What excluding an address costs, stated as it is today.</strong> This paragraph
+     * used to say that narrowing this range turned a worker into the lead, and that widening the
+     * check was what closed the hole. That was true only while there were <em>two</em> definitions
+     * that disagreed: {@code ConnectionIdentity} skipped the identity lookup for {@code 127.0.0.2}
+     * while {@code CallerResolver} read the same address as loopback and granted the primary role.
+     * #305 removed the second copy, and with one shared definition the old sentence no longer holds.
+     *
+     * <p>Measured on 2026-09-04 by narrowing this method back to exactly {@code 127.0.0.1} and
+     * running {@code CallerResolverTest} and {@code ConnectionIdentityTest}: a caller from
+     * {@code 127.0.0.2} then resolves to {@code ANONYMOUS}, not {@code PRIMARY} — for a worker
+     * ({@code aWorkerOnAnyLoopbackSourceAddressIsStillAWorkerNotThePrimary}) and for a non-worker
+     * ({@code aNonWorkerOnAnyLoopbackSourceAddressIsStillThePrimary}) alike. Excluding an address
+     * now <em>refuses</em> its caller; it does not promote one.
+     *
+     * <p>So keep the whole range, but for the plain reason: a genuine worker or primary that
+     * connects from {@code 127.0.0.2} must be identifiable at all, and narrowing this predicate
+     * locks it out. That is an outage, and an outage is the direction to fail in — which is exactly
+     * why the range must not be narrowed casually and also why doing so is no longer a security
+     * hole. This predicate still does not decide whether a caller is trusted; it decides whether the
+     * caller's identity is <em>resolved at all</em>. What makes an unresolved caller safe is
+     * {@link Caller#resolved()} (#317), not this method.
+     */
+    public static boolean isLoopback(String addr) {
+        if (addr == null) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        String a = addr.startsWith("::ffff:") ? addr.substring(7) : addr; // IPv4-mapped IPv6
+        return a.startsWith("127.") || "::1".equals(a) || "0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1".equals(a);
     }
 }

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

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendQuarantine;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.PlacementException;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.MemberSession;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.ShuttingDownException;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.WorktreeRequest;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.MemberRole;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.PeerLauncher;
@@ -257,7 +258,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         // Each handler is built once and wired to its fleet_* tool below.
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> sendHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.SEND,
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_send", req.arguments()),
                             str(req.arguments(), "sessionId"));
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     String caller = callerTerminal(exchange);
@@ -299,7 +300,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> replyHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
                     String self = callerTerminal(exchange);
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.REPLY, self);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_reply", req.arguments()), self);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return reply(messages, self, str(req.arguments(), "content"));
                 };
@@ -307,13 +308,13 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> askHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
                     String self = callerTerminal(exchange);
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.ASK, self);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_ask", req.arguments()), self);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return ask(messages, self, str(req.arguments(), "question"), timeoutMs(req.arguments()));
                 };
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> statusHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.READ, null);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_status", req.arguments()), null);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return status(messages, str(req.arguments(), "sessionId"));
                 };
@@ -322,7 +323,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     Map<String, Object> a = req.arguments();
                     String target = str(a, "target");
                     // The action depends on the ARGUMENTS, not on the tool name -- see pollAction.
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, pollAction(target), target);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_poll", a), target);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return poll(messages, str(a, "ticket"), target);
                 };
@@ -331,14 +332,14 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> ackHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
                     Map<String, Object> a = req.arguments();
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.DRAIN, str(a, "target"));
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_ack", a), str(a, "target"));
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return ack(messages, str(a, "target"), str(a, "msgId"));
                 };
         // Fleet management (CB-108): spawn/list/stop over ClaudeCodeLauncher.
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> spawnHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.SPAWN, null);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_spawn", req.arguments()), null);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     String caller = callerTerminal(exchange);
                     // SPAWN is already auth-gated to PRIMARY (architects can never call it), but
@@ -355,7 +356,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                 };
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> listHandler =
                 (exchange, _) -> {
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.READ, null);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_list", Map.of()), null);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return listFleet(workers, sessions, messages, capacity, healthCoverage, quarantine, outage,
                             leadSeats, callers == null ? Map.of() : callers.leads(),
@@ -365,19 +366,19 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> stopHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
                     String paneId = str(req.arguments(), "paneId");
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.STOP, paneId);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_stop", req.arguments()), paneId);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return stop(sessions, paneId);
                 };
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> profilesHandler =
                 (exchange, _) -> {
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.READ, null);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_profiles", Map.of()), null);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return profiles(workers, quarantine, outage);
                 };
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> whoamiHandler =
                 (exchange, _) -> {
-                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, Authz.Action.READ, null);
+                    McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_whoami", Map.of()), null);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
                     return whoami(principal(exchange), sessions);
                 };
@@ -754,6 +755,25 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return isBlank(target) ? Authz.Action.READ : Authz.Action.DRAIN;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The action a registered tool handler actually hands to the authorization gate.
+     * Keeping this choice beside the registered-tool inventory makes a new tool fail the coverage
+     * test until its action is pinned.
+     */
+    static Authz.Action toolAction(String toolName, Map<String, Object> arguments) {
+        return switch (toolName) {
+            case "fleet_send" -> Authz.Action.SEND;
+            case "fleet_reply" -> Authz.Action.REPLY;
+            case "fleet_ask" -> Authz.Action.ASK;
+            case "fleet_status", "fleet_list", "fleet_profiles", "fleet_whoami" -> Authz.Action.READ;
+            case "fleet_poll" -> pollAction(str(arguments, "target"));
+            case "fleet_ack" -> Authz.Action.DRAIN;
+            case "fleet_spawn" -> Authz.Action.SPAWN;
+            case "fleet_stop" -> Authz.Action.STOP;
+            default -> throw new IllegalArgumentException("unregistered tool: " + toolName);
+        };
+    }
+
     /** {@code fleet_poll}: check an async delegation by ticket, or drain a worker's inbox by target. */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult poll(MessageService messages, String ticket, String target) {
         if (!isBlank(target)) {
@@ -794,7 +814,12 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
             return error("fleet_reply is for workers only — could not identify the calling worker "
                     + "from the connection");
         }
-        if (content == null) {
+        // fleetd #302: isBlank, not == null, to match fleet_send's own guard above. MessageService
+        // .reply now REJECTS blank content, and this handler is a bare BiFunction with no try/catch
+        // around it — so a whitespace-only fleet_reply would leave here as an uncaught
+        // IllegalArgumentException instead of this clean tool error. Null and whitespace are the
+        // same mistake by the caller and must get the same answer.
+        if (isBlank(content)) {
             return error("content is required");
         }
         messages.reply(callerTerminal, content);
@@ -938,6 +963,10 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
             return text(json(memberView(member)));
         } catch (GuardException e) {
             return error("subscription boundary: " + e.getMessage());
+        } catch (ShuttingDownException e) {
+            // fleetd #308: the daemon's shutdown drain has already started — refuse loudly rather
+            // than register a session drainAll will never see again.
+            return error("shutting down: " + e.getMessage());
         } catch (PlacementException e) {
             // CB-599: no candidate had capacity (maxLoad, quarantine, or all-exhausted) — distinct
             // from "profile does not exist" below.
@@ -996,6 +1025,25 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * both maps at once when it is both exhaustion-quarantined AND cooling off.
      */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult profiles(PeerLauncher workers, QuarantineSource quarantine, OutageSource outage) {
+        return text(json(profilesView(workers, quarantine, outage)));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The body both front doors answer {@code profiles} with: the configured profile names, the
+     * default, and the two independent outage states — {@code quarantined} (the backend reported it
+     * out of capacity) and {@code coolingOff} (the credential threw repeated non-exhaustion backend
+     * errors). Each map is present only when at least one profile is in that state, and a profile
+     * can appear in both at once, because the two checks are separate.
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #297: extracted so {@code fleet_profiles} and {@code GET /profiles} render from ONE
+     * body builder rather than two copies. Passing both doors the same {@link QuarantineSource} and
+     * {@link OutageSource} instances is necessary but not sufficient: with the loop written out
+     * twice, a later edit to the row shape — a renamed key, an added field — lands on one door and
+     * not the other, and the two then disagree about a live outage. That is exactly what fleetd
+     * #284 was, where one rule computed in two places was widened in only one and a single response
+     * contradicted itself. Shared inputs do not make duplicated computation safe.
+     */
+    public static Map<String, Object> profilesView(PeerLauncher workers, QuarantineSource quarantine, OutageSource outage) {
         Map<String, Object> result = new LinkedHashMap<>();
         result.put("profiles", workers.profiles());
         result.put("default", workers.defaultProfile() == null ? "" : workers.defaultProfile());
@@ -1027,7 +1075,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         if (!coolingOff.isEmpty()) {
             result.put("coolingOff", coolingOff);
         }
-        return text(json(result));
+        return result;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1148,15 +1196,35 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
     private static Map<String, Object> memberCapacityView(MemberSession session, Agent live,
                                                            MessageService messages, long nowNanos) {
         Map<String, Object> row = SessionManager.rosterView(session, live);
-        boolean open = messages != null && messages.hasAcceptedDelivery(session.terminalId());
-        boolean inbox = messages != null && messages.hasInboxMessage(session.terminalId());
-        boolean reclaimable = (session.state() == MemberSession.State.READY || session.state() == MemberSession.State.DONE)
-                && !open && !inbox;
+        boolean reclaimable = reclaimable(session, messages);
         row.put("reclaimable", reclaimable);
         row.put("idleForSeconds", reclaimable ? Math.max(0, (nowNanos - session.lastActivityAtNanos()) / 1_000_000_000L) : null);
         return row;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The one definition of {@code reclaimable}: this member holds a spawn seat, and has no open
+     * bridge work, so stopping it gives the seat back. Both views in a single {@code fleet_list}
+     * response call it — the per-member flag in {@link #memberCapacityView} and the per-profile
+     * count in {@link #capacityView} — because two copies of this rule in one response is how the
+     * two numbers come to disagree.
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #284: {@code BACKEND_ERROR} and {@code FAILED} are deliberately NOT reclaimable.
+     * The ticket asked for them to be, and that half of the ticket was wrong. Once
+     * {@code Fleetd.liveSessionCount} stopped counting a terminal session as live, that seat is
+     * ALREADY in {@code free}; counting it here too reports the same seat twice, and
+     * {@code free + reclaimable} then reads as more capacity than {@code maxLoad} allows. The dead
+     * session stays visible either way: its roster row still carries {@code state:
+     * "backend_error"} or {@code "failed"}, which is what tells the lead to stop it.
+     */
+    static boolean reclaimable(MemberSession session, MessageService messages) {
+        boolean holdsSeat = session.state() == MemberSession.State.READY
+                || session.state() == MemberSession.State.DONE;
+        return holdsSeat && (messages == null
+                || (!messages.hasAcceptedDelivery(session.terminalId())
+                        && !messages.hasInboxMessage(session.terminalId())));
+    }
+
     /**
      * CB-583: {@code free} alone cannot tell a lead "busy, will free up" from "refusing, and
      * nothing changes for N seconds" — those need different decisions. So a quarantined profile
@@ -1195,8 +1263,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         int live = liveCount.apply(profile);
         int leadSeatCount = leadSeats.seatsFor().apply(profile);
         int reclaimable = (int) roster.stream().filter(s -> profile.equals(s.profile()))
-                .filter(s -> (s.state() == MemberSession.State.READY || s.state() == MemberSession.State.DONE))
-                .filter(s -> messages == null || (!messages.hasAcceptedDelivery(s.terminalId()) && !messages.hasInboxMessage(s.terminalId())))
+                .filter(s -> reclaimable(s, messages))
                 .count();
         Map<String, Object> row = new LinkedHashMap<>();
         row.put("profile", profile); row.put("maxLoad", cap); row.put("live", live);

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

@@ -41,6 +41,14 @@ public final class LsofPeerPidLookup implements PeerPidLookup {
             if (!p.waitFor(2, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) {
                 p.destroyForcibly();
             }
+            if (found < 0) {
+                // fleetd #317: this is the silent path — lsof ran clean and simply reported no
+                // matching process (e.g. queried before the OS socket table settles). Previously
+                // this logged nothing at all, which is exactly why the escalation went unnoticed;
+                // the exception path below already logs. A caller now refused because of this is
+                // still refused (never promoted) — this line only makes the refusal diagnosable.
+                log.debug("lsof peer-pid lookup for port {} found no matching process", port);
+            }
             return found;
         } catch (Exception e) {
             log.debug("lsof peer-pid lookup for port {} failed: {}", port, e.getMessage());

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

@@ -540,16 +540,66 @@ public final class ClaudeCodeLauncher extends HerdrPeerLauncher {
      * itself is still lost, because there is no OS-level compare-and-swap on a plain file, only this
      * cooperative narrowing of the gap.
      *
+     * <p><b>fleetd #285: refuses under {@code memberHerdrSocket} rather than writing somewhere the
+     * member cannot read.</b> Under {@code memberHerdrSocket:} the member pane runs as a
+     * <em>different OS user with its own {@code $HOME}</em> — the same reason {@link
+     * #writeCharterFile} routes the role/reply charter under {@code worktreeRoot} instead of
+     * {@code java.io.tmpdir} and refuses the spawn when it cannot. This method has no equivalent
+     * relocation available: unlike the charter (fleetd's own content, free to place anywhere and
+     * hand to the peer via an argv flag), {@code .claude.json} is a file Claude Code looks up for
+     * ITSELF at a fixed location — {@code CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/.claude.json}, or else the member OS
+     * user's own {@code ~/.claude.json}, a path fleetd has no channel to learn. So when {@code
+     * configDir} is unset, there is no member-readable target to seed at all — writing the
+     * unqualified default would land in <em>fleetd's own</em> {@code ~/.claude.json} instead, the
+     * exact defect this fix closes, not a workable fallback. And even with {@code configDir} set,
+     * the file this method itself just wrote is {@code 0600} (owner-only — see {@link
+     * #copyPosixPermissionsIfPresent}), unreadable by a different-uid member unless shared with
+     * {@code worktreeGroup}, the same group {@link EnvAllowListScrub#shareWithGroup} already uses
+     * for the ZDOTDIR scrub (fleetd #213) and the charter file (fleetd #219/#222). So under {@code
+     * memberHerdrSocket} this method requires BOTH {@code configDir} and {@code worktreeGroup}
+     * before it ever touches a file, and refuses the spawn — naming exactly which one is missing —
+     * rather than silently corrupt fleetd's own home or hand the member an unreadable path. This
+     * mirrors {@link #writeCharterFile}'s "refuse, don't degrade" decision: a member spawned without
+     * a readable trust seed is not degraded, it sits on the interactive dialog forever and never
+     * calls {@code fleet_reply} — exactly the failure fleetd #149 exists to prevent, so trading it
+     * for "spawn something" is not worth it. When {@code configDir} and {@code worktreeGroup} are
+     * both present, the write proceeds exactly as below and the resulting file is additionally
+     * chgrp'd/chmod'd group-readable ({@code rw-r-----}) via {@link
+     * EnvAllowListScrub#shareFileWithGroup(Path, String)} so the member's OS user can actually
+     * open it — the
+     * directory itself (unlike {@code worktreeRoot} or the charter's per-spawn directory) is not
+     * fleetd-managed, so its own traversal permissions remain the operator's setup, same as they
+     * already must be for the member to read anything else fleetd points {@code CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR}
+     * at. With {@code memberHerdrSocket} ABSENT (today's only live mode) every branch below is
+     * byte-identical to before this fix.
+     *
      * @param configDir the profile's {@code CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR} ({@code cfg.configDir()}), or
-     *                  {@code null}/blank to target the default {@code ~/.claude.json}
+     *                  {@code null}/blank to target the default {@code ~/.claude.json} — refused
+     *                  outright when {@code memberHerdrSocket} is configured, see above
      * @param cwd       the spawn's resolved working directory — the exact key Claude Code will look
      *                  up for itself once it starts there
+     * @throws IllegalStateException when {@code memberHerdrSocket} is configured but {@code
+     *                                configDir} and/or {@code worktreeGroup} is not — the same
+     *                                refusal shape as {@link #writeCharterFile}
      */
-    private static void seedTrustDialog(String configDir, String cwd) {
+    private void seedTrustDialog(String configDir, String cwd) {
         if (!isProvisionedWorktree(cwd)) {
             return;
         }
         boolean unsetConfigDir = configDir == null || configDir.isBlank();
+        boolean memberHerdrSocket = memberHerdrSocketConfigured();
+        String group = memberHerdrSocket ? memberGroup() : null;
+        if (memberHerdrSocket && (unsetConfigDir || group == null)) {
+            throw new IllegalStateException("memberHerdrSocket is configured, so the workspace-trust "
+                    + "seed (.claude.json, which gates Claude Code's interactive trust dialog) must be "
+                    + "placed where the member's OS user can read it — configDir, shared via "
+                    + "worktreeGroup — but " + (unsetConfigDir ? "configDir" : "worktreeGroup")
+                    + " is not configured. Refusing to spawn rather than write fleetd's own default "
+                    + "'~/.claude.json' or hand the member a config file it cannot read: that member "
+                    + "would sit on the interactive trust dialog forever and never reach an "
+                    + "injectable state. Configure configDir on this profile and worktreeGroup on the "
+                    + "fleet to enable claude-code member spawns under memberHerdrSocket.");
+        }
         Path target = unsetConfigDir
                 ? Path.of(System.getProperty("user.home"), ".claude.json")
                 : Path.of(configDir, ".claude.json");
@@ -559,18 +609,20 @@ public final class ClaudeCodeLauncher extends HerdrPeerLauncher {
             // profile that simply forgot to set configDir gets no signal at all short of the
             // operator noticing their own file changing. Say so loudly, every time it is about to
             // happen, rather than only once ever: each occurrence is a live write to a real
-            // person's home config and deserves its own log line.
+            // person's home config and deserves its own log line. (Reached only when
+            // memberHerdrSocket is absent — the block above already refused otherwise.)
             log.warn("seedTrustDialog: profile has no configDir set, so the workspace-trust seed "
                     + "for cwd '{}' is about to write the operator's own default '{}' — set "
                     + "configDir on this profile to target a per-member config file instead",
                     cwd, target);
         }
         synchronized (TRUST_JSON_LOCK) {
+            boolean written = false;
             try {
                 if (target.getParent() != null) {
                     Files.createDirectories(target.getParent());
                 }
-                for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= MAX_TRUST_JSON_CAS_ATTEMPTS; attempt++) {
+                for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= MAX_TRUST_JSON_CAS_ATTEMPTS && !written; attempt++) {
                     byte[] before = Files.isRegularFile(target) ? Files.readAllBytes(target) : null;
                     ObjectNode root = parseTrustJsonOrEmpty(before);
                     JsonNode projectsNode = root.get("projects");
@@ -611,26 +663,39 @@ public final class ClaudeCodeLauncher extends HerdrPeerLauncher {
                         continue;
                     }
                     writeAtomically(target, newContent);
-                    return;
+                    written = true;
+                }
+                if (!written) {
+                    // fleetd #247: deliberately do NOT write here. A member that starts without the
+                    // seed still starts — it may hit the trust dialog fleetd #149 describes and fail
+                    // to reach an injectable state, but that failure is visible (herdr reports it,
+                    // the spawn-readiness gate times out) and recoverable (retry the spawn). Writing
+                    // our stale copy over whatever the other writer left would be silent and, if that
+                    // other writer is the operator's own live session, could destroy real
+                    // configuration — fail toward the recoverable outcome, not the silent one.
+                    log.warn("seedTrustDialog: gave up seeding workspace-trust for cwd '{}' into '{}' "
+                            + "after {} attempts — another writer (most plausibly the operator's own "
+                            + "live Claude Code sharing this file) kept changing it faster than we "
+                            + "could re-read it, so nothing was written; the member may show the "
+                            + "trust dialog instead", cwd, target, MAX_TRUST_JSON_CAS_ATTEMPTS);
                 }
-                // fleetd #247: deliberately do NOT write here. A member that starts without the
-                // seed still starts — it may hit the trust dialog fleetd #149 describes and fail to
-                // reach an injectable state, but that failure is visible (herdr reports it, the
-                // spawn-readiness gate times out) and recoverable (retry the spawn). Writing our
-                // stale copy over whatever the other writer left would be silent and, if that other
-                // writer is the operator's own live session, could destroy real configuration —
-                // fail toward the recoverable outcome, not the silent one.
-                log.warn("seedTrustDialog: gave up seeding workspace-trust for cwd '{}' into '{}' "
-                        + "after {} attempts — another writer (most plausibly the operator's own "
-                        + "live Claude Code sharing this file) kept changing it faster than we could "
-                        + "re-read it, so nothing was written; the member may show the trust dialog "
-                        + "instead", cwd, target, MAX_TRUST_JSON_CAS_ATTEMPTS);
             } catch (Exception e) {
                 log.debug("cannot seed workspace-trust entry for cwd '{}' into '{}'", cwd, target, e);
+                return;
+            }
+            // fleetd #285: the write above lands as fleetd's own OS user; under memberHerdrSocket
+            // that is NOT the member's OS user, so without this the member still cannot read the
+            // file it exists to seed — a silent readiness timeout with the write looking "done".
+            // Deliberately OUTSIDE the swallow-all catch above: a group that fails to resolve here
+            // means the seed is unreadable despite a successful write, which must fail as loudly as
+            // writeCharterFile's own EnvAllowListScrub.shareWithGroup call already does.
+            if (written && memberHerdrSocket) {
+                EnvAllowListScrub.shareFileWithGroup(target, group);
             }
         }
     }
 
+
     /** Bound on {@link #seedTrustDialog}'s fleetd #247 compare-and-swap retry loop. */
     private static final int MAX_TRUST_JSON_CAS_ATTEMPTS = 5;
 

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

@@ -385,9 +385,12 @@ public final class CompositePeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
             }
         }
 
+        // unreachable.size() counts DISTINCT profiles, not attempts (a HashSet dedupes a profile
+        // added twice) — say "distinct" so the count matches the sentence and the profile list that
+        // follows, rather than reading as a count of attempts made (fleetd #315).
         throw new PeerUnreachableException(
                 "no reachable worker profile available after trying " + unreachable.size()
-                        + " candidate(s): " + String.join(", ", unreachable));
+                        + " distinct candidate(s): " + String.join(", ", unreachable));
     }
 
     /**

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

@@ -181,6 +181,33 @@ public final class EnvAllowListScrub {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #285: share ONE file with {@code group}, read-only ({@code rw-r-----}) — the same
+     * per-file mode {@link #shareWithGroup} applies to a directory's entries, and the same error
+     * shapes, but without touching a parent directory. Used for a file fleetd writes into a
+     * directory it does NOT own — {@code configDir}'s own traversal permissions stay the
+     * operator's setup — where the directory-wide {@link #shareWithGroup} would be wrong.
+     *
+     * @throws UncheckedIOException when {@code group} does not resolve on this host, the
+     *                              filesystem has no POSIX group ownership, or a
+     *                              group-ownership/permission call is refused
+     */
+    static void shareFileWithGroup(Path file, String group) {
+        try {
+            GroupPrincipal principal = file.getFileSystem().getUserPrincipalLookupService()
+                    .lookupPrincipalByGroupName(group);
+            setGroupAndPermissions(file, principal, "rw-r-----");
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new UncheckedIOException("cannot share generated file " + file + " with group '"
+                    + group + "' — the group must exist, and the fleetd operator ("
+                    + System.getProperty("user.name") + ") must be a member of it", e);
+        } catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
+            throw new UncheckedIOException("cannot share generated file " + file + " with group '"
+                    + group + "' — this filesystem does not support POSIX group ownership",
+                    new IOException(e));
+        }
+    }
+
     private static void setGroupAndPermissions(Path path, GroupPrincipal group, String perms) throws IOException {
         PosixFileAttributeView view = Files.getFileAttributeView(path, PosixFileAttributeView.class);
         if (view == null) {

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

@@ -697,7 +697,20 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
         if (paneId == null) {
             throw new IllegalStateException("pane.split returned no pane — cannot start a peer");
         }
-        Agent peer = startUniquelyNamed(cfg, argv, paneId).agent();
+        Agent peer;
+        try {
+            peer = startUniquelyNamed(cfg, argv, paneId).agent();
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            // The peer never started — don't leave the pane we just created orphaned.
+            // Best-effort cleanup; never let it mask the real spawn failure.
+            try {
+                stop(paneId);
+            } catch (RuntimeException cleanup) {
+                log.warn("failed to close orphaned pane {} after spawn error: {}",
+                        paneId, cleanup.getMessage());
+            }
+            throw e;
+        }
         log.info("{} started pane={} terminal={}", namePrefix, peer.paneId(), peer.terminalId());
         return peer;
     }
@@ -913,9 +926,14 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
      * {@link #reapOrphanWorkers() orphan-reap} and spawn-gate-timeout paths, plus any caller that
      * passes a pane directly, keep working without an owning id.
      *
-     * <p>Resolves the tab from the pane <em>before</em> closing it. An already-gone pane/tab
-     * (repeated DELETE, crashed peer) is treated as success; any other failure propagates so a
-     * genuinely failed teardown is not reported as done.
+     * <p>Resolves the tab from the pane <em>before</em> closing it. {@code agents.close} (the pane)
+     * is the one step whose failure means the teardown itself may not have happened: an already-gone
+     * pane (repeated DELETE, crashed peer) is treated as success, but any other failure propagates so
+     * a genuinely failed teardown is not reported as done. {@code spaces.closeTab} (fleetd #293) is
+     * different — by the time it runs the pane is already closed, so it is cosmetic workspace tidying
+     * rather than a real teardown failure, and a failure there is logged and never propagates, so it
+     * cannot mask the two cleanups below it ({@link #releaseZdotdir}, and the caller's worktree
+     * removal in {@code SessionManager.release}).
      */
     @Override
     public void stop(String idOrPane) {
@@ -934,7 +952,25 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
             log.debug("pane.close({}) ignored — already gone: {}", paneId, e.getMessage());
         }
         if (loc != null && loc.tabPaneCount() == 1) {
-            spaces.closeTab(loc.tabId());
+            // fleetd #293: the pane above is already closed by this point, so a failing tab.close is
+            // cosmetic workspace tidying, not a real teardown failure — it must not mask the two
+            // cleanups below it (releaseZdotdir, and the caller's worktree removal). Unlike
+            // agents.close above, this is not narrowed to "already gone": any failure here, whatever
+            // its cause, is one we continue past, so we log it at WARN (not debug) with the tab id a
+            // person can go close by hand.
+            try {
+                spaces.closeTab(loc.tabId());
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                // Caught as RuntimeException, not HerdrException, to match releaseZdotdir's own
+                // guard five lines below. Today the two are the same set — HerdrCodec wraps every
+                // encode/decode failure and UnixSocketHerdrClient wraps every IOException, so
+                // HerdrException is all closeTab can actually throw. Narrowing to it anyway would
+                // leave this step guarded against the expected failure and bare against any other,
+                // which is the exact asymmetry fleetd #293 exists to remove. No behaviour change
+                // today; it stops a later change inside WorkspaceControl.closeTab reopening it.
+                log.warn("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("not closing tab {} — it holds {} panes (not a dedicated peer tab)",
                     loc.tabId(), loc.tabPaneCount());
@@ -973,7 +1009,8 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
      * that gap: it stops waiting immediately (never burns the rest of the timeout), runs the same
      * teardown the timeout path below runs, and throws with a message that says the backend exited
      * rather than that the pane was slow. Any other {@link HerdrException} still propagates
-     * unchanged — this gate does not know how to recover from it.
+     * unchanged — this gate does not interpret or recover from it, but it still closes the pane
+     * it opened before handing the exception to its caller.
      */
     private void waitUntilInjectableOrThrow(String paneId) {
         long start = nowMillis.getAsLong();
@@ -987,7 +1024,15 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
                 if (isAlreadyGone(e)) {
                     failFastOnGoneBackend(paneId, e, nowMillis.getAsLong() - start);
                 }
-                throw e; // any other herdr failure is not ours to interpret — let it propagate
+                // This gate must not interpret an unrelated herdr error, but the caller does not
+                // receive paneId when spawn throws. Close the pane here before propagating e unchanged.
+                try {
+                    stop(paneId);
+                } catch (RuntimeException cleanup) {
+                    log.warn("failed to close orphaned pane {} after readiness-gate error: {}",
+                            paneId, cleanup.getMessage());
+                }
+                throw e;
             }
             lastStatus = sample.status();
             if (lastStatus.injectable() || refinedInjectable(paneId, sample)) {
@@ -1620,30 +1665,59 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
 
     /**
      * Guards the {@code effectiveAllowed == null} branch of {@link #logCredentialGap} — the
-     * genuinely-unprotected report (deny-by-default, and the allow-list non-zsh fallback) — to one
-     * WARN per launcher instance, not one per spawn.
+     * genuinely-unprotected report (deny-by-default, and the allow-list non-zsh fallback) — AND
+     * the {@code effectiveAllowed != null} / {@code keptByDerivedList} branch, the allow-list case
+     * where a name is in the gap but the derived allow-list keeps it anyway. Both branches log the
+     * same severity (WARN) about the same fact — a name genuinely reaching a member pane
+     * unprotected — so they share this one guard, keyed per NAME rather than per launcher instance:
+     * each credential-shaped name that is ever reported unprotected gets exactly one WARN, however
+     * many spawns see it and whichever of the two branches first reports it.
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #341: {@code memberCredentials} is a live, re-read-per-spawn supplier, so the
+     * policy — and so the gap's actual member names — can change between two spawns on the same
+     * launcher. Before this fix the guard was a single {@code AtomicBoolean} tripped by either
+     * branch: spawn 1 could warn about name A and trip the flag, and a later spawn's gap containing
+     * a different name B would never be reported, even though B is just as unprotected as A was.
+     * {@code AtomicBoolean} could not express "once per distinct name" at all — only "once, ever,
+     * for whichever name got there first" — so this is a {@code Set<String>} guard instead, the
+     * same shape {@link OpenCodeLauncher#modelCheckSkippedWarned} already uses for its own
+     * once-per-distinct-thing WARN. {@link #add}'s return value (true only the first time a name is
+     * added) is what turns "log the whole gap" into "log only the names never warned about before".
+     *
+     * <p>Bounded by construction: every name added here first passed {@link
+     * #CREDENTIAL_SHAPED_NAME}'s filter over {@link #hostEnvNames}, i.e. it is an actual
+     * environment variable name from the daemon's own process — a small, OS-bounded set (the host
+     * environment has, in practice, tens to a few hundred entries), not an attacker- or
+     * request-controlled input. So this set cannot grow past "however many distinct credential-
+     * shaped names this host's environment has ever held across this launcher's lifetime," which is
+     * effectively fixed for the life of one daemon process — no separate cap is needed.
      *
      * <p>CB-633 follow-up (#192): kept SEPARATE from {@link #allowListGapLogged} on purpose.
      * {@code memberCredentials} is a live, re-read-per-spawn supplier, so the policy can change
      * between two spawns on the same launcher. A single shared flag would let a harmless allow-list
      * INFO on spawn 1 permanently suppress the real deny-by-default WARN a later spawn deserves —
      * the report that matters most getting hidden by the report that doesn't. Two flags mean each
-     * report kind fires exactly once, independent of what the other kind already logged.
+     * report kind (WARN vs. INFO) fires independently of what the other kind already logged; within
+     * the WARN kind itself, the set above further separates by name, for the same reason.
      */
-    private final AtomicBoolean unprotectedGapLogged = new AtomicBoolean();
+    private final Set<String> unprotectedGapNamesWarned = ConcurrentHashMap.newKeySet();
 
     /**
      * Guards the {@code effectiveAllowed != null} branch of {@link #logCredentialGap} — the
      * allow-list-scrub-covered report — to one INFO per launcher instance. See {@link
-     * #unprotectedGapLogged}'s javadoc for why this is a separate flag rather than a shared one.
+     * #unprotectedGapNamesWarned}'s javadoc for why this is a separate flag rather than a shared
+     * one; unlike that guard it stays a per-instance {@code AtomicBoolean}, not a per-name set —
+     * fleetd #341 fixed the WARN-vs-WARN suppression, not this INFO's own one-shot shape, which was
+     * not reported as broken and is out of that ticket's scope.
      */
     private final AtomicBoolean allowListGapLogged = new AtomicBoolean();
 
     /**
      * fleetd #185 stage 2: guards {@link #warnUnknownMemberEnvironment} to one WARN per launcher
-     * instance, not one per spawn — the same one-per-instance shape as {@link #unprotectedGapLogged}
-     * and {@link #allowListGapLogged}, kept as its own flag for the same reason those two are split:
-     * this mode is orthogonal to which of the other two branches would otherwise have fired.
+     * instance, not one per spawn — the same one-shot shape {@link #unprotectedGapNamesWarned} and
+     * {@link #allowListGapLogged} guard their own branches with, kept as its own flag for the same
+     * reason those two are split: this mode is orthogonal to which of the other two branches would
+     * otherwise have fired.
      */
     private final AtomicBoolean unknownMemberEnvironmentWarned = new AtomicBoolean();
 
@@ -1771,14 +1845,21 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
         List<String> blankedByScrub = gap.stream()
                 .filter(name -> !MemberEnvAllowList.keeps(effectiveAllowed, name))
                 .toList();
-        if (!keptByDerivedList.isEmpty() && unprotectedGapLogged.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
+        // fleetd #341: filter to names this guard has never warned about before — not just
+        // "isEmpty" on the whole branch — so a name this spawn's gap shares with an EARLIER
+        // spawn's (already-warned) gap does not re-print, while a name unique to THIS gap still
+        // does, whichever of the two WARN branches reported it first.
+        List<String> newlyUnprotected = keptByDerivedList.stream()
+                .filter(unprotectedGapNamesWarned::add)
+                .toList();
+        if (!newlyUnprotected.isEmpty()) {
             log.warn("memberCredentials gap: {} credential-shaped env var name(s) are on neither "
                             + "known: nor allow: — the derived allow-list keeps them anyway (a profile's "
                             + "gitTokenEnv/gitHostEnv/tokenEnv/env: names one, or this spawn injects it), "
                             + "so every member pane inherits them UNBLOCKED — {}. Add each to "
                             + "memberCredentials.known (or .allow if a member legitimately needs it), or "
                             + "remove it from whatever profile setting derives it in.",
-                    keptByDerivedList.size(), keptByDerivedList);
+                    newlyUnprotected.size(), newlyUnprotected);
         }
         if (!blankedByScrub.isEmpty() && allowListGapLogged.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
             log.info("memberCredentials gap: {} credential-shaped env var name(s) are on neither "
@@ -1791,12 +1872,18 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
 
     /** The deny-by-default (and allow-list non-zsh fallback) WARN — unchanged byte-for-byte by #192. */
     private void warnGapUnprotected(List<String> gap) {
-        if (unprotectedGapLogged.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
+        // fleetd #341: same "only the names never warned before" filter as the sibling branch in
+        // logCredentialGap above — see unprotectedGapNamesWarned's javadoc. Both branches share
+        // this one guard because both report the exact same fact (a name reaching a member pane
+        // unprotected) at the exact same severity; keying it by name is what lets a later spawn's
+        // DIFFERENT name still get its own WARN after an earlier spawn's already fired.
+        List<String> newlyUnprotected = gap.stream().filter(unprotectedGapNamesWarned::add).toList();
+        if (!newlyUnprotected.isEmpty()) {
             log.warn("memberCredentials gap: {} credential-shaped env var name(s) are on neither "
                             + "known: nor allow: — every member pane inherits them UNBLOCKED — {}. "
                             + "Add each to memberCredentials.known (blocked by default) or .allow "
                             + "(if a member legitimately needs it).",
-                    gap.size(), gap);
+                    newlyUnprotected.size(), newlyUnprotected);
         }
     }
 

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

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentSkipListMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 
 /**
  * AMQP-backed {@link ReplyInbox} (CB-307 Stage 2): genuine cross-restart durability behind the same
@@ -93,8 +94,23 @@ public final class AmqpReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
     private final Channel channel;
     /** All channel operations (publish/declare/ack/cancel) serialize on this — a Channel is not thread-safe. */
     private final Object channelLock = new Object();
-    /** target → (msgId → held delivery). Per-target map is guarded by synchronizing on itself. */
+    /**
+     * target → (msgId → held delivery). Per-target map is guarded by synchronizing on itself.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>CB-318 tombstone.</strong> The value {@link #RELEASED} is a reserved sentinel: it
+     * marks a target whose {@link #release} has already run, so {@link #deliverCallback} can tell a
+     * delivery landing after release() apart from a fresh target it has never seen. See both methods'
+     * javadoc for why a plain {@code held.remove(target)} is not enough.
+     */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, LinkedHashMap<String, Held>> held = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+
+    /**
+     * CB-318 sentinel stored in {@link #held} for a target whose {@link #release} has already run.
+     * Never mutated — every read site compares it by reference ({@code ==}) before touching it as a
+     * map, because it is a single object shared across every released target and calling a mutator on
+     * it would corrupt state for all of them.
+     */
+    private static final LinkedHashMap<String, Held> RELEASED = new LinkedHashMap<>();
     /** Targets whose queue is declared and consumer is running, mapped to their broker consumer tag. */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, String> consumerTags = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
@@ -201,6 +217,12 @@ public final class AmqpReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
                 channel.queueDeclare(queue, true, false, false, null); // durable, non-exclusive, keep on idle
                 String tag = channel.basicConsume(queue, false, deliverCallback(target), _ -> { });
                 consumerTags.put(target, tag);
+                // CB-318: drop a stale RELEASED tombstone from a prior ownership of this same target
+                // string, so a delivery under this fresh consumer is held normally instead of being
+                // nacked forever by deliverCallback's RELEASED check. Safe to do here, still under
+                // channelLock: no delivery for the consumer tag just registered above can reach
+                // deliverCallback before this basicConsume call returns.
+                held.remove(target, RELEASED);
                 log.debug("AMQP inbox owns queue {} for target {}", queue, target);
             } catch (IOException e) {
                 throw new IllegalStateException("cannot own queue " + queue, e);
@@ -208,18 +230,103 @@ public final class AmqpReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Release ownership of {@code target}: cancel its consumer, then nack-with-requeue every
+     * delivery still held for it instead of just dropping the local record.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>Cancelling a consumer does not requeue its in-flight deliveries.</strong> In AMQP,
+     * a delivery that was pushed to a consumer stays unacked, attached to the still-open
+     * {@link #channel}, until that channel or the connection closes — {@code basicCancel} alone does
+     * neither. So before this method existed with a requeue step, it dropped {@link #held}'s entries
+     * for {@code target} while the broker still considered them outstanding: never acked, never
+     * nacked, never requeued, and no longer reachable by {@link #peek} — permanently invisible. This
+     * is unlike {@link #handleRecovery} and {@link #close()}, whose bare {@code held.clear()} is
+     * correct because each has already made the broker requeue (a real connection drop, or
+     * {@code channel.close()} respectively) before clearing local state.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>Order: cancel first, then nack.</strong> A delivery tag stays valid for
+     * {@code basicNack} on this channel regardless of whether its consumer is still attached — only
+     * a channel/connection close invalidates it — so cancelling {@code target}'s consumer first does
+     * not risk the tags. Doing it the other way round does: nacking a delivery with {@code requeue}
+     * while its consumer is still active hands the message straight back to that <em>same</em>
+     * consumer the instant a prefetch slot frees up (confirmed against a real broker — see
+     * {@code AmqpReplyInboxContractTest.releaseCancelsConsumerAndRequeuesHeldDeliveryForRecovery}),
+     * which races this method's own {@code held.remove(target)}: the redelivery can land after the
+     * clear and leave a stale entry behind, so {@link #peek} is no longer reliably empty right after
+     * {@link #release}. Cancelling first closes that consumer, so the requeued message goes back to
+     * the queue for whichever consumer picks it up next (a later {@link #own}), not this one.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>Failure of the requeue is best-effort, not fatal.</strong> {@link #release} runs
+     * during teardown ({@code Fleetd} calls it right after {@code MessageService.abandon}), and a
+     * throw here would abort cleanups the caller depends on — the same argument fleetd #293 settled
+     * for {@code HerdrPeerLauncher.stop()}'s tab-close step. So a failed {@code basicNack} is logged
+     * at WARN, naming the target and delivery tag that leaked, and release proceeds; the delivery
+     * stays unacked on the broker rather than being silently dropped, so it is still recoverable by a
+     * later connection drop even though this release did not manage to requeue it immediately. A
+     * failed {@code basicCancel} still throws, unchanged from before this fix — that failure means
+     * the consumer may still be attached, so best-effort requeue is not attempted underneath it.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>CB-318: {@code held.remove(target)} alone leaves a second window open.</strong> The
+     * bullet above already explains why cancelling first does not save a tag from going stale — but
+     * that only accounts for a delivery landing before this method starts touching {@link #held}.
+     * {@code basicCancel} stops <em>new</em> dispatches; it does not flush one already handed to the
+     * consumer work pool. So a delivery can still land on that pool's thread and reach
+     * {@link #deliverCallback} at any point during, or after, this method's body — and a plain
+     * {@code held.remove(target)} does nothing to stop it: {@code deliverCallback}'s
+     * {@code computeIfAbsent} finds the key gone and happily creates a brand-new map under it, which
+     * this method — already past its {@code remove} — never looks at again. That entry then sits
+     * delivered-but-unacked on {@link #channel} until the whole inbox closes: never requeued, never
+     * redelivered, and {@link #peek} is never called again for a target nothing owns any more.
+     *
+     * <p>The fix is {@link #held}{@code .compute(target, ...)} instead of {@code remove}: it takes
+     * whatever was held (to nack, same as before) and, in the same atomic step, leaves the
+     * {@link #RELEASED} tombstone behind instead of an absent key. {@code computeIfAbsent} and
+     * {@code compute} calls for the same key are mutually exclusive in {@link ConcurrentHashMap} —
+     * whichever of this call and a concurrent {@code deliverCallback} runs first is fully visible to
+     * the other, with no gap between them. So a delivery that loses the race sees a real map here and
+     * gets nacked by the loop below, same as always; a delivery that wins the race (runs first) is
+     * itself nacked by that same loop, once it settles into {@code held}. A delivery that arrives once
+     * this method has stored {@link #RELEASED} finds it via {@code computeIfAbsent} and refuses itself
+     * — see {@link #deliverCallback}. Either way nothing is silently retained forever, satisfying the
+     * ticket's invariant against dropping a message. This closes the window rather than merely
+     * narrowing it — correctness does not depend on how much time elapses between the swap and this
+     * method returning.
+     */
     @Override
     public void release(String target) {
         synchronized (channelLock) {
             String tag = consumerTags.remove(target);
-            held.remove(target);                   // stale delivery tags must not survive release
-            if (tag == null) {
-                return;
+            if (tag != null) {
+                try {
+                    channel.basicCancel(tag);
+                } catch (IOException e) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException("cannot cancel consumer for " + target, e);
+                }
             }
-            try {
-                channel.basicCancel(tag);
-            } catch (IOException e) {
-                throw new IllegalStateException("cannot cancel consumer for " + target, e);
+            AtomicReference<LinkedHashMap<String, Held>> previouslyHeld = new AtomicReference<>();
+            held.compute(target, (_, v) -> {
+                previouslyHeld.set(v);
+                return RELEASED;
+            });
+            var perTarget = previouslyHeld.get();
+            if (perTarget != null && perTarget != RELEASED) {
+                synchronized (perTarget) {
+                    for (Held h : perTarget.values()) {
+                        try {
+                            channel.basicNack(h.deliveryTag(), false, true); // requeue, don't drop
+                        } catch (IOException | RuntimeException e) {
+                            // Caught broadly (not just IOException) for the same reason #293 catches
+                            // RuntimeException in HerdrPeerLauncher.stop(): best-effort teardown must
+                            // not be guarded only against the expected failure and bare against any
+                            // other. The message stays unacked on the broker either way — not lost,
+                            // just not proactively requeued — until a connection drop frees it.
+                            log.warn("release({}): could not requeue held delivery (msgId={}, tag={})"
+                                            + " back to the broker — it stays unacked until a connection"
+                                            + " drop frees it: {}",
+                                    target, h.message().msgId(), h.deliveryTag(), e.getMessage());
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
             }
         }
     }
@@ -272,7 +379,7 @@ public final class AmqpReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
     @Override
     public List<InboxMessage> peek(String target) {
         var perTarget = held.get(target);
-        if (perTarget == null) {
+        if (perTarget == null || perTarget == RELEASED) {
             return List.of();
         }
         synchronized (perTarget) {
@@ -283,7 +390,7 @@ public final class AmqpReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
     @Override
     public void ack(String target, String msgId) {
         var perTarget = held.get(target);
-        if (perTarget == null) {
+        if (perTarget == null || perTarget == RELEASED) {
             return;
         }
         Held h;
@@ -316,6 +423,20 @@ public final class AmqpReplyInbox implements ReplyInbox, AutoCloseable {
             }
             String content = new String(delivery.getBody(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
             var perTarget = held.computeIfAbsent(target, _ -> new LinkedHashMap<>());
+            if (perTarget == RELEASED) {
+                // CB-318: release() already ran for this target and left the RELEASED tombstone in
+                // held (see release()'s javadoc) — computeIfAbsent() is guaranteed to see it rather
+                // than recreate a fresh map, because ConcurrentHashMap serializes compute/
+                // computeIfAbsent calls for the same key against each other. Refuse the delivery
+                // instead of holding it somewhere release() will never look at again: requeue it, the
+                // same way release() nacks its own held entries, so a later owner (or a connection
+                // drop) can still recover it. This does not need channelLock across a broker round
+                // trip — basicNack, like the duplicate-ack case just below, does not wait for one.
+                synchronized (channelLock) {
+                    channel.basicNack(tag, false, true);
+                }
+                return;
+            }
             boolean duplicate;
             synchronized (perTarget) {
                 if (perTarget.containsKey(msgId)) {

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

@@ -187,6 +187,24 @@ public final class MessageService {
         private volatile Long completedNanos;
         private volatile Reply question;
         private volatile String turnId;
+        /**
+         * Set when this task's {@code fleet_ask} lapsed with no answer (fleetd #307):
+         * {@link #clearAsyncQuestion} then forgets {@link #turnId} (nulls it and drops the task from
+         * {@code asyncTasksByTurn}) so {@link #hasAsyncQuestion} stops reporting the target BUSY — a
+         * later {@code fleet_send} to it must be accepted, not refused. But the worker's turn is
+         * still genuinely live: it resumed on its own and will eventually call its real
+         * {@code fleet_reply}. Losing {@link #turnId} loses {@link #askAnsweredAsyncTasks}' only
+         * signal that such a reply belongs to this task, so that reply used to fall straight to the
+         * inbox and strand — {@code fleet_poll} stayed {@code PENDING} forever, later force-failed by
+         * {@link #abandon} with the misleading "session released before it replied". This flag is a
+         * second, independent signal that survives the forgetting: {@link #askAnsweredAsyncTasks}
+         * accepts it in place of a live {@link #turnId}, without ever re-adding the task to
+         * {@code asyncTasksByTurn} (so the BUSY release is untouched). Cleared implicitly once
+         * {@link #future} resolves — every match in {@link #askAnsweredAsyncTasks} already requires
+         * {@code !future.isDone()}, so a task that recovered (or was later failed by
+         * {@link #abandon}) can never match again regardless of this flag's value.
+         */
+        private volatile boolean askTimedOut;
 
         private Task(String ticket, String target, LongSupplier nowNanos) {
             this.ticket = ticket;
@@ -395,42 +413,71 @@ public final class MessageService {
      * {@link Rendezvous#resolveQuestion} must keep today's {@code NO_WAITER} behaviour — questions
      * are interactive and must never be queued.
      *
-     * <p><strong>Ambiguous match also falls to the inbox.</strong> {@link #askAnsweredAsyncTasks}
-     * cannot actually return more than one entry today (see its own javadoc for why — in short,
-     * {@link #hasAsyncQuestion} keeps a target BUSY, so no second task can reach this state, for as
-     * long as an earlier one's {@code turnId} is still stamped). That is an emergent guarantee from
-     * two other facts, not one this method enforces, so this branch stays in as defence in depth
-     * rather than being removed as dead code: if it ever weakens, returning whichever candidate a
-     * {@code ConcurrentHashMap} iteration reaches first would let a genuine reply complete the
-     * <em>wrong</em> ticket — silently handing the lead something that reads like a correct answer to
-     * a delegation the worker never touched, which is worse than a failure because the lead acts on
-     * it. When more than one candidate exists, guessing is not safe: fall back to the inbox exactly
-     * as the zero-candidate case does, and let {@link #abandon} apply the eventual recovery
-     * deterministically instead.
+     * <p><strong>Ambiguous match also falls to the inbox.</strong> {@link #askAnsweredAsyncTasks} can
+     * return more than one entry — a reachable state, not a hypothetical one (see its own javadoc:
+     * an {@code fleet_ask} that lapsed with no answer, fleetd #307, frees the target for a completely fresh
+     * delegation, which can itself go on to ask-and-lapse before the first worker's real reply
+     * arrives). Returning whichever candidate a {@code ConcurrentHashMap} iteration reaches first
+     * would let a genuine reply complete the <em>wrong</em> ticket — silently handing the lead
+     * something that reads like a correct answer to a delegation the worker never touched, which is
+     * worse than a failure because the lead acts on it. When more than one candidate exists, guessing
+     * is not safe: fall back to the inbox exactly as the zero-candidate case does, and let
+     * {@link #abandon} apply the eventual recovery deterministically instead.
      *
+     * <p><strong>{@code content} is required (fleetd #302).</strong> Both doors that reach this
+     * method must reject a missing/blank reply the same way, so the check lives here rather than in
+     * either caller: {@code FleetMcp.reply} already refuses a {@code null} content before it ever
+     * calls this method (its own required-arg guard), and no test or production call site anywhere
+     * in the codebase relies on replying with empty content — confirmed by searching every call site
+     * of this method before adding the check, not assumed. Without this guard, a REST {@code
+     * POST /sessions/{id}/reply} whose body omits {@code content} (or a client library that maps a
+     * missing field to {@code ""}) used to reach {@link Rendezvous#resolve} with an empty string,
+     * silently completing the lead's blocking wait with nothing — indistinguishable from a worker
+     * that genuinely replied with nothing, which is worse than a loud failure because it destroys the
+     * information that the reply never arrived.
+     *
+     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if {@code content} is {@code null} or blank — the caller must
+     *         report this as a client error (REST: 400 {@code bad_request}) rather than resolve
+     *         anything
      * @return always {@code true} — the reply resolved a live send, completed a parked ticket, or
      *         was queued
      */
     public boolean reply(String session, String content) {
+        if (content == null || content.isBlank()) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("content is required");
+        }
         if (rendezvous.resolve(session, content)) {
             count(FleetMetrics.REPLIES, "path", "rendezvous");
             return true;                       // a live send took it — unchanged fast path
         }
-        // #137: no live rendezvous waiter, but this may be the worker's real fleet_reply resuming a
-        // turn that {@link #answer} already gave up waiting on. answer()'s own bounded wait (the
-        // primary's fleet_send{turnId} call, capped well under a minute) can time out and close its
-        // waiter long before the worker — now actually resuming real work — finishes and replies. That
-        // reply used to have nowhere to land but the session inbox, leaving the async ticket's future
-        // unresolved forever: fleet_poll{ticket} stayed PENDING until fleet_stop's abandon() forced it
-        // FAILED with a misleading "session released before it replied" reason, even though the reply
-        // had, in fact, arrived. Completing the matching ticket directly here means fleet_poll{ticket}
-        // sees the real reply instead.
+        // #137/fleetd #307: no live rendezvous waiter, but this may be the worker's real fleet_reply resuming
+        // a turn that either answer() (#137) or ask() (fleetd #307) already gave up waiting on:
+        //  - answer()'s own bounded wait (the primary's fleet_send{turnId} call, capped well under a
+        //    minute) can time out and close its waiter long before the worker — now actually resuming
+        //    real work — finishes and replies.
+        //  - ask()'s own wait for the primary can time out first, with the worker resuming on its own
+        //    and finishing unanswered.
+        // Either way that reply used to have nowhere to land but the session inbox, leaving the async
+        // ticket's future unresolved forever: fleet_poll{ticket} stayed PENDING until fleet_stop's
+        // abandon() forced it FAILED with a misleading "session released before it replied" reason,
+        // even though the reply had, in fact, arrived. Completing the matching ticket directly here
+        // means fleet_poll{ticket} sees the real reply instead.
         List<Task> candidates = askAnsweredAsyncTasks(session);
         if (candidates.size() == 1) {
             Task orphan = candidates.get(0);
             if (orphan.future.complete(new Reply(Outcome.REPLIED, content))) {
-                if (orphan.turnId != null) {
-                    asyncTasksByTurn.remove(orphan.turnId, orphan);
+                // fleetd #329 (F3): read orphan.turnId once. It used to be read twice, under no
+                // lock — once for this null check, once as the removal key — the same double-read
+                // shape fleetd #324 fixed in finishAsyncTask. clearAsyncQuestion's unlocked
+                // forgetTurn=true path (ask()'s timeout cleanup) can null the field between the two
+                // reads; capturing it once removes the torn read here too.
+                String turnId = orphan.turnId;
+                if (turnId != null) {
+                    if (replyOrphanTurnIdRaceHookForTest != null) {
+                        // Test-only (fleetd #329, F3): see the field's own javadoc.
+                        replyOrphanTurnIdRaceHookForTest.run();
+                    }
+                    asyncTasksByTurn.remove(turnId, orphan);
                 }
                 count(FleetMetrics.REPLIES, "path", "async-recovered");
                 return true;                   // the ticket itself took it — no inbox stranding at all
@@ -455,34 +502,42 @@ public final class MessageService {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Every still-open async task on {@code target} whose {@code fleet_ask} was already answered —
-     * its {@link Task#turnId} is stamped but its {@link Task#question} was cleared by {@link #answer}
-     * — yet whose future is not resolved yet (#137). Empty if no such task exists, including the
-     * common case where {@code target}'s worker never used {@code fleet_ask} at all (a task that was
-     * never asked has {@code turnId == null}, so it can never match here and only ever completes
-     * through the ordinary rendezvous fast path in {@link #reply}).
+     * Every still-open async task on {@code target} whose worker is genuinely expected to send a
+     * real {@code fleet_reply} next with nothing left registered to catch it: either its
+     * {@code fleet_ask} was already answered — {@link Task#turnId} is stamped but {@link
+     * Task#question} was cleared by {@link #answer} — or its {@code fleet_ask} lapsed unanswered and
+     * {@link Task#askTimedOut} marks that (fleetd #307; {@link Task#turnId} is {@code null} by then, forgotten
+     * so the target is not left BUSY — see {@link Task#askTimedOut}'s own javadoc). Either way the
+     * task's future is not resolved yet. Empty if no such task exists, including the common case
+     * where {@code target}'s worker never used {@code fleet_ask} at all (a task that was never asked
+     * has both {@code turnId == null} and {@code askTimedOut == false}, so it can never match here and
+     * only ever completes through the ordinary rendezvous fast path in {@link #reply}).
      *
-     * <p><strong>Returns at most one entry today — verified, not assumed.</strong> {@link #send}
-     * refuses to open a waiter on {@code target} while {@link #hasAsyncQuestion} is true, and that
-     * check matches ANY task whose {@code turnId} is still stamped in {@code asyncTasksByTurn} —
-     * not only while its question is still open. {@link #answer} deliberately leaves that stamp in
-     * place ({@code clearAsyncQuestion(turnId, false)}) until the resumed turn's own future actually
-     * resolves, at which point {@link #finishAsyncTask} both removes the stamp AND completes that
-     * task's future in the same call. So a second task can never reach "{@code turnId} stamped, future
-     * still open" — the exact pair this method matches on — while a first one already holds it: by
-     * the time the stamp is gone, so is the eligibility. This is an emergent property of those two
-     * facts holding together, not something this method (or its callers) enforces on its own — flip
-     * {@code forgetTurn} to {@code true} in that one {@link #answer} call and it silently stops being
-     * true, with nothing left to fail loudly. The callers below still handle "more than one" as
-     * defence in depth against exactly that, not because they exercise it today: {@link #reply}
-     * treats it as unresolvable and falls back to the inbox; {@link #abandon} would pick the oldest
-     * deterministically (its own {@code matching} list has no such guarantee — see its javadoc).
+     * <p><strong>Can return more than one entry — reachable, not just defence in depth.</strong>
+     * {@link #send} refuses to open a waiter on {@code target} while {@link #hasAsyncQuestion} is
+     * true, and that check matches ANY task whose {@code turnId} is still stamped in
+     * {@code asyncTasksByTurn}. While a task's {@code turnId} stays stamped — {@link #answer} leaves
+     * it in place ({@code clearAsyncQuestion(turnId, false)}) until {@link #finishAsyncTask} removes
+     * the stamp and completes the future in the same call — no second task on the same target can
+     * reach an eligible state, because {@link #send} would refuse it as BUSY first. That single-task
+     * guarantee holds only for the {@code turnId}-stamped half of this method's match: an
+     * {@link Task#askTimedOut} task is, by construction, no longer stamped in {@code asyncTasksByTurn}
+     * (that is the whole point of forgetting {@code turnId} in {@link #clearAsyncQuestion}), so the
+     * target is free the moment one ask lapses. A fresh, independent {@code sendAsync} to the same
+     * target can then be dispatched, itself pause on {@code fleet_ask}, and itself time out — landing
+     * a second {@code askTimedOut} task on the very target the first one is still waiting to answer
+     * for. Two (or more) genuinely open tasks on one target is therefore a real, reachable state
+     * today, not a hypothetical: {@link #reply} treats it as unresolvable and falls back to the
+     * inbox rather than guess which task a reply belongs to (guessing wrong would hand the lead a
+     * plausible-looking answer to a delegation the worker never touched — worse than a failure,
+     * because the lead acts on it); {@link #abandon} instead picks the oldest deterministically (its
+     * own {@code matching} list has a different, wider match — see its javadoc).
      */
     private List<Task> askAnsweredAsyncTasks(String target) {
         List<Task> candidates = new ArrayList<>();
         for (Task task : tasks.values()) {
-            if (target.equals(task.target) && task.question == null && task.turnId != null
-                    && !task.future.isDone()) {
+            if (target.equals(task.target) && task.question == null && !task.future.isDone()
+                    && (task.turnId != null || task.askTimedOut)) {
                 candidates.add(task);
             }
         }
@@ -808,16 +863,26 @@ public final class MessageService {
                 if (onAccepted != null) {
                     onAccepted.run();
                 }
-                CompletableFuture<Void> delivered = injector.enqueue(target, content, token);
+                Injector.Delivery delivery = injector.enqueue(target, content, token);
                 try {
                     Rendezvous.Resolution r = reply.get(remainingMillis(deadlineNanos), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
                     return recorded(new Reply(outcomeOf(r.kind()), r.text(), r.turnId()));
                 } catch (TimeoutException e) {
-                    boolean wasDelivered = delivered.isDone() && !delivered.isCompletedExceptionally();
+                    boolean wasDelivered = delivery.completion().isDone()
+                            && !delivery.completion().isCompletedExceptionally();
+                    if (!wasDelivered) {
+                        if (timeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest != null) {
+                            // Test-only (fleetd #345): see the field's own javadoc.
+                            timeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest.run();
+                        }
+                        // The target monitor makes cancellation atomic with onStatus picking this
+                        // Pending up. If pickup won, report TIMED_OUT_WORKING because the text landed.
+                        wasDelivered = injector.cancel(delivery) == Injector.Cancellation.DELIVERED;
+                    }
                     log.debug("send to {} timed out (delivered={})", target, wasDelivered);
                     if (!wasDelivered) {
-                        // CB-640: still sitting in the injector's queue, waiting for the member to
-                        // go idle — record the fact for fleet health (see queuedDeliveries).
+                        // CB-640: record that delivery did not happen for fleet health (see
+                        // queuedDeliveries). The exact Pending was cancelled, so it cannot arrive later.
                         queuedDeliveries.put(target, Boolean.TRUE);
                     }
                     return recorded(new Reply(
@@ -880,6 +945,12 @@ public final class MessageService {
             return new AskResult(AskOutcome.ANSWERED, answer);
         } catch (TimeoutException e) {
             log.debug("fleet_ask from {} went unanswered in {}ms", workerSession, timeoutMillis);
+            // fleetd #307: mark the task BEFORE clearAsyncQuestion(forgetTurn=true) below drops it out of
+            // asyncTasksByTurn and nulls its turnId — that forgetting is deliberate and stays (it is
+            // what keeps the target from staying BUSY forever), but it would otherwise also erase
+            // askAnsweredAsyncTasks' only signal that the worker's eventual real fleet_reply still
+            // belongs to this task, stranding it in the inbox with a false "never replied" verdict.
+            markAskTimedOut(ticket.turnId());
             clearAsyncQuestion(ticket.turnId(), true);
             return new AskResult(AskOutcome.TIMED_OUT, null);
         } catch (ExecutionException e) {
@@ -948,8 +1019,52 @@ public final class MessageService {
                 // the worker chained a second fleet_ask before replying. Mirror sendAsync's own guard
                 // (:1000) and leave the ticket open (markAsyncQuestion above already re-armed it under
                 // the new turnId) instead of completing it here with a QUESTION "reply".
-                if (result.outcome() != Outcome.QUESTION) {
-                    finishAsyncTask(turnId, result);
+                // Measured when #282 was merged: this guard is DEFENCE IN DEPTH, not the thing
+                // that makes the chained ask work. ask() calls markAsyncQuestion (:860) before
+                // resolveQuestion (:861), so by the time this thread wakes, the task has already
+                // moved to the new turnId — this outcome check, not a Task lookup, is what tells the
+                // two cases apart (see fleetd #329 below). Removing this guard alone leaves the test
+                // green. Keep it anyway: it mirrors sendAsync's sibling guard, and that sibling's own
+                // comment (:1017) warns the two orderings are not something to rely on. Do NOT delete
+                // it as dead code without re-checking that ordering, and do not treat it as the sole
+                // protection either.
+                //
+                // fleetd #329 (F1): complete the SAME Task object this method already looked up at
+                // :991, rather than re-resolving it from turnId a second time. The old
+                // finishAsyncTask(turnId, result) did its own asyncTasksByTurn.get(turnId) here, and
+                // that second lookup races ask()'s own timeout path: ask()'s ticket.answer().get(...)
+                // can time out (or lose that exact race) at essentially the same instant this method's
+                // rendezvous.answerAsk(turnId, ...) above already succeeded, running
+                // markAskTimedOut + clearAsyncQuestion(turnId, true) with no lock at all — which
+                // forgets turnId (removes it from asyncTasksByTurn, nulls Task.turnId) before this
+                // thread ever gets here. The worker's real reply then arrived, this method's own wait
+                // woke up with it, and the by-turnId lookup found nothing: the async ticket's future
+                // was never completed, so fleet_poll{ticket} stayed PENDING forever even though
+                // answer() itself correctly returned REPLIED. Reusing the reference captured at :991
+                // — before that race window opens — sidesteps the second lookup entirely: it is the
+                // identical Task whatever asyncTasksByTurn or Task.turnId say by the time we reach
+                // this point, so finishAsyncTask(Task, Reply) can still complete its future and detach
+                // it using whatever turnId it now reads. The #282 chained-ask case is unaffected
+                // because it is still gated purely by result.outcome() == QUESTION above, which does
+                // not depend on this lookup — widening what "task" means here cannot complete a ticket
+                // the chained ask deliberately left open.
+                //
+                // A null task is NOT only "this was never an async ticket". That reading was in this
+                // comment when #329 merged and it is wrong. A genuine async ticket also lands here
+                // with task == null, because ask()'s timeout path runs clearAsyncQuestion(turnId,
+                // true) — which drops the asyncTasksByTurn entry — in its catch block, while
+                // rendezvous.closeAsk(turnId) runs later, in its finally. Between those two the ask
+                // is still answerable but the map entry is already gone, so the lookup at :991
+                // returns null and this ticket is never completed. Measured on 2026-09-04: a probe
+                // firing only that first half before answer() runs printed
+                // "answer=REPLIED phase=PENDING reply=null" — the same stranded ticket #329 set out
+                // to fix, one step earlier in the same race. The probe used forgetTurnForTest, which
+                // omits ask()'s markAskTimedOut; that cannot change the outcome, because askTimedOut
+                // is read only by askAnsweredAsyncTasks, and reply() never reaches it while this
+                // method's own waiter is live. So #329 narrows this window rather than closing it.
+                // Open as fleetd #334 — do not read this guard as complete.
+                if (result.outcome() != Outcome.QUESTION && task != null) {
+                    finishAsyncTask(task, result);
                 }
                 return result;
             } catch (TimeoutException e) {
@@ -1000,7 +1115,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
             // this fires exactly once, from whichever path completes it: finishAsyncTask(task, result)
             // below on any non-QUESTION outcome of send() — a worker's fleet_reply, the CB-106
             // completion fallback, a CB-109 wedge, TIMED_OUT, BUSY, or BACKEND_EXHAUSTED — the same
-            // finishAsyncTask reached via answer()'s finishAsyncTask(turnId, result) once a QUESTION
+            // finishAsyncTask reached via answer()'s own finishAsyncTask(task, result) once a QUESTION
             // is resolved, completeExceptionally(t) just below when send() itself throws, or a CB-516
             // abandon() on teardown. Without this, MessageService.reply's rendezvous fast path (the
             // one an async ticket always takes) never told the push loop anything happened — see the
@@ -1020,7 +1135,22 @@ public final class MessageService {
                     finishAsyncTask(task, result);
                 }
             } catch (Throwable t) {
-                task.future.completeExceptionally(t);
+                // fleetd #329 (F2): finishAsyncTask above already completes task.future — on its very
+                // first line — before doing anything else, so anything that throws afterward (inside
+                // finishAsyncTask's own cleanup, or from a future addition to this try block) lands
+                // here with the future already resolved. completeExceptionally on an already-completed
+                // future is a silent no-op: it returns false and does nothing, so without the check
+                // below the exception simply vanished — no log, no metric, nothing. Measured (see the
+                // ticket): temporarily reintroducing the fleetd #324 NPE reproduced 19 real exceptions
+                // on the ordinary path, with 74/74 tests staying green and not one log line produced.
+                // Do not stop completing the future first — finishAsyncTask completing before it
+                // cleans up is what makes a late failure harmless to the ticket's own result — only
+                // add the missing visibility for the case where that step, or whatever ran after it,
+                // has already lost the race to report through the future.
+                if (!task.future.completeExceptionally(t)) {
+                    log.error("async send {} -> {} threw after its ticket was already resolved",
+                            ticket, target, t);
+                }
             }
         });
         pruneTerminalTickets();
@@ -1136,6 +1266,23 @@ public final class MessageService {
         return task;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Mark {@code turnId}'s task as having a {@code fleet_ask} that lapsed with no answer (fleetd #307), so
+     * {@link #askAnsweredAsyncTasks} still recognizes the worker's eventual real {@code fleet_reply}
+     * as belonging to it after {@link #clearAsyncQuestion}'s {@code forgetTurn=true} erases
+     * {@link Task#turnId} — see {@link Task#askTimedOut}. Must be called before that forgetting, while
+     * {@code turnId} can still resolve the task in {@code asyncTasksByTurn}; a lookup afterward would
+     * find nothing. Only when it matches the task's current turn — same guard as
+     * {@link #clearAsyncQuestion} — so a chained second {@code fleet_ask} (#282) that already moved
+     * the task to a fresh {@code turnId} cannot mark it for a turn that is no longer its own.
+     */
+    private void markAskTimedOut(String turnId) {
+        Task task = asyncTasksByTurn.get(turnId);
+        if (task != null && turnId.equals(task.turnId)) {
+            task.askTimedOut = true;
+        }
+    }
+
     /** Clear an answered or lapsed question, but only when it matches the ticket's current turn. */
     private void clearAsyncQuestion(String turnId, boolean forgetTurn) {
         // CB-582: tell the push loop first — like ticketCollected, a removal for a turnId it never
@@ -1154,20 +1301,124 @@ public final class MessageService {
         }
     }
 
-    /** Complete and detach an async ticket after its worker's actual terminal reply. */
+    /**
+     * Complete and detach an async ticket after its worker's actual terminal reply.
+     *
+     * <p><strong>fleetd #324.</strong> {@code task.turnId} is read into {@code turnId} exactly once.
+     * It used to be read twice — once for the null check, once as the removal key — and {@code
+     * volatile} makes each of those reads individually fresh but does not make the pair atomic.
+     * {@link #answer} calls this while holding {@code sessionLocks} for the target; {@link #ask}'s
+     * own timeout path calls {@link #clearAsyncQuestion} (which nulls {@link Task#turnId}) under no
+     * lock at all. When that unlocked null-out landed between the two reads here, the second read saw
+     * {@code null} and {@code asyncTasksByTurn.remove(null, task)} threw {@code NullPointerException}
+     * on the lead's own {@code answer()} call — even though {@code task.future.complete(result)} on
+     * the line above had already run, so the answer was in fact delivered. Capturing the field once
+     * removes the torn read; see the ticket for why the wider asymmetry between the locked and
+     * unlocked sides is not fixed by this alone.
+     */
     private void finishAsyncTask(Task task, Reply result) {
         task.future.complete(result);
-        if (task.turnId != null) {
-            asyncTasksByTurn.remove(task.turnId, task);
+        if (afterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest != null) {
+            // Test-only (fleetd #329, F2): see the field's own javadoc.
+            afterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest.run();
+        }
+        String turnId = task.turnId;
+        if (turnId != null) {
+            if (finishAsyncTaskRaceHook != null) {
+                // Test-only (fleetd #324): see the field's own javadoc.
+                finishAsyncTaskRaceHook.run();
+            }
+            asyncTasksByTurn.remove(turnId, task);
         }
     }
 
-    /** Complete the async ticket correlated to a specific answered turn. */
-    private void finishAsyncTask(String turnId, Reply result) {
-        Task task = asyncTasksByTurn.get(turnId);
-        if (task != null) {
-            finishAsyncTask(task, result);
-        }
+    /**
+     * Null in production; test seam for fleetd #324 — invoked from {@link #finishAsyncTask(Task,
+     * Reply)} right after {@code task.turnId}'s null-check passes and before the (now-local) value is
+     * used for the removal. A test installs this to force, deterministically, the exact interleaving
+     * that a real race between this method and {@link #ask}'s unlocked timeout cleanup can otherwise
+     * only produce by chance: firing it here reproduces "the field went null between the check and the
+     * use" against the pre-fix code, and demonstrates the fix tolerates it (the captured local is used
+     * unconditionally, so a hook that nulls the field afterward cannot affect this call).
+     */
+    private volatile Runnable finishAsyncTaskRaceHook;
+
+    /**
+     * Test-only (fleetd #324): install {@link #finishAsyncTaskRaceHook}. Package-private so the test,
+     * in the same package, can reach it without widening any production API.
+     */
+    void setFinishAsyncTaskRaceHookForTest(Runnable hook) {
+        this.finishAsyncTaskRaceHook = hook;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Null in production; test seam for fleetd #329 (F2) — invoked from {@link #finishAsyncTask(Task,
+     * Reply)} unconditionally, immediately after {@code task.future.complete(result)} runs (before
+     * {@link Task#turnId} is even read, so it fires regardless of whether this task was ever asked).
+     * A test installs this to force an exception into exactly the shape fleetd #329 identified:
+     * something throws inside {@link #sendAsync}'s executor task after the async ticket's future is
+     * already resolved, so the surrounding {@code catch (Throwable t)} can only report failure through
+     * {@code completeExceptionally} — a silent no-op on an already-completed future. Engineering a
+     * real exception to land in that exact post-completion window is what the ticket itself had to do
+     * by temporarily deleting a production guard (fleetd #324's {@code turnId != null} check); this
+     * hook drives the identical shape deterministically instead.
+     */
+    private volatile Runnable afterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest;
+
+    /**
+     * Test-only (fleetd #329, F2): install {@link #afterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest}.
+     * Package-private so the test, in the same package, can reach it without widening any production
+     * API.
+     */
+    void setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(Runnable hook) {
+        this.afterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest = hook;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Null in production; test seam for fleetd #345 — invoked in {@link #send}'s timeout path after
+     * {@link Injector.Delivery#completion()} reports incomplete and before {@link Injector#cancel}
+     * takes the target monitor. A test installs this to make {@code onStatus} pick the exact queued
+     * delivery up in that window, so {@code cancel} returns {@link Injector.Cancellation#DELIVERED}.
+     * This deterministically covers the caller's need to use that result rather than relying on a
+     * timing-sensitive real race.
+     */
+    private volatile Runnable timeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest;
+
+    /**
+     * Test-only (fleetd #345): install {@link #timeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest}. Package-private
+     * so the test, in the same package, can reach it without widening any production API.
+     */
+    void setTimeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest(Runnable hook) {
+        this.timeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest = hook;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Null in production; test seam for fleetd #329 (F3) — invoked from {@link #reply} right after
+     * the single local read of {@code orphan.turnId} passes its null-check and before that (now-local)
+     * value is used as the {@code asyncTasksByTurn} removal key. Mirrors {@link
+     * #finishAsyncTaskRaceHook} exactly, for the structurally identical double-read fleetd #324 fixed
+     * in {@link #finishAsyncTask}: a test installs this to force, deterministically, {@code
+     * clearAsyncQuestion}'s unlocked {@code forgetTurn=true} path nulling {@link Task#turnId} in that
+     * exact window, and to confirm the single-read fix tolerates it (the captured local is used
+     * unconditionally, so a hook that nulls the field afterward cannot affect this call).
+     */
+    private volatile Runnable replyOrphanTurnIdRaceHookForTest;
+
+    /**
+     * Test-only (fleetd #329, F3): install {@link #replyOrphanTurnIdRaceHookForTest}. Package-private
+     * so the test, in the same package, can reach it without widening any production API.
+     */
+    void setReplyOrphanTurnIdRaceHookForTest(Runnable hook) {
+        this.replyOrphanTurnIdRaceHookForTest = hook;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Test-only (fleetd #324): run the exact production cleanup {@link #ask}'s own timeout path runs
+     * unlocked — {@link #clearAsyncQuestion(String, boolean)} with {@code forgetTurn=true} — so a test
+     * can reproduce that specific mutation instead of hand-rolling an approximation of it.
+     */
+    void forgetTurnForTest(String turnId) {
+        clearAsyncQuestion(turnId, true);
     }
 
     /** A new send must not open a waiter while an async ticket owns this worker's paused turn. */

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/placement/FixedPlacementPolicy.java

@@ -5,10 +5,14 @@ import java.util.List;
 
 /**
  * Backward-compatible placement: an unqualified spawn always resolves to the configured default
- * profile, exactly as {@code CompositePeerLauncher} did before CB-518. This ignores caps and
- * reachability so that a pre-existing config behaves identically after upgrade.
+ * profile, exactly as {@code CompositePeerLauncher} did before CB-518. This ignores caps
+ * ({@code maxLoad}) so that a pre-existing config behaves identically after upgrade — capacity
+ * gating for automatic placement is deliberately out of scope for {@code fixed}, exactly as it
+ * always has been. Reachability is a narrower exception (fleetd #315, below): a profile is never
+ * checked for reachability up front, only skipped once it has already failed in <em>this same</em>
+ * spawn call's retry loop — see the unreachable case below.
  *
- * <p>Three exceptions walk past the default instead of returning it unconditionally:
+ * <p>Four exceptions walk past the default instead of returning it unconditionally:
  * <ul>
  *   <li>Quarantine (CB-578 stage B): a quarantined default is a credential that just refused on
  *       a usage limit, not a transient capacity or reachability concern.
@@ -16,13 +20,21 @@ import java.util.List;
  *       ({@code BackendOutagePolicy}) — a separate, shorter-lived source from quarantine. When a
  *       profile is both quarantined and cooling off, only the quarantine reason is reported
  *       (exhaustion takes priority), matching {@code CompositePeerLauncher}'s explicit-spawn order.
+ *   <li>Unreachable (fleetd #315): {@code CompositePeerLauncher.spawn} retries a failed candidate
+ *       on the next one and rebuilds the {@link PlacementContext} so {@code ctx.unreachable()}
+ *       names every profile that already failed with {@code PeerUnreachableException} in this same
+ *       call. Without this check {@code select} kept handing back the same dead default forever —
+ *       the retry loop's own comment says "so the policy excludes this profile", and this is what
+ *       makes that true for {@code fixed} too, matching {@code weighted}/{@code round-robin}
+ *       (both filter on {@code ctx.unreachable()} via {@link PlacementPolicyUtil#available}).
  *   <li>Weight 0 (CB-554): {@code fixed} is still automatic selection, so a profile the operator
  *       marked "never auto-select me" ({@code weight <= 0}) must be skipped here exactly as
  *       {@code weighted}/{@code round-robin} skip it — an explicit {@code fleet_spawn} naming
  *       the profile is unaffected, only this automatic fallback walk.
  * </ul>
- * A fleet where nothing is ever quarantined, cooling off, or weight-0 never exercises any of these
- * paths, so today's behaviour is unchanged.
+ * A fleet where nothing is ever quarantined, cooling off, unreachable, or weight-0 never exercises
+ * any of these paths, so today's behaviour is unchanged — in particular, the very first selection
+ * of a spawn call always sees an empty {@code unreachable} set, so the first choice is untouched.
  */
 final class FixedPlacementPolicy implements PlacementPolicy {
 
@@ -30,12 +42,12 @@ final class FixedPlacementPolicy implements PlacementPolicy {
     public PlacementCandidate select(PlacementContext ctx) {
         String d = ctx.defaultProfile();
         if (d != null && !d.isBlank() && !ctx.quarantined().contains(d) && !ctx.coolingOff().contains(d)
-                && !weightExcluded(ctx, d)) {
+                && !ctx.unreachable().contains(d) && !weightExcluded(ctx, d)) {
             return new PlacementCandidate(d, null, 1.0f, null);
         }
         for (PlacementCandidate c : ctx.candidates()) {
             if (!ctx.quarantined().contains(c.profile()) && !ctx.coolingOff().contains(c.profile())
-                    && !c.excluded()) {
+                    && !ctx.unreachable().contains(c.profile()) && !c.excluded()) {
                 return new PlacementCandidate(c.profile(), null, c.weight(), c.maxLoad());
             }
         }
@@ -44,8 +56,9 @@ final class FixedPlacementPolicy implements PlacementPolicy {
             // Exhaustion quarantine takes priority: reported only when quarantine is absent, so the
             // message never claims "cooling off" for a profile that is really backend-exhausted.
             boolean dCoolingOff = !dQuarantined && ctx.coolingOff().contains(d);
+            boolean dUnreachable = ctx.unreachable().contains(d);
             boolean dWeightExcluded = weightExcluded(ctx, d);
-            if (dQuarantined || dCoolingOff || dWeightExcluded) {
+            if (dQuarantined || dCoolingOff || dUnreachable || dWeightExcluded) {
                 List<String> reasons = new ArrayList<>();
                 if (dQuarantined) {
                     reasons.add("is quarantined (backend exhausted)");
@@ -53,6 +66,9 @@ final class FixedPlacementPolicy implements PlacementPolicy {
                 if (dCoolingOff) {
                     reasons.add("is cooling off after repeated backend errors");
                 }
+                if (dUnreachable) {
+                    reasons.add("is unreachable");
+                }
                 if (dWeightExcluded) {
                     reasons.add("has weight 0 (excluded from automatic selection)");
                 }
@@ -62,7 +78,7 @@ final class FixedPlacementPolicy implements PlacementPolicy {
         }
         if (!ctx.candidates().isEmpty()) {
             throw new PlacementException("all worker profiles are excluded from automatic "
-                    + "selection (quarantined, cooling off, or weight-0)");
+                    + "selection (quarantined, cooling off, unreachable, or weight-0)");
         }
         throw new PlacementException("no worker profiles configured");
     }

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

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Principal;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.GuardException;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.FleetMetrics;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.Metrics;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException;
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.PeerUnreachableException;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.PlacementException;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.MessageService;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.ShuttingDownException;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.MemberRole;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.MemberSession;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.WorktreeRequest;
@@ -47,6 +49,22 @@ import java.util.stream.Collectors;
  */
 public final class FleetApp {
 
+    /** The authorization action the matching route handler hands to {@link #allow}. */
+    static Authz.Action routeAction(String route) {
+        return switch (route) {
+            case "GET /metrics" -> Authz.Action.METRICS;
+            case "POST /members" -> Authz.Action.SPAWN;
+            case "DELETE /members/{paneId}" -> Authz.Action.STOP;
+            case "POST /sessions/{id}/message" -> Authz.Action.SEND;
+            case "POST /sessions/{id}/reply" -> Authz.Action.REPLY;
+            case "GET /sessions/{id}/replies" -> Authz.Action.DRAIN;
+            case "POST /sessions/{id}/ask" -> Authz.Action.ASK;
+            case "GET /sessions", "GET /agents", "GET /members", "GET /profiles",
+                    "GET /member-credentials", "GET /sessions/{id}/status", "GET /tasks/{ticket}" -> Authz.Action.READ;
+            default -> throw new IllegalArgumentException("route has no authorization gate: " + route);
+        };
+    }
+
     /** Default blocking window for a message; kept under typical HTTP idle timeouts. */
     private static final long DEFAULT_MESSAGE_TIMEOUT_MS = 25_000;
     private static final long MAX_MESSAGE_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
@@ -70,6 +88,12 @@ public final class FleetApp {
     // absent() (the honest "no policy configured" view) for every constructor that does not wire
     // a real one, so existing legacy call sites keep building without knowing this field exists.
     private final Supplier<MemberCredentialPolicyView> memberCredentials;
+    // fleetd #297: the SAME shared sources FleetMcp.profiles/fleet_profiles reads (BackendQuarantine
+    // and BackendOutagePolicy are each one instance for the whole daemon — see Fleetd wiring) so
+    // GET /profiles cannot drift from fleet_profiles about which profile is quarantined/cooling off.
+    // .none() (the honest "feature not wired" view) for every constructor that does not pass one.
+    private final FleetMcp.QuarantineSource quarantine;
+    private final FleetMcp.OutageSource outage;
     private final ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
 
     /**
@@ -130,6 +154,23 @@ public final class FleetApp {
                        MessageService messages, MemberPresence presence,
                        HttpServlet mcpServlet, CallerResolver auth, Metrics metrics,
                        Predicate<String> deliverable, Supplier<MemberCredentialPolicyView> memberCredentials) {
+        this(herdr, memberHerdr, workers, sessions, messages, presence, mcpServlet, auth, metrics,
+                deliverable, memberCredentials, FleetMcp.QuarantineSource.none(), FleetMcp.OutageSource.none());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param quarantine the SAME {@link FleetMcp.QuarantineSource} instance passed to {@code
+     *                   FleetMcp} (fleetd #297), so {@code GET /profiles} reports the identical
+     *                   exhaustion-quarantine facts as {@code fleet_profiles} rather than a second,
+     *                   independently-computed copy
+     * @param outage     the SAME {@link FleetMcp.OutageSource} instance passed to {@code FleetMcp} —
+     *                   see {@code quarantine}; a SEPARATE check from it, never merged in
+     */
+    public FleetApp(HerdrClient herdr, HerdrClient memberHerdr, PeerLauncher workers, SessionManager sessions,
+                       MessageService messages, MemberPresence presence,
+                       HttpServlet mcpServlet, CallerResolver auth, Metrics metrics,
+                       Predicate<String> deliverable, Supplier<MemberCredentialPolicyView> memberCredentials,
+                       FleetMcp.QuarantineSource quarantine, FleetMcp.OutageSource outage) {
         this.herdr = herdr;
         this.memberHerdr = memberHerdr != null ? memberHerdr : herdr;
         this.workers = workers;
@@ -140,6 +181,8 @@ public final class FleetApp {
         this.auth = auth;
         this.metrics = metrics;
         this.memberCredentials = memberCredentials != null ? memberCredentials : MemberCredentialPolicyView::absent;
+        this.quarantine = quarantine != null ? quarantine : FleetMcp.QuarantineSource.none();
+        this.outage = outage != null ? outage : FleetMcp.OutageSource.none();
     }
 
     /** Wire routes onto a fresh, unstarted Javalin instance. Caller starts it. */
@@ -222,7 +265,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
 
     /** Prometheus scrape endpoint (CB-502). */
     private void metrics(Context ctx) {
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.METRICS, null)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /metrics"), null)) {
             return;
         }
         ctx.status(200).contentType("text/plain; version=0.0.4; charset=utf-8").result(metrics.render());
@@ -294,7 +337,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
      * member workspace (they live on the member daemon only).
      */
     private void sessions(Context ctx) {
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.READ, null)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /sessions"), null)) {
             return;
         }
         List<Map<String, Object>> out = new ArrayList<>();
@@ -319,52 +362,76 @@ public final class FleetApp {
 
     /** Discovery: every agent herdr tracks, keyed by its Claude session UUID. */
     private void agents(Context ctx) {
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.READ, null)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /agents"), null)) {
             return;
         }
-        ctx.status(200).json(Map.of("agents",
-                workers.list().stream().map(Agent.class::cast).map(FleetApp::view).toList()));
+        try {
+            ctx.status(200).json(Map.of("agents",
+                    workers.list().stream().map(Agent.class::cast).map(FleetApp::view).toList()));
+        } catch (HerdrException e) {
+            // fleetd #297: workers.list() reaches herdr — a transport failure must land in the same
+            // {error, detail} envelope every other failure path here uses, not escape as a bare
+            // exception and leave Javalin's default handling to respond outside the JSON contract.
+            herdrError(ctx, e);
+        }
     }
 
     /** CB-304: bridge-owned roster merged with live herdr status by paneId. */
     private void listMembers(Context ctx) {
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.READ, null)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /members"), null)) {
             return;
         }
-        // CB-519: the registry key is a host-unique id, not the pane coordinate — join on terminal.
-        Map<String, Agent> live = workers.list().stream()
-                .map(Agent.class::cast)
-                .filter(a -> a.terminalId() != null)
-                .collect(Collectors.toMap(Agent::terminalId, Function.identity(), (_, b) -> b));
-        // fleetd #209: this REST roster reports agentSessionId via SessionManager.rosterView, so it
-        // uses the resolving roster read (caller-driven, not a timer) rather than the plain one.
-        List<Map<String, Object>> out = sessions.rosterResolved().stream()
-                .map(s -> SessionManager.rosterView(s, live.get(s.terminalId())))
-                .toList();
-        Map<String, Object> body = new LinkedHashMap<>();
-        // fleetd #199: the endpoint became /members in the CB-634 rename but the body key stayed
-        // "workers", so a caller that read "members" saw an empty fleet and reported no members at
-        // all. "members" is the canonical key; "workers" stays as a deprecated alias so an existing
-        // REST consumer keeps working — the out-of-band path a lead falls back to when its MCP mount
-        // drops reads this endpoint. Drop the alias once nothing reads it.
-        body.put("members", out);
-        body.put("workers", out);
-        // CB-586: operator visibility for the refs/wip snapshot store without shelling into the
-        // repo — how many snapshot refs exist and roughly what they cost. Present only once a
-        // worktree session has established the repo, so a never-snapshotted fleet reports nothing.
-        sessions.wipRefs().ifPresent(st -> body.put("wipRefs",
-                Map.of("count", st.count(), "costBytes", st.costBytes())));
-        ctx.status(200).json(body);
+        try {
+            // CB-519: the registry key is a host-unique id, not the pane coordinate — join on terminal.
+            Map<String, Agent> live = workers.list().stream()
+                    .map(Agent.class::cast)
+                    .filter(a -> a.terminalId() != null)
+                    .collect(Collectors.toMap(Agent::terminalId, Function.identity(), (_, b) -> b));
+            // fleetd #209: this REST roster reports agentSessionId via SessionManager.rosterView, so it
+            // uses the resolving roster read (caller-driven, not a timer) rather than the plain one.
+            List<Map<String, Object>> out = sessions.rosterResolved().stream()
+                    .map(s -> SessionManager.rosterView(s, live.get(s.terminalId())))
+                    .toList();
+            Map<String, Object> body = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+            // fleetd #199: the endpoint became /members in the CB-634 rename but the body key stayed
+            // "workers", so a caller that read "members" saw an empty fleet and reported no members at
+            // all. "members" is the canonical key; "workers" stays as a deprecated alias so an existing
+            // REST consumer keeps working — the out-of-band path a lead falls back to when its MCP mount
+            // drops reads this endpoint. Drop the alias once nothing reads it.
+            body.put("members", out);
+            body.put("workers", out);
+            // CB-586: operator visibility for the refs/wip snapshot store without shelling into the
+            // repo — how many snapshot refs exist and roughly what they cost. Present only once a
+            // worktree session has established the repo, so a never-snapshotted fleet reports nothing.
+            sessions.wipRefs().ifPresent(st -> body.put("wipRefs",
+                    Map.of("count", st.count(), "costBytes", st.costBytes())));
+            ctx.status(200).json(body);
+        } catch (HerdrException e) {
+            // fleetd #297: same reasoning as agents() above — this is the out-of-band roster a lead
+            // falls back to when its MCP mount drops, so it must stay inside the JSON error contract
+            // exactly when herdr is briefly unreachable, not escape as a bare exception.
+            herdrError(ctx, e);
+        }
     }
 
-    /** The configured worker profiles and which one a no-argument spawn uses. */
+    /**
+     * The configured worker profiles, which one a no-argument spawn uses, and (fleetd #297) the two
+     * outage states {@code fleet_profiles} already reports: {@code quarantined} (CB-578 stage B —
+     * the backend reported it out of capacity) and {@code coolingOff} (fleetd #201 Unit 5 — the
+     * credential threw repeated non-exhaustion backend errors). Both are read from the SAME shared
+     * {@link FleetMcp.QuarantineSource}/{@link FleetMcp.OutageSource} instances {@code FleetMcp}
+     * reads, never recomputed, so the two doors cannot disagree about which profile is down and why.
+     * Independent checks, so a profile can appear in both maps at once; each map is present only
+     * when at least one profile is in that state.
+     */
     private void profiles(Context ctx) {
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.READ, null)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /profiles"), null)) {
             return;
         }
-        ctx.status(200).json(Map.of(
-                "profiles", workers.profiles(),
-                "default", workers.defaultProfile() == null ? "" : workers.defaultProfile()));
+        // fleetd #297: ONE body builder, shared with fleet_profiles. Handing both doors the same
+        // QuarantineSource/OutageSource instances stops them reading different facts; rendering
+        // through the same method stops them reporting those facts differently. Both are needed.
+        ctx.status(200).json(FleetMcp.profilesView(workers, quarantine, outage));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -376,7 +443,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
      * name list, which is exactly what let the list drift silently behind the real policy.
      */
     private void memberCredentials(Context ctx) {
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.READ, null)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /member-credentials"), null)) {
             return;
         }
         MemberCredentialPolicyView view = memberCredentials.get();
@@ -396,7 +463,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
      * the subscription boundary, 400 for an unknown profile.
      */
     private void spawnMember(Context ctx) {
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.SPAWN, null)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("POST /members"), null)) {
             return;
         }
         String role = ctx.queryParam("role");
@@ -435,6 +502,11 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             ctx.status(201).json(view(member));
         } catch (GuardException e) {
             ctx.status(403).json(Map.of("error", "subscription_boundary", "detail", e.getMessage()));
+        } catch (ShuttingDownException e) {
+            // fleetd #308: the daemon's shutdown drain has already started — 503, not a bare 500,
+            // so this reads the same as PlacementException below: valid request, refused because
+            // of a transient daemon state rather than a bad argument.
+            ctx.status(503).json(Map.of("error", "shutting_down", "detail", e.getMessage()));
         } catch (PlacementException e) {
             // CB-599: no candidate had capacity (maxLoad, quarantine, or all-exhausted) — a benign,
             // likely-transient refusal, distinct from "profile does not exist" below. 503: the
@@ -444,6 +516,12 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             ctx.status(400).json(Map.of("error", "unknown_profile", "detail", e.getMessage()));
         } catch (PeerUnreachableException e) {
             ctx.status(502).json(Map.of("error", "spawn_timeout", "detail", e.getMessage()));
+        } catch (HerdrException e) {
+            // fleetd #304: not every herdr failure on the spawn path is a readiness timeout, so
+            // PeerUnreachableException above does not cover this. Without this catch the exception
+            // escapes to Javalin's default 500, while fleet_spawn reports the same failure as a
+            // clean named error (FleetMcp.spawn) — the #297 one-door-guarded shape.
+            herdrError(ctx, e);
         }
     }
 
@@ -464,13 +542,29 @@ public final class FleetApp {
         return (s == null || s.isBlank()) ? null : s;
     }
 
-    /** Tear a worker down by pane id. */
+    /**
+     * Tear a worker down by pane id.
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #304: the {@code HerdrException} catch is not cosmetic. {@code release} deregisters
+     * the session, notifies the release listener and preserves a dirty worktree <em>before</em> it
+     * calls {@code launcher.stop}, so a throw from that stop arrives after the teardown the caller
+     * asked for has already happened. Letting it escape gave Javalin's default 500, which tells the
+     * caller to retry — and the retry finds nothing in the registry, reaches the same stop, and
+     * throws again, so it can never succeed. {@code herdrError} instead answers 404 ("the pane is
+     * gone, stop retrying") or 502 ("herdr is upstream and broken, a retry may help"), matching what
+     * {@code fleet_stop} reports for the same failure.
+     */
     private void stopMember(Context ctx) {
         String paneId = ctx.pathParam("paneId");
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.STOP, paneId)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("DELETE /members/{paneId}"), paneId)) {
+            return;
+        }
+        try {
+            sessions.release(paneId);
+        } catch (HerdrException e) {
+            herdrError(ctx, e);
             return;
         }
-        sessions.release(paneId);
         ctx.status(204);
     }
 
@@ -482,7 +576,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
      */
     private void sendMessage(Context ctx) {
         String id = ctx.pathParam("id");
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.SEND, id)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("POST /sessions/{id}/message"), id)) {
             return;
         }
         String content;
@@ -569,7 +663,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
      */
     private void askMessage(Context ctx) {
         String id = ctx.pathParam("id");
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.ASK, id)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("POST /sessions/{id}/ask"), id)) {
             return;
         }
         String question;
@@ -608,7 +702,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
         // The rule that matters: a worker may reply only as itself. Over MCP this was already true
         // structurally (identity comes from the connection, never an argument); over REST the path
         // id was simply trusted, so this is where the invariant actually gets enforced.
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.REPLY, id)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("POST /sessions/{id}/reply"), id)) {
             return;
         }
         String content;
@@ -618,7 +712,19 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             ctx.status(400).json(Map.of("error", "bad_request", "detail", "body must be JSON"));
             return;
         }
-        messages.reply(id, content);
+        // fleetd #302: content is required. `.path("content").asText("")` above turns a missing key
+        // into "" rather than throwing, so without this check an empty/blank reply used to reach
+        // messages.reply(...) and silently resolve the lead's waiter — the same class of bug as the
+        // sibling "content is required" guards on sendMessage/askMessage below, except this one wrote
+        // a WRONG value instead of failing loudly. The check lives in MessageService.reply so both
+        // this door and FleetMcp.reply inherit the same rule; this catch only translates it into the
+        // {error, detail} envelope this file uses everywhere else.
+        try {
+            messages.reply(id, content);
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            ctx.status(400).json(Map.of("error", "bad_request", "detail", e.getMessage()));
+            return;
+        }
         ctx.status(200).json(Map.of("sessionId", id, "delivered", true));
     }
 
@@ -629,7 +735,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
      */
     private void drainReplies(Context ctx) {
         String id = ctx.pathParam("id");
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.DRAIN, id)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /sessions/{id}/replies"), id)) {
             return;
         }
         var replies = messages.drainReplies(id);
@@ -647,7 +753,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
      */
     private void sessionStatus(Context ctx) {
         String id = ctx.pathParam("id");
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.READ, id)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /sessions/{id}/status"), id)) {
             return;
         }
         try {
@@ -672,7 +778,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
 
     /** Poll an async (wait:false) delegation by ticket. 404 for an unknown/expired ticket. */
     private void taskStatus(Context ctx) {
-        if (!allow(ctx, Authz.Action.READ, null)) {
+        if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /tasks/{ticket}"), null)) {
             return;
         }
         MessageService.TaskView v = messages.poll(ctx.pathParam("ticket"));

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

@@ -93,6 +93,9 @@ public final class GitWorktrees implements Worktrees {
     /** OS group name for {@link #shareWithGroup} (fleetd #185 stage 3); {@code null} ⇒ feature off. */
     private final String group;
     private final Consumer<String> afterWorktreeAdded;
+    /** How the initial {@code git worktree add} command runs. Package-private test seam for an
+     *  interrupted command after Git has made worktree state. */
+    private final Function<String[], String> worktreeAddRunner;
     /** How {@link #shareWithGroup}'s processes (git config / chgrp / chmod / find) actually run.
      *  Defaults to the real {@link #exec(String...)}. Package-private test seam so a unit test can
      *  prove "no group configured ⇒ zero processes spawned" and inspect exactly what a configured
@@ -132,7 +135,13 @@ public final class GitWorktrees implements Worktrees {
 
     /** Test seam combining a configurable {@code group} with {@link #afterWorktreeAdded}. */
     GitWorktrees(String configuredRoot, String group, Consumer<String> afterWorktreeAdded) {
-        this(configuredRoot, group, afterWorktreeAdded, null);
+        this(configuredRoot, group, afterWorktreeAdded, null, null);
+    }
+
+    /** Test seam for changing how {@link #shareWithGroup}'s processes run. */
+    GitWorktrees(String configuredRoot, String group, Consumer<String> afterWorktreeAdded,
+                  Function<String[], String> shareGroupRunner) {
+        this(configuredRoot, group, afterWorktreeAdded, shareGroupRunner, null);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -141,13 +150,15 @@ public final class GitWorktrees implements Worktrees {
      * exactly what commands a configured group runs, without a real second OS user/group.
      *
      * @param shareGroupRunner {@code null} ⇒ the real {@link #exec(String...)}.
+     * @param worktreeAddRunner {@code null} ⇒ the real {@link #exec(String...)}.
      */
     GitWorktrees(String configuredRoot, String group, Consumer<String> afterWorktreeAdded,
-                 Function<String[], String> shareGroupRunner) {
+                  Function<String[], String> shareGroupRunner, Function<String[], String> worktreeAddRunner) {
         this.configuredRoot = configuredRoot;
         this.group = (group == null || group.isBlank()) ? null : group;
         this.afterWorktreeAdded = afterWorktreeAdded == null ? _ -> {} : afterWorktreeAdded;
         this.shareGroupRunner = shareGroupRunner != null ? shareGroupRunner : this::exec;
+        this.worktreeAddRunner = worktreeAddRunner != null ? worktreeAddRunner : this::exec;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -166,8 +177,8 @@ public final class GitWorktrees implements Worktrees {
         String wt = path.toAbsolutePath().toString();
         log.info("adding worktree branch={} path={} base={}", branch, wt, base);
         removeUserInfoFromHttpsOrigin(repoRoot);
-        exec("git", "-C", repoRoot, "worktree", "add", wt, "-b", branch, base);
         try {
+            worktreeAddRunner.apply(new String[] {"git", "-C", repoRoot, "worktree", "add", wt, "-b", branch, base});
             afterWorktreeAdded.accept(wt);
             requireCredentialFreeHttpsOrigin(wt);
             configureEnvironmentCredentialHelper(repoRoot, wt);
@@ -181,10 +192,11 @@ public final class GitWorktrees implements Worktrees {
     }
 
     /**
-     * {@code add()} has already created the worktree and its branch by the time any step from
-     * {@link #afterWorktreeAdded} through {@link #isolateToolSurface} can throw — including
+     * {@code git worktree add} may have created the worktree and its branch by the time it, or any
+     * later step through {@link #isolateToolSurface}, throws. This includes
      * {@link #requireCredentialFreeHttpsOrigin}, an intended security refusal, not only an IO
-     * accident. Without this, {@code add()} never returns, so its caller
+     * accident. A Git-reported {@code worktree add} failure usually creates nothing, but an
+     * interrupted command can leave partial state. Without cleanup, {@code add()} never returns, so its caller
      * ({@code SessionManager#acquireWithWorktree}) never receives a path to register or clean up:
      * its local {@code path} stays null, the {@code if (path != null)} guard in its own catch block
      * never runs, and the worktree directory and branch leak on disk forever with nothing tracking
@@ -204,6 +216,10 @@ public final class GitWorktrees implements Worktrees {
      * used in {@code SessionManager#acquireWithWorktree}'s own catch block.
      */
     private void cleanupAfterAddFailure(String repoRoot, String worktreePath, String branch, RuntimeException original) {
+        if (!Files.exists(Path.of(worktreePath))) {
+            log.debug("provisioning failed before worktree {} existed; nothing to clean up", worktreePath);
+            return;
+        }
         log.warn("provisioning failed for branch={} path={}: {} — cleaning up before rethrowing",
                 branch, worktreePath, original.getMessage());
         try {
@@ -213,13 +229,18 @@ public final class GitWorktrees implements Worktrees {
                     worktreePath, cleanup.getMessage());
         }
         try {
-            exec("git", "-C", repoRoot, "branch", "-D", branch);
+            deleteBranch(repoRoot, branch);
         } catch (RuntimeException cleanup) {
             log.warn("failed to remove leaked branch {} after provisioning error: {}",
                     branch, cleanup.getMessage());
         }
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public void deleteBranch(String repoRoot, String branch) {
+        exec("git", "-C", repoRoot, "branch", "-D", branch);
+    }
+
     /**
      * A linked worktree shares its primary checkout's git config. Remove HTTPS user info before
      * adding one, so a credential accidentally embedded in that config cannot reach the member.

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

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 import java.util.function.Consumer;
 import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
@@ -61,6 +62,8 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
     private final LongSupplier nowNanos;
     private final int contextCap;
     private final boolean clearAfterTurn;
+    /** Null in production; test seam for the interval before an idle session's conditional release. */
+    private final Consumer<MemberSession> beforeIdleRelease;
     private volatile MemberLifecycle memberLifecycle = MemberLifecycle.NONE;
     /**
      * CB-586: the repo root the fleet actually works in, remembered the first time a worktree
@@ -71,6 +74,16 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
      */
     private volatile String fleetRepoRoot;
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #308: flips true the instant {@link #drainAll} starts, before its registry snapshot
+     * is even taken — so a spawn already in flight sees the refusal as early as a plain flag can
+     * make it. This alone cannot close the race completely: a caller that read {@code false} just
+     * before the flip can still land in the registry after the snapshot. {@link #drainAll}'s
+     * post-loop sweep is what catches that straggler; the two mechanisms are deliberately paired,
+     * see {@link #drainAll}'s javadoc.
+     */
+    private final AtomicBoolean draining = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+
     /** CB-520: notified with a terminalId on every acquire; no-op until wired. */
     private final List<Consumer<String>> acquireListeners = new java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
     /** CB-516: notified with a {@link ReleaseDetail} on every release; no-op until wired. */
@@ -102,13 +115,23 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
     }
 
     public SessionManager(PeerLauncher launcher, Worktrees worktrees, LongSupplier nowNanos,
-                          int contextCap, boolean clearAfterTurn) {
+                           int contextCap, boolean clearAfterTurn) {
+        this(launcher, worktrees, nowNanos, contextCap, clearAfterTurn, null);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Package-private constructor for a deterministic reap/delivery race test. Production callers
+     * use the constructor above, whose null hook adds no callback or lock to an ordinary reap.
+     */
+    SessionManager(PeerLauncher launcher, Worktrees worktrees, LongSupplier nowNanos,
+                   int contextCap, boolean clearAfterTurn, Consumer<MemberSession> beforeIdleRelease) {
         this.launcher = launcher;
         this.worktrees = worktrees;
         this.presence = new PresenceFleet(this);
         this.nowNanos = nowNanos;
         this.contextCap = contextCap;
         this.clearAfterTurn = clearAfterTurn;
+        this.beforeIdleRelease = beforeIdleRelease;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -181,6 +204,14 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
     public MemberSession acquire(String profile, MemberRole role, String requestedCwd, String callerCwd,
                                  String ownerTerminal, WorktreeRequest wt,
                                  String sessionName, String resumeSessionId) {
+        // fleetd #308: refuse before anything else runs — no slot reservation, no launcher spawn —
+        // so a caller learns the daemon is going down instead of getting a session drainAll will
+        // never see again. Checked here because every other acquire(...) overload delegates to
+        // this one, so this is the single point every spawn path passes through.
+        if (draining.get()) {
+            throw new ShuttingDownException("fleetd is shutting down; refusing to spawn a session "
+                    + "the shutdown drain would never see");
+        }
         MemberRole memberRole = (role == null) ? MemberRole.DEV : role;
         requireResumeCapability(profile, resumeSessionId);
         // CB-619 / fleetd #123: an explicit profile bypasses placement (CompositePeerLauncher only
@@ -272,10 +303,32 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
      */
     private void release(String paneId, ReleaseCause cause) {
         MemberSession removed = registry.remove(paneId);
+        releaseRemoved(paneId, removed, handles.remove(paneId), cause);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Tear a session down only while {@code expected} is still its registry value. A lifecycle
+     * transition replaces the immutable record, so this prevents a reap based on an old READY or
+     * DONE record from stopping a worker that delivery has made BUSY.
+     */
+    private boolean releaseIfCurrent(MemberSession expected, ReleaseCause cause) {
+        if (!registry.remove(expected.paneId(), expected)) {
+            // A lifecycle transition replaced the record between the caller's check and this remove.
+            // Log it: this race is by definition unobservable otherwise, and a reaper that silently
+            // declines to reap is the hardest kind of behaviour to diagnose after the fact.
+            log.debug("skipping reap of pane={}: its registry record changed after the idle check "
+                    + "(most likely a delivery made it BUSY)", expected.paneId());
+            return false;
+        }
+        releaseRemoved(expected.paneId(), expected, handles.remove(expected.paneId()), cause);
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    private void releaseRemoved(String paneId, MemberSession removed, PeerHandle removedHandle,
+                                ReleaseCause cause) {
         // fleetd #209: remove right alongside the registry entry so a released session's handle is
         // never leaked — but keep the local reference below, so the id can still be resolved for
         // the ReleaseDetail this teardown notifies with.
-        PeerHandle removedHandle = handles.remove(paneId);
         boolean preserveWorktree = cause == ReleaseCause.SHUTDOWN;
         String snapshotRef = null;
         if (removed != null) {
@@ -334,7 +387,63 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
         // slot that no longer appears in the roster and can never be reclaimed.
         launcher.stop(paneId);
         if (removed != null && !preserveWorktree && removed.worktree() != null) {
-            worktrees.remove(worktrees.repoRoot(removed.cwd()), removed.worktree());
+            // fleetd #316: the `dirty` read above ran while the worker could still write to this
+            // worktree, so a stale `false` must not be trusted to authorise the --force removal
+            // below. Re-read the worktree's state one more time, right here — immediately before
+            // the one step that would destroy it, and only on the path that is actually about to
+            // do that (invariant 4: no second unconditional `git status` on a release that already
+            // decided to preserve). By now `launcher.stop` has returned, so this read reflects
+            // whatever the worker managed to write up to and including its teardown, not whatever
+            // it had written at release-start time.
+            if (dirtyImmediatelyBeforeRemoval(removed)) {
+                preserveWorktree = true;
+                // The pre-stop snapshot above never ran for this session (the pre-stop read said
+                // clean), so this is the only chance to get the newly-discovered work into
+                // refs/wip/* rather than leaving the on-disk preserve as the sole copy. Best-effort,
+                // like every other snapshot attempt — trySnapshot logs and swallows its own failure.
+                String lateSnapshotRef = trySnapshot(removed, cause);
+                log.warn("release {} preserves worktree {} for pane={} terminal={}: it reported "
+                        + "clean before the pane stopped but dirty immediately before removal — the "
+                        + "worker wrote to it during teardown, and --force removing it now would "
+                        + "have destroyed that work{}",
+                        cause, removed.worktree(), paneId, removed.terminalId(),
+                        lateSnapshotRef == null ? "" : " (snapshotted to refs/wip/" + removed.branch()
+                                + " commit=" + lateSnapshotRef + ")");
+            }
+        }
+        if (removed != null && !preserveWorktree && removed.worktree() != null) {
+            // fleetd #283: this is the one cleanup step in this method that used to be bare. By the
+            // time it runs, the registry entry, the retained handle, and the pane are all already
+            // gone — so a throw here (a stale index lock, a slow filesystem, `remove`'s own 30s exec
+            // timeout) must not escape release(): there is no retry path (a second stop on this
+            // paneId is a no-op), and the caller would otherwise see a "failed stop" for a session
+            // that is in fact fully torn down. Log and swallow, matching every sibling step above.
+            try {
+                worktrees.remove(worktrees.repoRoot(removed.cwd()), removed.worktree());
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                log.warn("failed to remove worktree {} for pane={} terminal={} after release: the "
+                        + "pane is already stopped and the session already deregistered, so this is "
+                        + "not retryable — the directory must be reclaimed manually: {}",
+                        removed.worktree(), paneId, removed.terminalId(), e.toString());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #316: the read that actually authorises {@code worktrees.remove}, taken with the
+     * worker's pane already stopped. Fails toward preserving (returns {@code true}) on any
+     * exception — the same rule the pre-stop check applies (CB-581): once we can no longer tell
+     * whether the worktree is dirty, preserving costs disk while deleting on a guess can destroy
+     * work that has no other copy.
+     */
+    private boolean dirtyImmediatelyBeforeRemoval(MemberSession removed) {
+        try {
+            return worktrees.hasUncommitted(removed.worktree());
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            log.warn("release could not re-check worktree {} for pane={} terminal={} immediately "
+                    + "before removal; preserving it rather than risk destroying unsaved work: {}",
+                    removed.worktree(), removed.paneId(), removed.terminalId(), e.toString());
+            return true;
         }
     }
 
@@ -504,11 +613,26 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
             log.warn("spawn failed for profile={} role={} branch={} path={}: {}",
                     preResolvedProfile, memberRole, branch, path, e.getMessage());
             if (path != null) {
+                // fleetd #283: this catch covers every failure AFTER worktrees.add() returned —
+                // overlayParity, shareWithGroup, launcher.spawn itself — so by this point `branch`
+                // was actually created in git. #274 fixed the sibling failure INSIDE add() by having
+                // GitWorktrees.cleanupAfterAddFailure delete both the worktree and the branch it
+                // provisioned; this path removed only the worktree and left the branch orphaned. A
+                // spawn failure here is routine (a quarantined credential, a backend refusal), so
+                // every occurrence leaked a `worker/<slug>-<nonce>` branch nothing ever pointed at
+                // again. Reuse the same Worktrees.deleteBranch GitWorktrees already has, rather than
+                // a second copy of the git command. Best-effort and log-only, like the worktree
+                // removal right above it — neither cleanup step may mask the original exception.
                 try {
                     worktrees.remove(repoRoot, path);
                 } catch (RuntimeException cleanup) {
                     log.warn("failed to clean up worktree {} after spawn error: {}", path, cleanup.getMessage());
                 }
+                try {
+                    worktrees.deleteBranch(repoRoot, branch);
+                } catch (RuntimeException cleanup) {
+                    log.warn("failed to clean up branch {} after spawn error: {}", branch, cleanup.getMessage());
+                }
             }
             throw e;
         }
@@ -818,14 +942,18 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
             }
             long idleNanos = now - s.lastActivityAtNanos();
             if (idleNanos > idleTtlNanos) {
-                log.debug("reaping idle session terminal={} pane={}: idle {}s exceeds the {}s ttl",
-                        s.terminalId(), s.paneId(), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.toSeconds(idleNanos),
-                        TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.toSeconds(idleTtlNanos));
                 // CB-581: one session that fails to release must not abort the whole reaping pass —
                 // match drainAll's per-session try/catch so the rest of the roster still gets reaped.
                 try {
-                    release(s.paneId());
-                    reaped++;
+                    if (beforeIdleRelease != null) {
+                        beforeIdleRelease.accept(s);
+                    }
+                    if (releaseIfCurrent(s, ReleaseCause.COMPLETED)) {
+                        log.debug("reaping idle session terminal={} pane={}: idle {}s exceeds the {}s ttl",
+                                s.terminalId(), s.paneId(), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.toSeconds(idleNanos),
+                                TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.toSeconds(idleTtlNanos));
+                        reaped++;
+                    }
                 } catch (RuntimeException e) {
                     log.warn("reap failed for pane={} terminal={} worktree={}; continuing with "
                             + "remaining sessions", s.paneId(), s.terminalId(), s.worktree(), e);
@@ -836,20 +964,60 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Gracefully drain all registered sessions on daemon shutdown. For each session that is
-     * {@code BUSY}, poll up to {@code timeoutNanos} for it to leave {@code BUSY}, then release it
-     * regardless. Non-busy sessions are released immediately. A failure releasing one session is
-     * logged and does not abort the rest.
+     * Gracefully drain all registered sessions on daemon shutdown. Non-busy sessions are released
+     * immediately; a {@code BUSY} one is polled until it leaves {@code BUSY}, then released
+     * regardless. A failure releasing one session is logged and does not abort the rest.
+     *
+     * <p>{@code timeoutNanos} is a budget for the WHOLE drain, not a grace period per session: the
+     * deadline is taken once, before the loop. So the first BUSY session can spend all of it, and a
+     * later BUSY one is then released with no wait at all. That is deliberate. This drain is only
+     * one phase of shutdown — {@code Fleetd} closes the message service, the push loop, the
+     * heartbeat, MCP and the router after it — and the whole sequence has to finish inside
+     * launchd's exit window. A per-session grace would let N busy members drain for N * the
+     * timeout, overrun that window, and get the daemon SIGKILLed part-way through; the members not
+     * yet reached would then get no clean release, no preserved-worktree log, and no snapshot.
+     * Cutting one turn short is the cheaper failure, and it is not silent: an abandoned BUSY
+     * session is preserved, snapshotted, and logged at WARN by {@code logPreservedForShutdown}.
      *
      * <p>CB-544: this is a {@link ReleaseCause#SHUTDOWN} release — the worker's pane is stopped
      * (the process must end) but its worktree is preserved and its path logged. Shutdown is never
      * a reason to delete a worker's only copy of its uncommitted work. A session still {@code BUSY}
      * when the timeout expired is abandoned mid-turn and logged loudly so an operator can find its
      * kept worktree.
+     *
+     * <p>fleetd #308: {@code roster()} is a one-shot snapshot (see its javadoc), and nothing used
+     * to stop a new session from registering after it was taken — {@link #acquire} stayed open for
+     * as long as this drain waited on a {@code BUSY} session, up to the whole {@code timeoutNanos}
+     * budget. Two things close that window, deliberately paired because neither alone is complete:
+     * {@link #draining} is flipped true before the snapshot is even taken, so {@link #acquire}
+     * refuses (invariant 3: loudly, via {@link ShuttingDownException}) as much of the window as a
+     * plain flag can close; and the sweep below re-reads the registry once the initial snapshot has
+     * fully drained and drains whatever a straggler — a caller that read the flag as {@code false}
+     * a moment before it flipped — still managed to register. The sweep shares the same
+     * {@code deadline} rather than getting its own: {@code timeoutNanos} is a budget for the WHOLE
+     * drain (see above), and a straggler must not buy the drain more time than the flag it lost the
+     * race against would have. In the ordinary case the sweep finds nothing and costs one empty
+     * {@link #roster()} call.
      */
     void drainAll(long timeoutNanos) {
         long deadline = System.nanoTime() + timeoutNanos;
-        for (MemberSession s : roster()) {
+        draining.set(true);
+        drainSnapshot(roster(), deadline);
+        List<MemberSession> stragglers = roster();
+        if (!stragglers.isEmpty()) {
+            log.warn("drain sweep found {} session(s) registered after the drain snapshot was "
+                    + "taken (raced past the shutdown guard); draining them too", stragglers.size());
+            drainSnapshot(stragglers, deadline);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Drain exactly the sessions in {@code snapshot}, waiting out a {@code BUSY} one against the
+     * shared whole-drain {@code deadline} before releasing it. Shared by {@link #drainAll}'s main
+     * pass and its post-loop straggler sweep (fleetd #308) so both honor the same one budget.
+     */
+    private void drainSnapshot(List<MemberSession> snapshot, long deadline) {
+        for (MemberSession s : snapshot) {
             try {
                 if (s.state() == MemberSession.State.BUSY) {
                     while (System.nanoTime() < deadline) {

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

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.session;
+
+/**
+ * Thrown by {@link SessionManager#acquire} when a spawn is requested after the daemon's shutdown
+ * drain has already begun (fleetd #308).
+ *
+ * <p>{@link SessionManager#drainAll} snapshots the registry once and tears down exactly what is
+ * in that snapshot. A session registered after the snapshot is invisible to the drain loop: its
+ * pane is left running and its worktree is never preserved, and nothing else ever reclaims
+ * either — the daemon's in-memory registry dies with the process. Refusing the spawn here,
+ * loudly, is what stops that session from ever being created in the first place, rather than
+ * silently handing the caller a session the daemon can no longer manage.
+ */
+public final class ShuttingDownException extends RuntimeException {
+    public ShuttingDownException(String message) {
+        super(message);
+    }
+}

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

@@ -11,6 +11,15 @@ public interface Worktrees {
     /** git -C <repoRoot> worktree remove --force <path>. Idempotent (already-gone tolerated). */
     void remove(String repoRoot, String worktreePath);
 
+    /**
+     * git -C {@code repoRoot} branch -D {@code branch}. Force-deletes a branch that has no other
+     * owner — used only on the failed-provisioning path (fleetd #274, #283), never on a normal
+     * release: {@link SessionManager#release} deliberately leaves a released session's branch
+     * behind so a lead can still recover the work, and this method must never be called from
+     * that path.
+     */
+    void deleteBranch(String repoRoot, String branch);
+
     /**
      * True when the worktree holds uncommitted changes the bridge cannot see: tracked
      * modifications, staged files, or untracked files. {@code git status --porcelain} is the

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

@@ -226,4 +226,44 @@ class FleetdBackendErrorSinkTest {
         assertTrue(remaining.isPresent(), "two distinct targets must start a cool-off");
         assertEquals(1, leadClient.sendCount());
     }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a backend-error session no longer blocks the real maxLoad spawn gate")
+    void backendErrorSessionDoesNotBlockFreshSpawnAtMaxLoad() {
+        SessionManager sessions = capacityLimitedSessions();
+        MemberSession failed = sessions.acquire("terra", null, null, null);
+
+        assertTrue(sessions.onBackendError(failed.terminalId(), "backend exited"));
+
+        MemberSession fresh = sessions.acquire("terra", null, null, null);
+        assertEquals("terra", fresh.profile(), "the real maxLoad gate grants a fresh spawn after a backend error");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("a failed session no longer blocks the real maxLoad spawn gate")
+    void failedSessionDoesNotBlockFreshSpawnAtMaxLoad() {
+        SessionManager sessions = capacityLimitedSessions();
+        MemberSession failed = sessions.acquire("terra", null, null, null);
+
+        sessions.onTurnFailed(failed.terminalId());
+
+        MemberSession fresh = sessions.acquire("terra", null, null, null);
+        assertEquals("terra", fresh.profile(), "the real maxLoad gate grants a fresh spawn after a failed turn");
+    }
+
+    private static SessionManager capacityLimitedSessions() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FleetConfig.Profile profile = new FleetConfig.Profile("terra", "http://gx00.gw:8000", "coder",
+                null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN", List.of("claude"), "tab", "fleetd-workers",
+                "w #{n}", null, null, null, null, null, null, null, 1.0f, 1);
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> profiles = Map.of("terra", profile);
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher adapter = new ClaudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), profiles, "terra", _ -> "tok");
+        AtomicReference<SessionManager> sessionsRef = new AtomicReference<>();
+        CompositePeerLauncher workers = new CompositePeerLauncher(List.of(adapter), "terra", profiles,
+                PlacementPolicies.fixed(), name -> Fleetd.liveSessionCount(sessionsRef.get().roster(), name));
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workers);
+        sessionsRef.set(sessions);
+        return sessions;
+    }
 }

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

@@ -103,6 +103,54 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertEquals(Role.PRIMARY, p.role(), "the historical behaviour, now an explicit choice");
     }
 
+    // ── fleetd #317: an unresolvable caller must never be promoted to the primary ──────────────────
+    // #305 closed the trigger where a resolved pid matched no pane *and* had no ancestry walk to
+    // save it. This is the other trigger PaneLocator's javadoc names: the pid never resolves at
+    // all — LsofPeerPidLookup returns -1 on any failure, including (silently) "lsof found no
+    // match" — so there is no candidate pid for an ancestry walk to even attempt.
+
+    /**
+     * The failing-without-the-fix case. Before #317's fix, {@code c.terminal() == null} was the
+     * only test in the loopback-trust fallback, and an unresolved pid produces exactly that same
+     * {@code null} terminal as a genuine primary — so this caller was handed
+     * {@code Principal.primary(...)}, a real worker's failed lookup becoming indistinguishable from
+     * the lead.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aFailedPeerPidLookupIsRefusedNotPromotedToPrimary() {
+        ConnectionIdentity unresolved = new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(herdr), _ -> -1);
+        Principal p = new CallerResolver(unresolved).resolve("127.0.0.1", 55555, null);
+
+        assertEquals(Role.ANONYMOUS, p.role(),
+                "an unresolvable caller must never be silently promoted to the primary");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The companion invariant #317 must not break: a caller whose lookup genuinely succeeded, and
+     * who simply owns no herdr pane — the real primary's own connection — is still the primary.
+     * This is {@link #loopbackTrustTreatsANonWorkerLoopbackCallerAsThePrimary} pinned again here,
+     * named for #317 and placed next to the test it must be distinguished from: same {@code null}
+     * terminal, opposite verdict, because {@code Caller.resolved()} tells them apart.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aRealPidThatOwnsNoPaneIsStillThePrimaryNotRefused() {
+        Principal p = new CallerResolver(nonWorkerIdentity()).resolve("127.0.0.1", 55555, null);
+
+        assertEquals(Role.PRIMARY, p.role());
+    }
+
+    /** #317 point 4: token mode never consults {@code c.pid()}, so a failed lookup must not change it. */
+    @Test
+    void tokenModeIsUndisturbedByAnUnresolvedLookup() {
+        ConnectionIdentity unresolved = new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(herdr), _ -> -1);
+        CallerResolver r = new CallerResolver(unresolved, true, "s3cret");
+
+        assertEquals(Role.ANONYMOUS, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 55555, null).role(),
+                "no credential is still just ANONYMOUS, as before #317 — unchanged by the lookup failing");
+        assertEquals(Role.PRIMARY, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 55555, "Bearer s3cret").role(),
+                "a valid token still authenticates the primary even though the peer-pid lookup failed");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void tokenModeRefusesANonWorkerCallerThatPresentsNoToken() {
         Principal p = new CallerResolver(nonWorkerIdentity(), true, "s3cret")
@@ -413,4 +461,29 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> new CallerResolver(id, true, null));
         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.
+        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);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aNonWorkerOnAnyLoopbackSourceAddressIsStillThePrimary() {
+        // The other direction of the same fix: widening the identity check must not demote a
+        // legitimate same-host primary that happens to connect from another 127.* address.
+        CallerResolver r = new CallerResolver(nonWorkerIdentity(), false, null);
+        for (String src : new String[]{"127.0.0.1", "127.0.0.2", "::ffff:127.0.0.1"}) {
+            assertEquals(Role.PRIMARY, r.resolve(src, 55555, null).role(), "source " + src);
+        }
+    }
+
 }

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

@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.config;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.lang.reflect.Constructor;
+import java.lang.reflect.RecordComponent;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.TreeSet;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #323: {@code ConfigRef.sameLaunchSettings} javadoc used to claim it "compares every
+ * component the launcher reads at spawn". It did not — {@code ideProjectDir}, {@code
+ * ideOpenCommand} and {@code autoCompactWindow} were all baked in at daemon startup (see
+ * {@code ClaudeCodeLauncher}/{@code OpenCodeLauncher}) and missing from the comparison, so a reload
+ * that changed only one of them reported "config reloaded" and the running daemon kept the old
+ * value.
+ *
+ * <p>This class is the mechanism the issue asked for: it enumerates every record component of
+ * {@link FleetConfig.Profile} by reflection and proves — by actually mutating a base profile one
+ * field at a time and calling the real method — that each component is either compared by
+ * {@link ConfigRef#sameLaunchSettings} or named in {@link ConfigRef#LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED} with
+ * a reason. A new profile field that is neither fails this test by name, not a hand-maintained list
+ * going stale.
+ */
+class ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest {
+
+    private static final RecordComponent[] COMPONENTS = FleetConfig.Profile.class.getRecordComponents();
+
+    /**
+     * One valid, non-blank value per record component — "the a value". None of these trip any
+     * defaulting/normalization in {@code Profile}'s compact constructor (see {@code
+     * FleetConfig.java}), so what goes in is what {@code sameLaunchSettings} sees back out.
+     */
+    private static final Map<String, Object> BASE = baseValues();
+
+    /** The same shape, each value distinct from {@link #BASE} — "the b value". */
+    private static final Map<String, Object> ALT = altValues();
+
+    private static Map<String, Object> baseValues() {
+        Map<String, Object> v = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        v.put("profile", "sonnet");
+        v.put("baseUrl", "http://gx00.gw:8000");
+        v.put("model", "sonnet");
+        v.put("configDir", "/config/a");
+        v.put("tokenEnv", "TOKEN_A");
+        v.put("argv", List.of("claude", "--flag-a"));
+        v.put("placement", "tab");
+        v.put("workspace", "workspace-a");
+        v.put("tabLabel", "label-a");
+        v.put("mcpUrl", "http://mcp-a");
+        v.put("cwd", "/cwd/a");
+        v.put("parityOverlay", List.of(".env", ".env.a"));
+        v.put("gitTokenEnv", "GIT_TOKEN_A");
+        v.put("gitHostEnv", "GITEA_HOST_A");
+        v.put("kind", "claude-code");
+        v.put("env", Map.of("K", "A"));
+        v.put("weight", 1.0f);
+        v.put("maxLoad", 5);
+        v.put("subscription", Boolean.TRUE);
+        v.put("exhaustedPattern", "usage limit a");
+        v.put("credentialId", "cred-a");
+        v.put("ideMcpUrl", "http://ide-mcp-a");
+        v.put("ideProjectDir", "modules/a");
+        v.put("ideOpenCommand", "open-cmd-a {dir}");
+        v.put("autoCompactWindow", 150000);
+        v.put("errorPattern", "error a");
+        assertNamesMatchComponents(v);
+        return v;
+    }
+
+    private static Map<String, Object> altValues() {
+        Map<String, Object> v = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        v.put("profile", "sonnet-b");
+        v.put("baseUrl", "http://gx01.gw:8000");
+        v.put("model", "haiku");
+        v.put("configDir", "/config/b");
+        v.put("tokenEnv", "TOKEN_B");
+        v.put("argv", List.of("claude", "--flag-b"));
+        v.put("placement", "weighted");
+        v.put("workspace", "workspace-b");
+        v.put("tabLabel", "label-b");
+        v.put("mcpUrl", "http://mcp-b");
+        v.put("cwd", "/cwd/b");
+        v.put("parityOverlay", List.of(".env", ".env.b"));
+        v.put("gitTokenEnv", "GIT_TOKEN_B");
+        v.put("gitHostEnv", "GITEA_HOST_B");
+        v.put("kind", "opencode");
+        v.put("env", Map.of("K", "B"));
+        v.put("weight", 2.0f);
+        v.put("maxLoad", 9);
+        v.put("subscription", Boolean.FALSE);
+        v.put("exhaustedPattern", "usage limit b");
+        v.put("credentialId", "cred-b");
+        v.put("ideMcpUrl", "http://ide-mcp-b");
+        v.put("ideProjectDir", "modules/b");
+        v.put("ideOpenCommand", "open-cmd-b {dir}");
+        v.put("autoCompactWindow", 250000);
+        v.put("errorPattern", "error b");
+        assertNamesMatchComponents(v);
+        return v;
+    }
+
+    private static void assertNamesMatchComponents(Map<String, Object> values) {
+        Set<String> componentNames = new TreeSet<>();
+        for (RecordComponent rc : COMPONENTS) {
+            componentNames.add(rc.getName());
+        }
+        assertEquals(componentNames, new TreeSet<>(values.keySet()),
+                "this test's value map has drifted from FleetConfig.Profile's actual components — "
+                        + "update BASE/ALT alongside the record");
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig.Profile profileOf(Map<String, Object> values) throws ReflectiveOperationException {
+        Class<?>[] types = Arrays.stream(COMPONENTS).map(RecordComponent::getType).toArray(Class<?>[]::new);
+        Object[] args = Arrays.stream(COMPONENTS)
+                .map(rc -> values.get(rc.getName()))
+                .toArray();
+        Constructor<FleetConfig.Profile> ctor = FleetConfig.Profile.class.getDeclaredConstructor(types);
+        return ctor.newInstance(args);
+    }
+
+    /** {@code BASE} with exactly one named component swapped for its {@code ALT} value. */
+    private static FleetConfig.Profile mutate(String componentName) throws ReflectiveOperationException {
+        Map<String, Object> values = new LinkedHashMap<>(BASE);
+        values.put(componentName, ALT.get(componentName));
+        return profileOf(values);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The mechanism fleetd #323 asked for: enumerate {@link FleetConfig.Profile}'s record
+     * components, mutate each non-excluded one, and prove {@code sameLaunchSettings} actually
+     * notices — not just that some hand-maintained list claims it does. Prints the denominator
+     * (total / compared / excluded) the issue required: a checker that cannot state its own
+     * denominator is the failure this repo keeps hitting.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void sameLaunchSettingsComparesEveryProfileComponentOrExcludesIt() throws ReflectiveOperationException {
+        int total = COMPONENTS.length;
+        Set<String> excluded = ConfigRef.LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED;
+
+        Set<String> allNames = new TreeSet<>();
+        for (RecordComponent rc : COMPONENTS) {
+            allNames.add(rc.getName());
+        }
+        assertTrue(allNames.containsAll(excluded),
+                "ConfigRef.LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED names a component that does not exist on "
+                        + "FleetConfig.Profile — check for a typo: " + excluded);
+
+        // The exclusion set is this mechanism's own escape hatch, so it has to be pinned too.
+        // Found by mutation while verifying fleetd #323: moving autoCompactWindow and
+        // ideOpenCommand OUT of the comparison and INTO the exclusion set left the whole suite
+        // green — the loop below simply skips them, and the denominator assertion still balances.
+        // That is exactly the lazy move a failing coverage test invites, and it silently restores
+        // the #323 bug. Only ideProjectDir and worktreeGroup were saved by a behavioural test in
+        // ConfigRefTest; the other two had none. So: growing this set now requires editing this
+        // line as well, which is a visible, deliberate diff rather than a quiet one.
+        assertEquals(Set.of("weight", "maxLoad", "credentialId"), excluded,
+                "ConfigRef.LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED changed. A component belongs in it ONLY if it "
+                        + "is read live off the config supplier, not baked into a launcher at "
+                        + "startup. If you are adding one to silence this test, that is fleetd #323 "
+                        + "happening again: compare it in sameLaunchSettings instead. If it really "
+                        + "is read live, name where it is read and update this assertion.");
+
+        FleetConfig.Profile base = profileOf(BASE);
+        List<String> uncovered = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
+        int compared = 0;
+        for (RecordComponent rc : COMPONENTS) {
+            String name = rc.getName();
+            if (excluded.contains(name)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            FleetConfig.Profile mutated = mutate(name);
+            if (ConfigRef.sameLaunchSettings(base, mutated)) {
+                uncovered.add(name);
+            } else {
+                compared++;
+            }
+        }
+
+        System.out.printf(
+                "ConfigRef.sameLaunchSettings coverage — %d Profile components total, %d compared, "
+                        + "%d excluded (%s)%n",
+                total, compared, excluded.size(), excluded);
+
+        assertEquals(List.of(), uncovered,
+                "these FleetConfig.Profile components changed but ConfigRef.sameLaunchSettings "
+                        + "reported no difference — add each one to the comparison (it is read at "
+                        + "spawn and baked in until a restart) or to ConfigRef.LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED "
+                        + "with a reason it is genuinely read live: " + uncovered);
+        assertEquals(total, compared + excluded.size(),
+                "every FleetConfig.Profile record component must be either compared or excluded — "
+                        + total + " components, " + compared + " compared, " + excluded.size()
+                        + " excluded");
+    }
+}

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

@@ -434,6 +434,364 @@ class ConfigRefTest {
         assertEquals("provider 5xx", ref.get().profiles().get("sonnet").errorPattern());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #323 instance 1: {@code ideProjectDir} is read at spawn off the frozen profile map
+     * (see {@code ClaudeCodeLauncher}/{@code OpenCodeLauncher}) exactly like {@code model}, but was
+     * missing from {@code sameLaunchSettings} — a reload changing only this field used to report a
+     * bare "config reloaded" and the running daemon kept launching with the old value.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingAProfilesIdeProjectDirIsReportedAsDeferred(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                herdrSocket: ~/.config/herdr/herdr.sock
+                profiles:
+                  sonnet:
+                    baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+                    model: sonnet
+                    ideProjectDir: fleetd
+                guard:
+                  offSubscriptionHosts:
+                    - gx00.gw
+                """);
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                herdrSocket: ~/.config/herdr/herdr.sock
+                profiles:
+                  sonnet:
+                    baseUrl: http://gx00.gw:8000
+                    model: sonnet
+                    ideProjectDir: fleetd-renamed
+                guard:
+                  offSubscriptionHosts:
+                    - gx00.gw
+                """);
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertEquals(1, out.deferred().size(), out.deferred().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.deferred().getFirst().contains("sonnet"), out.deferred().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.deferred().getFirst().contains("launch settings"), out.deferred().toString());
+        // The snapshot still carries the new value — a restart is what makes it take effect.
+        assertEquals("fleetd-renamed", ref.get().profiles().get("sonnet").ideProjectDir());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #323 instance 2: {@code worktreeGroup} is baked into the same {@code GitWorktrees}
+     * as {@code worktreeRoot} (Fleetd.java:251) and never rebuilt, but only {@code worktreeRoot}
+     * was on {@code changedDeferredKeys} — a reload changing only the group reported a bare
+     * "config reloaded" and newly provisioned worktrees kept the old sharing behaviour.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingWorktreeGroupIsReportedAsDeferred(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("worktreeGroup: devgroup\n"));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("worktreeGroup: devgroup2\n"));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertEquals(java.util.List.of("worktreeGroup"), out.deferred());
+        assertTrue(out.summary().contains("needs a restart") || out.summary().contains("need a restart"),
+                out.summary());
+        // The snapshot still carries the new value — a restart is what makes it take effect.
+        assertEquals("devgroup2", ref.get().worktreeGroup());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #326: {@code primary} is read only off the startup snapshot — {@code Fleetd.java:506,
+     * 519, 520} feed {@code PrimaryRegistry} and {@code ReplyPushLoop} at construction and neither is
+     * rebuilt on reload — but it was missing from {@link ConfigRef#changedDeferredKeys}, so a reload
+     * that only changed the pinned primary terminal reported a bare "config reloaded" while a lead
+     * whose tab no longer matched stayed demoted to worker.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingPrimaryIsReportedAsDeferred(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                primary:
+                  terminal: term-a
+                """));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                primary:
+                  terminal: term-b
+                """));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertEquals(java.util.List.of("primary"), out.deferred());
+        assertTrue(out.summary().contains("need") && out.summary().contains("restart"), out.summary());
+        // The snapshot still carries the new value — a restart is what makes it take effect.
+        assertEquals("term-b", ref.get().primary().terminal());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #326: {@code configReload} itself is read only at startup ({@code Fleetd.java:679-680})
+     * to decide whether to build a {@code ConfigWatcher} at all, and with what interval — the watcher
+     * that would apply a later change is itself built once, so it is deferred rather than cold (see
+     * {@link ConfigRef}'s class doc: cold means an already-open resource would go inconsistent with
+     * the new value, and there is no such resource here — a running watcher just keeps polling on its
+     * original enabled/interval until a restart, exactly like {@code lifecycle} or {@code guard}).
+     * Before this fix, turning reload off (or changing its interval) through a reload reported a bare
+     * "config reloaded" — the obvious joke the issue names.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingConfigReloadIsReportedAsDeferred(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                configReload:
+                  enabled: true
+                  intervalSeconds: 10
+                """));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                configReload:
+                  enabled: false
+                  intervalSeconds: 30
+                """));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertEquals(java.util.List.of("configReload"), out.deferred());
+        assertTrue(out.summary().contains("need") && out.summary().contains("restart"), out.summary());
+        // The snapshot still carries the new value — a restart is what makes it take effect.
+        assertFalse(ref.get().configReload().isEnabled());
+        assertEquals(30, ref.get().configReload().intervalSeconds());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #330: {@code health:} is read both ways — {@code Fleetd.java:556-563} builds the
+     * monitor off the startup snapshot and never rebuilds it, but {@code Fleetd.java:648-650} reads
+     * {@code config.get().health()} live on every {@code fleet_profiles} call. A changed value is
+     * neither purely hot nor purely deferred, so it gets its own {@code split} report naming both
+     * halves rather than a bare "config reloaded" (which would hide the frozen half) or a plain
+     * {@code deferred} entry (which would hide that the coverage string already applied).
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingHealthIsReportedAsSplit(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                health:
+                  enabled: true
+                  intervalSeconds: 30
+                """));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                health:
+                  enabled: true
+                  intervalSeconds: 90
+                """));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertTrue(out.deferred().isEmpty(), out.deferred().toString());
+        assertEquals(1, out.split().size(), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().startsWith("health:"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().contains("restart"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().contains("live"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.summary().contains("partially live"), out.summary());
+        // The snapshot still carries the new value — the monitor itself is what waits for a restart.
+        assertEquals(90, ref.get().health().intervalSeconds());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #330: {@code coordinator:} is the other split key — {@code Fleetd.java:502} opens the
+     * {@code LeadMailbox} off the startup snapshot and never reopens it, but
+     * {@code HerdrPeerLauncher.java:1530} reads {@code config.get().coordinator()} live on every
+     * spawn to keep the broker URI env-var name out of a member's environment.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingCoordinatorIsReportedAsSplit(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                coordinator:
+                  selfId: mac-a
+                """));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                coordinator:
+                  selfId: mac-b
+                """));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertTrue(out.deferred().isEmpty(), out.deferred().toString());
+        assertEquals(1, out.split().size(), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().startsWith("coordinator:"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().contains("restart"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().contains("live"), out.split().toString());
+        // The snapshot still carries the new value — the LeadMailbox connection is what waits for a
+        // restart; selfId names this daemon's own inbox queue and a peer cannot discover a rename.
+        assertEquals("mac-b", ref.get().coordinator().selfId());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #333: {@code fleet:} is split too — {@code fleet.leaders} is read only at
+     * {@code Fleetd.java:281} to build the {@code LeadTabScanner}'s identity map (fed into
+     * {@code CallerResolver}) and to auto-launch leads via {@code LeadLauncher.ensureLeads()}, and
+     * neither is rebuilt on reload, while the rest of {@code fleet:} (role pools, charters,
+     * tabLabel) is read live through the {@code CompositePeerLauncher} supplier. Before this fix
+     * {@code fleet} sat in the coverage checker's hot-excluded escape hatch, so a reload that
+     * changed only {@code fleet.leaders} reported a bare "config reloaded" — exactly the
+     * under-claim the split class exists to prevent for {@code health}/{@code coordinator}.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingFleetLeadersIsReportedAsSplit(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                fleet:
+                  leaders:
+                    opus:
+                      tab: "lead: opus-a"
+                      profile: sonnet
+                """));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                fleet:
+                  leaders:
+                    opus:
+                      tab: "lead: opus-b"
+                      profile: sonnet
+                """));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertTrue(out.deferred().isEmpty(), out.deferred().toString());
+        assertEquals(1, out.split().size(), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().startsWith("fleet:"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().contains("restart"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().contains("live"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.summary().contains("partially live"), out.summary());
+        // The snapshot still carries the new value — the LeadTabScanner's identity map and
+        // LeadLauncher's auto-launch are what wait for a restart; a reload rebuilds neither.
+        assertEquals("lead: opus-b", ref.get().fleet().leaders().get("opus").tab());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #333: {@code fleet.leaders} is the ONLY frozen part of {@code fleet:}. A reload that
+     * changes {@code tabLabel} (or charters, or a role pool) without touching {@code fleet.leaders}
+     * must stay fully hot with nothing reported — proving {@link ConfigRef#changedSplitKeys}
+     * compares {@code fleet.leaders} specifically rather than the whole {@code Fleet} record, which
+     * would over-claim "needs a restart" for a change that is genuinely all live (the mirror
+     * mistake of the under-claim this class exists to prevent).
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingFleetTabLabelWithoutLeadersStaysFullyHot(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                fleet:
+                  tabLabel: "{role}: {profile} #{n}"
+                """));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                fleet:
+                  tabLabel: "[{profile}] {role}"
+                """));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertTrue(out.deferred().isEmpty(), out.deferred().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().isEmpty(), out.split().toString());
+        assertEquals("config reloaded", out.summary());
+        assertEquals("[{profile}] {role}", ref.get().fleet().tabLabel());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A split change must not refuse the reload (invariant 2 of fleetd #330) and
+     * {@code Outcome.applied()} must stay {@code true} (invariant 3) — unlike a cold change, the
+     * live half of a split key genuinely took effect, so refusing would throw that away.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aSplitChangeDoesNotRefuseTheReload(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("coordinator:\n  selfId: mac-a\n"));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("coordinator:\n  selfId: mac-b\n"));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertTrue(out.error() == null);
+        assertTrue(out.coldKeys().isEmpty());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Both split keys can change in one reload — the report names both, and a caller reading
+     * {@code split} does not have to guess which half of which key already applied.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void changingBothSplitKeysReportsBoth(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                health:
+                  enabled: true
+                coordinator:
+                  selfId: mac-a
+                """));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                health:
+                  enabled: false
+                coordinator:
+                  selfId: mac-b
+                """));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertEquals(2, out.split().size(), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().stream().anyMatch(s -> s.startsWith("health:")), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().stream().anyMatch(s -> s.startsWith("coordinator:")), out.split().toString());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A split key and a deferred key changing in the same reload must both show up, each in its own
+     * list — proving the two fields do not step on each other and {@link ConfigRef.Outcome#summary()}
+     * reports both halves of the message.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aSplitChangeAndADeferredChangeCoexist(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                coordinator:
+                  selfId: mac-a
+                lifecycle:
+                  drainTimeoutSeconds: 30
+                """));
+        ConfigRef ref = refFor(f);
+
+        Files.writeString(f, yaml("""
+                coordinator:
+                  selfId: mac-b
+                lifecycle:
+                  drainTimeoutSeconds: 60
+                """));
+        ConfigRef.Outcome out = ref.reload();
+
+        assertTrue(out.applied());
+        assertEquals(java.util.List.of("lifecycle"), out.deferred());
+        assertEquals(1, out.split().size(), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.split().getFirst().startsWith("coordinator:"), out.split().toString());
+        assertTrue(out.summary().contains("need a restart") || out.summary().contains("needs a restart"),
+                out.summary());
+        assertTrue(out.summary().contains("partially live"), out.summary());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void aFixedRefHasNoFileAndRefusesToReload() {
         FleetConfig cfg = new FleetConfig(null, null, null, null, null, null,

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

@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.config;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.lang.reflect.RecordComponent;
+import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.TreeSet;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #330: a new top-level {@link FleetConfig} record component must be triaged into a reload
+ * class before it ships, or it repeats fleetd #323 ({@code worktreeGroup} missing from {@code
+ * ConfigRef.changedDeferredKeys}) and fleetd #326 ({@code primary}/{@code configReload} missing the
+ * same way) — a key silently absent from {@link ConfigRef}'s reload machinery, so a reload changing
+ * only that key reports a bare "config reloaded" for a change the running daemon never picked up.
+ *
+ * <p>This is the top-level counterpart of {@link ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest}: instead of
+ * enumerating {@link FleetConfig.Profile}'s record components, it enumerates {@link FleetConfig}'s
+ * own — {@code bind}, {@code health}, {@code memberCredentials}, and so on — and requires each to
+ * fall into exactly one of four homes: {@link ConfigRef#COLD_KEYS}, {@link #DEFERRED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS}
+ * (compared in {@code ConfigRef.changedDeferredKeys}), {@link ConfigRef#SPLIT_KEYS}, or
+ * {@link #HOT_EXCLUDED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS} (the escape hatch: read live off the config supplier, so no
+ * reload bookkeeping is needed for it at all).
+ *
+ * <h2>What this checker can and cannot prove</h2>
+ * It proves the record's <em>shape</em> is fully triaged: every one of {@code FleetConfig}'s
+ * components sits in exactly one of the four sets, none sits in two, and the escape hatch
+ * ({@link #HOT_EXCLUDED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS}) cannot silently grow without a visible diff to this file.
+ * That is what "a new component cannot be added without someone triaging it" means in practice.
+ *
+ * <p>It CANNOT prove that any of the citations are <em>true</em>. "Compared in {@code
+ * changedDeferredKeys}" and "read live off {@code config.get()}" are facts about {@code
+ * ConfigRef.java}, {@code Fleetd.java} and {@code HerdrPeerLauncher.java} that a reflection-only
+ * test over {@code FleetConfig}'s shape has no way to inspect — this test would pass identically
+ * whether or not the cited line still does what the comment next to it says. Trust the citation
+ * because a person read the source (the exact call sites are named next to each set below), not
+ * because this test is green. {@link ConfigRefTest} is what behaviourally proves the deferred and
+ * split keys it covers actually get reported; {@link ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest} does the same,
+ * behaviourally, for {@code FleetConfig.Profile}'s own fields.
+ */
+class ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest {
+
+    private static final RecordComponent[] COMPONENTS = FleetConfig.class.getRecordComponents();
+
+    /**
+     * Top-level components whose change {@code ConfigRef.changedDeferredKeys} reads and reports on.
+     * Fleetd #337 promoted this out of a hand-maintained copy here into {@link ConfigRef#DEFERRED_KEYS}
+     * itself, the same reason {@link ConfigRef#COLD_KEYS} and {@link ConfigRef#SPLIT_KEYS} are
+     * production constants rather than test-side copies: two lists that are supposed to describe the
+     * same method are exactly the shape that silently drifts apart. {@code spawnReadyTimeoutMs}/
+     * {@code spawnReadyPollMs} are compared together and reported under one combined label
+     * ({@code "spawnReady*"}); {@code profiles} is compared twice over — once for added/removed
+     * profile names, once for an existing profile's launch settings — and that second comparison
+     * excludes {@code weight}/{@code maxLoad}/{@code credentialId} as hot sub-fields, which is what
+     * {@link ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest} exists to keep honest at the sub-field level. {@code
+     * profiles} itself still belongs here, not in the hot-exclusion set below: most of a profile's
+     * fields are NOT read live, so citing "read live off the config supplier" for the whole
+     * top-level key would be false.
+     */
+    private static final Set<String> DEFERRED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS = ConfigRef.DEFERRED_KEYS;
+
+    /**
+     * The escape hatch: top-level components with no reload bookkeeping at all, because every read
+     * of them goes live through {@link ConfigRef#get()} rather than off a startup snapshot. A
+     * component belongs here ONLY if that is true — never because adding it here makes this test
+     * pass. fleetd #323 is the cautionary tale for exactly this pattern: the identical hatch on
+     * {@code ConfigRef.LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED} let two profile fields be silently re-broken with
+     * the whole suite green, and it was only caught by mutating the checker itself (see this class's
+     * own mutation test below, and {@code ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest}'s equivalent).
+     *
+     * <ul>
+     *   <li>{@code placement} — read live by the placement policy on every spawn (class doc, Hot
+     *       bullet; {@code ConfigRefTest.aConsumerHoldingTheRefSeesTheNewValue} proves it
+     *       behaviourally).</li>
+     *   <li>{@code memberCredentials} — read live at {@code Fleetd.java:198, 205, 729}.</li>
+     *   <li>{@code memberLoginShell} — read live at
+     *       {@code HerdrPeerLauncher#configuredMemberLoginShell}.</li>
+     * </ul>
+     *
+     * <p>{@code fleet} used to sit here too, on the strength of most of it (role pools, charters,
+     * tabLabel) being read the same live way — but {@code fleet.leaders} inside the same key is
+     * read only at startup and genuinely needs a restart, which is a real gap this escape hatch
+     * cannot represent: it excuses a whole top-level key from reload bookkeeping, and {@code fleet}
+     * needed exactly half of it excused. fleetd #333 moved it into {@link ConfigRef#SPLIT_KEYS}
+     * instead, where {@code changedSplitKeys} reports the frozen half by name. That is the
+     * cautionary tale this test's own javadoc already told: this checker proves the record's shape
+     * is triaged, never that a bucket a key sits in is the right one — a person has to read the
+     * source, which is exactly how fleetd #333 found {@code fleet} sitting in the wrong bucket
+     * while this test stayed green throughout.</p>
+     */
+    private static final Set<String> HOT_EXCLUDED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS =
+            Set.of("placement", "memberCredentials", "memberLoginShell");
+
+    @Test
+    void everyTopLevelComponentIsAccountedForInExactlyOneClass() {
+        Set<String> allNames = new TreeSet<>();
+        for (RecordComponent rc : COMPONENTS) {
+            allNames.add(rc.getName());
+        }
+
+        Set<String> cold = ConfigRef.COLD_KEYS;
+        Set<String> split = ConfigRef.SPLIT_KEYS;
+        Set<String> deferred = DEFERRED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS;
+        Set<String> hot = HOT_EXCLUDED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS;
+
+        // Typo guard on each set — the same check ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest runs on
+        // LAUNCH_SETTINGS_EXCLUDED. A name that does not exist on FleetConfig is a silent no-op.
+        assertTrue(allNames.containsAll(cold),
+                "ConfigRef.COLD_KEYS names a component that does not exist on FleetConfig: " + cold);
+        assertTrue(allNames.containsAll(split),
+                "ConfigRef.SPLIT_KEYS names a component that does not exist on FleetConfig: " + split);
+        assertTrue(allNames.containsAll(deferred),
+                "DEFERRED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS names a component that does not exist on FleetConfig: " + deferred);
+        assertTrue(allNames.containsAll(hot),
+                "HOT_EXCLUDED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS names a component that does not exist on FleetConfig: " + hot);
+
+        // The escape hatch is pinned. Growing it requires editing this line — a visible, deliberate
+        // diff, not a quiet one. See the field javadoc above for what "belongs here" actually means.
+        assertEquals(Set.of("placement", "memberCredentials", "memberLoginShell"), hot,
+                "HOT_EXCLUDED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS changed. A component belongs here ONLY if it is read "
+                        + "live off the config supplier, never because adding it makes this test "
+                        + "pass. If you are adding one to silence this test, that is fleetd #323 "
+                        + "happening again: account for it in ConfigRef.changedDeferredKeys (or "
+                        + "COLD_KEYS/SPLIT_KEYS) instead. If it really is read live, name where and "
+                        + "update this assertion and the field javadoc together.");
+
+        // No component may sit in two buckets at once — the denominator check below could not catch
+        // that on its own (two buckets double-booking one key still sums to the right total if
+        // another key is simultaneously missing), so check every pair directly and name the culprit.
+        record Bucket(String name, Set<String> keys) {}
+        List<Bucket> buckets = List.of(
+                new Bucket("COLD_KEYS", cold), new Bucket("SPLIT_KEYS", split),
+                new Bucket("DEFERRED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS", deferred), new Bucket("HOT_EXCLUDED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS", hot));
+        for (int i = 0; i < buckets.size(); i++) {
+            for (int j = i + 1; j < buckets.size(); j++) {
+                Set<String> overlap = new LinkedHashSet<>(buckets.get(i).keys());
+                overlap.retainAll(buckets.get(j).keys());
+                assertEquals(Set.of(), overlap, "a component is in both " + buckets.get(i).name()
+                        + " and " + buckets.get(j).name() + ": " + overlap);
+            }
+        }
+
+        Set<String> union = new TreeSet<>();
+        union.addAll(cold);
+        union.addAll(split);
+        union.addAll(deferred);
+        union.addAll(hot);
+
+        System.out.printf(
+                "FleetConfig top-level coverage — %d components total: %d cold %s, %d deferred %s, "
+                        + "%d split %s, %d hot-excluded %s%n",
+                allNames.size(), cold.size(), cold, deferred.size(), deferred, split.size(), split,
+                hot.size(), hot);
+
+        Set<String> missing = new TreeSet<>(allNames);
+        missing.removeAll(union);
+        assertEquals(Set.of(), missing,
+                "these FleetConfig components are in none of COLD_KEYS, DEFERRED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS, "
+                        + "SPLIT_KEYS or HOT_EXCLUDED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS — triage each one into whichever "
+                        + "actually describes it: " + missing);
+        assertEquals(allNames.size(), cold.size() + deferred.size() + split.size() + hot.size(),
+                "counts don't sum to the component total even though every component was found in "
+                        + "the union — " + allNames.size() + " components, " + cold.size()
+                        + " cold + " + deferred.size() + " deferred + " + split.size() + " split + "
+                        + hot.size() + " hot-excluded");
+    }
+}

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

@@ -0,0 +1,284 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.config;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.lang.reflect.Constructor;
+import java.lang.reflect.RecordComponent;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.TreeSet;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+
+/**
+ * fleetd #333, finding F2: {@link ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest} proves every {@link FleetConfig}
+ * top-level component sits in exactly one of {@link ConfigRef#COLD_KEYS}, {@link
+ * ConfigRef#DEFERRED_KEYS}, {@link ConfigRef#SPLIT_KEYS} or the hot-excluded set. It does
+ * <strong>not</strong> prove that a key's membership in one of the first three sets corresponds to
+ * any actual comparison in {@link ConfigRef}: a key can sit in a set with no branch in {@code
+ * changedColdKeys}/{@code changedSplitKeys}/{@code changedDeferredKeys} checking it, and both
+ * {@link ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest} and the "kept in step" {@code assert} inside the first two
+ * of those methods stay green, because neither one reads the method body — the coverage test only
+ * reads set membership, and the assert only checks that reported entries are a SUBSET of the set,
+ * never that every set member produced a reported entry. {@code changedDeferredKeys} does not even
+ * have a "kept in step" assert of its own.
+ *
+ * <p>Measured directly, live, while fixing fleetd #333: dropping the {@code coordinator} branch out
+ * of {@code ConfigRef.changedSplitKeys} while leaving {@code "coordinator"} in
+ * {@link ConfigRef#SPLIT_KEYS} left {@link ConfigRefTopLevelCoverageTest} and the in-method assert
+ * both green — only a hand-written behavioural case in {@link ConfigRefTest} caught it, because it
+ * happened to name that exact key. This is the {@link ConfigRefProfileCoverageTest} mechanism one
+ * level up, generalised over every {@code COLD_KEYS}/{@code SPLIT_KEYS}/{@code DEFERRED_KEYS}
+ * member rather than one hand-picked field: enumerate {@link FleetConfig}'s own record components by
+ * reflection, build "a config where only {@code <key>} differs" for each key, and call the real
+ * {@link ConfigRef#changedColdKeys}/{@link ConfigRef#changedSplitKeys}/
+ * {@link ConfigRef#changedDeferredKeys} methods (all package-private for exactly this, the same
+ * reason {@link ConfigRef#sameLaunchSettings} already is) to prove each one is actually reported —
+ * not assumed from a set literal.
+ *
+ * <h2>fleetd #337 — DEFERRED_KEYS was the gap left open here</h2>
+ * This class originally covered {@code COLD_KEYS} and {@code SPLIT_KEYS} only — {@code
+ * DEFERRED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS} (now {@link ConfigRef#DEFERRED_KEYS}) carried the identical one-way risk
+ * in principle, unexercised. fleetd #337 measured the real consequence rather than assuming it from
+ * the shape of the gap: dropping {@code guard}'s comparison out of {@code changedDeferredKeys} while
+ * {@code "guard"} stayed in the set left all 1355 tests green — the same failure mode {@code
+ * coordinator} demonstrated for {@code SPLIT_KEYS} in fleetd #333, now confirmed for {@code
+ * DEFERRED_KEYS} too. Re-deriving the full list by mutation (drop each key's branch in turn, run the
+ * suite, restore) found six of the eleven {@code DEFERRED_KEYS} members with no behavioural test in
+ * {@link ConfigRefTest} naming them: {@code guard}, {@code leadHeartbeat}, {@code worktreeRoot},
+ * {@code spawnReadyTimeoutMs}, {@code spawnReadyPollMs} and {@code quarantineCooldownSeconds}. That
+ * list corrects fleetd #333's own guess at it in two ways the mutation proved and a reading did not:
+ * {@code lifecycle} is NOT on it — {@code ConfigRefTest.aDeferredChangeIsAppliedAndReported} already
+ * names it, and dropping its branch fails that test — and {@code worktreeRoot} IS on it, which #333
+ * never named at all. The other five {@code DEFERRED_KEYS} members ({@code lifecycle}, {@code
+ * worktreeGroup}, {@code primary}, {@code configReload}, {@code profiles}) already had a hand-written
+ * case each. {@link #everyDeferredKeyIsActuallyReportedByChangedDeferredKeys} below now covers all
+ * eleven the reflective way, so the six with no hand-written test are no longer silently unpinned —
+ * every {@code DEFERRED_KEYS} component turned out to be a scalar or a simple record, so, unlike
+ * {@code fleet.leaders} in fleetd #333, none needed an exclusion set: {@link #BASE}/{@link #ALT} give
+ * every top-level component (not only {@code COLD_KEYS}/{@code SPLIT_KEYS}) a real, distinct value.
+ */
+class ConfigRefTopLevelReportingCoverageTest {
+
+    private static final RecordComponent[] COMPONENTS = FleetConfig.class.getRecordComponents();
+
+    /**
+     * One valid value per top-level {@link FleetConfig} component — "the a value". fleetd #337 gave
+     * every {@code DEFERRED_KEYS} component a real value here too (previously left {@code null} on
+     * both sides, which meant {@code mutate(key)} produced no actual difference for any of them);
+     * only {@code placement}, {@code memberCredentials} and {@code memberLoginShell} — the
+     * hot-excluded set, never compared by any {@code changed*Keys} method — stay {@code null}.
+     * {@link FleetConfig}'s compact constructor only normalizes {@code profiles}, so every other
+     * field accepts whatever is put here unmutated.
+     */
+    private static final Map<String, Object> BASE = baseValues();
+
+    /** The same shape, each value distinct from {@link #BASE} — "the b value". */
+    private static final Map<String, Object> ALT = altValues();
+
+    private static Map<String, Object> baseValues() {
+        Map<String, Object> v = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        v.put("bind", new FleetConfig.Bind("127.0.0.1", 8765));
+        v.put("herdrSocket", "~/.config/herdr/a.sock");
+        v.put("memberHerdrSocket", "~/.config/herdr/member-a.sock");
+        v.put("profiles", Map.of());
+        v.put("guard", new FleetConfig.Guard(List.of("host-a")));
+        v.put("worktreeRoot", "/wt/a");
+        v.put("lifecycle", new FleetConfig.Lifecycle(300, 5, 30, false));
+        v.put("spawnReadyTimeoutMs", 5000);
+        v.put("spawnReadyPollMs", 100);
+        v.put("broker", new FleetConfig.Broker("amqp://a", null, 1));
+        v.put("primary", new FleetConfig.Primary("term-a", 1, 1000));
+        v.put("fleet", new FleetConfig.Fleet(
+                Map.of("opus", new FleetConfig.Leader("sonnet", "lead: opus-a", 1, null, 10,
+                        "claude", null, null, null)),
+                Map.of(), Map.of(), Map.of(), Map.of(), "{role}: {profile} #{n}"));
+        v.put("leadHeartbeat", new FleetConfig.LeadHeartbeat(300, 60_000L, 3));
+        v.put("health", new FleetConfig.Health(true, 30, 600, null, null));
+        v.put("placement", null);
+        v.put("auth", new FleetConfig.Auth("loopback-trust", null));
+        v.put("configReload", new FleetConfig.ConfigReload(true, 10));
+        v.put("quarantineCooldownSeconds", 1800);
+        v.put("memberCredentials", null);
+        v.put("coordinator", new FleetConfig.Coordinator("amqp://coord-a", null, "self-a", 1));
+        v.put("worktreeGroup", "group-a");
+        v.put("memberLoginShell", null);
+        assertNamesMatchComponents(v);
+        return v;
+    }
+
+    private static Map<String, Object> altValues() {
+        Map<String, Object> v = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        v.put("bind", new FleetConfig.Bind("127.0.0.2", 8766));
+        v.put("herdrSocket", "~/.config/herdr/b.sock");
+        v.put("memberHerdrSocket", "~/.config/herdr/member-b.sock");
+        // A single added profile — enough to trip the "added/removed" comparison in
+        // ConfigRef.changedDeferredKeys, which is all this mechanism needs to prove "profiles" has
+        // a branch behind it; the launch-settings comparison already has its own hand-written cases
+        // in ConfigRefTest (changingAProfilesLaunchSettingsIsReportedAsDeferred and siblings).
+        v.put("profiles", Map.of("sonnet", minimalProfile("sonnet")));
+        v.put("guard", new FleetConfig.Guard(List.of("host-b")));
+        v.put("worktreeRoot", "/wt/b");
+        v.put("lifecycle", new FleetConfig.Lifecycle(600, 10, 60, true));
+        v.put("spawnReadyTimeoutMs", 10_000);
+        v.put("spawnReadyPollMs", 200);
+        v.put("broker", new FleetConfig.Broker("amqp://b", null, 2));
+        v.put("primary", new FleetConfig.Primary("term-b", 2, 2000));
+        // Differs from BASE.fleet only in fleet.leaders (a different tab for "opus") — the frozen
+        // sub-field ConfigRef.changedSplitKeys actually compares. A Fleet that instead differed only
+        // in tabLabel would correctly NOT be reported (see
+        // ConfigRefTest.changingFleetTabLabelWithoutLeadersStaysFullyHot) and would wrongly fail this
+        // test — that is by design, not a gap: this map exists to prove fleet.leaders is covered.
+        v.put("fleet", new FleetConfig.Fleet(
+                Map.of("opus", new FleetConfig.Leader("sonnet", "lead: opus-b", 1, null, 10,
+                        "claude", null, null, null)),
+                Map.of(), Map.of(), Map.of(), Map.of(), "{role}: {profile} #{n}"));
+        v.put("leadHeartbeat", new FleetConfig.LeadHeartbeat(600, 120_000L, 5));
+        v.put("health", new FleetConfig.Health(false, 90, 900, null, null));
+        v.put("placement", null);
+        v.put("auth", new FleetConfig.Auth("token", "TOKEN_ENV"));
+        v.put("configReload", new FleetConfig.ConfigReload(false, 20));
+        v.put("quarantineCooldownSeconds", 3600);
+        v.put("memberCredentials", null);
+        v.put("coordinator", new FleetConfig.Coordinator("amqp://coord-b", null, "self-b", 2));
+        v.put("worktreeGroup", "group-b");
+        v.put("memberLoginShell", null);
+        assertNamesMatchComponents(v);
+        return v;
+    }
+
+    /** A minimal, otherwise-null {@link FleetConfig.Profile} — just enough to name one in a map. */
+    private static FleetConfig.Profile minimalProfile(String name) {
+        return new FleetConfig.Profile(name, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
+                null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null,
+                null, null);
+    }
+
+    private static void assertNamesMatchComponents(Map<String, Object> values) {
+        Set<String> names = new TreeSet<>();
+        for (RecordComponent rc : COMPONENTS) {
+            names.add(rc.getName());
+        }
+        assertEquals(names, new TreeSet<>(values.keySet()),
+                "this test's value map has drifted from FleetConfig's actual top-level components — "
+                        + "update BASE/ALT alongside the record");
+    }
+
+    private static FleetConfig configOf(Map<String, Object> values) throws ReflectiveOperationException {
+        Class<?>[] types = Arrays.stream(COMPONENTS).map(RecordComponent::getType).toArray(Class<?>[]::new);
+        Object[] args = Arrays.stream(COMPONENTS).map(rc -> values.get(rc.getName())).toArray();
+        Constructor<FleetConfig> ctor = FleetConfig.class.getDeclaredConstructor(types);
+        return ctor.newInstance(args);
+    }
+
+    /** {@code BASE} with exactly one named top-level component swapped for its {@code ALT} value. */
+    private static FleetConfig mutate(String componentName) throws ReflectiveOperationException {
+        Map<String, Object> values = new LinkedHashMap<>(BASE);
+        values.put(componentName, ALT.get(componentName));
+        return configOf(values);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The mechanism fleetd #333 F2 asked for, applied to {@link ConfigRef#COLD_KEYS}: mutate each
+     * cold key in isolation and prove {@code changedColdKeys} actually names it, not just that
+     * {@code COLD_KEYS} claims it does.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void everyColdKeyIsActuallyReportedByChangedColdKeys() throws ReflectiveOperationException {
+        FleetConfig base = configOf(BASE);
+        List<String> uncovered = new ArrayList<>();
+        for (String key : new TreeSet<>(ConfigRef.COLD_KEYS)) {
+            FleetConfig mutated = mutate(key);
+            if (!ConfigRef.changedColdKeys(base, mutated).contains(key)) {
+                uncovered.add(key);
+            }
+        }
+        System.out.printf(
+                "ConfigRef.changedColdKeys reporting coverage — %d COLD_KEYS, %d verified%n",
+                ConfigRef.COLD_KEYS.size(), ConfigRef.COLD_KEYS.size() - uncovered.size());
+        assertEquals(List.of(), uncovered,
+                "these keys are in ConfigRef.COLD_KEYS but mutating them alone produces no matching "
+                        + "entry from changedColdKeys — a set entry with no comparison behind it: "
+                        + uncovered);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The same mechanism applied to {@link ConfigRef#SPLIT_KEYS}: mutate each split key in
+     * isolation and prove {@code changedSplitKeys} actually names it (message starting with
+     * {@code "<key>:"}), not just that {@code SPLIT_KEYS} claims it does. This is the exact check
+     * that would have failed fleetd #333's own reproduction — dropping the {@code coordinator}
+     * branch from {@code changedSplitKeys} while {@code "coordinator"} stayed in {@code SPLIT_KEYS}
+     * — see the mutation proof in the fleetd #333 PR description; the earlier checkers here (the
+     * shape test and the in-method assert) do not.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void everySplitKeyIsActuallyReportedByChangedSplitKeys() throws ReflectiveOperationException {
+        FleetConfig base = configOf(BASE);
+        List<String> uncovered = new ArrayList<>();
+        for (String key : new TreeSet<>(ConfigRef.SPLIT_KEYS)) {
+            FleetConfig mutated = mutate(key);
+            List<String> split = ConfigRef.changedSplitKeys(base, mutated);
+            if (split.stream().noneMatch(s -> s.startsWith(key + ":"))) {
+                uncovered.add(key);
+            }
+        }
+        System.out.printf(
+                "ConfigRef.changedSplitKeys reporting coverage — %d SPLIT_KEYS, %d verified%n",
+                ConfigRef.SPLIT_KEYS.size(), ConfigRef.SPLIT_KEYS.size() - uncovered.size());
+        assertEquals(List.of(), uncovered,
+                "these keys are in ConfigRef.SPLIT_KEYS but mutating them alone produces no matching "
+                        + "entry from changedSplitKeys — a set entry with no comparison behind it, "
+                        + "exactly the fleetd #333 F2 shape: " + uncovered);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * For most {@link ConfigRef#DEFERRED_KEYS} members, {@code changedDeferredKeys} reports the key
+     * name verbatim — the default this map assumes. Two entries don't: {@code spawnReadyTimeoutMs}
+     * and {@code spawnReadyPollMs} are compared together in one branch and reported under the
+     * combined label {@code "spawnReady*"} (see {@link ConfigRef#changedDeferredKeys}). {@code
+     * profiles} keeps the default: mutating it here only exercises the added/removed comparison
+     * (see {@link #altValues}), which reports {@code "profiles (added/removed: …)"} — starts with
+     * {@code "profiles"}, same as the default would expect.
+     */
+    private static final Map<String, String> DEFERRED_REPORT_PREFIX = Map.of(
+            "spawnReadyTimeoutMs", "spawnReady*",
+            "spawnReadyPollMs", "spawnReady*");
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #337: the same mechanism applied to {@link ConfigRef#DEFERRED_KEYS}, closing the gap
+     * this class's own javadoc left open since fleetd #333. Mutate each deferred key in isolation
+     * and prove {@code changedDeferredKeys} actually names it (message starting with the key's
+     * expected report prefix — see {@link #DEFERRED_REPORT_PREFIX}), not just that {@code
+     * DEFERRED_KEYS} claims it does. This is the exact check that fails for {@code guard} the way
+     * {@code coordinator} failed {@link #everySplitKeyIsActuallyReportedByChangedSplitKeys} in
+     * fleetd #333 — verified live: dropping {@code guard}'s branch from {@code changedDeferredKeys}
+     * while {@code "guard"} stayed in {@code DEFERRED_KEYS} left the whole 1355-test suite green,
+     * and this test is what now catches it (it fails naming {@code guard} with that mutation in
+     * place).
+     */
+    @Test
+    void everyDeferredKeyIsActuallyReportedByChangedDeferredKeys() throws ReflectiveOperationException {
+        FleetConfig base = configOf(BASE);
+        List<String> uncovered = new ArrayList<>();
+        for (String key : new TreeSet<>(ConfigRef.DEFERRED_KEYS)) {
+            FleetConfig mutated = mutate(key);
+            List<String> deferred = ConfigRef.changedDeferredKeys(base, mutated);
+            String prefix = DEFERRED_REPORT_PREFIX.getOrDefault(key, key);
+            if (deferred.stream().noneMatch(s -> s.startsWith(prefix))) {
+                uncovered.add(key);
+            }
+        }
+        System.out.printf(
+                "ConfigRef.changedDeferredKeys reporting coverage — %d DEFERRED_KEYS, %d verified%n",
+                ConfigRef.DEFERRED_KEYS.size(), ConfigRef.DEFERRED_KEYS.size() - uncovered.size());
+        assertEquals(List.of(), uncovered,
+                "these keys are in ConfigRef.DEFERRED_KEYS but mutating them alone produces no "
+                        + "matching entry from changedDeferredKeys — a set entry with no comparison "
+                        + "behind it, exactly the fleetd #333 F2 shape, confirmed here for "
+                        + "DEFERRED_KEYS by fleetd #337: " + uncovered);
+    }
+}

fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/health/FleetHealthMonitorTest.java

@@ -24,7 +24,9 @@ import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
@@ -434,4 +436,120 @@ class FleetHealthMonitorTest {
             logger.detachAppender(appender);
         }
     }
+
+    // --- fleetd #280: a GONE/NEVER_READY guess whose fleet_ask lapses AFTER the first sweep must
+    // still be swept, without ever reaching into a target that has since recovered or left the
+    // roster. See FleetHealthMonitor.recheckTerminalTarget's javadoc for the full reachability chain.
+
+    @Test void terminalTransitionSchedulesExactlyOneDelayedRecheck() {
+        ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor scheduler = new ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor(1);
+        FleetHealthMonitor monitor = monitor(new FakeHerdr(),
+                List.of(member("term_a", MemberSession.State.BUSY, 0, 0)), scheduler, () -> 1, 600,
+                (_, _) -> { });
+
+        monitor.reportTransition("term_a", HealthState.GONE);
+
+        // Driven via reportTransition directly (not tick()), so the queue holds only the recheck.
+        assertEquals(1, scheduler.getQueue().size());
+        ScheduledFuture<?> scheduled = (ScheduledFuture<?>) scheduler.getQueue().peek();
+        assertTrue(scheduled.getDelay(TimeUnit.SECONDS) > 100,
+                "the delay must clear the worst-case fleet_ask lapse window (up to 115s)");
+
+        // An unchanged tick must not queue a second one (CB-580's fire-once rule extends to this).
+        monitor.reportTransition("term_a", HealthState.GONE);
+        assertEquals(1, scheduler.getQueue().size());
+        monitor.stop();
+    }
+
+    @Test void recheckIsANoOpOnceTheTargetHasRecovered() {
+        RecordingFailTarget failTarget = new RecordingFailTarget();
+        FleetHealthMonitor monitor = monitorWith(failTarget);
+        monitor.reportTransition("term_a", HealthState.GONE);
+        assertEquals(1, failTarget.calls.size());
+
+        monitor.reportTransition("term_a", HealthState.IDLE); // recovered before the recheck fired
+        monitor.recheckTerminalTarget("term_a", HealthState.GONE);
+
+        assertEquals(1, failTarget.calls.size(), "a recovered target must not be reached into again");
+        monitor.stop();
+    }
+
+    @Test void recheckIsANoOpForATargetItNeverObserved() {
+        // Mirrors "left the roster": tick() prunes states.keySet() to the current roster on release
+        // (see FleetHealthMonitor.tick), so a target this monitor never recorded is the same case.
+        RecordingFailTarget failTarget = new RecordingFailTarget();
+        FleetHealthMonitor monitor = monitorWith(failTarget);
+
+        monitor.recheckTerminalTarget("term_never_seen", HealthState.GONE);
+
+        assertEquals(0, failTarget.calls.size(), "an untracked/released target must not be reached into");
+        monitor.stop();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The scenario from the ticket, end to end, driven through the real {@link MessageService}: a
+     * target's ask is still genuinely open when health first observes GONE (sweep must skip it,
+     * exactly as {@code abandonDoesNotFailAnAsyncTicketWaitingForAnAnswer} pins), the ask then lapses
+     * on its own, an unchanged tick still must not refire, and only the delayed recheck sweeps the
+     * now-lapsed ticket to FAILED.
+     */
+    @Test void delayedRecheckSweepsATicketWhoseAskLapsedAfterGoneWasFirstObserved() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().withAgent("worker", "term_a", "pane-term_a", "tab_a")
+                .readText("$ prompt");
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
+        InMemoryReplyInbox inbox = new InMemoryReplyInbox();
+        inbox.own("term_a");
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous, inbox);
+        FleetHealthMonitor monitor = new FleetHealthMonitor(agents,
+                () -> List.of(member("term_a", MemberSession.State.READY, 0, 0)), messages,
+                new ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor(1), () -> 1, 60, 600, messages::abandon);
+
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync("term_a", "task that asks");
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 2000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_a") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting("term_a"), "the async send should have opened its waiter");
+        injector.onStatus("term_a", AgentStatus.IDLE);    // deliver the task
+        injector.onStatus("term_a", AgentStatus.WORKING); // the worker picks it up
+
+        // The worker asks, with a short timeout so its own fleet_ask lapses quickly in test time.
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> messages.ask("term_a", "which config?", 200));
+        awaitPhase(messages, ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+
+        monitor.reportTransition("term_a", HealthState.GONE);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, messages.poll(ticket).phase(),
+                "the first sweep must not fail a ticket that is still genuinely being asked");
+
+        // The worker's own fleet_ask now lapses on its own — task.question clears to null.
+        assertEquals(MessageService.AskOutcome.TIMED_OUT, ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome());
+
+        // An unchanged tick still must not refire (CB-580).
+        monitor.reportTransition("term_a", HealthState.GONE);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.PENDING, messages.poll(ticket).phase());
+
+        // The delayed recheck scheduled for the original transition finally sweeps it.
+        monitor.recheckTerminalTarget("term_a", HealthState.GONE);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.FAILED, messages.poll(ticket).phase());
+
+        monitor.stop();
+    }
+
+    private static MessageService.TaskView awaitPhase(MessageService messages, String ticket,
+            MessageService.Phase phase) throws InterruptedException {
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 2000;
+        MessageService.TaskView view;
+        do {
+            view = messages.poll(ticket);
+            if (view.phase() == phase) {
+                return view;
+            }
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        } while (System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline);
+        assertEquals(phase, view.phase());
+        return view;
+    }
 }

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.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
 
 /**
@@ -39,8 +40,12 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
     private final Map<String, List<String>> extraTabs = new LinkedHashMap<>();
     private int agentNameTakenFor = 0;
     private int agentPaneBusyFor = 0;
+    private String agentStartErrorCode = null;
     private int workerTabPaneCount = 1;
     private String paneCloseErrorCode = null;
+    private final Map<String, String> paneCloseErrorCodeFor = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    private String tabCloseErrorCode = null;
+    private final Map<String, String> tabCloseErrorCodeFor = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     private String agentSendErrorCode = null;
     private boolean noPanes = false;
     private volatile String agentStatus = "idle"; // steady-state agent.get status
@@ -80,18 +85,56 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
         return this;
     }
 
+    /** Make every {@code agent.start} call fail with this herdr error code. */
+    public FakeHerdr agentStartFailsWith(String code) {
+        this.agentStartErrorCode = code;
+        return this;
+    }
+
     /** Make the worker tab (w9:t2) report this many panes in {@code tab.list} (default 1). */
     public FakeHerdr withWorkerTabPaneCount(int n) {
         this.workerTabPaneCount = n;
         return this;
     }
 
-    /** Make {@code pane.close} fail with this herdr error code. */
+    /** Make {@code pane.close} fail with this herdr error code, for every pane. */
     public FakeHerdr paneCloseFailsWith(String code) {
         this.paneCloseErrorCode = code;
         return this;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Make {@code pane.close} fail with this herdr error code, but only for the given {@code
+     * pane_id} — every other pane's {@code pane.close} still succeeds. Unlike {@link
+     * #paneCloseFailsWith}, which fails every call regardless of which pane it targets, this lets a
+     * test reap/release several sessions at once and make exactly one of them fail to stop, so the
+     * others' teardown can be asserted to proceed normally (fleetd #290).
+     */
+    public FakeHerdr paneCloseFailsForPane(String paneId, String code) {
+        this.paneCloseErrorCodeFor.put(paneId, code);
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /** Make {@code tab.close} fail with this herdr error code, for every tab. */
+    public FakeHerdr tabCloseFailsWith(String code) {
+        this.tabCloseErrorCode = code;
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Make {@code tab.close} fail with this herdr error code, but only for the given {@code
+     * tab_id} — every other tab's {@code tab.close} still succeeds. The {@code tab.close}
+     * counterpart to {@link #paneCloseFailsForPane} (fleetd #290): lets a test make exactly one
+     * session's tab teardown fail while proving the rest of {@code stop()} — {@code
+     * releaseZdotdir}, and the caller's worktree removal — still runs (fleetd #293). Named "ForTab"
+     * rather than "ForPane" (unlike its sibling) because {@code tab.close} keys on {@code tab_id},
+     * not a pane id.
+     */
+    public FakeHerdr tabCloseFailsForTab(String tabId, String code) {
+        this.tabCloseErrorCodeFor.put(tabId, code);
+        return this;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Make {@code pane.list} report no panes at all — models a second herdr daemon (CB-185) that
      * simply does not host the pane a {@link PaneLocator} is searching for.
@@ -275,6 +318,10 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
                                             + required + "`", "invalid_request", null);
                         }
                     }
+                    if (agentStartErrorCode != null) {
+                        throw new HerdrException("herdr error [" + agentStartErrorCode + "]: agent.start failed",
+                                agentStartErrorCode, null);
+                    }
                     long starts = calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.start")).count();
                     if (starts <= agentPaneBusyFor) {
                         throw new HerdrException(
@@ -338,7 +385,17 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
                             .formatted(workerTabPaneCount,
                                     seeded.isEmpty() ? "" : "," + String.join(",", seeded)));
                 }
-                case "tab.close" -> mapper.readTree("{\"type\":\"ok\"}");
+                case "tab.close" -> {
+                    Object tabIdParam = params instanceof Map<?, ?> m ? m.get("tab_id") : null;
+                    String perTabCode = tabIdParam == null ? null
+                            : tabCloseErrorCodeFor.get(String.valueOf(tabIdParam));
+                    String code = perTabCode != null ? perTabCode : tabCloseErrorCode;
+                    if (code != null) {
+                        throw new HerdrException("herdr error [" + code + "]: tab.close failed",
+                                code, null);
+                    }
+                    yield mapper.readTree("{\"type\":\"ok\"}");
+                }
                 case "pane.get" -> mapper.readTree("""
                         {"type":"pane_info","pane":{"pane_id":"w9:pW","workspace_id":"w9",
                           "tab_id":"w9:t2","agent_status":"idle"}}""");
@@ -360,9 +417,13 @@ public final class FakeHerdr implements HerdrClient {
                                   "foreground_processes":[]}}""");
                 }
                 case "pane.close" -> {
-                    if (paneCloseErrorCode != null) {
-                        throw new HerdrException("herdr error [" + paneCloseErrorCode + "]: pane.close failed",
-                                paneCloseErrorCode, null);
+                    Object paneIdParam = params instanceof Map<?, ?> m ? m.get("pane_id") : null;
+                    String perPaneCode = paneIdParam == null ? null
+                            : paneCloseErrorCodeFor.get(String.valueOf(paneIdParam));
+                    String code = perPaneCode != null ? perPaneCode : paneCloseErrorCode;
+                    if (code != null) {
+                        throw new HerdrException("herdr error [" + code + "]: pane.close failed",
+                                code, null);
                     }
                     yield mapper.readTree("{\"type\":\"ok\"}");
                 }

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

@@ -804,7 +804,28 @@ class CompletionResolverTest {
     // --- fleetd#201 Unit 1: target-keyed backend-error pattern + typed sink ----------------------
 
     @Test
-    void aConfiguredBackendErrorPatternClassifiesAMatchAsAFailureAndNotifiesTheSinkOnce() {
+    void aNormalMemberReportMentioningTheFallbackErrorPatternFailsButDoesNotNotifyTheSink() {
+        String block = "⏺ I checked the retry path. An API Error: makes it back off.\n❯ ";
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText(block);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        java.util.List<String> notified = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
+        BackendErrorSink sink = (target, matchedLine, reason) -> notified.add(target + ": " + matchedLine);
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(herdr), rendezvous,
+                ExhaustedPatternLookup.none(), ExhaustionSink.none(), BackendErrorPatternLookup.legacy(), sink);
+
+        var waiter = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.resolve("term_a", new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiter, null));
+
+        assertEquals(Rendezvous.Kind.FAILED, waiter.getNow(null).kind(),
+                "a scrape mentioning the pattern must still fail the send");
+        assertTrue(waiter.getNow(null).text().contains("I checked the retry path. An API Error: makes it back off."),
+                "the failure must keep the whole pane tail");
+        assertTrue(notified.isEmpty(),
+                "a normal report mentioning the fallback pattern must not record a credential failure");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aConfiguredBackendErrorPatternAtTheStartOfALineClassifiesAMatchAndNotifiesTheSinkOnce() {
         String block = "⏺ 503 Service Unavailable: upstream credential rejected\n❯ ";
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText(block);
         Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
@@ -924,7 +945,7 @@ class CompletionResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void aConfiguredPatternAlsoClassifiesTheRawScrapeFallbackAndNotifiesTheSink() {
+    void aConfiguredPatternAtTheStartOfALineAlsoClassifiesTheRawScrapeFallbackAndNotifiesTheSink() {
         // No ⏺ marker and leading TUI chrome ⇒ lastAssistantBlock() yields "", so classification must
         // fall back to the raw scrape (fleetd#211) — and it must use the configured pattern too.
         String block = """
@@ -949,6 +970,40 @@ class CompletionResolverTest {
         assertTrue(notified.get(0).contains("503 Service Unavailable"), notified.get(0));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #339 follow-up: a genuine backend error rendered behind terminal chrome must still
+     * record the credential outage. #339 added a start-of-line check to stop a member's own prose
+     * being counted as an outage, and a bare {@code lookingAt} also rejected this — the send failed
+     * but the sink never fired. #339's invariant 3 named that direction as the worse one: a real
+     * outage going unrecorded leaves the fleet spawning into a dead credential.
+     *
+     * <p>The raw-scrape path is where this matters, because its own comment says to expect leading
+     * TUI chrome there.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aRealErrorBehindTerminalChromeStillNotifiesTheSink() {
+        String block = """
+                ╭──────────────────────────────────────╮
+                │ 503 Service Unavailable: upstream credential rejected
+                """;
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().readText(block);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        BackendErrorPatternLookup patterns = target -> Pattern.compile("(?i)503 Service Unavailable");
+        java.util.List<String> notified = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
+        BackendErrorSink sink = (target, matchedLine, reason) -> notified.add(target + ": " + matchedLine);
+        CompletionResolver resolver = new CompletionResolver(new AgentControl(herdr), rendezvous,
+                ExhaustedPatternLookup.none(), ExhaustionSink.none(), patterns, sink);
+
+        var waiter = rendezvous.open("term_a");
+        resolver.resolve("term_a", new CompletionResolver.InFlight(waiter, null));
+
+        assertEquals(Rendezvous.Kind.FAILED, waiter.getNow(null).kind(),
+                "a real backend error must still fail the send");
+        assertEquals(1, notified.size(),
+                "a real error line behind box chrome is still a real outage — it must reach the sink, "
+                        + "or the fleet keeps spawning into a dead credential");
+    }
+
     // --- fleetd#201 Unit 1: classification inside the fleetd#164 MIN_TURN_NANOS floor -------------
 
     @Test

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

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class InjectorTest {
 
     @Test
     void deliversWhenIdle() {
-        CompletableFuture<Void> f = injector.enqueue(T, "hello", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        CompletableFuture<Void> f = injector.enqueue(T, "hello", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
         assertFalse(f.isDone(), "not delivered until an injectable status arrives");
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
         assertTrue(f.isDone());
@@ -170,6 +170,32 @@ class InjectorTest {
         assertEquals(List.of("a", "b", "c"), sent());
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void cancellingTheMiddleDeliveryKeepsTheFollowingDeliveryReachable() {
+        Injector.Delivery first = injector.enqueue(T, "same text", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        Injector.Delivery cancelled = injector.enqueue(T, "same text", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        injector.enqueue(T, "after cancelled", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+
+        assertEquals(Injector.Cancellation.CANCELLED, injector.cancel(cancelled));
+        injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
+        injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING);
+        injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
+
+        assertEquals(List.of("same text", "after cancelled"), sent(),
+                "cancellation must match the exact Delivery and preserve the remaining FIFO queue");
+        assertTrue(first.completion().isDone());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void cancellationReportsDeliveredWhenPickupWonTheRace() {
+        Injector.Delivery delivery = injector.enqueue(T, "already sent", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
+
+        assertEquals(Injector.Cancellation.DELIVERED, injector.cancel(delivery),
+                "a cancellation after pickup must not claim that the text stayed queued");
+        assertEquals(List.of("already sent"), sent());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void activeWhileQueuedOrInFlightThenQuietAfterTurnCompletes() {
         assertTrue(injector.activeTargets().isEmpty());
@@ -297,6 +323,68 @@ class InjectorTest {
         assertTrue(inj.activeTargets().isEmpty(), "the wedged target is reclaimed, not polled forever");
     }
 
+    /** A listener whose post-turn housekeeping always starts, as SessionManager's does with clearAfterTurn on. */
+    private static final class PostTurnListener implements TurnListener {
+        @Override public void onTurnComplete(String target) { }
+        @Override public boolean hasPostTurnAction(String target) { return true; }
+        @Override public boolean onTurnCompleteWithPostAction(String target) { return true; }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aWorkerThatWedgesInUnknownAwaitingPostTurnPickupIsReleased() {
+        // fleetd #306: the post-turn phase had no way out of a sustained unknown streak, so the
+        // pickup latch stayed set, the target was polled forever, and every later message to it was
+        // blocked by the delivery gate — while the session still looked healthy.
+        Captor cap = new Captor();
+        Injector inj = new Injector(new AgentControl(herdr), new PostTurnListener());
+        inj.enqueue(T, "task", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // deliver
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING); // turn starts
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // turn completes; housekeeping dispatched
+        for (int i = 0; i < STALL_SAMPLES; i++) inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.UNKNOWN); // then wedges
+
+        assertTrue(inj.activeTargets().isEmpty(),
+                "a target wedged awaiting post-turn pickup must be reclaimed, not polled forever");
+        assertEquals(List.of(), cap.failed,
+                "the delegated turn already completed — a stuck /clear must not be reported as a failed turn");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aWorkerThatWedgesInUnknownAfterPickingUpTheResetIsReleased() {
+        // The sibling latch. postTurnObserved is set when the reset is seen picked up (WORKING) and
+        // is cleared only on a later injectable sample, so a wedge right after pickup sticks too.
+        Captor cap = new Captor();
+        Injector inj = new Injector(new AgentControl(herdr), new PostTurnListener());
+        inj.enqueue(T, "task", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING);
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // turn complete; reset dispatched
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING); // reset picked up -> postTurnObserved
+        for (int i = 0; i < STALL_SAMPLES; i++) inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.UNKNOWN);
+
+        assertTrue(inj.activeTargets().isEmpty(), "a wedge after reset pickup must also be reclaimed");
+        assertEquals(List.of(), cap.failed, "still not a turn failure");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aBriefUnknownDuringPostTurnHousekeepingDoesNotDropTheLatch() {
+        // The other direction: the escape must not fire on a glitch, or the queued next delegation
+        // would overtake housekeeping that is still running.
+        Injector inj = new Injector(new AgentControl(herdr), new PostTurnListener());
+        inj.enqueue(T, "first", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        inj.enqueue(T, "second", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING);
+        inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // first completes; reset dispatched
+        for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.UNKNOWN); // well under the grace
+
+        assertFalse(inj.activeTargets().isEmpty(), "a brief glitch must not release the post-turn latch");
+        assertEquals(List.of("first"), sent(), "the queued delegation must not overtake housekeeping");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void aTransientUnknownGlitchNeitherFailsNorBlocksCompletion() {
         Captor cap = new Captor();
@@ -316,7 +404,7 @@ class InjectorTest {
     void sendFailureDropsMessageAndFailsItsFuture() {
         FakeHerdr failing = new FakeHerdr().agentSendFailsWith("send_failed");
         Injector inj = new Injector(new AgentControl(failing));
-        CompletableFuture<Void> f = inj.enqueue(T, "boom", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        CompletableFuture<Void> f = inj.enqueue(T, "boom", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
 
         inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
         assertTrue(f.isCompletedExceptionally());
@@ -325,7 +413,7 @@ class InjectorTest {
 
     @Test
     void dropFailsPendingWaiters() {
-        CompletableFuture<Void> f = injector.enqueue(T, "orphan", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        CompletableFuture<Void> f = injector.enqueue(T, "orphan", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
         injector.drop(T, new HerdrException("worker gone", "pane_not_found", null));
         assertTrue(f.isCompletedExceptionally(), "queued waiters unblock when the worker vanishes");
     }
@@ -334,8 +422,8 @@ class InjectorTest {
     void dropPassesTheRealCauseForQueuedAndDeliveredWork() {
         Captor cap = new Captor();
         Injector inj = new Injector(new AgentControl(herdr), cap);
-        CompletableFuture<Void> delivered = inj.enqueue(T, "delivered", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
-        CompletableFuture<Void> queued = inj.enqueue(T, "queued", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        CompletableFuture<Void> delivered = inj.enqueue(T, "delivered", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
+        CompletableFuture<Void> queued = inj.enqueue(T, "queued", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
 
         inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // deliver the first message
         inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING); // its turn is now in flight; one remains queued
@@ -387,7 +475,7 @@ class InjectorTest {
         Captor cap = new Captor();
         List<String> forgotten = new ArrayList<>();
         Injector inj = new Injector(new AgentControl(herdr), cap, _ -> false, forgotten::add);
-        CompletableFuture<Void> f = inj.enqueue(T, "task", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        CompletableFuture<Void> f = inj.enqueue(T, "task", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
 
         for (int i = 0; i < READINESS_SAMPLES; i++) inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
 
@@ -501,7 +589,7 @@ class InjectorTest {
         StatusPoller poller = new StatusPoller(new AgentControl(idle), inj, 10);
         poller.start();
         try {
-            CompletableFuture<Void> delivered = inj.enqueue(T, "via-poller", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+            CompletableFuture<Void> delivered = inj.enqueue(T, "via-poller", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
             delivered.get(2, TimeUnit.SECONDS); // completes when the poller drives the send
         } finally {
             poller.stop();
@@ -520,7 +608,7 @@ class InjectorTest {
     void deliveredFutureCarriesSendFailure() {
         FakeHerdr failing = new FakeHerdr().agentSendFailsWith("send_failed");
         Injector inj = new Injector(new AgentControl(failing));
-        CompletableFuture<Void> f = inj.enqueue(T, "boom", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        CompletableFuture<Void> f = inj.enqueue(T, "boom", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
         inj.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
         ExecutionException ex = assertThrows(ExecutionException.class, f::get);
         assertInstanceOf(HerdrException.class, ex.getCause());

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

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class StatusPollerRoutingTest {
         poller.start();
         try {
             CompletableFuture<Void> delivered =
-                    injector.enqueue(LEAD_TARGET, "via-poller", TestTurnTokens.inert(LEAD_TARGET));
+                    injector.enqueue(LEAD_TARGET, "via-poller", TestTurnTokens.inert(LEAD_TARGET)).completion();
             // Must resolve quickly: refining against the WRONG daemon (member) never classifies
             // out of UNKNOWN, so this would time out under the bug.
             delivered.get(2, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class StatusPollerRoutingTest {
         poller.start();
         try {
             CompletableFuture<Void> delivered =
-                    injector.enqueue(LEAD_TARGET, "via-poller", TestTurnTokens.inert(LEAD_TARGET));
+                    injector.enqueue(LEAD_TARGET, "via-poller", TestTurnTokens.inert(LEAD_TARGET)).completion();
             assertThrows(TimeoutException.class, () -> delivered.get(500, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS),
                     "a lead target must never be refined from the member daemon's pane content");
         } finally {

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

@@ -20,6 +20,17 @@ class ConnectionIdentityTest {
         assertEquals("term_a", with(_ -> FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID).callerTerminal("127.0.0.1", 55555));
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void resolvesWorkerFromAnyLoopbackSourceAddressNotJust127001() {
+        // fleetd #305. On Linux the whole 127.0.0.0/8 is bound to lo, so a worker can connect with
+        // a source address of 127.0.0.2. If identity resolution skips that address the caller has
+        // no terminal, and a caller with no terminal is the primary under loopback-trust — so this
+        // must resolve the worker, not null.
+        assertEquals("term_a", with(_ -> FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID).callerTerminal("127.0.0.2", 55555));
+        assertEquals("term_a", with(_ -> FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID).callerTerminal("127.1.2.3", 55555));
+        assertEquals("term_a", with(_ -> FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID).callerTerminal("::ffff:127.0.0.2", 55555));
+    }
+
     @Test
     void nullForOffHostCaller() {
         // A non-loopback peer can't be an on-host worker → treat as primary/unknown.
@@ -32,6 +43,22 @@ class ConnectionIdentityTest {
         assertNull(with(_ -> 999_999).callerTerminal("127.0.0.1", 55555));
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void callerIsUnresolvedWhenThePeerPidLookupFails() {
+        // fleetd #317: LsofPeerPidLookup returns -1 on any failure — a fork error, or (silently)
+        // simply no matching lsof line. Caller.resolved() is the one place that sentinel is tested.
+        ConnectionIdentity.Caller c = with(_ -> -1).resolve("127.0.0.1", 55555);
+        assertFalse(c.resolved(), "a -1 pid means the lookup failed, not that this pid owns no pane");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void callerIsResolvedWhenThePidIsRealEvenThoughItOwnsNoPane() {
+        // The primary's own connection: a real, lsof-found pid that just isn't a worker pane. This
+        // must read as "resolved" — the distinction #317 turns on.
+        ConnectionIdentity.Caller c = with(_ -> 999_999).resolve("127.0.0.1", 55555);
+        assertTrue(c.resolved());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void resolvesTheCallersPidAndCwd() {
         // CB-112: the primary maps to no pane, but its PID and cwd are still readable.

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

@@ -24,8 +24,13 @@ import io.modelcontextprotocol.spec.McpSchema;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.regex.Matcher;
+import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
 
@@ -44,6 +49,9 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
  */
 class FleetMcpAuthzTest {
 
+    private static final Path MCP_SOURCE = Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/mcp/FleetMcp.java");
+    private static final Pattern TOOL_REGISTRATION = Pattern.compile("tool\\(\\\"(fleet_[a-z_]+)\\\"");
+
     private final FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
     private final AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
     private Metrics metrics;
@@ -201,6 +209,42 @@ class FleetMcpAuthzTest {
                 "a blank target is an absent target");
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void everyRegisteredToolHasItsHandlerActionPinned() {
+        Set<String> registered = toolsTheServerRegisters();
+        assertTrue(registered.size() >= 10,
+                "scraped only " + registered.size() + " tool registrations from FleetMcp (" + registered
+                        + "); the server registers eleven, so the tool(\"…\") scrape has stopped matching");
+        registered.forEach(tool -> assertDoesNotThrow(() -> FleetMcp.toolAction(tool, Map.of()),
+                () -> tool + " is registered but has no pinned authorization action"));
+
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.SEND, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_send", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.REPLY, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_reply", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.ASK, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_ask", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.READ, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_status", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.DRAIN, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_ack", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.SPAWN, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_spawn", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.READ, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_list", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.STOP, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_stop", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.READ, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_profiles", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.READ, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_whoami", Map.of()));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.READ, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_poll", Map.of("ticket", "task")));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.DRAIN, FleetMcp.toolAction("fleet_poll", Map.of("target", "term_b")));
+    }
+
+    private static Set<String> toolsTheServerRegisters() {
+        try {
+            Matcher matcher = TOOL_REGISTRATION.matcher(Files.readString(MCP_SOURCE));
+            Set<String> tools = new LinkedHashSet<>();
+            while (matcher.find()) {
+                tools.add(matcher.group(1));
+            }
+            return tools;
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            throw new AssertionError("could not scrape FleetMcp tool registrations", e);
+        }
+    }
+
     @Test
     void aWorkerMayNotDrainAnotherSessionsInboxByPolling() {
         FleetMcp m = mcp(true);

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

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void unansweredAsyncAskReturnsTheTicketToPending() throws Exception {
+    void unansweredAsyncAskReturnsTheTicketToPendingThenAWorkersLateReplyStillCompletesIt() throws Exception {
         McpSchema.CallToolResult accepted = FleetMcp.sendAsync(messages, "term_a", "do it", null, Set.of());
         String ticket = textOf(accepted).substring(textOf(accepted).indexOf("ticket=") + "ticket=".length()).trim();
 
@@ -202,8 +203,15 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertTrue(textOf(ask).contains("no answer"), textOf(ask));
         assertTrue(textOf(FleetMcp.poll(messages, ticket, null)).startsWith("[pending"));
 
+        // fleetd #307: the worker resumed on its own after the primary never answered, and its real
+        // fleet_reply must complete its OWN async ticket — not strand in the inbox with
+        // fleet_poll{ticket} stuck PENDING forever and later force-failed with a false "session
+        // released before it replied" reason. This used to land in the inbox instead (see the old
+        // assertion this replaced: messages.drainReplies("term_a").getFirst()...) — that was the bug.
         FleetMcp.reply(messages, "term_a", "finished after timeout");
-        assertEquals("finished after timeout", messages.drainReplies("term_a").getFirst().content());
+        assertEquals("finished after timeout", textOf(FleetMcp.poll(messages, ticket, null)));
+        assertTrue(messages.drainReplies("term_a").isEmpty(),
+                "the reply completed its own ticket directly and never touched the inbox");
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -325,6 +333,26 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertEquals("orphan", drained.getFirst().content());
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void replyWithBlankContentIsACleanToolErrorNotAnUncaughtException() {
+        // fleetd #302: MessageService.reply now REJECTS blank content by throwing. fleet_reply's
+        // handler is a bare BiFunction with no try/catch around it, so if this guard only checked
+        // `== null` (as it did), a whitespace-only reply would leave the handler as an uncaught
+        // IllegalArgumentException instead of a tool error the caller can read. Null and whitespace
+        // are the same caller mistake and must get the same answer — the sibling fleet_send guard
+        // has always used isBlank for exactly this reason.
+        for (String blank : new String[] {null, "", "   ", "\n\t"}) {
+            McpSchema.CallToolResult res = assertDoesNotThrow(
+                    () -> FleetMcp.reply(messages, "term_a", blank),
+                    "blank content must be refused as a tool error, never thrown out of the handler");
+            assertEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError(), "blank content is an error result");
+            assertTrue(textOf(res).contains("content is required"),
+                    "the error names the missing argument: " + textOf(res));
+        }
+        assertEquals(0, messages.drainReplies("term_a").size(),
+                "a refused reply must not reach the inbox");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void bridgePollWithTargetDrainsReplies() {
         // A reply with no open send queues it in the inbox.
@@ -604,6 +632,60 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertTrue(out.contains("\"reclaimable\":0"), out);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #284: {@code reclaimable} has exactly one definition, and this pins it over EVERY
+     * {@link MemberSession.State} — so a state added later cannot slip through unconsidered. Both
+     * views in a {@code fleet_list} response call {@link FleetMcp#reclaimable}, so they cannot
+     * drift apart.
+     *
+     * <p>{@code BACKEND_ERROR} and {@code FAILED} are NOT reclaimable on purpose. The ticket asked
+     * for them to be; that half of the ticket was wrong. Their seat is already out of
+     * {@code live}, so it is already in {@code free} — counting it here too would report the same
+     * seat twice.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void onlyReadyAndDoneSessionsAreReclaimable() {
+        Set<MemberSession.State> expected = EnumSet.of(MemberSession.State.READY, MemberSession.State.DONE);
+        for (MemberSession.State state : MemberSession.State.values()) {
+            MemberSession session = new MemberSession("p1", "term1", "ltms-local", null,
+                    "/tmp", null, 0L, 0L, 0, state, null, null);
+            assertEquals(expected.contains(state), FleetMcp.reclaimable(session, null),
+                    "state " + state + " must " + (expected.contains(state) ? "" : "not ")
+                            + "count as reclaimable");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #284, the operator-visible half. {@code liveCount} here is the value the real counter
+     * ({@code Fleetd.liveSessionCount}, proven against the actual spawn gate in
+     * {@code FleetdBackendErrorSinkTest}) produces for this roster: 0, because both sessions are
+     * terminal. What this test pins is what {@code fleet_list} says around it — the two seats show
+     * up once, in {@code free}, and are NOT counted a second time as {@code reclaimable}; neither
+     * is any member row; and both dead sessions are still listed so the lead can see why.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void terminalFailureSessionsFreeTheirSeatWithoutBeingCountedReclaimable() {
+        FakeHerdr h = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workerService(h, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw")));
+        MemberSession backendError = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, null, null);
+        MemberSession failed = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, null, null);
+        assertTrue(sessions.onBackendError(backendError.terminalId(), "backend exited"));
+        sessions.onTurnFailed(failed.terminalId());
+
+        String out = textOf(FleetMcp.listFleet(workerService(h, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw")),
+                sessions, null, new FleetMcp.CapacitySource(profile -> 0, profile -> 2,
+                () -> Set.of("ltms-local"), () -> 0), new FleetMcp.HealthCoverageSource(() -> "off"),
+                FleetMcp.QuarantineSource.none(), Map.of(), ""));
+
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"free\":2"), "both seats are back: " + out);
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"reclaimable\":0"),
+                "the freed seats must not be counted a second time as reclaimable: " + out);
+        assertFalse(out.contains("\"reclaimable\":true"),
+                "no member row may claim a seat the profile count says is not held: " + out);
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"state\":\"backend_error\""), "the dead session stays visible: " + out);
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"state\":\"failed\""), "the failed session stays visible: " + out);
+    }
+
     @Test
     void inertCapacitySourceOmitsCapacityBlock() {
         FakeHerdr h = new FakeHerdr();

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

@@ -925,6 +925,71 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
         assertTrue(herdr.called("pane.close"), "stop via handle.id() must close the pane");
     }
 
+    /** A tab-placement launcher with {@code memberCredentials policy=allow-list} under a zsh shell — the
+     * combination that makes {@link HerdrPeerLauncher#spawn} generate a real ZDOTDIR, so {@code
+     * releaseZdotdir}'s effect (the directory's deletion) is observable from a test. */
+    private ClaudeCodeLauncher serviceWithAllowList(FakeHerdr herdr) {
+        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);
+        Supplier<FleetConfig.MemberCredentials> creds = () -> new FleetConfig.MemberCredentials(
+                FleetConfig.MemberCredentials.POLICY_ALLOW_LIST, List.of(), List.of(), null);
+        Function<String, String> env = name -> "SHELL".equals(name) ? "/bin/zsh" : null;
+        return new ClaudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), Map.of(cfg.profile(), cfg), cfg.profile(),
+                env, 0, System::currentTimeMillis, () -> { }, null, creds);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #293: {@code stop()} used to run {@code spaces.closeTab} bare — any non-{@code
+     * *_not_found} herdr error propagated straight out of {@code stop()}, skipping {@code
+     * releaseZdotdir} entirely (the pane was already closed by that point, so the tab-close failure
+     * is cosmetic, not a real teardown failure). Proves both halves of the fix: {@code stop()} no
+     * longer throws for this failure, and {@code releaseZdotdir} still runs — observed here by the
+     * generated ZDOTDIR actually being deleted, since {@code releaseZdotdir}'s last line is {@code
+     * EnvAllowListScrub.deleteRecursively(dir)}.
+     */
+    @Test
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    void stopStillReleasesZdotdirWhenCloseTabFailsWithANonNotFoundCode() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher svc = serviceWithAllowList(herdr);
+        PeerHandle handle = svc.spawn(new SpawnRequest(null, null, null));
+        Map<String, Object> tabCreateParams = (Map<String, Object>) herdr.lastCall("tab.create").params();
+        Map<String, String> tabEnv = (Map<String, String>) tabCreateParams.get("env");
+        String zdotdir = tabEnv.get("ZDOTDIR");
+        assertNotNull(zdotdir, "policy=allow-list under a zsh shell must have generated a ZDOTDIR: " + tabEnv);
+        Path dir = Path.of(zdotdir);
+        assertTrue(Files.isDirectory(dir), "the generated ZDOTDIR must exist before stop(): " + dir);
+        herdr.tabCloseFailsForTab("w9:t2", "internal_error");
+
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(HerdrPeerLauncher.class);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.start();
+        logger.addAppender(appender);
+        try {
+            assertDoesNotThrow(() -> svc.stop(handle.id()),
+                    "fleetd #293: a failing tab.close is cosmetic — it must not propagate out of stop()");
+        } finally {
+            logger.detachAppender(appender);
+        }
+
+        assertTrue(herdr.called("tab.close"), "tab.close was still attempted");
+        assertFalse(Files.exists(dir),
+                "releaseZdotdir must still run and delete the generated ZDOTDIR despite the tab.close "
+                        + "failure: " + dir);
+        String warn = appender.list.stream()
+                .filter(e -> e.getLevel().equals(Level.WARN))
+                .map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage)
+                .filter(m -> m.contains("tab.close") && m.contains("w9:t2"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElse(null);
+        assertNotNull(warn, "the failing tab.close must be logged at WARN naming the tab id — a "
+                + "silently swallowed failure with no message is not an improvement. Log lines: "
+                + appender.list.stream().map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage).toList());
+    }
+
     // --- CB-519: host-unique id, decoupled from the pane coordinate ------------------------------
 
     @Test
@@ -1100,7 +1165,8 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
     @Test
     void spawnLetsAnUnrelatedHerdrErrorPropagateUnchanged() {
         // Fix 1 must only special-case a "*_not_found" answer. Any other herdr failure keeps
-        // propagating as-is — this gate does not know how to recover from it.
+        // propagating as-is — this gate does not know how to recover from it. The pane still needs
+        // closing because spawn throws before it can return the pane id to a caller that could stop it.
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
         herdr.agentStatus("unknown");
         herdr.agentGetFailsWithAfter(0, "internal_error");
@@ -1117,8 +1183,27 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
                 () -> svc.spawn(new SpawnRequest(null, null, null)));
 
         assertEquals("internal_error", ex.code());
-        assertEquals(0, paneCloseCount(herdr, "w9:pRoot_1"),
-                "an error this gate does not recognize is not this gate's teardown to run");
+        assertEquals(1, paneCloseCount(herdr, "w9:pRoot_1"),
+                "the unchanged error leaves spawn without a pane id, so this gate closes its orphaned pane");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void panePlacementClosesTheSplitPaneWhenAgentStartFails() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentStartFailsWith("internal_error");
+        FleetConfig.Profile cfg = new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "ltms-local", "http://gx00.gw:8000", "coder", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN",
+                List.of("claude"), "pane", "fleetd-workers", "w #{n}", null, null, null);
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher svc = new ClaudeCodeLauncher(
+                new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), Map.of(cfg.profile(), cfg), cfg.profile(), _ -> null);
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException ex = assertThrows(
+                dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException.class,
+                () -> svc.spawn(new SpawnRequest(null, null, null)));
+
+        assertEquals("internal_error", ex.code(), "agent.start failure propagates unchanged");
+        assertEquals(1, paneCloseCount(herdr, "w1:pSplit"),
+                "the pane split for a peer that never starts is closed instead of left orphaned");
     }
 
     // --- fleetd #176 fix 2: corroborated UNKNOWN refinement --------------------------------------
@@ -2742,4 +2827,126 @@ class ClaudeCodeLauncherTest {
                 "a WARN naming the cwd must fire when the profile sets no configDir: "
                         + appender.list.stream().map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage).toList());
     }
+
+    // --- fleetd #285: seedTrustDialog under memberHerdrSocket --------------------------------------
+    //
+    // seedTrustDialog gated only on isProvisionedWorktree(cwd) and, being static, could not see
+    // memberHerdrSocketConfigured() at all — unlike its sibling writeCharterFile one method below,
+    // which already refuses the spawn when it cannot place the charter where a different-uid member
+    // can read it. Under memberHerdrSocket + configDir unset, seedTrustDialog wrote fleetd's OWN
+    // ~/.claude.json (the operator's real file) while believing it was seeding the member's. The fix
+    // makes the method an instance method so it can see memberHerdrSocketConfigured(), and applies
+    // the same "refuse, don't silently write somewhere wrong" rule writeCharterFile already uses.
+
+    @Test
+    void seedTrustDialogUnderMemberHerdrSocketSharesTheFileWithTheConfiguredGroup(
+            @TempDir Path configDir, @TempDir Path worktree, @TempDir Path worktreeRoot) throws Exception {
+        markAsProvisionedWorktree(worktree);
+        String group = currentUserGroup();
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        // trustProfile always sets a bridge mcpUrl, so a reply charter is generated too, which
+        // means writeCharterFile ALSO runs under memberHerdrSocket and needs its own worktreeRoot —
+        // pass one so this test isolates the trust-seed behaviour instead of tripping that refusal.
+        FleetConfig.Profile cfg = trustProfile(configDir.toString(), worktree.toString());
+        serviceWithConfig(herdr, cfg, () -> configWithMemberHerdrSocket(worktreeRoot.toString(), group)).spawn();
+
+        Path claudeJson = configDir.resolve(".claude.json");
+        assertTrue(Files.exists(claudeJson), "still seeded into <configDir>/.claude.json under memberHerdrSocket");
+        JsonNode project = new ObjectMapper().readTree(claudeJson.toFile())
+                .path("projects").path(worktree.toString());
+        assertTrue(project.path("hasTrustDialogAccepted").asBoolean(false));
+
+        assertEquals("rw-r-----", PosixFilePermissions.toString(Files.getPosixFilePermissions(claudeJson)),
+                "under memberHerdrSocket the file must be shared group-readable, mirroring the "
+                        + "charter file's own per-file mode (fleetd #222) — a 0600 file (Claude "
+                        + "Code's own default) is unreadable by the member's different OS user");
+        String actualGroup = Files.getFileAttributeView(claudeJson, PosixFileAttributeView.class)
+                .readAttributes().group().getName();
+        assertEquals(group, actualGroup, "the file must be chgrp'd to the configured worktreeGroup");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The bug itself: {@code memberHerdrSocket} configured, {@code configDir} unset. Before the fix
+     * this wrote fleetd's own default {@code ~/.claude.json} (here redirected to {@code fakeHome} so
+     * a reintroduced bug still cannot touch the real operator file); after the fix it must refuse the
+     * spawn instead, naming {@code configDir} as the missing key, before the member is ever started.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void seedTrustDialogUnderMemberHerdrSocketRefusesWhenConfigDirUnset(
+            @TempDir Path fakeHome, @TempDir Path worktree) throws Exception {
+        markAsProvisionedWorktree(worktree);
+        String originalHome = System.getProperty("user.home");
+        System.setProperty("user.home", fakeHome.toString());
+        try {
+            FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+            FleetConfig.Profile cfg = trustProfile(null, worktree.toString());
+            ClaudeCodeLauncher launcher = serviceWithConfig(herdr, cfg,
+                    () -> configWithMemberHerdrSocket(null, "some-group"));
+
+            IllegalStateException ex = assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class, launcher::spawn,
+                    "memberHerdrSocket + no configDir must refuse the spawn, not write fleetd's own "
+                            + "default ~/.claude.json");
+            assertTrue(ex.getMessage().contains("configDir"),
+                    "the refusal must name the missing config key — got: " + ex.getMessage());
+            assertFalse(Files.exists(fakeHome.resolve(".claude.json")),
+                    "nothing may be written to fleetd's own default home — this is the exact fleetd "
+                            + "#285 defect: writing the operator's own home instead of the member's");
+            assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"),
+                    "the spawn must be refused BEFORE the member is ever started — got calls: " + herdr.calls);
+        } finally {
+            System.setProperty("user.home", originalHome);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code configDir} alone is not enough — without {@code worktreeGroup} the file fleetd writes
+     * stays {@code 0600} and the member's different OS user still cannot read it, so this must also
+     * refuse, naming {@code worktreeGroup} this time.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void seedTrustDialogUnderMemberHerdrSocketRefusesWhenWorktreeGroupUnset(
+            @TempDir Path configDir, @TempDir Path worktree) throws Exception {
+        markAsProvisionedWorktree(worktree);
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FleetConfig.Profile cfg = trustProfile(configDir.toString(), worktree.toString());
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher launcher = serviceWithConfig(herdr, cfg,
+                () -> configWithMemberHerdrSocket(null, null));
+
+        IllegalStateException ex = assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class, launcher::spawn,
+                "memberHerdrSocket + no worktreeGroup must refuse the spawn, not write an unreadable file");
+        assertTrue(ex.getMessage().contains("worktreeGroup"),
+                "configDir alone is not enough — got: " + ex.getMessage());
+        assertFalse(Files.exists(configDir.resolve(".claude.json")),
+                "nothing may be written when the file cannot be shared with the member's group");
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"),
+                "the spawn must be refused BEFORE the member is ever started");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Regression proof: with {@code memberHerdrSocket} ABSENT — even given a LIVE, non-null {@code
+     * config} supplier (not merely {@code config == null}, which every other seedTrustDialog test in
+     * this file already exercises) — the write must stay byte-identical to before this fix: existing
+     * {@code 0600} permissions preserved, no chgrp/chmod attempted. This is the proof the ticket asks
+     * for: the path the whole live fleet uses today is unchanged by this fix.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void seedTrustDialogPreservesExisting0600PermissionsWhenMemberHerdrSocketAbsentEvenWithALiveConfigSupplier(
+            @TempDir Path configDir, @TempDir Path worktree) throws Exception {
+        markAsProvisionedWorktree(worktree);
+        Path claudeJson = configDir.resolve(".claude.json");
+        Files.writeString(claudeJson, "{}");
+        assumeTrue(Files.getFileAttributeView(claudeJson, PosixFileAttributeView.class) != null,
+                "no POSIX permissions on this filesystem — skipping rather than failing");
+        Files.setPosixFilePermissions(claudeJson, PosixFilePermissions.fromString("rw-------"));
+
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FleetConfig.Profile cfg = trustProfile(configDir.toString(), worktree.toString());
+        FleetConfig config = new FleetConfig(null, null, null, Map.of(), null, null, null, null, null,
+                null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null).withDefaults();
+        serviceWithConfig(herdr, cfg, () -> config).spawn();
+
+        assertEquals("rw-------", PosixFilePermissions.toString(Files.getPosixFilePermissions(claudeJson)),
+                "with memberHerdrSocket absent — even given a live config supplier — the seed must "
+                        + "stay byte-identical to before this fix: no chgrp/chmod attempted");
+    }
 }

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

@@ -615,6 +615,67 @@ class CompositePeerLauncherTest {
         assertEquals(1, adapter.spawnCount("b"));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #315: {@code CompositePeerLauncher.spawn} rebuilds the {@link PlacementContext} after
+     * every failed attempt "so the policy excludes this profile" (see the comment at the retry call
+     * site) — but {@code FixedPlacementPolicy} never read {@code ctx.unreachable()}, so under the
+     * default {@code fixed} placement every retry re-picked the same dead default and a second,
+     * healthy, configured profile was never tried. This is the same scenario as
+     * {@link #failoverRetriesNextCandidateWhenProfileIsUnreachable}, but pinned to {@code fixed()}
+     * instead of {@code weighted()} — the three existing failover tests all use {@code weighted()},
+     * which is exactly why nobody caught this: the retry loop's contract has no coverage under its
+     * own default policy.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void failoverRetriesNextCandidateUnderFixedPlacementWhenProfileIsUnreachable() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> profiles = ordered(
+                "a", stubWorker("a"),
+                "b", stubWorker("b"));
+        StubLauncher adapter = new StubLauncher("claude", herdr, profiles, "a", Set.of("a"));
+        CompositePeerLauncher composite = new CompositePeerLauncher(
+                List.of(adapter), "a", profiles, PlacementPolicies.fixed(), _ -> 0);
+
+        PeerHandle h = composite.spawn(new SpawnRequest(null, null, null));
+        assertEquals("b", h.profile(),
+                "fixed placement must fail over from the unreachable default a to the healthy b");
+        assertEquals(1, adapter.spawnCount("a"), "a was tried once and failed");
+        assertEquals(1, adapter.spawnCount("b"), "b was tried once and succeeded");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #315: the same fix — {@code FixedPlacementPolicy} consulting {@code ctx.unreachable()}
+     * — also covers the wiring-bug branch in {@code CompositePeerLauncher.spawn}: a profile that
+     * placement is allowed to choose (it is in the configured candidate list) but that no delegate
+     * declares ({@code byProfile.get(chosen.profile()) == null}). That branch adds the profile to
+     * {@code unreachable} and {@code continue}s without ever calling a launcher, so before this fix
+     * {@code fixed} handed back the same adapterless profile on every remaining attempt too.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void failoverSkipsAConfiguredProfileNoAdapterDeclaresUnderFixedPlacement() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        // Placement's candidate list has three profiles, in this order (LinkedHashMap preserves it,
+        // and the fixed default resolves to the first — see the `ordered` helper's own javadoc).
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> profiles = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        profiles.put("c", stubWorker("c"));
+        profiles.put("a", stubWorker("a"));
+        profiles.put("b", stubWorker("b"));
+        // The adapter only declares a and b — c is a configured profile with no owning adapter,
+        // the "wiring bug" the comment in CompositePeerLauncher.spawn calls out.
+        Map<String, FleetConfig.Profile> adapterProfiles = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        adapterProfiles.put("a", stubWorker("a"));
+        adapterProfiles.put("b", stubWorker("b"));
+        StubLauncher adapter = new StubLauncher("claude", herdr, adapterProfiles, "a", Set.of());
+        CompositePeerLauncher composite = new CompositePeerLauncher(
+                List.of(adapter), "a", profiles, PlacementPolicies.fixed(), _ -> 0);
+
+        PeerHandle h = composite.spawn(new SpawnRequest(null, null, null));
+        assertEquals("a", h.profile(),
+                "c has no adapter, so fixed placement must skip it and land on the next candidate, a");
+        assertEquals(0, adapter.spawnCount("c"), "c is never spawned — no adapter owns it");
+        assertEquals(1, adapter.spawnCount("a"));
+    }
+
     @Test
     void explicitSpawnAtMaxLoadThrowsPlacementExceptionNamingProfileLiveAndCap() {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();

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

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 import java.util.function.Function;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
@@ -370,6 +371,161 @@ class HerdrPeerLauncherAllowListWiringTest {
                 "expected the pre-existing 'scrub blanks them' INFO unchanged, got: " + messages);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #341: {@code unprotectedGapLogged} guarded TWO WARN branches that name DIFFERENT env
+     * var names — the allow-list branch ({@code keptByDerivedList}, below) and the deny-by-default
+     * / non-zsh-fallback branch ({@link HerdrPeerLauncher#warnGapUnprotected}). {@code
+     * memberCredentials} is a live, re-read-per-spawn supplier, so the policy can change between
+     * two spawns on the same launcher instance — a config reload needs no restart. Spawn 1 runs
+     * under {@code deny-by-default} with a gap of {@code SPAWN_ONE_UNCOVERED_TOKEN}, which trips
+     * the (before this fix) SHARED one-shot flag. The policy is then reloaded to {@code
+     * allow-list}; spawn 2's gap is {@code FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN} instead — the test profile's own
+     * {@code tokenEnv}, which the derived allow-list keeps even though it is on neither {@code
+     * known:} nor {@code allow:}, so it is genuinely unprotected and deserves its own WARN. Before
+     * this fix that WARN never fires, because the shared flag was already {@code true} — the
+     * operator is never told {@code FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN} reaches every member pane unblocked. Real
+     * path: two real {@link HerdrPeerLauncher#spawn} calls on ONE launcher instance, with mutable
+     * {@code memberCredentials}/host-env suppliers standing in for a live config reload between
+     * spawns.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aDifferentUnprotectedGapOnALaterSpawnIsNotSuppressedByAnEarlierSpawnsWarn() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AtomicReference<FleetConfig.MemberCredentials> credsState = new AtomicReference<>(
+                new FleetConfig.MemberCredentials(null, List.of(), List.of(), null)); // deny-by-default
+        AtomicReference<Set<String>> hostEnvState =
+                new AtomicReference<>(Set.of("SPAWN_ONE_UNCOVERED_TOKEN"));
+        WiringLauncher launcher = new WiringLauncher(herdr, credsState::get, "/bin/zsh", hostEnvState::get);
+
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(HerdrPeerLauncher.class);
+        Level original = logger.getLevel();
+        logger.setLevel(Level.WARN);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.start();
+        logger.addAppender(appender);
+        try {
+            // Spawn 1: deny-by-default, gap = {SPAWN_ONE_UNCOVERED_TOKEN} — the effectiveAllowed ==
+            // null branch, via warnGapUnprotected.
+            launcher.spawn(new SpawnRequest("test", null, null, null, null, MemberRole.DEV));
+
+            // Live policy reload to allow-list, with a DIFFERENT gap name.
+            credsState.set(new FleetConfig.MemberCredentials(
+                    FleetConfig.MemberCredentials.POLICY_ALLOW_LIST, List.of(), List.of(), null));
+            hostEnvState.set(Set.of("FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN"));
+            // Spawn 2: allow-list, gap = {FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN} — kept by the derived allow-list
+            // (the profile's own tokenEnv), so it is the effectiveAllowed != null / keptByDerivedList
+            // branch, at the SAME log line HerdrPeerLauncher:1819 guards with the shared flag.
+            launcher.spawn(new SpawnRequest("test", null, null, null, null, MemberRole.DEV));
+        } finally {
+            logger.detachAppender(appender);
+            logger.setLevel(original);
+        }
+
+        List<String> messages = appender.list.stream().map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage).toList();
+        assertTrue(messages.stream().anyMatch(
+                        m -> m.contains("UNBLOCKED") && m.contains("SPAWN_ONE_UNCOVERED_TOKEN")),
+                "spawn 1's deny-by-default gap must still warn — got: " + messages);
+        assertTrue(messages.stream().anyMatch(
+                        m -> m.contains("UNBLOCKED") && m.contains("FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN")),
+                "spawn 2's gap names a DIFFERENT env var than spawn 1 (FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN, not "
+                        + "SPAWN_ONE_UNCOVERED_TOKEN) — it must still be warned about even though a "
+                        + "flag already fired once for spawn 1's unrelated name. Before fleetd #341's "
+                        + "fix this WARN never fires because unprotectedGapLogged was already true. "
+                        + "Got: " + messages);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #341 follow-up: the OTHER half of the guard's contract. The set exists to report every
+     * distinct name, but it must still report each one only ONCE — the noise control is the reason
+     * a guard is here at all, and the ticket named it as invariant 1. Two spawns, same policy, same
+     * gap name: exactly one WARN mentioning it.
+     *
+     * <p>Measured before this test existed: replacing {@code .filter(unprotectedGapNamesWarned::add)}
+     * with a filter that adds and always returns {@code true} — so every name is logged on every
+     * spawn — left all 1358 tests green. The fix was correct and nothing held it there. That is the
+     * "a test on the seam does not prove the caller" shape: the {@code Set} behaves, and nothing
+     * proved this class used it as a guard rather than as a record.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void theSameUnprotectedNameIsWarnedAboutOnlyOnceAcrossSpawns() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AtomicReference<FleetConfig.MemberCredentials> credsState = new AtomicReference<>(
+                new FleetConfig.MemberCredentials(null, List.of(), List.of(), null)); // deny-by-default
+        AtomicReference<Set<String>> hostEnvState =
+                new AtomicReference<>(Set.of("REPEATED_UNCOVERED_TOKEN"));
+        WiringLauncher launcher = new WiringLauncher(herdr, credsState::get, "/bin/zsh", hostEnvState::get);
+
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(HerdrPeerLauncher.class);
+        Level original = logger.getLevel();
+        logger.setLevel(Level.WARN);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.start();
+        logger.addAppender(appender);
+        try {
+            launcher.spawn(new SpawnRequest("test", null, null, null, null, MemberRole.DEV));
+            // Same policy, same gap, second spawn. Nothing new to tell the operator.
+            launcher.spawn(new SpawnRequest("test", null, null, null, null, MemberRole.DEV));
+        } finally {
+            logger.detachAppender(appender);
+            logger.setLevel(original);
+        }
+
+        List<String> messages = appender.list.stream().map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage).toList();
+        long mentioning = messages.stream()
+                .filter(m -> m.contains("REPEATED_UNCOVERED_TOKEN"))
+                .count();
+        assertEquals(1, mentioning,
+                "one unchanged unprotected name across two spawns must produce exactly one WARN — "
+                        + "the set is a guard, not just a record. Got: " + messages);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #341 follow-up: the reverse policy order. The original defect was found going
+     * deny-by-default then allow-list, and a guard that is fixed in one direction is not
+     * necessarily fixed in the other — "ask which states still OPEN the gate". Here spawn 1 runs
+     * under {@code allow-list} (the {@code keptByDerivedList} branch) and spawn 2 under
+     * {@code deny-by-default} ({@link HerdrPeerLauncher#warnGapUnprotected}), with a different name
+     * each time. Both must be reported.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anAllowListWarnDoesNotSuppressALaterDenyByDefaultWarnForADifferentName() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AtomicReference<FleetConfig.MemberCredentials> credsState = new AtomicReference<>(
+                new FleetConfig.MemberCredentials(
+                        FleetConfig.MemberCredentials.POLICY_ALLOW_LIST, List.of(), List.of(), null));
+        AtomicReference<Set<String>> hostEnvState =
+                new AtomicReference<>(Set.of("FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN"));
+        WiringLauncher launcher = new WiringLauncher(herdr, credsState::get, "/bin/zsh", hostEnvState::get);
+
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(HerdrPeerLauncher.class);
+        Level original = logger.getLevel();
+        logger.setLevel(Level.WARN);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.start();
+        logger.addAppender(appender);
+        try {
+            // Spawn 1: allow-list, gap kept by the derived list — the keptByDerivedList WARN.
+            launcher.spawn(new SpawnRequest("test", null, null, null, null, MemberRole.DEV));
+
+            // Live reload the OTHER way: back to deny-by-default, with a different name.
+            credsState.set(new FleetConfig.MemberCredentials(null, List.of(), List.of(), null));
+            hostEnvState.set(Set.of("LATER_UNCOVERED_TOKEN"));
+            launcher.spawn(new SpawnRequest("test", null, null, null, null, MemberRole.DEV));
+        } finally {
+            logger.detachAppender(appender);
+            logger.setLevel(original);
+        }
+
+        List<String> messages = appender.list.stream().map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage).toList();
+        assertTrue(messages.stream().anyMatch(
+                        m -> m.contains("UNBLOCKED") && m.contains("FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN")),
+                "spawn 1's allow-list gap must warn — got: " + messages);
+        assertTrue(messages.stream().anyMatch(
+                        m -> m.contains("UNBLOCKED") && m.contains("LATER_UNCOVERED_TOKEN")),
+                "spawn 2's deny-by-default gap names a different variable and must still be warned "
+                        + "about, even though an allow-list WARN already fired. Got: " + messages);
+    }
+
     /**
      * fleetd #185 stage 2: with {@code memberHerdrSocket:} configured, member panes run under a
      * different OS user — {@link HerdrPeerLauncher#hostEnvNames} describes fleetd's own process, not

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

@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ class AmqpReplyInboxContractTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void releaseCancelsConsumerAndClearsHeld() throws Exception {
+    void releaseCancelsConsumerAndRequeuesHeldDeliveryForRecovery() throws Exception {
         String target = "worker-release-" + System.nanoTime();
         try (AmqpReplyInbox inbox = AmqpReplyInbox.open(uri())) {
             inbox.own(target);
@@ -164,6 +164,22 @@ class AmqpReplyInboxContractTest {
             inbox.release(target);
             assertTrue(inbox.peek(target).isEmpty(),
                     "release clears the local held snapshot");
+
+            // fleetd #298: release() must not just drop the local record — the broker delivery was
+            // never acked, so cancelling the consumer alone leaves it unacked-but-orphaned on the
+            // still-open channel unless release() nacks it back with requeue=true. Prove the message
+            // is genuinely recoverable, not merely absent from peek: re-own the same target and
+            // confirm the broker redelivers it to the fresh consumer.
+            inbox.own(target);
+            List<ReplyInbox.InboxMessage> recovered = awaitPeek(inbox, target);
+            assertEquals(1, recovered.size(),
+                    "a reply held (but undrained) at release() time must still be recoverable — "
+                            + "release() must requeue it, not silently drop it while the broker still "
+                            + "considers it outstanding");
+            assertEquals("m1", recovered.getFirst().msgId());
+            assertEquals("release me", recovered.getFirst().content());
+
+            inbox.ack(target, "m1");
         }
     }
 

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

@@ -0,0 +1,264 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
+
+import com.rabbitmq.client.AMQP;
+import com.rabbitmq.client.Channel;
+import com.rabbitmq.client.Connection;
+import com.rabbitmq.client.DeliverCallback;
+import com.rabbitmq.client.Delivery;
+import com.rabbitmq.client.Envelope;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Timeout;
+
+import java.lang.reflect.InvocationHandler;
+import java.lang.reflect.Proxy;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.time.Duration;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;
+import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * CB-318: a delivery landing on the consumer work-pool thread <em>after</em>
+ * {@link AmqpReplyInbox#release} has already swapped the target's {@code held} entry for its
+ * tombstone, but <em>before</em> {@code release()} itself returns, must be nacked-with-requeue —
+ * never silently retained in a fresh map {@code release()} has already stopped looking at.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>This forces the actual interleaving, not a sequence of calls.</strong> {@code release()}
+ * runs on its own thread and is made to block <em>inside</em> its nack loop, via a fake
+ * {@link Channel} whose {@code basicNack} blocks on its first invocation. That block is only
+ * reachable after {@code release()}'s {@code held.compute(...)} has already swapped in the
+ * {@code RELEASED} tombstone (the compute call happens strictly before the loop that calls
+ * {@code basicNack}), so observing it is direct, ordering-guaranteed proof that the tombstone is in
+ * place and {@code release()} has not yet returned — still holding {@code channelLock} — when a
+ * second thread fires {@code own()}'s captured {@link DeliverCallback} for a brand-new message on the
+ * same target. No mocking library is on the classpath, so the fake broker is a {@link Proxy}, the
+ * same pattern {@code AmqpReplyInboxRecoveryRaceTest} already uses.
+ *
+ * <p><strong>What this does and does not prove.</strong> It proves that a delivery whose
+ * {@code computeIfAbsent} call is ordered strictly after {@code release()}'s tombstone swap — while
+ * {@code release()} is still running — is nacked-with-requeue rather than silently parked forever.
+ * It does not drive a real broker: {@code basicNack} here is a recorded call on a fake channel, not a
+ * verified requeue-and-redeliver. That half of the contract (a nacked-with-requeue delivery really
+ * does come back to a later owner) is already covered against a real broker by
+ * {@code AmqpReplyInboxContractTest.releaseCancelsConsumerAndRequeuesHeldDeliveryForRecovery}, which
+ * this test does not duplicate.
+ */
+class AmqpReplyInboxReleaseRaceTest {
+
+    @Test
+    @Timeout(15)
+    void deliveryArrivingWhileReleaseIsStillRunningIsNackedNotStranded() throws Exception {
+        String target = "worker-release-race";
+
+        List<long[]> nacks = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();   // {deliveryTag, requeue(1/0)}
+        List<Long> acks = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        AtomicReference<DeliverCallback> deliverCallback = new AtomicReference<>();
+        CountDownLatch nackStarted = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        CountDownLatch releaseMayFinishNack = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        AtomicInteger nackCallCount = new AtomicInteger();
+
+        Channel consumeChannel = fakeConsumeChannel(deliverCallback, nacks, acks, nackCallCount,
+                nackStarted, releaseMayFinishNack);
+        Channel publishChannel = fakeInertChannel();
+        Connection connection = fakeConnection(consumeChannel, publishChannel);
+
+        AmqpReplyInbox inbox = new AmqpReplyInbox(connection, AmqpReplyInbox.DEFAULT_PREFETCH);
+        inbox.own(target);
+        assertTrue(deliverCallback.get() != null, "own() must have registered a DeliverCallback");
+
+        // Seed one already-held delivery (m0) so release()'s nack loop has something to iterate, and
+        // therefore somewhere to block, before it can return.
+        deliverCallback.get().handle("ctag", delivery(1L, "m0", "first"));
+
+        AtomicReference<Throwable> releaseError = new AtomicReference<>();
+        Thread releaseThread = new Thread(() -> {
+            try {
+                inbox.release(target);
+            } catch (Throwable t) {
+                releaseError.set(t);
+            }
+        }, "release-under-test");
+        releaseThread.start();
+
+        // This latch only fires from inside the fake channel's basicNack — i.e. from inside
+        // release()'s nack loop, which release()'s code only reaches AFTER held.compute(...) has
+        // already swapped in RELEASED. Waiting for it is direct proof the swap has happened and
+        // release() has not yet returned (it is stuck mid-loop, still holding channelLock).
+        assertTrue(nackStarted.await(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                "release() never reached its nack loop — it may not have started");
+
+        // The exact interleaving CB-318 describes: a delivery for a NEW message on the same target
+        // lands on the "consumer work-pool thread" (this second thread) while release() is still
+        // running. With the pre-fix code (a bare held.remove(target)) this created a brand-new map
+        // under computeIfAbsent that release() — already past its remove — never looks at again.
+        AtomicReference<Throwable> deliveryError = new AtomicReference<>();
+        Thread deliveryThread = new Thread(() -> {
+            try {
+                deliverCallback.get().handle("ctag", delivery(2L, "m1", "second"));
+            } catch (Throwable t) {
+                deliveryError.set(t);
+            }
+        }, "concurrent-delivery");
+        deliveryThread.start();
+
+        // Head start for the delivery thread to reach (and, on the fixed code, block on)
+        // channelLock — release() still holds it at this point, so a correct fix cannot have
+        // resolved m1's nack yet. Purely in-memory work (computeIfAbsent, a reference compare)
+        // separates deliveryThread.start() from that block point, so 300ms is a large margin, not a
+        // tight timing assumption.
+        Thread.sleep(300);
+        assertEquals(1, nackCallCount.get(),
+                "the concurrent delivery must not resolve its nack before release() gives up "
+                        + "channelLock — if this is 2 already, the interleaving below is not being "
+                        + "tested, only a sequential call");
+
+        releaseMayFinishNack.countDown(); // let release() finish nacking m0 and return
+        assertTrue(releaseThread.join(Duration.ofSeconds(10)), "release() did not finish");
+        assertTrue(deliveryThread.join(Duration.ofSeconds(10)), "the concurrent delivery did not finish");
+
+        assertNull(releaseError.get(), "release() threw: " + releaseError.get());
+        assertNull(deliveryError.get(), "the concurrent delivery threw: " + deliveryError.get());
+
+        assertEquals(2, nacks.size(),
+                "both the pre-held m0 and the concurrently-arriving m1 must be nacked, got: "
+                        + nacks.stream().map(n -> "[tag=" + n[0] + " requeue=" + n[1] + "]").toList());
+        assertTrue(nacks.stream().allMatch(n -> n[1] == 1L),
+                "invariant 1 (never drop): every nack must set requeue=true");
+        assertTrue(nacks.stream().anyMatch(n -> n[0] == 1L), "m0's delivery tag must be nacked");
+        assertTrue(nacks.stream().anyMatch(n -> n[0] == 2L),
+                "m1 — delivered while release() was still running, after the tombstone swap — must be "
+                        + "nacked, not silently retained in a map release() will never look at again");
+        assertTrue(acks.isEmpty(), "invariant 1 (never drop): a held reply must never be basicAck'd");
+    }
+
+    private static Delivery delivery(long tag, String msgId, String body) {
+        Envelope envelope = new Envelope(tag, false, "", "irrelevant");
+        AMQP.BasicProperties props = new AMQP.BasicProperties.Builder().messageId(msgId).build();
+        return new Delivery(envelope, props, body.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
+    }
+
+    /** A {@link Proxy}-backed consume {@link Channel}: blocks the FIRST {@code basicNack} call on
+     *  {@code releaseMayFinishNack}, after signalling {@code nackStarted} — everything else records
+     *  the call and returns a harmless default, matching the style already used by
+     *  {@code AmqpReplyInboxRecoveryRaceTest}. */
+    private static Channel fakeConsumeChannel(AtomicReference<DeliverCallback> deliverCallback,
+                                               List<long[]> nacks, List<Long> acks,
+                                               AtomicInteger nackCallCount,
+                                               CountDownLatch nackStarted,
+                                               CountDownLatch releaseMayFinishNack) {
+        InvocationHandler handler = (proxy, method, args) -> {
+            String name = method.getName();
+            if (name.equals("basicConsume")) {
+                deliverCallback.set((DeliverCallback) args[2]);
+                return "ctag";
+            }
+            if (name.equals("basicNack")) {
+                long tag = (long) args[0];
+                boolean requeue = (boolean) args[2];
+                if (nackCallCount.incrementAndGet() == 1) {
+                    nackStarted.countDown();
+                    if (!releaseMayFinishNack.await(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) {
+                        throw new IllegalStateException("test never released the nack latch");
+                    }
+                }
+                nacks.add(new long[] {tag, requeue ? 1L : 0L});
+                return null;
+            }
+            if (name.equals("basicAck")) {
+                acks.add((long) args[0]);
+                return null;
+            }
+            if (name.equals("equals")) {
+                return proxy == args[0];
+            }
+            if (name.equals("hashCode")) {
+                return System.identityHashCode(proxy);
+            }
+            if (name.equals("toString")) {
+                return "FakeConsumeChannel";
+            }
+            return defaultValue(method.getReturnType());
+        };
+        return (Channel) Proxy.newProxyInstance(AmqpReplyInboxReleaseRaceTest.class.getClassLoader(),
+                new Class<?>[] {Channel.class}, handler);
+    }
+
+    /** A {@link Proxy}-backed {@link Channel} that answers every call with a harmless default — used
+     *  as the publish channel, which this test never actually publishes on. */
+    private static Channel fakeInertChannel() {
+        InvocationHandler handler = (proxy, method, args) -> {
+            String name = method.getName();
+            if (name.equals("equals")) {
+                return proxy == args[0];
+            }
+            if (name.equals("hashCode")) {
+                return System.identityHashCode(proxy);
+            }
+            if (name.equals("toString")) {
+                return "FakeInertChannel";
+            }
+            return defaultValue(method.getReturnType());
+        };
+        return (Channel) Proxy.newProxyInstance(AmqpReplyInboxReleaseRaceTest.class.getClassLoader(),
+                new Class<?>[] {Channel.class}, handler);
+    }
+
+    /** A {@link Proxy}-backed {@link Connection} handing out {@code first} then {@code second} from
+     *  successive {@code createChannel()} calls, matching {@link AmqpReplyInbox}'s constructor. */
+    private static Connection fakeConnection(Channel first, Channel second) {
+        AtomicInteger calls = new AtomicInteger();
+        InvocationHandler handler = (proxy, method, args) -> {
+            String name = method.getName();
+            if (name.equals("createChannel") && (args == null || args.length == 0)) {
+                return calls.getAndIncrement() == 0 ? first : second;
+            }
+            if (name.equals("equals")) {
+                return proxy == args[0];
+            }
+            if (name.equals("hashCode")) {
+                return System.identityHashCode(proxy);
+            }
+            if (name.equals("toString")) {
+                return "FakeConnection";
+            }
+            return defaultValue(method.getReturnType());
+        };
+        return (Connection) Proxy.newProxyInstance(AmqpReplyInboxReleaseRaceTest.class.getClassLoader(),
+                new Class<?>[] {Connection.class}, handler);
+    }
+
+    private static Object defaultValue(Class<?> type) {
+        if (!type.isPrimitive() || type == void.class) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        if (type == boolean.class) {
+            return Boolean.FALSE;
+        }
+        if (type == long.class) {
+            return 0L;
+        }
+        if (type == short.class) {
+            return (short) 0;
+        }
+        if (type == byte.class) {
+            return (byte) 0;
+        }
+        if (type == char.class) {
+            return (char) 0;
+        }
+        if (type == double.class) {
+            return 0.0d;
+        }
+        if (type == float.class) {
+            return 0.0f;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+}

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

@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
 
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Level;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Logger;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.spi.ILoggingEvent;
+import ch.qos.logback.core.read.ListAppender;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
@@ -11,6 +15,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.PrimaryRegistry;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
@@ -253,7 +258,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // first delivery
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING); // first turn in flight
 
-        CompletableFuture<Void> queued = injector.enqueue(T, "second task", TestTurnTokens.inert(T));
+        CompletableFuture<Void> queued = injector.enqueue(T, "second task", TestTurnTokens.inert(T)).completion();
         CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> waiter = rendezvous.currentWaiter(T);
         injector.drop(T, new HerdrException("agent target sol not found", "agent_not_found", null));
 
@@ -405,6 +410,29 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 "a delivered send whose worker never replies times out as still working");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #345. This forces the injector to pick up the exact pending delivery after {@code send}
+     * first observes its completion as incomplete, but before {@code cancel} takes the target monitor.
+     * The timeout must use {@link Injector.Cancellation#DELIVERED} from {@code cancel} and report
+     * {@link MessageService.Outcome#TIMED_OUT_WORKING}, because the text landed.
+     *
+     * <p>What this does not prove: that this precise interleaving happens by itself under production
+     * timing. The test forces it through a test-only hook; it proves the timeout caller handles the
+     * injector result when the interleaving occurs.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void sendTimeoutUsesCancellationDeliveredWhenPickupWinsTheRace() {
+        messages.setTimeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest(() -> injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE));
+        try {
+            MessageService.Reply reply = messages.send(T, "race delivery", 50);
+
+            assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING, reply.outcome(),
+                    "cancel reporting DELIVERED means the worker received the timed-out message");
+        } finally {
+            messages.setTimeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest(null);
+        }
+    }
+
     @Test
     void answerTimesOutWhenTheResumedWorkerNeverReplies() throws Exception {
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send = sendAsync();
@@ -940,6 +968,54 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertEquals("PR opened: https://example/pulls/42", view.reply());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #324: {@code answer()} holds {@code sessionLocks} for the target and, once the worker's
+     * real terminal reply arrives, calls {@code finishAsyncTask}, which used to read the volatile
+     * {@code task.turnId} twice — once to check it is non-null, once as the key for
+     * {@code asyncTasksByTurn.remove}. {@code ask()}'s own timeout path mutates the same field with no
+     * lock at all. This test does not wait for a real race to land in that narrow window between the
+     * two reads — instead it drives the exact sequence the ticket describes (worker asks, primary
+     * answers, worker's real reply arrives) and, via a package-private test hook wired to fire at
+     * precisely that point, runs the identical production cleanup {@code ask()}'s timeout catch block
+     * runs ({@code clearAsyncQuestion(turnId, true)}) so the field goes {@code null} between the two
+     * reads deterministically rather than by chance.
+     *
+     * <p>What this proves: given that exact interleaving, {@code answer()} must not throw and the
+     * ticket must still resolve to the worker's real reply. What it does not prove: that the
+     * interleaving itself is reachable in production — that is established by reading the code (see
+     * the ticket), not by this test, since forcing it via a hook is not the same as two independent
+     * threads racing on their own schedules.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void finishAsyncTaskSurvivesTurnIdGoingNullBetweenItsTwoReads() throws Exception {
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks");
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config?", 5000));
+        MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+        String turnId = asking.turnId();
+
+        // Fire ask()'s own unlocked timeout cleanup at the moment finishAsyncTask has already checked
+        // task.turnId is non-null but has not yet used it — the exact torn-read window fleetd #324
+        // describes.
+        messages.setFinishAsyncTaskRaceHookForTest(() -> messages.forgetTurnForTest(turnId));
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+        awaitWaiting(); // answer() opened its own forward waiter for the resumed worker turn
+
+        assertTrue(messages.reply(T, "PR opened: https://example/pulls/42"));
+
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome(),
+                "the lead's own answer() call must not throw because ask()'s timeout cleanup raced it");
+        MessageService.TaskView done = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE);
+        assertEquals("PR opened: https://example/pulls/42", done.reply(),
+                "the ticket must still resolve to the worker's real reply despite the forced race");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void unansweredAsyncQuestionReturnsTheTicketToPendingAndReleasesItsTarget() throws Exception {
         String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks");
@@ -957,6 +1033,175 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.DONE, awaitTicketPhase(next, MessageService.Phase.DONE).phase());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #307: a worker's {@code fleet_ask} can time out because the primary never answers —
+     * distinct from {@link #aReplyAfterAnswerTimesOutStillCompletesTheAsyncTicket}, where the
+     * primary DID answer and only its own bounded wait for the resumed turn expired.
+     * {@code ask()}'s timeout path deliberately forgets the task's {@code turnId} (so
+     * {@code hasAsyncQuestion} stops reporting the target BUSY — see
+     * {@code unansweredAsyncQuestionReturnsTheTicketToPendingAndReleasesItsTarget} above), which used
+     * to also erase the one signal {@code askAnsweredAsyncTasks} needed to recognize the worker's
+     * eventual real {@code fleet_reply}. That reply then had nowhere to land but the inbox, and
+     * {@code fleet_poll{ticket}} stayed PENDING forever — later force-failed with the false reason
+     * "session released before it replied", even though the worker had, in fact, replied.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aReplyAfterAnAskTimeoutStillCompletesTheAsyncTicket() throws Exception {
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks then finishes alone");
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        assertEquals(MessageService.AskOutcome.TIMED_OUT,
+                messages.ask(T, "which config?", 200).outcome());
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.PENDING, messages.poll(ticket).phase(),
+                "only the question wait ended; the delegated turn may still finish");
+
+        // The worker keeps working past the timeout and only now calls fleet_reply — with no live
+        // rendezvous waiter open (ask()'s timeout already closed it) and no new send() having
+        // reopened one for this target.
+        assertTrue(messages.reply(T, "PR opened: https://example/pulls/42"));
+
+        MessageService.TaskView done = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE);
+        assertEquals("PR opened: https://example/pulls/42", done.reply(),
+                "fleet_poll{ticket} must return the worker's real reply, not stay pending forever");
+        assertEquals("reply", done.replySource());
+        assertFalse(messages.hasStrandedReply(T),
+                "the reply completed its own ticket directly and never touched the inbox");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #329 (F1). {@code answer()} completes the async ticket by looking {@code turnId} up in
+     * {@code asyncTasksByTurn} a SECOND time (the first is at :991, purely to re-register the
+     * {@code asyncTasksByWaiter} entry for #282's chained-ask case). That second lookup races
+     * {@code ask()}'s own unlocked timeout cleanup ({@code clearAsyncQuestion(turnId, true)}, run from
+     * {@code markAskTimedOut} + forgetting): {@code ask()}'s {@code ticket.answer().get(timeoutMillis)}
+     * can time out at essentially the same instant {@code answer()}'s {@code rendezvous.answerAsk}
+     * call above already succeeded and unblocked the worker. fleetd #324's single-read fix does not
+     * help here — that fixed a torn read of one already-held {@link MessageService} internal
+     * {@code Task}; this is a second, independent map lookup by a caller that no longer holds the
+     * {@code Task} it already found once.
+     *
+     * <p>This test does not wait for that real race to land on its own schedule — it drives the exact
+     * sequence the ticket describes (worker asks, primary answers, worker's real reply arrives) and
+     * fires the identical production cleanup {@code ask()}'s timeout path runs
+     * ({@code clearAsyncQuestion(turnId, true)}, via the {@code forgetTurnForTest} seam fleetd #324
+     * already merged) at the point between "the worker's own {@code ask()} call has unblocked" and
+     * "the worker's real {@code fleet_reply} arrives" — the exact window fleetd #329 names.
+     *
+     * <p>What this proves: given that exact interleaving, the async ticket must still resolve to the
+     * worker's real reply, not stay stuck {@link MessageService.Phase#PENDING} forever. What it does
+     * not prove: that the interleaving itself is reachable in production on its own timing — that is
+     * established by reading the code (see the ticket's "path in"), not by this test, for the same
+     * reason fleetd #324's own race test says so.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aReplyRacingAsksTimeoutCleanupStillCompletesTheAsyncTicket() throws Exception {
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks");
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config?", 5000));
+        MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+        String turnId = asking.turnId();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer(),
+                "the worker's own ask() call must have already unblocked with the primary's answer "
+                        + "before we force the race below");
+
+        // ask()'s own unlocked timeout cleanup can forget this exact turnId at essentially the same
+        // instant answer() has already unblocked the worker and is now waiting on the resumed turn's
+        // real reply — reproduce that interleaving directly instead of trying to win a real race.
+        messages.forgetTurnForTest(turnId);
+
+        assertTrue(messages.reply(T, "PR opened: https://example/pulls/42"));
+
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome(),
+                "the primary's own answer() call must still see the worker's real reply");
+        MessageService.TaskView done = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE);
+        assertEquals("PR opened: https://example/pulls/42", done.reply(),
+                "fleet_poll{ticket} must return the worker's real reply, not stay PENDING forever "
+                        + "just because ask()'s timeout cleanup forgot this turnId first");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #329 (F3). {@link MessageService#reply} reads the same orphan {@code Task}'s {@code
+     * turnId} twice on this path (once to check it is non-null, once as the {@code
+     * asyncTasksByTurn.remove} key) — the exact double-read shape fleetd #324 fixed in {@code
+     * finishAsyncTask}. This test drives the same real sequence as {@code
+     * aReplyAfterAnswerTimesOutStillCompletesTheAsyncTicket} (worker asks, primary answers, the
+     * primary's own bounded wait for the resumed turn expires) to reach a task with {@code turnId}
+     * genuinely stamped and no live rendezvous waiter open — the state {@code askAnsweredAsyncTasks}
+     * matches here — then fires the identical production cleanup {@code ask()}'s own timeout path
+     * runs ({@code clearAsyncQuestion(turnId, true)}, via the {@code forgetTurnForTest} seam fleetd
+     * #324 merged) at the point between the check and the removal use, via a dedicated test hook
+     * mirroring {@code finishAsyncTaskRaceHook}.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void replyToAnOrphanedTaskSurvivesTurnIdGoingNullBetweenItsTwoReads() throws Exception {
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks");
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config?", 5000));
+        MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+        String turnId = asking.turnId();
+
+        MessageService.Reply answerReply = messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 150);
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING, answerReply.outcome(),
+                "the primary's own bounded wait must give up first, leaving turnId stamped with no "
+                        + "live waiter — the state reply()'s F3 code path matches");
+
+        messages.setReplyOrphanTurnIdRaceHookForTest(() -> messages.forgetTurnForTest(turnId));
+        try {
+            assertTrue(messages.reply(T, "PR opened: https://example/pulls/42"));
+
+            MessageService.TaskView done = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE);
+            assertEquals("PR opened: https://example/pulls/42", done.reply(),
+                    "the ticket must still resolve to the worker's real reply despite the forced race");
+        } finally {
+            messages.setReplyOrphanTurnIdRaceHookForTest(null);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #307's ambiguity guard: an ask timeout frees its target ({@code hasAsyncQuestion}
+     * becomes false the instant it lapses — proven above), so a second, independent delegation can
+     * be dispatched to the same target and itself go on to ask-and-lapse before the first worker's
+     * real reply ever arrives. Two open tasks are then both eligible candidates on one target with
+     * no live waiter to disambiguate them. A reply arriving now must not guess which one it answers
+     * — guessing wrong would hand the lead a plausible-looking answer to a delegation the worker
+     * never touched, worse than a failure because the lead acts on it — so it must fall back to the
+     * inbox exactly as the zero-candidate case does.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void twoAskTimedOutTicketsOnOneTargetFallBackToTheInboxRatherThanGuess() throws Exception {
+        String ticket1 = messages.sendAsync(T, "first task that asks");
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+        assertEquals(MessageService.AskOutcome.TIMED_OUT, messages.ask(T, "Q1?", 200).outcome());
+
+        String ticket2 = messages.sendAsync(T, "second task that asks");
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+        assertEquals(MessageService.AskOutcome.TIMED_OUT, messages.ask(T, "Q2?", 200).outcome());
+
+        assertTrue(messages.reply(T, "which task does this answer?"));
+
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.PENDING, messages.poll(ticket1).phase(),
+                "an ambiguous reply must not guess ticket1");
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.PENDING, messages.poll(ticket2).phase(),
+                "an ambiguous reply must not guess ticket2");
+        assertTrue(messages.hasStrandedReply(T));
+        var drained = messages.drainReplies(T);
+        assertEquals(1, drained.size());
+        assertEquals("which task does this answer?", drained.get(0).content());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void asyncQuestionBelongsToTheTaskThatOwnsItsForwardWaiter() throws Exception {
         String first = messages.sendAsync(T, "first task");
@@ -1033,6 +1278,63 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertEquals("done", done.reply());
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #329 (F2): an exception after the ticket's future completes must reach a log -----
+    //
+    // sendAsync's own executor task ends with catch (Throwable t) { task.future.completeExceptionally(t); }
+    // — but finishAsyncTask completes that same future on its first line, so anything that throws
+    // afterward hits an already-completed future: completeExceptionally returns false and does
+    // nothing, and (before this fix) nothing logged it either. Measured on the ticket: temporarily
+    // reintroducing the fleetd #324 NPE reproduced 19 real exceptions on the ordinary path with
+    // 74/74 tests staying green and zero log lines. There is no reachable production call site where
+    // finishAsyncTask throws after completing the future (fleetd #324 already closed the one that
+    // used to), so this test drives the shape directly via a dedicated test-only hook
+    // (afterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest) rather than trying to engineer a real exception into
+    // that narrow window — the same technique fleetd #324's own race test and this ticket's F1/F3
+    // tests use for their own races.
+
+    private static ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> attachMessageServiceLog() {
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(MessageService.class);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.start();
+        logger.addAppender(appender);
+        return appender;
+    }
+
+    private static void detachMessageServiceLog(ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender) {
+        ((Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(MessageService.class)).detachAppender(appender);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void anExceptionAfterTheTicketFutureCompletesStillReachesTheLog() throws Exception {
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = attachMessageServiceLog();
+        try {
+            messages.setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(() -> {
+                throw new RuntimeException("PROBE-329-F2");
+            });
+
+            String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "do the task");
+            awaitWaiting();
+            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
+
+            // finishAsyncTask's own first line already completed the future with the real result
+            // BEFORE the hook threw — F2 is a visibility gap, not a correctness gap for the ticket
+            // itself, so the ticket's own outcome must be unaffected by the swallowed exception.
+            MessageService.TaskView done = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE);
+            assertEquals("done", done.reply());
+
+            assertTrue(appender.list.stream().anyMatch(e ->
+                            e.getLevel() == Level.ERROR
+                                    && e.getFormattedMessage().contains(ticket)
+                                    && e.getThrowableProxy() != null
+                                    && "PROBE-329-F2".equals(e.getThrowableProxy().getMessage())),
+                    "an exception thrown after the ticket's future already completed must still "
+                            + "reach the log, not vanish silently");
+        } finally {
+            messages.setAfterFinishAsyncTaskCompleteHookForTest(null);
+            detachMessageServiceLog(appender);
+        }
+    }
+
     // --- CB-582: fleet_status pendingAsk() ------------------------------------------------------
 
     @Test
@@ -1489,7 +1791,10 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, r.outcome());
 
         assertTrue(messages.hasQueuedDelivery(T),
-                "a TIMED_OUT_QUEUED send leaves the message still queued in the injector");
+                "a TIMED_OUT_QUEUED send still records the undelivered delivery for fleet health");
+        injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
+        assertTrue(herdr.calls.stream().noneMatch(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt")),
+                "a TIMED_OUT_QUEUED send must be cancelled, not delivered when the worker later goes idle");
     }
 
     @Test

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

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.rest;
 
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.CallerResolver;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Authz;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.MemberRegistry;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
@@ -25,8 +26,15 @@ import java.net.URI;
 import java.net.http.HttpClient;
 import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
 import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
+import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.regex.Matcher;
+import java.util.regex.Pattern;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
 
@@ -36,6 +44,10 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
  */
 class FleetAppAuthTest {
 
+    private static final Path REST_SOURCE = Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/rest/FleetApp.java");
+    private static final Pattern ROUTE_REGISTRATION =
+            Pattern.compile("app\\.(get|post|delete|put|patch)\\(\\s*\"([^\"]+)\"");
+
     private final HttpClient http = HttpClient.newHttpClient();
     private Javalin app;
     private Metrics metrics;
@@ -92,6 +104,49 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
         return http.send(b.build(), HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void everyRegisteredRouteHasItsHandlerActionPinned() {
+        Set<String> registered = routesTheServerRegisters();
+        assertTrue(registered.size() >= 15,
+                "scraped only " + registered.size() + " route registrations from FleetApp (" + registered
+                        + "); the app.<verb>(\"…\") scrape has stopped matching");
+        // Liveness must work before credentials can be checked, so this route is deliberately open.
+        assertTrue(registered.remove("GET /healthz"), "GET /healthz must stay an explicit ungated exception");
+        registered.forEach(route -> assertDoesNotThrow(() -> FleetApp.routeAction(route),
+                () -> route + " is registered but has no pinned authorization action"));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.METRICS, FleetApp.routeAction("GET /metrics"));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.SPAWN, FleetApp.routeAction("POST /members"));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.STOP, FleetApp.routeAction("DELETE /members/{paneId}"));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.SEND, FleetApp.routeAction("POST /sessions/{id}/message"));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.REPLY, FleetApp.routeAction("POST /sessions/{id}/reply"));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.DRAIN, FleetApp.routeAction("GET /sessions/{id}/replies"));
+        assertEquals(Authz.Action.ASK, FleetApp.routeAction("POST /sessions/{id}/ask"));
+        for (String route : Set.of("GET /sessions", "GET /agents", "GET /members", "GET /profiles",
+                "GET /member-credentials", "GET /sessions/{id}/status", "GET /tasks/{ticket}")) {
+            assertEquals(Authz.Action.READ, FleetApp.routeAction(route), route);
+        }
+        assertThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> FleetApp.routeAction("GET /healthz"));
+    }
+
+    private static Set<String> routesTheServerRegisters() {
+        try {
+            String source = Files.readString(REST_SOURCE).lines()
+                    .filter(line -> {
+                        String stripped = line.stripLeading();
+                        return !(stripped.startsWith("//") || stripped.startsWith("*") || stripped.startsWith("/*"));
+                    })
+                    .collect(Collectors.joining("\n"));
+            Matcher matcher = ROUTE_REGISTRATION.matcher(source);
+            Set<String> routes = new LinkedHashSet<>();
+            while (matcher.find()) {
+                routes.add(matcher.group(1).toUpperCase(Locale.ROOT) + " " + matcher.group(2));
+            }
+            return routes;
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            throw new AssertionError("could not scrape FleetApp route registrations", e);
+        }
+    }
+
     // --- loopback-trust: the caller is the primary -------------------------------------------
 
     @Test

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

@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.Worktrees;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.member.CompositePeerLauncher;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.MemberCredentialPolicyView;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendOutagePolicy;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendQuarantine;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.placement.PlacementPolicies;
 import io.javalin.Javalin;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
@@ -32,6 +36,7 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.UUID;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.function.Predicate;
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
@@ -70,6 +75,19 @@ class FleetAppTest {
 
     private int start(FakeHerdr herdr, String workerBaseUrl, Set<String> allow, String placement,
                       Worktrees worktrees, Predicate<String> deliverable) {
+        return start(herdr, workerBaseUrl, allow, placement, worktrees, deliverable,
+                FleetMcp.QuarantineSource.none(), FleetMcp.OutageSource.none());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #297: same wiring as above, plus the two SAME shared sources {@code GET /profiles}
+     * must read — lets a test prove the quarantined/coolingOff facts it reports come from a real
+     * {@link dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendQuarantine}/{@link
+     * dev.ltms.fleet.placement.BackendOutagePolicy}, exactly like {@code fleet_profiles}'s own tests.
+     */
+    private int start(FakeHerdr herdr, String workerBaseUrl, Set<String> allow, String placement,
+                      Worktrees worktrees, Predicate<String> deliverable,
+                      FleetMcp.QuarantineSource quarantine, FleetMcp.OutageSource outage) {
         FleetConfig.Profile wcfg = new FleetConfig.Profile(
                 "ltms-local", workerBaseUrl, "coder", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN", null,
                 placement, "fleet", "worker: {profile} #{n}", null, null, null);
@@ -90,8 +108,9 @@ class FleetAppTest {
         // it directly so the inbox contract holds for those endpoints.
         inbox.own("term_a");
         MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous, inbox);
-        app = new FleetApp(herdr, workers, sessions, messages, this.presence, null,
-                null, null, id -> this.presence.isPresent(id) || deliverable.test(id))
+        app = new FleetApp(herdr, herdr, workers, sessions, messages, this.presence, null,
+                null, null, id -> this.presence.isPresent(id) || deliverable.test(id),
+                MemberCredentialPolicyView::absent, quarantine, outage)
                 .build().start("127.0.0.1", 0);
         return app.port();
     }
@@ -164,6 +183,22 @@ class FleetAppTest {
         assertEquals("idle", agents.get(0).get("status").asText());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #297 gap 1: {@code workers.list()} reaches herdr, and a transport failure there must
+     * land in the same {@code {error, detail}} envelope every other failure path in this file uses
+     * (see {@code herdrError}), not escape as a bare exception outside the JSON contract.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void agentsMapsAHerdrFailureToTheJsonErrorEnvelope() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr down = new FakeHerdr().healthy(false);
+        int port = start(down, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"));
+        HttpResponse<String> res = req(port, "GET", "/agents");
+        assertEquals(502, res.statusCode(), res.body());
+        JsonNode body = mapper.readTree(res.body());
+        assertEquals("herdr_error", body.get("error").asText());
+        assertTrue(body.has("detail"), res.body());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void spawnWorkerLandsInOwnTabInWorkerSpaceAndInjectsBaseUrl() throws Exception {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
@@ -203,6 +238,42 @@ class FleetAppTest {
         JsonNode body = mapper.readTree(req(port, "GET", "/profiles").body());
         assertEquals("ltms-local", body.get("default").asText());
         assertEquals("ltms-local", body.get("profiles").get(0).asText());
+        assertFalse(body.has("quarantined"), "nothing is quarantined, so the key is omitted: " + body);
+        assertFalse(body.has("coolingOff"), "nothing is cooling off, so the key is omitted: " + body);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #297 gap 2: {@code GET /profiles} must report the same two outage states {@code
+     * fleet_profiles} does — CB-578 stage B exhaustion quarantine and fleetd #201 Unit 5 cool-off —
+     * reading the SAME shared {@link BackendQuarantine}/{@link BackendOutagePolicy} instances rather
+     * than recomputing them. The two checks are independent, and this profile is deliberately put in
+     * both states at once, matching {@code FleetMcpTest}'s own coverage of that overlap.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void profilesReportsQuarantineAndCoolingOffFromTheSameSharedSources() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        BackendQuarantine quarantine = new BackendQuarantine(() -> 0L, TimeUnit.MINUTES.toNanos(30));
+        quarantine.quarantine("shared-openai");
+        FleetMcp.QuarantineSource quarantineSource = new FleetMcp.QuarantineSource(
+                profile -> "ltms-local".equals(profile) ? "shared-openai" : null, quarantine);
+        BackendOutagePolicy outagePolicy = new BackendOutagePolicy(() -> 0L);
+        outagePolicy.record("shared-openai", "t1", "API Error: rate limited");
+        outagePolicy.record("shared-openai", "t2", "API Error: rate limited"); // 2nd distinct target starts the incident
+        FleetMcp.OutageSource outageSource = new FleetMcp.OutageSource(
+                profile -> "ltms-local".equals(profile) ? "shared-openai" : null, outagePolicy);
+        int port = start(herdr, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"), "tab", new GitWorktrees(),
+                ignored -> false, quarantineSource, outageSource);
+
+        JsonNode body = mapper.readTree(req(port, "GET", "/profiles").body());
+        assertTrue(body.has("quarantined"), body.toString());
+        assertEquals("shared-openai",
+                body.get("quarantined").get("ltms-local").get("credentialId").asText());
+        assertEquals(1800,
+                body.get("quarantined").get("ltms-local").get("quarantinedForSeconds").asLong());
+        assertTrue(body.has("coolingOff"), body.toString());
+        assertEquals("shared-openai",
+                body.get("coolingOff").get("ltms-local").get("credentialId").asText());
+        assertEquals(60, body.get("coolingOff").get("ltms-local").get("coolingOffForSeconds").asLong());
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -239,6 +310,23 @@ class FleetAppTest {
                 "liveStatus is unknown when herdr has no matching pane");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #297 gap 1: same reasoning as {@code agentsMapsAHerdrFailureToTheJsonErrorEnvelope} —
+     * {@code GET /members} is the endpoint's own comment names as "the out-of-band path a lead falls
+     * back to when its MCP mount drops", so it must stay inside the {@code {error, detail}} envelope
+     * exactly when herdr is briefly unreachable.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void membersMapsAHerdrFailureToTheJsonErrorEnvelope() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr down = new FakeHerdr().healthy(false);
+        int port = start(down, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"));
+        HttpResponse<String> res = req(port, "GET", "/members");
+        assertEquals(502, res.statusCode(), res.body());
+        JsonNode body = mapper.readTree(res.body());
+        assertEquals("herdr_error", body.get("error").asText());
+        assertTrue(body.has("detail"), res.body());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void spawnWithACwdParamRootsTheWorkerThere() throws Exception {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
@@ -327,7 +415,11 @@ class FleetAppTest {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentNameTakenTimes(99);
         int port = start(herdr, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"));
 
-        assertEquals(500, req(port, "POST", "/members").statusCode());
+        // fleetd #304: 502, not Javalin's default 500 — the herdr failure is named, and the body
+        // carries herdr's own message, matching what fleet_spawn reports for the same failure.
+        HttpResponse<String> res = req(port, "POST", "/members");
+        assertEquals(502, res.statusCode());
+        assertEquals("herdr_error", mapper.readTree(res.body()).get("error").asText());
         assertTrue(herdr.called("tab.create"), "a tab was created before the failed start");
         assertEquals("w9:t2", params(herdr, "tab.close").get("tab_id"), "orphaned tab must be closed");
     }
@@ -444,6 +536,53 @@ class FleetAppTest {
         assertEquals("orphan", body.get("replies").get(0).get("content").asText());
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void replyWithMissingContentIsRejectedAndDoesNotResolveTheWaiter() throws Exception {
+        // fleetd #302: `.path("content").asText("")` used to turn a missing "content" key into an
+        // empty string that reached rendezvous.resolve, silently completing the lead's blocking wait
+        // with nothing. Prove the fix two ways: the bad call is rejected with 400, AND the real send
+        // it would have wrongly resolved is still open afterwards — a real reply completes it.
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentStatus("idle");
+        int port = start(herdr, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"));
+
+        var send = java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> {
+            try { return postMessage(port, "{\"content\":\"review this\",\"timeoutMs\":4000}"); }
+            catch (Exception e) { throw new RuntimeException(e); }
+        });
+
+        Thread.sleep(200); // let the background send open its rendezvous waiter
+
+        HttpResponse<String> badReply = postJson(port, "/sessions/term_a/reply", "{}");
+        assertEquals(400, badReply.statusCode());
+        JsonNode err = mapper.readTree(badReply.body());
+        assertEquals("bad_request", err.get("error").asText());
+        assertTrue(err.has("detail"));
+
+        // The waiter must still be open — a real reply now completes the ORIGINAL send.
+        HttpResponse<String> goodReply = postJson(port, "/sessions/term_a/reply", "{\"content\":\"LGTM ship it\"}");
+        assertEquals(200, goodReply.statusCode());
+
+        HttpResponse<String> res = send.get(6, java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        assertEquals(200, res.statusCode());
+        assertEquals("LGTM ship it", mapper.readTree(res.body()).get("reply").asText());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void replyWithEmptyOrWhitespaceContentIsRejectedSameAsMissing() throws Exception {
+        // fleetd #302 sibling case: present-but-blank content is treated the same as a missing key —
+        // FleetMcp's own required-content guard (fleet_reply's "content is required") makes no
+        // distinction between the two either, so diverging here would be a new asymmetry.
+        int port = startHealthy();
+
+        HttpResponse<String> empty = postJson(port, "/sessions/term_a/reply", "{\"content\":\"\"}");
+        assertEquals(400, empty.statusCode());
+        assertEquals("bad_request", mapper.readTree(empty.body()).get("error").asText());
+
+        HttpResponse<String> whitespace = postJson(port, "/sessions/term_a/reply", "{\"content\":\"   \"}");
+        assertEquals(400, whitespace.statusCode());
+        assertEquals("bad_request", mapper.readTree(whitespace.body()).get("error").asText());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void drainRepliesReturnsEmptyForNoReplies() throws Exception {
         int port = startHealthy();
@@ -598,7 +737,12 @@ class FleetAppTest {
         int port = start(herdr, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"));
 
         // A genuine teardown failure must surface, not be reported as a successful 204.
-        assertEquals(500, req(port, "DELETE", "/members/w9:pW").statusCode());
+        // fleetd #304: it surfaces as a named 502 rather than Javalin's default 500. The property
+        // this test guards is "not 204" and the herdr detail reaching the caller — a bare 500 gave
+        // the body "Server Error" and said nothing about herdr.
+        HttpResponse<String> res = req(port, "DELETE", "/members/w9:pW");
+        assertEquals(502, res.statusCode());
+        assertEquals("herdr_error", mapper.readTree(res.body()).get("error").asText());
         assertFalse(herdr.called("tab.close"), "tab is not removed when the pane close failed");
     }
 
@@ -611,4 +755,5 @@ class FleetAppTest {
         assertEquals(204, req(port, "DELETE", "/members/w9:pW").statusCode());
         assertTrue(herdr.called("tab.close"));
     }
+
 }

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

@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ public final class FakeWorktrees implements Worktrees {
     public record RemoveCall(String repoRoot, String worktreePath) {
     }
 
+    public record DeleteBranchCall(String repoRoot, String branch) {
+    }
+
     public record OverlayCall(String repoRoot, String worktreePath,
                                List<String> requested, List<String> copied, List<String> skipWorktree) {
     }
@@ -35,6 +38,7 @@ public final class FakeWorktrees implements Worktrees {
 
     private final List<AddCall> addCalls = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
     private final List<RemoveCall> removeCalls = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+    private final List<DeleteBranchCall> deleteBranchCalls = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
     private final List<OverlayCall> overlayCalls = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
     private final List<RepoRootCall> repoRootCalls = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
     private final List<SnapshotCall> snapshotCalls = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
@@ -51,6 +55,8 @@ public final class FakeWorktrees implements Worktrees {
     private final AtomicLong snapshotSeq = new AtomicLong();
     private volatile RuntimeException addFailure;
     private volatile RuntimeException snapshotFailure;
+    private volatile RuntimeException removeFailure;
+    private volatile RuntimeException overlayFailure;
     private volatile boolean dirty = false;
     private volatile String repoRoot = "/repo";
     private volatile String prefix = "/worktrees";
@@ -98,6 +104,21 @@ public final class FakeWorktrees implements Worktrees {
         return this;
     }
 
+    /** Make subsequent {@link #remove} calls throw (fleetd #283: a stale index lock, a slow
+     *  filesystem, or {@code remove}'s own 30s exec timeout escaping the last, previously bare,
+     *  step of {@link SessionManager#release}). */
+    public FakeWorktrees failRemove(String message) {
+        this.removeFailure = new WorktreeException(message);
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /** Make subsequent {@link #overlayParity} calls throw (simulates a post-{@code add()} spawn
+     *  failure — fleetd #283 defect 2 — so the {@code acquireWithWorktree} catch runs). */
+    public FakeWorktrees failOverlay(String message) {
+        this.overlayFailure = new WorktreeException(message);
+        return this;
+    }
+
     /** Configure the value returned by {@link #wipRefs}. */
     public FakeWorktrees withWipRefs(WipRefStats stats) {
         this.wipRefs = stats;
@@ -132,6 +153,14 @@ public final class FakeWorktrees implements Worktrees {
     @Override
     public void remove(String repoRoot, String worktreePath) {
         removeCalls.add(new RemoveCall(repoRoot, worktreePath));
+        if (removeFailure != null) {
+            throw removeFailure;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void deleteBranch(String repoRoot, String branch) {
+        deleteBranchCalls.add(new DeleteBranchCall(repoRoot, branch));
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -146,6 +175,9 @@ public final class FakeWorktrees implements Worktrees {
 
     @Override
     public void overlayParity(String repoRoot, String worktreePath, List<String> overlay) {
+        if (overlayFailure != null) {
+            throw overlayFailure;
+        }
         List<String> copied = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
         List<String> skipped = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
         for (String rel : overlay) {
@@ -218,6 +250,14 @@ public final class FakeWorktrees implements Worktrees {
         return removeCalls.isEmpty() ? null : removeCalls.getLast();
     }
 
+    public List<DeleteBranchCall> deleteBranchCalls() {
+        return List.copyOf(deleteBranchCalls);
+    }
+
+    public DeleteBranchCall lastDeleteBranch() {
+        return deleteBranchCalls.isEmpty() ? null : deleteBranchCalls.getLast();
+    }
+
     public OverlayCall lastOverlay() {
         return overlayCalls.isEmpty() ? null : overlayCalls.getLast();
     }

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

@@ -403,6 +403,52 @@ class GitWorktreesTest {
         assertTrue(heads.isBlank(), "the branch leaked after a post-creation step threw:\n" + heads);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #309. The add runner is a narrow seam for the case where Git has created state but
+     * the caller then kills the process. The runner first performs the real add in this throwaway
+     * repo, then throws the same kind of exception that {@link GitWorktrees#exec} uses for a timeout.
+     * This proves the failure path cleans both real Git objects without waiting for a slow checkout.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void addCleansUpWhenTheWorktreeAddRunnerFailsAfterCreatingState(@TempDir Path tmp) throws Exception {
+        Path repo = initRepo(tmp.resolve("repo"));
+        String branch = "cb-309-timeout";
+        WorktreeException timeout = new WorktreeException("command timed out: synthetic git worktree add");
+        AtomicReference<String> createdPath = new AtomicReference<>();
+        GitWorktrees worktrees = new GitWorktrees(tmp.resolve("wts").toString(), null, null, null, command -> {
+            createdPath.set(command[5]);
+            try {
+                git(repo, "worktree", "add", command[5], "-b", command[7], command[8]);
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                throw new AssertionError("test setup could not create the worktree", e);
+            }
+            throw timeout;
+        });
+
+        WorktreeException thrown = assertThrows(WorktreeException.class,
+                () -> worktrees.add(repo.toString(), branch, "HEAD"));
+
+        assertSame(timeout, thrown, "cleanup must not replace the add failure");
+        assertNotNull(createdPath.get(), "the add runner must receive the worktree path");
+        assertFalse(Files.exists(Path.of(createdPath.get())),
+                "the worktree directory leaked after the add runner failed");
+        assertFalse(refExists(repo, "refs/heads/" + branch), "the branch leaked after the add runner failed");
+    }
+
+    /** An ordinary Git refusal must not delete the existing branch or log a cleanup warning. */
+    @Test
+    void addFailureBeforeCreatingAWorktreeIsQuiet(@TempDir Path tmp) throws Exception {
+        Path repo = initRepo(tmp.resolve("repo"));
+        String branch = "already-exists";
+        git(repo, "branch", branch);
+
+        assertThrows(WorktreeException.class, () -> new GitWorktrees(tmp.resolve("wts").toString())
+                .add(repo.toString(), branch, "HEAD"));
+
+        assertTrue(refExists(repo, "refs/heads/" + branch), "the existing branch must remain");
+        assertTrue(capturedMessages().isEmpty(), "an ordinary Git refusal logged a warning: " + capturedMessages());
+    }
+
     // ---- CB-189: broader remote-URL coverage — every remote, both fetch and push URLs, any
     // non-SSH scheme. Reporting only, additive to the origin/https strip-and-refuse tests above. ----
 

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

@@ -26,7 +26,12 @@ import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.Future;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
@@ -74,23 +79,57 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
      */
     private static final class RecordingWorktrees implements Worktrees {
         private final List<String> removeCalls = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
+        private final List<String> deleteBranchCalls = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
         private final List<String> snapshotCalls = new java.util.ArrayList<>();
         private final java.util.Set<String> failRemoveFor = new java.util.HashSet<>();
         private volatile boolean dirty = false;
         private volatile RuntimeException hasUncommittedFailure;
         private volatile RuntimeException snapshotFailure;
         private final java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong snapshotSeq = new java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong();
+        /** fleetd #316: successive {@code hasUncommitted} answers, one per call, last one sticky
+         *  once exhausted — models a worktree whose state changes between reads. Empty (the
+         *  default) falls back to the plain {@link #dirty} flag, so every existing test using this
+         *  fake keeps returning one fixed answer. */
+        private final List<Boolean> dirtySequence = new java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
+        private int failHasUncommittedOnCall = -1;
+        private RuntimeException hasUncommittedCallFailure;
+        private final java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger hasUncommittedCalls =
+                new java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger();
 
         RecordingWorktrees dirty(boolean dirty) {
             this.dirty = dirty;
             return this;
         }
 
+        /** fleetd #316: return {@code answers[0]} on the first {@code hasUncommitted} call,
+         *  {@code answers[1]} on the second, and so on; the last element repeats after that. */
+        RecordingWorktrees dirtySequence(boolean... answers) {
+            for (boolean a : answers) {
+                dirtySequence.add(a);
+            }
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        int hasUncommittedCallCount() {
+            return hasUncommittedCalls.get();
+        }
+
         RecordingWorktrees failHasUncommittedWith(RuntimeException e) {
             this.hasUncommittedFailure = e;
             return this;
         }
 
+        /**
+         * Throw from {@code hasUncommitted} on one specific call only, counting from 0. The
+         * whole-double {@link #failHasUncommittedWith} cannot express fleetd #316's fail-safe
+         * case, which needs the pre-stop read to succeed and only the late read to fail.
+         */
+        RecordingWorktrees failHasUncommittedOnCall(int call, RuntimeException e) {
+            this.failHasUncommittedOnCall = call;
+            this.hasUncommittedCallFailure = e;
+            return this;
+        }
+
         RecordingWorktrees failRemoveFor(String worktreePath) {
             failRemoveFor.add(worktreePath);
             return this;
@@ -114,11 +153,23 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
             removeCalls.add(worktreePath);
         }
 
+        @Override
+        public void deleteBranch(String repoRoot, String branch) {
+            deleteBranchCalls.add(branch);
+        }
+
         @Override
         public boolean hasUncommitted(String worktreePath) {
+            int call = hasUncommittedCalls.getAndIncrement();
             if (hasUncommittedFailure != null) {
                 throw hasUncommittedFailure;
             }
+            if (call == failHasUncommittedOnCall) {
+                throw hasUncommittedCallFailure;
+            }
+            if (!dirtySequence.isEmpty()) {
+                return dirtySequence.get(Math.min(call, dirtySequence.size() - 1));
+            }
             return dirty;
         }
 
@@ -158,6 +209,10 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
             return List.copyOf(removeCalls);
         }
 
+        List<String> deleteBranchCalls() {
+            return List.copyOf(deleteBranchCalls);
+        }
+
         List<String> snapshotCalls() {
             return List.copyOf(snapshotCalls);
         }
@@ -168,14 +223,19 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
     }
 
     private SessionManager sessionManager(FakeHerdr herdr, LongSupplier clock, int contextCap,
-                                          boolean clearAfterTurn) {
+                                           boolean clearAfterTurn) {
+        return sessionManager(herdr, clock, contextCap, clearAfterTurn, null);
+    }
+
+    private SessionManager sessionManager(FakeHerdr herdr, LongSupplier clock, int contextCap,
+                                           boolean clearAfterTurn, java.util.function.Consumer<MemberSession> hook) {
         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);
-        return new SessionManager(workers, new GitWorktrees(), clock, contextCap, clearAfterTurn);
+        return new SessionManager(workers, new GitWorktrees(), clock, contextCap, clearAfterTurn, hook);
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -660,6 +720,24 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                 "BUSY session remains");
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void reapIdleDoesNotReleaseSessionDeliveredAfterItsEligibilityCheck() {
+        long[] clock = {0};
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager[] manager = new SessionManager[1];
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, () -> clock[0], 0, false,
+                session -> manager[0].onDelivered(session.terminalId(), TestTurnTokens.inert(session.terminalId())));
+        manager[0] = sessions;
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(session.terminalId());
+
+        clock[0] = 11;
+        assertEquals(0, sessions.reapIdle(10), "delivery replaces the idle snapshot before release");
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.BUSY, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "a just-delivered session stays registered and busy");
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("pane.close"), "the busy session pane is not stopped");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void doneSessionPastIdleTtlIsReaped() {
         long[] clock = {0};
@@ -814,6 +892,186 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                 .count();
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #308: a spawn accepted while the shutdown drain is running must not orphan ---
+
+    @Test
+    void acquireRefusesANewSpawnOnceDrainAllHasStarted() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+
+        sessions.drainAll(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toNanos(50)); // empty roster — returns immediately,
+        // but the shutdown guard it flips must stay tripped for the life of the process.
+
+        ShuttingDownException e = assertThrows(ShuttingDownException.class,
+                () -> sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary"),
+                "a spawn requested after the drain has begun must be refused loudly (invariant 3), "
+                        + "not silently registered into a registry the drain will never revisit");
+        assertNotNull(e.getMessage());
+        assertFalse(e.getMessage().isBlank(), "the refusal must say why, not just that it failed");
+        assertTrue(sessions.roster().isEmpty(), "the refused spawn must never reach the registry");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #308: the guard above closes most of the shutdown-race window, but it cannot close
+     * all of it — a caller that already passed the {@code draining} check before {@code drainAll}
+     * flips it can still be mid-{@code launcher.spawn()} (a real herdr round trip, not
+     * instantaneous) when {@code drainAll} takes its registry snapshot. This test forces exactly
+     * that interleaving with a launcher double that blocks the second {@code spawn()} call and the
+     * first {@code stop()} call until released, then proves the post-loop sweep in {@code
+     * drainAll} still finds and tears down the straggler that lands in the registry afterward.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void drainAllSweepsAStragglerThatRegisteredAfterTheInitialSnapshot() throws Exception {
+        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 delegate = new ClaudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), Map.of(cfg.profile(), cfg), cfg.profile(), _ -> null);
+        RaceLauncher race = new RaceLauncher(delegate);
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(race);
+
+        // Registered normally, before the drain starts — the first spawn call, never blocked.
+        MemberSession ready = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", "/ready", "/caller", "ownerR");
+
+        ExecutorService exec = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(2);
+        try {
+            // The straggler's acquire() reads `draining == false` (checked before this call ever
+            // touches the launcher) and then blocks inside its own spawn() — the second spawn call.
+            Future<MemberSession> straggler = exec.submit(() ->
+                    sessions.acquire("ltms-local", "/late", "/caller", "ownerLate"));
+
+            assertTrue(race.enteredSecondSpawn.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                    "the straggler must have passed the shutdown guard and reached spawn() before "
+                            + "drainAll ever runs");
+            assertEquals(1, sessions.roster().size(),
+                    "the straggler is still inside spawn() — not registered yet");
+
+            // drainAll flips `draining`, snapshots the registry (only `ready` is in it), and starts
+            // releasing that snapshot — its first release() call stops `ready`'s pane, which this
+            // launcher double blocks on so the interleaving below is deterministic, not a timing bet.
+            Future<?> drain = exec.submit(() -> sessions.drainAll(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(5)));
+
+            assertTrue(race.enteredFirstStop.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS),
+                    "drainAll must be stopping the ready session's pane — proof its initial "
+                            + "registry snapshot has already been taken");
+
+            // Only now does the straggler's spawn complete and register — strictly after the
+            // snapshot drainAll's main pass is working from.
+            race.releaseSecondSpawn.countDown();
+            MemberSession registered = straggler.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+
+            // Let drainAll finish releasing `ready`; it then re-checks the registry and must find
+            // (and drain) the straggler that just landed in it.
+            race.releaseFirstStop.countDown();
+            drain.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+
+            assertTrue(sessions.roster().isEmpty(),
+                    "the post-loop sweep must drain the straggler too, not just the initial snapshot");
+            assertNotNull(registered.paneId());
+            long paneCloseCalls = herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> "pane.close".equals(c.method())).count();
+            assertEquals(2, paneCloseCalls,
+                    "both ready's pane AND the straggler's pane must actually be stopped — a pane "
+                            + "left running is exactly the orphan this ticket is about");
+        } finally {
+            exec.shutdownNow();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Delegates every call while blocking the SECOND {@code spawn()} call and the FIRST
+     * {@code stop()} call until the test releases them — used to force the fleetd #308 race
+     * deterministically instead of betting on real thread-scheduling timing.
+     */
+    private static final class RaceLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
+        private final PeerLauncher delegate;
+        private final AtomicInteger spawnCalls = new AtomicInteger();
+        private final AtomicInteger stopCalls = new AtomicInteger();
+        final CountDownLatch enteredSecondSpawn = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        final CountDownLatch releaseSecondSpawn = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        final CountDownLatch enteredFirstStop = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        final CountDownLatch releaseFirstStop = new CountDownLatch(1);
+
+        RaceLauncher(PeerLauncher delegate) {
+            this.delegate = delegate;
+        }
+
+        private static void awaitOrFail(CountDownLatch latch) {
+            try {
+                if (!latch.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) {
+                    throw new AssertionError("RaceLauncher latch timed out");
+                }
+            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+                throw new AssertionError("RaceLauncher latch interrupted", e);
+            }
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Set<Capability> capabilities() {
+            return delegate.capabilities();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Set<Capability> capabilitiesFor(String profileName) {
+            return delegate.capabilitiesFor(profileName);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public PeerHandle spawn(SpawnRequest req) {
+            if (spawnCalls.incrementAndGet() == 2) {
+                enteredSecondSpawn.countDown();
+                awaitOrFail(releaseSecondSpawn);
+            }
+            return delegate.spawn(req);
+        }
+
+        @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) {
+            if (stopCalls.incrementAndGet() == 1) {
+                enteredFirstStop.countDown();
+                awaitOrFail(releaseFirstStop);
+            }
+            delegate.stop(id);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean clearContext(String id) {
+            return delegate.clearContext(id);
+        }
+    }
+
     private static List<String> promptTexts(FakeHerdr herdr) {
         return herdr.calls.stream()
                 .filter(c -> "agent.prompt".equals(c.method()))
@@ -989,8 +1247,119 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                         + "dirty check threw");
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #316: the dirty check must be re-taken after the worker is stopped, not trusted
+    // stale from before it ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
     @Test
-    void reapIdleSurvivesOneSessionThatFailsToRelease() {
+    void releaseDoesNotRemoveAWorktreeThatBecameDirtyBetweenTheFirstCheckAndRemoval() {
+        // Models the exact race #316 reports: hasUncommitted answers clean while the worker is
+        // still running (call 1), the worker then writes new work, and by the time release is
+        // about to force-remove the worktree a second read (call 2) would see it as dirty. Without
+        // the fix this test fails: release() never re-reads and force-removes the worktree anyway.
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees().dirtySequence(false, true);
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-316a", null));
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertTrue(worktrees.removeCalls().isEmpty(),
+                "a worktree that turned dirty between the pre-stop read and removal must be preserved");
+        assertEquals(2, worktrees.hasUncommittedCallCount(),
+                "the fix re-reads hasUncommitted exactly once more, immediately before removal");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releasePreservesAWorktreeWhoseLateRecheckCannotBeRead() {
+        // fleetd #316 invariant 1, which no test pinned when the fix landed: the late re-check
+        // fails toward PRESERVING. Found by mutation — flipping dirtyImmediatelyBeforeRemoval's
+        // catch from `return true` to `return false` turned the guard into a cause of the very
+        // data loss it was added to stop, and the whole suite stayed green. The pre-stop read
+        // succeeds and says clean (call 0); the read that authorises the removal throws (call 1).
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees()
+                .dirtySequence(false)
+                .failHasUncommittedOnCall(1, new WorktreeException("git status exited 128"));
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-316c", null));
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertTrue(worktrees.removeCalls().isEmpty(),
+                "a worktree whose state cannot be read immediately before removal must be kept: "
+                        + "preserving costs disk, deleting on a guess destroys work with no other copy");
+        assertEquals(2, worktrees.hasUncommittedCallCount(),
+                "the late re-check still runs — it is the throwing call, not a skipped one");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseSnapshotsWorkFoundOnlyByTheLateRecheck() {
+        // #316's second half: the pre-stop dirty=false means trySnapshot never ran for this
+        // session, so the late-discovered work would otherwise have no refs/wip/* copy at all —
+        // only the on-disk preserve. The re-check path must snapshot it too.
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees().dirtySequence(false, true);
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-316b", null));
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertEquals(java.util.List.of(s.worktree()), worktrees.snapshotCalls(),
+                "the newly-dirty worktree is snapshotted even though the pre-stop check saw it clean");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseStillRemovesAWorktreeThatStaysCleanOnTheLateRecheck() {
+        // The ordinary, non-racing case: nothing else changes behaviour when the second read
+        // agrees with the first.
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees().dirty(false);
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-316c", null));
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertEquals(java.util.List.of(s.worktree()), worktrees.removeCalls(),
+                "a worktree that is still clean on the late recheck is removed as before");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseNeverReChecksAWorktreeAlreadyPreservedByTheFirstDirtyCheck() {
+        // Invariant 4 from #316: no second unconditional git status. A release that already
+        // decided to preserve (the ordinary CB-576 dirty path) must not pay for a second read.
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees().dirty(true);
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-316d", null));
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertEquals(1, worktrees.hasUncommittedCallCount(),
+                "a release that already preserves on the first read must not re-check before "
+                        + "skipping the removal it was never going to do");
+        assertTrue(worktrees.removeCalls().isEmpty());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #283 defect 1 changed this test's own premise, so its assertions are updated along
+     * with the production fix. Before #283, the middle session's worktree-removal failure escaped
+     * {@code release()} uncaught, and this test proved {@code reapIdle}'s own per-session try/catch
+     * (CB-581) kept the rest of the pass going regardless. Now that {@code release()} itself catches
+     * a worktree-removal failure (matching every sibling cleanup step in that method) and only logs
+     * a WARN, {@code release()} no longer throws for this reason — so all three idle sessions are
+     * released and counted, and the middle one's removal failure is now visible only as the WARN
+     * {@code release()} itself logs, not as a reap-loop catch. {@code reapIdle}'s own guard (for a
+     * failure {@code release()} still cannot swallow, e.g. from {@code launcher.stop}) is untouched
+     * by this ticket. This test no longer exercises that guard — reaching it now needs a failure
+     * that #283 does not catch inside {@code release()} itself.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void reapIdleCountsAllThreeSessionsWhenOnlyItsWorktreeRemovalFails() {
         long[] clock = {0};
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
         RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees();
@@ -1004,8 +1373,8 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
         sessions.asPresence().markPresent(a.terminalId());
         sessions.asPresence().markPresent(b.terminalId());
         sessions.asPresence().markPresent(c.terminalId());
-        // The middle session's worktree removal fails — release() propagates that, so this is the
-        // one call reapIdle's per-session guard must survive without skipping the rest of the pass.
+        // The middle session's worktree removal fails — fleetd #283 makes release() catch and log
+        // this itself, so it no longer propagates out of release() at all.
         worktrees.failRemoveFor(b.worktree());
 
         LoggerContext ctx = (LoggerContext) LoggerFactory.getILoggerFactory();
@@ -1026,14 +1395,16 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                     .map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage)
                     .filter(m -> m.contains(b.paneId()))
                     .findFirst()
-                    .orElse("no reap-failure WARN logged");
+                    .orElse("no worktree-removal-failure WARN logged");
             assertTrue(warn.contains(b.terminalId()), "the WARN names the failed session's terminal: " + warn);
             assertTrue(warn.contains(b.worktree()), "the WARN names the failed session's worktree: " + warn);
         } finally {
             sessionLog.detachAppender(appender);
         }
 
-        assertEquals(2, reaped, "the middle session's failure is logged, not counted as reaped");
+        assertEquals(3, reaped,
+                "fleetd #283: release() no longer throws for a worktree-removal failure, so reapIdle "
+                        + "counts all three idle sessions as reaped");
         assertTrue(sessions.get(a.paneId()).isEmpty(), "the first session is still released");
         assertTrue(sessions.get(c.paneId()).isEmpty(), "the third session is still released");
         assertTrue(sessions.get(b.paneId()).isEmpty(),
@@ -1044,6 +1415,79 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
         assertEquals(1, paneCloseCallsFor(herdr, "w9:pRoot_3"), "the third pane is stopped");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #290: the #283 fix above closed the one trigger this suite used for {@code
+     * reapIdle}'s own per-session try/catch (CB-581) — a worktree-removal failure is now caught
+     * and logged inside {@code release()} itself, so it never reaches {@code reapIdle}'s guard at
+     * all. This test restores coverage of that guard using the trigger the ticket names: {@code
+     * release()} calls {@code launcher.stop(paneId)} with no try/catch around it, so a failing
+     * {@code pane.close} propagates straight out of {@code release()} uncaught. {@link
+     * FakeHerdr#paneCloseFailsForPane} (added for this ticket) makes exactly the middle session's
+     * stop fail, while the other two still succeed, so this proves {@code reapIdle} keeps reaping
+     * the rest of the roster rather than aborting the whole pass.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void reapIdleSurvivesOneSessionWhoseLauncherStopFails() {
+        long[] clock = {0};
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees, () -> clock[0]);
+        MemberSession a = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-290a", null));
+        MemberSession b = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-290b", null));
+        MemberSession c = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-290c", null));
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(a.terminalId());
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(b.terminalId());
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(c.terminalId());
+        // Only the middle session's herdr pane fails to close — a and c stop normally. This is the
+        // trigger reapIdle's own guard is for, now that #283 closed the worktree-removal trigger.
+        herdr.paneCloseFailsForPane("w9:pRoot_2", "internal_error");
+
+        LoggerContext ctx = (LoggerContext) LoggerFactory.getILoggerFactory();
+        ch.qos.logback.classic.Logger sessionLog =
+                (ch.qos.logback.classic.Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(SessionManager.class);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.setContext(ctx);
+        appender.start();
+        sessionLog.addAppender(appender);
+        sessionLog.setLevel(Level.WARN);
+        int reaped;
+        try {
+            clock[0] = 100;
+            reaped = sessions.reapIdle(10);
+
+            String warn = appender.list.stream()
+                    .filter(e -> e.getLevel().equals(Level.WARN))
+                    .map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage)
+                    .filter(m -> m.contains("reap failed") && m.contains(b.paneId()))
+                    .findFirst()
+                    .orElse("no reap-failed WARN logged for the failing session");
+            assertTrue(warn.contains(b.terminalId()), "the WARN names the failed session's terminal: " + warn);
+        } finally {
+            sessionLog.detachAppender(appender);
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(2, reaped,
+                "the middle session's launcher.stop failure is not counted as reaped, but must not "
+                        + "abort reaping the other two");
+        assertTrue(sessions.get(a.paneId()).isEmpty(), "the first session is still released");
+        assertTrue(sessions.get(c.paneId()).isEmpty(),
+                "the third session is still reached and released — proves the pass did not abort "
+                        + "when the middle session's release() threw");
+        assertTrue(sessions.get(b.paneId()).isEmpty(),
+                "the middle session is still deregistered — release() removes it from the registry "
+                        + "before launcher.stop() runs, regardless of whether stop() then throws");
+        assertEquals(1, paneCloseCallsFor(herdr, "w9:pRoot_1"), "the first pane is stopped");
+        assertEquals(1, paneCloseCallsFor(herdr, "w9:pRoot_2"),
+                "the middle pane's stop was attempted, even though it failed");
+        assertEquals(1, paneCloseCallsFor(herdr, "w9:pRoot_3"), "the third pane is stopped");
+        assertEquals(List.of(a.worktree(), c.worktree()), worktrees.removeCalls().stream().sorted().toList(),
+                "the middle session's worktree removal never runs — release() throws before reaching "
+                        + "it — while the other two, unaffected, still have theirs removed");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void unchangedRegressionCleanCompletedReleaseStillRemovesTheWorktree() {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
@@ -1058,6 +1502,41 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                 "COMPLETED release of a clean worktree still removes it");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #293: {@code HerdrPeerLauncher.stop()} used to run {@code spaces.closeTab} bare — a
+     * failing {@code tab.close} (any code other than {@code *_not_found}) propagated straight out
+     * of {@code stop()}. {@code SessionManager.release} calls {@code launcher.stop(paneId)} with
+     * no try/catch (fleetd #283 wrapped the WORKTREE-removal step further down, not this one), so
+     * the throw happened <em>before</em> that worktree-removal step ever ran — and by then {@code
+     * registry.remove(paneId)} had already run, so a second {@code stop} is a no-op: the worktree
+     * leaked with no retry path. The pane itself is already closed by the time {@code tab.close}
+     * runs, so its failure is cosmetic workspace tidying, not a real teardown failure. The fix
+     * wraps {@code closeTab} inside {@code stop()} so it no longer throws for this reason; this
+     * test proves both halves at once: {@code release()} does not throw, and it still removes the
+     * worktree.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void releaseStillRemovesTheWorktreeWhenCloseTabFails() {
+        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("cb-293a", null));
+        // FakeHerdr's pane.get always answers with tab_id "w9:t2" for a tab-placement spawn.
+        herdr.tabCloseFailsForTab("w9:t2", "internal_error");
+
+        assertDoesNotThrow(() -> sessions.release(s.paneId()),
+                "a failing tab.close is cosmetic (the pane is already closed by then) — it must not "
+                        + "propagate out of release()");
+
+        assertTrue(herdr.called("tab.close"), "tab.close was still attempted");
+        assertEquals(List.of(s.worktree()), worktrees.removeCalls(),
+                "release() must still remove the worktree even though tab.close failed — this is "
+                        + "the leak fleetd #293 reports: before the fix, release() never reached this "
+                        + "step at all");
+        assertTrue(sessions.get(s.paneId()).isEmpty(), "the session is still deregistered");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void unchangedRegressionDirtyCompletedReleaseStillPreservesTheWorktree() {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();

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

@@ -212,9 +212,41 @@ class WorktreeSessionManagerTest {
         assertEquals("/repo", remove.repoRoot());
         assertEquals(s.worktree(), remove.worktreePath());
         // The fake records no branch-delete calls because Worktrees.remove only removes the checkout.
+        assertTrue(worktrees.deleteBranchCalls().isEmpty(),
+                "a normal release must NEVER delete the branch — it is the worker's only recoverable "
+                        + "copy of committed work, and only the failed-provisioning path may remove it");
         assertTrue(sessions.get(paneId).isEmpty(), "released session is no longer retrievable");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #283 defect 1. Every other cleanup step in {@code release()} is wrapped in try/catch,
+     * because {@code exec()} can throw on a non-zero exit or its own 30s timeout — this was the one
+     * step left bare. By the time it runs, the registry entry, the retained handle, and the pane are
+     * all already gone, so a throw here used to escape {@code release()} after the session was
+     * already fully torn down: a second stop on the same paneId is a no-op (nothing left to find),
+     * so there was no retry path, and the caller saw a failed stop for a session that was in fact
+     * gone. This test makes the worktree removal throw and asserts release() still completes with
+     * the pane stopped and the registry clean.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void releaseCompletesAndStopsPaneEvenWhenWorktreeRemovalThrows() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FakeWorktrees worktrees = new FakeWorktrees().withRepoRoot("/repo").withPrefix("/wt")
+                .failRemove("stale index lock");
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workerService(herdr), worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("cb-283-1", null));
+        String paneId = s.paneId();
+
+        sessions.release(paneId); // must not throw
+
+        assertTrue(herdr.called("pane.close"), "the pane is still stopped despite the removal failure");
+        assertEquals(1, worktrees.removeCalls().size(), "worktree removal was still attempted");
+        assertTrue(sessions.get(paneId).isEmpty(),
+                "the session is deregistered regardless of the removal failure");
+        assertEquals(0, sessions.size(), "the registry is left clean");
+    }
+
     /**
      * CB-576. A normal {@code COMPLETED} release whose worktree holds uncommitted work must NOT
      * remove it — {@code --force} would destroy the worker's only copy. The bridge cannot see
@@ -352,6 +384,39 @@ class WorktreeSessionManagerTest {
         assertEquals(0, sessions.size(), "failed acquire leaves no registry entry");
         assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"), "spawn is never reached when add fails");
         assertTrue(worktrees.removeCalls().isEmpty(), "no worktree was added, so none is removed");
+        assertTrue(worktrees.deleteBranchCalls().isEmpty(),
+                "add() itself never created the branch in git, so there is nothing to delete");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #283 defect 2. {@code acquireWithWorktree}'s catch covers every failure AFTER
+     * {@code worktrees.add()} returns — {@code overlayParity}, {@code shareWithGroup},
+     * {@code launcher.spawn} itself — so by the time it runs, {@code branch} was actually created in
+     * git. It removed only the worktree and forgot the branch, leaking a {@code worker/<slug>-<nonce>}
+     * branch on every routine spawn failure (a quarantined credential, a backend refusal). This test
+     * makes {@code overlayParity} (a post-add() step) throw and asserts the branch is deleted, the
+     * same way #274 already does for the sibling failure inside {@code add()} itself.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void spawnFailureAfterAddDeletesTheOrphanedBranch() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FakeWorktrees worktrees = new FakeWorktrees().withRepoRoot("/repo").withPrefix("/wt")
+                .failOverlay("overlayParity failed");
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workerService(herdr), worktrees);
+
+        assertThrows(WorktreeException.class, () ->
+                sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                        new WorktreeRequest("cb-283-2", null)));
+
+        assertEquals(0, sessions.size(), "failed acquire leaves no registry entry");
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"), "spawn is never reached when overlayParity fails");
+        assertEquals(1, worktrees.removeCalls().size(), "the worktree checkout is still removed");
+        assertEquals(1, worktrees.deleteBranchCalls().size(),
+                "the orphaned branch that add() actually created must also be deleted");
+        FakeWorktrees.DeleteBranchCall del = worktrees.lastDeleteBranch();
+        assertEquals("/repo", del.repoRoot());
+        FakeWorktrees.AddCall add = worktrees.lastAdd();
+        assertEquals(add.branch(), del.branch(), "the branch deleted is the exact one add() created");
     }
 
     @Test