fleetd #726 unit 2: scope the member-daemon assertion to the roll itself

The assembled daemon's own boot-time orphan-worker reap makes a real call on
the member fake before any roll starts. Clear the member fake's recorded
calls once assembly finishes and before the roll begins, so the assertion
measures calls made since the roll started rather than the whole process's
lifetime, and reword its message to say so.

.claude/skills/handover/SKILL.md

@@ -159,6 +159,29 @@ fails.
 
 `{action: "cancel", token}` drops a pending request without rolling.
 
+**A change is coming: the roll will restart the process instead of sending `/clear` (fleetd #726
+unit 2, written 2026-10-04).**
+
+Today a roll types `/clear` into your pane. Your `claude` process keeps running, so a newer CLI on
+disk is never loaded. Unit 2 replaces that: the daemon ends the old pane, launches a fresh one,
+waits for the new terminal to be recognised as a lead, and only then sends the bootstrap text.
+
+**Everything below about `/clear` is accurate while the old jar is running.** Unit 2 was not merged
+when this note was written, and a merge is not a deployment.
+
+**How to tell which one is live: read your own tool list.** If `fleet_handover`'s description says
+it will "clear your pane", the daemon is serving the old behaviour. If it names a restart, the new
+behaviour is live. The description comes from the running daemon, so it cannot disagree with the
+code that is actually loaded.
+
+Two things change for you once it is live. The `status` outcomes are different: three new failures
+replace the `/clear` ones. And the "never observed as WORKING after 8 consecutive IDLE/DONE polls"
+warning described below can no longer appear, because that wait is deleted — so if you still see
+it, the old jar is running. `TURN_NEVER_SETTLED` does not change, and still means nothing was
+touched.
+
+**Delete this note and rewrite the `/clear` paragraphs once the new jar is live.**
+
 **Things that will surprise you:**
 
 - **`accepted` does not mean your pane has been cleared.** It means every gate passed and the roll
@@ -200,13 +223,18 @@ fails.
 
 - **The roll can still refuse after `confirm` returns**, and by then there is no caller to tell.
   Those outcomes are logged only, as `lead-rollover:` lines in the daemon log.
-- **The bootstrap prompt works end to end. Measured 2026-09-22.** This used to say the fix was
-  unproven (fleetd #489) and told you to expect a failure. That is no longer true. The daemon log
-  now holds four `lead-rollover: rolled` lines, and three of them ran on 2026-09-22 at 10:01:43,
-  10:38:28 and 11:15:47. Each one cleared the old lead and started a fresh session against the
-  handover file, with the configured `bootstrapText` arriving as its first message. No context was
-  lost. The old `Unknown command: /clearFresh` failure from 2026-09-12 does not appear in the log
-  at all. Re-measure both numbers with:
+- **The bootstrap prompt works end to end. Measured 2026-09-22, re-measured 2026-10-04.** This used
+  to say the fix was unproven (fleetd #489) and told you to expect a failure. That is no longer
+  true. On 2026-09-22 the daemon log held four `lead-rollover: rolled` lines. On 2026-10-04 it holds
+  **20**, against a control of 86 `lead-rollover:` lines. Each roll cleared the old lead and started
+  a fresh session against the handover file, with the configured `bootstrapText` arriving as its
+  first message. No context was lost. The old `Unknown command: /clearFresh` failure from 2026-09-12
+  does not appear in the log at all.
+
+  19 of the 20 carry an `elapsedMs`: median 16507 ms, maximum 48261 ms, and two above 45000 ms. That
+  figure times the **whole** roll, and the wait for your own turn to end dominates it, so do not
+  read it as the cost of the clear. Expect a roll to take tens of seconds, and do not treat a slow
+  one as a failed one. Re-measure all of these with:
 
   ```bash
   grep -c "lead-rollover: rolled" fleetd/fleetd.out   # successful rolls

CLAUDE.md

@@ -27,26 +27,31 @@ through its `fleet_*` tools. No session addresses a peer, a broker, or the netwo
 **Every role reads this file.** A member runs in a git worktree of this same repo, so it inherits
 this `CLAUDE.md` verbatim, and every rule below is role-conditional.
 
-**Call `fleet_whoami`.** It returns `primary`, `worker`, `architect`, or `collaborator`, resolved by
-the daemon from your connection — unforgeable, and the same resolution its authorization gate uses.
-A worker also carries its `sessionId`, `profile`, `worktree` and `branch`; an architect carries the
-slot name it was bound to; a collaborator carries its registry name and its own `sessionId`, and
-**no `leader` key** — a collaborator is a named peer, not a primary. Don't infer what you can ask.
+**Call `fleet_whoami`.** It returns `primary`, `worker`, `architect`, `collaborator`, or `observer`,
+resolved by the daemon from your connection — unforgeable, and the same resolution its authorization
+gate uses. A worker also carries its `sessionId`, `profile`, `worktree` and `branch`; an architect
+carries the slot name it was bound to; a collaborator carries its registry name and its own
+`sessionId`, and **no `leader` key** — a collaborator is a named peer, not a primary. An **observer**
+carries only its own `sessionId`: a pane the daemon could not place as any of the above, authorized
+to `READ`/`METRICS` and to `REPLY`/`ASK` on its own pane and nothing more — never `SEND`, never a
+ticket. Don't infer what you can ask.
 
 Only if that call is unavailable, fall back to these — each is one-way, so keep reading until one
 fires: the reply charter in your system prompt (*"You are a spawned member in the
 claude-bridge fleet"*) ⇒ **spawned member**; fleet tools prefixed `mcp__fleet__*` ⇒ **spawned
 member** (the launcher fixes that mount name; a primary's mount is named by whoever wrote its
 `.mcp.json`, so it varies — and a member spawned before CB-632 still says `mcp__bridge__*`); `ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL` set ⇒ **spawned member** (Claude-model members run
-on a clean env, so its *absence* proves nothing). None of these separate a worker from an architect —
-only `fleet_whoami` does. **And none of them fires for a collaborator at all**: every signal in the
-ladder detects a *spawned* member, while a collaborator is a tab a person opened by hand, so it has
-no charter, no fixed mount name and a normal environment. A collaborator that cannot call
-`fleet_whoami` therefore falls to the line below and acts as a worker. That is the safe direction —
-it under-privileges, and the refusals are loud — but it means a collaborator has no way to learn
-what it is except by asking. **Still unsure ⇒ act as a worker**, the most restricted member role. The
-two mistakes are not symmetric: a primary acting as a worker is refused by the authorization gate —
-loud and self-correcting — while a member acting as the primary ends its turn with no `fleet_reply`,
+on a clean env, so its *absence* proves nothing). None of these separate a worker from an architect,
+or a worker from an **observer** — an observer is just as unspawned as a collaborator and carries
+none of these signals either, so only `fleet_whoami` tells the two apart. **And none of them fires
+for a collaborator at all**: every signal in the ladder detects a *spawned* member, while a
+collaborator is a tab a person opened by hand, so it has no charter, no fixed mount name and a
+normal environment. A collaborator — or an observer — that cannot call `fleet_whoami` therefore falls
+to the line below and acts as a worker. That is the safe direction — it under-privileges, and the
+refusals are loud — but it means a collaborator or an observer has no way to learn what it is except
+by asking. **Still unsure ⇒ act as a worker**, the most restricted member role this ladder can name.
+The two mistakes are not symmetric: a primary acting as a worker is refused by the authorization gate
+— loud and self-correcting — while a member acting as the primary ends its turn with no `fleet_reply`,
 and the sender silently receives nothing. Fail toward the recoverable error.
 
 ### Invariants — every role, no exceptions
@@ -100,7 +105,11 @@ below are the procedure — run them in order, every task, not only the big ones
 5. **Collect** — `fleet_poll{ticket}` → `fleet_ack{target, msgId}`. Answer a worker's `fleet_ask`
    with `fleet_send{turnId, content}` — **not** `sessionId`. A worker gone quiet is diagnosed with
    `fleet_status`, never by reading its terminal; it also reports an open question and the `turnId`
-   that answers it. **A worker's ask waits ~55 seconds, and no nudge makes that longer** — so never
+   that answers it — but **only to the caller that created that delegation**, so a question raised
+   under an architect's brief is invisible to you, and seeing none does not mean there is none.
+   **Only that same creator can answer it.** A `turnId` you came by any other way is refused, so an
+   architect's worker waits for that architect and not for you.
+   **A worker's ask waits ~55 seconds, and no nudge makes that longer** — so never
    brief a worker to "ask me". Decide before you delegate, or give it an explicit default.
    **A correction cannot reach a busy member.** A `fleet_send` to a working member is *accepted* and
    returns a ticket, and is then never delivered — measured here three times in one session, and the
@@ -165,10 +174,10 @@ you decide.
 | See the fleet | `fleet_list` → `leads` (your peers) + `members` (each carries `agentSessionId` when its backend knows one) + `loopHealth` (`RUNNING`, `STALLED`, or `STOPPED` for `statusPoller` and `sessionReaper`) · one peer's state: `fleet_status{sessionId}` |
 | Delegate (blocking) | `fleet_send{sessionId, content}` |
 | Delegate (long task) | `fleet_send{sessionId, content, wait:false}` → ticket → `fleet_poll{ticket}` |
-| Answer a member's `fleet_ask` | `fleet_send{turnId, content}` — **not** `sessionId` |
+| Answer a member's `fleet_ask` | `fleet_send{turnId, content}` — **not** `sessionId`, and only the caller that created that delegation |
 | Message a **peer lead** on this host | `fleet_send{sessionId: <their terminal>, content}` — `fleet_list` → `leads` reports it. Coordination only, **never** a task |
 | Message a **peer lead** on another daemon or host | `fleet_send{coordId: <their coord-id>, content}` — needs a `coordinator:` block; your own coord-id is in `fleet_list`. Coordination only, **never** a task |
-| Message a **collaborator** on this host | `fleet_send{sessionId: <their terminal>, content}` — but **`fleet_list` does not report collaborators**, so you cannot discover one: it must tell you its `sessionId`, which its own `fleet_whoami` gives it. Coordination only, **never** a task |
+| Message a **collaborator** on this host | `fleet_send{sessionId: <their terminal>, content}` — `fleet_list` reports a `collaborators` array, and each row carries that peer's `name` and the `sessionId` you send to. It is visible to you, to an architect and to another collaborator, never to a worker. Coordination only, **never** a task |
 | Answer a peer lead that messaged you | `fleet_send{coordId}` — or `{sessionId}` if they are on this host. **Not** `fleet_reply`: it has no peer route and the publish is refused |
 | Read your own held lead-to-lead mail (no ack) | `fleet_poll{coordId: <your own coord-id, from fleet_list's coordinator.selfId>}` — primary-only; never acks, so `fleet_list`'s `held[]` still shows it after. `fleet_list`'s `held[]` gives only a truncated preview — this is the only way to read the full body |
 | Collect a held reply | `fleet_poll{target}` · then `fleet_ack{target, msgId}` |
@@ -257,8 +266,8 @@ of those is refused at the gate, not queued.
 Two limits worth knowing before you hit them. **You cannot reach a worker** — not even to help one —
 because a worker belongs to the lead that spawned it, and routing around that would make you a
 second orchestrator with no plan. Send to the lead instead. And **you cannot read a ticket**, so you
-cannot collect a delegation's reply; ticket ids are a plain counter with no owner check, so holding
-one would let you walk every other session's answers.
+cannot collect a delegation's reply: `fleet_poll` refuses you at the role gate, and a ticket also
+records the terminal that created it, so even a leaked id reads nothing.
 
 Being named buys you a channel, not authority. Your `fleet_send` to a lead is coordination between
 peers: the lead owes you no obedience, and you owe it none.
@@ -330,10 +339,22 @@ must obey belongs in the charter, not here.
   (#362). **Read `plugin/` before designing anything about onboarding a project.** Two limits are
   structural, not bugs: a plugin cannot carry the role agent files, because
   `ClaudeCodeLauncher.java:371` requires `<cwd>/.claude/agents/<role>.md` in the member's own
-  worktree; and a plugin cannot deliver anything to members at all, because
-  `ClaudeCodeLauncher.java:285` exports `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR` and every Claude profile here sets it,
-  so a member never reads the operator's plugin store. **The plugin is the lead-side surface;
-  member-facing assets travel in the worktree.**
+  worktree; and a plugin reaches a member only through `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`, which
+  `ClaudeCodeLauncher.java:286` exports with `putIfPresent` — so only for a profile that sets
+  `configDir`. Every `claude-code` profile does set one (the four without are `opencode`, which
+  never reads that variable). **But measured 2026-10-04: two of them point at
+  `~/.ccs/instances/ltms`, which is the operator's own `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR` on this host.** So for an
+  `opus` or `sonnet` member, "a member never reads the operator's plugin store" is false — it reads
+  the same store, because that store is the one its `configDir` names. It stays true for `local` and
+  `local-direct`, which point at `~/.ccs/instances/gx10`. `ClaudeCodeLauncher`'s own javadoc names
+  the related hazard: that file is rewritten on every spawn, so for those two profiles fleetd and the
+  operator's live session write the same `.claude.json`, and its compare-and-swap "narrows the
+  lost-update window, it does not close it". Re-measure which profiles share the operator's dir with
+  `awk '/^profiles:/{i=1;next} /^[a-z]/{i=0} i&&/^  [a-z-]+:$/{p=$1} i&&/configDir:/{print p,$2}'
+  fleetd/fleetd.yaml` against `echo $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`; delete this note once no profile names the
+  operator's dir. **Treat the plugin as the lead-side surface and put member-facing assets in the
+  worktree** — that conclusion holds either way, because a worktree asset does not depend on which
+  config dir a member reads.
 - **Never commit** `.mcp.json` (the primary's local copy, flagged `--skip-worktree`) or `wiki/`
   (a submodule with its own remote).
 - **A provisioned worktree neutralizes `.mcp.json`, `opencode.json` and `.autoenv`** — the repo's

fleetd/fleetd.example.yaml

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

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

@@ -226,9 +226,8 @@ public final class Fleetd {
      * is the same way — a person's own tab, matched to a configured name, never spawned.
      *
      * <p>Neither a lead nor a collaborator is ever enrolled in {@link MemberPresence} — {@code
-     * FleetMcp} marks presence for every spawned member (worker and architect), deliberately, since
-     * that map doubles as the member roster's availability signal and a lead or collaborator counted
-     * there would show up as an available member. So without the second and third disjuncts a lead or
+     * FleetMcp} marks presence only for a worker, an architect, or the unconfigured-pane floor,
+     * never for a lead or a collaborator. So without the second and third disjuncts a lead or
      * collaborator is permanently un-deliverable: every send to one sat on the gate for
      * {@code READINESS_GRACE_POLLS} (~60s) and then failed having never been typed into the pane.
      *
@@ -942,21 +941,27 @@ public final class Fleetd {
      *                          cfg.leadHeartbeat()}
      * @param leadAgents        the {@link AgentControl} instance that reaches the LEAD's pane (not
      *                          {@code memberAgents}), normally {@code router.leadAgents()}
+     * @param leadSpaces        the {@link WorkspaceControl} instance that reaches the LEAD's
+     *                          workspace, normally {@code router.leadSpaces()} — used to tear down
+     *                          a rolled lead's old pane and confirm it is gone
+     * @param launcher          starts the fresh lead a roll relaunches once the old one is gone
      * @param config            the live {@link ConfigRef}, captured only inside the returned
-     *                          supplier and the workspace lookup — never dereferenced here
+     *                          supplier and the two lookups below — never dereferenced here
      * @param liveLeadTerminals terminal id → lead NAME for every CURRENTLY recognised lead, normally
      *                          the same {@code leads} supplier {@code main} already builds for
      *                          {@code HerdrRouter}/{@link #leadSeatLookup} — never a value snapshot
      * @return a constructed {@link LeadRollover}, or {@code null} when {@code leadRollover:} is
      *         absent from the startup config
      */
-    static LeadRollover leadRollover(FleetConfig cfg, AgentControl leadAgents, ConfigRef config,
+    static LeadRollover leadRollover(FleetConfig cfg, AgentControl leadAgents,
+            WorkspaceControl leadSpaces, LeadLauncher launcher, ConfigRef config,
             Supplier<Map<String, String>> liveLeadTerminals) {
         if (cfg.leadRollover() == null) {
             return null;
         }
+        Function<String, String> leadNameForTerminal = terminal -> liveLeadTerminals.get().get(terminal);
         Function<String, String> leadWorkspace = terminal -> {
-            String leadName = liveLeadTerminals.get().get(terminal);
+            String leadName = leadNameForTerminal.apply(terminal);
             if (leadName == null) {
                 return null;
             }
@@ -964,7 +969,8 @@ public final class Fleetd {
             FleetConfig.Leader leader = fleet == null ? null : fleet.leaders().get(leadName);
             return leader == null ? null : leader.cwd();
         };
-        return new LeadRollover(leadAgents, () -> config.get().leadRollover(), leadWorkspace);
+        return new LeadRollover(leadAgents, leadSpaces, launcher, () -> config.get().leadRollover(),
+                leadWorkspace, leadNameForTerminal, liveLeadTerminals);
     }
 
     /**

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

@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.power.CaffeinateSleepAssertionMechanism;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.power.IdleSleepGuard;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.rest.FleetApp;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.GitWorktrees;
-import dev.ltms.fleet.session.MemberSession;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionReaper;
 import io.javalin.Javalin;
@@ -298,11 +297,15 @@ final class FleetdAssembly {
         leadsRef.set(leads);
         collaboratorTerminalsRef.set(collaboratorTerminals);
 
+        // Constructed unconditionally — it is cheap and side-effect free — so a LeadRollover built
+        // below can relaunch a lead even on a boot where herdr was down for the ensureLeads() call.
+        LeadLauncher leadLauncher = new LeadLauncher(router.leadAgents(), router.leadSpaces(), cfg);
+
         // CB-558: start any declared lead that is not already running. After the scanner is built,
         // and only when herdr answered — the launcher's whole safety property is that it can count
         // live leads first, and must never guess and risk a second orchestrator.
         if (herdrUp && !leaders.isEmpty()) {
-            int launched = new LeadLauncher(router.leadAgents(), router.leadSpaces(), cfg).ensureLeads();
+            int launched = leadLauncher.ensureLeads();
             if (launched > 0) {
                 log.info("lead auto-launch: {} lead(s) started", launched);
             }
@@ -441,7 +444,8 @@ final class FleetdAssembly {
             heartbeatScheduler.shutdownNow();
         }
         // fleetd #480: lead rollover. Opt-in; absent `leadRollover:` this is never constructed.
-        LeadRollover leadRollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(cfg, router.leadAgents(), config, leads);
+        LeadRollover leadRollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(cfg, router.leadAgents(), router.leadSpaces(),
+                leadLauncher, config, leads);
         MessageService messages = new MessageService(router, injector, rendezvous, replyInbox,
                 pushLoop, metrics);
 
@@ -480,13 +484,9 @@ final class FleetdAssembly {
                 new PaneLocator(herdr, memberHerdr), new LsofPeerPidLookup(), new LsofProcessCwdLookup());
 
         // fleetd #669 Unit D: a live spawned member resolves as its own role, whatever a tab map
-        // says about the same terminal — read from the roster meant for a hot path (SessionManager
-        // javadoc), never rosterResolved(), since resolve() runs on every request.
-        Function<String, MemberRole> spawnedMemberRole = terminal -> sessions.roster().stream()
-                .filter(s -> terminal.equals(s.terminalId()))
-                .map(MemberSession::role)
-                .findFirst()
-                .orElse(null);
+        // says about the same terminal. fleetd #702: SessionManager.spawnedMemberRole also answers
+        // for a pane mid-teardown, not only one still in the registry — see its javadoc.
+        Function<String, MemberRole> spawnedMemberRole = sessions::spawnedMemberRole;
 
         // CB-501: one resolver behind both entry paths. Worker identity still comes from the
         // connection and is never token-gated, so enabling token mode cannot lock the fleet out.

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

@@ -75,6 +75,9 @@ public final class Authz {
      * {@code SEND} is refused, as if no terminal were a configured lead or collaborator — the
      * same decision {@link #NO_KNOWN_LEAD_OR_COLLABORATOR} gives explicitly. Every other action's
      * result is identical to the four-argument form's, since none of them consult the classifier.
+     *
+     * <p>Its default classifier denies every collaborator, so a caller enforcing authorization
+     * must use the four-argument form instead.
      */
     public static boolean permits(Principal caller, Action action, String targetSession) {
         return permits(caller, action, targetSession, NO_KNOWN_LEAD_OR_COLLABORATOR);
@@ -135,13 +138,15 @@ public final class Authz {
             // fleet_whoami — and carries no secrets: no ticket reply, no pending question, and no
             // other session's turn state. Those live under TASK_READ. METRICS is the separate
             // Prometheus scrape. Both are open to every authenticated role, including a
-            // collaborator.
+            // collaborator and the unconfigured-pane floor.
             case READ, METRICS -> caller.isPrimary() || caller.isWorker() || caller.isArchitect()
-                    || caller.isCollaborator();
+                    || caller.isCollaborator() || caller.isObserver();
 
             // Ticket polling and session status, open to every role READ is open to except a
-            // collaborator: ticket ids are a sequential counter with no owner check, so a holder
-            // could walk every ticket and read another session's delegation reply.
+            // collaborator or an observer. MessageService compares a ticket's creator to the
+            // caller on every read as well, so dropping this gate would not expose another
+            // session's reply — it would move the refusal later and widen what a caller that
+            // never orchestrates can probe.
             case TASK_READ -> caller.isPrimary() || caller.isWorker() || caller.isArchitect();
 
             // fleetd #421: reading held lead-to-lead mail is the primary's alone. An architect

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@@ -1416,17 +1416,16 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      * before anything exists to call — the same fact already true of adding a brand-new
      * {@code profiles:} entry.
      *
-     * <p><strong>{@code turnSettleSeconds} (fleetd #480 correction):</strong> {@code confirm()} is
-     * called FROM the calling lead's own turn, so its pane is still {@code WORKING} the instant
-     * {@code confirm()} validates every gate and schedules the roll. {@code
-     * dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover}'s deferred continuation waits up to this many seconds for
-     * that SAME pane to report {@code IDLE} or {@code DONE} — i.e. for the calling turn to actually
-     * end — before it sends {@code /clear} at all. {@code BLOCKED} does not count: that is a live
-     * turn merely paused, not one that has finished. If that wait times out, no {@code /clear} is
-     * ever sent: a lead that never goes idle is still doing real work, and clearing it would
-     * destroy live context. This is a separate wait from {@code clearSettleSeconds} below, which
-     * bounds the SECOND wait, for the pane to reach {@code IDLE} or {@code DONE} again AFTER
-     * {@code /clear} has already gone out.
+     * <p><strong>{@code turnSettleSeconds}:</strong> {@code confirm()} is called FROM the calling
+     * lead's own turn, so its pane is still {@code WORKING} the instant {@code confirm()} validates
+     * every gate and schedules the roll. {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover}'s deferred
+     * continuation waits up to this many seconds for that SAME pane to report {@code IDLE} or
+     * {@code DONE} — i.e. for the calling turn to actually end — before it ends the old pane's
+     * process at all. {@code BLOCKED} does not count: that is a live turn merely paused, not one
+     * that has finished. If that wait times out, the old pane is never touched: a lead that never
+     * goes idle is still doing real work, and the roll ends that pane's whole process — there is no
+     * way back from this once it runs, so this wait is the only thing standing between "still
+     * working" and "gone".
      *
      * @param handoverPath required when this block is present — where the handover file a fresh
      *                     lead session reads must live. There is no sane non-null default for an
@@ -1447,36 +1446,49 @@ public record FleetConfig(
      *                     attempt can never be mistaken for a fresh one.
      * @param turnSettleSeconds default 300 — bound on how long the deferred roll waits for the
      *                     CALLING lead's own turn to end (its pane to report {@code IDLE} or
-     *                     {@code DONE}) before sending {@code /clear} at all. See the paragraph
-     *                     above.
-     * @param clearSettleSeconds default 20 — bound on how long to wait for the lead's pane to
-     *                     report {@code IDLE} or {@code DONE} again after {@code /clear} before
-     *                     giving up. A roll that times out here never sends {@code bootstrapText}.
+     *                     {@code DONE}) before ending that pane's process at all. See the
+     *                     paragraph above.
+     * @param relaunchReadySeconds default 45 — bound on EACH of two separate waits that run after
+     *                     the old lead's pane has been torn down and a fresh one launched: first,
+     *                     for the fresh pane itself to reach a real turn boundary ({@code IDLE} or
+     *                     {@code DONE}, never merely {@code BLOCKED}) — the safety gate, since
+     *                     typing into a pane that has not finished booting loses the keystrokes;
+     *                     second, for the fresh terminal to show up as a recognised lead, which is
+     *                     bookkeeping rather than a safety gate, so a timeout on this second wait
+     *                     does not withhold {@code bootstrapText} — it is sent once the pane is
+     *                     ready regardless. Recognition comes from the same periodically-refreshed
+     *                     scan {@code LeadTabScanner} already keeps ({@code scanIntervalSeconds},
+     *                     10s live), so a budget has to clear more than one scan interval to leave
+     *                     any real margin for the CLI's own boot time; 20 was rejected for exactly
+     *                     that reason — at a 10s scan interval it only buys two scans. 45 buys
+     *                     roughly four. Only a timeout on the FIRST wait (the pane never becomes
+     *                     ready) withholds {@code bootstrapText}.
      * @param bootstrapText default a sentence naming the RESOLVED handover path — sent to the
-     *                     lead's pane once it settles after {@code /clear}, telling the fresh
-     *                     session where to read the handover and carry on. Left {@code null} here
-     *                     when the operator configures none: the default sentence cannot be built
-     *                     at construction time because it must name the path AFTER {@code
-     *                     dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover#open} has resolved a relative {@code
-     *                     handoverPath} against the calling lead's workspace, which this record has
-     *                     no way to know — see {@link #bootstrapTextFor(String)}.
+     *                     fresh lead's pane once it reaches a real turn boundary after relaunch,
+     *                     telling the fresh session where to read the handover and carry on. Left
+     *                     {@code null} here when the operator configures none: the default sentence
+     *                     cannot be built at construction time because it must name the path AFTER
+     *                     {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover#open} has resolved a relative
+     *                     {@code handoverPath} against the calling lead's workspace, which this
+     *                     record has no way to know — see {@link #bootstrapTextFor(String)}.
      */
     @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
     public record LeadRollover(String handoverPath, Boolean requireOperatorConfirm,
                                 Integer maxDocAgeSeconds, Integer turnSettleSeconds,
-                                Integer clearSettleSeconds, String bootstrapText) {
+                                Integer relaunchReadySeconds, String bootstrapText) {
         public LeadRollover {
             requireOperatorConfirm = requireOperatorConfirm == null || requireOperatorConfirm;
             maxDocAgeSeconds = (maxDocAgeSeconds == null || maxDocAgeSeconds <= 0) ? 3600 : maxDocAgeSeconds;
             turnSettleSeconds = (turnSettleSeconds == null || turnSettleSeconds <= 0) ? 300 : turnSettleSeconds;
-            clearSettleSeconds = (clearSettleSeconds == null || clearSettleSeconds <= 0) ? 20 : clearSettleSeconds;
+            relaunchReadySeconds = (relaunchReadySeconds == null || relaunchReadySeconds <= 0)
+                    ? 45 : relaunchReadySeconds;
             bootstrapText = (bootstrapText == null || bootstrapText.isBlank()) ? null : bootstrapText;
         }
 
         /**
-         * The text actually sent to the lead's pane once it settles after {@code /clear}: the
-         * operator's configured {@link #bootstrapText} when one is set, otherwise the default
-         * sentence built from {@code resolvedHandoverPath}.
+         * The text actually sent to the fresh lead's pane once it reaches a real turn boundary
+         * after relaunch: the operator's configured {@link #bootstrapText} when one is set,
+         * otherwise the default sentence built from {@code resolvedHandoverPath}.
          *
          * @param resolvedHandoverPath the ABSOLUTE path {@code dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover
          *                              #open} already resolved — never the raw configured {@link
@@ -1919,6 +1931,7 @@ public record FleetConfig(
             rejectNegativeMaxLoad(yaml);
             rejectAutoCompactWindowOutOfRange(yaml);
             warnConflictingAutoCompactWindows(yaml);
+            warnRetiredClearSettleSecondsKey(yaml);
             rejectMalformedProfilePatterns(yaml);
             rejectUnknownKind(yaml);
             rejectUnknownAuthMode(yaml);
@@ -2342,6 +2355,33 @@ public record FleetConfig(
                 names, String.join(", ", detail));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Warn when a {@code leadRollover:} block still sets the retired {@code clearSettleSeconds}
+     * key. {@link LeadRollover} carries {@code @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)} and no
+     * longer declares that component, so Jackson drops it with no signal of its own — this raw-YAML
+     * check is the only place an operator's now-inert setting is reported at all; by the time a
+     * {@link LeadRollover} instance exists to run a validator against, the key is already gone.
+     *
+     * @param yaml the raw config text
+     */
+    static void warnRetiredClearSettleSecondsKey(String yaml) {
+        Map<?, ?> raw;
+        try {
+            raw = YAML.readValue(yaml, Map.class);
+        } catch (IOException | IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (raw == null || !(raw.get("leadRollover") instanceof Map<?, ?> leadRollover)) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (leadRollover.containsKey("clearSettleSeconds")) {
+            log.warn("leadRollover.clearSettleSeconds is retired and no longer read. Set "
+                    + "leadRollover.relaunchReadySeconds instead: it bounds how long to wait, after "
+                    + "a lead is relaunched, for its pane to become ready and then for it to be "
+                    + "recognised as a lead. Remove clearSettleSeconds from fleetd.yaml.");
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Reject a profile whose {@code errorPattern} (fleetd #201 Unit 5) or {@code exhaustedPattern}
      * (CB-578 stage A) is not a valid Java regex, naming the profile, the key, and the parser's own

fleetd/src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/herdr/ResilientAgentLaunch.java

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.herdr;
+
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.function.IntFunction;
+
+/**
+ * The three protections every {@code agent.start} caller needs against herdr's pane-typed launch
+ * surface (fleetd #220, #727): a byte-limit check on the assembled command line, a bounded retry
+ * on {@code agent_pane_busy} (the target pane's shell has not reached its prompt yet), and a
+ * bounded retry on {@code agent_name_taken} with a fresh name each attempt. One implementation —
+ * every caller of {@code agent.start}, lead or member, goes through this seam rather than carrying
+ * its own copy.
+ */
+public final class ResilientAgentLaunch {
+
+    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(ResilientAgentLaunch.class);
+
+    private ResilientAgentLaunch() {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The pty line buffer herdr types a launch command into: BSD/macOS {@code MAX_CANON}. Not a
+     * fleetd choice and not configurable — see {@link #checkFits}.
+     */
+    public static final int PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT = 1024;
+
+    /** Per-argument allowance for the separating space and a shell quote pair fleetd cannot see. */
+    private static final int QUOTING_OVERHEAD_PER_ARG = 3;
+
+    /** herdr rejects a duplicate agent {@code name}; a caller retries a bumped name this many times. */
+    public static final int NAME_RETRIES = 8;
+
+    /**
+     * Retries for {@code agent.start} against a seed pane whose shell has not reached its prompt
+     * yet — {@code tab.create}/{@code pane.split} return as soon as the pane exists, and herdr
+     * refuses to start an agent in a pane that is not "an available shell" ({@code agent_pane_busy}).
+     */
+    public static final int SHELL_READY_RETRIES = 20;
+
+    /** Raised by {@link #checkFits} when the assembled command cannot fit the pane line. */
+    public static final class TooLargeException extends RuntimeException {
+        public TooLargeException(String message) {
+            super(message);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Verify the assembled launch line fits the pane herdr types it into. herdr does not exec the
+     * launch command — it TYPES it into the pane as one line, and a pty line buffer holds only
+     * {@value #PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT} bytes. Everything past that byte is dropped with no error
+     * anywhere: herdr answers "agent started", the backend exits on the mangled argument it was
+     * handed, the pane closes, and the only symptom is a readiness timeout with no reason. That is
+     * how fleetd #214 broke every claude-code spawn — one 50-byte flag pushed a 978-byte command to
+     * 1028, and the tail that got cut was {@code --autocompact 250000}.
+     *
+     * <p>So measure it here and refuse, loudly and immediately, rather than start something that
+     * cannot work. The estimate is deliberately conservative: fleetd cannot see herdr's quoting, so
+     * every argument is charged its own bytes plus a separator and a quote pair. An over-estimate
+     * costs a clear error at a length that was already unsafe; an under-estimate would let the
+     * silent truncation back in.
+     *
+     * @param label names the launch in the refusal message (a profile name)
+     * @param argv  the full argv, including the executable at index 0
+     * @throws TooLargeException naming the limit, the estimate, and the longest argument
+     */
+    public static void checkFits(String label, List<String> argv) {
+        int bytes = 0;
+        String longest = null;
+        int longestBytes = 0;
+        for (String arg : argv) {
+            int argBytes = arg == null ? 0 : arg.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8).length;
+            bytes += argBytes + QUOTING_OVERHEAD_PER_ARG;
+            if (argBytes > longestBytes) {
+                longestBytes = argBytes;
+                longest = arg;
+            }
+        }
+        if (bytes <= PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT) {
+            return;
+        }
+        String culprit = longest == null ? "<none>"
+                : longest.substring(0, Math.min(longest.length(), 60)) + (longest.length() > 60 ? "…" : "");
+        throw new TooLargeException(
+                "launch command for " + label + " is about " + bytes + " bytes, over the "
+                        + PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT + "-byte limit of the pane line herdr types it into. "
+                        + "The pty would drop the tail silently and the backend would exit on a mangled "
+                        + "argument. Longest argument is " + longestBytes + " bytes: " + culprit
+                        + " — move it off the command line (a file flag) or shorten it.");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Start an agent into {@code paneId}, retrying {@code agent_pane_busy} up to {@code retries}
+     * times with {@code sleeper} run between attempts.
+     *
+     * @throws HerdrException the last {@code agent_pane_busy} failure once {@code retries} is
+     *                         spent, or immediately for any other herdr failure
+     */
+    public static Agent startAwaitingShellPrompt(AgentControl agents, String name, String kind,
+                                                  List<String> args, String paneId,
+                                                  int retries, Runnable sleeper) {
+        HerdrException busy = null;
+        for (int attempt = 0; attempt < retries; attempt++) {
+            try {
+                return agents.start(name, kind, args, paneId);
+            } catch (HerdrException e) {
+                if (!"agent_pane_busy".equals(e.code())) throw e;
+                log.debug("pane {} not at its shell prompt yet, retrying agent.start", paneId);
+                busy = e;
+                sleeper.run();
+            }
+        }
+        throw busy;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Start an agent under a freshly generated name each attempt, retrying {@code agent_name_taken}
+     * up to {@code nameRetries} times — herdr refuses a duplicate {@code name} outright, so a stale
+     * registry entry (a crashed session, a name the registry has not yet released) must not block a
+     * legitimate relaunch. Each attempt also carries its own {@link #startAwaitingShellPrompt} retry.
+     *
+     * @param nameForAttempt called once per attempt (0-based) to produce that attempt's name
+     * @throws HerdrException the last {@code agent_name_taken} failure once {@code nameRetries} is
+     *                         spent, or immediately for any other herdr failure
+     */
+    public static Agent startUniquelyNamed(AgentControl agents, String kind, List<String> args,
+                                            String paneId, IntFunction<String> nameForAttempt,
+                                            int nameRetries, int shellReadyRetries, Runnable sleeper) {
+        HerdrException last = null;
+        for (int attempt = 0; attempt < nameRetries; attempt++) {
+            String name = nameForAttempt.apply(attempt);
+            try {
+                return startAwaitingShellPrompt(agents, name, kind, args, paneId,
+                        shellReadyRetries, sleeper);
+            } catch (HerdrException e) {
+                if (!"agent_name_taken".equals(e.code())) throw e;
+                log.debug("agent name '{}' taken, retrying", name);
+                last = e;
+            }
+        }
+        throw last;
+    }
+}

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

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PendingCloseMarker;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.ResilientAgentLaunch;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Tab;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Workspace;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.launch.ClaudeCodeArguments;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
+import java.security.SecureRandom;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
 import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
@@ -19,6 +21,7 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.PeerLauncher;
 
 /**
@@ -80,9 +83,19 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(LeadLauncher.class);
 
+    /** Attempts {@link #relaunch(String)} makes before giving up and returning {@code null}. */
+    static final int RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS = 3;
+
     private final AgentControl agents;
     private final WorkspaceControl spaces;
     private final FleetConfig cfg;
+    private final Runnable sleeper;
+
+    // Per-process token mixed into each lead agent name so a fresh daemon process (seq back at 0)
+    // cannot collide with a same-name lead that outlived a restart — the same scheme
+    // HerdrPeerLauncher uses for members (fleetd #727).
+    private final String nameNonce = String.format("%06x", new SecureRandom().nextInt(1 << 24));
+    private final AtomicLong nameSeq = new AtomicLong();
 
     /**
      * @param agents herdr agent control (start, list)
@@ -90,9 +103,27 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
      * @param cfg    the loaded config — {@code fleet.leaders}, {@code profiles} and each lead's tab
      */
     public LeadLauncher(AgentControl agents, WorkspaceControl spaces, FleetConfig cfg) {
+        this(agents, spaces, cfg, () -> sleepUninterruptibly(300));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Test seam: as above, plus an injectable {@code sleeper} for the {@code agent_pane_busy}
+     * retry (fleetd #727), so a test can prove the retry budget without a real sleep.
+     */
+    LeadLauncher(AgentControl agents, WorkspaceControl spaces, FleetConfig cfg, Runnable sleeper) {
         this.agents = agents;
         this.spaces = spaces;
         this.cfg = cfg;
+        this.sleeper = sleeper;
+    }
+
+    /** Uninterruptible sleep — the production {@link #sleeper} between {@code agent_pane_busy} retries. */
+    private static void sleepUninterruptibly(long ms) {
+        try {
+            Thread.sleep(ms);
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -173,24 +204,14 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
                 log.info("lead '{}': {} live, {} wanted — nothing to start", name, running, wanted);
                 continue;
             }
-            if (!lead.isCreatable()) {
-                // A lead with a `tab:` but no `profile:` is recognise-only by design: the operator
-                // opens it by hand. Say so once rather than looking like a silent failure.
-                log.info("lead '{}' is not live, and names no profile — it can be recognised but not "
-                        + "launched. Add `profile:` under fleet.leaders.{} to have fleetd start it.",
-                        name, name);
-                continue;
-            }
 
-            FleetConfig.Profile profile = cfg.profiles().get(lead.profile());
-            if (profile == null) {
-                log.warn("lead '{}' names profile '{}', which is not configured — not launching",
-                        name, lead.profile());
+            ResolvedLead resolved = resolveLaunchable(name);
+            if (resolved == null) {
                 continue;
             }
 
             for (int i = running; i < wanted; i++) {
-                if (launch(name, lead, profile)) {
+                if (launch(name, resolved.lead(), resolved.profile()) != null) {
                     started++;
                 }
             }
@@ -198,6 +219,82 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
         return started;
     }
 
+    /** A declared lead paired with the profile it launches on — {@link #resolveLaunchable}'s result. */
+    private record ResolvedLead(FleetConfig.Leader lead, FleetConfig.Profile profile) {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The declared {@code Leader} and its {@code Profile} for {@code name}, read from the config
+     * snapshot this launcher was constructed with.
+     *
+     * @return the resolved pair, or {@code null} (having logged) if {@code name} is not declared
+     *         under {@code fleet.leaders}, that lead names no {@code profile:} (a {@code tab:}-only,
+     *         recognise-only lead), or its {@code profile:} is not configured. Shared by
+     *         {@link #ensureLeads()} and {@link #relaunch(String)} so the three refusals and their
+     *         wording live in one place.
+     */
+    private ResolvedLead resolveLaunchable(String name) {
+        FleetConfig.Leader lead = cfg.fleet().leaders().get(name);
+        if (lead == null) {
+            log.warn("lead '{}' is not declared under fleet.leaders — not launching", name);
+            return null;
+        }
+        if (!lead.isCreatable()) {
+            // A lead with a `tab:` but no `profile:` is recognise-only by design: the operator
+            // opens it by hand. Say so once rather than looking like a silent failure.
+            log.info("lead '{}' names no profile — it can be recognised but not launched. Add "
+                    + "`profile:` under fleet.leaders.{} to have fleetd start it.", name, name);
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        FleetConfig.Profile profile = cfg.profiles().get(lead.profile());
+        if (profile == null) {
+            log.warn("lead '{}' names profile '{}', which is not configured — not launching",
+                    name, lead.profile());
+            return null;
+        }
+        return new ResolvedLead(lead, profile);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Start the named lead from the config snapshot this launcher was constructed with — not a
+     * live read, so a lead's {@code profile:} or {@code tab:} edited in config needs a daemon
+     * restart to take effect here — outside of {@link #ensureLeads()}'s {@code instances}
+     * bookkeeping.
+     *
+     * @return the started {@link Agent}, or {@code null} if {@code name} is not declared under
+     *         {@code fleet.leaders}, that lead names no {@code profile:} (a {@code tab:}-only,
+     *         recognise-only lead), its {@code profile:} is not configured, or every attempt up to
+     *         {@link #RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS} failed to start it. Never throws.
+     *
+     * <p>Does not count how many instances of this lead are already live. {@link #ensureLeads()}'s
+     * count exists to avoid starting a second orchestrator; the caller of this method has already
+     * decided to replace the lead and owns that decision.
+     *
+     * <p>Retries the whole launch attempt — not only the {@code agent_name_taken}/
+     * {@code agent_pane_busy} cases {@link ResilientAgentLaunch} already retries inside one
+     * {@code agents.start} call — up to {@link #RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS} times, sleeping via the
+     * injected sleeper between attempts, and returns the agent from the first attempt that
+     * succeeds.
+     */
+    public Agent relaunch(String name) {
+        ResolvedLead resolved = resolveLaunchable(name);
+        if (resolved == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS; attempt++) {
+            Agent started = launch(name, resolved.lead(), resolved.profile());
+            if (started != null) {
+                return started;
+            }
+            if (attempt < RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS) {
+                sleeper.run();
+            }
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
     /**
      * How many live leads exist per configured name, and which of that name's labelled tabs are
      * <em>not</em> live: a running agent in a tab labelled with that lead's exact {@code tab}
@@ -306,8 +403,17 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
         return null;
     }
 
-    /** Start one lead. Returns false (having logged) rather than throwing on any failure. */
-    private boolean launch(String name, FleetConfig.Leader lead, FleetConfig.Profile profile) {
+    /**
+     * Start one lead. Returns null (having logged) rather than throwing on any failure.
+     *
+     * <p>Goes through the same {@link ResilientAgentLaunch} seam every member spawn uses
+     * (fleetd #727): the assembled argv is refused outright if it cannot fit the pane line herdr
+     * types it into, a stale {@code agent_name_taken} (a crashed session's name the registry has
+     * not yet released) is retried under a fresh per-attempt name rather than refusing the whole
+     * relaunch, and a seed pane whose shell has not reached its prompt yet ({@code
+     * agent_pane_busy}) is retried rather than failing on the first miss.
+     */
+    private Agent launch(String name, FleetConfig.Leader lead, FleetConfig.Profile profile) {
         String label = lead.tabLabel();
         String cwd = (lead.cwd() == null || lead.cwd().isBlank())
                 ? System.getProperty("user.dir") : lead.cwd();
@@ -323,8 +429,12 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
             // Same shape as the member launchers: herdr resolves the executable from `kind`, so
             // argv[0] (the configured launcher, e.g. `ccs`) is dropped and only the rest is passed.
             List<String> argv = leadArgv(profile);
-            Agent started = agents.start("lead-" + name, herdrKind(profile),
-                    argv.isEmpty() ? argv : argv.subList(1, argv.size()), tab.rootPaneId());
+            ResilientAgentLaunch.checkFits(profile.profile(), argv);
+            List<String> args = argv.isEmpty() ? argv : argv.subList(1, argv.size());
+            Agent started = ResilientAgentLaunch.startUniquelyNamed(agents, herdrKind(profile), args,
+                    tab.rootPaneId(),
+                    attempt -> "lead-" + name + "-" + nameNonce + "-" + nameSeq.incrementAndGet(),
+                    ResilientAgentLaunch.NAME_RETRIES, ResilientAgentLaunch.SHELL_READY_RETRIES, sleeper);
 
             // Label AFTER the start succeeds. A label written before would survive a failed start
             // and then read back as a live lead on the next boot, which is the exact staleness the
@@ -334,7 +444,7 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
             log.info("lead '{}' launched: profile={} tab={} pane={} terminal={} label='{}' cwd={}",
                     name, profile.profile(), tab.tab().tabId(), started.paneId(),
                     started.terminalId(), label, cwd);
-            return true;
+            return started;
         } catch (RuntimeException e) {
             log.warn("lead '{}' failed to launch on profile '{}': {}",
                     name, profile.profile(), e.getMessage());
@@ -346,7 +456,7 @@ public final class LeadLauncher {
                             tab.tab().tabId(), cleanup.getMessage());
                 }
             }
-            return false;
+            return null;
         }
     }
 

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

@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.lead;
 
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
@@ -24,60 +27,69 @@ import java.util.function.Supplier;
 /**
  * fleetd #480: replace a lead session that has decided it is ready to be rolled over, without an
  * operator doing it by hand. A lead writes a handover file, calls {@link #open}, and then — once
- * every gate ({@link #confirm}'s own checks) has passed — a deferred, single-shot continuation
- * clears the lead's own pane and bootstraps a fresh session against that file.
+ * every gate ({@link #confirm}'s own checks) has passed — a deferred, single-shot continuation ends
+ * the lead's own pane, launches a fresh one, and bootstraps that fresh session against the file.
  *
  * <p>This is the executor behind the {@code fleet_handover} MCP tool ({@code
  * dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.FleetMcp#handover}), which drives {@link #open}, {@link #confirm}, {@link
- * #cancel}, and {@link #status} from a tool call — wired in fleetd #480 Unit C. <strong>An earlier
- * version of this paragraph said nothing called this class at all; that stopped being true once
- * that unit landed, and this correction exists so the javadoc does not go on claiming it.</strong>
+ * #cancel}, and {@link #status} from a tool call.
  *
- * <p><strong>{@code confirm()} cannot roll inline — a fleetd #480 correction.</strong> The first
- * version of this class called {@code agents.send(lead, "/clear")} directly from inside {@code
- * confirm()}, then polled for the pane to become injectable again. That is wrong, because {@code
- * confirm()} is called BY the lead, FROM the lead's own turn: the lead's pane is {@code WORKING}
- * for the whole duration of that call and cannot possibly report injectable until {@code confirm()}
- * itself returns. The poll always timed out — but only after the {@code /clear} had already been
- * sent and queued in the pane, where it fired the instant the turn ended anyway. The result was the
- * worst outcome this feature can produce: a silently destroyed lead context with no fresh session
- * ever started, and a refusal return value that claimed nothing had happened.
- *
- * <p>The fix: {@link #confirm} validates every gate, then does no I/O against the lead's own pane
- * at all — it only records that the request is approved and hands a one-shot continuation to
- * {@code continuationRunner} before returning. That continuation is what actually touches the pane,
- * once the calling turn has ended, in this order:
+ * <p><strong>{@code confirm()} cannot roll inline.</strong> {@code confirm()} is called BY the
+ * lead, FROM the lead's own turn: the lead's pane is {@code WORKING} for the whole duration of that
+ * call and cannot possibly report a real turn boundary until {@code confirm()} itself returns. So
+ * {@link #confirm} validates every gate, then does no I/O against the lead's own pane at all — it
+ * only records that the request is approved and hands a one-shot continuation to {@code
+ * continuationRunner} before returning. That continuation is what actually touches the pane, once
+ * the calling turn has ended, in this order:
  * <ol>
  *   <li>wait for the lead's own pane to report a real turn boundary — {@code IDLE} or {@code
  *       DONE}, never merely {@code BLOCKED} — i.e. wait for the very {@code confirm()} call that
  *       approved this roll to finish its turn — bounded by {@code turnSettleSeconds}. <strong>If
- *       this never happens, nothing else in this list runs: no {@code /clear} is ever sent.</strong>
- *       A lead that never goes idle is a lead still doing real work, and clearing it would throw
- *       away live context — exactly the failure this correction exists to prevent.</li>
- *   <li>{@code agents.send(lead, "/clear")}</li>
- *   <li>wait for {@code /clear} to be picked up and settle, bounded by {@code clearSettleSeconds}
- *       (fleetd #489: no longer a plain re-check of the same boundary — {@code /clear} starts no
- *       turn of its own, so this instead nudges the submit keystroke while no pickup has been seen,
- *       then waits for a real {@code WORKING} → {@code IDLE}/{@code DONE} boundary once one has;
- *       see {@link #waitForClearPickupAndSettle})</li>
- *   <li>{@code agents.send(lead, cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()))}</li>
+ *       this never happens, nothing else in this list runs: the old pane is never touched.</strong>
+ *       A lead that never goes idle is a lead still doing real work, and tearing it down would throw
+ *       away live context.</li>
+ *   <li>capture the old pane id (and, through it, the old tab) from {@link AgentControl#get}, with
+ *       a bounded retry — the terminal-to-pane lookup it goes through can itself report a genuinely
+ *       live agent as not found (see {@code AgentControl#agentCall}'s own re-resolve-once
+ *       behaviour), and one false negative here must not abort an otherwise-healthy roll. Neither id
+ *       is ever re-resolved from the terminal again after this — once the pane below is closed there
+ *       is nothing left to resolve it from.</li>
+ *   <li>resolve the lead's configured name from its terminal, for the relaunch step below.</li>
+ *   <li>end the old session: close the pane (an already-gone pane counts as success; any other
+ *       failure propagates), then close its tab only when the pane was that tab's sole occupant —
+ *       the same pane-then-tab teardown {@code HerdrPeerLauncher#stop} uses for a member.</li>
+ *   <li>confirm the old pane is actually gone by polling {@link
+ *       dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl#locatePane} for a {@code null} result — never {@link
+ *       AgentControl#status}, and never the live-lead terminal map, each of which answers a
+ *       different question. <strong>If the old pane is never confirmed gone, no relaunch is
+ *       attempted</strong> — see {@link RollState#OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED}.</li>
+ *   <li>launch a fresh lead with {@code LeadLauncher#relaunch}. <strong>If every attempt fails,
+ *       {@code bootstrapText} is never sent</strong> — see {@link RollState#RELAUNCH_FAILED}.</li>
+ *   <li>wait for the fresh pane to reach a real turn boundary ({@code IDLE} or {@code DONE},
+ *       never merely {@code BLOCKED}), bounded by {@code relaunchReadySeconds}. This is the
+ *       safety gate: typing into a pane that has not actually finished booting loses the
+ *       keystrokes. <strong>If the pane never becomes ready, {@code bootstrapText} is never
+ *       sent</strong> — see {@link RollState#RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY}.</li>
+ *   <li>wait for the fresh terminal to be recognised as a live lead — present in the live-lead
+ *       terminal map — bounded by {@code relaunchReadySeconds}. This is bookkeeping, not a
+ *       safety gate: {@code bootstrapText} is sent either way once the pane is ready, whether or
+ *       not this wait itself times out — see {@link RollState#RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED}.</li>
+ *   <li>{@code agents.send(newTerminal, cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()))} — sent to the
+ *       FRESH terminal, never the one that was just torn down.</li>
  * </ol>
  * A {@link #confirm} that returns {@link RollDecision#approved()} therefore means <em>"every gate
- * passed and the roll is scheduled"</em>, never <em>"the pane has been cleared"</em> — the pane may
- * still be mid-turn, possibly for a long time, when the caller gets that answer back.
+ * passed and the roll is scheduled"</em>, never <em>"the lead has already been replaced"</em> — the
+ * old pane may still be mid-turn, possibly for a long time, when the caller gets that answer back.
  *
- * <p><strong>The safety invariant survives this change, restated precisely.</strong> The ticket
- * that first defined this class required "no timer, no scheduler, no background thread" so that
- * nothing but an explicit {@link #confirm} call could ever cause a {@code /clear}. That invariant
- * is about INITIATIVE, not about synchronicity, and this correction keeps it: {@code
- * continuationRunner} launches a single-shot task that exists only because one specific,
+ * <p><strong>The safety invariant.</strong> "No timer, no scheduler, no background thread" means
+ * that nothing but an explicit {@link #confirm} call can ever tear a lead's pane down.
+ * {@code continuationRunner} launches a single-shot task that exists only because one specific,
  * already-approved {@link #confirm} call created it — it is not recurring, it is not started at
  * construction time or on any schedule, and no two invocations of it ever share state. A recurring
- * heartbeat or timer that could decide on its own initiative to roll a pane is still, and will
- * always be, absent from this class. <strong>Nothing but an explicit {@link #confirm} call that
- * passes every gate can ever cause a {@code /clear} — that call may simply finish its own work
- * slightly later than the method return, as a continuation of the same approved request, rather
- * than entirely inside the method body.</strong>
+ * heartbeat or timer that could decide on its own initiative to roll a pane is absent from this
+ * class. <strong>Nothing but an explicit {@link #confirm} call that passes every gate can ever tear
+ * a pane down — that call may simply finish its own work slightly later than the method return, as
+ * a continuation of the same approved request, rather than entirely inside the method body.</strong>
  *
  * <p><strong>Identity is resolved by the caller, never looked up here — a second fleetd #480
  * correction.</strong> The first version resolved the pane to clear via {@code
@@ -115,19 +127,17 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(LeadRollover.class);
 
-    /** Poll interval while waiting for the lead's pane to settle after {@code /clear}. */
-    static final long SETTLE_POLL_MS = 250;
+    /** Poll interval shared by every bounded wait in this class. */
+    static final long POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 250;
 
     /**
-     * How many consecutive not-yet-picked-up polls {@link #waitForClearPickupAndSettle} allows
-     * before releasing rather than wedging the roll — the same constant and the same
-     * release-not-wedge choice {@link dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector} already makes for its own
-     * post-turn {@code /clear} housekeeping (fleetd #306). <strong>This bounds the number of
-     * consecutive polls, not the number of nudges:</strong> the first {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS - 1}
-     * of those polls each send a nudge, and the {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS}th releases instead of
-     * nudging again — so 8 polls produce 7 nudges, not 8.
+     * How long {@link #waitUntilPaneGone} polls {@link WorkspaceControl#locatePane} before giving
+     * up on ever seeing the old pane disappear. Not configurable: once {@link #endOldSession} has
+     * closed the pane (and, usually, its tab), herdr dropping the pane from its own bookkeeping is
+     * expected to show up within one or two polls, not on an operator-tunable timescale the way a
+     * CLI boot is.
      */
-    static final int PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS = 8;
+    static final int PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 10;
 
     /**
      * One request opened by {@link #open}, pending its {@link #confirm} (or {@link #cancel}).
@@ -164,15 +174,21 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
          * The handover file's modified time is not after {@link #open}'s request timestamp, or is
          * older than {@code maxDocAgeSeconds}.
          */
-        HANDOVER_STALE
+        HANDOVER_STALE,
+        /**
+         * This lead terminal already has a roll running: an earlier {@link #confirm} call claimed
+         * it and that roll's continuation has not released it yet. {@code detail} names the lead
+         * terminal and the token that holds the claim.
+         */
+        ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING
     }
 
     /**
      * The outcome of a {@link #confirm} call. {@link #approved()} means every gate passed and the
-     * roll has been handed to a one-shot continuation — <strong>not</strong> that the pane has been
-     * cleared; the continuation may still be waiting for the calling turn to end when this returns.
-     * Whether the deferred roll itself later goes on to clear the pane, refuse for never going
-     * idle, or refuse for never re-settling after {@code /clear} is logged only (see this class's
+     * roll has been handed to a one-shot continuation — <strong>not</strong> that the lead has
+     * already been replaced; the continuation may still be waiting for the calling turn to end when
+     * this returns. Whether the deferred roll itself later goes on to tear the old pane down and
+     * relaunch the lead, or refuses at any of its own steps, is logged only (see this class's
      * javadoc) — there is deliberately no synchronous caller left by that point to hand a result to.
      */
     public record RollDecision(boolean accepted, RefusalReason reason, String detail) {
@@ -208,7 +224,7 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
 
     /**
      * What is known about one token, right now — the answer {@link #status} gives. Distinguishes
-     * three terminal outcomes an approved roll can finish with, one in-flight outcome for a roll
+     * five terminal outcomes an approved roll can finish with, one in-flight outcome for a roll
      * that has been approved but has not finished yet, and two answers for a token that names no
      * active work at all: still pending confirmation, or nothing known about this token at all.
      */
@@ -231,41 +247,64 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
          * #status} could wrongly answer {@link #UNKNOWN} ("nothing was ever requested") for a roll
          * that is, in fact, actively running. This is not sticky: the deferred continuation
          * overwrites this same entry with a terminal state ({@link #ROLLED}, {@link
-         * #TURN_NEVER_SETTLED}, {@link #CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED}, or {@link #FAILED}) once it finishes
-         * — including by throwing, which fleetd #615's catch in {@link #runRollover} now turns into
-         * {@link #FAILED} instead of leaving this entry stuck forever.
+         * #TURN_NEVER_SETTLED}, {@link #OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED}, {@link #RELAUNCH_FAILED}, {@link
+         * #RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED}, or {@link #FAILED}) once it finishes — including by throwing,
+         * which {@link #runRollover}'s catch turns into {@link #FAILED} instead of leaving this
+         * entry stuck forever.
          */
         IN_PROGRESS,
         /**
-         * {@link #confirm} was approved and the deferred continuation completed the entire roll:
-         * the calling lead's turn settled, {@code /clear} was sent and settled, and {@code
-         * bootstrapText} was sent.
+         * {@link #confirm} was approved and the deferred continuation completed the entire roll: the
+         * calling lead's turn settled, the old pane was torn down and confirmed gone, a fresh lead
+         * was launched and recognised, and {@code bootstrapText} was sent to it.
          */
         ROLLED,
         /**
          * {@link #confirm} was approved, but the calling lead's own turn never reached a boundary
-         * (IDLE or DONE) within {@code turnSettleSeconds} — no {@code /clear} was ever sent, at
-         * all. This is the branch the fleetd #480 correction exists to make safe, and the one this
-         * status exists to make VISIBLE: before this, a lead that hit this case had no way to find
-         * out, and would carry on believing it was about to be replaced. See this class's javadoc.
+         * (IDLE or DONE) within {@code turnSettleSeconds} — the old pane was never touched at all.
+         * This is the state that makes a lead's own stuck turn VISIBLE: without it, a lead that hit
+         * this case would have no way to find out, and would carry on believing it was about to be
+         * replaced. See this class's javadoc.
          */
         TURN_NEVER_SETTLED,
         /**
-         * {@link #confirm} was approved and {@code /clear} was sent, but the pane never re-settled
-         * within {@code clearSettleSeconds} — {@code bootstrapText} was never sent.
+         * {@link #confirm} was approved and the calling lead's turn settled, the old pane was closed
+         * (and its tab, if it was the sole occupant), but {@link
+         * dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl#locatePane} kept reporting it as still present for
+         * the whole pane-death timeout. No relaunch was ever attempted, and {@code bootstrapText}
+         * was never sent.
          */
-        CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED,
+        OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED,
         /**
-         * fleetd #615: the deferred continuation threw a {@link RuntimeException} — most likely a
-         * {@link dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException} out of one of the two unwrapped {@code
-         * agents.send} calls in {@link #runRollover} — and the continuation thread died with it.
-         * Before this state existed, that throw left {@link #outcomes} holding {@link #IN_PROGRESS}
-         * forever, because the production {@code continuationRunner} is a bare virtual thread with
-         * no uncaught-exception handler and nothing downstream of the throw ever ran to write a
-         * terminal outcome. {@code detail} names the exception, so a reader has something to act on
-         * — the same diagnostic style as {@link #TURN_NEVER_SETTLED} and {@link
-         * #CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED}. The roll is dead at this point and does not retry itself; a stuck
-         * lead must {@link #open} a fresh request.
+         * The old pane was confirmed gone, but {@code LeadLauncher#relaunch} returned {@code null}
+         * — every launch attempt failed. {@code bootstrapText} was never sent, and no fresh terminal
+         * exists for this roll to have recognised.
+         */
+        RELAUNCH_FAILED,
+        /**
+         * A fresh lead was launched, but its pane never reached a real turn boundary ({@code IDLE}
+         * or {@code DONE}, never merely {@code BLOCKED}) within {@code relaunchReadySeconds} — the
+         * CLI never finished booting, or it stayed paused on a startup prompt. {@code bootstrapText}
+         * was never sent: typing into a pane that is not actually ready to accept input loses the
+         * keystrokes.
+         */
+        RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY,
+        /**
+         * A fresh lead was launched and its pane reached a real turn boundary, so {@code
+         * bootstrapText} WAS sent to it, but the terminal was never recognised as a live lead —
+         * present in the live-lead terminal map — within {@code relaunchReadySeconds}. The session
+         * itself is alive and bootstrapped; only the daemon's own bookkeeping has not caught up, and
+         * an operator should check why the tab was not recognised.
+         */
+        RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED,
+        /**
+         * The deferred continuation threw a {@link RuntimeException} and the continuation thread
+         * died with it. Without this state, that throw would leave {@link #outcomes} holding {@link
+         * #IN_PROGRESS} forever, because the production {@code continuationRunner} is a bare virtual
+         * thread with no uncaught-exception handler and nothing downstream of the throw ever runs to
+         * write a terminal outcome. {@code detail} names the exception, so a reader has something to
+         * act on. The roll is dead at this point and does not retry itself; a stuck lead must
+         * {@link #open} a fresh request.
          */
         FAILED,
         /**
@@ -286,6 +325,10 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
     public record RollStatus(RollState state, String detail) {}
 
     private final AgentControl agents;
+    /** Workspace/tab/pane control — used to tear down the old pane and confirm it is gone. */
+    private final WorkspaceControl spaces;
+    /** Starts the fresh lead that replaces the one this roll tears down. */
+    private final LeadLauncher launcher;
     private final Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier;
     /**
      * Terminal id → that lead's configured workspace directory (their {@code
@@ -295,8 +338,21 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
      * daemon-cwd bug this parameter exists to fix.
      */
     private final Function<String, String> leadWorkspace;
+    /**
+     * Terminal id → that lead's configured name under {@code fleet.leaders}, or {@code null} when
+     * the terminal names no currently-recognised lead. The deferred continuation calls this, on the
+     * OLD terminal, before tearing it down, so it knows which lead to pass to {@link
+     * LeadLauncher#relaunch}.
+     */
+    private final Function<String, String> leadNameForTerminal;
+    /**
+     * The daemon's current terminal id → lead name map, read fresh on every poll. The deferred
+     * continuation polls this for the FRESH terminal {@link LeadLauncher#relaunch} returns, to
+     * learn when that terminal has been recognised as a live lead — see this class's javadoc.
+     */
+    private final Supplier<Map<String, String>> liveLeadTerminals;
     private final LongSupplier nowMillis;
-    private final Runnable settleSleeper;
+    private final Runnable pollSleeper;
     /**
      * Launches the post-{@code confirm()} continuation. Production uses a single unstarted virtual
      * thread per confirmed request — see this class's javadoc for why that is a single-shot task,
@@ -305,6 +361,15 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
      */
     private final Consumer<Runnable> continuationRunner;
     private final Map<String, PendingRollover> pending = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    /**
+     * Lead terminal → the token of the roll currently holding that terminal exclusive, for
+     * {@link #confirm}'s single-flight claim. {@link #confirm} claims an entry here with an
+     * atomic put-if-absent once every other gate has passed, refusing with {@link
+     * RefusalReason#ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING} when a claim is already held; {@link #runRollover}
+     * releases it in a {@code finally}, on both the success and the thrown-exception path. A
+     * terminal absent from this map has no roll currently in flight for it.
+     */
+    private final Map<String, String> rollingByTerminal = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     /**
      * Finished tokens → what actually happened, for {@link #status}. Bounded by {@link
      * #OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP}, oldest evicted first ({@code removeEldestEntry} on an insertion-order
@@ -323,29 +388,40 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
                 }
             });
 
-    /** Production constructor — wall clock, real sleep between settle polls, a real virtual thread. */
-    public LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
-                         Function<String, String> leadWorkspace) {
-        this(agents, configSupplier, leadWorkspace, System::currentTimeMillis,
-                () -> sleepUninterruptibly(SETTLE_POLL_MS),
+    /** Production constructor — wall clock, real sleep between polls, a real virtual thread. */
+    public LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, WorkspaceControl spaces, LeadLauncher launcher,
+                         Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
+                         Function<String, String> leadWorkspace,
+                         Function<String, String> leadNameForTerminal,
+                         Supplier<Map<String, String>> liveLeadTerminals) {
+        this(agents, spaces, launcher, configSupplier, leadWorkspace, leadNameForTerminal,
+                liveLeadTerminals, System::currentTimeMillis,
+                () -> sleepUninterruptibly(POLL_INTERVAL_MS),
                 r -> Thread.ofVirtual().name("lead-rollover-continuation-").start(r));
     }
 
     /**
-     * Full constructor — an injectable wall-clock supplier, settle-poll sleeper, and continuation
-     * runner, for tests. {@code nowMillis} MUST be a wall-clock source (e.g. {@code
+     * Full constructor — an injectable wall-clock supplier, poll sleeper, and continuation runner,
+     * for tests. {@code nowMillis} MUST be a wall-clock source (e.g. {@code
      * System.currentTimeMillis()}), never {@code System.nanoTime()}: the freshness check compares
      * against a file's modified time, which only a wall clock is comparable to, and {@code
-     * nanoTime} freezes while the host sleeps (fleetd #386).
+     * nanoTime} freezes while the host sleeps.
      */
-    LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
-                 Function<String, String> leadWorkspace, LongSupplier nowMillis,
-                 Runnable settleSleeper, Consumer<Runnable> continuationRunner) {
+    LeadRollover(AgentControl agents, WorkspaceControl spaces, LeadLauncher launcher,
+                 Supplier<FleetConfig.LeadRollover> configSupplier,
+                 Function<String, String> leadWorkspace,
+                 Function<String, String> leadNameForTerminal,
+                 Supplier<Map<String, String>> liveLeadTerminals,
+                 LongSupplier nowMillis, Runnable pollSleeper, Consumer<Runnable> continuationRunner) {
         this.agents = agents;
+        this.spaces = spaces;
+        this.launcher = launcher;
         this.configSupplier = configSupplier;
         this.leadWorkspace = leadWorkspace;
+        this.leadNameForTerminal = leadNameForTerminal;
+        this.liveLeadTerminals = liveLeadTerminals;
         this.nowMillis = nowMillis;
-        this.settleSleeper = settleSleeper;
+        this.pollSleeper = pollSleeper;
         this.continuationRunner = continuationRunner;
     }
 
@@ -487,6 +563,16 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
             return docCheck;
         }
 
+        // Single-flight claim: atomic put-if-absent, taken only after every other gate has
+        // passed, so a refused confirm() never takes it. A non-null previous value means a
+        // different, still-running roll already holds this lead terminal.
+        String holder = rollingByTerminal.putIfAbsent(p.leadTerminal(), token);
+        if (holder != null) {
+            return RollDecision.refused(RefusalReason.ROLL_ALREADY_RUNNING,
+                    "lead terminal " + p.leadTerminal() + " already has a roll running under token "
+                            + holder);
+        }
+
         // Record IN_PROGRESS BEFORE removing from `pending` — see RollState#IN_PROGRESS and
         // OUTCOME_HISTORY_CAP's javadoc. This ordering means `token` is written into `outcomes`
         // while it is STILL present in `pending`; status() checks `outcomes` first (see that
@@ -494,34 +580,48 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
         // remove-then-put ordering would leave in which the token is in neither map.
         outcomes.put(token, new RollStatus(RollState.IN_PROGRESS,
                 "confirm() approved this roll and handed it to the deferred continuation; it has "
-                        + "not finished yet — still waiting for the calling turn to settle, for "
-                        + "/clear to be sent and settle, or for bootstrapText to be sent"));
+                        + "not finished yet — still waiting for the calling turn to settle, for the "
+                        + "old pane to be torn down and confirmed gone, for the fresh lead to be "
+                        + "recognised, or for bootstrapText to be sent"));
         pending.remove(token);
         log.info("lead-rollover: confirmed token={} lead={} — roll scheduled once the calling turn ends",
                 token, callerTerminal);
-        continuationRunner.accept(() -> runRollover(p, cfg));
+        try {
+            continuationRunner.accept(() -> runRollover(p, cfg));
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            // continuationRunner can reject the hand-off itself (e.g. a bounded executor's
+            // RejectedExecutionException) before runRollover ever starts, so runRollover's own
+            // finally — the only other place that releases rollingByTerminal — never runs either.
+            // Release the claim here and overwrite the IN_PROGRESS entry with a terminal outcome,
+            // or this lead terminal could never be rolled again and status() would report
+            // IN_PROGRESS forever for a roll that in fact never started.
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: continuationRunner rejected token={} lead={}: {} — the roll "
+                            + "never started; releasing its claim and reporting it as FAILED",
+                    token, callerTerminal, e.toString(), e);
+            rollingByTerminal.remove(p.leadTerminal(), token);
+            outcomes.put(token, new RollStatus(RollState.FAILED,
+                    "continuationRunner rejected this roll before it ever started: " + e.toString()
+                            + " — the roll never ran; open() a fresh rollover request"));
+        }
         return RollDecision.approved();
     }
 
     /**
      * The single-shot continuation {@link #confirm} hands to {@code continuationRunner}. Runs
      * entirely after {@link #confirm} has returned to its caller — see this class's javadoc for the
-     * four-step order. There is no result to return to by this point, so every outcome is logged
-     * only.
+     * full order. There is no result to return to by this point, so every outcome is logged only.
      *
-     * <p><strong>fleetd #615 — the whole body is wrapped in one {@code try}.</strong> The two {@code
-     * agents.send} calls below are not wrapped individually: {@code send} → {@code agentCall} →
-     * {@code herdr.call} can throw an unchecked {@link dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException} (see
-     * {@code AgentControl.java}), and the production {@code continuationRunner} is a bare virtual
-     * thread with no uncaught-exception handler (see this class's public constructor). Before this
-     * fix, either throw killed the continuation thread silently, leaving the {@link
-     * RollState#IN_PROGRESS} entry {@link #confirm} wrote at hand-off stuck forever — {@link
-     * #status} had no way to tell a dead roll from one still genuinely running. The {@code catch}
-     * below is scoped to the method body rather than to each {@code send} call individually, so it
-     * also covers anything else added to this continuation later, not just today's two call sites —
-     * the same reasoning that put the write-a-terminal-outcome step at each of this method's other
-     * exits (see the {@link RollState#TURN_NEVER_SETTLED} and {@link RollState#CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED}
-     * branches below) rather than inside the helpers that detect them.</p>
+     * <p><strong>The whole body is wrapped in one {@code try}.</strong> Several calls below —
+     * {@code agents.get}, {@code agents.close}, {@code agents.send} — can throw an unchecked {@link
+     * dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException} (see {@code AgentControl.java}), and the production
+     * {@code continuationRunner} is a bare virtual thread with no uncaught-exception handler (see
+     * this class's public constructor). An uncaught throw would kill the continuation thread
+     * silently, leaving the {@link RollState#IN_PROGRESS} entry {@link #confirm} wrote at hand-off
+     * stuck forever — {@link #status} would have no way to tell a dead roll from one still
+     * genuinely running. The {@code catch} below is scoped to the method body rather than to each
+     * call individually, so it also covers every call in this continuation, not a fixed list of
+     * call sites — the same reasoning that put the write-a-terminal-outcome step at each of this
+     * method's other exits rather than inside the helpers that detect them.</p>
      *
      * <p>Only {@link RuntimeException} is caught, matching the local convention {@link
      * #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary} already set around its own {@code agents.status} call — not the
@@ -539,6 +639,12 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
                     "the roll's continuation threw " + e.toString() + " — the roll is dead and will "
                             + "not retry itself; check the daemon log for the stack trace, then open() "
                             + "a fresh rollover request"));
+        } finally {
+            // Release the single-flight claim on both the normal return and the thrown-exception
+            // path above — a release only on success would leave this lead terminal unrollable
+            // forever after one failure. The conditional two-argument remove only clears the
+            // entry this roll itself holds, never a different roll's claim on the same terminal.
+            rollingByTerminal.remove(p.leadTerminal(), p.token());
         }
     }
 
@@ -546,53 +652,237 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
     private void runRolloverUnguarded(PendingRollover p, FleetConfig.LeadRollover cfg) {
         String lead = p.leadTerminal();
         long rollStartMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
+
         TurnSettleResult turnResult = waitUntilAtTurnBoundary(lead, cfg.turnSettleSeconds());
         if (!turnResult.settled()) {
-            // fleetd #494 follow-up: this line had the SAME defect as the /clear-timeout line below
-            // — cfg.turnSettleSeconds() is the CONFIGURED budget, not how long this wait actually
-            // ran. Print the measured elapsed time alongside it, labelled, exactly like the /clear
-            // path already does.
             log.warn("lead-rollover: pane {} did not reach a turn boundary (IDLE or DONE) after "
-                            + "confirm() — refusing to send /clear at all; the calling lead's own "
-                            + "turn is still live and clearing it now would destroy live context "
+                            + "confirm() — the old pane is never touched; the calling lead's own "
+                            + "turn is still live and tearing it down now would destroy live context "
                             + "(token={}, configured={}s elapsed={}ms)",
                     lead, p.token(), cfg.turnSettleSeconds(), turnResult.elapsedMillis());
             outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.TURN_NEVER_SETTLED,
                     "the calling lead's own turn never reached a boundary (IDLE or DONE) within "
                             + "turnSettleSeconds=" + cfg.turnSettleSeconds() + "s (measured elapsed="
-                            + turnResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — no /clear was ever sent. If this "
-                            + "keeps happening, raise turnSettleSeconds in fleetd.yaml"));
+                            + turnResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — the old pane was never touched. If "
+                            + "this keeps happening, raise turnSettleSeconds in fleetd.yaml"));
             return;
         }
 
-        // This deliberately bypasses Injector, exactly like ClaudeCodeLauncher#clearContext:
-        // /clear is housekeeping, not a delegated turn, and routing it through Injector wedges the
-        // pane forever (see this class's javadoc).
-        agents.send(lead, "/clear");
-        ClearSettleResult clearResult = waitForClearPickupAndSettle(lead, cfg.clearSettleSeconds());
-        if (!clearResult.settled()) {
-            // fleetd #494: cfg.clearSettleSeconds() is the CONFIGURED budget, not how long the wait
-            // actually ran — an operator reading only that number wrongly believes it is a measured
-            // duration. Print the measured elapsed time and nudge count alongside it, each labelled,
-            // so the two can be compared at a glance.
-            log.warn("lead-rollover: pane {} did not reach a turn boundary (IDLE or DONE) after "
-                            + "/clear — NOT sending bootstrapText (token={}, configured={}s "
-                            + "elapsed={}ms nudges={})",
-                    lead, p.token(), cfg.clearSettleSeconds(), clearResult.elapsedMillis(),
-                    clearResult.nudges());
-            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.CLEAR_NEVER_SETTLED,
-                    "/clear was sent, but the pane never re-settled within clearSettleSeconds="
-                            + cfg.clearSettleSeconds() + "s (measured elapsed=" + clearResult.elapsedMillis()
-                            + "ms, nudges=" + clearResult.nudges() + ") — bootstrapText was never sent"));
+        // Captured once, here, and never re-resolved from `lead` again below: once the pane is
+        // closed there is nothing left for a terminal lookup to find.
+        Agent oldAgent = captureAgentWithRetry(lead);
+        String oldPaneId = oldAgent.paneId();
+        String leadName = leadNameForTerminal.apply(lead);
+
+        endOldSession(oldPaneId);
+        DeathResult deathResult = waitUntilPaneGone(oldPaneId);
+        if (!deathResult.gone()) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: old pane {} for lead {} was never confirmed gone after being "
+                            + "closed — not attempting a relaunch (token={}, timeout={}s "
+                            + "elapsed={}ms)",
+                    oldPaneId, lead, p.token(), PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, deathResult.elapsedMillis());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED,
+                    "the old pane was closed, but locatePane kept reporting it as still present "
+                            + "after a pane-death timeout=" + PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
+                            + "s (measured elapsed=" + deathResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — no "
+                            + "relaunch was attempted"));
             return;
         }
-        agents.send(lead, cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()));
+
+        Agent newAgent = launcher.relaunch(leadName);
+        if (newAgent == null) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: relaunch of lead '{}' (old terminal {}) failed every attempt "
+                            + "— bootstrapText was never sent (token={})", leadName, lead, p.token());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.RELAUNCH_FAILED,
+                    "lead '" + leadName + "' could not be relaunched — every attempt failed; "
+                            + "bootstrapText was never sent"));
+            return;
+        }
+
+        ReadinessResult readinessResult = waitUntilPaneReady(newAgent.terminalId(),
+                cfg.relaunchReadySeconds());
+        if (!readinessResult.ready()) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: fresh pane for lead '{}' (terminal {}) never reached a real "
+                            + "turn boundary — bootstrapText was never sent (token={}, configured={}s "
+                            + "elapsed={}ms)",
+                    leadName, newAgent.terminalId(), p.token(), cfg.relaunchReadySeconds(),
+                    readinessResult.elapsedMillis());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.RELAUNCH_NEVER_READY,
+                    "fresh terminal " + newAgent.terminalId() + " never reached a real turn "
+                            + "boundary (IDLE or DONE) within relaunchReadySeconds="
+                            + cfg.relaunchReadySeconds() + "s (measured elapsed="
+                            + readinessResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — bootstrapText was never "
+                            + "sent"));
+            return;
+        }
+
+        IdentityResult identityResult = waitUntilRecognisedAsLead(newAgent.terminalId(),
+                cfg.relaunchReadySeconds());
+        agents.send(newAgent.terminalId(), cfg.bootstrapTextFor(p.handoverPath()));
+        if (!identityResult.ready()) {
+            log.warn("lead-rollover: fresh terminal {} for lead '{}' is alive and bootstrapped, but "
+                            + "was never recognised as a live lead — an operator should check why "
+                            + "the tab was not recognised (token={}, configured={}s elapsed={}ms)",
+                    newAgent.terminalId(), leadName, p.token(), cfg.relaunchReadySeconds(),
+                    identityResult.elapsedMillis());
+            outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED,
+                    "bootstrapText was sent to fresh terminal " + newAgent.terminalId() + ", but "
+                            + "it was never recognised as a live lead within relaunchReadySeconds="
+                            + cfg.relaunchReadySeconds() + "s (measured elapsed="
+                            + identityResult.elapsedMillis() + "ms) — check why the tab was not "
+                            + "recognised"));
+            return;
+        }
+
         long rollElapsedMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong() - rollStartMillis;
-        log.info("lead-rollover: rolled token={} lead={} elapsedMs={}", p.token(), lead, rollElapsedMillis);
+        log.info("lead-rollover: rolled token={} oldLead={} newTerminal={} elapsedMs={}",
+                p.token(), lead, newAgent.terminalId(), rollElapsedMillis);
         outcomes.put(p.token(), new RollStatus(RollState.ROLLED,
-                "rolled successfully in " + rollElapsedMillis + "ms"));
+                "rolled successfully in " + rollElapsedMillis + "ms; new terminal="
+                        + newAgent.terminalId()));
     }
 
+    /** Attempts {@link #captureAgentWithRetry} makes before letting the failure propagate. */
+    static final int CAPTURE_RETRIES = 3;
+
+    /**
+     * {@link AgentControl#get} for {@code lead}, retried up to {@link #CAPTURE_RETRIES} times. The
+     * terminal-to-pane lookup it goes through can report a genuinely live agent as not found (see
+     * {@code AgentControl#agentCall}'s own re-resolve-once behaviour), and one such false negative
+     * must not abort an otherwise-healthy roll. The result is captured once by the caller and never
+     * looked up again — see this class's javadoc.
+     *
+     * @throws RuntimeException the last failure, if every attempt fails — {@link #runRollover}'s
+     *                           catch turns that into {@link RollState#FAILED}
+     */
+    private Agent captureAgentWithRetry(String lead) {
+        RuntimeException last = null;
+        for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= CAPTURE_RETRIES; attempt++) {
+            try {
+                return agents.get(lead);
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                last = e;
+                log.debug("lead-rollover: agents.get({}) failed on attempt {}/{}: {}",
+                        lead, attempt, CAPTURE_RETRIES, e.toString());
+                if (attempt < CAPTURE_RETRIES) {
+                    pollSleeper.run();
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        throw last;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * End the old lead's session: close its pane, then close its tab only when the pane was that
+     * tab's sole occupant — the same pane-then-tab teardown {@code HerdrPeerLauncher#stop} uses for
+     * a member. An already-gone pane counts as success; any other {@code agents.close} failure
+     * propagates, so a genuinely failed teardown is never reported as done. A failing
+     * {@code spaces.closeTab} never propagates — by the time it runs the pane is already closed, so
+     * it is cosmetic tidying, not a real teardown failure.
+     */
+    private void endOldSession(String paneId) {
+        WorkspaceControl.PaneLocation loc = spaces.locatePane(paneId);
+        try {
+            agents.close(paneId);
+        } catch (HerdrException e) {
+            if (!isAlreadyGone(e)) {
+                throw e;
+            }
+            log.debug("lead-rollover: pane.close({}) ignored — already gone: {}", paneId, e.getMessage());
+        }
+        if (loc != null && loc.tabPaneCount() == 1) {
+            try {
+                spaces.closeTab(loc.tabId());
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                log.warn("lead-rollover: tab.close({}) failed — the pane is already torn down, so "
+                        + "continuing; the tab may need manual cleanup: {}", loc.tabId(), e.getMessage());
+            }
+        } else if (loc != null) {
+            log.debug("lead-rollover: not closing tab {} — it holds {} panes (not a dedicated lead "
+                    + "tab)", loc.tabId(), loc.tabPaneCount());
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** True when a herdr error means the target is already gone (safe to treat as done). */
+    private static boolean isAlreadyGone(HerdrException e) {
+        return e.code() != null && e.code().endsWith("_not_found");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Poll {@link WorkspaceControl#locatePane} for {@code paneId} until it reports {@code null}
+     * (the pane is gone) or {@link #PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS} elapses. Deliberately never calls
+     * {@link AgentControl#status} and never reads the live-lead terminal map — both answer a
+     * different question (whether an AGENT is live, not whether this PANE still exists) and
+     * {@code locatePane} alone catches a {@link HerdrException} from the underlying {@code
+     * pane.get} and turns it into {@code null} — see this class's javadoc.
+     */
+    private DeathResult waitUntilPaneGone(String paneId) {
+        long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
+        long deadline = startMillis + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(PANE_DEATH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS);
+        while (nowMillis.getAsLong() < deadline) {
+            if (spaces.locatePane(paneId) == null) {
+                return new DeathResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+            }
+            pollSleeper.run();
+        }
+        return new DeathResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+    }
+
+    /** The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilPaneGone}. */
+    private record DeathResult(boolean gone, long elapsedMillis) {}
+
+    /**
+     * Poll until {@code newTerminal}'s own pane reaches a real turn boundary ({@link
+     * AgentStatus#IDLE} or {@link AgentStatus#DONE}, never merely {@link AgentStatus#BLOCKED}) —
+     * the same exclusion {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary} applies to the calling lead's own turn,
+     * applied here to the fresh one, so {@code bootstrapText} is never typed into a pane that has
+     * not actually finished booting — or {@code readySeconds} elapses. A failed status read
+     * degrades to "not yet ready" and is retried on the next poll.
+     */
+    private ReadinessResult waitUntilPaneReady(String newTerminal, int readySeconds) {
+        long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
+        long deadline = startMillis + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(readySeconds);
+        while (nowMillis.getAsLong() < deadline) {
+            AgentStatus status;
+            try {
+                status = agents.status(newTerminal);
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                log.debug("lead-rollover: status check failed while waiting for {} to be ready: {}",
+                        newTerminal, e.toString());
+                status = null;
+            }
+            if (status == AgentStatus.IDLE || status == AgentStatus.DONE) {
+                return new ReadinessResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+            }
+            pollSleeper.run();
+        }
+        return new ReadinessResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+    }
+
+    /** The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilPaneReady}. */
+    private record ReadinessResult(boolean ready, long elapsedMillis) {}
+
+    /**
+     * Poll until {@code newTerminal} is present in {@link #liveLeadTerminals} or {@code
+     * readySeconds} elapses. This is bookkeeping, not a safety gate: the pane's own readiness (see
+     * {@link #waitUntilPaneReady}) is what decides whether {@code bootstrapText} is safe to send —
+     * a timeout here only means the daemon's own lead-discovery scan has not caught up yet.
+     */
+    private IdentityResult waitUntilRecognisedAsLead(String newTerminal, int readySeconds) {
+        long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
+        long deadline = startMillis + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(readySeconds);
+        while (nowMillis.getAsLong() < deadline) {
+            if (liveLeadTerminals.get().containsKey(newTerminal)) {
+                return new IdentityResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+            }
+            pollSleeper.run();
+        }
+        return new IdentityResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
+    }
+
+    /** The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilRecognisedAsLead}. */
+    private record IdentityResult(boolean ready, long elapsedMillis) {}
+
     /** Drop a pending request without rolling. @return whether a pending request existed for {@code token} */
     public boolean cancel(String token) {
         return pending.remove(token) != null;
@@ -682,15 +972,12 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
 
     /**
      * Poll {@link AgentControl#status} until {@code target} reports a real turn boundary — {@link
-     * AgentStatus#IDLE} or {@link AgentStatus#DONE} — bounded by {@code settleSeconds}. Used once by
-     * {@link #runRollover}, to wait for the CALLING turn's own pane to settle before {@code /clear}
-     * is ever sent at all — the {@code turnSettleSeconds} gate that makes this correction safe. The
-     * SECOND wait, after {@code /clear}, is {@link #waitForClearPickupAndSettle} instead (fleetd
-     * #489) — a plain boundary check is not enough there, because {@code /clear} starts no turn of
-     * its own, so this method would (wrongly) report "settled" on its very first poll whether or not
-     * {@code /clear} was actually picked up. A failed status read degrades to "not yet settled" and
-     * is retried on the next poll, the same posture {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop} and {@code
-     * HerdrPeerLauncher}'s readiness gate already take toward an unreadable status.
+     * AgentStatus#IDLE} or {@link AgentStatus#DONE} — bounded by {@code settleSeconds}. Used by
+     * {@link #runRollover} to wait for the CALLING turn's own pane to settle before the old pane is
+     * touched at all — the {@code turnSettleSeconds} gate that makes tearing it down safe. A failed
+     * status read degrades to "not yet settled" and is retried on the next poll, the same posture
+     * {@code LeadHeartbeatLoop} and {@code HerdrPeerLauncher}'s readiness gate already take toward
+     * an unreadable status.
      *
      * <p><strong>Deliberately not {@link AgentStatus#injectable()}.</strong> {@code injectable()}
      * answers the {@code Injector}'s question — "may I deliver a message without stepping on a live
@@ -698,16 +985,16 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
      * an approval prompt is safe to queue a message behind. This class asks a stricter question —
      * "has the turn actually ended" — and {@code BLOCKED} answers no: it is a live turn that is
      * merely paused, not one that has finished. Reusing {@code injectable()} here would let this
-     * wait fire {@code /clear} while the lead's own {@code confirm()}-calling turn is still live and
-     * paused on a prompt — exactly the live-context-destroying failure the {@code turnSettleSeconds}
-     * gate exists to prevent. Do not "simplify" this back to {@code injectable()}. ({@link
-     * #waitForClearPickupAndSettle} keeps the same exclusion of {@code BLOCKED}, for the same
-     * reason, on the second wait.)
+     * wait tear the old pane down while the lead's own {@code confirm()}-calling turn is still live
+     * and paused on a prompt — exactly the live-context-destroying failure {@code turnSettleSeconds}
+     * exists to prevent. Do not "simplify" this back to {@code injectable()}. ({@link
+     * #waitUntilPaneReady} applies the same exclusion of {@code BLOCKED} to the fresh lead's own
+     * turn.)
      *
      * @return a {@link TurnSettleResult} whose {@code settled()} is {@code true} once a real
      *         boundary was observed, {@code false} if {@code settleSeconds} elapses first.
      *         {@code elapsedMillis()} is a MEASURED value from the injected {@link #nowMillis}
-     *         clock, never the configured {@code settleSeconds} budget (fleetd #494 follow-up).
+     *         clock, never the configured {@code settleSeconds} budget.
      */
     private TurnSettleResult waitUntilAtTurnBoundary(String target, int settleSeconds) {
         long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
@@ -724,142 +1011,11 @@ public final class LeadRollover {
             if (status == AgentStatus.IDLE || status == AgentStatus.DONE) {
                 return new TurnSettleResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
             }
-            settleSleeper.run();
+            pollSleeper.run();
         }
         return new TurnSettleResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis);
     }
 
-    /**
-     * The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary} — fleetd #494 follow-up. The sibling
-     * of {@link ClearSettleResult} for the FIRST wait, which never nudges, so it carries no nudge
-     * count.
-     */
+    /** The measured outcome of {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary}. */
     private record TurnSettleResult(boolean settled, long elapsedMillis) {}
-
-    /**
-     * The SECOND wait in {@link #runRollover} — after {@code /clear} has been sent, waits for it to
-     * settle, bounded by {@code settleSeconds}. <strong>fleetd #489 — the paste-race fix.</strong>
-     * {@code /clear} does not start a real turn of its own, so a pane with no submit race simply
-     * stays {@link AgentStatus#IDLE} the whole time: {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary} would (wrongly)
-     * call that "settled" on its very first poll, whether or not the {@code /clear} Enter actually
-     * landed. That was Fault 1, measured live on 2026-09-12 — the second gate was a no-op, so a
-     * {@code bootstrapText} send followed immediately, racing Fault 2: {@link AgentControl#submit}'s
-     * own javadoc already records that the submit accompanying a delivery "can race the paste —
-     * especially right as the worker's TUI becomes interactive — leaving the text unsubmitted"
-     * (CB-113). Because {@code runRollover} deliberately bypasses {@code Injector} for {@code
-     * /clear} (see this class's javadoc), it inherited none of {@code Injector}'s nudging — so the
-     * lost {@code /clear} Enter sat in the input box and {@code bootstrapText} was typed right after
-     * it, landing as one concatenated line.
-     *
-     * <p>This method copies the pickup-nudge pattern {@link dev.ltms.fleet.inject.Injector} already
-     * ships for exactly this, on its own post-turn {@code /clear} housekeeping (fleetd #306; see
-     * {@code Injector.java:288-340} and {@code Injector.java:437-442}):
-     * <ul>
-     *   <li>an {@link AgentStatus#WORKING} sample means {@code /clear} was picked up as a real
-     *       turn;</li>
-     *   <li>until that happens, each poll that still reports {@link AgentStatus#IDLE} or {@link
-     *       AgentStatus#DONE} re-sends the submit keystroke ({@link AgentControl#submit}) to nudge
-     *       the raced Enter — for the first {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS - 1} of {@link
-     *       #PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS} consecutive such polls (i.e. {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS - 1}
-     *       nudges: 7, not 8, given {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS = 8}). A second Enter on an empty
-     *       Claude Code prompt is a no-op, so repeating it is safe;</li>
-     *   <li>the {@code PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS}th consecutive such poll, with {@code WORKING} still never
-     *       observed, releases rather than wedges the roll instead of nudging again — the same
-     *       choice {@code Injector} makes — and returns {@code settled() == true} anyway, logged at
-     *       {@code warn} with the measured elapsed time (fleetd #494) so an operator can see which
-     *       path ran and how long it actually took;</li>
-     *   <li>once {@code WORKING} has been observed, nudging stops and this instead waits for a real
-     *       {@code working → IDLE/DONE} completion boundary before returning {@code true}.</li>
-     * </ul>
-     *
-     * <p><strong>{@link AgentStatus#BLOCKED} is deliberately excluded from both the nudge and the
-     * boundary check</strong> — the same reasoning as {@link #waitUntilAtTurnBoundary}'s own
-     * javadoc: a paused live turn is not a settled one, and re-sending Enter into an open approval
-     * prompt could wrongly answer it. A {@code BLOCKED} sample (or an unreadable/{@link
-     * AgentStatus#UNKNOWN} one) simply keeps this polling, with no nudge and no release, until either
-     * a real boundary is reached or {@code settleSeconds} runs out.
-     *
-     * <p>{@link AgentControl#submit} can itself throw; a {@link RuntimeException} from it is
-     * swallowed and logged at {@code debug}, exactly like {@code Injector.java:437-442} — a failed
-     * nudge must not abort the roll.
-     *
-     * @return a {@link ClearSettleResult} whose {@code settled()} is {@code true} once {@code
-     *         /clear} has settled, or once the nudge budget was exhausted with no pickup ever
-     *         observed (released rather than wedged); {@code false} if {@code settleSeconds} elapses
-     *         first — the caller must NOT send {@code bootstrapText} in that case, exactly as before
-     *         this fix. {@code elapsedMillis()} and {@code nudges()} are MEASURED values (from the
-     *         injected {@link #nowMillis} clock and an actual nudge count), never the configured
-     *         {@code settleSeconds} budget (fleetd #494).
-     */
-    private ClearSettleResult waitForClearPickupAndSettle(String target, int settleSeconds) {
-        long startMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong();
-        long deadline = startMillis + TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(settleSeconds);
-        boolean pickedUp = false; // a WORKING sample has been observed since /clear was sent
-        int idlePollsAwaitingPickup = 0;
-        int nudges = 0;
-        while (nowMillis.getAsLong() < deadline) {
-            AgentStatus status;
-            try {
-                status = agents.status(target);
-            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
-                log.debug("lead-rollover: status check failed while waiting for {} to settle after "
-                        + "/clear: {}", target, e.toString());
-                status = null;
-            }
-            if (status == AgentStatus.WORKING) {
-                pickedUp = true;
-            } else if (status == AgentStatus.IDLE || status == AgentStatus.DONE) {
-                if (pickedUp) {
-                    // a real WORKING -> IDLE/DONE completion boundary
-                    return new ClearSettleResult(true, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis, nudges);
-                }
-                if (++idlePollsAwaitingPickup >= PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS) {
-                    long elapsedMillis = nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis;
-                    // fleetd #494: this release trades a possibly-unsubmitted /clear for progress
-                    // instead of wedging the roll — that trade is deliberate and stays. But it is
-                    // also exactly the case that reported false success in the real incident (the
-                    // whole roll "succeeded" after 438ms of a 20s budget), so raise it to WARN and
-                    // print the MEASURED elapsed time next to the target pane, not just the count.
-                    //
-                    // fleetd #494 follow-up (2nd pass): BOTH numbers in this line must come from
-                    // the loop's own counters, never from the PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS constant.
-                    // `idlePollsAwaitingPickup` and `nudges` each have exactly one write site in
-                    // this loop, on the same branch, so on this branch they cannot differ from
-                    // PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS / PICKUP_GRACE_POLLS - 1 today — no test can prove the
-                    // difference on this line, and printing the counters does not change that.
-                    // What it does buy: one source of truth instead of two, so a later change to
-                    // the loop (an early return, a second increment site, a different exit
-                    // condition) cannot leave this message reporting a number the loop no longer
-                    // produces. The place where `nudges` genuinely varies with the run — and is
-                    // covered by a test that can tell it apart from a constant — is the
-                    // /clear-timeout warn in runRollover, which prints clearResult.nudges().
-                    log.warn("lead-rollover: /clear on {} was never observed as WORKING after {} "
-                                    + "consecutive IDLE/DONE polls ({} of those were nudged) — "
-                                    + "releasing rather than wedging the roll (elapsed={}ms)",
-                            target, idlePollsAwaitingPickup, nudges, elapsedMillis);
-                    return new ClearSettleResult(true, elapsedMillis, nudges);
-                }
-                try {
-                    agents.submit(target); // nudge a raced Enter (CB-113) so /clear actually submits
-                } catch (RuntimeException e) {
-                    log.debug("lead-rollover: resubmit to {} failed (will retry next poll): {}",
-                            target, e.getMessage());
-                } finally {
-                    nudges++; // an attempted nudge, whether or not the submit call itself threw
-                }
-            }
-            // AgentStatus.BLOCKED or UNKNOWN (or an unreadable status, above): neither a pickup
-            // signal nor a boundary — keep polling without nudging or releasing.
-            settleSleeper.run();
-        }
-        return new ClearSettleResult(false, nowMillis.getAsLong() - startMillis, nudges);
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * The measured outcome of {@link #waitForClearPickupAndSettle} — fleetd #494. Carries the
-     * MEASURED elapsed time (from the injected {@link #nowMillis} clock) and nudge count alongside
-     * the settle/timeout decision, so callers can log them instead of the configured budget, which
-     * is not how long the wait actually ran.
-     */
-    private record ClearSettleResult(boolean settled, long elapsedMillis, int nudges) {}
 }

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

@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * caller explicitly saying so — never by omitting a {@link CallerResolver} the way the old
      * {@code callers == null} idiom allowed. {@code callers} itself is required either way: even
      * under {@link #UNENFORCED}, the one real {@link CallerResolver} still resolves every caller's
-     * {@link Principal} (so {@code markSpawnedMemberPresent}/{@code recordPrimarySingleton} see a
+     * {@link Principal} (so {@code markTrackedCallerPresent}/{@code recordPrimarySingleton} see a
      * real identity), and {@link #denyFor} is the only thing that changes.
      */
     public enum AuthorizationMode { ENFORCED, UNENFORCED }
@@ -442,10 +442,10 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     // fall back to here — AuthorizationMode governs enforcement, not identity.
                     Principal p = callers.resolve(req.getRemoteAddr(), req.getRemotePort(),
                             req.getHeader("Authorization"));
-                    // CB-532: guard on the ROLE, not on the terminal being null. This excludes a
-                    // lead, which carries its pane too, while including every spawned member role.
-                    // Enrolling a lead would count it as an available member in the roster.
-                    markSpawnedMemberPresent(p, presence);
+                    // Guards on the ROLE, not on the terminal being null — this marks presence for
+                    // a worker, an architect, or the unconfigured-pane floor, and excludes a lead
+                    // or a collaborator even though each carries its own pane too.
+                    markTrackedCallerPresent(p, presence);
                     return McpTransportContext.create(Map.of(
                             CALLER_TERMINAL, orEmpty(p.terminal()),
                             CALLER_PID, Long.toString(p.pid()),
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                         // Answering a worker's fleet_ask (CB-205): resolve its blocked question and
                         // block for the worker's reply as it resumes the same turn. This is the same
                         // delegation, so ownership is left untouched (CB-548) — never re-recorded.
-                        return answer(messages, turnId, content, timeoutMs(a));
+                        return answer(messages, turnId, content, timeoutMs(a), caller);
                     }
                     // CB-548: delegator ownership (which lead's reply nudge this worker routes to,
                     // CB-532) is recorded only once the send is ACCEPTED — MessageService has won the
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     // wait defaults to true (block for the reply); wait:false is fire-and-poll.
                     return Boolean.FALSE.equals(a.get("wait"))
                             ? sendAsync(messages, target, content, onAccepted, workers.profiles(), caller)
-                            : send(messages, target, content, timeoutMs(a), onAccepted, workers.profiles());
+                            : send(messages, target, content, timeoutMs(a), onAccepted, workers.profiles(), caller);
                 };
         // fleet_reply's identity is the CONNECTION, never an argument — so the authz check
         // is "is this caller a worker at all", and it can only ever reply as itself.
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                 (exchange, req) -> {
                     McpSchema.CallToolResult denied = deny(exchange, toolAction("fleet_status", req.arguments()), null);
                     if (denied != null) return denied;
-                    return status(messages, str(req.arguments(), "sessionId"));
+                    return status(messages, str(req.arguments(), "sessionId"), callerTerminal(exchange));
                 };
         BiFunction<McpSyncServerExchange, McpSchema.CallToolRequest, McpSchema.CallToolResult> pollHandler =
                 (exchange, req) -> {
@@ -787,7 +787,11 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return caller.isPrimary() || caller.isArchitect();
     }
 
-    /** The worker identity resolved from this call's connection, or {@code null} if the primary. */
+    /**
+     * The terminal of the caller on this call's connection, or {@code null} when that caller carries
+     * no terminal, which is only the unnamed primary. A named lead, an architect and a worker each
+     * carry one.
+     */
     private static String callerTerminal(McpSyncServerExchange exchange) {
         Object v = exchange.transportContext().get(CALLER_TERMINAL);
         String s = v == null ? null : v.toString();
@@ -829,9 +833,14 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         return identity;
     }
 
-    /** Mark a connected spawned member available for the injector readiness gate. */
-    static void markSpawnedMemberPresent(Principal caller, MemberPresence presence) {
-        if (caller.isSpawnedMember()) {
+    /**
+     * Mark a caller present for the injector readiness gate, when its deliverability depends on
+     * proving a live MCP contact: a worker, an architect, or the unconfigured-pane floor. A lead
+     * or a collaborator is excluded — each is already deliverable through its own named-registry
+     * entry.
+     */
+    static void markTrackedCallerPresent(Principal caller, MemberPresence presence) {
+        if (caller.isSpawnedMember() || caller.isObserver()) {
             presence.markPresent(caller.terminal());
         }
     }
@@ -887,8 +896,8 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * fleetd #612 B3 — as {@link #quarantineSource()}, {@code public} for the same cross-package
      * reason, for the real {@link LeadRollover} (or {@code null}) this daemon was assembled with.
      * {@code FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest} drives {@code open}/{@code confirm} on this exact
-     * instance and waits for the real continuation to send {@code /clear} and {@code bootstrapText}
-     * through the real {@code router.leadAgents()}.
+     * instance and waits for the real continuation to end the old pane, relaunch a fresh one, and
+     * send {@code bootstrapText} through the real {@code router.leadAgents()}.
      */
     public LeadRollover leadRollover() {
         return leadRollover;
@@ -904,7 +913,8 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * a BUSY interloper never claims a turn it did not win. {@code null} disables recording.
      */
     static McpSchema.CallToolResult send(MessageService messages, String sessionId, String content,
-                                         Long timeoutMs, Runnable onAccepted, Set<String> profiles) {
+                                         Long timeoutMs, Runnable onAccepted, Set<String> profiles,
+                                         String callerTerminal) {
         if (isBlank(sessionId) || isBlank(content)) {
             return error("sessionId and content are required");
         }
@@ -914,7 +924,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         }
         long timeout = clamp(timeoutMs == null ? DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS : timeoutMs);
         try {
-            return formatReply(messages.send(sessionId, content, timeout, onAccepted), timeout);
+            return formatReply(messages.send(sessionId, content, timeout, onAccepted, callerTerminal), timeout);
         } catch (HerdrException e) {
             return error("herdr error contacting session " + sessionId + ": " + e.getMessage());
         }
@@ -924,13 +934,15 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
      * {@code fleet_send} carrying a {@code turnId}: the primary's answer to a worker's
      * {@code fleet_ask} (CB-205). Resolves the worker's blocked question and blocks for its reply as
      * it resumes the same turn — surfaced to the primary identically to a normal send.
+     * {@code callerTerminal} must match the turn's recorded owner or this is refused.
      */
-    static McpSchema.CallToolResult answer(MessageService messages, String turnId, String content, Long timeoutMs) {
+    static McpSchema.CallToolResult answer(MessageService messages, String turnId, String content, Long timeoutMs,
+                                            String callerTerminal) {
         if (isBlank(turnId) || isBlank(content)) {
             return error("turnId and content are required to answer a worker's question");
         }
         long timeout = clamp(timeoutMs == null ? DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS : timeoutMs);
-        return formatReply(messages.answer(turnId, content, timeout), timeout);
+        return formatReply(messages.answer(turnId, content, timeout, callerTerminal), timeout);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -979,6 +991,8 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
                     + "\" and content set to your answer; the worker resumes the same turn.");
             case STALE_TURN -> error("that question is no longer open — it timed out or was already "
                     + "answered (turnId stale)");
+            case NOT_TURN_OWNER -> error("this turn belongs to a different delegation — only the caller "
+                    + "that opened it may answer it");
             case TIMED_OUT_WORKING, TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, BUSY -> text("[no reply within " + timeout + "ms — worker "
                     + r.outcome().name().toLowerCase().replace("timed_out_", "") + "; retry or poll status]");
             // fleetd #571: delivery is unknown here — agent.prompt pastes and submits in one call,
@@ -1335,16 +1349,20 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
 
     /**
      * {@code fleet_status}: the live lifecycle status of a worker session, plus — when the worker
-     * is paused mid-turn in an async {@code fleet_ask} (CB-582) — the open question and how to
-     * answer it, so a lead on its normal poll cadence does not need the ticket to notice.
+     * is paused mid-turn in an async {@code fleet_ask} — the open question and how to answer it, so
+     * a lead on its normal poll cadence does not need the ticket to notice. The question, its
+     * {@code turnId} and its ticket id are shown only to the caller whose terminal created that
+     * delegation, or to a caller with no terminal at all (the unnamed primary); any other caller
+     * still sees the base status. {@code callerTerminal} is the CALLING session's terminal id,
+     * resolved by the MCP layer from the connection, never a client-supplied value.
      */
-    static McpSchema.CallToolResult status(MessageService messages, String sessionId) {
+    static McpSchema.CallToolResult status(MessageService messages, String sessionId, String callerTerminal) {
         if (isBlank(sessionId)) {
             return error("sessionId is required");
         }
         try {
             String base = messages.status(sessionId).name().toLowerCase();
-            MessageService.PendingAsk ask = messages.pendingAsk(sessionId);
+            MessageService.PendingAsk ask = messages.pendingAsk(sessionId, callerTerminal);
             if (ask == null) {
                 return text(base);
             }
@@ -1399,6 +1417,14 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
             }
             return text(json(m));
         }
+        if (caller.isObserver()) {
+            // No architect slot, collaborator name, or lead name to report — only the pane itself,
+            // so a peer that already knows this terminal can still address it.
+            if (caller.terminal() != null) {
+                m.put("sessionId", caller.terminal());
+            }
+            return text(json(m));
+        }
         if (!caller.isWorker()) {
             // CB-530: which lead, once more than one pane is configured as one. `role` deliberately
             // still reads "primary" — the fallback ladder in CLAUDE.md keys on it, and a lead IS a
@@ -1479,7 +1505,7 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
         }
         if (isBlank(callerTerminal)) {
             // An unnamed primary (token/loopback path, no resolved pane) has nowhere for the
-            // eventual /clear + bootstrap to land — LeadRollover#open would throw
+            // eventual relaunch + bootstrap to land — LeadRollover#open would throw
             // IllegalArgumentException for the same reason; refuse cleanly here instead.
             return error("fleet_handover requires a named lead pane (a resolved connection terminal) "
                     + "to open a rollover request against — an unnamed primary has none");
@@ -2617,17 +2643,20 @@ public final class FleetMcp {
     private static McpSchema.Tool handoverTool() {
         return tool(FleetTool.HANDOVER.wireName(),
                 "Replace your OWN lead session once its context is full: write a handover file, "
-                        + "then use this to have fleetd clear your pane and bootstrap a fresh lead "
-                        + "session against it. Four actions: 'open' (requests a token and the "
-                        + "handoverPath you must write the handover file to before confirming), "
-                        + "'confirm' (validates every gate and — only if every one passes — schedules "
-                        + "the roll; it does NOT itself clear the pane, the roll runs once this call's "
-                        + "own turn ends), 'cancel' (drops a pending request without rolling), and "
-                        + "'status' (read-only: what happened to a token after 'confirm' — still "
-                        + "running (approved but not finished yet), the roll completed, the calling "
-                        + "turn never settled within turnSettleSeconds so no /clear was ever sent, or "
-                        + "/clear itself never settled so bootstrapText was never sent; never "
-                        + "schedules, cancels or retries anything). Primary-only. "
+                        + "then use this to have fleetd end your pane's process and relaunch a fresh "
+                        + "lead session bootstrapped against it. Four actions: 'open' (requests a "
+                        + "token and the handoverPath you must write the handover file to before "
+                        + "confirming), 'confirm' (validates every gate and — only if every one "
+                        + "passes — schedules the roll; it does NOT itself end your pane, the roll "
+                        + "runs once this call's own turn ends), 'cancel' (drops a pending request "
+                        + "without rolling), and 'status' (read-only: what happened to a token after "
+                        + "'confirm' — still running (approved but not finished yet), the roll "
+                        + "completed, the calling turn never settled within turnSettleSeconds so "
+                        + "nothing was touched, the old pane never confirmed dead so no relaunch was "
+                        + "attempted, the relaunch itself failed, the fresh pane never became ready "
+                        + "so bootstrapText was never sent, or the fresh pane became ready and was "
+                        + "bootstrapped but was never recognised as a live lead; never schedules, "
+                        + "cancels or retries anything). Primary-only. "
                         + "There is deliberately no terminal/session/leadTerminal parameter: the pane "
                         + "to roll is always resolved from YOUR OWN connection, never a value you "
                         + "pass, so you can only ever roll yourself — never another lead. Requires "

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

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentStatus;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrException;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.ResilientAgentLaunch;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Tab;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Workspace;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
@@ -67,16 +68,6 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(HerdrPeerLauncher.class);
 
-    /** herdr rejects a duplicate agent {@code name}; we retry a bumped name this many times. */
-    private static final int NAME_RETRIES = 8;
-
-    /**
-     * Retries for {@code agent.start} against a seed pane whose shell has not reached its prompt
-     * yet — {@code tab.create}/{@code pane.split} return as soon as the pane exists, and herdr
-     * refuses to start an agent in a pane that is not "an available shell" ({@code agent_pane_busy}).
-     */
-    private static final int SHELL_READY_RETRIES = 20;
-
     private final String namePrefix;                       // label prefix: naming + reap scheme
     private final AgentControl agents;
     private final WorkspaceControl spaces;
@@ -766,90 +757,26 @@ public abstract class HerdrPeerLauncher implements PeerLauncher {
         // Protocol 19 resolves the executable from the agent kind (== namePrefix here), so
         // argv[0] — the configured executable — is dropped and only the extra args are passed.
         List<String> args = argv.isEmpty() ? argv : argv.subList(1, argv.size());
-        checkPaneCommandFits(cfg, argv);
-        HerdrException last = null;
-        for (int attempt = 0; attempt < NAME_RETRIES; attempt++) {
-            long seq = nameSeq.incrementAndGet();
-            String name = namePrefix + "-" + cfg.profile() + "-" + nameNonce + "-" + seq;
-            try {
-                return new Started(startAwaitingShellPrompt(name, args, paneId), seq);
-            } catch (HerdrException e) {
-                if (!"agent_name_taken".equals(e.code())) throw e;
-                log.debug("peer name '{}' taken, retrying", name);
-                last = e;
-            }
+        try {
+            ResilientAgentLaunch.checkFits(cfg.profile(), argv);
+        } catch (ResilientAgentLaunch.TooLargeException e) {
+            throw new PeerUnreachableException(e.getMessage());
         }
-        throw last;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * fleetd #220: herdr does not exec the launch command — it TYPES it into the pane as one line,
-     * and a pty line buffer holds only {@value #PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT} bytes (BSD/macOS {@code
-     * MAX_CANON}). Everything past that byte is dropped. Nothing reports it: herdr answers "agent
-     * started", the backend exits on the mangled argument it was handed, the pane closes, and the
-     * only symptom is {@link #waitUntilInjectableOrThrow} timing out 20 seconds later with no
-     * reason. That is exactly how #214 broke every claude-code spawn — one 50-byte flag pushed a
-     * 978-byte command to 1028, and the tail that got cut was {@code --autocompact 250000}.
-     *
-     * <p>So measure it here and refuse, loudly and immediately, rather than spawn something that
-     * cannot work. The estimate is deliberately conservative: fleetd cannot see herdr's quoting, so
-     * every argument is charged its own bytes plus a separator and a quote pair. An over-estimate
-     * costs a clear error at a length that was already unsafe; an under-estimate would let the
-     * silent truncation back in.
-     *
-     * @throws PeerUnreachableException when the command cannot fit — the same failure the spawn
-     *                                  would have hit anyway, named at the point it is still
-     *                                  explainable
-     */
-    private void checkPaneCommandFits(FleetConfig.Profile cfg, List<String> argv) {
-        int bytes = 0;
-        String longest = null;
-        int longestBytes = 0;
-        for (String arg : argv) {
-            int argBytes = arg == null ? 0 : arg.getBytes(java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8).length;
-            bytes += argBytes + QUOTING_OVERHEAD_PER_ARG;
-            if (argBytes > longestBytes) {
-                longestBytes = argBytes;
-                longest = arg;
-            }
-        }
-        if (bytes <= PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT) {
-            return;
-        }
-        String culprit = longest == null ? "<none>"
-                : longest.substring(0, Math.min(longest.length(), 60)) + (longest.length() > 60 ? "…" : "");
-        throw new PeerUnreachableException(
-                "launch command for profile " + cfg.profile() + " is about " + bytes + " bytes, over the "
-                        + PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT + "-byte limit of the pane line herdr types it into. "
-                        + "The pty would drop the tail silently and the backend would exit on a mangled "
-                        + "argument. Longest argument is " + longestBytes + " bytes: " + culprit
-                        + " — move it off the command line (a file flag) or shorten it.");
+        long[] lastSeq = {0};
+        Agent agent = ResilientAgentLaunch.startUniquelyNamed(agents, namePrefix, args, paneId,
+                attempt -> {
+                    lastSeq[0] = nameSeq.incrementAndGet();
+                    return namePrefix + "-" + cfg.profile() + "-" + nameNonce + "-" + lastSeq[0];
+                },
+                ResilientAgentLaunch.NAME_RETRIES, ResilientAgentLaunch.SHELL_READY_RETRIES, sleeper);
+        return new Started(agent, lastSeq[0]);
     }
 
     /**
      * The pty line buffer herdr types a launch command into: BSD/macOS {@code MAX_CANON}. Not a
-     * fleetd choice and not configurable — see {@link #checkPaneCommandFits}.
+     * fleetd choice and not configurable — see {@link ResilientAgentLaunch#checkFits}.
      */
-    static final int PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT = 1024;
-
-    /** Per-argument allowance for the separating space and a shell quote pair fleetd cannot see. */
-    private static final int QUOTING_OVERHEAD_PER_ARG = 3;
-
-    /** Start the agent into {@code paneId}, waiting out the seed shell's boot with the sleeper. */
-    private Agent startAwaitingShellPrompt(String name, List<String> args, String paneId) {
-        HerdrException busy = null;
-        for (int attempt = 0; attempt < SHELL_READY_RETRIES; attempt++) {
-            try {
-                return agents.start(name, namePrefix, args, paneId);
-            } catch (HerdrException e) {
-                if (!"agent_pane_busy".equals(e.code())) throw e;
-                log.debug("pane {} not at its shell prompt yet, retrying agent.start", paneId);
-                busy = e;
-                sleeper.run();
-            }
-        }
-        throw busy;
-    }
+    static final int PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT = ResilientAgentLaunch.PANE_COMMAND_BYTE_LIMIT;
 
     // --- discovery + reap ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 

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

@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
         /**
          * The worker paused mid-turn to ask the primary a question (CB-205); {@code text} is the
          * question and {@code turnId} correlates the answer. Not terminal — the primary answers with
-         * {@link #answer(String, String, long)} and the turn resumes.
+         * {@link #answer(String, String, long, String)} and the turn resumes.
          */
         QUESTION,
         /** Timed out after the message was delivered — the worker is still working. */
@@ -120,10 +120,16 @@ public final class MessageService {
         /** Another send to this session was in flight for the whole window. */
         BUSY,
         /**
-         * An answer ({@link #answer(String, String, long)}) referenced a {@code turnId} that is no
-         * longer open — the worker's {@code fleet_ask} already timed out or was answered.
+         * An answer ({@link #answer(String, String, long, String)}) referenced a {@code turnId}
+         * that is no longer open — the worker's {@code fleet_ask} already timed out or was answered.
          */
-        STALE_TURN
+        STALE_TURN,
+        /**
+         * An answer ({@link #answer(String, String, long, String)}) named a {@code turnId} that is
+         * still open, but the answering caller is not the caller whose accepted delegation opened
+         * it. Distinct from {@link #STALE_TURN} so a refusal is never reported as a lapsed turn.
+         */
+        NOT_TURN_OWNER
     }
 
     /**
@@ -133,7 +139,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
      *                {@link Outcome#COMPLETED_UNREPLIED}), or the question for {@link Outcome#QUESTION},
      *                else {@code null}
      * @param turnId  correlation id for a {@link Outcome#QUESTION} (answered via
-     *                {@link #answer(String, String, long)}), else {@code null}
+     *                {@link #answer(String, String, long, String)}), else {@code null}
      */
     public record Reply(Outcome outcome, String text, String turnId) {
         /** A reply with no correlation id (the common terminal outcomes). */
@@ -349,6 +355,14 @@ public final class MessageService {
      */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, Boolean> queuedDeliveries = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     private final AtomicLong ticketSeq = new AtomicLong();
+    /**
+     * Minted once per {@code MessageService} instance and folded into every ticket id (see
+     * {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable, String)}). {@link #ticketSeq} alone restarts at
+     * zero for every instance, so without this a ticket id can be reused across instances and
+     * resolve to an unrelated {@link Task} with no error; this nonce makes that impossible, because
+     * an id minted by one instance can never match the id space of another.
+     */
+    private final String ticketBootNonce = UUID.randomUUID().toString().substring(0, 6);
     private final ExecutorService asyncExecutor = Executors.newThreadPerTaskExecutor(
             Thread.ofVirtual().name("bridge-async-", 0).factory());
 
@@ -665,7 +679,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
             case TIMED_OUT_WORKING, TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED, BUSY -> "timeout";
             case WORKER_FAILED -> "failed";
             case BACKEND_EXHAUSTED -> "backend_exhausted";
-            case STALE_TURN, QUESTION -> null; // not a completed delegation
+            case STALE_TURN, QUESTION, NOT_TURN_OWNER -> null; // not a completed delegation
         };
     }
 
@@ -924,14 +938,17 @@ public final class MessageService {
 
     /**
      * Deliver {@code content} to {@code target} (a herdr {@code terminal_id}) and block until the
-     * worker replies via {@link Rendezvous} or {@code timeoutMillis} elapses.
+     * worker replies via {@link Rendezvous} or {@code timeoutMillis} elapses. {@code callerTerminal}
+     * is the terminal of the caller making this call — {@code null} for the unnamed primary — and is
+     * recorded as the turn's owner, the only caller {@link #answer(String, String, long, String)} will
+     * later accept an answer from if the worker pauses mid-turn to ask.
      */
-    public Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis) {
-        return send(target, content, timeoutMillis, null);
+    public Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, String callerTerminal) {
+        return send(target, content, timeoutMillis, null, callerTerminal);
     }
 
     /**
-     * As {@link #send(String, String, long)}, but with an accepted-delivery hook.
+     * As {@link #send(String, String, long, String)}, but with an accepted-delivery hook.
      *
      * <p>{@code onAccepted} is invoked exactly once, once this send has won {@code target}'s send
      * lock and so become the <em>accepted target turn</em> — it runs <em>before</em> delivery is
@@ -942,12 +959,13 @@ public final class MessageService {
      * acceptance means a concurrent sender that times out {@code BUSY} can never steal ownership it
      * never earned. {@code null} disables the hook.
      */
-    public Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, Runnable onAccepted) {
-        return send(target, content, timeoutMillis, onAccepted, null);
+    public Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, Runnable onAccepted, String callerTerminal) {
+        return send(target, content, timeoutMillis, onAccepted, null, callerTerminal);
     }
 
     /** Run a send, optionally stopping an async task that teardown already failed before acceptance. */
-    private Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, Runnable onAccepted, Task task) {
+    private Reply send(String target, String content, long timeoutMillis, Runnable onAccepted, Task task,
+            String callerTerminal) {
         long deadlineNanos = System.nanoTime() + timeoutMillis * 1_000_000L;
         ReentrantLock lock = sessionLocks.computeIfAbsent(target, _ -> new ReentrantLock());
 
@@ -967,7 +985,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
             // open race). Opening first also means a throwing onAccepted (fired before enqueue) or an
             // enqueue failure is safely closed by the finally below: nothing is left queued, and the
             // failed send leaves no stale waiter behind.
-            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> reply = rendezvous.open(target);
+            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> reply = rendezvous.open(target, Rendezvous.Owner.of(callerTerminal));
             // CB-640: this send now owns target's delivery, so any earlier stranded-reply or
             // still-queued fact no longer describes the live state — clear both rather than let
             // them outlive the send that supersedes them.
@@ -1146,19 +1164,30 @@ public final class MessageService {
      * mid-turn (already picked up), so the answer flows back through its own open {@code fleet_ask}
      * call, not a new status-gated delivery. The forward waiter is opened <em>before</em> the worker
      * is unblocked so a reply that lands the instant it resumes is not lost.
+     *
+     * <p>{@code callerTerminal} is the terminal of the caller making this call — {@code null} for
+     * the unnamed primary. It is checked against the turn's recorded owner (the caller whose
+     * accepted delegation opened it, see {@link #send(String, String, long, String)} and
+     * {@link #sendAsync(String, String, Runnable, String)}) before anything else runs: a mismatch,
+     * including a turn with no owner on record at all, returns {@link Outcome#NOT_TURN_OWNER}
+     * without touching the rendezvous, the session lock, or any async task bookkeeping.
      */
-    public Reply answer(String turnId, String content, long timeoutMillis) {
+    public Reply answer(String turnId, String content, long timeoutMillis, String callerTerminal) {
         String workerSession = rendezvous.askSession(turnId);
         if (workerSession == null) {
             return new Reply(Outcome.STALE_TURN, null); // the ask lapsed (timed out or already answered)
         }
+        Rendezvous.Owner owner = rendezvous.askOwner(turnId);
+        if (!Rendezvous.Owner.permits(owner, callerTerminal)) {
+            return new Reply(Outcome.NOT_TURN_OWNER, null);
+        }
         long deadlineNanos = System.nanoTime() + timeoutMillis * 1_000_000L;
         ReentrantLock lock = sessionLocks.computeIfAbsent(workerSession, _ -> new ReentrantLock());
         if (!tryLock(lock, remainingMillis(deadlineNanos))) {
             return new Reply(Outcome.BUSY, null);
         }
         try {
-            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> reply = rendezvous.open(workerSession);
+            CompletableFuture<Rendezvous.Resolution> reply = rendezvous.open(workerSession, owner);
             // fleetd #575: this try used to open below, AFTER the Task lookup/registration and the
             // STALE_TURN early return that follows it — so that return was covered only by a
             // hand-rolled copy of the finally's own cleanup pair, not the finally itself. Widening the
@@ -1300,7 +1329,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
      * @return the ticket to poll for the eventual result
      */
     public String sendAsync(String target, String content, Runnable onAccepted, String creatorTerminal) {
-        String ticket = "task-" + ticketSeq.incrementAndGet();
+        String ticket = "task-" + ticketBootNonce + "-" + ticketSeq.incrementAndGet();
         Task task = new Task(ticket, target, nowNanos, creatorTerminal);
         tasks.put(ticket, task);
         if (pushLoop != null) {
@@ -1332,7 +1361,7 @@ public final class MessageService {
         }
         asyncExecutor.submit(() -> {
             try {
-                Reply result = send(target, content, ASYNC_TIMEOUT_MS, onAccepted, task);
+                Reply result = send(target, content, ASYNC_TIMEOUT_MS, onAccepted, task, creatorTerminal);
                 if (result.outcome() == Outcome.QUESTION) {
                     // Keep the accepted owner until answer() finishes it. markAsyncQuestion may run
                     // just after resolveQuestion wakes this thread.
@@ -1754,16 +1783,17 @@ public final class MessageService {
     }
 
     /**
-     * The question {@code workerSession} is currently paused on via {@code fleet_ask}, if any
-     * (CB-582) — {@code fleet_status} uses this to show a pending question without the caller
-     * needing the ticket. {@code null} when the session has no open async question (including a
-     * session mid a <em>blocking</em> {@code fleet_ask}, which has no {@link Task} to look up — see
-     * {@link PendingAsk}).
+     * The question {@code workerSession} is currently paused on via {@code fleet_ask}, if any —
+     * {@code fleet_status} uses this to show a pending question without the caller needing the
+     * ticket. {@code null} when the session has no open async question (including a session mid a
+     * <em>blocking</em> {@code fleet_ask}, which has no {@link Task} to look up — see
+     * {@link PendingAsk}), or when {@code callerTerminal} does not own the task the question
+     * belongs to (see {@link #ownsTicket(Task, String)}).
      */
-    public PendingAsk pendingAsk(String workerSession) {
+    public PendingAsk pendingAsk(String workerSession, String callerTerminal) {
         for (Task task : tasks.values()) {
             Reply q = task.question;
-            if (q != null && workerSession.equals(task.target)) {
+            if (q != null && workerSession.equals(task.target) && ownsTicket(task, callerTerminal)) {
                 return new PendingAsk(task.ticket, q.text(), q.turnId());
             }
         }

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

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
 
+import java.util.UUID;
 import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
     }
 
     /** A worker's open mid-turn question: the worker session it belongs to and the answer future. */
-    private record AskWaiter(String session, CompletableFuture<String> answer) {
+    private record AskWaiter(String session, CompletableFuture<String> answer, Owner owner) {
     }
 
     /**
@@ -70,11 +71,45 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
     public record AskTicket(String turnId, CompletableFuture<String> answer, boolean fresh) {
     }
 
-    private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, CompletableFuture<Resolution>> waiters = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    /**
+     * The caller whose accepted delegation opened a turn — the only caller allowed to answer it.
+     * A {@code null} terminal means the unnamed primary, an authenticated caller with no pane.
+     */
+    public record Owner(String terminal) {
+        public static final Owner UNNAMED_PRIMARY = new Owner(null);
+
+        public static Owner of(String terminal) {
+            return terminal == null ? UNNAMED_PRIMARY : new Owner(terminal);
+        }
+
+        /**
+         * Whether {@code callerTerminal} matches {@code owner}. A {@code null} owner means no
+         * owner was ever recorded, and that state matches no caller, not even one whose own
+         * terminal is {@code null} — "no record" and "recorded as the unnamed primary" are
+         * different states.
+         */
+        public static boolean permits(Owner owner, String callerTerminal) {
+            return owner != null && java.util.Objects.equals(owner.terminal(), callerTerminal);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** A registered forward waiter together with the owner its delegation was opened under. */
+    private record ForwardWaiter(Owner owner, CompletableFuture<Resolution> future) {
+    }
+
+    private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, ForwardWaiter> waiters = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
     /** Reverse rendezvous (CB-205): worker questions awaiting the primary's answer, keyed by {@code turnId}. */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, AskWaiter> asks = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     private final AtomicLong askSeq = new AtomicLong();
+    /**
+     * Minted once per {@code Rendezvous} instance and folded into every {@code turnId} (see
+     * {@link #openAsk(String)}). {@link #askSeq} alone restarts at zero for every instance, so
+     * without this a {@code turnId} minted by one instance could be minted again by another and
+     * resolve to an unrelated ask with no error; this nonce makes that impossible, because an id
+     * minted by one instance can never match the id space of another.
+     */
+    private final String askBootNonce = UUID.randomUUID().toString().substring(0, 6);
     /** Per-session index of the currently-open ask, so duplicate fleet_ask calls coalesce onto one turn. */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String, String> openAsksBySession = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
@@ -89,8 +124,17 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
      * code a double open is impossible; this is a tripwire for the day that no longer holds.
      */
     public CompletableFuture<Resolution> open(String session) {
+        return open(session, null);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Same as {@link #open(String)}, additionally recording {@code owner} as the caller whose
+     * delegation opened this waiter. A {@code null} owner records no owner at all — the
+     * fail-closed default {@link Owner#permits} refuses to everyone.
+     */
+    public CompletableFuture<Resolution> open(String session, Owner owner) {
         CompletableFuture<Resolution> waiter = new CompletableFuture<>();
-        CompletableFuture<Resolution> existing = waiters.putIfAbsent(session, waiter);
+        ForwardWaiter existing = waiters.putIfAbsent(session, new ForwardWaiter(owner, waiter));
         if (existing != null) {
             throw new IllegalStateException(
                     "rendezvous double-open for session " + session + " — a waiter is already registered");
@@ -105,7 +149,13 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
      * successful {@code open} after a finished turn requires this close to have happened first).
      */
     public void close(String session, CompletableFuture<Resolution> waiter) {
-        waiters.remove(session, waiter);
+        waiters.computeIfPresent(session, (s, w) -> w.future() == waiter ? null : w);
+    }
+
+    /** The owner recorded for {@code session}'s open waiter, or {@code null} if none is open. */
+    public Owner ownerOf(String session) {
+        ForwardWaiter w = waiters.get(session);
+        return w == null ? null : w.owner();
     }
 
     /** Whether a send is currently awaiting a resolution for {@code session}. */
@@ -119,7 +169,8 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
      * send (see the CB-116 note above) rather than whichever send happens to be waiting when they fire.
      */
     public CompletableFuture<Resolution> currentWaiter(String session) {
-        return waiters.get(session);
+        ForwardWaiter w = waiters.get(session);
+        return w == null ? null : w.future();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -145,9 +196,9 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
         while (true) {
             AskWaiter[] minted = { null };
             String turnId = openAsksBySession.computeIfAbsent(session, _ -> {
-                String newTurnId = session + "#" + askSeq.incrementAndGet();
+                String newTurnId = session + "#" + askBootNonce + "-" + askSeq.incrementAndGet();
                 CompletableFuture<String> answer = new CompletableFuture<>();
-                AskWaiter waiter = new AskWaiter(session, answer);
+                AskWaiter waiter = new AskWaiter(session, answer, ownerOf(session));
                 asks.put(newTurnId, waiter);
                 minted[0] = waiter;
                 return newTurnId;
@@ -183,6 +234,16 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
         return w == null ? null : w.session();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The owner recorded for {@code turnId} when its ask turn was freshly opened — the caller
+     * whose delegation {@link #answerAsk} must match. {@code null} if {@code turnId} is unknown or
+     * lapsed, or if the ask opened with no forward waiter owner on record.
+     */
+    public Owner askOwner(String turnId) {
+        AskWaiter w = asks.get(turnId);
+        return w == null ? null : w.owner();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Resolve a worker's blocked {@code fleet_ask} with the primary's {@code answer}, unblocking it
      * to resume its turn.
@@ -245,7 +306,7 @@ public final class Rendezvous {
     }
 
     private boolean complete(String session, Resolution resolution) {
-        CompletableFuture<Resolution> waiter = waiters.get(session);
-        return waiter != null && waiter.complete(resolution);
+        ForwardWaiter waiter = waiters.get(session);
+        return waiter != null && waiter.future().complete(resolution);
     }
 }

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

@@ -663,6 +663,8 @@ public final class FleetApp {
         if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("POST /sessions/{id}/message"), id)) {
             return;
         }
+        Principal caller = ctx.attribute(CALLER);
+        String callerTerminal = caller == null ? null : caller.terminal();
         JsonNode body;
         try {
             body = mapper.readTree(ctx.body());
@@ -688,19 +690,19 @@ public final class FleetApp {
 
         // Answering a worker's fleet_ask (CB-205): always blocks, and derives the worker from turnId.
         if (turnId != null && !turnId.isBlank()) {
-            writeReply(ctx, id, messages.answer(turnId, content, timeout), timeout);
+            writeReply(ctx, id, messages.answer(turnId, content, timeout, callerTerminal), timeout);
             return;
         }
 
         if (!wait) {
             // Fire-and-poll (CB-107): return a ticket immediately; the caller polls GET /tasks/{ticket}.
-            String ticket = messages.sendAsync(id, content);
+            String ticket = messages.sendAsync(id, content, null, callerTerminal);
             ctx.status(202).json(Map.of("sessionId", id, "ticket", ticket, "status", "accepted"));
             return;
         }
 
         try {
-            writeReply(ctx, id, messages.send(id, content, timeout), timeout);
+            writeReply(ctx, id, messages.send(id, content, timeout, callerTerminal), timeout);
         } catch (HerdrException e) {
             herdrError(ctx, e);
         }
@@ -719,6 +721,10 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             case STALE_TURN -> ctx.status(409).json(Map.of(
                     "sessionId", id, "error", "stale_turn",
                     "detail", "that question is no longer open (timed out or already answered)"));
+            case NOT_TURN_OWNER -> ctx.status(403).json(Map.of(
+                    "sessionId", id, "error", "not_turn_owner",
+                    "detail", "this turn belongs to a different delegation — only the caller that "
+                            + "opened it may answer it"));
             case REPLIED, COMPLETED_UNREPLIED -> {
                 // replySource distinguishes a structured fleet_reply from the CB-106 completion
                 // fallback (a scrape of the worker's transcript when it finished without replying).
@@ -733,9 +739,10 @@ public final class FleetApp {
                     // silent fall-through. That is exactly the bug this ticket exists to fix:
                     // `default -> "done"` used to sit here and would have told a REST caller the
                     // delegation completed for TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED, the one outcome where delivery
-                    // is unknown. REPLIED, COMPLETED_UNREPLIED, QUESTION and STALE_TURN can never
-                    // actually reach this inner switch — the outer switch above always dispatches
-                    // them first — but they still need an arm to keep this switch exhaustive.
+                    // is unknown. REPLIED, COMPLETED_UNREPLIED, QUESTION, STALE_TURN and
+                    // NOT_TURN_OWNER can never actually reach this inner switch — the outer switch
+                    // above always dispatches them first — but they still need an arm to keep this
+                    // switch exhaustive.
                     "status", switch (reply.outcome()) {
                         case TIMED_OUT_WORKING -> "working";
                         case TIMED_OUT_QUEUED -> "queued";
@@ -745,7 +752,7 @@ public final class FleetApp {
                         case BUSY -> "busy";
                         case WORKER_FAILED -> "failed";
                         case BACKEND_EXHAUSTED -> "backend_exhausted";
-                        case REPLIED, COMPLETED_UNREPLIED, QUESTION, STALE_TURN -> "done"; // unreachable
+                        case REPLIED, COMPLETED_UNREPLIED, QUESTION, STALE_TURN, NOT_TURN_OWNER -> "done"; // unreachable
                     },
                     "detail", reply.outcome() == MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_UNCONFIRMED
                             ? "no reply within " + timeout + "ms; delivery is unconfirmed — the "
@@ -874,10 +881,12 @@ public final class FleetApp {
             body.put("sessionId", id);
             body.put("status", messages.status(id).name().toLowerCase());
             body.put("ready", deliverable.test(id));
-            // CB-582: a worker paused mid-turn in an async fleet_ask is otherwise invisible to a
-            // status poll — surface the open question and how to answer it, same as fleet_poll's
-            // Phase.ASKING view.
-            MessageService.PendingAsk ask = messages.pendingAsk(id);
+            // A worker paused mid-turn in an async fleet_ask is otherwise invisible to a status
+            // poll — surface the open question and how to answer it, same as fleet_poll's
+            // Phase.ASKING view, but only to the caller whose terminal created that delegation, or
+            // to a caller with no terminal at all (the unnamed primary).
+            Principal caller = ctx.attribute(CALLER);
+            MessageService.PendingAsk ask = messages.pendingAsk(id, caller == null ? null : caller.terminal());
             if (ask != null) {
                 body.put("question", ask.question());
                 body.put("turnId", ask.turnId());
@@ -894,7 +903,8 @@ public final class FleetApp {
         if (!allow(ctx, routeAction("GET /tasks/{ticket}"), null)) {
             return;
         }
-        MessageService.TaskView v = messages.poll(ctx.pathParam("ticket"));
+        Principal caller = ctx.attribute(CALLER);
+        MessageService.TaskView v = messages.poll(ctx.pathParam("ticket"), caller == null ? null : caller.terminal());
         if (v == null) {
             ctx.status(404).json(Map.of("error", "unknown_ticket", "detail", "no such task (or it has expired)"));
             return;

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

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 import java.util.function.Consumer;
 import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
 /**
  * Authoritative in-daemon registry of the worker sessions this {@code fleetd} process spawned.
@@ -57,6 +58,18 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
      * Populated on every spawn path, removed on {@link #release}.
      */
     private final ConcurrentHashMap<String /*paneId*/, PeerHandle> handles = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    /**
+     * fleetd #702: a pane mid-teardown, keyed by paneId, held from just before its registry entry
+     * is removed until {@link #releaseRemoved} finishes. {@link #spawnedMemberRole} consults this
+     * alongside the registry, so a caller resolving the pane's terminal during that window still
+     * sees a live member and never falls through to a tab map.
+     *
+     * <p>Depth-counted rather than a plain set: two threads can be tearing down the same pane at
+     * once (the CAS in {@link #releaseIfCurrent} exists for exactly that race), and with a set the
+     * loser's {@code finally} would unmark the pane while the winner is still mid-teardown,
+     * reopening the window this exists to close.
+     */
+    private final ConcurrentHashMap<String /*paneId*/, Releasing> releasing = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
     private final MemberPresence presence;
     private final SecureRandom nonceRandom = new SecureRandom();
     private final AtomicLong nonceSeq = new AtomicLong();
@@ -242,6 +255,10 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
                         handle.id(), handle.terminalId(), resolvedProfile, actualRole, cwd, ownerTerminal, now, now, 0,
                         MemberSession.State.SPAWNING, null, null, handle.charterReceipt(), handle.agentSessionId());
                 registry.put(handle.id(), session);
+                // A presence contact that already arrived for this terminal found no registry
+                // entry to transition and gave up silently. Retry it now that one exists; remove
+                // this call and such a session stays in SPAWNING even though it is present.
+                reconcilePresence(handle.terminalId());
                 handles.put(handle.id(), handle);
                 log.debug("acquired session id={} terminal={} profile={} owner={}",
                         handle.id(), handle.terminalId(), session.profile(), session.ownerTerminal());
@@ -303,9 +320,11 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
      * is a logged path an operator can reclaim, the cost of a deleted one is unrecoverable work.
      */
     private MemberSession release(String paneId, ReleaseCause cause) {
-        MemberSession removed = registry.remove(paneId);
-        releaseRemoved(paneId, removed, handles.remove(paneId), cause);
-        return removed;
+        return releaseWindow(paneId, registry.get(paneId), () -> {
+            MemberSession removed = registry.remove(paneId);
+            releaseRemoved(paneId, removed, handles.remove(paneId), cause);
+            return removed;
+        });
     }
 
     /**
@@ -314,16 +333,85 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
      * 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;
+        return releaseWindow(expected.paneId(), expected, () -> {
+            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;
+        });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #702: mark {@code paneId} as mid-teardown — using {@code known}'s terminal/role when
+     * it is available — for the whole of {@code teardown}, which removes the registry entry and
+     * then runs {@link #releaseRemoved}. Shared by both registry-removal sites ({@link #release}'s
+     * unconditional remove and {@link #releaseIfCurrent}'s CAS remove) so neither can leave the
+     * other's window unmarked.
+     *
+     * <p>The mark is written before {@code teardown} runs — so it covers the removal itself, not
+     * only what comes after it — and cleared in a {@code finally}, so an unchecked throw out of
+     * {@code teardown} (including one from {@link PeerLauncher#stop}, which declares nothing) can
+     * never leave the pane marked for the rest of the daemon's life.
+     */
+    private <T> T releaseWindow(String paneId, MemberSession known, Supplier<T> teardown) {
+        releasing.compute(paneId, (_, prior) -> Releasing.enter(prior, known));
+        try {
+            return teardown.get();
+        } finally {
+            releasing.compute(paneId, (_, prior) -> prior == null ? null : prior.leave());
         }
-        releaseRemoved(expected.paneId(), expected, handles.remove(expected.paneId()), cause);
-        return true;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Depth count plus the terminal/role a mid-teardown pane belongs to, for
+     * {@link #spawnedMemberRole}. The terminal/role come from whichever call into
+     * {@link #releaseWindow} first knew them: a call that finds the registry entry already gone
+     * passes a {@code null} session, and must not blank out what the first call recorded.
+     */
+    record Releasing(int depth, String terminalId, MemberRole role) {
+        static Releasing enter(Releasing prior, MemberSession known) {
+            int depth = (prior == null ? 0 : prior.depth()) + 1;
+            String terminalId = known != null ? known.terminalId() : prior == null ? null : prior.terminalId();
+            MemberRole role = known != null ? known.role() : prior == null ? null : prior.role();
+            return new Releasing(depth, terminalId, role);
+        }
+
+        Releasing leave() {
+            return depth <= 1 ? null : new Releasing(depth - 1, terminalId, role);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The role of the live spawned member occupying {@code terminal} — whether it is currently in
+     * the registry, or mid-teardown between {@link #release} removing its registry entry and
+     * {@link #releaseRemoved} actually stopping its pane (fleetd #702). {@code null} for a terminal
+     * that is neither: this method is the one reader a caller resolver consults before any tab
+     * map, so a live or releasing member's identity never falls back to a tab label.
+     *
+     * <p>Checks the registry directly via {@link #findByTerminal} rather than {@link #roster()},
+     * so this hot-path lookup (consulted on every resolve) never pays for a list copy or a stream.
+     */
+    public MemberRole spawnedMemberRole(String terminal) {
+        MemberSession session = findByTerminal(terminal);
+        if (session != null) {
+            return session.role();
+        }
+        if (terminal == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        for (Releasing r : releasing.values()) {
+            if (terminal.equals(r.terminalId())) {
+                return r.role();
+            }
+        }
+        return null;
     }
 
     private void releaseRemoved(String paneId, MemberSession removed, PeerHandle removedHandle,
@@ -382,6 +470,12 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
                 MemberSession resolved = resolveAgentSessionId(removed, removedHandle);
                 notifyReleased(new ReleaseDetail(resolved.terminalId(), resolved.worktree(),
                         resolved.branch(), snapshotRef, resolved.agentSessionId()));
+                String terminal = removed.terminalId();
+                if (terminal != null && !terminal.isBlank()) {
+                    // Without this, a terminal stays marked present after its pane is gone, so a
+                    // later send to the same id would read as deliverable instead of refused.
+                    presence.forget(terminal);
+                }
             }
         }
         // CB-581: the pane must always stop, even if the dirty check above threw. A session removed
@@ -725,6 +819,10 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
                 handle.charterReceipt(),
                 handle.agentSessionId());
         registry.put(handle.id(), session);
+        // A presence contact that already arrived for this terminal found no registry entry to
+        // transition and gave up silently. Retry it now that one exists; remove this call and
+        // such a session stays in SPAWNING even though it is present.
+        reconcilePresence(handle.terminalId());
         handles.put(handle.id(), handle);
         log.debug("acquired worktree session id={} terminal={} profile={} branch={} path={}",
                 handle.id(), handle.terminalId(), session.profile(), session.branch(), session.worktree());
@@ -899,6 +997,20 @@ public final class SessionManager implements TurnListener {
         transitionByTerminal(terminalId, MemberSession.State.SPAWNING, MemberSession.State.READY);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Completes a newly registered session's {@code SPAWNING -> READY} transition when {@code
+     * terminalId} was already marked present before this ran. A terminal never marked present is
+     * left in {@code SPAWNING}; it reaches {@code READY} normally through {@link #onReady} once
+     * its own contact arrives. Callers must run this only once the session's registry entry is
+     * already visible — {@link #onReady}'s transition matches against that entry, and reconciling
+     * before the entry exists finds nothing to transition.
+     */
+    private void reconcilePresence(String terminalId) {
+        if (terminalId != null && !terminalId.isBlank() && presence.isPresent(terminalId)) {
+            onReady(terminalId);
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Lifecycle hook: a message was delivered into the worker — it is now busy on a turn.
      * The turn count is bumped and the activity timestamp is refreshed. A {@code DONE} session

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

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.HerdrClient;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadLauncher;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.lead.LeadRollover;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.ReplyInbox;
 import io.javalin.Javalin;
@@ -34,7 +36,7 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
  * fleetd #612 Unit A) with three methods: {@code unrelatedAnchorStillPresent} (a scaffold anchor,
  * not an independent claim — needs no replacement of its own), {@code
  * mainStillCallsTheLeadRolloverFactory} (the call-site pin replaced by {@link
- * #assembledLeadRolloverRunsTheRealClearAndBootstrapSequence}), and {@code
+ * #assembledLeadRolloverEndsTheOldPaneThroughTheRealHerdrRouter}), and {@code
  * factoryGatesOnConfigPresence} (the absent-config claim replaced by {@link
  * #absentLeadRolloverConfigMeansNoRolloverIsBuilt} — a claim this ticket found was NOT actually
  * covered behaviourally anywhere else: {@code LeadRolloverTest}'s only related assertion is
@@ -50,8 +52,8 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
  * invisible to this test, even though the two are genuinely different daemons in production. This
  * version configures two distinct sockets and two distinct {@link FakeHerdr} instances (the same
  * pattern {@code FleetdAssemblyConnectionIdentityTest}, fleetd #612 B2, already uses to separate
- * lead from member) and asserts the roll's {@code /clear}/bootstrap sends land on the LEAD fake
- * and never on the MEMBER one.
+ * lead from member) and asserts the roll's {@code pane.close} call lands on the LEAD fake and
+ * never on the MEMBER one.
  */
 class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
 
@@ -177,11 +179,47 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
         return FleetConfig.load(f);
     }
 
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    /**
+     * Unlike {@link #writeConfig}, this names a {@code profile:} for the lead and declares it
+     * under {@code profiles:}, so {@code LeadLauncher#relaunch} can actually start a fresh agent
+     * instead of refusing with "names no profile". {@code relaunchReadySeconds} is cut to 2s so
+     * the recognition wait (expected to time out — see the test) does not cost real test seconds.
+     */
+    private static FleetConfig writeConfigWithRelaunchableLead(Path dir, Path leadCwd) throws Exception {
+        Path f = dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml");
+        Files.writeString(f, """
+                bind:
+                  host: 127.0.0.1
+                  port: 8765
+                herdrSocket: "%s"
+                memberHerdrSocket: "%s"
+                idleSleepGuard:
+                  enabled: false
+                broker:
+                  uri: "amqp://fake-test-broker/vh"
+                fleet:
+                  leaders:
+                    opus:
+                      tab: "lead: opus"
+                      cwd: "%s"
+                      profile: opus
+                profiles:
+                  opus:
+                    subscription: true
+                    argv: ["ccs", "opus"]
+                leadRollover:
+                  handoverPath: handover.md
+                  requireOperatorConfirm: false
+                  relaunchReadySeconds: 2
+                """.formatted(LEAD_SOCKET, MEMBER_SOCKET, leadCwd.toString()));
+        return FleetConfig.load(f);
+    }
+
     @Test
-    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] the real assembled LeadRollover runs the full open/confirm/continuation "
-            + "sequence — /clear, then bootstrapText — through the real herdr router")
-    void assembledLeadRolloverRunsTheRealClearAndBootstrapSequence(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] the real assembled LeadRollover runs the open/confirm/continuation "
+            + "sequence through the real herdr router — ending the old pane, then giving up once it "
+            + "never reports gone")
+    void assembledLeadRolloverEndsTheOldPaneThroughTheRealHerdrRouter(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
         Path leadCwd = dir.resolve("lead-workspace");
         Files.createDirectories(leadCwd);
         FleetConfig cfg = writeConfig(dir, leadCwd);
@@ -204,6 +242,11 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
                 + "Fleetd.leadRollover(...) call site — a mutation to `LeadRollover leadRollover = "
                 + "null;` at that call site can never pass this");
 
+        // assembleAndStart's own boot work (the orphan-worker reap) makes a real call on the
+        // member daemon before the roll ever starts. Clear it here so the assertion below measures
+        // only what the roll itself does, not what daemon startup does.
+        member.calls.clear();
+
         LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open("term_a", "fleetd #612 B3 test");
         String expectedHandoverPath = leadCwd.resolve("handover.md").normalize().toString();
         assertEquals(expectedHandoverPath, pending.handoverPath());
@@ -223,40 +266,109 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
         // constructor), so this polls the real FleetMcp.leadRollover() instance's status(token)
         // until the real continuation finishes.
         LeadRollover.RollStatus status = pollUntilTerminal(rollover, pending.token());
-        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.ROLLED, status.state(),
-                "the full happy path must complete: FakeHerdr's default agent status is 'idle', so "
-                        + "the turn-boundary wait settles immediately and the post-/clear wait "
-                        + "releases via its pickup-grace path — detail: " + status.detail());
 
-        // Prove the real herdr router actually sent BOTH messages, in order, to the real LEAD
-        // pane — this is the one thing a source-text pin on the call site could never show.
+        // FakeHerdr's pane.get is a fixed canned response that never reports a pane as gone, so the
+        // real router's death poll runs out its whole budget and the roll stops here — proving the
+        // real teardown call landed on the real LEAD pane without ever reaching a relaunch or a send.
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED, status.state(),
+                "the old pane never reports gone against this fake, so the roll must stop with "
+                        + "OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED rather than ever relaunching or sending anything — "
+                        + "detail: " + status.detail());
+
+        // Prove the real herdr router actually closed the real LEAD pane — this is the one thing a
+        // source-text pin on the call site could never show.
+        boolean closedOldPane = lead.calls.stream()
+                .anyMatch(c -> c.method().equals("pane.close")
+                        && c.params() instanceof Map<?, ?> m && "w2:p7".equals(m.get("pane_id")));
+        assertTrue(closedOldPane, "endOldSession must close the real old pane (w2:p7) through the "
+                + "real LEAD herdr client, got calls: " + lead.calls);
+
+        // No agent.prompt is ever sent on this path: the roll stops at the pane-death wait, strictly
+        // before the relaunch and the final send step.
         List<FakeHerdr.Call> prompts = lead.calls.stream()
                 .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt"))
                 .toList();
-        assertTrue(prompts.size() >= 2, "expected at least a /clear send and a bootstrapText send "
-                + "on the LEAD daemon, got " + prompts.size() + " agent.prompt calls: " + prompts);
-        assertEquals("/clear", ((Map<String, Object>) prompts.get(0).params()).get("text"),
-                "the first send must be the literal /clear housekeeping command");
-        Object secondText = ((Map<String, Object>) prompts.get(1).params()).get("text");
-        assertTrue(secondText instanceof String && ((String) secondText).contains(expectedHandoverPath),
-                "the second send must be the default bootstrapText naming the resolved handover "
-                        + "path, got: " + secondText);
+        assertTrue(prompts.isEmpty(), "a roll that stops at OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED must never reach the "
+                + "send step, got agent.prompt call(s) on the LEAD daemon: " + prompts);
 
         // fleetd #612 B3 correction: prove the roll never touches the MEMBER daemon. A mutation
         // swapping router.leadAgents() for router.memberAgents() at the real call site would move
-        // both sends above onto `member` instead, which this assertion catches — the thing the
-        // single-fake version of this test could never see, because both wrapped the same client.
+        // the pane.close call above onto `member` instead, which this assertion catches — the thing
+        // the single-fake version of this test could never see, because both wrapped the same client.
+        assertTrue(member.calls.isEmpty(), "the roll must be wired to the LEAD daemon only — got "
+                + member.calls.size() + " call(s) recorded on the MEMBER daemon since the roll began: "
+                + member.calls);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Exercises the relaunch site {@link #assembledLeadRolloverEndsTheOldPaneThroughTheRealHerdrRouter}
+     * never reaches: with the old pane confirmed gone, the roll relaunches a fresh lead, and
+     * {@code bootstrapText} must reach it even though recognition times out (FakeHerdr's
+     * {@code tab.list} is a fixed canned response that never reflects the relaunch's own
+     * {@code tab.rename}, so the fresh terminal is never recognised as a live lead). Same
+     * dual-socket shape as the sibling test: two distinct {@link FakeHerdr} instances, so a
+     * {@code bootstrapText} send wired to the wrong daemon is visible.
+     */
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[BEHAVIOURAL] bootstrapText reaches the fresh LEAD terminal even when recognition "
+            + "times out, and the MEMBER daemon never sees it")
+    void bootstrapTextReachesTheFreshLeadTerminalEvenWhenRecognitionTimesOut(@TempDir Path dir) throws Exception {
+        Path leadCwd = dir.resolve("lead-workspace");
+        Files.createDirectories(leadCwd);
+        FleetConfig cfg = writeConfigWithRelaunchableLead(dir, leadCwd);
+        ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(dir.resolve("fleetd.yaml"), cfg);
+        SubscriptionGuard guard = new SubscriptionGuard(cfg.guard().hostSet());
+        RecordingResourcePorts ports = new RecordingResourcePorts();
+        FakeHerdr lead = new FakeHerdr();
+        lead.withTab("w2", "w2:t7", "lead: opus");
+        // Lets the old pane (w2:p7) report gone once pane.close actually reaches it, so the roll
+        // proceeds to relaunch instead of stopping at OLD_PANE_NEVER_DIED.
+        lead.paneGoneAfterClose("w2:p7");
+        FakeHerdr member = new FakeHerdr();
+        ports.herdrsBySocket.put(LEAD_SOCKET, lead);
+        ports.herdrsBySocket.put(MEMBER_SOCKET, member);
+
+        FleetdRuntime runtime = FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart(new AssemblyInputs(cfg, config, guard), ports);
+
+        LeadRollover rollover = runtime.mcp().leadRollover();
+        assertNotNull(rollover, "leadRollover: is present in this test's config, so a real "
+                + "LeadRollover must have been built");
+
+        LeadRollover.PendingRollover pending = rollover.open("term_a", "bootstrapText relaunch test");
+        Thread.sleep(50);
+        Files.writeString(Path.of(pending.handoverPath()), "handover content for bootstrapText test");
+
+        LeadRollover.RollDecision decision = rollover.confirm("term_a", pending.token(), true);
+        assertTrue(decision.accepted(), "confirm() must approve — got: " + decision);
+
+        LeadRollover.RollStatus status = pollUntilTerminal(rollover, pending.token());
+        assertEquals(LeadRollover.RollState.RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED, status.state(),
+                "the fresh terminal is never recognised against this fake's static tab.list, so the "
+                        + "roll must reach RELAUNCH_NOT_RECOGNISED — not an earlier failure state and "
+                        + "not ROLLED — detail: " + status.detail());
+
+        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+        List<FakeHerdr.Call> leadPrompts = lead.calls.stream()
+                .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt"))
+                .toList();
+        assertEquals(1, leadPrompts.size(), "exactly one bootstrapText send is expected, on the LEAD "
+                + "daemon, once recognition gives up — got: " + leadPrompts);
+        Object text = ((Map<String, Object>) leadPrompts.get(0).params()).get("text");
+        assertTrue(text instanceof String && ((String) text).contains("handover.md"),
+                "the send must be bootstrapText naming the resolved handover path, got: " + text);
+
+        // Scoped to agent.prompt specifically, not every MEMBER call: the orphan-worker reap also
+        // talks to the MEMBER daemon once, unconditionally, at daemon boot — unrelated to this roll.
         List<FakeHerdr.Call> memberPrompts = member.calls.stream()
                 .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt"))
                 .toList();
-        assertTrue(memberPrompts.isEmpty(), "the roll must be wired to the LEAD daemon only — got "
-                + memberPrompts.size() + " agent.prompt call(s) on the MEMBER daemon instead: "
-                + memberPrompts);
+        assertTrue(memberPrompts.isEmpty(), "bootstrapText must never be sent to the MEMBER daemon, "
+                + "got: " + memberPrompts);
     }
 
     private static LeadRollover.RollStatus pollUntilTerminal(LeadRollover rollover, String token)
             throws InterruptedException {
-        long deadline = System.nanoTime() + java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(10);
+        long deadline = System.nanoTime() + java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS.toNanos(15);
         while (System.nanoTime() < deadline) {
             LeadRollover.RollStatus status = rollover.status(token);
             if (status.state() != LeadRollover.RollState.PENDING
@@ -283,8 +395,10 @@ class FleetdLeadRolloverAssemblyTest {
                 """);
         ConfigRef config = new ConfigRef(yaml, FleetConfig.load(yaml));
         AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(new FakeHerdr());
+        WorkspaceControl spaces = new WorkspaceControl(new FakeHerdr());
+        LeadLauncher launcher = new LeadLauncher(agents, spaces, config.get());
 
-        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), agents, config, Map::of);
+        LeadRollover rollover = Fleetd.leadRollover(config.get(), agents, spaces, launcher, config, Map::of);
 
         assertNull(rollover, "leadRollover: is absent from this config, so the factory's opt-in "
                 + "gate (`if (cfg.leadRollover() == null) return null;`) must fire and no "

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

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

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

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ class AuthzTest {
     private static final Principal ARCH_DESIGN = Principal.architect("lead-designer", "term_design", 400);
     private static final Principal ARCH_OTHER = Principal.architect("reviewer", "term_review", 500);
     private static final Principal COLLABORATOR = Principal.collaborator("ops", "term_collab", 600);
+    private static final Principal OBSERVER = Principal.observer("term_observer", 700);
 
     @Test
     void anonymousIsAuthorizedForNothing() {
@@ -30,6 +31,22 @@ class AuthzTest {
         assertTrue(Authz.isUnauthenticated(null));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@code MessageService.answer}'s turn-ownership check treats a caller with no terminal as
+     * matching a turn recorded for the unnamed primary. That rule only stays safe because an
+     * unauthenticated caller — whose terminal is also {@code null} — never reaches {@code answer}
+     * at all: {@link #anonymousIsAuthorizedForNothing} already covers every action including
+     * {@code ANSWER}, but this test names the exact coupling so a future change to either side
+     * cannot drift without turning this test red.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anAnonymousCallerIsRefusedAnswerSoItCanNeverBeMistakenForTheUnnamedPrimary() {
+        assertFalse(Authz.permits(ANON, ANSWER, null),
+                "an anonymous caller, whose terminal is also null, must never reach answer() — the "
+                        + "turn-ownership check's null-terminal match for the unnamed primary owner "
+                        + "relies on this gate refusing it first");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void orchestrationBelongsToThePrimaryAlone() {
         for (Authz.Action a : new Authz.Action[]{SPAWN, STOP, SEND, DRAIN}) {
@@ -250,4 +267,49 @@ class AuthzTest {
         assertTrue(WORKER_A.isSpawnedMember());
         assertTrue(ARCH_DESIGN.isSpawnedMember());
     }
+
+    // ── the observer matrix ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    @Test
+    void anObserverMayReadAndScrapeMetrics() {
+        assertTrue(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, READ, null));
+        assertTrue(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, METRICS, null));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void anObserverMayReplyAndAskOnlyAsItsOwnPane() {
+        assertTrue(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, REPLY, "term_observer"), "its own pane is its own");
+        assertTrue(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, ASK, "term_observer"));
+
+        assertFalse(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, REPLY, "term_design"),
+                "an observer must not reply on another pane");
+        assertFalse(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, REPLY, null),
+                "an absent target must not pass the own-session rule");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Every action beyond READ/METRICS/REPLY/ASK, asserted denied for an observer — including
+     * {@code TASK_READ}, which is the entire point of this role: an unconfigured pane must not be
+     * able to poll a ticket or read another session's status.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anObserverIsDeniedEverythingBeyondReadMetricsReplyAndAsk() {
+        for (Authz.Action a : Authz.Action.values()) {
+            if (a == READ || a == METRICS || a == REPLY || a == ASK) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            assertFalse(Authz.permits(OBSERVER, a, "term_observer", target -> true),
+                    "an observer must not " + a + " even when the classifier accepts every target");
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void anObserverIsNotCountedAsAnyOtherRole() {
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isPrimary());
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isWorker());
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isArchitect());
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isCollaborator());
+        assertFalse(OBSERVER.isSpawnedMember());
+        assertTrue(OBSERVER.isObserver());
+    }
 }

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

@@ -1,13 +1,25 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.auth;
 
+import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.PaneLocator;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.mcp.ConnectionIdentity;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.MemberRole;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.MemberSession;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.WorktreeRequest;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.session.Worktrees;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
 
@@ -45,17 +57,23 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         return members;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * With no roster wired up at all (the simple constructor), a loopback pane that owns a herdr
+     * pane but is not recognised as a live spawned member lands on the {@link Role#OBSERVER} floor
+     * — unforgeable and never token-gated, exactly like a worker's own identity, because it comes
+     * from the same connection-derived pane mapping.
+     */
     @Test
-    void aLoopbackWorkerPaneResolvesToWorkerRegardlessOfAuthMode() {
+    void aLoopbackPaneWithNoLiveRosterResolvesToObserverRegardlessOfAuthMode() {
         Principal underTrust = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity()).resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
         Principal underToken = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), true, "s3cret")
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, underTrust.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, underTrust.role());
         assertEquals("term_a", underTrust.terminal());
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, underToken.role(),
-                "worker identity is unforgeable and must never be token-gated — otherwise enabling "
-                        + "auth would lock the whole fleet out of fleet_reply");
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, underToken.role(),
+                "the floor is unforgeable and must never be token-gated — otherwise enabling auth "
+                        + "would lock every unconfigured pane out of even READ");
         assertEquals("term_a", underToken.terminal());
     }
 
@@ -79,20 +97,20 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void otherPanesRemainWorkersWhenAPinIsSet() {
+    void otherPanesRemainAtTheFloorWhenAPinIsSet() {
         Principal p = CallerResolver.pinnedTo(workerIdentity(), false, null, "term_someone_else")
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
     }
 
     /** The pin is optional config, so an absent or whitespace one must change nothing at all. */
     @Test
-    void aBlankPinLeavesWorkerResolutionUntouched() {
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+    void aBlankPinLeavesFloorResolutionUntouched() {
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 CallerResolver.pinnedTo(workerIdentity(), false, null, "  ").resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 CallerResolver.pinnedTo(workerIdentity(), false, null, null).resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
     }
 
@@ -213,13 +231,13 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
      * mid-scan teardown into a refusal — the real match is still found and resolves as a worker.
      */
     @Test
-    void aHerdrErrorOnANonOwningPaneStillResolvesTheRealWorker() {
+    void aHerdrErrorOnANonOwningPaneStillResolvesTheRealPane() {
         FakeHerdr vanishedElsewhere = new FakeHerdr().processInfoFailsForPane("w2:p9", "pane_not_found");
         ConnectionIdentity id = new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(vanishedElsewhere), _ -> FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID);
 
         Principal p = new CallerResolver(id).resolve("127.0.0.1", 55555, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
     }
 
@@ -263,12 +281,12 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void aPaneAbsentFromTheRegistryIsStillAWorker() {
+    void aPaneAbsentFromTheRegistryFallsToTheObserverFloor() {
         Principal p = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), false, null,
                 Map.of("term_elsewhere", "gpt-sol-5.6"))
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
         assertNull(p.name());
     }
@@ -294,16 +312,16 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void anEmptyRegistryLeavesEveryPaneAWorker() {
+    void anEmptyRegistryLeavesEveryPaneAtTheObserverFloor() {
         Map<String, String> noLeads = null;
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), false, null, Map.of())
                         .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), false, null, noLeads)
                         .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
-        // CB-531: and the same for the live-registry form, whose supplier may also be absent.
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER,
+        // And the same for the live-registry form, whose supplier may also be absent.
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER,
                 CallerResolver.withLeads(workerIdentity(), false, null, null)
                         .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
     }
@@ -376,7 +394,7 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         Map<String, String> live = new java.util.HashMap<>();
         CallerResolver r = CallerResolver.withLeads(workerIdentity(), false, null, () -> live);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
 
         live.put("term_a", "gpt-sol-5.6"); // the scanner sees a newly-labelled tab
 
@@ -393,7 +411,7 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
 
         mutable.put("term_a", "sneaky");
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
     }
 
     // ── CB-548: architect slots ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -423,13 +441,13 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void anUnboundPaneStillResolvesAsAWorker() {
+    void anUnboundPaneResolvesToTheObserverFloor() {
         MemberRegistry members = new MemberRegistry(new FleetConfig.Fleet(Map.of(),
                 Map.of("lead-designer", new FleetConfig.Slot("sonnet")), Map.of(), Map.of(), null));
         Principal p = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null,
                 Map::of, members).resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertNull(p.name());
     }
 
@@ -455,7 +473,7 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         CallerResolver r = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null,
                 Map::of, members);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, r.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null).role());
 
         assertTrue(members.bind("architect:lead-designer", "term_a")); // the later lifecycle binds the slot
 
@@ -482,12 +500,13 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void aBoundNonArchitectSlotStillResolvesAsAWorker() {
+    void aBoundNonArchitectSlotResolvesToTheObserverFloorNotArchitect() {
         Principal p = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null,
                 Map::of, boundMembers("dev:builder", MemberRole.DEV))
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role(), "a dev binding must never grant architect rights");
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role(), "a dev binding must never grant architect rights, "
+                + "and this construction path wires no roster to recognise it as the live dev it is");
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -498,17 +517,17 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> new CallerResolver(id, true, "  "));
     }
     @Test
-    void aWorkerOnAnyLoopbackSourceAddressIsStillAWorkerNotThePrimary() {
-        // fleetd #305: the escalation. ConnectionIdentity used to accept only 127.0.0.1, so a
-        // worker connecting from 127.0.0.2 resolved to no terminal, and this resolver's own
-        // (wider) loopback check then made it the PRIMARY — granting spawn, stop, send and drain.
-        // Measured on the Linux fleet host: binding a source of 127.0.0.2 succeeds there, so the
-        // path is real and not theoretical.
+    void aPaneOnAnyLoopbackSourceAddressIsStillAtTheFloorNotThePrimary() {
+        // fleetd #305: the escalation this guards against. ConnectionIdentity used to accept only
+        // 127.0.0.1, so a pane connecting from 127.0.0.2 resolved to no terminal, and this
+        // resolver's own (wider) loopback check then made it the PRIMARY — granting spawn, stop,
+        // send and drain. Measured on the Linux fleet host: binding a source of 127.0.0.2 succeeds
+        // there, so the path is real and not theoretical.
         CallerResolver r = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity(), false, null);
         for (String src : new String[]{"127.0.0.1", "127.0.0.2", "127.1.2.3", "::ffff:127.0.0.2"}) {
             Principal p = r.resolve(src, 55555, null);
-            assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role(), "a worker must stay a worker from source " + src);
-            assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal(), "worker terminal from source " + src);
+            assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role(), "the pane must stay off PRIMARY from source " + src);
+            assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal(), "pane terminal from source " + src);
         }
     }
 
@@ -541,6 +560,219 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * fleetd #702: between {@link SessionManager#release} removing the registry entry and the
+     * pane actually stopping, a resolve for that terminal must still see the live member and
+     * never fall through to a tab map — wired through the real {@link SessionManager}, not a
+     * hand-rolled stand-in for its {@code spawnedMemberRole}.
+     *
+     * <p>Reuses the ticket's own test idea: an injected {@code hasUncommitted} resolves the
+     * releasing terminal from inside {@code release}'s window — a real call landing inside the
+     * window, so no sleep and no race.
+     *
+     * <p>The property asserted is "no tab map is consulted", never "the same role is returned".
+     * The mandatory control is the lead tab map: it names this exact terminal, and the same
+     * resolve taken <em>outside</em> the window (before release runs) must still return the lead
+     * role — without that control, the in-window assertion would also pass on an empty map and
+     * prove nothing.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aPaneMidTeardownResolvesAsItsOwnRoleConsultingNoTabMap() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().pinNextStarts(1, "term_a", "w2:p7");
+        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);
+
+        AtomicReference<Principal> duringWindow = new AtomicReference<>();
+        AtomicReference<CallerResolver> resolverRef = new AtomicReference<>();
+        Worktrees worktrees = new Worktrees() {
+            @Override
+            public String add(String repoRoot, String branch, String baseRef) {
+                return "/wt/" + branch.replace('/', '_');
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void remove(String repoRoot, String worktreePath) {
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void deleteBranch(String repoRoot, String branch) {
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public boolean hasUncommitted(String worktreePath) {
+                // Runs from INSIDE release()'s git-status shell-out: the registry entry is
+                // already gone, but the pane has not stopped yet.
+                duringWindow.set(resolverRef.get().resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null));
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void overlayParity(String repoRoot, String worktreePath, List<String> overlay) {
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public String repoRoot(String cwd) {
+                return "/repo";
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public Optional<String> snapshot(String worktreePath, String branch, String message) {
+                return Optional.empty();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public WipRefStats wipRefs(String repoRoot) {
+                return new WipRefStats(0, 0L);
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public int pruneWipRefs(String repoRoot, long minAgeMillis) {
+                return 0;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void shareWithGroup(String repoRoot, String worktreePath) {
+            }
+        };
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workers, worktrees);
+
+        // The lead tab map names "term_a" before anything is ever spawned onto it — the control
+        // this test needs. Built up front so the SAME resolver answers every resolve() call below.
+        ConnectionIdentity identity = new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(herdr), _ -> FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID);
+        CallerResolver resolver = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(identity, false, null,
+                () -> Map.of("term_a", "the-lead"), null, sessions::spawnedMemberRole, Map::of);
+        resolverRef.set(resolver);
+
+        Principal before = resolver.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
+        assertEquals(Role.PRIMARY, before.role(),
+                "control: with no live or releasing member on this terminal, the lead tab map must "
+                        + "win — this is what proves the in-window assertion below is not passing on "
+                        + "an empty map");
+        assertEquals("the-lead", before.name());
+
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("fleetd-702", null));
+        assertEquals("term_a", s.terminalId(), "sanity: the spawn resolved to the pinned pane");
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertNotNull(duringWindow.get(), "the dirty check must have run and captured a resolve");
+        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, duringWindow.get().role(),
+                "inside the window the pane must resolve as its own live-member role, consulting no "
+                        + "tab map — a lead tab naming the same terminal must not win");
+        assertEquals("term_a", duringWindow.get().terminal());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@link SessionManager#releaseRemoved} unbinds the architect slot before the git-status
+     * shell-out that opens the teardown window, so a resolve landing inside that window must see
+     * the slot already unbound and resolve {@link Role#WORKER} — never {@link Role#ARCHITECT},
+     * and never by checking role equality against the live session, which would hold even if the
+     * unbind ran too late.
+     *
+     * <p>The control is the same resolve taken outside the window, while the slot is still bound,
+     * which must return {@link Role#ARCHITECT} — without it this test would also pass against a
+     * slot that was never bound, and prove nothing.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aReleasingArchitectIsDemotedToWorkerInsideTheTeardownWindow() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().pinNextStarts(1, "term_a", "w2:p7");
+        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);
+
+        AtomicReference<Principal> duringWindow = new AtomicReference<>();
+        AtomicReference<CallerResolver> resolverRef = new AtomicReference<>();
+        Worktrees worktrees = new Worktrees() {
+            @Override
+            public String add(String repoRoot, String branch, String baseRef) {
+                return "/wt/" + branch.replace('/', '_');
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void remove(String repoRoot, String worktreePath) {
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void deleteBranch(String repoRoot, String branch) {
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public boolean hasUncommitted(String worktreePath) {
+                // Runs from INSIDE release()'s git-status shell-out: the architect slot is already
+                // unbound by this point, but the pane has not stopped yet.
+                duringWindow.set(resolverRef.get().resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null));
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void overlayParity(String repoRoot, String worktreePath, List<String> overlay) {
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public String repoRoot(String cwd) {
+                return "/repo";
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public Optional<String> snapshot(String worktreePath, String branch, String message) {
+                return Optional.empty();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public WipRefStats wipRefs(String repoRoot) {
+                return new WipRefStats(0, 0L);
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public int pruneWipRefs(String repoRoot, long minAgeMillis) {
+                return 0;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void shareWithGroup(String repoRoot, String worktreePath) {
+            }
+        };
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workers, worktrees);
+
+        MemberRegistry members = new MemberRegistry(new FleetConfig.Fleet(Map.of(),
+                Map.of("lead-designer", new FleetConfig.Slot("ltms-local")), Map.of(), Map.of(), null));
+        sessions.setMemberLifecycle(members);
+
+        ConnectionIdentity identity = new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(herdr), _ -> FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID);
+        CallerResolver resolver = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(identity, false, null,
+                Map::of, members, sessions::spawnedMemberRole, Map::of);
+        resolverRef.set(resolver);
+
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", MemberRole.ARCHITECT, null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("fleetd-702d", null));
+        assertEquals("term_a", s.terminalId(), "sanity: the spawn resolved to the pinned pane");
+        assertEquals(MemberRole.ARCHITECT, s.role(), "sanity: the slot bind succeeded");
+
+        Principal before = resolver.resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
+        assertEquals(Role.ARCHITECT, before.role(),
+                "control: with the slot still bound, the pane must resolve as an architect — this "
+                        + "is what proves the in-window assertion below is not passing against a "
+                        + "slot that was never bound");
+        assertEquals("lead-designer", before.name());
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertNotNull(duringWindow.get(), "the dirty check must have run and captured a resolve");
+        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, duringWindow.get().role(),
+                "inside the window the architect slot is already unbound, so the result must be "
+                        + "WORKER — asserting role-equality with the live session here would tempt "
+                        + "moving the unbind earlier or later, which would be wrong either way");
+        assertEquals("term_a", duringWindow.get().terminal());
+    }
+
     /** A spawned architect in the roster resolves ARCHITECT, carrying its bound slot's name. */
     @Test
     void aSpawnedArchitectInTheRosterResolvesArchitectWithItsSlotName() {
@@ -601,14 +833,14 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertEquals("term_a", p.terminal());
     }
 
-    /** Regression: an empty collaborator registry leaves every pane exactly as before. */
+    /** Regression: an empty collaborator registry leaves every pane at the unconfigured-pane floor. */
     @Test
-    void anEmptyCollaboratorRegistryLeavesEveryPaneAsBefore() {
+    void anEmptyCollaboratorRegistryLeavesEveryPaneAtTheObserverFloor() {
         Principal p = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null, Map::of,
                         new MemberRegistry(null), t -> null, Map::of)
                 .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
 
-        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, p.role());
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, p.role());
         assertNull(p.name());
     }
 
@@ -637,6 +869,39 @@ class CallerResolverTest {
         assertFalse(r.knownLeadOrCollaborator().test("term_other"));
     }
 
+    // ── fleetd #705: narrowing the unconfigured-pane floor to OBSERVER ──────────────────────────
+
+    /**
+     * The case this ticket exists for: a pane the resolver cannot place as a live spawned member,
+     * a lead, a bound architect slot, or a configured collaborator must land on the narrow
+     * {@link Role#OBSERVER} floor, never the {@link Role#WORKER} the old fallback granted.
+     *
+     * <p>The second assertion is the control the ticket requires: a terminal the roster DOES
+     * recognise as a live spawned member must still resolve its own role. Without it, this test
+     * would also pass if the fix accidentally turned every caller into an observer.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anUnconfiguredPaneResolvesObserverButARegisteredMemberStillResolvesItsOwnRole() {
+        Principal unconfigured = new CallerResolver(workerIdentity()).resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
+        assertEquals(Role.OBSERVER, unconfigured.role(),
+                "a pane matching none of the configured or live-roster roles must fall to the "
+                        + "floor, not WORKER");
+        assertEquals("term_a", unconfigured.terminal());
+
+        Principal registered = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(workerIdentity(), false, null,
+                        Map::of, new MemberRegistry(null),
+                        t -> "term_a".equals(t) ? MemberRole.DEV : null, Map::of)
+                .resolve("127.0.0.1", 42, null);
+        assertEquals(Role.WORKER, registered.role(),
+                "control: a live spawned member must keep resolving its own role, never the "
+                        + "unconfigured-pane floor");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void describeNamesTheObserverByItsPane() {
+        assertEquals("observer:term_a", Principal.observer("term_a", 1).describe());
+    }
+
     @Test
     void knownLeadOrCollaboratorIsFalseForASpawnedMembersTerminal() {
         // The exact scenario a collaborator's SEND must never reach: a live spawned member's own

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@@ -1,10 +1,16 @@
 package dev.ltms.fleet.lead;
 
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Level;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.Logger;
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.spi.ILoggingEvent;
+import ch.qos.logback.core.read.ListAppender;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.FakeHerdr;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.ResilientAgentLaunch;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.WorkspaceControl;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -64,6 +70,21 @@ class LeadLauncherTest {
         return new LeadLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr), cfg);
     }
 
+    /** As {@link #launcher}, plus a fast no-op sleeper so a busy-retry test never real-sleeps. */
+    private static LeadLauncher fastLauncher(FakeHerdr herdr, FleetConfig cfg) {
+        return new LeadLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr), cfg, () -> { });
+    }
+
+    /** {@link #opusProfile()} with one argv element long enough to overflow the pane line limit. */
+    private static FleetConfig.Profile hugeArgvProfile() {
+        return new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "opus", null, "claude-opus-5", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN",
+                List.of("ccs", "x".repeat(1500)), "tab", "fleet", null,
+                "http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp", null, null,
+                null, null, null,
+                Map.of("CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW", "300000"), null, null, true, null);
+    }
+
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     private static List<String> startedArgs(FakeHerdr herdr) {
         return (List<String>) ((Map<String, Object>) herdr.lastCall("agent.start").params()).get("args");
@@ -86,7 +107,11 @@ class LeadLauncherTest {
 
         assertEquals(1, launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).ensureLeads());
         assertTrue(herdr.called("agent.start"), "a lead must actually be started");
-        assertEquals("lead-opus", startedName(herdr));
+        // fleetd #727: the name carries a per-process nonce and a per-start sequence number — the
+        // same unique-naming scheme HerdrPeerLauncher uses for members — rather than the fixed
+        // "lead-opus" a stale registry entry could block a legitimate relaunch under.
+        assertTrue(startedName(herdr).matches("lead-opus-[0-9a-f]{6}-\\d+"),
+                "name is lead-<name>-<nonce>-<seq>: " + startedName(herdr));
     }
 
     /** The tab is labelled with the configured `tab:` so the scanner finds the lead on the next resolve. */
@@ -436,4 +461,247 @@ class LeadLauncherTest {
         assertEquals(0, launcher(herdr, cfg).ensureLeads());
         assertTrue(herdr.calls.isEmpty(), "nothing declared ⇒ nothing scanned");
     }
+
+    // ── fleetd #727: the same three launch protections every member spawn gets ───────────────────
+
+    /**
+     * A freshly created pane may not have redrawn its prompt yet, so herdr answers
+     * {@code agent_pane_busy}. The lead launch must wait it out rather than fail on the first miss
+     * — exactly the retry {@code HerdrPeerLauncher} already gives every member.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aLeadLaunchRetriesWhileTheSeedShellBoots() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentPaneBusyTimes(2);
+
+        assertEquals(1, fastLauncher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).ensureLeads(),
+                "the lead must still start once the shell is ready");
+        assertEquals(3, herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.start")).count(),
+                "two busy rejections, then the successful start");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The busy retry is bounded, not an infinite poll. If the pane never becomes ready the launch
+     * must eventually give up and log the failure, not hang the daemon's reconcile loop forever —
+     * proven here by a budget that would still be busy on attempt
+     * {@value ResilientAgentLaunch#SHELL_READY_RETRIES} and a call count that stops exactly there.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aLeadLaunchGivesUpAfterTheBoundedBusyBudgetRatherThanLoopingForever() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentPaneBusyTimes(999);
+
+        assertEquals(0, fastLauncher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).ensureLeads(),
+                "a pane that never becomes ready must not be reported as a started lead");
+        assertEquals(ResilientAgentLaunch.SHELL_READY_RETRIES,
+                herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.start")).count(),
+                "the retry budget is bounded: it stops after exactly SHELL_READY_RETRIES attempts");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * herdr refuses a duplicate agent {@code name} outright. A stale registry entry — a crashed
+     * lead session, or a name the registry has not yet released — must not permanently block a
+     * legitimate relaunch, so each retry attempt carries a fresh per-start name.
+     */
+    @Test
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    void aLeadLaunchRetriesUnderAFreshNameWhenTheOldNameIsStillTaken() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentNameTakenTimes(2);
+
+        assertEquals(1, launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).ensureLeads(),
+                "the lead must still start once a free name is found");
+        List<String> names = herdr.calls.stream()
+                .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.start"))
+                .map(c -> ((Map<String, Object>) c.params()).get("name").toString())
+                .toList();
+        assertEquals(3, names.size(), "2 rejected + 1 success");
+        assertEquals(3, Set.copyOf(names).size(), "each attempt must use a distinct name");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The name-collision retry is bounded too. If the name is taken on every attempt, the launch
+     * must give up rather than keep minting new names forever — the per-start naming scheme means
+     * every failed attempt was refused outright by herdr (no process exists under a name herdr
+     * refused), so a bounded, exhausted retry never leaves a second process running: nothing is
+     * running at all.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aLeadLaunchNeverEndsUpWithASecondProcessWhenTheNameStaysTaken() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentNameTakenTimes(999);
+
+        assertEquals(0, launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).ensureLeads(),
+                "a name that is never free must not be reported as a started lead");
+        assertEquals(ResilientAgentLaunch.NAME_RETRIES,
+                herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.start")).count(),
+                "the retry budget is bounded: it stops after exactly NAME_RETRIES attempts, "
+                        + "never racing a duplicate into existence");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * fleetd #220/#727: herdr types the launch command into the pane as one line, and a pty line
+     * buffer holds only 1024 bytes — past that the tail is dropped with no error at all, and the
+     * backend exits on a mangled argument. The lead launch must refuse an over-long command outright
+     * rather than let it be typed and silently truncated.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anOverlongLeadArgvIsRefusedRatherThanTypedAndTruncated() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        Logger logger = (Logger) LoggerFactory.getLogger(LeadLauncher.class);
+        ListAppender<ILoggingEvent> appender = new ListAppender<>();
+        appender.start();
+        logger.addAppender(appender);
+
+        int started;
+        try {
+            started = launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1), hugeArgvProfile()))
+                    .ensureLeads();
+        } finally {
+            logger.detachAppender(appender);
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(0, started, "an over-long command must never be reported as a started lead");
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"),
+                "nothing may be started — a truncated command is worse than no spawn");
+        String warn = appender.list.stream()
+                .filter(e -> e.getLevel().equals(Level.WARN))
+                .map(ILoggingEvent::getFormattedMessage)
+                .filter(m -> m.contains("failed to launch"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElseThrow(() -> new AssertionError("expected a WARN naming the launch failure: "
+                        + appender.list));
+        assertTrue(warn.contains("1024"), "names the limit: " + warn);
+        assertTrue(warn.contains("opus"), "names the profile: " + warn);
+        assertTrue(warn.contains("x".repeat(60)), "names the culprit argument: " + warn);
+    }
+
+    // ── fleetd #726 unit 1: the single-lead relaunch seam ─────────────────────────────────────
+
+    /**
+     * The returned agent's {@code terminalId()}/{@code paneId()} are the ones the fake
+     * {@code AgentControl} actually started — not a coincidental field left over from the caller.
+     * {@code paneId()} echoes the exact {@code pane_id} the launch's own {@code agent.start} call
+     * carried (protocol 19: the agent starts into the pane it is asked to), and {@code
+     * terminalId()} is herdr's own generated id, which the fake always shapes as {@code
+     * term_new_<n>}.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void relaunchReturnsTheStartedAgent() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNotNull(started, "a launchable, configured lead must start");
+        Object startedPaneIdParam = ((Map<?, ?>) herdr.lastCall("agent.start").params()).get("pane_id");
+        assertEquals(startedPaneIdParam, started.paneId(),
+                "paneId() must be the pane the agent.start call actually targeted");
+        assertTrue(started.terminalId() != null && started.terminalId().startsWith("term_new_"),
+                "terminalId() must be herdr's own generated id: " + started.terminalId());
+    }
+
+    /** The new tab is labelled with the lead's configured {@code tab:}, and AFTER the start. */
+    @Test
+    void relaunchLabelsTheNewTabAfterStarting() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNotNull(started);
+        assertEquals("lead: opus", ((Map<?, ?>) herdr.lastCall("tab.rename").params()).get("label"));
+
+        int startIndex = indexOfLastCall(herdr, "agent.start");
+        int renameIndex = indexOfLastCall(herdr, "tab.rename");
+        assertTrue(renameIndex > startIndex,
+                "the tab must be renamed AFTER the start succeeds, not before: start=" + startIndex
+                        + " rename=" + renameIndex);
+    }
+
+    private static int indexOfLastCall(FakeHerdr herdr, String method) {
+        int idx = -1;
+        List<FakeHerdr.Call> calls = herdr.calls;
+        for (int i = 0; i < calls.size(); i++) {
+            if (calls.get(i).method().equals(method)) {
+                idx = i;
+            }
+        }
+        return idx;
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void relaunchOfAnUnknownLeadNameReturnsNullAndStartsNothing() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("not-declared");
+
+        assertNull(started);
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"));
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("workspace.create"));
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("tab.create"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void relaunchOfARecogniseOnlyLeadReturnsNullAndStartsNothing() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead(null, "lead: dead", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNull(started);
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void relaunchWithAnUnconfiguredProfileReturnsNullAndStartsNothing() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                launcher(herdr, configWith(lead("nope", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNull(started);
+        assertFalse(herdr.called("agent.start"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The outer retry {@link LeadLauncher#relaunch(String)} owns, separate from {@code
+     * ResilientAgentLaunch}'s internal {@code agent_name_taken} retry: a failed attempt must not
+     * be the end of the whole relaunch. Each of the first two attempts exhausts {@code
+     * ResilientAgentLaunch.NAME_RETRIES} name attempts (every one of them rejected), so each
+     * attempt's own tab is created and then closed; the third attempt's first name is free.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void relaunchRetriesTheWholeAttemptAndSucceedsOnTheThird() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr()
+                .agentNameTakenTimes(2 * ResilientAgentLaunch.NAME_RETRIES);
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                fastLauncher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNotNull(started, "the third attempt's first name is free — it must succeed");
+        assertEquals(3, herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("tab.create")).count(),
+                "one tab per attempt: three attempts");
+        assertEquals(2, herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("tab.close")).count(),
+                "the two failed attempts' tabs must be closed");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Every attempt fails outright (a herdr error {@code ResilientAgentLaunch} does not retry at
+     * all) — {@link LeadLauncher#relaunch(String)} must give up after exactly {@code
+     * RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS} and must not leak any of the tabs it created along the way.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void relaunchGivesUpAfterExactlyRelaunchAttemptsAndLeaksNoTab() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr().agentStartFailsWith("some_other_error");
+
+        dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.Agent started =
+                fastLauncher(herdr, configWith(lead("opus", "lead: opus", 1))).relaunch("opus");
+
+        assertNull(started, "every attempt failed — relaunch must give up, not hang or guess");
+        assertEquals(LeadLauncher.RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS,
+                herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.start")).count(),
+                "exactly RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS attempts, no more, no fewer");
+        long tabsCreated = herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("tab.create")).count();
+        long tabsClosed = herdr.calls.stream().filter(c -> c.method().equals("tab.close")).count();
+        assertEquals(LeadLauncher.RELAUNCH_ATTEMPTS, tabsCreated);
+        assertEquals(tabsCreated, tabsClosed, "every tab this method created must be closed — no leaks");
+    }
 }

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

@@ -503,6 +503,60 @@ class FleetMcpAuthzTest {
                         + "not pass a literal boolean -- block: " + handlerBlock);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@code fleet_poll{ticket}} must thread the calling connection's own terminal into
+     * {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}, so a worker cannot read a ticket a different
+     * session created.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void theFleetPollHandlerActuallyThreadsCallerTerminalIntoPoll() throws Exception {
+        String source = Files.readString(MCP_SOURCE);
+
+        int start = source.indexOf("pollHandler =");
+        assertTrue(start >= 0, "could not find the fleet_poll handler (pollHandler) in " + MCP_SOURCE
+                + " -- the scrape has stopped matching, fix the anchor before trusting this test");
+        int end = source.indexOf("ackHandler =", start);
+        assertTrue(end > start, "could not find the handler declared after pollHandler to bound the scrape");
+        String handlerBlock = source.substring(start, end);
+
+        // CONTROL: the block we scraped really does call poll(...) -- if this fails, the anchors
+        // above moved and the assertions below would otherwise pass on nothing.
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("poll(messages,"),
+                "control failed: the scraped pollHandler block contains no poll(messages, ...) call "
+                        + "at all -- the anchors have drifted, this test is not testing what it claims to");
+
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("callerTerminal(exchange)"),
+                "the fleet_poll handler must thread callerTerminal(exchange) into poll(...), not omit "
+                        + "it or pass a literal null -- block: " + handlerBlock);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code fleet_status} must thread the calling connection's own terminal into
+     * {@link FleetMcp#status(MessageService, String, String)}, so a caller that did not create a
+     * worker's open delegation cannot read its pending question through the status handler either.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void theFleetStatusHandlerActuallyThreadsCallerTerminalIntoStatus() throws Exception {
+        String source = Files.readString(MCP_SOURCE);
+
+        int start = source.indexOf("statusHandler =");
+        assertTrue(start >= 0, "could not find the fleet_status handler (statusHandler) in " + MCP_SOURCE
+                + " -- the scrape has stopped matching, fix the anchor before trusting this test");
+        int end = source.indexOf("pollHandler =", start);
+        assertTrue(end > start, "could not find the handler declared after statusHandler to bound the scrape");
+        String handlerBlock = source.substring(start, end);
+
+        // CONTROL: the block we scraped really does call status(...) -- if this fails, the anchors
+        // above moved and the assertions below would otherwise pass on nothing.
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("status(messages,"),
+                "control failed: the scraped statusHandler block contains no status(messages, ...) "
+                        + "call at all -- the anchors have drifted, this test is not testing what it claims to");
+
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("callerTerminal(exchange)"),
+                "the fleet_status handler must thread callerTerminal(exchange) into status(...), not "
+                        + "omit it or pass a literal null -- block: " + handlerBlock);
+    }
+
     // --- which action each tool hands the gate (fleetd #272) ------------------------------------
 
     /**

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

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

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

@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
 
     private void assertSendRoundTrips(String target, Set<String> profiles) throws Exception {
         CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> send = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, target, "hi", 4000L, null, profiles));
+                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, target, "hi", 4000L, null, profiles, null));
         long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
         while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(target) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
             Thread.sleep(5);
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
     void sendThenReplyRoundTrips() throws Exception {
         // fleet_send blocks; fleet_reply resolves it with the worker's structured answer.
         CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> send = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, "term_a", "review this", 4000L, null, Set.of()));
+                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, "term_a", "review this", 4000L, null, Set.of(), null));
 
         // Wait until the send has opened its waiter so the reply resolves it (CB-307: reply now
         // queues in the inbox if no waiter is open, which would break the round-trip).
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         String turnId = afterTurnId.substring(0, afterTurnId.indexOf('"'));
 
         CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "config.yaml", 5000L));
+                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "config.yaml", 5000L, null));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", textOf(ask.get(6, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
 
         deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertEquals("late reply", messages.drainReplies("term_a").getFirst().content());
 
         CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, firstTurnId, "config.yaml", 5000L));
+                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, firstTurnId, "config.yaml", 5000L, null));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", textOf(ask.get(6, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
         while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_a") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
             Thread.sleep(5);
@@ -288,6 +288,89 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertEquals("done", textOf(answer.get(6, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #715: fleet_send{turnId} is gated on the caller that owns the turn -------------
+
+    /**
+     * A blocking {@code fleet_send} from one caller opens the turn; a {@code fleet_send{turnId}}
+     * from a different caller is refused as an error, and the real owner's answer still succeeds.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aDifferentCallersMcpAnswerIsRefusedForABlockingSendButTheRealOwnerSucceeds() throws Exception {
+        CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> send = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, T, "do X", 5000L, null, Set.of(), "term_owner"));
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting(T));
+
+        CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> ask = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> FleetMcp.ask(messages, T, "which config?", 5000L));
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult question = send.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        assertTrue(textOf(question).contains("[question]"), textOf(question));
+        String questionText = textOf(question);
+        String afterTurnId = questionText.substring(questionText.indexOf("turnId=\"") + "turnId=\"".length());
+        String turnId = afterTurnId.substring(0, afterTurnId.indexOf('"'));
+
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult hijacked = FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "evil.yaml", 500L, "term_attacker");
+        assertTrue(hijacked.isError(), "a caller that did not open this turn must get an error, not an answer");
+        assertFalse(ask.isDone(), "a refused answer must not resolve the worker's blocked fleet_ask");
+
+        CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "config.yaml", 5000L, "term_owner"));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", textOf(ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
+        deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        FleetMcp.reply(messages, T, Role.WORKER, "done");
+        assertEquals("done", textOf(answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Same hijack and control through the fire-and-poll ({@code sendAsync}) path: the owner comes
+     * from the ticket's recorded creator terminal, not from a caller threaded through a live call.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aDifferentCallersMcpAnswerIsRefusedForAnAsyncSendButTheRealOwnerSucceeds() throws Exception {
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult accepted =
+                FleetMcp.sendAsync(messages, T, "do it", null, Set.of(), "term_owner");
+        String ticket = textOf(accepted).substring(textOf(accepted).indexOf("ticket=") + "ticket=".length()).trim();
+
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting(T));
+
+        CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> ask = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> FleetMcp.ask(messages, T, "which config?", 5000L));
+        MessageService.TaskView asking = messages.poll(ticket);
+        deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (asking.phase() != MessageService.Phase.ASKING && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+            asking = messages.poll(ticket);
+        }
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, asking.phase());
+        String turnId = asking.turnId();
+
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult hijacked = FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "evil.yaml", 500L, "term_attacker");
+        assertTrue(hijacked.isError(), "a caller that did not create this delegation must get an error");
+        assertFalse(ask.isDone(), "a refused answer must not resolve the worker's blocked fleet_ask");
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, messages.poll(ticket).phase(),
+                "a refused answer must not advance the async ticket's phase");
+
+        CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "config.yaml", 5000L, "term_owner"));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", textOf(ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
+        deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        FleetMcp.reply(messages, T, Role.WORKER, "done");
+        assertEquals("done", textOf(answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
+    }
+
     @Test
     void pollUnknownTicketIsAnError() {
         McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.poll(messages, "task-999", null);
@@ -297,7 +380,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
 
     @Test
     void sendTimesOutWithAWorkingNote() {
-        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.send(messages, "term_a", "hi", 120L, null, Set.of());
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.send(messages, "term_a", "hi", 120L, null, Set.of(), null);
         assertNotEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError(), "a timeout is informational, not a tool error");
         assertTrue(textOf(res).contains("no reply"), "got: " + textOf(res));
     }
@@ -313,7 +396,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
     void sendTimesOutWithAnUnconfirmedNoteNotARetryInvitation() throws Exception {
         herdr.agentSendFailsWith("send_failed");
         CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> send = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, T, "hi", 150L, null, Set.of()));
+                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, T, "hi", 150L, null, Set.of(), null));
         long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 2000;
         while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
             //noinspection BusyWait
@@ -333,13 +416,13 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
 
     @Test
     void sendRejectsMissingArgs() {
-        assertTrue(FleetMcp.send(messages, null, "hi", null, null, Set.of()).isError());
-        assertTrue(FleetMcp.send(messages, "term_a", "  ", null, null, Set.of()).isError());
+        assertTrue(FleetMcp.send(messages, null, "hi", null, null, Set.of(), null).isError());
+        assertTrue(FleetMcp.send(messages, "term_a", "  ", null, null, Set.of(), null).isError());
     }
 
     @Test
     void sendRejectsAConfiguredProfileNameBeforeAcceptingIt() {
-        McpSchema.CallToolResult blocking = FleetMcp.send(messages, "sol", "hi", 100L, null, Set.of("sol"));
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult blocking = FleetMcp.send(messages, "sol", "hi", 100L, null, Set.of("sol"), null);
         McpSchema.CallToolResult async = FleetMcp.sendAsync(messages, "sol", "hi", null, Set.of("sol"));
 
         assertTrue(blocking.isError());
@@ -358,7 +441,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertSendRoundTrips("term_live_member", profiles);
 
         // A herdr-owned pane outside the bridge roster cannot be classified at accept time.
-        McpSchema.CallToolResult result = FleetMcp.send(messages, "external-pane", "hi", 10L, null, profiles);
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult result = FleetMcp.send(messages, "external-pane", "hi", 10L, null, profiles, null);
         assertFalse(result.isError(), "an unclassified target must not be rejected at acceptance time");
     }
 
@@ -450,7 +533,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
     void askThenAnswerRoundTrips() throws Exception {
         // The primary delegates and blocks; wait until its waiter is open before the worker asks.
         CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> send = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, "term_a", "do X", 5000L, null, Set.of()));
+                () -> FleetMcp.send(messages, "term_a", "do X", 5000L, null, Set.of(), null));
         long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
         while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_a") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
             //noinspection BusyWait
@@ -472,7 +555,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
 
         // The primary answers via fleet_send(turnId); this blocks again for the worker's reply.
         CompletableFuture<McpSchema.CallToolResult> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "config.yaml", 5000L));
+                () -> FleetMcp.answer(messages, turnId, "config.yaml", 5000L, null));
 
         // The worker's ask returns the answer — it resumes the same turn.
         assertEquals("config.yaml", textOf(ask.get(6, TimeUnit.SECONDS)));
@@ -498,7 +581,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
 
     @Test
     void answerToAStaleTurnIsAnError() {
-        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.answer(messages, "term_a#999", "too late", 500L);
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.answer(messages, "term_a#999", "too late", 500L, null);
         assertTrue(res.isError());
         assertTrue(textOf(res).contains("no longer open"), textOf(res));
     }
@@ -1837,8 +1920,8 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         Principal architect = Principal.architect("lead-designer", "term_design", 400);
         MemberPresence presence = new MemberPresence();
 
-        FleetMcp.markSpawnedMemberPresent(worker, presence);
-        FleetMcp.markSpawnedMemberPresent(architect, presence);
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(worker, presence);
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(architect, presence);
 
         assertTrue(presence.isPresent("term_worker"));
         assertTrue(presence.isPresent("term_design"));
@@ -1849,25 +1932,40 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         Principal lead = Principal.leader("opus", "term_lead", 100);
         MemberPresence presence = new MemberPresence();
 
-        FleetMcp.markSpawnedMemberPresent(lead, presence);
-        FleetMcp.markSpawnedMemberPresent(Principal.anonymous(), presence);
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(lead, presence);
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(Principal.anonymous(), presence);
 
         assertFalse(presence.isPresent("term_lead"));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The item whose absence would be silent: an observer's own MCP contact must still mark
+     * presence, or a pane resolving to the unconfigured-pane floor would sit on the injector
+     * readiness gate forever once something addresses it.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void anObserverContactMarksPresence() {
+        Principal observer = Principal.observer("term_observer", 800);
+        MemberPresence presence = new MemberPresence();
+
+        FleetMcp.markTrackedCallerPresent(observer, presence);
+
+        assertTrue(presence.isPresent("term_observer"));
+    }
+
     @Test
     void statusReportsLiveAgentStatus() {
         FakeHerdr blocked = new FakeHerdr().agentStatus("blocked");
         AgentControl blockedAgents = new AgentControl(blocked);
         McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.status(
-                new MessageService(blockedAgents, new Injector(blockedAgents), rendezvous), "term_a");
+                new MessageService(blockedAgents, new Injector(blockedAgents), rendezvous), "term_a", null);
         assertNotEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError());
         assertEquals("blocked", textOf(res));
     }
 
     /**
-     * CB-582: a lead polling {@code fleet_status} on its normal cadence — not {@code fleet_poll}
-     * — must also see a worker's open async {@code fleet_ask} question, since the reverse-rendezvous
+     * A lead polling {@code fleet_status} on its normal cadence — not {@code fleet_poll} — must
+     * also see a worker's open async {@code fleet_ask} question, since the reverse-rendezvous
      * window it opened with is far shorter than that cadence.
      */
     @Test
@@ -1890,7 +1988,7 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         } while (asking.phase() != MessageService.Phase.ASKING && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, asking.phase());
 
-        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.status(messages, T);
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.status(messages, T, null);
         assertNotEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError());
         String out = textOf(res);
         assertTrue(out.startsWith("idle"), "the live status must still lead the text: " + out);
@@ -1901,7 +1999,64 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         // Clean up the still-open ask so the background thread does not linger past the test.
         String turnId = asking.turnId();
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000));
+                () -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, null));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+        deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
+        answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code fleet_status}'s pending-ask block (the question, its {@code turnId} and its ticket)
+     * is shown only to the caller whose terminal created the delegation, or to a caller with no
+     * terminal at all (the unnamed primary) — a different terminal-bearing caller still sees the
+     * base status line, but none of the pending-ask fields.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void statusGatesThePendingAskFieldsByTheDelegationsCreatorTerminal() throws Exception {
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, "term_creator");
+        long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        }
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting(T), "sendAsync should have opened its rendezvous waiter");
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
+
+        MessageService.TaskView asking;
+        deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+        do {
+            asking = messages.poll(ticket);
+            Thread.sleep(5);
+        } while (asking.phase() != MessageService.Phase.ASKING && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, asking.phase());
+
+        String other = textOf(FleetMcp.status(messages, T, "term_other"));
+        assertTrue(other.startsWith("idle"), "the base status must still be shown: " + other);
+        assertFalse(other.contains("which config file?"),
+                "a non-creating caller must not see the question text: " + other);
+        assertFalse(other.contains(asking.turnId()),
+                "a non-creating caller must not see the turnId: " + other);
+        assertFalse(other.contains(ticket),
+                "a non-creating caller must not see the ticket: " + other);
+
+        String creator = textOf(FleetMcp.status(messages, T, "term_creator"));
+        assertTrue(creator.contains("which config file?"), "the creator must see the question: " + creator);
+        assertTrue(creator.contains(asking.turnId()), "the creator must see the turnId: " + creator);
+        assertTrue(creator.contains(ticket), "the creator must see the ticket: " + creator);
+
+        String unnamed = textOf(FleetMcp.status(messages, T, null));
+        assertTrue(unnamed.contains("which config file?"),
+                "a caller with no terminal (the unnamed primary) must see the question: " + unnamed);
+
+        // Clean up the still-open ask so the background thread does not linger past the test.
+        String turnId = asking.turnId();
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, "term_creator"));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
         while (!rendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
@@ -2009,6 +2164,27 @@ class FleetMcpTest {
         assertTrue(leadOut.contains("\"leader\":\"opus\""), leadOut);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * An observer reports its own role and pane, never a {@code leader} key. Without an explicit
+     * branch it would reach the lead branch by elimination and look right only because the
+     * {@code leader} key is guarded on a non-null name — this pins the branch rather than the
+     * accident.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void whoamiReportsAnObserverNotALead() {
+        FakeHerdr h = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(h, "http://gx00.gw:8000", Set.of("gx00.gw"));
+
+        McpSchema.CallToolResult res = FleetMcp.whoami(
+                Principal.observer("term_observer", 900), sessions);
+
+        assertNotEquals(Boolean.TRUE, res.isError());
+        String out = textOf(res);
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"role\":\"observer\""), out);
+        assertTrue(out.contains("\"sessionId\":\"term_observer\""), out);
+        assertFalse(out.contains("leader"), out);
+    }
+
     /**
      * CB-548: an architect SEND delegates as its own pane (recording the per-target delegation) but
      * must NEVER become the legacy singleton "primary" fallback — the per-target map does not cure

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

@@ -0,0 +1,280 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.regex.Matcher;
+import java.util.regex.Pattern;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * Pins that no file under {@code src/main/java} calls the fail-open
+ * {@link MessageService#poll(String)} overload. That overload skips the ownership check in
+ * {@code MessageService}'s {@code ownsTicket} entirely, so a caller of it can read any session's
+ * ticket. Every production caller must go through {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}
+ * and pass a {@code callerTerminal} explicitly, even when it is {@code null}.
+ *
+ * <p>This reads each file's own source text rather than reflecting on compiled bytecode, because
+ * the risk is a future one-word edit at a call site, not a missing overload.
+ *
+ * <p>The scan below finds a violation by its receiver, {@code messages.poll(}, rather than the
+ * bare method name, so it does not mistake {@link java.util.Queue#poll()} for a violation. That
+ * anchor only covers a {@code MessageService} reached through a variable or field named
+ * {@code messages}, so {@link #everyMessageServiceDeclarationIsNamedMessages} pins the naming
+ * convention the anchor depends on: a declaration under any other name would be invisible to the
+ * scan above, and must turn this second check red instead of passing silently.
+ */
+class MessageServicePollUsageTest {
+
+    private static final Path PRODUCTION_SOURCE = Path.of("src/main/java");
+
+    @Test
+    void noProductionFileCallsTheSingleArgumentPollOverload() throws IOException {
+        List<String> violations = new ArrayList<>();
+        List<String> twoArgSites = new ArrayList<>();
+        int filesScanned = scanForPollCalls(PRODUCTION_SOURCE, violations, twoArgSites);
+
+        // CONTROL: the scan actually walked files -- a wrong root would otherwise report "no
+        // violations found" having looked at nothing.
+        assertTrue(filesScanned > 0, "control failed: the scan under " + PRODUCTION_SOURCE
+                + " visited zero .java files -- the path is wrong, so the absence of violations "
+                + "below proves nothing");
+
+        assertTrue(violations.isEmpty(), "found a call to the fail-open MessageService.poll(String) "
+                + "overload, which skips the ownership check entirely -- pass a callerTerminal "
+                + "explicitly (even if null) through poll(String, String) instead: " + violations);
+
+        // CONTROL: the arity parser actually finds the two genuine two-argument call sites (the
+        // MCP handler in FleetMcp and the REST handler in FleetApp). If this drops, the parser
+        // itself is broken, not the production code -- a broken parser (or a scan root that
+        // reaches no real source) must fail loudly here rather than pass vacuously above.
+        assertEquals(2, twoArgSites.size(), "control failed: expected exactly the two known "
+                + "two-argument messages.poll(...) call sites, found: " + twoArgSites);
+        assertTrue(twoArgSites.stream().anyMatch(s -> s.contains("FleetMcp.java")),
+                "control failed: did not find the FleetMcp.java messages.poll(ticket, callerTerminal) "
+                        + "site among: " + twoArgSites);
+        assertTrue(twoArgSites.stream().anyMatch(s -> s.contains("FleetApp.java")),
+                "control failed: did not find the FleetApp.java messages.poll(...) site among: "
+                        + twoArgSites);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The {@code messages.poll(} anchor above only sees a {@code MessageService} reached through
+     * a variable, field, or parameter named {@code messages}. This asserts that every such
+     * declaration under {@code src/main/java} uses that name, so a differently named declaration
+     * -- invisible to the scan above -- fails loudly here instead of letting that scan pass on a
+     * call site it never looked at.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void everyMessageServiceDeclarationIsNamedMessages() throws IOException {
+        List<String> names = new ArrayList<>();
+        int filesScanned = scanForDeclarationNames(PRODUCTION_SOURCE, names);
+
+        // CONTROL: the scan actually walked files -- a wrong root would otherwise report "every
+        // declaration is named messages" having looked at nothing.
+        assertTrue(filesScanned > 0, "control failed: the scan under " + PRODUCTION_SOURCE
+                + " visited zero .java files -- the path is wrong, so the result below proves nothing");
+
+        // CONTROL: the declaration pattern actually finds real declarations. Zero means the
+        // pattern is broken, not that every MessageService variable, field, or parameter vanished.
+        assertTrue(names.size() > 0, "control failed: found zero MessageService declarations under "
+                + PRODUCTION_SOURCE + " -- the declaration pattern is broken, update it before "
+                + "trusting the naming check below");
+
+        List<String> other = names.stream().filter(n -> !n.equals("messages")).distinct().toList();
+        assertTrue(other.isEmpty(), "found a MessageService declaration not named \"messages\": "
+                + other + " -- the messages.poll( scan above only looks for that name, so a call "
+                + "through a differently named variable or field is invisible to it; either rename "
+                + "the declaration or widen that scan's anchor to cover it");
+    }
+
+    private static int scanForPollCalls(Path root, List<String> violations, List<String> twoArgSites)
+            throws IOException {
+        List<Path> files = javaFiles(root);
+        for (Path file : files) {
+            scanFileForPollCalls(file, violations, twoArgSites);
+        }
+        return files.size();
+    }
+
+    private static int scanForDeclarationNames(Path root, List<String> names) throws IOException {
+        List<Path> files = javaFiles(root);
+        Pattern declaration = Pattern.compile("MessageService\\s+([A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*)");
+        for (Path file : files) {
+            if (file.getFileName().toString().equals("MessageService.java")) {
+                continue; // the type's own declaration, not a caller holding a reference to it
+            }
+            String stripped = stripComments(Files.readString(file));
+            Matcher m = declaration.matcher(stripped);
+            while (m.find()) {
+                int j = m.end();
+                while (j < stripped.length() && Character.isWhitespace(stripped.charAt(j))) j++;
+                if (j < stripped.length() && stripped.charAt(j) == '(') {
+                    continue; // a method named like the convention, e.g. "MessageService messages()"
+                }
+                names.add(m.group(1));
+            }
+        }
+        return files.size();
+    }
+
+    private static List<Path> javaFiles(Path root) throws IOException {
+        try (Stream<Path> paths = Files.walk(root)) {
+            return paths.filter(p -> p.toString().endsWith(".java")).toList();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Replaces {@code //} and {@code /* *}{@code /} comment text with nothing, leaving code,
+     * string/char literals and line breaks untouched -- so a comment that merely mentions
+     * {@code MessageService} in prose can never be read as a declaration.
+     */
+    private static String stripComments(String source) {
+        StringBuilder out = new StringBuilder(source.length());
+        boolean inString = false;
+        boolean inChar = false;
+        int i = 0;
+        while (i < source.length()) {
+            char c = source.charAt(i);
+            if (inString) {
+                out.append(c);
+                if (c == '\\' && i + 1 < source.length()) { out.append(source.charAt(i + 1)); i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '"') inString = false;
+                i++;
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (inChar) {
+                out.append(c);
+                if (c == '\\' && i + 1 < source.length()) { out.append(source.charAt(i + 1)); i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '\'') inChar = false;
+                i++;
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (c == '"') { inString = true; out.append(c); i++; continue; }
+            if (c == '\'') { inChar = true; out.append(c); i++; continue; }
+            if (c == '/' && i + 1 < source.length() && source.charAt(i + 1) == '/') {
+                while (i < source.length() && source.charAt(i) != '\n') i++;
+                continue; // leaves the newline itself for the next iteration to append
+            }
+            if (c == '/' && i + 1 < source.length() && source.charAt(i + 1) == '*') {
+                i += 2;
+                while (i < source.length() && !(source.charAt(i) == '*' && i + 1 < source.length()
+                        && source.charAt(i + 1) == '/')) {
+                    if (source.charAt(i) == '\n') out.append('\n');
+                    i++;
+                }
+                i += 2;
+                continue;
+            }
+            out.append(c);
+            i++;
+        }
+        return out.toString();
+    }
+
+    private static void scanFileForPollCalls(Path file, List<String> violations, List<String> twoArgSites)
+            throws IOException {
+        String source = Files.readString(file);
+        String needle = "messages.poll(";
+        int from = 0;
+        int idx;
+        while ((idx = source.indexOf(needle, from)) >= 0) {
+            int argsStart = idx + needle.length();
+            String args = extractBalancedArgs(source, argsStart, file, idx);
+            int closeParenIndex = argsStart + args.length();
+            from = closeParenIndex + 1;
+
+            if (args.isBlank()) {
+                continue; // MessageService has no zero-argument poll() -- nothing to classify
+            }
+            String site = file + ":" + lineOf(source, idx);
+            if (topLevelCommaCount(args) == 0) {
+                violations.add(site + " -- messages.poll(" + args.trim() + ")");
+            } else {
+                twoArgSites.add(site);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The text between {@code messages.poll(} and its matching close paren: balanced over nested
+     * calls, and never split by a paren or comma sitting inside a string or char literal.
+     */
+    private static String extractBalancedArgs(String source, int start, Path file, int callIndex) {
+        int depth = 1;
+        boolean inString = false;
+        boolean inChar = false;
+        int i = start;
+        while (i < source.length()) {
+            char c = source.charAt(i);
+            if (inString) {
+                if (c == '\\') { i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '"') inString = false;
+            } else if (inChar) {
+                if (c == '\\') { i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '\'') inChar = false;
+            } else if (c == '"') {
+                inString = true;
+            } else if (c == '\'') {
+                inChar = true;
+            } else if (c == '(') {
+                depth++;
+            } else if (c == ')') {
+                depth--;
+                if (depth == 0) return source.substring(start, i);
+            }
+            i++;
+        }
+        throw new IllegalStateException(
+                "unbalanced parentheses scanning " + file + ":" + lineOf(source, callIndex));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Commas at paren/bracket/brace depth zero, skipping string and char literals -- the argument
+     * separators a human reader would see, not every comma character in the text.
+     */
+    private static int topLevelCommaCount(String args) {
+        int depth = 0;
+        int commas = 0;
+        boolean inString = false;
+        boolean inChar = false;
+        int i = 0;
+        while (i < args.length()) {
+            char c = args.charAt(i);
+            if (inString) {
+                if (c == '\\') { i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '"') inString = false;
+            } else if (inChar) {
+                if (c == '\\') { i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '\'') inChar = false;
+            } else if (c == '"') {
+                inString = true;
+            } else if (c == '\'') {
+                inChar = true;
+            } else if (c == '(' || c == '[' || c == '{') {
+                depth++;
+            } else if (c == ')' || c == ']' || c == '}') {
+                depth--;
+            } else if (c == ',' && depth == 0) {
+                commas++;
+            }
+            i++;
+        }
+        return commas;
+    }
+
+    private static int lineOf(String source, int index) {
+        int line = 1;
+        for (int i = 0; i < index; i++) {
+            if (source.charAt(i) == '\n') line++;
+        }
+        return line;
+    }
+}

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

@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     }
 
     private CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> sendAsync(String content, long timeoutMillis) {
-        return CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, content, timeoutMillis));
+        return CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, content, timeoutMillis, null));
     }
 
     private void awaitWaiting() throws InterruptedException {
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 localRendezvous, new InMemoryReplyInbox());
         String brief = "Implement the requested change. ".repeat(20);
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> localMessages.send(T, brief, 5000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> localMessages.send(T, brief, 5000, (String) null));
         long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 2000;
         while (!localRendezvous.isWaiting(T) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
             Thread.sleep(5);
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         // The primary answers via fleet_send(turnId); this blocks again for the worker's reply.
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
 
         // The worker's ask returns the answer — it resumes the same turn.
         MessageService.AskResult a = ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         // The primary answers that one turnId; both asks unblock with the same answer.
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
 
         MessageService.AskResult a1 = ask1.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         MessageService.AskResult a2 = ask2.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 "the duplicate's own timeout elapses first");
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answered =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(turnId, "fleetd.yaml", 500));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(turnId, "fleetd.yaml", 500, null));
 
         MessageService.AskResult a = fresh.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         assertEquals(MessageService.AskOutcome.ANSWERED, a.outcome(),
@@ -507,7 +507,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> lateAnswer = new CompletableFuture<>();
         messages.setAskTimeoutRaceHookForTest(() ->
-                lateAnswer.complete(messages.answer(turnId, "too late", 500)));
+                lateAnswer.complete(messages.answer(turnId, "too late", 500, null)));
         try {
             MessageService.AskResult a = ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
             assertEquals(MessageService.AskOutcome.TIMED_OUT, a.outcome());
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
     @Test
     void answeringAnUnknownTurnIsStale() {
-        MessageService.Reply r = messages.answer(T + "#999", "too late", 500);
+        MessageService.Reply r = messages.answer(T + "#999", "too late", 500, null);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.STALE_TURN, r.outcome(),
                 "an answer to a turn that never existed (or already lapsed) is stale, not a hang");
     }
@@ -572,7 +572,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         messages.setAnswerAskLapseRaceHookForTest(() -> rendezvous.answerAsk(turnId, "raced in first"));
         try {
-            MessageService.Reply r = messages.answer(turnId, "too late", 500);
+            MessageService.Reply r = messages.answer(turnId, "too late", 500, null);
             assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.STALE_TURN, r.outcome(),
                     "an ask already answered by the race must be seen as lapsed, not double-delivered");
         } finally {
@@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     void sendTimesOutBeforeDeliveryIsQueuedNotWorking() {
         // Nothing ever delivers the message and nothing resolves the send, so the reply future
         // times out with delivery still incomplete — the message is still queued for the worker.
-        MessageService.Reply r = messages.send(T, "never delivered", 50);
+        MessageService.Reply r = messages.send(T, "never delivered", 50, null);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, r.outcome(),
                 "an undelivered send that times out is still queued, not working");
         assertNull(r.text());
@@ -605,7 +605,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     @Test
     void sendTimesOutAfterDeliveryIsStillWorking() throws Exception {
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "do the task", 300));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "do the task", 300, null));
         awaitWaiting();
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);    // deliver — the delivered future now completes
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING); // worker starts but never replies
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     void sendTimeoutUsesCancellationDeliveredWhenPickupWinsTheRace() {
         messages.setTimeoutCancellationRaceHookForTest(() -> injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE));
         try {
-            MessageService.Reply reply = messages.send(T, "race delivery", 50);
+            MessageService.Reply reply = messages.send(T, "race delivery", 50, null);
 
             assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING, reply.outcome(),
                     "cancel reporting DELIVERED means the worker received the timed-out message");
@@ -652,7 +652,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     void sendTimesOutWithAttemptedDeliveryReportsUnconfirmedNotQueued() throws Exception {
         herdr.agentSendFailsWith("send_failed");
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "brief", 150));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "brief", 150, null));
         awaitWaiting();
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE); // triggers the failing delivery attempt → ATTEMPTED
 
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         // The primary answers, unblocking the worker; but the worker never sends the follow-up
         // fleet_reply, so the answering send rides out its short window as still-working.
-        MessageService.Reply answer = messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 200);
+        MessageService.Reply answer = messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 200, null);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING, answer.outcome(),
                 "an answered worker that never replies times out as still working");
 
@@ -715,7 +715,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.QUESTION, q.outcome());
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
         ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS); // worker resumed with the answer
 
         awaitWaiting(); // the answering call has (re)opened its own forward waiter
@@ -723,7 +723,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         MessageService.Reply done = answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, done.outcome());
 
-        MessageService.Reply probe = messages.send(T, "probe after normal reply", 300);
+        MessageService.Reply probe = messages.send(T, "probe after normal reply", 300, null);
         assertNotEquals(MessageService.Outcome.BUSY, probe.outcome(),
                 "the session lock must be released after a normal REPLIED answer(), or this bounded "
                         + "follow-up send would come back BUSY instead of timing out on its own work");
@@ -756,13 +756,13 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         // The primary answers, unblocking the worker; the worker never sends its follow-up
         // fleet_reply, so the answering call rides out its short window as still-working.
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 200));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 200, null));
         MessageService.Reply answered = answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING, answered.outcome(),
                 "an answered worker that never replies times out as still working");
         ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS); // drain: the worker resumed with the answer
 
-        MessageService.Reply probe = messages.send(T, "probe after timed-out-working", 300);
+        MessageService.Reply probe = messages.send(T, "probe after timed-out-working", 300, null);
         assertNotEquals(MessageService.Outcome.BUSY, probe.outcome(),
                 "the session lock must be released after a TIMED_OUT_WORKING answer(), or this bounded "
                         + "follow-up send would come back BUSY instead of timing out on its own work");
@@ -791,7 +791,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 new java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference<>();
         Thread answerer = new Thread(() -> {
             try {
-                messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000);
+                messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, null);
                 caught.set(new AssertionError("expected answer() to throw"));
             } catch (Throwable t) {
                 caught.set(t);
@@ -813,7 +813,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS); // drain: the worker resumed with the answer
 
-        MessageService.Reply probe = messages.send(T, "probe after exceptional failure", 300);
+        MessageService.Reply probe = messages.send(T, "probe after exceptional failure", 300, null);
         assertNotEquals(MessageService.Outcome.BUSY, probe.outcome(),
                 "the session lock must be released when answer()'s reply future fails exceptionally, "
                         + "or this bounded follow-up send would come back BUSY instead of timing out on its own work");
@@ -840,7 +840,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 new java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference<>();
         Thread answerer = new Thread(() -> {
             try {
-                messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000);
+                messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, null);
                 caught.set(new AssertionError("expected answer() to throw"));
             } catch (Throwable t) {
                 caught.set(t);
@@ -859,7 +859,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS); // drain: the worker resumed with the answer
 
-        MessageService.Reply probe = messages.send(T, "probe after interruption", 300);
+        MessageService.Reply probe = messages.send(T, "probe after interruption", 300, null);
         assertNotEquals(MessageService.Outcome.BUSY, probe.outcome(),
                 "the session lock must be released when answer()'s wait is interrupted, or this bounded "
                         + "follow-up send would come back BUSY instead of timing out on its own work");
@@ -888,6 +888,39 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertNull(messages.poll("task-999999"), "a ticket that was never minted is unknown");
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #719: a per-boot nonce keeps one instance's ticket ids out of another's space ---
+
+    /** A second, fully independent instance — its own agents/injector/rendezvous/inbox, not shared. */
+    private MessageService newIndependentInstance() {
+        FakeHerdr otherHerdr = new FakeHerdr().readText("BUILD GREEN: 391 files");
+        AgentControl otherAgents = new AgentControl(otherHerdr);
+        Injector otherInjector = new Injector(otherAgents);
+        return new MessageService(otherAgents, otherInjector, new Rendezvous(), new InMemoryReplyInbox());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void twoInstancesMintDisjointTicketIds() {
+        MessageService other = newIndependentInstance();
+        String ticketFromThis = messages.sendAsync(T, "task on first instance", null, null);
+        String ticketFromOther = other.sendAsync(T, "task on second instance", null, null);
+        assertNotEquals(ticketFromThis, ticketFromOther,
+                "each instance mints its own id space, so even a first ticket from each must differ");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void foreignInstanceTicketDoesNotResolve() {
+        MessageService other = newIndependentInstance();
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task on first instance", null, null);
+        // `other` must reach the same sequence number, or this test passes against an empty map
+        // instead of against a colliding id.
+        other.sendAsync(T, "task on second instance", null, null);
+
+        // control: the id resolves in the instance that minted it, so a null below cannot be
+        // explained by broken plumbing — only by the ticket being foreign to `other`.
+        assertNotNull(messages.poll(ticket), "the minting instance must still resolve its own ticket");
+        assertNull(other.poll(ticket), "a ticket minted by a different instance must not resolve here");
+    }
+
     // --- fleetd #705: a ticket's creator terminal gates who may poll it -------------------------
 
     @Test
@@ -967,11 +1000,11 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     @Test
     void concurrentSendToSameSessionWhileFirstHoldsItIsBusy() throws Exception {
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> first =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "first", 5000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "first", 5000, null));
         awaitWaiting(); // the first send now holds the session lock, blocked on its reply
 
         // A second send to the SAME session cannot take the lock within its short window.
-        MessageService.Reply busy = messages.send(T, "second", 100);
+        MessageService.Reply busy = messages.send(T, "second", 100, null);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.BUSY, busy.outcome(),
                 "a second send while another holds the session is busy, not a hang");
         assertNull(busy.text());
@@ -1001,13 +1034,13 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         PrimaryRegistry reg = new PrimaryRegistry(null);
         // L accepts a delegation to W: the send wins the lock and queues delivery → L is recorded.
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> first = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.send(T, "first", 5000, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_L)));
+                () -> messages.send(T, "first", 5000, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_L), null));
         awaitWaiting();
         assertEquals(LEAD_L, reg.nudgeTargetFor(T).orElseThrow(),
                 "an accepted send owns the delegation");
 
         // A attempts W while L holds it → BUSY (lock never taken) → its hook never fires.
-        MessageService.Reply busy = messages.send(T, "second", 100, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_A));
+        MessageService.Reply busy = messages.send(T, "second", 100, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_A), null);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.BUSY, busy.outcome());
         assertEquals(LEAD_L, reg.nudgeTargetFor(T).orElseThrow(),
                 "a BUSY send must not steal the delegator ownership it never earned");
@@ -1028,7 +1061,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     void anAcceptedSendAfterThePriorOwnerFinishesBecomesTheNewOwner() throws Exception {
         PrimaryRegistry reg = new PrimaryRegistry(null);
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> first = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.send(T, "first", 5000, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_L)));
+                () -> messages.send(T, "first", 5000, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_L), null));
         awaitWaiting();
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.IDLE);
         injector.onStatus(T, AgentStatus.WORKING);
@@ -1039,7 +1072,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         // L finished; A's later accepted send takes the delegation over.
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> second = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.send(T, "second", 5000, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_A)));
+                () -> messages.send(T, "second", 5000, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_A), null));
         awaitWaiting();
         assertEquals(LEAD_A, reg.nudgeTargetFor(T).orElseThrow(),
                 "an accepted send after the owner finished becomes the new delegator");
@@ -1060,7 +1093,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     void answeringAnAskDoesNotRewriteDelegatorOwnership() throws Exception {
         PrimaryRegistry reg = new PrimaryRegistry(null);
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.send(T, "do X", 5000, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_L)));
+                () -> messages.send(T, "do X", 5000, () -> reg.recordDelegation(T, LEAD_L), null));
         awaitWaiting();
         assertEquals(LEAD_L, reg.nudgeTargetFor(T).orElseThrow(), "L owns the delegation");
 
@@ -1075,7 +1108,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         // L answers the ask on the same turn; the answer path must not touch ownership.
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         awaitWaiting(); // the answering send reopened its forward waiter
         assertEquals(LEAD_L, reg.nudgeTargetFor(T).orElseThrow(),
@@ -1095,7 +1128,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     void aThrowingAcceptedHookLeavesNoStaleWaiterOrQueuedOrphan() {
         assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class,
                 () -> messages.send(T, "doomed", 500,
-                        () -> { throw new IllegalStateException("ownership hook failed"); }),
+                        () -> { throw new IllegalStateException("ownership hook failed"); }, null),
                 "a throwing ownership hook fails the send loudly");
 
         assertFalse(rendezvous.isWaiting(T), "the failed send must not leave a stale rendezvous waiter");
@@ -1223,7 +1256,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     @Test
     void abandonFailsASendThatIsStillWaitingOnAReleasedSession() throws Exception {
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "work", 30_000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "work", 30_000, null));
         awaitWaiting();
 
         assertTrue(messages.abandon(T, "session released"), "a live waiter is abandoned");
@@ -1243,7 +1276,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     @Test
     void abandonDoesNotOverwriteAnAlreadyResolvedSend() throws Exception {
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "work", 30_000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.send(T, "work", 30_000, null));
         awaitWaiting();
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "the real answer"));
 
@@ -1374,7 +1407,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, messages.poll(ticket).phase());
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         awaitWaiting();
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
@@ -1414,7 +1447,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         // same turnId must see it as lapsed rather than resolving a question nobody is waiting on.
         assertEquals(MessageService.AskOutcome.TIMED_OUT, ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome());
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.STALE_TURN,
-                messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 200).outcome());
+                messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 200, null).outcome());
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -1451,7 +1484,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         // The primary answers, but its own bounded wait for the worker's resumed turn is short and
         // expires before the worker (still genuinely working) gets back to it.
-        MessageService.Reply answerReply = messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 150);
+        MessageService.Reply answerReply = messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 150, null);
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING, answerReply.outcome(),
                 "the primary's own bounded wait gives up before the worker finishes resuming");
@@ -1480,7 +1513,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config?", 5000));
         MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
 
-        MessageService.Reply answerReply = messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 150);
+        MessageService.Reply answerReply = messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 150, null);
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_WORKING, answerReply.outcome());
 
@@ -1534,7 +1567,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         messages.setFinishAsyncTaskRaceHookForTest(() -> messages.forgetTurnForTest(turnId));
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, null));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         awaitWaiting(); // answer() opened its own forward waiter for the resumed worker turn
 
@@ -1640,7 +1673,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         String turnId = asking.turnId();
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer =
-                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000));
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, null));
         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");
@@ -1687,7 +1720,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
         String turnId = asking.turnId();
 
-        MessageService.Reply answerReply = messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 150);
+        MessageService.Reply answerReply = messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 150, null);
         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 "
@@ -1753,7 +1786,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         MessageService.TaskView asking = messages.poll(first);
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         awaitWaiting();
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
@@ -1787,7 +1820,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         // The primary answers it — answer() resumes the turn and blocks for what comes next.
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer1 = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(asking1.turnId(), "a1", 5000));
+                () -> messages.answer(asking1.turnId(), "a1", 5000, null));
         assertEquals("a1", ask1.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
 
         // Still in the SAME resumed turn — before replying — the worker asks again.
@@ -1808,7 +1841,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
         // The primary answers the second question; the worker finally sends its real fleet_reply.
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer2 = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(turnId2, "a2", 5000));
+                () -> messages.answer(turnId2, "a2", 5000, null));
         assertEquals("a2", ask2.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
         awaitWaiting();
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
@@ -1875,20 +1908,20 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
         }
     }
 
-    // --- CB-582: fleet_status pendingAsk() ------------------------------------------------------
+    // --- fleet_status pendingAsk() -----------------------------------------------------------
 
     @Test
     void pendingAskReturnsNullWhenNoQuestionIsOpen() throws Exception {
-        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T), "no async ticket at all -> no pending ask");
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, null), "no async ticket at all -> no pending ask");
 
         String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "long task");
         awaitWaiting();
-        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T), "a plain pending delegation is not a question");
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, null), "a plain pending delegation is not a question");
 
         injectDelivery();
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
         awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE);
-        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T), "a finished ticket carries no open question either");
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, null), "a finished ticket carries no open question either");
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -1901,21 +1934,151 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                 CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
         MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
 
-        MessageService.PendingAsk pending = messages.pendingAsk(T);
+        MessageService.PendingAsk pending = messages.pendingAsk(T, null);
         assertNotNull(pending, "fleet_status should see the open question");
         assertEquals(ticket, pending.ticket());
         assertEquals("which config file?", pending.question());
         assertEquals(asking.turnId(), pending.turnId());
 
         CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
         assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
-        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T), "an answered question is no longer pending");
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, null), "an answered question is no longer pending");
         awaitWaiting();
         assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * A caller's own terminal must match the terminal that created the delegation to see its
+     * pending question; a different terminal-bearing caller sees nothing, and a caller with no
+     * terminal at all (the unnamed primary) always sees it.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void pendingAskGatesTheQuestionByTheDelegationsCreatorTerminal() throws Exception {
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, "term_creator");
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
+        MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, "term_other"),
+                "a caller whose terminal did not create the delegation must not see the question");
+
+        MessageService.PendingAsk own = messages.pendingAsk(T, "term_creator");
+        assertNotNull(own, "the creating caller must see its own open question");
+        assertEquals("which config file?", own.question());
+
+        MessageService.PendingAsk unnamed = messages.pendingAsk(T, null);
+        assertNotNull(unnamed, "a caller with no terminal (the unnamed primary) must always see the question");
+        assertEquals("which config file?", unnamed.question());
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, "term_creator"));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+        awaitWaiting();
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A task created with no recorded creator terminal (a short {@code sendAsync} overload) must
+     * not hand its open question to any caller that does have a terminal — only a caller with no
+     * terminal at all may still see it.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void pendingAskDeniesATerminalBearingCallerWhenTheTaskRecordsNoCreator() throws Exception {
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks"); // no creatorTerminal recorded
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
+        MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+
+        assertNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, "term_someone"),
+                "a terminal-bearing caller must not see a question whose task records no creator");
+        assertNotNull(messages.pendingAsk(T, null),
+                "the unnamed primary must still see it even with no recorded creator");
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+        awaitWaiting();
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome());
+    }
+
+    // --- fleetd #715: answer() is gated on the caller that owns the turn -----------------------
+
+    /**
+     * A blocking {@code fleet_send} from one caller opens the turn; a different caller's answer is
+     * refused with no side effect on the rendezvous or the worker's blocked {@code fleet_ask} —
+     * only the real owner can answer it.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aDifferentCallersAnswerIsRefusedForABlockingSendDelegationButTheRealOwnerSucceeds() throws Exception {
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> send = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> messages.send(T, "do X", 5000, "term_owner"));
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config?", 5000));
+        MessageService.Reply q = send.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.QUESTION, q.outcome());
+        assertFalse(rendezvous.isWaiting(T), "the forward waiter closes once the question surfaces");
+
+        // The hijack: a different caller answers the SAME turnId.
+        MessageService.Reply hijacked = messages.answer(q.turnId(), "evil.yaml", 500, "term_attacker");
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.NOT_TURN_OWNER, hijacked.outcome(),
+                "a caller that did not open this turn must be refused, not served");
+        assertFalse(rendezvous.isWaiting(T), "a refused answer must not open a forward waiter");
+        assertFalse(ask.isDone(), "a refused answer must not resolve the worker's blocked fleet_ask");
+        assertEquals(T, rendezvous.askSession(q.turnId()), "a refused answer must leave the ask turn open");
+
+        // The control: the real owner answers the same turnId and the turn resumes normally.
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> messages.answer(q.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, "term_owner"));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+        awaitWaiting();
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Same hijack and control as the blocking case, but the delegation is opened through the
+     * fire-and-poll path ({@code sendAsync}) — the owner comes from the ticket's recorded creator
+     * terminal, not a caller argument threaded through a live blocking call.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void aDifferentCallersAnswerIsRefusedForAnAsyncSendDelegationButTheRealOwnerSucceeds() throws Exception {
+        String ticket = messages.sendAsync(T, "task that asks", null, "term_owner");
+        awaitWaiting();
+        injectDelivery();
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask =
+                CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> messages.ask(T, "which config file?", 5000));
+        MessageService.TaskView asking = awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.ASKING);
+
+        MessageService.Reply hijacked = messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "evil.yaml", 500, "term_attacker");
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.NOT_TURN_OWNER, hijacked.outcome(),
+                "a caller that did not create this delegation must be refused, not served");
+        assertFalse(ask.isDone(), "a refused answer must not resolve the worker's blocked fleet_ask");
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, messages.poll(ticket).phase(),
+                "a refused answer must not advance the async ticket's phase");
+
+        CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                () -> messages.answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, "term_owner"));
+        assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+        awaitWaiting();
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.REPLIED, answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).outcome());
+        assertEquals("done", awaitTicketPhase(ticket, MessageService.Phase.DONE).reply());
+    }
+
     // --- CB-588: async ticket terminal nudges ---------------------------------------------------
     //
     // MessageService.reply's rendezvous fast path is exactly what an async ticket always takes
@@ -2172,7 +2335,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
             // Clean up the still-open ask so the background thread does not linger past the test.
             CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                    () -> wiring.service().answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                    () -> wiring.service().answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
             assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
             awaitWaiting();
             assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve(T, "done"));
@@ -2198,7 +2361,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
                     .filter(c -> c.method().equals("agent.prompt")).count();
 
             CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
-                    () -> wiring.service().answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000));
+                    () -> wiring.service().answer(asking.turnId(), "config.yaml", 5000, null));
             assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
             awaitWaiting();
             java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch terminalReached = new java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch(1);
@@ -2591,7 +2754,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
     void hasQueuedDeliveryIsTrueAfterAnUndeliveredSendTimesOut() {
         // Nothing ever delivers the message (never goes IDLE/BLOCKED), so the send times out with
         // TIMED_OUT_QUEUED — same setup as sendTimesOutBeforeDeliveryIsQueuedNotWorking above.
-        MessageService.Reply r = messages.send(T, "never delivered", 50);
+        MessageService.Reply r = messages.send(T, "never delivered", 50, null);
         assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, r.outcome());
 
         assertTrue(messages.hasQueuedDelivery(T),
@@ -2603,7 +2766,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
     @Test
     void hasQueuedDeliveryClearsOnceTheTargetsNextDeliveryIsAccepted() throws Exception {
-        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, messages.send(T, "first", 50).outcome());
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, messages.send(T, "first", 50, null).outcome());
         assertTrue(messages.hasQueuedDelivery(T));
 
         // A fresh send accepts delivery (opens its own waiter) — the stale queued fact is cleared.
@@ -2620,7 +2783,7 @@ class MessageServiceTest {
 
     @Test
     void hasQueuedDeliveryClearsOnAbandon() {
-        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, messages.send(T, "first", 50).outcome());
+        assertEquals(MessageService.Outcome.TIMED_OUT_QUEUED, messages.send(T, "first", 50, null).outcome());
         assertTrue(messages.hasQueuedDelivery(T));
 
         messages.abandon(T, "session released");

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

@@ -0,0 +1,187 @@
+package dev.ltms.fleet.msg;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * Pins that no file under {@code src/main/java} calls the fail-open
+ * {@link Rendezvous#open(String)} overload. That overload opens a forward waiter with no
+ * recorded {@link Rendezvous.Owner}, so the turn it opens can never be answered by anyone,
+ * not even the unnamed primary. Every production caller must go through
+ * {@link Rendezvous#open(String, Rendezvous.Owner)} and record an explicit owner.
+ *
+ * <p>This reads each file's own source text rather than reflecting on compiled bytecode, because
+ * the risk is a future one-word edit at a call site, not a missing overload.
+ *
+ * <p>The scan below finds a violation by its receiver, {@code rendezvous.open(}, classified by
+ * argument count. The one test method here points that exact scanner at a file known to hold
+ * many real one-argument calls before it ever looks at production, so a scanner that stops
+ * matching fails loudly on the known-positive case instead of leaving a clean production result
+ * looking like evidence it never produced.
+ */
+class RendezvousOpenUsageTest {
+
+    private static final Path PRODUCTION_SOURCE = Path.of("src/main/java");
+    private static final Path KNOWN_TEST_CALLER =
+            Path.of("src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/inject/CompletionResolverTest.java");
+
+    /**
+     * A pattern that cannot find a known one-argument {@code rendezvous.open(} call would also
+     * find none in production -- not because production is clean, but because the pattern does
+     * not match the text it is supposed to catch. That failure mode is exactly what let a
+     * {@code \b}-based regex read "no callers" under {@code git grep -E} when 81 real ones
+     * existed: {@code git grep} does not treat {@code \b} as a word boundary, so the pattern
+     * silently matched nothing anywhere, clean code and real calls alike. This test runs the
+     * known-positive check first, with the same scanning method the production check then
+     * depends on, so that mistake fails loudly here instead of reading as a clean result.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void noProductionFileCallsTheSingleArgumentOpenOverload() throws IOException {
+        List<String> knownCalls = new ArrayList<>();
+        int knownFilesScanned = scanForOneArgOpenCalls(KNOWN_TEST_CALLER, knownCalls);
+
+        // CONTROL: the scan actually walked files -- a wrong root would otherwise report "found
+        // nothing" having looked at nothing.
+        assertTrue(knownFilesScanned > 0, "control failed: the scan under " + KNOWN_TEST_CALLER
+                + " visited zero .java files -- the path is wrong, so neither result below proves "
+                + "anything");
+
+        // CONTROL: the scanner actually finds real one-argument rendezvous.open( calls when
+        // pointed at a file known to hold many. If this is not satisfied, the matching logic
+        // itself is broken, and the production result below is the scanner failing silently,
+        // not production code actually being clean.
+        assertTrue(knownCalls.size() >= 60, "control failed: the scanner found only "
+                + knownCalls.size() + " one-argument rendezvous.open( call(s) in " + KNOWN_TEST_CALLER
+                + ", which is known to hold many -- the matching logic itself is broken: " + knownCalls);
+
+        List<String> violations = new ArrayList<>();
+        int filesScanned = scanForOneArgOpenCalls(PRODUCTION_SOURCE, violations);
+
+        // CONTROL: the scan actually walked files -- a wrong root would otherwise report "no
+        // violations found" having looked at nothing.
+        assertTrue(filesScanned > 0, "control failed: the scan under " + PRODUCTION_SOURCE
+                + " visited zero .java files -- the path is wrong, so the absence of violations "
+                + "below proves nothing");
+
+        assertTrue(violations.isEmpty(), "found a call to the fail-open Rendezvous.open(String) "
+                + "overload, which opens a forward waiter with no recorded owner -- record an "
+                + "explicit Rendezvous.Owner through open(String, Owner) instead: " + violations);
+    }
+
+    private static int scanForOneArgOpenCalls(Path root, List<String> sites) throws IOException {
+        List<Path> files = javaFiles(root);
+        for (Path file : files) {
+            scanFileForOpenCalls(file, sites);
+        }
+        return files.size();
+    }
+
+    private static List<Path> javaFiles(Path root) throws IOException {
+        try (Stream<Path> paths = Files.walk(root)) {
+            return paths.filter(p -> p.toString().endsWith(".java")).toList();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static void scanFileForOpenCalls(Path file, List<String> sites) throws IOException {
+        String source = Files.readString(file);
+        String needle = "rendezvous.open(";
+        int from = 0;
+        int idx;
+        while ((idx = source.indexOf(needle, from)) >= 0) {
+            int argsStart = idx + needle.length();
+            String args = extractBalancedArgs(source, argsStart, file, idx);
+            int closeParenIndex = argsStart + args.length();
+            from = closeParenIndex + 1;
+
+            if (args.isBlank()) {
+                continue; // Rendezvous has no zero-argument open() -- a javadoc "rendezvous.open()" mention, not a call
+            }
+            if (topLevelCommaCount(args) == 0) {
+                sites.add(file + ":" + lineOf(source, idx) + " -- rendezvous.open(" + args.trim() + ")");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The text between {@code rendezvous.open(} and its matching close paren: balanced over
+     * nested calls, and never split by a paren or comma sitting inside a string or char literal.
+     */
+    private static String extractBalancedArgs(String source, int start, Path file, int callIndex) {
+        int depth = 1;
+        boolean inString = false;
+        boolean inChar = false;
+        int i = start;
+        while (i < source.length()) {
+            char c = source.charAt(i);
+            if (inString) {
+                if (c == '\\') { i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '"') inString = false;
+            } else if (inChar) {
+                if (c == '\\') { i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '\'') inChar = false;
+            } else if (c == '"') {
+                inString = true;
+            } else if (c == '\'') {
+                inChar = true;
+            } else if (c == '(') {
+                depth++;
+            } else if (c == ')') {
+                depth--;
+                if (depth == 0) return source.substring(start, i);
+            }
+            i++;
+        }
+        throw new IllegalStateException(
+                "unbalanced parentheses scanning " + file + ":" + lineOf(source, callIndex));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Commas at paren/bracket/brace depth zero, skipping string and char literals -- the argument
+     * separators a human reader would see, not every comma character in the text.
+     */
+    private static int topLevelCommaCount(String args) {
+        int depth = 0;
+        int commas = 0;
+        boolean inString = false;
+        boolean inChar = false;
+        int i = 0;
+        while (i < args.length()) {
+            char c = args.charAt(i);
+            if (inString) {
+                if (c == '\\') { i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '"') inString = false;
+            } else if (inChar) {
+                if (c == '\\') { i += 2; continue; }
+                if (c == '\'') inChar = false;
+            } else if (c == '"') {
+                inString = true;
+            } else if (c == '\'') {
+                inChar = true;
+            } else if (c == '(' || c == '[' || c == '{') {
+                depth++;
+            } else if (c == ')' || c == ']' || c == '}') {
+                depth--;
+            } else if (c == ',' && depth == 0) {
+                commas++;
+            }
+            i++;
+        }
+        return commas;
+    }
+
+    private static int lineOf(String source, int index) {
+        int line = 1;
+        for (int i = 0; i < index; i++) {
+            if (source.charAt(i) == '\n') line++;
+        }
+        return line;
+    }
+}

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

@@ -132,4 +132,127 @@ class RendezvousTest {
         assertNull(rendezvous.askSession(t.turnId()), "a closed ask is forgotten");
         assertFalse(rendezvous.answerAsk(t.turnId(), "late"), "a closed ask can no longer be answered");
     }
+
+    // ── fleetd #715: turn ownership ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    @Test
+    void openWithNoOwnerRecordsNoOwnerAndOpenWithAnOwnerRecordsIt() {
+        rendezvous.open(W);
+        assertNull(rendezvous.ownerOf(W), "the no-owner overload records no owner at all");
+        rendezvous.close(W, rendezvous.currentWaiter(W));
+
+        rendezvous.open(W, Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_lead"));
+        assertEquals(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_lead"), rendezvous.ownerOf(W));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void ownerOfIsNullWhenNoWaiterIsOpen() {
+        assertNull(rendezvous.ownerOf(W), "no waiter open means no owner to report");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void openAskStampsTheForwardWaitersOwnerOntoTheFreshTurnOnly() {
+        rendezvous.open(W, Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_lead"));
+
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket fresh = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        assertTrue(fresh.fresh());
+        assertEquals(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_lead"), rendezvous.askOwner(fresh.turnId()),
+                "a freshly-opened ask copies the forward waiter's current owner");
+
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket coalesced = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        assertFalse(coalesced.fresh());
+        assertEquals(fresh.turnId(), coalesced.turnId());
+        assertEquals(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_lead"), rendezvous.askOwner(coalesced.turnId()),
+                "a coalesced duplicate ask rides the fresh owner's turn, unchanged");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aSecondAskAfterTheFirstClosesStampsWhateverOwnerIsOpenAtThatLaterMoment() {
+        rendezvous.open(W, Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_lead"));
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket first = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        rendezvous.closeAsk(first.turnId());
+
+        // The forward waiter is reopened under a different owner before the second ask — mirrors
+        // answer() reopening with the owner it already checked, which can differ turn to turn.
+        rendezvous.close(W, rendezvous.currentWaiter(W));
+        rendezvous.open(W, Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_other"));
+
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket second = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        assertTrue(second.fresh());
+        assertEquals(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_other"), rendezvous.askOwner(second.turnId()),
+                "a freshly-opened ask always copies whatever owner is open right now, not a stale one");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void askOwnerIsNullForAnUnknownOrLapsedTurn() {
+        assertNull(rendezvous.askOwner("no-such#1"));
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket t = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        rendezvous.closeAsk(t.turnId());
+        assertNull(rendezvous.askOwner(t.turnId()), "a closed ask no longer reports an owner");
+    }
+
+    // ── fleetd #729: per-boot nonce guards turnId against cross-instance reuse ────────────────
+
+    @Test
+    void twoInstancesMintDisjointTurnIds() {
+        Rendezvous other = new Rendezvous();
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket fromThis = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket fromOther = other.openAsk(W);
+        assertNotEquals(fromThis.turnId(), fromOther.turnId(),
+                "each instance mints its own id space, so even a first ask from each must differ");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void foreignInstanceTurnIdDoesNotResolve() {
+        Rendezvous other = new Rendezvous();
+
+        // `other` must reach the same sequence number as `rendezvous` (two asks each, the first
+        // closed so the second mints fresh), or this test passes against an empty map instead of
+        // against a colliding id.
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket firstFromThis = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        rendezvous.closeAsk(firstFromThis.turnId());
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket secondFromThis = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket firstFromOther = other.openAsk(W);
+        other.closeAsk(firstFromOther.turnId());
+        other.openAsk(W);
+
+        // control: the id resolves in the instance that minted it, so a false below cannot be
+        // explained by broken plumbing — only by the turnId being foreign to `other`.
+        assertTrue(rendezvous.answerAsk(secondFromThis.turnId(), "answer from this instance"),
+                "the minting instance must still resolve its own turnId");
+        assertFalse(other.answerAsk(secondFromThis.turnId(), "answer from other instance"),
+                "a turnId minted by a different instance must not resolve here");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void openAskStillCoalescesDuplicatesAndStillMintsDistinctIdsPerAsk() {
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket t1 = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket t2 = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        assertEquals(t1.turnId(), t2.turnId(),
+                "a second openAsk while one is open still coalesces onto the same turn");
+        assertFalse(t2.fresh(), "the coalesced ask is still reported as not fresh");
+
+        rendezvous.closeAsk(t1.turnId());
+        Rendezvous.AskTicket t3 = rendezvous.openAsk(W);
+        assertNotEquals(t1.turnId(), t3.turnId(), "two asks from the same session still get different turnIds");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void ownerPermitsIsFailClosedOnARecordAndThreeStatesAreDistinct() {
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(null, null),
+                "no owner on record refuses even a caller with no terminal");
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(null, "term_a"),
+                "no owner on record refuses a terminal-bearing caller too");
+        assertTrue(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.UNNAMED_PRIMARY, null),
+                "the unnamed primary owner matches a caller with no terminal");
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.UNNAMED_PRIMARY, "term_a"),
+                "the unnamed primary owner does not match a terminal-bearing caller");
+        assertTrue(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_a"), "term_a"),
+                "a named owner matches the same terminal");
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_a"), "term_b"),
+                "a named owner refuses a different terminal");
+        assertFalse(Rendezvous.Owner.permits(Rendezvous.Owner.of("term_a"), null),
+                "a named owner refuses the unnamed primary");
+    }
 }

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

@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@ package dev.ltms.fleet.rest;
 
 import ch.qos.logback.classic.Level;
 import ch.qos.logback.classic.spi.ILoggingEvent;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.CallerResolver;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Authz;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.MemberRegistry;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Principal;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.auth.Role;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.config.FleetConfig;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.guard.SubscriptionGuard;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.herdr.AgentControl;
@@ -19,6 +21,7 @@ import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.FleetMetrics;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.metrics.Metrics;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.MessageService;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.msg.Rendezvous;
+import dev.ltms.fleet.peer.MemberRole;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.FakeWorktrees;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.session.SessionManager;
 import dev.ltms.fleet.member.ClaudeCodeLauncher;
@@ -39,6 +42,8 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.function.Predicate;
 import java.util.regex.Matcher;
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
@@ -139,6 +144,411 @@ class FleetAppAuthTest {
         assertThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> FleetApp.routeAction("GET /healthz"));
     }
 
+    // --- GET /tasks/{ticket} must not be the no-check overload ----------------------------------
+
+    /**
+     * {@code GET /tasks/{ticket}} must resolve its caller the same way {@code allow(...)} does
+     * and thread that terminal into {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}, not the
+     * no-check overload that ignores who is asking.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void theTaskStatusRouteActuallyThreadsTheCallersTerminalIntoPoll() throws Exception {
+        String source = Files.readString(REST_SOURCE);
+
+        int start = source.indexOf("private void taskStatus(Context ctx) {");
+        assertTrue(start >= 0, "could not find taskStatus in " + REST_SOURCE
+                + " -- the scrape has stopped matching, fix the anchor before trusting this test");
+        int end = source.indexOf("private static void herdrError(Context ctx, HerdrException e) {", start);
+        assertTrue(end > start, "could not find the method declared after taskStatus to bound the scrape");
+        String handlerBlock = source.substring(start, end);
+
+        // CONTROL: the block we scraped really does call messages.poll(...) -- if this fails, the
+        // anchors above moved and the assertions below would otherwise pass on nothing.
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("messages.poll("),
+                "control failed: the scraped taskStatus block contains no messages.poll( call at all "
+                        + "-- the anchors have drifted, this test is not testing what it claims to");
+
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("caller.terminal()"),
+                "the taskStatus route must thread the resolved caller's terminal into messages.poll(...), "
+                        + "not the no-check overload -- block: " + handlerBlock);
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("ctx.attribute(CALLER)"),
+                "the taskStatus route must resolve its caller the same way allow(...) does, not via a "
+                        + "second, separate resolution path -- block: " + handlerBlock);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code GET /sessions/{id}/status} must resolve its caller the same way {@code allow(...)}
+     * does and thread that terminal into {@link MessageService#pendingAsk(String, String)}, not
+     * the no-check overload that ignores who is asking.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void theSessionStatusRouteActuallyThreadsTheCallersTerminalIntoPendingAsk() throws Exception {
+        String source = Files.readString(REST_SOURCE);
+
+        int start = source.indexOf("private void sessionStatus(Context ctx) {");
+        assertTrue(start >= 0, "could not find sessionStatus in " + REST_SOURCE
+                + " -- the scrape has stopped matching, fix the anchor before trusting this test");
+        int end = source.indexOf("private void taskStatus(Context ctx) {", start);
+        assertTrue(end > start, "could not find the method declared after sessionStatus to bound the scrape");
+        String handlerBlock = source.substring(start, end);
+
+        // CONTROL: the block we scraped really does call messages.pendingAsk(...) -- if this fails,
+        // the anchors above moved and the assertions below would otherwise pass on nothing.
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("messages.pendingAsk("),
+                "control failed: the scraped sessionStatus block contains no messages.pendingAsk( "
+                        + "call at all -- the anchors have drifted, this test is not testing what it claims to");
+
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("caller.terminal()"),
+                "the sessionStatus route must thread the resolved caller's terminal into "
+                        + "messages.pendingAsk(...), not the no-check overload -- block: " + handlerBlock);
+        assertTrue(handlerBlock.contains("ctx.attribute(CALLER)"),
+                "the sessionStatus route must resolve its caller the same way allow(...) does, not via "
+                        + "a second, separate resolution path -- block: " + handlerBlock);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code GET /tasks/{ticket}} refuses a worker whose terminal did not create the ticket,
+     * while the creating worker and the unnamed primary both still read it. The ticket is minted
+     * directly on the shared {@link MessageService}, the same way {@code MessageServiceTest}
+     * drives {@link MessageService#poll(String, String)}, so this exercises only the REST poll
+     * route's own handling of the ownership already recorded on the ticket.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void restPollRefusesADifferentWorkerButAllowsTheCreatorAndTheUnnamedPrimary() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, new Rendezvous());
+
+        Javalin creatorApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID); // -> term_a
+        Javalin otherWorkerApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 9001L);             // -> term_shell
+        Javalin primaryApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 999_999L);              // no pane -> primary
+        try {
+            String ticket = messages.sendAsync("term_a", "long task", null, "term_a");
+
+            HttpResponse<String> refused = send(otherWorkerApp.port(), "GET", "/tasks/" + ticket, null, null);
+            assertEquals(200, refused.statusCode());
+            assertTrue(refused.body().contains("forbidden"),
+                    "a different worker's terminal must be refused, not shown the ticket: " + refused.body());
+            assertFalse(refused.body().contains("\"reply\""),
+                    "a refusal must never carry reply text: " + refused.body());
+
+            HttpResponse<String> own = send(creatorApp.port(), "GET", "/tasks/" + ticket, null, null);
+            assertEquals(200, own.statusCode());
+            assertFalse(own.body().contains("forbidden"),
+                    "the creating worker must read its own ticket: " + own.body());
+
+            HttpResponse<String> primary = send(primaryApp.port(), "GET", "/tasks/" + ticket, null, null);
+            assertEquals(200, primary.statusCode());
+            assertFalse(primary.body().contains("forbidden"),
+                    "the unnamed primary must read any ticket: " + primary.body());
+        } finally {
+            creatorApp.stop();
+            otherWorkerApp.stop();
+            primaryApp.stop();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code POST /sessions/{id}/message} with {@code wait:false} must record the creating
+     * caller's own terminal on the ticket it returns, so that caller can still poll its own
+     * ticket over REST, while a different terminal is refused.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void restSendAsyncRecordsTheCreatingCallersTerminalSoItCanStillPollItsOwnTicket() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, new Rendezvous());
+
+        Javalin leadApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID, Map.of("term_a", "lead-x"));
+        Javalin otherWorkerApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 9001L); // -> term_shell
+        try {
+            ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+            HttpResponse<String> created = send(leadApp.port(), "POST", "/sessions/term_a/message",
+                    "{\"content\":\"long task\",\"wait\":false}", null);
+            assertEquals(202, created.statusCode(), created.body());
+            String ticket = mapper.readTree(created.body()).path("ticket").asText(null);
+            assertNotNull(ticket, "the accepted response carried no ticket: " + created.body());
+
+            HttpResponse<String> own = send(leadApp.port(), "GET", "/tasks/" + ticket, null, null);
+            assertEquals(200, own.statusCode());
+            assertFalse(own.body().contains("forbidden"),
+                    "the session that created the ticket over REST must be able to poll it: " + own.body());
+
+            HttpResponse<String> refused = send(otherWorkerApp.port(), "GET", "/tasks/" + ticket, null, null);
+            assertEquals(200, refused.statusCode());
+            assertTrue(refused.body().contains("forbidden: this ticket was created by a different session"),
+                    "a different terminal must still be refused with the ownership detail, not some "
+                            + "other rejection: " + refused.body());
+        } finally {
+            leadApp.stop();
+            otherWorkerApp.stop();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code GET /sessions/{id}/status} shows a worker's pending {@code fleet_ask} question, its
+     * {@code turnId} and its ticket only to the caller whose terminal created that delegation, or
+     * to a caller with no terminal at all (the unnamed primary) — a different terminal-bearing
+     * caller still sees the base status line, but none of the pending-ask fields.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void restStatusGatesThePendingAskFieldsByTheDelegationsCreatorTerminal() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous);
+
+        Javalin creatorApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID); // -> term_a
+        Javalin otherWorkerApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 9001L);             // -> term_shell
+        Javalin primaryApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 999_999L);              // no pane -> primary
+        try {
+            ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+            String ticket = messages.sendAsync("term_target", "task that asks", null, "term_a");
+            long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+            while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(5);
+            }
+            assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target"), "sendAsync should have opened its rendezvous waiter");
+
+            CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                    () -> messages.ask("term_target", "which config file?", 5000));
+
+            MessageService.TaskView asking;
+            deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+            do {
+                asking = messages.poll(ticket, null);
+                Thread.sleep(5);
+            } while (asking.phase() != MessageService.Phase.ASKING && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline);
+            assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, asking.phase());
+            String turnId = asking.turnId();
+
+            JsonNode other = mapper.readTree(
+                    send(otherWorkerApp.port(), "GET", "/sessions/term_target/status", null, null).body());
+            assertEquals("idle", other.get("status").asText(), "the base status must still be shown");
+            assertFalse(other.has("question"), "a non-creating caller must not see the question: " + other);
+            assertFalse(other.has("turnId"), "a non-creating caller must not see the turnId: " + other);
+            assertFalse(other.has("ticket"), "a non-creating caller must not see the ticket: " + other);
+
+            JsonNode own = mapper.readTree(
+                    send(creatorApp.port(), "GET", "/sessions/term_target/status", null, null).body());
+            assertEquals("which config file?", own.get("question").asText(), "the creator must see the question");
+            assertEquals(turnId, own.get("turnId").asText(), "the creator must see the turnId");
+            assertEquals(ticket, own.get("ticket").asText(), "the creator must see the ticket");
+
+            JsonNode primary = mapper.readTree(
+                    send(primaryApp.port(), "GET", "/sessions/term_target/status", null, null).body());
+            assertEquals("which config file?", primary.get("question").asText(),
+                    "a caller with no terminal (the unnamed primary) must see the question");
+
+            // Clean up the still-open ask so the background thread does not linger past the test.
+            CompletableFuture<MessageService.Reply> answer = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                    () -> messages.answer(turnId, "config.yaml", 5000, "term_a"));
+            assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+            deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+            while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(5);
+            }
+            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve("term_target", "done"));
+            answer.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        } finally {
+            creatorApp.stop();
+            otherWorkerApp.stop();
+            primaryApp.stop();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code POST /sessions/{id}/message} with a {@code turnId} refuses a caller whose terminal
+     * did not open the turn, even when that caller otherwise holds ANSWER rights, and leaves the
+     * turn open for the real owner to resolve. Covers the REST adapter's ANSWER gate for an
+     * async-send ({@code wait:false}) delegation.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void restAnswerIsRefusedForADifferentCallerOnAnAsyncSendDelegationButTheRealOwnerSucceeds() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous);
+
+        Javalin ownerApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID, Map.of("term_a", "lead-owner"));
+        Javalin attackerApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 9001L, Map.of("term_shell", "lead-attacker"));
+        try {
+            ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+            HttpResponse<String> created = send(ownerApp.port(), "POST", "/sessions/term_target/message",
+                    "{\"content\":\"long task\",\"wait\":false}", null);
+            assertEquals(202, created.statusCode(), created.body());
+            String ticket = mapper.readTree(created.body()).path("ticket").asText(null);
+            assertNotNull(ticket, "the accepted response carried no ticket: " + created.body());
+
+            long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+            while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(5);
+            }
+            assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target"), "the async send should have opened its rendezvous waiter");
+
+            CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                    () -> messages.ask("term_target", "which config file?", 5000));
+
+            MessageService.TaskView asking;
+            deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+            do {
+                asking = messages.poll(ticket, null);
+                Thread.sleep(5);
+            } while (asking.phase() != MessageService.Phase.ASKING && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline);
+            assertEquals(MessageService.Phase.ASKING, asking.phase());
+            String turnId = asking.turnId();
+
+            HttpResponse<String> hijacked = send(attackerApp.port(), "POST", "/sessions/term_target/message",
+                    "{\"content\":\"hijack\",\"turnId\":\"" + turnId + "\"}", null);
+            assertEquals(403, hijacked.statusCode(), hijacked.body());
+            assertTrue(hijacked.body().contains("not_turn_owner"),
+                    "a different caller's answer must be refused as not_turn_owner: " + hijacked.body());
+            assertEquals("term_target", rendezvous.askSession(turnId),
+                    "a refused answer must leave the ask turn open");
+
+            CompletableFuture<HttpResponse<String>> owned = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> {
+                try {
+                    return send(ownerApp.port(), "POST", "/sessions/term_target/message",
+                            "{\"content\":\"config.yaml\",\"turnId\":\"" + turnId + "\"}", null);
+                } catch (Exception e) {
+                    throw new RuntimeException(e);
+                }
+            });
+            assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+            deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+            while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(5);
+            }
+            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve("term_target", "done"));
+            HttpResponse<String> ownedResponse = owned.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+            assertEquals(200, ownedResponse.statusCode(), ownedResponse.body());
+            assertEquals("done", mapper.readTree(ownedResponse.body()).path("reply").asText(null),
+                    "the real owner's answer must resolve the worker's turn");
+        } finally {
+            ownerApp.stop();
+            attackerApp.stop();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * As above, but the delegation is a blocking send ({@code wait:true}) instead of a ticket —
+     * the owning caller's own HTTP request is the one that surfaces the worker's question and
+     * later carries the real answer. Covers the REST adapter's ANSWER gate for a blocking-send
+     * delegation.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void restAnswerIsRefusedForADifferentCallerOnABlockingSendDelegationButTheRealOwnerSucceeds() throws Exception {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        Injector injector = new Injector(agents);
+        Rendezvous rendezvous = new Rendezvous();
+        MessageService messages = new MessageService(agents, injector, rendezvous);
+
+        Javalin ownerApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, FakeHerdr.WORKER_PID, Map.of("term_a", "lead-owner"));
+        Javalin attackerApp = startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, 9001L, Map.of("term_shell", "lead-attacker"));
+        try {
+            ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+            CompletableFuture<HttpResponse<String>> blocking = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> {
+                try {
+                    return send(ownerApp.port(), "POST", "/sessions/term_target/message",
+                            "{\"content\":\"long task\",\"wait\":true,\"timeoutMs\":5000}", null);
+                } catch (Exception e) {
+                    throw new RuntimeException(e);
+                }
+            });
+
+            long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+            while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(5);
+            }
+            assertTrue(rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target"), "the blocking send should have opened its rendezvous waiter");
+
+            CompletableFuture<MessageService.AskResult> ask = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
+                    () -> messages.ask("term_target", "which config file?", 5000));
+
+            HttpResponse<String> questionResponse = blocking.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+            assertEquals(202, questionResponse.statusCode(), questionResponse.body());
+            JsonNode question = mapper.readTree(questionResponse.body());
+            assertEquals("question", question.get("status").asText());
+            String turnId = question.get("turnId").asText();
+
+            HttpResponse<String> hijacked = send(attackerApp.port(), "POST", "/sessions/term_target/message",
+                    "{\"content\":\"hijack\",\"turnId\":\"" + turnId + "\"}", null);
+            assertEquals(403, hijacked.statusCode(), hijacked.body());
+            assertTrue(hijacked.body().contains("not_turn_owner"),
+                    "a different caller's answer must be refused as not_turn_owner: " + hijacked.body());
+            assertEquals("term_target", rendezvous.askSession(turnId),
+                    "a refused answer must leave the ask turn open");
+
+            CompletableFuture<HttpResponse<String>> owned = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> {
+                try {
+                    return send(ownerApp.port(), "POST", "/sessions/term_target/message",
+                            "{\"content\":\"config.yaml\",\"turnId\":\"" + turnId + "\"}", null);
+                } catch (Exception e) {
+                    throw new RuntimeException(e);
+                }
+            });
+            assertEquals("config.yaml", ask.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).answer());
+            deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000;
+            while (!rendezvous.isWaiting("term_target") && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(5);
+            }
+            assertTrue(rendezvous.resolve("term_target", "done"));
+            HttpResponse<String> ownedResponse = owned.get(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+            assertEquals(200, ownedResponse.statusCode(), ownedResponse.body());
+            assertEquals("done", mapper.readTree(ownedResponse.body()).path("reply").asText(null),
+                    "the real owner's answer must resolve the worker's turn");
+        } finally {
+            ownerApp.stop();
+            attackerApp.stop();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * As {@link #start}, but shares {@code messages} and {@code herdr} across several app
+     * instances bound to different pids, each returned as its own started {@link Javalin} rather
+     * than through the shared {@code app} field, so several differently-resolved callers can
+     * poll the same ticket.
+     */
+    private Javalin startOnSharedService(MessageService messages, FakeHerdr herdr, long pid) {
+        return startOnSharedService(messages, herdr, pid, Map.of());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * As {@link #startOnSharedService(MessageService, FakeHerdr, long)}, but {@code leadTerminals}
+     * resolves the given pid's terminal to a named lead (a caller with SEND permission) instead of
+     * a plain worker, for a test that needs a terminal-bearing caller able to create a ticket.
+     *
+     * <p>Every connecting pane not already claimed by {@code leadTerminals} is wired into the live
+     * roster as a spawned worker, so a caller's resolved role matches what its own test expects:
+     * a {@link Role#WORKER}, never the unconfigured-pane {@link Role#OBSERVER} floor a roster-less
+     * resolver would otherwise fall to.
+     */
+    private Javalin startOnSharedService(MessageService messages, FakeHerdr herdr, long pid,
+            Map<String, String> leadTerminals) {
+        FleetConfig.Profile wcfg = new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "ltms-local", "http://gx00.gw:8000", "coder", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN", null,
+                "tab", "fleetd-workers", "worker: {profile} #{n}", null, null, null);
+        AgentControl agents = new AgentControl(herdr);
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher workers = new ClaudeCodeLauncher(
+                agents, new WorkspaceControl(herdr), new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")),
+                Map.of(wcfg.profile(), wcfg), wcfg.profile(),
+                k -> "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN".equals(k) ? "tok-abc" : null);
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(workers, new FakeWorktrees());
+        ConnectionIdentity identity = new ConnectionIdentity(new PaneLocator(herdr), _ -> pid);
+        CallerResolver callers = CallerResolver.withLeadsAndMembers(identity, false, null,
+                () -> leadTerminals, new MemberRegistry(null),
+                t -> leadTerminals.containsKey(t) ? null : MemberRole.DEV, Map::of);
+        Metrics appMetrics = FleetMetrics.create(sessions, new dev.ltms.fleet.msg.InMemoryReplyInbox());
+
+        return new FleetApp(herdr, workers, sessions, messages, sessions.asPresence(), null,
+                callers, appMetrics).build().start("127.0.0.1", 0);
+    }
+
     /**
      * fleetd #669 Unit A: {@code POST /sessions/{id}/message} is two call shapes behind one route,
      * mirroring {@code fleet_send}'s MCP-side split into {@link Authz.Action#SEND} and {@link

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

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

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

@@ -422,6 +422,53 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                 "turn completion moves BUSY → DONE");
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #722: registration and presence must reach READY whichever lands first --------
+
+    @Test
+    void registerThenContactReachesReadyForPlainSpawn() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(session.terminalId());
+
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.READY, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "a presence contact that arrives after registration reaches READY");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void contactThenRegisterStillReachesReadyForPlainSpawn() {
+        // The racing launcher marks presence for the spawned terminal from inside spawn() —
+        // before SessionManager.acquire's own registry.put runs — modeling an MCP contact that
+        // lands in that window.
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        FleetConfig.Profile cfg = new FleetConfig.Profile(
+                "ltms-local", "http://gx00.gw:8000", "coder", null, "FLEETD_WORKER_TOKEN",
+                List.of("ccs", "ltms-local"), "tab", "fleetd-workers",
+                "worker: {profile} #{n}", null, null, null);
+        ClaudeCodeLauncher workers = new ClaudeCodeLauncher(new AgentControl(herdr), new WorkspaceControl(herdr),
+                new SubscriptionGuard(Set.of("gx00.gw")), Map.of(cfg.profile(), cfg), cfg.profile(), _ -> null);
+        PresenceRacingLauncher race = new PresenceRacingLauncher(workers);
+        SessionManager sessions = new SessionManager(race);
+        race.presence = sessions.asPresence();
+
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.READY, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "a presence contact that lands before registry.put must still reach READY");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aTerminalNeverMarkedPresentStaysSpawningAfterRegistration() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+
+        assertEquals(MemberSession.State.SPAWNING, sessions.get(session.paneId()).orElseThrow().state(),
+                "registration alone must not advance a terminal that was never marked present");
+    }
+
     @Test
     void releaseTearsDownWorkerAndRemovesFromRosterAndIsIdempotent() {
         FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
@@ -1405,6 +1452,105 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
                         + "dirty check threw");
     }
 
+    // --- fleetd #736: a release must forget the member's presence entry, not just its registry
+    // row ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseByPaneIdForgetsThePresenceEntry() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+        String terminal = session.terminalId();
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(terminal);
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal), "present before the release");
+
+        sessions.release(session.paneId());
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal),
+                "release must forget the terminal's presence, not just remove its registry row");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void reapIdleForgetsThePresenceEntryToo() {
+        long[] clock = {0};
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, () -> clock[0]);
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+        String terminal = session.terminalId();
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(terminal);
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal), "present before the reap");
+
+        clock[0] = 11;
+        assertEquals(1, sessions.reapIdle(10), "READY session past TTL is reaped");
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal),
+                "the idle-reap release path (releaseIfCurrent) goes through the same teardown "
+                        + "funnel as an explicit release, so it must forget presence too");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void shutdownDrainAlsoForgetsThePresenceEntry() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession session = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", "term_primary");
+        String terminal = session.terminalId();
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(terminal);
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal), "present before the drain");
+
+        sessions.drainAll(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toNanos(100));
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal),
+                "a shutdown drain still ends the member's process, so presence must be cleared "
+                        + "exactly as it is for any other release cause");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseOfAnUnknownPaneIdDoesNotThrow() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+
+        assertDoesNotThrow(() -> sessions.release("no-such-pane"),
+                "releasing a pane id that was never registered must be a no-op, not a throw");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseStillForgetsPresenceWhenDirtyCheckThrows() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        RecordingWorktrees worktrees = new RecordingWorktrees();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("fleetd-736", null));
+        String terminal = s.terminalId();
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(terminal);
+        worktrees.failHasUncommittedWith(new WorktreeException("git status exited 128"));
+
+        assertDoesNotThrow(() -> sessions.release(s.paneId()),
+                "a throwing dirty check must not abort the release");
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(terminal),
+                "presence must be forgotten even when the dirty check throws, which pins the "
+                        + "forget call to the finally block that runs no matter what happened above");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releaseLeavesADifferentStillLiveMembersPresenceUntouched() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession released = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/a", "ownerA");
+        MemberSession stillLive = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/b", "ownerB");
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(released.terminalId());
+        sessions.asPresence().markPresent(stillLive.terminalId());
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(stillLive.terminalId()),
+                "present before the release of the other member");
+
+        sessions.release(released.paneId());
+
+        assertFalse(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(released.terminalId()),
+                "the released terminal is forgotten");
+        assertTrue(sessions.asPresence().isPresent(stillLive.terminalId()),
+                "a still-live member's presence must survive an unrelated release");
+    }
+
     // --- fleetd #316: the dirty check must be re-taken after the worker is stopped, not trusted
     // stale from before it ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -2436,4 +2582,160 @@ class SessionManagerTest {
             return "threw:" + e.getClass().getName() + ":" + e.getMessage();
         }
     }
+
+    // --- fleetd #702: spawnedMemberRole must still answer for a pane mid-teardown ----------------
+
+    /**
+     * A {@link Worktrees} test double whose {@code hasUncommitted} runs an injected hook before
+     * answering. This is what lets a test resolve a releasing pane's terminal from inside the
+     * window {@link SessionManager#release} opens between removing the registry entry and
+     * actually stopping the pane — the hook runs synchronously on the release call's own thread,
+     * at the exact point {@code release} shells out to {@code git status}, so there is no sleep
+     * and no race to land in it.
+     */
+    private static final class HookedWorktrees implements Worktrees {
+        private Runnable hook;
+        private boolean dirty = false;
+
+        HookedWorktrees onHasUncommitted(Runnable hook) {
+            this.hook = hook;
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String add(String repoRoot, String branch, String baseRef) {
+            return "/wt/" + branch.replace('/', '_');
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void remove(String repoRoot, String worktreePath) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void deleteBranch(String repoRoot, String branch) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean hasUncommitted(String worktreePath) {
+            if (hook != null) {
+                hook.run();
+            }
+            return dirty;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void overlayParity(String repoRoot, String worktreePath, List<String> overlay) {
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String repoRoot(String cwd) {
+            return "/repo";
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public java.util.Optional<String> snapshot(String worktreePath, String branch, String message) {
+            return java.util.Optional.empty();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public WipRefStats wipRefs(String repoRoot) {
+            return new WipRefStats(0, 0L);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public int pruneWipRefs(String repoRoot, long minAgeMillis) {
+            return 0;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void shareWithGroup(String repoRoot, String worktreePath) {
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void spawnedMemberRoleResolvesTheLiveRegisteredRole() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller", null);
+
+        assertEquals(s.role(), sessions.spawnedMemberRole(s.terminalId()),
+                "a registered session resolves to its own role");
+        assertNull(sessions.spawnedMemberRole("term_unknown"),
+                "a terminal with no session at all resolves to null");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void spawnedMemberRoleIsNullOnceReleaseFullyCompletes() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, new HookedWorktrees());
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("fleetd-702a", null));
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertNull(sessions.spawnedMemberRole(s.terminalId()),
+                "once release has fully finished, the terminal is neither registered nor releasing");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void spawnedMemberRoleStillAnswersBetweenTheRegistryRemovalAndThePaneStop() {
+        FakeHerdr herdr = new FakeHerdr();
+        java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference<MemberRole> duringWindow = new java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference<>();
+        HookedWorktrees worktrees = new HookedWorktrees();
+        SessionManager sessions = sessionManager(herdr, worktrees);
+        MemberSession s = sessions.acquire("ltms-local", null, "/caller/proj", null,
+                new WorktreeRequest("fleetd-702b", null));
+        worktrees.onHasUncommitted(() -> {
+            // This runs from INSIDE release()'s git-status shell-out: the registry entry is
+            // already gone, but the pane has not stopped yet — a real call landing inside the
+            // exact window fleetd #702 reports, so no sleep and no race is needed to reach it.
+            assertTrue(sessions.get(s.paneId()).isEmpty(),
+                    "sanity: the registry entry is already gone at this point");
+            duringWindow.set(sessions.spawnedMemberRole(s.terminalId()));
+        });
+
+        sessions.release(s.paneId());
+
+        assertEquals(s.role(), duringWindow.get(),
+                "spawnedMemberRole must still answer the live role while the pane is mid-teardown, "
+                        + "not only while the session is still in the registry");
+        assertNull(sessions.spawnedMemberRole(s.terminalId()),
+                "and once release has fully finished, the window is closed too");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@code Releasing.enter} and {@code Releasing.leave} are called directly here, never through
+     * {@link SessionManager#release} or {@link SessionManager#spawnedMemberRole}, so a test naming
+     * one of them exercises only that one — a regression in the other can never hide behind it.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void releasingLeaveStepsDownADepthGreaterThanOneInsteadOfRemovingIt() {
+        SessionManager.Releasing depthTwo = new SessionManager.Releasing(2, "term_a", MemberRole.DEV);
+
+        SessionManager.Releasing afterLeave = depthTwo.leave();
+
+        assertNotNull(afterLeave,
+                "depth 2 means another release of the SAME pane is still mid-teardown; leave() must "
+                        + "step the depth down, never remove the marker outright — removing it here "
+                        + "is what a plain Set would do, and would reopen the window the still-in-"
+                        + "flight release is relying on staying closed");
+        assertEquals(1, afterLeave.depth());
+        assertEquals("term_a", afterLeave.terminalId());
+        assertEquals(MemberRole.DEV, afterLeave.role());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void releasingEnterPreservesThePriorTerminalWhenTheOverlappingCallHasNoSessionOfItsOwn() {
+        SessionManager.Releasing prior = new SessionManager.Releasing(1, "term_a", MemberRole.DEV);
+
+        SessionManager.Releasing afterEnter = SessionManager.Releasing.enter(prior, null);
+
+        assertEquals(2, afterEnter.depth(), "depth still increments whether or not this enter knows its session");
+        assertEquals("term_a", afterEnter.terminalId(),
+                "an overlapping release that finds the registry entry already gone has no session of "
+                        + "its own to pass as known, and must not blank out the terminal the first "
+                        + "call already recorded — that terminal is what spawnedMemberRole matches "
+                        + "against");
+        assertEquals(MemberRole.DEV, afterEnter.role());
+    }
 }

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

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