diff --git a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadContextGaugeTest.java b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadContextGaugeTest.java
index 3eb41be..6d89a65 100644
--- a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadContextGaugeTest.java
+++ b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/lead/LeadContextGaugeTest.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assumptions.assumeFalse;
 
 /**
  * Ticket "lead context gauge" — fleetd could not see how full a lead's own Claude Code context
@@ -137,6 +138,15 @@ class LeadContextGaugeTest {
         Path file = tmp.resolve("projects").resolve("some-project-slug").resolve(SESSION_ID + ".jsonl");
         assertTrue(file.toFile().setReadable(false), "test setup: must be able to revoke read permission");
         try {
+            // setReadable(false) really did clear the read bit (asserted above), but that alone
+            // does not prove the file is UNREADABLE: running as root (e.g. a CI container) ignores
+            // the read bit and opens the file anyway. Files.isReadable checks what actually happens
+            // on open, not the bit. When it still reports readable, this test cannot create the
+            // condition it needs on this machine, so it skips honestly instead of asserting on a
+            // state that was never reached. A skip here means "I could not set up the case", NOT
+            // "the UNKNOWN behaviour is fine" -- it is not evidence either way.
+            assumeFalse(Files.isReadable(file),
+                    "runs as root (CI container): the read bit does not stop root, so this case cannot be set up here");
             LeadContextGauge gauge = new LeadContextGauge();
             LeadContextGauge.Reading reading = gauge.read(configDir, SESSION_ID, "claude");
             assertEquals(LeadContextGauge.State.UNKNOWN, reading.state());