v1.55.0.0 fix wave: gbrain data-loss guards + browser crash-loop + 6 more (#1808)

* fix(jsonl-merge): make equal-ts resolution converge across machines

The JSONL append merge driver sorted timestamped entries by (0, ts) with no
further tiebreaker. Equal-ts entries then fell back to stable-sort insertion
order (base, ours, theirs), but git assigns the local side to "ours", so two
machines resolving the same conflict emitted equal-ts lines in opposite order.
The merged files diverged and never converged. gstack-telemetry-log uses
second-granularity timestamps, so same-ts collisions are routine.

Add the line content as the final sort tiebreaker so the order is total and
side-independent. Add a regression test that runs the driver with the two
sides swapped and asserts identical output.

* fix(gen-skill-docs): quote frontmatter descriptions with interior colons (#1778)

Generated SKILL.md frontmatter emitted the catalog-trimmed description: as a
plain YAML scalar. A description with an interior ": " (e.g. "Ship workflow:
detect...") parses as a nested mapping under strict YAML loaders, so Codex/OpenAI
skill loading rejected those skills.

applyCatalogTrim now routes the value through toYamlInlineScalar, which quotes
(via JSON.stringify) only when a plain scalar would be invalid — interior ": ",
inline " #", leading indicator char, or surrounding whitespace. Strings that are
already valid plain scalars pass through unchanged to keep regen diffs small.

The frontmatter test now parses every generated block (Claude + Codex hosts) with
Bun.YAML.parse instead of string-checking that name:/description: substrings exist,
so the regression can't reappear. Runs under `bun test` (already in CI).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* chore(skills): regenerate SKILL.md after frontmatter quoting fix (#1778)

9 catalog-trimmed descriptions whose values contain an interior colon or inline-
comment marker are now quoted. Generated output only; rerun of bun run gen:skill-docs.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* refactor(gbrain-sources): centralize sources-list shape handling in parseSourcesList (#1576)

#1576's crash in sourceLocalPath was already fixed in v1.42.0.0 (dual-shape
handling). But the readers disagreed: sourceLocalPath accepted both the wrapped
{sources:[...]} object (v0.20+) and a bare array, while probeSource and
sourcePageCount accepted only the wrapped shape. Extract one parseSourcesList()
normalizer and route all three through it, so the shape assumption lives in a
single place. This is also the base the #1734 remote_url audit builds on.

parseSourcesList returns [] for null/garbage rather than throwing; callers treat
'no rows' as absent. New test/gbrain-sources-parse.test.ts pins both shapes plus
the garbage paths and confirms config.remote_url survives for the audit.

#1576 is closeable as already-fixed in v1.42.0.0.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(gbrain): spawn gbrain + brain-sync through a shell on Windows (#1731)

On Windows, bun/npm install gbrain as a gbrain.cmd/.ps1 shim and gstack-brain-sync
is a bash shebang script. spawnSync/spawn/execFileSync resolve neither without a
shell, so the child spawn failed ENOENT — on the sync orchestrator this surfaced
as 'brain-sync exited undefined' (#1731).

Add NEEDS_SHELL_ON_WINDOWS (process.platform === 'win32') in gbrain-exec and pass
it as shell: to every gbrain/brain-sync child spawn: spawnGbrain, spawnGbrainAsync,
execGbrainText (gbrain-exec), the two sources-list/remove/add spawns (gbrain-sources),
the version + probe spawns (gbrain-local-status), and the two brain-sync spawns in
the orchestrator. POSIX keeps the cheaper no-shell path.

macOS/Linux CI can't exercise the Windows path, so test/gbrain-spawn-windows-shell.ts
is a static-grep tripwire: it fails CI if a gbrain/brain-sync spawn is added without
the shell flag.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(catalog-trim): expect YAML-quoted descriptions with interior colons (#1778)

The quoting fix wraps colon-bearing catalog descriptions in double quotes;
two catalog-trim assertions still pinned the old unquoted form. Tolerate the
optional quotes.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(gbrain-sync): defensive guards against destructive gbrain ops (#1734)

The orchestrator shelled out to gbrain's destructive subcommands as if they were
safe. gbrain can rm-rf a user's working tree during an autopilot race (its own
bug, upstream gbrain #1526); gstack now defends itself. New lib/gbrain-guards.ts
gates the two destructive reach points, all checked immediately before the op:

- Autopilot refuse (multi-signal, affirmative-only): refuse a destructive op when
  a live 'gbrain autopilot' process (primary) or a known autopilot lock file
  (secondary; checked under both GBRAIN_HOME and ~/.gbrain since gbrain #1226
  ignores GBRAIN_HOME) is present. No signal → proceed; inability to introspect
  never bricks a normal sync.
- sources remove: routed through safeSourcesRemove → decideSourceRemove. Fail
  CLOSED — refuse to remove a user-managed source (remote_url set, local_path
  outside gbrain's clones) when gbrain has no --keep-storage to protect the files
  (it doesn't in 0.41.x). Also fail closed when the source list can't be read.
  Path containment uses realpath so a symlink can't smuggle a delete out of clones.
- sync --strategy code: decideCodeSync refuses URL-managed sources (remote_url
  set) unless --allow-reclone is passed, since the walk can auto-reclone (rm-rf).

Capability detection memoizes per process keyed to gbrain's identity (no stale
persistent cache); --keep-storage can't be probed (generic help) so it defaults
unsupported → fail closed. Every guard surfaces a visible reason; autopilot/reclone
refusals fail the code stage (verdict ERR) rather than silently skipping protection.

test/gbrain-guards.test.ts covers all branches hermetically (injected rows + probe
overrides): autopilot signals, fail-closed remove, keep-storage path, reclone gate,
realpath/symlink containment. Supersedes #1736 (which guarded a nonexistent path).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* docs(sync-gbrain): warn against running during autopilot; prefer --path sources (#1734)

Adds a Safety note to the /sync-gbrain guidance (template + regenerated SKILL.md +
this repo's CLAUDE.md): don't run while autopilot is active, and prefer
`gbrain sources add --path` over URL-managed sources, which can auto-reclone.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(memory-ingest): configurable import timeout + resume-on-timeout messaging (#1611)

The gbrain import (the long pole on big brains) had a hardcoded 30-min timeout,
so large memory corpora got SIGTERM'd mid-import on /sync-gbrain --full. Make it
configurable via GSTACK_INGEST_TIMEOUT_MS (default 30 min, validated 1min–24h).

gstack can't drive gbrain's internal resume, but the existing SIGTERM forwarder
already preserves gbrain's import-checkpoint.json, so the next run resumes. On a
timeout we now say so explicitly ('checkpoint preserved — re-run /sync-gbrain to
resume, raise GSTACK_INGEST_TIMEOUT_MS for big brains') instead of surfacing a
bare 'exited null'. True gstack-driven ingest-resume is deferred to gbrain
(.context/gbrain-asks.md).

Also guards the module's main() behind import.meta.main so resolveImportTimeoutMs
is unit-testable; the orchestrator runs it as a subprocess where main still fires.
New test/memory-ingest-timeout.test.ts pins default/override/invalid resolution.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(browse): stop the headed daemon crash-loop + silent headless downgrade (#1781)

A headed session against a beacon-heavy page (analytics/extension load) could tip
the single-threaded daemon into a self-inflicted crash-loop: a brief HTTP stall
was read as a crash, the restart didn't clear the dead Chromium's SingletonLock,
the relaunch failed, and the session silently came back headless. Four fixes:

1. Busy-vs-dead (sendCommand): on a connection error, if the process is alive give
   /health a bounded probe (3x/250ms) and just retry the command — never kill+restart
   a live-but-busy server. A 30s timeout now reports 'busy, not restarting' when the
   process is alive instead of exiting into a kill cycle.
2. Profile-lock cleanup on (re)start: startServer reaps the orphaned Chromium holding
   the SingletonLock and clears Singleton{Lock,Socket,Cookie} before relaunch, so the
   auto-restart path gets the same clean profile the manual connect preamble did.
3. Headed persistence: the restart env reapplies BROWSE_HEADED from this invocation OR
   the persisted server state (mode==='headed'), so a restart from a plain command
   never downgrades a headed window to invisible headless. Extracted to buildRestartEnv.
4. Force-clean disconnect reaps the Chromium child tree (via the SingletonLock PID) so
   the next connect starts clean instead of fighting an orphan.

Plus macOS window surfacing: connect + focus raise 'Google Chrome for Testing' to the
active Space (best-effort osascript) with a Mission Control hint — the first thing
users read as 'I can't see the browser'.

Shared lock helpers (chromiumProfileDir / cleanChromiumProfileLocks / killOrphanChromium)
dedupe the connect, disconnect, and restart paths. browse/test/restart-env.test.ts pins
the headed-persistence decision; the full crash-loop repro is an E2E (periodic).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* feat(gbrain-install): remove the v0.18.2 pin, install latest + version floor + doctor self-test (#1744)

The installer pinned gbrain at v0.18.2 while gbrain shipped v0.41.x — ~23 versions
behind. Remove the hard pin: a fresh clone now stays on the latest default-branch
HEAD. --pinned-commit <sha> still pins for reproducibility.

Unpinning removes the version gate the pin provided, so add two install-time gates
that fail closed (exit 3, matching the existing PATH-shadow/version-mismatch posture):
- MIN_GBRAIN_VERSION floor (0.20.0, the sources-list/federated surface gstack needs):
  refuse an install below it.
- gbrain doctor --fast self-test when a brain config already exists (re-install /
  detected clone): refuse to leave a broken gbrain in place. Pre-init installs skip
  it; the full /sync-gbrain --dry-run self-test runs from /setup-gbrain after init.

Docs updated (USING_GBRAIN_WITH_GSTACK.md no longer says 'edit PINNED_COMMIT').
Detect-install tests bump the success-path fixtures above the floor and add a
below-floor exit-3 test. The gbrain-side asks (root #1526 fix, --keep-storage,
remove-lease, capability command, ingest-resume, integration CI) are written to
.context/gbrain-asks.md for filing against garrytan/gbrain.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(#1778): update claude-ship golden + catalog-mode assertions for quoted descriptions

ship's catalog description ('Ship workflow: detect...') has an interior colon, so
the #1778 fix now YAML-quotes it. Refresh the claude-ship golden baseline to the
quoted output and make the catalog-mode-full trim/restore assertions quote-tolerant.
codex/factory ship goldens are unaffected (they use block-scalar descriptions).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(gen-skill-docs): use function replacer so a $ in a description can't corrupt frontmatter (#1778)

String.prototype.replace treats $&/$1/$` in the replacement as patterns. A future
skill description containing $ (e.g. referencing $B/$D) would silently corrupt the
generated frontmatter. Use a function replacer. Behavior-preserving for all current
descriptions (regen produces no diff).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* chore: bump version and changelog (v1.55.0.0)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* docs(gbrain): document configurable memory-ingest timeout for v1.55.0.0

USING_GBRAIN_WITH_GSTACK.md: note GSTACK_INGEST_TIMEOUT_MS (default 30 min,
1 min-24h range) on the /sync-gbrain memory stage, plus checkpoint-resume on
timeout. Fills the reference gap left by the configurable-import-timeout fix
(#1611) shipped in v1.55.0.0.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Jayesh Betala <jayesh.betala7@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

browse/src/cli.ts

@@ -211,6 +211,86 @@ function cleanupLegacyState(): void {
   }
 }
 
+// ─── Chromium profile lock helpers (#1781) ─────────────────────
+/** Profile dir used by headed/connect Chromium sessions. */
+function chromiumProfileDir(): string {
+  return path.join(process.env.HOME || '/tmp', '.gstack', 'chromium-profile');
+}
+
+/** Remove Chromium SingletonLock/Socket/Cookie so a relaunch can acquire the
+ * profile. Safe to call when absent. */
+function cleanChromiumProfileLocks(profileDir: string = chromiumProfileDir()): void {
+  for (const lockFile of ['SingletonLock', 'SingletonSocket', 'SingletonCookie']) {
+    safeUnlinkQuiet(path.join(profileDir, lockFile));
+  }
+}
+
+/** Kill an orphaned Chromium that still holds the profile's SingletonLock. The
+ * lock symlink target is "hostname-PID"; killing that PID tears down its
+ * renderer tree so the next launch starts clean. No-op when absent/stale. */
+async function killOrphanChromium(profileDir: string = chromiumProfileDir()): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const lockTarget = fs.readlinkSync(path.join(profileDir, 'SingletonLock')); // "hostname-12345"
+    const orphanPid = parseInt(lockTarget.split('-').pop() || '', 10);
+    if (orphanPid && isProcessAlive(orphanPid)) {
+      safeKill(orphanPid, 'SIGTERM');
+      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 1000));
+      if (isProcessAlive(orphanPid)) {
+        safeKill(orphanPid, 'SIGKILL');
+        await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
+      }
+    }
+  } catch (err: any) {
+    if (err?.code !== 'ENOENT' && err?.code !== 'EINVAL') throw err;
+  }
+}
+
+/** Bounded /health probe. Returns true if the server answers within `attempts`
+ * tries spaced `backoffMs` apart — distinguishes a busy-but-alive daemon from a
+ * dead one (#1781) so a slow server isn't killed and restarted into a crash-loop. */
+async function probeHealthWithBackoff(port: number, attempts = 3, backoffMs = 250): Promise<boolean> {
+  for (let i = 0; i < attempts; i++) {
+    if (await isServerHealthy(port)) return true;
+    if (i < attempts - 1) await Bun.sleep(backoffMs);
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build the env for an auto-restart after a crash. headed/proxy/configHash are
+ * reapplied from THIS invocation OR the persisted server state, so a restart
+ * triggered by a plain command (goto/status, no --headed flag) never silently
+ * downgrades a headed session to headless (#1781). Pure + exported for tests.
+ */
+export function buildRestartEnv(
+  globalFlags: GlobalFlags | null | undefined,
+  oldState: ServerState | null,
+): Record<string, string> {
+  const env: Record<string, string> = {};
+  if (globalFlags?.proxyUrl) env.BROWSE_PROXY_URL = globalFlags.proxyUrl;
+  if (globalFlags?.headed || oldState?.mode === 'headed') env.BROWSE_HEADED = '1';
+  const configHash = globalFlags?.configHash || oldState?.configHash;
+  if (configHash) env.BROWSE_CONFIG_HASH = configHash;
+  return env;
+}
+
+/** macOS only: pull the headed Chromium window to the user's current Space.
+ * "Google Chrome for Testing" frequently opens behind the active window or on
+ * another Space — the first thing users read as "I can't see the browser"
+ * (#1781). Best-effort, fire-and-forget, never throws. The app name is a fixed
+ * literal (no interpolation). */
+function raiseHeadedWindowMacOS(): void {
+  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') return;
+  try {
+    nodeSpawn('osascript', ['-e', 'tell application "Google Chrome for Testing" to activate'], {
+      stdio: 'ignore',
+      detached: true,
+    }).unref();
+  } catch {
+    // osascript missing or app not present — non-fatal
+  }
+}
+
 // ─── Server Lifecycle ──────────────────────────────────────────
 async function startServer(extraEnv?: Record<string, string>): Promise<ServerState> {
   ensureStateDir(config);
@@ -219,6 +299,13 @@ async function startServer(extraEnv?: Record<string, string>): Promise<ServerSta
   safeUnlink(config.stateFile);
   safeUnlink(path.join(config.stateDir, 'browse-startup-error.log'));
 
+  // #1781: clear a stale Chromium profile lock (and kill the orphan still
+  // holding it) before launch, so an auto-restart after an abrupt kill isn't
+  // blocked by the previous Chromium's SingletonLock — the self-inflicted
+  // crash-loop. Previously only the manual connect preamble did this.
+  await killOrphanChromium();
+  cleanChromiumProfileLocks();
+
   // Allow the caller to opt out of the parent-process watchdog by setting
   // BROWSE_PARENT_PID=0 in the environment. Useful for CI, non-interactive
   // shells, and short-lived Bash invocations that need the server to outlive
@@ -486,26 +573,42 @@ async function sendCommand(state: ServerState, command: string, args: string[],
     }
   } catch (err: any) {
     if (err.name === 'AbortError') {
-      console.error('[browse] Command timed out after 30s');
+      // #1781: a 30s timeout on a heavy page usually means busy, not dead.
+      // Don't kill a live server (that's what triggered the crash-loop) — report
+      // and exit so the user can retry rather than losing their (headed) window.
+      const ts = readState();
+      const alive = ts?.pid ? isProcessAlive(ts.pid) : false;
+      console.error(alive
+        ? '[browse] Command timed out after 30s (server still alive — busy, not restarting). Retry, or raise load.'
+        : '[browse] Command timed out after 30s');
       process.exit(1);
     }
-    // Connection error — server may have crashed
+    // Connection error — server may have crashed, OR may just be busy.
     if (err.code === 'ECONNREFUSED' || err.code === 'ECONNRESET' || err.message?.includes('fetch failed')) {
+      const oldState = readState();
+      // #1781 busy-vs-dead: a single-threaded daemon under beacon/extension load
+      // can briefly stop answering HTTP while still alive. Before declaring a
+      // crash, if the process is alive give /health a bounded chance to recover
+      // and just retry the command — never kill+restart a live-but-busy server.
+      if (oldState?.pid && isProcessAlive(oldState.pid) && await probeHealthWithBackoff(oldState.port)) {
+        if (retries >= 1) throw new Error('[browse] Server unresponsive after retry — aborting');
+        console.error('[browse] Server was briefly unresponsive (busy); retrying command...');
+        return sendCommand(oldState, command, args, retries + 1);
+      }
+      // Truly dead (or health never recovered) → restart.
       if (retries >= 1) throw new Error('[browse] Server crashed twice in a row — aborting');
       console.error('[browse] Server connection lost. Restarting...');
-      // Kill the old server to avoid orphaned chromium processes
-      const oldState = readState();
       if (oldState && oldState.pid) {
         await killServer(oldState.pid);
       }
-      // Reapply --proxy / --headed flags from this invocation when restarting
-      // after a crash. Without this, a proxied daemon that dies mid-command
-      // would silently restart in default direct/headless mode and bypass
-      // the SOCKS bridge.
-      const restartEnv: Record<string, string> = {};
-      if (_globalFlags?.proxyUrl) restartEnv.BROWSE_PROXY_URL = _globalFlags.proxyUrl;
-      if (_globalFlags?.headed) restartEnv.BROWSE_HEADED = '1';
-      if (_globalFlags?.configHash) restartEnv.BROWSE_CONFIG_HASH = _globalFlags.configHash;
+      // startServer() now clears the Chromium SingletonLock + reaps the orphan,
+      // so the relaunch isn't blocked by the dead Chromium's profile lock (#1781).
+      //
+      // Reapply --proxy / --headed when restarting. headed comes from THIS
+      // invocation OR the persisted server mode, so a restart triggered by a
+      // plain command (goto/status, no --headed) never silently downgrades a
+      // headed session to headless (#1781). Same for proxy/configHash.
+      const restartEnv = buildRestartEnv(_globalFlags, oldState);
       const newState = await startServer(Object.keys(restartEnv).length ? restartEnv : undefined);
       return sendCommand(newState, command, args, retries + 1);
     }
@@ -966,30 +1069,11 @@ Refs:           After 'snapshot', use @e1, @e2... as selectors:
       }
     }
 
-    // Kill orphaned Chromium processes that may still hold the profile lock.
-    // The server PID is the Bun process; Chromium is a child that can outlive it
-    // if the server is killed abruptly (SIGKILL, crash, manual rm of state file).
-    const profileDir = path.join(process.env.HOME || '/tmp', '.gstack', 'chromium-profile');
-    try {
-      const singletonLock = path.join(profileDir, 'SingletonLock');
-      const lockTarget = fs.readlinkSync(singletonLock); // e.g. "hostname-12345"
-      const orphanPid = parseInt(lockTarget.split('-').pop() || '', 10);
-      if (orphanPid && isProcessAlive(orphanPid)) {
-        safeKill(orphanPid, 'SIGTERM');
-        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
-        if (isProcessAlive(orphanPid)) {
-          safeKill(orphanPid, 'SIGKILL');
-          await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 500));
-        }
-      }
-    } catch (err: any) {
-      if (err?.code !== 'ENOENT' && err?.code !== 'EINVAL') throw err;
-    }
-
-    // Clean up Chromium profile locks (can persist after crashes)
-    for (const lockFile of ['SingletonLock', 'SingletonSocket', 'SingletonCookie']) {
-      safeUnlinkQuiet(path.join(profileDir, lockFile));
-    }
+    // Kill an orphaned Chromium still holding the profile lock (the Bun server
+    // PID's Chromium child can outlive an abrupt kill/crash), then clear the
+    // lock files so the launch is clean. Shared with the auto-restart path (#1781).
+    await killOrphanChromium();
+    cleanChromiumProfileLocks();
 
     // Delete stale state file
     safeUnlinkQuiet(config.stateFile);
@@ -1027,6 +1111,11 @@ Refs:           After 'snapshot', use @e1, @e2... as selectors:
       });
       const status = await resp.text();
       console.log(`Connected to real Chrome\n${status}`);
+      // #1781: surface the window — it often opens behind/on another Space.
+      raiseHeadedWindowMacOS();
+      if (process.platform === 'darwin') {
+        console.log('(If you still don\'t see it, check Mission Control / other Spaces.)');
+      }
 
       // sidebar-agent.ts spawn was here. Ripped alongside the chat queue —
       // the Terminal pane runs an interactive PTY now, no more one-shot
@@ -1194,11 +1283,11 @@ Refs:           After 'snapshot', use @e1, @e2... as selectors:
         safeKill(existingState.pid, 'SIGKILL');
       }
     }
-    // Clean profile locks and state file
-    const profileDir = path.join(process.env.HOME || '/tmp', '.gstack', 'chromium-profile');
-    for (const lockFile of ['SingletonLock', 'SingletonSocket', 'SingletonCookie']) {
-      safeUnlinkQuiet(path.join(profileDir, lockFile));
-    }
+    // #1781: killing the daemon can orphan its Chromium child tree, which keeps
+    // holding the SingletonLock and makes the next `connect` fail to launch.
+    // Reap the orphan via the lock, then clear the lock files + state.
+    await killOrphanChromium();
+    cleanChromiumProfileLocks();
     // Xvfb orphan cleanup: if the recorded PID still matches our Xvfb (by
     // cmdline AND start-time), kill it. PID-only would risk killing a
     // recycled PID belonging to an unrelated process.
@@ -1258,6 +1347,11 @@ Refs:           After 'snapshot', use @e1, @e2... as selectors:
   }
 
   await sendCommand(state, command, commandArgs);
+
+  // #1781: `focus` means "show me the window". The server-side focus activates
+  // the page via CDP, but on macOS the app can still sit on another Space — pull
+  // it to the user's current Space too.
+  if (command === 'focus') raiseHeadedWindowMacOS();
 }
 
 if (import.meta.main) {

browse/test/restart-env.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { describe, test, expect } from "bun:test";
+import { buildRestartEnv } from "../src/cli";
+
+// #1781: an auto-restart triggered by a plain command (no --headed flag) must
+// NOT silently downgrade a headed session to headless. buildRestartEnv reapplies
+// headed/proxy/configHash from this invocation OR the persisted server state.
+describe("buildRestartEnv (#1781 headed persistence)", () => {
+  const headedState = { pid: 1, port: 9, token: "t", startedAt: "", serverPath: "", mode: "headed" as const };
+  const launchedState = { pid: 1, port: 9, token: "t", startedAt: "", serverPath: "", mode: "launched" as const };
+
+  test("headed flag on this invocation → BROWSE_HEADED=1", () => {
+    expect(buildRestartEnv({ headed: true } as any, null).BROWSE_HEADED).toBe("1");
+  });
+
+  test("plain command + persisted headed state → still BROWSE_HEADED=1 (the regression)", () => {
+    const env = buildRestartEnv({} as any, headedState as any);
+    expect(env.BROWSE_HEADED).toBe("1");
+  });
+
+  test("plain command + headless state → no BROWSE_HEADED (no spurious headed)", () => {
+    const env = buildRestartEnv({} as any, launchedState as any);
+    expect(env.BROWSE_HEADED).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  test("nothing set → empty env", () => {
+    expect(buildRestartEnv(null, null)).toEqual({});
+  });
+
+  test("proxy + configHash reapplied from flags", () => {
+    const env = buildRestartEnv({ proxyUrl: "socks5://x", configHash: "abc" } as any, null);
+    expect(env.BROWSE_PROXY_URL).toBe("socks5://x");
+    expect(env.BROWSE_CONFIG_HASH).toBe("abc");
+  });
+
+  test("configHash falls back to persisted state", () => {
+    const env = buildRestartEnv({} as any, { ...launchedState, configHash: "fromstate" } as any);
+    expect(env.BROWSE_CONFIG_HASH).toBe("fromstate");
+  });
+});