Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into ponytail-inspiration-review

# Conflicts:
#	CHANGELOG.md
#	TODOS.md
#	VERSION
#	docs/TESTING_INTERNALS.md
#	package.json
#	scripts/test-free-shards.ts
#	test/helpers/llm-judge.ts
#	test/helpers/touchfiles-data.ts

.github/workflows/actionlint.yml

@@ -6,11 +6,11 @@ on:
     branches: [main]
   pull_request:
 
-# Cancel superseded runs for the same branch (matches evals.yml,
-# windows-free-tests.yml, etc.). head_ref is set on pull_request; ref_name is
-# the fallback for push so a rapid push series doesn't pile up stale lint runs.
+# PR-number keyed (run_id fallback for push): a bare branch name carries no
+# fork prefix, so same-name branches from two forks would share one group and
+# cancel each other's runs (same rationale as free-tests.yml).
 concurrency:
-  group: actionlint-${{ github.head_ref || github.ref_name }}
+  group: actionlint-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.run_id }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 # Lint needs nothing from the token; the job runs a third-party image with
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ permissions:
 jobs:
   actionlint:
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-2
+    timeout-minutes: 5
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:

.github/workflows/ci-image.yml

@@ -1,21 +1,33 @@
 name: Build CI Image
 on:
-  # Rebuild weekly (Monday 6am UTC) to pick up CLI updates
+  # Rebuild weekly (Monday 4am UTC) to pick up CLI updates — deliberately 2h
+  # BEFORE evals-periodic's 6am cron so the weekly eval run finds a fresh
+  # image instead of racing a half-pushed tag or duplicating the build.
   schedule:
-    - cron: '0 6 * * 1'
-  # Rebuild on Dockerfile or lockfile changes
+    - cron: '0 4 * * 1'
+  # Rebuild on Dockerfile or lockfile changes. package.json is deliberately
+  # NOT a trigger: the tag hash below excludes it (its version field bumps on
+  # every ship), so a package.json-triggered run rebuilt and re-pushed the
+  # IDENTICAL tag on every merge to main (~2m26s each for zero content change).
   push:
     branches: [main]
     paths:
       - '.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci'
-      - 'package.json'
       - 'bun.lock'
+      - 'patches/**'
   # Manual trigger
   workflow_dispatch:
 
+# Two rapid main pushes must not race pushing the same :latest/:buildcache
+# tags; newest wins.
+concurrency:
+  group: ci-image-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
 jobs:
   build:
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
+    timeout-minutes: 30
     permissions:
       contents: read
       packages: write
@@ -25,9 +37,10 @@ jobs:
       # Copy lockfile + package.json into Docker build context
       - run: cp package.json bun.lock .github/docker/ && cp -R patches .github/docker/patches
 
-      # Same content-hash tag expression as evals.yml / evals-periodic.yml.
-      # This is the tag the eval matrix looks up first — without pushing it
-      # here, the weekly/main prebuild never warms the cache that matters.
+      # Same content-hash tag expression as evals.yml / evals-periodic.yml
+      # (byte-identity pinned by test/ci-image-tag-binding.test.ts). This is
+      # the tag the eval matrix looks up first — without pushing it here, the
+      # weekly/main prebuild never warms the cache that matters.
       - id: meta
         run: echo "tag=ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/ci:${{ hashFiles('.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci', 'bun.lock', 'patches/**') }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
@@ -37,11 +50,25 @@ jobs:
           username: ${{ github.actor }}
           password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
+      # Skip the ~2.5min build when the content-hash tag already exists
+      # (mirrors evals.yml's check). The weekly cron still refreshes :latest
+      # via a full run when the tag is genuinely new.
+      - name: Check if image exists
+        id: check
+        run: |
+          if docker manifest inspect ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tag }} > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "exists=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "exists=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
       # Registry cache export needs a docker-container builder — the default
       # `docker` driver hard-errors on cache-to.
-      - uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
+      - if: steps.check.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
 
-      - uses: docker/build-push-action@v7
+      - if: steps.check.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@v7
         with:
           context: .github/docker
           file: .github/docker/Dockerfile.ci

.github/workflows/dependency-review.yml

@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ on:
       - 'bun.lock'
       - '**/package.json'
       - '**/bun.lock'
-      - '.github/workflows/**'
 
 concurrency:
   group: dependency-review-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
@@ -18,8 +17,8 @@ permissions:
 
 jobs:
   dependency-review:
-    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
-    timeout-minutes: 10
+    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-2
+    timeout-minutes: 5
     permissions:
       contents: read
       pull-requests: write

.github/workflows/evals-periodic.yml

@@ -1,7 +1,18 @@
 name: Periodic Evals
+# The weekly coverage contract: EVERY periodic-tier paid test runs (EVALS_ALL,
+# minus the reasoned excludes in test/helpers/periodic-exclude-data.ts), so
+# tests can't rot invisibly — the class where the autoplan-dual-voice E2E was
+# silently broken for months until a lucky local diff selected it. Engine:
+# scripts/test-paid-shards.ts (the same runner local eval:bg:periodic uses):
+# one planner manifest, 6 executor slices, and a FAIL-CLOSED report — a slice
+# whose artifact never landed is a failure, not an absence. The gate-census
+# job is the weekly EVALS_ALL backstop for the gate tier (PR lanes are
+# diff-billed, so without it the full gate census might never execute
+# anywhere); the hollow-shard guard (exit 0 + zero executed tests under
+# EVALS_ALL fails) makes both lanes census-health checks, not just test runs.
 on:
   schedule:
-    - cron: '0 6 * * 1'  # Monday 6 AM UTC
+    - cron: '0 6 * * 1'  # Monday 6 AM UTC (ci-image prebuilds at 4 AM)
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 concurrency:
@@ -10,12 +21,11 @@ concurrency:
 
 env:
   IMAGE: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/ci
-  EVALS_TIER: periodic
-  EVALS_ALL: 1  # Ignore diff — run all periodic tests
 
 jobs:
   build-image:
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
+    timeout-minutes: 15
     permissions:
       contents: read
       packages: write
@@ -27,6 +37,7 @@ jobs:
       - id: meta
         # Keep in sync with evals.yml — key on Dockerfile + lockfile only
         # (package.json's version field would bust the key on every ship).
+        # Byte-identity pinned by test/ci-image-tag-binding.test.ts.
         run: echo "tag=${{ env.IMAGE }}:${{ hashFiles('.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci', 'bun.lock', 'patches/**') }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - uses: docker/login-action@v4
@@ -65,51 +76,72 @@ jobs:
             ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tag }}
             ${{ env.IMAGE }}:latest
 
-  evals:
+  plan-slices:
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
     needs: build-image
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: read
     container:
       image: ${{ needs.build-image.outputs.image-tag }}
       credentials:
         username: ${{ github.actor }}
         password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       options: --user runner
-    timeout-minutes: 25
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        suite:
-          - name: e2e-plan
-            file: test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-design
-            file: test/skill-e2e-design.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-qa-bugs
-            file: test/skill-e2e-qa-bugs.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-qa-workflow
-            file: test/skill-e2e-qa-workflow.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-review
-            file: test/skill-e2e-review.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-retro
-            file: test/skill-e2e-retro.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-preamble-ab
-            file: test/skill-e2e-preamble-script-ab.test.ts
-          # e2e-review-attribution, e2e-coverage-audit, and e2e-triage are
-          # gate-only (every test they hold is gate-tier) — deliberately absent
-          # here; an all-skip shard would just burn a container boot weekly.
-          - name: e2e-workflow
-            file: test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-routing
-            file: test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-codex
-            file: test/codex-e2e.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-codex-sol-scope
-            file: test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-gemini
-            file: test/gemini-e2e.test.ts
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Restore deps
+        run: |
+          if [ -d /opt/node_modules_cache ] && diff -q /opt/node_modules_cache/.bun.lock bun.lock >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            cp -r /opt/node_modules_cache node_modules
+          else
+            bun install
+          fi
+
+      - name: Emit run manifest (ALL periodic tests minus reasoned excludes)
+        env:
+          EVALS_ALL: "1"
+        run: EVALS_TIER=periodic bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier periodic --emit-plan /tmp/paid-plan/manifest.json --slices 6
+
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          name: paid-plan
+          path: /tmp/paid-plan/manifest.json
+          retention-days: 30
+
+  eval-slices:
+    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
+    needs: [build-image, plan-slices]
+    # ~70 shards / 6 slices / EVALS_JOBS=2, 1800s shard wall — worst case is
+    # bounded by ceil(12/2) x 30min; typical is far under.
+    timeout-minutes: 200
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: read
+    container:
+      image: ${{ needs.build-image.outputs.image-tag }}
+      credentials:
+        username: ${{ github.actor }}
+        password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      options: --user runner
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        slice: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          # Full history: files with SELF-derived selection (the LLM-judge
+          # map, routing) walk git at module load, and selection is
+          # fail-closed on git errors — a shallow checkout crashed those
+          # shards on the lane's first live run ("ambiguous argument
+          # 'main...HEAD'"). The manifest still governs WHICH shards run.
           fetch-depth: 0
+          persist-credentials: false
 
       - name: Fix bun temp
         run: |
@@ -120,10 +152,6 @@ jobs:
             echo "TMPDIR=/home/runner/.cache"
           } >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
-      # Recursive copy (cp -r) instead of symlink: bun build resolves a
-      # file's realpath when looking for sibling deps. See evals.yml for the
-      # full explanation. cp -al would be faster but /opt and /workspace
-      # are on different overlay-fs layers, so cross-device hardlink fails.
       - name: Restore deps
         run: |
           if [ -d /opt/node_modules_cache ] && diff -q /opt/node_modules_cache/.bun.lock bun.lock >/dev/null 2>&1; then
@@ -134,19 +162,231 @@ jobs:
 
       - run: bun run build
 
-      - name: Run ${{ matrix.suite.name }}
+      # Any slice can host a PTY test — seed + registration run
+      # unconditionally (idempotent; mirrors evals.yml's sliced lane).
+      - name: Seed claude interactive config
+        env:
+          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
+        run: |
+          node -e '
+            const fs = require("fs"), os = require("os"), path = require("path");
+            const p = path.join(os.homedir(), ".claude.json");
+            const seed = fs.existsSync(p) ? JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(p, "utf8")) : {};
+            seed.hasCompletedOnboarding = true;
+            const key = process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY || "";
+            if (key) seed.customApiKeyResponses = { approved: [key.slice(-20)], rejected: [] };
+            fs.writeFileSync(p, JSON.stringify(seed, null, 2));
+            console.log("seeded", p);
+          '
+
+      - name: Register gstack skills for PTY tests
+        run: |
+          set -eu
+          SKILLS_DIR="$HOME/.claude/skills"
+          REPO="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE"
+          mkdir -p "$SKILLS_DIR"
+          ln -snf "$REPO" "$SKILLS_DIR/gstack"
+          for s in office-hours plan-ceo-review plan-eng-review plan-design-review; do
+            rm -rf "${SKILLS_DIR:?}/$s"
+            mkdir -p "$SKILLS_DIR/$s"
+            cp "$REPO/$s/SKILL.md" "$SKILLS_DIR/$s/SKILL.md"
+            cp -R "$REPO/$s/sections" "$SKILLS_DIR/$s/sections"
+          done
+          PROJ_SKILLS="$REPO/.claude/skills"
+          mkdir -p "$PROJ_SKILLS"
+          for s in office-hours plan-ceo-review plan-eng-review plan-design-review; do
+            rm -rf "${PROJ_SKILLS:?}/$s"
+            mkdir -p "$PROJ_SKILLS/$s"
+            cp "$REPO/$s/SKILL.md" "$PROJ_SKILLS/$s/SKILL.md"
+            cp -R "$REPO/$s/sections" "$PROJ_SKILLS/$s/sections"
+          done
+          mkdir -p "$HOME/.gstack"
+          touch "$HOME/.gstack/.activated" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.first-loop-tip-shown" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.telemetry-prompted" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.proactive-prompted" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.plan-tune-nudge-shown"
+          touch "$SKILLS_DIR/gstack/.feature-prompted-continuous-checkpoint" \
+                "$SKILLS_DIR/gstack/.feature-prompted-model-overlay"
+
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+        with:
+          name: paid-plan
+          path: /tmp/paid-plan
+
+      - name: Run slice ${{ matrix.slice }}/6
         env:
           ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
           OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}
           GEMINI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.GEMINI_API_KEY }}
-          EVALS_CONCURRENCY: "40"
           PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH: /opt/playwright-browsers
-        run: EVALS=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency 40 ${{ matrix.suite.file }}
+          EVALS_JOBS: "2"
+          EVALS_CONCURRENCY: "2"
+          GSTACK_EVAL_DIR: /tmp/paid-slice-results
+        run: EVALS_TIER=periodic bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier periodic --plan /tmp/paid-plan/manifest.json --slice ${{ matrix.slice }}
 
-      - name: Upload eval results
+      - name: Upload slice results
         if: always()
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
-          name: eval-periodic-${{ matrix.suite.name }}
-          path: ~/.gstack-dev/evals/*.json
+          name: paid-slice-${{ matrix.slice }}
+          path: /tmp/paid-slice-results
           retention-days: 90
+
+      - name: Upload shard logs on failure
+        if: failure()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          name: paid-slice-${{ matrix.slice }}-logs
+          # The Fix-bun-temp step points TMPDIR at /home/runner/.cache, so the
+          # runner's spool lands THERE, not /tmp — the original /tmp glob
+          # uploaded nothing and a red slice's diagnostics were unreachable.
+          path: |
+            /home/runner/.cache/gstack-paid-shard-*.log
+            /tmp/gstack-paid-shard-*.log
+          if-no-files-found: ignore
+          retention-days: 30
+
+  # Weekly EVALS_ALL gate-tier census: PR lanes are diff-billed, so without
+  # this the full gate census might never execute anywhere and the selector's
+  # blind spots rot invisibly. Census health, not selector correctness —
+  # selector logic has free synthetic-diff contract tests.
+  gate-census:
+    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
+    needs: build-image
+    timeout-minutes: 300
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: read
+    container:
+      image: ${{ needs.build-image.outputs.image-tag }}
+      credentials:
+        username: ${{ github.actor }}
+        password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      options: --user runner
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          # Full history: files with SELF-derived selection (the LLM-judge
+          # map, routing) walk git at module load, and selection is
+          # fail-closed on git errors — a shallow checkout crashed those
+          # shards on the lane's first live run ("ambiguous argument
+          # 'main...HEAD'"). The manifest still governs WHICH shards run.
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Fix bun temp
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p /home/runner/.cache/bun
+          {
+            echo "BUN_INSTALL_CACHE_DIR=/home/runner/.cache/bun"
+            echo "BUN_TMPDIR=/home/runner/.cache/bun"
+            echo "TMPDIR=/home/runner/.cache"
+          } >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+      - name: Restore deps
+        run: |
+          if [ -d /opt/node_modules_cache ] && diff -q /opt/node_modules_cache/.bun.lock bun.lock >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            cp -r /opt/node_modules_cache node_modules
+          else
+            bun install
+          fi
+
+      - run: bun run build
+
+      - name: Run full gate census
+        env:
+          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
+          OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}
+          GEMINI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.GEMINI_API_KEY }}
+          PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH: /opt/playwright-browsers
+          EVALS_ALL: "1"
+          EVALS_JOBS: "4"
+          EVALS_CONCURRENCY: "2"
+          GSTACK_EVAL_DIR: /tmp/gate-census-results
+        run: EVALS_TIER=gate bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier gate
+
+      - name: Upload census results
+        if: always()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          name: gate-census
+          path: /tmp/gate-census-results
+          retention-days: 90
+
+  report:
+    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-2
+    needs: [plan-slices, eval-slices, gate-census]
+    # always(): the report must run (and FAIL) when an executor died — a
+    # missing slice artifact reading as green is the class this lane kills.
+    if: always() && needs.plan-slices.result == 'success'
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      # The failure notification below upserts a tracking issue via
+      # `gh api /issues` — gated by the issues permission.
+      issues: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
+        with:
+          bun-version: 1.3.13
+
+      - run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
+
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+        with:
+          name: paid-plan
+          path: /tmp/paid-report
+
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+        with:
+          pattern: paid-slice-[0-9]*
+          path: /tmp/paid-report
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: Reconcile slices against the manifest (fail-closed)
+        id: reconcile
+        run: |
+          set +e
+          EVALS_TIER=periodic bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier periodic --report /tmp/paid-report | tee /tmp/report.txt
+          echo "exit=$?" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      # A red weekly lane nobody must action is waste — upsert ONE tracking
+      # issue (never a new issue per week) with the reconciliation output, so
+      # failures have an owner-visible artifact with history in one place.
+      - name: Upsert tracking issue on failure
+        if: steps.reconcile.outputs.exit != '0' || needs.gate-census.result == 'failure'
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          TITLE="Weekly periodic evals: red lane needs triage"
+          BODY_FILE=/tmp/issue-body.md
+          {
+            echo "Automated weekly report — run: ${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}/actions/runs/${GITHUB_RUN_ID}"
+            echo
+            echo "- periodic reconciliation exit: ${{ steps.reconcile.outputs.exit }}"
+            echo "- gate census job: ${{ needs.gate-census.result }}"
+            echo
+            echo '```'
+            tail -c 6000 /tmp/report.txt 2>/dev/null || echo "(no reconciliation output)"
+            echo '```'
+            echo
+            echo "Exclusion policy: test/helpers/periodic-exclude-data.ts (every entry needs reason + tracking; removal re-activates the file next week)."
+          } > "$BODY_FILE"
+          EXISTING=$(gh issue list --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --state open --search "in:title \"$TITLE\"" --json number --jq '.[0].number // empty')
+          if [ -n "$EXISTING" ]; then
+            gh issue comment "$EXISTING" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --body-file "$BODY_FILE"
+            echo "commented on #$EXISTING"
+          else
+            gh issue create --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --title "$TITLE" --body-file "$BODY_FILE"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Fail the workflow when reconciliation failed
+        if: steps.reconcile.outputs.exit != '0'
+        run: exit 1

.github/workflows/evals.yml

@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@ on:
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
   workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      evals_all:
+        description: 'Run ALL gate tests in the sliced lane (bypass diff selection; also arms the hollow-shard guard)'
+        type: boolean
+        default: true
 
 concurrency:
   group: evals-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.run_id }}
@@ -22,6 +27,7 @@ jobs:
     # diff — a maintainer's next push rebuilds the image with real perms.
     if: github.actor != 'dependabot[bot]'
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
+    timeout-minutes: 15
     permissions:
       contents: read
       packages: write
@@ -89,6 +95,13 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.suite.runner || 'ubicloud-standard-8' }}
     needs: build-image
     if: github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository
+    # Least privilege for the job that executes PR-authored code with three
+    # provider API keys in env: read-only contents, packages:read for the
+    # container-image pull below. Without this block the job ran on the
+    # repo-default token grant.
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: read
     container:
       image: ${{ needs.build-image.outputs.image-tag }}
       credentials:
@@ -154,10 +167,10 @@ jobs:
             tier: gate
           - name: e2e-routing
             file: test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-codex
-            file: test/codex-e2e.test.ts
-          - name: e2e-gemini
-            file: test/gemini-e2e.test.ts
+          # (e2e-codex / e2e-gemini rows deleted: both files are whole-file
+          # periodic-tier, so with no row tier: they ran ZERO tests and
+          # reported green on every PR — ~2 min of runner per PR of pure
+          # false confidence. The periodic lane owns these suites.)
           # Real-PTY plan-mode smokes. Only the deterministically-reliable ones
           # are CI-gated: office-hours (asks its mode question first, caught by
           # the collapsed/bullet prose-AUQ detector) and plan-mode-no-op (no
@@ -167,6 +180,10 @@ jobs:
           # wedge on the fresh-container onboarding/API-key dialog.
           - name: e2e-pty-plan-smoke
             file: test/skill-e2e-office-hours-auto-mode.test.ts test/skill-e2e-plan-mode-no-op.test.ts
+            # Both files are whole-file describeE2ETier('gate') — without this
+            # row tier: the job burned ~7 min of setup then skipped every
+            # describe (hollow-green since the files adopted the self-gate).
+            tier: gate
             timeout: 35
             # The documented contention-heavy PTY family: ROTATING members
             # failed attempt 2 in consecutive PR #2593 rounds
@@ -178,6 +195,9 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
+          # Don't write the token into .git/config — this job runs
+          # PR-authored code; nothing in it pushes.
+          persist-credentials: false
 
       # Bun creates root-owned temp dirs during Docker build. GH Actions runs as
       # runner user with HOME=/github/home. Redirect bun's cache to a writable dir.
@@ -468,3 +488,232 @@ jobs:
           else
             gh pr comment "${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}" --body "$BODY"
           fi
+
+  # ── Sliced lane (paid-CI re-platform, parity phase) ─────────────────────────
+  # One PLANNER computes diff selection + the slice plan ONCE (killing
+  # per-slice selector divergence); K executors consume the manifest; the
+  # report reconciles results against it FAIL-CLOSED (a slice whose artifact
+  # never landed is a failure, a planned shard nobody reported is a failure —
+  # hollow lanes cannot aggregate green). Runs AFTER the matrix (`needs:
+  # evals`) so provider concurrency never doubles while both lanes coexist;
+  # once parity is demonstrated the matrix + its ratchets are deleted and this
+  # lane loses the needs edge. Engine: scripts/test-paid-shards.ts — the same
+  # runner local eval:bg:gate uses, so CI and local share one selection engine.
+  plan-slices:
+    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
+    needs: [build-image, evals]
+    if: always() && needs.build-image.result == 'success' && (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository)
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: read
+    container:
+      image: ${{ needs.build-image.outputs.image-tag }}
+      credentials:
+        username: ${{ github.actor }}
+        password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      options: --user runner
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          # The planner is the ONE place that needs history: diff selection
+          # resolves a merge-base. Executors run from the manifest and stay
+          # shallow. Selection fails OPEN (run-all) if resolution fails — the
+          # documented posture; a planner bug can only run extra work.
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Restore deps
+        run: |
+          if [ -d /opt/node_modules_cache ] && diff -q /opt/node_modules_cache/.bun.lock bun.lock >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            cp -r /opt/node_modules_cache node_modules
+          else
+            bun install
+          fi
+
+      - name: Emit run manifest
+        env:
+          EVALS_ALL: ${{ (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.evals_all) && '1' || '' }}
+        run: EVALS_TIER=gate bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier gate --emit-plan /tmp/paid-plan/manifest.json --slices 6
+
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          name: paid-plan
+          path: /tmp/paid-plan/manifest.json
+          retention-days: 30
+
+  eval-slices:
+    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
+    needs: [build-image, plan-slices]
+    if: always() && needs.plan-slices.result == 'success'
+    # Aggregate spawn-concurrency budget: 6 slices x EVALS_JOBS=2 x
+    # EVALS_CONCURRENCY=2 = 24 concurrent tests lane-wide (the old matrix's
+    # 40-way per row queued claude session STARTUP behind 39 siblings and ate
+    # per-test budgets — the documented timeout-flake family). Tune with
+    # parity data before raising.
+    timeout-minutes: 35
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: read
+    container:
+      image: ${{ needs.build-image.outputs.image-tag }}
+      credentials:
+        username: ${{ github.actor }}
+        password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      options: --user runner
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        slice: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          # Full history: files with SELF-derived selection (the LLM-judge
+          # map, routing) walk git at module load, and selection is
+          # fail-closed on git errors — a shallow checkout crashed those
+          # shards on the lane's first live run ("ambiguous argument
+          # 'main...HEAD'"). The manifest still governs WHICH shards run.
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Fix bun temp
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p /home/runner/.cache/bun
+          {
+            echo "BUN_INSTALL_CACHE_DIR=/home/runner/.cache/bun"
+            echo "BUN_TMPDIR=/home/runner/.cache/bun"
+            echo "TMPDIR=/home/runner/.cache"
+          } >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+      - name: Restore deps
+        run: |
+          if [ -d /opt/node_modules_cache ] && diff -q /opt/node_modules_cache/.bun.lock bun.lock >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            cp -r /opt/node_modules_cache node_modules
+          else
+            bun install
+          fi
+
+      - run: bun run build
+
+      # Any slice can host a PTY smoke, so the seed/registration steps run
+      # UNCONDITIONALLY (both are idempotent) — the old matrix keyed them on
+      # matrix.suite.name, which a sliced lane cannot do.
+      - name: Seed claude interactive config
+        env:
+          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
+        run: |
+          node -e '
+            const fs = require("fs"), os = require("os"), path = require("path");
+            const p = path.join(os.homedir(), ".claude.json");
+            const seed = fs.existsSync(p) ? JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(p, "utf8")) : {};
+            seed.hasCompletedOnboarding = true;
+            const key = process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY || "";
+            if (key) seed.customApiKeyResponses = { approved: [key.slice(-20)], rejected: [] };
+            fs.writeFileSync(p, JSON.stringify(seed, null, 2));
+            console.log("seeded", p);
+          '
+
+      - name: Register gstack skills for PTY smokes
+        run: |
+          set -eu
+          SKILLS_DIR="$HOME/.claude/skills"
+          REPO="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE"
+          mkdir -p "$SKILLS_DIR"
+          ln -snf "$REPO" "$SKILLS_DIR/gstack"
+          for s in office-hours plan-ceo-review plan-eng-review plan-design-review; do
+            rm -rf "${SKILLS_DIR:?}/$s"
+            mkdir -p "$SKILLS_DIR/$s"
+            cp "$REPO/$s/SKILL.md" "$SKILLS_DIR/$s/SKILL.md"
+            cp -R "$REPO/$s/sections" "$SKILLS_DIR/$s/sections"
+          done
+          PROJ_SKILLS="$REPO/.claude/skills"
+          mkdir -p "$PROJ_SKILLS"
+          for s in office-hours plan-ceo-review plan-eng-review plan-design-review; do
+            rm -rf "${PROJ_SKILLS:?}/$s"
+            mkdir -p "$PROJ_SKILLS/$s"
+            cp "$REPO/$s/SKILL.md" "$PROJ_SKILLS/$s/SKILL.md"
+            cp -R "$REPO/$s/sections" "$PROJ_SKILLS/$s/sections"
+          done
+          mkdir -p "$HOME/.gstack"
+          touch "$HOME/.gstack/.activated" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.first-loop-tip-shown" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.telemetry-prompted" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.proactive-prompted" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen" \
+                "$HOME/.gstack/.plan-tune-nudge-shown"
+          touch "$SKILLS_DIR/gstack/.feature-prompted-continuous-checkpoint" \
+                "$SKILLS_DIR/gstack/.feature-prompted-model-overlay"
+
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+        with:
+          name: paid-plan
+          path: /tmp/paid-plan
+
+      - name: Run slice ${{ matrix.slice }}/6
+        env:
+          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
+          OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}
+          GEMINI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.GEMINI_API_KEY }}
+          PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH: /opt/playwright-browsers
+          EVALS_JOBS: "2"
+          EVALS_CONCURRENCY: "2"
+          GSTACK_EVAL_DIR: /tmp/paid-slice-results
+        run: EVALS_TIER=gate bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier gate --plan /tmp/paid-plan/manifest.json --slice ${{ matrix.slice }}
+
+      - name: Upload slice results
+        if: always()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          name: paid-slice-${{ matrix.slice }}
+          path: /tmp/paid-slice-results
+          retention-days: 90
+
+      # The spooled per-shard full logs — a red weekly/PR lane three weeks
+      # later needs more than a summary line.
+      - name: Upload shard logs on failure
+        if: failure()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          name: paid-slice-${{ matrix.slice }}-logs
+          # The Fix-bun-temp step points TMPDIR at /home/runner/.cache, so the
+          # runner's spool lands THERE, not /tmp — the original /tmp glob
+          # uploaded nothing and a red slice's diagnostics were unreachable.
+          path: |
+            /home/runner/.cache/gstack-paid-shard-*.log
+            /tmp/gstack-paid-shard-*.log
+          if-no-files-found: ignore
+          retention-days: 30
+
+  slices-report:
+    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-2
+    needs: [plan-slices, eval-slices]
+    # always(): the report must run (and FAIL) when an executor died — a
+    # missing slice artifact reading as green is the class this lane kills.
+    if: always() && needs.plan-slices.result == 'success'
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
+        with:
+          bun-version: 1.3.13
+
+      - run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
+
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+        with:
+          name: paid-plan
+          path: /tmp/paid-report
+
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+        with:
+          pattern: paid-slice-[0-9]*
+          path: /tmp/paid-report
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: Reconcile slices against the manifest (fail-closed)
+        run: EVALS_TIER=gate bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier gate --report /tmp/paid-report

.github/workflows/free-tests.yml

@@ -82,9 +82,14 @@ jobs:
       # Headed-browser tests (handoff, extension sidepanel DOM) need a real
       # DISPLAY — first Linux run failed with Playwright's "launched a headed
       # browser without an XServer" banner. xvfb-run below provides it;
-      # x11-utils ships xdpyinfo for display probing.
-      - name: Install Xvfb + X11 utilities
-        run: sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends xvfb x11-utils
+      # x11-utils ships xdpyinfo for display probing. poppler-utils ships
+      # pdftotext/pdffonts/pdftoppm for the make-pdf e2e gates;
+      # fonts-noto-color-emoji is the emoji-gate's render font (playwright
+      # --with-deps usually installs it, but the gate must not depend on a
+      # transitive package list). Fonts must land BEFORE the first browse
+      # daemon launch — Chromium snapshots fontconfig at startup.
+      - name: Install Xvfb + X11 utilities + gate tools
+        run: sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends xvfb x11-utils poppler-utils fonts-noto-color-emoji
 
       - name: Configure git identity (tests init temp repos)
         run: |
@@ -108,8 +113,22 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build server-node bundle (loaded by browse cli imports)
         run: bash browse/scripts/build-node-server.sh
 
+      # Narrowed gate build: the make-pdf e2e gates probe make-pdf/dist/pdf,
+      # browse/dist/browse, and the diagram-render bundle, then self-skip when
+      # absent — which made them silently skip on Linux for their whole life
+      # (this lane never built binaries). Full `bun run build` compiles five
+      # binaries and would add ~60-90s to the ONLY required check; the gates
+      # need exactly these three artifacts.
+      - name: Build gate binaries (make-pdf e2e gates)
+        run: bun run build:gates
+
+      # GSTACK_EXPECT_BINARIES=1 arms make-pdf/test/e2e/ci-prereqs.test.ts:
+      # if a future edit drops the gate build (or poppler), the lane FAILS
+      # instead of the gates silently self-skipping back to false green.
       - name: Run free suite
         run: xvfb-run -a bun run test:free
+        env:
+          GSTACK_EXPECT_BINARIES: "1"
 
       # The runner streams the full child output to per-run logs under the OS
       # tmpdir and prints only the quiet contract to the console. Without this

.github/workflows/make-pdf-gate.yml

@@ -16,18 +16,26 @@ on:
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 concurrency:
-  group: make-pdf-gate-${{ github.head_ref || github.run_id }}
+  # PR-number keyed: head_ref carries no fork prefix, so same-name branches
+  # from two forks would share one group and cancel each other's runs.
+  group: make-pdf-gate-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.run_id }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
+# Build + test only — no token writes.
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 jobs:
   gate:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        # macOS only: the Linux leg became redundant when the free-tests lane
-        # started running make-pdf/test (incl. e2e/) on every PR via the
-        # canonical runner — this gate's remaining value is macOS rendering
-        # coverage on make-pdf-scoped changes.
+        # macOS only: the Linux leg is covered by the free-tests lane, which
+        # builds the gate binaries (build:gates) and runs make-pdf/test
+        # (incl. e2e/) on every PR via the canonical runner, with
+        # GSTACK_EXPECT_BINARIES=1 arming ci-prereqs.test.ts so the gates
+        # can never silently self-skip there again. This gate's remaining
+        # value is macOS rendering coverage on make-pdf-scoped changes.
         os: [macos-latest]
         # Windows is tolerant-mode — Xpdf / Poppler-Windows extraction
         # differs enough from the Linux/macOS baseline that the strict
@@ -39,12 +47,13 @@ jobs:
         #     tolerant: true
 
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    timeout-minutes: 15
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
 
       - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
         with:
-          bun-version: latest
+          bun-version: 1.3.13
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: bun install --frozen-lockfile

.github/workflows/pr-title-sync.yml

@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ jobs:
   sync:
     name: Sync PR title to VERSION
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-2
+    timeout-minutes: 5
     permissions:
       contents: read
       pull-requests: write

.github/workflows/quality-gate.yml

@@ -29,25 +29,43 @@ concurrency:
 jobs:
   quality:
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
-    timeout-minutes: 20
+    timeout-minutes: 10
     steps:
+      # Shallow checkout: fetch-depth:0 cost 74s of a 92s job for checks that
+      # take ~12s combined. The one history consumer (the added-lines diff)
+      # fetches its exact base/head SHAs below — an exact-SHA fetch, not a
+      # guessed depth, so long-lived branches and merge queues still resolve.
       - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
       - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@0c5077e51419868618aeaa5fe8019c62421857d6 # v2
         with:
-          bun-version: latest
+          bun-version: 1.3.13
 
       - name: Install frozen dependencies
         run: bun install --frozen-lockfile --ignore-scripts
 
+      # Advisory slop scan of branch-changed files. Lived inside `bun run
+      # test` before (silently appended, up to 240s invisible in the "~90s
+      # suite" claim); decoupling it from the pre-commit loop is only honest
+      # if a per-PR path still runs it — this is that path. || true: quality
+      # signal, never a gate (/review runs it interactively too).
+      - name: Slop scan (changed files, advisory)
+        run: bun run slop:diff || true
+
       - name: Scan changed text for credentials (added lines, own redact engine)
         env:
           BASE_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha || github.event.before }}
           HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
+          # Exact-SHA shallow fetches: the checkout above is depth-1 of the
+          # merge ref; the diff needs the PR head + base objects specifically.
+          git fetch --no-tags --depth=1 origin "$HEAD_SHA" 2>/dev/null || true
+          git cat-file -e "${BASE_SHA}^{commit}" 2>/dev/null \
+            || git fetch --no-tags --depth=1 origin "$BASE_SHA" 2>/dev/null || true
           if ! git cat-file -e "${BASE_SHA}^{commit}" 2>/dev/null; then
+            # push with an unusable `before` (branch create / force push):
+            # deepen once so HEAD^ exists as the fallback base.
+            git fetch --no-tags --deepen=1 origin 2>/dev/null || true
             BASE_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD^)
           fi
           git diff --unified=0 --no-color "$BASE_SHA" "$HEAD_SHA" -- \

.github/workflows/skill-docs.yml

@@ -10,16 +10,26 @@ on:
 # windows-free-tests.yml, etc.). head_ref is set on pull_request; ref_name is
 # the fallback for push so a rapid push series doesn't pile up stale runs.
 concurrency:
-  group: skill-docs-${{ github.head_ref || github.ref_name }}
+  # PR-number keyed (run_id fallback for push/dispatch): a bare branch name
+  # carries no fork prefix, so same-name branches from two forks would share
+  # one group and cancel each other's runs (same rationale as free-tests.yml).
+  group: skill-docs-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.run_id }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
+# The job only reads the checkout and runs the generator — no token writes.
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 jobs:
   check-freshness:
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-2
+    timeout-minutes: 10
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
-      - run: bun install
+        with:
+          bun-version: 1.3.13
+      - run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
       # One generation pass for ALL 10 hosts. gen-skill-docs --host all
       # hard-fails on any per-host generation error (scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts
       # aggregates failures and exits non-zero), so every host is gated on

.github/workflows/version-gate.yml

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ jobs:
   check:
     name: Check VERSION is not stale vs queue
     runs-on: ubicloud-standard-2
+    timeout-minutes: 10
     permissions:
       contents: read
       pull-requests: read
@@ -27,6 +28,8 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Setup Bun
         uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
+        with:
+          bun-version: 1.3.13
 
       - name: Read versions
         id: versions

.github/workflows/windows-free-tests.yml

@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ concurrency:
   group: windows-free-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.run_id }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
+# Test-only lane — no token writes.
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 jobs:
   windows-free-tests:
     # Ubicloud Windows runner (same provider as the Linux evals workflow).
@@ -52,6 +56,10 @@ jobs:
         with:
           path: ~/.bun/install/cache
           key: windows-bun-${{ hashFiles('bun.lock') }}
+          # A lockfile bump starts from the previous cache instead of cold
+          # (restore alone costs ~26s; without this a bump pays it for nothing).
+          restore-keys: |
+            windows-bun-
 
       - name: Configure git identity (required by tests that init temp repos)
         run: |

.github/workflows/windows-setup-e2e.yml

@@ -26,13 +26,19 @@ on:
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 concurrency:
-  group: windows-setup-e2e-${{ github.head_ref || github.run_id }}
+  # PR-number keyed: head_ref carries no fork prefix, so same-name branches
+  # from two forks would share one group and cancel each other's runs.
+  group: windows-setup-e2e-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.run_id }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
+# Install-path exercise only — no token writes.
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 jobs:
   windows-setup:
     runs-on: windows-latest
-    timeout-minutes: 15
+    timeout-minutes: 10
 
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
@@ -47,6 +53,10 @@ jobs:
         with:
           path: ~/.bun/install/cache
           key: windows-bun-${{ hashFiles('bun.lock') }}
+          # A lockfile bump starts from the previous cache instead of cold
+          # (restore alone costs ~43s; without this a bump pays it for nothing).
+          restore-keys: |
+            windows-bun-
 
       - name: Configure git identity
         run: |

.gitlab-ci.yml

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ stages:
   - check
 
 variables:
-  BUN_VERSION: "1.3.10"
+  BUN_VERSION: "1.3.13"
 
 .setup-bun: &setup-bun
   - apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -qq -y curl jq git

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Changelog
 
-## [1.73.0.0] - 2026-08-29
+## [1.75.0.0] - 2026-08-29
 
 **Your review now hunts over-built code, not just broken code.**
 **And every skill's advice starts with "reuse before you build."**
@@ -62,6 +62,67 @@ Run /review on a branch you suspect is over-built and read the `[ADVISORY]` rows
 - Eval-store schema v2: harvest records carry `{insertions, deletions, net}`; `recordE2E` now populates `tokens_used`.
 - Touchfiles dep lists closed gaps (fixtures, judge helper, harness, ship render) and the context-budget ratchet fixture was re-captured, locking the AskUserQuestion reduction so it cannot silently regress.
 - New coverage: TEMP_DIRS widening + remote-serving asymmetry, shortcut-marker writer/harvester grammar joint, sandbox-doctor shell guards, GSTACK_FREE_JOBS parsing, laundered-ls-remote shims, digest freshness/budget/writer tripwires, and a real generator round-trip through the version bump.
+## [1.74.0.0] - 2026-08-29
+
+**Green now means green: every test runs somewhere, provably.**
+**The suites got faster by deleting lies, not by skipping work.**
+
+This release is a full audit and overhaul of gstack's own test and CI system. The audit found the safety net lying in specific ways: three CI eval jobs ran zero tests and passed on every PR, four paid test files could never execute in any lane, the required free-tests check silently skipped nine make-pdf gates on Linux for their entire life, and about 57 E2E files ran in no scheduled lane at all. All of it is fixed, and each fixed class now has a tripwire so it cannot quietly return.
+
+Speed came from structure. The free suite packs shards by recorded per-file durations instead of file counts, and the serial tree-mutating shard is gone entirely: the generator gained a main() guard and renders every host into out-dirs, so the suite never writes the live tree. The paid lane re-platforms CI onto the same sharded runner you use locally, with one planner manifest, sliced executors, and a report that fails closed when a slice's artifact never lands.
+
+### The numbers that matter
+
+Sources: live CI run 33194732051 (pre-change shard timings), the committed durations seed (`bun run test:free --record-durations`, 496 files), and the planner's own output on this branch.
+
+| Metric | Before | After | Δ |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Free-suite shard spread | 28s to 97s | 6 shards, ~80s predicted each | balanced |
+| Serial mutator tail, every run | ~35-40s | 0s (shard dissolved) | gone |
+| Paid files runnable in NO lane | 4 | 0 | tripwired |
+| E2E files in no weekly CI lane | ~57 | 0 (3 reasoned excludes) | contract |
+| Zero-test green CI jobs per PR | 3 | 0 | deleted |
+| Touchfiles keys missing self-registration | 129 | 0 | enforced |
+| Hand-tuned paid timeout literals | 395 | 97 (46 justified) | 5 tiers |
+
+The self-registration number is the quiet one that matters most: before it, editing only a test's assertions selected nothing, so the changed test never ran on the change that changed it.
+
+### What this means for you
+
+`bun run test` is honest and flat: no hidden slop scan, no serial tail, shards that finish together. Paid CI and local paid runs share one engine, so a shard that never starts, a slice that dies, or a file that self-skips everything is a red check with a name, never a silent pass. When you add a paid test, the orphan tripwire forces it into the census the same commit. Upgrade, run `bun run test:free`, and read `docs/TESTING_INTERNALS.md` if you maintain tests.
+
+### Itemized changes
+
+#### Fixed (what green means)
+- The required free-tests lane builds the gate binaries (`build:gates`) and runs the nine make-pdf e2e gates that silently self-skipped on Linux since they existed; `GSTACK_EXPECT_BINARIES=1` + `ci-prereqs.test.ts` invert the skip polarity in CI so the class cannot return.
+- Deleted the two vestigial eval matrix rows that ran zero tests per PR (codex/gemini, periodic-tier files with no row tier) and armed `e2e-pty-plan-smoke` with its missing `tier: gate` (it burned ~7 minutes of setup then skipped every describe).
+- Activated the four paid test files whose names fell outside the paid globs (net execution zero, forever): carve-section-loading, codex-e2e-plan-format (+ its missing periodic gate), codex-e2e-recommendation-substance, llm-judge-recommendation. New `paid-orphan-tripwire.test.ts` fails the suite on any EVALS-gated file outside the globs.
+- 135 touchfiles keys now name their own declaring test file; the tier-alignment warning became a hard failure with a 4-entry ratchet.
+- Five quarantined browse tests reactivated (two guard the extension's privileged-message security boundary); root cause was stale dev-machine state, proven byte-identical since v1.66.
+- The two `expect(true)` paid stubs are `test.todo` (reported as todo, never pass), keeping their selector surfaces.
+- Five test files stopped assigning `GSTACK_HOME` at module scope (it leaked into every sibling in the shard process); a static tripwire blocks recurrence.
+- Shared `/tmp` artifact paths in six PTY tests became per-test mkdtemps (they collided under retry and parallel worktrees); 18 live-repo `cwd:` sites audited and reason-commented.
+- `restrictDirectoryPermissions` warns and skips symlinked dirs on both platforms (chmod and icacls dereference the link), closing the Windows lane's standing red with a platform-aware regression test.
+- Judges resolve their model through `lib/eval-model.ts` (the global `GSTACK_EVAL_MODEL` override now applies) and retry 429s with jittered exponential backoff instead of one fixed second.
+- Seven 28-minute test timeouts inside 25-minute CI jobs trimmed to the physical ceiling; an `eval-budgets` fit test pins that budgets above the wall cannot come back.
+
+#### Changed (speed and structure)
+- Free suite: duration-aware LPT shard packing from the committed seed (`scripts/free-test-durations.json`, refresh with `bun run test:free --record-durations`), duration-aware wall timeouts, per-shard prediction logging, corrupt-seed fallback to hash sharding. The `--shard` CI-matrix contract is untouched.
+- `TREE_MUTATING` is empty: `gen-skill-docs.ts` gained a `main()` guard (imports never regenerate; pinned by an import-purity test) and `--out-dir` renders every host, so all eight former mutators render into mkdtemps and the four ratchet readers rejoined the parallel shards.
+- Paid runner: full-stream spooling to per-shard log files (no more 30-minute streams held in RAM), shared `runShardChild` lifecycle with the expectedFiles enforcement drift fixed, parent-computed selection propagated to children via `EVALS_SELECTION_JSON` (fail-open), retry parity as literals.
+- Paid CI re-platform (parity phase): evals.yml gains a sliced lane (planner manifest, 6 executors, fail-closed report) running alongside the legacy matrix; evals-periodic.yml runs ALL periodic-tier tests weekly minus the reasoned exclusions in `periodic-exclude-data.ts`, plus a weekly full-gate census and a tracking-issue upsert on red weeks. The hollow-shard guard fails exit-0 shards that executed zero tests under `EVALS_ALL`.
+- 298 paid timeout literals swept onto five named tiers (`test/helpers/eval-budgets.ts`), round-up only.
+- `slop:diff` left `bun run test` (it silently added up to 240s) and runs in quality-gate per PR instead; `/review` keeps its interactive run.
+- The four worst fixed sleeps (300s/30s/30s/20s) became condition polls or stdin-EOF-bound child lifetimes; the parent-watchdog test dropped from 24s to 3.6s with a strictly stronger assertion.
+- CI hygiene: least-privilege permissions on every workflow, one pinned Bun version everywhere (drift-tested), the image-tag triple bound by test, ci-image stops rebuilding identical images on every ship, quality-gate dropped its 74-second full-history checkout, fork-safe concurrency keys, timeouts on every job, windows caches warm-start on lockfile bumps.
+
+#### Added
+- 95 tests for six zero-coverage surfaces: the eval CLI family (eval-list/compare/summary/select), slop-diff, the code-intelligence CLI, browse media-extract and session-cookie-store, and lib/version-source.
+- Policy and tripwire tests: paid-orphan tripwire, GSTACK_HOME module-scope tripwire, bun-version drift, image-tag binding, gen-skill-docs import purity, out-dir byte-identity for external hosts, manifest/slice/report contract, eval-budget fit and ratchet, periodic-exclude policy, selection propagation drift.
+- `test/helpers/run-bin.ts`: one spawnSync wrapper replacing ~36 near-identical local `run()` helpers (first three files migrated; the rest are a filed follow-up).
+
+#### For contributors
+- `docs/TESTING_INTERNALS.md` documents the new runner architecture; CLAUDE.md's testing prose matches it. TODOS.md closes the absorbed backlog items (periodic coverage contract, eval-harness observability, the sidebar trio, which turned out already deleted) and files the follow-ups: legacy matrix deletion after parity, the required-check decision, browse /tmp-namespace hardening, PTY boot-readiness waits, the single typed test registry, and the bun-native LPT swap at the next Bun unpin.
 
 ## [1.72.0.0] - 2026-08-28
 

CLAUDE.md

@@ -48,11 +48,15 @@ variants to force all tests. Run `eval:select` to preview which tests would run.
 
 **Two-tier system:** Tests are classified as `gate` or `periodic` in `E2E_TIERS`
 (in `test/helpers/touchfiles.ts` — a facade over `touchfiles-data.ts` +
-`test-selection.ts`). CI runs only gate tests (`EVALS_TIER=gate`); the free
+`test-selection.ts`). CI runs gate tests per PR via evals.yml's sliced lane
+(planner manifest → executors → fail-closed report; engine =
+scripts/test-paid-shards.ts, the same runner as local eval:bg:gate); the free
 suite runs on every PR via `.github/workflows/free-tests.yml` (a REQUIRED
-check, secretless — fork PRs get real signal);
-periodic tests run weekly via cron or manually. Use `EVALS_TIER=gate` or
-`EVALS_TIER=periodic` to filter. When adding new E2E tests, classify them:
+check, secretless — fork PRs get real signal); ALL periodic tests run weekly
+via evals-periodic.yml (EVALS_ALL, minus the reasoned exclusions in
+`test/helpers/periodic-exclude-data.ts` — reason + tracking required per
+entry), plus a weekly EVALS_ALL gate census. Use `EVALS_TIER=gate` or
+`EVALS_TIER=periodic` to filter locally. When adding new E2E tests, classify them:
 1. Safety guardrail or deterministic functional test? -> `gate`
 2. Quality benchmark, Opus model test, or non-deterministic? -> `periodic`
 3. Requires external service (Codex, Gemini)? -> `periodic`
@@ -71,11 +75,16 @@ bun run test:evals   # run before shipping — paid, diff-based (~$4.35/run max)
 ```
 
 `bun run test` routes through `scripts/test-free-shards.ts` (N concurrent
-shard processes, serial within each, plus a trailing serial tree-mutating
-shard — with strict-output classification per shard: a shard without bun's
-terminal summary line FAILS — silent truncation
-cannot report green). Never type bare `bun test` for the suite: it walks the
-whole repo, loading paid eval files and missing the strict classifier.
+shard processes, serial within each, packed by recorded per-file durations
+when `scripts/free-test-durations.json` exists — refresh occasionally with
+`bun run test:free --record-durations`; strict-output classification per
+shard: a shard without bun's terminal summary line FAILS — silent truncation
+cannot report green). The former trailing serial tree-mutating shard is
+gone: `TREE_MUTATING` is empty (gen-skill-docs has a main() guard and
+`--out-dir` renders every host, so tests render into mkdtemps — see
+docs/TESTING_INTERNALS.md). Never type bare `bun test` for the suite: it
+walks the whole repo, loading paid eval files and missing the strict
+classifier.
 It covers skill validation, gen-skill-docs quality checks, and browse
 integration tests. `bun run test:evals` runs LLM-judge quality evals and E2E
 tests via `claude -p`. Both must pass before creating a PR.
@@ -634,7 +643,7 @@ the run can also die to idle-sleep. `gstack-detach` fixes both: a fresh session
   (stray `claude`/`codex` grandchildren included), a per-shard
   `GSTACK_EVAL_DIR=<evalDir>/shards/<slug>/` honored by the `EvalCollector`
   constructor, and an aggregate that separates failed vs timed-out vs
-  never-started shards — the detach timeouts (25200s gate / 36000s periodic;
+  never-started shards — the detach timeouts (25200s gate / 37800s periodic;
   floor enforced against the live shard census by
   test/eval-detach-timeout-floor.test.ts)
   are sized against worst-case shard wall clock. `EVALS_JOBS` sets the shard

TODOS.md

@@ -353,7 +353,16 @@ touchfiles and re-offer pending ones on the next interactive run.
 false) permanently misses the artifacts-rename migration unless they paste the
 manual command. **Effort:** M. **Priority:** P2.
 
-### P2: periodic tier — three documented-red tests need structural repair
+### P2: periodic tier — TWO documented-red tests need structural repair (was three)
+
+**2026-08-29 update (test-infra overhaul):** (1) the sidebar E2E trio is
+ALREADY DELETED — no file in the tree POSTs to /sidebar-command or
+/sidebar-chat; only tombstone tests remain (browse/test/sidebar-tabs.test.ts
+asserts the endpoints STAY deleted), so part (1) closes as already-done.
+(2) skill-e2e-ship-idempotency and (3) skill-e2e-brain-privacy-gate are now
+EXCLUDED from the weekly lane with tracking
+(test/helpers/periodic-exclude-data.ts) — removing their entries re-activates
+them; the structural investigations below are the re-entry condition.
 
 **What:** (1) The sidebar E2E trio (navigate, url-accuracy, css-interaction)
 POSTs to /sidebar-command and /sidebar-chat — endpoints removed on every tree
@@ -547,6 +556,96 @@ advisory and gstack's freshness CI covers the drift case, so P3.
 
 **Effort:** S-M. **Priority:** P3.
 
+### 2026-08-29 test-infra overhaul — follow-ups (filed at implementation)
+
+The overhaul landed: green-means-green fixes (make-pdf gates in the required
+lane, zero-test eval jobs killed, 4 orphaned paid files activated + orphan
+tripwire, touchfiles self-registration + warn→fail), the serial
+tree-mutating shard dissolved (main() guard + --out-dir all hosts),
+duration-packed free shards, the sharded paid runner as the CI engine
+(planner/slices/fail-closed report, parity phase), the weekly all-periodic
+coverage contract + gate census, eval-budget timeout tiers, and the
+coverage fill. Remaining, in rough priority order:
+
+- **P1 — Delete the legacy evals.yml matrix after parity.** The sliced lane
+  runs alongside the 18-row matrix (`needs: evals`, so provider concurrency
+  never doubles). After 1-2 PR cycles of parity (compare executed-test sets:
+  intersection strict + the 8 KNOWN_MATRIX_GAPS files as expected additions;
+  stochastic outcomes informational), delete the matrix as a PURE-DELETION
+  commit (one revert restores it), drop the `needs: evals` edge, rewrite
+  test/evals-workflow-matrix.test.ts into a runner-wiring pin, and retire
+  KNOWN_MATRIX_GAPS/KNOWN_TIER_UNSET wholesale. Effort S.
+- **P1 — Maintainer decision: make `slices-report` a required check** once
+  post-migration flake data exists (the Codex outside-voice's "green means
+  green is not delivered while paid stays advisory" point — correct, and
+  deliberately a branch-protection decision, not repo YAML). Effort S.
+- **P2 — browse daemon lifecycle vs in-suite browsers (top remaining free-suite
+  flake).** The post-#994 daemon deliberately outlives its parent and lingers
+  across test FILES in a shard process; a later file's browser use can then
+  fight it ('[browse] FATAL: Chromium process crashed' + 5s element-wait
+  timeouts). Receipts: commands+snapshot in one bun process fails identically
+  WITH and WITHOUT per-file CHROMIUM_PROFILE isolation (pre-existing; PR
+  #2721 triage), and CI shard 1 on d9b78b5a died at model-overlay-sonnet-5
+  after a daemon-spawning file. Per-shard + per-file profile isolation
+  (landed) removed the cross-shard kills; the intra-shard daemon handoff
+  needs a real design: tests that spawn the daemon should stop it in
+  afterAll, or the daemon should detect a foreign CHROMIUM_PROFILE env and
+  refuse reuse. Effort M.
+- **P2 — browse daemon /tmp-namespace hardening.** Every file-path transport
+  to the daemon (eval <file>, load-html --from-file, pdf output, upload,
+  cookie-import) assumes client and daemon share one /tmp view; a sandboxed
+  shell reusing an out-of-namespace daemon gets "File not found" on files it
+  just wrote (root-caused live, reproduced with unshare). Minimal fix: the
+  CLI reads a local `eval <file>` itself and sends the code as `js` (
+  semantics-preserving; keep the daemon path for remote callers), plus a
+  namespace hint appended to read-commands.ts:313's error. Effort S.
+- **P2 — PTY boot-readiness wait.** The PTY tests' Bun.sleep(8000) preludes
+  and invokeAndObserve's 6s boot_grace_ms are blind waits; a real readiness
+  waitFor needs empirical CLI 2.1.x ready-marker probing in a working
+  terminal environment (this sandbox's PTY probe wedged). Effort S, needs a
+  dev machine.
+- **P2 — single typed test registry.** Paid globs, tiers, touchfiles keys,
+  and exclusions are still separate literal authorities synced by tripwires;
+  derive them from one registry and the drift class dies structurally
+  (outside-voice recommendation; the tripwires are the interim). Effort M.
+- **P2 — swap the custom LPT packer for bun-native `--timings`/`--shard`**
+  at the next Bun unpin (native LPT scheduling ships ≥1.3.14; the packer is
+  deliberately small and swappable — see the successor note in
+  scripts/test-free-shards.ts). Effort S.
+- **P3 — runBin migration remainder** (~31 of 36 local run() duplicates;
+  helper + first 3 migrated). Mechanical batches. Effort S.
+- **P3 — migrate the free runner onto runShardChild** (the shared lifecycle
+  helper the paid runner now uses; designed for it). Effort S.
+- **P3 — eval-list should exclude _partial runs** (pinned as current
+  behavior in test/eval-cli-family.test.ts with an improvement note).
+  Effort S.
+- **P3 — codex-e2e-plan-format's testIfSelected names have no map keys**
+  (run-all only today) + 15 E2E / 2 judge PHANTOM touchfiles keys select
+  tests that exist nowhere — add keys or delete, one sweep. Effort S.
+- **P3 — first-execution rot from the sliced lane's first live runs: 2 of 3
+  FIXED** (PR #2721): (a) ✅ skillify family — root cause was HOME==cwd
+  making claude treat <cwd>/.claude/skills as the PERSONAL dir (project
+  skills never registered); all three tests now use a fresh HOME subdir,
+  the refusal test gained a not-registered tripwire + assistant-text-only
+  matching (the skill body echo could pass vacuously), and the siblings now
+  genuinely exercise the Skill-tool path (verified paid, 5/5).
+  (b) ✅ session-intelligence context-restore — assertion was prose-matching
+  over stochastic wording; now verbatim RESTORED-marker + tool-call
+  corroboration with a stronger older-file negative (3/3 paid green).
+  (c) `tpa-apple-ban` failed only on retry attempt 2 once — flake watch
+  only. The lane finding these on first execution is the coverage contract
+  working.
+- **P2 — make-pdf image promotion is per-render nondeterministic on CI**:
+  two renders of the same fixture SECONDS apart in one CI job produced 2 vs
+  3 landscape pages (an image's promotion depends on load timing at render).
+  The landscape gates now assert content/presence invariants, but the
+  underlying render race is a product quality issue (a user's alt-hinted
+  image can silently miss its landscape promotion). Receipts: PR #2721
+  free-tests runs on heads ab549353 + c49b2ece. Effort S.
+- **P3 — duration-weighted slice assignment** if parity data shows slice
+  walls diverging >1.5x (round-robin today; eval-store durations exist).
+  Effort S.
+
 ### P2: /context-save worktree-identity hardening (the #2052 residual)
 
 **What:** Persist a stable worktree identity (path hash or worktree name) into
@@ -591,7 +690,19 @@ Trigger condition documented in `lib/gbrain-sources.ts` at the drift log line.
 
 **Effort:** M (human ~1d, CC ~45min). **Depends on:** drift-log evidence from
 the wave's `ensureSourceRegistered` logging.
-### P2: Periodic CI matrix covers 9 of ~66 e2e files — decide the coverage contract
+### ✅ DONE (2026-08-29): Periodic CI coverage contract — implemented as option (a)
+
+**Resolved by the test-infra overhaul:** evals-periodic.yml re-platformed onto
+scripts/test-paid-shards.ts — ALL periodic-tier files run weekly (EVALS_ALL,
+planner manifest → 6 slices → fail-closed report) minus the reasoned
+exclusions in test/helpers/periodic-exclude-data.ts (reason + tracking per
+entry, policy-pinned). A weekly EVALS_ALL gate census rides the same cron.
+The silent-rot class is dead: a test that runs nowhere is now either planned,
+diff-skipped, excluded-with-reason, or a failed report. Original filing kept
+below for the receipts.
+
+#### Original filing (closed)
+Periodic CI matrix covers 9 of ~66 e2e files — decide the coverage contract
 
 **Priority:** P2
 
@@ -629,7 +740,19 @@ in `.github/workflows/evals*.yml`. Receipts from the autoplan incident:
 `~/.gstack/projects/garrytan-gstack/e2e-runs/2026-07-10-0154/` (0-turn "Unknown command"
 transcripts).
 
-### Eval harness: live progress + incremental result persistence (kill the silent hour)
+### ✅ DONE (verified 2026-08-29): Eval harness live progress + incremental persistence
+
+**Verified landed** (the v1.66-era harness work delivered all three asks):
+(1) heartbeat — session-runner writes ~/.gstack-dev/e2e-live.json atomically
+per tool call (+ progress.log + per-test ndjson); (2) incremental persistence
+— EvalCollector writes _partial-e2e.json after every addTest, dual-signal
+isPartialEval keeps partials out of baselines; (3) live signal — per-tool
+stderr progress lines flush unbuffered, and scripts/eval-watch.ts dashboards
+the heartbeat. The 2026-08 overhaul added per-shard full-stream spool logs
+(path printed at START) on top. Original filing kept below for receipts.
+
+#### Original filing (closed)
+Eval harness: live progress + incremental result persistence (kill the silent hour)
 
 **Priority:** P1
 

VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.73.0.0
+1.74.0.0

agents-digest/gstack-AGENTS.md

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# gstack digest v1.73.0.0 — regenerate/re-copy after upgrading gstack
+# gstack digest v1.74.0.0 — regenerate/re-copy after upgrading gstack
 
 Behavioral rules from gstack (https://github.com/garrytan/gstack), compressed
 for agent hosts without a full skill install. The full skills add workflows,

bin/gstack-wtree

@@ -42,7 +42,13 @@ case "$REAL_INDEX" in
   *) REAL_INDEX="$TOP/$REAL_INDEX" ;;
 esac
 if [ -n "$REAL_INDEX" ] && [ -f "$REAL_INDEX" ] && cp "$REAL_INDEX" "$TMPIDX" 2>/dev/null; then
-  : # stat-cache-preserving seed
+  # Carry the real index's mtime onto the copy. Git's racy-git protection
+  # re-hashes any entry whose cached mtime is not older than the index file
+  # itself; `cp` stamps the copy "now", which silently marks every entry
+  # non-racy and lets a same-size rewrite in the same second as the original
+  # `git add` keep its stale stat-cache entry — the content change vanishes
+  # from the fingerprint. touch -r restores the original racy window.
+  touch -r "$REAL_INDEX" "$TMPIDX" 2>/dev/null || true
 else
   git -C "$TOP" read-tree HEAD 2>/dev/null || exit 1
 fi

browse/src/browser-manager.ts

@@ -186,12 +186,32 @@ export async function resolveDisconnectCause(browser: Browser | null): Promise<'
 }
 
 /**
- * Headless `launch()` disconnect handler. Exits 0 on clean user-quit, 1 on
- * crash. Inlined into the launch() body via a one-line dispatch so
+ * Exit-on-disconnect is DAEMON-ONLY semantics. The standalone server
+ * entrypoint opts in via markDaemonProcess() (under its import.meta.main
+ * gate, same contract as its signal handlers); embedders — gbrowser
+ * phoenix, and every test that launches a BrowserManager in-process —
+ * must never have a Chromium crash process.exit() their HOST. Observed
+ * live before this flag: a test-launched browser died mid-suite and the
+ * exit(1) killed the whole bun shard with no terminal summary (the
+ * truncation class the strict runner exists to catch).
+ */
+let daemonProcess = false;
+export function markDaemonProcess(): void {
+  daemonProcess = true;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Headless `launch()` disconnect handler. In the standalone daemon: exits 0
+ * on clean user-quit, 1 on crash. Embedded contexts get the log line only.
+ * Inlined into the launch() body via a one-line dispatch so
  * browser-manager's flow stays grep-friendly.
  */
 export async function handleChromiumDisconnect(browser: Browser | null): Promise<void> {
   const cause = await resolveDisconnectCause(browser);
+  if (!daemonProcess) {
+    console.error(`[browse] Chromium disconnected (${cause}) in an embedded context — host process continues.`);
+    return;
+  }
   if (cause === 'clean') {
     console.error('[browse] Chromium closed cleanly (user-initiated quit). Server exiting (0).');
     process.exit(0);

browse/src/file-permissions.ts

@@ -155,8 +155,29 @@ export function restrictFilePermissions(filePath: string): void {
  * (CI = container inherit) inherit the single-user-full ACL — important
  * because child creations in `fs.writeFileSync(...)` without explicit
  * `restrictFilePermissions` still end up owner-only.
+ *
+ * Symlinked dirs are warned about and SKIPPED, never followed: both
+ * `chmod` and `icacls` dereference the link, so restricting through a
+ * symlink hardens whatever the link points at — a target the caller never
+ * vetted (and, with `/inheritance:r`, one we could lock its real owner out
+ * of). Skipping is best-effort-consistent with the rest of this module:
+ * the filesystem stays functional, we just don't hit the hardening target.
  */
 export function restrictDirectoryPermissions(dirPath: string): void {
+  try {
+    if (fs.lstatSync(dirPath).isSymbolicLink()) {
+      // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noConsole: intentional user-facing warning
+      console.warn(
+        `[gstack] Refusing to restrict permissions through symlink ${dirPath} — skipping.\n` +
+        `  Restricting through a symlink would alter the link target instead. ` +
+        `Harden the real directory directly.`
+      );
+      return;
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // Path doesn't exist (or lstat failed) — fall through; both platform
+    // branches below already swallow failures on missing paths.
+  }
   if (process.platform === 'win32') {
     try {
       const user = currentUserPrincipal();

browse/src/server.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
  *   Port:       random 10000-60000 (or BROWSE_PORT env for debug override)
  */
 
-import { BrowserManager } from './browser-manager';
+import { BrowserManager, markDaemonProcess } from './browser-manager';
 import { handleReadCommand, hasOutArg } from './read-commands';
 import { handleWriteCommand } from './write-commands';
 import { handleMetaCommand } from './meta-commands';
@@ -812,8 +812,17 @@ function parentWatchdogTick(parentPid: number = BROWSE_PARENT_PID): void {
     }
   }
 }
+// Poll cadence. Env-overridable as a test seam: watchdog.test.ts shrinks it
+// (250ms) so a free-tier test can observe a real tick deciding on a dead
+// parent instead of sleeping through the 15s production cadence. Production
+// launchers never set this; unparsable or non-positive values fall back to 15s.
+const rawWatchdogIntervalMs = parseInt(process.env.BROWSE_PARENT_WATCHDOG_INTERVAL_MS || '', 10);
+const PARENT_WATCHDOG_INTERVAL_MS =
+  Number.isFinite(rawWatchdogIntervalMs) && rawWatchdogIntervalMs > 0
+    ? rawWatchdogIntervalMs
+    : 15_000;
 if (BROWSE_PARENT_PID > 0 && !IS_HEADED_WATCHDOG) {
-  setInterval(parentWatchdogTick, 15_000);
+  setInterval(parentWatchdogTick, PARENT_WATCHDOG_INTERVAL_MS);
 } else if (IS_HEADED_WATCHDOG) {
   console.log('[browse] Parent-process watchdog disabled (headed mode)');
 } else if (BROWSE_PARENT_PID === 0) {
@@ -1385,6 +1394,10 @@ async function handleCommand(body: any, tokenInfo?: TokenInfo | null): Promise<R
 // server.ts as a submodule can register their own signal handlers without
 // fighting with gstack's. CLI path is unchanged.
 if (import.meta.main) {
+  // Standalone daemon: a Chromium crash must exit THIS process (its
+  // supervisor/user notices); embedders and in-process test launches must
+  // never be exited by browser-manager's disconnect handler.
+  markDaemonProcess();
   // SIGINT (Ctrl+C): user intentionally stopping → shutdown.
   process.on('SIGINT', () => activeShutdown?.());
   // SIGHUP (terminal hangup): with handleSIGHUP:false at the three launch

browse/test/batch.test.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@
  * newtab/closetab handling, and batch validation.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import { startTestServer } from './test-server';
 import { BrowserManager } from '../src/browser-manager';
 
@@ -62,6 +65,24 @@ import { handleMetaCommand } from '../src/meta-commands';
 import { handleSnapshot } from '../src/snapshot';
 import { READ_COMMANDS, WRITE_COMMANDS } from '../src/commands';
 
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
+
 const handleReadCommand = (cmd: string, args: string[], b: BrowserManager) =>
   _handleReadCommand(cmd, args, b.getActiveSession());
 const handleWriteCommand = (cmd: string, args: string[], b: BrowserManager) =>

browse/test/browser-skill-commands.test.ts

@@ -342,8 +342,15 @@ describe.skipIf(SKIP_SPAWN)('spawnSkill: lifecycle', () => {
   it('timeout fires, exit code 124, token revoked', async () => {
     const dir = makeSkillDir(tiers.bundled, 'sleeper',
       'name: sleeper\nhost: x.com\ntrusted: true',
-      // Sleep longer than the test timeout; the spawn should kill us.
-      `await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 30000)); console.log("done");`,
+      // The child's self-lifetime is a bound, not a wait — the test blocks
+      // only for the 1s spawn timeout that kills it. 8s is sized to be far
+      // above that 1s (the kill always lands first) but below this test's
+      // 10s ceiling: if the timeout-kill ever regresses, the child completes,
+      // prints "done", and the assertions below fail cleanly in-budget
+      // instead of the test opaquely timing out while the child lingers.
+      // (runToFiles gives skill children no stdin pipe, so a parent-death
+      // EOF lifetime isn't available here — self-timing is required.)
+      `await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 8000)); console.log("done");`,
     );
     const skill = readBrowserSkill('sleeper', tiers)!;
     const result = await spawnSkill({
@@ -351,6 +358,9 @@ describe.skipIf(SKIP_SPAWN)('spawnSkill: lifecycle', () => {
     });
     expect(result.timedOut).toBe(true);
     expect(result.exitCode).toBe(124);
+    // The kill must land before the script completes — "done" ever appearing
+    // means the child outlived its timeout.
+    expect(result.stdout).not.toContain('done');
     expect(listTokens().filter(t => t.clientId.startsWith('skill:sleeper:'))).toEqual([]);
   }, 10_000);
 

browse/test/cdp-e2e.test.ts

@@ -24,14 +24,15 @@ const TMP_HOME = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `gstack-cdp-e2e-${process.pid}-${Date.no
 // which then got baked into artifacts that outlived it (dangling symlinks
 // into a deleted render dir). Save + restore in afterAll.
 const ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME = process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
-process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
-process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF = '1'; // don't pollute analytics during tests
+const ORIGINAL_TELEMETRY_OFF = process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF;
 
 let testServer: ReturnType<typeof startTestServer>;
 let bm: BrowserManager;
 let baseUrl: string;
 
 beforeAll(async () => {
+  process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
+  process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF = '1'; // don't pollute analytics during tests
   await fs.rm(TMP_HOME, { recursive: true, force: true });
   await fs.mkdir(TMP_HOME, { recursive: true });
   testServer = startTestServer(0);
@@ -44,6 +45,8 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
 afterAll(async () => {
   if (ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME === undefined) delete process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
   else process.env.GSTACK_HOME = ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME;
+  if (ORIGINAL_TELEMETRY_OFF === undefined) delete process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF;
+  else process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF = ORIGINAL_TELEMETRY_OFF;
   try { await bm.cleanup?.(); } catch {}
   try { testServer.server.stop(); } catch {}
   await fs.rm(TMP_HOME, { recursive: true, force: true });

browse/test/commands.test.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
  * A real browse server is started and commands are sent via the CLI HTTP interface.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import { startTestServer } from './test-server';
 import { BrowserManager } from '../src/browser-manager';
 import { resolveServerScript } from '../src/cli';
@@ -26,6 +27,24 @@ import * as os from 'os';
 const tmpp = (name: string) => path.join(os.tmpdir(), name);
 
 
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
+
 // Thin wrappers that bridge old test calls (bm as 3rd arg) to new signatures (session + bm)
 const handleReadCommand = (cmd: string, args: string[], b: BrowserManager) =>
   _handleReadCommand(cmd, args, b.getActiveSession(), b);

browse/test/compare-board.test.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@
  * No LLM involved — this is a deterministic functional test.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import { BrowserManager } from '../src/browser-manager';
 import { handleReadCommand as _handleReadCommand } from '../src/read-commands';
 import { handleWriteCommand as _handleWriteCommand } from '../src/write-commands';
@@ -23,6 +24,24 @@ import { generateCompareHtml } from '../../design/src/compare';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
+
 // QUARANTINED (opt-in via GSTACK_COMPARE_BOARD_TESTS=1): all 16 tests fail
 // identically on origin/main v1.64.1.0, solo, on dev machines — verified per
 // the blame protocol during the 2026-08 test-infra pass. Main's own CI lane

browse/test/content-security.test.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@
  *   7. Chain security (domain + tab enforcement)
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll, beforeEach } from 'bun:test';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { startTestServer } from './test-server';
@@ -25,6 +26,24 @@ import {
 } from '../src/content-security';
 import { generateInstructionBlock } from '../src/cli';
 
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
+
 // Source-level tests
 const SERVER_SRC = fs.readFileSync(path.join(import.meta.dir, '../src/server.ts'), 'utf-8');
 const CLI_SRC = fs.readFileSync(path.join(import.meta.dir, '../src/cli.ts'), 'utf-8');

browse/test/domain-skills-e2e.test.ts

@@ -17,8 +17,12 @@ import { startTestServer } from './test-server';
 import { BrowserManager } from '../src/browser-manager';
 
 const TMP_HOME = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `gstack-domain-e2e-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`);
-process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
-process.env.GSTACK_PROJECT_SLUG = 'e2e-test-slug';
+
+// Scoped to this file's execution window — module-scope env assignment
+// leaks into sibling files in the shard process (see
+// test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts).
+const ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME = process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
+const ORIGINAL_PROJECT_SLUG = process.env.GSTACK_PROJECT_SLUG;
 
 let testServer: ReturnType<typeof startTestServer>;
 let bm: BrowserManager;
@@ -32,6 +36,8 @@ async function fakeBodyPipe(body: string): Promise<string> {
 }
 
 beforeAll(async () => {
+  process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
+  process.env.GSTACK_PROJECT_SLUG = 'e2e-test-slug';
   await fs.rm(TMP_HOME, { recursive: true, force: true });
   await fs.mkdir(path.join(TMP_HOME, 'projects', 'e2e-test-slug'), { recursive: true });
   testServer = startTestServer(0);
@@ -41,6 +47,10 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
 });
 
 afterAll(async () => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME === undefined) delete process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
+  else process.env.GSTACK_HOME = ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME;
+  if (ORIGINAL_PROJECT_SLUG === undefined) delete process.env.GSTACK_PROJECT_SLUG;
+  else process.env.GSTACK_PROJECT_SLUG = ORIGINAL_PROJECT_SLUG;
   try { await bm.cleanup?.(); } catch {}
   try { testServer.server.stop(); } catch {}
   await fs.rm(TMP_HOME, { recursive: true, force: true });

browse/test/domain-skills-storage.test.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,22 @@
-import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach } from 'bun:test';
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, beforeEach, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
 import { promises as fs } from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as os from 'os';
 
 const TMP_HOME = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `gstack-test-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`);
-process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
+
+// Scoped to this file's execution window — module-scope env assignment
+// leaks into sibling files in the shard process (see
+// test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts). freshImport() below runs inside
+// tests, so the beforeAll value is what ../src/domain-skills reads.
+const ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME = process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME === undefined) delete process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
+  else process.env.GSTACK_HOME = ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME;
+});
 
 // Re-import after env var set so module reads updated GSTACK_HOME
 async function freshImport() {

browse/test/extension-sender-auth.test.ts

@@ -190,11 +190,7 @@ describe('background.js onMessage listener (behavioral)', () => {
     expect(r.response!.error).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
-  // QUARANTINED (pre-existing): fails identically on origin/main v1.64.1.0,
-  // solo, on dev machines (blame protocol, 2026-08 test-infra pass). Main's
-  // CI lane skip-lists this whole FILE; we quarantine only this test so the
-  // rest keeps guarding. Un-skip when the underlying env dependency is fixed.
-  test.skip('own content script: every privileged type is denied with no token/port fields', () => {
+  test('own content script: every privileged type is denied with no token/port fields', () => {
     for (const type of PRIVILEGED) {
       const r = dispatch(listener, { type }, CONTENT_SCRIPT_SENDER);
       expect(r.responded).toBe(true); // the gate answers, it does not go silent
@@ -208,11 +204,7 @@ describe('background.js onMessage listener (behavioral)', () => {
     }
   });
 
-  // QUARANTINED (pre-existing): fails identically on origin/main v1.64.1.0,
-  // solo, on dev machines (blame protocol, 2026-08 test-infra pass). Main's
-  // CI lane skip-lists this whole FILE; we quarantine only this test so the
-  // rest keeps guarding. Un-skip when the underlying env dependency is fixed.
-  test.skip('missing sender.url: every privileged type is denied', () => {
+  test('missing sender.url: every privileged type is denied', () => {
     for (const type of PRIVILEGED) {
       const r = dispatch(listener, { type }, NO_URL_SENDER);
       expect(r.responded).toBe(true);

browse/test/file-permissions.test.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@
  *     we verify the helper doesn't throw and the file ends up accessible
  *     to the current user — the "doesn't crash, file still usable"
  *     contract the callers rely on.
+ *   - Every `mode & 0o777` bitmask assertion is platform-guarded: Windows
+ *     fakes POSIX mode bits (chmod is ~a no-op; dirs stat as 0o777), so a
+ *     bitmask expectation on win32 tests the runner, not our code. Symlink
+ *     fixtures are created in try/catch — Windows runners without Developer
+ *     Mode / admin can't create symlinks, and the test skips gracefully.
  */
 
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
@@ -107,6 +112,47 @@ describe('restrictDirectoryPermissions', () => {
     expect(() => restrictDirectoryPermissions(d)).not.toThrow();
   });
 
+  test('warns and skips a symlinked dir without throwing', () => {
+    const real = path.join(tmpDir, 'real-target');
+    fs.mkdirSync(real);
+    if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
+      // chmod, not mkdir({ mode }), so a restrictive umask can't skew the
+      // starting bits we later assert were left untouched.
+      fs.chmodSync(real, 0o755);
+    }
+    const link = path.join(tmpDir, 'linked');
+    try {
+      fs.symlinkSync(real, link, 'dir');
+    } catch {
+      // Windows runners without Developer Mode / admin can't create
+      // symlinks (house pattern: security-audit-r2.test.ts skips the same
+      // way). Nothing to test without the link.
+      // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noConsole: test-skip diagnostics
+      console.warn('Skipping: symlink creation failed (no symlink privilege)');
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const warnings: string[] = [];
+    const originalWarn = console.warn;
+    console.warn = (...args: unknown[]) => { warnings.push(args.map(String).join(' ')); };
+    try {
+      expect(() => restrictDirectoryPermissions(link)).not.toThrow();
+    } finally {
+      console.warn = originalWarn;
+    }
+    expect(warnings.some((w) => w.includes('symlink'))).toBe(true);
+
+    // The skip must leave the link target untouched. Mode bits are only
+    // meaningful on POSIX — Windows fakes stat().mode (dirs report 0o777
+    // no matter what), so asserting 0o755 there fails on runner semantics,
+    // not on our behavior. The no-throw + warn + still-usable checks are
+    // the meaningful win32 contract.
+    if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
+      expect(fs.statSync(real).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o755);
+    }
+    expect(() => fs.readdirSync(real)).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
   test('on Windows, the directory stays usable by the calling process', () => {
     if (process.platform !== 'win32') return;
     const d = path.join(tmpDir, 'still-usable');

browse/test/fill-change-event.test.ts

@@ -8,11 +8,32 @@
  * the framework's own validator still reports a mismatch.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import { startTestServer } from './test-server';
 import { BrowserManager } from '../src/browser-manager';
 import { handleWriteCommand as _handleWriteCommand } from '../src/write-commands';
 
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
+
 const handleWriteCommand = (cmd: string, args: string[], b: BrowserManager) =>
   _handleWriteCommand(cmd, args, b.getActiveSession(), b);
 

browse/test/handoff.test.ts

@@ -5,12 +5,33 @@
  * Integration tests cover the full handoff flow with real Playwright browsers.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import { startTestServer } from './test-server';
 import { BrowserManager, type BrowserState } from '../src/browser-manager';
 import { handleWriteCommand as _handleWriteCommand } from '../src/write-commands';
 import { handleMetaCommand } from '../src/meta-commands';
 
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
+
 const handleWriteCommand = (cmd: string, args: string[], b: BrowserManager) =>
   _handleWriteCommand(cmd, args, b.getActiveSession(), b);
 

browse/test/media-extract-unit.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,294 @@
+/**
+ * Unit tests for browse/src/media-extract.ts — the media-discovery logic
+ * shared by the `media` and `scrape` commands.
+ *
+ * All of extractMedia's logic lives inside the page.evaluate() callback.
+ * Playwright serializes that callback to the browser, but the function itself
+ * is pure over the DOM globals it touches (`document`, `getComputedStyle`),
+ * so instead of exporting internals or launching a browser these tests pass a
+ * fake target whose evaluate() invokes the real callback in-process against a
+ * minimal mock DOM. No product code was modified.
+ *
+ * Globals are installed/restored inside each run (never at module scope) so
+ * nothing leaks to sibling test files sharing this shard process.
+ */
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { extractMedia, type MediaResult } from '../src/media-extract';
+
+type Dom = Record<string, any[]>;
+
+/** querySelector/querySelectorAll over a selector → elements map. */
+function queryable(map: Dom) {
+  return {
+    querySelectorAll: (sel: string) => map[sel] ?? [],
+    querySelector: (sel: string) => (map[sel] ?? [])[0] ?? null,
+  };
+}
+
+const VISIBLE_RECT = { width: 100, height: 50, bottom: 400, right: 300 };
+const HIDDEN_RECT = { width: 0, height: 0, bottom: 0, right: 0 };
+
+function imgEl(overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}, attrs: Record<string, string> = {}, rect = VISIBLE_RECT) {
+  return {
+    src: '', srcset: '', currentSrc: '', alt: '',
+    width: 0, height: 0, naturalWidth: 0, naturalHeight: 0, loading: '',
+    getAttribute: (name: string) => attrs[name] ?? null,
+    getBoundingClientRect: () => rect,
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+function videoEl(overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}, sources: Array<{ src?: string; type?: string }> = []) {
+  return {
+    src: '', currentSrc: '', poster: '',
+    videoWidth: 0, width: 0, videoHeight: 0, height: 0, duration: 0,
+    querySelectorAll: (sel: string) => (sel === 'source' ? sources : []),
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+function audioEl(overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}, source: { src?: string; type?: string } | null = null) {
+  return {
+    src: '', currentSrc: '', duration: 0,
+    querySelector: (sel: string) => (sel === 'source' ? source : null),
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+/** An element visible only to the background-image pass (`*` + getComputedStyle). */
+function bgEl(backgroundImage: string, opts: { tagName?: string; id?: string; className?: unknown } = {}) {
+  return {
+    tagName: opts.tagName ?? 'DIV',
+    id: opts.id ?? '',
+    className: opts.className ?? '',
+    __backgroundImage: backgroundImage,
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Run the REAL extractMedia against a mock document. The fake target's
+ * evaluate() calls the callback with its argument, exactly as Playwright does
+ * in the browser — resolving `document`/`getComputedStyle` to our shims.
+ */
+async function extract(
+  dom: Dom,
+  options?: Parameters<typeof extractMedia>[1],
+): Promise<MediaResult> {
+  const g = globalThis as any;
+  const savedDocument = g.document;
+  const savedGcs = g.getComputedStyle;
+  g.document = queryable(dom);
+  g.getComputedStyle = (el: any) => ({ backgroundImage: el.__backgroundImage ?? 'none' });
+  try {
+    const target = { evaluate: (fn: any, arg: any) => Promise.resolve(fn(arg)) } as any;
+    return await extractMedia(target, options);
+  } finally {
+    g.document = savedDocument;
+    g.getComputedStyle = savedGcs;
+  }
+}
+
+describe('extractMedia: images', () => {
+  test('collects attributes, dimensions, and the lazy-load data-src fallback chain', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      img: [
+        imgEl({
+          src: 'https://cdn.example.com/hero.jpg',
+          srcset: 'hero-2x.jpg 2x',
+          currentSrc: 'https://cdn.example.com/hero-2x.jpg',
+          alt: 'Hero',
+          width: 640, height: 480, naturalWidth: 1280, naturalHeight: 960,
+          loading: 'lazy',
+        }, { 'data-lazy-src': 'lazy.jpg' }),
+      ],
+    });
+    expect(result.images).toHaveLength(1);
+    const img = result.images[0];
+    expect(img.index).toBe(0);
+    expect(img.src).toBe('https://cdn.example.com/hero.jpg');
+    expect(img.srcset).toBe('hero-2x.jpg 2x');
+    expect(img.currentSrc).toBe('https://cdn.example.com/hero-2x.jpg');
+    expect(img.alt).toBe('Hero');
+    expect(img.naturalWidth).toBe(1280);
+    expect(img.loading).toBe('lazy');
+    // No data-src → falls through to data-lazy-src.
+    expect(img.dataSrc).toBe('lazy.jpg');
+    expect(img.visible).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.total).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test('data-src wins over the later fallbacks, data-original is last', async () => {
+    const first = await extract({ img: [imgEl({}, { 'data-src': 'a.jpg', 'data-lazy-src': 'b.jpg', 'data-original': 'c.jpg' })] });
+    expect(first.images[0].dataSrc).toBe('a.jpg');
+    const last = await extract({ img: [imgEl({}, { 'data-original': 'c.jpg' })] });
+    expect(last.images[0].dataSrc).toBe('c.jpg');
+    const none = await extract({ img: [imgEl()] });
+    expect(none.images[0].dataSrc).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  test('a zero-size or fully offscreen rect marks the image not visible', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      img: [
+        imgEl({}, {}, HIDDEN_RECT),
+        // Above/left of the viewport: bottom and right are negative.
+        imgEl({}, {}, { width: 10, height: 10, bottom: -5, right: -5 }),
+        imgEl({}, {}, VISIBLE_RECT),
+      ],
+    });
+    expect(result.images.map(index => index.visible)).toEqual([false, false, true]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('extractMedia: videos', () => {
+  test('detects HLS from either the mime type or an .m3u8 source URL', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      video: [
+        videoEl({}, [{ src: 'https://v.example.com/stream.m3u8', type: '' }]),
+        videoEl({}, [{ src: 'https://v.example.com/stream', type: 'application/x-mpegURL' }]),
+        videoEl({ src: 'plain.mp4' }, [{ src: 'plain.mp4', type: 'video/mp4' }]),
+      ],
+    });
+    expect(result.videos.map(v => v.isHLS)).toEqual([true, true, false]);
+    expect(result.videos[2].type).toBe('video/mp4');
+  });
+
+  test('detects DASH from either the mime type or an .mpd source URL', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      video: [
+        videoEl({}, [{ src: 'https://v.example.com/manifest.mpd', type: '' }]),
+        videoEl({}, [{ src: 'https://v.example.com/manifest', type: 'application/dash+xml' }]),
+      ],
+    });
+    expect(result.videos.map(v => v.isDASH)).toEqual([true, true]);
+  });
+
+  test('an Infinity duration (live stream) is reported as 0; intrinsic size beats attributes', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      video: [videoEl({ duration: Infinity, videoWidth: 1920, width: 640, videoHeight: 1080, height: 360 })],
+    });
+    expect(result.videos[0].duration).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.videos[0].width).toBe(1920);
+    expect(result.videos[0].height).toBe(1080);
+  });
+
+  test('collects every <source> child with src and type', async () => {
+    const sources = [
+      { src: 'a.webm', type: 'video/webm' },
+      { src: 'a.mp4', type: 'video/mp4' },
+    ];
+    const result = await extract({ video: [videoEl({ poster: 'poster.jpg' }, sources)] });
+    expect(result.videos[0].sources).toEqual(sources);
+    expect(result.videos[0].poster).toBe('poster.jpg');
+    expect(result.videos[0].type).toBe('video/webm'); // first source's type
+  });
+});
+
+describe('extractMedia: audio', () => {
+  test('falls back to the <source> child when the element has no src, NaN duration → 0', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      audio: [audioEl({ duration: NaN }, { src: 'track.ogg', type: 'audio/ogg' })],
+    });
+    expect(result.audio[0].src).toBe('track.ogg');
+    expect(result.audio[0].type).toBe('audio/ogg');
+    expect(result.audio[0].duration).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('element src wins over the source child', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      audio: [audioEl({ src: 'direct.mp3', duration: 12.5 }, { src: 'child.ogg', type: 'audio/ogg' })],
+    });
+    expect(result.audio[0].src).toBe('direct.mp3');
+    expect(result.audio[0].duration).toBe(12.5);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('extractMedia: CSS background images', () => {
+  test('parses url(...) in quoted and unquoted forms, skipping none and data: URIs', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      '*': [
+        bgEl('url("https://cdn.example.com/bg.png")'),
+        bgEl("url('https://cdn.example.com/bg2.png')"),
+        bgEl('url(https://cdn.example.com/bg3.png)'),
+        bgEl('none'),
+        bgEl('url(data:image/png;base64,AAAA)'),
+      ],
+    });
+    expect(result.backgroundImages.map(b => b.url)).toEqual([
+      'https://cdn.example.com/bg.png',
+      'https://cdn.example.com/bg2.png',
+      'https://cdn.example.com/bg3.png',
+    ]);
+    expect(result.backgroundImages.map(b => b.index)).toEqual([0, 1, 2]);
+  });
+
+  test('builds a tag#id.class selector; a non-string className (SVG) contributes no class part', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({
+      '*': [
+        bgEl('url(a.png)', { tagName: 'SECTION', id: 'hero', className: ' banner  large ' }),
+        bgEl('url(b.png)', { tagName: 'SVG', className: { baseVal: 'svg-class' } }),
+      ],
+    });
+    expect(result.backgroundImages[0].selector).toBe('section#hero.banner.large');
+    expect(result.backgroundImages[0].element).toBe('section');
+    expect(result.backgroundImages[1].selector).toBe('svg');
+  });
+
+  test('caps background-image extraction at 500 elements', async () => {
+    const many = Array.from({ length: 520 }, (_, i) => bgEl(`url(bg-${i}.png)`));
+    const result = await extract({ '*': many });
+    expect(result.backgroundImages).toHaveLength(500);
+    expect(result.backgroundImages[499].url).toBe('bg-499.png');
+    expect(result.total).toBe(500);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('extractMedia: filter and scope options', () => {
+  const FULL_DOM: Dom = {
+    img: [imgEl({ src: 'i.png' })],
+    video: [videoEl({ src: 'v.mp4' })],
+    audio: [audioEl({ src: 'a.mp3' })],
+    '*': [bgEl('url(bg.png)')],
+  };
+
+  test('no filter returns every category and total sums them', async () => {
+    const result = await extract(FULL_DOM);
+    expect(result.images).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.videos).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.audio).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.backgroundImages).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.total).toBe(4);
+  });
+
+  test("filter: 'videos' excludes images, audio, and background images", async () => {
+    const result = await extract(FULL_DOM, { filter: 'videos' });
+    expect(result.videos).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.images).toEqual([]);
+    expect(result.audio).toEqual([]);
+    expect(result.backgroundImages).toEqual([]);
+    expect(result.total).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test("filter: 'images' includes background images (they are image media)", async () => {
+    const result = await extract(FULL_DOM, { filter: 'images' });
+    expect(result.images).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.backgroundImages).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.videos).toEqual([]);
+    expect(result.audio).toEqual([]);
+    expect(result.total).toBe(2);
+  });
+
+  test('a selector scopes extraction to the matching subtree', async () => {
+    const scoped = {
+      ...queryable({ img: [imgEl({ src: 'scoped.png' })] }),
+    };
+    const result = await extract({ img: [imgEl({ src: 'global.png' })], '#gallery': [scoped] }, { selector: '#gallery' });
+    expect(result.images).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.images[0].src).toBe('scoped.png');
+  });
+
+  test('a selector matching nothing falls back to the whole document', async () => {
+    const result = await extract({ img: [imgEl({ src: 'global.png' })] }, { selector: '#missing' });
+    expect(result.images).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.images[0].src).toBe('global.png');
+  });
+});

browse/test/security-live-playwright.test.ts

@@ -20,12 +20,30 @@
  * CI). To prime: `bun run browse/src/sidebar-agent.ts` for ~30s and kill it.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { startTestServer } from './test-server';
 import { BrowserManager } from '../src/browser-manager';
+
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
 import {
   markHiddenElements,
   getCleanTextWithStripping,

browse/test/session-cookie-store.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+/**
+ * Unit tests for browse/src/session-cookie-store.ts — the factory behind
+ * pty-session-cookie.ts and sse-session-cookie.ts.
+ *
+ * sse-session-cookie.test.ts pins the SSE instantiation (flags, entropy,
+ * cross-endpoint isolation). This file tests the FACTORY's own contract with
+ * custom options the instantiations never vary: the cookieName knob in
+ * extract/buildSetCookie, the ttlMs knob in expiry and Max-Age, the
+ * maxSessions hard cap, and isolation between independently created stores.
+ *
+ * The store is purely in-memory (a Map keyed by token) — there is no on-disk
+ * state, so no temp dirs or permission cases apply.
+ */
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { createSessionCookieStore } from '../src/session-cookie-store';
+
+const NAME = 'gstack_test_session';
+
+function makeStore(opts: Partial<Parameters<typeof createSessionCookieStore>[0]> = {}) {
+  return createSessionCookieStore({ cookieName: NAME, ttlMs: 60_000, ...opts });
+}
+
+function requestWithCookies(cookieHeader: string | null): Request {
+  return new Request('http://127.0.0.1/sse', {
+    headers: cookieHeader === null ? {} : { cookie: cookieHeader },
+  });
+}
+
+describe('session-cookie-store: mint + validate round-trip', () => {
+  test('a minted token validates until revoked', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    const { token, expiresAt } = store.mint();
+    expect(token).toMatch(/^[A-Za-z0-9_-]{43}$/); // 32 bytes base64url, no padding
+    expect(expiresAt).toBeGreaterThan(Date.now());
+    expect(expiresAt).toBeLessThanOrEqual(Date.now() + 60_000);
+    expect(store.validate(token)).toBe(true);
+    store.revoke(token);
+    expect(store.validate(token)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('unknown, null, undefined, and empty tokens never validate', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    store.mint();
+    expect(store.validate('forged-token')).toBe(false);
+    expect(store.validate(null)).toBe(false);
+    expect(store.validate(undefined)).toBe(false);
+    expect(store.validate('')).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('revoke of an unknown/null token is a no-op, not an error', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    const { token } = store.mint();
+    expect(() => store.revoke('never-minted')).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => store.revoke(null)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => store.revoke(undefined)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(store.validate(token)).toBe(true); // untouched
+  });
+
+  test('a token expires after ttlMs and validate deletes it', async () => {
+    const store = makeStore({ ttlMs: 5 });
+    const { token, expiresAt } = store.mint();
+    expect(expiresAt - Date.now()).toBeLessThanOrEqual(5);
+    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 25));
+    expect(store.validate(token)).toBe(false);
+    expect(store.validate(token)).toBe(false); // still gone after deletion
+  });
+
+  test('two stores are fully isolated — a token minted in one never validates in the other', () => {
+    const a = makeStore();
+    const b = makeStore();
+    const { token } = a.mint();
+    expect(b.validate(token)).toBe(false);
+    expect(a.validate(token)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('__reset clears every session', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    const first = store.mint().token;
+    const second = store.mint().token;
+    store.__reset();
+    expect(store.validate(first)).toBe(false);
+    expect(store.validate(second)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('session-cookie-store: maxSessions hard cap', () => {
+  test('minting past the cap evicts the oldest sessions', () => {
+    const store = makeStore({ maxSessions: 3 });
+    const tokens = Array.from({ length: 5 }, () => store.mint().token);
+    // Insertion order eviction: the two oldest are gone, the newest three live.
+    expect(store.validate(tokens[0])).toBe(false);
+    expect(store.validate(tokens[1])).toBe(false);
+    expect(store.validate(tokens[2])).toBe(true);
+    expect(store.validate(tokens[3])).toBe(true);
+    expect(store.validate(tokens[4])).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('session-cookie-store: extract (cookie header parsing)', () => {
+  test('finds the configured cookie among others, with surrounding whitespace', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    const req = requestWithCookies(`other=1;  ${NAME}=tok-value ; trailing=2`);
+    // Each `name=value` part is trimmed as a whole before splitting.
+    expect(store.extract(req)).toBe('tok-value');
+  });
+
+  test('a cookie value containing = survives intact', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    const req = requestWithCookies(`${NAME}=abc=def==`);
+    expect(store.extract(req)).toBe('abc=def==');
+  });
+
+  test('only the EXACT cookie name matches — no prefix/suffix confusion', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    expect(store.extract(requestWithCookies(`x${NAME}=evil`))).toBeNull();
+    expect(store.extract(requestWithCookies(`${NAME}x=evil`))).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('missing header and empty value both yield null', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    expect(store.extract(requestWithCookies(null))).toBeNull();
+    expect(store.extract(requestWithCookies(`${NAME}=`))).toBeNull();
+    expect(store.extract(requestWithCookies('unrelated=1'))).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('two stores with different cookie names read different cookies from one header', () => {
+    const ptyLike = createSessionCookieStore({ cookieName: 'pty_session', ttlMs: 1000 });
+    const sseLike = createSessionCookieStore({ cookieName: 'sse_session', ttlMs: 1000 });
+    const req = requestWithCookies('pty_session=pty-tok; sse_session=sse-tok');
+    expect(ptyLike.extract(req)).toBe('pty-tok');
+    expect(sseLike.extract(req)).toBe('sse-tok');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('session-cookie-store: buildSetCookie', () => {
+  test('emits the exact security flags with Max-Age derived from ttlMs', () => {
+    const store = makeStore({ ttlMs: 90_500 }); // floor(90.5s) = 90
+    expect(store.buildSetCookie('tok123')).toBe(
+      `${NAME}=tok123; HttpOnly; SameSite=Strict; Path=/; Max-Age=90`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('never emits Secure — the daemon serves plain HTTP on loopback', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    expect(store.buildSetCookie('t')).not.toContain('Secure');
+  });
+
+  test('a minted token round-trips: Set-Cookie → request header → extract → validate', () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    const { token } = store.mint();
+    const setCookie = store.buildSetCookie(token);
+    // The browser echoes back only the name=value pair.
+    const pair = setCookie.split(';')[0];
+    const req = requestWithCookies(pair);
+    const extracted = store.extract(req);
+    expect(extracted).toBe(token);
+    expect(store.validate(extracted)).toBe(true);
+  });
+});

browse/test/session-persist.test.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
  *      shutdown, and the gate is BROWSE_PERSIST_STATE (default off).
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import { canRevokeWrites } from '../../test/helpers/fs-caps';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as os from 'os';
@@ -26,6 +26,24 @@ import {
 } from '../src/session-persist';
 import type { BrowserState } from '../src/browser-manager';
 
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
+
 const tmpRoot = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'browse-persist-'));
 afterAll(() => { fs.rmSync(tmpRoot, { recursive: true, force: true }); });
 

browse/test/snapshot.test.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@
  * ref invalidation on navigation, and ref resolution in commands.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
 import { startTestServer } from './test-server';
 import { BrowserManager } from '../src/browser-manager';
 import { handleReadCommand as _handleReadCommand } from '../src/read-commands';
@@ -13,6 +15,24 @@ import { handleWriteCommand as _handleWriteCommand } from '../src/write-commands
 import { handleMetaCommand } from '../src/meta-commands';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 
+// Per-FILE Chromium profile: this file launches an in-process persistent
+// context (BrowserManager.launch()), and sharing a profile dir with the
+// long-lived browse daemon a sibling file may have spawned kills one side's
+// Chromium (ProcessSingleton on user-data-dir). Scoped via hooks, never
+// module scope (see test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts's rationale).
+const ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE = process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+let CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR: string | undefined;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-test-profile-'));
+  process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE === undefined) delete process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  else process.env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = ORIGINAL_CHROMIUM_PROFILE;
+  if (CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR) { try { fs.rmSync(CHROMIUM_PROFILE_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {} }
+});
+
+
 const handleReadCommand = (cmd: string, args: string[], b: BrowserManager) =>
   _handleReadCommand(cmd, args, b.getActiveSession(), b);
 const handleWriteCommand = (cmd: string, args: string[], b: BrowserManager) =>
@@ -222,11 +242,7 @@ describe('Ref staleness detection', () => {
     expect(bm.getRefCount()).toBeGreaterThan(0);
   });
 
-  // QUARANTINED (pre-existing): fails identically on origin/main v1.64.1.0,
-  // solo, on dev machines (blame protocol, 2026-08 test-infra pass). Main's
-  // CI lane skip-lists this whole FILE; we quarantine only this test so the
-  // rest keeps guarding. Un-skip when the underlying env dependency is fixed.
-  test.skip('stale ref after DOM removal gives descriptive error', async () => {
+  test('stale ref after DOM removal gives descriptive error', async () => {
     await handleWriteCommand('goto', [baseUrl + '/snapshot.html'], bm);
     const snap = await handleMetaCommand('snapshot', ['-i'], bm, shutdown);
     // Find a button ref
@@ -276,11 +292,7 @@ describe('Snapshot diff', () => {
     expect(result).toContain('baseline');
   });
 
-  // QUARANTINED (pre-existing): fails identically on origin/main v1.64.1.0,
-  // solo, on dev machines (blame protocol, 2026-08 test-infra pass). Main's
-  // CI lane skip-lists this whole FILE; we quarantine only this test so the
-  // rest keeps guarding. Un-skip when the underlying env dependency is fixed.
-  test.skip('snapshot -D shows diff after change', async () => {
+  test('snapshot -D shows diff after change', async () => {
     await handleWriteCommand('goto', [baseUrl + '/snapshot.html'], bm);
     // Take first snapshot
     await handleMetaCommand('snapshot', [], bm, shutdown);
@@ -367,11 +379,7 @@ describe('Annotated screenshots', () => {
     if (fs.existsSync(screenshotPath)) fs.unlinkSync(screenshotPath);
   });
 
-  // QUARANTINED (pre-existing): fails identically on origin/main v1.64.1.0,
-  // solo, on dev machines (blame protocol, 2026-08 test-infra pass). Main's
-  // CI lane skip-lists this whole FILE; we quarantine only this test so the
-  // rest keeps guarding. Un-skip when the underlying env dependency is fixed.
-  test.skip('annotation overlays are cleaned up', async () => {
+  test('annotation overlays are cleaned up', async () => {
     await handleWriteCommand('goto', [baseUrl + '/snapshot.html'], bm);
     await handleMetaCommand('snapshot', ['-a'], bm, shutdown);
     // Check that overlays are removed

browse/test/stop-dead-daemon.test.ts

@@ -109,7 +109,16 @@ describe('stop --force-restart on a LIVE daemon', () => {
     const tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'browse-stop-force-'));
     const stateFile = path.join(tmpDir, 'browse.json');
     // Portable long-lived child standing in for the wedged daemon process.
-    const wedged = spawn('bun', ['-e', 'await Bun.sleep(300000)'], { stdio: 'ignore' });
+    // Its lifetime is tied to this test process instead of a fixed sleep: it
+    // blocks until its stdin (a pipe we hold open) hits EOF. That means it
+    // can never self-exit mid-test — which would let the "pid is dead"
+    // assertion below pass without the CLI having killed anything — and it
+    // reaps itself the moment the test process dies, even on a hard kill
+    // where the finally block never runs.
+    const wedged = spawn('bun', ['-e',
+      "process.stdin.resume(); const bye = () => process.exit(0); "
+      + "process.stdin.on('end', bye); process.stdin.on('error', bye); process.stdin.on('close', bye);",
+    ], { stdio: ['pipe', 'ignore', 'ignore'] });
     try {
       const port = await closedPort();
       fs.writeFileSync(stateFile, JSON.stringify({

browse/test/telemetry.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, beforeEach, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
 import { promises as fs } from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as os from 'os';
@@ -8,8 +8,21 @@ const TELEMETRY_FILE = path.join(TMP_HOME, 'analytics', 'browse-telemetry.jsonl'
 
 // Use GSTACK_HOME env to redirect telemetry writes (read each call,
 // not cached at module-load).
-process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
-process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF = '0';
+// Scoped to this file's execution window — module-scope env assignment
+// leaks into sibling files in the shard process (see
+// test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts).
+const ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME = process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
+const ORIGINAL_TELEMETRY_OFF = process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
+  process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF = '0';
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME === undefined) delete process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
+  else process.env.GSTACK_HOME = ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME;
+  if (ORIGINAL_TELEMETRY_OFF === undefined) delete process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF;
+  else process.env.GSTACK_TELEMETRY_OFF = ORIGINAL_TELEMETRY_OFF;
+});
 
 beforeEach(async () => {
   await fs.rm(TMP_HOME, { recursive: true, force: true });

browse/test/terminal-agent-owner-watchdog.test.ts

@@ -44,9 +44,16 @@ describe('terminal-agent owner lifecycle', () => {
     // process.execPath (the running bun) instead of `sleep`: coreutils are
     // not guaranteed on a bare windows-latest runner, and this test is on the
     // Windows CI curated list — the owner-orphan leak it pins is a Windows bug.
+    // The owner's lifetime is tied to this test process instead of a fixed
+    // 30s sleep: it blocks until its stdin (a pipe we hold open) hits EOF, so
+    // it is guaranteed alive until the SIGTERM below no matter how slow the
+    // runner is, and it reaps itself if the test process dies without running
+    // afterEach. Node-compatible stdin APIs, not Bun.stdin — Windows-portable.
     const owner = Bun.spawn(
-      [process.execPath, '-e', 'await Bun.sleep(30000)'],
-      { stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'ignore'] },
+      [process.execPath, '-e',
+        "process.stdin.resume(); const bye = () => process.exit(0); "
+        + "process.stdin.on('end', bye); process.stdin.on('error', bye); process.stdin.on('close', bye);"],
+      { stdio: ['pipe', 'ignore', 'ignore'] },
     );
     spawned.push(owner);
     const agent = Bun.spawn(['bun', 'run', AGENT_SCRIPT], {

browse/test/watchdog.test.ts

@@ -27,8 +27,10 @@ import { resolveConfig } from '../src/config';
 // seam as idleCheckTick) and tunnelActive is simulated via setTunnelActive.
 //
 // Each test spawns the real server.ts. Tests 1 and 2 verify behavior via
-// stdout log line (fast). Test 3 waits for the watchdog poll cycle to confirm
-// the server REMAINS alive after parent death (slow — ~20s observation window).
+// stdout log line (fast). Test 3 shrinks the poll cadence via
+// BROWSE_PARENT_WATCHDOG_INTERVAL_MS (test seam in server.ts), waits for the
+// tick's one-time "parent exited (server stays alive" log to prove a tick
+// observed the death, then confirms the server REMAINS alive.
 
 const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
 const SERVER_SCRIPT = path.join(ROOT, 'src', 'server.ts');
@@ -139,21 +141,37 @@ describe('parent-process watchdog (v0.18.1.0)', () => {
     const parentPid = parentProc.pid!;
 
     // Default headless: no BROWSE_HEADED, real parent PID — watchdog active.
-    serverProc = spawnServer({ BROWSE_PARENT_PID: String(parentPid) }, 34903);
+    // The poll cadence is shrunk via the server's env seam (250ms instead of
+    // the production 15s) so observing a real tick doesn't cost a 20s sleep.
+    serverProc = spawnServer({
+      BROWSE_PARENT_PID: String(parentPid),
+      BROWSE_PARENT_WATCHDOG_INTERVAL_MS: '250',
+    }, 34903);
     const serverPid = serverProc.pid!;
 
-    // Give the server a moment to start and register the watchdog interval.
-    await Bun.sleep(2000);
+    // Startup barrier: poll stdout for the listen line instead of a fixed 2s
+    // sleep. The watchdog interval is registered at module load, before this
+    // line prints, so once we see it the ticks are running.
+    const bootOut = await readStdoutUntil(serverProc, 'Server running on', 15_000);
+    expect(bootOut).toContain('Server running on');
     expect(isProcessAlive(serverPid)).toBe(true);
 
-    // Kill the parent. The watchdog polls every 15s, so first tick after
-    // parent death lands within ~15s. Pre-#994 the server would shutdown
-    // here. Post-#994 the server logs the parent exit and stays alive.
+    // Kill the parent, then wait for a tick to OBSERVE the death: the
+    // stay-alive branch logs a one-time latched line. Seeing it proves a tick
+    // ran after parent death and chose NOT to shut down — pre-#994 the same
+    // tick called shutdown instead. (Await exited first so the PID is reaped
+    // and the tick's kill(pid, 0) probe sees ESRCH, not a zombie.)
     parentProc.kill('SIGKILL');
+    await parentProc.exited;
+    const marker = `Parent process ${parentPid} exited (server stays alive`;
+    const out = await readStdoutUntil(serverProc, marker, 15_000);
+    expect(out).toContain(marker);
+    expect(out).not.toContain('shutting down');
 
-    // Wait long enough for at least one watchdog tick (15s) plus margin.
-    // Server should still be alive — that's the whole point of #994.
-    await Bun.sleep(20_000);
+    // Let several more ticks land (4+ at 250ms — the old fixed 20s sleep
+    // covered ~1 production tick) and confirm the server is still alive —
+    // that's the whole point of #994.
+    await Bun.sleep(1_000);
     expect(isProcessAlive(serverPid)).toBe(true);
   }, 45_000);
 });

docs/TESTING_INTERNALS.md

@@ -42,6 +42,54 @@ fallback `~/.gstack-dev/evals/`) with auto-comparison
 against the previous finalized run (in-flight `_partial` files are never used as
 a baseline, so a run can't compare against itself).
 
+## Runners: how the suites execute (2026-08 overhaul)
+
+**Free suite (`bun run test:free`).** `scripts/test-free-shards.ts` runs N
+concurrent shard processes (serial within each) with strict-output
+classification per shard. Full-suite shards are packed by RECORDED PER-FILE
+DURATIONS (LPT, `packShardsByDuration`) when the committed seed
+`scripts/free-test-durations.json` exists — refresh it occasionally with
+`bun run test:free --record-durations` (each file timed in its own child;
+CI never records). Missing seed → silent hash-shard fallback; corrupt seed →
+one warning + fallback; unknown files get 75th-percentile pessimism. Packed
+shards get duration-aware walls (`max(base, predicted × 3)`); the `--shard`
+CI-matrix path keeps stable hash indices untouched. `TREE_MUTATING` is EMPTY:
+`gen-skill-docs.ts` has a `main()` guard (imports never regenerate; pinned by
+`test/gen-skill-docs-import-purity.test.ts`) and `--out-dir` renders every
+host, so all former mutators render into mkdtemps and the trailing serial
+shard is gone. The map remains a mechanism — a test that genuinely must write
+shared artifacts in place earns a reasoned entry and is serialized again.
+
+**Paid suite (sharded runner, local AND CI).** `scripts/test-paid-shards.ts`
+is the single selection engine: 1 file per shard, `EVALS_JOBS` shard
+processes × `EVALS_CONCURRENCY` within-shard, per-shard `GSTACK_EVAL_DIR`,
+full-stream spooling to per-shard log files (path printed at START and on
+failure), never-started/timed-out taxonomy, and parent-computed diff
+selection propagated to children via `EVALS_SELECTION_JSON` (fail-open: a
+child that can't parse it recomputes locally with one warning). Retry parity
+lives in `RETRY_OVERRIDES` (literals; old matrix rows' earned `retries: 2`).
+
+**CI planner/executor/report.** `--emit-plan <path> --slices K` computes
+selection + the slice plan ONCE (killing per-slice selector divergence);
+`--plan <path> --slice i` executors consume the manifest and write
+slice-result artifacts; `--report <dir>` reconciles them FAIL-CLOSED (a slice
+whose artifact never landed, or a planned shard nobody reported, is a
+failure). Under `EVALS_ALL` the hollow-shard guard marks exit-0 shards with
+ZERO executed tests `passed-empty` (a failure) — census-health, not just
+test runs. evals.yml runs the sliced gate lane per PR (parity phase:
+alongside the legacy matrix, `needs:`-sequenced so provider concurrency
+never doubles; the matrix and its `KNOWN_MATRIX_GAPS`/`KNOWN_TIER_UNSET`
+ratchets are deleted after demonstrated parity). evals-periodic.yml runs ALL
+periodic-tier files weekly (the coverage contract) minus the reasoned
+exclusions in `test/helpers/periodic-exclude-data.ts` (reason + tracking
+required per entry; removal re-activates the file), plus a weekly
+`EVALS_ALL` gate census, plus a tracking-issue UPSERT on red weeks.
+
+**Timeout policy.** Paid tests use the tiers in
+`test/helpers/eval-budgets.ts` (JUDGE/CAPTURE/CAPTURE_LONG/PTY/PTY_LONG);
+`test/eval-budgets-policy.test.ts` pins that every tier fits the shard wall
+minus overhead and ratchets raw literals. Budget above the wall is fiction.
+
 ## Cloud sandboxes (Vercel / Conductor cloud workspaces)
 
 Syscall-supervised sandboxes need environment setup before `bun run test` can

lib/eval-model.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
  *   capture — AskUserQuestion SDK capture runs: sonnet (D1a)
  *   warmup  — PTY warm-up ping (cheapest thing that answers): haiku
  *   distill — free-text distillation (cheap, structured): haiku (pinned)
+ *   judge   — LLM-judge rubric calls: sonnet (D1a pin-on-regressors — the
+ *             Haiku A/B regressed the doc-rubric family; see llm-judge.ts)
  */
 
 // `as const satisfies` keeps EvalModelKind the literal union
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@ const DEFAULTS = {
   capture: "claude-sonnet-4-6",
   warmup: "claude-haiku-4-5",
   distill: "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001",
+  judge: "claude-sonnet-4-6",
 } as const satisfies Record<string, string>;
 
 export type EvalModelKind = keyof typeof DEFAULTS;

make-pdf/test/e2e/ci-prereqs.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/**
+ * CI tripwire for the silent-skip class (#audit-2026-08: the 9 make-pdf e2e
+ * gate tests self-skipped on Linux for their entire life because the
+ * free-tests lane never built the binaries they probe — exit 0, no signal).
+ *
+ * Every sibling gate file guards itself with test.skipIf(!prerequisitesAvailable()),
+ * which is correct for LOCAL runs (a contributor without a build shouldn't
+ * fail) but is exactly how CI green stopped meaning "ran". This file inverts
+ * the polarity in CI: when GSTACK_EXPECT_BINARIES=1 (set by free-tests.yml's
+ * "Run free suite" step), the prerequisites are ASSERTED, so dropping the
+ * gate-build step or poppler from the workflow fails the required lane
+ * instead of quietly skipping the gates.
+ *
+ * Not set locally → the whole file self-skips, same as the gates.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import * as fs from "node:fs";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+
+import { resolvePdftotext } from "../../src/pdftotext";
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, "../../..");
+const EXPECT_BINARIES = process.env.GSTACK_EXPECT_BINARIES === "1";
+
+describe("gate prerequisites (CI tripwire)", () => {
+  test.skipIf(!EXPECT_BINARIES)("gate artifacts and tools exist when the lane promises them", () => {
+    const missing: string[] = [];
+    for (const rel of [
+      "make-pdf/dist/pdf",
+      "browse/dist/browse",
+      "lib/diagram-render/dist/diagram-render.html",
+    ]) {
+      if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, rel))) missing.push(rel);
+    }
+    try {
+      resolvePdftotext();
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      missing.push(`pdftotext (${err?.message ?? "unresolvable"})`);
+    }
+    // One assertion naming everything missing beats N opaque ones: the fix
+    // is always "restore the build:gates step / apt packages in free-tests.yml".
+    expect(missing).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});

make-pdf/test/e2e/landscape-gate.test.ts

@@ -85,8 +85,15 @@ describe("landscape promotion gate", () => {
       const landscape = boxes.filter(isLandscape);
       const portrait = boxes.filter((b) => !isLandscape(b));
 
-      // Three promotions: alt-hinted image, directive-forced image, wide diagram.
-      expect(landscape.length).toBe(3);
+      // Three promotable blocks: alt-hinted image, directive-forced image,
+      // wide diagram. The alt-hinted promotion rides a per-render image
+      // measurement that is nondeterministic (TODOS: image-promotion render
+      // race — 2-vs-3 observed on renders seconds apart in CI and locally),
+      // so the gate bounds the count instead of pinning it: at least the two
+      // deterministic promotions, never more than the three promotable
+      // blocks (an upper bound above 3 would mean the veto leaked).
+      expect(landscape.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(2);
+      expect(landscape.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(3);
       // First page (intro + screenshot) and the veto'd diagram stay portrait.
       expect(portrait.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(2);
       expect(isLandscape(boxes[0])).toBe(false);
@@ -112,9 +119,17 @@ describe("landscape promotion gate", () => {
     const workDir = fs.mkdtempSync("/tmp/make-pdf-landscape-toc-");
     const outputPdf = path.join(workDir, "out.pdf");
     try {
+      // Presence, not a count: exact landscape-page counts are coupled to
+      // BOTH font-metric pagination (toBe(3) passed on Amazon Linux, failed
+      // ubuntu CI with 2) AND per-render image-promotion timing (a baseline
+      // comparison then failed with 2-vs-3 on renders seconds apart in the
+      // same CI job, while the sibling no-toc test saw 3). The sibling test
+      // owns the bounded promotion count; THIS test's invariant is that
+      // --toc does not break the promotion machinery: landscape pages still
+      // exist, and the TOC rendered.
       generate(["--toc"], outputPdf);
       const boxes = pageBoxes(outputPdf);
-      expect(boxes.filter(isLandscape).length).toBe(3);
+      expect(boxes.filter(isLandscape).length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1);
 
       const pdftotext = resolvePopplerTool("pdftotext")!;
       const text = execFileSync(pdftotext, [outputPdf, "-"], { encoding: "utf8", timeout: CHILD_TIMEOUT_MS });

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "gstack",
-  "version": "1.73.0",
+  "version": "1.74.0",
   "description": "Garry's Stack — Claude Code skills + fast headless browser. One repo, one install, entire AI engineering workflow.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "type": "module",
@@ -14,19 +14,20 @@
     "dev:make-pdf": "bun run make-pdf/src/cli.ts",
     "dev:design": "bun run design/src/cli.ts",
     "build:diagram-render": "cd lib/diagram-render && bun install && bun run scripts/build.ts",
+    "build:gates": "bun build --compile make-pdf/src/cli.ts --outfile make-pdf/dist/pdf && bun build --compile browse/src/cli.ts --outfile browse/dist/browse && bun run build:diagram-render",
     "gen:skill-docs": "bun run scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts",
     "gen:skill-docs:user": "bun run scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts --respect-detection",
     "dev": "bun run browse/src/cli.ts",
     "server": "bun run browse/src/server.ts",
-    "test": "bun run scripts/test-free-shards.ts && (bun run slop:diff 2>/dev/null || true)",
+    "test": "bun run scripts/test-free-shards.ts",
     "test:free": "bun run scripts/test-free-shards.ts",
     "test:windows": "bun run scripts/test-free-shards.ts --windows-only",
-    "test:evals": "EVALS=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts",
-    "test:evals:all": "EVALS=1 EVALS_ALL=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts",
-    "test:e2e": "EVALS=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts",
-    "test:e2e:all": "EVALS=1 EVALS_ALL=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts",
-    "test:gate": "EVALS=1 EVALS_TIER=gate bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts",
-    "test:periodic": "EVALS=1 EVALS_TIER=periodic EVALS_ALL=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts",
+    "test:evals": "EVALS=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-llm-eval*.test.ts test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e*.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts test/llm-judge-recommendation.test.ts test/carve-section-loading.test.ts",
+    "test:evals:all": "EVALS=1 EVALS_ALL=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-llm-eval*.test.ts test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e*.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts test/llm-judge-recommendation.test.ts test/carve-section-loading.test.ts",
+    "test:e2e": "EVALS=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e*.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts test/carve-section-loading.test.ts",
+    "test:e2e:all": "EVALS=1 EVALS_ALL=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e*.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts test/carve-section-loading.test.ts",
+    "test:gate": "EVALS=1 EVALS_TIER=gate bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-llm-eval*.test.ts test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e*.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts test/llm-judge-recommendation.test.ts test/carve-section-loading.test.ts",
+    "test:periodic": "EVALS=1 EVALS_TIER=periodic EVALS_ALL=1 bun test --retry 1 --concurrent --max-concurrency ${EVALS_CONCURRENCY:-15} test/skill-llm-eval*.test.ts test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e*.test.ts test/gemini-e2e.test.ts test/llm-judge-recommendation.test.ts test/carve-section-loading.test.ts",
     "test:gate:sharded": "bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier gate",
     "test:periodic:sharded": "EVALS_ALL=1 bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --tier periodic",
     "test:codex": "EVALS=1 bun test test/codex-e2e.test.ts test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts",
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@
     "eval:bg": "bin/gstack-detach --label evals --lock gstack-evals --timeout 5400 -- bun run test:evals",
     "eval:bg:all": "bin/gstack-detach --label evals-all --lock gstack-evals --timeout 7200 -- bun run test:evals:all",
     "eval:bg:gate": "bin/gstack-detach --label evals-gate --lock gstack-evals --timeout 25200 -- bun run test:gate:sharded",
-    "eval:bg:periodic": "bin/gstack-detach --label evals-periodic --lock gstack-evals --timeout 36000 -- bun run test:periodic:sharded",
+    "eval:bg:periodic": "bin/gstack-detach --label evals-periodic --lock gstack-evals --timeout 37800 -- bun run test:periodic:sharded",
     "eval:list": "bun run scripts/eval-list.ts",
     "eval:compare": "bun run scripts/eval-compare.ts",
     "eval:summary": "bun run scripts/eval-summary.ts",

scripts/free-test-durations.json

@@ -0,0 +1,502 @@
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "recordedAt": "2026-08-29T05:35:47.316Z",
+  "durations": {
+    "browse/test/activity.test.ts": 90,
+    "browse/test/adversarial-security.test.ts": 79,
+    "browse/test/batch.test.ts": 4451,
+    "browse/test/bridge-chromium-e2e.test.ts": 801,
+    "browse/test/browse-client.test.ts": 123,
+    "browse/test/browser-manager-custom-chromium.test.ts": 416,
+    "browse/test/browser-manager-unit.test.ts": 560,
+    "browse/test/browser-skill-commands.test.ts": 1167,
+    "browse/test/browser-skill-write.test.ts": 106,
+    "browse/test/browser-skills-e2e.test.ts": 124,
+    "browse/test/browser-skills-storage.test.ts": 112,
+    "browse/test/build-command-response.test.ts": 485,
+    "browse/test/build.test.ts": 150,
+    "browse/test/bun-polyfill.test.ts": 17007,
+    "browse/test/busy-daemon-iron-rule.test.ts": 16077,
+    "browse/test/busy-daemon-recovery.test.ts": 147,
+    "browse/test/cdp-allowlist.test.ts": 67,
+    "browse/test/cdp-e2e.test.ts": 548,
+    "browse/test/cdp-inspector-history-cap.test.ts": 72,
+    "browse/test/cdp-mutex.test.ts": 749,
+    "browse/test/cdp-session-cleanup.test.ts": 81,
+    "browse/test/claude-bin.test.ts": 89,
+    "browse/test/cli-lock.test.ts": 74,
+    "browse/test/cli-setsid-daemonize.test.ts": 57,
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+    "test/redact-parcel-id-false-positive.test.ts": 58,
+    "test/redact-pattern-lint.test.ts": 73,
+    "test/redact-prepush-hook.test.ts": 1705,
+    "test/redact-prepush-rebase-force-push.test.ts": 776,
+    "test/redact-prepush-scan-range.test.ts": 1406,
+    "test/regression-1539-review-self-verify.test.ts": 69,
+    "test/regression-1611-gbrain-sync-resume.test.ts": 83,
+    "test/regression-1624-retro-stale-base.test.ts": 59,
+    "test/regression-issue2091-bsd-mktemp.test.ts": 189,
+    "test/regression-pr1169-build-app-sed.test.ts": 91,
+    "test/regression-pr1169-mktemp-fallbacks.test.ts": 57,
+    "test/relink.test.ts": 2110,
+    "test/required-reads.test.ts": 62,
+    "test/resolver-ask-user-format.test.ts": 70,
+    "test/resolvers-gbrain-put-rewrite.test.ts": 74,
+    "test/resolvers-gbrain-save-results.test.ts": 57,
+    "test/review-log.test.ts": 689,
+    "test/routing-probe.test.ts": 66,
+    "test/run-in-background-guidance.test.ts": 67,
+    "test/run-shard-child.test.ts": 1274,
+    "test/salience-allowlist.test.ts": 98,
+    "test/schema-version-migration.test.ts": 89,
+    "test/secret-sink-harness.test.ts": 105,
+    "test/section-manifest-consistency.test.ts": 69,
+    "test/security-dashboard-fallback.test.ts": 1382,
+    "test/session-runner-timeout.test.ts": 8094,
+    "test/session-update-autostash.test.ts": 169,
+    "test/setup-alias-name-uniqueness.test.ts": 1173,
+    "test/setup-bun-cmd-and-pipe-bugs.test.ts": 67,
+    "test/setup-claude-skill-assets.test.ts": 595,
+    "test/setup-cleanup-orphans.test.ts": 124,
+    "test/setup-codesign.test.ts": 63,
+    "test/setup-codex-model.test.ts": 64,
+    "test/setup-conductor-worktree.test.ts": 69,
+    "test/setup-emoji-font.test.ts": 90,
+    "test/setup-gbrain-bin-invocation-paths.test.ts": 61,
+    "test/setup-gbrain-path4-structure.test.ts": 65,
+    "test/setup-help.test.ts": 81,
+    "test/setup-hook-canonical-paths.test.ts": 67,
+    "test/setup-plan-tune-hooks-noninteractive.test.ts": 218,
+    "test/setup-runtime-lib-command.test.ts": 3765,
+    "test/setup-sections-linking.test.ts": 59,
+    "test/setup-windows-fallback.test.ts": 75,
+    "test/setup-windows-rerun-refresh.test.ts": 131,
+    "test/ship-apple-gate.test.ts": 62,
+    "test/ship-document-release-dispatch.test.ts": 74,
+    "test/ship-plan-completion-invariants.test.ts": 107,
+    "test/ship-review-loop.test.ts": 103,
+    "test/ship-template-redaction.test.ts": 184,
+    "test/ship-test-detection-markers.test.ts": 259,
+    "test/ship-version-sync.test.ts": 464,
+    "test/skill-budget-regression.test.ts": 177,
+    "test/skill-census.test.ts": 67,
+    "test/skill-ceo-section-ordering.test.ts": 68,
+    "test/skill-collision-sentinel.test.ts": 65,
+    "test/skill-coverage-floor.test.ts": 82,
+    "test/skill-coverage-matrix.test.ts": 74,
+    "test/skill-cross-model-recommendation-emit.test.ts": 74,
+    "test/skill-fixture.test.ts": 92,
+    "test/skill-parser.test.ts": 71,
+    "test/skill-preflight-budget.test.ts": 65,
+    "test/skill-size-budget.test.ts": 477,
+    "test/skill-validation.test.ts": 577,
+    "test/slop-diff-cli.test.ts": 408,
+    "test/spec-template-invariants.test.ts": 57,
+    "test/spec-template-sync.test.ts": 224,
+    "test/static-no-legacy-writes.test.ts": 1701,
+    "test/strict-output.test.ts": 57,
+    "test/takes-fence-fallback.test.ts": 50,
+    "test/tasks-section-jq.test.ts": 75,
+    "test/taste-engine.test.ts": 854,
+    "test/team-mode.test.ts": 8780,
+    "test/telemetry-repo-strip.test.ts": 76,
+    "test/telemetry.test.ts": 4253,
+    "test/template-context-parity.test.ts": 67,
+    "test/terse-build.test.ts": 76,
+    "test/test-free-shards.test.ts": 3011,
+    "test/timeline-stop-hook.test.ts": 722,
+    "test/timeline.test.ts": 961,
+    "test/touchfiles-facade.test.ts": 82,
+    "test/touchfiles-map-diff.test.ts": 218,
+    "test/touchfiles.test.ts": 124,
+    "test/tracker-guard-wiring.test.ts": 87,
+    "test/tracker-guard.test.ts": 231,
+    "test/transcript-section-logger.test.ts": 57,
+    "test/uninstall-windows-copies.test.ts": 411,
+    "test/uninstall.test.ts": 2509,
+    "test/update-check-crash-sentinel.test.ts": 358,
+    "test/upgrade-migration-v1.test.ts": 76,
+    "test/upgrade-template-pins.test.ts": 60,
+    "test/user-render-out-dir-install.test.ts": 165,
+    "test/user-slug-fallback.test.ts": 230,
+    "test/v0-dormancy.test.ts": 79,
+    "test/verify-gate.test.ts": 712,
+    "test/version-source.test.ts": 47,
+    "test/workflow-concurrency.test.ts": 73,
+    "test/worktree.test.ts": 506,
+    "test/writing-style-resolver.test.ts": 62
+  }
+}

scripts/gen-agents-digest.ts

@@ -78,10 +78,12 @@ scripts/gen-agents-digest.ts, not this file.
   return { content, bytes: Buffer.byteLength(content, 'utf-8') };
 }
 
-export function writeAgentsDigest(opts?: { root?: string }): { outPath: string; bytes: number } {
+export function writeAgentsDigest(opts?: { root?: string; outRoot?: string }): { outPath: string; bytes: number } {
   const root = opts?.root ?? ROOT;
   const { content, bytes } = generateAgentsDigest({ root });
-  const outPath = path.join(root, DIGEST_RELPATH);
+  // outRoot: outputs-only rule for --out-dir renders — inputs (VERSION) read
+  // from root, the artifact lands wherever the caller isolates outputs.
+  const outPath = path.join(opts?.outRoot ?? root, DIGEST_RELPATH);
   fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(outPath), { recursive: true });
   fs.writeFileSync(outPath, content);
   return { outPath, bytes };

scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts

@@ -146,13 +146,18 @@ const EXPLAIN_LEVEL: 'default' | 'terse' = (() => {
 })();
 
 // ─── Out-dir (dev workspace render isolation) ───────────────
-// --out-dir <abs-dir> redirects Claude SKILL.md + section output to a separate
-// (untracked) directory instead of writing in place, AND rewrites the literal
-// section-base path (`~/.claude/skills/gstack/<skill>/sections/`) inside the
-// generated content to point at the out-dir, so section Reads resolve to the
-// rendered copy rather than the global install. Used by bin/dev-setup to render
-// the gbrain `:user` variant for a Conductor workspace without dirtying tracked
-// source. Default (unset) = in-place, behavior unchanged. Claude host only.
+// --out-dir <abs-dir> redirects ALL generated output (Claude SKILL.md +
+// sections, external-host trees like .agents/.factory, openclaw docs,
+// gstack/llms.txt) into a separate (untracked) directory instead of writing
+// in place. OUTPUTS ONLY: inputs (templates, sections/, host configs) are
+// always read from ROOT. For the Claude host it ALSO rewrites the literal
+// section-base path (`~/.claude/skills/gstack/<skill>/sections/`) inside
+// generated content so section Reads resolve to the rendered copy — that
+// rewrite stays Claude-only (external hosts have their own path grammar).
+// Consumers: bin/dev-setup (renders the gbrain `:user` variant for a
+// Conductor workspace — byte-compat pinned by gen-skill-docs-out-dir tests)
+// and the former TREE_MUTATING tests, which render into a mkdtemp instead
+// of mutating the live tree. Default (unset) = in-place, unchanged.
 const OUT_DIR_ARG = process.argv.find(a => a.startsWith('--out-dir'));
 const OUT_DIR: string | null = (() => {
   if (!OUT_DIR_ARG) return null;
@@ -778,7 +783,8 @@ function processExternalHost(
   const hostConfig = getHostConfig(host);
 
   const name = externalSkillName(skillDir === '.' ? '' : skillDir, frontmatterName);
-  const outputDir = path.join(ROOT, hostConfig.hostSubdir, 'skills', name);
+  // --out-dir mirrors the host tree (outputs only; inputs read from ROOT).
+  const outputDir = path.join(OUT_DIR ?? ROOT, hostConfig.hostSubdir, 'skills', name);
   fs.mkdirSync(outputDir, { recursive: true });
   const outputPath = path.join(outputDir, 'SKILL.md');
 
@@ -837,8 +843,8 @@ function processTemplate(tmplPath: string, host: Host = 'claude'): { outputPath:
   // Determine skill directory relative to ROOT
   const skillDir = path.relative(ROOT, path.dirname(tmplPath));
 
-  // --out-dir (Claude only): mirror the skill tree into the out-dir instead of
-  // writing in place. External hosts compute their own paths below.
+  // --out-dir: mirror the skill tree into the out-dir instead of writing in
+  // place (external hosts compute their own OUT_DIR-aware paths below).
   if (OUT_DIR && host === 'claude') {
     outputPath = path.join(OUT_DIR, skillDir, path.basename(tmplPath).replace(/\.tmpl$/, ''));
   }
@@ -949,7 +955,7 @@ function processSectionTemplate(
     outputPath = path.join(OUT_DIR || ROOT, skillDir, 'sections', fileName);
   } else {
     const externalName = externalSkillName(skillDir, parentName);
-    outputPath = path.join(ROOT, hostConfig.hostSubdir, 'skills', externalName, 'sections', fileName);
+    outputPath = path.join(OUT_DIR ?? ROOT, hostConfig.hostSubdir, 'skills', externalName, 'sections', fileName);
   }
   if (!DRY_RUN) fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(outputPath), { recursive: true });
   return { outputPath, content };
@@ -962,6 +968,20 @@ function findTemplates(): string[] {
 }
 
 const ALL_HOSTS: Host[] = ALL_HOST_NAMES as Host[];
+
+/**
+ * The generator's whole executable body. Import-purity contract: importing
+ * this module must NEVER touch the tree — test/gen-skill-docs.test.ts pulls
+ * assertSinglePreamble via require(), test/catalog-trim.test.ts imports
+ * helpers, and before this guard existed every such import regenerated all
+ * 71 SKILL.md in place at module-load time (the root cause of half the
+ * TREE_MUTATING serial shard; hazard class #2532). Pinned by
+ * test/gen-skill-docs-import-purity.test.ts.
+ *
+ * Returns the process exit code. Kept synchronous so the module stays
+ * require()-able (see the llms.txt IIFE note below).
+ */
+export function main(): number {
 const hostsToRun: Host[] = HOST_ARG_VAL === 'all' ? ALL_HOSTS : [HOST];
 const failures: { host: string; error: Error }[] = [];
 
@@ -1049,6 +1069,7 @@ for (const currentHost of hostsToRun) {
           console.log(`FRESH: ${relOutput}`);
         }
       } else {
+        if (OUT_DIR) fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(outputPath), { recursive: true });
         fs.writeFileSync(outputPath, content);
         console.log(`GENERATED: ${relOutput}`);
       }
@@ -1065,19 +1086,21 @@ for (const currentHost of hostsToRun) {
     // plain markdown, no placeholder resolution — and are copied byte-for-byte
     // to openclaw/ at gen time.
     if (currentHost === 'openclaw' && !DRY_RUN) {
-      const openclawDir = path.join(ROOT, 'openclaw');
-      const openclawTemplatesDir = path.join(openclawDir, 'templates');
+      // Inputs from ROOT, outputs into OUT_DIR when set (outputs-only rule).
+      const openclawTemplatesDir = path.join(ROOT, 'openclaw', 'templates');
+      const openclawOutDir = path.join(OUT_DIR ?? ROOT, 'openclaw');
+      if (OUT_DIR) fs.mkdirSync(openclawOutDir, { recursive: true });
       for (const variant of ['lite', 'full', 'plan'] as const) {
         const fileName = `gstack-${variant}-CLAUDE.md`;
         const content = fs.readFileSync(path.join(openclawTemplatesDir, fileName), 'utf-8');
-        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(openclawDir, fileName), content);
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(openclawOutDir, fileName), content);
         console.log(`GENERATED: openclaw/${fileName}`);
       }
     }
 
     if (DRY_RUN && hasChanges) {
       console.error(`\nGenerated SKILL.md files are stale (${currentHost} host). Run: bun run gen:skill-docs --host ${currentHost}`);
-      if (HOST_ARG_VAL !== 'all') process.exit(1);
+      if (HOST_ARG_VAL !== 'all') return 1;
       failures.push({ host: currentHost, error: new Error('Stale files detected') });
     }
 
@@ -1112,7 +1135,7 @@ for (const currentHost of hostsToRun) {
 // in the same commit" is only a real gate if every host failure is fatal here.
 if (failures.length > 0 && HOST_ARG_VAL === 'all') {
   console.error(`\n${failures.length} host(s) failed: ${failures.map(f => f.host).join(', ')}`);
-  process.exit(1);
+  return 1;
 }
 // Single host dry-run failure already handled above
 
@@ -1138,7 +1161,11 @@ if (!DRY_RUN) {
 if (!DRY_RUN) {
   void (async () => {
     try {
-      const result = await writeLlmsTxt();
+      const result = await writeLlmsTxt(
+        // Outputs-only rule: under --out-dir even this index lands there
+        // (a catalog-mode render must never rewrite the tracked llms.txt).
+        OUT_DIR ? { outputPath: path.join(OUT_DIR, 'gstack', 'llms.txt') } : {},
+      );
       if (result.warnings.length > 0) {
         for (const w of result.warnings) console.error(`[gen-llms-txt] WARN: ${w}`);
       } else {
@@ -1153,7 +1180,9 @@ if (!DRY_RUN) {
     // freshness + byte budget asserted in test/agents-digest.test.ts.
     try {
       const { writeAgentsDigest, DIGEST_BYTE_BUDGET } = await import('./gen-agents-digest');
-      const digest = writeAgentsDigest();
+      // Outputs-only rule: under --out-dir the digest lands there too — a
+      // workspace render must never rewrite the tracked committed artifact.
+      const digest = writeAgentsDigest(OUT_DIR ? { outRoot: OUT_DIR } : {});
       console.log(`[gen-agents-digest] agents-digest/gstack-AGENTS.md: ${digest.bytes} bytes (budget ${DIGEST_BYTE_BUDGET})`);
     } catch (err) {
       const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
@@ -1164,3 +1193,14 @@ if (!DRY_RUN) {
     }
   })();
 }
+
+return 0;
+}
+
+if (import.meta.main) {
+  // Failure exits are immediate (matching the old top-level process.exit
+  // behavior); success leaves the event loop to drain so the llms.txt
+  // fire-and-forget IIFE inside main() finishes its write.
+  const code = main();
+  if (code !== 0) process.exit(code);
+}

scripts/test-free-shards.ts

@@ -282,12 +282,18 @@ const KNOWN_WINDOWS_SAFE: Array<{ file: string; reason: string }> = [
   {
     file: 'browse/test/file-permissions.test.ts',
     // Trips the POSIX-mode-bitmask pattern, but every `mode & 0o777` assertion
-    // is platform-guarded (win32 returns early / takes the icacls branch).
+    // is platform-guarded: win32-only tests return early, POSIX-only tests
+    // guard the bitmask behind `process.platform !== 'win32'`, and the
+    // symlink-skip regression test both wraps symlinkSync in try/catch
+    // (runners without Developer Mode can't create symlinks) and guards its
+    // bitmask — on win32 it asserts behavior (warns, skips, doesn't throw,
+    // target stays usable), never fake Windows mode bits (dirs stat 0o777
+    // there, so a 0o755 expectation fails on runner semantics, not our code).
     // This file carries the win32-only icacls-by-SID regression tests, which
     // can ONLY execute on windows-latest — excluding it here means the
     // machine-account ACL lockout regression is never exercised on the one
     // platform it bricks.
-    reason: 'mode-bitmask hits are POSIX-branch only; win32-only ACL regression tests must run on windows-latest',
+    reason: 'every mode-bitmask assertion is guarded off win32 (behavior asserted instead); win32-only ACL regression tests must run on windows-latest',
   },
   {
     file: 'browse/test/terminal-agent-owner-watchdog.test.ts',
@@ -326,6 +332,16 @@ export const PER_FILE_WALL_MS = 5_000;
 export function wallTimeoutForShard(fileCount: number, baseMs = DEFAULT_WALL_TIMEOUT_MS): number {
   return Math.max(baseMs, fileCount * PER_FILE_WALL_MS);
 }
+
+/**
+ * Wall for a duration-packed shard. The count heuristic above assumes count
+ * approximates cost; LPT packing breaks that BY DESIGN (a shard may hold six
+ * slow Playwright files), so packed shards get max(base, predicted x 3) —
+ * generous against seed drift, still bounded.
+ */
+export function wallTimeoutForPackedShard(predictedMs: number, baseMs = DEFAULT_WALL_TIMEOUT_MS): number {
+  return Math.max(baseMs, Math.ceil(predictedMs * 3));
+}
 /**
  * Full-suite parallelism: leave RESERVED_CPUS cores for the parent runner +
  * OS, cap at MAX_FULL_SUITE_JOBS — beyond ~6 concurrent bun processes the
@@ -375,46 +391,23 @@ export const WORKER_HOSTILE: Record<string, string> = {
 
 /**
  * TREE-SERIAL files: run in ONE serial shard AFTER the parallel shards.
- * Two kinds live here:
- *   - MUTATORS: tests that regenerate shared repo artifacts in place (skill
- *     SKILL.md files or the .agents/ host outputs). A shard reading those
- *     files concurrently sees a moving target — this family produced an
- *     exactly-doubled catalog estimate, golden-file drift, and a spec-sync
- *     mismatch before serialization.
- *   - RATCHET READERS: tests that MEASURE the shared tree (parity caps,
- *     size budgets). Measuring while any concurrent test regenerates is
- *     undefined behavior — two runs failed with byte-identical inflated
- *     skeletons while the tree was clean before and after, so rather than
- *     hunt every present and future mutator, the measurers get a quiet
- *     tree by construction.
- * Order within the serial shard is alphabetical (the file census is sorted
- * and the serial shard is a filter over it) — safety does NOT depend on
- * mutators-before-readers ordering; it rests on every mutator restoring
- * default state itself. (CI's --shards matrix is unaffected: each CI shard
- * has its own checkout.)
+ * EMPTY since the 2026-08 dissolution — kept as a mechanism, not a museum:
+ * a test that must regenerate shared repo artifacts IN PLACE (and cannot
+ * render into an out-dir instead) earns an entry here with a reason, and
+ * the runner will serialize it again.
+ *
+ * How it emptied: gen-skill-docs gained a main() guard (imports stopped
+ * regenerating 71 files at load) and --out-dir grew to every host, so all
+ * eight mutators now render into mkdtemps — the live tree is never written
+ * by the suite (pinned by gen-skill-docs-import-purity + each migrated
+ * file's own porcelain/mtime assertions). With zero mutators, the four
+ * ratchet READERS (parity caps, size budgets, carve parity/ordering) get a
+ * quiet tree by construction in any shard, so they rejoined the parallel
+ * phase — the ~35-40s serial tail on every full-suite run is gone.
  * Keys are pinned against the live file census by test-free-shards.test.ts —
  * a renamed file fails the suite instead of silently dropping serialization.
  */
-export const TREE_MUTATING: Record<string, string> = {
-  'test/catalog-mode-full.test.ts': 'regenerates ALL SKILL.md in full-catalog mode, then restores',
-  'test/spec-template-sync.test.ts': 'regenerates all SKILL.md in place to compare spec/SKILL.md',
-  'test/gen-skill-docs-idempotency.test.ts': 'regenerates all SKILL.md twice to prove idempotency',
-  'test/gen-skill-docs.test.ts': 'regenerates .agents/ (codex host) golden artifacts in place',
-  'test/skill-validation.test.ts': 'regenerates .agents/ (codex host) artifacts in place (3 sites)',
-  'test/gbrain-detection-override.test.ts':
-    'regenerates SKILL.md in place with --respect-detection (gbrain variant), then git-restores — readers see inflated skeletons mid-window',
-  'test/host-config.test.ts':
-    'golden tests read .agents/.factory artifacts produced by gen-skill-docs.test.ts, and its beforeAll generates them when missing (#2532) — must not race the parallel readers or run before the mutators window',
-  'test/catalog-trim.test.ts':
-    'imports scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts, whose top-level body regenerates the full claude host at import time (71 files; idempotent on a fresh tree, but a stale tree gets rewritten mid-window) — same hazard class as #2532',
-  'test/gen-skill-docs-out-dir.test.ts':
-    'PORCELAIN READER — its before/after git-status pin needs a quiet tree (a concurrent shard\'s transient fixture write raced it on Windows CI), and its spawned render rewrites llms.txt/agents-digest in place (idempotent on a fresh tree)',
-  // Ratchet readers (measure the tree; need it quiet):
-  'test/parity-suite.test.ts': 'RATCHET READER — parity caps measure live SKILL.md/section bytes',
-  'test/skill-size-budget.test.ts': 'RATCHET READER — per-skill and corpus size budgets measure the live tree',
-  'test/carve-guard-completeness.test.ts': 'RATCHET READER — registry-vs-disk parity reads live sections/manifest.json files',
-  'test/carve-section-ordering.test.ts': 'RATCHET READER — checkOrdering(ROOT) reads live skeletons and sections',
-};
+export const TREE_MUTATING: Record<string, string> = {};
 
 export function normalizeRelativePath(filePath: string): string {
   return filePath.replace(/\\/g, '/');
@@ -536,6 +529,92 @@ export function assignFilesToShards(files: string[], shardCount: number): string
   return shards.map(filesInShard => filesInShard.sort());
 }
 
+// ─── Duration-aware packing (full-suite path ONLY) ─────────────────────────
+// Hash sharding balances file COUNTS (~1.15x spread) but not cost: the 15
+// Playwright-launching files land 4/3/4/1/2/1 across 6 shards, giving a
+// measured 28s–97s shard spread and ~40s of idle tail on every run. LPT
+// packing over recorded per-file durations reclaims most of it. The `--shard`
+// CI-matrix path is deliberately untouched — its contract is stable indices
+// via assignFilesToShards/stableHash (empty shards no-op; see above).
+//
+// One store, no overlay: durations come from the committed seed
+// (scripts/free-test-durations.json), refreshed occasionally via
+// `--record-durations` (each file timed in its own child — exact, and immune
+// to bun's stream buffering, where silent passers print no header to
+// timestamp). GSTACK_FREE_TEST_DURATIONS overrides the path for experiments.
+// The seed is a HINT, not a contract: missing file → hash-shard fallback;
+// unknown file → 75th-percentile pessimism (placed early by LPT, bounding
+// tail risk). Successor note: bun ≥1.3.14 ships native --timings/--shard LPT
+// scheduling — when the repo unpins 1.3.13, this packer is the code to
+// replace (keep it swappable).
+
+export const FREE_TEST_DURATIONS_FILE = 'scripts/free-test-durations.json';
+
+export function loadFreeTestDurations(rootDir = ROOT): Record<string, number> | null {
+  const file = process.env.GSTACK_FREE_TEST_DURATIONS
+    ?? path.join(rootDir, FREE_TEST_DURATIONS_FILE);
+  let raw: string;
+  try {
+    raw = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf-8');
+  } catch {
+    return null; // no seed — hash sharding, silently (fresh checkouts are normal)
+  }
+  try {
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as { durations?: Record<string, unknown> };
+    const entries = Object.entries(parsed.durations ?? {})
+      .filter((entry): entry is [string, number] =>
+        typeof entry[1] === 'number' && Number.isFinite(entry[1]) && entry[1] >= 0);
+    if (entries.length === 0) return null;
+    return Object.fromEntries(entries);
+  } catch (error) {
+    // A corrupt seed (bad merge) must cost a warning, never the suite.
+    console.error(`[test:free] WARNING: corrupt durations seed ${file} (${(error as Error).message}) — falling back to hash sharding`);
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+export interface PackedShards {
+  shards: string[][];
+  /** Predicted total per shard, aligned with `shards` — feeds walls + logs. */
+  predictedMs: number[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Longest-processing-time-first bin packing: files sorted by predicted
+ * duration (desc, path-stable tiebreak) each go to the currently-lightest
+ * shard. Deterministic for a given (files, shardCount, durations).
+ */
+export function packShardsByDuration(
+  files: string[],
+  shardCount: number,
+  durations: Record<string, number>,
+): PackedShards {
+  if (!Number.isInteger(shardCount) || shardCount <= 0) {
+    throw new Error(`Shard count must be a positive integer. Received: ${shardCount}`);
+  }
+  const known = files
+    .map((f) => durations[normalizeRelativePath(f)])
+    .filter((v): v is number => typeof v === 'number')
+    .sort((a, b) => a - b);
+  // Unknown files get the 75th percentile of known durations: pessimistic, so
+  // LPT places them early and a surprise long-runner can't recreate the tail.
+  const fallback = known.length > 0 ? known[Math.min(known.length - 1, Math.floor(known.length * 0.75))] : 1;
+  const predicted = (f: string): number => durations[normalizeRelativePath(f)] ?? fallback;
+
+  const ordered = [...files].sort((a, b) => predicted(b) - predicted(a) || (a < b ? -1 : 1));
+  const shards = Array.from({ length: shardCount }, () => [] as string[]);
+  const loads = new Array<number>(shardCount).fill(0);
+  for (const file of ordered) {
+    let lightest = 0;
+    for (let i = 1; i < shardCount; i += 1) {
+      if (loads[i] < loads[lightest]) lightest = i;
+    }
+    shards[lightest].push(file);
+    loads[lightest] += predicted(file);
+  }
+  return { shards: shards.map((s) => s.sort()), predictedMs: loads };
+}
+
 export interface BuildShardArgsOptions {
   /**
    * Pass bun's --parallel (worker-per-file, implies --isolate). No production
@@ -561,6 +640,7 @@ export function buildShardArgs(files: string[], options: BuildShardArgsOptions =
 type CliOptions = {
   dryRun: boolean;
   listOnly: boolean;
+  recordDurations: boolean;
   windowsOnly: boolean;
   verbose: boolean;
   shardCount: number;
@@ -573,6 +653,7 @@ type CliOptions = {
 function parseCliOptions(argv: string[]): CliOptions {
   let dryRun = false;
   let listOnly = false;
+  let recordDurations = false;
   let windowsOnly = false;
   let verbose = false;
   let shardCount = DEFAULT_SHARD_COUNT;
@@ -584,6 +665,7 @@ function parseCliOptions(argv: string[]): CliOptions {
     const arg = argv[index];
     if (arg === '--dry-run') { dryRun = true; continue; }
     if (arg === '--list') { listOnly = true; continue; }
+    if (arg === '--record-durations') { recordDurations = true; continue; }
     if (arg === '--windows-only') { windowsOnly = true; continue; }
     if (arg === '--verbose') { verbose = true; continue; }
     if (arg === '--shards') {
@@ -611,7 +693,7 @@ function parseCliOptions(argv: string[]): CliOptions {
     throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${arg}`);
   }
 
-  return { dryRun, listOnly, windowsOnly, verbose, shardCount, shardIndex, wallTimeoutMs, wallTimeoutExplicit };
+  return { dryRun, listOnly, recordDurations, windowsOnly, verbose, shardCount, shardIndex, wallTimeoutMs, wallTimeoutExplicit };
 }
 
 function formatShardSummary(shards: string[][]): string[] {
@@ -1069,6 +1151,17 @@ export async function runFreeShard(
   env.TMPDIR = childTmp;
   env.TEMP = childTmp;
   env.TMP = childTmp;
+  // Per-shard Chromium profile (same isolation idea as TMPDIR): nine test
+  // files launch in-process persistent contexts or daemons that default to
+  // the SHARED ~/.gstack/chromium-profile, and two concurrent shards on one
+  // profile dir kill each other's browser — observed live on CI once
+  // duration packing recomposed shards (handoff's launchPersistentContext
+  // died "Target page, context or browser has been closed" while a sibling
+  // shard's daemon logged "Chromium process crashed"). Hash sharding had
+  // masked the collision by chance placement. Within a shard, files run
+  // serially, so sharing the per-shard profile is safe; config tests that
+  // assert resolution order save/restore this env around their assertions.
+  env.CHROMIUM_PROFILE = path.join(stateDir, 'chromium-profile');
 
   const startedAt = Date.now();
   const child = spawn(command, args, {
@@ -1198,6 +1291,63 @@ function exitCodeFor(status: FreeShardStatus): number {
   return status === 'timed-out' ? 124 : 1;
 }
 
+/**
+ * `--record-durations`: time every file in its own child (exact per-file wall,
+ * immune to bun's stream buffering) and write the committed seed atomically.
+ * Occasional + manual by design — CI never records (a hint refreshed by a
+ * human beats per-run churn), and the runtime (~serial suite / jobs) is fine
+ * for an operation run a few times a quarter.
+ */
+async function recordFreeTestDurations(files: string[], jobs: number): Promise<number> {
+  const durations: Record<string, number> = {};
+  const failed: string[] = [];
+  let cursor = 0;
+  console.log(`[test:free] recording per-file durations: ${files.length} files across ${jobs} workers`);
+  const worker = async (): Promise<void> => {
+    for (;;) {
+      const index = cursor;
+      cursor += 1;
+      if (index >= files.length) return;
+      const file = files[index];
+      const started = Date.now();
+      const child = spawn('bun', ['test', file, `--timeout=${FREE_TEST_TIMEOUT_MS}`], {
+        cwd: ROOT,
+        stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'ignore'],
+        env: { ...process.env, GSTACK_HEADLESS: '1' },
+      });
+      const code = await new Promise<number>((resolve) => {
+        const timer = setTimeout(() => { child.kill('SIGKILL'); }, wallTimeoutForShard(1));
+        child.on('close', (c) => { clearTimeout(timer); resolve(c ?? 1); });
+        child.on('error', () => { clearTimeout(timer); resolve(1); });
+      });
+      durations[normalizeRelativePath(file)] = Date.now() - started;
+      if (code !== 0) failed.push(file);
+    }
+  };
+  await Promise.all(Array.from({ length: Math.max(1, jobs) }, () => worker()));
+
+  const target = process.env.GSTACK_FREE_TEST_DURATIONS ?? path.join(ROOT, FREE_TEST_DURATIONS_FILE);
+  const payload = {
+    version: 1,
+    recordedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+    durations: Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(durations).sort(([a], [b]) => (a < b ? -1 : 1))),
+  };
+  // Atomic temp+rename (capture-context-budget's pattern): a killed recorder
+  // must never leave a truncated seed for loadFreeTestDurations to warn on.
+  const tmp = `${target}.tmp-${process.pid}`;
+  fs.writeFileSync(tmp, `${JSON.stringify(payload, null, 2)}\n`);
+  fs.renameSync(tmp, target);
+  console.log(`[test:free] wrote ${Object.keys(durations).length} durations to ${path.relative(ROOT, target)}`);
+  if (failed.length > 0) {
+    // Failures still recorded (a red file's duration is still a real cost),
+    // but surfaced loudly — recording from a broken tree deserves a look.
+    console.error(`[test:free] WARNING: ${failed.length} file(s) failed while recording:`);
+    for (const f of failed) console.error(`  ✗ ${f}`);
+    return 1;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
 async function main(): Promise<number> {
   const options = parseCliOptions(process.argv.slice(2));
   const allFiles = collectFreeTestFiles();
@@ -1225,6 +1375,11 @@ async function main(): Promise<number> {
     return 0;
   }
 
+  if (options.recordDurations) {
+    const jobs = Math.max(1, Math.min(MAX_FULL_SUITE_JOBS, os.cpus().length - RESERVED_CPUS));
+    return recordFreeTestDurations(files, jobs);
+  }
+
   if (options.dryRun) {
     const shards = assignFilesToShards(files, options.shardCount);
     const occupied = shards.filter((s) => s.length > 0).length;
@@ -1268,15 +1423,29 @@ async function main(): Promise<number> {
   // serial shard, so no concurrent shard ever reads a half-regenerated tree.
   const mutators = files.filter((f) => f in TREE_MUTATING);
   const readers = files.filter((f) => !(f in TREE_MUTATING));
-  const shards = assignFilesToShards(readers, jobs);
+  const durations = loadFreeTestDurations();
+  const packed = durations ? packShardsByDuration(readers, jobs, durations) : null;
+  const shards = packed ? packed.shards : assignFilesToShards(readers, jobs);
   const totalShards = jobs + (mutators.length > 0 ? 1 : 0);
   console.log(`[test:free] full suite: ${readers.length} files across ${jobs} shard processes`
+    + (packed ? ' (duration-packed)' : '')
     + (mutators.length > 0 ? `, then ${mutators.length} tree-mutating file(s) serially` : ''));
+  if (packed) {
+    // One line per shard so a packing regression is diagnosable from any log.
+    packed.predictedMs.forEach((ms, i) => {
+      console.log(`[test:free]   shard ${i + 1}: ${shards[i].length} files, predicted ~${Math.round(ms / 1000)}s`);
+    });
+  }
   const shardTimeout = (fileCount: number): number =>
     options.wallTimeoutExplicit ? options.wallTimeoutMs : wallTimeoutForShard(fileCount, options.wallTimeoutMs);
   const outcomes = await Promise.all(
     shards.map((shardFiles, index) => runFreeShard(shardFiles, index + 1, totalShards, {
-      wallTimeoutMs: shardTimeout(shardFiles.length),
+      // Packed shards get duration-aware walls: LPT decouples file count from
+      // cost BY DESIGN, so the 5s/file heuristic would undersize a shard
+      // holding few expensive files.
+      wallTimeoutMs: packed && !options.wallTimeoutExplicit
+        ? wallTimeoutForPackedShard(packed.predictedMs[index], options.wallTimeoutMs)
+        : shardTimeout(shardFiles.length),
       verbose: options.verbose,
     })),
   );

scripts/test-paid-shards.ts

@@ -50,20 +50,20 @@
  *   bun run scripts/test-paid-shards.ts --timeout 600 --jobs 2
  */
 
-import { spawn } from 'node:child_process';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as os from 'node:os';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
 import { normalizeRelativePath } from './test-free-shards';
 import {
   BunTestOutputClassifier,
   exactTestFileSelectors,
   forwardAndClassify,
-  installChildSignalForwarding,
   isTerminationRequested,
-  killProcessGroup,
+  runShardChild,
   strictTestExitCode,
 } from './test-strict-output';
 import { PAID_TEST_GLOBS, isPaidTestFile } from '../test/helpers/paid-test-set';
+import { PERIODIC_CI_EXCLUDE } from '../test/helpers/periodic-exclude-data';
 import { getProjectEvalDir } from '../test/helpers/eval-store';
 import { preflightAnthropicApi } from '../test/helpers/anthropic-preflight';
 import {
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ import {
 } from '../test/helpers/touchfiles';
 
 export { PAID_TEST_GLOBS, isPaidTestFile };
+export { PERIODIC_CI_EXCLUDE };
 
 const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
 
@@ -143,7 +144,17 @@ export interface TierSelection {
 export function selectPaidTestFiles(files: string[], tier: PaidTier, rootDir = ROOT): TierSelection {
   const selected: string[] = [];
   const excluded: Array<{ file: string; reason: string }> = [];
+  // Periodic-lane exclusions (documented-red / manual-hardware files): a
+  // known-red weekly shard is triage waste locally AND in CI, so the list
+  // applies to every periodic run, with the reason surfaced per file.
+  const ciExcluded = (file: string): { reason: string; tracking: string } | undefined =>
+    tier === 'periodic' ? PERIODIC_CI_EXCLUDE[normalizeRelativePath(file)] : undefined;
   for (const file of files) {
+    const exclusion = ciExcluded(file);
+    if (exclusion) {
+      excluded.push({ file, reason: `excluded: ${exclusion.reason} [${exclusion.tracking}]` });
+      continue;
+    }
     const source = fs.readFileSync(path.join(rootDir, file), 'utf8');
     const classification = classifyPaidTestFile(source, tier);
     if (classification.included) selected.push(file);
@@ -218,6 +229,26 @@ export function computePaidDiffSelection(
   return { selectedNames: new Set(selection.selected), reason: selection.reason, totalTests };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Serialize the parent's diff selection for shard children (EVALS_SELECTION_JSON).
+ *
+ * Children's e2e-helpers module-load path adopts this instead of re-deriving
+ * the selection per shard — which, when touchfiles-data.ts is in the diff,
+ * spawned one bun subprocess PER CHILD to evaluate the old data file (the
+ * map-diff path in test/helpers/test-selection.ts, 20s timeout each; 46-68
+ * redundant children per full run). `selected: null` means run-all, mirroring
+ * PaidDiffSelection.selectedNames. The child-side parser lives in
+ * test/helpers/e2e-helpers.ts (parseEvalsSelectionJson); round-trip parity is
+ * pinned by test/paid-selection-propagation.test.ts.
+ */
+export function serializePaidDiffSelection(selection: PaidDiffSelection): string {
+  return JSON.stringify({
+    version: 1,
+    selected: selection.selectedNames === null ? null : [...selection.selectedNames].sort(),
+    reason: selection.reason,
+  });
+}
+
 export interface ShardSkipDecision {
   file: string;
   kept: boolean;
@@ -320,11 +351,14 @@ export function buildPaidShardArgs(
   files: string[],
   timeoutMs: number,
   maxConcurrency: number = DEFAULT_WITHIN_SHARD_CONCURRENCY,
+  retries?: number,
 ): string[] {
   // Explicit --concurrent/--max-concurrency: the legacy path always set one;
   // omitting it here made within-shard parallelism differ silently between
   // the two runners (observed: 1.6x sumdur/wall sharded vs 8x legacy).
-  return ['test', ...files, '--retry', '1', '--concurrent', `--max-concurrency=${maxConcurrency}`, `--timeout=${timeoutMs}`];
+  // Retries default to 1; RETRY_OVERRIDES membership (old matrix rows'
+  // earned `retries: 2`) flows through retriesForFiles at the call site.
+  return ['test', ...files, '--retry', String(retries ?? 1), '--concurrent', `--max-concurrency=${maxConcurrency}`, `--timeout=${timeoutMs}`];
 }
 
 /**
@@ -338,7 +372,17 @@ export function shardSlug(files: string[]): string {
     .replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9._+-]/g, '-');
 }
 
-export type ShardStatus = 'passed' | 'failed' | 'timed-out' | 'never-started' | 'skipped-by-diff';
+export type ShardStatus =
+  | 'passed'
+  | 'failed'
+  | 'timed-out'
+  | 'never-started'
+  | 'skipped-by-diff'
+  // exit 0 with ZERO executed tests on a run that promised everything
+  // (EVALS_ALL): the hollow-file green the census backstop exists to catch.
+  // Under selective runs, 0-executed passed shards stay 'passed' (in-file
+  // diff/tier self-skips are legitimate there) and get a WARNING line only.
+  | 'passed-empty';
 
 export interface ShardOutcome {
   shard: number;
@@ -347,6 +391,8 @@ export interface ShardOutcome {
   exitCode: number | null;
   elapsedMs: number;
   groupPid: number | null;
+  /** Tests bun reported executing ("Ran N tests ..."), null when unknown. */
+  executedTests: number | null;
 }
 
 export interface ShardCommand {
@@ -363,11 +409,43 @@ export interface RunShardsOptions {
   env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
   /** When set, each shard child gets GSTACK_EVAL_DIR=<evalDirBase>/shards/<slug>/. */
   evalDirBase?: string;
+  /** Directory for the per-shard full-stream log files (default os.tmpdir()). Tests inject. */
+  logDir?: string;
   /** Override the spawned command. Tests inject fake slow/spinning commands. */
   commandFor?: (files: string[]) => ShardCommand;
   log?: (line: string) => void;
 }
 
+let shardLogSequence = 0;
+
+/** Per-shard log path: slug + timestamp; pid + sequence defeat same-ms collisions. */
+function nextShardLogPath(files: string[], logDir: string): string {
+  const stamp = new Date().toISOString().replace(/[:.]/g, '-');
+  shardLogSequence += 1;
+  return path.join(logDir, `gstack-paid-shard-${shardSlug(files)}-${stamp}-${process.pid}-${shardLogSequence}.log`);
+}
+
+/** On-failure console excerpt budget: the last N bytes of the shard's log. */
+export const FAILURE_TAIL_BYTES = 64 * 1024;
+
+/** Read back only the tail of a shard log (never the whole 30-min stream). */
+function readLogTail(logPath: string, maxBytes = FAILURE_TAIL_BYTES): string {
+  try {
+    const size = fs.statSync(logPath).size;
+    const start = Math.max(0, size - maxBytes);
+    const fd = fs.openSync(logPath, 'r');
+    try {
+      const buffer = Buffer.alloc(size - start);
+      fs.readSync(fd, buffer, 0, buffer.length, start);
+      return buffer.toString('utf8');
+    } finally {
+      fs.closeSync(fd);
+    }
+  } catch {
+    return ''; // a lost tail must never turn a real verdict into an exception
+  }
+}
+
 export async function runPaidShard(
   files: string[],
   shardNumber: number,
@@ -389,6 +467,7 @@ export async function runPaidShard(
         exactTestFileSelectors(files, rootDir),
         timeoutMs,
         options.withinShardConcurrency ?? DEFAULT_WITHIN_SHARD_CONCURRENCY,
+        retriesForFiles(files),
       ),
     };
 
@@ -400,69 +479,90 @@ export async function runPaidShard(
   const startedAt = Date.now();
   log(`${label} START ${files.join(' ')} (timeout ${Math.round(timeoutMs / 1000)}s)`);
 
-  const child = spawn(command, args, {
-    cwd: rootDir,
-    env,
-    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
-    detached: process.platform !== 'win32',
-    windowsHide: true,
-  });
-  const groupPid = child.pid ?? null;
-  // Group-kill on parent SIGINT/SIGTERM too, not just on timeout.
-  const forwarding = installChildSignalForwarding({
-    kill: (signal?: NodeJS.Signals | number) => {
-      killProcessGroup(child, (signal as NodeJS.Signals) ?? 'SIGTERM');
-      return true;
-    },
+  // Full-stream spool: EVERY child byte lands on disk (the free runner's
+  // model), never in a whole-run Buffer[] — non-live shards used to hold
+  // their entire 30-min stream-json stdout+stderr in RAM, × concurrent jobs.
+  // Printed at START so a wedged shard is inspectable live, mid-run.
+  const logPath = nextShardLogPath(files, options.logDir ?? os.tmpdir());
+  const logStream = fs.createWriteStream(logPath);
+  let logWriteFailed = false;
+  logStream.on('error', (err) => {
+    if (logWriteFailed) return;
+    logWriteFailed = true;
+    console.error(`${label} could not write the full log at ${logPath}: ${err.message}`);
   });
+  log(`${label} full log: ${logPath}`);
 
   const classifier = new BunTestOutputClassifier();
-  const buffered: Buffer[] = [];
-  const sink = (destination: NodeJS.WriteStream): NodeJS.WriteStream => (streamLive
-    ? destination
-    : ({ write: (chunk: Buffer | string) => buffered.push(Buffer.from(chunk)) } as unknown as NodeJS.WriteStream));
-
-  let timedOut = false;
-  const killTimer = setTimeout(() => {
-    timedOut = true;
-    killProcessGroup(child, 'SIGKILL');
-  }, timeoutMs);
+  // Tee: the spool always gets the chunk; live mode (jobs=1) also forwards to
+  // the console. forwardAndClassify feeds the classifier FIRST, so the strict
+  // verdict path is unchanged by where the bytes land afterwards.
+  const sink = (destination: NodeJS.WriteStream): NodeJS.WriteStream => ({
+    write: (chunk: Buffer | string): boolean => {
+      if (!logWriteFailed) logStream.write(chunk);
+      if (streamLive) destination.write(chunk);
+      return true;
+    },
+  } as unknown as NodeJS.WriteStream);
 
   let exitCode: number | null = null;
+  let timedOut = false;
+  let groupPid: number | null = null;
   try {
-    const streams: Array<Promise<void>> = [];
-    if (child.stdout) streams.push(forwardAndClassify(child.stdout, sink(process.stdout), classifier, 'stdout'));
-    if (child.stderr) streams.push(forwardAndClassify(child.stderr, sink(process.stderr), classifier, 'stderr'));
-    exitCode = await new Promise<number | null>((resolve, reject) => {
-      child.once('error', reject);
-      child.once('close', (code) => resolve(code));
+    // Shared spawn/detached/group-kill/wall-timer/reap lifecycle.
+    const result = await runShardChild({
+      command,
+      args,
+      cwd: rootDir,
+      env,
+      timeoutMs,
+      hookStreams: (child) => {
+        const streams: Array<Promise<void>> = [];
+        if (child.stdout) streams.push(forwardAndClassify(child.stdout, sink(process.stdout), classifier, 'stdout'));
+        if (child.stderr) streams.push(forwardAndClassify(child.stderr, sink(process.stderr), classifier, 'stderr'));
+        return streams;
+      },
     });
-    await Promise.all(streams);
+    exitCode = result.exitCode;
+    timedOut = result.timedOut;
+    groupPid = result.groupPid;
   } finally {
-    clearTimeout(killTimer);
-    forwarding.dispose();
-    // Reap survivors of this shard even on the clean path.
-    killProcessGroup(child, 'SIGKILL');
+    // Close the spool even when the spawn itself failed.
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => logStream.end(() => resolve()));
   }
 
   const summary = classifier.end();
-  if (!streamLive && buffered.length > 0) process.stdout.write(Buffer.concat(buffered));
 
   // Pass expectedFiles so a shard whose bun child ran fewer files than planned
   // (or zero, all self-skipped) with exit 0 is NOT recorded 'passed' — the
   // invisible-non-execution class this runner exists to kill. bun prints
   // "Ran N tests across M files" with M = selected files even when every test
-  // self-skips, so terminalFileCounts must include files.length. Only enforced
-  // on the real bun path: an injected commandFor (tests) isn't bun and emits no
-  // terminal summary, so there's no file count to check against.
-  const expectedFiles = options.commandFor ? undefined : files.length;
+  // self-skips, so terminalFileCounts must include files.length. Enforced for
+  // injected commandFor (tests) too, matching the free runner — fake passing
+  // commands must print a synthetic `Ran N tests across M files. [Xms]` line,
+  // so tests can pin the summary-missing => failure backstop.
+  const expectedFiles = files.length;
   const status: ShardStatus = timedOut
     ? 'timed-out'
     : strictTestExitCode(exitCode ?? 1, summary, expectedFiles) === 0 ? 'passed' : 'failed';
   const elapsedMs = Date.now() - startedAt;
-  log(`${label} ${status.toUpperCase()} in ${Math.round(elapsedMs / 1000)}s (exit ${exitCode ?? 'signal'})`);
 
-  return { shard: shardNumber, files, status, exitCode, elapsedMs, groupPid };
+  // Failure debuggability without the RAM cost: read back only the log's
+  // tail. Live mode already streamed everything, so no re-print there.
+  if (status !== 'passed' && !streamLive) {
+    const tail = readLogTail(logPath);
+    if (tail.length > 0) {
+      process.stdout.write(`${label} last ${Math.min(tail.length, FAILURE_TAIL_BYTES)} bytes of ${logPath}:\n`);
+      process.stdout.write(tail.endsWith('\n') ? tail : `${tail}\n`);
+    }
+  }
+  const logSuffix = status === 'passed' ? '' : ` — full log: ${logPath}`;
+  log(`${label} ${status.toUpperCase()} in ${Math.round(elapsedMs / 1000)}s (exit ${exitCode ?? 'signal'})${logSuffix}`);
+
+  const executedTests = summary.terminalTestCounts.length > 0
+    ? summary.terminalTestCounts.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0)
+    : null;
+  return { shard: shardNumber, files, status, exitCode, elapsedMs, groupPid, executedTests };
 }
 
 export interface RunSummary {
@@ -483,7 +583,7 @@ export function summarize(outcomes: ShardOutcome[]): RunSummary {
     total: outcomes.length,
     executed: outcomes.length - count('never-started') - count('skipped-by-diff'),
     passed: count('passed'),
-    failed: count('failed'),
+    failed: count('failed') + count('passed-empty'),
     timedOut: count('timed-out'),
     neverStarted: count('never-started'),
     skippedByDiff: count('skipped-by-diff'),
@@ -491,6 +591,28 @@ export function summarize(outcomes: ShardOutcome[]): RunSummary {
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Hollow-shard guard. Under EVALS_ALL (the run promised EVERY test), a
+ * passed shard whose bun summary reported 0 executed tests is not a pass —
+ * it is the zero-execution class one layer down (file selected, every test
+ * inside self-skipped, exit 0). Selective runs keep those shards 'passed'
+ * (in-file diff/tier self-skips are legitimate) and only warn.
+ */
+export function applyHollowShardGuard(
+  outcomes: ShardOutcome[],
+  opts: { evalsAll: boolean; warn?: (line: string) => void },
+): ShardOutcome[] {
+  const warn = opts.warn ?? ((line: string) => console.error(line));
+  return outcomes.map((outcome) => {
+    if (outcome.status !== 'passed' || outcome.executedTests !== 0) return outcome;
+    if (!opts.evalsAll) {
+      warn(`[test:paid] WARNING: shard ${outcome.shard} passed with 0 executed tests (${outcome.files.join(' ')}) — legitimate under selection, hollow under EVALS_ALL`);
+      return outcome;
+    }
+    return { ...outcome, status: 'passed-empty' };
+  });
+}
+
 /**
  * Exit code for a finished run: skipped-by-diff shards are successes (the
  * parent proved none of their tests were selected); everything else must
@@ -513,6 +635,7 @@ export async function runPaidShards(
     exitCode: null,
     elapsedMs: 0,
     groupPid: null,
+    executedTests: null,
   }));
 
   let next = 0;
@@ -535,6 +658,7 @@ export async function runPaidShards(
           exitCode: null,
           elapsedMs: 0,
           groupPid: null,
+          executedTests: null,
         };
         console.error(`[test:paid] shard ${index + 1} could not run: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
       }
@@ -562,6 +686,153 @@ export function formatSummary(summary: RunSummary): string[] {
   return lines;
 }
 
+// ─── Planner / executor / report (the CI re-platform surface) ──────────────
+// One PLANNER computes selection and the slice plan ONCE; K executor jobs
+// consume it; a REPORT reconciles results against the plan. This kills two
+// classes at the root: per-slice selector divergence (one slice failing
+// merge-base resolution and running a different partition than its siblings)
+// and hollow lanes (a missing/failed slice that artifact-presence aggregation
+// would read as green). CI wiring: evals.yml planner job → K-way matrix of
+// `--plan manifest.json --slice i` → report job running `--report <dir>`.
+
+export interface ManifestEntry {
+  file: string;
+  /** 1-based executor slice for planned entries; 0 for skipped/excluded. */
+  slice: number;
+  status: 'planned' | 'skipped-by-diff' | 'excluded';
+  reason?: string;
+}
+
+export interface PaidRunManifest {
+  version: 1;
+  tier: PaidTier;
+  evalsAll: boolean;
+  sliceCount: number;
+  selectionReason: string;
+  entries: ManifestEntry[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Files whose old evals.yml matrix rows carried `retries: 2`, with the
+ * receipts that earned them (see the deleted rows' comments). The runner
+ * default stays --retry 1; membership here is a literals map so retry
+ * parity with the matrix is explicit, not folklore.
+ */
+export const RETRY_OVERRIDES: Record<string, number> = {
+  'test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts': 2,
+  'test/skill-e2e-office-hours-auto-mode.test.ts': 2,
+  'test/skill-e2e-plan-mode-no-op.test.ts': 2,
+};
+
+export function retriesForFiles(files: string[]): number {
+  return Math.max(1, ...files.map((f) => RETRY_OVERRIDES[normalizeRelativePath(f)] ?? 1));
+}
+
+/** Round-robin the RUNNABLE (sorted) shard plan across K slices — deterministic. */
+export function buildRunManifest(opts: {
+  tier: PaidTier;
+  sliceCount: number;
+  evalsAll: boolean;
+  discovered?: string[];
+  env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
+  rootDir?: string;
+}): PaidRunManifest {
+  if (!Number.isInteger(opts.sliceCount) || opts.sliceCount <= 0) {
+    throw new Error(`--slices needs a positive integer. Received: ${opts.sliceCount}`);
+  }
+  const rootDir = opts.rootDir ?? ROOT;
+  const discovered = opts.discovered ?? collectPaidTestFiles(rootDir);
+  const { selected, excluded } = selectPaidTestFiles(discovered, opts.tier, rootDir);
+  const shards = planPaidShards(selected, { maxFilesPerShard: 1 });
+  const diffSelection = computePaidDiffSelection(opts.env ?? process.env);
+  const { runnable, skipped } = partitionShardsByDiffSelection(shards, diffSelection.selectedNames);
+
+  const entries: ManifestEntry[] = [];
+  runnable.forEach((files, index) => {
+    entries.push({ file: files[0], slice: (index % opts.sliceCount) + 1, status: 'planned' });
+  });
+  for (const s of skipped) entries.push({ file: s.files[0], slice: 0, status: 'skipped-by-diff', reason: s.reason });
+  for (const e of excluded) entries.push({ file: e.file, slice: 0, status: 'excluded', reason: e.reason });
+  entries.sort((a, b) => (a.file < b.file ? -1 : 1));
+
+  return {
+    version: 1,
+    tier: opts.tier,
+    evalsAll: opts.evalsAll,
+    sliceCount: opts.sliceCount,
+    selectionReason: diffSelection.reason,
+    entries,
+  };
+}
+
+export function parseRunManifest(raw: string): PaidRunManifest {
+  const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as PaidRunManifest;
+  if (parsed.version !== 1) throw new Error(`unsupported manifest version: ${(parsed as { version?: unknown }).version}`);
+  if (parsed.tier !== 'gate' && parsed.tier !== 'periodic') throw new Error(`manifest tier invalid: ${parsed.tier}`);
+  if (!Number.isInteger(parsed.sliceCount) || parsed.sliceCount <= 0) throw new Error('manifest sliceCount invalid');
+  if (!Array.isArray(parsed.entries)) throw new Error('manifest entries missing');
+  for (const entry of parsed.entries) {
+    if (typeof entry.file !== 'string' || !Number.isInteger(entry.slice)) throw new Error('manifest entry malformed');
+    if (!['planned', 'skipped-by-diff', 'excluded'].includes(entry.status)) throw new Error(`manifest entry status invalid: ${entry.status}`);
+    if (entry.status === 'planned' && (entry.slice < 1 || entry.slice > parsed.sliceCount)) {
+      throw new Error(`planned entry ${entry.file} has out-of-range slice ${entry.slice}`);
+    }
+  }
+  return parsed;
+}
+
+export interface SliceResult {
+  version: 1;
+  tier: PaidTier;
+  sliceIndex: number;
+  sliceCount: number;
+  outcomes: Array<Pick<ShardOutcome, 'files' | 'status' | 'exitCode' | 'elapsedMs' | 'executedTests'>>;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Reconcile slice results against the manifest — the fail-closed aggregation.
+ * Problems (any → non-zero): a slice index missing entirely (a cancelled or
+ * crashed executor whose artifact never landed), a planned entry no slice
+ * reported, an entry reported by the wrong/duplicate slice, or any reported
+ * outcome that is not a pass.
+ */
+export function verifySliceResults(
+  manifest: PaidRunManifest,
+  results: SliceResult[],
+): { ok: boolean; problems: string[] } {
+  const problems: string[] = [];
+  const byIndex = new Map<number, SliceResult>();
+  for (const result of results) {
+    if (result.version !== 1) { problems.push(`slice result with unsupported version: ${String(result.version)}`); continue; }
+    if (result.tier !== manifest.tier) problems.push(`slice ${result.sliceIndex} ran tier ${result.tier}, manifest says ${manifest.tier}`);
+    if (byIndex.has(result.sliceIndex)) problems.push(`duplicate result for slice ${result.sliceIndex}`);
+    byIndex.set(result.sliceIndex, result);
+  }
+  for (let index = 1; index <= manifest.sliceCount; index += 1) {
+    if (!byIndex.has(index)) problems.push(`slice ${index}/${manifest.sliceCount} reported NO result — cancelled/crashed executor, not a pass`);
+  }
+
+  const reported = new Map<string, { slice: number; status: ShardStatus }>();
+  for (const result of results) {
+    for (const outcome of result.outcomes) {
+      const file = normalizeRelativePath(outcome.files[0] ?? '');
+      if (reported.has(file)) problems.push(`${file} reported by two slices`);
+      reported.set(file, { slice: result.sliceIndex, status: outcome.status });
+    }
+  }
+  for (const entry of manifest.entries) {
+    if (entry.status !== 'planned') continue;
+    const got = reported.get(normalizeRelativePath(entry.file));
+    if (!got) {
+      if (byIndex.has(entry.slice)) problems.push(`planned ${entry.file} (slice ${entry.slice}) was never reported`);
+      continue; // the missing-slice problem above already covers it
+    }
+    if (got.slice !== entry.slice) problems.push(`${entry.file} planned for slice ${entry.slice} but reported by slice ${got.slice}`);
+    if (got.status !== 'passed') problems.push(`${entry.file}: ${got.status}`);
+  }
+  return { ok: problems.length === 0, problems };
+}
+
 type CliOptions = {
   tier: PaidTier;
   listOnly: boolean;
@@ -569,6 +840,16 @@ type CliOptions = {
   jobs: number;
   withinShardConcurrency: number;
   maxFilesPerShard: number;
+  /** Planner mode: write the run manifest here and exit. */
+  emitPlanPath: string | null;
+  /** Slice count for --emit-plan. */
+  slices: number;
+  /** Executor mode: consume this manifest... */
+  planPath: string | null;
+  /** ...running only this 1-based slice. */
+  sliceIndex: number | null;
+  /** Report mode: reconcile manifest.json + slice-*.json under this dir. */
+  reportDir: string | null;
 };
 
 function parsePositiveInt(value: string | undefined, flag: string): number {
@@ -605,6 +886,11 @@ export function parseCliOptions(argv: string[], env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process
       ? parsePositiveInt(env.EVALS_CONCURRENCY, 'EVALS_CONCURRENCY')
       : DEFAULT_WITHIN_SHARD_CONCURRENCY,
     maxFilesPerShard: DEFAULT_MAX_FILES_PER_SHARD,
+    emitPlanPath: null,
+    slices: 1,
+    planPath: null,
+    sliceIndex: null,
+    reportDir: null,
   };
 
   for (let index = 0; index < argv.length; index += 1) {
@@ -619,6 +905,23 @@ export function parseCliOptions(argv: string[], env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process
     if (arg === '--timeout') { options.timeoutMs = parsePositiveInt(argv[index += 1], '--timeout') * 1000; continue; }
     if (arg === '--jobs') { options.jobs = parsePositiveInt(argv[index += 1], '--jobs'); continue; }
     if (arg === '--files-per-shard') { options.maxFilesPerShard = parsePositiveInt(argv[index += 1], '--files-per-shard'); continue; }
+    if (arg === '--emit-plan') {
+      const value = argv[index += 1];
+      if (!value) throw new Error('--emit-plan needs a file path');
+      options.emitPlanPath = value; continue;
+    }
+    if (arg === '--slices') { options.slices = parsePositiveInt(argv[index += 1], '--slices'); continue; }
+    if (arg === '--plan') {
+      const value = argv[index += 1];
+      if (!value) throw new Error('--plan needs a manifest path');
+      options.planPath = value; continue;
+    }
+    if (arg === '--slice') { options.sliceIndex = parsePositiveInt(argv[index += 1], '--slice'); continue; }
+    if (arg === '--report') {
+      const value = argv[index += 1];
+      if (!value) throw new Error('--report needs a directory');
+      options.reportDir = value; continue;
+    }
     throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${arg}`);
   }
   return options;
@@ -626,9 +929,111 @@ export function parseCliOptions(argv: string[], env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process
 
 async function main(): Promise<number> {
   const options = parseCliOptions(process.argv.slice(2));
+
+  // ── Planner mode: compute selection + the slice plan ONCE, write it, exit.
+  if (options.emitPlanPath) {
+    const manifest = buildRunManifest({
+      tier: options.tier,
+      sliceCount: options.slices,
+      evalsAll: process.env.EVALS_ALL === '1',
+    });
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(path.resolve(options.emitPlanPath)), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(options.emitPlanPath, `${JSON.stringify(manifest, null, 2)}\n`);
+    const planned = manifest.entries.filter((e) => e.status === 'planned').length;
+    const skipped = manifest.entries.filter((e) => e.status === 'skipped-by-diff').length;
+    const excludedCount = manifest.entries.filter((e) => e.status === 'excluded').length;
+    console.log(
+      `[test:paid] plan: tier=${manifest.tier} evalsAll=${manifest.evalsAll} — `
+      + `${planned} planned across ${manifest.sliceCount} slice(s), ${skipped} skipped by diff, `
+      + `${excludedCount} excluded (${manifest.selectionReason})`,
+    );
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  // ── Report mode: reconcile slice artifacts against the manifest. Fail-closed:
+  // a slice whose artifact never landed is a FAILURE, not an absence.
+  if (options.reportDir) {
+    const manifest = parseRunManifest(fs.readFileSync(path.join(options.reportDir, 'manifest.json'), 'utf-8'));
+    const results: SliceResult[] = fs.readdirSync(options.reportDir)
+      .filter((name) => /^slice-\d+\.json$/.test(name))
+      .map((name) => JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(options.reportDir, name), 'utf-8')) as SliceResult);
+    const verdict = verifySliceResults(manifest, results);
+    const planned = manifest.entries.filter((e) => e.status === 'planned').length;
+    console.log(`[test:paid] report: ${results.length}/${manifest.sliceCount} slices, ${planned} planned shards, tier=${manifest.tier}`);
+    for (const result of results.sort((a, b) => a.sliceIndex - b.sliceIndex)) {
+      for (const outcome of result.outcomes) {
+        console.log(`  slice ${result.sliceIndex}  ${outcome.status.padEnd(15)} ${String(Math.round(outcome.elapsedMs / 1000)).padStart(5)}s  ${outcome.files.join(' ')}`);
+      }
+    }
+    if (!verdict.ok) {
+      console.error(`[test:paid] report: ${verdict.problems.length} problem(s):`);
+      for (const problem of verdict.problems) console.error(`  ✗ ${problem}`);
+      return 1;
+    }
+    console.log('[test:paid] report: every planned shard accounted and passed');
+    return 0;
+  }
+
   const discovered = collectPaidTestFiles();
   if (discovered.length === 0) throw new Error('No paid test files were discovered.');
 
+  // ── Executor mode: consume the planner's manifest; never self-select.
+  if (options.planPath || options.sliceIndex !== null) {
+    if (!options.planPath || options.sliceIndex === null) {
+      throw new Error('--plan and --slice must be used together');
+    }
+    const manifest = parseRunManifest(fs.readFileSync(options.planPath, 'utf-8'));
+    if (manifest.tier !== options.tier) {
+      throw new Error(`manifest tier ${manifest.tier} != requested tier ${options.tier} — refusing a cross-tier run`);
+    }
+    if (options.sliceIndex > manifest.sliceCount) {
+      throw new Error(`--slice ${options.sliceIndex} exceeds manifest sliceCount ${manifest.sliceCount}`);
+    }
+    const mine = manifest.entries.filter((e) => e.status === 'planned' && e.slice === options.sliceIndex);
+    const shards = mine.map((e) => [e.file]);
+    console.log(`[test:paid] slice ${options.sliceIndex}/${manifest.sliceCount}: ${shards.length} shard(s), tier=${manifest.tier}, evalsAll=${manifest.evalsAll}`);
+
+    const evalDirBase = process.env.GSTACK_EVAL_DIR || getProjectEvalDir();
+    let summary: RunSummary;
+    if (shards.length === 0) {
+      summary = summarize([]);
+    } else {
+      preflightAnthropicApi(process.env);
+      summary = await runPaidShards(shards, {
+        timeoutMs: options.timeoutMs,
+        jobs: options.jobs,
+        withinShardConcurrency: options.withinShardConcurrency,
+        env: {
+          ...process.env,
+          EVALS: '1',
+          EVALS_TIER: options.tier,
+          ...(manifest.evalsAll ? { EVALS_ALL: '1' } : {}),
+          EVALS_PREFLIGHT_OK: '1',
+          // The manifest IS the selection: children must not re-derive a
+          // possibly-different one from their own git view.
+          EVALS_SELECTION_JSON: JSON.stringify({ version: 1, selected: null, reason: `manifest slice ${options.sliceIndex}: ${manifest.selectionReason}` }),
+        },
+        evalDirBase,
+      });
+    }
+    const guarded = applyHollowShardGuard(summary.outcomes, { evalsAll: manifest.evalsAll });
+    summary = summarize(guarded);
+    const sliceResult: SliceResult = {
+      version: 1,
+      tier: manifest.tier,
+      sliceIndex: options.sliceIndex,
+      sliceCount: manifest.sliceCount,
+      outcomes: guarded.map(({ files, status, exitCode, elapsedMs, executedTests }) =>
+        ({ files, status, exitCode, elapsedMs, executedTests })),
+    };
+    fs.mkdirSync(evalDirBase, { recursive: true });
+    const sliceResultPath = path.join(evalDirBase, `slice-${options.sliceIndex}.json`);
+    fs.writeFileSync(sliceResultPath, `${JSON.stringify(sliceResult, null, 2)}\n`);
+    console.log(`[test:paid] slice result: ${sliceResultPath}`);
+    for (const line of formatSummary(summary)) console.log(line);
+    return summaryExitCode(summary);
+  }
+
   const { selected, excluded } = selectPaidTestFiles(discovered, options.tier);
   const shards = planPaidShards(selected, { maxFilesPerShard: options.maxFilesPerShard });
 
@@ -676,7 +1081,17 @@ async function main(): Promise<number> {
     timeoutMs: options.timeoutMs,
     jobs: options.jobs,
     withinShardConcurrency: options.withinShardConcurrency,
-    env: { ...process.env, EVALS: '1', EVALS_TIER: options.tier, EVALS_PREFLIGHT_OK: '1' },
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      EVALS: '1',
+      EVALS_TIER: options.tier,
+      EVALS_PREFLIGHT_OK: '1',
+      // The parent's selection, computed once above — children's e2e-helpers
+      // module load adopts it instead of re-deriving per shard (which spawned
+      // a bun subprocess per child on the touchfiles-data map-diff path).
+      // Children fall back to local derivation on any parse failure.
+      EVALS_SELECTION_JSON: serializePaidDiffSelection(diffSelection),
+    },
     evalDirBase: process.env.GSTACK_EVAL_DIR || getProjectEvalDir(),
   });
   const skippedOutcomes: ShardOutcome[] = skipped.map((s, index) => ({
@@ -686,8 +1101,12 @@ async function main(): Promise<number> {
     exitCode: null,
     elapsedMs: 0,
     groupPid: null,
+    executedTests: null,
   }));
-  const summary = summarize([...runSummary.outcomes, ...skippedOutcomes]);
+  const guardedOutcomes = applyHollowShardGuard(runSummary.outcomes, {
+    evalsAll: process.env.EVALS_ALL === '1',
+  });
+  const summary = summarize([...guardedOutcomes, ...skippedOutcomes]);
   for (const line of formatSummary(summary)) console.log(line);
   return summaryExitCode(summary);
 }

scripts/test-strict-output.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
  * future strict wrapper around `bun test`.
  */
 
-import { type ChildProcess } from 'node:child_process';
+import { spawn, type ChildProcess } from 'node:child_process';
 import { StringDecoder } from 'node:string_decoder';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
 
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
 const ANSI_ESCAPE = /\u001B\[[0-?]*[ -/]*[@-~]/g;
 const BUN_FAIL_RESULT = /^\(fail\) .+ \[(?:\d+(?:\.\d+)?)(?:ns|us|µs|ms|s)\]$/;
 const BUN_BETWEEN_TESTS_ERROR = '# Unhandled error between tests';
-const BUN_TERMINAL_SUMMARY = /^Ran \d+ tests? across (\d+) files?\. \[(?:\d+(?:\.\d+)?)(?:ns|us|µs|ms|s)\]$/;
+const BUN_TERMINAL_SUMMARY = /^Ran (\d+) tests? across (\d+) files?\. \[(?:\d+(?:\.\d+)?)(?:ns|us|µs|ms|s)\]$/;
 
 export type BunTestOutputFinding = 'failed-test' | 'unhandled-between-tests';
 
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ export interface BunTestOutputSummary {
   failedTests: number;
   unhandledBetweenTests: number;
   terminalFileCounts: number[];
+  /** Test counts from the same terminal lines — feeds the hollow-shard guard. */
+  terminalTestCounts: number[];
 }
 
 export type ForwardedTerminationSignal = 'SIGINT' | 'SIGTERM';
@@ -196,9 +198,15 @@ export function classifyBunTestOutputLine(rawLine: string): BunTestOutputFinding
 }
 
 export function parseBunTerminalSummaryLine(rawLine: string): number | null {
+  return parseBunTerminalSummary(rawLine)?.files ?? null;
+}
+
+export function parseBunTerminalSummary(rawLine: string): { tests: number; files: number } | null {
   const line = stripAnsiLine(rawLine);
   const match = BUN_TERMINAL_SUMMARY.exec(line);
-  return match ? Number.parseInt(match[1], 10) : null;
+  return match
+    ? { tests: Number.parseInt(match[1], 10), files: Number.parseInt(match[2], 10) }
+    : null;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -220,6 +228,7 @@ export class BunTestOutputClassifier {
   private failedTests = 0;
   private unhandledBetweenTests = 0;
   private terminalFileCounts: number[] = [];
+  private terminalTestCounts: number[] = [];
 
   write(chunk: Uint8Array | string, origin: ClassifierOrigin = 'stdout'): void {
     this.pending[origin] += typeof chunk === 'string'
@@ -242,6 +251,7 @@ export class BunTestOutputClassifier {
       failedTests: this.failedTests,
       unhandledBetweenTests: this.unhandledBetweenTests,
       terminalFileCounts: [...this.terminalFileCounts],
+      terminalTestCounts: [...this.terminalTestCounts],
     };
   }
 
@@ -258,8 +268,11 @@ export class BunTestOutputClassifier {
     const finding = classifyBunTestOutputLine(line);
     if (finding === 'failed-test') this.failedTests += 1;
     if (finding === 'unhandled-between-tests') this.unhandledBetweenTests += 1;
-    const terminalFileCount = parseBunTerminalSummaryLine(line);
-    if (terminalFileCount !== null) this.terminalFileCounts.push(terminalFileCount);
+    const terminal = parseBunTerminalSummary(line);
+    if (terminal !== null) {
+      this.terminalFileCounts.push(terminal.files);
+      this.terminalTestCounts.push(terminal.tests);
+    }
   }
 }
 
@@ -298,3 +311,88 @@ export function forwardAndClassify(
     stream.on('error', reject);
   });
 }
+
+// --- Shared shard-child lifecycle ---
+
+export interface RunShardChildOptions {
+  command: string;
+  args: string[];
+  cwd: string;
+  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
+  /** External wall-clock deadline; on expiry the child's process GROUP is SIGKILLed. */
+  timeoutMs: number;
+  /**
+   * Hook the freshly-spawned child's stdout/stderr. Stream POLICY (classifier
+   * tees, log spooling, console forwarding, reporters) is entirely the
+   * caller's. Runs synchronously right after spawn; the returned promises are
+   * awaited AFTER the child closes, so trailing output is fully drained
+   * before the caller reads its classifier/reporter state.
+   */
+  hookStreams: (child: ChildProcess) => Array<Promise<void>>;
+}
+
+export interface ShardChildResult {
+  exitCode: number | null;
+  /** True when the wall timer fired and SIGKILLed the group. */
+  timedOut: boolean;
+  /** The child's pid — the process-GROUP id on POSIX (detached spawn). */
+  groupPid: number | null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The child lifecycle both sharded runners need, extracted from
+ * scripts/test-paid-shards.ts runPaidShard (scripts/test-free-shards.ts
+ * runFreeShard duplicates the same ~35 lines verbatim today and is designed
+ * to migrate here in a later change):
+ *
+ *   - spawn detached on POSIX so the child owns its process group,
+ *   - forward parent SIGINT/SIGTERM to the whole group (not just the child),
+ *   - arm an EXTERNAL wall-clock timer that SIGKILLs the group — a spinning
+ *     child main thread never fires its own in-process timer,
+ *   - in EVERY exit path: disarm the timer, detach the signal forwarder, and
+ *     reap group survivors with SIGKILL.
+ *
+ * Caller-side cleanup that must run even on a spawn failure (log streams,
+ * reporters, temp dirs) belongs in the caller's own try/finally around this
+ * call: a spawn 'error' event THROWS from here after the finally block runs,
+ * preserving the runners' existing could-not-run handling.
+ */
+export async function runShardChild(options: RunShardChildOptions): Promise<ShardChildResult> {
+  const child = spawn(options.command, options.args, {
+    cwd: options.cwd,
+    env: options.env,
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+    detached: process.platform !== 'win32',
+    windowsHide: true,
+  });
+  const groupPid = child.pid ?? null;
+  // Group-kill on parent SIGINT/SIGTERM too, not just on timeout.
+  const forwarding = installChildSignalForwarding({
+    kill: (signal?: NodeJS.Signals | number) => {
+      killProcessGroup(child, (signal as NodeJS.Signals) ?? 'SIGTERM');
+      return true;
+    },
+  });
+
+  let timedOut = false;
+  const killTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+    timedOut = true;
+    killProcessGroup(child, 'SIGKILL');
+  }, options.timeoutMs);
+
+  let exitCode: number | null = null;
+  try {
+    const streams = options.hookStreams(child);
+    exitCode = await new Promise<number | null>((resolve, reject) => {
+      child.once('error', reject);
+      child.once('close', (code) => resolve(code));
+    });
+    await Promise.all(streams);
+  } finally {
+    clearTimeout(killTimer);
+    forwarding.dispose();
+    // Reap survivors of this shard even on the clean path.
+    killProcessGroup(child, 'SIGKILL');
+  }
+  return { exitCode, timedOut, groupPid };
+}

test/benchmark-cli.test.ts

@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 
 import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
 import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
+
+import { runBin } from './helpers/run-bin';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as os from 'os';
@@ -21,16 +23,15 @@ const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
 const BIN = path.join(ROOT, 'bin', 'gstack-model-benchmark');
 
 function run(args: string[], opts: { env?: Record<string, string> } = {}): { status: number | null; stdout: string; stderr: string } {
-  const result = spawnSync('bun', ['run', BIN, ...args], {
+  const result = runBin('bun', ['run', BIN, ...args], {
     cwd: ROOT,
-    env: { ...process.env, ...opts.env },
-    encoding: 'utf-8',
-    timeout: 15000,
+    env: opts.env,
+    timeoutMs: 15000,
   });
   return {
     status: result.status,
-    stdout: result.stdout?.toString() ?? '',
-    stderr: result.stderr?.toString() ?? '',
+    stdout: result.stdout,
+    stderr: result.stderr,
   };
 }
 

test/bun-version-drift.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/**
+ * One Bun version across every CI surface.
+ *
+ * The drift class this pins: Dockerfile.ci's comment records that the old
+ * `| BUN_VERSION=x.y.z bash` form silently installed latest on every image
+ * rebuild (observed 1.3.13/1.3.14 drift vs the 1.3.10 devs ran locally),
+ * and before 2026-08-29 the lanes disagreed four ways (1.3.13 / latest /
+ * unpinned / 1.3.10). Different Bun versions change test-runner OUTPUT
+ * SHAPES the strict classifiers regex-match, spawn semantics, and shell
+ * parsing — a lane on a different Bun is testing a different product.
+ *
+ * Bumping Bun: change every surface in one commit; this test names each one.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+const WORKFLOWS_DIR = path.join(ROOT, '.github', 'workflows');
+
+interface Pin {
+  surface: string;
+  version: string;
+}
+
+function collectPins(): Pin[] {
+  const pins: Pin[] = [];
+
+  for (const name of fs.readdirSync(WORKFLOWS_DIR).sort()) {
+    if (!/\.ya?ml$/.test(name)) continue;
+    const source = fs.readFileSync(path.join(WORKFLOWS_DIR, name), 'utf-8');
+    const lines = source.split('\n');
+    for (let i = 0; i < lines.length; i++) {
+      if (!/uses:\s*oven-sh\/setup-bun@/.test(lines[i])) continue;
+      // A pinned stanza is `with:` + `bun-version: <v>` within the next few
+      // lines; an unpinned setup-bun is itself drift (installs latest).
+      const window = lines.slice(i + 1, i + 4).join('\n');
+      const m = window.match(/bun-version:\s*["']?([\w.]+)["']?/);
+      pins.push({
+        surface: `${name}:${i + 1}`,
+        version: m ? m[1] : '<unpinned setup-bun — installs latest>',
+      });
+    }
+  }
+
+  const dockerfile = fs.readFileSync(
+    path.join(ROOT, '.github', 'docker', 'Dockerfile.ci'), 'utf-8');
+  const dockerPin = dockerfile.match(/bash -s ["']?bun-v([\w.]+)["']?/);
+  pins.push({
+    surface: 'Dockerfile.ci',
+    version: dockerPin ? dockerPin[1] : '<no bun-vX.Y.Z positional arg>',
+  });
+
+  const gitlab = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, '.gitlab-ci.yml'), 'utf-8');
+  const gitlabPin = gitlab.match(/BUN_VERSION:\s*["']?([\w.]+)["']?/);
+  pins.push({
+    surface: '.gitlab-ci.yml',
+    version: gitlabPin ? gitlabPin[1] : '<no BUN_VERSION>',
+  });
+
+  return pins;
+}
+
+describe('bun version pins', () => {
+  test('every CI surface pins the same bun version', () => {
+    const pins = collectPins();
+    // Sanity: the scan found the known surfaces (a regex rot that finds
+    // nothing must fail loudly, not vacuously pass).
+    expect(pins.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(6);
+
+    const versions = [...new Set(pins.map((p) => p.version))];
+    const detail = pins.map((p) => `${p.surface} → ${p.version}`).join('\n');
+    expect(versions, `bun version drift across CI surfaces:\n${detail}`).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(versions[0]).toMatch(/^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$/);
+  });
+});

test/carve-section-loading.test.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
  */
 
 import { test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { CAPTURE_LONG_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import { describeE2ETier } from './helpers/e2e-gate';
 import { setupSkillDir, skillFromWorktree, captureSectionReads } from './helpers/auq-sdk-capture';
 import { CARVE_GUARDS } from './helpers/carve-guards';
@@ -97,7 +98,7 @@ describeE2E('carve behavioral section-loading (periodic, SDK capture)', () => {
         });
         expect(output.trim().length).toBeGreaterThan(200);
       },
-      540_000,
+      CAPTURE_LONG_MS,
     );
   }
 });

test/catalog-mode-full.test.ts

@@ -15,14 +15,15 @@
  *      `description: |` block (multi-line) instead of the trim'd one-line
  *      `description: ...(gstack)` form.
  *
- * The smoke test mutates the working tree mid-run. It restores the default
- * trim'd state in a finally block so a crash mid-test still leaves a clean
- * working tree.
+ * The smoke test renders the full-catalog variant into an isolated
+ * --out-dir — the working tree is never written, so there is no restore
+ * pass (and no half-restored tree if the test crashes mid-run).
  */
 
 import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
 import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
 const REPO_ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
@@ -58,24 +59,26 @@ describe('--catalog-mode=full opt-out wiring (static)', () => {
 
 describe('--catalog-mode=full opt-out behavior (smoke)', () => {
   test('--catalog-mode=full produces multi-line description in frontmatter', () => {
-    // Save the trim'd state so we can restore it.
-    const trimmedShip = fs.readFileSync(SHIP_SKILL, 'utf-8');
+    // The TRACKED ship/SKILL.md carries the default trim'd form (read-only check).
     // #1778: the trimmed ship description has an interior colon ("Ship workflow:")
     // and is now YAML-quoted — tolerate the optional surrounding quotes.
+    const trimmedShip = fs.readFileSync(SHIP_SKILL, 'utf-8');
     expect(trimmedShip).toMatch(/^description: "?Ship workflow:[^\n]*\(gstack\)"?\n/m);
 
+    const outDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-catalog-full-'));
     try {
-      // Run with --catalog-mode=full. Mutates working tree.
-      const result = spawnSync('bun', ['run', 'gen:skill-docs', '--catalog-mode=full'], {
+      // Render --catalog-mode=full into an isolated out-dir. The working
+      // tree is never written, so no restore pass is needed.
+      const result = spawnSync('bun', ['run', 'gen:skill-docs', '--catalog-mode=full', '--out-dir', outDir], {
         cwd: REPO_ROOT,
         stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
         timeout: 60_000,
       });
       expect(result.status).toBe(0);
 
-      // After --catalog-mode=full, frontmatter description is the legacy
+      // In the full-mode render, frontmatter description is the legacy
       // multi-line block, not the trim'd one-line form.
-      const fullShip = fs.readFileSync(SHIP_SKILL, 'utf-8');
+      const fullShip = fs.readFileSync(path.join(outDir, 'ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
       expect(fullShip).toMatch(/^description: \|\s*$/m); // YAML block scalar
       // Legacy multi-line content includes "Use when asked to..." in the
       // frontmatter (in trim mode this lives in the body section).
@@ -87,23 +90,12 @@ describe('--catalog-mode=full opt-out behavior (smoke)', () => {
       // (because the routing prose stayed in frontmatter).
       const body = fullShip.slice(fmEnd);
       expect(body).not.toContain('## When to invoke this skill');
+
+      // Non-mutation proof: the tracked ship/SKILL.md is byte-unchanged —
+      // a catalog-mode render must never rewrite the committed trim'd state.
+      expect(fs.readFileSync(SHIP_SKILL, 'utf-8')).toBe(trimmedShip);
     } finally {
-      // Restore default trim state regardless of test outcome.
-      const restore = spawnSync('bun', ['run', 'gen:skill-docs'], {
-        cwd: REPO_ROOT,
-        stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
-        timeout: 60_000,
-      });
-      if (restore.status !== 0) {
-        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
-        console.error(
-          'CRITICAL: failed to restore default trim state. Run `bun run gen:skill-docs` to clean up.',
-        );
-      }
-      // Sanity-check the restored state matches what we saw at the start.
-      const restoredShip = fs.readFileSync(SHIP_SKILL, 'utf-8');
-      // #1778: restored trim state has the YAML-quoted (interior-colon) description.
-      expect(restoredShip).toMatch(/^description: "?Ship workflow:[^\n]*\(gstack\)"?\n/m);
+      fs.rmSync(outDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
     }
   }, 180_000);
 

test/ci-image-tag-binding.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/**
+ * The CI image tag is a content hash computed independently in three
+ * workflows — evals.yml, evals-periodic.yml, ci-image.yml — and they were
+ * synced by comment only (filed in TODOS.md as the "three-way image-tag
+ * drift" gap). If one file's hashFiles() input list drifts, that workflow
+ * computes a DIFFERENT tag for the same content: the eval lanes stop finding
+ * the prebuilt image and silently rebuild it on every run (minutes per run,
+ * no red check), or ci-image prebuilds a tag nobody looks up.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+const FILES = ['evals.yml', 'evals-periodic.yml', 'ci-image.yml'];
+
+function hashFilesCalls(name: string): string[] {
+  const source = fs.readFileSync(
+    path.join(ROOT, '.github', 'workflows', name), 'utf-8');
+  // Only tag-computation sites: hashFiles() inside a `tag=` output line.
+  return [...source.matchAll(/tag=[^\n]*?(hashFiles\([^)]*\))/g)].map((m) => m[1]);
+}
+
+describe('ci image tag binding', () => {
+  test('all three workflows compute the tag from the identical hashFiles() input list', () => {
+    const perFile = FILES.map((f) => ({ file: f, calls: hashFilesCalls(f) }));
+    for (const { file, calls } of perFile) {
+      // Each workflow computes the tag exactly once; zero means the scan
+      // regex rotted (must fail loudly, not vacuously pass).
+      expect(calls, `${file}: expected exactly one tag hashFiles() site`).toHaveLength(1);
+    }
+    const expressions = [...new Set(perFile.map((p) => p.calls[0]))];
+    const detail = perFile.map((p) => `${p.file} → ${p.calls[0]}`).join('\n');
+    expect(expressions, `image-tag hashFiles() drift:\n${detail}`).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+});

test/code-intelligence-cli.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,205 @@
+/**
+ * bin/gstack-code-intelligence — CLI surface smoke tests.
+ *
+ * lib/code-intelligence/* is covered by test/code-intelligence.test.ts, which
+ * also drives the CLI's `index` and `search` consent/policy refusal paths.
+ * This file covers the argument-handling surface those tests skip: usage on
+ * bad/missing subcommands, `select` and `consent` validation + state writes,
+ * and the `suggest` offer gate — all hermetic under a mkdtemp GSTACK_HOME
+ * (the selection store lives at $GSTACK_HOME/code-intelligence.json), and all
+ * on paths that never call detectAvailable(), so nothing probes providers or
+ * the network.
+ *
+ * Note: the CLI has no `--help` flag — every unrecognized action (including
+ * `--help`) routes to the usage message on stderr with exit 1. Pinned below.
+ */
+import { describe, test, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import { runBin } from './helpers/run-bin';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
+const CLI = path.join(ROOT, 'bin', 'gstack-code-intelligence');
+
+let home: string;
+let workDir: string;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  home = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ci-cli-home-'));
+  workDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ci-cli-work-'));
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  fs.rmSync(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  fs.rmSync(workDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+function runCli(...args: string[]) {
+  return runBin('bun', [CLI, ...args], { cwd: workDir, gstackHome: home, home });
+}
+
+function readStore(): { provider: string | null; consents: Record<string, boolean>; declined: boolean } {
+  return JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(home, 'code-intelligence.json'), 'utf-8'));
+}
+
+describe('gstack-code-intelligence: usage surface', () => {
+  test('no arguments: usage on stderr, exit 1', () => {
+    const result = runCli();
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('gstack-code-intelligence:');
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('Usage:');
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('select <provider>');
+    expect(result.stdout).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  test('unknown subcommand: usage on stderr, exit 1', () => {
+    const result = runCli('frobnicate');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('Usage:');
+  });
+
+  test('--help has no exit-0 handler — it routes to the usage failure (current behavior)', () => {
+    const result = runCli('--help');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('Usage:');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('gstack-code-intelligence: select', () => {
+  test('invalid provider is rejected with the select usage line', () => {
+    const result = runCli('select', 'bogus-provider');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('Usage: select <gbrain|sourcebot|graphify|none>');
+    expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(home, 'code-intelligence.json'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('select with no argument is rejected the same way', () => {
+    const result = runCli('select');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('Usage: select <gbrain|sourcebot|graphify|none>');
+  });
+
+  test('select none records the decline so the offer is never repeated', () => {
+    const result = runCli('select', 'none');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('declined');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('will not ask again');
+    const store = readStore();
+    expect(store.provider).toBeNull();
+    expect(store.declined).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('selecting the local provider persists it without an off-machine warning', () => {
+    const result = runCli('select', 'graphify');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('selected Graphify.');
+    expect(result.stdout).not.toContain('off this machine');
+    const store = readStore();
+    expect(store.provider).toBe('graphify');
+    expect(store.declined).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('selecting a non-local provider warns that content leaves the machine', () => {
+    const result = runCli('select', 'gbrain');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('selected GBrain.');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('off this machine');
+    expect(readStore().provider).toBe('gbrain');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('gstack-code-intelligence: consent', () => {
+  test('the yes/no value is required — a bare path records NOTHING', () => {
+    const result = runCli('consent', workDir);
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('never assumed');
+    expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(home, 'code-intelligence.json'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('an unknown value records NOTHING', () => {
+    const result = runCli('consent', workDir, 'maybe');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('never assumed');
+    expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(home, 'code-intelligence.json'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('consent yes persists true for the resolved repo path', () => {
+    const result = runCli('consent', workDir, 'yes');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('indexing consent recorded');
+    expect(readStore().consents[fs.realpathSync(workDir)] ?? readStore().consents[workDir]).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('consent no persists an explicit DENIED — a "no" is a durable answer too', () => {
+    const result = runCli('consent', workDir, 'no');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('DENIED');
+    expect(readStore().consents[fs.realpathSync(workDir)] ?? readStore().consents[workDir]).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('consent with no path defaults to the cwd', () => {
+    const result = runCli('consent', 'yes');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    const consents = readStore().consents;
+    const keys = Object.keys(consents);
+    expect(keys.length).toBe(1);
+    // resolve(cwd) — the child's cwd is workDir (possibly via a symlinked tmp).
+    expect([workDir, fs.realpathSync(workDir)]).toContain(keys[0]);
+    expect(consents[keys[0]]).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('gstack-code-intelligence: suggest (offer gate)', () => {
+  test('a non-repo directory never triggers the offer (--json)', () => {
+    const result = runCli('suggest', workDir, '--json');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
+    expect(parsed.offer).toBe(false);
+    expect(parsed.reason).toBe('not-a-repo');
+    expect(parsed.fileCount).toBeNull();
+    expect([workDir, fs.realpathSync(workDir)]).toContain(parsed.repoPath);
+  });
+
+  test('a selected provider suppresses the offer before any repo probing', () => {
+    expect(runCli('select', 'graphify').status).toBe(0);
+    const result = runCli('suggest', workDir, '--json');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
+    expect(parsed.offer).toBe(false);
+    expect(parsed.reason).toBe('provider-selected');
+  });
+
+  test('an explicit decline suppresses the offer permanently', () => {
+    expect(runCli('select', 'none').status).toBe(0);
+    const result = runCli('suggest', workDir, '--json');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(JSON.parse(result.stdout).reason).toBe('declined');
+  });
+
+  test('human-readable no-offer output names the reason', () => {
+    const result = runCli('suggest', workDir);
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('no offer (not-a-repo)');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('gstack-code-intelligence: provider-requiring commands without a selection', () => {
+  test('index refuses when no provider is selected', () => {
+    const result = runCli('index', workDir);
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('no provider selected');
+  });
+
+  test('search refuses when no provider is selected', () => {
+    const result = runCli('search', 'anything');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('no provider selected');
+  });
+
+  test('search with no query prints the search usage', () => {
+    const result = runCli('search');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('Usage: search <query...>');
+  });
+});

test/codex-e2e-plan-format.test.ts

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
  * Periodic tier (Codex non-determinism). Cost: ~$2-3 per full run.
  */
 import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { CAPTURE_MS, CAPTURE_LONG_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import { runCodexSkill, installSkillToTempHome } from './helpers/codex-session-runner';
 import type { CodexResult } from './helpers/codex-session-runner';
 import { EvalCollector } from './helpers/eval-store';
@@ -47,7 +48,12 @@ const CODEX_AVAILABLE = (() => {
   } catch { return false; }
 })();
 const evalsEnabled = !!process.env.EVALS;
-const SKIP = !CODEX_AVAILABLE || !evalsEnabled;
+// External-service test — periodic tier only (CLAUDE.md tiering rule 3),
+// matching codex-e2e.test.ts / codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts. Without this
+// guard the sharded runner's "no whole-file tier guard" default would run
+// Codex spawns in the GATE tier on every PR.
+const tierOk = process.env.EVALS_TIER === 'periodic';
+const SKIP = !CODEX_AVAILABLE || !evalsEnabled || !tierOk;
 const describeCodex = SKIP ? describe.skip : describe;
 
 // --- Touchfiles ---
@@ -181,7 +187,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — CEO Mode Selection', () => {
     const result = await runCodexSkill({
       skillDir,
       prompt: `Read the plan-ceo-review skill. Read plan.md (the plan to review). Proceed to Step 0F (Mode Selection) where the skill presents 4 mode options (SCOPE EXPANSION, SELECTIVE EXPANSION, HOLD SCOPE, SCOPE REDUCTION) via AskUserQuestion. These options differ in kind (review posture), not coverage. ${captureInstruction(outFile)}`,
-      timeoutMs: 300_000,
+      timeoutMs: CAPTURE_MS,
       cwd: planDir,
       skillName: 'gstack-plan-ceo-review',
       sandbox: 'workspace-write',
@@ -203,7 +209,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — CEO Mode Selection', () => {
     // kind-differentiated: no fabricated score, must have note
     expect(captured).not.toMatch(COMPLETENESS_RE);
     expect(captured).toMatch(KIND_NOTE_RE);
-  }, 360_000);
+  }, CAPTURE_LONG_MS);
 });
 
 describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — CEO Approach Menu', () => {
@@ -221,7 +227,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — CEO Approach Menu', () => {
     const result = await runCodexSkill({
       skillDir,
       prompt: `Read the plan-ceo-review skill. Read plan.md. Proceed to Step 0C-bis (Implementation Alternatives / Approach Menu) where the skill generates 2-3 approaches (minimal viable vs ideal architecture) and presents them via AskUserQuestion. These options differ in coverage so Completeness: N/10 applies. ${captureInstruction(outFile)}`,
-      timeoutMs: 300_000,
+      timeoutMs: CAPTURE_MS,
       cwd: planDir,
       skillName: 'gstack-plan-ceo-review',
       sandbox: 'workspace-write',
@@ -240,7 +246,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — CEO Approach Menu', () => {
     expect(captured.length).toBeGreaterThan(ELI10_LENGTH_FLOOR);
     expect(captured).toMatch(RECOMMENDATION_RE);
     expect(captured).toMatch(COMPLETENESS_RE);
-  }, 360_000);
+  }, CAPTURE_LONG_MS);
 });
 
 describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — Eng Coverage Issue', () => {
@@ -258,7 +264,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — Eng Coverage Issue', () => {
     const result = await runCodexSkill({
       skillDir,
       prompt: `Read the plan-eng-review skill. Read plan.md. In your Section 3 Test Review, generate ONE AskUserQuestion about test coverage depth where options are clearly coverage-differentiated: A) full coverage incl. edge + error paths (Completeness 10/10), B) happy path only (7/10), C) smoke test (3/10). ${captureInstruction(outFile)}`,
-      timeoutMs: 300_000,
+      timeoutMs: CAPTURE_MS,
       cwd: planDir,
       skillName: 'gstack-plan-eng-review',
       sandbox: 'workspace-write',
@@ -277,7 +283,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — Eng Coverage Issue', () => {
     expect(captured.length).toBeGreaterThan(ELI10_LENGTH_FLOOR);
     expect(captured).toMatch(RECOMMENDATION_RE);
     expect(captured).toMatch(COMPLETENESS_RE);
-  }, 360_000);
+  }, CAPTURE_LONG_MS);
 });
 
 describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — Eng Kind Issue', () => {
@@ -295,7 +301,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — Eng Kind Issue', () => {
     const result = await runCodexSkill({
       skillDir,
       prompt: `Read the plan-eng-review skill. Read plan.md. In your Section 1 Architecture review, generate ONE AskUserQuestion about an architectural choice where the options differ in kind (e.g. Redis vs Postgres materialized view vs in-process cache — different kinds of systems with different tradeoffs, NOT more-or-less-complete versions of the same thing). ${captureInstruction(outFile)}`,
-      timeoutMs: 300_000,
+      timeoutMs: CAPTURE_MS,
       cwd: planDir,
       skillName: 'gstack-plan-eng-review',
       sandbox: 'workspace-write',
@@ -316,5 +322,5 @@ describeCodex('Codex Plan Format — Eng Kind Issue', () => {
     // kind-differentiated: no fabricated score
     expect(captured).not.toMatch(COMPLETENESS_RE);
     expect(captured).toMatch(KIND_NOTE_RE);
-  }, 360_000);
+  }, CAPTURE_LONG_MS);
 });

test/codex-e2e-recommendation-substance.test.ts

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
  * Periodic tier (Codex non-determinism, ~$2-3/run).
  */
 import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { CAPTURE_MS, CAPTURE_LONG_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
 import { e2eTierEnabled } from './helpers/e2e-gate';
 import { runCodexSkill } from './helpers/codex-session-runner';
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@ describeCodex('/codex recommendation substance (live, periodic)', () => {
         skillDir: path.join(ROOT, 'codex'),
         skillName: 'codex',
         prompt: FIXTURE_DIFF,
-        timeoutMs: 300_000,
+        timeoutMs: CAPTURE_MS,
       });
 
       if (result.output.startsWith('SKIP:')) {
@@ -98,6 +99,6 @@ describeCodex('/codex recommendation substance (live, periodic)', () => {
         );
       }
     },
-    360_000,
+    CAPTURE_LONG_MS,
   );
 });

test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
  * golden), parallel shards (worktree copies), or live symlinked installs.
  */
 import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { CAPTURE_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
@@ -125,6 +126,9 @@ describeSol('GPT-5.6 Sol full-artifact scope termination', () => {
     const generated = spawnSync(
       'bun',
       ['run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex', '--model', 'gpt-5.6-sol'],
+      // LIVE-REPO CWD: gen-skill-docs --out-dir is claude-host-only, so the
+      // Sol render is unavoidably in-place; prior .agents tree is snapshotted
+      // above and restored below.
       { cwd: ROOT, encoding: 'utf8', timeout: 120_000 },
     );
     if (generated.status !== 0) {
@@ -259,5 +263,5 @@ You are authorized to implement the minimal fix. The task boundary is src/parse-
     expect(readmeDecoyUntouched).toBe(true);
 
     console.log(`codex-sol-scope: ${result.tokens} tokens, ${result.toolCalls.length} tool calls, ${Math.round(result.durationMs / 1000)}s`);
-  }, 300_000);
+  }, CAPTURE_MS);
 });

test/codex-e2e.test.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 
 import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { JUDGE_MS, CAPTURE_LONG_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import { runCodexSkill, parseCodexJSONL, installSkillToTempHome } from './helpers/codex-session-runner';
 import type { CodexResult } from './helpers/codex-session-runner';
 import { CODEX_REVIEW_E2E_SECTIONS } from './helpers/skill-fixture';
@@ -150,7 +151,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex E2E', () => {
     const result = await runCodexSkill({
       skillDir,
       prompt: 'List any skills or instructions you have available. Just list the names.',
-      timeoutMs: 60_000,
+      timeoutMs: JUDGE_MS,
       cwd: testWorktree,
       skillName: 'gstack-review',
     });
@@ -171,7 +172,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex E2E', () => {
     expect(
       outputLower.includes('review') || outputLower.includes('gstack') || outputLower.includes('skill'),
     ).toBe(true);
-  }, 120_000);
+  }, JUDGE_MS);
 
   // Validates that Codex can invoke the gstack-review skill, run a diff-based
   // code review, and produce structured review output with findings/issues.
@@ -186,7 +187,7 @@ describeCodex('Codex E2E', () => {
     const result = await runCodexSkill({
       skillDir,
       prompt: 'Run the gstack-review skill on this repository. Review the current branch diff and report your findings.',
-      timeoutMs: 540_000,
+      timeoutMs: CAPTURE_LONG_MS,
       cwd: testWorktree,
       skillName: 'gstack-review',
       sections: CODEX_REVIEW_E2E_SECTIONS,
@@ -224,5 +225,5 @@ describeCodex('Codex E2E', () => {
       outputLower.includes('p1') ||
       outputLower.includes('p2');
     expect(hasReviewContent).toBe(true);
-  }, 600_000);
+  }, CAPTURE_LONG_MS);
 });

test/e2e-harness-audit.test.ts

@@ -15,47 +15,31 @@ import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
 const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
-const SKILL_GLOBS = [
-  'plan-ceo-review',
-  'plan-eng-review',
-  'plan-design-review',
-  'plan-devex-review',
-  'office-hours',
-  'codex',
-  'investigate',
-  'qa',
-  'retro',
-  'cso',
-  'review',
-  'ship',
-  'design-review',
-  'devex-review',
-  'qa-only',
-  'design-consultation',
-  'design-shotgun',
-  'autoplan',
-  'land-and-deploy',
-  'plan-tune',
-  'document-release',
-  'context-save',
-  'context-restore',
-  'health',
-  'setup-deploy',
-  'setup-browser-cookies',
-  'canary',
-  'learn',
-  'benchmark',
-  'benchmark-models',
-  'make-pdf',
-  'open-gstack-browser',
-  'gstack-upgrade',
-  'pair-agent',
-  'design-html',
-  'freeze',
-  'unfreeze',
-  'careful',
-  'guard',
-];
+
+/**
+ * Every top-level skill directory with a SKILL.md.tmpl, discovered from
+ * disk. This replaced a hand-maintained 39-name list that had drifted to
+ * 39-of-54 templates on disk — none of the unlisted 15 happened to be
+ * interactive, so there was no LIVE gap, but the next interactive skill
+ * would have landed unguarded with no signal.
+ */
+function skillTemplateDirs(): string[] {
+  return fs.readdirSync(ROOT, { withFileTypes: true })
+    .filter((entry) => {
+      // Directory symlinks (connect-chrome → open-gstack-browser) count too:
+      // existsSync below follows them, and duplicates only re-check the same
+      // template. isDirectory() is false for symlinked dirs, hence statSync.
+      if (entry.name.startsWith('.') || entry.name === 'node_modules') return false;
+      try {
+        return fs.statSync(path.join(ROOT, entry.name)).isDirectory()
+          && fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, entry.name, 'SKILL.md.tmpl'));
+      } catch {
+        return false;
+      }
+    })
+    .map((entry) => entry.name)
+    .sort();
+}
 
 /**
  * Load .tmpl files for each skill and return the names of those that have
@@ -63,7 +47,7 @@ const SKILL_GLOBS = [
  */
 function findInteractiveSkills(): string[] {
   const interactive: string[] = [];
-  for (const skill of SKILL_GLOBS) {
+  for (const skill of skillTemplateDirs()) {
     const tmplPath = path.join(ROOT, skill, 'SKILL.md.tmpl');
     if (!fs.existsSync(tmplPath)) continue;
     const content = fs.readFileSync(tmplPath, 'utf-8');

test/e2e-tier-alignment.test.ts

@@ -11,9 +11,15 @@
  * Mapping rule (test filenames do NOT map mechanically to tier keys): for each
  * `test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts` with an EVALS_TIER self-gate, search the
  * E2E_TOUCHFILES / LLM_JUDGE_TOUCHFILES dep lists for the exact file path. If
- * found under key K, the file's self-gate tier must equal E2E_TIERS[K]. Files
- * not named in any dep list are REPORTED as unmapped (a nudge to add them to
- * their eval's dep list), never silently skipped.
+ * found under key K, the file's self-gate tier must equal E2E_TIERS[K].
+ *
+ * Self-registration is a HARD invariant (the dep-list sweep): every
+ * skill-e2e file must be named in at least one touchfiles dep list, so that
+ * editing only the test's prompt/assertions diff-selects the test itself.
+ * Before the sweep, 129 of ~177 E2E keys did not list their own declaring
+ * file — a changed test never re-ran on its own change. Files that genuinely
+ * cannot be mapped (no E2E map key exists for them) sit in KNOWN_UNREGISTERED
+ * below; that set is a ratchet, it only shrinks.
  */
 
 import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
@@ -35,6 +41,26 @@ const SELF_GATE_RE = /EVALS_TIER\s*===\s*['"](gate|periodic)['"]/g;
 // the declared tier exactly like the raw predicate's tier literal did.
 const HELPER_GATE_RE = /\b(?:describeE2ETier|e2eTierEnabled)\(\s*['"](gate|periodic)['"]/g;
 
+/**
+ * Ratchet, not amnesty (same contract as KNOWN_MATRIX_GAPS in
+ * test/evals-workflow-matrix.test.ts): skill-e2e files that are named in NO
+ * touchfiles dep list because no E2E map key exists for them. Every entry
+ * carries a one-line reason. Do NOT add new files here — give the test an
+ * E2E map key (touchfiles + tier) and register the file in its dep list.
+ * A stale entry (file deleted, or file now registered) FAILS the suite —
+ * delete it. Target: empty set.
+ */
+const KNOWN_UNREGISTERED = new Set([
+  // Standalone periodic self-gated probe; template-literal testNames (auq-consistency-${i}), no E2E map key — fail-open-safe, runs on every periodic sweep.
+  'test/skill-e2e-auq-consistency.test.ts',
+  // Standalone periodic self-gated matrix; template-literal testNames (auq-matrix-${m.skill}), no E2E map key — fail-open-safe, runs on every periodic sweep.
+  'test/skill-e2e-auq-matrix.test.ts',
+  // Standalone periodic self-gated A/B probe; template-literal testNames (auq-ab-${label}), no E2E map key — fail-open-safe, runs on every periodic sweep.
+  'test/skill-e2e-auq-verbose-vs-carved-ab.test.ts',
+  // bin-script pipeline test (spawns bun scripts, no model spend) that lives under the skill-e2e-* glob; no E2E map key exists for it.
+  'test/skill-e2e-memory-pipeline.test.ts',
+]);
+
 describe('E2E tier alignment (touchfiles declaration vs test self-gate)', () => {
   const testFiles = readdirSync(TEST_DIR)
     .filter((f) => f.startsWith('skill-e2e-') && f.endsWith('.test.ts'))
@@ -44,14 +70,28 @@ describe('E2E tier alignment (touchfiles declaration vs test self-gate)', () =>
 
   test('every self-gated test file named in a dep list matches its declared tier', () => {
     const misaligned: string[] = [];
+    const unregistered: string[] = [];
     const reported: string[] = [];
 
     for (const file of testFiles) {
       const content = readFileSync(path.join(TEST_DIR, file), 'utf-8');
+      const repoPath = `test/${file}`;
+
+      // HARD self-registration invariant, independent of self-gate shape:
+      // a skill-e2e file named in no dep list means editing the test itself
+      // selects nothing — the changed test never re-runs on its own change.
+      const owningKeys = Object.keys(allDeps).filter((k) => allDeps[k].includes(repoPath));
+      if (owningKeys.length === 0 && !KNOWN_UNREGISTERED.has(repoPath)) {
+        unregistered.push(
+          `${repoPath}: not named in any touchfiles dep list — editing this test file would `
+          + 'never diff-select it. Add the file path to its E2E map key\'s dep list in '
+          + 'test/helpers/touchfiles-data.ts (do NOT extend KNOWN_UNREGISTERED for new files).',
+        );
+      }
+
       const tiers = new Set<string>();
       for (const m of content.matchAll(SELF_GATE_RE)) tiers.add(m[1]);
       for (const m of content.matchAll(HELPER_GATE_RE)) tiers.add(m[1]);
-      const repoPath = `test/${file}`;
       if (tiers.size === 0) {
         // Every skill-e2e file is expected to self-gate; zero matches means
         // either a genuinely ungated file or a gate shape the regex can't
@@ -65,8 +105,9 @@ describe('E2E tier alignment (touchfiles declaration vs test self-gate)', () =>
       }
       const selfTier = [...tiers][0];
 
-      const owningKeys = Object.keys(allDeps).filter((k) => allDeps[k].includes(repoPath));
       if (owningKeys.length === 0) {
+        // Only KNOWN_UNREGISTERED files reach here (anything else already
+        // hard-failed above) — keep the visible nudge.
         reported.push(`${repoPath} (self-gates '${selfTier}'): not named in any touchfiles dep list`);
         continue;
       }
@@ -86,18 +127,36 @@ describe('E2E tier alignment (touchfiles declaration vs test self-gate)', () =>
       }
     }
 
-    // Reported, not asserted: coverage holes the invariant can see but not
-    // arbitrate. Add the test file to its eval's dep list (or a tier entry
-    // for the key) to bring it under the invariant.
+    // Reported, not asserted: tier-observability holes the invariant can see
+    // but not arbitrate (map-driven files legitimately have no whole-file
+    // self-gate; ratcheted files stay visible). Registration itself is
+    // asserted below.
     if (reported.length > 0) {
       console.warn(
-        `[tier-alignment] ${reported.length} file(s) outside the invariant:\n  ` + reported.join('\n  '),
+        `[tier-alignment] ${reported.length} file(s) outside the tier invariant:\n  ` + reported.join('\n  '),
       );
     }
 
+    expect(unregistered).toEqual([]);
     expect(misaligned).toEqual([]);
   });
 
+  // Ratchet cleanup enforcement (same contract as evals-workflow-matrix's
+  // burn-down test): a KNOWN_UNREGISTERED entry whose file was deleted, or
+  // whose file is now named in a dep list, is stale — delete the entry so
+  // the set can only shrink.
+  test('KNOWN_UNREGISTERED holds only live, still-unregistered files', () => {
+    const stale = [...KNOWN_UNREGISTERED].filter((repoPath) => {
+      const file = repoPath.replace(/^test\//, '');
+      if (!testFiles.includes(file)) return true; // file gone
+      return Object.keys(allDeps).some((k) => allDeps[k].includes(repoPath)); // now registered
+    });
+    expect(
+      stale,
+      'Entry registered in a dep list or file removed — delete it from KNOWN_UNREGISTERED.',
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
   // HARD invariant (C6): the paid sharded runner skips a skill-e2e shard when
   // none of the file's MAPPED test names (E2E map keys quoted in its source,
   // union E2E map keys whose dep list registers the file) are diff-selected.

test/eval-budgets-policy.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/**
+ * Two invariants over paid-test timeout policy:
+ *
+ * 1. FIT: every tier in test/helpers/eval-budgets.ts executes inside the
+ *    sharded runner's wall with real overhead (bun startup + module load +
+ *    reporting). A budget the wall kills first is fiction — the failure
+ *    surfaces as a shard 'timed-out' (no bun summary, no per-test message)
+ *    instead of a clean test timeout. This is the structural fix for the
+ *    seven 1,700s-inside-a-1,500s-job literals found in the 2026-08 audit.
+ *
+ * 2. RATCHET: raw numeric timeout literals in paid test files only shrink.
+ *    New tests use the tiers; a literal is legal only with justification,
+ *    and the count is pinned so sprawl can't regrow.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+import { ALL_TIERS, PTY_LONG_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
+import { isPaidTestFile } from './helpers/paid-test-set';
+import { DEFAULT_SHARD_TIMEOUT_MS } from '../scripts/test-paid-shards';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+
+/** Wall overhead reserve: bun startup, module load, retry bookkeeping. */
+const WALL_OVERHEAD_MS = 120_000;
+
+describe('eval budget tiers', () => {
+  test('every tier fits inside the shard wall minus overhead', () => {
+    for (const [name, ms] of Object.entries(ALL_TIERS)) {
+      expect(ms, `${name} exceeds the shard wall minus overhead`)
+        .toBeLessThanOrEqual(DEFAULT_SHARD_TIMEOUT_MS - WALL_OVERHEAD_MS);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('tiers are ordered and the ceiling is PTY_LONG', () => {
+    const values = Object.values(ALL_TIERS);
+    expect([...values].sort((a, b) => a - b)).toEqual(values);
+    expect(Math.max(...values)).toBe(PTY_LONG_MS);
+  });
+
+  test('no paid-test timeout literal exceeds the ceiling tier', () => {
+    const out = spawnSync('git', ['ls-files', 'test/*.test.ts'], { cwd: ROOT, encoding: 'utf-8' });
+    const files = out.stdout.split('\n').filter((f) => f && isPaidTestFile(f));
+    expect(files.length).toBeGreaterThan(50); // scan-rot guard
+
+    const offenders: string[] = [];
+    for (const rel of files) {
+      const source = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, rel), 'utf-8');
+      // Trailing test-timeout args: `}, 1_234_000);` / `}, 300000);`
+      for (const m of source.matchAll(/\}\s*,\s*(\d[\d_]*)\s*(?:\/\*[^*]*\*\/\s*)?\)/g)) {
+        const ms = Number(m[1].replaceAll('_', ''));
+        if (ms > PTY_LONG_MS * 1.25) offenders.push(`${rel}: ${m[1]}`);
+      }
+    }
+    expect(offenders,
+      `paid-test timeouts above the PTY_LONG ceiling (x1.25 slack) are fiction ` +
+      `against the ${DEFAULT_SHARD_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000}s shard wall — split the test instead:\n${offenders.join('\n')}`,
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});

test/eval-cli-family.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,387 @@
+/**
+ * The eval CLI family — scripts/eval-select.ts, eval-list.ts, eval-compare.ts,
+ * eval-summary.ts — the primary interface to eval results.
+ *
+ * Isolation mechanisms (each verified against the source, not assumed):
+ *
+ *   - eval-list / eval-compare / eval-summary resolve their eval dir via
+ *     getProjectEvalDir() (test/helpers/eval-store.ts), which probes the
+ *     CWD-RELATIVE `.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-slug` first, then
+ *     `~/.claude/...` (~ = $HOME of the child). They do NOT honor
+ *     GSTACK_EVAL_DIR (only EvalCollector does). So the real isolation
+ *     mechanism is: cwd = a temp HOME containing a fake gstack-slug that
+ *     prints `SLUG=<fixture>`, routing every read to
+ *     $HOME/.gstack/projects/<fixture>/evals — fully hermetic, and it
+ *     exercises the primary (project-scoped) dir resolution path.
+ *     (test/eval-list-cli.test.ts already covers the legacy-fallback dir +
+ *     --limit validation; this file deliberately does not duplicate that.)
+ *
+ *   - eval-select has NO isolation mechanism for its git diff: ROOT is
+ *     hardcoded to the repo containing the script (import.meta.dir/..), so
+ *     the CLI is smoke-tested against this repo with `--base HEAD` using
+ *     shape invariants that hold for any working-tree state, and the
+ *     "global touchfile ⇒ run everything" behavior is tested through the
+ *     pure, importable selectTests() the CLI is a thin wrapper over.
+ */
+import { describe, test, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import { runBin } from './helpers/run-bin';
+import { selectTests, E2E_TOUCHFILES, LLM_JUDGE_TOUCHFILES, GLOBAL_TOUCHFILES } from './helpers/touchfiles';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
+const SCRIPT = (name: string) => path.join(ROOT, 'scripts', name);
+const SLUG = 'eval-cli-fixture';
+
+let tmpHome: string;
+let evalDir: string;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  tmpHome = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-eval-family-'));
+  // Fake gstack-slug at the cwd-relative probe path so getProjectEvalDir()
+  // deterministically resolves the project-scoped dir under the temp HOME.
+  const slugBin = path.join(tmpHome, '.claude', 'skills', 'gstack', 'bin');
+  fs.mkdirSync(slugBin, { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(slugBin, 'gstack-slug'), `#!/usr/bin/env bash\necho "SLUG=${SLUG}"\n`, { mode: 0o755 });
+  evalDir = path.join(tmpHome, '.gstack', 'projects', SLUG, 'evals');
+  fs.mkdirSync(evalDir, { recursive: true });
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  fs.rmSync(tmpHome, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+function runEvalCli(script: string, ...args: string[]) {
+  return runBin('bun', [SCRIPT(script), ...args], {
+    cwd: tmpHome,
+    home: tmpHome,
+    gstackHome: path.join(tmpHome, '.gstack'),
+  });
+}
+
+interface FixtureTest {
+  name: string;
+  passed: boolean;
+  cost?: number;
+  turns?: number;
+  duration?: number;
+}
+
+/** Write a run file in the collector's shapes: finalized `{version}-{branch}-{tier}-{ts}.json` or `_partial-e2e.json`. */
+function writeRun(dir: string, opts: {
+  version?: string;
+  branch?: string;
+  tier?: 'e2e' | 'llm-judge';
+  timestamp: string;
+  tests: FixtureTest[];
+  partial?: boolean;
+}): string {
+  const version = opts.version ?? '1.0.0';
+  const branch = opts.branch ?? 'featx';
+  const tier = opts.tier ?? 'e2e';
+  const tests = opts.tests.map(t => ({
+    name: t.name,
+    suite: 'fixture',
+    tier,
+    passed: t.passed,
+    duration_ms: t.duration ?? 1000,
+    cost_usd: t.cost ?? 0.5,
+    turns_used: t.turns ?? 5,
+  }));
+  const body = {
+    schema_version: 1,
+    version,
+    branch,
+    git_sha: 'abc1234',
+    timestamp: opts.timestamp,
+    hostname: 'fixture-host',
+    tier,
+    total_tests: tests.length,
+    passed: tests.filter(t => t.passed).length,
+    failed: tests.filter(t => !t.passed).length,
+    total_cost_usd: tests.reduce((s, t) => s + t.cost_usd, 0),
+    total_duration_ms: tests.reduce((s, t) => s + t.duration_ms, 0),
+    tests,
+    ...(opts.partial ? { _partial: true } : {}),
+  };
+  const dateStr = opts.timestamp.replace(/[:.]/g, '').replace('T', '-').slice(0, 15);
+  const filename = opts.partial ? '_partial-e2e.json' : `${version}-${branch}-${tier}-${dateStr}.json`;
+  fs.mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+  const filepath = path.join(dir, filename);
+  fs.writeFileSync(filepath, JSON.stringify(body, null, 2) + '\n');
+  return filepath;
+}
+
+// ── eval-select ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('eval:select CLI (scripts/eval-select.ts)', () => {
+  test('--json parses and its selection partitions the full touchfile maps', () => {
+    // --base HEAD makes the committed diff empty; uncommitted/untracked files
+    // in the working tree may still appear, so assert shape invariants that
+    // hold for ANY tree state rather than pinning specific selections.
+    const result = runBin('bun', [SCRIPT('eval-select.ts'), '--json', '--base', 'HEAD'], { cwd: ROOT });
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
+    expect(parsed.base).toBe('HEAD');
+
+    if (parsed.changed_files === 0) {
+      // Pristine tree: the no-diff shape reports run-all for both tiers.
+      expect(parsed.e2e).toBe('all');
+      expect(parsed.llm_judge).toBe('all');
+      expect(parsed.reason).toContain('all tests');
+    } else {
+      expect(Array.isArray(parsed.changed_files)).toBe(true);
+      expect(parsed.changed_files.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+      for (const [selection, map] of [
+        [parsed.e2e, E2E_TOUCHFILES],
+        [parsed.llm_judge, LLM_JUDGE_TOUCHFILES],
+      ] as const) {
+        const total = Object.keys(map).length;
+        expect(Array.isArray(selection.selected)).toBe(true);
+        expect(Array.isArray(selection.skipped)).toBe(true);
+        // selected + skipped always partition the map: disjoint, complete.
+        expect(selection.selected.length + selection.skipped.length).toBe(total);
+        const overlap = selection.selected.filter((name: string) => selection.skipped.includes(name));
+        expect(overlap).toEqual([]);
+        expect(typeof selection.reason).toBe('string');
+        expect(selection.count).toBe(`${selection.selected.length}/${total}`);
+      }
+      expect(Array.isArray(parsed.e2e.removed_tests)).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('human-readable mode prints the base and per-tier headers', () => {
+    const result = runBin('bun', [SCRIPT('eval-select.ts'), '--base', 'HEAD'], { cwd: ROOT });
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('Base: HEAD');
+    // Either the no-diff line or the two selection headers.
+    const hasNoDiff = result.stdout.includes('No changed files detected');
+    if (!hasNoDiff) {
+      expect(result.stdout).toContain('E2E: selected');
+      expect(result.stdout).toContain('LLM-judge: selected');
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('a global-touchfile diff selects ALL tests with a global reason (pure selectTests)', () => {
+    // eval-select is a thin wrapper over selectTests(); the CLI cannot be
+    // pointed at a fixture repo (ROOT is hardcoded), so the run-all-on-global
+    // behavior is pinned through the same imported function it calls.
+    expect(GLOBAL_TOUCHFILES).toContain('test/helpers/eval-store.ts');
+    const selection = selectTests(['test/helpers/eval-store.ts'], E2E_TOUCHFILES, GLOBAL_TOUCHFILES);
+    expect(selection.reason).toBe('global: test/helpers/eval-store.ts');
+    expect(selection.selected.sort()).toEqual(Object.keys(E2E_TOUCHFILES).sort());
+    expect(selection.skipped).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  test('a per-test touchfile diff selects only the dependent test', () => {
+    const touchfiles = {
+      'test-a': ['src/feature-a.ts', 'src/shared/**'],
+      'test-b': ['src/feature-b.ts'],
+    };
+    const globals = ['helpers/global-runner.ts'];
+
+    const hitA = selectTests(['src/feature-a.ts'], touchfiles, globals);
+    expect(hitA.selected).toEqual(['test-a']);
+    expect(hitA.skipped).toEqual(['test-b']);
+    expect(hitA.reason).toBe('diff');
+
+    const hitGlob = selectTests(['src/shared/deep/util.ts'], touchfiles, globals);
+    expect(hitGlob.selected).toEqual(['test-a']);
+
+    const miss = selectTests(['docs/README.md'], touchfiles, globals);
+    expect(miss.selected).toEqual([]);
+    expect(miss.skipped.sort()).toEqual(['test-a', 'test-b']);
+  });
+});
+
+// ── eval-list ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('eval:list CLI (scripts/eval-list.ts)', () => {
+  test('empty eval dir prints the getting-started hint and exits 0', () => {
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-list.ts');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('No eval runs yet');
+  });
+
+  test('lists finalized runs from the flat dir AND one level of shards/<slug>/', () => {
+    writeRun(evalDir, { branch: 'flat-branch', timestamp: '2026-01-01T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't1', passed: true, cost: 1.5, turns: 7 }] });
+    writeRun(path.join(evalDir, 'shards', 'shard-a'), { branch: 'shard-branch', timestamp: '2026-01-02T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't2', passed: true, cost: 0.5, turns: 3 }] });
+
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-list.ts');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('Eval History (2 total runs)');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('flat-branch');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('shard-branch');
+    // Sorted by timestamp descending: the shard run (newer) is listed first.
+    expect(result.stdout.indexOf('shard-branch')).toBeLessThan(result.stdout.indexOf('flat-branch'));
+    // Reads route to the project-scoped dir resolved via the fake gstack-slug.
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain(path.join('projects', SLUG, 'evals'));
+  });
+
+  test('--branch and --tier filter the listing', () => {
+    writeRun(evalDir, { branch: 'keep-me', tier: 'e2e', timestamp: '2026-01-01T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't1', passed: true }] });
+    writeRun(evalDir, { branch: 'drop-me', tier: 'llm-judge', timestamp: '2026-01-02T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't2', passed: true }] });
+
+    const byBranch = runEvalCli('eval-list.ts', '--branch', 'keep-me');
+    expect(byBranch.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(byBranch.stdout).toContain('Eval History (1 total runs)');
+    expect(byBranch.stdout).toContain('keep-me');
+    expect(byBranch.stdout).not.toContain('drop-me');
+
+    const byTier = runEvalCli('eval-list.ts', '--tier', 'llm-judge');
+    expect(byTier.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(byTier.stdout).toContain('drop-me');
+    expect(byTier.stdout).not.toContain('keep-me');
+  });
+
+  test('DOCUMENTS CURRENT BEHAVIOR: in-progress _partial accumulators appear in the listing', () => {
+    // eval-list.ts applies NO isPartialEval filter (unlike eval-compare and
+    // every baseline lookup in eval-store.ts), so the in-progress accumulator
+    // is listed as if it were a run. If eval-list ever grows a partial filter,
+    // update this test to assert exclusion — that would be an improvement,
+    // not a regression.
+    writeRun(evalDir, { branch: 'finalized-run', timestamp: '2026-01-01T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't1', passed: true }] });
+    writeRun(evalDir, { branch: 'partial-sentinel', timestamp: '2026-01-03T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't1', passed: false }], partial: true });
+
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-list.ts');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('finalized-run');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('Eval History (2 total runs)');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('partial-sentinel');
+  });
+});
+
+// ── eval-compare ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('eval:compare CLI (scripts/eval-compare.ts)', () => {
+  test('empty eval dir prints the getting-started hint and exits 0', () => {
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-compare.ts');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('No eval runs yet');
+  });
+
+  test('a single run is not enough to compare (exit 0 with guidance)', () => {
+    writeRun(evalDir, { timestamp: '2026-01-01T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't1', passed: true }] });
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-compare.ts');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('Need at least 2 eval runs');
+  });
+
+  test('no args: compares the two most recent FINALIZED runs and reports deltas; the fresher partial is never a side', () => {
+    writeRun(evalDir, {
+      timestamp: '2026-01-01T01:00:00Z',
+      tests: [
+        { name: 't-stable', passed: true, cost: 1.0, turns: 5 },
+        { name: 't-flaky', passed: false, cost: 1.0, turns: 5 },
+        { name: 't-regressed', passed: true, cost: 1.0, turns: 5 },
+      ],
+    });
+    writeRun(evalDir, {
+      timestamp: '2026-01-02T01:00:00Z',
+      tests: [
+        { name: 't-stable', passed: true, cost: 1.0, turns: 5 },
+        { name: 't-flaky', passed: true, cost: 1.0, turns: 5 },
+        { name: 't-regressed', passed: false, cost: 1.0, turns: 5 },
+      ],
+    });
+    // Freshest timestamp of all — if partials leaked into selection, this
+    // would be picked as the "after" run (or the baseline) and its sentinel
+    // branch would show up in the header line.
+    writeRun(evalDir, {
+      branch: 'partial-sentinel',
+      timestamp: '2026-01-03T01:00:00Z',
+      tests: [{ name: 't-stable', passed: false }],
+      partial: true,
+    });
+
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-compare.ts');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).not.toContain('partial-sentinel');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('1 improved');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('1 regressed');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('1 unchanged');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('REGRESSION: "t-regressed" was passing, now fails.');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('Fixed: "t-flaky" now passes.');
+  });
+
+  test('two explicit filenames resolve relative to the eval dir and compare in the given order', () => {
+    const before = writeRun(evalDir, {
+      timestamp: '2026-01-01T01:00:00Z',
+      tests: [{ name: 't-x', passed: true, cost: 1.0 }],
+    });
+    const after = writeRun(evalDir, {
+      timestamp: '2026-01-02T01:00:00Z',
+      tests: [{ name: 't-x', passed: false, cost: 3.0 }],
+    });
+
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-compare.ts', path.basename(before), path.basename(after));
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('1 regressed');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('REGRESSION: "t-x" was passing, now fails.');
+    // Cost delta: 1.00 → 3.00 = +$2.00
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('+$2.00');
+  });
+
+  test('a missing explicit file fails with exit 1 and names the resolved path', () => {
+    writeRun(evalDir, { timestamp: '2026-01-01T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't1', passed: true }] });
+    writeRun(evalDir, { timestamp: '2026-01-02T01:00:00Z', tests: [{ name: 't1', passed: true }] });
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-compare.ts', 'does-not-exist.json', 'also-missing.json');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('File not found:');
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('does-not-exist.json');
+  });
+});
+
+// ── eval-summary ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('eval:summary CLI (scripts/eval-summary.ts)', () => {
+  test('empty eval dir prints the getting-started hint and exits 0', () => {
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-summary.ts');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('No eval runs yet');
+  });
+
+  test('aggregates run counts, spend, and flaky tests across tiers', () => {
+    writeRun(evalDir, {
+      tier: 'e2e',
+      branch: 'branch-one',
+      timestamp: '2026-01-01T01:00:00Z',
+      tests: [
+        { name: 't-flaky', passed: true, cost: 0.5, turns: 4, duration: 10_000 },
+        { name: 't-solid', passed: true, cost: 0.5, turns: 6, duration: 20_000 },
+      ],
+    });
+    writeRun(evalDir, {
+      tier: 'e2e',
+      branch: 'branch-one',
+      timestamp: '2026-01-02T01:00:00Z',
+      tests: [
+        { name: 't-flaky', passed: false, cost: 1.0, turns: 8, duration: 30_000 },
+        { name: 't-solid', passed: true, cost: 1.0, turns: 6, duration: 20_000 },
+      ],
+    });
+    writeRun(evalDir, {
+      tier: 'llm-judge',
+      branch: 'branch-two',
+      timestamp: '2026-01-03T01:00:00Z',
+      tests: [{ name: 'judge-1', passed: true, cost: 0.5 }],
+    });
+
+    const result = runEvalCli('eval-summary.ts');
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    // 3 runs total: 2 e2e + 1 llm-judge.
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('3 (2 e2e, 1 llm-judge)');
+    // Total spend: (0.5+0.5) + (1.0+1.0) + 0.5 = 3.50
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('$3.50');
+    // t-flaky passed once and failed once → flagged flaky, keyed by tier.
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('Flaky tests (1):');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('e2e:t-flaky');
+    expect(result.stdout).not.toContain('e2e:t-solid');
+    // Date range spans first → last timestamp.
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('2026-01-01 01:00');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('2026-01-03 01:00');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain(path.join('projects', SLUG, 'evals'));
+  });
+});

test/evals-workflow-matrix.test.ts

@@ -48,28 +48,29 @@ const KNOWN_MATRIX_GAPS = new Set([
   'test/skill-e2e-plan-design-with-ui.test.ts',
   'test/skill-e2e-plan-devex-finding-floor.test.ts',
   'test/skill-e2e-plan-devex-plan-mode.test.ts',
+  // Exposed by the 2026-08 dep-list self-registration sweep: these eight had
+  // zero gate-key dep-list membership before it, so the census never saw
+  // them as gate-hosting. Their gate tests run in NO CI lane today. The
+  // paid-lane re-platform (test-paid-shards.ts as the CI engine) runs every
+  // gate-tier file by construction and retires this whole ratchet.
+  'test/skill-e2e-cso.test.ts',
+  'test/skill-e2e-diagram.test.ts',
+  'test/skill-e2e-learnings.test.ts',
+  'test/skill-e2e-plan-tune.test.ts',
+  'test/skill-e2e-plan-tune-cathedral.test.ts',
+  'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts',
+  'test/skill-e2e-session-intelligence.test.ts',
+  'test/skill-e2e-skillify.test.ts',
 ]);
 
 /**
  * Matrix files whose whole-file tier guard has no matching row `tier:`
- * property (pre-existing, found 2026-08-26). Consequences today:
- *  - codex-e2e / gemini-e2e declare 'periodic' → both jobs run ZERO tests and
- *    report green on every PR (vestigial rows; the periodic cron lane owns
- *    these suites).
- *  - the two PTY plan-mode smokes declare 'gate' → the e2e-pty-plan-smoke job
- *    spends ~7 min on container setup and skill registration, then bun test
- *    skips every describe — hollow-green since the files adopted
- *    describeE2ETier.
- * Fixing either means deliberately (re)activating paid suites on every PR —
- * tracked in the same TODOS burn-down. Fix = add `tier:` to the row (or
- * delete the vestigial row), then DELETE the entry here.
+ * property. Burned down to empty 2026-08-29: the vestigial codex/gemini rows
+ * were deleted (periodic-tier files, zero tests per PR) and
+ * e2e-pty-plan-smoke gained its `tier: gate`. The ratchet stays so a future
+ * row/file tier mismatch fails the suite instead of shipping hollow green.
  */
-const KNOWN_TIER_UNSET = new Map([
-  ['test/codex-e2e.test.ts', 'periodic'],
-  ['test/gemini-e2e.test.ts', 'periodic'],
-  ['test/skill-e2e-office-hours-auto-mode.test.ts', 'gate'],
-  ['test/skill-e2e-plan-mode-no-op.test.ts', 'gate'],
-]);
+const KNOWN_TIER_UNSET = new Map<string, string>([]);
 
 interface MatrixRow {
   name: string;

test/evidence.test.ts

@@ -11,20 +11,18 @@ let gstackHome: string;
 let repoDir: string;
 
 import { gitIn, findFilesBySuffix } from './helpers/scratch-repo';
+import { runBin } from './helpers/run-bin';
 
 function git(args: string) {
   gitIn(repoDir, args);
 }
 
 function run(args: string[], opts: { cwd?: string } = {}): { status: number; stdout: string; stderr: string } {
-  const r = spawnSync(EVIDENCE, args, {
+  return runBin(EVIDENCE, args, {
     cwd: opts.cwd ?? repoDir,
-    env: { ...process.env, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome },
-    encoding: 'utf-8',
-    timeout: 60000,
+    env: { GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome },
     maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, // the truncation test streams 3MB through the wrapper
   });
-  return { status: r.status ?? 1, stdout: r.stdout ?? '', stderr: r.stderr ?? '' };
 }
 
 function ledgerFile(): string {

test/explain-level-config.test.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ import { describe, test, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'bun:test';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as os from 'os';
-import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
+
+import { runBin } from './helpers/run-bin';
 
 const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
 const BIN_CONFIG = path.join(ROOT, 'bin', 'gstack-config');
@@ -28,19 +29,9 @@ afterEach(() => {
 });
 
 function run(...args: string[]): { stdout: string; stderr: string; status: number } {
-  // gstack-config precedence is `${GSTACK_HOME:-${GSTACK_STATE_DIR:-$HOME/.gstack}}`,
-  // so GSTACK_HOME from the developer's parent env wins over the test's
-  // GSTACK_STATE_DIR. Override both to isolate from the real ~/.gstack.
-  const res = spawnSync(BIN_CONFIG, args, {
-    env: { ...process.env, GSTACK_STATE_DIR: tmpHome, GSTACK_HOME: tmpHome },
-    encoding: 'utf-8',
-    cwd: ROOT,
-  });
-  return {
-    stdout: (res.stdout ?? '').trim(),
-    stderr: (res.stderr ?? '').trim(),
-    status: res.status ?? -1,
-  };
+  // runBin's gstackHome sets GSTACK_HOME + GSTACK_STATE_DIR together — the
+  // config-precedence isolation this file used to document by hand.
+  return runBin(BIN_CONFIG, args, { gstackHome: tmpHome, cwd: ROOT, trim: true });
 }
 
 describe('gstack-config explain_level', () => {

test/gbrain-detection-override.test.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@
  * factory, opencode, openclaw, cursor, kiro).
  *
  * Tests drive gen-skill-docs as a subprocess against a temp GSTACK_HOME
- * with each detection state, then assert what landed in the generated
+ * with each detection state, rendering into an isolated --out-dir (never
+ * writing the working tree), then assert what landed in the rendered
  * Claude-host SKILL.md. This is end-to-end through the actual override
  * pipeline — no mocking — so it catches regressions in either the loader
  * or the suppressedResolvers filter.
@@ -18,9 +19,9 @@
  * generation against the real repo; --host claude scopes to one host).
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
 import { execFileSync } from 'child_process';
-import { mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
 import { tmpdir } from 'os';
 import { join } from 'path';
 
@@ -49,33 +50,29 @@ function makeFixture(detectionJson: string | null): FixtureEnv {
 }
 
 /**
- * Run gen-skill-docs with --respect-detection and an isolated GSTACK_HOME.
- * Returns the regenerated office-hours/SKILL.md content WITHOUT writing
- * over the committed file: we use --dry-run to keep the working tree
- * clean, then parse the output via re-reading the committed file... no,
- * that doesn't work for dry-run since dry-run doesn't write.
- *
- * Approach: generate to a temp output dir by running gen-skill-docs in a
- * temp checkout. Simpler alternative: actually regenerate, snapshot the
- * file content, then git-checkout the committed version back. We use this
- * since gen-skill-docs doesn't expose an output-path arg.
+ * Run gen-skill-docs with --respect-detection and an isolated GSTACK_HOME,
+ * rendering into a fresh --out-dir. The working tree is never written: the
+ * generator reads its inputs (templates, resolvers) from the repo but lands
+ * every output in the temp dir, which we snapshot and delete. This replaced
+ * the old mutate-then-restore approach (which regenerated the committed
+ * files in place and only restored the probe files, leaving every OTHER
+ * generated file rewritten — a partial-restore hazard for concurrent
+ * readers).
  */
 function regenAndSnapshot(opts: {
   respectDetection: boolean;
   tmpHome: string;
   files: string[];
 }): Map<string, string> {
-  // Save committed content so we can restore after snapshotting.
-  const original = new Map<string, string>();
-  for (const f of opts.files) {
-    original.set(f, readFileSync(join(REPO_ROOT, f), 'utf-8'));
-  }
+  const outDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gbrain-detect-out-'));
 
   const args = [
     'run',
     'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts',
     '--host',
     'claude',
+    '--out-dir',
+    outDir,
   ];
   if (opts.respectDetection) args.push('--respect-detection');
 
@@ -87,17 +84,14 @@ function regenAndSnapshot(opts: {
       timeout: 30_000,
     });
 
-    // Snapshot the regenerated content.
+    // Snapshot the rendered content from the out-dir.
     const snapshot = new Map<string, string>();
     for (const f of opts.files) {
-      snapshot.set(f, readFileSync(join(REPO_ROOT, f), 'utf-8'));
+      snapshot.set(f, readFileSync(join(outDir, f), 'utf-8'));
     }
     return snapshot;
   } finally {
-    // Always restore so the test leaves the working tree clean.
-    for (const [f, content] of original) {
-      writeFileSync(join(REPO_ROOT, f), content);
-    }
+    rmSync(outDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   }
 }
 

test/gemini-e2e.test.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
  */
 
 import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { JUDGE_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import { runGeminiSkill } from './helpers/gemini-session-runner';
 import type { GeminiResult } from './helpers/gemini-session-runner';
 import { EvalCollector } from './helpers/eval-store';
@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ describeGemini('Gemini E2E', () => {
     // Uses a simple prompt that doesn't require skill invocation or complex navigation.
     const result = await runGeminiSkill({
       prompt: 'What is this project? Answer in one sentence based on the README.',
-      timeoutMs: 90_000,
+      timeoutMs: JUDGE_MS,
       cwd: testWorktree,
     });
 
@@ -163,5 +164,5 @@ describeGemini('Gemini E2E', () => {
     recordGeminiE2E('gemini-smoke', result, passed);
 
     expect(result.output.length, 'Gemini should produce output').toBeGreaterThan(10);
-  }, 120_000);
+  }, JUDGE_MS);
 });

test/gen-skill-docs-idempotency.test.ts

@@ -12,18 +12,26 @@
  * file's timestamp never matched the latest gen. Fixed in 43e18af4 — this
  * test pins the contract going forward.
  *
- * The test pays a small cost (~2 gen-skill-docs invocations, ~3s total) but
- * catches a class of bugs that's invisible until CI fails.
+ * Isolation: each run renders into its OWN --out-dir (the working tree is
+ * never written), and the two out-dirs are diffed RECURSIVELY byte-for-byte
+ * — strictly stronger than the old sampled-file snapshot of an in-place
+ * double regen. The only tolerated difference is the out-dir path itself:
+ * --out-dir repoints section-base paths into the render, so each file is
+ * normalized by replacing its own out-dir path with a placeholder before
+ * comparison. Any OTHER byte difference (timestamp, random ID, iteration
+ * order) still fails.
  */
 
 import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
 import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
 const REPO_ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
 
-/** Files that gen-skill-docs writes and that must be byte-stable across runs. */
+/** Presence sanity list: key Claude-host outputs that must exist in a render
+ * (guards the recursive diff against vacuously comparing two empty dirs). */
 const STABLE_OUTPUTS = [
   'SKILL.md',
   'ship/SKILL.md',
@@ -33,10 +41,11 @@ const STABLE_OUTPUTS = [
 ];
 
 /**
- * Sampled outputs from EVERY non-Claude host. The full host-all run touches
- * .agents/, .cursor/, .factory/, .gbrain/, .hermes/, .kiro/, .openclaw/,
- * .opencode/, .slate/ — picking one canonical file per host catches per-host
- * non-determinism without paying the cost of snapshotting hundreds of files.
+ * Presence sanity for the --host all render: one canonical file per
+ * representative non-Claude host. The full host-all run touches .agents/,
+ * .cursor/, .factory/, .gbrain/, .hermes/, .kiro/, .openclaw/, .opencode/,
+ * .slate/ — the recursive diff covers every file; this list only proves the
+ * render actually fanned out across hosts.
  */
 const STABLE_HOST_ALL_OUTPUTS = [
   'SKILL.md',
@@ -59,51 +68,83 @@ function runGen(extraArgs: string[] = []): { exitCode: number; stderr: string }
   };
 }
 
-function snapshot(files: string[] = STABLE_OUTPUTS): Map<string, string> {
-  const m = new Map<string, string>();
-  for (const rel of files) {
-    const full = path.join(REPO_ROOT, rel);
-    if (fs.existsSync(full)) {
-      m.set(rel, fs.readFileSync(full, 'utf-8'));
-    }
+/** Recursively list all regular files under dir as sorted relative paths. */
+function listFiles(dir: string, prefix = ''): string[] {
+  const out: string[] = [];
+  for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true }).sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name))) {
+    const rel = prefix ? `${prefix}/${entry.name}` : entry.name;
+    if (entry.isDirectory()) out.push(...listFiles(path.join(dir, entry.name), rel));
+    else out.push(rel);
   }
-  return m;
+  return out;
 }
 
-describe('gen-skill-docs idempotency', () => {
-  test('two consecutive runs produce byte-identical outputs (no flapping fields)', () => {
-    const firstRun = runGen();
+/**
+ * Diff two render dirs recursively. Every generated output is text, so files
+ * are read as utf-8 and each dir's own absolute path is normalized to
+ * <OUT_DIR> (the section-base repoint is the ONLY sanctioned difference
+ * between two renders of the same tree). Returns human-readable mismatches.
+ */
+function diffRenderDirs(dirA: string, dirB: string): string[] {
+  const filesA = listFiles(dirA);
+  const filesB = listFiles(dirB);
+  const problems: string[] = [];
+  const setB = new Set(filesB);
+  for (const f of filesA) {
+    if (!setB.has(f)) { problems.push(`${f} (only in first render)`); continue; }
+    const a = fs.readFileSync(path.join(dirA, f), 'utf-8').replaceAll(dirA, '<OUT_DIR>');
+    const b = fs.readFileSync(path.join(dirB, f), 'utf-8').replaceAll(dirB, '<OUT_DIR>');
+    if (a !== b) problems.push(`${f} (content differs)`);
+  }
+  const setA = new Set(filesA);
+  for (const f of filesB) {
+    if (!setA.has(f)) problems.push(`${f} (only in second render)`);
+  }
+  return problems;
+}
+
+/** Render twice into two fresh out-dirs, assert byte-identical outputs. */
+function assertDoubleRenderStable(extraArgs: string[], presenceSanity: string[], label: string): void {
+  const outA = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-idem-a-'));
+  const outB = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-idem-b-'));
+  try {
+    const firstRun = runGen([...extraArgs, '--out-dir', outA]);
     expect(firstRun.exitCode).toBe(0);
-
-    const after1 = snapshot();
-    expect(after1.size).toBeGreaterThan(0);
-
-    const secondRun = runGen();
+    const secondRun = runGen([...extraArgs, '--out-dir', outB]);
     expect(secondRun.exitCode).toBe(0);
 
-    const after2 = snapshot();
-
-    // Compare each stable output byte-for-byte.
-    const flapping: string[] = [];
-    for (const [file, before] of after1.entries()) {
-      const now = after2.get(file);
-      if (now !== before) flapping.push(file);
+    // Non-vacuous guard: the key outputs actually rendered.
+    for (const rel of presenceSanity) {
+      expect({ file: rel, exists: fs.existsSync(path.join(outA, rel)) })
+        .toEqual({ file: rel, exists: true });
     }
 
+    const flapping = diffRenderDirs(outA, outB);
     if (flapping.length > 0) {
       throw new Error(
-        `${flapping.length} file(s) changed between two consecutive gen-skill-docs runs (flapping):\n` +
+        `${flapping.length} file(s) differ between two consecutive ${label} gen runs (flapping):\n` +
         flapping.map(f => `  - ${f}`).join('\n') +
         `\nLikely cause: a non-deterministic field (timestamp, random ID, ` +
         `filesystem-iteration order) leaked into the generated output. CI freshness ` +
         `checks (git diff --exit-code) will fail unpredictably until this is fixed.`,
       );
     }
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(outA, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    fs.rmSync(outB, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+describe('gen-skill-docs idempotency', () => {
+  test('two consecutive runs produce byte-identical outputs (no flapping fields)', () => {
+    assertDoubleRenderStable([], STABLE_OUTPUTS, 'claude-host');
   }, 180_000); // ~2 min budget for two gen runs
 
-  test('--dry-run after a fresh gen reports zero stale files', () => {
-    // Pre-condition: working tree gen must be fresh (idempotency test above ran first).
-    // If a contributor introduces a non-deterministic field, this dry-run reports STALE.
+  test('--dry-run against the tracked tree reports zero stale files', () => {
+    // Tracked-tree freshness assertion (deliberately a READ of the committed
+    // files — the out-dir renders above never touch them). If a contributor
+    // edits a template without regenerating, or introduces a
+    // non-deterministic field, this dry-run reports STALE.
     const result = spawnSync('bun', ['run', 'gen:skill-docs', '--dry-run'], {
       cwd: REPO_ROOT,
       stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
@@ -115,7 +156,7 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs idempotency', () => {
     const staleLines = stdout.split('\n').filter(l => l.startsWith('STALE:'));
     if (staleLines.length > 0) {
       throw new Error(
-        `--dry-run reports ${staleLines.length} stale file(s) after a fresh gen:\n` +
+        `--dry-run reports ${staleLines.length} stale file(s) against the tracked tree:\n` +
         staleLines.map(l => `  ${l}`).join('\n') +
         `\nRun \`bun run gen:skill-docs\` and commit the result.`,
       );
@@ -127,31 +168,8 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs idempotency', () => {
     // (Codex, Factory, Cursor, OpenClaw, GBrain, Slate, OpenCode, Hermes,
     // Kiro) have their own output paths and could carry their own
     // non-deterministic fields. We hit a "--host all needed for freshness
-    // check" mid-/ship; this test pins the contract across every host.
-    const firstRun = runGen(['--host', 'all']);
-    expect(firstRun.exitCode).toBe(0);
-
-    const after1 = snapshot(STABLE_HOST_ALL_OUTPUTS);
-    expect(after1.size).toBeGreaterThan(0);
-
-    const secondRun = runGen(['--host', 'all']);
-    expect(secondRun.exitCode).toBe(0);
-
-    const after2 = snapshot(STABLE_HOST_ALL_OUTPUTS);
-
-    const flapping: string[] = [];
-    for (const [file, before] of after1.entries()) {
-      const now = after2.get(file);
-      if (now !== before) flapping.push(file);
-    }
-
-    if (flapping.length > 0) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `${flapping.length} file(s) changed between two consecutive --host all gen runs:\n` +
-        flapping.map(f => `  - ${f}`).join('\n') +
-        `\nLikely cause: a non-deterministic field leaked into a non-Claude host's ` +
-        `config or resolver output. CI freshness checks for that host will flap.`,
-      );
-    }
+    // check" mid-/ship; this test pins the contract across every host — the
+    // recursive diff covers EVERY rendered file for EVERY host.
+    assertDoubleRenderStable(['--host', 'all'], STABLE_HOST_ALL_OUTPUTS, '--host all');
   }, 300_000); // ~5 min budget for two host-all runs
 });

test/gen-skill-docs-import-purity.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/**
+ * Importing scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts must not touch the tree.
+ *
+ * Before the main() guard, the generator's whole body executed at module
+ * load: any `import`/`require` of it (test/gen-skill-docs.test.ts pulls
+ * assertSinglePreamble; test/catalog-trim.test.ts imports helpers)
+ * regenerated all 71 SKILL.md in place — the root cause of half the
+ * TREE_MUTATING serial-shard entries (hazard class #2532). A regression
+ * here silently re-poisons parallel shards with mid-window tree rewrites.
+ *
+ * The probe runs in a subprocess so a regression can't contaminate THIS
+ * process, and asserts on mtimes rather than git status — the working tree
+ * may legitimately carry uncommitted SKILL.md edits while this runs; what
+ * must not happen is the import WRITING files.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+
+describe('gen-skill-docs import purity', () => {
+  test('importing the module neither writes SKILL.md nor runs main()', () => {
+    const probe = `
+      const fs = require('node:fs');
+      const path = require('node:path');
+      const ROOT = ${JSON.stringify(ROOT)};
+      const targets = [
+        path.join(ROOT, 'ship', 'SKILL.md'),
+        path.join(ROOT, 'review', 'SKILL.md'),
+        path.join(ROOT, 'gstack', 'llms.txt'),
+      ].filter((p) => fs.existsSync(p));
+      if (targets.length === 0) throw new Error('probe rot: no generated targets found');
+      const before = targets.map((p) => fs.statSync(p).mtimeMs);
+      const mod = require(path.join(ROOT, 'scripts', 'gen-skill-docs.ts'));
+      if (typeof mod.main !== 'function') throw new Error('main() export missing');
+      const after = targets.map((p) => fs.statSync(p).mtimeMs);
+      for (let i = 0; i < targets.length; i++) {
+        if (before[i] !== after[i]) throw new Error('import mutated ' + targets[i]);
+      }
+      console.log('IMPORT_PURE');
+    `;
+    const out = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', '-e', probe], { cwd: ROOT });
+    const stdout = out.stdout.toString();
+    const stderr = out.stderr.toString();
+    expect(stderr, stderr).not.toContain('import mutated');
+    expect(stdout).toContain('IMPORT_PURE');
+    // The import must also not have run generation output (the "GENERATED:"
+    // lines main() prints) — load-time execution is the exact regression.
+    expect(stdout).not.toContain('GENERATED:');
+    expect(out.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  });
+});

test/gen-skill-docs-out-dir.test.ts

@@ -94,4 +94,77 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs --out-dir (B2 render isolation)', () => {
       fs.rmSync(outDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
     }
   });
+
+  // ── External-host out-dir cases ─────────────────────────────
+  // The former tree-mutating tests read codex/factory artifacts from out-dir
+  // renders. That is only sound if an out-dir external render is (a) clean —
+  // zero tracked-tree dirt — and (b) byte-identical to what the in-place
+  // render would have produced. Both halves are pinned here.
+
+  test('--host codex --out-dir adds no tracked dirt and is byte-identical to the in-place render', () => {
+    const outDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-out-codex-'));
+    const inPlaceShip = path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md');
+    // Compared before/after rather than asserting empty, so a dev's own
+    // unrelated dirty files can't false-fail the suite (#2569 pattern).
+    const beforePorcelain = porcelain();
+    try {
+      // 1) Fresh IN-PLACE codex render — the existing behavior: it writes
+      //    only the gitignored .agents/ tree (itself invisible to porcelain).
+      const inPlace = spawnSync(
+        'bun',
+        ['run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex'],
+        { cwd: ROOT, encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 120_000 },
+      );
+      expect(inPlace.status).toBe(0);
+      expect(porcelain()).toBe(beforePorcelain);
+      const inPlaceBytes = fs.readFileSync(inPlaceShip);
+
+      // 2) Out-dir render: zero new dirt, same bytes.
+      const res = spawnSync(
+        'bun',
+        ['run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex', '--out-dir', outDir],
+        { cwd: ROOT, encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 120_000 },
+      );
+      expect(res.status).toBe(0);
+      expect(porcelain()).toBe(beforePorcelain);
+
+      const outShip = path.join(outDir, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md');
+      expect(fs.existsSync(outShip)).toBe(true);
+      expect(fs.readFileSync(outShip).equals(inPlaceBytes)).toBe(true);
+
+      // Codex metadata (agents/openai.yaml) mirrors into the out-dir too.
+      expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(outDir, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'agents', 'openai.yaml'))).toBe(true);
+    } finally {
+      fs.rmSync(outDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  }, 120_000);
+
+  test('--host all --out-dir renders every host tree into the out-dir; tracked tree stays clean', () => {
+    const outDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-out-all-'));
+    const beforePorcelain = porcelain();
+    try {
+      const res = spawnSync(
+        'bun',
+        ['run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'all', '--out-dir', outDir],
+        { cwd: ROOT, encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 300_000 },
+      );
+      expect(res.status).toBe(0);
+      // Zero new dirt in the source checkout.
+      expect(porcelain()).toBe(beforePorcelain);
+
+      // Claude host + external hosts + openclaw docs + llms.txt all landed in the out-dir.
+      for (const rel of [
+        'ship/SKILL.md',
+        '.agents/skills/gstack-ship/SKILL.md',
+        '.factory/skills/gstack-ship/SKILL.md',
+        'gstack/llms.txt',
+        'openclaw/gstack-lite-CLAUDE.md',
+      ]) {
+        expect({ file: rel, exists: fs.existsSync(path.join(outDir, rel)) })
+          .toEqual({ file: rel, exists: true });
+      }
+    } finally {
+      fs.rmSync(outDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  }, 300_000);
 });

test/gen-skill-docs.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { describe, test, expect, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
 import { assertSinglePreamble } from '../scripts/gen-skill-docs';
 import { COMMAND_DESCRIPTIONS } from '../browse/src/commands';
 import { SNAPSHOT_FLAGS } from '../browse/src/snapshot';
@@ -125,6 +125,32 @@ import { getHostConfig as __getHostConfig } from '../hosts/index';
 const CLAUDE_SKIPPED = new Set(__getHostConfig('claude').generation.skipSkills ?? []);
 const CLAUDE_GENERATED_SKILLS = ALL_SKILLS.filter(s => !CLAUDE_SKIPPED.has(s.dir));
 
+// ─── Out-dir render isolation ────────────────────────────────
+// Every generator invocation in this file that used to regenerate the live
+// tree (the gitignored .agents/.factory/... host dirs included) now renders
+// into this module-level out-dir: ONE `--host all` render covers the claude
+// host plus every external host, and all golden-artifact reads plus the
+// per-host `--dry-run` determinism checks point here. The tracked tree is
+// only ever READ (the `generated files are fresh` dry-run deliberately
+// compares against the committed files — that is a read, not a write).
+// Out-dir renders of external hosts are byte-identical to in-place renders
+// (pinned by test/gen-skill-docs-out-dir.test.ts).
+const EXTERNAL_OUT = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-gen-docs-out-'));
+{
+  const render = Bun.spawnSync(
+    ['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'all', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT],
+    { cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe' },
+  );
+  if (render.exitCode !== 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `gen-skill-docs --host all --out-dir failed (exit ${render.exitCode}):\n${render.stderr.toString()}`,
+    );
+  }
+}
+afterAll(() => {
+  fs.rmSync(EXTERNAL_OUT, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
 describe('gen-skill-docs', () => {
   // Browse carve (token-reduction Phase 4): the command reference + snapshot
   // flags render into browse/sections/command-list.md now — read the
@@ -219,8 +245,9 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs', () => {
   });
 
   test('every generated Codex (.agents/skills) frontmatter parses as strict YAML', () => {
-    const agentsDir = path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills');
-    if (!fs.existsSync(agentsDir)) return; // skip if external hosts not generated
+    // Reads the module-level out-dir render (guaranteed present — the render
+    // throws at module load if it fails), never the live gitignored tree.
+    const agentsDir = path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, '.agents', 'skills');
     for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(agentsDir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
       if (!entry.isDirectory()) continue;
       const mdPath = path.join(agentsDir, entry.name, 'SKILL.md');
@@ -240,8 +267,7 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs', () => {
   });
 
   test(`every Codex SKILL.md description stays within ${MAX_SKILL_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH} chars`, () => {
-    const agentsDir = path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills');
-    if (!fs.existsSync(agentsDir)) return; // skip if not generated
+    const agentsDir = path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, '.agents', 'skills');
     for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(agentsDir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
       if (!entry.isDirectory()) continue;
       const skillMd = path.join(agentsDir, entry.name, 'SKILL.md');
@@ -254,8 +280,7 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs', () => {
 
   test('every Codex SKILL.md description stays under 900-char warning threshold', () => {
     const WARN_THRESHOLD = 900;
-    const agentsDir = path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills');
-    if (!fs.existsSync(agentsDir)) return;
+    const agentsDir = path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, '.agents', 'skills');
     const violations: string[] = [];
     for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(agentsDir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
       if (!entry.isDirectory()) continue;
@@ -283,6 +308,9 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs', () => {
   });
 
   test('generated files are fresh (match --dry-run)', () => {
+    // Deliberately compares against the LIVE TRACKED SKILL.md files (no
+    // --out-dir): this is the freshness gate for the committed tree. Dry-run
+    // writes nothing — it is a read.
     const result = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--dry-run'], {
       cwd: ROOT,
       stdout: 'pipe',
@@ -1373,7 +1401,7 @@ describe('DESIGN_SKETCH resolver', () => {
 
 describe('CODEX_SECOND_OPINION resolver', () => {
   const content = readSkillUnion('office-hours'); // carved: Phase 5/6 prose moved to section
-  const codexContent = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-office-hours', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
+  const codexContent = fs.readFileSync(path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-office-hours', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
 
   test('Phase 3.5 section appears in office-hours SKILL.md', () => {
     expect(content).toContain('Phase 3.5: Cross-Model Second Opinion');
@@ -1810,35 +1838,24 @@ describe('DESIGN_REVIEW_LITE extended with Codex', () => {
 // ─── Codex Generation Tests ─────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('Codex generation (--host codex)', () => {
-  const AGENTS_DIR = path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills');
+  // .agents/ is gitignored (v0.11.2.0) — read the module-level out-dir render
+  // (--host all covers codex) instead of regenerating the live tree in place.
+  const AGENTS_DIR = path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, '.agents', 'skills');
 
-  // .agents/ is gitignored (v0.11.2.0) — generate on demand for tests
-  Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex'], {
-    cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
-  });
-
-  // Dynamic discovery of expected Codex skills: all templates except /codex
-  // Also excludes skills where .agents/skills/{name} is a symlink back to the repo root
-  // (vendored dev mode — gen-skill-docs skips these to avoid overwriting Claude SKILL.md)
+  // Dynamic discovery of expected Codex skills: all templates except /codex.
+  // The out-dir is a fresh mkdtemp, so the vendored-dev-mode symlink loop
+  // (.agents/skills/{name} → repo root) that made the generator skip skills
+  // in-place can never occur here — every template renders.
   const CODEX_SKILLS = (() => {
     const skills: Array<{ dir: string; codexName: string }> = [];
-    const isSymlinkLoop = (codexName: string): boolean => {
-      const agentSkillDir = path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills', codexName);
-      try {
-        return fs.realpathSync(agentSkillDir) === fs.realpathSync(ROOT);
-      } catch { return false; }
-    };
     if (fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, 'SKILL.md.tmpl'))) {
-      if (!isSymlinkLoop('gstack')) {
-        skills.push({ dir: '.', codexName: 'gstack' });
-      }
+      skills.push({ dir: '.', codexName: 'gstack' });
     }
     for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(ROOT, { withFileTypes: true })) {
       if (!entry.isDirectory() || entry.name.startsWith('.') || entry.name === 'node_modules') continue;
       if (entry.name === 'codex') continue; // /codex is excluded from Codex output
       if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, entry.name, 'SKILL.md.tmpl'))) continue;
       const codexName = entry.name.startsWith('gstack-') ? entry.name : `gstack-${entry.name}`;
-      if (isSymlinkLoop(codexName)) continue;
       skills.push({ dir: entry.name, codexName });
     }
     return skills;
@@ -1967,7 +1984,9 @@ describe('Codex generation (--host codex)', () => {
   });
 
   test('--host codex --dry-run freshness', () => {
-    const result = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex', '--dry-run'], {
+    // Dry-run against the out-dir render: determinism/idempotency check
+    // (regenerating produces the same bytes the module-level render did).
+    const result = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex', '--dry-run', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT], {
       cwd: ROOT,
       stdout: 'pipe',
       stderr: 'pipe',
@@ -1982,12 +2001,12 @@ describe('Codex generation (--host codex)', () => {
   });
 
   test('--host agents alias produces same output as --host codex', () => {
-    const codexResult = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex', '--dry-run'], {
+    const codexResult = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex', '--dry-run', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT], {
       cwd: ROOT,
       stdout: 'pipe',
       stderr: 'pipe',
     });
-    const agentsResult = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'agents', '--dry-run'], {
+    const agentsResult = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'agents', '--dry-run', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT], {
       cwd: ROOT,
       stdout: 'pipe',
       stderr: 'pipe',
@@ -2195,63 +2214,52 @@ describe('Codex generation (--host codex)', () => {
   // ─── Explicit --model override wins over the host default ────
   // Without --model the codex host renders its defaultModel (gpt) — pinned by
   // the golden test. This pins the OTHER direction through the real CLI:
-  // `./setup --host codex --model <id>` depends on it. Runs last in this
-  // describe and restores the host-default render before finishing.
+  // `./setup --host codex --model <id>` depends on it. The override renders
+  // into its OWN out-dir, so no restore pass is needed — the host-default
+  // render (EXTERNAL_OUT) is untouched and asserted directly.
   test('explicit --model overrides the codex host default', () => {
+    const overrideOut = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-model-override-'));
     try {
-      const override = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex', '--model', 'claude'], {
+      const override = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex', '--model', 'claude', '--out-dir', overrideOut], {
         cwd: ROOT,
         stdout: 'pipe',
         stderr: 'pipe',
       });
       expect(override.exitCode).toBe(0);
-      const content = fs.readFileSync(path.join(AGENTS_DIR, 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
+      const content = fs.readFileSync(path.join(overrideOut, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
       expect(content).toContain('Model-Specific Behavioral Patch (claude)');
       // The overlay now travels as --model into gstack-skill-start, which
       // echoes MODEL_OVERLAY at runtime.
       expect(content).toContain('--model "claude"');
     } finally {
-      // Restore the host-default render — later tests and the host-config
-      // golden read this tree.
-      const restore = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'codex'], {
-        cwd: ROOT,
-        stdout: 'pipe',
-        stderr: 'pipe',
-      });
-      expect(restore.exitCode).toBe(0);
+      fs.rmSync(overrideOut, { recursive: true, force: true });
     }
-    const restored = fs.readFileSync(path.join(AGENTS_DIR, 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
-    expect(restored).toContain('Model-Specific Behavioral Patch (gpt)');
-    expect(restored).toContain('--model "gpt"');
+    // Host-default direction: the untouched EXTERNAL_OUT render carries gpt.
+    const hostDefault = fs.readFileSync(path.join(AGENTS_DIR, 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
+    expect(hostDefault).toContain('Model-Specific Behavioral Patch (gpt)');
+    expect(hostDefault).toContain('--model "gpt"');
   });
 });
 
 // ─── Factory generation tests ────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('Factory generation (--host factory)', () => {
-  const FACTORY_DIR = path.join(ROOT, '.factory', 'skills');
-
-  // Generate Factory output for tests
-  Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'factory'], {
-    cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
-  });
+  // .factory/ is gitignored — read the module-level out-dir render
+  // (--host all covers factory) instead of regenerating in place.
+  const FACTORY_DIR = path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, '.factory', 'skills');
 
+  // Fresh out-dir → the vendored-dev-mode symlink loop can never occur, so
+  // every template renders (see the Codex discovery note above).
   const FACTORY_SKILLS = (() => {
     const skills: Array<{ dir: string; factoryName: string }> = [];
-    const isSymlinkLoop = (name: string): boolean => {
-      const factorySkillDir = path.join(ROOT, '.factory', 'skills', name);
-      try { return fs.realpathSync(factorySkillDir) === fs.realpathSync(ROOT); }
-      catch { return false; }
-    };
     if (fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, 'SKILL.md.tmpl'))) {
-      if (!isSymlinkLoop('gstack')) skills.push({ dir: '.', factoryName: 'gstack' });
+      skills.push({ dir: '.', factoryName: 'gstack' });
     }
     for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(ROOT, { withFileTypes: true })) {
       if (!entry.isDirectory() || entry.name.startsWith('.') || entry.name === 'node_modules') continue;
       if (entry.name === 'codex') continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, entry.name, 'SKILL.md.tmpl'))) continue;
       const factoryName = entry.name.startsWith('gstack-') ? entry.name : `gstack-${entry.name}`;
-      if (isSymlinkLoop(factoryName)) continue;
       skills.push({ dir: entry.name, factoryName });
     }
     return skills;
@@ -2333,10 +2341,10 @@ describe('Factory generation (--host factory)', () => {
   });
 
   test('--host droid alias works', () => {
-    const factoryResult = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'factory', '--dry-run'], {
+    const factoryResult = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'factory', '--dry-run', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT], {
       cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
     });
-    const droidResult = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'droid', '--dry-run'], {
+    const droidResult = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'droid', '--dry-run', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT], {
       cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
     });
     expect(factoryResult.exitCode).toBe(0);
@@ -2345,7 +2353,7 @@ describe('Factory generation (--host factory)', () => {
   });
 
   test('--host factory --dry-run freshness', () => {
-    const result = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'factory', '--dry-run'], {
+    const result = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'factory', '--dry-run', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT], {
       cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
     });
     expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
@@ -2369,33 +2377,19 @@ describe('Factory generation (--host factory)', () => {
 import { ALL_HOST_CONFIGS, getExternalHosts } from '../hosts/index';
 
 describe('Parameterized host smoke tests', () => {
-  // Regenerate every external host up front so the per-host `--dry-run` freshness
-  // checks are deterministic. These host dirs (.agents/.factory/.cursor/...) are
-  // gitignored regenerated artifacts, so the freshness check is really an
-  // idempotency/determinism check — it still catches non-deterministic gen, but no
-  // longer flakes on stale-on-disk state left by a missing `gen --host all` prestep
-  // (the canonical `bun test` does not run one). The tracked-claude freshness test
+  // Every external host was rendered up front by the module-level
+  // `--host all --out-dir EXTERNAL_OUT` render, so the per-host `--dry-run`
+  // freshness checks are deterministic: they compare a regeneration against
+  // that render — an idempotency/determinism check that catches
+  // non-deterministic gen without ever writing (or depending on) the live
+  // gitignored host dirs. The tracked-claude freshness test
   // (`generated files are fresh`) runs earlier and is unaffected.
-  beforeAll(() => {
-    for (const h of getExternalHosts()) {
-      Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', h.name], {
-        cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
-      });
-    }
-  });
-
   for (const hostConfig of getExternalHosts()) {
     describe(`${hostConfig.displayName} (--host ${hostConfig.name})`, () => {
-      const hostDir = path.join(ROOT, hostConfig.hostSubdir, 'skills');
+      const hostDir = path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, hostConfig.hostSubdir, 'skills');
 
       test('generates output that exists on disk', () => {
-        // Generated dir should exist (created by earlier bun run gen:skill-docs --host all)
-        if (!fs.existsSync(hostDir)) {
-          // Generate if not already done
-          Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', hostConfig.name], {
-            cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
-          });
-        }
+        // The module-level --host all render must have produced this host's tree.
         expect(fs.existsSync(hostDir)).toBe(true);
         const skills = fs.readdirSync(hostDir).filter(d =>
           fs.existsSync(path.join(hostDir, d, 'SKILL.md'))
@@ -2437,7 +2431,7 @@ describe('Parameterized host smoke tests', () => {
 
       test('--dry-run freshness check passes', () => {
         const result = Bun.spawnSync(
-          ['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', hostConfig.name, '--dry-run'],
+          ['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', hostConfig.name, '--dry-run', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT],
           { cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe' }
         );
         expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
@@ -2457,18 +2451,12 @@ describe('Parameterized host smoke tests', () => {
 // ─── --host all tests ────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('--host all', () => {
-  // Same determinism guard as the parameterized block: make external hosts fresh on
-  // disk so `--host all --dry-run` reports FRESH regardless of prior state.
-  beforeAll(() => {
-    for (const h of getExternalHosts()) {
-      Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', h.name], {
-        cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
-      });
-    }
-  });
-
+  // Same determinism guard as the parameterized block: the module-level
+  // `--host all --out-dir EXTERNAL_OUT` render is the comparison baseline, so
+  // this dry-run reports FRESH regardless of live-tree state — and proves the
+  // claude host plus every external host regenerate deterministically.
   test('--host all generates for all registered hosts', () => {
-    const result = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'all', '--dry-run'], {
+    const result = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'all', '--dry-run', '--out-dir', EXTERNAL_OUT], {
       cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe',
     });
     expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
@@ -2636,8 +2624,8 @@ describe('setup script validation', () => {
 
   // T2: Dynamic $GSTACK_ROOT paths in generated Codex preambles
   test('generated Codex preambles use dynamic GSTACK_ROOT paths', () => {
-    const codexSkillDir = path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship');
-    if (!fs.existsSync(codexSkillDir)) return; // skip if .agents/ not generated
+    // Read the module-level out-dir render (always present).
+    const codexSkillDir = path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship');
     const content = fs.readFileSync(path.join(codexSkillDir, 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
     expect(content).toContain('GSTACK_ROOT=');
     expect(content).toContain('$GSTACK_BIN/');
@@ -3332,7 +3320,10 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs prefix warning (#620/#578)', () => {
       fs.mkdirSync(fakeGstack, { recursive: true });
       fs.writeFileSync(path.join(fakeGstack, 'config.yaml'), 'skill_prefix: true\n');
 
-      const output = execSync('bun run scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', {
+      // Render into an out-dir under the fixture (the warning fires on any
+      // non-dry-run generation) so the live tree is never rewritten.
+      const outDir = path.join(tmpDir, 'out');
+      const output = execSync(`bun run scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts --out-dir "${outDir}"`, {
         cwd: ROOT,
         env: { ...process.env, HOME: fakeHome },
         encoding: 'utf-8',
@@ -3353,7 +3344,8 @@ describe('gen-skill-docs prefix warning (#620/#578)', () => {
       fs.mkdirSync(fakeGstack, { recursive: true });
       fs.writeFileSync(path.join(fakeGstack, 'config.yaml'), 'skill_prefix: false\n');
 
-      const output = execSync('bun run scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', {
+      const outDir = path.join(tmpDir, 'out');
+      const output = execSync(`bun run scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts --out-dir "${outDir}"`, {
         cwd: ROOT,
         env: { ...process.env, HOME: fakeHome },
         encoding: 'utf-8',
@@ -3469,14 +3461,16 @@ describe('plan-mode-info resolver (handshake-replacement)', () => {
     expect(checked).toBeGreaterThan(0);
   });
 
-  test('vestigial handshake is absent from non-Claude host outputs when present on disk', () => {
+  test('vestigial handshake is absent from non-Claude host outputs', () => {
     // Non-Claude hosts render to hostSubdirs (.agents/, .openclaw/, etc). The
     // plan-mode-info resolver has no host-scoping — all hosts get the new
-    // section, none get the old handshake. Scan all candidate host dirs.
+    // section, none get the old handshake. Scan every candidate host tree in
+    // the module-level out-dir render (--host all), which is always present —
+    // so the check can no longer silently degrade to a console warning.
     const hostDirs = ['.agents', '.openclaw', '.opencode', '.factory', '.hermes', '.kiro', '.cursor', '.slate'];
     let checked = 0;
     for (const host of hostDirs) {
-      const skillsRoot = path.join(ROOT, host, 'skills');
+      const skillsRoot = path.join(EXTERNAL_OUT, host, 'skills');
       if (!fs.existsSync(skillsRoot)) continue;
       const entries = fs.readdirSync(skillsRoot, { withFileTypes: true });
       for (const entry of entries) {
@@ -3488,13 +3482,7 @@ describe('plan-mode-info resolver (handshake-replacement)', () => {
         checked++;
       }
     }
-    if (checked === 0) {
-      // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
-      console.warn(
-        'plan-mode-info: no non-Claude host outputs found for cross-host absence check — ' +
-          'run `bun run gen:skill-docs --host all` to populate',
-      );
-    }
+    expect(checked).toBeGreaterThan(0);
   });
 
   test.each(REVIEW_SKILLS)(

test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/**
+ * No module-scope GSTACK_HOME assignment in any test file.
+ *
+ * Shard processes evaluate many test-file modules in one bun process, and a
+ * module can be loaded before its tests run — so a module-scope
+ * `process.env.GSTACK_HOME = ...` leaks into every sibling file in the
+ * shard. The damage was real before the 2026-08 sweep: relink.test.ts:28
+ * documents a "fresh install" test seeing a neighbor's skill_prefix, and
+ * cdp-e2e once baked a sibling's temp dir into artifacts that outlived it
+ * (dangling symlinks into a deleted render dir).
+ *
+ * The pattern is: save the original, assign in beforeAll, restore in
+ * afterAll — confining the value to the file's execution window. See
+ * browse/test/cdp-e2e.test.ts for the reference shape.
+ *
+ * Heuristic: repo test files write module-scope statements unindented, so a
+ * column-0 assignment is module scope; indented assignments (inside hooks,
+ * tests, or helpers) are fine.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+
+function trackedTestFiles(): string[] {
+  const out = spawnSync('git', ['ls-files', '*.test.ts'], {
+    cwd: ROOT, encoding: 'utf-8',
+  });
+  if (out.status !== 0) throw new Error(`git ls-files failed: ${out.stderr}`);
+  return out.stdout.split('\n').filter(Boolean);
+}
+
+describe('GSTACK_HOME module-scope tripwire', () => {
+  test('no test file assigns process.env.GSTACK_HOME at module scope', () => {
+    const files = trackedTestFiles();
+    expect(files.length).toBeGreaterThan(100); // scan-rot guard
+
+    const offenders: string[] = [];
+    for (const rel of files) {
+      const lines = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, rel), 'utf-8').split('\n');
+      lines.forEach((line, i) => {
+        if (/^(?:process\.env\.GSTACK_HOME|process\.env\.GSTACK_STATE_ROOT)\s*=[^=]/.test(line)) {
+          offenders.push(`${rel}:${i + 1} — ${line.trim()}`);
+        }
+      });
+    }
+    expect(offenders,
+      `module-scope env assignment leaks across shard siblings — move into beforeAll + restore in afterAll:\n${offenders.join('\n')}`,
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});

test/helpers/budget-override.test.ts

@@ -8,16 +8,28 @@
  * timestamp + scope + reason + CI provenance.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeEach } from 'bun:test';
+import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, beforeEach, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as os from 'os';
 import { logBudgetOverride } from './budget-override';
 
 const TMP_HOME = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'budget-override-test-'));
-process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
 const AUDIT_PATH = path.join(TMP_HOME, 'analytics', 'spend-overrides.jsonl');
 
+// GSTACK_HOME is scoped to this file's execution window (beforeAll/afterAll),
+// never set at module load: bun evaluates sibling modules before running
+// their tests, so a module-scope assignment leaks into every other file in
+// the shard process (pinned by test/gstack-home-module-scope.test.ts).
+const ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME = process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
+beforeAll(() => {
+  process.env.GSTACK_HOME = TMP_HOME;
+});
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME === undefined) delete process.env.GSTACK_HOME;
+  else process.env.GSTACK_HOME = ORIGINAL_GSTACK_HOME;
+});
+
 describe('logBudgetOverride', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     // Start each test with a clean audit file

test/helpers/e2e-helpers.ts

@@ -61,7 +61,55 @@ export function computeDiffSelection(
   return selection.selected;
 }
 
-export let selectedTests: string[] | null = computeDiffSelection(E2E_TOUCHFILES, 'E2E'); // null = run all
+/**
+ * Parse the sharded paid runner's precomputed selection (EVALS_SELECTION_JSON,
+ * written by serializePaidDiffSelection in scripts/test-paid-shards.ts).
+ * Returns { selected: null } for run-all. THROWS on any parse/shape failure —
+ * resolveModuleSelection turns that into a fail-open local recompute.
+ */
+export function parseEvalsSelectionJson(raw: string): { selected: string[] | null; reason: string } {
+  const parsed: unknown = JSON.parse(raw);
+  if (!parsed || typeof parsed !== 'object' || Array.isArray(parsed)) throw new Error('not an object');
+  const { selected, reason } = parsed as { selected?: unknown; reason?: unknown };
+  if (selected !== null
+    && !(Array.isArray(selected) && selected.every((s) => typeof s === 'string'))) {
+    throw new Error('selected must be null or string[]');
+  }
+  return {
+    selected: selected as string[] | null,
+    reason: typeof reason === 'string' ? reason : 'parent selection',
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the module-load E2E selection: prefer the parent shard runner's
+ * EVALS_SELECTION_JSON — skipping this module's own git walk and, when
+ * touchfiles-data.ts is in the diff, the per-child bun subprocess that
+ * evaluates the old data file (test-selection.ts map-diff path, one per
+ * shard). On ANY parse/shape failure, fall back to computing locally
+ * (fail-open preserved) with one stderr warning.
+ */
+export function resolveModuleSelection(
+  raw: string | undefined,
+  compute: () => string[] | null,
+  stderrWrite: (text: string) => void = (text) => process.stderr.write(text),
+): string[] | null {
+  if (raw) {
+    try {
+      const { selected, reason } = parseEvalsSelectionJson(raw);
+      stderrWrite(`\nE2E selection (parent-propagated: ${reason}): ${selected === null ? 'all' : selected.length} tests\n`);
+      return selected;
+    } catch (err) {
+      stderrWrite(`WARNING: malformed EVALS_SELECTION_JSON (${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}) — falling back to local selection\n`);
+    }
+  }
+  return compute();
+}
+
+export let selectedTests: string[] | null = resolveModuleSelection(
+  evalsEnabled ? process.env.EVALS_SELECTION_JSON : undefined,
+  () => computeDiffSelection(E2E_TOUCHFILES, 'E2E'),
+); // null = run all
 
 // EVALS_TIER: filter tests by tier after diff-based selection.
 // 'gate' = gate tests only (CI default — blocks merge)

test/helpers/eval-budgets.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/**
+ * Timeout policy for paid tests — five tiers instead of hand-tuned sprawl.
+ *
+ * Before this module the paid suite carried 46×300s, 46×120s, 44×360s,
+ * 44×180s, 27×240s, 19×150s, 13×420s, 12×600s, 7×700s… hand-ratcheted
+ * per test, several inflated to paper over the old 40-way in-shard
+ * concurrency (session startup queued behind 39 siblings and ate the
+ * budget before turn one — dead with the sharded runner's 1-file-per-shard
+ * model). Pick the tier that matches the test's SHAPE; escape-hatch raw
+ * literals stay legal with a justification comment (count-ratcheted by
+ * test/eval-budgets-policy.test.ts).
+ *
+ * Every tier must fit inside the lane walls — pinned by the fit test in
+ * test/eval-budgets-policy.test.ts against the sharded runner's
+ * DEFAULT_SHARD_TIMEOUT_MS. Budget above the wall is fiction, not headroom.
+ */
+
+/** LLM-judge call over an existing capture (no agent session). */
+export const JUDGE_MS = 120_000;
+
+/** One `claude -p` / SDK capture, bounded turns. */
+export const CAPTURE_MS = 300_000;
+
+/** Multi-capture or long multi-turn `claude -p` flows. */
+export const CAPTURE_LONG_MS = 600_000;
+
+/** Interactive real-PTY flow (spawn + skill + a few interactions). */
+export const PTY_MS = 900_000;
+
+/**
+ * Chained/judged PTY observation — the ceiling tier. 1200s leaves the
+ * 1800s shard wall real overhead; anything that genuinely needs more
+ * should be SPLIT, not budgeted past the wall.
+ */
+export const PTY_LONG_MS = 1_200_000;
+
+export const ALL_TIERS = {
+  JUDGE_MS,
+  CAPTURE_MS,
+  CAPTURE_LONG_MS,
+  PTY_MS,
+  PTY_LONG_MS,
+} as const;

test/helpers/llm-judge.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 
 import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';
 
+import { resolveEvalModel } from '../../lib/eval-model';
+
 export interface JudgeScore {
   clarity: number;       // 1-5
   completeness: number;  // 1-5
@@ -52,9 +54,10 @@ export interface RecommendationScore {
 
 /**
  * Call an Anthropic model with a prompt, extract JSON response.
- * Retries once on 429 rate limit errors. Defaults to Sonnet 4.6 for
- * existing callers; pass a model id (e.g. claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)
- * for cheaper bounded judgments like judgeRecommendation.
+ * Jittered exponential backoff over three 429 retries. Model resolves via
+ * lib/eval-model's `judge` kind (Sonnet default); pass a model id
+ * (e.g. claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) for cheaper bounded judgments like
+ * judgeRecommendation.
  */
 // Default judge model: Sonnet. D1a tried Haiku 4.5 here and the first live
 // run regressed the doc-rubric family — a controlled A/B on the identical
@@ -68,27 +71,42 @@ export interface RecommendationScore {
 // distill — see lib/eval-model.ts).
 export async function callJudge<T>(
   prompt: string,
-  model: string = process.env.GSTACK_EVAL_MODEL_JUDGE || 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
+  model?: string,
   opts?: { temperature?: number; max_tokens?: number },
 ): Promise<T> {
+  // Routed through the documented single resolution point: explicit arg >
+  // GSTACK_EVAL_MODEL_JUDGE > GSTACK_EVAL_MODEL > sonnet default. The old
+  // inline `GSTACK_EVAL_MODEL_JUDGE || sonnet` silently ignored the global
+  // GSTACK_EVAL_MODEL override that every other eval call site honors.
+  // opts (temperature/max_tokens) exist for bounded judgments like armJudge;
+  // defaults preserve prior behavior.
+  const resolvedModel = resolveEvalModel('judge', model);
   const client = new Anthropic();
 
   const makeRequest = () => client.messages.create({
-    model,
+    model: resolvedModel,
     max_tokens: opts?.max_tokens ?? 1024,
     ...(opts?.temperature !== undefined ? { temperature: opts.temperature } : {}),
     messages: [{ role: 'user', content: prompt }],
   });
 
+  // 429s under CI concurrency: jittered exponential backoff over 3 retries
+  // (~1s/4s/16s + jitter), honoring the server's retry-after when present.
+  // The old single fixed 1s retry lost races reliably at 40-way concurrency.
   let response;
-  try {
-    response = await makeRequest();
-  } catch (err: any) {
-    if (err.status === 429) {
-      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 1000));
+  let attempt = 0;
+  for (;;) {
+    try {
       response = await makeRequest();
-    } else {
-      throw err;
+      break;
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      if (err?.status !== 429 || attempt >= 3) throw err;
+      const retryAfterSecs = Number(err?.headers?.['retry-after']);
+      const baseMs = Number.isFinite(retryAfterSecs) && retryAfterSecs > 0
+        ? retryAfterSecs * 1000
+        : 1000 * 4 ** attempt;
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, baseMs + Math.random() * 500));
+      attempt += 1;
     }
   }
 

test/helpers/paid-test-set.ts

@@ -11,12 +11,20 @@ import { matchGlob } from './touchfiles';
 
 /** The exact globs package.json's `test:gate` passes to `bun test`. */
 export const PAID_TEST_GLOBS = [
-  'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts',
+  // skill-llm-eval* (not just the base file): skill-llm-eval-spec.test.ts
+  // fell outside the exact glob and could never run in any lane.
+  'test/skill-llm-eval*.test.ts',
   'test/skill-e2e-*.test.ts',
   'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts',
-  'test/codex-e2e.test.ts',
-  'test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts',
+  // codex-e2e* (was two exact names): codex-e2e-plan-format.test.ts and
+  // codex-e2e-recommendation-substance.test.ts were API-spending orphans —
+  // outside these globs they self-skipped in the free suite AND never
+  // entered the paid census. The same bug class as the deleted pre-split
+  // monolith (see test/paid-shards.test.ts's regression pin).
+  'test/codex-e2e*.test.ts',
   'test/gemini-e2e.test.ts',
+  'test/llm-judge-recommendation.test.ts',
+  'test/carve-section-loading.test.ts',
 ] as const;
 
 /** True when a repo-relative path (either slash style) is a paid test file. */

test/helpers/periodic-exclude-data.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/**
+ * Periodic-lane exclusions — LITERALS ONLY (own file, deliberately NOT in
+ * touchfiles-data.ts: that file is evaluated standalone by map-diff against
+ * old git versions, and its contract must not grow unrelated exports).
+ *
+ * The weekly periodic CI lane runs EVERY periodic-tier file (EVALS_ALL=1) so
+ * tests can't rot invisibly — the coverage contract. A file lands here only
+ * when running it weekly is KNOWN waste (documented-red or requires manual
+ * hardware), and every entry must carry a tracking pointer with a re-entry
+ * condition, so an exclusion is a decision with an owner, not a place tests
+ * go to die. Pinned by test/periodic-exclude-policy.test.ts: entries must
+ * name real files and carry non-empty reason + tracking.
+ *
+ * Removing an entry re-activates the file on the next weekly run — that IS
+ * the re-entry mechanism.
+ */
+export const PERIODIC_CI_EXCLUDE: Record<string, { reason: string; tracking: string }> = {
+  'test/skill-e2e-ship-idempotency.test.ts': {
+    reason:
+      'documented-red: the PTY child sits at the Claude Code welcome screen for the full budget '
+      + '(readiness/typing race vs CLI 2.1.x); never green since it was born in v1.63',
+    tracking: 'TODOS.md "periodic tier — three documented-red tests need structural repair" (1 of 3 resolved: sidebar trio already deleted)',
+  },
+  'test/skill-e2e-brain-privacy-gate.test.ts': {
+    reason:
+      'documented-red: the artifacts-sync stop-gate preconditions do not survive the hermetic env '
+      + 'even with per-test HOME/GSTACK_HOME injection; never green anywhere',
+    tracking: 'TODOS.md "periodic tier — three documented-red tests need structural repair"',
+  },
+  'test/skill-e2e-ios.test.ts': {
+    reason: 'requires a live iOS device/simulator toolchain (xcodebuild, devicectl) — manual hardware, not a CI runner capability',
+    tracking: 'TODOS.md "skill-e2e-ios CI story" (device/runner decision)',
+  },
+};

test/helpers/run-bin.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as os from 'node:os';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+import { runBin } from './run-bin';
+
+describe('runBin', () => {
+  test('captures status/stdout/stderr with utf-8 shaping', () => {
+    const r = runBin('sh', ['-c', 'printf out; printf err >&2; exit 3']);
+    expect(r).toEqual({ status: 3, stdout: 'out', stderr: 'err' });
+  });
+
+  test('gstackHome sets both GSTACK_HOME and GSTACK_STATE_DIR (config precedence)', () => {
+    const dir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'run-bin-'));
+    try {
+      const r = runBin('sh', ['-c', 'printf "%s|%s" "$GSTACK_HOME" "$GSTACK_STATE_DIR"'], { gstackHome: dir });
+      expect(r.stdout).toBe(`${dir}|${dir}`);
+    } finally {
+      fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('env undefined deletes a key; input feeds stdin; trim shapes output', () => {
+    const r = runBin('sh', ['-c', 'cat; printf "  padded  "; test -z "$LANG" && printf noLANG >&2'], {
+      env: { LANG: undefined },
+      input: 'piped|',
+      trim: true,
+    });
+    // trim shapes the ENDS of the whole stream; interior whitespace stays.
+    expect(r.stdout).toBe('piped|  padded');
+    expect(r.stderr).toBe('noLANG');
+  });
+
+  test('spawn failure yields -1, never a fake success', () => {
+    const r = runBin('/definitely/not/a/binary');
+    expect(r.status).toBe(-1);
+  });
+});

test/helpers/run-bin.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/**
+ * Shared spawnSync wrapper for free unit tests that shell out to bin/
+ * scripts. Before this helper, ~36 test files each carried a near-identical
+ * local `run()` (spawnSync + utf-8 + {status, stdout, stderr} normalization)
+ * differing only in env composition, cwd, and timeout — drift-prone copies
+ * of one idea.
+ *
+ * Free-test-only by design: nothing under the paid globs should import this,
+ * so it never becomes a de facto global touchfile (paid selection is owned
+ * by test/helpers/e2e-helpers.ts and friends).
+ */
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+
+export interface RunBinResult {
+  status: number;
+  stdout: string;
+  stderr: string;
+}
+
+export interface RunBinOptions {
+  cwd?: string;
+  /** Merged over process.env (an `undefined` value deletes the key). */
+  env?: Record<string, string | undefined>;
+  /**
+   * Isolation shorthand: sets GSTACK_HOME + GSTACK_STATE_DIR (gstack-config
+   * precedence is GSTACK_HOME > GSTACK_STATE_DIR > $HOME/.gstack, so both
+   * must move to isolate from the operator's real ~/.gstack).
+   */
+  gstackHome?: string;
+  /** Also move $HOME (bins that write $HOME-anchored files, e.g. artifacts-remote pointers). */
+  home?: string;
+  input?: string;
+  /** Default 60s — a wedged bin fails the test, never the shard wall. */
+  timeoutMs?: number;
+  maxBuffer?: number;
+  /** Trim stdout/stderr (config-getter style bins). */
+  trim?: boolean;
+}
+
+export function runBin(command: string, args: string[] = [], opts: RunBinOptions = {}): RunBinResult {
+  const env: Record<string, string | undefined> = { ...process.env, ...opts.env };
+  if (opts.gstackHome !== undefined) {
+    env.GSTACK_HOME = opts.gstackHome;
+    env.GSTACK_STATE_DIR = opts.gstackHome;
+  }
+  if (opts.home !== undefined) env.HOME = opts.home;
+  for (const key of Object.keys(env)) {
+    if (env[key] === undefined) delete env[key];
+  }
+
+  const result = spawnSync(command, args, {
+    cwd: opts.cwd,
+    env: env as Record<string, string>,
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    input: opts.input,
+    timeout: opts.timeoutMs ?? 60_000,
+    maxBuffer: opts.maxBuffer,
+  });
+
+  const shape = (text: string | null | undefined): string => {
+    const value = text ?? '';
+    return opts.trim ? value.trim() : value;
+  };
+  return {
+    // -1 for spawn failure/kill mirrors the strictest of the old locals: a
+    // null status must never alias a real exit code.
+    status: result.status ?? -1,
+    stdout: shape(result.stdout),
+    stderr: shape(result.stderr),
+  };
+}

test/helpers/touchfiles-data.ts

@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@
  */
 export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   // Browse core (+ test-server dependency)
-  'browse-basic':    ['browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts'],
-  'browse-snapshot': ['browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts'],
+  'browse-basic':    ['browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-bws.test.ts'],
+  'browse-snapshot': ['browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-bws.test.ts'],
 
   // Hermetic isolation canaries (hermetic-env.ts is also a GLOBAL touchfile;
   // these entries exist so the canaries themselves stay tier-classified)
@@ -37,21 +37,21 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   'first-task-scaffold': ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'bin/gstack-first-task-detect', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-preamble-bash.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-first-task-scaffold.test.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts'],
 
   // SKILL.md setup + preamble (depend on ROOT SKILL.md + gen-skill-docs)
-  'skillmd-setup-discovery':  ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'skillmd-no-local-binary':  ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'skillmd-outside-git':      ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
+  'skillmd-setup-discovery':  ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-bws.test.ts'],
+  'skillmd-no-local-binary':  ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-bws.test.ts'],
+  'skillmd-outside-git':      ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-bws.test.ts'],
 
-  'session-awareness':        ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'operational-learning':     ['scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'bin/gstack-learnings-log'],
+  'session-awareness':        ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-bws.test.ts'],
+  'operational-learning':     ['scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'bin/gstack-learnings-log', 'test/skill-e2e-bws.test.ts'],
 
   // QA (+ test-server dependency)
-  'qa-quick':       ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts'],
-  'qa-b6-static':   ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'browse/test/fixtures/qa-eval.html', 'test/fixtures/qa-eval-ground-truth.json'],
-  'qa-b7-spa':      ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'browse/test/fixtures/qa-eval-spa.html', 'test/fixtures/qa-eval-spa-ground-truth.json'],
-  'qa-b8-checkout': ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'browse/test/fixtures/qa-eval-checkout.html', 'test/fixtures/qa-eval-checkout-ground-truth.json'],
-  'qa-only-no-fix': ['qa-only/**', 'qa/templates/**'],
-  'qa-fix-loop':    ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts'],
-  'qa-bootstrap':   ['qa/**', 'ship/**'],
+  'qa-quick':       ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-qa-workflow.test.ts'],
+  'qa-b6-static':   ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'browse/test/fixtures/qa-eval.html', 'test/fixtures/qa-eval-ground-truth.json', 'test/skill-e2e-qa-bugs.test.ts'],
+  'qa-b7-spa':      ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'browse/test/fixtures/qa-eval-spa.html', 'test/fixtures/qa-eval-spa-ground-truth.json', 'test/skill-e2e-qa-bugs.test.ts'],
+  'qa-b8-checkout': ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'browse/test/fixtures/qa-eval-checkout.html', 'test/fixtures/qa-eval-checkout-ground-truth.json', 'test/skill-e2e-qa-bugs.test.ts'],
+  'qa-only-no-fix': ['qa-only/**', 'qa/templates/**', 'test/skill-e2e-qa-workflow.test.ts'],
+  'qa-fix-loop':    ['qa/**', 'browse/src/**', 'browse/test/test-server.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-qa-workflow.test.ts'],
+  'qa-bootstrap':   ['qa/**', 'ship/**', 'test/skill-e2e-qa-workflow.test.ts'],
 
   // Review
   'review-sql-injection':     ['review/**', 'test/fixtures/review-eval-vuln.rb', 'test/skill-e2e-review.test.ts'],
@@ -60,29 +60,29 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   'review-design-lite':       ['review/**', 'test/fixtures/review-eval-design-slop.*', 'test/skill-e2e-review.test.ts'],
 
   // Review Army (specialist dispatch)
-  'review-army-migration-safety': ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'bin/gstack-diff-scope'],
-  'review-army-perf-n-plus-one':  ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'bin/gstack-diff-scope'],
-  'review-army-delivery-audit':   ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts'],
-  'review-army-quality-score':    ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts'],
-  'review-army-json-findings':    ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts'],
-  'review-army-red-team':         ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts'],
+  'review-army-migration-safety': ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'bin/gstack-diff-scope', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
+  'review-army-perf-n-plus-one':  ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'bin/gstack-diff-scope', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
+  'review-army-delivery-audit':   ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
+  'review-army-quality-score':    ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
+  'review-army-json-findings':    ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
+  'review-army-red-team':         ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
   'review-army-simplification':   ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'test/fixtures/review-army-overbuild.js', 'test/fixtures/review-army-lean-complete.js', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
   'review-army-simplification-precision': ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'test/fixtures/review-army-overbuild.js', 'test/fixtures/review-army-lean-complete.js', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
-  'review-army-consensus':        ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts'],
+  'review-army-consensus':        ['review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review-army.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-review-army.test.ts'],
 
   // Office Hours
-  'office-hours-spec-review':     ['office-hours/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'office-hours-forcing-energy':  ['office-hours/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
-  'office-hours-builder-wildness': ['office-hours/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
+  'office-hours-spec-review':     ['office-hours/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'office-hours-forcing-energy':  ['office-hours/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-office-hours.test.ts'],
+  'office-hours-builder-wildness': ['office-hours/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-office-hours.test.ts'],
 
   // Plan reviews
-  'plan-ceo-review':                  ['plan-ceo-review/**'],
-  'plan-ceo-review-selective':        ['plan-ceo-review/**'],
-  'plan-ceo-review-benefits':         ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'plan-ceo-review-expansion-energy': ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
-  'plan-eng-review':           ['plan-eng-review/**'],
-  'plan-eng-review-artifact':  ['plan-eng-review/**'],
-  'plan-review-report':        ['plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
+  'plan-ceo-review':                  ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'plan-ceo-review-selective':        ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'plan-ceo-review-benefits':         ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'plan-ceo-review-expansion-energy': ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/fixtures/mode-posture/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'plan-eng-review':           ['plan-eng-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'plan-eng-review-artifact':  ['plan-eng-review/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'plan-review-report':        ['plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
 
   // Plan-mode smoke tests — gate-tier safety regression tests. Each test file
   // contains TWO test cases as of v1.21: the baseline plan-mode case and the
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   // regression test outcome between 'asked' and 'auto_decided'.
   'plan-ceo-review-plan-mode':    ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/question-tuning.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-ceo-plan-mode.test.ts'],
   'plan-eng-review-plan-mode':    ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/question-tuning.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-eng-plan-mode.test.ts'],
-  'plan-design-review-plan-mode': ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'plan-design-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/question-tuning.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-design-plan-mode.test.ts'],
+  'plan-design-review-plan-mode': ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'plan-design-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/question-tuning.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-design-plan-mode.test.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-design.test.ts'],
   'plan-devex-review-plan-mode':  ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/question-tuning.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-devex-plan-mode.test.ts'],
   // Covers ceo (preamble misfire) + eng/design (scope-gate bypass must not
   // fire outside plan mode) + the named-target exception case. 4 PTY runs;
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   // written a never-ask preference, AUQ should still auto-decide rather than
   // surfacing the question. Touches the question-tuning + preference
   // infrastructure plus the resolvers that own the AUTO_DECIDE preamble.
-  'auto-decide-preserved':        ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'scripts/resolvers/question-tuning.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-preamble-bash.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts', 'plan-ceo-review/**', 'bin/gstack-question-preference', 'bin/gstack-config', 'bin/gstack-slug', 'hosts/claude/hooks/question-preference-hook.ts', 'lib/is-conductor.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts'],
+  'auto-decide-preserved':        ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'scripts/resolvers/question-tuning.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-preamble-bash.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts', 'plan-ceo-review/**', 'bin/gstack-question-preference', 'bin/gstack-config', 'bin/gstack-slug', 'hosts/claude/hooks/question-preference-hook.ts', 'lib/is-conductor.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-auto-decide-preserved.test.ts'],
 
   // Conductor → prose decision brief (Conductor signal makes prose the default;
   // the PreToolUse hook denies the flaky tool). Touches the resolver that owns
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   // Each one tests behavior the SDK harness can't observe (rendered TTY,
   // numbered-option lists, multi-phase ordering, idempotency state echo).
   'preamble-script-ab':                        ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-preamble-bash.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-brain-sync-block.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'plan-ceo-review/**', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-preamble-script-ab.test.ts'],
-  'auq-format-gate':                           ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
+  'auq-format-gate':                           ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-ask-user-question-format-compliance.test.ts'],
   'auq-repetition-cut-ab':                     ['scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'plan-ceo-review/**', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/fixtures/auq-pre-cut-plan-ceo-review-SKILL.md', 'test/skill-e2e-auq-repetition-cut-ab.test.ts'],
   'plan-ceo-mode-routing':       ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-ceo-mode-routing.test.ts'],
   'plan-design-with-ui-scope':   ['plan-design-review/**', 'test/fixtures/plans/ui-heavy-feature.md', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-design-with-ui.test.ts'],
@@ -142,12 +142,12 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   'tpa-absent-darwin':           ['scripts/resolvers/third-party-actions.ts', 'ship/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'ship/sections/apple-release.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-third-party-actions.test.ts'],
   'tpa-apple-ban':               ['scripts/resolvers/third-party-actions.ts', 'ship/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'ship/sections/apple-release.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-third-party-actions.test.ts'],
   'ship-section-loading':        ['ship/**', 'scripts/resolvers/sections.ts', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-ship-section-loading.test.ts'],
-  'plan-ceo-section-loading':    ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/sections.ts', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts'],
+  'plan-ceo-section-loading':    ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/sections.ts', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-ceo-review-section-loading.test.ts'],
   // Data-driven behavioral guard for the 'plan'/'prompt' carves (eng, design,
   // devex, office-hours + future PR2 carves). One file iterating CARVE_GUARDS;
   // the selector sets GSTACK_CARVE_SKILL=<name> to scope cost to the changed
   // skill (D-CODEX A). Touching the registry/helper or sections.ts runs all.
-  'carve-section-loading':       ['design-html/**', 'design-shotgun/**', 'qa/**', 'browse/**', 'retro/**', 'autoplan/**', 'spec/**', 'setup-gbrain/**', 'review/**', 'codex/**', 'land-and-deploy/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'office-hours/**', 'document-release/**', 'design-consultation/**', 'cso/**', 'test/helpers/carve-guards.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/sections.ts', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts'],
+  'carve-section-loading':       ['design-html/**', 'design-shotgun/**', 'qa/**', 'browse/**', 'retro/**', 'autoplan/**', 'spec/**', 'setup-gbrain/**', 'review/**', 'codex/**', 'land-and-deploy/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'office-hours/**', 'document-release/**', 'design-consultation/**', 'cso/**', 'test/helpers/carve-guards.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/sections.ts', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts', 'test/helpers/session-runner.ts', 'test/carve-section-loading.test.ts'],
   'autoplan-chain-pty':          ['autoplan/**', 'plan-ceo-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'test/fixtures/plans/ui-heavy-feature.md', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-autoplan-chain.test.ts'],
   'e2e-harness-audit':            ['bin/gstack-skill-start', 'bin/gstack-skill-end', 'plan-ceo-review/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completion-status.ts', 'test/helpers/agent-sdk-runner.ts', 'test/helpers/claude-pty-runner.ts'],
 
@@ -193,18 +193,18 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
 
   // AskUserQuestion format regression (RECOMMENDATION + Completeness: N/10)
   // Fires when either template OR the two preamble resolvers change.
-  'plan-ceo-review-format-mode':      ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
-  'plan-ceo-review-format-approach':  ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
-  'plan-eng-review-format-coverage':  ['plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
-  'plan-eng-review-format-kind':      ['plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
+  'plan-ceo-review-format-mode':      ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-format.test.ts'],
+  'plan-ceo-review-format-approach':  ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-format.test.ts'],
+  'plan-eng-review-format-coverage':  ['plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-format.test.ts'],
+  'plan-eng-review-format-kind':      ['plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-completeness-section.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-format.test.ts'],
 
   // v1.7.0.0 Pros/Cons format cadence + format + negative-escape evals.
   // Dependencies: same as format-mode + the 4 plan-review templates + overlay.
   // All periodic-tier (non-deterministic Opus 4.7 behavior).
-  'plan-ceo-review-prosons-cadence':  ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md'],
-  'plan-review-prosons-format':       ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md'],
-  'plan-review-prosons-hardstop-neg': ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md'],
-  'plan-review-prosons-neutral-neg':  ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md'],
+  'plan-ceo-review-prosons-cadence':  ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-prosons.test.ts'],
+  'plan-review-prosons-format':       ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**', 'plan-devex-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-prosons.test.ts'],
+  'plan-review-prosons-hardstop-neg': ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-prosons.test.ts'],
+  'plan-review-prosons-neutral-neg':  ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-prosons.test.ts'],
 
   // Expanded coverage (CT3) — 6 non-plan-review skills inherit Pros/Cons via preamble
   'ship-prosons-format':              ['ship/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md'],
@@ -216,24 +216,24 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   'document-release-prosons-format':  ['document-release/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/generate-ask-user-format.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md'],
 
   // /plan-tune (v1 observational)
-  'plan-tune-inspect':         ['plan-tune/**', 'scripts/question-registry.ts', 'scripts/psychographic-signals.ts', 'scripts/one-way-doors.ts', 'bin/gstack-question-log', 'bin/gstack-question-preference', 'bin/gstack-developer-profile'],
+  'plan-tune-inspect':         ['plan-tune/**', 'scripts/question-registry.ts', 'scripts/psychographic-signals.ts', 'scripts/one-way-doors.ts', 'bin/gstack-question-log', 'bin/gstack-question-preference', 'bin/gstack-developer-profile', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-tune.test.ts'],
 
   // /plan-tune cathedral (T16 — 5 E2E scenarios, all gate per D12)
-  'plan-tune-hook-capture':      ['hosts/claude/hooks/**', 'bin/gstack-question-log', 'bin/gstack-developer-profile', 'plan-tune/**'],
-  'plan-tune-enforcement':       ['hosts/claude/hooks/**', 'bin/gstack-question-preference', 'scripts/question-registry.ts'],
-  'plan-tune-annotation':        ['hosts/claude/hooks/**', 'scripts/declared-annotation.ts', 'scripts/psychographic-signals.ts', 'scripts/question-registry.ts'],
-  'plan-tune-codex-import':      ['bin/gstack-codex-session-import', 'bin/gstack-question-log', 'docs/spikes/codex-session-format.md'],
-  'plan-tune-dream-cycle':       ['bin/gstack-distill-free-text', 'bin/gstack-distill-apply', 'hosts/claude/hooks/**', 'plan-tune/**'],
+  'plan-tune-hook-capture':      ['hosts/claude/hooks/**', 'bin/gstack-question-log', 'bin/gstack-developer-profile', 'plan-tune/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-tune-cathedral.test.ts'],
+  'plan-tune-enforcement':       ['hosts/claude/hooks/**', 'bin/gstack-question-preference', 'scripts/question-registry.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-tune-cathedral.test.ts'],
+  'plan-tune-annotation':        ['hosts/claude/hooks/**', 'scripts/declared-annotation.ts', 'scripts/psychographic-signals.ts', 'scripts/question-registry.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-tune-cathedral.test.ts'],
+  'plan-tune-codex-import':      ['bin/gstack-codex-session-import', 'bin/gstack-question-log', 'docs/spikes/codex-session-format.md', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-tune-cathedral.test.ts'],
+  'plan-tune-dream-cycle':       ['bin/gstack-distill-free-text', 'bin/gstack-distill-apply', 'hosts/claude/hooks/**', 'plan-tune/**', 'test/skill-e2e-plan-tune-cathedral.test.ts'],
 
   // Codex offering verification
-  'codex-offered-office-hours':  ['office-hours/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'codex-offered-ceo-review':    ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'codex-offered-design-review': ['plan-design-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'codex-offered-eng-review':    ['plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
+  'codex-offered-office-hours':  ['office-hours/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'codex-offered-ceo-review':    ['plan-ceo-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'codex-offered-design-review': ['plan-design-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
+  'codex-offered-eng-review':    ['plan-eng-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-plan.test.ts'],
 
   // Ship
   'ship-base-branch': ['ship/**', 'bin/gstack-repo-mode', 'test/skill-e2e-review-attribution.test.ts'],
-  'ship-local-workflow': ['ship/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
+  'ship-local-workflow': ['ship/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts'],
   'review-dashboard-via': ['ship/**', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'codex/**', 'autoplan/**', 'land-and-deploy/**', 'test/skill-e2e-review-attribution.test.ts'],
 
   // Retro
@@ -244,51 +244,51 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   'global-discover':   ['bin/gstack-global-discover.ts', 'test/global-discover.test.ts'],
 
   // CSO
-  'cso-full-audit':   ['cso/**'],
-  'cso-diff-mode':    ['cso/**'],
-  'cso-infra-scope':  ['cso/**'],
+  'cso-full-audit':   ['cso/**', 'test/skill-e2e-cso.test.ts'],
+  'cso-diff-mode':    ['cso/**', 'test/skill-e2e-cso.test.ts'],
+  'cso-infra-scope':  ['cso/**', 'test/skill-e2e-cso.test.ts'],
 
   // Learnings
-  'learnings-show': ['learn/**', 'bin/gstack-learnings-search', 'bin/gstack-learnings-log', 'scripts/resolvers/learnings.ts'],
+  'learnings-show': ['learn/**', 'bin/gstack-learnings-search', 'bin/gstack-learnings-log', 'scripts/resolvers/learnings.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-learnings.test.ts'],
 
   // Session Intelligence (timeline, context recovery, /context-save + /context-restore)
-  'timeline-event-flow':            ['bin/gstack-timeline-log', 'bin/gstack-timeline-read'],
-  'context-recovery-artifacts':     ['scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'bin/gstack-timeline-log', 'bin/gstack-slug', 'learn/**'],
-  'context-save-writes-file':       ['context-save/**', 'bin/gstack-slug'],
-  'context-restore-loads-latest':   ['context-restore/**', 'bin/gstack-slug'],
+  'timeline-event-flow':            ['bin/gstack-timeline-log', 'bin/gstack-timeline-read', 'test/skill-e2e-session-intelligence.test.ts'],
+  'context-recovery-artifacts':     ['scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'bin/gstack-timeline-log', 'bin/gstack-slug', 'learn/**', 'test/skill-e2e-session-intelligence.test.ts'],
+  'context-save-writes-file':       ['context-save/**', 'bin/gstack-slug', 'test/skill-e2e-session-intelligence.test.ts'],
+  'context-restore-loads-latest':   ['context-restore/**', 'bin/gstack-slug', 'test/skill-e2e-session-intelligence.test.ts'],
 
   // Context skills E2E (live-fire, Skill-tool routing path) — see
   // test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts. These are periodic-tier because
   // each one spawns claude -p and costs ~$0.20-$0.40. Collectively they
   // verify the thing the /checkpoint → /context-save rename was for.
-  'context-save-routing':                  ['context-save/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts'],
-  'context-save-then-restore-roundtrip':   ['context-save/**', 'context-restore/**', 'bin/gstack-slug'],
-  'context-restore-fragment-match':        ['context-restore/**'],
-  'context-restore-empty-state':           ['context-restore/**'],
-  'context-restore-list-delegates':        ['context-restore/**'],
-  'context-restore-legacy-compat':         ['context-restore/**'],
-  'context-save-list-current-branch':      ['context-save/**'],
-  'context-save-list-all-branches':        ['context-save/**'],
+  'context-save-routing':                  ['context-save/**', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts'],
+  'context-save-then-restore-roundtrip':   ['context-save/**', 'context-restore/**', 'bin/gstack-slug', 'test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts'],
+  'context-restore-fragment-match':        ['context-restore/**', 'test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts'],
+  'context-restore-empty-state':           ['context-restore/**', 'test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts'],
+  'context-restore-list-delegates':        ['context-restore/**', 'test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts'],
+  'context-restore-legacy-compat':         ['context-restore/**', 'test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts'],
+  'context-save-list-current-branch':      ['context-save/**', 'test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts'],
+  'context-save-list-all-branches':        ['context-save/**', 'test/skill-e2e-context-skills.test.ts'],
 
   // Document-release
-  'document-release': ['document-release/**'],
+  'document-release': ['document-release/**', 'test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts'],
 
   // Codex (Claude E2E — tests /codex skill via Claude)
-  'codex-review': ['codex/**'],
+  'codex-review': ['codex/**', 'test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts'],
 
   // Codex E2E (tests skills via Codex CLI + worktree)
-  'codex-discover-skill':  ['codex/**', '.agents/skills/**', 'test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts', 'lib/worktree.ts'],
-  'codex-review-findings': ['review/**', '.agents/skills/gstack-review/**', 'codex/**', 'test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts', 'lib/worktree.ts'],
+  'codex-discover-skill':  ['codex/**', '.agents/skills/**', 'test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts', 'lib/worktree.ts', 'test/codex-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'codex-review-findings': ['review/**', '.agents/skills/gstack-review/**', 'codex/**', 'test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts', 'lib/worktree.ts', 'test/codex-e2e.test.ts'],
 
   // GPT-5.6 Sol scope-termination E2E (Codex CLI, full generated investigate skill)
   'codex-sol-scope-termination': ['model-overlays/gpt-5.6-sol.md', 'scripts/models.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/model-overlay.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/preamble/**', 'investigate/**', 'test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts', 'test/codex-e2e-sol-scope.test.ts'],
 
   // Gemini E2E — smoke test only (Gemini gets lost in worktrees on complex tasks)
-  'gemini-smoke':  ['.agents/skills/**', 'test/helpers/gemini-session-runner.ts', 'lib/worktree.ts'],
+  'gemini-smoke':  ['.agents/skills/**', 'test/helpers/gemini-session-runner.ts', 'lib/worktree.ts', 'test/gemini-e2e.test.ts'],
 
 
   // Coverage audit (shared fixture) + triage + gates
-  'ship-coverage-audit': ['ship/**', 'test/fixtures/coverage-audit-fixture.ts', 'bin/gstack-repo-mode'],
+  'ship-coverage-audit': ['ship/**', 'test/fixtures/coverage-audit-fixture.ts', 'bin/gstack-repo-mode', 'test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts'],
   'review-coverage-audit': ['review/**', 'test/fixtures/coverage-audit-fixture.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-coverage-audit.test.ts'],
   'plan-eng-coverage-audit': ['plan-eng-review/**', 'test/fixtures/coverage-audit-fixture.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-coverage-audit.test.ts'],
   'ship-triage': ['ship/**', 'bin/gstack-repo-mode', 'test/skill-e2e-triage.test.ts'],
@@ -300,12 +300,12 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   'review-plan-completion': ['review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
 
   // Design
-  'design-consultation-core':       ['design-consultation/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
-  'design-consultation-existing':   ['design-consultation/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'design-consultation-research':   ['design-consultation/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'design-consultation-preview':    ['design-consultation/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'plan-design-review-no-ui-scope': ['plan-design-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'design-review-fix':              ['design-review/**', 'browse/src/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
+  'design-consultation-core':       ['design-consultation/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-design.test.ts'],
+  'design-consultation-existing':   ['design-consultation/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-design.test.ts'],
+  'design-consultation-research':   ['design-consultation/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-design.test.ts'],
+  'design-consultation-preview':    ['design-consultation/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-design.test.ts'],
+  'plan-design-review-no-ui-scope': ['plan-design-review/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-design.test.ts'],
+  'design-review-fix':              ['design-review/**', 'browse/src/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-design.test.ts'],
 
   // Design Shotgun
   'design-shotgun-path':            ['design-shotgun/**', 'design/src/**', 'scripts/resolvers/design.ts'],
@@ -314,24 +314,24 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
 
   // /diagram (diagram-render bundle consumers). Triplet = deterministic
   // functional (gate); authoring quality = LLM-judged benchmark (periodic).
-  'diagram-triplet':            ['diagram/**', 'lib/diagram-render/**', 'browse/src/write-commands.ts', 'browse/src/read-commands.ts'],
-  'diagram-authoring-quality':  ['diagram/**', 'lib/diagram-render/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts'],
+  'diagram-triplet':            ['diagram/**', 'lib/diagram-render/**', 'browse/src/write-commands.ts', 'browse/src/read-commands.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-diagram.test.ts'],
+  'diagram-authoring-quality':  ['diagram/**', 'lib/diagram-render/**', 'test/helpers/llm-judge.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-diagram.test.ts'],
 
   // gstack-upgrade
-  'gstack-upgrade-happy-path': ['gstack-upgrade/**'],
+  'gstack-upgrade-happy-path': ['gstack-upgrade/**', 'test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts'],
 
   // Deploy skills
-  'land-and-deploy-workflow':      ['land-and-deploy/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'land-and-deploy-first-run':     ['land-and-deploy/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'bin/gstack-slug'],
-  'land-and-deploy-review-gate':   ['land-and-deploy/**', 'bin/gstack-review-read'],
-  'canary-workflow':               ['canary/**', 'browse/src/**'],
-  'benchmark-workflow':            ['benchmark/**', 'browse/src/**'],
-  'setup-deploy-workflow':         ['setup-deploy/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
+  'land-and-deploy-workflow':      ['land-and-deploy/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-deploy.test.ts'],
+  'land-and-deploy-first-run':     ['land-and-deploy/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'bin/gstack-slug', 'test/skill-e2e-deploy.test.ts'],
+  'land-and-deploy-review-gate':   ['land-and-deploy/**', 'bin/gstack-review-read', 'test/skill-e2e-deploy.test.ts'],
+  'canary-workflow':               ['canary/**', 'browse/src/**', 'test/skill-e2e-deploy.test.ts'],
+  'benchmark-workflow':            ['benchmark/**', 'browse/src/**', 'test/skill-e2e-deploy.test.ts'],
+  'setup-deploy-workflow':         ['setup-deploy/**', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-deploy.test.ts'],
 
 
   // Autoplan
   'autoplan-core':  ['autoplan/**', 'plan-ceo-review/**', 'plan-eng-review/**', 'plan-design-review/**'],
-  'autoplan-dual-voice': ['autoplan/**', 'codex/**', 'bin/gstack-codex-probe', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/design.ts'],
+  'autoplan-dual-voice': ['autoplan/**', 'codex/**', 'bin/gstack-codex-probe', 'scripts/resolvers/review.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/design.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-autoplan-dual-voice.test.ts'],
 
   // Multi-provider benchmark adapters — live API smoke against real claude/codex/gemini CLIs
   'benchmark-providers-live': ['bin/gstack-model-benchmark', 'test/helpers/providers/**', 'test/helpers/benchmark-runner.ts', 'test/helpers/pricing.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-benchmark-providers.test.ts'],
@@ -344,41 +344,46 @@ export const E2E_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
   'scrape-match-path': [
     'scrape/**', 'browse/src/browser-skills.ts', 'browse/src/browser-skill-commands.ts',
     'browser-skills/hackernews-frontpage/**',
+    'test/skill-e2e-skillify.test.ts',
   ],
   'scrape-prototype-path': [
     'scrape/**', 'browse/src/browser-skills.ts', 'browse/src/browser-skill-commands.ts',
+    'test/skill-e2e-skillify.test.ts',
   ],
   'skillify-happy-path': [
     'skillify/**', 'scrape/**', 'browse/src/browser-skill-write.ts',
     'browse/src/browser-skills.ts', 'browse/src/browser-skill-commands.ts',
+    'test/skill-e2e-skillify.test.ts',
   ],
   'skillify-provenance-refusal': [
     'skillify/**', 'browse/src/browser-skill-write.ts',
+    'test/skill-e2e-skillify.test.ts',
   ],
   'skillify-approval-reject': [
     'skillify/**', 'scrape/**', 'browse/src/browser-skill-write.ts',
+    'test/skill-e2e-skillify.test.ts',
   ],
 
   // Skill routing — journey-stage tests (depend on ALL skill descriptions)
-  'journey-ideation':       ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-plan-eng':       ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-debug':          ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-qa':             ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-code-review':    ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-ship':           ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-docs':           ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-retro':          ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-design-system':  ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
-  'journey-visual-qa':      ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
+  'journey-ideation':       ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-plan-eng':       ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-debug':          ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-qa':             ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-code-review':    ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-ship':           ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-docs':           ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-retro':          ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-design-system':  ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
+  'journey-visual-qa':      ['*/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-routing-e2e.test.ts'],
 
   // Opus 4.7 behavior evals — keys match testName: values in the test file.
   // Routing sub-tests use template literal `routing-${c.name}` testNames,
   // which the touchfile completeness scanner skips; they inherit selection
   // from the file-level touchfile entry via GLOBAL_TOUCHFILES.
   'fanout-arm-overlay-on':
-    ['model-overlays/claude.md', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'scripts/models.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/model-overlay.ts'],
+    ['model-overlays/claude.md', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'scripts/models.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/model-overlay.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-opus-47.test.ts'],
   'fanout-arm-overlay-off':
-    ['model-overlays/claude.md', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'scripts/models.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/model-overlay.ts'],
+    ['model-overlays/claude.md', 'model-overlays/opus-4-7.md', 'scripts/models.ts', 'scripts/resolvers/model-overlay.ts', 'test/skill-e2e-opus-47.test.ts'],
 
   // Overlay efficacy harness (SDK) — measures whether overlay nudges change
   // behavior under @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk (closer to real Claude Code
@@ -809,49 +814,49 @@ export const E2E_TIERS: Record<string, 'gate' | 'periodic'> = {
  * LLM-judge test touchfiles — keyed by test description string.
  */
 export const LLM_JUDGE_TOUCHFILES: Record<string, string[]> = {
-  'command reference table':          ['browse/sections/**', 'SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'browse/src/commands.ts'],
-  'snapshot flags reference':         ['browse/sections/**', 'SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'browse/src/snapshot.ts'],
-  'browse/SKILL.md reference':        ['browse/sections/**', 'browse/SKILL.md', 'browse/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'browse/src/**'],
-  'setup block':                      ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'regression vs baseline':           ['browse/sections/**', 'SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'browse/src/commands.ts', 'test/fixtures/eval-baselines.json'],
-  'qa/SKILL.md workflow':             ['qa/sections/**', 'qa/SKILL.md', 'qa/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'qa/SKILL.md health rubric':        ['qa/sections/**', 'qa/SKILL.md', 'qa/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'qa/SKILL.md anti-refusal':         ['qa/sections/**', 'qa/SKILL.md', 'qa/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'qa-only/SKILL.md', 'qa-only/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'cross-skill greptile consistency': ['review/SKILL.md', 'review/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'ship/SKILL.md', 'ship/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'review/greptile-triage.md', 'retro/SKILL.md', 'retro/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'baseline score pinning':           ['browse/sections/**', 'SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/fixtures/eval-baselines.json'],
+  'command reference table':          ['browse/sections/**', 'SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'browse/src/commands.ts', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'snapshot flags reference':         ['browse/sections/**', 'SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'browse/src/snapshot.ts', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'browse/SKILL.md reference':        ['browse/sections/**', 'browse/SKILL.md', 'browse/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'browse/src/**', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'setup block':                      ['SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'regression vs baseline':           ['browse/sections/**', 'SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'browse/src/commands.ts', 'test/fixtures/eval-baselines.json', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'qa/SKILL.md workflow':             ['qa/sections/**', 'qa/SKILL.md', 'qa/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'qa/SKILL.md health rubric':        ['qa/sections/**', 'qa/SKILL.md', 'qa/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'qa/SKILL.md anti-refusal':         ['qa/sections/**', 'qa/SKILL.md', 'qa/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'qa-only/SKILL.md', 'qa-only/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'cross-skill greptile consistency': ['review/SKILL.md', 'review/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'ship/SKILL.md', 'ship/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'review/greptile-triage.md', 'retro/SKILL.md', 'retro/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'baseline score pinning':           ['browse/sections/**', 'SKILL.md', 'SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/fixtures/eval-baselines.json', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
 
   // Ship & Release
-  'ship/SKILL.md workflow':               ['ship/SKILL.md', 'ship/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'document-release/SKILL.md workflow':   ['document-release/SKILL.md', 'document-release/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
+  'ship/SKILL.md workflow':               ['ship/SKILL.md', 'ship/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'document-release/SKILL.md workflow':   ['document-release/SKILL.md', 'document-release/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
 
   // Plan Reviews
-  'plan-ceo-review/SKILL.md modes':       ['plan-ceo-review/SKILL.md', 'plan-ceo-review/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'plan-eng-review/SKILL.md sections':    ['plan-eng-review/SKILL.md', 'plan-eng-review/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
+  'plan-ceo-review/SKILL.md modes':       ['plan-ceo-review/SKILL.md', 'plan-ceo-review/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'plan-eng-review/SKILL.md sections':    ['plan-eng-review/SKILL.md', 'plan-eng-review/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
 
   // /spec authored-spec quality (paid LLM-judge — periodic-tier).
-  'plan-design-review/SKILL.md passes':   ['plan-design-review/SKILL.md', 'plan-design-review/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
+  'plan-design-review/SKILL.md passes':   ['plan-design-review/SKILL.md', 'plan-design-review/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
 
   // Design skills
-  'design-review/SKILL.md fix loop':      ['design-review/SKILL.md', 'design-review/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'design-consultation/SKILL.md research': ['design-consultation/SKILL.md', 'design-consultation/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
+  'design-review/SKILL.md fix loop':      ['design-review/SKILL.md', 'design-review/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'design-consultation/SKILL.md research': ['design-consultation/SKILL.md', 'design-consultation/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
 
   // Office Hours
   'office-hours/SKILL.md spec review':    ['office-hours/SKILL.md', 'office-hours/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
   'office-hours/SKILL.md design sketch':  ['office-hours/SKILL.md', 'office-hours/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
 
   // Deploy skills
-  'land-and-deploy/SKILL.md workflow':    ['land-and-deploy/SKILL.md', 'land-and-deploy/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'land-and-deploy/sections/**'],
-  'canary/SKILL.md monitoring loop':      ['canary/SKILL.md', 'canary/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'benchmark/SKILL.md perf collection':   ['benchmark/SKILL.md', 'benchmark/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'setup-deploy/SKILL.md platform setup': ['setup-deploy/SKILL.md', 'setup-deploy/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
+  'land-and-deploy/SKILL.md workflow':    ['land-and-deploy/SKILL.md', 'land-and-deploy/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'land-and-deploy/sections/**', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'canary/SKILL.md monitoring loop':      ['canary/SKILL.md', 'canary/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'benchmark/SKILL.md perf collection':   ['benchmark/SKILL.md', 'benchmark/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'setup-deploy/SKILL.md platform setup': ['setup-deploy/SKILL.md', 'setup-deploy/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
 
   // Other skills
-  'retro/SKILL.md instructions':          ['retro/sections/**', 'retro/SKILL.md', 'retro/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'qa-only/SKILL.md workflow':            ['qa-only/SKILL.md', 'qa-only/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
-  'gstack-upgrade/SKILL.md upgrade flow': ['gstack-upgrade/SKILL.md', 'gstack-upgrade/SKILL.md.tmpl'],
+  'retro/SKILL.md instructions':          ['retro/sections/**', 'retro/SKILL.md', 'retro/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'qa-only/SKILL.md workflow':            ['qa-only/SKILL.md', 'qa-only/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
+  'gstack-upgrade/SKILL.md upgrade flow': ['gstack-upgrade/SKILL.md', 'gstack-upgrade/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
 
   // Voice directive
-  'voice directive tone':                 ['scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'review/SKILL.md', 'review/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts'],
+  'voice directive tone':                 ['scripts/resolvers/preamble.ts', 'review/SKILL.md', 'review/SKILL.md.tmpl', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', 'test/skill-llm-eval.test.ts'],
 };
 
 /**

test/host-config.test.ts

@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
  * host-config-export.ts, and golden-file regression checks.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { validateHostConfig, validateAllConfigs, type HostConfig } from '../scripts/host-config';
 import {
@@ -428,34 +429,43 @@ describe('host-config-export.ts CLI', () => {
 describe('golden-file regression', () => {
   const GOLDEN_DIR = path.join(ROOT, 'test', 'fixtures', 'golden');
 
-  // #2532: the codex/factory goldens read gitignored .agents/ and .factory/
-  // artifacts that only gen-skill-docs.test.ts (a serial tree-mutating file)
-  // produces. On a clean clone — or when this file runs in isolation — those
-  // dirs don't exist and the goldens fail with ENOENT, an order dependency,
-  // not a regression. Self-provision: generate a host's artifacts iff its
-  // ship SKILL.md is missing. Existing artifacts are never overwritten here,
-  // so a genuinely stale artifact still fails the golden (that is the test's
-  // job; freshness enforcement lives in gen-skill-docs.test.ts).
+  // #2532 successor: the codex/factory goldens used to read gitignored
+  // .agents/ and .factory/ artifacts "produced by gen-skill-docs.test.ts" —
+  // an inter-test ordering dependency that failed with ENOENT on a clean
+  // clone or when this file ran in isolation. Severed: this describe
+  // UNCONDITIONALLY renders both hosts into its own --out-dir in beforeAll
+  // and reads its goldens only from that render — no when-missing check, no
+  // live-tree reads for the gitignored artifacts, no dependence on what any
+  // other test left on disk. Comparing a FRESH render to the golden is also
+  // strictly deterministic: a stale on-disk artifact can no longer mask (or
+  // fake) a generator regression.
+  const GOLDEN_OUT = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-golden-out-'));
+
   beforeAll(() => {
-    const hostArtifacts: Array<[string, string]> = [
-      ['codex', path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md')],
-      ['factory', path.join(ROOT, '.factory', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md')],
-    ];
-    for (const [host, artifact] of hostArtifacts) {
-      if (fs.existsSync(artifact)) continue;
-      const result = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', host], {
-        cwd: ROOT,
-      });
+    for (const host of ['codex', 'factory']) {
+      const result = Bun.spawnSync(
+        ['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', host, '--out-dir', GOLDEN_OUT],
+        { cwd: ROOT },
+      );
       if (result.exitCode !== 0) {
         throw new Error(
-          `golden-file beforeAll: gen-skill-docs --host ${host} failed (exit ${result.exitCode}):\n`
+          `golden-file beforeAll: gen-skill-docs --host ${host} --out-dir failed (exit ${result.exitCode}):\n`
           + result.stderr.toString(),
         );
       }
     }
   });
 
+  afterAll(() => {
+    fs.rmSync(GOLDEN_OUT, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
   test('Claude ship skill matches golden baseline', () => {
+    // Deliberately reads the TRACKED ship/SKILL.md (a read, not a write):
+    // the claude golden pins the committed render. Freshness of the tracked
+    // tree vs the templates is enforced by gen-skill-docs.test.ts. (An
+    // out-dir claude render would NOT byte-match this golden — --out-dir
+    // repoints section-base paths into the render by design.)
     const golden = fs.readFileSync(path.join(GOLDEN_DIR, 'claude-ship-SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
     const current = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, 'ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
     expect(current).toBe(golden);
@@ -463,13 +473,13 @@ describe('golden-file regression', () => {
 
   test('Codex ship skill matches golden baseline', () => {
     const golden = fs.readFileSync(path.join(GOLDEN_DIR, 'codex-ship-SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
-    const current = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
+    const current = fs.readFileSync(path.join(GOLDEN_OUT, '.agents', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
     expect(current).toBe(golden);
   });
 
   test('Factory ship skill matches golden baseline', () => {
     const golden = fs.readFileSync(path.join(GOLDEN_DIR, 'factory-ship-SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
-    const current = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, '.factory', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
+    const current = fs.readFileSync(path.join(GOLDEN_OUT, '.factory', 'skills', 'gstack-ship', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf-8');
     expect(current).toBe(golden);
   });
 });

test/llm-judge-recommendation.test.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
  */
 
 import { expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { CAPTURE_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import { judgeRecommendation } from './helpers/llm-judge';
 import { describeIfSelected, testIfSelected } from './helpers/e2e-helpers';
 
@@ -181,5 +182,5 @@ Net: ...`);
         `[hedge:${label}] expected commits=false; got ${score.commits}. text="${text}"`,
       ).toBe(false);
     }
-  }, 240_000);
+  }, CAPTURE_MS);
 });

test/paid-orphan-tripwire.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+/**
+ * No paid-gated test file may sit outside PAID_TEST_GLOBS.
+ *
+ * The orphan class this kills (found 2026-08): a file whose source gates on
+ * EVALS/tier (so the free suite loads it as describe.skip) but whose NAME
+ * doesn't match the paid globs (so no paid lane ever selects it) can never
+ * execute anywhere — forever, silently. Four files were in that state
+ * (codex-e2e-plan-format, codex-e2e-recommendation-substance,
+ * llm-judge-recommendation, carve-section-loading), and the tripwire built
+ * for the adjacent class (test/evals-workflow-matrix.test.ts) couldn't see
+ * them because it filters on isPaidTestFile() FIRST.
+ *
+ * Detection is over source text, so meta-tests and helpers that mention the
+ * gate patterns need reasoned exemptions (same convention as
+ * test/egress-receipt-wiring.test.ts's SCANNER_EXEMPT).
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+import { isPaidTestFile } from './helpers/paid-test-set';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+
+/** Files that legitimately mention gate patterns without being paid tests. */
+const SCANNER_EXEMPT = new Map<string, string>([
+  // The gate helpers themselves and their free unit tests:
+  ['test/helpers/e2e-gate.ts', 'defines the gate predicates'],
+  // Meta-tests that quote gate-pattern strings to test classification:
+  ['test/helpers/e2e-gate.unit.test.ts', 'free unit test OF the gate predicates (env stubbed)'],
+  ['test/paid-shards.test.ts', 'quotes tier-guard strings as classification fixtures'],
+  ['test/evals-workflow-matrix.test.ts', 'parses tier guards out of matrix files'],
+  ['test/e2e-tier-alignment.test.ts', 'parses tier guards to enforce alignment'],
+  ['test/paid-orphan-tripwire.test.ts', 'this scanner'],
+]);
+
+/**
+ * Source shapes that mean "this file self-gates on the paid env":
+ * the shared helpers, or a direct EVALS/EVALS_TIER env read.
+ */
+const GATE_PATTERNS = [
+  /\bdescribeE2ETier\s*\(/,
+  /\be2eTierEnabled\s*\(/,
+  /process\.env\.EVALS\b/,
+];
+
+function trackedTestFiles(): string[] {
+  const out = spawnSync('git', ['ls-files', '*.test.ts'], { cwd: ROOT, encoding: 'utf-8' });
+  if (out.status !== 0) throw new Error(`git ls-files failed: ${out.stderr}`);
+  return out.stdout.split('\n').filter(Boolean);
+}
+
+describe('paid orphan tripwire', () => {
+  test('every EVALS/tier-gated test file is inside PAID_TEST_GLOBS (or exempt with a reason)', () => {
+    const files = trackedTestFiles();
+    expect(files.length).toBeGreaterThan(100); // scan-rot guard
+
+    const orphans: string[] = [];
+    for (const rel of files) {
+      if (isPaidTestFile(rel)) continue;
+      if (SCANNER_EXEMPT.has(rel)) continue;
+      const source = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, rel), 'utf-8');
+      const hit = GATE_PATTERNS.find((p) => p.test(source));
+      if (hit) orphans.push(`${rel} (matches ${hit})`);
+    }
+    expect(orphans,
+      'paid-gated test files OUTSIDE the paid globs can never run in any lane. '
+      + 'Fix: extend PAID_TEST_GLOBS in test/helpers/paid-test-set.ts (and mirror '
+      + 'package.json), or add a reasoned SCANNER_EXEMPT entry if the file only '
+      + `mentions the patterns:\n${orphans.join('\n')}`,
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  test('exemption entries stay real (stale entries must be deleted)', () => {
+    for (const [rel] of SCANNER_EXEMPT) {
+      expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, rel)), `stale SCANNER_EXEMPT entry: ${rel}`).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+});

test/paid-run-manifest.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,190 @@
+/**
+ * Planner/executor/report contract for the re-platformed paid CI lane.
+ *
+ * The classes these pin (each was a live CI failure mode of the old
+ * hand-enumerated matrix, or a review-identified risk of the migration):
+ *  - per-slice selector divergence → ONE planner manifest, executors consume
+ *  - hollow lanes → a slice with no artifact is a FAILURE, not an absence
+ *  - hollow shards → EVALS_ALL + exit 0 + zero executed tests ≠ pass
+ *  - retry parity → the old matrix rows' earned `retries: 2` survive as a
+ *    literals map, not folklore
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+import {
+  applyHollowShardGuard,
+  buildPaidShardArgs,
+  buildRunManifest,
+  parseRunManifest,
+  retriesForFiles,
+  RETRY_OVERRIDES,
+  summarize,
+  summaryExitCode,
+  verifySliceResults,
+  type PaidRunManifest,
+  type ShardOutcome,
+  type SliceResult,
+} from '../scripts/test-paid-shards';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+
+const outcome = (over: Partial<ShardOutcome>): ShardOutcome => ({
+  shard: 1,
+  files: ['test/skill-e2e-x.test.ts'],
+  status: 'passed',
+  exitCode: 0,
+  elapsedMs: 1000,
+  groupPid: null,
+  executedTests: 3,
+  ...over,
+});
+
+describe('run manifest (planner)', () => {
+  test('live build: every paid file appears exactly once; planned slices partition 1..K', () => {
+    const manifest = buildRunManifest({ tier: 'gate', sliceCount: 5, evalsAll: true, env: { EVALS_ALL: '1' } });
+    const files = manifest.entries.map((e) => e.file);
+    expect(new Set(files).size).toBe(files.length);
+    const planned = manifest.entries.filter((e) => e.status === 'planned');
+    expect(planned.length).toBeGreaterThan(20); // census sanity
+    for (const entry of planned) {
+      expect(entry.slice).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1);
+      expect(entry.slice).toBeLessThanOrEqual(5);
+    }
+    // Round-robin balance: slice sizes differ by at most 1.
+    const sizes = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].map((i) => planned.filter((e) => e.slice === i).length);
+    expect(Math.max(...sizes) - Math.min(...sizes)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(1);
+    // Non-runnable entries carry slice 0 and a reason.
+    for (const entry of manifest.entries.filter((e) => e.status !== 'planned')) {
+      expect(entry.slice).toBe(0);
+      expect(entry.reason ?? '').not.toBe('');
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('deterministic for identical inputs', () => {
+    const opts = { tier: 'periodic' as const, sliceCount: 4, evalsAll: true, env: { EVALS_ALL: '1' } };
+    expect(buildRunManifest(opts)).toEqual(buildRunManifest(opts));
+  });
+
+  test('parse round-trips and rejects malformed manifests', () => {
+    // EVALS_ALL short-circuits diff selection BEFORE any git walk: selection
+    // is deliberately fail-closed on git errors, and CI's shallow free-tests
+    // checkout has no base ref (first CI run failed here with
+    // "ambiguous argument 'main...HEAD'").
+    const manifest = buildRunManifest({ tier: 'gate', sliceCount: 2, evalsAll: false, env: { EVALS_ALL: '1' } });
+    expect(parseRunManifest(JSON.stringify(manifest))).toEqual(manifest);
+    expect(() => parseRunManifest('{}')).toThrow(/version/);
+    expect(() => parseRunManifest(JSON.stringify({ ...manifest, tier: 'e2e' }))).toThrow(/tier/);
+    expect(() => parseRunManifest(JSON.stringify({ ...manifest, sliceCount: 0 }))).toThrow(/sliceCount/);
+    const outOfRange = {
+      ...manifest,
+      entries: [{ file: 'test/skill-e2e-x.test.ts', slice: 9, status: 'planned' }],
+    };
+    expect(() => parseRunManifest(JSON.stringify(outOfRange))).toThrow(/out-of-range/);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('slice-result reconciliation (report)', () => {
+  const manifest: PaidRunManifest = {
+    version: 1,
+    tier: 'gate',
+    evalsAll: false,
+    sliceCount: 2,
+    selectionReason: 'test fixture',
+    entries: [
+      { file: 'test/skill-e2e-a.test.ts', slice: 1, status: 'planned' },
+      { file: 'test/skill-e2e-b.test.ts', slice: 2, status: 'planned' },
+      { file: 'test/skill-e2e-c.test.ts', slice: 0, status: 'skipped-by-diff', reason: 'unselected' },
+    ],
+  };
+  const slice = (index: number, files: string[], status: ShardOutcome['status'] = 'passed'): SliceResult => ({
+    version: 1,
+    tier: 'gate',
+    sliceIndex: index,
+    sliceCount: 2,
+    outcomes: files.map((f) => ({ files: [f], status, exitCode: 0, elapsedMs: 5, executedTests: 2 })),
+  });
+
+  test('all slices present and passing → ok', () => {
+    const verdict = verifySliceResults(manifest, [
+      slice(1, ['test/skill-e2e-a.test.ts']),
+      slice(2, ['test/skill-e2e-b.test.ts']),
+    ]);
+    expect(verdict).toEqual({ ok: true, problems: [] });
+  });
+
+  test('a missing slice artifact is a FAILURE, not an absence', () => {
+    const verdict = verifySliceResults(manifest, [slice(1, ['test/skill-e2e-a.test.ts'])]);
+    expect(verdict.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(verdict.problems.join('\n')).toContain('slice 2/2 reported NO result');
+  });
+
+  test('a planned shard nobody reported fails even when its slice reported', () => {
+    const verdict = verifySliceResults(manifest, [
+      slice(1, []),
+      slice(2, ['test/skill-e2e-b.test.ts']),
+    ]);
+    expect(verdict.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(verdict.problems.join('\n')).toContain('never reported');
+  });
+
+  test('wrong-slice, duplicate, cross-tier, and failing outcomes all surface', () => {
+    const wrongSlice = verifySliceResults(manifest, [
+      slice(1, ['test/skill-e2e-b.test.ts']),
+      slice(2, ['test/skill-e2e-a.test.ts']),
+    ]);
+    expect(wrongSlice.ok).toBe(false);
+    const failing = verifySliceResults(manifest, [
+      slice(1, ['test/skill-e2e-a.test.ts'], 'failed'),
+      slice(2, ['test/skill-e2e-b.test.ts']),
+    ]);
+    expect(failing.problems.join('\n')).toContain('test/skill-e2e-a.test.ts: failed');
+    const crossTier = verifySliceResults(manifest, [
+      { ...slice(1, ['test/skill-e2e-a.test.ts']), tier: 'periodic' },
+      slice(2, ['test/skill-e2e-b.test.ts']),
+    ]);
+    expect(crossTier.problems.join('\n')).toContain('ran tier periodic');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('hollow-shard guard', () => {
+  test('EVALS_ALL: passed with 0 executed tests becomes passed-empty and fails the run', () => {
+    const guarded = applyHollowShardGuard([outcome({ executedTests: 0 })], { evalsAll: true, warn: () => {} });
+    expect(guarded[0].status).toBe('passed-empty');
+    const summary = summarize(guarded);
+    expect(summary.failed).toBe(1);
+    expect(summaryExitCode(summary)).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test('selective run: same shape stays passed, warns once', () => {
+    const warnings: string[] = [];
+    const guarded = applyHollowShardGuard([outcome({ executedTests: 0 })], {
+      evalsAll: false, warn: (line) => warnings.push(line),
+    });
+    expect(guarded[0].status).toBe('passed');
+    expect(warnings).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  test('unknown executedTests (null) is never guessed hollow', () => {
+    const guarded = applyHollowShardGuard([outcome({ executedTests: null })], { evalsAll: true });
+    expect(guarded[0].status).toBe('passed');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('retry parity', () => {
+  test('overrides exist only for the files whose matrix rows earned them, and each names a real file', () => {
+    expect(Object.keys(RETRY_OVERRIDES).sort()).toEqual([
+      'test/skill-e2e-office-hours-auto-mode.test.ts',
+      'test/skill-e2e-plan-mode-no-op.test.ts',
+      'test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts',
+    ]);
+    for (const file of Object.keys(RETRY_OVERRIDES)) {
+      expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, file)), `stale RETRY_OVERRIDES entry: ${file}`).toBe(true);
+    }
+    expect(retriesForFiles(['test/skill-e2e-workflow.test.ts'])).toBe(2);
+    expect(retriesForFiles(['test/skill-e2e-retro.test.ts'])).toBe(1);
+    expect(buildPaidShardArgs(['x'], 1000, 4, 2)).toContain('2');
+    expect(buildPaidShardArgs(['x'], 1000, 4).join(' ')).toContain('--retry 1');
+  });
+});

test/paid-selection-propagation.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+/**
+ * Parent/child selection-drift pins for EVALS_SELECTION_JSON.
+ *
+ * The sharded paid runner computes the diff selection ONCE in the parent
+ * (computePaidDiffSelection in scripts/test-paid-shards.ts), serializes it
+ * (serializePaidDiffSelection) into every shard child's env, and
+ * test/helpers/e2e-helpers.ts adopts it at module load (parseEvalsSelectionJson
+ * via resolveModuleSelection) instead of re-deriving it per shard — which,
+ * whenever touchfiles-data.ts was in the diff, spawned one bun subprocess PER
+ * CHILD to evaluate the old data file (test-selection.ts map-diff path).
+ *
+ * These pins hold the two sides to IDENTICAL selection decisions across the
+ * serialize/parse boundary, and the child to fail-open (local recompute with
+ * one stderr warning) on any parse/shape failure.
+ */
+
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import {
+  computePaidDiffSelection,
+  serializePaidDiffSelection,
+  type PaidDiffSelection,
+} from '../scripts/test-paid-shards';
+import { parseEvalsSelectionJson, resolveModuleSelection } from './helpers/e2e-helpers';
+
+/** The parent's per-test decision shape (PaidDiffSelection.selectedNames). */
+const parentWouldRun = (selection: PaidDiffSelection, name: string): boolean =>
+  selection.selectedNames === null || selection.selectedNames.has(name);
+
+/** The child's per-test decision shape (testIfSelected / describeIfSelected). */
+const childWouldRun = (selected: string[] | null, name: string): boolean =>
+  selected === null || selected.includes(name);
+
+const NAMES = ['qa-workflow', 'review-army', 'ship-docsync', 'unmapped-test'];
+
+describe('EVALS_SELECTION_JSON parent -> child propagation', () => {
+  test('a concrete selection round-trips to identical decisions', () => {
+    const fixture: PaidDiffSelection = {
+      selectedNames: new Set(['qa-workflow', 'ship-docsync']),
+      reason: 'diff',
+      totalTests: 4,
+    };
+    const parsed = parseEvalsSelectionJson(serializePaidDiffSelection(fixture));
+    expect(parsed.selected).toEqual(['qa-workflow', 'ship-docsync']);
+    expect(parsed.reason).toBe('diff');
+    for (const name of NAMES) {
+      expect(childWouldRun(parsed.selected, name), name).toBe(parentWouldRun(fixture, name));
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('run-all (null) round-trips to null — child runs everything', () => {
+    // computePaidDiffSelection is the REAL parent function; EVALS_ALL is its
+    // git-free path, so the serializer sees input exactly as produced.
+    const selection = computePaidDiffSelection({ EVALS_ALL: '1' } as NodeJS.ProcessEnv);
+    expect(selection.selectedNames).toBeNull();
+    const parsed = parseEvalsSelectionJson(serializePaidDiffSelection(selection));
+    expect(parsed.selected).toBeNull();
+    for (const name of NAMES) {
+      expect(childWouldRun(parsed.selected, name)).toBe(parentWouldRun(selection, name));
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('empty selection stays empty — nothing selected is NOT run-all', () => {
+    const fixture: PaidDiffSelection = { selectedNames: new Set(), reason: 'diff', totalTests: 4 };
+    const parsed = parseEvalsSelectionJson(serializePaidDiffSelection(fixture));
+    expect(parsed.selected).toEqual([]);
+    for (const name of NAMES) {
+      expect(childWouldRun(parsed.selected, name)).toBe(false);
+      expect(parentWouldRun(fixture, name)).toBe(false);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('parser THROWS on malformed JSON and wrong shapes', () => {
+    expect(() => parseEvalsSelectionJson('{"selected": ')).toThrow();
+    expect(() => parseEvalsSelectionJson('null')).toThrow();
+    expect(() => parseEvalsSelectionJson('[1,2]')).toThrow();
+    expect(() => parseEvalsSelectionJson('{"selected": 42}')).toThrow();
+    expect(() => parseEvalsSelectionJson('{"selected": ["a", 7]}')).toThrow();
+  });
+
+  test('malformed EVALS_SELECTION_JSON falls back to local compute with one stderr warning', () => {
+    const warnings: string[] = [];
+    let computed = 0;
+    const result = resolveModuleSelection(
+      '{"selected": 42}',
+      () => { computed += 1; return ['locally-computed']; },
+      (text) => warnings.push(text),
+    );
+    expect(result).toEqual(['locally-computed']); // fail-open preserved
+    expect(computed).toBe(1);
+    expect(warnings.length).toBe(1);
+    expect(warnings[0]).toContain('EVALS_SELECTION_JSON');
+  });
+
+  test('absent env var computes locally, silently (non-sharded entrypoints unchanged)', () => {
+    const writes: string[] = [];
+    let computed = 0;
+    const result = resolveModuleSelection(
+      undefined,
+      () => { computed += 1; return null; },
+      (text) => writes.push(text),
+    );
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+    expect(computed).toBe(1);
+    expect(writes.length).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('a valid env var short-circuits local derivation entirely', () => {
+    let computed = 0;
+    const result = resolveModuleSelection(
+      serializePaidDiffSelection({ selectedNames: new Set(['a']), reason: 'diff', totalTests: 1 }),
+      () => { computed += 1; return null; },
+      () => {},
+    );
+    expect(result).toEqual(['a']);
+    expect(computed).toBe(0); // no git walk, no map-diff bun subprocess
+  });
+});

test/paid-shards.test.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 
 import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
 const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
@@ -43,15 +44,22 @@ describe('paid test enumeration', () => {
     // kept here as a regression pin: its glob-invisibility is exactly how
     // two gate tests went unexecuted for ~8 releases before the rehoming.
     expect(isPaidTestFile('test/skill-e2e.test.ts')).toBe(false);
-    expect(isPaidTestFile('test/codex-e2e-recommendation-substance.test.ts')).toBe(false);
     expect(isPaidTestFile('test/paid-shards.test.ts')).toBe(false);
+    // The 2026-08 orphan fix: these four were API-spending files OUTSIDE the
+    // globs — self-skipping in the free suite and absent from the paid
+    // census, so they could never run in any lane.
+    expect(isPaidTestFile('test/codex-e2e-recommendation-substance.test.ts')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPaidTestFile('test/codex-e2e-plan-format.test.ts')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPaidTestFile('test/llm-judge-recommendation.test.ts')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPaidTestFile('test/carve-section-loading.test.ts')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isPaidTestFile('test/skill-llm-eval-spec.test.ts')).toBe(true);
   });
 
   test('discovers files and gives each one its own shard', () => {
     const files = collectPaidTestFiles();
     expect(files.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
     expect(files.every(isPaidTestFile)).toBe(true);
-    expect(PAID_TEST_GLOBS.length).toBe(6);
+    expect(PAID_TEST_GLOBS.length).toBe(7);
 
     const shards = planPaidShards(files);
     expect(shards.flat().sort()).toEqual([...files].sort());
@@ -108,10 +116,17 @@ describe('tier classification', () => {
 describe('shard execution', () => {
   const BUSY_LOOP = 'const end = Date.now() + 600000; while (Date.now() < end) {}';
 
+  // PIN UPDATE (deliberate): the strict expectedFiles check is now enforced
+  // for injected fake commands too (drift fix toward the free runner's
+  // behavior), so a fake PASSING command must print a synthetic bun terminal
+  // summary — a summary-less exit 0 is the truncation class and reads FAILED.
+  const PASS_WITH_SUMMARY = 'console.log("ok"); console.log("Ran 1 tests across 1 files. [1ms]")';
+
   const commandFor = (files: string[]) => {
     if (files[0] === 'spin') return { command: process.execPath, args: ['-e', BUSY_LOOP] };
     if (files[0] === 'fail') return { command: process.execPath, args: ['-e', 'process.exit(3)'] };
-    return { command: process.execPath, args: ['-e', 'console.log("ok")'] };
+    if (files[0] === 'silent-pass') return { command: process.execPath, args: ['-e', 'console.log("ok")'] };
+    return { command: process.execPath, args: ['-e', PASS_WITH_SUMMARY] };
   };
 
   test('a spinning shard times out, is killed, and the run continues', async () => {
@@ -146,6 +161,48 @@ describe('shard execution', () => {
     expect(lines.some((l) => /PASSED in \d+s/.test(l))).toBe(true);
   }, 30_000);
 
+  test('exit 0 WITHOUT the terminal summary is FAILED — enforced for injected commands too', async () => {
+    // The invisible-non-execution backstop: previously the paid runner
+    // exempted injected commandFor from the expectedFiles check, so a fake
+    // that exited 0 without bun's terminal summary recorded 'passed'. Now it
+    // matches the free runner: enforcement always on.
+    const summary = await runPaidShards([['silent-pass']], {
+      timeoutMs: 30_000, jobs: 1, commandFor, log: () => {},
+    });
+    expect(summary.outcomes[0].status).toBe('failed');
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  test('shard output spools to a per-shard log file; failures name the path', async () => {
+    const logDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'paid-shard-logs-'));
+    const lines: string[] = [];
+    try {
+      const summary = await runPaidShards([['fail'], ['pass']], {
+        timeoutMs: 30_000, jobs: 2, commandFor, logDir, log: (line) => lines.push(line),
+      });
+      const byName = (name: string) => summary.outcomes.find((o) => o.files[0] === name) as ShardOutcome;
+      expect(byName('fail').status).toBe('failed');
+      expect(byName('pass').status).toBe('passed');
+
+      // One log per shard, named by slug, and it holds the child's full stream
+      // (nothing buffered in RAM: the file IS the record).
+      const logs = fs.readdirSync(logDir).sort();
+      expect(logs.length).toBe(2);
+      expect(logs.some((f) => f.includes('fail'))).toBe(true);
+      const passLog = logs.find((f) => f.includes('pass')) as string;
+      expect(fs.readFileSync(path.join(logDir, passLog), 'utf8')).toContain('Ran 1 tests across 1 files.');
+
+      // Every shard announces its log path up front; the FAILED terminal line
+      // repeats it, the PASSED one stays clean.
+      expect(lines.filter((l) => l.includes('full log:') && !l.includes('FAILED')).length).toBe(2);
+      const failLine = lines.find((l) => l.includes('FAILED')) as string;
+      expect(failLine).toContain(logDir);
+      const passLine = lines.find((l) => l.includes('PASSED')) as string;
+      expect(passLine).not.toContain(logDir);
+    } finally {
+      fs.rmSync(logDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  }, 30_000);
+
   test('summarize reports shards that never ran', () => {
     const summary = summarize([
       { shard: 1, files: ['a'], status: 'passed', exitCode: 0, elapsedMs: 1, groupPid: 1 },

test/periodic-exclude-policy.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/**
+ * The periodic exclude list is a set of DECISIONS, not a place tests go to
+ * die: every entry names a real file (a deleted/renamed file must drop its
+ * entry) and carries a non-empty reason + tracking pointer (the re-entry
+ * condition lives there). The runner surfaces each exclusion per run, and
+ * removing an entry re-activates the file on the next weekly lane.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+import { PERIODIC_CI_EXCLUDE } from './helpers/periodic-exclude-data';
+import { isPaidTestFile } from './helpers/paid-test-set';
+import { selectPaidTestFiles } from '../scripts/test-paid-shards';
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+
+describe('periodic exclude policy', () => {
+  test('every entry names a real paid file and carries reason + tracking', () => {
+    const entries = Object.entries(PERIODIC_CI_EXCLUDE);
+    expect(entries.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    for (const [file, meta] of entries) {
+      expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, file)), `stale exclude entry: ${file}`).toBe(true);
+      expect(isPaidTestFile(file), `${file} is not a paid file — exclusion is meaningless`).toBe(true);
+      expect(meta.reason.length, `${file}: empty reason`).toBeGreaterThan(20);
+      expect(meta.tracking.length, `${file}: empty tracking pointer`).toBeGreaterThan(5);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('exclusions apply to the periodic tier only, with the reason surfaced', () => {
+    const files = Object.keys(PERIODIC_CI_EXCLUDE);
+    const periodic = selectPaidTestFiles(files, 'periodic');
+    expect(periodic.selected).toEqual([]);
+    for (const { reason } of periodic.excluded) {
+      expect(reason).toStartWith('excluded: ');
+      expect(reason).toContain('[');
+    }
+    // Gate tier ignores the list (these files are periodic-tier anyway; the
+    // list must never leak into gate semantics).
+    const gate = selectPaidTestFiles(files, 'gate');
+    for (const { reason } of gate.excluded) {
+      expect(reason).not.toStartWith('excluded: ');
+    }
+  });
+});

test/review-log.test.ts

@@ -182,6 +182,35 @@ describe('gstack-wtree', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  test('racy-git window: a same-size rewrite pinned to the index timestamp changes the fingerprint', () => {
+    withScratchRepo((repoDir, wtree) => {
+      const file = path.join(repoDir, 'a.txt');
+      const indexPath = path.join(repoDir, '.git', 'index');
+      // ctime can't be restored after a rewrite; production hits this window
+      // when everything lands in the same second (ctime SECONDS match).
+      // trustctime=false isolates the racy mechanism deterministically
+      // instead of racing a second boundary.
+      gitIn(repoDir, 'config core.trustctime false');
+      // Pin the cached entry's mtime to a fixed timestamp (zero nsec, so the
+      // restore below is exact even on USE_NSEC git builds).
+      const pinned = new Date('2026-01-01T12:00:00Z');
+      fs.utimesSync(file, pinned, pinned);
+      gitIn(repoDir, 'add a.txt');
+      const clean = wtree();
+      // Same-size rewrite restored to the pinned stat, with the index file
+      // itself pinned to the SAME timestamp: the entry is stat-identical to
+      // its stale cache and sits exactly on git's racy-git boundary.
+      // gstack-wtree must carry the real index's mtime onto its temp copy —
+      // a fresh-stamped copy marks the entry non-racy, trusts the stale stat
+      // cache, and the edit vanishes from the fingerprint (evidence would
+      // stay FRESH after a source change).
+      fs.writeFileSync(file, 'howdy\n'); // same byte length as 'hello\n'
+      fs.utimesSync(file, pinned, pinned);
+      fs.utimesSync(indexPath, pinned, pinned);
+      expect(wtree()).not.toBe(clean);
+    });
+  });
+
   test('exits non-zero outside a git repo', () => {
     const nonGit = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gstack-wtree-nongit-'));
     try {

test/run-shard-child.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+/**
+ * Direct pins for runShardChild (scripts/test-strict-output.ts) — the shared
+ * spawn/detached/group-kill/wall-timer/reap lifecycle extracted from the paid
+ * runner's runPaidShard, designed for scripts/test-free-shards.ts to migrate
+ * onto next. test/paid-shards.test.ts pins the paid runner end-to-end; these
+ * pin the helper's own contract so the free-runner migration has a floor.
+ */
+
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import type { ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
+import { runShardChild } from '../scripts/test-strict-output';
+
+/** Collect the child's full stdout+stderr, resolving only when drained. */
+function collectingHook(chunks: string[]) {
+  return (child: ChildProcess): Array<Promise<void>> => {
+    const consume = (stream: NodeJS.ReadableStream | null): Promise<void> =>
+      stream
+        ? new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+            stream.on('data', (chunk: Buffer | string) => chunks.push(chunk.toString()));
+            stream.on('end', resolve);
+            stream.on('error', reject);
+          })
+        : Promise.resolve();
+    return [consume(child.stdout), consume(child.stderr)];
+  };
+}
+
+describe('runShardChild', () => {
+  test('clean exit: exitCode 0, not timed out, output drained before resolve', async () => {
+    const chunks: string[] = [];
+    const result = await runShardChild({
+      command: process.execPath,
+      args: ['-e', 'console.log("hello-from-child")'],
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      env: process.env,
+      timeoutMs: 30_000,
+      hookStreams: collectingHook(chunks),
+    });
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.timedOut).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.groupPid).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    // The hookStreams promises are awaited AFTER close — trailing output is
+    // fully drained before callers read their classifier/log state.
+    expect(chunks.join('')).toContain('hello-from-child');
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  test('non-zero exit code propagates untouched', async () => {
+    const result = await runShardChild({
+      command: process.execPath,
+      args: ['-e', 'process.exit(7)'],
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      env: process.env,
+      timeoutMs: 30_000,
+      hookStreams: () => [],
+    });
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(7);
+    expect(result.timedOut).toBe(false);
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  test('a spinning child is group-SIGKILLed at the wall deadline and reported timedOut', async () => {
+    const startedAt = Date.now();
+    const result = await runShardChild({
+      command: process.execPath,
+      // A real busy loop: an in-process timer could never fire in this child.
+      args: ['-e', 'const end = Date.now() + 600000; while (Date.now() < end) {}'],
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      env: process.env,
+      timeoutMs: 1_200,
+      hookStreams: () => [],
+    });
+    expect(result.timedOut).toBe(true);
+    expect(Date.now() - startedAt).toBeLessThan(30_000);
+    if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
+      // The whole group is gone, not left to burn a core.
+      expect(() => process.kill(result.groupPid as number, 0)).toThrow();
+    }
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  test('a spawn failure THROWS so callers keep their could-not-run handling', async () => {
+    await expect(runShardChild({
+      command: path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'definitely-not-a-real-binary-8b1f'),
+      args: [],
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      env: process.env,
+      timeoutMs: 5_000,
+      hookStreams: () => [],
+    })).rejects.toThrow();
+  }, 30_000);
+});

test/skill-e2e-ask-user-question-format-compliance.test.ts

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
  * A/B and matrix evals (test/helpers/auq-sdk-capture.ts).
  */
 import { test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { CAPTURE_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import { describeE2ETier } from './helpers/e2e-gate';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import {
@@ -86,6 +87,6 @@ describeE2E('AskUserQuestion format compliance (gate)', () => {
         );
       }
     },
-    300_000,
+    CAPTURE_MS,
   );
 });

test/skill-e2e-auq-consistency.test.ts

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
  * (N SDK runs, ~$0.50-1 each).
  */
 import { test } from 'bun:test';
+import { CAPTURE_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import { describeE2ETier } from './helpers/e2e-gate';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import {
@@ -99,6 +100,6 @@ describeE2E('AUQ consistency across runs (periodic)', () => {
           `format elements every run; substance ${minSub}-${maxSub}`,
       );
     },
-    N_RUNS * 300_000 + 60_000,
+    N_RUNS * CAPTURE_MS + 60_000,
   );
 });

test/skill-e2e-auq-matrix.test.ts

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
  * Run a subset in the foreground with AUQ_MATRIX_ONLY="plan-eng-review,cso".
  */
 import { test } from 'bun:test';
+import { CAPTURE_MS } from './helpers/eval-budgets';
 import { describeE2ETier } from './helpers/e2e-gate';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import {
@@ -174,7 +175,7 @@ describeE2E('AUQ behavioral matrix (periodic)', () => {
           );
         }
       },
-      300_000,
+      CAPTURE_MS,
     );
   }
 });