diff --git a/bin/gstack-brain-sync b/bin/gstack-brain-sync
index f8a80da6c..66056e10a 100755
--- a/bin/gstack-brain-sync
+++ b/bin/gstack-brain-sync
@@ -783,27 +783,23 @@ stage_paths() {
 # spellings, and a retained local commit can be pushed with an empty queue.
 # Also records the tree's case-colliding names for skill start. Without
 # python3 no drain can stage anything, so there is no new tree to check. A
-# passing verdict is cached by the commit ids of HEAD and every ref (origin's
-# included, the comparison baseline), so the empty-queue drain at every skill
-# boundary skips the tree walk until one of them moves.
+# passing verdict is cached by HEAD's target and the commit ids of every ref
+# (origin's included, the comparison baseline), so the empty-queue drain at
+# every skill boundary skips the tree walk until one of them moves.
 validate_outgoing_paths() {
-  local out err key cached cache="$GSTACK_HOME/.brain-case-check"
+  local out key cached cache="$GSTACK_HOME/.brain-case-check"
   command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1 || return 0
-  key=$(git -C "$GSTACK_HOME" show-ref --head 2>/dev/null | cksum)
+  key=$({ head -1 "$GSTACK_HOME/.git/HEAD"; git -C "$GSTACK_HOME" show-ref --head; } 2>/dev/null | cksum)
   cached=$(head -1 "$cache" 2>/dev/null || true)
   if [ "${cached%%	*}" = "$key" ]; then
     [ -n "$ST_CASE_NAMES" ] || ST_CASE_NAMES=${cached#*	}
     return 0
   fi
-  err=$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/brain-sync-outgoing.XXXXXX") || return 0
-  if ! out=$(python3 "$SCRIPT_DIR/gstack-brain-sync-index.py" --outgoing "$GSTACK_HOME" 2>"$err"); then
+  if ! out=$(python3 "$SCRIPT_DIR/gstack-brain-sync-index.py" --outgoing "$GSTACK_HOME"); then
     ST_CASE_NAMES=${out%$'\r'}
     write_status "error" "outgoing artifact path validation refused: a local commit adds a path that differs only by letter case from a path on the remote; local commits and queue preserved. Repair: https://github.com/garrytan/gstack/blob/main/docs/troubleshooting.md#artifact-case-collision"
-    cat "$err" >&2
-    rm -f "$err"
     return 1
   fi
-  rm -f "$err"
   out=${out%$'\r'}
   printf '%s\t%s\n' "$key" "$out" > "$cache" 2>/dev/null || true
   [ -n "$ST_CASE_NAMES" ] || ST_CASE_NAMES=$out
diff --git a/docs/troubleshooting.md b/docs/troubleshooting.md
index 23cb3d1d7..d802e845b 100644
--- a/docs/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs/troubleshooting.md
@@ -658,19 +658,21 @@ unaffected; only the sync holds files.
 2. Fold the other spelling's tracked files into the kept one. Read both
    spellings from git, because a Mac's working tree shows only one of them,
    and the working files too, because they hold the held, unsynced writes.
-   This loop folds JSONL logs (concatenated, duplicate lines dropped) and
-   prints every other file for you to decide:
+   This loop covers the dropped spelling's tracked files and its untracked
+   ones (held writes that never synced). It folds JSONL logs (concatenated,
+   duplicate lines dropped) and prints every other file for you to decide:
 
    ```bash
    cd ~/.gstack
    keep=projects/MyApp; drop=projects/myapp
-   git -c core.ignorecase=false ls-files -- "$drop" | while IFS= read -r f; do
+   { git -c core.ignorecase=false ls-files -- "$drop"; git -c core.ignorecase=false ls-files --others -- "$drop"; } | sort -u | while IFS= read -r f; do
      rel=${f#"$drop"/}
      case "$rel" in *.jsonl) ;; *) echo "decide by hand: $f"; continue ;; esac
      { git show ":$keep/$rel"; git show ":$f"; cat "$keep/$rel" "$f"; } 2>/dev/null | awk '!seen[$0]++' > "$HOME/.gstack-fold.tmp"
      mkdir -p "$keep/$(dirname "$rel")" && mv "$HOME/.gstack-fold.tmp" "$keep/$rel"
      git -c core.ignorecase=false add -f -- "$keep/$rel"
-     git -c core.ignorecase=false rm -q --cached -- "$f"
+     git -c core.ignorecase=false rm -q --cached --ignore-unmatch -- "$f"
+     echo "folded: $keep/$rel"
    done
    ```
 
@@ -678,7 +680,7 @@ unaffected; only the sync holds files.
    `decisions.active.json`), compare `git show ":$keep/<file>"` with
    `git show ":$drop/<file>"`, write the content to keep to `"$keep/<file>"`,
    then run the same `git -c core.ignorecase=false add -f -- "$keep/<file>"`
-   and `git -c core.ignorecase=false rm -q --cached -- "$drop/<file>"`. Never
+   and `git -c core.ignorecase=false rm -q --cached --ignore-unmatch -- "$drop/<file>"`. Never
    concatenate a JSON snapshot. Then commit and push:
 
    ```bash
@@ -686,12 +688,15 @@ unaffected; only the sync holds files.
    git push origin HEAD
    ```
 
-   On Linux the two folders are separate on disk: remove the dropped folder
-   after the commit (`rm -r "$drop"`). On a Mac or Windows they are the same
-   folder, so do not remove anything.
+   On Linux the two folders are separate on disk: after the commit, check
+   that `git -c core.ignorecase=false ls-files --others -- "$drop"` lists
+   nothing you have not folded or moved, then remove the dropped folder
+   (`rm -r "$drop"`). On a Mac or Windows they are the same folder, so do
+   not remove anything.
 3. Clear the held records of the dropped spelling and queue the kept files:
    `gstack-brain-sync --skip-file <dropped path>` for each held path that
-   `--status` lists, then `gstack-brain-enqueue <kept path>` and
+   `--status` lists, then `gstack-brain-enqueue <kept path>` for each
+   `folded:` line and each file you moved by hand, and
    `gstack-brain-sync --once`.
 4. On every other machine, let the next skill start pull the repair (or run
    `git -C ~/.gstack pull`). The line disappears once no tracked path