diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 54a206b47..073804273 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.94.43.0] - 2026-11-03
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **`gstack-evidence passed` skips the tree hash when the ledger has nothing to match.** Before pregate runs a guard, it asks `gstack-evidence passed` whether that exact command already passed at this tree (#3929). Each check hashed the working tree (`gstack-wtree`) before it looked at the ledger. Usually the ledger has no row for the command at all, so that hash was wasted. Each check took 0.19 s idle and 0.74 to 0.94 s on a busy 4-core machine, once per guard. Now the ledger is read first, and the tree is hashed only when a local row names the command. The answer is the same. Only the no-row message drops its "at tree …" suffix.
+- **Two local test cases no longer run out of time at Bun's default 5 s.** `test/pregate-guards.test.ts`'s guard-timeout case ran two full pregates, each waiting out a real 1 s guard timeout. It is now two cases, one with several guards together and one with a lone timed-out guard. Its fixture also writes the manifest into the base commit instead of making a second commit. On a 4-core machine it went from 4.1 s to 2.0 s and 1.75 s idle. With every core busy (busy loops at nice 10), it went from 0 of 3 runs passing to 10 of 10. `test/spec-quality-gate-secret-sink.test.ts` rendered every host's skill docs in `beforeAll` but reads only the claude and codex output. It now renders just those two, which are byte-identical to the full render: 1.38 s down to 0.37 s. With 16 busy loops, that hook went from timing out in 3 of 3 runs to passing 3 of 3. That is the hook timeout the macOS named-regressions job hit on #3926.
+
 ## [1.94.42.0] - 2026-11-03
 
 ### Tests
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 670aa09c5..a01fb7593 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.94.42.0
+1.94.43.0
diff --git a/agents-digest/gstack-AGENTS.md b/agents-digest/gstack-AGENTS.md
index 1fb823e36..83c7bff9e 100644
--- a/agents-digest/gstack-AGENTS.md
+++ b/agents-digest/gstack-AGENTS.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# gstack digest v1.94.42.0 — regenerate/re-copy after upgrading gstack
+# gstack digest v1.94.43.0 — 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,
diff --git a/bin/gstack-evidence b/bin/gstack-evidence
index d87f76e28..54d0acd73 100755
--- a/bin/gstack-evidence
+++ b/bin/gstack-evidence
@@ -653,12 +653,14 @@ function cmdPassed(argv: string[]): number {
   const sep = argv.indexOf("--");
   const command = sep < 0 ? "" : argv.slice(sep + 1).join(" ");
   if (!command || sep !== 0) { console.error("usage: gstack-evidence passed -- <command>"); return 2; }
-  const wtree = currentWtree();
-  if (!wtree) { console.log("NOT_PASSED: no working-tree fingerprint"); return 1; }
   let records: EvidenceRecord[] = [];
   try { records = readJsonl<EvidenceRecord>(ledgerPath().file); } catch { records = []; }
   const cmdSha = sha256(command);
-  const newest = records.findLast((r) => r.cmd_sha256 === cmdSha && r.wtree === wtree && r.source === undefined);
+  const local = records.filter((r) => r.cmd_sha256 === cmdSha && r.source === undefined);
+  if (!local.length) { console.log("NOT_PASSED: no local ledger row for this command"); return 1; }
+  const wtree = currentWtree();
+  if (!wtree) { console.log("NOT_PASSED: no working-tree fingerprint"); return 1; }
+  const newest = local.findLast((r) => r.wtree === wtree);
   if (!newest) { console.log(`NOT_PASSED: no local ledger row for this command at tree ${wtree.slice(0, 12)}`); return 1; }
   if (!countedPass(newest, 24)) { console.log(`NOT_PASSED: the newest row (label=${newest.label} ts=${newest.ts}) is not a counted pass within 24 h under this runtime`); return 1; }
   console.log(`PASSED: label=${newest.label} source=local ts=${newest.reused_from ?? newest.ts}`);
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 7d3d680df..ace2477a6 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "gstack",
-  "version": "1.94.42",
+  "version": "1.94.43",
   "description": "Garry's Stack — Claude Code skills + fast headless browser. One repo, one install, entire AI engineering workflow.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "type": "module",
diff --git a/test/pregate-guards.test.ts b/test/pregate-guards.test.ts
index 6bf2153b9..3edc4595e 100644
--- a/test/pregate-guards.test.ts
+++ b/test/pregate-guards.test.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import * as path from 'node:path';
 import { afterEach } from 'bun:test';
 import { EXIT } from '../lib/headless-artifacts';
 import { capyHost, type CapyHost } from './helpers/capy-host';
-import { BASE_PREGATE, cleanup, commit, makeFixtureRepo, runBin, write, type FixtureRepo } from './helpers/pregate-fixture';
+import { BASE_PREGATE, cleanup, commit, makeFixtureRepo, runBin, type FixtureRepo } from './helpers/pregate-fixture';
 
 const repos: FixtureRepo[] = [];
 const hosts: CapyHost[] = [];
@@ -50,16 +50,8 @@ const SERIAL_TEST = "const test = require('node:test');\ntest('serial', () => {}
 
 /** The base branch gains the manifest, its check script and the given pregate config. */
 function guardedFixture(pregate: Record<string, unknown>): FixtureRepo {
-  const repo = makeFixtureRepo({ pregate });
+  const repo = makeFixtureRepo({ pregate, baseFiles: { 'scripts/check-serial.js': CHECK_SERIAL, 'scripts/serial-files.tsv': 'path\treason\n' } });
   repos.push(repo);
-  repo.git('checkout', '-q', 'main');
-  write(repo.work, 'scripts/check-serial.js', CHECK_SERIAL);
-  write(repo.work, 'scripts/serial-files.tsv', 'path\treason\n');
-  repo.git('add', '-A');
-  repo.git('commit', '-q', '-m', 'serial manifest');
-  repo.git('push', '-q', 'origin', 'main');
-  repo.git('checkout', '-q', 'feature');
-  repo.git('merge', '-q', '--ff-only', 'main');
   return repo;
 }
 const pregate = (repo: FixtureRepo, args: string[], env: Record<string, string> = {}) => runBin(repo, 'gstack-pregate', ['--base', 'main', ...args], env);
@@ -92,7 +84,7 @@ describe('guards (CD1)', () => {
     expect(r.out).toContain('GSTACK_RESULT: skill=pregate status=incomplete');
   });
 
-  test('each guard runs in its own process with its timeout: a failing guard does not stop the next, a timed-out guard is incomplete, never pass', () => {
+  test('each guard runs in its own process with its timeout: a failing guard does not stop the next, a timed-out guard never passes', () => {
     const repo = guardedFixture({ ...BASE_PREGATE, guards: [
       { id: 'first', when: ['lib/**'], command: 'echo first-ran; exit 3' },
       { id: 'second', when: ['lib/**'], command: 'touch ../second-ran' },
@@ -108,6 +100,9 @@ describe('guards (CD1)', () => {
     expect(row.status).toBe('fail');
     expect(row.detail).toContain('first');
     expect(row.detail).not.toContain('second');
+  });
+
+  test('a timed-out guard with no failing guard beside it is incomplete, never pass', () => {
     const slowOnly = guardedFixture({ ...BASE_PREGATE, guards: [{ id: 'slow', when: ['lib/**'], command: 'sleep 20', timeout_s: 1 }] });
     commit(slowOnly, { 'lib/util.js': "exports.add = (a, b) => a + b + 0;\n" });
     expect(pregate(slowOnly, ['--allow-repo-commands', '--stage', 'preflight', '--only', 'guards']).status).toBe(EXIT.fail);
diff --git a/test/spec-quality-gate-secret-sink.test.ts b/test/spec-quality-gate-secret-sink.test.ts
index 011c604ab..eef39b142 100644
--- a/test/spec-quality-gate-secret-sink.test.ts
+++ b/test/spec-quality-gate-secret-sink.test.ts
@@ -9,10 +9,12 @@ let output: string;
 
 beforeAll(() => {
   output = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-spec-gate-render-'));
-  const rendered = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', 'all', '--out-dir', output], {
-    cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe', timeout: 120_000,
-  });
-  if (rendered.exitCode !== 0) throw new Error(rendered.stderr.toString());
+  for (const host of ['claude', 'codex']) {
+    const rendered = Bun.spawnSync(['bun', 'run', 'scripts/gen-skill-docs.ts', '--host', host, '--out-dir', output], {
+      cwd: ROOT, stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe', timeout: 120_000,
+    });
+    if (rendered.exitCode !== 0) throw new Error(rendered.stderr.toString());
+  }
 });
 afterAll(() => { if (output) rmSync(output, { recursive: true, force: true }); });