diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 63444c6d8..d8557a3e7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,13 +2,13 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
-**`sealed.local_path` now flags a home path inside a shell default, `${UBI_RUNNER:-/home/user/...}`, as it already flagged the same path after `?? "/home/..."` in TypeScript.** gstack-evals `quick/laneb/runner/launch.sh:9` passed the scan because the `-` before the path counted as part of a word (#3568).
+**`sealed.local_path` now flags a home path inside a shell default, `${UBI_RUNNER:-/home/<user>…}`, as it already flagged the same path after `?? "/home/<user>…"` in TypeScript.** gstack-evals `quick/laneb/runner/launch.sh:9` passed the scan because the `-` before the path counted as part of a word (#3568).
 
 ### Fixed
-- **`sealed.local_path`** (`lib/sealed-guard.ts`): a home path directly after `${NAME:-` or `${NAME-` (a name or a positional number) now matches. `:=`, `:+` and `:?` already matched, because `=`, `+` and `?` were never word characters. A hyphen anywhere else still excludes the match, so `docs-/home/x/`, `$VAR-/home/...` and `${VAR}-/home/...` stay unflagged.
+- **`sealed.local_path`** (`lib/sealed-guard.ts`): a home path directly after a `${…:-` or `${…-` default now matches, for a name, an array element (`${arr[0]:-`), an indirect name (`${!ref:-`), a positional number or a special parameter (`${@:-`). `:=`, `:+` and `:?` already matched, because `=`, `+` and `?` were never word characters. A hyphen anywhere else still excludes the match, so a path glued to a word (`docs-…`, `$VAR-…`, `${VAR}-…`) stays unflagged; docs/pregate.md lists that as a known limit.
 
 ### Gate integrity
-- This is a gate edit that only tightens: the guard now refuses lines it passed before. No existing test, threshold or allowlist changed. A new case in `test/sealed-guard.test.ts` covers all five operators, a positional parameter, a Windows path and the TypeScript `??` form, and checks six negative controls (hyphenated words, `$VAR-`, `${VAR}-`, a relative default). It fails without the fix, missing the four `-` forms.
+- This is a gate edit that only tightens: the guard now refuses lines it passed before. No existing test, threshold or allowlist changed. A new case in `test/sealed-guard.test.ts` covers all five operators, a positional parameter, `${@`, an array element, an indirect name, a Windows path and the TypeScript `??` form. It also checks six negative controls: two hyphenated paths, a hyphenated sentence, `$VAR-`, `${VAR}-` and a relative default. Without the fix it misses every `-` form.
 
 ## [1.91.301.0] - 2026-10-29
 
diff --git a/docs/pregate.md b/docs/pregate.md
index b12e6bdf3..824d6b8b2 100644
--- a/docs/pregate.md
+++ b/docs/pregate.md
@@ -786,8 +786,9 @@ gstack-pregate sealed [--range <a..b>] [--remote origin] [--base <branch>] [--js
   adds, renames or copies, whatever its content (binary, empty, deleted again
   in a later commit); `sealed.answer`, `sealed.seed` and `sealed.local_path`
   (`/home/<user>/`, `/Users/<user>/`, `C:\Users\<user>\`, including after a shell
-  default such as `${VAR:-/home/<user>/}` or `${VAR-…}`; a path glued to a word
-  by a hyphen, `docs-/home/x/`, is not flagged) check each commit's added lines. Findings print rule, `file[:line]` and commit, never the text.
+  default such as `${VAR:-…}` or `${VAR-…}`) check each commit's added lines.
+  Known limit: a path glued to the text before it, by a hyphen (`docs-…`,
+  `$VAR-…`, `${VAR}-…`) or a letter (`-I…`, `-L…`), is not matched. Findings print rule, `file[:line]` and commit, never the text.
 - **Policy.** The union of the destination base branch's `sealed` and the
   pushed commit's: a push can tighten it, never relax it. A malformed or
   unreadable policy refuses. Waivers come only from the base branch's
diff --git a/lib/sealed-guard.ts b/lib/sealed-guard.ts
index 7fd357249..5386f87c2 100644
--- a/lib/sealed-guard.ts
+++ b/lib/sealed-guard.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ export type Visibility = 'public' | 'private' | 'unknown';
 const KEYS = ['paths', 'transcripts', 'answer_markers', 'seed_patterns', 'local_paths', 'visibility'];
 const MAX_ENTRIES = 64;
 const MAX_REGEX = 256;
-const LOCAL_PATH_RE = /(?:^|[^A-Za-z0-9_.~-]|\$\{(?:[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*|[0-9]+):?-)(?:\/home\/[^/\s'"`]+\/|\/Users\/[^/\s'"`]+\/|[A-Za-z]:\\+Users\\+[^\\\s'"`]+\\)/;
+const LOCAL_PATH_RE = /(?:^|[^A-Za-z0-9_.~-]|\$\{!?(?:[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*(?:\[[^\]\s]*\])?|[0-9]+|[@*#?$!-]):?-)(?:\/home\/[^/\s'"`]+\/|\/Users\/[^/\s'"`]+\/|[A-Za-z]:\\+Users\\+[^\\\s'"`]+\\)/;
 const PUBLIC_TTL_MS = 24 * 3600_000;
 const PRIVATE_TTL_MS = 3600_000;
 
diff --git a/test/sealed-guard.test.ts b/test/sealed-guard.test.ts
index bb0369d72..fe82a7fe7 100644
--- a/test/sealed-guard.test.ts
+++ b/test/sealed-guard.test.ts
@@ -110,6 +110,9 @@ describe('pre-push hook: public destination refuses each kind of sealed output',
       'RUNNER="${UBI_RUNNER:+/Users/bob/runner}"',
       'RUNNER="${UBI_RUNNER:?/home/user/runner}"',
       'ROOT="${1:-/Users/bob/work}"',
+      'ROOT="${@:-/home/user/work}"',
+      'ROOT="${arr[0]:-/home/user/work}"',
+      'ROOT="${!ref:-/home/user/work}"',
       'ROOT="${WIN_ROOT:-C:\\Users\\bob\\work}"',
       'const dir = process.env.UBI_WORK ?? "/home/ubi/work";',
     ];