diff --git a/bin/fm-spawn.sh b/bin/fm-spawn.sh
index e66d231827..aff2a9f8e1 100755
--- a/bin/fm-spawn.sh
+++ b/bin/fm-spawn.sh
@@ -953,7 +953,6 @@ ORCA_TERMINAL=
 ORCA_TERMINAL_PROOF=
 ORCA_REPO_ID=
 ORCA_EXPECTED_TASK=
-ORCA_PROVIDER_TASK=
 ID=
 ACCOUNT_LEASE_CREATED=0
 FM_ACCOUNT_MUTATION_ACQUIRED=0
@@ -1044,7 +1043,6 @@ parse_orca_worktree_result() {
   rest=${rest#*$'\t'}
   ORCA_REPO_ID=$rest
   case "$ORCA_REPO_ID" in *$'\t'*) return 1 ;; esac
-  ORCA_PROVIDER_TASK=
 }
 
 persist_orca_cleanup_quarantine() {
@@ -1435,12 +1433,12 @@ spawn_return_created_worktree() {
     return 1
   fi
   if [ -z "$WORKTREE_EXPECTED_TIP" ] \
-    || ! "$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" verify-returnable "$WT" "$PROJ_ABS" "$WORKTREE_EXPECTED_TIP"; then
+    || ! "$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" verify-returnable "$WT" "${PROJ_ABS_REAL:-$PROJ_ABS}" "$WORKTREE_EXPECTED_TIP"; then
     echo "warning: retained acquired worktree $WT because repository identity and its expected detached tip could not be re-proven" >&2
     return 1
   fi
   rm -f "$WT/.claude/settings.local.json" "$WT/.opencode/plugins/fm-turn-end.js" "$WT/.fm-grok-turnend"
-  if ! "$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" verify-returnable "$WT" "$PROJ_ABS" "$WORKTREE_EXPECTED_TIP"; then
+  if ! "$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" verify-returnable "$WT" "${PROJ_ABS_REAL:-$PROJ_ABS}" "$WORKTREE_EXPECTED_TIP"; then
     echo "warning: retained acquired worktree $WT because post-cleanup repository safety could not be re-proven" >&2
     return 1
   fi
@@ -2751,7 +2749,7 @@ real_path_or_raw() {  # <path>
 # and resets the selected clean pool worktree from that remote-tracking ref.
 # The post-acquisition verification below is the fail-closed freshness proof.
 if [ "$KIND" != secondmate ] && [ "$BACKEND" != orca ] && [ "$RECOVERY_ACCOUNT" != 1 ]; then
-  if CHECKOUT_PREFLIGHT_OUT=$("$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" preflight "$PROJ_ABS" 2>&1); then
+  if CHECKOUT_PREFLIGHT_OUT=$("$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" preflight "$PROJ_ABS_REAL" 2>&1); then
     CHECKOUT_PREFLIGHT_STATUS=0
   else
     CHECKOUT_PREFLIGHT_STATUS=$?
@@ -2839,12 +2837,12 @@ if [ "$DIRECT_ACCOUNT_RECOVERY" = 1 ]; then
 fi
 
 if [ "$KIND" != secondmate ] && [ "$BACKEND" != orca ] && [ "$RECOVERY_ACCOUNT" != 1 ]; then
-  "$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" pool-preflight "$PROJ_ABS" || {
+  "$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" pool-preflight "$PROJ_ABS_REAL" || {
     echo "error: refusing Treehouse acquisition because pool safety could not be inspected for $PROJ_ABS" >&2
     exit 1
   }
   acquire_status=0
-  WT=$("$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" acquire-worktree "$PROJ_ABS" "firstmate-$ID") || acquire_status=$?
+  WT=$("$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" acquire-worktree "$PROJ_ABS_REAL" "firstmate-$ID") || acquire_status=$?
   if [ "$acquire_status" -ne 0 ]; then
     if [ "$acquire_status" -eq 124 ]; then
       echo "error: refusing to spawn $ID after the bounded Treehouse acquisition timed out" >&2
@@ -2861,7 +2859,7 @@ if [ "$KIND" != secondmate ] && [ "$BACKEND" != orca ] && [ "$RECOVERY_ACCOUNT"
   WORKTREE_RETAIN_ON_ABORT=1
   validate_spawn_worktree "treehouse get --lease" "$PROJ_ABS"
   freshness_status=0
-  "$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" verify-worktree "$WT" "$PROJ_ABS" || freshness_status=$?
+  "$SCRIPT_DIR/fm-checkout-refresh.sh" verify-worktree "$WT" "$PROJ_ABS_REAL" || freshness_status=$?
   if [ "$freshness_status" -ne 0 ]; then
     echo "error: refusing to launch fm-$ID from a leased worktree whose repository identity, cleanliness, or default-tip freshness could not be proved" >&2
     exit 1
@@ -3417,8 +3415,8 @@ EOF
         echo "error: cannot durably record Orca create authority for $ID" >&2
         exit 1
       }
-      if [ -z "$ORCA_WORKTREE_ID" ] || [ -z "$WT" ] || [ "$ORCA_PROVIDER_TASK" != "$ORCA_EXPECTED_TASK" ]; then
-        echo "error: orca did not return matching worktree id, path, and task authority for $W" >&2
+      if [ -z "$ORCA_WORKTREE_ID" ] || [ -z "$WT" ]; then
+        echo "error: orca did not return matching worktree id and path authority for $W" >&2
         exit 1
       fi
       validate_spawn_worktree "orca worktree create" "$W"
diff --git a/bin/fm-teardown.sh b/bin/fm-teardown.sh
index ea03eda10b..3580177468 100755
--- a/bin/fm-teardown.sh
+++ b/bin/fm-teardown.sh
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 # teardown refuses rather than risk discarding unlanded work.
 # Origin-backed content checks hold the shared checkout lock and require bounded
 # remote HEAD probes before and after fetch to agree before comparing trees.
+# If the default history was rewritten after task-branch creation, the comparison
+# uses a base recorded by both the branch-creation and default-branch reflogs.
 # Every authorized Treehouse return is process-tree bounded by
 # FM_TREEHOUSE_RETURN_TIMEOUT while holding the same common checkout mutation
 # lock across its retry and stale-index-lock recovery sequence.
@@ -313,6 +315,7 @@ managed_endpoint_is_gone() {  # <backend> <target> <expected-label> [probe-home]
     case "$state" in
       absent) return 0 ;;
       present)
+        [ "$backend" != zellij ] || return 1
         if [ -n "$probe_home" ]; then
           agent_state=$(unset FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE; FM_HOME="$probe_home" FM_ROOT="$probe_home" fm_backend_agent_alive "$backend" "$target" "$expected" "$recorded_scoped_target" 2>/dev/null)
         else
@@ -797,20 +800,55 @@ pr_is_merged() {
   unpushed_patches_are_in_pr_head "$head"
 }
 
+# Set TASK_BRANCH_CREATION_BASE only when the task branch's oldest surviving
+# reflog entry is its creation record, remains an ancestor of HEAD, and also
+# appears in the authoritative default ref's reflog.
+task_branch_creation_base() {
+  local authoritative_ref=$1 branch_ref entry base message fork_point
+  TASK_BRANCH_CREATION_BASE=
+  branch_ref=$(git -C "$WT" symbolic-ref --quiet HEAD 2>/dev/null) || return 1
+  entry=$(LC_ALL=C git -C "$WT" reflog show \
+    --format='%H%x09%gs' "$branch_ref" 2>/dev/null | tail -1)
+  [ -n "$entry" ] || return 1
+  base=${entry%%$'\t'*}
+  message=${entry#*$'\t'}
+  [ "$message" != "$entry" ] || return 1
+  case "$message" in
+    "branch: Created from "*) ;;
+    *) return 1 ;;
+  esac
+  git -C "$WT" cat-file -e "$base^{commit}" 2>/dev/null || return 1
+  git -C "$WT" merge-base --is-ancestor "$base" HEAD 2>/dev/null || return 1
+  fork_point=$(git -C "$WT" merge-base \
+    --fork-point "$authoritative_ref" HEAD 2>/dev/null) || return 1
+  [ "$fork_point" = "$base" ] || return 1
+  TASK_BRANCH_CREATION_BASE=$base
+}
+
 # Is the branch's content already present in the up-to-date default branch?
 # Origin-backed proof holds the common checkout lock across probe, fetch,
 # unchanged branch-and-tip re-probe, and tree comparison.
+# The ordinary merge finds the net task change from shared history.
+# When the default was rewritten past the task branch's creation point, an
+# explicit branch-creation base isolates the task change from its stale baseline.
 content_matches_ref() {
-  local ref=$1 default_tree merged_tree
+  local ref=$1 default_tree merged_tree merge_output creation_base
   default_tree=$(git -C "$WT" rev-parse --quiet --verify "$ref^{tree}" 2>/dev/null) || return 1
   [ -n "$default_tree" ] || return 1
-  merged_tree=$(git -C "$WT" merge-tree --write-tree "$ref" HEAD 2>/dev/null) || return 1
-  merged_tree=$(printf '%s\n' "$merged_tree" | head -1)
-  if [ "$merged_tree" != "$default_tree" ]; then
-    echo "teardown: task content is not present in authoritative $ref; retaining $WT" >&2
-    return 1
+  if merge_output=$(git -C "$WT" merge-tree --write-tree "$ref" HEAD 2>/dev/null); then
+    merged_tree=$(printf '%s\n' "$merge_output" | head -1)
+    [ "$merged_tree" != "$default_tree" ] || return 0
+  fi
+  if task_branch_creation_base "$ref"; then
+    creation_base=$TASK_BRANCH_CREATION_BASE
+    if merge_output=$(git -C "$WT" merge-tree --write-tree \
+        --merge-base "$creation_base" "$ref" HEAD 2>/dev/null); then
+      merged_tree=$(printf '%s\n' "$merge_output" | head -1)
+      [ "$merged_tree" != "$default_tree" ] || return 0
+    fi
   fi
-  return 0
+  echo "teardown: task content is not present in authoritative $ref; retaining $WT" >&2
+  return 1
 }
 
 content_in_origin_default() {
@@ -1059,6 +1097,10 @@ validate_teardown_target_identity() {
     echo "error: teardown project metadata is not an exact inspectable repository root: ${PROJ:-<missing>}" >&2
     return 1
   }
+  if [ "$KIND" = scout ] && [ "$BACKEND" != orca ] &&
+      [ ! -e "$WT" ] && [ ! -L "$WT" ]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
   worktree_root=$(exact_git_worktree_root "$WT") || {
     echo "error: teardown worktree metadata is not an exact inspectable repository root: ${WT:-<missing>}" >&2
     return 1
@@ -3074,6 +3116,25 @@ except OSError:
 PY
 }
 
+secondmate_linked_worktree_is_recorded_child() {
+  local retiring_home=$1 repository=$2 linked_worktree=$3 child_metas child_meta child_kind child_project child_worktree
+  child_metas=$(secondmate_state_metadata "$retiring_home") || return 1
+  while IFS= read -r child_meta; do
+    [ -n "$child_meta" ] || continue
+    child_kind=$(meta_value "$child_meta" kind)
+    [ -n "$child_kind" ] || child_kind=ship
+    [ "$child_kind" != secondmate ] || continue
+    child_project=$(meta_value "$child_meta" project)
+    child_worktree=$(meta_value "$child_meta" worktree)
+    [ "$(fm_checkout_trusted_dir "$child_project" 2>/dev/null)" = "$repository" ] || continue
+    [ "$(fm_checkout_trusted_dir "$child_worktree" 2>/dev/null)" = "$linked_worktree" ] || continue
+    return 0
+  done <<EOF
+$child_metas
+EOF
+  return 1
+}
+
 validate_secondmate_repository_worktree_graph() {
   local repository=$1 retiring_home=$2 repository_container=${3:-$1}
   local common listed records path kind canonical count=0 bare_repository container_git submodule_admin=0
@@ -3144,6 +3205,8 @@ validate_secondmate_repository_worktree_graph() {
           :
         elif [ "$submodule_admin" -eq 1 ] && [ "$canonical" = "$common" ]; then
           :
+        elif secondmate_linked_worktree_is_recorded_child "$retiring_home" "$repository" "$canonical"; then
+          count=$((count - 1))
         else
           echo "REFUSED: secondmate project common Git directory owns another linked worktree at $canonical" >&2
           return 1
diff --git a/tests/fm-backend-herdr.test.sh b/tests/fm-backend-herdr.test.sh
index 69351fd2f5..b1d79ba6bd 100755
--- a/tests/fm-backend-herdr.test.sh
+++ b/tests/fm-backend-herdr.test.sh
@@ -2627,7 +2627,11 @@ test_capture_calls_pane_read() {
   # fetch bound; the adapter then trims to the caller's requested 250 lines
   # locally, so all 3 fake lines survive.
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_capture default:w1:p2 250' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_capture default:w1:p2 250
+    ' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = $'line one\nline two\nline three' ] || fail "capture did not pass through pane read output, got '$out'"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" "HERDR_SESSION=default"$'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''read'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''--source'$'\x1f''recent'$'\x1f''--lines'$'\x1f''250' \
     "capture did not call pane read with the right pane id and line bound"
@@ -2644,7 +2648,11 @@ test_capture_works_around_small_lines_bug() {
   printf 'a\nb\nc\nd\ne\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_capture default:w1:p2 2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_capture default:w1:p2 2
+    ' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = $'d\ne' ] || fail "a small --lines request should still return the last N lines (trimmed locally), got '$out'"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'\x1f''--lines'$'\x1f''200' \
     "capture should request a generous fetch (>=200), never the caller's small N, from herdr's own --lines flag"
@@ -2657,7 +2665,11 @@ test_capture_preserves_pane_read_failure() {
   printf '1\n' > "$resp/1.exit"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_capture default:w1:p2 2' "$ROOT" 2>&1 )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_capture default:w1:p2 2
+    ' "$ROOT" 2>&1 )
   status=$?
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "capture should fail when pane read fails, got output '$out'"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" "HERDR_SESSION=default"$'\x1f''status'$'\x1f''--json' \
@@ -2672,7 +2684,11 @@ test_send_key_normalizes_and_targets_pane() {
   dir="$TMP_ROOT/sendkey"; mkdir -p "$dir/responses"; log="$dir/log"; resp="$dir/responses"; : > "$log"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_key default:w1:p2 Escape' "$ROOT"
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_send_key default:w1:p2 Escape
+    ' "$ROOT"
   expect_code 0 $? "send_key should succeed"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''send-keys'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''escape' "send_key did not normalize Escape to escape"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_send_key: normalizes the key and targets the right pane"
@@ -2684,7 +2700,11 @@ test_kill_is_best_effort() {
   printf '1\n' > "$resp/1.exit"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_kill default:w1:p2' "$ROOT"
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_kill default:w1:p2
+    ' "$ROOT"
   expect_code 0 $? "kill must be best-effort (never fail even when the pane close call itself fails)"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''close'$'\x1f''w1:p2' "kill did not call pane close on the right pane"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_kill: calls pane close and stays best-effort on failure"
@@ -2886,7 +2906,13 @@ test_current_path_reads_cwd() {
   printf '{"result":{"pane":{"cwd":"/tmp/pane-creation-dir","foreground_cwd":"/tmp/fake-worktree"}}}\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_current_path default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() {
+        fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"
+      }
+      fm_backend_herdr_current_path default:w1:p2
+    ' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = "/tmp/fake-worktree" ] || fail "current_path should read foreground_cwd (the live process), not the frozen creation-time cwd, got '$out'"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''get'$'\x1f''w1:p2' "current_path did not call pane get"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_current_path: reads pane foreground_cwd (the live running process), not the frozen creation-time cwd"
@@ -2900,7 +2926,13 @@ test_busy_state_working_maps_to_busy() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"working"}}}\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_busy_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() {
+        fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"
+      }
+      fm_backend_herdr_busy_state default:w1:p2
+    ' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = busy ] || fail "agent_status=working should map to busy, got '$out'"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'\x1f''agent'$'\x1f''get'$'\x1f''w1:p2' "busy_state did not call agent get"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_busy_state: working -> busy"
@@ -2912,14 +2944,26 @@ test_busy_state_done_and_blocked_map_to_idle() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"done"}}}\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_busy_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() {
+        fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"
+      }
+      fm_backend_herdr_busy_state default:w1:p2
+    ' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = idle ] || fail "agent_status=done should map to idle, got '$out'"
 
   dir="$TMP_ROOT/busy-blocked"; mkdir -p "$dir/responses"; log="$dir/log"; resp="$dir/responses"; : > "$log"
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"blocked"}}}\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_busy_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() {
+        fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"
+      }
+      fm_backend_herdr_busy_state default:w1:p2
+    ' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = idle ] || fail "agent_status=blocked should map to idle (stuck waiting on the human, not grinding), got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_busy_state: done -> idle, blocked -> idle (surfaced like a stale pane, not suppressed as busy)"
 }
@@ -2930,7 +2974,13 @@ test_busy_state_unknown_on_no_agent() {
   printf '1\n' > "$resp/1.exit"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_busy_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() {
+        fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"
+      }
+      fm_backend_herdr_busy_state default:w1:p2
+    ' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = unknown ] || fail "a failed agent get should report unknown (the fallback-to-regex cue), got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_busy_state: unparseable/absent agent state reports unknown, the regex-fallback cue"
 }
@@ -2943,7 +2993,11 @@ test_composer_state_bare_prompt_is_empty() {
   printf '  ╭────────────────────────╮\n  │ ❯                      │\n  ╰──────── Composer ─────╯\n\n  Shift+Tab:mode\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "a bare prompt glyph should read as empty, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: a bare '❯' composer row reads empty"
 }
@@ -2954,7 +3008,11 @@ test_composer_state_ghost_placeholder_is_empty() {
   printf '  ╭────────────────────────╮\n  │ ❯ Type a message...    │\n  ╰──────── Composer ─────╯\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "the known ghost placeholder 'Type a message...' should read as empty, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: the ghost placeholder text reads empty, not pending"
 }
@@ -2965,7 +3023,11 @@ test_composer_state_real_text_is_pending() {
   printf '  ╭────────────────────────╮\n  │ ❯ hello captain         │\n  ╰──────── Composer ─────╯\n\n  Enter:send\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "real unsubmitted text should read as pending, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: real composer text reads pending"
 }
@@ -2984,7 +3046,11 @@ test_composer_state_popup_placeholder_fill_is_pending() {
   printf '  ╭──────────────────────────────────────╮\n  │ ❯ /compact compaction instructions    │\n  ╰──────────────── Composer ─────────────╯\n\n  Enter:send\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "a popup-close-with-placeholder-fill must still read as pending (not yet submitted), got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: a slash-command popup's argument-hint placeholder still reads pending (the incident fix)"
 }
@@ -2995,7 +3061,11 @@ test_composer_state_unknown_on_capture_failure() {
   printf '1\n' > "$resp/1.exit"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   status=$?
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ] || fail "composer_state should not itself fail the caller"
   [ "$out" = unknown ] || fail "an unreadable pane should read as unknown, got '$out'"
@@ -3012,7 +3082,11 @@ test_composer_state_unknown_when_no_composer_row_found() {
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   for glyph in '>' '$' '%' '#'; do
     out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-      bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+      bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
     [ "$out" = unknown ] || fail "a bare shell prompt '$glyph' should read as unknown, got '$out'"
   done
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: reports unknown for bare shell prompts with no composer row"
@@ -3037,7 +3111,11 @@ test_composer_state_claude_unbordered_prompt_is_empty() {
   printf '  20\n  21\n\n\xe2\x9c\xbb Worked for 2s\n\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n\xe2\x9d\xaf\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n  Opus 4.8 (1M context)   \xe2\x96\x8d               3%%\n  \xe2\x86\x90 for agents\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "a genuinely idle, unbordered real-claude '❯' prompt row (no border glyph anywhere in view) should read empty, got '$out' (regression: this used to read 'unknown' forever, which is exactly what broke escalate_flush's buffer-clear)"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: a real-claude unbordered '❯' prompt row (no border box in view) reads empty"
 }
@@ -3048,7 +3126,11 @@ test_composer_state_claude_unbordered_prompt_is_pending() {
   printf '  20\n  21\n\n\xe2\x9c\xbb Worked for 2s\n\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n\xe2\x9d\xaf hello there this is a test message\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "real unsubmitted text in an unbordered real-claude prompt row should read pending, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: a real-claude unbordered '❯ <text>' prompt row reads pending"
 }
@@ -3069,7 +3151,11 @@ test_composer_state_bare_prompt_below_stale_bordered_banner_wins() {
   printf '\xe2\x95\xad\xe2\x94\x80 Claude Code \xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x95\xae\n\xe2\x94\x82           Welcome back Kun!           \xe2\x94\x82\n\xe2\x94\x82                                       \xe2\x94\x82\n\xe2\x95\xb0\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x95\xaf\n\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n\xe2\x9d\xaf still typing captain\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "the live unbordered prompt row below a stale bordered banner must win (pending, real text present), got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: a live unbordered prompt row below a stale bordered decorative box still wins (not misread as the box's own row)"
 }
@@ -3092,7 +3178,11 @@ test_composer_state_claude_dim_prompt_suggestion_ghost_is_empty() {
   printf '\xe2\x9c\xbb Brewed for 2m 40s\n\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n\xe2\x9d\xaf \x1b[0m\x1b[2mwhat did the wheelhouse healing verification find?\x1b[0m\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n  Fable 5                 80%%\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p3' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p3 )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "the overnight shape - claude's SGR-2 dim prompt-suggestion ghost after a bare '❯' - must read empty, got '$out' (regression: this false-pending wedged away-mode injection all night)"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: claude's dim prompt-suggestion ghost (the overnight wedge shape) reads empty"
 }
@@ -3106,7 +3196,11 @@ test_composer_state_claude_dim_ghost_row_with_real_text_is_pending() {
   printf '\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n\xe2\x9d\xaf land pr 416 now\n\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\n  Fable 5                 80%%\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p3' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p3 )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "real normal-intensity text after '❯' must still read pending, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: real typed text on the same claude prompt row still reads pending"
 }
@@ -3123,7 +3217,11 @@ test_composer_state_grok_dark_truecolor_placeholder_is_empty() {
   printf '  \x1b[38;2;86;82;110m\xe2\x95\xad\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x95\xae\x1b[39m\n  \x1b[38;2;86;82;110m\xe2\x94\x82\x1b[38;2;224;222;244m \xe2\x9d\xaf \x1b[38;2;50;47;70mType a message...\x1b[38;2;86;82;110m \xe2\x94\x82\x1b[39m\n  \x1b[38;2;86;82;110m\xe2\x95\xb0\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x94\x80\xe2\x95\xaf\x1b[39m\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "a grok bordered composer whose only content is a dark-truecolor placeholder must read empty, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: grok's dark-truecolor placeholder (the TRUECOLOR gap) reads empty"
 }
@@ -3135,7 +3233,11 @@ test_composer_state_grok_bright_truecolor_real_text_is_pending() {
   printf '  \x1b[38;2;86;82;110m\xe2\x94\x82\x1b[38;2;224;222;244m \xe2\x9d\xaf fix the login bug \x1b[38;2;86;82;110m\xe2\x94\x82\x1b[39m\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "real bright typed text in a grok bordered composer must read pending, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: grok's real bright typed input still reads pending"
 }
@@ -3146,7 +3248,11 @@ test_composer_state_codex_bare_prompt_glyph_is_empty() {
   printf '\xe2\x80\xa2 You have 2 usage limit resets available.\n\n\xe2\x80\xba\n\n  gpt-5.5 xhigh \xc2\xb7 Context 100%% left\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "a bare '›' (codex) prompt glyph with no trailing text should read empty, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: a real-codex unbordered '›' prompt row reads empty"
 }
@@ -3157,7 +3263,11 @@ test_composer_state_codex_faint_suggestion_is_empty() {
   printf '\xe2\x80\xa2 You have 2 usage limit resets available. Run /usage\nto use one.\n\n\x1b[0m\x1b[1m\xe2\x80\xba \x1b[0m\x1b[2mFind and fix a bug in @filename\x1b[0m\n\n  gpt-5.5 xhigh \xc2\xb7 Context 100%% left\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "a faint real-codex ghost suggestion should read empty, not pending, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: a faint real-codex ghost suggestion reads empty"
 }
@@ -3168,7 +3278,11 @@ test_composer_state_codex_non_faint_same_text_is_pending() {
   printf '\xe2\x80\xa2 You have 2 usage limit resets available. Run /usage\nto use one.\n\n\x1b[0m\x1b[1m\xe2\x80\xba \x1b[0mFind and fix a bug in @filename\n\n  gpt-5.5 xhigh \xc2\xb7 Context 100%% left\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "the same words without faint styling should still protect real typed input, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: non-faint codex prompt text still reads pending"
 }
@@ -3239,7 +3353,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_applies_herdr_minimum_confirm_budget() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"working"}}}\n' > "$resp/9.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_SLEEP_LOG="$sleep_log" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=6 FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_MIN_SLEEP=0.6 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; sleep() { printf "sleep:%s\n" "$1" >> "$FM_SLEEP_LOG"; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 1 0.4 0' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; sleep() { printf "sleep:%s\n" "$1" >> "$FM_SLEEP_LOG"; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 1 0.4 0' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "send_text_submit should catch a slow-but-valid transition inside the herdr minimum budget, got '$out'"
   sleeps=$(grep -c '^sleep:0.1200$' "$sleep_log")
   [ "$sleeps" -eq 5 ] || fail "a 0.4s caller budget should be expanded to five 0.1200s sleeps across the 0.6s herdr floor, got $sleeps; log: $(cat "$sleep_log")"
@@ -3304,7 +3418,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_detects_landed_send() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"working"}}}\n' > "$resp/4.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=1 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 3 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 3 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "send_text_submit should report empty (submitted) once agent_status reports working, got '$out'"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'\x1f''agent'$'\x1f''send'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''hello captain' \
     "send_text_submit did not address the registered agent with the literal text first"
@@ -3324,7 +3438,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_detects_swallowed_enter() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"idle"}}}\n' > "$resp/6.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=1 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 2 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 2 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "send_text_submit should report pending once retries are exhausted with agent_status never going busy, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit: reports 'pending' when agent_status never reports working after retried Enters (swallowed)"
 }
@@ -3349,7 +3463,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_popup_autocomplete_requires_second_enter() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"working"}}}\n' > "$resp/6.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=1 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "/compact" 3 0.01 1.2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "/compact" 3 0.01 1.2' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "send_text_submit should eventually report empty once the SECOND Enter actually starts a turn, got '$out'"
   enter_count=$(grep -c $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''send-keys'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''enter' "$log")
   [ "$enter_count" -eq 2 ] || fail "send_text_submit must send a SECOND Enter after the popup-placeholder fill's agent_status still reads idle, got $enter_count Enter(s)"
@@ -3364,7 +3478,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_confirms_blocked_after_enter() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"blocked"}}}\n' > "$resp/4.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=1 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "needs approval" 3 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "needs approval" 3 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "send_text_submit should treat a blocked state after Enter as a confirmed delivered prompt, got '$out'"
   enter_count=$(grep -c $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''send-keys'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''enter' "$log")
   [ "$enter_count" -eq 1 ] || fail "blocked after Enter must not provoke a retry into the prompt, sent $enter_count Enter(s)"
@@ -3380,7 +3494,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_preexisting_working_does_not_false_confirm_swallowed_enter
   printf '  \xe2\x9d\xaf hello captain\n' > "$resp/6.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 2 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 2 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "send_text_submit must not accept preexisting working as proof that this Enter landed, got '$out'"
   enter_count=$(grep -c $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''send-keys'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''enter' "$log")
   [ "$enter_count" -eq 2 ] || fail "preexisting-working swallowed Enter should retry Enter up to the configured count, sent $enter_count Enter(s)"
@@ -3400,7 +3514,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_confirms_despite_codex_idle_tip_composer() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"working"}}}\n' > "$resp/4.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=1 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "reply with just OK" 3 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "reply with just OK" 3 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "send_text_submit should confirm via agent_status alone even for a harness whose idle composer shows dynamic tip text, got '$out'"
   [ "$(grep -c $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''read' "$log")" -eq 0 ] || fail "send_text_submit must never call 'pane read' - a codex-style dynamic idle-tip composer can never mislead a confirmation path that does not read it"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit: confirms submission via native agent-state alone, immune to a codex-style dynamic idle-tip composer that would have misread as 'pending' under the old composer-based confirmation"
@@ -3417,7 +3531,11 @@ test_composer_state_codex_dynamic_idle_tip_reads_empty_when_faint() {
   printf '\xe2\x80\xa2 OK\n\n\n\x1b[0m\x1b[1m\xe2\x80\xba \x1b[0m\x1b[2mSummarize recent commits\x1b[0m\n\n  gpt-5.5 xhigh \xc2\xb7 Context 97%% left \xc2\xb7 /private/tmp \xc2\xb7 2\xe2\x80\xa6\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_composer_state default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_herdr_composer_state "$1"
+    ' "$ROOT" default:w1:p2 )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "a faint real-codex dynamic idle-tip row should read empty, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_composer_state: a faint real-codex dynamic idle-tip composer row reads empty"
 }
@@ -3434,7 +3552,13 @@ test_composer_state_guard_still_refuses_real_pending_text_after_submit_confirmat
   printf '  \xe2\x9d\xaf hello there this is a test message\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/fm-backend.sh"; fm_backend_composer_state herdr default:w1:p2' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/fm-backend.sh"
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      fm_backend_herdr_target_ready() { fm_backend_herdr_parse_target "$1"; }
+      fm_backend_source() { :; }
+      fm_backend_composer_state herdr default:w1:p2
+    ' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = pending ] || fail "the pre-injection empty-box guard must still refuse real unsubmitted composer text after this change, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_composer_state (herdr): the pre-injection empty-box guard still refuses a genuinely non-empty composer, unaffected by the submit-confirmation change"
 }
@@ -3454,7 +3578,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_slow_transition_within_one_enter_needs_no_extra_enter() {
   printf '{"result":{"agent":{"agent_status":"working"}}}\n' > "$resp/6.out"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=3 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 3 0.03 0.01' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "hello captain" 3 0.03 0.01' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = empty ] || fail "send_text_submit should confirm once a later sample within the SAME Enter attempt observes working, got '$out'"
   enter_count=$(grep -c $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''send-keys'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''enter' "$log")
   [ "$enter_count" -eq 1 ] || fail "a slow (but within-budget) transition must not provoke a needless extra Enter, sent $enter_count Enter(s)"
@@ -3469,7 +3593,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_send_failed() {
   printf '1\n' > "$resp/2.exit"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=1 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "x" 2 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "x" 2 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = send-failed ] || fail "send_text_submit should report send-failed when the literal send itself fails, got '$out'"
   pass "fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit: reports 'send-failed' when native agent send and the pane-send fallback both error"
 }
@@ -3481,7 +3605,7 @@ test_send_text_submit_unknown_on_capture_failure() {
   printf '1\n' > "$resp/4.exit"
   fb=$(make_herdr_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SUBMIT_POLLS=1 \
-    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "x" 2 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
+    bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"; fm_backend_herdr_server_adapter_owned() { return 0; }; fm_backend_herdr_send_text_submit default:w1:p2 "x" 2 0.01 0.01' "$ROOT" )
   [ "$out" = unknown ] || fail "send_text_submit should report unknown when the post-Enter agent-get read fails, got '$out'"
   enter_count=$(grep -c $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''send-keys'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''enter' "$log")
   [ "$enter_count" -eq 1 ] || fail "send_text_submit must never retry past an unreadable target (that is a hard I/O failure, not a timing race), sent $enter_count Enter(s)"
@@ -3531,14 +3655,25 @@ test_dispatch_composer_state_routes_by_backend() {
 }
 
 test_scripts_route_explicit_target_through_meta_backend() {
-  local dir state log resp fb neutral out
+  local dir state log resp fb neutral lock_root out
   dir="$TMP_ROOT/script-explicit-target"; state="$dir/state"; mkdir -p "$state" "$dir/responses"
   log="$dir/log"; resp="$dir/responses"; : > "$log"
   neutral="$dir/neutral-root"; mkdir -p "$neutral"
+  lock_root="$dir/locks"; mkdir -m 700 "$lock_root"
   fm_write_meta "$state/herdr-stale.meta" \
     "window=default:w1:p2" "backend=herdr" \
     "herdr_workspace_id=w1" "herdr_tab_id=w1:t2" "herdr_pane_id=w1:p2"
   touch "$state/.last-watcher-beat"
+  FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SERVER_LOCK_ROOT="$lock_root" TEST_SERVER_PID="$$" \
+    bash -c '
+      . "$0/bin/backends/herdr.sh"
+      key=$(fm_backend_herdr_server_lock_key default) || exit 1
+      certificate=$(fm_backend_herdr_server_legacy_env_certificate_path default) || exit 1
+      start=$(fm_backend_herdr_process_start "$TEST_SERVER_PID") || exit 1
+      printf "firstmate-herdr-closed-env-v1\n%s\n%s\n%s\n" \
+        "$key" "$TEST_SERVER_PID" "$start" > "$certificate" || exit 1
+      chmod 600 "$certificate"
+    ' "$ROOT" || fail "could not establish adapter ownership for the explicit-target routing fixture"
   printf 'captured herdr pane\n' > "$resp/1.out"
   printf '{"result":{"panes":[{"pane_id":"w1:p2","tab_id":"w1:t2","workspace_id":"w1"}]}}\n' > "$resp/2.out"
   printf '{"result":{"workspaces":[{"workspace_id":"w1","label":"firstmate"}]}}\n' > "$resp/3.out"
@@ -3554,6 +3689,7 @@ SH
 
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" \
     FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
+    FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SERVER_LOCK_ROOT="$lock_root" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-peek.sh" default:w1:p2 5 2>/dev/null )
   [ "$out" = "captured herdr pane" ] || fail "fm-peek did not capture through herdr for an explicit metadata-matched target, got '$out'"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''read'$'\x1f''w1:p2' \
@@ -3562,6 +3698,7 @@ SH
   : > "$log"
   PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_HOME="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" \
     FM_HERDR_LOG="$log" FM_HERDR_RESPONSES="$resp" \
+    FM_BACKEND_HERDR_SERVER_LOCK_ROOT="$lock_root" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-send.sh" default:w1:p2 --key Escape >/dev/null 2>&1
   expect_code 0 $? "fm-send --key should route an explicit metadata-matched target through herdr"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'\x1f''pane'$'\x1f''send-keys'$'\x1f''w1:p2'$'\x1f''escape' \
@@ -4201,6 +4338,24 @@ if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = workspace-prune ]; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
+if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = workspace-lifecycle ]; then
+  test_workspace_ensure_prunes_default_tab
+  test_repeated_cycles_reuse_one_workspace_no_orphans
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = capture ]; then
+  test_capture_calls_pane_read
+  test_capture_works_around_small_lines_bug
+  test_capture_preserves_pane_read_failure
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = script-routing ]; then
+  test_scripts_route_explicit_target_through_meta_backend
+  exit 0
+fi
+
 test_version_check_accepts_current_protocol
 test_version_check_refuses_old_protocol
 test_version_check_refuses_missing_herdr
diff --git a/tests/fm-backend-orca.test.sh b/tests/fm-backend-orca.test.sh
index 63e04b4f2c..8ebf886e76 100755
--- a/tests/fm-backend-orca.test.sh
+++ b/tests/fm-backend-orca.test.sh
@@ -160,6 +160,10 @@ process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(data) + "\n");
     if [ -n "${FM_ORCA_REMOVE_ERROR:-}" ]; then
       printf '{"ok":false,"error":{"code":"worktree_not_removed","message":"worktree not removed"}}\n'
     else
+      if [ -f "$RESP/.remove-worktree-path" ]; then
+        path=$(cat "$RESP/.remove-worktree-path")
+        git -C "$path" worktree remove --force "$path" || exit 1
+      fi
       printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"removed":true}}\n'
     fi
     ;;
@@ -192,9 +196,21 @@ SH
 }
 
 initialize_secondmate_home_repo() {
-  local home=$1 source=$2
+  local home=$1 source=$2 default_branch project_origin
+  mkdir -p "$source/projects"
+  git clone --quiet "$home/projects/alpha" "$source/projects/alpha"
+  project_origin="$(dirname "$source")/alpha-origin.git"
+  git clone --quiet --bare "$source/projects/alpha" "$project_origin"
+  git -C "$source/projects/alpha" remote set-url origin "$project_origin"
+  git -C "$home/projects/alpha" remote add origin "$project_origin"
   fm_git_init_commit "$home"
   git -C "$home" remote add origin "$source"
+  git -C "$home" add -A
+  git -C "$home" -c user.name='Firstmate Tests' -c user.email=tests@example.invalid \
+    commit -qm 'fixture state'
+  default_branch=$(git -C "$source" branch --show-current)
+  git -C "$source" config receive.denyCurrentBranch ignore
+  git -C "$home" push --quiet --force origin "HEAD:$default_branch"
 }
 
 add_tmux_fake() {
@@ -507,7 +523,7 @@ test_kill_propagates_close_failure() {
   PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/orca.sh"; fm_backend_orca_kill term-123' "$ROOT"
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "kill should propagate an Orca close failure"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''close'$'\x1f''--terminal'$'\x1f''term-123'$'\x1f''--json' \
     "kill did not call orca terminal close"
@@ -576,7 +592,7 @@ test_remove_worktree_requires_bound_provider_capability() {
     FM_ORCA_TEST_BOUND_REMOVAL_CAPABILITIES=unavailable \
     bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/orca.sh"; fm_backend_orca_remove_worktree_bound wt-retained /tmp/orca-wt "$1"' "$ROOT" "$token" 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca removal proceeded without a bound provider capability"
   assert_contains "$out" "identity-bound provider capability" \
     "unbound Orca removal did not surface its provider limitation"
@@ -661,7 +677,7 @@ test_worktree_create_retains_partial_authority_when_path_missing() {
   out=$( PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/orca.sh"; fm_backend_orca_worktree_create /repo/path fm-task' "$ROOT" 2>&1 )
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "worktree helper should fail when Orca omits the worktree path"
   assert_contains "$out" "orca worktree create returned incomplete or unsuccessful authority for fm-task" \
     "worktree helper did not explain the missing path"
@@ -685,7 +701,7 @@ test_worktree_create_never_cleans_partial_response_inline() {
   out=$( PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     bash -c '. "$0/bin/backends/orca.sh"; fm_backend_orca_worktree_create /repo/path fm-task' "$ROOT" 2>&1 )
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   expect_code 2 "$status" "pathless Orca worktree partial-response status"
   assert_contains "$out" $'wt-close-failure\t\tterm-close-failure' \
     "partial response did not return durable Orca cleanup identity"
@@ -756,6 +772,17 @@ test_legacy_respawn_writes_orca_metadata_and_launches_harness() {
   printf '1\n' > "$RESP/1.exit"
   printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"repo":{"id":"repo-spawn"}}}\n' > "$RESP/2.out"
   printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"worktree":{"id":"wt-spawn","path":"%s"},"terminal":{"handle":"term-spawn"}}}\n' "$wt" > "$RESP/3.out"
+  printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"worktree":{"id":"wt-spawn","path":"%s","name":"fm-%s","terminals":[{"handle":"term-spawn","title":"fm-%s"}]}}}\n' \
+    "$wt" "$id" "$id" > "$RESP/4.out"
+  printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"terminal":{"handle":"term-spawn","title":"fm-%s","worktreeId":"wt-spawn","tail":[]}}}\n' \
+    "$id" > "$RESP/5.out"
+  cp "$RESP/4.out" "$RESP/6.out"
+  cp "$RESP/5.out" "$RESP/7.out"
+  cp "$RESP/4.out" "$RESP/8.out"
+  cp "$RESP/4.out" "$RESP/9.out"
+  printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"send":{"handle":"term-spawn","accepted":true}}}\n' > "$RESP/10.out"
+  cp "$RESP/10.out" "$RESP/11.out"
+  cp "$RESP/10.out" "$RESP/12.out"
   out=$( PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$ROOT" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
@@ -775,8 +802,10 @@ test_legacy_respawn_writes_orca_metadata_and_launches_harness() {
   assert_no_grep "report_required=" "$state/$id.meta" "legacy respawn must preserve the absent report_required marker"
   assert_not_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''create' \
     "spawn should reuse the implicit terminal returned by Orca worktree creation"
-  assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''send'$'\x1f''--terminal'$'\x1f''term-spawn'$'\x1f''--text'$'\x1f''export GOTMPDIR=/tmp/fm-orcaspawnz1/gotmp'$'\x1f''--enter'$'\x1f''--json' \
-    "spawn did not export GOTMPDIR through the Orca terminal"
+  assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''send'$'\x1f''--terminal'$'\x1f''term-spawn'$'\x1f''--text'$'\x1f''export PATH=' \
+    "spawn did not export the hardened crew PATH through the Orca terminal"
+  assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" "GOTMPDIR=/tmp/fm-orcaspawnz1/gotmp"$'\x1f''--enter'$'\x1f''--json' \
+    "spawn did not export the task-scoped GOTMPDIR through the Orca terminal"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$log")" "CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_PROMPT_SUGGESTION=false claude --dangerously-skip-permissions" \
     "spawn did not send the selected harness launch command through Orca"
   rm -rf "/tmp/fm-$id"
@@ -869,7 +898,7 @@ test_spawn_refuses_malformed_legacy_orca_report_metadata() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1 )
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "malformed legacy Orca report metadata was launched"
   assert_contains "$out" "invalid report_required metadata for $id" \
     "malformed legacy Orca report metadata was not diagnosed"
@@ -1116,7 +1145,7 @@ test_spawn_refuses_orca_without_verified_authority_capabilities() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "spawn accepted Orca without verified lifecycle authority capabilities"
   assert_contains "$out" "Orca lifecycle authority is disabled" \
@@ -1151,7 +1180,7 @@ test_spawn_refuses_orca_nonisolated_worktree() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1 )
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   expect_code 1 "$status" "fm-spawn.sh --backend orca should refuse a primary checkout worktree"
   assert_contains "$out" "orca worktree create did not yield an isolated worktree" \
     "Orca spawn should reuse the isolated-worktree guard"
@@ -1195,7 +1224,7 @@ test_spawn_quarantines_unrelated_orca_worktree() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "spawn accepted an Orca worktree from an unrelated repository"
   assert_contains "$out" "returned a worktree from an unrelated repository" \
@@ -1239,7 +1268,7 @@ test_spawn_quarantines_unbound_orca_terminal() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "spawn accepted a terminal not bound to its expected task"
   assert_contains "$out" "terminal is not authoritatively bound" \
@@ -1273,7 +1302,9 @@ test_spawn_quarantines_orca_worktree_when_terminal_create_fails() {
   printf '1\n' > "$RESP/1.exit"
   printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"repo":{"id":"repo-terminal-fail"}}}\n' > "$RESP/2.out"
   printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"worktree":{"id":"wt-terminal-fail","path":"%s"}}}\n' "$wt" > "$RESP/3.out"
-  printf '1\n' > "$RESP/4.exit"
+  printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"worktree":{"id":"wt-terminal-fail","path":"%s"}}}\n' "$wt" > "$RESP/4.out"
+  printf '1\n' > "$RESP/5.exit"
+  printf '1\n' > "$RESP/6.exit"
   out=$( PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$ROOT" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
@@ -1354,7 +1385,7 @@ test_spawn_retains_orca_worktree_when_abort_close_fails() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1 )
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca spawn should fail after non-isolated worktree creation"
   assert_contains "$out" "retaining Orca cleanup metadata" \
     "abort close failure did not surface durable retention"
@@ -1388,7 +1419,7 @@ test_teardown_rejects_symlinked_orca_task_metadata() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" foo --force 2>&1 )
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "symlinked Orca task metadata was accepted"
   assert_contains "$out" "task metadata must be a real readable file for foo" \
     "symlinked Orca task metadata was not diagnosed"
@@ -1502,7 +1533,7 @@ test_target_exists_rejects_orca_error_json() {
   PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     bash -c '. "$0/bin/fm-backend.sh"; fm_backend_target_exists orca term-stale fm-task' "$ROOT"
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "fm_backend_target_exists should reject Orca ok:false read JSON"
   pass "fm_backend_target_exists: Orca ok:false read JSON is not live"
 }
@@ -1531,7 +1562,7 @@ test_scout_teardown_removes_orca_worktree_via_helper() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   expect_code 0 "$rc" "Orca scout teardown should succeed once report exists"$'\n'"$out"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''close'$'\x1f''--terminal'$'\x1f''term-teardown'$'\x1f''--json' \
     "teardown did not close the recorded Orca terminal"
@@ -1567,7 +1598,7 @@ test_scout_teardown_refuses_orca_id_path_mismatch() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca scout teardown should refuse when id path differs from worktree="
   assert_contains "$out" "not inspected worktree" \
     "mismatched Orca scout worktree path refusal should name the mismatch"
@@ -1602,9 +1633,9 @@ test_teardown_refuses_orca_worktree_when_path_missing() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca teardown should refuse when its worktree path is absent"
-  assert_contains "$out" "teardown worktree metadata is not an exact repository root" \
+  assert_contains "$out" "teardown worktree metadata is not an exact inspectable repository root" \
     "pathless Orca teardown should surface the unprovable target identity"
   [ ! -s "$LOG" ] || fail "pathless Orca teardown should not close a terminal or remove a worktree"
   assert_present "$state/$id.meta" "pathless Orca teardown should preserve task metadata"
@@ -1635,7 +1666,7 @@ test_teardown_preserves_metadata_when_orca_remove_error_json() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca teardown should fail when worktree removal returns ok:false JSON"
   assert_contains "$out" "worktree not removed" "teardown should surface the Orca removal error"
   assert_present "$state/$id.meta" "failed Orca removal should preserve task metadata"
@@ -1663,7 +1694,7 @@ test_scout_teardown_refuses_orca_missing_report_when_path_missing() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca scout teardown should refuse without a report even when the path is absent"
   assert_contains "$out" "has no report" "Orca scout teardown should explain the missing report"
   [ ! -s "$LOG" ] || fail "refused Orca scout teardown should not close terminals or remove worktrees"
@@ -1693,9 +1724,9 @@ test_ship_teardown_refuses_orca_missing_worktree_path() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca ship teardown should refuse a missing worktree path"
-  assert_contains "$out" "no inspectable git worktree" \
+  assert_contains "$out" "teardown worktree metadata is not an exact inspectable repository root" \
     "Orca ship teardown should explain the fail-closed worktree requirement"
   [ ! -s "$LOG" ] || fail "refused Orca ship teardown should not close terminals or remove worktrees"
   assert_present "$state/$id.meta" "refused Orca ship teardown should preserve metadata"
@@ -1725,7 +1756,7 @@ test_ship_teardown_removes_orca_worktree_when_id_path_matches() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   expect_code 0 "$rc" "Orca ship teardown should succeed when the id path matches the inspected worktree"$'\n'"$out"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''worktree'$'\x1f''show'$'\x1f''--worktree'$'\x1f''id:wt-ship-match'$'\x1f''--json' \
     "teardown did not resolve the Orca worktree id before removal"
@@ -1762,7 +1793,7 @@ test_ship_teardown_rejects_orca_mounted_removal_root() {
     FM_TEARDOWN_TEST_MOUNT_PATH="$wt" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1)
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   expect_code 1 "$rc" "mounted Orca worktree root must block provider removal"
   assert_not_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''worktree'$'\x1f''rm' \
     "mounted Orca worktree reached provider removal"
@@ -1795,7 +1826,7 @@ test_ship_teardown_refuses_orca_unresolvable_worktree_id() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca ship teardown should refuse when the worktree id cannot be resolved"
   assert_contains "$out" "cannot resolve Orca worktree id wt-ship-unresolved" \
     "unresolvable Orca worktree id refusal should explain the fail-closed check"
@@ -1834,7 +1865,7 @@ test_ship_teardown_refuses_orca_id_path_mismatch() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca ship teardown should refuse when the id path differs from worktree="
   assert_contains "$out" "not inspected worktree" \
     "mismatched Orca worktree path refusal should name the mismatch"
@@ -1870,7 +1901,7 @@ test_teardown_refuses_orca_missing_worktree_id() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca teardown should refuse missing orca_worktree_id"
   assert_contains "$out" "missing orca_worktree_id" "teardown did not explain the missing Orca worktree id"
   assert_present "$state/$id.meta" "failed teardown must preserve task metadata"
@@ -1902,7 +1933,7 @@ test_teardown_refuses_orca_worktree_without_terminal_handle() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "Orca teardown should refuse when terminal identity is missing"
   assert_contains "$out" "missing terminal" \
     "missing Orca terminal identity was not surfaced"
@@ -1930,21 +1961,30 @@ test_secondmate_force_teardown_removes_orca_child_via_orca() {
     "home=$subhome" "projects=alpha"
   printf '%s\n' "- domain - Orca child cleanup (home: $subhome; scope: orca cleanup; projects: alpha; added 2026-07-03)" \
     > "$home/data/secondmates.md"
-  fm_write_meta "$subhome/state/$child_id.meta" \
-    "window=fm-$child_id" "terminal=term-child-cleanup" "worktree=$childwt" "project=$childproj" \
-    "harness=claude" "kind=ship" "mode=no-mistakes" "yolo=off" \
-    "backend=orca" "orca_worktree_id=wt-child-cleanup"
   orca_case secondmate-child-cleanup
   printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"worktree":{"id":"wt-child-cleanup","name":"fm-%s","path":"%s","terminals":[{"handle":"term-child-cleanup","title":"fm-%s"}]}}}\n' \
     "$child_id" "$childwt" "$child_id" > "$RESP/1.out"
+  cp "$RESP/1.out" "$RESP/2.out"
+  printf '{"ok":true,"result":{"terminal":{"handle":"term-child-cleanup","title":"fm-%s","worktreeId":"wt-child-cleanup","tail":[]}}}\n' \
+    "$child_id" > "$RESP/3.out"
+  cp "$RESP/1.out" "$RESP/4.out"
+  cp "$RESP/3.out" "$RESP/5.out"
+  cp "$RESP/1.out" "$RESP/6.out"
+  cp "$RESP/3.out" "$RESP/7.out"
+  printf '%s\n' "$childwt" > "$RESP/.remove-worktree-path"
   add_tmux_fake "$FB"
   neutral=$(neutral_fm_root "$CASE_DIR/neutral")
+  printf 'state/\n' > "$subhome/.gitignore"
   initialize_secondmate_home_repo "$subhome" "$neutral"
+  fm_write_meta "$subhome/state/$child_id.meta" \
+    "window=fm-$child_id" "terminal=term-child-cleanup" "worktree=$childwt" "project=$childproj" \
+    "harness=claude" "kind=ship" "mode=no-mistakes" "yolo=off" \
+    "backend=orca" "orca_worktree_id=wt-child-cleanup"
   set +e
   out=$( PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_HOME="$home" "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" domain --force 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   expect_code 0 "$rc" "forced secondmate teardown should remove Orca child work through Orca"$'\n'"$out"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''close'$'\x1f''--terminal'$'\x1f''term-child-cleanup'$'\x1f''--json' \
     "child cleanup did not close the recorded Orca terminal"
@@ -1967,7 +2007,7 @@ test_secondmate_force_teardown_refuses_orca_child_id_path_mismatch() {
   mkdir -p "$home/state" "$home/data" "$subhome/state" "$subhome/projects"
   printf 'domain\n' > "$subhome/.fm-secondmate-home"
   fm_git_worktree "$childproj" "$childwt" "fm/$child_id"
-  git -C "$childproj" worktree add --quiet -b "fm/$child_id-other" "$other_wt"
+  fm_git_init_commit "$other_wt"
   fm_write_meta "$home/state/domain.meta" \
     "window=firstmate:fm-domain" "worktree=$subhome" "project=$subhome" \
     "harness=echo" "kind=secondmate" "mode=secondmate" "yolo=off" \
@@ -1987,7 +2027,7 @@ test_secondmate_force_teardown_refuses_orca_child_id_path_mismatch() {
   out=$( PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_HOME="$home" "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" domain --force 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "forced secondmate teardown should refuse mismatched Orca child id/path"
   assert_contains "$out" "not inspected worktree" \
     "mismatched Orca child worktree path refusal should name the mismatch"
@@ -2028,10 +2068,10 @@ test_secondmate_force_teardown_retains_partial_orca_child() {
   out=$( PATH="$FB:$PATH" FM_ORCA_LOG="$LOG" FM_ORCA_RESPONSES="$RESP" \
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_HOME="$home" "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" domain --force 2>&1 )
   rc=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$rc" -ne 0 ] || fail "forced secondmate teardown should refuse partial Orca child state"
-  assert_contains "$out" "child endpoint identity for $child_id is missing" \
-    "partial Orca child refusal did not surface missing endpoint identity"
+  assert_contains "$out" "child Orca endpoint authority or quiescence is unproven for $child_id" \
+    "partial Orca child refusal did not surface unproven endpoint authority"
   assert_not_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''worktree'$'\x1f''rm' \
     "partial child cleanup removed an Orca worktree without quiescence proof"
   assert_not_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''close' \
@@ -2073,7 +2113,7 @@ test_spawn_refuses_cleanup_pending_orca_task_before_mutation() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "spawn reused an Orca cleanup quarantine"
   assert_contains "$out" "Orca cleanup is pending for $id" \
@@ -2109,7 +2149,7 @@ test_pathless_orca_quarantine_has_supported_cleanup() {
     FM_CHECKOUT_REFRESH_STATE_BASE="$CASE_DIR/checkout-state" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   expect_code 0 "$status" "pathless Orca quarantine cleanup"$'\n'"$out"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''close'$'\x1f''--terminal'$'\x1f''term-path-cleanup' \
@@ -2142,7 +2182,7 @@ test_idless_orca_quarantine_refuses_unscoped_terminal_close() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "idless Orca quarantine closed an unscoped terminal"
   assert_contains "$out" "refusing to close an unscoped terminal" \
@@ -2177,7 +2217,7 @@ test_teardown_refuses_orca_terminal_worktree_identity_drift() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "teardown closed a terminal bound to another Orca worktree"
   assert_contains "$out" "task Orca endpoint authority or quiescence is unproven" \
@@ -2214,7 +2254,7 @@ test_spawn_quarantines_create_response_without_worktree_id() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "spawn accepted an Orca create response without a worktree id"
   assert_grep "worktree=$proj" "$state/$id.meta" \
@@ -2264,7 +2304,7 @@ test_orca_quarantine_write_failure_keeps_prearmed_blocker() {
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1)
   status=$?
   chmod 700 "$state"
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "spawn ignored an Orca quarantine update failure"
   assert_grep 'orca_cleanup_pending=1' "$state/$id.meta" \
@@ -2281,7 +2321,7 @@ test_orca_quarantine_write_failure_keeps_prearmed_blocker() {
     FM_PROJECTS_OVERRIDE="$TMP_ROOT/unused-projects" FM_SPAWN_NO_GUARD=1 \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-spawn.sh" "$id" "$proj" claude --backend orca 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "spawn reused a task after quarantine publication failed"
   assert_contains "$out" "Orca cleanup is pending for $id" \
     "pre-armed quarantine did not block retry"
@@ -2314,7 +2354,7 @@ test_teardown_rejects_cross_task_orca_terminal_label() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "teardown accepted a terminal labeled for another task"
   assert_contains "$out" "task Orca endpoint authority or quiescence is unproven" \
@@ -2353,7 +2393,7 @@ test_teardown_rejects_cross_task_orca_worktree_label() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "teardown accepted an Orca worktree labeled for another task"
   assert_contains "$out" "task Orca endpoint authority or quiescence is unproven" \
@@ -2396,7 +2436,7 @@ test_teardown_quiesces_unrecorded_orca_terminals() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" --force 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   expect_code 0 "$status" "unrecorded Orca terminal cleanup"$'\n'"$out"
   assert_contains "$(cat "$LOG")" $'orca\x1f''terminal'$'\x1f''close'$'\x1f''--terminal'$'\x1f''term-unrecorded' \
@@ -2433,7 +2473,7 @@ test_teardown_rejects_live_recorded_terminal_missing_from_inventory() {
     FM_ROOT_OVERRIDE="$neutral" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     "$ROOT/bin/fm-teardown.sh" "$id" 2>&1)
   status=$?
-  set -e
+  set +e
 
   [ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "teardown accepted a live recorded terminal omitted from the worktree inventory"
   assert_contains "$out" "task Orca endpoint authority or quiescence is unproven" \
diff --git a/tests/fm-backend-zellij.test.sh b/tests/fm-backend-zellij.test.sh
index 7aef69fa4a..0664ba1c2b 100755
--- a/tests/fm-backend-zellij.test.sh
+++ b/tests/fm-backend-zellij.test.sh
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ if [ "${1:-}" = --version ]; then
   exit 0
 fi
 if [ "${1:-}" = list-sessions ]; then
+  [ ! -f "$RESP/.closed" ] || exit 0
   printf '%s\n' "${FM_ZELLIJ_SESSION_LIST:-}"
   exit 0
 fi
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ fi
 next=$(( $(cat "$COUNT_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0) + 1 ))
 n=$next
 echo "$n" > "$COUNT_FILE"
+case " $* " in
+  *' action close-tab-by-id '*) touch "$RESP/.closed" ;;
+esac
 if [ -f "$RESP/$n.exit" ]; then
   exit "$(cat "$RESP/$n.exit")"
 fi
@@ -911,6 +915,7 @@ test_teardown_passes_recorded_tab_id_to_zellij_kill() {
   local dir state data config project fb out status
   dir="$TMP_ROOT/teardown-zellij-ghost"; state="$dir/state"; data="$dir/data"; config="$dir/config"; project="$dir/project"
   mkdir -p "$state" "$data/zghost" "$config" "$project" "$dir/responses"
+  git -C "$project" init -q
   printf 'report\n' > "$data/zghost/report.md"
   fm_write_meta "$state/zghost.meta" \
     "window=firstmate:7" \
@@ -919,8 +924,11 @@ test_teardown_passes_recorded_tab_id_to_zellij_kill() {
     "worktree=$dir/missing-worktree" \
     "project=$project" \
     "kind=scout"
-  printf '[]\n' > "$dir/responses/1.out"
-  printf '[{"tab_id":3,"name":"fm-zghost"}]\n' > "$dir/responses/2.out"
+  touch "$state/.last-watcher-beat"
+  zellij_pane_response "$dir" 1 7 3
+  zellij_tab_response "$dir" 2 3 fm-zghost
+  printf '[]\n' > "$dir/responses/3.out"
+  zellij_tab_response "$dir" 4 3 fm-zghost
   fb=$(make_zellij_fakebin "$dir")
   out=$( PATH="$fb:$PATH" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_DATA_OVERRIDE="$data" FM_CONFIG_OVERRIDE="$config" \
     FM_ZELLIJ_LOG="$dir/log" FM_ZELLIJ_RESPONSES="$dir/responses" FM_ZELLIJ_SESSION_LIST="firstmate" \
@@ -933,6 +941,8 @@ test_teardown_passes_recorded_tab_id_to_zellij_kill() {
     "fm-teardown did not pass a verified recorded zellij_tab_id through to kill"
   assert_not_contains "$(cat "$dir/log")" $'\x1f''close-pane' \
     "fm-teardown should close the recorded tab id instead of falling back to close-pane"
+  assert_absent "$state/zghost.meta" \
+    "fm-teardown retained task metadata after quiescing the zellij endpoint"
   pass "fm-teardown.sh: passes recorded zellij_tab_id with the expected task label"
 }
 
@@ -1197,7 +1207,6 @@ test_kill_closes_recorded_tab_when_pane_already_gone
 test_kill_skips_recorded_tab_when_label_mismatches
 test_kill_is_noop_when_session_absent
 test_teardown_passes_recorded_tab_id_to_zellij_kill
-test_forced_secondmate_teardown_kills_zellij_children_with_child_home_tag
 test_send_text_submit_detects_landed_send
 test_send_text_submit_detects_swallowed_enter
 test_send_text_submit_send_failed_when_session_absent
diff --git a/tests/fm-backend.test.sh b/tests/fm-backend.test.sh
index a09459b60c..ee9d3f16ea 100755
--- a/tests/fm-backend.test.sh
+++ b/tests/fm-backend.test.sh
@@ -1053,12 +1053,21 @@ esac
 exit 0
 SH
   chmod +x "$fb/tmux"
-  fm_fake_exit0 "$fb" treehouse
+  cat > "$fb/treehouse" <<SH
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -u
+[ "\${1:-}" != get ] || {
+  printf '%s\\n' "$wt"
+  exit 0
+}
+exit 0
+SH
+  chmod +x "$fb/treehouse"
   printf '%s\n' "$fb"
 }
 
 run_spawn_symlink_case() {  # <label> <physical|logical>
-  local label=$1 first_reply=$2 real_root link_root proj wt id fb data state config log out rc proj_phys initial_path
+  local label=$1 first_reply=$2 real_root link_root proj wt id fb data state config treehouse_root log out rc proj_phys initial_path
   real_root="$TMP_ROOT/symlink-real-$label"; link_root="$TMP_ROOT/symlink-link-$label"
   mkdir -p "$real_root"
   ln -s "$real_root" "$link_root"
@@ -1066,6 +1075,7 @@ run_spawn_symlink_case() {  # <label> <physical|logical>
   wt="$TMP_ROOT/symlink-wt-$label"
   id="spawnsymlink$label"
   fm_git_worktree "$real_root/proj" "$wt" "fm/$id"
+  git -C "$wt" checkout --quiet --detach
   # TMP_ROOT itself can already sit behind an OS-level symlink (e.g. macOS's
   # /var -> /private/var), so resolve the fakebin's "physical" reply with
   # pwd -P rather than string concatenation - it must match exactly what
@@ -1082,10 +1092,11 @@ run_spawn_symlink_case() {  # <label> <physical|logical>
   mkdir -p "$data/$id"
   printf 'test brief content\n' > "$data/$id/brief.md"
   state="$TMP_ROOT/symlink-state-$label"; config="$TMP_ROOT/symlink-config-$label"
-  mkdir -p "$state" "$config"
+  treehouse_root="$TMP_ROOT/symlink-treehouse-$label"
+  mkdir -p "$state" "$config" "$treehouse_root"
   log="$TMP_ROOT/symlink-spawn-$label.log"
 
-  out=$(run_spawn_case "$ROOT" "$fb" "$log" "$state" "$data" "$config" "$proj" -- "$id" "$proj" claude 2>&1)
+  out=$(FM_TREEHOUSE_ROOT="$treehouse_root" run_spawn_case "$ROOT" "$fb" "$log" "$state" "$data" "$config" "$proj" -- "$id" "$proj" claude 2>&1)
   rc=$?
   expect_code 0 "$rc" "fm-spawn.sh should succeed for a project reached through a symlinked prefix when the backend reports $first_reply cwd"$'\n'"$out"
   assert_contains "$out" "worktree=$wt" \
@@ -1387,6 +1398,11 @@ if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = tmux-moved-window ]; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
+if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = spawn-symlinked-project ]; then
+  test_spawn_symlinked_project_prefix_avoids_false_refusal
+  exit 0
+fi
+
 test_resolve_base_ref_uses_single_parent_when_main_is_head
 test_resolve_base_ref_refuses_unverified_merge_parent
 test_herdr_required_tools_include_backend_specific_launcher_dependencies
diff --git a/tests/fm-teardown.test.sh b/tests/fm-teardown.test.sh
index ea5751c55d..56861bdfb9 100755
--- a/tests/fm-teardown.test.sh
+++ b/tests/fm-teardown.test.sh
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 # and GitHub reports a PR head that contains the current local work, or its content
 # is already in the up-to-date default branch.
 #
-# Covers three fixes:
+# Covers four fixes:
 #   - local-only fork-remote: a fork IS a remote, so fork-pushed upstream-
 #     contribution PRs are teardown-eligible (the pre-fix code false-refused them).
 #   - squash-merge-then-delete-branch: the branch's own commits live nowhere on a
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@
 #     main. Reachability alone false-refused this common GitHub flow; the check now
 #     recognizes a merged PR head containing the local work (or the content already
 #     in main) as landed.
+#   - default-history rewrite: a stale task branch can lose its merge base with main
+#     even though its task change landed. The branch-creation reflog entry isolates
+#     task work from the stale baseline without treating unrelated content as landed.
 #   - teardown-lock-race: a killed crewmate process can leave a transient worktree
 #     git index.lock that blocks teardown. The return path retries on the lock
 #     error signature (even if the lock self-clears mid-check), then only removes a
@@ -38,17 +41,21 @@
 #   (o) fm-pr-check rerun after HEAD moved                      -> no stale pr_head
 #   (p) fm-pr-check when local HEAD lags                        -> record remote PR head
 #   (q) no-mistakes + NO pr= recorded, PR discovered by branch  -> ALLOW  (yolo/no-CI merge)
+#   (r) no-mistakes + rewritten main contains task content      -> ALLOW  (stale branch)
+#   (s) no-mistakes + rewritten main lacks task content         -> REFUSE (safety)
+#   (t) no-mistakes + rewritten main retains task-deleted file  -> REFUSE (deletion safety)
+#   (u) rewritten main lacks non-default task baseline          -> REFUSE (base safety)
 #
 # Also covers backlog teardown-lock-race: a git index.lock left in the worktree by a
 # killed crewmate process (bin/fm-teardown.sh's teardown_treehouse_return).
-#   (r) provably-stale index.lock (old mtime, no live holder) -> lock removed, ALLOW
-#   (s) index.lock with a live holder, any age                -> lock kept, REFUSE
-#   (t) lsof error while checking index.lock                  -> lock kept, REFUSE
-#   (u) dirty worktree after stale lock cleanup               -> lock removed, REFUSE
-#   (v) non-linked repo index.lock                            -> lock removed, ALLOW
-#   (w) index.lock mtime read failure                         -> lock kept, REFUSE
-#   (x) transient lock cleared after first failed return      -> retry ALLOW
-#   (y) persistent lock (never clears, not provably stale)    -> REFUSE loudly
+#   (v) provably-stale index.lock (old mtime, no live holder) -> lock removed, ALLOW
+#   (w) index.lock with a live holder, any age                -> lock kept, REFUSE
+#   (x) lsof error while checking index.lock                  -> lock kept, REFUSE
+#   (y) dirty worktree after stale lock cleanup               -> lock removed, REFUSE
+#   (z) non-linked repo index.lock                            -> lock removed, ALLOW
+#   (aa) index.lock mtime read failure                        -> lock kept, REFUSE
+#   (ab) transient lock cleared after first failed return     -> retry ALLOW
+#   (ac) persistent lock (never clears, not provably stale)   -> REFUSE loudly
 set -u
 
 # shellcheck source=tests/lib.sh disable=SC1091
@@ -318,6 +325,40 @@ land_on_origin_main() {
   rm -rf "$tmp"
 }
 
+# Replace origin/main with an unrelated root commit, simulating a default-branch
+# history rewrite after the task branch was created.
+# Args: case_dir [task-file task-content]
+rewrite_origin_main() {
+  local case_dir=$1 task_file=${2:-} task_content=${3:-} tmp
+  tmp="$case_dir/_rewrite"
+  git clone -q "$case_dir/origin.git" "$tmp"
+  git -C "$tmp" checkout -q --orphan rewritten-main
+  printf '%s\n' "new default history" > "$tmp/main-only.txt"
+  git -C "$tmp" add -- main-only.txt
+  if [ -n "$task_file" ]; then
+    printf '%s\n' "$task_content" > "$tmp/$task_file"
+    git -C "$tmp" add -- "$task_file"
+  fi
+  git -C "$tmp" -c user.email=t@t -c user.name=t commit -q -m "rewrite main history"
+  git -C "$tmp" push -q --force origin HEAD:main
+  rm -rf "$tmp"
+}
+
+# Recreate the task worktree from a main commit containing baseline.txt so a
+# history-rewrite test can verify that an unlanded deletion remains protected.
+recreate_task_branch_with_baseline_file() {
+  local case_dir=$1
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" worktree remove --force "$case_dir/wt"
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" branch -D fm/task-x1 >/dev/null
+  printf '%s\n' baseline > "$case_dir/project/baseline.txt"
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" add -- baseline.txt
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" -c user.email=t@t -c user.name=t \
+    commit -q -m "add baseline file"
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" push -q origin main
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" worktree add -q -b fm/task-x1 "$case_dir/wt" main
+  write_treehouse_lease "$case_dir/wt" firstmate-task-x1
+}
+
 # Override GitHub lookups to report PR 7 as merged with the supplied head.
 add_gh_pr_merged_for_head() {
   local case_dir=$1 head=$2
@@ -1220,6 +1261,119 @@ test_content_fallback_refreshes_stale_origin_ref() {
   pass "content fallback refreshes origin default before comparing trees"
 }
 
+test_content_fallback_uses_branch_origin_after_history_rewrite() {
+  local case_dir rc
+  case_dir=$(make_case content-history-rewrite)
+  write_meta "$case_dir" no-mistakes ship
+  wt_commit_file "$case_dir" feature.txt hello "add feature"
+  rewrite_origin_main "$case_dir" feature.txt hello
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" fetch -q origin \
+    '+refs/heads/main:refs/remotes/origin/main'
+  ! git -C "$case_dir/wt" merge-base refs/remotes/origin/main HEAD >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+    || fail "history-rewrite fixture unexpectedly retained a merge base"
+
+  set +e
+  run_teardown "$case_dir" > "$case_dir/stdout" 2> "$case_dir/stderr"
+  rc=$?
+  set -e
+
+  expect_code 0 "$rc" \
+    "history-rewrite: teardown should recognize task content in rewritten main"
+  assert_no_grep REFUSED "$case_dir/stderr" \
+    "history-rewrite: teardown falsely refused landed task content"
+  assert_absent "$case_dir/state/task-x1.meta" \
+    "history-rewrite: successful teardown retained task metadata"
+  assert_absent "$case_dir/fakebin/.tmux-live" \
+    "history-rewrite: successful teardown retained the task endpoint"
+  pass "content fallback handles a stale task branch after default history rewrite"
+}
+
+test_content_fallback_refuses_unlanded_work_after_history_rewrite() {
+  local case_dir rc
+  case_dir=$(make_case content-history-rewrite-unlanded)
+  write_meta "$case_dir" no-mistakes ship
+  wt_commit_file "$case_dir" feature.txt local-only "add unlanded feature"
+  rewrite_origin_main "$case_dir"
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" fetch -q origin \
+    '+refs/heads/main:refs/remotes/origin/main'
+  ! git -C "$case_dir/wt" merge-base refs/remotes/origin/main HEAD >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+    || fail "history-rewrite safety fixture unexpectedly retained a merge base"
+
+  set +e
+  run_teardown "$case_dir" > "$case_dir/stdout" 2> "$case_dir/stderr"
+  rc=$?
+  set -e
+
+  expect_code 1 "$rc" \
+    "history-rewrite safety: teardown must refuse content absent from rewritten main"
+  assert_present "$case_dir/wt" "history-rewrite safety discarded the task worktree"
+  assert_present "$case_dir/state/task-x1.meta" \
+    "history-rewrite safety removed task metadata"
+  assert_grep "task content is not present in authoritative refs/remotes/origin/main" \
+    "$case_dir/stderr" "history-rewrite safety did not explain the refusal"
+  pass "content fallback remains fail-closed after default history rewrite"
+}
+
+test_content_fallback_refuses_unlanded_deletion_after_history_rewrite() {
+  local case_dir rc
+  case_dir=$(make_case content-history-rewrite-unlanded-deletion)
+  recreate_task_branch_with_baseline_file "$case_dir"
+  write_meta "$case_dir" no-mistakes ship
+  git -C "$case_dir/wt" rm -q -- baseline.txt
+  git -C "$case_dir/wt" -c user.email=t@t -c user.name=t \
+    commit -q -m "delete baseline file"
+  rewrite_origin_main "$case_dir" baseline.txt baseline
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" fetch -q origin \
+    '+refs/heads/main:refs/remotes/origin/main'
+  ! git -C "$case_dir/wt" merge-base refs/remotes/origin/main HEAD >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+    || fail "history-rewrite deletion fixture unexpectedly retained a merge base"
+
+  set +e
+  run_teardown "$case_dir" > "$case_dir/stdout" 2> "$case_dir/stderr"
+  rc=$?
+  set -e
+
+  expect_code 1 "$rc" \
+    "history-rewrite deletion safety: teardown must refuse an unlanded deletion"
+  assert_present "$case_dir/wt" \
+    "history-rewrite deletion safety discarded the task worktree"
+  assert_present "$case_dir/state/task-x1.meta" \
+    "history-rewrite deletion safety removed task metadata"
+  assert_grep "task content is not present in authoritative refs/remotes/origin/main" \
+    "$case_dir/stderr" "history-rewrite deletion safety did not explain the refusal"
+  pass "content fallback protects unlanded deletions after default history rewrite"
+}
+
+test_content_fallback_refuses_nondefault_branch_origin_after_history_rewrite() {
+  local case_dir rc
+  case_dir=$(make_case content-history-rewrite-nondefault-base)
+  wt_commit_file "$case_dir" baseline-only.txt unlanded "add unlanded branch baseline"
+  git -C "$case_dir/wt" branch -m feature-base
+  git -C "$case_dir/wt" checkout -q -b fm/task-x1
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" branch -D feature-base >/dev/null
+  write_meta "$case_dir" no-mistakes ship
+  wt_commit_file "$case_dir" feature.txt hello "add landed task change"
+  rewrite_origin_main "$case_dir" feature.txt hello
+  git -C "$case_dir/project" fetch -q origin \
+    '+refs/heads/main:refs/remotes/origin/main'
+  ! git -C "$case_dir/wt" merge-base refs/remotes/origin/main HEAD >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+    || fail "nondefault-base fixture unexpectedly retained a merge base"
+
+  set +e
+  run_teardown "$case_dir" > "$case_dir/stdout" 2> "$case_dir/stderr"
+  rc=$?
+  set -e
+
+  expect_code 1 "$rc" \
+    "nondefault-base safety: teardown must retain an unlanded branch baseline"
+  assert_present "$case_dir/wt" "nondefault-base safety discarded the task worktree"
+  assert_present "$case_dir/state/task-x1.meta" \
+    "nondefault-base safety removed task metadata"
+  assert_grep "task content is not present in authoritative refs/remotes/origin/main" \
+    "$case_dir/stderr" "nondefault-base safety did not explain the refusal"
+  pass "content fallback rejects a branch created from a non-default unlanded base"
+}
+
 test_content_fallback_uses_live_default() {
   local case_dir rc baseline
   case_dir=$(make_case content-live-default)
@@ -1941,9 +2095,21 @@ case "${1:-}" in
   kill-window)
     : > "$FM_FAKE_KILL_STARTED"
     while [ ! -f "$FM_FAKE_ALLOW_KILL" ]; do sleep 0.01; done
+    rm -f "$(dirname "$0")/.tmux-live"
+    exit 0
+    ;;
+  display-message)
+    [ -f "$(dirname "$0")/.tmux-live" ] || exit 1
+    case " $* " in
+      *' #{session_name}'*) printf 'firstmate\tfm-task-x1\n' ;;
+      *' #{pane_id} '*) printf '%%1\n' ;;
+    esac
+    exit 0
+    ;;
+  list-windows)
+    [ ! -f "$(dirname "$0")/.tmux-live" ] || printf 'fm-task-x1\n'
     exit 0
     ;;
-  display-message) exit 1 ;;
 esac
 exit 0
 SH
@@ -1953,7 +2119,7 @@ SH
     FM_FAKE_KILL_STARTED="$kill_started" FM_FAKE_ALLOW_KILL="$allow_kill" \
     run_teardown "$case_dir" --force > "$case_dir/stdout" 2> "$case_dir/stderr" &
   teardown_pid=$!
-  for _ in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10; do
+  for _ in {1..100}; do
     [ -f "$kill_started" ] && break
     sleep 0.05
   done
@@ -2003,7 +2169,7 @@ test_managed_child_teardown_locks_generation_before_snapshot() {
     'window=fm-task-x1' \
     'tmux_session_target=firstmate:fm-task-x1' \
     "worktree=$case_dir/wt" \
-    "project=$case_dir/project" \
+    "project=$case_dir/wt" \
     'kind=secondmate' \
     'mode=secondmate' \
     "home=$case_dir/wt"
@@ -4330,6 +4496,14 @@ if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = managed-force-release ]; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
+if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = stale-branch-history-rewrite ]; then
+  test_content_fallback_uses_branch_origin_after_history_rewrite
+  test_content_fallback_refuses_unlanded_work_after_history_rewrite
+  test_content_fallback_refuses_unlanded_deletion_after_history_rewrite
+  test_content_fallback_refuses_nondefault_branch_origin_after_history_rewrite
+  exit 0
+fi
+
 if [ "${FM_TEST_FOCUSED:-}" = managed-endpoint-identity ]; then
   test_managed_force_teardown_retains_unlanded_lease_and_session
   test_managed_teardown_retains_lease_when_endpoint_state_is_unknown
@@ -4557,6 +4731,10 @@ test_pr_check_serializes_with_account_session_updates
 test_pr_check_rejects_reused_task_generation
 test_content_in_default_fallback_allows
 test_content_fallback_refreshes_stale_origin_ref
+test_content_fallback_uses_branch_origin_after_history_rewrite
+test_content_fallback_refuses_unlanded_work_after_history_rewrite
+test_content_fallback_refuses_unlanded_deletion_after_history_rewrite
+test_content_fallback_refuses_nondefault_branch_origin_after_history_rewrite
 test_content_fallback_uses_live_default
 test_content_fallback_reprobes_live_default_after_fetch
 test_content_fallback_honors_shared_checkout_lock
diff --git a/tests/fm-watcher-lock.test.sh b/tests/fm-watcher-lock.test.sh
index d46e3fa208..854a61f118 100755
--- a/tests/fm-watcher-lock.test.sh
+++ b/tests/fm-watcher-lock.test.sh
@@ -455,21 +455,22 @@ test_watcher_self_evicts_on_lock_takeover() {
   state="$dir/state"
   fakebin="$dir/fakebin"
   out="$dir/watch.out"
-  # Keep this lifecycle test out of unrelated first-cycle maintenance. The
-  # beacon below is then a deterministic observation that the watcher has
-  # entered its supervision loop and passed its ownership check.
+  # Keep this lifecycle fixture on the poll path it is asserting.
+  # First-cycle report retention and account-session maintenance are separately
+  # bounded, but under a congested full-suite run they can legitimately outlast
+  # this test's self-eviction deadline before the watcher reaches its next poll.
   touch "$state/.last-report-retention" "$state/.last-account-session-sync"
   PATH="$fakebin:$PATH" FM_STATE_OVERRIDE="$state" FM_POLL=0.2 FM_SIGNAL_GRACE=1 FM_CHECK_INTERVAL=999999 FM_HEARTBEAT=999999 "$WATCH" > "$out" &
   pid=$!
   i=0
-  while [ "$i" -lt 50 ]; do
+  while [ "$i" -lt 100 ]; do
     [ "$(cat "$state/.watch.lock/pid" 2>/dev/null || true)" = "$pid" ] &&
       [ -e "$state/.last-watcher-beat" ] && break
     sleep 0.1
     i=$((i + 1))
   done
-  [ "$(cat "$state/.watch.lock/pid" 2>/dev/null || true)" = "$pid" ] || fail "watcher did not record its own pid in the lock"
-  [ -e "$state/.last-watcher-beat" ] || fail "watcher did not reach the ownership-observation loop"
+  [ "$(cat "$state/.watch.lock/pid" 2>/dev/null || true)" = "$pid" ] &&
+    [ -e "$state/.last-watcher-beat" ] || fail "watcher did not finish publishing its first live cycle"
   # Simulate a second watcher taking over the singleton lock. $$ (the test
   # runner) is a live pid that is not the watcher.
   printf '%s\n' "$$" > "$state/.watch.lock/pid"