diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index ae93e2d88b4a..3849cf617009 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ Skills own workflows; root owns hard policy and routing.
 - Base/head changed: stop and rewarm Testbox; never override stale lease checks.
 - Compound Testbox commands: `bash -lc`, never `sh -lc`; job env uses Bash `declare`.
 - Testbox cleanup: `blacksmith testbox stop --id <tbx_id>`; id is not positional.
+- Delegated Testbox rejects `--fresh-pr` and `--stop-after`; sync current checkout, workflow owns lifecycle.
 - PR review artifacts: keep template enum values; put evidence detail in summaries.
 - Crabbox request means real scenario proof: install/update/call/repro user path; not just copy tests and run them remotely.
 - Visual proof: use Crabbox, set up like a user, then screenshot-verify. No harness/bypass/shortcut unless explicitly asked.
diff --git a/src/infra/clawhub.promotions.test.ts b/src/infra/clawhub.promotions.test.ts
index 3752a39c774e..6ae459b87827 100644
--- a/src/infra/clawhub.promotions.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/clawhub.promotions.test.ts
@@ -190,4 +190,12 @@ describe("fetchClawHubPromotionsFeed", () => {
     const init = fetchImpl.mock.calls[0]?.[1] as RequestInit;
     expect(new Headers(init?.headers).get("if-none-match")).toBe('"seq-3"');
   });
+
+  it("does not extend the interactive feed timeout with transient retries", async () => {
+    const fetchImpl = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error("offline"));
+
+    await expect(fetchClawHubPromotionsFeed({ fetchImpl })).rejects.toThrow("offline");
+
+    expect(fetchImpl).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/infra/clawhub.ts b/src/infra/clawhub.ts
index 0c6d3dbb3cdf..6203840102ca 100644
--- a/src/infra/clawhub.ts
+++ b/src/infra/clawhub.ts
@@ -424,6 +424,7 @@ type ClawHubRequestParams = {
   search?: Record<string, string | undefined>;
   fetchImpl?: FetchLike;
   skipAuth?: boolean;
+  retryTransientReads?: boolean;
   headers?: Record<string, string>;
 };
 
@@ -729,7 +730,7 @@ async function clawhubRequest(
 
   // A write may have committed before its response failed, so only replay
   // idempotent reads across transient ClawHub transport failures.
-  if ((params.method ?? "GET") !== "GET") {
+  if ((params.method ?? "GET") !== "GET" || params.retryTransientReads === false) {
     return await request();
   }
   return await retryClawHubRead(request, {
@@ -1967,6 +1968,9 @@ export async function fetchClawHubPromotionsFeed(
     path: "/api/v1/feeds/promotions",
     timeoutMs: params.timeoutMs,
     fetchImpl: params.fetchImpl,
+    // This passive refresh runs inline from interactive commands. Its cache
+    // cadence owns retries; shared backoff would turn the 2.5s cap into ~24s.
+    retryTransientReads: false,
     // Public CDN-served snapshot; an Authorization header would only
     // fragment edge caches.
     skipAuth: true,