diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 46400610..0b8ecb6e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -16,6 +16,23 @@ Earlier stable lines (`stable/1.6`, `stable/1.5`) are frozen.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- **Background shells: `bash` gains `run_in_background`, plus `bash_output` /
+  `kill_shell`.** Setting `run_in_background=true` starts the command as a
+  detached shell and returns immediately with a `bash_N` handle — "start a dev
+  server, use it in a later call" is back as an explicit opt-in (the shape
+  follows the convention the major coding agents converged on). `bash_output`
+  returns only output produced since the previous read (optionally filtered by
+  a regex) plus status and exit code; `kill_shell` terminates the shell's
+  whole process group. Output is buffered per shell with a drop-oldest cap, so
+  a chatty server can't grow memory unbounded. When a background shell exits,
+  a system notice lands at the next seam (waking an idle workstream if
+  needed). Shells survive a generation cancel, die with the workstream, and
+  never outlive a task_agent that started them; anything a background shell
+  itself backgrounds is still reaped when that shell exits — the no-leak
+  guarantee below is unchanged.
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - **bash tool: never hang on a backgrounded child.** A command that left a
@@ -28,7 +45,8 @@ Earlier stable lines (`stable/1.6`, `stable/1.5`) are frozen.
   (`errors="replace"`) instead of being dropped as a spurious error.
   - **Behavior change:** a process the command backgrounds no longer survives
     the call — nothing persists across bash invocations. (First-class
-    "run this in the background" support is planned as a separate change.)
+    "run this in the background" support landed separately — see
+    `run_in_background` under Added.)
 
 ## [1.7.3]
 
diff --git a/tests/_proc_helpers.py b/tests/_proc_helpers.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..92c26c02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/_proc_helpers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+"""Shared process/polling helpers for the bash + background-shell suites.
+
+One copy instead of three: ``test_bash_tool_background_hang``,
+``test_background_shells`` and ``test_bash_background_tool`` all assert on
+process liveness and poll for asynchronous state.  Leading underscore so
+pytest doesn't collect it.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import contextlib
+import os
+import signal
+import time
+
+
+def pid_alive(pid: int) -> bool:
+    try:
+        os.kill(pid, 0)
+    except ProcessLookupError:
+        return False
+    except PermissionError:
+        return True
+    return True
+
+
+def kill_pid(pid: int) -> None:
+    with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
+        os.kill(pid, signal.SIGKILL)
+
+
+def poll_until(predicate, timeout=10.0, interval=0.05):
+    """Poll ``predicate`` until truthy or ``timeout``; RETURNS the last value
+    (falsy on timeout — assert at the call site).  Deliberately named apart
+    from ``tests/_helpers.wait_until``, which RAISES on timeout: two
+    same-named helpers with opposite failure semantics invite silently-green
+    tests."""
+    deadline = time.monotonic() + timeout
+    value = predicate()
+    while not value and time.monotonic() < deadline:
+        time.sleep(interval)
+        value = predicate()
+    return value
diff --git a/tests/test_background_shells.py b/tests/test_background_shells.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..334cc45d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_background_shells.py
@@ -0,0 +1,675 @@
+"""Unit tests for the per-session background-shell registry (#817).
+
+The registry backs the ``bash(run_in_background=true)`` / ``bash_output`` /
+``kill_shell`` tool surface: it spawns detached shells (``bash_N`` handles),
+buffers their merged output in a capped rolling buffer, serves delta reads
+(only lines since the last read), and reaps whole session groups on kill /
+owner reap / close — the #816 rule (the tracked command defines the lifetime,
+nothing escapes its process group) extended to explicit backgrounding.
+
+Pure registry tests — no ChatSession.  Session wiring is covered in
+``test_bash_background_tool.py``.
+"""
+
+import re
+import threading
+import time
+
+import pytest
+
+from tests._proc_helpers import kill_pid as _kill_pid
+from tests._proc_helpers import pid_alive as _pid_alive
+from tests._proc_helpers import poll_until as _wait_until
+from turnstone.core.background_shells import (
+    BackgroundShellRegistry,
+    FilterTimeoutError,
+    TooManyShellsError,
+    UnknownShellError,
+)
+
+
+def _wait_status(shell, status, timeout=10.0):
+    return _wait_until(lambda: shell.status == status, timeout=timeout)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def registry():
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry()
+    yield reg
+    reg.close()
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Handles + spawning
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_spawn_returns_incrementing_bash_handles(registry):
+    s1 = registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    s2 = registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    assert s1.shell_id == "bash_1"
+    assert s2.shell_id == "bash_2"
+
+
+def test_spawned_shell_is_running_with_live_pid(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    assert shell.status == "running"
+    assert _pid_alive(shell.pid)
+
+
+def test_spawn_records_command(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    assert shell.command == "sleep 30"
+
+
+def test_spawn_after_close_is_refused():
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry()
+    reg.close()
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+        reg.spawn("echo hi")
+
+
+def test_max_live_shells_cap():
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(max_shells=2)
+    try:
+        reg.spawn("sleep 30")
+        s2 = reg.spawn("sleep 30")
+        with pytest.raises(TooManyShellsError):
+            reg.spawn("sleep 30")
+        # Cap counts LIVE shells: killing one frees a slot.
+        reg.kill(s2.shell_id)
+        s3 = reg.spawn("sleep 30")
+        assert s3.status == "running"
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+def test_completed_shells_do_not_count_toward_cap():
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(max_shells=1)
+    try:
+        s1 = reg.spawn("true")
+        assert _wait_status(s1, "completed")
+        s2 = reg.spawn("sleep 30")
+        assert s2.status == "running"
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Exit tracking
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_natural_exit_sets_completed_and_exit_code(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("exit 7")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    assert shell.exit_code == 7
+
+
+def test_output_is_complete_once_completed(registry):
+    """Status flips to completed only after the drains finish: a read at
+    completed must see everything the command wrote."""
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo alpha; echo beta")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert [ln.strip() for ln in read.lines] == ["alpha", "beta"]
+
+
+def test_leader_exit_reaps_backgrounded_grandchild(registry, tmp_path):
+    """#816 consistency: the tracked command defines the lifetime.  When the
+    leader exits, the whole session group is killed — a child the command
+    backgrounded does not outlive it."""
+    pidfile = tmp_path / "bg.pid"
+    shell = registry.spawn(f"sleep 60 & echo $! > {pidfile}; echo done")
+    bg_pid = None
+    try:
+        assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+        bg_pid = int(pidfile.read_text().strip())
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(bg_pid)), (
+            f"grandchild {bg_pid} leaked past leader exit"
+        )
+        read = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+        assert "done" in "".join(read.lines)
+    finally:
+        if bg_pid is not None:
+            _kill_pid(bg_pid)
+
+
+def test_stderr_lines_are_tagged_inline(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo out; echo err >&2")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    lines = [ln.strip() for ln in registry.read(shell.shell_id).lines]
+    assert "out" in lines
+    assert "[stderr] err" in lines
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Delta reads
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_read_returns_only_new_lines_since_last_read(registry):
+    """The load-bearing convention: consecutive reads never overlap and never
+    drop a line — collecting across polls yields each line exactly once."""
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo one; echo two; sleep 0.4; echo three; sleep 30")
+    collected: list[str] = []
+
+    def _collect():
+        collected.extend(ln.strip() for ln in registry.read(shell.shell_id).lines)
+        return "three" in collected
+
+    assert _wait_until(_collect)
+    assert collected == ["one", "two", "three"]
+    registry.kill(shell.shell_id)
+
+
+def test_read_after_exit_then_again_reports_no_new_output(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo hi")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    first = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert [ln.strip() for ln in first.lines] == ["hi"]
+    second = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert second.lines == []
+    assert second.status == "completed"
+    assert second.exit_code == 0
+
+
+def test_read_reports_status_and_exit_code(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert read.shell_id == shell.shell_id
+    assert read.status == "running"
+    assert read.exit_code is None
+    registry.kill(shell.shell_id)
+
+
+def test_read_unknown_id_raises_with_live_ids(registry):
+    registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    with pytest.raises(UnknownShellError) as excinfo:
+        registry.read("bash_99")
+    assert "bash_99" in str(excinfo.value)
+    assert "bash_1" in str(excinfo.value)
+
+
+def test_read_unknown_id_when_registry_empty(registry):
+    with pytest.raises(UnknownShellError):
+        registry.read("bash_1")
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Filter
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_filter_selects_matching_lines_only(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo match-a; echo skip-b; echo match-c")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern="^match")
+    assert [ln.strip() for ln in read.lines] == ["match-a", "match-c"]
+
+
+def test_filter_is_display_only_and_consumes_the_delta(registry):
+    """Filtered-out lines are consumed, not deferred — the cursor advances
+    past the whole delta (Claude Code ``BashOutput`` semantics)."""
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo match-a; echo skip-b")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    first = registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern="^match")
+    assert [ln.strip() for ln in first.lines] == ["match-a"]
+    assert first.new_line_count == 2  # both lines were new, one shown
+    second = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert second.lines == []
+    assert second.new_line_count == 0
+
+
+def test_filter_uses_search_not_match(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo prefix-needle-suffix")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern="needle")
+    assert len(read.lines) == 1
+
+
+def test_invalid_filter_regex_raises(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo hi")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    with pytest.raises(re.error):
+        registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern="[unclosed")
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Buffer cap
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_buffer_cap_drops_oldest_and_reports_gap():
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(max_buffer_chars=200)
+    try:
+        shell = reg.spawn('for i in $(seq 1 50); do echo "line-$i-padded-to-length"; done')
+        assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+        read = reg.read(shell.shell_id)
+        assert read.dropped_lines > 0
+        # Newest output survives; the tail is intact.
+        assert read.lines, "cap must retain the newest lines, not drop everything"
+        assert read.lines[-1].strip() == "line-50-padded-to-length"
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+def test_unread_lines_excludes_buffer_evicted():
+    """The exit notice's line count must not promise evicted output."""
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(max_buffer_chars=200)
+    try:
+        shell = reg.spawn('for i in $(seq 1 50); do echo "line-$i-padded-to-length"; done')
+        assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+        with shell.lock:
+            retained = len(shell._buffer)
+        assert shell.unread_lines == retained
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+def test_buffer_gap_is_relative_to_cursor():
+    """Lines dropped BEFORE being read are a reported gap; lines already
+    read and then dropped are not."""
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(max_buffer_chars=10_000)
+    try:
+        shell = reg.spawn("echo early; sleep 30")
+        # Each poll consumes whatever has arrived; stop once something did.
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: bool(reg.read(shell.shell_id).lines))
+        # Everything emitted so far is read; nothing has been dropped.
+        read = reg.read(shell.shell_id)
+        assert read.dropped_lines == 0
+        reg.kill(shell.shell_id)
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Kill / reap / close
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_kill_marks_killed_and_reaps_group(registry, tmp_path):
+    pidfile = tmp_path / "bg.pid"
+    shell = registry.spawn(f"sleep 60 & echo $! > {pidfile}; sleep 60")
+    assert _wait_until(pidfile.exists)
+    bg_pid = int(pidfile.read_text().strip())
+    try:
+        killed = registry.kill(shell.shell_id)
+        assert killed.status == "killed"
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(shell.pid))
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(bg_pid)), "grandchild survived kill"
+    finally:
+        _kill_pid(bg_pid)
+
+
+def test_kill_unknown_id_raises(registry):
+    with pytest.raises(UnknownShellError):
+        registry.kill("bash_7")
+
+
+def test_killed_shell_output_remains_readable(registry, tmp_path):
+    """Output that arrived before the kill survives it: the record keeps its
+    buffer, and ``kill`` returns only after the drains have flushed."""
+    sentinel = tmp_path / "started"
+    shell = registry.spawn(f"echo before-kill; touch {sentinel}; sleep 60")
+    assert _wait_until(sentinel.exists)
+    registry.kill(shell.shell_id)
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert read.status == "killed"
+    assert "before-kill" in "".join(read.lines)
+
+
+def test_signal_all_kills_live_shells_without_closing(registry):
+    """signal_all is the instant half of teardown: every live group dies,
+    but the registry stays open (records intact, spawns still allowed) —
+    close() remains the complete teardown."""
+    s1 = registry.spawn("sleep 60")
+    s2 = registry.spawn("sleep 60")
+    registry.signal_all()
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(s1.pid))
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(s2.pid))
+    assert registry.has(s1.shell_id), "signal_all must not drop records"
+    s3 = registry.spawn("true")
+    assert _wait_status(s3, "completed"), "registry must remain usable after signal_all"
+
+
+def test_close_kills_everything_and_is_idempotent():
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry()
+    s1 = reg.spawn("sleep 60")
+    s2 = reg.spawn("sleep 60")
+    reg.close()
+    assert not _pid_alive(s1.pid)
+    assert not _pid_alive(s2.pid)
+    reg.close()  # second close is a no-op
+
+
+def test_reap_owner_kills_only_that_owners_shells(registry):
+    mine = registry.spawn("sleep 60", owner="agent-1")
+    other = registry.spawn("sleep 60", owner="agent-2")
+    main = registry.spawn("sleep 60")
+    registry.reap(owner="agent-1")
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(mine.pid))
+    assert _pid_alive(other.pid)
+    assert _pid_alive(main.pid)
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Owner scoping
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_owner_scoped_lookup_isolates_shells(registry):
+    agent_shell = registry.spawn("sleep 30", owner="agent-1")
+    main_shell = registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    # Main scope cannot see the agent's shell...
+    with pytest.raises(UnknownShellError):
+        registry.read(agent_shell.shell_id)
+    # ...and the agent scope cannot see the main shell.
+    with pytest.raises(UnknownShellError):
+        registry.read(main_shell.shell_id, owner="agent-1")
+    # Each side reads its own.
+    assert registry.read(agent_shell.shell_id, owner="agent-1").status == "running"
+    assert registry.read(main_shell.shell_id).status == "running"
+
+
+def test_shells_snapshot_is_owner_scoped(registry):
+    registry.spawn("sleep 30", owner="agent-1")
+    registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    assert [s.owner for s in registry.shells(owner="agent-1")] == ["agent-1"]
+    assert [s.owner for s in registry.shells()] == [None]
+
+
+def test_handles_are_unique_across_owners(registry):
+    a = registry.spawn("sleep 30", owner="agent-1")
+    b = registry.spawn("sleep 30")
+    assert a.shell_id != b.shell_id
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Exit callback (the notice hook)
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_on_exit_fires_once_on_natural_exit():
+    fired = threading.Event()
+    seen = []
+
+    def _on_exit(shell):
+        seen.append(shell)
+        fired.set()
+
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(on_exit=_on_exit)
+    try:
+        shell = reg.spawn("echo done")
+        assert fired.wait(10)
+        assert len(seen) == 1
+        assert seen[0].shell_id == shell.shell_id
+        assert seen[0].exit_code == 0
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+def test_on_exit_not_fired_for_kill():
+    seen = []
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(on_exit=seen.append)
+    try:
+        shell = reg.spawn("sleep 60")
+        reg.kill(shell.shell_id)
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(shell.pid))
+        time.sleep(0.2)  # give a buggy late callback a chance to land
+        assert seen == []
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+def test_on_exit_not_fired_for_close():
+    seen = []
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(on_exit=seen.append)
+    shell = reg.spawn("sleep 60")
+    reg.close()
+    assert not _pid_alive(shell.pid)
+    time.sleep(0.2)
+    assert seen == []
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Review-hardening regressions (#817 code review)
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_kill_on_completed_shell_does_not_signal_group(registry, monkeypatch):
+    """A completed shell's pgid is a stale snapshot the OS may have recycled
+    to an unrelated process group — kill() must not signal it (the waiter's
+    own group kill already ran at exit, when the pgid was fresh)."""
+    import turnstone.core.background_shells as bg_mod
+
+    shell = registry.spawn("true")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    calls = []
+    monkeypatch.setattr(bg_mod.os, "killpg", lambda *a: calls.append(a))
+    killed = registry.kill(shell.shell_id)
+    assert calls == [], "killpg must not fire for an already-exited shell"
+    assert killed.status == "completed", "a natural exit must not be relabelled 'killed'"
+
+
+def test_close_is_time_bounded_with_pipe_holding_escapee(registry, tmp_path):
+    """An escaped-group grandchild that holds the output pipes wedges the
+    drain threads.  close() must still return within its total budget —
+    it can run under the server's async close route, where an unbounded
+    join would freeze the whole node's event loop."""
+    pidfile = tmp_path / "holder.pid"
+    # ``setsid`` puts the sleep in a NEW session (outside our kill group)
+    # while it still inherits our stdout/stderr pipes — the accepted
+    # leaked-daemon case from the module docstring.
+    shell = registry.spawn(f"setsid sleep 60 & echo $! > {pidfile}; echo started")
+    assert _wait_until(pidfile.exists)
+    holder_pid = int(pidfile.read_text().strip())
+    try:
+        start = time.monotonic()
+        registry.close()
+        elapsed = time.monotonic() - start
+        assert elapsed < 8, f"close() took {elapsed:.1f}s — teardown must be budget-bounded"
+    finally:
+        _kill_pid(holder_pid)
+        # The holder is dead, so the wedged drains EOF promptly; wait for
+        # them here so the conftest leak guard sees a clean teardown.
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: not any(t.is_alive() for t in shell._threads))
+
+
+def test_exited_records_are_pruned_at_cap():
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(max_exited_records=2)
+    try:
+        shells = [reg.spawn(f"echo job-{i}") for i in range(3)]
+        for s in shells:
+            assert _wait_status(s, "completed")
+        # Eviction happens on each exit; poll until the oldest is gone
+        # (waiter threads race, prune runs per-exit).
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: not reg.has(shells[0].shell_id))
+        assert reg.has(shells[1].shell_id)
+        assert reg.has(shells[2].shell_id)
+        with pytest.raises(UnknownShellError):
+            reg.read(shells[0].shell_id)
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+def test_catastrophic_filter_times_out_without_consuming(registry):
+    """A backtracking-bomb filter must error within the bound and consume
+    NOTHING — the retry without a filter still gets the output.  The match
+    runs in a killable child process: sre holds the GIL, so an in-process
+    bomb would freeze the whole interpreter, watchdogs included."""
+    # One ~3000-char line of a's ending in 'b' — the classic (a+)+$ bomb
+    # subject — followed by a sentinel line.
+    shell = registry.spawn("printf 'a%.0s' $(seq 1 3000); echo b; echo tail-line")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    start = time.monotonic()
+    with pytest.raises(FilterTimeoutError):
+        registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern=r"(a+)+$")
+    assert time.monotonic() - start < 10, "filter timeout must be bounded"
+    # Nothing was consumed: an unfiltered read sees the whole delta.
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert any("tail-line" in ln for ln in read.lines)
+
+
+def test_overlong_filter_pattern_is_rejected(registry):
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo hi")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    with pytest.raises(re.error):
+        registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern="x" * 600)
+
+
+def test_cap_error_is_owner_scope_honest():
+    """The cap is registry-wide, but the advice must only name shells the
+    caller can actually kill — kill_shell is owner-scoped."""
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(max_shells=1)
+    try:
+        reg.spawn("sleep 30")  # main scope fills the cap
+        with pytest.raises(TooManyShellsError) as excinfo:
+            reg.spawn("sleep 30", owner="agent-1")
+        msg = str(excinfo.value)
+        assert "bash_1" not in msg, "must not advise killing another scope's shell"
+        assert "other agents" in msg
+        # The same-scope variant names the killable shell.
+        with pytest.raises(TooManyShellsError) as excinfo2:
+            reg.spawn("sleep 30")
+        assert "bash_1" in str(excinfo2.value)
+        assert "kill_shell" in str(excinfo2.value)
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+def test_prune_evicts_by_exit_order_not_spawn_order():
+    """A long-lived first-spawned server must never be evicted by its OWN
+    exit's prune once enough later jobs have finished — eviction follows
+    exit order, so the just-exited shell is always the newest record."""
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(max_exited_records=2)
+    try:
+        server = reg.spawn("sleep 30")  # bash_1, exits LAST
+        jobs = [reg.spawn(f"echo job-{i}") for i in range(3)]
+        for job in jobs:
+            assert _wait_status(job, "completed")
+        reg.kill(server.shell_id)
+        assert reg.has(server.shell_id), "the just-exited shell must survive its own exit's prune"
+        # The earliest-EXITED job is the eviction victim, not bash_1.
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: len(reg.shells()) <= 3)
+        assert reg.read(server.shell_id).status == "killed"
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
+
+
+def test_thread_start_failure_leaves_no_orphan_record(registry, monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """If Thread.start raises (thread exhaustion), the record must be
+    unregistered and the fresh group reaped — an orphan with never-started
+    Thread objects would make every later close()/reap() join raise and
+    abort session teardown."""
+    import turnstone.core.background_shells as bg_mod
+
+    pidfile = tmp_path / "leader.pid"
+    real_thread = bg_mod.threading.Thread
+
+    class FailingWaiterThread(real_thread):
+        def start(self):
+            if "bg-shell-wait" in (self.name or ""):
+                raise RuntimeError("can't start new thread")
+            super().start()
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(bg_mod.threading, "Thread", FailingWaiterThread)
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+        registry.spawn(f"echo $$ > {pidfile}; sleep 60")
+    assert registry.shells() == [], "failed spawn must not strand a record"
+    if pidfile.exists():
+        leader_pid = int(pidfile.read_text().strip())
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(leader_pid)), "fresh group leaked"
+    monkeypatch.undo()
+    registry.close()  # must not raise on the (empty) registry
+
+
+def test_filter_helper_failure_reports_exec_error_not_timeout(registry, monkeypatch):
+    """A crashed helper must not tell the model its (fine) pattern was too
+    slow — and must not consume the delta."""
+    import turnstone.core.background_shells as bg_mod
+    from turnstone.core.background_shells import FilterExecError
+
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo hello")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(bg_mod.sys, "executable", "/bin/false")
+    with pytest.raises(FilterExecError) as excinfo:
+        registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern="hello")
+    assert "not a problem with your pattern" in str(excinfo.value)
+    monkeypatch.undo()
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert [ln.strip() for ln in read.lines] == ["hello"]
+
+
+def test_filter_matches_only_within_line_cap_and_reports_clipping(registry):
+    """Lines are truncated parent-side before shipping to the helper: a
+    match beyond the per-line cap is not found (a filter targets log
+    lines), and a huge retained line cannot burn the time budget on I/O.
+    The clipping is NEVER silent — the read reports how many lines were
+    only partially visible to the pattern."""
+    shell = registry.spawn("printf 'x%.0s' $(seq 1 5000); echo needle-suffix")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern="needle")
+    assert read.lines == []
+    assert read.new_line_count == 1
+    assert read.clipped_lines == 1
+
+
+def test_concurrent_reads_never_double_deliver(registry):
+    """Two simultaneous reads of one shell must SPLIT the delta between
+    them, never both return it — the whole pass (snapshot → commit)
+    serializes per shell.  Without that, a parallel tool batch reading the
+    same handle gets every line twice."""
+    shell = registry.spawn("seq 1 200")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+    results: list[list[str]] = [[], []]
+    barrier = threading.Barrier(2)
+
+    def _reader(slot: int) -> None:
+        barrier.wait()
+        results[slot] = [ln.strip() for ln in registry.read(shell.shell_id).lines]
+
+    threads = [threading.Thread(target=_reader, args=(i,)) for i in range(2)]
+    for t in threads:
+        t.start()
+    for t in threads:
+        t.join(timeout=10)
+    combined = results[0] + results[1]
+    assert len(combined) == 200, f"expected each line exactly once, got {len(combined)}"
+    assert sorted(combined, key=int) == [str(i) for i in range(1, 201)]
+
+
+def test_filter_helper_spawn_failure_is_exec_error(registry, monkeypatch):
+    """A helper that fails to LAUNCH (fork pressure) must land in the same
+    honest FilterExecError as a crashed helper — not escape as a raw
+    OSError blaming nothing — and must not consume the delta."""
+    import turnstone.core.background_shells as bg_mod
+    from turnstone.core.background_shells import FilterExecError
+
+    shell = registry.spawn("echo hello")
+    assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+
+    def _boom(*args, **kwargs):
+        raise BlockingIOError("Resource temporarily unavailable")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(bg_mod.subprocess, "Popen", _boom)
+    with pytest.raises(FilterExecError):
+        registry.read(shell.shell_id, filter_pattern="hello")
+    monkeypatch.undo()
+    read = registry.read(shell.shell_id)
+    assert [ln.strip() for ln in read.lines] == ["hello"]
+
+
+def test_on_exit_exception_does_not_wedge_the_shell():
+    def _boom(shell):
+        raise RuntimeError("callback bug")
+
+    reg = BackgroundShellRegistry(on_exit=_boom)
+    try:
+        shell = reg.spawn("echo hi")
+        # The waiter thread must survive the callback raising: status still
+        # lands and output is still readable.
+        assert _wait_status(shell, "completed")
+        assert [ln.strip() for ln in reg.read(shell.shell_id).lines] == ["hi"]
+    finally:
+        reg.close()
diff --git a/tests/test_bash_background_tool.py b/tests/test_bash_background_tool.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2172e033
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_bash_background_tool.py
@@ -0,0 +1,797 @@
+"""Session-level tests for the background-shell tool surface (#817).
+
+Covers the wiring around :class:`BackgroundShellRegistry`:
+
+* ``bash`` gains ``run_in_background: true`` (alias ``is_background``) —
+  same approval gate, returns immediately with a ``bash_N`` handle.
+* ``bash_output`` — auto-approved delta reader (status + exit code + only
+  new output since the last call, optional ``filter`` regex).
+* ``kill_shell`` — auto-approved kill of a registered shell's whole group.
+* Exit notices ride the NudgeQueue on channel ``"any"`` (the watch rail) so
+  they drain at the next seam and can wake an idle workstream.
+* Lifecycle: ``close()`` reaps everything; generation-``cancel()`` does NOT
+  (a deliberately-detached server survives a stopped turn); shells spawned
+  inside a task_agent are owner-scoped and reaped when the agent finishes.
+"""
+
+import time
+
+import pytest
+
+from tests._proc_helpers import pid_alive as _pid_alive
+from tests._proc_helpers import poll_until as _wait_until
+from tests._session_helpers import make_session
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def session():
+    s = make_session()
+    yield s
+    s.close()
+
+
+def _start_background(session, command, call_id="bg1", **extra_args):
+    """Prepare + execute a backgrounded bash call; return the result text."""
+    args = {"command": command, "run_in_background": True, **extra_args}
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash(call_id, args)
+    assert "error" not in prepared, prepared.get("error")
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    return output
+
+
+def _only_shell(session):
+    shells = session._background_shells.shells()
+    assert len(shells) == 1
+    return shells[0]
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# bash: run_in_background routing
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_prepare_bash_background_keeps_approval_gate(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash("c1", {"command": "sleep 30", "run_in_background": True})
+    assert prepared["needs_approval"] is True
+    assert prepared["approval_label"] == "bash"
+
+
+def test_prepare_bash_background_header_says_background(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash("c1", {"command": "sleep 30", "run_in_background": True})
+    assert "background" in prepared["header"]
+
+
+def test_background_bash_returns_immediately_with_handle(session):
+    start = time.monotonic()
+    output = _start_background(session, "sleep 30")
+    elapsed = time.monotonic() - start
+    assert elapsed < 5, f"backgrounded call blocked for {elapsed:.1f}s"
+    assert "bash_1" in output
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    assert shell.status == "running"
+    assert _pid_alive(shell.pid)
+
+
+def test_background_start_mentions_reader_and_killer(session):
+    """The immediate result must teach the follow-up tools — weak-prior
+    models (GPT-5.6) only reach for the poll pattern if the result names it."""
+    output = _start_background(session, "sleep 30")
+    assert "bash_output" in output
+    assert "kill_shell" in output
+
+
+def test_is_background_alias_accepted(session):
+    output = _start_background(session, "sleep 30", is_background=True)
+    assert "bash_1" in output
+    assert _only_shell(session).status == "running"
+
+
+def test_foreground_bash_routing_unchanged(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash("c1", {"command": "echo hi"})
+    assert prepared["execute"] == session._exec_bash
+    prepared_false = session._prepare_bash("c2", {"command": "echo hi", "run_in_background": False})
+    assert prepared_false["execute"] == session._exec_bash
+
+
+def test_background_respects_command_blocklist(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash("c1", {"command": "shutdown now", "run_in_background": True})
+    assert "error" in prepared
+    assert session._background_shells.shells() == []
+
+
+def test_background_ignores_timeout(session):
+    """No bounded wait exists to time out — a 1s timeout must not kill the
+    detached shell."""
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 30", timeout=1)
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    time.sleep(1.5)
+    assert shell.status == "running"
+    assert _pid_alive(shell.pid)
+
+
+def test_background_spawn_failure_reports_error(session, monkeypatch):
+    from turnstone.core import background_shells as bg_mod
+
+    def _boom(*args, **kwargs):
+        raise OSError("cannot fork")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(bg_mod.subprocess, "Popen", _boom)
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash("c1", {"command": "echo hi", "run_in_background": True})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "cannot fork" in output
+
+
+def test_too_many_background_shells_reports_error(session, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session._background_shells, "_max_shells", 1)
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 30", call_id="bg1")
+    output = _start_background(session, "sleep 30", call_id="bg2")
+    assert "bash_1" in output  # the live shell is named so the model can kill it
+    assert len(session._background_shells.shells()) == 1
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# bash_output
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_bash_output_is_auto_approved(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("c1", {"id": "bash_1"})
+    assert prepared["needs_approval"] is False
+
+
+def test_bash_output_missing_id_errors(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("c1", {})
+    assert "error" in prepared
+
+
+def test_bash_output_returns_delta_then_no_new_output(session):
+    _start_background(session, "echo hello; sleep 30")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: shell.status == "running")
+
+    def _read():
+        prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": shell.shell_id})
+        assert "error" not in prepared
+        return prepared["execute"](prepared)[1]
+
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: "hello" in _read())
+    again = _read()
+    assert "hello" not in again
+    assert "no new output" in again.lower()
+    assert "running" in again.lower()
+
+
+def test_bash_output_reports_exit_code_when_completed(session):
+    _start_background(session, "exit 3")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: shell.status == "completed")
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": shell.shell_id})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "completed" in output.lower()
+    assert "3" in output
+
+
+def test_bash_output_filter_applies(session):
+    _start_background(session, "echo match-a; echo skip-b")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: shell.status == "completed")
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": shell.shell_id, "filter": "^match"})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "match-a" in output
+    assert "skip-b" not in output
+
+
+def test_bash_output_invalid_filter_reports_error(session):
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 30")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": shell.shell_id, "filter": "[bad"})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "regex" in output.lower() or "filter" in output.lower()
+
+
+def test_bash_output_unknown_id_lists_live_shells(session):
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 30")
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": "bash_42"})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "bash_42" in output
+    assert "bash_1" in output
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# kill_shell
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_kill_shell_is_auto_approved(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_kill_shell("c1", {"id": "bash_1"})
+    assert prepared["needs_approval"] is False
+
+
+def test_kill_shell_missing_id_errors(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_kill_shell("c1", {})
+    assert "error" in prepared
+
+
+def test_kill_shell_kills_and_reports(session):
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 60")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    prepared = session._prepare_kill_shell("k", {"id": shell.shell_id})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "killed" in output.lower()
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(shell.pid))
+
+
+def test_kill_shell_unknown_id_reports_error(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_kill_shell("k", {"id": "bash_9"})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "bash_9" in output
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Exit notices (NudgeQueue, channel "any", wake)
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_natural_exit_enqueues_any_channel_notice(session):
+    _start_background(session, "echo done")
+    assert _wait_until(
+        lambda: any(t == "background_shell_exit" for t, _ in session._nudge_queue.pending())
+    )
+    entries = session._nudge_queue.pending(channel="any")
+    texts = [text for t, text in entries if t == "background_shell_exit"]
+    assert texts, "notice must ride channel 'any' so it can wake an idle workstream"
+    assert "bash_1" in texts[0]
+    assert "bash_output" in texts[0]
+
+
+def test_exit_notice_carries_metadata(session):
+    _start_background(session, "exit 5")
+    assert _wait_until(
+        lambda: any(t == "background_shell_exit" for t, _ in session._nudge_queue.pending())
+    )
+    metadata = [
+        meta
+        for t, _text, meta in session._nudge_queue.pending_with_metadata()
+        if t == "background_shell_exit"
+    ][0]
+    assert metadata["shell_id"] == "bash_1"
+    assert metadata["exit_code"] == 5
+
+
+def test_exit_notice_triggers_wake_fn(session):
+    wakes = []
+    session._watch_wake_fn = lambda: wakes.append(1)
+    _start_background(session, "echo done")
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: wakes), "natural exit must wake an idle workstream"
+
+
+def test_kill_shell_suppresses_exit_notice(session):
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 60")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    prepared = session._prepare_kill_shell("k", {"id": shell.shell_id})
+    prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(shell.pid))
+    time.sleep(0.3)  # a buggy late notice would land within this window
+    assert not any(t == "background_shell_exit" for t, _ in session._nudge_queue.pending())
+
+
+def test_close_drops_pending_exit_notice_via_valid_until(session):
+    """A notice for a shell that no longer exists (registry closed) must not
+    deliver — the valid_until predicate drops it at drain time."""
+    _start_background(session, "echo done")
+    assert _wait_until(
+        lambda: any(t == "background_shell_exit" for t, _ in session._nudge_queue.pending())
+    )
+    session.close()
+    from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import USER_DRAIN
+
+    drained = session._nudge_queue.drain(USER_DRAIN)
+    assert not any(t == "background_shell_exit" for t, _text, _m in drained)
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Lifecycle
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_close_reaps_background_shells(session):
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 60")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    session.close()
+    assert not _pid_alive(shell.pid)
+
+
+def test_generation_cancel_does_not_reap_background_shells(session):
+    """cancel() fires on mere stop-generation — a deliberately-detached
+    server must survive it.  Only close()/kill_shell end it."""
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 60")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    session.cancel()
+    time.sleep(0.3)
+    assert _pid_alive(shell.pid), "generation cancel must not kill detached shells"
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Review-hardening regressions (#817 code review)
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_string_typed_background_flag_is_honored(session):
+    """Providers intermittently send booleans as strings; 'true' must not
+    silently fall through to the foreground executor (where the group kill
+    would reap the server the model believed it detached)."""
+    for call_id, args in (
+        ("s1", {"command": "sleep 30", "run_in_background": "true"}),
+        ("s2", {"command": "sleep 30", "is_background": "True"}),
+    ):
+        prepared = session._prepare_bash(call_id, args)
+        assert prepared["execute"] == session._exec_bash_background, args
+
+
+def test_kill_shell_on_completed_shell_reports_already_exited(session):
+    _start_background(session, "true")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: shell.status == "completed")
+    prepared = session._prepare_kill_shell("k", {"id": shell.shell_id})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "already exited" in output.lower()
+
+
+def test_exit_notice_survives_generation_abandon_without_waking(session):
+    """cancel/interrupt/exception clear generation-scoped advisories, but an
+    external event (a background shell exited) still happened — its notice
+    must survive to the next seam or the model keeps talking to a dead
+    server.  It survives DEMOTED to 'quiet': still deliverable, but no
+    longer wake-eligible, so the workstream the user just stopped cannot
+    resume itself over it."""
+    from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import USER_DRAIN, WAKE_PENDING
+
+    _start_background(session, "echo done")
+    assert _wait_until(
+        lambda: any(t == "background_shell_exit" for t, _ in session._nudge_queue.pending())
+    )
+    session._queue_tool_advisory("tool_error", "3 consecutive tool errors")
+    session._drain_pending_advisories()
+    kinds = [t for t, _ in session._nudge_queue.pending()]
+    assert "background_shell_exit" in kinds
+    assert "tool_error" not in kinds
+    # Post-cancel quiescence: nothing is wake-eligible...
+    assert not session._nudge_queue.has_pending(WAKE_PENDING)
+    # ...yet the notice still delivers at the next legitimate seam.
+    drained = session._nudge_queue.drain(USER_DRAIN)
+    assert any(t == "background_shell_exit" for t, _x, _m in drained)
+
+
+def test_int_typed_background_flag_is_honored(session):
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash("i1", {"command": "sleep 30", "run_in_background": 1})
+    assert prepared["execute"] == session._exec_bash_background
+    prepared_zero = session._prepare_bash("i2", {"command": "echo hi", "run_in_background": 0})
+    assert prepared_zero["execute"] == session._exec_bash
+
+
+def test_bash_output_non_string_filter_errors_without_consuming(session):
+    _start_background(session, "echo hello; sleep 30")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": shell.shell_id, "filter": 123})
+    assert "error" in prepared
+    assert "filter" in prepared["error"].lower()
+    # Nothing was consumed by the refused call.
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: shell.unread_lines > 0)
+
+
+def test_filter_timeout_reports_error_without_consuming(session, monkeypatch):
+    from turnstone.core.background_shells import FilterTimeoutError
+
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 30")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+
+    def _boom(*a, **kw):
+        raise FilterTimeoutError("filter regex took longer than 2s to run")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session._background_shells, "read", _boom)
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": shell.shell_id, "filter": "(a+)+$"})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "filter" in output.lower()
+    assert "error" in output.lower()
+
+
+def test_registries_are_isolated_per_session():
+    """Workstream isolation: a handle from one session must be unresolvable
+    from another — buffers, ids, and kills never cross ChatSessions."""
+    session_a = make_session()
+    session_b = make_session()
+    try:
+        _start_background(session_a, "sleep 30")
+        shell_a = _only_shell(session_a)
+        read_b = session_b._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": shell_a.shell_id})
+        _cid, output = read_b["execute"](read_b)
+        assert "no background shell" in output.lower()
+        kill_b = session_b._prepare_kill_shell("k", {"id": shell_a.shell_id})
+        _cid, kill_output = kill_b["execute"](kill_b)
+        assert "no background shell" in kill_output.lower()
+        assert _pid_alive(shell_a.pid), "another session must not be able to kill the shell"
+    finally:
+        session_a.close()
+        session_b.close()
+
+
+def test_bash_output_polling_is_repeat_exempt(session):
+    """Repeated identical bash_output calls ARE the documented monitoring
+    pattern — the repeat detector must not brand them 'identical repeat'
+    (the delta result differs by construction) nor queue a repeat nudge."""
+    import json as _json
+
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 30")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    args = _json.dumps({"id": shell.shell_id})
+    for i in range(5):
+        tool_calls = [{"id": f"t{i}", "function": {"name": "bash_output", "arguments": args}}]
+        results = [(f"t{i}", "bash_1 (running)\nNo new output since the last read.")]
+        session._apply_post_execute_advisories(tool_calls, results)
+        assert "identical repeat" not in results[0][1]
+    assert not any(t == "repeat" for t, _ in session._nudge_queue.pending())
+
+
+def test_repeat_exempt_calls_still_break_other_streaks(session):
+    """The exemption suppresses the WARNING, not the recording: a
+    bash_output poll interleaved between identical bash calls must reset
+    the bash streak — otherwise the documented monitor-and-probe loop
+    (poll, curl health, poll, curl health…) draws a false 'identical
+    repeat' on the probe."""
+    import json as _json
+
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 30")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    poll_args = _json.dumps({"id": shell.shell_id})
+    probe_args = _json.dumps({"command": "curl -s localhost:8080/health"})
+    for i in range(6):
+        probe = [{"id": f"p{i}", "function": {"name": "bash", "arguments": probe_args}}]
+        probe_results = [(f"p{i}", "ok")]
+        session._apply_post_execute_advisories(probe, probe_results)
+        assert "identical repeat" not in probe_results[0][1], (
+            "interleaved probes are not a stuck loop"
+        )
+        poll = [{"id": f"q{i}", "function": {"name": "bash_output", "arguments": poll_args}}]
+        session._apply_post_execute_advisories(poll, [(f"q{i}", "no new output")])
+
+
+def test_bash_repeats_still_warn(session):
+    """The exemption is bash_output-specific: a genuinely stuck identical
+    bash loop still gets the warning."""
+    import json as _json
+
+    args = _json.dumps({"command": "echo test"})
+    warned = False
+    for i in range(5):
+        tool_calls = [{"id": f"b{i}", "function": {"name": "bash", "arguments": args}}]
+        results = [(f"b{i}", "test")]
+        session._apply_post_execute_advisories(tool_calls, results)
+        warned = warned or "identical repeat" in results[0][1]
+    assert warned
+
+
+def test_quiet_only_entries_do_not_trigger_wake_delivery(session, monkeypatch):
+    """A dispatched wake whose wake-eligible entries all evaporated must be
+    a no-op: quiet entries alone never resume a stopped workstream, and
+    they stay queued for the next legitimate seam."""
+    calls = []
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "send", lambda *a, **k: calls.append(1))
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue("background_shell_exit", "old news", "quiet")
+    session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue()
+    assert calls == []
+    assert session._nudge_queue.pending(channel="quiet") == [("background_shell_exit", "old news")]
+
+
+def test_wake_delivers_quiet_alongside_eligible_in_insertion_order(session, monkeypatch):
+    """Quiet entries ride the wake AND cross-channel chronology holds: an
+    older demoted notice renders before the newer fire that earned the
+    wake (a poll counter must never run backwards)."""
+    seen = {}
+
+    def _fake_send(*a, **k):
+        seen["reminders"] = list(session._wake_drained_reminders or [])
+        session._wake_drained_reminders = None  # emulate emission consuming
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "send", _fake_send)
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue("background_shell_exit", "old", "quiet")
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue("watch_triggered", "new", "any")
+    session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue()
+    types = [e["type"] for e in seen["reminders"]]
+    assert types == ["background_shell_exit", "watch_triggered"], (
+        "older quiet entry must precede the newer wake-eligible one"
+    )
+    assert session._nudge_queue.pending() == []
+
+
+def test_failed_wake_reenqueue_preserves_valid_until(session, monkeypatch):
+    """The re-enqueued notice keeps its staleness predicate — a stale
+    notice re-queued by a failed wake must still be droppable at its next
+    drain, not delivered against a gone shell."""
+    from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import USER_DRAIN
+
+    alive = {"value": True}
+
+    def _fail(*a, **k):
+        raise RuntimeError("storage down")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "send", _fail)
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue(
+        "background_shell_exit",
+        "server died",
+        "any",
+        valid_until=lambda: alive["value"],
+    )
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+        session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue()
+    assert session._nudge_queue.pending(channel="quiet"), "notice must be re-queued"
+    alive["value"] = False  # the shell record is gone now
+    drained = session._nudge_queue.drain(USER_DRAIN)
+    assert drained == [], "stale re-queued notice must drop via its predicate"
+
+
+def test_mid_emit_failure_restashes_unemitted_tail(session, monkeypatch):
+    """A failure while emitting reminder k of n must leave k..n recoverable
+    — the wake caller's finally re-enqueues them instead of losing the
+    suffix."""
+    calls = {"n": 0}
+
+    def _append(source, text, **meta):
+        calls["n"] += 1
+        if calls["n"] == 2:
+            raise RuntimeError("storage down")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "_append_system_turn", _append)
+    session._wake_drained_reminders = [
+        {"type": "a", "text": "1"},
+        {"type": "b", "text": "2"},
+        {"type": "c", "text": "3"},
+    ]
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+        session._emit_pending_user_nudges()
+    assert session._wake_drained_reminders == [
+        {"type": "b", "text": "2"},
+        {"type": "c", "text": "3"},
+    ]
+
+
+def test_failed_wake_reenqueues_undelivered_as_quiet(session, monkeypatch):
+    """A wake send that dies before emitting its drained reminders must not
+    eat them — a shell's exit notice fires exactly once."""
+
+    def _fail(*a, **k):
+        raise RuntimeError("storage down")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "send", _fail)
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue(
+        "background_shell_exit", "server died", "any", metadata={"shell_id": "bash_1"}
+    )
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+        session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue()
+    pending = session._nudge_queue.pending_with_metadata(channel="quiet")
+    assert [(t, x) for t, x, _m in pending] == [("background_shell_exit", "server died")]
+    assert pending[0][2] == {"shell_id": "bash_1"}
+
+
+def test_failed_wake_preserves_chronology_and_stays_wake_quiescent(session, monkeypatch):
+    """Failed-wake recovery invariants: (a) the re-queued external notice
+    keeps its seq, so the retry renders it BEFORE a newer event that
+    arrived during the failure; (b) NOTHING wake-eligible remains after
+    the failure — external notices demote to quiet and user-channel
+    advisories are dropped outright, because a re-armed WAKE_PENDING gate
+    plus the zero-backoff worker-exit retry would respawn wake workers in
+    an unbounded hot loop against a persistent failure."""
+    from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import WAKE_PENDING
+
+    calls = {"n": 0}
+    seen = {}
+
+    def _send(*a, **k):
+        calls["n"] += 1
+        if calls["n"] == 1:
+            raise RuntimeError("transient storage failure")
+        seen["reminders"] = list(session._wake_drained_reminders or [])
+        session._wake_drained_reminders = None
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "send", _send)
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue("watch_triggered", "poll-4", "any")
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue("correction", "user advisory", "user")
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+        session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue()
+    # (b) bounded: nothing left that could re-trigger the wake gate.
+    assert not session._nudge_queue.has_pending(WAKE_PENDING), (
+        "a failed wake must not leave wake-eligible entries (respawn hot loop)"
+    )
+    assert [t for t, _x in session._nudge_queue.pending(channel="quiet")] == ["watch_triggered"]
+    # A NEWER event lands after the failure...
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue("watch_triggered", "poll-5", "any")
+    session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue()
+    texts = [e["text"] for e in seen["reminders"]]
+    # (a) ...and the retry renders old-before-new despite the round trip.
+    assert texts.index("poll-4") < texts.index("poll-5")
+
+
+def test_exit_notice_emits_end_to_end_as_system_turn(session):
+    """THE test whose absence hid an undeliverable notice for six review
+    rounds: drive the notice through REAL emission (make_system_turn +
+    _append_system_turn), not just queue assertions — an unregistered
+    ``_source`` raises ValueError only at this layer."""
+    _start_background(session, "echo done")
+    assert _wait_until(
+        lambda: any(t == "background_shell_exit" for t, _ in session._nudge_queue.pending())
+    )
+    from turnstone.core.trajectory import Role
+
+    before = len(session.messages)
+    session._emit_pending_user_nudges()  # must not raise
+    new_turns = session.messages[before:]
+    assert any(
+        turn.role is Role.SYSTEM and turn.source == "background_shell_exit" for turn in new_turns
+    ), f"exit notice must land as a first-class system turn, got {new_turns!r}"
+
+
+def test_cli_exit_closes_every_loaded_session():
+    """CLI exit must reap background shells in EVERY workstream, not just
+    the active one — a server started before /new must not outlive /exit."""
+    from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+    from turnstone.cli import _close_all_sessions
+
+    ws_a, ws_b, ws_never_loaded = MagicMock(), MagicMock(), MagicMock()
+    ws_never_loaded.session = None
+    ws_a.session.close.side_effect = RuntimeError("bad teardown")
+    manager = MagicMock()
+    manager.list_all.return_value = [ws_a, ws_b, ws_never_loaded]
+    _close_all_sessions(manager)  # must not raise
+    ws_a.session.close.assert_called_once()
+    ws_b.session.close.assert_called_once(), "one bad teardown must not stop the rest"
+    # Signal phase ran for every loaded session, before any close.
+    ws_a.session._background_shells.signal_all.assert_called_once()
+    ws_b.session._background_shells.signal_all.assert_called_once()
+
+
+def test_cli_exit_ctrl_c_does_not_abort_the_reap():
+    """Ctrl-C during the close phase must not escape the helper: the kill
+    signals already landed on every session in phase 1, and an escaping
+    KeyboardInterrupt would also skip MCP/registry shutdown in main()."""
+    from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+    from turnstone.cli import _close_all_sessions
+
+    ws_a, ws_b = MagicMock(), MagicMock()
+    ws_a.session.close.side_effect = KeyboardInterrupt
+    manager = MagicMock()
+    manager.list_all.return_value = [ws_a, ws_b]
+    _close_all_sessions(manager)  # must not raise
+    ws_a.session._background_shells.signal_all.assert_called_once()
+    (
+        ws_b.session._background_shells.signal_all.assert_called_once(),
+        ("signals must land on every session before the interruptible close phase"),
+    )
+
+
+def test_non_string_reminder_text_drops_silently(session):
+    """A dict reminder with non-str text must drop at the rail, not
+    TypeError out of the dispatch closure (WatchRunner would re-fire the
+    row every tick)."""
+    runner = type(
+        "R",
+        (),
+        {
+            "set_dispatch_fn": lambda self, ws, fn: None,
+            "remove_dispatch_fn": lambda self, ws, owner=None: None,
+        },
+    )()
+    session.set_watch_runner(runner)
+    session._watch_dispatch_fn({"text": 123, "watch_name": "w"}, "watch-1")  # must not raise
+    assert session._nudge_queue.pending() == []
+
+
+def test_string_typed_stop_on_error_is_honored(session):
+    """One coercion dialect for every bash boolean: a string-typed
+    stop_on_error must add set -e in both branches, not silently drop it."""
+    fg = session._prepare_bash("f1", {"command": "echo hi", "stop_on_error": "true"})
+    assert fg["stop_on_error"] is True
+    bg = session._prepare_bash(
+        "b1", {"command": "echo hi", "run_in_background": True, "stop_on_error": "true"}
+    )
+    assert bg["stop_on_error"] is True
+
+
+def test_non_dict_watch_reminder_drops_silently(session):
+    """The rebuilt dispatch closure must drop a non-dict reminder like the
+    old code did — a TypeError would make WatchRunner hold and re-fire the
+    row every tick."""
+    runner = type(
+        "R",
+        (),
+        {
+            "set_dispatch_fn": lambda self, ws, fn: None,
+            "remove_dispatch_fn": lambda self, ws, owner=None: None,
+        },
+    )()
+    session.set_watch_runner(runner)
+    dispatch = session._watch_dispatch_fn
+    dispatch("not a dict", "watch-1")  # must not raise
+    assert session._nudge_queue.pending() == []
+
+
+def test_truthy_flag_dialect_is_unified():
+    """One coercion dialect file-wide — 'on' and nonzero numbers count, so a
+    provider quirk honored on coordinator tools is honored on bash too."""
+    from turnstone.core.session import _is_truthy_flag
+
+    assert _is_truthy_flag(True)
+    assert _is_truthy_flag("on")
+    assert _is_truthy_flag(2)
+    assert not _is_truthy_flag("off")
+    assert not _is_truthy_flag(0)
+    assert not _is_truthy_flag(None)
+    assert not _is_truthy_flag(False)
+
+
+def test_bash_output_notes_clipped_lines_under_filter(session):
+    _start_background(session, "printf 'x%.0s' $(seq 1 5000); echo tail")
+    shell = _only_shell(session)
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: shell.status == "completed")
+    prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": shell.shell_id, "filter": "zzz"})
+    _cid, output = prepared["execute"](prepared)
+    assert "partially visible" in output
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# task_agent scoping
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_task_agent_shells_are_owner_scoped_and_reaped(session, monkeypatch):
+    seen = {}
+
+    def fake_run_agent(agent_turns, label="task", **kwargs):
+        out = _start_background(session, "sleep 60", call_id="sub-bash")
+        seen["start_output"] = out
+        agent_shells = session._background_shells.shells(owner="task-1")
+        seen["agent_shells"] = list(agent_shells)
+        seen["pid"] = agent_shells[0].pid if agent_shells else None
+        # The sub-agent's shell is invisible to the main scope.
+        seen["visible_to_parent"] = [s.shell_id for s in session._background_shells.shells()]
+        return "agent done"
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "_run_agent", fake_run_agent)
+    call_id, result = session._exec_task({"call_id": "task-1", "prompt": "start a server"})
+    assert "agent done" in result
+    assert seen["agent_shells"], "shell spawned inside the agent must carry its owner"
+    # Scope honesty in the start message: the sub-agent must not promise its
+    # caller a server that dies the moment it returns.
+    assert "terminated when the agent finishes" in seen["start_output"]
+    assert seen["visible_to_parent"] == []
+    assert seen["pid"] is not None
+    assert _wait_until(lambda: not _pid_alive(seen["pid"])), (
+        "sub-agent shells must be reaped when the agent finishes"
+    )
+
+
+def test_task_agent_cannot_touch_parent_shells(session, monkeypatch):
+    _start_background(session, "sleep 60", call_id="parent-bash")
+    parent_shell = _only_shell(session)
+    seen = {}
+
+    def fake_run_agent(agent_turns, label="task", **kwargs):
+        prepared = session._prepare_bash_output("r", {"id": parent_shell.shell_id})
+        seen["read_output"] = prepared["execute"](prepared)[1]
+        prepared_kill = session._prepare_kill_shell("k", {"id": parent_shell.shell_id})
+        seen["kill_output"] = prepared_kill["execute"](prepared_kill)[1]
+        return "done"
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "_run_agent", fake_run_agent)
+    session._exec_task({"call_id": "task-1", "prompt": "snoop"})
+    assert "no background shell" in seen["read_output"].lower()
+    assert "no background shell" in seen["kill_output"].lower()
+    assert _pid_alive(parent_shell.pid), "agent must not be able to kill a parent shell"
+
+
+def test_parent_scope_restored_after_task_agent(session, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(session, "_run_agent", lambda *a, **k: "done")
+    session._exec_task({"call_id": "task-1", "prompt": "noop"})
+    output = _start_background(session, "sleep 30", call_id="after-task")
+    assert "bash_1" in output
+    assert _only_shell(session).owner is None
diff --git a/tests/test_bash_tool_background_hang.py b/tests/test_bash_tool_background_hang.py
index 901ecb91..e4bfa555 100644
--- a/tests/test_bash_tool_background_hang.py
+++ b/tests/test_bash_tool_background_hang.py
@@ -9,31 +9,15 @@ EOF) bounded by ``tool_timeout`` and kills the whole session group on exit, so
 the call always returns and never leaks the background child.
 """
 
-import contextlib
-import os
-import signal
 import threading
 import time
 
+from tests._proc_helpers import kill_pid as _kill_pid
+from tests._proc_helpers import pid_alive as _pid_alive
 from tests._session_helpers import NullUI, make_session
 from turnstone.core.trajectory import EffectStatus
 
 
-def _pid_alive(pid: int) -> bool:
-    try:
-        os.kill(pid, 0)
-    except ProcessLookupError:
-        return False
-    except PermissionError:
-        return True
-    return True
-
-
-def _kill_pid(pid: int) -> None:
-    with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
-        os.kill(pid, signal.SIGKILL)
-
-
 def _run_in_thread(fn, timeout):
     """Run ``fn`` in a daemon thread; return ``(finished, result)``."""
     box = {}
diff --git a/tests/test_nudge_queue.py b/tests/test_nudge_queue.py
index 09d8d94a..d46e54c4 100644
--- a/tests/test_nudge_queue.py
+++ b/tests/test_nudge_queue.py
@@ -98,6 +98,98 @@ class TestLenAndClear:
         q = NudgeQueue()
         assert q.clear() == 0
 
+    def test_clear_channels_drops_only_matching(self):
+        """The abandoned-generation path drops advisory channels but must
+        preserve ``"any"``-channel external events (watch fires,
+        background-shell exits) in order."""
+        q = NudgeQueue()
+        q.enqueue("tool_error", "1", "tool")
+        q.enqueue("watch_triggered", "2", "any")
+        q.enqueue("correction", "3", "user")
+        q.enqueue("background_shell_exit", "4", "any")
+        assert q.clear_channels({"tool", "user"}) == 2
+        assert q.pending() == [("watch_triggered", "2"), ("background_shell_exit", "4")]
+
+    def test_clear_channels_empty_returns_zero(self):
+        q = NudgeQueue()
+        assert q.clear_channels({"tool", "user"}) == 0
+
+    def test_demote_channel_retags_preserving_order_and_metadata(self):
+        """Cancel demotes 'any' → 'quiet': same entries, same order, same
+        metadata/valid_until — only wake eligibility changes."""
+        q = NudgeQueue()
+        q.enqueue("watch_triggered", "w", "any", metadata={"watch_name": "ci"})
+        q.enqueue("correction", "c", "user")
+        q.enqueue("background_shell_exit", "b", "any", valid_until=lambda: True)
+        assert q.demote_channel("any", "quiet") == 2
+        assert q.pending(channel="any") == []
+        assert q.pending(channel="quiet") == [
+            ("watch_triggered", "w"),
+            ("background_shell_exit", "b"),
+        ]
+        # Metadata and valid_until ride the demotion; USER_DRAIN delivers.
+        from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import USER_DRAIN, WAKE_PENDING
+
+        assert not q.has_pending(WAKE_PENDING - {"user"})  # no 'any' left
+        drained = q.drain(USER_DRAIN)
+        assert [(t, x, m) for t, x, m in drained] == [
+            ("watch_triggered", "w", {"watch_name": "ci"}),
+            ("correction", "c", None),
+            ("background_shell_exit", "b", None),
+        ]
+
+    def test_cap_channel_none_sees_demoted_entries(self):
+        """The watch soft cap counts across channels: entries a cancel
+        demoted to 'quiet' still occupy the budget, and drop-oldest evicts
+        the stalest regardless of channel."""
+        q = NudgeQueue()
+        q.enqueue("watch_triggered", "1", "any")
+        q.demote_channel("any", "quiet")
+        q.enqueue("watch_triggered", "2", "any")
+        assert q.cap_at_or_drop_oldest("watch_triggered", 2, channel=None) is True
+        assert q.pending() == [("watch_triggered", "2")]
+
+    def test_requeue_preserves_seq_for_chronology(self):
+        """A failed delivery gives entries back with their ORIGINAL seq, so
+        a re-queued poll-4 still sorts before the poll-5 that arrived during
+        the failed attempt — counters never run backwards."""
+        q = NudgeQueue()
+        q.enqueue("watch_triggered", "poll-4", "any")
+        (drained_entry,) = q.drain_entries({"any"})
+        q.enqueue("watch_triggered", "poll-5", "any")  # newer event lands
+        q.requeue(drained_entry, channel="quiet")
+        entries = q.drain_entries({"any", "quiet"})
+        entries.sort(key=lambda e: e.seq)
+        assert [e.text for e in entries] == ["poll-4", "poll-5"]
+
+    def test_requeue_positions_by_seq_for_fifo_drains(self):
+        """Positioned insertion: plain (unsorted) drains also see the
+        re-queued older entry first."""
+        q = NudgeQueue()
+        q.enqueue("a", "old", "quiet")
+        (old_entry,) = q.drain_entries({"quiet"})
+        q.enqueue("b", "new", "quiet")
+        q.requeue(old_entry)
+        assert [text for _t, text in q.pending()] == ["old", "new"]
+
+    def test_requeue_preserves_valid_until_and_metadata(self):
+        alive = {"value": True}
+        q = NudgeQueue()
+        q.enqueue("n", "x", "any", valid_until=lambda: alive["value"], metadata={"k": 1})
+        (entry,) = q.drain_entries({"any"})
+        q.requeue(entry, channel="quiet")
+        alive["value"] = False
+        assert q.drain({"quiet"}) == []  # predicate survived the round-trip
+
+    def test_quiet_is_outside_the_wake_gate(self):
+        from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import TOOL_DRAIN, USER_DRAIN, WAKE_PENDING
+
+        q = NudgeQueue()
+        q.enqueue("background_shell_exit", "b", "quiet")
+        assert not q.has_pending(WAKE_PENDING)
+        assert q.has_pending(USER_DRAIN)
+        assert q.has_pending(TOOL_DRAIN)
+
 
 class TestDropOldestByType:
     def test_drop_oldest_by_type_removes_earliest_match(self):
diff --git a/tests/test_session.py b/tests/test_session.py
index f47c0862..86430dc3 100644
--- a/tests/test_session.py
+++ b/tests/test_session.py
@@ -1002,6 +1002,27 @@ class TestEvaluateIntentProjection:
         assert fa["edits"][0]["near_line"] == 42
         assert fa["replace_all"] is False
 
+    # -- bash: backgrounding is part of the intent (#817) -------------------
+
+    def test_bash_background_projects_run_in_background(self) -> None:
+        """The judge must know a bash command will run detached — a
+        backgrounded server/miner is a different intent than a bounded run.
+        Built via the real preparer so the prepared item can't silently drop
+        the flag before the projection reads it."""
+        session = _make_session()
+        item = session._prepare_bash(
+            "c1", {"command": "python -m http.server 8000", "run_in_background": True}
+        )
+        fa = _project_func_args(item)
+        assert fa["run_in_background"] is True
+        assert fa["command"] == "python -m http.server 8000"
+
+    def test_bash_foreground_projects_run_in_background_false(self) -> None:
+        session = _make_session()
+        item = session._prepare_bash("c1", {"command": "echo hi"})
+        fa = _project_func_args(item)
+        assert fa["run_in_background"] is False
+
     # -- skills: the dead-assignment bug -----------------------------------
 
     def test_skills_create_projection_is_not_empty(self) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/test_tools_schema.py b/tests/test_tools_schema.py
index 6be13995..89d055cc 100644
--- a/tests/test_tools_schema.py
+++ b/tests/test_tools_schema.py
@@ -60,11 +60,11 @@ class TestToolsMetadata:
     """Validate the metadata extracted from JSON files."""
 
     def test_tool_count(self):
-        # 17 interactive tools + 12 coordinator-only tools.
-        assert len(TOOLS) == 29
+        # 19 interactive tools + 12 coordinator-only tools.
+        assert len(TOOLS) == 31
 
     def test_task_agent_tools_count(self):
-        assert len(TASK_AGENT_TOOLS) == 11
+        assert len(TASK_AGENT_TOOLS) == 13
 
     def test_coordinator_tools_count(self):
         from turnstone.core.tools import COORDINATOR_TOOLS
@@ -109,6 +109,12 @@ class TestToolsMetadata:
             "web_fetch",
             "web_search",
             "notify",
+            # Background-shell follow-ups: ``bash_output`` is read-only;
+            # ``kill_shell`` only signals process groups the session itself
+            # spawned via an approved bash call — strictly risk-reducing,
+            # so gating cleanup behind approval adds friction, not safety.
+            "bash_output",
+            "kill_shell",
             # Coordinator read-only tools (no-mutation, safe to auto-approve):
             "inspect_workstream",
             "list_workstreams",
@@ -128,6 +134,8 @@ class TestToolsMetadata:
             "web_search": "query",
             "open_preview": "target",
             "task_agent": "prompt",
+            "bash_output": "id",
+            "kill_shell": "id",
             "memory": "name",
             "recall": "query",
             "notify": "message",
diff --git a/tests/test_watch_dispatch.py b/tests/test_watch_dispatch.py
index e964c124..438930b0 100644
--- a/tests/test_watch_dispatch.py
+++ b/tests/test_watch_dispatch.py
@@ -201,9 +201,9 @@ class TestSoftCap:
         # Oldest ("body-0") gone; newest ("overflow") present.
         assert "body-0" not in bodies
         assert "overflow" in bodies
-        # Warning logged.
-        assert any("watch_dispatch.queue_full" in r.message for r in caplog.records), (
-            "expected a watch_dispatch.queue_full warning record"
+        # Warning logged (the shared external-event rail owns the event now).
+        assert any("external_event.queue_full" in r.message for r in caplog.records), (
+            "expected an external_event.queue_full warning record"
         )
 
     def test_dispatch_soft_cap_does_not_evict_other_types(self, tmp_db):
@@ -457,8 +457,8 @@ class TestWakeFn:
         # Entry survived; the failure surfaced as a warning, not a raise
         # up into the poll loop.
         assert len(session._nudge_queue) == 1
-        assert any("watch_dispatch.wake_failed" in r.message for r in caplog.records), (
-            "expected a watch_dispatch.wake_failed warning record"
+        assert any("external_event.wake_failed" in r.message for r in caplog.records), (
+            "expected an external_event.wake_failed warning record"
         )
 
 
diff --git a/turnstone/cli.py b/turnstone/cli.py
index 2ccd4a38..abb3bfaa 100644
--- a/turnstone/cli.py
+++ b/turnstone/cli.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ model auto-detection, workstream management, and the main() REPL entry point.
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import argparse
+import contextlib
 import logging
 import os
 import readline
@@ -920,6 +921,41 @@ def resolve_cli_persona_kwargs(
     return {}
 
 
+def _close_all_sessions(manager: SessionManager) -> None:
+    """Close EVERY loaded session at CLI exit — not just the active one.
+
+    ``ChatSession.close()`` removes MCP listeners AND reaps the workstream's
+    background shells (#817).  An active-only close would let a dev server
+    started in workstream 1 survive ``/new`` + ``/exit`` forever: its
+    detached process group outlives this process — the exact leaked-server
+    class #816 removed.
+
+    Two phases so total exit latency doesn't stack per workstream: the kill
+    signals land on EVERY session's shells first (microseconds each — after
+    which nothing can outlive us), then the per-session closes pay their
+    join budgets, which are near-zero once the kills have landed.  A Ctrl-C
+    during the close phase degrades gracefully instead of aborting the
+    sweep: the signals are already delivered, the remaining joins are
+    skipped, and the caller still runs MCP/registry shutdown.  Best-effort
+    per workstream either way — one bad teardown must not stop the rest.
+    """
+    loaded = [(ws.id, ws.session) for ws in manager.list_all() if ws.session is not None]
+    for _ws_id, session in loaded:
+        with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+            session._background_shells.signal_all()
+    try:
+        for ws_id, session in loaded:
+            try:
+                session.close()
+            except Exception:
+                print(dim(f"  (workstream {ws_id[:8]} teardown error, continuing)"))
+    except KeyboardInterrupt:
+        # The kills above already landed; skipping the remaining joins
+        # leaks nothing — it only abandons wedged drain threads that die
+        # with this process anyway.
+        print(dim("  (interrupted — background shells already signalled)"))
+
+
 def main() -> None:
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         description="Interactive CLI for OpenAI-compatible models with tool calling.",
@@ -1389,9 +1425,7 @@ def main() -> None:
             except Exception as e:
                 print(f"\n{red(f'Error: {e}')}")
 
-    # Close active session (removes MCP listener) before shutting down MCP
-    if active and active.session:
-        active.session.close()
+    _close_all_sessions(manager)
     if mcp_client:
         mcp_client.shutdown()
     registry.shutdown()
diff --git a/turnstone/core/background_shells.py b/turnstone/core/background_shells.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..42269f2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/turnstone/core/background_shells.py
@@ -0,0 +1,833 @@
+"""Per-session registry for explicitly backgrounded bash shells (#817).
+
+#816 made the ``bash`` tool terminate its whole process group when the call
+returns — no leaked servers, no hangs, but also no way to keep a dev server
+alive across calls.  This registry restores that as an explicit opt-in with
+the model-facing shape the frontier coding agents converged on: a boolean on
+the shell tool, a short ``bash_N`` handle, a delta-output reader that returns
+only lines produced since the previous read, and a kill tool.
+
+Lifetime rules (the #816 rule, extended):
+
+* The tracked command defines the shell's lifetime.  When it exits —
+  naturally, by ``kill``, or by registry teardown — its whole session group
+  is SIGKILLed, so nothing the command backgrounded can outlive it.
+* Shells survive generation-cancel (they are deliberately detached) and die
+  with the owning session: :meth:`BackgroundShellRegistry.close` runs from
+  ``ChatSession.close()``, which every workstream-teardown path funnels
+  through.
+* Shells spawned inside a task_agent carry that agent's ``owner`` tag; the
+  agent's ``finally`` reaps them, and owner-scoped lookup keeps parallel
+  agents (and the parent) from touching each other's handles.
+
+Output is buffered per shell as a rolling deque of lines (stderr tagged
+``[stderr] `` inline, arrival order) capped by total characters with
+drop-oldest semantics — a chatty server cannot grow a session's memory
+unbounded.  Reads advance a cursor over the *logical* line stream, so a
+line dropped before it was ever read surfaces as an explicit gap count
+rather than silently vanishing.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import contextlib
+import itertools
+import json
+import os
+import re
+import signal
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tempfile
+import threading
+import time
+from collections import deque
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Literal
+
+from turnstone.core.log import get_logger
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Callable
+
+log = get_logger(__name__)
+
+ShellStatus = Literal["running", "completed", "killed"]
+
+# Live (status == "running") shells per session.  A hard backstop against a
+# runaway loop of spawns on a multi-tenant node, not an operator knob.
+_DEFAULT_MAX_SHELLS = 8
+# Rolling per-shell buffer cap, in characters.  Oldest whole lines drop
+# first; the newest line always survives even if it alone exceeds the cap.
+_DEFAULT_MAX_BUFFER_CHARS = 200_000
+# How long to wait for the drain threads after the group kill forces their
+# pipes to EOF.  A grandchild that double-``setsid``-escaped the group can
+# hold a pipe open past this — the drain is a daemon thread and leaks
+# (logged) until that process dies, same acceptance as the foreground tool.
+_DRAIN_JOIN_TIMEOUT_S = 5
+# TOTAL join budget for ``kill``/``reap`` across all of a shell's threads
+# (not per-thread — a wedged drain must not stack timeouts).
+_WAITER_JOIN_TIMEOUT_S = 10
+# TOTAL join budget for ``close()`` across ALL shells.  close() runs on the
+# workstream-teardown funnel, which the server can reach from an async
+# handler — an unbounded (or per-shell-stacking) wait here would freeze the
+# node's event loop, not just this workstream.  Threads still alive past the
+# budget are daemons: logged and abandoned, they die with their pipes.
+_CLOSE_JOIN_BUDGET_S = 5
+# Exited records retained per registry (drop-oldest).  Keeps a long-lived
+# workstream that backgrounds thousands of short jobs from accumulating
+# dead records (each can pin up to ``max_buffer_chars`` of buffer) while
+# still letting the model read recently-exited shells' output.
+_MAX_EXITED_RECORDS = 32
+# Bounds on the model-supplied ``filter`` regex: pattern length, how much of
+# each line the pattern sees, and wall-clock for the whole filter pass.  The
+# pass runs in a SUBPROCESS, not a thread: CPython's sre engine holds the
+# GIL for the entire duration of one ``search`` call, so a catastrophic-
+# backtracking pattern freezes every thread in the interpreter — no
+# in-process timeout (thread join, signal, anything) can fire.  A child
+# process is killable from outside the GIL; on timeout the read errors
+# WITHOUT consuming the delta (the cursor only commits on a completed pass).
+_MAX_FILTER_PATTERN_CHARS = 512
+_FILTER_MAX_LINE_CHARS = 4096
+_FILTER_TIMEOUT_S = 2.0
+
+# Runs inside ``sys.executable -c``: reads {pattern, lines} as JSON on
+# stdin (lines already truncated parent-side), writes the MATCHING INDEXES
+# as JSON on stdout (indexes, not lines — no need to echo a 200K buffer
+# back through a pipe).
+_FILTER_HELPER_SRC = (
+    "import json, re, sys\n"
+    "d = json.load(sys.stdin)\n"
+    "p = re.compile(d['pattern'])\n"
+    "sys.stdout.write(json.dumps([i for i, ln in enumerate(d['lines']) if p.search(ln)]))\n"
+)
+
+
+class UnknownShellError(LookupError):
+    """No shell with that id is visible in the caller's owner scope."""
+
+
+class TooManyShellsError(RuntimeError):
+    """The per-session live-shell cap would be exceeded."""
+
+
+class FilterTimeoutError(ValueError):
+    """The ``filter`` regex did not finish within the time bound."""
+
+
+class FilterExecError(RuntimeError):
+    """The filter helper process failed for a non-pattern reason."""
+
+
+def _filter_lines_bounded(pattern: re.Pattern[str], lines: list[str], shell_id: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Apply ``pattern`` per line with a wall-clock bound.
+
+    A catastrophic-backtracking pattern would wedge the (auto-approved)
+    tool call — the exact never-returns class #816 removed — and it cannot
+    be bounded IN-PROCESS: sre holds the GIL for the whole ``search`` call,
+    freezing every interpreter thread including any watchdog.  So the pass
+    runs in a small child process (killable from the OS): each line
+    truncated PARENT-side to :data:`_FILTER_MAX_LINE_CHARS` before
+    serialization (a filter targets log lines; shipping a retained multi-MB
+    line through the pipe would spend the time budget on I/O and misreport
+    a fine pattern as slow), the whole pass bounded by
+    :data:`_FILTER_TIMEOUT_S`, SIGKILL on the child's group past that.
+
+    Raises :class:`FilterTimeoutError` on timeout and
+    :class:`FilterExecError` on a helper failure that is NOT the pattern's
+    fault (fork/OOM/env) — distinct messages, so the model doesn't
+    "simplify" an innocent regex.  Either way the caller consumes nothing.
+    The ~tens-of-ms interpreter startup is paid only on filtered reads.
+
+    Threat model for the auto-approved path (``bash_output`` runs without
+    operator approval): the only model-controlled inputs are the PATTERN
+    and, transitively, the buffered text.  The pattern is compiled
+    parent-side before the fork (a non-regex payload fails there), the
+    child executes only the fixed ``_FILTER_HELPER_SRC`` — the pattern is
+    DATA on stdin, never code —, the child gets a scrubbed environment, no
+    shell, read-only work, and a SIGKILL at the time bound.  Worst case a
+    hostile pattern buys ~2s of one core.
+    """
+    from turnstone.core.env import scrubbed_env
+
+    payload = json.dumps(
+        {
+            "pattern": pattern.pattern,
+            "lines": [ln[:_FILTER_MAX_LINE_CHARS] for ln in lines],
+        },
+        ensure_ascii=False,
+    )
+    try:
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(
+            [sys.executable, "-c", _FILTER_HELPER_SRC],
+            stdin=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+            # Pin BOTH pipe directions to UTF-8: ``text=True`` alone uses
+            # the locale encoding, and on a C/POSIX-locale node a single
+            # U+FFFD (from the drain's ``errors="replace"``) would raise
+            # UnicodeEncodeError out of communicate() — escaping the
+            # Timeout/Exec error taxonomy as a generic crash.  The child's
+            # own stdio decode is pinned via PYTHONIOENCODING.
+            encoding="utf-8",
+            errors="replace",
+            # scrubbed_env, not os.environ: the helper needs no secrets (it
+            # runs only our trusted source over already-buffered text), and
+            # every other fork in this codebase strips API keys/tokens —
+            # this one must not be the exception.
+            env={**scrubbed_env(), "PYTHONIOENCODING": "utf-8"},
+            start_new_session=True,
+        )
+    except OSError as e:
+        # Fork pressure (EAGAIN) / exec failure — same containment class as
+        # spawn()'s thread-start guard, and by contract NOT the pattern's
+        # fault.
+        log.warning("bg_shell.filter_helper_spawn_failed", shell_id=shell_id, error=str(e))
+        raise FilterExecError(
+            "the filter could not be applied (helper failed to start); this "
+            "is not a problem with your pattern — no output was consumed; "
+            "retry, or read without a filter"
+        ) from e
+    try:
+        out, _ = proc.communicate(payload, timeout=_FILTER_TIMEOUT_S)
+    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+        with contextlib.suppress(OSError, ProcessLookupError):
+            os.killpg(proc.pid, signal.SIGKILL)
+        with contextlib.suppress(subprocess.TimeoutExpired):
+            proc.wait(timeout=5)
+        log.warning("bg_shell.filter_timeout", shell_id=shell_id, pattern=pattern.pattern[:80])
+        raise FilterTimeoutError(
+            f"filter regex took longer than {_FILTER_TIMEOUT_S:g}s to run; no "
+            "output was consumed — simplify the pattern or retry without a filter"
+        ) from None
+    if proc.returncode != 0:
+        # The parent validated the compile, so a child failure is exotic
+        # (fork pressure, interpreter env) — NOT the pattern's fault.
+        log.warning(
+            "bg_shell.filter_helper_failed",
+            shell_id=shell_id,
+            returncode=proc.returncode,
+        )
+        raise FilterExecError(
+            f"the filter could not be applied (helper exited {proc.returncode}); "
+            "this is not a problem with your pattern — no output was consumed; "
+            "retry, or read without a filter"
+        )
+    try:
+        indexes = json.loads(out)
+    except ValueError:
+        log.warning("bg_shell.filter_helper_bad_output", shell_id=shell_id)
+        raise FilterExecError(
+            "the filter could not be applied (helper returned malformed data); "
+            "no output was consumed — retry, or read without a filter"
+        ) from None
+    return [lines[i] for i in indexes if isinstance(i, int) and 0 <= i < len(lines)]
+
+
+def drain_pipe_lines(pipe: Any, on_line: Callable[[str], None]) -> None:
+    """Read ``pipe`` line-by-line until EOF, forwarding each to ``on_line``.
+
+    The drain half of the shared bash recipe (see :func:`spawn_group_leader`
+    for the spawn half): both variants of the tool tolerate the same two
+    end-of-stream shapes.  A pipe torn down by the session-group kill is the
+    expected end; anything else must not kill the drain silently.  (The
+    ``errors="replace"`` on the shared Popen pre-empts UnicodeDecodeError —
+    a ValueError that would otherwise end the drain early and drop ALL
+    remaining output while reporting a clean success.)
+    """
+    try:
+        for line in pipe:
+            on_line(line)
+    except (ValueError, OSError):
+        log.debug("bash.drain_read_error", exc_info=True)
+
+
+def spawn_group_leader(
+    command: str, *, stop_on_error: bool, env: dict[str, str] | None
+) -> tuple[subprocess.Popen[str], int, str]:
+    """Write the script, fork the detached group leader, snapshot its pgid.
+
+    THE shared prologue for both runs of the model-facing bash tool — the
+    foreground executor (``ChatSession._exec_bash``) and this registry — so
+    the two variants of one tool cannot drift: same ``pipefail``/``set -e``
+    preamble, same decode policy (``errors="replace"``), same session-group
+    discipline.  The script file exists because bash reads scripts lazily
+    (robust to quoting/length; unlinking early could truncate a long script
+    mid-run) — the CALLER owns the unlink on its own exit path.  On a
+    failed fork the script is unlinked here and the error propagates.  The
+    pgid snapshot happens while the leader is alive (``start_new_session``
+    makes ``pgid == pid``); the microseconds-wide pid-wraparound TOCTOU is
+    the same accepted one as always.
+    """
+    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(mode="w", suffix=".sh", delete=False) as f:
+        preamble = "set -o pipefail\n"
+        if stop_on_error:
+            preamble += "set -e\n"
+        f.write(preamble + command)
+        script_path = f.name
+    try:
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(
+            ["bash", script_path],
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+            text=True,
+            errors="replace",
+            start_new_session=True,
+            env=env,
+        )
+    except BaseException:
+        with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
+            os.unlink(script_path)
+        raise
+    try:
+        pgid = os.getpgid(proc.pid)
+    except OSError:
+        pgid = proc.pid
+    return proc, pgid, script_path
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ShellRead:
+    """One delta read: lines since the previous read, plus shell state.
+
+    ``lines`` is post-filter (what the caller shows); ``new_line_count`` is
+    the pre-filter delta size — the cursor advanced past all of them, so a
+    filtered-out line is consumed, never deferred to a later read.
+    ``dropped_lines`` counts lines lost to the buffer cap before they were
+    ever read (an explicit gap, not silence).
+    """
+
+    shell_id: str
+    status: ShellStatus
+    exit_code: int | None
+    lines: list[str]
+    new_line_count: int
+    dropped_lines: int
+    # Lines in this delta longer than the per-line filter window — their
+    # tails were invisible to the pattern.  Only populated on filtered
+    # reads; the caller surfaces it so a "none matching" answer over
+    # clipped evidence is never silent.
+    clipped_lines: int = 0
+
+
+class BackgroundShell:
+    """One detached shell: process handles, rolling buffer, read cursor.
+
+    Mutable state is guarded by ``self.lock`` — the drain threads append
+    while reads snapshot; the waiter thread flips ``status`` exactly once.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        shell_id: str,
+        command: str,
+        proc: subprocess.Popen[str],
+        pgid: int,
+        owner: str | None,
+        script_path: str,
+        max_buffer_chars: int,
+    ) -> None:
+        self.shell_id = shell_id
+        self.command = command
+        self.proc = proc
+        self.pid = proc.pid
+        self.pgid = pgid
+        self.owner = owner
+        self.status: ShellStatus = "running"
+        self.exit_code: int | None = None
+        self.lock = threading.Lock()
+        self._script_path = script_path
+        self._max_buffer_chars = max_buffer_chars
+        # Rolling buffer over the logical line stream: ``_buffer`` holds the
+        # retained tail; ``_dropped_total``/``_total_lines`` are absolute
+        # line counts so the cursor survives drop-oldest evictions.
+        self._buffer: deque[str] = deque()
+        self._buffered_chars = 0
+        self._dropped_total = 0
+        self._total_lines = 0
+        self._read_cursor = 0
+        # Set (under ``lock``) before the group kill on every deliberate
+        # termination path so the waiter can distinguish "killed" from
+        # "completed" and suppress the exit callback.
+        self._killed = False
+        self._threads: list[threading.Thread] = []
+        # Serializes whole read passes (snapshot → filter → commit).  The
+        # buffer lock alone leaves a window where two concurrent reads of
+        # the same shell snapshot the same cursor and BOTH return the delta
+        # as new — double-delivering every line.  Held across the filter
+        # subprocess too: correctness over parallel reads of one shell.
+        self.read_serial = threading.Lock()
+        # Monotonic EXIT order (registry-assigned by the waiter), None while
+        # running.  Dead-record eviction sorts on this, never on spawn
+        # order: a long-lived first-spawned server must not be the first
+        # record evicted — least of all by its own exit's prune, which
+        # would drop its promised exit notice and crash output unread.
+        self._exit_seq: int | None = None
+
+    @property
+    def unread_lines(self) -> int:
+        """Lines still READABLE that the cursor hasn't consumed — excludes
+        lines the buffer cap already evicted, so an exit notice never
+        promises more output than ``bash_output`` can actually return."""
+        with self.lock:
+            return self._total_lines - max(self._read_cursor, self._dropped_total)
+
+    def _append(self, line: str) -> None:
+        with self.lock:
+            self._buffer.append(line)
+            self._buffered_chars += len(line)
+            self._total_lines += 1
+            # Drop oldest whole lines past the cap, but always keep the
+            # newest — a single oversized line must not empty the buffer.
+            while self._buffered_chars > self._max_buffer_chars and len(self._buffer) > 1:
+                dropped = self._buffer.popleft()
+                self._buffered_chars -= len(dropped)
+                self._dropped_total += 1
+
+    def _snapshot_delta(self) -> tuple[list[str], int, int, ShellStatus, int | None]:
+        """Snapshot unread lines WITHOUT consuming them.
+
+        Returns ``(delta, gap, new_cursor, status, exit_code)``.  The caller
+        commits ``new_cursor`` via :meth:`_commit_cursor` only after any
+        filtering succeeded — a failed/timed-out filter must not eat output.
+        """
+        with self.lock:
+            start = max(self._read_cursor, self._dropped_total)
+            gap = start - self._read_cursor
+            delta = list(itertools.islice(self._buffer, start - self._dropped_total, None))
+            return delta, gap, self._total_lines, self.status, self.exit_code
+
+    def _commit_cursor(self, new_cursor: int) -> None:
+        with self.lock:
+            # max(): monotonic under concurrent reads of the same scope.
+            self._read_cursor = max(self._read_cursor, new_cursor)
+
+
+class BackgroundShellRegistry:
+    """Session-scoped table of background shells, ``bash_N``-keyed.
+
+    Thread-safe: tool calls (spawn/read/kill), waiter threads (exit
+    transitions), and teardown (close/reap) may interleave freely.
+    ``on_exit`` fires from the waiter thread on NATURAL exit only — never
+    for ``kill``/``reap``/``close`` — after the drains have flushed, so a
+    read triggered by the callback sees the complete output.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        *,
+        max_shells: int = _DEFAULT_MAX_SHELLS,
+        max_buffer_chars: int = _DEFAULT_MAX_BUFFER_CHARS,
+        max_exited_records: int = _MAX_EXITED_RECORDS,
+        on_exit: Callable[[BackgroundShell], None] | None = None,
+    ) -> None:
+        self._max_shells = max_shells
+        self._max_buffer_chars = max_buffer_chars
+        self._max_exited_records = max_exited_records
+        self._on_exit = on_exit
+        self._shells: dict[str, BackgroundShell] = {}
+        self._lock = threading.Lock()
+        self._counter = 0
+        self._exit_counter = 0
+        self._closed = False
+
+    # -- Spawning -----------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def spawn(
+        self,
+        command: str,
+        *,
+        env: dict[str, str] | None = None,
+        owner: str | None = None,
+        stop_on_error: bool = False,
+    ) -> BackgroundShell:
+        """Start ``command`` as a detached shell; return its record.
+
+        Raises ``RuntimeError`` after :meth:`close`, :class:`TooManyShellsError`
+        at the live-shell cap, and propagates ``OSError`` from a failed spawn.
+        """
+        if env is None:
+            from turnstone.core.env import scrubbed_env
+
+            env = scrubbed_env()
+        # Fast-fail before paying disk + fork; re-checked authoritatively
+        # under the lock after the fork (spawn stays lock-free through the
+        # slow syscalls so close()/reap() — which serialize on the registry
+        # lock with a total time budget — can never be blocked behind a
+        # stalled filesystem write or fork).
+        with self._lock:
+            self._check_capacity_locked(owner)
+        # Shared prologue with the foreground bash tool — the waiter unlinks
+        # the script after exit.
+        proc, pgid, script_path = spawn_group_leader(command, stop_on_error=stop_on_error, env=env)
+        try:
+            with self._lock:
+                # Authoritative re-check: a concurrent spawn/close may have
+                # won the race while we were forking.  Refusal lands in the
+                # outer handler, which reaps the freshly-forked group —
+                # nothing may outlive a failed call (#816 rule).
+                self._check_capacity_locked(owner)
+                self._counter += 1
+                shell = BackgroundShell(
+                    shell_id=f"bash_{self._counter}",
+                    command=command,
+                    proc=proc,
+                    pgid=pgid,
+                    owner=owner,
+                    script_path=script_path,
+                    max_buffer_chars=self._max_buffer_chars,
+                )
+                # Publish, wire and START the threads under the registry
+                # lock: close()/reap() take the same lock, so they can never
+                # observe a registered shell whose threads aren't started
+                # (they would "join" nothing and return while the drains /
+                # waiter start up behind them).  Registration is popped on a
+                # start failure IN the same hold, so a thread-exhausted node
+                # (RLIMIT_NPROC) can't strand an orphan record whose
+                # never-started Thread objects would make every later
+                # ``join`` — hence every teardown — raise.  The thread
+                # bodies only ever take ``shell.lock`` or re-take the
+                # registry lock AFTER this hold is released (the waiter's
+                # prune), so starting them here cannot deadlock.
+                self._shells[shell.shell_id] = shell
+                assert proc.stdout is not None and proc.stderr is not None
+                out_thread = threading.Thread(
+                    target=self._drain,
+                    args=(proc.stdout, shell, False),
+                    name=f"bg-shell-out-{shell.shell_id}",
+                    daemon=True,
+                )
+                err_thread = threading.Thread(
+                    target=self._drain,
+                    args=(proc.stderr, shell, True),
+                    name=f"bg-shell-err-{shell.shell_id}",
+                    daemon=True,
+                )
+                waiter = threading.Thread(
+                    target=self._wait_for_exit,
+                    args=(shell, out_thread, err_thread),
+                    name=f"bg-shell-wait-{shell.shell_id}",
+                    daemon=True,
+                )
+                shell._threads = [out_thread, err_thread, waiter]
+                try:
+                    out_thread.start()
+                    err_thread.start()
+                    waiter.start()
+                except BaseException:
+                    self._shells.pop(shell.shell_id, None)
+                    raise
+        except BaseException:
+            # Refused post-fork or thread start failed: reap the fresh group
+            # (any started drain then EOFs and exits on its own) and surface
+            # the original error to the tool layer.
+            with contextlib.suppress(OSError, ProcessLookupError):
+                os.killpg(pgid, signal.SIGKILL)
+            with contextlib.suppress(subprocess.TimeoutExpired):
+                proc.wait(timeout=5)
+            with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
+                os.unlink(script_path)
+            raise
+        log.info(
+            "bg_shell.spawned",
+            shell_id=shell.shell_id,
+            pid=shell.pid,
+            owner=owner or "",
+        )
+        return shell
+
+    def _check_capacity_locked(self, owner: str | None) -> None:
+        """Raise if closed or at the live-shell cap.  Caller holds the lock."""
+        if self._closed:
+            raise RuntimeError("background shells unavailable: session is closing")
+        live = [s for s in self._shells.values() if s.status == "running"]
+        if len(live) < self._max_shells:
+            return
+        # The cap is registry-wide (it protects the node), but the advice
+        # must be scope-honest: kill_shell is owner-scoped, so naming
+        # another scope's ids would send the caller in circles.
+        mine = [s.shell_id for s in live if s.owner == owner]
+        others = len(live) - len(mine)
+        if mine:
+            detail = f"In your scope: {', '.join(mine)} — stop one with kill_shell"
+            if others:
+                detail += f"; {others} more belong to other agents"
+            detail += "."
+        else:
+            detail = (
+                f"All {others} belong to other agents' scopes and end when "
+                "those agents finish; wait and retry."
+            )
+        raise TooManyShellsError(
+            f"Background shell limit reached ({self._max_shells} running). {detail}"
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _drain(pipe: Any, shell: BackgroundShell, is_stderr: bool) -> None:
+        drain_pipe_lines(
+            pipe, lambda line: shell._append(f"[stderr] {line}" if is_stderr else line)
+        )
+
+    def _wait_for_exit(
+        self,
+        shell: BackgroundShell,
+        out_thread: threading.Thread,
+        err_thread: threading.Thread,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Waiter thread: block on the leader, then tear down the group.
+
+        The kill-on-exit is what keeps the #816 guarantee: a child the
+        command backgrounded dies with the command, and the drains hit EOF
+        promptly instead of hanging on an inherited pipe write-end.
+        """
+        shell.proc.wait()
+        with contextlib.suppress(OSError, ProcessLookupError):
+            os.killpg(shell.pgid, signal.SIGKILL)
+        out_thread.join(timeout=_DRAIN_JOIN_TIMEOUT_S)
+        err_thread.join(timeout=_DRAIN_JOIN_TIMEOUT_S)
+        if out_thread.is_alive() or err_thread.is_alive():
+            log.warning("bg_shell.drain_leaked", shell_id=shell.shell_id, pid=shell.pid)
+        with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
+            os.unlink(shell._script_path)
+        with shell.lock:
+            shell.exit_code = shell.proc.returncode
+            shell.status = "killed" if shell._killed else "completed"
+            notify = not shell._killed
+        with self._lock:
+            self._exit_counter += 1
+            shell._exit_seq = self._exit_counter
+        log.info(
+            "bg_shell.exited",
+            shell_id=shell.shell_id,
+            exit_code=shell.exit_code,
+            status=shell.status,
+        )
+        self._prune_exited()
+        if notify and self._on_exit is not None:
+            try:
+                self._on_exit(shell)
+            except Exception:
+                log.warning("bg_shell.on_exit_failed", shell_id=shell.shell_id, exc_info=True)
+
+    def _prune_exited(self) -> None:
+        """Drop the OLDEST-EXITED records past ``max_exited_records``.
+
+        Exited records are kept so the model can read a finished shell's
+        output later, but a workstream that backgrounds thousands of short
+        jobs must not accumulate them (each can pin ``max_buffer_chars`` of
+        buffer).  Eviction sorts on exit order, NOT spawn order — the shell
+        whose exit triggered this prune is by definition the newest-exited
+        and therefore never its own victim (its exit notice and unread
+        output survive).  An exited shell whose ``_exit_seq`` isn't
+        assigned yet (waiter mid-transition) sorts as newest for the same
+        reason.
+        """
+        with self._lock:
+            if self._closed:
+                return
+            exited = sorted(
+                (s for s in self._shells.values() if s.status != "running"),
+                key=lambda s: s._exit_seq if s._exit_seq is not None else float("inf"),
+            )
+            for stale in exited[: max(0, len(exited) - self._max_exited_records)]:
+                self._shells.pop(stale.shell_id, None)
+
+    # -- Lookup / reads ------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def _get(self, shell_id: str, owner: str | None) -> BackgroundShell:
+        with self._lock:
+            shell = self._shells.get(shell_id)
+            if shell is not None and shell.owner == owner:
+                return shell
+            visible = [
+                f"{s.shell_id} ({s.status})" for s in self._shells.values() if s.owner == owner
+            ]
+        known = (
+            f" Known shells: {', '.join(visible)}." if visible else " No background shells exist."
+        )
+        raise UnknownShellError(f"No background shell with id '{shell_id}'.{known}")
+
+    def has(self, shell_id: str) -> bool:
+        with self._lock:
+            return shell_id in self._shells
+
+    def shells(self, owner: str | None = None) -> list[BackgroundShell]:
+        """Snapshot of the given scope's shells, in spawn order."""
+        with self._lock:
+            return [s for s in self._shells.values() if s.owner == owner]
+
+    def read(
+        self, shell_id: str, *, owner: str | None = None, filter_pattern: str | None = None
+    ) -> ShellRead:
+        """Return output produced since the last read of ``shell_id``.
+
+        ``filter_pattern`` (a regex, ``search`` semantics per line — the
+        tool-facing ``filter`` arg) narrows what is RETURNED, not what is
+        consumed: on a successful read the cursor advances past the whole
+        delta.  A failed or timed-out filter consumes NOTHING — the model
+        can retry without the filter and still get its output.  Raises
+        :class:`UnknownShellError` outside the caller's scope, ``re.error``
+        for a bad pattern, and :class:`FilterTimeoutError` for a pattern
+        that blows the time bound (catastrophic backtracking).
+        """
+        shell = self._get(shell_id, owner)
+        pattern: re.Pattern[str] | None = None
+        if filter_pattern:
+            if len(filter_pattern) > _MAX_FILTER_PATTERN_CHARS:
+                raise re.error(  # noqa: TRY003 — mirrors re.compile's own error type
+                    f"filter pattern too long ({len(filter_pattern)} chars, "
+                    f"max {_MAX_FILTER_PATTERN_CHARS})"
+                )
+            pattern = re.compile(filter_pattern)
+        # Serialize the whole pass: concurrent reads of one shell (a
+        # parallel tool batch) would otherwise snapshot the same cursor and
+        # each return the full delta as "new".
+        with shell.read_serial:
+            delta, gap, new_cursor, status, exit_code = shell._snapshot_delta()
+            clipped = 0
+            if pattern is None:
+                shown = delta
+            else:
+                # Raises FilterTimeoutError / FilterExecError BEFORE the
+                # commit below — a failed filter consumes nothing.
+                shown = _filter_lines_bounded(pattern, delta, shell.shell_id)
+                clipped = sum(1 for ln in delta if len(ln) > _FILTER_MAX_LINE_CHARS)
+            shell._commit_cursor(new_cursor)
+        return ShellRead(
+            shell_id=shell.shell_id,
+            status=status,
+            exit_code=exit_code,
+            lines=shown,
+            new_line_count=len(delta),
+            dropped_lines=gap,
+            clipped_lines=clipped,
+        )
+
+    # -- Termination ---------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _signal_group(shell: BackgroundShell) -> None:
+        """SIGKILL the shell's group IFF its leader is still running.
+
+        The liveness guard is load-bearing: a completed shell's ``pgid`` is
+        an hours-stale snapshot the OS may have recycled to an unrelated
+        process group — signalling it unconditionally would let the
+        auto-approved ``kill_shell`` (or a routine ``close()``) SIGKILL
+        another tenant's processes.  A leader that exits between the
+        ``poll()`` and the ``killpg`` leaves the same microseconds-wide
+        pid-wraparound TOCTOU as the foreground tool — accepted there,
+        accepted here.  The guard also keeps a kill racing a natural exit
+        honest: the waiter labels the shell ``completed`` (with its real
+        exit code and notice) instead of ``killed``.
+        """
+        with shell.lock:
+            if shell.proc.poll() is not None:
+                return  # already exited — the waiter's own group kill ran/runs
+            shell._killed = True
+            # killpg INSIDE the lock: poll-and-signal is atomic wrt our own
+            # bookkeeping (nothing can observe _killed without the signal
+            # having been attempted).  The lock is never held around other
+            # locks, so this cannot deadlock; the OS-level microseconds
+            # pid-wraparound TOCTOU is the same accepted one as always.
+            with contextlib.suppress(OSError, ProcessLookupError):
+                os.killpg(shell.pgid, signal.SIGKILL)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _join_threads(shells: list[BackgroundShell], budget_s: float) -> bool:
+        """Join every shell thread under ONE shared deadline; True if all done.
+
+        The budget is total, not per-thread: teardown latency must not stack
+        by shell count (``close()`` can run under the server's async close
+        route — see :data:`_CLOSE_JOIN_BUDGET_S`).  Stragglers are daemons;
+        the caller logs and abandons them.
+        """
+        deadline = time.monotonic() + budget_s
+        done = True
+        for shell in shells:
+            for t in shell._threads:
+                # suppress: joining a never-started Thread raises
+                # RuntimeError.  spawn() unregisters on a start failure, so
+                # this is pure belt — teardown must never die on a join.
+                with contextlib.suppress(RuntimeError):
+                    t.join(timeout=max(0.0, deadline - time.monotonic()))
+                done = done and not t.is_alive()
+        return done
+
+    def kill(self, shell_id: str, *, owner: str | None = None) -> BackgroundShell:
+        """SIGKILL ``shell_id``'s whole group; return its (updated) record.
+
+        Suppresses the exit callback — the caller asked for this exit, so
+        there is nothing to announce.  Killing an already-exited shell
+        signals nothing (see :meth:`_signal_group`) and returns the record
+        unchanged.  On return the record is usually terminal; a leader in
+        uninterruptible sleep can still read ``running`` after the join
+        budget — callers report that honestly rather than assuming.
+        """
+        shell = self._get(shell_id, owner)
+        self._signal_group(shell)
+        if not self._join_threads([shell], _WAITER_JOIN_TIMEOUT_S):
+            log.warning("bg_shell.kill_join_timeout", shell_id=shell.shell_id, pid=shell.pid)
+        return shell
+
+    def reap(self, *, owner: str | None) -> None:
+        """Kill every shell belonging to ``owner`` and drop their records.
+
+        Used by the task_agent teardown: a sub-agent's shells are bound to
+        the sub-agent's lifetime (never handed to the parent), and dropping
+        the records keeps dead ``bash_N`` handles from cluttering scope
+        listings.  Suppresses the exit callback for the shells it kills,
+        same as :meth:`kill` — teardown is the caller's own act, there is
+        nothing to announce.
+        """
+        with self._lock:
+            mine = [s for s in self._shells.values() if s.owner == owner]
+        for shell in mine:
+            self._signal_group(shell)
+        if not self._join_threads(mine, _WAITER_JOIN_TIMEOUT_S):
+            log.warning("bg_shell.reap_join_timeout", owner=owner or "")
+        with self._lock:
+            for shell in mine:
+                self._shells.pop(shell.shell_id, None)
+
+    def signal_all(self) -> None:
+        """SIGKILL every live shell's group WITHOUT joining or unregistering.
+
+        The instant half of teardown, separated so multi-session frontends
+        can bound their total exit latency: signal every session's groups
+        first (microseconds each), then pay the join budgets — or, on an
+        impatient Ctrl-C, signal alone still guarantees no process outlives
+        the frontend even though the joins are skipped.  Liveness-guarded
+        per shell (:meth:`_signal_group`), so completed shells' stale pgids
+        are never touched.  Idempotent; :meth:`close` remains the complete
+        teardown.
+        """
+        with self._lock:
+            shells = list(self._shells.values())
+        for shell in shells:
+            self._signal_group(shell)
+
+    def close(self) -> None:
+        """Kill everything, join threads under a total budget, refuse spawns.
+
+        Idempotent; called from ``ChatSession.close()`` (the funnel every
+        workstream-teardown path runs through).  Signals are issued to all
+        groups first (instant), then ONE shared join budget covers every
+        thread — a pathological shell (escaped-group grandchild holding the
+        pipes, D-state leader) delays teardown by at most
+        :data:`_CLOSE_JOIN_BUDGET_S`, with the stragglers logged and left
+        to die as daemons.  Records are dropped so a queued exit notice's
+        ``valid_until`` predicate (``has(shell_id)``) goes stale and the
+        drain discards it — nobody is left to read it.
+        """
+        with self._lock:
+            if self._closed:
+                return
+            self._closed = True
+            shells = list(self._shells.values())
+        for shell in shells:
+            self._signal_group(shell)
+        if not self._join_threads(shells, _CLOSE_JOIN_BUDGET_S):
+            leaked = [t.name for s in shells for t in s._threads if t.is_alive()]
+            log.warning("bg_shell.close_join_timeout", leaked=",".join(leaked))
+        with self._lock:
+            self._shells.clear()
diff --git a/turnstone/core/idle_nudge_watcher.py b/turnstone/core/idle_nudge_watcher.py
index 0758a22b..6eccae2b 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/idle_nudge_watcher.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/idle_nudge_watcher.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
 from turnstone.core import session_worker
 from turnstone.core.log import get_logger
-from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import USER_DRAIN, NudgeQueue
+from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import WAKE_PENDING, NudgeQueue
 from turnstone.core.workstream import WorkstreamState
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ def wake_workstream_if_pending(ws: Workstream, *, trigger: str = "unspecified")
       queue at its own seams (``ATTENTION``/``THINKING``/``RUNNING``
       all imply a live worker), and ``ERROR`` stays parked for the
       operator rather than burning inference unattended.
-    * nothing drainable under ``USER_DRAIN`` — tool-only entries
+    * nothing gate-eligible under ``WAKE_PENDING`` — tool-only/quiet entries
       belong to the next tool-result seam, not a synthetic empty user
       turn (``deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue`` would no-op on them).
 
@@ -102,7 +102,10 @@ def wake_workstream_if_pending(ws: Workstream, *, trigger: str = "unspecified")
     if session is None or ws._closed or ws.state is not WorkstreamState.IDLE:
         return False
     nudge_queue = getattr(session, "_nudge_queue", None)
-    if not isinstance(nudge_queue, NudgeQueue) or not nudge_queue.has_pending(USER_DRAIN):
+    # Gate on WAKE_PENDING, not USER_DRAIN: ``"quiet"`` entries (external
+    # events demoted by a user cancel) deliver at the next legitimate seam
+    # but must never themselves wake the workstream the user just stopped.
+    if not isinstance(nudge_queue, NudgeQueue) or not nudge_queue.has_pending(WAKE_PENDING):
         return False
 
     deferred = False
@@ -135,7 +138,7 @@ class IdleNudgeWatcher:
     :func:`wake_workstream_if_pending` (the shared gate — see its
     docstring for the full gate order).  If the workstream's
     :class:`NudgeQueue` has any drainable entry for the wake's drain
-    filter (``USER_DRAIN`` — channels ``"user"`` or ``"any"``), the
+    gate (``WAKE_PENDING`` — channels ``"user"`` or ``"any"``), the
     gate dispatches via ``session_worker.send`` with a no-op
     ``enqueue`` callback.  Tool-only entries don't fire the wake —
     they belong to the next tool-result seam, not a synthetic empty
diff --git a/turnstone/core/metacognition.py b/turnstone/core/metacognition.py
index 7af28b19..7c313eed 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/metacognition.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/metacognition.py
@@ -158,6 +158,10 @@ _NUDGE_MAP: dict[str, str] = {
     # consumers recognise the type.
     "idle_children": "",
     "watch_triggered": "",
+    # background_shell_exit (#817) likewise: per-fire text is composed by
+    # ``ChatSession._on_background_shell_exit`` and rides the shared
+    # external-event rail, never :func:`format_nudge`.
+    "background_shell_exit": "",
     # participant_joined likewise carries no static body — the per-fire text
     # ("<name> has joined this shared workstream…") is composed by its producer
     # (``ChatSession._maybe_note_new_participant``) and emitted via
diff --git a/turnstone/core/nudge_queue.py b/turnstone/core/nudge_queue.py
index bfc90a9e..53b35a6d 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/nudge_queue.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/nudge_queue.py
@@ -15,7 +15,13 @@ Channels:
     * ``"tool"`` — only drains at tool-result seams.
     * ``"any"``  — drains at whichever seam fires first (used for
       wake-trigger-driven nudges that should not be pinned to a
-      specific drain seam).
+      specific drain seam) AND counts toward the idle-wake gate
+      (:data:`WAKE_PENDING`).
+    * ``"quiet"`` — drains at whichever seam fires first, but does NOT
+      count toward the idle-wake gate.  A user cancel demotes pending
+      ``"any"`` entries here: the external event (watch fire,
+      background-shell exit) is still delivered at the next seam, but it
+      must not wake the workstream the user just stopped.
 
 Drain preserves FIFO order; non-matching entries stay queued.  Each
 entry can carry an optional ``valid_until`` predicate that drain
@@ -40,19 +46,38 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
 
 log = get_logger(__name__)
 
-Channel = Literal["user", "tool", "any"]
-_VALID_CHANNELS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"user", "tool", "any"})
+Channel = Literal["user", "tool", "any", "quiet"]
+_VALID_CHANNELS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"user", "tool", "any", "quiet"})
 
 # Module-level filter constants — most callers want one of these and
 # pre-allocating spares us a frozenset construction at every drain seam.
-USER_DRAIN: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"user", "any"})
-TOOL_DRAIN: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"tool", "any"})
+USER_DRAIN: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"user", "any", "quiet"})
+TOOL_DRAIN: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"tool", "any", "quiet"})
+# The idle-wake GATE (``IdleNudgeWatcher``): which pending channels justify
+# waking an idle workstream.  Deliberately excludes ``"quiet"`` — entries a
+# user cancel demoted must ride the next legitimate seam/wake, never cause
+# one, or Stop is followed seconds later by an autonomous resume.
+WAKE_PENDING: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"user", "any"})
+# The quiet channel, named once: the demotion target for external events a
+# user cancel must not let re-wake the workstream, and the ride-along drain
+# the wake path uses after its WAKE_PENDING pass.
+QUIET_CHANNEL: Channel = "quiet"
+QUIET_DRAIN: frozenset[str] = frozenset({QUIET_CHANNEL})
 
 
-class _Entry(NamedTuple):
+class Entry(NamedTuple):
+    """One queued nudge.  Public so consumers of
+    :meth:`NudgeQueue.drain_entries` can give entries back via
+    :meth:`NudgeQueue.requeue` — which preserves ``valid_until`` AND the
+    original ``seq`` (a plain :meth:`NudgeQueue.enqueue` would assign a
+    fresh seq and re-order a recovered older notice after newer events).
+    ``seq`` is the queue-global insertion number multi-channel drains sort
+    on to restore chronology."""
+
     nudge_type: str
     text: str
     channel: Channel
+    seq: int = 0
     valid_until: Callable[[], bool] | None = None
     # Producer-supplied optional fields that ride alongside ``text`` when
     # drained — used by ``watch_triggered`` to carry ``watch_name`` /
@@ -70,7 +95,8 @@ class NudgeQueue:
     """Single-session FIFO queue with channel-tagged entries."""
 
     def __init__(self) -> None:
-        self._items: deque[_Entry] = deque()
+        self._items: deque[Entry] = deque()
+        self._seq = 0
         self._lock = threading.Lock()
 
     def enqueue(
@@ -105,7 +131,8 @@ class NudgeQueue:
         if channel not in _VALID_CHANNELS:
             raise ValueError(f"channel={channel!r}; expected one of {sorted(_VALID_CHANNELS)}")
         with self._lock:
-            self._items.append(_Entry(nudge_type, text, channel, valid_until, metadata))
+            self._seq += 1
+            self._items.append(Entry(nudge_type, text, channel, self._seq, valid_until, metadata))
 
     def drain(
         self, channels: frozenset[str] | set[str]
@@ -122,6 +149,15 @@ class NudgeQueue:
         without delivering it.  Already-removed-from-queue either way —
         dropped entries don't ride a future drain.
         """
+        return [(e.nudge_type, e.text, e.metadata) for e in self.drain_entries(channels)]
+
+    def drain_entries(self, channels: frozenset[str] | set[str]) -> list[Entry]:
+        """Like :meth:`drain` but returns the surviving :class:`Entry`
+        records whole — ``seq`` for cross-channel chronology merges and
+        ``valid_until`` so a consumer that must give an entry back (the
+        wake path's failed-send re-enqueue) can do so without stripping
+        its staleness predicate.
+        """
         with self._lock:
             if not self._items:
                 return []
@@ -131,10 +167,10 @@ class NudgeQueue:
             # ``USER_DRAIN`` / ``TOOL_DRAIN`` (channel + "any") and
             # most queues hold only one channel's entries at a time.
             if all(entry.channel in channels for entry in self._items):
-                candidates: list[_Entry] = list(self._items)
+                candidates: list[Entry] = list(self._items)
                 self._items = deque()
             else:
-                kept: deque[_Entry] = deque()
+                kept: deque[Entry] = deque()
                 candidates = []
                 for entry in self._items:
                     if entry.channel in channels:
@@ -150,14 +186,14 @@ class NudgeQueue:
         # every child closed) and logs at ``info``; a raised exception
         # is a wiring bug (predicate is misbehaving) and stays at
         # ``warning`` with ``exc_info`` so the traceback surfaces.
-        out: list[tuple[str, str, dict[str, Any] | None]] = []
+        out: list[Entry] = []
         for entry in candidates:
             if entry.valid_until is None:
-                out.append((entry.nudge_type, entry.text, entry.metadata))
+                out.append(entry)
                 continue
             try:
                 if entry.valid_until():
-                    out.append((entry.nudge_type, entry.text, entry.metadata))
+                    out.append(entry)
                     continue
                 log.info(
                     "nudge_queue.predicate_dropped",
@@ -187,12 +223,74 @@ class NudgeQueue:
             return len(self._items)
 
     def clear(self) -> int:
-        """Drop every entry; return the count cleared.  Used in cancel paths."""
+        """Drop every entry regardless of channel; return the count cleared.
+
+        No longer on the cancel path — abandoned generations use
+        :meth:`clear_channels` + :meth:`demote_channel` so external events
+        survive.  Kept for tests and for full-reset callers that truly mean
+        "everything".
+        """
         with self._lock:
             n = len(self._items)
             self._items.clear()
             return n
 
+    def requeue(self, entry: Entry, *, channel: Channel | None = None) -> None:
+        """Give a drained :class:`Entry` back to the queue, KEEPING its seq.
+
+        A plain :meth:`enqueue` would assign a fresh (higher) seq, so a
+        failed delivery's re-queued OLDER notice would sort after events
+        that arrived during the failed attempt — running poll counters
+        backwards at the next seq-merged wake.  Insertion is positioned by
+        seq so plain FIFO drains stay chronological too.  ``channel``
+        overrides the entry's channel (the wake path demotes ``"any"`` →
+        ``"quiet"``); ``valid_until`` and ``metadata`` ride unchanged.
+        """
+        dst = channel if channel is not None else entry.channel
+        if dst not in _VALID_CHANNELS:
+            raise ValueError(f"channel={dst!r}; expected one of {sorted(_VALID_CHANNELS)}")
+        restored = entry._replace(channel=dst)
+        with self._lock:
+            for i, existing in enumerate(self._items):
+                if existing.seq > restored.seq:
+                    self._items.insert(i, restored)
+                    return
+            self._items.append(restored)
+
+    def demote_channel(self, src: Channel, dst: Channel) -> int:
+        """Atomically re-tag every ``src``-channel entry as ``dst``; return
+        the count.  Order, text, metadata and ``valid_until`` are preserved
+        — only drain/wake eligibility changes.  The cancel path uses this to
+        take ``"any"`` entries out of the idle-wake gate (→ ``"quiet"``)
+        without dropping the external events they announce.
+        """
+        if dst not in _VALID_CHANNELS:
+            raise ValueError(f"channel={dst!r}; expected one of {sorted(_VALID_CHANNELS)}")
+        with self._lock:
+            demoted = 0
+            for i, entry in enumerate(self._items):
+                if entry.channel == src:
+                    self._items[i] = entry._replace(channel=dst)
+                    demoted += 1
+            return demoted
+
+    def clear_channels(self, channels: frozenset[str] | set[str]) -> int:
+        """Drop entries whose channel is in ``channels``; return the count.
+
+        The abandoned-generation paths use this instead of :meth:`clear`:
+        ``"tool"``/``"user"`` advisories are generation-scoped commentary
+        (a stale ``repeat`` nudge must not bleed into the next send), but
+        ``"any"``-channel entries are EXTERNAL events — a watch fire or a
+        background-shell exit that happened during the doomed generation
+        still happened, and dropping it would silently break the "you will
+        be notified" contract those producers promised the model.
+        """
+        with self._lock:
+            kept = deque(e for e in self._items if e.channel not in channels)
+            n = len(self._items) - len(kept)
+            self._items = kept
+            return n
+
     def count_by_type(self, nudge_type: str, channel: Channel | None = None) -> int:
         """Return the number of queued entries matching ``nudge_type``.
 
diff --git a/turnstone/core/session.py b/turnstone/core/session.py
index 9f896e7c..9725d068 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/session.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/session.py
@@ -48,6 +48,16 @@ from turnstone.core.attachments import (
     safe_attachment_label,
     unreadable_placeholder,
 )
+from turnstone.core.background_shells import (
+    _FILTER_MAX_LINE_CHARS,
+    BackgroundShell,
+    BackgroundShellRegistry,
+    FilterExecError,
+    FilterTimeoutError,
+    UnknownShellError,
+    drain_pipe_lines,
+    spawn_group_leader,
+)
 from turnstone.core.config import get_searxng_engines, get_searxng_url
 from turnstone.core.edit import find_occurrences, pick_nearest
 from turnstone.core.history_decoration import (
@@ -117,7 +127,15 @@ from turnstone.core.metacognition import (
     sanitize_payload,
     should_nudge,
 )
-from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import TOOL_DRAIN, USER_DRAIN, NudgeQueue
+from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import (
+    QUIET_CHANNEL,
+    QUIET_DRAIN,
+    TOOL_DRAIN,
+    USER_DRAIN,
+    WAKE_PENDING,
+    Entry,
+    NudgeQueue,
+)
 from turnstone.core.personas import (
     PersonaSnapshot,
     resolve_persona_for_kind,
@@ -389,6 +407,50 @@ _active_read_files: contextvars.ContextVar[set[str] | None] = contextvars.Contex
     "turnstone_active_read_files", default=None
 )
 
+# Owner scope for background shells (#817).  ``_exec_task`` sets it to the
+# task_agent's call_id for the sub-agent's duration: shells spawned inside
+# carry that owner tag, owner-scoped lookup keeps parallel agents (and the
+# parent) from touching each other's handles, and the agent's ``finally``
+# reaps its own.  ``None`` outside a sub-agent → main-session scope.
+_active_shell_owner: contextvars.ContextVar[str | None] = contextvars.ContextVar(
+    "turnstone_active_shell_owner", default=None
+)
+
+
+# Tools exempt from consecutive-identical-call repeat detection: delta-cursor
+# readers whose repeated identical call is the documented polling pattern.
+_REPEAT_EXEMPT_TOOLS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"bash_output"})
+
+
+# ONE source of truth for recognized boolean-arg strings — both coercers
+# below derive from these, so a new provider quirk added here reaches every
+# tool at once instead of drifting per-tool.
+_TRUTHY_STRINGS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"true", "1", "yes", "on"})
+_FALSY_STRINGS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"false", "0", "no", "off", ""})
+_KNOWN_BOOL_STRINGS: frozenset[str] = _TRUTHY_STRINGS | _FALSY_STRINGS
+
+
+def _is_truthy_flag(value: Any) -> bool:
+    """A model-sent boolean arg: bool ``True`` or the string forms providers
+    intermittently emit ("true"/"1"/"yes", any case).  Everything else —
+    including ``None`` and ``False`` strings — is ``False``.  Used for flags
+    where silently taking the wrong branch is worse than being lenient
+    (``run_in_background``: a string-typed true would otherwise run the
+    command in the FOREGROUND and then group-kill the server the model
+    believed it detached).  ONE dialect for the whole file —
+    ``_coord_bool_arg`` delegates here — so a provider quirk honored on one
+    tool is never silently ignored on another."""
+    if isinstance(value, bool):
+        return value
+    if isinstance(value, str):
+        return value.strip().lower() in _TRUTHY_STRINGS
+    if isinstance(value, (int, float)):
+        # Numeric booleans (run_in_background: 1) — same provider-drift
+        # class as the string forms.
+        return bool(value)
+    return False
+
+
 # Cap on the *content portion* (text after ``path:lineno:``) of an
 # emitted search result line. Defends the context budget against
 # pathological lines (minified blobs, base64 data, etc.).
@@ -1561,6 +1623,10 @@ class ChatSession:
         self._generation: int = 0  # monotonic counter; orphaned threads skip cleanup
         self._active_procs: set[subprocess.Popen[str]] = set()  # for force-kill
         self._procs_lock = threading.Lock()
+        # Detached shells from bash(run_in_background=true) (#817).  Deliberately
+        # NOT reaped by cancel(): stopping a generation must not kill a server
+        # the model detached on purpose.  close() reaps everything.
+        self._background_shells = BackgroundShellRegistry(on_exit=self._on_background_shell_exit)
         self._cancelled_partial_msg: dict[str, Any] | None = None
         self._pending_retry: str | None = None
         # True when a fatal exception's text has been persisted to
@@ -2887,59 +2953,116 @@ class ChatSession:
         """
         self._watch_runner = runner
         self._watch_wake_fn = wake_fn
-        nudge_queue = self._nudge_queue
-        ws_id = self._ws_id
 
         def _dispatch(reminder: dict[str, Any], watch_id: str) -> None:
             # ``reminder`` is the structured dict produced by
-            # :func:`build_watch_reminder`.  ``text`` carries the
-            # formatted body — sanitised here over the full string so
-            # steering-vector / control-char payloads sourced from
-            # arbitrary shell output can't tamper with the envelope at
-            # interpolation time.  The remaining fields ride as the
+            # :func:`build_watch_reminder`; the optional fields ride as the
             # queue entry's ``metadata`` → sibling keys on the
             # ``watch_triggered`` system turn, surfaced in the operator
-            # bubble (command preview + poll counter).
-            text = reminder.get("text", "") if isinstance(reminder, dict) else ""
-            sanitized = sanitize_payload(text)
-            if not sanitized:
-                # All control chars / empty after strip — silently drop.
+            # bubble (command preview + poll counter).  Sanitization, the
+            # drop-oldest soft cap (latest output is most useful) and the
+            # wake live on the shared external-event rail —
+            # ``self._watch_wake_fn`` is read at FIRE time there, so an
+            # identity rebind that re-invoked ``set_watch_runner`` is
+            # honored without rebuilding this closure.
+            if not isinstance(reminder, dict):
+                # Untrusted boundary: a non-dict reminder must drop silently
+                # (as the old empty-text early-return did), not TypeError out
+                # of the dispatch closure — WatchRunner would hold the row
+                # and re-fire it every tick.
                 return
-            # Soft cap drops oldest — latest output is most useful.
-            if nudge_queue.cap_at_or_drop_oldest(
-                "watch_triggered", _WATCH_QUEUE_SOFT_CAP, channel="any"
-            ):
-                log.warning(
-                    "watch_dispatch.queue_full ws=%s cap=%d dropped_oldest=True",
-                    ws_id,
-                    _WATCH_QUEUE_SOFT_CAP,
-                )
-
-            def _maybe_sanitize(v: Any) -> Any:
-                return sanitize_payload(v) if isinstance(v, str) else v
-
-            metadata = {
-                k: _maybe_sanitize(reminder[k])
-                for k in WATCH_REMINDER_OPTIONAL_KEYS
-                if k in reminder
-            }
-            nudge_queue.enqueue(
+            text = reminder.get("text", "")
+            metadata = {k: reminder[k] for k in WATCH_REMINDER_OPTIONAL_KEYS if k in reminder}
+            self._notify_external_event(
                 "watch_triggered",
-                sanitized,
-                "any",
+                text,
                 metadata=metadata or None,
+                soft_cap=_WATCH_QUEUE_SOFT_CAP,
             )
-            if wake_fn is not None:
-                try:
-                    wake_fn()
-                except Exception:
-                    log.warning("watch_dispatch.wake_failed ws=%s", ws_id, exc_info=True)
 
         self._watch_dispatch_fn = _dispatch
         runner.set_dispatch_fn(self._ws_id, _dispatch)
 
+    def _notify_external_event(
+        self,
+        nudge_type: str,
+        text: str,
+        *,
+        metadata: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+        valid_until: Callable[[], bool] | None = None,
+        soft_cap: int | None = None,
+    ) -> None:
+        """THE external-event rail: sanitize → (cap) → enqueue ``"any"`` → wake.
+
+        Every producer of autonomous notices (watch fires, background-shell
+        exits) rides this one helper, so policy fixes — caps, sanitization,
+        wake-failure handling — can never silently apply to only one of
+        them.  ``sanitize_payload`` runs over the full text (and string
+        metadata values) so steering-vector / control-char payloads sourced
+        from arbitrary process output can't tamper with the envelope; an
+        all-control-chars text drops the event silently.  ``soft_cap``
+        drop-oldest counts across ALL channels (``channel=None``) so
+        entries a user cancel demoted to ``"quiet"`` still occupy the
+        budget.  The wake makes an already-idle workstream deliver the
+        entry now — busy workstreams are safe, ``session_worker.send``
+        downgrades to a no-op while a worker owns the session.
+        """
+        if not isinstance(text, str):
+            # Untrusted producers (watch reminder payloads) can carry a
+            # non-string text; sanitize_payload would TypeError and a raise
+            # out of a dispatch closure makes WatchRunner hold + re-fire the
+            # row every tick.  Drop silently, same as empty-after-sanitize.
+            log.debug("external_event.non_string_text ws=%s type=%s", self._ws_id, nudge_type)
+            return
+        sanitized = sanitize_payload(text)
+        if not sanitized:
+            return
+        if soft_cap is not None and self._nudge_queue.cap_at_or_drop_oldest(
+            nudge_type, soft_cap, channel=None
+        ):
+            log.warning(
+                "external_event.queue_full ws=%s type=%s cap=%d dropped_oldest=True",
+                self._ws_id,
+                nudge_type,
+                soft_cap,
+            )
+        clean_meta: dict[str, Any] | None = None
+        if metadata:
+            clean_meta = {
+                k: (sanitize_payload(v) if isinstance(v, str) else v) for k, v in metadata.items()
+            }
+        self._nudge_queue.enqueue(
+            nudge_type,
+            sanitized,
+            "any",
+            valid_until=valid_until,
+            metadata=clean_meta or None,
+        )
+        wake_fn = self._watch_wake_fn
+        if wake_fn is not None:
+            try:
+                wake_fn()
+            except Exception:
+                # The enqueue already happened; a raise here would abort the
+                # producer (e.g. WatchRunner._poll_watch before its watch-row
+                # update commits — re-firing the same reminder every tick).
+                log.warning(
+                    "external_event.wake_failed ws=%s type=%s",
+                    self._ws_id,
+                    nudge_type,
+                    exc_info=True,
+                )
+
     def close(self) -> None:
-        """Release resources (listener registrations, etc.)."""
+        """Release resources (listener registrations, etc.).
+
+        Instant signal operations run FIRST (judge cancel events, listener
+        deregistrations); the background-shell teardown runs last because it
+        is the only step with a blocking phase (a bounded thread-join, up to
+        ``_CLOSE_JOIN_BUDGET_S`` when a drain is wedged) and nothing here
+        depends on it — serializing instant steps behind it would keep judge
+        daemons burning inference for the whole join budget on every close.
+        """
         if self._judge_cancel_event is not None:
             self._judge_cancel_event.set()
         # Abort every in-flight judge daemon — with parallel task agents
@@ -2983,6 +3106,12 @@ class ChatSession:
                 self._coord_client.close()
             except Exception:
                 log.debug("chat_session.coord_client_close_failed", exc_info=True)
+        # Last: the only step with a blocking phase (see docstring).  Kill
+        # signals fire at its start; every teardown path funnels through
+        # close(), so nothing detached outlives the workstream.  Queued exit
+        # notices go stale with the registry (``valid_until``) and drop at
+        # the next drain.
+        self._background_shells.close()
         self._cleanup_skill_resources()
 
     def _drop_mcp_surface(self) -> None:
@@ -6321,18 +6450,32 @@ class ChatSession:
                 self._cancel_event.clear()
 
     def _drain_pending_advisories(self) -> None:
-        """Drop every pending nudge regardless of channel.
+        """Drop the abandoned generation's advisory nudges — not external events.
 
         Tool-channel nudges (``tool_error``, ``repeat``, ``denial``)
         queued earlier in this batch and user-channel nudges
         (``correction``, …) queued during ``_check_metacognitive_nudge``
-        but not yet drained share the same per-session
-        :class:`NudgeQueue`.
-        When a generation is abandoned (cancel, KeyboardInterrupt,
-        unexpected exception) the entire queue drops so nothing bleeds
-        into the next send's tool loop or next user turn.
+        are commentary ABOUT the generation being abandoned (cancel,
+        KeyboardInterrupt, unexpected exception) — they drop so nothing
+        stale bleeds into the next send's tool loop or user turn.
+
+        ``"any"``-channel entries survive but are DEMOTED to ``"quiet"``:
+        those are external events (``watch_triggered``,
+        ``background_shell_exit``) that happened regardless of the
+        generation's fate, and their producers promised the model a notice
+        — a background dev server that crashed during a cancelled turn must
+        still be announced at the next seam, or the model keeps talking to
+        a dead server.  But they must not CAUSE that seam: an abandoned
+        generation ends in ``_emit_state("idle")``, and a wake-eligible
+        entry there would make the ``IdleNudgeWatcher`` resume the
+        workstream seconds after the user pressed Stop.  ``"quiet"``
+        delivers at the next legitimate seam (user message, tool batch, or
+        a wake earned by a NEW event) without ever being the wake reason.
+        Stale entries are handled at drain time by their ``valid_until``
+        predicates.
         """
-        self._nudge_queue.clear()
+        self._nudge_queue.clear_channels({"tool", "user"})
+        self._nudge_queue.demote_channel("any", QUIET_CHANNEL)
 
     def _synthesize_cancelled_results(self, reason: str) -> None:
         """Synthesize tool_result messages for orphaned tool_calls after cancel.
@@ -7973,6 +8116,10 @@ class ChatSession:
                     "command": it.get("command", ""),
                     "timeout": it.get("timeout"),
                     "stop_on_error": bool(it.get("stop_on_error")),
+                    # Detachment is part of the intent: a backgrounded
+                    # process outlives the call (#817), which changes what
+                    # the judge is approving — never amputate it.
+                    "run_in_background": bool(it.get("run_in_background")),
                 }
             elif name == "write_file":
                 it["func_args"] = {
@@ -9232,6 +9379,8 @@ class ChatSession:
 
         preparers = {
             "bash": self._prepare_bash,
+            "bash_output": self._prepare_bash_output,
+            "kill_shell": self._prepare_kill_shell,
             "read_file": self._prepare_read_file,
             "search": self._prepare_search,
             "diff_file": self._prepare_diff,
@@ -9345,6 +9494,31 @@ class ChatSession:
         if is_multiline:
             preview = f"{DIM}{textwrap.indent(command, '    ')}{RESET}"
 
+        # ``is_background`` accepted as an undocumented alias (Gemini's shell
+        # tool trained that name); ``run_in_background`` is the documented one.
+        # Lenient coercion: a string-typed "true" must not silently run the
+        # command in the foreground (where the group kill would then reap the
+        # server the model believed it detached).
+        background = _is_truthy_flag(args.get("run_in_background")) or _is_truthy_flag(
+            args.get("is_background")
+        )
+        if background:
+            # Same approval gate as foreground — the command is what's
+            # dangerous, not the detachment.  ``timeout`` is ignored: there
+            # is no bounded wait to time out (documented in the schema).
+            return {
+                "call_id": call_id,
+                "func_name": "bash",
+                "header": f"\u2699 bash (background): {display_cmd}",
+                "preview": preview,
+                "needs_approval": True,
+                "approval_label": "bash",
+                "execute": self._exec_bash_background,
+                "command": command,
+                "run_in_background": True,
+                "stop_on_error": _is_truthy_flag(args.get("stop_on_error")),
+            }
+
         return {
             "call_id": call_id,
             "func_name": "bash",
@@ -9359,7 +9533,71 @@ class ChatSession:
             "execute": self._exec_bash,
             "command": command,
             "timeout": timeout,
-            "stop_on_error": args.get("stop_on_error") is True,
+            # Same lenient dialect as run_in_background — a string-typed
+            # "true" must add ``set -e``, not silently drop it.
+            "stop_on_error": _is_truthy_flag(args.get("stop_on_error")),
+        }
+
+    def _prepare_bash_output(self, call_id: str, args: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        shell_id = str(args.get("id") or "").strip()
+        if not shell_id:
+            return {
+                "call_id": call_id,
+                "func_name": "bash_output",
+                "header": "\u2717 bash_output: missing id",
+                "preview": "",
+                "needs_approval": False,
+                "error": "Error: missing id (the bash_N handle returned when the shell started)",
+            }
+        filter_arg = args.get("filter")
+        if filter_arg is not None and not isinstance(filter_arg, str):
+            # An ill-typed filter must error, not silently run unfiltered —
+            # the unfiltered read would consume the whole delta the model
+            # wanted narrowed.
+            return {
+                "call_id": call_id,
+                "func_name": "bash_output",
+                "header": "\u2717 bash_output: invalid filter",
+                "preview": "",
+                "needs_approval": False,
+                "error": (
+                    f"Error: filter must be a regex string "
+                    f"(got {type(filter_arg).__name__}); no output was consumed"
+                ),
+            }
+        return {
+            "call_id": call_id,
+            "func_name": "bash_output",
+            "header": f"\u2699 bash_output: {shell_id}",
+            "preview": "",
+            "needs_approval": False,
+            "execute": self._exec_bash_output,
+            "shell_id": shell_id,
+            "filter": filter_arg or None,
+        }
+
+    def _prepare_kill_shell(self, call_id: str, args: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        shell_id = str(args.get("id") or "").strip()
+        if not shell_id:
+            return {
+                "call_id": call_id,
+                "func_name": "kill_shell",
+                "header": "\u2717 kill_shell: missing id",
+                "preview": "",
+                "needs_approval": False,
+                "error": "Error: missing id (the bash_N handle returned when the shell started)",
+            }
+        # Auto-approved: the argument space is closed (this session's own
+        # registered shells) and killing one is strictly risk-reducing —
+        # the dangerous direction was gated when the shell was started.
+        return {
+            "call_id": call_id,
+            "func_name": "kill_shell",
+            "header": f"\u2699 kill_shell: {shell_id}",
+            "preview": "",
+            "needs_approval": False,
+            "execute": self._exec_kill_shell,
+            "shell_id": shell_id,
         }
 
     @property
@@ -10732,8 +10970,9 @@ class ChatSession:
         rather than draining again (the predicate-aware drain runs once, in
         ``deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue``).
         """
-        if self._wake_drained_reminders is not None:
-            entries = self._wake_drained_reminders
+        from_wake = self._wake_drained_reminders is not None
+        if from_wake:
+            entries = self._wake_drained_reminders or []
             self._wake_drained_reminders = None  # consume — only delivered once
         else:
             items = self._nudge_queue.drain(USER_DRAIN)
@@ -10743,12 +10982,24 @@ class ChatSession:
                 if meta:
                     entry.update(meta)
                 entries.append(entry)
-        for entry in entries:
+        for i, entry in enumerate(entries):
             source = str(entry.get("type") or "")
             if not source:
                 continue
             meta = {k: v for k, v in entry.items() if k not in ("type", "text")}
-            self._append_system_turn(source, str(entry.get("text") or ""), **meta)
+            try:
+                self._append_system_turn(source, str(entry.get("text") or ""), **meta)
+            except BaseException:
+                if from_wake:
+                    # Mid-batch failure on a wake: re-stash the un-emitted
+                    # TAIL (including the failing entry — its persistence is
+                    # UNKNOWN; at-least-once beats silently-eaten for an
+                    # exit notice that fires exactly once) so the wake
+                    # caller's finally can re-enqueue instead of losing the
+                    # suffix.  Non-wake callers drain directly and keep the
+                    # pre-existing best-effort semantics.
+                    self._wake_drained_reminders = entries[i:]
+                raise
 
     def _queue_tool_advisory(self, nudge_type: str, text: str) -> None:
         """Queue a metacognitive nudge for the next tool-result batch.
@@ -10805,16 +11056,34 @@ class ChatSession:
         post-retry stream failure leaves them in place — operator
         intervention is required for the underlying failure anyway.
         """
-        items = self._nudge_queue.drain(USER_DRAIN)
-        if not items:
+        # Two-pass drain: wake-eligible channels first.  ``"quiet"`` entries
+        # (external events demoted by a user cancel) ride a wake earned by
+        # others but never justify one — if every wake-eligible candidate
+        # evaporated at drain time (``valid_until``), bail WITHOUT touching
+        # the quiet entries: they stay queued for the next legitimate seam
+        # instead of resuming a workstream the user stopped.  The merged
+        # batch is re-sorted by queue insertion ``seq`` so cross-channel
+        # chronology survives the two passes (a demoted poll-4 fire must
+        # not render after the poll-5 fire that earned the wake).
+        drained = self._nudge_queue.drain_entries(WAKE_PENDING)
+        if not drained:
             return
+        drained += self._nudge_queue.drain_entries(QUIET_DRAIN)
+        drained.sort(key=lambda e: e.seq)
         self._wake_source_tag = "system_nudge"
         wake_reminders: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
-        for nudge_type, text, meta in items:
-            entry: dict[str, Any] = {"type": nudge_type, "text": text}
-            if meta:
-                entry.update(meta)
+        # Identity map from reminder dict → its source Entry: the failure
+        # path recovers each un-emitted entry by ``id(reminder)`` lookup,
+        # never by index arithmetic, so it stays correct even if a future
+        # edit filters or reorders the reminder list between here and
+        # ``_emit_pending_user_nudges``.
+        entry_by_reminder: dict[int, Entry] = {}
+        for queued in drained:
+            entry: dict[str, Any] = {"type": queued.nudge_type, "text": queued.text}
+            if queued.metadata:
+                entry.update(queued.metadata)
             wake_reminders.append(entry)
+            entry_by_reminder[id(entry)] = queued
         self._wake_drained_reminders = wake_reminders
         try:
             self.send("", from_wake=True)
@@ -10828,7 +11097,36 @@ class ChatSession:
             log.info("wake_nudge.cancelled ws=%s", self._ws_id[:8])
         finally:
             self._wake_source_tag = ""
+            undelivered = self._wake_drained_reminders
             self._wake_drained_reminders = None
+            if undelivered:
+                # The send died before ``_emit_pending_user_nudges`` finished
+                # the batch (it re-stashes the un-emitted TAIL on a mid-batch
+                # failure, and nulls the attr only when done).  Recovery is
+                # EXTERNAL-notices-only, and always to ``"quiet"``:
+                # ``requeue`` keeps seq (a re-queued poll-4 still renders
+                # before poll-5 on the retry) and the ``valid_until``
+                # predicate (a stale notice stays droppable), while quiet
+                # keeps the entry OUT of the wake gate.  A ``"user"``
+                # advisory is deliberately DROPPED instead: re-queueing it
+                # wake-eligible re-arms ``_retry_pending_wake``'s zero-
+                # backoff worker-exit gate — a repeatable pre-consumption
+                # send failure would respawn wake workers in an unbounded
+                # hot loop (persisting an orphan synthetic user turn per
+                # spin).  Losing a generation-scoped metacog hint on a
+                # rare failed wake is the strictly smaller harm.
+                for reminder in undelivered:
+                    recovered = entry_by_reminder.get(id(reminder))
+                    if recovered is None or not recovered.text:
+                        continue
+                    if recovered.channel == "user":
+                        log.debug(
+                            "wake_nudge.user_advisory_dropped ws=%s type=%s",
+                            self._ws_id[:8],
+                            recovered.nudge_type,
+                        )
+                        continue
+                    self._nudge_queue.requeue(recovered, channel=QUIET_CHANNEL)
 
     def _apply_post_execute_advisories(
         self,
@@ -10871,10 +11169,19 @@ class ChatSession:
         for i, (tc_id, output) in enumerate(results):
             tc = _tc_by_id.get(tc_id)
             if tc and isinstance(output, str):
+                # Delta-cursor readers (``_REPEAT_EXEMPT_TOOLS``): identical
+                # args ARE the documented usage (poll the same handle) and
+                # the result differs by construction — a "result is the
+                # same" warning would be factually false.  They are still
+                # RECORDED (never skipped): the detector's contract is that
+                # any different signature breaks a streak, so an exempt call
+                # interleaved between identical bash calls must keep those
+                # bash calls from reading as consecutive.
+                exempt = tc["function"]["name"] in _REPEAT_EXEMPT_TOOLS
                 raw = tc["function"]["name"] + ":" + tc["function"]["arguments"]
                 sig = hashlib.sha256(raw.encode()).hexdigest()
                 is_json = output.lstrip().startswith(("{", "["))
-                if self._repeat_detector.record(sig):
+                if self._repeat_detector.record(sig) and not exempt:
                     _repeat_detected = True
                     if not is_json:
                         output += (
@@ -10976,21 +11283,16 @@ class ChatSession:
         """Return ``args[key]`` as a bool with robust string coercion.
 
         Plain ``bool(x)`` treats ``"false"`` as truthy (non-empty string).
-        Accept actual bools verbatim; parse common string forms; return
-        ``default`` for anything else.
+        Accept actual bools verbatim; delegate the truthy dialect to
+        :func:`_is_truthy_flag` (ONE coercion dialect file-wide); return
+        ``default`` for a missing key or an unrecognized string.
         """
         val = args.get(key)
-        if isinstance(val, bool):
-            return val
-        if isinstance(val, str):
-            normalized = val.strip().lower()
-            if normalized in ("true", "1", "yes", "on"):
-                return True
-            if normalized in ("false", "0", "no", "off", ""):
-                return False
-        if isinstance(val, (int, float)) and not isinstance(val, bool):
-            return bool(val)
-        return default
+        if val is None:
+            return default
+        if isinstance(val, str) and val.strip().lower() not in _KNOWN_BOOL_STRINGS:
+            return default
+        return _is_truthy_flag(val)
 
     @staticmethod
     def _flatten_spawn_arg(value: Any, cap: int) -> str:
@@ -14031,25 +14333,19 @@ class ChatSession:
         call_id, command = item["call_id"], item["command"]
         timeout = item.get("timeout") or self.tool_timeout
         try:
-            with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(mode="w", suffix=".sh", delete=False) as f:
-                preamble = "set -o pipefail\n"
-                if item.get("stop_on_error"):
-                    preamble += "set -e\n"
-                f.write(preamble + command)
-                script_path = f.name
-            # Pre-bind so the ``finally`` can't raise ``UnboundLocalError`` and
-            # mask the real error if ``Popen`` below fails.
+            # Pre-bind so the ``finally`` can't raise ``UnboundLocalError``
+            # and mask the real error if the spawn below fails.
             proc: subprocess.Popen[str] | None = None
+            script_path: str | None = None
             try:
                 from turnstone.core.env import scrubbed_env
 
-                proc = subprocess.Popen(
-                    ["bash", script_path],
-                    stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
-                    stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
-                    text=True,
-                    errors="replace",
-                    start_new_session=True,
+                # Shared prologue with the background registry (script file +
+                # detached group leader + pgid snapshot) — one spawn recipe
+                # for both variants of the tool, so they cannot drift.
+                proc, pgid, script_path = spawn_group_leader(
+                    command,
+                    stop_on_error=item.get("stop_on_error") is True,
                     env=scrubbed_env(extra=self._skill_resource_env()),
                 )
                 with self._procs_lock:
@@ -14065,54 +14361,38 @@ class ChatSession:
                 stdout_parts: list[str] = []
                 stderr_lines: list[str] = []
 
-                def _drain(pipe: Any, sink: list[str], to_ui: bool) -> None:
+                # End-of-stream tolerance lives in the shared
+                # ``drain_pipe_lines`` (the drain half of the recipe both
+                # bash variants share); only the sinks differ — stdout also
+                # streams to the UI.
+                def _on_stdout(line: str) -> None:
+                    stdout_parts.append(line)
                     try:
-                        for line in pipe:
-                            sink.append(line)
-                            if to_ui:
-                                try:
-                                    self.ui.on_tool_output_chunk(call_id, line)
-                                except Exception:
-                                    log.debug(
-                                        "UI callback error during tool output",
-                                        exc_info=True,
-                                    )
-                    except (ValueError, OSError):
-                        # Pipe torn down by the session-group kill below is the
-                        # expected case; anything else must not kill the drain
-                        # silently.  (Undecodable bytes can't land here — the
-                        # ``errors="replace"`` on Popen pre-empts UnicodeDecodeError,
-                        # which is a ValueError that would otherwise drop all output.)
-                        log.debug("bash.drain_read_error", exc_info=True)
+                        self.ui.on_tool_output_chunk(call_id, line)
+                    except Exception:
+                        log.debug("UI callback error during tool output", exc_info=True)
 
                 assert proc.stdout is not None and proc.stderr is not None
                 stdout_thread = threading.Thread(
-                    target=_drain,
-                    args=(proc.stdout, stdout_parts, True),
+                    target=drain_pipe_lines,
+                    args=(proc.stdout, _on_stdout),
                     name=f"bash-drain-out-{call_id}",
                     daemon=True,
                 )
                 stderr_thread = threading.Thread(
-                    target=_drain,
-                    args=(proc.stderr, stderr_lines, False),
+                    target=drain_pipe_lines,
+                    args=(proc.stderr, stderr_lines.append),
                     name=f"bash-drain-err-{call_id}",
                     daemon=True,
                 )
                 stdout_thread.start()
                 stderr_thread.start()
 
-                # Snapshot the session-group id while the leader is alive
-                # (``start_new_session=True`` makes ``pgid == proc.pid``).  While
-                # any member survives, the group names only our own descendants;
-                # once they have all exited it is empty and the kill below is a
-                # harmless no-op.  (A pid-wraparound landing a fresh session
-                # leader on this exact id in the microseconds after a normal-exit
-                # reap is the standard accepted TOCTOU — negligible, and only when
-                # nothing needs killing anyway.)
-                try:
-                    pgid = os.getpgid(proc.pid)
-                except OSError:
-                    pgid = proc.pid
+                # ``pgid`` was snapshotted by ``spawn_group_leader`` while the
+                # leader was alive.  While any member survives, the group
+                # names only our own descendants; once they have all exited
+                # it is empty and the kill below is a harmless no-op (the
+                # accepted microseconds pid-wraparound TOCTOU).
 
                 # Wait for the tracked command, bounded by ``timeout`` and
                 # cooperatively cancellable.  Keyed on process exit, never pipe
@@ -14156,7 +14436,10 @@ class ChatSession:
                 if proc is not None:
                     with self._procs_lock:
                         self._active_procs.discard(proc)
-                os.unlink(script_path)
+                # ``spawn_group_leader`` already unlinked on a failed fork —
+                # ``script_path`` stays None on that path.
+                if script_path is not None:
+                    os.unlink(script_path)
 
             if timed_out.is_set():
                 raise subprocess.TimeoutExpired(cmd="bash", timeout=timeout)
@@ -14224,6 +14507,181 @@ class ChatSession:
             self._report_tool_result(call_id, "bash", msg, is_error=True)
             return call_id, msg
 
+    def _exec_bash_background(self, item: dict[str, Any]) -> tuple[str, str]:
+        """Start ``command`` as a detached background shell (#817).
+
+        Returns immediately with the ``bash_N`` handle — the shell's later
+        output/exit is a NEW event (a NudgeQueue notice at the next seam),
+        never a deferred resolution of this call_id, so the canonical
+        trajectory stays faithful on replay.
+        """
+        call_id, command = item["call_id"], item["command"]
+        from turnstone.core.env import scrubbed_env
+
+        try:
+            shell = self._background_shells.spawn(
+                command,
+                env=scrubbed_env(extra=self._skill_resource_env()),
+                owner=_active_shell_owner.get(),
+                stop_on_error=item.get("stop_on_error") is True,
+            )
+        except (RuntimeError, OSError) as e:
+            # TooManyShellsError / registry-closed / spawn failure — all
+            # actionable by the model (kill one, or just don't background).
+            msg = f"Error: {e}"
+            self._report_tool_result(call_id, "bash", msg, is_error=True)
+            return call_id, msg
+        msg = (
+            f"Started background shell {shell.shell_id} (pid {shell.pid}). "
+            f'Read new output with bash_output(id="{shell.shell_id}"); stop it with '
+            f'kill_shell(id="{shell.shell_id}").'
+        )
+        if shell.owner is None:
+            msg += " It runs until it exits or is killed; a system notice will announce its exit."
+        else:
+            # Sub-agent scope: the shell dies with this agent.  Said here so
+            # the agent doesn't promise its parent a server that will be
+            # reaped the moment it returns.
+            msg += (
+                " It is scoped to this agent and will be terminated when the "
+                "agent finishes — do not report it to your caller as still "
+                "running; read/verify what you need before returning."
+            )
+        self._report_tool_result(call_id, "bash", msg)
+        return call_id, msg
+
+    def _exec_bash_output(self, item: dict[str, Any]) -> tuple[str, str]:
+        """Delta read of a background shell: only output since the last read."""
+        call_id, shell_id = item["call_id"], item["shell_id"]
+        filter_arg = item.get("filter")
+        try:
+            read = self._background_shells.read(
+                shell_id, owner=_active_shell_owner.get(), filter_pattern=filter_arg
+            )
+        except UnknownShellError as e:
+            msg = f"Error: {e}"
+            self._report_tool_result(call_id, "bash_output", msg, is_error=True)
+            return call_id, msg
+        except (FilterTimeoutError, FilterExecError) as e:
+            # A VALID pattern that blew the time bound, or a helper failure
+            # that wasn't the pattern's fault — either way nothing was
+            # consumed and the message says which and what to do.
+            msg = f"Error: {e}"
+            self._report_tool_result(call_id, "bash_output", msg, is_error=True)
+            return call_id, msg
+        except re.error as e:
+            msg = f"Error: invalid filter regex: {e}"
+            self._report_tool_result(call_id, "bash_output", msg, is_error=True)
+            return call_id, msg
+
+        if read.status == "completed":
+            state = f"completed, exit code {read.exit_code}"
+        else:
+            state = read.status
+        parts = [f"{shell_id} ({state})"]
+        if read.dropped_lines:
+            parts.append(f"[{read.dropped_lines} earlier line(s) dropped from the buffer]")
+        if read.clipped_lines:
+            # A "none matching" answer over clipped evidence must never be
+            # silent — the model would report a clean run whose error sat
+            # past the match window.
+            parts.append(
+                f"[{read.clipped_lines} line(s) longer than {_FILTER_MAX_LINE_CHARS} "
+                "chars were only partially visible to the filter; matches beyond "
+                "that window are not detected — read without a filter to see them]"
+            )
+        if read.lines:
+            if filter_arg:
+                parts.append(
+                    f"{len(read.lines)} of {read.new_line_count} new line(s) match the filter:"
+                )
+            else:
+                parts.append(f"{read.new_line_count} new line(s):")
+            parts.append("".join(read.lines).rstrip("\n"))
+        elif read.new_line_count:
+            parts.append(f"{read.new_line_count} new line(s), none matching the filter.")
+        else:
+            parts.append("No new output since the last read.")
+        full = "\n".join(parts)
+        output = self._truncate_output(full)
+        if len(output) < len(full):
+            # Unlike foreground bash (re-run to re-see), the delta cursor has
+            # already consumed the elided middle — say so, or a "no new
+            # output" follow-up reads as "nothing was missed".
+            output += (
+                "\n[the truncated middle was consumed and cannot be re-read; "
+                "use filter to narrow future reads]"
+            )
+        self._report_tool_result(call_id, "bash_output", output)
+        return call_id, output
+
+    def _exec_kill_shell(self, item: dict[str, Any]) -> tuple[str, str]:
+        """Kill a background shell's whole process group."""
+        call_id, shell_id = item["call_id"], item["shell_id"]
+        try:
+            shell = self._background_shells.kill(shell_id, owner=_active_shell_owner.get())
+        except UnknownShellError as e:
+            msg = f"Error: {e}"
+            self._report_tool_result(call_id, "kill_shell", msg, is_error=True)
+            return call_id, msg
+        if shell.status == "killed":
+            msg = (
+                f"Killed background shell {shell_id}. Output produced before the "
+                f'kill remains readable via bash_output(id="{shell_id}") until it '
+                "ages out of the recent-shells list."
+            )
+        elif shell.status == "running":
+            # SIGKILL was sent but the leader didn't exit within the join
+            # budget (uninterruptible sleep — NFS, a driver).  Outcome
+            # honesty: never tell the model a live process already exited.
+            msg = (
+                f"SIGKILL sent to background shell {shell_id}, but it has not "
+                "exited yet (possibly uninterruptible I/O). It may still die "
+                f'shortly — check bash_output(id="{shell_id}") before assuming '
+                "it is gone."
+            )
+        else:
+            msg = (
+                f"Background shell {shell_id} had already exited "
+                f"(status: {shell.status}, exit code {shell.exit_code}); nothing to kill."
+            )
+        self._report_tool_result(call_id, "kill_shell", msg)
+        return call_id, msg
+
+    def _on_background_shell_exit(self, shell: BackgroundShell) -> None:
+        """Waiter-thread callback: queue an exit notice for a detached shell.
+
+        Rides the watch rail: channel ``"any"`` (drains at whichever seam
+        fires first AND can wake an idle workstream — a ``"tool"`` entry
+        could do neither), an explicit wake for the already-idle case, and
+        a ``valid_until`` predicate so a notice whose shell is gone
+        (registry closed with the workstream) is dropped, not delivered.
+        Push the notice, let the model pull the detail via ``bash_output``
+        — bounds context.  Sub-agent shells get no notice: the sub-loop is
+        synchronous and polls; its shells die with it.
+        """
+        if shell.owner is not None:
+            return
+        cmd_excerpt = shell.command.split("\n")[0][:80]
+        unread = shell.unread_lines
+        registry = self._background_shells
+        shell_id = shell.shell_id
+        self._notify_external_event(
+            "background_shell_exit",
+            (
+                f"Background shell {shell_id} ({cmd_excerpt}) exited with code "
+                f"{shell.exit_code} — {unread} unread line(s); use "
+                f'bash_output(id="{shell_id}") to read them.'
+            ),
+            metadata={
+                "shell_id": shell_id,
+                "command": cmd_excerpt,
+                "exit_code": shell.exit_code,
+                "unread_lines": unread,
+            },
+            valid_until=lambda: registry.has(shell_id),
+        )
+
     @staticmethod
     def _read_text_lines(path: str) -> tuple[list[str], str, str | None]:
         """Read a text file with binary detection and symlink resolution.
@@ -15174,6 +15632,10 @@ class ChatSession:
         # sibling's reads can't suppress THIS agent's blind-overwrite guard.  The
         # agent's own reads merge back to the parent in ``finally``.
         read_token = _active_read_files.set(set(self._current_read_files))
+        # Background shells spawned by this sub-agent carry its call_id as
+        # owner: scoped lookup (parallel agents + parent can't touch them)
+        # and bound to the agent's lifetime — reaped in ``finally`` below.
+        shell_token = _active_shell_owner.set(call_id)
         try:
             result = self._run_agent(
                 agent_turns,
@@ -15228,6 +15690,8 @@ class ChatSession:
             _active_read_files.reset(read_token)
             if sub_reads:
                 self._current_read_files.update(sub_reads)
+            _active_shell_owner.reset(shell_token)
+            self._background_shells.reap(owner=call_id)
             self._end_agent_scope()
             self._clear_agent_children(call_id)
             try:
diff --git a/turnstone/core/tool_advisory.py b/turnstone/core/tool_advisory.py
index f5753a67..18006ed8 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/tool_advisory.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/tool_advisory.py
@@ -125,6 +125,10 @@ SYSTEM_TURN_SOURCES: Final = frozenset(
         "compaction_pending",
         "idle_children",
         "watch_triggered",
+        # Background-shell exit notice (#817) — rides the same external-event
+        # rail as ``watch_triggered``; carries ``shell_id`` / ``command`` /
+        # ``exit_code`` / ``unread_lines`` metadata.
+        "background_shell_exit",
         "participant_joined",
     }
 )
diff --git a/turnstone/server.py b/turnstone/server.py
index 1fa7b086..1a316e72 100644
--- a/turnstone/server.py
+++ b/turnstone/server.py
@@ -4179,6 +4179,30 @@ async def _lifespan(app: Starlette) -> AsyncGenerator[None, None]:
     state_writer = getattr(app.state, "state_writer", None)
     if state_writer is not None:
         await asyncio.to_thread(state_writer.shutdown)
+    # Reap every loaded session's background shells (#817) before MCP
+    # teardown — a GRACEFUL server shutdown must not orphan detached
+    # process groups (the leaked-server class #816 removed; a hard crash
+    # remains the documented acceptance).  Two phases like the CLI exit:
+    # signal every session's shells first (instant — after this nothing
+    # can outlive us), then pay the bounded per-session join budgets off
+    # the event loop.  Session close() also removes MCP listeners, hence
+    # the ordering before mcp_client.shutdown().
+    mgr = WebUI._workstream_mgr
+    if mgr is not None:
+        loaded = [(ws.id, ws.session) for ws in mgr.list_all() if ws.session is not None]
+        for _ws_id, session in loaded:
+            with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                session._background_shells.signal_all()
+
+        def _close_loaded() -> None:
+            for ws_id, session in loaded:
+                try:
+                    session.close()
+                except Exception:
+                    log.exception("server.session_close_failed", ws_id=ws_id[:8])
+
+        if loaded:
+            await asyncio.to_thread(_close_loaded)
     # health_registry is stateless (no background threads) — nothing to stop
     if app.state.mcp_client:
         app.state.mcp_client.shutdown()
diff --git a/turnstone/tools/bash.json b/turnstone/tools/bash.json
index b9bff9e9..000eb2a4 100644
--- a/turnstone/tools/bash.json
+++ b/turnstone/tools/bash.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "bash",
-  "description": "Execute a bash command and return stdout + stderr. Use for running programs, git, tests, system commands, installing packages, etc. Environment questions ('What Python version?', 'Is X installed?') are tool-use tasks — e.g. bash(command='python --version'). For file creation use write_file instead; for man pages use man instead. Long output is truncated (head+tail preserved, middle elided). Stderr lines prefixed with [stderr]. Runs to completion and returns: any process the command leaves running in the background (e.g. 'server &') is terminated when the command returns — nothing persists across calls.",
+  "description": "Execute a bash command and return stdout + stderr. Use for running programs, git, tests, system commands, installing packages, etc. Environment questions ('What Python version?', 'Is X installed?') are tool-use tasks — e.g. bash(command='python --version'). For file creation use write_file instead; for man pages use man instead. Long output is truncated (head+tail preserved, middle elided). Stderr lines prefixed with [stderr]. Runs to completion and returns: any process the command leaves running in the background (e.g. 'server &') is terminated when the command returns — nothing persists across calls. To keep a long-lived process (dev server, watcher) running across calls, set run_in_background=true instead of using '&'.",
   "parameters": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@
       "stop_on_error": {
         "type": "boolean",
         "description": "If true, enables 'set -e' so the script exits on the first command failure. Default false. Use for multi-step scripts where intermediate failures should halt execution."
+      },
+      "run_in_background": {
+        "type": "boolean",
+        "description": "If true, start the command as a detached background shell and return immediately with a shell id (e.g. bash_1). Default false. Read new output later with bash_output(id=...); stop it with kill_shell(id=...). The shell runs until it exits, is killed, or the workstream closes; in the main session a system notice announces its exit. Inside a task agent there is no exit notice — poll bash_output — and the shell is also terminated when the agent finishes. The timeout parameter does not apply. Use for long-lived processes like dev servers — not for ordinary commands whose result you want now."
       }
     },
     "required": ["command"]
diff --git a/turnstone/tools/bash_output.json b/turnstone/tools/bash_output.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4f27947b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/turnstone/tools/bash_output.json
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+{
+  "name": "bash_output",
+  "description": "Read new output from a background shell started with bash(run_in_background=true). Returns only output produced since your previous bash_output call for that shell, plus its status (running / completed / killed) and exit code once it has exited. Stderr lines are prefixed with [stderr]. Poll this to monitor a long-running process. In the main session a system notice announces when the shell exits, so you do not need to poll a shell you are merely waiting on; inside a task agent there is no notice — poll before you finish.",
+  "parameters": {
+    "type": "object",
+    "properties": {
+      "id": {
+        "type": "string",
+        "description": "Background shell id, e.g. bash_1 (returned when the shell was started)."
+      },
+      "filter": {
+        "type": "string",
+        "description": "Optional regular expression; only new lines matching it are returned. Non-matching lines in this read are consumed and will not be returned by later calls."
+      }
+    },
+    "required": ["id"]
+  },
+  "task_agent": true,
+  "auto_approve": true,
+  "primary_key": "id"
+}
diff --git a/turnstone/tools/kill_shell.json b/turnstone/tools/kill_shell.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9ebd7dc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/turnstone/tools/kill_shell.json
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{
+  "name": "kill_shell",
+  "description": "Terminate a background shell started with bash(run_in_background=true), killing its whole process group. Use it when the process is no longer needed or is misbehaving. Output already produced remains readable via bash_output afterwards.",
+  "parameters": {
+    "type": "object",
+    "properties": {
+      "id": {
+        "type": "string",
+        "description": "Background shell id to terminate, e.g. bash_1."
+      }
+    },
+    "required": ["id"]
+  },
+  "task_agent": true,
+  "auto_approve": true,
+  "primary_key": "id"
+}