diff --git a/docs/api-reference.md b/docs/api-reference.md
index 7ddedbdc..533c6b9f 100644
--- a/docs/api-reference.md
+++ b/docs/api-reference.md
@@ -948,6 +948,7 @@ All fields are optional. The body can be empty or an empty JSON object.
 | `name`          | string | Auto-generated workstream name                      |
 | `resumed`       | bool   | Whether a previous session was successfully resumed |
 | `message_count` | int    | Number of messages in the resumed session (0 if fresh) |
+| `initial_message_status` | string | Present ONLY when the workstream was created but its `initial_message` could not be delivered: `"queue_full"` (a raced live worker's interjection queue was at capacity — resend via `/send`; any uploads stay staged) or `"refused_closed"` (the workstream was closed mid-create). Absent whenever the message was dispatched. |
 
 **Error (limit reached):**
 
diff --git a/sdk/typescript/openapi-console.json b/sdk/typescript/openapi-console.json
index 4731bfd2..bd2b0895 100644
--- a/sdk/typescript/openapi-console.json
+++ b/sdk/typescript/openapi-console.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "openapi": "3.1.0",
   "info": {
     "title": "turnstone Console API",
-    "version": "1.7.0a6",
+    "version": "1.7.0rc1",
     "description": "Cluster-wide visibility and control across all turnstone nodes."
   },
   "paths": {
@@ -6688,7 +6688,7 @@
         "tags": [
           "Coordinator"
         ],
-        "description": "Aggregates the persisted row, a best-effort live block from the owning node (or the in-process coordinator manager for ``kind=\"coordinator\"`` rows), and the tail of the message history.  Gated on the ``admin.cluster.inspect`` permission (granted to ``builtin-admin`` via migration 040; revoke or reassign to a custom role for tighter control).  ``live`` is null on node unreachability / 5xx so callers can degrade gracefully.",
+        "description": "Aggregates the persisted row, a best-effort live block from the owning node (or the in-process coordinator manager for ``kind=\"coordinator\"`` rows), and the tail of the message history.  Gated on the ``admin.cluster.inspect`` permission (granted to ``builtin-admin`` via migration 040; revoke or reassign to a custom role for tighter control).  A workstream attached to a *private* project stays confidential to its members: a permitted caller who isn't its owner / creator / project member gets a 404 (same masking as an unknown id).  ``live`` is null on node unreachability / 5xx so callers can degrade gracefully.",
         "parameters": [
           {
             "name": "ws_id",
@@ -13361,7 +13361,7 @@
         "type": "object"
       },
       "PendingApprovalItem": {
-        "description": "One pending tool-call inside a ``PendingApprovalDetail`` envelope.\n\nMirrors the dict ``SessionUIBase.serialize_pending_approval_detail``\nemits per item. ``heuristic_verdict`` / ``judge_verdict`` are kept\nloosely-typed because the underlying verdict shape varies by tier;\nconsumers that want the full structure can decode against\n:class:`turnstone.sdk.events.IntentVerdictEvent`.",
+        "description": "One pending tool-call inside a ``PendingApprovalDetail`` envelope.\n\nMirrors the dict ``SessionUIBase.serialize_pending_approval_details``\nemits per item inside each cycle entry. ``heuristic_verdict`` / ``judge_verdict`` are kept\nloosely-typed because the underlying verdict shape varies by tier;\nconsumers that want the full structure can decode against\n:class:`turnstone.sdk.events.IntentVerdictEvent`.",
         "properties": {
           "call_id": {
             "default": "",
diff --git a/sdk/typescript/openapi-server.json b/sdk/typescript/openapi-server.json
index 2cb9eb63..03d7270d 100644
--- a/sdk/typescript/openapi-server.json
+++ b/sdk/typescript/openapi-server.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "openapi": "3.1.0",
   "info": {
     "title": "turnstone Server API",
-    "version": "1.7.0a6",
+    "version": "1.7.0rc1",
     "description": "Single-node workstream management, chat interaction, and real-time streaming."
   },
   "paths": {
@@ -2564,6 +2564,19 @@
             },
             "title": "Attachment Ids",
             "type": "array"
+          },
+          "initial_message_status": {
+            "anyOf": [
+              {
+                "type": "string"
+              },
+              {
+                "type": "null"
+              }
+            ],
+            "default": null,
+            "description": "Present ONLY when the workstream was created but its initial_message could not be delivered: 'queue_full' (a raced live worker's interjection queue was at capacity \u2014 resend via /send; any uploads stay staged) or 'refused_closed' (the workstream was closed mid-create). Absent whenever the message was dispatched.",
+            "title": "Initial Message Status"
           }
         },
         "required": [
@@ -2747,7 +2760,7 @@
         "type": "object"
       },
       "PendingApprovalItem": {
-        "description": "One pending tool-call inside a ``PendingApprovalDetail`` envelope.\n\nMirrors the dict ``SessionUIBase.serialize_pending_approval_detail``\nemits per item. ``heuristic_verdict`` / ``judge_verdict`` are kept\nloosely-typed because the underlying verdict shape varies by tier;\nconsumers that want the full structure can decode against\n:class:`turnstone.sdk.events.IntentVerdictEvent`.",
+        "description": "One pending tool-call inside a ``PendingApprovalDetail`` envelope.\n\nMirrors the dict ``SessionUIBase.serialize_pending_approval_details``\nemits per item inside each cycle entry. ``heuristic_verdict`` / ``judge_verdict`` are kept\nloosely-typed because the underlying verdict shape varies by tier;\nconsumers that want the full structure can decode against\n:class:`turnstone.sdk.events.IntentVerdictEvent`.",
         "properties": {
           "call_id": {
             "default": "",
diff --git a/sdk/typescript/src/types.ts b/sdk/typescript/src/types.ts
index b2457381..b656ea4a 100644
--- a/sdk/typescript/src/types.ts
+++ b/sdk/typescript/src/types.ts
@@ -164,6 +164,13 @@ export interface CreateWorkstreamResponse {
   message_count?: number;
   /** Ids of attachments saved by this request (multipart variant only). */
   attachment_ids?: string[];
+  /**
+   * Present ONLY when the workstream was created but its initial_message
+   * could not be delivered: "queue_full" (raced live worker's interjection
+   * queue at capacity — resend via /send; uploads stay staged) or
+   * "refused_closed" (workstream closed mid-create).
+   */
+  initial_message_status?: "queue_full" | "refused_closed";
 }
 
 export interface CloseWorkstreamRequest {
diff --git a/tests/_helpers.py b/tests/_helpers.py
index 605a721d..5c88ae71 100644
--- a/tests/_helpers.py
+++ b/tests/_helpers.py
@@ -3,9 +3,37 @@ not fixtures, and several test files want to import them directly."""
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-from typing import Any
+import time
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock
 
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Callable
+
+
+def wait_until(cond: Callable[[], bool], timeout: float = 5.0) -> None:
+    """Poll ``cond`` to True within ``timeout`` or fail the test.
+
+    The worker/wake tests can't join threads by identity:
+    ``session_worker.send`` assigns ``ws.worker_thread`` under the lock
+    BEFORE ``t.start()``, so the instant a dispatching call returns, a
+    fast worker may already have run its exit backstop and installed the
+    (not-yet-started) wake thread — joining whatever ``ws.worker_thread``
+    points at races ``RuntimeError: cannot join thread before it is
+    started``.  Poll outcomes instead.
+    """
+    deadline = time.monotonic() + timeout
+    while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+        if cond():
+            return
+        time.sleep(0.005)
+    if cond():
+        # Final re-check: the condition can become true during the last
+        # sleep (or a CI descheduling stall past the deadline) — failing
+        # without re-looking makes the helper itself a flake source.
+        return
+    raise AssertionError("condition not met within timeout")
+
 
 def make_chat_session(**overrides: Any) -> Any:
     """Build a minimal ``ChatSession`` with sane test defaults.
diff --git a/tests/test_coordinator_adapter.py b/tests/test_coordinator_adapter.py
index 6a0fb502..0efd7b00 100644
--- a/tests/test_coordinator_adapter.py
+++ b/tests/test_coordinator_adapter.py
@@ -245,6 +245,24 @@ def test_cleanup_ui_tolerates_missing_session_and_ui() -> None:
     ws.session = None
     ws.ui = None
     adapter.cleanup_ui(ws)  # no crash
+    assert ws._closed is True  # still marked dead
+
+
+def test_cleanup_ui_marks_workstream_closed() -> None:
+    """Every teardown path — close, close_idle, EVICTION, delete,
+    discard — funnels through cleanup_ui, which marks the object dead
+    under ``ws._lock`` BEFORE the teardown body runs.  The wake paths
+    that hold OBJECT references (the watch ``wake_fn``,
+    ``session_worker``'s exit backstop) gate on ``_closed``, and
+    ``session_worker.send`` re-checks it under the same lock — without
+    this write here, a wake racing an eviction or delete (which never
+    set the flag) would spawn a full unattended turn on the torn-down
+    session."""
+    adapter, _ = _make_adapter()
+    ws = _make_ws()
+    assert ws._closed is False
+    adapter.cleanup_ui(ws)
+    assert ws._closed is True
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/tests/test_idle_nudge_wake_integration.py b/tests/test_idle_nudge_wake_integration.py
index acedabd1..9d36aaa1 100644
--- a/tests/test_idle_nudge_wake_integration.py
+++ b/tests/test_idle_nudge_wake_integration.py
@@ -28,8 +28,10 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
+from tests._helpers import wait_until as _wait_until
 from tests.test_session_manager import FakeStorage
-from turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher import IdleNudgeWatcher
+from turnstone.core import session_worker
+from turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher import IdleNudgeWatcher, wake_workstream_if_pending
 from turnstone.core.session import ChatSession
 from turnstone.core.session_manager import SessionManager
 from turnstone.core.trajectory import dicts_from_turns, turn_from_dict
@@ -299,6 +301,72 @@ def test_idle_event_with_empty_queue_does_not_dispatch_wake(real_mgr, tmp_db):
         watcher.shutdown()
 
 
+def test_watch_fire_on_already_idle_session_drives_wake_send(real_mgr, tmp_db):
+    """A watch firing on an ALREADY-idle workstream sees no IDLE
+    transition, so :class:`IdleNudgeWatcher` never re-checks the queue —
+    the dispatch closure's ``wake_fn`` must drive the wake itself.
+
+    Boundary path under test (only the LLM stream is patched):
+      dispatch closure (real, built by ``set_watch_runner``)
+        → NudgeQueue.enqueue (real)
+        → wake_fn → wake_workstream_if_pending (real)
+        → session_worker.send (real) → daemon thread
+        → ChatSession.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue (real)
+        → ChatSession.send("") → watch_triggered system turn in history
+    """
+    mgr, _adapter = real_mgr
+    ws = mgr.create(user_id="u1", name="watch-wake-int", skill=None)
+    assert ws.session is not None
+
+    captured: dict[str, Any] = {}
+
+    class _StubRunner:
+        def set_dispatch_fn(self, ws_id: str, fn: Any) -> None:
+            captured["fn"] = fn
+
+    # Production wiring shape (server.py): wake_fn closes over the
+    # Workstream OBJECT — not its id — so eviction+restore id drift
+    # can't strand the wake.
+    ws.session.set_watch_runner(
+        _StubRunner(), wake_fn=lambda: wake_workstream_if_pending(ws, trigger="watch-fire")
+    )
+
+    with (
+        patch.object(ws.session, "_create_stream_with_retry", return_value=iter([])),
+        patch.object(
+            ws.session,
+            "_stream_response",
+            return_value={"role": "assistant", "content": "ok"},
+        ),
+        patch.object(ws.session, "_update_token_table"),
+        patch.object(ws.session, "_print_status_line"),
+        patch.object(ws.session, "_visible_memory_count", return_value=0),
+        patch("turnstone.core.session.save_message"),
+    ):
+        ws.session._title_generated = True
+        # Idle all along — no worker, and no state transition coming.
+        assert ws.state is WorkstreamState.IDLE
+
+        # Simulate the WatchRunner poll thread delivering a fire.
+        captured["fn"]({"type": "watch_triggered", "text": "deploy finished: OK"}, "watch-1")
+
+        _wait_for_worker_done(ws)
+
+    # Queue drained by the wake — not parked until the next user message.
+    assert len(ws.session._nudge_queue) == 0
+
+    msgs = dicts_from_turns(ws.session.messages)
+    user_msgs = [m for m in msgs if m.get("role") == "user"]
+    assert user_msgs, "expected a synthesized user message from the wake"
+    assert user_msgs[-1]["content"] == ""
+    assert user_msgs[-1].get("_source") == "system_nudge"
+    sys_turns = [m for m in msgs if m.get("role") == "system"]
+    assert any(
+        m.get("_source") == "watch_triggered" and "deploy finished: OK" in m.get("content", "")
+        for m in sys_turns
+    ), f"expected a watch_triggered system turn, got {sys_turns!r}"
+
+
 @pytest.fixture
 def coord_mgr() -> tuple[SessionManager, _BuildRealSessionAdapter, FakeStorage]:
     """Real coord-side SessionManager with the adapter's kind set to
@@ -411,3 +479,120 @@ def test_coord_idle_with_active_children_emits_envelope_via_real_managers(coord_
     finally:
         watcher.shutdown()
         observer.shutdown()
+
+
+def test_coord_idle_emitted_from_worker_thread_still_wakes(coord_mgr, tmp_db):
+    """The production-shaped race the test above does NOT exercise: in
+    production, IDLE is emitted from INSIDE the worker (``set_state``
+    subscribers fire on the calling thread — the coord's send emits IDLE
+    before its worker exits).  The watcher's wake dispatch therefore
+    lands on ``session_worker.send``'s reuse path while the
+    transitioning worker still owns the flag, and no-ops.  Without the
+    ownership-clear backstop the ``idle_children`` nudge strands until
+    the next user message — a coord that forgot ``wait_for_workstream``
+    never revives.
+
+    Boundary path under test:
+      worker thread: mgr.set_state(IDLE)
+        → observer enqueues (real) → watcher wake no-ops (worker owns flag)
+        → run() returns → session_worker._runner finally clears the flag
+        → _retry_pending_wake → wake_workstream_if_pending (real)
+        → wake daemon → deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue → send("")
+        → idle_children system turn in history
+    """
+    from turnstone.console.coordinator_idle_observer import CoordinatorIdleObserver
+    from turnstone.core.workstream import WorkstreamKind as _Kind
+
+    mgr, adapter, storage = coord_mgr
+    observer = CoordinatorIdleObserver(mgr, storage)
+    observer.start()
+    watcher = IdleNudgeWatcher(mgr)
+    watcher.start()
+
+    try:
+        coord = mgr.create(user_id="u1", name="parent-coord-2", skill=None)
+        assert coord.session is not None
+
+        storage.register_workstream(
+            "child-x",
+            user_id="u1",
+            name="crawl-docs",
+            kind=_Kind.INTERACTIVE,
+            parent_ws_id=coord.id,
+            state="running",
+        )
+
+        coord.session.messages.append(turn_from_dict({"role": "user", "content": "spawn 1"}))
+        coord.session.messages.append(turn_from_dict({"role": "assistant", "content": "ok"}))
+
+        with (
+            patch.object(coord.session, "_create_stream_with_retry", return_value=iter([])),
+            patch.object(
+                coord.session,
+                "_stream_response",
+                return_value={"role": "assistant", "content": "ack"},
+            ),
+            patch.object(coord.session, "_full_messages", return_value=[]),
+            patch.object(coord.session, "_update_token_table"),
+            patch.object(coord.session, "_print_status_line"),
+            patch.object(coord.session, "_visible_memory_count", return_value=0),
+            patch("turnstone.core.session.save_message"),
+        ):
+            coord.session._title_generated = True
+
+            # Drive the IDLE transition from INSIDE a session_worker
+            # worker, as production does.
+            ok = session_worker.send(
+                coord,
+                enqueue=lambda: None,
+                run=lambda: mgr.set_state(coord.id, WorkstreamState.IDLE),
+                thread_name="coord-send-sim",
+            )
+            assert ok is True
+            # Without the backstop the queue never drains (the watcher's
+            # transition-time wake no-opped against the sim worker) and
+            # this poll times out.  Queue-empty implies the wake worker's
+            # drain ran, so the follow-up flag poll waits for ITS exit.
+            _wait_until(lambda: len(coord.session._nudge_queue) == 0)
+            _wait_for_worker_done(coord)
+
+        # Queue drained by the wake, not waiting on the next user message.
+        assert len(coord.session._nudge_queue) == 0
+        msgs = dicts_from_turns(coord.session.messages)
+        user_msgs = [m for m in msgs if m.get("role") == "user"]
+        wake_msg = user_msgs[-1]
+        assert wake_msg["content"] == ""
+        assert wake_msg.get("_source") == "system_nudge"
+        idle_turns = [
+            m for m in msgs if m.get("role") == "system" and m["_source"] == "idle_children"
+        ]
+        assert len(idle_turns) == 1
+        assert "crawl-docs" in idle_turns[0]["content"]
+        assert "wait_for_workstream" in idle_turns[0]["content"]
+    finally:
+        watcher.shutdown()
+        observer.shutdown()
+
+
+def test_wake_delivery_contains_generation_cancelled(tmp_db):
+    """A close/force-cancel racing the wake turn raises
+    ``GenerationCancelled`` (a BaseException) out of ``send("")`` — the
+    wake method must contain it: it IS the wake worker's ``run()``
+    closure, and ``session_worker._runner`` catches only ``Exception``,
+    so an escape would land in ``threading.excepthook`` as stderr noise
+    on every close-vs-wake race."""
+    from tests._helpers import make_chat_session
+    from turnstone.core.session import GenerationCancelled
+
+    session = make_chat_session()
+    session._nudge_queue.enqueue("idle_children", "kids waiting", "any")
+
+    def _cancelled_send(*_a: Any, **_k: Any) -> None:
+        raise GenerationCancelled
+
+    session.send = _cancelled_send  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+
+    session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue()  # must not raise
+
+    assert session._wake_source_tag == ""
+    assert session._wake_drained_reminders is None
diff --git a/tests/test_idle_nudge_watcher.py b/tests/test_idle_nudge_watcher.py
index 61d5f23e..fcde8285 100644
--- a/tests/test_idle_nudge_watcher.py
+++ b/tests/test_idle_nudge_watcher.py
@@ -9,13 +9,14 @@ module-level function to capture calls without spawning real threads.
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import contextlib
+import logging
 import threading
 from typing import Any
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import pytest
 
-from turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher import IdleNudgeWatcher
+from turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher import IdleNudgeWatcher, wake_workstream_if_pending
 from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import NudgeQueue
 from turnstone.core.workstream import WorkstreamState
 
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ class _FakeSession:
 class _FakeWorkstream:
     def __init__(self, ws_id: str = "ws-test") -> None:
         self.id = ws_id
+        self.state = WorkstreamState.IDLE
         self.session: _FakeSession | None = _FakeSession()
         self._lock = threading.Lock()
         self._worker_running = False
@@ -163,3 +165,117 @@ class TestIdleNudgeWatcher:
         watcher.start()
         watcher.shutdown()
         watcher.shutdown()  # no error
+
+
+class TestWakeWorkstreamIfPending:
+    """Direct tests for the shared wake gate.
+
+    The IDLE-transition path (via the watcher) is covered above; these
+    pin the gates the watch dispatch closure relies on when it calls
+    the helper directly, with no state event involved.
+    """
+
+    def test_wakes_idle_ws_with_pending_entry(self, fake_mgr_and_ws):
+        _mgr, ws = fake_mgr_and_ws
+        ws.session._nudge_queue.enqueue("watch_triggered", "output", "any")
+        with patch("turnstone.core.session_worker.send", return_value=True) as mock_send:
+            assert wake_workstream_if_pending(ws) is True
+            assert mock_send.call_count == 1
+            kwargs = mock_send.call_args.kwargs
+            assert kwargs["enqueue"]() is None
+            kwargs["run"]()
+            assert ws.session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue_called == 1
+            assert kwargs["thread_name"].startswith("wake-nudge-")
+
+    def test_skips_session_none(self, fake_mgr_and_ws):
+        _mgr, ws = fake_mgr_and_ws
+        ws.session = None
+        with patch("turnstone.core.session_worker.send") as mock_send:
+            assert wake_workstream_if_pending(ws) is False
+            assert mock_send.call_count == 0
+
+    def test_skips_closed_ws(self, fake_mgr_and_ws):
+        """A workstream mid-``close()`` must not get a wake spawned on
+        its torn-down session, even while its ``state`` field still
+        reads IDLE (there is no CLOSED member — close uses the
+        ``_closed`` tombstone)."""
+        _mgr, ws = fake_mgr_and_ws
+        ws.session._nudge_queue.enqueue("watch_triggered", "output", "any")
+        ws._closed = True
+        with patch("turnstone.core.session_worker.send") as mock_send:
+            assert wake_workstream_if_pending(ws) is False
+            assert mock_send.call_count == 0
+
+    def test_skips_non_idle_states(self, fake_mgr_and_ws):
+        """Busy states imply a live worker that drains at its own seams;
+        ERROR stays parked for the operator — neither gets a wake."""
+        _mgr, ws = fake_mgr_and_ws
+        ws.session._nudge_queue.enqueue("watch_triggered", "output", "any")
+        with patch("turnstone.core.session_worker.send") as mock_send:
+            for state in (
+                WorkstreamState.RUNNING,
+                WorkstreamState.THINKING,
+                WorkstreamState.ATTENTION,
+                WorkstreamState.ERROR,
+            ):
+                ws.state = state
+                assert wake_workstream_if_pending(ws) is False
+            assert mock_send.call_count == 0
+
+    def test_skips_tool_only_entries(self, fake_mgr_and_ws):
+        """Tool-channel entries belong to the next tool-result seam — a
+        synthetic empty user turn can't drain them, so no wake."""
+        _mgr, ws = fake_mgr_and_ws
+        ws.session._nudge_queue.enqueue("tool_error", "check memories", "tool")
+        with patch("turnstone.core.session_worker.send") as mock_send:
+            assert wake_workstream_if_pending(ws) is False
+            assert mock_send.call_count == 0
+
+    def test_dispatched_path_logs_trigger(self, fake_mgr_and_ws, caplog):
+        """A fresh spawn — ``send`` returns True without touching the
+        passed ``enqueue`` — emits ``nudge_wake.dispatched`` tagged with
+        the trigger label (structlog renders the event name + ``%s``
+        placeholders into ``msg``; substring-match like the sibling
+        nudge_queue tests)."""
+        _mgr, ws = fake_mgr_and_ws
+        ws.session._nudge_queue.enqueue("watch_triggered", "output", "any")
+        with (
+            patch("turnstone.core.session_worker.send", return_value=True) as mock_send,
+            caplog.at_level(logging.INFO, logger="turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher"),
+        ):
+            assert wake_workstream_if_pending(ws, trigger="idle-transition") is True
+            assert mock_send.call_count == 1
+        dispatched = [r for r in caplog.records if "nudge_wake.dispatched" in r.getMessage()]
+        assert len(dispatched) == 1
+        assert dispatched[0].levelno == logging.INFO
+        assert "trigger=" in dispatched[0].getMessage()
+        # The reuse-path drop line must not appear on a fresh spawn.
+        assert not any("nudge_wake.deferred_worker_busy" in r.getMessage() for r in caplog.records)
+
+    def test_deferred_path_logs_worker_busy(self, fake_mgr_and_ws, caplog):
+        """The reuse path — ``send`` invokes the passed ``enqueue`` and
+        returns True — emits ``nudge_wake.deferred_worker_busy`` instead
+        of ``dispatched``.  The entry stays owed to the owning worker's
+        exit backstop; the return value is still True."""
+        _mgr, ws = fake_mgr_and_ws
+        ws.session._nudge_queue.enqueue("watch_triggered", "output", "any")
+
+        def _reuse_send(_ws: Any, *, enqueue: Any, run: Any, thread_name: Any) -> bool:
+            # Mimic a live worker owning the workstream: send routes the
+            # wake to the no-op enqueue rather than spawning a daemon.
+            enqueue()
+            return True
+
+        with (
+            patch("turnstone.core.session_worker.send", side_effect=_reuse_send) as mock_send,
+            caplog.at_level(logging.INFO, logger="turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher"),
+        ):
+            assert wake_workstream_if_pending(ws, trigger="idle-transition") is True
+            assert mock_send.call_count == 1
+        deferred = [
+            r for r in caplog.records if "nudge_wake.deferred_worker_busy" in r.getMessage()
+        ]
+        assert len(deferred) == 1
+        assert deferred[0].levelno == logging.INFO
+        assert "trigger=" in deferred[0].getMessage()
+        assert not any("nudge_wake.dispatched" in r.getMessage() for r in caplog.records)
diff --git a/tests/test_server_attachments_endpoints.py b/tests/test_server_attachments_endpoints.py
index 10017e5f..7937557d 100644
--- a/tests/test_server_attachments_endpoints.py
+++ b/tests/test_server_attachments_endpoints.py
@@ -459,6 +459,11 @@ class TestSendMessageAttachments:
         session = MagicMock()
         session._cancel_event = threading.Event()
         session.queue_message = MagicMock()
+        # A bare Mock's auto-created ``_nudge_queue`` (truthy, has_pending
+        # truthy, no-op deliver) turns the worker-exit wake backstop into an
+        # endless respawn loop; declare this a stub session WITHOUT a queue
+        # so the wake gate's stub-guard bails.
+        session._nudge_queue = None
         captured: dict = {}
 
         def fake_send(message, attachments=None, send_id=None):
@@ -480,6 +485,7 @@ class TestSendMessageAttachments:
         ws.session = session
         ws.worker_thread = None
         ws._worker_running = False
+        ws._closed = False  # a bare Mock attr is truthy → send() would refuse
         ws._lock = threading.RLock()
         mgr.get.return_value = ws
         return captured, session
@@ -658,6 +664,9 @@ class TestQueuedSendWithAttachments:
         session = MagicMock()
         session._cancel_event = threading.Event()
         session.queue_message = fake_queue_message
+        # Stub session without a NudgeQueue — see _wire_ws for why a bare
+        # Mock queue would feed the exit backstop an endless wake loop.
+        session._nudge_queue = None
 
         ui = MagicMock()
         ui._ws_lock = threading.Lock()
@@ -675,6 +684,7 @@ class TestQueuedSendWithAttachments:
         ws.session = session
         ws.worker_thread = worker
         ws._worker_running = True
+        ws._closed = False  # a bare Mock attr is truthy → send() would refuse
         ws._lock = threading.RLock()
         mgr.get.return_value = ws
         return captured
@@ -738,6 +748,7 @@ class TestBusyWorkerAttachments:
         ws.ui = ui
         ws.session = session
         ws.worker_thread = worker
+        ws._closed = False  # a bare Mock attr is truthy → send() would refuse
         ws._lock = threading.RLock()
         mgr.get.return_value = ws
         return ws, session
diff --git a/tests/test_server_attachments_on_create.py b/tests/test_server_attachments_on_create.py
index c6d24599..d0e8d12d 100644
--- a/tests/test_server_attachments_on_create.py
+++ b/tests/test_server_attachments_on_create.py
@@ -434,6 +434,91 @@ class TestCreateMultipart:
         # pane's rehydrate can't observe it as still-staged.
         assert get_attachment_buffer().get(aid, ws_id=ws_id, user_id="userA") is None
 
+    def test_create_raced_by_live_worker_keeps_attachments_staged(self, app_client, monkeypatch):
+        """The enqueue branch (caller-supplied ws_id raced by a concurrent
+        /send claiming the worker first) can't deliver attachments through
+        the interjection seam — they must REMAIN STAGED so the composer
+        still shows them and the user's next send delivers them, while the
+        message text itself rides the queue."""
+        from turnstone.core import session_worker
+        from turnstone.core.attachment_buffer import get_attachment_buffer
+
+        client, _sessions, _gq = app_client
+        queued: list[str] = []
+
+        def _record_queue(self, text, *a, **k):
+            queued.append(text)
+            return ("", "normal", "msg-x")
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(_FakeSession, "queue_message", _record_queue)
+
+        def _live_worker_send(ws, *, enqueue, run, thread_name=None):
+            enqueue()  # a worker already owns the ws — reuse path
+            return True
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(session_worker, "send", _live_worker_send)
+
+        meta = {"name": "raced", "initial_message": "look at this file"}
+        resp = client.post(
+            "/v1/api/workstreams/new",
+            data={"meta": json.dumps(meta)},
+            files=[("file", ("notes.md", b"# hello\n", "text/markdown"))],
+            headers=_auth("userA"),
+        )
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.text
+        ws_id = resp.json()["ws_id"]
+        aid = resp.json()["attachment_ids"][0]
+
+        assert queued == ["look at this file"]  # text preserved via the queue
+        # NOT drained: the upload stays staged, recoverable on the next send.
+        assert get_attachment_buffer().get(aid, ws_id=ws_id, user_id="userA") is not None
+        # Delivered path → no dropped-message marker on the response.
+        assert "initial_message_status" not in resp.json()
+
+    def test_create_raced_queue_full_reports_dropped_message(self, app_client, monkeypatch):
+        """``queue.Full`` on the raced enqueue path must not read as
+        success: it propagates out of ``_enqueue_init`` into
+        ``session_worker.send``'s backpressure branch (→ ``False``), and
+        the create response carries ``initial_message_status:
+        "queue_full"`` instead of a bare 200 implying the first message
+        was delivered.  Attachments stay staged for the retry."""
+        import queue as _queue
+
+        from turnstone.core import session_worker
+        from turnstone.core.attachment_buffer import get_attachment_buffer
+
+        client, _sessions, _gq = app_client
+
+        def _full_queue(self, *a, **k):
+            raise _queue.Full
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(_FakeSession, "queue_message", _full_queue)
+
+        def _live_worker_send(ws, *, enqueue, run, thread_name=None):
+            # Mirror the real send()'s reuse-path backpressure contract:
+            # queue.Full → False, never a raise to the caller.
+            try:
+                enqueue()
+            except _queue.Full:
+                return False
+            return True
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(session_worker, "send", _live_worker_send)
+
+        meta = {"name": "raced-full", "initial_message": "look at this file"}
+        resp = client.post(
+            "/v1/api/workstreams/new",
+            data={"meta": json.dumps(meta)},
+            files=[("file", ("notes.md", b"# hello\n", "text/markdown"))],
+            headers=_auth("userA"),
+        )
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.text
+        body = resp.json()
+        assert body["initial_message_status"] == "queue_full"
+        # Attachments untouched — the composer chips survive for the retry.
+        aid = body["attachment_ids"][0]
+        assert get_attachment_buffer().get(aid, ws_id=body["ws_id"], user_id="userA") is not None
+
     def test_create_with_attachments_no_initial_message_keeps_staged(self, app_client):
         import hashlib
 
@@ -527,3 +612,28 @@ class TestCreateJsonStillWorks:
         assert data["ws_id"]
         # New optional field, but always emitted (empty list when absent)
         assert data["attachment_ids"] == []
+
+    def test_initial_message_routes_through_session_worker_send(self, app_client):
+        """The initial-message worker is dispatched via
+        ``session_worker.send`` (not an inlined ``threading.Thread``) so it
+        inherits the ownership-clear wake backstop.  Patching the module
+        attribute captures the wiring without spawning a thread — server.py
+        calls ``session_worker.send`` as a module attribute even from its
+        local import."""
+        from unittest.mock import patch
+
+        client, _sessions, _gq = app_client
+        with patch("turnstone.core.session_worker.send", return_value=True) as mock_send:
+            resp = client.post(
+                "/v1/api/workstreams/new",
+                json={"name": "init-dispatch", "initial_message": "go"},
+                headers=_auth("userA"),
+            )
+            assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.text
+            assert mock_send.call_count == 1
+            kwargs = mock_send.call_args.kwargs
+            assert kwargs["thread_name"].startswith("ws-init-")
+            # ``run`` is the init closure the shared dispatcher spawns; the
+            # dead-by-construction ``enqueue`` branch is still wired (loudly).
+            assert callable(kwargs["run"])
+            assert callable(kwargs["enqueue"])
diff --git a/tests/test_session.py b/tests/test_session.py
index 23d82c35..d8236a2f 100644
--- a/tests/test_session.py
+++ b/tests/test_session.py
@@ -5086,6 +5086,55 @@ class TestMetacognitiveBuffers:
         assert sys_turn["_source"] == "tool_error"
         assert sys_turn["content"] == "you hit an error; check memory"
 
+    def test_denial_nudge_queues_on_tool_channel(self, tmp_db):
+        """A denial responds to the tool batch the user just rejected — the
+        producer must queue it on the TOOL channel so it drains through
+        ``_collect_advisories`` alongside the denied results (the same seam
+        tool_error / repeat use), not sit on the user channel until the next
+        user-message seam — by which point the model has already reacted to
+        the denial without the nudge.
+
+        Drives the REAL ``_execute_tools`` two-phase gate with real
+        ``_nudges_enabled`` / ``should_nudge`` gating; only the prepare
+        step and the UI approval are stubbed."""
+        from turnstone.core.metacognition import format_nudge
+
+        session = _make_session()
+        # ``should_nudge`` skips the very first message — give the session
+        # the natural pre-batch shape (user turn + assistant tool-call turn).
+        session.messages.append(turn_from_dict({"role": "user", "content": "do the thing"}))
+        session.messages.append(turn_from_dict({"role": "assistant", "content": "calling"}))
+
+        item = {
+            "call_id": "call_1",
+            "func_name": "notify",
+            "needs_approval": True,
+            # Must NOT run — a denied tool never executes.
+            "execute": lambda p: (p["call_id"], "EXECUTED — must not happen"),
+        }
+        with (
+            patch.object(session, "_safe_prepare_tool", return_value=item),
+            patch.object(session.ui, "approve_tools", return_value=(False, "use /tmp instead")),
+            patch.object(session, "_visible_memory_count", return_value=0),
+        ):
+            tool_calls = [
+                {
+                    "id": "call_1",
+                    "type": "function",
+                    "function": {"name": "notify", "arguments": "{}"},
+                }
+            ]
+            results, feedback = session._execute_tools(tool_calls)
+
+        # The denied item surfaced the operator's feedback as its result…
+        assert results == [("call_1", "Denied by user: use /tmp instead")]
+        assert feedback is None
+        # …and the denial nudge is queued on the TOOL channel, so the same
+        # batch's ``_collect_advisories`` drain delivers it; nothing defers
+        # to the next user turn.
+        assert session._nudge_queue.pending(channel="tool") == [("denial", format_nudge("denial"))]
+        assert session._nudge_queue.pending(channel="user") == []
+
     def test_queued_message_appends_system_turn_after_tool_batch(self, tmp_db):
         """A queued message arriving during a tool batch becomes a
         first-class ``{"role": "system", "_source": "user_interjection"}``
diff --git a/tests/test_session_worker.py b/tests/test_session_worker.py
index e2a4021b..0a2a1bc0 100644
--- a/tests/test_session_worker.py
+++ b/tests/test_session_worker.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 The shared worker dispatch is load-bearing for both the interactive
 ``/v1/api/workstreams/{ws_id}/send`` HTTP handler and the coordinator
-``CoordinatorAdapter.send`` path. Tests cover the four invariants the
+``CoordinatorAdapter.send`` path. Tests cover the five invariants the
 module must hold:
 
 * live worker → enqueue, no thread spawn
@@ -10,10 +10,14 @@ module must hold:
 * concurrent ``send`` calls produce exactly one worker thread
   (Stage 1 bug-1 — the racy ``Thread.is_alive()`` gate stays caught)
 * ``_worker_running`` cleared in ``finally`` even on uncaught exception
+* ownership-clear wake backstop: a worker exiting with USER_DRAIN
+  nudges queued on an IDLE workstream spawns the wake send that the
+  IDLE fan-out (which ran on this worker's own thread) had to drop
 
-Callers pass no-arg closures, so this module never touches
-``ws.session`` — keeps the contract narrow and lets watch-style
-dispatchers drive a session that isn't installed on ``ws``.
+Callers pass no-arg closures, so dispatch never touches ``ws.session``;
+the exit backstop only PEEKS it defensively (``getattr`` for
+``_nudge_queue``, bail on stubs) — watch-style dispatchers can still
+drive a session that isn't installed on ``ws``.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -22,8 +26,10 @@ import queue
 import threading
 from typing import Any
 
+from tests._helpers import wait_until as _wait_until
 from turnstone.core import session_worker
-from turnstone.core.workstream import Workstream
+from turnstone.core.nudge_queue import USER_DRAIN, NudgeQueue
+from turnstone.core.workstream import Workstream, WorkstreamState
 
 
 class _SendSession:
@@ -140,6 +146,41 @@ def test_enqueue_unexpected_exception_returns_false_logged() -> None:
     assert ws._worker_running is True
 
 
+def test_closed_workstream_refused_no_spawn() -> None:
+    """Authoritative closed-check: ``close()`` sets ``_closed`` under
+    ``ws._lock``, so a wake (or send) racing it must be refused HERE —
+    the wake gate's lockless peek can go stale, and a spawn past this
+    point would run a full unattended turn (inference, tool calls,
+    storage writes) on a workstream whose ``ws_closed`` already fired.
+    """
+    session = _SendSession()
+    ws = _make_ws(session)
+    ws._closed = True
+
+    ok = _send_message(ws, session, "hello")
+
+    assert ok is False
+    assert session.send_calls == []
+    assert session.queue_calls == []
+    assert ws.worker_thread is None
+    assert ws._worker_running is False
+
+
+def test_closed_workstream_refused_on_reuse_path_too() -> None:
+    """The refusal precedes the enqueue branch: no interjection is queued
+    onto a session whose workstream is already closed."""
+    session = _SendSession()
+    ws = _make_ws(session)
+    ws._worker_running = True
+    ws._closed = True
+
+    ok = _send_message(ws, session, "hello")
+
+    assert ok is False
+    assert session.queue_calls == []
+    assert ws._worker_running is True  # untouched — not ours to clear
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # _worker_running lifecycle
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -301,6 +342,141 @@ def test_thread_name_explicit_override() -> None:
     ws.worker_thread.join(timeout=2.0)
 
 
+class _WakeCapableSession(_SendSession):
+    """Adds the ChatSession surface the exit backstop peeks at."""
+
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
+        super().__init__(**kwargs)
+        self._nudge_queue = NudgeQueue()
+        self.deliver_calls = 0
+        self.deliver_thread_names: list[str] = []
+        self.delivered = threading.Event()
+
+    def deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue(self) -> None:
+        # Mirror the real contract: the wake drains its own queue, so
+        # the wake worker's OWN exit backstop sees nothing pending and
+        # the chain converges instead of spawning wakes forever.
+        self.deliver_calls += 1
+        self.deliver_thread_names.append(threading.current_thread().name)
+        self._nudge_queue.drain(USER_DRAIN)
+        self.delivered.set()
+
+
+class TestWorkerExitWakeBackstop:
+    """A worker exiting while its (idle) workstream has USER_DRAIN
+    nudges queued spawns the wake send the IDLE fan-out had to drop.
+
+    Production shape being modelled: ``set_state(IDLE)`` fires its
+    subscribers on the worker thread from inside ``run()`` —
+    ``CoordinatorIdleObserver`` enqueues ``idle_children``, then
+    ``IdleNudgeWatcher``'s wake dispatch lands on the reuse path
+    (this very worker still owns the flag) and no-ops.  The enqueue
+    inside ``run`` below stands in for that observer enqueue.
+    """
+
+    def test_worker_exit_delivers_pending_wake(self) -> None:
+        session = _WakeCapableSession()
+        ws = _make_ws(session)
+        assert ws.state is WorkstreamState.IDLE  # dataclass default
+
+        def run() -> None:
+            # What the IDLE fan-out's observer does, on this thread.
+            session._nudge_queue.enqueue("idle_children", "kids waiting", "any")
+
+        ok = session_worker.send(ws, enqueue=lambda: None, run=run)
+        assert ok is True
+
+        # The wake is delivered on a fresh wake-named worker thread…
+        assert session.delivered.wait(timeout=2.0), (
+            "exit backstop did not deliver the pending nudge"
+        )
+        assert session.deliver_thread_names[0].startswith("wake-nudge-")
+        # …after which the wake worker's own exit backstop sees an empty
+        # queue and the chain converges: flag at rest, exactly one deliver.
+        _wait_until(lambda: ws._worker_running is False)
+        assert session.deliver_calls == 1
+        assert len(session._nudge_queue) == 0
+
+    def test_worker_exit_no_wake_when_queue_empty(self) -> None:
+        session = _WakeCapableSession()
+        ws = _make_ws(session)
+
+        ok = session_worker.send(ws, enqueue=lambda: None, run=lambda: None)
+        assert ok is True
+        original = ws.worker_thread
+        assert original is not None
+        original.join(timeout=2.0)
+
+        assert ws.worker_thread is original  # no wake spawned
+        assert session.deliver_calls == 0
+        assert ws._worker_running is False
+
+    def test_worker_exit_no_wake_for_stub_session_without_queue(self) -> None:
+        """The narrow-contract escape hatch: a session without a
+        ``_nudge_queue`` (watch-style stubs) is skipped by the shared
+        wake gate's own defensive peek — no AttributeError, no wake."""
+        session = _SendSession()
+        ws = _make_ws(session)
+
+        ok = _send_message(ws, session, "hello")
+        assert ok is True
+        original = ws.worker_thread
+        assert original is not None
+        original.join(timeout=2.0)
+
+        assert ws.worker_thread is original
+        assert ws._worker_running is False
+
+    def test_worker_exit_no_wake_when_state_not_idle(self) -> None:
+        """An ERROR exit stays parked for the operator — pending nudges
+        wait for the next real interaction rather than burning
+        unattended inference on a failed session."""
+        session = _WakeCapableSession()
+        ws = _make_ws(session)
+
+        def run() -> None:
+            session._nudge_queue.enqueue("idle_children", "kids waiting", "any")
+            ws.state = WorkstreamState.ERROR
+
+        ok = session_worker.send(ws, enqueue=lambda: None, run=run)
+        assert ok is True
+        original = ws.worker_thread
+        assert original is not None
+        original.join(timeout=2.0)
+
+        assert ws.worker_thread is original
+        assert session.deliver_calls == 0
+        assert len(session._nudge_queue) == 1  # still queued for later seams
+
+    def test_abandoned_worker_does_not_run_wake_backstop(self) -> None:
+        """Only the owner retries: an abandoned worker (successor claimed
+        the flag) finishing late must not spawn a wake — the successor's
+        own exit runs the backstop."""
+        send_gate = threading.Event()
+        session = _WakeCapableSession(send_gate=send_gate)
+        ws = _make_ws(session)
+
+        ok = _send_message(ws, session, "hello")
+        assert ok is True
+        abandoned = ws.worker_thread
+        assert abandoned is not None
+
+        session._nudge_queue.enqueue("idle_children", "kids waiting", "any")
+        sentinel = threading.Thread(target=lambda: None, name="successor")
+        with ws._lock:
+            ws.worker_thread = sentinel
+            ws._worker_running = True
+
+        send_gate.set()
+        abandoned.join(timeout=3.0)
+        assert not abandoned.is_alive()
+
+        # No wake spawned by the abandoned thread; ownership intact.
+        assert ws.worker_thread is sentinel
+        assert session.deliver_calls == 0
+        assert ws._worker_running is True
+
+
 def test_does_not_deadlock_when_run_briefly_grabs_ws_lock() -> None:
     """Sanity check: ``run`` is invoked OUTSIDE ``ws._lock``. A worker
     body that briefly takes the lock (e.g. to update worker state)
diff --git a/tests/test_watch.py b/tests/test_watch.py
index 16c9de1a..d7e7138c 100644
--- a/tests/test_watch.py
+++ b/tests/test_watch.py
@@ -2,11 +2,15 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import threading
+import time
 from datetime import UTC, datetime
+from typing import Any
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock
 
 import pytest
 
+from tests._helpers import wait_until
 from turnstone.core.watch import (
     WatchRunner,
     build_watch_reminder,
@@ -545,8 +549,12 @@ class TestWatchRunner:
         assert runner.get_dispatch_fn("ws-1") is fn
         # Unknown ws → None.
         assert runner.get_dispatch_fn("ws-missing") is None
-        # After removal → None.
-        runner.remove_dispatch_fn("ws-1")
+        # Owner-checked removal: a non-owner's teardown must not remove a
+        # still-live registration (restore shell vs reopened pane).
+        runner.remove_dispatch_fn("ws-1", owner=MagicMock())
+        assert runner.get_dispatch_fn("ws-1") is fn
+        # The owner (or a blind removal) does remove it.
+        runner.remove_dispatch_fn("ws-1", owner=fn)
         assert runner.get_dispatch_fn("ws-1") is None
 
     def test_run_command_success(self):
@@ -566,3 +574,716 @@ class TestWatchRunner:
         output, code = runner._run_command("sleep 30")
         assert "timed out" in output.lower()
         assert code == -1
+
+
+def _watch_row(**over: Any) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """A firing watch row (condition matches ``echo hello``); override
+    fields per test."""
+    row: dict[str, Any] = {
+        "watch_id": "abc123",
+        "ws_id": "ws-1",
+        "name": "test-watch",
+        "command": "echo hello",
+        "stop_on": '"hello" in output',
+        "max_polls": 100,
+        "poll_count": 0,
+        "last_output": None,
+        "interval_secs": 60,
+        "created": datetime.now(UTC).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S"),
+    }
+    row.update(over)
+    return row
+
+
+def _slow_restore(runner: WatchRunner, ws_id: str, calls: list[str], lock: threading.Lock) -> Any:
+    """Restore_fn stand-in: record the call, register a dispatch fn (as the
+    real restore does via ``set_watch_runner``), and sleep briefly so a
+    concurrent second caller is guaranteed to be waiting on ``_restore_lock``
+    when we return.
+    """
+    with lock:
+        calls.append(ws_id)
+    time.sleep(0.05)
+    fn = MagicMock()
+    runner.set_dispatch_fn(ws_id, fn)
+    return fn
+
+
+class TestWatchRunnerDeliveryRetry:
+    """Delivery failure HOLDS the built reminder and re-delivers it on a
+    later tick — never re-running the command, so a transient stop_on match
+    isn't lost — bounded by ``MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS``.  Until delivery lands
+    the row commits only ``next_poll`` plus the fire's durable poll charge:
+    no baseline advance and no deactivation of a fire the model never saw,
+    while a restart mid-hold (which re-runs the command) stays bounded by
+    ``max_polls``."""
+
+    def _make_runner(self, storage: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> WatchRunner:
+        return WatchRunner(
+            storage=storage,
+            node_id="test-node",
+            check_interval=0.1,
+            tool_timeout=5,
+            **kwargs,
+        )
+
+    def test_delivery_failure_holds_reminder_and_defers_row(self):
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        # No dispatch fn registered, no restore_fn → delivery fails.
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        # Row commit is the retry cadence + this fire's durable poll charge
+        # — the fire stays fully retryable, and a restart mid-hold (which
+        # re-runs the command) stays bounded by max_polls.
+        storage.update_watch.assert_called_once()
+        args, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args
+        assert args[0] == "abc123"
+        assert set(kwargs) == {"next_poll", "poll_count"}
+        assert kwargs["poll_count"] == 1  # charged durably at hold time
+        assert kwargs["next_poll"]  # advanced, not cleared
+        # The reminder is HELD for re-delivery; the row is NOT marked
+        # terminal-dispatched (the model never saw it).
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery
+            assert runner._pending_delivery["abc123"]["attempts"] == 1
+        with runner._terminal_dispatched_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._terminal_dispatched
+
+    def test_redelivery_uses_held_reminder_without_rerunning_command(self):
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+
+        # Poll 1: fails → holds.  Capture the exact held reminder object.
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            held = runner._pending_delivery["abc123"]["reminder"]
+
+        # ws restored: register a fn, and make _run_command explode so the
+        # test proves re-delivery does NOT re-run the command.
+        dispatch_fn = MagicMock()
+        runner.set_dispatch_fn("ws-1", dispatch_fn)
+        runner._run_command = MagicMock(  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+            side_effect=AssertionError("command must not re-run on re-delivery")
+        )
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        # Delivered the SAME held reminder; command untouched; committed
+        # terminal with the ORIGINAL fire's poll_count; hold cleared.
+        dispatch_fn.assert_called_once()
+        assert dispatch_fn.call_args[0][0] is held
+        runner._run_command.assert_not_called()
+        _a, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args
+        assert kwargs["active"] is False
+        assert kwargs["poll_count"] == 1  # retries consumed no ADDITIONAL budget
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+
+    def test_transient_exhaustion_keeps_watch_active(self):
+        # A purely transient cause (no fn, no restore → returns False) that
+        # outlasts the attempt budget must NOT silently deactivate the watch
+        # — it drops the held reminder, charges ONE poll to the max_polls
+        # budget, and leaves the watch active to re-fire on its next
+        # interval.  The baseline (last_output) stays uncommitted so a
+        # delta-style stop_on re-fires on the change the model never saw.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)  # always fails, transiently
+
+        # Poll 1 fires + holds (attempts=1); polls 2..MAX bump attempts, the
+        # MAX-th hitting the exhaustion ceiling.
+        for _ in range(MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS):
+            runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        # Hold dropped, but the watch was NEVER deactivated — no active=False
+        # commit anywhere; the final commit charges the poll and re-schedules
+        # (no last_output → the fire re-detects next cycle).
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+        deactivations = [
+            c for c in storage.update_watch.call_args_list if c.kwargs.get("active") is False
+        ]
+        assert deactivations == []
+        _a, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args  # last commit
+        assert set(kwargs) == {"poll_count", "next_poll"}
+        assert kwargs["poll_count"] == 1  # one poll charged to the budget
+
+    def test_transient_exhaustion_with_budget_spent_deactivates(self):
+        # The keep-alive-on-transient behavior is bounded by the watch's own
+        # max_polls budget: once poll_count reaches it, exhaustion commits
+        # the held (deactivating) update instead of re-running the command
+        # every interval forever against an unreachable workstream.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)  # always fails, transiently
+
+        for _ in range(MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS):
+            runner._poll_watch(_watch_row(max_polls=1))  # budget spent on fire 1
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+        _a, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args  # last commit
+        assert kwargs["active"] is False  # deactivated: budget spent
+        assert kwargs["poll_count"] == 1
+
+    def test_held_delivery_retries_on_capped_cadence_not_interval(self):
+        # Re-delivery is a cheap in-memory dispatch — a daily watch whose
+        # fire hit a busy restore slot must retry within
+        # DELIVERY_RETRY_CAP_SECS, not sit on the reminder for 24 h.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import DELIVERY_RETRY_CAP_SECS
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row(interval_secs=86_400))
+
+        _a, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args
+        assert set(kwargs) == {"next_poll", "poll_count"}
+        retry_at = datetime.strptime(kwargs["next_poll"], "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S").replace(tzinfo=UTC)
+        delta = (retry_at - datetime.now(UTC)).total_seconds()
+        assert 0 < delta <= DELIVERY_RETRY_CAP_SECS + 5  # capped, not 86400
+
+    def test_permanent_unrestorable_deactivates_immediately(self):
+        # A permanent failure (restore raises WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable,
+        # e.g. corrupt persona stamp) deactivates the watch on the FIRST
+        # fire — no held reminder, no waiting out the attempt budget.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        restore_fn = MagicMock(side_effect=WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable("ws-1"))
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage, restore_fn=restore_fn)
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        restore_fn.assert_called_once_with("ws-1")  # not retried 5×
+        _a, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args
+        assert kwargs["active"] is False  # deactivated now
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery  # nothing held
+        # The admission slot is released even on the raising path.
+        with runner._restore_lock:
+            assert "ws-1" not in runner._restoring
+
+    def test_pending_cleared_on_already_dispatched_retry(self):
+        # A re-delivery that succeeded but whose row-commit raised leaves
+        # the id in BOTH _terminal_dispatched and _pending_delivery.  The
+        # next tick's already-dispatched branch must clear the hold too, or
+        # it leaks once the row deactivates.
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+        with runner._terminal_dispatched_lock:
+            runner._terminal_dispatched.add("abc123")
+        runner._stash_pending_delivery("abc123", {"text": "x"}, {"active": False}, attempts=1)
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())  # hits the already_dispatched branch
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+        with runner._terminal_dispatched_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._terminal_dispatched
+
+    def test_restore_capacity_full_defers_without_restoring(self):
+        # When MAX_CONCURRENT_RESTORES restores are already in flight, a
+        # new evicted-ws poll must DEFER (return False, hold) rather than
+        # block a poll slot — and must not start a restore.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import MAX_CONCURRENT_RESTORES
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        restore_fn = MagicMock(return_value=MagicMock())
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage, restore_fn=restore_fn)
+        # Saturate the restore admission with other in-flight ws_ids.
+        with runner._restore_lock:
+            for i in range(MAX_CONCURRENT_RESTORES):
+                runner._restoring[f"other-{i}"] = time.monotonic()
+
+        result = runner._dispatch_result("ws-evicted", {"text": "x"}, "w1")
+
+        assert result is False  # deferred
+        restore_fn.assert_not_called()  # no restore admitted
+
+    def test_race_won_admission_delivers_outside_restore_lock(self):
+        # A dispatch fn registered between the fast-path miss and the
+        # admission check must be delivered WITHOUT holding _restore_lock:
+        # the closure can block (ws._lock, wake-thread spawn), and running
+        # it under the lock serialises every restore admission on the node
+        # behind one delivery.
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        restore_fn = MagicMock(return_value=None)
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage, restore_fn=restore_fn)
+
+        lock_free_during_dispatch: list[bool] = []
+
+        def probe(reminder: dict[str, Any], watch_id: str) -> None:
+            ok = runner._restore_lock.acquire(blocking=False)
+            lock_free_during_dispatch.append(ok)
+            if ok:
+                runner._restore_lock.release()
+
+        real_try = runner._try_dispatch_fn
+        calls = {"n": 0}
+
+        def fake_try(ws_id: str, reminder: dict[str, Any], watch_id: str) -> bool | None:
+            calls["n"] += 1
+            if calls["n"] == 1:
+                # Simulate a restore completing between the fast path and
+                # the admission check: the fn appears "while we waited".
+                runner.set_dispatch_fn("ws-1", probe)
+                return None
+            return real_try(ws_id, reminder, watch_id)
+
+        runner._try_dispatch_fn = fake_try  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+
+        result = runner._dispatch_result("ws-1", {"text": "x"}, "w1")
+
+        assert result is True  # race-won fn delivered
+        assert lock_free_during_dispatch == [True]  # ...outside the lock
+        restore_fn.assert_not_called()  # no restore admitted for a live fn
+
+    def test_restore_returning_none_holds(self):
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        restore_fn = MagicMock(return_value=None)  # e.g. all slots active
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage, restore_fn=restore_fn)
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        restore_fn.assert_called_once_with("ws-1")
+        _a, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args
+        assert set(kwargs) == {"next_poll", "poll_count"}
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery
+
+    def test_live_fn_raise_holds_without_restoring(self):
+        # A registered fn that RAISES means the ws is live; we must NOT fall
+        # through to restore (that would spawn a duplicate session on a live
+        # conversation).  The reminder is held for re-delivery instead.
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        restore_fn = MagicMock()
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage, restore_fn=restore_fn)
+        runner.set_dispatch_fn("ws-1", MagicMock(side_effect=RuntimeError("stale closure")))
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        restore_fn.assert_not_called()
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery
+        _a, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args
+        assert set(kwargs) == {"next_poll", "poll_count"}
+
+    def test_forget_terminal_dispatched_clears_held_reminder(self):
+        # User-cancel takes the row out of the due view; its held reminder
+        # must be dropped too or it would leak (never re-polled).
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery
+
+        runner.forget_terminal_dispatched("abc123")
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+
+    def test_abandon_write_failure_keeps_hold_for_write_retry(self):
+        # Reads-succeed/writes-fail storage (e.g. disk-full SQLite): a
+        # failed abandon commit must keep the hold so the next tick retries
+        # the WRITE via the redeliver path — the clear-first order let the
+        # row re-list into a fresh COMMAND RUN every attempt-budget cycle,
+        # forever, with the poll budget never advancing.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())  # fire → hold (write still OK here)
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            pending = dict(runner._pending_delivery["abc123"])
+
+        runner._restore_fn = MagicMock(  # type: ignore[assignment]
+            side_effect=WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable("ws-1")
+        )
+        storage.update_watch.side_effect = RuntimeError("disk full")
+
+        with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+            runner._redeliver_pending(_watch_row(), pending)
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery  # hold survived
+
+    def test_unrestorable_abandon_write_failure_keeps_hold(self):
+        # Fresh-fire permanent failure whose deactivation write fails must
+        # not strand the still-active row into a fresh command run every
+        # tick: the stash routes the next tick into the redeliver path,
+        # which retries the WRITE — never the command.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.side_effect = RuntimeError("disk full")
+        restore_fn = MagicMock(side_effect=WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable("ws-1"))
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage, restore_fn=restore_fn)
+
+        with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+            runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery  # hold survived
+
+        # Next tick: the write retries and lands; the command never re-runs.
+        runner._run_command = MagicMock(  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+            side_effect=AssertionError("command must not re-run")
+        )
+        storage.update_watch.side_effect = None
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        runner._run_command.assert_not_called()
+        _a, kwargs = storage.update_watch.call_args
+        assert kwargs["active"] is False  # deactivation landed on the retry
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+
+    def test_exhaustion_write_failure_keeps_hold_for_write_retry(self):
+        # Same pathology on the transient-exhaustion branch: the charge
+        # commit failing must keep the hold (write retried next tick), not
+        # drop it into a fresh command cycle with the budget never durable.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)  # no fn, no restore → transient
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())  # fire → hold
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            runner._pending_delivery["abc123"]["attempts"] = MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS - 1
+            pending = dict(runner._pending_delivery["abc123"])
+
+        storage.update_watch.side_effect = RuntimeError("disk full")
+
+        with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+            runner._redeliver_pending(_watch_row(), pending)
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery  # hold survived
+
+
+class TestWatchRunnerCancelRace:
+    """User-cancel racing the poll pool: the delivery paths re-check the
+    row's active state so a cancelled watch can neither deliver nor leak a
+    held reminder, and the tick sweep mops up the one interleaving the
+    point checks can't reach (a stash landing after the cancel path's
+    ``forget_terminal_dispatched`` already cleared)."""
+
+    def _make_runner(self, storage: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> WatchRunner:
+        return WatchRunner(
+            storage=storage,
+            node_id="test-node",
+            check_interval=0.1,
+            tool_timeout=5,
+            **kwargs,
+        )
+
+    def test_hold_dropped_when_watch_cancelled_mid_fire(self):
+        # Cancel lands while the fire's command is running: the hold path
+        # re-checks the row and DROPS instead of stashing — an inactive row
+        # never re-lists, so a stash here would leak for the process
+        # lifetime with nothing ever retrying or clearing it.
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        storage.is_watch_active.return_value = False
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)  # no fn, no restore → would hold
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+        # No retry-cadence commit either — the row already left the view.
+        storage.update_watch.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_redelivery_dropped_when_watch_cancelled(self):
+        # Cancel lands between the due listing and the redelivery dispatch:
+        # deliver nothing (the model must not act on — nor a restore be
+        # spawned for — a watch the user just cancelled) and drop the hold.
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())  # fails → holds (row still active)
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery
+
+        storage.is_watch_active.return_value = False  # user cancels
+        dispatch_fn = MagicMock()
+        runner.set_dispatch_fn("ws-1", dispatch_fn)  # ws even came back live
+
+        runner._poll_watch(_watch_row())
+
+        dispatch_fn.assert_not_called()
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+        # The only row write remains the initial hold's cadence commit —
+        # no terminal commit lands over the cancel's row state.
+        assert storage.update_watch.call_count == 1
+
+    def test_tick_sweeps_cancelled_holds(self):
+        # The residual interleaving: a stash that landed AFTER the cancel's
+        # forget_terminal_dispatched cleared (its active re-check passed
+        # just before the cancel's row write).  The sweep drops it within
+        # one tick.
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        storage.list_due_watches.return_value = []
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+        runner._stash_pending_delivery("abc123", {"text": "x"}, {"active": False}, attempts=1)
+        storage.is_watch_active.return_value = False  # row already cancelled
+
+        runner._tick()
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" not in runner._pending_delivery
+
+    def test_tick_sweep_keeps_active_holds(self):
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        storage.list_due_watches.return_value = []
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+        runner._stash_pending_delivery("abc123", {"text": "x"}, {"active": False}, attempts=1)
+        storage.is_watch_active.return_value = True
+
+        runner._tick()
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery
+
+    def test_active_checks_bias_toward_delivery_on_storage_error(self):
+        # is_watch_active RAISING must not drop a fire: the sweep keeps the
+        # hold and the delivery paths proceed (bounded by their own attempt
+        # and poll budgets) — a storage blip is not a cancellation.
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        storage.list_due_watches.return_value = []
+        storage.is_watch_active.side_effect = RuntimeError("storage down")
+        runner = self._make_runner(storage)
+        runner._stash_pending_delivery("abc123", {"text": "x"}, {"active": False}, attempts=1)
+
+        runner._tick()  # sweep: biased active → kept
+
+        with runner._pending_delivery_lock:
+            assert "abc123" in runner._pending_delivery
+
+
+class TestWatchRunnerRestoreSerialization:
+    """Two watches on ONE evicted workstream, polled concurrently, must
+    trigger the restore path at most once — otherwise each spawns a live
+    auto-approved session racing writes into one conversation history."""
+
+    def test_concurrent_same_ws_restores_once(self):
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        restore_calls: list[str] = []
+        calls_lock = threading.Lock()
+
+        runner = WatchRunner(
+            storage=storage,
+            node_id="n",
+            check_interval=0.1,
+            tool_timeout=5,
+            restore_fn=lambda ws_id: _slow_restore(runner, ws_id, restore_calls, calls_lock),
+        )
+
+        reminder = {"type": "watch_triggered", "text": "x"}
+        barrier = threading.Barrier(2)
+        results: list[bool] = []
+        results_lock = threading.Lock()
+
+        def call(wid: str) -> None:
+            barrier.wait(timeout=2.0)
+            ok = runner._dispatch_result("ws-shared", reminder, wid)
+            with results_lock:
+                results.append(ok)
+
+        threads = [threading.Thread(target=call, args=(f"w{i}",)) for i in range(2)]
+        for t in threads:
+            t.start()
+        for t in threads:
+            t.join(timeout=3.0)
+
+        # Exactly one restore ran; the winner delivered (True) and the other
+        # DEFERRED (False, holds + re-delivers next tick) rather than blocking
+        # its poll slot on the in-flight restore or restoring a second time.
+        assert restore_calls == ["ws-shared"]
+        assert sorted(results) == [False, True]
+        # Admission slot released after the restore.
+        with runner._restore_lock:
+            assert "ws-shared" not in runner._restoring
+
+    def test_wedged_restore_admissions_defer_and_alert(self, caplog):
+        # Admission entries older than RESTORE_STALL_ALERT_SECS are alerted
+        # on but NEVER evicted: the wedged poll thread's pool slot is never
+        # released, so reclaiming its admission would just readmit a restore
+        # that can wedge another pool thread on the same cause — trading
+        # this capped degraded state (restores blocked, polling intact) for
+        # total poll-pool collapse.  New restores keep deferring; the error
+        # log is the operator's restart signal.
+        from turnstone.core.watch import RESTORE_STALL_ALERT_SECS
+
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        restore_fn = MagicMock(return_value=MagicMock())
+        runner = WatchRunner(
+            storage=storage,
+            node_id="n",
+            check_interval=0.1,
+            tool_timeout=5,
+            restore_fn=restore_fn,
+        )
+        stalled_at = time.monotonic() - RESTORE_STALL_ALERT_SECS - 1
+        with runner._restore_lock:
+            runner._restoring["wedged-1"] = stalled_at
+            runner._restoring["wedged-2"] = stalled_at  # both slots wedged
+
+        with caplog.at_level("ERROR"):
+            result = runner._dispatch_result("ws-new", {"text": "x"}, "w1")
+
+        assert result is False  # wedged capacity stays consumed → defer
+        restore_fn.assert_not_called()
+        with runner._restore_lock:
+            assert "wedged-1" in runner._restoring
+            assert "wedged-2" in runner._restoring
+        assert any("watch_runner.restore_admission_wedged" in r.message for r in caplog.records)
+
+
+class TestWatchRunnerConcurrency:
+    """The tick thread only enumerates due rows; polls run on bounded
+    daemon threads.  Pins: genuine concurrency, per-watch in-flight
+    dedup, saturation leaving rows due (not dropped), and ``stop``
+    draining in-flight polls."""
+
+    def _make_runner(self, rows: list[dict[str, Any]], **kwargs: Any) -> WatchRunner:
+        storage = MagicMock()
+        storage.update_watch.return_value = True
+        storage.list_due_watches.return_value = rows
+        return WatchRunner(
+            storage=storage,
+            node_id="test-node",
+            check_interval=0.1,
+            tool_timeout=5,
+            **kwargs,
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _wait_in_flight_empty(runner: WatchRunner, timeout: float = 3.0) -> None:
+        def _drained() -> bool:
+            with runner._in_flight_lock:
+                return not runner._in_flight
+
+        wait_until(_drained, timeout=timeout)
+
+    def test_tick_polls_concurrently(self):
+        rows = [_watch_row(watch_id=f"w{i}", ws_id=f"ws-{i}") for i in range(3)]
+        runner = self._make_runner(rows)
+
+        all_in = threading.Event()
+        release = threading.Event()
+        barrier = threading.Barrier(3)
+
+        def fake_poll(_row: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+            # All three poll threads must be inside simultaneously for the
+            # barrier to trip — serial execution would deadlock here (and
+            # fail via the barrier timeout instead).
+            barrier.wait(timeout=2.0)
+            all_in.set()
+            release.wait(timeout=2.0)
+
+        runner._poll_watch = fake_poll  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+        runner._tick()
+
+        assert all_in.wait(timeout=2.0), "polls did not run concurrently"
+        release.set()
+        self._wait_in_flight_empty(runner)
+
+    def test_tick_skips_in_flight_watch(self):
+        rows = [_watch_row(watch_id="w0", ws_id="ws-0")]
+        runner = self._make_runner(rows)
+        polled: list[str] = []
+        runner._poll_watch = lambda row: polled.append(row["watch_id"])  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+
+        # Simulate a slow poll from a previous tick still running.
+        with runner._in_flight_lock:
+            runner._in_flight.add("w0")
+
+        runner._tick()
+
+        assert polled == []
+        # The foreign in-flight entry was not clobbered by the skip.
+        with runner._in_flight_lock:
+            assert "w0" in runner._in_flight
+
+    def test_tick_saturation_leaves_rows_due(self):
+        rows = [_watch_row(watch_id=f"w{i}", ws_id=f"ws-{i}") for i in range(2)]
+        runner = self._make_runner(rows, max_concurrent_polls=1)
+
+        started = threading.Event()
+        release = threading.Event()
+        polled: list[str] = []
+
+        def fake_poll(row: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+            polled.append(row["watch_id"])
+            started.set()
+            release.wait(timeout=2.0)
+
+        runner._poll_watch = fake_poll  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+        runner._tick()
+        assert started.wait(timeout=2.0)
+
+        # Only the first row got a slot this tick; the second stays due
+        # for the next tick rather than being dropped.
+        assert polled == ["w0"]
+        release.set()
+        self._wait_in_flight_empty(runner)
+
+        # Next tick (slot free again) picks up the remaining row.
+        runner._storage.list_due_watches.return_value = [rows[1]]
+        runner._tick()
+        self._wait_in_flight_empty(runner)
+        assert polled == ["w0", "w1"]
+
+    def test_stop_waits_for_in_flight_polls(self):
+        rows = [_watch_row(watch_id="w0", ws_id="ws-0")]
+        runner = self._make_runner(rows)
+
+        started = threading.Event()
+        release = threading.Event()
+
+        def fake_poll(_row: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+            started.set()
+            release.wait(timeout=3.0)
+
+        runner._poll_watch = fake_poll  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+        runner._tick()
+        assert started.wait(timeout=2.0)
+
+        stopper = threading.Thread(target=runner.stop, daemon=True)
+        stopper.start()
+        # stop() must be draining (poll still pinned), not returned.
+        time.sleep(0.15)
+        assert stopper.is_alive(), "stop() returned while a poll was in flight"
+
+        release.set()
+        stopper.join(timeout=3.0)
+        assert not stopper.is_alive()
+        with runner._in_flight_lock:
+            assert not runner._in_flight
diff --git a/tests/test_watch_dispatch.py b/tests/test_watch_dispatch.py
index 74d193e7..e964c124 100644
--- a/tests/test_watch_dispatch.py
+++ b/tests/test_watch_dispatch.py
@@ -54,9 +54,11 @@ def _make_session_for_dispatch(**kwargs: Any) -> ChatSession:
     return ChatSession(**defaults)
 
 
-def _register_runner(session: ChatSession) -> tuple[Any, Any]:
+def _register_runner(session: ChatSession, wake_fn: Any = None) -> tuple[Any, Any]:
     """Attach a minimal stub ``WatchRunner`` to *session* and return the
     ``(runner, dispatch_fn)`` pair captured by ``set_dispatch_fn``.
+    ``wake_fn`` rides through to ``set_watch_runner`` (default ``None``
+    matches the pre-wake wiring most tests here exercise).
     """
     captured: dict[str, Any] = {}
 
@@ -65,7 +67,7 @@ def _register_runner(session: ChatSession) -> tuple[Any, Any]:
             captured["fn"] = fn
 
     runner = _StubRunner()
-    session.set_watch_runner(runner)
+    session.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=wake_fn)
     return runner, captured["fn"]
 
 
@@ -400,3 +402,216 @@ class TestMetadataPropagation:
         assert len(snapshot) == 1
         _nt, _text, meta = snapshot[0]
         assert meta is None
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Wake trigger
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+class TestWakeFn:
+    """``set_watch_runner``'s optional ``wake_fn`` fires once per enqueued
+    dispatch — AFTER the entry lands — so a watch firing on an
+    already-idle workstream (no IDLE transition for the
+    ``IdleNudgeWatcher`` to observe) can spawn the wake worker that
+    drains it.  Failures are contained: the enqueue must survive a
+    raising ``wake_fn``, because a propagated raise would abort
+    ``WatchRunner._poll_watch`` before the watch-row update commits and
+    re-fire the same reminder every subsequent tick.
+    """
+
+    def test_wake_fn_called_after_enqueue(self, tmp_db):
+        session = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        depth_at_wake: list[int] = []
+        _runner, dispatch = _register_runner(
+            session, wake_fn=lambda: depth_at_wake.append(len(session._nudge_queue))
+        )
+
+        dispatch(_reminder("watch fired body"), "watch-1")
+
+        # Fired exactly once, and the entry was already queued when it ran
+        # — the wake worker's drain must be able to see the fresh entry.
+        assert depth_at_wake == [1]
+
+    def test_wake_fn_not_called_when_payload_sanitizes_empty(self, tmp_db):
+        """A fire whose payload strips to nothing enqueues nothing — and
+        must not wake anything either (a wake with an empty queue would
+        just spawn a worker that no-ops at the drain guard)."""
+        session = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        wake = MagicMock()
+        _runner, dispatch = _register_runner(session, wake_fn=wake)
+
+        dispatch(_reminder("\x07\x0b\x7f"), "watch-1")
+
+        assert len(session._nudge_queue) == 0
+        wake.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_wake_fn_exception_is_contained(self, tmp_db, caplog):
+        session = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        wake = MagicMock(side_effect=RuntimeError("boom"))
+        _runner, dispatch = _register_runner(session, wake_fn=wake)
+
+        with caplog.at_level("WARNING"):
+            dispatch(_reminder("body"), "watch-1")  # must not raise
+
+        # 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"
+        )
+
+
+class _RecordingRunner:
+    """Stub WatchRunner recording registration/removal order.  Mirrors the
+    production owner-checked removal semantics — the resume tail passes
+    ``owner`` and peeks ``get_dispatch_fn`` before re-registering."""
+
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self.events: list[tuple[str, str]] = []
+        self.fns: dict[str, Any] = {}
+
+    def set_dispatch_fn(self, ws_id: str, fn: Any) -> None:
+        self.events.append(("set", ws_id))
+        self.fns[ws_id] = fn
+
+    def get_dispatch_fn(self, ws_id: str) -> Any:
+        return self.fns.get(ws_id)
+
+    def remove_dispatch_fn(self, ws_id: str, owner: Any = None) -> None:
+        if owner is not None and self.fns.get(ws_id) is not owner:
+            return
+        self.events.append(("remove", ws_id))
+        self.fns.pop(ws_id, None)
+
+
+class TestResumeReRegistration:
+    """A non-fork ``resume()`` rebinds ``_ws_id``; the dispatch
+    registration must FOLLOW that identity — otherwise watches stamped
+    with the adopted id never find the live session, and every fire
+    takes the restore path, spawning a duplicate auto-approved session
+    racing writes into the same conversation (CLI ``--resume`` and the
+    ``/resume`` command both hit this)."""
+
+    def _saved_ws(self, ws_id: str) -> None:
+        from turnstone.core.memory import register_workstream, save_message
+
+        register_workstream(ws_id)
+        save_message(ws_id, "user", "hi")
+
+    def test_nonfork_resume_moves_registration_to_adopted_id(self, tmp_db):
+        self._saved_ws("resume-target")
+        session = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        old_id = session._ws_id
+        runner = _RecordingRunner()
+        session.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=None)
+
+        assert session.resume("resume-target") is True
+
+        # New key live BEFORE the old key is removed — a fire during the
+        # transition can never observe an empty registry (which would
+        # divert it to the restore path).
+        assert runner.events == [
+            ("set", old_id),
+            ("set", "resume-target"),
+            ("remove", old_id),
+        ]
+        assert set(runner.fns) == {"resume-target"}
+
+    def test_fork_resume_keeps_registration(self, tmp_db):
+        self._saved_ws("fork-src")
+        session = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        old_id = session._ws_id
+        runner = _RecordingRunner()
+        session.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=None)
+
+        assert session.resume("fork-src", fork=True) is True
+
+        # Fork keeps its own identity — registration untouched.
+        assert runner.events == [("set", old_id)]
+
+    def test_resume_without_runner_is_noop(self, tmp_db):
+        # CLI --resume / restore-fn shape: resume() runs BEFORE any
+        # set_watch_runner call — nothing to re-register, nothing raises.
+        self._saved_ws("resume-bare")
+        session = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+
+        assert session.resume("resume-bare") is True
+        assert session._watch_runner is None
+
+    def test_reregistered_closure_keeps_wake_fn(self, tmp_db):
+        # The stored wake_fn rides the re-registration: a watch firing on
+        # the ADOPTED id must still wake the workstream.
+        self._saved_ws("resume-wake")
+        session = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        runner = _RecordingRunner()
+        wake = MagicMock()
+        session.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=wake)
+
+        assert session.resume("resume-wake") is True
+
+        runner.fns["resume-wake"](_reminder("watch output"), "w1")
+        assert len(session._nudge_queue) == 1
+        wake.assert_called_once()
+
+    def test_resume_does_not_steal_another_live_registration(self, tmp_db):
+        # In-session /resume of a workstream that is OPEN IN ANOTHER PANE
+        # (a degenerate two-live-sessions state): the original owner keeps
+        # its watch fires — the adopter neither clobbers the target's
+        # registration nor (on a later resume-away or close) deletes it.
+        self._saved_ws("shared-A")
+        self._saved_ws("other-C")
+        runner = _RecordingRunner()
+
+        pane_a = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        pane_a._ws_id = "shared-A"  # pane A opened A and registered
+        pane_a.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=None)
+        fn_a = runner.fns["shared-A"]
+
+        pane_b = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        pane_b.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=None)
+
+        assert pane_b.resume("shared-A") is True
+        # Pane A's registration survived the adoption…
+        assert runner.fns["shared-A"] is fn_a
+
+        assert pane_b.resume("other-C") is True
+        # …and the resume-away removed only pane B's own (absent) claim.
+        assert runner.fns["shared-A"] is fn_a
+        assert "other-C" in runner.fns
+
+    def test_new_command_moves_registration_to_fresh_id(self, tmp_db):
+        # /new is the other identity rebind: watches created AFTER it stamp
+        # the fresh id and must reach this session, while the old
+        # workstream's fires must stop landing in a conversation that no
+        # longer shows them (they divert to the restore path instead).
+        session = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        old_id = session._ws_id
+        runner = _RecordingRunner()
+        session.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=None)
+
+        # handle_command's return means "should exit" — /new never exits.
+        assert session.handle_command("/new") is False
+
+        assert session._ws_id != old_id
+        assert set(runner.fns) == {session._ws_id}
+        assert ("remove", old_id) in runner.events
+
+    def test_close_removes_only_own_registration(self, tmp_db):
+        # A watch-restore shell and a reopened pane can serve one ws_id in
+        # sequence; the shell's later teardown must not unregister the pane.
+        self._saved_ws("shared-W")
+        runner = _RecordingRunner()
+
+        shell = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        shell._ws_id = "shared-W"
+        shell.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=None)
+
+        pane = _make_session_for_dispatch()
+        pane._ws_id = "shared-W"
+        pane.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=None)  # pane re-registers (last writer)
+        pane_fn = runner.fns["shared-W"]
+
+        shell.close()  # shell reaped (close_idle / eviction)
+
+        assert runner.fns.get("shared-W") is pane_fn  # pane still registered
diff --git a/tests/test_watch_integration.py b/tests/test_watch_integration.py
index ac16e54c..bc924214 100644
--- a/tests/test_watch_integration.py
+++ b/tests/test_watch_integration.py
@@ -340,8 +340,8 @@ def test_poll_watch_terminal_fire_survives_drain(
     monkeypatch.setattr(session._nudge_queue, "enqueue", _spy_enqueue)
 
     # For the max_polls=1 case the first poll has prev_output=None and
-    # would not normally fire on output change; the max_polls branch
-    # at watch.py:412-414 still marks is_final=True so dispatch runs.
+    # would not normally fire on output change; _poll_watch's max_polls
+    # branch still marks is_final=True so dispatch runs.
     due = storage.list_due_watches("2099-01-01T00:00:00")
     matching = [r for r in due if r["watch_id"] == f"w-regression-{label}"]
     assert len(matching) == 1, f"watch row not picked up by list_due_watches: {due!r}"
diff --git a/turnstone/api/server_schemas.py b/turnstone/api/server_schemas.py
index 6cec7960..b81a98ae 100644
--- a/turnstone/api/server_schemas.py
+++ b/turnstone/api/server_schemas.py
@@ -224,6 +224,17 @@ class CreateWorkstreamResponse(BaseModel):
             "/v1/api/workstreams/{ws_id}/send."
         ),
     )
+    initial_message_status: str | None = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description=(
+            "Present ONLY when the workstream was created but its "
+            "initial_message could not be delivered: 'queue_full' (a raced "
+            "live worker's interjection queue was at capacity — resend via "
+            "/send; any uploads stay staged) or 'refused_closed' (the "
+            "workstream was closed mid-create). Absent whenever the message "
+            "was dispatched."
+        ),
+    )
 
 
 class CloseWorkstreamRequest(BaseModel):
diff --git a/turnstone/core/adapters/_ui_cleanup.py b/turnstone/core/adapters/_ui_cleanup.py
index 49d9ebbe..258e9d40 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/adapters/_ui_cleanup.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/adapters/_ui_cleanup.py
@@ -23,12 +23,28 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
 def cleanup_session_ui(ws: Workstream) -> None:
     """Shared SessionKindAdapter cleanup_ui implementation.
 
-    Unblocks pending approval / plan / foreground events on the
-    workstream's UI, broadcasts ``ws_closed`` to per-UI listener
-    queues, then cancels + closes the session. The ``hasattr`` checks
-    guard stub UIs used in tests — the real ``WebUI`` /
+    Marks the workstream object dead (``ws._closed``) FIRST, under
+    ``ws._lock``, then unblocks pending approval / plan / foreground
+    events on the workstream's UI, broadcasts ``ws_closed`` to per-UI
+    listener queues, and cancels + closes the session. The ``hasattr``
+    checks guard stub UIs used in tests — the real ``WebUI`` /
     ``ConsoleCoordinatorUI`` always have these attributes.
+
+    The flag write lives HERE because every teardown path funnels
+    through this function — ``close``, ``close_idle``, EVICTION,
+    ``delete``, ``discard`` — and per-path writes are not enough: a
+    flag set by only some paths, or set after this teardown body,
+    leaves windows where the workstream is being torn down while
+    still reading as live.  The wake paths that hold OBJECT
+    references (the watch ``wake_fn``, ``session_worker``'s exit
+    backstop) gate on this flag, and ``session_worker.send``
+    re-checks it under the same lock: once this write lands, no wake
+    can spawn a worker on the torn-down session — including on
+    evicted or deleted workstreams, and including during the
+    remainder of this teardown.
     """
+    with ws._lock:
+        ws._closed = True
     if ws.session is not None and hasattr(ws.session, "cancel"):
         ws.session.cancel()
     ui = ws.ui
diff --git a/turnstone/core/idle_nudge_watcher.py b/turnstone/core/idle_nudge_watcher.py
index 8b940bf9..47a78a91 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/idle_nudge_watcher.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/idle_nudge_watcher.py
@@ -1,8 +1,18 @@
-"""Idle wake-trigger for the metacog NudgeQueue pipeline.
+"""Idle wake-triggers for the metacog NudgeQueue pipeline.
 
-Hosts :class:`IdleNudgeWatcher` plus the
-:func:`install_idle_nudge_watcher` / :func:`shutdown_idle_nudge_watchers`
-lifespan helpers.  Pulled out of :mod:`turnstone.core.metacognition`
+Hosts the two wake entry points plus their lifespan helpers:
+
+* :class:`IdleNudgeWatcher` — event-driven: a workstream transitions
+  to IDLE while nudges are ALREADY queued.
+* :func:`wake_workstream_if_pending` — the shared wake gate, also
+  called directly by asynchronous producers that enqueue onto an
+  ALREADY-idle workstream (the watch dispatch closure, via
+  ``ChatSession.set_watch_runner``'s ``wake_fn``).  Such producers see
+  no IDLE transition — the workstream has been idle all along — so
+  the watcher alone would leave their entries queued until the next
+  user message.
+
+Pulled out of :mod:`turnstone.core.metacognition`
 because the watcher is subscriber-lifecycle / runtime-orchestration
 code with different concerns from the static nudge-text templates and
 detection heuristics that live in metacognition; mixing them grew the
@@ -23,25 +33,110 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import Callable
 
     from turnstone.core.session_manager import SessionManager
+    from turnstone.core.workstream import Workstream
 
 log = get_logger(__name__)
 
 
+def wake_workstream_if_pending(ws: Workstream, *, trigger: str = "unspecified") -> bool:
+    """Spawn a wake send for *ws* when it is idle with drainable nudges.
+
+    The shared gate behind both wake triggers:
+
+    * :class:`IdleNudgeWatcher` — the workstream just transitioned to
+      IDLE with nudges already queued.
+    * the watch dispatch closure (``ChatSession.set_watch_runner``'s
+      ``wake_fn``) — a watch fired on a workstream that is ALREADY
+      idle, so no IDLE transition will ever re-check the queue.
+
+    *trigger* is a short label naming which path requested the wake
+    (``"idle-transition"``, ``"watch-fire"``, ``"worker-exit"``); it is
+    used only to tag the log lines below and never affects control flow.
+
+    Gates, in order:
+
+    * ``ws.session is None`` — workstream tracked but session not
+      built — or a bare stub session without a NudgeQueue (watch-style
+      dispatchers drive sessions that aren't installed on the
+      workstream).
+    * ``ws._closed`` — ``close()`` already ran (or is racing us); its
+      storage row says ``closed`` and a wake send would drive a
+      torn-down session.  Lockless FAST-PATH only: a stale ``False``
+      falls through to ``session_worker.send``, which re-checks
+      ``_closed`` under ``ws._lock`` — the same lock ``close()`` sets
+      it under — and refuses, so a wake racing a close can never spawn
+      a worker on the torn-down session.
+    * ``ws.state is not IDLE`` — a busy workstream's worker drains the
+      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
+      belong to the next tool-result seam, not a synthetic empty user
+      turn (``deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue`` would no-op on them).
+
+    Past the gates, exactly one info line is emitted per call:
+
+    * ``nudge_wake.deferred_worker_busy`` — the reuse-path drop: a
+      worker owned the workstream, so ``session_worker.send`` called
+      the no-op ``enqueue`` instead of spawning.  The entry stays
+      queued; the owning worker's exit backstop (or its next drain
+      seam) delivers it.
+    * ``nudge_wake.dispatched`` — a fresh wake daemon was spawned.
+
+    Returns ``True`` iff the wake was handed to
+    ``session_worker.send`` — which may still downgrade it to a no-op
+    enqueue when a worker owns the workstream (see the race-semantics
+    section on :class:`IdleNudgeWatcher`).
+    """
+    session = ws.session
+    if session is None or ws._closed or ws.state is not WorkstreamState.IDLE:
+        return False
+    nudge_queue = getattr(session, "_nudge_queue", None)
+    if nudge_queue is None or not nudge_queue.has_pending(USER_DRAIN):
+        return False
+
+    deferred = False
+
+    def _noop_enqueue() -> None:
+        nonlocal deferred
+        deferred = True
+
+    ok = session_worker.send(
+        ws,
+        enqueue=_noop_enqueue,
+        run=session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue,
+        thread_name=f"wake-nudge-{ws.id[:8]}",
+    )
+    if deferred:
+        log.info("nudge_wake.deferred_worker_busy ws=%s trigger=%s", ws.id[:8], trigger)
+    elif ok:
+        log.info("nudge_wake.dispatched ws=%s trigger=%s", ws.id[:8], trigger)
+    return ok
+
+
 class IdleNudgeWatcher:
     """Convert a workstream IDLE transition into a wake send when the
     session has queued nudges.
 
     Subscribes to :meth:`SessionManager.subscribe_to_state` and listens
-    for ``WorkstreamState.IDLE``.  If the workstream's
+    for ``WorkstreamState.IDLE``, then defers to
+    :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"``),
-    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 user turn —
-    otherwise every IDLE event with a queued tool advisory would spawn
-    a wake daemon that immediately no-ops at
+    filter (``USER_DRAIN`` — 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
+    user turn — otherwise every IDLE event with a queued tool advisory
+    would spawn a wake daemon that immediately no-ops at
     ``deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue``'s drain guard.
 
+    This watcher only covers nudges that are already queued when the
+    IDLE transition fires.  Producers that enqueue asynchronously onto
+    an already-idle workstream (watch fires) call
+    :func:`wake_workstream_if_pending` themselves — there is no state
+    transition for this watcher to observe in that case.
+
     **Race semantics.**  ``session_worker.send`` decides atomically
     under ``ws._lock`` whether a worker thread already owns the
     workstream.  Three outcomes:
@@ -51,10 +146,17 @@ class IdleNudgeWatcher:
       drains its own queue and runs the synthetic empty-user turn).
     * Worker running → call our ``enqueue`` lambda, which is a no-op.
       The wake is silently dropped; the queued nudge stays in
-      ``NudgeQueue`` and the in-flight worker picks it up at its next
-      user-message-attach or tool-result seam (whichever fires first
-      for the entry's channel).  This is the load-bearing fallback —
-      we never spawn a competing worker.
+      ``NudgeQueue``.  We never spawn a competing worker.  This branch
+      is the COMMON case for IDLE-transition wakes, not the exception:
+      ``set_state`` subscribers fire on the calling thread, and IDLE
+      is emitted from inside ``run()`` at the end of a send — so the
+      transitioning worker still owns the flag while this watcher
+      dispatches.  Delivery is then owed to one of two follow-ups:
+      the in-flight worker's next drain seam (when IDLE fired
+      mid-turn), or — for the end-of-send case, where no later seam
+      exists — ``session_worker``'s ownership-clear backstop
+      (``_retry_pending_wake``), which re-runs
+      :func:`wake_workstream_if_pending` the moment the worker exits.
     * Workstream gone (``ws is None``) or session not built
       (``ws.session is None``) → bail.
 
@@ -82,17 +184,9 @@ class IdleNudgeWatcher:
             if state is not WorkstreamState.IDLE:
                 return
             ws = self._manager.get(ws_id)
-            if ws is None or ws.session is None:
+            if ws is None:
                 return
-            session = ws.session
-            if not session._nudge_queue.has_pending(USER_DRAIN):
-                return
-            session_worker.send(
-                ws,
-                enqueue=lambda: None,
-                run=session.deliver_wake_nudge_from_queue,
-                thread_name=f"wake-nudge-{ws.id[:8]}",
-            )
+            wake_workstream_if_pending(ws, trigger="idle-transition")
 
         self._callback = _on_state
         self._manager.subscribe_to_state(_on_state)
diff --git a/turnstone/core/session.py b/turnstone/core/session.py
index 68e9df81..06bef381 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/session.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/session.py
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ from turnstone.ui.colors import DIM, GRAY, GREEN, RED, RESET, YELLOW, bold, cyan
 log = get_logger(__name__)
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Iterable, Iterator
+    from collections.abc import Callable, Iterable, Iterator
 
     from turnstone.core.config_store import ConfigStore
     from turnstone.core.healthcheck import BackendHealthTracker, HealthTrackerRegistry
@@ -1485,6 +1485,16 @@ class ChatSession:
         self._notify_count = 0
         # Watch support: server-level runner injected via set_watch_runner()
         self._watch_runner: Any = None  # WatchRunner | None
+        # The wake_fn last passed to set_watch_runner, kept so a non-fork
+        # resume() can re-register the dispatch closure under the adopted
+        # ws_id with the same wake wiring (registration follows identity).
+        self._watch_wake_fn: Callable[[], object] | None = None
+        # The dispatch closure this session last registered — the OWNER
+        # token for registry removals: multiple live sessions can
+        # transiently serve one ws_id (watch-restore shell vs a reopened
+        # pane; in-session /resume of an id open in another pane), and a
+        # blind removal on teardown would unregister the OTHER session.
+        self._watch_dispatch_fn: Callable[[dict[str, Any], str], None] | None = None
         # Metacognitive nudges: ephemeral prompts for proactive memory use.
         # One ``NudgeQueue`` per session; producers tag each entry with a
         # channel and consumers drain by filter, emitting each drained nudge
@@ -2823,7 +2833,7 @@ class ChatSession:
         else:
             self._tool_search = None
 
-    def set_watch_runner(self, runner: Any) -> None:
+    def set_watch_runner(self, runner: Any, wake_fn: Callable[[], object] | None = None) -> None:
         """Inject the server-level WatchRunner and register a dispatch fn
         that routes watch results onto this session's NudgeQueue.
 
@@ -2842,14 +2852,37 @@ class ChatSession:
             sourced from arbitrary shell output can't tamper with the
             envelope at interpolation time.
 
+        ``wake_fn`` runs once per enqueued fire, AFTER the entry lands
+        on the queue.  The server wires it to
+        :func:`turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher.wake_workstream_if_pending`
+        closed over this session's Workstream: a watch firing on an
+        ALREADY-idle workstream sees no IDLE transition, so without an
+        explicit wake the entry would sit queued until the next user
+        message.  Busy workstreams stay safe — the wake gate defers to
+        ``session_worker.send``'s atomic ownership check, which
+        downgrades the wake to a no-op while a worker owns the session
+        (the in-flight worker drains the ``"any"``-channel entry at its
+        next seam).  Exceptions from ``wake_fn`` are logged and
+        swallowed: the enqueue already happened, and a raise here would
+        abort ``WatchRunner._poll_watch`` before the watch-row update
+        commits — re-firing the same reminder every subsequent tick.
+
         No ``valid_until`` predicate is wired: ``WatchRunner._poll_watch``
         commits ``active=False`` for terminal fires right after dispatch
         returns, and an ``is_watch_active`` predicate would race that
         write at drain time and drop the fire the model was meant to see.
         A user-cancelled watch's last splat is informative (the reminder
         carries ``is_final=True``), not stale-noise to suppress.
+
+        The registration is keyed on ``self._ws_id`` AT CALL TIME.  The
+        identity-rebind sites (non-fork :meth:`resume`, ``/new``) call
+        :meth:`_follow_watch_registration` to move it onto the new id
+        (re-invoking this method with the ``wake_fn`` stored below) —
+        callers therefore don't need to order their own
+        ``set_watch_runner``/``resume`` calls.
         """
         self._watch_runner = runner
+        self._watch_wake_fn = wake_fn
         nudge_queue = self._nudge_queue
         ws_id = self._ws_id
 
@@ -2892,7 +2925,13 @@ class ChatSession:
                 "any",
                 metadata=metadata or None,
             )
+            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 close(self) -> None:
@@ -2929,8 +2968,12 @@ class ChatSession:
                 self._mcp_prompt_cb, user_id=self._mcp_listener_user_id
             )
             self._mcp_prompt_cb = None
-        if self._watch_runner:
-            self._watch_runner.remove_dispatch_fn(self._ws_id)
+        if self._watch_runner and self._watch_dispatch_fn is not None:
+            # Owner-checked: a watch-restore shell and a reopened pane can
+            # both have served this ws_id — tearing down one must not
+            # unregister the other (whose next fire would then restore a
+            # DUPLICATE auto-approved session onto the live conversation).
+            self._watch_runner.remove_dispatch_fn(self._ws_id, owner=self._watch_dispatch_fn)
         if self._coord_client is not None and hasattr(self._coord_client, "close"):
             try:
                 self._coord_client.close()
@@ -3369,6 +3412,9 @@ class ChatSession:
         turns = load_message_turns(ws_id)
         if not turns:
             return False
+        # Pre-rebind identity, for moving the watch dispatch registration
+        # onto the adopted id at the end of a successful non-fork resume.
+        old_ws_id = self._ws_id
         # Load persisted config and parse the persona stamp BEFORE touching
         # session identity/history: a corrupt stamp must raise while this
         # session is still intact — the web /command surface reports the
@@ -3585,9 +3631,42 @@ class ChatSession:
             cooldown_secs=self._mem_cfg.nudge_cooldown,
         ):
             self._queue_user_advisory("resume", format_nudge("resume"))
+        if not fork:
+            self._follow_watch_registration(old_ws_id)
         self._init_system_messages()
         return True
 
+    def _follow_watch_registration(self, old_ws_id: str) -> None:
+        """Move the watch dispatch registration onto the current
+        ``_ws_id`` after an identity rebind (non-fork :meth:`resume`,
+        ``/new``).
+
+        The registry is keyed by ``_ws_id`` at registration time.
+        Without the move, watches stamped with the NEW id never find
+        this live session — every fire takes the restore path and
+        spawns a DUPLICATE auto-approved session racing writes into the
+        same conversation — while fires for the OLD id keep delivering
+        into a session that no longer displays that conversation.  The
+        new key goes live BEFORE the old one is removed so no fire can
+        observe a window with no registration at all (which would
+        likewise divert to the restore path).  If ANOTHER live session
+        already serves the new id (in-session /resume of a workstream
+        open in a second pane — an inherently degenerate two-writers
+        state), its registration is NOT stolen: the original owner
+        keeps its watch fires.  Removal of the old key is owner-checked
+        for the same reason.
+        """
+        if self._watch_runner is None:
+            return
+        old_fn = self._watch_dispatch_fn
+        existing = self._watch_runner.get_dispatch_fn(self._ws_id)
+        if existing is None or existing is old_fn:
+            self.set_watch_runner(self._watch_runner, wake_fn=self._watch_wake_fn)
+        else:
+            log.warning("watch_registry.adopted_id_owned_elsewhere ws=%s", self._ws_id[:8])
+        if old_ws_id != self._ws_id:
+            self._watch_runner.remove_dispatch_fn(old_ws_id, owner=old_fn)
+
     def _nudges_enabled(self, nudge_type: str) -> bool:
         """Config gate + persona lever 4 for metacognitive nudges.
 
@@ -6023,8 +6102,9 @@ class ChatSession:
 
                     # Operator context for this result: output-guard
                     # findings + queued user messages (Seam 1), plus
-                    # tool-channel metacog nudges (tool_error / repeat) and
-                    # any-channel nudges (watch_triggered / idle_children).
+                    # tool-channel metacog nudges (tool_error / repeat /
+                    # denial) and any-channel nudges (watch_triggered /
+                    # idle_children).
                     # All of them are now emitted as first-class
                     # ``{"role": "system"}`` turns AFTER this clean tool
                     # message (uniform attach rule) — the tool message content
@@ -6239,10 +6319,11 @@ class ChatSession:
     def _drain_pending_advisories(self) -> None:
         """Drop every pending nudge regardless of channel.
 
-        Tool-channel nudges (``tool_error``, ``repeat``) queued earlier
-        in this batch and user-channel nudges (``correction``,
-        ``denial``, …) queued during ``_check_metacognitive_nudge`` but
-        not yet drained share the same per-session :class:`NudgeQueue`.
+        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.
@@ -8653,10 +8734,11 @@ class ChatSession:
           ``priority`` so the UI can frame important interjections
           distinctly.  Cancel / exception / no-tool-call paths drain the
           queue as a real user row instead (Seams 2 and 3).
-        - **Metacognitive tool-channel nudges** (``tool_error`` / ``repeat``)
-          and any-channel nudges (``watch_triggered`` / ``idle_children``)
-          — drained on the last result.  ``meta`` carries the producer's
-          optional fields (e.g. ``watch_triggered``'s ``watch_name``).
+        - **Metacognitive tool-channel nudges** (``tool_error`` /
+          ``repeat`` / ``denial``) and any-channel nudges
+          (``watch_triggered`` / ``idle_children``) — drained on the last
+          result.  ``meta`` carries the producer's optional fields
+          (e.g. ``watch_triggered``'s ``watch_name``).
 
         Empty when no advisories apply (common case).  Guard findings
         attach per-result; queued messages and metacognitive nudges drain
@@ -8867,7 +8949,13 @@ class ChatSession:
                 memory_count=self._visible_memory_count(),
                 cooldown_secs=self._mem_cfg.nudge_cooldown,
             ):
-                self._queue_user_advisory("denial", format_nudge("denial"))
+                # Tool channel, not user: the denial is a response to THIS
+                # batch, so the nudge rides ``_collect_advisories`` alongside
+                # the denied tool results (same seam as tool_error / repeat)
+                # instead of deferring to the next user-message seam — by
+                # which point the model has already reacted to the denial
+                # without it.
+                self._queue_tool_advisory("denial", format_nudge("denial"))
 
         # Phase 3: execute (check cancellation before starting)
         self._check_cancelled()
@@ -10599,8 +10687,10 @@ class ChatSession:
 
         Drains in ``_emit_pending_user_nudges`` and is appended as a
         first-class ``{"role": "system"}`` turn AFTER the user turn.  Used
-        for nudges that respond to user behaviour: ``correction``,
-        ``denial``, ``resume``, ``start``, ``completion``.
+        for nudges that respond to the user's message: ``correction``,
+        ``resume``, ``start``, ``completion``.  (``denial`` is user
+        behaviour too, but it responds to a specific TOOL BATCH — it
+        rides the tool channel so it lands with the denied results.)
 
         No-ops while the session is inside a wake-driven turn
         (``_wake_source_tag`` set) so model behaviour during the wake
@@ -10624,8 +10714,8 @@ class ChatSession:
         the system turns sit after the user turn they advise (uniform attach
         rule).  Each drained nudge becomes one ``{"role": "system",
         "_source": <nudge_type>, ...}`` turn via :meth:`_append_system_turn`
-        — the source is the nudge type (``correction`` / ``denial`` /
-        ``resume`` / ``start`` / ``completion`` / ``idle_children`` /
+        — the source is the nudge type (``correction`` / ``resume`` /
+        ``start`` / ``completion`` / ``idle_children`` /
         ``watch_triggered``) and any optional metadata (e.g.
         ``watch_triggered``'s ``watch_name``) rides as sibling keys.
         ``_append_system_turn`` persists each row and fires the live
@@ -10662,8 +10752,9 @@ class ChatSession:
         Drains in ``_collect_advisories`` alongside guard findings, then is
         emitted as a first-class ``{"role": "system"}`` turn AFTER the tool
         batch (see the per-result loop in ``_run_loop``).  Used for nudges
-        that respond to model behaviour at a tool boundary: ``tool_error``,
-        ``repeat``.
+        that respond to a tool batch: ``tool_error``, ``repeat`` (model
+        behaviour), and ``denial`` (the operator rejected the batch — the
+        nudge belongs next to the denied results it explains).
 
         No-ops while the session is inside a wake-driven turn (see
         ``_queue_user_advisory`` for the rationale).
@@ -10723,6 +10814,14 @@ class ChatSession:
         self._wake_drained_reminders = wake_reminders
         try:
             self.send("", from_wake=True)
+        except GenerationCancelled:
+            # A close/force-cancel raced this unattended wake turn.  This
+            # method IS the wake worker's run() closure, and
+            # ``session_worker._runner`` catches only ``Exception`` — a
+            # BaseException here would escape to ``threading.excepthook``
+            # as stderr noise.  The teardown gates stop any respawn; the
+            # cancellation itself is the intended outcome.
+            log.info("wake_nudge.cancelled ws=%s", self._ws_id[:8])
         finally:
             self._wake_source_tag = ""
             self._wake_drained_reminders = None
@@ -15882,15 +15981,22 @@ class ChatSession:
             # view (already-inactive or just-cancelled with empty
             # next_poll), so the runner's retry-deactivate branch will
             # never reclaim a pending ``_terminal_dispatched`` entry.
-            # Clear it here to bound the lifetime of any leftover from
-            # a previous dispatch-then-failed-row-write.
-            if self._watch_runner is not None:
-                self._watch_runner.forget_terminal_dispatched(target["watch_id"])
+            # Clear it via ``forget_terminal_dispatched`` to bound the
+            # lifetime of any leftover from a previous
+            # dispatch-then-failed-row-write — AFTER the row write, per
+            # that method's ordering contract: the runner's delivery
+            # paths re-check the row before stashing, so clearing first
+            # would let a racing poll thread re-stash a held reminder
+            # behind the clear.
             if not target["active"]:
+                if self._watch_runner is not None:
+                    self._watch_runner.forget_terminal_dispatched(target["watch_id"])
                 msg = f'Watch "{target["name"]}" already completed (auto-cancelled).'
                 self._report_tool_result(call_id, "watch", msg)
                 return call_id, msg
             storage.update_watch(target["watch_id"], active=False, next_poll="")
+            if self._watch_runner is not None:
+                self._watch_runner.forget_terminal_dispatched(target["watch_id"])
             msg = f'Watch "{target["name"]}" cancelled.'
             self._report_tool_result(call_id, "watch", msg)
             return call_id, msg
@@ -16371,14 +16477,20 @@ class ChatSession:
             self._last_usage = None
             self._calibrated_msg_count = 0
             self._msg_tokens = []
+            old_ws_id = self._ws_id
             self._ws_id = uuid.uuid4().hex
             # A brand-new ws_id is the same class of identity change as a
             # non-fork resume(): the old workstream's participant state must
-            # not leak into this empty one, and its trust nonces must not
-            # carry over (see resume()'s matching reset + remint).
+            # not leak into this empty one, its trust nonces must not carry
+            # over (see resume()'s matching reset + remint), and the watch
+            # dispatch registration must follow the identity — otherwise
+            # watches created here (stamped with the new id) never reach
+            # this session, and the old workstream's fires land in a
+            # conversation that no longer shows them.
             self._reset_shared_state()
             self._envelope_nonce = fence.mint_nonce()
             self._sender_label_nonce = fence.mint_nonce()
+            self._follow_watch_registration(old_ws_id)
             self._title_generated = False
             # The session keeps its persona across /new (the stamp is
             # re-written by _save_config below) — carry the display slug
diff --git a/turnstone/core/session_routes.py b/turnstone/core/session_routes.py
index da2f0498..30e2a17f 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/session_routes.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/session_routes.py
@@ -2772,15 +2772,21 @@ def make_create_handler(
                 attachment_ids,
             )
 
-        return JSONResponse(
-            {
-                "ws_id": ws.id,
-                "name": ws.name,
-                "resumed": bool(extra_response.get("resumed", False)),
-                "message_count": int(extra_response.get("message_count", 0)),
-                "attachment_ids": attachment_ids,
-            }
-        )
+        create_payload: dict[str, Any] = {
+            "ws_id": ws.id,
+            "name": ws.name,
+            "resumed": bool(extra_response.get("resumed", False)),
+            "message_count": int(extra_response.get("message_count", 0)),
+            "attachment_ids": attachment_ids,
+        }
+        if extra_response.get("initial_message_status"):
+            # Present only when the post-install hook could NOT deliver
+            # the initial message (raced live worker, interjection queue
+            # full) — the workstream exists, but a bare 200 would read as
+            # "first message accepted".  Mirrors /send's in-body
+            # ``queue_full`` backpressure surface.
+            create_payload["initial_message_status"] = str(extra_response["initial_message_status"])
+        return JSONResponse(create_payload)
 
     return create
 
@@ -3798,6 +3804,27 @@ def make_detail_handler(cfg: SessionEndpointConfig) -> Handler:
                 # mismatch, and tombstoned rows — all surface as 404.
                 return JSONResponse({"error": cfg.not_found_label}, status_code=404)
 
+            # A detail GET that lazily rehydrates IS an open — run the
+            # same kind-specific post-load the open handler runs.
+            # Skipping it leaves the now-live session with no watch
+            # dispatch registration (its next watch fire would take the
+            # restore path and spawn a duplicate auto-approved session
+            # racing writes into this live conversation) and never tells
+            # dashboards the workstream came live (``ws_created``).
+            if cfg.open_post_load is not None:
+                try:
+                    # Off-loop: interactive's post_load does blocking
+                    # storage I/O (display-name lookup).
+                    await asyncio.to_thread(cfg.open_post_load, request, ws)
+                except Exception:
+                    # Post-load is observational — never let a hook bug
+                    # block the detail response. Log + continue.
+                    log.debug(
+                        "ws.detail.post_load_failed ws=%s",
+                        ws.id[:8],
+                        exc_info=True,
+                    )
+
         # Pending-approval snapshot — lets a freshly-loaded chat tab
         # paint the inline approval gate from this single response
         # instead of waiting for the SSE approve_request replay (which
@@ -4097,6 +4124,12 @@ def make_send_handler(cfg: SessionEndpointConfig) -> Handler:
             thread_name=f"send-worker-{ws.id[:8]}",
         )
         if not ok:
+            if ws._closed:
+                # ``send`` refused because the workstream closed between our
+                # resolution and the dispatch — a ``queue_full`` here would
+                # tell the client to retry a workstream whose very next
+                # resolution 404s.  Mirror the resolution miss instead.
+                return JSONResponse({"error": cfg.not_found_label}, status_code=404)
             # queue.Full or session-disappeared race — surface as
             # queue_full so clients retry rather than 500. ``attached_ids``
             # is always empty on this path (the dispatch never took
diff --git a/turnstone/core/session_worker.py b/turnstone/core/session_worker.py
index b60345b2..923b4ddd 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/session_worker.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/session_worker.py
@@ -18,11 +18,22 @@ with no consumer. The flag transitions atomically inside the same lock
 this module holds, so both coord and interactive callers inherit the
 fix.
 
-This module owns ONLY the dispatch decision and the
-``_worker_running`` lifecycle. Per-kind concerns — session resolution,
+This module owns ONLY the dispatch decision, the ``_worker_running``
+lifecycle, and the ownership-clear wake backstop
+(:func:`_retry_pending_wake`). Per-kind concerns — session resolution,
 attachment resolution, error surfacing, UI callbacks,
 ``GenerationCancelled`` handling — live in the caller's
 ``enqueue`` / ``run`` no-arg closures.
+
+The wake backstop exists because IDLE state fans out from INSIDE
+``run()`` (``set_state`` subscribers fire on the calling thread — the
+worker that did the transition).  Any wake the IDLE fan-out dispatches
+(``IdleNudgeWatcher``) therefore lands on the reuse path while this
+worker still owns the flag and no-ops; with IDLE emitted at the END of
+a send there is no later seam in this worker to drain the queue, so
+the nudge would strand until the next user message.  Re-running the
+wake gate at the exact moment ownership clears is the only spot that
+closes the window without ever racing a competing worker.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -41,6 +52,41 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
 log = get_logger(__name__)
 
 
+def _retry_pending_wake(ws: Workstream) -> None:
+    """Deliver nudges that arrived while the exiting worker owned *ws*.
+
+    Runs in the worker's ``finally`` immediately after it cleared
+    ``_worker_running`` (owner only — abandoned threads skip it).  The
+    canonical strand it closes: the coordinator's ``idle_children``
+    nudge, enqueued by ``CoordinatorIdleObserver`` during the IDLE
+    fan-out at the end of the coord's send — the fan-out runs on the
+    worker thread, so ``IdleNudgeWatcher``'s wake dispatch hits the
+    reuse path and no-ops, and nothing else ever re-checks the queue.
+    The same window covers a watch ``wake_fn`` firing while a worker
+    is mid-exit.
+
+    The wake gate
+    (:func:`~turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher.wake_workstream_if_pending`)
+    owns every defensive check — session missing, bare stub without a
+    NudgeQueue (watch-style dispatchers drive sessions that aren't
+    installed on the workstream), closed, non-idle, nothing pending —
+    and its ``session_worker.send`` dispatch is the same atomic spawn
+    as any other: a successor worker claimed between our flag-clear
+    and the retry just downgrades the wake to a no-op enqueue again,
+    and THAT worker's own exit re-runs this backstop.  Convergence is
+    owned by the producers' gates (cooldown, hard caps, ``valid_until``
+    predicates): a wake worker whose drain empties the queue retries
+    once at its own exit, sees nothing pending, and stops.
+    """
+    # Local import: idle_nudge_watcher imports this module at top level.
+    from turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher import wake_workstream_if_pending
+
+    try:
+        wake_workstream_if_pending(ws, trigger="worker-exit")
+    except Exception:
+        log.warning("session_worker.wake_retry_failed ws=%s", ws.id[:8], exc_info=True)
+
+
 def send(
     ws: Workstream,
     *,
@@ -63,10 +109,11 @@ def send(
     Returns:
         ``True`` on successful enqueue (existing worker accepted) or
         thread spawn (no live worker).
-        ``False`` when ``enqueue`` raises ``queue.Full`` (queue at
-        capacity — caller surfaces 429) or any other exception
-        (logged). Falling through to spawn a second worker on a full
-        queue would corrupt ChatSession state.
+        ``False`` when the workstream is already closed (see below), or
+        when ``enqueue`` raises ``queue.Full`` (queue at capacity —
+        caller surfaces 429) or any other exception (logged). Falling
+        through to spawn a second worker on a full queue would corrupt
+        ChatSession state.
     """
     name = thread_name or f"session-worker-{ws.id[:8]}"
 
@@ -85,6 +132,7 @@ def send(
             # close style signals if the runtime ever delivers them).
             log.exception("session_worker.uncaught ws=%s", ws.id[:8])
         finally:
+            was_owner = False
             with ws._lock:
                 # Only clear the flag if THIS thread is still the current
                 # worker.  A force-cancel abandons the worker
@@ -96,8 +144,23 @@ def send(
                 # spawns a second concurrent worker on the same session.
                 if ws.worker_thread is threading.current_thread():
                     ws._worker_running = False
+                    was_owner = True
+            # Outside the lock (the retry's wake dispatch re-acquires it).
+            # Owner only: an abandoned thread retrying would race the
+            # successor's own exit backstop for no benefit.
+            if was_owner:
+                _retry_pending_wake(ws)
 
     with ws._lock:
+        if ws._closed:
+            # Authoritative closed-check: ``SessionManager.close`` sets
+            # ``_closed`` under this same lock, so unlike the wake gate's
+            # lockless peek this read cannot go stale.  Without it, a
+            # wake (or send) racing ``close()`` spawns a worker that runs
+            # a full unattended turn — inference, tool calls, storage
+            # writes — on a workstream whose ``ws_closed`` already fired.
+            log.info("session_worker.closed_refused ws=%s", ws.id[:8])
+            return False
         if ws._worker_running:
             try:
                 enqueue()
diff --git a/turnstone/core/watch.py b/turnstone/core/watch.py
index 8f6f2f2d..7c2caae0 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/watch.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/watch.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import json
 import re
 import subprocess
 import threading
+import time
 from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
@@ -33,6 +34,49 @@ MIN_INTERVAL = 10  # seconds
 MAX_INTERVAL = 86_400  # 24 hours
 DEFAULT_MAX_POLLS = 100
 MAX_OUTPUT_SIZE = 65_536  # truncate stored/dispatched output at 64 KB
+# Cap on delivery re-attempts for a fire whose workstream can't be
+# reached (evicted + transiently unrestorable — all restore slots busy).
+# On exhaustion the held reminder is dropped and one poll is charged to
+# the watch's own ``max_polls`` budget: with budget left the watch stays
+# ACTIVE and the fire cycle repeats on its normal cadence; with the
+# budget spent it deactivates (loudly) — so a persistently unreachable
+# workstream can never re-run its command forever.  A PERMANENT failure
+# (:class:`WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable`, e.g. corrupt persona stamp)
+# deactivates immediately without waiting out either budget.
+MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS = 5
+# Cap on the held-reminder retry delay.  Re-delivery is a cheap in-memory
+# dispatch (never a command re-run), so it retries on a short cadence —
+# ``min(interval_secs, this)`` — rather than the watch's own interval: a
+# daily watch whose fire hit a busy restore slot must not sit on its
+# reminder for 24 h when the cause clears in seconds.
+DELIVERY_RETRY_CAP_SECS = 60
+# Cap on concurrent restore paths in flight across the poll pool.  Kept
+# below ``max_concurrent_polls`` so a burst of evicted-workstream fires
+# can never occupy every poll slot on slow restores (leaving normal polls
+# unserved) and can't drain the shared DB connection pool.  A poll that
+# would exceed the cap DEFERS (holds its reminder, releases its slot)
+# instead of blocking.
+MAX_CONCURRENT_RESTORES = 2
+# Age past which an in-flight restore's admission entry is presumed
+# wedged inside ``restore_fn`` and ALERTED on (error log at every
+# refused admission).  Ten minutes exceeds every configured storage /
+# MCP timeout by an order of magnitude, so a genuine restore never
+# trips it.  Deliberately detection-ONLY — the entry is never evicted:
+# the wedged poll thread's pool slot is never released, so reclaiming
+# its admission would just readmit a restore that can wedge ANOTHER
+# pool thread on the same cause, converting this capped degraded state
+# (restores blocked, normal polling intact) into total poll-pool
+# collapse, one slot per threshold period.  Recovery from a genuine
+# wedge is a process restart; the loud log is what tells the operator.
+RESTORE_STALL_ALERT_SECS = 600.0
+# Cap on ``stop()``'s in-flight-poll drain.  Shutdown runs under an
+# external deadline (systemd's stop timeout defaults to 90 s), and the
+# teardown steps AFTER the watch runner — state-writer drain, node
+# deregistration — must still get their turn, so the drain waits
+# ``min(tool_timeout, this) + 5`` rather than a full ``tool_timeout``
+# (default 120 s).  An abandoned poll is loud and safe: its row stays
+# due and re-polls on the next boot.
+STOP_DRAIN_CAP_SECS = 30.0
 
 # Safe builtins exposed to condition expressions.
 _SAFE_BUILTINS: dict[str, Any] = {
@@ -258,6 +302,11 @@ def build_watch_reminder(
     }
 
 
+def _iso_in(seconds: float) -> str:
+    """``now + seconds`` in the storage layer's naive-UTC second format."""
+    return (datetime.now(UTC) + timedelta(seconds=seconds)).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
+
+
 def format_interval(secs: float) -> str:
     """Human-readable duration (e.g. ``'5m'``, ``'1h30m'``)."""
     if secs < 60:
@@ -276,11 +325,41 @@ def format_interval(secs: float) -> str:
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
+class WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable(Exception):  # noqa: N818
+    """Raised by a ``restore_fn`` when a watch's workstream can NEVER be
+    restored (e.g. a corrupt persona stamp the operator must fix), as
+    opposed to a transient failure (all restore slots busy) which returns
+    ``None``.  Signals :class:`WatchRunner` to stop retrying delivery and
+    deactivate the watch immediately rather than burning the whole
+    attempt budget on a cause that can't clear on its own.
+    """
+
+
 class WatchRunner:
     """Polls the database for due watches and dispatches results.
 
     Runs as a daemon thread in the server process, analogous to
     ``TaskScheduler`` in the console.
+
+    Poll execution is CONCURRENT and bounded: the tick thread only
+    enumerates due rows and hands each to a short-lived daemon thread
+    gated by a semaphore (``max_concurrent_polls``), so one hung
+    command — itself bounded by ``tool_timeout`` — delays at most one
+    slot instead of head-of-line blocking every watch on the node.  A
+    per-``watch_id`` in-flight set prevents double-polling rows that
+    keep appearing in ``list_due_watches`` while their (slow) poll is
+    still running.  When a fire can't reach its workstream, the built
+    reminder is HELD and re-delivered on a short retry cadence
+    (``min(interval_secs, DELIVERY_RETRY_CAP_SECS)``, never re-running
+    the command); transient failures retry up to
+    :data:`MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS`, after which one poll is charged to the
+    watch's ``max_polls`` budget and the fire cycle repeats on its normal
+    cadence — or, with the budget spent, the watch deactivates loudly.  A
+    permanent :class:`WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable` deactivates it at
+    once.  Restore is admission-controlled (per-ws_id
+    dedup + a :data:`MAX_CONCURRENT_RESTORES` cap, both without blocking a
+    poll slot) so two watches on one evicted workstream can't each spawn a
+    live session and a restore burst can't starve the poll pool.
     """
 
     def __init__(
@@ -290,6 +369,7 @@ class WatchRunner:
         *,
         check_interval: float = 15.0,
         tool_timeout: float = 30.0,
+        max_concurrent_polls: int = 4,
         restore_fn: Callable[[str], Callable[[dict[str, Any], str], None] | None] | None = None,
     ) -> None:
         self._storage = storage
@@ -297,10 +377,48 @@ class WatchRunner:
         self._check_interval = check_interval
         self._tool_timeout = tool_timeout
         self._restore_fn = restore_fn
+        # Bounded poll concurrency (see class docstring).  The slot is
+        # acquired on the tick thread and released in ``_poll_one``'s
+        # ``finally``; the in-flight set is keyed by watch_id and holds
+        # entries for exactly the lifetime of their poll thread.
+        self._poll_slots = threading.BoundedSemaphore(max_concurrent_polls)
+        self._in_flight: set[str] = set()
+        self._in_flight_lock = threading.Lock()
 
         self._dispatch_fns: dict[str, Callable[[dict[str, Any], str], None]] = {}
         self._dispatch_lock = threading.Lock()
 
+        # Restore admission control.  The restore path (``manager.create``
+        # + ``session.resume``) must not run twice for one ws_id, or two
+        # watches on the same evicted workstream — polled on separate pool
+        # threads — would each spawn a live auto-approved session racing
+        # writes into one conversation history.  ``_restoring`` tracks the
+        # ws_ids with a restore in flight; ``_restore_lock`` guards it but
+        # is held only for the fast admit/reject check, NEVER across the
+        # slow restore (which would pin the caller's poll slot and starve
+        # the pool).  A poll is admitted only when its ws_id isn't already
+        # restoring AND fewer than :data:`MAX_CONCURRENT_RESTORES` restores
+        # are in flight; otherwise it DEFERS (holds its reminder, releases
+        # its slot) and re-delivers on the capped retry cadence — by which
+        # point the winning restore has registered a dispatch fn.  Values
+        # are ``time.monotonic()`` admission stamps, used ONLY to alert on
+        # wedged restores (:data:`RESTORE_STALL_ALERT_SECS`); entries are
+        # removed solely by their own restore's ``finally``.
+        self._restoring: dict[str, float] = {}
+        self._restore_lock = threading.Lock()
+
+        # Held reminders whose delivery failed, keyed by watch_id.  Value:
+        # ``{"reminder", "update_fields", "attempts"}``.  Held deliveries
+        # are always TERMINAL fires (``fired ⟹ is_final``, and reminders
+        # are only built for final polls), so committing ``update_fields``
+        # always deactivates the row.  A later tick re-DELIVERS the
+        # reminder (never re-runs the command, so a transient stop_on
+        # match survives) up to :data:`MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS`.  Access is
+        # guarded, though the per-watch_id in-flight gate already
+        # serialises pollers for a given watch_id.
+        self._pending_delivery: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = {}
+        self._pending_delivery_lock = threading.Lock()
+
         # Watch ids whose terminal reminder has already been dispatched
         # but whose row write has not yet been confirmed.  Populated
         # between ``_dispatch_result`` and ``update_watch`` in
@@ -330,6 +448,31 @@ class WatchRunner:
         if self._thread is not None:
             self._thread.join(timeout=self._check_interval + 5)
             self._thread = None
+        # Drain in-flight polls so their storage writes land before
+        # teardown.  A poll's command can block up to ``tool_timeout``, so
+        # bound the wait on THAT (not the tick cadence): a poll that
+        # started just before ``stop()`` may legitimately still be running
+        # its command, and a ``check_interval``-based deadline would
+        # abandon it mid-run and skip its commit.  The wait is capped at
+        # :data:`STOP_DRAIN_CAP_SECS` though — shutdown itself runs under
+        # an external deadline (systemd stop timeout), and the teardown
+        # steps queued after us must still run.  On the deadline we
+        # abandon loudly; the daemon threads die with the process and the
+        # abandoned rows stay due (re-polled on next boot).
+        deadline = time.monotonic() + min(self._tool_timeout, STOP_DRAIN_CAP_SECS) + 5
+        while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+            with self._in_flight_lock:
+                if not self._in_flight:
+                    break
+            time.sleep(0.05)
+        else:
+            with self._in_flight_lock:
+                leftover = len(self._in_flight)
+            # Only warn on a genuine abandonment — the last poll can drain
+            # in the same window the deadline is crossed, and a count=0
+            # warning would be a false alarm for log-based monitoring.
+            if leftover:
+                log.warning("watch_runner.stop_abandoned_polls count=%d", leftover)
         log.info("watch_runner.stopped")
 
     # -- Dispatch function registry ------------------------------------------
@@ -353,8 +496,21 @@ class WatchRunner:
         with self._dispatch_lock:
             self._dispatch_fns[ws_id] = fn
 
-    def remove_dispatch_fn(self, ws_id: str) -> None:
+    def remove_dispatch_fn(
+        self, ws_id: str, owner: Callable[[dict[str, Any], str], None] | None = None
+    ) -> None:
+        """Remove the registration for ``ws_id`` — with ``owner`` given,
+        ONLY if the registered fn IS that closure.  Multiple live
+        sessions can transiently serve one ws_id (a watch-restore shell
+        vs a reopened pane; an in-session ``/resume`` of an id open in
+        another pane), and a blind removal from one session's teardown
+        would silently unregister the OTHER, still-live session — its
+        next fire would then take the restore path and spawn a duplicate
+        auto-approved session onto the live conversation.
+        """
         with self._dispatch_lock:
+            if owner is not None and self._dispatch_fns.get(ws_id) is not owner:
+                return
             self._dispatch_fns.pop(ws_id, None)
 
     def get_dispatch_fn(self, ws_id: str) -> Callable[[dict[str, Any], str], None] | None:
@@ -367,8 +523,9 @@ class WatchRunner:
             return self._dispatch_fns.get(ws_id)
 
     def forget_terminal_dispatched(self, watch_id: str) -> None:
-        """Discard ``watch_id`` from the pending-terminal-dispatched
-        set if present.  Called by paths that take a watch out of
+        """Discard ``watch_id`` from the runner's per-watch transient
+        state (terminal-dispatched set AND any held pending delivery).
+        Called by paths that take a watch out of
         :meth:`StorageBackend.list_due_watches` view independent of
         the runner's own poll (most importantly the user-cancel path
         in :meth:`ChatSession._exec_watch`).  Without this, a
@@ -377,10 +534,21 @@ class WatchRunner:
         the user-cancel writes ``next_poll=''`` which excludes the
         row from ``list_due_watches``, so the retry-deactivate branch
         at the top of :meth:`_poll_watch` never fires to clear the
-        entry.
+        entry.  Held reminders are dropped for the same reason: a
+        cancelled watch's row leaves the due view, so its pending
+        re-delivery would never be retried and would leak.
+
+        Call this AFTER the row write that takes the watch out of the
+        active view: the delivery paths re-check ``is_watch_active``
+        before stashing or dispatching, so with the write already
+        visible a racing poll thread drops its own hold instead of
+        re-stashing behind this clear.  (The residual
+        check-before-write / stash-after-clear interleaving is mopped
+        up by :meth:`_sweep_cancelled_holds` within one tick.)
         """
         with self._terminal_dispatched_lock:
             self._terminal_dispatched.discard(watch_id)
+        self._clear_pending_delivery(watch_id)
 
     # -- Main loop -----------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -399,6 +567,7 @@ class WatchRunner:
     def _tick(self) -> None:
         if self._storage is None:
             return
+        self._sweep_cancelled_holds()
         now = datetime.now(UTC).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
         due = self._storage.list_due_watches(now)
         for watch_row in due:
@@ -408,13 +577,60 @@ class WatchRunner:
             row_node = watch_row.get("node_id", "")
             if row_node and row_node != self._node_id:
                 continue
+            watch_id = str(watch_row.get("watch_id", ""))
+            with self._in_flight_lock:
+                if watch_id in self._in_flight:
+                    # Still polling from a previous tick (slow command) —
+                    # the row keeps listing as due until its update
+                    # commits; don't double-poll it.
+                    continue
+                self._in_flight.add(watch_id)
+            if not self._poll_slots.acquire(blocking=False):
+                # Pool saturated: the remaining due rows stay due and the
+                # next tick retries them — nothing is dropped, delivery is
+                # just deferred by up to ``check_interval``.
+                with self._in_flight_lock:
+                    self._in_flight.discard(watch_id)
+                log.debug("watch_runner.poll_slots_saturated")
+                break
             try:
-                self._poll_watch(watch_row)
+                threading.Thread(
+                    target=self._poll_one,
+                    args=(watch_row,),
+                    daemon=True,
+                    name=f"watch-poll-{watch_id[:8]}",
+                ).start()
             except Exception:
-                log.exception(
-                    "watch_runner.poll_error",
-                    extra={"watch_id": watch_row.get("watch_id")},
-                )
+                # Spawn failure (e.g. OS thread exhaustion) must not leak
+                # the slot or the in-flight entry, and must NOT abort the
+                # rest of this tick — the failed watch stays due and
+                # retries next tick while its siblings still get polled
+                # (a raise here would unwind out of the un-guarded
+                # due-row loop and skip every remaining due watch).
+                with self._in_flight_lock:
+                    self._in_flight.discard(watch_id)
+                self._poll_slots.release()
+                log.exception("watch_runner.poll_spawn_failed", extra={"watch_id": watch_id})
+                continue
+
+    def _poll_one(self, watch_row: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        """Run one ``_poll_watch`` on a pool thread.
+
+        Always releases the slot and the in-flight entry, even on an
+        unexpected raise — a leaked slot would shrink the pool for the
+        rest of the process lifetime.
+        """
+        try:
+            self._poll_watch(watch_row)
+        except Exception:
+            log.exception(
+                "watch_runner.poll_error",
+                extra={"watch_id": watch_row.get("watch_id")},
+            )
+        finally:
+            with self._in_flight_lock:
+                self._in_flight.discard(str(watch_row.get("watch_id", "")))
+            self._poll_slots.release()
 
     def _poll_watch(self, watch_row: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
         watch_id = watch_row["watch_id"]
@@ -437,10 +653,33 @@ class WatchRunner:
                 self._storage.update_watch(watch_id, active=False, next_poll="")
                 with self._terminal_dispatched_lock:
                     self._terminal_dispatched.discard(watch_id)
+                # A held reminder for an already-dispatched watch means a
+                # re-delivery SUCCEEDED but its row-commit raised (leaving
+                # the id in both sets).  The reminder is delivered, so drop
+                # the hold here — otherwise, once we deactivate the row it
+                # never re-lists and the entry would leak forever.
+                self._clear_pending_delivery(watch_id)
             except Exception:
                 log.exception("watch_runner.retry_deactivate_failed", extra={"watch_id": watch_id})
             return
 
+        # Held-reminder re-delivery: a prior poll fired but couldn't reach
+        # this watch's workstream.  Re-DELIVER the stashed reminder without
+        # re-running the command (so a stop_on match that was momentarily
+        # true isn't lost to a fresh run), bounded by MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS.
+        # The per-watch_id in-flight gate in _tick serialises POLLERS for
+        # this watch_id; the user-cancel path's forget_terminal_dispatched
+        # runs on a worker thread and CAN race this peek — which is why
+        # _redeliver_pending re-checks the row's active state before
+        # dispatching, the hold paths re-check before stashing, and
+        # _sweep_cancelled_holds mops up any stash that still lands after
+        # a cancel's clear.
+        with self._pending_delivery_lock:
+            pending = self._pending_delivery.get(watch_id)
+        if pending is not None:
+            self._redeliver_pending(watch_row, pending)
+            return
+
         # Safety check
         blocked = is_command_blocked(command)
         if blocked:
@@ -474,6 +713,23 @@ class WatchRunner:
         now = datetime.now(UTC)
         now_str = now.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
 
+        # Build the row update this poll intends to commit, UP FRONT, so a
+        # delivery failure can stash it verbatim alongside the reminder
+        # (see :meth:`_redeliver_pending`) instead of recomputing it at
+        # re-delivery time.
+        update_fields: dict[str, Any] = {
+            "poll_count": poll_count,
+            "last_output": output,
+            "last_exit_code": exit_code,
+            "last_poll": now_str,
+        }
+        if is_final:
+            update_fields["active"] = False
+            update_fields["next_poll"] = ""
+        else:
+            next_poll = now + timedelta(seconds=watch_row["interval_secs"])
+            update_fields["next_poll"] = next_poll.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
+
         # Dispatch before committing the row update.  Belt-and-braces
         # given the rest of the fix (closure no longer wires a
         # ``valid_until`` predicate, cancel-by-name uses
@@ -485,7 +741,12 @@ class WatchRunner:
         # ``_terminal_dispatched`` guard above it also bounds the
         # duplicate-fire blast radius if the row write fails after the
         # reminder shipped.
-        if fired or is_final:
+        #
+        # ``fired ⟹ is_final`` (see the assignment above), so reminders
+        # are built ONLY for terminal polls — the held-delivery machinery
+        # relies on that (a committed ``update_fields`` always
+        # deactivates).
+        if is_final:
             # Compute elapsed from created time
             elapsed_secs = 0.0
             if created:
@@ -506,34 +767,34 @@ class WatchRunner:
                 is_final=is_final,
                 reason=reason,
             )
-            self._dispatch_result(ws_id, reminder, watch_id)
-            if is_final:
-                # Mark BEFORE the row write so a raise below routes the
-                # next tick into the retry-deactivate branch instead of
-                # re-firing the reminder.
-                with self._terminal_dispatched_lock:
-                    self._terminal_dispatched.add(watch_id)
-
-        # Update DB
-        update_fields: dict[str, Any] = {
-            "poll_count": poll_count,
-            "last_output": output,
-            "last_exit_code": exit_code,
-            "last_poll": now_str,
-        }
-        if is_final:
-            update_fields["active"] = False
-            update_fields["next_poll"] = ""
+            try:
+                delivered = self._dispatch_result(ws_id, reminder, watch_id)
+            except WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable:
+                # Permanent: the workstream can never be restored (corrupt
+                # persona stamp / history gone).  Stash BEFORE the abandon
+                # write — not for delivery (there is nowhere to deliver),
+                # but so a failing deactivation write routes the next tick
+                # into the redeliver path (which retries the WRITE) instead
+                # of the still-active row re-listing into a fresh command
+                # run every tick with the budget never advancing.  On a
+                # successful write, _abandon_delivery clears the stash
+                # immediately (write-then-clear).
+                self._stash_pending_delivery(watch_id, reminder, update_fields, attempts=1)
+                self._abandon_delivery(watch_id, ws_id, update_fields, reason="unrestorable")
+                return
+            if not delivered:
+                # Transiently undeliverable (ws evicted + slots busy, or
+                # restore admission deferred).  HOLD the built reminder +
+                # its intended row update for re-delivery on the capped
+                # retry cadence, advancing next_poll and durably charging
+                # this fire's poll — no baseline advance and no command
+                # re-run (which would lose a transient stop_on match);
+                # see :meth:`_hold_delivery` for why the charge commits.
+                self._hold_delivery(watch_row, reminder, update_fields, attempts=1)
+                return
+            self._commit_terminal_update(watch_id, update_fields)
         else:
-            next_poll = now + timedelta(seconds=watch_row["interval_secs"])
-            update_fields["next_poll"] = next_poll.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
-        self._storage.update_watch(watch_id, **update_fields)
-
-        if is_final:
-            # Row write committed; the retry-deactivate branch will
-            # never be reached for this watch_id.
-            with self._terminal_dispatched_lock:
-                self._terminal_dispatched.discard(watch_id)
+            self._storage.update_watch(watch_id, **update_fields)
 
         log.debug(
             "watch_runner.polled",
@@ -568,38 +829,395 @@ class WatchRunner:
         except Exception as exc:
             return f"[command failed: {exc}]", -1
 
-    def _dispatch_result(self, ws_id: str, reminder: dict[str, Any], watch_id: str) -> None:
+    def _try_dispatch_fn(self, ws_id: str, reminder: dict[str, Any], watch_id: str) -> bool | None:
+        """Deliver via the registered dispatch fn, if one exists.
+
+        Returns ``True`` (delivered), ``False`` (a fn is registered but it
+        raised — the ws is live, so the caller must NOT restore, which
+        would spawn a duplicate session), or ``None`` (no fn registered —
+        the ws may be evicted and the caller should try to restore).
+        """
+        with self._dispatch_lock:
+            fn = self._dispatch_fns.get(ws_id)
+        if fn is None:
+            return None
+        try:
+            fn(reminder, watch_id)
+            return True
+        except Exception:
+            log.exception("watch_runner.dispatch_error", extra={"ws_id": ws_id})
+            return False
+
+    def _dispatch_result(self, ws_id: str, reminder: dict[str, Any], watch_id: str) -> bool:
         """Deliver a watch result to the owning workstream.
 
         ``reminder`` is the structured dict produced by
         :func:`build_watch_reminder` — ``text`` is the formatted body
         (matched by the dispatch closure's :func:`sanitize_payload`
         pass) and the optional fields ride as queue-entry metadata.
+
+        Returns ``True`` iff a dispatch closure ran without raising — the
+        registered one, or the one the restore path produced.  ``False``
+        means the reminder was not delivered for a TRANSIENT reason (no fn
+        + slots busy, restore admission deferred, or a live fn raised); the
+        caller HOLDS the reminder and re-delivers on the capped retry
+        cadence.  Raises
+        :class:`WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable` for a PERMANENT failure so the
+        caller can deactivate the watch instead of retrying.
         """
-        with self._dispatch_lock:
-            fn = self._dispatch_fns.get(ws_id)
+        delivered = self._try_dispatch_fn(ws_id, reminder, watch_id)
+        if delivered is not None:
+            return delivered
 
-        if fn is not None:
-            try:
-                fn(reminder, watch_id)
-                return
-            except Exception:
-                log.exception("watch_runner.dispatch_error", extra={"ws_id": ws_id})
+        # No dispatch fn — the workstream may be evicted.  Admit a restore
+        # only when this ws isn't already restoring and the concurrent-
+        # restore cap has room; hold ``_restore_lock`` for that fast check
+        # ONLY (never across the slow restore, which would pin this poll
+        # slot).  A rejected poll defers (holds + re-delivers on the
+        # capped retry cadence).
+        if self._restore_fn is None:
+            log.warning(
+                "watch_runner.dispatch_failed",
+                extra={"ws_id": ws_id, "reason": "no dispatch fn and no restore_fn"},
+            )
+            return False
 
-        # Workstream may be evicted — try to restore
-        if self._restore_fn is not None:
+        deliver_after_admission = False
+        with self._restore_lock:
+            # Re-check: a restore that completed while we waited for the
+            # lock may already have registered a fn for this ws_id.  This
+            # is a PRESENCE check only — the dispatch closure itself can
+            # block (it takes ``ws._lock`` and may spawn a wake thread),
+            # and running it here would serialise every restore admission
+            # on the node behind one delivery.  (Lock order: _restore_lock
+            # → _dispatch_lock via get_dispatch_fn; nothing takes them in
+            # the reverse order.)
+            if self.get_dispatch_fn(ws_id) is not None:
+                deliver_after_admission = True
+            else:
+                # Alert on admission entries past the stall threshold —
+                # a restore wedged inside ``restore_fn`` (its poll thread
+                # is blocked, so the release in the ``finally`` below can
+                # never run) holds this capacity for the process
+                # lifetime.  Detection ONLY: see
+                # :data:`RESTORE_STALL_ALERT_SECS` for why reclaiming the
+                # entry would make the failure strictly worse.
+                now = time.monotonic()
+                for rid, started in self._restoring.items():
+                    if now - started > RESTORE_STALL_ALERT_SECS:
+                        log.error(
+                            "watch_runner.restore_admission_wedged",
+                            extra={"ws_id": rid, "stalled_secs": round(now - started, 1)},
+                        )
+                if ws_id in self._restoring or len(self._restoring) >= MAX_CONCURRENT_RESTORES:
+                    # Same-ws restore already running, or the pool is at
+                    # its restore cap — defer rather than block a poll
+                    # slot.
+                    return False
+                self._restoring[ws_id] = now
+        if deliver_after_admission:
+            # The fn appeared while we waited: deliver OUTSIDE the lock.
+            # ``None`` (it vanished again — an eviction race) defers like
+            # any other transient.
+            return bool(self._try_dispatch_fn(ws_id, reminder, watch_id))
+
+        try:
+            restored_fn = self._restore_fn(ws_id)  # may raise WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable
+        except WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable:
+            raise  # permanent — caller deactivates the watch
+        except Exception:
+            log.exception("watch_runner.restore_error", extra={"ws_id": ws_id})
+            return False
+        finally:
+            with self._restore_lock:
+                self._restoring.pop(ws_id, None)
+
+        if restored_fn is not None:
             try:
-                restored_fn = self._restore_fn(ws_id)
-                if restored_fn is not None:
-                    restored_fn(reminder, watch_id)
-                    return
+                restored_fn(reminder, watch_id)
+                return True
             except Exception:
-                log.exception("watch_runner.restore_error", extra={"ws_id": ws_id})
+                log.exception("watch_runner.restore_dispatch_error", extra={"ws_id": ws_id})
+                return False
 
         log.warning(
             "watch_runner.dispatch_failed",
-            extra={"ws_id": ws_id, "reason": "no dispatch function and restore failed"},
+            extra={"ws_id": ws_id, "reason": "restore produced no dispatch fn"},
         )
+        return False
+
+    # -- Held-reminder re-delivery -------------------------------------------
+    #
+    # Everything held here is a TERMINAL fire (``fired ⟹ is_final`` in
+    # ``_poll_watch``, and reminders are built only for final polls), so a
+    # committed ``update_fields`` always deactivates the row.  The delivery
+    # outcome state machine — commit-with-terminal-mark, abandon, hold —
+    # lives in the three helpers below so ``_poll_watch`` (fresh fire) and
+    # ``_redeliver_pending`` can't drift apart on the fragile ordering.
+
+    def _watch_still_active(self, watch_id: str) -> bool:
+        """``True`` unless the row has CLEANLY left the active view (user
+        cancel / deletion).  A storage error biases toward ``True``:
+        delivery paths keep retrying on a blip — bounded by their own
+        attempt and poll budgets — rather than dropping a fire.
+        """
+        try:
+            return bool(self._storage.is_watch_active(watch_id))
+        except Exception:
+            return True
+
+    def _stash_pending_delivery(
+        self,
+        watch_id: str,
+        reminder: dict[str, Any],
+        update_fields: dict[str, Any],
+        *,
+        attempts: int,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Hold ``reminder`` + its intended row update for re-delivery."""
+        with self._pending_delivery_lock:
+            self._pending_delivery[watch_id] = {
+                "reminder": reminder,
+                "update_fields": update_fields,
+                "attempts": attempts,
+            }
+
+    def _clear_pending_delivery(self, watch_id: str) -> None:
+        with self._pending_delivery_lock:
+            self._pending_delivery.pop(watch_id, None)
+
+    def _commit_terminal_update(self, watch_id: str, update_fields: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        """Commit a DELIVERED terminal fire's row update with the
+        ``_terminal_dispatched`` mark held across the write: if the write
+        raises, the next tick routes into the retry-deactivate branch at
+        the top of :meth:`_poll_watch` instead of re-firing a reminder the
+        model already saw.
+        """
+        with self._terminal_dispatched_lock:
+            self._terminal_dispatched.add(watch_id)
+        self._storage.update_watch(watch_id, **update_fields)
+        # Row write committed; the retry-deactivate branch will never be
+        # reached for this watch_id.
+        with self._terminal_dispatched_lock:
+            self._terminal_dispatched.discard(watch_id)
+
+    def _abandon_delivery(
+        self,
+        watch_id: str,
+        ws_id: str,
+        update_fields: dict[str, Any],
+        *,
+        reason: str,
+        attempts: int | None = None,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Give up on delivering this fire: commit the intended row
+        update (deactivating the terminal watch), then drop any held
+        reminder.  Write-then-clear: a failed commit leaves the hold in
+        place, so the next tick retries via the REDELIVER path (dispatch
+        → same terminal outcome → retry this write) without re-running
+        the command — clearing first would let the row re-list into a
+        fresh command run every attempt-budget cycle, forever, whenever
+        storage can read but not write (e.g. disk-full SQLite), with the
+        poll budget never advancing.  The clear itself is pure in-memory
+        and cannot fail after a successful commit, so no ordering leaks
+        the hold.
+        """
+        self._storage.update_watch(watch_id, **update_fields)
+        self._clear_pending_delivery(watch_id)
+        extra: dict[str, Any] = {"watch_id": watch_id, "ws_id": ws_id, "reason": reason}
+        if attempts is not None:
+            extra["attempts"] = attempts
+        log.error("watch_runner.delivery_abandoned", extra=extra)
+
+    def _hold_delivery(
+        self,
+        watch_row: dict[str, Any],
+        reminder: dict[str, Any],
+        update_fields: dict[str, Any],
+        *,
+        attempts: int,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Stash the reminder + intended update and advance ``next_poll``
+        (by the capped retry delay) so the row re-lists for re-delivery
+        soon — without advancing its baseline or running its command.
+        Re-delivery is a cheap in-memory dispatch, so it retries on
+        ``min(interval_secs, DELIVERY_RETRY_CAP_SECS)`` rather than the
+        watch's own interval: a daily watch must not sit on its fired
+        reminder for 24 h because a restore slot was briefly busy.
+
+        The poll charge (``update_fields["poll_count"]``) is committed
+        alongside ``next_poll``: the hold itself lives only in this
+        process, so a restart mid-hold re-lists the row and re-runs the
+        (possibly side-effectful) command — with the charge durable those
+        re-runs stay bounded by the watch's own ``max_polls``, matching
+        the in-memory exhaustion path, plus at most ONE regeneration run
+        per restart when the held fire had already spent the budget (the
+        re-list runs the command before the cap check so the lost
+        reminder is regenerated rather than silently dropped).  The
+        baseline (``last_output``) stays uncommitted so a delta-style
+        ``stop_on`` re-detects the change the model never saw.
+
+        Dropped instead when the row has left the active view: the user
+        cancelled while this fire was in flight, and a stash landing
+        after the cancel path's :meth:`forget_terminal_dispatched` would
+        leak the hold forever (an inactive row never re-lists to retry
+        it) and violate that method's drop guarantee.
+        """
+        watch_id = watch_row["watch_id"]
+        ws_id = watch_row["ws_id"]
+        if not self._watch_still_active(watch_id):
+            self._clear_pending_delivery(watch_id)
+            log.info(
+                "watch_runner.hold_dropped_cancelled",
+                extra={"watch_id": watch_id, "ws_id": ws_id, "attempts": attempts},
+            )
+            return
+        retry_secs = min(int(watch_row["interval_secs"]), DELIVERY_RETRY_CAP_SECS)
+        self._stash_pending_delivery(watch_id, reminder, update_fields, attempts=attempts)
+        retry_poll = _iso_in(retry_secs)
+        self._storage.update_watch(
+            watch_id,
+            next_poll=retry_poll,
+            poll_count=int(update_fields["poll_count"]),
+        )
+        log.warning(
+            "watch_runner.delivery_deferred",
+            extra={
+                "watch_id": watch_id,
+                "ws_id": ws_id,
+                "attempts": attempts,
+                "next_retry": retry_poll,
+            },
+        )
+
+    def _redeliver_pending(self, watch_row: dict[str, Any], pending: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        """Re-attempt delivery of a held reminder WITHOUT re-running the
+        command.
+
+        Five outcomes:
+
+        * **Watch cancelled** — the user-cancel path raced the due
+          listing.  Drop the hold and deliver nothing: cancel's
+          :meth:`forget_terminal_dispatched` promises the held reminder
+          is dropped, and delivering here could even RESTORE a session
+          for a watch the user just cancelled.
+        * **Delivered** — commit the row update stashed at fire time (which
+          deactivates the terminal watch) and clear the hold.  The hold is
+          cleared BEFORE the commit so that a commit failure can't strand
+          it (the row then re-lists and the ``already_dispatched`` guard
+          finishes deactivation).
+        * **Permanent failure** (:class:`WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable`) —
+          deactivate the watch now and drop the reminder; it can never be
+          delivered.
+        * **Transient failure past** :data:`MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS`, poll
+          budget remaining — drop the held reminder, charge ONE poll to the
+          watch's ``max_polls`` budget, and leave it ACTIVE on its normal
+          cadence: a temporary cause (restore slots saturated under load)
+          doesn't silently turn the watch off, it re-fires and re-attempts
+          delivery next interval.  The baseline (``last_output``) is
+          deliberately NOT committed, so a delta-style ``stop_on`` re-fires
+          on the same change the model never saw.
+        * **Transient exhaustion with the poll budget spent** — commit the
+          held update (deactivates).  Without this bound a persistently
+          unreachable workstream would re-run its command every interval
+          forever, past the user's own ``max_polls``.
+        """
+        watch_id = watch_row["watch_id"]
+        ws_id = watch_row["ws_id"]
+        reminder = pending["reminder"]
+        update_fields = pending["update_fields"]
+
+        if not self._watch_still_active(watch_id):
+            self._clear_pending_delivery(watch_id)
+            log.info(
+                "watch_runner.redelivery_dropped_cancelled",
+                extra={"watch_id": watch_id, "ws_id": ws_id},
+            )
+            return
+
+        try:
+            delivered = self._dispatch_result(ws_id, reminder, watch_id)
+        except WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable:
+            self._abandon_delivery(watch_id, ws_id, update_fields, reason="unrestorable")
+            return
+
+        if delivered:
+            # Clear the hold FIRST: if the commit below raises, the row
+            # re-lists and the ``already_dispatched`` branch deactivates it
+            # — with the hold already gone there's nothing to leak.
+            self._clear_pending_delivery(watch_id)
+            self._commit_terminal_update(watch_id, update_fields)
+            log.info(
+                "watch_runner.delivery_recovered",
+                extra={"watch_id": watch_id, "ws_id": ws_id},
+            )
+            return
+
+        attempts = int(pending["attempts"]) + 1
+        if attempts >= MAX_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS:
+            poll_count = int(update_fields.get("poll_count", 0))
+            max_polls = int(watch_row.get("max_polls", DEFAULT_MAX_POLLS))
+            if poll_count >= max_polls:
+                # Poll budget spent — deactivate rather than re-run the
+                # command forever against an unreachable workstream.
+                self._abandon_delivery(
+                    watch_id,
+                    ws_id,
+                    update_fields,
+                    reason="poll_budget_exhausted",
+                    attempts=attempts,
+                )
+                return
+            # Budget remains: charge this cycle's poll, then drop the hold
+            # and let the watch re-fire on its own cadence.  next_poll uses
+            # the FULL interval (a fresh command cycle, not a cheap
+            # re-delivery) and the baseline stays uncommitted so the fire
+            # re-detects.  Write-then-clear, mirroring _abandon_delivery: a
+            # failed charge commit keeps the hold, so the next tick retries
+            # THIS branch instead of the row re-listing into a fresh
+            # command run with the budget never advancing.
+            self._storage.update_watch(
+                watch_id,
+                poll_count=poll_count,
+                next_poll=_iso_in(int(watch_row["interval_secs"])),
+            )
+            self._clear_pending_delivery(watch_id)
+            log.warning(
+                "watch_runner.delivery_abandoned",
+                extra={
+                    "watch_id": watch_id,
+                    "ws_id": ws_id,
+                    "attempts": attempts,
+                    "reason": "transient_exhausted",
+                    "watch_active": True,
+                    "poll_count": poll_count,
+                    "max_polls": max_polls,
+                },
+            )
+            return
+
+        self._hold_delivery(watch_row, reminder, update_fields, attempts=attempts)
+
+    def _sweep_cancelled_holds(self) -> None:
+        """Drop held deliveries whose rows have left the active view.
+
+        The cancel paths call :meth:`forget_terminal_dispatched`, but a
+        poll thread that already passed its own active re-check can
+        re-stash a hold microseconds AFTER that clear — no ordering
+        between the cancel's row write and the in-memory stash can
+        prevent it without a per-watch lock spanning storage I/O.  An
+        inactive row never re-lists, so nothing else would ever retry or
+        drop such an entry; this tick-time sweep bounds the leak (and
+        any post-cancel redelivery) to one ``check_interval``.  Iterates
+        only currently-held ids — holds are rare and short-lived — so
+        the steady-state per-tick cost is zero storage reads.
+        """
+        with self._pending_delivery_lock:
+            held_ids = list(self._pending_delivery)
+        for watch_id in held_ids:
+            if not self._watch_still_active(watch_id):
+                self._clear_pending_delivery(watch_id)
+                log.info("watch_runner.hold_swept_cancelled", extra={"watch_id": watch_id})
 
     def _deactivate_watch(self, watch_id: str) -> None:
         self._storage.update_watch(watch_id, active=False, next_poll="")
diff --git a/turnstone/server.py b/turnstone/server.py
index 05570c31..1fa7b086 100644
--- a/turnstone/server.py
+++ b/turnstone/server.py
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Iterable
+    from collections.abc import Callable, Iterable
 
 from sse_starlette import EventSourceResponse
 from starlette.applications import Starlette
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ from turnstone.core.auth import (
     _DenyFilter,
     jwt_version_slot,
 )
+from turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher import wake_workstream_if_pending
 from turnstone.core.log import get_logger
 from turnstone.core.metrics import metrics as _metrics
 from turnstone.core.ratelimit import resolve_client_ip
@@ -772,6 +773,19 @@ def _interactive_events_replay(
             yield {"type": "intent_verdict", **v}
 
 
+def _watch_fire_wake_fn(ws: Workstream) -> Callable[[], object]:
+    """Wake closure for watch fires, for ``ChatSession.set_watch_runner``.
+
+    Closes over the Workstream OBJECT, never its id: after an
+    eviction+restore the manager tracks the workstream under a fresh id
+    while the watch rows keep the resumed session's ``_ws_id``, so an
+    id-keyed ``manager.get`` lookup at fire time would miss.  Shared by
+    every ``set_watch_runner`` site (create, reopen, watch-restore,
+    CLI ``--resume``) so they can't drift on that subtlety.
+    """
+    return lambda: wake_workstream_if_pending(ws, trigger="watch-fire")
+
+
 def _interactive_open_post_load(request: Request, ws: Workstream) -> None:
     """Post-load hook for the lifted interactive ``open`` body.
 
@@ -794,6 +808,13 @@ def _interactive_open_post_load(request: Request, ws: Workstream) -> None:
        handler-side emission is the load-bearing path on interactive;
        ``InteractiveAdapter.emit_rehydrated`` is a no-op stub
        precisely because this enqueue lives here.
+    4. Re-wire the watch dispatch registration.  The workstream's
+       previous ``close()`` removed its registration, and nothing on
+       the ``open`` path restored it — so a watch firing on a
+       REOPENED, actively-viewed workstream found no dispatch fn and
+       took the restore path, spawning a duplicate auto-approved
+       session that raced turns into the same conversation the live
+       one was showing.
     """
     from turnstone.core.memory import get_workstream_display_name
 
@@ -803,6 +824,12 @@ def _interactive_open_post_load(request: Request, ws: Workstream) -> None:
     if isinstance(ui, WebUI) and session is not None and session.messages:
         ui._enqueue({"type": "clear_ui"})
 
+    runner = getattr(request.app.state, "watch_runner", None)
+    if runner is not None and session is not None:
+        # ``mgr.open`` already resumed, so this keys the registration on
+        # the adopted id (and ``resume()`` re-registers by itself anyway).
+        session.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=_watch_fire_wake_fn(ws))
+
     gq: queue.Queue[dict[str, Any]] | None = getattr(request.app.state, "global_queue", None)
     if gq is not None:
         with contextlib.suppress(queue.Full):
@@ -2104,7 +2131,7 @@ async def _interactive_create_post_install(
         ws.ui.auto_approve = True
     runner = getattr(request.app.state, "watch_runner", None)
     if runner and ws.session:
-        ws.session.set_watch_runner(runner)
+        ws.session.set_watch_runner(runner, wake_fn=_watch_fire_wake_fn(ws))
     gq: queue.Queue[dict[str, Any]] = request.app.state.global_queue
     # Emit ``ws_created`` on the global queue for SSE consumers
     # (console). Held until past attachment validation in the
@@ -2228,7 +2255,9 @@ async def _interactive_create_post_install(
 
     # Initial-message worker thread.
     initial_message = body.get("initial_message", "").strip()
+    initial_message_status = ""
     if initial_message and ws.session is not None:
+        from turnstone.core import session_worker
         from turnstone.core.attachments import (
             resolve_staged_attachments as _resolve_staged,
         )
@@ -2236,20 +2265,13 @@ async def _interactive_create_post_install(
         session = ws.session
         send_id = uuid.uuid4().hex
         resolved_atts: list[Any] = []
+        staged_ord: list[str] = []
         if attachment_ids:
-            # Resolve (peek) the staged uploads, then drain them from the buffer
-            # now.  The inlined first turn is their only consumer and it always
-            # commits at create (no queue rejection by construction), so leaving
-            # them staged would let the freshly-opened pane's rehydrate race the
-            # worker's write-time drain and paint them as still-pending composer
-            # chips.  ``_append_user_turn``'s own per-id discard then no-ops.
-            resolved_atts, _ord, _drop = _resolve_staged(attachment_ids, ws.id, uid)
-            if _ord:
-                from turnstone.core.attachment_buffer import get_attachment_buffer
-
-                _buf = get_attachment_buffer()
-                for _aid in _ord:
-                    _buf.discard(_aid, ws_id=ws.id, user_id=uid)
+            # Resolve (peek) the staged uploads.  The buffer DRAIN happens
+            # after the dispatch below, and only on the spawn path — the
+            # enqueue path can't deliver attachments, so there they must
+            # stay staged (see ``_enqueue_init``).
+            resolved_atts, staged_ord, _drop = _resolve_staged(attachment_ids, ws.id, uid)
 
         def _run_initial() -> None:
             try:
@@ -2268,31 +2290,89 @@ async def _interactive_create_post_install(
                     _fire_notify_targets(ws, last_content)
                 except Exception:
                     log.warning("notify_completion.hook_error", ws_id=ws.id, exc_info=True)
-                with ws._lock:
-                    # Only clear the flag if THIS thread is still the current
-                    # worker — a force-cancel abandons this thread and a
-                    # follow-up send may already have spawned a successor; an
-                    # abandoned initial-send worker finishing late must not
-                    # clobber that successor's running flag (mirrors the guard
-                    # in session_worker._runner).
-                    if ws.worker_thread is threading.current_thread():
-                        ws._worker_running = False
 
-        # Inlined rather than via ``session_worker.send`` because at
-        # workstream creation no live worker can exist by
-        # construction — the enqueue branch of the shared dispatch
-        # is dead code here. ``_worker_running`` + ``ws.worker_thread``
-        # are set together under ``ws._lock`` so a path-keyed send
-        # arriving immediately after creation observes the running
-        # state via the shared session_worker gate instead of racing
-        # into a parallel worker.
-        with ws._lock:
-            ws._worker_running = True
-            t = threading.Thread(target=_run_initial, daemon=True, name=f"ws-init-{ws.id[:8]}")
-            ws.worker_thread = t
-            t.start()
+        init_enqueued = False
 
-    return {"resumed": resumed, "message_count": message_count}
+        def _enqueue_init() -> None:
+            # Reached only if a worker already owns this freshly-created ws
+            # — possible solely with a caller-supplied ws_id raced by a
+            # concurrent /send.  Don't drop the user's first message: queue
+            # its TEXT as an interjection so the live worker delivers it.
+            # Attachments can't ride the interjection seam (queue_message
+            # rejects them), so they stay STAGED instead (the drain below
+            # is skipped on this branch): the composer keeps showing them
+            # as pending chips and the user's next send delivers them.
+            #
+            # No try/except: ``queue.Full`` must reach
+            # ``session_worker.send``'s backpressure branch so it returns
+            # ``False`` — the same surface the /send path reports as
+            # ``queue_full`` — instead of this create responding as if the
+            # message were delivered.
+            nonlocal init_enqueued
+            init_enqueued = True
+            session.queue_message(initial_message)
+            if resolved_atts:
+                log.warning(
+                    "ws_init.live_worker_at_creation ws=%s — %d attachment(s) left staged "
+                    "(cannot ride the interjection seam); message text queued, attachments "
+                    "stay in the composer for the next send",
+                    ws.id[:8],
+                    len(resolved_atts),
+                )
+
+        # Routed through ``session_worker.send`` so the init worker
+        # inherits ``_runner``'s ownership-clear wake backstop
+        # (``_retry_pending_wake``): a nudge enqueued during the initial
+        # send (e.g. a watch fire on a schedule-created workstream) no
+        # longer strands until the next user message.  The enqueue branch
+        # is unreachable by construction (no worker can own a ws at
+        # creation) unless a caller-supplied ws_id is raced — hence
+        # ``_enqueue_init`` preserves the message and leaves the staged
+        # attachments recoverable instead of assuming the branch is dead.
+        init_ok = session_worker.send(
+            ws,
+            enqueue=_enqueue_init,
+            run=_run_initial,
+            thread_name=f"ws-init-{ws.id[:8]}",
+        )
+        if not init_ok:
+            # Two refusal shapes: the raced live worker's interjection
+            # queue rejected the text (``init_enqueued=True`` — queue.Full,
+            # the condition /send surfaces as ``queue_full``), or ``send``
+            # refused outright because the workstream was closed under our
+            # feet (``init_enqueued=False`` — a create raced by an off-loop
+            # close).  Either way the workstream exists and the first
+            # message was NOT delivered; say so instead of answering as if
+            # it were.  Attachments stay staged on both paths (the drain
+            # below is gated on ``init_ok``) so the composer chips survive
+            # for the user's retry.
+            initial_message_status = "queue_full" if init_enqueued else "refused_closed"
+            log.error(
+                "ws_init.initial_message_dropped ws=%s (%s)",
+                ws.id[:8],
+                initial_message_status,
+            )
+        if staged_ord and not init_enqueued and init_ok:
+            # Spawn path took the message: drain the staged copies NOW,
+            # before this handler returns — the pane's rehydrate can only
+            # start after it receives this response, so it can never
+            # observe the consumed uploads as still-pending composer
+            # chips.  (``enqueue`` runs synchronously inside ``send``, so
+            # ``init_enqueued`` is settled here.)  ``_append_user_turn``'s
+            # own per-id discard then no-ops.
+            from turnstone.core.attachment_buffer import get_attachment_buffer
+
+            _buf = get_attachment_buffer()
+            for _aid in staged_ord:
+                _buf.discard(_aid, ws_id=ws.id, user_id=uid)
+
+    out: dict[str, Any] = {"resumed": resumed, "message_count": message_count}
+    if initial_message_status:
+        # Only present when the initial message was NOT delivered — the
+        # factory passes it through to the response so API clients don't
+        # read the 200 as "first message accepted".
+        out["initial_message_status"] = initial_message_status
+    return out
 
 
 def _audit_workstream_created(
@@ -2500,6 +2580,13 @@ async def cancel_watch(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
     if watch_node and node_id and watch_node != node_id:
         return JSONResponse({"error": "Watch belongs to another node"}, status_code=403)
     storage.update_watch(watch_id, active=False, next_poll="")
+    # AFTER the row write, per forget_terminal_dispatched's ordering
+    # contract: drop the runner's transient state for this id (held
+    # reminder / terminal-dispatched mark) — the inactive row never
+    # re-lists, so nothing else would ever clear it.
+    runner = getattr(request.app.state, "watch_runner", None)
+    if runner is not None:
+        runner.forget_terminal_dispatched(watch_id)
     return JSONResponse({"status": "ok", "watch_id": watch_id})
 
 
@@ -4077,7 +4164,11 @@ async def _lifespan(app: Starlette) -> AsyncGenerator[None, None]:
     if tls_client is not None:
         await tls_client.stop_renewal()
     if app.state.watch_runner:
-        app.state.watch_runner.stop()
+        # ``stop()`` drains in-flight polls (bounded, but up to ~35 s) —
+        # run it off the event loop like the state-writer below so SSE
+        # teardown and the remaining shutdown steps aren't frozen behind
+        # a watch command that's still finishing.
+        await asyncio.to_thread(app.state.watch_runner.stop)
     from turnstone.core.idle_nudge_watcher import shutdown_idle_nudge_watchers
 
     shutdown_idle_nudge_watchers(app)
@@ -4964,7 +5055,7 @@ def main() -> None:
 
     # Create WatchRunner (periodic command polling, server-level)
     from turnstone.core.storage import get_storage as _get_storage
-    from turnstone.core.watch import WatchRunner
+    from turnstone.core.watch import WatchRunner, WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable
 
     # Create session manager first (watch restore_fn captures it).
     interactive_adapter = InteractiveAdapter(
@@ -5023,25 +5114,110 @@ def main() -> None:
         on the rehydrated session, so ``WatchRunner._dispatch_result`` can
         re-deliver the current message into the rehydrated workstream's
         :class:`NudgeQueue` without a second pass through ``restore_fn``.
+
+        Failure taxonomy: two failures are PERMANENT — the persona-stamp
+        pre-read raising (corrupt stamp, nothing created yet) and
+        ``resume()`` returning ``False`` (no stored turns: the target's
+        history is gone, so there is nothing to deliver into and every
+        retry would rebuild this shell just to fail again).  Everything
+        else after ``manager.create`` is treated as transient — the
+        half-built shell is closed so a failed attempt can't leak a
+        ``max_active`` slot, and the runner holds the reminder and
+        retries, bounded by the watch's own poll budget.  Deliberately
+        NOT mapping post-create ``ValueError`` to permanent: ``resume``
+        can raise it for reasons beyond the corrupt-stamp contract, and
+        a misclassification here silently kills the user's watch.
         """
         try:
-            ws = manager.create(user_id="", name="watch-restore", **_resume_persona_kwargs(ws_id))
+            persona_kwargs = _resume_persona_kwargs(ws_id)
+        except ValueError as exc:
+            # PERMANENT: corrupt persona stamp.  Refuse to run the watch
+            # under an envelope the operator didn't choose (it would be
+            # unattended AND auto-approved), and signal the runner to stop
+            # retrying and deactivate the watch rather than burn the whole
+            # attempt budget on a cause that can't clear on its own.
+            log.warning("watch_restore: corrupt persona stamp on ws %s", ws_id, exc_info=True)
+            raise WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable(ws_id) from exc
+
+        try:
+            ws = manager.create(user_id="", name="watch-restore", **persona_kwargs)
+        except RuntimeError:
+            # TRANSIENT: all restore slots active right now.  Return None so
+            # the runner holds the reminder and retries on a later tick.
+            log.warning("watch_restore: cannot restore ws %s (all slots active)", ws_id)
+            return None
+
+        try:
             # Restored workstreams run unattended — auto-approve tool calls
             # to avoid blocking forever on approval with no connected user.
             if isinstance(ws.ui, WebUI):
                 ws.ui.auto_approve = True
-            if ws.session:
-                ws.session.resume(ws_id)
-                ws.session.set_watch_runner(_watch_runner)
-                return _watch_runner.get_dispatch_fn(ws.session._ws_id)
-        except RuntimeError:
-            log.warning("watch_restore: cannot restore ws %s (all slots active)", ws_id)
-        except ValueError:
-            # Corrupt persona stamp — refuse to run the watch under an
-            # envelope the operator didn't choose (it would be unattended
-            # AND auto-approved); the watch stays queued for a manual open.
-            log.warning("watch_restore: corrupt persona stamp on ws %s", ws_id, exc_info=True)
-        return None
+            if ws.session is None:
+                raise RuntimeError("created workstream has no session")
+            if not ws.session.resume(ws_id):
+                # ``resume``'s turn loader swallows storage errors into []
+                # (memory.load_message_turns), so False here is EITHER
+                # "history is gone" (permanent — without this check the
+                # fresh session keeps its own fresh ``_ws_id``, the
+                # registration below keys on THAT, and the reminder would
+                # be "delivered" into a blank, orphaned, auto-approved
+                # session while the watch deactivates as delivered) OR a
+                # transient read blip.  Re-probe with the RAISING storage
+                # call before declaring permanence: misclassifying a blip
+                # silently kills the user's watch and drops the fired
+                # reminder.
+                with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                    manager.close(ws.id)
+                try:
+                    turns_exist = bool(_get_storage().load_message_turns(ws_id, checkpointed=True))
+                except Exception:
+                    log.warning(
+                        "watch_restore: turns probe failed for ws %s (treating as transient)",
+                        ws_id,
+                        exc_info=True,
+                    )
+                    return None
+                if turns_exist:
+                    # Rows exist but resume()'s read came back empty — a
+                    # blip.  Retry on the held-delivery cadence.
+                    log.warning("watch_restore: empty resume read for ws %s (blip)", ws_id)
+                    return None
+                log.warning("watch_restore: ws %s has no stored turns", ws_id)
+                raise WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable(ws_id)
+            # A live registration may have appeared while this shell was
+            # being built — the user reopening the workstream mid-restore
+            # (``mgr.open`` + post-load registers their PANE).  The pane
+            # wins: deliver into it and close the redundant shell.
+            # Registering ours would silently clobber the pane's — every
+            # later fire would run unattended in the shell while the user
+            # watches a conversation that never shows its watch results.
+            # (A pane registration landing in the microseconds between
+            # this check and the set below can still be clobbered; that
+            # residue requires the reopen to race a window ~10^6 times
+            # narrower than the restore itself.)
+            existing = _watch_runner.get_dispatch_fn(ws_id)
+            if existing is not None:
+                log.info("watch_restore: live registration appeared for ws %s — yielding", ws_id)
+                with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                    manager.close(ws.id)
+                return existing
+            # ``ws`` is the freshly created workstream (manager-tracked id)
+            # even though the session resumed the original ``ws_id`` — the
+            # wake must target the live Workstream object, and firing it
+            # is what lets an unattended restore actually RUN the watch
+            # result (auto_approve above exists for exactly that turn).
+            ws.session.set_watch_runner(_watch_runner, wake_fn=_watch_fire_wake_fn(ws))
+            return _watch_runner.get_dispatch_fn(ws.session._ws_id)
+        except WatchWorkstreamUnrestorable:
+            raise  # shell already closed at the raise site above
+        except Exception:
+            # TRANSIENT: the shell exists but never became the watch's live
+            # target — close it (untrack + mark closed) so the failed
+            # attempt doesn't hold a max_active slot forever.
+            log.warning("watch_restore: resume failed for ws %s", ws_id, exc_info=True)
+            with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                manager.close(ws.id)
+            return None
 
     _watch_runner = WatchRunner(
         storage=_get_storage(),
@@ -5067,10 +5243,16 @@ def main() -> None:
         if args.skip_permissions or config_store.get("tools.skip_permissions"):
             ws.ui.auto_approve = True
         assert ws.session is not None
-        ws.session.set_watch_runner(_watch_runner)
         if not ws.session.resume(target_id):
             log.error("Workstream '%s' has no messages.", args.resume)
             sys.exit(1)
+        # AFTER the successful resume (mirroring the restore fn's order),
+        # so the registration keys on the adopted ``target_id`` — the id
+        # the session's watch rows are stamped with.  Registered before
+        # resume, the registry key would be the create-time id no watch
+        # row references, and every fire would restore a SECOND
+        # auto-approved session onto the operator's live conversation.
+        ws.session.set_watch_runner(_watch_runner, wake_fn=_watch_fire_wake_fn(ws))
         log.info("Resumed workstream %s (%d messages)", target_id, len(ws.session.messages))
 
     # Record detected model and judge status in metrics