@sabaiway/agent-workflow-kit 14.14.0 → 14.15.0

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,39 @@ Semantically versioned ([semver](https://semver.org)), newest first. The `versio
 is the current release. `upgrade` mode reads a project's `docs/ai/.workflow-version` and applies
 every `migrations/<version>-<slug>.md` newer than it, in semver order.
 
+## 14.15.0 — a sandbox mask made by a bind mount counts as a mask, so the advisor no longer offers to clear a working exclude block (AD-162)
+
+**`/agent-workflow-kit sandbox-masks` now reads the Linux mount table.** Until 14.15.0 a mask was only a device, a
+FIFO or a socket. When the sandbox masked paths with bind mounts of empty files, the probe found no mask, called the
+fenced entries real paths, and the Recommendations screen offered `--apply --clear`, which removed a working block.
+
+- **One test for a mask.** An untracked path is a mask when it is a device, FIFO or socket, or when
+  `/proc/self/mountinfo` shows it as a mount target brought from elsewhere (a foreign mount, usually the sandbox's). The
+  derivation and the check of fenced entries use the same test, so a fenced mount mask is never called a real path.
+  A path bound onto itself is not a mask. The probe's `--json` gains `mountOnly` and `mountSignal`.
+- **No guessing.** Off Linux the probe says the mount signal is not read and judges devices alone. On Linux a mount
+  table it cannot read, or one it cannot parse, stops the probe with exit 1, and the Recommendations screen records a
+  skip. `--apply --clear` never reads the table.
+- **A mount-only mask matters to reviews.** Reviews still ignore device masks only. A mask that is a mount of an
+  ordinary file stays in `git add -A` and the review fingerprint while git does not ignore it, so the Recommendations
+  item is `attention` when a managed block exists but lacks such a mask. The mode doc, the command list, the README
+  row and the item's text now say this instead of calling every mask a device.
+- **New file.** `tools/mount-masks.mjs`, a read-only module with no command of its own.
+
+## 14.14.1 — the agents writer stops on a project folder given as a symlink, before it reads or writes anything (AD-161)
+
+**`cheap-agents.mjs --cwd <dir>` now refuses a `<dir>` that is itself a symlink.** Until 14.14.1 an `--apply` there
+wrote the vehicles through the link. With a hand-edited executor it placed `changelog-skeleton.md` and then failed on
+the executor with an uncoded error, leaving `.claude/agents/` half placed; with a trailing `/` even that executor was
+rewritten through the link.
+
+- **The refusal.** `<link>`, `<link>/` and `<link>/.` stop with `CHEAP_AGENTS_SYMLINK`, exit 1, and a message naming
+  the project root as a symlink the writer refuses to write through. It is the first step of `--dry-run` and
+  `--apply` alike and of a direct `preflightCheapAgents` call: nothing under the root is read, nothing is written.
+- **What stays.** A real directory, a regular file, an absent path and a project reached through a linked parent
+  directory get the same answers as in 14.14.0, and so does the default, the current directory. The mode doc's
+  symlink-safe line and the tool header name the project root.
+
 ## 14.14.0 — the Recommendations screen lists each step of the reference setup you have not taken or declined, with its preview command or the reason it has none (AD-160)
 
 **`/agent-workflow-kit recommendations` now shows what your project still lacks of the full flow.** Until 14.14.0

package/README.md

@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ file), or run the guarded `/agent-workflow-kit uninstall`.
 | `/agent-workflow-kit procedures <activity>` | any time | **read-only** activity-procedures advisor: prints a named activity's ordered steps (`plan-authoring` / `plan-execution` / `routine` / `feedback-triage` / `epic` / `task`) read **live** from the engine, plus the **resolved recipe per slot** from your `docs/ai/orchestration.json` (agent-writable via `set-recipe`, or hand-edited) + carrier readiness (`plan-authoring`: author, fold, review; default Reviewed when a backend is ready, Council on request; slot-aware incl. Delegated and Subagent) — and, for every dispatched backend, the **full driving contract at the point of use** (exact copy-pasteable invocation, grounding levers like agy's `--facts`/`--decided`, the round-2 `--continue` delta, guarded passthrough), verbatim from the bridge manifests (drift-guarded; each wrapper's `--help` prints the same) — except `feedback-triage`, whose record-bound block carries the check with `--excerpts`, the resolved member lines (ready bridge commands, the ready lens brief, or explicit skipped members), and either the record round-table command for a bridge obligation or the no-receipt fact otherwise: the record is the artifact. `--override <slot>=<value>` adjusts one slot per run. Composes with `recipes`; never writes, never commits, never runs a subscription CLI. |
 | `/agent-workflow-kit set-recipe` | any time | **config writer** for `docs/ai/orchestration.json`: tell the agent your preference in plain language and it maps it to explicit `--set <activity>.<slot>=<value>` / `--unset` ops; the kit validates, **previews by default**, and writes only on `--write` (deployment-gated, atomic, symlink/TOCTOU-safe), resolving the effective recipe vs live readiness. Writes **only** that file — **never runs a backend or a subagent, never commits**; hand-editing stays fully supported. |
 | `/agent-workflow-kit review-state` | any time | **read-only review-receipt checker** — makes "reviewed ≠ shipped" detectable: the bridge review wrappers append a receipt per successful review (into a file inside the git dir — never committable); this checks that every backend your configured `plan-execution.review` recipe names holds a **fresh, grounded receipt for the current uncommitted tree** (any later edit the payload can see moves the fingerprint and stales the receipt; a review continuation never re-attests a folded tree). `--check` gives a gate exit code to declare in `docs/ai/gates.json` **by hand or via the consent-gated seeder** (preview → your explicit yes; never without consent). `--await [--timeout <s>]` (AD-049) BLOCKS until every recipe-named backend has receipted the current tree — the durable completion signal is the receipt, never a process event — so you wait for the bridges instead of hand-polling. Never writes, never commits, never runs a subscription CLI; it spawns read-only `git` queries to fingerprint the tree — and `git commit --no-verify` stays possible (discipline, not a sandbox). |
-| `/agent-workflow-kit sandbox-masks` | any time | **cosmetic exclude lane for sandbox device masks** — an OS sandbox (Claude Code) injects character-device masks into the work tree as untracked `git status` noise; the review domain already ignores them **by construction** (never-committable untracked classes — char/block devices, FIFOs, sockets — are excluded from the fingerprint, the assembled review payload, and the clean checks). This mode hides them from `git status` too: flagless = read-only probe (derives the CURRENT mask set from the unfiltered walk + lstat — never a frozen list — and revalidates fenced entries, loudly flagging one that became a real path); `--apply` = consent-gated FULL-BLOCK replace of its own fenced block in `git rev-parse --git-path info/exclude` (stale masks drop by construction; `--clear` always means REMOVE the block — it takes precedence over the derivation). Writes ONLY its fence — never `.gitignore`, never global config; symlinked/non-regular exclude paths and malformed fences fail closed. Watch note: a real file at an excluded path is silently skipped by bulk staging (`git add -A`/`git add .`) — delete the stale line first; the probe flags exactly this case. |
+| `/agent-workflow-kit sandbox-masks` | any time | **exclude lane for sandbox masks** — an OS sandbox (Claude Code) masks work-tree paths with a device or, on Linux, a foreign bind mount, as untracked `git status` noise; the review domain already ignores a **device mask** **by construction** (never-committable untracked classes — char/block devices, FIFOs, sockets — are excluded from the fingerprint, the assembled review payload, and the clean checks), while a **mount-only mask** rides the fingerprint and `git add -A` while git does not ignore it (load-bearing there). This mode hides them from `git status` too: flagless = read-only probe (derives the CURRENT mask set from the unfiltered walk + lstat + `/proc/self/mountinfo` — never a frozen list; off Linux the mount signal is not read and it says so, an unreadable or malformed table refuses — and revalidates fenced entries, loudly flagging one that became a real path); `--apply` = consent-gated FULL-BLOCK replace of its own fenced block in `git rev-parse --git-path info/exclude` (stale masks drop by construction; `--clear` always means REMOVE the block — it takes precedence over the derivation). Writes ONLY its fence — never `.gitignore`, never global config; symlinked/non-regular exclude paths and malformed fences fail closed. Watch note: a real file at an excluded path is silently skipped by bulk staging (`git add -A`/`git add .`) — delete the stale line first; the probe flags exactly this case. |
 | `/agent-workflow-kit mcp` | Claude Code · opt-in | **typed-channel registration** — the kit ships a read-only stdio **MCP server** exposing its two promptless readers as TYPED tools (`path_inventory`: exists / type / size / line count / listing / a small file's text, many paths in ONE call; `repo_search`: literal search, the pattern a JSON string). Their arguments are named JSON fields rather than a string handed to a shell, so a pipe, a redirect or a quote inside a pattern or a path stays DATA and is never interpreted — legal bytes to search for, with no shell to read them as operators. Shipping the server does nothing on its own — a client sees it only once the project declares it, and this mode is that declaration: the `agent-workflow` entry in **`.mcp.json`** (command `node`, args = the absolute path of the RUNNING kit's server) plus `enabledMcpjsonServers` and the two derived tool allow rules in **`.claude/settings.json`**. Preview by default and the **exact entry is printed before consent** (registering a server means your client will run that command); `--apply` writes `.mcp.json` FIRST, then settings, merge-don't-clobber with each file's EOL kept, and a re-apply adds nothing twice. An existing `agent-workflow` entry that **structurally differs** from what this kit copy would write is refused unwritten (the comparison ignores key order, so re-serialized identical bytes are the same registration) — silently changing what an MCP server launches is what consent must not slide past. Where an OS sandbox masks `.mcp.json` with a device node, it writes nothing, hands you both paste-ready texts and exits 0. The server is a read-only child of your client (no write, no exec API) running outside the Bash sandbox as the client does. Never writes `settings.local.json`; never commits. |
 | `/agent-workflow-kit grounding` | any time | **grounded-review facts assembler** — mechanizes populating `agy-review --facts @f`: slices your entry-point's **Hard Constraints** section verbatim (exactly one match, else a loud stop) and/or a plan's three canon sections (`## Goal and boundary` + `## Module ledger` + `## Verification`, each required; duplicates stop), under the same byte budget the agy wrapper enforces (minus `--reserve-bytes` for the artifact share), with a loud tail-trim on overflow. `--autonomy` (AD-044) appends the COMPUTED effective autonomy policy from the git-top `docs/ai/autonomy.json` (every red-line + per-activity level, stated source line; absent file → the computed defaults ARE the policy, exit 0; a malformed policy fails CLOSED, exit 1). `--extra <text|@file>` (repeatable) appends your own facts **byte-verbatim** after the mechanical sections, so the merge is a tool input rather than a shell append — an `@file` must sit inside the proven git work tree (never the git dir) or the system temp surface, and is read through a no-follow descriptor (a FIFO cannot block it, a symlink leaf cannot substitute its target). Prints to stdout; `--out` writes **one scratch file only** — system-temp outside the repo ($TMPDIR / /tmp, rewritable) or a **fresh** gitignored in-repo path (create-only, exclusive write; an existing in-repo file, even gitignored, is refused — the `.env` clobber class); tracked, not-ignored-in-repo, other outside-repo, and symlink/non-regular destinations are all refused. Never commits, never runs a subscription CLI. |
 | `/agent-workflow-kit core-evidence` | any time | **the ONE loop-evidence writer** (strip-the-kit) — every core evidence record lands in a single append-only JSONL store inside the git dir (never committable; versioned schema, latest-per-key supersession, byte-identical duplicates refused, malformed lines fail every reader closed). `red-proof "<file>#<pattern>"` declares an observed-red **BEFORE a bugfix** (N/N red runs + content custody + base + the pre-fix fingerprint; green/mixed/timeout are DISTINGUISHED refusals — nothing written); `degrade --backend --reason` is the ONLY escape for an unavailable review backend (per-tree, never all backends); `summary` renders the whole loop state statelessly (gate result · per-backend verdicts · red-proofs · degrades) — no ledger, no rounds, nothing remembered. Honest residual: records are forgeable — self-discipline, not a security boundary. Never commits, never runs a subscription CLI. |

package/SKILL.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: agent-workflow-kit
 description: Deploy or upgrade a portable AI-agent memory-and-workflow system in any project. Use when the user wants to bootstrap `docs/ai/` + an entry-point `AGENTS.md` (+ `CLAUDE.md` alias) + cap/archive/index enforcement in a new or existing repo, set up the Memory Map and session protocols, install the docs-rotation pre-commit hook, or run `/agent-workflow-kit` / `/agent-workflow-kit upgrade`. Triggers on phrases like "set up the memory system", "deploy the AI workflow here", "bootstrap docs/ai", "upgrade the workflow". New to the epic, story and task tier? Run `/agent-workflow-kit tier`.
 disable-model-invocation: true
 metadata:
-  version: '14.14.0'
+  version: '14.15.0'
 ---
 
 # agent-workflow-kit

package/capability.json

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "schema": 1,
   "name": "agent-workflow-kit",
   "kind": "composition-root",
-  "version": "14.14.0",
+  "version": "14.15.0",
   "provides": [],
   "roles": {},
   "detect": {

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@sabaiway/agent-workflow-kit",
-  "version": "14.14.0",
+  "version": "14.15.0",
   "description": "Portable, cross-agent memory & workflow for AI coding agents — Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Devin Desktop. One command deploys an AGENTS.md entry point + docs/ai context with cap/archive/index enforcement into any repo.",
   "keywords": [
     "ai-agents",

package/references/modes/agents.md

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Writing code, running gates, and user-facing copy never move to these four vehic
 Run `node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/tools/cheap-agents.mjs [--dry-run | --apply] [--cwd <dir>]`:
 
 1. **`--dry-run` first, always** (the default — changes nothing). It previews, per bundled vehicle, whether it **would place** the file, finds it **already current**, or finds a **customized** file (different content) that will be **preserved, never overwritten** (delete the file to reseed it from the bundle) — except the executor, whose differing bytes **would re-derive** from `docs/ai/vehicles.json` and are rewritten on `--apply` (a hand edit is replaced, never preserved).
-2. **Only on an explicit yes**, re-run with `--apply`. It writes **only** under `.claude/agents/` — never `settings.json` / `settings.local.json`, never a commit. `--apply` is deployment-gated (the stamp must be at the lineage head) and symlink-safe (a symlinked `.claude` / `.claude/agents` / target file is a STOP).
+2. **Only on an explicit yes**, re-run with `--apply`. It writes **only** under `.claude/agents/` — never `settings.json` / `settings.local.json`, never a commit. `--apply` is deployment-gated (the stamp must be at the lineage head) and symlink-safe (a symlinked project root / `.claude` / `.claude/agents` / target file is a STOP, in a `--dry-run` too).
 3. **Hidden-mode deployments:** after apply, run the hide-footprint reconcile (`node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/tools/hide-footprint.mjs --dir <project> --reconcile`) so the placed files stay invisible to `git status` — `/.claude/agents/` is in the known-footprint registry; the apply report reminds you.
 
 **Invariants:** writer (writes only `.claude/agents/`) · preview by default · a diverged existing file is reported and preserved, never clobbered — except the executor, re-derived from `docs/ai/vehicles.json` on apply · never touches settings · never commits · **no READ-ONLY vehicle grants `Bash`, and exactly one bundled vehicle, `executor`, grants a shell** · the cheap-lane vehicles are pinned to `model: haiku` + `effort: low`, and the review lens is pinned OFF the cheap model (all content-tested).

package/references/modes/sandbox-masks.md

@@ -2,15 +2,15 @@
 
 <!-- opt-in-capability: sandbox-masks -->
 
-**Cosmetic exclude lane for sandbox-injected device masks** (AD-044). An OS sandbox (Claude Code) injects character-device masks into the work tree (`.bashrc`, `.gitconfig`, `.vscode`, …); git lists them as untracked noise. The **review domain already ignores them by construction** — never-committable untracked classes (character/block devices, FIFOs, sockets) are excluded from the fingerprint, the assembled review payload, and the clean checks in both bridge wrappers and the kit checker. This mode is the optional **cosmetic** half: it hides the masks from `git status` (and every other `--exclude-standard` untracked walk) via **one managed fenced block** in the file `git rev-parse --git-path info/exclude` names.
+**Exclude lane for sandbox masks** (AD-044). An OS sandbox (Claude Code) masks paths in the work tree (`.bashrc`, `.gitconfig`, `.vscode`, …) with a device or with a foreign bind mount; git lists them as untracked noise. A **device mask** is a never-committable untracked class (character/block devices, FIFOs, sockets) the **review domain already ignores by construction** — excluded from the fingerprint, the assembled review payload, and the clean checks in both bridge wrappers and the kit checker — so for it this mode is **cosmetic**. A **mount-only mask** (a foreign mount target whose file looks ordinary, e.g. an empty file) is not in that class: while git does not ignore it, it rides the review fingerprint and `git add -A` (the block adds a local exclude pattern for it; a `.gitignore` negation such as `!/.bashrc` outranks the block), so for it this mode is **load-bearing**. The mode hides the masks from `git status` (and every other `--exclude-standard` untracked walk) via **one managed fenced block** in the file `git rev-parse --git-path info/exclude` names.
 
 Run `node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/tools/sandbox-masks.mjs [--cwd <project-root>]`:
 
-1. **Flagless → READ-ONLY probe/preview.** Derives the CURRENT mask set from the **unfiltered** untracked walk (`git ls-files --others -z`, without standard excludes — an already-hidden mask stays visible to a rerun) plus lstat classification. Only the never-committable classes are ever candidates; tracked / regular / directory / symlink / gitlink / missing paths can never enter the block **by construction**. The probe also **revalidates** the existing fenced entries and loudly flags any that became a REAL path. It prints the exact apply one-liner.
+1. **Flagless → READ-ONLY probe/preview.** Derives the CURRENT mask set from the **unfiltered** untracked walk (`git ls-files --others -z`, without standard excludes — an already-hidden mask stays visible to a rerun) plus one mask test: a path is a mask when its lstat is a never-committable class or, on Linux, it is a foreign mount target read from `/proc/self/mountinfo` (off Linux the mount signal is not read and the probe says so; an unreadable or malformed table refuses, exit 1). Tracked paths and every other regular / directory / symlink / gitlink / missing path can never enter the block **by construction**. The probe also **revalidates** the existing fenced entries and loudly flags any that became a REAL path. It prints the exact apply one-liner.
 2. **`--apply` → consent-gated FULL-BLOCK REPLACE** from a fresh derivation — stale masks drop by construction, never append-only. Run it **inside the sandbox** (masks are visible only there). An apply whose derivation is EMPTY while a non-empty block exists refuses loudly (you are probably outside the sandbox) unless `--clear` is also given; an empty derivation with no block is a stated no-op. `--clear` always means **remove the managed block** — it takes precedence over the derivation, even while masks are visible.
 3. **Writes ONLY its own fenced block** — never `.gitignore`, never a global excludesFile, never outside the fence. A malformed fence (start without end, duplicated markers) **fails closed**: loud report, file untouched. The fence is separate from the hidden-mode reconcile's block.
 
-**Where the need surfaces on its own (no standing detector):** `review-state --check` prints one non-failing notice with this mode's apply one-liner whenever it observes filtered-class untracked paths, and the upgrade **Recommendations** section carries the same item (the probe is exported to the advisor — `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/modes/recommendations.md`) — a NEW mask appearing after a sandbox update surfaces its own fix at the next check or upgrade.
+**Where the need surfaces on its own (no standing detector):** `review-state --check` prints one non-failing notice with this mode's apply one-liner whenever it observes device-class untracked paths (it never counts a mount-only mask), and the upgrade **Recommendations** section carries the item for every mask — attention-class when a present managed block lacks a mount-only mask (the probe is exported to the advisor — `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/modes/recommendations.md`) — so a NEW mask appearing after a sandbox update surfaces its own fix at the next upgrade, a device mask at the next check too.
 
 **Watch note (D5):** an exclude rule hides a path from `git status` **AND from bulk staging** — a real file at an excluded path is silently skipped by `git add -A`/`git add .` (an explicit `git add <path>` refuses without `-f`), so it would stay out of your commits; `.git/info/exclude` never warns. Before creating a REAL file at a masked path (e.g. a real `.vscode/`), delete the matching line from the managed block first — the probe flags exactly this case.
 

package/tools/cheap-agents.mjs

@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@
 //   • deployment-gated — `--apply` STOPs unless docs/ai/.workflow-version equals the lineage
 //     head (a dry-run stays usable whatever the stamp says; an unreadable orchestration config
 //     STOPs both, since the derived lenses it names cannot be known);
-//   • symlink-safe — a symlinked `.claude` / `.claude/agents` / target file is a STOP, never a
-//     write-through;
+//   • symlink-safe — a symlinked project root, `.claude`, `.claude/agents` or target file is a
+//     STOP, in a dry-run too, never a write-through;
 //   • preserves differing .claude/agents/ files (`customized — preserved`), except the executor:
 //     on apply its body is re-derived from docs/ai/vehicles.json, replacing a hand edit;
 //     an identical file is `already current` (idempotent re-run);
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 // Dependency-free, Node >= 22. No side effects on import.
 
 import { mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
-import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { join, resolve } from 'node:path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { isDirectRun } from './direct-run.mjs';
 import { shellQuoteArg } from './repo-lex.mjs';
@@ -117,9 +117,21 @@ const writeFsDeps = (deps = {}) => ({
   writeFile: deps.writeFile ?? writeFileSync,
 });
 
+const refuseSymlinkedRoot = (projectDir, deps) => {
+  const root = resolve(projectDir);
+  let stat;
+  try {
+    stat = readFsDeps(deps).lstat(root);
+  } catch {
+    return;
+  }
+  if (stat.isSymbolicLink()) throw makeCheapAgentsError(CHEAP_AGENTS_SYMLINK, `the project root ${root} is a symlink — refusing to write through it`);
+};
+
 export const preflightCheapAgents = ({ cwd, derived = [] }, deps = {}) => {
   const fs = readFsDeps(deps);
   const projectDir = cwd ?? process.cwd();
+  refuseSymlinkedRoot(projectDir, deps);
   const templatesByName = new Map(readBundledAgents(deps).map((template) => [template.name, template]));
   for (const template of derived) templatesByName.set(template.name, template);
   const templates = [...templatesByName.values()];
@@ -169,6 +181,7 @@ export const applyCheapAgentsCommand = (root) =>
 export const writeCheapAgents = ({ cwd, dryRun = true } = {}, deps = {}) => {
   const fs = writeFsDeps(deps);
   const projectDir = cwd ?? process.cwd();
+  refuseSymlinkedRoot(projectDir, deps);
   const posture = loadExecutorPostureOrStop(projectDir, deps);
   const derived = [executorTemplate(posture, deps), ...configuredDerivedTemplates(projectDir, deps)];
   const preflight = preflightCheapAgents({ cwd: projectDir, derived }, deps);

package/tools/commands.mjs

@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ const CATALOG = [
     invocation: invocationOf('sandbox-masks'),
     group: 'Configure',
     kind: GUARDED,
-    oneLine: 'Hide the sandbox’s injected device masks from git status via one managed block in the repo’s local exclude file — probe-derived (never a frozen list), preview first, full-block replace on your yes; reviews already ignore the masks by construction.',
+    oneLine: 'Hide the sandbox masks (a device, or on Linux a foreign bind mount) from git status via one managed block in the repo’s local exclude file — probe-derived (never a frozen list), preview first, full-block replace on your yes; reviews already ignore device masks, while a mount-only mask stays in git add -A and the review fingerprint as long as git does not ignore it.',
   },
   {
     key: 'mcp',

package/tools/mount-masks.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+// mount-masks.mjs — the mount-table judge of the sandbox-masks lane (spec kit/review-domain/sandbox-masks).
+// A pure read-only leaf: it parses /proc/self/mountinfo TEXT (the caller reads it) and answers which
+// work-tree paths are FOREIGN mount targets — the second arm of the mask predicate beside the lstat
+// class. Library-only: no import effect, no direct-run dispatch.
+
+import { realpathSync } from 'node:fs';
+
+const ESCAPES = new Map([['\\040', ' '], ['\\011', '\t'], ['\\012', '\n'], ['\\134', '\\']]);
+
+const malformed = (why) => new Error(`malformed mountinfo: ${why}`);
+
+// Root and mount point decode the kernel's four octal escapes; any other backslash sequence is malformed.
+const decode = (field, lineNo) => field.replace(/\\.{0,3}/gs, (seq) => {
+  if (ESCAPES.has(seq)) return ESCAPES.get(seq);
+  throw malformed(`line ${lineNo} carries the backslash sequence ${JSON.stringify(seq)}`);
+});
+
+// One entry per line: split on SINGLE spaces (an empty field is a field); nothing after the source is read.
+const parseLine = (line, lineNo) => {
+  const fields = line.split(' ');
+  const dash = fields.indexOf('-');
+  if (dash === -1) throw malformed(`line ${lineNo} has no - field`);
+  if (dash < 6) throw malformed(`line ${lineNo} has fewer than six fields before the - field`);
+  if (fields.length - dash - 1 < 2) throw malformed(`line ${lineNo} has fewer than two fields after the - field`);
+  const [id, parent, dev, root, point] = fields;
+  return { id, parent, dev, root: decode(root, lineNo), point: decode(point, lineNo) };
+};
+
+const parseTable = (text) => {
+  const lines = text.split('\n');
+  if (lines[lines.length - 1] === '') lines.pop(); // the empty tail after the last newline is not a line
+  return lines.map((line, i) => parseLine(line, i + 1));
+};
+
+const parentPath = (path) => path.slice(0, path.lastIndexOf('/')) || '/';
+const below = (path, point) => (point === '/' ? path : path.slice(point.length));
+const joinRoot = (root, rest) => (rest === '' ? root : root === '/' ? rest : `${root}${rest}`);
+
+// The judge follows PARENT IDS, never list order, and resolves visibility from the root mount down.
+const buildJudge = (entries) => {
+  const byId = new Map(entries.map((e) => [e.id, e]));
+  const atPoint = new Map();
+  for (const e of entries) atPoint.set(e.point, [...(atPoint.get(e.point) ?? []), e]);
+  const roots = (atPoint.get('/') ?? []).filter((e) => e.parent === e.id || !byId.has(e.parent));
+  if (roots.length !== 1) throw malformed(`${roots.length} root mounts at / (exactly one entry at / has an unlisted or its own parent)`);
+  const rootMount = roots[0];
+  // The BASE of an entry at P: follow parent ids down through the entries at P.
+  const baseOf = (entry, point) => {
+    const seen = new Set();
+    let cur = entry;
+    while (cur.point === point && cur !== rootMount) {
+      if (seen.has(cur.id)) throw malformed(`a parent cycle at ${point}`);
+      seen.add(cur.id);
+      const next = byId.get(cur.parent);
+      if (next == null) throw malformed(`parent id ${cur.parent} of mount ${cur.id} is not listed`);
+      cur = next;
+    }
+    return cur;
+  };
+  const memo = new Map();
+  // → { visible, served }: the visible entry serving the path (itself or an ancestor's) and, when
+  // the path has its own visible entry, the H it sits on.
+  const serve = (point) => {
+    if (memo.has(point)) return memo.get(point);
+    let ancestor = point === '/' ? null : parentPath(point);
+    while (ancestor != null && !atPoint.has(ancestor)) ancestor = parentPath(ancestor);
+    const H = ancestor == null ? rootMount : serve(ancestor).visible;
+    const here = atPoint.get(point);
+    const named = new Set(here.filter((e) => e.parent !== e.id).map((e) => e.parent));
+    const tops = here.filter((e) => !named.has(e.id) && baseOf(e, point) === H);
+    if (tops.length > 1) throw malformed(`${tops.length} tops over one base at ${point}`);
+    const answer = tops.length === 1 ? { visible: tops[0], H, own: true } : { visible: H, H, own: false };
+    memo.set(point, answer);
+    return answer;
+  };
+  return { atPoint, serve };
+};
+
+// A SELF bind shares H's device and names H's root joined with P's path below H's mount point.
+const isSelfBind = (M, H, point) => M.dev === H.dev && joinRoot(H.root, below(point, H.point)) === M.root;
+
+// foreignMountTargets(root, text) → Set of work-tree-relative paths ('/'-separated) whose visible
+// mount is FOREIGN. Only an EXACT mount target strictly below the realpath of `root` counts; a path
+// whose entries are all hidden layers is left to lstat. A malformed table throws.
+export const foreignMountTargets = (root, text) => {
+  const top = realpathSync(root);
+  const { atPoint, serve } = buildJudge(parseTable(text));
+  serve('/');
+  const foreign = new Set();
+  for (const point of atPoint.keys()) {
+    if (!point.startsWith(`${top}/`)) continue;
+    const { visible, H, own } = serve(point);
+    if (own && !isSelfBind(visible, H, point)) foreign.add(point.slice(top.length + 1));
+  }
+  return foreign;
+};

package/tools/recommendations.mjs

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ import { detectBackends, findOnPath } from './detect-backends.mjs';
 import { isDirectRun } from './direct-run.mjs';
 import { ACTIVITIES, resolveActivityRecipe, composeReadiness, safeLine } from './recipes.mjs';
 import { surveyFamily, surveyGateHook, surveyAdrLayoutStrict } from './family-registry.mjs';
-import { probeSandboxMasks, needsMasksApply } from './sandbox-masks.mjs';
+import { probeSandboxMasks, needsMasksApply, patternToRel } from './sandbox-masks.mjs';
 import { shellQuoteArg } from './review-state.mjs';
 import { isFinalCapableDeclaration } from './run-gates.mjs';
 import { loadDeclaration, canonicalCheckerGates, coverageProducerPrecedes, isKitOwnedCheckerGate, GATES_REL, LCOV_PRODUCER_KEY } from './gates-declaration.mjs';
@@ -193,6 +193,7 @@ export const SEVERITIES = Object.freeze({
   'family-freshness': SEVERITY_ATTENTION,
   'adr-store-migration': SEVERITY_ATTENTION,
   'sandbox-masks': SEVERITY_OPTIONAL,
+  'sandbox-masks.unfenced-mount': SEVERITY_ATTENTION,
   'sandbox-lane': SEVERITY_OPTIONAL,
   'worktrees-dir': SEVERITY_OPTIONAL,
   // The layer is opt-in, so both arms are OFFERS under the frozen registry (attention is a CONFIGURED
@@ -271,8 +272,8 @@ export const WHATS = Object.freeze({
   'executor-vehicle': '{n} slot(s) configured subagent but the executor vehicle is {state}{reason} — every such slot runs solo until it is usable',
   'family-freshness': '{parts}',
   'adr-store-migration': 'still on the retired 3-tier ADR layout — {shape}',
-  'sandbox-masks': '{n} sandbox device mask(s) clutter git status — the managed exclude block is absent or stale',
-  'sandbox-masks.stale-real': '{n} sandbox device mask(s) clutter git status — the exclude block is stale; {m} fenced entr(ies) are REAL paths (a fresh apply drops them)',
+  'sandbox-masks': '{n} sandbox mask(s) clutter git status — the managed exclude block is absent or stale',
+  'sandbox-masks.stale-real': '{n} sandbox mask(s) clutter git status — the exclude block is stale; {m} fenced entr(ies) are REAL paths (a fresh apply drops them)',
   'sandbox-lane': 'the wired review wrappers declare a session-sandbox recipe (egress hosts + writable state dirs) not yet acknowledged for this project',
   'worktrees-dir': 'write access to the worktrees parent dir {dir} is not confirmed — provision may still stop',
   'spec-adoption': 'feature-spec store absent (docs/ai/specs) — no feature contract can govern a plan here yet; seed the store, or record the decline',
@@ -333,7 +334,7 @@ export const BENEFITS = Object.freeze({
   'executor-vehicle': 'carrier readiness — a slot you configured subagent dispatches the subagent it names instead of silently running solo',
   'family-freshness': 'currency — placed family members carry the latest shipped fixes and features',
   'adr-store-migration': 'durability — every decision becomes its own file with a generated navigator, instead of one hand-rotated pile',
-  'sandbox-masks': 'zero clutter — git status shows only your changes (the review domain already ignores the masks by construction)',
+  'sandbox-masks': 'zero clutter — a mask git ignores through the block leaves git status; a mount-only one leaves git add -A and the review fingerprint too',
   'sandbox-lane': 'discoverability — the manifest-declared observed sandbox recipe for bridge runs surfaces itself instead of waiting to be asked',
   'worktrees-dir': 'parallel features — the host-specific write allowance or terminal fallback is surfaced before provision',
   'spec-adoption': 'contracts — a plan names the contract it builds to, and a change to a governed slice is visible at review instead of after it',
@@ -1124,7 +1125,8 @@ const probeMasksItem = ({ root, deps, add, skip }) => {
     // A stale-real-only fence (EMPTY derivation over a non-empty block) makes the plain --apply
     // REFUSE — the exact one-liner must carry --clear there (Segment B).
     const apply = p.masks.length === 0 && p.staleReal.length > 0 ? `${p.applyCmd} --clear` : p.applyCmd;
-    add('sandbox-masks', fillTemplate(WHATS[variant], { n: p.masks.length, m: p.staleReal.length }), apply);
+    const unfenced = p.fence.state === 'ok' && p.mountOnly.some((rel) => !p.fence.body.map(patternToRel).includes(rel));
+    add('sandbox-masks', fillTemplate(WHATS[variant], { n: p.masks.length, m: p.staleReal.length }), apply, unfenced ? 'sandbox-masks.unfenced-mount' : 'sandbox-masks');
   } catch (err) {
     skip('sandbox-masks', err);
   }

package/tools/sandbox-masks.mjs

@@ -1,20 +1,18 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
-// sandbox-masks.mjs — the GUARDED cosmetic exclude lane behind `/agent-workflow-kit sandbox-masks`
-// (AD-044 Plan 4, Phase 1.5; design consult codex+agy CONVERGED on B+D — probe-DERIVED, never a
-// frozen list). An OS sandbox (Claude Code) injects character-device masks into the work tree;
-// the review domain already ignores them BY CONSTRUCTION (review-state.mjs + both bridge wrappers,
-// Decision 1), so this lane is COSMETIC ONLY: it hides the masks from `git status` (and from every
-// other --exclude-standard untracked walk) via ONE managed fenced block in the repo's
-// `git rev-parse --git-path info/exclude` file.
+// sandbox-masks.mjs — the GUARDED exclude lane behind `/agent-workflow-kit sandbox-masks` (AD-044
+// Plan 4; probe-DERIVED, never a frozen list; contract docs: specs/kit/review-domain/sandbox-masks).
+// An OS sandbox masks work-tree paths: a device node (the review domain ignores it by construction)
+// or a FOREIGN bind mount of an empty file (the review domain sees it as an untracked file until the
+// block below hides it — load-bearing there). The lane hides the masks from `git status` and every
+// --exclude-standard walk via ONE managed fenced block in `git rev-parse --git-path info/exclude`.
 //
 // Contract:
 //   flagless      READ-ONLY probe/preview. Derives the CURRENT mask set from the UNFILTERED
 //                 untracked walk (`git ls-files --others -z`, WITHOUT standard excludes — an
-//                 already-excluded mask must stay visible to a rerun) + lstat classification.
-//                 ONLY the never-committable classes (char/block devices, FIFOs, sockets — the
-//                 SAME class set as the review-domain filter) are ever candidates; tracked /
-//                 regular / directory / symlink / gitlink / missing paths can never enter the
-//                 block by construction. The probe also REVALIDATES the existing fenced entries
+//                 already-excluded mask must stay visible to a rerun). A mask is a never-committable
+//                 lstat class (char/block device, FIFO, socket) OR a foreign mount target judged
+//                 from /proc/self/mountinfo (mount-masks.mjs; off Linux the arm is absent and said
+//                 so, an unreadable or malformed table refuses). The probe also REVALIDATES the existing fenced entries
 //                 and loudly flags any that became a REAL path (delete that line first — an
 //                 excluded real file is silently skipped by bulk staging, `git add -A`/`git add .`,
 //                 and `.git/info/exclude` never warns). No standing detector: the flags ride probe runs.
@@ -43,6 +41,7 @@ import { fail } from './orchestration-config.mjs';
 import { isNeverCommittableStat, shellQuoteArg } from './review-state.mjs';
 import { assertContainedRealPath } from './fs-safe.mjs';
 import { GIT_MAX_BUFFER } from './git-env.mjs';
+import { foreignMountTargets } from './mount-masks.mjs';
 
 export const MASKS_FENCE_START = '# >>> agent-workflow sandbox-masks — managed block, fully REPLACED by the kit sandbox-masks lane; do not hand-edit inside >>>';
 export const MASKS_FENCE_END = '# <<< agent-workflow sandbox-masks <<<';
@@ -65,7 +64,27 @@ const listUntrackedUnfilteredZ = (root) => {
   return r.stdout.split('\0').filter(Boolean);
 };
 
-// ── derivation (the D5 guard IS the classifier: only never-committable classes survive) ────────
+// ── derivation (the D5 guard IS the classifier) ────────
+
+// The mount signal: text, null (absent by platform — the default answers it off Linux) or a throw.
+const readMountinfoDefault = (platform = process.platform) => (platform === 'linux' ? readFileSync('/proc/self/mountinfo', 'utf8') : null);
+
+// → { foreign: Set of work-tree-relative foreign mount targets, signal: 'read' | 'absent' }; an
+// unreadable or malformed table refuses (never a device-only guess on Linux).
+const mountTargets = (root, readMountinfo) => {
+  let text;
+  try {
+    text = readMountinfo();
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw fail(1, `cannot read /proc/self/mountinfo (${err?.code ?? err?.message ?? err}) — the mount signal is required on Linux`);
+  }
+  if (text == null) return { foreign: new Set(), signal: 'absent' };
+  try {
+    return { foreign: foreignMountTargets(root, text), signal: 'read' };
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw fail(1, `${err.message} — refusing a device-only answer (/proc/self/mountinfo)`);
+  }
+};
 
 // A root-anchored gitignore pattern for one relative path: leading `/` (root-anchored — a mask
 // name can never shadow a deeper real path), glob metacharacters + leading-! / leading-# handled
@@ -77,17 +96,18 @@ export const toExcludePattern = (rel) => {
   return `/${escaped}`;
 };
 
-// deriveMasks({ root, lstat, listUntracked }) → { masks, unrenderable }: sorted rel paths whose
-// lstat class is never-committable (char/block/FIFO/socket). Everything else is refused by
-// construction — tracked paths never appear in an --others walk; regular/dir/symlink/missing fail
-// the predicate. A CR/LF-carrying mask NAME cannot be expressed as ONE gitignore rule — rendering
-// it would split into several rules and could hide unrelated committable paths — so it
-// is a LOUD unrenderable skip, never written (the review domain already ignores the mask itself).
-export const deriveMasks = ({ root, lstat = lstatSync, listUntracked = listUntrackedUnfilteredZ } = {}) => {
+// deriveMasks({ root, lstat, listUntracked, readMountinfo }) → { masks, unrenderable, mountOnly,
+// mountSignal }: sorted rel paths that are a mask (a never-committable lstat class OR a foreign
+// mount target). Tracked paths never appear in an --others walk; everything else fails the
+// predicate. A CR/LF-carrying mask NAME cannot be ONE gitignore rule — rendering it could hide
+// unrelated committable paths — so it is a LOUD unrenderable skip, never written.
+export const deriveMasks = ({ root, lstat = lstatSync, listUntracked = listUntrackedUnfilteredZ, readMountinfo = readMountinfoDefault } = {}) => {
   const entries = listUntracked(root);
   if (entries == null) return null;
+  const { foreign, signal } = mountTargets(root, readMountinfo);
   const masks = [];
   const unrenderable = [];
+  const mountOnly = [];
   for (const rel of entries) {
     let stat = null;
     try {
@@ -95,13 +115,15 @@ export const deriveMasks = ({ root, lstat = lstatSync, listUntracked = listUntra
     } catch {
       stat = null;
     }
-    if (!isNeverCommittableStat(stat)) continue;
+    const device = isNeverCommittableStat(stat);
+    if (!device && !foreign.has(rel)) continue;
+    if (!device) mountOnly.push(rel);
     // CR/LF anywhere, or a trailing TAB (inexpressible in gitignore — only trailing SPACES escape
     // as `\ `), make the name unrenderable as ONE exclude rule.
     if (/[\r\n]/.test(rel) || /\t$/.test(rel)) unrenderable.push(rel);
     else masks.push(rel);
   }
-  return { masks: masks.sort(), unrenderable: unrenderable.sort() };
+  return { masks: masks.sort(), unrenderable: unrenderable.sort(), mountOnly: mountOnly.sort(), mountSignal: signal };
 };
 
 // ── the fence (own block; malformed → fail closed) ─────────────────────────────────
@@ -119,7 +141,7 @@ export const findMasksFence = (lines) => {
 // escaped forms; unescape is its exact inverse — the escaped-space form `\ ` included, so a
 // trailing-space mask round-trips). Non-pattern lines (blank/comment) are skipped;
 // only UNESCAPED trailing whitespace is insignificant (gitignore semantics).
-const patternToRel = (line) => {
+export const patternToRel = (line) => {
   // A trailing CR (a CRLF-saved exclude file) strips FIRST — it would otherwise ride into the rel
   // name and false-ENOENT the revalidation lstat; then only UNESCAPED trailing
   // whitespace is insignificant (gitignore semantics — an escaped `\ ` survives).
@@ -129,9 +151,9 @@ const patternToRel = (line) => {
 };
 
 // Revalidate the CURRENT fence body against the disk: an entry whose path now exists as anything
-// OTHER than a never-committable class is a STALE-REAL flag — the D5 watch (a real file at an
-// excluded path is silently skipped by bulk staging; delete the line before trusting git with it).
-export const revalidateFence = (bodyLines, { root, lstat = lstatSync } = {}) => {
+// that is not a mask (the derivation's predicate) is a STALE-REAL flag — the D5 watch (a real file
+// at an excluded path is silently skipped by bulk staging; delete the line before trusting git).
+export const revalidateFence = (bodyLines, { root, lstat = lstatSync, readMountinfo = readMountinfoDefault, foreign = mountTargets(root, readMountinfo).foreign } = {}) => {
   const staleReal = [];
   for (const line of bodyLines) {
     const rel = patternToRel(line);
@@ -142,7 +164,7 @@ export const revalidateFence = (bodyLines, { root, lstat = lstatSync } = {}) =>
     } catch {
       continue; // vanished mask — the next --apply drops it by construction, nothing real is hidden
     }
-    if (!isNeverCommittableStat(stat)) staleReal.push(rel);
+    if (!isNeverCommittableStat(stat) && !foreign.has(rel)) staleReal.push(rel);
   }
   return staleReal;
 };
@@ -151,7 +173,7 @@ export const revalidateFence = (bodyLines, { root, lstat = lstatSync } = {}) =>
 
 // probeSandboxMasks({ cwd, ... }) → everything the render/apply/advisor needs, or null when not a
 // git work tree. Read-only always.
-export const probeSandboxMasks = ({ cwd = process.cwd(), lstat = lstatSync, listUntracked = listUntrackedUnfilteredZ, readFile = readFileSync } = {}) => {
+export const probeSandboxMasks = ({ cwd = process.cwd(), lstat = lstatSync, listUntracked = listUntrackedUnfilteredZ, readFile = readFileSync, readMountinfo = readMountinfoDefault } = {}) => {
   const root = gitLine(['rev-parse', '--show-toplevel'], cwd);
   if (root == null) return null;
   const gitPathRaw = gitLine(['rev-parse', '--git-path', 'info/exclude'], cwd);
@@ -161,9 +183,11 @@ export const probeSandboxMasks = ({ cwd = process.cwd(), lstat = lstatSync, list
   // The write-containment root: info/exclude lives in the COMMON git dir (worktree-safe),
   // and the apply must never write through a symlinked component or a non-regular leaf.
   const gitCommonDir = resolve(cwd, commonDirRaw);
-  const derived = deriveMasks({ root, lstat, listUntracked });
+  let text; // read ONCE: derivation and revalidation judge one table
+  const once = () => (text === undefined ? (text = readMountinfo()) : text);
+  const derived = deriveMasks({ root, lstat, listUntracked, readMountinfo: once });
   if (derived == null) return null;
-  const { masks, unrenderable } = derived;
+  const { masks, unrenderable, mountOnly, mountSignal } = derived;
   // The WHOLE chain is guarded BEFORE any read: a symlinked exclude leaf OR a
   // symlinked parent (.git/info) must never be read through, and a FIFO/socket leaf would HANG
   // the read-only probe — parent-chain containment + leaf lstat first, fail closed on everything
@@ -198,9 +222,9 @@ export const probeSandboxMasks = ({ cwd = process.cwd(), lstat = lstatSync, list
   }
   const lines = content.split('\n');
   const fence = findMasksFence(lines);
-  const staleReal = fence.state === 'ok' ? revalidateFence(fence.body, { root, lstat }) : [];
+  const staleReal = fence.state === 'ok' ? revalidateFence(fence.body, { root, lstat, readMountinfo: once }) : [];
   const applyCmd = `node ${shellQuoteArg(join(HERE, 'sandbox-masks.mjs'))} --cwd ${shellQuoteArg(root)} --apply`;
-  return { root, excludeFile, gitCommonDir, content, lines, fence, masks, unrenderable, staleReal, applyCmd };
+  return { root, excludeFile, gitCommonDir, content, lines, fence, masks, unrenderable, mountOnly, mountSignal, staleReal, applyCmd };
 };
 
 // needsMasksApply(probe) → whether the CURRENT derivation diverges from the fenced block — the
@@ -261,18 +285,19 @@ export const planApply = (probe, { clear = false } = {}) => {
 
 const formatProbe = (probe) => {
   const lines = [
-    `sandbox-masks — never-committable untracked masks (device/FIFO/socket) in ${probe.root}`,
+    `sandbox-masks — sandbox masks (device/FIFO/socket or foreign mount target) in ${probe.root}`,
     `  exclude file: ${probe.excludeFile}`,
     `  managed block: ${probe.fence.state === 'ok' ? `present (${probe.fence.body.filter((l) => patternToRel(l) != null).length} entr(ies))` : probe.fence.state}`,
   ];
   if (probe.fence.state === 'malformed') lines.push(`  ⚠ MALFORMED managed block (${probe.fence.reason}) — this lane fails closed and will not write until it is fixed by hand`);
   lines.push(`  masks visible now: ${probe.masks.length === 0 ? '0 (outside the sandbox or clean)' : ''}`);
-  for (const m of probe.masks) lines.push(`    · ${m}`);
+  for (const m of probe.masks) lines.push(`    · ${m}${probe.mountOnly.includes(m) ? ' (mount-only: it rides git add -A and the review fingerprint while git does not ignore it)' : ''}`);
+  if (probe.mountSignal === 'absent') lines.push('  mount signal: not read on this platform — only device/FIFO/socket masks are judged');
   for (const rel of probe.staleReal) {
     lines.push(`  ⚠ fenced entry became a REAL path: ${rel} — delete its line from the managed block BEFORE relying on git for this path: an excluded real file is silently skipped by bulk staging (git add -A / git add .), so it stays OUT of your commits, and an explicit git add refuses it without -f; .git/info/exclude never warns`);
   }
   for (const rel of probe.unrenderable) {
-    lines.push(`  ⚠ mask name carries a newline or ends with a tab and cannot be expressed as ONE exclude rule — NOT written (the review domain already ignores the mask itself): ${JSON.stringify(rel)}`);
+    lines.push(`  ⚠ mask name carries a newline or ends with a tab and cannot be expressed as ONE exclude rule — NOT written (the mask itself stays untracked): ${JSON.stringify(rel)}`);
   }
   // A stale-real-only fence (empty derivation over a non-empty block) makes the plain --apply
   // REFUSE — the rendered one-liner must be the form planApply actually accepts (--clear), the
@@ -284,15 +309,16 @@ const formatProbe = (probe) => {
   return lines.join('\n');
 };
 
-const HELP = `sandbox-masks — cosmetic exclude lane for sandbox-injected device masks (agent-workflow kit, AD-044).
+const HELP = `sandbox-masks — exclude lane for sandbox masks (agent-workflow kit, AD-044).
 
 Usage:
   node sandbox-masks.mjs [--cwd <dir>] [--json]          # READ-ONLY probe/preview
   node sandbox-masks.mjs [--cwd <dir>] --apply [--clear] # consent-gated FULL-BLOCK replace
 
-The review domain already ignores never-committable untracked paths (char/block devices, FIFOs,
-sockets) BY CONSTRUCTION — this lane is cosmetic: it hides the CURRENT, probe-derived mask set
-from \`git status\` via one managed fenced block in \`git rev-parse --git-path info/exclude\`.
+A mask is an untracked device/FIFO/socket (the review domain already ignores these) or, on Linux,
+a foreign mount target read from /proc/self/mountinfo (the review domain sees it while git does not ignore it).
+The lane hides the CURRENT, probe-derived set from \`git status\` via one managed fenced block in
+\`git rev-parse --git-path info/exclude\`. An unreadable or malformed mountinfo refuses (exit 1).
 Only that block is ever written — never .gitignore, never a global excludesFile. --apply REPLACES
 the whole block from a fresh derivation (stale masks drop by construction); an EMPTY derivation
 over a non-empty block refuses unless --clear is given (you are probably outside the sandbox).
@@ -317,7 +343,9 @@ export const main = (argv, ctx = {}) => {
     const cwd = cwdIdx !== -1 ? argv[cwdIdx + 1] : (ctx.cwd ?? process.cwd());
     if (cwdIdx !== -1 && (!cwd || cwd.startsWith('--'))) throw fail(2, '--cwd requires a directory argument');
     if (argv.includes('--clear') && !argv.includes('--apply')) throw fail(2, '--clear is only valid together with --apply');
-    const probe = probeSandboxMasks({ cwd, ...(ctx.deps ?? {}) });
+    // --apply --clear needs no derivation, so it never reads the mount table (the absent answer).
+    const clearOnly = argv.includes('--apply') && argv.includes('--clear');
+    const probe = probeSandboxMasks({ cwd, ...(ctx.deps ?? {}), ...(clearOnly ? { readMountinfo: () => null } : {}) });
     if (probe == null) throw fail(1, `not a git work tree: ${cwd}`);
     if (!argv.includes('--apply')) {
       if (argv.includes('--json')) {
@@ -330,7 +358,7 @@ export const main = (argv, ctx = {}) => {
     // The unrenderable skips stay LOUD on EVERY apply path — the same warning the
     // probe prints; the renderable subset still applies (a refusal would block the useful masks).
     const skipWarnings = probe.unrenderable
-      .map((rel) => `sandbox-masks: ⚠ mask name carries a newline or ends with a tab and cannot be expressed as ONE exclude rule — NOT written (the review domain already ignores the mask itself): ${JSON.stringify(rel)}`)
+      .map((rel) => `sandbox-masks: ⚠ mask name carries a newline or ends with a tab and cannot be expressed as ONE exclude rule — NOT written (the mask itself stays untracked): ${JSON.stringify(rel)}`)
       .join('\n');
     // A refusal carries the unrenderable warnings too — they are never discarded.
     if (plan.action === 'refuse') throw fail(1, skipWarnings ? `${plan.reason}\n${skipWarnings}` : plan.reason);