@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { RunnerCommandAccounting } from '../runner-session-types.ts';
 import { afterEach, test, vi } from 'vitest';
 import { AppError } from '@agent-device/kernel/errors';
 import { IOS_SIMULATOR } from './device-fixtures.ts';
@@ -35,8 +36,7 @@ function makeRunnerSession(port: number): RunnerSession {
     testPromise: new Promise<ExecResult>(() => {}),
     child: { pid: process.pid, exitCode: null },
     state: 'ready',
-    inFlightCommands: 0,
-    hasAbandonedCommands: false,
+    commandCharges: new RunnerCommandAccounting(),
   };
 }
 
 
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 import { beforeEach, test, vi } from 'vitest';
 import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
 import { IOS_SIMULATOR } from './device-fixtures.ts';
-import { createTestRequestCancellation, runnerConnectFailure } from './runner-session-fixtures.ts';
+import {
+  createTestRequestCancellation,
+  makeRunnerSession,
+  runnerConnectFailure,
+} from './runner-session-fixtures.ts';
 import { AppError } from '@agent-device/kernel/errors';
 import { Deadline } from '../host.ts';
 import { appleRunnerTestHost } from '../test-host.ts';
-import type { RunnerSession } from '../runner-session-types.ts';
 
 const {
   mockEnsureRunnerSession,
@@ -1090,21 +1093,6 @@ function assertDiagnosticDecision(expected: {
   );
 }
 
-function makeRunnerSession(overrides: Partial<RunnerSession> = {}): RunnerSession {
-  return {
-    sessionId: `session-${overrides.port ?? 8100}`,
-    device: IOS_SIMULATOR,
-    deviceId: IOS_SIMULATOR.id,
-    port: 8100,
-    xctestrunPath: '/tmp/runner.xctestrun',
-    jsonPath: '/tmp/runner.json',
-    testPromise: Promise.resolve({ exitCode: 0, stdout: '', stderr: '' }),
-    child: { pid: 1234, exitCode: null },
-    state: 'ready',
-    ...overrides,
-  } as RunnerSession;
-}
-
 function makeRunnerArtifact(
   overrides: Partial<RunnerXctestrunArtifact> = {},
 ): RunnerXctestrunArtifact {
 
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, expect, test, vi } from 'vitest';
 import { IOS_SIMULATOR, MACOS_DEVICE, TVOS_SIMULATOR } from './device-fixtures.ts';
 import type { ExecResult } from '@agent-device/host-kit/command';
-import type { RunnerSession } from '../runner-session-types.ts';
+import { RunnerCommandAccounting, type RunnerSession } from '../runner-session-types.ts';
 import { appleRunnerTestHost } from '../test-host.ts';
 import { makeRunnerLease } from './runner-session-fixtures.ts';
 import { mkdtempForTestSync } from './tmp-dir.ts';
@@ -257,8 +257,7 @@ function makeRunnerSession(
     testPromise,
     child: { pid: 42, exitCode: null },
     state: 'ready',
-    inFlightCommands: 0,
-    hasAbandonedCommands: false,
+    commandCharges: new RunnerCommandAccounting(),
     ...overrides,
   };
 }
 
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { resetAllProcessMemosForTests } from '@agent-device/kernel/ttl-memo';
 import type { ExecBackgroundResult } from '@agent-device/host-kit/command';
 import { buildRunnerEarlyExitError } from '../runner-startup-transport.ts';
 import { readRunnerLogTail } from '../runner-io.ts';
-import type { RunnerSession } from '../runner-session-types.ts';
+import { RunnerCommandAccounting, type RunnerSession } from '../runner-session-types.ts';
 import { mkdtempForTestSync } from './tmp-dir.ts';
 import { STUBBED_APPLE_TOOLCHAIN, stubAppleToolchainProbes } from './apple-toolchain-fixtures.ts';
 import {
@@ -52,8 +52,7 @@ function sessionFailingWith(
     child: { pid: 4242, exitCode: 1 } as ExecBackgroundResult['child'],
     state: 'starting',
     startupDeviceStates,
-    inFlightCommands: 0,
-    hasAbandonedCommands: false,
+    commandCharges: new RunnerCommandAccounting(),
   };
 }
 
 
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import { test } from 'vitest';
+import type { RunnerCommand } from '../runner-contract.ts';
+import { isRunnerReadinessProbeCommand, RUNNER_COMMAND_TRAITS } from '../runner-command-traits.ts';
+import { readSwiftInlineCommands } from './runner-swift-settlement-fixtures.ts';
+
+/**
+ * The runner serves `status` and `uptime` inline — outside its journal and off the serial command
+ * queue — which is why the daemon charges no exchange for them: an inline reply proves the runner is
+ * reachable and nothing about queued work, so a charge for one could only ever be paid by the wrong
+ * exchange (#2965). The `readinessProbe` trait is how the daemon names that set, and this tie is what
+ * keeps the two sides one claim: add an inline arm in Swift that the trait missed and that reply would
+ * discharge an unrelated command's charge; drop one and a genuinely queued command would go uncharged,
+ * so a shutdown could hand off a runner with work on its queue.
+ *
+ * The Swift half is read from the runner's own switch rather than restated here, so the check cannot
+ * agree with a stale copy of the answer.
+ */
+
+function readinessProbeCommands(): string[] {
+  return (Object.keys(RUNNER_COMMAND_TRAITS) as RunnerCommand['command'][])
+    .filter((command) => isRunnerReadinessProbeCommand({ command }))
+    .sort();
+}
+
+test('the readinessProbe trait names exactly the commands the runner serves inline', () => {
+  const inline = readSwiftInlineCommands();
+
+  if (inline.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'the runner serves no command inline, so the daemon must stop routing any reply as an inline answer',
+    );
+  }
+  for (const command of inline) {
+    if (!readinessProbeCommands().includes(command)) {
+      throw new Error(`the runner answers "${command}" inline but the trait does not name it`);
+    }
+  }
+  for (const command of readinessProbeCommands()) {
+    if (!inline.includes(command)) {
+      throw new Error(`the trait calls "${command}" a probe but the runner queues it`);
+    }
+  }
+});
@@ -15,7 +15,10 @@ import {
   requireRunnerPhaseRemainingMs,
   resolveExpectedRunnerCacheMetadata,
 } from '../runner-cache-metadata.ts';
+import { captureDiagnostics } from './runner-session-fixtures.ts';
 import { startFakeRunnerServer, type FakeRunnerServer } from './fake-runner-server.ts';
+import { resolveRunnerDetachDecision, RunnerCommandAccounting } from '../runner-session-types.ts';
+import { requireLifecycleSettlementRows } from './runner-swift-settlement-fixtures.ts';
 
 /**
  * The wiring regression the recovery suite cannot provide (#1644 review P1):
@@ -104,8 +107,7 @@ function makeRunnerSession(port: number, sessionId = `wiring:${port}`): RunnerSe
     testPromise: new Promise<ExecResult>(() => {}),
     child: { pid: process.pid, exitCode: null },
     state: 'ready',
-    inFlightCommands: 0,
-    hasAbandonedCommands: false,
+    commandCharges: new RunnerCommandAccounting(),
   };
   return session;
 }
@@ -158,6 +160,186 @@ test.each(Object.values(LOST_RESPONSE_MUTATION_ROWS))(
   },
 );
 
+// #2965: an inline `status` probe answers while the command it probes may still be executing, so its
+// own reply must not clear the mutation's outstanding charge. The handoff verdict is asserted through
+// `resolveRunnerDetachDecision` — the exact gate `detachRunnerSessionForShutdown` consults. Rows come
+// from the runner journal's own state list, so a state the runner gains is a missing row rather than an
+// unruled verdict.
+const LOST_RESPONSE_HANDOFF_ROWS = requireLifecycleSettlementRows({
+  completed: true,
+  failed: true,
+  accepted: false,
+  started: false,
+  notAccepted: false,
+});
+
+test.each(LOST_RESPONSE_HANDOFF_ROWS)(
+  'a lost mutation and status $lifecycleState leaves handoff $settlesCharge',
+  async ({ lifecycleState, settlesCharge }) => {
+    server = await startFakeRunnerServer({
+      tap: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }],
+      status: [{ kind: 'ok', data: { lifecycleState } }],
+    });
+    const session = seedSession(server.port);
+
+    // The mutation is refused, never replayed, whatever the terminal verdict — recovery keeps the
+    // session and reports the command's state to the caller.
+    await expect(
+      runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'tap', x: 5, y: 5 }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(AppError);
+    assert.equal(
+      server.requests.filter((request) => request.command === 'tap').length,
+      1,
+      'the mutation is sent once',
+    );
+    // `notAccepted` is the journal's "never seen this id", which this daemon cannot read as a safe
+    // terminal state: it keeps the invalidation path and its charge, while every state the journal
+    // actually reports for the command keeps the session.
+    assert.equal(
+      invalidateRunnerSessionMock.mock.calls.length,
+      lifecycleState === 'notAccepted' ? 1 : 0,
+      `${lifecycleState} must ${lifecycleState === 'notAccepted' ? '' : 'not '}invalidate the session`,
+    );
+    assert.equal(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session).detach, settlesCharge);
+  },
+);
+
+test('a lost mutation answered by an inline status probe keeps handoff refused', async () => {
+  // `started` with the runner reporting itself not busy is the legitimate state this issue is about:
+  // the probe is served off the XCTest channel while the abandoned mutation keeps running.
+  server = await startFakeRunnerServer({
+    tap: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }],
+    status: [{ kind: 'ok', data: { lifecycleState: 'started', runnerMainThreadBusy: false } }],
+  });
+  const session = seedSession(server.port);
+
+  await expect(
+    runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'tap', x: 5, y: 5 }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow(AppError);
+  assert.equal(session.runnerMainThreadBusy, false);
+  assert.deepEqual(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session), {
+    detach: false,
+    reason: 'command_in_flight',
+  });
+});
+
+test('an answered uptime health probe keeps handoff refused over an abandoned mutation', async () => {
+  // The other inline probe, and the realistic #2965 producer: `prepareIosRunner` and prewarm send
+  // `uptime` as background health traffic while a mutation is still owed. `status` only ever comes
+  // from recovery, so pinning it alone would leave `uptime` free to start carrying a charge again —
+  // whose answer would then forgive the mutation's residue on the serial-queue premise and hand a
+  // runner off mid-mutation.
+  server = await startFakeRunnerServer({
+    tap: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }],
+    status: [{ kind: 'ok', data: { lifecycleState: 'started' } }],
+    uptime: [
+      { kind: 'ok', data: { uptime: 12 } },
+      { kind: 'ok', data: { uptime: 13 } },
+    ],
+  });
+  const session = seedSession(server.port);
+
+  await expect(
+    runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'tap', x: 5, y: 5 }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow(AppError);
+  // One charge: the mutation. The readiness preflight's probe is inline and carries no charge, so it
+  // cannot arrive here as a second debt that some later answer could pay off (#2965).
+  assert.equal(session.commandCharges.outstandingChargeCount, 1);
+
+  await runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'uptime' });
+  assert.equal(
+    server.requests.filter((request) => request.command === 'uptime').length > 1,
+    true,
+    'this command is a second probe, answered by the same session',
+  );
+  // The probe answered and owed nothing, so the mutation is still the only thing owed and the runner
+  // stays on the kill path rather than being handed off mid-mutation.
+  assert.equal(session.commandCharges.outstandingChargeCount, 1);
+  assert.equal(session.commandCharges.hasAbandonedCharges, true);
+  assert.deepEqual(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session), {
+    detach: false,
+    reason: 'command_in_flight',
+  });
+});
+
+test('terminal status for a lost mutation charges the next lost mutation afresh', async () => {
+  server = await startFakeRunnerServer({
+    tap: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }, { kind: 'hangUp' }],
+    status: [
+      { kind: 'ok', data: { lifecycleState: 'completed' } },
+      { kind: 'ok', data: { lifecycleState: 'started' } },
+    ],
+  });
+  const session = seedSession(server.port);
+
+  const first = await captureDiagnostics(async () => {
+    await expect(
+      runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'tap', x: 5, y: 5 }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(AppError);
+  });
+  // The daemon log has to say whether terminal evidence actually paid the debt, because a refused
+  // settlement and a settled one both leave the runner answering (#2965).
+  assert.match(first, /"abandonedChargeSettled":true/);
+  assert.equal(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session).detach, true);
+
+  // The settlement is this command's, not a latch: a second mutation that loses its response is
+  // charged again and only its own terminal verdict frees the runner.
+  await expect(
+    runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'tap', x: 5, y: 5 }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow(AppError);
+  assert.equal(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session).detach, false);
+});
+
+test('terminal status with the runner reporting busy still refuses handoff', async () => {
+  server = await startFakeRunnerServer({
+    tap: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }],
+    status: [{ kind: 'ok', data: { lifecycleState: 'completed', runnerMainThreadBusy: true } }],
+  });
+  const session = seedSession(server.port);
+
+  await expect(
+    runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'tap', x: 5, y: 5 }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow(AppError);
+
+  // The journal verdict discharged the charge, yet the runner's own occupancy report keeps it on the
+  // kill path: a terminal state never bypasses the busy gate (#2552).
+  assert.equal(session.runnerMainThreadBusy, true);
+  assert.deepEqual(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session), {
+    detach: false,
+    reason: 'main_thread_occupied',
+  });
+});
+
+test('a lost mutation whose status probe fails keeps the runner on the kill path', async () => {
+  server = await startFakeRunnerServer({
+    tap: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }],
+    status: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }],
+  });
+  const session = seedSession(server.port);
+
+  await expect(
+    runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'tap', x: 5, y: 5 }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow(AppError);
+  assert.equal(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session).detach, false);
+});
+
+test('a healthy command after a settled abandoned charge returns the runner to handoff-eligible', async () => {
+  server = await startFakeRunnerServer({
+    tap: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }],
+    status: [{ kind: 'ok', data: { lifecycleState: 'completed' } }],
+    snapshot: [{ kind: 'ok', data: { nodes: [] } }],
+  });
+  const session = seedSession(server.port);
+
+  await expect(
+    runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'tap', x: 5, y: 5 }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow(AppError);
+  assert.equal(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session).detach, true);
+
+  await runAppleRunnerCommand(IOS_SIMULATOR, { command: 'snapshot' });
+  assert.equal(resolveRunnerDetachDecision(session).detach, true);
+});
+
 test('a runner that reports the command failed surfaces that failure, not the transport error', async () => {
   server = await startFakeRunnerServer({
     tap: [{ kind: 'hangUp' }],