diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-cross-version-isolation.test.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-cross-version-isolation.test.ts
index cf203aa26c5..001d30a35d4 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-cross-version-isolation.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-cross-version-isolation.test.ts
@@ -137,5 +137,21 @@ describe('cross-version isolation', () => {
       (c) => c.includes('rm -rf') && c.includes('relay-0.1.0+v1hash')
     )
     expect(v1RemoveCmds).toHaveLength(0)
+
+    // (d) blanket isolation: every command that mentions v1hash MUST be a
+    // GC liveness probe (`ls`, `test -d`, `test -f`, or `for f in .../*.sock`)
+    // — never a write, mkdir, chmod, touch, rm, node launch, or socket poll.
+    // This prevents a future refactor that accidentally writes to the v1 dir
+    // (e.g. shared install-complete, upload over symlink) from passing.
+    const v1Refs = allCmds.filter((c) => c.includes('relay-0.1.0+v1hash'))
+    for (const cmd of v1Refs) {
+      const isReadOnlyProbe =
+        /^\s*ls\b/.test(cmd) ||
+        /\btest -d\b/.test(cmd) ||
+        /\btest -f\b/.test(cmd) ||
+        /\btest -S\b/.test(cmd) ||
+        /\bfor f in .*\.sock\b/.test(cmd)
+      expect(isReadOnlyProbe, `unexpected v1 reference: ${cmd}`).toBe(true)
+    }
   })
 })
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-helpers.test.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-helpers.test.ts
index fd66ecb1f4f..3c30d23318b 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-helpers.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-helpers.test.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import type { ClientChannel } from 'ssh2'
 import { execCommand, waitForSentinel } from './ssh-relay-deploy-helpers'
 import { RELAY_SENTINEL } from './relay-protocol'
+import {
+  RelayVersionMismatchError,
+  RELAY_EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH
+} from './ssh-relay-version-mismatch-error'
 
 function createMockChannel(): ClientChannel {
   return Object.assign(new EventEmitter(), {
@@ -60,6 +64,51 @@ describe('waitForSentinel', () => {
     expect(() => channel.emit('error', new Error('remote host rebooted'))).not.toThrow()
     expect(onClose).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
   })
+
+  it('translates a pre-sentinel exit-42 + close into RelayVersionMismatchError', async () => {
+    const channel = createMockChannel()
+    const transportPromise = waitForSentinel(channel)
+
+    channel.stderr.emit(
+      'data',
+      Buffer.from(
+        '[relay-connect] Handshake mismatch: expected=0.1.0+aaa, daemon=0.1.0+bbb; exiting 42\n'
+      )
+    )
+    channel.emit('exit', RELAY_EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH)
+    channel.emit('close')
+
+    await expect(transportPromise).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(RelayVersionMismatchError)
+    await transportPromise.catch((err: RelayVersionMismatchError) => {
+      expect(err.expected).toBe('0.1.0+aaa')
+      expect(err.got).toBe('0.1.0+bbb')
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('translates a pre-sentinel exit-42 even when the version detail is missing', async () => {
+    const channel = createMockChannel()
+    const transportPromise = waitForSentinel(channel)
+
+    channel.stderr.emit('data', Buffer.from('boom\n'))
+    channel.emit('exit', RELAY_EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH)
+    channel.emit('close')
+
+    await expect(transportPromise).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(RelayVersionMismatchError)
+  })
+
+  it('rejects with a generic error (not RelayVersionMismatchError) on a non-42 exit code', async () => {
+    const channel = createMockChannel()
+    const transportPromise = waitForSentinel(channel)
+
+    channel.stderr.emit('data', Buffer.from('node: bad bytecode\n'))
+    channel.emit('exit', 1)
+    channel.emit('close')
+
+    await expect(transportPromise).rejects.toThrow(/Relay process exited before ready/)
+    await transportPromise.catch((err: unknown) => {
+      expect(err).not.toBeInstanceOf(RelayVersionMismatchError)
+    })
+  })
 })
 
 describe('execCommand', () => {
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-helpers.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-helpers.ts
index f1cbbcbf730..4b3146a0cd1 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-helpers.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-helpers.ts
@@ -24,18 +24,41 @@ export function waitForSentinel(channel: ClientChannel): Promise<MultiplexerTran
     // can skip backoff for this terminal condition.
     let lastExitCode: number | null = null
 
+    // Why: when the sentinel timeout fires we close the channel and wait a
+    // short grace window for the 'close' handler to surface the typed
+    // RelayVersionMismatchError if the remote --connect actually exited 42.
+    // Settling here unconditionally would let a slow exit-42 (e.g. a remote
+    // with congested SSH multiplex or a paused VM) be misclassified as a
+    // generic timeout — which routes through the relay-lost retry backoff
+    // and re-introduces the failure mode the typed error was meant to
+    // prevent.
+    const TIMEOUT_GRACE_MS = 500
+    let timeoutFired = false
+    let timeoutGraceTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
+
     const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
-      if (!settled) {
-        settled = true
-        channel.close()
-        reject(
-          new Error(
-            `Relay failed to start within ${RELAY_SENTINEL_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000}s.${stderrOutput ? ` stderr: ${stderrOutput.trim()}` : ''}`
+      timeoutFired = true
+      channel.close()
+      timeoutGraceTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+        if (!settled) {
+          settled = true
+          reject(
+            new Error(
+              `Relay failed to start within ${RELAY_SENTINEL_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000}s.${stderrOutput ? ` stderr: ${stderrOutput.trim()}` : ''}`
+            )
           )
-        )
-      }
+        }
+      }, TIMEOUT_GRACE_MS)
     }, RELAY_SENTINEL_TIMEOUT_MS)
 
+    const cancelTimers = (): void => {
+      clearTimeout(timeout)
+      if (timeoutGraceTimer) {
+        clearTimeout(timeoutGraceTimer)
+        timeoutGraceTimer = null
+      }
+    }
+
     channel.on('exit', (code: number | null) => {
       if (typeof code === 'number') {
         lastExitCode = code
@@ -64,7 +87,7 @@ export function waitForSentinel(channel: ClientChannel): Promise<MultiplexerTran
     }
 
     const failOrClose = (err: Error): void => {
-      clearTimeout(timeout)
+      cancelTimers()
       if (!sentinelReceived) {
         if (!settled) {
           settled = true
@@ -83,7 +106,7 @@ export function waitForSentinel(channel: ClientChannel): Promise<MultiplexerTran
 
     channel.on('close', () => {
       if (!sentinelReceived) {
-        clearTimeout(timeout)
+        cancelTimers()
         if (!settled) {
           settled = true
           // Why: a wire-handshake mismatch on the daemon side closes the
@@ -91,15 +114,20 @@ export function waitForSentinel(channel: ClientChannel): Promise<MultiplexerTran
           // with code 42 BEFORE writing the sentinel. Translate that into a
           // typed RelayVersionMismatchError so the retry loop in ssh.ts can
           // distinguish a recoverable transport drop from this terminal
-          // condition and skip backoff.
+          // condition and skip backoff. The check still wins over a fired
+          // timeout because the timeout handler defers settling for a small
+          // grace window so the close handler can deliver the exit code.
           if (lastExitCode === RELAY_EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH) {
             const { expected, got } = parseHandshakeMismatchStderr(stderrOutput)
             reject(new RelayVersionMismatchError(expected, got, stderrOutput.trim()))
             return
           }
+          const timeoutSuffix = timeoutFired
+            ? ` (after ${RELAY_SENTINEL_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000}s sentinel timeout)`
+            : ''
           reject(
             new Error(
-              `Relay process exited before ready.${stderrOutput ? ` stderr: ${stderrOutput.trim()}` : ''}`
+              `Relay process exited before ready${timeoutSuffix}.${stderrOutput ? ` stderr: ${stderrOutput.trim()}` : ''}`
             )
           )
         }
@@ -135,7 +163,7 @@ export function waitForSentinel(channel: ClientChannel): Promise<MultiplexerTran
 
       if (sentinelIdx !== -1) {
         sentinelReceived = true
-        clearTimeout(timeout)
+        cancelTimers()
 
         const afterSentinel = bufferedStdout.subarray(
           Buffer.byteLength(text.substring(0, sentinelIdx + RELAY_SENTINEL.length), 'utf-8')
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-session-terminal-error.test.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-session-terminal-error.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0b56e275a7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-session-terminal-error.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import { SshRelaySession } from './ssh-relay-session'
+import type { SshConnection } from './ssh-connection'
+import type { Store } from '../persistence'
+import type { SshPortForwardManager } from './ssh-port-forward'
+import { RelayVersionMismatchError } from './ssh-relay-version-mismatch-error'
+import type { BrowserWindow } from 'electron'
+
+vi.mock('./ssh-relay-deploy', () => ({
+  deployAndLaunchRelay: vi.fn()
+}))
+
+vi.mock('./ssh-channel-multiplexer', () => {
+  return {
+    SshChannelMultiplexer: class MockSshChannelMultiplexer {
+      notify = vi.fn()
+      request = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([])
+      onNotification = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(() => {})
+      onDispose = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(() => {})
+      dispose = vi.fn()
+      isDisposed = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(false)
+    }
+  }
+})
+
+vi.mock('../providers/ssh-pty-provider', () => ({
+  SshPtyProvider: class MockSshPtyProvider {
+    onData = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(() => {})
+    onReplay = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(() => {})
+    onExit = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(() => {})
+    attach = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined)
+    dispose = vi.fn()
+  }
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../providers/ssh-filesystem-provider', () => ({
+  SshFilesystemProvider: class MockSshFilesystemProvider {
+    dispose = vi.fn()
+  }
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../providers/ssh-git-provider', () => ({
+  SshGitProvider: class MockSshGitProvider {}
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../ipc/pty', () => ({
+  registerSshPtyProvider: vi.fn(),
+  unregisterSshPtyProvider: vi.fn(),
+  getSshPtyProvider: vi.fn().mockReturnValue({
+    dispose: vi.fn(),
+    attach: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined)
+  }),
+  getPtyIdsForConnection: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+  clearPtyOwnershipForConnection: vi.fn(),
+  clearProviderPtyState: vi.fn(),
+  deletePtyOwnership: vi.fn()
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../providers/ssh-filesystem-dispatch', () => ({
+  registerSshFilesystemProvider: vi.fn(),
+  unregisterSshFilesystemProvider: vi.fn(),
+  getSshFilesystemProvider: vi.fn().mockReturnValue({ dispose: vi.fn() })
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../providers/ssh-git-dispatch', () => ({
+  registerSshGitProvider: vi.fn(),
+  unregisterSshGitProvider: vi.fn()
+}))
+
+const { deployAndLaunchRelay } = await import('./ssh-relay-deploy')
+
+function createMockDeps(): {
+  mockConn: SshConnection
+  mockStore: Store
+  mockPortForward: SshPortForwardManager
+  getMainWindow: () => BrowserWindow | null
+} {
+  const mockConn = {} as SshConnection
+  const mockStore = {
+    getRepos: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([])
+  } as unknown as Store
+  const mockPortForward = {
+    removeAllForwards: vi.fn()
+  } as unknown as SshPortForwardManager
+  const mockWindow = {
+    isDestroyed: (): boolean => false,
+    webContents: { send: vi.fn() }
+  } as unknown as BrowserWindow
+  const getMainWindow = vi.fn().mockReturnValue(mockWindow) as unknown as () => BrowserWindow | null
+  return { mockConn, mockStore, mockPortForward, getMainWindow }
+}
+
+function mockDeploySuccess(): void {
+  const mockTransport = {
+    write: vi.fn(),
+    onData: vi.fn(),
+    onClose: vi.fn()
+  }
+  vi.mocked(deployAndLaunchRelay).mockResolvedValue({
+    transport: mockTransport,
+    platform: 'linux-x64'
+  })
+}
+
+describe('SshRelaySession terminal relay error (RelayVersionMismatchError)', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks()
+    mockDeploySuccess()
+  })
+
+  it('fires onTerminalRelayError on initial establish() and rethrows', async () => {
+    const { mockConn, mockStore, mockPortForward, getMainWindow } = createMockDeps()
+    const session = new SshRelaySession('target-1', getMainWindow, mockStore, mockPortForward)
+    const onTerminal = vi.fn()
+    const onLost = vi.fn()
+    session.setOnTerminalRelayError(onTerminal)
+    session.setOnRelayLost(onLost)
+
+    const mismatchErr = new RelayVersionMismatchError(
+      '0.1.0+aaa',
+      '0.1.0+bbb',
+      '[relay-connect] Handshake mismatch...'
+    )
+    vi.mocked(deployAndLaunchRelay).mockRejectedValueOnce(mismatchErr)
+
+    await expect(session.establish(mockConn)).rejects.toBe(mismatchErr)
+    expect(onTerminal).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    expect(onTerminal).toHaveBeenCalledWith('target-1', mismatchErr)
+    expect(onLost).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(session.getState()).toBe('idle')
+  })
+
+  it('does NOT fire onTerminalRelayError on a generic establish failure', async () => {
+    const { mockConn, mockStore, mockPortForward, getMainWindow } = createMockDeps()
+    const session = new SshRelaySession('target-1', getMainWindow, mockStore, mockPortForward)
+    const onTerminal = vi.fn()
+    session.setOnTerminalRelayError(onTerminal)
+
+    vi.mocked(deployAndLaunchRelay).mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('boom'))
+
+    await expect(session.establish(mockConn)).rejects.toThrow('boom')
+    expect(onTerminal).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(session.getState()).toBe('idle')
+  })
+
+  it('fires onTerminalRelayError on reconnect() when deploy throws RelayVersionMismatchError', async () => {
+    const { mockConn, mockStore, mockPortForward, getMainWindow } = createMockDeps()
+    const session = new SshRelaySession('target-1', getMainWindow, mockStore, mockPortForward)
+    const onTerminal = vi.fn()
+    session.setOnTerminalRelayError(onTerminal)
+
+    await session.establish(mockConn)
+    expect(session.getState()).toBe('ready')
+
+    const mismatchErr = new RelayVersionMismatchError('0.1.0+old', '0.1.0+new', '')
+    vi.mocked(deployAndLaunchRelay).mockRejectedValueOnce(mismatchErr)
+
+    await session.reconnect(mockConn)
+    expect(onTerminal).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    expect(onTerminal).toHaveBeenCalledWith('target-1', mismatchErr)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-session.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-session.ts
index 95df7d86fbb..4401053f777 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-session.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-session.ts
@@ -173,6 +173,20 @@ export class SshRelaySession {
         this.teardownProviders('shutdown')
         this._state = 'idle'
       }
+      // Why: a wire-handshake mismatch on the FIRST connect is also terminal
+      // — the deployed relay binary on disk does not match a still-running
+      // daemon (typically because a legacy daemon from before the
+      // versioned-dir change is still alive). Notify the terminal-error
+      // callback so ssh.ts surfaces an actionable message and the caller's
+      // catch path doesn't conflate this with a transient deploy failure.
+      // We still rethrow so doConnect's existing failure path runs (clean up
+      // the SSH connection); ssh.ts's handler is idempotent.
+      if (isRelayVersionMismatchError(err)) {
+        console.warn(
+          `[ssh-relay-session] Terminal relay version mismatch on initial connect for ${this.targetId}: ${err.message}`
+        )
+        this._onTerminalRelayError?.(this.targetId, err)
+      }
       throw err
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-versioned-install.test.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-versioned-install.test.ts
index a5b40dc768a..a7bae19e9cf 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-versioned-install.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-versioned-install.test.ts
@@ -104,6 +104,93 @@ describe('acquireInstallLock', () => {
     expect(mockExec).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
   })
 
+  it('polls until the lock becomes available (concurrent installer wins, then we acquire)', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    try {
+      // Sequence:
+      // 1. mkdir -p (parent dir prep)
+      // 2. mkdir lockDir → BUSY (someone else holds it)
+      // 3. mkdir lockDir → BUSY again
+      // 4. mkdir lockDir → OK (concurrent installer released)
+      mockExec
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce('')
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce('BUSY')
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce('BUSY')
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce('OK')
+
+      const promise = acquireInstallLock(conn, '/r')
+      // Drive the polling loop: each iteration awaits a 1s timer.
+      for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1_000)
+      }
+      await promise
+      const cmds = mockExec.mock.calls.map(([, c]) => c)
+      const mkdirAttempts = cmds.filter((c) => c.includes('mkdir') && c.includes('.install-lock'))
+      expect(mkdirAttempts.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(3)
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers()
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('steals a stale lock and retries with a reset timeout window', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ now: 1_700_000_000_000 })
+    try {
+      let mkdirCalls = 0
+      mockExec.mockImplementation(async (_conn: unknown, cmd: string) => {
+        if (cmd.startsWith('mkdir -p')) {
+          return ''
+        }
+        if (cmd.includes('mkdir') && cmd.includes('.install-lock')) {
+          mkdirCalls++
+          return mkdirCalls > 200 ? 'OK' : 'BUSY'
+        }
+        if (cmd.includes('stat')) {
+          return `${Math.floor((Date.now() - 10 * 60 * 1000) / 1000)}\n`
+        }
+        if (cmd.startsWith('rm -rf')) {
+          mkdirCalls = 1000
+          return ''
+        }
+        return ''
+      })
+
+      const promise = acquireInstallLock(conn, '/r')
+      // Drive through the full timeout (120s) so the stale-recovery branch
+      // fires, then drive a few more seconds for the post-recovery retry.
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(125_000)
+      await promise
+
+      const cmds = mockExec.mock.calls.map(([, c]) => c)
+      expect(cmds.some((c) => c.includes('rm -rf') && c.includes('.install-lock'))).toBe(true)
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers()
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('throws if the timeout elapses and the lock is fresh', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ now: 1_700_000_000_000 })
+    try {
+      mockExec.mockImplementation(async (_conn: unknown, cmd: string) => {
+        if (cmd.startsWith('mkdir -p')) {
+          return ''
+        }
+        if (cmd.includes('mkdir') && cmd.includes('.install-lock')) {
+          return 'BUSY'
+        }
+        if (cmd.includes('stat')) {
+          return `${Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)}\n`
+        }
+        return ''
+      })
+
+      const rejection = expect(acquireInstallLock(conn, '/r')).rejects.toThrow(/not yet stale/i)
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(125_000)
+      await rejection
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers()
+    }
+  })
+
   it('finalizeInstall writes .install-complete then removes the lock', async () => {
     mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('').mockResolvedValueOnce('')
     await finalizeInstall(conn, '/r')
@@ -156,9 +243,47 @@ describe('gcOldRelayVersions', () => {
     expect(cmds.some((c) => c.includes('rm -rf'))).toBe(false)
   })
 
-  it('skips siblings whose .install-lock is held', async () => {
+  it('skips siblings whose .install-lock is held and fresh', async () => {
     mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('relay-0.1.0+aaa\n')
     mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('LOCKED')
+    // isLockStale: mtime ~now → not stale.
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce(`${Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)}\n`)
+    await gcOldRelayVersions(conn, '/home/u', '/home/u/.orca-remote/relay-0.1.0+bbb')
+    const cmds = mockExec.mock.calls.map(([, c]) => c)
+    expect(cmds.some((c) => c.includes('rm -rf'))).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('removes a sibling with a stale lock + .install-complete (rm-lock failed mid-finalize)', async () => {
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('relay-0.1.0+aaa\n')
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('LOCKED')
+    // isLockStale: mtime well in the past → stale.
+    const staleSec = Math.floor((Date.now() - 10 * 60 * 1000) / 1000)
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce(`${staleSec}\n`)
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('COMPLETE') // .install-complete present
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('') // socket probe → no ALIVE
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('') // rm -rf
+    await gcOldRelayVersions(conn, '/home/u', '/home/u/.orca-remote/relay-0.1.0+bbb')
+    const lastCmd = mockExec.mock.calls.at(-1)?.[1] ?? ''
+    expect(lastCmd).toContain('rm -rf')
+    expect(lastCmd).toContain('relay-0.1.0+aaa')
+  })
+
+  it('GCs a legacy relay-v0.1.0 dir whose daemon is dead (no .install-complete required)', async () => {
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('relay-v0.1.0\n')
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('OPEN') // not locked
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('') // socket probe → no ALIVE (no completeProbe — legacy)
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('') // rm -rf
+    await gcOldRelayVersions(conn, '/home/u', '/home/u/.orca-remote/relay-0.1.0+bbb')
+    const cmds = mockExec.mock.calls.map(([, c]) => c)
+    expect(cmds.some((c) => c.includes('rm -rf') && c.includes('relay-v0.1.0'))).toBe(true)
+    // critically: no .install-complete probe on legacy dirs
+    expect(cmds.some((c) => c.includes('.install-complete'))).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('keeps a legacy relay-v0.1.0 dir whose daemon is still serving', async () => {
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('relay-v0.1.0\n')
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('OPEN')
+    mockExec.mockResolvedValueOnce('ALIVE') // socket alive → keep
     await gcOldRelayVersions(conn, '/home/u', '/home/u/.orca-remote/relay-0.1.0+bbb')
     const cmds = mockExec.mock.calls.map(([, c]) => c)
     expect(cmds.some((c) => c.includes('rm -rf'))).toBe(false)
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-versioned-install.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-versioned-install.ts
index 30bced1e06d..07aaa28c2d0 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-versioned-install.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-relay-versioned-install.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,13 @@ import { shellEscape } from './ssh-connection-utils'
 // so the GC eventually drains the old layout once its daemons idle out.
 const RELAY_VERSION_DIR_REGEX = /^relay-(v?\d+\.\d+\.\d+(\+[0-9a-f]+)?)$/
 
+// Why: legacy dirs from before `.install-complete` was introduced (i.e. the
+// `relay-v0.1.0` shape with no content-hash suffix). They are missing the
+// install-complete sentinel by definition and need a separate liveness-only
+// GC check so they actually drain after the legacy daemon dies, instead of
+// living on remote disks forever.
+const LEGACY_RELAY_DIR_REGEX = /^relay-v\d+\.\d+\.\d+$/
+
 const INSTALL_LOCK_NAME = '.install-lock'
 const INSTALL_COMPLETE_NAME = '.install-complete'
 
@@ -113,7 +120,7 @@ export async function acquireInstallLock(
   // safe to run multiple times — it's a no-op if the dir already exists.
   await execCommand(conn, `mkdir -p ${shellEscape(remoteRelayDir)}`)
 
-  const start = Date.now()
+  let start = Date.now()
   let recoveredOnce = false
   while (true) {
     try {
@@ -136,12 +143,15 @@ export async function acquireInstallLock(
         )
       }
       // Stale-lock recovery: if the lock dir's mtime is older than the stale
-      // window, the previous installer crashed. Steal it and retry once.
+      // window, the previous installer crashed. Steal it and retry once,
+      // resetting the timeout window so a single post-recovery race doesn't
+      // immediately exhaust the budget.
       const ageOk = await isLockStale(conn, lockDir)
       if (ageOk) {
         console.warn(`[ssh-relay] Stealing stale install lock at ${lockDir}`)
         await execCommand(conn, `rm -rf ${shellEscape(lockDir)}`).catch(() => {})
         recoveredOnce = true
+        start = Date.now()
         continue
       }
       throw new Error(
@@ -239,7 +249,7 @@ export async function gcOldRelayVersions(
   for (const name of candidates) {
     const dir = `${baseDir}/${name}`
     try {
-      const safe = await isCandidateSafeToRemove(conn, dir)
+      const safe = await isCandidateSafeToRemove(conn, dir, name)
       if (!safe) {
         kept.push(name)
         continue
@@ -262,33 +272,46 @@ export async function gcOldRelayVersions(
   }
 }
 
-async function isCandidateSafeToRemove(conn: SshConnection, dir: string): Promise<boolean> {
-  // Why: skip mid-install or crashed-install partial dirs. A locked dir is
-  // unsafe because removing it would corrupt a concurrent installer; a dir
-  // missing .install-complete is either locked (handled above) or a crashed
-  // partial that the next deploy will recover.
+async function isCandidateSafeToRemove(
+  conn: SshConnection,
+  dir: string,
+  name: string
+): Promise<boolean> {
+  const isLegacy = LEGACY_RELAY_DIR_REGEX.test(name)
+
   const lockProbe = await execCommand(
     conn,
     `test -d ${shellEscape(`${dir}/${INSTALL_LOCK_NAME}`)} && echo LOCKED || echo OPEN`
   ).catch(() => 'OPEN')
-  if (lockProbe.trim() === 'LOCKED') {
-    return false
+  const locked = lockProbe.trim() === 'LOCKED'
+
+  if (locked) {
+    // Why: a locked dir is normally unsafe to remove — but a STALE lock
+    // (mtime older than INSTALL_LOCK_STALE_MS) means the previous installer
+    // crashed and is never coming back. If the dir also has the
+    // .install-complete sentinel (touch succeeded but the rm-lock at the
+    // end of finalizeInstall failed), removing the dir is safe — no
+    // installer is racing us, and the daemon (if any) keeps running off
+    // its already-loaded code regardless of disk state.
+    const lockDir = `${dir}/${INSTALL_LOCK_NAME}`
+    if (!(await isLockStale(conn, lockDir))) {
+      return false
+    }
+    process.stderr.write?.(`[ssh-relay] GC: lock at ${lockDir} is stale; treating as recoverable\n`)
   }
 
-  const completeProbe = await execCommand(
-    conn,
-    `test -f ${shellEscape(`${dir}/${INSTALL_COMPLETE_NAME}`)} && echo COMPLETE || echo PARTIAL`
-  ).catch(() => 'PARTIAL')
-  if (completeProbe.trim() !== 'COMPLETE') {
-    // Why: legacy dirs from before `.install-complete` was introduced are
-    // missing the sentinel. Treat them as recoverable partials (the new
-    // deploy targeting their version dir would re-run install). The legacy
-    // dir name (`relay-v0.1.0`) is NOT considered safe to remove here unless
-    // the legacy daemon has died — and the dead-daemon check below also
-    // gates on `.install-complete`. Net effect: legacy dirs persist until a
-    // future migration explicitly drains them. Acceptable: no daemon there
-    // is reachable by the new client, just disk usage.
-    return false
+  // Legacy dirs (relay-v0.1.0) predate .install-complete. Skip the sentinel
+  // check for them and rely solely on the live-socket probe — that's the
+  // only signal we have that a legacy daemon is still serving clients.
+  if (!isLegacy) {
+    const completeProbe = await execCommand(
+      conn,
+      `test -f ${shellEscape(`${dir}/${INSTALL_COMPLETE_NAME}`)} && echo COMPLETE || echo PARTIAL`
+    ).catch(() => 'PARTIAL')
+    if (completeProbe.trim() !== 'COMPLETE') {
+      // Crashed-install partial; leave for the next deploy to recover.
+      return false
+    }
   }
 
   const sockAlive = await hasLiveRelaySocket(conn, dir)
diff --git a/src/relay/protocol.ts b/src/relay/protocol.ts
index a430e43d9d0..e555289bca1 100644
--- a/src/relay/protocol.ts
+++ b/src/relay/protocol.ts
@@ -153,6 +153,16 @@ export class FrameDecoder {
   reset(): void {
     this.buffer = Buffer.alloc(0)
   }
+
+  // Why: at the handshake → dispatcher transition, the next consumer must
+  // pick up any bytes that arrived in the same TCP chunk as the handshake
+  // frame. This returns and clears the decoder's internal residue so the
+  // caller can hand it to the dispatcher (or stdout pipe) without loss.
+  drain(): Buffer {
+    const out = this.buffer
+    this.buffer = Buffer.alloc(0)
+    return out
+  }
 }
 
 export function parseJsonRpcMessage(payload: Buffer): JsonRpcMessage {
diff --git a/src/relay/relay-handshake-roundtrip.test.ts b/src/relay/relay-handshake-roundtrip.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..28d884940b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/relay/relay-handshake-roundtrip.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest'
+import { createServer, connect, type Server, type Socket } from 'net'
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from 'fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'os'
+import { join } from 'path'
+
+import {
+  setupDaemonHandshake,
+  runConnectHandshake,
+  EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH
+} from './relay-handshake'
+import {
+  encodeHandshakeFrame,
+  encodeJsonRpcFrame,
+  FrameDecoder,
+  type DecodedFrame,
+  MessageType
+} from './protocol'
+
+// Why: --connect normally calls process.exit on mismatch / fatal handshake
+// errors. Stub it for tests so the harness sees a thrown sentinel error
+// rather than tearing down the test runner.
+class ExitCalled extends Error {
+  code: number
+  constructor(code: number) {
+    super(`process.exit(${code})`)
+    this.code = code
+  }
+}
+
+describe('handshake round-trip over a real Socket pair', () => {
+  let server: Server
+  let sockPath: string
+  let tmpDir: string
+  let exitSpy: ReturnType<typeof vi.spyOn>
+
+  let uncaughtHandler: (err: Error) => void
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    tmpDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca-handshake-test-'))
+    sockPath = join(tmpDir, 'relay.sock')
+    exitSpy = vi.spyOn(process, 'exit').mockImplementation(((code?: number) => {
+      throw new ExitCalled(code ?? 0)
+    }) as never)
+    // Why: process.exit is called from inside async callbacks
+    // (process.stderr.write flush callback) which would otherwise surface
+    // as an uncaughtException after the test resolves and tear down the
+    // runner. We swallow ExitCalled — exitSpy still records the call so
+    // assertions hold.
+    uncaughtHandler = (err: Error): void => {
+      if (err instanceof ExitCalled) {
+        return
+      }
+      throw err
+    }
+    process.on('uncaughtException', uncaughtHandler)
+  })
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    process.off('uncaughtException', uncaughtHandler)
+    exitSpy.mockRestore()
+    for (const s of liveServerSockets) {
+      s.destroy()
+    }
+    liveServerSockets.length = 0
+    if (server) {
+      await new Promise<void>((r) => server.close(() => r()))
+    }
+    rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  })
+
+  const liveServerSockets: Socket[] = []
+  function trackServerSocket(s: Socket): Socket {
+    liveServerSockets.push(s)
+    return s
+  }
+
+  function startDaemon(version: string): Promise<{
+    accepted: Promise<{ sock: Socket; leftover: Buffer }>
+  }> {
+    return new Promise((resolve) => {
+      const acceptedDeferred: {
+        promise: Promise<{ sock: Socket; leftover: Buffer }>
+        resolve: (v: { sock: Socket; leftover: Buffer }) => void
+      } = (() => {
+        let _resolve: (v: { sock: Socket; leftover: Buffer }) => void = () => {}
+        const promise = new Promise<{ sock: Socket; leftover: Buffer }>((r) => {
+          _resolve = r
+        })
+        return { promise, resolve: _resolve }
+      })()
+
+      server = createServer((sock) => {
+        trackServerSocket(sock)
+        setupDaemonHandshake(sock, {
+          launchVersion: version,
+          onAccepted: (s, leftover) => acceptedDeferred.resolve({ sock: s, leftover })
+        })
+      })
+      server.listen(sockPath, () => resolve({ accepted: acceptedDeferred.promise }))
+    })
+  }
+
+  it('accepts a matching version and delivers no leftover when the bridge sent only the handshake', async () => {
+    const { accepted } = await startDaemon('0.1.0+match')
+
+    const bridgeSock = connect(sockPath)
+    await new Promise<void>((r) => bridgeSock.once('connect', () => r()))
+
+    const acceptedCb = vi.fn<(leftover: Buffer) => void>()
+    runConnectHandshake(bridgeSock, '0.1.0+match', { onAccepted: acceptedCb })
+
+    const { leftover } = await accepted
+    expect(leftover.length).toBe(0)
+
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(acceptedCb).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1))
+    expect(acceptedCb.mock.calls[0][0].length).toBe(0)
+
+    bridgeSock.destroy()
+  })
+
+  it('preserves leftover bytes on the daemon side when an extra frame is coalesced after the handshake', async () => {
+    // Why: simulate an aggressive client that pipelines a frame immediately
+    // after the handshake. We bypass runConnectHandshake here and write the
+    // raw bytes directly so we control the coalescing behaviour.
+    const { accepted } = await startDaemon('0.1.0+match')
+
+    const bridgeSock = connect(sockPath)
+    await new Promise<void>((r) => bridgeSock.once('connect', () => r()))
+
+    const handshakeFrame = encodeHandshakeFrame({
+      type: 'orca-relay-handshake',
+      version: '0.1.0+match'
+    })
+    const trailingPayload = encodeJsonRpcFrame({ jsonrpc: '2.0', method: 'noop', params: {} }, 1, 0)
+    bridgeSock.write(Buffer.concat([handshakeFrame, trailingPayload]))
+
+    const { leftover } = await accepted
+
+    const seen: DecodedFrame[] = []
+    const dec = new FrameDecoder((f) => seen.push(f))
+    dec.feed(leftover)
+    expect(seen).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(seen[0].type).toBe(MessageType.Regular)
+
+    bridgeSock.destroy()
+  })
+
+  it('preserves leftover bytes on the bridge side when the daemon coalesces handshake-ok + a JSON-RPC frame', async () => {
+    let serverHandshakeSeen = false
+    server = createServer((sock) => {
+      trackServerSocket(sock)
+      const decoder = new FrameDecoder((frame) => {
+        if (frame.type !== MessageType.Handshake || serverHandshakeSeen) {
+          return
+        }
+        serverHandshakeSeen = true
+        const ok = encodeHandshakeFrame({
+          type: 'orca-relay-handshake-ok',
+          version: '0.1.0+match'
+        })
+        const trailing = encodeJsonRpcFrame(
+          { jsonrpc: '2.0', method: 'pty.event', params: { evt: 'data' } },
+          7,
+          1
+        )
+        sock.write(Buffer.concat([ok, trailing]))
+      })
+      sock.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => decoder.feed(chunk))
+    })
+    await new Promise<void>((r) => server.listen(sockPath, () => r()))
+
+    const bridgeSock = connect(sockPath)
+    await new Promise<void>((r) => bridgeSock.once('connect', () => r()))
+
+    const acceptedCb = vi.fn<(leftover: Buffer) => void>()
+    runConnectHandshake(bridgeSock, '0.1.0+match', { onAccepted: acceptedCb })
+
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(acceptedCb).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1))
+    const leftover = acceptedCb.mock.calls[0][0]
+
+    const seen: DecodedFrame[] = []
+    const dec = new FrameDecoder((f) => seen.push(f))
+    dec.feed(leftover)
+    expect(seen).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(seen[0].type).toBe(MessageType.Regular)
+
+    bridgeSock.destroy()
+  })
+
+  it('exits with EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH when the daemon reports a mismatch', async () => {
+    await startDaemon('0.1.0+server-version')
+
+    const bridgeSock = connect(sockPath)
+    await new Promise<void>((r) => bridgeSock.once('connect', () => r()))
+
+    const acceptedCb = vi.fn()
+    runConnectHandshake(bridgeSock, '0.1.0+different', { onAccepted: acceptedCb })
+
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(exitSpy).toHaveBeenCalled())
+    expect(exitSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH)
+    expect(acceptedCb).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+
+    bridgeSock.destroy()
+  })
+
+  it('does not call onAccepted before any handshake-ok frame arrives', async () => {
+    // Why: silent server that never replies. acceptedCb must stay
+    // un-invoked even though the bridge has flushed its handshake frame.
+    server = createServer((sock) => {
+      trackServerSocket(sock)
+      /* swallow */
+    })
+    await new Promise<void>((r) => server.listen(sockPath, () => r()))
+
+    const bridgeSock = connect(sockPath)
+    await new Promise<void>((r) => bridgeSock.once('connect', () => r()))
+
+    const acceptedCb = vi.fn()
+    runConnectHandshake(bridgeSock, '0.1.0+match', { onAccepted: acceptedCb })
+
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 100))
+    expect(acceptedCb).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+
+    bridgeSock.destroy()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/relay/relay-handshake.ts b/src/relay/relay-handshake.ts
index 251fd859d56..653e03ddb92 100644
--- a/src/relay/relay-handshake.ts
+++ b/src/relay/relay-handshake.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 // independently unit-testable.
 
 import { dirname, join } from 'path'
-import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'fs'
+import { existsSync, readFileSync, realpathSync } from 'fs'
 import type { Socket } from 'net'
 import {
   RELAY_VERSION,
@@ -27,13 +27,27 @@ export const EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH = 42
 // Why: the deploy step writes a content-hashed version marker (e.g.
 // "0.1.0+0a5fe134d020") into ${remoteDir}/.version next to relay.js. Read it
 // from the directory the running script lives in (NOT process.cwd()) so test
-// spawns from arbitrary working dirs still report a coherent version. Falls
-// back to bare RELAY_VERSION if the marker is missing — the wire handshake
-// will then refuse a fresh client whose .version differs.
+// spawns from arbitrary working dirs still report a coherent version. We
+// resolve symlinks via realpathSync so a daemon launched indirectly (e.g.
+// `node /tmp/symlink-to-relay.js`) still finds .version next to the real
+// script. Falls back to bare RELAY_VERSION only if the file truly cannot be
+// read; the wire handshake then refuses a fresh content-hashed client and
+// the user gets a clean typed error rather than a silent stale-daemon loop.
 export function readLaunchVersion(): string {
   try {
     const entry = process.argv[1]
-    const dir = entry ? dirname(entry) : process.cwd()
+    let dir: string
+    if (entry) {
+      let resolved = entry
+      try {
+        resolved = realpathSync(entry)
+      } catch {
+        /* fall back to the unresolved path */
+      }
+      dir = dirname(resolved)
+    } else {
+      dir = process.cwd()
+    }
     const versionFile = join(dir, '.version')
     if (existsSync(versionFile)) {
       const v = readFileSync(versionFile, 'utf-8').trim()
@@ -50,7 +64,12 @@ export function readLaunchVersion(): string {
 // ── Daemon side ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 export type DaemonHandshakeCallbacks = {
-  onAccepted: (sock: Socket) => void
+  // Why: leftover is any bytes the FrameDecoder buffered AFTER the handshake
+  // frame (e.g. the bridge wrote handshake + a JSON-RPC frame in the same
+  // TCP send). The caller MUST feed leftover into the dispatcher before
+  // attaching the new 'data' listener, otherwise those bytes are silently
+  // lost.
+  onAccepted: (sock: Socket, leftover: Buffer) => void
   launchVersion: string
 }
 
@@ -61,9 +80,19 @@ export type DaemonHandshakeCallbacks = {
 // the socket so the bridge exits 42 and the client surfaces a typed error
 // instead of looping over the dispatcher.
 export function setupDaemonHandshake(sock: Socket, cb: DaemonHandshakeCallbacks): void {
-  const decoder = new FrameDecoder(
+  let handshakeResolved = false
+  const decoder: FrameDecoder = new FrameDecoder(
     (frame: DecodedFrame) => {
-      handleDaemonHandshakeFrame(sock, frame, cb)
+      if (handshakeResolved) {
+        return
+      }
+      const accepted = handleDaemonHandshakeFrame(sock, frame, cb.launchVersion)
+      if (accepted) {
+        handshakeResolved = true
+        const leftover = decoder.drain()
+        detachHandshakeListener(sock)
+        cb.onAccepted(sock, leftover)
+      }
     },
     (err) => {
       process.stderr.write(`[relay] Handshake decode error: ${err.message}\n`)
@@ -90,14 +119,14 @@ export function detachHandshakeListener(sock: Socket): void {
 function handleDaemonHandshakeFrame(
   sock: Socket,
   frame: DecodedFrame,
-  cb: DaemonHandshakeCallbacks
-): void {
+  launchVersion: string
+): boolean {
   if (frame.type !== MessageType.Handshake) {
     process.stderr.write(
       `[relay] Protocol violation pre-handshake: type=${frame.type}; closing socket\n`
     )
     sock.destroy()
-    return
+    return false
   }
   let msg: ReturnType<typeof parseHandshakeMessage>
   try {
@@ -107,24 +136,24 @@ function handleDaemonHandshakeFrame(
       `[relay] Could not parse handshake: ${(err as Error).message}; closing socket\n`
     )
     sock.destroy()
-    return
+    return false
   }
   if (msg.type !== 'orca-relay-handshake') {
     process.stderr.write(
       `[relay] Unexpected handshake type from client: ${msg.type}; closing socket\n`
     )
     sock.destroy()
-    return
+    return false
   }
-  if (msg.version !== cb.launchVersion) {
+  if (msg.version !== launchVersion) {
     process.stderr.write(
-      `[relay] Handshake mismatch: own=${cb.launchVersion}, client=${msg.version}; closing socket\n`
+      `[relay] Handshake mismatch: own=${launchVersion}, client=${msg.version}; closing socket\n`
     )
     try {
       sock.write(
         encodeHandshakeFrame({
           type: 'orca-relay-handshake-mismatch',
-          expected: cb.launchVersion,
+          expected: launchVersion,
           got: msg.version
         })
       )
@@ -132,18 +161,22 @@ function handleDaemonHandshakeFrame(
       /* best-effort — close+exit-42 still wins */
     }
     sock.end()
-    return
+    return false
   }
   process.stderr.write(`[relay] Handshake OK from version=${msg.version}\n`)
-  sock.write(encodeHandshakeFrame({ type: 'orca-relay-handshake-ok', version: cb.launchVersion }))
-  detachHandshakeListener(sock)
-  cb.onAccepted(sock)
+  sock.write(encodeHandshakeFrame({ type: 'orca-relay-handshake-ok', version: launchVersion }))
+  return true
 }
 
 // ── --connect side ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 export type ConnectHandshakeCallbacks = {
-  onAccepted: () => void
+  // Why: leftover is any bytes the FrameDecoder buffered AFTER the
+  // handshake-ok frame. The caller MUST forward leftover to process.stdout
+  // (the SSH stdout pipe) before attaching the raw bridge, otherwise daemon
+  // bytes coalesced into the same TCP send as handshake-ok are silently
+  // dropped.
+  onAccepted: (leftover: Buffer) => void
 }
 
 // Why: the wire-level version handshake from the bridge side. Before we attach
@@ -161,7 +194,7 @@ export function runConnectHandshake(
 ): void {
   let handshakeDone = false
 
-  const decoder = new FrameDecoder(
+  const decoder: FrameDecoder = new FrameDecoder(
     (frame: DecodedFrame) => {
       if (handshakeDone) {
         return
@@ -186,16 +219,24 @@ export function runConnectHandshake(
       if (msg.type === 'orca-relay-handshake-ok') {
         process.stderr.write(`[relay-connect] Handshake OK at version=${msg.version}\n`)
         handshakeDone = true
+        const leftover = decoder.drain()
         sock.removeAllListeners('data')
-        cb.onAccepted()
+        cb.onAccepted(leftover)
         return
       }
       if (msg.type === 'orca-relay-handshake-mismatch') {
+        // Why: explicit stderr flush + exit so the diagnostic line is
+        // delivered to the client BEFORE the process exits. Without this,
+        // process.stderr writes can be buffered/async on pipe transports
+        // and parseHandshakeMismatchStderr loses the version detail.
         process.stderr.write(
-          `[relay-connect] Handshake mismatch: expected=${msg.expected}, daemon=${msg.got}; exiting ${EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH}\n`
+          `[relay-connect] Handshake mismatch: expected=${msg.expected}, daemon=${msg.got}; exiting ${EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH}\n`,
+          () => {
+            sock.destroy()
+            process.exit(EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH)
+          }
         )
-        sock.destroy()
-        process.exit(EXIT_CODE_VERSION_MISMATCH)
+        return
       }
       process.stderr.write(`[relay-connect] Unexpected handshake type: ${msg.type}\n`)
       sock.destroy()
diff --git a/src/relay/relay.ts b/src/relay/relay.ts
index 2d4bcf44238..3df1555ee9b 100644
--- a/src/relay/relay.ts
+++ b/src/relay/relay.ts
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ function runConnectMode(sockPath: string): void {
   sock.on('connect', () => {
     clearTimeout(connectTimeout)
     runConnectHandshake(sock, myVersion, {
-      onAccepted: () => {
+      onAccepted: (leftover: Buffer) => {
         // Why: RELAY_SENTINEL must be written AFTER the handshake passes; if it
         // were written earlier, waitForSentinel on the client would resolve
         // and start sending JSON-RPC over a socket the daemon was about to
@@ -89,6 +89,14 @@ function runConnectMode(sockPath: string): void {
         // re-entering the backoff loop. Sequencing it post-handshake makes
         // mismatch a clean exit-42 path with no false-positive sentinel.
         process.stdout.write(RELAY_SENTINEL)
+        // Why: bytes that arrived in the same TCP send as the handshake-ok
+        // frame were buffered inside the handshake's FrameDecoder. Forward
+        // them to stdout BEFORE attaching sock.pipe(process.stdout), so the
+        // multiplexer downstream sees them in order and no daemon frames
+        // are silently dropped at the transition.
+        if (leftover.length > 0) {
+          process.stdout.write(leftover)
+        }
         process.stdin.pipe(sock)
         sock.pipe(process.stdout)
       }
@@ -220,7 +228,7 @@ function main(): void {
   let socketServer: Server | null = null
   const launchVersion = readLaunchVersion()
 
-  function attachAcceptedSocket(sock: Socket): void {
+  function attachAcceptedSocket(sock: Socket, leftover: Buffer): void {
     // Why: only one client at a time. If a second reconnect arrives (e.g.
     // user restarts again quickly), close the stale bridge so the new one
     // takes over cleanly. We null activeSocket BEFORE destroying so the old
@@ -249,6 +257,14 @@ function main(): void {
       }
     })
 
+    // Why: bytes that arrived in the same TCP send as the handshake frame
+    // were buffered inside the handshake's FrameDecoder. Feed them into the
+    // dispatcher BEFORE wiring sock.on('data'), so frame ordering is
+    // preserved and no client data is silently dropped at the transition.
+    if (leftover.length > 0) {
+      dispatcher.feed(leftover)
+    }
+
     sock.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => {
       if (activeSocket !== sock) {
         return