diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/host-mirror-handle-gap-subscription-lifetime.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/host-mirror-handle-gap-subscription-lifetime.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c6f1de54a92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/host-mirror-handle-gap-subscription-lifetime.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { useAppStore } from '@/store'
+import { clearRuntimeEnvironmentConnectionGenerationsForTests } from '@/store/slices/runtime-status'
+import {
+  HOST_MIRROR_HANDLE_GAP_DEADLINE_MS,
+  clearHostMirrorHandleGapVerdictsForEnvironment,
+  countHostMirrorHandleGapVerdictsForTests,
+  countParkedHostMirrorHandleGapPanesForTests,
+  parkUntilHostMirrorHandleLands,
+  resetHostMirrorHandleGapWaitsForTests
+} from './host-mirror-handle-gap-wait'
+
+// The retention suite that the reconciled verdict loop replaced carried one assertion the split
+// suites did not: the store subscription is held for exactly as long as something needs it.
+//
+// Measured rather than assumed, because half of it turned out to be covered already:
+//   - RETAIN direction (drop the verdict term from `stopStoreSubscriptionIfIdle`, so a verdict
+//     with no waiter behind it loses the subscription its drain needs): already caught, by
+//     host-mirror-handle-gap-landed-handle.test.ts. Two failures there without this file.
+//   - RELEASE direction (never release the subscription at all): caught by NOTHING. That mutation
+//     passes all 272 tests across the 33 other handle-gap and session-tabs suites. A leaked
+//     subscription rescans every parked pane on every store write for the life of the session and
+//     no test notices.
+//
+// So this file exists for the release direction; the retain cases are here because the two belong
+// in one place, not because they were missing. `stopStoreSubscriptionIfIdle` counts VERDICTS as
+// well as waiters -- the landed-handle drain observes a transition no waiter is parked for -- and
+// that is exactly the term the reconcile moved, so both directions are worth holding still.
+//
+// Asserted through a spy rather than a new test-only export: whether the module is subscribed is
+// already observable at the store boundary, and the production surface should not grow to say so.
+
+const ENVIRONMENT_ID = 'env-subscription'
+const OTHER_ENVIRONMENT_ID = 'env-other'
+const WORKTREE_ID = 'repo-1::/workspace/repo'
+
+const initialAppStoreState = useAppStore.getState()
+
+let unsubscribeCalls: number
+let subscribeCalls: number
+
+function publishPaneAndPark(environmentId: string, tabId: string): void {
+  const state = useAppStore.getState()
+  const published = state.tabsByWorktree[WORKTREE_ID] ?? []
+  useAppStore.setState({
+    ptyIdsByTabId: {},
+    tabsByWorktree: {
+      [WORKTREE_ID]: [...published.filter((tab) => tab.id !== tabId), { id: tabId, title: tabId }]
+    },
+    terminalLayoutsByTabId: {
+      ...state.terminalLayoutsByTabId,
+      [tabId]: {
+        root: { type: 'leaf', leafId: `leaf-${tabId}` },
+        activeLeafId: `leaf-${tabId}`,
+        expandedLeafId: null,
+        ptyIdsByLeafId: { [`leaf-${tabId}`]: `remote:${environmentId}@@term_${tabId}` }
+      }
+    }
+  } as never)
+  parkUntilHostMirrorHandleLands(environmentId, WORKTREE_ID, tabId, () => {})
+}
+
+/** Lands the pane's handle, which is what both releases a waiter and retires a verdict. */
+function landHandle(tabId: string): void {
+  useAppStore.setState({
+    ptyIdsByTabId: { ...useAppStore.getState().ptyIdsByTabId, [tabId]: [`pty-${tabId}`] }
+  } as never)
+}
+
+describe('host-mirror handle-gap store subscription lifetime', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    resetHostMirrorHandleGapWaitsForTests()
+    clearRuntimeEnvironmentConnectionGenerationsForTests()
+    unsubscribeCalls = 0
+    subscribeCalls = 0
+    const realSubscribe = useAppStore.subscribe.bind(useAppStore)
+    vi.spyOn(useAppStore, 'subscribe').mockImplementation(((listener: never) => {
+      subscribeCalls += 1
+      const unsubscribe = realSubscribe(listener)
+      return () => {
+        unsubscribeCalls += 1
+        unsubscribe()
+      }
+    }) as never)
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks()
+    resetHostMirrorHandleGapWaitsForTests()
+    clearRuntimeEnvironmentConnectionGenerationsForTests()
+    useAppStore.setState(initialAppStoreState, true)
+    vi.useRealTimers()
+  })
+
+  it('holds exactly one subscription across several parked panes', () => {
+    publishPaneAndPark(ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-a')
+    publishPaneAndPark(ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-b')
+    publishPaneAndPark(OTHER_ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-c')
+
+    expect(countParkedHostMirrorHandleGapPanesForTests()).toBe(3)
+    expect(subscribeCalls).toBe(1)
+    expect(unsubscribeCalls).toBe(0)
+  })
+
+  it('releases the subscription once the last waiter leaves and no verdict remains', () => {
+    publishPaneAndPark(ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-a')
+    publishPaneAndPark(ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-b')
+
+    landHandle('tab-a')
+    expect(unsubscribeCalls).toBe(0)
+
+    landHandle('tab-b')
+    expect(countParkedHostMirrorHandleGapPanesForTests()).toBe(0)
+    expect(countHostMirrorHandleGapVerdictsForTests()).toBe(0)
+    expect(unsubscribeCalls).toBe(1)
+  })
+
+  it('keeps the subscription for a verdict with no waiter parked behind it', () => {
+    // The case the reconcile introduced: the waiter is gone, but the landed-handle drain still has
+    // a verdict to watch. Counting only waiters here would drop the subscription that drain needs.
+    publishPaneAndPark(ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-a')
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(HOST_MIRROR_HANDLE_GAP_DEADLINE_MS)
+
+    expect(countParkedHostMirrorHandleGapPanesForTests()).toBe(0)
+    expect(countHostMirrorHandleGapVerdictsForTests()).toBe(1)
+    expect(unsubscribeCalls).toBe(0)
+  })
+
+  it('releases the subscription when the last verdict is cleared by teardown', () => {
+    publishPaneAndPark(ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-a')
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(HOST_MIRROR_HANDLE_GAP_DEADLINE_MS)
+    expect(unsubscribeCalls).toBe(0)
+
+    clearHostMirrorHandleGapVerdictsForEnvironment(ENVIRONMENT_ID)
+
+    expect(countHostMirrorHandleGapVerdictsForTests()).toBe(0)
+    expect(unsubscribeCalls).toBe(1)
+  })
+
+  it('re-subscribes rather than reusing a dropped subscription', () => {
+    publishPaneAndPark(ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-a')
+    landHandle('tab-a')
+    expect(unsubscribeCalls).toBe(1)
+
+    publishPaneAndPark(ENVIRONMENT_ID, 'tab-d')
+
+    expect(subscribeCalls).toBe(2)
+    expect(countParkedHostMirrorHandleGapPanesForTests()).toBe(1)
+  })
+})