diff --git a/src/main/daemon/daemon-launch-paths.ts b/src/main/daemon/daemon-launch-paths.ts
index 92601e9e3b4..9b5b2c3dca8 100644
--- a/src/main/daemon/daemon-launch-paths.ts
+++ b/src/main/daemon/daemon-launch-paths.ts
@@ -46,8 +46,14 @@ export function daemonLogArgs(): string[] {
   return disabled === '1' || disabled === 'true' ? [] : ['--log-file', getDaemonLogFilePath()]
 }
 
+/** Named so a caller clamping this probe to a deadline cannot silently decouple from its default. */
+export const DAEMON_SOCKET_PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS = 1_000
+
 // Why: a socket that accepts a connection proves a daemon survived a previous app session and can be reused.
-export function probeDaemonSocket(socketPath: string, timeoutMs = 1000): Promise<boolean> {
+export function probeDaemonSocket(
+  socketPath: string,
+  timeoutMs = DAEMON_SOCKET_PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS
+): Promise<boolean> {
   const { promise, resolve } = Promise.withResolvers<boolean>()
   if (process.platform !== 'win32' && !existsSync(socketPath)) {
     resolve(false)
diff --git a/src/main/daemon/daemon-recovery-budget.ts b/src/main/daemon/daemon-recovery-budget.ts
index 3f8370002cd..ea6f6ebb76f 100644
--- a/src/main/daemon/daemon-recovery-budget.ts
+++ b/src/main/daemon/daemon-recovery-budget.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ export const DAEMON_RECOVERY_PROBE_MS = 8_000
  * timeout, and 5s for the adoption lease and adapter connects — those two run against a daemon
  * that has just reported ready over IPC, so they get a realistic allowance, not the client's
  * unbudgeted 4x5s. 60 - 25.5 leaves 34.5s; take 32s and keep the rest as margin.
+ *
+ * Outside that accounting by design: the launcher's outer-catch endpoint rescue, which only
+ * runs once the replacement has already failed. Clamping it to the remainder is what turned a
+ * recoverable degraded adoption into total daemon loss, so it keeps its own probe default and
+ * the gate may fail open ahead of it — no worse than not rescuing, and better whenever it wins.
  */
 export const DAEMON_RECOVERY_BUDGET_MS = 32_000
 
diff --git a/src/main/daemon/daemon-replacement-preflight.ts b/src/main/daemon/daemon-replacement-preflight.ts
index dc8d4c7619a..71e7303d174 100644
--- a/src/main/daemon/daemon-replacement-preflight.ts
+++ b/src/main/daemon/daemon-replacement-preflight.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@ import type { DaemonReplaceReason } from '../../shared/daemon-lifecycle-telemetr
 import { isDaemonStaleForCurrentBundle } from './daemon-bundle-staleness'
 import { DaemonEndpointOwnershipError } from './daemon-endpoint-adoption'
 import { checkDaemonHealth, getMacDaemonSystemResolverHealth } from './daemon-health'
-import { getAliveDaemonSessionCount, probeDaemonSocket as probeSocket } from './daemon-launch-paths'
+import {
+  DAEMON_SOCKET_PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS,
+  getAliveDaemonSessionCount,
+  probeDaemonSocket as probeSocket
+} from './daemon-launch-paths'
 import { trackDaemonReplaced } from './daemon-lifecycle-event'
 import { getDaemonLaunchIdentity } from './daemon-pid-identity'
 import { cleanupDaemonForProtocol } from './daemon-protocol-cleanup'
@@ -12,8 +16,9 @@ import { killStaleDaemon } from './daemon-stale-kill'
 import { getMacDaemonTccAttributionHealth } from './daemon-tcc-attribution'
 import { PROTOCOL_VERSION } from './types'
 
-// Why a count on top of the wall clock: DAEMON_RECOVERY_BUDGET_MS ends the grace, but a probe
-// that fails instantly (nothing listening) would spin hot for the whole budget without this.
+// Why a count on top of the wall clock: DAEMON_RECOVERY_BUDGET_MS ends the grace, but a socket
+// that accepts and then resets the hello answers both probes instantly, so without this the loop
+// would spin hot for the whole budget.
 export const WEDGED_DAEMON_GRACE_RETRIES = 11
 
 type PreserveDaemon = (mode?: 'degraded-new-pty-fallback') => Promise<DaemonProcessHandle>
@@ -157,7 +162,10 @@ export async function prepareDaemonReplacement(
       health !== 'rejected' &&
       graceRetry < WEDGED_DAEMON_GRACE_RETRIES &&
       Date.now() < recoveryDeadlineMs &&
-      (await probeSocket(socketPath, Math.max(1, Math.min(1000, recoveryDeadlineMs - Date.now()))))
+      (await probeSocket(
+        socketPath,
+        Math.max(1, Math.min(DAEMON_SOCKET_PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS, recoveryDeadlineMs - Date.now()))
+      ))
     ) {
       liveSessionCount = await getAliveDaemonSessionCount(socketPath, tokenPath, recoveryDeadlineMs)
       graceRetry++