diff --git a/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-bench-inspector-session.mjs b/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-bench-inspector-session.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0749f51ef90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-bench-inspector-session.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+/**
+ * Ephemeral-port, pid-verifiable inspector session for daemon benchmarks.
+ *
+ * The target daemon is spawned with `--inspect=0`; `waitForInspectorUrl` reads
+ * the advertised ws:// URL from the child's OWN stderr, so the port is never
+ * guessed or shared and the target is the spawned process by construction
+ * (STA-3515 harness finding #1 — a fixed port can attach to an unrelated
+ * process). Callers must still assert `evaluateJson('process.pid')` equals the
+ * spawned child's pid before measuring.
+ */
+import { withTimeout } from './daemon-bench-ndjson-client.mjs'
+
+export const INSPECTOR_TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000
+
+export class InspectorSession {
+  constructor(wsUrl) {
+    this.wsUrl = wsUrl
+    this.ws = null
+    this.pending = new Map()
+    this.messageCounter = 0
+  }
+
+  async connect() {
+    this.ws = new WebSocket(this.wsUrl)
+    await withTimeout(
+      new Promise((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+        this.ws.addEventListener('open', () => resolvePromise(), { once: true })
+        this.ws.addEventListener('error', () => reject(new Error('inspector websocket error')), {
+          once: true
+        })
+      }),
+      INSPECTOR_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      'inspector websocket connect'
+    )
+    this.ws.addEventListener('message', (event) => {
+      let message
+      try {
+        message = JSON.parse(typeof event.data === 'string' ? event.data : '')
+      } catch {
+        return
+      }
+      const pending = message.id !== undefined ? this.pending.get(message.id) : undefined
+      if (pending) {
+        this.pending.delete(message.id)
+        clearTimeout(pending.timer)
+        if (message.error) {
+          pending.reject(new Error(`inspector ${pending.method}: ${message.error.message}`))
+        } else {
+          pending.resolve(message.result)
+        }
+      }
+    })
+    this.ws.addEventListener('close', () => {
+      for (const [id, pending] of this.pending) {
+        clearTimeout(pending.timer)
+        pending.reject(new Error('inspector websocket closed'))
+        this.pending.delete(id)
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  send(method, params) {
+    return new Promise((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+      const id = ++this.messageCounter
+      const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+        this.pending.delete(id)
+        reject(new Error(`inspector ${method} timed out after ${INSPECTOR_TIMEOUT_MS}ms`))
+      }, INSPECTOR_TIMEOUT_MS)
+      this.pending.set(id, { resolve: resolvePromise, reject, timer, method })
+      this.ws.send(JSON.stringify({ id, method, ...(params ? { params } : {}) }))
+    })
+  }
+
+  async evaluateJson(expression) {
+    const result = await this.send('Runtime.evaluate', {
+      expression: `JSON.stringify(${expression})`,
+      returnByValue: true
+    })
+    if (result.exceptionDetails) {
+      throw new Error(`inspector evaluate threw: ${result.exceptionDetails.text}`)
+    }
+    return JSON.parse(result.result.value)
+  }
+
+  close() {
+    try {
+      this.ws?.close()
+    } catch {
+      // already closed
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export function waitForInspectorUrl(child) {
+  return withTimeout(
+    new Promise((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+      let buffer = ''
+      const onData = (chunk) => {
+        buffer += chunk.toString('utf8')
+        const match = /Debugger listening on (ws:\/\/[^\s]+)/.exec(buffer)
+        if (match) {
+          child.stderr.off('data', onData)
+          resolvePromise(match[1])
+        }
+      }
+      child.stderr.on('data', onData)
+      child.once('exit', () => reject(new Error('daemon exited before advertising inspector')))
+    }),
+    INSPECTOR_TIMEOUT_MS,
+    'inspector url discovery'
+  )
+}
diff --git a/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-bench-ndjson-client.mjs b/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-bench-ndjson-client.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9c714d1b674
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-bench-ndjson-client.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+/**
+ * Minimal NDJSON client for benchmarks that talk to a self-spawned Orca
+ * terminal daemon: control + stream hello handshake, id-matched RPC with
+ * per-request timeouts, and close/error handling that rejects every pending
+ * request so a daemon crash can never strand an await (STA-3515 harness
+ * finding #2).
+ */
+import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto'
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { connect } from 'node:net'
+
+export const HELLO_TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000
+export const RPC_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000
+
+export function withTimeout(promise, ms, what) {
+  let timer
+  return Promise.race([
+    promise,
+    new Promise((_, reject) => {
+      timer = setTimeout(() => reject(new Error(`${what} timed out after ${ms}ms`)), ms)
+    })
+  ]).finally(() => clearTimeout(timer))
+}
+
+function connectSocket(path, timeoutMs) {
+  return new Promise((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+    const socket = connect(path)
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      socket.destroy()
+      reject(new Error(`daemon socket connect timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms`))
+    }, timeoutMs)
+    socket.once('connect', () => {
+      clearTimeout(timer)
+      resolvePromise(socket)
+    })
+    socket.once('error', (error) => {
+      clearTimeout(timer)
+      reject(error)
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+export class BenchDaemonClient {
+  constructor(socketPath, tokenPath, protocolVersion, onSessionOutputChars) {
+    this.socketPath = socketPath
+    this.tokenPath = tokenPath
+    this.protocolVersion = protocolVersion
+    this.onSessionOutputChars = onSessionOutputChars
+    this.clientId = randomUUID()
+    this.controlSocket = null
+    this.streamSocket = null
+    this.pending = new Map()
+    this.requestCounter = 0
+  }
+
+  async connect() {
+    this.controlSocket = await connectSocket(this.socketPath, HELLO_TIMEOUT_MS)
+    await this.hello(this.controlSocket, 'control')
+    this.attachNdjsonReader(this.controlSocket, (message) => this.settleResponse(message))
+    // A stream socket mirrors the real client shape: PTY output leaves the
+    // daemon instead of accumulating solely because nothing is attached. Its
+    // data events also PROVE each cycle's output actually flowed.
+    this.streamSocket = await connectSocket(this.socketPath, HELLO_TIMEOUT_MS)
+    await this.hello(this.streamSocket, 'stream')
+    this.attachNdjsonReader(this.streamSocket, (message) => {
+      if (message.type === 'event' && message.event === 'data') {
+        this.onSessionOutputChars?.(message.sessionId, message.payload?.data?.length ?? 0)
+      }
+    })
+    const rejectAll = (reason) => () => {
+      for (const [id, pending] of this.pending) {
+        clearTimeout(pending.timer)
+        pending.reject(new Error(reason))
+        this.pending.delete(id)
+      }
+    }
+    this.controlSocket.on('close', rejectAll('daemon control socket closed'))
+    this.controlSocket.on('error', rejectAll('daemon control socket errored'))
+  }
+
+  hello(socket, role) {
+    const token = readFileSync(this.tokenPath, 'utf8').trim()
+    return withTimeout(
+      new Promise((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+        let buffer = ''
+        const onData = (chunk) => {
+          buffer += chunk.toString('utf8')
+          const newline = buffer.indexOf('\n')
+          if (newline === -1) {
+            return
+          }
+          socket.off('data', onData)
+          socket.off('close', onClose)
+          try {
+            const response = JSON.parse(buffer.slice(0, newline))
+            if (response.ok) {
+              resolvePromise()
+            } else {
+              reject(new Error(`hello rejected: ${response.error ?? 'unknown'}`))
+            }
+          } catch (error) {
+            reject(error)
+          }
+        }
+        const onClose = () => reject(new Error('daemon closed socket before hello response'))
+        socket.on('data', onData)
+        socket.once('close', onClose)
+        socket.write(
+          `${JSON.stringify({ type: 'hello', version: this.protocolVersion, token, clientId: this.clientId, role })}\n`
+        )
+      }),
+      HELLO_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      `daemon ${role} hello`
+    )
+  }
+
+  attachNdjsonReader(socket, onMessage) {
+    let buffer = ''
+    socket.on('data', (chunk) => {
+      buffer += chunk.toString('utf8')
+      let newline = buffer.indexOf('\n')
+      while (newline !== -1) {
+        const line = buffer.slice(0, newline)
+        buffer = buffer.slice(newline + 1)
+        newline = buffer.indexOf('\n')
+        if (!line) {
+          continue
+        }
+        try {
+          onMessage(JSON.parse(line))
+        } catch {
+          // tolerate partial/foreign lines; the daemon owns the framing
+        }
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  settleResponse(message) {
+    const pending = message.id ? this.pending.get(message.id) : undefined
+    if (pending) {
+      this.pending.delete(message.id)
+      clearTimeout(pending.timer)
+      if (message.ok) {
+        pending.resolve(message.payload)
+      } else {
+        pending.reject(new Error(message.error ?? 'daemon request failed'))
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  request(type, payload, timeoutMs = RPC_TIMEOUT_MS) {
+    return new Promise((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+      const id = `bench-${++this.requestCounter}`
+      const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+        this.pending.delete(id)
+        reject(new Error(`daemon request ${type} timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms`))
+      }, timeoutMs)
+      this.pending.set(id, { resolve: resolvePromise, reject, timer })
+      try {
+        this.controlSocket.write(
+          `${JSON.stringify({ id, type, ...(payload !== undefined ? { payload } : {}) })}\n`
+        )
+      } catch (error) {
+        this.pending.delete(id)
+        clearTimeout(timer)
+        reject(error)
+      }
+    })
+  }
+
+  destroy() {
+    for (const [id, pending] of this.pending) {
+      clearTimeout(pending.timer)
+      pending.reject(new Error('client destroyed'))
+      this.pending.delete(id)
+    }
+    this.controlSocket?.destroy()
+    this.streamSocket?.destroy()
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-build-provenance-gate.mjs b/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-build-provenance-gate.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e4a7cfd125c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-build-provenance-gate.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+/**
+ * Build-provenance gate for daemon benchmarks (STA-3515 harness finding #3).
+ *
+ * A measurement is only attributable to a commit when the artifacts it loads
+ * were provably built from that commit. `assertDaemonBuildProvenance` FAILS
+ * LOUDLY unless every link in the chain holds:
+ *
+ *   1. `git status` is clean for daemon-relevant paths, so the working tree IS
+ *      `git rev-parse HEAD` for everything measured;
+ *   2. sha256(config/patches/node-pty@1.1.0.patch) equals the patch hash in
+ *      pnpm-lock.yaml AND the patch hash pnpm baked into the installed
+ *      node-pty realpath — pnpm names the install dir after the patch content
+ *      hash, so this proves the installed native SOURCE is the checked-out
+ *      patch;
+ *   3. the installed node-pty resolves inside THIS worktree (a sibling
+ *      worktree's symlinked install proves nothing about this HEAD);
+ *   4. every compiled node-pty binary is at least as new as the newest native
+ *      source file, so a stale binary cannot masquerade as patched;
+ *   5. out/orcad/daemon-entry.js is rebuilt by THIS call (build-orcad.mjs runs
+ *      here), so the daemon bundle is the checked-out HEAD by construction.
+ */
+import { execFileSync, spawnSync } from 'node:child_process'
+import { createHash } from 'node:crypto'
+import { existsSync, readdirSync, readFileSync, realpathSync, statSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { createRequire } from 'node:module'
+import { join, resolve, sep } from 'node:path'
+
+export function assertDaemonBuildProvenance(repoRoot) {
+  const git = (...cmdArgs) =>
+    execFileSync('git', cmdArgs, { cwd: repoRoot, encoding: 'utf8' }).trim()
+  const headSha = git('rev-parse', 'HEAD')
+  const branch = git('rev-parse', '--abbrev-ref', 'HEAD')
+
+  const relevant = ['src/main/', 'src/shared/', 'config/patches/', 'pnpm-lock.yaml', 'package.json']
+  // NOTE: no .trim() on the whole output — porcelain lines start with a
+  // two-character status whose first column may be a meaningful space.
+  const dirty = execFileSync('git', ['status', '--porcelain'], { cwd: repoRoot, encoding: 'utf8' })
+    .split('\n')
+    .filter((line) => line.length > 3)
+    .map((line) => line.slice(3))
+    .filter((file) => relevant.some((prefix) => file.startsWith(prefix)))
+  if (dirty.length > 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `PROVENANCE FAILURE: daemon-relevant paths are dirty; results would not be attributable to HEAD ${headSha}:\n  ${dirty.join('\n  ')}`
+    )
+  }
+
+  const patchFile = join(repoRoot, 'config', 'patches', 'node-pty@1.1.0.patch')
+  const patchSha256 = createHash('sha256').update(readFileSync(patchFile)).digest('hex')
+  const lockfile = readFileSync(join(repoRoot, 'pnpm-lock.yaml'), 'utf8')
+  const lockHashMatch = /node-pty@1\.1\.0:\s*\n\s*hash: ([0-9a-f]{64})/.exec(lockfile)
+  if (!lockHashMatch || lockHashMatch[1] !== patchSha256) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `PROVENANCE FAILURE: pnpm-lock node-pty patch hash (${lockHashMatch?.[1] ?? 'missing'}) != sha256 of checked-out patch (${patchSha256})`
+    )
+  }
+
+  const requireFromRoot = createRequire(join(repoRoot, 'package.json'))
+  const installedPkgJson = requireFromRoot.resolve('node-pty/package.json')
+  const installedRealRoot = realpathSync(resolve(installedPkgJson, '..'))
+  if (!installedRealRoot.includes(`patch_hash=${patchSha256}`)) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `PROVENANCE FAILURE: installed node-pty at ${installedRealRoot} was not built from the checked-out patch (expected patch_hash=${patchSha256}). Run pnpm install.`
+    )
+  }
+  if (!installedRealRoot.startsWith(repoRoot + sep)) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `PROVENANCE FAILURE: node_modules/node-pty resolves outside this worktree (${installedRealRoot}); a sibling worktree's install cannot prove this HEAD`
+    )
+  }
+
+  const releaseDir = join(installedRealRoot, 'build', 'Release')
+  const nativeBinaries = existsSync(releaseDir)
+    ? readdirSync(releaseDir).filter(
+        (name) => name.endsWith('.node') || name === 'spawn-helper' || name.endsWith('.exe')
+      )
+    : []
+  if (nativeBinaries.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error(`PROVENANCE FAILURE: no compiled node-pty binaries under ${releaseDir}`)
+  }
+  const srcDir = join(installedRealRoot, 'src')
+  let newestSourceMtime = 0
+  for (const entry of readdirSync(srcDir, { withFileTypes: true, recursive: true })) {
+    if (entry.isFile()) {
+      newestSourceMtime = Math.max(
+        newestSourceMtime,
+        statSync(join(entry.parentPath, entry.name)).mtimeMs
+      )
+    }
+  }
+  const staleBinaries = nativeBinaries.filter(
+    (name) => statSync(join(releaseDir, name)).mtimeMs < newestSourceMtime
+  )
+  if (staleBinaries.length > 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `PROVENANCE FAILURE: node-pty binaries older than patched sources (stale: ${staleBinaries.join(', ')}). Rebuild node-pty.`
+    )
+  }
+
+  // Rebuild the daemon bundle from the (clean) working tree = HEAD by construction.
+  console.log('[provenance] rebuilding daemon bundle from HEAD…')
+  const daemonBundle = join(repoRoot, 'out', 'orcad', 'daemon-entry.js')
+  const buildStartedAt = Date.now()
+  const build = spawnSync(
+    process.execPath,
+    [join(repoRoot, 'config', 'scripts', 'build-orcad.mjs')],
+    {
+      cwd: repoRoot,
+      stdio: 'inherit'
+    }
+  )
+  if (build.status !== 0) {
+    throw new Error(`PROVENANCE FAILURE: daemon bundle build exited ${build.status}`)
+  }
+  if (!existsSync(daemonBundle) || statSync(daemonBundle).mtimeMs < buildStartedAt) {
+    throw new Error('PROVENANCE FAILURE: daemon bundle missing or not refreshed by this build')
+  }
+
+  const provenance = {
+    headSha,
+    // Parents make a local merge HEAD attributable to its upstream inputs.
+    headParents: git('log', '-1', '--format=%P').split(' '),
+    branch,
+    patchSha256,
+    installedNodePtyRealpath: installedRealRoot,
+    nativeBinaries,
+    daemonBundleBuiltAt: new Date(buildStartedAt).toISOString(),
+    nodeVersion: process.version,
+    platform: process.platform,
+    arch: process.arch
+  }
+  console.log(
+    `[provenance] OK: HEAD ${headSha} (${branch}), node-pty patch ${patchSha256.slice(0, 12)}…`
+  )
+  return provenance
+}
diff --git a/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-pty-churn-rss-bench.mjs b/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-pty-churn-rss-bench.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f6ecae5fb34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-pty-churn-rss-bench.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,406 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * Orca terminal-daemon RSS measurement under PTY churn (STA-3515).
+ *
+ * Measures whether daemon memory grows without bound across repeated PTY
+ * create/output/kill cycles, and separates:
+ *   - the NATURAL series: RSS + V8 heap sampled with NO forced GC, so transient
+ *     JS retention stays visible;
+ *   - the FORCED-GC series: a separate daemon run where GC is forced via the
+ *     inspector immediately before every sample, showing the reclaimable floor.
+ * The natural run additionally takes one clearly-labelled post-run forced-GC
+ * sample, which is the leak-vs-retention discriminator: memory that survives a
+ * final full GC after all sessions are dead is either allocator retention or a
+ * real leak; memory that drops was transient JS retention.
+ *
+ * Every run starts with the build-provenance gate in
+ * daemon-build-provenance-gate.mjs, which FAILS LOUDLY unless the daemon
+ * bundle and the patched node-pty binaries are provably built from the
+ * checked-out HEAD.
+ *
+ * The daemon is spawned with `--inspect=0` (ephemeral port). The inspector URL
+ * is taken from the child's own stderr — never from a fixed port — and
+ * ownership is asserted by evaluating `process.pid` over the socket and
+ * comparing it to the spawned child's pid before any measurement.
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   node tests/tools/benchmarks/daemon-pty-churn-rss-bench.mjs --label baseline
+ *     [--cycles 400] [--sample-every 20] [--output-bytes 65536]
+ *     [--series both|natural|forced-gc] [--settle-ms 30] [--probe-fds]
+ *
+ * Results: tests/tools/benchmarks/results/daemon-pty-churn-rss-<label>-<stamp>.json
+ */
+import { execFileSync, fork } from 'node:child_process'
+import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto'
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import os from 'node:os'
+import { join, resolve } from 'node:path'
+import { setTimeout as delay } from 'node:timers/promises'
+import { assertDaemonBuildProvenance } from './daemon-build-provenance-gate.mjs'
+import { BenchDaemonClient, RPC_TIMEOUT_MS, withTimeout } from './daemon-bench-ndjson-client.mjs'
+import { InspectorSession, waitForInspectorUrl } from './daemon-bench-inspector-session.mjs'
+
+const scriptDir = import.meta.dirname
+const repoRoot = resolve(scriptDir, '..', '..', '..')
+const DAEMON_BUNDLE = join(repoRoot, 'out', 'orcad', 'daemon-entry.js')
+const READY_TIMEOUT_MS = 20_000
+
+function parseArgs(argv) {
+  const args = {
+    label: 'run',
+    cycles: 400,
+    sampleEvery: 20,
+    outputBytes: 65_536,
+    series: 'both',
+    settleMs: 30,
+    probeFds: false
+  }
+  for (let i = 2; i < argv.length; i++) {
+    const next = () => argv[++i]
+    const num = (name) => {
+      const value = Number(next())
+      if (!Number.isFinite(value) || value < 0) {
+        throw new Error(`${name} requires a non-negative number`)
+      }
+      return value
+    }
+    switch (argv[i]) {
+      case '--label':
+        args.label = next()
+        break
+      case '--cycles':
+        args.cycles = num('--cycles')
+        break
+      case '--sample-every':
+        args.sampleEvery = num('--sample-every')
+        break
+      case '--output-bytes':
+        args.outputBytes = num('--output-bytes')
+        break
+      case '--settle-ms':
+        args.settleMs = num('--settle-ms')
+        break
+      case '--series':
+        args.series = next()
+        if (!['both', 'natural', 'forced-gc'].includes(args.series)) {
+          throw new Error('--series must be both, natural, or forced-gc')
+        }
+        break
+      case '--probe-fds':
+        args.probeFds = true
+        break
+      default:
+        throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${argv[i]}`)
+    }
+  }
+  return args
+}
+
+function readProtocolVersion() {
+  const source = readFileSync(
+    join(repoRoot, 'src', 'main', 'daemon', 'daemon-protocol-version.ts'),
+    'utf8'
+  )
+  const match = /export const PROTOCOL_VERSION = (\d+)/.exec(source)
+  if (!match) {
+    throw new Error('could not read PROTOCOL_VERSION from daemon-protocol-version.ts')
+  }
+  return Number(match[1])
+}
+
+function shellForPlatform() {
+  return process.platform === 'win32' ? 'cmd.exe' : '/bin/sh'
+}
+
+function outputCommand(outputBytes) {
+  // node one-liner so output generation is identical on every platform.
+  return `"${process.execPath}" -e "process.stdout.write('x'.repeat(${outputBytes}))"`
+}
+
+function sampleFdCounts(pid) {
+  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+    return null
+  }
+  try {
+    const lines = execFileSync('lsof', ['-nP', '-p', String(pid)], { encoding: 'utf8' })
+      .trimEnd()
+      .split('\n')
+      .slice(1)
+    return {
+      fds: lines.length,
+      kqueues: lines.filter((line) => line.includes(' KQUEUE ')).length,
+      ptmx: lines.filter((line) => line.includes('/dev/ptmx')).length
+    }
+  } catch {
+    return null
+  }
+}
+
+function memorySample(seriesName, forcedGc, cycles, startedAt, memory) {
+  return {
+    series: seriesName,
+    forcedGc,
+    cycles,
+    elapsedMs: Date.now() - startedAt,
+    rssKb: Math.round(memory.rss / 1024),
+    heapUsedKb: Math.round(memory.heapUsed / 1024),
+    heapTotalKb: Math.round(memory.heapTotal / 1024),
+    externalKb: Math.round(memory.external / 1024),
+    arrayBuffersKb: Math.round(memory.arrayBuffers / 1024)
+  }
+}
+
+async function runSeries({ seriesName, args, protocolVersion, forceGcBeforeSample }) {
+  const runDir = mkdtempSync(join(os.tmpdir(), 'orca-rss-bench-'))
+  const nonce = randomUUID().slice(0, 8)
+  const socketPath =
+    process.platform === 'win32'
+      ? `\\\\?\\pipe\\orca-rss-bench-${nonce}`
+      : join(runDir, 'daemon.sock')
+  const tokenPath = join(runDir, 'daemon.token')
+
+  const child = fork(DAEMON_BUNDLE, ['--socket', socketPath, '--token', tokenPath], {
+    cwd: repoRoot,
+    env: { ...process.env, ORCA_USER_DATA_PATH: runDir },
+    execArgv: ['--inspect=0'],
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'pipe', 'ipc']
+  })
+  const childPid = child.pid
+  let childExited = false
+  child.once('exit', () => {
+    childExited = true
+  })
+  let stderrTail = ''
+  const inspectorUrlPromise = waitForInspectorUrl(child)
+  child.stderr.on('data', (chunk) => {
+    stderrTail = (stderrTail + chunk.toString('utf8')).slice(-8192)
+  })
+
+  const outputCharsBySession = new Map()
+  const client = new BenchDaemonClient(socketPath, tokenPath, protocolVersion, (sessionId, chars) =>
+    outputCharsBySession.set(sessionId, (outputCharsBySession.get(sessionId) ?? 0) + chars)
+  )
+  const inspector = new InspectorSession(await inspectorUrlPromise)
+  const samples = []
+  const startedAt = Date.now()
+  try {
+    await withTimeout(
+      new Promise((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+        child.once('message', (message) => {
+          if (message?.type === 'ready') {
+            resolvePromise()
+          } else {
+            reject(new Error(`unexpected first daemon message: ${JSON.stringify(message)}`))
+          }
+        })
+        child.once('exit', (code) => reject(new Error(`daemon exited before ready: ${code}`)))
+      }),
+      READY_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      'daemon ready'
+    )
+
+    await inspector.connect()
+    // Ownership assertion: the inspector target MUST be the daemon we spawned.
+    const reportedPid = await inspector.evaluateJson('process.pid')
+    if (reportedPid !== childPid) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `PROVENANCE FAILURE: inspector target pid ${reportedPid} != spawned daemon pid ${childPid}; refusing to measure an unrelated process`
+      )
+    }
+
+    await client.connect()
+
+    const takeSample = async (cycles) => {
+      if (forceGcBeforeSample) {
+        await inspector.send('HeapProfiler.collectGarbage')
+        await delay(50)
+      }
+      const memory = await inspector.evaluateJson('process.memoryUsage()')
+      samples.push({
+        ...memorySample(seriesName, forceGcBeforeSample, cycles, startedAt, memory),
+        ...(args.probeFds ? { fdCounts: sampleFdCounts(childPid) } : {})
+      })
+    }
+
+    await takeSample(0)
+    const command = args.outputBytes > 0 ? outputCommand(args.outputBytes) : null
+    let fullOutputCycles = 0
+    let shortOutputCycles = 0
+    for (let cycle = 1; cycle <= args.cycles; cycle++) {
+      const sessionId = `rss-bench-${seriesName}-${cycle}`
+      await client.request('createOrAttach', {
+        sessionId,
+        cols: 80,
+        rows: 24,
+        shellOverride: shellForPlatform(),
+        shellReadySupported: false,
+        cancelAfterMs: RPC_TIMEOUT_MS - 100
+      })
+      if (command) {
+        await client.request('write', { sessionId, data: `${command}\r` })
+        // Churn must be proven, not assumed: wait until the daemon actually
+        // streamed the requested output back (echo + payload), bounded.
+        const outputDeadline = Date.now() + 5000
+        while (
+          (outputCharsBySession.get(sessionId) ?? 0) < args.outputBytes &&
+          Date.now() < outputDeadline
+        ) {
+          await delay(10)
+        }
+        if ((outputCharsBySession.get(sessionId) ?? 0) >= args.outputBytes) {
+          fullOutputCycles++
+        } else {
+          shortOutputCycles++
+        }
+        if (args.settleMs > 0) {
+          await delay(args.settleMs)
+        }
+      }
+      await client.request('kill', { sessionId, immediate: true })
+      outputCharsBySession.delete(sessionId)
+      if (cycle % args.sampleEvery === 0) {
+        await takeSample(cycle)
+      }
+    }
+    if (command && shortOutputCycles > 0) {
+      console.warn(
+        `[bench] WARNING: ${shortOutputCycles}/${args.cycles} cycles did not reach ${args.outputBytes} output chars before the wait deadline`
+      )
+    }
+
+    const listed = await client.request('listSessions', undefined)
+    const liveSessions = listed?.sessions?.length ?? null
+
+    // Leak-vs-retention discriminator for the natural series: one labelled
+    // forced-GC sample AFTER the run, once every session is dead.
+    let postRunForcedGc = null
+    if (!forceGcBeforeSample) {
+      await delay(500)
+      await inspector.send('HeapProfiler.collectGarbage')
+      await delay(250)
+      const memory = await inspector.evaluateJson('process.memoryUsage()')
+      postRunForcedGc = memorySample(
+        `${seriesName}-post-run-forced-gc`,
+        true,
+        args.cycles,
+        startedAt,
+        memory
+      )
+    }
+
+    await client.request('shutdown', { killSessions: true }, 10_000).catch(() => {})
+    return {
+      samples,
+      postRunForcedGc,
+      liveSessions,
+      fullOutputCycles,
+      shortOutputCycles,
+      durationMs: Date.now() - startedAt
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    error.message = `${error.message}\ndaemon stderr tail:\n${stderrTail}`
+    throw error
+  } finally {
+    inspector.close()
+    client.destroy()
+    if (!childExited) {
+      // Only the exact child we spawned — never a pattern or name kill.
+      child.kill('SIGTERM')
+      await Promise.race([
+        new Promise((resolveExit) => child.once('exit', resolveExit)),
+        delay(5000)
+      ])
+      if (!childExited) {
+        child.kill('SIGKILL')
+      }
+    }
+    rmSync(runDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  }
+}
+
+function summarizeSeries(samples) {
+  if (samples.length === 0) {
+    return null
+  }
+  const first = samples[0]
+  const last = samples.at(-1)
+  const peak = samples.reduce((max, sample) => Math.max(max, sample.rssKb), 0)
+  const half = samples[Math.floor(samples.length / 2)]
+  return {
+    firstRssKb: first.rssKb,
+    lastRssKb: last.rssKb,
+    peakRssKb: peak,
+    rssGrowthKb: last.rssKb - first.rssKb,
+    secondHalfRssGrowthKb: last.rssKb - half.rssKb,
+    firstHeapUsedKb: first.heapUsedKb,
+    lastHeapUsedKb: last.heapUsedKb,
+    cycles: last.cycles,
+    durationMs: last.elapsedMs
+  }
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  const args = parseArgs(process.argv)
+  const provenance = assertDaemonBuildProvenance(repoRoot)
+  const protocolVersion = readProtocolVersion()
+  const results = { args, provenance, series: {} }
+
+  if (args.series !== 'forced-gc') {
+    console.log(`[bench] natural series: ${args.cycles} cycles, no forced GC…`)
+    results.series.natural = await runSeries({
+      seriesName: 'natural',
+      args,
+      protocolVersion,
+      forceGcBeforeSample: false
+    })
+    console.log(
+      `[bench] natural done in ${Math.round(results.series.natural.durationMs / 1000)}s: ` +
+        `rss ${results.series.natural.samples[0].rssKb}KB → ${results.series.natural.samples.at(-1).rssKb}KB, ` +
+        `post-run forced-GC rss ${results.series.natural.postRunForcedGc?.rssKb}KB`
+    )
+  }
+  if (args.series !== 'natural') {
+    console.log(`[bench] forced-gc series: ${args.cycles} cycles, GC before every sample…`)
+    results.series.forcedGc = await runSeries({
+      seriesName: 'forced-gc',
+      args,
+      protocolVersion,
+      forceGcBeforeSample: true
+    })
+    console.log(
+      `[bench] forced-gc done in ${Math.round(results.series.forcedGc.durationMs / 1000)}s: ` +
+        `rss ${results.series.forcedGc.samples[0].rssKb}KB → ${results.series.forcedGc.samples.at(-1).rssKb}KB`
+    )
+  }
+
+  results.summary = {
+    natural: summarizeSeries(results.series.natural?.samples ?? []),
+    forcedGc: summarizeSeries(results.series.forcedGc?.samples ?? []),
+    naturalPostRunForcedGc: results.series.natural?.postRunForcedGc ?? null
+  }
+
+  const resultsDir = join(scriptDir, 'results')
+  mkdirSync(resultsDir, { recursive: true })
+  const stamp = new Date().toISOString().replace(/[:.]/g, '-')
+  const outPath = join(resultsDir, `daemon-pty-churn-rss-${args.label}-${stamp}.json`)
+  const serialized = JSON.stringify(results, null, 2)
+  // Results get committed as evidence — strip host-identifying home paths.
+  const homeEscaped = JSON.stringify(os.homedir()).slice(1, -1)
+  writeFileSync(outPath, serialized.split(homeEscaped).join('~'))
+  console.log(`\n[bench] results written to ${outPath}`)
+
+  for (const [name, summary] of Object.entries(results.summary)) {
+    if (summary && summary.firstRssKb !== undefined) {
+      console.log(
+        `| ${name} | rss ${summary.firstRssKb}→${summary.lastRssKb}KB (peak ${summary.peakRssKb}) | ` +
+          `heapUsed ${summary.firstHeapUsedKb}→${summary.lastHeapUsedKb}KB | ` +
+          `${summary.cycles} cycles / ${Math.round(summary.durationMs / 1000)}s |`
+      )
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+main().catch((error) => {
+  console.error(error)
+  process.exit(1)
+})