diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/review/lib/manifest-repository-context.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/review/lib/manifest-repository-context.test.ts
index ba6dbe01c8c..8d40883d271 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/review/lib/manifest-repository-context.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/review/lib/manifest-repository-context.test.ts
@@ -32,12 +32,15 @@ function temp(): string {
 }
 
 // Several fixtures hold 16k-entry trees; leaking them exhausts a tmpfs
-// /tmp within a handful of runs.
+// /tmp within a handful of runs. Deleting them is tens of thousands of
+// unlinks, which has blown past the default 10s hook timeout on a loaded
+// CI runner — give the teardown the time it needs rather than failing a
+// green suite on cleanup.
 afterAll(() => {
   for (const root of worktrees) {
     rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
   }
-});
+}, 120_000);
 
 function write(path: string, content = ''): void {
   mkdirSync(dirname(path), { recursive: true });
diff --git a/packages/core/src/memory/extract.test.ts b/packages/core/src/memory/extract.test.ts
index 32cb11b4741..9e8d6be68e2 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/memory/extract.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/memory/extract.test.ts
@@ -44,13 +44,20 @@ function deferred<T>() {
 }
 
 async function waitForMockCall(mock: { mock: { calls: unknown[] } }) {
-  for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+  // Wall-clock deadline, not a fixed tick count: the mock is invoked after
+  // real async work (index reads, cursor I/O), and ten zero-delay turns can
+  // elapse before that work completes on a loaded CI runner — the poll spun
+  // through its turns without waiting any actual time.
+  const deadline = Date.now() + 2000;
+  for (;;) {
     if (mock.mock.calls.length > 0) {
       return;
     }
-    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 0));
+    if (Date.now() >= deadline) {
+      throw new Error('Expected mock to be called');
+    }
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 5));
   }
-  throw new Error('Expected mock to be called');
 }
 
 describe('auto-memory extraction', () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/services/backgroundShellRegistry.test.ts b/packages/core/src/services/backgroundShellRegistry.test.ts
index ba07b80f640..a462c0fa918 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/services/backgroundShellRegistry.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/services/backgroundShellRegistry.test.ts
@@ -669,73 +669,95 @@ describe('BackgroundShellRegistry', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  // Every register/complete in these loop tests also writes the status
+  // sidecar through atomicWriteFileSync, and a loaded CI runner has been
+  // measured spending ~700ms per sidecar write — ~50s for the ~70 writes
+  // of the longest loop, past the 15s default. The explicit timeout buys
+  // the I/O the time it costs; the assertions are unchanged.
+  const SIDECAR_IO_TIMEOUT = 120_000;
   describe('terminal-entry retention cap', () => {
-    it('retains only a bounded number of terminal entries (oldest by endTime evicted)', () => {
-      const reg = new BackgroundShellRegistry();
-      // Register and complete one more entry than the cap allows. Use
-      // strictly increasing endTimes so eviction order is deterministic.
-      for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS + 2; i++) {
-        reg.register(makeEntry({ shellId: `s-${i}`, startTime: i * 10 }));
-        reg.complete(`s-${i}`, 0, i * 10 + 5);
-      }
-      expect(reg.getAll()).toHaveLength(MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS);
-      // The two oldest (`s-0`, `s-1`) get pruned; the newest survives.
-      expect(reg.get('s-0')).toBeUndefined();
-      expect(reg.get('s-1')).toBeUndefined();
-      expect(reg.get(`s-${MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS + 1}`)).toBeDefined();
-    });
+    it(
+      'retains only a bounded number of terminal entries (oldest by endTime evicted)',
+      () => {
+        const reg = new BackgroundShellRegistry();
+        // Register and complete one more entry than the cap allows. Use
+        // strictly increasing endTimes so eviction order is deterministic.
+        for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS + 2; i++) {
+          reg.register(makeEntry({ shellId: `s-${i}`, startTime: i * 10 }));
+          reg.complete(`s-${i}`, 0, i * 10 + 5);
+        }
+        expect(reg.getAll()).toHaveLength(MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS);
+        // The two oldest (`s-0`, `s-1`) get pruned; the newest survives.
+        expect(reg.get('s-0')).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(reg.get('s-1')).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(reg.get(`s-${MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS + 1}`)).toBeDefined();
+      },
+      SIDECAR_IO_TIMEOUT,
+    );
 
-    it('never evicts running entries even when the cap is exceeded', () => {
-      const reg = new BackgroundShellRegistry();
-      // Register one extra terminal entry beyond the cap, then a single
-      // running entry. The running entry must be retained regardless of
-      // its launch order — pruning a still-running shell would lose the
-      // user's only handle on a live process.
-      reg.register(makeEntry({ shellId: 'live', startTime: 1 }));
-      for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS + 1; i++) {
+    it(
+      'never evicts running entries even when the cap is exceeded',
+      () => {
+        const reg = new BackgroundShellRegistry();
+        // Register one extra terminal entry beyond the cap, then a single
+        // running entry. The running entry must be retained regardless of
+        // its launch order — pruning a still-running shell would lose the
+        // user's only handle on a live process.
+        reg.register(makeEntry({ shellId: 'live', startTime: 1 }));
+        for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS + 1; i++) {
+          reg.register(
+            makeEntry({ shellId: `done-${i}`, startTime: 100 + i * 10 }),
+          );
+          reg.complete(`done-${i}`, 0, 100 + i * 10 + 5);
+        }
+        // Cap-of-32 terminals + 1 running survivor = 33 entries kept.
+        expect(reg.getAll()).toHaveLength(MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS + 1);
+        expect(reg.get('live')?.status).toBe('running');
+        // The oldest terminal entry (lowest endTime) is the one evicted.
+        expect(reg.get('done-0')).toBeUndefined();
+      },
+      SIDECAR_IO_TIMEOUT,
+    );
+
+    it(
+      'prunes after fail() too, not just complete()',
+      () => {
+        const reg = new BackgroundShellRegistry();
+        for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS; i++) {
+          reg.register(makeEntry({ shellId: `done-${i}`, startTime: i * 10 }));
+          reg.complete(`done-${i}`, 0, i * 10 + 5);
+        }
+        const overflowStart = MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS * 10 + 100;
         reg.register(
-          makeEntry({ shellId: `done-${i}`, startTime: 100 + i * 10 }),
+          makeEntry({ shellId: 'overflow', startTime: overflowStart }),
         );
-        reg.complete(`done-${i}`, 0, 100 + i * 10 + 5);
-      }
-      // Cap-of-32 terminals + 1 running survivor = 33 entries kept.
-      expect(reg.getAll()).toHaveLength(MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS + 1);
-      expect(reg.get('live')?.status).toBe('running');
-      // The oldest terminal entry (lowest endTime) is the one evicted.
-      expect(reg.get('done-0')).toBeUndefined();
-    });
-
-    it('prunes after fail() too, not just complete()', () => {
-      const reg = new BackgroundShellRegistry();
-      for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS; i++) {
-        reg.register(makeEntry({ shellId: `done-${i}`, startTime: i * 10 }));
-        reg.complete(`done-${i}`, 0, i * 10 + 5);
-      }
-      const overflowStart = MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS * 10 + 100;
-      reg.register(
-        makeEntry({ shellId: 'overflow', startTime: overflowStart }),
-      );
-      reg.fail('overflow', 'boom', overflowStart + 5);
-      expect(reg.getAll()).toHaveLength(MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS);
-      expect(reg.get('done-0')).toBeUndefined();
-      expect(reg.get('overflow')?.status).toBe('failed');
-    });
+        reg.fail('overflow', 'boom', overflowStart + 5);
+        expect(reg.getAll()).toHaveLength(MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS);
+        expect(reg.get('done-0')).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(reg.get('overflow')?.status).toBe('failed');
+      },
+      SIDECAR_IO_TIMEOUT,
+    );
 
-    it('prunes after cancel() too, not just complete()', () => {
-      const reg = new BackgroundShellRegistry();
-      for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS; i++) {
-        reg.register(makeEntry({ shellId: `done-${i}`, startTime: i * 10 }));
-        reg.complete(`done-${i}`, 0, i * 10 + 5);
-      }
-      const overflowStart = MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS * 10 + 100;
-      reg.register(
-        makeEntry({ shellId: 'overflow', startTime: overflowStart }),
-      );
-      reg.cancel('overflow', overflowStart + 5);
-      expect(reg.getAll()).toHaveLength(MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS);
-      expect(reg.get('done-0')).toBeUndefined();
-      expect(reg.get('overflow')?.status).toBe('cancelled');
-    });
+    it(
+      'prunes after cancel() too, not just complete()',
+      () => {
+        const reg = new BackgroundShellRegistry();
+        for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS; i++) {
+          reg.register(makeEntry({ shellId: `done-${i}`, startTime: i * 10 }));
+          reg.complete(`done-${i}`, 0, i * 10 + 5);
+        }
+        const overflowStart = MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS * 10 + 100;
+        reg.register(
+          makeEntry({ shellId: 'overflow', startTime: overflowStart }),
+        );
+        reg.cancel('overflow', overflowStart + 5);
+        expect(reg.getAll()).toHaveLength(MAX_RETAINED_TERMINAL_SHELLS);
+        expect(reg.get('done-0')).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(reg.get('overflow')?.status).toBe('cancelled');
+      },
+      SIDECAR_IO_TIMEOUT,
+    );
   });
 
   describe('cancel', () => {