diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/app_state.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/app_state.rs
index fc90e6ab14..d1784c01fa 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/app_state.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/app_state.rs
@@ -39,9 +39,7 @@ pub struct AppState {
     /// restore. `apply_workspace` consumes it after installing the workspace
     /// relay and identity, so agents never start against the fallback relay.
     pub managed_agent_restore_pending: AtomicBool,
-    /// Whether desktop may repair managed-agent kind:0 profiles from its local
-    /// records. Disabled by the agent-managed profiles experiment so an agent's
-    /// own profile updates are not overwritten on start or restore.
+    /// Disabled by agent-managed profiles so agent profile updates survive start/restore.
     pub managed_agent_profile_reconcile_enabled: AtomicBool,
     /// Shared shutdown signal checked by launch-time agent restoration.
     pub shutdown_started: AtomicBool,
@@ -52,6 +50,7 @@ pub struct AppState {
     pub managed_agents_store_lock: Mutex<()>,
     pub channel_templates_store_lock: Mutex<()>,
     pub managed_agent_processes: Mutex<HashMap<ManagedAgentRuntimeKey, ManagedAgentPairRuntime>>,
+    pub provider_deploy_locks: Mutex<HashMap<String, Arc<tokio::sync::Mutex<()>>>>,
     pub huddle_state: Mutex<HuddleState>,
     pub huddle_audio: crate::huddle::tts_settings::HuddleAudioSettingsState,
     /// Tauri app handle — stored after setup so huddle commands can emit
@@ -215,6 +214,7 @@ pub fn build_app_state() -> AppState {
         managed_agents_store_lock: Mutex::new(()),
         channel_templates_store_lock: Mutex::new(()),
         managed_agent_processes: Mutex::new(HashMap::new()),
+        provider_deploy_locks: Mutex::new(HashMap::new()),
         session_config_cache: Mutex::new(HashMap::new()),
         huddle_state: Mutex::new(HuddleState::default()),
         huddle_audio: Default::default(),
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_access.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_access.rs
index ef118e82b2..f2851626a8 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_access.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_access.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,19 @@ pub fn agent_access_owner_only() -> bool {
     crate::managed_agents::owner_only_access_build()
 }
 
+/// Tiny executable-facing probe for release packaging smoke tests. Keeping the
+/// probe in the product crate makes it impossible for buzz-releases to validate
+/// a copied flag interpretation that has drifted from Desktop's command.
+#[doc(hidden)]
+pub fn print_agent_access_owner_only_probe_if_requested() -> bool {
+    if std::env::args().any(|arg| arg == "--print-agent-access-owner-only") {
+        println!("{}", agent_access_owner_only());
+        true
+    } else {
+        false
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     #[test]
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_config_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_config_tests.rs
index b63370b95f..77e43f5d64 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_config_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_config_tests.rs
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ fn agent_record() -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_discovery.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_discovery.rs
index 9609db5f2d..e8e910b645 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_discovery.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_discovery.rs
@@ -1,14 +1,7 @@
-use tauri::State;
-
-use crate::{
-    app_state::AppState,
-    managed_agents::{
-        command_availability, is_npm_global_install, AcpRuntimeCatalogEntry,
-        DiscoverManagedAgentPrereqsRequest, InstallRuntimeResult, ManagedAgentPrereqsInfo,
-        RelayAgentInfo, DEFAULT_ACP_COMMAND,
-    },
-    nostr_convert,
-    relay::query_relay,
+use crate::managed_agents::{
+    command_availability, is_npm_global_install, AcpRuntimeCatalogEntry,
+    DiscoverManagedAgentPrereqsRequest, InstallRuntimeResult, ManagedAgentPrereqsInfo,
+    DEFAULT_ACP_COMMAND,
 };
 
 mod post_install_verification;
@@ -1037,31 +1030,31 @@ pub async fn discover_managed_agent_prereqs(
     .map_err(|e| format!("spawn_blocking failed: {e}"))
 }
 
-#[tauri::command]
-pub async fn list_relay_agents(state: State<'_, AppState>) -> Result<Vec<RelayAgentInfo>, String> {
-    // Query kind:10100 agent profile events from the relay.
-    let events = query_relay(
-        &state,
-        &[serde_json::json!({
-            "kinds": [10100],
-        })],
-    )
-    .await?;
-
-    // The convert helper returns `{"agents": [...]}`. Extract and re-deserialize
-    // into the strongly-typed `Vec<RelayAgentInfo>` the frontend expects.
-    let value = nostr_convert::agents_from_events(&events);
-    let agents = value
-        .get("agents")
-        .cloned()
-        .unwrap_or_else(|| serde_json::json!([]));
-    serde_json::from_value(agents).map_err(|e| format!("agent parse failed: {e}"))
-}
+mod relay_directory;
+#[cfg(test)]
+use relay_directory::advance_relay_cursor;
+pub use relay_directory::list_relay_agents;
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    #[test]
+    fn relay_directory_cursor_uses_timestamp_and_event_id() {
+        use nostr::{EventBuilder, Keys, Kind, Timestamp};
+
+        let event = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Custom(30177), "{}")
+            .custom_created_at(Timestamp::from(42))
+            .sign_with_keys(&Keys::generate())
+            .expect("sign cursor event");
+        let mut filter = serde_json::json!({"kinds": [30177]});
+
+        advance_relay_cursor(&mut filter, std::slice::from_ref(&event));
+
+        assert_eq!(filter["until"], 42);
+        assert_eq!(filter["before_id"], event.id.to_hex());
+    }
+
     // ── is_npm_global_install ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_discovery/relay_directory.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_discovery/relay_directory.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b97cefc0ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_discovery/relay_directory.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,426 @@
+//! Relay-backed shared-agent directory discovery.
+
+use tauri::State;
+
+use crate::{
+    app_state::AppState, commands::identity_archive, managed_agents::RelayAgentInfo, nostr_convert,
+    relay::query_relay,
+};
+
+const RELAY_DIRECTORY_PAGE_SIZE: usize = 500;
+const RELAY_FILTER_BATCH_SIZE: usize = 10;
+
+fn exact_author_filters(pubkeys: &[String], kind: u16) -> Vec<serde_json::Value> {
+    pubkeys
+        .iter()
+        .map(|pubkey| {
+            serde_json::json!({
+                "authors": [pubkey],
+                "kinds": [kind],
+                "limit": 1,
+            })
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+fn managed_policy_filters(
+    candidate_pubkeys: &[String],
+    verified_owners: &std::collections::HashMap<String, String>,
+) -> Vec<serde_json::Value> {
+    candidate_pubkeys
+        .iter()
+        .filter_map(|agent_pubkey| {
+            verified_owners.get(agent_pubkey).map(|owner_pubkey| {
+                serde_json::json!({
+                    "authors": [owner_pubkey],
+                    "kinds": [30177],
+                    "#d": [agent_pubkey],
+                    "limit": 1,
+                })
+            })
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+fn current_user_pubkey(state: &AppState) -> Result<String, String> {
+    state
+        .keys
+        .lock()
+        .map(|keys| keys.public_key().to_hex())
+        .map_err(|error| error.to_string())
+}
+
+pub(super) fn advance_relay_cursor(filter: &mut serde_json::Value, page: &[nostr::Event]) {
+    let last = page
+        .last()
+        .expect("a full relay page always has a last event");
+    filter["until"] = serde_json::json!(last.created_at.as_secs());
+    filter["before_id"] = serde_json::json!(last.id.to_hex());
+}
+
+async fn query_all_relay_pages(
+    state: &AppState,
+    mut filter: serde_json::Value,
+) -> Result<Vec<nostr::Event>, String> {
+    filter["limit"] = serde_json::json!(RELAY_DIRECTORY_PAGE_SIZE);
+    let mut events = Vec::new();
+    loop {
+        let page = query_relay(state, &[filter.clone()]).await?;
+        let done = page.len() < RELAY_DIRECTORY_PAGE_SIZE;
+        if !done {
+            advance_relay_cursor(&mut filter, &page);
+        }
+        events.extend(page);
+        if done {
+            return Ok(events);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) async fn list_relay_agents_for_state(
+    state: &AppState,
+) -> Result<Vec<RelayAgentInfo>, String> {
+    let viewer_pubkey = current_user_pubkey(state)?;
+    let relay_pubkey = identity_archive::fetch_relay_self(state)
+        .await?
+        .ok_or_else(|| "relay agent membership authority is unavailable".to_string())?;
+
+    // Membership is the authoritative and bounded candidate source. Only
+    // channels visible to this identity are read, and only bot-role p-tags can
+    // drive the downstream managed-policy and owner-profile lookups.
+    let membership_events = query_all_relay_pages(
+        state,
+        serde_json::json!({
+            "kinds": [39002],
+            "authors": [&relay_pubkey],
+            "#p": [&viewer_pubkey],
+        }),
+    )
+    .await
+    .map_err(|error| format!("relay agent channel-membership query failed: {error}"))?;
+    let member_agent_channel_ids =
+        nostr_convert::member_agent_channel_ids_from_events(&membership_events, &relay_pubkey);
+    let candidate_pubkeys: Vec<String> = member_agent_channel_ids.keys().cloned().collect();
+    if candidate_pubkeys.is_empty() {
+        return Ok(Vec::new());
+    }
+
+    let mut directory_events = Vec::new();
+    let mut profile_events = Vec::new();
+    let directory_filters = exact_author_filters(&candidate_pubkeys, 10100);
+    let profile_filters = exact_author_filters(&candidate_pubkeys, 0);
+    for filter_offset in (0..candidate_pubkeys.len()).step_by(RELAY_FILTER_BATCH_SIZE) {
+        let filter_end = (filter_offset + RELAY_FILTER_BATCH_SIZE).min(candidate_pubkeys.len());
+        let (directory, profiles) = tokio::join!(
+            query_relay(state, &directory_filters[filter_offset..filter_end]),
+            query_relay(state, &profile_filters[filter_offset..filter_end]),
+        );
+        directory_events.extend(
+            directory
+                .map_err(|error| format!("relay agent runtime-directory query failed: {error}"))?,
+        );
+        profile_events.extend(
+            profiles.map_err(|error| format!("relay agent owner-profile query failed: {error}"))?,
+        );
+    }
+
+    // Only the agent's signed NIP-OA profile can name the owner coordinate to
+    // query. Each exact `(owner, d=agent)` filter returns at most one current
+    // replaceable event, so forged 30177 coordinates cannot amplify or crowd
+    // the authentic policy out of a bounded result page.
+    let verified_owners = nostr_convert::verified_agent_owners_from_profiles(&profile_events);
+    let managed_filters = managed_policy_filters(&candidate_pubkeys, &verified_owners);
+    let mut managed_agent_events = Vec::new();
+    for filters in managed_filters.chunks(RELAY_FILTER_BATCH_SIZE) {
+        managed_agent_events.extend(
+            query_relay(state, filters)
+                .await
+                .map_err(|error| format!("relay agent managed-policy query failed: {error}"))?,
+        );
+    }
+
+    let mut agents = nostr_convert::relay_agents_from_directory_events(
+        &directory_events,
+        &managed_agent_events,
+        &profile_events,
+    );
+    agents.retain(|agent| member_agent_channel_ids.contains_key(&agent.pubkey));
+    for agent in &mut agents {
+        agent.channel_ids = member_agent_channel_ids
+            .get(&agent.pubkey)
+            .cloned()
+            .unwrap_or_default();
+    }
+    Ok(agents)
+}
+
+#[tauri::command]
+pub async fn list_relay_agents(state: State<'_, AppState>) -> Result<Vec<RelayAgentInfo>, String> {
+    list_relay_agents_for_state(&state).await
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn exact_author_queries_prevent_noisy_agent_crowd_out() {
+        let pubkeys = vec!["a".repeat(64), "b".repeat(64)];
+
+        let filters = exact_author_filters(&pubkeys, 10100);
+
+        assert_eq!(filters.len(), 2);
+        for (filter, pubkey) in filters.iter().zip(pubkeys) {
+            assert_eq!(filter["authors"], serde_json::json!([pubkey]));
+            assert_eq!(filter["kinds"], serde_json::json!([10100]));
+            assert_eq!(filter["limit"], 1);
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn managed_policy_queries_are_exact_coordinates() {
+        let candidates = vec!["a".repeat(64), "b".repeat(64)];
+        let owners = std::collections::HashMap::from([
+            (candidates[0].clone(), "c".repeat(64)),
+            (candidates[1].clone(), "d".repeat(64)),
+        ]);
+
+        let filters = managed_policy_filters(&candidates, &owners);
+
+        assert_eq!(filters.len(), 2);
+        for (filter, candidate) in filters.iter().zip(candidates) {
+            assert_eq!(filter["authors"].as_array().map(Vec::len), Some(1));
+            assert_eq!(filter["kinds"], serde_json::json!([30177]));
+            assert_eq!(filter["#d"], serde_json::json!([candidate]));
+            assert_eq!(filter["limit"], 1);
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn relay_filter_batches_do_not_exceed_protocol_limit() {
+        let pubkeys: Vec<_> = (0..25).map(|index| format!("{index:064x}")).collect();
+        let filters = exact_author_filters(&pubkeys, 0);
+
+        let batch_sizes: Vec<_> = filters
+            .chunks(RELAY_FILTER_BATCH_SIZE)
+            .map(<[_]>::len)
+            .collect();
+
+        assert_eq!(batch_sizes, vec![10, 10, 5]);
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(all(test, not(target_os = "windows")))]
+mod real_relay_tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::{app_state::build_app_state, events, managed_agents, relay};
+    use buzz_core_pkg::kind::KIND_MANAGED_AGENT;
+    use nostr::{EventBuilder, Keys, Kind, Tag};
+    use uuid::Uuid;
+
+    fn relay_ws_url() -> String {
+        std::env::var("RELAY_URL").unwrap_or_else(|_| "ws://localhost:3037".to_string())
+    }
+
+    fn state_for(keys: Keys) -> AppState {
+        let state = build_app_state();
+        *state.keys.lock().unwrap() = keys;
+        *state.relay_url_override.lock().unwrap() = Some(relay_ws_url());
+        state
+    }
+
+    async fn publish(builder: EventBuilder, signer: &Keys, state: &AppState) {
+        relay::submit_event_with_keys(builder, state, signer, None)
+            .await
+            .expect("publish real-relay fixture");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    #[ignore]
+    async fn newly_retained_managed_policy_replaces_open_access_immediately_on_real_relay() {
+        let owner = Keys::generate();
+        let agent = Keys::generate();
+        let state = state_for(owner.clone());
+        let db_dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let db_path = db_dir.path().join("retention.sqlite3");
+        let initial_content = serde_json::json!({
+            "name": "Immediate Policy Probe",
+            "parallelism": 1,
+            "respond_to": "anyone"
+        })
+        .to_string();
+        let initial_event =
+            EventBuilder::new(Kind::Custom(KIND_MANAGED_AGENT as u16), initial_content)
+                .tags([Tag::parse(["d", &agent.public_key().to_hex()]).unwrap()])
+                .custom_created_at(nostr::Timestamp::from(
+                    nostr::Timestamp::now().as_secs().saturating_sub(1),
+                ));
+        publish(initial_event, &owner, &state).await;
+
+        let updated_content = serde_json::json!({
+            "name": "Immediate Policy Probe",
+            "parallelism": 1,
+            "respond_to": "owner-only"
+        })
+        .to_string();
+        let event = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Custom(KIND_MANAGED_AGENT as u16), updated_content)
+            .tags([Tag::parse(["d", &agent.public_key().to_hex()]).unwrap()])
+            .sign_with_keys(&owner)
+            .unwrap();
+
+        {
+            use managed_agents::retention::{open_retention_db, retain_event, RetainedEvent};
+            use nostr::JsonUtil;
+
+            let conn = open_retention_db(&db_path).unwrap();
+            retain_event(
+                &conn,
+                &RetainedEvent {
+                    kind: KIND_MANAGED_AGENT,
+                    pubkey: owner.public_key().to_hex(),
+                    d_tag: agent.public_key().to_hex(),
+                    content: event.content.clone(),
+                    created_at: event.created_at.as_secs() as i64,
+                    raw_event: event.as_json(),
+                    pending_sync: true,
+                },
+            )
+            .unwrap();
+        }
+
+        let flushed = managed_agents::persona_events::flush_pending_events_at(
+            &db_path,
+            &state,
+            &relay_ws_url(),
+            &owner,
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("create-path immediate policy flush");
+        assert_eq!(flushed, 1);
+
+        let queried = query_relay(
+            &state,
+            &[serde_json::json!({
+                "kinds": [KIND_MANAGED_AGENT],
+                "authors": [owner.public_key().to_hex()],
+                "#d": [agent.public_key().to_hex()],
+                "limit": 1
+            })],
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("query immediately flushed policy");
+        assert_eq!(queried.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(queried[0].id, event.id);
+        assert!(queried[0].content.contains("\"respond_to\":\"owner-only\""));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    #[ignore]
+    async fn cross_identity_managed_agent_is_discovered_and_emits_exact_p_tag_from_real_relay() {
+        let owner = Keys::generate();
+        let viewer = Keys::generate();
+        let agent = Keys::generate();
+        let owner_state = state_for(owner.clone());
+        let viewer_state = state_for(viewer.clone());
+        let channel_id = Uuid::new_v4();
+
+        publish(
+            events::build_create_channel(
+                channel_id,
+                &format!("agent-discovery-e2e-{channel_id}"),
+                "private",
+                "stream",
+                None,
+                None,
+            )
+            .unwrap(),
+            &owner,
+            &owner_state,
+        )
+        .await;
+        publish(
+            events::build_add_member(channel_id, &viewer.public_key().to_hex(), None).unwrap(),
+            &owner,
+            &owner_state,
+        )
+        .await;
+        publish(
+            events::build_add_member(channel_id, &agent.public_key().to_hex(), Some("bot"))
+                .unwrap(),
+            &owner,
+            &owner_state,
+        )
+        .await;
+
+        let compat_owner = nostr::Keys::parse(&owner.secret_key().to_secret_hex()).unwrap();
+        let compat_agent = nostr::PublicKey::from_hex(&agent.public_key().to_hex()).unwrap();
+        let auth_tag =
+            buzz_sdk_pkg::nip_oa::compute_auth_tag(&compat_owner, &compat_agent, "").unwrap();
+        relay::sync_managed_agent_profile(
+            &owner_state,
+            &relay_ws_url(),
+            &agent,
+            "Agent Probe",
+            None,
+            Some(&auth_tag),
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("publish agent kind:0 profile");
+
+        let managed_content = serde_json::json!({
+            "name": "Agent Probe",
+            "parallelism": 1,
+            "respond_to": "anyone"
+        })
+        .to_string();
+        publish(
+            EventBuilder::new(Kind::Custom(30177), managed_content).tags([Tag::parse([
+                "d",
+                &agent.public_key().to_hex(),
+            ])
+            .unwrap()]),
+            &owner,
+            &owner_state,
+        )
+        .await;
+
+        let agents = list_relay_agents_for_state(&viewer_state)
+            .await
+            .expect("query production relay directory");
+        assert_eq!(agents.len(), 1, "real relay directory returned {agents:?}");
+        assert_eq!(agents[0].pubkey, agent.public_key().to_hex());
+        assert_eq!(agents[0].name, "Agent Probe");
+        assert_eq!(agents[0].channel_ids, vec![channel_id.to_string()]);
+
+        // Exercise the final protocol boundary, not merely the directory DTO:
+        // selecting this candidate must become the agent's exact lowercase
+        // `p` tag in the signed stream event.
+        let mention_pubkey = agents[0].pubkey.as_str();
+        let signed_message = events::build_message(
+            channel_id,
+            "Ask @Agent Probe to reply",
+            None,
+            &[mention_pubkey],
+            &[],
+            &[],
+            &[],
+            &[],
+            None,
+            &relay_ws_url(),
+        )
+        .unwrap()
+        .sign_with_keys(&viewer)
+        .unwrap();
+        let emitted_mentions: Vec<_> = signed_message
+            .tags
+            .iter()
+            .filter_map(|tag| {
+                let tag = tag.as_slice();
+                (tag.first().map(String::as_str) == Some("p"))
+                    .then(|| tag.get(1).cloned())
+                    .flatten()
+            })
+            .collect();
+        assert_eq!(emitted_mentions, vec![agent.public_key().to_hex()]);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models.rs
index 183f27dba1..85d9da4dfa 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models.rs
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@ use crate::{
         find_managed_agent_mut, known_acp_runtime, load_global_agent_config, load_managed_agents,
         load_personas, managed_agent_avatar_url, missing_command_message, normalize_agent_args,
         resolve_command, save_managed_agents, sync_managed_agent_processes, try_regenerate_nest,
-        AgentModelInfo, AgentModelsResponse, UpdateManagedAgentRequest, UpdateManagedAgentResponse,
-        DEFAULT_ACP_COMMAND,
+        AgentModelInfo, AgentModelsResponse, ManagedAgentRecord, UpdateManagedAgentRequest,
+        UpdateManagedAgentResponse, DEFAULT_ACP_COMMAND,
     },
     relay::{relay_ws_url_with_override, sync_managed_agent_profile},
     util::now_iso,
@@ -697,217 +697,10 @@ use databricks::{
 };
 use databricks::{discover_databricks_models, DatabricksAuthIntent};
 
-/// Update mutable fields on an existing managed agent record.
-///
-/// Does NOT auto-restart the agent. Runtime config changes (system prompt,
-/// parallelism, commands, toolsets) take effect on the next agent spawn.
-/// Name changes are synced to the relay immediately via a kind:0 re-publish.
-#[tauri::command]
-pub async fn update_managed_agent(
-    input: UpdateManagedAgentRequest,
-    app: AppHandle,
-    state: State<'_, AppState>,
-) -> Result<UpdateManagedAgentResponse, String> {
-    // Phase 1: local save (synchronous, under lock)
-    let (summary, sync_params, rollback) = {
-        let _store_guard = state
-            .managed_agents_store_lock
-            .lock()
-            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        let mut records = load_managed_agents(&app)?;
-        let mut runtimes = state
-            .managed_agent_processes
-            .lock()
-            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-        let (_, exited_pubkeys) =
-            sync_managed_agent_processes(&mut records, &mut runtimes, &current_instance_id(&app));
-        for pubkey in &exited_pubkeys {
-            state.clear_agent_session_caches(pubkey);
-        }
-
-        let record = find_managed_agent_mut(&mut records, &input.pubkey)?;
-        let previous_record = record.clone();
-
-        let mut name_changed = false;
-        if let Some(name_update) = input.name {
-            let trimmed = name_update.trim().to_string();
-            if !trimmed.is_empty() && trimmed != record.name {
-                record.name = trimmed;
-                name_changed = true;
-            }
-        }
-        apply_model_provider_prompt_update(
-            record,
-            input.model,
-            input.provider,
-            input.system_prompt,
-        )?;
-        if let Some(parallelism) = input.parallelism {
-            record.parallelism = parallelism;
-        }
-        // turn_timeout_seconds is intentionally not applied here —
-        // BUZZ_ACP_TURN_TIMEOUT is deprecated and ignored by the harness.
-        // Use idle_timeout_seconds or max_turn_duration_seconds instead.
-        // Store the relay override exactly as supplied (trimmed). An explicit
-        // value pins the agent; empty falls back to the workspace relay at
-        // read-time. A name-only edit (relay_url == None) leaves the pin intact.
-        if let Some(relay_url) = input.relay_url {
-            record.relay_url = relay_url.trim().to_string();
-        }
-        if let Some(acp_command) = input.acp_command {
-            record.acp_command = acp_command;
-        }
-        // Harness edit: the persona's runtime is authoritative, so an explicit
-        // `agent_command_override` is persisted ONLY when the user picks a
-        // command that diverges from the persona, and the empty/whitespace
-        // "Inherit from persona" sentinel clears both the pin and the
-        // materialized record runtime. A name-only edit
-        // (`agent_command == None`) leaves the pin intact. `harness_override`
-        // threads the user's explicit intent — see `apply_agent_command_update`
-        // and `update_time_agent_command_override` for the full resolution
-        // rules.
-        if let Some(agent_command) = input.agent_command {
-            let personas = load_personas(&app).unwrap_or_default();
-            crate::managed_agents::apply_agent_command_update(
-                record,
-                &personas,
-                &agent_command,
-                input.harness_override,
-            );
-        }
-        if let Some(agent_args) = input.agent_args {
-            record.agent_args = agent_args;
-        }
-        // mcp_command is intentionally not applied here — the effective MCP
-        // command is always catalog-derived (known_acp_runtime at spawn time)
-        // and the per-record field is never read by the runtime.
-        if let Some(env_vars) = input.env_vars {
-            crate::managed_agents::validate_user_env_keys(&env_vars)?;
-            record.env_vars = env_vars;
-        }
-
-        // Native provider/model fields are authoritative. Keep the typed marker
-        // derived for new records while retaining legacy typed records for
-        // non-native providers.
-        if record.provider.as_deref() == Some(crate::managed_agents::RELAY_MESH_PROVIDER_ID) {
-            let model_ref = record
-                .model
-                .as_deref()
-                .map(str::trim)
-                .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
-                .unwrap_or(crate::managed_agents::RELAY_MESH_AUTO_MODEL_ID)
-                .to_string();
-            record.model = Some(model_ref.clone());
-            record.relay_mesh = Some(crate::managed_agents::RelayMeshConfig { model_ref });
-        }
-
-        // Inbound author gate: merge patch onto current values, then validate
-        // the merged state. This lets a single update switch to Allowlist AND
-        // supply pubkeys atomically.
-        let prospective_mode = input.respond_to.unwrap_or(record.respond_to);
-        let prospective_allowlist = match input.respond_to_allowlist.as_ref() {
-            Some(list) => crate::managed_agents::validate_respond_to_allowlist(list)?,
-            None => record.respond_to_allowlist.clone(),
-        };
-        if prospective_mode == crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Allowlist
-            && prospective_allowlist.is_empty()
-        {
-            return Err(
-                "respond-to mode 'allowlist' requires at least one pubkey in the allowlist"
-                    .to_string(),
-            );
-        }
-        record.respond_to = prospective_mode;
-        // Preserve the persisted allowlist across mode toggles — only replace
-        // when the caller explicitly supplied a new list.
-        if input.respond_to_allowlist.is_some() {
-            record.respond_to_allowlist = prospective_allowlist;
-        }
-
-        record.updated_at = now_iso();
-
-        save_managed_agents(&app, &records)?;
-
-        let record = records
-            .iter()
-            .find(|r| r.pubkey == input.pubkey)
-            .ok_or_else(|| format!("agent {} not found", input.pubkey))?;
-
-        // Publish the edit to the relay. After-save, inside the lock, before
-        // any .await. The retention upsert hashes the opt-IN projection, so an
-        // update that touched only runtime/local fields is a no-op publish.
-        super::agents::retain_managed_agent_pending(&app, &state, record);
-
-        let sync_params = if name_changed {
-            let agent_keys = Keys::parse(&record.private_key_nsec)
-                .map_err(|e| format!("failed to parse agent keys: {e}"))?;
-            // Re-publish the renamed profile to the agent's effective relay:
-            // an explicit per-agent relay wins; empty falls back to workspace.
-            let relay_url = crate::relay::effective_agent_relay_url(
-                &record.relay_url,
-                &relay_ws_url_with_override(&state),
-            );
-            let display_name = record.name.clone();
-            // Avatar fallback derives from the EFFECTIVE harness (persona-wins),
-            // not the frozen snapshot, so an inherited harness picks the right
-            // default avatar.
-            let personas = load_personas(&app).unwrap_or_default();
-            let effective_command = crate::managed_agents::record_agent_command(record, &personas);
-            let avatar_url = record
-                .avatar_url
-                .clone()
-                .or_else(|| managed_agent_avatar_url(&effective_command));
-            let auth_tag = record.auth_tag.clone();
-            Some((agent_keys, relay_url, display_name, avatar_url, auth_tag))
-        } else {
-            None
-        };
-
-        let summary = {
-            let personas = load_personas(&app).unwrap_or_default();
-            build_managed_agent_summary(
-                &app,
-                record,
-                &runtimes,
-                &personas,
-                &crate::managed_agents::load_global_agent_config(&app).unwrap_or_default(),
-            )?
-        };
-        let rollback = name_changed.then(|| AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous_record, record));
-        (summary, sync_params, rollback)
-    }; // lock dropped here
-
-    try_regenerate_nest(&app);
-
-    // Phase 2: relay profile sync (async, outside lock). A rename is committed
-    // only when this succeeds; otherwise restore the complete pre-edit record
-    // so Desktop and the relay keep one authoritative name.
-    if let Some((agent_keys, relay_url, display_name, avatar_url, auth_tag)) = sync_params {
-        if let Err(sync_error) = sync_managed_agent_profile(
-            &state,
-            &relay_url,
-            &agent_keys,
-            &display_name,
-            avatar_url.as_deref(),
-            auth_tag.as_deref(),
-        )
-        .await
-        {
-            let rollback = rollback.ok_or_else(|| {
-                "missing local rollback state after relay profile sync failure".to_string()
-            })?;
-            rollback_failed_agent_update(&app, &state, &summary.pubkey, rollback)?;
-            return Err(format!(
-                "Agent rename failed because its relay profile could not be updated. No changes were saved: {sync_error}"
-            ));
-        }
-    }
-
-    Ok(UpdateManagedAgentResponse {
-        agent: summary,
-        profile_sync_error: None,
-    })
-}
+#[path = "agent_models_update.rs"]
+mod update;
+pub use update::update_managed_agent;
+pub(super) use update::{flush_managed_agent_policy, managed_agent_access_policy_changed};
 
 // ── Model normalization ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_tests.rs
index 79dd7263c6..c00cb5cd2d 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_tests.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,32 @@
 use super::*;
 
+#[test]
+fn access_policy_change_requires_runtime_refresh_for_effective_gate_changes() {
+    use crate::managed_agents::RespondTo;
+
+    let allowlist_a = vec!["a".repeat(64)];
+    let allowlist_b = vec!["b".repeat(64)];
+
+    assert!(managed_agent_access_policy_changed(
+        RespondTo::Anyone,
+        &[],
+        RespondTo::OwnerOnly,
+        &[],
+    ));
+    assert!(managed_agent_access_policy_changed(
+        RespondTo::Allowlist,
+        &allowlist_a,
+        RespondTo::Allowlist,
+        &allowlist_b,
+    ));
+    assert!(!managed_agent_access_policy_changed(
+        RespondTo::OwnerOnly,
+        &allowlist_a,
+        RespondTo::OwnerOnly,
+        &allowlist_b,
+    ));
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn openai_model_normalization_keeps_agent_text_models() {
     let models = normalize_openai_compatible_models(
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_update.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_update.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..922bee2e3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_update.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,360 @@
+use super::*;
+
+pub(crate) fn managed_agent_access_policy_changed(
+    current_mode: crate::managed_agents::RespondTo,
+    current_allowlist: &[String],
+    prospective_mode: crate::managed_agents::RespondTo,
+    prospective_allowlist: &[String],
+) -> bool {
+    prospective_mode != current_mode
+        || (prospective_mode == crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Allowlist
+            && prospective_allowlist != current_allowlist)
+}
+
+fn ensure_access_policy_change_supported(
+    record: &ManagedAgentRecord,
+    access_policy_changed: bool,
+) -> Result<(), String> {
+    if access_policy_changed
+        && record.backend != crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Local
+        && record.backend_agent_id.is_some()
+    {
+        return Err(
+            "Access cannot be changed while this provider-backed agent is deployed because the provider protocol has no explicit stop or revocation acknowledgement. Stop or recreate the provider agent first."
+                .to_string(),
+        );
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Flush a retained managed-agent policy, preserving any earlier profile error.
+pub(crate) async fn flush_managed_agent_policy(
+    app: &AppHandle,
+    state: &AppState,
+    existing_error: Option<String>,
+) -> Option<String> {
+    match crate::managed_agents::persona_events::flush_active_pending_events(app, state).await {
+        Ok(_) => existing_error,
+        Err(error) => Some(match existing_error {
+            Some(profile_error) => {
+                format!("{profile_error}; managed policy sync failed: {error}")
+            }
+            None => format!("managed policy sync failed: {error}"),
+        }),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Update mutable fields on an existing managed agent record.
+///
+/// Most runtime config changes take effect on the next agent spawn. Access
+/// policy changes stop active local pairs before saving and restart those exact
+/// pairs after the relay policy is flushed.
+#[tauri::command]
+pub async fn update_managed_agent(
+    input: UpdateManagedAgentRequest,
+    app: AppHandle,
+    state: State<'_, AppState>,
+) -> Result<UpdateManagedAgentResponse, String> {
+    // Phase 1: local save (synchronous, under lock)
+    let (mut summary, sync_params, rollback, access_policy_changed, access_restart_relays) = {
+        let _store_guard = state
+            .managed_agents_store_lock
+            .lock()
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        let mut records = load_managed_agents(&app)?;
+        let mut runtimes = state
+            .managed_agent_processes
+            .lock()
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        let (_, exited_pubkeys) =
+            sync_managed_agent_processes(&mut records, &mut runtimes, &current_instance_id(&app));
+        for pubkey in &exited_pubkeys {
+            state.clear_agent_session_caches(pubkey);
+        }
+
+        let record = find_managed_agent_mut(&mut records, &input.pubkey)?;
+        let previous_record = record.clone();
+
+        let mut name_changed = false;
+        if let Some(name_update) = input.name {
+            let trimmed = name_update.trim().to_string();
+            if !trimmed.is_empty() && trimmed != record.name {
+                record.name = trimmed;
+                name_changed = true;
+            }
+        }
+        apply_model_provider_prompt_update(
+            record,
+            input.model,
+            input.provider,
+            input.system_prompt,
+        )?;
+        if let Some(parallelism) = input.parallelism {
+            record.parallelism = parallelism;
+        }
+        // turn_timeout_seconds is intentionally not applied here —
+        // BUZZ_ACP_TURN_TIMEOUT is deprecated and ignored by the harness.
+        // Use idle_timeout_seconds or max_turn_duration_seconds instead.
+        // Store the relay override exactly as supplied (trimmed). An explicit
+        // value pins the agent; empty falls back to the workspace relay at
+        // read-time. A name-only edit (relay_url == None) leaves the pin intact.
+        if let Some(relay_url) = input.relay_url {
+            record.relay_url = relay_url.trim().to_string();
+        }
+        if let Some(acp_command) = input.acp_command {
+            record.acp_command = acp_command;
+        }
+        // Harness edit: the persona's runtime is authoritative, so an explicit
+        // `agent_command_override` is persisted ONLY when the user picks a
+        // command that diverges from the persona, and the empty/whitespace
+        // "Inherit from persona" sentinel clears both the pin and the
+        // materialized record runtime. A name-only edit
+        // (`agent_command == None`) leaves the pin intact. `harness_override`
+        // threads the user's explicit intent — see `apply_agent_command_update`
+        // and `update_time_agent_command_override` for the full resolution
+        // rules.
+        if let Some(agent_command) = input.agent_command {
+            let personas = load_personas(&app).unwrap_or_default();
+            crate::managed_agents::apply_agent_command_update(
+                record,
+                &personas,
+                &agent_command,
+                input.harness_override,
+            );
+        }
+        if let Some(agent_args) = input.agent_args {
+            record.agent_args = agent_args;
+        }
+        // mcp_command is intentionally not applied here — the effective MCP
+        // command is always catalog-derived (known_acp_runtime at spawn time)
+        // and the per-record field is never read by the runtime.
+        if let Some(env_vars) = input.env_vars {
+            crate::managed_agents::validate_user_env_keys(&env_vars)?;
+            record.env_vars = env_vars;
+        }
+
+        // Native provider/model fields are authoritative. Keep the typed marker
+        // derived for new records while retaining legacy typed records for
+        // non-native providers.
+        if record.provider.as_deref() == Some(crate::managed_agents::RELAY_MESH_PROVIDER_ID) {
+            let model_ref = record
+                .model
+                .as_deref()
+                .map(str::trim)
+                .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
+                .unwrap_or(crate::managed_agents::RELAY_MESH_AUTO_MODEL_ID)
+                .to_string();
+            record.model = Some(model_ref.clone());
+            record.relay_mesh = Some(crate::managed_agents::RelayMeshConfig { model_ref });
+        }
+
+        // Inbound author gate: merge patch onto current values, then validate
+        // the merged state. This lets a single update switch to Allowlist AND
+        // supply pubkeys atomically.
+        let prospective_mode = input.respond_to.unwrap_or(record.respond_to);
+        let prospective_allowlist = match input.respond_to_allowlist.as_ref() {
+            Some(list) => crate::managed_agents::validate_respond_to_allowlist(list)?,
+            None => record.respond_to_allowlist.clone(),
+        };
+        if prospective_mode == crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Allowlist
+            && prospective_allowlist.is_empty()
+        {
+            return Err(
+                "respond-to mode 'allowlist' requires at least one pubkey in the allowlist"
+                    .to_string(),
+            );
+        }
+        let access_policy_changed = managed_agent_access_policy_changed(
+            record.respond_to,
+            &record.respond_to_allowlist,
+            prospective_mode,
+            &prospective_allowlist,
+        );
+        ensure_access_policy_change_supported(record, access_policy_changed)?;
+
+        // Revoke the currently running local gate before persisting or
+        // advertising the replacement policy. Keeping this inside the same
+        // store/process critical section prevents another command or a status
+        // refresh from observing a saved narrow policy while the old broad
+        // process is still alive. A stop failure aborts before mutation.
+        let mut access_restart_relays = Vec::new();
+        if access_policy_changed && record.backend == crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Local {
+            access_restart_relays =
+                crate::managed_agents::managed_agent_runtime_keys(&runtimes, &record.pubkey)
+                    .into_iter()
+                    .map(|key| key.relay_url)
+                    .collect();
+            if access_restart_relays.is_empty() && record.runtime_pid.is_some() {
+                access_restart_relays.push(crate::relay::effective_agent_relay_url(
+                    &record.relay_url,
+                    &relay_ws_url_with_override(&state),
+                ));
+            }
+            if !access_restart_relays.is_empty() {
+                crate::managed_agents::stop_managed_agent_process(&app, record, &mut runtimes)?;
+            }
+        }
+
+        record.respond_to = prospective_mode;
+        // Preserve the persisted allowlist across mode toggles — only replace
+        // when the caller explicitly supplied a new list.
+        if input.respond_to_allowlist.is_some() {
+            record.respond_to_allowlist = prospective_allowlist;
+        }
+
+        record.updated_at = now_iso();
+
+        save_managed_agents(&app, &records)?;
+
+        let record = records
+            .iter()
+            .find(|r| r.pubkey == input.pubkey)
+            .ok_or_else(|| format!("agent {} not found", input.pubkey))?;
+
+        // Publish the edit to the relay. After-save, inside the lock, before
+        // any .await. The retention upsert hashes the opt-IN projection, so an
+        // update that touched only runtime/local fields is a no-op publish.
+        super::super::agents::retain_managed_agent_pending(&app, &state, record);
+
+        let sync_params = if name_changed {
+            let agent_keys = Keys::parse(&record.private_key_nsec)
+                .map_err(|e| format!("failed to parse agent keys: {e}"))?;
+            // Re-publish the renamed profile to the agent's effective relay:
+            // an explicit per-agent relay wins; empty falls back to workspace.
+            let relay_url = crate::relay::effective_agent_relay_url(
+                &record.relay_url,
+                &relay_ws_url_with_override(&state),
+            );
+            let display_name = record.name.clone();
+            // Avatar fallback derives from the EFFECTIVE harness (persona-wins),
+            // not the frozen snapshot, so an inherited harness picks the right
+            // default avatar.
+            let personas = load_personas(&app).unwrap_or_default();
+            let effective_command = crate::managed_agents::record_agent_command(record, &personas);
+            let avatar_url = record
+                .avatar_url
+                .clone()
+                .or_else(|| managed_agent_avatar_url(&effective_command));
+            let auth_tag = record.auth_tag.clone();
+            Some((agent_keys, relay_url, display_name, avatar_url, auth_tag))
+        } else {
+            None
+        };
+
+        let summary = {
+            let personas = load_personas(&app).unwrap_or_default();
+            build_managed_agent_summary(
+                &app,
+                record,
+                &runtimes,
+                &personas,
+                &crate::managed_agents::load_global_agent_config(&app).unwrap_or_default(),
+            )?
+        };
+        let rollback = name_changed
+            .then(|| AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous_record, record, access_policy_changed));
+        (
+            summary,
+            sync_params,
+            rollback,
+            access_policy_changed,
+            access_restart_relays,
+        )
+    }; // lock dropped here
+
+    try_regenerate_nest(&app);
+
+    // Phase 2: relay sync (async, outside lock). The owner-signed managed
+    // policy is security-sensitive: an access reduction must replace the old
+    // relay head before this command returns rather than waiting for the
+    // 30-second retention sweep. The flush remains durable/best-effort; rows a
+    // relay does not accept stay pending for the background retry.
+    let mut profile_sync_error =
+        crate::managed_agents::persona_events::flush_active_pending_events(&app, &state)
+            .await
+            .err()
+            .map(|error| format!("managed policy sync failed: {error}"));
+    if profile_sync_error.is_none()
+        && crate::managed_agents::persona_events::active_pending_event(
+            &app,
+            &state,
+            buzz_core_pkg::kind::KIND_MANAGED_AGENT,
+            &summary.pubkey,
+        )?
+    {
+        profile_sync_error = Some(
+            "managed policy sync failed: relay did not accept the updated policy; retry queued"
+                .to_string(),
+        );
+    }
+
+    // A rename is committed only when profile sync succeeds; otherwise restore
+    // the complete pre-edit record so Desktop and the relay keep one
+    // authoritative name.
+    if let Some((agent_keys, relay_url, display_name, avatar_url, auth_tag)) = sync_params {
+        if let Err(sync_error) = sync_managed_agent_profile(
+            &state,
+            &relay_url,
+            &agent_keys,
+            &display_name,
+            avatar_url.as_deref(),
+            auth_tag.as_deref(),
+        )
+        .await
+        {
+            let rollback = rollback.ok_or_else(|| {
+                "missing local rollback state after relay profile sync failure".to_string()
+            })?;
+            rollback_failed_agent_update(&app, &state, &summary.pubkey, rollback)?;
+            let restart_suffix = if access_restart_relays.is_empty() {
+                String::new()
+            } else {
+                match super::super::agents::start_local_agent_pairs_with_preflight(
+                    &app,
+                    &state,
+                    &summary.pubkey,
+                    &access_restart_relays,
+                )
+                .await
+                {
+                    Ok(_) => String::new(),
+                    Err(error) => format!(
+                        " The runtime also failed to restart with the kept access policy: {error}"
+                    ),
+                }
+            };
+            let rollback_message = if access_policy_changed {
+                "The access policy change was kept, but other edits were rolled back"
+            } else {
+                "No changes were saved"
+            };
+            return Err(format!(
+                "Agent rename failed because its relay profile could not be updated. {rollback_message}: {sync_error}.{restart_suffix}"
+            ));
+        }
+    }
+
+    if !access_restart_relays.is_empty() {
+        summary = super::super::agents::start_local_agent_pairs_with_preflight(
+            &app,
+            &state,
+            &summary.pubkey,
+            &access_restart_relays,
+        )
+        .await
+        .map_err(|error| {
+            format!(
+                "Agent access was saved and published, but its runtime failed to restart with the new policy: {error}"
+            )
+        })?;
+    }
+
+    Ok(UpdateManagedAgentResponse {
+        agent: summary,
+        profile_sync_error: profile_sync_error.take(),
+    })
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+#[path = "agent_models_update_tests.rs"]
+mod tests;
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_update_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_update_tests.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b9fd0bd183
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_models_update_tests.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+use super::*;
+
+fn provider_record(deployed: bool) -> ManagedAgentRecord {
+    let mut record: ManagedAgentRecord = serde_json::from_value(serde_json::json!({
+        "pubkey": "agent", "name": "Agent", "relay_url": "", "acp_command": "",
+        "agent_command": "", "agent_args": [], "mcp_command": "",
+        "turn_timeout_seconds": 0, "system_prompt": null, "created_at": "",
+        "updated_at": "", "last_started_at": null, "last_stopped_at": null,
+        "last_exit_code": null, "last_error": null
+    }))
+    .unwrap();
+    record.backend = crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Provider {
+        id: "provider".into(),
+        config: serde_json::json!({}),
+    };
+    record.backend_agent_id = deployed.then(|| "deployment".to_string());
+    record
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn deployed_provider_rejects_access_edits_that_cannot_be_revoked() {
+    let error = ensure_access_policy_change_supported(&provider_record(true), true)
+        .expect_err("deployed provider access edit must fail closed");
+    assert!(error.contains("no explicit stop or revocation acknowledgement"));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn undeployed_provider_accepts_access_edits() {
+    ensure_access_policy_change_supported(&provider_record(false), true)
+        .expect("no running provider deployment can retain stale access");
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_update_rollback.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_update_rollback.rs
index 2745b3cd22..78734797f0 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_update_rollback.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agent_update_rollback.rs
@@ -11,13 +11,19 @@ use crate::{
 pub(super) struct AgentUpdateRollback {
     attempted_record: ManagedAgentRecord,
     previous_record: ManagedAgentRecord,
+    preserve_access_policy: bool,
 }
 
 impl AgentUpdateRollback {
-    pub(super) fn new(previous_record: ManagedAgentRecord, attempted: &ManagedAgentRecord) -> Self {
+    pub(super) fn new(
+        previous_record: ManagedAgentRecord,
+        attempted: &ManagedAgentRecord,
+        preserve_access_policy: bool,
+    ) -> Self {
         Self {
             attempted_record: attempted.clone(),
             previous_record,
+            preserve_access_policy,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -64,6 +70,13 @@ fn restore_agent_update(
         attempted_with_current_runtime != rollback.attempted_record
     };
     let mut restored = rollback.previous_record;
+    if rollback.preserve_access_policy {
+        restored.respond_to = current.respond_to;
+        restored
+            .respond_to_allowlist
+            .clone_from(&current.respond_to_allowlist);
+        restored.updated_at.clone_from(&current.updated_at);
+    }
     copy_runtime_state(current, &mut restored);
     if runtime_changed {
         restored.updated_at.clone_from(&current.updated_at);
@@ -137,7 +150,7 @@ mod tests {
         attempted.name = "New name".to_string();
         attempted.model = Some("new-model".to_string());
         attempted.updated_at = "attempt".to_string();
-        let rollback = AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous, &attempted);
+        let rollback = AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous, &attempted, false);
         let mut records = vec![attempted];
 
         restore_agent_update(&mut records, "abcd1234", rollback)
@@ -148,13 +161,34 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(records[0].updated_at, "before");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn failed_profile_sync_keeps_a_tightened_access_policy() {
+        let previous = record("Old name", "before");
+        let mut attempted = previous.clone();
+        attempted.name = "New name".to_string();
+        attempted.respond_to = crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::OwnerOnly;
+        attempted.updated_at = "attempt".to_string();
+        let rollback = AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous, &attempted, true);
+        let mut records = vec![attempted];
+
+        restore_agent_update(&mut records, "abcd1234", rollback)
+            .expect("matching attempted update rolls back non-access fields");
+
+        assert_eq!(records[0].name, "Old name");
+        assert_eq!(
+            records[0].respond_to,
+            crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::OwnerOnly
+        );
+        assert_eq!(records[0].updated_at, "attempt");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn failed_profile_sync_does_not_overwrite_a_newer_agent_update() {
         let previous = record("Old name", "before");
         let mut attempted = previous.clone();
         attempted.name = "New name".to_string();
         attempted.updated_at = "attempt".to_string();
-        let rollback = AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous, &attempted);
+        let rollback = AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous, &attempted, false);
         let mut newer = attempted;
         newer.name = "Newest name".to_string();
         newer.updated_at = "newer".to_string();
@@ -175,7 +209,7 @@ mod tests {
         attempted.name = "New name".to_string();
         attempted.model = Some("new-model".to_string());
         attempted.updated_at = "attempt".to_string();
-        let rollback = AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous, &attempted);
+        let rollback = AgentUpdateRollback::new(previous, &attempted, false);
         let mut churned = attempted;
         churned.runtime_pid = None;
         churned.last_stopped_at = Some("stopped".to_string());
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents.rs
index 2613671970..3d38f37432 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents.rs
@@ -6,15 +6,14 @@ use super::managed_agent_definition::validate_create_definition;
 use crate::{
     app_state::AppState,
     managed_agents::{
-        build_managed_agent_summary, current_instance_id, discover_provider_candidates,
-        ensure_persona_is_active, find_managed_agent_mut, load_managed_agents, load_personas,
-        load_teams, managed_agent_avatar_url, normalize_agent_args, provider_deploy,
-        resolve_provider_binary, save_managed_agents, start_managed_agent_process,
-        stop_managed_agent_process, stop_managed_agent_workspace_pair,
-        sync_managed_agent_processes, try_regenerate_nest, validate_provider_config, BackendKind,
-        CreateManagedAgentRequest, CreateManagedAgentResponse, ManagedAgentRecord,
-        ManagedAgentSummary, RelayMeshConfig, DEFAULT_ACP_COMMAND, DEFAULT_AGENT_PARALLELISM,
-        DEFAULT_AGENT_TURN_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
+        build_managed_agent_summary, current_instance_id, ensure_persona_is_active,
+        find_managed_agent_mut, load_managed_agents, load_personas, load_teams,
+        managed_agent_avatar_url, normalize_agent_args, resolve_provider_binary,
+        save_managed_agents, start_managed_agent_process, stop_managed_agent_process,
+        stop_managed_agent_workspace_pair, sync_managed_agent_processes, try_regenerate_nest,
+        validate_provider_config, BackendKind, CreateManagedAgentRequest,
+        CreateManagedAgentResponse, ManagedAgentRecord, ManagedAgentSummary, RelayMeshConfig,
+        DEFAULT_ACP_COMMAND, DEFAULT_AGENT_PARALLELISM, DEFAULT_AGENT_TURN_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
     },
     relay::{relay_ws_url_with_override, sync_managed_agent_profile},
     util::now_iso,
@@ -441,72 +440,7 @@ pub(super) async fn start_local_agent_with_preflight(
     )
 }
 
-/// Deploy an agent to a provider backend. Resolves the binary, calls deploy via
-/// spawn_blocking, and persists the result (backend_agent_id or last_error).
-///
-/// Idempotency: calling deploy on an already-deployed agent sends the same payload
-/// again. Providers are expected to handle this as an update-in-place or no-op —
-/// the protocol does not include an explicit `undeploy` operation (deferred to v2).
-///
-/// Returns Ok(()) on success, Err(message) on failure. Either way the record is
-/// updated and saved before returning.
-async fn deploy_to_provider(
-    app: &AppHandle,
-    state: &AppState,
-    pubkey: &str,
-    provider_id: &str,
-    config: &serde_json::Value,
-    agent_json: serde_json::Value,
-    cached_binary_path: Option<&str>,
-) -> Result<(), String> {
-    // Resolve via discovered candidates only. Cached path must match BOTH
-    // "is a discovered candidate" AND "belongs to this provider_id". A tampered
-    // record cannot redirect deploys to a different provider's binary.
-    let bin_path = cached_binary_path
-        .map(std::path::PathBuf::from)
-        .filter(|p| p.exists())
-        .map(|p| p.canonicalize().unwrap_or(p))
-        .filter(|canonical| {
-            discover_provider_candidates().iter().any(|(id, cp)| {
-                id == provider_id && cp.canonicalize().ok().as_ref() == Some(canonical)
-            })
-        })
-        .map_or_else(|| resolve_provider_binary(provider_id), Ok)?;
-
-    let config_clone = config.clone();
-    let deploy_result =
-        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || provider_deploy(&bin_path, &agent_json, &config_clone))
-            .await
-            .map_err(|e| format!("spawn_blocking failed: {e}"))?;
-
-    // Persist result under lock.
-    let _store_guard = state
-        .managed_agents_store_lock
-        .lock()
-        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-    let mut records = load_managed_agents(app)?;
-    let rec = records
-        .iter_mut()
-        .find(|r| r.pubkey == pubkey)
-        .ok_or_else(|| format!("agent {pubkey} not found"))?;
-
-    match deploy_result {
-        Ok(backend_agent_id) => {
-            rec.backend_agent_id = Some(backend_agent_id);
-            rec.last_started_at = Some(now_iso());
-            rec.updated_at = now_iso();
-            rec.last_error = None;
-        }
-        Err(ref e) => {
-            rec.last_error = Some(e.clone());
-            rec.updated_at = now_iso();
-            save_managed_agents(app, &records)?;
-            return Err(e.clone());
-        }
-    }
-    save_managed_agents(app, &records)?;
-    Ok(())
-}
+pub(crate) use provider_deploy::deploy_to_provider;
 
 // Async so the blocking body (disk reads of agent/persona records, per-agent
 // process-liveness syscalls, and a possible save) runs on Tauri's worker pool
@@ -870,6 +804,7 @@ pub async fn create_managed_agent(
             runtime_pid: None,
             backend: input.backend.clone(),
             backend_agent_id: None,
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path,
             persona_team_dir: None,
             persona_name_in_team: None,
@@ -979,7 +914,7 @@ pub async fn create_managed_agent(
         &resolved_relay_url,
         &relay_ws_url_with_override(&state),
     );
-    let profile_sync_error = (sync_managed_agent_profile(
+    let mut profile_sync_error = (sync_managed_agent_profile(
         &state,
         &profile_relay_url,
         &agent_keys,
@@ -989,12 +924,11 @@ pub async fn create_managed_agent(
     )
     .await)
         .err();
+    profile_sync_error =
+        super::agent_models::flush_managed_agent_policy(&app, &state, profile_sync_error).await;
 
-    // ── Phase 5: provider deploy (async, outside lock) ───────────────────────
     let spawn_error = if input.spawn_after_create && input.backend != BackendKind::Local {
         if let BackendKind::Provider { ref id, ref config } = input.backend {
-            // Read the saved record to build the deploy payload (record has the
-            // canonical field values after Phase 3 normalization).
             let agent_json = {
                 let _g = state
                     .managed_agents_store_lock
@@ -1354,7 +1288,8 @@ pub async fn delete_managed_agent(
 #[path = "agents_deploy.rs"]
 mod deploy;
 pub(super) mod provider_access;
-use deploy::build_deploy_payload;
+mod provider_deploy;
+pub(super) use deploy::build_deploy_payload;
 #[cfg(test)]
 use deploy::{deploy_payload_json, DeployProjections};
 #[cfg(test)]
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents/provider_access.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents/provider_access.rs
index 467230e56f..5b90500ee6 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents/provider_access.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents/provider_access.rs
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ pub(super) fn needs_reconciliation_with_policy(
     record: &ManagedAgentRecord,
     owner_only_access: bool,
 ) -> bool {
-    owner_only_access && record.backend != BackendKind::Local && record.backend_agent_id.is_some()
+    (owner_only_access || record.provider_policy_pending)
+        && record.backend != BackendKind::Local
+        && record.backend_agent_id.is_some()
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
@@ -50,25 +52,23 @@ fn collect_targets_with(
         .collect()
 }
 
-/// Redeploy every existing provider agent in an owner-only access build.
+/// Redeploy existing provider agents whose access policy requires enforcement.
 ///
-/// The saved `backend_agent_id` only proves that some provider deployment
-/// exists. A marked build sends the current owner-only payload before each
-/// community UI load. Workspace apply fails closed if any provider rejects it.
+/// Owner-only builds refresh every existing deployment before each community UI
+/// load. All builds also retry records whose saved policy has not yet been
+/// acknowledged by a successful provider deployment. Workspace apply fails
+/// closed if any selected provider rejects the current policy.
 pub(crate) async fn reconcile_on_workspace_apply(
     app: &AppHandle,
     state: &AppState,
 ) -> Result<(), String> {
-    if !crate::managed_agents::owner_only_access_build() {
-        return Ok(());
-    }
-
+    let owner_only_access = crate::managed_agents::owner_only_access_build();
     let targets = {
         let _store_guard = state
             .managed_agents_store_lock
             .lock()
             .map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
-        collect_targets_with(load_managed_agents(app)?, true, |record| {
+        collect_targets_with(load_managed_agents(app)?, owner_only_access, |record| {
             super::build_deploy_payload(app, state, record)
         })
     };
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn reconcile_on_workspace_apply(
     Ok(())
 }
 
-fn persist_failure(
+pub(crate) fn persist_failure(
     app: &AppHandle,
     state: &AppState,
     pubkey: &str,
@@ -180,17 +180,53 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn unmarked_build_collects_no_upgrade_targets() {
-        let records = vec![record(
+    fn unmarked_build_collects_only_pending_targets() {
+        let mut pending = record(
             BackendKind::Provider {
-                id: "provider".into(),
+                id: "pending-provider".into(),
                 config: serde_json::json!({}),
             },
-            Some("existing"),
-        )];
+            Some("existing-pending"),
+        );
+        pending.pubkey = "pending-agent".into();
+        pending.provider_policy_pending = true;
+        let ordinary = record(
+            BackendKind::Provider {
+                id: "ordinary-provider".into(),
+                config: serde_json::json!({}),
+            },
+            Some("existing-ordinary"),
+        );
+
+        let targets = collect_targets_with(vec![ordinary, pending], false, |record| {
+            Ok(serde_json::json!({"pubkey": record.pubkey}))
+        });
+
+        assert_eq!(targets.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(targets[0].pubkey, "pending-agent");
+        assert_eq!(targets[0].provider_id, "pending-provider");
+        assert_eq!(
+            targets[0].agent_json.as_ref().unwrap()["pubkey"],
+            "pending-agent"
+        );
+    }
 
-        assert!(
-            collect_targets_with(records, false, |_| { Ok(serde_json::Value::Null) }).is_empty()
+    #[test]
+    fn pending_policy_requires_an_existing_provider_deployment() {
+        let mut undeployed = record(
+            BackendKind::Provider {
+                id: "provider".into(),
+                config: serde_json::json!({}),
+            },
+            None,
         );
+        undeployed.provider_policy_pending = true;
+        let mut local = record(BackendKind::Local, Some("stale-provider-id"));
+        local.provider_policy_pending = true;
+
+        assert!(collect_targets_with(vec![undeployed, local], false, |_| {
+            Ok(serde_json::Value::Null)
+        })
+        .is_empty());
     }
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents/provider_deploy.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents/provider_deploy.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cdbdd787e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents/provider_deploy.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+use tauri::AppHandle;
+
+use crate::{
+    app_state::AppState,
+    managed_agents::{
+        discover_provider_candidates, load_managed_agents, provider_deploy,
+        resolve_provider_binary, save_managed_agents, BackendKind,
+    },
+    util::now_iso,
+};
+
+use super::build_deploy_payload;
+
+/// Deploy an agent to a provider backend. Resolves the binary, calls deploy via
+/// spawn_blocking, and persists the result (backend_agent_id or last_error).
+///
+/// Idempotency: calling deploy on an already-deployed agent sends the same payload
+/// again. Providers are expected to handle this as an update-in-place or no-op.
+/// The protocol has no explicit `undeploy` operation or acknowledgement that an
+/// existing process stopped, so a successful redeploy delegates access-policy
+/// revocation semantics to the provider implementation (deferred to v2).
+/// Returns Ok(()) on success, Err(message) on failure. Either way the record is
+/// updated and saved before returning.
+pub(crate) async fn deploy_to_provider(
+    app: &AppHandle,
+    state: &AppState,
+    pubkey: &str,
+    _provider_id: &str,
+    _config: &serde_json::Value,
+    _agent_json: serde_json::Value,
+    _cached_binary_path: Option<&str>,
+) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let deploy_lock = {
+        let mut locks = state
+            .provider_deploy_locks
+            .lock()
+            .map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
+        Arc::clone(
+            locks
+                .entry(pubkey.to_string())
+                .or_insert_with(|| Arc::new(tokio::sync::Mutex::new(()))),
+        )
+    };
+    let _deploy_guard = deploy_lock.lock().await;
+    // The payload may have waited behind another deployment. Rebuild it from
+    // the current record so the final provider invocation always carries the
+    // newest saved policy rather than the stale snapshot captured by its caller.
+    let (provider_id, config, cached_binary_path, agent_json) = {
+        let _store_guard = state
+            .managed_agents_store_lock
+            .lock()
+            .map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
+        let records = load_managed_agents(app)?;
+        let record = records
+            .iter()
+            .find(|record| record.pubkey == pubkey)
+            .ok_or_else(|| format!("agent {pubkey} not found"))?;
+        let (provider_id, config) = match &record.backend {
+            BackendKind::Provider { id, config } => (id.clone(), config.clone()),
+            BackendKind::Local => return Err(format!("agent {pubkey} is not provider-backed")),
+        };
+        (
+            provider_id,
+            config,
+            record.provider_binary_path.clone(),
+            build_deploy_payload(app, state, record)?,
+        )
+    };
+    // Resolve via discovered candidates only. Cached path must match BOTH
+    // "is a discovered candidate" AND "belongs to this provider_id". A tampered
+    // record cannot redirect deploys to a different provider's binary.
+    let bin_path = cached_binary_path
+        .as_deref()
+        .map(std::path::PathBuf::from)
+        .filter(|p| p.exists())
+        .map(|p| p.canonicalize().unwrap_or(p))
+        .filter(|canonical| {
+            discover_provider_candidates().iter().any(|(id, cp)| {
+                id == &provider_id && cp.canonicalize().ok().as_ref() == Some(canonical)
+            })
+        })
+        .map_or_else(|| resolve_provider_binary(&provider_id), Ok)?;
+
+    let deployed_agent_json = agent_json.clone();
+    let config_clone = config.clone();
+    let deploy_result =
+        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || provider_deploy(&bin_path, &agent_json, &config_clone))
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| format!("spawn_blocking failed: {e}"))?;
+
+    // Persist result under lock.
+    let _store_guard = state
+        .managed_agents_store_lock
+        .lock()
+        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+    let mut records = load_managed_agents(app)?;
+    let rec = records
+        .iter_mut()
+        .find(|r| r.pubkey == pubkey)
+        .ok_or_else(|| format!("agent {pubkey} not found"))?;
+
+    let result = apply_deploy_result(rec, deploy_result, &deployed_agent_json);
+    save_managed_agents(app, &records)?;
+    result
+}
+
+fn policy_matches_payload(
+    record: &crate::managed_agents::ManagedAgentRecord,
+    deployed_agent_json: &serde_json::Value,
+) -> bool {
+    deployed_agent_json
+        .get("respond_to")
+        .and_then(serde_json::Value::as_str)
+        == Some(record.respond_to.as_str())
+        && deployed_agent_json.get("respond_to_allowlist")
+            == Some(&serde_json::json!(record.respond_to_allowlist))
+}
+
+fn apply_deploy_result(
+    record: &mut crate::managed_agents::ManagedAgentRecord,
+    deploy_result: Result<String, String>,
+    deployed_agent_json: &serde_json::Value,
+) -> Result<(), String> {
+    match deploy_result {
+        Ok(backend_agent_id) => {
+            record.backend_agent_id = Some(backend_agent_id);
+            if policy_matches_payload(record, deployed_agent_json) {
+                record.provider_policy_pending = false;
+            }
+            record.last_started_at = Some(now_iso());
+            record.updated_at = now_iso();
+            record.last_error = None;
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        Err(error) => {
+            record.last_error = Some(error.clone());
+            record.updated_at = now_iso();
+            Err(error)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn record() -> crate::managed_agents::ManagedAgentRecord {
+        serde_json::from_value(serde_json::json!({
+            "pubkey": "agent", "name": "Agent", "relay_url": "", "acp_command": "",
+            "agent_command": "", "agent_args": [], "mcp_command": "",
+            "turn_timeout_seconds": 0, "system_prompt": null, "created_at": "",
+            "updated_at": "", "last_started_at": null, "last_stopped_at": null,
+            "last_exit_code": null, "last_error": null,
+            "provider_policy_pending": true
+        }))
+        .unwrap()
+    }
+
+    fn policy_payload(respond_to: &str) -> serde_json::Value {
+        serde_json::json!({"respond_to": respond_to, "respond_to_allowlist": []})
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn successful_deploy_acknowledges_pending_policy() {
+        let mut record = record();
+
+        apply_deploy_result(
+            &mut record,
+            Ok("provider-agent".into()),
+            &policy_payload("owner-only"),
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+        assert!(!record.provider_policy_pending);
+        assert_eq!(record.backend_agent_id.as_deref(), Some("provider-agent"));
+        assert_eq!(record.last_error, None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn successful_stale_deploy_preserves_newer_pending_policy() {
+        let mut record = record();
+        record.respond_to = crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Anyone;
+
+        apply_deploy_result(
+            &mut record,
+            Ok("provider-agent".into()),
+            &policy_payload("owner-only"),
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+        assert!(record.provider_policy_pending);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn failed_deploy_preserves_pending_policy() {
+        let mut record = record();
+
+        let error = apply_deploy_result(
+            &mut record,
+            Err("provider unavailable".into()),
+            &policy_payload("owner-only"),
+        )
+        .expect_err("deployment should fail");
+
+        assert_eq!(error, "provider unavailable");
+        assert!(record.provider_policy_pending);
+        assert_eq!(record.last_error.as_deref(), Some("provider unavailable"));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents_deploy.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents_deploy.rs
index 47ee5f92d4..483eb60134 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents_deploy.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents_deploy.rs
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ pub(super) fn ensure_remote_provider_supported(provider: Option<&str>) -> Result
 }
 
 /// Build the standard agent JSON payload for provider deploy calls.
-pub(super) fn build_deploy_payload(
+pub(crate) fn build_deploy_payload(
     app: &AppHandle,
     state: &AppState,
     record: &ManagedAgentRecord,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents_tests.rs
index f550a72e0c..0176478bc5 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/agents_tests.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ fn bare_agent_record(
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
@@ -625,6 +626,11 @@ fn provider_upgrade_reconciliation_targets_existing_deployments_only_in_marked_b
         &record, false
     ));
 
+    record.provider_policy_pending = true;
+    assert!(provider_access::needs_reconciliation_with_policy(
+        &record, false
+    ));
+
     record.backend_agent_id = None;
     assert!(!provider_access::needs_reconciliation_with_policy(
         &record, true
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/delete_cascade_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/delete_cascade_tests.rs
index 8ff7cfbd9b..f4590f5d6e 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/delete_cascade_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/delete_cascade_tests.rs
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ fn make_agent(
         runtime_pid,
         backend: BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound.rs
index cbb2314353..5c38373f7c 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,21 @@ use crate::{
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod inbound_tests;
 
+#[derive(Debug)]
+enum InboundRuntimeRefresh {
+    Local {
+        pubkey: String,
+        relay_urls: Vec<String>,
+    },
+    Provider {
+        pubkey: String,
+        provider_id: String,
+        config: serde_json::Value,
+        cached_binary_path: Option<String>,
+        agent_json: Result<serde_json::Value, String>,
+    },
+}
+
 /// Apply an inbound kind:30175 persona event from the relay onto the local
 /// store. The frontend's live subscription invokes this per event for our own
 /// authored coordinate so Device B inherits Device A's edits.
@@ -57,23 +72,84 @@ pub async fn reconcile_inbound_persona_event(
     arrival_relay_url: String,
     app: AppHandle,
 ) -> Result<(), String> {
-    tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
-        reconcile_inbound_persona_event_blocking(event_json, arrival_relay_url, app)
+    let blocking_app = app.clone();
+    let restart = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+        reconcile_inbound_persona_event_blocking(event_json, arrival_relay_url, blocking_app)
     })
     .await
-    .map_err(|e| format!("spawn_blocking failed: {e}"))?
+    .map_err(|e| format!("spawn_blocking failed: {e}"))??;
+
+    match restart {
+        Some(InboundRuntimeRefresh::Local { pubkey, relay_urls }) => {
+            let state = app.state::<AppState>();
+            super::super::agents::start_local_agent_pairs_with_preflight(
+                &app,
+                &state,
+                &pubkey,
+                &relay_urls,
+            )
+            .await
+            .map_err(|error| {
+                format!(
+                    "Inbound agent access was saved, but its runtime failed to restart with the new policy: {error}"
+                )
+            })?;
+        }
+        Some(InboundRuntimeRefresh::Provider {
+            pubkey,
+            provider_id,
+            config,
+            cached_binary_path,
+            agent_json,
+        }) => {
+            let state = app.state::<AppState>();
+            let agent_json = match agent_json {
+                Ok(agent_json) => agent_json,
+                Err(error) => {
+                    let message = format!(
+                        "Inbound agent access was saved, but its provider deployment could not be refreshed safely: {error}"
+                    );
+                    super::super::agents::provider_access::persist_failure(
+                        &app, &state, &pubkey, &message,
+                    )?;
+                    let _ = app.emit("agents-data-changed", ());
+                    return Err(message);
+                }
+            };
+            super::super::agents::deploy_to_provider(
+                &app,
+                &state,
+                &pubkey,
+                &provider_id,
+                &config,
+                agent_json,
+                cached_binary_path.as_deref(),
+            )
+            .await
+            .map_err(|error| {
+                format!(
+                    "Inbound agent access was saved, but its provider deployment failed to refresh with the new policy: {error}"
+                )
+            })?;
+        }
+        None => {}
+    }
+    Ok(())
 }
 
 fn reconcile_inbound_persona_event_blocking(
     event_json: String,
     arrival_relay_url: String,
     app: AppHandle,
-) -> Result<(), String> {
+) -> Result<Option<InboundRuntimeRefresh>, String> {
     use crate::managed_agents::{
         agent_events::managed_agent_content_from_event,
         load_managed_agents, load_teams,
         persona_events::persona_from_event,
-        retention::{open_retention_db, retain_inbound_event, InboundOutcome, RetainedEvent},
+        retention::{
+            inbound_event_outcome, open_retention_db, retain_inbound_event, InboundOutcome,
+            RetainedEvent,
+        },
         save_managed_agents, save_teams,
         team_events::team_content_from_event,
     };
@@ -93,11 +169,12 @@ fn reconcile_inbound_persona_event_blocking(
     // in its `a` tag (`<target_kind>:<owner>:<d_tag>`). Handled before the
     // upsert dispatch because its coordinate and retention key differ.
     if kind == KIND_DELETION {
-        return reconcile_inbound_tombstone(&event, &arrival_relay_url, &app, &state);
+        reconcile_inbound_tombstone(&event, &arrival_relay_url, &app, &state)?;
+        return Ok(None);
     }
 
     if !matches!(kind, KIND_PERSONA | KIND_TEAM | KIND_MANAGED_AGENT) {
-        return Ok(());
+        return Ok(None);
     }
 
     // The d-tag identifies the record within its kind. Persona derives it from
@@ -137,25 +214,35 @@ fn reconcile_inbound_persona_event_blocking(
         &arrival_relay_url,
     )?
     else {
-        return Ok(());
+        return Ok(None);
     };
     let conn = open_retention_db(&scope.db_path)?;
-    let outcome = retain_inbound_event(
-        &conn,
-        &RetainedEvent {
-            kind,
-            pubkey: event.pubkey.to_hex(),
-            d_tag: d_tag.clone(),
-            content: event.content.to_string(),
-            created_at: event.created_at.as_secs() as i64,
-            raw_event: event.as_json(),
-            pending_sync: false,
-        },
-    )?;
-    if outcome == InboundOutcome::Skipped {
-        return Ok(());
+    let inbound_retained_event = RetainedEvent {
+        kind,
+        pubkey: event.pubkey.to_hex(),
+        d_tag: d_tag.clone(),
+        content: event.content.to_string(),
+        created_at: event.created_at.as_secs() as i64,
+        raw_event: event.as_json(),
+        pending_sync: false,
+    };
+    // Managed-agent access changes can fail while stopping a runtime. Preflight
+    // the retention decision now, but do not advance the durable head until the
+    // local store has been saved; otherwise replay sees the failed revocation as
+    // already consumed and can never retry it. Persona/team paths retain first
+    // as before because they have no fallible runtime transition.
+    if kind == KIND_MANAGED_AGENT
+        && inbound_event_outcome(&conn, &inbound_retained_event)? == InboundOutcome::Skipped
+    {
+        return Ok(None);
+    }
+    if kind != KIND_MANAGED_AGENT
+        && retain_inbound_event(&conn, &inbound_retained_event)? == InboundOutcome::Skipped
+    {
+        return Ok(None);
     }
 
+    let mut runtime_refresh = None;
     match kind {
         KIND_PERSONA => {
             let mut personas = load_personas(&app)?;
@@ -176,8 +263,65 @@ fn reconcile_inbound_persona_event_blocking(
             let managed_agent = inbound_managed_agent.ok_or_else(|| {
                 "managed-agent content was not parsed before retention".to_string()
             })?;
-            apply_inbound_managed_agent(&mut agents, &d_tag, managed_agent);
+            let access_changed = apply_inbound_managed_agent(&mut agents, &d_tag, managed_agent);
+            if access_changed {
+                let record = agents
+                    .iter_mut()
+                    .find(|record| record.pubkey == d_tag)
+                    .ok_or_else(|| format!("agent {d_tag} disappeared during inbound apply"))?;
+                match &record.backend {
+                    crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Local => {
+                        let mut runtimes = state
+                            .managed_agent_processes
+                            .lock()
+                            .map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
+                        let mut relay_urls =
+                            crate::managed_agents::managed_agent_runtime_keys(&runtimes, &d_tag)
+                                .into_iter()
+                                .map(|key| key.relay_url)
+                                .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+                        if relay_urls.is_empty() && record.runtime_pid.is_some() {
+                            relay_urls.push(crate::relay::effective_agent_relay_url(
+                                &record.relay_url,
+                                &crate::relay::relay_ws_url_with_override(&state),
+                            ));
+                        }
+                        if !relay_urls.is_empty() {
+                            crate::managed_agents::stop_managed_agent_process(
+                                &app,
+                                record,
+                                &mut runtimes,
+                            )?;
+                            runtime_refresh = Some(InboundRuntimeRefresh::Local {
+                                pubkey: d_tag.clone(),
+                                relay_urls,
+                            });
+                        }
+                    }
+                    crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Provider { id, config }
+                        if record.backend_agent_id.is_some() =>
+                    {
+                        // Persist the unacknowledged policy transition in the
+                        // same write as the narrowed policy. If the process
+                        // exits before or during deployment, workspace apply
+                        // can still recover it in every build.
+                        record.provider_policy_pending = true;
+                        runtime_refresh = Some(InboundRuntimeRefresh::Provider {
+                            pubkey: d_tag.clone(),
+                            provider_id: id.clone(),
+                            config: config.clone(),
+                            cached_binary_path: record.provider_binary_path.clone(),
+                            agent_json: super::super::agents::build_deploy_payload(
+                                &app, &state, record,
+                            ),
+                        });
+                    }
+                    crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Provider { .. } => {}
+                }
+            }
             save_managed_agents(&app, &agents)?;
+            let outcome = retain_inbound_event(&conn, &inbound_retained_event)?;
+            debug_assert_eq!(outcome, InboundOutcome::Applied);
         }
         _ => unreachable!("kind gated above"),
     }
@@ -187,7 +331,7 @@ fn reconcile_inbound_persona_event_blocking(
     // land on disk silently, leaving the Agents tab stale until restart.
     let _ = app.emit("agents-data-changed", ());
 
-    Ok(())
+    Ok(runtime_refresh)
 }
 
 fn validate_inbound_persona_definition(persona: &AgentDefinition) -> Result<(), String> {
@@ -409,8 +553,10 @@ fn apply_inbound_managed_agent(
     agents: &mut [ManagedAgentRecord],
     d_tag: &str,
     inbound: ManagedAgentEventContent,
-) {
+) -> bool {
     if let Some(local) = agents.iter_mut().find(|record| record.pubkey == d_tag) {
+        let previous_mode = local.respond_to;
+        let previous_allowlist = local.respond_to_allowlist.clone();
         local.name = inbound.name;
         // Mirror of the slimmed writer (agent_event_content): a
         // definition-linked event omits the definition quad because those
@@ -428,7 +574,14 @@ fn apply_inbound_managed_agent(
         local.parallelism = inbound.parallelism;
         local.respond_to = inbound.respond_to;
         local.respond_to_allowlist = inbound.respond_to_allowlist;
+        return super::super::agent_models::managed_agent_access_policy_changed(
+            previous_mode,
+            &previous_allowlist,
+            local.respond_to,
+            &local.respond_to_allowlist,
+        );
     }
+    false
 }
 
 /// Merge an inbound kind:30176 team projection into the local set.
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound/inbound_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound/inbound_tests.rs
index e65973f149..e7834f8231 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound/inbound_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/inbound/inbound_tests.rs
@@ -188,6 +188,7 @@ fn local_agent() -> ManagedAgentRecord {
             config: serde_json::json!({ "api_key": "localproviderkey" }),
         },
         backend_agent_id: Some("local-remote-id".to_string()),
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: Some("/local/bin".to_string()),
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
@@ -262,8 +263,9 @@ fn inbound_managed_agent_drops_injected_secrets_and_harness() {
     let content =
         crate::managed_agents::agent_events::managed_agent_content_from_event(&event).unwrap();
     let mut agents = vec![local_agent()];
-    apply_inbound_managed_agent(&mut agents, AGENT_PUBKEY, content);
+    let access_changed = apply_inbound_managed_agent(&mut agents, AGENT_PUBKEY, content);
 
+    assert!(access_changed, "Anyone must trigger a runtime refresh");
     let a = &agents[0];
     // Secrets / harness / runtime — every one preserved from the local record.
     assert_eq!(
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/fidelity_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/fidelity_tests.rs
index b769d74d7b..6d7a2e6264 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/fidelity_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/fidelity_tests.rs
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ fn make_definition(slug: &str) -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import.rs
index d7f0323304..7d3fd95ff3 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/import.rs
@@ -626,6 +626,7 @@ pub async fn confirm_agent_snapshot_import(
             runtime_pid: None,
             backend: crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Local,
             backend_agent_id: None,
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path: None,
             team_id: None,
             persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/tests.rs
index c453b09a9d..5e8cea52e6 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/snapshot/tests.rs
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ fn make_definition(slug: &str) -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/update/name_propagation_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/update/name_propagation_tests.rs
index c60215ae4d..72bdca7de9 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/update/name_propagation_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/personas/update/name_propagation_tests.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ fn agent(persona_id: &str, name: &str, display_name: Option<&str>) -> ManagedAge
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: Default::default(),
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot.rs
index 97cd11933d..8315f39a36 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot.rs
@@ -579,6 +579,7 @@ pub async fn confirm_team_snapshot_import(
             runtime_pid: None,
             backend: crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Local,
             backend_agent_id: None,
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path: None,
             team_id: Some(imported_team.id.clone()),
             persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/tests.rs
index c9a6d8812a..a466228160 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/team_snapshot/tests.rs
@@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ fn team_export_with_instance_and_memory_level_uses_supplied_entries() {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: Some("t1".to_string()),
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 6f3f48f3a8..b00d61521b 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ mod util;
 pub mod webkit_rendering;
 use app_state::{build_app_state, resolve_persisted_identity, AppState};
 use builderlab::*;
+#[doc(hidden)]
+pub use commands::print_agent_access_owner_only_probe_if_requested;
 use commands::*;
 use deep_link::{
     acknowledge_pending_community_deep_link, acknowledge_pending_entity_deep_link,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/main.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/main.rs
index ebcc127683..3606272e59 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/main.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/main.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 #![cfg_attr(not(debug_assertions), windows_subsystem = "windows")]
 
 fn main() {
+    if buzz_lib::print_agent_access_owner_only_probe_if_requested() {
+        return;
+    }
+
     // Before anything else: WebKitGTK reads its rendering environment once at
     // process start, and this is the only point where the process is still
     // single threaded and no GTK object exists yet, which is what makes
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_events.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_events.rs
index 416b0c76c9..f70c714323 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_events.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_events.rs
@@ -193,6 +193,7 @@ mod tests {
                 config: serde_json::json!({ "api_key": "sk-provider-secret" }),
             },
             backend_agent_id: Some("remote-id".to_string()),
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path: Some("/path/to/binary".to_string()),
             team_id: None,
             persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_snapshot_envelope.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_snapshot_envelope.rs
index 8508c27073..751452aa7b 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_snapshot_envelope.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_snapshot_envelope.rs
@@ -389,6 +389,7 @@ mod tests {
             runtime_pid: None,
             backend: crate::managed_agents::types::BackendKind::Local,
             backend_agent_id: None,
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path: None,
             team_id: None,
             persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_snapshot_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_snapshot_tests.rs
index b4492418e5..fca15111d0 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_snapshot_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/agent_snapshot_tests.rs
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ fn minimal_record() -> ManagedAgentRecord {
             config: serde_json::json!({"api_key": "SENTINEL_BACKEND_SECRET"}),
         },
         backend_agent_id: Some("SENTINEL_BACKEND_AGENT_ID".to_string()), // MUST NOT appear
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: Some("/usr/bin/SENTINEL_PROVIDER_BINARY".to_string()), // MUST NOT appear
         persona_team_dir: Some(std::path::PathBuf::from("SENTINEL_TEAM_DIR")), // MUST NOT appear
         persona_name_in_team: Some("SENTINEL_NAME_IN_TEAM".to_string()),       // MUST NOT appear
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/config_bridge/reader_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/config_bridge/reader_tests.rs
index 62caffeb2e..0e7070724d 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/config_bridge/reader_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/config_bridge/reader_tests.rs
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ fn test_record() -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: crate::managed_agents::types::BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/discovery/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/discovery/tests.rs
index 6fe6a77521..e53c9114ab 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/discovery/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/discovery/tests.rs
@@ -255,6 +255,7 @@ fn record_with(
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: Default::default(),
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
@@ -316,8 +317,6 @@ fn record_agent_command_bare_record_defaults() {
     assert_eq!(record_agent_command(&record, &[]), default_agent_command());
 }
 
-// ── try_record_agent_command ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
 /// When the record carries a dangling (unknown) runtime id, `try_record_agent_command`
 /// must return `Err` containing "DANGLING_HARNESS_ID" — NEVER the buzz-agent default.
 /// This test would fail if the function silently fell back to `default_agent_command()`.
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/effective_config/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/effective_config/tests.rs
index c8e437809c..ee18e554c3 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/effective_config/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/effective_config/tests.rs
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ fn record(
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/global_config/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/global_config/tests.rs
index 553596e226..b2a56870c7 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/global_config/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/global_config/tests.rs
@@ -324,6 +324,7 @@ fn bare_record() -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/nest/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/nest/tests.rs
index cbef171f6f..67cdb5fbaf 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/nest/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/nest/tests.rs
@@ -474,6 +474,7 @@ fn make_agent(name: &str, persona_id: Option<&str>) -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: BackendKind::default(),
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/parallelism.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/parallelism.rs
index e1691575b1..a6a50540bb 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/parallelism.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/parallelism.rs
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ mod tests {
             runtime_pid: None,
             backend: Default::default(),
             backend_agent_id: None,
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path: None,
             team_id: None,
             persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events.rs
index de396f45c0..7a3ce35b03 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events.rs
@@ -247,7 +247,22 @@ pub async fn flush_active_pending_events(
     flush_pending_events_at(&scope.db_path, state, &scope.relay_url, &scope.owner_keys).await
 }
 
-async fn flush_pending_events_at(
+pub fn active_pending_event(
+    app: &tauri::AppHandle,
+    state: &AppState,
+    kind: u32,
+    d_tag: &str,
+) -> Result<bool, String> {
+    let scope = crate::managed_agents::retention::active_retention_scope(app, state)?;
+    let owner_pubkey = scope.owner_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let conn = crate::managed_agents::retention::open_retention_db(&scope.db_path)?;
+    Ok(
+        crate::managed_agents::retention::get_retained_event(&conn, kind, &owner_pubkey, d_tag)?
+            .is_some_and(|event| event.pending_sync),
+    )
+}
+
+pub(crate) async fn flush_pending_events_at(
     db_path: &std::path::Path,
     state: &AppState,
     relay_url: &str,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events/tests.rs
index 0580b12ce2..682fbef62f 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/persona_events/tests.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ pub(super) fn sample_record() -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/readiness.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/readiness.rs
index c072448ff1..c005510907 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/readiness.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/readiness.rs
@@ -1503,6 +1503,7 @@ mod tests {
             runtime_pid: None,
             backend: Default::default(),
             backend_agent_id: None,
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path: None,
             team_id: None,
             persona_team_dir: None,
@@ -1546,8 +1547,6 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
-    // ── provider-specific model fallback tests ────────────────────────────
-
     #[test]
     fn buzz_agent_databricks_v2_with_databricks_model_but_no_buzz_agent_model_is_ready() {
         // The baked buzz-releases env sets DATABRICKS_MODEL but not BUZZ_AGENT_MODEL.
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/retention.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/retention.rs
index 7e97fa1f56..e6231bbe42 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/retention.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/retention.rs
@@ -261,21 +261,32 @@ pub enum InboundOutcome {
 ///   pending row intact so the flush republishes and the relay resolves
 ///   last-writer-wins. (A re-received echo at equal time is also a no-op.)
 /// - Inbound older: skip — nothing to change.
-pub fn retain_inbound_event(
+///
+/// Decide whether an inbound event is newer than the retained coordinate without
+/// mutating retention. Callers that must update another durable store first use
+/// this preflight, apply that store change, and only then commit with
+/// [`retain_inbound_event`].
+pub fn inbound_event_outcome(
     conn: &Connection,
     event: &RetainedEvent,
 ) -> Result<InboundOutcome, String> {
     let existing = get_retained_event(conn, event.kind, &event.pubkey, &event.d_tag)?;
-
-    let apply = match &existing {
-        None => true,
-        Some(row) if event.created_at > row.created_at => true,
+    Ok(match existing {
+        None => InboundOutcome::Applied,
+        Some(row) if event.created_at > row.created_at => InboundOutcome::Applied,
         // Equal or older: skip. Equal time may collide with a pending local
         // edit, so we never clear its `pending_sync`; older is stale.
-        Some(_) => false,
-    };
+        Some(_) => InboundOutcome::Skipped,
+    })
+}
 
-    if !apply {
+pub fn retain_inbound_event(
+    conn: &Connection,
+    event: &RetainedEvent,
+) -> Result<InboundOutcome, String> {
+    let outcome = inbound_event_outcome(conn, event)?;
+
+    if outcome == InboundOutcome::Skipped {
         return Ok(InboundOutcome::Skipped);
     }
 
@@ -553,6 +564,37 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn inbound_preflight_does_not_consume_event_before_commit() {
+        let conn = test_db();
+        let mut inbound = sample_event();
+        inbound.pending_sync = false;
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            inbound_event_outcome(&conn, &inbound).unwrap(),
+            InboundOutcome::Applied
+        );
+        assert!(
+            get_retained_event(&conn, inbound.kind, &inbound.pubkey, &inbound.d_tag)
+                .unwrap()
+                .is_none()
+        );
+        // A failed store/runtime apply can replay the same head because the
+        // preflight did not advance retention.
+        assert_eq!(
+            inbound_event_outcome(&conn, &inbound).unwrap(),
+            InboundOutcome::Applied
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            retain_inbound_event(&conn, &inbound).unwrap(),
+            InboundOutcome::Applied
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            inbound_event_outcome(&conn, &inbound).unwrap(),
+            InboundOutcome::Skipped
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn retain_and_retrieve() {
         let conn = test_db();
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/runtime/test_fixtures.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/runtime/test_fixtures.rs
index 9836d983ed..792a275b05 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/runtime/test_fixtures.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/runtime/test_fixtures.rs
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ pub(super) fn fixture(
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: Default::default(),
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/spawn_snapshot/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/spawn_snapshot/tests.rs
index 1ceeee372f..20e02871eb 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/spawn_snapshot/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/spawn_snapshot/tests.rs
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ fn record() -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: Default::default(),
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         team_id: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/team_snapshot.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/team_snapshot.rs
index 96082acc76..5073d9c407 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/team_snapshot.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/team_snapshot.rs
@@ -283,6 +283,7 @@ mod tests {
             runtime_pid: None,
             backend: BackendKind::Local,
             backend_agent_id: None,
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path: None,
             team_id: None,
             persona_team_dir: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/teams_tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/teams_tests.rs
index 1ffa60eda9..d66e68979c 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/teams_tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/teams_tests.rs
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ fn managed_agent(name: &str) -> ManagedAgentRecord {
         runtime_pid: None,
         backend: crate::managed_agents::BackendKind::Local,
         backend_agent_id: None,
+        provider_policy_pending: false,
         provider_binary_path: None,
         persona_team_dir: None,
         persona_name_in_team: None,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/types.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/types.rs
index e5be105fed..3b0641cb67 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/types.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/types.rs
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ impl AgentDefinition {
             runtime_pid: None,
             backend: BackendKind::default(),
             backend_agent_id: None,
+            provider_policy_pending: false,
             provider_binary_path: None,
             team_id: None,
             persona_team_dir: None,
@@ -196,6 +197,8 @@ impl ManagedAgentRecord {
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct RelayAgentInfo {
     pub pubkey: String,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub owner_pubkey: Option<String>,
     pub name: String,
     pub agent_type: String,
     pub channels: Vec<String>,
@@ -245,13 +248,9 @@ pub struct ManagedAgentRecord {
     pub avatar_url: Option<String>,
     pub acp_command: String,
     pub agent_command: String,
-    /// Explicit per-instance harness pin. `None` (the default) means inherit
-    /// the harness from the linked persona's `runtime`, so persona harness
-    /// edits propagate on the next spawn — mirroring the opt-in `model`
-    /// override. `Some` is set only when the user deliberately picks a harness
-    /// that diverges from the persona. Resolved via `effective_agent_command`;
-    /// `agent_command` above is the create-time snapshot kept for avatar/legacy
-    /// derivations and is not authoritative for spawn.
+    /// Explicit per-instance harness pin; `None` inherits the persona runtime.
+    /// The effective command is resolved at spawn; `agent_command` is a legacy
+    /// create-time snapshot.
     #[serde(default)]
     pub agent_command_override: Option<String>,
     pub agent_args: Vec<String>,
@@ -321,6 +320,8 @@ pub struct ManagedAgentRecord {
     #[serde(default)]
     pub backend_agent_id: Option<String>,
     #[serde(default)]
+    pub provider_policy_pending: bool,
+    #[serde(default)]
     pub provider_binary_path: Option<String>,
     /// Installed team directory path (absolute). Set when agent was created from a team persona.
     #[serde(
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/types/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/types/tests.rs
index 1db7b9b524..0ae584e4ac 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/types/tests.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/managed_agents/types/tests.rs
@@ -442,6 +442,21 @@ fn managed_agent_record_without_key_deserializes_empty() {
     .expect("keyring-backed record without inline key should deserialize");
 
     assert_eq!(record.private_key_nsec, "");
+    assert!(
+        !record.provider_policy_pending,
+        "pre-pending stores must deserialize as acknowledged"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn pending_provider_policy_round_trips() {
+    let mut record = sample_agent_record();
+    record.provider_policy_pending = true;
+
+    let json = serde_json::to_string(&record).expect("serialize pending policy");
+    let reloaded: ManagedAgentRecord = serde_json::from_str(&json).expect("reload pending policy");
+
+    assert!(reloaded.provider_policy_pending);
 }
 
 fn sample_agent_record() -> ManagedAgentRecord {
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert.rs
index ec4970e0c9..64c8df05a7 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert.rs
@@ -495,6 +495,15 @@ pub fn agents_from_events(events: &[Event]) -> Value {
     json!({ "agents": arr })
 }
 
+// ── kind:0 + kind:30177 managed-agent directory ────────────────────────────
+
+mod agent_directory;
+pub use agent_directory::{
+    managed_agent_pubkeys_from_events, member_agent_channel_ids_from_events,
+    relay_agents_from_directory_events, relay_agents_from_managed_agent_events,
+    verified_agent_owners_from_profiles,
+};
+
 // ── kind:13534 (relay membership list) ──────────────────────────────────────
 
 /// Convert a kind:13534 relay membership list to the relay members format.
@@ -578,434 +587,4 @@ fn days_to_ymd(days: i64) -> (i64, u32, u32) {
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
-mod tests {
-    use super::*;
-    use nostr::{EventBuilder, Keys, Kind, Tag};
-
-    /// Build a signed event for testing with the given kind, content, and tags.
-    fn ev(kind: u16, content: &str, tags: Vec<Vec<&str>>) -> Event {
-        let keys = Keys::generate();
-        let parsed: Vec<Tag> = tags
-            .into_iter()
-            .map(|t| Tag::parse(t).expect("parse tag"))
-            .collect();
-        EventBuilder::new(Kind::from_u16(kind), content)
-            .tags(parsed)
-            .sign_with_keys(&keys)
-            .expect("sign")
-    }
-
-    /// Build a kind:0 profile with a valid NIP-OA auth tag.
-    fn oa_profile_event(content: &str) -> (Event, String) {
-        let agent_keys = Keys::generate();
-        let owner_keys = Keys::generate();
-        let agent_pubkey = agent_keys.public_key();
-        let tag_json = buzz_sdk_pkg::nip_oa::compute_auth_tag(&owner_keys, &agent_pubkey, "")
-            .expect("compute auth tag");
-        let tag_values: Vec<String> = serde_json::from_str(&tag_json).expect("parse auth tag json");
-        let auth_tag = Tag::parse(tag_values).expect("parse auth tag");
-
-        let event = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, content)
-            .tags(vec![auth_tag])
-            .sign_with_keys(&agent_keys)
-            .expect("sign");
-        (event, owner_keys.public_key().to_hex())
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_info_minimal() {
-        let e = ev(
-            39000,
-            "",
-            vec![
-                vec!["d", "chan-uuid-1"],
-                vec!["name", "general"],
-                vec!["about", "main channel"],
-                vec!["t", "stream"],
-                vec!["public"],
-            ],
-        );
-        let info = channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(info.id, "chan-uuid-1");
-        assert_eq!(info.name, "general");
-        assert_eq!(info.description, "main channel");
-        assert_eq!(info.channel_type, "stream");
-        assert_eq!(info.visibility, "open");
-        assert_eq!(info.member_count, 0);
-        assert!(info.is_member);
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_info_private_when_visibility_tag_present() {
-        let e = ev(
-            39000,
-            "",
-            vec![
-                vec!["d", "u"],
-                vec!["name", "n"],
-                vec!["t", "forum"],
-                vec!["visibility", "private"],
-                vec!["ttl", "86400"],
-            ],
-        );
-        let info = channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(info.visibility, "private");
-        assert_eq!(info.channel_type, "forum");
-        assert_eq!(info.ttl_seconds, Some(86400));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_info_open_when_neither_public_nor_private() {
-        // Neither tag present → open (matches NIP-29 default).
-        let e = ev(
-            39000,
-            "",
-            vec![vec!["d", "u"], vec!["name", "n"], vec!["t", "forum"]],
-        );
-        let info = channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(info.visibility, "open");
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_info_dm_inferred_from_hidden_tag() {
-        // Fallback: relays without ["t", "dm"] still emit ["hidden"] for DMs.
-        let e = ev(
-            39000,
-            "",
-            vec![vec!["d", "u"], vec!["name", "n"], vec!["hidden"]],
-        );
-        let info = channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(info.channel_type, "dm");
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_info_merges_summary() {
-        let chan = ev(39000, "", vec![vec!["d", "u"], vec!["name", "n"]]);
-        let summary = ev(
-            40901,
-            r#"{"member_count": 7, "last_message_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"}"#,
-            vec![vec!["d", "u"]],
-        );
-        let info = channel_info_from_event(&chan, Some(&summary), None).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(info.member_count, 7);
-        assert_eq!(
-            info.last_message_at.as_deref(),
-            Some("2026-01-01T00:00:00Z")
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_info_missing_d_errors() {
-        let e = ev(39000, "", vec![vec!["name", "n"]]);
-        assert!(channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).is_err());
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_detail_basic() {
-        let e = ev(
-            39000,
-            "",
-            vec![
-                vec!["d", "uuid"],
-                vec!["name", "n"],
-                vec!["about", "desc"],
-                vec!["topic", "tt"],
-                vec!["purpose", "pp"],
-                vec!["t", "dm"],
-                vec!["visibility", "private"],
-                vec!["ttl", "86400"],
-                vec!["ttl_deadline", "2026-06-11T00:00:00Z"],
-            ],
-        );
-        let d = channel_detail_from_event(&e).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(d.id, "uuid");
-        assert_eq!(d.topic.as_deref(), Some("tt"));
-        assert_eq!(d.purpose.as_deref(), Some("pp"));
-        assert_eq!(d.channel_type, "dm");
-        assert_eq!(d.visibility, "private");
-        assert_eq!(d.ttl_seconds, Some(86400));
-        assert_eq!(d.ttl_deadline.as_deref(), Some("2026-06-11T00:00:00Z"));
-        assert!(d.created_at.ends_with("Z"));
-        assert_eq!(d.created_by, e.pubkey.to_hex());
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_members_extracts_p_tags() {
-        let pk1 = "a".repeat(64);
-        let pk2 = "b".repeat(64);
-        let e = ev(
-            39002,
-            "",
-            vec![
-                vec!["d", "uuid"],
-                vec!["p", &pk1, "", "admin"],
-                vec!["p", &pk2],
-                // Duplicate must be deduped.
-                vec!["p", &pk1, "wss://x", "owner"],
-            ],
-        );
-        let r = channel_members_from_event(&e).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(r.members.len(), 2);
-        assert_eq!(r.members[0].pubkey, pk1);
-        assert_eq!(r.members[0].role, "admin");
-        assert!(r.members[0].joined_at.is_none());
-        assert_eq!(r.members[1].role, "member"); // default
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn channel_members_missing_d_errors() {
-        let e = ev(39002, "", vec![]);
-        assert!(channel_members_from_event(&e).is_err());
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn profile_info_parses_content() {
-        let e = ev(
-            0,
-            r#"{"name":"alice","display_name":"Alice","picture":"http://x/a.png","about":"hi","nip05":"alice@x"}"#,
-            vec![],
-        );
-        let p = profile_info_from_event(&e).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(p.display_name.as_deref(), Some("Alice"));
-        assert_eq!(p.avatar_url.as_deref(), Some("http://x/a.png"));
-        assert_eq!(p.about.as_deref(), Some("hi"));
-        assert_eq!(p.nip05_handle.as_deref(), Some("alice@x"));
-        assert_eq!(p.pubkey, e.pubkey.to_hex());
-        assert!(p.owner_pubkey.is_none());
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn profile_info_extracts_valid_nip_oa_owner() {
-        let (event, owner_pubkey) = oa_profile_event(r#"{"display_name":"Mira"}"#);
-        let p = profile_info_from_event(&event).unwrap();
-
-        assert_eq!(p.owner_pubkey.as_deref(), Some(owner_pubkey.as_str()));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn profile_info_falls_back_to_name() {
-        let e = ev(0, r#"{"name":"bob"}"#, vec![]);
-        let p = profile_info_from_event(&e).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(p.display_name.as_deref(), Some("bob"));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn profile_info_invalid_json_errors() {
-        let e = ev(0, "not-json", vec![]);
-        assert!(profile_info_from_event(&e).is_err());
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn users_batch_keeps_latest_and_reports_missing() {
-        let e1 = ev(0, r#"{"name":"old"}"#, vec![]);
-        // Same author, newer event with display_name.
-        let keys = Keys::generate();
-        let e_old = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"name":"old"}"#)
-            .custom_created_at(nostr::Timestamp::from(1000))
-            .sign_with_keys(&keys)
-            .unwrap();
-        let e_new = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"display_name":"New"}"#)
-            .custom_created_at(nostr::Timestamp::from(2000))
-            .sign_with_keys(&keys)
-            .unwrap();
-        let pk = keys.public_key().to_hex();
-        let other_pk = e1.pubkey.to_hex();
-
-        let missing_pk = "f".repeat(64);
-        let resp = users_batch_from_events(
-            &[e1, e_old, e_new],
-            &[pk.clone(), other_pk.clone(), missing_pk.clone()],
-        );
-        assert_eq!(resp.profiles.len(), 2);
-        assert_eq!(resp.profiles[&pk].display_name.as_deref(), Some("New"));
-        assert_eq!(resp.missing, vec![missing_pk]);
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn users_batch_marks_valid_nip_oa_profiles_as_agents() {
-        let (agent, owner_pubkey) = oa_profile_event(r#"{"display_name":"Mira"}"#);
-        let pubkey = agent.pubkey.to_hex();
-        let resp =
-            users_batch_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&agent), std::slice::from_ref(&pubkey));
-
-        assert!(resp.profiles[&pubkey].is_agent);
-        assert_eq!(
-            resp.profiles[&pubkey].owner_pubkey.as_deref(),
-            Some(owner_pubkey.as_str())
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn user_notes_builds_cursor_from_last() {
-        let e1 = ev(1, "first", vec![]);
-        let e2 = ev(1, "second", vec![]);
-        let r = user_notes_from_events(&[e1, e2]);
-        assert_eq!(r.notes.len(), 2);
-        assert_eq!(r.notes[0].content, "first");
-        let cursor = r.next_cursor.expect("cursor");
-        assert_eq!(cursor.before_id, r.notes[1].id);
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn user_notes_empty_has_no_cursor() {
-        let r = user_notes_from_events(&[]);
-        assert!(r.notes.is_empty());
-        assert!(r.next_cursor.is_none());
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn contact_list_preserves_tags_and_content() {
-        let pk = "1".repeat(64);
-        let e = ev(3, "rel-json", vec![vec!["p", &pk]]);
-        let r = contact_list_from_event(&e).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(r.content, "rel-json");
-        assert_eq!(r.tags.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(r.tags[0], vec!["p".to_string(), pk]);
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn search_response_assigns_descending_scores() {
-        let e1 = ev(1, "one", vec![vec!["h", "chan"]]);
-        let e2 = ev(1, "two", vec![]);
-        let r = search_response_from_events(&[e1, e2]);
-        assert_eq!(r.found, 2);
-        assert!(r.hits[0].score > r.hits[1].score);
-        assert_eq!(r.hits[0].channel_id.as_deref(), Some("chan"));
-        assert!(r.hits[1].channel_id.is_none());
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn search_response_single_hit_full_score() {
-        let e = ev(1, "only", vec![]);
-        let r = search_response_from_events(&[e]);
-        assert_eq!(r.hits.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(r.hits[0].score, 1.0);
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn agents_overwrites_pubkey_from_event_author() {
-        let e = ev(10100, r#"{"pubkey":"forged","name":"agent-1"}"#, vec![]);
-        let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
-        let arr = v.get("agents").and_then(Value::as_array).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(arr.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(
-            arr[0].get("pubkey").and_then(Value::as_str).unwrap(),
-            e.pubkey.to_hex()
-        );
-        assert_eq!(arr[0].get("name").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("agent-1"));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn agents_handles_invalid_content() {
-        let e = ev(10100, "not-json", vec![]);
-        let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
-        let arr = v.get("agents").and_then(Value::as_array).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(
-            arr[0].get("pubkey").and_then(Value::as_str).unwrap(),
-            e.pubkey.to_hex()
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn agents_default_sparse_agent_profiles_for_directory_parse() {
-        let e = ev(
-            10100,
-            r#"{"channel_add_policy":"owner-only","display_name":"Scout"}"#,
-            vec![],
-        );
-        let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
-        let agents = v.get("agents").cloned().unwrap();
-        let parsed: Vec<crate::managed_agents::RelayAgentInfo> =
-            serde_json::from_value(agents).unwrap();
-
-        assert_eq!(parsed.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(parsed[0].pubkey, e.pubkey.to_hex());
-        assert_eq!(parsed[0].name, "Scout");
-        assert_eq!(parsed[0].agent_type, "agent");
-        assert_eq!(parsed[0].channels, Vec::<String>::new());
-        assert_eq!(parsed[0].capabilities, Vec::<String>::new());
-        assert_eq!(parsed[0].status, "offline");
-        assert_eq!(parsed[0].respond_to, None);
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn agents_preserves_public_respond_to_mode_for_directory_parse() {
-        let e = ev(10100, r#"{"name":"Scout","respond_to":"anyone"}"#, vec![]);
-        let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
-        let agents = v.get("agents").cloned().unwrap();
-        let parsed: Vec<crate::managed_agents::RelayAgentInfo> =
-            serde_json::from_value(agents).unwrap();
-
-        assert_eq!(parsed.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(
-            parsed[0].respond_to,
-            Some(crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Anyone)
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn agents_preserves_allowlist_metadata_for_directory_parse() {
-        let e = ev(
-            10100,
-            r#"{"name":"Scout","respond_to":"allowlist","respond_to_allowlist":["aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"]}"#,
-            vec![],
-        );
-        let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
-        let agents = v.get("agents").cloned().unwrap();
-        let parsed: Vec<crate::managed_agents::RelayAgentInfo> =
-            serde_json::from_value(agents).unwrap();
-
-        assert_eq!(parsed.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(
-            parsed[0].respond_to,
-            Some(crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Allowlist)
-        );
-        assert_eq!(parsed[0].respond_to_allowlist, vec!["a".repeat(64)]);
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn relay_members_dedupes_and_defaults_role() {
-        let pk1 = "a".repeat(64);
-        let pk2 = "b".repeat(64);
-        // Current relay format: ["member", pubkey, role]
-        let e = ev(
-            13534,
-            "",
-            vec![
-                vec!["member", &pk1, "owner"],
-                vec!["member", &pk2],
-                vec!["member", &pk1, "moderator"], // dupe — ignored
-            ],
-        );
-        let v = relay_members_from_event(&e);
-        let arr = v.get("members").and_then(Value::as_array).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(arr.len(), 2);
-        assert_eq!(arr[0].get("role").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("owner"));
-        assert_eq!(arr[1].get("role").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("member"));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn relay_members_fallback_p_tags() {
-        let pk1 = "a".repeat(64);
-        let pk2 = "b".repeat(64);
-        // Legacy/fallback format: ["p", pubkey, relay_url?, role?]
-        let e = ev(
-            13534,
-            "",
-            vec![vec!["p", &pk1, "", "admin"], vec!["p", &pk2]],
-        );
-        let v = relay_members_from_event(&e);
-        let arr = v.get("members").and_then(Value::as_array).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(arr.len(), 2);
-        assert_eq!(arr[0].get("role").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("admin"));
-        assert_eq!(arr[1].get("role").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("member"));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn timestamp_to_iso_known_value() {
-        // 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z = 1609459200
-        assert_eq!(timestamp_to_iso(1_609_459_200), "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z");
-        // Epoch
-        assert_eq!(timestamp_to_iso(0), "1970-01-01T00:00:00Z");
-    }
-}
+mod tests;
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert/agent_directory.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert/agent_directory.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..28604de5e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert/agent_directory.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+//! Conversion and verification for relay-discovered agents.
+
+use std::collections::{BTreeSet, HashMap};
+
+use nostr::Event;
+
+use crate::managed_agents::{agent_events::managed_agent_content_from_event, RelayAgentInfo};
+
+use super::{agents_from_events, first_tag_value, profile_valid_oa_owner_pubkey, tags_named};
+
+/// Collect valid agent pubkeys from kind:30177 `d` tags for follow-up relay
+/// queries. Malformed tags are ignored so one hostile event cannot invalidate
+/// the whole directory request.
+pub fn managed_agent_pubkeys_from_events(events: &[Event]) -> std::collections::HashSet<String> {
+    events
+        .iter()
+        .filter_map(|event| first_tag_value(event, "d"))
+        .filter_map(|pubkey| nostr::PublicKey::from_hex(pubkey).ok())
+        .map(|pubkey| pubkey.to_hex())
+        .collect()
+}
+
+fn event_is_newer(candidate: &Event, previous: &Event) -> bool {
+    candidate.created_at > previous.created_at
+        || (candidate.created_at == previous.created_at && candidate.id < previous.id)
+}
+
+fn relay_agents_from_legacy_events(events: &[Event]) -> Vec<RelayAgentInfo> {
+    let mut latest: HashMap<String, &Event> = HashMap::new();
+    for event in events {
+        let pubkey = event.pubkey.to_hex();
+        if latest
+            .get(&pubkey)
+            .is_none_or(|previous| event_is_newer(event, previous))
+        {
+            latest.insert(pubkey, event);
+        }
+    }
+
+    latest
+        .into_values()
+        .filter_map(|event| {
+            let value = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(event));
+            let mut agent: RelayAgentInfo =
+                serde_json::from_value(value.get("agents")?.as_array()?.first()?.clone()).ok()?;
+            // Legacy directory entries are not authenticated managed-policy
+            // coordinates, so they must not drive the live 30177 watcher.
+            agent.owner_pubkey = None;
+            // Channel membership is authoritative only in relay-signed kind:39002.
+            agent.channel_ids.clear();
+            Some(agent)
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+/// Merge self-authored kind:10100 runtime profiles with verified Desktop-managed
+/// policy records. A verified managed coordinate reserves the agent identity even
+/// when its current policy is malformed, so stale legacy permissions cannot win.
+pub fn relay_agents_from_directory_events(
+    directory_events: &[Event],
+    managed_agent_events: &[Event],
+    profile_events: &[Event],
+) -> Vec<RelayAgentInfo> {
+    let verified_policies = latest_verified_managed_policies(managed_agent_events, profile_events);
+    let mut agents: HashMap<String, RelayAgentInfo> =
+        relay_agents_from_legacy_events(directory_events)
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|agent| (agent.pubkey.clone(), agent))
+            .collect();
+    for agent_pubkey in verified_policies.keys() {
+        agents.remove(agent_pubkey);
+    }
+    for (agent_pubkey, event) in verified_policies {
+        if let Some(agent) = relay_agent_from_managed_policy(&agent_pubkey, event) {
+            agents.insert(agent_pubkey, agent);
+        }
+    }
+
+    let mut agents: Vec<_> = agents.into_values().collect();
+    agents.sort_by(|left, right| left.name.cmp(&right.name));
+    agents
+}
+
+/// Resolve each agent's owner from its latest signed NIP-OA profile.
+pub fn verified_agent_owners_from_profiles(events: &[Event]) -> HashMap<String, String> {
+    let mut latest_profiles: HashMap<String, &Event> = HashMap::new();
+    for profile in events {
+        let agent_pubkey = profile.pubkey.to_hex();
+        if latest_profiles
+            .get(&agent_pubkey)
+            .is_none_or(|previous| event_is_newer(profile, previous))
+        {
+            latest_profiles.insert(agent_pubkey, profile);
+        }
+    }
+    latest_profiles
+        .into_iter()
+        .filter_map(|(agent_pubkey, profile)| {
+            profile_valid_oa_owner_pubkey(profile).map(|owner| (agent_pubkey, owner))
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+fn latest_verified_managed_policies<'a>(
+    managed_agent_events: &'a [Event],
+    profile_events: &[Event],
+) -> HashMap<String, &'a Event> {
+    let verified_owners = verified_agent_owners_from_profiles(profile_events);
+
+    let mut latest: HashMap<String, &'a Event> = HashMap::new();
+    for event in managed_agent_events {
+        let Some(agent_pubkey) = first_tag_value(event, "d") else {
+            continue;
+        };
+        if verified_owners.get(agent_pubkey) != Some(&event.pubkey.to_hex()) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        if latest
+            .get(agent_pubkey)
+            .is_none_or(|previous| event_is_newer(event, previous))
+        {
+            latest.insert(agent_pubkey.to_string(), event);
+        }
+    }
+    latest
+}
+
+fn relay_agent_from_managed_policy(agent_pubkey: &str, event: &Event) -> Option<RelayAgentInfo> {
+    let content = managed_agent_content_from_event(event).ok()?;
+    Some(RelayAgentInfo {
+        pubkey: agent_pubkey.to_string(),
+        owner_pubkey: Some(event.pubkey.to_hex()),
+        name: content.name,
+        agent_type: "agent".to_string(),
+        channels: Vec::new(),
+        channel_ids: Vec::new(),
+        capabilities: Vec::new(),
+        status: "offline".to_string(),
+        respond_to: Some(content.respond_to),
+        respond_to_allowlist: content.respond_to_allowlist,
+    })
+}
+
+/// Build the relay agent directory from owner-authenticated managed-agent
+/// records. A kind:30177 event is accepted only when its author matches the
+/// owner cryptographically declared by the agent's latest kind:0 NIP-OA tag.
+pub fn relay_agents_from_managed_agent_events(
+    managed_agent_events: &[Event],
+    profile_events: &[Event],
+) -> Vec<RelayAgentInfo> {
+    let mut agents: Vec<_> = latest_verified_managed_policies(managed_agent_events, profile_events)
+        .into_iter()
+        .filter_map(|(agent_pubkey, event)| relay_agent_from_managed_policy(&agent_pubkey, event))
+        .collect();
+    agents.sort_by(|left, right| left.name.cmp(&right.name));
+    agents
+}
+
+/// Build a pubkey-to-channel-id candidate map from relay-signed membership
+/// events. Only p-tags explicitly marked with the `bot` role are agents.
+pub fn member_agent_channel_ids_from_events(
+    events: &[Event],
+    relay_pubkey: &str,
+) -> HashMap<String, Vec<String>> {
+    let mut channel_ids: HashMap<String, BTreeSet<String>> = HashMap::new();
+    for event in events {
+        if !event.pubkey.to_hex().eq_ignore_ascii_case(relay_pubkey) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let Some(channel_id) = first_tag_value(event, "d") else {
+            continue;
+        };
+        for tag in tags_named(event, "p") {
+            let (Some(pubkey), Some(role)) = (tag.get(1), tag.get(3)) else {
+                continue;
+            };
+            if role != "bot" || nostr::PublicKey::from_hex(pubkey).is_err() {
+                continue;
+            }
+            channel_ids
+                .entry(pubkey.clone())
+                .or_default()
+                .insert(channel_id.to_string());
+        }
+    }
+
+    channel_ids
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|(pubkey, ids)| (pubkey, ids.into_iter().collect()))
+        .collect()
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert/tests.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert/tests.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9401d19add
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/nostr_convert/tests.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,762 @@
+//! Tests for the Nostr conversion surface.
+
+use super::*;
+use nostr::{EventBuilder, Keys, Kind, Tag};
+
+/// Build a signed event for testing with the given kind, content, and tags.
+fn ev(kind: u16, content: &str, tags: Vec<Vec<&str>>) -> Event {
+    let keys = Keys::generate();
+    let parsed: Vec<Tag> = tags
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|t| Tag::parse(t).expect("parse tag"))
+        .collect();
+    EventBuilder::new(Kind::from_u16(kind), content)
+        .tags(parsed)
+        .sign_with_keys(&keys)
+        .expect("sign")
+}
+
+/// Build a kind:0 profile with a valid NIP-OA auth tag.
+fn oa_profile_event(content: &str) -> (Event, String) {
+    let agent_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let owner_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let agent_pubkey = agent_keys.public_key();
+    let tag_json = buzz_sdk_pkg::nip_oa::compute_auth_tag(&owner_keys, &agent_pubkey, "")
+        .expect("compute auth tag");
+    let tag_values: Vec<String> = serde_json::from_str(&tag_json).expect("parse auth tag json");
+    let auth_tag = Tag::parse(tag_values).expect("parse auth tag");
+
+    let event = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, content)
+        .tags(vec![auth_tag])
+        .sign_with_keys(&agent_keys)
+        .expect("sign");
+    (event, owner_keys.public_key().to_hex())
+}
+
+fn managed_agent_event(
+    owner_keys: &Keys,
+    agent_pubkey: &str,
+    name: &str,
+    respond_to: &str,
+    respond_to_allowlist: &[String],
+) -> Event {
+    let content = serde_json::json!({
+        "name": name,
+        "parallelism": 1,
+        "respond_to": respond_to,
+        "respond_to_allowlist": respond_to_allowlist,
+    })
+    .to_string();
+    EventBuilder::new(Kind::Custom(30177), content)
+        .tags([Tag::parse(["d", agent_pubkey]).expect("parse d tag")])
+        .sign_with_keys(owner_keys)
+        .expect("sign managed-agent event")
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_info_minimal() {
+    let e = ev(
+        39000,
+        "",
+        vec![
+            vec!["d", "chan-uuid-1"],
+            vec!["name", "general"],
+            vec!["about", "main channel"],
+            vec!["t", "stream"],
+            vec!["public"],
+        ],
+    );
+    let info = channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(info.id, "chan-uuid-1");
+    assert_eq!(info.name, "general");
+    assert_eq!(info.description, "main channel");
+    assert_eq!(info.channel_type, "stream");
+    assert_eq!(info.visibility, "open");
+    assert_eq!(info.member_count, 0);
+    assert!(info.is_member);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_info_private_when_visibility_tag_present() {
+    let e = ev(
+        39000,
+        "",
+        vec![
+            vec!["d", "u"],
+            vec!["name", "n"],
+            vec!["t", "forum"],
+            vec!["visibility", "private"],
+            vec!["ttl", "86400"],
+        ],
+    );
+    let info = channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(info.visibility, "private");
+    assert_eq!(info.channel_type, "forum");
+    assert_eq!(info.ttl_seconds, Some(86400));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_info_open_when_neither_public_nor_private() {
+    // Neither tag present → open (matches NIP-29 default).
+    let e = ev(
+        39000,
+        "",
+        vec![vec!["d", "u"], vec!["name", "n"], vec!["t", "forum"]],
+    );
+    let info = channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(info.visibility, "open");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_info_dm_inferred_from_hidden_tag() {
+    // Fallback: relays without ["t", "dm"] still emit ["hidden"] for DMs.
+    let e = ev(
+        39000,
+        "",
+        vec![vec!["d", "u"], vec!["name", "n"], vec!["hidden"]],
+    );
+    let info = channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(info.channel_type, "dm");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_info_merges_summary() {
+    let chan = ev(39000, "", vec![vec!["d", "u"], vec!["name", "n"]]);
+    let summary = ev(
+        40901,
+        r#"{"member_count": 7, "last_message_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"}"#,
+        vec![vec!["d", "u"]],
+    );
+    let info = channel_info_from_event(&chan, Some(&summary), None).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(info.member_count, 7);
+    assert_eq!(
+        info.last_message_at.as_deref(),
+        Some("2026-01-01T00:00:00Z")
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_info_missing_d_errors() {
+    let e = ev(39000, "", vec![vec!["name", "n"]]);
+    assert!(channel_info_from_event(&e, None, None).is_err());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_detail_basic() {
+    let e = ev(
+        39000,
+        "",
+        vec![
+            vec!["d", "uuid"],
+            vec!["name", "n"],
+            vec!["about", "desc"],
+            vec!["topic", "tt"],
+            vec!["purpose", "pp"],
+            vec!["t", "dm"],
+            vec!["visibility", "private"],
+            vec!["ttl", "86400"],
+            vec!["ttl_deadline", "2026-06-11T00:00:00Z"],
+        ],
+    );
+    let d = channel_detail_from_event(&e).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(d.id, "uuid");
+    assert_eq!(d.topic.as_deref(), Some("tt"));
+    assert_eq!(d.purpose.as_deref(), Some("pp"));
+    assert_eq!(d.channel_type, "dm");
+    assert_eq!(d.visibility, "private");
+    assert_eq!(d.ttl_seconds, Some(86400));
+    assert_eq!(d.ttl_deadline.as_deref(), Some("2026-06-11T00:00:00Z"));
+    assert!(d.created_at.ends_with("Z"));
+    assert_eq!(d.created_by, e.pubkey.to_hex());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_members_extracts_p_tags() {
+    let pk1 = "a".repeat(64);
+    let pk2 = "b".repeat(64);
+    let e = ev(
+        39002,
+        "",
+        vec![
+            vec!["d", "uuid"],
+            vec!["p", &pk1, "", "admin"],
+            vec!["p", &pk2],
+            // Duplicate must be deduped.
+            vec!["p", &pk1, "wss://x", "owner"],
+        ],
+    );
+    let r = channel_members_from_event(&e).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(r.members.len(), 2);
+    assert_eq!(r.members[0].pubkey, pk1);
+    assert_eq!(r.members[0].role, "admin");
+    assert!(r.members[0].joined_at.is_none());
+    assert_eq!(r.members[1].role, "member"); // default
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn channel_members_missing_d_errors() {
+    let e = ev(39002, "", vec![]);
+    assert!(channel_members_from_event(&e).is_err());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn profile_info_parses_content() {
+    let e = ev(
+        0,
+        r#"{"name":"alice","display_name":"Alice","picture":"http://x/a.png","about":"hi","nip05":"alice@x"}"#,
+        vec![],
+    );
+    let p = profile_info_from_event(&e).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(p.display_name.as_deref(), Some("Alice"));
+    assert_eq!(p.avatar_url.as_deref(), Some("http://x/a.png"));
+    assert_eq!(p.about.as_deref(), Some("hi"));
+    assert_eq!(p.nip05_handle.as_deref(), Some("alice@x"));
+    assert_eq!(p.pubkey, e.pubkey.to_hex());
+    assert!(p.owner_pubkey.is_none());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn profile_info_extracts_valid_nip_oa_owner() {
+    let (event, owner_pubkey) = oa_profile_event(r#"{"display_name":"Mira"}"#);
+    let p = profile_info_from_event(&event).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(p.owner_pubkey.as_deref(), Some(owner_pubkey.as_str()));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn profile_info_falls_back_to_name() {
+    let e = ev(0, r#"{"name":"bob"}"#, vec![]);
+    let p = profile_info_from_event(&e).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(p.display_name.as_deref(), Some("bob"));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn profile_info_invalid_json_errors() {
+    let e = ev(0, "not-json", vec![]);
+    assert!(profile_info_from_event(&e).is_err());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn users_batch_keeps_latest_and_reports_missing() {
+    let e1 = ev(0, r#"{"name":"old"}"#, vec![]);
+    // Same author, newer event with display_name.
+    let keys = Keys::generate();
+    let e_old = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"name":"old"}"#)
+        .custom_created_at(nostr::Timestamp::from(1000))
+        .sign_with_keys(&keys)
+        .unwrap();
+    let e_new = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"display_name":"New"}"#)
+        .custom_created_at(nostr::Timestamp::from(2000))
+        .sign_with_keys(&keys)
+        .unwrap();
+    let pk = keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let other_pk = e1.pubkey.to_hex();
+
+    let missing_pk = "f".repeat(64);
+    let resp = users_batch_from_events(
+        &[e1, e_old, e_new],
+        &[pk.clone(), other_pk.clone(), missing_pk.clone()],
+    );
+    assert_eq!(resp.profiles.len(), 2);
+    assert_eq!(resp.profiles[&pk].display_name.as_deref(), Some("New"));
+    assert_eq!(resp.missing, vec![missing_pk]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn users_batch_marks_valid_nip_oa_profiles_as_agents() {
+    let (agent, owner_pubkey) = oa_profile_event(r#"{"display_name":"Mira"}"#);
+    let pubkey = agent.pubkey.to_hex();
+    let resp = users_batch_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&agent), std::slice::from_ref(&pubkey));
+
+    assert!(resp.profiles[&pubkey].is_agent);
+    assert_eq!(
+        resp.profiles[&pubkey].owner_pubkey.as_deref(),
+        Some(owner_pubkey.as_str())
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn user_notes_builds_cursor_from_last() {
+    let e1 = ev(1, "first", vec![]);
+    let e2 = ev(1, "second", vec![]);
+    let r = user_notes_from_events(&[e1, e2]);
+    assert_eq!(r.notes.len(), 2);
+    assert_eq!(r.notes[0].content, "first");
+    let cursor = r.next_cursor.expect("cursor");
+    assert_eq!(cursor.before_id, r.notes[1].id);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn user_notes_empty_has_no_cursor() {
+    let r = user_notes_from_events(&[]);
+    assert!(r.notes.is_empty());
+    assert!(r.next_cursor.is_none());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn contact_list_preserves_tags_and_content() {
+    let pk = "1".repeat(64);
+    let e = ev(3, "rel-json", vec![vec!["p", &pk]]);
+    let r = contact_list_from_event(&e).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(r.content, "rel-json");
+    assert_eq!(r.tags.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(r.tags[0], vec!["p".to_string(), pk]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn search_response_assigns_descending_scores() {
+    let e1 = ev(1, "one", vec![vec!["h", "chan"]]);
+    let e2 = ev(1, "two", vec![]);
+    let r = search_response_from_events(&[e1, e2]);
+    assert_eq!(r.found, 2);
+    assert!(r.hits[0].score > r.hits[1].score);
+    assert_eq!(r.hits[0].channel_id.as_deref(), Some("chan"));
+    assert!(r.hits[1].channel_id.is_none());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn search_response_single_hit_full_score() {
+    let e = ev(1, "only", vec![]);
+    let r = search_response_from_events(&[e]);
+    assert_eq!(r.hits.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(r.hits[0].score, 1.0);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn agents_overwrites_pubkey_from_event_author() {
+    let e = ev(10100, r#"{"pubkey":"forged","name":"agent-1"}"#, vec![]);
+    let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
+    let arr = v.get("agents").and_then(Value::as_array).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(arr.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(
+        arr[0].get("pubkey").and_then(Value::as_str).unwrap(),
+        e.pubkey.to_hex()
+    );
+    assert_eq!(arr[0].get("name").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("agent-1"));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn agents_handles_invalid_content() {
+    let e = ev(10100, "not-json", vec![]);
+    let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
+    let arr = v.get("agents").and_then(Value::as_array).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        arr[0].get("pubkey").and_then(Value::as_str).unwrap(),
+        e.pubkey.to_hex()
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn agents_default_sparse_agent_profiles_for_directory_parse() {
+    let e = ev(
+        10100,
+        r#"{"channel_add_policy":"owner-only","display_name":"Scout"}"#,
+        vec![],
+    );
+    let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
+    let agents = v.get("agents").cloned().unwrap();
+    let parsed: Vec<crate::managed_agents::RelayAgentInfo> =
+        serde_json::from_value(agents).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(parsed.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(parsed[0].pubkey, e.pubkey.to_hex());
+    assert_eq!(parsed[0].name, "Scout");
+    assert_eq!(parsed[0].agent_type, "agent");
+    assert_eq!(parsed[0].channels, Vec::<String>::new());
+    assert_eq!(parsed[0].capabilities, Vec::<String>::new());
+    assert_eq!(parsed[0].status, "offline");
+    assert_eq!(parsed[0].respond_to, None);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn agents_preserves_public_respond_to_mode_for_directory_parse() {
+    let e = ev(10100, r#"{"name":"Scout","respond_to":"anyone"}"#, vec![]);
+    let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
+    let agents = v.get("agents").cloned().unwrap();
+    let parsed: Vec<crate::managed_agents::RelayAgentInfo> =
+        serde_json::from_value(agents).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(parsed.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(
+        parsed[0].respond_to,
+        Some(crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Anyone)
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn agents_preserves_allowlist_metadata_for_directory_parse() {
+    let e = ev(
+        10100,
+        r#"{"name":"Scout","respond_to":"allowlist","respond_to_allowlist":["aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"]}"#,
+        vec![],
+    );
+    let v = agents_from_events(std::slice::from_ref(&e));
+    let agents = v.get("agents").cloned().unwrap();
+    let parsed: Vec<crate::managed_agents::RelayAgentInfo> =
+        serde_json::from_value(agents).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(parsed.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(
+        parsed[0].respond_to,
+        Some(crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Allowlist)
+    );
+    assert_eq!(parsed[0].respond_to_allowlist, vec!["a".repeat(64)]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn managed_agent_directory_accepts_only_the_verified_owner_policy() {
+    let agent_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let owner_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let attacker_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let agent_pubkey = agent_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let viewer_pubkey = "a".repeat(64);
+
+    let auth_tag_json =
+        buzz_sdk_pkg::nip_oa::compute_auth_tag(&owner_keys, &agent_keys.public_key(), "")
+            .expect("compute auth tag");
+    let auth_tag_values: Vec<String> =
+        serde_json::from_str(&auth_tag_json).expect("parse auth tag json");
+    let profile = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"display_name":"Codex"}"#)
+        .tags([Tag::parse(auth_tag_values).expect("parse auth tag")])
+        .sign_with_keys(&agent_keys)
+        .expect("sign profile");
+    let authentic = managed_agent_event(
+        &owner_keys,
+        &agent_pubkey,
+        "Codex",
+        "allowlist",
+        std::slice::from_ref(&viewer_pubkey),
+    );
+    let forged = managed_agent_event(&attacker_keys, &agent_pubkey, "Fake Codex", "anyone", &[]);
+
+    let agents = relay_agents_from_managed_agent_events(
+        &[forged, authentic],
+        std::slice::from_ref(&profile),
+    );
+
+    assert_eq!(agents.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(agents[0].pubkey, agent_pubkey);
+    assert_eq!(agents[0].name, "Codex");
+    assert_eq!(
+        agents[0].respond_to,
+        Some(crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Allowlist)
+    );
+    assert_eq!(agents[0].respond_to_allowlist, vec![viewer_pubkey]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn managed_agent_directory_rejects_agents_without_verified_owner_profiles() {
+    let owner_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let unverified_agent_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let agent_pubkey = unverified_agent_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let profile = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"display_name":"Codex"}"#)
+        .sign_with_keys(&unverified_agent_keys)
+        .expect("sign profile");
+    let managed = managed_agent_event(&owner_keys, &agent_pubkey, "Codex", "anyone", &[]);
+
+    let agents = relay_agents_from_managed_agent_events(
+        std::slice::from_ref(&managed),
+        std::slice::from_ref(&profile),
+    );
+
+    assert!(agents.is_empty());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn managed_agent_directory_uses_the_latest_profile_head() {
+    let agent_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let owner_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let agent_pubkey = agent_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let auth_tag_json =
+        buzz_sdk_pkg::nip_oa::compute_auth_tag(&owner_keys, &agent_keys.public_key(), "")
+            .expect("compute auth tag");
+    let auth_tag_values: Vec<String> =
+        serde_json::from_str(&auth_tag_json).expect("parse auth tag json");
+    let verified_profile = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"display_name":"Codex"}"#)
+        .tags([Tag::parse(auth_tag_values).expect("parse auth tag")])
+        .custom_created_at(nostr::Timestamp::from(10))
+        .sign_with_keys(&agent_keys)
+        .expect("sign verified profile");
+    let revoked_profile = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"display_name":"Codex"}"#)
+        .custom_created_at(nostr::Timestamp::from(20))
+        .sign_with_keys(&agent_keys)
+        .expect("sign revoked profile");
+    let managed = managed_agent_event(&owner_keys, &agent_pubkey, "Codex", "anyone", &[]);
+
+    let agents = relay_agents_from_managed_agent_events(
+        std::slice::from_ref(&managed),
+        &[verified_profile, revoked_profile],
+    );
+
+    assert!(agents.is_empty());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn managed_agent_candidates_use_only_relay_signed_bot_membership() {
+    let relay_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let agent_pubkey = Keys::generate().public_key().to_hex();
+    let stranger = Keys::generate().public_key().to_hex();
+    let general = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Custom(39002), "")
+        .tags([
+            Tag::parse(["d", "family"]).expect("parse d tag"),
+            Tag::parse(["p", &agent_pubkey, "", "bot"]).expect("parse agent tag"),
+            Tag::parse(["p", &stranger, "", "member"]).expect("parse member tag"),
+        ])
+        .sign_with_keys(&relay_keys)
+        .expect("sign membership");
+    let forged = ev(
+        39002,
+        "",
+        vec![vec!["d", "forged"], vec!["p", &agent_pubkey, "", "bot"]],
+    );
+
+    let channel_ids =
+        member_agent_channel_ids_from_events(&[forged, general], &relay_keys.public_key().to_hex());
+
+    assert_eq!(
+        channel_ids.get(&agent_pubkey),
+        Some(&vec!["family".to_string()])
+    );
+    assert!(!channel_ids.contains_key(&stranger));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn managed_agent_directory_query_pubkeys_reject_malformed_d_tags() {
+    let valid_pubkey = Keys::generate().public_key().to_hex();
+    let valid = ev(30177, "{}", vec![vec!["d", &valid_pubkey]]);
+    let malformed = ev(30177, "{}", vec![vec!["d", "not-a-pubkey"]]);
+
+    let pubkeys = managed_agent_pubkeys_from_events(&[malformed, valid]);
+
+    assert_eq!(pubkeys, [valid_pubkey].into_iter().collect());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn relay_agent_directory_preserves_headless_profiles_and_prefers_verified_managed_policy() {
+    let owner_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let managed_agent_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let managed_pubkey = managed_agent_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let headless_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let headless_pubkey = headless_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let viewer_pubkey = "a".repeat(64);
+
+    let headless_profile = EventBuilder::new(
+        Kind::Custom(10100),
+        serde_json::json!({
+            "name": "Headless",
+            "respond_to": "anyone",
+            "channel_ids": ["untrusted-channel"]
+        })
+        .to_string(),
+    )
+    .sign_with_keys(&headless_keys)
+    .expect("sign headless directory profile");
+    let stale_managed_profile = EventBuilder::new(
+        Kind::Custom(10100),
+        serde_json::json!({
+            "name": "Stale Codex",
+            "respond_to": "anyone"
+        })
+        .to_string(),
+    )
+    .sign_with_keys(&managed_agent_keys)
+    .expect("sign managed directory profile");
+
+    let auth_tag_json =
+        buzz_sdk_pkg::nip_oa::compute_auth_tag(&owner_keys, &managed_agent_keys.public_key(), "")
+            .expect("compute auth tag");
+    let auth_tag_values: Vec<String> =
+        serde_json::from_str(&auth_tag_json).expect("parse auth tag json");
+    let managed_identity = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, r#"{"display_name":"Codex"}"#)
+        .tags([Tag::parse(auth_tag_values).expect("parse auth tag")])
+        .sign_with_keys(&managed_agent_keys)
+        .expect("sign managed profile");
+    let managed_policy = managed_agent_event(
+        &owner_keys,
+        &managed_pubkey,
+        "Codex",
+        "allowlist",
+        std::slice::from_ref(&viewer_pubkey),
+    );
+
+    let agents = relay_agents_from_directory_events(
+        &[headless_profile, stale_managed_profile],
+        std::slice::from_ref(&managed_policy),
+        std::slice::from_ref(&managed_identity),
+    );
+
+    assert_eq!(agents.len(), 2);
+    let headless = agents
+        .iter()
+        .find(|agent| agent.pubkey == headless_pubkey)
+        .expect("headless profile retained");
+    assert_eq!(
+        headless.respond_to,
+        Some(crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Anyone)
+    );
+    assert!(
+        headless.channel_ids.is_empty(),
+        "claimed channel ids are not trusted"
+    );
+
+    let managed = agents
+        .iter()
+        .find(|agent| agent.pubkey == managed_pubkey)
+        .expect("managed profile retained");
+    assert_eq!(managed.name, "Codex");
+    assert_eq!(
+        managed.respond_to,
+        Some(crate::managed_agents::RespondTo::Allowlist)
+    );
+    assert_eq!(managed.respond_to_allowlist, vec![viewer_pubkey]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn authenticated_malformed_managed_policy_does_not_fall_back_to_legacy_permissions() {
+    let owner_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let agent_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let agent_pubkey = agent_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let legacy = EventBuilder::new(
+        Kind::Custom(10100),
+        r#"{"name":"Stale","respond_to":"anyone"}"#,
+    )
+    .sign_with_keys(&agent_keys)
+    .expect("sign legacy profile");
+    let auth_tag_json =
+        buzz_sdk_pkg::nip_oa::compute_auth_tag(&owner_keys, &agent_keys.public_key(), "")
+            .expect("compute auth tag");
+    let auth_tag_values: Vec<String> =
+        serde_json::from_str(&auth_tag_json).expect("parse auth tag json");
+    let profile = EventBuilder::new(Kind::Metadata, "{}")
+        .tags([Tag::parse(auth_tag_values).expect("parse auth tag")])
+        .sign_with_keys(&agent_keys)
+        .expect("sign profile");
+    let malformed = EventBuilder::new(
+        Kind::Custom(30177),
+        r#"{"name":"Current","parallelism":1,"respond_to":"future-mode"}"#,
+    )
+    .tags([Tag::parse(["d", &agent_pubkey]).expect("parse d tag")])
+    .sign_with_keys(&owner_keys)
+    .expect("sign managed policy");
+
+    let agents = relay_agents_from_directory_events(&[legacy], &[malformed], &[profile]);
+
+    assert!(agents.is_empty());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn relay_agent_directory_resolves_equal_timestamp_heads_by_event_id() {
+    let keys = Keys::generate();
+    let timestamp = nostr::Timestamp::from(42);
+    let first = EventBuilder::new(
+        Kind::Custom(10100),
+        r#"{"name":"First","respond_to":"anyone"}"#,
+    )
+    .custom_created_at(timestamp)
+    .sign_with_keys(&keys)
+    .expect("sign first directory head");
+    let second = EventBuilder::new(
+        Kind::Custom(10100),
+        r#"{"name":"Second","respond_to":"anyone"}"#,
+    )
+    .custom_created_at(timestamp)
+    .sign_with_keys(&keys)
+    .expect("sign second directory head");
+    let expected_name = if first.id < second.id {
+        "First"
+    } else {
+        "Second"
+    };
+
+    let forward = relay_agents_from_directory_events(&[first.clone(), second.clone()], &[], &[]);
+    let reverse = relay_agents_from_directory_events(&[second, first], &[], &[]);
+
+    assert_eq!(forward.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(reverse.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(forward[0].name, expected_name);
+    assert_eq!(reverse[0].name, expected_name);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn forged_managed_policy_cannot_suppress_a_headless_directory_agent() {
+    let attacker_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let targeted_agent_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let targeted_pubkey = targeted_agent_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let headless_keys = Keys::generate();
+    let headless_pubkey = headless_keys.public_key().to_hex();
+    let targeted_profile = EventBuilder::new(
+        Kind::Custom(10100),
+        r#"{"name":"Targeted","respond_to":"anyone"}"#,
+    )
+    .sign_with_keys(&targeted_agent_keys)
+    .expect("sign targeted profile");
+    let headless = EventBuilder::new(
+        Kind::Custom(10100),
+        r#"{"name":"Headless","respond_to":"anyone"}"#,
+    )
+    .sign_with_keys(&headless_keys)
+    .expect("sign headless profile");
+    let forged_policy = managed_agent_event(
+        &attacker_keys,
+        &targeted_pubkey,
+        "Codex",
+        "allowlist",
+        &["a".repeat(64)],
+    );
+
+    let agents = relay_agents_from_directory_events(
+        &[targeted_profile, headless],
+        std::slice::from_ref(&forged_policy),
+        &[],
+    );
+
+    assert_eq!(agents.len(), 2);
+    assert!(agents.iter().any(|agent| agent.pubkey == targeted_pubkey));
+    assert!(agents.iter().any(|agent| agent.pubkey == headless_pubkey));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn relay_members_dedupes_and_defaults_role() {
+    let pk1 = "a".repeat(64);
+    let pk2 = "b".repeat(64);
+    // Current relay format: ["member", pubkey, role]
+    let e = ev(
+        13534,
+        "",
+        vec![
+            vec!["member", &pk1, "owner"],
+            vec!["member", &pk2],
+            vec!["member", &pk1, "moderator"], // dupe — ignored
+        ],
+    );
+    let v = relay_members_from_event(&e);
+    let arr = v.get("members").and_then(Value::as_array).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(arr.len(), 2);
+    assert_eq!(arr[0].get("role").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("owner"));
+    assert_eq!(arr[1].get("role").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("member"));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn relay_members_fallback_p_tags() {
+    let pk1 = "a".repeat(64);
+    let pk2 = "b".repeat(64);
+    // Legacy/fallback format: ["p", pubkey, relay_url?, role?]
+    let e = ev(
+        13534,
+        "",
+        vec![vec!["p", &pk1, "", "admin"], vec!["p", &pk2]],
+    );
+    let v = relay_members_from_event(&e);
+    let arr = v.get("members").and_then(Value::as_array).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(arr.len(), 2);
+    assert_eq!(arr[0].get("role").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("admin"));
+    assert_eq!(arr[1].get("role").and_then(Value::as_str), Some("member"));
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn timestamp_to_iso_known_value() {
+    // 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z = 1609459200
+    assert_eq!(timestamp_to_iso(1_609_459_200), "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z");
+    // Epoch
+    assert_eq!(timestamp_to_iso(0), "1970-01-01T00:00:00Z");
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/AGENTS.md b/desktop/src/features/agents/AGENTS.md
index 7accd54af6..53a39824c4 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/AGENTS.md
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/AGENTS.md
@@ -160,8 +160,12 @@ with a TypeScript lookup table or an id comparison in a component.
    computer, including files, accounts, and connected tools"; remote names "the
    server it runs on, including any accounts and tools available there" —
    deliberately *not* the owner's files, which aren't theirs to describe on a
-   host they don't own. **An unknown location falls back to the local wording —
-   never hedge with "computer or server".** A remote host requires an
+   host they don't own. **For a persona-linked deployed agent, the profile Edit
+   dialog seeds access from the exact clicked instance and saves access through
+   `update_managed_agent`; persona behavior remains the definition default, but
+   must never bypass the instance command's stop, persist, publish, and restart
+   boundary.** An unknown location falls back to the local wording — never hedge
+   with "computer or server". A remote host requires an
    installed `buzz-backend-*` provider, and without one `WhereToRunSection`
    never renders, so "server" would name a concept the owner has never been
    shown; when it *is* remote they picked that host from the selector
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/hooks.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/hooks.ts
index de3d2b9e83..0913582cab 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/hooks.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/hooks.ts
@@ -341,14 +341,10 @@ export function useRelayAgentsQuery(options?: { enabled?: boolean }) {
   return useQuery({
     queryKey: relayAgentsQueryKey,
     queryFn: listRelayAgents,
-    // Relay agent profiles (kind:10100) are near-static and the backing
-    // `list_relay_agents` command is an unfiltered relay query for the whole
-    // profile set — mounted on ~13 always-live surfaces (channel screen,
-    // members bar, mentions, sidebar, profile popovers), so a tight interval
-    // re-pulls the full set app-wide. This poll is also the ONLY refresh path:
-    // the `agents-data-changed` event fires only for local persona/team/managed
-    // reconcile (kinds PERSONA/TEAM/MANAGED_AGENT), never for kind:10100. So we
-    // keep polling but at a relaxed cadence and pause it while backgrounded.
+    // Relay agent discovery is scoped to the viewer's relay-signed channel
+    // memberships, then resolves exact agent/profile/policy coordinates in
+    // protocol-sized batches. Polling remains the only refresh path for remote
+    // changes, so keep it relaxed and pause while backgrounded.
     refetchInterval,
     enabled: options?.enabled,
     ...agentsFocusRefetchPolicy,
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent.test.mjs
index cdb47bccd3..8fbd7a3bfb 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent.test.mjs
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 
-import { pickProfileAgent } from "./pickProfileAgent.ts";
+import {
+  pickDirectProfileAgent,
+  pickProfileAgent,
+} from "./pickProfileAgent.ts";
 
 test("the shared profile target prefers the active persona instance", () => {
   const stopped = {
@@ -18,3 +21,57 @@ test("the shared profile target prefers the active persona instance", () => {
   assert.equal(pickProfileAgent([stopped, running]), running);
   assert.equal(pickProfileAgent([running, stopped]), running);
 });
+
+test("a direct-opened active instance is never redirected to a sibling", () => {
+  // "Alpha Sibling" sorts before "Tyler Agent"; without the direct guard an
+  // access edit on Tyler would target the sibling.
+  const sibling = {
+    name: "Alpha Sibling",
+    pubkey: "a".repeat(64),
+    status: "running",
+  };
+  const clicked = {
+    name: "Tyler Agent",
+    pubkey: "b".repeat(64),
+    status: "running",
+  };
+
+  assert.equal(pickDirectProfileAgent(clicked, [sibling, clicked]), clicked);
+});
+
+test("a direct-opened inactive instance redirects to the active sibling", () => {
+  const historical = {
+    name: "Earlier Parity Agent",
+    pubkey: "a".repeat(64),
+    status: "stopped",
+  };
+  const current = {
+    name: "Current Parity Agent",
+    pubkey: "b".repeat(64),
+    status: "running",
+  };
+
+  assert.equal(
+    pickDirectProfileAgent(historical, [historical, current]),
+    current,
+  );
+});
+
+test("a direct-opened inactive instance with no active sibling stays put", () => {
+  const clicked = {
+    name: "Only Instance",
+    pubkey: "a".repeat(64),
+    status: "stopped",
+  };
+  const otherStopped = {
+    name: "Another Stopped",
+    pubkey: "b".repeat(64),
+    status: "stopped",
+  };
+
+  assert.equal(
+    pickDirectProfileAgent(clicked, [clicked, otherStopped]),
+    clicked,
+  );
+  assert.equal(pickDirectProfileAgent(clicked, []), clicked);
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent.ts
index c845145495..cea746f10c 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent.ts
@@ -16,3 +16,23 @@ export function pickProfileAgent(agents: readonly ManagedAgent[]) {
     return left.name.localeCompare(right.name);
   })[0];
 }
+
+/**
+ * Resolve which instance a profile panel opened for `directAgent` should
+ * show, given every instance of the same persona.
+ *
+ * Access edits must target the exact instance the user clicked — resolving a
+ * running sidebar member to an alphabetically-earlier sibling would let a
+ * "tighten access" save widen the wrong agent. But when the clicked instance
+ * is inactive and the persona has an active instance elsewhere (an avatar on
+ * an old message from a retired instance), redirect to the active one so the
+ * panel matches the Agents library.
+ */
+export function pickDirectProfileAgent(
+  directAgent: ManagedAgent,
+  personaInstances: readonly ManagedAgent[],
+) {
+  if (isManagedAgentActive(directAgent)) return directAgent;
+  const canonical = pickProfileAgent(personaInstances);
+  return canonical && isManagedAgentActive(canonical) ? canonical : directAgent;
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/useAgentsDataRefresh.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/useAgentsDataRefresh.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7a3643a308
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/useAgentsDataRefresh.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test, { mock } from "node:test";
+
+import { relayClient } from "@/shared/api/relayClient";
+import { KIND_MANAGED_AGENT } from "@/shared/constants/kinds";
+import { startRelayAgentPolicyRefresh } from "./useAgentsDataRefresh.ts";
+
+const coordinates = [
+  { ownerPubkey: "owner-a", agentPubkey: "agent-a" },
+  { ownerPubkey: "owner-b", agentPubkey: "agent-b" },
+];
+
+function event(pubkey, dTag) {
+  return {
+    id: "id",
+    pubkey,
+    created_at: 1,
+    kind: KIND_MANAGED_AGENT,
+    tags: dTag ? [["d", dTag]] : [],
+    content: "{}",
+    sig: "sig",
+  };
+}
+
+test("remote managed policy refresh accepts only exact authenticated coordinates", async () => {
+  let onEvent;
+  let filter;
+  let unsubscribeCalls = 0;
+  mock.method(relayClient, "subscribeLive", (nextFilter, listener) => {
+    filter = nextFilter;
+    onEvent = listener;
+    return Promise.resolve(() => {
+      unsubscribeCalls += 1;
+      return Promise.resolve();
+    });
+  });
+
+  let refreshes = 0;
+  const stop = startRelayAgentPolicyRefresh(coordinates, () => {
+    refreshes += 1;
+  });
+  await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+
+  assert.deepEqual(filter, {
+    kinds: [KIND_MANAGED_AGENT],
+    authors: ["owner-a", "owner-b"],
+    "#d": ["agent-a", "agent-b"],
+    limit: 0,
+  });
+  onEvent(event("owner-a", "agent-a"));
+  assert.equal(refreshes, 1);
+
+  for (const irrelevant of [
+    event("owner-x", "agent-a"),
+    event("owner-a", "agent-x"),
+    event("owner-a", "agent-b"), // authors×d cross-product
+    event("owner-a", null),
+  ]) {
+    onEvent(irrelevant);
+  }
+  assert.equal(refreshes, 1, "irrelevant coordinates must not refresh");
+
+  stop();
+  assert.equal(unsubscribeCalls, 1);
+  mock.reset();
+});
+
+test("stopping before subscription readiness still closes the live query", async () => {
+  let resolveSubscription;
+  let unsubscribeCalls = 0;
+  mock.method(
+    relayClient,
+    "subscribeLive",
+    () =>
+      new Promise((resolve) => {
+        resolveSubscription = resolve;
+      }),
+  );
+
+  const stop = startRelayAgentPolicyRefresh(coordinates, () => {});
+  stop();
+  resolveSubscription(() => {
+    unsubscribeCalls += 1;
+    return Promise.resolve();
+  });
+  await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+
+  assert.equal(unsubscribeCalls, 1);
+  mock.reset();
+});
+
+test("no authenticated coordinates creates no global subscription", () => {
+  let subscriptions = 0;
+  mock.method(relayClient, "subscribeLive", () => {
+    subscriptions += 1;
+    return Promise.resolve(() => Promise.resolve());
+  });
+  startRelayAgentPolicyRefresh([], () => {})();
+  assert.equal(subscriptions, 0);
+  mock.reset();
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/useAgentsDataRefresh.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/useAgentsDataRefresh.ts
index 174fb9c92c..0349618d11 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/useAgentsDataRefresh.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/useAgentsDataRefresh.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ import { listen } from "@tauri-apps/api/event";
 import { useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { useEffect } from "react";
 
+import { relayClient } from "@/shared/api/relayClient";
+import type { RelayAgent, RelayEvent } from "@/shared/api/types";
+import { KIND_MANAGED_AGENT } from "@/shared/constants/kinds";
 import {
   managedAgentsQueryKey,
   personasQueryKey,
@@ -10,18 +13,84 @@ import {
 } from "@/features/agents/hooks";
 import { managedAgentRuntimesQueryKey } from "@/features/agents/managedAgentRuntimeHooks";
 
-// Trailing-coalesce window: a backfill burst (up to 500 inbound events fed
-// one-by-one through reconcile) fires one `agents-data-changed` per event.
-// Collapsing them into a single invalidate after the burst settles keeps the
-// refetch off React Query's implicit in-flight dedup and avoids redundant
-// disk-read IPC.
 const COALESCE_MS = 200;
+export const RELAY_POLICY_REFRESH_MIN_INTERVAL_MS = 5_000;
+
+export type RelayAgentPolicyCoordinate = {
+  agentPubkey: string;
+  ownerPubkey: string;
+};
+
+function eventDTag(event: RelayEvent): string | null {
+  return event.tags.find((tag) => tag[0] === "d")?.[1] ?? null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Subscribe only to authenticated managed-agent coordinates already returned by
+ * the relay directory. The callback repeats the exact owner+d check because a
+ * combined Nostr filter admits the authors×d cross-product.
+ */
+export function startRelayAgentPolicyRefresh(
+  coordinates: RelayAgentPolicyCoordinate[],
+  onChange: () => void,
+  onError: (error: unknown) => void = (error) => {
+    console.warn("Couldn’t subscribe to managed agent policy updates", error);
+  },
+): () => void {
+  if (coordinates.length === 0) return () => {};
+
+  const allowed = new Set(
+    coordinates.map(
+      ({ ownerPubkey, agentPubkey }) =>
+        `${ownerPubkey.toLowerCase()}:${agentPubkey.toLowerCase()}`,
+    ),
+  );
+  const authors = [
+    ...new Set(coordinates.map(({ ownerPubkey }) => ownerPubkey)),
+  ];
+  const agentPubkeys = [
+    ...new Set(coordinates.map(({ agentPubkey }) => agentPubkey)),
+  ];
+  let disposed = false;
+  let unsubscribe: (() => Promise<void>) | null = null;
+  void relayClient
+    .subscribeLive(
+      {
+        kinds: [KIND_MANAGED_AGENT],
+        authors,
+        "#d": agentPubkeys,
+        limit: 0,
+      },
+      (event) => {
+        const dTag = eventDTag(event);
+        if (
+          dTag &&
+          allowed.has(`${event.pubkey.toLowerCase()}:${dTag.toLowerCase()}`)
+        ) {
+          onChange();
+        }
+      },
+    )
+    .then((nextUnsubscribe) => {
+      if (disposed) void nextUnsubscribe();
+      else unsubscribe = nextUnsubscribe;
+    })
+    .catch(onError);
+
+  return () => {
+    disposed = true;
+    void unsubscribe?.();
+  };
+}
+
+function relayPolicyCoordinates(agents: RelayAgent[] | undefined) {
+  return (agents ?? []).flatMap((agent) =>
+    agent.ownerPubkey
+      ? [{ agentPubkey: agent.pubkey, ownerPubkey: agent.ownerPubkey }]
+      : [],
+  );
+}
 
-// Invalidate the live Agents-tab queries when the backend signals that inbound
-// relay events changed the on-disk agents data. Mounted once at the app root
-// with empty deps — invalidation is global and has no reason to be
-// pubkey-scoped, so it must NOT live inside the pubkey-keyed `usePersonaSync`
-// (re-registering per identity switch would leak a listener each time).
 export function useAgentsDataRefresh(): void {
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
 
@@ -32,8 +101,6 @@ export function useAgentsDataRefresh(): void {
       void queryClient.invalidateQueries({
         queryKey: managedAgentRuntimesQueryKey,
       });
-      // Pair startup also changes the legacy managed-agent scalar status.
-      // Keep that cache synchronized for consumers outside pair-runtime UI.
       void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: managedAgentsQueryKey });
     });
 
@@ -47,10 +114,73 @@ export function useAgentsDataRefresh(): void {
       }, COALESCE_MS);
     });
 
+    let policyStop = () => {};
+    let policyTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
+    let policyDirty = false;
+    let policyRefreshInFlight = false;
+    let policyDisposed = false;
+    let coordinateKey = "";
+
+    const refreshPolicyDirectory = () => {
+      if (policyRefreshInFlight || policyTimer !== undefined) {
+        policyDirty = true;
+        return;
+      }
+      policyRefreshInFlight = true;
+      void queryClient
+        .invalidateQueries({ queryKey: relayAgentsQueryKey })
+        .finally(() => {
+          policyRefreshInFlight = false;
+          if (policyDisposed) return;
+          policyTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+            policyTimer = undefined;
+            if (policyDirty) {
+              policyDirty = false;
+              refreshPolicyDirectory();
+            }
+          }, RELAY_POLICY_REFRESH_MIN_INTERVAL_MS);
+        });
+    };
+
+    const resubscribePolicy = () => {
+      const coordinates = relayPolicyCoordinates(
+        queryClient.getQueryData<RelayAgent[]>(relayAgentsQueryKey),
+      );
+      const nextKey = coordinates
+        .map(({ ownerPubkey, agentPubkey }) => `${ownerPubkey}:${agentPubkey}`)
+        .sort()
+        .join("|");
+      if (nextKey === coordinateKey) return;
+      coordinateKey = nextKey;
+      policyStop();
+      policyStop = startRelayAgentPolicyRefresh(
+        coordinates,
+        refreshPolicyDirectory,
+      );
+    };
+    resubscribePolicy();
+    const unsubscribeQueryCache = queryClient
+      .getQueryCache()
+      .subscribe((event) => {
+        if (
+          event.query.queryKey.length === relayAgentsQueryKey.length &&
+          event.query.queryKey.every(
+            (value: unknown, index: number) =>
+              value === relayAgentsQueryKey[index],
+          )
+        ) {
+          resubscribePolicy();
+        }
+      });
+
     return () => {
+      policyDisposed = true;
       if (timer !== undefined) clearTimeout(timer);
+      if (policyTimer !== undefined) clearTimeout(policyTimer);
       void unlisten.then((fn) => fn());
       void unlistenRuntime.then((fn) => fn());
+      unsubscribeQueryCache();
+      policyStop();
     };
   }, [queryClient]);
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/usePersonaSync.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/usePersonaSync.test.mjs
index 0dc12ddfd1..a67b68cc7f 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/usePersonaSync.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/usePersonaSync.test.mjs
@@ -108,3 +108,46 @@ test("startPersonaSync forwards its own relay as the event arrival relay", async
   mock.reset();
   delete globalThis.window;
 });
+
+test("startPersonaSync serializes inbound reconciliation in relay order", async () => {
+  const resolvers = [];
+  const invokedIds = [];
+  globalThis.window = {
+    __TAURI_INTERNALS__: {
+      invoke: (_cmd, args) => {
+        invokedIds.push(JSON.parse(args.eventJson).id);
+        return new Promise((resolve) => resolvers.push(resolve));
+      },
+    },
+  };
+
+  let onEvent;
+  mock.method(relayClient, "fetchEvents", () => Promise.resolve([]));
+  mock.method(relayClient, "subscribeLive", (_filter, listener) => {
+    onEvent = listener;
+    return Promise.resolve(() => Promise.resolve());
+  });
+
+  startPersonaSync("owner-pubkey", "wss://community.example", () => false);
+  await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+  onEvent({ id: "broad", pubkey: "owner-pubkey", kind: KIND_MANAGED_AGENT });
+  onEvent({
+    id: "restricted",
+    pubkey: "owner-pubkey",
+    kind: KIND_MANAGED_AGENT,
+  });
+  await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    invokedIds,
+    ["broad"],
+    "newer event waits for prior deployment",
+  );
+  resolvers.shift()();
+  await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+  assert.deepEqual(invokedIds, ["broad", "restricted"]);
+  resolvers.shift()();
+
+  mock.reset();
+  delete globalThis.window;
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/usePersonaSync.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/usePersonaSync.ts
index f18194c5c6..66ed679ad9 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/usePersonaSync.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/lib/usePersonaSync.ts
@@ -35,13 +35,19 @@ export function startPersonaSync(
   relayUrl: string,
   onCancelled: () => boolean,
 ): () => Promise<void> {
+  // Reconcile in relay order. Managed-agent reconciliation can await a remote
+  // provider deployment after releasing the local store lock; firing commands
+  // independently lets an older broad policy finish after a newer restrictive
+  // one. One chain per owner/relay subscription makes the newest event the last
+  // deployment without serializing unrelated identities or communities.
+  let reconcileChain = Promise.resolve();
   const reconcile = (event: RelayEvent) => {
     if (event.pubkey !== pubkey) return;
-    void reconcileInboundPersonaEvent(JSON.stringify(event), relayUrl).catch(
-      (error) => {
+    reconcileChain = reconcileChain
+      .then(() => reconcileInboundPersonaEvent(JSON.stringify(event), relayUrl))
+      .catch((error) => {
         console.warn("[usePersonaSync] reconcile failed:", error);
-      },
-    );
+      });
   };
 
   // One-shot backfill of existing heads + tombstones (closes the fresh-start
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/AgentDefinitionDialog.tsx b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/AgentDefinitionDialog.tsx
index b4606a0f68..06f41667b0 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/AgentDefinitionDialog.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/AgentDefinitionDialog.tsx
@@ -484,12 +484,6 @@ export function AgentDefinitionDialog({
   const modelFieldVisible =
     runtime.trim().length > 0 || blankRuntimeModelProviderEditable;
   const isExplicitModelRequired = aiConfigurationMode === "custom";
-  // Gate the provider requirement on the field's actual visibility, not the raw
-  // runtime capability. Codex/Claude hide the provider picker (they drive their
-  // own provider), so Customize must not require a provider there. But a
-  // runtime-less legacy/builtin definition still exposes the picker via
-  // blankRuntimeModelProviderEditable, so it must keep requiring a provider —
-  // otherwise Save could persist `provider: undefined` despite the visible field.
   const customAiPairSatisfied = agentAiConfigurationModeSatisfied(
     aiConfigurationMode,
     { provider, model },
@@ -739,7 +733,6 @@ export function AgentDefinitionDialog({
       isPending={isPending}
       onCancel={() => handleOpenChange(false)}
       publishesCatalogUpdates={publishCatalogUpdatesOnSave && hasUserChanges}
-      submitBlockReason={null}
       submitLabel={submitLabel}
     />
   );
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/AgentDefinitionDialogFooter.tsx b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/AgentDefinitionDialogFooter.tsx
index 92428ad95c..6f15c8d860 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/AgentDefinitionDialogFooter.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/AgentDefinitionDialogFooter.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ type AgentDefinitionDialogFooterProps = {
   isPending: boolean;
   onCancel: () => void;
   publishesCatalogUpdates: boolean;
-  submitBlockReason: string | null;
   submitLabel: string;
 };
 
@@ -16,20 +15,11 @@ export function AgentDefinitionDialogFooter({
   isPending,
   onCancel,
   publishesCatalogUpdates,
-  submitBlockReason,
   submitLabel,
 }: AgentDefinitionDialogFooterProps) {
   return (
     <div className="flex w-full flex-wrap items-center justify-between gap-3">
       <div className="flex min-h-9 min-w-0 flex-wrap items-center gap-3">
-        {submitBlockReason ? (
-          <p
-            className="text-2xs text-muted-foreground"
-            data-testid="persona-dialog-submit-reason"
-          >
-            {submitBlockReason}
-          </p>
-        ) : null}
         {publishesCatalogUpdates ? (
           <p
             className="max-w-sm text-xs text-muted-foreground"
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentAiConfigurationPolicy.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentAiConfigurationPolicy.test.mjs
index 37588ce0e6..b3a4b9a065 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentAiConfigurationPolicy.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentAiConfigurationPolicy.test.mjs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import test from "node:test";
 import {
   agentAiConfigurationModeSatisfied,
   agentAiConfigurationPairForMode,
+  agentAiConfigurationSubmitBlockReason,
   initialAgentAiConfigurationMode,
 } from "./agentAiConfigurationPolicy.ts";
 
@@ -50,6 +51,38 @@ test("Customize requires a complete explicit pair", () => {
   );
 });
 
+test("incomplete Customize explains why Save remains disabled", () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    agentAiConfigurationSubmitBlockReason("custom", {
+      provider: "",
+      model: "",
+    }),
+    "Choose a provider to save custom AI configuration.",
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    agentAiConfigurationSubmitBlockReason("custom", {
+      provider: "anthropic",
+      model: "",
+    }),
+    "Choose a model to save custom AI configuration.",
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    agentAiConfigurationSubmitBlockReason(
+      "custom",
+      { provider: "", model: "" },
+      false,
+    ),
+    "Choose a model to save custom AI configuration.",
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    agentAiConfigurationSubmitBlockReason("defaults", {
+      provider: "",
+      model: "",
+    }),
+    null,
+  );
+});
+
 test("Codex/Claude Customize needs only a model, not the hidden provider", () => {
   // needsProviderSelection=false → the intentionally hidden provider must not
   // gate Save (the create/edit "Save stays disabled" regression).
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentAiConfigurationPolicy.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentAiConfigurationPolicy.ts
index 897ad0e1f3..d39797cda0 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentAiConfigurationPolicy.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentAiConfigurationPolicy.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,21 @@ export function agentAiConfigurationPairForMode({
  * runtime capability, so the gate never diverges from the visible picker. It
  * defaults to `true` so existing callers keep the provider+model requirement.
  */
+export function agentAiConfigurationSubmitBlockReason(
+  mode: AgentAiConfigurationMode,
+  pair: AgentAiConfigurationPair,
+  needsProviderSelection = true,
+): string | null {
+  if (
+    mode !== "custom" ||
+    agentAiConfigurationModeSatisfied(mode, pair, needsProviderSelection)
+  )
+    return null;
+  return needsProviderSelection && !pair.provider.trim()
+    ? "Choose a provider to save custom AI configuration."
+    : "Choose a model to save custom AI configuration.";
+}
+
 export function agentAiConfigurationModeSatisfied(
   mode: AgentAiConfigurationMode,
   pair: AgentAiConfigurationPair,
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentProfileSyncWarning.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentProfileSyncWarning.ts
index 91be216fd6..914285df72 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentProfileSyncWarning.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentProfileSyncWarning.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@ export function showAgentProfileSyncWarning(
 ) {
   if (!profileSyncError) return;
   toast.warning(
-    `${agentName} was saved, but relay profile sync failed: ${profileSyncError}. The relay may still show the old name — restart the agent to retry the sync.`,
+    `${agentName} was saved locally, but relay sync failed: ${profileSyncError}. Remote users may still see the previous name or access policy until Buzz retries the sync.`,
   );
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/personaDialogState.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/personaDialogState.test.mjs
index e850c34775..b786bf5573 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/personaDialogState.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/personaDialogState.test.mjs
@@ -269,6 +269,36 @@ test("edit and duplicate seed the behavior group from a quad-bearing persona", (
   );
 });
 
+test("a linked instance overrides stale definition access in the edit dialog", () => {
+  const persona = {
+    id: "persona-instance-access",
+    displayName: "Shared",
+    avatarUrl: null,
+    systemPrompt: "Shared.",
+    runtime: null,
+    model: null,
+    provider: null,
+    isBuiltIn: false,
+    isActive: true,
+    respondTo: "owner-only",
+    respondToAllowlist: [],
+    parallelism: 2,
+    createdAt: "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+    updatedAt: "2025-01-02T00:00:00Z",
+  };
+
+  const state = editPersonaDialogState(persona, {
+    respondTo: "allowlist",
+    respondToAllowlist: ["c".repeat(64)],
+  });
+
+  assert.deepEqual(state.initialValues.behavior, {
+    respondTo: "allowlist",
+    respondToAllowlist: ["c".repeat(64)],
+    parallelism: 2,
+  });
+});
+
 test("a non-allowlist mode does not seed a stale allowlist into the dialog", () => {
   const state = editPersonaDialogState({
     id: "persona-mode-flip",
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/personaDialogState.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/personaDialogState.ts
index a553182ce8..e09e647b9f 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/personaDialogState.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/personaDialogState.ts
@@ -104,7 +104,15 @@ function behaviorEntry(
 
 export function editPersonaDialogState(
   persona: AgentPersona,
+  accessSource?: Pick<AgentPersona, "respondTo" | "respondToAllowlist">,
 ): PersonaDialogState {
+  const behaviorSource = accessSource
+    ? {
+        ...persona,
+        respondTo: accessSource.respondTo,
+        respondToAllowlist: accessSource.respondToAllowlist,
+      }
+    : persona;
   return {
     title: "Edit agent",
     description: "",
@@ -123,7 +131,7 @@ export function editPersonaDialogState(
       // the dialog must therefore round-trip the existing values.)
       namePool: persona.namePool ?? [],
       envVars: persona.envVars ?? {},
-      ...behaviorEntry(persona),
+      ...behaviorEntry(behaviorSource),
     },
   };
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/EditRespondToDialog.tsx b/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/EditRespondToDialog.tsx
index d3c3df339b..078a4c6167 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/EditRespondToDialog.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/EditRespondToDialog.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import * as React from "react";
 import { useUpdateManagedAgentMutation } from "@/features/agents/hooks";
 import { useAgentAccessOwnerOnlyQuery } from "@/features/agents/useAgentAccessOwnerOnly";
 import { runLocationForBackend } from "@/features/agents/lib/agentAccessWarning";
+import { showAgentProfileSyncWarning } from "@/features/agents/ui/agentProfileSyncWarning";
 import {
   CreateAgentRespondToField,
   OWNER_ONLY_ACCESS_DISABLED_REASON,
@@ -50,12 +51,13 @@ export function EditRespondToDialog({
 
   async function handleSave() {
     if (!agent) return;
-    await updateMutation.mutateAsync({
+    const result = await updateMutation.mutateAsync({
       pubkey: agent.pubkey,
       respondTo,
       respondToAllowlist:
         respondTo === "allowlist" ? respondToAllowlist : undefined,
     });
+    showAgentProfileSyncWarning(result.agent.name, result.profileSyncError);
     onOpenChange(false);
   }
 
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/MembersSidebarMemberCard.tsx b/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/MembersSidebarMemberCard.tsx
index b375649292..0257e52ebf 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/MembersSidebarMemberCard.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/MembersSidebarMemberCard.tsx
@@ -206,33 +206,36 @@ export function MembersSidebarMemberCard({
           </div>
         )}
         {managedAgentRuntime || managedAgent ? (
-          <Badge
-            className="mt-1 normal-case tracking-normal"
-            data-testid={`sidebar-managed-agent-status-${member.pubkey}`}
-            variant={
-              managedAgentRuntime
-                ? agentCommunityAvailability(managedAgentRuntime) === "Here"
-                  ? "default"
-                  : "secondary"
+          <div className="mt-1 flex flex-wrap items-center gap-1.5">
+            <Badge
+              className="normal-case tracking-normal"
+              data-testid={`sidebar-managed-agent-status-${member.pubkey}`}
+              variant={
+                managedAgentRuntime
+                  ? agentCommunityAvailability(managedAgentRuntime) === "Here"
+                    ? "default"
+                    : "secondary"
+                  : managedAgent && isManagedAgentActive(managedAgent)
+                    ? "default"
+                    : "secondary"
+              }
+            >
+              {managedAgentRuntime
+                ? agentCommunityAvailability(managedAgentRuntime)
                 : managedAgent && isManagedAgentActive(managedAgent)
-                  ? "default"
-                  : "secondary"
-            }
-          >
-            {managedAgentRuntime
-              ? agentCommunityAvailability(managedAgentRuntime)
-              : managedAgent && isManagedAgentActive(managedAgent)
-                ? "Running"
-                : "Stopped"}
-          </Badge>
-        ) : null}
-        {managedAgent ? (
-          <span
-            className="sr-only"
-            data-testid={`sidebar-managed-agent-respond-to-${member.pubkey}`}
-          >
-            {formatRespondToLabel(managedAgent)}
-          </span>
+                  ? "Running"
+                  : "Stopped"}
+            </Badge>
+            {managedAgent ? (
+              <Badge
+                className="normal-case tracking-normal"
+                data-testid={`sidebar-managed-agent-respond-to-${member.pubkey}`}
+                variant="outline"
+              >
+                {formatRespondToLabel(managedAgent)}
+              </Badge>
+            ) : null}
+          </div>
         ) : null}
       </div>
     </div>
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/profile/lib/useCanonicalManagedAgentProfile.ts b/desktop/src/features/profile/lib/useCanonicalManagedAgentProfile.ts
index e900e123f5..6785640a7f 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/profile/lib/useCanonicalManagedAgentProfile.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/profile/lib/useCanonicalManagedAgentProfile.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import * as React from "react";
 
-import { pickProfileAgent } from "@/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent";
+import {
+  pickDirectProfileAgent,
+  pickProfileAgent,
+} from "@/features/agents/lib/pickProfileAgent";
 import { useUserProfileQuery } from "@/features/profile/hooks";
 import { ownsAuthorAgent } from "@/features/profile/lib/identity";
 import { useOwnedManagedAgentPersonaId } from "@/features/profile/lib/useOwnedManagedAgentPersonaId";
@@ -11,6 +14,7 @@ export function useCanonicalManagedAgentProfile(input: {
   currentPubkey: string | undefined;
   managedAgents: readonly ManagedAgent[] | undefined;
   personaId: string | undefined;
+  preferDirectManagedAgent?: boolean;
   preserveRequestedInstance?: boolean;
   pubkey: string | undefined;
 }) {
@@ -18,6 +22,7 @@ export function useCanonicalManagedAgentProfile(input: {
     currentPubkey,
     managedAgents,
     personaId,
+    preferDirectManagedAgent = false,
     preserveRequestedInstance = false,
     pubkey,
   } = input;
@@ -48,13 +53,20 @@ export function useCanonicalManagedAgentProfile(input: {
       (agent) => agent.personaId === linkedPersonaId,
     );
   }, [directManagedAgent, linkedPersonaId, managedAgents]);
-  const managedAgent = React.useMemo(
-    () =>
-      preserveRequestedInstance && directManagedAgent
-        ? directManagedAgent
-        : (pickProfileAgent(personaInstances) ?? directManagedAgent),
-    [directManagedAgent, personaInstances, preserveRequestedInstance],
-  );
+  const managedAgent = React.useMemo(() => {
+    if (directManagedAgent) {
+      if (preserveRequestedInstance) return directManagedAgent;
+      if (preferDirectManagedAgent) {
+        return pickDirectProfileAgent(directManagedAgent, personaInstances);
+      }
+    }
+    return pickProfileAgent(personaInstances) ?? directManagedAgent;
+  }, [
+    directManagedAgent,
+    personaInstances,
+    preferDirectManagedAgent,
+    preserveRequestedInstance,
+  ]);
 
   return { linkedPersonaId, managedAgent, personaInstances };
 }
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanel.tsx b/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanel.tsx
index 998ea3232a..7638b0cb36 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanel.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanel.tsx
@@ -187,7 +187,6 @@ export function UserProfilePanel({
       requestedInstancePubkey &&
       normalizePubkey(pubkey) === normalizePubkey(requestedInstancePubkey),
   );
-
   const personasQuery = usePersonasQuery();
   const managedAgentsQuery = useManagedAgentsQuery({ enabled: true });
   const { linkedPersonaId, managedAgent, personaInstances } =
@@ -195,6 +194,7 @@ export function UserProfilePanel({
       currentPubkey,
       managedAgents: managedAgentsQuery.data,
       personaId: persona?.id,
+      preferDirectManagedAgent: true,
       preserveRequestedInstance,
       pubkey,
     });
@@ -398,15 +398,17 @@ export function UserProfilePanel({
     onClose,
     viewerIsOwner,
   });
-
+  const openResolvedPersonaEditor = React.useCallback(() => {
+    if (!resolvedPersona) return false;
+    setPersonaDialogState(
+      editPersonaDialogState(resolvedPersona, managedAgent),
+    );
+    return true;
+  }, [managedAgent, resolvedPersona]);
   const handleEditAgent = React.useCallback(() => {
-    if (resolvedPersona) {
-      setPersonaDialogState(editPersonaDialogState(resolvedPersona));
-      return;
-    }
+    if (openResolvedPersonaEditor()) return;
     setEditAgentOpen(true);
-  }, [resolvedPersona, setEditAgentOpen]);
-
+  }, [openResolvedPersonaEditor, setEditAgentOpen]);
   const { deleteManagedAgentRecord, deleteManagedAgentsForPersona } =
     useProfileAgentDeletion({
       channels: channelsQuery.data,
@@ -545,10 +547,7 @@ export function UserProfilePanel({
     ],
   );
 
-  const handleEditPersona = React.useCallback(() => {
-    if (!resolvedPersona) return;
-    setPersonaDialogState(editPersonaDialogState(resolvedPersona));
-  }, [resolvedPersona]);
+  const handleEditPersona = openResolvedPersonaEditor;
 
   const handleDuplicatePersona = React.useCallback(() => {
     if (!resolvedPersona) return;
@@ -913,7 +912,7 @@ export function UserProfilePanel({
           ? () => {
               setEditAgentOpen(false);
               setEditAgentFocus(undefined);
-              setPersonaDialogState(editPersonaDialogState(resolvedPersona));
+              openResolvedPersonaEditor();
             }
           : undefined
       }
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanelUtils.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanelUtils.test.mjs
index c3ff723375..0c983fa3e8 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanelUtils.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanelUtils.test.mjs
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ function persona(overrides = {}) {
     namePool: [],
     isBuiltIn: false,
     isActive: true,
+    respondTo: "owner-only",
+    respondToAllowlist: [],
     envVars: { NEW_KEY: "2" },
     createdAt: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
     updatedAt: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
@@ -93,6 +95,42 @@ test("personaManagedAgentUpdate syncs edited persona identity to linked agent",
   });
 });
 
+test("personaManagedAgentUpdate syncs definition access to the linked agent", () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    personaManagedAgentUpdate(
+      agent({ respondTo: "anyone" }),
+      persona({ respondTo: "owner-only" }),
+    ),
+    {
+      pubkey: "deadbeef".repeat(8),
+      name: "Fizz Prime",
+      systemPrompt: "New prompt",
+      model: "new-model",
+      envVars: { NEW_KEY: "2" },
+      respondTo: "owner-only",
+    },
+  );
+
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    personaManagedAgentUpdate(
+      agent({ respondTo: "anyone" }),
+      persona({
+        respondTo: "allowlist",
+        respondToAllowlist: ["a".repeat(64)],
+      }),
+    ),
+    {
+      pubkey: "deadbeef".repeat(8),
+      name: "Fizz Prime",
+      systemPrompt: "New prompt",
+      model: "new-model",
+      envVars: { NEW_KEY: "2" },
+      respondTo: "allowlist",
+      respondToAllowlist: ["a".repeat(64)],
+    },
+  );
+});
+
 test("personaManagedAgentUpdate skips unrelated or unchanged agents", () => {
   assert.equal(
     personaManagedAgentUpdate(agent({ personaId: "persona-2" }), persona()),
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanelUtils.ts b/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanelUtils.ts
index 16999816c3..be1a57c112 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanelUtils.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/profile/ui/UserProfilePanelUtils.ts
@@ -298,6 +298,22 @@ export function personaManagedAgentUpdate(
     hasChanges = true;
   }
 
+  // Definition edits expose the access policy in the same dialog as identity
+  // and runtime settings. Keep the exact linked instance in sync when the
+  // definition carries an explicit policy; otherwise the dialog reopens with
+  // the new value while the running agent and sidebar retain the old one.
+  if (persona.respondTo != null && persona.respondTo !== agent.respondTo) {
+    input.respondTo = persona.respondTo;
+    hasChanges = true;
+  }
+  if (
+    persona.respondTo === "allowlist" &&
+    !stringArrayEqual(persona.respondToAllowlist, agent.respondToAllowlist)
+  ) {
+    input.respondToAllowlist = [...persona.respondToAllowlist];
+    hasChanges = true;
+  }
+
   const runtimeChanged =
     options.previousPersona !== undefined &&
     options.previousPersona.runtime !== persona.runtime;
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/pulse/ui/PulseView.tsx b/desktop/src/features/pulse/ui/PulseView.tsx
index 3009076aa8..4cde503fde 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/pulse/ui/PulseView.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/pulse/ui/PulseView.tsx
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ export function PulseView({ currentPubkey }: PulseViewProps) {
       if (!agentsByPubkey.has(agent.pubkey)) {
         agentsByPubkey.set(agent.pubkey, {
           pubkey: agent.pubkey,
+          ownerPubkey: null,
           name: agent.name,
           agentType: agent.agentCommand,
           channels: [],
diff --git a/desktop/src/shared/api/tauri.ts b/desktop/src/shared/api/tauri.ts
index 8eb626a81d..038ae52714 100644
--- a/desktop/src/shared/api/tauri.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/shared/api/tauri.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ type RawSearchResponse = {
 
 type RawRelayAgent = {
   pubkey: string;
+  owner_pubkey?: string | null;
   name: string;
   agent_type: string;
   channels: string[];
@@ -109,7 +110,6 @@ type RawRelayAgent = {
   respond_to?: RelayAgent["respondTo"];
   respond_to_allowlist?: string[];
 };
-
 import type { RestartDiffEntry as RawRestartDiffEntry } from "./restartDiff";
 export type RawManagedAgent = {
   pubkey: string;
@@ -652,10 +652,10 @@ export async function createAuthEvent(input: {
   const eventJson = await invokeTauri<string>("create_auth_event", input);
   return JSON.parse(eventJson) as RelayEvent;
 }
-
 function fromRawRelayAgent(agent: RawRelayAgent): RelayAgent {
   return {
     pubkey: agent.pubkey,
+    ownerPubkey: agent.owner_pubkey ?? null,
     name: agent.name,
     agentType: agent.agent_type,
     channels: agent.channels,
diff --git a/desktop/src/shared/api/types.ts b/desktop/src/shared/api/types.ts
index 24ef625783..dcf6d2e8bc 100644
--- a/desktop/src/shared/api/types.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/shared/api/types.ts
@@ -266,9 +266,9 @@ export type RelayMember = {
   addedBy: string | null;
   createdAt: string;
 };
-
 export type RelayAgent = {
   pubkey: string;
+  ownerPubkey: string | null;
   name: string;
   agentType: string;
   channels: string[];
diff --git a/desktop/tests/e2e/agent-access-warning.spec.ts b/desktop/tests/e2e/agent-access-warning.spec.ts
index 709c5fbbc6..adb9c6d58a 100644
--- a/desktop/tests/e2e/agent-access-warning.spec.ts
+++ b/desktop/tests/e2e/agent-access-warning.spec.ts
@@ -46,28 +46,30 @@ test("open agent access explains the available access before save", async ({
         name: "Hack Day Helper",
         status: "running",
         channelNames: ["general"],
-        respondTo: "owner-only",
+        respondTo: "anyone",
       },
     ],
   });
   await page.goto("/");
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-members-trigger").click();
+  const accessBadge = page.getByTestId(
+    `sidebar-managed-agent-respond-to-${agent.pubkey}`,
+  );
+  await expect(accessBadge).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(accessBadge).toHaveText("Anyone");
   await openAgentAccessDialog(page, agent.pubkey);
 
   const accessSelect = page.getByTestId("agent-respond-to-select");
-  await expect(accessSelect).toHaveValue("owner-only");
-  await expect(page.getByTestId("agent-access-warning")).toHaveCount(0);
+  await expect(accessSelect).toHaveValue("anyone");
   const saveAccess = page.getByRole("button", { name: "Save access" });
   await expect(saveAccess).toBeVisible();
 
   const commandsBeforeSave = await page.evaluate(
     () => window.__BUZZ_E2E_COMMAND_LOG__?.length ?? 0,
   );
-  await accessSelect.selectOption("anyone");
-  const warning = page.getByTestId("agent-access-warning");
-  await expect(warning).toBeVisible();
-  await expect(warning).toContainText(
-    "Anyone can use this agent to access your computer, including files, accounts, and connected tools.",
-  );
+  await accessSelect.selectOption("owner-only");
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("agent-access-warning")).toHaveCount(0);
 
   await waitForAnimations(page);
   await page
@@ -88,17 +90,19 @@ test("open agent access explains the available access before save", async ({
             (entry) =>
               entry.command === "update_managed_agent" &&
               (entry.payload as { input?: { respondTo?: string } })?.input
-                ?.respondTo === "anyone",
+                ?.respondTo === "owner-only",
           );
       }, commandsBeforeSave),
     )
     .toBe(true);
+  await expect(accessBadge).toHaveText("Only me");
 
   await openAgentAccessDialog(page, agent.pubkey);
-  await expect(accessSelect).toHaveValue("anyone");
+  await expect(accessSelect).toHaveValue("owner-only");
   // Selected people narrows the audience but not the access, so the warning
   // persists with its own audience phrase.
   await accessSelect.selectOption("allowlist");
+  const warning = page.getByTestId("agent-access-warning");
   await expect(warning).toBeVisible();
   await expect(warning).toContainText(
     "Selected people can use this agent to access your computer, including files, accounts, and connected tools.",
@@ -124,6 +128,134 @@ test("open agent access explains the available access before save", async ({
   await expect(warning).toHaveCount(0);
 });
 
+test("full agent editor tightens the exact sidebar agent instance", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  const agent = TEST_IDENTITIES.tyler;
+  const preferredSiblingPubkey = "d".repeat(64);
+  const personaId = "shared-sidebar-agent";
+  await installMockBridge(page, {
+    acpRuntimesCatalog: [
+      {
+        availability: "available",
+        command: "goose",
+        default_args: [],
+        id: "goose",
+        install_hint: "",
+        label: "Goose",
+        mcp_command: "",
+      },
+    ],
+    globalAgentConfig: {
+      env_vars: { ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: "sk-ant-test-key" },
+      model: "claude-opus-4-5",
+      preferred_runtime: "goose",
+      provider: "anthropic",
+    },
+    managedAgents: [
+      {
+        pubkey: agent.pubkey,
+        name: "Tyler Agent",
+        personaId,
+        status: "running",
+        channelNames: ["general"],
+        respondTo: "anyone",
+      },
+      {
+        pubkey: preferredSiblingPubkey,
+        name: "Preferred Sibling",
+        personaId,
+        status: "running",
+        channelNames: [],
+        respondTo: "anyone",
+      },
+    ],
+    personas: [
+      {
+        displayName: "Shared Sidebar Agent",
+        id: personaId,
+        isActive: true,
+        respondTo: "anyone",
+        runtime: "goose",
+        systemPrompt: "Test exact instance editing.",
+      },
+    ],
+  });
+  await page.goto("/");
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-general").click();
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-members-trigger").click();
+  const accessBadge = page.getByTestId(
+    `sidebar-managed-agent-respond-to-${agent.pubkey}`,
+  );
+  await expect(accessBadge).toHaveText("Anyone");
+
+  await page.getByTestId(`sidebar-member-${agent.pubkey}`).click();
+  await expect(page.getByTestId("user-profile-panel")).toBeVisible();
+  await page.getByTestId("user-profile-edit-agent").click();
+  const dialog = page.getByRole("dialog", { name: "Edit agent" });
+  await expect(dialog).toBeVisible();
+  await dialog.getByRole("button", { name: "Advanced" }).click();
+  await choosePersonaAccess(page, "Only me (default)");
+  await dialog.getByRole("tab", { name: "Customize for this agent" }).click();
+  const saveChanges = dialog.getByRole("button", { name: "Save changes" });
+  await expect(saveChanges).toBeEnabled();
+  await saveChanges.click();
+  await expect(dialog).not.toBeVisible();
+
+  const updateCommand = await page.evaluate(
+    (pubkey) =>
+      window.__BUZZ_E2E_COMMAND_LOG__?.findLast(
+        (entry) =>
+          entry.command === "update_managed_agent" &&
+          (entry.payload as { input?: { pubkey?: string } })?.input?.pubkey ===
+            pubkey,
+      ),
+    agent.pubkey,
+  );
+  expect(updateCommand?.payload).toMatchObject({
+    input: { pubkey: agent.pubkey, respondTo: "owner-only" },
+  });
+  expect(updateCommand?.payload).not.toMatchObject({
+    input: { pubkey: preferredSiblingPubkey },
+  });
+
+  await page.getByTestId("channel-members-trigger").click();
+  await expect(accessBadge).toHaveText("Only me");
+
+  // The definition still says "anyone" after the instance-only save above.
+  // Reopening the same linked agent for an unrelated prompt edit must seed
+  // access from the exact instance, or the submit silently widens it again.
+  await page.getByTestId(`sidebar-member-${agent.pubkey}`).click();
+  await page.getByTestId("user-profile-edit-agent").click();
+  await expect(dialog).toBeVisible();
+  await dialog.getByRole("button", { name: "Advanced" }).click();
+  await expect(page.locator("#agent-respond-to")).toHaveText(
+    "Only me (default)",
+  );
+  await page
+    .locator("#persona-system-prompt")
+    .fill("Test unrelated prompt editing after tightening access.");
+  await dialog.getByRole("button", { name: "Save changes" }).click();
+  await expect(dialog).not.toBeVisible();
+
+  const unrelatedEditCommand = await page.evaluate(
+    (pubkey) =>
+      window.__BUZZ_E2E_COMMAND_LOG__?.findLast(
+        (entry) =>
+          entry.command === "update_managed_agent" &&
+          (entry.payload as { input?: { pubkey?: string } })?.input?.pubkey ===
+            pubkey,
+      ),
+    agent.pubkey,
+  );
+  expect(unrelatedEditCommand?.payload).toMatchObject({
+    input: { pubkey: agent.pubkey },
+  });
+  expect(unrelatedEditCommand?.payload).not.toMatchObject({
+    input: { respondTo: "anyone" },
+  });
+});
+
 test("a provider-backed agent's warning names the server, not this computer", async ({
   page,
 }) => {