diff --git a/bin/fm-crew-state.sh b/bin/fm-crew-state.sh
index 26e5b2d26cb..fcd9a751689 100755
--- a/bin/fm-crew-state.sh
+++ b/bin/fm-crew-state.sh
@@ -157,6 +157,10 @@
 #      unreachable, and an alive endpoint whose scrollback read failed is still
 #      classified by step 4. Backends with no classifier keep reading a failed
 #      capture as gone. The fallback's own comment owns the per-verdict rules.
+#      A readable endpoint holding only its shell (the harness exited, for
+#      example on a provider usage-limit error) reads unknown · none as agent
+#      gone before a stale busy record or non-terminal status log can report
+#      working; a valid terminal done/failed declaration is still preserved.
 #
 # Read-only and side-effect free. Always exits 0 on a successful read regardless
 # of state; exit 2 only on a usage error (no id).
@@ -322,6 +326,32 @@ pane_readable() {  # <target>
     *) fm_backend_capture "$TASK_BACKEND" "$1" 1 "$EXPECTED_LABEL" >/dev/null 2>&1 ;;
   esac
 }
+# crew_agent_gone: positive recovery-grade evidence that a readable endpoint
+# contains only its shell, not the recorded harness. Tmux first confirms its
+# foreground command is a shell so a transient process-table read cannot turn a
+# live agent into a dead one; Herdr owns that distinction in its own classifier.
+# A dead agent must outrank stale busy or status-log evidence, but every
+# ambiguous, unreadable, or unverified result preserves the existing fallback.
+crew_agent_gone() {
+  local current state
+  fm_backend_source "$TASK_BACKEND" || return 1
+  case "$TASK_BACKEND" in
+    tmux)
+      current=$(fm_backend_tmux_current_command "$BACKEND_TARGET" 2>/dev/null) || return 1
+      case "$(fm_agent_process_classify_name "$current")" in
+        shell) ;;
+        *) return 1 ;;
+      esac
+      ;;
+    herdr) ;;
+    *) return 1 ;;
+  esac
+  state=$(fm_backend_agent_state "$TASK_BACKEND" "$BACKEND_TARGET")
+  case "$state" in
+    dead|missing) return 0 ;;
+    *) return 1 ;;
+  esac
+}
 # crew_busy_verdict: the crew's semantic busy state from the one contract
 # owner (bin/fm-busy-lib.sh), as "<busy|idle|unknown> <source>". A converted
 # adapter answers from its own lifecycle record; Grok answers from its
@@ -1283,6 +1313,26 @@ if ! pane_readable "$BACKEND_TARGET"; then
   esac
 fi
 
+# A readable shell-only endpoint is an agent-free worker, not an idle worker.
+# Do this before accepting either a stale semantic busy record or the status log,
+# while leaving secondmate liveness to its routed status contract below. A
+# terminal declaration is the exception: once the harness is positively gone,
+# preserve a valid ship/scout outcome instead of losing it to the death verdict.
+if [ "$KIND" != secondmate ] && crew_agent_gone; then
+  case "$LOG_VERB" in
+    "done")
+      if [ "$KIND" = ship ]; then
+        emit_ship_status_done
+      fi
+      emit "done" status-log "$(status_line_note "$LOG_LINE")"
+      ;;
+    failed)
+      emit failed status-log "$(status_line_note "$LOG_LINE")"
+      ;;
+  esac
+  emit unknown none "backend target gone: $BACKEND_TARGET (agent gone, pane shell remains)"
+fi
+
 # Secondmates idle on their own watcher (idle pane = healthy), so the busy
 # state is not meaningful for them; read their state from the status log only.
 # Only an exact busy verdict reports working here, and only an exact idle
diff --git a/tests/fm-crew-state.test.sh b/tests/fm-crew-state.test.sh
index bf7d7bc5306..a0308568520 100755
--- a/tests/fm-crew-state.test.sh
+++ b/tests/fm-crew-state.test.sh
@@ -2755,6 +2755,108 @@ test_no_run_herdr_idle_agent_status_and_idle_record_stays_idle() {
   pass "an idle record with idle agent_status stays not-busy (no regression for a human-blocked agent)"
 }
 
+# A provider-limit crash can leave the pane's shell, a stale Pi lifecycle
+# record, and the last `working:` event together. The shell is readable, so
+# the old fallback accepted the stale record/log as current and the watcher had
+# no dead-agent evidence to surface. A live agent remains eligible for the
+# ordinary status-log fallback; only the shell-only endpoint is overridden.
+test_no_run_agent_free_pi_does_not_use_stale_state() {
+  reset_fakes
+  local d out gen
+  d=$(new_case agent-free-pi)
+  make_repo_on_branch "$d/wt" fm/feat-agent-free-pi
+  make_fakebin "$d" >/dev/null
+  fm_write_meta "$d/state/feat-agent-free-pi.meta" \
+    "window=fm:fm-agent-free-pi" "worktree=$d/wt" "kind=ship" \
+    "backend=tmux" "harness=pi"
+  printf 'working: started before provider quota ended the harness\n' > \
+    "$d/state/feat-agent-free-pi.status"
+  gen=$("$ROOT/bin/fm-busy-event.sh" arm "$d/state" feat-agent-free-pi)
+  "$ROOT/bin/fm-busy-event.sh" apply "$d/state" feat-agent-free-pi idle --gen "$gen" \
+    --source pi-ext --event stop
+  cat > "$d/fakebin/tmux" <<'SH'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -u
+case "${1:-}" in
+  list-windows) printf 'fm-agent-free-pi\n' ;;
+  display-message)
+    format=
+    for arg in "$@"; do format=$arg; done
+    case "$format" in
+      '#{pane_id}') printf '%%1\n' ;;
+      '#{pane_current_command}') printf 'zsh\n' ;;
+      '#{pane_tty}') printf '\n' ;;
+      *) printf '%%1\n' ;;
+    esac
+    ;;
+  capture-pane) printf '403 You have reached your 5-hour usage limit\n> \n' ;;
+esac
+SH
+  chmod +x "$d/fakebin/tmux"
+  out=$(run_crew_state "$d" feat-agent-free-pi)
+  assert_contains "$out" "state: unknown" \
+    "an agent-free Pi pane must not remain working"
+  assert_contains "$out" "source: none" \
+    "agent-free evidence must bypass stale status-log fallback"
+  assert_contains "$out" "agent gone, pane shell remains" \
+    "the reconciliation detail must name the dead harness"
+  "$ROOT/bin/fm-busy-event.sh" apply "$d/state" feat-agent-free-pi busy --gen "$gen" \
+    --source pi-ext --event user-prompt-submit
+  out=$(run_crew_state "$d" feat-agent-free-pi)
+  assert_contains "$out" "state: unknown" \
+    "a stale Pi busy record must not survive the harness exit"
+  assert_contains "$out" "source: none" \
+    "dead-agent evidence must outrank stale pane busy state"
+  pass "agent-free Pi quota pane does not trust stale busy or status evidence"
+}
+
+# A harness can exit after recording a terminal declaration, leaving only its
+# shell in the readable pane. Terminal outcomes remain current, while stale
+# working evidence is still rejected by the agent-free check below.
+test_no_run_terminal_status_survives_shell_only_endpoint() {
+  local kind verb d id out
+  for kind in ship scout; do
+    for verb in 'done' failed; do
+      reset_fakes
+      id="terminal-${kind}-${verb}"
+      d=$(new_case "$id")
+      make_repo_on_branch "$d/wt" "fm/$id"
+      make_fakebin "$d" >/dev/null
+      fm_write_meta "$d/state/$id.meta" \
+        "window=fm:fm-$id" "worktree=$d/wt" "kind=$kind" \
+        "mode=no-mistakes" "backend=tmux" "harness=pi"
+      printf '%s: harness exited after terminal outcome\n' "$verb" > \
+        "$d/state/$id.status"
+      cat > "$d/fakebin/tmux" <<'SH'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -u
+case "${1:-}" in
+  list-windows) printf 'fm-terminal-%s-%s\n' "${FM_FAKE_TERMINAL_KIND:-ship}" "${FM_FAKE_TERMINAL_VERB:-done}" ;;
+  display-message)
+    format=
+    for arg in "$@"; do format=$arg; done
+    case "$format" in
+      '#{pane_id}') printf '%%1\n' ;;
+      '#{pane_current_command}') printf 'zsh\n' ;;
+      '#{pane_tty}') printf '\n' ;;
+      *) printf '%%1\n' ;;
+    esac
+    ;;
+  capture-pane) printf 'terminal outcome\n> \n' ;;
+esac
+SH
+      chmod +x "$d/fakebin/tmux"
+      out=$(FM_FAKE_TERMINAL_KIND="$kind" FM_FAKE_TERMINAL_VERB="$verb" \
+        run_crew_state "$d" "$id")
+      assert_contains "$out" "state: $verb" \
+        "$kind $verb survives a shell-only endpoint"
+      assert_contains "$out" "source: status-log" \
+        "$kind $verb remains status-log sourced"
+    done
+  done
+  pass "terminal status survives a shell-only endpoint"
+}
+
 # (g) no run + idle pane -> the status-log verb, as-is
 test_no_run_idle_pane_uses_log() {
   reset_fakes
@@ -5588,6 +5690,8 @@ test_no_run_herdr_alive_with_failed_read_stays_live
 test_no_run_herdr_husk_dead_still_reads_gone
 test_no_run_herdr_idle_agent_status_outranked_by_record
 test_no_run_herdr_idle_agent_status_and_idle_record_stays_idle
+test_no_run_agent_free_pi_does_not_use_stale_state
+test_no_run_terminal_status_survives_shell_only_endpoint
 test_no_run_idle_pane_uses_log
 test_no_run_idle_pane_uses_keyed_log
 test_no_run_idle_pane_paused