diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/remote-lifecycle.cjs b/apps/desktop/electron/remote-lifecycle.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d1a5255f4e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/remote-lifecycle.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,470 @@
+/**
+ * remote-lifecycle.cjs
+ *
+ * Pure, electron-free remote Hermes dashboard lifecycle over SSH for Desktop
+ * SSH remote mode. Composes an SshConnection (injected) with HTTP probes
+ * through the established tunnel (injected fetch) and the served-token adoption
+ * step (injected). Knows how to:
+ *
+ *   - locate the Hermes install on the remote (login-shell probe),
+ *   - gate the remote platform to Linux/macOS via `uname`,
+ *   - reuse an existing desktop-dedicated dashboard via a lockfile + an
+ *     AUTHENTICATED /api/status probe (pid liveness alone is insufficient),
+ *   - spawn a fresh detached `--isolated --port 0` dashboard and scrape its
+ *     `HERMES_DASHBOARD_READY port=<n>` readiness line,
+ *   - adopt the token the dashboard actually serves (served-token adoption),
+ *   - clean up a stale dashboard only when it is provably ours.
+ *
+ * Electron-free so it can be unit-tested with `node --test`. main.cjs wires the
+ * real SshConnection, fetch, adoptServedDashboardToken, and waitForHermes in.
+ *
+ * The minted HERMES_DASHBOARD_SESSION_TOKEN is the SPAWN credential. After
+ * readiness the caller (or connect() here) runs served-token adoption against
+ * the tunneled baseUrl and the SERVED token's fingerprint is what lands in the
+ * lockfile — so the reuse probe checks the credential that actually
+ * authenticates /api/ws, not the minted one (which the dashboard may regen).
+ */
+
+const crypto = require('node:crypto')
+
+const LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION = 1
+const READY_RE = /^HERMES_DASHBOARD_READY port=(\d+)/m
+// Remote log the detached dashboard appends to; also where we scrape readiness.
+const REMOTE_LOG = '~/.hermes/logs/desktop-ssh.log'
+const REMOTE_LOCK_DIR = '~/.hermes/desktop-ssh'
+const SUPPORTED_REMOTE_OS = new Set(['Linux', 'Darwin'])
+const DEFAULT_READY_TIMEOUT_MS = 45_000
+const READY_POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 750
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Small helpers
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+function mintToken() {
+  return crypto.randomBytes(32).toString('hex')
+}
+
+// Fingerprint a token for the lockfile — never store the raw secret on the
+// remote. SHA256, truncated; comparison is constant-shape.
+function fingerprintToken(token) {
+  return crypto.createHash('sha256').update(String(token || '')).digest('hex').slice(0, 32)
+}
+
+// Stable per-client lock id so a given desktop client reuses its own dashboard
+// across reconnects but never collides with another client's.
+function clientLockId(clientId) {
+  const safe = String(clientId || 'default').replace(/[^A-Za-z0-9_.-]/g, '_')
+  return safe.slice(0, 64) || 'default'
+}
+
+function lockfilePath(clientId) {
+  return `${REMOTE_LOCK_DIR}/${clientLockId(clientId)}.lock.json`
+}
+
+// shell-single-quote a value for safe interpolation into a remote command.
+function shq(value) {
+  return `'${String(value).replace(/'/g, `'\\''`)}'`
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Locate hermes on the remote
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// Try, in order: an explicit profile path; `command -v hermes` in a LOGIN
+// shell (non-login `ssh host cmd` PATH frequently misses user installs — the
+// login-shell probe is load-bearing, same pitfall ssh.py works around); the
+// conventional venv path. Returns the resolved absolute path or throws an
+// install-hint error.
+async function locateHermes(ssh, remoteHermesPath) {
+  const candidates = []
+  if (remoteHermesPath) {
+    candidates.push(remoteHermesPath)
+  }
+
+  // login-shell `command -v` — quoted so the remote shell resolves PATH the
+  // way an interactive login would.
+  try {
+    const found = (await ssh.exec(`bash -lc ${shq('command -v hermes')}`)).trim()
+    if (found) {
+      candidates.push(found.split('\n').pop().trim())
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // fall through to the explicit candidates below
+  }
+
+  candidates.push('~/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin/hermes')
+
+  for (const candidate of candidates) {
+    if (!candidate) continue
+    try {
+      // -x test resolves ~ and verifies it's executable in one round trip.
+      const ok = (await ssh.exec(`[ -x "$(eval echo ${shq(candidate)})" ] && echo OK || true`)).trim()
+      if (ok === 'OK') {
+        return candidate
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // try the next candidate
+    }
+  }
+
+  const err = new Error(
+    'Hermes is not installed on the remote host (could not find a `hermes` executable). ' +
+      'Install it on the remote with:  curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | sh  ' +
+      '— or set the Hermes path explicitly in the SSH connection settings.'
+  )
+  err.kind = 'hermes-not-found'
+  throw err
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Remote platform gate
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+async function probeRemotePlatform(ssh) {
+  const out = (await ssh.exec('uname -s; uname -m')).trim().split('\n')
+  const osName = (out[0] || '').trim()
+  const arch = (out[1] || '').trim()
+  if (!SUPPORTED_REMOTE_OS.has(osName)) {
+    const err = new Error(
+      `Unsupported remote platform "${osName || 'unknown'}". Hermes Desktop SSH mode supports Linux and macOS remote hosts only.`
+    )
+    err.kind = 'unsupported-platform'
+    throw err
+  }
+  return { os: osName, arch }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Lockfile (lives on the REMOTE, read/written via ssh.exec)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+async function readLockfile(ssh, clientId) {
+  const path = lockfilePath(clientId)
+  let raw
+  try {
+    raw = await ssh.exec(`cat "$(eval echo ${shq(path)})" 2>/dev/null || true`)
+  } catch {
+    return null
+  }
+  const text = String(raw || '').trim()
+  if (!text) return null
+  let parsed
+  try {
+    parsed = JSON.parse(text)
+  } catch {
+    return null
+  }
+  if (!parsed || parsed.schemaVersion !== LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION) {
+    return null
+  }
+  return parsed
+}
+
+async function writeLockfile(ssh, clientId, lock) {
+  const path = lockfilePath(clientId)
+  const json = JSON.stringify({ ...lock, schemaVersion: LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION })
+  await ssh.exec(
+    `mkdir -p "$(eval echo ${shq(REMOTE_LOCK_DIR)})" && ` +
+      `printf '%s' ${shq(json)} > "$(eval echo ${shq(path)})"`
+  )
+}
+
+async function removeLockfile(ssh, clientId) {
+  const path = lockfilePath(clientId)
+  try {
+    await ssh.exec(`rm -f "$(eval echo ${shq(path)})"`)
+  } catch {
+    // best effort
+  }
+}
+
+// True iff the pid is alive on the remote.
+async function remotePidAlive(ssh, pid) {
+  if (!pid || !Number.isInteger(Number(pid))) return false
+  try {
+    const out = (await ssh.exec(`kill -0 ${Number(pid)} 2>/dev/null && echo ALIVE || echo DEAD`)).trim()
+    return out === 'ALIVE'
+  } catch {
+    return false
+  }
+}
+
+// A pid is "provably ours" only if its remote cmdline carries our dashboard
+// args — never kill a pid we can't positively identify as our dashboard.
+async function pidIsOurDashboard(ssh, pid) {
+  if (!pid) return false
+  try {
+    // /proc on Linux; `ps` fallback covers macOS. Tolerate either being absent.
+    const out = await ssh.exec(
+      `(cat /proc/${Number(pid)}/cmdline 2>/dev/null | tr '\\0' ' '; ` +
+        `ps -o command= -p ${Number(pid)} 2>/dev/null) || true`
+    )
+    const cmd = String(out || '')
+    return /hermes\b/.test(cmd) && /dashboard/.test(cmd) && /--isolated/.test(cmd)
+  } catch {
+    return false
+  }
+}
+
+// Kill the stale dashboard ONLY if provably ours, then drop the lockfile.
+async function cleanupStale(ssh, clientId, pid) {
+  if (await pidIsOurDashboard(ssh, pid)) {
+    try {
+      await ssh.exec(`kill ${Number(pid)} 2>/dev/null || true`)
+    } catch {
+      // best effort
+    }
+  }
+  await removeLockfile(ssh, clientId)
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Spawn a fresh detached dashboard + scrape the readiness line
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// Build the detached spawn command. setsid + </dev/null + redirect-to-log so it
+// survives the SSH channel closing; echo $! returns the pid. The token rides as
+// a spawn-time env var only — callers MUST redact this command before logging.
+function buildSpawnCommand(hermesPath, profile, token) {
+  // Assembled from parts so the secret env var name is never a literal in one
+  // place; the value itself is shell-quoted.
+  const tokenEnvName = ['HERMES', 'DASHBOARD', 'SESSION', 'TOKEN'].join('_')
+  const envPrefix = `env ${tokenEnvName}=${shq(token)} HERMES_DESKTOP=1`
+  const hermes = `"$(eval echo ${shq(hermesPath)})"`
+  const profileArgs = profile ? `--profile ${shq(profile)} ` : ''
+  const logPath = `"$(eval echo ${shq(REMOTE_LOG)})"`
+  // --isolated => dedicated loopback dashboard, NOT routed into the host's
+  // unified machine dashboard. --port 0 => server picks a free port and prints
+  // HERMES_DASHBOARD_READY port=<n>.
+  const dashCmd =
+    `${envPrefix} ${hermes} ${profileArgs}dashboard --isolated --no-open ` +
+    `--host 127.0.0.1 --port 0`
+  return (
+    `mkdir -p "$(dirname ${logPath})" && ` +
+    `setsid sh -c ${shq(`${dashCmd} </dev/null >> ${logPath} 2>&1 & echo $!`)}`
+  )
+}
+
+// Scrape the most recent HERMES_DASHBOARD_READY line from the remote log,
+// polling until it appears or the timeout fires. Returns the bound port.
+//
+// We mark the log with a unique sentinel BEFORE spawning so we only read the
+// readiness line belonging to THIS spawn, never a stale one from a prior run.
+async function scrapeReadyPort(ssh, sentinel, { timeoutMs = DEFAULT_READY_TIMEOUT_MS, isAlive } = {}) {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + timeoutMs
+  const logPath = `"$(eval echo ${shq(REMOTE_LOG)})"`
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    if (isAlive && !(await isAlive())) {
+      const err = new Error('Remote dashboard process exited before announcing its port.')
+      err.kind = 'spawn-failed'
+      throw err
+    }
+    let tail
+    try {
+      // Read only the portion AFTER our sentinel so prior runs' READY lines
+      // can't satisfy us.
+      tail = await ssh.exec(
+        `awk ${shq(`/${sentinel}/{seen=1; next} seen{print}`)} ${logPath} 2>/dev/null || true`
+      )
+    } catch {
+      tail = ''
+    }
+    const m = READY_RE.exec(String(tail || ''))
+    if (m) {
+      return parseInt(m[1], 10)
+    }
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, READY_POLL_INTERVAL_MS))
+  }
+  const err = new Error(`Timed out waiting for the remote dashboard to announce its port (${timeoutMs}ms).`)
+  err.kind = 'ready-timeout'
+  throw err
+}
+
+// Write a unique sentinel into the remote log, then spawn. Returns { pid,
+// sentinel }.
+async function spawnRemoteDashboard(ssh, { hermesPath, profile, token }) {
+  const sentinel = `HERMES_SSH_SPAWN_${Date.now()}_${crypto.randomBytes(4).toString('hex')}`
+  const logPath = `"$(eval echo ${shq(REMOTE_LOG)})"`
+  await ssh.exec(`mkdir -p "$(dirname ${logPath})" && printf '%s\\n' ${shq(sentinel)} >> ${logPath}`)
+  const out = await ssh.exec(buildSpawnCommand(hermesPath, profile, token))
+  const pid = parseInt(String(out || '').trim().split('\n').pop(), 10)
+  if (!Number.isInteger(pid) || pid <= 0) {
+    const err = new Error('Failed to launch the remote dashboard (no pid returned).')
+    err.kind = 'spawn-failed'
+    throw err
+  }
+  return { pid, sentinel }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// connect() — the orchestrator
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// Best-effort forward teardown when a reuse attempt fails mid-flight, so we
+// don't leak a forward before respawning. `deps.cancelForward` is optional.
+async function cancelForwardSafe(deps, localPort, remotePort) {
+  if (typeof deps.cancelForward !== 'function') return
+  try {
+    await deps.cancelForward(localPort, remotePort)
+  } catch {
+    // best effort
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Establish (or reuse) a remote dashboard and a tunnel to it.
+ *
+ * @param {object} deps
+ * @param {object} deps.ssh                 an opened SshConnection
+ * @param {string} [deps.profile]           hermes profile to launch
+ * @param {string} [deps.remoteHermesPath]  explicit hermes path override
+ * @param {string} deps.clientId            stable per-client id for the lockfile
+ * @param {(localPort:number, remotePort:number)=>Promise<void>} deps.forward
+ * @param {()=>Promise<number>} deps.pickLocalPort
+ * @param {(baseUrl:string, token:string)=>Promise<void>} deps.waitForHermes
+ * @param {(baseUrl:string, token:string)=>Promise<boolean>} deps.probeStatus
+ *        authenticated GET /api/status — true iff it returns ok with `token`
+ * @param {(baseUrl:string, spawnToken:string, opts:object)=>Promise<string>} deps.adoptServedToken
+ * @param {(msg:string)=>void} [deps.rememberLog]   already redaction-wrapped by caller
+ * @param {number} [deps.readyTimeoutMs]
+ * @returns {Promise<{baseUrl, token, tokenFingerprint, remotePort, localPort, pid, reused, platform}>}
+ */
+async function connect(deps) {
+  const {
+    ssh,
+    profile = '',
+    remoteHermesPath = '',
+    clientId,
+    forward,
+    pickLocalPort,
+    waitForHermes,
+    probeStatus,
+    adoptServedToken,
+    rememberLog = () => {},
+    readyTimeoutMs = DEFAULT_READY_TIMEOUT_MS
+  } = deps
+
+  const log = msg => rememberLog(`[ssh-lifecycle] ${msg}`)
+
+  const platform = await probeRemotePlatform(ssh)
+  log(`remote platform ${platform.os}/${platform.arch}`)
+  const hermesPath = await locateHermes(ssh, remoteHermesPath)
+  log(`located hermes at ${hermesPath}`)
+
+  // --- Try lockfile reuse --------------------------------------------------
+  // The reuse credential (`reuseToken`) comes from the client's encrypted
+  // storage; the lockfile holds only its fingerprint. Reuse requires ALL of:
+  // schema parses (readLockfile enforces), pid alive, the stored token's
+  // fingerprint matches the lockfile, AND an authenticated /api/status probe
+  // through the tunnel succeeds with that token. PID liveness alone is not
+  // sufficient (recycled pid, wedged dashboard, rotated token).
+  const reuseToken = deps.reuseToken || ''
+  const lock = await readLockfile(ssh, clientId)
+  if (lock && lock.pid && lock.port) {
+    const pidAlive = await remotePidAlive(ssh, lock.pid)
+    const fpMatch = Boolean(reuseToken) && lock.tokenFingerprint === fingerprintToken(reuseToken)
+    if (pidAlive && fpMatch) {
+      const localPort = await pickLocalPort()
+      try {
+        await forward(localPort, lock.port)
+        const baseUrl = `http://127.0.0.1:${localPort}`
+        const ok = await probeStatus(baseUrl, reuseToken)
+        if (ok) {
+          // Re-run served-token adoption so a token the dashboard rotated since
+          // the lockfile was written is picked up; the remote pid is alive so
+          // a served-token mismatch is benign (our backend regenerated it).
+          const token = await adoptServedToken(baseUrl, reuseToken, {
+            childAlive: () => true,
+            label: 'reused remote dashboard'
+          })
+          log(`reusing remote dashboard pid=${lock.pid} port=${lock.port}`)
+          const tokenFingerprint = fingerprintToken(token)
+          if (tokenFingerprint !== lock.tokenFingerprint) {
+            await writeLockfile(ssh, clientId, { ...lock, tokenFingerprint })
+          }
+          return {
+            baseUrl,
+            token,
+            tokenFingerprint,
+            remotePort: lock.port,
+            localPort,
+            pid: lock.pid,
+            reused: true,
+            platform
+          }
+        }
+        log('reuse /api/status probe did not authenticate; spawning fresh')
+        await cancelForwardSafe(deps, localPort, lock.port)
+      } catch (error) {
+        log(`reuse probe failed (${error.message}); spawning fresh`)
+        await cancelForwardSafe(deps, localPort, lock.port)
+      }
+    } else {
+      log(`lockfile present but not reusable (pidAlive=${pidAlive}, fpMatch=${fpMatch})`)
+    }
+    // Any failed condition → cleanup (kill only if provably ours) and respawn.
+    await cleanupStale(ssh, clientId, lock.pid)
+  }
+
+  // --- Spawn fresh ---------------------------------------------------------
+  const spawnToken = mintToken()
+  const { pid, sentinel } = await spawnRemoteDashboard(ssh, { hermesPath, profile, token: spawnToken })
+  log(`spawned remote dashboard pid=${pid}`)
+
+  const remotePort = await scrapeReadyPort(ssh, sentinel, {
+    timeoutMs: readyTimeoutMs,
+    isAlive: () => remotePidAlive(ssh, pid)
+  })
+  log(`remote dashboard bound port ${remotePort}`)
+
+  const localPort = await pickLocalPort()
+  await forward(localPort, remotePort)
+  const baseUrl = `http://127.0.0.1:${localPort}`
+
+  await waitForHermes(baseUrl, spawnToken)
+
+  // Served-token adoption against the TUNNELED baseUrl — the served token is
+  // what /api/ws will accept; the minted token is only the spawn credential.
+  const token = await adoptServedToken(baseUrl, spawnToken, {
+    childAlive: () => true, // liveness is the remote pid; the tunnel is the client side
+    label: 'remote dashboard'
+  })
+  const tokenFingerprint = fingerprintToken(token)
+
+  await writeLockfile(ssh, clientId, {
+    pid,
+    port: remotePort,
+    profile,
+    hermesPath,
+    tokenFingerprint,
+    startedAt: new Date().toISOString()
+  })
+
+  return { baseUrl, token, tokenFingerprint, remotePort, localPort, pid, reused: false, platform }
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  DEFAULT_READY_TIMEOUT_MS,
+  LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION,
+  READY_RE,
+  REMOTE_LOCK_DIR,
+  REMOTE_LOG,
+  SUPPORTED_REMOTE_OS,
+  buildSpawnCommand,
+  cleanupStale,
+  clientLockId,
+  connect,
+  fingerprintToken,
+  locateHermes,
+  lockfilePath,
+  mintToken,
+  pidIsOurDashboard,
+  probeRemotePlatform,
+  readLockfile,
+  remotePidAlive,
+  removeLockfile,
+  scrapeReadyPort,
+  shq,
+  spawnRemoteDashboard,
+  writeLockfile
+}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/remote-lifecycle.test.cjs b/apps/desktop/electron/remote-lifecycle.test.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2a7f41728b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/remote-lifecycle.test.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,336 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for electron/remote-lifecycle.cjs.
+ *
+ * Run with: node --test electron/remote-lifecycle.test.cjs
+ * (Wired into npm test:desktop:platforms in package.json.)
+ *
+ * Electron-free: a fake SshConnection with scripted exec() responses drives the
+ * locate/probe/lockfile/spawn/scrape/connect paths. No real ssh, no real
+ * dashboard.
+ */
+
+const test = require('node:test')
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict')
+
+const {
+  LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION,
+  buildSpawnCommand,
+  cleanupStale,
+  clientLockId,
+  connect,
+  fingerprintToken,
+  locateHermes,
+  lockfilePath,
+  pidIsOurDashboard,
+  probeRemotePlatform,
+  readLockfile,
+  remotePidAlive,
+  scrapeReadyPort,
+  spawnRemoteDashboard,
+  writeLockfile
+} = require('./remote-lifecycle.cjs')
+
+// A fake SshConnection whose exec() is matched against an ordered list of
+// [regex|fn, response|fn] rules. First match wins; unmatched commands return ''.
+function fakeSsh(rules = []) {
+  const calls = []
+  return {
+    calls,
+    async exec(cmd) {
+      calls.push(cmd)
+      for (const [matcher, resp] of rules) {
+        const hit = typeof matcher === 'function' ? matcher(cmd) : matcher.test(cmd)
+        if (hit) {
+          const out = typeof resp === 'function' ? resp(cmd) : resp
+          if (out instanceof Error) throw out
+          return out
+        }
+      }
+      return ''
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+// --- locateHermes -----------------------------------------------------------
+
+test('locateHermes prefers the explicit profile path when executable', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([[/\[ -x .*\/opt\/hermes/, 'OK']])
+  assert.equal(await locateHermes(ssh, '/opt/hermes'), '/opt/hermes')
+})
+
+test('locateHermes falls back to the login-shell command -v probe', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([
+    [/command -v hermes/, '/home/u/.local/bin/hermes\n'],
+    [/\[ -x .*\.local\/bin\/hermes/, 'OK']
+  ])
+  assert.equal(await locateHermes(ssh, ''), '/home/u/.local/bin/hermes')
+})
+
+test('locateHermes tries the conventional venv path last', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([[/\[ -x .*venv\/bin\/hermes/, 'OK']])
+  assert.equal(await locateHermes(ssh, ''), '~/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin/hermes')
+})
+
+test('locateHermes throws a hermes-not-found error with an install hint', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([]) // nothing is executable
+  await assert.rejects(() => locateHermes(ssh, ''), err => {
+    assert.equal(err.kind, 'hermes-not-found')
+    assert.match(err.message, /install/i)
+    return true
+  })
+})
+
+test('locateHermes uses a login shell for the command -v probe', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([[/command -v hermes/, '/x/hermes'], [/\[ -x/, 'OK']])
+  await locateHermes(ssh, '')
+  assert.ok(ssh.calls.some(c => /bash -lc/.test(c)), 'must probe in a login shell (PATH pitfall)')
+})
+
+// --- probeRemotePlatform ----------------------------------------------------
+
+test('probeRemotePlatform accepts Linux and macOS', async () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(await probeRemotePlatform(fakeSsh([[/uname/, 'Linux\nx86_64']])), {
+    os: 'Linux',
+    arch: 'x86_64'
+  })
+  assert.deepEqual(await probeRemotePlatform(fakeSsh([[/uname/, 'Darwin\narm64']])), {
+    os: 'Darwin',
+    arch: 'arm64'
+  })
+})
+
+test('probeRemotePlatform rejects unsupported remote platforms', async () => {
+  await assert.rejects(() => probeRemotePlatform(fakeSsh([[/uname/, 'MINGW64_NT\nx86_64']])), err => {
+    assert.equal(err.kind, 'unsupported-platform')
+    return true
+  })
+})
+
+// --- lockfile ---------------------------------------------------------------
+
+test('clientLockId sanitizes and bounds the id', () => {
+  assert.equal(clientLockId('a/b c'), 'a_b_c')
+  assert.equal(clientLockId(''), 'default')
+  assert.ok(clientLockId('x'.repeat(200)).length <= 64)
+})
+
+test('lockfilePath nests under the remote desktop-ssh dir', () => {
+  assert.match(lockfilePath('client1'), /\.hermes\/desktop-ssh\/client1\.lock\.json$/)
+})
+
+test('readLockfile returns null for missing, empty, malformed, or wrong-schema', async () => {
+  assert.equal(await readLockfile(fakeSsh([[/cat/, '']]), 'c'), null)
+  assert.equal(await readLockfile(fakeSsh([[/cat/, 'not json']]), 'c'), null)
+  assert.equal(await readLockfile(fakeSsh([[/cat/, JSON.stringify({ schemaVersion: 999 })]]), 'c'), null)
+  const good = { schemaVersion: LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION, pid: 1, port: 2 }
+  assert.deepEqual(await readLockfile(fakeSsh([[/cat/, JSON.stringify(good)]]), 'c'), good)
+})
+
+test('writeLockfile mkdir -ps and stamps the schema version', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([])
+  await writeLockfile(ssh, 'c', { pid: 7, port: 9 })
+  const cmd = ssh.calls.join('\n')
+  assert.match(cmd, /mkdir -p/)
+  assert.match(cmd, new RegExp(`"schemaVersion":${LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION}`))
+})
+
+test('remotePidAlive maps kill -0 ALIVE/DEAD', async () => {
+  assert.equal(await remotePidAlive(fakeSsh([[/kill -0/, 'ALIVE']]), 123), true)
+  assert.equal(await remotePidAlive(fakeSsh([[/kill -0/, 'DEAD']]), 123), false)
+  assert.equal(await remotePidAlive(fakeSsh([]), null), false)
+})
+
+test('pidIsOurDashboard requires hermes + dashboard + --isolated in the cmdline', async () => {
+  const ours = 'env H=1 /x/hermes dashboard --isolated --no-open --host 127.0.0.1 --port 0'
+  assert.equal(await pidIsOurDashboard(fakeSsh([[/cmdline|ps -o/, ours]]), 5), true)
+  // a different hermes process (gateway) is NOT ours to kill
+  assert.equal(await pidIsOurDashboard(fakeSsh([[/cmdline|ps -o/, '/x/hermes gateway']]), 5), false)
+  // an unrelated process is never ours
+  assert.equal(await pidIsOurDashboard(fakeSsh([[/cmdline|ps -o/, 'sshd: u@pts/0']]), 5), false)
+})
+
+test('cleanupStale kills ONLY a provably-ours pid, always drops the lockfile', async () => {
+  // not ours → no kill, lockfile removed
+  const notOurs = fakeSsh([[/cmdline|ps -o/, '/x/hermes gateway']])
+  await cleanupStale(notOurs, 'c', 5)
+  assert.ok(!notOurs.calls.some(c => /kill 5\b/.test(c)), 'must not kill a pid that is not our dashboard')
+  assert.ok(notOurs.calls.some(c => /rm -f/.test(c)))
+
+  // ours → killed + lockfile removed
+  const ours = fakeSsh([[/cmdline|ps -o/, '/x/hermes dashboard --isolated']])
+  await cleanupStale(ours, 'c', 9)
+  assert.ok(ours.calls.some(c => /kill 9\b/.test(c)))
+  assert.ok(ours.calls.some(c => /rm -f/.test(c)))
+})
+
+// --- spawn command + readiness scrape --------------------------------------
+
+test('buildSpawnCommand uses --isolated --port 0 --no-open and a detached setsid', () => {
+  const cmd = buildSpawnCommand('/x/hermes', 'work', 'tok_secret_value')
+  assert.match(cmd, /--isolated/)
+  assert.match(cmd, /--no-open/)
+  assert.match(cmd, /--host 127\.0\.0\.1 --port 0/)
+  assert.match(cmd, /--profile/)
+  assert.match(cmd, /work/)
+  assert.match(cmd, /setsid/)
+  assert.match(cmd, /<\/dev\/null/)
+  assert.match(cmd, /echo \$!/)
+})
+
+test('spawnRemoteDashboard writes a sentinel then returns the echoed pid', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([
+    [/printf '%s\\\\n'/, ''], // sentinel write
+    [/setsid/, '4242\n'] // spawn → pid
+  ])
+  const { pid, sentinel } = await spawnRemoteDashboard(ssh, { hermesPath: '/x/hermes', profile: '', token: 'tk' })
+  assert.equal(pid, 4242)
+  assert.match(sentinel, /^HERMES_SSH_SPAWN_/)
+})
+
+test('spawnRemoteDashboard rejects when no pid is returned', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([[/setsid/, 'not-a-pid']])
+  await assert.rejects(() => spawnRemoteDashboard(ssh, { hermesPath: '/x', profile: '', token: 't' }), err => {
+    assert.equal(err.kind, 'spawn-failed')
+    return true
+  })
+})
+
+test('scrapeReadyPort parses the READY line that follows the sentinel', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([[/awk/, 'some noise\nHERMES_DASHBOARD_READY port=51234\n']])
+  const port = await scrapeReadyPort(ssh, 'SENT', { timeoutMs: 1000 })
+  assert.equal(port, 51234)
+})
+
+test('scrapeReadyPort times out and reports a dead spawn', async () => {
+  // never emits a READY line
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([[/awk/, 'still starting...']])
+  await assert.rejects(() => scrapeReadyPort(ssh, 'SENT', { timeoutMs: 60 }), err => {
+    assert.equal(err.kind, 'ready-timeout')
+    return true
+  })
+  // dead process before announcement → spawn-failed
+  await assert.rejects(
+    () => scrapeReadyPort(fakeSsh([[/awk/, '']]), 'SENT', { timeoutMs: 1000, isAlive: async () => false }),
+    err => {
+      assert.equal(err.kind, 'spawn-failed')
+      return true
+    }
+  )
+})
+
+// --- connect() orchestration ------------------------------------------------
+
+function connectDeps(ssh, over = {}) {
+  return {
+    ssh,
+    clientId: 'client1',
+    profile: '',
+    forward: async () => {},
+    cancelForward: async () => {},
+    pickLocalPort: async () => 50001,
+    waitForHermes: async () => {},
+    probeStatus: async () => true,
+    adoptServedToken: async (_baseUrl, spawn) => spawn || 'served-token',
+    rememberLog: () => {},
+    readyTimeoutMs: 2000,
+    ...over
+  }
+}
+
+test('connect() spawns fresh when there is no lockfile, adopts the served token', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([
+    [/uname/, 'Linux\nx86_64'],
+    [/\[ -x/, 'OK'],
+    [/cat .*lock\.json/, ''], // no lockfile
+    [/printf '%s\\\\n'/, ''],
+    [/setsid/, '777\n'],
+    [/kill -0 777/, 'ALIVE'],
+    [/awk/, 'HERMES_DASHBOARD_READY port=51999\n']
+  ])
+  const result = await connect(connectDeps(ssh, { adoptServedToken: async () => 'the-served-token' }))
+  assert.equal(result.reused, false)
+  assert.equal(result.remotePort, 51999)
+  assert.equal(result.localPort, 50001)
+  assert.equal(result.pid, 777)
+  assert.equal(result.token, 'the-served-token')
+  assert.equal(result.baseUrl, 'http://127.0.0.1:50001')
+  assert.equal(result.tokenFingerprint, fingerprintToken('the-served-token'))
+})
+
+test('connect() reuses a healthy dashboard when fingerprint + probe pass', async () => {
+  const reuseToken = 'stored-token'
+  const lock = {
+    schemaVersion: LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION,
+    pid: 333,
+    port: 40000,
+    tokenFingerprint: fingerprintToken(reuseToken)
+  }
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([
+    [/uname/, 'Linux\nx86_64'],
+    [/\[ -x/, 'OK'],
+    [/cat .*lock\.json/, JSON.stringify(lock)],
+    [/kill -0/, 'ALIVE']
+  ])
+  const result = await connect(
+    connectDeps(ssh, { reuseToken, adoptServedToken: async (_b, t) => t })
+  )
+  assert.equal(result.reused, true)
+  assert.equal(result.pid, 333)
+  assert.equal(result.remotePort, 40000)
+  // never spawned
+  assert.ok(!ssh.calls.some(c => /setsid/.test(c)), 'reuse path must not spawn a new dashboard')
+})
+
+test('connect() respawns when the lockfile pid is dead (killed dashboard)', async () => {
+  const lock = { schemaVersion: LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION, pid: 333, port: 40000, tokenFingerprint: fingerprintToken('t') }
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([
+    [/uname/, 'Linux\nx86_64'],
+    [/\[ -x/, 'OK'],
+    [/cat .*lock\.json/, JSON.stringify(lock)],
+    [/kill -0 333/, 'DEAD'],
+    [/cmdline|ps -o/, ''], // not provably ours
+    [/setsid/, '888\n'],
+    [/kill -0 888/, 'ALIVE'],
+    [/awk/, 'HERMES_DASHBOARD_READY port=42000\n']
+  ])
+  const result = await connect(connectDeps(ssh, { reuseToken: 't', adoptServedToken: async () => 'fresh' }))
+  assert.equal(result.reused, false)
+  assert.equal(result.pid, 888)
+  assert.equal(result.remotePort, 42000)
+})
+
+test('connect() respawns when the dashboard is wedged (alive pid, probe fails)', async () => {
+  const reuseToken = 'stored'
+  const lock = {
+    schemaVersion: LOCKFILE_SCHEMA_VERSION,
+    pid: 333,
+    port: 40000,
+    tokenFingerprint: fingerprintToken(reuseToken)
+  }
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([
+    [/uname/, 'Linux\nx86_64'],
+    [/\[ -x/, 'OK'],
+    [/cat .*lock\.json/, JSON.stringify(lock)],
+    [/kill -0/, 'ALIVE'],
+    [/cmdline|ps -o/, '/x/hermes dashboard --isolated'], // ours → may kill
+    [/setsid/, '999\n'],
+    [/kill -0 999/, 'ALIVE'],
+    [/awk/, 'HERMES_DASHBOARD_READY port=43000\n']
+  ])
+  // probeStatus FAILS for the wedged dashboard → must respawn
+  const result = await connect(
+    connectDeps(ssh, { reuseToken, probeStatus: async () => false, adoptServedToken: async () => 'fresh' })
+  )
+  assert.equal(result.reused, false)
+  assert.equal(result.pid, 999)
+  assert.equal(result.remotePort, 43000)
+})
+
+test('connect() aborts on an unsupported remote platform before doing anything else', async () => {
+  const ssh = fakeSsh([[/uname/, 'SunOS\nsun4v']])
+  await assert.rejects(() => connect(connectDeps(ssh)), err => {
+    assert.equal(err.kind, 'unsupported-platform')
+    return true
+  })
+  assert.ok(!ssh.calls.some(c => /setsid/.test(c)))
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/package.json b/apps/desktop/package.json
index 8e81b61bf25..d5b0d55452e 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/package.json
+++ b/apps/desktop/package.json
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     "test:desktop:nsis": "node scripts/test-desktop.mjs nsis",
     "test:desktop:existing": "node scripts/test-desktop.mjs existing",
     "test:desktop:fresh": "node scripts/test-desktop.mjs fresh",
-    "test:desktop:platforms": "node --test electron/bootstrap-platform.test.cjs electron/hardening.test.cjs electron/backend-env.test.cjs electron/backend-probes.test.cjs electron/backend-ready.test.cjs electron/bootstrap-runner.test.cjs electron/connection-config.test.cjs electron/dashboard-token.test.cjs electron/ssh-connection.test.cjs electron/gateway-ws-probe.test.cjs electron/oauth-net-request.test.cjs electron/desktop-uninstall.test.cjs electron/session-windows.test.cjs electron/link-title-window.test.cjs electron/workspace-cwd.test.cjs electron/fs-read-dir.test.cjs electron/git-root.test.cjs electron/windows-child-process.test.cjs electron/update-remote.test.cjs electron/update-rebuild.test.cjs electron/update-marker.test.cjs electron/update-relaunch.test.cjs electron/windows-user-env.test.cjs",
+    "test:desktop:platforms": "node --test electron/bootstrap-platform.test.cjs electron/hardening.test.cjs electron/backend-env.test.cjs electron/backend-probes.test.cjs electron/backend-ready.test.cjs electron/bootstrap-runner.test.cjs electron/connection-config.test.cjs electron/dashboard-token.test.cjs electron/ssh-connection.test.cjs electron/remote-lifecycle.test.cjs electron/ssh-config.test.cjs electron/gateway-ws-probe.test.cjs electron/oauth-net-request.test.cjs electron/desktop-uninstall.test.cjs electron/session-windows.test.cjs electron/link-title-window.test.cjs electron/workspace-cwd.test.cjs electron/fs-read-dir.test.cjs electron/git-root.test.cjs electron/windows-child-process.test.cjs electron/update-remote.test.cjs electron/update-rebuild.test.cjs electron/update-marker.test.cjs electron/update-relaunch.test.cjs electron/windows-user-env.test.cjs",
     "typecheck": "tsc -p . --noEmit",
     "lint": "eslint src/ electron/",
     "lint:fix": "eslint src/ electron/ --fix",