diff --git a/src/session/compaction-handoff.test.ts b/src/session/compaction-handoff.test.ts
index 377e78636..731b055a9 100644
--- a/src/session/compaction-handoff.test.ts
+++ b/src/session/compaction-handoff.test.ts
@@ -292,6 +292,26 @@ describe("extractHandoffArtifact", () => {
     expect(rendered).toContain(token);
     expect(rendered).toContain(`Output: ${token}`);
   });
+
+  test("harvests a later standing token that is a substring of an in-window token", () => {
+    const inWindow = "FILES_DONE=src/a.ts.bak";
+    const later = "FILES_DONE=src/a.ts";
+    const prefix = `${"W".repeat(500 - inWindow.length - 1)} `;
+    const goal = `${prefix}${inWindow} ${later}`;
+    const window = goal.replace(/\s+/g, " ").trim().slice(0, 500);
+    expect(window.endsWith(inWindow)).toBe(true);
+    expect(window.includes(later)).toBe(true);
+    expect(window.includes(`${later} `)).toBe(false);
+
+    const { artifact, spine } = extractHandoffArtifact(
+      [userTurn(goal)],
+      "narrative",
+    );
+    expect(artifact.goal).toBe(goal.replace(/\s+/g, " ").trim());
+    expect(artifact.goal.endsWith(` ${later}`)).toBe(true);
+    expect(spine.goal).toContain(inWindow);
+    expect(spine.goal.endsWith(` ${later}`)).toBe(true);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("recoverEvidenceMarkers", () => {
@@ -698,6 +718,37 @@ describe("iterative folding", () => {
     expect(again.spineText).toContain(token);
   });
 
+  test("without-file re-fold keeps an operator Goal that ends with ellipsis", () => {
+    const goal = "Fix the tests...";
+    const first = buildHandoffFold([userTurn(goal)], "narrative");
+    expect(first.spineText).toContain(`Goal: ${goal}`);
+    expect(first.artifact.goal).toBe(goal);
+
+    const withoutFile = buildHandoffFold(
+      [spineTurn(first.spineText), userTurn("Continue.")],
+      "narrative",
+    );
+    expect(withoutFile.artifact.goal).toBe(goal);
+    expect(withoutFile.spineText).toContain(`Goal: ${goal}`);
+  });
+
+  test("without-file re-fold keeps FILES_DONE=src/foo... as one token", () => {
+    const token = "FILES_DONE=src/foo...";
+    const first = buildHandoffFold([userTurn(token)], "narrative");
+    expect(first.spineText).toContain(`Goal: ${token}`);
+    expect(first.spineText).toContain(`Output: ${token}`);
+    expect(first.artifact.goal).toBe(token);
+
+    const withoutFile = buildHandoffFold(
+      [spineTurn(first.spineText), userTurn("Continue.")],
+      "narrative",
+    );
+    expect(withoutFile.artifact.goal).toBe(token);
+    expect(withoutFile.spineText).toContain(`Goal: ${token}`);
+    expect(withoutFile.spineText).toContain(`Output: ${token}`);
+    expect(withoutFile.artifact.goal).not.toContain(`${token} ${token}`);
+  });
+
   test("a truncated spine fragment collapses into the full prior-file constraint", () => {
     const full = `Must never ship without ${"x".repeat(80)}`;
     const first = buildHandoffFold([userTurn(full)], "narrative");
diff --git a/src/session/compaction-handoff.ts b/src/session/compaction-handoff.ts
index a70932f3c..dfe4bcd01 100644
--- a/src/session/compaction-handoff.ts
+++ b/src/session/compaction-handoff.ts
@@ -127,12 +127,39 @@ function capGoal(text: string, maxChars: number): string {
     if (start < end && tokenEnd > end) end = tokenEnd;
   }
   let capped = line.slice(0, end);
+  const present = new Set(outputFormatTokens(capped));
   for (const token of tokens) {
-    if (!capped.includes(token)) capped = `${capped} ${token}`;
+    if (present.has(token)) continue;
+    capped = `${capped} ${token}`;
+    present.add(token);
   }
   return capped;
 }
 
+function hasStandingOutputToken(goal: string, token: string): boolean {
+  return outputFormatTokens(goal).includes(token);
+}
+
+function trailingEllipsisIsStandingToken(goal: string): boolean {
+  if (!goal.endsWith(SPINE_CUT_SENTINEL)) return false;
+  return outputFormatTokens(goal).some(
+    (token) => token.endsWith(SPINE_CUT_SENTINEL) && goal.endsWith(token),
+  );
+}
+
+function mergeStandingOutputToken(
+  goal: string | undefined,
+  token: string,
+): string {
+  if (goal === undefined || goal.length === 0) return token;
+  if (hasStandingOutputToken(goal, token)) return goal;
+  const prefix =
+    goal.endsWith(SPINE_CUT_SENTINEL) && !trailingEllipsisIsStandingToken(goal)
+      ? goal.slice(0, -SPINE_CUT_SENTINEL.length)
+      : goal;
+  return `${prefix} ${token}`;
+}
+
 function cutSpineGoal(text: string): string {
   const line = text.replace(/\s+/g, " ").trim();
   if (line.length <= SPINE_GOAL_CHARS) return line;
@@ -271,17 +298,17 @@ function parseSpineText(text: string): CarriedFacts {
   for (const line of text.split("\n")) {
     const trimmed = line.trim();
     if (trimmed.startsWith("Goal: ")) {
-      let goal = trimmed.slice("Goal: ".length).trim();
-      if (goal.endsWith(SPINE_CUT_SENTINEL))
-        goal = goal.slice(0, -SPINE_CUT_SENTINEL.length);
+      // Keep operator-authored trailing "..." (Fix the tests...,
+      // FILES_DONE=src/foo...). The spine cut sentinel is stripped only when
+      // mergeStandingOutputToken restores an Output token onto a truncated
+      // Goal prefix.
+      const goal = trimmed.slice("Goal: ".length).trim();
       if (goal.length > 0) carried.goal = goal;
     } else if (trimmed.startsWith(HANDOFF_OUTPUT_LINE_PREFIX)) {
       for (const token of outputFormatTokens(
         trimmed.slice(HANDOFF_OUTPUT_LINE_PREFIX.length),
       )) {
-        if (carried.goal === undefined) carried.goal = token;
-        else if (!carried.goal.includes(token))
-          carried.goal = `${carried.goal} ${token}`;
+        carried.goal = mergeStandingOutputToken(carried.goal, token);
       }
     } else if (trimmed.startsWith("Constraints: ")) {
       for (const constraint of trimmed