diff --git a/.changeset/mock-provider-step-indexing.md b/.changeset/mock-provider-step-indexing.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1f00ea0519
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/mock-provider-step-indexing.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"@runfusion/fusion": patch
+---
+
+summary: Test mode tasks complete again — the mock executor marked the wrong steps since the 0-based step change.
+category: fix
+dev: mock-provider.ts sent 1-based step numbers to fn_task_update (0-based since FN-6607), so scripted full-task runs never marked Step 0 and failed with "Step N out of range" at steps#0:step-execute.
diff --git a/packages/core/src/__tests__/central-core-init-bootstrap-guard.test.ts b/packages/core/src/__tests__/central-core-init-bootstrap-guard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2a7378563b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/__tests__/central-core-init-bootstrap-guard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/**
+ * FNXC:CentralCore 2026-07-28-03:00:
+ * Regression guard for GET /api/activity-feed 500
+ * (`backendHandle is only available in backend mode (asyncLayer injected)`).
+ * #2454 left `createCentralBackendLayer` as dead code behind an early return on
+ * layer-less `init()`. Dashboard/CLI call sites use `new CentralCore(); await init()`
+ * without `attachBackendLayer`, so init must still bootstrap PG.
+ */
+// @vitest-environment node
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const centralCoreSrc = readFileSync(
+  join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), "../central-core.ts"),
+  "utf8",
+);
+
+describe("CentralCore.init layer-less PG bootstrap", () => {
+  it("keeps createCentralBackendLayer reachable (no #2454 early-return no-op)", () => {
+    const initStart = centralCoreSrc.indexOf("async init(): Promise<void>");
+    expect(initStart).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+    const initEnd = centralCoreSrc.indexOf("async close(): Promise<void>", initStart);
+    expect(initEnd).toBeGreaterThan(initStart);
+    const initBody = centralCoreSrc.slice(initStart, initEnd);
+
+    expect(initBody).toContain("createCentralBackendLayer");
+    // The regression: after the asyncLayer branch, mark initialized and return
+    // without ever reaching createCentralBackendLayer.
+    expect(initBody).not.toMatch(
+      /if \(this\.asyncLayer\) \{[\s\S]*?\n\s*\}\s*\n\s*this\.initialized = true;\s*\n\s*return;\s*\n/,
+    );
+    // Bootstrap must still assign the owned layer + shutdown hooks.
+    expect(initBody).toContain("ownedBackendShutdown");
+    expect(initBody).toContain("ownedBackendReleaseConnections");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/central-core.ts b/packages/core/src/central-core.ts
index b0ac793b90..abf75fb7d3 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/central-core.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/central-core.ts
@@ -355,7 +355,13 @@ export class CentralCore extends EventEmitter<CentralCoreEvents> {
   private async initializeOnce(): Promise<void> {
     this.assertOpen();
     if (this.initialized) return;
+    /*
+    FNXC:SqliteDualPathCleanup 2026-07-26-14:15:
+    CentralCore.init is PostgreSQL-only (SQLite CentralDatabase path deleted).
 
+    FNXC:CentralCore 2026-07-28-03:00:
+    #2454 accidentally early-returned on layer-less init and left the PG bootstrap as dead code. Dashboard routes (e.g. GET /api/activity-feed) and CLI fallbacks call `new CentralCore(); await init(); getRecentActivity()` without attachBackendLayer, so a no-op init throws backendHandle ("only available in backend mode"). Restore layer-less createCentralBackendLayer bootstrap. When a pre-injected asyncLayer exists, bootstrap that shared layer only. Runtime serve may still call attachBackendLayer later to adopt the TaskStore pool (releases any owned central-only pool).
+    */
     if (this.asyncLayer) {
       await asyncCentralCore.ensureBackendBootstrap(this.asyncLayer);
       this.initialized = true;
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/src/routes/register-setup-activity-routes.ts b/packages/dashboard/src/routes/register-setup-activity-routes.ts
index a8078a6dd3..e597acc550 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/src/routes/register-setup-activity-routes.ts
+++ b/packages/dashboard/src/routes/register-setup-activity-routes.ts
@@ -90,12 +90,18 @@ router.get("/activity-feed", async (req, res) => {
     const typesParam = typeof req.query.types === "string" ? req.query.types.split(",") : undefined;
     const types = typesParam as import("@fusion/core").ActivityEventType[] | undefined;
 
-    const { CentralCore } = await import("@fusion/core");
-    const central = new CentralCore();
-    await central.init();
+    /*
+    FNXC:ActivityFeed 2026-07-28-03:00:
+    Prefer the server-owned centralCore (already backend-mode with asyncLayer) over `new CentralCore()` so GET /api/activity-feed does not open a per-request pool and cannot hit backendHandle-before-attach. Mirrors global-concurrency / setup-state routes. Layer-less fallback still works once CentralCore.init restores PG bootstrap (#2454 regression).
+    */
+    const central = options?.centralCore ?? new (await import("@fusion/core")).CentralCore();
+    const shouldClose = !options?.centralCore;
+    if (shouldClose || (typeof central.isInitialized === "function" && !central.isInitialized())) {
+      await central.init();
+    }
 
     const entries = await central.getRecentActivity({ limit, projectId, types });
-    await central.close();
+    if (shouldClose) await central.close();
 
     res.json(entries);
   } catch (err: unknown) {
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/mock-provider.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/mock-provider.test.ts
index 08d175fac6..bfb167423b 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/mock-provider.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/mock-provider.test.ts
@@ -149,7 +149,9 @@ describe("MockAgentRuntime", () => {
     clearMockScript({ sessionPurpose: "executor", taskId });
     updateExecute.mockClear();
     await runtime.promptWithFallback(session, "default");
-    expect(updateExecute).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.any(String), { step: 1, status: "done" }, undefined, undefined, expect.anything());
+    // FNXC:MockProvider 2026-07-31-13:00: fn_task_update.step is 0-based (FN-6607); this expectation
+    // previously pinned the mock's 1-based off-by-one, which skipped Step 0 and overran the last step.
+    expect(updateExecute).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.any(String), { step: 0, status: "done" }, undefined, undefined, expect.anything());
   });
 
   it("treats graph-owned executor step sessions as successful without lifecycle tools", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/providers/mock-provider.ts b/packages/engine/src/providers/mock-provider.ts
index 46d9185b33..b435d91e2b 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/providers/mock-provider.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/providers/mock-provider.ts
@@ -226,7 +226,16 @@ const DEFAULT_SCRIPTS: Record<MockSessionPurpose, MockScript> = {
       }
       for (const [index, step] of steps.entries()) {
         if (step.status !== "done" && step.status !== "skipped") {
-          await ctx.invokeTool("fn_task_update", { step: index + 1, status: "done" });
+          /*
+          FNXC:MockProvider 2026-07-31-13:00:
+          fn_task_update.step is 0-BASED since FN-6607 (see executor.ts FNXC:StepNumbering) — the same
+          number agents see in PROMPT.md, where Step 0 is Preflight. This call kept the pre-FN-6607
+          1-based convention, so under test mode the mock marked steps 1..N instead of 0..N-1: Step 0
+          was never marked done and step N threw "Step N out of range", failing the graph at
+          steps#0:step-execute on every scripted full-task run. Found by a live browser E2E of the
+          coding workflow in test mode.
+          */
+          await ctx.invokeTool("fn_task_update", { step: index, status: "done" });
         }
       }
       ctx.options.onText?.("Mock executor completed scripted step updates.");