diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent-prompts.ts b/packages/core/src/agent-prompts.ts
index 50c6054db8..739895c07b 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/agent-prompts.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent-prompts.ts
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ For bug-fix tasks, paste and fill in this checklist in the \`## Surface Enumerat
 
 ### Step {N-1}: Testing & Verification
 
-> ZERO test failures allowed. Full test suite as quality gate.
+> ZERO failures allowed for checks required by this task's quality gates. Run impacted/package-scoped verification first; run workspace-wide suites only when the task or workflow explicitly requires them, or during final integration after impacted checks pass.
 > If keeping lint/tests/build/typecheck green requires edits outside the initial File Scope, make those fixes as part of this task.
 
 - [ ] Run lint check (\`pnpm lint\`)
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ tests. Manual verification is NOT a test.
 - For bug fixes, the spec MUST include a \`## Surface Enumeration\` section. During self-review via \`fn_review_spec()\`, treat a missing section on a bug-fix spec as a blocking REVISE.
 - For bug fixes, populate \`## Surface Enumeration\` with this checklist from \`docs/testing.md\`: providers/bridges/execution paths; desktop + mobile breakpoints/platforms; empty/undefined/duplicate/populated data states; shared hooks/components/modules/helpers.
 - For bug fixes, regression tests must assert the invariant across all known surfaces — enumerate every provider/bridge, desktop + mobile breakpoints, and empty/undefined/populated data states — not just the reported repro (see FN-5787/FN-5789/FN-5803 and FN-5751)
-- The final Testing step runs lint, the FULL test suite, and project typecheck when the repo exposes one
+- The final Testing step runs lint, impacted/package-scoped tests first, and project typecheck when the repo exposes one. Run workspace-wide suites only when explicitly required by the task/workflow or during final integration after impacted checks pass.
 - Specs must instruct executors to fix lint failures and quality-gate failures directly, even when the required edits extend beyond the original File Scope
 - If the project has no test framework, the Testing step must include setting one up
   as part of this task (not just skipping tests)
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/concurrency.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/concurrency.test.ts
index 5276c46af3..9d8e51ba20 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/concurrency.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/concurrency.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi } from "vitest";
-import { AgentSemaphore, PRIORITY_MERGE, PRIORITY_EXECUTE, PRIORITY_SPECIFY } from "../concurrency.js";
+import type { Task } from "@fusion/core";
+import {
+  AgentSemaphore,
+  PRIORITY_MERGE,
+  PRIORITY_EXECUTE,
+  PRIORITY_SPECIFY,
+  recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate,
+} from "../concurrency.js";
 
 describe("AgentSemaphore", () => {
   it("allows immediate acquire when under limit", async () => {
@@ -184,6 +191,59 @@ describe("AgentSemaphore", () => {
     sem.release();
   });
 
+  it("recovers idle semaphore leaks only after a stable persisted-idle window", async () => {
+    const sem = new AgentSemaphore(2);
+    await sem.acquire();
+    const tasks: Task[] = [];
+
+    const first = recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate({
+      semaphore: sem,
+      tasks,
+      candidateSinceMs: null,
+      nowMs: 1_000,
+    });
+    expect(first).toEqual({ candidateSinceMs: 1_000 });
+    expect(sem.activeCount).toBe(1);
+
+    const early = recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate({
+      semaphore: sem,
+      tasks,
+      candidateSinceMs: first.candidateSinceMs,
+      nowMs: 5_000,
+    });
+    expect(early).toEqual({ candidateSinceMs: 1_000 });
+    expect(sem.activeCount).toBe(1);
+
+    const repaired = recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate({
+      semaphore: sem,
+      tasks,
+      candidateSinceMs: early.candidateSinceMs,
+      nowMs: 6_001,
+    });
+    expect(repaired).toEqual({
+      candidateSinceMs: null,
+      reconciliation: { before: 1, after: 0, changed: true },
+    });
+    expect(sem.activeCount).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("does not recover while callers report in-flight work not yet persisted", async () => {
+    const sem = new AgentSemaphore(2);
+    await sem.acquire();
+
+    const result = recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate({
+      semaphore: sem,
+      tasks: [],
+      candidateSinceMs: Date.now() - 6_000,
+      inFlightCount: 1,
+      nowMs: Date.now(),
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({ candidateSinceMs: null });
+    expect(sem.activeCount).toBe(1);
+    sem.release();
+  });
+
   it("run() gates concurrent calls", async () => {
     const sem = new AgentSemaphore(2);
     let concurrent = 0;
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/executor-core.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/executor-core.test.ts
index 5729bf16c1..72f2289d3d 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/executor-core.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/executor-core.test.ts
@@ -990,13 +990,13 @@ describe("TaskExecutor messaging tools", () => {
       });
 
       // Fast mode should still enforce fn_task_done requirement.
-      // After 3 retries it should fail and requeue.
+      // While retry budget remains, failures requeue instead of becoming terminal.
       expect(onError).toHaveBeenCalled();
       expect(store.updateTask).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
         "FN-001",
         expect.objectContaining({
-          status: "failed",
-          error: "Agent finished without calling fn_task_done (after 3 retries)",
+          status: "queued",
+          error: null,
           taskDoneRetryCount: 1,
         }),
       );
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/merger-post-merge.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/merger-post-merge.test.ts
index b55f4d598f..ab06b2704a 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/merger-post-merge.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/merger-post-merge.test.ts
@@ -149,13 +149,14 @@ import {
 } from "../merger.js";
 import { mergerLog } from "../logger.js";
 import { createFnAgent } from "../pi.js";
-import { execSync, exec } from "node:child_process";
+import { execSync, exec, spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import * as core from "@fusion/core";
 import { type TaskStore, type Task, type MergeResult, DEFAULT_SETTINGS } from "@fusion/core";
 
 const mockedCreateFnAgent = vi.mocked(createFnAgent);
 const mockedExecSync = vi.mocked(execSync);
 const mockedExec = vi.mocked(exec);
+const mockedSpawn = vi.mocked(spawn);
 const { existsSync: mockedExistsSyncRaw, readFileSync: mockedReadFileSyncRaw } = await import("node:fs");
 const mockedExistsSync = vi.mocked(mockedExistsSyncRaw);
 const mockedReadFileSync = vi.mocked(mockedReadFileSyncRaw);
@@ -707,9 +708,9 @@ describe("aiMergeTask — post-merge workflow steps", () => {
 
     const result = await aiMergeTask(store, "/tmp/root", "FN-050");
 
-    const scriptExecCall = mockedExec.mock.calls.find((call: any) => String(call[0]) === "pnpm build");
-    expect(scriptExecCall).toBeDefined();
-    expect(scriptExecCall?.[1]?.cwd).toMatch(/\.worktrees\/post-merge-FN-050-[a-z0-9]+/);
+    const scriptSpawnCall = mockedSpawn.mock.calls.find((call: any) => String(call[0]) === "pnpm build");
+    expect(scriptSpawnCall).toBeDefined();
+    expect(scriptSpawnCall?.[2]?.cwd).toMatch(/\.worktrees\/post-merge-FN-050-[a-z0-9]+/);
 
     expect(result.merged).toBe(true);
     expect(store.moveTask).toHaveBeenCalledWith("FN-050", "done");
@@ -906,4 +907,3 @@ describe("aiMergeTask — post-merge workflow steps", () => {
 
 // ── Merge Details Collection Tests ─────────────────────────────────────
 
-
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/concurrency.ts b/packages/engine/src/concurrency.ts
index 19d9d56ed1..651d3032b2 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/concurrency.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/concurrency.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import type { Task } from "@fusion/core";
+
 /** Priority level for merge agents — served first. */
 export const PRIORITY_MERGE = 2;
 /** Priority level for execution agents — served after merge, before specify. */
@@ -11,6 +13,59 @@ interface PriorityWaiter {
   resolve: () => void;
 }
 
+export const IDLE_SEMAPHORE_LEAK_REPAIR_MS = 5_000;
+
+export function persistedTopLevelAgentSlots(tasks: Task[]): number {
+  return tasks.filter((task) => (
+    task.column === "in-progress"
+    || (task.column === "triage" && task.status === "planning" && !task.paused)
+    || (task.column === "in-review" && ["merging", "reviewing", "fixing"].includes(String(task.status ?? "")))
+  )).length;
+}
+
+export interface IdleSemaphoreLeakRecoveryResult {
+  candidateSinceMs: number | null;
+  reconciliation?: { before: number; after: number; changed: boolean };
+}
+
+export function recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate(params: {
+  semaphore: AgentSemaphore | undefined;
+  tasks: Task[];
+  candidateSinceMs: number | null;
+  inFlightCount?: number;
+  nowMs?: number;
+  repairAfterMs?: number;
+}): IdleSemaphoreLeakRecoveryResult {
+  const {
+    semaphore,
+    tasks,
+    candidateSinceMs,
+    inFlightCount = 0,
+    nowMs = Date.now(),
+    repairAfterMs = IDLE_SEMAPHORE_LEAK_REPAIR_MS,
+  } = params;
+
+  if (!semaphore) return { candidateSinceMs: null };
+
+  const persistedActive = persistedTopLevelAgentSlots(tasks);
+  if (persistedActive !== 0 || semaphore.activeCount <= 0 || inFlightCount > 0) {
+    return { candidateSinceMs: null };
+  }
+
+  if (candidateSinceMs === null) {
+    return { candidateSinceMs: nowMs };
+  }
+
+  if (nowMs - candidateSinceMs < repairAfterMs) {
+    return { candidateSinceMs };
+  }
+
+  return {
+    candidateSinceMs: null,
+    reconciliation: semaphore.reconcileActiveCount(0),
+  };
+}
+
 /**
  * A concurrency semaphore that gates all agentic activities (triage specification,
  * task execution, and merge operations) behind a shared slot limit.
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/run-verification-tool.ts b/packages/engine/src/run-verification-tool.ts
index 0605c6b4ae..3bacdc4de2 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/run-verification-tool.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/run-verification-tool.ts
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ export async function runVerificationCommand(
       },
       shell: true,
       killGraceMs: SIGKILL_GRACE_MS,
-      maxLifetimeMs: timeoutMs + SIGKILL_GRACE_MS + 1_000,
+      maxLifetimeMs: timeoutMs > 0 ? timeoutMs + SIGKILL_GRACE_MS + 1_000 : undefined,
     });
     const child = supervised.child;
 
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/scheduler.ts b/packages/engine/src/scheduler.ts
index 188242ffc1..f3cb27743a 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/scheduler.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/scheduler.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
 import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { join } from "node:path";
-import type { AgentSemaphore } from "./concurrency.js";
+import { recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate, type AgentSemaphore } from "./concurrency.js";
 import { planTaskWorktreePath, resolveTaskWorkingBranch } from "./worktree-names.js";
 import { schedulerLog } from "./logger.js";
 import { type PrMonitor, type PrComment } from "./pr-monitor.js";
@@ -315,38 +315,24 @@ interface ConcurrencyGateDiagnostic {
   perColumnGates?: PerColumnCapacityGate[];
 }
 
-const IDLE_SEMAPHORE_LEAK_REPAIR_MS = 5_000;
-
-function persistedTopLevelAgentSlots(tasks: Task[]): number {
-  return tasks.filter((task) => (
-    task.column === "in-progress"
-    || (task.column === "triage" && task.status === "planning" && !task.paused)
-    || (task.column === "in-review" && ["merging", "reviewing", "fixing"].includes(String(task.status ?? "")))
-  )).length;
-}
-
 function recoverIdleSemaphoreLeak(
   semaphore: AgentSemaphore | undefined,
   tasks: Task[],
   source: string,
   candidateSinceMs: number | null,
 ): number | null {
-  if (!semaphore) return null;
-  const persistedActive = persistedTopLevelAgentSlots(tasks);
-  if (persistedActive !== 0 || semaphore.activeCount <= 0) return null;
-
-  const now = Date.now();
-  if (candidateSinceMs === null) return now;
-  if (now - candidateSinceMs < IDLE_SEMAPHORE_LEAK_REPAIR_MS) return candidateSinceMs;
-
-  const result = semaphore.reconcileActiveCount(0);
-  if (result.changed) {
+  const result = recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate({
+    semaphore,
+    tasks,
+    candidateSinceMs,
+  });
+  if (result.reconciliation?.changed) {
     schedulerLog.warn(
-      `${source}: recovered stale semaphore active count ${result.before} -> ${result.after} ` +
+      `${source}: recovered stale semaphore active count ${result.reconciliation.before} -> ${result.reconciliation.after} ` +
       "(no persisted in-progress/planning/review agent work)",
     );
   }
-  return null;
+  return result.candidateSinceMs;
 }
 
 function computeConcurrencyGateDiagnostic(params: {
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/triage.ts b/packages/engine/src/triage.ts
index 180c560d9b..d8ac33a5ba 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/triage.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/triage.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ import {
   formatExternalIntegrationEvidenceDiagnostic,
 } from "./spec-validation/external-integration-evidence.js";
 import { buildSessionSkillContext } from "./session-skill-context.js";
-import { PRIORITY_SPECIFY, type AgentSemaphore } from "./concurrency.js";
+import { PRIORITY_SPECIFY, recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate, type AgentSemaphore } from "./concurrency.js";
 import { AgentLogger } from "./agent-logger.js";
 import {
   resolveAgentInstructions,
@@ -169,11 +169,11 @@ For bug-fix tasks, paste and fill in this checklist in the \`## Surface Enumerat
 
 ### Step {N-1}: Testing & Verification
 
-> ZERO test failures allowed. Full test suite as quality gate.
+> ZERO failures allowed for checks required by this task's quality gates. Run impacted/package-scoped verification first; run workspace-wide suites only when the task or workflow explicitly requires them, or during final integration after impacted checks pass.
 > If keeping lint/tests/build/typecheck green requires edits outside the initial File Scope, make those fixes as part of this task.
 
 - [ ] Run lint check (\`pnpm lint\`)
-- [ ] Run full test suite
+- [ ] Run impacted tests
 - [ ] Run project typecheck if available
 - [ ] Fix all failures
 - [ ] Build passes
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ tests. Manual verification is NOT a test.
 - For bug fixes, the spec MUST include a \`## Surface Enumeration\` section. During self-review via \`fn_review_spec()\`, treat a missing section on a bug-fix spec as a blocking REVISE.
 - For bug fixes, populate \`## Surface Enumeration\` with this checklist from \`docs/testing.md\`: providers/bridges/execution paths; desktop + mobile breakpoints/platforms; empty/undefined/duplicate/populated data states; shared hooks/components/modules/helpers.
 - For bug fixes, regression tests must assert the invariant across all known surfaces — enumerate every provider/bridge, desktop + mobile breakpoints, and empty/undefined/populated data states — not just the reported repro (see FN-5787/FN-5789/FN-5803 and FN-5751)
-- The final Testing step runs lint, the FULL test suite, and project typecheck when the repo exposes one
+- The final Testing step runs lint, impacted/package-scoped tests first, and project typecheck when the repo exposes one. Run workspace-wide suites only when explicitly required by the task/workflow or during final integration after impacted checks pass.
 - Specs must instruct executors to fix lint failures and quality-gate failures directly, even when the required edits extend beyond the original File Scope
 - If the project has no test framework, the Testing step must include setting one up
   as part of this task (not just skipping tests)
@@ -473,11 +473,11 @@ For bug-fix tasks, paste and fill in this checklist in the \`## Surface Enumerat
 
 ### Step {N-1}: Testing & Verification
 
-> ZERO test failures allowed. Full test suite as quality gate.
+> ZERO failures allowed for checks required by this task's quality gates. Run impacted/package-scoped verification first; run workspace-wide suites only when the task or workflow explicitly requires them, or during final integration after impacted checks pass.
 > If keeping lint/tests/build/typecheck green requires edits outside the initial File Scope, make those fixes as part of this task.
 
 - [ ] Run lint check (\`pnpm lint\`)
-- [ ] Run full test suite
+- [ ] Run impacted tests
 - [ ] Run project typecheck if available
 - [ ] Build passes
 
@@ -1000,27 +1000,20 @@ export class TriageProcessor {
       const now = Date.now();
 
       if (this.options.semaphore) {
-        const persistedActive = allTasks.filter((task) => (
-          task.column === "in-progress"
-          || (task.column === "triage" && task.status === "planning" && !task.paused)
-          || (task.column === "in-review" && ["merging", "reviewing", "fixing"].includes(String(task.status ?? "")))
-        )).length;
-        if (persistedActive === 0 && this.options.semaphore.activeCount > 0 && this.processing.size === 0) {
-          if (this.idleSemaphoreLeakCandidateSince === null) {
-            this.idleSemaphoreLeakCandidateSince = now;
-          } else if (now - this.idleSemaphoreLeakCandidateSince >= 5_000) {
-            const result = this.options.semaphore.reconcileActiveCount(0);
-            if (result.changed) {
-              planLog.warn(
-                `triage: recovered stale semaphore active count ${result.before} -> ${result.after} ` +
-                "(no persisted in-progress/planning/review agent work)",
-              );
-            }
-            this.idleSemaphoreLeakCandidateSince = null;
-          }
-        } else {
-          this.idleSemaphoreLeakCandidateSince = null;
+        const result = recoverIdleSemaphoreLeakCandidate({
+          semaphore: this.options.semaphore,
+          tasks: allTasks,
+          candidateSinceMs: this.idleSemaphoreLeakCandidateSince,
+          inFlightCount: this.processing.size,
+          nowMs: now,
+        });
+        if (result.reconciliation?.changed) {
+          planLog.warn(
+            `triage: recovered stale semaphore active count ${result.reconciliation.before} -> ${result.reconciliation.after} ` +
+            "(no persisted in-progress/planning/review agent work)",
+          );
         }
+        this.idleSemaphoreLeakCandidateSince = result.candidateSinceMs;
       }
 
       const eligibleTriageTasks = allTasks.filter(