diff --git a/gitnexus/test/integration/analyze-staged-embedding-recovery.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/integration/analyze-staged-embedding-recovery.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dbb5b893e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/test/integration/analyze-staged-embedding-recovery.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,449 @@
+/**
+ * Exercise the CLI -> native staged DB -> durable checkpoint -> SIGKILL ->
+ * isolated recovery -> graph rebuild -> publication chain. The endpoint is
+ * local and deterministic; request text is the billing/reuse oracle.
+ */
+import { spawn, spawnSync, type ChildProcess } from 'node:child_process';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import http from 'node:http';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from 'node:url';
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { CLI_SPAWN_PREFIX, tsxLoaderUrl } from '../helpers/cli-entry.js';
+
+const DIMS = 8;
+const NODE_COUNT = 5_128;
+const DEADLINE = process.env.CI ? 180_000 : 120_000;
+const packageRoot = path.resolve(path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '..', '..');
+const adapterUrl = pathToFileURL(path.join(packageRoot, 'src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.ts')).href;
+
+interface CheckpointMeta {
+  repoPath: string;
+  stats?: { embeddings?: number };
+  embeddingCheckpoint?: {
+    nodesProcessed: number;
+    chunksProcessed: number;
+    pendingNodeIds?: string[];
+    recovery?: { stagingFile: string; schemaFingerprint: string; unsafeNodeIds: string[] };
+  };
+}
+
+interface Run {
+  child: ChildProcess;
+  output: () => string;
+  done: Promise<{ code: number | null; signal: NodeJS.Signals | null; output: string }>;
+}
+
+let root: string;
+let stoppedRepo: string;
+let server: http.Server;
+let endpoint: string;
+let submitted: string[] = [];
+let completed: string[] = [];
+let durableTexts: string[] = [];
+const activeWindowCompleted: string[] = [];
+let held: string[] = [];
+let stopAfterCheckpoint = false;
+let currentRepo: string;
+let gateResolve: (() => void) | undefined;
+const running = new Set<ChildProcess>();
+
+function readMeta(repo: string): CheckpointMeta {
+  return JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(repo, '.gitnexus', 'gitnexus.json'), 'utf8'));
+}
+
+function cliEnv(repo: string): NodeJS.ProcessEnv {
+  const env = { ...process.env };
+  for (const key of Object.keys(env)) {
+    if (key.startsWith('GITNEXUS_EMBEDDING_') || key.startsWith('GITNEXUS_STORAGE_'))
+      delete env[key];
+  }
+  return {
+    ...env,
+    GITNEXUS_HOME: path.join(root, `home-${path.basename(repo)}`),
+    GITNEXUS_SHARED_STORE: 'off',
+    GITNEXUS_LBUG_EXTENSION_INSTALL: 'never',
+    GITNEXUS_LBUG_BUFFER_POOL_SIZE: String(256 * 1024 * 1024),
+    GITNEXUS_EMBEDDING_URL: endpoint,
+    GITNEXUS_EMBEDDING_MODEL: 'staged-recovery-fixture',
+    GITNEXUS_EMBEDDING_DIMS: String(DIMS),
+    GITNEXUS_EMBEDDING_BATCH_SIZE: '5000',
+    GITNEXUS_EMBEDDING_SUB_BATCH_SIZE: '64',
+    GITNEXUS_EMBEDDING_MAX_ATTEMPTS: '1',
+    GITNEXUS_EMBEDDING_CACHE_IN_MEMORY_LIMIT: '0',
+    GITNEXUS_MEMORY: 'off',
+    // SIGKILL skips process exit hooks; keep orphaned cache/export spills in
+    // this suite's owned directory so afterAll can remove them as well.
+    TMPDIR: path.join(root, 'tmp'),
+    NODE_OPTIONS: `${process.env.NODE_OPTIONS || ''} --max-old-space-size=2048`.trim(),
+    CI: '1',
+  };
+}
+
+function runAnalyze(repo: string, flags: string[] = [], onOutput?: (output: string) => void): Run {
+  let output = '';
+  const child = spawn(
+    process.execPath,
+    [
+      ...CLI_SPAWN_PREFIX,
+      'analyze',
+      repo,
+      '--no-share',
+      '--skip-skills',
+      '--skip-fts',
+      '--workers',
+      '1',
+      ...flags,
+    ],
+    { cwd: repo, env: cliEnv(repo), stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'] },
+  );
+  running.add(child);
+  const timeout = setTimeout(() => child.kill('SIGKILL'), DEADLINE);
+  const collect = (chunk: Buffer) => {
+    output += chunk.toString();
+    onOutput?.(output);
+  };
+  child.stdout?.on('data', collect);
+  child.stderr?.on('data', collect);
+  const done = new Promise<{ code: number | null; signal: NodeJS.Signals | null; output: string }>(
+    (resolve, reject) => {
+      child.once('error', reject);
+      child.once('close', (code, signal) => {
+        clearTimeout(timeout);
+        running.delete(child);
+        resolve({ code, signal, output });
+      });
+    },
+  );
+  return { child, done, output: () => output };
+}
+
+async function successfulAnalyze(repo: string, flags: string[] = []): Promise<string[]> {
+  submitted = [];
+  stopAfterCheckpoint = false;
+  currentRepo = repo;
+  const result = await runAnalyze(repo, flags).done;
+  expect(result.output, `CLI exited ${result.code}, signal ${result.signal}`).not.toContain(
+    'SIGABRT',
+  );
+  expect(result.code, result.output).toBe(0);
+  return [...submitted];
+}
+
+function cloneStoppedRepo(name: string): string {
+  const repo = path.join(root, name);
+  fs.cpSync(stoppedRepo, repo, { recursive: true });
+  for (const filename of ['gitnexus.json', 'meta.json']) {
+    const target = path.join(repo, '.gitnexus', filename);
+    const meta = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(target, 'utf8'));
+    meta.repoPath = repo;
+    meta.storagePath = path.join(repo, '.gitnexus');
+    fs.writeFileSync(target, JSON.stringify(meta));
+  }
+  return repo;
+}
+
+function readPublishedRows(
+  repo: string,
+): Array<{ nodeId: string; chunkIndex: number; embedding: number[] }> {
+  // Keep native handles out of the vitest fork, and wait for clean teardown
+  // before accepting the receipt. Every read opens only a published DB.
+  const receiptPath = path.join(root, `rows-${path.basename(repo)}.json`);
+  const script = `
+    const adapter = await import(${JSON.stringify(adapterUrl)});
+    const fs = await import('node:fs');
+    await adapter.initLbug(${JSON.stringify(path.join(repo, '.gitnexus', 'lbug'))});
+    try {
+      const rows = await adapter.executeQuery('MATCH (e:CodeEmbedding) RETURN e.nodeId AS nodeId, e.chunkIndex AS chunkIndex, e.embedding AS embedding');
+      fs.writeFileSync(${JSON.stringify(receiptPath)}, JSON.stringify(rows));
+      console.log('ROWS_RECEIPT:' + rows.length);
+    } finally { await adapter.closeLbug(); }
+  `;
+  const result = spawnSync(
+    process.execPath,
+    ['--import', tsxLoaderUrl(), '--input-type=module', '-e', script],
+    {
+      cwd: packageRoot,
+      env: cliEnv(repo),
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      timeout: 30_000,
+    },
+  );
+  try {
+    const diagnostic =
+      `${result.error ?? ''} ${result.signal ?? ''}\n${result.stderr}\n${result.stdout}`.slice(
+        0,
+        4096,
+      );
+    expect(result.status, diagnostic).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toMatch(/ROWS_RECEIPT:\d+/);
+    return JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(receiptPath, 'utf8'));
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(receiptPath, { force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+function expectPublishedComplete(repo: string, expectedNodes: number): void {
+  const meta = readMeta(repo);
+  expect(meta.embeddingCheckpoint).toBeUndefined();
+  const rows = readPublishedRows(repo);
+  expect(new Set(rows.map((row) => row.nodeId)).size).toBe(expectedNodes);
+  expect(meta.stats?.embeddings).toBe(rows.length);
+  const byNode = new Map<string, number[]>();
+  for (const row of rows) {
+    expect(row.embedding).toHaveLength(DIMS);
+    expect(row.embedding.every(Number.isFinite)).toBe(true);
+    const indices = byNode.get(row.nodeId) ?? [];
+    indices.push(row.chunkIndex);
+    byNode.set(row.nodeId, indices);
+  }
+  for (const indices of byNode.values()) {
+    expect(indices.sort((a, b) => a - b)).toEqual(
+      Array.from({ length: indices.length }, (_, index) => index),
+    );
+  }
+  expect(
+    fs.readdirSync(path.join(repo, '.gitnexus')).filter((name) => name.startsWith('lbug.staging.')),
+  ).toEqual([]);
+}
+
+beforeAll(async () => {
+  if (process.platform === 'win32') return;
+  root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gn-staged-recovery-e2e-'));
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.join(root, 'tmp'));
+  stoppedRepo = path.join(root, 'interrupted');
+  currentRepo = stoppedRepo;
+  fs.mkdirSync(stoppedRepo);
+  const shortFunctions = Array.from(
+    { length: NODE_COUNT - 1 },
+    (_, index) => `export function recoverable${index}() { return ${index}; }`,
+  );
+  // Multi-chunk nodes must be reused as a complete group, including their tail.
+  const longFunction = `export function longRecoverable() {\n${Array.from({ length: 80 }, (_, index) => `  // retained chunk marker ${index} ${'x'.repeat(80)}`).join('\n')}\n  return 42;\n}`;
+  fs.writeFileSync(
+    path.join(stoppedRepo, 'functions.ts'),
+    `${longFunction}\n${shortFunctions.join('\n')}\n`,
+  );
+  const gitEnv = {
+    ...process.env,
+    GIT_AUTHOR_NAME: 'test',
+    GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL: 'test@test',
+    GIT_COMMITTER_NAME: 'test',
+    GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL: 'test@test',
+  };
+  for (const args of [['init'], ['add', 'functions.ts'], ['commit', '-m', 'recovery fixture']]) {
+    const result = spawnSync('git', args, { cwd: stoppedRepo, env: gitEnv, encoding: 'utf8' });
+    expect(result.status, result.stderr).toBe(0);
+  }
+  server = http.createServer((request, response) => {
+    let body = '';
+    request.on('data', (chunk) => {
+      body += chunk;
+    });
+    request.on('end', () => {
+      const { input } = JSON.parse(body) as { input: string[] };
+      submitted.push(...input);
+      if (
+        stopAfterCheckpoint &&
+        (readMeta(currentRepo).embeddingCheckpoint?.nodesProcessed ?? 0) >= 5000
+      ) {
+        if (activeWindowCompleted.length > 0) {
+          held = [...input];
+          gateResolve?.();
+          // One sub-batch has already inserted rows inside the unsafe window.
+          // Awaiting the next real request gates a crash before it completes.
+          return;
+        }
+        durableTexts = [...completed];
+        activeWindowCompleted.push(...input);
+      }
+      completed.push(...input);
+      response.writeHead(200, { 'content-type': 'application/json' });
+      response.end(
+        JSON.stringify({
+          data: input.map((text, index) => ({
+            index,
+            embedding: Array.from(
+              { length: DIMS },
+              (_, dimension) => ((text.length + dimension * 17) % 101) / 101,
+            ),
+          })),
+        }),
+      );
+    });
+  });
+  await new Promise<void>((resolve) => server.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', resolve));
+  const address = server.address() as { port: number };
+  endpoint = `http://127.0.0.1:${address.port}/v1`;
+  await successfulAnalyze(stoppedRepo, ['--index-only']);
+  expect(readMeta(stoppedRepo).stats?.embeddings ?? 0).toBe(0);
+  completed = [];
+  held = [];
+  stopAfterCheckpoint = true;
+  const gate = new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+    gateResolve = resolve;
+  });
+  const first = runAnalyze(stoppedRepo, ['--force', '--embeddings']);
+  await Promise.race([
+    gate,
+    first.done.then((result) => {
+      throw new Error(`CLI exited before recovery gate: ${result.output}`);
+    }),
+  ]);
+  first.child.kill('SIGKILL');
+  expect((await first.done).signal).toBe('SIGKILL');
+  const interrupted = readMeta(stoppedRepo);
+  expect(interrupted.embeddingCheckpoint?.nodesProcessed).toBe(5000);
+  expect(interrupted.embeddingCheckpoint?.recovery?.stagingFile).toMatch(/^lbug\.staging\./);
+  expect(interrupted.stats?.embeddings ?? 0).toBe(0);
+  expect(completed.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(5000);
+  expect(completed.filter((text) => text.includes('longRecoverable')).length).toBeGreaterThan(1);
+  expect(activeWindowCompleted).toHaveLength(64);
+  expect(held.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  gateResolve = undefined;
+  stopAfterCheckpoint = false;
+}, DEADLINE * 2);
+
+afterAll(async () => {
+  for (const child of running) child.kill('SIGKILL');
+  await Promise.all(
+    [...running].map(
+      (child) => new Promise<void>((resolve) => child.once('close', () => resolve())),
+    ),
+  );
+  if (server) {
+    server.closeAllConnections();
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => server.close(() => resolve()));
+  }
+  if (root) fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+// Atomic publication is POSIX-specific; Windows uses the in-place path.
+describe
+  .skipIf(process.platform === 'win32')
+  .sequential('interrupted staged embedding recovery (real CLI and native DB)', () => {
+    it.each([
+      ['plain', []],
+      ['forced', ['--force', '--embeddings']],
+    ] as const)(
+      '%s retry bills only unfinished groups and publishes an honest count',
+      async (name, flags) => {
+        const repo = cloneStoppedRepo(name);
+        const texts = await successfulAnalyze(repo, [...flags]);
+        const durable = new Set(durableTexts);
+        expect(texts.filter((text) => durable.has(text))).toEqual([]);
+        for (const text of held) expect(texts).toContain(text);
+        for (const text of activeWindowCompleted) expect(texts).toContain(text);
+        expect(texts.length).toBe(128);
+        expectPublishedComplete(repo, NODE_COUNT);
+      },
+      DEADLINE,
+    );
+
+    it(
+      'manual checkpoint opt-out completes a staged retry without resubmitting durable chunks',
+      async () => {
+        const repo = cloneStoppedRepo('manual-checkpoint-opt-out');
+        const previous = process.env.GITNEXUS_WAL_MANUAL_CHECKPOINT;
+        process.env.GITNEXUS_WAL_MANUAL_CHECKPOINT = '0';
+        try {
+          const texts = await successfulAnalyze(repo, ['--force', '--embeddings']);
+          expect(texts.filter((text) => new Set(durableTexts).has(text))).toEqual([]);
+          expect(texts.length).toBe(128);
+          expectPublishedComplete(repo, NODE_COUNT);
+        } finally {
+          if (previous === undefined) delete process.env.GITNEXUS_WAL_MANUAL_CHECKPOINT;
+          else process.env.GITNEXUS_WAL_MANUAL_CHECKPOINT = previous;
+        }
+      },
+      DEADLINE,
+    );
+
+    it(
+      'survives another crash after harvesting but before the replacement is durable',
+      async () => {
+        const repo = cloneStoppedRepo('crash-again');
+        const source = readMeta(repo).embeddingCheckpoint?.recovery?.stagingFile;
+        expect(source).toBeDefined();
+        if (!source) throw new Error('fixture has no retained generation');
+        submitted = [];
+        currentRepo = repo;
+        let killed = false;
+        const retry = runAnalyze(repo, [], (output) => {
+          if (!killed && /Recovered \d+ complete staged embedding chunk/.test(output)) {
+            killed = true;
+            retry.child.kill('SIGKILL');
+          }
+        });
+        const result = await retry.done;
+        expect(killed, result.output).toBe(true);
+        expect(result.signal).toBe('SIGKILL');
+        expect(submitted).toEqual([]);
+        expect(readMeta(repo).embeddingCheckpoint?.recovery?.stagingFile).toBe(source);
+        expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(repo, '.gitnexus', source))).toBe(true);
+        const finalTexts = await successfulAnalyze(repo);
+        expect(finalTexts.filter((text) => new Set(durableTexts).has(text))).toEqual([]);
+        expect(finalTexts.length).toBe(128);
+        expectPublishedComplete(repo, NODE_COUNT);
+      },
+      DEADLINE * 2,
+    );
+
+    it(
+      'regenerates changed content and removes deleted nodes while reusing the other complete groups',
+      async () => {
+        const repo = cloneStoppedRepo('changed');
+        const source = path.join(repo, 'functions.ts');
+        const content = fs
+          .readFileSync(source, 'utf8')
+          .replace(
+            'export function recoverable5() { return 5; }',
+            'export function recoverable5() { return 999999; }',
+          )
+          .replace(
+            'export function recoverable6() { return 6; }',
+            '// deleted function retains line offsets',
+          );
+        fs.writeFileSync(source, content);
+        const texts = await successfulAnalyze(repo);
+        expect(texts.some((text) => text.includes('recoverable5') && text.includes('999999'))).toBe(
+          true,
+        );
+        expect(texts.some((text) => text.includes('recoverable6'))).toBe(false);
+        expect(texts.filter((text) => new Set(durableTexts).has(text))).toEqual([]);
+        expect(texts.length).toBe(129);
+        expectPublishedComplete(repo, NODE_COUNT - 1);
+      },
+      DEADLINE,
+    );
+
+    it(
+      'a forced retry with a different model does not import the staged cache',
+      async () => {
+        const repo = cloneStoppedRepo('different-model');
+        const texts = await successfulAnalyze(repo, [
+          '--force',
+          '--embeddings',
+          '--embedding-model',
+          'different-model',
+        ]);
+        for (const text of durableTexts) expect(texts).toContain(text);
+        expect(texts.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(NODE_COUNT);
+        expectPublishedComplete(repo, NODE_COUNT);
+      },
+      DEADLINE,
+    );
+
+    it(
+      'explicit drop abandons staged vectors without contacting the provider',
+      async () => {
+        const repo = cloneStoppedRepo('drop');
+        expect(await successfulAnalyze(repo, ['--force', '--drop-embeddings'])).toEqual([]);
+        expect(readMeta(repo).embeddingCheckpoint).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(readMeta(repo).stats?.embeddings ?? 0).toBe(0);
+        expect(readPublishedRows(repo)).toEqual([]);
+      },
+      DEADLINE,
+    );
+  });
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/integration/staged-embedding-recovery.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/integration/staged-embedding-recovery.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c0eb45888
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/test/integration/staged-embedding-recovery.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  disposeEmbeddingSpill,
+  materializeCachedEmbeddings,
+  type CachedEmbeddingsSnapshot,
+} from '../../src/core/embeddings/embedding-restore-spill.js';
+import { recoverStagedEmbeddings } from '../../src/core/embeddings/staged-embedding-recovery.js';
+
+describe('isolated native staged embedding recovery', () => {
+  let tmp: string | undefined;
+  let recovered: CachedEmbeddingsSnapshot | undefined;
+  afterEach(() => {
+    disposeEmbeddingSpill(recovered?.spill);
+    recovered = undefined;
+    if (tmp) fs.rmSync(tmp, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    tmp = undefined;
+  });
+  function stagePath() {
+    tmp ??= fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gitnexus-stage-native-'));
+    return path.join(tmp, `lbug.staging.${randomUUID()}`);
+  }
+  function seed(dbPath: string, mode = 'clean') {
+    const result = spawnSync(
+      process.execPath,
+      [
+        '--import',
+        'tsx',
+        fileURLToPath(new URL('../fixtures/staged-embedding-recovery/seed.mjs', import.meta.url)),
+        dbPath,
+        mode,
+      ],
+      {
+        encoding: 'utf8',
+        timeout: 20_000,
+        env: { ...process.env, GITNEXUS_LBUG_BUFFER_POOL_SIZE: String(128 * 1024 * 1024) },
+      },
+    );
+    expect(result.error, result.stderr).toBeUndefined();
+    if (mode === 'hard-kill') expect(result.signal, result.stderr).toBe('SIGKILL');
+    else expect(result.status, result.stderr).toBe(0);
+  }
+
+  it('streams complete same-hash groups and rejects malformed whole nodes', async () => {
+    const dbPath = stagePath();
+    seed(dbPath);
+    recovered = await recoverStagedEmbeddings(dbPath, { dimensions: 2 });
+    expect([...recovered.embeddingNodeIds].sort()).toEqual(['complete', 'other']);
+    expect(recovered.rows).toHaveLength(3);
+    expect(recovered.embeddings).toEqual([]);
+    expect(materializeCachedEmbeddings(recovered, recovered.rows)).toEqual(
+      expect.arrayContaining([
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          nodeId: 'complete',
+          chunkIndex: 0,
+          embedding: [1, 2],
+          contentHash: 'same',
+        }),
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          nodeId: 'complete',
+          chunkIndex: 1,
+          embedding: [1, 2],
+          contentHash: 'same',
+        }),
+      ]),
+    );
+    expect(fs.existsSync(dbPath)).toBe(true);
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  it('replays a hard-killed native writer strictly and excludes the incomplete active window', async () => {
+    const dbPath = stagePath();
+    seed(dbPath, 'hard-kill');
+    recovered = await recoverStagedEmbeddings(dbPath, {
+      dimensions: 2,
+      excludedNodeIds: ['unsafe-prefix', 'other'],
+    });
+    expect([...recovered.embeddingNodeIds]).toEqual(['complete']);
+    expect(recovered.rows).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(
+      materializeCachedEmbeddings(recovered, recovered.rows)
+        .map((row) => row.chunkIndex)
+        .sort(),
+    ).toEqual([0, 1]);
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  it('rejects vectors from a different dimension instead of coercing them', async () => {
+    const dbPath = stagePath();
+    seed(dbPath);
+    recovered = await recoverStagedEmbeddings(dbPath, { dimensions: 3 });
+    expect(recovered.rows).toEqual([]);
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  it('contains a malformed native source in a subprocess and preserves it', async () => {
+    const dbPath = stagePath();
+    fs.writeFileSync(dbPath, 'not a ladybug database');
+    await expect(recoverStagedEmbeddings(dbPath, { dimensions: 2 })).rejects.toThrow(
+      /extraction failed/,
+    );
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(dbPath, 'utf8')).toBe('not a ladybug database');
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  it('rejects a malformed WAL without deleting or quarantining it to reopen the source', async () => {
+    const dbPath = stagePath();
+    seed(dbPath, 'hard-kill');
+    const walPath = `${dbPath}.wal`;
+    fs.writeFileSync(walPath, Buffer.alloc(128, 0xff));
+    await expect(recoverStagedEmbeddings(dbPath, { dimensions: 2 })).rejects.toThrow(
+      /extraction failed/,
+    );
+    expect(fs.existsSync(walPath)).toBe(true);
+    expect(fs.readdirSync(path.dirname(dbPath)).some((name) => /bad|quarantine/i.test(name))).toBe(
+      false,
+    );
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  it('does not create a missing source and refuses a symlink', async () => {
+    const dbPath = stagePath();
+    await expect(recoverStagedEmbeddings(dbPath, { dimensions: 2 })).rejects.toThrow(/ENOENT/);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(dbPath)).toBe(false);
+    const realPath = path.join(path.dirname(dbPath), 'real');
+    fs.writeFileSync(realPath, 'fixture');
+    fs.symlinkSync(realPath, dbPath);
+    await expect(recoverStagedEmbeddings(dbPath, { dimensions: 2 })).rejects.toThrow(
+      /regular file/,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('can kill a timed out native subprocess without aborting analyze', async () => {
+    const dbPath = stagePath();
+    seed(dbPath);
+    await expect(recoverStagedEmbeddings(dbPath, { dimensions: 2, timeoutMs: 1 })).rejects.toThrow(
+      /timeout/,
+    );
+    expect(fs.existsSync(dbPath)).toBe(true);
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  it('loads the source child when analyze runs in another repository directory', () => {
+    const dbPath = stagePath();
+    seed(dbPath);
+    const result = spawnSync(
+      process.execPath,
+      [
+        '--import',
+        import.meta.resolve('tsx'),
+        '--input-type=module',
+        '-e',
+        'const { recoverStagedEmbeddings } = await import(process.argv[1]); const { disposeEmbeddingSpill } = await import(process.argv[2]); const recovered = await recoverStagedEmbeddings(process.argv[3], {dimensions: 2}); process.stdout.write(String(recovered.rows.length)); disposeEmbeddingSpill(recovered.spill);',
+        new URL('../../src/core/embeddings/staged-embedding-recovery.ts', import.meta.url).href,
+        new URL('../../src/core/embeddings/embedding-restore-spill.ts', import.meta.url).href,
+        dbPath,
+      ],
+      { cwd: path.dirname(dbPath), encoding: 'utf8', timeout: 20_000 },
+    );
+    expect(result.error, result.stderr).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result.status, result.stderr).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toBe('3');
+  }, 30_000);
+});