diff --git a/cli/test/helpers/target-lock-worker.ts b/cli/test/helpers/target-lock-worker.ts
index 911863f5..58f4573a 100644
--- a/cli/test/helpers/target-lock-worker.ts
+++ b/cli/test/helpers/target-lock-worker.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,22 @@
+import { access, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
 import { acquireSkillTargetLock } from '../../src/services/skill-target-lock'
 import { CliError } from '../../src/shared/errors'
 
-const [rootDir, slug, holdMilliseconds] = process.argv.slice(2)
-if (!rootDir || !slug || !holdMilliseconds) process.exit(5)
+const [rootDir, slug, acquiredPath, releasePath] = process.argv.slice(2)
+if (!rootDir || !slug || !acquiredPath || !releasePath) process.exit(5)
 
 try {
   const release = await acquireSkillTargetLock(rootDir, slug)
+  await writeFile(acquiredPath, 'acquired')
   process.stdout.write('acquired\n')
-  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, Number(holdMilliseconds)))
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      await access(releasePath)
+      break
+    } catch {
+      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 10))
+    }
+  }
   await release()
   process.exit(0)
 } catch (error) {
diff --git a/cli/test/unit/services/skill-target-lock.test.ts b/cli/test/unit/services/skill-target-lock.test.ts
index 558d7141..ce64658b 100644
--- a/cli/test/unit/services/skill-target-lock.test.ts
+++ b/cli/test/unit/services/skill-target-lock.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { access, mkdir, mkdtemp, utimes } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { access, mkdir, mkdtemp, utimes, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
@@ -14,6 +14,14 @@ async function exists(path: string): Promise<boolean> {
   }
 }
 
+async function waitForFile(path: string): Promise<void> {
+  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < 500; attempt++) {
+    if (await exists(path)) return
+    await Bun.sleep(10)
+  }
+  throw new Error(`timed out waiting for ${path}`)
+}
+
 describe('skill target lifecycle lock', () => {
   test('simultaneous stale recovery admits exactly one owner across processes', async () => {
     const rootDir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'skillhub-target-lock-root-'))
@@ -23,12 +31,21 @@ describe('skill target lifecycle lock', () => {
     await utimes(lockPath, staleTime, staleTime)
     const worker = fileURLToPath(new URL('../../helpers/target-lock-worker.ts', import.meta.url))
     const bunPath = (await Bun.which('bun')) ?? process.execPath
+    const acquiredPath = join(rootDir, 'acquired')
+    const releasePath = join(rootDir, 'release')
 
     const processes = [0, 1].map(() => Bun.spawn({
-      cmd: [bunPath, worker, rootDir, 'demo', '1000'],
+      cmd: [bunPath, worker, rootDir, 'demo', acquiredPath, releasePath],
       stdout: 'pipe',
       stderr: 'pipe'
     }))
+    await waitForFile(acquiredPath)
+    const loserExitCode = await Promise.race([
+      ...processes.map(process => process.exited),
+      Bun.sleep(5_000).then(() => { throw new Error('timed out waiting for the lock loser') })
+    ])
+    expect(loserExitCode).toBe(4)
+    await writeFile(releasePath, 'release')
     const results = await Promise.all(processes.map(async process => ({
       exitCode: await process.exited,
       stdout: (await new Response(process.stdout).text()).trim(),