diff --git a/.agents/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.agents/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.agents/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.agents/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.agents/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.agents/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.agents/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.agents/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.gemini/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.gemini/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.gemini/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.gemini/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.gemini/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.gemini/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.gemini/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.gemini/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.github/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.github/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.github/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.github/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.github/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.github/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.github/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.github/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.grok/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.grok/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.grok/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.grok/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.grok/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.grok/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.grok/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.grok/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.kiro/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.kiro/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.kiro/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.kiro/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.kiro/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.kiro/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.kiro/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.kiro/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.opencode/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.opencode/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.opencode/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.opencode/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.opencode/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.opencode/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.opencode/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.opencode/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.pi/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.pi/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.pi/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.pi/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.pi/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.pi/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.pi/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.pi/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.qoder/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.qoder/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.qoder/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.qoder/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.qoder/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.qoder/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.qoder/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.qoder/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.rovodev/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.rovodev/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.rovodev/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.rovodev/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.rovodev/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.rovodev/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.rovodev/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.rovodev/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.trae-cn/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.trae-cn/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.trae-cn/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.trae-cn/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.trae-cn/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.trae-cn/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.trae-cn/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.trae-cn/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.trae/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.trae/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.trae/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.trae/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.trae/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.trae/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.trae/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.trae/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/.vibe/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/.vibe/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/.vibe/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/.vibe/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/.vibe/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/.vibe/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/.vibe/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/.vibe/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';
diff --git a/plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs b/plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
index 54e789e8b..1dcde6ef3 100644
--- a/plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
+++ b/plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   designSystemOptions,
   filterFindings,
   isNativePlatform,
+  isScanTargetInsideProject,
   loadDetector,
   matchConfiguredExtension,
   matchesAnyGlob,
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ function replaceOnce(original, oldString, newString) {
 }
 
 function readExistingProjectFile(filePath, cwd) {
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return null;
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return null;
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function shellCopiedFileContent(command, cwd) {
   const source = shellCopyPaths(command)?.source;
   if (!source) return '';
   const sourcePath = path.isAbsolute(source) ? source : path.resolve(cwd, source);
-  if (!isInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(sourcePath, cwd)) return '';
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(sourcePath) || GENERATED_PATH.test(sourcePath)) return '';
   try {
     const stat = fs.statSync(sourcePath);
@@ -328,15 +329,6 @@ function relativePath(filePath, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
-function isInsideProject(filePath, cwd) {
-  try {
-    const rel = path.relative(cwd, filePath);
-    return rel === '' || (!rel.startsWith('..') && !path.isAbsolute(rel));
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
 // The static HTML engine reads its input from disk, but preToolUse only has
 // the proposed content. Stage it in a temp file so html-engine targets get the
 // same DOM-structural rules pre-write that runHook applies post-edit.
@@ -414,7 +406,7 @@ async function main() {
   };
 
   if (!filePath) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'no-file-path', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
-  if (!isInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
+  if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, cwd)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'outside-project', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (SENSITIVE_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'sensitive', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
   if (GENERATED_PATH.test(filePath)) return allow({ ...audit, skipped: 'generated', durationMs: Date.now() - started });
 
diff --git a/plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs b/plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
index 65931f9e6..b874985a6 100644
--- a/plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
+++ b/plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-lib.mjs
@@ -1335,6 +1335,51 @@ function isInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// Resolve a path to its canonical (symlink-free) form. When the path does
+// not exist yet — the before-edit hook gates proposed Writes — canonicalize
+// the nearest existing ancestor and re-append the remainder, so a new file
+// under a symlinked root still compares equal to its canonical project.
+// Memoized: the hook runs as a fresh process per tool event, so the cache
+// amounts to once-per-event work — the scan loops re-check the same project
+// root for every target file. The cap only matters to long-lived importers
+// like the test runner.
+const canonicalPathCache = new Map();
+const CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX = 1024;
+
+function canonicalPath(p) {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(p);
+  if (canonicalPathCache.has(resolved)) return canonicalPathCache.get(resolved);
+  let canonical = resolved;
+  let dir = resolved;
+  const tail = [];
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      canonical = tail.length ? path.join(fs.realpathSync(dir), ...tail) : fs.realpathSync(dir);
+      break;
+    } catch { /* keep climbing */ }
+    const parent = path.dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    tail.unshift(path.basename(dir));
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  if (canonicalPathCache.size >= CANONICAL_PATH_CACHE_MAX) canonicalPathCache.clear();
+  canonicalPathCache.set(resolved, canonical);
+  return canonical;
+}
+
+// Containment gate shared by the before-edit hook and both scan passes. A
+// session routinely touches files that belong to no project or to a
+// different one — harness scratchpad dirs under the system temp root,
+// sibling checkouts, one-off throwaway HTML — and findings against those are
+// judged with THIS project's config and DESIGN.md palette, which is never
+// right. Skip them (audit reason: outside-project). Paths are canonicalized
+// first so a symlinked root (macOS /tmp -> /private/tmp) doesn't split the
+// comparison.
+export function isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd) {
+  if (!filePath || !projectCwd) return false;
+  return isInsideProject(canonicalPath(filePath), canonicalPath(projectCwd));
+}
+
 export function parseStaticStyleImports(content, fromFile, projectCwd) {
   if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') return [];
   const dir = path.dirname(fromFile);
@@ -1693,6 +1738,10 @@ export async function runHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), now =
         lastSkip = 'file-missing';
         continue;
       }
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) {
+        lastSkip = 'outside-project';
+        continue;
+      }
 
       const maxFileBytes = config.limits?.maxFileBytes ?? DEFAULT_CONFIG.limits.maxFileBytes;
       if (maxFileBytes > 0) {
@@ -2023,6 +2072,10 @@ export async function runStopHook({ stdinJson, env = {}, cwd = process.cwd(), no
       const relForMatch = relativize(filePath, projectCwd);
       if (matchesAnyGlob(relForMatch, config.ignoreFiles) || matchesAnyGlob(filePath, config.ignoreFiles)) continue;
       if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) continue;
+      // Caches written before this gate existed can still hold out-of-project
+      // paths, so the Stop pass re-checks containment rather than trusting
+      // the per-edit pass to have filtered them.
+      if (!isScanTargetInsideProject(filePath, projectCwd)) continue;
 
       scanned += 1;
       let content = '';