diff --git a/skill/scripts/live/roots.mjs b/skill/scripts/live/roots.mjs
index a34b68c1e..1e27d9a6c 100644
--- a/skill/scripts/live/roots.mjs
+++ b/skill/scripts/live/roots.mjs
@@ -487,8 +487,22 @@ export function enterLiveRoot(cwd = process.cwd()) {
   const resolved = resolveLiveRoots(cwd, targetPath ? { targetPath } : {});
   if (!resolved.manifest) return null;
   const appRoot = resolved.manifest.appRoot;
-  if (path.resolve(cwd) !== path.resolve(appRoot) && isDir(appRoot)) {
-    try { process.chdir(appRoot); } catch { /* keep current cwd */ }
+  if (path.resolve(cwd) !== path.resolve(appRoot)) {
+    // Failing to land on the resolved appRoot must be fatal: a helper that
+    // silently keeps its ambient cwd derives server, session, and source
+    // paths from a different project and mutates the wrong state. A manifest
+    // pointing at a deleted directory is stale ambient truth, not a reason
+    // to guess.
+    if (!isDir(appRoot)) {
+      console.error(`[impeccable live] resolved app root does not exist: ${appRoot} (stale roots manifest? re-run the live boot, or pass --target <path>)`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+    try {
+      process.chdir(appRoot);
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error(`[impeccable live] could not enter app root ${appRoot}: ${err.message}`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
   }
   return resolved.manifest;
 }
diff --git a/skill/scripts/live/svelte-ast.mjs b/skill/scripts/live/svelte-ast.mjs
index 72733cbfd..06e18b62e 100644
--- a/skill/scripts/live/svelte-ast.mjs
+++ b/skill/scripts/live/svelte-ast.mjs
@@ -844,10 +844,13 @@ export function restoreSvelteMarkup(markup, contract, parse) {
           break;
         case 'EachBlock': {
           visitExpr(node.expression, nextScopes);
-          if (node.key) visitExpr(node.key, nextScopes);
           const bound = new Set();
           if (node.context) collectPatternNames(node.context, bound);
           if (node.index) bound.add(node.index);
+          // The key evaluates per item, so the loop context and index are in
+          // scope there. Visiting it with outer scopes only let a contract
+          // prop that shares a loop binding's name rewrite the key.
+          if (node.key) visitExpr(node.key, [...nextScopes, bound]);
           walk(node.body, [...nextScopes, bound]);
           if (node.fallback) walk(node.fallback, nextScopes);
           break;
diff --git a/tests/live-svelte-ast.test.mjs b/tests/live-svelte-ast.test.mjs
index 31f0bd020..736cf5a80 100644
--- a/tests/live-svelte-ast.test.mjs
+++ b/tests/live-svelte-ast.test.mjs
@@ -294,3 +294,25 @@ describe('review regressions: attribute slots and hydration honesty', () => {
     assert.match(res.reason, /mixing loop and outer identifiers/);
   });
 });
+
+describe('review regressions: each-key restore scoping', () => {
+  it('leaves a key that reads the loop binding alone when a prop shares its name', () => {
+    // The corruption shape: prop `name` maps back to `user.name`, and the
+    // loop context is ALSO called `name`. The key evaluates per item, so its
+    // `name` is the loop binding, never the prop; restoring it used to write
+    // `(user.name.id)` into the route.
+    const contract = [{ prop: 'name', expr: 'user.name', kind: 'text' }];
+    const markup = `<p>{name}</p>
+<ul>
+  {#each people as name (name.id)}
+    <li>{name.first}</li>
+  {/each}
+</ul>`;
+    const restored = restoreSvelteMarkup(markup, contract, parse);
+    assert.equal(restored.ok, true, restored.reason);
+    assert.match(restored.markup, /<p>\{user\.name\}<\/p>/, 'free usage restores to the expression');
+    assert.match(restored.markup, /\(name\.id\)/, 'the key keeps the loop binding');
+    assert.doesNotMatch(restored.markup, /\(user\.name\.id\)/);
+    assert.match(restored.markup, /\{name\.first\}/, 'the body keeps the loop binding');
+  });
+});