diff --git a/skill/scripts/context-signals.mjs b/skill/scripts/context-signals.mjs
index fd3613e48..5afc0246f 100644
--- a/skill/scripts/context-signals.mjs
+++ b/skill/scripts/context-signals.mjs
@@ -100,12 +100,19 @@ function gitSignals(cwd) {
   // try, in order. A remote ref like `upstream/release` (fork workflows) or
   // an origin/HEAD target with no local checkout is a perfectly good diff
   // base, so revs are not limited to local branch names.
+  const remotes = (run(['remote']) || '').split('\n').filter(Boolean);
+  // Strip a leading "<remote>/" only when that remote is actually
+  // configured: a slash does not make a ref remote. A local upstream named
+  // release/2.0 is one branch name, and truncating it to "2.0" (or
+  // feature/foo to "foo", which then matches the current branch and gets
+  // self-skipped) loses a valid base.
   const splitRemoteRef = (ref) => {
     const i = ref ? ref.indexOf('/') : -1;
-    return i > 0 ? { name: ref.slice(i + 1), rev: ref } : null;
+    if (i < 1) return null;
+    return remotes.includes(ref.slice(0, i)) ? { name: ref.slice(i + 1), rev: ref } : null;
   };
-  // A slashless @{u} is a LOCAL upstream (branch.<x>.remote = "."); it names
-  // a merge target just as validly as a remote-tracking ref does.
+  // An @{u} that carries no configured remote prefix is a LOCAL upstream
+  // (branch.<x>.remote = "."); it names a merge target just as validly.
   const asUpstream = (ref) => splitRemoteRef(ref) || (ref ? { name: ref, rev: ref } : null);
   const conventional = ['develop', 'main', 'master'];
   // On an integration branch itself the scope hint is the working tree. No
@@ -119,10 +126,12 @@ function gitSignals(cwd) {
   // checkout (branch reads as the literal `HEAD`) has no branch identity to
   // diff for and keeps the working-tree scope too.
   const remoteHeads = [];
-  const remotes = (run(['remote']) || '').split('\n').filter(Boolean);
-  for (const r of ['origin', ...remotes.filter((name) => name !== 'origin')]) {
-    const head = splitRemoteRef(run(['symbolic-ref', '--short', `refs/remotes/${r}/HEAD`]));
-    if (head) remoteHeads.push(head);
+  for (const r of [...new Set(['origin', ...remotes])]) {
+    // The symref's own prefix is the remote just queried, so it is stripped
+    // directly; the remote need not be in `git remote` output (tests and
+    // partial clones fabricate refs/remotes/origin/* without a remote).
+    const ref = run(['symbolic-ref', '--short', `refs/remotes/${r}/HEAD`]);
+    if (ref && ref.startsWith(`${r}/`)) remoteHeads.push({ name: ref.slice(r.length + 1), rev: ref });
   }
   const onIntegrationBranch = branch === 'HEAD'
     || conventional.includes(branch)
diff --git a/tests/context-signals.test.mjs b/tests/context-signals.test.mjs
index 43daf8975..1f4599451 100644
--- a/tests/context-signals.test.mjs
+++ b/tests/context-signals.test.mjs
@@ -482,6 +482,71 @@ describe('gatherSignals', () => {
     assert.deepEqual(s.git.changedFiles, ['src/Hero.tsx']);
   });
 
+  it('a local upstream with a slash in its name is not misparsed (#302)', async () => {
+    const { execFileSync } = await import('node:child_process');
+    const git = (...args) => execFileSync('git', args, { cwd: scratch, stdio: 'ignore' });
+    git('init', '-q', '-b', 'release/2.0');
+    git('config', 'user.email', 't@example.com');
+    git('config', 'user.name', 'Test');
+    write('src/App.tsx', 'export default 1;\n');
+    git('add', '.');
+    git('commit', '-qm', 'init');
+    git('checkout', '-q', '-b', 'hotfix/x');
+    git('branch', '-q', '--set-upstream-to=release/2.0');
+    write('src/Hero.tsx', 'export const Hero = () => null;\n');
+    git('add', '.');
+    git('commit', '-qm', 'hotfix work');
+    const s = await gatherSignals(scratch);
+    // "release" is not a remote here; the whole ref is the local base name.
+    assert.equal(s.git.base, 'release/2.0');
+    assert.deepEqual(s.git.changedFiles, ['src/Hero.tsx']);
+  });
+
+  it('a local upstream sharing the branch leaf name is not self-skipped (#302)', async () => {
+    const { execFileSync } = await import('node:child_process');
+    const git = (...args) => execFileSync('git', args, { cwd: scratch, stdio: 'ignore' });
+    git('init', '-q', '-b', 'feature/foo');
+    git('config', 'user.email', 't@example.com');
+    git('config', 'user.name', 'Test');
+    write('src/App.tsx', 'export default 1;\n');
+    git('add', '.');
+    git('commit', '-qm', 'init');
+    git('checkout', '-q', '-b', 'foo');
+    git('branch', '-q', '--set-upstream-to=feature/foo');
+    write('src/Hero.tsx', 'export const Hero = () => null;\n');
+    git('add', '.');
+    git('commit', '-qm', 'work');
+    const s = await gatherSignals(scratch);
+    // Truncating feature/foo to "foo" made it look like the current branch
+    // and the valid upstream was discarded.
+    assert.equal(s.git.base, 'feature/foo');
+    assert.deepEqual(s.git.changedFiles, ['src/Hero.tsx']);
+  });
+
+  it('a pruned upstream tracking ref falls back to other remotes (#302)', async () => {
+    const { execFileSync } = await import('node:child_process');
+    const git = (...args) => execFileSync('git', args, { cwd: scratch, stdio: 'ignore' });
+    git('init', '-q', '-b', 'feature/p');
+    git('config', 'user.email', 't@example.com');
+    git('config', 'user.name', 'Test');
+    write('src/App.tsx', 'export default 1;\n');
+    git('add', '.');
+    git('commit', '-qm', 'init');
+    git('remote', 'add', 'origin', '.');
+    git('remote', 'add', 'upstream', '.');
+    // The branch tracks origin/main, but that tracking ref was pruned; the
+    // live main exists only on the upstream remote.
+    git('config', 'branch.feature/p.remote', 'origin');
+    git('config', 'branch.feature/p.merge', 'refs/heads/main');
+    git('update-ref', 'refs/remotes/upstream/main', 'HEAD');
+    write('src/Hero.tsx', 'export const Hero = () => null;\n');
+    git('add', '.');
+    git('commit', '-qm', 'feature work');
+    const s = await gatherSignals(scratch);
+    assert.equal(s.git.base, 'main');
+    assert.deepEqual(s.git.changedFiles, ['src/Hero.tsx']);
+  });
+
   it('never diffs one integration branch against another (#302)', async () => {
     const { execFileSync } = await import('node:child_process');
     const git = (...args) => execFileSync('git', args, { cwd: scratch, stdio: 'ignore' });