diff --git a/browse/test/server-embedder-terminal-port.test.ts b/browse/test/server-embedder-terminal-port.test.ts
index 8008ed134..d52b763f4 100644
--- a/browse/test/server-embedder-terminal-port.test.ts
+++ b/browse/test/server-embedder-terminal-port.test.ts
@@ -78,10 +78,30 @@ function readIfExists(p: string): string | null {
  * machine. Returns the captured kill calls so tests can assert kill
  * scope.
  */
+// The TRUE process.exit, restored only in afterAll. withStubs used to restore
+// it in its finally — but shutdown() schedules async work (timers,
+// fire-and-forget promises) that can call process.exit AFTER the stub was
+// restored, killing the entire bun test process mid-suite with exit 0 and no
+// summary (the silent-truncation class the free-suite CI job guards against;
+// this file was the killer). Between tests, exit stays a logging no-op so a
+// late async exit is visible instead of fatal.
+const TRUE_EXIT = process.exit;
+const lateExitGuard = ((code: number) => {
+  console.error(`[test-guard] late process.exit(${code}) swallowed (async shutdown work after stub restore)`);
+}) as any;
+afterAll(async () => {
+  // Drain shutdown()'s pending async work before restoring the real exit:
+  // disposeSession escalates SIGINT -> SIGKILL on a 3s timer, and a timer
+  // firing after this file's afterAll would otherwise hit the REAL
+  // process.exit and kill the whole multi-file bun run (observed: the free
+  // suite died at file 47 with exit 0 and no summary — twice).
+  await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 3500));
+  (process as any).exit = TRUE_EXIT;
+});
+
 async function withStubs(
   cb: (killCalls: Array<[number, NodeJS.Signals | number]>) => Promise<void>
 ): Promise<Array<[number, NodeJS.Signals | number]>> {
-  const origExit = process.exit;
   const origKill = process.kill;
   const killCalls: Array<[number, NodeJS.Signals | number]> = [];
   (process as any).exit = ((code: number) => {
@@ -101,7 +121,7 @@ async function withStubs(
   try {
     await cb(killCalls);
   } finally {
-    (process as any).exit = origExit;
+    (process as any).exit = lateExitGuard;
     (process as any).kill = origKill;
   }
   return killCalls;
diff --git a/test/skill-size-budget.test.ts b/test/skill-size-budget.test.ts
index 794960b81..c05d12aff 100644
--- a/test/skill-size-budget.test.ts
+++ b/test/skill-size-budget.test.ts
@@ -171,7 +171,16 @@ describe('SKILL.md size budget regression (gate, free)', () => {
     //   {{PREAMBLE}} literally, so the generator expanded the ENTIRE preamble a
     //   second time mid-sentence (~47 KB of duplication). Fixed by rewording the
     //   prose; spec/SKILL.md now carries exactly one preamble (~80.9 KB, ×0.79).
-    const INTENTIONAL_SHRINKS = new Set<string>(['spec']);
+    // - scrape/diagram/open-gstack-browser/landing-report/pair-agent/skillify:
+    //   the baseline measured these at the silent tier-4 default (a missing
+    //   preamble-tier frontmatter fell through `?? 4`). Their tiers are now
+    //   declared correctly (1-2), shedding the tier-2..4 onboarding prose they
+    //   never should have carried (-271 lines each for tier 1).
+    const INTENTIONAL_SHRINKS = new Set<string>([
+      'spec',
+      'scrape', 'diagram', 'open-gstack-browser',
+      'landing-report', 'pair-agent', 'skillify',
+    ]);
 
     const undershoots: Array<{
       skill: string; beforeBytes: number; afterBytes: number; ratio: number;