diff --git a/design/src/daemon-client.ts b/design/src/daemon-client.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a8ed6be9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/design/src/daemon-client.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
+/**
+ * CLI-side client for the design daemon.
+ *
+ * Responsible for the lifecycle dance that `$D compare --serve` (default
+ * path) goes through:
+ *
+ *   ensureDaemon() → publishBoard(html, opts) → openBrowser(url) → exit 0
+ *
+ * Mirrors browse/src/cli.ts:317-415 — same health-check-first attach
+ * decision, same fs.openSync('wx') lock, same re-read-under-lock guard.
+ * Adds two design-specific safety properties Codex flagged on the daemon
+ * plan:
+ *
+ *   1. Identity verification before any SIGTERM. Browse signals on PID
+ *      alone; here we require the cmdline to contain CMDLINE_MARKER so a
+ *      stale state file pointing at a reused PID doesn't kill an
+ *      unrelated process.
+ *
+ *   2. Refuse-to-kill on version mismatch with active boards. Browse will
+ *      restart on version drift; here in-memory boards would be lost, so
+ *      we exit 1 with a user-actionable message instead of silent loss.
+ *
+ * Spawn uses Node's child_process.spawn with detached: true + stdio
+ * pointed at a log file. Bun.spawn().unref() has macOS session-detach
+ * quirks browse already discovered (browse/src/cli.ts:225-275).
+ */
+
+import { spawn as nodeSpawn } from "child_process";
+import fs from "fs";
+import path from "path";
+import { setTimeout as delay } from "timers/promises";
+
+import {
+  acquireLock,
+  CMDLINE_MARKER,
+  DaemonState,
+  healthCheck,
+  isProcessAlive,
+  readStateFile,
+  resolveLockFilePath,
+  resolveStartupLogPath,
+  resolveStateFilePath,
+  verifyIdentity,
+} from "./daemon-state";
+
+const MAX_START_WAIT_MS = parseInt(
+  process.env.DESIGN_DAEMON_START_TIMEOUT_MS || "8000",
+  10,
+);
+const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 100;
+const SIGTERM_GRACE_MS = 2000;
+
+export interface EnsureDaemonOptions {
+  /** Default: package version. Used for version-match check. */
+  version?: string;
+  /** Default: `<repo>/design/src/daemon.ts`. */
+  daemonScript?: string;
+  /** Extra env vars passed to the spawned daemon. */
+  daemonEnv?: Record<string, string>;
+  /** Print noisy progress to stderr. Default true. */
+  verbose?: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Override the state-file path. Default: resolveStateFilePath() (env
+   * DESIGN_DAEMON_STATE_FILE or .gstack/design.json under the git root /
+   * cwd). Tests inject a per-test path; the same path is forwarded to the
+   * spawned daemon via env so client + daemon agree.
+   */
+  stateFile?: string;
+}
+
+export interface EnsureDaemonResult {
+  port: number;
+  version: string;
+  spawned: boolean;
+}
+
+function log(verbose: boolean, msg: string): void {
+  if (verbose) process.stderr.write(`[design-daemon] ${msg}\n`);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Ensure a design daemon is reachable on the project's state file. Returns
+ * the port to talk to. Spawns a new daemon under an exclusive lock when
+ * needed; attaches to an existing healthy daemon otherwise.
+ *
+ * Exits with code 1 (not throws) on the refuse-kill-with-active-boards
+ * branch — that's a user-actionable situation, not a programming error.
+ */
+export async function ensureDaemon(
+  opts: EnsureDaemonOptions = {},
+): Promise<EnsureDaemonResult> {
+  const verbose = opts.verbose !== false;
+  const expectedVersion = opts.version ?? readPackageVersion();
+  const stateFile = opts.stateFile ?? resolveStateFilePath();
+
+  const existing = readStateFile(stateFile);
+  if (existing) {
+    const health = await healthCheck(existing.port);
+    if (health) {
+      if (health.version === expectedVersion) {
+        log(verbose, `attached to existing daemon pid=${existing.pid} port=${existing.port}`);
+        return { port: existing.port, version: health.version, spawned: false };
+      }
+      // Version mismatch: refuse if active boards exist (Codex finding).
+      if (health.activeBoards > 0) {
+        process.stderr.write(
+          `[design-daemon] WARNING: existing daemon is gstack ${health.version}; this CLI is ${expectedVersion}.\n` +
+            `[design-daemon] ${health.activeBoards} active board(s) detected. Refusing to auto-kill.\n` +
+            `[design-daemon] Submit or close the open boards, then re-run.\n` +
+            `[design-daemon] Or force restart: $D daemon stop (will drop in-memory history).\n`,
+        );
+        process.exit(1);
+      }
+      // No active boards — safe to graceful-shutdown and respawn.
+      log(verbose, `daemon version mismatch (${health.version} vs ${expectedVersion}); shutting down`);
+      await gracefulShutdownExistingDaemon(existing.port);
+      await killByPidWithIdentity(existing.pid, existing.cmdlineMarker, verbose);
+    } else {
+      // State file points at an unresponsive port. Either the daemon
+      // crashed or the PID got reused. Identity-verify before any SIGTERM
+      // so we don't kill an unrelated process (Codex finding).
+      log(verbose, `state file present (pid=${existing.pid}) but /health unresponsive`);
+      await killByPidWithIdentity(existing.pid, existing.cmdlineMarker, verbose);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Spawn under exclusive lock; re-read state INSIDE the lock so we don't
+  // race a concurrent CLI that won the lock first.
+  const lockPath = resolveLockFilePath(stateFile);
+  const release = acquireLock(lockPath);
+  if (!release) {
+    // Another process is starting the daemon. Wait for it.
+    log(verbose, "another CLI is spawning the daemon; waiting…");
+    const start = Date.now();
+    while (Date.now() - start < MAX_START_WAIT_MS) {
+      const fresh = readStateFile(stateFile);
+      if (fresh) {
+        const h = await healthCheck(fresh.port);
+        if (h) return { port: fresh.port, version: h.version, spawned: false };
+      }
+      await delay(POLL_INTERVAL_MS);
+    }
+    throw new Error("Timed out waiting for concurrent daemon spawn");
+  }
+
+  try {
+    // Re-read under lock. Another caller may have already finished spawning
+    // between our first check and our lock acquisition.
+    const fresh = readStateFile(stateFile);
+    if (fresh) {
+      const h = await healthCheck(fresh.port);
+      if (h && h.version === expectedVersion) {
+        log(verbose, `another CLI won the lock; attaching pid=${fresh.pid} port=${fresh.port}`);
+        return { port: fresh.port, version: h.version, spawned: false };
+      }
+    }
+
+    log(verbose, "spawning new daemon");
+    const port = await spawnDaemon({
+      script: opts.daemonScript,
+      env: { ...opts.daemonEnv, DESIGN_DAEMON_STATE_FILE: stateFile },
+      stateFile,
+      expectedVersion,
+    });
+    return { port, version: expectedVersion, spawned: true };
+  } finally {
+    release();
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Publish a board to the daemon and return its URL. Wraps the HTTP POST
+ * with a friendlier error surface than raw fetch.
+ */
+export interface PublishBoardOptions {
+  port: number;
+  html: string;
+  title?: string;
+  publisherPid?: number;
+}
+
+export interface PublishBoardResult {
+  id: string;
+  url: string;
+  sourceDir: string;
+}
+
+export async function publishBoard(opts: PublishBoardOptions): Promise<PublishBoardResult> {
+  const body: Record<string, unknown> = {
+    html: opts.html,
+    publisherPid: opts.publisherPid ?? process.pid,
+  };
+  if (opts.title) body.title = opts.title;
+  const resp = await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${opts.port}/api/boards`, {
+    method: "POST",
+    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+    body: JSON.stringify(body),
+  });
+  if (!resp.ok) {
+    let errText: string;
+    try {
+      const j = (await resp.json()) as { error?: string; existing?: { id: string; url: string } };
+      if (j.existing) {
+        // 409: surface the existing-board URL so the caller can reuse it
+        return { id: j.existing.id, url: j.existing.url, sourceDir: "" };
+      }
+      errText = j.error || `HTTP ${resp.status}`;
+    } catch {
+      errText = `HTTP ${resp.status}`;
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Daemon refused publish: ${errText}`);
+  }
+  return (await resp.json()) as PublishBoardResult;
+}
+
+// ─── Internals ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function readPackageVersion(): string {
+  // Same lookup the daemon uses, kept independent so client + daemon agree
+  // even when the daemon's resolution path differs (different CWD).
+  try {
+    return fs
+      .readFileSync(path.join(import.meta.dir, "..", "..", "VERSION"), "utf-8")
+      .trim() || "unknown";
+  } catch {
+    return "unknown";
+  }
+}
+
+function defaultDaemonScript(): string {
+  // design/src/daemon-client.ts → daemon.ts is a sibling
+  return path.join(import.meta.dir, "daemon.ts");
+}
+
+interface SpawnDaemonOpts {
+  script?: string;
+  env?: Record<string, string>;
+  stateFile: string;
+  expectedVersion: string;
+}
+
+async function spawnDaemon(opts: SpawnDaemonOpts): Promise<number> {
+  const script = opts.script ?? defaultDaemonScript();
+  const logPath = resolveStartupLogPath();
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(logPath), { recursive: true });
+  // Truncate the startup log on each spawn so a later read finds only THIS
+  // attempt's output (mirrors browse's per-spawn log truncation).
+  fs.writeFileSync(logPath, "");
+  const logFd = fs.openSync(logPath, "a");
+
+  // CMDLINE_MARKER goes into argv so verifyIdentity can later match it.
+  // Without this, a future SIGTERM would have no way to confirm pid is ours.
+  const args = ["run", script, "--marker", CMDLINE_MARKER];
+
+  const child = nodeSpawn("bun", args, {
+    detached: true,
+    stdio: ["ignore", logFd, logFd],
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      DESIGN_DAEMON_VERSION: opts.expectedVersion,
+      ...(opts.env ?? {}),
+    },
+  });
+  child.unref();
+  fs.closeSync(logFd);
+
+  // Poll the state file + /health until the daemon is up, or until timeout.
+  const deadline = Date.now() + MAX_START_WAIT_MS;
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    const fresh = readStateFile(opts.stateFile);
+    if (fresh) {
+      const h = await healthCheck(fresh.port);
+      if (h) return fresh.port;
+    }
+    await delay(POLL_INTERVAL_MS);
+  }
+
+  // Timed out — surface the startup log so the user sees the actual error
+  // instead of "daemon failed silently."
+  let tail = "";
+  try {
+    tail = fs.readFileSync(logPath, "utf-8").trim();
+  } catch {
+    // log file may not exist
+  }
+  throw new Error(
+    `Design daemon failed to start within ${MAX_START_WAIT_MS}ms.\n` +
+      `Startup log (${logPath}):\n${tail || "(empty)"}`,
+  );
+}
+
+async function gracefulShutdownExistingDaemon(port: number): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${port}/shutdown`, {
+      method: "POST",
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(2000),
+    });
+  } catch {
+    // Daemon may have already exited or be unresponsive — fall through
+    // to the SIGTERM path with identity verification.
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Send SIGTERM (then SIGKILL) to `pid`, but ONLY if the running cmdline
+ * contains `marker`. Prevents a stale state file from causing us to signal
+ * an unrelated process that inherited the PID.
+ */
+async function killByPidWithIdentity(
+  pid: number,
+  marker: string,
+  verbose: boolean,
+): Promise<void> {
+  if (!pid || pid <= 0) return;
+  if (!isProcessAlive(pid)) return;
+  if (!verifyIdentity(pid, marker || CMDLINE_MARKER)) {
+    log(
+      verbose,
+      `pid ${pid} is alive but cmdline doesn't match marker '${marker || CMDLINE_MARKER}'; skipping signal (possible PID reuse)`,
+    );
+    return;
+  }
+  try {
+    process.kill(pid, "SIGTERM");
+  } catch {
+    // already gone
+    return;
+  }
+  // Give it a grace period; SIGKILL if still alive AND still ours.
+  const deadline = Date.now() + SIGTERM_GRACE_MS;
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    if (!isProcessAlive(pid)) return;
+    await delay(50);
+  }
+  if (isProcessAlive(pid) && verifyIdentity(pid, marker || CMDLINE_MARKER)) {
+    log(verbose, `pid ${pid} survived SIGTERM; SIGKILL`);
+    try {
+      process.kill(pid, "SIGKILL");
+    } catch {
+      // raced with exit
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Public: $D daemon stop. Posts /shutdown if no active boards; otherwise
+ * reports refusal. Used by the CLI sub-command (next commit).
+ */
+export async function shutdownDaemon(opts: { force?: boolean } = {}): Promise<{
+  stopped: boolean;
+  reason?: string;
+  activeBoards?: number;
+}> {
+  const stateFile = resolveStateFilePath();
+  const existing = readStateFile(stateFile);
+  if (!existing) return { stopped: false, reason: "no daemon running" };
+  const health = await healthCheck(existing.port);
+  if (!health) {
+    // unresponsive: try SIGTERM via identity-checked path
+    await killByPidWithIdentity(existing.pid, existing.cmdlineMarker, true);
+    return { stopped: true, reason: "unresponsive daemon killed via SIGTERM" };
+  }
+  if (health.activeBoards > 0 && !opts.force) {
+    return {
+      stopped: false,
+      reason: "active boards present",
+      activeBoards: health.activeBoards,
+    };
+  }
+  await gracefulShutdownExistingDaemon(existing.port);
+  // Best-effort: SIGTERM if /shutdown didn't take effect
+  if (isProcessAlive(existing.pid)) {
+    await killByPidWithIdentity(existing.pid, existing.cmdlineMarker, true);
+  }
+  return { stopped: true };
+}
+
+/** $D daemon status — for the CLI sub-command. */
+export async function daemonStatus(): Promise<
+  | { running: false }
+  | { running: true; port: number; pid: number; version: string; boards: number; activeBoards: number; uptime: number }
+> {
+  const existing = readStateFile();
+  if (!existing) return { running: false };
+  const h = await healthCheck(existing.port);
+  if (!h) return { running: false };
+  return {
+    running: true,
+    port: existing.port,
+    pid: existing.pid,
+    version: h.version,
+    boards: h.boards,
+    activeBoards: h.activeBoards,
+    uptime: h.uptime,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/design/src/daemon-state.ts b/design/src/daemon-state.ts
index beeac8670..a6eb83176 100644
--- a/design/src/daemon-state.ts
+++ b/design/src/daemon-state.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ export interface DaemonState {
 export const CMDLINE_MARKER = "gstack-design-daemon";
 
 export function resolveStateFilePath(): string {
+  // Env override has highest precedence so tests can point both client and
+  // spawned daemon at a per-test path without a shared cwd.
+  const envOverride = process.env.DESIGN_DAEMON_STATE_FILE;
+  if (envOverride) return envOverride;
   try {
     const root = execFileSync("git", ["rev-parse", "--show-toplevel"], {
       encoding: "utf8",
diff --git a/design/test/daemon-discovery.test.ts b/design/test/daemon-discovery.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..12ed66cba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/design/test/daemon-discovery.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,364 @@
+/**
+ * Out-of-process tests for daemon-client.ts.
+ *
+ * Spawns real daemon subprocesses (via the fixtures helper) so we can
+ * exercise: state-file discovery, /health attach vs spawn, the lock +
+ * re-read-under-lock race, identity-verified SIGTERM, version mismatch
+ * with and without active boards, startup-error log surfacing, and the
+ * concurrent-CLIs race (two real subprocesses, one wins the lock).
+ *
+ * These tests are slower than daemon.test.ts (each spawn is ~200ms) so
+ * they're kept in a separate file to keep the in-process suite fast.
+ */
+
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { spawn } from "child_process";
+import fs from "fs";
+import os from "os";
+import path from "path";
+
+import {
+  daemonStatus,
+  ensureDaemon,
+  publishBoard,
+  shutdownDaemon,
+} from "../src/daemon-client";
+import {
+  CMDLINE_MARKER,
+  isProcessAlive,
+  readStateFile,
+  resolveLockFilePath,
+  verifyIdentity,
+} from "../src/daemon-state";
+import {
+  DAEMON_SCRIPT,
+  makeBoardHtml,
+  makeTmpDir,
+  spawnDaemonForTest,
+  type SpawnedDaemon,
+} from "./daemon-tests-fixtures";
+
+let workDir: string;
+let stateFile: string;
+let activeDaemons: SpawnedDaemon[] = [];
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  workDir = makeTmpDir("discovery");
+  stateFile = path.join(workDir, "design.json");
+  // Each test gets a private state-file path; env var ensures both the
+  // client's resolver and any spawned daemons converge on the same file.
+  process.env.DESIGN_DAEMON_STATE_FILE = stateFile;
+});
+
+afterEach(async () => {
+  for (const d of activeDaemons.splice(0)) {
+    try { await d.stop(); } catch {}
+  }
+  // Tear down any state file left around so the next test starts clean.
+  try { fs.unlinkSync(stateFile); } catch {}
+  try { fs.unlinkSync(resolveLockFilePath(stateFile)); } catch {}
+  delete process.env.DESIGN_DAEMON_STATE_FILE;
+  try { fs.rmSync(workDir, { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {}
+});
+
+async function spawn1(idleMs = 60_000): Promise<SpawnedDaemon> {
+  const d = await spawnDaemonForTest({ stateFile, idleMs });
+  activeDaemons.push(d);
+  return d;
+}
+
+// ─── healthCheck + readStateFile basics ──────────────────────────
+
+describe("daemon-state helpers", () => {
+  test("readStateFile returns null when missing", () => {
+    expect(readStateFile(stateFile)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test("spawned daemon writes a usable state file", async () => {
+    const d = await spawn1();
+    const state = readStateFile(stateFile);
+    expect(state).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(state!.pid).toBe(d.proc.pid);
+    expect(state!.port).toBe(d.port);
+    expect(state!.cmdlineMarker).toBe(CMDLINE_MARKER);
+    expect(state!.version).toBe("test-version");
+  });
+
+  test("verifyIdentity matches a real spawned daemon's cmdline", async () => {
+    const d = await spawn1();
+    expect(verifyIdentity(d.proc.pid!, CMDLINE_MARKER)).toBe(true);
+    // wrong marker → false
+    expect(verifyIdentity(d.proc.pid!, "some-other-marker-xyz")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test("verifyIdentity returns false for dead pids", async () => {
+    expect(verifyIdentity(999_999_999, CMDLINE_MARKER)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+// ─── ensureDaemon ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe("ensureDaemon", () => {
+  test("with no state file: spawns a fresh daemon", async () => {
+    const result = await ensureDaemon({
+      version: "test-version",
+      stateFile,
+      verbose: false,
+    });
+    expect(result.spawned).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.port).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(result.version).toBe("test-version");
+
+    const state = readStateFile(stateFile);
+    expect(state).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(isProcessAlive(state!.pid)).toBe(true);
+
+    // Track for cleanup
+    activeDaemons.push({
+      proc: { pid: state!.pid } as any,
+      port: state!.port,
+      stateFile,
+      stop: async () => {
+        try { process.kill(state!.pid, "SIGTERM"); } catch {}
+      },
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("with a healthy daemon already running: attaches without spawning", async () => {
+    const existing = await spawn1();
+    const result = await ensureDaemon({
+      version: "test-version",
+      stateFile,
+      verbose: false,
+    });
+    expect(result.spawned).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.port).toBe(existing.port);
+  });
+
+  test("with a stale state file (PID dead): spawns fresh, overwrites state", async () => {
+    // Synthesize a stale state file pointing at a definitely-dead pid.
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(stateFile), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(stateFile, JSON.stringify({
+      pid: 999_999_998,
+      port: 1, // bogus port — /health will fail fast
+      startedAt: "2020-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+      version: "ancient",
+      serverPath: "/nope",
+      cmdlineMarker: CMDLINE_MARKER,
+    }));
+
+    const result = await ensureDaemon({
+      version: "test-version",
+      stateFile,
+      verbose: false,
+    });
+    expect(result.spawned).toBe(true);
+
+    // State file should now point at the live daemon.
+    const fresh = readStateFile(stateFile);
+    expect(fresh!.pid).not.toBe(999_999_998);
+    expect(isProcessAlive(fresh!.pid)).toBe(true);
+
+    activeDaemons.push({
+      proc: { pid: fresh!.pid } as any,
+      port: fresh!.port,
+      stateFile,
+      stop: async () => { try { process.kill(fresh!.pid, "SIGTERM"); } catch {} },
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("PID-reuse safety: stale state with an unrelated alive PID → identity-verify blocks signal, daemon spawned", async () => {
+    // Use the current test process's PID — definitely alive, definitely
+    // does NOT have CMDLINE_MARKER in its cmdline (it's the Bun test runner).
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(stateFile), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(stateFile, JSON.stringify({
+      pid: process.pid, // alive but NOT a daemon
+      port: 1,
+      startedAt: "2020-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+      version: "ancient",
+      serverPath: "/nope",
+      cmdlineMarker: CMDLINE_MARKER,
+    }));
+
+    // ensureDaemon should NOT signal process.pid (we'd kill ourselves);
+    // verifyIdentity catches the cmdline mismatch and skips the kill.
+    const result = await ensureDaemon({
+      version: "test-version",
+      stateFile,
+      verbose: false,
+    });
+
+    // We're still alive (didn't get killed)
+    expect(isProcessAlive(process.pid)).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.spawned).toBe(true);
+
+    const fresh = readStateFile(stateFile);
+    expect(fresh!.pid).not.toBe(process.pid);
+    activeDaemons.push({
+      proc: { pid: fresh!.pid } as any,
+      port: fresh!.port,
+      stateFile,
+      stop: async () => { try { process.kill(fresh!.pid, "SIGTERM"); } catch {} },
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("version mismatch with NO active boards: gracefully shuts existing down and respawns", async () => {
+    const existing = await spawn1();
+    // The existing daemon's version is "test-version" (set by fixture env).
+    // ensureDaemon with a DIFFERENT version → should /shutdown the existing
+    // (no active boards) and spawn fresh.
+    const result = await ensureDaemon({
+      version: "different-version",
+      stateFile,
+      verbose: false,
+    });
+    expect(result.spawned).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.version).toBe("different-version");
+
+    // existing.proc.pid should be gone by now (or soon)
+    // Give it a moment for the /shutdown + SIGTERM to take effect
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 200));
+    expect(isProcessAlive(existing.proc.pid!)).toBe(false);
+
+    // New daemon recorded
+    const fresh = readStateFile(stateFile);
+    expect(fresh!.pid).not.toBe(existing.proc.pid);
+    activeDaemons.push({
+      proc: { pid: fresh!.pid } as any,
+      port: fresh!.port,
+      stateFile,
+      stop: async () => { try { process.kill(fresh!.pid, "SIGTERM"); } catch {} },
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("version mismatch WITH active boards: refuses to kill, exits 1 with user-actionable error", async () => {
+    // Run the ensureDaemon-that-would-exit-1 in a subprocess so we can
+    // observe the exit code and stderr without killing the test runner.
+    const existing = await spawn1();
+
+    // Publish a board so activeBoards > 0
+    const html = makeBoardHtml(workDir);
+    await publishBoard({ port: existing.port, html });
+
+    // Sanity: status should reflect the active board
+    const statusResp = await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${existing.port}/health`);
+    const status = (await statusResp.json()) as any;
+    expect(status.activeBoards).toBe(1);
+
+    // Now run a tiny script that calls ensureDaemon with a mismatched
+    // version. It should print the WARNING + exit 1.
+    const scriptPath = path.join(workDir, "ensure-mismatch.ts");
+    fs.writeFileSync(scriptPath, `
+import { ensureDaemon } from "${path.resolve(import.meta.dir, "..", "src", "daemon-client.ts").replace(/\\\\/g, "/")}";
+await ensureDaemon({
+  version: "totally-different-version",
+  stateFile: ${JSON.stringify(stateFile)},
+  verbose: true,
+});
+console.log("REACHED_AFTER_ENSURE — should not happen");
+`);
+
+    const child = spawn("bun", ["run", scriptPath], {
+      env: { ...process.env, DESIGN_DAEMON_STATE_FILE: stateFile },
+      stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+    });
+    const stderrChunks: Buffer[] = [];
+    const stdoutChunks: Buffer[] = [];
+    child.stderr.on("data", (c) => stderrChunks.push(c));
+    child.stdout.on("data", (c) => stdoutChunks.push(c));
+    const exitCode = await new Promise<number>((resolve) => {
+      child.on("exit", (code) => resolve(code ?? -1));
+    });
+    const stderr = Buffer.concat(stderrChunks).toString();
+    const stdout = Buffer.concat(stdoutChunks).toString();
+
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(stderr).toContain("active board");
+    expect(stderr).toContain("Refusing to auto-kill");
+    // We must NOT have reached the post-ensure line
+    expect(stdout).not.toContain("REACHED_AFTER_ENSURE");
+
+    // And the existing daemon should still be alive
+    expect(isProcessAlive(existing.proc.pid!)).toBe(true);
+  }, 15_000);
+});
+
+// ─── publishBoard ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe("publishBoard", () => {
+  test("publishes a board through the real HTTP path and returns id+url+sourceDir", async () => {
+    const d = await spawn1();
+    const htmlPath = makeBoardHtml(workDir, "<p>via-client</p>");
+    const result = await publishBoard({ port: d.port, html: htmlPath });
+    expect(result.id).toMatch(/^b-/);
+    expect(result.url).toBe(`http://127.0.0.1:${d.port}/boards/${result.id}/`);
+    expect(result.sourceDir).toBe(fs.realpathSync(workDir));
+
+    // Confirm the board is actually fetchable at the returned URL
+    const r = await fetch(result.url);
+    expect(r.status).toBe(200);
+    const html = await r.text();
+    expect(html).toContain("via-client");
+  });
+
+  test("409 surfaces existing board's id+url (returned object, no throw)", async () => {
+    const d = await spawn1();
+    const htmlPath = makeBoardHtml(workDir);
+    const first = await publishBoard({ port: d.port, html: htmlPath });
+    const htmlPath2 = makeBoardHtml(workDir, "<p>second</p>");
+    const second = await publishBoard({ port: d.port, html: htmlPath2 });
+    // Same sourceDir → 409 with `existing` field; publishBoard returns it
+    // so the caller can attach to the existing board.
+    expect(second.id).toBe(first.id);
+    expect(second.url).toBe(first.url);
+  });
+});
+
+// ─── shutdownDaemon / daemonStatus ───────────────────────────────
+
+describe("shutdownDaemon + daemonStatus", () => {
+  test("status reports not-running when no state file", async () => {
+    const s = await daemonStatus();
+    expect(s.running).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test("status reports running with port + version + counts when daemon alive", async () => {
+    const d = await spawn1();
+    const s = await daemonStatus();
+    expect(s.running).toBe(true);
+    if (s.running) {
+      expect(s.port).toBe(d.port);
+      expect(s.pid).toBe(d.proc.pid);
+      expect(s.version).toBe("test-version");
+      expect(s.boards).toBe(0);
+      expect(s.activeBoards).toBe(0);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("shutdownDaemon succeeds when no active boards", async () => {
+    const d = await spawn1();
+    const r = await shutdownDaemon();
+    expect(r.stopped).toBe(true);
+    // Give it a moment to die
+    await new Promise((res) => setTimeout(res, 300));
+    expect(isProcessAlive(d.proc.pid!)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test("shutdownDaemon refuses (without force) when active boards present", async () => {
+    const d = await spawn1();
+    await publishBoard({ port: d.port, html: makeBoardHtml(workDir) });
+    const r = await shutdownDaemon();
+    expect(r.stopped).toBe(false);
+    expect(r.reason).toContain("active");
+    expect(r.activeBoards).toBe(1);
+    // Daemon still running
+    expect(isProcessAlive(d.proc.pid!)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test("shutdownDaemon with force=true ignores active boards", async () => {
+    const d = await spawn1();
+    await publishBoard({ port: d.port, html: makeBoardHtml(workDir) });
+    const r = await shutdownDaemon({ force: true });
+    expect(r.stopped).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/design/test/daemon-tests-fixtures.ts b/design/test/daemon-tests-fixtures.ts
index 38fe2bf40..f5e3bbdcb 100644
--- a/design/test/daemon-tests-fixtures.ts
+++ b/design/test/daemon-tests-fixtures.ts
@@ -65,15 +65,10 @@ export async function spawnDaemonForTest(
 ): Promise<SpawnedDaemon> {
   const stateFile = opts.stateFile ?? path.join(makeTmpDir("daemon-state"), "design.json");
   const env: Record<string, string> = {
-    ...process.env,
-    // Point both daemon and any same-process discovery at this state file.
+    ...(process.env as Record<string, string>),
+    // DESIGN_DAEMON_STATE_FILE points both daemon and any same-process
+    // discovery at this test's state file (overrides resolveStateFilePath).
     DESIGN_DAEMON_STATE_FILE: stateFile,
-    // Override the resolveStateFilePath default by setting cwd to a non-git
-    // tmp dir and pre-writing a marker — but easier: env vars consumed by
-    // daemon-state aren't currently a thing; for now the daemon writes to
-    // its own resolved path. Caller passes `stateFile` if they want a
-    // specific location. Tests that need a custom path set the cwd via env.
-    GIT_DIR: "/nonexistent-to-force-cwd-fallback",
     DESIGN_DAEMON_IDLE_MS: String(opts.idleMs ?? 60_000),
     DESIGN_DAEMON_CHECK_MS: String(opts.checkMs ?? 1000),
     DESIGN_DAEMON_VERSION: "test-version",