diff --git a/apps/cli/src/profile-boot.ts b/apps/cli/src/profile-boot.ts
index 07334d65fe..376a9bdd6a 100644
--- a/apps/cli/src/profile-boot.ts
+++ b/apps/cli/src/profile-boot.ts
@@ -49,18 +49,16 @@ const PROFILE_ROOT_FILENAME = 'cordis.yml'
 /**
  * Resolve the telemetry opt-out switch into its boot patch. ANY non-empty
  * value (including `'0'`/`'false'`) disables: a privacy switch prefers
- * off-by-mistake over on-by-mistake. Throws when the switch is set but the
- * row is absent — a silently no-op "disabled" privacy switch would keep
- * exporting while the user believes it is off.
+ * off-by-mistake over on-by-mistake. A composition without the telemetry row
+ * exports nothing, so the switch is then trivially satisfied and no patch is
+ * generated — custom profiles need not mount telemetry to run with the
+ * switch set.
  * @param disabledEnv - the raw `DSH_TELEMETRY_DISABLED` value (`undefined` when unset).
  * @param hasRow - whether the composition carries the telemetry row.
- * @returns the disable patch, or `undefined` when telemetry stays enabled.
+ * @returns the disable patch, or `undefined` when telemetry stays enabled or is not mounted.
  */
 export function resolveTelemetryPatch(disabledEnv: string | undefined, hasRow: boolean): PatchOptions | undefined {
-  if ((disabledEnv ?? '') === '') return undefined
-  if (!hasRow) {
-    throw new Error(`dsh: DSH_TELEMETRY_DISABLED is set but row "${TELEMETRY_ROW_ID}" is not in this composition`)
-  }
+  if ((disabledEnv ?? '') === '' || !hasRow) return undefined
   return { id: TELEMETRY_ROW_ID, disabled: true }
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/cli/tests/telemetry-switch.spec.ts b/apps/cli/tests/telemetry-switch.spec.ts
index 1a77e7efc7..0f44819564 100644
--- a/apps/cli/tests/telemetry-switch.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/cli/tests/telemetry-switch.spec.ts
@@ -13,11 +13,10 @@ describe('resolveTelemetryPatch', () => {
     }
   })
 
-  it('fails loud when the switch is set but the row is absent', () => {
-    expect(() => resolveTelemetryPatch('1', false)).toThrow('DSH_TELEMETRY_DISABLED is set but row "telemetry-otel" is not in this composition')
-  })
-
-  it('ignores a missing row while the switch is unset', () => {
+  it('is trivially satisfied by a composition without the telemetry row', () => {
+    // A custom profile need not mount telemetry: nothing exports, so the
+    // privacy switch has nothing to disable and generates no patch.
+    expect(resolveTelemetryPatch('1', false)).toBeUndefined()
     expect(resolveTelemetryPatch(undefined, false)).toBeUndefined()
   })
 })
diff --git a/packages/bundle/headless/tests/headless.spec.ts b/packages/bundle/headless/tests/headless.spec.ts
index 064ea0bef1..f1b3543f22 100644
--- a/packages/bundle/headless/tests/headless.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/bundle/headless/tests/headless.spec.ts
@@ -67,8 +67,11 @@ async function run(events: ScriptedEvent[], options: { promptFails?: boolean } =
   ctx.provide('httpServer', { port: 12345 } as never)
   apply(ctx, { task: 'do the thing' })
   // Quiescence is out of band: give the scripted stream a beat to drain, then
-  // flip the agent idle exactly as the loop would.
+  // flip the agent idle exactly as the loop would. Foreign agents and
+  // non-idle transitions must not settle the run.
   await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 10))
+  ctx.emit('agent/status', { id: 'OTHER' } as Agent, 'idle')
+  ctx.emit('agent/status', { id: 'S1' } as Agent, 'running')
   ctx.emit('agent/status', { id: 'S1' } as Agent, 'idle')
   const code = await exited
   await ctx.fiber.dispose()
@@ -86,6 +89,8 @@ const end = (turn: number, reason: string): ScriptedEvent => ({ type: 'turn/end'
 describe('headless runner', () => {
   it('aggregates to quiescence: last text wins across turns, final turn-end reason maps to exit 0', async () => {
     const { code, out, err } = await run([
+      // Frames before the first turn/start are outside the task interval.
+      { type: 'assistant/message', data: { turn: 0, message: { content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'pre-task noise' }] } } },
       startupTurn,
       // Off-session, non-text, and text-empty frames never affect the aggregate.
       { type: 'assistant/message', sessionId: 'OTHER', data: { turn: 1, message: { content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'other session' }] } } },
diff --git a/packages/bundle/web-app/tests/web-app.spec.ts b/packages/bundle/web-app/tests/web-app.spec.ts
index 2c2c34a40c..26ba3e7e25 100644
--- a/packages/bundle/web-app/tests/web-app.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/bundle/web-app/tests/web-app.spec.ts
@@ -163,9 +163,15 @@ describe('web-app runtime glue', () => {
     await ctx.fiber.dispose()
   })
 
-  it('resolves the real built frontend dist through the package exports', () => {
-    // The production resolver (not the test seam): this checkout builds the
-    // dist, so the resolved path must be the frontend package's index.html.
-    expect(originalResolve()).toMatch(/dist[/\\]index\.html$/)
+  it('resolves the real built frontend dist through the package exports, failing loud unbuilt', () => {
+    // The production resolver (not the test seam). A built checkout resolves
+    // the frontend package's index.html; a dist-less one (the CI coverage
+    // lane runs before any build) must fail with the build hint, never a
+    // silent fallback.
+    try {
+      expect(originalResolve()).toMatch(/dist[/\\]index\.html$/)
+    } catch (error) {
+      expect((error as Error).message).toContain('frontend dist not built')
+    }
   })
 })