diff --git a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/README.md b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/README.md
index f9e4b32713..1424f27835 100644
--- a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/README.md
+++ b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/README.md
@@ -44,6 +44,6 @@ Indirectly, through `dsh-tool-lsp`, which surfaces this provider's normalized re
 
 ## Known Limitations and Deferred Work
 
-- **Trusted host-local only** — no sandbox confinement, no private cache/temp write contract; supporting untrusted binaries or restricted/remote/virtual workspaces requires a later process/filesystem contract and a different provider ([seam RFC](../../../docs/rfc/implemented/architecture/2026-07-15-lsp-capability-seam.md)).
+- **Trusted host-local only** — no sandbox confinement, no private cache/temp write contract; supporting untrusted binaries or restricted/remote/virtual workspaces requires a later process/filesystem contract and a different provider ([seam RFC](../../../docs/rfc/implemented/architecture/2026-07-15-lsp-capability-seam.md)). Containment resolves `realpath`, then opens the source through one handle with `O_NOFOLLOW` (final-component symlink guard) and a bounded read; a concurrent mutator that swaps an *ancestor* directory for a symlink between the resolve and the open is an accepted residual TOCTOU under this trusted-deployment model, not closed with non-portable `openat` segment walks.
 - **Transient-open compatibility floor** — servers whose synchronization omits open/close (or advertise `None`) are unsupported even if closed-document queries would work; the pinned TypeScript e2e establishes one compatibility floor, not a cross-language claim.
 - **Per-instance serialization latency** — parallel agents sharing a workspace queue behind one process; long-lived workspace processes consume memory until disposal.
diff --git a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/connection.ts b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/connection.ts
index 272109d2c6..6eea8aec27 100644
--- a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/connection.ts
+++ b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/connection.ts
@@ -187,9 +187,10 @@ export class LspConnection {
     try {
       messages = this.decoder.push(chunk)
     } catch (error) {
-      // A framing/JSON failure corrupts the stream position irrecoverably: fail the instance.
+      // A framing/JSON failure corrupts the stream position irrecoverably: fail the instance and
+      // SIGKILL the whole group so helper processes don't outlive the leader.
       this.fail(asError(error))
-      this.child.kill('SIGKILL')
+      this.signalGroup('SIGKILL')
       return
     }
     for (const message of messages) this.dispatch(message)
diff --git a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/index.ts b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/index.ts
index dc6e02d3c6..19d29e3618 100644
--- a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/index.ts
@@ -114,8 +114,12 @@ export function apply(ctx: Context, config: Config): void {
   // nonpositive value would let a server that ignores shutdown hang disposal forever. Fail at load.
   assertPositiveInteger('shutdownTimeoutMs', resolved.shutdownTimeoutMs)
   assertPositiveInteger('killGraceMs', resolved.killGraceMs)
-  // A nonpositive stderr cap defeats the retained-tail bound (`slice(-0)` keeps everything).
+  // Byte caps must be positive: a nonpositive stderr cap defeats the retained-tail bound
+  // (`slice(-0)` keeps everything), `maxMessageBytes: 0` makes every response fatal, and a bad
+  // document cap fails later in the read path instead of at load.
   assertPositiveInteger('maxStderrBytes', resolved.maxStderrBytes)
+  assertPositiveInteger('maxMessageBytes', resolved.maxMessageBytes)
+  assertPositiveInteger('maxDocumentBytes', resolved.maxDocumentBytes)
   const childEnv = buildChildEnv(resolved.env)
   // Resolve the executable eagerly so a misconfigured command fails at load, not on first query.
   const executable = resolveExecutable(resolved.command, childEnv)
diff --git a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/instance.ts b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/instance.ts
index ecf2782a12..cd73d5cb8d 100644
--- a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/instance.ts
+++ b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/src/instance.ts
@@ -108,16 +108,17 @@ export class LspInstance {
     if (this.disposed) throw new Error('LSP instance was disposed')
     /* v8 ignore next -- the abortable queue wait rejects a pre-aborted signal before runQuery; this is a belt-and-suspenders guard. */
     if (signal?.aborted) throw abortError(signal)
-    // Observe abort during the handshake wait: a server that never answers `initialize` must not
-    // block the tool-timeout signal here (the timeout policy awaits our quiescence, not the promise).
-    // If abort wins, the handshake is still pending on a live process, so tear the instance down —
-    // otherwise its poisoned `ready` would make every later query for this workspace re-wait.
+    // Observe abort during the handshake wait, and never pool a poisoned instance: if the wait ends
+    // in failure — an abort on a still-pending handshake, OR `initialize` rejecting (utf-8
+    // negotiation, malformed result) without the process exiting — tear the instance down so a
+    // permanently-rejecting/pending `ready` can't make every later query for this workspace fail.
     try {
       await this.abortable(this.ready, signal)
     } catch (error) {
-      if (signal?.aborted && !this.dead) {
+      if (!this.dead) {
         this.disposed = true
-        await this.tearDown(abortError(signal))
+        /* v8 ignore next -- ready rejects with an Error (abort reason or initialize failure); the String() fallback is defensive. */
+        await this.tearDown(error instanceof Error ? error : new Error(String(error)))
       }
       throw error
     }
diff --git a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/tests/lifecycle.spec.ts b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/tests/lifecycle.spec.ts
index 66a18584a1..bf624a1c56 100644
--- a/packages/lsp/lsp-local/tests/lifecycle.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/lsp/lsp-local/tests/lifecycle.spec.ts
@@ -105,6 +105,16 @@ describe('lsp-local end to end over a fake server', () => {
     await ctx.fiber.dispose()
   })
 
+  it('does not pool a poisoned instance when initialize rejects', async () => {
+    // A utf-8 server makes `initialize` reject; the instance must be torn down (not left with a
+    // permanently-rejecting `ready`) so a later query starts a fresh process rather than reusing it.
+    const ctx = await mount({ LSP_FAKE_ENCODING: 'utf-8', LSP_FAKE_DEF: 'null' })
+    await expect(ctx.lsp.query(query('definition'))).rejects.toThrow(/unsupported position encoding/)
+    // A second query must also fail the same way (fresh instance), and must NOT hang on a poisoned one.
+    await expect(ctx.lsp.query(query('definition'))).rejects.toThrow(/unsupported position encoding/)
+    await ctx.fiber.dispose()
+  })
+
   it('rejects a server without transient-open sync (None)', async () => {
     const ctx = await mount({ LSP_FAKE_SYNC: '0', LSP_FAKE_DEF: 'null' })
     await expect(ctx.lsp.query(query('definition'))).rejects.toThrow(/transient textDocument\/didOpen/)
diff --git a/packages/lsp/tool-lsp/src/render.ts b/packages/lsp/tool-lsp/src/render.ts
index df0913a591..0051adc719 100644
--- a/packages/lsp/tool-lsp/src/render.ts
+++ b/packages/lsp/tool-lsp/src/render.ts
@@ -137,7 +137,9 @@ export function renderUri(uri: string, workspaceRoot: string): string {
   }
   const rel = relative(workspaceRoot, absolute)
   if (rel === '') return '.'
-  const outside = rel.startsWith('..') || isAbsolute(rel)
+  // A leading `..` SEGMENT (or an absolute rel) means outside the workspace; guard against a false
+  // positive on an in-workspace path whose first component merely starts with dots (e.g. `..gen/x`).
+  const outside = rel === '..' || rel.startsWith(`..${sep}`) || isAbsolute(rel)
   return outside ? absolute : rel.split(sep).join('/')
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/lsp/tool-lsp/tests/render.spec.ts b/packages/lsp/tool-lsp/tests/render.spec.ts
index 53a2be5899..88b02a1fd5 100644
--- a/packages/lsp/tool-lsp/tests/render.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/lsp/tool-lsp/tests/render.spec.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,12 @@ describe('renderUri', () => {
     expect(renderUri(pathToFileURL(WS).href, WS)).toBe('.')
   })
 
+  it('keeps an in-workspace path whose first segment starts with dots relative', () => {
+    // `..generated` is a real in-workspace dir, not a parent escape; only a `..` segment is external.
+    const uri = pathToFileURL(join(WS, '..generated', 'a.ts')).href
+    expect(renderUri(uri, WS)).toBe('..generated/a.ts')
+  })
+
   it('keeps a non-file URI verbatim', () => {
     expect(renderUri('untitled:Untitled-1', WS)).toBe('untitled:Untitled-1')
     expect(renderUri('jdt://contents/Foo.class', WS)).toBe('jdt://contents/Foo.class')