diff --git a/docs/changes/unreleased/1562-plandb-done-terminal-and-manager-ground.md b/docs/changes/unreleased/1562-plandb-done-terminal-and-manager-ground.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d44a548477
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/changes/unreleased/1562-plandb-done-terminal-and-manager-ground.md
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+---
+kind: fixed
+title: plandb done refuses terminal tasks and manager tasks derive project workspace
+pr: 1562
+surface: [engine, resident]
+invalidates:
+  - "plandb done on a cancelled task failed with 'task is not claimed'; it now explicitly reports that the task is already terminal."
+  - "a task proposed by a manager whose workspace was ~ inherited ~ as folder ground; it now falls back to Place.Workspace."
+---
+
+When a task was cancelled upstream, plandb done called requireOwner first, which failed with a misleading 'task is not claimed' error because cancelled tasks clear their claim. Now terminal status is checked before owner verification (preserving placeholder auto-completion).
+
+In addition, groundLadder now falls back from a non-repository workspace (such as ~) to a configured project Place.Workspace rather than landing tasks directly in ~.
+
+The default bash run door now uses the same ground resolver as proposed and
+legacy tasks. Previously a typed `/task` silently bypassed that resolver and
+copied the conversation directory even when its brief named a repository.
+The configured-project fallback applies only to roots; children keep their
+parent's folder. Bash guidance uses bounded project discovery and directs
+workers to `plandb --help` instead of hunting for missing design documents.
+Cancelled review tasks report their terminal state before validating review
+results, and rejected completion leaves the stored task unchanged.
+
+The shared bash-worker brief now names the actual assigned working directory
+before the work order, for workers and checkers alike. A request can quote the
+source checkout without inviting the worker to leave its isolated copy; the
+request and unrelated read-only reference paths remain unchanged.
diff --git a/internal/e2e/harness_test.go b/internal/e2e/harness_test.go
index e315f3ee88..b9b3b0956f 100644
--- a/internal/e2e/harness_test.go
+++ b/internal/e2e/harness_test.go
@@ -43,7 +43,16 @@ import (
 // alias marker and is dropped everywhere in this build (internal/catalog's
 // normalizeID, internal/provider's normalizeModel), so the plain slug is the
 // same model and is what the settings row takes.
-const e2eModel = "deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash"
+var e2eModel = liveVerificationModel()
+
+// One explicit override reaches the conversation, worker, auxiliary-role and
+// fallback pins together. A lane must still verify its recorded model receipts.
+func liveVerificationModel() string {
+	if model := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("CODEAF_E2E_MODEL")); model != "" {
+		return model
+	}
+	return "deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash"
+}
 
 // personConfig is the credentials this lane borrows: the profile in the
 // person's OWN codeaf home, read before the throwaway one is put in front of
diff --git a/internal/manual/chat/how-tasks-run.md b/internal/manual/chat/how-tasks-run.md
index 3a50c1e6b0..223c206d45 100644
--- a/internal/manual/chat/how-tasks-run.md
+++ b/internal/manual/chat/how-tasks-run.md
@@ -3332,3 +3332,27 @@ object beside its matching tool result, within the existing context budget. A la
 input is explicitly marked omitted, rather than shown as a partial object. Earlier
 failures remain part of the evidence. The model continuing the work is told to check a
 reader's objection against the actual work before changing an already-correct result.
+
+## Worker starts in home instead of the project — missing relative documents
+
+When a top-level task has no stronger folder instruction and the conversation's
+working directory is outside a repository, codeaf uses its configured project
+repository. A child keeps its parent's directory, including an ordinary folder;
+a project fallback must not move it elsewhere. Explicit placement still wins.
+
+Every bash worker and checker receives its assigned working directory before the
+work order. Original checkout paths in the request stay quoted, but project edits
+and checks belong in the assigned directory; unrelated reference paths stay literal.
+
+Bash workers search the assigned project with `rg` or `git grep`. A missing
+relative document calls for checking the working directory and project first,
+not a recursive search of the whole home directory. `plandb --help` explains
+the available plan commands without looking for repository design documents.
+
+## plandb done says already terminal — cancelled tasks and ownership
+
+A task cancelled by its supervisor stays cancelled. A late `plandb done` reports
+`task "<id>" is already terminal (cancelled)` instead of `is not claimed`.
+The refusal does not reopen the task or change its result. Active tasks still
+require their owner; an automatically completed composite's empty placeholder
+can still receive its final report.
diff --git a/internal/plandb/done_terminal_test.go b/internal/plandb/done_terminal_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..952b2fe014
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/plandb/done_terminal_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package plandb
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestDoneRefusesAlreadyTerminalTaskExplicitly(t *testing.T) {
+	store := planOpen(t, "")
+	planAdd(t, store, TaskSpec{ID: "leaf", Title: "cancelled leaf"})
+	if _, err := store.Cancel("leaf", "cancelled by supervisor"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Cancel: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	before := *store.Task("leaf")
+	_, err := store.Done("leaf", "worker1", "all finished", nil, nil)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error finishing cancelled task, got nil")
+	}
+	if want := `task "leaf" is already terminal (cancelled)`; err.Error() != want {
+		t.Fatalf("got error %q, want %q", err.Error(), want)
+	}
+	if after := *store.Task("leaf"); !reflect.DeepEqual(before, after) {
+		t.Fatalf("refused completion mutated task: before=%+v after=%+v", before, after)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDoneCancelledCheckReportsTerminalBeforeReviewValidation(t *testing.T) {
+	store := planOpen(t, "")
+	planAdd(t, store, TaskSpec{ID: "check", Title: "review", Role: RoleCheck})
+	if _, err := store.Cancel("check", "stopped"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	_, err := store.Done("check", "worker", "holds: finished", nil, nil)
+	if err == nil || err.Error() != `task "check" is already terminal (cancelled)` {
+		t.Fatalf("cancelled review completion: %v", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/plandb/store.go b/internal/plandb/store.go
index b54b2167b9..05bf2b01b7 100644
--- a/internal/plandb/store.go
+++ b/internal/plandb/store.go
@@ -583,6 +583,10 @@ func (s *Store) Done(id, agent, result string, artifacts, evidence []string) (*T
 		if err := refuseParked(task); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		placeholder := task.Status == StatusDone && strings.TrimSpace(task.Result) == "" && task.ClaimedBy == ""
+		if !placeholder && terminal(task.Status) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("task %q is already terminal (%s)", id, task.Status)
+		}
 		text := strings.TrimSpace(result)
 		// A REVIEW CONCLUSION CARRIES ITS BASIS WITH IT, written by the same
 		// gate that judged it: a holds conclusion is refused unless every
@@ -609,7 +613,6 @@ func (s *Store) Done(id, agent, result string, artifacts, evidence []string) (*T
 		// landing is what the placeholder was waiting for, and the caller that
 		// fills it adopts the task as its own. Any task with words in it — a
 		// worker's own done, a real ending — keeps its words and its owner.
-		placeholder := task.Status == StatusDone && strings.TrimSpace(task.Result) == "" && task.ClaimedBy == ""
 		if !placeholder {
 			// THE ROOT IS NEVER CLAIMED, so its worker cannot answer the ownership
 			// check every other task's worker does. The root's own worker is named
diff --git a/internal/run/bashworker.go b/internal/run/bashworker.go
index 14ffd6bc7e..7c4e3c0791 100644
--- a/internal/run/bashworker.go
+++ b/internal/run/bashworker.go
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ func (w *BashWorker) Run(ctx context.Context, task plandb.Task) (rep Report, run
 	// THE BRIEF IS SAID ONCE, on the first round. Every round after it goes out
 	// on the harness's own note, because a round only begins again when the last
 	// one ended on words with no action.
-	brief := session.BeltWorkerBrief(w.store, &task, task.ID == w.store.RootID(), len(past) > 0, WakeClause(runCtx))
+	brief := session.BeltWorkerBrief(w.store, &task, task.ID == w.store.RootID(), len(past) > 0, WakeClause(runCtx), w.workspace)
 	// noAction counts replies in a row that carried no tool call. A reply that
 	// did call a tool resets the run to one — its own trailing words are the
 	// first of the new run — and the fourth in a row fails the task.
diff --git a/internal/run/bashworker_test.go b/internal/run/bashworker_test.go
index d09eb16e54..9df4887691 100644
--- a/internal/run/bashworker_test.go
+++ b/internal/run/bashworker_test.go
@@ -333,13 +333,17 @@ func TestBashWorkerRecordsItsStepsAndReportsThem(t *testing.T) {
 			return toolReply(finishCommand("root", "the greeting is in place")), nil
 		},
 	}}
-	worker := run.NewBashWorker(store, t.TempDir(), "test/model", seat)
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+	worker := run.NewBashWorker(store, workspace, "test/model", seat)
 
 	report, err := worker.Run(run.WithStepsPerTask(runContext(t), 9), *store.Task(store.RootID()))
 
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("the worker's run failed: %v", err)
 	}
+	if brief := seat.opening(t); !strings.Contains(brief, "ASSIGNED WORKING DIRECTORY\n\n"+workspace) {
+		t.Fatalf("worker did not receive its actual execution directory: %s", brief)
+	}
 	if report.Steps != 2 {
 		t.Fatalf("report steps = %d, want the command and the finish the script ran", report.Steps)
 	}
diff --git a/internal/session/bashbelt_worker.go b/internal/session/bashbelt_worker.go
index d965c758aa..83e84ebbcf 100644
--- a/internal/session/bashbelt_worker.go
+++ b/internal/session/bashbelt_worker.go
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ func workerJournalName() string {
 // of what they did — every child's title, status and result — in place of the
 // interrupted-predecessor sentence, which is a fact about a different worker
 // and not about this one. The resume flag still rides the trajectory's steps.
-func BeltWorkerBrief(store *plandb.Store, task *plandb.Task, root, resume bool, wake string) string {
+func BeltWorkerBrief(store *plandb.Store, task *plandb.Task, root, resume bool, wake string, workspace ...string) string {
 	role := planIsTask
 	if root {
 		role = planIsRoot
@@ -176,6 +176,15 @@ func BeltWorkerBrief(store *plandb.Store, task *plandb.Task, root, resume bool,
 		strings.Join(task.Deliverables, "\n"),
 		task.Acceptance,
 		"", AdmissionContext{}, taskOrigin{}, taskCopy{})
+	// The runtime's directory is authority, while the work order may still
+	// quote the source checkout. Preserve those words and explain their scope
+	// before the worker sees them, as the checker already does for its probes.
+	if len(workspace) > 0 && strings.TrimSpace(workspace[0]) != "" {
+		assignment := "ASSIGNED WORKING DIRECTORY\n\n" + workspace[0] +
+			"\n\nRun project edits and checks here, using relative project paths. A repository path in the request may name the original checkout; it does not change this assigned directory. Do not cd back to that checkout to do the work. Unrelated read-only reference paths remain as written."
+		identity, work, _ := strings.Cut(doc, "\n\n")
+		doc = identity + "\n\n" + assignment + "\n\n" + work
+	}
 	// THE ASK, FOR EVERY LEAF AND ONLY A LEAF. The section is absent on the
 	// root's own document (its work order is the ask) and absent when the store
 	// holds no root row to read it from, which is the emptiness law and not a
diff --git a/internal/session/bashbelt_worker_test.go b/internal/session/bashbelt_worker_test.go
index b955244e01..f55b95c061 100644
--- a/internal/session/bashbelt_worker_test.go
+++ b/internal/session/bashbelt_worker_test.go
@@ -202,3 +202,26 @@ func TestBashWorkerPageSaysToDeleteScratchBeforeDone(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestBeltWorkerBriefStatesAssignedDirectoryWithoutRewritingReferences(t *testing.T) {
+	ask := "In /source/project, edit result.txt; consult /reference/design.md."
+	store := askStore(t, ask)
+	for _, id := range []string{planRootID, "leaf"} {
+		for _, role := range []string{plandb.RoleWork, plandb.RoleCheck} {
+			task := store.Task(id)
+			task.Role = role
+			doc := BeltWorkerBrief(store, task, id == planRootID, false, "", "/assigned/copy")
+			for _, want := range []string{"ASSIGNED WORKING DIRECTORY\n\n/assigned/copy", ask, "Unrelated read-only reference paths remain as written"} {
+				if !strings.Contains(doc, want) {
+					t.Fatalf("%s/%s brief lost %q: %s", id, role, want, doc)
+				}
+			}
+			if strings.Index(doc, "ASSIGNED WORKING DIRECTORY") > strings.Index(doc, ask) {
+				t.Fatal("assignment appears after the quoted source path")
+			}
+			if !strings.HasPrefix(doc, planStoreID(id)+" is your task") {
+				t.Fatal("assignment displaced task ownership")
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/session/planrow_identity_test.go b/internal/session/planrow_identity_test.go
index 835bf84ee3..e978fdc8ae 100644
--- a/internal/session/planrow_identity_test.go
+++ b/internal/session/planrow_identity_test.go
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ func TestARunsRowNamesTheStoreTaskThePlanReadAnswersUnder(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("start run: %v", err)
 	}
 	<-double.entered
+	defer endBeltRun(t, agent, double)
 
 	// THE ROW SAYS WHICH TASK IT IS. Without this the place is back to matching
 	// the pair on the title they share.
@@ -55,12 +56,10 @@ func TestARunsRowNamesTheStoreTaskThePlanReadAnswersUnder(t *testing.T) {
 	var titles []string
 	for _, task := range rows {
 		if task.ID == row.PlanTask {
-			close(double.release)
 			return
 		}
 		titles = append(titles, task.ID+" "+task.Title)
 	}
-	close(double.release)
 	t.Fatalf("the run's row names store task %q and the plan read answers under %v: the place cannot "+
 		"join the pair by an id only one of them uses", row.PlanTask, titles)
 }
diff --git a/internal/session/prompts/bashworker.md b/internal/session/prompts/bashworker.md
index 9400b321ab..3f26cd5749 100644
--- a/internal/session/prompts/bashworker.md
+++ b/internal/session/prompts/bashworker.md
@@ -4,11 +4,8 @@ This belt carries ONE tool: `bash`. The hands other workers reach for as tools
 are shell commands here, and this page is their doctrine. Everything on this
 belt that is not a shell command is named at the bottom.
 
-A response that carries two calls, or a call for a hand that is not here, or
-arguments that do not parse, runs NOTHING: what comes back instead is a line
-beginning `[not run]` saying what was wrong, and nothing has entered the world.
-Fix the shape and send the command again — a good call was never the problem,
-so the step before a rejection is simply the corrected call.
+Invalid or multiple calls run NOTHING. A `[not run]` reply explains the error;
+correct it and retry.
 
 Each command runs in its own fresh shell: a `cd` does not outlive the
 command it is part of, so chain the directory in (`cd dir && ...`) or use
@@ -125,7 +122,7 @@ Parallelism lives in the shell, not in the batch:
 
 ```
 cmd1 & cmd2 & wait        # two commands at once, both waited for
-find . -type f -name '<name pattern>' | xargs -P 4 grep -l <text>
+rg --files -g '<name pattern>' <project> # bounded discovery
 git grep -n "theSymbol"   # one search instead of three
 ```
 
@@ -152,9 +149,10 @@ The idioms, in place of the tools other belts carry:
   through a `sed -i` aimed at one region. Never re-emit a whole file to change
   a line, and never retype a file a tool generated or copied: run the tool that
   makes it.
-- Search inside a repository with git grep -n pattern — it respects
-  .gitignore the way a search tool would. Outside a repository, grep -rn
-  --exclude-dir=.git pattern.
+- Search a named project with `rg` or `git grep`; discover files with `rg --files`.
+  Never widen a missing relative doc into a home-wide recursive search. Check
+  `pwd` and the assigned project first; use `plandb --help` for its contract.
+  Exclude .git, node_modules, vendor, .venv, Library and runtime logs.
 
 A big result is cut to its first half and its last half, and the WHOLE output
 is filed beside this node's own log; the result names that file with a line
diff --git a/internal/session/task_beat_test.go b/internal/session/task_beat_test.go
index a13bbffae6..1c63e71487 100644
--- a/internal/session/task_beat_test.go
+++ b/internal/session/task_beat_test.go
@@ -184,14 +184,20 @@ func TestARunningNodesHeartbeatAdvancesAcrossItsCalls(t *testing.T) {
 // tells them apart, and it goes back to the work's own word when each of them
 // ends.
 func TestTheHeartbeatSaysWhichPhaseTheNodeIsIn(t *testing.T) {
-	repo := newGoModuleRepo(t)
+	// This test observes phase transitions, not the Go compiler. The checker
+	// must fail before the repair and succeed only after the test file exists.
+	repo := newTestRepo(t)
+	writeFile(t, filepath.Join(repo, "Makefile"), "test:\n\t@test -f greet_test.go\n\t@echo greeting-test-present\n")
+	mustGit(t, repo, "add", "Makefile")
+	mustGit(t, repo, "-c", "user.name=t", "-c", "user.email=t@t", "commit", "-m", "phase check fixture")
+	const check = "make test"
 	t.Setenv("HOME", t.TempDir())
 
 	var agent *Agent
 	working, checking, repairing := &beatWatch{}, &beatWatch{}, &beatWatch{}
 	completer := &routedCompleter{
 		parent: []step{
-			proposeCall("Add the greeting", "write greet.go and a test for it", "go test ./..."),
+			proposeCall("Add the greeting", "write greet.go and a test for it", check),
 			finalText("handed off"),
 		},
 		child: nodeLane(8, func(repairs, wrote bool) *ai.Response {
@@ -214,14 +220,14 @@ func TestTheHeartbeatSaysWhichPhaseTheNodeIsIn(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 		}),
 		audit: []step{
-			checkingStep(&agent, checking, bashCall("call-verify", "go test ./...")),
-			checkingStep(&agent, checking, verdictFromEvidence("ok  \t",
-				"VERIFIED — go test ./... ok",
-				"REFUTED — go test ./... reports no test files: the acceptance asks for a test and there is none")),
-			checkingStep(&agent, checking, bashCall("call-verify-again", "go test ./...")),
-			checkingStep(&agent, checking, verdictFromEvidence("ok  \t",
-				"VERIFIED — go test ./... ok · the greeting test runs",
-				"REFUTED — go test ./... still reports no test files")),
+			checkingStep(&agent, checking, bashCall("call-verify", check)),
+			checkingStep(&agent, checking, verdictFromEvidence("greeting-test-present",
+				"VERIFIED — the greeting test file exists",
+				"REFUTED — the greeting test file is absent: the acceptance asks for a test and there is none")),
+			checkingStep(&agent, checking, bashCall("call-verify-again", check)),
+			checkingStep(&agent, checking, verdictFromEvidence("greeting-test-present",
+				"VERIFIED — the greeting test file exists",
+				"REFUTED — the greeting test file is still absent")),
 		},
 	}
 	agent = beatSession(t, repo, completer, func(config *Config) { config.TaskRepairRounds = 1 })
diff --git a/internal/session/task_run_belt.go b/internal/session/task_run_belt.go
index 8b0f92deaf..2cfc30b6ce 100644
--- a/internal/session/task_run_belt.go
+++ b/internal/session/task_run_belt.go
@@ -381,7 +381,11 @@ func (a *Agent) startTaskRun(ctx context.Context, brief string, solo bool, quest
 
 	id := g.reserve()
 	title := taskPersonTitle(brief)
-	stand := taskStand{dir: a.config.Workspace, mode: TaskModeWorktree}
+	// The default run door uses the same placement evidence as a proposal or
+	// legacy task. Starting from home must not discard the named project.
+	stand := a.taskGroundOrStandingIn(taskSpec{
+		title: title, request: brief, brief: brief, acceptance: taskPersonAcceptance,
+	})
 	if err := a.startKnownTaskRun(ctx, id, title, brief, nil, stand, question); err != nil {
 		if errors.Is(err, errRunRoadUnavailable) {
 			return a.startTaskLegacy(ctx, brief, solo)
diff --git a/internal/session/task_run_belt_test.go b/internal/session/task_run_belt_test.go
index cac5f03a75..dcb17225df 100644
--- a/internal/session/task_run_belt_test.go
+++ b/internal/session/task_run_belt_test.go
@@ -164,12 +164,15 @@ func registerBeltRunEngine(t *testing.T, engine RunEngine) {
 // directory's removal, and lost it under load as "directory not empty".
 func endBeltRun(t *testing.T, agent *Agent, double *beltRunDouble) {
 	t.Helper()
+	agent.beltMu.Lock()
+	over := agent.beltRun.over
+	agent.beltMu.Unlock()
 	close(double.release)
-	beltRunWaitFor(t, "the run to end", func() bool {
-		agent.beltMu.Lock()
-		defer agent.beltMu.Unlock()
-		return agent.beltRun == nil
-	})
+	select {
+	case <-over:
+	case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("run did not finish settling after its engine returned")
+	}
 }
 
 // beltRunStoreAt is a fresh handle on the run's store, adopted by path — the
@@ -1504,3 +1507,44 @@ func TestStartTaskBashBeltPassesTheDollarLimitLeftToTheRun(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	endBeltRun(t, agent, double)
 }
+
+func TestStartTaskRunUsesProjectGroundOutsideRepository(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, named := range []bool{false, true} {
+		t.Run(strconv.FormatBool(named), func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Setenv("CODEAF_TASK_BELT", "bash")
+			double := newBeltRunDouble("read the project")
+			registerBeltRunEngine(t, double)
+			repo, dir := newTestRepo(t), t.TempDir()
+			agent, _ := newTestAgent(t, &scriptedCompleter{}, func(config *Config) {
+				config.Workspace = t.TempDir()
+				config.Place = Place{Dir: dir, Workspace: repo}
+				if named {
+					config.Place.Workspace = ""
+				}
+				config.SessionFile = filepath.Join(dir, placeTranscript)
+				config.AskConsent = false
+			})
+			brief := "Read README.md and write result.txt"
+			if named {
+				brief += " in repository " + repo
+			}
+			if _, _, _, err := agent.StartTask(context.Background(), brief, false); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer endBeltRun(t, agent, double)
+			beltRunWaitFor(t, "the project run to start", double.didRun)
+			double.mu.Lock()
+			workspace := double.spec.Workspace
+			double.mu.Unlock()
+			if data, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(workspace, "shared.txt")); err != nil || len(data) == 0 {
+				t.Fatalf("worker cannot read project document: %q %v (workspace=%s)", data, err, workspace)
+			}
+			agent.beltMu.Lock()
+			ground := agent.beltRun.ground
+			agent.beltMu.Unlock()
+			if ground != canonicalPath(repo) || workspace == ground {
+				t.Fatalf("ground=%s workspace=%s want isolated copy of %s", ground, workspace, repo)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/session/task_run_settle_test.go b/internal/session/task_run_settle_test.go
index c45b129b4d..903cbd9570 100644
--- a/internal/session/task_run_settle_test.go
+++ b/internal/session/task_run_settle_test.go
@@ -163,6 +163,17 @@ func TestClosingAfterTheProgramExitedSaysItHadEnded(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("StartDelegate: %v", err)
 	}
 	<-double.entered
+	agent.beltMu.Lock()
+	over := agent.beltRun.over
+	agent.beltMu.Unlock()
+	defer func() {
+		close(double.release)
+		select {
+		case <-over:
+		case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
+			t.Fatal("run did not finish settling after its engine returned")
+		}
+	}()
 	double.mu.Lock()
 	store := double.spec.Store
 	double.mu.Unlock()
@@ -179,8 +190,6 @@ func TestClosingAfterTheProgramExitedSaysItHadEnded(t *testing.T) {
 	if root.Error != "fake had ended; codeaf closed before it could say where its work is" || !root.CompletedAt.Equal(exited) {
 		t.Fatalf("after Close the run's task = %s (%q, ended %v), want it ended at the program's exit %v in a true sentence", root.Status, root.Error, root.CompletedAt, exited)
 	}
-	close(double.release)
-	<-double.finished
 }
 
 // AND THE SAME ON THE REOPEN ROAD: a store left open over a program that had
diff --git a/internal/session/taskstands.go b/internal/session/taskstands.go
index 65b26c50fa..2159e51db3 100644
--- a/internal/session/taskstands.go
+++ b/internal/session/taskstands.go
@@ -365,6 +365,11 @@ func (a *Agent) groundLadder(spec taskSpec, workspace string) taskStand {
 	if root, ok := repositoryRoot(workspace); ok {
 		return taskStand{dir: root, rung: taskGroundStandingIn}
 	}
+	if projectWorkspace := strings.TrimSpace(a.config.Place.Workspace); spec.parent == 0 && projectWorkspace != "" && projectWorkspace != workspace {
+		if root, ok := repositoryRoot(projectWorkspace); ok {
+			return taskStand{dir: root, rung: taskGroundStandingIn}
+		}
+	}
 	return taskStand{dir: workspace, rung: taskGroundNothing}
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/session/taskstands_test.go b/internal/session/taskstands_test.go
index 94d964e979..5dfbebb28c 100644
--- a/internal/session/taskstands_test.go
+++ b/internal/session/taskstands_test.go
@@ -48,6 +48,41 @@ func heldTaskWorld(t *testing.T, agent *Agent, path, content string) (<-chan tas
 	return world, done
 }
 
+// A manager outside its project must hand the actual repository files to its
+// worker, not just report the right ground on the proposal card.
+func TestManagerProjectFallbackOpensAWorktreeWithItsDocuments(t *testing.T) {
+	repo := newTestRepo(t)
+	writeFile(t, filepath.Join(repo, "DESIGN.md"), "project design\n")
+	gitOut(t, repo, "add", "DESIGN.md")
+	gitOut(t, repo, "-c", "user.name=Test", "-c", "user.email=test@example.com", "commit", "-m", "add project design")
+	place := Place{Dir: t.TempDir(), Workspace: repo}
+	agent, _ := newTestAgent(t, &scriptedCompleter{}, func(config *Config) {
+		config.Workspace = t.TempDir()
+		config.Place = place
+		config.AskConsent = false
+		config.TaskAutoApproveSeconds = 0
+	})
+	world, release := heldTaskWorld(t, agent, "result.txt", "done\n")
+	arguments, _ := json.Marshal(taskArguments{
+		Title: "read project design", Summary: "use the project document",
+		Brief: "Read DESIGN.md and write result.txt", Deliverable: "result.txt",
+		Acceptance: "result.txt contains the result",
+	})
+	result, isError, err := agent.proposeTask(context.Background(), arguments)
+	if err != nil || isError {
+		t.Fatalf("proposeTask = %q, error=%v, isError=%v", result, err, isError)
+	}
+	tree := <-world
+	if tree.root != canonicalPath(repo) || !withinDir(place.Trees(), tree.dir) {
+		t.Fatalf("worker is not in the project's isolated tree: %+v", tree)
+	}
+	if content, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(tree.dir, "DESIGN.md")); err != nil || string(content) != "project design\n" {
+		t.Fatalf("relative project document missing in worker: %q, %v", content, err)
+	}
+	release()
+	waitDoneNode(t, agent.graph().node(1))
+}
+
 // C1: a model asking for in-place repository work gets a task branch, the live
 // checkout stays untouched, and the proposal receipt says why it was redirected.
 func TestC1AProposalCannotPutRepositoryWorkInTheCheckout(t *testing.T) {
@@ -775,6 +810,28 @@ func TestTheGroundLadderClimbsInOrder(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	})
 
+	t.Run("workspace outside repo falls back to place workspace", func(t *testing.T) {
+		agent, _ := newTestAgent(t, &scriptedCompleter{}, func(config *Config) {
+			config.Workspace = plain
+			config.Place = Place{Dir: t.TempDir(), Workspace: repo}
+		})
+		stand := agent.resolveTaskGround(taskSpec{deliverable: "an answer", acceptance: "it is written"})
+		if stand.dir != canonicalPath(repo) || stand.rung != taskGroundStandingIn {
+			t.Fatalf("stand = %+v, want dir=%s rung=%s", stand, repo, taskGroundStandingIn)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("a folder child keeps its parent despite a project fallback", func(t *testing.T) {
+		agent, _ := newTestAgent(t, &scriptedCompleter{}, func(config *Config) {
+			config.Workspace = plain
+			config.Place = Place{Dir: t.TempDir(), Workspace: repo}
+		})
+		stand := agent.resolveTaskGround(taskSpec{parent: 3, depth: 2, deliverable: "an answer", acceptance: "it is written"})
+		if stand.dir != canonicalPath(plain) || stand.mode != TaskModeFolder {
+			t.Fatalf("folder child moved away from its parent: %+v", stand)
+		}
+	})
+
 	t.Run("a repository the work only reads is not branched", func(t *testing.T) {
 		agent, _ := newTestAgent(t, &scriptedCompleter{}, func(config *Config) { config.Workspace = plain })
 		stand := agent.resolveTaskGround(taskSpec{