diff --git a/packages/chord/src/output.ts b/packages/chord/src/output.ts
index 80804c33e..a31cdfd2a 100644
--- a/packages/chord/src/output.ts
+++ b/packages/chord/src/output.ts
@@ -376,7 +376,8 @@ export class Progress {
 		else
 			this.#timer = this.#clock.setTimer(() => {
 				this.#timer = undefined;
-				this.#flush();
+				// Checks the clock again: a timer that fires early waits for the rest.
+				this.#schedule();
 			}, wait);
 	}
 
diff --git a/packages/chord/test/output.test.ts b/packages/chord/test/output.test.ts
index ae598c026..00e7d647e 100644
--- a/packages/chord/test/output.test.ts
+++ b/packages/chord/test/output.test.ts
@@ -299,15 +299,20 @@ describe("Progress", () => {
 		now = 1_040;
 		const second = progress.markAndWait();
 		expect(timers.map(({ delayMs }) => delayMs)).toEqual([60]);
-		now = 1_100;
+		// A timer that fires early commits nothing and waits for the rest.
+		now = 1_080;
 		timers[0]!.callback();
+		expect(commits).toEqual([1_000]);
+		expect(timers.map(({ delayMs }) => delayMs)).toEqual([60, 20]);
+		now = 1_100;
+		timers[1]!.callback();
 		await second;
 		expect(commits).toEqual([1_000, 1_100]);
 		await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 0));
 		progress.mark();
-		expect(timers.map(({ delayMs }) => delayMs)).toEqual([60, 100]);
+		expect(timers.map(({ delayMs }) => delayMs)).toEqual([60, 20, 100]);
 		await progress.stop();
-		expect(timers[1]!.disarmed).toBe(true);
+		expect(timers[2]!.disarmed).toBe(true);
 	});
 
 	it("rejects the waiters of a failed commit and reports its error", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/durable/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/durable/CHANGELOG.md
index 29550359f..816836c7a 100644
--- a/packages/durable/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/durable/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,14 +6,14 @@
 
 - `TaskRuntime.sleep()` is removed: it waited inside a phase, which holds an invocation and, after a restart, reruns the phase and restarts the wait. A task now ends its phase asleep with `runtime.sleepUntil(until, checkpoint, context)` or by returning `{ status: "sleeping", until, checkpoint }` from `runtime.commit()`; move the work after the wait into the next phase and carry what it needs in the checkpoint. `TaskRuntime.setTimer()` paces work inside a phase without waiting for it.
 - Tasks have a `sleeping` status, so code that handles every `TaskState`, `TaskGraphState`, or `TaskInspection` state needs a case for it.
-- Opening a SQLite storage migrates it to schema version 2 automatically, rebuilding its task table. A migrated database cannot be opened by 1.3.0 or earlier, so a deployment cannot roll back past this release.
+- Opening a SQLite storage migrates it to schema version 2 automatically, rebuilding its task table. A migrated database cannot be opened by 1.3.0 or earlier, so a deployment cannot roll back past this release. JSONL storage needs no migration, but 1.3.0 or earlier never resumes a sleeping task it finds, so its conversation stays busy.
 - `TaskRuntime` has `sleepUntil()` and `setTimer()`, and `ToolExecutionApi` has `now()`: code that builds either object by hand, such as a test fake or a tool wrapper that does not spread the original, must add them.
 
 ### Added
 
 - `settings.compaction.modelOverrides` sets compaction thresholds per model, keyed by exact `"provider/modelId"`, so one harness can serve small- and large-window models; the threshold check, overflow recovery, and the compaction task use the entry of the model they act for ([#10942](https://github.com/earendil-works/pi/issues/10942)).
 - Durable sleeps: a sleeping task holds no invocation, survives restarts, and resumes at its checkpoint once the Harness clock reaches `until`.
-- `HarnessOptions.setTimer` arms every timer of the Session and Harness (progress throttles, idle-memory eviction, sleeps), also for `createSession()`; with `now`, a Harness runs entirely on a host or fake clock. `ToolExecutionApi.now()` reads the Harness clock.
+- `HarnessOptions.setTimer` arms the timers of the Session, the scheduler, and its tasks (progress throttles, idle-memory eviction, sleeps), also for `createSession()`; with `now`, they run on a host or fake clock. A foreground timer the host throws on or declines falls back to `setTimeout`. `ToolExecutionApi.now()` reads the Harness clock.
 - `Harness.wake()` and `HarnessOptions.onWake` tell a host when the Session next needs a process: `active` while work can run, `at` for the earliest sleep. With `onWake`, the Harness keeps no timer for sleeps, so a Cloudflare Durable Object can hibernate and wake on its alarm, calling `resume()`.
 - `HarnessOptions.models` and `HarnessOptions.settings` also accept a function returning the current value, like `env`. Generation, compaction, hooks and tools call it at each use (`api.models` reads the current value at each access), so a host can replace its model configuration or settings without reopening the Harness. A plain object still works.
 
diff --git a/packages/durable/README.md b/packages/durable/README.md
index 257a3b439..4c68184ed 100644
--- a/packages/durable/README.md
+++ b/packages/durable/README.md
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ const Reminder = defineTask<{ text: string; at: number }, { phase: "wait" } | {
 
 There is no sleep in the middle of a phase: a phase reruns from its top after a restart, so work after the wait goes in the next phase, and what it needs goes in the checkpoint. `{ status: "sleeping", until, checkpoint }` returned from `runtime.commit()` is the same sleep, committed together with other writes. Retry backoffs and deferred-response polls of the built-in tasks sleep the same way.
 
-Every timer the Harness uses goes through `setTimer` (default `setTimeout`), and every time through `now` (default `Date.now`); pass both to run a Harness on a fake clock. Sleep deadlines are stored on `now`, so every process that opens one storage must use the same clock. While scheduling runs, a timer resumes sleeping tasks when they are due and keeps a Node.js process alive meanwhile.
+The timers of the Session, the scheduler, and its tasks go through `setTimer` (default `setTimeout`), and their times through `now` (default `Date.now`); pass both to run a Harness on a fake clock. The Node.js environment, file watcher, and image worker keep their own timers. Sleep deadlines are stored on `now`, so every process that opens one storage must use the same clock. While scheduling runs, a timer resumes sleeping tasks when they are due and keeps a Node.js process alive meanwhile.
 
 A host whose process can be evicted, such as a Cloudflare Durable Object, wakes it itself. With `onWake`, the Harness arms no timer for sleeps; it tells the host what `harness.wake()` says whenever that changes: `active` while some task can run now or is running, and `at`, the earliest sleep. The host keeps its alarm armed and calls `resume()` when it fires:
 
@@ -161,7 +161,10 @@ export class Session extends DurableObject<Env> {
 		super(ctx, env);
 		void ctx.blockConcurrencyWhile(async () => {
 			const storage = await openDurableObjectSqliteStorage(ctx.storage);
-			this.#harness = await Harness.open(storage, { models, registry, onWake: (wake) => void this.#arm(wake) }, context);
+			const onWake = (wake: Wake) =>
+				// A failed alarm write resets the object; it arms again when it next starts.
+				void this.#arm(wake).catch(() => ctx.abort("Alarm write failed"));
+			this.#harness = await Harness.open(storage, { models, registry, onWake }, context);
 			this.#harness.resume();
 		});
 	}
@@ -171,8 +174,9 @@ export class Session extends DurableObject<Env> {
 		await this.#arm(this.#harness.wake());
 	}
 
+	// Arm before any call that can start work (submit, compact, abortTask, abort, a registry change): `onWake` runs
+	// after the commit. An early alarm is harmless, a missing one strands the work.
 	async submit(conversation: Conversation, input: string, requestId: string): Promise<void> {
-		// Arm before admitting work: an early alarm is harmless, a missing one strands the work.
 		await this.#arm({ ...this.#harness.wake(), active: true });
 		await conversation.submit({ type: "input", content: input, requestId }, context);
 	}
diff --git a/packages/durable/docs/spec.md b/packages/durable/docs/spec.md
index 65d0350d4..e8ebd993f 100644
--- a/packages/durable/docs/spec.md
+++ b/packages/durable/docs/spec.md
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ and open rejects a registry whose snapshot lacks any of them.
 Open changes surviving `running` tasks to `pending`, keeps `waiting` tasks
 waiting and `sleeping` tasks asleep, and re-evaluates finalization and `failFast` for `completing` and
 `waiting` tasks (section 5.5). It never migrates or terminalizes a task because
-its definition is missing or unmigratable. Such a task stays `pending` or `waiting` and is **blocked**: the
+its definition is missing or unmigratable. Such a task stays `pending`, `waiting`, or `sleeping` and is **blocked**: the
 scheduler skips it and reconsiders it whenever the registry changes (section
 5.4). Any built-in document touched by recovery migrates through its ordinary
 typed access path. Open does not scan or migrate other documents. No handler
@@ -1748,7 +1748,7 @@ type TaskRecord<I, S, R> = {
   readonly endedAt?: number;
 } & (
   | {
-      readonly state: Extract<TaskState<S, R>, { status: "pending" | "running" | "waiting" }>;
+      readonly state: Extract<TaskState<S, R>, { status: "pending" | "running" | "waiting" | "sleeping" }>;
       readonly memos?: Readonly<Record<string, JsonValue>>;
     }
   | {
@@ -1765,7 +1765,7 @@ type RunningTask<I, S, R> = TaskRecord<I, S, R> & {
  * State a task commits for itself: a replacement checkpoint, a wait, or its outcome. A returned `terminal` state
  * becomes `completing` while ordinary owned work below is live (section 5.5).
  */
-type NextTaskState<S, R> = Extract<TaskState<S, R>, { status: "running" | "waiting" | "terminal" }>;
+type NextTaskState<S, R> = Extract<TaskState<S, R>, { status: "running" | "waiting" | "sleeping" | "terminal" }>;
 
 interface HookRunner<H extends object> {
   each<K extends keyof H>(name: K, invoke: (handler: NonNullable<H[K]>) => void | Promise<void>): Promise<void>;
@@ -1882,10 +1882,11 @@ callback returns a state, the runtime replaces the task's state in the same
 commit, so the checkpoint or outcome is atomic with the callback's entries,
 documents, and child tasks and is type-checked against the task's checkpoint and
 result types. Returning nothing leaves the state unchanged. A terminal or
-completing state drops the memos. A `waiting` state ends the invocation even
-when its checkpoint is unchanged; it rejects when `on` names a missing task or
-closes a wait cycle (section 5.5), which no task on it could finish first, and
-an empty `on` resumes at the next scheduling pass. `pending` is never returned;
+completing state drops the memos. A `waiting` or `sleeping` state ends the
+invocation even when its checkpoint is unchanged. A wait rejects when `on` names
+a missing task or closes a wait cycle (section 5.5), which no task on it could
+finish first, and an empty `on` resumes at the next scheduling pass; a sleep
+rejects an `until` that is not a time (section 5.6). `pending` is never returned;
 only reconciliation and handover write it.
 
 `Tx` has no task replacement operation. A task changes only its own state,
@@ -1944,7 +1945,7 @@ invocation queued earlier therefore either lands before the step and counts, or
 reaches the line after it and rejects. Before the first phase only rules 1–3
 apply:
 
-1. Terminal, `completing`, or `waiting`: stop.
+1. Terminal, `completing`, `waiting`, or `sleeping`: stop.
 2. Session closing: stop; preserve the checkpoint and any abort mark for reopen.
 3. Run mode with a durable abort mark: end and join the run invocation; a fresh
    abort invocation starts once the task's ordinary owned work is no longer
@@ -1964,10 +1965,11 @@ again.
 
 On open, running-task reconciliation changes surviving `running` tasks back to
 `pending`, preserving their checkpoint and abort mark; `waiting` tasks stay
-waiting, and `completing` and `waiting` tasks are re-evaluated (section 5.5). Task migration runs at
-reservation, atomically with `pending` or `waiting` -> `running`. One callback handles every
+waiting and `sleeping` tasks asleep, and `completing` and `waiting` tasks are
+re-evaluated (section 5.5). Task migration runs at reservation, atomically with
+`pending`, `waiting`, or `sleeping` -> `running`. One callback handles every
 supported older version. A task whose definition is missing, older than the
-stored version, or fails migration stays `pending` or `waiting` and blocked until a fitting
+stored version, or fails migration stays `pending`, `waiting`, or `sleeping` and blocked until a fitting
 definition is installed or the task is aborted (section 5.4).
 `close()` marks the runtime closing, seals admission and reservation, signals
 invocations, and ends states and watches. Outside the Session line it settles admitted
@@ -2361,8 +2363,11 @@ when `nodejs_compat` gives it an `unref()`, and wherever timers cannot be
 unreferenced. Foreground timers pace or resume work: throttled
 progress commits through `TaskRuntime.setTimer()`, and, without `onWake`, the
 timer for the earliest sleep while scheduling runs. That one keeps a Node.js
-process alive, since a sleeping task is work left to do. A timer may fire early
-or late; every caller checks its clock again.
+process alive, since a sleeping task is work left to do. A timer must not fire
+before its delay and may fire late; the default splits a delay beyond what
+`setTimeout` supports itself. A host that throws on or declines a foreground
+timer has it armed with `setTimeout` instead, and the first failure is reported.
+Callers still check their clock when a timer fires.
 
 **Wakeups.** `Harness.wake()` says, from memory and also while scheduling is
 paused, when the Session next needs a running process:
@@ -2380,9 +2385,12 @@ whenever the value changes, off the Session line; a throw is reported. The host
 arms its own wakeup and calls `resume()` when it fires, which makes due sleeps
 runnable. A host whose process can be evicted, such as a Durable Object with
 its one alarm, arms the alarm at `at`, or at `now + heartbeat` while `active`
-if that is earlier, and deletes it when neither is set. It arms the recovery wakeup
-before admitting work, since an early wakeup is harmless and a missing one
-leaves work stranded.
+if that is earlier, and deletes it when neither is set. `onWake` runs after the
+commit that changes the value, so a host call that can make an idle Session
+active arms the recovery wakeup first: `submit()`, `compact()`, `abortTask()`,
+`Conversation.abort()`, a registry change, and `resume()` after open. An early
+wakeup is harmless; a missing one leaves work stranded. A failed alarm write
+resets the object, which arms again when it next starts.
 
 ## 6. Submissions and inbox
 
diff --git a/packages/durable/src/codemode/codemode.ts b/packages/durable/src/codemode/codemode.ts
index a8bcde21a..a58b2b345 100644
--- a/packages/durable/src/codemode/codemode.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/src/codemode/codemode.ts
@@ -799,6 +799,8 @@ class CodemodeCall {
 					}));
 		running.then(
 			(done) => {
+				// A result after the outcome is decided has nowhere to go, and the call's API has ended.
+				if (this.stopped) return;
 				this.queue.push({ id: call.id, at: this.api.now(), ...done });
 				void this.pump();
 			},
diff --git a/packages/durable/src/harness/generation.ts b/packages/durable/src/harness/generation.ts
index ffd708c7a..9176625ae 100644
--- a/packages/durable/src/harness/generation.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/src/harness/generation.ts
@@ -237,9 +237,9 @@ export const GenerationTask = defineTask<GenerationInput, GenerationCheckpoint,
 		/** After the sleep until `pollAt`; a run before it (an early wake, or a record of an earlier version) sleeps again. */
 		poll: async (task, runtime, context) => {
 			const { attempt, compacted, model: ref, cutoff, handle, pollAt } = task.state.checkpoint;
+			if (pollAt > runtime.now()) return runtime.sleepUntil(pollAt, task.state.checkpoint, context);
 			const model = runtime.models.getModel(ref.provider, ref.modelId);
 			if (model === undefined) return failNoModel(runtime, ref, context);
-			if (pollAt > runtime.now()) return runtime.sleepUntil(pollAt, task.state.checkpoint, context);
 			const message = await runtime.models.fetchDeferred(model, handle, { signal: runtime.signal });
 			const request = { attempt, compacted, model: ref, cutoff, pollAt };
 			await classify(runtime, request, message, context);
diff --git a/packages/durable/src/harness/scheduler.ts b/packages/durable/src/harness/scheduler.ts
index 9381b407d..0c5b84ae0 100644
--- a/packages/durable/src/harness/scheduler.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/src/harness/scheduler.ts
@@ -1164,9 +1164,10 @@ export class TaskScheduler {
 			}
 			const last = this.#lastWake;
 			if (last !== undefined && last.active === wake.active && last.at === wake.at) return;
-			this.#lastWake = wake;
 			try {
 				this.#onWake(wake);
+				// Only a delivered wake counts: after a throw, the next change or kick offers it again.
+				this.#lastWake = wake;
 			} catch (error) {
 				this.#report(error);
 			}
@@ -1200,7 +1201,9 @@ export class TaskScheduler {
 	}
 
 	/** A sleep whose `until` the clock has not reached; an abort mark ends a sleep. */
-	#notDue(record: AnyTaskRecord): boolean {
+	#notDue(
+		record: AnyTaskRecord,
+	): record is AnyTaskRecord & { readonly state: { readonly status: "sleeping"; readonly until: number } } {
 		const state = record.state;
 		return state.status === "sleeping" && !record.abortRequested && state.until > this.#now();
 	}
@@ -1249,6 +1252,9 @@ export class TaskScheduler {
 					return;
 				}
 				await this.#loadScopes(false);
+				// Every pass picks up sleeps whose time has come: a pass started by any change may be the first to run after
+				// a deadline, and the wake it schedules no longer keeps a timer for a due sleep.
+				this.#wakeDue();
 				// Taken once per pass, and only when some task is a candidate.
 				let snapshot: RegistrySnapshot | undefined;
 				for (const id of [...this.#runnable]) {
@@ -1262,7 +1268,7 @@ export class TaskScheduler {
 						this.#runnable.delete(id);
 						continue;
 					}
-					// It returns when its time comes: `#wakeDue()` from the timer or `resume()`.
+					// It returns at the first pass after its time comes, which the timer, `resume()`, or any change starts.
 					if (this.#notDue(record)) {
 						this.#runnable.delete(id);
 						continue;
@@ -1392,8 +1398,7 @@ export class TaskScheduler {
 		if (record.state.status === "completing") return { kind: "completing" };
 		const on = this.#waitingOn(record);
 		if (on.length > 0) return { kind: "waiting", on };
-		if (this.#notDue(record) && record.state.status === "sleeping")
-			return { kind: "sleeping", until: record.state.until };
+		if (this.#notDue(record)) return { kind: "sleeping", until: record.state.until };
 		const fit = this.#fit(record, snapshot.task(record.kind));
 		if ("reason" in fit) return { kind: "blocked", ...fit };
 		if (fit.migrates && fit.task.definition.migrate === undefined) {
diff --git a/packages/durable/src/harness/tool.ts b/packages/durable/src/harness/tool.ts
index eae03bc8c..cc894d876 100644
--- a/packages/durable/src/harness/tool.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/src/harness/tool.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
 	type OutputLimits,
 	PROGRESS_BYTES_PER_SECOND,
 	Progress,
+	type ProgressClock,
 } from "@earendil-works/chord/output";
 import type { ImageContent, TextContent, ToolCall, ToolResultMessage } from "@earendil-works/pi-ai";
 import { validateToolArguments } from "@earendil-works/pi-ai/utils/validation";
@@ -442,6 +443,25 @@ async function run(
 	for (const waiter of pending) waiter.resolve();
 }
 
+/**
+ * The Harness clock and timers for progress pacing. After the invocation ends nothing more commits, and the clock
+ * answers with the last time it read.
+ */
+function progressClock(runtime: Runtime): ProgressClock {
+	let last = 0;
+	return {
+		now: () => {
+			try {
+				last = runtime.now();
+			} catch {
+				// The invocation ended.
+			}
+			return last;
+		},
+		setTimer: (callback, delayMs) => runtime.setTimer(callback, delayMs),
+	};
+}
+
 /**
  * Throttled commits of what the tool reported into its slot, in `pi.live.tools` or `pi.live.nestedTools`, each writing
  * only what changed since the last one; none when `enabled` is false.
@@ -493,17 +513,7 @@ function publishProgress(runtime: Runtime, reported: Reported, enabled: boolean,
 			if (!runtime.signal.aborted) runtime.report(error);
 		},
 		runtime.settings.progress.outputIntervalMs,
-		{
-			// After the invocation ends nothing more commits; the clock only has to answer.
-			now: () => {
-				try {
-					return runtime.now();
-				} catch {
-					return Date.now();
-				}
-			},
-			setTimer: (callback, delayMs) => runtime.setTimer(callback, delayMs),
-		},
+		progressClock(runtime),
 	);
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/durable/src/harness/types.ts b/packages/durable/src/harness/types.ts
index b17091ded..81d620f44 100644
--- a/packages/durable/src/harness/types.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/src/harness/types.ts
@@ -609,8 +609,9 @@ export type HarnessOptions<Tool extends ToolRegistration = ToolRegistration> = {
 	 */
 	readonly now?: () => number;
 	/**
-	 * Arms every timer the Harness uses: pacing progress commits, freeing idle memory (`background`), and, without
-	 * `onWake`, resuming sleeping tasks; and the timers of `TaskRuntime.setTimer()`. Default `setTimeout`, with background
+	 * Arms the timers of the Session, the scheduler, and its tasks: pacing progress commits, freeing idle memory
+	 * (`background`), and, without `onWake`, resuming sleeping tasks; and the timers of `TaskRuntime.setTimer()`. The
+	 * Node.js environment, file watcher, and image worker keep their own timers. Default `setTimeout`, with background
 	 * timers unreferenced, or declined in Cloudflare Workers and where they cannot be unreferenced. Tests can pass fake
 	 * timers; a host can keep timers off a process that should hibernate.
 	 */
@@ -619,8 +620,9 @@ export type HarnessOptions<Tool extends ToolRegistration = ToolRegistration> = {
 	 * Wakes the process for sleeping tasks instead of a `setTimer` timer. Without it, while scheduling runs, a timer that
 	 * keeps the process alive resumes sleeping tasks when they are due. With it, the Harness arms no timer for them: it
 	 * calls `onWake` after open and whenever `Harness.wake()` changes, and the host arms its own wakeup, such as a
-	 * Durable Object alarm, and calls `resume()` when it fires. Called off the Session line; it may call `wake()` and
-	 * `resume()`, and must not block. A throw is reported and ignored.
+	 * Durable Object alarm, and calls `resume()` when it fires. Called off the Session line, after the commit that
+	 * changed the value, so a host arms a recovery wakeup before calls that can start work. It may call `wake()` and
+	 * `resume()`, and must not block. A throw is reported, and the value is offered again at the next change.
 	 */
 	readonly onWake?: (wake: Wake) => void;
 	/**
diff --git a/packages/durable/src/timers.ts b/packages/durable/src/timers.ts
index e4a2e2c2c..0e270c9b4 100644
--- a/packages/durable/src/timers.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/src/timers.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { SetTimer } from "./types.ts";
 
-/** Longest delay `setTimeout` supports; a longer one fires early, and its caller arms again. */
+/** Longest delay `setTimeout` supports; a longer one is waited for in several steps. */
 const MAX_TIMER_DELAY = 2_147_483_647;
 
 /**
@@ -10,44 +10,62 @@ const MAX_TIMER_DELAY = 2_147_483_647;
 const inWorkers = typeof navigator !== "undefined" && navigator.userAgent === "Cloudflare-Workers";
 
 /**
- * The default `HarnessOptions.setTimer`: `setTimeout`. A background timer is unreferenced, so it never keeps the
- * process alive. It is declined in Cloudflare Workers and wherever timers cannot be unreferenced.
+ * The default `HarnessOptions.setTimer`: `setTimeout`, never firing early, also for delays beyond its limit. A
+ * background timer is unreferenced, so it never keeps the process alive. It is declined in Cloudflare Workers and
+ * wherever timers cannot be unreferenced.
  */
 export const nativeTimer: SetTimer = (callback, delayMs, options) => {
 	if (options.background && inWorkers) return undefined;
-	const handle = setTimeout(callback, Math.min(Math.max(0, delayMs), MAX_TIMER_DELAY));
-	if (options.background) {
+	let handle: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>;
+	const arm = (remaining: number): boolean => {
+		handle = setTimeout(
+			() => (remaining > MAX_TIMER_DELAY ? arm(remaining - MAX_TIMER_DELAY) : callback()),
+			Math.min(remaining, MAX_TIMER_DELAY),
+		);
+		if (!options.background) return true;
 		const unref = (handle as { unref?: unknown }).unref;
-		if (typeof unref !== "function") {
-			clearTimeout(handle);
-			return undefined;
-		}
+		if (typeof unref !== "function") return false;
 		unref.call(handle);
+		return true;
+	};
+	if (!arm(Math.max(0, delayMs))) {
+		clearTimeout(handle!);
+		return undefined;
 	}
 	return () => clearTimeout(handle);
 };
 
 /** Timers the Session and Harness arm through the host's `setTimer`. */
 export type Timers = {
-	/** A timer that paces or resumes work. A host that declines it is reported, and the timer never fires. */
+	/** A timer that paces or resumes work; when the host throws or declines it, `setTimeout` arms it instead. */
 	foreground(callback: () => void, delayMs: number): () => void;
 	/** A timer that only frees memory; `undefined` when the host declines it. */
 	background(callback: () => void, delayMs: number): (() => void) | undefined;
 };
 
-/** Wrap a host `setTimer`: a throw or a declined foreground timer is reported, and arms nothing. */
+/**
+ * Wrap a host `setTimer`. A foreground timer must fire, or work stalls: one the host throws on or declines is armed
+ * with `setTimeout`, and the first such failure is reported. A background one the host throws on is reported and
+ * declined.
+ */
 export function hostTimers(setTimer: SetTimer | undefined, report: (error: unknown) => void): Timers {
 	const arm = setTimer ?? nativeTimer;
+	let reported = false;
+	const fallBack = (error: unknown): void => {
+		if (reported) return;
+		reported = true;
+		report(error);
+	};
 	return {
 		foreground: (callback, delayMs) => {
 			try {
 				const disarm = arm(callback, delayMs, { background: false });
 				if (disarm !== undefined) return disarm;
-				report(new Error("HarnessOptions.setTimer declined a timer that paces work"));
+				fallBack(new Error("HarnessOptions.setTimer declined a timer that paces work; using setTimeout"));
 			} catch (error) {
-				report(error);
+				fallBack(error);
 			}
-			return () => {};
+			return nativeTimer(callback, delayMs, { background: false })!;
 		},
 		background: (callback, delayMs) => {
 			try {
diff --git a/packages/durable/src/types.ts b/packages/durable/src/types.ts
index 11819eb59..a07657a2e 100644
--- a/packages/durable/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/src/types.ts
@@ -134,11 +134,10 @@ export type TaskDocFamilyToken<T extends JsonObject, I extends JsonValue> = DocF
 >;
 
 /**
- * A host timer, given as `HarnessOptions.setTimer`: call `callback` once, about `delayMs` from now, and return a
- * function that disarms it. `background` timers only free memory, and a host may decline one by returning `undefined`,
- * for example where a pending timer keeps the process from hibernating; the Harness then frees that memory at later
- * commits. Other timers pace or resume work and must be armed. A timer may fire early or late: callers check their
- * clock again.
+ * A host timer, given as `HarnessOptions.setTimer`: call `callback` once, no sooner than `delayMs` from now, and return
+ * a function that disarms it. `background` timers only free memory, and a host may decline one by returning
+ * `undefined`, for example where a pending timer keeps the process from hibernating; the Harness then frees that memory
+ * at later commits. Other timers pace or resume work: one the host throws on or declines is armed with `setTimeout`.
  */
 export type SetTimer = (
 	callback: () => void,
diff --git a/packages/durable/test-workers/cloudflare.d.ts b/packages/durable/test-workers/cloudflare.d.ts
index c3b6eb11e..6842c0485 100644
--- a/packages/durable/test-workers/cloudflare.d.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/test-workers/cloudflare.d.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ declare module "cloudflare:workers" {
 	export type DurableObjectState = {
 		readonly storage: DurableObjectStorage;
 		blockConcurrencyWhile<T>(callback: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T>;
+		/** Reset the object: its instance is dropped, and the next event starts a new one. */
+		abort(reason?: string): void;
 	};
 
 	export type DurableObjectId = { toString(): string };
diff --git a/packages/durable/test-workers/wake.test.ts b/packages/durable/test-workers/wake.test.ts
index 41c746bb3..a28a739c9 100644
--- a/packages/durable/test-workers/wake.test.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/test-workers/wake.test.ts
@@ -87,10 +87,20 @@ describe("a Harness woken by its Durable Object alarm", () => {
 		await eventually(stub, async (_instance, state) => (await state.storage.getAlarm()) === null);
 	});
 
-	it("declines background timers by default, so no pending timer keeps an object from hibernating", () => {
+	it("can evict an object whose Harness keeps idle documents and contexts in memory", async () => {
+		const stub = fresh();
+		await runInDurableObject(stub, async (instance: TestSession) => {
+			instance.script(["answer"]);
+			await instance.submit("hi", "turn-1");
+			const root = await instance.root();
+			await (await root.submit({ type: "input", content: "hi", requestId: "turn-1" }, context)).wait(context);
+		});
+		// Retention timers would keep the object running; the default declines them in Workers.
 		expect(nativeTimer(() => {}, 10, { background: true })).toBeUndefined();
-		const disarm = nativeTimer(() => {}, 10, { background: false });
-		expect(typeof disarm).toBe("function");
-		disarm?.();
+		const evicted = await Promise.race([
+			evictDurableObject(stub).then(() => "evicted"),
+			new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve("still running"), 2_000)),
+		]);
+		expect(evicted).toBe("evicted");
 	});
 });
diff --git a/packages/durable/test-workers/worker.ts b/packages/durable/test-workers/worker.ts
index 7a94c0656..888f298af 100644
--- a/packages/durable/test-workers/worker.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/test-workers/worker.ts
@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ export class TestSession extends DurableObject {
 					now: () => this.now(),
 					onWake: (wake) => {
 						this.wakes.push(wake);
-						void this.arm(wake);
+						// A failed alarm write resets the object; it arms again when it next starts.
+						void this.arm(wake).catch(() => ctx.abort("Alarm write failed"));
 					},
 				},
 				context,
diff --git a/packages/durable/test/codemode.test.ts b/packages/durable/test/codemode.test.ts
index 84d7f2a30..9df95eb1d 100644
--- a/packages/durable/test/codemode.test.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/test/codemode.test.ts
@@ -663,6 +663,30 @@ describe("durable code mode", () => {
 		await harness.close(context);
 	});
 
+	it("drops a global's result that arrives after the script finished", async () => {
+		const late = deferred<string>();
+		const chat = codemodeChat([
+			{ name: "slowly", execute: () => late.promise },
+			{ name: "quickly", execute: async () => "quick" },
+		]);
+		chat.setup.faux.setResponses([script(`const pending = slowly(); await quickly(); return 1;`), DONE]);
+		const rejections: unknown[] = [];
+		const onRejection = (reason: unknown) => rejections.push(reason);
+		process.on("unhandledRejection", onRejection);
+		try {
+			const { harness, root } = await openChat(await openNodeSqliteStorage(await sqlitePath()), chat.setup);
+			await (await root.submit({ type: "input", content: "go" }, context)).wait(context);
+			expect(await resultText(chat.setup, root)).toEqual({ text: "1", isError: false });
+			// The script's tool call has ended; its pending global resolves now.
+			late.resolve("late");
+			await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 20));
+			expect(rejections).toEqual([]);
+			await harness.close(context);
+		} finally {
+			process.off("unhandledRejection", onRejection);
+		}
+	});
+
 	it("rejects a failed tool call with its error text and structured output", async () => {
 		const chat = codemodeChat();
 		addTool(
diff --git a/packages/durable/test/harness-compaction.test.ts b/packages/durable/test/harness-compaction.test.ts
index ebea5e8a8..cc4a85797 100644
--- a/packages/durable/test/harness-compaction.test.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/test/harness-compaction.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { mkdtemp, rm } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
+import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
 import {
 	type AssistantMessage,
 	fauxAssistantMessage,
@@ -1733,11 +1734,26 @@ describe("compaction recovery", () => {
 		chat.setup.settings.retry = { enabled: true, maxRetries: 2, baseDelayMs: 60_000 };
 		chat.faux.summaries.push(failure("overloaded"));
 		const id = await chat.root.compact(undefined, context);
-		await waitFor(async () => (await live(chat)).compactions?.[0]?.retry !== undefined);
+		await waitFor(async () => (await chat.harness.getTask(id, context))?.state.status === "sleeping");
+		const until = now + 60_000;
 		expect((await chat.harness.getTask(id, context))?.state).toMatchObject({
-			checkpoint: { phase: "retry", attempt: 1 },
+			status: "sleeping",
+			checkpoint: { phase: "retry", attempt: 1, until },
+			until,
 		});
 		await chat.harness.close(context);
+		// Earlier versions slept inside a running `retry` phase: reopened before its time, it sleeps again.
+		const database = new DatabaseSync(path);
+		database
+			.prepare(
+				"UPDATE tasks SET status = 'running', record = json_set(json_remove(record, '$.state.until'), '$.state.status', 'running') WHERE id = ?",
+			)
+			.run(id);
+		database.close();
+		chat = await reopen(path, chat.setup, chat.faux);
+		await waitFor(async () => (await chat.harness.getTask(id, context))?.state.status === "sleeping");
+		expect(chat.faux.summaryRequests).toHaveLength(1);
+		await chat.harness.close(context);
 		now += 120_000;
 		chat = await reopen(path, chat.setup, chat.faux);
 		chat.faux.summaries.push(summary());
diff --git a/packages/durable/test/harness-sleep.test.ts b/packages/durable/test/harness-sleep.test.ts
index bd98ec2fe..790fa880f 100644
--- a/packages/durable/test/harness-sleep.test.ts
+++ b/packages/durable/test/harness-sleep.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,15 @@
 import { mkdtemp, rm } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
-import { defineTask, MemoryStorage, type Storage, type TaskId, type Wake } from "@earendil-works/pi-durable";
+import {
+	defineExtension,
+	defineTask,
+	MemoryStorage,
+	type SetTimer,
+	type Storage,
+	type TaskId,
+	type Wake,
+} from "@earendil-works/pi-durable";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { openNodeSqliteStorage } from "../src/storage/sqlite/node.ts";
 import { context, flush } from "./session-support.ts";
@@ -53,6 +61,22 @@ async function stateOf(harness: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof openTasks>>["harness"]
 	return (await harness.getTask(id, context))?.state;
 }
 
+type FakeTimer = { readonly delayMs: number; readonly callback: () => void; disarmed: boolean };
+
+/** A host `setTimer` that records the timers that pace work and declines background ones. */
+function fakeTimers() {
+	const armed: FakeTimer[] = [];
+	const setTimer: SetTimer = (callback, delayMs, options) => {
+		if (options.background) return undefined;
+		const timer: FakeTimer = { delayMs, callback, disarmed: false };
+		armed.push(timer);
+		return () => {
+			timer.disarmed = true;
+		};
+	};
+	return { armed, setTimer, live: () => armed.filter((timer) => !timer.disarmed) };
+}
+
 /** Let microtasks and a few timer turns run. */
 async function settle(): Promise<void> {
 	await flush();
@@ -139,43 +163,68 @@ describe("sleeping tasks", () => {
 		await harness.close(context);
 	});
 
-	it("resumes a due sleep with a timer when there is no onWake", async () => {
-		const Nap = napTask(30);
-		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap]);
+	it("resumes a due sleep with its timer without onWake, with background timers declined", async () => {
+		let clock = 1_000;
+		const timers = fakeTimers();
+		const Nap = napTask(500);
+		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap], { now: () => clock, setTimer: timers.setTimer });
 		const id = await startNap(harness, Nap);
-		const started = Date.now();
-		// Only this call: the timer wakes the task.
 		harness.resume();
-		const receipt = await harness.waitForTask(id, context);
-		expect(receipt.state.outcome.status).toBe("completed");
-		expect(Date.now() - started).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(25);
+		await eventually(() => timers.live().some((timer) => timer.delayMs === 500));
+		expect((await stateOf(harness, id))?.status).toBe("sleeping");
+		clock = 1_500;
+		timers
+			.live()
+			.find((timer) => timer.delayMs === 500)!
+			.callback();
+		// Polled: `waitForTask()` would call `resume()`, which wakes due sleeps itself.
+		await eventually(async () => (await stateOf(harness, id))?.status === "terminal");
+		expect(await stateOf(harness, id)).toMatchObject({ outcome: { status: "completed", result: 1_500 } });
 		await harness.close(context);
 	});
 
-	it("arms its timers through setTimer: a sleep's in the foreground, a declined background one is not needed", async () => {
+	it("runs a due sleep at any scheduling pass, before its timer fires", async () => {
 		let clock = 1_000;
-		const armed: { readonly delayMs: number; readonly background: boolean; readonly callback: () => void }[] = [];
+		const timers = fakeTimers();
 		const Nap = napTask(500);
-		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap], {
+		const { harness, registry } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap], {
 			now: () => clock,
-			setTimer: (callback, delayMs, options) => {
-				armed.push({ delayMs, background: options.background, callback });
-				// Declines background timers, as a host that must hibernate would.
-				return options.background ? undefined : () => {};
-			},
+			setTimer: timers.setTimer,
 		});
 		const id = await startNap(harness, Nap);
 		harness.resume();
-		await eventually(() => armed.some((timer) => !timer.background && timer.delayMs === 500));
-		expect((await stateOf(harness, id))?.status).toBe("sleeping");
+		await eventually(async () => (await stateOf(harness, id))?.status === "sleeping");
+		// The deadline passes, and an unrelated change starts a pass before the timer fires.
 		clock = 1_500;
-		armed.find((timer) => !timer.background && timer.delayMs === 500)!.callback();
-		expect((await harness.waitForTask(id, context)).state.outcome).toEqual({ status: "completed", result: 1_500 });
+		registry.install(defineExtension({ name: "unrelated" }));
+		// Polled: `waitForTask()` would call `resume()`, which wakes due sleeps itself.
+		await eventually(async () => (await stateOf(harness, id))?.status === "terminal");
+		expect(await stateOf(harness, id)).toMatchObject({ outcome: { status: "completed", result: 1_500 } });
 		await harness.close(context);
 	});
 
-	it("disarms an invocation's timers when it ends", async () => {
-		const disarmed: number[] = [];
+	it("disarms the sleep timer when the sleep is aborted and when the Harness closes", async () => {
+		const clock = 1_000;
+		const timers = fakeTimers();
+		const Short = napTask(500);
+		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Short], {
+			now: () => clock,
+			setTimer: timers.setTimer,
+		});
+		const aborted = await startNap(harness, Short);
+		harness.resume();
+		await eventually(() => timers.live().some((timer) => timer.delayMs === 500));
+		await harness.abortTask(aborted, context);
+		await harness.waitForTask(aborted, context);
+		await eventually(() => timers.live().length === 0);
+		const kept = await startNap(harness, Short);
+		await eventually(async () => (await stateOf(harness, kept))?.status === "sleeping");
+		expect(timers.live().map((timer) => timer.delayMs)).toEqual([500]);
+		await harness.close(context);
+		expect(timers.live()).toEqual([]);
+	});
+
+	it("disarms an invocation's timers when it ends, and a late fire runs nothing", async () => {
 		const fired: string[] = [];
 		const Timed = defineTask<null, { phase: "run" }, null>({
 			name: "test.timed",
@@ -189,13 +238,8 @@ describe("sleeping tasks", () => {
 			},
 			abort: async () => {},
 		});
-		let next = 0;
-		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Timed], {
-			setTimer: (_callback, delayMs) => {
-				const id = next++;
-				return delayMs === 60_000 ? () => disarmed.push(id) : () => {};
-			},
-		});
+		const timers = fakeTimers();
+		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Timed], { setTimer: timers.setTimer });
 		const root = await harness.root(context);
 		const id = await root.commit(
 			(tx) => tx.createTask(Timed, null, { ownership: { kind: "conversation" } }),
@@ -203,24 +247,92 @@ describe("sleeping tasks", () => {
 		);
 		harness.resume();
 		await harness.waitForTask(id, context);
-		await eventually(() => disarmed.length === 1);
+		const timer = timers.armed.find((armed) => armed.delayMs === 60_000)!;
+		await eventually(() => timer.disarmed);
+		// A host timer that fires anyway: the ended invocation's callback does not run.
+		timer.callback();
 		expect(fired).toEqual([]);
 		await harness.close(context);
 	});
 
-	it("keeps no timer with onWake", async () => {
-		const Nap = napTask(10);
-		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap], { onWake: () => {} });
+	it("arms no timer for sleeps with onWake", async () => {
+		let clock = 1_000;
+		const timers = fakeTimers();
+		const Nap = napTask(500);
+		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap], {
+			now: () => clock,
+			setTimer: timers.setTimer,
+			onWake: () => {},
+		});
 		const id = await startNap(harness, Nap);
 		harness.resume();
-		await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 60));
-		expect((await stateOf(harness, id))?.status).toBe("sleeping");
+		await eventually(async () => (await stateOf(harness, id))?.status === "sleeping");
+		await settle();
+		expect(timers.armed).toEqual([]);
+		clock = 1_500;
 		expect(harness.wake()).toEqual({ active: true });
 		harness.resume();
 		expect((await harness.waitForTask(id, context)).state.outcome.status).toBe("completed");
 		await harness.close(context);
 	});
 
+	it("arms a foreground timer the host declines with setTimeout, reporting it once", async () => {
+		const Nap = napTask(10);
+		const { harness, reports } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap], { setTimer: () => undefined });
+		const first = await startNap(harness, Nap);
+		const second = await startNap(harness, Nap);
+		harness.resume();
+		expect((await harness.waitForTask(first, context)).state.outcome.status).toBe("completed");
+		expect((await harness.waitForTask(second, context)).state.outcome.status).toBe("completed");
+		expect(reports.map((error) => (error as Error).message)).toEqual([
+			"HarnessOptions.setTimer declined a timer that paces work; using setTimeout",
+		]);
+		await harness.close(context);
+	});
+
+	it("counts neither a wait on a sleeping task nor an outcome held over one as active", async () => {
+		const clock = 1_000;
+		const Child = napTask(500);
+		type ParentState = { phase: "start" } | { phase: "joined"; child: TaskId<number> };
+		const Parent = defineTask<{ hold: boolean }, ParentState, null>({
+			name: "test.parent",
+			version: 1,
+			initial: () => ({ phase: "start" }),
+			phases: {
+				start: async (task, runtime, ctx) => {
+					await runtime.commit(async (tx) => {
+						const child = await tx.createTask(Child, null, { ownership: { kind: "task", taskId: task.id } });
+						// Held: completes next, holding its outcome over the sleeping child. Otherwise waits for it.
+						return task.input.hold
+							? { status: "running", checkpoint: { phase: "joined", child } }
+							: { status: "waiting", checkpoint: { phase: "joined", child }, on: [child], policy: "allSettled" };
+					}, ctx);
+				},
+				joined: async (_task, runtime, ctx) => {
+					await runtime.commit(() => completed(null), ctx);
+				},
+			},
+			abort: async () => {},
+		});
+		for (const hold of [false, true]) {
+			const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Parent, Child], {
+				now: () => clock,
+				onWake: () => {},
+			});
+			const root = await harness.root(context);
+			const id = await root.commit(
+				(tx) => tx.createTask(Parent, { hold }, { ownership: { kind: "conversation" } }),
+				context,
+			);
+			harness.resume();
+			const parked = hold ? "completing" : "waiting";
+			await eventually(async () => (await stateOf(harness, id))?.status === parked);
+			await eventually(() => harness.wake().at === 1_500);
+			expect(harness.wake()).toEqual({ active: false, at: 1_500 });
+			await harness.close(context);
+		}
+	});
+
 	it("runs the abort handler of a sleeping task without waiting for its time", async () => {
 		const clock = 1_000;
 		const Nap = napTask(60_000);
@@ -288,7 +400,6 @@ describe("sleeping tasks", () => {
 	});
 
 	it("does not count a task without a definition as active", async () => {
-		const Nap = napTask(10);
 		const Missing = napTask(10);
 		const { harness } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), []);
 		const root = await harness.root(context);
@@ -298,33 +409,36 @@ describe("sleeping tasks", () => {
 		harness.resume();
 		await settle();
 		expect(harness.wake()).toEqual({ active: false });
-		void Nap;
 		await harness.close(context);
 	});
 
-	it("reports a throwing onWake and keeps calling it for later changes", async () => {
+	it("reports a throwing onWake and offers the same wake again at the next pass", async () => {
 		let clock = 1_000;
 		const wakes: Wake[] = [];
 		const failure = new Error("alarm failed");
+		let failing = true;
 		const Nap = napTask(1_000);
-		const { harness, reports } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap], {
+		const { harness, registry, reports } = await openTasks(new MemoryStorage(), [Nap], {
 			now: () => clock,
 			onWake: (wake) => {
 				wakes.push(wake);
-				if (wake.at !== undefined) throw failure;
+				if (failing && wake.at !== undefined) throw failure;
 			},
 		});
 		const id = await startNap(harness, Nap);
 		harness.resume();
-		await eventually(async () => (await stateOf(harness, id))?.status === "sleeping");
-		await settle();
-		expect(reports.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
-		expect(reports.every((error) => error === failure)).toBe(true);
+		await eventually(() => wakes.some((wake) => wake.at === 2_000 && !wake.active));
+		expect(reports).toContain(failure);
+		// The host recovers; an unrelated change offers the same, undelivered wake again.
+		failing = false;
+		const offered = wakes.length;
+		registry.install(defineExtension({ name: "unrelated" }));
+		await eventually(() => wakes.length > offered);
+		expect(wakes.at(-1)).toEqual({ active: false, at: 2_000 });
 		clock = 2_000;
 		harness.resume();
 		await harness.waitForTask(id, context);
-		await settle();
-		expect(wakes.at(-1)).toEqual({ active: false });
+		await eventually(() => wakes.at(-1)?.active === false && wakes.at(-1)?.at === undefined);
 		await harness.close(context);
 	});
 });