diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/e2e-staging-reconciler.yml b/.gitea/workflows/e2e-staging-reconciler.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..341fecf40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/e2e-staging-reconciler.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+name: E2E Staging Reconciler (heals terminated EC2)
+
+# Live staging proof for the core#2261 instance-state reconciler
+# (workspace-server/internal/registry/cp_instance_reconciler.go). The
+# real-infra complement to the deterministic unit tests: provisions a real
+# staging workspace, TERMINATES its EC2, and asserts the reconciler flips it
+# off 'online' (PRIMARY gate) and auto-reprovisions on a new instance_id
+# (SECONDARY, best-effort). See
+# tests/e2e/test_reconciler_heals_terminated_instance.sh for the assertion
+# contract + timeouts.
+#
+# Modeled on e2e-staging-saas.yml. Same secrets + same Gitea-port caveats:
+#   - Dropped workflow_dispatch.inputs (Gitea 1.22.6 parser rejects them).
+#   - Dropped merge_group / environment (no Gitea equivalent).
+#   - Workflow-level env.GITHUB_SERVER_URL pinned per
+#     feedback_act_runner_github_server_url.
+#
+# NOT a required check (yet). This is a brand-new live E2E that provisions +
+# terminates real EC2 (costs money, shares the cp#245 cold-boot flake
+# surface). A new live e2e must NOT hard-gate every merge until it has a
+# green track record. continue-on-error: true surfaces failures without
+# blocking. PROMOTE to branch-required (flip continue-on-error → false AND
+# add "E2E Staging Reconciler" to branch protection) once it has run green on
+# main for several consecutive days — same de-flake discipline the
+# platform-boot job in e2e-staging-saas.yml documents.
+
+on:
+  # Run when the reconciler itself, the script, or the libs it depends on
+  # change — so a reconciler regression is caught on the PR that introduces
+  # it (paths filter), plus a daily schedule to catch infra/AMI drift.
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+    paths:
+      - 'workspace-server/internal/registry/cp_instance_reconciler.go'
+      - 'tests/e2e/test_reconciler_heals_terminated_instance.sh'
+      - 'tests/e2e/lib/aws_leak_check.sh'
+      - 'tests/e2e/lib/model_slug.sh'
+      - '.gitea/workflows/e2e-staging-reconciler.yml'
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [main]
+    paths:
+      - 'workspace-server/internal/registry/cp_instance_reconciler.go'
+      - 'tests/e2e/test_reconciler_heals_terminated_instance.sh'
+      - 'tests/e2e/lib/aws_leak_check.sh'
+      - 'tests/e2e/lib/model_slug.sh'
+      - '.gitea/workflows/e2e-staging-reconciler.yml'
+  workflow_dispatch:
+  schedule:
+    # 08:00 UTC daily — offset from e2e-staging-saas (07:00) so the two live
+    # harnesses don't fight over staging's per-hour org-creation quota.
+    - cron: '0 8 * * *'
+
+# Serialize against itself: staging has a finite per-hour org-creation quota,
+# and a cancelled run mid-teardown leaks EC2. cancel-in-progress: false
+# mirrors e2e-staging-saas.yml.
+concurrency:
+  group: e2e-staging-reconciler
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+env:
+  GITHUB_SERVER_URL: https://git.moleculesai.app
+
+jobs:
+  # PR-validation path: always posts success so a workflow-only / script-only
+  # PR has a status check (this workflow's real job only fires on the paths
+  # filter). Mirrors the pr-validate job in e2e-staging-saas.yml.
+  pr-validate:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 1
+        continue-on-error: true
+      - name: YAML validation (best-effort)
+        run: |
+          echo "e2e-staging-reconciler.yml — PR validation: workflow YAML is valid."
+          echo "Live E2E step runs only when the reconciler / script / libs change."
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+  e2e-staging-reconciler:
+    name: E2E Staging Reconciler
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # NOT required yet — surface failures without blocking merges. Flip to
+    # false + add to branch protection once green on main for a de-flake
+    # window (see the header note). mc#1982: do not renew this mask silently.
+    continue-on-error: true
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+
+    env:
+      MOLECULE_CP_URL: https://staging-api.moleculesai.app
+      # Single admin-bearer secret drives provision + tenant-token retrieval +
+      # teardown (= Railway staging CP_ADMIN_API_TOKEN). Same secret name the
+      # saas workflow canonicalised to under internal#322.
+      MOLECULE_ADMIN_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CP_STAGING_ADMIN_API_TOKEN }}
+      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
+      AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: us-east-2
+      # Leak-check is REQUIRED here: this test deliberately terminates an EC2,
+      # so teardown MUST positively confirm no slug-tagged box survives.
+      E2E_AWS_LEAK_CHECK: required
+      E2E_AWS_TERMINATE_LEAKS: '1'
+      # claude-code + MiniMax is the cheapest boot-to-online path (same as the
+      # saas job). The reconciler test never makes a completion, but the key is
+      # wired so the first boot reaches online on the same path the saas
+      # harness uses. First non-empty wins in the script's priority chain.
+      E2E_MINIMAX_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.MOLECULE_STAGING_MINIMAX_API_KEY }}
+      E2E_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.MOLECULE_STAGING_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
+      E2E_OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.MOLECULE_STAGING_OPENAI_API_KEY }}
+      E2E_RUNTIME: claude-code
+      E2E_MODEL_SLUG: MiniMax-M2
+      E2E_RUN_ID: "${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}"
+      E2E_KEEP_ORG: ${{ github.event.inputs.keep_org && '1' || '0' }}
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
+      - name: Verify required secrets present
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "$MOLECULE_ADMIN_TOKEN" ]; then
+            echo "::error::CP_STAGING_ADMIN_API_TOKEN secret not set (Railway staging CP_ADMIN_API_TOKEN)"
+            exit 2
+          fi
+          for var in AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY; do
+            if [ -z "${!var:-}" ]; then
+              echo "::error::$var not set — this test terminates an EC2 and verifies no leak; AWS creds are mandatory"
+              exit 2
+            fi
+          done
+          echo "Required secrets present ✓"
+
+      - name: CP staging health preflight
+        run: |
+          code=$(curl -sS -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" --max-time 10 "$MOLECULE_CP_URL/health")
+          if [ "$code" != "200" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Staging CP unhealthy (got HTTP $code). Skipping — not a reconciler bug."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "Staging CP healthy ✓"
+
+      - name: Run reconciler heal E2E
+        id: e2e
+        run: bash tests/e2e/test_reconciler_heals_terminated_instance.sh
+
+      # Belt-and-braces teardown: the script installs its own EXIT trap, but if
+      # the runner is cancelled the trap may not fire. This always() step
+      # double-deletes any e2e-rec-* org from THIS run. The admin DELETE is
+      # idempotent so double-invoking is safe.
+      - name: Teardown safety net (runs on cancel/failure)
+        if: always()
+        env:
+          ADMIN_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CP_STAGING_ADMIN_API_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          set +e
+          orgs=$(curl -sS "$MOLECULE_CP_URL/cp/admin/orgs" \
+            -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN" 2>/dev/null \
+            | python3 -c "
+          import json, sys, os, datetime
+          run_id = os.environ.get('GITHUB_RUN_ID', '')
+          d = json.load(sys.stdin)
+          today = datetime.date.today()
+          yesterday = today - datetime.timedelta(days=1)
+          dates = (today.strftime('%Y%m%d'), yesterday.strftime('%Y%m%d'))
+          # Slug shape: e2e-rec-YYYYMMDD-<run_id>-<attempt>-...
+          if run_id:
+              prefixes = tuple(f'e2e-rec-{d}-{run_id}-' for d in dates)
+          else:
+              prefixes = tuple(f'e2e-rec-{d}-' for d in dates)
+          candidates = [o['slug'] for o in d.get('orgs', [])
+                        if any(o.get('slug','').startswith(p) for p in prefixes)
+                        and o.get('instance_status') not in ('purged',)]
+          print('\n'.join(candidates))
+          " 2>/dev/null)
+          leaks=()
+          for slug in $orgs; do
+            echo "Safety-net teardown: $slug"
+            set +e
+            curl -sS -o /tmp/rec-cleanup.out -w "%{http_code}" \
+              -X DELETE "$MOLECULE_CP_URL/cp/admin/tenants/$slug" \
+              -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN" \
+              -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+              -d "{\"confirm\":\"$slug\"}" >/tmp/rec-cleanup.code
+            set -e
+            code=$(cat /tmp/rec-cleanup.code 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
+            if [ "$code" = "200" ] || [ "$code" = "204" ]; then
+              echo "[teardown] deleted $slug (HTTP $code)"
+            else
+              echo "::warning::reconciler teardown for $slug returned HTTP $code — sweep-stale-e2e-orgs will catch it within ~45 min. Body: $(head -c 300 /tmp/rec-cleanup.out 2>/dev/null)"
+              leaks+=("$slug")
+            fi
+          done
+          if [ ${#leaks[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+            echo "::warning::reconciler teardown left ${#leaks[@]} leak(s): ${leaks[*]}"
+          fi
+          exit 0
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_reconciler_heals_terminated_instance.sh b/tests/e2e/test_reconciler_heals_terminated_instance.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..8869fd638
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_reconciler_heals_terminated_instance.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,493 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Live staging E2E — the CP instance-state reconciler heals a terminated EC2.
+#
+# Real-infra complement to the deterministic unit tests for core#2261
+# (workspace-server/internal/registry/cp_instance_reconciler.go). Those unit
+# tests pin the reconcile logic against fakes; THIS script proves the loop
+# actually runs in a real tenant's workspace-server and drives the EXISTING
+# offline + auto-heal machinery against real AWS.
+#
+# Root regression (core#2247): a SaaS workspace whose EC2 is terminated out
+# from under the platform (manual AWS action, spot reclaim, CP reap) fell
+# through every existing liveness pass and kept reading status='online'
+# forever, pointing at a dead instance. The reconciler closes that gap with
+# CPProvisioner.IsRunning and feeds a clean "not running" into onOffline →
+# RestartByID (existing-volume reprovision).
+#
+# What this test does:
+#   1. Provision a fresh staging org + ONE workspace (same default
+#      runtime/model as the full-saas harness, so it actually boots).
+#   2. Poll the tenant API until the workspace is status=online; capture its
+#      instance_id.
+#   3. KILL it — terminate that exact EC2 via `aws ec2 terminate-instances`.
+#   4. Assert the reconciler heals it:
+#        PRIMARY (gate)      — within ~180s the workspace status LEAVES
+#                              'online' (the reconciler detected the dead
+#                              instance via IsRunning and flipped it). This
+#                              is the core regression guard: a dead instance
+#                              must NOT keep reading 'online'.
+#        SECONDARY (best-effort) — within ~10 min it auto-reprovisions:
+#                              status returns to 'online' with a NEW
+#                              instance_id (onOffline → RestartByID
+#                              existing-volume heal). If reprovision doesn't
+#                              finish in the bound we log it clearly but let
+#                              the PRIMARY assertion stand as the gate (see
+#                              the comment at the secondary block — a future
+#                              tightening that promotes this to a hard gate is
+#                              deliberately one edit away).
+#   5. Teardown ALWAYS (EXIT trap): delete the tenant + leak-sweep so no EC2
+#      is orphaned, even on a mid-test failure.
+#
+# Auth model + provisioning conventions are copied verbatim from
+# test_staging_full_saas.sh (single MOLECULE_ADMIN_TOKEN → CP admin; per-
+# tenant admin token + X-Molecule-Org-Id header for tenant API). The kill
+# primitive + leak sweep reuse lib/aws_leak_check.sh.
+#
+# Required env:
+#   MOLECULE_CP_URL        default: https://staging-api.moleculesai.app
+#   MOLECULE_ADMIN_TOKEN   CP admin bearer — Railway staging CP_ADMIN_API_TOKEN
+#
+# Optional env (mirrors the full-saas harness where they overlap):
+#   E2E_RUNTIME                        claude-code (default)
+#   E2E_PROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS         default 900 (cold EC2 budget)
+#   E2E_WORKSPACE_ONLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS  default 3600 (cold-boot worst-case)
+#   E2E_RECONCILE_OFFLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS default 180 (PRIMARY: leave 'online'.
+#                                      Reconciler cadence is 60s — 3 cycles +
+#                                      AWS terminate-visibility slack.)
+#   E2E_REPROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS       default 600 (SECONDARY: back to online
+#                                      with a NEW instance_id)
+#   E2E_MINIMAX_API_KEY / E2E_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / E2E_OPENAI_API_KEY
+#                                      LLM key (same priority chain as
+#                                      full-saas; needed so the FIRST boot
+#                                      reaches online). Empty → '{}' (the
+#                                      workspace still boots online; the LLM
+#                                      key only matters for a completion,
+#                                      which this test never makes).
+#   E2E_KEEP_ORG                       1 → skip teardown (debugging only)
+#   E2E_RUN_ID                         Slug suffix; CI: ${GITHUB_RUN_ID}
+#   E2E_AWS_LEAK_CHECK                 auto (default) | required | off
+#   E2E_AWS_TERMINATE_LEAKS            1 → terminate slug-tagged leaked EC2 at
+#                                      teardown
+#
+# Exit codes:
+#   0  happy path (PRIMARY assertion held; SECONDARY logged either way)
+#   1  generic failure (incl. PRIMARY assertion failed = regression)
+#   2  missing required env
+#   3  provisioning timed out
+#   4  teardown left orphan resources
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+CP_URL="${MOLECULE_CP_URL:-https://staging-api.moleculesai.app}"
+ADMIN_TOKEN="${MOLECULE_ADMIN_TOKEN:?MOLECULE_ADMIN_TOKEN required — Railway staging CP_ADMIN_API_TOKEN}"
+RUNTIME="${E2E_RUNTIME:-claude-code}"
+PROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS="${E2E_PROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS:-900}"
+WORKSPACE_ONLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS="${E2E_WORKSPACE_ONLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS:-3600}"
+# PRIMARY bound: the reconciler ticks every 60s; it needs one cycle to see
+# the dead instance after AWS makes the terminate visible to DescribeInstances
+# (typically seconds, but can lag). 180s = ~3 cycles + slack.
+RECONCILE_OFFLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS="${E2E_RECONCILE_OFFLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS:-180}"
+# SECONDARY bound: full existing-volume reprovision (new EC2 boot + agent
+# bootstrap) is a multi-minute cold path.
+REPROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS="${E2E_REPROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS:-600}"
+RUN_ID_SUFFIX="${E2E_RUN_ID:-$(date +%H%M%S)-$$}"
+
+# Slug MUST start with e2e- so sweep-stale-e2e-orgs.yml reaps any orphan this
+# run leaks (lint_cleanup_traps.sh enforces the e2e-/rt-e2e- prefix for any
+# staging tenant E2E; we honour it here too even though our filename isn't
+# *staging*).
+SLUG="e2e-rec-$(date +%Y%m%d)-${RUN_ID_SUFFIX}"
+SLUG=$(echo "$SLUG" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | tr -cd 'a-z0-9-' | head -c 32)
+
+log()  { echo "[$(date +%H:%M:%S)] $*"; }
+fail() { echo "[$(date +%H:%M:%S)] ❌ $*" >&2; exit 1; }
+ok()   { echo "[$(date +%H:%M:%S)] ✅ $*"; }
+
+# Per-runtime model slug dispatch — shared with the full-saas harness.
+# shellcheck disable=SC1091
+# shellcheck source=lib/model_slug.sh
+source "$(dirname "$0")/lib/model_slug.sh"
+# AWS kill primitive + leak sweep (e2e_aws_region / e2e_ec2_instances_for_slug /
+# e2e_terminate_instances / e2e_verify_no_ec2_leaks_for_slug).
+# shellcheck disable=SC1091
+# shellcheck source=lib/aws_leak_check.sh
+source "$(dirname "$0")/lib/aws_leak_check.sh"
+
+CURL_COMMON=(-sS --fail-with-body --max-time 30)
+
+# ─── cleanup trap ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Identical teardown contract to test_staging_full_saas.sh: delete the
+# tenant (synchronous GDPR cascade), poll for the org row to disappear, then
+# assert no slug-tagged EC2 survives. A leaked resource at teardown is a CI
+# failure (exit 4). The trap is installed UP-FRONT so a mid-test failure
+# (including a failed PRIMARY assertion) still cleans up.
+CLEANUP_DONE=0
+cleanup_org() {
+  # Capture upstream exit code IMMEDIATELY — must be the first statement in
+  # the trap, before any command (including the CLEANUP_DONE check) clobbers $?.
+  local entry_rc=$?
+
+  if [ "$CLEANUP_DONE" = "1" ]; then return 0; fi
+  CLEANUP_DONE=1
+
+  if [ "${E2E_KEEP_ORG:-0}" = "1" ]; then
+    log "E2E_KEEP_ORG=1 — skipping teardown. Manually delete $SLUG when done."
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  log "🧹 Tearing down org $SLUG..."
+
+  # 120s curl budget for the synchronous DELETE cascade (EC2 terminate alone
+  # is 30-60s), then poll up to 60s for organizations.status='purged'/gone.
+  if curl "${CURL_COMMON[@]}" --max-time 120 -X DELETE "$CP_URL/cp/admin/tenants/$SLUG" \
+    -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN" \
+    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    -d "{\"confirm\":\"$SLUG\"}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    ok "Teardown request accepted"
+  else
+    log "Teardown returned non-2xx (may already be gone)"
+  fi
+
+  local leak_count=1
+  local elapsed=0
+  while [ "$elapsed" -lt 60 ]; do
+    leak_count=$(curl "${CURL_COMMON[@]}" "$CP_URL/cp/admin/orgs" \
+      -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN" 2>/dev/null \
+      | python3 -c "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(sum(1 for o in d.get('orgs', []) if o.get('slug')=='$SLUG' and o.get('status') != 'purged'))" \
+      2>/dev/null || echo 1)
+    if [ "$leak_count" = "0" ]; then
+      break
+    fi
+    sleep 5
+    elapsed=$((elapsed + 5))
+  done
+
+  if [ "$leak_count" != "0" ]; then
+    echo "⚠️  LEAK: org $SLUG still present post-teardown after ${elapsed}s (count=$leak_count)" >&2
+    exit 4
+  fi
+  local aws_leak_rc=0
+  e2e_verify_no_ec2_leaks_for_slug "$SLUG" || aws_leak_rc=$?
+  if [ "$aws_leak_rc" != "0" ]; then
+    case "$aws_leak_rc" in
+      2) exit 2 ;;
+      *) exit 4 ;;
+    esac
+  fi
+  ok "Teardown clean — no orphan org or EC2 resources for $SLUG (${elapsed}s)"
+
+  # Normalize unexpected upstream exit codes to 1 — `set -e` propagates the
+  # raw exit code of the failing command (e.g. curl exits 22 under
+  # --fail-with-body), but this script's contract only emits {0,1,2,3,4}.
+  case "$entry_rc" in
+    0|1|2|3|4) ;;
+    *) exit 1 ;;
+  esac
+}
+trap cleanup_org EXIT INT TERM
+
+# ─── 0. Preflight ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+log "═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════"
+log " Staging reconciler-heals-terminated-instance E2E (core#2261)"
+log "   CP:                 $CP_URL"
+log "   Slug:               $SLUG"
+log "   Runtime:            $RUNTIME"
+log "   Online timeout:     ${WORKSPACE_ONLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS}s"
+log "   PRIMARY (offline):  ${RECONCILE_OFFLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS}s"
+log "   SECONDARY (reprov): ${REPROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS}s"
+log "═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════"
+
+log "0/6 Preflight: CP reachable?"
+curl "${CURL_COMMON[@]}" "$CP_URL/health" >/dev/null || fail "CP health check failed"
+ok "CP reachable"
+
+admin_call() {
+  local method="$1"; shift
+  local path="$1"; shift
+  curl "${CURL_COMMON[@]}" -X "$method" "$CP_URL$path" \
+    -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN" \
+    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    "$@"
+}
+
+# ─── 1. Create org ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+log "1/6 Creating org $SLUG via /cp/admin/orgs..."
+CREATE_RESP=$(admin_call POST /cp/admin/orgs \
+  -d "{\"slug\":\"$SLUG\",\"name\":\"E2E $SLUG\",\"owner_user_id\":\"e2e-runner:$SLUG\"}")
+echo "$CREATE_RESP" | python3 -m json.tool >/dev/null || fail "Org create returned non-JSON: $CREATE_RESP"
+ORG_ID=$(echo "$CREATE_RESP" | python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('id',''))")
+[ -z "$ORG_ID" ] && fail "Org create response missing 'id': $CREATE_RESP"
+ok "Org created (id=$ORG_ID)"
+
+# ─── 2. Wait for tenant provisioning ────────────────────────────────────
+log "2/6 Waiting for tenant provisioning (up to ${PROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS}s)..."
+DEADLINE=$(( $(date +%s) + PROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS ))
+LAST_STATUS=""
+while true; do
+  if [ "$(date +%s)" -gt "$DEADLINE" ]; then
+    fail "Tenant provisioning timed out after ${PROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS}s (last: $LAST_STATUS)"
+  fi
+  LIST_JSON=$(admin_call GET /cp/admin/orgs 2>/dev/null || echo '{"orgs":[]}')
+  # /cp/admin/orgs exposes 'instance_status' (org_instances.status), NOT 'status'.
+  STATUS=$(echo "$LIST_JSON" | python3 -c "
+import json, sys
+d = json.load(sys.stdin)
+for o in d.get('orgs', []):
+    if o.get('slug') == '$SLUG':
+        print(o.get('instance_status', ''))
+        sys.exit(0)
+print('')
+" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+  if [ "$STATUS" != "$LAST_STATUS" ]; then
+    log "    status → $STATUS"
+    LAST_STATUS="$STATUS"
+  fi
+  case "$STATUS" in
+    running)  break ;;
+    failed)
+      log "── DIAGNOSTIC BURST (step 2 — tenant provisioning failed) ──"
+      echo "$LIST_JSON" | python3 -c "
+import json, sys
+d = json.load(sys.stdin)
+for o in d.get('orgs', []):
+    if o.get('slug') == '$SLUG':
+        print(json.dumps(o, indent=2))
+        sys.exit(0)
+print('(no org row found for slug=$SLUG — DB drift?)')
+" 2>&1 | sed 's/^/  /'
+      log "── END DIAGNOSTIC ──"
+      # Tenant provisioning failures are a CP-side fault, not a reconciler
+      # regression — exit 3 (provisioning) to keep the signal honest.
+      echo "[$(date +%H:%M:%S)] ❌ Tenant provisioning failed for $SLUG (see diagnostic above)" >&2
+      exit 3
+      ;;
+    *)        sleep 15 ;;
+  esac
+done
+ok "Tenant provisioning complete"
+
+# Derive tenant domain from CP hostname (same logic as the full-saas harness).
+CP_HOST=$(echo "$CP_URL" | sed -E 's#^https?://##; s#/.*$##')
+case "$CP_HOST" in
+  api.*)         DERIVED_DOMAIN="${CP_HOST#api.}" ;;
+  staging-api.*) DERIVED_DOMAIN="staging.${CP_HOST#staging-api.}" ;;
+  *)             DERIVED_DOMAIN="$CP_HOST" ;;
+esac
+TENANT_DOMAIN="${MOLECULE_TENANT_DOMAIN:-$DERIVED_DOMAIN}"
+TENANT_URL="https://$SLUG.$TENANT_DOMAIN"
+log "    TENANT_URL=$TENANT_URL"
+
+# ─── 3. Retrieve per-tenant admin token ────────────────────────────────
+log "3/6 Fetching per-tenant admin token..."
+TENANT_TOKEN_RESP=$(admin_call GET "/cp/admin/orgs/$SLUG/admin-token")
+TENANT_TOKEN=$(echo "$TENANT_TOKEN_RESP" | python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('admin_token',''))" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+[ -z "$TENANT_TOKEN" ] && fail "Could not retrieve per-tenant admin token for $SLUG"
+ok "Tenant admin token retrieved (len=${#TENANT_TOKEN})"
+
+# Wait for tenant TLS / DNS propagation before any tenant API call.
+log "    Waiting for tenant TLS / DNS propagation..."
+TLS_DEADLINE=$(( $(date +%s) + 15 * 60 ))
+while true; do
+  if curl -sSfk --max-time 5 "$TENANT_URL/health" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    break
+  fi
+  if [ "$(date +%s)" -gt "$TLS_DEADLINE" ]; then
+    fail "Tenant URL never responded 2xx on /health within 15m"
+  fi
+  sleep 5
+done
+ok "Tenant reachable at $TENANT_URL"
+
+tenant_call() {
+  local method="$1"; shift
+  local path="$1"; shift
+  # X-Molecule-Org-Id is REQUIRED — the tenant guard 404s anything without it
+  # (it does NOT 403, to hide tenant existence from org scanners).
+  curl "${CURL_COMMON[@]}" -X "$method" "$TENANT_URL$path" \
+    -H "Authorization: Bearer $TENANT_TOKEN" \
+    -H "X-Molecule-Org-Id: $ORG_ID" \
+    "$@"
+}
+
+# Helper: read a single field off GET /workspaces/<id>. Echoes '' on any
+# error so callers can poll without `set -e` aborting on a transient blip.
+ws_field() {
+  local wid="$1"; local field="$2"
+  tenant_call GET "/workspaces/$wid" 2>/dev/null \
+    | python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('$field') or '')" 2>/dev/null \
+    || echo ""
+}
+
+# ─── 4. Provision ONE workspace ─────────────────────────────────────────
+# Same secrets-injection priority chain as the full-saas harness so the
+# FIRST boot reaches online. We never make a completion in this test (the
+# whole exercise is instance-state, not the LLM), so an absent key is
+# tolerable — but wiring the same keys keeps boot behaviour identical to the
+# sibling and avoids a config path that only this test would exercise.
+SECRETS_JSON='{}'
+if [ -n "${E2E_MINIMAX_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
+  SECRETS_JSON=$(python3 -c "import json,os; print(json.dumps({'MINIMAX_API_KEY': os.environ['E2E_MINIMAX_API_KEY']}))")
+elif [ -n "${E2E_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
+  SECRETS_JSON=$(python3 -c "import json,os; print(json.dumps({'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY': os.environ['E2E_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY']}))")
+elif [ -n "${E2E_OPENAI_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
+  SECRETS_JSON=$(python3 -c "
+import json, os
+k = os.environ['E2E_OPENAI_API_KEY']
+print(json.dumps({
+    'OPENAI_API_KEY': k,
+    'OPENAI_BASE_URL': 'https://api.openai.com/v1',
+    'MODEL_PROVIDER': 'openai:gpt-4o',
+    'HERMES_INFERENCE_PROVIDER': 'custom',
+    'HERMES_CUSTOM_BASE_URL': 'https://api.openai.com/v1',
+    'HERMES_CUSTOM_API_KEY': k,
+    'HERMES_CUSTOM_API_MODE': 'chat_completions',
+}))
+")
+fi
+
+MODEL_SLUG=$(pick_model_slug "$RUNTIME")
+log "    MODEL_SLUG=$MODEL_SLUG"
+
+log "4/6 Provisioning workspace (runtime=$RUNTIME)..."
+WS_RESP=$(tenant_call POST /workspaces \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d "{\"name\":\"E2E Reconciler\",\"runtime\":\"$RUNTIME\",\"tier\":2,\"model\":\"$MODEL_SLUG\",\"secrets\":$SECRETS_JSON}")
+WS_ID=$(echo "$WS_RESP" | python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
+[ -z "$WS_ID" ] && fail "Workspace create response missing 'id': $WS_RESP"
+log "    WS_ID=$WS_ID"
+
+# Wait for the workspace to reach status=online and capture its instance_id.
+log "    Waiting for workspace to reach status=online (up to $((WORKSPACE_ONLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS/60)) min)..."
+ONLINE_DEADLINE=$(( $(date +%s) + WORKSPACE_ONLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS ))
+ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID=""
+WS_LAST_STATUS=""
+while true; do
+  if [ "$(date +%s)" -gt "$ONLINE_DEADLINE" ]; then
+    WS_LAST_ERR=$(ws_field "$WS_ID" "last_sample_error")
+    fail "Workspace $WS_ID never reached status=online within ${WORKSPACE_ONLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS}s (last status=$WS_LAST_STATUS, err=$WS_LAST_ERR)"
+  fi
+  WS_STATUS=$(ws_field "$WS_ID" "status")
+  if [ "$WS_STATUS" != "$WS_LAST_STATUS" ]; then
+    log "    $WS_ID → $WS_STATUS"
+    WS_LAST_STATUS="$WS_STATUS"
+  fi
+  if [ "$WS_STATUS" = "online" ]; then
+    ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID=$(ws_field "$WS_ID" "instance_id")
+    if [ -n "$ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID" ]; then
+      break
+    fi
+    # online but instance_id not surfaced yet — keep polling briefly.
+    log "    $WS_ID online but instance_id not populated yet — waiting"
+  fi
+  # 'failed' is transient on cold boot (bootstrap-watcher deadline vs heartbeat
+  # recovery, cp#245). Keep polling; only the deadline hard-fails.
+  sleep 10
+done
+ok "Workspace online (instance_id=$ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID)"
+
+# ─── 5. Kill the EC2 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Terminate the EXACT instance the workspace reported. Prefer the captured
+# instance_id (precise — kills only this workspace's box); fall back to the
+# slug-tag describe if the API didn't surface an id (shouldn't happen — we
+# only break out of the online-wait once instance_id is non-empty).
+log "5/6 KILLING the workspace EC2 to simulate an out-of-band termination..."
+if ! e2e_aws_creds_available; then
+  fail "AWS CLI/creds unavailable — cannot terminate the EC2 to exercise the reconciler. Set AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID/AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY (the CI workflow wires these)."
+fi
+AWS_REGION_RESOLVED=$(e2e_aws_region)
+if [ -n "$ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID" ]; then
+  log "    Terminating $ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID in $AWS_REGION_RESOLVED (aws ec2 terminate-instances)..."
+  aws ec2 terminate-instances --region "$AWS_REGION_RESOLVED" --instance-ids "$ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID" >/dev/null \
+    || fail "aws ec2 terminate-instances failed for $ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID"
+  KILLED_IDS="$ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID"
+else
+  # Fallback path — find by slug tag and terminate.
+  log "    instance_id was empty — falling back to slug-tag describe ($SLUG)..."
+  ROWS=$(e2e_ec2_instances_for_slug "$SLUG" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+  KILLED_IDS=$(echo "$ROWS" | awk 'NF {print $1}' | sort -u | tr '\n' ' ')
+  [ -n "$KILLED_IDS" ] || fail "No slug-tagged EC2 found for $SLUG — nothing to terminate"
+  log "    Terminating $KILLED_IDS in $AWS_REGION_RESOLVED..."
+  e2e_terminate_instances "$KILLED_IDS" || fail "terminate-instances failed for $KILLED_IDS"
+fi
+ok "Terminated EC2: $KILLED_IDS — reconciler should now detect the dead instance"
+
+# ─── 6a. PRIMARY assertion — workspace leaves 'online' ─────────────────
+# This is THE regression gate for core#2261/#2247. The reconciler runs every
+# 60s in the tenant's workspace-server; when CPProvisioner.IsRunning returns a
+# clean "not running" for the terminated EC2, onOffline flips the row off
+# 'online'. A dead instance that keeps reading 'online' is exactly the bug.
+log "6a/6 PRIMARY: asserting workspace leaves 'online' within ${RECONCILE_OFFLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS}s (reconciler heal-detection)..."
+OFFLINE_DEADLINE=$(( $(date +%s) + RECONCILE_OFFLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS ))
+LEFT_ONLINE=0
+REC_LAST_STATUS=""
+while true; do
+  if [ "$(date +%s)" -gt "$OFFLINE_DEADLINE" ]; then
+    break
+  fi
+  REC_STATUS=$(ws_field "$WS_ID" "status")
+  if [ "$REC_STATUS" != "$REC_LAST_STATUS" ]; then
+    log "    $WS_ID status → ${REC_STATUS:-<empty>}"
+    REC_LAST_STATUS="$REC_STATUS"
+  fi
+  # Any non-online status (offline/provisioning/awaiting_agent/restarting/…)
+  # proves the reconciler acted. We deliberately don't pin the exact target
+  # status: onOffline flips offline AND kicks RestartByID, so the row may race
+  # straight into a provisioning/restarting state — all of which are "no longer
+  # falsely online".
+  if [ -n "$REC_STATUS" ] && [ "$REC_STATUS" != "online" ]; then
+    LEFT_ONLINE=1
+    ok "PRIMARY held — workspace left 'online' (now '$REC_STATUS') after EC2 termination"
+    break
+  fi
+  sleep 10
+done
+
+if [ "$LEFT_ONLINE" != "1" ]; then
+  fail "PRIMARY FAILED (core#2261 regression): workspace $WS_ID still reads status=online ${RECONCILE_OFFLINE_TIMEOUT_SECS}s after its EC2 ($KILLED_IDS) was terminated. The reconciler did NOT detect the dead instance — a terminated EC2 is masquerading as a healthy workspace."
+fi
+
+# ─── 6b. SECONDARY assertion — auto-reprovision (best-effort) ──────────
+# The onOffline → RestartByID existing-volume heal should bring the workspace
+# back to 'online' on a NEW instance_id. This is best-effort: a full EC2 cold
+# reprovision is a multi-minute path that shares the same boot-flake surface
+# as the initial provision. If it doesn't finish within the bound we LOG it
+# clearly but DO NOT fail — the PRIMARY assertion above is the gate.
+#
+# FUTURE TIGHTENING (deliberately one edit away): once this reprovision path
+# is proven reliable on staging, promote the `log "SECONDARY ..."` soft-miss
+# below to a `fail ...` so a stuck reprovision becomes a hard gate.
+log "6b/6 SECONDARY (best-effort): asserting auto-reprovision to online with a NEW instance_id within ${REPROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS}s..."
+REPROV_DEADLINE=$(( $(date +%s) + REPROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS ))
+REPROV_OK=0
+REPROV_LAST_STATUS=""
+NEW_INSTANCE_ID=""
+while true; do
+  if [ "$(date +%s)" -gt "$REPROV_DEADLINE" ]; then
+    break
+  fi
+  RP_STATUS=$(ws_field "$WS_ID" "status")
+  if [ "$RP_STATUS" != "$REPROV_LAST_STATUS" ]; then
+    log "    $WS_ID status → ${RP_STATUS:-<empty>}"
+    REPROV_LAST_STATUS="$RP_STATUS"
+  fi
+  if [ "$RP_STATUS" = "online" ]; then
+    NEW_INSTANCE_ID=$(ws_field "$WS_ID" "instance_id")
+    if [ -n "$NEW_INSTANCE_ID" ] && [ "$NEW_INSTANCE_ID" != "$ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID" ]; then
+      REPROV_OK=1
+      break
+    fi
+    # online again but instance_id either not surfaced yet or still the old
+    # (terminated) id — keep polling until the reprovision swaps it.
+  fi
+  sleep 15
+done
+
+if [ "$REPROV_OK" = "1" ]; then
+  ok "SECONDARY held — auto-reprovisioned to online on NEW instance_id=$NEW_INSTANCE_ID (was $ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID)"
+else
+  # Soft-miss — see FUTURE TIGHTENING note above. PRIMARY is the gate.
+  log "⚠️  SECONDARY not satisfied within ${REPROVISION_TIMEOUT_SECS}s (status=${REPROV_LAST_STATUS:-<empty>}, instance_id=${NEW_INSTANCE_ID:-<none>}, original=$ORIGINAL_INSTANCE_ID). NOT failing — the PRIMARY heal-detection assertion is the gate; reprovision is a slower, flakier cold path. Promote this to a hard fail once it's proven reliable."
+fi
+
+ok "Reconciler live E2E PASSED — PRIMARY heal-detection held (SECONDARY: $([ "$REPROV_OK" = "1" ] && echo "held" || echo "soft-miss, logged"))"
+# Teardown runs via the EXIT trap.