diff --git a/canvas/src/components/__tests__/ApprovalBanner.test.tsx b/canvas/src/components/__tests__/ApprovalBanner.test.tsx
index 2a3fc758..45b30aa3 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/__tests__/ApprovalBanner.test.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/__tests__/ApprovalBanner.test.tsx
@@ -5,10 +5,9 @@
  * Covers: renders nothing when no approvals, polls /approvals/pending,
  * shows approval cards, approve/deny decisions, toast notifications.
  *
- * Note: does NOT mock @/lib/api — uses vi.spyOn on the real module.
- * vi.restoreAllMocks() is omitted from afterEach so queued mock values
- * (set up via mockResolvedValueOnce in beforeEach) are preserved for the
- * component's useEffect to consume.
+ * Uses vi.hoisted + vi.mock to create self-contained api mocks, avoiding
+ * cross-file module-cache pollution from other test files that use
+ * vi.mock("@/lib/api") (e.g. AuditTrailPanel which only provides get, no post).
  */
 import React from "react";
 import { render, screen, fireEvent, cleanup, act } from "@testing-library/react";
@@ -21,7 +20,22 @@ vi.mock("@/components/Toaster", () => ({
   showToast: vi.fn(),
 }));
 
-// ─── Helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// ─── Mock api (hoisted before module load) ────────────────────────────────────
+// vi.hoisted runs in the same hoisting phase as vi.mock factories, so _mockGet
+// and _mockPost are the same function instances the factory returns.
+const { _mockGet, _mockPost } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  _mockGet: vi.fn(),
+  _mockPost: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/api", () => ({
+  api: {
+    get: _mockGet,
+    post: _mockPost,
+  },
+}));
+
+// ─── Helpers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 const pendingApproval = (id = "a1", workspaceId = "ws-1"): {
   id: string;
@@ -41,22 +55,18 @@ const pendingApproval = (id = "a1", workspaceId = "ws-1"): {
   created_at: "2026-05-10T10:00:00Z",
 });
 
-// Shared spy references so individual tests can reset or reject the POST mock
-// without needing to call spyOn again (which would create a duplicate spy).
-let mockGet: ReturnType<typeof vi.spyOn>;
-let mockPost: ReturnType<typeof vi.spyOn>;
-
-// ─── Tests ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// ─── Tests ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe("ApprovalBanner — empty state", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.useFakeTimers();
-    vi.spyOn(api, "get").mockResolvedValueOnce([]);
+    _mockGet.mockReset().mockResolvedValue([]);
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
     cleanup();
     vi.useRealTimers();
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
   });
 
   it("renders nothing when there are no pending approvals", async () => {
@@ -76,7 +86,7 @@ describe("ApprovalBanner — empty state", () => {
 describe("ApprovalBanner — renders approval cards", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.useFakeTimers();
-    mockGet = vi.spyOn(api, "get").mockResolvedValueOnce([
+    _mockGet.mockReset().mockResolvedValue([
       pendingApproval("a1"),
       pendingApproval("a2", "ws-2"),
     ]);
@@ -85,6 +95,7 @@ describe("ApprovalBanner — renders approval cards", () => {
   afterEach(() => {
     cleanup();
     vi.useRealTimers();
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
   });
 
   it("renders an alert card for each pending approval", async () => {
@@ -92,7 +103,6 @@ describe("ApprovalBanner — renders approval cards", () => {
     await act(async () => { await vi.runOnlyPendingTimersAsync(); });
     const alerts = screen.getAllByRole("alert");
     expect(alerts).toHaveLength(2);
-    mockGet.mockRestore();
   });
 
   it("displays the workspace name and action text", async () => {
@@ -110,7 +120,7 @@ describe("ApprovalBanner — renders approval cards", () => {
   });
 
   it("omits the reason div when reason is null", async () => {
-    vi.spyOn(api, "get").mockResolvedValueOnce([{
+    _mockGet.mockReset().mockResolvedValue([{
       ...pendingApproval("a1"),
       reason: null,
     }]);
@@ -140,13 +150,14 @@ describe("ApprovalBanner — renders approval cards", () => {
 describe("ApprovalBanner — decisions", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.useFakeTimers();
-    mockGet = vi.spyOn(api, "get").mockResolvedValueOnce([pendingApproval("a1")]);
-    mockPost = vi.spyOn(api, "post").mockResolvedValue({});
+    _mockGet.mockReset().mockResolvedValue([pendingApproval("a1")]);
+    _mockPost.mockReset().mockResolvedValue({});
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
     cleanup();
     vi.useRealTimers();
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
   });
 
   it("calls POST /workspaces/:id/approvals/:id/decide on Approve click", async () => {
@@ -197,7 +208,7 @@ describe("ApprovalBanner — decisions", () => {
   });
 
   it("shows an error toast when POST fails", async () => {
-    mockPost.mockReset().mockRejectedValue(new Error("Network error"));
+    _mockPost.mockReset().mockRejectedValue(new Error("Network error"));
     render(<ApprovalBanner />);
     await act(async () => { await vi.runOnlyPendingTimersAsync(); });
     fireEvent.click(screen.getAllByRole("button", { name: /approve/i })[0]);
@@ -209,9 +220,10 @@ describe("ApprovalBanner — decisions", () => {
   });
 
   it("keeps the card visible when the POST fails", async () => {
-    // Reset the post mock before rejecting so the beforeEach's resolved value
-    // is gone and we get a clean rejection instead of a resolved→rejected queue.
-    mockPost.mockReset().mockRejectedValue(new Error("Network error"));
+    // mockReset + mockRejectedValue is safe here because _mockPost is a vi.fn()
+    // mock created in the vi.hoisted factory — it has no underlying original
+    // function to fall back to, so mockReset cannot cause the real fetch to fire.
+    _mockPost.mockReset().mockRejectedValue(new Error("Network error"));
     render(<ApprovalBanner />);
     await act(async () => { await vi.runOnlyPendingTimersAsync(); });
     fireEvent.click(screen.getAllByRole("button", { name: /approve/i })[0]);
@@ -223,12 +235,13 @@ describe("ApprovalBanner — decisions", () => {
 describe("ApprovalBanner — handles empty list from server", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.useFakeTimers();
-    vi.spyOn(api, "get").mockResolvedValueOnce([]);
+    _mockGet.mockReset().mockResolvedValue([]);
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
     cleanup();
     vi.useRealTimers();
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
   });
 
   it("shows nothing when the API returns an empty array on first poll", async () => {