diff --git a/packages/cli/test/repair-integration.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/repair-integration.test.ts
index 07f518a6..72340082 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/repair-integration.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/repair-integration.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
 import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
-import { mkdir, mkdtemp, readFile, rm, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import {
+  chmod,
+  mkdir,
+  mkdtemp,
+  readFile,
+  rm,
+  writeFile,
+} from "node:fs/promises";
 import { createServer, type Server } from "node:http";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
@@ -8,6 +15,7 @@ import { promisify } from "node:util";
 
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
+import { restoreRule } from "../src/api/restore";
 import { canonicalHash } from "../src/rules/rule-hash";
 import { migrateFixture } from "./support/current-project";
 
@@ -33,6 +41,28 @@ interface Mock {
   close: () => Promise<void>;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A reconcile handler normally returns the response body directly (always
+ * HTTP 200). A handler that instead needs to exercise a non-2xx reconcile
+ * response (e.g. the unauthorized branch of `planRuntime`) returns this
+ * wrapper, distinguished by its `statusCode` field — no ordinary reconcile
+ * response body (`{ run, unsafe, unknown, missing }`) has one.
+ */
+interface HttpOverride {
+  statusCode: number;
+  body: unknown;
+}
+
+function isHttpOverride(value: unknown): value is HttpOverride {
+  return (
+    typeof value === "object" &&
+    value !== null &&
+    "statusCode" in value &&
+    typeof (value as { statusCode: unknown }).statusCode === "number" &&
+    "body" in value
+  );
+}
+
 function startMock(handlers: {
   reconcile: (body: {
     files: { file: string; signature: string }[];
@@ -46,10 +76,13 @@ function startMock(handlers: {
     request.on("end", () => {
       const url = request.url ?? "";
       if (url === "/cli/api/reconcile") {
-        const body = handlers.reconcile(
+        const result = handlers.reconcile(
           JSON.parse(raw) as { files: { file: string; signature: string }[] }
         );
-        response.writeHead(200, { "content-type": "application/json" });
+        const { statusCode, body } = isHttpOverride(result)
+          ? result
+          : { statusCode: 200, body: result };
+        response.writeHead(statusCode, { "content-type": "application/json" });
         response.end(JSON.stringify(body));
         return;
       }
@@ -449,4 +482,287 @@ describe("repairing a drifted runtime rule, end to end", () => {
       await mock.close();
     }
   });
+
+  it("says '1 stale entry ... it' when the repair leaves exactly one behind", async () => {
+    // plan.ts's `repairWithheldRules` wraps `PurgeIncompleteError` in its own
+    // wording rather than reusing the error's message, and pluralizes it by
+    // hand — a seam `deliver.test.ts` cannot see, since it only ever throws
+    // the error, never renders this notice.
+    const rule = join(directory, ".taskless", "rules", "runtime", "demo");
+    await mkdir(join(rule, "blocked"), { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(join(rule, "blocked", "a.txt"), "stuck\n", "utf8");
+    await chmod(join(rule, "blocked"), 0o500);
+
+    const blessed = await canonicalHash(BLESSED);
+    const mock = await startMock({
+      reconcile: driftedReconcile(blessed),
+      restore: () => ({
+        statusCode: 200,
+        body: {
+          ruleId: "demo",
+          rules: [
+            {
+              id: "demo",
+              engine: "runtime",
+              files: [
+                { path: "check.ts", content: BLESSED },
+                { path: "captures/logs.yml", content: CAPTURE },
+              ],
+              signature: blessed,
+            },
+          ],
+        },
+      }),
+    });
+    try {
+      const { stdout } = await runCli(["check", "-d", directory, "--json"], {
+        TASKLESS_TOKEN: "fake.token",
+        TASKLESS_API_URL: mock.apiUrl,
+      });
+      const notices = (envelope(stdout).notices ?? []).join("\n");
+      expect(notices).toMatch(
+        /was rewritten with the bytes the service blessed, but 1 stale entry could not be removed and an engine still reads it/
+      );
+      expect(notices).toContain("blocked/a.txt");
+      // The bytes still landed — a failed cleanup is not a failed write.
+      await expect(readFile(checkFile, "utf8")).resolves.toBe(BLESSED);
+    } finally {
+      await chmod(join(rule, "blocked"), 0o700);
+      await mock.close();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("says '<n> stale entries ... them' when the repair leaves several behind", async () => {
+    const rule = join(directory, ".taskless", "rules", "runtime", "demo");
+    await mkdir(join(rule, "blocked-one"), { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(join(rule, "blocked-one", "a.txt"), "stuck\n", "utf8");
+    await chmod(join(rule, "blocked-one"), 0o500);
+    await mkdir(join(rule, "blocked-two"), { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(join(rule, "blocked-two", "b.txt"), "stuck\n", "utf8");
+    await chmod(join(rule, "blocked-two"), 0o500);
+
+    const blessed = await canonicalHash(BLESSED);
+    const mock = await startMock({
+      reconcile: driftedReconcile(blessed),
+      restore: () => ({
+        statusCode: 200,
+        body: {
+          ruleId: "demo",
+          rules: [
+            {
+              id: "demo",
+              engine: "runtime",
+              files: [
+                { path: "check.ts", content: BLESSED },
+                { path: "captures/logs.yml", content: CAPTURE },
+              ],
+              signature: blessed,
+            },
+          ],
+        },
+      }),
+    });
+    try {
+      const { stdout } = await runCli(["check", "-d", directory, "--json"], {
+        TASKLESS_TOKEN: "fake.token",
+        TASKLESS_API_URL: mock.apiUrl,
+      });
+      const notices = (envelope(stdout).notices ?? []).join("\n");
+      expect(notices).toMatch(
+        /was rewritten with the bytes the service blessed, but 2 stale entries could not be removed and an engine still reads them/
+      );
+      expect(notices).toContain("blocked-one/a.txt");
+      expect(notices).toContain("blocked-two/b.txt");
+      await expect(readFile(checkFile, "utf8")).resolves.toBe(BLESSED);
+    } finally {
+      await chmod(join(rule, "blocked-one"), 0o700);
+      await chmod(join(rule, "blocked-two"), 0o700);
+      await mock.close();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("skips every runtime rule when reconcile's own authentication is rejected", async () => {
+    // `planRuntime`'s `unauthorized` branch (plan.ts) — distinct from
+    // restore's `unauthorized`, and reachable only when the reconcile call
+    // itself, not the later restore call, gets a 401.
+    const mock = await startMock({
+      reconcile: () => ({ statusCode: 401, body: {} }),
+      restore: () => ({ statusCode: 500, body: {} }),
+    });
+    try {
+      const { stdout } = await runCli(["check", "-d", directory, "--json"], {
+        TASKLESS_TOKEN: "fake.token",
+        TASKLESS_API_URL: mock.apiUrl,
+      });
+      const output = envelope(stdout) as {
+        skipped?: { rule: string; reason: string }[];
+      };
+      expect(output.skipped).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(output.skipped?.[0]?.rule).toBe("demo");
+      expect(output.skipped?.[0]?.reason).toContain(
+        "authentication was rejected"
+      );
+      // Rejected before any restore could even be considered.
+      expect(mock.restoreCalls).toEqual([]);
+      await expect(readFile(checkFile, "utf8")).resolves.toBe(DRIFTED);
+    } finally {
+      await mock.close();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("skips every runtime rule when materialization fails, without failing the run", async () => {
+    // plan.ts's materialize-failure catch. Blessing whatever `check.ts` was
+    // actually reported sidesteps needing to know `signRuleFile`'s exact
+    // envelope format — the point of this test is the catch, not the sign.
+    //
+    // `.taskless/.gitignore` is replaced with a directory so `addToGitignore`'s
+    // `writeFile` (called from `materializeRuntimeRules`) fails with EISDIR.
+    // The scaffold migration (`migrateFixture`, inside `runCli`) writes that
+    // file itself as part of bringing the fixture current, so the block has to
+    // go on AFTER migration — doing it first makes the migration itself throw,
+    // before `check` ever runs.
+    await migrateFixture(["check", "-d", directory]);
+    await rm(join(directory, ".taskless", ".gitignore"), { force: true });
+    await mkdir(join(directory, ".taskless", ".gitignore"));
+
+    const mock = await startMock({
+      reconcile: (body) => ({
+        run: body.files.map((file) => ({
+          ruleId: "demo",
+          file: file.file,
+          signature: file.signature,
+        })),
+        unsafe: [],
+        unknown: [],
+        missing: [],
+      }),
+      restore: () => ({ statusCode: 500, body: {} }),
+    });
+    try {
+      let stdout: string;
+      let exitCode: number;
+      try {
+        ({ stdout } = await execFileAsync(
+          "node",
+          [binPath, "check", "-d", directory, "--json"],
+          {
+            env: {
+              ...process.env,
+              TASKLESS_TOKEN: "fake.token",
+              TASKLESS_API_URL: mock.apiUrl,
+            },
+          }
+        ));
+        exitCode = 0;
+      } catch (error) {
+        const failure = error as { stdout: string; code: number };
+        stdout = failure.stdout ?? "";
+        exitCode = failure.code;
+      }
+      // A materialize failure is a notice, never a failed run.
+      expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+      const output = envelope(stdout) as {
+        skipped?: { rule: string; reason: string }[];
+      };
+      expect(output.skipped).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(output.skipped?.[0]?.rule).toBe("demo");
+      expect(output.skipped?.[0]?.reason).toContain(
+        "runtime rules could not be materialized"
+      );
+      expect(mock.restoreCalls).toEqual([]);
+    } finally {
+      await mock.close();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe("restoreRule's HTTP contract", () => {
+  let server: Server;
+  let originalApiUrl: string | undefined;
+  let respond: (response: import("node:http").ServerResponse) => void;
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    originalApiUrl = process.env.TASKLESS_API_URL;
+    server = createServer((request, response) => {
+      request.resume();
+      request.on("end", () => respond(response));
+    });
+    await new Promise<void>((done) => {
+      server.listen(0, "127.0.0.1", () => {
+        const address = server.address();
+        const port = typeof address === "object" && address ? address.port : 0;
+        process.env.TASKLESS_API_URL = `http://127.0.0.1:${String(port)}/cli`;
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await new Promise<void>((done) => server.close(() => done()));
+    if (originalApiUrl === undefined) {
+      delete process.env.TASKLESS_API_URL;
+    } else {
+      process.env.TASKLESS_API_URL = originalApiUrl;
+    }
+  });
+
+  const request = {
+    ruleId: "demo",
+    repositoryUrl: "https://github.com/acme/widgets.git",
+  };
+
+  it("maps HTTP 401 to `unauthorized`", async () => {
+    respond = (response) => {
+      response.writeHead(401, { "content-type": "application/json" });
+      response.end("{}");
+    };
+    await expect(restoreRule("token", request)).resolves.toEqual({
+      status: "unauthorized",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("maps a non-ok status to `unavailable`", async () => {
+    respond = (response) => {
+      response.writeHead(500, { "content-type": "application/json" });
+      response.end("{}");
+    };
+    await expect(restoreRule("token", request)).resolves.toEqual({
+      status: "unavailable",
+      reason: "HTTP 500",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("maps a body `response.json()` cannot parse to `unavailable`", async () => {
+    respond = (response) => {
+      response.writeHead(200, { "content-type": "application/json" });
+      response.end("not json");
+    };
+    await expect(restoreRule("token", request)).resolves.toEqual({
+      status: "unavailable",
+      reason: "invalid response body",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("maps a body without an array `rules` to `unavailable`", async () => {
+    respond = (response) => {
+      response.writeHead(200, { "content-type": "application/json" });
+      response.end(JSON.stringify({ ruleId: "demo" }));
+    };
+    await expect(restoreRule("token", request)).resolves.toEqual({
+      status: "unavailable",
+      reason: "response carried no `rules`",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("maps a fetch that throws to `unavailable`", async () => {
+    // No handler is registered on the running mock server for this one — the
+    // request is pointed at a closed local port instead, so `fetch` itself
+    // rejects (ECONNREFUSED) rather than the server answering.
+    process.env.TASKLESS_API_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:1/cli";
+    const outcome = await restoreRule("token", request);
+    expect(outcome.status).toBe("unavailable");
+    expect(
+      (outcome as { status: "unavailable"; reason: string }).reason
+    ).toMatch(/network error/);
+  });
 });