fix(hooks): address coderabbit review — use lstatSync for symlink paths

CodeRabbit major on PR #1898: fs.statSync follows symlinks, so a dangling
protected symlink (e.g. .eslintrc.js pointing at a missing target) would
throw ENOENT and be treated as absent — letting an agent "replace" the
symlink and bypass the protection.

Swap statSync for lstatSync. lstat reports the link node itself regardless
of whether its target exists, so protected entries that happen to be
symlinks stay blocked. ENOENT handling is unchanged: only a genuinely
missing path (no link, no file, no directory) counts as absent.

Add a regression test that creates a dangling symlink at .eslintrc.js and
verifies the hook still blocks Write. Skips cleanly on platforms/sandboxes
that disallow symlink creation (EPERM/EACCES).

docs/ECC-2.0-GA-ROADMAP.md

@@ -153,6 +153,24 @@ As of 2026-05-13:
   `/ecc-tools analyze --job status` now reads the #65 latest-result cache for
   the current PR head and posts a compact completed/blocked/not-run table with
   the next hosted job command, without queueing work or billing usage.
+- ECC-Tools PR #67 merged as `f20e6bec2b0bf49e4cc36e08b7285c795973b73d`
+  and made the hosted depth-plan check-run status-aware:
+  queued PR analysis now reads the #65/#66 latest-result cache when publishing
+  `ECC Tools / Hosted Depth Plan`, includes the latest hosted run status in
+  the plan table, and recommends the next unrun ready job before reruns.
+- ECC-Tools PR #68 merged as `2cde524b5ef8f34ab7bb1af973248fe4be4359f8`
+  and added deterministic hosted promotion readiness:
+  opened/synchronized PRs now publish a non-blocking
+  `ECC Tools / Hosted Promotion Readiness` check-run that compares changed
+  files against the checked-in evaluator/RAG corpus, warns on missing
+  hosted-job promotion evidence, and can be disabled with
+  `PR_HOSTED_PROMOTION_READINESS_CHECK_MODE=off`.
+- ECC-Tools PR #69 merged as `d0112dac7cef807ae27def41f057682ef0772cce`
+  and extended hosted promotion readiness with deterministic output scoring:
+  the check now reads cached completed hosted job results for the current PR
+  head, scores their artifacts and findings against evaluator/RAG corpus
+  expectations, and treats matching hosted artifacts as promotion evidence
+  before reporting a gap.
 - Handoff `ecc-supply-chain-audit-20260513-0645.md` under
   `~/.cluster-swarm/handoffs/`
   records the May 13 supply-chain sweep: no active lockfile/manifest hit for
@@ -386,6 +404,16 @@ As of 2026-05-13:
   `/ecc-tools analyze --job status`, summarizing completed, blocked, and
   not-yet-run hosted jobs for the PR head and recommending the next hosted job
   command.
+- ECC-Tools PR #67 feeds those cached results back into the hosted depth-plan
+  check-run so queued analysis recommends the next unrun ready hosted job from
+  cache state instead of repeating the static readiness order.
+- ECC-Tools PR #68 adds the first evaluator-backed hosted promotion gate:
+  opened/synchronized PRs get a non-blocking Hosted Promotion Readiness
+  check-run that turns the evaluator/RAG corpus into warnings when changed
+  files match fixture scenarios without their expected evidence artifacts.
+- ECC-Tools PR #69 extends that gate to score cached completed hosted job
+  outputs for the current PR head, so hosted artifacts can satisfy corpus
+  evidence expectations before the check reports a promotion gap.
 - ECC PR #1803 landed the contributor Quarkus handling branch after maintainer
   cleanup, current-`main` alignment, full local validation, and preservation of
   the author's removal of incomplete ja-JP and zh-CN Quarkus translations.
@@ -439,10 +467,10 @@ is not complete unless the evidence column exists and has been freshly verified.
 | Claude and Codex plugin publication | Contact/submission path with required artifacts and status | Publication readiness, naming matrix, and May 12 dry-run evidence document plugin validation, clean-checkout Claude tag/install smoke, and Codex marketplace CLI shape | Needs explicit approval for real tag/push and marketplace submission |
 | Articles, tweets, and announcements | X thread, LinkedIn copy, GitHub release copy, push checklist | Draft launch collateral exists under rc.1 release docs | Needs URL-backed refresh |
 | AgentShield enterprise iteration | Policy gates, SARIF, packs, provenance, corpus, HTML reports, exception lifecycle audit, baseline drift Action/CLI surfaces, evidence-pack redaction, harness adapter registry, enterprise research roadmap, supply-chain hardened release path, CI-safe baseline fingerprints, corpus accuracy recommendations, remediation workflow phases, env proxy hijack corpus coverage | PRs #53, #55-#64, #67-#69, and #78-#82 landed with test evidence; native PDF export deferred in favor of self-contained HTML plus print-to-PDF until explicit enterprise demand appears; `docs/architecture/agentshield-enterprise-research-roadmap.md` now has baseline drift, evidence-pack bundle, redaction, adapter-registry, supply-chain hardening, hashed baseline fingerprints, corpus accuracy recommendation, remediation workflow, and env proxy hijack corpus slices landed | Next hosted evidence-pack workflow depth |
-| ECC Tools next-level app | Billing audit, PR checks, deep analyzer, sync backlog, evaluator/RAG corpus, analysis-depth readiness, hosted execution planning, hosted CI diagnostics, hosted security evidence review, hosted harness compatibility audit, hosted reference-set evaluation, hosted AI routing/cost review, hosted team backlog routing, hosted depth-plan check-run, PR-comment hosted job dispatch, hosted job result history/check-runs, hosted result status command | PRs #26-#43 plus #53-#66 landed with test evidence, including AgentShield evidence-pack gap routing, canonical bundle recognition, supply-chain signature gates, PR draft follow-up Linear tracking, evidence-backed/deep-ready repository classification, the `/api/analysis/depth-plan` hosted job plan, `/api/analysis/jobs/ci-diagnostics`, `/api/analysis/jobs/security-evidence-review`, `/api/analysis/jobs/harness-compatibility-audit`, `/api/analysis/jobs/reference-set-evaluation`, `/api/analysis/jobs/ai-routing-cost-review`, `/api/analysis/jobs/team-backlog-routing`, the `ECC Tools / Hosted Depth Plan` check-run, `/ecc-tools analyze --job ...` PR-comment dispatch, non-blocking per-hosted-job result check-runs backed by 30-day result cache records, and `/ecc-tools analyze --job status` cache lookup | Next work is evaluator-backed hosted promotion and status-aware depth-plan recommendations |
+| ECC Tools next-level app | Billing audit, PR checks, deep analyzer, sync backlog, evaluator/RAG corpus, analysis-depth readiness, hosted execution planning, hosted CI diagnostics, hosted security evidence review, hosted harness compatibility audit, hosted reference-set evaluation, hosted AI routing/cost review, hosted team backlog routing, hosted depth-plan check-run, PR-comment hosted job dispatch, hosted job result history/check-runs, hosted result status command, status-aware depth-plan recommendations, hosted promotion readiness, hosted promotion output scoring | PRs #26-#43 plus #53-#69 landed with test evidence, including AgentShield evidence-pack gap routing, canonical bundle recognition, supply-chain signature gates, PR draft follow-up Linear tracking, evidence-backed/deep-ready repository classification, the `/api/analysis/depth-plan` hosted job plan, `/api/analysis/jobs/ci-diagnostics`, `/api/analysis/jobs/security-evidence-review`, `/api/analysis/jobs/harness-compatibility-audit`, `/api/analysis/jobs/reference-set-evaluation`, `/api/analysis/jobs/ai-routing-cost-review`, `/api/analysis/jobs/team-backlog-routing`, the `ECC Tools / Hosted Depth Plan` check-run, `/ecc-tools analyze --job ...` PR-comment dispatch, non-blocking per-hosted-job result check-runs backed by 30-day result cache records, `/ecc-tools analyze --job status` cache lookup, cache-aware next-job recommendations in the depth-plan check-run, the `ECC Tools / Hosted Promotion Readiness` corpus-backed PR check-run, and deterministic hosted-output scoring against cached completed job artifacts/findings | Next work is retrieval/model-backed hosted promotion after deterministic output scoring |
 | GitGuardian/Dependabot/CodeRabbit-style checks | Non-blocking taxonomy, deterministic follow-up checks, and local supply-chain gates | ECC-Tools risk taxonomy check plus follow-up signals landed, including Skill Quality, Deep Analyzer Evidence, Analyzer Corpus Evidence, RAG/Evaluator Evidence, PR Review/Salvage Evidence, and AgentShield evidence-pack evidence; #1846 added npm registry signature gates; #1848 added the supply-chain incident-response playbook and `pull_request_target` cache-poisoning validator guard; #1851 added the privileged checkout credential-persistence guard; AgentShield #78, JARVIS #13, and ECC-Tools #53 applied the same hardening outside trunk | Current supply-chain gate complete; deeper hosted review features remain future |
-| Harness-agnostic learning system | Audit, adapter matrix, observability, traces, promotion loop | Audit/adapters/observability gates plus `docs/architecture/evaluator-rag-prototype.md`, `examples/evaluator-rag-prototype/`, and ECC-Tools PR #40 define read-only stale-salvage, billing-readiness, CI-failure-diagnosis, harness-config-quality, AgentShield policy-exception, skill-quality evidence, deep-analyzer evidence, and RAG/evaluator comparison scenarios with trace, report, playbook, verifier, and predictive-check artifacts | Local corpus complete; hosted integration remains future |
-| Linear roadmap is detailed | Linear project status plus repo mirror | Repo mirror exists; issue creation was retried on 2026-05-12 and remains blocked by the workspace free issue limit; this May 13 sync adds ECC #1860, AgentShield #78-#82, JARVIS #13, ECC-Tools #53-#66, resolved queue/discussion counts, and Linear project status updates through ECC-Tools #66 | Needs recurring status updates after each merge batch |
+| Harness-agnostic learning system | Audit, adapter matrix, observability, traces, promotion loop | Audit/adapters/observability gates plus `docs/architecture/evaluator-rag-prototype.md`, `examples/evaluator-rag-prototype/`, and ECC-Tools PR #40 define read-only stale-salvage, billing-readiness, CI-failure-diagnosis, harness-config-quality, AgentShield policy-exception, skill-quality evidence, deep-analyzer evidence, and RAG/evaluator comparison scenarios with trace, report, playbook, verifier, and predictive-check artifacts; ECC-Tools PRs #68/#69 now turn that corpus into a deterministic PR check-run gate with cached hosted-output scoring | Deterministic hosted PR check and cached output scoring integrated; hosted retrieval remains future |
+| Linear roadmap is detailed | Linear project status plus repo mirror | Repo mirror exists; issue creation was retried on 2026-05-12 and remains blocked by the workspace free issue limit; this May 13 sync adds ECC #1860, AgentShield #78-#82, JARVIS #13, ECC-Tools #53-#69, resolved queue/discussion counts, and Linear project status updates through ECC-Tools #69 | Needs recurring status updates after each merge batch |
 | Flow separation and progress tracking | Flow lanes with owner artifacts and update cadence | This roadmap defines lanes below and `docs/architecture/progress-sync-contract.md` makes GitHub/Linear/handoff/roadmap sync part of the readiness gate | Active |
 | Realtime Linear sync | Project updates while issue limit is blocked; issues later | ECC-Tools #39 implements opt-in Linear API sync for deferred follow-up backlog items, and ECC-Tools #54 adds copy-ready PR drafts to that backlog when draft PR shells are not opened; `docs/architecture/progress-sync-contract.md` defines the local file-backed realtime boundary while issue capacity is blocked | Needs workspace capacity/config rollout |
 | Observability for self-use | Local readiness gate, traces, status snapshots, HUD/status contract, risk ledger, progress-sync contract | `npm run observability:ready` reports 21/21 | Complete for local gate |
@@ -461,9 +489,9 @@ repo evidence and merge commits.
 | Queue hygiene and salvage | GitHub PR/issue state, salvage ledger | Append ledger entries for any future stale closures | Every cleanup batch |
 | Release and publication | rc.1 release docs, publication readiness doc | Naming matrix and plugin submission/contact checklist | Before any tag |
 | Harness OS core | Audit, adapter matrix, observability docs, `ecc2/` | HUD/session-control acceptance spec | Weekly until GA |
-| Evaluation and RAG | Reference-set validation, harness audit, traces, ECC-Tools corpus | Read-only evaluator/RAG prototype plus stale-salvage, billing-readiness, CI-failure-diagnosis, harness-config-quality, AgentShield policy-exception, skill-quality evidence, deep-analyzer evidence, and RAG/evaluator comparison fixtures | Hosted retrieval/check-run automation plan |
+| Evaluation and RAG | Reference-set validation, harness audit, traces, ECC-Tools corpus | Read-only evaluator/RAG prototype plus stale-salvage, billing-readiness, CI-failure-diagnosis, harness-config-quality, AgentShield policy-exception, skill-quality evidence, deep-analyzer evidence, and RAG/evaluator comparison fixtures; ECC-Tools #68 publishes the corpus as a hosted promotion readiness check-run, and #69 scores cached hosted job outputs against the same corpus | Hosted retrieval/model-backed promotion plan |
 | AgentShield enterprise | AgentShield PR evidence and roadmap notes | Remediation workflow depth or corpus expansion follow-up | Next implementation batch |
-| ECC Tools app | ECC-Tools PR evidence, billing audit, risk taxonomy, evaluator/RAG corpus | ECC-Tools #53 published the supply-chain workflow hardening branch, #54 tracks copy-ready PR drafts in the Linear/project backlog, #55 classifies analysis-depth readiness, #56 exposes the hosted execution plan, #57 executes the first hosted CI diagnostics job, #58 executes the hosted security evidence review job, #59 executes the hosted harness compatibility audit, #60 executes the hosted reference-set evaluation, #61 executes the hosted AI routing/cost review, #62 executes hosted team backlog routing, #63 publishes the hosted depth-plan check-run, and #64 dispatches hosted jobs from PR comments; next work is hosted result history/check-run summaries | Next implementation batch |
+| ECC Tools app | ECC-Tools PR evidence, billing audit, risk taxonomy, evaluator/RAG corpus | ECC-Tools #53 published the supply-chain workflow hardening branch, #54 tracks copy-ready PR drafts in the Linear/project backlog, #55 classifies analysis-depth readiness, #56 exposes the hosted execution plan, #57 executes the first hosted CI diagnostics job, #58 executes the hosted security evidence review job, #59 executes the hosted harness compatibility audit, #60 executes the hosted reference-set evaluation, #61 executes the hosted AI routing/cost review, #62 executes hosted team backlog routing, #63 publishes the hosted depth-plan check-run, #64 dispatches hosted jobs from PR comments, #65 persists hosted result history/check-runs, #66 exposes hosted job status from PR comments, #67 makes depth-plan recommendations cache-aware, #68 publishes hosted promotion readiness from the evaluator/RAG corpus, and #69 scores cached hosted job outputs against that corpus; next work is retrieval/model-backed hosted promotion | Next implementation batch |
 | Linear progress | Linear project status updates, `docs/architecture/progress-sync-contract.md`, and this mirror | Status update with queue/evidence/missing gates | Every significant merge batch |
 
 The project status update should always include:
@@ -680,9 +708,9 @@ Acceptance:
    PR #82 expanded corpus coverage for env proxy hijacks and out-of-band
    exfiltration; and ECC-Tools PRs #42/#43 now route and recognize evidence
    packs. The next slice is hosted evidence-pack workflow depth.
-2. Feed the #66 status surface back into hosted depth-plan recommendations so
-   queued analysis can suggest the next unrun or newly blocked hosted job from
-   cached outcomes, not only static readiness.
+2. Plan retrieval/model-backed hosted promotion on top of the #69 deterministic
+   hosted output scoring contract, keeping vector/model judgment behind fixture
+   evaluation until the retrieval contract is stable.
 3. Enable/configure the merged Linear backlog sync path after workspace issue
    capacity clears or the Linear workspace is upgraded, then verify PR-draft
    salvage items land in the expected project.

scripts/hooks/config-protection.js

@@ -7,12 +7,13 @@
  * the actual code. This hook steers the agent back to fixing the source.
  *
  * Exit codes:
- *   0 = allow (not a config file)
- *   2 = block (config file modification attempted)
+ *   0 = allow (not a config file, or first-time creation of one)
+ *   2 = block (existing config file modification attempted)
  */
 
 'use strict';
 
+const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
 
 const MAX_STDIN = 1024 * 1024;
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ const PROTECTED_FILES = new Set([
   '.stylelintrc.yml',
   '.markdownlint.json',
   '.markdownlint.yaml',
-  '.markdownlintrc',
+  '.markdownlintrc'
 ]);
 
 function parseInput(inputOrRaw) {
@@ -94,13 +95,41 @@ function run(inputOrRaw, options = {}) {
 
   const basename = path.basename(filePath);
   if (PROTECTED_FILES.has(basename)) {
+    // Allow first-time creation — there's no existing config to weaken.
+    // The hook's purpose is blocking modifications; writing a brand-new
+    // config file in a project that has none is a legitimate bootstrap
+    // path (e.g. scaffolding ESLint into a fresh repo).
+    //
+    // Fail closed on any stat error other than ENOENT. Use lstatSync so a
+    // symlink at the protected path is treated as present even if its target
+    // is missing — a dangling symlink at e.g. .eslintrc.js still represents
+    // an existing config entry that an agent should not silently replace.
+    // fs.existsSync would swallow EACCES/EPERM as false; lstatSync exposes
+    // the error code so we can treat only genuine "path not found" (ENOENT)
+    // as absent.
+    let exists = true;
+    try {
+      fs.lstatSync(filePath);
+      // lstat succeeded — something (file, dir, or symlink) exists here.
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (err && err.code === 'ENOENT') {
+        exists = false;
+      }
+      // Any other error (EACCES, EPERM, ELOOP, etc.) leaves exists=true
+      // so the guard is never silently weakened.
+    }
+
+    if (!exists) {
+      return { exitCode: 0 };
+    }
+
     return {
       exitCode: 2,
       stderr:
         `BLOCKED: Modifying ${basename} is not allowed. ` +
         'Fix the source code to satisfy linter/formatter rules instead of ' +
         'weakening the config. If this is a legitimate config change, ' +
-        'disable the config-protection hook temporarily.',
+        'disable the config-protection hook temporarily.'
     };
   }
 
@@ -125,7 +154,7 @@ process.stdin.on('data', chunk => {
 process.stdin.on('end', () => {
   const result = run(raw, {
     truncated,
-    maxStdin: Number(process.env.ECC_HOOK_INPUT_MAX_BYTES) || MAX_STDIN,
+    maxStdin: Number(process.env.ECC_HOOK_INPUT_MAX_BYTES) || MAX_STDIN
   });
 
   if (result.stderr) {

tests/docs/evaluator-rag-prototype.test.js

@@ -130,12 +130,12 @@ test('candidate playbook preserves stale-salvage operating rules', () => {
   }
 });
 
-test('roadmap points to the evaluator RAG prototype and keeps hosted integration open', () => {
+test('roadmap points to the evaluator RAG prototype and hosted PR check', () => {
   const roadmap = read('docs/ECC-2.0-GA-ROADMAP.md');
 
   assert.ok(roadmap.includes('docs/architecture/evaluator-rag-prototype.md'));
   assert.ok(roadmap.includes('examples/evaluator-rag-prototype/'));
-  assert.ok(roadmap.includes('Local corpus complete; hosted integration remains future'));
+  assert.ok(roadmap.includes('Deterministic hosted PR check and cached output scoring integrated; hosted retrieval remains future'));
 });
 
 test('billing readiness scenario rejects launch copy overclaims', () => {

tests/hooks/config-protection.test.js

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 const assert = require('assert');
 const fs = require('fs');
+const os = require('os');
 const path = require('path');
 const { spawnSync } = require('child_process');
 
@@ -70,85 +71,249 @@ function runTests() {
   let passed = 0;
   let failed = 0;
 
-  if (test('blocks protected config file edits through run-with-flags', () => {
-    const input = {
-      tool_name: 'Write',
-      tool_input: {
-        file_path: '.eslintrc.js',
-        content: 'module.exports = {};'
+  if (
+    test('blocks protected config file edits through run-with-flags', () => {
+      const tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ecc-config-protect-'));
+      try {
+        const absPath = path.join(tmpDir, '.eslintrc.js');
+        fs.writeFileSync(absPath, 'module.exports = {};');
+
+        const input = {
+          tool_name: 'Write',
+          tool_input: {
+            file_path: absPath,
+            content: 'module.exports = {};'
+          }
+        };
+
+        const result = runHook(input);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.code, 2, 'Expected protected config edit to be blocked');
+        assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '', 'Blocked hook should not echo raw input');
+        assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('BLOCKED: Modifying .eslintrc.js is not allowed.'), `Expected block message, got: ${result.stderr}`);
+      } finally {
+        try {
+          fs.rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+        } catch {
+          // best-effort cleanup
+        }
       }
-    };
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
 
-    const result = runHook(input);
-    assert.strictEqual(result.code, 2, 'Expected protected config edit to be blocked');
-    assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '', 'Blocked hook should not echo raw input');
-    assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('BLOCKED: Modifying .eslintrc.js is not allowed.'), `Expected block message, got: ${result.stderr}`);
-  })) passed++; else failed++;
+  if (
+    test('passes through safe file edits unchanged', () => {
+      const input = {
+        tool_name: 'Write',
+        tool_input: {
+          file_path: 'src/index.js',
+          content: 'console.log("ok");'
+        }
+      };
 
-  if (test('passes through safe file edits unchanged', () => {
-    const input = {
-      tool_name: 'Write',
-      tool_input: {
-        file_path: 'src/index.js',
-        content: 'console.log("ok");'
-      }
-    };
-
-    const rawInput = JSON.stringify(input);
-    const result = runHook(input);
-    assert.strictEqual(result.code, 0, 'Expected safe file edit to pass');
-    assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, rawInput, 'Expected exact raw JSON passthrough');
-    assert.strictEqual(result.stderr, '', 'Expected no stderr for safe edits');
-  })) passed++; else failed++;
-
-  if (test('blocks truncated protected config payloads instead of failing open', () => {
-    const rawInput = JSON.stringify({
-      tool_name: 'Write',
-      tool_input: {
-        file_path: '.eslintrc.js',
-        content: 'x'.repeat(1024 * 1024 + 2048)
-      }
-    });
-
-    const result = runHook(rawInput);
-    assert.strictEqual(result.code, 2, 'Expected truncated protected payload to be blocked');
-    assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '', 'Blocked truncated payload should not echo raw input');
-    assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('Hook input exceeded 1048576 bytes'), `Expected size warning, got: ${result.stderr}`);
-    assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('truncated payload'), `Expected truncated payload warning, got: ${result.stderr}`);
-  })) passed++; else failed++;
-
-  if (test('legacy hooks do not echo raw input when they fail without stdout', () => {
-    const pluginRoot = path.join(__dirname, '..', `tmp-runner-plugin-${Date.now()}`);
-    const scriptDir = path.join(pluginRoot, 'scripts', 'hooks');
-    const scriptPath = path.join(scriptDir, 'legacy-block.js');
-
-    try {
-      fs.mkdirSync(scriptDir, { recursive: true });
-      fs.writeFileSync(
-        scriptPath,
-        '#!/usr/bin/env node\nprocess.stderr.write("blocked by legacy hook\\n");\nprocess.exit(2);\n'
-      );
+      const rawInput = JSON.stringify(input);
+      const result = runHook(input);
+      assert.strictEqual(result.code, 0, 'Expected safe file edit to pass');
+      assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, rawInput, 'Expected exact raw JSON passthrough');
+      assert.strictEqual(result.stderr, '', 'Expected no stderr for safe edits');
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
 
+  if (
+    test('blocks truncated protected config payloads instead of failing open', () => {
       const rawInput = JSON.stringify({
         tool_name: 'Write',
         tool_input: {
           file_path: '.eslintrc.js',
-          content: 'module.exports = {};'
+          content: 'x'.repeat(1024 * 1024 + 2048)
         }
       });
 
-      const result = runCustomHook(pluginRoot, 'pre:legacy-block', 'scripts/hooks/legacy-block.js', rawInput);
-      assert.strictEqual(result.code, 2, 'Expected failing legacy hook exit code to propagate');
-      assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '', 'Expected failing legacy hook to avoid raw passthrough');
-      assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('blocked by legacy hook'), `Expected legacy hook stderr, got: ${result.stderr}`);
-    } finally {
+      const result = runHook(rawInput);
+      assert.strictEqual(result.code, 2, 'Expected truncated protected payload to be blocked');
+      assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '', 'Blocked truncated payload should not echo raw input');
+      assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('Hook input exceeded 1048576 bytes'), `Expected size warning, got: ${result.stderr}`);
+      assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('truncated payload'), `Expected truncated payload warning, got: ${result.stderr}`);
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
+
+  if (
+    test('allows first-time creation of a protected config file', () => {
+      const tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ecc-config-protect-'));
       try {
-        fs.rmSync(pluginRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
-      } catch {
-        // best-effort cleanup
+        const absPath = path.join(tmpDir, 'eslint.config.mjs');
+        const input = {
+          tool_name: 'Write',
+          tool_input: {
+            file_path: absPath,
+            content: 'export default [];'
+          }
+        };
+
+        const rawInput = JSON.stringify(input);
+        const result = runHook(input);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.code, 0, `Expected exit 0 for first-time creation, got ${result.code}; stderr: ${result.stderr}`);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, rawInput, 'Expected raw passthrough when creation is allowed');
+        assert.strictEqual(result.stderr, '', `Expected no stderr for first-time creation, got: ${result.stderr}`);
+      } finally {
+        try {
+          fs.rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+        } catch {
+          // best-effort cleanup
+        }
       }
-    }
-  })) passed++; else failed++;
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
+
+  if (
+    test('allows first-time creation when the parent directory does not exist yet', () => {
+      const tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ecc-config-protect-'));
+      try {
+        // Path under a non-existent subdirectory — statSync returns ENOENT
+        // on the final segment, which should be treated as "does not exist"
+        // and allow the write. (Agent or CLI is expected to create parents
+        // during the Write itself; this hook does not need to.)
+        const absPath = path.join(tmpDir, 'no-such-parent', '.prettierrc');
+        const input = {
+          tool_name: 'Write',
+          tool_input: {
+            file_path: absPath,
+            content: '{}'
+          }
+        };
+
+        const rawInput = JSON.stringify(input);
+        const result = runHook(input);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.code, 0, `Expected exit 0 for ENOENT path, got ${result.code}; stderr: ${result.stderr}`);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, rawInput, 'Expected raw passthrough when path does not exist');
+      } finally {
+        try {
+          fs.rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+        } catch {
+          // best-effort cleanup
+        }
+      }
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
+
+  if (
+    test('blocks protected paths that exist as a dangling symlink', () => {
+      const tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ecc-config-protect-'));
+      try {
+        const missingTarget = path.join(tmpDir, 'nowhere.js');
+        const linkPath = path.join(tmpDir, '.eslintrc.js');
+        try {
+          fs.symlinkSync(missingTarget, linkPath);
+        } catch (err) {
+          // Windows without Developer Mode or certain sandboxes disallow
+          // symlinks. Skip cleanly rather than fail the suite.
+          if (err.code === 'EPERM' || err.code === 'EACCES') {
+            console.log('    (skipped: symlink creation not permitted here)');
+            return;
+          }
+          throw err;
+        }
+
+        const input = {
+          tool_name: 'Write',
+          tool_input: {
+            file_path: linkPath,
+            content: 'module.exports = {};'
+          }
+        };
+
+        const result = runHook(input);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.code, 2, `Expected exit 2 for dangling symlink, got ${result.code}; stderr: ${result.stderr}`);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '', 'Blocked hook should not echo raw input');
+        assert.ok(
+          result.stderr.includes('BLOCKED: Modifying .eslintrc.js is not allowed.'),
+          `Expected block message, got: ${result.stderr}`
+        );
+      } finally {
+        try {
+          fs.rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+        } catch {
+          // best-effort cleanup
+        }
+      }
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
+
+  if (
+    test('still blocks writes to an existing protected config file', () => {
+      const tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ecc-config-protect-'));
+      try {
+        const absPath = path.join(tmpDir, '.eslintrc.js');
+        fs.writeFileSync(absPath, 'module.exports = { rules: {} };');
+
+        const input = {
+          tool_name: 'Edit',
+          tool_input: {
+            file_path: absPath,
+            content: 'module.exports = { rules: { "no-console": "off" } };'
+          }
+        };
+
+        const result = runHook(input);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.code, 2, 'Expected exit 2 when modifying an existing protected config');
+        assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '', 'Blocked hook should not echo raw input');
+        assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('BLOCKED: Modifying .eslintrc.js is not allowed.'), `Expected block message, got: ${result.stderr}`);
+      } finally {
+        try {
+          fs.rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+        } catch {
+          // best-effort cleanup
+        }
+      }
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
+
+  if (
+    test('legacy hooks do not echo raw input when they fail without stdout', () => {
+      const pluginRoot = path.join(__dirname, '..', `tmp-runner-plugin-${Date.now()}`);
+      const scriptDir = path.join(pluginRoot, 'scripts', 'hooks');
+      const scriptPath = path.join(scriptDir, 'legacy-block.js');
+
+      try {
+        fs.mkdirSync(scriptDir, { recursive: true });
+        fs.writeFileSync(scriptPath, '#!/usr/bin/env node\nprocess.stderr.write("blocked by legacy hook\\n");\nprocess.exit(2);\n');
+
+        const rawInput = JSON.stringify({
+          tool_name: 'Write',
+          tool_input: {
+            file_path: '.eslintrc.js',
+            content: 'module.exports = {};'
+          }
+        });
+
+        const result = runCustomHook(pluginRoot, 'pre:legacy-block', 'scripts/hooks/legacy-block.js', rawInput);
+        assert.strictEqual(result.code, 2, 'Expected failing legacy hook exit code to propagate');
+        assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '', 'Expected failing legacy hook to avoid raw passthrough');
+        assert.ok(result.stderr.includes('blocked by legacy hook'), `Expected legacy hook stderr, got: ${result.stderr}`);
+      } finally {
+        try {
+          fs.rmSync(pluginRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
+        } catch {
+          // best-effort cleanup
+        }
+      }
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
 
   console.log(`\nResults: Passed: ${passed}, Failed: ${failed}`);
   process.exit(failed > 0 ? 1 : 0);