diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 3d77ca1cf9..0c559e5193 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -296,6 +296,9 @@ jobs:
       - run: cd cli && npm run lint && npm test
       - name: Verify CLI test temp cleanup
         run: cd cli && npm run test:temp-cleanup
+      # The seats package is bundled into the CLI, but its node:test suite sits
+      # outside the CLI's jest roots, so no other step runs it. No dependencies.
+      - run: cd packages/seats && npm test
       - run: cd workers/agent-runtime && npm run typecheck && npm test
 
   test-gate:
diff --git a/packages/seats/src/valet/env.js b/packages/seats/src/valet/env.js
index fe37dfefbe..507bcaa186 100644
--- a/packages/seats/src/valet/env.js
+++ b/packages/seats/src/valet/env.js
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
  * (Seatbelt, bwrap) is what stops a process that goes looking.
  */
 import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto';
+import { realpathSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { mkdtemp, mkdir, chmod, readFile, rm } from 'node:fs/promises';
 import { homedir, tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 import { delimiter, join, resolve, sep } from 'node:path';
@@ -35,6 +36,10 @@ const isInside = (path, dir) => {
  * read the user's login (~/.local/bin/claude). Adapters run their CLI by
  * absolute path, so the run loses nothing it needs.
  */
+// A HOME reached through a symlink (macOS /var -> /private/var) shows up in
+// PATH under its resolved path too, e.g. npm's cwd-derived node_modules/.bin.
+const spellings = (dir) => { try { return [dir, realpathSync(dir)]; } catch { return [dir]; } };
+
 const scrubPath = (value, realHomes) => value.split(delimiter)
   .filter((entry) => entry && !realHomes.some((home) => isInside(entry, home)))
   .join(delimiter);
@@ -122,7 +127,7 @@ export const prepareRunEnv = async ({
   const hook = trace && typeof trace.emit === 'function' ? trace : traceOf(ctx);
   const issued = grantMeta ? grantIssued(grantMeta) : null;
   if (issued) hook.emit('grant.issued', issued);
-  const realHomes = [...new Set([baseEnv.HOME, homedir()].filter(Boolean))];
+  const realHomes = [...new Set([baseEnv.HOME, homedir()].filter(Boolean).flatMap(spellings))];
   const DENIED = {
     not_granted: 'is not in the run grant',
     unresolved: 'could not be resolved',
diff --git a/packages/seats/test/valet-env.test.js b/packages/seats/test/valet-env.test.js
index 6218f3a5a2..aca618fff1 100644
--- a/packages/seats/test/valet-env.test.js
+++ b/packages/seats/test/valet-env.test.js
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import { test } from 'node:test';
 import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
 import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, readdirSync as readdir, rmSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, readdirSync as readdir, realpathSync, rmSync, statSync, symlinkSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { homedir, tmpdir } from 'node:os';
-import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { delimiter, join, sep } from 'node:path';
 import { prepareRunEnv } from '../src/valet/env.js';
 import { createTraceStore } from '../src/trace/store.js';
 import { RunFailure } from '../src/failures.js';
@@ -12,6 +12,11 @@ const REAL_HOME = homedir();
 const GRANTED = 'sk-granted-0123456789abcdef';
 const WITHHELD = 'sk-withheld-fedcba9876543210';
 
+// True when value names dir or a path inside it. A bare substring check also matches a
+// sibling that only shares the prefix: under HOME=/home/node, npm's own PATH entry
+// /home/node_modules/.bin is outside HOME, and env.js rightly keeps it.
+const namesPath = (value, dir) => new RegExp(`${dir.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&')}(?=$|[${sep}${delimiter}])`).test(value);
+
 const recorder = () => { const events = []; return { events, emit: (type, data) => events.push({ type, data }) }; };
 const withScratch = async (fn) => {
   const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'seats-valet-'));
@@ -61,8 +66,8 @@ test('a real child sees only the granted key, a throwaway HOME, and no path to t
     assert.equal(seen.homedir, run.home);
     assert.ok(run.home.startsWith(root));
     for (const [name, value] of Object.entries(seen.env)) {
-      assert.ok(!value.includes(loginHome), `${name} leaks the login HOME path: ${value}`);
-      assert.ok(!value.includes(REAL_HOME), `${name} leaks the real HOME path: ${value}`);
+      assert.ok(!namesPath(value, loginHome), `${name} leaks the login HOME path: ${value}`);
+      assert.ok(!namesPath(value, REAL_HOME), `${name} leaks the real HOME path: ${value}`);
     }
     assert.equal(seen.claude, false, '~/.claude is not reachable via HOME');
     assert.equal(seen.codex, false, '~/.codex is not reachable via HOME');
@@ -94,6 +99,16 @@ test('the base env keeps only the allowlist, and PATH loses entries under the re
   } finally { await run.cleanup(); }
 }));
 
+test('a HOME reached through a symlink loses PATH entries under its resolved path too', () => withScratch(async (root) => {
+  const real = join(realpathSync(root), 'real-home');
+  mkdirSync(real);
+  const link = join(root, 'home-link');
+  symlinkSync(real, link);
+  const baseEnv = { HOME: link, PATH: `/usr/bin:${real}/work/node_modules/.bin:${link}/.local/bin:/bin` };
+  const run = await prepareRunEnv({ grant: {}, baseEnv, root });
+  try { assert.equal(run.env.PATH, '/usr/bin:/bin'); } finally { await run.cleanup(); }
+}));
+
 test('file and resolver credentials resolve; resolveSecret sees the name and spec', () => withScratch(async (root) => {
   const keyFile = join(root, 'key.txt');
   writeFileSync(keyFile, 'from-file-value\n', { mode: 0o600 });