diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/marketplace/sync.sh b/app/src-tauri/src/marketplace/sync.sh
index 06f37e4..6f2050e 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/marketplace/sync.sh
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/marketplace/sync.sh
@@ -35,9 +35,14 @@ if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
-R=$(mktemp -d) || exit 2
+R=$(mktemp -d 2>/dev/null) || R=""
+if [ -z "$R" ] || [ ! -d "$R" ]; then
+  printf '%s\n' '{"errors":["a temporary directory could not be created in the container, so marketplace items were not applied"]}'
+  exit 0
+fi
 trap 'rm -rf "$R"' EXIT
-for f in installed updated removed skipped errors newstate new_slugs final_slugs; do
+for f in installed updated removed skipped errors newstate new_slugs final_slugs \
+  hook_pending hook_removals plugin_items; do
   : >"$R/$f"
 done
 
@@ -89,19 +94,44 @@ claude_cmd() {
 
 owned() { jq -e --arg id "$1" '.items | has($id)' "$STATE" >/dev/null 2>&1; }
 prev_commit() { jq -r --arg id "$1" '.items[$id].commit // ""' "$STATE"; }
-in_manifest() {
-  jq -e --arg id "$1" 'any(.items[]; (.kind + ":" + .key) == $id)' "$MANIFEST" >/dev/null 2>&1
-}
+# Every "<kind>:<key>" the manifest names with string fields, well-formed or
+# not: a selected item that failed this run must not be removed.
+in_manifest() { grep -qxF "$1" "$R/manifest_ids"; }
 carry_forward() { record "$1" "$(jq -c --arg id "$1" '.items[$id]' "$STATE")"; }
-
-outcome() {
+# $1 = installed|updated|none for this id at this commit.
+outcome_of() {
   p=$(prev_commit "$1")
   if [ -z "$p" ]; then
-    report installed "$1"
+    echo installed
   elif [ "$p" != "$2" ]; then
-    report updated "$1"
+    echo updated
+  else
+    echo none
   fi
 }
+outcome() {
+  o=$(outcome_of "$1" "$2")
+  [ "$o" = none ] || report "$o" "$1"
+}
+# Something is in the way at a user-owned location (dangling links included).
+occupied() { [ -e "$1" ] || [ -L "$1" ]; }
+
+# The one place a destination is derived; removal never trusts a stored path.
+item_path() {
+  case "$1" in
+    agent | command) printf '%s\n' "$CLAUDE_DIR/${1}s/$2.md" ;;
+    skill) printf '%s\n' "$CLAUDE_DIR/skills/$2" ;;
+    hook) printf '%s\n' "$BASE/hooks/$2" ;;
+    *) return 1 ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+malformed() {
+  rm -rf "$WORK"
+  fail "$1"
+  emit_report
+  exit 0
+}
 
 # ── Unpack ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 if [ ! -f "$INCOMING/payload.tar" ]; then
@@ -129,27 +159,58 @@ if [ -n "$(find "$WORK" -type l -print | head -n 1)" ]; then
 fi
 MANIFEST="$WORK/manifest.json"
 if ! jq -e '.version == 1' "$MANIFEST" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-  fail "the payload manifest is missing or has an unsupported version"
-  emit_report
-  exit 0
+  malformed "the payload manifest is missing or has an unsupported version"
+fi
+# Nothing is changed (and, above all, nothing removed) unless the manifest is
+# structurally sound and every extraction below succeeds.
+if ! jq -e '(.items | type) == "array" and (.plugin_marketplaces | type) == "array"' \
+  "$MANIFEST" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  malformed "the payload manifest is malformed, so nothing was changed"
+fi
+# One line per item. Fields carry a "_" prefix so an empty one cannot make
+# `read` shift the rest (tab is IFS whitespace); @tsv escapes tabs/newlines.
+# A malformed item becomes a "bad" line instead of aborting the extraction.
+if ! {
+  jq -r '
+    .items[]
+    | if type == "object" and (.kind | type) == "string" and (.key | type) == "string"
+       and (.commit | type) == "string"
+    then ["ok", .kind, .key, .commit, (if (.slug | type) == "string" then .slug else "" end)]
+    else ["bad",
+          (if type == "object" then .kind | tostring else "?" end),
+          (if type == "object" then .key | tostring else "?" end), "", ""]
+    end
+  | map("_" + .) | @tsv' "$MANIFEST" >"$R/items.tsv" &&
+  jq -r '.items[] | objects | select((.kind | type) == "string" and (.key | type) == "string")
+    | [.kind + ":" + .key] | @tsv' "$MANIFEST" >"$R/manifest_ids" &&
+  jq -r '.plugin_marketplaces[]
+    | if type == "object" and (.slug | type) == "string" then .slug else "" end
+    | [.] | @tsv' "$MANIFEST" >"$R/new_slugs"
+}; then
+  malformed "the payload manifest could not be read, so nothing was changed"
 fi
 if ! jq -e '(.items | type) == "object"' "$STATE" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   printf '%s\n' '{"version":1,"items":{},"plugin_marketplaces":[]}' >"$STATE"
 fi
 
 # ── Agents, skills, commands, hooks ──────────────────────────────────────────
-jq -r '.items[] | select(.kind != "plugin") | [.kind, .key, .commit] | @tsv' "$MANIFEST" >"$R/items.tsv"
-while IFS="$TAB" read -r kind key commit; do
+while IFS="$TAB" read -r status kind key commit slug; do
+  status=${status#_} kind=${kind#_} key=${key#_} commit=${commit#_} slug=${slug#_}
   id="$kind:$key"
+  if [ "$status" != ok ]; then skip "$id" "malformed manifest entry"; continue; fi
   if ! valid_key "$key"; then skip "$id" "invalid item name"; continue; fi
   if ! valid_commit "$commit"; then skip "$id" "invalid commit"; continue; fi
   case "$kind" in
+    plugin)
+      # Applied per plugin marketplace below.
+      printf '%s\t%s\t%s\n' "_$key" "_$commit" "_$slug" >>"$R/plugin_items"
+      ;;
     agent | command)
       dir="$CLAUDE_DIR/${kind}s"
       src="$WORK/${kind}s/$key.md"
-      dest="$dir/$key.md"
+      dest=$(item_path "$kind" "$key")
       if [ ! -f "$src" ]; then fail "$id: missing from the payload"; continue; fi
-      if [ -e "$dest" ] && ! owned "$id"; then
+      if occupied "$dest" && ! owned "$id"; then
         skip "$id" "~/.claude/${kind}s/$key.md already exists and was not installed by Triple-C"
         continue
       fi
@@ -164,9 +225,9 @@ while IFS="$TAB" read -r kind key commit; do
     skill)
       dir="$CLAUDE_DIR/skills"
       src="$WORK/skills/$key"
-      dest="$dir/$key"
+      dest=$(item_path skill "$key")
       if [ ! -d "$src" ]; then fail "$id: missing from the payload"; continue; fi
-      if [ -e "$dest" ] && ! owned "$id"; then
+      if occupied "$dest" && ! owned "$id"; then
         skip "$id" "~/.claude/skills/$key already exists and was not installed by Triple-C"
         continue
       fi
@@ -179,9 +240,9 @@ while IFS="$TAB" read -r kind key commit; do
       ;;
     hook)
       src="$WORK/hooks/$key"
-      dest="$BASE/hooks/$key"
+      dest=$(item_path hook "$key")
       entries=$(jq -c --arg k "$key" \
-        'first(.items[] | select(.kind == "hook" and .key == $k) | .settings) // {}' "$MANIFEST")
+        'first(.items[] | objects | select(.kind == "hook" and .key == $k) | .settings) // {}' "$MANIFEST")
       if ! printf '%s' "$entries" | jq -e 'type == "object" and all(.[]; type == "array")' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         skip "$id" "its hook settings are not an object of arrays"
         continue
@@ -191,7 +252,8 @@ while IFS="$TAB" read -r kind key commit; do
         fail "$id: could not write $dest"
         continue
       fi
-      outcome "$id" "$commit"
+      # Reported only once its entries are in settings.json (see below).
+      printf '%s\t%s\n' "$(outcome_of "$id" "$commit")" "$id" >>"$R/hook_pending"
       record "$id" "$(jq -cn --arg c "$commit" --arg p "$dest" --argjson e "$entries" \
         '{commit: $c, path: $p, entries: $e}')"
       ;;
@@ -209,14 +271,18 @@ while read -r id; do
   if grep -qxF "$id" "$R/new_ids"; then continue; fi
   # Still selected but failed this run: keep the old files and record.
   if in_manifest "$id"; then carry_forward "$id"; continue; fi
-  path=$(jq -r --arg id "$id" '.items[$id].path // ""' "$STATE")
-  case "$path" in
-    */../* | */..) fail "$id: refusing to remove unexpected path $path" ;;
-    "$CLAUDE_DIR"/*)
-      if rm -rf "$path"; then report removed "$id"; else fail "$id: could not remove $path"; fi
-      ;;
-    *) fail "$id: refusing to remove unexpected path $path" ;;
-  esac
+  kind=${id%%:*}
+  key=${id#*:}
+  if ! valid_key "$key" || ! path=$(item_path "$kind" "$key"); then
+    fail "$id: dropped an unrecognised record from the marketplace state"
+    continue
+  fi
+  if [ "$kind" = hook ]; then
+    # Removed once its entries are out of settings.json (see below).
+    printf '%s\n' "$id" >>"$R/hook_removals"
+    continue
+  fi
+  if rm -rf "$path"; then report removed "$id"; else fail "$id: could not remove $path"; fi
 done <"$R/old_ids"
 
 # ── Hook entries in settings.json ────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -227,43 +293,64 @@ OLD_HOOKS=$(jq -c "[.items[]] | $MERGE_ENTRIES" "$STATE")
 NEW_HOOKS=$(cut -f2- "$R/newstate" | jq -cs "$MERGE_ENTRIES")
 HOOKS_FAILED=0
 if [ "$OLD_HOOKS" != "{}" ] || [ "$NEW_HOOKS" != "{}" ]; then
-  if [ -f "$SETTINGS" ]; then
-    current="$SETTINGS"
-  else
-    printf '{}\n' >"$R/empty.json"
-    current="$R/empty.json"
+  # A dotfiles symlink stays a symlink: write through to its target.
+  target="$SETTINGS"
+  if [ -L "$SETTINGS" ]; then
+    target=$(readlink -f "$SETTINGS" 2>/dev/null) || target=""
   fi
+  tmp="$target.tmp.$$"
   # settings.json may hold secrets and the entrypoint keeps it 0600: create
   # the replacement private and keep it that way (pre-flight N11).
   saved_umask=$(umask)
   umask 077
-  if jq --argjson old "$OLD_HOOKS" --argjson new "$NEW_HOOKS" '
-      def remove_first($x):
-        (to_entries | map(select(.value == $x)) | first(.[].key) // null) as $i
-        | if $i == null then . else del(.[$i]) end;
-      reduce ($old | to_entries[]) as $ev (.;
-        if (.hooks[$ev.key] | type) == "array"
-        then reduce $ev.value[] as $g (.; .hooks[$ev.key] |= remove_first($g))
-        else . end)
-      | reduce ($new | to_entries[]) as $ev (.;
-          .hooks[$ev.key] = ((.hooks[$ev.key] // []) + $ev.value))
-      | if (.hooks | type) == "object" then .hooks |= with_entries(select(.value != [])) else . end
-      | if .hooks == {} then del(.hooks) else . end
-    ' "$current" >"$SETTINGS.tmp.$$"; then
-    mv -f "$SETTINGS.tmp.$$" "$SETTINGS"
-    chmod 600 "$SETTINGS"
-  else
-    rm -f "$SETTINGS.tmp.$$"
+  if [ -z "$target" ] || { [ -e "$target" ] && [ ! -f "$target" ]; }; then
     HOOKS_FAILED=1
-    fail "~/.claude/settings.json is not valid JSON, so hook changes were not applied"
+    fail "~/.claude/settings.json is not a regular file, so hook changes were not applied"
+  elif [ -f "$target" ] && ! jq -s '
+      if length == 0 then {}
+      elif length == 1 and (.[0] | type) == "object" then .[0]
+      else error("not a JSON object") end' "$target" >"$R/current.json" 2>/dev/null; then
+    HOOKS_FAILED=1
+    fail "~/.claude/settings.json is not a JSON object, so hook changes were not applied"
+  else
+    # Missing, empty and whitespace-only files all read as {}.
+    [ -f "$target" ] || printf '{}\n' >"$R/current.json"
+    if jq --argjson old "$OLD_HOOKS" --argjson new "$NEW_HOOKS" '
+        def remove_first($x):
+          (to_entries | map(select(.value == $x)) | first(.[].key) // null) as $i
+          | if $i == null then . else del(.[$i]) end;
+        reduce ($old | to_entries[]) as $ev (.;
+          if (.hooks[$ev.key] | type) == "array"
+          then reduce $ev.value[] as $g (.; .hooks[$ev.key] |= remove_first($g))
+          else . end)
+        | reduce ($new | to_entries[]) as $ev (.;
+            .hooks[$ev.key] = ((.hooks[$ev.key] // []) + $ev.value))
+        | if (.hooks | type) == "object" then .hooks |= with_entries(select(.value != [])) else . end
+        | if .hooks == {} then del(.hooks) else . end
+      ' "$R/current.json" >"$tmp" 2>/dev/null &&
+      jq -e 'type == "object"' "$tmp" >/dev/null 2>&1 &&
+      mv -f "$tmp" "$target"; then
+      chmod 600 "$target"
+    else
+      rm -f "$tmp"
+      HOOKS_FAILED=1
+      fail "~/.claude/settings.json could not be updated, so hook changes were not applied"
+    fi
   fi
   umask "$saved_umask"
 fi
+if [ "$HOOKS_FAILED" = 0 ]; then
+  while IFS="$TAB" read -r o id; do
+    [ "$o" = none ] || report "$o" "$id"
+  done <"$R/hook_pending"
+  while read -r id; do
+    key=${id#hook:}
+    if rm -rf "$(item_path hook "$key")"; then report removed "$id"; else fail "$id: could not remove its files"; fi
+  done <"$R/hook_removals"
+fi
 
 # ── Plugins ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 jq -r '.plugin_marketplaces[]?' "$STATE" >"$R/old_slugs"
-# @tsv escapes newlines and tabs, so one hostile slug stays one (invalid) line.
-jq -r '.plugin_marketplaces[] | [.slug] | @tsv' "$MANIFEST" >"$R/new_slugs"
 while read -r slug; do
   if ! valid_slug "$slug"; then fail "invalid plugin marketplace name"; continue; fi
   mname="triple-c-$slug"
@@ -278,12 +365,10 @@ while read -r slug; do
     claude_cmd plugin marketplace update "$mname" || { fail "$mname: could not be registered"; continue; }
   fi
   printf '%s\n' "$slug" >>"$R/final_slugs"
-  jq -r --arg s "$slug" '.items[] | select(.kind == "plugin" and .slug == $s) | [.key, .commit] | @tsv' \
-    "$MANIFEST" >"$R/plugins.tsv"
-  while IFS="$TAB" read -r key commit; do
+  while IFS="$TAB" read -r key commit pslug; do
+    key=${key#_} commit=${commit#_} pslug=${pslug#_}
+    [ "$pslug" = "$slug" ] || continue
     id="plugin:$key"
-    if ! valid_key "$key"; then skip "$id" "invalid item name"; continue; fi
-    if ! valid_commit "$commit"; then skip "$id" "invalid commit"; continue; fi
     p=$(prev_commit "$id")
     if [ -z "$p" ]; then
       claude_cmd plugin install "$key@$mname" || { fail "$id: install failed"; continue; }
@@ -294,7 +379,7 @@ while read -r slug; do
       report updated "$id"
     fi
     record "$id" "$(jq -cn --arg c "$commit" --arg s "$slug" '{commit: $c, slug: $s}')"
-  done <"$R/plugins.tsv"
+  done <"$R/plugin_items"
 done <"$R/new_slugs"
 
 # Plugins no longer selected.
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/marketplace/sync_script_tests.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/marketplace/sync_script_tests.rs
index 664ef6b..72968ea 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/marketplace/sync_script_tests.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/marketplace/sync_script_tests.rs
@@ -93,9 +93,15 @@ fn run(env: &Env) -> SyncReport {
 
 /// Run the script under a specific shell (`sh` is dash on Ubuntu).
 fn run_with(env: &Env, shell: &str) -> SyncReport {
+    run_full(env, shell, &[])
+}
+
+/// Run the script with extra environment variables.
+fn run_full(env: &Env, shell: &str, extra: &[(&str, &str)]) -> SyncReport {
     let out = Command::new(shell)
         .arg(&env.script)
         .env_clear()
+        .envs(extra.iter().copied())
         .env("HOME", &env.home)
         .env(
             "PATH",
@@ -588,3 +594,260 @@ fn sync_skips_user_owned_skill_and_command() {
     assert_eq!(fs::read_to_string(&skill).unwrap(), "mine\n");
     assert_eq!(fs::read_to_string(&command).unwrap(), "mine\n");
 }
+
+// ── Review fix round 1 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+fn install_all(env: &Env) {
+    let (files, manifest) = all_kinds(C1);
+    payload(env, &files, manifest);
+    let r = run(env);
+    assert_eq!(r.installed.len(), 4, "{r:?}");
+}
+
+fn assert_all_installed(env: &Env) {
+    let claude = env.home.join(".claude");
+    assert!(claude.join("agents/code-reviewer.md").is_file());
+    assert!(claude.join("skills/example-skill/SKILL.md").is_file());
+    assert!(claude.join("commands/example-command.md").is_file());
+    assert!(claude
+        .join("triple-c/hooks/notify-on-stop/notify.sh")
+        .is_file());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn sync_malformed_item_neither_aborts_nor_removes() {
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    install_all(&env);
+
+    // Malformed entries first, then the valid ones; the still-selected agent
+    // has a non-string commit.
+    let (files, mut manifest) = all_kinds(C1);
+    manifest["items"][0]["commit"] = json!(7);
+    let items = manifest["items"].as_array().unwrap().clone();
+    let mut all = vec![
+        json!({ "kind": "agent", "key": { "x": 1 }, "marketplace": "m1", "commit": C1 }),
+        json!(5),
+        json!({ "kind": ["agent"], "key": "k", "marketplace": "m1", "commit": C1 }),
+        json!({ "kind": "plugin", "key": { "y": 1 }, "marketplace": "m1", "commit": C1, "slug": SLUG }),
+    ];
+    all.extend(items);
+    manifest["items"] = Value::Array(all);
+    payload(&env, &files, manifest);
+
+    let r = run(&env);
+
+    assert!(r.removed.is_empty(), "{r:?}");
+    assert!(r.errors.is_empty(), "{r:?}");
+    assert_all_installed(&env);
+    let skipped = r
+        .skipped
+        .iter()
+        .map(|s| s.item.as_str())
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    assert!(skipped.contains(&"agent:code-reviewer"), "{r:?}");
+    assert_eq!(r.skipped.len(), 5, "{r:?}");
+
+    // The carried-forward record is still owned: deselecting removes it.
+    payload(&env, &[], empty_manifest());
+    let r = run(&env);
+    assert_eq!(r.removed.len(), 4, "{r:?}");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn sync_structurally_bad_manifest_removes_nothing() {
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    install_all(&env);
+    for bad in [
+        json!({ "version": 1 }),
+        json!({ "version": 1, "items": {}, "plugin_marketplaces": [] }),
+        json!({ "version": 1, "items": [], "plugin_marketplaces": "x" }),
+    ] {
+        payload(&env, &[], bad.clone());
+        let r = run(&env);
+        assert!(r.removed.is_empty(), "{bad}: {r:?}");
+        assert_eq!(r.errors.len(), 1, "{bad}: {r:?}");
+        assert_all_installed(&env);
+    }
+    // State survived: a real deselection still removes everything.
+    payload(&env, &[], empty_manifest());
+    assert_eq!(run(&env).removed.len(), 4);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn sync_treats_blank_settings_as_empty() {
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    let settings_path = env.home.join(".claude/settings.json");
+    fs::create_dir_all(settings_path.parent().unwrap()).unwrap();
+    fs::write(&settings_path, "  \n\t\n").unwrap();
+    let (files, manifest) = all_kinds(C1);
+    payload(&env, &files, manifest);
+
+    let r = run(&env);
+
+    assert!(r.errors.is_empty(), "{r:?}");
+    assert!(
+        r.installed.contains(&"hook:notify-on-stop".to_string()),
+        "{r:?}"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(read_json(&settings_path)["hooks"], hook_settings());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn sync_does_not_report_hooks_it_could_not_wire() {
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    let settings_path = env.home.join(".claude/settings.json");
+    fs::create_dir_all(settings_path.parent().unwrap()).unwrap();
+    for bad in ["[1]", "{\"a\":", "{} {}"] {
+        fs::write(&settings_path, bad).unwrap();
+        let (files, manifest) = all_kinds(C1);
+        payload(&env, &files, manifest);
+        let r = run(&env);
+        assert!(
+            !r.installed.contains(&"hook:notify-on-stop".to_string()),
+            "{bad}: {r:?}"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(r.errors.len(), 1, "{bad}: {r:?}");
+        assert_eq!(
+            fs::read_to_string(&settings_path).unwrap(),
+            bad,
+            "left untouched"
+        );
+    }
+    // Once settings.json is fixed the hook is installed for real.
+    fs::write(&settings_path, "{}").unwrap();
+    let (files, manifest) = all_kinds(C1);
+    payload(&env, &files, manifest);
+    let r = run(&env);
+    assert_eq!(r.installed, vec!["hook:notify-on-stop"], "{r:?}");
+    assert_eq!(read_json(&settings_path)["hooks"], hook_settings());
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+#[test]
+fn sync_skips_dangling_user_symlinks() {
+    use std::os::unix::fs::symlink;
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    let claude = env.home.join(".claude");
+    let agent = claude.join("agents/code-reviewer.md");
+    let skill = claude.join("skills/example-skill");
+    for p in [&agent, &skill] {
+        fs::create_dir_all(p.parent().unwrap()).unwrap();
+        symlink("/nonexistent/dotfiles/target", p).unwrap();
+    }
+    let (files, manifest) = all_kinds(C1);
+    payload(&env, &files, manifest);
+
+    let r = run(&env);
+
+    let skipped = sorted(r.skipped.iter().map(|s| s.item.clone()).collect());
+    assert_eq!(
+        skipped,
+        vec!["agent:code-reviewer", "skill:example-skill"],
+        "{r:?}"
+    );
+    for p in [&agent, &skill] {
+        assert_eq!(
+            fs::read_link(p).unwrap(),
+            Path::new("/nonexistent/dotfiles/target")
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn sync_removal_never_uses_paths_from_state() {
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    install_all(&env);
+    let claude = env.home.join(".claude");
+    let keep = claude.join("keep.txt");
+    fs::write(&keep, "keep").unwrap();
+    let state_path = claude.join("triple-c/marketplace/state.json");
+    let mut state = read_json(&state_path);
+    state["items"]["agent:code-reviewer"]["path"] = json!(format!("{}/", claude.display()));
+    state["items"]["skill:example-skill"]["path"] =
+        json!(format!("{}/.claude", env.home.display()));
+    state["items"]["command:example-command"]["path"] = json!(keep.display().to_string());
+    fs::write(&state_path, state.to_string()).unwrap();
+
+    payload(&env, &[], empty_manifest());
+    let r = run(&env);
+
+    assert_eq!(r.removed.len(), 4, "{r:?}");
+    assert_eq!(fs::read_to_string(&keep).unwrap(), "keep");
+    assert!(!claude.join("agents/code-reviewer.md").exists());
+    assert!(!claude.join("skills/example-skill").exists());
+    assert!(!claude.join("commands/example-command.md").exists());
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+#[test]
+fn sync_writes_through_a_symlinked_settings_json() {
+    use std::os::unix::fs::symlink;
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    let dotfiles = env.home.join("dotfiles/settings.json");
+    fs::create_dir_all(dotfiles.parent().unwrap()).unwrap();
+    fs::write(&dotfiles, r#"{"model":"opus"}"#).unwrap();
+    let settings_path = env.home.join(".claude/settings.json");
+    fs::create_dir_all(settings_path.parent().unwrap()).unwrap();
+    symlink(&dotfiles, &settings_path).unwrap();
+    let (files, manifest) = all_kinds(C1);
+    payload(&env, &files, manifest);
+
+    let r = run(&env);
+
+    assert!(r.errors.is_empty(), "{r:?}");
+    assert!(
+        fs::symlink_metadata(&settings_path)
+            .unwrap()
+            .file_type()
+            .is_symlink(),
+        "link kept"
+    );
+    let merged = read_json(&dotfiles);
+    assert_eq!(merged["model"], "opus");
+    assert_eq!(merged["hooks"], hook_settings());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn sync_reports_when_mktemp_fails() {
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    let r = run_full(&env, "sh", &[("TMPDIR", "/nonexistent/triple-c-tmp")]);
+    assert_eq!(r.errors.len(), 1, "{r:?}");
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+#[test]
+fn sync_settings_move_failure_is_reported_and_not_recorded() {
+    use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
+    let Some(env) = env() else { return };
+    // An `mv` that refuses to replace settings.json and delegates otherwise.
+    let mv = env.stub_dir.join("mv");
+    fs::write(
+        &mv,
+        "#!/bin/sh\nfor a; do last=$a; done\ncase \"$last\" in */settings.json) exit 1 ;; esac\nexec /bin/mv \"$@\"\n",
+    )
+    .unwrap();
+    fs::set_permissions(&mv, fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o755)).unwrap();
+    let (files, manifest) = all_kinds(C1);
+    payload(&env, &files, manifest);
+
+    let r = run(&env);
+
+    assert_eq!(r.errors.len(), 1, "{r:?}");
+    assert!(
+        !r.installed.contains(&"hook:notify-on-stop".to_string()),
+        "{r:?}"
+    );
+    let claude = env.home.join(".claude");
+    assert!(!claude.join("settings.json").exists());
+    let leftovers: Vec<_> = fs::read_dir(&claude)
+        .unwrap()
+        .filter_map(|e| e.ok())
+        .filter(|e| e.file_name().to_string_lossy().contains(".tmp."))
+        .collect();
+    assert!(leftovers.is_empty(), "temp file cleaned up");
+    let state = read_json(&claude.join("triple-c/marketplace/state.json"));
+    assert!(
+        state["items"].get("hook:notify-on-stop").is_none(),
+        "{state}"
+    );
+}