diff --git a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/core.js b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/core.js
index 41f9d9f0..bcd74870 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/core.js
+++ b/frontend/packages/dashboard/src/core.js
@@ -20,15 +20,11 @@ let metaInputsState = [];
 let metaUpdateRunning = false;
 let tombstonesState = [];
 let rebuildQueueState = [];
-// Live container names — used by the stale-perms ghost filter.
-let liveContainerNames = new Set();
-
 function syncFromSnapshot(s) {
   metaInputsState = (s.meta_inputs || []).slice();
   metaUpdateRunning = !!s.meta_update_running;
   tombstonesState = (s.tombstones || []).slice();
   rebuildQueueState = (s.rebuild_queue || []).slice();
-  liveContainerNames = new Set((s.containers || []).map((c) => c.name));
 }
 
 // ─── meta inputs ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -452,8 +448,11 @@ function renderTombstones(s) {
 
 // ─── stale permission entries (K3PT ST4T3 pane sub-section) ──────────────
 // Agents with explicit capability / tool-group JSON entries but no live
-// container (e.g. renamed agents like the old "root" manager name). Lazy-
-// loaded on first "kept" tab activation; refreshed when perm data changes.
+// container AND no kept-state tombstone (e.g. renamed agents like the old
+// "root" manager name). Ghost detection is server-side via
+// GET /api/permissions/stale so the client doesn't need to maintain a
+// container-roster cache or perform set arithmetic. Lazy-loaded on first
+// "kept" tab activation; refreshed when perm data changes via SSE.
 let stalePermsLoaded = false;
 
 function renderStalePerms(root, ghosts) {
@@ -462,7 +461,7 @@ function renderStalePerms(root, ghosts) {
   root.append(el('p', { class: 'tombstones-stale-heading' }, 'stale permission entries'));
   root.append(el('p', { class: 'meta' },
     'agents with explicit capability or tool-group entries but no live container '
-    + '(typically renamed or manually-deleted agents whose JSON entries persisted).'));
+    + 'or kept state (typically renamed or manually-deleted agents whose JSON entries persisted).'));
   const errP = el('p', { class: 'tombstones-stale-err', hidden: true });
   const ul = el('ul', { class: 'tombstones-stale-list' });
   for (const name of ghosts) {
@@ -500,25 +499,21 @@ function renderStalePerms(root, ghosts) {
   root.append(ul, errP);
 }
 
+// Ghost detection is entirely server-side: GET /api/permissions/stale
+// returns the computed list of agent names that have explicit JSON entries
+// but are absent from both the live roster and the kept-state tombstones.
+// One call, no client-side roster cache, always authoritative.
 async function fetchAndRenderStalePerms() {
   const root = $('tombstones-stale-perms');
   if (!root) return;
   try {
-    const [capsResp, tgResp] = await Promise.all([
-      fetch('/api/capabilities'),
-      fetch('/api/tool-groups'),
-    ]);
-    const capsData = capsResp.ok ? await capsResp.json() : { assignments: {} };
-    const tgData = tgResp.ok ? await tgResp.json() : { assignments: {} };
-    const explicit = new Set([
-      ...Object.keys(capsData.assignments || {}),
-      ...Object.keys(tgData.assignments || {}),
-    ]);
-    const ghosts = [...explicit].filter((n) => !liveContainerNames.has(n)).sort();
-    renderStalePerms(root, ghosts);
+    const resp = await fetch('/api/permissions/stale');
+    if (!resp.ok) throw new Error('http ' + resp.status);
+    const data = await resp.json();
+    renderStalePerms(root, data.stale || []);
   } catch (err) {
     root.replaceChildren();
-    root.append(el('p', { class: 'meta' }, 'failed to load perm data: ' + err));
+    root.append(el('p', { class: 'meta' }, 'failed to load stale perm data: ' + err));
   }
   stalePermsLoaded = true;
 }
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs
index 693c517a..c6da06a8 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs
@@ -115,6 +115,10 @@ pub async fn serve(port: u16, coord: Arc<Coordinator>) -> Result<()> {
             post(permissions::post_capabilities),
         )
         .route("/api/permissions", post(permissions::post_permissions))
+        .route(
+            "/api/permissions/stale",
+            get(permissions::get_stale_permissions),
+        )
         .route(
             "/api/permissions/{agent}",
             axum::routing::delete(permissions::delete_agent_permissions),
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard/permissions.rs b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard/permissions.rs
index 87031e5d..1b62dd20 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard/permissions.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard/permissions.rs
@@ -312,6 +312,52 @@ pub(super) async fn post_permissions(
     Ok((StatusCode::OK, "ok").into_response())
 }
 
+/// Agent names that have explicit capability/tool-group entries but are
+/// not in the live container roster AND not in the kept-state tombstone
+/// list (i.e. truly gone — renamed or destroyed agents whose JSON entries
+/// persisted). The client uses this to drive the "stale permission entries"
+/// sub-section in K3PT ST4T3 without having to fetch three separate
+/// endpoints and perform set arithmetic on the client side.
+#[derive(Serialize)]
+pub(super) struct StalePermsResponse {
+    /// Ghost agent names, sorted. Empty list → no stale entries.
+    stale: Vec<String>,
+}
+
+pub(super) async fn get_stale_permissions(
+    State(state): State<AppState>,
+) -> axum::Json<StalePermsResponse> {
+    // Live container names — includes stopped-but-configured containers.
+    let live: std::collections::HashSet<String> = state
+        .coord
+        .containers_snapshot()
+        .await
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|c| c.name)
+        .collect();
+    // Kept-state directories — any name here is a tombstone, not a ghost.
+    let tombstones: std::collections::HashSet<String> =
+        crate::coordinator::Coordinator::kept_state_names()
+            .into_iter()
+            .collect();
+    // Known = live roster ∪ tombstones.
+    let known: std::collections::HashSet<&String> =
+        live.iter().chain(tombstones.iter()).collect();
+    // Explicit entries in either JSON file.
+    let caps = crate::capabilities::read();
+    let tgs = crate::tool_groups::read();
+    let mut ghost_names: Vec<String> = caps
+        .keys()
+        .chain(tgs.keys())
+        .filter(|n| !known.contains(n))
+        .cloned()
+        .collect::<std::collections::HashSet<_>>()
+        .into_iter()
+        .collect();
+    ghost_names.sort();
+    axum::Json(StalePermsResponse { stale: ghost_names })
+}
+
 /// Clear all explicit permission entries for a named agent without
 /// requiring it to exist in the live roster. Used by the P3RM1SS10NS
 /// tab's "remove" button for agents that have stale explicit entries