diff --git a/docs/persistence.md b/docs/persistence.md
index fd870523..770567b3 100644
--- a/docs/persistence.md
+++ b/docs/persistence.md
@@ -314,19 +314,29 @@ Under `/var/lib/hyperhive/agents/<name>/`:
 
 ### Parent access to child state
 
-A parent agent gets each direct child's `state`, `harness`, and
-`config` dirs bind-mounted **read-write** (`bind_child_agent_dirs` in
-`lifecycle.rs`). The RW on `state` is deliberate, not an oversight: a
-parent manages its children, which includes writing into a child's
-state for recovery (e.g. seeding notes, clearing a stuck sentinel) as
-well as reading it. `config` and `harness` are RW too, but **nothing
-justifies that for `config`**: a config change is a PR on the child's
-config repo, made from a clone, so the bind-mounted `config` dir is a
-read-only *copy* for reading a child's config — not a tree anyone edits
-in place. Narrowing it is tracked separately, and depends on relocating
-where `InitConfig` seeds. Per-child isolation still holds: a container only ever has
-its *own* dirs plus its direct children's bind-mounted, never a
-sibling's.
+A parent agent gets each direct child's `state` and `config` dirs
+bind-mounted **read-write** (`bind_child_agent_dirs` in
+`lifecycle/host_config.rs`). The RW on `state` is deliberate, not an
+oversight: a parent manages its children, which includes writing into a
+child's state for recovery (e.g. seeding notes, clearing a stuck
+sentinel) as well as reading it.
+
+**`harness` is not mounted at all.** It holds the child's own runtime
+material — `bash-tasks/`, the turn-stats and event sqlite dbs — and
+nothing argues for a parent reading it, let alone writing it. It used to
+be mounted RW for "the same management reasons" as `state`, which was
+never an argument so much as the side-effect of one loop treating all
+three dirs alike. hive-c0re reads a child's harness dir **directly on the
+host** when it wants those stats, which needs no mount into the parent.
+
+`config` is still RW, and **nothing justifies that**: a config change is
+a PR on the child's config repo, made from a clone, so the bind-mounted
+`config` dir is a read-only *copy* for reading a child's config — not a
+tree anyone edits in place. Narrowing it is tracked separately, and
+depends on relocating where `InitConfig` seeds.
+
+Per-child isolation still holds: a container only ever has its *own*
+dirs plus its direct children's bind-mounted, never a sibling's.
 
 Under `/var/lib/hyperhive/applied/<name>/` — the hive-c0re-only
 applied repo. Tracks `flake.nix` (module-only boilerplate; never
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/host_config.rs b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/host_config.rs
index 7a7c76a5..b3203627 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/host_config.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/host_config.rs
@@ -71,18 +71,31 @@ async fn systemd_daemon_reload() -> Result<()> {
 /// inside the container.
 pub const CONTAINER_MANAGER_APPLIED_MOUNT: &str = "/applied";
 
-/// Append bind flags for `child`'s state, harness, and config dirs into
-/// `binds`, all read-write. The RW on `state` is deliberate (recovery),
-/// not an oversight; see docs/persistence.md ("Parent access to child
-/// state") for the rationale. Creates missing host-side directories so
-/// nspawn doesn't refuse to start; missing dirs are non-fatal.
+/// Append bind flags for `child`'s state and config dirs into `binds`,
+/// read-write. See docs/persistence.md ("Parent access to child state")
+/// for what a parent may touch and why. Creates missing host-side
+/// directories so nspawn doesn't refuse to start; missing dirs are
+/// non-fatal.
+///
+/// **`harness` is deliberately absent.** It holds the child's own runtime
+/// material — `bash-tasks/`, turn-stats and event sqlite dbs — none of
+/// which a parent has a stated reason to read, let alone write. It was
+/// mounted only because the loop treated all three dirs alike; the three
+/// have three different answers, and the uniformity is what hid that.
+/// hive-c0re still reads a child's harness dir directly on the host
+/// (`stats::hive_stats`), which needs no bind mount into the parent.
+///
+/// `config` is RW here **pending** the sequenced change: the ruling is
+/// that it becomes read-only, but `request_init_config` still has the
+/// manager seed a new child's config in place, so flipping the mount
+/// before relocating that step breaks agent creation hive-wide.
 fn bind_child_agent_dirs(child: &str, binds: &mut Vec<BindMount>) {
     let Ok(child) = hive_types::Ident::parse(child) else {
         tracing::warn!(%child, "skipping child bind: invalid agent name");
         return;
     };
     let child_root = crate::paths::agent_state_dir(&child);
-    for sub in ["state", "harness", "config"] {
+    for sub in ["state", "config"] {
         let host = child_root.join(sub);
         let _ = std::fs::create_dir_all(&host);
         binds.push(BindMount {
@@ -338,3 +351,55 @@ async fn set_nspawn_flags(
     // Delegate the actual conf-file rewrite to hive-priv (runs as root).
     crate::priv_client::write_nspawn_flags(container, &binds, isolation, &load_creds).await
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::{BindMount, bind_child_agent_dirs};
+
+    fn child_binds() -> Vec<BindMount> {
+        let mut binds = Vec::new();
+        bind_child_agent_dirs("kiddo", &mut binds);
+        binds
+    }
+
+    /// The boundary, asserted as a whole rather than per-dir: a parent
+    /// sees a child's `state` and `config`, and nothing else.
+    #[test]
+    fn parent_sees_only_child_state_and_config() {
+        let paths: Vec<String> = child_binds()
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|b| b.container_path)
+            .collect();
+        assert_eq!(paths, ["/agents/kiddo/state", "/agents/kiddo/config"]);
+    }
+
+    /// The regression this exists for. `harness` holds the child's own
+    /// runtime material and was only ever mounted because one loop
+    /// treated all three dirs alike — re-adding it to that loop is a
+    /// one-word change that nothing else would catch.
+    #[test]
+    fn parent_never_sees_a_child_harness_dir() {
+        for bind in child_binds() {
+            assert!(
+                !bind.container_path.contains("harness"),
+                "child harness must not be bound into a parent: {}",
+                bind.container_path
+            );
+            assert!(
+                !bind.host_path.contains("harness"),
+                "child harness must not be bound into a parent: {}",
+                bind.host_path
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// An unparseable name yields no mounts at all — the guard must fail
+    /// closed, since the alternative is a path built from unvalidated
+    /// input.
+    #[test]
+    fn an_invalid_child_name_binds_nothing() {
+        let mut binds = Vec::new();
+        bind_child_agent_dirs("../escape", &mut binds);
+        assert!(binds.is_empty());
+    }
+}