diff --git a/hive-agent/src/disk_watch.rs b/hive-agent/src/disk_watch.rs
index 0054bdf3..9e3a4dc3 100644
--- a/hive-agent/src/disk_watch.rs
+++ b/hive-agent/src/disk_watch.rs
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ const REPORT_DEPTH: usize = 4;
 /// depth on a pathological tree.
 const MAX_DEPTH: usize = 24;
 /// Directory entries the scan will look at before giving up. Bounds the
-/// worst case on a huge tree; a truncated scan just names fewer dirs.
+/// worst case on a huge tree. A truncated scan names fewer dirs, and its
+/// footprint total is treated as unknown rather than small.
 const SCAN_BUDGET: u64 = 400_000;
 
 /// Background loop: periodically reconcile the disk todo. Detached task —
@@ -217,17 +218,27 @@ fn roots() -> Vec<PathBuf> {
 /// walk trades a little redundant `read_dir` work for keeping this and
 /// [`big_dirs`] as two small, independently obvious functions instead of
 /// one that returns a tuple nobody asked for.
+///
+/// A walk that runs out of its entry budget has only counted part of the
+/// tree, so its sum is a lower bound. That is reported as `u64::MAX`
+/// ("at least the floor") so a truncated scan can make the todo fire but
+/// never silence it.
 fn agent_footprint_bytes() -> u64 {
-    let mut budget = SCAN_BUDGET;
+    footprint_within(&roots(), SCAN_BUDGET)
+}
+
+/// [`agent_footprint_bytes`] over the given roots with an explicit entry
+/// budget, so the truncation rule is testable without a huge tree.
+fn footprint_within(roots: &[PathBuf], mut budget: u64) -> u64 {
     let mut discard = Vec::new();
     let mut total: u64 = 0;
-    for root in roots() {
-        let Ok(md) = std::fs::metadata(&root) else {
+    for root in roots {
+        let Ok(md) = std::fs::metadata(root) else {
             continue;
         };
-        total = total.saturating_add(dir_bytes(&root, md.dev(), 0, &mut budget, &mut discard));
+        total = total.saturating_add(dir_bytes(root, md.dev(), 0, &mut budget, &mut discard));
     }
-    total
+    if budget == 0 { u64::MAX } else { total }
 }
 
 /// Walk the agent's own tree and return the directories worth naming:
@@ -460,4 +471,19 @@ mod tests {
         reconcile(&todos, &wake, None);
         assert!(todos.list(Some(SUBSYSTEM)).expect("list").is_empty());
     }
+
+    /// A walk that fits its budget reports the real byte total; one that
+    /// runs out reports "unknown, at least the floor", so a big tree that
+    /// is only partly counted cannot fall under the footprint floor.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_truncated_footprint_walk_is_not_taken_for_a_small_one() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        for name in ["a", "b", "c", "d"] {
+            std::fs::write(dir.path().join(name), [0u8; 10]).expect("write");
+        }
+        let roots = [dir.path().to_path_buf()];
+
+        assert_eq!(footprint_within(&roots, 100), 40);
+        assert_eq!(footprint_within(&roots, 2), u64::MAX);
+    }
 }