diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 95039fd9..94edd1a1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,17 @@ new version heading in the same commit.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.446.1] - 2026-09-17
+### Fixed
+- **The pause test raced the launcher and blocked the deploy.** `session-pause-test.cjs`'s HTTP section
+  asserted the row was `running` after unpause, but `launchAgentRuntime` hands the real launch to a
+  `setImmediate` whose `.catch` stamps the row `crashed` — and that deferred half does far more than the
+  stubbed `backend.spawn` (env files, skills, credentials). On a box where any of it throws, the status
+  flipped between the `await` and the read: instawp failed the assertion, expresstech passed it, and
+  `make-live.sh` correctly refused to restart anything. The section stubs the deferred launch (it is about
+  the route and the status transition, not the launcher) and both status assertions now report the value
+  they actually found.
+
 ## [0.446.0] - 2026-09-17
 ### Added
 - **Pause a session.** A new session status, `paused`, that is neither live nor finished: pausing kills the
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index b5a21f7a..fecf137a 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "agent-os",
-  "version": "0.446.0",
+  "version": "0.446.1",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "agent-os",
-      "version": "0.446.0",
+      "version": "0.446.1",
       "license": "MIT",
       "bin": {
         "agent-os": "bin/agent-os"
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 270b5902..62379607 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "agent-os",
-  "version": "0.446.0",
+  "version": "0.446.1",
   "description": "A generic, governed operating system for running autonomous agents safely across brands. Ships with a local web console.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "type": "commonjs",
diff --git a/scripts/session-pause-test.cjs b/scripts/session-pause-test.cjs
index 1a037a95..0f853510 100644
--- a/scripts/session-pause-test.cjs
+++ b/scripts/session-pause-test.cjs
@@ -233,6 +233,13 @@ console.log('\n\x1b[1m10) end to end over real HTTP — the routes, the gate and
   htm.backend.spawn = (_s, o) => { live.add(o.tmuxName); };
   htm.backend.capturePane = () => '';
   htm.backend.hasClient = () => false;
+  // Neutralise the DEFERRED half of a launch. `launchAgentRuntime` stamps `launching` synchronously and
+  // hands the real work to a setImmediate whose `.catch` stamps the row `crashed` — and that work does far
+  // more than `backend.spawn` (env files, skills, credentials), so on a box where any of it throws the row
+  // flips out from under the assertion below between the `await` and the read. Live: instawp failed
+  // `the row is running again` on exactly that race while expresstech passed, which is the worst shape a
+  // test can have. This section is about the ROUTE and the status transition; the launcher has its own.
+  htm.launchAgentRuntimeNow = async () => {};
 
   const post = (u, cookie) => fetch(base + u, { method: 'POST', headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json', ...(cookie ? { cookie } : {}) }, body: '{}' });
 
@@ -250,7 +257,8 @@ console.log('\n\x1b[1m10) end to end over real HTTP — the routes, the gate and
 
   const paused = await post(`/api/sessions/${sid}/pause`, cookie).then((r) => r.json());
   assert(paused.ok === true, 'an authenticated owner can pause it over HTTP', paused);
-  assert(haos.db.prepare('SELECT status FROM term_sessions WHERE id = ?').get(sid).status === 'paused', 'the row is paused');
+  const statusOf = () => haos.db.prepare('SELECT status FROM term_sessions WHERE id = ?').get(sid).status;
+  assert(statusOf() === 'paused', 'the row is paused', statusOf());
 
   // The browser terminal must be refused while paused — this is the "readable, never usable" half.
   const attach = await fetch(base + `/api/sessions/${sid}/attach`, { headers: { cookie } });
@@ -264,7 +272,7 @@ console.log('\n\x1b[1m10) end to end over real HTTP — the routes, the gate and
 
   const back = await post(`/api/sessions/${sid}/unpause`, cookie).then((r) => r.json());
   assert(back.ok === true, 'unpause succeeds over HTTP', back);
-  assert(haos.db.prepare('SELECT status FROM term_sessions WHERE id = ?').get(sid).status === 'running', 'and the row is running again');
+  assert(statusOf() === 'running', 'and the row is running again', statusOf());
 
   server.close();
   try { registry.stopAll(); } catch { /* best effort */ }