diff --git a/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.context-engine-helpers.ts b/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.context-engine-helpers.ts
index 94c363a5866..b3d941ba9be 100644
--- a/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.context-engine-helpers.ts
+++ b/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.context-engine-helpers.ts
@@ -199,6 +199,9 @@ export async function finalizeAttemptContextEngineTurn(params: {
   }) => Promise<unknown>;
   sessionManager: unknown;
   warn: (message: string) => void;
+  /** When true, skip the afterTurn/ingest calls because the loop hook already
+   *  handled per-iteration ingestion during the tool loop. Maintenance still runs. */
+  skipAfterTurn?: boolean;
 }) {
   if (!params.contextEngine) {
     return { postTurnFinalizationSucceeded: true };
@@ -206,47 +209,49 @@ export async function finalizeAttemptContextEngineTurn(params: {
 
   let postTurnFinalizationSucceeded = true;
 
-  if (typeof params.contextEngine.afterTurn === "function") {
-    try {
-      await params.contextEngine.afterTurn({
-        sessionId: params.sessionIdUsed,
-        sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
-        sessionFile: params.sessionFile,
-        messages: params.messagesSnapshot,
-        prePromptMessageCount: params.prePromptMessageCount,
-        tokenBudget: params.tokenBudget,
-        runtimeContext: params.runtimeContext,
-      });
-    } catch (afterTurnErr) {
-      postTurnFinalizationSucceeded = false;
-      params.warn(`context engine afterTurn failed: ${String(afterTurnErr)}`);
-    }
-  } else {
-    const newMessages = params.messagesSnapshot.slice(params.prePromptMessageCount);
-    if (newMessages.length > 0) {
-      if (typeof params.contextEngine.ingestBatch === "function") {
-        try {
-          await params.contextEngine.ingestBatch({
-            sessionId: params.sessionIdUsed,
-            sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
-            messages: newMessages,
-          });
-        } catch (ingestErr) {
-          postTurnFinalizationSucceeded = false;
-          params.warn(`context engine ingest failed: ${String(ingestErr)}`);
-        }
-      } else {
-        for (const msg of newMessages) {
+  if (!params.skipAfterTurn) {
+    if (typeof params.contextEngine.afterTurn === "function") {
+      try {
+        await params.contextEngine.afterTurn({
+          sessionId: params.sessionIdUsed,
+          sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
+          sessionFile: params.sessionFile,
+          messages: params.messagesSnapshot,
+          prePromptMessageCount: params.prePromptMessageCount,
+          tokenBudget: params.tokenBudget,
+          runtimeContext: params.runtimeContext,
+        });
+      } catch (afterTurnErr) {
+        postTurnFinalizationSucceeded = false;
+        params.warn(`context engine afterTurn failed: ${String(afterTurnErr)}`);
+      }
+    } else {
+      const newMessages = params.messagesSnapshot.slice(params.prePromptMessageCount);
+      if (newMessages.length > 0) {
+        if (typeof params.contextEngine.ingestBatch === "function") {
           try {
-            await params.contextEngine.ingest?.({
+            await params.contextEngine.ingestBatch({
               sessionId: params.sessionIdUsed,
               sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
-              message: msg,
+              messages: newMessages,
             });
           } catch (ingestErr) {
             postTurnFinalizationSucceeded = false;
             params.warn(`context engine ingest failed: ${String(ingestErr)}`);
           }
+        } else {
+          for (const msg of newMessages) {
+            try {
+              await params.contextEngine.ingest?.({
+                sessionId: params.sessionIdUsed,
+                sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
+                message: msg,
+              });
+            } catch (ingestErr) {
+              postTurnFinalizationSucceeded = false;
+              params.warn(`context engine ingest failed: ${String(ingestErr)}`);
+            }
+          }
         }
       }
     }
diff --git a/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.ts b/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.ts
index dc93e3b6691..59252a3ca5e 100644
--- a/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.ts
+++ b/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.ts
@@ -997,11 +997,7 @@ export async function runEmbeddedAttempt(
       queueYieldInterruptForSession = () => {
         queueSessionsYieldInterruptMessage(activeSession);
       };
-      // Hoisted so installContextEngineLoopHook can read the same fence value
-      // that finalizeAttemptContextEngineTurn uses at end-of-attempt. The
-      // initial value is reassigned in the prompt-build phase below, after
-      // any heartbeat message filtering.
-      let prePromptMessageCount = 0;
+      let loopHookActive = false;
       if (params.contextEngine?.info?.ownsCompaction !== true) {
         removeToolResultContextGuard = installToolResultContextGuard({
           agent: activeSession.agent,
@@ -1021,8 +1017,8 @@ export async function runEmbeddedAttempt(
           sessionFile: params.sessionFile,
           tokenBudget: params.contextTokenBudget,
           modelId: params.modelId,
-          getPrePromptMessageCount: () => prePromptMessageCount,
         });
+        loopHookActive = true;
       }
       const cacheTrace = createCacheTrace({
         cfg: params.config,
@@ -1668,7 +1664,7 @@ export async function runEmbeddedAttempt(
       let promptError: unknown = null;
       let preflightRecovery: EmbeddedRunAttemptResult["preflightRecovery"];
       let promptErrorSource: "prompt" | "compaction" | "precheck" | null = null;
-      prePromptMessageCount = activeSession.messages.length;
+      let prePromptMessageCount = activeSession.messages.length;
       let skipPromptSubmission = false;
       try {
         const promptStartedAt = Date.now();
@@ -2222,6 +2218,7 @@ export async function runEmbeddedAttempt(
             prePromptMessageCount,
             tokenBudget: params.contextTokenBudget,
             runtimeContext: afterTurnRuntimeContext,
+            skipAfterTurn: loopHookActive,
             runMaintenance: async (contextParams) =>
               await runContextEngineMaintenance({
                 contextEngine: contextParams.contextEngine as never,
diff --git a/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/tool-result-context-guard.test.ts b/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/tool-result-context-guard.test.ts
index 598430b1e9f..48f25c9b61b 100644
--- a/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/tool-result-context-guard.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/tool-result-context-guard.test.ts
@@ -295,270 +295,204 @@ describe("installContextEngineLoopHook", () => {
   const tokenBudget = 4096;
   const modelId = "test-model";
 
-  it("forwards new messages to engine.afterTurn with prePromptMessageCount=0 on first call", async () => {
+  function installHook(
+    agent: ReturnType<typeof makeGuardableAgent>,
+    engine: MockedEngine,
+  ): () => void {
+    return installContextEngineLoopHook({
+      agent,
+      contextEngine: engine,
+      sessionId,
+      sessionKey,
+      sessionFile,
+      tokenBudget,
+      modelId,
+    });
+  }
+
+  it("returns early on the first call without calling afterTurn or assemble", async () => {
     const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
     const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const messages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(engine.afterTurn.mock.calls[0]?.[0]).toMatchObject({
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      messages,
-      prePromptMessageCount: 0,
-      tokenBudget,
-    });
-  });
-
-  it("advances prePromptMessageCount on subsequent calls based on the previous high-water mark", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const firstBatch = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    await callTransform(agent, firstBatch);
-
-    const secondBatch = [
-      makeUser("first"),
-      makeToolResult("call_1", "result"),
-      makeUser("second"),
-      makeToolResult("call_2", "result two"),
-    ];
-    await callTransform(agent, secondBatch);
-
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
-    expect(engine.afterTurn.mock.calls[1]?.[0]).toMatchObject({
-      prePromptMessageCount: 2,
-      messages: secondBatch,
-    });
-  });
-
-  it("does not call engine.afterTurn when no new messages have been appended", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const messages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-  });
-
-  it("returns the engine's assembled view when its length differs from the source", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const compactedView = [makeUser("compacted")];
-    const engine = makeMockEngine({
-      assemble: async () => ({ messages: compactedView, estimatedTokens: 0 }),
-    });
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const sourceMessages = [
-      makeUser("first"),
-      makeToolResult("call_1", "result"),
-      makeToolResult("call_2", "result two"),
-    ];
-    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, sourceMessages);
-
-    expect(transformed).toBe(compactedView);
-    expect(transformed).not.toBe(sourceMessages);
-  });
-
-  it("returns the source messages when the engine's assembled view has the same length", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const sourceMessages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, sourceMessages);
-
-    expect(transformed).toBe(sourceMessages);
-  });
-
-  it("does not mutate the source messages array even when the engine returns a different view", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const compactedView = [makeUser("compacted")];
-    const engine = makeMockEngine({
-      assemble: async () => ({ messages: compactedView, estimatedTokens: 0 }),
-    });
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const sourceMessages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    const sourceCopy = [...sourceMessages];
-    await callTransform(agent, sourceMessages);
-
-    expect(sourceMessages).toEqual(sourceCopy);
-    expect(sourceMessages).toHaveLength(2);
-  });
-
-  it("skips the afterTurn call when the engine does not implement it", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine({ omitAfterTurn: true });
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
+    installHook(agent, engine);
 
     const messages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
     const transformed = await callTransform(agent, messages);
 
     expect(transformed).toBe(messages);
+    expect(engine.afterTurn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(engine.assemble).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("calls afterTurn and assemble when new messages are appended after the first call", async () => {
+    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
+    const engine = makeMockEngine();
+    installHook(agent, engine);
+
+    const initial = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
+    await callTransform(agent, initial);
+
+    const withNew = [...initial, makeUser("second"), makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
+    await callTransform(agent, withNew);
+
+    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(engine.afterTurn.mock.calls[0]?.[0]).toMatchObject({
+      prePromptMessageCount: 2,
+      messages: withNew,
+    });
     expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
 
-  it("keeps calling assemble on subsequent iterations when engine lacks afterTurn but new messages arrive", async () => {
+  it("advances the fence across multiple iterations", async () => {
+    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
+    const engine = makeMockEngine();
+    installHook(agent, engine);
+
+    const batch0 = [makeUser("h1"), makeToolResult("c1", "r1")];
+    await callTransform(agent, batch0);
+
+    const batch1 = [...batch0, makeUser("h2"), makeToolResult("c2", "r2")];
+    await callTransform(agent, batch1);
+
+    const batch2 = [...batch1, makeUser("h3"), makeToolResult("c3", "r3")];
+    await callTransform(agent, batch2);
+
+    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(engine.afterTurn.mock.calls[0]?.[0]?.prePromptMessageCount).toBe(2);
+    expect(engine.afterTurn.mock.calls[1]?.[0]?.prePromptMessageCount).toBe(4);
+  });
+
+  it("skips afterTurn and assemble when messages have not changed", async () => {
+    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
+    const engine = makeMockEngine();
+    installHook(agent, engine);
+
+    const messages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
+    await callTransform(agent, messages);
+    await callTransform(agent, messages);
+    await callTransform(agent, messages);
+
+    expect(engine.afterTurn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(engine.assemble).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("returns the assembled view when its length differs from the source", async () => {
+    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
+    const compactedView = [makeUser("compacted")];
+    const engine = makeMockEngine({
+      assemble: async () => ({ messages: compactedView, estimatedTokens: 0 }),
+    });
+    installHook(agent, engine);
+
+    const initial = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "r")];
+    await callTransform(agent, initial);
+
+    const withNew = [...initial, makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
+    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, withNew);
+
+    expect(transformed).toBe(compactedView);
+  });
+
+  it("returns the source messages when the assembled view has the same length", async () => {
+    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
+    const engine = makeMockEngine();
+    installHook(agent, engine);
+
+    const initial = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
+    await callTransform(agent, initial);
+
+    const withNew = [...initial, makeUser("second"), makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
+    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, withNew);
+
+    expect(transformed).toBe(withNew);
+  });
+
+  it("does not mutate the source messages array", async () => {
+    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
+    const compactedView = [makeUser("compacted")];
+    const engine = makeMockEngine({
+      assemble: async () => ({ messages: compactedView, estimatedTokens: 0 }),
+    });
+    installHook(agent, engine);
+
+    const initial = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
+    await callTransform(agent, initial);
+
+    const sourceMessages = [...initial, makeUser("second"), makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
+    const sourceCopy = [...sourceMessages];
+    await callTransform(agent, sourceMessages);
+
+    expect(sourceMessages).toEqual(sourceCopy);
+  });
+
+  it("still calls assemble when engine lacks afterTurn but new messages arrive", async () => {
     const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
     const engine = makeMockEngine({ omitAfterTurn: true });
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
+    installHook(agent, engine);
 
-    const batch1 = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "r1")];
+    const batch0 = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "r1")];
+    await callTransform(agent, batch0);
+
+    const batch1 = [...batch0, makeUser("second"), makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
     await callTransform(agent, batch1);
-    expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
 
-    const batch2 = [...batch1, makeUser("second"), makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
+    const batch2 = [...batch1, makeUser("third"), makeToolResult("call_3", "r3")];
     await callTransform(agent, batch2);
-    expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
 
-    const batch3 = [...batch2, makeUser("third"), makeToolResult("call_3", "r3")];
-    await callTransform(agent, batch3);
-    expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+    expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
   });
 
-  it("falls through to the source messages when engine.afterTurn throws", async () => {
+  it("falls through to source messages when engine.afterTurn throws", async () => {
     const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
     const engine = makeMockEngine({
       afterTurn: async () => {
         throw new Error("engine afterTurn boom");
       },
     });
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
+    installHook(agent, engine);
 
-    const messages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, messages);
+    const initial = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
+    await callTransform(agent, initial);
 
-    expect(transformed).toBe(messages);
+    const withNew = [...initial, makeUser("second"), makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
+    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, withNew);
+
+    expect(transformed).toBe(withNew);
   });
 
-  it("falls through to the source messages when engine.assemble throws", async () => {
+  it("falls through to source messages when engine.assemble throws", async () => {
     const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
     const engine = makeMockEngine({
       assemble: async () => {
         throw new Error("engine assemble boom");
       },
     });
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
+    installHook(agent, engine);
 
-    const messages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, messages);
+    const initial = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
+    await callTransform(agent, initial);
 
-    expect(transformed).toBe(messages);
+    const withNew = [...initial, makeUser("second"), makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
+    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, withNew);
+
+    expect(transformed).toBe(withNew);
   });
 
-  it("invokes any pre-existing transformContext before passing the result to the engine", async () => {
+  it("invokes any pre-existing transformContext before the engine sees messages", async () => {
     const upstream = vi.fn(async (messages: AgentMessage[]) => [...messages, makeUser("appended")]);
     const agent = makeGuardableAgent(upstream);
     const compactedView = [makeUser("compacted")];
     const engine = makeMockEngine({
-      assemble: async (params) => {
-        expect(params.messages).toHaveLength(2);
-        return { messages: compactedView, estimatedTokens: 0 };
-      },
-    });
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
+      assemble: async () => ({ messages: compactedView, estimatedTokens: 0 }),
     });
+    installHook(agent, engine);
 
-    const sourceMessages = [makeUser("first")];
-    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, sourceMessages);
-
+    // First call: upstream runs (1 msg -> 2 msgs), fence set to 2, returns early
+    await callTransform(agent, [makeUser("first")]);
     expect(upstream).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    // Second call: upstream runs (2 msgs -> 3 msgs), hasNewMessages = true, assemble fires
+    const transformed = await callTransform(agent, [makeUser("first"), makeUser("second")]);
+    expect(upstream).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
     expect(transformed).toBe(compactedView);
   });
 
@@ -566,178 +500,31 @@ describe("installContextEngineLoopHook", () => {
     const upstream = vi.fn(async (messages: AgentMessage[]) => messages);
     const agent = makeGuardableAgent(upstream);
     const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    const dispose = installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
+    const dispose = installHook(agent, engine);
 
     dispose();
 
     expect(agent.transformContext).toBe(upstream);
   });
 
-  it("uses getPrePromptMessageCount as the initial fence so pre-attempt history is not reported as new", async () => {
+  it("returns the cached assembled view on unchanged iterations instead of raw source", async () => {
     const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    let prePromptMessageCount = 5;
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-      getPrePromptMessageCount: () => prePromptMessageCount,
+    const compactedView = [makeUser("compacted")];
+    const engine = makeMockEngine({
+      assemble: async () => ({ messages: compactedView, estimatedTokens: 0 }),
     });
+    installHook(agent, engine);
 
-    const history = [
-      makeUser("h1"),
-      makeUser("h2"),
-      makeUser("h3"),
-      makeUser("h4"),
-      makeUser("h5"),
-    ];
-    const firstCallMessages = [...history, makeUser("user prompt"), makeToolResult("call_1", "r1")];
-    await callTransform(agent, firstCallMessages);
+    const initial = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "r")];
+    await callTransform(agent, initial);
 
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(engine.afterTurn.mock.calls[0]?.[0]).toMatchObject({
-      prePromptMessageCount: 5,
-      messages: firstCallMessages,
-    });
-  });
+    const withNew = [...initial, makeToolResult("call_2", "r2")];
+    const firstResult = await callTransform(agent, withNew);
+    expect(firstResult).toBe(compactedView);
 
-  it("evaluates getPrePromptMessageCount lazily on the first call, not at install time", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    let prePromptMessageCount = 0;
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-      getPrePromptMessageCount: () => prePromptMessageCount,
-    });
-    // Caller updates the value between install and first transformContext call
-    // (mirrors the runtime where prePromptMessageCount is reassigned in the
-    // prompt-build phase after heartbeat filtering).
-    prePromptMessageCount = 3;
-
-    const messages = [
-      makeUser("h1"),
-      makeUser("h2"),
-      makeUser("h3"),
-      makeUser("user prompt"),
-      makeToolResult("call_1", "r1"),
-    ];
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(engine.afterTurn.mock.calls[0]?.[0]?.prePromptMessageCount).toBe(3);
-  });
-
-  it("falls back to fence=0 when no getPrePromptMessageCount is supplied", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const messages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(engine.afterTurn.mock.calls[0]?.[0]?.prePromptMessageCount).toBe(0);
-  });
-
-  it("calls assemble on the first iteration even when no afterTurn ingest happened", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-      // Fence equals current message count so afterTurn is skipped on first call
-      getPrePromptMessageCount: () => 2,
-    });
-
-    const messages = [makeUser("h1"), makeUser("h2")];
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    // Retry with same messages: should return cached assembled view, not raw
+    const retryResult = await callTransform(agent, withNew);
+    expect(retryResult).toBe(compactedView);
     expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
-
-  it("skips assemble on subsequent iterations when no new messages have arrived", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const messages = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-    await callTransform(agent, messages);
-
-    // First call: afterTurn ingests delta and assemble runs.
-    // Second + third: nothing new, assemble must NOT be called again.
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-  });
-
-  it("calls assemble again after a fresh afterTurn ingest on a later iteration", async () => {
-    const agent = makeGuardableAgent();
-    const engine = makeMockEngine();
-    installContextEngineLoopHook({
-      agent,
-      contextEngine: engine,
-      sessionId,
-      sessionKey,
-      sessionFile,
-      tokenBudget,
-      modelId,
-    });
-
-    const firstBatch = [makeUser("first"), makeToolResult("call_1", "result")];
-    await callTransform(agent, firstBatch);
-    await callTransform(agent, firstBatch);
-    expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-
-    const secondBatch = [
-      makeUser("first"),
-      makeToolResult("call_1", "result"),
-      makeUser("second"),
-      makeToolResult("call_2", "result two"),
-    ];
-    await callTransform(agent, secondBatch);
-
-    expect(engine.afterTurn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
-    expect(engine.assemble).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
-  });
 });
diff --git a/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/tool-result-context-guard.ts b/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/tool-result-context-guard.ts
index 620a9629239..2624bfc8a6c 100644
--- a/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/tool-result-context-guard.ts
+++ b/src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/tool-result-context-guard.ts
@@ -197,20 +197,12 @@ export function installContextEngineLoopHook(params: {
   sessionFile: string;
   tokenBudget?: number;
   modelId: string;
-  /**
-   * Returns the message count that should be used as the initial
-   * `prePromptMessageCount` fence on the first `transformContext` call.
-   * Should match the value `finalizeAttemptContextEngineTurn` will eventually
-   * pass to `afterTurn` so the loop hook does not report pre-attempt history
-   * as new on its first invocation.
-   */
-  getPrePromptMessageCount?: () => number;
 }): () => void {
   const { contextEngine, sessionId, sessionKey, sessionFile, tokenBudget, modelId } = params;
   const mutableAgent = params.agent as GuardableAgentRecord;
   const originalTransformContext = mutableAgent.transformContext;
   let lastSeenLength: number | null = null;
-  let hasAssembledBefore = false;
+  let lastAssembledView: AgentMessage[] | null = null;
 
   mutableAgent.transformContext = (async (messages: AgentMessage[], signal: AbortSignal) => {
     const transformed = originalTransformContext
@@ -219,12 +211,16 @@ export function installContextEngineLoopHook(params: {
     const sourceMessages = Array.isArray(transformed) ? transformed : messages;
 
     if (lastSeenLength === null) {
-      lastSeenLength = params.getPrePromptMessageCount?.() ?? 0;
+      lastSeenLength = sourceMessages.length;
     }
 
     const hasNewMessages = sourceMessages.length > lastSeenLength;
+    if (!hasNewMessages) {
+      return lastAssembledView ?? sourceMessages;
+    }
+
     try {
-      if (hasNewMessages && typeof contextEngine.afterTurn === "function") {
+      if (typeof contextEngine.afterTurn === "function") {
         const prePromptCount = lastSeenLength;
         await contextEngine.afterTurn({
           sessionId,
@@ -235,29 +231,23 @@ export function installContextEngineLoopHook(params: {
           tokenBudget,
         });
       }
-      if (hasNewMessages) {
-        lastSeenLength = sourceMessages.length;
-      }
-      // Skip assemble when nothing has changed since the last call AND we
-      // already returned an assembled view at least once. The engine's view
-      // cannot have changed without new messages arriving.
-      if (hasNewMessages || !hasAssembledBefore) {
-        const assembled = await contextEngine.assemble({
-          sessionId,
-          sessionKey,
-          messages: sourceMessages,
-          tokenBudget,
-          model: modelId,
-        });
-        hasAssembledBefore = true;
-        if (
-          assembled &&
-          Array.isArray(assembled.messages) &&
-          assembled.messages.length !== sourceMessages.length
-        ) {
-          return assembled.messages;
-        }
+      lastSeenLength = sourceMessages.length;
+      const assembled = await contextEngine.assemble({
+        sessionId,
+        sessionKey,
+        messages: sourceMessages,
+        tokenBudget,
+        model: modelId,
+      });
+      if (
+        assembled &&
+        Array.isArray(assembled.messages) &&
+        assembled.messages.length !== sourceMessages.length
+      ) {
+        lastAssembledView = assembled.messages;
+        return assembled.messages;
       }
+      lastAssembledView = null;
     } catch {
       // Best-effort: any engine failure falls through to the raw source
       // messages so the tool loop still makes forward progress.