diff --git a/docs/architecture-invariants.md b/docs/architecture-invariants.md
index e0082986..acbc3756 100644
--- a/docs/architecture-invariants.md
+++ b/docs/architecture-invariants.md
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ Matching semantics: a query containing `/` matches the relative path, otherwise
 
 ⚠️ **Images only through existing file surfaces.** A Bash image candidate counts only when the file's mtime lies in the call's window (start − 2 s … end + 2 s) and no entry already covers that file version; `SendUserFile` images need no window. The panel shows a thumbnail only inside the workspace, through the confined `file-raw` route. An image outside it gets no thumbnail (each would mint an attachment id per render); a click opens the shared file preview, which registers it once through `POST /api/sessions/:id/attachments` with `notify: false` (its extension allowlist and `isSensitivePath` apply). SVGs get no thumbnail. No route of this feature serves a file, least of all a transcript path.
 
-⚠️ **Transcript paths are agent-printed, so they are probed BOUNDED and scanned in linear time** (#516; #693 review). `probeLocalPaths()` sends each candidate through `probePathKind()` (no `pastCap`: a bulk scan), one at a time, and only a path that answered `'file'` gets `realpath` + `stat`; a path on a mount that stopped answering costs one stalled stat, never a sync, a queued sync or `remove()` that cannot finish (`test/edit-history-probe-stall.test.ts`). `PATH_TOKEN_RE` runs synchronously in the request, over Bash output of up to 30,000 characters: an unquoted token may start only at a token boundary (line start or a token-ending character, `:` excluded so URLs stay ignored), and the `file://` branch stops at `:`. A lookbehind that merely excludes some characters lets a match start at every character of a long token and rescan it, quadratic in the line (2.7 s for 30,000 `#`). Time-budget regression tests in `test/edit-history-parse.test.ts`. "Load older" yields to the event loop between the files it parses (up to 3 × 8 MiB).
+⚠️ **Transcript paths are agent-printed, so they are probed BOUNDED and scanned in linear time** (#516; #693 review). `probeLocalPaths()` sends each candidate through `probePathKind()` (no `pastCap`: a bulk scan), one at a time, and only a path that answered `'file'` gets `realpath` + `stat`; a path on a mount that stopped answering costs one stalled stat, never a sync, a queued sync or `remove()` that cannot finish (`test/edit-history-probe-stall.test.ts`). `PATH_TOKEN_RE` runs synchronously in the request, over Bash output of up to 30,000 characters: an unquoted token may start only at a token boundary (line start or a token-ending character, `:` excluded so URLs stay ignored), and the `file://` branch stops at the next `file://` (`:` stays allowed for timestamped names). A lookbehind that merely excludes some characters lets a match start at every character of a long token and rescan it, quadratic in the line (2.7 s for 30,000 `#`). Time-budget regression tests in `test/edit-history-parse.test.ts`. Forward reads and "Load older" yield to the event loop between the files they parse (up to 8 MiB each); a store removed meanwhile ends the read before its images are probed. Remote, Docker and non-claude sessions never load a store on any route.
 
 Paths, agent descriptions and diff lines render via `textContent` only (browser test with a hostile path). The header button uses the marker-class pattern (`btn-edit-history--hidden`) and stays off phones (`mobile.css`, locked in `test/mobile-header-buttons-policy.test.ts`). Remote, Docker and non-claude sessions answer `unsupported` and are never read.
 
diff --git a/src/edit-history-parse.ts b/src/edit-history-parse.ts
index 81b7cbdc..beb7cba6 100644
--- a/src/edit-history-parse.ts
+++ b/src/edit-history-parse.ts
@@ -104,9 +104,10 @@ const TOKEN_CHAR = '[^\\s\'"`<>|;&()=,:*?]';
 const PATH_TOKEN_RE = new RegExp(
   [
     // 1. file:// URL (Codex: `Saved to: file:///…`) — may contain spaces up to the extension.
-    //    No `:` inside: it keeps the lazy scan from running to the line end from every
-    //    `file://` of a line that repeats it (quadratic otherwise).
-    `file://(/[^\\n:]*?\\.${IMAGE_EXT})${EXT_END}`,
+    //    The lazy scan stops at the next `file://`: otherwise it runs to the line end from
+    //    every `file://` of a line that repeats it (quadratic). `:` stays allowed, so a
+    //    timestamped name (`plot-12:30.png`) is still found.
+    `file://(/(?:(?!file://)[^\\n])*?\\.${IMAGE_EXT})${EXT_END}`,
     // 2./3. Quoted paths, spaces allowed.
     `"([^"\\n]*\\.${IMAGE_EXT})"`,
     `'([^'\\n]*\\.${IMAGE_EXT})'`,
diff --git a/src/edit-history-store.ts b/src/edit-history-store.ts
index a8df090b..1cccb961 100644
--- a/src/edit-history-store.ts
+++ b/src/edit-history-store.ts
@@ -573,6 +573,11 @@ export class EditHistoryStore {
    * Delete the persisted file (session deleted) and forget the content. The store takes no
    * changes afterwards, so a read still in flight neither writes nor refills it.
    */
+  /** True once {@link remove} ran: the store ignores every later write. */
+  isRemoved(): boolean {
+    return this.removed;
+  }
+
   async remove(): Promise<void> {
     this.removed = true;
     if (this.saveTimer) {
diff --git a/src/web/edit-history-sync.ts b/src/web/edit-history-sync.ts
index bcb70f8d..e8b1c69d 100644
--- a/src/web/edit-history-sync.ts
+++ b/src/web/edit-history-sync.ts
@@ -110,6 +110,11 @@ export function unsupportedReason(session: EditHistorySession): string | undefin
   return undefined;
 }
 
+/** One turn of the event loop, between synchronous parses of up to one budget each. */
+function breathe(): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+}
+
 /**
  * Bash candidates whose probed file is a regular file with an mtime inside the call's window
  * (files claude sent to the user skip the window: they exist and were shown on purpose).
@@ -386,13 +391,18 @@ export class EditHistorySync {
     const requested = new Set(requests.map((r) => r.relPath));
     let more = false;
     const candidates: ImageCandidate[] = [];
+    let parsed = false;
     for (const f of res.files) {
+      // Each file is up to one budget (8 MiB) of synchronous parsing: yield between them.
+      if (parsed) await breathe();
+      if (store.isRemoved()) break;
       // A requested file reads on from its cursor, a new one its tail.
       const available = requested.has(f.relPath) ? f.size - f.startOffset : f.size;
       if (f.chunk.length < Math.min(this.budget, available)) {
         more = true;
         continue;
       }
+      parsed = true;
       const r = store.apply({
         transcriptId: res.transcriptId,
         source: f.relPath,
@@ -439,11 +449,10 @@ export class EditHistorySync {
     let parsed = false;
     for (const f of res.files) {
       if (!wanted.has(f.relPath)) continue;
-      // Each file is up to one budget (8 MiB) of synchronous parsing: let the server breathe
-      // between them. A store removed meanwhile ignores the rest (it is inert once removed).
-      if (parsed) await new Promise<void>((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+      // Each file is up to one budget (8 MiB) of synchronous parsing: yield between them.
+      if (parsed) await breathe();
       parsed = true;
-      if (slot.gone) break;
+      if (slot.gone) return true;
       const r = store.applyOlder({
         transcriptId: res.transcriptId,
         source: f.relPath,
@@ -465,7 +474,8 @@ export class EditHistorySync {
 
   private async addImages(store: EditHistoryStore, candidates: readonly ImageCandidate[]): Promise<void> {
     const paths = [...new Set(candidates.flatMap((c) => c.paths))];
-    if (paths.length === 0) return;
+    // A removed store keeps nothing: do not probe agent-printed paths for it.
+    if (paths.length === 0 || store.isRemoved()) return;
     let probes: Array<PathProbe | null>;
     try {
       probes = await this.deps.probe(paths);
diff --git a/src/web/routes/edit-history-routes.ts b/src/web/routes/edit-history-routes.ts
index 010f6b91..227a16a1 100644
--- a/src/web/routes/edit-history-routes.ts
+++ b/src/web/routes/edit-history-routes.ts
@@ -86,6 +86,11 @@ function listOf(
   return list;
 }
 
+/** The answer for a session that is never read (remote, Docker, non-claude): no store involved. */
+function unsupportedList(reason: string): EditHistoryList {
+  return { state: 'unsupported', reason, backfillTruncated: false, agents: {}, entries: [] };
+}
+
 export function registerEditHistoryRoutes(app: FastifyInstance, ctx: SessionPort, sync: EditHistorySync): void {
   const sessionOf = (id: string, req: Parameters<typeof findSessionOrFail>[2]) => {
     const session = findSessionOrFail(ctx, id, req);
@@ -106,12 +111,7 @@ export function registerEditHistoryRoutes(app: FastifyInstance, ctx: SessionPort
     const { session, view } = sessionOf(id, req);
     const why = unsupportedReason(view);
     // Never read: answer an empty list without loading (or creating) a store for it.
-    if (why) {
-      return {
-        success: true,
-        data: { state: 'unsupported', reason: why, backfillTruncated: false, agents: {}, entries: [] },
-      };
-    }
+    if (why) return { success: true, data: unsupportedList(why) };
     // The sync starts in the same tick as the session check: a deletion right after it marks
     // the running sync gone (EditHistorySync.remove), so nothing writes a deleted session.
     const status: EditHistoryStatus = doSync === '1' ? await sync.sync(view) : sync.getStatus(session.id);
@@ -121,14 +121,16 @@ export function registerEditHistoryRoutes(app: FastifyInstance, ctx: SessionPort
   app.post('/api/sessions/:id/edits/older', async (req): Promise<ApiResponse<EditHistoryList>> => {
     const { id } = req.params as { id: string };
     const { session, view } = sessionOf(id, req);
+    const why = unsupportedReason(view);
+    if (why) return { success: true, data: unsupportedList(why) };
     const status = await sync.sync(view, { older: true });
     return { success: true, data: listOf(await sync.getStore(session.id), session.workingDir, status) };
   });
 
   app.get('/api/sessions/:id/edits/:entryId', async (req, reply): Promise<ApiResponse<EditHistoryDiff>> => {
     const { id, entryId } = req.params as { id: string; entryId: string };
-    const { session } = sessionOf(id, req);
-    const entry = (await sync.getStore(session.id)).get(entryId);
+    const { session, view } = sessionOf(id, req);
+    const entry = unsupportedReason(view) ? undefined : (await sync.getStore(session.id)).get(entryId);
     if (!entry) {
       reply.code(404);
       return createErrorResponse(ApiErrorCode.NOT_FOUND, 'No such edit in this session');
diff --git a/test/edit-history-parse.test.ts b/test/edit-history-parse.test.ts
index bbf16030..7e9577c3 100644
--- a/test/edit-history-parse.test.ts
+++ b/test/edit-history-parse.test.ts
@@ -308,6 +308,12 @@ describe('parseClaudeEditLines: images sent to the user', () => {
 });
 
 describe('extractImagePathCandidates', () => {
+  it('keeps a colon inside a file:// path (timestamped names)', () => {
+    expect(extractImagePathCandidates('', 'Saved to file:///tmp/plot-12:30.png', '', CWD)).toEqual([
+      '/tmp/plot-12:30.png',
+    ]);
+  });
+
   it('resolves relative paths against cwd and keeps ~/ paths literal', () => {
     expect(extractImagePathCandidates('cp a.png ../b.jpeg ~/shots/c.gif', '', '', CWD)).toEqual([
       '/work/repo/a.png',
@@ -353,7 +359,8 @@ describe('extractImagePathCandidates: linear in the line length (#693 review)',
   // Claude Code keeps up to 30,000 characters of Bash output, all of it agent-printed, and the
   // scan runs synchronously in the request. Before the fix one such line took ~2.7 s.
   const N = 30_000;
-  const BUDGET_MS = 250;
+  // Generous: the gated suite runs at nice 19 next to the live service. Linear is ~1 ms.
+  const BUDGET_MS = 1000;
   const timed = (text: string) => {
     const t = performance.now();
     const out = extractImagePathCandidates('render', text, '', CWD);
@@ -366,6 +373,8 @@ describe('extractImagePathCandidates: linear in the line length (#693 review)',
     ['a base64 blob', base64] as const,
     ['repeated file:///', 'file:///'.repeat(N / 8)] as const,
     ['repeated file:///x', 'file:///x'.repeat(N / 9)] as const,
+    ['repeated file:///a:', 'file:///a:'.repeat(N / 10)] as const,
+    ['file:/// then 30,000 characters', 'file:///' + 'a'.repeat(N)] as const,
     ['an unclosed quote', '"' + 'a'.repeat(N)] as const,
     ['repeated =a', '=a'.repeat(N / 2)] as const,
   ])('%s stays under the time budget and still finds a path after it', (_label, line) => {
@@ -389,7 +398,7 @@ describe('extractImagePathCandidates: linear in the line length (#693 review)',
     }
     const t = performance.now();
     parseClaudeEditLines(lines.join('\n'));
-    expect(performance.now() - t).toBeLessThan(1500);
+    expect(performance.now() - t).toBeLessThan(3000); // 6.6 s before the fix
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/test/edit-history-sync.test.ts b/test/edit-history-sync.test.ts
index aab8f8c4..4a9f6266 100644
--- a/test/edit-history-sync.test.ts
+++ b/test/edit-history-sync.test.ts
@@ -229,6 +229,24 @@ describe('EditHistorySync', () => {
     ]);
   });
 
+  it('a removal during a read stops it: no further parsing, no probe of printed paths', async () => {
+    const probe = vi.fn(async (paths: readonly string[]) => paths.map(() => null));
+    let removal: Promise<void> | undefined;
+    const ctx = setup({
+      probe,
+      readSources: async (path, req, budget, opts) => {
+        const res = await ctx.host.read(path, req, budget, opts);
+        removal = ctx.sync.remove('s1'); // the session is deleted while this read is out
+        return res;
+      },
+    });
+    ctx.host.append('main', bashPair('b1', T0, T0 + 5000, 'render out/a.png'));
+    ctx.host.append('subagents/agent-a1.jsonl', bashPair('b2', T0, T0 + 5000, 'render out/b.png'));
+    await ctx.sync.sync(local);
+    await removal;
+    expect(probe).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it('keeps the edits when only the image probe fails', async () => {
     const { host, sync } = setup({
       probe: async () => {
diff --git a/test/routes/edit-history-routes.test.ts b/test/routes/edit-history-routes.test.ts
index a9625947..2b67529b 100644
--- a/test/routes/edit-history-routes.test.ts
+++ b/test/routes/edit-history-routes.test.ts
@@ -190,10 +190,12 @@ describe('GET /api/sessions/:id/edits', () => {
     const loadStore = vi.fn(async (id: string) => EditHistoryStore.load(id, { dir, debounceMs: 0 }));
     const { app, read } = await setup({ loadStore });
     Object.assign(session, patch);
+    const empty = { state: 'unsupported', reason, backfillTruncated: false, agents: {}, entries: [] };
     for (const url of [URL, `${URL}?sync=1`]) {
-      const data = (await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url })).json().data;
-      expect(data).toEqual({ state: 'unsupported', reason, backfillTruncated: false, agents: {}, entries: [] });
+      expect((await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url })).json().data).toEqual(empty);
     }
+    expect((await app.inject({ method: 'POST', url: `${URL}/older` })).json().data).toEqual(empty);
+    expect((await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url: `${URL}/t1` })).statusCode).toBe(404);
     expect(read).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(loadStore).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });