diff --git a/src/mount/relayfile-binary.test.ts b/src/mount/relayfile-binary.test.ts
index 880d92a..9089ba7 100644
--- a/src/mount/relayfile-binary.test.ts
+++ b/src/mount/relayfile-binary.test.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ async function withTempDir<T>(fn: (dir: string) => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
 
 async function writeState(
   dir: string,
-  state: { workspaceId?: string; lastReconcileAt?: string; pid?: number },
+  state: { workspaceId?: string; lastReconcileAt?: string; pid?: number; daemon?: { pid?: number } },
 ): Promise<string> {
   const statePath = join(dir, 'state.json')
   await writeFile(statePath, JSON.stringify(state), 'utf8')
@@ -170,6 +170,62 @@ describe('checkMountStaleness', () => {
     })
   })
 
+  it('treats a fresh pid-less state as healthy (CLI-daemonized mount records no pid)', async () => {
+    await withTempDir(async (dir) => {
+      const statePath = await writeState(dir, {
+        workspaceId: 'rw_test',
+        lastReconcileAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+        // no pid: relayfile start --background does not always record one
+      })
+
+      expect(checkMountStaleness(statePath, 'rw_test')).toEqual({ stale: false })
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('uses daemon.pid for liveness when the top-level pid is absent (CLI-daemonized mount)', async () => {
+    await withTempDir(async (dir) => {
+      const statePath = await writeState(dir, {
+        workspaceId: 'rw_test',
+        lastReconcileAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+        daemon: { pid: process.pid },
+      })
+
+      expect(checkMountStaleness(statePath, 'rw_test')).toEqual({ stale: false, pid: process.pid })
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('marks a stale mount via a dead daemon.pid even within the reconcile window', async () => {
+    await withTempDir(async (dir) => {
+      const statePath = await writeState(dir, {
+        workspaceId: 'rw_test',
+        lastReconcileAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+        daemon: { pid: 12345 },
+      })
+      vi.spyOn(process, 'kill').mockImplementation(() => {
+        throw Object.assign(new Error('not found'), { code: 'ESRCH' })
+      })
+
+      expect(checkMountStaleness(statePath, 'rw_test')).toEqual({
+        stale: true,
+        reason: 'mount process (pid 12345) is not running',
+        pid: 12345,
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('still marks a pid-less state stale when the reconcile timestamp is old', async () => {
+    await withTempDir(async (dir) => {
+      const statePath = await writeState(dir, {
+        workspaceId: 'rw_test',
+        lastReconcileAt: new Date(Date.now() - 16 * 60 * 1000).toISOString(),
+      })
+
+      const result = checkMountStaleness(statePath, 'rw_test')
+      expect(result.stale).toBe(true)
+      expect(result.reason).toMatch(/^last reconcile 16m ago$/u)
+    })
+  })
+
   it('returns non-stale with the mount pid when state is fresh and the process is alive', async () => {
     await withTempDir(async (dir) => {
       const statePath = await writeState(dir, {
diff --git a/src/mount/relayfile-binary.ts b/src/mount/relayfile-binary.ts
index 88adfcd..c15ed58 100644
--- a/src/mount/relayfile-binary.ts
+++ b/src/mount/relayfile-binary.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,15 @@ const NOT_FOUND_ERROR = '[factory] relayfile-mount binary not found. Install dep
 type MountState = {
   workspaceId?: unknown
   lastReconcileAt?: unknown
+  // The mount process pid. Older mounts wrote a top-level `pid`; the
+  // CLI-daemonized mount (`relayfile start --background`) records it under
+  // `daemon.pid` instead. Either may be absent.
   pid?: unknown
+  daemon?: { pid?: unknown }
+}
+
+function coercePid(value: unknown): number | undefined {
+  return typeof value === 'number' && Number.isInteger(value) && value > 0 ? value : undefined
 }
 
 function canExecute(filePath: string | undefined): filePath is string {
@@ -155,9 +163,8 @@ export function checkMountStaleness(
     }
   }
 
-  const pid = typeof parsed.pid === 'number' && Number.isInteger(parsed.pid) && parsed.pid > 0
-    ? parsed.pid
-    : undefined
+  // Prefer the top-level pid; fall back to the CLI-daemonized mount's daemon.pid.
+  const pid = coercePid(parsed.pid) ?? coercePid(parsed.daemon?.pid)
 
   const lastReconcileAt = typeof parsed.lastReconcileAt === 'string'
     ? Date.parse(parsed.lastReconcileAt)
@@ -176,7 +183,12 @@ export function checkMountStaleness(
   }
 
   if (pid === undefined) {
-    return { stale: true, reason: 'mount process pid is missing' }
+    // Neither a top-level pid nor daemon.pid was recorded. The fresh
+    // lastReconcileAt validated above is itself proof the mount is live and
+    // reconciling, so fall back to that rather than declaring a healthy mount
+    // stale and forcing a spurious refresh (which previously tore down the live
+    // mount and then failed to re-spawn).
+    return { stale: false }
   }
 
   try {