diff --git a/api/server/controllers/agents/__tests__/resume.spec.js b/api/server/controllers/agents/__tests__/resume.spec.js
index 6ccb281776..3cc728cd7d 100644
--- a/api/server/controllers/agents/__tests__/resume.spec.js
+++ b/api/server/controllers/agents/__tests__/resume.spec.js
@@ -1369,6 +1369,56 @@ describe('ResumeAgentController (POST /agents/chat/resume)', () => {
       expect(mockDecrementPendingRequest).toHaveBeenCalledWith(USER_ID);
     });
 
+    it('finalizes a genuine failure whose message merely mentions abort', async () => {
+      const job = makeToolApprovalJob();
+      mockGenerationJobManager.getJob.mockResolvedValue(job);
+      // The store still shows OUR generation running: proof no abort finalized the
+      // job (an actual abort flips it terminal BEFORE the signal fires). Taking the
+      // abort path here left the job `running` forever with no controller driving it.
+      mockJobStore.getJob.mockResolvedValue({ createdAt: 1000, status: 'running' });
+      mockInitializeClient.mockResolvedValue({
+        client: makeClient({
+          resumeCompletion: jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('transaction aborted by server')),
+        }),
+        userMCPAuthMap: {},
+      });
+
+      const res = await post(approveBody());
+      expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+      await settled;
+      await flush();
+
+      expect(mockGenerationJobManager.emitError).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        CONVO_ID,
+        'transaction aborted by server',
+        1000,
+      );
+      expect(mockGenerationJobManager.completeJob).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('treats an abort-shaped throw as an abort when the job is already finalized', async () => {
+      const job = makeToolApprovalJob();
+      mockGenerationJobManager.getJob.mockResolvedValue(job);
+      // abortJob deleted the job before the throw unwound: classification must not
+      // route this to the error path, whose outcome write would walk the failure
+      // streak for a user stop.
+      mockJobStore.getJob.mockResolvedValue(null);
+      mockInitializeClient.mockResolvedValue({
+        client: makeClient({
+          resumeCompletion: jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('request aborted')),
+        }),
+        userMCPAuthMap: {},
+      });
+
+      const res = await post(approveBody());
+      expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+      await settled;
+      await flush();
+
+      expect(mockGenerationJobManager.emitError).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(mockGenerationJobManager.completeJob).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
     it('resume failure: emits an error, finalizes the job, and prunes the checkpoint', async () => {
       mockGenerationJobManager.getJob.mockResolvedValue(makeToolApprovalJob());
       mockInitializeClient.mockResolvedValue({
diff --git a/api/server/controllers/agents/resume.js b/api/server/controllers/agents/resume.js
index 7ddd084146..6493634acc 100644
--- a/api/server/controllers/agents/resume.js
+++ b/api/server/controllers/agents/resume.js
@@ -1037,7 +1037,31 @@ const ResumeAgentController = async (req, res, next, initializeClient, addTitle)
     // resumed generation usually surfaces its abort as a THROW out of
     // resumeCompletion, so this classification — not the pre-finalize signal check —
     // is the path most stops actually take.
-    if (job.abortController.signal.aborted || err?.message?.includes('abort')) {
+    //
+    // The signal is authoritative; an abort-SHAPED error alone is not. A genuine
+    // failure can mention 'abort' (driver errors like 'transaction aborted') with
+    // nothing having finalized the job, and returning here then left it `running`
+    // forever with no controller driving it. abortJob flips the job terminal BEFORE
+    // any signal fires, so a job still running under this generation is proof no
+    // abort finalized it — send that to the error path below instead.
+    const abortShaped = err?.name === 'AbortError' || err?.message?.includes('abort');
+    let wasAborted = job.abortController.signal.aborted;
+    if (!wasAborted && abortShaped) {
+      try {
+        const liveJob = await GenerationJobManager.getJobStore().getJob(streamId);
+        wasAborted = !(
+          liveJob &&
+          liveJob.createdAt === job.createdAt &&
+          liveJob.status === 'running'
+        );
+      } catch (readErr) {
+        logger.warn(
+          '[ResumeAgentController] Abort classification read failed; treating as failure',
+          readErr,
+        );
+      }
+    }
+    if (wasAborted) {
       logger.debug(`[ResumeAgentController] Resume aborted; settling the run: ${streamId}`);
       await settleAbortedScheduledResume(job, streamId, conversationId);
       return;
diff --git a/api/strategies/openIdJwtStrategy.js b/api/strategies/openIdJwtStrategy.js
index 0bdf14b8b6..6ed0e24408 100644
--- a/api/strategies/openIdJwtStrategy.js
+++ b/api/strategies/openIdJwtStrategy.js
@@ -141,6 +141,21 @@ const openIdJwtLogin = (openIdConfig) => {
 
         if (user) {
           user.id = user._id.toString();
+          // A user whose account deletion has begun must not authenticate (or be
+          // re-cached): the destructive cascade is running, and a served pre-barrier
+          // document would let this request recreate data behind it. The racing-fill
+          // case (Mongo read BEFORE the barrier stamped this field) is closed by the
+          // cache-side tombstone check in setCachedAuthUserDoc.
+          if (user.deletionRequestedAt != null) {
+            if (authUserCacheStore && authUserCacheKey) {
+              await invalidateCachedAuthUserDoc(authUserCacheStore, {
+                userId: user.id,
+                cacheKey: authUserCacheKey,
+              });
+            }
+            done(null, false, { message: 'Account deletion in progress' });
+            return;
+          }
           /** Absent on the full doc means local user; null skips getUserPrincipals' fallback lookup */
           user.idOnTheSource ??= null;
 
diff --git a/client/src/components/SidePanel/Schedules/ScheduleDialog.tsx b/client/src/components/SidePanel/Schedules/ScheduleDialog.tsx
index 6c3895c8a2..05c702f2b8 100644
--- a/client/src/components/SidePanel/Schedules/ScheduleDialog.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/SidePanel/Schedules/ScheduleDialog.tsx
@@ -210,8 +210,12 @@ export default function ScheduleDialog({
       showToast({ message: localize('com_ui_schedule_updated'), status: 'success' });
       onOpenChange(false);
     },
-    onError: () => {
-      showToast({ message: localize('com_ui_error'), status: 'error' });
+    onError: (error) => {
+      const status = (error as { response?: { status?: number } } | undefined)?.response?.status;
+      showToast({
+        message: localize(status === 409 ? 'com_ui_schedule_conflict' : 'com_ui_error'),
+        status: 'error',
+      });
     },
   });
 
@@ -255,7 +259,15 @@ export default function ScheduleDialog({
       }
       updateSchedule.mutate({
         id: schedule.id,
-        payload,
+        // Fence on the revision this dialog opened with: cadence is rebuilt whole
+        // from that snapshot, so an edit from another tab would otherwise be
+        // silently overwritten — the server answers 409 instead.
+        payload: {
+          ...payload,
+          ...(schedule.configRevision != null
+            ? { expectedConfigRevision: schedule.configRevision }
+            : {}),
+        },
       });
       return;
     }
diff --git a/client/src/locales/en/translation.json b/client/src/locales/en/translation.json
index e67389a2a5..930070e0d6 100644
--- a/client/src/locales/en/translation.json
+++ b/client/src/locales/en/translation.json
@@ -1673,6 +1673,7 @@
   "com_ui_saved": "Saved!",
   "com_ui_saving": "Saving...",
   "com_ui_schedule_am": "AM",
+  "com_ui_schedule_conflict": "This schedule was changed elsewhere. Reopen it to edit the latest version.",
   "com_ui_schedule_created": "Schedule created",
   "com_ui_schedule_daily": "Daily",
   "com_ui_schedule_day": "Day of week",
diff --git a/packages/api/src/auth/userDocCache.spec.ts b/packages/api/src/auth/userDocCache.spec.ts
index e052b77f33..e49432f735 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/auth/userDocCache.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/auth/userDocCache.spec.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
   AUTH_USER_DOC_CACHE_TTL_MS,
   buildAuthUserDocCacheKey,
   buildAuthUserDocReverseIndexKey,
+  buildAuthUserDocTombstoneKey,
   getAuthUserDocCacheMode,
   getCachedAuthUserDoc,
   invalidateCachedAuthUserDoc,
@@ -159,6 +160,26 @@ describe('auth user document cache helpers', () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it('unwinds its own write when the deletion tombstone is present', async () => {
+    const store = makeStore();
+    const userId = new Types.ObjectId();
+    const cacheKey = 'auth-user-doc:v1:tombstoned';
+    // The deletion barrier writes this BEFORE sweeping keys, so a fill whose Mongo
+    // read predates the barrier but whose cache write lands after the sweep must
+    // observe it here and delete its own entry — otherwise the deleted user's
+    // document is served for the full TTL while the destructive cascade runs.
+    store.values.set(buildAuthUserDocTombstoneKey(userId.toString()), Date.now());
+
+    await setCachedAuthUserDoc(store, cacheKey, {
+      _id: userId,
+      id: userId.toString(),
+      email: 'user@example.com',
+    });
+
+    expect(store.values.has(cacheKey)).toBe(false);
+    expect(store.values.has(buildAuthUserDocReverseIndexKey(userId.toString()))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
   it('deduplicates reverse-index keys and caps the remembered set', async () => {
     const store = makeStore();
     const objectId = new Types.ObjectId();
diff --git a/packages/api/src/auth/userDocCache.ts b/packages/api/src/auth/userDocCache.ts
index 95be55fd64..2354681ea7 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/auth/userDocCache.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/auth/userDocCache.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import { createHash } from 'crypto';
 import { logger } from '@librechat/data-schemas';
-import { AUTH_USER_DOC_BY_ID_PREFIX, CacheKeys } from 'librechat-data-provider';
+import {
+  AUTH_USER_DOC_TOMBSTONE_PREFIX,
+  AUTH_USER_DOC_BY_ID_PREFIX,
+  CacheKeys,
+} from 'librechat-data-provider';
 import type { IUser } from '@librechat/data-schemas';
 import { cacheConfig } from '~/cache/cacheConfig';
 
@@ -104,6 +108,10 @@ export function buildAuthUserDocReverseIndexKey(userId: string): string {
   return `${AUTH_USER_DOC_BY_ID_PREFIX}:${userId}`;
 }
 
+export function buildAuthUserDocTombstoneKey(userId: string): string {
+  return `${AUTH_USER_DOC_TOMBSTONE_PREFIX}:${userId}`;
+}
+
 function sanitizeUserForCache(user: Partial<IUser>): CachedAuthUser {
   const id = getUserId(user);
   const { _id: _ignored, ...rest } = user;
@@ -175,6 +183,16 @@ export async function setCachedAuthUserDoc(
     const userId = getUserId(sanitized);
     if (userId) {
       await rememberUserCacheKey(store, userId, cacheKey, AUTH_USER_DOC_CACHE_TTL_MS);
+      // Checked AFTER the writes above, never before: the deletion barrier writes
+      // its tombstone and then sweeps keys, so a fill whose Mongo read predates the
+      // barrier either lands before the sweep (swept) or observes the tombstone
+      // here and unwinds itself. A pre-write check leaves the sweep-then-write
+      // interleaving serving a deleted user's document for the full TTL.
+      const tombstoned = await store.get(buildAuthUserDocTombstoneKey(userId));
+      if (tombstoned != null) {
+        await store.delete(cacheKey);
+        await store.delete(buildAuthUserDocReverseIndexKey(userId));
+      }
     }
   } catch (error) {
     logger.warn('[authUserDocCache] Cache write failed', {
diff --git a/packages/api/src/schedules/handlers.spec.ts b/packages/api/src/schedules/handlers.spec.ts
index fa50f0dca8..0c32909a1c 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/schedules/handlers.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/schedules/handlers.spec.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ describe('toWireSchedule', () => {
       [
         'agent_id',
         'cadence',
+        // Public so the edit dialog can fence its PATCH on the revision it opened
+        // with (updateSchedulePayloadSchema.expectedConfigRevision).
+        'configRevision',
         'createdAt',
         'disabledReason',
         'enabled',
@@ -671,6 +674,72 @@ describe('updateSchedule refuses field-less payloads', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('updateSchedule client revision fence', () => {
+  const existingRow = () =>
+    ({
+      id: 'sched-1',
+      enabled: true,
+      agent_id: 'agent-1',
+      cadence: { frequency: 'daily', hour: 8, minute: 0 },
+      timezone: 'UTC',
+      nextRunAt: new Date('2026-07-31T09:00:00Z'),
+      configRevision: 7,
+    }) as unknown as ISchedule;
+
+  const makePatchReq = (body: Record<string, unknown>) =>
+    ({
+      params: { id: 'sched-1' },
+      body,
+      user: { id: 'user-1', tenantId: 't1', role: 'USER' },
+    }) as unknown as ServerRequest;
+
+  it('refuses a PATCH computed from a superseded revision', async () => {
+    const deps = makeCreateDeps({ isUserDeleting: jest.fn(async () => false) });
+    (deps.methods.getScheduleById as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue(existingRow());
+    const { res, captured } = makeRes();
+
+    await createSchedulesHandlers(deps).updateSchedule(
+      makePatchReq({ name: 'renamed', expectedConfigRevision: 6 }),
+      res,
+    );
+
+    // The dialog rebuilds cadence whole from the snapshot it opened with, so the
+    // server's fresh-read fence alone cannot see that another tab edited the row.
+    expect(captured.status).toBe(409);
+    expect(deps.methods.updateScheduleById).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('applies the PATCH and strips the fence field when the revision matches', async () => {
+    const deps = makeCreateDeps({ isUserDeleting: jest.fn(async () => false) });
+    (deps.methods.getScheduleById as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue(existingRow());
+    const { res, captured } = makeRes();
+
+    await createSchedulesHandlers(deps).updateSchedule(
+      makePatchReq({ name: 'renamed', expectedConfigRevision: 7 }),
+      res,
+    );
+
+    expect(captured.status ?? 200).toBe(200);
+    const [, , update] = (deps.methods.updateScheduleById as jest.Mock).mock.calls[0];
+    // The fence input is not a schedule field; writing it would corrupt the row.
+    expect(update).not.toHaveProperty('expectedConfigRevision');
+    expect(update).toHaveProperty('name', 'renamed');
+  });
+
+  it('still refuses a PATCH that carries only the fence field', async () => {
+    const deps = makeCreateDeps({ isUserDeleting: jest.fn(async () => false) });
+    const { res, captured } = makeRes();
+
+    await createSchedulesHandlers(deps).updateSchedule(
+      makePatchReq({ expectedConfigRevision: 7 }),
+      res,
+    );
+
+    expect(captured.status).toBe(400);
+    expect(deps.methods.updateScheduleById).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
+
 describe('attachment id deduplication', () => {
   it('accepts a create whose payload repeats an owned file id', async () => {
     const deps = makeCreateDeps({ isUserDeleting: jest.fn(async () => false) });
diff --git a/packages/api/src/schedules/handlers.ts b/packages/api/src/schedules/handlers.ts
index cf1f8dfb69..daec7c7304 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/schedules/handlers.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/schedules/handlers.ts
@@ -180,6 +180,7 @@ export type WireSchedule = Pick<
   | 'lastRun'
   | 'runCount'
   | 'failureCount'
+  | 'configRevision'
   | 'createdAt'
   | 'updatedAt'
 >;
@@ -201,6 +202,7 @@ export function toWireSchedule(schedule: ISchedule): WireSchedule {
     lastRun: schedule.lastRun,
     runCount: schedule.runCount,
     failureCount: schedule.failureCount,
+    configRevision: schedule.configRevision,
     createdAt: schedule.createdAt,
     updatedAt: schedule.updatedAt,
   };
@@ -580,12 +582,16 @@ export function createSchedulesHandlers(deps: SchedulesHandlersDeps): SchedulesH
       res.status(400).json({ error: 'Invalid schedule payload', issues: parsed.error.issues });
       return;
     }
+    // The fence input is not a schedule field: strip it before the emptiness check
+    // and the update spread below, or it would count as an edit and be written to
+    // the row.
+    const { expectedConfigRevision, ...editedFields } = parsed.data;
     // A field-less PATCH is not a harmless no-op: updateScheduleById rotates the claim
     // token and bumps the config revision on every write, so an empty update would
     // fence a legitimate in-flight occurrence — its terminal bookkeeping revision-
     // fences to a no-op, and a fire in the POST-to-controller window is refused at
     // the admission boundary without ever running. Refuse before touching fencing.
-    if (Object.keys(parsed.data).length === 0) {
+    if (Object.keys(editedFields).length === 0) {
       res.status(400).json({ error: 'Schedule update must include at least one field' });
       return;
     }
@@ -599,6 +605,15 @@ export function createSchedulesHandlers(deps: SchedulesHandlersDeps): SchedulesH
       res.status(404).json({ error: 'Schedule not found' });
       return;
     }
+    // Client-side revision fence: the dialog rebuilds compound fields (cadence)
+    // from the snapshot it opened with, so an edit from another tab is invisible
+    // to the fresh-read fence below — the payload is internally consistent with a
+    // row that no longer exists. Refuse before any side effect (file holds) when
+    // the client says which revision it edited.
+    if (expectedConfigRevision != null && existing.configRevision !== expectedConfigRevision) {
+      res.status(409).json({ error: 'Schedule was modified concurrently. Please retry.' });
+      return;
+    }
     const limits = await deps.getLimits(user);
     // When the owner's config disables schedules, block edits that keep the
     // schedule enabled; still allow turning one OFF.
@@ -642,7 +657,7 @@ export function createSchedulesHandlers(deps: SchedulesHandlersDeps): SchedulesH
     // or a failed arm leaves exactly this state; re-arm on ANY edit rather than only a
     // cadence one, or a name/prompt edit would silently leave it dead.
     const needsArming = existing.nextRunAt == null;
-    const update: Partial<ISchedule> = { ...parsed.data } as Partial<ISchedule>;
+    const update: Partial<ISchedule> = { ...editedFields } as Partial<ISchedule>;
     if (enabled && (cadenceChanged || needsArming)) {
       const nextRunAt = computeNextRunAt({ cadence, timezone, scheduleId: existing.id });
       if (nextRunAt == null) {
diff --git a/packages/api/src/stream/GenerationJobManager.ts b/packages/api/src/stream/GenerationJobManager.ts
index ae7a366932..5ae4d8eef6 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/stream/GenerationJobManager.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/stream/GenerationJobManager.ts
@@ -1740,10 +1740,35 @@ class GenerationJobManagerClass {
       runtime.finalEvent = abortFinalEvent;
     }
 
+    // Same bound as the abort publication above: everything between the won CAS
+    // and abortJob's return must terminate during a transport outage, or the Stop
+    // route behind this call never saves its partial or resolves its stop stamp.
     if (runtime?.createdEventPublication) {
-      await runtime.createdEventPublication;
+      try {
+        await withTimeout(
+          runtime.createdEventPublication,
+          ABORT_PUBLISH_TIMEOUT_MS,
+          `Created-event publication timed out during abort for ${streamId}`,
+        );
+      } catch (err) {
+        logger.error(
+          `[GenerationJobManager] Created-event wait failed during abort for ${streamId}:`,
+          err,
+        );
+      }
+    }
+    try {
+      await withTimeout(
+        Promise.resolve(this.eventTransport.emitDone(streamId, abortFinalEvent, jobData.createdAt)),
+        ABORT_PUBLISH_TIMEOUT_MS,
+        `Abort final-event publication timed out for ${streamId}`,
+      );
+    } catch (err) {
+      logger.error(
+        `[GenerationJobManager] Failed to publish abort final event for ${streamId}:`,
+        err,
+      );
     }
-    await this.eventTransport.emitDone(streamId, abortFinalEvent, jobData.createdAt);
     if (runtime?.startupTelemetry) {
       this.recordStartupEvent(runtime, abortFinalEvent);
     }
diff --git a/packages/data-provider/src/config.ts b/packages/data-provider/src/config.ts
index 429ebf2598..50dec5f763 100644
--- a/packages/data-provider/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/data-provider/src/config.ts
@@ -2494,6 +2494,13 @@ export enum CacheKeys {
 
 export const AUTH_USER_DOC_BY_ID_PREFIX = 'auth-user-doc-byid';
 
+/**
+ * Deletion-barrier tombstone for the auth user-doc cache. Written BEFORE the
+ * barrier's key sweep so a cache fill racing the sweep (Mongo read pre-barrier,
+ * cache write post-sweep) observes it after writing and deletes its own entry.
+ */
+export const AUTH_USER_DOC_TOMBSTONE_PREFIX = 'auth-user-doc-tombstone';
+
 /**
  * Enum for violation types, used to identify, log, and cache violations.
  */
diff --git a/packages/data-provider/src/types/schedules.ts b/packages/data-provider/src/types/schedules.ts
index 6bdc81bee7..e98c70e971 100644
--- a/packages/data-provider/src/types/schedules.ts
+++ b/packages/data-provider/src/types/schedules.ts
@@ -58,7 +58,17 @@ export type TCreateSchedule = z.infer<typeof createSchedulePayloadSchema>;
 /** Idempotency is a property of the CREATE attempt, not of the schedule's config. */
 export const updateSchedulePayloadSchema = createSchedulePayloadSchema
   .omit({ clientRequestId: true })
-  .partial();
+  .partial()
+  .extend({
+    /**
+     * The configRevision the client's edit was computed from (captured when the
+     * dialog opened). The server fences the update on it, so a concurrent edit
+     * from another tab answers 409 instead of being silently overwritten by a
+     * payload rebuilt from a stale snapshot (cadence is sent whole, so the
+     * server-side fresh-read fence alone cannot detect this).
+     */
+    expectedConfigRevision: z.number().int().min(0).optional(),
+  });
 export type TUpdateSchedule = z.infer<typeof updateSchedulePayloadSchema>;
 
 export type TScheduleLastRun = {
@@ -84,6 +94,7 @@ export type TSchedule = {
   lastRun?: TScheduleLastRun;
   runCount: number;
   failureCount: number;
+  configRevision?: number;
   createdAt: string;
   updatedAt: string;
 };
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/schedule.methods.spec.ts b/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/schedule.methods.spec.ts
index 969d8b3ac1..0f48c76bea 100644
--- a/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/schedule.methods.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/schedule.methods.spec.ts
@@ -381,6 +381,31 @@ describe('recordRunOutcome', () => {
     expect(updated.lastRun?.conversationId).toBe('convo-paused');
   });
 
+  it('re-affirmed pauses keep the ORIGINAL fire time and do not churn updatedAt', async () => {
+    const schedule = await methods.createSchedule(scheduleData());
+    const originalFiredAt = new Date('2026-07-20T12:00:02Z');
+    await methods.insertScheduleRun(runData(schedule, { scheduledFor, firedAt: originalFiredAt }));
+    const pause = () =>
+      methods.recordRunOutcome({
+        scheduleId: schedule.id,
+        scheduledFor,
+        status: 'requires_action',
+        conversationId: 'convo-paused',
+        autoDisableAfterFailures: 3,
+      });
+
+    await pause();
+    const afterFirst = await getSchedule(schedule.id);
+    // Reconciliation re-affirms a long-lived pause every pass; a fresh stamp per
+    // pass walked the card's timestamp forward and reordered updated-time listings
+    // for as long as the approval sat waiting.
+    await pause();
+    const afterSecond = await getSchedule(schedule.id);
+
+    expect(afterSecond.lastRun?.firedAt?.toISOString()).toBe(originalFiredAt.toISOString());
+    expect(afterSecond.updatedAt?.toISOString()).toBe(afterFirst.updatedAt?.toISOString());
+  });
+
   it('does not write a pause card when no active run matches (spoof guard)', async () => {
     const schedule = await methods.createSchedule(scheduleData());
     // No run row for this occurrence: the card is written only after a matching active
@@ -1057,6 +1082,40 @@ describe('deletion barrier fails closed on cache invalidation', () => {
     });
     await expect(userMethods.markUserDeleting(user._id.toString())).resolves.toBeInstanceOf(Date);
   });
+
+  it('writes the deletion tombstone BEFORE sweeping the cached keys', async () => {
+    process.env.AUTH_USER_CACHE_MODE = 'on';
+    const ops: string[] = [];
+    const tracking = createUserMethods(mongoose, {
+      getCache: () =>
+        ({
+          get: async () => undefined,
+          set: async (key: string) => {
+            ops.push(`set:${key}`);
+            return true;
+          },
+          delete: async (key: string) => {
+            ops.push(`delete:${key}`);
+            return true;
+          },
+        }) as never,
+    });
+    const user = await mongoose.models.User.create({
+      email: `barrier-tombstone-${Date.now()}@test.dev`,
+      name: 'B',
+    });
+
+    await tracking.markUserDeleting(user._id.toString());
+
+    // A fill racing this barrier checks the tombstone AFTER its own write. That
+    // only closes the race if the tombstone exists before the sweep begins: a
+    // sweep-first ordering leaves a window where the fill sees no tombstone and
+    // its entry was written after the sweep — surviving for the full TTL.
+    const tombstoneSet = ops.findIndex((op) => op.startsWith('set:auth-user-doc-tombstone:'));
+    const firstDelete = ops.findIndex((op) => op.startsWith('delete:'));
+    expect(tombstoneSet).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(firstDelete).toBeGreaterThan(tombstoneSet);
+  });
 });
 
 describe('schedule deletion is retryable', () => {
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/schedule.ts b/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/schedule.ts
index ee874b9439..7650e91d1e 100644
--- a/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/schedule.ts
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/schedule.ts
@@ -858,6 +858,10 @@ export function createScheduleMethods(mongoose: typeof import('mongoose')): Sche
         ...revisionFilter,
       },
       { $set: { lastRun: { ...lastRun, scheduledFor } } },
+      // Run-state bookkeeping, not a config edit: re-affirmed pauses would
+      // otherwise bump updatedAt (and reorder updated-time listings) every
+      // reconciliation pass for as long as an approval sits waiting.
+      { timestamps: false },
     );
   }
 
@@ -1114,9 +1118,16 @@ export function createScheduleMethods(mongoose: typeof import('mongoose')): Sche
       // and the approval must not have the OLD config's pause stamped on it. Without
       // this the later terminal write (which IS fenced) could never replace the stale
       // status, so the card stuck on "Needs approval".
+      // The ROW's fire time, not the projection time: reconciliation re-affirms a
+      // long-lived pause every pass, and a fresh stamp per pass walked the card's
+      // timestamp forward for as long as the approval sat waiting.
       await projectLastRun(
         params.scheduleId,
-        { conversationId: params.conversationId, status: params.status, firedAt },
+        {
+          conversationId: params.conversationId,
+          status: params.status,
+          firedAt: paused.firedAt ?? firedAt,
+        },
         params.scheduledFor,
         paused.configRevision != null ? { configRevision: paused.configRevision } : {},
       );
@@ -1161,7 +1172,7 @@ export function createScheduleMethods(mongoose: typeof import('mongoose')): Sche
       await applyBalanceSkipBookkeeping({
         scheduleId: params.scheduleId,
         scheduledFor: params.scheduledFor,
-        firedAt,
+        firedAt: settled.firedAt ?? firedAt,
         conversationId: params.conversationId,
         rowRevision: settled.configRevision,
         balanceSkipDisableThreshold: params.balanceSkipDisableThreshold,
@@ -1169,7 +1180,7 @@ export function createScheduleMethods(mongoose: typeof import('mongoose')): Sche
     } else {
       await applyTerminalBookkeeping({
         ...params,
-        firedAt,
+        firedAt: settled.firedAt ?? firedAt,
         expectConfigRevision: settled.configRevision,
       });
     }
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/user.ts b/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/user.ts
index a084e9f819..b2327fc0c7 100644
--- a/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/user.ts
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/src/methods/user.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import mongoose, { FilterQuery } from 'mongoose';
 import {
+  AUTH_USER_DOC_TOMBSTONE_PREFIX,
   AUTH_USER_DOC_BY_ID_PREFIX,
   CacheKeys,
   type RefillIntervalUnit,
@@ -290,6 +291,10 @@ export function createUserMethods(
    * destructive cascade runs. Swallowing the fault there reports a barrier that was
    * never actually raised.
    */
+  /** Outlives any in-flight auth whose Mongo read predates the barrier; the cached
+   *  doc's own 5s TTL bounds the damage of anything that slips past this window. */
+  const AUTH_USER_DOC_TOMBSTONE_TTL_MS = 60_000;
+
   async function invalidateAuthUserDocCache(
     userId: string,
     options?: { required?: boolean },
@@ -307,6 +312,17 @@ export function createUserMethods(
       return;
     }
     try {
+      if (options?.required && cache.set) {
+        // Tombstone FIRST, sweep second. A fill racing this barrier (Mongo read
+        // pre-barrier, cache write post-sweep) re-caches the deleted user for its
+        // full TTL; fills check this key AFTER writing, so either the sweep below
+        // catches their entry or this tombstone makes them unwind it themselves.
+        await cache.set(
+          `${AUTH_USER_DOC_TOMBSTONE_PREFIX}:${userId}`,
+          Date.now(),
+          AUTH_USER_DOC_TOMBSTONE_TTL_MS,
+        );
+      }
       const indexKey = `${AUTH_USER_DOC_BY_ID_PREFIX}:${userId}`;
       const cachedKeys = await cache.get(indexKey);
       if (Array.isArray(cachedKeys)) {
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/src/types/cache.ts b/packages/data-schemas/src/types/cache.ts
index 2181f83812..72717fdedd 100644
--- a/packages/data-schemas/src/types/cache.ts
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/src/types/cache.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 export interface CacheStore {
   get: (key: string) => Promise<unknown>;
-  set: (key: string, value: unknown) => Promise<unknown>;
+  set: (key: string, value: unknown, ttlMs?: number) => Promise<unknown>;
   delete?: (key: string) => Promise<unknown>;
   clear?: () => Promise<unknown>;
   /** True when the store is shared across processes (e.g. Redis-backed). */