diff --git a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
index a48213c..1df40e3 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
@@ -6,14 +6,14 @@
   },
   "metadata": {
     "description": "Token Pilot — save 60-90% tokens when AI reads code",
-    "version": "0.48.0"
+    "version": "0.49.0"
   },
   "plugins": [
     {
       "name": "token-pilot",
       "source": "./",
       "description": "Reduces token consumption by 60-90% via AST-aware lazy file reading, structural symbol navigation, and cross-session tool-usage analytics. 25 MCP tools + 25 subagents + budget watchdog hooks.",
-      "version": "0.48.0",
+      "version": "0.49.0",
       "author": {
         "name": "Digital-Threads"
       },
diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index a917d6c..4f063ee 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "token-pilot",
-  "version": "0.48.0",
+  "version": "0.49.0",
   "description": "Saves 60-90% tokens on AI code reading. AST-aware lazy reads, symbol navigation, find_usages, structural git diff/log, edit-safety guard, Task-routing matcher, cross-session telemetry (errors + diagnostics), 25 tp-* subagents tiered to haiku/sonnet/opus with budget watchdog.",
   "author": {
     "name": "Digital-Threads",
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8237b8c..39d3592 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,61 @@ All notable changes to Token Pilot will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.49.0] - 2026-07-26
+
+### Fixed — the tp-* response-budget watchdog was dead
+
+Every tp-* agent declares a `Response budget: ~N tokens`, and a watchdog
+was supposed to flag replies that overran it. It never ran. The check
+lived in `PostToolUse:Task`, which does not fire for the dispatch tool on
+current Claude Code — something this codebase already knew and noted in a
+comment back in v0.39.3, without connecting it to the budget path.
+
+The symptoms were quiet and complete: `.token-pilot/over-budget.log` did
+not exist on any machine, and every recorded task event carried a null
+budget. Months of nothing.
+
+Moved the check to `SubagentStop`, where subagent completions actually
+arrive, and corrected what it measures. It now sizes the agent's **final
+reply** rather than everything the agent emitted along the way — a
+response budget is about the answer handed back, not about the thinking
+and tool calls on the way there. Summing all output would have flagged
+essentially every agent.
+
+The log write is unconditional. Surfacing the warning in the transcript
+rides the existing `TOKEN_PILOT_SUBAGENT_FEEDBACK=1` gate, because
+`additionalContext` on `SubagentStop` needs Claude Code 2.1.163+.
+
+### Security
+
+Cleared all 48 open dependency advisories, every one transitive through
+`@modelcontextprotocol/sdk` (27 were `hono` alone). The SDK moves 1.27.1 →
+1.29.0, which carries current `hono`, `qs`, `path-to-regexp`,
+`ip-address`, `vite` and `vitest`. Two packages needed a major the SDK
+does not request and are pinned through `overrides`: `fast-uri` 4.1.1 —
+which is on our path, since the SDK's server imports the ajv validator
+under stdio — and `@hono/node-server` 2.0.12.
+
+### Documentation
+
+Corrected the advertised tool count, which had drifted in three places
+(README said 23, marketplace 24, docs 23; there are 25), and documented
+`call_tree`, which was missing from the tools reference.
+
+Corrected `tokensFromTranscript`'s docstring: it sums every line carrying
+a usage object, not "across assistant messages" as claimed. Claude Code
+writes one record per content block and repeats the usage on each, so a
+per-line sum double-counts within a request — ~1.4% on output tokens, a
+clean ~2x on any input-side field.
+
+### CI
+
+npm is retiring the audit endpoint the pipeline used; it now answers 400
+for the npm shipped with Node 20 and 22, which failed every build
+regardless of the code. The step now reads the JSON report itself: a
+missing or malformed report is a warning, real advisories at moderate or
+above still fail the build.
+
 ## [0.48.0] - 2026-07-26
 
 Catches up with Claude Code 2.1.188 → 2.1.220. Every breaking change in
diff --git a/agents/tp-api-surface-tracker.md b/agents/tp-api-surface-tracker.md
index 999f561..c2de79b 100644
--- a/agents/tp-api-surface-tracker.md
+++ b/agents/tp-api-surface-tracker.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__read_symbol
   - Bash
 model: haiku
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: dd184501203fa7f3c73f419c4ffbe33c4be75400cb64a7a51733a3fe23f6e085
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-audit-scanner.md b/agents/tp-audit-scanner.md
index e5f2b68..c171b07 100644
--- a/agents/tp-audit-scanner.md
+++ b/agents/tp-audit-scanner.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tools:
   - Grep
   - Read
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: d172f600bf32277ea6eb4cbbee4542ddd698a986dcd96997d33930561964569b
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-commit-writer.md b/agents/tp-commit-writer.md
index 9d2a9f6..57dca65 100644
--- a/agents/tp-commit-writer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-commit-writer.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__test_summary
   - mcp__token-pilot__outline
   - Bash
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: de64a406b5176de19f7422619c7de7949b1f28865f225402c9cea9255f377428
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-context-engineer.md b/agents/tp-context-engineer.md
index 910778c..baa87b6 100644
--- a/agents/tp-context-engineer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-context-engineer.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ tools:
   - Edit
   - Glob
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 68b32af2dacd82ebe52c4eec93edb903d452688274c3065218270627c564d8b0
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-dead-code-finder.md b/agents/tp-dead-code-finder.md
index 17cf447..9fa9fec 100644
--- a/agents/tp-dead-code-finder.md
+++ b/agents/tp-dead-code-finder.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tools:
   - Grep
   - Read
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: d9b7f5b7ae6f4ae21305c775361bcab097cc774370a6d976c093571d46d55021
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-debugger.md b/agents/tp-debugger.md
index 83d3206..b6524a2 100644
--- a/agents/tp-debugger.md
+++ b/agents/tp-debugger.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ tools:
   - Read
   - Bash
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 052413de8d92377edcde6ae5c823f5378db304baccfa29e8866467f42553a500
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-dep-health.md b/agents/tp-dep-health.md
index edf7fde..e20dc15 100644
--- a/agents/tp-dep-health.md
+++ b/agents/tp-dep-health.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ tools:
   - Bash
   - Read
 model: haiku
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: e14dc57493d816f8c2e017963e2ef5f66bea50fd0b805a80e8a0d97c968427e7
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-doc-writer.md b/agents/tp-doc-writer.md
index 1a75996..123b44a 100644
--- a/agents/tp-doc-writer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-doc-writer.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ tools:
   - Edit
   - Glob
 model: haiku
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 57d741794ab40e31a7ac49c68ea39a9088f5827cdef866ce81bfca1b7c9180cf
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-history-explorer.md b/agents/tp-history-explorer.md
index a68c2c6..9711f19 100644
--- a/agents/tp-history-explorer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-history-explorer.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ tools:
   - Bash
   - Read
 model: haiku
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 7b70fa76a60e3c58a1de4f56c32c0f166424137e203a0cf1c8654e7c9235d904
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-impact-analyzer.md b/agents/tp-impact-analyzer.md
index eae5c59..c2b4da2 100644
--- a/agents/tp-impact-analyzer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-impact-analyzer.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__read_symbols
   - Read
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 351a987e11eba63852f5431a16d8eb53104f4f689f82fdcc5a2bf4db948ba92f
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-incident-timeline.md b/agents/tp-incident-timeline.md
index bd58f85..6977ed5 100644
--- a/agents/tp-incident-timeline.md
+++ b/agents/tp-incident-timeline.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__read_symbol
   - Bash
 model: inherit
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: de5722bfea374eaab096c1ae635c37879e7a91370ee3cd0532f4240be03c91eb
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-incremental-builder.md b/agents/tp-incremental-builder.md
index 8a3a890..0e75416 100644
--- a/agents/tp-incremental-builder.md
+++ b/agents/tp-incremental-builder.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ tools:
   - Edit
   - Bash
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 375a824d0d847bb5453ec594c7a62ad566ee7e4d92717b0473f771f1a0477c60
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-migration-scout.md b/agents/tp-migration-scout.md
index d18499a..6a2f062 100644
--- a/agents/tp-migration-scout.md
+++ b/agents/tp-migration-scout.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tools:
   - Grep
   - Glob
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 0334de1bf99b431b65359637d125cda7c44c6f780eb92c57cc538715b1939536
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-onboard.md b/agents/tp-onboard.md
index a4b7e6f..e68dec3 100644
--- a/agents/tp-onboard.md
+++ b/agents/tp-onboard.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__smart_read
   - mcp__token-pilot__smart_read_many
   - mcp__token-pilot__read_section
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 832e95633fbc8e9b0c10f3e540a327d4be062fb4b3f17a6cce6be13f414e2927
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-performance-profiler.md b/agents/tp-performance-profiler.md
index 1bba70e..03073f8 100644
--- a/agents/tp-performance-profiler.md
+++ b/agents/tp-performance-profiler.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tools:
   - Bash
   - Read
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: b61f06380d80798fa2e49d37bcba0653495bee04dd6bdbc1feff9a75607b0508
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-pr-reviewer.md b/agents/tp-pr-reviewer.md
index 1d9da30..7a5d8dd 100644
--- a/agents/tp-pr-reviewer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-pr-reviewer.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__read_for_edit
   - Read
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: f83f50d05b4f70285ae7afed2b1a406fc436df56e61a0aedbfb31edc7f2b6e66
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-refactor-planner.md b/agents/tp-refactor-planner.md
index de04c67..06057b7 100644
--- a/agents/tp-refactor-planner.md
+++ b/agents/tp-refactor-planner.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__outline
   - mcp__token-pilot__read_symbol
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: c5f6fc122c89e16e5cf774045f92169ee3468555320b898171ba13eca5323550
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-review-impact.md b/agents/tp-review-impact.md
index 2eb3d13..f78f25f 100644
--- a/agents/tp-review-impact.md
+++ b/agents/tp-review-impact.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__module_info
   - Bash
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 8ef3c3341cbfed4eb8dd130126a9683edc57e378c92ff0ca764d584fd941c55c
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-run.md b/agents/tp-run.md
index 08204cd..5f17a2e 100644
--- a/agents/tp-run.md
+++ b/agents/tp-run.md
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ tools:
   - Glob
   - Bash
 model: haiku
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 2b08618d34a61f00aafccbda9fed6d83243296dedb83440edbd2d5c28bb6dbc4
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-session-restorer.md b/agents/tp-session-restorer.md
index c1d1f46..72660d4 100644
--- a/agents/tp-session-restorer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-session-restorer.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__session_budget
   - Bash
   - Read
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 529374ed728f5eed5b758b3be3da65624783c0bf0c1a253d7d661a843eb5f767
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-ship-coordinator.md b/agents/tp-ship-coordinator.md
index 1c27aa4..21cfd2c 100644
--- a/agents/tp-ship-coordinator.md
+++ b/agents/tp-ship-coordinator.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tools:
   - Read
   - Grep
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: a60f6ae110eb3138064bce074e8ba26fa0ce5f4659df1624a9d9d3646803391b
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-spec-writer.md b/agents/tp-spec-writer.md
index f2670d3..f79a804 100644
--- a/agents/tp-spec-writer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-spec-writer.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ tools:
   - Read
   - Write
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: c7a4e8b39228fd5158528f389c924c5ff2d98c4b9b05ee0106d54a26c5dc1350
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-test-coverage-gapper.md b/agents/tp-test-coverage-gapper.md
index 46207f6..2e28b12 100644
--- a/agents/tp-test-coverage-gapper.md
+++ b/agents/tp-test-coverage-gapper.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__test_summary
   - Glob
   - Grep
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: be81eed53a3720d146cf89e4a14a7a56577633f7c84c234c412ab70d64c05b11
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-test-triage.md b/agents/tp-test-triage.md
index 86d9150..75dc6c7 100644
--- a/agents/tp-test-triage.md
+++ b/agents/tp-test-triage.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ tools:
   - mcp__token-pilot__find_usages
   - mcp__token-pilot__read_symbol
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 362ecf4cb03b059421ea26933473700900073dc38b3a7fe271208dfb1ae14f90
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/agents/tp-test-writer.md b/agents/tp-test-writer.md
index 9cd5bc8..5ecb028 100644
--- a/agents/tp-test-writer.md
+++ b/agents/tp-test-writer.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ tools:
   - Edit
   - Bash
 model: sonnet
-token_pilot_version: "0.48.0"
+token_pilot_version: "0.49.0"
 token_pilot_body_hash: 269f2fe22ff4517c277d3f56ca67d8a5527b93290ab21079a83ba7af22c1b5a9
 requiredMcpServers:
   - "token-pilot"
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index da8a136..931d546 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "token-pilot",
-  "version": "0.48.0",
+  "version": "0.49.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "token-pilot",
-      "version": "0.48.0",
+      "version": "0.49.0",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 351671a..d0f7e00 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "token-pilot",
-  "version": "0.48.0",
+  "version": "0.49.0",
   "description": "Save up to 80% tokens when AI reads code \u2014 MCP server for token-efficient code navigation, AST-aware structural reading instead of dumping full files into context window",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
diff --git a/server.json b/server.json
index d4ad605..38816d4 100644
--- a/server.json
+++ b/server.json
@@ -6,12 +6,12 @@
     "url": "https://github.com/Digital-Threads/token-pilot",
     "source": "github"
   },
-  "version": "0.48.0",
+  "version": "0.49.0",
   "packages": [
     {
       "registryType": "npm",
       "identifier": "token-pilot",
-      "version": "0.48.0",
+      "version": "0.49.0",
       "transport": {
         "type": "stdio"
       },
diff --git a/src/hooks/subagent-stop.ts b/src/hooks/subagent-stop.ts
index e001ae9..eda4cfc 100644
--- a/src/hooks/subagent-stop.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/subagent-stop.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,13 @@
 
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import type { HookEvent } from "../core/event-log.js";
+import { estimateTokens } from "../core/token-estimator.js";
+import {
+  parseAgentBudget,
+  decideBudgetAdvice,
+  appendOverBudgetLog,
+  loadAgentBody,
+} from "./post-task.js";
 
 export interface SubagentStopInput {
   hook_event_name?: string;
@@ -103,6 +110,110 @@ export function tokensFromTranscript(path: string | undefined): number {
   return out > 0 ? out : lastTotal;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Size of the subagent's FINAL reply, in tokens.
+ *
+ * Distinct from `tokensFromTranscript`, which sums everything the agent
+ * ever emitted. The tp-* agents declare "Response budget: ~N tokens",
+ * and that budget is about the answer handed back to the caller — not
+ * about the thinking and tool calls along the way. So we take the last
+ * assistant turn carrying text and measure only that.
+ *
+ * The SubagentStop payload also has a `last_assistant_message` field
+ * (present in the 2.1.220 bundle), but nothing in this codebase has ever
+ * read it, so we have no evidence it is populated. The transcript is the
+ * source we already rely on, so it stays the single source here.
+ *
+ * Returns 0 when the path is missing, unreadable, or the agent finished
+ * without a text reply — never throws.
+ */
+export function finalResponseTokens(path: string | undefined): number {
+  if (!path || typeof path !== "string") return 0;
+  let raw: string;
+  try {
+    raw = readFileSync(path, "utf-8");
+  } catch {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  let lastText = "";
+  for (const line of raw.split("\n")) {
+    if (!line.trim()) continue;
+    let rec: unknown;
+    try {
+      rec = JSON.parse(line);
+    } catch {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const msg = (
+      rec as {
+        message?: { role?: string; content?: unknown };
+      }
+    ).message;
+    if (msg?.role !== "assistant" || !Array.isArray(msg.content)) continue;
+    const text = msg.content
+      .filter(
+        (b): b is { type: string; text: string } =>
+          typeof b === "object" &&
+          b !== null &&
+          (b as { type?: unknown }).type === "text" &&
+          typeof (b as { text?: unknown }).text === "string",
+      )
+      .map((b) => b.text)
+      .join("");
+    if (text.trim()) lastText = text;
+  }
+  return lastText ? estimateTokens(lastText) : 0;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Response-budget watchdog for tp-* subagents.
+ *
+ * Lived in PostToolUse:Task since v0.37.0, but that hook does not fire
+ * for the dispatch tool on current Claude Code — so the check never ran,
+ * `over-budget.log` never appeared, and every recorded task event carried
+ * a null budget. SubagentStop is where completions actually arrive.
+ *
+ * Returns an advisory string when the reply overran the declared budget,
+ * or null in every other case (non-tp agent, no budget declared, agent
+ * file missing, transcript unreadable). Never throws: a watchdog must not
+ * be able to break subagent completion.
+ */
+export async function checkSubagentBudget(
+  projectRoot: string,
+  homeDir: string,
+  input: Pick<SubagentStopInput, "agent_type" | "agent_transcript_path">,
+): Promise<string | null> {
+  try {
+    const agent = input.agent_type;
+    if (typeof agent !== "string" || !agent.startsWith("tp-")) return null;
+
+    const actualTokens = finalResponseTokens(input.agent_transcript_path);
+    if (actualTokens <= 0) return null;
+
+    const body = await loadAgentBody(projectRoot, homeDir, agent);
+    const budget = body ? parseAgentBudget(body) : null;
+    if (budget == null) return null;
+
+    const decision = decideBudgetAdvice({
+      agentName: agent,
+      budget,
+      actualTokens,
+    });
+    if (!decision.overBudget) return null;
+
+    await appendOverBudgetLog(projectRoot, {
+      ts: Date.now(),
+      agent,
+      budget,
+      actualTokens,
+      overByRatio: decision.overByRatio,
+    });
+    return decision.message;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Build the `event:"task"` record from a SubagentStop payload. Pure —
  * no I/O except the optional transcript token read, which the caller
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 9e772d2..7c5d6ab 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -415,6 +415,7 @@ export async function main(cliArgs = process.argv.slice(2)): Promise<void> {
           buildSubagentTaskEvent,
           decideSubagentFeedback,
           renderSubagentFeedback,
+          checkSubagentBudget,
         } = await import("./hooks/subagent-stop.js");
         const ev = buildSubagentTaskEvent(input, Date.now());
         if (ev) {
@@ -422,6 +423,18 @@ export async function main(cliArgs = process.argv.slice(2)): Promise<void> {
           await appendEvent(process.cwd(), ev);
         }
 
+        // v0.49.0 — the tp-* response-budget watchdog. It used to hang off
+        // PostToolUse:Task, which never fires here, so it has been silently
+        // dead: no over-budget.log, every task event with a null budget.
+        // The log write is unconditional (that is the record); surfacing it
+        // in the transcript rides the same feature gate as the feedback
+        // below, since SubagentStop additionalContext needs CC 2.1.163+.
+        const budgetMessage = await checkSubagentBudget(
+          process.cwd(),
+          homedir(),
+          input,
+        );
+
         // v0.41.0 — optional SubagentStop feedback. Returning
         // hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext from SubagentStop is a
         // Claude Code 2.1.163+ feature; on older Claude Code it is
@@ -445,9 +458,13 @@ export async function main(cliArgs = process.argv.slice(2)): Promise<void> {
               };
             }
           }
-          const rendered = renderSubagentFeedback(
+          const combined = [
+            budgetMessage,
             decideSubagentFeedback(input, { workflow: wf }),
-          );
+          ]
+            .filter(Boolean)
+            .join("\n");
+          const rendered = renderSubagentFeedback(combined || null);
           if (rendered) process.stdout.write(rendered);
         }
       });
diff --git a/tests/hooks/subagent-budget.test.ts b/tests/hooks/subagent-budget.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cca0d41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/hooks/subagent-budget.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+/**
+ * v0.49.0 — the tp-* response-budget watchdog, revived.
+ *
+ * The budget check has lived in PostToolUse:Task since v0.37.0, but that
+ * hook does not fire for the dispatch tool on current Claude Code (noted
+ * in installer.ts since v0.39.3). Consequence: `.token-pilot/over-budget.log`
+ * never appeared and every recorded task event carried a null budget — the
+ * watchdog has been dead for months without anyone noticing.
+ *
+ * SubagentStop is where subagent completions actually arrive, so the check
+ * belongs here. The measured value is the size of the agent's FINAL reply,
+ * not the sum of everything it emitted along the way: the agents declare
+ * "Response budget: ~N tokens", which is about the answer they hand back.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import { mkdtemp, rm, writeFile, mkdir, readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import {
+  finalResponseTokens,
+  checkSubagentBudget,
+} from "../../src/hooks/subagent-stop.ts";
+
+/** One JSONL line in the shape Claude Code writes for a subagent turn. */
+function assistantLine(text: string): string {
+  return JSON.stringify({
+    type: "assistant",
+    message: {
+      role: "assistant",
+      content: [{ type: "text", text }],
+      usage: { output_tokens: 10 },
+    },
+  });
+}
+
+function toolUseLine(): string {
+  return JSON.stringify({
+    type: "assistant",
+    message: {
+      role: "assistant",
+      content: [{ type: "tool_use", id: "t1", name: "Read", input: {} }],
+      usage: { output_tokens: 40 },
+    },
+  });
+}
+
+describe("finalResponseTokens", () => {
+  let dir: string;
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "tp-budget-"));
+  });
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  async function transcript(lines: string[]): Promise<string> {
+    const p = join(dir, "agent.jsonl");
+    await writeFile(p, lines.join("\n") + "\n");
+    return p;
+  }
+
+  it("returns 0 for a missing or unreadable path", async () => {
+    expect(finalResponseTokens(undefined)).toBe(0);
+    expect(finalResponseTokens(join(dir, "nope.jsonl"))).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("measures the last assistant text, not the whole transcript", async () => {
+    const p = await transcript([
+      assistantLine("x".repeat(4000)),
+      assistantLine("short answer"),
+    ]);
+    // Only the final reply counts, so this stays tiny despite the 4000-char
+    // turn before it.
+    expect(finalResponseTokens(p)).toBeLessThan(10);
+    expect(finalResponseTokens(p)).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it("ignores tool_use blocks that follow the last text block", async () => {
+    const p = await transcript([
+      assistantLine("the real answer"),
+      toolUseLine(),
+    ]);
+    expect(finalResponseTokens(p)).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(finalResponseTokens(p)).toBeLessThan(10);
+  });
+
+  it("survives malformed lines", async () => {
+    const p = await transcript([
+      "not json{{{",
+      assistantLine("still readable"),
+      "",
+    ]);
+    expect(finalResponseTokens(p)).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it("returns 0 when the agent produced no text reply", async () => {
+    const p = await transcript([toolUseLine()]);
+    expect(finalResponseTokens(p)).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("checkSubagentBudget", () => {
+  let projectRoot: string;
+  let homeDir: string;
+
+  /** Write an agent definition carrying a response budget. */
+  async function writeAgent(name: string, budget: number | null) {
+    const agentsDir = join(projectRoot, ".claude", "agents");
+    await mkdir(agentsDir, { recursive: true });
+    const body =
+      budget === null
+        ? `---\nname: ${name}\n---\n\nNo budget declared.\n`
+        : `---\nname: ${name}\n---\n\nResponse budget: ~${budget} tokens\n`;
+    await writeFile(join(agentsDir, `${name}.md`), body);
+  }
+
+  async function writeTranscript(text: string): Promise<string> {
+    const p = join(projectRoot, "agent.jsonl");
+    await writeFile(p, assistantLine(text) + "\n");
+    return p;
+  }
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    projectRoot = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "tp-budget-proj-"));
+    homeDir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "tp-budget-home-"));
+  });
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await rm(projectRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    await rm(homeDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it("ignores agents that are not tp-*", async () => {
+    const transcriptPath = await writeTranscript("x".repeat(8000));
+    const msg = await checkSubagentBudget(projectRoot, homeDir, {
+      agent_type: "general-purpose",
+      agent_transcript_path: transcriptPath,
+    });
+    expect(msg).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("stays silent when the reply fits the budget", async () => {
+    await writeAgent("tp-debugger", 600);
+    const transcriptPath = await writeTranscript("a short answer");
+    const msg = await checkSubagentBudget(projectRoot, homeDir, {
+      agent_type: "tp-debugger",
+      agent_transcript_path: transcriptPath,
+    });
+    expect(msg).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("flags a reply that overruns the budget and logs it", async () => {
+    await writeAgent("tp-debugger", 100);
+    const transcriptPath = await writeTranscript("x".repeat(8000));
+    const msg = await checkSubagentBudget(projectRoot, homeDir, {
+      agent_type: "tp-debugger",
+      agent_transcript_path: transcriptPath,
+    });
+    expect(msg).toContain("tp-debugger");
+    expect(msg).toContain("100");
+
+    const log = await readFile(
+      join(projectRoot, ".token-pilot", "over-budget.log"),
+      "utf-8",
+    );
+    expect(log).toContain("tp-debugger");
+  });
+
+  it("stays silent when the agent declares no budget", async () => {
+    await writeAgent("tp-debugger", null);
+    const transcriptPath = await writeTranscript("x".repeat(8000));
+    const msg = await checkSubagentBudget(projectRoot, homeDir, {
+      agent_type: "tp-debugger",
+      agent_transcript_path: transcriptPath,
+    });
+    expect(msg).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("stays silent when the agent file cannot be found", async () => {
+    const transcriptPath = await writeTranscript("x".repeat(8000));
+    const msg = await checkSubagentBudget(projectRoot, homeDir, {
+      agent_type: "tp-nonexistent",
+      agent_transcript_path: transcriptPath,
+    });
+    expect(msg).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("never throws when the transcript is missing", async () => {
+    await writeAgent("tp-debugger", 100);
+    const msg = await checkSubagentBudget(projectRoot, homeDir, {
+      agent_type: "tp-debugger",
+      agent_transcript_path: join(projectRoot, "gone.jsonl"),
+    });
+    expect(msg).toBeNull();
+  });
+});