diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 574762cd..91d978a6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 ### Fixed
 - `tear_down_after_script` runs when `set_up_before_script` fails, so it can release file-scoped resources acquired before the failure (#1318)
 - Under `--parallel`, `tear_down_after_script` runs after the file's own tests instead of alongside them, so a fixture it releases stays alive for the tests that read it. The same file no longer passed sequentially and failed in parallel (#1320)
+- `--stop-on-failure` runs `tear_down_after_script` for the file it halts in, so a sequential run releases what `set_up_before_script` acquired before the halt (#1321)
 
 ## [0.50.0](https://github.com/TypedDevs/bashunit/compare/0.49.0...0.50.0) - 2026-08-18
 
diff --git a/src/main/run.sh b/src/main/run.sh
index b770c16e..d3eedbfb 100644
--- a/src/main/run.sh
+++ b/src/main/run.sh
@@ -393,6 +393,11 @@ function bashunit::main::cleanup() {
 }
 
 function bashunit::main::handle_stop_on_failure_sync() {
+  # The exit that lands here came from inside the test loop, so the file's
+  # teardown has not run. First, so the hook line follows the last test line as
+  # it does in a normal run, and so a hook reading a bashunit::temp_file still
+  # finds it (#1321).
+  bashunit::runner::run_pending_file_teardown || true
   printf "\n%sStop on failure enabled...%s\n" "${_BASHUNIT_COLOR_SKIPPED}" "${_BASHUNIT_COLOR_DEFAULT}"
   bashunit::console_results::print_failing_tests_and_reset
   bashunit::console_results::print_risky_tests_and_reset
diff --git a/src/runner/discovery.sh b/src/runner/discovery.sh
index 9d980ab2..83cbe10e 100644
--- a/src/runner/discovery.sh
+++ b/src/runner/discovery.sh
@@ -212,6 +212,10 @@ function bashunit::runner::load_test_files() {
       bashunit::runner::restore_workdir
       continue
     fi
+    # From here this shell owes the file's teardown until the loop runs it below.
+    # --stop-on-failure exits from inside call_test_functions and never reaches
+    # that line, so the exit path settles the debt instead (#1321).
+    bashunit::runner::mark_file_teardown_pending "$test_file"
     local _cached_fns="$functions_for_script"
     # In the parent, before dispatch: under --parallel call_test_functions is a
     # background subshell, so a check run inside it sets state that dies with
@@ -244,6 +248,9 @@ function bashunit::runner::load_test_files() {
       bashunit::runner::call_test_functions "$test_file" "$_cached_fns"
       bashunit::runner::run_tear_down_after_script "$test_file"
     fi
+    # Sequential ran the hook just above; under --parallel the worker owns it.
+    # Either way this shell owes it no longer.
+    _BASHUNIT_FILE_TEARDOWN_PENDING=""
     bashunit::runner::clean_script_test_functions "$_script_fns_to_clean"
     bashunit::runner::clean_set_up_and_tear_down_after_script
     if ! bashunit::parallel::is_enabled; then
diff --git a/src/runner/hooks.sh b/src/runner/hooks.sh
index 22c41b42..30062341 100644
--- a/src/runner/hooks.sh
+++ b/src/runner/hooks.sh
@@ -303,6 +303,42 @@ function bashunit::runner::clear_mocks() {
   done
 }
 
+# The file whose tear_down_after_script this shell still owes, empty when it owes
+# none. --stop-on-failure exits from inside the test loop, so the loop's own
+# teardown call is never reached and the hook has to run from the exit path
+# instead (#1321).
+_BASHUNIT_FILE_TEARDOWN_PENDING=""
+
+##
+# Records that $1's file teardown is still owed by this shell.
+#
+# Gated on the file declaring the hook, not on setup having run: with no hook
+# declared run_tear_down_after_script prints a blank line, which is console
+# decoration belonging to the normal path. Emitting it from the halt path would
+# change the output of every halted run that defines no teardown.
+# Arguments: $1 - the test file
+##
+function bashunit::runner::mark_file_teardown_pending() {
+  if declare -F tear_down_after_script >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    _BASHUNIT_FILE_TEARDOWN_PENDING="$1"
+  fi
+}
+
+##
+# Runs the file teardown this shell still owes, if any, and clears the debt.
+#
+# For the paths that leave the test loop without reaching its own teardown call.
+# The debt is cleared before the hook runs, so a hook that re-enters this path
+# cannot run twice.
+##
+function bashunit::runner::run_pending_file_teardown() {
+  local test_file="$_BASHUNIT_FILE_TEARDOWN_PENDING"
+  [ -n "$test_file" ] || return 0
+
+  _BASHUNIT_FILE_TEARDOWN_PENDING=""
+  bashunit::runner::run_tear_down_after_script "$test_file"
+}
+
 function bashunit::runner::run_tear_down_after_script() {
   local test_file="$1"
   bashunit::internal_log "run_tear_down_after_script"
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/bashunit_stop_on_failure_test.sh b/tests/acceptance/bashunit_stop_on_failure_test.sh
index 23818583..5afb1914 100644
--- a/tests/acceptance/bashunit_stop_on_failure_test.sh
+++ b/tests/acceptance/bashunit_stop_on_failure_test.sh
@@ -47,3 +47,53 @@ function test_bashunit_stop_on_failure_with_runtime_error() {
   assert_contains "A runtime error" "$output"
   assert_not_contains "B not executed" "$output"
 }
+
+# --stop-on-failure ends a sequential run with `exit` from inside the test loop,
+# so the file's tear_down_after_script never ran and whatever
+# set_up_before_script acquired was leaked (#1321).
+function test_bashunit_stop_on_failure_runs_tear_down_after_script() {
+  local dir fixture marker
+  dir="$(bashunit::temp_dir stop_on_failure_teardown)"
+  fixture="$dir/halted_test.sh"
+  marker="$dir/resource"
+  {
+    printf 'RESOURCE=""\n'
+    printf 'function set_up_before_script() {\n'
+    printf '  RESOURCE="$HALT_MARKER"\n'
+    printf '  : >"$RESOURCE"\n'
+    printf '}\n'
+    printf 'function tear_down_after_script() {\n'
+    printf '  rm -f "$RESOURCE"\n'
+    printf '}\n'
+    printf 'function test_a_halts_the_run() { assert_same 1 2; }\n'
+    printf 'function test_b_not_executed() { assert_same 1 1; }\n'
+  } >"$fixture"
+
+  local output="" exit_code=0
+  output="$(HALT_MARKER="$marker" ./bashunit --no-parallel --env "$TEST_ENV_FILE" \
+    --stop-on-failure "$fixture")" || exit_code=$?
+
+  assert_same 1 "$exit_code"
+  assert_not_contains "B not executed" "$output"
+  assert_file_not_exists "$marker"
+}
+
+# A hook that fails while the run is halting still has to report itself, and must
+# not turn the halt into a different exit code (#1321).
+function test_bashunit_stop_on_failure_reports_a_failing_tear_down_after_script() {
+  local dir fixture
+  dir="$(bashunit::temp_dir stop_on_failure_teardown_error)"
+  fixture="$dir/halted_bad_teardown_test.sh"
+  {
+    printf 'function set_up_before_script() { :; }\n'
+    printf 'function tear_down_after_script() { missing_cleanup_command; }\n'
+    printf 'function test_a_halts_the_run() { assert_same 1 2; }\n'
+  } >"$fixture"
+
+  local output="" exit_code=0
+  output="$(./bashunit --no-parallel --env "$TEST_ENV_FILE" \
+    --stop-on-failure "$fixture" 2>&1)" || exit_code=$?
+
+  assert_same 1 "$exit_code"
+  assert_contains "Tear down after script" "$(printf "%s" "$output" | strip_ansi)"
+}