diff --git a/internal/llmadapters/subprocess.go b/internal/llmadapters/subprocess.go
index 35bc12c..c6db886 100644
--- a/internal/llmadapters/subprocess.go
+++ b/internal/llmadapters/subprocess.go
@@ -1116,7 +1116,6 @@ func (s *subprocessStream) runClaudeBG(ctx context.Context, adapter *SubprocessA
 		}
 		recordRequestDuration(&result.response, start, result.err)
 	}
-	s.runCleanup()
 	if jobID != "" {
 		if err := adapter.cleanupClaudeBGJob(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), jobID, result.err, workDir); err != nil {
 			s.writeCleanupWarning(err)
diff --git a/internal/llmadapters/subprocess_cleanup_order_test.go b/internal/llmadapters/subprocess_cleanup_order_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..caf9b56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/llmadapters/subprocess_cleanup_order_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+package llmadapters
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// This covers adapter teardown ordering only. It does not establish process
+// ownership or claim that the background service cleans up detached children.
+func TestSubprocessClaudeJobCleanupPrecedesScratchRemoval(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tt := range []struct {
+		name        string
+		mode        string
+		extraEnv    []string
+		wantErr     string
+		wantStop    bool
+		wantWarning string
+		wantJobDir  bool
+	}{
+		{name: "success", mode: "success"},
+		{
+			name:     "task failure",
+			mode:     "bg-failed",
+			wantErr:  ErrClaudeBGTransport.Error() + ": job failed: model failed",
+			wantStop: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "stop failure preserves task error",
+			mode:        "bg-stop-fails",
+			wantErr:     ErrClaudeBGTransport.Error() + ": job blocked: stop will fail",
+			wantStop:    true,
+			wantWarning: "warning: llm subprocess: Claude bg cleanup stop failed: exit status 44: stop refused",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "remove failure preserves success",
+			mode:        "success",
+			extraEnv:    []string{"LLM_HELPER_CLAUDE_FAIL_RM_IDS=job-1"},
+			wantWarning: "warning: llm subprocess: Claude bg cleanup rm failed: exit status 45: rm refused",
+			wantJobDir:  true,
+		},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			tempDir := t.TempDir()
+			root, err := os.OpenRoot(tempDir)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("OpenRoot: %v", err)
+			}
+			t.Cleanup(func() {
+				if err := root.Close(); err != nil {
+					t.Errorf("Close root: %v", err)
+				}
+			})
+			recordPath := filepath.Join(tempDir, "records.jsonl")
+			logPath := filepath.Join(tempDir, "events.log")
+			configDir := filepath.Join(tempDir, "claude")
+			scratch := filepath.Join(tempDir, "scratch")
+			if err := root.Mkdir("scratch", 0o700); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			var cleanupRecords []byte
+			var cleanupRecordErr error
+			var cleanupLog []byte
+			var cleanupLogErr error
+			var cleanupJobInfo os.FileInfo
+			var cleanupJobErr error
+			var removalErr error
+			cleanupCalls := 0
+			adapter := NewClaudeCLIAdapter(SubprocessOptions{
+				Command:           os.Args[0],
+				commandArgsPrefix: helperPrefix(),
+				Env:               append(helperClaudeEnv(tt.mode, recordPath, configDir), tt.extraEnv...),
+				Timeout:           5 * time.Second,
+				ScratchDirFactory: func() (string, func() error, error) {
+					return scratch, func() error {
+						cleanupCalls++
+						// Records identify invocations; log and file snapshots assert
+						// their visible effects at cleanup. Synchronous command-return
+						// ordering is a separate source contract. Read these snapshots
+						// only after Wait synchronizes with stream completion.
+						cleanupRecords, cleanupRecordErr = root.ReadFile("records.jsonl")
+						cleanupLog, cleanupLogErr = root.ReadFile("events.log")
+						cleanupJobInfo, cleanupJobErr = root.Stat(filepath.Join("claude", "jobs", "job-1"))
+						removalErr = root.RemoveAll("scratch")
+						return removalErr
+					}, nil
+				},
+			})
+			// Exercise one background invocation, independently of the existing
+			// fallback tests and the caller's foreground environment preference.
+			stream, err := adapter.startClaudeBG(context.Background(), Request{Prompt: "prompt", LogPath: logPath}, "")
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("startClaudeBG: %v", err)
+			}
+			response, err := stream.Wait(context.Background())
+			if tt.wantErr != "" {
+				if err == nil || err.Error() != tt.wantErr {
+					t.Fatalf("Wait error = %v, want exactly %q", err, tt.wantErr)
+				}
+				if !errors.Is(err, ErrClaudeBGTransport) {
+					t.Fatalf("Wait error = %v, want ErrClaudeBGTransport", err)
+				}
+			} else if err != nil || string(response.StructuredOutput) != `{"ok":true}` {
+				t.Fatalf("Wait = (%s, %v), want success", response.StructuredOutput, err)
+			}
+			if cleanupCalls != 1 || cleanupRecordErr != nil || removalErr != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("cleanup calls=%d record error=%v removal error=%v", cleanupCalls, cleanupRecordErr, removalErr)
+			}
+			if cleanupLogErr != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("read log at scratch removal: %v", cleanupLogErr)
+			}
+			var warnings []string
+			for _, line := range strings.Split(string(cleanupLog), "\n") {
+				if strings.HasPrefix(line, "warning: ") {
+					warnings = append(warnings, line)
+				}
+			}
+			if got := strings.Join(warnings, "\n"); got != tt.wantWarning {
+				t.Fatalf("warnings at scratch removal = %q, want %q", got, tt.wantWarning)
+			}
+			if tt.wantJobDir {
+				if cleanupJobErr != nil || cleanupJobInfo == nil || !cleanupJobInfo.IsDir() {
+					t.Fatalf("refused rm did not preserve job directory at scratch removal: %v", cleanupJobErr)
+				}
+			} else if !errors.Is(cleanupJobErr, os.ErrNotExist) {
+				t.Fatalf("successful rm left job directory at scratch removal: %v", cleanupJobErr)
+			}
+			var records []helperRecord
+			decoder := json.NewDecoder(strings.NewReader(string(cleanupRecords)))
+			for {
+				var record helperRecord
+				if err := decoder.Decode(&record); errors.Is(err, io.EOF) {
+					break
+				} else if err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("decode records at scratch removal: %v", err)
+				}
+				records = append(records, record)
+			}
+			assertClaudeCleanup(t, records, "job-1", tt.wantStop, configDir)
+			if _, err := root.Stat("scratch"); !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+				t.Fatalf("scratch remains after Wait: %v", err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}