diff --git a/docs/design/WORKTREE_INDEX_SAFETY.md b/docs/design/WORKTREE_INDEX_SAFETY.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ffb6a85e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/design/WORKTREE_INDEX_SAFETY.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# Worktree Index Safety
+
+Status: validated
+Created: 2026-09-08
+Verified: 2026-09-08
+Issue: [#472](https://github.com/openpi-dev/openpi/issues/472)
+
+## Decision
+
+Automatic worktree reclamation must treat the checkout index as an independent
+source of safety evidence. Before `git worktree remove`, OpenPI reads the
+worktree's tracked-file inventory with `git ls-files -v -z`.
+
+- `assume-unchanged` and `skip-worktree` entries preserve the worktree because
+  ordinary status may hide a tracked local change.
+- A failed, truncated, or unrecognized inventory also preserves the worktree.
+- The check is read-only. It does not clear flags, reset files, or infer that a
+  sparse checkout is safe to remove.
+
+The existing status, ignored-file, baseline, commit, detached-head, and
+non-force removal checks remain in place.
+
+## Alternatives
+
+Copying the index to a temporary `GIT_INDEX_FILE`, clearing flags, and
+recomputing the diff would detect more states, but it mutates the inspection
+surface and requires a policy for sparse checkout entries. The conservative
+inventory check is sufficient for the reported loss mode and fails closed when
+it cannot establish a trustworthy answer.
+
+## Validation
+
+The regression suite uses temporary Git repositories and verifies both
+`assume-unchanged` and `skip-worktree`, with and without a modified file. It
+asserts that the checkout, file contents, branch, and index bytes remain
+unchanged. It also covers NUL-delimited unusual paths and unreadable,
+truncated, malformed, and over-limit inventory results.
+
+Validation commands:
+
+```text
+node --test --experimental-strip-types tests/extensions/shared/worktree.test.ts
+```
+
+Full repository checks are recorded in the pull request before publication.
+
+## Ablation
+
+Removing the index inventory gate makes the existing `status` and non-force
+`worktree remove` checks pass for both hidden-flag fixtures, deleting the only
+copy of the modified tracked file. Removing the NUL-delimited parsing would
+make unusual tracked paths ambiguous. Both elements are therefore retained.
diff --git a/extensions/shared/worktree.ts b/extensions/shared/worktree.ts
index 49b8a32a..1a4bfddd 100644
--- a/extensions/shared/worktree.ts
+++ b/extensions/shared/worktree.ts
@@ -37,12 +37,10 @@
  *   with a self-referential symlink — destroying the dependencies of the very
  *   repo the session was working in.
  *
- * - **Teardown never uses `--force`.** Git refuses to remove a worktree with
- *   modified or untracked files, and that refusal is exactly the policy we
- *   want: an isolated child that produced nothing is reclaimed automatically,
- *   and one that produced work keeps its directory and branch for the parent
- *   to inspect. Committed work is safe either way — the branch outlives the
- *   worktree — but uncommitted work would not be, so we let git veto.
+ * - **Teardown never uses `--force`.** Before asking Git to remove a checkout,
+ *   inspect ignored files and index flags too: Git's ordinary dirty check can
+ *   miss the only copy of local work. Unknown inspection results preserve the
+ *   checkout; committed work keeps its branch for the parent to inspect.
  */
 
 import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
@@ -110,6 +108,7 @@ function runGit(
       {
         cwd,
         encoding: "utf8",
+        maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024,
         timeout: Math.min(timeoutMs, WORKTREE_GIT_TIMEOUT_MS),
       },
       (error, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -312,8 +311,8 @@ export interface WorktreeCommitCount {
 /**
  * Reclaim a worktree, keeping anything the child actually produced.
  *
- * Deliberately no `--force`: git's own refusal on a dirty tree is the policy
- * we want. A child that changed nothing costs nothing to discard; a child with
+ * Deliberately no `--force`, plus explicit ignored-file and index inspection.
+ * A child that changed nothing costs nothing to discard; a child with
  * uncommitted work keeps its directory so the parent can look at it. The
  * branch is deleted only when it holds no commits, so a child that committed
  * always leaves something to merge, and a child that did nothing leaves no
@@ -380,7 +379,39 @@ export async function reclaimWorktree(
   const branch = headBranch || worktree.branch;
   const observed = { branch, headSha, detached };
 
+  // Status and even non-force removal trust flags that can hide local edits.
+  // Do not clear flags (including sparse-checkout flags) to guess at safety.
+  const index = await run(["-C", worktree.path, "ls-files", "-v", "-z"]);
+  if (index.code !== 0) {
+    return preserve(
+      `could not inspect worktree index: ${firstLine(index.stderr) || "git ls-files failed"}`,
+      observed,
+    );
+  }
+  if (index.stdout && !index.stdout.endsWith("\0")) {
+    return preserve("worktree index inventory is incomplete", observed);
+  }
+  for (const entry of index.stdout.split("\0").slice(0, -1)) {
+    if (!/^[HSMRCK?hsmrck] [\s\S]+$/.test(entry)) {
+      return preserve(
+        "worktree index inventory has an unknown format",
+        observed,
+      );
+    }
+    const flag = entry[0]!;
+    if (flag === "S" || flag === flag.toLowerCase()) {
+      return preserve(
+        "worktree index flags (assume-unchanged or skip-worktree) may hide local changes",
+        observed,
+      );
+    }
+    if (flag !== "H") {
+      return preserve("worktree index contains non-clean entries", observed);
+    }
+  }
+
   const status = await run([
+    "--no-optional-locks",
     "-C",
     worktree.path,
     "status",
diff --git a/tests/extensions/shared/worktree.test.ts b/tests/extensions/shared/worktree.test.ts
index 3086c4a7..a9ce3c26 100644
--- a/tests/extensions/shared/worktree.test.ts
+++ b/tests/extensions/shared/worktree.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import { strict as assert } from "node:assert";
-import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
+import childProcess, { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
 import * as fs from "node:fs";
 import * as os from "node:os";
 import * as path from "node:path";
+import { syncBuiltinESMExports } from "node:module";
 import { after, before, describe, test } from "node:test";
 import {
   createWorktree,
@@ -294,6 +295,122 @@ describe("worktree lifecycle", () => {
     git(repo, "branch", "-D", result.worktree.branch);
   });
 
+  for (const flag of ["assume-unchanged", "skip-worktree"]) {
+    for (const changed of [false, true]) {
+      test(`preserves ${flag} index and ${changed ? "modified" : "clean"} content`, async () => {
+        const result = await createWorktree({
+          cwd: repo,
+          label: flag,
+          id: String(changed),
+        });
+        assert.ok(result.ok);
+        const wt = result.worktree;
+        const file = path.join(wt.path, "a.txt");
+        const content = changed
+          ? "only copy of local work\n"
+          : fs.readFileSync(file, "utf8");
+        fs.writeFileSync(file, content);
+        git(wt.path, "update-index", `--${flag}`, "a.txt");
+        assert.equal(git(wt.path, "status", "--porcelain"), "");
+        const indexPath = path.resolve(
+          wt.path,
+          git(wt.path, "rev-parse", "--git-path", "index").trim(),
+        );
+        const indexBefore = fs.readFileSync(indexPath);
+        const cleanup = await reclaimWorktree(repo, wt);
+        assert.equal(cleanup.removed, false);
+        assert.equal(cleanup.branchDeleted, false);
+        assert.equal(
+          cleanup.dirty,
+          undefined,
+          "hidden changes are unknown, not clean",
+        );
+        assert.match(cleanup.reason ?? "", /index flags.*may hide/);
+        assert.equal(fs.readFileSync(file, "utf8"), content);
+        assert.deepEqual(fs.readFileSync(indexPath), indexBefore);
+        assert.equal(git(repo, "rev-parse", wt.branch).trim(), wt.baseSha);
+      });
+    }
+  }
+
+  test("accepts NUL-delimited tracked paths with whitespace and newlines", async () => {
+    const result = await createWorktree({ cwd: repo, label: "paths", id: "1" });
+    assert.ok(result.ok);
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(result.worktree.path, "space and\nnewline.txt"),
+      "fixture",
+    );
+    git(result.worktree.path, "add", "-A");
+    git(result.worktree.path, "commit", "--quiet", "-m", "unusual path");
+    const cleanup = await reclaimWorktree(repo, result.worktree);
+    assert.equal(cleanup.removed, true, cleanup.reason ?? "");
+    assert.equal(cleanup.branchDeleted, false);
+  });
+
+  for (const inventory of [
+    "H a.txt",
+    "X a.txt\0",
+    "H \0",
+    "H a.txt\0\0",
+    "error",
+    "overflow",
+  ]) {
+    test(`preserves when index inventory is not trustworthy: ${JSON.stringify(inventory)}`, async (t) => {
+      const result = await createWorktree({
+        cwd: repo,
+        label: "inventory",
+        id: "1",
+      });
+      assert.ok(result.ok);
+      const original = childProcess.execFile;
+      t.mock.method(
+        childProcess,
+        "execFile",
+        (...args: Parameters<typeof original>) => {
+          const [file, argv] = args;
+          if (file === "git" && Array.isArray(argv) && argv.includes("-v")) {
+            const callback = args.at(-1) as (
+              error: Error | null,
+              stdout: string,
+              stderr: string,
+            ) => void;
+            const error = inventory === "error" || inventory === "overflow";
+            callback(
+              error
+                ? new Error(
+                    inventory === "overflow"
+                      ? "stdout maxBuffer length exceeded"
+                      : "inventory unavailable",
+                  )
+                : null,
+              error ? "H a.txt\0" : inventory,
+              "",
+            );
+            return undefined;
+          }
+          return Reflect.apply(original, childProcess, args);
+        },
+      );
+      syncBuiltinESMExports();
+      t.after(() => {
+        t.mock.restoreAll();
+        syncBuiltinESMExports();
+      });
+      const cleanup = await reclaimWorktree(repo, result.worktree);
+      assert.equal(cleanup.removed, false);
+      assert.equal(cleanup.branchDeleted, false);
+      assert.match(cleanup.reason ?? "", /index/);
+      assert.equal(
+        fs.readFileSync(path.join(result.worktree.path, "a.txt"), "utf8"),
+        "hello\n",
+      );
+      assert.equal(
+        git(repo, "rev-parse", result.worktree.branch).trim(),
+        result.worktree.baseSha,
+      );
+    });
+  }
+
   test("preserves a clean detached checkout instead of guessing it is empty", async () => {
     const result = await createWorktree({
       cwd: repo,