diff --git a/runners/agent-runner/src/reviewer-runtime.ts b/runners/agent-runner/src/reviewer-runtime.ts
index 48c9fe3..f0899f7 100644
--- a/runners/agent-runner/src/reviewer-runtime.ts
+++ b/runners/agent-runner/src/reviewer-runtime.ts
@@ -37,107 +37,6 @@ export function isReviewerRuntime(
   return roomRoleContext?.role === 'reviewer';
 }
 
-function findGitSubcommand(args: string[]): string {
-  let skipNext = false;
-  for (const arg of args) {
-    if (skipNext) {
-      skipNext = false;
-      continue;
-    }
-    switch (arg) {
-      case '-c':
-      case '-C':
-      case '--git-dir':
-      case '--work-tree':
-      case '--namespace':
-      case '--exec-path':
-      case '--config-env':
-        skipNext = true;
-        continue;
-      default:
-        break;
-    }
-    if (
-      arg.startsWith('-c') ||
-      arg.startsWith('-C') ||
-      arg.startsWith('--git-dir=') ||
-      arg.startsWith('--work-tree=') ||
-      arg.startsWith('--namespace=') ||
-      arg.startsWith('--exec-path=') ||
-      arg.startsWith('--config-env=')
-    ) {
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (arg.startsWith('-')) {
-      continue;
-    }
-    return arg;
-  }
-  return '';
-}
-
-function tokenizeShellWords(segment: string): string[] {
-  const tokens: string[] = [];
-  let current = '';
-  let quote: '"' | "'" | null = null;
-  let escaped = false;
-
-  for (const char of segment) {
-    if (escaped) {
-      current += char;
-      escaped = false;
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (char === '\\' && quote !== "'") {
-      escaped = true;
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (quote) {
-      if (char === quote) {
-        quote = null;
-      } else {
-        current += char;
-      }
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (char === '"' || char === "'") {
-      quote = char;
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (/\s/.test(char)) {
-      if (current) {
-        tokens.push(current);
-        current = '';
-      }
-      continue;
-    }
-    current += char;
-  }
-
-  if (current) {
-    tokens.push(current);
-  }
-  return tokens;
-}
-
-function isBlockedGitCommand(command: string): boolean {
-  const segments = command
-    .split(/&&|\|\||[;\n]/)
-    .map((segment) => segment.trim())
-    .filter(Boolean);
-  for (const segment of segments) {
-    const tokens = tokenizeShellWords(segment);
-    if (tokens[0] !== 'git') {
-      continue;
-    }
-    const subcommand = findGitSubcommand(tokens.slice(1));
-    if (BLOCKED_GIT_SUBCOMMANDS.has(subcommand)) {
-      return true;
-    }
-  }
-  return false;
-}
-
 function resolveGitBinary(baseEnv: NodeJS.ProcessEnv): string {
   return execFileSync('bash', ['-lc', 'command -v git'], {
     encoding: 'utf-8',
@@ -155,6 +54,7 @@ export function buildReviewerGitGuardEnv(
   }
 
   const realGitPath = resolveGitBinary(baseEnv);
+  const protectedWorkDir = baseEnv.EJCLAW_WORK_DIR || '';
   const wrapperDir = fs.mkdtempSync(
     path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ejclaw-reviewer-git-'),
   );
@@ -166,15 +66,46 @@ export function buildReviewerGitGuardEnv(
   const script = `#!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 real_git=${JSON.stringify(realGitPath)}
+protected_work_dir=${JSON.stringify(protectedWorkDir)}
 blocked_subcommands=(${blocked})
 subcmd=""
 skip_next=0
+target_dir="$(pwd -P)"
+capture_next_dir=0
 for arg in "$@"; do
+  if [[ "$capture_next_dir" == "1" ]]; then
+    if [[ "$arg" == /* ]]; then
+      target_dir="$arg"
+    else
+      target_dir="$target_dir/$arg"
+    fi
+    target_dir="$(cd "$target_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P || printf '%s' "$target_dir")"
+    capture_next_dir=0
+    continue
+  fi
   if [[ "$skip_next" == "1" ]]; then
     skip_next=0
     continue
   fi
   case "$arg" in
+    -C)
+      capture_next_dir=1
+      continue
+      ;;
+    -C*)
+      target_dir="\${arg#-C}"
+      target_dir="$(cd "$target_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P || printf '%s' "$target_dir")"
+      continue
+      ;;
+    --work-tree)
+      capture_next_dir=1
+      continue
+      ;;
+    --work-tree=*)
+      target_dir="\${arg#--work-tree=}"
+      target_dir="$(cd "$target_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P || printf '%s' "$target_dir")"
+      continue
+      ;;
     -c|-C|--git-dir|--work-tree|--namespace|--exec-path|--config-env)
       skip_next=1
       continue
@@ -194,8 +125,17 @@ for arg in "$@"; do
       ;;
   esac
 done
+is_protected_target=0
+if [[ -n "$protected_work_dir" ]]; then
+  protected_real="$(cd "$protected_work_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P || printf '%s' "$protected_work_dir")"
+  case "$target_dir" in
+    "$protected_real"|"$protected_real"/*)
+      is_protected_target=1
+      ;;
+  esac
+fi
 for blocked in "\${blocked_subcommands[@]}"; do
-  if [[ "$subcmd" == "$blocked" ]]; then
+  if [[ "$is_protected_target" == "1" && "$subcmd" == "$blocked" ]]; then
     echo "EJClaw reviewer runtime blocks mutating git subcommands: $subcmd" >&2
     exit 1
   fi
@@ -207,6 +147,7 @@ exec "$real_git" "$@"
   return {
     ...baseEnv,
     EJCLAW_REAL_GIT: realGitPath,
+    EJCLAW_PROTECTED_WORK_DIR: protectedWorkDir,
     PATH: `${wrapperDir}:${baseEnv.PATH || ''}`,
   };
 }
@@ -214,7 +155,6 @@ exec "$real_git" "$@"
 export function isReviewerMutatingShellCommand(command: string): boolean {
   const normalized = command.trim();
   return (
-    isBlockedGitCommand(normalized) ||
     MUTATING_SHELL_PATTERNS.some((pattern) => pattern.test(normalized))
   );
 }
diff --git a/runners/agent-runner/test/reviewer-runtime.test.ts b/runners/agent-runner/test/reviewer-runtime.test.ts
index beef64c..49181c9 100644
--- a/runners/agent-runner/test/reviewer-runtime.test.ts
+++ b/runners/agent-runner/test/reviewer-runtime.test.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,26 @@ import {
   isReviewerRuntime,
 } from '../src/reviewer-runtime.js';
 
+function createTempRepo(prefix: string): string {
+  const cwd = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), prefix));
+  execFileSync('git', ['init'], {
+    cwd,
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  });
+  execFileSync('git', ['config', 'user.email', 'test@example.com'], {
+    cwd,
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  });
+  execFileSync('git', ['config', 'user.name', 'EJClaw Test'], {
+    cwd,
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  });
+  return cwd;
+}
+
 describe('claude reviewer runtime guard', () => {
   it('detects reviewer room metadata', () => {
     expect(
@@ -25,10 +45,10 @@ describe('claude reviewer runtime guard', () => {
   });
 
   it('flags mutating shell commands', () => {
-    expect(isReviewerMutatingShellCommand('git commit -m "x"')).toBe(true);
-    expect(
-      isReviewerMutatingShellCommand('git -c color.ui=false commit -m "x"'),
-    ).toBe(true);
+    expect(isReviewerMutatingShellCommand('git commit -m "x"')).toBe(false);
+    expect(isReviewerMutatingShellCommand('git -c color.ui=false commit -m "x"')).toBe(
+      false,
+    );
     expect(isReviewerMutatingShellCommand('sed -i s/a/b/ file.ts')).toBe(
       true,
     );
@@ -42,9 +62,39 @@ describe('claude reviewer runtime guard', () => {
     expect(env.EJCLAW_REAL_GIT).toBeTruthy();
   });
 
-  it('blocks mutating git subcommands even when git options come first', () => {
-    const env = buildReviewerGitGuardEnv({ PATH: process.env.PATH }, true);
+  it('allows mutating git commands in temp repos outside the protected workspace', () => {
+    const protectedDir = fs.mkdtempSync(
+      path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ejclaw-protected-workspace-'),
+    );
+    const env = buildReviewerGitGuardEnv(
+      {
+        PATH: process.env.PATH,
+        EJCLAW_WORK_DIR: protectedDir,
+      },
+      true,
+    );
+    const cwd = createTempRepo('ejclaw-reviewer-temp-repo-');
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(cwd, 'note.txt'), 'ok\n');
+
+    expect(() =>
+      execFileSync('git', ['add', 'note.txt'], {
+        cwd,
+        env,
+        encoding: 'utf-8',
+        stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+      }),
+    ).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it('blocks mutating git subcommands inside the protected reviewer workspace', () => {
     const cwd = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ejclaw-reviewer-test-'));
+    const env = buildReviewerGitGuardEnv(
+      {
+        PATH: process.env.PATH,
+        EJCLAW_WORK_DIR: cwd,
+      },
+      true,
+    );
 
     try {
       execFileSync('git', ['-c', 'color.ui=false', 'commit', '-m', 'x'], {
diff --git a/runners/codex-runner/src/reviewer-runtime.ts b/runners/codex-runner/src/reviewer-runtime.ts
index 5f98e31..4947926 100644
--- a/runners/codex-runner/src/reviewer-runtime.ts
+++ b/runners/codex-runner/src/reviewer-runtime.ts
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ export function buildReviewerGitGuardEnv(
   }
 
   const realGitPath = resolveGitBinary(baseEnv);
+  const protectedWorkDir = baseEnv.EJCLAW_WORK_DIR || '';
   const wrapperDir = fs.mkdtempSync(
     path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ejclaw-reviewer-git-'),
   );
@@ -59,15 +60,46 @@ export function buildReviewerGitGuardEnv(
   const script = `#!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 real_git=${JSON.stringify(realGitPath)}
+protected_work_dir=${JSON.stringify(protectedWorkDir)}
 blocked_subcommands=(${blocked})
 subcmd=""
 skip_next=0
+target_dir="$(pwd -P)"
+capture_next_dir=0
 for arg in "$@"; do
+  if [[ "$capture_next_dir" == "1" ]]; then
+    if [[ "$arg" == /* ]]; then
+      target_dir="$arg"
+    else
+      target_dir="$target_dir/$arg"
+    fi
+    target_dir="$(cd "$target_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P || printf '%s' "$target_dir")"
+    capture_next_dir=0
+    continue
+  fi
   if [[ "$skip_next" == "1" ]]; then
     skip_next=0
     continue
   fi
   case "$arg" in
+    -C)
+      capture_next_dir=1
+      continue
+      ;;
+    -C*)
+      target_dir="\${arg#-C}"
+      target_dir="$(cd "$target_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P || printf '%s' "$target_dir")"
+      continue
+      ;;
+    --work-tree)
+      capture_next_dir=1
+      continue
+      ;;
+    --work-tree=*)
+      target_dir="\${arg#--work-tree=}"
+      target_dir="$(cd "$target_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P || printf '%s' "$target_dir")"
+      continue
+      ;;
     -c|-C|--git-dir|--work-tree|--namespace|--exec-path|--config-env)
       skip_next=1
       continue
@@ -87,8 +119,17 @@ for arg in "$@"; do
       ;;
   esac
 done
+is_protected_target=0
+if [[ -n "$protected_work_dir" ]]; then
+  protected_real="$(cd "$protected_work_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P || printf '%s' "$protected_work_dir")"
+  case "$target_dir" in
+    "$protected_real"|"$protected_real"/*)
+      is_protected_target=1
+      ;;
+  esac
+fi
 for blocked in "\${blocked_subcommands[@]}"; do
-  if [[ "$subcmd" == "$blocked" ]]; then
+  if [[ "$is_protected_target" == "1" && "$subcmd" == "$blocked" ]]; then
     echo "EJClaw reviewer runtime blocks mutating git subcommands: $subcmd" >&2
     exit 1
   fi
@@ -100,6 +141,7 @@ exec "$real_git" "$@"
   return {
     ...baseEnv,
     EJCLAW_REAL_GIT: realGitPath,
+    EJCLAW_PROTECTED_WORK_DIR: protectedWorkDir,
     PATH: `${wrapperDir}:${baseEnv.PATH || ''}`,
   };
 }
diff --git a/runners/codex-runner/test/reviewer-runtime.test.ts b/runners/codex-runner/test/reviewer-runtime.test.ts
index 43e751c..8c4678d 100644
--- a/runners/codex-runner/test/reviewer-runtime.test.ts
+++ b/runners/codex-runner/test/reviewer-runtime.test.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,26 @@ import {
   isReviewerRuntime,
 } from '../src/reviewer-runtime.js';
 
+function createTempRepo(prefix: string): string {
+  const cwd = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), prefix));
+  execFileSync('git', ['init'], {
+    cwd,
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  });
+  execFileSync('git', ['config', 'user.email', 'test@example.com'], {
+    cwd,
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  });
+  execFileSync('git', ['config', 'user.name', 'EJClaw Test'], {
+    cwd,
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  });
+  return cwd;
+}
+
 describe('codex reviewer runtime guard', () => {
   it('detects reviewer room metadata', () => {
     expect(
@@ -29,9 +49,39 @@ describe('codex reviewer runtime guard', () => {
     expect(env.EJCLAW_REAL_GIT).toBeTruthy();
   });
 
-  it('blocks mutating git subcommands even when git options come first', () => {
-    const env = buildReviewerGitGuardEnv({ PATH: process.env.PATH }, true);
+  it('allows mutating git commands in temp repos outside the protected workspace', () => {
+    const protectedDir = fs.mkdtempSync(
+      path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ejclaw-protected-workspace-'),
+    );
+    const env = buildReviewerGitGuardEnv(
+      {
+        PATH: process.env.PATH,
+        EJCLAW_WORK_DIR: protectedDir,
+      },
+      true,
+    );
+    const cwd = createTempRepo('ejclaw-reviewer-temp-repo-');
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(cwd, 'note.txt'), 'ok\n');
+
+    expect(() =>
+      execFileSync('git', ['add', 'note.txt'], {
+        cwd,
+        env,
+        encoding: 'utf-8',
+        stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+      }),
+    ).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it('blocks mutating git subcommands inside the protected reviewer workspace', () => {
     const cwd = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ejclaw-reviewer-test-'));
+    const env = buildReviewerGitGuardEnv(
+      {
+        PATH: process.env.PATH,
+        EJCLAW_WORK_DIR: cwd,
+      },
+      true,
+    );
 
     try {
       execFileSync('git', ['-c', 'color.ui=false', 'commit', '-m', 'x'], {
diff --git a/src/paired-workspace-manager.test.ts b/src/paired-workspace-manager.test.ts
index c8a0210..4083394 100644
--- a/src/paired-workspace-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/paired-workspace-manager.test.ts
@@ -319,4 +319,76 @@ describe('paired workspace manager', () => {
       ),
     ).toBe(false);
   });
+
+  it('keeps reviewer git status clean while hiding denied tracked files', async () => {
+    const { db, manager } = await loadModules();
+    db._initTestDatabase();
+
+    const canonicalDir = path.join(tempRoot, 'canonical');
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.join(canonicalDir, '.claude'), { recursive: true });
+    runGit(['init'], canonicalDir);
+    runGit(['config', 'user.email', 'test@example.com'], canonicalDir);
+    runGit(['config', 'user.name', 'EJClaw Test'], canonicalDir);
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(canonicalDir, 'tracked.ts'), 'export const ok = 1;\n');
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(canonicalDir, '.claude', 'settings.json'),
+      '{"secret":true}\n',
+    );
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(canonicalDir, '.env.production'),
+      'TRACKED_SECRET=1\n',
+    );
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(canonicalDir, '.env.example'), 'EXAMPLE=1\n');
+    runGit(
+      ['add', 'tracked.ts', '.claude/settings.json', '.env.production', '.env.example'],
+      canonicalDir,
+    );
+    runGit(['commit', '-m', 'initial'], canonicalDir);
+
+    const now = '2026-03-28T00:00:00.000Z';
+    db.upsertPairedProject({
+      chat_jid: 'dc:test',
+      group_folder: 'paired-room',
+      canonical_work_dir: canonicalDir,
+      workspace_topology: 'shadow-snapshot',
+      created_at: now,
+      updated_at: now,
+    });
+    db.createPairedTask({
+      id: 'paired-task-4',
+      chat_jid: 'dc:test',
+      group_folder: 'paired-room',
+      owner_service_id: 'codex-main',
+      reviewer_service_id: 'codex-review',
+      title: null,
+      source_ref: 'HEAD',
+      review_requested_at: null,
+      status: 'draft',
+      created_at: now,
+      updated_at: now,
+    });
+
+    const reviewerWorkspace =
+      manager.refreshReviewerSnapshotForPairedTask('paired-task-4');
+
+    expect(
+      runGit(['status', '--short'], reviewerWorkspace.workspace_dir),
+    ).toBe('');
+    expect(
+      fs.existsSync(
+        path.join(reviewerWorkspace.workspace_dir, '.claude', 'settings.json'),
+      ),
+    ).toBe(false);
+    expect(
+      fs.existsSync(
+        path.join(reviewerWorkspace.workspace_dir, '.env.production'),
+      ),
+    ).toBe(false);
+    expect(
+      fs.readFileSync(
+        path.join(reviewerWorkspace.workspace_dir, '.env.example'),
+        'utf-8',
+      ),
+    ).toBe('EXAMPLE=1\n');
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/paired-workspace-manager.ts b/src/paired-workspace-manager.ts
index c6025ad..ec079ca 100644
--- a/src/paired-workspace-manager.ts
+++ b/src/paired-workspace-manager.ts
@@ -92,6 +92,19 @@ function runGit(args: string[], cwd?: string): string {
   }).trim();
 }
 
+function runGitWithInput(
+  args: string[],
+  cwd: string,
+  input: string,
+): string {
+  return execFileSync('git', args, {
+    cwd,
+    input,
+    encoding: 'utf-8',
+    stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  }).trim();
+}
+
 function ensureGitRepository(repoDir: string): void {
   const insideWorkTree = runGit(
     ['rev-parse', '--is-inside-work-tree'],
@@ -167,24 +180,35 @@ function shouldIncludeUntrackedReviewerPath(relativePath: string): boolean {
   );
 }
 
-function copySelectedSnapshotTree(sourceDir: string, targetDir: string): void {
-  resetDirectoryExceptGit(targetDir);
-
-  const trackedFiles = listGitPaths(sourceDir, [
+function listAllowedTrackedFiles(sourceDir: string): string[] {
+  return listGitPaths(sourceDir, [
     'ls-files',
     '--cached',
     '-z',
   ]).filter((relativePath) => !isReviewerSnapshotDeniedPath(relativePath));
-  const untrackedFiles = listGitPaths(sourceDir, [
+}
+
+function listDeletedTrackedFiles(sourceDir: string): string[] {
+  return listGitPaths(sourceDir, ['ls-files', '--deleted', '-z']).filter(
+    (relativePath) => !isReviewerSnapshotDeniedPath(relativePath),
+  );
+}
+
+function listAllowedUntrackedFiles(sourceDir: string): string[] {
+  return listGitPaths(sourceDir, [
     'ls-files',
     '--others',
     '--exclude-standard',
     '-z',
   ]).filter(shouldIncludeUntrackedReviewerPath);
+}
 
-  const filesToCopy = [...new Set([...trackedFiles, ...untrackedFiles])].sort();
-
-  for (const relativePath of filesToCopy) {
+function copySnapshotPaths(
+  sourceDir: string,
+  targetDir: string,
+  relativePaths: string[],
+): void {
+  for (const relativePath of [...new Set(relativePaths)].sort()) {
     const sourcePath = path.join(sourceDir, relativePath);
     if (!fs.existsSync(sourcePath)) continue;
 
@@ -194,6 +218,31 @@ function copySelectedSnapshotTree(sourceDir: string, targetDir: string): void {
   }
 }
 
+function removeSnapshotPaths(targetDir: string, relativePaths: string[]): void {
+  for (const relativePath of [...new Set(relativePaths)].sort()) {
+    fs.rmSync(path.join(targetDir, relativePath), {
+      recursive: true,
+      force: true,
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+function applyReviewerSparseCheckout(
+  reviewerDir: string,
+  allowedTrackedFiles: string[],
+): void {
+  runGit(['sparse-checkout', 'init', '--no-cone'], reviewerDir);
+  const patterns =
+    allowedTrackedFiles.length > 0
+      ? `${allowedTrackedFiles.join('\n')}\n`
+      : '/*\n!/*\n';
+  runGitWithInput(
+    ['sparse-checkout', 'set', '--no-cone', '--stdin'],
+    reviewerDir,
+    patterns,
+  );
+}
+
 function configureReviewerGitIsolation(workspaceDir: string): void {
   try {
     runGit(['config', '--local', 'push.default', 'nothing'], workspaceDir);
@@ -307,9 +356,26 @@ export function refreshReviewerSnapshotForPairedTask(
     runGit(['clone', '--shared', ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir, reviewerDir]);
   }
 
+  const allowedTrackedFiles = listAllowedTrackedFiles(ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir);
+  const deletedTrackedFiles = listDeletedTrackedFiles(ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir);
+  const allowedUntrackedFiles = listAllowedUntrackedFiles(
+    ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir,
+  );
+
   runGit(['reset', '--hard', 'HEAD'], reviewerDir);
   runGit(['clean', '-fdx'], reviewerDir);
-  copySelectedSnapshotTree(ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir, reviewerDir);
+  applyReviewerSparseCheckout(reviewerDir, allowedTrackedFiles);
+  copySnapshotPaths(
+    ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir,
+    reviewerDir,
+    allowedTrackedFiles,
+  );
+  removeSnapshotPaths(reviewerDir, deletedTrackedFiles);
+  copySnapshotPaths(
+    ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir,
+    reviewerDir,
+    allowedUntrackedFiles,
+  );
   configureReviewerGitIsolation(reviewerDir);
 
   const refreshedAt = new Date().toISOString();