diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 9c26c5c..a4b167c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -63,5 +63,7 @@ jobs:
           NODE_ENV: test
           ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE: "1"
       - run: npm run build
+      # Check the fresh trace before any static copying/curation.
+      - run: node scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs
       - run: node scripts/build-server.mjs
       - run: node scripts/smoke-server.mjs --electron
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index feb8377..276edf1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -129,6 +129,8 @@ jobs:
           NODE_ENV: test
           ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE: "1"
       - run: npm run build
+      # Check the fresh trace before any static copying/curation.
+      - run: node scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs
       - run: node scripts/build-server.mjs
       - run: node scripts/smoke-server.mjs --electron
       - name: Validate macOS release secrets
@@ -169,6 +171,25 @@ jobs:
       - name: Windows/Linux rehearsal (no publish)
         if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && runner.os != 'macOS'
         run: npx electron-builder ${{ matrix.builder_args }} --publish never
+      - name: Initialize packaged providers offline (host and packaged Electron Node)
+        run: |
+          case "$RUNNER_OS" in
+            macOS)
+              app="dist/mac-arm64/LearnHarness.app/Contents"
+              payload="$app/Resources/server/standalone"
+              runtime="$app/MacOS/LearnHarness"
+              ;;
+            Windows)
+              payload="dist/win-unpacked/resources/server/standalone"
+              runtime="dist/win-unpacked/LearnHarness.exe"
+              ;;
+            Linux)
+              payload="dist/linux-unpacked/resources/server/standalone"
+              runtime="dist/linux-unpacked/learnharness"
+              ;;
+          esac
+          node scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs --standalone "$payload"
+          node scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs --standalone "$payload" --runtime "$runtime"
       - name: Exercise packaged demo runtime (own Electron, no system Chrome)
         run: |
           case "$RUNNER_OS" in
diff --git a/next.config.ts b/next.config.ts
index 93ab859..55e5758 100644
--- a/next.config.ts
+++ b/next.config.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
 	// into the DMG (the packaged app never reads it: the shell passes
 	// LH_AUTH_FILE → userData). Excluded here; build-server.mjs also REFUSES
 	// to package any standalone still containing it. .env* belt-and-braces
-	// the same class (not observed swept, same seam).
+	// the same class. Next also copies loaded bare .env after tracing;
+	// the build-server refusal remains required even with these excludes.
 	//
 	// ⚠ EXCLUDE PATTERNS ARE LOAD-BEARING IN WAYS THE DOCS DON'T DESCRIBE
 	// (empirically established 2026-10-08): adding dir excludes like
@@ -26,8 +27,11 @@ const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
 	// under their dist/ — the traced copy collapsed to a bare package.json
 	// and the packaged server died on ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND; openai/
 	// @anthropic-ai — pi-ai's deps — vanished from the trace entirely).
-	// Anchored "./"-prefixed forms behave the same. Only the three entries
-	// below are verified safe (complete externals trace + clean payload).
+	// Anchored "./"-prefixed forms behave the same. **/data/**/* fixes
+	// suffix matching in Next's JavaScript collector, but NOT its native
+	// Turbopack tracer: that still prunes gcp-metadata and its private deps.
+	// Keep the narrow closure workaround below AND the native runtime gate.
+	// Real SDK data/ directories still need their explicit includes too.
 	// The recursive-DMG payload (repo dist/ swept into the bundle, shipping
 	// the previous build inside the next) is instead prevented by the
 	// desktop:dist clean step AND targeted post-trace curation in
@@ -37,7 +41,7 @@ const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
 	// stay intact, and the script guards against leaked data/keys.
 	outputFileTracingExcludes: {
 		"*": [
-			"data/**/*",
+			"**/data/**/*",
 			"auth.json",
 			".env*",
 		],
@@ -71,6 +75,14 @@ const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
 			"node_modules/@resvg/resvg-js-*/**/*",
 			"node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-ai/dist/providers/data/**/*",
 			"node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-agent-core/dist/**/*.json",
+			// Next 16.3.2 native Turbopack applies unanchored excludes while
+			// traversing modules; **/data/**/* still prunes gcp-metadata and
+			// its private runtime chain. Includes are applied after traversal.
+			// This is the verified GoogleAuth closure, not a general dep copy;
+			// the offline native Pi gate must catch future SDK closure changes.
+			"node_modules/gcp-metadata/**/*",
+			"node_modules/json-bigint/**/*",
+			"node_modules/bignumber.js/**/*",
 		],
 	},
 	// Framework-free core lives in src/ (plain TS, imported by routes and CLI alike).
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index fdd6c84..18b592b 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 		"typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
 		"desktop:dev": "concurrently -k \"next dev\" \"LH_DEV_URL=http://localhost:3000 electron .\"",
 		"dev:fresh": "bash scripts/dev-fresh.sh",
-		"desktop:dist": "rm -rf dist .next/standalone && next build && node scripts/build-server.mjs && node scripts/smoke-server.mjs && DEVELOPER_DIR=${DEVELOPER_DIR:-/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer} APPLE_KEYCHAIN_PROFILE=LH_NOTARY APPLE_TEAM_ID=JS6XN22HY6 electron-builder --mac --arm64"
+		"desktop:dist": "rm -rf dist .next/standalone && next build && node scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs && node scripts/build-server.mjs && node scripts/smoke-server.mjs && DEVELOPER_DIR=${DEVELOPER_DIR:-/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer} APPLE_KEYCHAIN_PROFILE=LH_NOTARY APPLE_TEAM_ID=JS6XN22HY6 electron-builder --mac --arm64"
 	},
 	"dependencies": {
 		"@earendil-works/pi-agent-core": "1.4.0",
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs b/scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58f3c3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+/**
+ * OFFLINE native Pi Google initialization gate (no generation or provider calls).
+ * Unlike /api/models, this traverses Pi's lazy adapter and constructs GoogleGenAI.
+ * The real onPayload hook throws a unique sentinel BEFORE generateContentStream.
+ * All file modules must resolve inside the payload, including nested dependencies.
+ *
+ * node scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs [--standalone <dir>] [--runtime <Node/Electron>]
+ */
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import * as fs from "node:fs";
+import { createRequire, registerHooks, syncBuiltinESMExports } from "node:module";
+import * as os from "node:os";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
+import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
+import { formatProbeError, probeEnv } from "./smoke-demo-runtime.mjs";
+
+export function verifyProviderRuntime(standalone, runtime = process.execPath) {
+	const home = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "lh-provider-runtime-"));
+	try {
+		fs.writeFileSync(path.join(home, "auth.json"), "{}\n", { mode: 0o600 });
+		const result = spawnSync(runtime, [fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), "--probe", path.resolve(standalone)], {
+			cwd: home,
+			env: { ...probeEnv(process.env, home), ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE: "1" },
+			encoding: "utf8", timeout: 30_000, maxBuffer: 128 * 1024,
+		});
+		if (result.status !== 0 || result.error) {
+			throw new Error(`provider runtime probe failed (${result.error?.message ?? result.status}):\n${result.stdout ?? ""}${result.stderr ?? ""}`);
+		}
+		assert.match(result.stdout, /native Pi Google initialization passed/, "probe exited without success marker");
+		process.stdout.write(result.stdout);
+	} finally { fs.rmSync(home, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+}
+
+// Dedicated child only: nothing delegates to a live transport, even if the SDK
+// changes its fetch path. Count attempts as well: a swallowed guard error fails.
+function closeNetwork() {
+	let attempts = 0;
+	const deny = () => { attempts++; throw new Error("OFFLINE provider gate: network forbidden"); };
+	globalThis.fetch = deny;
+	globalThis.WebSocket = class { constructor() { deny(); } };
+	const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
+	for (const [name, methods] of [
+		["http", ["request", "get"]], ["https", ["request", "get"]],
+		["net", ["connect", "createConnection"]], ["tls", ["connect"]],
+		["dgram", ["createSocket"]],
+		["dns", ["lookup", "resolve", "resolve4", "resolve6", "resolveAny", "reverse"]],
+		["dns/promises", ["lookup", "resolve", "resolve4", "resolve6", "resolveAny", "reverse"]],
+	]) {
+		const module = require(`node:${name}`);
+		for (const method of methods) module[method] = deny;
+	}
+	require("node:net").Socket.prototype.connect = deny;
+	syncBuiltinESMExports();
+	return () => assert.equal(attempts, 0, "SDK attempted network access");
+}
+
+async function probe(standalone) {
+	const noNetwork = closeNetwork();
+	const root = fs.realpathSync(standalone);
+	const inside = (file) => {
+		const relative = path.relative(root, fs.realpathSync(file));
+		assert.ok(relative !== ".." && !relative.startsWith(`..${path.sep}`) && !path.isAbsolute(relative),
+			`dependency escaped standalone payload: ${file}`);
+	};
+	const loaded = new Set();
+	const hooks = registerHooks({
+		resolve(specifier, context, nextResolve) {
+			const result = nextResolve(specifier, context);
+			if (result.url.startsWith("file:")) {
+				inside(fileURLToPath(result.url));
+				loaded.add(fileURLToPath(result.url));
+			} else assert.ok(result.url.startsWith("node:"), `unexpected dependency URL: ${result.url}`);
+			return result;
+		},
+	});
+	try {
+		// Pi is an explicit server external. Import its shipped public entry and
+		// factories, never the checkout's module or a direct/fake Google adapter.
+		const entry = pathToFileURL(path.join(root, "node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-ai/dist/index.js"));
+		const { createModels } = await import(entry.href);
+		const models = createModels();
+		for (const [name, factory] of [["google", "googleProvider"], ["opencode", "opencodeProvider"], ["opencode-go", "opencodeGoProvider"]]) {
+			const provider = (await import(new URL(`providers/${name}.js`, entry).href))[factory]();
+			models.setProvider(provider);
+			const model = provider.getModels().find((candidate) => candidate.api === "google-generative-ai");
+			assert.ok(model, `${name}: missing Google-backed catalog model`);
+			const sentinel = `LH_OFFLINE_ON_PAYLOAD_${randomUUID()}`;
+			let reached = 0;
+			const result = await models.streamSimple(model, { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Offline initialization only", timestamp: 0 }] }, {
+				apiKey: "dummy-offline-provider-gate-not-a-key",
+				onPayload(payload, selected) {
+					assert.equal(selected.api, "google-generative-ai");
+					assert.ok(payload && typeof payload === "object");
+					reached++;
+					throw new Error(sentinel);
+				},
+			}).result();
+			assert.equal(reached, 1, `${name}: did not reach onPayload: ${result.errorMessage}`);
+			assert.equal(result.stopReason, "error");
+			assert.equal(result.errorMessage, sentinel, `${name}: unexpected initialization error`);
+			noNetwork();
+			console.log(`[smoke-provider-runtime] ${name}: native lazy Google adapter reached onPayload; generation stopped`);
+		}
+		// Resolution/evaluation, not folder-exists checks. This also covers the
+		// previously missing transitive edge and permits legitimate nested deps.
+		for (const name of ["@google/genai", "google-auth-library", "gcp-metadata", "json-bigint", "bignumber.js"]) {
+			assert.ok([...loaded].some((file) => file.includes(`${path.sep}node_modules${path.sep}${name.replaceAll("/", path.sep)}${path.sep}`)),
+				`Google runtime chain was not loaded: ${name}`);
+		}
+		console.log(`[smoke-provider-runtime] native Pi Google initialization passed; ${loaded.size} modules confined to ${root}; zero network attempts`);
+	} finally { hooks.deregister(); }
+}
+
+async function main() {
+	const args = process.argv.slice(2);
+	if (args[0] === "--probe") return probe(args[1]);
+	const value = (name, fallback) => {
+		const index = args.indexOf(name);
+		if (index < 0) return fallback;
+		assert.ok(args[index + 1] && !args[index + 1].startsWith("--"), `${name} requires a path`);
+		return path.resolve(args[index + 1]);
+	};
+	verifyProviderRuntime(value("--standalone", path.resolve(import.meta.dirname, "../.next/standalone")), value("--runtime", process.execPath));
+}
+
+if (process.argv[1] && path.resolve(process.argv[1]) === fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)) {
+	main().catch((error) => { console.error(`[smoke-provider-runtime] FAIL: ${formatProbeError(error)}`); process.exitCode = 1; });
+}
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-server.mjs b/scripts/smoke-server.mjs
index 53b53e6..91b6cb5 100644
--- a/scripts/smoke-server.mjs
+++ b/scripts/smoke-server.mjs
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
  */
 import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import { probeEnv, verifyDemoRuntime } from "./smoke-demo-runtime.mjs";
+import { verifyProviderRuntime } from "./smoke-provider-runtime.mjs";
 import { createRequire } from "node:module";
 import * as fs from "node:fs";
 import * as http from "node:http";
@@ -80,6 +81,8 @@ async function main() {
 	// HTTP boot alone never imports the dynamically loaded demo engine.
 	// Fail before packaging if its standalone dependency graph is incomplete.
 	verifyDemoRuntime(STANDALONE, RUNTIME);
+	// /api/models only reads catalogs; initialize the real lazy SDK offline too.
+	verifyProviderRuntime(STANDALONE, RUNTIME);
 	const port = await freePort();
 	const url = `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`;
 	const home = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "lh-smoke-"));
diff --git a/tests/provider-runtime-payload.test.ts b/tests/provider-runtime-payload.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dec3213
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/provider-runtime-payload.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/** Real installed Pi/Google SDK only; no provider stubs, keys, or generation. */
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import * as fs from "node:fs";
+import * as os from "node:os";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+import { describe, it } from "node:test";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+const script = fileURLToPath(new URL("../scripts/smoke-provider-runtime.mjs", import.meta.url));
+const checkout = fileURLToPath(new URL("..", import.meta.url));
+const run = (payload: string) => spawnSync(process.execPath, [script, "--standalone", payload], { encoding: "utf8", timeout: 40_000 });
+
+describe("offline native Pi Google initialization gate", () => {
+	it("reaches the sentinel for direct Google and Google-backed OpenCode adapters using the real SDK", () => {
+		// This is an unbundled positive control, NOT proof of standalone completeness.
+		const result = run(checkout);
+		assert.equal(result.status, 0, String(result.stderr));
+		for (const provider of ["google", "opencode", "opencode-go"]) assert.ok(String(result.stdout).includes(`${provider}: native lazy Google adapter reached onPayload`));
+		assert.match(String(result.stdout), /zero network attempts/);
+	});
+	it("rejects a missing Pi entry instead of treating any error as success", () => {
+		const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "lh-provider-missing-"));
+		try {
+			const result = run(root);
+			assert.equal(result.status, 1);
+			assert.doesNotMatch(String(result.stdout), /initialization passed/);
+			assert.match(String(result.stderr), /MODULE_NOT_FOUND|ENOENT/);
+			assert.deepEqual(fs.readdirSync(root), [], "gate modified the payload");
+		} finally { fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+	});
+	it("rejects an otherwise complete SDK outside the payload (no host fallback)", () => {
+		const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "lh-provider-escape-"));
+		try {
+			fs.symlinkSync(path.join(checkout, "node_modules"), path.join(root, "node_modules"), process.platform === "win32" ? "junction" : "dir");
+			const result = run(root);
+			assert.equal(result.status, 1);
+			assert.match(String(result.stderr), /dependency escaped standalone payload/);
+			assert.doesNotMatch(String(result.stdout), /initialization passed/);
+		} finally { fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+	});
+});
diff --git a/tests/provider-tracing.test.ts b/tests/provider-tracing.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43aae9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/provider-tracing.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/** JS matcher + config-policy regressions; native Turbopack needs the real payload gate. */
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
+import { describe, it } from "node:test";
+import nextConfig from "../next.config.ts";
+
+const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
+// Use Next's actual bundled matcher, not a different glob implementation.
+const picomatch = require("next/dist/compiled/picomatch");
+const { makeIgnoreFn } = require("next/dist/build/collect-build-traces");
+const patterns = nextConfig.outputFileTracingExcludes!["*"];
+
+describe("standalone JavaScript tracing exclusions and native workaround policy", () => {
+	for (const windows of [false, true]) {
+		const root = windows ? "C:\\build\\learnharness" : "/build/learnharness";
+		const file = (relative: string) => root + (windows ? "\\" : "/") + (windows ? relative.replaceAll("/", "\\") : relative);
+		const ignored = picomatch(patterns, { contains: true, dot: true, windows });
+		it(`excludes genuine data directories and secrets (${windows ? "Windows" : "POSIX"})`, () => {
+			for (const relative of ["data/canary.json", "nested/data/private.json", "auth.json", ".env", ".env.local"]) {
+				assert.equal(ignored(file(relative)), true, relative);
+			}
+			// The explicit includes remain necessary: this raw ignore still matches SDK data.
+			assert.equal(ignored(file("node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-ai/dist/providers/data/models.json")), true);
+			assert.ok(nextConfig.outputFileTracingIncludes!["*"]!.includes("node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-ai/dist/providers/data/**/*"));
+		});
+		it(`does not confuse dependency suffixes with data directories (${windows ? "Windows" : "POSIX"})`, () => {
+			for (const relative of ["node_modules/gcp-metadata/build/src/index.js", "node_modules/form-data/lib/form_data.js", "node_modules/@swc/helpers/_/_ts_metadata.js", "node_modules/@swc/helpers/_/_ts_metadata/index.js", "node_modules/somedata/runtime.js"]) {
+				assert.equal(ignored(file(relative)), false, relative);
+				assert.equal(picomatch("data/**/*", { contains: true, dot: true, windows })(file("node_modules/gcp-metadata/build/src/index.js")), true, "old pattern must reproduce the bug");
+			}
+		});
+	}
+	it("uses the installed Next JavaScript early-ignore function on the host platform", () => {
+		const root = process.cwd();
+		const ignore = makeIgnoreFn(root, patterns);
+		assert.equal(ignore(`${root}/data/private.json`), true);
+		assert.equal(ignore(`${root}/node_modules/gcp-metadata/build/src/index.js`), false);
+	});
+	it("preserves all secret exclusions exactly", () => {
+		assert.deepEqual(patterns, ["**/data/**/*", "auth.json", ".env*"]);
+	});
+	it("retains exactly the narrow native-Turbopack closure workaround and existing runtime includes", () => {
+		assert.deepEqual(nextConfig.outputFileTracingIncludes!["*"], [
+			"node_modules/@puppeteer/browsers/lib/browser-data/**/*.js",
+			"node_modules/pdfjs-dist/legacy/**/*",
+			"node_modules/pdfjs-dist/standard_fonts/**/*",
+			"node_modules/@napi-rs/canvas-*/**/*",
+			"node_modules/@resvg/resvg-js-*/**/*",
+			"node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-ai/dist/providers/data/**/*",
+			"node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-agent-core/dist/**/*.json",
+			"node_modules/gcp-metadata/**/*",
+			"node_modules/json-bigint/**/*",
+			"node_modules/bignumber.js/**/*",
+		]);
+	});
+	it("limits the workaround to its three packages, never learner data or unrelated dependencies", () => {
+		const closure = nextConfig.outputFileTracingIncludes!["*"]!.slice(-3);
+		const included = picomatch(closure, { dot: true });
+		for (const file of ["node_modules/gcp-metadata/build/src/index.js", "node_modules/json-bigint/lib/parse.js", "node_modules/bignumber.js/bignumber.js"]) assert.equal(included(file), true, file);
+		for (const file of ["data/private.json", "nested/data/private.json", "auth.json", ".env.local", "node_modules/unrelated/runtime.js", "node_modules/gcp-metadata-lookalike/index.js"]) assert.equal(included(file), false, file);
+	});
+});