diff --git a/crates/botloftd/src/platform/unix/env.rs b/crates/botloftd/src/platform/unix/env.rs
index bfacaa2c..2695b882 100644
--- a/crates/botloftd/src/platform/unix/env.rs
+++ b/crates/botloftd/src/platform/unix/env.rs
@@ -85,8 +85,16 @@ fn login_environment() -> Option<Vars> {
         let _ = done.send(bytes);
     });
     let bytes = output.recv_timeout(SHELL_TIMEOUT).ok();
+    if bytes.is_none() {
+        let _ = job.terminate();
+    }
+    // The pipe closes a moment before the process counts as exited: killing
+    // the group right at end of output could turn a clean exit into SIGKILL.
+    // With the output complete, `env` is exiting; wait for it, then sweep
+    // whatever the profile left behind.
+    let status = child.wait().ok();
     let _ = job.terminate();
-    let status = child.wait().ok()?;
+    let status = status?;
     let vars = parse(&bytes?)?;
     status.success().then_some(vars)
 }
diff --git a/crates/botloftd/tests/browser_panel.rs b/crates/botloftd/tests/browser_panel.rs
index eba3aa8a..16f7430a 100644
--- a/crates/botloftd/tests/browser_panel.rs
+++ b/crates/botloftd/tests/browser_panel.rs
@@ -47,11 +47,16 @@ async fn until_window(b: &mut Browsing, size: &str) -> String {
     panic!("the window never became {size}:\n{page}");
 }
 
-/// The next frame that is `height` tall.
+/// The next frame that is `height` tall, in what it says and in its pixels.
+/// Right after the page is resized the browser can still send a frame drawn
+/// for the old surface under the new size's metadata (a 1000 x 700 page in a
+/// 1000 x 560 picture, seen on Chromium 154 on Linux); the next repaint is
+/// right.
 async fn frame_of(app: &mut Client, height: u64) -> Value {
     for _ in 0..50 {
         let frame = app.notification("browser.frame").await;
-        if frame["height"] == height {
+        let (width, tall) = jpeg_size(frame["data"].as_str().expect("picture"));
+        if frame["height"] == height && frame["width"] == width && u64::from(tall) == height {
             return frame;
         }
     }
diff --git a/crates/botloftd/tests/common/browsing.rs b/crates/botloftd/tests/common/browsing.rs
index ae8cd626..ea429948 100644
--- a/crates/botloftd/tests/common/browsing.rs
+++ b/crates/botloftd/tests/common/browsing.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 //! The browser tests' shared setup (spec 21): a bot in Manual mode, a local
 //! site, and helpers to call tools in the background and answer requests.
 
+use std::sync::OnceLock;
+
 use serde_json::{Value, json};
+use tokio::sync::{OwnedSemaphorePermit, Semaphore};
 use tokio::task::JoinHandle;
 
 use super::bots::ready_bot;
@@ -14,6 +17,19 @@ pub struct Browsing {
     pub bot: Value,
     pub mcp: Mcp,
     pub site: String,
+    /// Held until the test ends, after the daemon has closed its browser.
+    _slot: OwnedSemaphorePermit,
+}
+
+/// Real browsers a test binary has open at once. A dozen cold Chromium
+/// profiles starting together on a small CI runner could pass the daemon's
+/// 30 s start limit, so the tests wait their turn instead.
+const BROWSERS_AT_ONCE: usize = 3;
+
+async fn browser_slot() -> OwnedSemaphorePermit {
+    static SLOTS: OnceLock<std::sync::Arc<Semaphore>> = OnceLock::new();
+    let slots = SLOTS.get_or_init(|| std::sync::Arc::new(Semaphore::new(BROWSERS_AT_ONCE)));
+    slots.clone().acquire_owned().await.expect("open semaphore")
 }
 
 /// A bot in Manual mode and a local site, or `None` without Edge.
@@ -22,6 +38,7 @@ pub async fn setup() -> Option<Browsing> {
         eprintln!("Microsoft Edge is not installed; skipping");
         return None;
     }
+    let slot = browser_slot().await;
     // A real browser can be slow to ask on a busy CI runner.
     let t = TestDaemon::start_supervised_patient().await;
     let mut app = t.session().await;
@@ -37,6 +54,7 @@ pub async fn setup() -> Option<Browsing> {
         bot,
         mcp,
         site,
+        _slot: slot,
     })
 }