diff --git a/__tests__/explore-path-pinning.test.ts b/__tests__/explore-path-pinning.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ec15e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/explore-path-pinning.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+/**
+ * End-to-end gate for query-path pinning + the segment-vocab supplement +
+ * variable seeding, on the bug that motivated all three: an agent named a
+ * SvelteKit route file by exact path plus behavior words ("scrollToBottom,
+ * onscroll, atBottom tracking") and got back neither the file's scroll code
+ * nor the file itself at full weight — the bracketed path was tokenizer
+ * shrapnel (`runId` seeded as a named symbol, every sibling `+page` admitted)
+ * and the camelCase scroll symbols were FTS-opaque.
+ *
+ * The fixture mirrors that shape in plain TS (bracket/paren directories are
+ * the crux, not the language): a target file under
+ * `src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/` holding `feedAtBottom` /
+ * `handleFeedScroll` / `pinFeedIfNearBottom`, a decoy chat-window page under
+ * a `(protected)` route group, and a runs-store decoy defining `runId` and
+ * `Scope` — the two symbols that headlined the original junk blast radius.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import CodeGraph from '../src/index';
+import { ToolHandler } from '../src/mcp/tools';
+
+const FIXTURE = 'explore-path-pinning';
+const TARGET = 'src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.ts';
+const DECOY_CHAT = 'src/routes/(protected)/chat-window/+page.ts';
+
+let dir: string;
+let cg: CodeGraph;
+
+async function explore(query: string): Promise<string> {
+  const res = await new ToolHandler(cg).execute('codegraph_explore', { query });
+  return res.content?.[0]?.text ?? '';
+}
+
+/** The response renders a source section for `file`. */
+const hasSection = (response: string, file: string): boolean =>
+  response.includes('**`' + file + '`');
+
+beforeAll(async () => {
+  dir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'codegraph-path-pin-'));
+  fs.cpSync(path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures', FIXTURE), dir, { recursive: true });
+  fs.rmSync(path.join(dir, '.codegraph'), { recursive: true, force: true });
+  cg = CodeGraph.initSync(dir);
+  await cg.indexAll();
+}, 180_000);
+
+afterAll(() => {
+  cg?.destroy();
+  if (dir && fs.existsSync(dir)) fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe('fixture shape — if this rots, the gates below mean nothing', () => {
+  it('indexes the bracketed-path target with its scroll symbols', () => {
+    const names = cg.getNodesInFile(TARGET).map((n) => n.name);
+    expect(names).toContain('feedAtBottom');
+    expect(names).toContain('handleFeedScroll');
+    expect(names).toContain('pinFeedIfNearBottom');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('path pinning (fix 1)', () => {
+  it('a pure-path query renders the named file and says it was pinned', async () => {
+    const out = await explore(TARGET);
+    expect(hasSection(out, TARGET)).toBe(true);
+    expect(out).toContain('pinned from the query');
+  });
+
+  it('the original bug-shaped query renders the pinned file, not path shrapnel', async () => {
+    const out = await explore(
+      `run page auto-scroll to bottom logic in ${TARGET} — scrollToBottom, onscroll, atBottom tracking`,
+    );
+    expect(hasSection(out, TARGET)).toBe(true);
+    // The path fragments must not seed: `runId` (runs-store decoy) and the
+    // bracketed segment's namesakes headlined the original junk blast radius.
+    const blast = out.split('**Relationships**')[0]!;
+    expect(blast).not.toMatch(/`runId` \(src\/lib\/runs-store\.ts/);
+    // The chat decoy MAY render — it genuinely holds scroll-pinning code the
+    // segment supplement now finds — but the pinned file must rank first.
+    // (Pre-fix, `+page`/`runs` shrapnel admitted the siblings ABOVE the named
+    // file and the envelope truncated it.)
+    const decoyAt = out.indexOf('**`' + DECOY_CHAT + '`');
+    const targetAt = out.indexOf('**`' + TARGET + '`');
+    expect(targetAt).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+    if (decoyAt !== -1) expect(targetAt).toBeLessThan(decoyAt);
+  });
+
+  it('an unresolvable path is reported, not silently dropped', async () => {
+    const out = await explore('crash in src/routes/gone/missing-page.ts on load');
+    expect(out).toContain('No indexed file uniquely matches');
+    expect(out).toContain('src/routes/gone/missing-page.ts');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('segment supplement + variable seeding (fixes 2–3)', () => {
+  it('word-level scroll terms reach the camelCase scroll code without a path', async () => {
+    const out = await explore('feed auto-scroll to bottom pinning behavior');
+    expect(hasSection(out, TARGET)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('a camel infix naming only $state-style variables still finds their file', async () => {
+    const out = await explore('where does the atBottom flag get reset');
+    expect(hasSection(out, TARGET)).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/__tests__/explore-pinned-allocation.test.ts b/__tests__/explore-pinned-allocation.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e093c8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/explore-pinned-allocation.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/**
+ * Pinned files in `allocateExploreBudget` (see query-paths.ts): a file the
+ * query named by PATH must survive every allocation guard. Its score is
+ * whatever the path-stripped query happened to match — for a pure-path query,
+ * nearly nothing — so without the pinned floor the proportional split would
+ * fund the one file the agent explicitly asked for worst of all, and the
+ * cliff would zero it outright.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { allocateExploreBudget, getExploreOutputBudget, EXPLORE_ALLOCATION } from '../src/mcp/tools';
+import type { ExploreAllocationCandidate } from '../src/mcp/tools';
+
+const cand = (
+  path: string,
+  score: number,
+  extra: Partial<ExploreAllocationCandidate> = {},
+): ExploreAllocationCandidate => ({ path, score, worth: 1, spine: false, ...extra });
+
+const budget = getExploreOutputBudget(1000);
+
+describe('allocateExploreBudget — pinned files', () => {
+  it('never cliffs a pinned file, however low it scores', () => {
+    const { allowances, cliffed } = allocateExploreBudget(
+      [
+        cand('pinned.svelte', 0.1, { pinned: true }),
+        cand('hub.ts', 200),
+        cand('noise.ts', 0.1),
+      ],
+      budget,
+      8,
+    );
+    expect(cliffed).toContain('noise.ts');
+    expect(cliffed).not.toContain('pinned.svelte');
+    expect(allowances.has('pinned.svelte')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('funds a pinned file at least as well as the strongest candidate', () => {
+    const { allowances } = allocateExploreBudget(
+      [
+        cand('pinned.svelte', 0.5, { pinned: true }),
+        cand('hub.ts', 300),
+        cand('helper.ts', 40),
+      ],
+      budget,
+      8,
+    );
+    expect(allowances.get('pinned.svelte')!).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(allowances.get('hub.ts')!);
+    expect(allowances.get('pinned.svelte')!).toBeGreaterThan(allowances.get('helper.ts')!);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps pinned files through the affordability trim', () => {
+    // Smallest tier: affordable = floor(13000 / (MIN_CHARS + FILE_OVERHEAD)) = 14
+    // slots. 18 equal-weight candidates admitted → the trim must cut 4. The
+    // pinned file sits last with a TIED weight (the pinned floor lifts it to
+    // the top weight), so the stable by-weight sort would slice it off — only
+    // the explicit spine/pinned keep saves it.
+    const tiny = getExploreOutputBudget(10);
+    const fleet = Array.from({ length: 17 }, (_, i) => cand(`f${i}.ts`, 100));
+    fleet.push(cand('pinned.svelte', 0.1, { pinned: true }));
+    const { allowances, cliffed } = allocateExploreBudget(fleet, tiny, 18);
+    expect(allowances.has('pinned.svelte')).toBe(true);
+    expect(cliffed).not.toContain('pinned.svelte');
+    expect(allowances.size).toBeLessThan(18);
+  });
+
+  it('an all-pinned zero-score call still allocates (pure-path query)', () => {
+    const { allowances, pool } = allocateExploreBudget(
+      [cand('a.svelte', 0, { pinned: true }), cand('b.svelte', 0, { pinned: true })],
+      budget,
+      8,
+    );
+    expect(pool).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(allowances.get('a.svelte')!).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(EXPLORE_ALLOCATION.MIN_CHARS);
+    expect(allowances.get('b.svelte')!).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(EXPLORE_ALLOCATION.MIN_CHARS);
+  });
+
+  it('unpinned behavior is unchanged when no candidate is pinned', () => {
+    const before = allocateExploreBudget(
+      [cand('a.ts', 40), cand('b.ts', 10)], budget, 8,
+    );
+    expect(before.allowances.get('a.ts')!).toBeGreaterThan(before.allowances.get('b.ts')!);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/package.json b/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c17caa9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "name": "explore-path-pinning-fixture",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "private": true
+}
diff --git a/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/lib/runs-store.ts b/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/lib/runs-store.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3a39d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/lib/runs-store.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/** In-memory registry of task runs, keyed by run id. */
+
+export interface Scope {
+  projectId: string;
+  label: string;
+}
+
+export const runId = 'run-000';
+
+const runs = new Map<string, { id: string; scope: Scope; status: string }>();
+
+export function registerRun(id: string, scope: Scope): void {
+  runs.set(id, { id, scope, status: 'queued' });
+}
+
+export function getRun(id: string): { id: string; scope: Scope; status: string } | null {
+  return runs.get(id) ?? null;
+}
+
+export function listRuns(scope: Scope): string[] {
+  return [...runs.values()]
+    .filter((r) => r.scope.projectId === scope.projectId)
+    .map((r) => r.id);
+}
+
+export function stopRun(id: string): boolean {
+  const run = runs.get(id);
+  if (!run) return false;
+  run.status = 'cancelled';
+  return true;
+}
diff --git a/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/routes/(protected)/chat-window/+page.ts b/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/routes/(protected)/chat-window/+page.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3023ba4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/routes/(protected)/chat-window/+page.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/** Detached chat window page — session presence + streaming state. */
+
+let chatAtBottom = true;
+let isStreaming = false;
+let messages: string[] = [];
+
+export function handleMessagesScroll(distance: number): void {
+  chatAtBottom = distance < 50;
+}
+
+export function sendMessage(text: string): void {
+  messages = [...messages, text];
+  isStreaming = true;
+}
+
+export function stopResponse(): void {
+  isStreaming = false;
+}
+
+export function redock(): void {
+  messages = [];
+  isStreaming = false;
+  chatAtBottom = true;
+}
+
+export function chatSnapshot(): { messages: string[]; streaming: boolean } {
+  return { messages: [...messages], streaming: isStreaming };
+}
diff --git a/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.ts b/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c5fe2b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/fixtures/explore-path-pinning/src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/** Mobile run feed — event stream + scroll pinning for the run page. */
+
+export interface FeedEvent {
+  id: string;
+  kind: 'output' | 'tool' | 'error';
+  content: string;
+}
+
+const EVENT_CAP = 300;
+
+let events: FeedEvent[] = [];
+let workingLine: string | null = null;
+
+/** Whether the reader is at the tail of the feed (within 50px). */
+let feedAtBottom = true;
+
+interface FeedElement {
+  scrollTop: number;
+  scrollHeight: number;
+  clientHeight: number;
+}
+
+let feedEl: FeedElement | null = null;
+
+export function bindFeedElement(el: FeedElement | null): void {
+  feedEl = el;
+}
+
+/** Track the reader's position; called from the feed's scroll listener. */
+export function handleFeedScroll(): void {
+  const el = feedEl;
+  if (!el) return;
+  feedAtBottom = el.scrollHeight - el.scrollTop - el.clientHeight < 50;
+}
+
+/** Re-pin after async content growth (image loads), only when at the tail. */
+export function pinFeedIfNearBottom(): void {
+  const el = feedEl;
+  if (!el) return;
+  if (feedAtBottom) {
+    el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
+  }
+}
+
+export function appendEvent(event: FeedEvent): void {
+  events = events.length >= EVENT_CAP
+    ? [...events.slice(-(EVENT_CAP - 1)), event]
+    : [...events, event];
+  if (feedAtBottom) {
+    pinFeedIfNearBottom();
+  }
+}
+
+export function setWorkingLine(line: string | null): void {
+  workingLine = line;
+  pinFeedIfNearBottom();
+}
+
+export function resetFeed(): void {
+  events = [];
+  workingLine = null;
+  feedAtBottom = true;
+}
+
+export function feedSnapshot(): { events: FeedEvent[]; workingLine: string | null } {
+  return { events: [...events], workingLine };
+}
diff --git a/__tests__/identifier-segments.test.ts b/__tests__/identifier-segments.test.ts
index 11884bf..477c702 100644
--- a/__tests__/identifier-segments.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/identifier-segments.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
 import {
   splitIdentifierSegments,
   extractProseCandidates,
+  extractSegmentSearchWords,
   normalizeProseWord,
   segmentLookupVariants,
 } from '../src/search/identifier-segments';
@@ -101,3 +102,32 @@ describe('segmentLookupVariants — light plural folding', () => {
     expect(segmentLookupVariants('boxes')).toEqual(['boxes']); // -es strip would go sub-minimum
   });
 });
+
+describe('extractSegmentSearchWords — query words for the search-side vocab supplement', () => {
+  it('keeps prose words and adds camel-token segments', () => {
+    const words = extractSegmentSearchWords('auto-scroll to bottom — atBottom tracking');
+    // Prose candidates survive as before…
+    expect(words).toContain('scroll');
+    expect(words).toContain('bottom');
+    expect(words).toContain('tracking');
+    // …and the camel token contributed its ≥4-char segments ("at" is under
+    // the prose minimum; "bottom" arrives from the split even when the prose
+    // pass missed it).
+    expect(extractSegmentSearchWords('where is atBottom set')).toContain('bottom');
+  });
+
+  it('splits multi-hump tokens into every usable segment', () => {
+    const words = extractSegmentSearchWords('trace pinFeedIfNearBottom please');
+    expect(words).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining(['feed', 'near', 'bottom']));
+  });
+
+  it('does not invent segments for plain prose', () => {
+    const words = extractSegmentSearchWords('how does checkout work');
+    expect(words).toContain('checkout');
+    expect(words).not.toContain('check');
+  });
+
+  it('returns nothing for an empty query', () => {
+    expect(extractSegmentSearchWords('')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/__tests__/query-paths.test.ts b/__tests__/query-paths.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13a4747
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/query-paths.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+/**
+ * File-path recognition in explore queries (src/search/query-paths.ts).
+ *
+ * The originating bug: an agent named two SvelteKit route files by exact path
+ * (`src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.svelte`) and the explore
+ * pipeline shredded them — the seeding tokenizer splits on brackets, so the
+ * fragments `runId`/`scope` seeded as "named symbols" and headlined the blast
+ * radius, while FTS admitted every sibling `+page.svelte` off the `page`/`runs`
+ * fragments. These tests pin the module that stops that: path spans resolve
+ * against the indexed file list, matching files pin, and the spans leave the
+ * query. Resolution IS the detector — slash-bearing non-paths stay untouched.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { extractQueryPaths, queryMightContainPaths } from '../src/search/query-paths';
+
+const INDEX = [
+  'src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.svelte',
+  'src/routes/m/projects/[id]/chat/[scope]/+page.svelte',
+  'src/routes/m/projects/[id]/+page.svelte',
+  'src/routes/(protected)/chat-window/+page.svelte',
+  'src/lib/chat-manager.ts',
+  'src/lib/task-runner-manager.ts',
+  'src/lib/stores/sqlite-store.ts',
+  'src/lib/stores/postgresql-store.ts',
+];
+
+describe('queryMightContainPaths — the cheap pre-gate', () => {
+  it('fires on slashes and dotted basenames', () => {
+    expect(queryMightContainPaths('look at src/lib/chat-manager.ts')).toBe(true);
+    expect(queryMightContainPaths('look at chat-manager.ts please')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('stays quiet on plain prose and Class.method spans', () => {
+    expect(queryMightContainPaths('how does the scroll pinning work')).toBe(false);
+    // `.isPackaged` is 10 chars — past the 8-char extension cap.
+    expect(queryMightContainPaths('what reads app.isPackaged here')).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('extractQueryPaths — resolution and stripping', () => {
+  it('resolves a bracketed SvelteKit path and strips it from the query', () => {
+    const q = 'auto-scroll logic in src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.svelte — atBottom tracking';
+    const out = extractQueryPaths(q, INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual(['src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.svelte']);
+    expect(out.strippedQuery).not.toContain('+page.svelte');
+    expect(out.strippedQuery).not.toContain('runId');
+    expect(out.strippedQuery).toContain('atBottom tracking');
+    expect(out.unresolvedPathSpans).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('pins multiple named files in appearance order', () => {
+    const q = 'compare src/routes/m/projects/[id]/chat/[scope]/+page.svelte and src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.svelte';
+    const out = extractQueryPaths(q, INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual([
+      'src/routes/m/projects/[id]/chat/[scope]/+page.svelte',
+      'src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.svelte',
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('resolves a (protected) route-group path — parens are path characters', () => {
+    const out = extractQueryPaths('read src/routes/(protected)/chat-window/+page.svelte', INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual(['src/routes/(protected)/chat-window/+page.svelte']);
+  });
+
+  it('resolves an absolute path by walking suffixes to the indexed relative path', () => {
+    const q = 'fix /Users/colby/dev/beads-live-dashboard/src/lib/chat-manager.ts';
+    const out = extractQueryPaths(q, INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual(['src/lib/chat-manager.ts']);
+  });
+
+  it('resolves a unique basename and a partial path', () => {
+    expect(extractQueryPaths('see chat-manager.ts', INDEX).pinnedFiles)
+      .toEqual(['src/lib/chat-manager.ts']);
+    expect(extractQueryPaths('see stores/sqlite-store.ts', INDEX).pinnedFiles)
+      .toEqual(['src/lib/stores/sqlite-store.ts']);
+  });
+
+  it('strips wrapping punctuation and line references', () => {
+    const out = extractQueryPaths('the bug (see `src/lib/chat-manager.ts:243`).', INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual(['src/lib/chat-manager.ts']);
+    const hash = extractQueryPaths('regression at src/lib/task-runner-manager.ts#L88-L120', INDEX);
+    expect(hash.pinnedFiles).toEqual(['src/lib/task-runner-manager.ts']);
+  });
+
+  it('treats an over-ambiguous basename as unresolved — stripped and reported', () => {
+    const out = extractQueryPaths('why do all +page.svelte files flash', INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual([]);
+    expect(out.unresolvedPathSpans).toEqual(['+page.svelte']);
+    expect(out.strippedQuery).toBe('why do all files flash');
+  });
+
+  it('strips and reports a clearly-path-shaped span that matches nothing', () => {
+    const out = extractQueryPaths('crash in src/routes/gone/missing-page.svelte on load', INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual([]);
+    expect(out.unresolvedPathSpans).toEqual(['src/routes/gone/missing-page.svelte']);
+    expect(out.strippedQuery).toBe('crash in on load');
+  });
+
+  it('leaves slash-bearing non-paths alone', () => {
+    const q = 'does gen_server:call/2 block and/or timeout';
+    const out = extractQueryPaths(q, INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual([]);
+    expect(out.unresolvedPathSpans).toEqual([]);
+    expect(out.strippedQuery).toBe(q);
+  });
+
+  it('dedupes a path named twice and honors maxPins', () => {
+    const twice = extractQueryPaths(
+      'src/lib/chat-manager.ts wraps src/lib/chat-manager.ts', INDEX,
+    );
+    expect(twice.pinnedFiles).toEqual(['src/lib/chat-manager.ts']);
+
+    const capped = extractQueryPaths(
+      'src/lib/chat-manager.ts src/lib/task-runner-manager.ts', INDEX, { maxPins: 1 },
+    );
+    expect(capped.pinnedFiles).toEqual(['src/lib/chat-manager.ts']);
+  });
+
+  it('matches case-insensitively but returns the indexed spelling', () => {
+    const out = extractQueryPaths('SRC/LIB/CHAT-MANAGER.TS', INDEX);
+    expect(out.pinnedFiles).toEqual(['src/lib/chat-manager.ts']);
+  });
+
+  it('passes through untouched when nothing resolves', () => {
+    const q = 'plain prose question about scrolling';
+    const out = extractQueryPaths(q, INDEX);
+    expect(out).toEqual({ strippedQuery: q, pinnedFiles: [], unresolvedPathSpans: [] });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/context/index.ts b/src/context/index.ts
index ad4d63b..a3da12c 100644
--- a/src/context/index.ts
+++ b/src/context/index.ts
@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@ const DEFAULT_FIND_OPTIONS: Required<FindRelevantContextOptions> = {
   minScore: 0.3,
   edgeKinds: [],
   nodeKinds: HIGH_VALUE_NODE_KINDS, // Filter out imports/exports by default
+  seedNames: [],         // Segment-vocab supplement — filled by the facade
 };
 
 // Re-export the low-confidence sentinel (defined in a dependency-free leaf so
@@ -460,13 +461,37 @@ export class ContextBuilder {
 
     // Step 2: Look up exact matches for extracted symbols
     let exactMatches: SearchResult[] = [];
-    if (symbolsFromQuery.length > 0) {
+    if (symbolsFromQuery.length > 0 || opts.seedNames.length > 0) {
       try {
-        // Get more results so we can apply co-location boosting before trimming
-        exactMatches = this.queries.findNodesByExactName(symbolsFromQuery, {
-          limit: Math.ceil(opts.searchLimit * 5),
-          kinds: opts.nodeKinds && opts.nodeKinds.length > 0 ? opts.nodeKinds : undefined,
-        });
+        if (symbolsFromQuery.length > 0) {
+          // Get more results so we can apply co-location boosting before trimming
+          exactMatches = this.queries.findNodesByExactName(symbolsFromQuery, {
+            limit: Math.ceil(opts.searchLimit * 5),
+            kinds: opts.nodeKinds && opts.nodeKinds.length > 0 ? opts.nodeKinds : undefined,
+          });
+        }
+
+        // Step 2a: segment-vocabulary seeds. Word-level query terms cannot
+        // reach camelCase names through FTS (one token per name), so the
+        // caller resolves query words → names via the segment vocab and hands
+        // them in as seedNames. Merged at a dampened score — a symbol the
+        // query names outright must outrank a segment-derived one — but
+        // BEFORE the co-location boost below, because several seeds landing
+        // in one file (pinFeedIfNearBottom + feedAtBottom + handleFeedScroll)
+        // is exactly the evidence that file is the answer.
+        if (opts.seedNames.length > 0) {
+          const seedResults = this.queries.findNodesByExactName(opts.seedNames, {
+            limit: Math.ceil(opts.searchLimit * 3),
+            kinds: opts.nodeKinds && opts.nodeKinds.length > 0 ? opts.nodeKinds : undefined,
+          });
+          const known = new Set(exactMatches.map((r) => r.node.id));
+          for (const r of seedResults) {
+            if (known.has(r.node.id)) continue;
+            known.add(r.node.id);
+            exactMatches.push({ ...r, score: r.score * 0.6 });
+          }
+          logDebug('Segment seed matches', { seedNames: opts.seedNames, added: known.size });
+        }
 
         // Co-location boost: when multiple extracted symbols appear in the same file,
         // those results are much more likely to be what the user is looking for.
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index a05661c..15eaf7a 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ import { EXTRACTION_VERSION } from './extraction/extraction-version';
 import { getCodeGraphDir } from './directory';
 import { deriveProjectNameTokens } from './search/query-utils';
 import { CodeGraphPackageVersion } from './mcp/version';
-import { segmentLookupVariants, splitIdentifierSegments } from './search/identifier-segments';
+import { extractSegmentSearchWords, segmentLookupVariants, splitIdentifierSegments } from './search/identifier-segments';
 import { createYielder } from './resolution/cooperative-yield';
 import { minRefsForPool } from './resolution/resolver-pool';
 
@@ -1823,7 +1823,23 @@ export class CodeGraph {
     query: string,
     options?: FindRelevantContextOptions
   ): Promise<Subgraph> {
-    return this.contextBuilder.findRelevantContext(query, options);
+    // Segment-vocab supplement: FTS keeps camelCase names as single tokens,
+    // so a word-level query ("auto-scroll to bottom") can never reach
+    // `pinFeedIfNearBottom` through search alone. Resolve the query's words
+    // against name_segment_vocab (same precision rules as the prompt hook:
+    // co-occurrence, else rare singles, verified against live nodes) and hand
+    // the names down as dampened exact-name seeds. Callers that pass their
+    // own seedNames keep them; failures degrade to no supplement.
+    let seedNames = options?.seedNames;
+    if (seedNames === undefined) {
+      try {
+        seedNames = this.getSegmentMatches(extractSegmentSearchWords(query), 8)
+          .map((m) => m.name);
+      } catch {
+        seedNames = [];
+      }
+    }
+    return this.contextBuilder.findRelevantContext(query, { ...options, seedNames });
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/src/mcp/explore-diagnostics.ts b/src/mcp/explore-diagnostics.ts
index 4de9c60..0c654e0 100644
--- a/src/mcp/explore-diagnostics.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/explore-diagnostics.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ export interface ExploreCandidateMeta {
   graphScore: number;
   termHits: number;
   nodes: number;
+  /** The query named this file by PATH — pinned rank/allocation treatment. */
+  pinned?: boolean;
   named: boolean;
   central: boolean;
   entry: boolean;
@@ -579,6 +581,7 @@ export class ExploreDiagnostics {
           graphScore: round6(r.graphScore),
           termHits: r.termHits,
           nodes: r.nodes,
+          pinned: r.pinned ?? false,
           named: r.named,
           central: r.central,
           entry: r.entry,
@@ -797,6 +800,7 @@ export function renderTable(report: ExploreDiagnosticReport): string {
 
 function flagString(f: ExploreDiagnosticFile): string {
   const flags: string[] = [];
+  if (f.pinned) flags.push('pinned');
   if (f.named) flags.push('named');
   if (f.entry) flags.push('entry');
   if (f.central) flags.push('central');
diff --git a/src/mcp/tools.ts b/src/mcp/tools.ts
index d1d0135..4ad7e64 100644
--- a/src/mcp/tools.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/tools.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import {
 import type { PendingFile } from '../sync';
 import type { Node, Edge, SearchResult, Subgraph, NodeKind } from '../types';
 import { isTestFile, normalizeNameToken } from '../search/query-utils';
+import { extractQueryPaths, queryMightContainPaths } from '../search/query-paths';
 import {
   existsSync,
   readFileSync,
@@ -631,6 +632,13 @@ export interface ExploreAllocationCandidate {
   worth: number;
   /** Carries a symbol on the rendered flow spine. */
   spine: boolean;
+  /**
+   * The query named this file by PATH (see query-paths.ts). Pinned files are
+   * never cliffed or trimmed, and weigh at least as much as the strongest
+   * candidate — the agent asked for the file itself, so starving it on text/
+   * graph scores (which a pure-path query doesn't produce) defeats the ask.
+   */
+  pinned?: boolean;
 }
 
 export interface ExploreAllocation {
@@ -676,7 +684,16 @@ export function allocateExploreBudget(
     return Number.isFinite(w) ? w : 0;
   };
 
-  const weights = new Map(candidates.map((c) => [c.path, weightOf(c)]));
+  // Pinned files weigh at least as much as the strongest raw candidate: their
+  // score is whatever the stripped query happened to match (for a pure-path
+  // query, nearly nothing), and a proportional split on that would fund the
+  // named file worst of all. Floor of 1 covers the all-pinned/zero-score case.
+  const rawWeights = new Map(candidates.map((c) => [c.path, weightOf(c)]));
+  const topRaw = Math.max(...rawWeights.values());
+  const weights = new Map(candidates.map((c) => [
+    c.path,
+    c.pinned ? Math.max(rawWeights.get(c.path) ?? 0, topRaw, 1) : (rawWeights.get(c.path) ?? 0),
+  ]));
   const topWeight = Math.max(...weights.values());
   if (!(topWeight > 0)) return empty;
 
@@ -686,7 +703,7 @@ export function allocateExploreBudget(
   const cliffed: string[] = [];
   let admitted: ExploreAllocationCandidate[] = [];
   for (const c of candidates) {
-    if (!c.spine && (weights.get(c.path) ?? 0) < cliffAt) cliffed.push(c.path);
+    if (!c.spine && !c.pinned && (weights.get(c.path) ?? 0) < cliffAt) cliffed.push(c.path);
     else admitted.push(c);
   }
   // Never cliff every candidate: an empty response costs a whole round-trip.
@@ -705,7 +722,7 @@ export function allocateExploreBudget(
   if (admitted.length > affordable) {
     const byWeight = [...admitted].sort((a, b) => (weights.get(b.path) ?? 0) - (weights.get(a.path) ?? 0));
     const keep = new Set(byWeight.slice(0, affordable).map((c) => c.path));
-    for (const c of admitted) if (c.spine) keep.add(c.path);
+    for (const c of admitted) if (c.spine || c.pinned) keep.add(c.path);
     for (const c of admitted) if (!keep.has(c.path)) cliffed.push(c.path);
     admitted = admitted.filter((c) => keep.has(c.path));
   }
@@ -3223,6 +3240,34 @@ export class ToolHandler {
     }
     const maxFiles = clamp((args.maxFiles as number) || budget.defaultMaxFiles, 1, 20);
 
+    // File paths named in the query become PINNED files: guaranteed admission,
+    // top of the rank order, funded first — and their span is REMOVED from the
+    // matching query. Runs on the RAW query (normalizeQuerySpelling strips
+    // `/digits` tails, which would mangle numeric path segments). Without this,
+    // a SvelteKit path like `runs/[runId]/+page.svelte` was shredded by the
+    // seeding tokenizer (splits on brackets → `runId` seeded as a "named
+    // symbol") and by FTS (`page`/`runs` fragments admitted every sibling
+    // `+page.svelte`), starving the very files the agent asked for.
+    let pinnedFiles: string[] = [];
+    let unresolvedPathSpans: string[] = [];
+    let matchQuery = query;
+    if (queryMightContainPaths(rawQuery)) {
+      try {
+        const extraction = extractQueryPaths(
+          rawQuery,
+          cg.getFiles().map((f) => f.path),
+          { maxPins: maxFiles },
+        );
+        if (extraction.pinnedFiles.length > 0 || extraction.unresolvedPathSpans.length > 0) {
+          pinnedFiles = extraction.pinnedFiles;
+          unresolvedPathSpans = extraction.unresolvedPathSpans;
+          matchQuery = normalizeQuerySpelling(extraction.strippedQuery);
+        }
+      } catch { /* path pinning must never fail an explore call */ }
+    }
+    const pinnedSet = new Set(pinnedFiles);
+    const pinnedOrder = new Map(pinnedFiles.map((p, i) => [p, i]));
+
     // Per-file allocation diagnostic (CG-4). `null` unless CODEGRAPH_EXPLORE_DEBUG
     // is set — every `diag?.` below is then a no-op and the response is
     // byte-identical. It only OBSERVES: it must never feed back into rendering.
@@ -3279,16 +3324,34 @@ export class ToolHandler {
     // Use a large maxNodes budget — explore has its own 35k char output limit
     // that prevents context bloat, so more nodes just means better coverage
     // across entry points (especially for large files like Svelte components).
-    const subgraph = await cg.findRelevantContext(query, {
+    // Matching runs on the path-stripped query; `query` stays for display.
+    const subgraph = await cg.findRelevantContext(matchQuery, {
       searchLimit: 8,
       traversalDepth: 3,
       maxNodes: 200,
       minScore: 0.2,
     });
 
+    // Pinned files' symbols enter the gather unconditionally — the agent named
+    // the file itself, so its contents ARE the answer regardless of what the
+    // stripped query text matched (which, for a pure-path query, is nothing).
+    const PINNED_FILE_NODE_CAP = 300;
+    for (const fp of pinnedFiles) {
+      let fileNodes: Node[] = [];
+      try { fileNodes = cg.getNodesInFile(fp); } catch { continue; }
+      fileNodes
+        .filter((n) => n.kind !== 'file' && n.kind !== 'import' && n.kind !== 'export')
+        .sort((a, b) => a.startLine - b.startLine)
+        .slice(0, PINNED_FILE_NODE_CAP)
+        .forEach((n) => { if (!subgraph.nodes.has(n.id)) subgraph.nodes.set(n.id, n); });
+    }
+
     if (subgraph.nodes.size === 0) {
       diag?.finishEmpty('no relevant code found — empty subgraph');
-      const empty = `No relevant code found for "${query}"`;
+      const missNote = unresolvedPathSpans.length > 0
+        ? ` (no indexed file uniquely matches ${unresolvedPathSpans.map((s) => `\`${s}\``).join(', ')})`
+        : '';
+      const empty = `No relevant code found for "${query}"${missNote}`;
       // Still an explore call, so it is still recorded: an empty answer spends a
       // call against the tier budget even though it emits no source.
       return this.exploreResult(empty, {
@@ -3351,11 +3414,18 @@ export class ToolHandler {
     {
       const FILE_EXT = /\.(?:java|kt|kts|ts|tsx|js|jsx|mjs|cjs|cs|py|go|rb|php|swift|rs|cpp|cc|cxx|c|h|hpp|scala|lua|dart|vue|svelte|astro|erl|hrl)$/i;
       const CALLABLE = new Set(['method', 'function', 'component', 'constructor']);
+      // Variables/constants seed too: in Svelte/React a `$state` variable
+      // (`chatAtBottom`, `feedAtBottom`) is exactly the kind of symbol an agent
+      // names in a query, and the exact-name search channel already returns
+      // them — only this seeding tier was callable-only. The NL-stopword guard
+      // below applies unchanged, so bare English words still can't seed a
+      // same-named local. Callables keep priority via the body-size sort.
+      const SEEDABLE = new Set([...CALLABLE, 'variable', 'constant']);
       const isTestPath = (p: string) => /(^|\/)(tests?|specs?|__tests__|testdata|mocks?|fixtures?)\//i.test(p) || /\.(test|spec)\.[a-z]+$/i.test(p);
       const bodyLines = (n: Node) => Math.max(0, (n.endLine ?? n.startLine) - n.startLine);
       const callerCount = (n: Node) => { try { return cg.getCallers(n.id).length; } catch { return 0; } };
       const tokens = [...new Set(
-        query.split(/[\s,()[\]]+/)
+        matchQuery.split(/[\s,()[\]]+/)
           .map((t) => t.replace(FILE_EXT, '').trim())
           .filter((t) => t.length >= 3 && /^[A-Za-z_$][\w$]*(?:(?:::|\.)[\w$]+)*$/.test(t))
       )].slice(0, 16);
@@ -3430,24 +3500,26 @@ export class ToolHandler {
           }
         }
         let cands = raw
-          .filter((n) => CALLABLE.has(n.kind) && !isTestPath(n.filePath))
+          .filter((n) => SEEDABLE.has(n.kind) && !isTestPath(n.filePath))
           .sort((a, b) => (bodyLines(b) > 1 ? 1 : 0) - (bodyLines(a) > 1 ? 1 : 0) || bodyLines(b) - bodyLines(a));
         // Field-name seeding fallback (#1196): a camelCase token that names NO
         // definition of its own is usually an object-literal key / API field
         // (`profileInfo`) — no node exists, so it contributed zero seeds and
         // the files that DEFINE it (`getProfileInfoV2` in profileController)
-        // never surfaced. Seed its camel-infix definers instead: callables
-        // whose name contains the token at a hump boundary or as a prefix.
+        // never surfaced. Seed its camel-infix definers instead: seedable
+        // symbols (callables + variables — `atBottom` must reach the `$state`
+        // variables `feedAtBottom`/`chatAtBottom`) whose name contains the
+        // token at a hump boundary or as a prefix.
         // Exact-empty + camel-shaped only (bare words keep the NL-stopword
         // guard below), shortest-first, capped so a hot infix can't flood.
         if (cands.length === 0 && !isQual && /[a-z][A-Z]/.test(t)) {
           const lcToken = t.toLowerCase();
           cands = cg
             .getNodesByNameSubstring(t, {
-              kinds: ['function', 'method', 'component'],
+              kinds: ['function', 'method', 'component', 'variable', 'constant'],
               limit: 60,
             })
-            .filter((n) => CALLABLE.has(n.kind) && !isTestPath(n.filePath))
+            .filter((n) => SEEDABLE.has(n.kind) && !isTestPath(n.filePath))
             .filter((n) => {
               const idx = n.name.toLowerCase().indexOf(lcToken);
               if (idx < 0) return false;
@@ -3624,8 +3696,9 @@ export class ToolHandler {
       fileGroups.set(node.filePath, group);
     }
 
-    // Extract query terms for relevance checking
-    const queryTerms = query.toLowerCase().split(/\s+/).filter(t => t.length >= 3);
+    // Extract query terms for relevance checking (path-stripped: a pinned
+    // file's own path fragments must not count as "term hits" everywhere)
+    const queryTerms = matchQuery.toLowerCase().split(/\s+/).filter(t => t.length >= 3);
 
     // Test/spec/icon/i18n file detector — used by the pre-floor hard filter, the
     // rank penalty, and the comparator deprioritization.
@@ -3715,9 +3788,10 @@ export class ToolHandler {
     // keep-minimum then pulled two test files back in as the "spread".
     let candidateFiles = [...fileGroups.entries()];
     {
-      const queryMentionsTests = /\b(test|tests|testing|spec|verify|verifies)\b/i.test(query);
+      const queryMentionsTests = /\b(test|tests|testing|spec|verify|verifies)\b/i.test(matchQuery);
       if (!queryMentionsTests) {
-        const nonLow = candidateFiles.filter(([p]) => !isLowValue(p));
+        // A pinned file is exempt: naming a test file by path IS asking for it.
+        const nonLow = candidateFiles.filter(([p]) => !isLowValue(p) || pinnedSet.has(p));
         if (nonLow.length >= 2) {
           candidateFiles = nonLow;
         }
@@ -3732,7 +3806,9 @@ export class ToolHandler {
       SCORE_FLOOR_ABSOLUTE,
       Math.min(SCORE_FLOOR_MAX, topScore * SCORE_FLOOR_FRACTION_OF_TOP),
     );
-    let relevantFiles = candidateFiles.filter(([, group]) => group.score >= scoreFloor);
+    let relevantFiles = candidateFiles.filter(
+      ([fp, group]) => group.score >= scoreFloor || pinnedSet.has(fp),
+    );
     if (relevantFiles.length < SCORE_FLOOR_KEEP_MIN) {
       // Backfill from what the RELATIVE floor cut, best first, at two strengths:
       //
@@ -3747,8 +3823,11 @@ export class ToolHandler {
       //    worst outcome on the board — the agent falls straight back to grep.
       const minEvidence = relevantFiles.length === 0 ? Number.EPSILON : SCORE_FLOOR_ABSOLUTE;
       relevantFiles = candidateFiles
-        .filter(([, group]) => group.score >= minEvidence)
-        .sort((a, b) => b[1].score - a[1].score || b[1].nodes.length - a[1].nodes.length)
+        .filter(([fp, group]) => group.score >= minEvidence || pinnedSet.has(fp))
+        .sort((a, b) =>
+          (pinnedSet.has(b[0]) ? 1 : 0) - (pinnedSet.has(a[0]) ? 1 : 0)
+          || b[1].score - a[1].score
+          || b[1].nodes.length - a[1].nodes.length)
         .slice(0, Math.max(SCORE_FLOOR_KEEP_MIN, relevantFiles.length));
     }
     diag?.setScoreFloor(scoreFloor, relevantFiles.length);
@@ -3852,7 +3931,8 @@ export class ToolHandler {
     // never prunes below 2.
     if (maxGraph > 0) {
       const gated = relevantFiles.filter(([fp]) =>
-        (fileGraphScore.get(fp) ?? 0) >= maxGraph * 0.06
+        pinnedSet.has(fp)
+        || (fileGraphScore.get(fp) ?? 0) >= maxGraph * 0.06
         || centralFiles.has(fp)
         || entryFiles.has(fp)
         || changeSurfaceFiles.has(fp)
@@ -3908,7 +3988,15 @@ export class ToolHandler {
       const aPath = a[0].toLowerCase();
       const bPath = b[0].toLowerCase();
 
-      // Agent-named files first (it asked for a symbol defined here by name).
+      // Pinned files first of all — the agent named the FILE by path, which is
+      // even more explicit than naming a symbol in it. Among pins, keep the
+      // order they appeared in the query.
+      const aPin = pinnedSet.has(a[0]) ? 1 : 0;
+      const bPin = pinnedSet.has(b[0]) ? 1 : 0;
+      if (aPin !== bPin) return bPin - aPin;
+      if (aPin && bPin) return (pinnedOrder.get(a[0]) ?? 0) - (pinnedOrder.get(b[0]) ?? 0);
+
+      // Agent-named files next (it asked for a symbol defined here by name).
       const aNamed = namedSeedFiles.has(a[0]) ? 1 : 0;
       const bNamed = namedSeedFiles.has(b[0]) ? 1 : 0;
       if (aNamed !== bNamed) return bNamed - aNamed;
@@ -4010,7 +4098,7 @@ export class ToolHandler {
     // Compute the flow spine once — used both to prepend the Flow section (below)
     // and to gate adaptive source sizing: files on the spine get full source,
     // off-spine peers skeletonize.
-    const flow = this.buildFlowFromNamedSymbols(cg, query);
+    const flow = this.buildFlowFromNamedSymbols(cg, matchQuery);
 
     // Snapshot every ranked candidate's scoring inputs, in final sort order, so
     // the diagnostic can show what each file's share of the envelope was BOUGHT
@@ -4031,6 +4119,7 @@ export class ToolHandler {
           graphScore: fileGraphScore.get(fp) ?? 0,
           termHits: fileTermHits.get(fp) ?? 0,
           nodes: group.nodes.length,
+          pinned: pinnedSet.has(fp),
           named: namedSeedFiles.has(fp),
           central: centralFiles.has(fp),
           entry: entryFiles.has(fp),
@@ -4051,8 +4140,11 @@ export class ToolHandler {
       sortedFiles.map(([fp, group]) => ({
         path: fp,
         score: group.score,
-        worth: rankPenalty(fp),
+        // A pinned file's bytes are worth full price by definition — the agent
+        // asked for the file itself, generated/test or not.
+        worth: pinnedSet.has(fp) ? 1 : rankPenalty(fp),
         spine: group.nodes.some((n) => flow.pathNodeIds.has(n.id)),
+        pinned: pinnedSet.has(fp),
       })),
       budget,
       maxFiles,
@@ -5804,9 +5896,19 @@ export class ToolHandler {
         g.nodes.filter((n) => n.kind !== 'import' && n.kind !== 'export').map((n) => n.id),
       ).size;
     }, 0);
-    const summaryLine = survivors.length > 0
+    let summaryLine = survivors.length > 0
       ? `Found ${shownSymbols} symbol${shownSymbols === 1 ? '' : 's'} across ${survivors.length} file${survivors.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}.`
       : `Found ${subgraph.nodes.size} symbol${subgraph.nodes.size === 1 ? '' : 's'} across ${fileGroups.size} file${fileGroups.size === 1 ? '' : 's'}.`;
+    // Path pinning is visible, not silent: say which query-named files were
+    // honored, and which path spans matched nothing so the agent can correct
+    // them instead of trusting a response that quietly ignored the path.
+    const pinnedShown = pinnedFiles.filter((fp) => survivors.includes(fp)).length;
+    if (pinnedShown > 0) {
+      summaryLine += ` ${pinnedShown} file${pinnedShown === 1 ? '' : 's'} pinned from the query.`;
+    }
+    if (unresolvedPathSpans.length > 0) {
+      summaryLine += ` No indexed file uniquely matches ${unresolvedPathSpans.map((s) => `\`${s}\``).join(', ')}.`;
+    }
     finalText = finalText.replace(SUMMARY_SENTINEL, summaryLine);
 
     // Emit the allocation diagnostic from the FINAL text, so per-file bytes and
diff --git a/src/search/identifier-segments.ts b/src/search/identifier-segments.ts
index 110a6b7..75bfde4 100644
--- a/src/search/identifier-segments.ts
+++ b/src/search/identifier-segments.ts
@@ -126,6 +126,33 @@ export function extractProseCandidates(prompt: string): string[] {
   return [...seen];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Words to look up in the segment vocabulary for a SEARCH query (as opposed
+ * to a prompt-hook gate): the query's prose candidates PLUS the segments of
+ * its identifier-shaped tokens. An agent's query names concepts both ways —
+ * "auto-scroll to bottom" (prose) and "atBottom tracking" (camel) — and the
+ * camel token must still reach the segment "bottom" even though the whole
+ * token matches no name. Same stopword/length rules as the hook path, since
+ * both feeds run through {@link extractProseCandidates}.
+ */
+export function extractSegmentSearchWords(query: string): string[] {
+  if (!query) return [];
+  const words = new Set(extractProseCandidates(query));
+  const segments: string[] = [];
+  for (const run of query.match(/[\p{L}\p{N}]+/gu) ?? []) {
+    // Only camel-humped tokens contribute segments — a plain word's
+    // "segments" are itself (already covered above), and snake_case arrives
+    // as separate runs because `_` is not a letter.
+    if (/[\p{Ll}\p{N}]\p{Lu}/u.test(run)) {
+      segments.push(...splitIdentifierSegments(run));
+    }
+  }
+  if (segments.length > 0) {
+    for (const w of extractProseCandidates(segments.join(' '))) words.add(w);
+  }
+  return [...words];
+}
+
 /**
  * Lookup variants for a prose word: the word itself plus light plural folding
  * ("services" → service, "dependencies" → dependencie/dependency is NOT
diff --git a/src/search/query-paths.ts b/src/search/query-paths.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce186c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/search/query-paths.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,213 @@
+/**
+ * File-path recognition for explore queries.
+ *
+ * Agents routinely name files by path in a `codegraph_explore` query —
+ * "the scroll logic in src/routes/m/projects/[id]/runs/[runId]/+page.svelte" —
+ * and until this module existed those spans were SHREDDED by the downstream
+ * tokenizers instead of being read as file references:
+ *
+ *   - the named-symbol seeder splits on `[\s,()[\]]+`, so SvelteKit/Next
+ *     bracketed segments (`[id]`, `[runId]`) and route groups (`(protected)`)
+ *     exploded the path into fragments; the identifier-shaped survivors
+ *     (`runId`, `scope`) then seeded as "symbols the agent named" and
+ *     headlined the blast radius;
+ *   - FTS saw the fragments (`page`, `chat`, `runs`) and admitted every
+ *     sibling `+page.svelte` in the repo, which ate the output envelope and
+ *     truncated the files the agent actually asked for.
+ *
+ * `extractQueryPaths` finds path-like spans, resolves them against the
+ * INDEXED file list (resolution IS the detector — `and/or`, `gen_server:call/2`
+ * and other slash-bearing non-paths match nothing and are left alone), and
+ * returns the matches as pinned files plus the query with those spans removed.
+ * Callers treat pinned files as first-class: guaranteed admission, top rank,
+ * funded first. Pure string work — no DB, no fs — so it is trivially testable
+ * and safe inside the query-pool workers.
+ */
+
+export interface QueryPathExtraction {
+  /** The query with resolved/clearly-path spans removed, whitespace-joined. */
+  strippedQuery: string;
+  /** Indexed file paths the query named, appearance-ordered, deduped. */
+  pinnedFiles: string[];
+  /**
+   * Spans that are unambiguously path-shaped but resolved to nothing (stale
+   * path, unindexed file) or to too many files (bare `+page.svelte`). Stripped
+   * from the query — their fragments could only mint junk matches — and
+   * surfaced to the agent so the miss is visible instead of silent.
+   */
+  unresolvedPathSpans: string[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Cheap pre-gate so callers only fetch the indexed file list when the query
+ * could possibly contain a path: a slash, or a dot-extension-shaped tail
+ * (`chat-manager.ts`). Extensions cap at 8 chars, which keeps `Class.method`
+ * spans (`app.isPackaged`) from qualifying.
+ */
+export function queryMightContainPaths(query: string): boolean {
+  return /[/\\]/.test(query) || /\.[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9]{0,7}(?=[\s,;:)\]'"`]|$)/.test(query);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Longest span→suffix walk tried per span. 8 covers an absolute macOS path
+ * (`/Users/<user>/dev/<repo>/…`) over a deeply nested repo-relative file;
+ * deeper prefixes buy nothing.
+ */
+const MAX_SUFFIX_TRIES = 8;
+/** Spans examined per query — a prose sentence is not 50 paths. */
+const MAX_CANDIDATE_SPANS = 8;
+
+/** `name.ext` shape with a plausible source extension (no slash required). */
+const DOTTED_BASENAME = /^[^\s/\\]+\.[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9]{0,7}$/;
+
+/**
+ * Strip prose punctuation wrapped around a token without eating punctuation
+ * that is PART of the path: quotes/backticks always strip; a trailing `)`/`]`
+ * strips only when the token has no matching opener (so `(protected)` and
+ * `[id]` segments survive, while "…(see src/foo.ts)" loses its parenthesis);
+ * a leading `(`/`[` mirrors that. Trailing sentence punctuation strips last,
+ * so "src/foo.ts." resolves.
+ */
+function stripWrapping(token: string): string {
+  let s = token;
+  for (;;) {
+    const first = s[0];
+    if (!first) break;
+    if ('\'"`<'.includes(first)) { s = s.slice(1); continue; }
+    if (first === '(' && !s.includes(')')) { s = s.slice(1); continue; }
+    if (first === '[' && !s.includes(']')) { s = s.slice(1); continue; }
+    if (first === '{' && !s.includes('}')) { s = s.slice(1); continue; }
+    break;
+  }
+  for (;;) {
+    const last = s[s.length - 1];
+    if (!last) break;
+    if ('\'"`>.,;!?'.includes(last)) { s = s.slice(0, -1); continue; }
+    if (last === ')' && !s.includes('(')) { s = s.slice(0, -1); continue; }
+    if (last === ']' && !s.includes('[')) { s = s.slice(0, -1); continue; }
+    if (last === '}' && !s.includes('{')) { s = s.slice(0, -1); continue; }
+    break;
+  }
+  // Line references ride along in agent-written paths: `foo.ts:123`,
+  // `foo.ts:12-40`, `foo.ts#L88`. The file is what gets pinned.
+  s = s.replace(/(?::\d+(?:-\d+)?|#L\d+(?:-L?\d+)?)$/, '');
+  return s;
+}
+
+/** Normalize a span into the repo-relative shape the files table stores. */
+function normalizeSpan(span: string): string {
+  return span
+    .replace(/\\/g, '/')
+    .replace(/^(?:\.\/)+/, '')
+    .replace(/\/{2,}/g, '/')
+    .replace(/\/+$/, '');
+}
+
+/** Path-shaped beyond doubt: ≥2 segments and a dot-extension on the last. */
+function isClearlyPathShaped(normalized: string): boolean {
+  const slash = normalized.lastIndexOf('/');
+  if (slash <= 0) return false;
+  return DOTTED_BASENAME.test(normalized.slice(slash + 1));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve one normalized span against the indexed paths: exact match first,
+ * then segment-aligned suffix matches, dropping leading segments one at a
+ * time (so an absolute path, or one prefixed with the repo directory name,
+ * still lands on the indexed repo-relative file). Suffixes only get shorter —
+ * and therefore only match MORE — so the walk stops at the first suffix that
+ * matches anything: within budget it resolves, over budget it is ambiguous.
+ */
+function resolveSpan(
+  normalizedLower: string,
+  lowerToOriginal: ReadonlyMap<string, string>,
+  maxMatches: number,
+): { matches: string[]; ambiguous: boolean } {
+  const exact = lowerToOriginal.get(normalizedLower);
+  if (exact) return { matches: [exact], ambiguous: false };
+
+  const segments = normalizedLower.split('/').filter(Boolean);
+  const tries = Math.min(segments.length, MAX_SUFFIX_TRIES);
+  for (let drop = 0; drop < tries; drop++) {
+    const suffix = segments.slice(drop).join('/');
+    if (!suffix) break;
+    const withSlash = '/' + suffix;
+    const matches: string[] = [];
+    for (const [lower, original] of lowerToOriginal) {
+      if (lower === suffix || lower.endsWith(withSlash)) {
+        matches.push(original);
+        if (matches.length > maxMatches) return { matches: [], ambiguous: true };
+      }
+    }
+    if (matches.length > 0) return { matches, ambiguous: false };
+  }
+  return { matches: [], ambiguous: false };
+}
+
+export function extractQueryPaths(
+  query: string,
+  indexedPaths: readonly string[],
+  opts: { maxPins?: number; maxMatchesPerSpan?: number } = {},
+): QueryPathExtraction {
+  const maxPins = Math.max(1, opts.maxPins ?? 8);
+  const maxMatchesPerSpan = Math.max(1, opts.maxMatchesPerSpan ?? 3);
+
+  const passthrough: QueryPathExtraction = {
+    strippedQuery: query,
+    pinnedFiles: [],
+    unresolvedPathSpans: [],
+  };
+  if (!query.trim() || indexedPaths.length === 0) return passthrough;
+
+  // Lowercase view of the index, built once per call. Last writer wins on a
+  // case-colliding pair, which is the existing file-view behavior too.
+  const lowerToOriginal = new Map<string, string>();
+  for (const p of indexedPaths) lowerToOriginal.set(p.toLowerCase(), p);
+
+  const tokens = query.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean);
+  const consumed = new Set<number>();
+  const pinned: string[] = [];
+  const pinnedSeen = new Set<string>();
+  const unresolved: string[] = [];
+  let candidatesExamined = 0;
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < tokens.length; i++) {
+    if (pinned.length >= maxPins) break;
+    if (candidatesExamined >= MAX_CANDIDATE_SPANS) break;
+    const stripped = stripWrapping(tokens[i]!);
+    if (stripped.length < 4) continue;
+    const hasSlash = /[/\\]/.test(stripped);
+    if (!hasSlash && !DOTTED_BASENAME.test(stripped)) continue;
+
+    const normalized = normalizeSpan(stripped);
+    if (!normalized) continue;
+    candidatesExamined++;
+
+    const { matches, ambiguous } = resolveSpan(
+      normalized.toLowerCase(), lowerToOriginal, maxMatchesPerSpan,
+    );
+    if (matches.length > 0) {
+      consumed.add(i);
+      for (const m of matches) {
+        if (pinnedSeen.has(m) || pinned.length >= maxPins) continue;
+        pinnedSeen.add(m);
+        pinned.push(m);
+      }
+    } else if (ambiguous || isClearlyPathShaped(normalized)) {
+      // A real path that didn't resolve to a usable set. Keeping it in the
+      // query is strictly worse — its fragments are what minted the junk
+      // matches this module exists to stop — so strip it and say so.
+      consumed.add(i);
+      if (unresolved.length < 4) unresolved.push(normalized);
+    }
+    // Anything else (`and/or`, `call/2`, `foo.Bar`) is not a path reference:
+    // leave the token for the normal matching pipeline.
+  }
+
+  if (consumed.size === 0) return passthrough;
+  return {
+    strippedQuery: tokens.filter((_, i) => !consumed.has(i)).join(' '),
+    pinnedFiles: pinned,
+    unresolvedPathSpans: unresolved,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index b0ebfe4..186f57a 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -688,4 +688,13 @@ export interface FindRelevantContextOptions {
 
   /** Node types to include */
   nodeKinds?: NodeKind[];
+
+  /**
+   * Extra symbol names to merge in as exact-name search candidates, at a
+   * dampened score. Fed by the segment-vocabulary supplement (CodeGraph.
+   * findRelevantContext): word-level query terms can't reach camelCase names
+   * through FTS — `pinFeedIfNearBottom` is one FTS token — so names whose
+   * SEGMENTS the query's words name are seeded here instead.
+   */
+  seedNames?: string[];
 }