diff --git a/agents/conductors/hygiene/hygiene.sh b/agents/conductors/hygiene/hygiene.sh
index 10f169c3..3beb769a 100755
--- a/agents/conductors/hygiene/hygiene.sh
+++ b/agents/conductors/hygiene/hygiene.sh
@@ -186,9 +186,13 @@ prescan_tidy() {
     dir="$ROOT/$repo"
     repo_is_checked_out "$repo" || continue
     scanned=$((scanned + 1))
-    local b s g
+    local b s g cur
+    # The branch HEAD points at is the one being WORKED ON — never debris.
+    cur=$(git -C "$dir" symbolic-ref --quiet --short HEAD 2>/dev/null)
+    local -a skip=(-e main -e master -e HEAD)
+    [[ -n "$cur" ]] && skip+=(-e "$cur")
     b=$(git -C "$dir" for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short)' refs/heads 2>/dev/null \
-          | grep -vxE 'main|master|HEAD' | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
+          | grep -vxF "${skip[@]}" | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
     s=$(git -C "$dir" stash list 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
     # NOT `branch -vv | grep -c '[gone]'` — porcelain prints the upstream as
     # `[origin/<branch>: gone]`, never the bare `[gone]`, so that grep counts 0
@@ -510,15 +514,21 @@ fi
 # status vs the default branch) and stashes across the managed checkouts. Echoes
 # TSV rows: "<repo>\t<type>\t<locator>\t<merged>".
 enumerate_condemn_candidates() {
-  local repo dir def br
+  local repo dir def br cur
   for repo in "${CODE_REPOS[@]}"; do
     dir="$ROOT/$repo"
     repo_is_checked_out "$repo" || continue
     def=$(git -C "$dir" symbolic-ref --quiet --short refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 2>/dev/null | sed 's@^origin/@@')
     [[ -n "$def" ]] || def=main
+    # The branch HEAD points at is the one being WORKED ON — never condemn it.
+    # A freshly cut branch is an ancestor of origin/<def> until its first
+    # commit, so without this it always reads merged=yes and is recommended for
+    # straight delete: every agent session would be told to bin its own branch.
+    cur=$(git -C "$dir" symbolic-ref --quiet --short HEAD 2>/dev/null)
     while IFS= read -r br; do
       [[ -z "$br" ]] && continue
       case "$br" in main|master|HEAD|"$def") continue ;; esac
+      [[ -n "$cur" && "$br" == "$cur" ]] && continue
       local merged=no
       if git -C "$dir" merge-base --is-ancestor "$br" "origin/$def" 2>/dev/null \
          || git -C "$dir" merge-base --is-ancestor "$br" "$def" 2>/dev/null; then
diff --git a/tests/test_hygiene_conductor.py b/tests/test_hygiene_conductor.py
index 9a088787..4e92bd6b 100644
--- a/tests/test_hygiene_conductor.py
+++ b/tests/test_hygiene_conductor.py
@@ -982,6 +982,70 @@ def test_refs_findings_reach_the_default_worklist(tmp_path):
     assert rows["refs"]["count"] == len(_refs_row(tmp_path)["findings"]) > 0
 
 
+def _init_git_repo_with_branch(path, branch, default="main"):
+    """A checkout whose HEAD is `branch`, cut from an unpushed `default`.
+
+    Mirrors the state every agent session starts in: the working branch exists
+    locally, shares its tip with the default branch, and has no commits of its
+    own yet.
+    """
+    _init_git_repo(path)
+    run = lambda *a: subprocess.run(  # noqa: E731
+        ["git", "-C", str(path), *a], check=True, capture_output=True
+    )
+    run("config", "user.email", "t@example.com")
+    run("config", "user.name", "t")
+    run("checkout", "-q", "-b", default)
+    (path / "f.txt").write_text("x\n")
+    run("add", "f.txt")
+    run("commit", "-q", "-m", "base")
+    run("checkout", "-q", "-b", branch)
+
+
+def test_tidy_never_condemns_the_checked_out_branch(tmp_path):
+    # Regression: a freshly cut agent branch is an ancestor of the default
+    # branch until its first commit, so it reads merged=yes. Without a HEAD
+    # guard the conductor recommends "straight delete" of the branch the
+    # session is actively working on.
+    _init_git_repo_with_branch(
+        tmp_path / "PyAutoBrain", "claude/some-agent-run-abc123"
+    )
+
+    result = _run(["tidy", "--json"], tmp_path)
+
+    assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+    doc = json.loads(result.stdout)
+    assert [c["locator"] for c in doc["candidates"]] == []
+
+
+def test_tidy_prescan_does_not_count_the_checked_out_branch(tmp_path):
+    # The same guard on the counting leg, so the ranked worklist and the
+    # condemn plan cannot disagree about what is debris.
+    _init_git_repo_with_branch(
+        tmp_path / "PyAutoBrain", "claude/some-agent-run-abc123"
+    )
+
+    result = _run(["--json"], tmp_path)
+    rows = {row["mode"]: row for row in json.loads(result.stdout)["rows"]}
+    assert rows["tidy"]["count"] == 0
+    assert "0 stale branches" in rows["tidy"]["summary"]
+
+
+def test_tidy_still_condemns_a_branch_that_is_not_checked_out(tmp_path):
+    # The guard is narrow: only HEAD is spared, not every merged branch.
+    repo = tmp_path / "PyAutoBrain"
+    _init_git_repo_with_branch(repo, "claude/some-agent-run-abc123")
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "-C", str(repo), "branch", "feature/spent"],
+        check=True,
+        capture_output=True,
+    )
+
+    doc = json.loads(_run(["tidy", "--json"], tmp_path).stdout)
+
+    assert [c["locator"] for c in doc["candidates"]] == ["feature/spent"]
+
+
 # --- Body-map-derived coverage -------------------------------------------------
 #
 # The conductor scans repositories, so WHICH repositories must come from the body