diff --git a/scripts/purge-agenttrash.sh b/scripts/purge-agenttrash.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0e0af61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/purge-agenttrash.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,335 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Deterministically empty every .AGENTTRASH directory under the given roots.
+#
+# PURPOSE
+#   The fleet's deletion policy parks deleted files in .AGENTTRASH/ — in-repo
+#   beside the item, elsewhere in $HOME as .AGENTTRASH/YYYYMMDD-topic — and
+#   waits for approval to purge. This script is that purge: given a machine,
+#   it clears .AGENTTRASH directories and nothing else.
+#
+# CONTRACT
+#   Default dry-run: the plan prints and nothing is deleted; --execute deletes.
+#   Every line the script can ever print for a candidate is decided at plan time
+#   and stored in the plan table, so a dry run prints exactly what --execute
+#   will print. A .AGENTTRASH that is a root's own trash (a repo's
+#   .AGENTTRASH, a machine's ~/.AGENTTRASH) prints `plan empty <path>`: the
+#   directory is the convention and survives, its staged contents are cleared.
+#   A .AGENTTRASH deeper than that is content and prints `plan remove <path>`
+#   plus, once executed, `removed <path>`; its own nested .AGENTTRASH entries
+#   belong to that tree and are never planned again. Candidates are found with
+#   `find -xdev` per root, so a mounted tree can never be walked by accident;
+#   ordering is lexicographic (LC_ALL=C). `/`, symlinked, and foreign-owned
+#   candidates are refused and reported (exit 1), never touched.
+#   A summary line `removed=<candidates> deleted=<removed> refused=<n>` closes
+#   every run and one dated line is appended to the log.
+#   Exit: 0 success, 1 operational failure, 2 usage error. A second run over
+#   the same tree plans nothing further and exits 0.
+#
+# PORTABILITY
+#   POSIX sh, clean under `shellcheck -S style`. Externals: find (must support
+#   -delete), stat, rm, date, mkdir. No bashisms, no GNU-only flags, no arrays,
+#   no `local`. Paths containing whitespace are rejected at parse time — the
+#   same rule applied to roots and candidates — so the plan can be walked with
+#   plain word splitting and nothing can be silently mis-split.
+#
+# USAGE
+#   purge-agenttrash [--execute] [--quiet] [--log PATH] [PATH...]
+#   --execute   delete; without it the run is a plan and deletes nothing
+#   --quiet     suppress per-line output; errors and the summary still print
+#   --log PATH  log destination (default: $HOME/.AGENTTRASH-cleanup.log)
+#   PATH...     roots to search (default: $HOME)
+#
+# Everything else is fixed by design: the root default, the ordering, the
+# guards. There is no configuration file and no environment override.
+
+set -eu
+
+usage() {
+    sed -n '3,44p' "$0" | sed 's/^# \{0,1\}//'
+}
+
+die() {
+    printf '%s: %s\n' 'purge-agenttrash' "$1" >&2
+    exit "${2:-1}"
+}
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------ arg parser
+# Roots accumulate as one space-separated string: a root containing whitespace is
+# rejected at parse time rather than silently split later. That leaves the plan
+# iteratable with plain `$@`-free word splitting, the only portable construct
+# that cannot corrupt a path it has already vetted.
+MODE=plan
+QUIET=0
+LOGPATH=
+ROOTS=
+while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
+    case "$1" in
+        --help|-h)
+            usage
+            exit 0
+            ;;
+        --execute)
+            MODE=execute
+            ;;
+        --quiet)
+            QUIET=1
+            ;;
+        --log)
+            [ "$#" -ge 2 ] || die '--log needs a value' 2
+            LOGPATH=$2
+            shift
+            ;;
+        --log=*)
+            LOGPATH=${1#--log=}
+            ;;
+        -*)
+            die "unknown option: $1" 2
+            ;;
+        *)
+            case $1 in
+                *' '*) die "root contains whitespace: $1" 2 ;;
+            esac
+            if [ -z "$ROOTS" ]; then
+                ROOTS=$1
+            else
+                ROOTS="$ROOTS $1"
+            fi
+            ;;
+    esac
+    shift
+done
+
+[ -n "${HOME:-}" ] || die 'HOME is not set; pass roots explicitly or set HOME' 2
+[ -n "$LOGPATH" ] || LOGPATH=$HOME/.AGENTTRASH-cleanup.log
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------ tool availability
+require() {
+    command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "required tool not found: $1" 1
+}
+require find
+require stat
+require rm
+require date
+require mkdir
+
+# `find -delete` backs the in-place emptying. Probe it rather than trusting
+# `find --version`: a shell function named `find` must not be able to fake it.
+if ! find . -maxdepth 0 -name '.purge-probe-does-not-exist' -delete >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    die 'find does not support -delete; refusing to guess at deletion' 1
+fi
+
+UID_SELF=$(id -u)
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------- locking
+# The lock dir also hosts this run's plan table, so both live and die together:
+# the exit trap removes the whole directory and only the log survives the run.
+LOCKDIR=$HOME/.agenttrash-purge.lock
+PLANFILE=$LOCKDIR/plan
+
+acquire_lock() {
+    if ! mkdir "$LOCKDIR" 2>/dev/null; then
+        held_pid=$(cat "$LOCKDIR/pid" 2>/dev/null || printf '%s\n' '')
+        if [ -n "$held_pid" ] && kill -0 "$held_pid" 2>/dev/null; then
+            die "another purge holds $LOCKDIR (pid $held_pid)" 1
+        fi
+        # Owner died mid-run: drop its pid, then retry exactly once. An
+        # unremovable/nonempty lock dir is not ours to reclaim.
+        rm -f "$LOCKDIR/pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+        rmdir "$LOCKDIR" 2>/dev/null || die "$LOCKDIR exists and is not ours to reclaim" 1
+        mkdir "$LOCKDIR" 2>/dev/null || die "cannot reacquire $LOCKDIR" 1
+    fi
+    printf '%s\n' "$$" >"$LOCKDIR/pid" || die "cannot stamp $LOCKDIR/pid" 1
+    : >"$PLANFILE" || die "cannot write $PLANFILE" 1
+    trap 'rm -rf "$LOCKDIR"' EXIT
+    trap 'exit 130' INT
+    trap 'exit 143' TERM
+}
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------ predicates
+is_dir() {  # true only for a real directory, never a symlink to one
+    [ -d "$1" ] && [ ! -L "$1" ]
+}
+
+is_ours() {  # true only when the invoking user owns the path
+    owner=$(stat -c '%u' "$1" 2>/dev/null) || return 1
+    [ "$owner" = "$UID_SELF" ]
+}
+
+refuse() {  # refuse <path> <reason>  — reported, never deleted
+    printf '%s: refused %s (%s)\n' 'purge-agenttrash' "$1" "$2" >&2
+    REFUSED=$((REFUSED + 1))
+}
+
+emit() {  # emit <line>  — silenced by --quiet
+    [ "$QUIET" -eq 1 ] || printf '%s\n' "$1"
+}
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------- the plan table
+# One row per candidate: `<action> <path> <line>`. The first two fields tell
+# `act_on` what to do; the rest of the row is EXACTLY what the run prints for
+# that candidate — in plan mode verbatim, in execute mode as the first line of
+# its report. The table is a file, so no shell quoting rule (quoted-for,
+# heredoc, IFS games) can corrupt an approved plan, and the two modes can
+# never drift apart. A removal's second line (`removed <path>`) is derived from
+# the row's action, so it is also fixed at plan time.
+CANDIDATES=0
+REFUSED=0
+
+record() {  # record <action> <path> <line>  — append one row to the plan table
+    printf '%s %s %s\n' "$1" "$2" "$3" >>"$PLANFILE"
+    CANDIDATES=$((CANDIDATES + 1))
+}
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------- candidate rule
+# The whole contract in one place:
+#   `/` is refused outright (never a candidate, never walked);
+#   a root that is a symlink or a plain file is refused, never followed;
+#   a root (or any path) that IS a real .AGENTTRASH prints `plan empty <path>`:
+#     the convention persists, its staged contents are what gets cleared;
+#   otherwise the root's DIRECT .AGENTTRASH child is also `empty` — it is that
+#     level's own trash ($HOME/.AGENTTRASH, x1/.AGENTTRASH, repo-a/.AGENTTRASH);
+#   every .AGENTTRASH deeper than that is content: `remove`, printed as
+#     `plan remove <path>` (+ `removed <path>` when executed), unless it lives
+#     inside a tree already claimed (then it dies with that tree, never planned
+#     twice) or is foreign-owned/symlinked (then refused).
+collect_root() {  # collect_root <path> -> 0 ok, 1 refused
+    target=$1
+    if [ "$target" = / ]; then
+        refuse / 'root refusal'
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if [ -L "$target" ] || ! [ -d "$target" ]; then
+        refuse "$target" 'not a real directory'
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if ! is_ours "$target"; then
+        refuse "$target" "not owned by uid $UID_SELF"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if [ "${target##*/}" = .AGENTTRASH ]; then
+        record empty "$target" "plan empty $target"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    # `own` is the root's own .AGENTTRASH once handled; hits below it belong to
+    # that tree and must never be planned a second time.
+    own=
+    if [ -e "$target/.AGENTTRASH" ]; then
+        if ! is_ours "$target/.AGENTTRASH"; then
+            refuse "$target/.AGENTTRASH" "not owned by uid $UID_SELF"
+        elif ! is_dir "$target/.AGENTTRASH"; then
+            refuse "$target/.AGENTTRASH" 'not a real directory'
+        else
+            record empty "$target/.AGENTTRASH" "plan empty $target/.AGENTTRASH"
+            own=$target/.AGENTTRASH
+        fi
+    fi
+    # No `-type d`: implementations disagree on whether that matches a
+    # symlink-to-directory (GNU find says no, others yes), so every entry named
+    # .AGENTTRASH is collected and classified here instead of by `find`.
+    if ! found=$(find "$target" -xdev -name .AGENTTRASH 2>/dev/null); then
+        refuse "$target" 'find failed'
+        return 1
+    fi
+    previous=
+    for entry in $found; do
+        [ -n "$entry" ] || continue
+        if [ -n "$own" ]; then
+            case $entry in
+                "$own"|"$own"/*) continue ;;   # already emptied in place
+            esac
+        fi
+        if [ -n "$previous" ]; then
+            case $entry in
+                "$previous"/*) continue ;;   # nested: dies with its parent
+            esac
+        fi
+        previous=$entry
+        if ! is_ours "$entry"; then
+            refuse "$entry" "not owned by uid $UID_SELF"
+            continue
+        fi
+        if ! is_dir "$entry"; then
+            refuse "$entry" 'not a real directory'
+            continue
+        fi
+        record remove "$entry" "plan remove $entry"
+    done
+    return 0
+}
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------ execution
+remove_tree() {  # rm -rf a real directory; symlinks inside die as entries
+    is_dir "$1" || return 1
+    rm -rf -- "$1"
+}
+
+empty_dir() {  # empty a real directory in place, never following symlinks
+    is_dir "$1" || return 1
+    find "$1" -mindepth 1 -xdev -delete
+}
+
+# act_on <action> <path> <line> -> 0 when the action succeeded.
+# remove: prints the stored line (`plan remove <path>`) then `removed <path>`.
+# empty:  prints the stored line (`plan empty <path>`) and nothing else — the
+#         directory survives, so the plan line IS the outcome.
+act_on() {  # act_on <action> <path> <line> -> 0 when the action succeeded
+    if [ "$1" = remove ]; then
+        if remove_tree "$2" 2>/dev/null; then
+            emit "$3"
+            emit "removed $2"
+            return 0
+        fi
+        printf '%s: failed to remove %s\n' 'purge-agenttrash' "$2" >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if empty_dir "$2" 2>/dev/null; then
+        emit "$3"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    printf '%s: failed to empty %s\n' 'purge-agenttrash' "$2" >&2
+    return 1
+}
+
+# Walk the plan table once: plan mode prints every row's line verbatim, execute
+# mode acts on each row and counts failures separately from plan-time refusals.
+walk_plan() {
+    while read -r action path line; do
+        [ -n "$action" ] || continue
+        if [ "$MODE" = plan ]; then
+            emit "$line"
+        elif act_on "$action" "$path" "$line"; then
+            REMOVED=$((REMOVED + 1))
+        else
+            EXEC_REFUSED=$((EXEC_REFUSED + 1))
+        fi
+    done <"$PLANFILE"
+}
+
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------- main
+[ -n "$ROOTS" ] || ROOTS=$HOME
+
+acquire_lock
+
+for root in $ROOTS; do
+    collect_root "$root" || true
+done
+
+REMOVED=0
+EXEC_REFUSED=0
+walk_plan
+
+STATUS=0
+[ "$REFUSED" -eq 0 ] || STATUS=1
+[ "$EXEC_REFUSED" -eq 0 ] || STATUS=1
+
+printf 'removed=%s deleted=%s refused=%s\n' \
+    "$CANDIDATES" "$REMOVED" "$((REFUSED + EXEC_REFUSED))"
+
+if ! printf '%s\tplan\tcandidates=%s\tremoved=%s\trefused=%s\n' \
+    "$(date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')" "$CANDIDATES" "$REMOVED" \
+    "$((REFUSED + EXEC_REFUSED))" >>"$LOGPATH" 2>/dev/null; then
+    printf '%s: cannot write log %s\n' 'purge-agenttrash' "$LOGPATH" >&2
+    STATUS=1
+fi
+
+exit "$STATUS"
diff --git a/serverAppConfigs-docs/Operations/Payload and Disk Reclaim.md b/serverAppConfigs-docs/Operations/Payload and Disk Reclaim.md
index 9aa3840..7da9e48 100644
--- a/serverAppConfigs-docs/Operations/Payload and Disk Reclaim.md	
+++ b/serverAppConfigs-docs/Operations/Payload and Disk Reclaim.md	
@@ -107,6 +107,23 @@ curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' http://127.0.0.1:7770/health
 Report: staged items and sizes, what was kept and why, what is **still not
 freed**, remaining candidates untouched. Purge only on explicit approval.
 
+## 6. The approved purge — `scripts/purge-agenttrash.sh`
+
+Approval turns into one command. The script is POSIX sh, dry-run by default,
+and touches nothing but `.AGENTTRASH` directories: pass it the machine's roots
+(default `$HOME`) and it prints the plan; `--execute` performs it and appends
+one dated line to `$HOME/.AGENTTRASH-cleanup.log`. A repo's (or the home's own)
+`.AGENTTRASH` is **emptied in place** — the directory is the convention and
+survives — while `.AGENTTRASH` trees that are themselves inside staged content
+are removed with their parent. Foreign-owned and symlinked candidates are
+refused, never followed; `rm -rf` deletes symlink entries but never traverses
+them, so a planted world-writable trash cannot reach outside itself.
+
+```sh
+scripts/purge-agenttrash.sh /home/dank          # plan
+scripts/purge-agenttrash.sh --execute /home/dank  # purge
+```
+
 ## Repo-flow gotcha: do NOT push before you deploy
 
 `scripts/deploy.sh` sets `BASE_REVISION=$(git rev-parse origin/main)`. If you
diff --git a/tests/purge_agenttrash.bats b/tests/purge_agenttrash.bats
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2dc2d60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/purge_agenttrash.bats
@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+# Seam: the agent-trash purger.
+# Behavioural contract only — what an operator sees (stdout plan lines, summary
+# line, exit code, the log line it leaves behind) and what survives on disk.
+# The script's own choice of implementation is not asserted.
+
+load helpers
+
+PURGE_SH="$REPO_ROOT/scripts/purge-agenttrash.sh"
+
+# fixture_home <dir> — a fake $HOME holding every shape the purger must handle:
+# the home's own .AGENTTRASH (the dated-staging convention, emptied in place)
+# and one populated plus one flat per-repo .AGENTTRASH (removed outright), plus
+# a file that is not trash and must survive.
+fixture_home() {
+    mkdir -p "$1/repo-a/.AGENTTRASH/bucket" "$1/repo-b/.AGENTTRASH" \
+        "$1/.AGENTTRASH/20260101-topic/.AGENTTRASH/inner"
+    : > "$1/repo-a/.AGENTTRASH/bucket/staged.txt"
+    : > "$1/repo-b/.AGENTTRASH/loose.md"
+    : > "$1/.AGENTTRASH/20260101-topic/staged.txt"
+    : > "$1/.AGENTTRASH/20260101-topic/.AGENTTRASH/inner/deep.txt"
+    : > "$1/repo-a/keep.txt"
+}
+
+@test "script exists and is executable" {
+    [ -f "$PURGE_SH" ]
+    [ -x "$PURGE_SH" ]
+}
+
+@test "usage lists every documented option" {
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --help
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -q -- '--execute'
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -q -- '--quiet'
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -q -- '--log'
+}
+
+@test "unknown option is a usage error" {
+    run bash -c 'export HOME="${1:?}"; mkdir -p "$HOME"; exec "$2" --bogus' \
+        _ "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR" "$PURGE_SH"
+    [ "$status" -eq 2 ]
+}
+
+@test "every positional root is honoured, not just the first" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    mkdir -p "$home"
+    mkdir -p "$home/x1/.AGENTTRASH" "$home/x2/.AGENTTRASH"
+    : > "$home/x1/.AGENTTRASH/a"
+    : > "$home/x2/.AGENTTRASH/b"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --log "$home/purge.log" "$home/x1" "$home/x2"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "plan empty $home/x1/.AGENTTRASH"
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "plan empty $home/x2/.AGENTTRASH"
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF 'removed=2 deleted=0 refused=0'
+}
+
+@test "--log=FORM accepts its value in one word" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    mkdir -p "$home"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" "--log=$home/purge.log" "$home"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ -f "$home/purge.log" ]
+}
+
+@test "dry run plans the removals and deletes nothing" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    fixture_home "$home"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --log "$home/purge.log" "$home"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "plan empty $home/.AGENTTRASH"
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "plan remove $home/repo-a/.AGENTTRASH"
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "plan remove $home/repo-b/.AGENTTRASH"
+    [ "$(printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -c '^plan ')" -eq 3 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF 'removed=3 deleted=0 refused=0'
+    [ -f "$home/repo-a/.AGENTTRASH/bucket/staged.txt" ]
+    [ -f "$home/repo-b/.AGENTTRASH/loose.md" ]
+    [ -f "$home/.AGENTTRASH/20260101-topic/staged.txt" ]
+    [ -f "$home/purge.log" ]
+}
+
+@test "execute empties the home trash and removes the repo trees" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    fixture_home "$home"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --execute --log "$home/purge.log" "$home"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF 'removed=3 deleted=3 refused=0'
+    # the home trash is emptied in place: it survives, empty — including a
+    # .AGENTTRASH nested inside it, which dies with its parent.
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "plan empty $home/.AGENTTRASH"
+    [ -d "$home/.AGENTTRASH" ]
+    [ -z "$(ls -A "$home/.AGENTTRASH")" ]
+    # the per-repo trees are removed outright, their content is what was staged.
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "plan remove $home/repo-a/.AGENTTRASH"
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "removed $home/repo-a/.AGENTTRASH"
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "removed $home/repo-b/.AGENTTRASH"
+    [ ! -e "$home/repo-a/.AGENTTRASH" ]
+    [ ! -e "$home/repo-b/.AGENTTRASH" ]
+    [ -f "$home/repo-a/keep.txt" ]
+    [ -f "$home/purge.log" ]
+}
+
+@test "execute leaves no lock behind" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    fixture_home "$home"
+    "$PURGE_SH" --quiet --execute --log "$home/purge.log" "$home"
+    [ ! -e "$home/.agenttrash-purge.lock" ]
+}
+
+@test "the second execute is a no-op with an empty plan" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    fixture_home "$home"
+    "$PURGE_SH" --quiet --execute --log "$home/purge.log" "$home"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --execute --log "$home/purge.log" "$home"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
+@test "a symlinked trash dir is refused, its target survives" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    mkdir -p "$home/live"
+    : > "$home/live/keep.txt"
+    ln -s "$home/live" "$home/.AGENTTRASH"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --execute --log "$home/purge.log" "$home"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -q 'refused'
+    [ -L "$home/.AGENTTRASH" ]
+    [ -f "$home/live/keep.txt" ]
+}
+
+@test "/ is refused as a root without touching anything else" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    fixture_home "$home"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --execute --log "$home/purge.log" / "$home"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF 'purge-agenttrash: refused / (root refusal)'
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF 'removed=3 deleted=3 refused=1'
+}
+
+@test "a root that is a plain file is refused and exits nonzero" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    mkdir -p "$home"
+    : > "$home/stray.txt"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --execute --log "$home/purge.log" "$home/stray.txt"
+    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF "purge-agenttrash: refused $home/stray.txt (not a real directory)"
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF 'removed=0 deleted=0 refused=1'
+    [ -f "$home/stray.txt" ]
+}
+
+@test "a root path containing whitespace is a usage error" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    mkdir -p "$home"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --log "$home/purge.log" "my project"
+    [ "$status" -eq 2 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -q 'root contains whitespace'
+}
+
+@test "an empty trash dir yields an empty plan and an empty log line" {
+    home="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/home"
+    mkdir -p "$home"
+    run "$PURGE_SH" --log "$home/purge.log" "$home"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" | grep -qxF 'removed=0 deleted=0 refused=0'
+    printf '%s\n' "$output" >"$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/out.txt"
+    [ "$(grep -c . "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/out.txt")" -eq 1 ]
+    grep -q 'plan' "$home/purge.log"
+}