diff --git a/benchmarks/aft-search/slice-descriptors/land-flake-batch-20.json b/benchmarks/aft-search/slice-descriptors/land-flake-batch-20.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d841ae4fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/aft-search/slice-descriptors/land-flake-batch-20.json
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{
+  "slice_class": "non_ranking",
+  "targeted_mechanism": "none",
+  "kind": "harness",
+  "fixtures": [
+    "harness-goldens"
+  ],
+  "slices": [
+    "flake-batch-20"
+  ],
+  "note": "Test-only: views-off eviction test waits for an idle root. No changed path matches RANKING_FENCE_PREFIXES."
+}
diff --git a/crates/aft/src/gc/mod.rs b/crates/aft/src/gc/mod.rs
index 12e44ea7a..a325a82d1 100644
--- a/crates/aft/src/gc/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/aft/src/gc/mod.rs
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ fn sweep_planes_with_sidecars(
     let cancelled_for_bind =
         || cancelled() || crate::storage_retention::bind_pending(request.durable_storage);
     let control = SweepControl {
-        deadline: Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(5),
+        deadline: Instant::now() + sweep_budget(),
         cancelled: &cancelled_for_bind,
     };
     control.check()?;
@@ -701,6 +701,18 @@ type BeforeBlobDelete = Box<dyn FnMut(&rusqlite::Connection)>;
 #[cfg(test)]
 thread_local! {
     static BEFORE_BLOB_DELETE: std::cell::RefCell<Option<BeforeBlobDelete>> = const { std::cell::RefCell::new(None) };
+    static SWEEP_BUDGET_FOR_TEST: std::cell::Cell<Option<Duration>> = const { std::cell::Cell::new(None) };
+}
+
+/// One sweep's wall-clock budget. Tests that check what a sweep deletes, not
+/// how long it may take, can raise it so a loaded CI runner cannot cut them
+/// short.
+fn sweep_budget() -> Duration {
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    if let Some(budget) = SWEEP_BUDGET_FOR_TEST.with(std::cell::Cell::get) {
+        return budget;
+    }
+    Duration::from_secs(5)
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -782,6 +794,9 @@ mod storage_retention_tests {
                 hook_calls.set(hook_calls.get() + 1);
             }))
         });
+        // This test checks the delete transaction, not the 5 s budget, which
+        // a loaded Windows runner overran on this three-row fixture.
+        SWEEP_BUDGET_FOR_TEST.with(|budget| budget.set(Some(Duration::from_secs(60))));
         let report = sweep(SweepRequest {
             durable_storage: temp.path(),
             storage: temp.path(),
@@ -793,8 +808,9 @@ mod storage_retention_tests {
                 retained_keys: BTreeSet::from([[1_u8; 32]]),
                 ..Default::default()
             },
-        })
-        .unwrap();
+        });
+        SWEEP_BUDGET_FOR_TEST.with(|budget| budget.set(None));
+        let report = report.unwrap();
         BEFORE_BLOB_DELETE.with(|slot| slot.borrow_mut().take());
         assert_eq!(calls.get(), 2);
         assert_eq!(report.deleted_blobs, 2);
diff --git a/crates/aft/src/subc/bash.rs b/crates/aft/src/subc/bash.rs
index c43f95394..85c2ad85e 100644
--- a/crates/aft/src/subc/bash.rs
+++ b/crates/aft/src/subc/bash.rs
@@ -8152,7 +8152,11 @@ mod grant_path_tests {
                 .build()
                 .expect("current-thread test runtime");
             runtime.block_on(async {
-                let (mut startup, done) = startup_case(held_before_spawn_stub, 80).await;
+                // The test fires the deadline once the stub holds the sandbox
+                // profile step. The window is only a backstop and must outlast
+                // executor admission: at 80 ms a loaded macOS runner was still
+                // admitting, so the backstop fired first and named admission.
+                let (mut startup, done) = startup_case(held_before_spawn_stub, 3_000).await;
                 let response = done.response_for_test();
                 assert_eq!(response.data["code"], "bash_start_deadline");
                 let message = response.data["message"]
diff --git a/crates/aft/tests/integration/per_checkout_semantic_runtime.rs b/crates/aft/tests/integration/per_checkout_semantic_runtime.rs
index a312e55ec..5960fe801 100644
--- a/crates/aft/tests/integration/per_checkout_semantic_runtime.rs
+++ b/crates/aft/tests/integration/per_checkout_semantic_runtime.rs
@@ -830,6 +830,16 @@ fn evict_until_lane_released(ctx: &AppContext) {
         thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(20));
     }
 }
+/// Evicts the root's artifacts once it is idle. Readiness can be reported
+/// while background work that settled it is still finishing, and eviction
+/// refuses a root that is not idle yet, so retry until it accepts.
+fn evict_once_idle(ctx: &AppContext) {
+    let deadline = Instant::now() + DEADLINE;
+    while !ctx.evict_idle_artifacts() {
+        assert!(Instant::now() < deadline, "the root never became idle");
+        thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(20));
+    }
+}
 /// Idle eviction drops the lexical lane too, and both lanes reload by design.
 /// Reloads the lexical lane through a grep, which reloads only that lane, and
 /// waits until grep answers from a ready index, so the next search has a
@@ -927,7 +937,7 @@ fn views_off_search_after_idle_eviction_reports_the_index_reloading() {
     let storage = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
     let ctx = configure(&repo.main, storage.path(), &server, false);
     wait_legacy_ready(&ctx);
-    assert!(ctx.evict_idle_artifacts(), "the root must be idle");
+    evict_once_idle(&ctx);
     // As in the views-on test: a search would refuse while the text index is
     // still reloading too, so reload it first and keep the check on semantic.
     reload_trigram_after_eviction(&ctx);