diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index be7c327bb..f0a94112c 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ host's page. It is the MatrixRTC reference implementation.
   `@media`, global `i18next` or the `widget` global — take it from a provider.
 - The change works standalone, as a widget and as a component. Say what you checked.
 - Every gate below is green before you push.
-- Hand off after the first implementation, before the quality pass. Commit when the
-  user confirms direction, not before.
+- Hand off after the first implementation, before the quality pass. Then commit on
+  the user's word where the setup allows it, or hand them the message.
 
 ## Read before you
 
@@ -48,5 +48,7 @@ pnpm i18n:check
 - View model + marble tests, thin view, a story per state, an e2e spec.
 - Any new shared component called out explicitly, with why nothing existing fit.
 - Template filled for real: what, why, before/after screenshots, repro steps.
+- Anything that redraws continuously — an animation frame, a stream — says what it
+  costs, or better, counts the redraws in a test.
 - Branch `<handle>/<topic>`. Plain imperative commit subjects, no prefixes.
 - Once review starts, fix forward. Never force-push a regeneration over a review.
diff --git a/docs/agents/testing.md b/docs/agents/testing.md
index 024eabf25..35a9548a8 100644
--- a/docs/agents/testing.md
+++ b/docs/agents/testing.md
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ lines a PR touches.
 - Reuse the factories in `src/utils/test.ts` — `mockRemoteParticipant`,
   `mockMatrixRoom`, `mockLivekitRoom`, `MockRTCSession`. Hand-rolled mocks drift.
 - Snapshots live in `__snapshots__/`; update with `pnpm test <Name> -u`.
+- How often something redraws is testable: drive the frames and count commits, not
+  render calls. An effect with no dependency array runs once per commit.
 - `component/**/*.test.ts` runs in the same jsdom project as `src`.
 
 ## Storybook
diff --git a/docs/agents/workflow.md b/docs/agents/workflow.md
index 9b8f82be9..2170f4a8c 100644
--- a/docs/agents/workflow.md
+++ b/docs/agents/workflow.md
@@ -39,10 +39,12 @@ Git-ignored. One kebab-case subfolder per task, matching the branch topic:
 
 ## Commit and PR readiness
 
-- Commit once the user confirms direction, or asks for one. Not before.
-- Before committing, every gate in [AGENTS.md](../../AGENTS.md#gates) is green and
-  the change is covered at the layers [testing.md](./testing.md) asks for. Read the
-  diff against [code-style.md](./code-style.md).
-- Re-run the whole checklist after any fix. Commit only on green.
+- Commit once the user confirms direction, or asks for one. Not before. Where the
+  setup has no git identity, a sandbox included, write the message to
+  `commit-msg.txt` and hand it over instead.
+- Ready means every gate in [AGENTS.md](../../AGENTS.md#gates) is green and the
+  change is covered at the layers [testing.md](./testing.md) asks for. Read the diff
+  against [code-style.md](./code-style.md) first.
+- Re-run the whole checklist after any fix. Only on green, either way.
 - Once a human has started reviewing, fix forward — never force-push a
   regeneration over a review in progress.