diff --git a/server/src/adapters/registry.test.ts b/server/src/adapters/registry.test.ts
index ddd655de7f..29b3a76d17 100644
--- a/server/src/adapters/registry.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/adapters/registry.test.ts
@@ -4,13 +4,15 @@ import { listServerAdapters, requireServerAdapter } from "./registry.js";
 import * as executionTarget from "@paperclipai/adapter-utils/execution-target";
 import { BUILTIN_ADAPTER_TYPES } from "./builtin-adapter-types.js";
 
-const { probeInstallation, probeGrokInstallation } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+const { probeInstallation, probeGrokInstallation, probePiInstallation } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   probeInstallation: vi.fn(),
   probeGrokInstallation: vi.fn(),
+  probePiInstallation: vi.fn(),
 }));
-vi.mock("@paperclipai/paperclip-runner/live", () => ({
+vi.mock("../vendor/paperclip-runner/index.js", () => ({
   probeAcpxClaudeInstallation: probeInstallation,
   probeAcpxGrokInstallation: probeGrokInstallation,
+  probeAcpxPiInstallation: probePiInstallation,
 }));
 
 // The registry registers a login capability for the two built-in interactive
@@ -95,6 +97,7 @@ describe("native ACPX environment checks", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     probeInstallation.mockReset().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
     probeGrokInstallation.mockReset().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+    probePiInstallation.mockReset().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
   });
   afterEach(() => vi.restoreAllMocks());
 
@@ -131,6 +134,19 @@ describe("native ACPX environment checks", () => {
     expect(probeInstallation).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it.each([true, false])("checks qualified Pi's own installation readiness (%s)", async (ready) => {
+    if (!ready) probePiInstallation.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("Pi installation integrity mismatch"));
+    const model = "openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731";
+    const result = await requireServerAdapter("paperclip_runner").testEnvironment!({
+      ...context,
+      config: { provider: "acpx", acpxAgent: "pi", model },
+    });
+    expect(result.status).toBe(ready ? "pass" : "fail");
+    expect(probePiInstallation).toHaveBeenCalledWith(model);
+    expect(probeInstallation).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(probeGrokInstallation).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("does not use the host platform to reject a remote environment", async () => {
     vi.spyOn(process, "platform", "get").mockReturnValue("darwin");
     const result = await requireServerAdapter("paperclip_runner").testEnvironment!({
diff --git a/server/src/services/native-runtime/runtime-mode.test.ts b/server/src/services/native-runtime/runtime-mode.test.ts
index 3296f525a5..71f9e762c9 100644
--- a/server/src/services/native-runtime/runtime-mode.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/services/native-runtime/runtime-mode.test.ts
@@ -109,6 +109,20 @@ describe("resolveNativeRuntimeMode", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("admits qualified Pi without enabling pending ACPX candidates", () => {
+    expect(resolveNativeRuntimeMode({
+      ...eligible,
+      adapterConfig: {
+        provider: "acpx",
+        acpxAgent: "pi",
+        model: "openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731",
+      },
+    })).toMatchObject({
+      kind: "native",
+      profile: { backend: "acpx_runtime" },
+    });
+  });
+
   it("rejects malformed OpenCode and unqualified ACPX profiles", () => {
     expect(() => resolveNativeRuntimeMode({
       ...eligible,
@@ -116,16 +130,14 @@ describe("resolveNativeRuntimeMode", () => {
     })).toThrow(expect.objectContaining({
       code: "paperclip_runner_opencode_model_invalid",
     }));
-    expect(() => resolveNativeRuntimeMode({
-      ...eligible,
-      adapterConfig: {
-        provider: "acpx",
-        acpxAgent: "pi",
-        model: "openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731",
-      },
-    })).toThrow(expect.objectContaining({
-      code: "paperclip_runner_acpx_agent_unavailable",
-    }));
+    for (const acpxAgent of ["cursor", "copilot"]) {
+      expect(() => resolveNativeRuntimeMode({
+        ...eligible,
+        adapterConfig: { provider: "acpx", acpxAgent, model: "explicit-provider-model" },
+      })).toThrow(expect.objectContaining({
+        code: "paperclip_runner_acpx_agent_unavailable",
+      }));
+    }
     expect(() => resolveNativeRuntimeMode({
       ...eligible,
       adapterConfig: { provider: "acpx", acpxAgent: "claude", model: "claude-opus-5" },