diff --git a/.github/workflows/check.yml b/.github/workflows/check.yml
index 1276013..6f78332 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check.yml
@@ -34,43 +34,3 @@ jobs:
       - name: What the build used
         if: always()
         run: df -h / | tail -1
-  # The destination is one installation for macOS, Windows and Linux (D-56,
-  # P11a step 0): the workspace must build and pass its tests on each, not
-  # only here. `just check` (fmt, clippy, rustdoc, proofs' friends) stays
-  # the Linux job's; these run the build and the tests. The job tells
-  # which OS a failure is on; neither is allowed to hide the other.
-  portable:
-    name: portable (${{ matrix.os }})
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        include:
-          - os: macos-latest
-            experimental: false
-          - os: windows-latest
-            experimental: false
-    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
-    continue-on-error: ${{ matrix.experimental }}
-    # Same disk discipline as above: no incremental caches, line tables only.
-    env:
-      CARGO_INCREMENTAL: "0"
-      CARGO_PROFILE_DEV_DEBUG: line-tables-only
-      CARGO_PROFILE_TEST_DEBUG: line-tables-only
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Rust (the version mise.toml pins)
-        shell: bash
-        run: rustup toolchain install 1.99 --profile minimal && rustup default 1.99
-      - name: Room for the build
-        shell: bash
-        run: df -h . | tail -1
-      - name: The server-only build (no viewer)
-        run: cargo build -p ledger-cli --no-default-features
-      - name: Everything compiles
-        run: cargo build --workspace --all-targets
-      - name: Tests
-        run: cargo test --workspace
-      - name: What the build used
-        if: always()
-        shell: bash
-        run: df -h . | tail -1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/portable.yml b/.github/workflows/portable.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..79295db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/portable.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# The portable builds (plan P11a step 0, D-56): the workspace builds and
+# passes its tests on macOS and Windows, not only on Linux. A workflow of
+# its own, not a job beside `check`: GitHub serves a job's log only when
+# its whole run has completed, and `check` takes over an hour, so a macOS
+# failure's reason was unreadable for that long while it sat in the same
+# run. Here each OS's run completes on its own.
+name: portable
+on:
+  push:
+  pull_request:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+concurrency:
+  group: portable-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+jobs:
+  # The destination is one installation for macOS, Windows and Linux (D-56,
+  # P11a step 0): the workspace must build and pass its tests on each, not
+  # only here. `just check` (fmt, clippy, rustdoc, proofs' friends) stays
+  # the Linux job's; these run the build and the tests. The job tells
+  # which OS a failure is on; neither is allowed to hide the other.
+  portable:
+    name: portable (${{ matrix.os }})
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - os: macos-latest
+            experimental: false
+          - os: windows-latest
+            experimental: false
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    continue-on-error: ${{ matrix.experimental }}
+    # Same disk discipline as above: no incremental caches, line tables only.
+    env:
+      CARGO_INCREMENTAL: "0"
+      CARGO_PROFILE_DEV_DEBUG: line-tables-only
+      CARGO_PROFILE_TEST_DEBUG: line-tables-only
+      # macOS: a Unix socket path holds 104 bytes, and the runner's default
+      # temp folder (/var/folders/...) plus a test home plus
+      # `Library/Application Support/wanderbooks/run/` is longer than that;
+      # the server then refuses the root ("too long for its sockets"). The
+      # tests' temp homes go under /tmp there. Windows ignores TMPDIR.
+      TMPDIR: /tmp
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Rust (the version mise.toml pins)
+        shell: bash
+        run: rustup toolchain install 1.99 --profile minimal && rustup default 1.99
+      - name: Room for the build
+        shell: bash
+        run: df -h . | tail -1
+      - name: The server-only build (no viewer)
+        run: cargo build -p ledger-cli --no-default-features
+      - name: Everything compiles
+        run: cargo build --workspace --all-targets
+      - name: Tests
+        run: cargo test --workspace
+      - name: What the build used
+        if: always()
+        shell: bash
+        run: df -h . | tail -1
diff --git a/crates/ledger-cli/tests/spec_mcp.rs b/crates/ledger-cli/tests/spec_mcp.rs
index d88ef2f..ce1beb6 100644
--- a/crates/ledger-cli/tests/spec_mcp.rs
+++ b/crates/ledger-cli/tests/spec_mcp.rs
@@ -1302,15 +1302,20 @@ fn happy_path(name: &str) -> Mcp {
         "books.export",
         json!({"format": "iif", "report": "general_journal", "as_of": "2026-12-31"}),
     );
+    // The script ran an audit above, so the package's gate (P8) is live
+    // and the run no longer stands at the head: the owner's override, as
+    // a human would give it.
     m.ok(
         "books.export_cpa_package",
         json!({"as_of": "2026-12-31", "include_receipts": false, "include_tins": false,
-                "allow_open_drafts": {"reason": "the test books keep drafts open"}}),
+                "allow_open_drafts": {"reason": "the test books keep drafts open"},
+                "without_audit_reason": "the script's audit is behind the head; the test exports anyway"}),
     );
     m.ok(
         "books.export_cpa_package",
         json!({"as_of": "2026-12-31", "include_receipts": false,
-                "allow_open_drafts": {"reason": "the test books keep drafts open"}}),
+                "allow_open_drafts": {"reason": "the test books keep drafts open"},
+                "without_audit_reason": "the script's audit is behind the head; the test exports anyway"}),
     );
 
     // The access log, the backups' status, and a backup now (none is set
diff --git a/crates/ledger-store/src/root.rs b/crates/ledger-store/src/root.rs
index c2c8f77..6a114b6 100644
--- a/crates/ledger-store/src/root.rs
+++ b/crates/ledger-store/src/root.rs
@@ -321,14 +321,82 @@ const SOCKET_PATH_MAX: usize = 100;
 /// The path to a socket named `name` in `dir`, short enough for the
 /// system: the path itself when it fits; else, on Linux, the same place
 /// reached through `/proc/self/fd` and a handle on `dir` kept open while
-/// this lives (it is good only in this process). Elsewhere a path too
-/// long is refused, saying so plainly (no path named).
+/// this lives (it is good only in this process); on the other Unixes
+/// (macOS), the same place reached through a short link of this
+/// account's under `/tmp` (`short_link_for`), which the server and its
+/// clients compute alike. A root in a deep home on a Mac (the portable
+/// job found it: a test home under the runner's temp folder plus
+/// `Library/Application Support/wanderbooks/run/`) is served as any other.
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct SocketPath {
     path: PathBuf,
     _dir: Option<std::fs::File>,
 }
 
+/// A short path that reaches `dir`: the symbolic link
+/// `/tmp/wanderbooks-<uid>/<sha256 of dir, 16 hex>` → `dir`, inside a
+/// folder of this account's alone (made 0700; refused if it is anyone
+/// else's, writable by others, or not a folder, since `/tmp` is shared),
+/// and the link itself refused unless it is this account's and names
+/// `dir` exactly (a stale or foreign link is replaced). Short enough for
+/// a socket under it with the longest name in use.
+#[cfg(unix)]
+pub fn short_link_for(dir: &Path) -> std::io::Result<PathBuf> {
+    use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
+    use std::os::unix::fs::{DirBuilderExt, MetadataExt, PermissionsExt};
+    let not_ours = |what: &str| {
+        std::io::Error::new(
+            std::io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied,
+            format!("{what} under /tmp isn't this account's own private one: remove it"),
+        )
+    };
+    // SAFETY: getuid has no preconditions and never fails.
+    let uid = unsafe { libc::getuid() };
+    let base = PathBuf::from("/tmp").join(format!("wanderbooks-{uid}"));
+    match std::fs::symlink_metadata(&base) {
+        Ok(meta) => {
+            if !meta.file_type().is_dir()
+                || meta.uid() != uid
+                || meta.permissions().mode() & 0o077 != 0
+            {
+                return Err(not_ours("the sockets' folder"));
+            }
+        }
+        Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {
+            std::fs::DirBuilder::new().mode(0o700).create(&base)?;
+            let meta = std::fs::symlink_metadata(&base)?;
+            if meta.uid() != uid || meta.permissions().mode() & 0o077 != 0 {
+                return Err(not_ours("the sockets' folder"));
+            }
+        }
+        Err(e) => return Err(e),
+    }
+    let dir = std::fs::canonicalize(dir)?;
+    let link = base.join(&hex::encode(Sha256::digest(dir.as_os_str().as_encoded_bytes()))[..16]);
+    match std::fs::symlink_metadata(&link) {
+        Ok(meta) => {
+            let same = meta.file_type().is_symlink()
+                && meta.uid() == uid
+                && std::fs::read_link(&link).map(|t| t == dir).unwrap_or(false);
+            if same {
+                return Ok(link);
+            }
+            if meta.uid() != uid {
+                return Err(not_ours("the socket link"));
+            }
+            if meta.file_type().is_dir() {
+                std::fs::remove_dir(&link)?;
+            } else {
+                std::fs::remove_file(&link)?;
+            }
+        }
+        Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {}
+        Err(e) => return Err(e),
+    }
+    std::os::unix::fs::symlink(&dir, &link)?;
+    Ok(link)
+}
+
 impl SocketPath {
     /// The socket `name` in `dir`.
     pub fn new(dir: &Path, name: &str) -> std::io::Result<Self> {
@@ -349,7 +417,15 @@ impl SocketPath {
                 _dir: Some(handle),
             })
         }
-        #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
+        #[cfg(all(unix, not(target_os = "linux")))]
+        {
+            let short = short_link_for(dir)?;
+            Ok(Self {
+                path: short.join(name),
+                _dir: None,
+            })
+        }
+        #[cfg(not(unix))]
         Err(std::io::Error::new(
             std::io::ErrorKind::InvalidInput,
             "the books' private folder's path is too long for its sockets: choose a shorter place with `wanderbooks setup --root`",
diff --git a/crates/ledger-store/tests/socket_path.rs b/crates/ledger-store/tests/socket_path.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9d944c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ledger-store/tests/socket_path.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+//! Socket paths for roots too deep for a Unix socket's address (about 104
+//! bytes): Linux reaches them through `/proc/self/fd`, the other Unixes
+//! through a short private link under `/tmp`, so a books root in a deep
+//! home is served like any other (the portable macOS job found the
+//! refusal).
+#![cfg(unix)]
+
+use ledger_store::root::{SocketPath, short_link_for};
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+fn deep_dir(tag: &str) -> PathBuf {
+    let deep = std::env::temp_dir()
+        .join(format!("wb-socket-{tag}-{}", std::process::id()))
+        .join("a".repeat(60))
+        .join("b".repeat(60))
+        .join("run");
+    std::fs::create_dir_all(&deep).unwrap();
+    deep
+}
+
+/// A root deeper than the address allows still gets a socket path that
+/// fits, and a second asker (a client) reaches the same place.
+#[test]
+fn a_deep_root_gets_a_socket_path_that_fits() {
+    let deep = deep_dir("fits");
+    assert!(deep.as_os_str().len() > 100);
+    let a = SocketPath::new(&deep, "mcp.sock").unwrap();
+    assert!(a.path().as_os_str().len() <= 100, "{:?}", a.path());
+    // The place it reaches is the dir itself.
+    let reached = std::fs::canonicalize(a.path().parent().unwrap()).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(reached, std::fs::canonicalize(&deep).unwrap());
+}
+
+/// The short link is this account's, names the dir exactly, is the same
+/// on a second ask, and replaces a stale link of ours in its place.
+#[test]
+fn the_short_link_is_private_stable_and_replaces_a_stale_one() {
+    use std::os::unix::fs::{MetadataExt, PermissionsExt};
+    let deep = deep_dir("link");
+    let link = short_link_for(&deep).unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        link.as_os_str().len() + "/lease.sock".len() <= 100,
+        "{link:?}"
+    );
+    // SAFETY: getuid has no preconditions and never fails.
+    let uid = unsafe { libc::getuid() };
+    assert_eq!(
+        link.parent().unwrap(),
+        PathBuf::from(format!("/tmp/wanderbooks-{uid}"))
+    );
+    let folder = std::fs::symlink_metadata(link.parent().unwrap()).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(folder.uid(), uid);
+    assert_eq!(folder.permissions().mode() & 0o777, 0o700);
+    assert_eq!(
+        std::fs::read_link(&link).unwrap(),
+        std::fs::canonicalize(&deep).unwrap()
+    );
+    assert_eq!(short_link_for(&deep).unwrap(), link);
+    // A stale link of ours (to somewhere else) in that place is replaced.
+    let elsewhere = deep_dir("elsewhere");
+    std::fs::remove_file(&link).unwrap();
+    std::os::unix::fs::symlink(&elsewhere, &link).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(short_link_for(&deep).unwrap(), link);
+    assert_eq!(
+        std::fs::read_link(&link).unwrap(),
+        std::fs::canonicalize(&deep).unwrap()
+    );
+}