diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9f05c82..c040772 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ airlock run --no-daemon -- claude                  # sandbox only; airlock exec
 Profiles bundle sandbox rules for a known agent:
 
 - **`claude`** — read/write to `~/.claude/`, `~/.claude.json`, `~/.local/share/claude/`. The macOS keychain is unreachable, so Claude Code stores its OAuth token in `~/.claude/.credentials.json` (mode `0600`). Also disables Claude Code's own `sandbox-exec` wrapper, which cannot nest inside Airlock's profile.
-- **`claude-relaxed`** — `claude` plus keychain access, clipboard, `open <url>`, and read access to shell dotfiles. Each widens the data-leak surface; see [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md#built-in-agent-profiles).
+- **`claude-relaxed`** — `claude` plus keychain access, clipboard, `open <url>`, read access to shell dotfiles, and what Claude Code's background daemon (`claude --bg`, `claude agents`) needs to start. Each widens the data-leak surface; see [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md#built-in-agent-profiles).
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
diff --git a/SECURITY.md b/SECURITY.md
index a3d5461..a4ead1b 100644
--- a/SECURITY.md
+++ b/SECURITY.md
@@ -183,6 +183,7 @@ The directory containing `airlock.toml` is always included as a read-write path
 - Adds Launch Services Mach services + the `lsopen` operation class (so `open <url>` works from inside the sandbox).
 - Adds read access to `~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences*.plist` (default browser lookup).
 - Adds read access to shell init dotfiles: `.bashrc`, `.bash_profile`, `.bash_login`, `.profile`, `.zshrc`, `.zprofile`, `.zshenv`, `.zlogin`, `.inputrc`.
+- Adds what Claude Code's background daemon (`claude --bg`, `claude agents`) needs to start. The daemon runs with `$HOME` as its working directory, so the profile grants a `file-read-data` literal on `$HOME` (the directory listing only, nothing beneath it); without it, Bun's startup `getcwd` fails. The profile also grants read/write on `/tmp/cc-daemon-<uid>/`, where the daemon binds its control socket. The daemon stays inside the sandbox: `launchctl asuser` only execs it. Because `/bin/ps` is setuid, the daemon cannot probe its own start time and writes a lock without one. `claude daemon stop` then refuses to signal it, but the daemon still exits when its last client disconnects.
 
 Each `claude-relaxed` extension is a deliberate widening. The keychain DB at rest is encrypted (AES, master key derived from the user's login password and held only in `securityd`'s memory), so a sandboxed agent with this access *cannot* decrypt or forge keychain items. What it *can* do:
 
diff --git a/src/sandbox.rs b/src/sandbox.rs
index 76ca291..a5b39cc 100644
--- a/src/sandbox.rs
+++ b/src/sandbox.rs
@@ -1053,6 +1053,35 @@ pub mod macos {
             }
         }
 
+        emit_claude_daemon_rules(out)
+    }
+
+    /// Rules for Claude Code's background daemon (`claude --bg`,
+    /// `claude agents`), which the client spawns detached via
+    /// `launchctl asuser <uid>` with its working directory set to `$HOME`.
+    fn emit_claude_daemon_rules(out: &mut String) -> Result<(), SandboxError> {
+        // Bun resolves the cwd at startup. libc `getcwd` opens "." to ask the
+        // kernel for its path; when that open is denied it falls back to
+        // walking up the tree with `readdir`, which is denied too, and Bun
+        // aborts with "An unknown error occurred (Unexpected)". A literal
+        // rule lists the names directly under `$HOME` but grants nothing
+        // below it.
+        if let Ok(home) = std::env::var("HOME") {
+            let escaped = escape_path(std::path::Path::new(&home))?;
+            out.push_str(&format!("(allow file-read-data (literal \"{escaped}\"))\n"));
+        }
+
+        // The daemon's control socket lives at
+        // `/tmp/cc-daemon-<uid>/<hash>/control.sock`. This path is hardcoded,
+        // so `$TMPDIR` does not cover it. The subpath is per-uid, so the grant
+        // does not open the rest of `/tmp`.
+        let uid = unsafe { libc::getuid() };
+        for tmp in ["/private/tmp", "/tmp"] {
+            out.push_str(&format!(
+                "(allow file-read* file-write* (subpath \"{tmp}/cc-daemon-{uid}\"))\n"
+            ));
+        }
+
         Ok(())
     }
 
@@ -2309,6 +2338,45 @@ pub mod macos {
             }
         }
 
+        #[test]
+        fn agent_profile_claude_relaxed_allows_claude_daemon_startup() {
+            // The background daemon starts with cwd = $HOME and binds its
+            // control socket under the hardcoded `/tmp/cc-daemon-<uid>/`.
+            // It needs both rules or it exits before the socket is reachable.
+            let _guard = crate::test_support::ENV_MUTEX.lock().unwrap();
+            let home = std::env::var("HOME").expect("HOME should be set in test env");
+            let uid = unsafe { libc::getuid() };
+            let expected = [
+                format!("(allow file-read-data (literal \"{home}\"))"),
+                format!(
+                    "(allow file-read* file-write* (subpath \"/private/tmp/cc-daemon-{uid}\"))"
+                ),
+                format!("(allow file-read* file-write* (subpath \"/tmp/cc-daemon-{uid}\"))"),
+            ];
+
+            let relaxed = sbpl_from_agent_profile_with_kind(
+                &agent_policy_empty(),
+                Some(super::super::AgentProfileKind::ClaudeRelaxed),
+            );
+            for line in &expected {
+                assert!(
+                    relaxed.contains(line),
+                    "ClaudeRelaxed SBPL should contain {line}, got:\n{relaxed}"
+                );
+            }
+
+            let strict = sbpl_from_agent_profile_with_kind(
+                &agent_policy_empty(),
+                Some(super::super::AgentProfileKind::Claude),
+            );
+            for line in &expected {
+                assert!(
+                    !strict.contains(line),
+                    "plain Claude profile must NOT contain {line}, got:\n{strict}"
+                );
+            }
+        }
+
         #[test]
         fn agent_profile_omits_relaxed_bundle_for_plain_claude_kind() {
             // The standard Claude profile must NOT emit any of the relaxed extras.