diff --git a/packages/mosaic/framework/install.sh b/packages/mosaic/framework/install.sh
index 5083a41..da5d596 100755
--- a/packages/mosaic/framework/install.sh
+++ b/packages/mosaic/framework/install.sh
@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@ SOURCE_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 TARGET_DIR="${MOSAIC_HOME:-$HOME/.config/mosaic}"
 INSTALL_MODE="${MOSAIC_INSTALL_MODE:-prompt}"
 
-# Files/dirs preserved across upgrades (never overwritten).
+# Files/dirs protected from rsync --delete during sync. NOTE: framework-owned
+# entries (CONSTITUTION/AGENTS/STANDARDS) ARE re-applied afterward by
+# reconcile_framework_files (overwrite + backup-once); the rest stay user-owned.
 # User-created content in these paths survives rsync --delete.
 PRESERVE_PATHS=("CONSTITUTION.md" "AGENTS.md" "SOUL.md" "USER.md" "TOOLS.md" "STANDARDS.md" "memory" "sources" "credentials")
 
@@ -70,11 +72,13 @@ reconcile_framework_files() {
   [[ -d "$defaults" ]] || return 0
   for f in "${FRAMEWORK_OWNED[@]}"; do
     [[ -f "$defaults/$f" ]] || continue
-    if [[ -f "$TARGET_DIR/$f" ]] && ! cmp -s "$TARGET_DIR/$f" "$defaults/$f"; then
-      if [[ ! -f "$TARGET_DIR/${f}.pre-constitution.bak" ]]; then
-        cp "$TARGET_DIR/$f" "$TARGET_DIR/${f}.pre-constitution.bak"
-        warn "$f is now framework-owned and was updated; your previous copy is saved as ${f}.pre-constitution.bak — re-apply intended changes as a .local overlay or policy/ file (see CONSTITUTION.md / constitution/LAYER-MODEL.md)."
-      fi
+    # Already current — skip to avoid mtime churn.
+    if [[ -f "$TARGET_DIR/$f" ]] && cmp -s "$TARGET_DIR/$f" "$defaults/$f"; then
+      continue
+    fi
+    if [[ -f "$TARGET_DIR/$f" && ! -f "$TARGET_DIR/${f}.pre-constitution.bak" ]]; then
+      cp "$TARGET_DIR/$f" "$TARGET_DIR/${f}.pre-constitution.bak"
+      warn "$f is now framework-owned and was updated; your previous copy is saved as ${f}.pre-constitution.bak — re-apply intended changes as a .local overlay or policy/ file (see CONSTITUTION.md / constitution/LAYER-MODEL.md)."
     fi
     cp "$defaults/$f" "$TARGET_DIR/$f"
   done
@@ -281,9 +285,9 @@ sync_framework
 mkdir -p "$TARGET_DIR/memory"
 mkdir -p "$TARGET_DIR/credentials"
 
-# Seed defaults — copy framework contract files from defaults/ to framework
-# root if not already present. These ship with sensible defaults but must
-# never be overwritten once the user has customized them.
+# Reconcile contract files from defaults/ into the framework root: framework-owned
+# files (CONSTITUTION/AGENTS/STANDARDS) are overwritten every upgrade (a divergent
+# copy is backed up once); user-seeded files (TOOLS) are written on first install only.
 #
 # This list must match the framework-contract whitelist in
 # packages/mosaic/src/config/file-adapter.ts (FileConfigAdapter.syncFramework).
diff --git a/packages/mosaic/src/config/file-adapter.ts b/packages/mosaic/src/config/file-adapter.ts
index ea92f6d..8e45617 100644
--- a/packages/mosaic/src/config/file-adapter.ts
+++ b/packages/mosaic/src/config/file-adapter.ts
@@ -198,8 +198,10 @@ export class FileConfigAdapter implements ConfigService {
         const src = join(defaultsDir, entry);
         const dest = join(this.mosaicHome, entry);
         if (!existsSync(src) || !statSync(src).isFile()) continue;
+        // Already current — skip to avoid mtime churn.
+        if (existsSync(dest) && readFileSync(src).equals(readFileSync(dest))) continue;
         const bak = `${dest}.pre-constitution.bak`;
-        if (existsSync(dest) && !readFileSync(src).equals(readFileSync(dest)) && !existsSync(bak)) {
+        if (existsSync(dest) && !existsSync(bak)) {
           copyFileSync(dest, bak);
         }
         copyFileSync(src, dest);