diff --git a/.claude/harness/CHANGELOG.md b/.claude/harness/CHANGELOG.md
index de360ce..182b6fa 100644
--- a/.claude/harness/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/.claude/harness/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,3 +10,10 @@ or old harness during a heterogeneous rollout. See
 - Task 0.6: out-of-band recovery script `.claude/scripts/force-pull-raw.sh` added.
 - (Earlier) Syncro billing SSOT resolved: `add_line_item` is normal billing; timers are
   outlier-only (explicit request).
+
+## 1.1.0 — 2026-06-08
+- Task 1: submodule-safe sync — `sync.sh` now unstages submodule gitlinks (unless
+  `--with-submodules`), eliminating the manual detach-to-pin dance before /save.
+- Task 4: `harness-guard.sh` wired into `sync.sh` pre-commit, WARN-ONLY (logs conflict
+  markers / unencrypted sops / private keys to .claude/harness/guard.log; does not block
+  unless HARNESS_GUARD_FATAL=1; SKIP_HARNESS_GUARD=1 bypasses).
diff --git a/.claude/harness/VERSION b/.claude/harness/VERSION
index 3eefcb9..9084fa2 100644
--- a/.claude/harness/VERSION
+++ b/.claude/harness/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.0.0
+1.1.0
diff --git a/.claude/scripts/harness-guard.sh b/.claude/scripts/harness-guard.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..61d6015
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.claude/scripts/harness-guard.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Harness commit guard. Inspects STAGED content for footguns before a commit.
+#
+# Rollout posture: WARN-ONLY by default (logs + prints, never blocks). This is
+# deliberate (Task 4): a guard that fails closed can brick every machine's /save. It is
+# promoted to blocking only after a clean warn window across the fleet.
+#   - default                       -> warn only, exit 0
+#   - HARNESS_GUARD_FATAL=1          -> exit 1 on any issue (caller decides to abort)
+#   - SKIP_HARNESS_GUARD=1           -> bypass entirely (logged)
+# Detects: conflict markers, unencrypted SOPS / private-key material, and a staged
+# submodule gitlink change (informational).
+set -uo pipefail
+
+ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || exit 0
+cd "$ROOT"
+LOG="$ROOT/.claude/harness/guard.log"
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$LOG")" 2>/dev/null || true
+ts() { date '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S' 2>/dev/null || echo "?"; }
+warn() { echo "[harness-guard][WARN] $1"; echo "$(ts) WARN $1" >> "$LOG" 2>/dev/null || true; }
+
+if [ "${SKIP_HARNESS_GUARD:-0}" = "1" ]; then
+    echo "[harness-guard] bypassed (SKIP_HARNESS_GUARD=1)"
+    echo "$(ts) BYPASS SKIP_HARNESS_GUARD=1" >> "$LOG" 2>/dev/null || true
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+ISSUES=0
+mapfile -t STAGED < <(git diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACM 2>/dev/null)
+
+for f in "${STAGED[@]}"; do
+    [ -n "$f" ] || continue
+    blob=$(git show ":$f" 2>/dev/null) || continue
+    # 1. Conflict markers
+    if printf '%s\n' "$blob" | grep -qE '^(<<<<<<< |=======$|>>>>>>> )'; then
+        warn "conflict markers in staged file: $f"; ISSUES=$((ISSUES + 1))
+    fi
+    # 2. Unencrypted SOPS vault file
+    case "$f" in
+        *.sops.yaml|*.sops.json|*.sops.env)
+            if ! printf '%s\n' "$blob" | grep -qE 'ENC\[|^sops:'; then
+                warn "possible UNENCRYPTED sops file staged: $f"; ISSUES=$((ISSUES + 1))
+            fi ;;
+    esac
+    # 3. Private key material
+    if printf '%s\n' "$blob" | grep -qE -- '-----BEGIN [A-Z ]*PRIVATE KEY-----'; then
+        warn "private-key material in staged file: $f"; ISSUES=$((ISSUES + 1))
+    fi
+done
+
+# 4. Submodule gitlink staged (informational — should only happen with --with-submodules)
+if git diff --cached --submodule=short 2>/dev/null | grep -q '^Submodule '; then
+    warn "submodule gitlink change is staged (intentional only via --with-submodules)"
+fi
+
+if [ "$ISSUES" -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "[harness-guard] $ISSUES issue(s) found."
+    if [ "${HARNESS_GUARD_FATAL:-0}" = "1" ]; then
+        echo "[harness-guard] FATAL mode -> signalling block."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "[harness-guard] WARN-ONLY mode -> not blocking."
+fi
+exit 0
diff --git a/.claude/scripts/sync.sh b/.claude/scripts/sync.sh
index 8538ce8..bd5e78f 100755
--- a/.claude/scripts/sync.sh
+++ b/.claude/scripts/sync.sh
@@ -323,6 +323,18 @@ if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
     purge_garbled_paths
     git add -A
 
+    # Submodule-safe staging (Task 1): `git add -A` stages submodule gitlink (pointer)
+    # changes. The parent's pinned commit intentionally lags the submodule's main, so
+    # auto-committing the pointer bumps a possibly-stale gitlink. Unstage every submodule
+    # gitlink unless the operator opted in with --with-submodules. This eliminates the
+    # manual "detach submodule to its pin before /save" dance.
+    if [ "${ADVANCE_SUBMODULES:-0}" != "1" ] && [ -f ".gitmodules" ]; then
+        while IFS= read -r sm_path; do
+            [ -n "$sm_path" ] || continue
+            git reset -q HEAD -- "$sm_path" 2>/dev/null || true
+        done < <(git config --file .gitmodules --get-regexp '^submodule\..*\.path$' | awk '{print $2}')
+    fi
+
     # Commit message (Co-Authored-By uses local git user if configured)
     COMMIT_MSG="sync: auto-sync from $MACHINE at $TIMESTAMP
 
@@ -331,10 +343,19 @@ Machine: $MACHINE
 Timestamp: $TIMESTAMP"
 
     if git diff-index --quiet --cached HEAD -- 2>/dev/null; then
-        echo -e "${GREEN}[OK]${NC} No stageable changes (submodule internal changes skipped)."
+        echo -e "${GREEN}[OK]${NC} No stageable changes (submodule pointer + internal changes skipped)."
     else
-        git commit -m "$COMMIT_MSG"
-        echo -e "${GREEN}[OK]${NC} Committed."
+        # Harness guard (Task 4): WARN-ONLY during rollout — logs footguns (conflict
+        # markers, unencrypted sops, private-key material) to .claude/harness/guard.log
+        # but does NOT block unless HARNESS_GUARD_FATAL=1. SKIP_HARNESS_GUARD=1 bypasses.
+        GUARD_RC=0
+        bash .claude/scripts/harness-guard.sh || GUARD_RC=$?
+        if [ "$GUARD_RC" != "0" ]; then
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARNING]${NC} harness-guard blocked the commit (HARNESS_GUARD_FATAL set). Staged changes left in place; set SKIP_HARNESS_GUARD=1 to override."
+        else
+            git commit -m "$COMMIT_MSG"
+            echo -e "${GREEN}[OK]${NC} Committed."
+        fi
     fi
 else
     echo -e "${GREEN}[OK]${NC} No local changes to commit."