diff --git a/docs/core-data-structures/persistence.md b/docs/core-data-structures/persistence.md
index 2294f7b3db..08399bba90 100644
--- a/docs/core-data-structures/persistence.md
+++ b/docs/core-data-structures/persistence.md
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ interface SessionHeader {
 
 ## `CreateSessionOptions` — seeding and metadata
 
-Creating a `Session` through the store takes a `seed` (replay/fork an existing event log) and `meta` (the storage-level fields the store folds into a `SessionHeader`). The store fills in `version`/`id` and defaults `createdAt`; the caller supplies the validated absolute `cwd`, the `parentSession` lineage, the `seedLength` seed boundary, and — only when reconstructing a persisted session — the original `createdAt` to preserve it.
+Creating a `Session` through the store takes a `seed` (replay/fork an existing event log) and `meta` (the storage-level fields the store folds into a `SessionHeader`). The store fills in `version`/`id` and defaults `createdAt`; the caller supplies the validated absolute `cwd`, the `parentSession` lineage, the `seedLength` seed boundary, the `delegationDepth`, and — only when reconstructing a persisted session — the original `createdAt` to preserve it.
 
 ```ts type-equiv
 /**
diff --git a/packages/core/session/README.md b/packages/core/session/README.md
index ed3284f519..b0549d91ba 100644
--- a/packages/core/session/README.md
+++ b/packages/core/session/README.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Creates and holds event-sourced `Session` instances. Persistence is intentionall
 
 ### Public API
 
-- `ctx.sessions.create(id?, { seed?, meta? }?)` validates and detaches durable seed/header data, fills the version and id, defaults `createdAt` to now, publishes the session, and binds it to the calling fiber. Persisted reconstruction supplies its original `createdAt` and `seedLength`.
+- `ctx.sessions.create(id?, { seed?, meta? }?)` validates and detaches durable seed/header data, fills the version and id, defaults `createdAt` to now, publishes the session, and binds it to the calling fiber. Persisted reconstruction supplies its original `createdAt`, `seedLength`, and `delegationDepth`.
 - `ctx.sessions.flush(session)` dispatches the awaited parallel durability checkpoint through the session's captured scope. Every listener starts and the call waits for all to settle before reporting failure; unpublished, detached, and stale objects reject.
 - `ctx.sessions.fork(source, boundary?, childSessionId?): Session` — Resolve a live session object or id, select a seed through the inclusive `boundary` event seq (default: current last event), require that boundary to be `turn/end`, and create a live child session with lineage metadata.
 - `ctx.sessions.get(id: SessionId): Session | undefined`
diff --git a/packages/core/session/src/index.ts b/packages/core/session/src/index.ts
index 763acf3295..9b2eb74a37 100644
--- a/packages/core/session/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/session/src/index.ts
@@ -562,9 +562,9 @@ export class SessionStore extends Service {
    * Create a session owned by the calling fiber: disposing that fiber stops
    * event notification and removes the session from the store. `options.seed`
    * populates the session with a copy of those events (replay/fork);
-   * `options.meta` attaches creation metadata (validated absolute `cwd`,
-   * `parentSession` lineage) as the immutable {@link SessionHeader} (the store
-   * fills `version`/`id`/`createdAt`).
+   * `options.meta` attaches creation metadata (validated absolute `cwd`, seed
+   * and parent lineage, and delegation depth) as the immutable
+   * {@link SessionHeader} (the store fills `version`/`id`/`createdAt`).
    *
    * For an agent whose session must be torn down IN ORDER with its loop (so the
    * loop's final flush is captured before the store attachment ends), do NOT use this
diff --git a/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/README.md b/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/README.md
index cf733b85d4..d6130d414a 100644
--- a/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/README.md
+++ b/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/README.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ The JSONL durable session-persistence backend — a concrete `SessionPersistence
     <encoded-id>.jsonl           # header line + one SessionEvent per line (verbatim)
 ```
 
-- The first `.jsonl` line is the immutable `SessionHeader` tagged `{ type: 'session', version, id, cwd?, createdAt, parentSession?, seedLength? }`; every subsequent line is one `SessionEvent` JSON, **verbatim including `assistant/chunk`** so `seq` stays contiguous (`events[i].seq === i`).
+- The first `.jsonl` line is the immutable `SessionHeader` tagged `{ type: 'session', version, id, cwd?, createdAt, parentSession?, seedLength?, delegationDepth }`. `delegationDepth` is required on disk and is `0` for a top-level session; a missing or invalid value rejects the log. Every subsequent line is one `SessionEvent` JSON, **verbatim including `assistant/chunk`** so `seq` stays contiguous (`events[i].seq === i`).
 - Session ids are unvalidated branded strings, so they are percent-encoded to a single safe path segment before use (no traversal, no collision).
 
 ## Config
diff --git a/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/src/format.ts b/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/src/format.ts
index 3fe3b2485c..3349eac12e 100644
--- a/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/src/format.ts
+++ b/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/src/format.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ export interface HeaderLine {
   cwd?: string
   parentSession?: SessionId
   seedLength?: number
-  delegationDepth?: number
+  delegationDepth: number
 }
 
 /**
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export function toHeaderLine(header: SessionHeader): HeaderLine {
     ...header.cwd !== undefined ? { cwd: header.cwd } : {},
     ...header.parentSession !== undefined ? { parentSession: header.parentSession } : {},
     ...header.seedLength !== undefined ? { seedLength: header.seedLength } : {},
-    ...header.delegationDepth !== undefined ? { delegationDepth: header.delegationDepth } : {},
+    delegationDepth: header.delegationDepth ?? 0,
   }
 }
 
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ export function fromHeaderLine(line: HeaderLine): SessionHeader {
     ...line.cwd !== undefined ? { cwd: line.cwd } : {},
     ...line.parentSession !== undefined ? { parentSession: line.parentSession } : {},
     ...line.seedLength !== undefined ? { seedLength: line.seedLength } : {},
-    ...line.delegationDepth !== undefined ? { delegationDepth: line.delegationDepth } : {},
+    delegationDepth: line.delegationDepth,
   }
 }
 
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ function isHeaderLine(value: unknown): value is HeaderLine {
     && typeof (value as { version?: unknown }).version === 'number'
     && typeof (value as { id?: unknown }).id === 'string'
     && typeof (value as { createdAt?: unknown }).createdAt === 'number'
+    && typeof (value as { delegationDepth?: unknown }).delegationDepth === 'number'
+    && Number.isSafeInteger((value as { delegationDepth: number }).delegationDepth)
+    && (value as { delegationDepth: number }).delegationDepth >= 0
+    && !Object.is((value as { delegationDepth: number }).delegationDepth, -0)
   )
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/tests/jsonl.spec.ts b/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/tests/jsonl.spec.ts
index e7dc469132..9a236c5397 100644
--- a/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/tests/jsonl.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence-jsonl/tests/jsonl.spec.ts
@@ -461,9 +461,30 @@ describe('SessionPersistenceJsonl: scanLog unit', () => {
     expect(() => scanLog(Buffer.from('{"type":"event"}\n'))).toThrow(/session header/)
   })
 
+  it.each([
+    ['missing', undefined],
+    ['a string', '1'],
+    ['fractional', 1.5],
+    ['negative', -1],
+  ])('rejects a session header with %s delegationDepth', (_label, delegationDepth) => {
+    const log = JSON.stringify({
+      type: 'session',
+      version: 0,
+      id: 'invalid-depth',
+      createdAt: 1,
+      ...delegationDepth === undefined ? {} : { delegationDepth },
+    }) + '\n'
+    expect(() => scanLog(Buffer.from(log))).toThrow(/session header/)
+  })
+
+  it('rejects a session header with negative-zero delegationDepth', () => {
+    const log = '{"type":"session","version":0,"id":"invalid-depth","createdAt":1,"delegationDepth":-0}\n'
+    expect(() => scanLog(Buffer.from(log))).toThrow(/session header/)
+  })
+
   it('a seq gap after the last turn/end bounds the preserved tail (torn fragment tolerated)', () => {
     const log = [
-      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'g', createdAt: 1 }),
+      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'g', createdAt: 1, delegationDepth: 0 }),
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'turn/start', seq: 0, time: 1, data: { turn: 1, trigger: { kind: 'message', source: { kind: 'user' } } } }),
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'step/start', seq: 2, time: 2, data: { turn: 1, step: 1 } }), // gap: missing seq 1
     ].join('\n') + '\n'
@@ -475,7 +496,7 @@ describe('SessionPersistenceJsonl: scanLog unit', () => {
 
   it('rejects a seq gap BEFORE a later committed turn/end (committed data damaged)', () => {
     const log = [
-      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'g2', createdAt: 1 }),
+      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'g2', createdAt: 1, delegationDepth: 0 }),
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'turn/start', seq: 0, time: 1, data: { turn: 1, trigger: { kind: 'message', source: { kind: 'user' } } } }),
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'step/start', seq: 2, time: 2, data: { turn: 1, step: 1 } }), // gap: missing seq 1
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'turn/end', seq: 3, time: 3, data: { turn: 1, reason: { kind: 'completed' } } }),
@@ -487,7 +508,7 @@ describe('SessionPersistenceJsonl: scanLog unit', () => {
 
   it('rejects a corrupt line BEFORE a later committed turn/end (committed data damaged)', () => {
     const log = [
-      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'c', createdAt: 1 }),
+      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'c', createdAt: 1, delegationDepth: 0 }),
       '{not json', // corrupt, sits in the committed region (a turn/end follows)
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'turn/end', seq: 1, time: 2, data: { turn: 1, reason: { kind: 'completed' } } }),
     ].join('\n') + '\n'
@@ -495,7 +516,7 @@ describe('SessionPersistenceJsonl: scanLog unit', () => {
   })
 
   it('a header-only log (no event lines at all) preserves nothing — committedBytes is the header', () => {
-    const log = JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'h0', createdAt: 1 }) + '\n'
+    const log = JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'h0', createdAt: 1, delegationDepth: 0 }) + '\n'
     const scanned = scanLog(Buffer.from(log))
     expect(scanned.events).toEqual([])
     // committedBytes falls back to the header line's end (no preserved events).
@@ -504,7 +525,7 @@ describe('SessionPersistenceJsonl: scanLog unit', () => {
 
   it('a corrupt line after the last turn/end bounds the preserved tail', () => {
     const log = [
-      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'c2', createdAt: 1 }),
+      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'c2', createdAt: 1, delegationDepth: 0 }),
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'turn/start', seq: 0, time: 1, data: { turn: 1, trigger: { kind: 'message', source: { kind: 'user' } } } }),
       '{not json', // corrupt crash fragment, no turn/end committed
     ].join('\n') + '\n'
@@ -515,7 +536,7 @@ describe('SessionPersistenceJsonl: scanLog unit', () => {
 
   it('tolerates a seq gap AFTER a turn/end (uncommitted tail)', () => {
     const log = [
-      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 't', createdAt: 1 }),
+      JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 't', createdAt: 1, delegationDepth: 0 }),
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'turn/start', seq: 0, time: 1, data: { turn: 1, trigger: { kind: 'message', source: { kind: 'user' } } } }),
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'turn/end', seq: 1, time: 2, data: { turn: 1, reason: { kind: 'completed' } } }),
       JSON.stringify({ type: 'step/start', seq: 9, time: 3, data: { turn: 2, step: 1 } }), // gap in uncommitted tail
@@ -593,7 +614,7 @@ describe('SessionPersistenceJsonl: edge cases', () => {
     // `readFirstLine` accumulates chunks before `list()` parses it.
     const bucket = join(root, '_no-cwd')
     await mkdir(bucket, { recursive: true })
-    const bigHeader = JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'big', createdAt: 1, pad: 'x'.repeat(9000) })
+    const bigHeader = JSON.stringify({ type: 'session', version: 0, id: 'big', createdAt: 1, delegationDepth: 0, pad: 'x'.repeat(9000) })
     await writeFile(join(bucket, 'big.jsonl'), bigHeader + '\n')
     const ids = (await ctx.sessionPersistence.list()).map(x => x.id)
     expect(ids).toContain('big')
diff --git a/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence/README.md b/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence/README.md
index ca04cd1ab8..6d9e1392fe 100644
--- a/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence/README.md
+++ b/packages/session-persistence/session-persistence/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 The abstract durable session-persistence seam (`ctx.sessionPersistence`). Defines WHAT a persistence backend does — durably store, reload, and list sessions — without saying HOW. Mirrors the `dsh-bash` capability-seam template ([capability seams](../../../.agents/notes/implemented/architecture/2026-06-13-capability-seams.md)): an abstract service here, a concrete implementation in a sibling package, consumers that inject the interface.
 
-The persisted unit IS the existing `SessionEvent` (event-sourced model — the log is the single source of truth), so there is no parallel "persisted message" type. Metadata that is NOT replayable conversation state (format version, cwd, lineage, seed boundary) travels separately as `SessionHeader`, owned by `dsh-session` and re-exported here.
+The persisted unit IS the existing `SessionEvent` (event-sourced model — the log is the single source of truth), so there is no parallel "persisted message" type. Metadata that is NOT replayable conversation state (format version, cwd, lineage, seed boundary, delegation depth) travels separately as `SessionHeader`, owned by `dsh-session` and re-exported here.
 
 ## Service API (`ctx.sessionPersistence`)
 
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ Three backends run these suites: an in-memory reference (in `tests/`), `dsh-sess
 
 ## Metadata and location types
 
-Re-exported from `dsh-session`: `SessionHeader` (immutable session metadata: `version`, `id`, `createdAt`, `cwd?`, `parentSession?`, `seedLength?`). `SessionLocation` is `{ readonly kind: string; readonly path: string }`; its path is an absolute backend target, not proof that the artifact exists or contains an unflushed turn.
+Re-exported from `dsh-session`: `SessionHeader` (immutable session metadata: `version`, `id`, `createdAt`, `cwd?`, `parentSession?`, `seedLength?`, `delegationDepth?`). `SessionLocation` is `{ readonly kind: string; readonly path: string }`; its path is an absolute backend target, not proof that the artifact exists or contains an unflushed turn.
 
 ## Model Experience