diff --git a/extensions/gentle-agents.ts b/extensions/gentle-agents.ts
index 341922d4b..b2afd3b9a 100644
--- a/extensions/gentle-agents.ts
+++ b/extensions/gentle-agents.ts
@@ -2060,13 +2060,17 @@ export default function gentleAgents(pi: ExtensionAPI, env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv =
 					? `repository: ${fact.root} · clone: ${fact.cloneHash} · Git resolved at: ${fact.resolvedAt} (${fact.source})`
 					: "repository: unknown";
 				const rows = peers.map(peer => {
-					const context = peer.freshness === "recent" ? ` · ${peer.aliases?.currentAlias || peer.label || "unnamed"} · Session name: ${peer.label || "unnamed"} · Current alias (CURRENT TASK): ${peer.aliases?.currentAlias ?? "unknown"} · Initial alias (FIRST TASK): ${peer.aliases?.initialAlias ?? "unknown"} · recorded workspace: ${peer.workspace || "unknown"}` : " · context: unknown";
+					const context = peer.freshness === "recent" ? ` · ${peer.aliases?.currentAlias || peer.label || "unnamed"} · Session name: ${peer.label || "unnamed"} · Current alias (CURRENT TASK): ${peer.aliases?.currentAlias ?? "unknown"} · Initial alias (FIRST TASK): ${peer.aliases?.initialAlias ?? "unknown"} · recorded workspace: ${peer.workspace || "unknown"}` : peer.legacyLabel !== undefined
+						? ` · ${peer.legacyLabel || "unnamed"} · context: legacy (this session predates discovery publication; restart it to publish its workspace and repository)`
+						: " · context: unknown";
 					const tasks = peer.tasks?.map(task => `\n  - ${task.label || task.id} [${task.status}] · launch workspace: ${task.workspace || "unknown"} · ${repository(peer.scope?.tasks.find(t => t.id === task.id)?.repository)}`).join("") ?? "";
 					const registered = peer.scope?.registered.map(fact => `\n  registered: ${repository(fact)}`).join("") ?? "";
 					const gaps = peer.scope && !peer.scope.complete ? `\n  (scope incomplete: ${peer.scope.omittedTasks} tasks, ${peer.scope.omittedRegistered} registered roots omitted)` : "";
 					const catalog = peer.catalog ? `\n  recorded catalog (not Git identity): ${JSON.stringify(peer.catalog)}` : "\n  recorded catalog: unknown";
 					const note = params.recipient_session_id ? `\n  owner-curated recorded state (not consent or owner reply; authority none): ${peer.state ? JSON.stringify(peer.state) : "unknown"}` : "";
-					return `- ${peer.sessionId}${context} · ${repository(peer.scope?.host)} · metadata: ${peer.freshness}${tasks}${registered}${gaps}${catalog}${note}${peer.omitted ? `\n  (${peer.omitted} more tasks omitted)` : ""}`;
+					// A legacy peer never publishes its scope: say so instead of reporting an unknown.
+					const legacy = peer.legacyLabel !== undefined;
+					return `- ${peer.sessionId}${context} · ${legacy ? "repository: not published" : repository(peer.scope?.host)} · metadata: ${legacy ? "legacy" : peer.freshness}${tasks}${registered}${gaps}${catalog}${note}${peer.omitted ? `\n  (${peer.omitted} more tasks omitted)` : ""}`;
 				});
 				return peers.length === 0 ? text("No other sessions are currently advertised. Advertisements have unknown reachability and do not guarantee a live session.") : text(`Advertised sessions (reachability is unknown):\n${rows.join("\n")}`, { gentleAgents: { candidates: peers } });
 			} catch {
diff --git a/lib/orchestrator-discovery.ts b/lib/orchestrator-discovery.ts
index 53563d01d..d07a513ad 100644
--- a/lib/orchestrator-discovery.ts
+++ b/lib/orchestrator-discovery.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,16 @@
 import { readCatalog, type CatalogPage } from "./orchestrator-catalog.ts";
 import type { PublishedWork } from "./orchestrator-work.ts";
 import type { PresenceRecord } from "./agents-session-transport.ts";
-import { activationHash, listPresence, readDiscovery, sessionHash, type DiscoveryMetadata } from "./orchestrator-presence.ts";
+import { activationHash, discoveryAbsent, listPresence, readDiscovery, sessionHash, type DiscoveryMetadata } from "./orchestrator-presence.ts";
 
 export interface OrchestratorCandidate {
 	sessionId: string;
 	reachability: "unknown";
 	freshness: "unknown" | "recent" | "stale";
 	label?: string;
+	/** Display-only label of a live peer whose code predates discovery publication:
+	 * its schema-1 header heartbeats, but it never writes a discovery sidecar. */
+	legacyLabel?: string;
 	aliases?: DiscoveryMetadata["aliases"];
 	workspace?: string;
 	tasks?: DiscoveryMetadata["tasks"];
@@ -36,6 +39,7 @@ export function discoverOrchestrators(profile: string, peers: readonly PresenceR
 		if (matches.length !== 1) return unknown;
 		const header = matches[0];
 		const metadata = readDiscovery(profile, header);
+		if (!metadata && header.recent && discoveryAbsent(profile, header)) return { ...unknown, legacyLabel: header.label };
 		if (metadata?.activation !== activationHash(activations[0])) return unknown;
 		if (!header.recent) return { ...unknown, freshness: "stale" };
 		const catalog = readCatalog(profile, header, metadata.activation, selection?.recipientSessionId === sessionId ? selection.cursor : undefined);
diff --git a/lib/orchestrator-presence.ts b/lib/orchestrator-presence.ts
index b5f97e7e8..d49a4a053 100644
--- a/lib/orchestrator-presence.ts
+++ b/lib/orchestrator-presence.ts
@@ -263,6 +263,15 @@ export function readActivity(profile: string, selection: Header): { activity?: A
 	} catch (error) { return { unavailable: reason(error) }; }
 }
 
+/** True only when no discovery sidecar exists for this header: the publisher
+ * predates discovery publication. A present but unreadable sidecar is not absent. */
+export function discoveryAbsent(profile: string, h: Header): boolean {
+	try {
+		fs.lstatSync(join(rootFor(profile), filename(h, "discovery")));
+		return false;
+	} catch (error) { return (error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT"; }
+}
+
 /** Optional derived sidecar; failures never invalidate the schema-1 header. */
 export function readDiscovery(profile: string, h: Header): DiscoveryMetadata | undefined {
 	try {
diff --git a/tests/gentle-agents.test.ts b/tests/gentle-agents.test.ts
index 95608d80c..9189da653 100644
--- a/tests/gentle-agents.test.ts
+++ b/tests/gentle-agents.test.ts
@@ -4728,6 +4728,39 @@ test("registered orchestrator_list joins peer metadata without child launches or
 	} finally { publisher.dispose(); }
 });
 
+test("orchestrator_list labels a live peer that predates discovery publication (#2305)", async () => {
+	const h = fakePi();
+	const runtime = deps();
+	const profile = realpathSync(mkdtempSync(join(root, "discovery-legacy-")));
+	const peer = { version: 1 as const, sessionId: "peer", endpoint: "/fixture/peer.sock", createdAt: 1 };
+	// A peer running pre-publication code heartbeats its schema-1 header only.
+	const publisher = PresencePublisher.start({ profile, sessionId: "peer", label: "gentle-shell", activity: [] });
+	try {
+		let ready = false;
+		const registry = { list: async () => [], listActivations: async () => [peer] };
+		runtime.deps.agentHome = profile;
+		runtime.deps.sessionTransport = {
+			createRegistry: async () => registry,
+			createListener: () => ({ registry, start: async () => { ready = true; }, close: async () => {} }),
+			createClient: () => ({ close() {}, sendNotification: async () => { throw new Error("no messages expected"); } }),
+		};
+		gentleAgents(h.pi, {}, runtime.deps);
+		const { ctx } = fakeContext();
+		await h.fire("session_start", ctx);
+		await eventually(() => ready, "discovery transport ready");
+		const result = await h.tools.get("orchestrator_list")!.execute("list", {}, undefined, undefined, ctx);
+		assert.equal(result.content[0].text, "Advertised sessions (reachability is unknown):\n"
+			+ "- peer · gentle-shell · context: legacy (this session predates discovery publication; restart it to publish its workspace and repository)"
+			+ " · repository: not published · metadata: legacy\n  recorded catalog: unknown");
+		// Consultation stays fail-closed: a legacy label is display-only.
+		const consult = await h.tools.get("orchestrator_consult")!.execute("consult", { recipient_session_id: "peer" }, undefined, undefined, ctx);
+		assert.equal(JSON.parse(consult.content[0].text).status, "unavailable");
+		assert.equal(runtime.spawned.length, 0);
+		assert.equal(h.sent.length, 0);
+		await h.fire("session_shutdown", ctx);
+	} finally { publisher.dispose(); }
+});
+
 test("registered reasoning and revocation use live SDK host and published source only", async () => {
 	const h = fakePi(), runtime = deps();
 	const profile = realpathSync(mkdtempSync(join(root, "reasoning-runtime-")));
diff --git a/tests/orchestrator-discovery.test.ts b/tests/orchestrator-discovery.test.ts
index 0c087112f..26cb2587a 100644
--- a/tests/orchestrator-discovery.test.ts
+++ b/tests/orchestrator-discovery.test.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,35 @@ test("published headers retain the frozen legacy schema-1 contract after metadat
 	assert.equal(listPresence(profile).entries.length, 1);
 	assert.equal(discoverOrchestrators(profile, [peer])[0].freshness, "unknown");
 });
+test("a live peer that predates discovery publication keeps its legacy header label (#2305)", (t) => {
+	const profile = fixture(t);
+	// A long-lived peer started before discovery publication shipped heartbeats
+	// the schema-1 header only and never writes a discovery sidecar.
+	const publisher = PresencePublisher.start({ profile, sessionId: "peer", label: "gentle-shell", activity: [] });
+	t.after(() => publisher.dispose());
+	const [candidate] = discoverOrchestrators(profile, [peer]);
+	assert.equal(candidate.freshness, "unknown");
+	assert.equal(candidate.legacyLabel, "gentle-shell");
+	assert.equal(candidate.workspace, undefined);
+	assert.equal(candidate.publication, undefined);
+	// An old heartbeat is not a live legacy peer.
+	assert.equal(discoverOrchestrators(profile, [peer], Date.now() + 20_000)[0].legacyLabel, undefined);
+});
+test("a present but invalid or foreign discovery sidecar never yields a legacy label", (t) => {
+	const profile = fixture(t);
+	const publisher = PresencePublisher.start({ profile, sessionId: "peer", label: "gentle-shell", activity: [] });
+	t.after(() => publisher.dispose());
+	publisher.updateDiscovery(peer, { workspace: "/repo", tasks: [] });
+	// Metadata bound to another activation fails closed, without a label.
+	const foreign = discoverOrchestrators(profile, [{ ...peer, endpoint: "/socket/replacement" }])[0];
+	assert.equal(foreign.freshness, "unknown");
+	assert.equal(foreign.legacyLabel, undefined);
+	const sidecar = join(profile, "gentle-agents", "presence", `${publisher.target.sessionHash}.${publisher.target.incarnation}.discovery.json`);
+	writeFileSync(sidecar, "{broken");
+	const broken = discoverOrchestrators(profile, [peer])[0];
+	assert.equal(broken.freshness, "unknown");
+	assert.equal(broken.legacyLabel, undefined);
+});
 test("joins activation-bound metadata without exporting prompts or thread output", (t) => {
 	const profile = fixture(t);
 	const publisher = PresencePublisher.start({ profile, sessionId: peer.sessionId, label: "Review auth", activity: [] });