diff --git a/Sources/Reeve/Models/PM2Environment.swift b/Sources/Reeve/Models/PM2Environment.swift
index 76cfcf2..caee740 100644
--- a/Sources/Reeve/Models/PM2Environment.swift
+++ b/Sources/Reeve/Models/PM2Environment.swift
@@ -43,6 +43,27 @@ public struct PM2Environment: Identifiable, Hashable, Sendable {
 
     public var id: String { path }
 
+    /// macOS caps unix-domain socket paths (`sun_path`) at 104 characters. PM2
+    /// binds its control sockets at `PM2_HOME/<name>.sock`; the longest name it
+    /// uses is `interactor.sock`. If that full path exceeds the limit the daemon
+    /// can never bind or connect (`EINVAL`) — no amount of restarting fixes it.
+    static let maxSocketPathLength = 104
+    static let longestSocketPathComponent = "/interactor.sock"
+
+    /// Whether this workspace's PM2 socket path is too long to ever work. When
+    /// true, reeve must not run any `pm2` command against it: every command
+    /// auto-spawns a fresh daemon that immediately breaks, piling up zombies.
+    public var socketPathTooLong: Bool {
+        PM2Environment.socketPathTooLong(forHome: path)
+    }
+
+    /// Pure length check, extracted for testing. Measures UTF-8 bytes because
+    /// `sun_path` is a fixed 104-byte C buffer — a multi-byte character in the
+    /// path costs more than one byte, so grapheme count would under-report.
+    static func socketPathTooLong(forHome home: String) -> Bool {
+        (home + longestSocketPathComponent).utf8.count > maxSocketPathLength
+    }
+
     public init(path: String, isActive: Bool = false) {
         self.path = path
         self.isActive = isActive
diff --git a/Sources/Reeve/Services/PM2Service.swift b/Sources/Reeve/Services/PM2Service.swift
index 7a3e095..883973b 100644
--- a/Sources/Reeve/Services/PM2Service.swift
+++ b/Sources/Reeve/Services/PM2Service.swift
@@ -440,6 +440,11 @@ public class PM2Service: ObservableObject {
 
     // MARK: - Private
 
+    /// Sentinel error stored for a workspace whose socket path exceeds the macOS
+    /// limit. The UI recognises this case from `PM2Environment.socketPathTooLong`
+    /// and renders a tailored banner rather than the generic daemon error.
+    nonisolated static let socketPathTooLongError = "PM2_HOME socket path exceeds the macOS 104-character limit"
+
     enum FetchResult: Sendable {
         case success([PM2Process])
         case failure(String)
@@ -463,6 +468,11 @@ public class PM2Service: ObservableObject {
         using resolution: PM2BinaryResolver.Resolution,
         sockets: SocketScanner.Snapshot
     ) -> FetchResult {
+        // Socket path too long for macOS: any pm2 command auto-spawns a daemon
+        // that instantly breaks (EINVAL), so never run one — just report it.
+        guard !environment.socketPathTooLong else {
+            return .failure(PM2Service.socketPathTooLongError)
+        }
         // If no daemon is running, return empty — don't call pm2 which would spawn one
         guard isDaemonRunning(for: environment) else {
             return .success([])
diff --git a/Sources/Reeve/Views/EnvironmentSectionView.swift b/Sources/Reeve/Views/EnvironmentSectionView.swift
index e92f54a..8974e68 100644
--- a/Sources/Reeve/Views/EnvironmentSectionView.swift
+++ b/Sources/Reeve/Views/EnvironmentSectionView.swift
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ struct EnvironmentSectionView: View {
     var body: some View {
         DisclosureGroup(isExpanded: isExpanded) {
             if let errorMessage {
-                let parsed = Self.parseErrorMessage(errorMessage)
+                let parsed = Self.parseErrorMessage(errorMessage, pathTooLong: environment.socketPathTooLong)
                 VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 6) {
                     HStack(spacing: 4) {
                         Image(systemName: "exclamationmark.triangle.fill")
@@ -318,7 +318,19 @@ struct EnvironmentSectionView: View {
         let suggestKill: Bool
     }
 
-    private static func parseErrorMessage(_ message: String) -> ParsedError {
+    private static func parseErrorMessage(_ message: String, pathTooLong: Bool = false) -> ParsedError {
+        // Path over the macOS socket limit: the daemon can never run, so reeve
+        // won't poll it with pm2 (that would auto-spawn a broken daemon).
+        // Explain the real cause and durable fix. "Kill daemon" is still
+        // offered — it SIGKILLs any lingering zombie directly (no pm2 command).
+        if pathTooLong {
+            return ParsedError(
+                title: "Workspace path too long",
+                detail: "This workspace's path exceeds macOS's 104-character limit for PM2 sockets, so its daemon can't run. Recreate the workspace with a shorter name.",
+                suggestKill: true
+            )
+        }
+
         let lower = message.lowercased()
 
         // Socket connection errors — daemon is broken/zombie
diff --git a/Tests/reeveTests/ReeveTests.swift b/Tests/reeveTests/ReeveTests.swift
index cc2931d..17ed240 100644
--- a/Tests/reeveTests/ReeveTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/reeveTests/ReeveTests.swift
@@ -1365,6 +1365,56 @@ struct ParsePortTests {
     }
 }
 
+// MARK: - Socket path length guard
+
+@Suite("PM2Environment.socketPathTooLong")
+struct SocketPathTooLongTests {
+
+    // The effective socket path is home + "/interactor.sock" (16 chars); macOS
+    // caps it at 104, so a home longer than 88 chars is too long.
+    private func home(length: Int) -> String {
+        "/" + String(repeating: "a", count: length - 1)
+    }
+
+    @Test("Short path is fine")
+    func shortPath() {
+        #expect(PM2Environment.socketPathTooLong(forHome: "/Users/x/.pm2") == false)
+    }
+
+    @Test("Home at the 88-char boundary is fine (path == 104)")
+    func atBoundary() {
+        let h = home(length: 88)
+        #expect(h.count == 88)
+        #expect(PM2Environment.socketPathTooLong(forHome: h) == false)
+    }
+
+    @Test("One char over the boundary is too long")
+    func overBoundary() {
+        #expect(PM2Environment.socketPathTooLong(forHome: home(length: 89)) == true)
+    }
+
+    @Test("The real over-long workspace path is flagged")
+    func realWorkspace() {
+        let h = "/Users/fredgptzero/.pm2-fredrivett-eng-4058-fix-re-scanning-to-be-page-by-page-and-show-scan-button-in"
+        #expect(PM2Environment.socketPathTooLong(forHome: h) == true)
+    }
+
+    @Test("Exposed instance property matches the static check")
+    func instanceProperty() {
+        let env = PM2Environment(path: home(length: 200))
+        #expect(env.socketPathTooLong == true)
+    }
+
+    @Test("Measures UTF-8 bytes, not grapheme count")
+    func countsBytesNotGraphemes() {
+        // 1 + 60 + 20 = 81 graphemes -> +16 = 97, under 104 by grapheme count,
+        // but 1 + 60 + 20*4 = 141 UTF-8 bytes -> well over the 104-byte limit.
+        let h = "/" + String(repeating: "a", count: 60) + String(repeating: "🚀", count: 20)
+        #expect((h + "/interactor.sock").count <= 104)          // grapheme count would pass
+        #expect(PM2Environment.socketPathTooLong(forHome: h) == true)  // byte count correctly fails
+    }
+}
+
 // MARK: - Address-in-use log detection
 
 @Suite("PM2Service.logReportsAddressInUse")