diff --git a/codex-rs/core/src/exec.rs b/codex-rs/core/src/exec.rs
index cd67e1582b..d2a8d24187 100644
--- a/codex-rs/core/src/exec.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/core/src/exec.rs
@@ -122,17 +122,17 @@ pub(crate) struct WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
 }
 
 /// Layer: Windows adapter layer. The enforcement layer needs to know whether a
-/// protected metadata path already exists or must be denied before the command
-/// can create it.
+/// protected metadata path already exists, or whether the sandbox should watch
+/// the parent for a command-created metadata object.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
 pub(crate) enum WindowsProtectedMetadataMode {
     /// The protected metadata object exists before launch, so the Windows
     /// sandbox should deny writes to the object and any canonical target.
     ExistingDeny,
     /// The protected metadata object is absent before launch, so the Windows
-    /// sandbox should create and deny-list a temporary sentinel before command
-    /// execution can begin.
-    MissingDenySentinel,
+    /// sandbox should listen for filesystem creation events and remove any
+    /// command-created object before reporting the command as denied.
+    MissingCreationMonitor,
 }
 
 fn windows_sandbox_uses_elevated_backend(
@@ -671,8 +671,8 @@ async fn exec_windows_sandbox(
                         WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::ExistingDeny => {
                             codex_windows_sandbox::ProtectedMetadataMode::ExistingDeny
                         }
-                        WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel => {
-                            codex_windows_sandbox::ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel
+                        WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor => {
+                            codex_windows_sandbox::ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor
                         }
                     };
                     codex_windows_sandbox::ProtectedMetadataTarget {
@@ -1366,7 +1366,7 @@ fn windows_protected_metadata_mode(path: &AbsolutePathBuf) -> WindowsProtectedMe
         return WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::ExistingDeny;
     }
 
-    WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel
+    WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor
 }
 
 fn has_reopened_writable_descendant(
diff --git a/codex-rs/core/src/exec_tests.rs b/codex-rs/core/src/exec_tests.rs
index 3561d65de1..095a021d48 100644
--- a/codex-rs/core/src/exec_tests.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/core/src/exec_tests.rs
@@ -666,15 +666,15 @@ fn windows_restricted_token_supports_full_read_split_write_read_carveouts() {
             protected_metadata_targets: vec![
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".agents"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".codex"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".git"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
             ],
         }))
@@ -778,15 +778,15 @@ fn windows_elevated_supports_split_write_read_carveouts() {
             protected_metadata_targets: vec![
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: expected_root.join(".agents"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: expected_root.join(".codex"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: expected_root.join(".git"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
             ],
         }))
@@ -840,11 +840,11 @@ fn windows_metadata_plan_marks_existing_metadata_for_deny() {
             protected_metadata_targets: vec![
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".agents"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".codex"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".git"),
@@ -856,7 +856,7 @@ fn windows_metadata_plan_marks_existing_metadata_for_deny() {
 }
 
 #[test]
-fn windows_metadata_plan_uses_sentinel_for_nested_missing_git() {
+fn windows_metadata_plan_monitors_nested_missing_git() {
     let temp_dir = tempfile::TempDir::new().expect("tempdir");
     let repo = dunce::canonicalize(temp_dir.path())
         .expect("canonical temp dir")
@@ -904,15 +904,15 @@ fn windows_metadata_plan_uses_sentinel_for_nested_missing_git() {
             protected_metadata_targets: vec![
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".agents"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".codex"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
                 WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                     path: cwd.join(".git"),
-                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                    mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
                 },
             ],
         }))
@@ -973,15 +973,15 @@ fn windows_shell_runtime_path_resolves_metadata_overrides() {
         vec![
             WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                 path: cwd.join(".agents"),
-                mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
             },
             WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                 path: cwd.join(".codex"),
-                mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
             },
             WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                 path: cwd.join(".git"),
-                mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                mode: WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
             },
         ]
     );
diff --git a/codex-rs/core/src/unified_exec/process_manager.rs b/codex-rs/core/src/unified_exec/process_manager.rs
index 964328c356..f95fb9fc99 100644
--- a/codex-rs/core/src/unified_exec/process_manager.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/core/src/unified_exec/process_manager.rs
@@ -190,8 +190,8 @@ fn protected_metadata_targets_for_windows_session(
                         WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::ExistingDeny => {
                             codex_windows_sandbox::ProtectedMetadataMode::ExistingDeny
                         }
-                        WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel => {
-                            codex_windows_sandbox::ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel
+                        WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor => {
+                            codex_windows_sandbox::ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor
                         }
                     };
                     codex_windows_sandbox::ProtectedMetadataTarget {
diff --git a/codex-rs/core/src/unified_exec/process_manager_tests.rs b/codex-rs/core/src/unified_exec/process_manager_tests.rs
index 0125f1788e..a41f08b1d8 100644
--- a/codex-rs/core/src/unified_exec/process_manager_tests.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/core/src/unified_exec/process_manager_tests.rs
@@ -183,15 +183,15 @@ fn open_session_prepares_windows_metadata_overrides_for_unified_exec() {
         vec![
             crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                 path: cwd.join(".agents"),
-                mode: crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                mode: crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
             },
             crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                 path: cwd.join(".codex"),
-                mode: crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                mode: crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
             },
             crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataTarget {
                 path: cwd.join(".git"),
-                mode: crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                mode: crate::exec::WindowsProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
             },
         ]
     );
diff --git a/codex-rs/windows-sandbox-rs/src/setup_orchestrator.rs b/codex-rs/windows-sandbox-rs/src/setup_orchestrator.rs
index 4dc096cfa9..4b43dfc7eb 100644
--- a/codex-rs/windows-sandbox-rs/src/setup_orchestrator.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/windows-sandbox-rs/src/setup_orchestrator.rs
@@ -851,11 +851,17 @@ fn build_payload_deny_write_paths(
         request.command_cwd,
         request.env_map,
     );
-    // Sentinel targets are protected by the dedicated metadata payload so setup
-    // applies a direct deny ACE without inheriting that deny into descendants.
-    let sentinel_path_keys: HashSet<String> = protected_metadata_targets
+    // Missing metadata targets are protected by the dedicated metadata payload.
+    // Do not let generic deny-write setup materialize them as directories.
+    let missing_metadata_path_keys: HashSet<String> = protected_metadata_targets
         .iter()
-        .filter(|target| target.mode == ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel)
+        .filter(|target| {
+            matches!(
+                target.mode,
+                ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor
+                    | ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel
+            )
+        })
         .map(|target| canonical_path_key(&target.path))
         .collect();
     let mut deny_write_paths: Vec<PathBuf> = explicit_deny_write_paths
@@ -870,7 +876,7 @@ fn build_payload_deny_write_paths(
         })
         .collect();
     deny_write_paths.extend(allow_deny_paths.deny);
-    deny_write_paths.retain(|path| !sentinel_path_keys.contains(&canonical_path_key(path)));
+    deny_write_paths.retain(|path| !missing_metadata_path_keys.contains(&canonical_path_key(path)));
     deny_write_paths
 }
 
@@ -1504,13 +1510,14 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn payload_deny_write_paths_skip_missing_metadata_sentinels() {
+    fn payload_deny_write_paths_skip_missing_metadata_targets() {
         let tmp = TempDir::new().expect("tempdir");
         let codex_home = tmp.path().join("codex-home");
         let command_cwd = tmp.path().join("workspace");
         let command_git = command_cwd.join(".git");
+        let command_codex = command_cwd.join(".codex");
         let explicit_deny = tmp.path().join("explicit-deny");
-        fs::create_dir_all(&command_git).expect("create command .git sentinel");
+        fs::create_dir_all(&command_cwd).expect("create workspace");
         let policy = SandboxPolicy::WorkspaceWrite {
             writable_roots: vec![],
             network_access: false,
@@ -1529,10 +1536,16 @@ mod tests {
         let deny_write_paths = super::build_payload_deny_write_paths(
             &request,
             Some(vec![explicit_deny.clone()]),
-            &[super::ProtectedMetadataTarget {
-                path: command_git.clone(),
-                mode: super::ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
-            }],
+            &[
+                super::ProtectedMetadataTarget {
+                    path: command_git,
+                    mode: super::ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingCreationMonitor,
+                },
+                super::ProtectedMetadataTarget {
+                    path: command_codex,
+                    mode: super::ProtectedMetadataMode::MissingDenySentinel,
+                },
+            ],
         );
 
         assert_eq!(vec![explicit_deny], deny_write_paths);