diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index d2846c1558..b338eaf635 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -403,16 +403,13 @@ is_windows=True)`) and declaration/packaging invariants ("pyproject declares `tz
 is on another OS to pass, it belongs on that OS.** A test that walks several platforms in
 sequence is split — host-native arm on Linux, other arms as their own marked tests.
 
-```python
-@pytest.mark.platforms("linux")
-@pytest.mark.platforms("macos")
-@pytest.mark.platforms("windows")
-```
-
-The `platforms` marker takes any number of spec strings (any-of semantics)
-plus optional arch filters, so it can express more than the legacy trio:
+One marker per test, with any number of spec strings (any-of semantics) plus
+optional arch filters — never stack several `platforms()` decorators on one
+test (the conftest rejects that at collection):
 
 ```python
+@pytest.mark.platforms("windows")                # only on native Windows
+@pytest.mark.platforms("linux", "macos")         # either of the two
 @pytest.mark.platforms("not macos")              # anywhere except macOS
 @pytest.mark.platforms("windows", arch="arm64")  # native Windows on arm64
 @pytest.mark.platforms("posix")                  # linux or macOS
@@ -453,19 +450,22 @@ argv, not the direct parent (the venv shim makes every spawn a
 launcher/worker chain).
 
 **Use the marker, never a bare `skipif`.** `scripts/ci/list_os_marked_tests.py`
-decides which files the macOS lane imports by grepping for the quoted spec
-inside `platforms(...)`, and the lane then selects with `-m platforms` while
-the conftest's per-test host skips do the actual gating. A test gated with
+decides which files an OS lane imports by resolving the quoted specs inside
+`platforms(...)` (`"posix"` reaches the macOS lane, `"not linux"` reaches
+both others), and the lane then selects with `-m platforms` while the
+conftest's per-test host skips do the actual gating. A test gated with
 `@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform != "win32")` therefore runs on no host at
 all, silently — it is never imported by the lane that would run it, and the
-full-suite lanes skip it. Don't stack a module-level `pytestmark =
+full-suite lanes skip it. `skipif(sys.platform == "win32")` becomes
+`platforms("posix")`; a non-host condition (`os.geteuid() == 0`) stays a
+separate `skipif` beside the marker. A misspelt spec is a collection error,
+not a skip. Don't stack a module-level `pytestmark =
 platforms(...)` on a file whose tests carry their own host marker — the
 conftest hard-rejects tests carrying two `platforms()` markers (a test
 skipped on every host, reported green everywhere).
 Equally, don't `pytest.skip()` the non-host rows of a `@parametrize` over
 platforms — split it into one marked test per OS, or only the host's row ever
 executes.
-<!-- MERGE-CHECK: kept our expanded `platforms()` marker docs; upstream's side still described the legacy linux_only/macos_only/windows_only markers. -->
 
 ### Don't write change-detector tests
 
diff --git a/hermes_cli/web_server.py b/hermes_cli/web_server.py
index 4ca5dd32c6..fef78785c0 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/web_server.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/web_server.py
@@ -75,10 +75,6 @@ from hermes_cli.web_server_lifecycle import (  # noqa: E402
     _write_machine_sentinel_line,
 )
 
-# MERGE-CHECK: upstream moved the parent-start-marker helpers into web_server_lifecycle.py
-# (imported above); our branch's in-file copies were dropped with the rest of the
-# pre-refactor block below. Parent re-verify no desktop caller needed the old in-file copies.
-
 
 def _start_desktop_cron_ticker(stop_event: "threading.Event", interval: int = 60) -> None:
     """Tick the cron scheduler from inside the desktop dashboard backend.
@@ -924,9 +920,6 @@ def _voice_list_error_logged_once(signature: Optional[str]) -> bool:
     return True
 
 
-# MERGE-CHECK: ours-side of this conflict was ~13k lines of pre-#102117 endpoints
-# (elevenlabs voices, themes, plugin discovery, model/config routers) now decomposed by
-# upstream into web_routers/*, web_server_dashboard.py and audio.py; ours dropped, upstream kept.
 _ACTION_LOG_FILES.setdefault("computer-use-grant", "action-computer-use-grant.log")
 
 # Cache discovered plugins per-process (refresh on explicit re-scan).