diff --git a/DEVLOG.md b/DEVLOG.md
index 388f3057..9a0df2e0 100644
--- a/DEVLOG.md
+++ b/DEVLOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
 
 > Append-only session log. Read at session start. Update at session end.
 
+## 2026-07-16 — Native Sessions production initialization hotfix
+
+The authenticated v0.26.0 live smoke reached Forge but the first native Hermes
+send failed before contacting the runtime: the durable outbound delivery
+transaction serialized `systemPrompt` before that block-scoped value was
+initialized later in the handler. The prompt and optional canvas context are
+now prepared before the transaction, preserving atomic user-message/outbox
+writes without a production-bundle temporal-dead-zone failure. A focused
+source-order regression protects this initialization invariant.
+
 ## 2026-07-16 — v0.26.0 coordinated release preparation
 
 Release coordination confirmed that AXI-113 merged after v0.25.0 with no other
@@ -119,6 +129,7 @@ crash-stranded `PROCESSING` row. The platform plugin also retains a failed
 final draft and reuses its original event id, preventing duplicate final
 messages on retry. Focused review coverage passes **33/33** TypeScript tests and
 **8/8** Python adapter tests.
+
 ## 2026-07-16 — AXI-86 Artifact Studio
 
 Implemented Forge as the artifact control plane for people and agents. The
@@ -482,6 +493,7 @@ Verification: focused dispatcher and operator-attention coverage passed
 passed; the full Vitest suite passed (**1,211 passed; 1 skipped**); a fresh
 production build and the responsive Command Center Playwright contract passed
 (**1/1** across desktop, tablet, and mobile); and `git diff --check` passed.
+
 ## 2026-07-13 — Artifacts system research and implementation brief
 
 Created a documentation-only Artifacts audit in an isolated worktree using
diff --git a/src/app/api/chat/stream/route.ts b/src/app/api/chat/stream/route.ts
index ec7ec7d2..5bc9fee9 100644
--- a/src/app/api/chat/stream/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/chat/stream/route.ts
@@ -563,6 +563,54 @@ export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
         ]
       : body;
 
+  // Prepare connector instructions before the durable delivery transaction.
+  // Hermes delivery rows persist this value atomically with the user turn so
+  // replay has the exact original instructions. Keeping it below the
+  // transaction created a temporal-dead-zone failure only on the native
+  // Sessions path (`systemPrompt` was initialized later while the callback
+  // tried to serialize it).
+  let boundCanvasId: string | null = null;
+  if (canvasId) {
+    const canvas = await db.workspaceCanvas.findFirst({
+      where: { id: canvasId, workspaceId, archivedAt: null },
+      select: { id: true },
+    });
+    if (canvas) boundCanvasId = canvas.id;
+  }
+
+  const baseSystemPrompt =
+    `You are ${agent.name}. You're chatting with the operator inside Forge, a project ` +
+    `management workspace. Be concise and direct. ` +
+    (agent.capabilities && agent.capabilities.length > 0
+      ? `Your capabilities: ${agent.capabilities.join(", ")}.\n\n`
+      : "") +
+    (agent.templateMarkdown ? `${agent.templateMarkdown}\n` : "");
+
+  const buildSystemPrompt = async (): Promise<string> => {
+    if (!boundCanvasId) return baseSystemPrompt;
+    const canvasSummary = await loadCanvasContextSummary(workspaceId, boundCanvasId);
+    const storyboardHint =
+      `When the operator asks you to lay out, storyboard, sketch, ` +
+      `organize, or "set up a canvas for" something, reach for the ` +
+      `compound MCP gestures:\n` +
+      `- \`canvases.storyboardPlan({ planId })\` — labeled frame with ` +
+      `the plan card + notes lane + sources column + next-steps lane.\n` +
+      `- \`canvases.storyboardIssue({ issueId })\` — labeled frame ` +
+      `with the issue card + related + comments + attachments.\n` +
+      `- \`canvases.storyboardResearch({ topic })\` — labeled frame ` +
+      `with a scratchpad + sources column + next-steps lane.\n` +
+      `- \`canvases.storyboardCustom({ name, panels })\` — escape ` +
+      `hatch when the three presets don't fit. Provide a panels[] ` +
+      `array of \`{ label, body?, x, y, width, height }\`.\n` +
+      `One storyboard call is the grammar — don't scatter 25 floating ` +
+      `nodes by hand.`;
+    if (!canvasSummary) return `${baseSystemPrompt}\n\n${storyboardHint}`;
+    return `${baseSystemPrompt}\n\n${canvasSummary}\n\n${storyboardHint}`;
+  };
+  // Dispatch-only agents receive the durable user event and build their own
+  // runtime context. Avoid reading canvas state for a prompt Forge never uses.
+  const systemPrompt = useDispatch ? "" : await buildSystemPrompt();
+
   // Persist the USER row and the audit/event in one transaction. Mirrors
   // `chat.send` so the inbox lifecycle stays honest. Forge-owned streaming
   // turns tag the payload `streamed: true` so the dispatch worker can no-op
@@ -873,48 +921,6 @@ export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
     });
     const history = recent.reverse();
 
-    // Resolve the canvas binding once up-front so an invalid id fails fast
-    // (rather than silently dropping the binding mid-stream).
-    let boundCanvasId: string | null = null;
-    if (canvasId) {
-      const canvas = await db.workspaceCanvas.findFirst({
-        where: { id: canvasId, workspaceId, archivedAt: null },
-        select: { id: true },
-      });
-      if (canvas) boundCanvasId = canvas.id;
-    }
-
-    const baseSystemPrompt =
-      `You are ${agent.name}. You're chatting with the operator inside Forge, a project ` +
-      `management workspace. Be concise and direct. ` +
-      (agent.capabilities && agent.capabilities.length > 0
-        ? `Your capabilities: ${agent.capabilities.join(", ")}.\n\n`
-        : "") +
-      (agent.templateMarkdown ? `${agent.templateMarkdown}\n` : "");
-
-    const buildSystemPrompt = async (): Promise<string> => {
-      if (!boundCanvasId) return baseSystemPrompt;
-      const canvasSummary = await loadCanvasContextSummary(workspaceId, boundCanvasId);
-      const storyboardHint =
-        `When the operator asks you to lay out, storyboard, sketch, ` +
-        `organize, or "set up a canvas for" something, reach for the ` +
-        `compound MCP gestures:\n` +
-        `- \`canvases.storyboardPlan({ planId })\` — labeled frame with ` +
-        `the plan card + notes lane + sources column + next-steps lane.\n` +
-        `- \`canvases.storyboardIssue({ issueId })\` — labeled frame ` +
-        `with the issue card + related + comments + attachments.\n` +
-        `- \`canvases.storyboardResearch({ topic })\` — labeled frame ` +
-        `with a scratchpad + sources column + next-steps lane.\n` +
-        `- \`canvases.storyboardCustom({ name, panels })\` — escape ` +
-        `hatch when the three presets don't fit. Provide a panels[] ` +
-        `array of \`{ label, body?, x, y, width, height }\`.\n` +
-        `One storyboard call is the grammar — don't scatter 25 floating ` +
-        `nodes by hand.`;
-      if (!canvasSummary) return `${baseSystemPrompt}\n\n${storyboardHint}`;
-      return `${baseSystemPrompt}\n\n${canvasSummary}\n\n${storyboardHint}`;
-    };
-    const systemPrompt = await buildSystemPrompt();
-
     // Build the model-facing message array. History rows stay plain text —
     // we only attach image blocks to the *latest* user turn, which is the
     // one we just persisted. (Historical attachments aren't replayed; the
@@ -933,7 +939,7 @@ export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
         messages.push({ role, content: m.body });
       }
     }
-    return { boundCanvasId, buildSystemPrompt, history, messages, systemPrompt };
+    return { history, messages };
   })().catch(async (err) => {
     const failedAt = new Date().toISOString();
     const message = streamErrorMessage(err, "Failed to prepare the chat turn.");
@@ -963,7 +969,7 @@ export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
   if (!prepared) {
     return NextResponse.json({ error: "Failed to prepare chat turn" }, { status: 500 });
   }
-  const { boundCanvasId, buildSystemPrompt, history, messages, systemPrompt } = prepared;
+  const { history, messages } = prepared;
 
   const encoder = new TextEncoder();
   const stream = new ReadableStream<Uint8Array>({
diff --git a/tests/unit/chat-stream-initialization.test.ts b/tests/unit/chat-stream-initialization.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0a325599
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/chat-stream-initialization.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import { readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+describe("native chat stream initialization", () => {
+  it("prepares persisted Hermes instructions before the delivery transaction", async () => {
+    const source = await readFile(
+      path.join(process.cwd(), "src/app/api/chat/stream/route.ts"),
+      "utf8",
+    );
+    const promptInitialization = source.indexOf(
+      'const systemPrompt = useDispatch ? "" : await buildSystemPrompt();',
+    );
+    const deliveryTransaction = source.indexOf("await tx.connectorDelivery.create({");
+
+    expect(promptInitialization).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+    expect(deliveryTransaction).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+    expect(promptInitialization).toBeLessThan(deliveryTransaction);
+  });
+});