diff --git a/Sources/ThermalForgeApp/AppState.swift b/Sources/ThermalForgeApp/AppState.swift
index cd15b5c4..d5f750af 100644
--- a/Sources/ThermalForgeApp/AppState.swift
+++ b/Sources/ThermalForgeApp/AppState.swift
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
     @Published var availableUpdate: AvailableUpdate?
 
     private var monitor: ThermalMonitor?
+    /// Set by prepareForTermination: once true, no new fan command may enter
+    /// the pump (the exit path is about to drain and reset). Guards the quit
+    /// ordering, not UI state.
+    private var terminating = false
     private let executor = PrivilegedExecutor()
     private var heartbeatTimer: DispatchSourceTimer?
     /// Consecutive failed heartbeats, for debouncing `daemonUnreachable`.
@@ -362,7 +366,10 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
                 // Don't fight a CLI hold — the user set it deliberately. Decide on
                 // the main actor where externalHold lives; the monitor resumes
                 // control when they pick a profile or press Default.
-                guard self.externalHold == nil else { return }
+                // terminating: the quit path is draining the pump — a late
+                // submit would land after the exit resetAuto and re-pin the
+                // fans.
+                guard self.externalHold == nil, !self.terminating else { return }
                 // Hand off to the coalescing pump; the blocking socket write happens
                 // OFF the main thread. During a ramp these fire up to ~10x/sec;
                 // previously each ran a blocking round-trip on the main actor and
@@ -374,6 +381,22 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
         self.monitor = monitor
     }
 
+    // MARK: - Termination
+
+    /// Quiesce the fan pipeline for app termination. Order matters: reject new
+    /// submits and stop the monitor's ticks FIRST, then drain the pump — so
+    /// the synchronous resetAuto AppDelegate runs after this returns can never
+    /// be superseded by a late-landing ramp write (an observed quit race: the
+    /// last monitor tick's setRPM reached the daemon AFTER the exit resetAuto
+    /// and re-pinned the fans in manual until the daemon watchdog reverted
+    /// them).
+    func prepareForTermination() {
+        terminating = true
+        monitor?.stop()
+        monitor = nil
+        commandPump.flush()
+    }
+
     // MARK: - Actions
 
     /// Explicit user takeover of any reflected CLI hold. Returns whether one was
diff --git a/Sources/ThermalForgeApp/ThermalForgeApp.swift b/Sources/ThermalForgeApp/ThermalForgeApp.swift
index 453e5b20..195f462e 100644
--- a/Sources/ThermalForgeApp/ThermalForgeApp.swift
+++ b/Sources/ThermalForgeApp/ThermalForgeApp.swift
@@ -9,6 +9,12 @@ import SwiftUI
 import ThermalForgeCore
 
 class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
+    /// Held (handed over by ThermalForgeApp.init) so applicationWillTerminate
+    /// can quiesce the fan pipeline — otherwise the exit resetAuto below runs
+    /// while the monitor's pipeline still has an in-flight write, which can
+    /// land a moment later and re-pin the fans in manual.
+    @MainActor var appState: AppState?
+
     func applicationDidFinishLaunching(_ notification: Notification) {
         // No Dock icon — menu bar only
         NSApp.setActivationPolicy(.accessory)
@@ -23,6 +29,14 @@ class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
     }
 
     func applicationWillTerminate(_ notification: Notification) {
+        // Quiesce FIRST: stop the monitor's ticks, reject new submits, and
+        // drain the pump — otherwise an in-flight ramp write can land at the
+        // daemon AFTER the resetAuto below and re-pin the fans in manual
+        // until the daemon watchdog reverts them.
+        MainActor.assumeIsolated {
+            appState?.prepareForTermination()
+        }
+
         // Reset fans on quit so the daemon doesn't hold stale APP settings — but
         // ONLY if the app owns the hold. A CLI hold (`sudo thermalforge max`) is the
         // user's deliberate, unsupervised choice; quitting the menu bar app must not
@@ -40,7 +54,15 @@ class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
 @main
 struct ThermalForgeApp: App {
     @NSApplicationDelegateAdaptor(AppDelegate.self) var delegate
-    @StateObject private var appState = AppState()
+    @StateObject private var appState: AppState
+
+    init() {
+        let state = AppState()
+        _appState = StateObject(wrappedValue: state)
+        // The StateObject owns it for SwiftUI; the delegate holds the same
+        // instance so the quit path can quiesce the fan pipeline.
+        delegate.appState = state
+    }
 
     var body: some Scene {
         MenuBarExtra {
diff --git a/Sources/ThermalForgeCore/FanCommandPump.swift b/Sources/ThermalForgeCore/FanCommandPump.swift
index 130a7813..857b5ff4 100644
--- a/Sources/ThermalForgeCore/FanCommandPump.swift
+++ b/Sources/ThermalForgeCore/FanCommandPump.swift
@@ -88,4 +88,18 @@ public final class FanCommandPump: @unchecked Sendable {
             done?(ok)
         }
     }
+
+    /// Synchronous barrier: blocks until every command submitted BEFORE this
+    /// call has executed. Termination ordering: the exit path stops new
+    /// submits, flushes, then runs its resetAuto on a separate connection —
+    /// without the barrier an in-flight write can land at the daemon AFTER
+    /// the reset and re-pin the fans in manual.
+    ///
+    /// The barrier block itself drains: a submit can be overtaken between its
+    /// buffered append and its queued kick, and a bare sync would return
+    /// before that command ran. With submits already stopped by the caller, a
+    /// drain inside the barrier closes that window.
+    public func flush() {
+        queue.sync { [self] in drain() }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/Tests/ThermalForgeTests/FanCommandPumpTests.swift b/Tests/ThermalForgeTests/FanCommandPumpTests.swift
index b20ba59c..f7ccbb09 100644
--- a/Tests/ThermalForgeTests/FanCommandPumpTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/ThermalForgeTests/FanCommandPumpTests.swift
@@ -110,4 +110,37 @@ struct FanCommandPumpTests {
             #expect(box.value == expected)
         }
     }
+
+    // MARK: - Flush barrier (quit ordering)
+
+    /// The quit path's contract: resetAuto on a separate connection may only
+    /// land AFTER every already-submitted write. flush() returning must mean
+    /// exactly that — no polling, no timeout tolerance (the quit race was a
+    /// setRPM landing after the exit reset and re-pinning the fans in manual).
+    @Test("flush returns only after in-flight and pending writes have executed")
+    func flushIsABarrier() {
+        let h = Harness()
+        let pump = FanCommandPump(queue: DispatchQueue(label: "test.pump")) { cmd in h.execute(cmd) }
+        pump.submit(.setRPM(1000))          // blocks in-flight inside the harness
+        h.firstStarted.wait()
+        pump.submit(.setMax)                 // queued behind the blocked one
+        pump.submit(.setRPM(2000))           // queued (no coalesce: setMax between)
+        h.releaseFirst.signal()
+        pump.flush()
+        #expect(h.recorded == [.setRPM(1000), .setMax, .setRPM(2000)])
+    }
+
+    @Test("the pump still serves submits made after a flush")
+    func usableAfterFlush() {
+        let h = Harness()
+        let pump = FanCommandPump(queue: DispatchQueue(label: "test.pump")) { cmd in h.execute(cmd) }
+        pump.submit(.setMax)
+        h.firstStarted.wait()          // the harness blocks the FIRST command
+        h.releaseFirst.signal()        // ...so release it before the barrier
+        pump.flush()
+        #expect(h.recorded == [.setMax])
+        pump.submit(.resetAuto)
+        #expect(wait(h, forCount: 2))
+        #expect(h.recorded == [.setMax, .resetAuto])
+    }
 }