diff --git a/cmd/start.go b/cmd/start.go
index 5a62231..463edca 100644
--- a/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/start.go
@@ -1294,15 +1294,20 @@ func handlePolicyFetchFailure(cmd *StartCmd, configMgr *config.Manager, auditLog
 		// fail-fast purpose; the intended flow (the watcher fails the job
 		// on this sentinel, so no build steps run) makes the pre-attach
 		// window harmless.
+		//
+		// ORDER: the downgrade record is written BEFORE the sentinel. The
+		// action classifies a sentinel as lockdown from this record, so the
+		// sentinel is the commit signal and is published only once the
+		// record describing it exists — a reader between the two writes
+		// would otherwise see a generic startup crash (issue #102). The
+		// record also tells the dashboard, via the summary push, that the
+		// run was locked down and why.
+		writeDowngradeFile(downgradeRecord(datapb.CargoWallDowngradeType_CARGO_WALL_DOWNGRADE_TYPE_LOCKDOWN, fe, reason), logger)
 		if cmd.FailureFile != "" {
 			if werr := writeFailureSentinel(cmd.FailureFile, reason); werr != nil {
 				logger.Warn("Failed to write failure sentinel", "path", cmd.FailureFile, "error", werr)
 			}
 		}
-		// Also recorded as a structured downgrade: if the action lets the
-		// job proceed (or the post step runs before teardown), the summary
-		// push tells the dashboard the run was locked down and why.
-		writeDowngradeFile(downgradeRecord(datapb.CargoWallDowngradeType_CARGO_WALL_DOWNGRADE_TYPE_LOCKDOWN, fe, reason), logger)
 		// No mode file: lockdown is not a SaaS-resolved posture, and the
 		// failure sentinel already carries the state the action needs.
 		return
diff --git a/cmd/start_test.go b/cmd/start_test.go
index 1fad96f..a5f22bd 100644
--- a/cmd/start_test.go
+++ b/cmd/start_test.go
@@ -243,6 +243,40 @@ func TestLoadCIConfig_LockdownSkipsLocalConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestLoadCIConfig_LockdownPublishesSentinelLast: consumers poll for the
+// failure sentinel and classify lockdown from the downgrade record, so the
+// sentinel must be the last write — published before the record, a reader
+// between the two sees a lockdown with no record and treats it as a generic
+// startup crash (issue #102).
+func TestLoadCIConfig_LockdownPublishesSentinelLast(t *testing.T) {
+	setFastPolicyRetries(t)
+	redirectStateFiles(t)
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+
+	// Both writes atomically replace the same path, so whichever lands last
+	// is what remains: a deterministic order check with no goroutine racing
+	// two writes microseconds apart.
+	sharedPath := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "cargowall-state")
+	downgradeFile = sharedPath // restored by redirectStateFiles' cleanup
+
+	cmd := &StartCmd{
+		GithubAction:   true,
+		ApiUrl:         srv.URL,
+		Token:          "test-token",
+		ApiFailureMode: ApiFailureModeFail,
+		FailureFile:    sharedPath,
+	}
+	loadCIConfig(context.Background(), cmd, config.NewConfigManager(), nil, quietLogger())
+
+	require.True(t, cmd.policyLockdown)
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(sharedPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.True(t, strings.HasPrefix(string(data), "pid="), "the failure sentinel must be written after the downgrade record, got: %s", data)
+}
+
 // TestLoadCIConfig_CancelledContextSkipsPostureHandling guards the SIGTERM
 // unwind path: a fetch killed by shutdown-signal cancellation must not be
 // misreported as an outage — no lockdown, no audit downgrade, and no