diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2a9691f..2b668e5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
-## [3.8.4] - 2026-07-02
+## [3.8.5] - 2026-07-05
+
+### Fixed
+- **Guard: a brand-new `git init` repo with no remote no longer locks the agent out** (#149): the same-turn freshness gate demanded a `git fetch`/`git pull` before any review/edit/test/commit in a repo — but a freshly initialised repo has no remote, so `git fetch` errors (*No remote repository specified*) and `git pull --ff-only` errors (*no tracking information*); the freshness check was unsatisfiable and the agent could not work in its own new repo. A repo with **zero configured remotes has no upstream to be stale against**, so freshness is now waived for it (`repo-work-fresh-base` no longer fires) while the rules-note consult still applies. Detection (`_repo_has_remote`) is subprocess-free — it reads `<repo>/.git/config` for a `[remote "…"]` stanza — and deliberately conservative: a `.git` pointer file (linked worktree/submodule), an unreadable config, or any resolution error is treated as *has a remote*, so freshness is only ever waived when we positively confirm zero remotes. A repo that has a remote is completely unaffected.
 
 ### Fixed
 - **Verifier: reading the note a guard block demanded is no longer punished** (#148): the deny-log sampling under #147 found 16 cases where the guard blocked repo work demanding `Operational Rules - Git Repos and Secrets` be read, the agent obeyed, and the verifier scored that read off-topic and re-closed the gate. The guard now records the demanded note (per-turn marker, cleared at turn start by both `begin_turn` and the bash reset), and the verifier treats a consult of it as relevant by definition. A ritual read on a turn where nothing demanded it is still judged normally.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index e8ec562..772b494 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "omind"
-version = "3.8.4"
+version = "3.8.5"
 description = "Reproduce the OMI/Obsidian memory integration for AI agents, plus a local web app to view, edit, and add memory entries."
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
diff --git a/src/omind/__init__.py b/src/omind/__init__.py
index da6fbe0..6bf3a1f 100644
--- a/src/omind/__init__.py
+++ b/src/omind/__init__.py
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 # Copyright 2026 Aaron K. Clark
 """omind — OMI/Obsidian memory tooling for AI agents."""
 
-__version__ = "3.8.4"
+__version__ = "3.8.5"
diff --git a/src/omind/guard.py b/src/omind/guard.py
index f0e207d..051f558 100644
--- a/src/omind/guard.py
+++ b/src/omind/guard.py
@@ -783,6 +783,36 @@ def _repo_root_for_action(action: dict[str, Any]) -> Path | None:
     return None
 
 
+def _repo_has_remote(repo: Path) -> bool:
+    """True when the repo has at least one configured remote — i.e. there is an
+    upstream its local base could be stale against, so a freshness check is
+    meaningful. A brand-new ``git init`` repo with no remote has nothing to
+    fetch: a bare ``git fetch`` errors (*No remote repository specified*) and
+    ``git pull --ff-only`` errors (*no tracking information*), so demanding a
+    same-turn freshness check there locks the agent out of its own new repo
+    (#149). Such a repo is treated as vacuously fresh (the caller waives the
+    freshness demand only — the rules-note consult still applies).
+
+    Subprocess-free (this runs inside the PreToolUse hot path) and deliberately
+    CONSERVATIVE: it returns ``True`` on any doubt — a ``.git`` that is a
+    linked-worktree / submodule pointer *file* (whose remotes live in the shared
+    config, not here), an unreadable config, or a resolution error — so freshness
+    is waived ONLY when we positively read the repo's own config and find zero
+    ``[remote "…"]`` stanzas. This makes the change a pure correctness fix for
+    new local repos and never a loosening for a repo that has a remote. Never
+    raises."""
+    try:
+        gitdir = repo / ".git"
+        if not gitdir.is_dir():
+            # `.git` is a pointer file (worktree/submodule) or absent — don't
+            # guess the shared config; keep the freshness demand.
+            return True
+        text = (gitdir / "config").read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+    except OSError:
+        return True
+    return bool(re.search(r"(?m)^[ \t]*\[remote[ \t]", text))
+
+
 def _has_consulted_git_rules(session: str) -> bool:
     needle = GIT_RULES_NOTE.lower()
     for consult in consults(session):
@@ -986,7 +1016,10 @@ def decide(action: dict[str, Any]) -> Verdict:
                 reason=f"omi-guard (hard): {GIT_RULES_MESSAGE}",
                 rule_id="repo-work-read-git-rules",
             )
-        if not _git_fresh_for_repo(session, repo):
+        # A repo with no configured remote has nothing to fetch and no upstream
+        # to be stale against, so the freshness check is vacuous — waive it
+        # rather than lock the agent out of a brand-new `git init` repo (#149).
+        if not _git_fresh_for_repo(session, repo) and _repo_has_remote(repo):
             record_pending(session, command or _action_path(action))
             return Verdict(
                 allow=False,
diff --git a/tests/test_guard.py b/tests/test_guard.py
index 5d4647d..7c60c9f 100644
--- a/tests/test_guard.py
+++ b/tests/test_guard.py
@@ -174,6 +174,69 @@ def test_repo_work_requires_git_rules_note_and_freshness_check() -> None:
     guard.clear_gate("repo")
 
 
+def _git_init(path: Path) -> None:
+    subprocess.run(["git", "init", "-q", str(path)], check=True)
+
+
+def test_repo_has_remote_detects_configured_remotes(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    repo = tmp_path / "r"
+    repo.mkdir()
+    _git_init(repo)
+    # A freshly initialised repo has no remote.
+    assert guard._repo_has_remote(repo) is False
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "-C", str(repo), "remote", "add", "origin", "https://x.invalid/y.git"],
+        check=True,
+    )
+    assert guard._repo_has_remote(repo) is True
+    # Conservative on any doubt: a path that isn't a resolvable repo dir (no
+    # readable `<repo>/.git/config`) is treated as HAVING a remote so freshness
+    # is never wrongly waived for a real repo.
+    assert guard._repo_has_remote(tmp_path / "does-not-exist") is True
+
+
+def test_new_repo_without_a_remote_does_not_demand_freshness(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    # A brand-new `git init` repo has no remote — `git fetch`/`git pull` are
+    # impossible, so the freshness gate must not lock the agent out of its own
+    # new repo (#149). The rules-note consult is still required.
+    repo = tmp_path / "newrepo"
+    repo.mkdir()
+    _git_init(repo)
+    session = "newrepo-noremote"
+    guard.clear_gate(session)
+
+    wfile = str(repo / "hello.py")
+    blocked = guard.decide({"tool": "Write", "file_path": wfile, "session": session})
+    assert not blocked.allow
+    assert blocked.rule_id == "repo-work-read-git-rules"
+
+    guard.record_consult(session, kind="read", target=guard.GIT_RULES_NOTE, relevant=True)
+    allowed = guard.decide({"tool": "Write", "file_path": wfile, "session": session})
+    assert allowed.allow, allowed.rule_id  # was repo-work-fresh-base before #149
+    guard.clear_gate(session)
+
+
+def test_new_repo_with_a_remote_still_demands_freshness(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    # A repo that HAS a remote has an upstream to be stale against, so the
+    # freshness demand is unchanged — the #149 waiver is scoped to no-remote.
+    repo = tmp_path / "hasremote"
+    repo.mkdir()
+    _git_init(repo)
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "-C", str(repo), "remote", "add", "origin", "https://x.invalid/y.git"],
+        check=True,
+    )
+    session = "hasremote-fresh"
+    guard.clear_gate(session)
+    guard.record_consult(session, kind="read", target=guard.GIT_RULES_NOTE, relevant=True)
+
+    wfile = str(repo / "hello.py")
+    blocked = guard.decide({"tool": "Write", "file_path": wfile, "session": session})
+    assert not blocked.allow
+    assert blocked.rule_id == "repo-work-fresh-base"
+    guard.clear_gate(session)
+
+
 def test_global_config_mutation_requires_explicit_turn_authorization() -> None:
     guard.begin_turn("global", "Can you fix both?")
     blocked = guard.decide(
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index fa30515..1089b52 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -2364,7 +2364,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "omind"
-version = "3.8.4"
+version = "3.8.5"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "fastapi" },