diff --git a/lib/build.nix b/lib/build.nix
index 3dfc027..f8766a8 100644
--- a/lib/build.nix
+++ b/lib/build.nix
@@ -338,12 +338,45 @@
                   leaseRun =
                     if monitorEnabled then
                       ''
-                        _IDES_ENTER_OUTPUT="$(ides enter --kind shell --root "$PWD" --pid $$)"
-                        _IDES_ENTER_STATUS=$?
+                        # Detect if we're running inside direnv's ephemeral
+                        # bash subprocess. direnv runs .envrc in a bash that
+                        # exits immediately after evaluation, which would
+                        # release the lease and stop services. When direnv
+                        # is detected, we:
+                        # 1. Walk up the process tree to find the real shell
+                        #    PID (fish/zsh/bash) for the lease, so the lease
+                        #    stays alive for the lifetime of the user's shell.
+                        # 2. Skip the EXIT-trap cleanup — the daemon's
+                        #    prune_dead will release the lease and stop
+                        #    services when the real shell exits.
+                        _IDES_SHELL_PID=$$
+                        _IDES_IN_DIRENV=0
+                        if [ -n "''${DIRENV_DIR:-}" ] || [ -n "''${DIRENV_DIFF:-}" ]; then
+                          _IDES_IN_DIRENV=1
+                          # Walk up: $$ (bash) → direnv → real shell
+                          _IDES_PARENT_PID=$(ps --no-header -o ppid:1 "$$" 2>/dev/null | tr -d ' ')
+                          if [ -n "$_IDES_PARENT_PID" ]; then
+                            _IDES_SHELL_PID=$(ps --no-header -o ppid:1 "$_IDES_PARENT_PID" 2>/dev/null | tr -d ' ')
+                            _IDES_SHELL_PID="''${_IDES_SHELL_PID:-$_IDES_PARENT_PID}"
+                          fi
+                        fi
+                        _IDES_ENTER_OUTPUT=""
+                        _IDES_ENTER_STATUS=1
+                        for _ in 1 2 3 4 5; do
+                          _IDES_ENTER_OUTPUT="$(ides enter --kind shell --root "$PWD" --pid "$_IDES_SHELL_PID" 2>/dev/null)"
+                          _IDES_ENTER_STATUS=$?
+                          if [ "$_IDES_ENTER_STATUS" -eq 0 ]; then
+                            break
+                          fi
+                          sleep 0.2
+                        done
                         if [ "$_IDES_ENTER_STATUS" -ne 0 ]; then
                           unset _IDES_ENTER_OUTPUT
-                          return "$_IDES_ENTER_STATUS" 2>/dev/null || exit "$_IDES_ENTER_STATUS"
-                        fi
+                          # Don't fail the entire shell if ides enter fails —
+                          # services just won't be managed. The user can run
+                          # `ides run` manually.
+                          _IDES_IN_DIRENV=0
+                        else
                         export IDES_LEASE_TOKEN="$_IDES_ENTER_OUTPUT"
                         unset _IDES_ENTER_OUTPUT _IDES_ENTER_STATUS
                         _ides_leave() {
@@ -351,7 +384,27 @@
                             ides leave --token "$IDES_LEASE_TOKEN"
                           fi
                         }
-                        trap _ides_leave EXIT
+                        if [ "$_IDES_IN_DIRENV" -eq 1 ]; then
+                          # Inside direnv: don't release the lease on EXIT.
+                          # The daemon's prune_dead will clean up when the
+                          # real shell (whose PID we registered) exits.
+                          # Still chain to any existing EXIT trap (e.g.
+                          # direnv's internal trap for env capture).
+                          _ides_prev_exit_trap=$(trap -p EXIT | sed "s/^trap -- '//; s/' EXIT$//")
+                          if [ -n "$_ides_prev_exit_trap" ]; then
+                            eval "$_ides_prev_exit_trap"
+                          fi
+                        else
+                          # Normal shell: preserve any existing EXIT trap and
+                          # chain _ides_leave into it.
+                          _ides_prev_exit_trap=$(trap -p EXIT | sed "s/^trap -- '//; s/' EXIT$//")
+                          _ides_leave_wrapper() {
+                            _ides_leave
+                            [ -n "''${_ides_prev_exit_trap:-}" ] && eval "$_ides_prev_exit_trap"
+                          }
+                          trap _ides_leave_wrapper EXIT
+                        fi
+                        fi
                       ''
                     else
                       "";
diff --git a/lucius/src/daemon.rs b/lucius/src/daemon.rs
index 84a83ba..16fa861 100644
--- a/lucius/src/daemon.rs
+++ b/lucius/src/daemon.rs
@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@ pub fn serve(manifest: &Manifest, manifest_path: &Path) -> Result<()> {
         .map_err(|err| format!("failed to set daemon socket nonblocking: {err}"))?;
 
     let mut idle_since = Instant::now();
+    let mut first_iteration = true;
     loop {
         match listener.accept() {
             Ok((stream, _)) => {
@@ -186,13 +187,17 @@ pub fn serve(manifest: &Manifest, manifest_path: &Path) -> Result<()> {
             Err(err) if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::WouldBlock => {
                 let pruned = leases::prune_dead(&manifest.set_id)?;
                 let active = leases::active_count(&manifest.set_id)?;
-                if active == 0 && pruned > 0 {
+                // Only exit if we pruned dead leases AND this isn't the first
+                // iteration. On startup, stale leases from previous runs may
+                // exist; pruning them shouldn't cause an immediate exit.
+                if !first_iteration && active == 0 && pruned > 0 {
                     systemd::down(manifest, &[])?;
                     break;
                 }
                 if active == 0 && idle_since.elapsed() > Duration::from_secs(10) {
                     break;
                 }
+                first_iteration = false;
                 thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
             }
             Err(err) => return Err(format!("failed to accept daemon client: {err}")),